bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Variable Impedance Control Based on Target Position and Tracking Error for Rehabilitation Robots During a Reaching Task
Authors: Tang Rongrong , Yang Qianqian , Song Rong
Published: March 2022

To obtain an anthropomorphic performance in physical human-robot interaction during a reaching task, a variable impedance control (vIC) algorithm with human-like characteristics is proposed in this article. The damping value of the proposed method is varied with the target position as well as through the tracking error. The proposed control algorithm is compared with the impedance control algorithm with constant parameters (IC) and another vIC algorithm, which is only changed with the tracking error (vIC-e). The different control algorithms are validated through the simulation study, and are experimentally implemented on a cable-driven rehabilitation robot. The results show that the proposed vIC can improve the tracking accuracy and trajectory smoothness, and reduce the interaction force at the same time.
Toward Assessing the Functional Connectivity of Spinal Neurons
Authors: Zaback Martin , Tiwari Ekta , Krupka Alexander J. , Marchionne Francesca , Negro Francesco , Lemay Michel A. , Thompson Christopher K.
Published: March 2022

Spinal interneurons play a critical role in motor output. A given interneuron may receive convergent input from several different sensory modalities and descending centers and relay this information to just as many targets. Therefore, there is a critical need to quantify populations of spinal interneurons simultaneously. Here, we quantify the functional connectivity of spinal neurons through the concurrent recording of populations of lumbar interneurons and hindlimb motor units in the in vivo cat model during activation of either the ipsilateral sural nerve or contralateral tibial nerve. Two microelectrode arrays were placed into lamina VII, one at L3 and a second at L6/7, while an electrode array was placed on the surface of the exposed muscle. Stimulation of tibial and sural nerves elicited similar changes in the discharge rate of both interneurons and motor units. However, these same neurons showed highly significant differences in prevalence and magnitude of correlated activity underlying these two forms of afferent drive. Activation of the ipsilateral sural nerve resulted in highly correlated activity, particularly at the caudal array. In contrast, the contralateral tibial nerve resulted in less, but more widespread correlated activity at both arrays. These data suggest that the ipsilateral sural nerve has dense projections onto caudal lumbar spinal neurons, while contralateral tibial nerve has a sparse pattern of projections.
Alzheimer's Disease Classification Through Imaging Genetic Data With IGnet
Authors: Wang Jade Xiaoqing , Li Yimei , Li Xintong , Lu Zhao-Hua
Published: March 2022

The application of deep learning techniques to the detection and automated classification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has recently gained considerable attention. The rapid progress in neuroimaging and sequencing techniques has enabled the generation of large-scale imaging genetic data for AD research. In this study, we developed a deep learning approach, IGnet, for automated AD classification using both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data and genetic sequencing data. The proposed approach integrates computer vision (CV) and natural language processing (NLP) techniques, with a deep three-dimensional convolutional network (3D CNN) being used to handle the three-dimensional MRI input and a Transformer encoder being used to manage the genetic sequence input. The proposed approach has been applied to the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) data set. Using baseline MRI scans and selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms on chromosome 19, it achieved a classification accuracy of 83.78% and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) of 0.924 with the test set. The results demonstrate the great potential of using multi-disciplinary AI approaches to integrate imaging genetic data for the automated classification of AD.
A Clinical Assessment of a Magnetic Resonance Computer-Aided Diagnosis System in the Detection of Pathological Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer
Authors: Peng Haiyong , Yan Shaolei , Chen Xiaodan , Hu Jiahang , Chen Kaige , Wang Ping , Zhang Hongxia , Zhang Xiushi , Meng Wei
Published: March 2022

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the diagnostic performance and the added value to radiologists of different levels of a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for the detection of pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with breast cancer. Besides, to investigate whether tumor molecular typing is associated with the efficiency of diagnosis of the CAD systems.

Methods

470 patients were identified with breast cancers who underwent NAC and post MR imaging between January 2016 and March 2019. The diagnostic performance of radiologists of different levels and the CAD system were compared. The added value of the CAD system was assessed and subgroup analyses were performed according to the tumor molecular typing.

Results

Among 470 patients, 123 (26%) underwent pCR. The CAD system showed a comparable specificity as the senior radiologist (83.29% vs. 84.15%, p=0.488) and comparable area under the curve (AUC) (0.839 vs. 0.835, p =0.452). The performance of all radiologists significantly improved when aided by the CAD system (P<0.05), And there were no statistical differences in terms of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy between the two groups with CAD assistance(p>0.05).The AUC values for identifying pCR in TN patients were significant (0.883, 95%CI: 0.801-0.964, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The CAD system assessed in this study improves the performance of all radiologists, regardless of experience. The molecular typing of breast cancer is potential influencer of CAD diagnostic performance.
Lenvatinib Beyond First-Line Therapy in Patients With Advanced Biliary Tract Carcinoma
Authors: Wang Yunchao , Yang Xiaobo , Wang Dongxu , Yang Xu , Wang Yanyu , Long Junyu , Zhou Jinxue , Lu Zhenhui , Mao Yilei , Sang Xinting , Guan Mei , Zhao Haitao
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Lenvatinib, a multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors that target vascular endothelial growth factor receptors and fibroblast growth factor receptors, recently demonstrated a treatment effect in various tumors. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib for patients with biliary tract cancers (BTCs) who had received ≥1 line of prior systemic anti-BTC therapy.

