bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Septin complexes: Ahead of the curve
Authors: Nakamura Mitsutoshi , Parkhurst Susan M.
Published: June 2024

Individual cells have robust repair systems to survive cell cortex damage caused by mechanical and chemical stresses, allowing them to maintain the integrity of tissues and organs. The contraction of an actomyosin ring at the wound edge is a major mechanism for physically closing the cell wound. In contrast to polymerization and bundling of actin filaments, little is known about how linear actin filaments are bent to be integrated into the actin ring structure encircling the wound edge. We recently found that the five Drosophila Septins function simultaneously in the regulation of actomyosin ring assembly, contraction, and disassembly during cell wound repair. These Septins form two distinct complexes—Sep1‐Sep2‐Pnut and Sep4‐Sep5‐Pnut—composed of different subunits from the same groups. Strikingly, these two distinct Septin complexes have different degrees of F‐actin bending activities that are consistent with their spatial recruitment: different degrees of curved actin filaments are required for the robust formation of different regions of the actomyosin ring. In addition, we found that the two Septin complexes are regulated by different molecular pathways as a loss of Anillin only affects Sep1‐Sep2‐Pnut complex recruitment. These findings open new directions for how individual Septin subunits form complexes and function differentially in cellular and developmental processes.
Bioinspired L‐Lysine‐Doped Polydopamine for Preventing and Treating UV‐Induced Skin Damage
Authors: Zhu Pengqi , Niu Zhuangzhuang , Gao Caifang , Liu Yuqin , Li Gang , Liu Xiaoli , Zhang Ruiping , Sun Jinghua
Published: June 2024

Excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes a series of adverse effects on human skin, such as erythema and tanning due to the produce of endogenous melanin of human skin. Inspired by the self‐defense mechanism of human skin to prevent UV radiation damage, we construct a natural and biocompatible Carb@PDA−L sunscreen hydrogel by doping melanin‐like L‐lysine doped polydopamine (PDA−L) to biocompatible poly‐γ‐glutamic acid based hydrogel matrix Carb, which displays good biosafety, efficient UV shielding performance and excellent antioxidative and anti‐inflammatory performance in the application of the skin protection of sun and repair after sunburn. The melanin‐like PDA−L can be synthesized by the oxidative polymerization of dopamine triggered by L‐lysine under alkali‐free condition, which exhibits increase absorption intensity in the UV region and better reactive oxygen species removal performance compared with undoped polydopamine in the perspective of a UV absorber. Meanwhile, PDA−L, as the synthetic analogue of natural melanin, has good biosafety, which can avoid the skin oxidative damage and penetrative toxicity of the conventional sunscreen.
Emerging horizons in cancer therapy: Squamous transition drives drug resistance
Authors: Zhang Ningxia , Tong Xinyuan , Ji Hongbin
Published: June 2024

Adeno‐to‐squamous transition (AST) has emerged as a driver of targeted therapy resistance. Studies of KRAS/LKB1‐mutant non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have revealed the progressive acquisition of squamous signatures during treatment with KRAS inhibitors, ultimately inducing drug resistance. Moreover, the expression of squamous‐related gene KRT6A in adenocarcinoma (ADC) correlates with poor responses to KRAS inhibitors. In this commentary, we discuss the role of AST in drug resistance and propose future directions to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

Key points

Adeno‐to‐squamous transition (AST) drives targeted therapy resistance.

Progressive plasticity is acquired during Adeno‐to‐squamous transition (AST).
Unveiling the complex networks of urban tree diversity research: A global perspective
Authors: Xie Chunping , Chen Shuifei , Liu Dawei , Jim Chi Yung
Published: June 2024

Ecosystem services offered by urban forests must be proactively managed to remain diverse and sustainable. Recent research findings deserve a systematic synthesis to elucidate inherent knowledge structures and dynamics. This study focused on the urban tree diversity theme from 2000 to 2022. Web of Science Core Collection database provided bibliometric details on academic publications. The data‐driven quantitative analysis explored research quantities, emphasis, trends, patterns, linkages, and impacts by countries, institutions, authors, journals, and citations. Publications and research topics have expanded continually, with accelerated growth in recent years. Research activities, outputs and interactions demonstrated conspicuous spatial clustering. A few countries, institutions and researchers generated a notable proportion of publications. Their scholarly contributions were visualized in knowledge graphs as complex networks of nodes and inter‐node links. Keyword analysis generated a network to indicate research hotspots and frontiers to steer and prioritize future studies. Recent findings affirmed that cities can harbor substantial tree diversity due to enhanced habitat heterogeneity and successful species adaptation. Aligning tree traits with environmental conditions and management objectives can improve benefits. Urbanization can filter tree traits to shape community assemblages through stressors: habitat degradation, fragmentation and loss, in conjunction with pollution, climate change, and introduced species. Diversity preservation strategies include protecting remnant natural vegetation, connecting green spaces, and restoring complex canopy geometry and biomass structure. The emerging frontiers are marked by modeling future species distributions, leveraging technologies like remote sensing, linking ecology with human values, and committing to community‐based stewardship. Management can be upgraded by interdisciplinary perspectives integrating ecological science and social engagement. The findings highlight the need for biodiversity enrichment anchored by native species, trait‐matched assemblages, adaptive policies, and community participation to create livable‐green cities. This review synthesizes key advances in urban tree ecology and biodiversity research to inform the planning and stewardship of resilient urban forests.
Understanding woody plant encroachment: A plant functional trait approach
Authors: de Jonge Inger K. , Olff Han , Mayemba Emilian P. , Berger Stijn J. , Veldhuis Michiel P.
Published: June 2024

