bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pembrolizumab and decitabine for refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Goswami Meghali , Gui Gege , Dillon Laura W , Lindblad Katherine E , Thompson Julie , Valdez Janet , Kim Dong-Yun , Ghannam Jack Y , Oetjen Karolyn A , Destefano Christin B , Smith Dana M , Tekleab Hanna , Li Yeusheng , Dagur Pradeep , Hughes Thomas , Marté Jennifer L , del Rivero Jaydira , Klubo-Gwiezdzinksa Joanna , Gulley James L , Calvo Katherine R , Lai Catherine , Hourigan Christopher S
Published: January 2022

Background

The powerful ‘graft versus leukemia’ effect thought partly responsible for the therapeutic effect of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) provides rationale for investigation of immune-based therapies in this high-risk blood cancer. There is considerable preclinical evidence for potential synergy between PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade and the hypomethylating agents already commonly used for this disease.

Methods

We report here the results of 17 H-0026 (PD-AML,NCT02996474), an investigator sponsored, single-institution, single-arm open-label 10-subject pilot study to test the feasibility of the first-in-human combination of pembrolizumab and decitabine in adult patients with refractory or relapsed AML (R-AML).

Results

In this cohort of previously treated patients, this novel combination of anti-PD-1 and hypomethylating therapy was feasible and associated with a best response of stable disease or better in 6 of 10 patients. Considerable immunological changes were identified using T cell receptor β sequencing as well as single-cell immunophenotypic and RNA expression analyses on sorted CD3+ T cells in patients who developed immune-related adverse events (irAEs) during treatment. Clonal T cell expansions occurred at irAE onset; single-cell sequencing demonstrated that these expanded clones were predominately CD8+ effector memory T cells with high cell surface PD-1 expression and transcriptional profiles indicative of activation and cytotoxicity. In contrast, no such distinctive immune changes were detectable in those experiencing a measurable antileukemic response during treatment.

Conclusion

Addition of pembrolizumab to 10-day decitabine therapy was clinically feasible in patients with R-AML, with immunological changes from PD-1 blockade observed in patients experiencing irAEs.
G6PD functions as a metabolic checkpoint to regulate granzyme B expression in tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes
Authors: Lu Chunwan , Yang Dafeng , Klement John D , Colson Yolonda L , Oberlies Nicholas H , Pearce Cedric J , Colby Aaron H , Grinstaff Mark W , Ding Han-Fei , Shi Huidong , Liu Kebin
Published: January 2022

Background

Granzyme B is a key effector of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and its expression level positively correlates with the response of patients with mesothelioma to immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. Whether metabolic pathways regulateGzmbexpression in CTLs is incompletely understood.

Methods

A tumor-specific CTL and tumor coculture model and a tumor-bearing mouse model were used to determine the role of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) in CTL function and tumor immune evasion. A link between granzyme B expression and patient survival was analyzed in human patients with epithelioid mesothelioma.

Results

Mesothelioma cells alone are sufficient to activate tumor-specific CTLs and to enhance aerobic glycolysis to induce a PD-1hiGzmbloCTL phenotype. However, inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase A, the key enzyme of the aerobic glycolysis pathway, has no significant effect on tumor-induced CTL activation. Tumor cells induce H3K9me3 deposition at the promoter ofG6pd, the gene that encodes the rate-limiting enzyme G6PD in the pentose phosphate pathway, to downregulateG6pdexpression in tumor-specific CTLs. G6PD activation increases acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) production to increase H3K9ac deposition at theGzmbpromoter and to increaseGzmbexpression in tumor-specific CTLs converting them from a Gzmbloto a Gzmbhiphenotype, thus increasing CTL tumor lytic activity. Activation of G6PD increases Gzmb+tumor-specific CTLs and suppresses tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice. Consistent with these findings,GZMBexpression level was found to correlate with increased survival in patients with epithelioid mesothelioma.

Conclusion

G6PD is a metabolic checkpoint in tumor-activated CTLs. The H3K9me3/G6PD/acetyl-CoA/H3K9ac/Gzmb pathway is particularly important in CTL activation and immune evasion in epithelioid mesothelioma.
Immunologic constant of rejection signature is prognostic in soft-tissue sarcoma and refines the CINSARC signature
Authors: Bertucci Francois , Niziers Vincent , de Nonneville Alexandre , Finetti Pascal , Mescam Léna , Mir Olivier , Italiano Antoine , Le Cesne Axel , Blay Jean-Yves , Ceccarelli Michele , Bedognetti Davide , Birnbaum Daniel , Mamessier Emilie
Published: January 2022

Background

Soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs) are heterogeneous and aggressive tumors, with high metastatic risk. The immunologic constant of rejection (ICR) 20-gene signature is a signature of cytotoxic immune response. We hypothesized that ICR might improve the prognostic assessment of early-stage STS.

Methods

We retrospectively applied ICR to 1455 non-metastatic STS and searched for correlations between ICR classes and clinicopathological and biological variables, including metastasis-free survival (MFS).