Methods

This open-label, single-arm study included adult (≥18 years) patients with histologically confirmed BTC. Efficacy and safety were evaluated based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors RECIST Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) and the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE version 4.0). Changes in tumor biomarkers throughout the treatment period were recorded.

Results

41 patients received lenvatinib treatment. The ORR was 12% (95% CI: 1.7–22.7), with a median PFS of 3.8 months (95% CI: 1.3–6.3) and an OS of 11.4 months (95% CI: 6.6–16.2). Thirty-nine (95.1%) patients experienced ≥1 treatment-related adverse event. Decreasing carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) level predicted tumor size reduction in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma with a sensitivity of 77.7% and a specificity of 73.9%.

Conclusions

Lenvatinib which was individualized based on the patient’s weight has promising clinical activity against advanced BTC and had an acceptable safety profile. Additionally, serum biomarkers and gene sequencing may hold the potential to guide our treatment.
Pyroptosis-Related LncRNA Signature Predicts Prognosis and Is Associated With Immune Infiltration in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Liu Ze-Kun , Wu Ke-Fei , Zhang Ren-Yu , Kong Ling-Min , Shang Run-Ze , Lv Jian-Jun , Li Can , Lu Meng , Yong Yu-Le , Zhang Cong , Zheng Nai-Shan , Li Yan-Hong , Chen Zhi-Nan , Bian Huijie , Wei Ding
Published: March 2022

Pyroptosis is an inflammatory form of programmed cell death that is involved in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were recently verified as crucial mediators in the regulation of pyroptosis. However, the role of pyroptosis-related lncRNAs in HCC and their associations with prognosis have not been reported. In this study, we constructed a prognostic signature based on pyroptosis-related differentially expressed lncRNAs in HCC. A co-expression network of pyroptosis-related mRNAs–lncRNAs was constructed based on HCC data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Cox regression analyses were performed to construct a pyroptosis-related lncRNA signature (PRlncSig) in a training cohort, which was subsequently validated in a testing cohort and a combination of the two cohorts. Kaplan–Meier analyses revealed that patients in the high-risk group had poorer survival times. Receiver operating characteristic curve and principal component analyses further verified the accuracy of the PRlncSig model. Besides, the external cohort validation confirmed the robustness of PRlncSig. Furthermore, a nomogram based on the PRlncSig score and clinical characteristics was established and shown to have robust prediction ability. In addition, gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the RNA degradation, the cell cycle, the WNT signaling pathway, and numerous immune processes were significantly enriched in the high-risk group compared to the low-risk group. Moreover, the immune cell subpopulations, the expression of immune checkpoint genes, and response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy differed significantly between the high- and low-risk groups. Finally, the expression levels of the five lncRNAs in the signature were validated by quantitative real-time PCR. In summary, our PRlncSig model shows significant predictive value with respect to prognosis of HCC patients and could provide clinical guidance for individualized immunotherapy.
Construction of a Novel Ferroptosis-Related Gene Signature for Predicting Survival of Patients With Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Song Xiaojie , Wu Liqun , Wang Guangqiang , Liu Baoyi , Zhu Wenyong
Published: March 2022

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most diagnosed subtype of lung cancer; ferroptosis is widely involved in the pathological cell death associated with various cancers, including lung cancer. However, the comprehensive relationship between ferroptosis and LUAD is little known in molecular levels until now. In the present study, 513 LUAD patients could be aggregated into three clusters by consensus clustering based on RNA sequencing data of 291 ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database; cluster2 had significant survival advantage compared to the other two clusters. A novel prognostic model of 8 differential FRGs was constructed to effectively divide LUAD patients into high- or low-risk group according to the risk scores by the Cox and LASSO regression analyses. The overall survival of LUAD patients in the high-risk group was significantly worse in the TCGA and GEO cohorts. Moreover, patients with radiation therapy or high clinical stage had obviously higher risk scores. We validated the differential mRNA and protein expression of four FRGs in paired tumor and normal samples from our clinical cohort. Our study constructed a novel FRG signature to predict the prognosis of LUAD patients, which might provide a new prognostic tool and potential therapeutic targets for LUAD.
The Value of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Combined With Texture Analysis of Evaluating the Extramural Vascular Invasion in Rectal Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Gao Fei , Shi Bin , Wang Peipei , Wang Chuanbin , Fang Xin , Dong Jiangning , Lin Tingting
Published: March 2022

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate the value of 3.0T MRI Intravoxel Incoherent motion diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (IVIM-DWI) combined with texture analysis (TA) for evaluating extramural vascular invasion (EMVI) of rectal adenocarcinoma.

