bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mental Health, Psychological Distress, and Coping in Australian Cross‐Cultural Prison Populations
Authors: Rose Arran , Trounson Justin S. , Louise Stephanie , Shepherd Stephane , Ogloff James R. P.
Published: April 2020

The rates of mental illness are significantly higher in prison populations compared to the general community; however, little research has examined the rates of mental illness for cross‐cultural groups of prisoners in Australia. This omission is concerning given the increasingly diverse nature of the Australian prison population. To address this gap in knowledge, the present study aimed to identify rates of key mental health factors and associated psychological processes in a cohort of 191 men from culturally and linguistically diverse, Indigenous Australian and English‐speaking backgrounds who were incarcerated at a maximum‐security prison in Victoria, Australia. We also explored differences in both psychological distress levels and predictors of psychological distress. Although no significant mental health differences were identified cross‐culturally, the results revealed that several mental health factors predicted psychological distress for all prisoners, F(11, 147) = 33.23, p < .001, R2 = .71. The experiences of anxiety and sleep disturbance–related symptoms, β = .34; depressive symptoms, β = .19; posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, β = .25; and the use of psychological processes, such as avoidance coping, β = .16; and engagement in cognitive fusion, β = .15, all predicted psychological distress. The use of positive thinking as a coping strategy was found to predict a reduced level of psychological distress for prisoners, β = −.13. The findings indicated that the mental health profiles of cross‐cultural groups of prisoners are similar in nature, suggesting that justice involvement may be a more useful predictor than cultural differences concerning psychological health.
Identification of Site Types for Ethylene/1‐Olefin Copolymerization in Two‐Reactor System Using Simultaneous Deconvolution of Molecular Weight and Chemical Composition Distribution
Authors: Chayrattanaroj Tamaned , Anantawaraskul Siripon
Published: April 2020

Ethylene/1‐olefin copolymers have been commercially produced with multiple‐site‐type Ziegler–Natta catalysts in a two‐reactor system, which allows the production of polymers with a broad range of microstructures and properties. In this work, the simultaneous deconvolution procedure for two‐reactor system is developed to help identify an appropriate number of site types for catalysts in each reactor, estimate chain microstructures, and mass fraction of polymers produced on each site type, and also estimate mass fraction of polymers produced from each reactor. This simultaneous deconvolution procedure will allow us to understand the behavior of each site type in each reactor, which will lead to a better control of polymer chain microstructures for such a complex system.
PCAT6 mediates cellular biological functions in gastrointestinal stromal tumor via upregulation of PRDX5 and activation of Wnt pathway
Authors: Bai Fangyun , Zhang Na , Fang Wei , He Xiangyi , Zheng Yan , Gu Donghua
Published: April 2020

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a common mesenchymal tumor in the gastrointestinal tract. Prostate cancer associated transcript 6 (PCAT6) is a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and plays a pivotal role in tumor formation. Present study was designed to explore the function of PCAT6 in GIST. Ki67 staining, colony formation and trypan blue staining assays revealed that PCAT6 boosted GIST cell proliferation but inhibited cell apoptosis. Also, sphere formation assay and Western blot uncovered the promoting role of PCAT6 in GIST stemness. Then, we identified that PCAT6 could activate Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. And the tumor facilitator role of Wnt/β‐catenin pathway was validated in the rescue assays. Next, miR‐143‐3p was identified as the downstream microRNA of PCAT6. Moreover, miR‐143‐3p itself served as a tumor suppressor in GIST. Subsequently, peroxiredoxin 5 (PRDX5) was verified as the target of miR‐143‐3p. PCAT6 promoted GIST cell proliferation and stemness via sponging miR‐143‐3p to upregulate PRDX5. In a word, PCAT6 promoted GIST cell proliferation and stemness but inhibited cell apoptosis via competing endogenous RNA pattern and activation of Wnt pathway, which might contribute to GIST treatment.
Alternative splicing related genetic variants contribute to bladder cancer risk
Authors: Guo Zheng , Zhu Huanhuan , Xu Weidong , Wang Xi , Liu Hanting , Wu Yanling , Wang Meilin , Chu Haiyan , Zhang Zhengdong
Published: April 2020

