bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Surface-Modified Titanium Fibers as Durable Carbon-Free Platinum Catalyst Supports for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Authors: Kawachino D. , Yasutake M. , Noda Z. , Matsuda J. , Lyth S. M. , Hayashi A. , Sasaki K.
Published: June 2020

Carbon-based electrodes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are prone to corrosion. Therefore, alternative “carbon-free” materials are required. Here, the use of a catalyst-coated porous metal support is proposed as a gas diffusion electrode. As a proof-of-concept, commercially available porous titanium sheets comprising sintered titanium fibers are chemically etched with NaOH, followed by heat treatment. This results in the formation of oxidized titanium nanostructures (such as nanosheets and nanotubes) at the surface. Subsequently, platinum decoration is performed via arc plasma deposition (APD). This porous composite structure is then attached to the membrane, and used as the gas diffusion electrode for PEFC membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). This concept integrates the catalyst, catalyst support, gas diffusion layer, and current collector in a single structure, cutting down on the number of cell components and reducing total device thickness. The carbon-free nature of this integrated gas diffusion electrode is demonstrated to successfully avoid carbon corrosion during start-stop potential cycling over 60,000 potential cycles. However, further improvements in initial electrochemical activity are still required.
Corrosion of Commercial Mg–Al Alloys: AZ31B, AM60, and AZ91D
Authors: Aiello Ashlee , Sieradzki Karl
Published: June 2020

Aqueous corrosion, atmospheric corrosion, and ionic liquid dissolution studies were performed on commercial alloys AZ31B, AM60, and AZ91D and compared with previously reported results for single-phase binary Mg–Al alloys containing similar Al concentrations (αMg-2 at% Al, αMg-5 at% Al, and Mg-8 at% Al). Polarization studies in 0.6 M NaCl were used to characterize the aqueous free corrosion behavior during 20-h free immersion. Accelerated corrosion testing was performed using a rotating-disk electrode which revealed the evolution of an Al-rich mud-cracking and platelet morphology. Atmospheric droplet testing showed rapid pH increases that depended on the Al concentration in the alloy. Time-dependent contact angle measurements showed that the degree of droplet wetting increased during free corrosion by ∼50° over 20 h in 0.6 M NaCl. Ionic liquid dissolution studies in 1:2 M choline chloride:urea deep eutectic solvent were performed in order to examine the current-voltage behavior of these alloys in the absence of water and hydrogen reduction. The results of these studies revealed the formation of nanowire corrosion morphologies within a honeycomb lattice structure which we attribute to selective dissolution of Mg via a two-dimensional step-flow process.
Molecular targeting of renal inflammation using drug delivery technology to inhibit NF-κB improves renal recovery in chronic kidney disease
Authors: Chade Alejandro R. , Williams Maxx L. , Engel Jason E. , Williams Erika , Bidwell Gene L.
Published: June 2020

Inflammation is a major determinant for the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). NF-κB is a master transcription factor upregulated in CKD that promotes inflammation and regulates apoptosis and vascular remodeling. We aimed to modulate this pathway for CKD therapy in a swine model of CKD using a peptide inhibitor of the NF-κB p50 subunit (p50i) fused to a protein carrier [elastin-like polypeptide (ELP)] and equipped with a cell-penetrating peptide (SynB1). We hypothesized that intrarenal SynB1-ELP-p50i therapy would inhibit NF-κB-driven inflammation and induce renal recovery. CKD was induced in 14 pigs. After 6 wk, pigs received single intrarenal SynB1-ELP-p50i therapy (10 mg/kg) or placebo ( n = 7 each). Renal hemodynamics were quantified in vivo using multidetector computed tomography before and 8 wk after treatment. Pigs were then euthanized. Ex vivo experiments were performed to quantify renal activation of NF-κB, expression of downstream mediators of NF-κB signaling, renal microvascular density, inflammation, and fibrosis. Fourteen weeks of CKD stimulated NF-κB signaling and downstream mediators (e.g., TNF-α, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and IL-6) accompanying loss of renal function, inflammation, fibrosis, and microvascular rarefaction versus controls. All of these were improved after SynB1-ELP-p50i therapy, accompanied by reduced circulating inflammatory cytokines as well, which were evident up to 8 wk after treatment. Current treatments for CKD are largely ineffective. Our study shows the feasibility of a new treatment to induce renal recovery by offsetting inflammation at a molecular level. It also supports the therapeutic potential of targeted inhibition of the NF-κB pathway using novel drug delivery technology in a translational model of CKD.
Abnormal Grain Growth Mechanism in the Twin‐Roller Cast Al‐Fe‐Si Alloy in the Annealing Process
Authors: Zhu Y. Z. , Peng H. , Huang H. , Li J. C.
Published: June 2020