Results

Thirty-four per cent of tumors were classified as ICR1, 27% ICR2, 24% ICR3, and 15% ICR4. These classes were associated with patients’ age, pathological type, and tumor depth, and an enrichment from ICR1 to ICR4 of quantitative/qualitative scores of immune response. ICR1 class was associated with a 59% increased risk of metastatic relapse when compared with ICR2-4 class. In multivariate analysis, ICR classification remained associated with MFS, as well as pathological type and Complexity Index in Sarcomas (CINSARC) classification, suggesting independent prognostic value. A prognostic clinicogenomic model, including the three variables, was built in a learning set (n=339) and validated in an independent set (n=339), showing greater prognostic precision than each variable alone or in doublet. Finally, connectivity mapping analysis identified drug classes potentially able to reverse the expression profile of poor-prognosis tumors, such as chemotherapy and targeted therapies.

Conclusion

ICR signature is independently associated with postoperative MFS in early-stage STS, independently from other prognostic features, including CINSARC. We built a robust prognostic clinicogenomic model integrating ICR, CINSARC, and pathological type, and suggested differential vulnerability of each prognostic group to different systemic therapies.
Herpes zoster in SLE: prevalence, incidence and risk factors
Authors: Kwan Andrew , Rayes Hanan Al , Lazova Tijana , Anderson Nicole , Bonilla Dennisse , Su Jiandong , Touma Zahi
Published: January 2022

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) events and describe its associated factors in a study of patients with SLE.

Methods

491 consecutive SLE participants were screened for HZ events using a patient-reported questionnaire to capture outcomes on pain and other characteristics associated with HZ events. Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory measures were also analysed, and time-dependent Cox regression survival analyses were performed to investigate factors associated with HZ events.

Results

Prevalence of HZ was 30.5%, incidence was 14.3 cases per 1000 person-years. Lymphopenia and glucocorticoid dosing were significantly associated with HZ events.

Conclusions

HZ is highly prevalent in SLE, which may be linked to disease-related and treatment-related effects on cellular immunity. Our results suggest that the presence of certain risk factors may be useful to allow identification of patients at risk of HZ and improve its management in patients with SLE.
Long-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 incidence: a prospective study of residents in the city of Varese, Northern Italy
Authors: Veronesi Giovanni , De Matteis Sara , Calori Giuseppe , Pepe Nicola , Ferrario Marco M
Published: January 2022

Objectives

To investigate the association between long-term exposure to airborne pollutants and the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 up to March 2021 in a prospective study of residents in Varese city.

Methods

Citizens of Varese aged ≥18 years as of 31 December 2019 were linked by residential address to 2018 average annual exposure to outdoor concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, NO and ozone modelled using the Flexible Air quality Regional Model (FARM) chemical transport model. Citizens were further linked to regional datasets for COVID-19 case ascertainment (positive nasopharyngeal swab specimens) and to define age, sex, living in a residential care home, population density and comorbidities. We estimated rate ratios and additional numbers of cases per 1 µg/m3increase in air pollutants from single- and bi-pollutant Poisson regression models.

Results

The 62 848 residents generated 4408 cases. Yearly average PM2.5exposure was 12.5 µg/m3. Age, living in a residential care home, history of stroke and medications for diabetes, hypertension and obstructive airway diseases were independently associated with COVID-19. In single-pollutant multivariate models, PM2.5was associated with a 5.1% increase in the rate of COVID-19 (95% CI 2.7% to 7.5%), corresponding to 294 additional cases per 100 000 person-years. The association was confirmed in bi-pollutant models; excluding subjects in residential care homes; and further adjusting for area-based indicators of socioeconomic level and use of public transportation. Similar findings were observed for PM10, NO2and NO. Ozone was associated with a 2% decrease in disease rate, the association being reversed in bi-pollutant models.

Conclusions

Long-term exposure to low levels of air pollutants, especially PM2.5, increased the incidence of COVID-19. The causality warrants confirmation in future studies; meanwhile, government efforts to further reduce air pollution should continue.
Differential impact of the Canadian point-of-sale tobacco display bans on quit attempts and smoking cessation outcomes by sex, income and education: longitudinal findings from the ITC Canada Survey
Authors: Usidame Bukola , Xie Yanmei , Thrasher James F , Lozano Paula , Elliott Michael R , Fong Geoffrey T , Fleischer Nancy L
Published: January 2022

Significance

This study examines the differential effects of Canadian point-of-sale (POS) tobacco display bans across provinces on quit attempts and smoking cessation, by sex, education and income.

Methods

We analysed survey data from five waves (waves 4–8) of the International Tobacco Control Canada Survey, a population-based, longitudinal survey, where provinces implemented display bans between 2004 and 2010. Primary outcomes were quit attempts and successful cessation. We used generalised estimating equation Poisson regression models to estimate associations between living in a province with or without a POS ban (with a 24-month threshold) and smoking outcomes. We tested whether these associations varied by sex, education and income by including interaction terms.

Results

Across survey waves, the percentage of participants in provinces with POS bans established for more than 24 months increased from 5.0% to 95.8%. There was no association between POS bans and quit attempts for provinces with bans in place for 0–24 months or more than 24 months, respectively (adjusted relative risk (aRR)=0.99, 95% CI: 0.89 to 1.10; 1.03, 95% CI: 0.88 to 1.20). However, we found a differential impact of POS bans on quit attempts by sex, whereby bans were more effective for women than men for bans of 0–24 months. Participants living in a province with a POS ban for at least 24 months had a higher chance of successful cessation (aRR=1.49; 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.05) compared with those in a province without a ban. We found no differences in the association between POS bans and quit attempts or cessation by education or income, and no differences by sex for cessation.