Emerging evidence has shown that aberrant alternative splicing (AS) events are involved in the carcinogenesis. The association between genetic variants in AS and bladder cancer susceptibility remains to be fully elucidated. We searched for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which are located in splicing quantitative trait loci (sQTLs) in bladder cancer through CancerSplicingQTL database and the 1000 Genomes Project. A case‐control study including 580 cases and 1,101 controls was conducted to assess the association between the functional genetic variants and bladder cancer risk. Next, we used GTEx, TCGA, and GEO databases conducting sQTL analysis and gene expression differences analysis to evaluate the potential biological function of the candidate SNPs and related genes. We found that SNP rs4383 C>G was remarkably related with the reduced risk of bladder cancer (odds ratio = 0.68, 95% confidence interval = 0.59‐0.79, P = 3.91 × 10−7). Similar results were obtained in codominant, dominant and recessive model. Stratified analyses revealed that the effect of SNP rs4383 C>G on bladder cancer was more significant in the older subjects (age > 65), female and nonsmokers. sQTL analysis showed that SNP rs4383 was associated with the AS events of its downstream gene MAFF with a splicing event of alternative 5′ splice site. The messenger RNA expression of MAFF in bladder tumor tissues was lowered compared with normal tissues. Patients with high expression of MAFF had higher survival rates. These findings indicated that SNP rs4383 related with the AS events of MAFF was associated with bladder cancer risk and could represent a possible biomarker for bladder cancer susceptibility.
The phenotype‐driven computational analysis yields clinical diagnosis for patients with atypical manifestations of known intellectual disability syndromes
Authors: Jezela‐Stanek Aleksandra , Ciara Elżbieta , Jurkiewicz Dorota , Kucharczyk Marzena , Jędrzejowska Maria , Chrzanowska Krystyna H. , Krajewska‐Walasek Małgorzata , Żemojtel Tomasz
Published: April 2020

Background

Due to extensive clinical and genetic heterogeneity of intellectual disability (ID) syndromes, the process of diagnosis is very challenging even for expert clinicians. Despite recent advancements in molecular diagnostics methodologies, a significant fraction of ID patients remains without a clinical diagnosis.

Methods, results, and conclusions

Here, in a prospective study on a cohort of 21 families (trios) with a child presenting with ID of unknown etiology, we executed phenotype‐driven bioinformatic analysis method, PhenIX, utilizing targeted next‐generation sequencing (NGS) data and Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)‐encoded phenotype data. This approach resulted in clinical diagnosis for eight individuals presenting with atypical manifestations of Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome 2 (MIM 613684), Spastic Paraplegia 50 (MIM 612936), Wiedemann–Steiner syndrome (MIM 605130), Cornelia de Lange syndrome 2 (MIM 300590), Cerebral creatine deficiency syndrome 1 (MIM 300352), Glass Syndrome (MIM 612313), Mental retardation, autosomal dominant 31 (MIM 616158), and Bosch–Boonstra–Schaaf optic atrophy syndrome (MIM 615722).
Urodynamic and clinical studies in patients with late‐onset Pompe disease and lower urinary tract symptoms
Authors: Kuchenbecker Katharina S. , Kirschner‐Hermanns Ruth , Kornblum Cornelia , Jaekel Anke , Anding Ralf , Kohler Annette
Published: April 2020

Aims

In late‐onset Pompe disease (LOPD), a lysosomal storage disorder with glycogen accumulation in several tissues, patients suffer from progressive skeletal muscle weakness. Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) have rarely been reported. The aim of this study is to objectively assess LUTS in patients with LOPD for the first time using urodynamic studies and to determine differences between LOPD patients with and without LUTS.

Methods

Eighteen patients with LOPD were recruited, of whom seven patients (38.9%) reported LUTS (both voiding and storage symptoms). Six of these patients underwent urodynamic studies. Medical histories and motor function tests were compared between the 7 patients with LUTS and the 11 patients without LUTS. The Student t test was used to determine an association between the two cohorts.

Results

In the seven LOPD patients with LUTS urodynamics revealed neurogenic dysfunction, underactive detrusor, and bladder outlet obstruction. These patients had suffered from clinical symptoms for a longer period of time before starting enzyme replacement therapy (P = .017) than patients without LUTS. They also scored more poorly on muscle function tests. Urodynamic results point to neurogenic causes for LUTS in LOPD, that is, neurogenic reflex bladder or impaired filling sensation. This could be due to glycogen accumulation in the urothelium and central nervous system. Patients with LUTS also seem to be more severely affected by LOPD than patients without LUTS.

Conclusion

LUTS in LOPD requires early and specific treatment to limit the development of severe health problems. Urodynamic studies should be considered in assessing LUTS.
Overactive bladder and urgency urinary incontinence in men undergoing artificial urinary sphincter placement
Authors: Jahromi Mona S. , Engle Kyrra , Furlong Daniel , Guevara Méndez Alejandra , Gomez Christopher S.
Published: April 2020

Purpose

To assess persistent and de novo rates of overactive bladder (OAB) and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) in patients with incontinence after prostate treatment (IPT) focusing on differences between surgical intervention vs radiation.

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of 79 patients who underwent primary artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) placement and activation from a single surgeon between February 2012 and November 2017. Four patients with neurogenic bladder were excluded and two with insufficient follow‐up. The primary outcome measures were persistent OAB, persistent UUI, and pad usage before and after AUS placement.

Results

After activation of the AUS, 67% of non‐radiated patients had resolution of urgency incontinence vs only 31% of the radiated patients (P = .096). After activation of the AUS, resolution of OAB symptoms was more common in the non‐radiated group. We found 53% of the non‐radiated group vs only 22% of the radiated group had resolution of their urinary urgency (P = .045). Previous history of radiation was a risk factor for OAB after implantation of AUS (odds ratio [OR], 3.63; P = .010). Postoperative oral medical pharmacotherapy for OAB was higher in those with previous radiation vs those without prior radiation (66.7% vs 25.7%, P = .001). A history of OAB or UUI did not affect social continence after AUS placement.