The twin‐roller casting process is a novel technology used to produce aluminium and other alloys. In this study, the Al‐Fe‐Si alloy was twin‐roller cast into a billet with a thickness of 7.0 mm. This was followed by an annealing process at 480°C for 16 hours. Abnormal grains of more than 15 mm in the nominal diameter were found to have formed on the surface of the billet. Scanning electronic microscopy observation, energy diffraction spectrum, microarea X‐ray diffraction, and electronic backscattered diffraction analysis were performed to study this abnormal grain growth. The results showed that abnormal grain nucleates in the region of (100) <001> texture formed in the twin‐roller casting process. The growth of abnormal grain was governed by the coalescence of the abnormal grain with its surrounding normal grains, with an average orientation angle of 47° between both the types of grains. High‐strain‐concentrated regions on the surface layer of the billet were induced by the heterogeneously distributed Fe particles formed in the twin‐roller casting process. The presence of these regions accelerates the abnormal grain growth in the following annealing process of the billet.
Review of Cases of E-Cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) and Brief Review of the Literature
Authors: Essa Amr , Macaraeg Jeffrey , Jagan Nikhil , Kwon Daniel , Randhawa Saboor , Kruse Matthew , Thomas Stanley , Velagapudi Manasa , Horne John , Narechania Shraddha , Kaster Michael , Valenta Carrie , Sahasranaman Venketraman , Moore Douglas
Published: June 2020

Since the appearance of the E-Cigarette in the early 2000s, its industry, popularity, and prevalence have risen dramatically. In the past, E-Cigarette use with the vaping of nicotine or cannabis products had been associated with a few reported cases of lung injury. However, in 2019, thousands of cases of E-Cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) were reported in the United States. Evidence linked this outbreak with vaping of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). We report two confirmed cases of EVALI and their associated clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features. This report supports the growing body of information regarding EVALI. It also discusses various substances, particularly vitamin E acetate, which has been suggested as a causative agent.
Inhibitory Effect of Ursolic Acid on Ultraviolet B Radiation-Induced Oxidative Stress and Proinflammatory Response-Mediated Senescence in Human Skin Dermal Fibroblasts
Authors: Samivel Ramachandran , Nagarajan Rajendra Prasad , Subramanian Umadevi , Khan Adnan Ali , Masmali Ali , Almubrad Turki , Akhtar Saeed
Published: June 2020

Ultraviolet radiation is an environmental carcinogenic agent that enhances inflammation and immunological reactions in the exposed human skin cells leading to oxidative photoaging of the epidermal and dermal segment. In the present study, we investigated the protective role of ursolic acid (UA) against ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation- induced photoaging an in vitro model of human skin dermal fibroblasts. UA-pretreated human skin dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells were exposed to UVB radiation to evaluated cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant status, DNA damage, proinflammatory response, apoptotic induction, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) alteration. The UA pretreatment of HDFs mitigated the UVB irradiation-induced cytotoxicity, ROS generation, and mitochondrial membrane potential alteration and lipid peroxidation, depletion of antioxidant status, DNA damage, and apoptotic induction. UA pretreatment of HDFs also attenuated the UVB-induced expression of inflammatory (TNF-α and NF-κB) and apoptotic (p53, Bax, and caspase-3) and MMPs (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and enhanced the Bcl-2 protein levels in 20 μM UA treatment, when compared to concentrations. Hence, these results revealed that UA has the potential to mitigate UVB-induced extracellular damage by interfering with the ROS-mediated apoptotic induction and photoaging senescence and thus is a potential therapeutic agent to protect the skin against UVB-irradiation induced photooxidative damage.
Fault-Affected Fluid Circulation Revealed by Hydrochemistry and Isotopes in a Large-Scale Utilized Geothermal Reservoir
Authors: Kong Yanlong , Pang Zhonghe , Pang Jumei , Li Jie , Lyu Min , Pan Sheng
Published: June 2020

A new significant aspect in the utilization of hydrothermal energy in China is the large-scale exploitation using multiwells from a single geothermal site. This requires detailed hydrogeochemical investigations to gain insight about deep groundwater circulation. At the Xiongxian karst geothermal site in North China, where the demonstration project of large-scale utilization was conducted, 40 boreholes with depths from 1000 to 1800 m were drilled in a region of 50 km2. A total of 25 water samples were collected, and temperature loggings were conducted in 16 of these wells. At the site scale, the hydraulic head was observed to decline from SW to NE, i.e., orthogonal to that at the regional scale. Moreover, the geothermal groundwater temperature, borehole temperature gradient, and heat flow in the caprock all exhibited the same spatial trend with the groundwater head. Based on the hydrogeochemical and temperature logging data, this was explained by mixing of lateral recharging groundwater with ascending thermal fluids through the Xiongxian Fault, after excluding the causes of pumping activities and geologic structure. In addition, geothermal groundwater 81Kr age was estimated to be approximately 760 k yr, which is much older than the 14C age of 20 to 30 k yr. The older 81Kr age implies a low renewability of deep groundwater circulation, which should be considered in terms of sustainable management in relation to the large-scale utilization of geothermal resources.
Molecular Mechanism of HSF1‐Upregulated ALDH2 by PKC in Ameliorating Pressure Overload‐Induced Heart Failure in Mice
Authors: Ji Endong , Jiao Tiantian , Shen Yunli , Xu Yunjia , Sun Yuanqing , Cai Zichun , Zhang Qi , Li Jiming
Published: June 2020

