bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Revisiting Korean Slums in Postwar Japan: Tongne and Hakkyo in the Zainichi Memoryscape
Authors: Chatani Sayaka
Published: April 2021

Korean shantytowns existed in every large Japanese city from the postwar years through the late 1960s. Japanese people recall them as secluded, dirty, impoverished, and dangerous. To many scholars, their existence confirms the transwar continuity of Japanese oppression of underclass ethnic minorities. But zainichi Koreans who grew up in such slums, which they called tongne, offer inspirational stories and fond memories of living there. This article sheds light on Koreans’ postwar experiences by discussing the important sociopolitical functions of the tongne and their continuing symbolism among the zainichi population. Viewing the tongne as zainichi's postliberation place of origin and paying attention to the reproduction of its meanings in hakkyo (schools) helps us understand the uneven terrain of power relationships in zainichi society, including why the Chongryun exercised great cultural power at least until the 1970s.
The acquisition of prosodic marking of narrow focus in Central Swedish
Authors: ROMØREN Anna Sara H. , CHEN Aoju
Published: April 2021

We investigated how Central Swedish-speaking four to eleven-year-old children acquire the prosodic marking of narrow focus, compared to adult controls. Three measurements were analysed: placement of the prominence-marking high tone (prominence H), pitch range effects of the prominence H, and word duration. Subject-verb-object sentences were elicited in sentence-medial and sentence-final focus conditions via a semi-spontaneous elicitation task. The children largely performed in an adult-like manner already at four to five: they predominantly added prominence H to focal words and avoided this tone post-focally in both sentence-medial and sentence-final position. The placement or avoidance of prominence H had largely the same effects on pitch range for children and adults. Finally, the four to eight-year-olds also increased the duration of the focal word, similar to adults. Hence, Central Swedish-speaking children master the use of prosody for focus marking at an earlier age, compared to children acquiring a West Germanic language.
Association between 24-h urinary sodium to potassium ratio and mild cognitive impairment in community-based general population
Authors: Wang Zhongrong , Li Nanfang , Heizhati Mulalibieke , Wang Lin , Li Mei , Pan Fengyu , Yang Zhikang , Abudureyimu Reyila , Hong Jing , Sun Le , Li Jing , Li Wei
Published: April 2021

Objective:

To explore the relationship between parameters of Na and K excretion using 24-h urine sample and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in general population.

Design:

This is a cross-sectional study.

Setting:

Community-based general population in Emin China.

Participants:

Totally, 1147 subjects aged ≥18 years were selected to complete the study, with a multistage proportional random sampling method. Cognitive status was assessed with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaire and timed 24-h urine specimens were collected. Finally, 561 participants aged ≥35 years with complete urine sample and MMSE data were included for the current analysis and divided into groups by tertiles of 24-h urinary sodium to potassium ratio (24-h UNa/K) as lowest (T1), middle (T2) and highest (T3) groups.

Results:

The MMSE score was significantly lower in T3, compared with the T1 group (26·0 v. 25·0, P = 0·002), and the prevalent MCI was significantly higher in T3 than in T1 group (11·7 % v. 25·8 %, P < 0·001). In multiple linear regression, 24-UNa/K (β: −0·184, 95 % CI −0·319, −0·050, P = 0·007) was negatively associated with MMSE score. In multivariable logistic regression, compared with T1 group, 24-h UNa/K in the T2 and T3 groups showed 2·01 (95 % CI 1·03, 3·93, P = 0·041) and 3·38 (95 % CI 1·77, 6·44, P < 0·001) fold odds for presence of MCI, even after adjustment for confounders. More augmented results were demonstrated in sensitivity analysis by excluding individuals taking anti-hypertensive agents.

Conclusions:

Higher 24-h UNa/K is in an independent association with prevalent MCI.
Pre-pregnancy maternal BMI classification is associated with preschool childhood diet quality and childhood obesity in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
Authors: Hudson Paul , Emmett Pauline M , Taylor Caroline M
Published: April 2021

Objective:

To explore the effect of maternal BMI class pre-pregnancy (overweight/obese v. healthy weight/underweight) on childhood diet quality and on childhood overweight/obesity risk.

Design:

Dietary data were collected using 3-d parental-completed food records for their children at ages 18 and 43 months. An index of diet quality was derived by classification of food items into core and non-core foods. Adjusted multiple linear regression analyses were used to explore the effect of maternal BMI class on diet quality in their children.

Setting:

Avon, UK.

Participants:

A 10% subsample of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Nine-hundred and eighty children provided complete dietary data at 18 months and 769 at 43 months.

Results:

Children with overweight/obese mothers consumed greater amounts of energy from non-core foods than children with healthy weight/underweight mothers (0·20 MJ (48 kcal)/d more at 18 months (P < 0·001); 0·19 MJ (45 kcal)/d more at 43 months (P = 0·008)) in adjusted models. Diet quality deteriorated between 18 and 43 months (children reduced their dietary energy intake from core foods (P < 0·001) and increased intake from non-core foods (P < 0·001)). However, this change was not associated with maternal BMI class in adjusted models. Having an overweight/obese mother was associated with an increased odds of the child being overweight/obese at 43 months (OR 1·74 (1·17, 2·58)).