Conclusion

Radiation is a risk for continued OAB after AUS activation. Appropriate counseling is necessary pre‐ and postoperatively to manage patient expectations and provide additional medical therapies. Mixed urinary incontinence or OAB symptoms should not exclude patients from undergoing AUS placement.
Costs, equity and acceptability of three policies to prevent obesity: A narrative review to support policy development
Authors: Lobstein Tim , Neveux Margot , Landon Jane
Published: April 2020

Obesity prevention policies are a priority for many governments and intergovernmental agencies. Policy makers not only use systematic reviews of effectiveness but also consider contextual issues including cost and cost‐effectiveness, equity, rights, acceptability and feasibility. To support their work, the present narrative review examines three contextual issues (costs, equity and acceptability) in relation to three policies for obesity prevention: sweetened beverage taxes, front‐of‐pack nutrition labelling and restrictions on advertising to children. Literature searches led to over 1100 documents, of which 125 informed the present review. Beverage taxes were found likely to be highly cost‐effective, moderately favourable for health equity, supported by the public (depending on the use of revenues) and by health professionals and civil society groups and opposed by commercial interests. Depending on the design, front‐of‐pack nutritional labelling is likely to be highly cost‐effective, moderately favourable for health equity, supported by the public, health professionals and civil society groups, and opposed by commercial interests. Restrictions on child‐directed advertising are likely to be highly cost‐effective in the longer term, moderately favourable for health equity, supported by the public, health professionals and civil society groups and opposed by commercial interests (unless voluntary). The evidence base needs strengthening, but the authors find that all three policies merit consideration by governmental authorities, and should be implemented to reduce obesity risk.
Integration of TRIZ, morphological chart and ANP method for development of FRP composite portable fire extinguisher
Authors: Asyraf M. R. M. , Rafidah M. , Ishak M. R. , Sapuan S. M. , Yidris N. , Ilyas R. A. , Razman M. R.
Published: April 2020

This manuscript explains the conceptual design of carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites portable fire extinguisher. In this project, the integration of theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), morphological chart and analytic network process (ANP) methods was applied to produce the concept designs. The current design of fire extinguisher possesses great difficulties to many users due to its weight and design. In this study, a new design was developed to replace the existing heavy and bulky fire extinguisher design. A preliminary steps were used in the design planning to construct a proper direction to create a new design product. Afterwards, the detailing of the engineering parameters was refined using the TRIZ contradiction matrix to provide inventive solutions for the product. The finalised inventive solution from TRIZ is later incorporated with the morphological chart along with ANP technique to systematically develop the final conceptual design of portable fire extinguisher. The results showed that Concept Design 1 scored the highest value and ranked first among the four designs proposed. Finally, challenges of the portable fire extinguisher design and the improving criteria in concurrent engineering were presented.
Theoretical investigation ofparaamino‐dichloro chalcone isomers, part I: A DFT structure—stability study
Authors: Hussein Haval A. , Fadhil Ghazwan F.
Published: April 2020

Chalcones are versatile compounds with various biological activities and nonlinear optical applications. This study investigated thetransandcisisomers of 3‐(x,y‐dichlorophenyl)‐1‐(4′‐NH2‐phenyl)‐2‐propen‐1‐one, where (x) and (y) represent the positions of the two chlorine atoms [(2,3), (2,4), (2,5), (2,6), (3,4) and (3,5)] and their cyclic chromene isomers. The B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) method was used, with a 6‐311G (d,p) basis set. Calculations revealed thattranschalcones prefers‐cisconformations. Thesynconformation, in which chlorine atoms at carbon (2) or (3) is parallel to the carbonyl group, was more stable than theanti‐synintranschalcones. However, incischalcones, the opposite result was obtained. In contrast, (3,4) chalcones behaved in the opposite manner, for bothtransandcisisomers. This order of conformation stability did not change when dispersion correction (DC) was incorporated in the calculations. Geometry optimisation with DC revealed that thetrans(3,5) chalcone is the most stable, and thecis(2,3) chalcone is the least stable isomer in both chalcone series. However, (2,6) chromene was the most stable in chromene series isomers and the (3,4) chromene as the least stable. Calculated heat of hydrogenations forcisandtransisomers revealed thattransandcis(3,4) chalcones are the most stable in each series. However,transandcis(2,6) chalcones are the least stable in each series. The stability of the three isomers, with and without DC, was determined as the following order:trans>cis> chromene.
High‐throughput measurement of peanut canopy height using digital surface models
Authors: Sarkar Sayantan , Cazenave Alexandre‐Brice , Oakes Joseph , McCall David , Thomason Wade , Abbot Lynn , Balota Maria
Published: April 2020