Evidences abound that HSF1 and ALDH2 are of cardioprotective effect, yet there is still no report on whether HSF1 can regulate ALDH2 to delay the occurrence of heart failure. We first established the pressure overload‐induced heart failure model of mice by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and discovered that, in the forming period of heart failure, changes of HSF1 and ALDH2 expression recorded the consistent trend. When HSF1 was upregulated/downregulated to delay/promote the occurrence of heart failure, PKC and ALDH2 also showed increased/decreased expression. And when ALDH2 was upregulated/downregulated, the role of HSF1 in delaying the occurrence of heart failure strengthened/weakened. Next, we used mechanical stretch to establish a pressure‐stimulated myocardial hypertrophy model and discovered an increased expression of both HSF1 and ALDH2. When HSF1 was upregulated/downregulated to increase/decrease the expression of myocardial hypertrophy gene beta‐MHC, PKC and ALDH2 recorded an increased/decreased expression. When an inhibitor was used to downregulate the expression of PKC in cardiomyocytes, we found that the role of HSF1 in upregulating ALDH2 beta‐MHC weakened. These findings suggest that HSF1 can upregulate the expression of ALDH2 via PKC to promote pressure‐stimulated myocardial compensatory hypertrophy, which is an important molecular pathway for HSF1 to ameliorate heart failure.
Therapeutic Effect of Bilsaan, Sambucus nigra Stem Exudate, on the OVA-Induced Allergic Asthma in Mice
Authors: Alrumaihi Faris , Almatroudi Ahmad , Allemailem Khaled S. , Rahmani Arshad H. , Khan Arif , Khan Masood Alam
Published: June 2020

Asthma is characterized by the elevated level of Th2 immune responses, oxidative stress, and airway inflammation. Bilsaan, an exudate from the stem of Sambucus nigra, has been traditionally used in the treatment of various ailments in Saudi Arabia. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of Bilsaan against ovalbumin- (OVA-) induced allergic asthma in a mouse model. In order to induce allergic asthma, mice were intraperitoneally injected with alum-emulsified-OVA (20 μg/mouse) on days 0, 14, and 21 that is followed by an intranasal OVA exposure from days 22 to 30. During this time, mice were orally administered with Bilsaan at the doses of 5, 10, and 25 mg/kg. The numbers of total and differential inflammatory cells and the levels of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) and IgE were determined in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Moreover, the therapeutic effect of Bilsaan was also assessed to analyze the oxidative stress and inflammatory changes in the lung tissues. The results demonstrated that Bilsaan treatment significantly reduced the total and differential inflammatory cell count in the BALF. The BALF from the mice treated with Bilsaan showed significantly lower levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IgE. Interestingly, a similar pattern was observed in IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 secreted by OVA-sensitized splenocytes from the mice of various groups. Bilsaan treatment alleviated the status of oxidative stress by modulating malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase levels in the lung. Moreover, Bilsaan treatment reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells, thickening of alveolar wall, and congestion in the lung tissues. The findings of the present study demonstrated an antiasthmatic effect of Bilsaan through the modulation of Th2 immune responses, inflammation, and the oxidative stress.
Prognostic Value of Complement Component 2 and Its Correlation with Immune Infiltrates in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Ning Gang , Huang Yan-Lin , Zhen Li-Min , Xu Wen-Xiong , Li Xue-Jun , Wu Li-Na , Liu Ying , Xie Chan , Peng Liang
Published: June 2020

Background. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of complement component 2 (C2) has been found to be significantly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, little is known about the role and mechanism of C2 in HCC. In the present study, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of C2 and its correlation with tumor‐infiltrating immune cells in HCC. Materials and Methods. mRNA expression was downloaded from TCGA (365 HCC patients and 50 healthy controls), GSE14520 (220 HCC patients and 220 adjacent normal tissues), and ICGC HCC (232 HCC patients) cohorts. Unpaired Student’s t‐tests or ANOVA tests were used to evaluate differences of C2 expression. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to analyze the prognostic value of C2. CIBERSORT was used to calculate the proportion of 22 kinds of tumor‐infiltrating immune cells. Results. Significantly lower C2 expression was found at HCC compared to healthy controls, and C2 was associated with TNM stages. Higher C2 expression was significantly associated with better prognosis, and multivariate analysis showed that C2 was also an independent factor for the prognosis of HCC. Moreover, elevated CD4 T cells were found at HCC patients with higher C2 expression while the higher proportion of macrophage M0 cells was found in HCC patients with lower C2 expression. KEGG analysis showed that “cell cycle,” “AMPK signaling pathway,” and “PPAR signaling pathway” were enriched in HCC patients with higher C2 expression. Conclusion. C2 is a prognostic factor for HCC and may be used as a therapeutic target for future treatment of HCC.
Multivalued φ-Contractions on Extended b-Metric Spaces
Authors: Samreen Maria , Ullah Wahid , Karapinar Erdal
Published: June 2020

In this paper, we have established some fixed-point results for the class of multivalued φ-contractions in the setting of extended b-metric space. An example is furnished to show the validity of our results. The results we have obtained generalize/extend many recent results by Asl, Bota, Samreen et al., and those contained therein.
Implications of Spatiotemporal Data Aggregation on Short-Term Traffic Prediction Using Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Weerasekera Rivindu , Sridharan Mohan , Ranjitkar Prakash
Published: June 2020