Conclusion

POS bans are associated with increased smoking cessation overall and more quit attempts among women than men.
Can phytogenic additives improve the performance of broilers and replace growth-promoting antibiotics? A meta-analytic approach
Authors: Polycarpo Gustavo do Valle , Lima Gabrieli Andressa de , Ávida Thaís de Souza , Rosas Fábio Sampaio , Cruz-Polycarpo Valquíria Cação , Biller Jaqueline Dalbello , Barbosa Bárbara Fernanda da Silva , Burbarelli Maria Fernanda de Castro
Published: January 2022

Phytogenic additives have been studied intensively in broiler chicken production to substitute growth-promoting antibiotics. However, the comprehensive literature on this topic makes it difficult to understand overall results because there are a noticeable number of studies with conflicting conclusions. While several research studies have shown that phytogenic additives may increment broiler chicken’s performance, others make the opposite evident. This study aimed to organize and understand information through meta-analysis considering a great number of publications and the factors that may interfere in the results of phytogenic additives, evaluating whether phytogenic additives can be used as a performance-enhancing additive for broilers, when compared with the effectiveness of growth-promoting antibiotics. The main factor that interferes in the evaluation of phytogenic additives is the microbiological challenge. Phytogenic additives improved average daily gain (ADG) (P < 0.001) and feed conversion (P < 0.001) regardless of microbiological challenge; however, they were worse compared with antibiotics under higher challenge (P < 0.020). A meta-regression of ADG in function of average daily feed intake confirmed that phytogenic additives increased the feed efficiency of broilers, but with less effectiveness than antibiotics. The blends of phytogenic additives increased the ADG in relation to the isolated use of only one phytogenic additive.
On stringy origin of minimal flavor violation
Authors: Kobayashi Tatsuo , Otsuka Hajime
Published: January 2022

We study the minimal flavor violation in the context of string effective field theory. Stringy selection rules indicate that n-point couplings among fermionic zero-modes and lightest scalar modes in the string effective action are given by a product of Yukawa couplings which are regarded as spurion fields of stringy and geometrical symmetries. Hence, Yukawa couplings determine the dynamics of flavor and CP violations. This observation strongly supports the hypothesis of minimal flavor violation in the Standard Model effective field theory.
New limits on double-beta decay of $$^{190}$$Pt and $$^{198}$$Pt
Authors: Danevich F. A. , Hult M. , Junghans A. , Kasperovych D. V. , Kropivyansky B. N. , Lutter G. , Marissens G. , Polischuk O. G. , Romaniuk M. V. , Stroh H. , Tessalina S. , Tretyak V. I. , Ware B.
Published: January 2022

A search for double-beta decay of $$^{190}$$

190

Pt and $$^{198}$$

198

Pt with emission of $$\gamma $$
γ
-ray quanta was realized at the HADES underground laboratory with a 148 g platinum sample measured by two ultralow-background HPGe detectors over 8946 h. The isotopic composition of the platinum sample has been measured with high precision using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. New lower limits for the half-lives of $$^{190}$$

190

Pt relative to different channels and modes of the decays were set on the level of $$\lim T_{1/2}\sim 10^{14}$$

lim

T

1
/
2

∼

10
14

–$$10^{16}$$

10
16

year. A possible exact resonant $$0\nu KN$$

0
ν
K
N

transition to the 1,2 1326.9 keV level of $$^{190}$$

190

Os is limited for the first time as $$T_{1/2} \ge 2.5 \times 10^{16}$$

T

1
/
2

≥
2.5
×

10
16

year. A new lower limit on the double-beta decay of $$^{198}$$

198

Pt to the first excited level of $$^{198}$$

198

Hg was set as $$T_{1/2} \ge 3.2\times 10^{19}$$

T

1
/
2

≥
3.2
×

10
19

year, one order of magnitude higher than the limit obtained in the previous experiment.
On finiteness of log canonical models
Authors: Li Zhan
Published: January 2022

Let [Formula: see text] be klt pairs with [Formula: see text] a convex set of divisors. Assuming that the relative Kodaira dimensions of such pairs are non-negative, then there are only finitely many log canonical models when the boundary divisors vary in a rational polytope in [Formula: see text]. As a consequence, we show the existence of the log canonical model for a klt pair [Formula: see text] with real coefficients.
Multi and breather wave soliton solutions and the linear superposition principle for generalized Hietarinta equation
Authors: Kiliç S. Şule Şener
Published: January 2022

In this paper, we study the generalized ([Formula: see text])-dimensional Hietarinta equation which is investigated by utilizing Hirota’s bilinear method. Also, the bilinear form is obtained, and the N-soliton solutions are constructed. In addition, multi-wave and breather wave solutions of the addressed equation with specific coefficients are presented. Finally, under certain conditions, the asymptotic behavior of solutions is analyzed in both methods. Moreover, we employ the linear superposition principle to determine [Formula: see text]-soliton wave solutions for the generalized ([Formula: see text])-dimensional Hietarinta equation.
On a spanning subgraph of the annihilating-ideal graph of a commutative ring
Authors: Visweswaran S.
Published: January 2022