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important food and oilseed crop in the United States and worldwide with high net returns. However, input costs are high (US$1,970–$2,220 ha−1), and yield in excess of 4,500 kg ha−1 is needed to offset the costs. Since yield is limited by biotic and abiotic stresses, newer cultivars with tolerance to these stresses are needed to optimize yield. Plant height and canopy architecture may affect crop water use and plant disease resistance. However, measuring canopy height is a time‐consuming process. Surface elevation models from red–green–blue (RGB) aerial images have been successfully developed to estimate genetic differences of plant height for tall crops like corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench]; but they have not been tested for short crops like peanut with a runner growth habit and much smaller height differences among genotypes. The objective of this study was to derive canopy height of peanut from digital surface models (DSM). Images were aerially taken using a digital camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Images were orthomosaiced to create the DSM and the digital terrain model (DTM) of the plot. Canopy height was derived by subtracting the DTM from the DSM in ArcGIS software. Results showed that the RGB derived canopy height was highly correlated to the manually measured height (R2 = .953). We propose the methods used here as fast and relatively easy selection tools for breeders and crop growth evaluators of peanut plant height.
Hot trends and impact in permafrost science
Authors: Sjöberg Ylva , Siewert Matthias B. , Rudy Ashley C.A. , Paquette Michel , Bouchard Frédéric , Malenfant‐Lepage Julie , Fritz Michael
Published: April 2020

An increased interest in Arctic environments, mainly due to climate change, has changed the conditions for permafrost research in recent years. This change has been accompanied by a global increase in scientific publications, as well as a trend towards open access publications. We have analyzed abstracts, titles and keywords for publications on permafrost from 1998 to 2017 to identify developments (topics, impact and collaboration) in the field of permafrost research in light of these changes. Furthermore, to understand how scientists build on and are inspired by each other's work, we have (a) developed citation networks from scientific publications on permafrost and (b) conducted an online survey on inspiration in permafrost science. Our results show an almost 400% increase in publications containing the word permafrost in the title, keywords or abstract over the study period, and a strong increase in climate‐change‐related research in terms of publications and citations. Survey respondents (n = 122) find inspiration not only in scientific journal publications, but to a large extent in books and public outreach materials. We argue that this increase in global‐scope issues (i.e., climate change) complementing core permafrost research has provided new incentives for international collaborations and wider communication efforts.
Quantum Computation Toolbox for Decoherence‐Free Qubits Using Multi‐Band Alkali Atoms
Authors: Mamaev Mikhail , Thywissen Joseph H. , Rey Ana Maria
Published: April 2020

Protocols for designing and manipulating qubits with ultracold alkali atoms in 3D optical lattices are introduced. These qubits are formed from two‐atom spin superposition states that create a decoherence‐free subspace immune to stray magnetic fields, dramatically improving coherence times while still enjoying the single‐site addressability and Feshbach resonance control of state‐of‐the‐art alkali atom systems. The protocol requires no continuous driving or spin‐dependent potentials, and instead relies upon the population of a higher motional band to realize naturally tunable in‐site exchange and cross‐site superexchange interactions. As a proof‐of‐principle example of their utility for entanglement generation for quantum computation, it is shown that the cross‐site superexchange interactions can be used to engineer 1D cluster states. Explicit protocols for experimental preparation and manipulation of the qubits are also discussed, as well as methods for measuring more complex quantities such as out‐of‐time‐ordered correlation functions (OTOCs).
Seamless phase 2/3 oncology trial design with flexible sample size determination
Authors: Teng Zhaoyang , Tian Yuan , Liu Yi , Liu Guohui
Published: April 2020

Conventional seamless phase 2/3 design with fixed sample size determination (SSD) has gained its popularity in oncology drug development due to attractive features such as significantly shortening the development timeline, minimizing sample size, as well as early decision making. However, this design is not immune to inaccurate treatment effect assumption when only limited efficacy data are available at study design stage. We propose an innovative seamless phase 2/3 study design with flexible SSD for oncology trials, in which the trial is designed under a distribution of treatment effect instead of one single assumption due to huge uncertainty of treatment effect at design stage and the sample size for end of phase 3 analysis is not predetermined at design stage, but rather dynamically determined based on observed treatment effect at phase 2 portion. Some practical sample size determination rules for end of phase 3 analysis will be discussed. The proposed design can lead to reduced sample size or/and improved power compared with conventional seamless phase 2/3 design with fixed SSD. This innovative study design can be especially useful for programs with aggressive development strategy to expedite the process in delivering efficacious treatment to patients.
A covariate‐specific time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic curve for correlated survival data
Authors: Meddis Alessandra , Blanche Paul , Bidard François C , Latouche Aurélien
Published: April 2020