Short-term traffic prediction is a key component of Intelligent Transportation Systems. It uses historical data to construct models for reliably predicting traffic state at specific locations in road networks in the near future. Despite being a mature field, short-term traffic prediction still poses some open problems related to the choice of optimal data resolution, prediction of nonrecurring congestion, and the modelling of relevant spatiotemporal dependencies. As a step towards addressing these problems, this paper investigates the ability of Artificial Neural Networks, Random Forests, and Support Vector Regression algorithms to reliably model traffic flow at different data resolutions and respond to unexpected traffic incidents. We also explore different feature selection methods to identify and better understand the spatiotemporal attributes that most influence the reliability of these models. Experimental results indicate that data aggregation does not necessarily achieve good performance for multivariate spatiotemporal machine learning models. The models learned using high-resolution 30-second input data outperformed the corresponding baseline ARIMA models by 8%. Furthermore, feature selection based on Recursive Feature Elimination resulted in models that outperformed those based on linear correlation-based feature selection.
Social Welfare Analysis of China’s High-Speed Rail Industry: Based on the Perspective of Enterprises’ Entry in Upstream Market
Authors: Li Da , Lin Xiaoyan
Published: June 2020

Based on the analysis of the high-speed rail industry chain, first, this paper divides the high-speed rail industry chain into infrastructure construction market and manufacturing market of mobile equipment and, second, this paper uses the empirical method of new experience industry organization to measure the market power premium of the high-speed rail upstream market. The study shows that the market power premium of the high-speed rail upstream market is 0.551, and the scale elasticity is 0.314, indicating that there is no systematic market power in the high-speed rail upstream market and there is significant scale diseconomy. The vertical market structure where “private enterprises dominate the upstream competition market and state-owned enterprises dominate the downstream oligopoly market” is further established. Based on the perspective of enterprises’ entry in upstream markets, the social welfare of the high-speed rail industry market structure is analyzed. It is found in the study that the upstream market of the high-speed rail industry has a tendency of insufficient enterprise entry, and the total social welfare increases with the increase in the number of upstream enterprises entry. What is more, the profit of enterprises in the upstream market of high-speed rail decreases with the increase in the number of enterprises in the upstream. This paper believes that policies such as stimulating upstream high-speed rail enterprises entry, providing subsidies to upstream enterprises, reducing upstream enterprises’ entry barriers, and expanding international markets can effectively improve the overall social welfare of the high-speed railway industry.
A Fatigue Driving Detection Algorithm Based on Facial Motion Information Entropy
Authors: You Feng , Gong Yunbo , Tu Haiqing , Liang Jianzhong , Wang Haiwei
Published: June 2020

Research studies on machine vision-based driver fatigue detection algorithm have improved traffic safety significantly. Generally, many algorithms asses the driving state according to limited video frames, thus resulting in some inaccuracy. We propose a real-time detection algorithm involved in information entropy. Particularly, this algorithm relies on the analysis of sufficient consecutive video frames. First, we introduce an improved YOLOv3-tiny convolutional neural network to capture the facial regions under complex driving conditions, eliminating the inaccuracy and affections caused by artificial feature extraction. Second, we construct a geometric area called Face Feature Triangle (FFT) based on the application of the Dlib toolkit as well as the landmarks and the coordinates of the facial regions; then we create a Face Feature Vector (FFV), which contains all the information of the area and centroid of each FFT. We use FFV as an indicator to determine whether the driver is in fatigue state. Finally, we design a sliding window to get the facial information entropy. Comparative experiments show that our algorithm performs better than the current ones on both accuracy and real-time performance. In simulated driving applications, the proposed algorithm detects the fatigue state at a speed of over 20 fps with an accuracy of 94.32%.
Identification of Key Differentially Expressed Transcription Factors in Glioblastoma
Authors: Qin Gang , Hu Beiquan , Li Xianfeng , Li Rongjie , Meng Youshi , Wang Yimei , Zou Donghua , Wei Feng
Published: June 2020

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most frequent malignant brain tumor in adults. Our study focused on uncovering differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and their methylation in order to identify novel diagnostic biomarkers and potential treatment targets. Using GBM RNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, DEGs between GBM samples and paracancer tissue samples were analyzed. Enrichment analysis for DEGs and transcription factors (TFs) was performed. A total of 1029 upregulated genes and 1542 downregulated genes were identified, which were associated mainly with multiple tumor-related and immune-related pathways such as cell cycle, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway, leukocyte transendothelial migration, and autoimmune thyroid disease. These DEGs were enriched for 174 TFs, and six TFs were differentially expressed and identified as key TFs in GBM: HOXA3, EN1, ZIC1, and FOXD3 were upregulated, while HLF and EGR3 were downregulated. A total of 1978 DEGs were involved in the regulatory networks of the six key differentially expressed TFs. High expression of EN1 was associated with shorter overall survival, while high expression of EGR3 was associated with shorter recurrence-free survival. The six TFs were differentially methylated in GBM samples compared with paracancer tissues. Our study identifies numerous DEGs and their associated pathways as potential contributors to GBM, particularly the TFs EN1, EGR3, HOXA3, ZIC1, FOXD3, and HLF. The differential expression of these TFs may be unlikely driven by aberrant methylation. These TFs may be useful as diagnostic markers and treatment targets in GBM, and EN1 and EGR3 may have predictive prognostic value.
Neurobiology of Recovery of Motor Function after Stroke: The Central Nervous System Biomarker Effects of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy
Authors: Abdullahi Auwal , Truijen Steven , Saeys Wim
Published: June 2020