The increasing density of woody plants threatens the integrity of grassy ecosystems. It remains unclear if such encroachment can be explained mostly by direct effects of resources on woody plant growth or by indirect effects of disturbances imposing tree recruitment limitation. Here, we investigate whether woody plant functional traits provide a mechanistic understanding of the complex relationships between these resource and disturbance effects. We first assess the role of rainfall, soil fertility, texture, and geomorphology to explain variation in woody plant encroachment (WPE) following livestock grazing and consequent fire suppression across the Serengeti ecosystem. Second, we explore trait‐environment relationships and how these mediate vegetation response to fire suppression. We find that WPE is strongest in areas with high soil fertility, high rainfall, and intermediate catena positions. These conditions also promote woody plant communities characterized by small stature and seed sizes smaller relative to a comparative baseline within the Serengeti ecosystem, alongside high recruit densities (linked to a recruitment‐stature trade‐off). The positioning of species along this “recruitment‐stature axis” predicted woody stem density increase in livestock sites. Structural equation modeling suggested a causal pathway where environmental factors shape the community trait composition, subsequently influencing woody recruit numbers. These numbers, in turn, predicted an area's vulnerability to WPE. Our study underscores the importance of trait‐environment relationships in predicting the impact of human alterations on local vegetation change. Understanding how environmental factors directly (resources) and indirectly (legacy effects and plant traits) determine WPE supports the development of process‐based ecosystem structure and function models.
New redox behavior and electrochemical sensing of anticoagulant rodenticide bromadiolone using low‐cost graphite electrode: An ultrasensitive tool for forensic and environmental analysis
Authors: Conrado Thaylor Teixeira , Pedão Evandro Rodrigo , Ferreira Valdir Souza , da Silva Rodrigo Amorim Bezerra , Petroni Jacqueline Marques , Lucca Bruno Gabriel
Published: June 2024

The development of analytical methods for the rapid detection of noxious species in forensic, environmental and biological samples is a global trend. This work reports a new, portable and low‐cost electroanalytical method for the ultrasensitive detection of bromadiolone using pencil graphite electrode (PGE) and square‐wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry (SWAdSV). Bromadiolone exhibited an irreversible cathodic peak at around −0.8 V in acid medium (2.5 to 5.5), which was unreported in literature until now. Considering this novel electrochemical behavior, a redox reaction mechanism for bromadiolone reduction on PGE is proposed. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained was 0.50 nmol L−1, which is close or lower than those obtained in some chromatographic methods utilized for analyzing biological samples. This LOD is also below the value recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding analytical methods employed to detect bromadiolone in environmental/biological samples. A linear response was observed in the concentration range from 2.0 to 100.0 nmol L−1. Quantitative assays performed in spiked samples of surface water and synthetic urine suggested good accuracy (recoveries between 93 and 107 %) and great precision (relative standard deviations were ≤3.9 %). Furthermore, the method was successfully applied for the screening of bromadiolone in real forensic samples, which is an approach unexplored in previous works. In this sense, the proposed PGE‐SWAdSV method described here shows great potential for the rapid and sensitive detection of bromadiolone in forensic, biological and environmental fields.
Lessons learned from an internal database built through a CRE lens in the Latine neighborhood of Little Village in Chicago
Authors: Garcia Flores Alisha
Published: June 2024

Enlace Chicago, a nonprofit organization located in the heart of the Little Village community, is a community‐based organization that convenes, organizes, provides programs and services, and builds individual and community capacity to address systemic inequities in the areas of immigration, health, education, and violence prevention. In 2018, Enlace Chicago began to expand its capacity, building an internal evaluation and data team to support organizational data tracking, evaluation, and learning. As Enlace expanded its staff and grant reporting, the organization decided to launch an internal database build to better track data across teams and initiatives. While embarking on this journey, the organization also responded to the COVID‐19 pandemic with shifts in outreach and services. This article is a reflective case example from the perspective of the internal evaluation and data team at Enlace, which includes best practices and lessons learned for building a database within a predominantly Mexican‐American community. Key takeaways include: the evaluation and data team were a critical support for implementing necessary culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) structures and approaches during the database build; CRE considerations for a database and partnership were necessary to uphold culturally relevant data and allow for flexibility with stakeholders; and clear and specific feedback and utilization of information were critical during the database build to support Latine staff and community.
Not About U: Social Dissonance at a Land‐Grab University
Authors: Finlay Fletcher Richard
Published: June 2024