Conclusions:

Children aged 18 and 43 months with overweight/obese mothers are likely to have a poorer quality diet than those with healthy/underweight mothers. Parents should be supported in discouraging the consumption of non-core foods in children at these ages.
Foods provided to children in family day care: an observational study
Authors: Kerr Erin M , Kelly Bridget , Hammersley Megan L , Hernandez Lara , Norman Jennifer , Furber Susan , Vuong Cecilia , Ryan Sarah , Wardle Karen , Okely AD
Published: April 2021

Objective:

To assess the quality and quantity of foods and beverages provided to children aged 0–5 years in family day care and identify structural and sociodemographic factors associated with the nutritional quality of food provided.

Design:

A cross-sectional study measured the food and beverages provided to children using weighed food records. The number of serves from different food groups was calculated according to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, and a healthy food provision index score was created. Associations between structural and sociodemographic factors and healthy food provision index scores were analysed using linear mixed models.

Setting:

Family day care services in two large geographic areas in New South Wales, Australia.

Participants:

One hundred and four children in thirty-three family day care services.

Results:

During attendance at childcare, most children met recommended servings of fruit but not dairy, vegetables, lean meat and meat alternatives and wholegrains. Discretionary foods exceeded recommendations. Children’s age, socio-economic status and the type of main meal provided were significantly associated with the healthy food provision index score.

Conclusions:

Foods provided to children in family day care are aligned with dietary recommendations for fruit but not vegetables, dairy, lean meat and meat alternatives, wholegrains or discretionary foods. Interventions to promote healthy eating are needed to support families and educators to improve the nutritional quality of food provided to children.
Prognostic factors and survival after whole-brain radiotherapy for initial brain metastases arising from non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Okada Yukinori , Kobayashi Mariko , Shinozaki Mio , Abe Tatsuyuki , Nakamura Naoki
Published: April 2021

Aim:

To identify prognostic factors and investigate patient survival after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for initial brain metastases arising from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods:

Patients diagnosed with NSCLC between 1 January 2010 and 30 September 2019, and who received WBRT upon first developing a brain metastasis, were investigated. Overall survival was determined as related to age, sex, duration between initial examination and brain metastasis detection, stage at the first examination, presence of metastases outside the brain, blood analysis findings, brain metastasis symptoms, radiotherapy dose and completion, imaging findings, therapeutic course of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, histological type, and gene mutation status.

Results:

Thirty-one consecutive patients (20 men and 11 women) with a mean age of 63·8 years and median survival of 129 days were included. Multivariate analysis with stepwise testing was performed to investigate differences in survival according to gene mutation status, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, irradiation dose, WBRT completion and Stage status. Of these, a statistically significant difference in survival was observed in patients with gene mutation status (hazard ratio: 0·31, 95% CI: 0·11–0·86, p = 0·025), LDH levels <230 vs. ≥230 IU/L (hazard ratio: 4·08, 95% CI: 1·45–11·5, p < 0·01) received 30 Gy, 30 Gy/10 fractions to 35 Gy/14 fractions, and 37·5 Gy/15 fractions (hazard ratio: 0·26, 95% CI: 0·09–0·71, p < 0·01), and stage IV versus non-stage IV (hazard ratio: 0·13, 95 CI:0·02–0·64, p < 0·01)

Findings:

Gene mutation, LDH, radiation dose and Stage are prognostic factors for patients with initial brain metastases who are treated with WBRT.
Review of novel tissue-based biomarkers for prostate cancer: towards personalised and targeted medicine
Authors: Osei Ernest , Swanson Stephanie , Sheraz Lyba , Ibrahim Nada Khaled Fouad
Published: April 2021

Background:

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and responsible for about 10% of all cancer mortality in both Canadian and American men. Currently, serum PSA level is the most commonly used test for the detection of prostate cancer, though the levels can also be elevated in benign conditions, has limited specificity and has a high rate of overdiagnosis and treatment of indolent disease. Consequently, in recent years, several investigations have been conducted to identify novel cancer biomarkers capable of both effective screening and diagnosis, as well as assisting to shift the diagnostic and treatment paradigm of prostate cancer towards more patient-specific and targeted medicine. The goal of this narrative review paper is to describe eleven novel and promising tissue-based biomarkers for prostate cancer capable to account for individual patient variabilities and have the potential for risk assessment, early detection and diagnosis, identification of patients who will benefit from a particular treatment and monitoring patient response to treatment.

Materials and methods:

We searched several databases from August to December 2020 for relevant studies published in English between 2000 and 2020 and reporting on tissue-based biomarkers for screening and early diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of prostate cancer.

Conclusions:

Emerging prostate cancer biomarkers have the potential to guide clinical decision-making since they have the potential to detect the disease early, measure the risk of developing the disease and the risk of progression, provide accurate information of patient response to a specific treatment and are capable of informing clinicians about the likely outcome of a cancer diagnosis independent of the treatment received. Therefore, the future holds promise for personalised and targeted medicine from prevention to diagnosis and treatment that considers the individual patient’s variabilities in the management of prostate cancer.
Review of novel liquid-based biomarkers for prostate cancer: towards personalised and targeted medicine
Authors: Osei Ernest , Swanson Stephanie , Francis Ruth
Published: April 2021

Background:

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and it is responsible for about 10% of all cancer mortalities in both American and Canadian men. At present, serum prostate-specific antigen levels remain the most commonly used test to detect prostate cancer, and the standard and definitive diagnosis of the disease is via prostate biopsy. Conventional tissue biopsies are usually invasive, expensive, painful, time-consuming, and unsuitable for screening and need to be consistently evaluated by expert pathologists and have limited repeatability. Consequently, liquid biopsies are emerging as a favourable alternative to conventional tissue biopsies, providing a non-invasive and cost-effective approach for screening, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of prostate cancer patients.

