bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adenovirus as a rare cause of acute necrotising encephalitis
Authors: Sakrani Nida , Almazrouei Safaa , Mohan Shyam , Ramsi Musaab
Published: December 2019

Adenovirus is a common cause of upper and lower respiratory tract infections. Rarely, neurological manifestations may occur, ranging from mild aseptic meningitis to potentially fatal acute necrotising encephalopathy (ANE). Very little is known in regards to the exact pathogenesis of ANE in association with adenovirus. This report describes the presentation of a previously healthy 14-month-old girl diagnosed with adenovirus-induced ANE. Herein, we highlight the clinicoradiological manifestation of this uncommon association with adenovirus in order to maintain a high index of suspicion for early diagnosis and a better outcome.
Identifying causation in hypersensitivity pneumonitis: a British perspective
Authors: Barber Christopher Michael , Burge P Sherwood , Feary Jo R , Parfrey Helen , Renzoni Elizabeth A , Spencer Lisa G , Walters Gareth I , Wiggans Ruth E
Published: December 2019

Background

Establishing whether patients are exposed to a ‘known cause’ is a key element in both the diagnostic assessment and the subsequent management of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP).

Objective

This study surveyed British interstitial lung disease (ILD) specialists to document current practice and opinion in relation to establishing causation in HP.

Methods

British ILD consultants (pulmonologists) were invited by email to take part in a structured questionnaire survey, to provide estimates of demographic data relating to their service and to rate their level of agreement with a series of statements. A priori ‘consensus agreement’ was defined as at least 70% of participants replying that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Tend to agree’.

Results

54 consultants took part in the survey from 27 ILD multidisciplinary teams. Participants estimated that 20% of the patients in their ILD service have HP, and of these, a cause is identifiable in 32% of cases. For patients with confirmed HP, an estimated 40% have had a bronchoalveolar lavage for differential cell counts, and 10% a surgical biopsy. Consensus agreement was reached for 25 of 33 statements relating to causation and either the assessment of unexplained ILD or management of confirmed HP.

Conclusions

This survey has demonstrated that although there is a degree of variation in the diagnostic approach for patients with suspected HP in Britain, there is consensus opinion for some key areas of practice. There are several factors in clinical practice that currently act as potential barriers to identifying the cause for British HP patients.
Histological and molecular diversity and heterogeneity of precancerous lesions associated with inflammatory bowel diseases
Authors: Gui Xianyong , Köbel Martin , Ferraz Jose GP , Iacucci Marietta , Ghosh Subrata , Liu Shuhong , Ou Young , Perizzolo Marco , Winkfein Robert J , Rambau Peter , Demetrick Douglas J
Published: December 2019

Aims

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-associated precancerous lesions may be adenomatous or non-adenomatous with various histomorphologies. We aim to validate the newly proposed classification, to explore the neoplastic nature of the non-adenomatous lesions and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the different histomorphologies.

Methods

44 background precursor lesions identified in 53 cases of surgically resected IBD-associated colorectal and ileal carcinomas were reviewed for the histomorphological features (classified into adenomatous, mucinous, sessile serrated adenoma (SSA)-like, traditional serrated adenoma-like, differentiated, eosinophilic and serrated not otherwise specified (NOS)) and analysed for a key panel of colonic cancer-related molecular markers.

Results

Approximately 60% of the lesions were adenomatous, of which some had mixed serrated, mucinous or eosinophilic changes. The remaining non-adenomatous lesions, including all other types except SSA-like type, mostly showed mixed features and focal adenomatous dysplasia.KRASmutation and p53 mutant-type expression were found in about half cases across all types, whilePIK3CAmutation only in some of adenomatous and eosinophilic lesions and MLH1/PMS2 loss in a subset of adenomatous, mucinous and eosinophilic but not in differentiated and serrated lesions. SAT-B2 or PTEN loss and IMP3 overexpression were seen in a small subset of lesions. NoBRAF,NRASorEGFRgene mutation was detected in any type. Certain molecular-morphological correlations were demonstrated; however, no single or combined molecular alteration(s) was specific to any particular morphological type.