The rings considered in this paper are commutative with identity which are not integral domains. Let [Formula: see text] be a ring. Let us denote the set of all annihilating ideals of [Formula: see text] by [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] by [Formula: see text]. With [Formula: see text], we associate an undirected graph, denoted by [Formula: see text], whose vertex set is [Formula: see text] and distinct vertices [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are adjacent in this graph if and only if [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The aim of this paper is to study the interplay between the graph-theoretic properties of [Formula: see text] and the ring-theoretic properties of [Formula: see text].
BlastFunction: A Full-stack Framework Bringing FPGA Hardware Acceleration to Cloud-native Applications
Authors: Damiani Andrea , Fiscaletti Giorgia , Bacis Marco , Brondolin Rolando , Santambrogio Marco D.
Published: January 2022

“Cloud-native” is the umbrella adjective describing the standard approach for developing applications that exploit cloud infrastructures’ scalability and elasticity at their best. As the application complexity and user-bases grow, designing for performance becomes a first-class engineering concern. As an answer to these needs, heterogeneous computing platforms gained widespread attention as powerful tools to continue meeting SLAs for compute-intensive cloud-native workloads. We propose BlastFunction, an FPGA-as-a-Service full-stack framework to ease FPGAs’ adoption for cloud-native workloads, integrating with the vast spectrum of fundamental cloud models. At the IaaS level, BlastFunction time-shares FPGA-based accelerators to provide multi-tenant access to accelerated resources without any code rewriting. At the PaaS level, BlastFunction accelerates functionalities leveraging the serverless model and scales functions proactively, depending on the workload’s performance. Further lowering the FPGAs’ adoption barrier, an accelerators’ registry hosts accelerated functions ready to be used within cloud-native applications, bringing the simplicity of a SaaS-like approach to the developers. After an extensive experimental campaign against state-of-the-art cloud scenarios, we show how BlastFunction leads to higher performance metrics (utilization and throughput) against native execution, with minimal latency and overhead differences. Moreover, the scaling scheme we propose outperforms the main serverless autoscaling algorithms in workload performance and scaling operation amount.
xDNN: Inference for Deep Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: D'Alberto Paolo , Wu Victor , Ng Aaron , Nimaiyar Rahul , Delaye Elliott , Sirasao Ashish
Published: January 2022

We present xDNN, an end-to-end system for deep-learning inference based on a family of specialized hardware processors synthesized on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) and Convolution Neural Networks (CNN). We present a design optimized for low latency, high throughput, and high compute efficiency with no batching. The design is scalable and a parametric function of the number of multiply-accumulate units, on-chip memory hierarchy, and numerical precision. The design can produce a scale-down processor for embedded devices, replicated to produce more cores for larger devices, or resized to optimize efficiency. On Xilinx Virtex Ultrascale+ VU13P FPGA, we achieve 800 MHz that is close to the Digital Signal Processing maximum frequency and above 80% efficiency of on-chip compute resources.

On top of our processor family, we present a runtime system enabling the execution of different networks for different input sizes (i.e., from 224× 224 to 2048× 1024). We present a compiler that reads CNNs from native frameworks (i.e., MXNet, Caffe, Keras, and Tensorflow), optimizes them, generates codes, and provides performance estimates. The compiler combines quantization information from the native environment and optimizations to feed the runtime with code as efficient as any hardware expert could write. We present tools partitioning a CNN into subgraphs for the division of work to CPU cores and FPGAs. Notice that the software will not change when or if the FPGA design becomes an ASIC, making our work vertical and not just a proof-of-concept FPGA project.

We show experimental results for accuracy, latency, and power for several networks: In summary, we can achieve up to 4 times higher throughput, 3 times better power efficiency than the GPUs, and up to 20 times higher throughput than the latest CPUs. To our knowledge, we provide solutions faster than any previous FPGA-based solutions and comparable to any other top-of-the-shelves solutions.
GECCO 2021
Authors: Chicano Francisco
Published: January 2022

The 2021 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO 2021) was planned to be held in hybrid mode in Lille, France, on July 10th-14th, 2021. After a careful analysis of the evolution of the pandemic and the results of a poll to frequent attendees on the preferred form of attendance, a decision was made in mid-December to run GECCO'21 in online/virtual mode only. This report provides statistics about submissions and authorship, and some comments about the evolution and growth of GECCO.
2021 Humies winners awarded at GECCO!
Authors: Goodman Erik
Published: January 2022

The GECCO Conference, held virtually this year in Lille, France, July 10-14, was the home for the 18th Annual Human-Competitive Results Awards. The Humies competition annually awards $10,000 in cash prizes for computational results that are deemed to be competitive with results produced by human beings, but are generated automatically by computer. This year, there were 20 entries submitted, and the judges selected six of those to be finalists, based on the papers and entry forms they submitted. Because GECCO was virtual, the six Humies finalists did not present live talks, but instead submitted 10-minute videos that were shown during the Humies session and viewed by the judges in making their selections of the prize winners. All 20 entries and the six finalists' videos are all available to the general public at the website for the Humies, www.human-competitive.org, so anyone can watch them there.
ACM SIGEVO best dissertation award 2021
Authors: López-Ibáñez Manuel
Published: January 2022