Recovery of motor function after stroke involves many biomarkers. This review attempts to identify the biomarker effects responsible for recovery of motor function following the use of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and discuss their implications for research and practice. From the studies reviewed, the biomarker effects identified include improved perfusion of motor areas and brain glucose metabolism; increased expression of proteins, namely, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), and Growth-Associated Protein 43 (GAP-43); and decreased level of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA). Others include increased cortical activation, increased motor map size, and decreased interhemispheric inhibition of the ipsilesional hemisphere by the contralesional hemisphere. Interestingly, the biomarker effects correlated well with improved motor function. However, some of the biomarker effects have not yet been investigated in humans, and they require that CIMT starts early on poststroke. In addition, one study seems to suggest the combined use of CIMT with other rehabilitation techniques such as Transcortical Direct Stimulation (tDCs) in patients with chronic stroke to achieve the biomarker effects. Unfortunately, there are few studies in humans that implemented CIMT during early poststroke. Thus, it is important that more studies in humans are carried out to determine the biomarker effects of CIMT especially early on poststroke, when there is a greater opportunity for recovery. Furthermore, it should be noted that these effects are mainly in ischaemic stroke.
Heparin-Binding Protein: A Novel Biomarker Linking Four Different Cardiovascular Diseases
Authors: Cai Yufeng , Zhang Xueyan , Shen Jie , Jiang Boyue , Hu Dehua , Zhao Mingyi
Published: June 2020

Cardiovascular diseases are an important group of diseases that seriously affect quality of life. Thus, their treatment warrants further study. Heparin-binding protein (HBP) is a granulocyte protein derived from neutrophils. When an infection occurs, neutrophils release HBP, which can lead to elevated HBP levels in the blood. Therefore, HBP family members are said to be important indicators of infection. However, basic evidence is still lacking to confirm the possible relationship between HBP and cardiovascular diseases. Using bioinformatics methods, we investigated the role of the HBP network in normal hearts and hearts from patients with cardiovascular disease. First, we used the Open Targets database to obtain a list of HBP-encoding mRNAs related to atherosclerosis, myocarditis, myocardial infarction, and myocardial ischemia. Then, we constructed an HBP gene interaction network map using STRING. Clustering coefficients were calculated using Cytoscape, and MCODE was used for subnet analysis. Finally, the proposed interstitial network of HBPs was established and analyzed by Metascape enrichment analysis of the relevant signaling pathways. The aggregation coefficient of the HBP interaction network was higher among hearts with the four cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis (0.496), myocarditis (0.631), myocardial infarction (0.532), and myocardial ischemia (0.551), than in normal hearts. Metascape analysis showed that “NABA_MATRISOME_ASSOCIATED” was a typical pathway with the highest p value associated with epithelialization in all four diseases. Moreover, a large number of important HBPs were identified that may be significant for the treatment of these diseases. Therefore, HBPs do have a highly atopic connectivity network in cardiovascular diseases, and specific HBPs or signaling pathways may be used as targets for the development of new treatments for cardiovascular diseases.
Contemporary Results of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Obese Patients
Authors: Owais T. , El Garhy M. , Lauten P. , Haensig M. , Lapp H. , Schulze P. C. , Kuntze T.
Published: June 2020

Background. Little research has been conducted to explore the postoperative outcomes of obese patients after transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TF-TAVR). Objective. We investigated the influence of body mass index (BMI) on 1-year outcomes after TF-TAVR. Methods. We included retrospectively 1609 high- and intermediate-risk TAVR patients (mean EuroSCORE II 21 ± 11) operated under general anesthesia between March 2014 and March 2018 in central hospital, Bad Berka, Germany. We stratified the patients according to BMI. Results. Our demographic data analysis showed 41% of patients were male and the mean age was 78 (range, 61–92 years). According to the WHO classification, 33% patients had normal weight, 42% were defined as overweight, and 22% were obese. Obese patients showed statistically significant difference in their clinical parameters as having higher incidence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, pulmonary hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; on the contrary, obese patients were found to be younger than others. We found no differences in valve types and sizes among the different BMI categories. Our mortality rate during the 1-year follow-up period was 17.8% (287 patients). Mortality was significantly higher in patients with BMI < 25 kg/m2 (1 year mortality 149 patients 28.2% in patients with BMI < 25 kg/m2 vs. 138 patients 12.6% in patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2; P=0.0001). Even after considering the confounding risk factors, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 was independently associated with reduced 1 year mortality (odds ratio (OR): 0.36, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.21–0.6; P=0.01) in multivariate logistic regression analysis. The rate of vascular complication was higher in patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. However, the rate of blood transfusion was higher in patients with BMI < 25 kg/m2. All other serious complications occurred with equal distribution in both groups. Conclusion. In our single-center study, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 was independently associated with lower 1 year mortality after TF-TAVR.
SKP2 My Lou, My Darling
Authors: Lambert Sydney L. , Jones Kevin B.
Published: June 2020