Materials and methods:

We searched several databases from August to December 2020 for relevant studies published in English between 2000 and 2020 and reporting on liquid-based biomarkers available in detectable quantities in patient bodily fluid samples. In this narrative review paper, we describe seven novel and promising liquid-based biomarkers that potentially account for individual patient variability as well as used in disease risk assessment, screening for early disease detection and diagnosis, identification of patients’ risk for metastatic disease and subsequent relapse, monitoring patient response to specific treatment and providing clinicians the potential to stratify patients likely to benefit from a particular treatment.

Conclusions:

The concept of precision medicine from prevention to treatment techniques that take individual patient variability into account will depend on the development of effective clinical biomarkers that interrogate key aberrant pathways potentially targetable with molecular targets or immunologic therapies. Liquid-based biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity for prostate cancer are emerging as minimally invasive, lower risk, readily obtainable and easily repeatable technique for screening for early disease detection and diagnosis, patient stratification at diagnosis into different risk categories, identification of patients’ risk for metastatic disease and subsequent relapse, and real-time monitoring of patient response to specific treatment. Thus, effective liquid-based biomarkers will potentially shift the treatment paradigm of prostate cancer towards more personalised and targeted medicine.
Spring-applied triclopyr mixtures for bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) suppression in Louisiana sugarcane
Authors: Spaunhorst Douglas J.
Published: April 2021

Sugarcane infested with bermudagrass and harvested as seed cane introduces the potential for weedy propagules to reinfest fields. Research was conducted in 2018 and 2019 following sugarcane harvest for seed cane to evaluate bermudagrass management with photosystem II (PSII)- and 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)–inhibiting herbicides applied alone or mixed with triclopyr. Combinations of diuron at 2.8 kg ha–1 with clomazone at 1.5 kg ha–1 or triclopyr at 1.1 kg ha–1 and hexazinone at 0.74 kg ha–1 with triclopyr applied early POST (EPOST) in mid-February injured bermudagrass 85% to 86%, and injury was greater than diuron or hexazinone alone (16% and 10%) in mid-March. Bermudagrass injury decreased to 45% to 56% for these combination treatments by April; however, injury differences were similar to the earlier rating. Late POST (LPOST) mid-March application of these treatments indicated similar bermudagrass injury trends when evaluated in early April. By mid-May, however, no treatment resulted in greater than 18% bermudagrass injury. Clomazone plus diuron applied LPOST resulted in 19% sugarcane injury by early April; however, all other treatments resulted in 7% sugarcane injury or less. In mid-May, a mid-April EPOST application of topramezone at 0.025 kg ha–1 plus triclopyr at 1.1 kg ha–1 resulted in 62% bermudagrass injury, which was equivalent to that observed with other topramezone rates in this combination (0.012 and 0.037 kg ha–1) (54% to 60%). Bermudagrass injury from triclopyr mixed with mesotrione (32%) or triclopyr mixed with atrazine, mesotrione, and S-metolachlor (47% to 55%) resulted in bermudagrass injury similar to that with topramezone plus triclopyr (54% to 62%). Data showed the flexibility of triclopyr when mixed with several HPPD- or PSII-inhibitor herbicides for bermudagrass management in a Louisiana sugarcane cropping system. Greater flexibility in application timing for HPPD-inhibitor herbicides than for PSII-inhibitor herbicides (diuron or hexazinone), and mixed with triclopyr, may suppress bermudagrass POST in April and May with minimal sugarcane injury.
Field‐Aligned Currents Originating From the Chaotic Motion of Electrons in the Tilted Current Sheet: MMS Observations
Authors: Wang G. Q. , Zhang T. L. , Wu M. Y. , Xiao S. D. , Wang G. , Chen Y. Q. , Sun J. C. , Volwerk M.
Published: April 2021

Field‐aligned currents often appear at the neutral sheet in the tilted current sheet, however, their origins are still unclear. Here we investigate two flapping motion events using the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission data. Strong current densities mainly contributed by electrons appear near the neutral sheet in the severely titled current sheet in both events. The perpendicular current can be explained by the electron drift motions, among which the diamagnetic drift is the main contributor. We find that electrons can be non‐adiabatic at the neutral sheet, which is able to scatter their pitch angle distribution. The field‐aligned current is associated with non‐adiabatic electrons in the energy range of ∼0.2–3 keV, which curvature parameter κ is in the range of 0.9–3. By contrast, adiabatic electrons have almost no contribution to the field‐aligned current. We suggest that non‐adiabatic electrons are the key factor in generating field‐aligned currents at the neutral sheet.
The Seasonality of Global Land and Ocean Mass and the Changing Water Cycle
Authors: Chandanpurkar Hrishikesh A. , Reager John T. , Famiglietti James S. , Nerem R. Steven , Chambers Don P. , Lo Min‐Hui , Hamlington Benjamin D. , Syed Tajdarul H.
Published: April 2021