Mattin's durational concert Social Dissonance and concept of social dissonance offer compelling devices to understand a central tension within institutions of higher education in settler colonial contexts. As faculty and students increasingly enact and experience forms of decolonial pedagogy in their classrooms, the settler colonial origins and structures of the university remain unchallenged. In the specific case of the ‘Land‐Grant’ university system, created through the federal 1862 Morrill Act, the findings of a 2020 ‘Land‐Grab Universities’ report describes the extent of their founding on the forced expropriation of Indigenous land and life. This article mixes the settler author's repeated experiences of Social Dissonance at documenta 14, in both Athens, Greece, and its traditional home of Kassel, Germany, and how its institutional and pedagogical contexts translate to a sequence of teaching experiments in his classrooms at a ‘Land‐Grab’ university. These experiences and experiments are framed by two failures, both institutional and individual, that offer the author a concrete insight into the concept of social dissonance to understand how different levels of alienation operate through colonial intrusion into educational contexts by an exclusionary settler worldview. At the same time, the author attempts to harness this settler colonial noise‐as‐device by attuning to echoes of Social Dissonance in the vital work of living, Indigenous artists, and their alternative pedagogical initiatives.
Epicatechin‐mediated modulation of the Nrf2/HO‐1 pathway alleviates senile cerebral ischemic/reperfusion injury
Authors: Jiang Changyue , Zhuge Xiangzhen , Li Deli , Chen Menghua , Hu Wanxiang , Xie Lu
Published: June 2024

Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during cerebral ischemic reperfusion (CIRI) are crucial for subsequent tissue damage. However, despite the potential benefits of antioxidants reported in clinical applications, few have proven effective in treating CIRI, particularly in the elderly. Epicatechin (EC) is a catechol flavonoid monomer derived from natural tea plants. Multiple phenolic hydroxyl groups give it strong antioxidant properties, which can not only degrade ROS through chemical reactions between hydroxyl and ROS but also enhance the activity of antioxidant enzymes in cells, and it is easy to penetrate the blood–brain barrier. But its antagonistic effect on age‐related CIRI and potential medicinal value are still unknown. Nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) is the most important transcription factor regulating the expression of antioxidant proteins in the body. This study first compared the pathological differences of the Nrf2 system in CIRI between 2‐month‐old and 12‐month‐old Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. Subsequently, EC was administered to 12‐month‐old rat models of middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/R) and senescent SH‐SY5Y cell models subjected to oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R). EC treatment improved cerebral morphology and function; increased p‐Nrf2, heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione (GSH) expression; reduced infarct volume; and neuronal apoptosis in senescent rats. Moreover, EC enhanced cellular activity and the expression of p‐Nrf2, HO‐1, and quinone oxidoreductase‐1 (NQO‐1) while decreasing ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and mitigating apoptosis in senescent SH‐SY5Y cells. These effects were reversed upon si‐Nrf2. In sum, we confirm that EC exerts neuroprotective effects by upregulating Nrf2/ARE and reducing oxidative stress, suggesting that EC may be a promising drug for the treatment of senile cerebral apoplexy. This study also provides a scientific basis for the development and selection of new drugs for ischemic stroke in elderly patients.
Satellite glial cell manipulation prior to axotomy enhances developing dorsal root ganglion central branch regrowth into the spinal cord
Authors: Brown Robin I. , Barber Heather M. , Kucenas Sarah
Published: June 2024

The central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS, respectively) exhibit remarkable diversity in the capacity to regenerate following neuronal injury with PNS injuries being much more likely to regenerate than those that occur in the CNS. Glial responses to damage greatly influence the likelihood of regeneration by either promoting or inhibiting axonal regrowth over time. However, despite our understanding of how some glial lineages participate in nerve degeneration and regeneration, less is known about the contributions of peripheral satellite glial cells (SGC) to regeneration failure following central axon branch injury of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) sensory neurons. Here, using in vivo, time‐lapse imaging in larval zebrafish coupled with laser axotomy, we investigate the role of SGCs in axonal regeneration. In our studies we show that SGCs respond to injury by relocating their nuclei to the injury site during the same period that DRG neurons produce new central branch neurites. Laser ablation of SGCs prior to axon injury results in more neurite growth attempts and ultimately a higher rate of successful central axon regrowth, implicating SGCs as inhibitors of regeneration. We also demonstrate that this SGC response is mediated in part by ErbB signaling, as chemical inhibition of this receptor results in reduced SGC motility and enhanced central axon regrowth. These findings provide new insights into SGC‐neuron interactions under injury conditions and how these interactions influence nervous system repair.
Can gray matter loss in early adolescence be explained by white matter growth?
Authors: Chad Jordan A. , Lebel Catherine
Published: June 2024

A fundamental puzzle about brain development is why the volume of gray matter (GM) apparently declines as white matter (WM) grows when children enter adolescence. Since pruned synapses are too small to affect GM volume, a prevailing theory posits that an expanded distribution of myelin causes the inner edge of the GM to “whiten” while total brain volume remains steady, shifting the MRI‐measured WM:GM boundary closer to the brain's outer surface. This theory inherently predicts that GM volume loss is concurrent with WM volume growth across regions, within sexes and over time, although these predictions have yet to be explicitly tested. In this study, we test these predictions by mapping regional GM and WM volumetric changes in 2333 participants of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study aged 9–14 years who each received three MRI scans 2 years apart. We show that average GM and WM volume changes follow distinct spatial, temporal, and sex‐specific patterns, indicating that GM volume loss is not balanced by WM volume growth, although cortical GM thinning is weakly correlated with WM growth in some regions. We conclude that myelin is not the main source of measured GM volume loss, and we propose alternative candidates.
Soil drainage modulates climate effects to shape seasonal and mean annual water balances across the southeastern United States
Authors: Wang Zeqiang , Berghuijs Wouter R. , Howden Nicholas , Woods Ross
Published: June 2024