Myxofibrosarcoma and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) lack specific molecular underpinnings, show high rates of metastasis, and display limited responsiveness to current therapies, making them challenging cancers both to treat and to study. It has been noted that MFS and UPS frequently lose function of the tumor suppressor genes RB1 and TP53. In this issue of Cancer Research, Li and colleagues demonstrate that proliferation in RB1- and TP53-deficient MFS and UPS depends on SKP2; inhibiting SKP2 with the neddylation inhibitor, pevonedistat, halts tumor growth in a panel of patient-derived xenografts. This renders the oncogenic protein SKP2 a promising therapeutic target.

See related article by Li et al., p. 2461
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Cancer Therapy in the COVID-19 Era
Authors: Maio Michele , Hamid Omid , Larkin James , Covre Alessia , Altomonte Maresa , Calabrò Luana , Vardhana Santosh A. , Robert Caroline , Ibrahim Ramy , Anichini Andrea , Wolchok Jedd D. , Giacomo Anna Maria Di
Published: June 2020

The potential immune intersection between COVID-19 disease and cancer therapy raises important practical clinical questions and highlights multiple scientific gaps to be filled. Among available therapeutic approaches to be considered, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) seem to require major attention as they may act at the crossroads between cancer treatment and COVID-19 disease, due to their profound immunomodulatory activity. On the basis of available literature evidence, we suggest guidance to consider for treating physicians, and propose areas of clinical and preclinical investigation. Comprehensively, although with the necessary caution, ICI therapy seems to remain a suitable therapeutic option for patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Low-Dose Eltrombopag in a Patient with Chronic Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Post Sleeve Gastrectomy
Authors: Ahmed Mohanad A. , Yassin Mohamad A.
Published: June 2020

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a disease in which the immune system attacks platelets and causes decrease in its number exposing the patient to risk of bleeding. It is diagnosed by exclusion. Eltrombopag is a thrombopoietin receptor agonist which is used as second-line treatment for patients with ITP. The usual starting dose is 25 mg daily and maintenance dose is 75 mg daily. Little is known about the dose of eltrombopag in patients with sleeve gastrectomy since reduction in the amount of functioning gastrointestinal tract after gastric bypass surgery leads to decreased time to drug absorption and reduced drug bioavailability. Here we are reporting a 46-year-old female with ITP and sleeve gastrectomy who responded to low-dose eltrombopag 25 mg every other day, which is equivalent to 12.5 mg daily, and maintained adequate platelet counts on this dose.
Preprocedure Application of Machine Learning and Mechanistic Simulations Predicts Likelihood of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence Following Pulmonary Vein Isolation
Authors: Shade Julie K. , Ali Rheeda L. , Basile Dante , Popescu Dan , Akhtar Tauseef , Marine Joseph E. , Spragg David D. , Calkins Hugh , Trayanova Natalia A.
Published: June 2020

Background:

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is an effective treatment strategy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), but many experience AF recurrence and require repeat ablation procedures. The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a methodology that combines machine learning (ML) and personalized computational modeling to predict, before PVI, which patients are most likely to experience AF recurrence after PVI.

Methods:

This single-center retrospective proof-of-concept study included 32 patients with documented paroxysmal AF who underwent PVI and had preprocedural late gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. For each patient, a personalized computational model of the left atrium simulated AF induction via rapid pacing. Features were derived from pre-PVI late gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance images and from results of simulations of AF induction. The most predictive features were used as input to a quadratic discriminant analysis ML classifier, which was trained, optimized, and evaluated with 10-fold nested cross-validation to predict the probability of AF recurrence post-PVI.

Results:

In our cohort, the ML classifier predicted probability of AF recurrence with an average validation sensitivity and specificity of 82% and 89%, respectively, and a validation area under the curve of 0.82. Dissecting the relative contributions of simulations of AF induction and raw images to the predictive capability of the ML classifier, we found that when only features from simulations of AF induction were used to train the ML classifier, its performance remained similar (validation area under the curve, 0.81). However, when only features extracted from raw images were used for training, the validation area under the curve significantly decreased (0.47).

Conclusions:

ML and personalized computational modeling can be used together to accurately predict, using only pre-PVI late gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging scans as input, whether a patient is likely to experience AF recurrence following PVI, even when the patient cohort is small.
Exchange Rates and Firm Exports: The Role of Foreign Ownership and Foreign Subsidiaries
Authors: Choi Hyelin , Kim Hyo Sang
Published: June 2020