The SIGEVO Best Dissertation Award was created in 2019 to recognize excellent thesis research by doctoral candidates in the field of evolutionary computing. Doctoral dissertation awards are also given by other Special Interest Groups of ACM, such as SIGCOMM, SIGKDD, SIGARCH and others. The SIGEVO Best Dissertation Award is given annually to a maximum of 1 winner and a maximum of 2 honorable mentions. The award presentation takes place at the awards ceremony of GECCO. The award carries a monetary value of $1,000 contributed by SIGEVO to be awarded to the winner. The award winner and honorable mentions each receive a plaque.
Review—Recent Trends on the Electrochemical Sensors Used for the Determination of Tartrazine and Sunset Yellow FCF from Food and Beverage Products
Authors: Georgescu State Ramona , van Staden Jacobus (Koos) Frederick , Staden Raluca-Ioana Stefan-van
Published: January 2022

Synthetic dyes were widely used in food industry due to their advantages such as good stability to oxygen, light and pH, reproducibility, bright color, low sensitivity to storage conditions and technological processing, and of course, low cost. Unfortunately, some of them have potential harmful effect to human health (the presence of azo group in the molecular structure of azo dyes has carcinogenic and mutagenic effects in the human health), thus, their detection in various food and beverage products became essential. Therefore, this review presents the latest development in sensors design used for the determination of two commonly used azo dyes—tartrazine and sunset yellow in real food and beverage samples, revealing that there is a variety of efficient sensors with low limits of detection, wide linear concentration ranges, high selectivities and sensitivities.
Transmission Line Model Impedance Analysis of Lithium Sulfur Batteries: Influence of Lithium Sulfide Deposit Formed During Discharge and Self-Discharge
Authors: Drvarič Talian Sara , Kapun Gregor , Moškon Jože , Dominko Robert , Gaberšček Miran
Published: January 2022

The effect of Li2S deposition on the impedance response of Li-S battery cells is investigated using a simplified cell design, systematic impedance spectroscopy measurements combined with transmission line modeling, and a complementary microscopy analysis. Glassy carbon cathodes are employed to build and validate the proposed transmission line model, which is later on employed to investigate the effect of various parameters of Li2S deposit (coverage, thickness, porosity) on cell’s impedance. Among others, the model is applied to study the effect of discharge and self-discharge. Finally, the simplified planar cathode is exchanged with a more conventional mesoporous carbon cathode to determine the effect of Li2S deposition on the impedance of a commercially viable cell design. We have found that Li2S deposit has little effect on the impedance response, owing to its porous structure. The most noticeable change stemming from the process of Li2S deposition is due to the depletion of polysulfide species concentration in the electrolyte, which decreases the chemical capacitance and increases the tail height in the low frequency region of the impedance spectra.
Ratiometric Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Internally Controlled Duplex PCR for Detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
Authors: Bunyarataphan Sasinee , Prammananan Therdsak , Japrung Deanpen
Published: January 2022

The pathogenic bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is responsible for tuberculosis which is well known for the globally leading cause of death. The likelihood of false negative interpretation as well as potential influence from intrinsic and extrinsic factors are considerably minimized by the incorporation of internal control (IC) detection into the developed assay platform. Ratiometric electrochemical biosensor (REC biosensor) for detection of MTB was developed based on the IC integration via duplex PCR (dPCR) and a dual-signal electrochemical readout. The MTB- or IC-specific PNA probe was labeled with methylene blue (MB) or ferrocene (FC), respectively at the C terminus, producing a strong square wave voltammetry (SWV) signal. Interaction of the ICdPCR product could induce changes in the dynamics of these two redox-labeled PNA probes (MTB-MB and IC-FC) that were attached to the screen-printed gold electrode (SPGE) via formation of a self-assembled monolayer. Using this MB as a reporter and FC as an IC, the REC ICdPCR biosensor achieved a broad detection range from 10 fM to 10 nM and a detection limit of 1.26 fM, corresponding to approximately 2.5 bacteria cells. The REC ICdPCR biosensor was applied to MTB measurement in practical samples, exhibiting high accuracy and more importantly high practicability.
Influence of Carbon Dioxide and Humidity on the Stability of (La0.6Sr0.4)0.99Co1−xTixO3−δ
Cathode
Authors: Heinsaar Alar , Kivi Indrek , Möller Priit , Kooser Kuno , Käämbre T. , Aruväli Jaan , Nurk Gunnar , Lust Enn
Published: January 2022

(La0.6Sr0.4)0.99CoO3−δ
is a very promising cathode material due to its excellent electronic and ionic conductivity. However, non-artificial air from the ambient atmosphere contains impurities such as H2O and CO2, which cause degradation and performance loss of the cathode. Introduction of Ti into the B-site of (La0.6Sr0.4)0.99CoO3−δ
improves the chemical stability of the material. (La0.6Sr0.4)0.99Co1−xTixO3−δ
(0 ≤ x ≥ 0.1) electrodes prepared in this work were analyzed using X-ray diffraction method (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Studied (La0.6Sr0.4)0.99CoO3−δ
materials with Ti in B-site showed reversible degradation under gas mixture with carbon dioxide addition. Improved stability was observed for (La0.6Sr0.4)0.99Co1−xTixO3−δ
materials with Ti in B-site compared to unmodified (La0.6Sr0.4)0.99CoO3−δ
in gas mixture containing water vapour.
From the Editor: Environmental Concerns
Authors: Talbot Jan B.
Published: January 2022