Several studies for the clinical validity of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in metastatic breast cancer were conducted showing that it is a prognostic biomarker of overall survival. In this work, we consider an individual patient data meta‐analysis for nonmetastatic breast cancer to assess the discrimination of CTCs regarding the risk of death. Data are collected in several centers and present correlated failure times for subjects of the same center. However, although the covariate‐specific time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve has been widely used for assessing the performance of a biomarker, there is no methodology yet that can handle this specific setting with clustered censored failure times. We propose an estimator for the covariate‐specific time‐dependent ROC curves and area under the ROC curve when clustered failure times are detected. We discuss the assumptions under which the estimators are consistent and their interpretations. We assume a shared frailty model for modeling the effect of the covariates and the biomarker on the outcome in order to account for the cluster effect. A simulation study was conducted and it shows negligible bias for the proposed estimator and a nonparametric one based on inverse probability censoring weighting, while a semiparametric estimator, ignoring the clustering, is markedly biased. Finally, in our application to breast cancer data, the estimation of the covariate‐specific area under the curves illustrates that the CTCs discriminate better patients with inflammatory tumor than patients with noninflammatory tumor, with respect to their risk of death.
Multinuclear MAS NMR Characterization of Fly‐Ash‐Based Advanced Sodium Aluminosilicate Geopolymer: Exploring Solid‐State Reactions
Authors: Gupta Rainy , Tomar Akshay Singh , Mishra Deepti , Sanghi Sunil Kumar
Published: April 2020

Advanced geopolymerization includes concept of just addition of water to ready mixture of dry precursor powder. For exploring the coordination environments of binary glass systems, this work presents multinuclear MAS NMR analysis of advanced geopolymer produced by solid state mechanochemical co‐grinding of raw materials. The crystalline and amorphous phases of advanced geopolymer were already characterized with XRD in our previous study. This study focus on multinuclear (29Si, 27Al and 23Na) MAS NMR analysis for exploring the coordination environments of Si/Al/Na nuclei in advanced geopolymer. 29Si, 27Al and 23Na MAS NMR spectra of fly ash, advanced geopolymeric precursor material and advanced geopolymer are qualitatively estimated which enables an understanding of insertion of Al in silicate network ensuing solid state reactions during mechanochemical co‐grinding process. By combining the NMR interpretations, it can be suitably said that mechanochemical co‐grinding is a feasible way to induce local defects in amorphous Si/Al content which lead to variation in bond angles and variations in Si/Al constellations. Results may be very useful to understand framework connectivity, chemistry and behavior of advanced geopolymers produced by solid state route and the developed advanced geopolymer finds its potential application as “ready to use” cementitious material for large scale commercialization.
Vocabulary and time based bug‐assignment: A recommender system for open‐source projects
Authors: Sajedi‐Badashian Ali , Stroulia Eleni
Published: April 2020

Bug‐assignment (BA), the task of ranking developers in terms of the relevance of their expertise to fix a new bug report is time consuming, which is why substantial attention has been paid to developing methods for automating it. In this article, we describe a new BA approach that relies on two key intuitions. Similar to traditional BA methods, our method constructs the expertise profile of project developers, based on the textual elements of the bugs they have fixed in the past; unlike traditional methods, however, our method considers only the programming keywords in these bug descriptions, relying on Stack Overflow as the vocabulary for these keywords. The second key intuition of our method is that recent expertise is more relevant than past expertise, which is why our method weighs the relevance of a developer's expertise based on how recently they have fixed a bug with keywords similar to the bug at hand. We evaluated our BA method using a dataset of 93k bug‐report assignments from 13 popular GitHub projects. In spite of its simplicity, our method predicts the assignee with high accuracy, outperforming state‐of‐the‐art methods.
Computed tomographic appearance of circumcaval and circumuterine ureter in a cat
Authors: Jirasakul Jitrapun , Thammasiri Ninlawan , Darawiroj Damri , Choisunirachon Nan , Thanaboonnipat Chutimon
Published: April 2020

Background

Circumcaval ureter is a rare congenital anomaly resulting from the persistence of embryonic venous system. This anomaly is characterized by running of affected ureter around caudal vena cava (CVC).

Case presentation

In this report, circumcaval ureter was found in a 2‐year‐old female cat attending as normal sample group in another research. This cat passed all health checkup protocols before computed tomography (CT) was performed.

Conclusion

The contrast‐enhanced computed tomographic (cCT) images clearly revealed the dislocation of the right ureter that course around CVC and uterine body. This is the first report of feline circumcaval concurrent with circumuterine ureter detected by cCT.
Temporal association rule mining: An overview considering the time variable as an integral or implied component
Authors: Segura‐Delgado Alberto , Gacto María José , Alcalá Rafael , Alcalá‐Fdez Jesús
Published: April 2020

Association rules are commonly used to provide decision‐makers with knowledge that helps them to make good decisions. Most of the published proposals mine association rules without paying particular attention to temporal information. However, in real‐life applications data usually change over time or presenting different temporal situations. Therefore, the extracted knowledge may not be useful, since we may not know whether the rules are currently applicable or whether they will be applicable in the future. For this reason, in recent years, many methods have been proposed in the literature for mining temporal association rules, which introduce a greater predictive and descriptive power providing an additional degree of interestingness. One of the main problems in this research field is the lack of visibility most works suffer since there is no standard terminology to refer to it, making it difficult to find and compare proposals and studies in the field. This contribution attempts to offer a well‐defined framework that allows researchers both to easily locate the previous proposals and to propose well‐grounded methods in the future. To accomplish both objectives, a two‐level taxonomy is proposed according to whether the time variable is considered to provide order to the data collection and to locate some temporal constraints, or whether it is considered as an attribute within the learning process. Some recent applications, available software tools, and a bibliographical analysis in accordance with the Web of Science are also shown. Finally, some critical considerations and potential further directions are discussed.