Climatic forcing and landscape properties control catchments' hydrological responses over both seasonal and mean annual timescales. Controls on annual and seasonal water balances are usually studied separately which limits and fragments understanding of catchment behaviour. Establishing process controls on hydrological responses that act across multiple time scales could better unify hydrological theory. Here, we use streamflow and climate data from 56 catchments in the Ozarks and Appalachian regions (US) to test how climate (aridity index) and soil drainage together shape seasonal and mean annual water balances for these humid, snow‐free catchments with little precipitation seasonality. We calibrate a simple conceptual model to observed seasonal streamflow and obtain an effective parameter that summarizes the nonlinearity of drainage of soil moisture to groundwater. Our comparative analysis of catchments in the Ozarks and the Appalachian regions indicates that catchments in the more humid climates have lower streamflow seasonality and higher mean annual flow, irrespective of the nonlinearity of soil drainage. In contrast, in relatively drier climates, more nonlinear soil drainage increases the seasonality of streamflow and reduces mean annual flow. Additional testing across 204 humid catchments with little precipitation seasonality and snowfall in the Southeastern United States further supports our hypothesis that soil drainage nonlinearity significantly modulates seasonal and mean annual water balances. These results reveal how soil drainage nonlinearity provides a process interpretation that connects seasonal and annual water balances and highlights the importance of nonlinearity of soil drainage in hydrological modelling.
A Hybrid Deep Spatiotemporal Attention‐Based Model for Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis Using Resting State EEG Signals
Authors: Delfan Niloufar , Shahsavari Mohammadreza , Hussain Sadiq , Damaševičius Robertas , Acharya U. Rajendra
Published: June 2024

Parkinson's disease (PD), a severe and progressive neurological illness, affects millions of individuals worldwide. For effective treatment and management of PD, an accurate and early diagnosis is crucial. This study presents a deep learning‐based model for the diagnosis of PD using a resting state electroencephalogram (EEG) signal. The objective of the study is to develop an automated model that can extract complex hidden nonlinear features from EEG and demonstrate its generalizability on unseen data. The model is designed using a hybrid model, consisting of a convolutional neural network (CNN), bidirectional gated recurrent unit (Bi‐GRU), and attention mechanism. The proposed method is evaluated on three public datasets (UC San Diego, PRED‐CT, and University of Iowa [UI] dataset), with one dataset used for training and the other two for evaluation. The proposed model demonstrated remarkable performance, attaining high accuracy scores of 99.4%, 84%, and 73.2% using UC San Diego, PRED‐CT, and UI datasets, respectively. These results justify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed model across diverse datasets, highlighting its potential for versatile applications in data analysis and prediction tasks. Our proposed hybrid spatiotemporal attention‐based model has been developed with 10‐fold cross‐validation (CV) for UC San Diego dataset and 10‐fold CV and leave‐one‐out cross‐validation (LOOCV) strategies for PRED‐CT and UI datasets. Our results indicate that the proposed PD detection system is accurate and robust. The developed prototype can be used for other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and so forth.
Reconstruction of Cardiac Cine MRI Using Motion‐Guided Deformable Alignment and Multi‐Resolution Fusion
Authors: Han Xiaoxiang , Chen Yang , Liu Qiaohong , Liu Yiman , Chen Keyan , Lin Yuanjie , Zhang Weikun
Published: June 2024

Cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the important means to assess cardiac functions and vascular abnormalities. Mitigating artifacts arising during image reconstruction and accelerating cardiac cine MRI acquisition to obtain high‐quality images is important. A novel end‐to‐end deep learning network is developed to improve cardiac cine MRI reconstruction. First, a U‐Net is adopted to obtain the initial reconstructed images in k‐space. Further to remove the motion artifacts, the motion‐guided deformable alignment (MGDA) module with second‐order bidirectional propagation is introduced to align the adjacent cine MRI frames by maximizing spatial–temporal information to alleviate motion artifacts. Finally, the multi‐resolution fusion (MRF) module is designed to correct the blur and artifacts generated from alignment operation and obtain the last high‐quality reconstructed cardiac images. At an 8× acceleration rate, the numerical measurements on the ACDC dataset are structural similarity index (SSIM) of 78.40% ± 4.57%, peak signal‐to‐noise ratio (PSNR) of 30.46 ± 1.22 dB, and normalized mean squared error (NMSE) of 0.0468 ± 0.0075. On the ACMRI dataset, the results are SSIM of 87.65% ± 4.20%, PSNR of 30.04 ± 1.18 dB, and NMSE of 0.0473 ± 0.0072. The proposed method exhibits high‐quality results with richer details and fewer artifacts for cardiac cine MRI reconstruction on different accelerations.
Red blood cell derived nanocarrier drug delivery system: A promising strategy for tumor therapy
Authors: Wang Xin , Mao Kuirong , Zhang Xiaonan , Zhang Yuning , Yang Yong‐Guang , Sun Tianmeng
Published: June 2024