Methods

Ninety-six patients with pathologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma after surgical resections were collected. Patients were divided into the EMVI positive group (n=39) and the EMVI negative group (n=57). We measured the IVIM-DWI parameters and TA parameters of rectal adenocarcinoma. We compare the differences of the above parameters between the two groups and establish a prediction model through multivariate logistic regression analysis. the ROC curve was performed for parameters with each individual and in combination.

Results

ADC, D, D* value between the two groups were statistically significant (P= 0.015,0.031,0). Six groups of texture parameters were statistically significant between the two groups (P=0.007,0.037,0.011,0.005,0.007,0.002). Logistic regression prediction model shows that GLCM entropy_ALL DIRECTION_offset7_SD and D* are important independent predictors, and the AUC of the regression prediction model was 0.821, the sensitivity was 92.98%, the specificity was 61.54%, and the Yoden index was 0.5452. The AUC was significantly higher than that of other single parameters.

Conclusion

3.0T MRI IVIM-DWI parameters combined with texture analysis can provide valuable information for EMVI evaluation of rectal adenocarcinoma before the operation.
B7H6 Serves as a Negative Prognostic Marker and an Immune Modulator in Human Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Zhu Zheng , Teng Kun-Yu , Zhou Jian , Xu Yunyun , Zhang Lifeng , Zhao Hua , Zhang Xueguang , Tian Lei , Li Zhiyao , Lu Ting , Ma Shoubao , Li Zhenlong , Dai Zhenyu , Wang Jing , Chen Xingyu , Wu Xing , Pan Yihan , Shi Weiqiang , You Zhiqun , Chen Hanyu , Chung Vincent , Yu Jianhua , He Songbing , Zhao Xin , Cao Lei , Li Dechun
Published: March 2022

Pancreatic cancer (PC), the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S., is frequently found too late to be cured by traditional chemotherapy. Expression of B7 homolog 6 (B7H6), a member of the B7 family of immunoreceptors, has been found in PC and several other cancers. B7H6 is a ligand for cytotoxicity triggering receptor 3 (NKp30), which is expressed on NK cells. Here, we demonstrate that B7H6 can be detected in PC tissues but not normal organs. Its expression in patients associated significantly with tumor differentiation grade and lymphatic metastasis. The soluble form of B7H6 was detected in the PC patients’ sera, and its concentration associated with tumor differentiation grade and tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) stages. Also, higher levels of B7H6 in PC patients’ malignant tissues or serum correlated with shorter overall survival. In vitro, downregulation of B7H6 by CRISPR/Cas9 or siRNA technology had no significant impact on the viability or mobility of PC cells. Instead, knocking out B7H6 sensitized PC cells to NK-mediated cytotoxicity and cytokine production. These results indicate that B7H6 not only serves as a negative prognostic marker but also acts as an immune modulator in PC.
Risk Factors for Survival in Patients With Medulloblastoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Liu Yu , Xiao Bo , Li Sen , Liu Jiangang
Published: March 2022

Background

Conventional parameters show limited and unreliable correlations with medulloblastoma prognosis.

Aim

To evaluate the factors influencing overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with medulloblastoma.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched for studies published up to May 2021. The associations between various clinical and treatment factors and survival parameters were assessed.

Results

Twenty-nine studies (8455 patients) were included. Desmoplastic medulloblastoma (HR=0.41, 95%CI: 0.31-0.56), M0 disease (HR=2.07, 95%CI: 1.48-2.89), WNT, SSH, group 4 (all P<0.05 vs. group 3), GTR vs. STR (HR=1.37, 95%CI: 1.04-1.08), radiotherapy (HR=0.45, 95%CI: 0.20-0.80), craniospinal irradiation (HR=0.49, 95%CI: 0.38-0.64), and high 5hmC levels (HR=2.90, 95%CI: 1.85-4.55) were associated with a better OS. WNT, SSH, group 4 (all P<0.05 vs. group 3), residual tumor ≤1.5 cm2 (HR=2.08, 95%CI: 1.18-3.68), GTR vs. STR (HR=1.31, 95%CI: 1.03-1.68), craniospinal irradiation (HR=0.46, 95%CI: 0.37-0.57), high 5hmC levels (HR=3.10, 95%CI: 2.01-4.76), and <49 days between resection and radiotherapy (HR=2.54, 95%CI: 1.48-4.37) were associated with better PFS. Classic vs. desmoplastic medulloblastoma (HR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.04-3.16), SSH, WNT (both P<0.05 vs, non-SSH/non-WNT), GTR vs. STR (HR=2.01, 95%CI: 1.42-2.85), and radiotherapy (HR=0.31, 95%CI: 0.15-0.64) were associated with a better EFS.