Conclusions

IBD-associated precancerous lesions are heterogeneous both histologically and molecularly. True colitis-associated adenomatous lesions are unlikely conventional adenomas. Non-adenomatous lesions without frank cytologic dysplasia should also be regarded as neoplastic.
DNA Isolation from Achieved Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissues in a Series of 212 Thyroid Carcinoma Cases: The Influence of Preanalytical Factors on DNA Quantity and Purity
Authors: Nechifor-Boilă Adela , Banescu Claudia , Zahan Ancuta Elena , Moldovan Valeriu , Szasz Emoke , Borda Angela
Published: December 2019

Objective

The present study aimed to investigate the influence of several important preanalytical factors (storage period of the tumor block, maximal diameter of the tumor circled area, tumor volume and tumor fraction) on the isolated DNA from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues in a series of thyroid carcinomas.

Design

Our study included 212 FFPE blocks, archived in the Department of Pathology, Târgu-Mureş Emergency County Hospital for up to 10 years. DNA isolation was performed using a commercially available kit (MasterPure DNA purification kit, Epicentre). The DNA parameters (concentration and purity) were determined using a spectrophotometer and the Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific) for an accurate and sensitive DNA quantification.

Results

The mean DNA concentration and purity for the study cases were 489.3±372.6 ng/µl and 1.667±0.1912, respectively. The DNA concentration was correlated with the maximal diameter of the tumor circled area (p<0.0001), the tumor volume (p<0.0001) and tumor fraction (p=0.0462). No statistically significant differences both in terms of DNA concentration (p=0.374) and purity (p=0.125) in relation with the storage period of the tumor blocks were observed. When using a fluorometric quantification method, the DNA concentration was lower (mean DNA concentration: 47.15±32.85 ng/µl), but similar correlations with the morphological factors were observed. Apart for three cases, the real-time PCR amplification of the BRAF gene was successfully assessed in all cases.

Conclusion

The maximal diameter of the tumor circled area, tumor volume and tumor fraction are important morphological factors that correlate with the DNA concentration and should be carefully assessed in routine practice prior to performing DNA isolation from FFPE tissues.
Long-term deep brain stimulation of the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule for treatment-resistant depression
Authors: van der Wal Junus M. , Bergfeld Isidoor O. , Lok Anja , Mantione Mariska , Figee Martijn , Notten Peter , Beute Guus , Horst Ferdinand , van den Munckhof Pepijn , Schuurman P. Rick , Denys Damiaan
Published: December 2019

Objective

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) reduces depressive symptoms in approximately 40%–60% of patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but data on long-term efficacy and safety are scarce. Our objective was to assess the efficacy and safety of DBS targeted at the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule (vALIC) in 25 patients with TRD during a 1-year, open-label, maintenance period, which followed a 1-year optimisation period.

Methods

Depression severity was measured using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D-17), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and self-reported Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-SR). Primary outcomes were response rate (≥50% HAM-D-17 score reduction) after the maintenance phase, approximately 2 years after DBS surgery, and changes in depression scores and occurrence of adverse events during the maintenance phase.

Results

Of 25 operated patients, 21 entered and 18 completed the maintenance phase. After the maintenance phase, eight patients were classified as responder (observed response rate: 44.4%; intention-to-treat: 32.0%). During the maintenance phase, HAM-D-17 and MADRS scores did not change, but the mean IDS-SR score decreased from 38.8 (95% CI 31.2 to 46.5) to 35.0 (95% CI 26.1 to 43.8) (p=0.008). Non-responders after optimisation did not improve during the maintenance phase. Four non-DBS-related serious adverse events occurred, including one suicide attempt.

Conclusions

vALIC DBS for TRD showed continued efficacy 2 years after surgery, with symptoms remaining stable after optimisation as rated by clinicians and with patient ratings improving. This supports DBS as a viable treatment option for patients with TRD.

Trial registration number

NTR2118.
Endovascular management of acute large vessel occlusion stroke in pregnancy is safe and feasible
Authors: Limaye Kaustubh , Van de Walle Jones Ann , Shaban Amir , Desai Shashvat , Al Kasab Sami , Almallouhi Eyad , Holmstedt Christine A , Ortega-Gutierrez Santiago , Haussen Diogo C , Nogueira Raul , Mont’Alverne Francisco , Ragiotto Carlos , Rebello Leticia C , Jovin Tudor G , Hasan David , Jadhav Ashutosh
Published: December 2019

Introduction

Stroke is a leading cause of adult death and disability. Although acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in pregnancy is rare, it has devastating consequences on the life of the mother and fetus. Pregnancy was an exclusion criterion in endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) trials and so there are no evidence-based treatment recommendations in this subgroup. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of mechanical thrombectomy in large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke in pregnancy.