Since the 1970s, environmental awareness has grown dramatically in response to major air pollution and water quality problems throughout the world. Environmental science and technology must be interdisciplinary in order to solve complex problems of pollution prevention and remediation. Electrochemical and solid-state technologies play a key role in the detection, analysis, and abatement of pollutants. However, electrochemical technology, such as the chlor-alkali and batteries industries, have also contributed to environmental problems.
Free Radicals - Fall 1998
Authors: Hall Dale
Published: January 2022

Papers from our Journal have been cited almost 60,000 times in the 1990s, and the Journal is routinely among the top two cited in electrochemistry. These are statistics of which we should be proud. Our Journal is full of interesting and useful information. But what makes papers interesting and useful, anyway? What factors influence which papers are read and used?
[Retracted] Examining Impacts of Acidic Bath Temperature on Nano‐Synthesized Lead Selenide Thin Films for the Application of Solar Cells
Authors: Abel Saka , Tesfaye Jule Leta , Nagaprasad N. , Shanmugam R. , Dwarampudi L. Priyanka , Deepak Tyagi , Zhang Hongxia , Krishnaraj Ramaswamy , Stalin B.
Published: January 2022

The influence of bath temperature on nano‐manufactured PbSe (lead selenide) films was successfully generated by utilizing CBD on the acid solution’s metal surface tool. Pb (NO3)2 was employed as a lead ion source as a precursor, while Na2O4Se was used as a selenide ion source. The XRD characterization revealed that the prepared samples are the property of crystalline structure (111), (101), (100), and (110) Miller indices. The scanning electron microscope indicated that the particles have a rock‐like shape. There was a decrement of energy bandgap that is from 2.4 eV to 1.2 eV with increasing temperature 20°C–85°C. Thin films prepared at 85°C revealed the best polycrystal structure as well as homogeneously dispersed on the substrate at superior particle scales. The photoluminescence spectrophotometer witnessed that as the temperature of the solution bath increases from 20°C to 85°C, the average strength of PL emission of the film decreases. The maximum photoluminescence strength predominantly exists at high temperatures because of self‐trapped exciton recombination, formed from O2 vacancy and particle size what we call defect centres, for the deposited thin films at 45°C and 85°C. Therefore, the finest solution temperature is 85°C.
Molecular Docking, Synthesis, and Tyrosinase Inhibition Activity of Acetophenone Amide: Potential Inhibitor of Melanogenesis
Authors: Nazir Yasir , Rafique Hummera , Roshan Sadia , Shamas Shazia , Ashraf Zaman , Rafiq Muhammad , Tahir Tehreem , Qureshi Zia-Ur-Rahman , Aslam Alvina , Asad Muhammad Hassham Hassan Bin
Published: January 2022

Tyrosinase and its related proteins are responsible for pigmentation disorders, and inhibiting tyrosinase is an established strategy to treat hyperpigmentation. The carbonyl scaffolds can be effective inhibitors of tyrosinase activity, and the fact that both benzoic and cinnamic acids are safe natural substances with such a scaffolded structure, it was speculated that hydroxyl‐substituted benzoic and cinnamic acid derivatives may exhibit potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity. These moieties were incorporated into new chemotypes that displayed in vitro inhibitory effect against mushroom tyrosinase with a view to explore antimelanogenic ingredients. The most active compound, 2‐((3‐acetylphenyl)amino)‐2‐oxoethyl(E)‐3‐(2,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)acrylate (5c), inhibited mushroom tyrosinase with an IC50 of 0.0020 ± 0.0002 μM, while 2‐((3‐acetylphenyl)amino)‐2‐oxoethyl 2,4‐dihydroxybenzoate (3c) had an IC50 of 27.35 ± 3.6 μM in comparison to the positive control arbutin and kojic acid with a tyrosinase inhibitory activity of IC50 of 191.17 ± 5.5 μM and IC50 of 16.69 ± 2.8 μM, respectively. Analysis of enzyme kinetics revealed that 5c is a competitive and reversible inhibitor with dissociation constant (Ki) value 0.0072 μM. In silico docking studies with mushroom tyrosinase (PDB ID 2Y9X) predicted possible binding modes in the enzymatic pocket for these compounds. The orthohydroxyl of the cinnamic acid moiety of 5c is predicted to form hydrogen bond with the active site side chain carbonyl of Asn 260 (2.16 Å) closer to the catalytic site Cu ions. The acetyl carbonyl is picking up another hydrogen bond with Asn 81 (1.90 Å). The inhibitor 5c passed the panassay interference (PAINS) alerts. This study presents the potential of hydroxyl‐substituted benzoic and cinnamic acids and could be beneficial for various cosmetic formulations.
[Retracted] Analysis of the Correlation between Emerging Industry Development and University Students’ Entrepreneurship Based on Big Data
Authors: Pan Yufeng , Huang Hui
Published: January 2022