Conclusion

Histology, molecular subgroup, GTR, and radiotherapy are significantly associated with survival parameters in patients with medulloblastoma. Nevertheless, high-quality prospective cohort studies are necessary to improve the conclusions.
α-Hederin Inhibits the Proliferation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Hippo-Yes-Associated Protein Signaling Pathway
Authors: Chen Tongqing , Sun Dongdong , Wang Qijuan , Zhou Tingting , Tan Jiani , Xu Changliang , Cheng Haibo , Shen Weixing
Published: March 2022

Aims

Yes-associated protein (YAP), a downstream protein in the Hippo signaling pathway, plays an important role in tumor proliferation, including in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). α-hederin, a monodesmosidic triterpenoid saponin isolated from Fructus akebiae, displayed anti-cancer effects on several cancer cell lines but the precise mechanism has not been ascertained. In the present study, we explored the effects of α-hederin on cell proliferation and apoptosis in human HCC cell lines and the underlying mechanisms.

Main Method

Cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed using 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine staining, colony formation, flow cytometry. The expression patterns of components of Hippo signaling pathway and apoptotic genes were further examined via RT-qPCR and immunoblotting. A xenograft tumor model in nude mice was used to evaluate the anti-HCC effects of α-hederin in vivo.

Results

α-hederin promoted the apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells in vitro, and remarkably inhibited the tumor size and weight in the xenograft mouse model. Additionally, α-hederin increased the expression of pro-apoptosis proteins and suppressed the expression of anti-apoptosis proteins. Moreover, α-hederin treatment upregulated the expression of Hippo signaling pathway-related proteins and genes, while, effectively reduced the level of nuclear YAP, which resulted in the inhibition of proliferation and the induction of apoptosis of HCC cells. Finally, the effects of α-hederin on HCC cell proliferation and apoptosis were alleviated by XMU-MP-1, a Mst1/2 inhibitor in vitro.

Significance

We identified α-hederin is a novel agonist of Hippo signaling pathway and possesses an anti-HCC efficacy through inhibiting YAP activity.
Bacillus Calmette–Guérin Treatment Changes the Tumor Microenvironment of Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Authors: Su Fei , Liu Ming , Zhang Wei , Tang Min , Zhang Jinsong , Li Hexin , Zou Lihui , Zhang Rui , Liu Yudong , Li Lin , Ma Jie , Zhang Yaqun , Chen Meng , Xiao Fei
Published: March 2022

Background

Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is currently the most effective intravesical therapy for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) as it can prevent disease recurrence and progression and lower mortality. However, the response rates to BCG vary widely and are dependent on a multitude of factors.

Methods

We performed a systematic discovery by analyzing the whole exome sequence, expression profile, and immune repertoire sequence of treatment-naive and 5-year time-serial relapsed tumors from 24 NMIBC patients.

Results

BCG therapy showed bidirectional effects on tumor evolution and immune checkpoint landscape, along with a significant reduction of the percentage of neoantigen burden. In addition, a remarkable proportion of subclonal mutations were unique to the matched pre- or post-treatment tumors, suggesting the presence of BCG-induced and/or spatial heterogeneity. In the relapsed tumors, we identified and validated a shift in the mutational signatures in which mutations associated with aristolochic acid (AA) exposure were enriched, implying AA may be associated with tumor recurrence. Enhanced expressions of immune checkpoint regulation genes were found in the relapsed tumors, suggesting that the combination of immune checkpoint with BCG treatment may be an effective strategy to treat NMIBC. TCR sequencing revealed treatment-associated changes in the T-cell repertoire in the primary and relapsed tumors.

Conclusion

Our results provide insight into the genomic and immune dynamics of tumor evolution with BCG treatment, suggest new mechanisms of BCG resistance, and inform the development of clinically relevant biomarkers and trials of potential immune checkpoint inhibitor combination therapies.
Targeted Delivery of Chemotherapeutic Agents for Osteosarcoma Treatment
Authors: Xie Duoli , Wang Zhuqian , Li Jie , Guo De-an , Lu Aiping , Liang Chao
Published: March 2022

Since osteosarcoma (OS) is an aggressive bone cancer with unknown molecular pathways of etiology and pathophysiology, improving patient survival has long been a challenge. The conventional therapy is a complex multidisciplinary management that include radiotherapy, chemotherapy which followed by surgery and then post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy. However, they have severe side effects because the majority of the medicines used have just a minor selectivity for malignant tissue. As a result, treating tumor cells specifically without damaging healthy tissue is currently a primary goal in OS therapy. The coupling of chemotherapeutic drugs with targeting ligands is a unique therapy method for OS that, by active targeting, can overcome the aforementioned hurdles. This review focuses on advances in ligands and chemotherapeutic agents employed in targeted delivery to improve the capacity of active targeting and provide some insight into future therapeutic research for OS.
Classification of Gliomas and Germinomas of the Basal Ganglia by Transfer Learning
Authors: Ye Ningrong , Yang Qi , Chen Ziyan , Teng Chubei , Liu Peikun , Liu Xi , Xiong Yi , Lin Xuelei , Li Shouwei , Li Xuejun
Published: March 2022

Background

Germ cell tumors (GCTs) are neoplasms derived from reproductive cells, mostly occurring in children and adolescents at 10 to 19 years of age. Intracranial GCTs are classified histologically into germinomas and non-germinomatous germ cell tumors. Germinomas of the basal ganglia are difficult to distinguish based on symptoms or routine MRI images from gliomas, even for experienced neurosurgeons or radiologists. Meanwhile, intracranial germinoma has a lower incidence rate than glioma in children and adults. Therefore, we established a model based on pre-trained ResNet18 with transfer learning to better identify germinomas of the basal ganglia.