The global water cycle is generally viewed as the cycling of water masses among the land, ocean, and atmosphere. This cycling predominantly occurs at the annual time scale and between land and ocean, constituting the seasonal global water cycle. NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE‐Follow On missions can directly observe the seasonal global water cycle and describe the changes in its intensity. We present seasonal amplitudes of the global land water and ocean mass anomalies between 04/2002 and 11/2020. We find that the average seasonal amplitude is 17.0 ± 0.6 mm sea level equivalent (SLE), and its interannual variability (σ = 1.1 mm SLE) is comparable to the long‐term trends in the land and ocean masses. We investigate two periods of rapid amplification and deamplification during which the amplitude changed as much as 29%, and find that changes in hydroclimatology in certain land regions modulate the seasonal global water cycle.
Midlatitude Continental CAPE Is Predictable From Large‐Scale Environmental Parameters
Authors: Li Funing , Chavas Daniel R.
Published: April 2021

A recent study by Agard and Emanuel (2017, https://doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-16-0352.1) proposed a simple equation for a quantity that scales with convective available potential energy (CAPE) that can be directly calculated from a limited number of environmental sounding parameters without lifting a hypothetical air parcel. This scaling CAPE was applied in a specific idealized framework, but the extent to which it can predict true CAPE in the real world has not been tested. This work uses reanalysis data over the U.S. to demonstrate that this scaling CAPE does indeed scale very closely with CAPE, following a linear relationship with a scaling factor of 0.44. We then explain why they scale together via a step‐by‐step derivation of the theoretical assumptions linking scaling CAPE and real CAPE and their manifestation in the historical data. Overall, this work demonstrates that CAPE can be predicted from large‐scale environmental parameters alone, which may be useful for a wide range of applications in weather and climate.
Formation of Longitudinal River Valleys and the Fixing of Drainage Divides in Response to Exhumation of Crystalline Basement
Authors: Bernard Thomas , Sinclair Hugh D. , Gailleton Boris , Fox Matthew
Published: April 2021

Variations in rock strength act as a first‐order control on mountain landscapes. However, the transient topographic signal of basement exhumation has not been explored. We use model outputs to demonstrate the mobility of drainage divides in mountain ranges in response to the exhumation of basement rocks and the implications for the morphology of river catchments. The exhumation of harder rocks within a catchment reduces upstream channel steepness and erosion rates in contrast to neighboring catchments. The results are a shift in the orogen‐scale drainage divide toward the harder rocks, and the formation of range parallel longitudinal valleys as neighboring river networks capture the headwaters of catchments impacted by the harder lithology. Our model outputs provide a process explanation for the initiation of many longitudinal valleys in mountain ranges, and for the pinning of drainage divides on rocks of higher strength as seen the Central Pyrenees, Western Alps, or High Atlas.
A Vital Resource Supporting Antarctic Research
Authors: Carbotte Suzanne , Nitsche Frank , Pope Allen , Shane Neville , Tinto Kirsty
Published: April 2021

The U.S. Antarctic Program Data Center is providing new services to help scientists document, preserve, and disseminate their research and to facilitate reusability of a wide range of valuable data.
The Critical Factor in Controlling the Auroral Intensity in the Cusp Region as Revealed by a Statistical Study on Midday Gap and Non‐Gap Events
Authors: Qiu Hui‐Xuan , Han De‐Sheng , Feng Hui‐Ting , Shi Run , Zhou Su , Zhang Y.‐L.
Published: April 2021

Taking advantage of the high spatial‐resolution and global coverage of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager observations, we investigated the critical interplanetary factors in controlling the cusp auroral emission by dividing the midday auroras into the gap (weak emission) and non‐gap (intense emission) events. Although the cusp auroral intensity is essentially determined by a parameter related to the IMF (interplanetary magnetic field) direction, IMF magnitude (|By|), and solar wind speed (V), we found that the cusp aurora is statistically weak during the southward IMF but intense when the V and IMF |By| are greater. Further, we confirmed that even with V > 600 km/s, the intense‐aurora event still shows a minimum occurrence near the IMF |By| = 0. However, when the IMF |By| is greater, the V becomes less significant for the intense‐aurora occurrence. These results demonstrate that the IMF |By| is critical in controlling the cusp auroral intensity, most likely by producing an electric field which is given as .
Observed Global Increases in Tropical Cyclone‐Induced Ocean Cooling and Primary Production
Authors: Da Nguyen Dac , Foltz Gregory R. , Balaguru Karthik
Published: April 2021

Tropical cyclones provide an important source of ocean mixing, bringing cold, nutrient‐rich water to the surface and triggering phytoplankton blooms. Here, we show significant increases in global tropical cyclone‐induced sea surface temperature cooling and surface chlorophyll‐a concentration of 0.05°C and 3.7 × 10−3 mg m−3 per decade over the past 20–35 years. The trends have been driven primarily by an increase in the intensity of strong tropical cyclones. The increase in chlorophyll‐a concentration has been, on average, 1.6% per decade in oligotrophic areas during the tropical cyclone season, in contrast to a decrease of 0.1% per decade during the other months. This tropical cyclone‐induced increase has partially mitigated the overall decline in primary production under climate change.
Regulator of calcineurin 1 gene isoform 4 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma regulates the progression of tumor cells
Authors: Lao Mengyi , Zhang Xiaozhen , Ma Tao , Xu Jian , Yang Hanshen , Duan Yi , Ying Honggang , Zhang Xiaoyu , Guo Chengxiang , Qiu Junyu , Bai Xueli , Liang Tingbo
Published: April 2021