Nano drug delivery systems have been widely used in tumor therapy. Researchers have been devoted to exploring novel nano‐carriers to prolong circulation time biocompatibility and tumor targeting efficiency in vivo. Erythrocyte membranes as bionic nano‐drug delivery systems have attracted more attention recently. There are abundant red blood cells (RBCs) in circulation, which are natural carriers for nanomaterial delivery. There are mainly two strategies to use RBCs as nanomaterial carriers: RBC‐hitchhiking and bionic nanomaterial coated with erythrocyte membrane loading with drugs. Although nano‐carrier based on RBCs have yielded some progress, the mechanism of mutual effect between nanoparticles and RBCs is still unclear. Here, we review the effects of nanoparticles on RBCs (morphology and function, etc) and application of RBCs membrane as nano‐drug delivery carriers in tumor therapy.
Integrating pharmacogenomic results in the electronic health record to facilitate precision medicine at a large multisite health system
Authors: Morris Sarah A. , Nguyen D. Grace , Morris Victoria , Mroz Kaitlyn , Kwange Simeon O. , Patel Jai N.
Published: June 2024

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) results can potentially guide the prescribing of dozens of medications; however, use of such results is often limited by the prescriber's awareness of results and knowledge of drug–gene interactions. Integration of PGx results with corresponding clinical decision support (CDS) in the electronic health record (EHR) is critical to facilitate genotype‐guided medication prescribing among all clinicians in an integrated health system. We describe our experience with developing an infrastructure to house PGx results and ensure actionable findings can be used at the point of care in real time using CDS. Upon transitioning to a new EHR, PGx‐related CDS alerts for more than 50 medications were developed using a systematic and multidisciplinary process where clinical pharmacist input was key. Multiple strategies were required to enable the storage of PGx results as discrete data from any laboratory source to drive CDS. EHR features were leveraged to link results from external laboratories to CDS and a homegrown translational software platform was developed to integrate results from the in‐house genomics laboratory directly into the EHR. These processes enabled PGx result integration for 2342 patients. As an example, among 356 patients who were genotyped for CYP2C19 to guide voriconazole dosing as part of a standard protocol in bone marrow transplant, 114 (32%) had CDS alerts for medications other than voriconazole presented to a clinician. For 50 of these patients, alerts were presented to a clinician of a different specialty who likely was not aware the patient had PGx results. Clinical pharmacists at institutions performing PGx testing are encouraged to champion the integration of PGx results and CDS in the EHR to maximize clinician awareness and evidence‐based use of PGx results.
Biopharmaceutical beamline TLS 15A1 for macromolecular crystallography at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center
Authors: Chiang Cheng‐Hung , Chou Chung‐Kuang , Tseng Chien‐Chang , Chen Yi‐Hui , Liu Yi‐Chun , Huang Chen‐Ying , Chao Chun‐Hsiung , Huang Chun‐Hsiang
Published: June 2024

Synchrotron protein crystallography (PX) remains an indispensable tool for uncovering the atomic structures of biomolecules. TLS 15A1, operated by the protein diffraction group of NSRRC, has been accessible to both academic and industrial users since January 2013. This beamline is energy‐tunable within a range between 5.6 and 15.5 keV, which is suitable for phasing experiments. Over the past 11 years, TLS 15A1 has supported 657 projects and facilitated 1523 experiments across 41,656 h of beamtime. This article describes the beamline layout, studies of factors influencing data quality, and significant scientific contributions.
Fostamatinib for immune thrombocytopenic purpura in adult patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Kou Roger , Zhao Lucy , Tham Daniel , Principato Rachael , Schünemann Giovanna , Mannan Aqib , Crowther Mark
Published: June 2024

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an immune disorder characterized by thrombocytopenia. Fostamatinib is an orally administered spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor intended to treat refractory ITP. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fostamatinib as a subsequent‐line therapy for ITP in adults. We searched four electronic databases for primary studies of any design. Primary efficacy outcomes included proportions of patients achieving overall (≥30 × 109 cells/L), partial (≥50 × 109 cells/L), and stable (as defined in original studies) platelet response. Safety outcomes included rescue medication use and other adverse events. We used narrative synthesis and Mantel–Haenszel random effect meta‐analysis to summarize results. Our systematic review included 11 studies for analyses (n = 722). Weighted mean proportions of patients achieving overall, partial, and stable responses with fostamatinib treatment were 0.70 [0.62, 0.76], 0.48 [0.36, 0.61], and 0.28 [0.16, 0.44], respectively. Fostamatinib was favored over placebo for partial (relative risk [RR] = 3.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.53, 6.06]) and stable (RR = 6.43, 95% CI [1.58, 26.23]) responses. Patients on fostamatinib required less rescue medication and were more likely to experience hypertension. Fostamatinib is a viable subsequent‐line therapy option for refractory ITP. Given the heterogeneous data and large number of small studies, these results should be interpreted cautiously.
Fatal drug reaction to andexanet alfa: a case report
Authors: Buka Richard J. , Krishna Mamidipudi T. , Sutton David J.
Published: June 2024