Methods

This retrospective study enrolled 73 patients diagnosed with germinoma or glioma of the basal ganglia. Brain lesions were manually segmented based on both T1C and T2 FLAIR sequences. The T1C sequence was used to build the tumor classification model. A 2D convolutional architecture and transfer learning were implemented. ResNet18 from ImageNet was retrained on the MRI images of our cohort. Class activation mapping was applied for the model visualization.

Results

The model was trained using five-fold cross-validation, achieving a mean AUC of 0.88. By analyzing the class activation map, we found that the model’s attention was focused on the peri-tumoral edema region of gliomas and tumor bulk for germinomas, indicating that differences in these regions may help discriminate these tumors.

Conclusions

This study showed that the T1C-based transfer learning model could accurately distinguish germinomas from gliomas of the basal ganglia preoperatively.
Effectiveness of Impregnated Central Venous Catheters on Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection in Pediatrics
Authors: Deng Zhengrong , Qin Jiangwei , Sun Huanbin , Xv Furong , Ma Yimei
Published: March 2022

Background

The efficacy and safety of impregnated central venous catheters (CVCs) in pediatrics remain controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of impregnations for the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI).

Methods

We searched the following five electronic databases: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and the Web of Science for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) up to March 2021. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a fixed-effects model. Assessment of publication biases was evaluated by Egger's test. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed based on the chi-square test and I2 statistics, and sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were also performed.

Results

A total of six RCTs with 3,091 patients were included. Impregnated CVCs provided significant benefits in reducing the risk of CRBSI (RR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.26–0.66) in pediatric patients, especially in the pediatric group. No publication bias was observed in the Egger test for the risk of CRBSI. Drug type is a source of heterogeneity.

Conclusion

Antimicrobial-impregnated CVCs are beneficial to prevent CVC-related complications in pediatrics.
Use of Urethral Sound to Facilitate Locating Retrovesical Ureter for Politano-Leadbetter Pneumovesicoscopic Ureteral Reimplantation
Authors: Zhao Xiang , Tian Qingqing , Fang Erhu , Li Ning
Published: March 2022

Background

Pneumovesicoscopic ureteral reimplantation (PVUR) has gained popularity due to its minimal invasiveness. However, most of the reported PVUR procedures were based on the Cohen technique. Only few studies reported their experience of PVUR using the Politano-Leadbetter technique (PVUR-PL). Here, we reported our experience of PVUR-PL using a novel technique to facilitate locating the retrovesical ureter during the procedure.

Materials and Methods

The medical records of the patients who underwent PVUR-PL between January 2018 and December 2020 in our institution were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were classified into two groups: the modified group that accepted PVUR-PL using our novel technique (using urethral sound to facilitate identifying the retrovesical ureter) and the traditional group that accepted PVUR-PL not using the novel technique. Clinical data were collected retrospectively.

Results

There were 22 patients who underwent PVUR-PL, with 13 in the traditional group and nine in the modified group. The mean operating time for unilateral cases in the modified group was significantly shorter than that in the traditional group (154.5 vs. 195.5 min, p < 0.001). For bilateral cases, the mean operating time was also significantly reduced (from 263.0 to 221.3 min, p = 0.022) in the modified group. There were no severe complications in each of the two groups. The peritoneum was perforated in one case from the traditional group, while no peritoneum perforation occurred in the modified group.

Conclusion

The use of urethral sound to help to identify the retrovesical ureter during PVUR-PL is a safe and effective technique. This simple but effective technique could shorten the operating time of PVUR-PL and reduce the risk of peritoneum perforation.
Case Report: Structural Changes in the Coronary Vessel Wall in a Patient With Incomplete Kawasaki Disease
Authors: Ishikawa Takamichi , Uchiyama Hiroki , Mogi Satoshi , Ohtani Hayato
Published: March 2022

Background

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis of infants and young children that affects medium-sized vessels. Conventional cardiac imaging techniques, such as cardiac catheterization, are useful for characterizing the coronary arterial lesion (CAL) size and luminal diameter of the diseased coronary artery segment in patients with KD, but there are limitations to the visualization of the detailed vascular anatomy. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution intracoronary arterial imaging modality that can distinguish the three layers of the coronary arterial wall. Several studies have reported coronary artery wall abnormalities in KD patients with coronary arterial aneurysm or regressed aneurysm. However, there have been no reports on changes in the coronary artery wall in cases of incomplete KD without CAL.