Therapeutic strategies to treat pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain unsatisfying and limited. Therefore, it is imperative to fully determine the mechanisms underlying PDAC progression. In the present study, we report a novel role of regulator of calcineurin 1, isoform 4 (RCAN1.4) in regulating PDAC progression. We demonstrated that RCAN1.4 expression was decreased significantly in PDAC tissues compared with that in para-cancerous tissues, and correlated with poor prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. In vitro, stable high expression of RCAN1.4 could suppress the metastasis and proliferation and angiogenesis of pancreatic tumor cells. In addition, interferon alpha inducible protein 27 (IFI27) was identified as having a functional role in RCAN1.4-mediated PDAC migration and invasion, while VEGFA play a vital role in RCAN1.4-mediated PDAC angiogenesis. Analysis of mice with subcutaneously/orthotopic implanted xenograft tumors and liver metastasis model confirmed that RCAN1.4 could modulate the growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis of tumors via IFI27/VEGFA in vivo. In conclusion, our results suggested that RCAN1.4 suppresses the growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis of PDAC, functioning partly via IFI27 and VEGFA. Importantly, our results provided possible diagnostic criteria and therapeutic targets for PDAC.
Phase 1b/2 trial of tepotinib in sorafenib pretreated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with MET overexpression
Authors: Decaens Thomas , Barone Carlo , Assenat Eric , Wermke Martin , Fasolo Angelica , Merle Philippe , Blanc Jean-Frédéric , Grando Véronique , Iacobellis Angelo , Villa Erica , Trojan Joerg , Straub Josef , Bruns Rolf , Berghoff Karin , Scheele Juergen , Raymond Eric , Faivre Sandrine
Published: April 2021

Background

This Phase 1b/2 study evaluated tepotinib, a highly selective MET inhibitor, in US/European patients with sorafenib pretreated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC) with MET overexpression.

Methods

Eligible adults had aHCC, progression after ≥4 weeks of sorafenib, and, for Phase 2 only, MET overexpression. Tepotinib was administered once daily at 300 or 500 mg in Phase 1b (‘3 + 3’ design), and at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) in Phase 2. Primary endpoints were dose-liming toxicities (DLTs; Phase 1b) and 12-week investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS; Phase 2).

Results

In Phase 1b (n = 17), no DLTs occurred and the RP2D was confirmed as 500 mg. In Phase 2 (n = 49), the primary endpoint was met: 12-week PFS was 63.3% (90% CI: 50.5–74.7), which was significantly greater than the predefined null hypothesis of ≤15% (one-sided binomial exact test: P < 0.0001). Median time to progression was 4 months. In Phase 2, 28.6% of patients had treatment-related Grade ≥3 adverse events, including peripheral oedema and lipase increase (both 6.1%).

Conclusions

Tepotinib was generally well tolerated and the RP2D (500 mg) showed promising efficacy and, therefore, a positive benefit–risk balance in sorafenib pretreated aHCC with MET overexpression.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02115373.
α-Fetoprotein mRNA in situ hybridisation is a highly specific marker of hepatocellular carcinoma: a multi-centre study
Authors: Lu Shi-Xun , Huang Yu-Hua , Liu Li-Li , Zhang Chris Zhiyi , Yang Xia , Yang Yuan-Zhong , Shao Chun-Kui , Li Jian-Ming , Xie Dan , Zhang Xuchen , Jain Dhanpat , Yun Jing-Ping
Published: April 2021

Background

Pathologic diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be challenging in differentiating from benign and non-hepatocytic malignancy lesions. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential utility of α-fetoprotein (AFP) mRNA RNAscope, a sensitive and specific method, in the diagnosis of HCC.

Methods

Three independent retrospective cohorts containing 2216 patients with HCC, benign liver lesions, and non-hepatocytic tumours were examined. AFP was detected using ELISA, IHC (Immunohistochemistry), and RNAscope. Glypican3 (GPC3), hepatocyte paraffin-1 (HepPar-1), and arginase-1 (Arg-1) proteins were detected using IHC.

Results

AFP RNAscope improved the HCC detection sensitivity by 24.7–32.7% compared with IHC. In two surgical cohorts, a panel of AFP RNAscope and GPC3 provided the best diagnostic value in differentiating HCC from benign hepatocytic lesions (AUC = 0.905 and 0.811), and a panel including AFP RNAscope, GPC3, HepPar-1, and Arg-1 yielded the best AUC (0.971 and 0.977) when distinguishing HCC from non-hepatocytic malignancies. The results from the liver biopsy cohort were similar, and additional application of AFP RNAscope improved the sensitivity by 18% when distinguishing HCC from benign hepatocytic lesions.

Conclusions

AFP mRNA detected by RNAscope is highly specific for hepatocytic malignancy and may serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker for HCC.
Down-regulation of SLC25A20 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma growth and metastasis through suppression of fatty-acid oxidation
Authors: Yuan Peng , Mu Jiao , Wang Zijun , Ma Shuaijun , Da Xiuwei , Song Jian , Zhang Hongxin , Yang Le , Li Jibin , Yang Jingyue
Published: April 2021