This article is categorized under:

Technologies > Association Rules

Algorithmic Development > Association Rules
Lupus erythematodes – ein klinisch-pathologisch heterogenes Krankheitsbild
Authors: Obermoser Gerlinde , Zelger Bettina , Zelger Bernhard
Published: April 2020

Der Lupus erythematodes (LE) ist eine Autoimmunerkrankung, bei der die Immuntoleranz gegenüber Nukleinsäuren verloren geht und es unter anderem durch ein enthemmtes Typ-I-Interferon-System zu einer chronischen Immunaktivierung kommt. Geradezu typisch für den LE ist seine große Heterogenität von klinischen Symptomen und Verläufen zwischen Patienten. Die LE-Manifestationen auf der Haut können mit Beteiligung innerer Organe verbunden sein oder auch isoliert auftreten und nicht selten einem systemischen Lupus erythematodes vorausgehen. Eine sorgfältige Untersuchung und Beobachtung des klinischen Verlaufs ist daher wichtig. Die Erscheinungsformen des LE auf der Haut umfassen ein weites Spektrum. Dies macht es schwierig, die verschiedenen Hauterscheinungen zu klassifizieren, um z. B. Ansprechen auf neue Therapieformen zu messen. In diesem Übersichtsartikel werden die wichtigsten Hautmanifestationen des LE mit klinischer Präsentation und Histopathologie behandelt.
Diagnostic accuracy of CT pulmonary angiography in suspected pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Swift Andrew J. , Dwivedi Krit , Johns Chris , Garg Pankaj , Chin Matthew , Currie Ben J , Rothman Alex MK , Capener Dave , Shahin Yousef , Elliot Charlie A , Charalampopolous Thanos , Sabroe Ian , Rajaram Smitha , Hill Catherine , Wild Jim M. , Condliffe Robin , Kiely David G.
Published: April 2020

Objectives

Computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography is widely used in patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the diagnostic and prognostic significance remains unclear. The aim of this study was to (a) build a diagnostic CT model and (b) test its prognostic significance.

Methods

Consecutive patients with suspected PH undergoing routine CT pulmonary angiography and right heart catheterisation (RHC) were identified. Axial and reconstructed images were used to derive CT metrics. Multivariate regression analysis was performed in the derivation cohort to identify a diagnostic CT model to predict mPAP ≥ 25 mmHg (the existing ESC guideline definition of PH) and > 20 mmHg (the new threshold proposed at the 6th World Symposium on PH). In the validation cohort, sensitivity, specificity and compromise CT thresholds were identified with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The prognostic value of the CT model was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results

Between 2012 and 2016, 491 patients were identified. In the derivation cohort (n = 247), a CT model was identified including pulmonary artery diameter, right ventricular outflow tract thickness, septal angle and left ventricular area. In the validation cohort (n = 244), the model was diagnostic, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.94/0.91 for mPAP ≥ 25/> 20 mmHg respectively. In the validation cohort, 93 patients died; mean follow-up was 42 months. The diagnostic thresholds for the CT model were prognostic, log rank, all p < 0.01.

Discussion

In suspected PH, a diagnostic CT model had diagnostic and prognostic utility.

Key Points

• Diagnostic CT models have high diagnostic accuracy in a tertiary referral population of with suspected PH.

• Diagnostic CT models stratify patients by mortality in suspected PH.
Electrochemical method for isolation of chitinous 3D scaffolds from cultivated Aplysina aerophoba marine demosponge and its biomimetic application
Authors: Nowacki Krzysztof , Stępniak Izabela , Machałowski Tomasz , Wysokowski Marcin , Petrenko Iaroslav , Schimpf Christoph , Rafaja David , Langer Enrico , Richter Andreas , Ziętek Jerzy , Pantović Snežana , Voronkina Alona , Kovalchuk Valentine , Ivanenko Viatcheslav , Khrunyk Yuliya , Galli Roberta , Joseph Yvonne , Gelinsky Michael , Jesionowski Teofil , Ehrlich Hermann
Published: April 2020

Three-dimensional (3D) biopolymer-based scaffolds including chitinous matrices have been widely used for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and other modern interdisciplinary fields including extreme biomimetics. In this study, we introduce a novel, electrochemically assisted method for 3D chitin scaffolds isolation from the cultivated marine demospongeAplysina aerophobawhich consists of three main steps: (1) decellularization, (2) decalcification and (3) main deproteinization along with desilicification and depigmentation. For the first time, the obtained electrochemically isolated 3D chitinous scaffolds have been further biomineralized ex vivo using hemolymph ofCornu aspersumedible snail aimed to generate calcium carbonates-based layered biomimetic scaffolds. The analysis of prior to, during and post-electrochemical isolation samples as well as samples treated with molluscan hemolymph was conducted employing analytical techniques such as SEM, XRD, ATR–FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Finally, the use of described method for chitin isolation combined with biomineralization ex vivo resulted in the formation of crystalline (calcite) calcium carbonate-based deposits on the surface of chitinous scaffolds, which could serve as promising biomaterials for the wide range of biomedical, environmental and biomimetic applications.
The occipital face area is causally involved in identity-related visual-semantic associations
Authors: Eick Charlotta Marina , Kovács Gyula , Rostalski Sophie-Marie , Röhrig Lisa , Ambrus Géza Gergely
Published: April 2020