With the strong support of local governments for strategic emerging industries such as high‐end equipment manufacturing, new materials, and new energy, strategic emerging industries are playing an increasingly important role in the economy and society. With the increasing enthusiasm of college graduates for independent entrepreneurship, college students’ entrepreneurship is constantly integrated with the development of strategic emerging industries. Based on this background, aiming at the practical problems of the development of strategic emerging industries, this study innovatively puts forward the method of using big data technology and GM model to realize the dynamic model analysis of the development of strategic emerging industries and college students’ entrepreneurial behavior. This article analyzes the correlation between dynamic big data such as industrial scale, industrial market, and industrial direction of local strategic emerging industries and university entrepreneurship, so as to provide theoretical support for the development strategy of strategic emerging industries. Through the neural network algorithm, this article evaluates the entrepreneurship of college students, so as to provide a digital basis for the layout of strategic emerging industries to attract talents and entrepreneurship. Experiments show that the big data integration system established by GM correlation analysis and ant colony Elman regression artificial neural network has high accuracy and can well identify the priority relevance of the industrial direction of strategic emerging industries to college students’ entrepreneurship. It provides theoretical support for regional policy makers to better formulate college students’ entrepreneurship strategy and the development plan of emerging industries.
LTB4 Promotes Acute Lung Injury via Upregulating the PLCε-1/TLR4/NF-κB Pathway in One-Lung Ventilation
Authors: Luo Jing , Ma Qingjie , Tang Heng , Zou Xi , Guo Xin , Hu Yuzhen , Zhou Kejiang , Liu Rui
Published: January 2022

Background. Mechanical ventilation (MV) can provoke acute lung injury (ALI) by increasing inflammation activation and disrupting the barrier in lung tissues even causing death. However, the inflammation-related molecules and pathways in MV-induced ALI remain largely unknown. Hence, the purposes of this study are to examine the role and mechanism of a novel inflammation-related molecule, leukotriene B4 (LTB4), in ALI. Methods. The functions of LTB4 in one-lung ventilation (OLV) model were detected by the loss-of-function experiments. H&E staining was used to examine the pathologic changes of lung tissues. Functionally, PLCε-1 knockdown and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/NF-κB pathway inhibitor were used to detect the regulatory effects of LTB4 on the phospholipase Cε (PLCε-1)/TLR4/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. The levels of genes and proteins were determined by RT-qPCR and western blotting assay. The levels of inflammation cytokines and chemokines were measured by ELISA. Results. Here, we found LTA4H, leukotriene B (4) receptor 1 (BLT1), LTB4, and PLCε-1 upregulated in OLV rats and associated with inflammatory activation and lung permeability changes of lung tissues. Inhibition of LTB4 alleviated the OLV-induced ALI by inhibiting inflammatory activation and lung permeability changes of lung tissues. For mechanism analyses, LTB4 promoted OLV-induced ALI by activating the PLCε-1/TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Conclusion. LTB4 induced ALI in OLV rats by activating the PLCε-1/TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Our findings might supply a new potential therapeutic for OLV-induced ALI.
Effect of Mobile Learning on the Optimization of Preschool Education Teaching Mode under the Epidemic
Authors: Zhou Shuo
Published: January 2022

Mobile learning has become an efficient way to meet the needs of work learning in the epidemic situation because of its convenience, flexibility, and freedom. This paper studies and discusses the impact of mobile learning on learning education and preschool education in the epidemic. A mobile learning community resource sharing algorithm is used to explore the speed of the online learning community to obtain learning resources. The advantages of online learning are analyzed by comparing the speed of learning resources obtained in ordinary groups. In this research, the random offloading algorithm (ROA) is proposed to analyze the student response. The results revealed that majority of the students believed that mobile learning helps in learning subjects to a greater extent.
Evaporative Cracking Characteristics of the Embankment Soil Affected by the Saline Concentration
Authors: Liu Jiawei , Xia Yingzhi , Li Hui , Hu Guoping , Hu Mingming
Published: January 2022

Embankment soil affected by saline can not only cause roadbed settlement, frosting, and road cracks but also cause corrosion and cracking of roadbed pipelines, which seriously affects the stability of the road. Water evaporation and dry cracking of the saline soil mainly cause soil swelling, poor water stability, and corrosive characteristics of the embankment soil. In this study, the evaporative cracking characteristics of soil with different saline concentrations were investigated. The results showed that the moisture content decreased linearly with the drying time in the early evaporation process, subsequently decreased slow down in the mid‐term evaporation, and finally become got and remain a residual moisture content, which are 46.39%, 44.05%, 42.70%, and 40.27% with the increase of the saline concentration. The evaporation process with different saline concentrations in the soil can be divided into three stages: uniform evaporation stage, slow down evaporation stage, and equilibrium evaporation stage, which was consistent with the moisture content change. With the development of the drying time, the cracks gradually appeared on the soil surface, gradually deepened in the soil, and expanded the crack network. The development of cracks can be divided into three stages: the cracking preparation stage, the crack development stage, and the crack stable stage. The cracking began at high evaporation rate under high saline concentration, and the fractal dimension remained stable under similar saline concentration. The fractal dimension was gradually increased with the decrease of the moisture content and the increase of the saline concentration, respectively. The soil began to crack with larger moisture under high saline concentration. The drying cracks in the nature were consistent with the configuration of the cracks formed in the experimental results.
Association between Exercise and Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Residents: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhu Zhu , Yan Wu , Yu Qiurun , Wu Peihao , Bigambo Francis Manyori , Chen Jiaying
Published: January 2022