This paper examines the role of global production linkages on exchange rate elasticities by using Korean firm-level data. Firms with foreign ownership or with foreign subsidiaries, which are linked to global production, tend to weaken the effects of exchange rate movements on firm exports. We find the exchange rate elasticities of firm exports are significant and tend to have a negative effect on domestic firms or firms with no foreign subsidiary. In contrast, the results show an insignificant effect on foreign-owned firms or firms with foreign subsidiaries. After controlling for the export to foreign affiliates, we still find the estimated exchange rate elasticities of exports to be statistically insignificant, although it has a negative and relatively large impact for firms with global production linkages. Moreover, firms with a higher global value chain integration measure or more imported intermediate inputs have a significantly lower exchange rate elasticity of exports. This indicates that the developments in global production linkages have an important role in explaining lower exchange rate elasticity to exports.
Noncumulative measures of researcher citation impact
Authors: Wilson Mark C. , Tang Zhou
Published: June 2020

The most commonly used publication metrics for individual researchers are the total number of publications, the total number of citations, and Hirsch’s h-index. Each of these is cumulative, and hence increases throughout a researcher’s career, making it less suitable for evaluation of junior researchers or assessing recent impact. Most other author-level measures in the literature share this cumulative property. By contrast, we aim to study noncumulative measures that answer the question “In terms of citation impact, what have you done lately?” We single out six measures from the rather sparse literature, including Hirsch’s m-index, a time-scaled version of the h-index. We introduce new measures based on the idea of “citation acceleration.” After presenting several axioms for noncumulative measures, we conclude that one of our new measures has much better theoretical justification. We present a small-scale study of its performance on real data and conclude that it shows substantial promise for future use.
Explaining public support for violence against politicians during conflict: Evidence from a panel study in Israel
Authors: Elad-Strenger Julia , Hall Brian J , Hobfoll Stevan E , Canetti Daphna
Published: June 2020

What drives citizens’ support for violence against domestic political actors? Despite its potentially devastating consequences, there is surprisingly little research on the antecedents of this unique form of political violence. Building upon recent insights on the psychological implications of exposure to conflict on support for political violence, we examined the motivations underlying public support for violence against politicians in the context of protracted conflict. Using a two-wave panel design among Jewish-Israelis, we examined the interactive effects of conflict-induced perceived threat, psychological distress, and political orientation on support for violence against politicians. Consistent with previous findings on the psychological implications of conflict, our findings suggest that conflict-induced threat perceptions play an important role in predicting support for violence against politicians. Nevertheless, our findings point to important boundary conditions to these effects: the strength of the relationship between perceived threat and attitudes towards political violence is qualified by the level of chronic conflict-related psychological distress, and the direction of the effects of perceived threat is qualified by individuals’ self-placement on the left-right continuum. More specifically, we found that perceived threat increased rightists’ support and decreases leftists’ support for violence against politicians, only under high, but not low, conflict-related psychological distress. The main conclusion of this study is that support for violence against politicians can be seen as an ideology-driven protective strategy against the negative psychological implications of exposure to violent conflict. By pointing to the importance of understanding the interactive role of psychological and political factors in determining public support for such acts, our findings therefore contribute to the understanding of a relatively understudied phenomenon with potentially catastrophic effects on political stability.
Development the method of pipeline bending strain measurement based on microelectromechanical systems inertial measurement unit
Authors: Li Rui , Wang Zhensheng , Chen Pengchao
Published: June 2020

With the development of pipeline construction, the additional stress and strain becomes the key factor to induce the damage for oil and gas pipeline. The in-line inspection of pipeline bending strain which is based on high-end tactical-grade inertial measurement unit has become routine practice for the oil and gas pipelines over recent years. However, these accurate inertial measurement units are large size and high cost limit to use in small diameter pipelines of bending strain inspection. Microelectromechanical systems–based inertial navigation has been applied to mapping the centerline of the small size pipeline, and the accurate trajectory and attitude information become key factors to calculate the bending strain of pipelines. This article proposed a method not only to calculate the pipeline bending strain but also to improve the accuracy for the bending strain based on the wavelet analysis. Tests show that this method can be effectively used in the calculation and optimization of the bending strain, and it will increase the accuracy to within 19.1% of the actual bending strain.
The Social World of Outdoor Swimming: Cultural Practices, Shared Meanings, and Bodily Encounters
Authors: Moles Kate
Published: June 2020

This article examines the particular relations and entanglements of practices, bodies, and water in the social world of outdoor swimming. Using ethnographic data to describe how the relations, interactions, and meaning-making unfold and happen before, during, and after a swim, we can consider the ways the social world of outdoor swimming is ordered, the ways in which participants produce and are enrolled into that social order and the sense of belonging and connection that this enables. This article uses this case to highlight how we need to consider a sociology of and in water; to consider the ways interactions and meaning-making occur in and around bluespace; and to do this in ways that disrupts and expands our understanding of social worlds and life.
Similar levels of symptoms and problems were found among patients referred to specialized palliative care by general practitioners and hospital physicians: A nationwide register-based study of 31,139 cancer patients
Authors: Hansen Maiken Bang , Ross Lone , Petersen Morten Aagaard , Adsersen Mathilde , Rojas-Concha Leslye , Groenvold Mogens
Published: June 2020

Background:

Previous studies suggest that the symptomatology threshold (i.e. the level and types of symptoms) for a referral to specialized palliative care might differ for doctors in different parts of the healthcare system; however, it has not yet been investigated.

Aim:

To investigate if the number and level of symptoms/problems differed for patients referred from the primary and secondary healthcare sectors (i.e. general practitioner versus hospital physician).