Solute carrier family 25 member 20 (SLC25A20) is a mitochondrial-membrane–carrier protein involved in the transport of acylcarnitines into mitochondrial matrix for oxidation. A previous-integrated-proteogenomic study had identified SLC25A20 as one of the top-three prognostic biomarkers in HCC. However, the expression and the biological function of SLC25A20 have not yet been investigated in HCC. In the present study, we found that SLC25A20 expression is frequently down-regulated in HCC cells mainly due to the up-regulation of miR-132-3p. Down-regulation of SLC25A20 is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with HCC. SLC25A20 suppressed HCC growth and metastasis, both in vitro and in vivo, by suppression of G1–S cell transition, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and induction of cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, SLC25A20 down-regulation promoted HCC growth and metastasis through suppression of fatty-acid oxidation. Altogether, SLC25A20 plays a critical tumor-suppressive role in carcinogenesis of HCC; SLC25A20 may serve as a novel prognostic factor and therapeutic target for patients with HCC.
LncRNA-HOTAIR activates autophagy and promotes the imatinib resistance of gastrointestinal stromal tumor cells through a mechanism involving the miR-130a/ATG2B pathway
Authors: Zhang Jinyan , Chen Ke , Tang Yuexiao , Luan Xiaorui , Zheng Xiaoxiao , Lu Xuemei , Mao Jiayan , Hu Liqiang , Zhang Shufen , Zhang Xianning , Chen Wei
Published: April 2021

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are common neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract that can be treated successfully using C-kit target therapy and surgery; however, imatinib chemoresistance is a major barrier to success in therapy. The present study aimed to discover alternative pathways in imatinib-resistant GISTs. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are newly discovered regulators of chemoresistance. Previously, we showed that the lncRNA HOTAIR was upregulated in recurrent GISTs. In this study, we analyzed differentially expressed lncRNAs after imatinib treatment and found that HOTAIR displayed the largest increase. The distribution of HOTAIR in GISTs was shifted from nucleus to cytoplasm after imatinib treatments. The expression of HOTAIR was validated as related to drug sensitivity through Cell Counting Kit-8 assays. Moreover, HOTAIR was associated strongly with cell autophagy and regulated drug sensitivity via autophagy. Mechanistically, HOTAIR correlated negatively with miRNA-130a in GISTs. The downregulation of miRNA-130a reversed HOTAIR-small interfering RNA-induced suppression of autophagy and imatinib sensitivity. We identified autophagy-related protein 2 homolog B (ATG2B) as a downstream target of miR-130a and HOTAIR. ATG2B downregulation reversed the effect of pEX-3-HOTAIR/miR-130a inhibitor on imatinib sensitivity. Finally, HOTAIR was shown to influence the autophagy and imatinib sensitivity of GIST cells in mouse tumor models. Our results suggested that HOTAIR targets the ATG2B inhibitor miR-130a to upregulate the level of cell autophagy so that promotes the imatinib resistance in GISTs.
Allelic and phenotypic heterogeneity in Junctophillin-3 related neurodevelopmental and movement disorders
Authors: Bourinaris Thomas , Athanasiou Alkyoni , Efthymiou Stephanie , Wiethoff Sarah , Salpietro Vincenzo , Houlden Henry
Published: April 2021

Junctophilin-3 belongs to a triprotein junctional complex implicated in the regulation of neuronal excitability and involved in the formation of junctional membrane structures between voltage-gated ion channels and endoplasmic (ryanodine) reticular receptors. A monoallelic trinucleotide repeat expansion located within the junctophilin-3 gene (JPH3) has been implicated in a rare autosomal dominant (AD) late-onset (and progressive) disorder clinically resembling Huntington disease (HD), and known as HD-like 2 (HDL2; MIM# 606438). Although the exact molecular mechanisms underlying HDL2 has not yet been fully elucidated, toxic gain-of-function of the aberrant transcript (containing the trinucleotide repeat) and loss of expression of (full-length) junctophilin-3 have both been implicated in HDL2 pathophysiology. In this study, we identified by whole exome sequencing (WES) a JPH3 homozygous truncating variant [NM_020655.4: c.17405dup; p.(Val581Argfs*137)]. in a female individual affected with genetically undetermined neurodevelopmental anomalies (including delayed motor milestones, abnormal social communication, language difficulties and borderline cognitive impairment) and paroxysmal attacks of dystonia since her early infancy. Our study expands the JPH3-associated mutational spectrum and clinical phenotypes, implicating the loss of Junctophilin-3 in heterogeneous neurodevelopmental phenotypes and early-onset paroxysmal movement disorders.
The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
Authors: Kricheli-Katz Tamar , Regev Tali
Published: April 2021

Research suggests that gendered languages are associated with gender inequality. However, as languages are embedded in cultures, evidence for causal effects are harder to provide. We contribute to this ongoing debate by exploring the relationship between gendered languages and the gender gap in mathematics achievements. We provide evidence for causality by exploiting the prominent (but not exclusive) practice in gendered languages of using masculine generics to address women. In an experiment on a large representative sample of the Hebrew-speaking adult population in Israel, we show that addressing women in the feminine, compared to addressing them in the masculine, reduces the gender gap in mathematics achievements by a third. These effects are stronger among participants who acquired the Hebrew language early in childhood rather than later in life, suggesting that it is the extent of language proficiency that generates one’s sensitivity to being addressed in the masculine or in the feminine. Moreover, when women are addressed in the masculine, their efforts (in terms of time spent on the maths test) decrease and they report feeling that “science is for men” more than when addressed in the feminine. We supplement the analysis with two experiments that explore the roles of general and task-specific stereotypes in generating these effects.
A method to analyze the influence of mechanical strain on dermal collagen morphologies
Authors: Witte Maximilian , Rübhausen Michael , Jaspers Sören , Wenck Horst , Fischer Frank
Published: April 2021