Faces are processed in a network of areas within regions of the ventral visual stream. However, familiar faces typically are characterized by additional associated information, such as episodic memories or semantic biographical information as well. The acquisition of such non-sensory, identity-specific knowledge plays a crucial role in our ability to recognize and identify someone we know. The occipital face area (OFA), an early part of the core face-processing network, is recently found to be involved in the formation of identity-specific memory traces but it is currently unclear if this role is limited to unimodal visual information. The current experiments used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to test whether the OFA is involved in the association of a face with identity-specific semantic information, such as the name or job title of a person. We applied an identity-learning task where unfamiliar faces were presented together with a name and a job title in the first encoding phase. Simultaneously, TMS pulses were applied either to the left or right OFA or to Cz, as a control. In the subsequent retrieval phase, the previously seen faces were presented either with two names or with two job titles and the task of the participants was to select the semantic information previously learned. We found that the stimulation of the right or left OFA reduced subsequent retrieval performance for the face-associated job titles. This suggests a causal role of the OFA in the association of faces and related semantic information. Furthermore, in contrast to prior findings, we did not observe hemispherical differences of the TMS intervention, suggesting a similar role of the left and right OFAs in the formation of the visual-semantic associations. Our results suggest the necessity to reconsider the hierarchical face-perception models and support the distributed and recurrent models.
Impact of circulating tumor DNA in hepatocellular and pancreatic carcinomas
Authors: Dhayat Sameer A. , Yang Zixuan
Published: April 2020

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and pancreatic cancer (PC) belong to the most lethal malignancies worldwide. Despite advances in surgical techniques and perioperative multidisciplinary management, the prognosis of both carcinoma entities remains poor mainly because of rapid tumor progression and early dissemination with diagnosis in advanced tumor stages with poor sensitivity to current therapy regimens. Both highly heterogeneous visceral carcinomas exhibit unique somatic alterations, but share common driver genes and mutations as well. Recently, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) could be identified as a liquid biopsy tool with huge potential as non-invasive biomarker in early diagnosis and prognosis. CtDNA released from necrotic or apoptotic cells of primary tumors, metastasis, and circulating tumor cells can reveal genetic and epigenetic alterations with tumor-specific and individual mutation and methylation profiles. In this article, we focus on clinical impact of ctDNA as potential biomarker in patients with HCC and PC.
Entwicklung einer psychoanalytisch begründeten Typologie von psychotischen Erkrankungen
Authors: Sell Christian , Henkel Miriam , Grant Phillip , von Haebler Dorothea , Dümpelmann Michael , Ohlmeier Martin , Schnell Knut , Spitzer Carsten , Mardus Bettina , Benecke Cord
Published: April 2020

Der Artikel begründet die Notwendigkeit eines genuin psychoanalytischen und gleichsam in der empirischen Psychotherapieforschung anschlussfähigen Beitrags zum Verständnis psychotischer Erkrankungen. Die sequenziell erklärende Mixed-Methods-Studie „Therapie und Psychodynamik von Patient*innen mit psychotischen Symptomen“ (T3PS-Studie) fokussiert auf die Binnendifferenzierung psychotischer Erkrankungen. Hierfür soll eine psychoanalytisch begründete Typologie dieser Patient*innen anhand messender und hermeneutischer Methoden entwickelt und validiert werden. Zur Entwicklung der Typologie sieht das Studiendesign psychodynamische, psychopathologische und weitere diagnostische Interviews mit stationären Patientinnen und Patienten (N = 100) vor. Zusätzlich werden am Ende der Behandlung Beziehungsepisodeninterviews mit Mitgliedern des Behandlungsteams geführt und Fragebogen eingesetzt. Mittels zunächst statistischer Modellierung und anschließender qualitativer Konzeptbildung sollen schließlich Prototypen psychotischer Erkrankungen entlang der in der Operationalisierten Psychodynamischen Diagnostik (OPD) erfassbaren psychoanalytischen Konzepte von Konflikt, Struktur und Beziehungsdynamik identifiziert werden. Die klinische Nützlichkeit dieser Typologie soll durch systematische Untersuchungen einzelner Behandlungsverläufe nach dem Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design (HSCED) geprüft werden.
Drains result in greater reduction of subdural width and midline shift in burr hole evacuation of chronic subdural haematoma
Authors:   on behalf of the British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative (BNTRC), Glancz Laurence Johann , Poon Michael Tin Chung , Hutchinson Peter John , Kolias Angelos Georgiou , Brennan Paul Martin
Published: April 2020

Background

Drain insertion following chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) evacuation reduces recurrence and improves outcomes. The mechanism of this improvement is uncertain. We assessed whether drains result in improved postoperative imaging, and which radiological factors are associated with recurrence and functional outcome.