Case Presentation

We herein report an 11-year-old girl with a history of incomplete KD without coronary arterial aneurysms. She had been diagnosed with perimembranous ventricular septal defect (VSD) after birth and had experienced incomplete KD at 1 year old. During her hospitalization for KD, she did not receive intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), because she did not meet the Harada score or criteria for treatment in patients with incomplete KD established by the American Heart Association. No dilatation or coronary artery aneurysm were observed on transthoracic echocardiography in the acute or follow-up period. At 11 years old, she received cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography (CAG) for the evaluation of a VSD and follow-up of KD. CAG demonstrated no aneurysm, dilatation, or significant stenosis of the coronary arteries. We performed an OCT study, which revealed the presence of intimal thickening, disruption of the media, and neovascularization in the left anterior descending artery.

Conclusion

OCT demonstrates the structural changes of CA even in the patient with incomplete KD who have not been treated with IVIG.
Case Report: Trichosporon japonicum Fungemia in a Pediatric Patient With Refractory Acute B Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Albitar-Nehme Sami , Agosta Marilena , Kowalska Agata Helena , Mancinelli Livia , Onori Manuela , Lucignano Barbara , Mattana Giordana , Quagliarella Francesco , Cefalo Maria Giuseppina , Merli Pietro , Locatelli Franco , Perno Carlo Federico , Bernaschi Paola
Published: March 2022

Trichosporon japonicumis a very rare opportunistic yeast causing fungal disease in humans, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Here, we describe a new case ofT. japonicumisolated from the blood of a pyrexial pediatric patient with refractory acute B cell lymphoblastic leukemia and acute respiratory distress. Prompt diagnosis through early clinical suspicion and appropriate molecular microbiology analysis allowed the yeast to be accurately identified at species level. Subsequent drug susceptibility testing and focused antifungal treatment with voriconazole and amphotericin B led to a complete clinical and mycological resolution of the infection, which represents the second successful case ofT. japonicumbloodstream infection described in literature to date.
Cardiac Strain Imaging Using Multi-Perspective Ultrafast Ultrasound
Authors: Liu Peilu , Muller Jan-Willem , Schwab Hans-Martin , Lopata Richard
Published: March 2022

The heart is a complex organ with a high level of deformation occurring in different directions. Ultrasound imaging has proven to be a valuable tool to quantify these deformations. However, strain is not always measured accurately in vital parts of the heart when only using a single probe, even at a high frame rate, because of the anisotropic spatial resolution and contrast. Therefore, a multi-perspective ultrafast ultrasound (US) strain imaging method was developed, aiming at investigating improvements in strain while operating two probes at different relative angles. In an ex-vivo experiment of a beating porcine heart, parasternal short axis views of the left ventricle (LV) were acquired by two phased array probes with different relative angles (30°–75°) at a frame rate of 170 frames per second (FPS). A fully automatic registration algorithm was developed to register the image datasets for all cases. Next, radio frequency (RF) based strain imaging was performed. Axial displacements were compounded based on the unit axial vectors of the dual probes to improve motion tracking and strain estimation. After performing multi-perspective strain imaging, compounded radial and circumferential strain both improve compared to single probe strain imaging. While increasing the inter-probe angle from 30° to 75°, the mean tracking error (ME), mean drift error (MDE) and strain variability (SV) decreased, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNRe) increased for both strain components. For the largest angle (75°), large reductions in ME (−42%), MDE (−50%) and SV (−48%) were observed. The SNRe increased by 253 and 39% for radial and circumferential strain, respectively, and strain curves revealed less noise for each region. In summary, a multi-perspective ultrafast US strain imaging method was introduced to improve cardiac strain estimation in an ex-vivo beating porcine heart setup.
Local Surveillance of the COVID-19 Outbreak
Authors: Liu Caifen , Xu Lingfeng , Bai Yuan , Xu Xiaoke , Lau Eric H. Y. , Cowling Benjamin J. , Du Zhanwei
Published: March 2022

Given the worldwide pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its continuing threat brought by the emergence of virus variants, there are great demands for accurate surveillance and monitoring of outbreaks. A valuable metric for assessing the current risk posed by an outbreak is the time-varying reproduction number (Rt). Several methods have been proposed to estimate Rt using different types of data. We developed a new tool that integrated two commonly used approaches into a unified and user-friendly platform for the estimation of time-varying reproduction numbers. This tool allows users to perform simulations and yield real-time tracking of local epidemic of COVID-19 with an R package.
Study and Choice of Water Saturation Test Method for Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoirs
Authors: Liu Cheng , Ma Litao , Liu Xueqing , Li Yangbing , Zhang Bo , Ren Dazhong , Liu Dengke , Tang Xin
Published: March 2022