Collagen fibers and their orientation play a major role in the mechanical behavior of soft biological tissue such as skin. Here, we present a proof-of-principle study correlating mechanical properties with collagen fiber network morphologies. A dedicated multiphoton stretching device allows for mechanical deformations in combination with a simultaneous analysis of its collagen fiber network by second harmonic generation imaging (SHG). The recently introduced Fiber Image Network Evaluation (FINE) algorithm is used to obtain detailed information about the morphology with regard to fiber families in collagen network images. To demonstrate the potential of our method, we investigate an isotropic and an anisotropic ex-vivo dorsal pig skin sample under quasi-static cyclic stretching and relaxation sequences. Families of collagen fibers are found to form a partially aligned collagen network under strain. We find that the relative force uptake is accomplished in two steps. Firstly, fibers align within their fiber families and, secondly, fiber families orient in the direction of force. The maximum alignment of the collagen fiber network is found to be determined by the largest strain. Isotropic and anisotropic samples reveal a different micro structural behavior under repeated deformation leading to a similar force uptake after two stretching cycles. Our method correlates mechanical properties with morphologies in collagen fiber networks.
Depressive symptoms, anxiety, and quality of life of Japanese women at initiation of ART treatment
Authors: Kato Tsuguhiko , Sampei Makiko , Saito Kazuki , Morisaki Naho , Urayama Kevin Y.
Published: April 2021

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment accounted for 6% of total births in 2017 and is increasing which places Japan among the top worldwide in number of treatments performed. Although ART treatment patients often experience heavy physical and psychological burden, few epidemiologic studies have been conducted in Japan. We examined mental health and health-related quality of life (QOL) among women at early stages of treatment. We recruited 513 women who have initiated ART treatment, either in-vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, from four medical facilities in the Tokyo area and through web-based approaches. At baseline, we collected socio-demographic information and assessed depressive symptoms, anxiety, and QOL. Descriptive analyses were performed overall and stratified by factors such as age. Mild depressive symptoms or worse, assessed with Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms, were observed among 54% of participants. Mean score for State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was 52 with a standard deviation of 11 for the state, and 39% were categorized as high anxiety. QOL results, assessed with SF-12, showed the same negative tendency for social functioning and role (emotional), while general health and physical functioning were consistent with the national average. Young participants appeared to suffer mentally more than older participants (p < 0.01 for depressive symptoms). Our findings suggest that patients may be at high risk of depressive symptoms, high anxiety, and low QOL even from the early stages of ART treatment.
Publisher Correction: Concentration-dependent oscillation of specific loss power in magnetic nanofluid hyperthermia
Authors: Kim Ji-wook , Wang Jie , Kim Hyungsub , Bae Seongtae
Published: April 2021

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Hybrid neural network based on novel audio feature for vehicle type identification
Authors: Chen Haoze , Zhang Zhijie
Published: April 2021

Due to the audio information of different types of vehicle models are distinct, the vehicle information can be identified by the audio signal of vehicle accurately. In real life, in order to determine the type of vehicle, we do not need to obtain the visual information of vehicles and just need to obtain the audio information. In this paper, we extract and stitching different features from different aspects: Mel frequency cepstrum coefficients in perceptual characteristics, pitch class profile in psychoacoustic characteristics and short-term energy in acoustic characteristics. In addition, we improve the neural networks classifier by fusing the LSTM unit into the convolutional neural networks. At last, we put the novel feature to the hybrid neural networks to recognize different vehicles. The results suggest the novel feature we proposed in this paper can increase the recognition rate by 7%; destroying the training data randomly by superimposing different kinds of noise can improve the anti-noise ability in our identification system; and LSTM has great advantages in modeling time series, adding LSTM to the networks can improve the recognition rate of 3.39%.
Sweet taste of heavy water
Authors: Ben Abu Natalie , Mason Philip E. , Klein Hadar , Dubovski Nitzan , Ben Shoshan-Galeczki Yaron , Malach Einav , Pražienková Veronika , Maletínská Lenka , Tempra Carmelo , Chamorro Victor Cruces , Cvačka Josef , Behrens Maik , Niv Masha Y. , Jungwirth Pavel
Published: April 2021

Hydrogen to deuterium isotopic substitution has only a minor effect on physical and chemical properties of water and, as such, is not supposed to influence its neutral taste. Here we conclusively demonstrate that humans are, nevertheless, able to distinguish D2O from H2O by taste. Indeed, highly purified heavy water has a distinctly sweeter taste than same-purity normal water and can add to perceived sweetness of sweeteners. In contrast, mice do not prefer D2O over H2O, indicating that they are not likely to perceive heavy water as sweet. HEK 293T cells transfected with the TAS1R2/TAS1R3 heterodimer and chimeric G-proteins are activated by D2O but not by H2O. Lactisole, which is a known sweetness inhibitor acting via the TAS1R3 monomer of the TAS1R2/TAS1R3, suppresses the sweetness of D2O in human sensory tests, as well as the calcium release elicited by D2O in sweet taste receptor-expressing cells. The present multifaceted experimental study, complemented by homology modelling and molecular dynamics simulations, resolves a long-standing controversy about the taste of heavy water, shows that its sweet taste is mediated by the human TAS1R2/TAS1R3 taste receptor, and opens way to future studies of the detailed mechanism of action.
Assigning People to Empirically Uncovered Mind-sets: A New Horizon to Understand the Minds and Behaviors of People
Authors: Gere Attila , Moskowitz Howard
Published: April 2021