Background. Exercise is recommended as an effective lifestyle behaviour for adults to prevent and treat hypertension. In this study, a randomized-effect meta-analysis was used to analyse the influence of exercise interventions on blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Methods. Candidate papers were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library electronic databases, and 46 studies were finally included and analysed. Results. It was shown that preplanned walking (systolic blood pressure (SBP): WMD (weighted mean difference) = −5.94, 95% CI: −8.57, −3.30; diastolic blood pressure (DBP): WMD = −2.66, 95% CI: −3.66, −1.67), yoga (SBP: WMD = −5.09, 95% CI: −9.28, −0.89; DBP: WMD = −3.06, 95% CI: −5.16, −0.96), aquatic sports (SBP WMD = −7.53, 95% CI: −11.40, −3.65; DBP: WMD = −5.35, 95% CI: −9.00, −1.69), and football (SBP: WMD = −6.06, 95% CI: −9.30, −2.82; DBP: WMD = −5.55, 95% CI: −8.98, −2.13) had significant effects on blood pressure reduction. However, Tai Chi (SBP: WMD = −8.31, 95% CI: −20.39, 3.77; DBP: WMD = −3.05, 95% CI: −6.96, 0.87) and Qigong (SBP: WMD = −4.34, 95% CI: −13.5, 4.82; DBP: WMD = −3.44, 95% CI: −7.89, 1.01) did not significantly reduce blood pressure. The heterogeneity of the meta-analysis was high. Conclusion. Walking, yoga, aquatic sports, and football were feasible and independent lifestyle interventions, and they were effective options for treating hypertension. More scientifically designed randomized controlled trials are needed in the future to further compare different forms of exercise for the treatment of hypertension.
Simulation and Experimental Study on Characteristics of Multiorifice Nozzle in Radial Jet Drilling
Authors: Zhang Tao , Li Yumei , Lu Hui , Jiang Jianing
Published: January 2022

The radial jet drilling (RJD) is a key technology to improve the development efficiency of low-permeability oil and gas resources. In order to seek a reasonable hydraulic engineering parameter combination of hydraulic radial jet drilling, to obtain the optimal hydraulic energy distribution, a jet radial horizontal drilling simulation experiment system of the casing windowing is designed. A sequence of experimental investigations focused on engineering parameters of pump displacement, rotating speed, and frequency of high-pressure plunger pump is performed, and the operability and the feasibility of the experiment are verified. To evaluate the maximum drillable length and the self-propelled force of a jet nozzle, a 3D numerical model based on ANSYS-CFX is developed to evaluate the effects of the inlet flow displacement, the flow rates ratio

K

, and the angle ratio

F
:
B

of the forward orifice and backward orifice of the jet nozzle on its maximum drillable length and self-propelled force by sensitivity analysis. Finally, the comparison of numerical simulation results (Ln), mathematical results (Lm), and experiment results (Le) of the maximum drillable length are presented. It is observed that the simulation results are consistent with the experiment results with an average accuracy of 97.07%. Therefore, the proposed numerical model has a good performance in predicting the maximum drillable length of the multiorifice nozzle. The research results can provide theoretical guidance for improving the rock breaking and drilling capability of radial jet drilling technology.
Effective Ways for College Students’ Mental Health Education Based on Music Therapy
Authors: Hou Juncai
Published: January 2022

Music therapy plays a very important role in college students’ mental health education. As a marginal subject, music therapy combines music, medicine, and psychology, which is beneficial to alleviate students' bad emotions and psychological problems and help college students form a sound personality. In the process of teaching in colleges and universities, it is necessary to choose teaching methods that are closer to students’ real life so as to promote the healthy development of college students’ psychology. From the relevant investigation and analysis, college students are interested in learning music, which provides an effective basis for college students to use music to treat psychological problems. Good policies, conditions, and a broad mass base are conducive to the application of music therapy in college mental health education. The application of music therapy in the field of college students’ mental health also broadens the application field of music. This paper analyzes the application of music therapy in college students’ mental health education and probes into the effective ways for college students’ mental health education.
Seismogenic Anomalies in Atmospheric Gravity Waves as Observed from SABER/TIMED Satellite during Large Earthquakes
Authors: Kundu Subrata , Chowdhury Swati , Ghosh Soujan , Sasmal Sudipta , Politis Dimitrios Z. , Potirakis Stelios M. , Yang Shih-Sian , Chakrabarti Sandip K. , Hayakawa Masashi
Published: January 2022

Atmospheric disturbances caused by seismic activity are a complex phenomenon. The Lithosphere–Atmosphere–Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) mechanism gives a detailed idea to understand these processes to study the possible impacts of a forthcoming earthquake. The atmospheric gravity wave (AGW) is one of the most accurate parameters for explaining such LAIC process, where seismogenic disturbances can be explained in terms of atmospheric waves caused by temperature changes. The key goal of this work is to study the perturbation in the potential energy associated with stratospheric AGW prior to many large earthquakes. We select seven large earthquakes having Richter scale magnitudes greater than seven (

M
>
7.0

) in Japan (Tohoku and Kumamoto), Mexico (Chiapas), Nepal, and the Indian Ocean region, to study the intensification of AGW using the atmospheric temperature profile as recorded from the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite. We observe a significant enhancement in the potential energy of the AGW ranging from 2 to 22 days prior to different earthquakes. We examine the conditions of geomagnetic disturbances, typhoons, and thunderstorms during our study and eliminate the possible contamination due to these events.