Andexanet alfa is a recombinant, modified factor Xa (FXa) molecule that is used for the reversal of the anticoagulant effect of oral anti‐FXa anticoagulants in patients with major haemorrhage. Here, we present a case of an 85‐year‐old man taking rivaroxaban for atrial fibrillation, who presented with an acute, upper gastrointestinal bleed. He was stabilised with red cell transfusion and then received a 400 mg bolus of andexanet alfa. Within minutes of this, he developed chest tightness, shortness of breath, ischaemic electrocardiographic changes and then cardiac arrest from which he could not be resuscitated. The onset of symptoms was clearly temporally related to andexanet alfa administration and the differential diagnosis includes anaphylaxis with Kounis syndrome, or myocardial infarction. Although infusion site reactions have been reported and are relatively common, this is to date the first case of a fatal drug reaction andexanet alfa. This knowledge can be factored into physicians’ risk–benefit decisions when treating patients with oral anti‐FXa anticoagulant‐associated major haemorrhage.
Green synthesis of novel cyclopentapyridines: One‐pot multicomponent reactions of vinilydene Meldrum's acid
Authors: Amiri Somayeh Soleimani , Azizi Zahra , Hossaini Zinatossadat , Jouladehroodbar Hadi
Published: June 2024

This study focused on the investigation of synthesizing new derivatives of cyclopentapyridines with high yields employing multicomponent reaction that involved vinilydene Meldrum's acid, ethyl 2‐amino‐4‐dioxo‐4‐arylbutanoates, hydrazonoyl chlorides, and activated acetylenic compounds. The reaction was conducted in water at room temperature, resulting in the synthesis of new compounds. Also, the reaction of synthesized cyclopentapyridines with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate was performed in water at room temperature which produced other cyclopentapyridine derivatives by elimination of N2. The advantages of this technology encompass rapid response times, high product yields, and facile product separation via uncomplicated procedures.
Photochemical method for preparation of benzo[a]pyrano[3,2‐c]phenazin‐4‐ones from quinoxalines with 4‐pyranone unit
Authors: Tsyganov Dmitry V. , Komogortsev Andrey N. , Melekhina Valeriya G. , Fakhrutdinov Artem N. , Lichitsky Boris V.
Published: June 2024

Photochemical properties of terarylenes with quinoxalines bridge unit and allomaltol fragment was investigated. We have demonstrated that starting compounds with hydroxyl group in 3‐hydroxy‐4‐pyranone substituent does not undergo any photoinduced transformations. Wherein, conversion to methoxy derivatives allows one to realize photochemical 6π‐electrocyclization for considered quinoxalines. Based on data of x‐ray analysis the observed difference in reactivity is connected with the presence of hydrogen bond in hydroxyl derivatives. As a result of carried out research photochemical approach to novel benzo[a]pyrano[3,2‐c]phenazin‐4‐ones was implemented.
Deep Learning‐Enabled Automated Quality Control for Liver MR Elastography: Initial Results
Authors: Nieves‐Vazquez Heriberto A. , Ozkaya Efe , Meinhold Waiman , Geahchan Amine , Bane Octavia , Ueda Jun , Taouli Bachir
Published: June 2024

Background

Several factors can impair image quality and reliability of liver magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), such as inadequate driver positioning, insufficient wave propagation and patient‐related factors.

Purpose

To report initial results on automatic classification of liver MRE image quality using various deep learning (DL) architectures.

Study Type

Retrospective, single center, IRB‐approved human study.

Population

Ninety patients (male = 51, mean age 52.8 ± 14.1 years).

Field Strengths/Sequences

1.5 T and 3 T MRI, 2D GRE, and 2D SE‐EPI.

Assessment

The curated dataset was comprised of 914 slices obtained from 149 MRE exams in 90 patients. Two independent observers examined the confidence map overlaid elastograms (CMOEs) for liver stiffness measurement and assigned a quality score (non‐diagnostic vs. diagnostic) for each slice. Several DL architectures (ResNet18, ResNet34, ResNet50, SqueezeNet, and MobileNetV2) for binary quality classification of individual CMOE slice inputs were evaluated, using an 8‐fold stratified cross‐validation (800 slices) and a test dataset (114 slices). A majority vote ensemble combining the models' predictions of the highest‐performing architecture was evaluated.

Statistical Test

The inter‐observer agreement and the agreement between DL models and one observer were assessed using Cohen's unweighted Kappa coefficient. Accuracy, precision, and recall of the cross‐validation and the ensemble were calculated for the test dataset.

Results

The average accuracy across the eight models trained using each architecture ranged from 0.692 to 0.851 for the test dataset. The ensemble of the best performing architecture (SqueezeNet) yielded an accuracy of 0.921. The inter‐observer agreement was excellent (Kappa 0.896 [95% CI 0.845–0.947]). The agreement between observer 1 and the predictions of each SqueezeNet model was slight to almost perfect (Kappa range: 0.197–0.831) and almost perfect for the ensemble (Kappa: 0.833).

Conclusion

Our initial study demonstrates an automated DL‐based approach for classifying liver 2D MRE diagnostic quality with an average accuracy of 0.851 (range 0.675–0.921) across the SqueezeNet models.

Evidence Level

4

Technical Efficacy

Stage 1
Combined application of hot water and hexanal‐based formulations preserves the postharvest quality of mango fruits
Authors: Darshan Devi , Gill Karan Bir Singh , Gill Parmpal Singh , Boora Rajbir Singh , Bajaj Kashish , Gill Mandeep Singh , Singh Harpreet
Published: June 2024

BACKGROUND

Mango fruits undergo numerous postharvest quality losses during storage. Hence, the present study aimed to increase the shelf life of mango fruits by applying hexanal‐based enhanced freshness formulations (EFF) in combination with hot water treatment (HWT).