This study aims at investigating the applicability of the commonly used water saturation test methods such as distillation extraction method, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method, constant weight method, and Coulomb method in the water saturation test of tight sandstone gas reservoirs. The above methods were studied and optimized to overcome the difficulties of low water content determination caused by low porosity, low permeability, small pore throat, high capillary force, and high bound water saturation of tight sandstone, to obtain relatively accurate water saturation data. The results showed that the water content data determined by the constant weight method were consistent with the known water content saturation, and the average error was 3.6%. By shortening the echo interval, the average error of water content saturation tested by the NMR method for tight sandstone samples was 4.8%. The two methods of the distillation method and Coulomb method had large errors, and both failed to meet the requirements of water saturation determination of tight sandstone, of which the average error of the former was 27.9% and the average error of the latter was 50.7%. Therefore, for tight sandstone, the constant weight method and NMR method were recommended to be used for water content saturation testing, and the distillation extraction method and Coulomb method were not recommended. The research results provided a new method for the accurate determination of water content saturation in tight sandstone gas reservoirs.
Searching for Abiotic Tolerant and Biotic Stress Resistant Wild Lentils for Introgression Breeding Through Predictive Characterization
Authors: Rubio Teso María Luisa , Lara-Romero Carlos , Rubiales Diego , Parra-Quijano Mauricio , Iriondo José M.
Published: March 2022

Crop wild relatives are species related to cultivated plants, whose populations have evolved in natural conditions and confer them valuable adaptive genetic diversity, that can be used in introgression breeding programs. Targeting four wild lentil taxa in Europe, we applied the predictive characterization approach through the filtering method to identify populations potentially tolerant to drought, salinity, and waterlogging. In parallel, the calibration method was applied to select wild populations potentially resistant to lentil rust and broomrape, using, respectively, 351 and 204 accessions evaluated for these diseases. An ecogeographic land characterization map was used to incorporate potential genetic diversity of adaptive value. We identified 13, 1, 21, and 30 populations potentially tolerant to drought, soil salinity, waterlogging, or resistance to rust, respectively. The models targeting broomrape resistance did not adjust well and thus, we were not able to select any population regarding this trait. The systematic use of predictive characterization techniques may boost the efficiency of introgression breeding programs by increasing the chances of collecting the most appropriate populations for the desired traits. However, these populations must still be experimentally tested to confirm the predictions.
Large-Scale Integrative Analysis of Soybean Transcriptome Using an Unsupervised Autoencoder Model
Authors: Su Lingtao , Xu Chunhui , Zeng Shuai , Su Li , Joshi Trupti , Stacey Gary , Xu Dong
Published: March 2022

Plant tissues are distinguished by their gene expression patterns, which can help identify tissue-specific highly expressed genes and their differential functional modules. For this purpose, large-scale soybean transcriptome samples were collected and processed starting from raw sequencing reads in a uniform analysis pipeline. To address the gene expression heterogeneity in different tissues, we utilized an adversarial deconfounding autoencoder (AD-AE) model to map gene expressions into a latent space and adapted a standard unsupervised autoencoder (AE) model to help effectively extract meaningful biological signals from the noisy data. As a result, four groups of 1,743, 914, 2,107, and 1,451 genes were found highly expressed specifically in leaf, root, seed and nodule tissues, respectively. To obtain key transcription factors (TFs), hub genes and their functional modules in each tissue, we constructed tissue-specific gene regulatory networks (GRNs), and differential correlation networks by using corrected and compressed gene expression data. We validated our results from the literature and gene enrichment analysis, which confirmed many identified tissue-specific genes. Our study represents the largest gene expression analysis in soybean tissues to date. It provides valuable targets for tissue-specific research and helps uncover broader biological patterns. Code is publicly available with open source at https://github.com/LingtaoSu/SoyMeta.
A Bayesian Approach to German Personal and Demonstrative Pronouns
Authors: Patterson Clare , Schumacher Petra B. , Nicenboim Bruno , Hagen Johannes , Kehler Andrew
Published: March 2022

When faced with an ambiguous pronoun, an addressee must interpret it by identifying a suitable referent. It has been proposed that the interpretation of pronouns can be captured using Bayes’ Rule: P(referent|pronoun) ∝ P(pronoun|referent)P(referent). This approach has been successful in English and Mandarin Chinese. In this study, we further the cross-linguistic evidence for the Bayesian model by applying it to German personal and demonstrative pronouns, and provide novel quantitative support for the model by assessing model performance in a Bayesian statistical framework that allows implementation of a fully hierarchical structure, providing the most conservative estimates of uncertainty. Data from two story-continuation experiments showed that the Bayesian model overall made more accurate predictions for pronoun interpretation than production and next-mention biases separately. Furthermore, the model accounts for the demonstrative pronoun dieser as well as the personal pronoun, despite the demonstrative having different, and more rigid, resolution preferences.
“Broad” Impact: Perceptions of Sex/Gender-Related Psychology Journals
Authors: Brown Elizabeth R. , Smith Jessi L. , Rossmann Doralyn
Published: March 2022