Setting/participants:

Adult cancer patients registered in the Danish Palliative Care Database who reported their symptoms/problems at admittance to specialized palliative care between 2010 and 2017 were included. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed with each symptom/problem as outcome to study the association between referral sector and symptoms/problems, controlled for the effect of gender, age, cancer diagnosis and the specialized palliative care service referred to.

Results:

The study included 31,139 patients. The average age was 69 years and 49% were women. Clinically neglectable associations were found between referral sector and pain, appetite loss, fatigue, number of symptoms/problems, number of severe symptoms/problems (odds ratios between 1.05 and 1.20, all p < 0.05) and physical functioning (odds ratio = 0.81 (inpatient care) and 1.32 (outpatient), both p < 0.05). The remaining six outcomes were not significantly associated with referral sector.

Conclusion:

Differences across healthcare sectors in, for example, competences and patient population did not seem to result in different symptomatology thresholds for referring patients to palliative care since only small, and probably not clinically relevant, differences in symptomatology was found across referral sectors.
Synthesis and characterization of new poly(diketone imide)s derived from 1,4-bis(3,4-dicarboxybenzoyl)benzene dianhydride and various diamines
Authors: Kuang Lu , Wei Wei-Hong , Sang Xiao-Yan , Pan Yang , Song Cheng
Published: June 2020

1,4-Bis(3,4-dicarboxybenzoyl)benzene dianhydride, an aromatic bis(ketone anhydride) monomer, was synthesized by the Friedel–Crafts reaction of terephthaloyl dichloride and o-xylene, followed by the oxidation of the intermediate tetramethylated compound and cyclodehydration of the resulting tetraacid. A series of new poly(diketone imide)s (PDKIs) were prepared from this dianhydride with various aromatic diamines via a conventional two-stage process that included ring-opening polyaddition to form the poly(amic acid)s followed by thermal or chemical imidization. Most of the PDKIs through chemical imidization were soluble in aprotic amide solvents, such as N, N-dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, m-cresol, and so on. The resulting PDKIs had good thermal property with the glass transition temperature of 203–275°C, the temperature at 5% weight loss of 500–539°C, and the residue of 51–60% at 800°C in nitrogen. Additionally, strong and flexible PDKI films obtained by thermal imidization exhibited outstanding mechanical property with the tensile strength of 88.8–158.5 MPa, tensile modulus of 1.9–3.5 GPa, and elongation at breakage of 7–21%.
Pairwise likelihood estimation of latent autoregressive count models
Authors: Pedeli Xanthi , Varin Cristiano
Published: June 2020

Latent autoregressive models are useful time series models for the analysis of infectious disease data. Evaluation of the likelihood function of latent autoregressive models is intractable and its approximation through simulation-based methods appears as a standard practice. Although simulation methods may make the inferential problem feasible, they are often computationally intensive and the quality of the numerical approximation may be difficult to assess. We consider instead a weighted pairwise likelihood approach and explore several computational and methodological aspects including estimation of robust standard errors and the role of numerical integration. The suggested approach is illustrated using monthly data on invasive meningococcal disease infection in Greece and Italy.
SOFAMONIA: Comparison of the original SOFA score with the proposed new score including serum ammonia
Authors: Zanuto Amanda Carolina Damasceno , Larangeira Alexandre Sanches , Tanita Marcos Toshiyuki , Ishioka Hugo Kenzo , Grion Cintia Magalhães Carvalho , Delfino Vinicius Daher Alvares
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Hyperammonemia can represent organic dysfunction of the brain, kidney, or liver. Evaluation of serum ammonia concentrations as a parameter for organ dysfunction may be justified.

Objective:

To evaluate the performance of serum ammonia as an additional or substitute variable for organ systems in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score.

Methods:

A prospective cohort study including 173 patients admitted to the intensive care unit between March 2015 and February 2016. SOFAMONIA scores were defined as follows: SOFAMONIA1 (Glasgow coma scale replaced by serum ammonia), SOFAMONIA2 (serum bilirubin replaced by serum ammonia), SOFAMONIA3 (renal system score replaced by serum ammonia), and SOFAMONIA4 (addition of serum ammonia to the original SOFA as the seventh variable, changing the maximum score from 24 to 28).

Results:

The original SOFA presented an area under the curve–receiver operating characteristic of 0.697 to predict hospital mortality. There was a positive correlation between SOFA and SOFAMONIA scores. SOFAMONIA1 presented a cut‐off point of 5 for area under the curve 0.684 (0.610–0.753, 95% confidence interval), SOFAMONIA2 presented a cut‐off point of 9 for area under the curve 0.701 (0.626–0.768, 95% confidence interval), SOFAMONIA3 presented a cut‐off point of 8 for area under the curve 0.674 (0.598–0.743, 95% confidence interval), and SOFAMONIA4 presented a cut‐off point of 8 for area under the curve 0.702 (0.628–0.769, 95% confidence interval).

Conclusions:

The addition of ammonia as the seventh parameter of the SOFA score showed the best performance to predict hospital mortality. The addition of ammonia as a representative of metabolic dysfunction may be useful in the follow‐up of critically ill patients.