The present chapter introduces newly developed and now available techniques to assign ‘new individuals’ to mind-sets emerging from previous studies using the emerging science of Mind Genomics. The approach can be likened to the discovery of basic colors (the ‘science’) followed by the creation of ad hoc ‘colorimeters’, empowering the researcher to expand the original discovery, perhaps made with dozens or hundreds of respondents, to categorize new people, in the thousands, millions, or more. The chapter illustrates the ‘thinking’ and application’ using a case history with data, conducted in a short, convenient, affordable period of 12 hours with respondents in the USA, yet with the possible expansion of the results world-wide. The study, easily done anywhere in the world with an affordable sample, generates mind-set membership for each respondent. The chapter focuses on the approach to create the assignment rule, with the focus being ease, speed, simplicity, affordability, and scalability. Although, most of the algorithms evaluated in the development of the method provided satisfactory accuracies, the algorithm incorporating partial least squares discriminant analysis proved to be the most accurate. The detailed evaluation of the model revealed the most important elements emerging from the Mind Genomics study, responsible for differentiating among the mind-sets. The proposed method, embodied in a new technology [personal viewpoint identifier (PVI)], expands the reach of Mind Genomics, to produce not only data about mind-sets for the topics of everyday life, but also the ability to expand the reach of the data, creating predictive models. As noted at the beginning, Mind Genomics now expands from the limited laboratory world, comprising perhaps hundreds of people, to the entire world comprising billions of people.
Blind source separation of molecular components of the human skinin vivo: non-negative matrix factorization of Raman microspectroscopy data
Authors: Yakimov B. P. , Venets A. V. , Schleusener J. , Fadeev V. V. , Lademann J. , Shirshin E. A. , Darvin M. E.
Published: April 2021

The unsupervised non-negative matrix factorization disentangles the molecular components in the human skinin vivofrom the Raman microspectroscopy data.
Rapid relaxation NMR measurements to predict rate coefficients in ionic liquid mixtures. An examination of reaction outcome changes in a homologous series of ionic liquids
Authors: Morris Daniel C. , Prescott Stuart W. , Harper Jason B.
Published: April 2021

Rate coefficient and spin–spin relaxation time measurements are used to understand and predict solvent effects in ionic liquids.
Insights into protonation for cyclohexanol/water mixtures at the zeolitic Brønsted acid site
Authors: Liu Peng , Yan Zhenxin , Mei Donghai
Published: April 2021

Free energy landscapes of protonation for cyclohexanol/water mixtures at the zeolitic Brønsted acid site.
Electrodeposition of neodymium and dysprosium from organic electrolytes
Authors: Geysens Pieter , Lin Pin-Cheng , Fransaer Jan , Binnemans Koen
Published: April 2021

Nd3+ or Dy3+ salts and borohydride form redox-active [Ln(BH4)4]− complexes that enable room-temperature electrodeposition of neodymium- or dysprosium-containing layers from organic electrolytes.
Insights into electrocatalysis by scanning tunnelling microscopy
Authors: Wang Xiang , Wang Yu-Qi , Feng Ya-Chen , Wang Dong , Wan Li-Jun
Published: April 2021

This review summarizes the applications of scanning tunnelling microscopy in electrocatalysis, including the investigation of the electrocatalyst structures and the surface processes related to electrocatalytic reactions.
Designed pincer ligand supported Co(ii)-based catalysts for dehydrogenative activation of alcohols: Studies on N-alkylation of amines, α-alkylation of ketones and synthesis of quinolines
Authors: Singh Anshu , Maji Ankur , Joshi Mayank , Choudhury Angshuman R. , Ghosh Kaushik
Published: April 2021

Base-metal Co-based catalysts Co1, Co2 and Co3 supported by pincer ligands were utilized for dehydrogenative activation of alcohols giving rise to N-alkylation of amines, α-alkylation of ketones and synthesis of quinolines.
Structural and molecular-weight-dependency in the formation of lignin nanoparticles from fractionated soft- and hardwood lignins
Authors: Pylypchuk Ievgen V. , Riazanova Anastasia , Lindström Mikael E. , Sevastyanova Olena
Published: April 2021

The diagram showing how the size, shape, and dispersity of the LNPs is depending on the structural properties of initial lignin and how they can be tailored by changing lignin concentration and by applying lignins with different molecular weights.
A highly sensitive immunofluorescence sensor based on bicolor upconversion and magnetic separation for simultaneous detection of fumonisin B1 and zearalenone
Authors: Li Jingzhi , Zhao Xudong , Wang Yu , Li Shuang , Qin Yingkai , Han Tie , Gao Zhixian , Liu Hui
Published: April 2021

Fumonisin B1 and zearalenone exert adverse effects in humans and animals. A sensitive and rapid fluorescence-based magnetic separation immunoassay method was developed for the simultaneous detection of FB1 and ZEN in foodstuffs.
Enhanced photothermal signal detection by graphene oxide integrated long period fiber grating for on-site quantification of sodium copper chlorophyllin
Authors: Li Wenjie , Miao Yinping , Fei Chengwei , Zhang Hongmin , Li Bin , Zhang Kailiang
Published: April 2021

This study proposes an enhanced photothermal signal detection method based on graphene oxide (GO) integrated long period fiber grating (LPFG) for on-site quantification of sodium copper chlorophyllin (SCC), a food colorant related to some diseases.