Because men are overrepresented within positions of power, men are perceived as the default in academia (androcentrism). Androcentric bias emerges whereby research by men and/or dominated by men is perceived as higher quality and gains more attention. We examined if these androcentric biases materialize within fields that study bias (psychology). How do individuals in close contact with psychology view psychology research outlets (i.e., journals) with titles including the words women, gender, sex, or feminism (sex/gender-related) or contain the words men or masculinity (men-related; Study 1) versus psychology journals that publish other-specialized research, and do these perceptions differ in the general public? While the men-related journal was less meritorious than its other-specialty journal, evidence emerged supporting androcentric bias such that the men-related journal was more favorable than the other sex/gender-related journals (Study 1). Further, undergraduate men taking psychology classes rated sex/gender-related versus other-specialty journals as less favorable, were less likely to recommend subscription (Studies 1–2), and rated the journals as lower quality (Study 2 only). Low endorsement of feminist ideology was associated with less support for sex/gender-related journals versus matched other-specialty journals (Studies 1–2). Decreased subscription recommendations for sex/gender-related journals (and the men-related journal) were mediated by decreased favorability and quality beliefs, especially for men (for the sex/gender-related journals) and those low in feminist ideology (Studies 1–2). However, we found possible androcentric-interest within the public sphere. The public reach of articles (as determined by Altmetrics) published in sex/gender-related was greater than other-specialty journals (Study 3). The consequences of these differential perceptions for students versus the public and the impact on women’s advancement in social science and psychological science are discussed.
Different Neural Responses for Unfinished Sentence as a Conventional Indirect Refusal Between Native and Non-native Speakers: An Event-Related Potential Study
Authors: Wang Min , Tokimoto Shingo , Song Ge , Ueno Takashi , Koizumi Masatoshi , Kiyama Sachiko
Published: March 2022

Refusal is considered a face-threatening act (FTA), since it contradicts the inviter’s expectations. In the case of Japanese, native speakers (NS) are known to prefer to leave sentences unfinished for a conventional indirect refusal. Successful comprehension of this indirect refusal depends on whether the addressee is fully conventionalized to the preference for syntactic unfinishedness so that they can identify the true intention of the refusal. Then, non-native speakers (NNS) who are not fully accustomed to the convention may be confused by the indirect style. In the present study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) of electroencephalography in an attempt to differentiate the neural substrates for perceiving unfinished sentences in a conventionalized indirect refusal as an FTA between NS and NNS, in terms of the unfinishedness and indirectness of the critical sentence. In addition, we examined the effects of individual differences in mentalization, or the theory of mind, which refers to the ability to infer the mental states of others. We found several different ERP effects for these refusals between NS and NNS. NNS induced stronger P600 effects for the unfinishedness of the refusal sentences, suggesting their perceived syntactic anomaly. This was not evoked in NS. NNS also revealed the effects of N400 and P300 for the indirectness of refusal sentences, which can be interpreted as their increased processing load for pragmatic processing in the inexperienced contextual flow. We further found that the NNS’s individual mentalizing ability correlates with the effect of N400 mentioned above, indicating that lower mentalizers evoke higher N400 for indirect refusal. NS, on the contrary, did not yield these effects reflecting the increased pragmatic processing load. Instead, they evoked earlier ERPs of early posterior negativity (EPN) and P200, both of which are known as indices of emotional processing, for finished sentences of refusal than for unfinished ones. We interpreted these effects as a NS’s dispreference for finished sentences to realize an FTA, given that unfinished sentences are considered more polite and more conventionalized in Japanese social encounters. Overall, these findings provide evidence that a syntactic anomaly inherent in a cultural convention as well as individual mentalizing ability plays an important role in understanding an indirect speech act of face-threatening refusal.
University Staff’s Perceptions of Community College Transfer Students’ Transition Experiences Within a “2+2” Pathway in an Asian Educational Context
Authors: Ching Shirley Siu Yin , Kwok Wilson Yeung Yuk , Ng Jeremy Tzi Dong , Zhang Lillian Weiwei , Ho Ceci Sze Wing , Cheung Kin
Published: March 2022

Various countries have alternative pathway policies for 2-year community college graduates to articulate to 2-year university study, forming a “2+2” pathway. However, few studies have explored university staff members’ perceptions of this “2+2” transfer pathway and their understanding of transfer students’ (TSs) transition experiences. This descriptive qualitative study addressed this research gap. Forty-two academic and supporting staff participated in the focus group interviews. Specifically, the study explored the assets and challenges of the “2+2” pathway from the university staff perspective in Hong Kong. The articulation pathway and TSs are highly recognized for their prior learning, academic performances, and the value of the second chance. However, while the university staff were sympathetic to the challenges filling these transfer pathways, their offering of help was limited by government funding and policies restrictions. It is recommended that policies should be established at government and university levels to recognize and tackle TSs’ unique needs to alleviate their heavy workloads through better articulation between community college and university studies. Improving articulation will allow TSs time for social involvement in university life and thus enhance their mental well-being.