Methods

A multi-centre, prospective cohort study of CSDH patients was performed between May 2013 and January 2014. Patients aged > 16 years undergoing burr hole evacuation of primary CSDH with pre- and postoperative imaging were included in this subgroup analysis. Baseline and clinical details were collected. Pre- and postoperative maximal subdural width and midline shift (MLS) along with clot density were recorded. Primary outcomes comprised mRS at discharge and symptomatic recurrence requiring re-drainage. Comparisons were made using multiple logistic regression.

Results

Three hundred nineteen patients were identified for inclusion. Two hundred seventy-two of 319 (85%) patients underwent drain insertion at the time of surgery versus 45/319 (14%) who did not. Twenty-nine of 272 patients who underwent drain insertion experienced recurrence (10.9%) versus 9 of 45 patients without drain insertion (20.5%; p = 0.07). Overall change in median subdural width was significantly greater in the drain versus ‘no drain’ groups (11 mm versus 6 mm, p < 0.01). Overall change in median midline shift (MLS) was also significantly greater in the drain group (4 mm versus 3 mm, p < 0.01). On multivariate analysis, change in maximal width and MLS were significant predictors of recurrence, although only the former remained a significant predictor for functional outcome.

Conclusions

The use of subdural drains results in significantly improved postoperative imaging in burr hole evacuation of CSDH, thus providing radiological corroboration for their recommended use.
Design of a Flexible, User Friendly Feature Matrix Generation System and its Application on Biomedical Datasets
Authors: Ghorbani M. , Swift S. , Taylor S. J. E. , Payne A. M.
Published: April 2020

The generation of a feature matrix is the first step in conducting machine learning analyses on complex data sets such as those containing DNA, RNA or protein sequences. These matrices contain information for each object which have to be identified using complex algorithms to interrogate the data. They are normally generated by combining the results of running such algorithms across various datasets from different and distributed data sources. Thus for non-computing experts the generation of such matrices prove a barrier to employing machine learning techniques. Further since datasets are becoming larger this barrier is augmented by the limitations of the single personal computer most often used by investigators to carry out such analyses. Here we propose a user friendly system to generate feature matrices in a way that is flexible, scalable and extendable. Additionally by making use of The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) software, the process can be speeded up using distributed volunteer computing possible in most institutions. The system makes use of a combination of the Grid and Cloud User Support Environment (gUSE), combined with the Web Services Parallel Grid Runtime and Developer Environment Portal (WS-PGRADE) to create workflow-based science gateways that allow users to submit work to the distributed computing. This report demonstrates the use of our proposed WS-PGRADE/gUSE BOINC system to identify features to populate matrices from very large DNA sequence data repositories, however we propose that this system could be used to analyse a wide variety of feature sets including image, numerical and text data.
Bee species decrease and increase between the 1990s and 2018 in large urban protected sites
Authors: Hofmann Michaela M. , Renner Susanne S.
Published: April 2020

Previous work has shown that among 428 species of bees occurring in Germany, decline or extinction over the past 40 years have been correlated with late-season emergence and restricted habitats, while other factors, such as pollen specialization, body size, nesting sites, and sociality, played no role in models that included a phylogeny of these bees. Doing best are spring-flying, city-dwelling species. Building on these results, we here investigate changes in bee diversity from the 1990s to 2018 at three protected sites within the city perimeter of Munich, focusing on the correlates of flight season (spring or summer), flight duration (in months), and number of habitats (one or two vs. three to six). Local species pools were assessed against the total species pool from 1795 onwards. Twenty years ago, 150 species were present at one or more of the sites, while in 2017/2018, this was true of 188 species, with the increase at two sites being of similar proportion. In two of the three areas, broad habitat use was positively correlated with persistence. Flight season or duration had no statistical effect. These results underscore the function of urban protected sites in bee conservation and imply that summer food shortages, which negatively affect bees in agricultural areas, play no role in urbanized regions so that late-season flight is not an extinction handicap.
Motive Satisfaction in Chronic Pain Patients: Does It Improve in Multidisciplinary Inpatient Treatment and, if so, Does It Matter?
Authors: Vincent Alessia M. , Stewart Julian A. , Egloff Niklaus , grosse Holtforth Martin
Published: April 2020

According to consistency theory, insufficient motive satisfaction (motivational incongruence) is associated with psychological distress and mental disorders. High levels of distress and comorbid psychological disorders are common in patients with chronic pain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of motivational incongruence in chronic pain patients and the association of incongruence change with symptom improvement. Inpatients with chronic pain in multimodal interdisciplinary treatment (n = 177) completed questionnaires measuring motivational incongruence, psychological distress, pain intensity and pain interference at the beginning and end of a multimodal interdisciplinary inpatient treatment program at a tertiary psychosomatic university clinic. Results demonstrated that pain and motivational incongruence were significantly reduced at post-treatment, and reductions in incongruence were associated with reductions in psychological distress. In particular, better satisfaction of approach motives mediated the association between reduction of pain interference and psychological distress at post-treatment. Findings suggest that a reduction of motivational incongruence may be part of successful treatment of chronic pain.