RESULTS

The findings revealed that, among all the tested applications, the combination of EFF 1.0% + HWT reduced the weight loss, decay incidence, and activity of cell wall degrading enzymes of mango fruits. Also, the combined treatment was effective in maintaining the fruit quality parameters such as soluble solid contents, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and activity of antioxidant compounds.

CONCLUSION

The present study concludes that the postharvest application of EEF 1.0% in combination with HWT can be used in extending the shelf life of mango cv. ‘Langra,’ fruits stored at 12° C and 85–90% relative humidity for 35 days. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
Radioactivity of Technosols on thermal power station ash disposal sites: Assessment of potential radiological human‐health risk
Authors: Uzarowicz Łukasz , Stobiński Marcin , Jędrzejek Filip , Szarłowicz Katarzyna , Murach Damian
Published: June 2024

Soil radioactivity is a poorly recognized form of land degradation; however, there are regions all around the world where it can be dangerous to the environment and human health. The aim of the study was to analyze the radioactivity of Technosols developed on thermal power station (TPS) ash disposal sites. Total concentration of uranium (U), thorium (Th), and cesium (Cs), as well as the radioactivity of select radionuclides in Technosols were determined to recognize the level of radioactivity and to assess the potential radiological health risk. Total U, Th and Cs concentrations in Technosols were in ranges 1.5 to 11.3, 4 to 22.9, and 0.2 to 21.3 mg·kg−1, respectively. The radioisotope activities in Technosols (in Bq·kg−1) were in the 1.6–25.5 (137Cs); 29.2–1265 (40K); 26.2–99.9 (228Th); 27.9–100 (228Ra); 20.5–134. (226Ra); 32.8–177 (210Pb); 23.9–144 (238U); 1.2–7.0 (235U) ranges. The activity concentrations were slightly higher than the activities of non‐contaminated soils. Technosols developed from bituminous coal ash had higher 40K, 228Th, and 228Ra activity concentrations than soils developed from lignite ash. Artificial 137Cs occurred in surface horizons of Technosols due to fall of atmospheric dust enriched in 137Cs. Annual effective dose (AED) in Technosols amounted 0.07–0.16 mSv·a−1 and was somewhat higher than the global and Polish average (0.06 and 0.07 mSv·a−1, respectively) for outdoor external terrestrial radiation. The radioactivity of the investigated Technosols is slightly above the average radioactivity of native soils. The radiological human‐health risk related to the analyzed soils is low.
3D Nanolithography via Holographic Multi‐Focus Metalens
Authors: Wang Xinger , Fan Xuhao , Liu Yuncheng , Xu Ke , Zhou Yining , Zhang Zexu , Chen Fayu , Yu Xuan , Deng Leimin , Gao Hui , Xiong Wei
Published: June 2024

3D nanolithography based on two‐photon polymerization (TPP) allows for the high‐precision fabrication of nearly arbitrary 3D micro/nanostructures, finding extensive applications in areas such as micro‐optics, micro‐mechanics, and biomedicine. However, the large size, complexity of optical systems, and high costs have significantly constrained the widespread adoption of 3D nanolithography technology in both scientific research and industry. In this study, a metasurface is introduced, for the first time, into 3D nanolithography resulting in the construction of a miniaturized and simplified TPP system that achieved efficient multi‐focus parallel processing with high uniformity. A microlens array is fabricated, showcasing the system's application capacity to generate an array of devices with high consistency and quality. It is believed that the utilization of metasurface devices will provide a novel TPP operating platform, enabling richer and more flexible printing functionalities while maintaining system miniaturization and low cost.
Ultrathin Niobium‐Doped Indium Oxide Active Layer Enables High‐Performance Phototransistors for Driving Quantum‐Dot Light‐Emitting Diodes
Authors: Lin Jianrong , Fang Wenhui , Tan Haixing , Zhang Haojun , Dai Jingfei , Liu Ziqing , Liu Si , Chen Jianwen , Wu Runfeng , Xu Hua , Ng Kar Wei , Xiao Peng , Liu Baiquan
Published: June 2024

Active materials play a crucial role in the performance of phototransistors. However, the discovery of a novel and versatile active material is a big challenge. For the first time, phototransistors with ultrathin niobium‐doped indium oxide (InNbO) active layer are fabricated. The InNbO phototransistors without additional light‐absorbing layers exhibit the performance with a high average mobility of 22.86 cm2 V−1s−1, a turn‐on voltage of −0.75 V, a low sub threshold swing of 0.18 V/decade, and a high on/off current ratio of 5.74 × 108. Detailed studies show that Nb is the key to suppress the free carrier generation due to the strong bonding strength of Nb─O. In addition, the InNbO phototransistors exhibit a very broad spectral responsivity with a photocurrent of 4.72 × 10−4 A, a photosensitivity of 1.69 × 108, and a high detectivity of 3.33 × 1013 Jones under violet (405 nm) light illumination, which is significantly higher than that of the IGZO phototransistors. Furthermore, an active‐matrix quantum‐dot light‐emitting diode pixel circuit based on InNbO phototransistors is demonstrated. The findings not only indicate that InNbO is a new active material for phototransistors, but also suggest that InNbO‐based phototransistors have a great potential for the next‐generation interactive display technology.
All‐Optical Physical Field Recognition Via Sparse Feature Extraction
Authors: Qi Haotong , Hu Jianyang , Li Chang , Zhang Xuyao , Chen Chen , Cao Danlin , Lin Jie , Wang Yiqun , Jin Peng
Published: June 2024

Optical computing has been proven to have the ability to process information with ultra‐high speed. Here, an all‐optical feature extraction system via sparse representation (AFE‐SR) is introduced. The AFE‐SR, which is achieved by multiple diffractive optical elements (DOEs), can realize the recognition of generated physical fields with the speed of light. The sparse representation simplifies the target and improves the recognition accuracy. With the mathematical analysis principle of sparse optical features extraction and optical integration, the identification accuracy of the generation of physical fields is 100% in 2100 frames of the experimental videos. The application field of optical computing systems is extended to state recognition.
Reversibility of Semicrystalline Polymers in Creep Testing by Coarse‐Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Authors: Higuchi Yuji , Matsuba Go
Published: June 2024

Unraveling the deformation processes of semicrystalline polymers is essential for improving their durability. Owing to their hierarchical structures composed of lamellae and spherulites, many aspects of these deformation processes remain unclear at the molecular scale, such as the differences in molecular structure changes in the elastic and plastic regions and the molecular‐scale structural changes during reversible and irreversible processes. Herein, simulated creep tests of the lamellar structure of polyethylene under a constant load are performed using the coarse‐grained molecular dynamics method. Typical creep curves are observed under various constant loads. During the recovery process after stretching, the reversible and irreversible processes are distinguished by a strain of approximately 0.4 at the boundary of the elastic and plastic regions. Interestingly, during recovery, the interfaces between the amorphous and crystalline layers are highly oriented, which may inhibit strain relaxation. In terms of the molecular structure changes in the plastic region, the number of tie chains remains constant, whereas the numbers of chain ends and loops in the amorphous layers decrease. These simulation results advance current understanding of the molecular‐scale deformation processes of semicrystalline polymers, which contribute to the improvement of long‐term durability and reliability.
Co‐Crystalline Phases of Syndiotactic Polystyrene with Azelaic Acid Molecules of Pharmaceutical Interest
Authors: Covelli Verdiana , Cozzolino Antonietta , Rodriquez Manuela , Daniel Christophe , Rizzo Paola
Published: June 2024

Sorption of dicarboxylic acid molecules of pharmaceutical interest such as azelaic acid (AzA), in syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) films presenting δ and ε nanoporous crystalline structure, is reported. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Polarized FTIR and Wide‐Angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) patterns on axially oriented sPS films has been performed to verify their sorption in crystalline lattices resulting in the formation of co‐crystalline (CC) phases. Experimental evidence provides that AzA molecules can be included in the crystalline nanochannels of ε phase both as isolated and hydrogen‐bonded molecules whereas they are only dissolved in the amorphous phase of δ samples.
Melting Behavior of Nanoporous‐Crystalline Poly(2,6‐Dimethyl‐1,4‐Phenylene) Oxide Films
Authors: Nagendra Baku , Salman Syed , Daniel Christophe , Rizzo Paola
Published: June 2024

The melting behavior of nanoporous‐crystalline (NC) poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene)oxide (PPO) films is obtained by guest removal from co‐crystalline (CC) films, as crystallized by sorption at different temperatures of liquid guests exhibiting largely different molecular volumes, is discussed. For all the considered guest‐induced crystallizations, the NC α form is obtained with melting temperatures (Tm) being essentially independent of the chemical nature of the guest. Tm of α NC films, as obtained by solution casting, instead widely varies with guest molecular volume (Tm in the range 236–264°C). This difference in the melting behavior of α NC PPO films is obtained by solution casting and guest‐induced crystallization using the same guest is attributed to the kinetics of the crystallization.
A New FE Modelling Approach to Simulate the Inter‐Layer Adherence in Hybrid Sandwich Structures Achievable by Additive Manufacturing
Authors: Garofano Antonio , Sellitto Andrea , Acanfora Valerio , Battaglia Miriam , Riccio Aniello
Published: June 2024

Numerically predicting the mechanical behavior of additively manufactured sandwich structures, particularly those produced through filament extrusion, poses a significant challenge. Existing collapse mechanisms, including interlayer debonding, lack comprehensive numerical formulation. This paper presents an improved finite element (FE) modeling approach for filament‐based additive processes. Utilizing the cohesive zone model (CZM), it incorporates a cohesive‐type contact to simulate critical layer interactions, such as the core‐face sheet interface. Validation against a literature‐referenced composite sandwich structure with designed for additive manufacturing honeycomb core demonstrates good agreement between the proposed numerical approach and experimental test data in compression and bending.
Investigation on the Crashworthiness of a Composite Fuselage Barrel with Double–Double Designed Frames
Authors: Riccio Aniello , Garofano Antonio , Di Caprio Francesco
Published: June 2024

Double–double (DD) laminates approach enables the design of mass‐minimized composite structures with number and orientation of plies tailored on the acting loads. Thus, the investigation of the crashworthiness capabilities is crucial in assessing the airworthiness of DD designed structures. In this work, two composite fuselage barrel configurations with conventional and DD designed frames have been compared to study their crashworthiness performance during an impact event. Numerical results highlight that configurations with DD optimized frames exhibit performance in terms of crashworthiness and passive safety for passengers comparable to the one with conventional designed frames while reducing the structure's total mass by up to 13%.