Methods

Patients with AIS due to LVO treated with EVT during pregnancy between 2000 and 2019 were identified at seven tertiary care centers. After IRB approval, retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained stroke/endovascular databases was performed.

Results

A total of seven subjects were identified. The average age was 33.2 years (range 25–38 years) and the average initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at presentation was 15 (range 9–28). Three patients received IV tissue plasminogen activator. Techniques of EVT included stent retriever thrombectomy, stent retriever-assisted continuous aspiration, direct contact aspiration, and multimodal techniques including a rescue balloon mounted coronary stent placement. While one patient was noted to have petechial hemorrhage, no individuals developed parenchymal hematoma. Mean discharge NIHSS score was 1.7 (range 0–5).

Conclusion

EVT is a safe and effective treatment for acute stroke secondary to LVO in this series of pregnant patients. While EVT for acute stroke is standard of care in select patient populations, our study suggests that treatment should be considered in the gravid population.
Exposure to traffic noise and gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention: a cohort study
Authors: Sørensen Mette , Sørensen Thorkild I A , Ketzel Matthias , Raaschou-Nielsen Ole
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Transportation noise has been associated with markers of obesity. We aimed to investigate whether road traffic and railway noise were associated with weight gain during and after pregnancy.

Methods

Among the women participating in the Danish National Birth Cohort, 74 065 reported on weight before and during the pregnancy (gestational week 30) and 52 661 reported on weight before and 18 months after pregnancy. Residential address history from conception to 18 months after pregnancy was obtained in national registers, and road traffic and railway noise were modelled for all addresses. Associations between noise and gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight retention (PPWR) were analysed using the linear and log-binomial regression.

Results

A 10 dB(A) higher road traffic noise was associated with an increase in GWG of 3.8 g/week (95% CI 2.3 to 5.3) and PPWR of 0.09 kg (95% CI 0.02 to 0.16). For PPWR, this association seemed confined to women who were overweight (0.17 kg, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.32) or obese (0.49 kg, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.73) before pregnancy. Further adjustment by nitrogen dioxide reduced GWG risk estimates and slightly increased PPWR risk estimates. Railway noise ≥65 dB(A) was associated with an increase in GWG of 4.5 g/week (95% CI −2.7 to 11.6) and PPWR of 0.26 kg (95% CI −0.09 to 0.60) compared with levels <55 dB(A).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that road traffic noise is associated with weight gain during and after the pregnancy, which adds to the literature linking transportation noise to adiposity.
Dynamic stakeholder salience mapping framework for highway route alignment decisions: China–Pakistan Economic Corridor as a case study
Authors: Zafar Irfan , Shen Geoffrey Qiping , Zahoor Hafiz , Xue Jin , Ekanayake E.M.A.C.
Published: December 2019

Undervaluing the stakeholders’ attributes, salience, and potential to impact a project during its planning and execution may result in stakeholders’ dissatisfaction, distrust, and opposition, leading to project controversies, cost overrun, schedule delays, and even project cessation. The existing stakeholders’ management typologies due to their inherent limitations are unable to provide the project managers with an optimal and comprehensive solution. The present study proposes a framework to improve the stakeholders’ management process by a novel way of mapping stakeholders’ attribute-based salience and potential impact probability into a dynamic stakeholder relational matrix. The framework was validated through a case study conducted on a mega-highway project from China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. The data was collected through a questionnaire survey and analyzed using SPSS. Twelve stakeholder groups with 36 stakeholders were identified. Stakeholders’ salience index and stakeholders’ impact probability were computed and mapped in the stakeholders’ salience assessment matrix (SSAM). The findings revealed significant dominance of the political hierarchy, project management, and defense services in the alignment selection process. Environmentalists, community, local authority, and non-governmental organizations were found deprived of reasonable participation opportunities, and their presence is often undermined and neglected in the selection process. However, the logical stakeholders’ classification and corresponding relational and engagement strategies offered by SSAM are expected to compensate the disparity and improve transparency in the decision process. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by proposing a comprehensive framework that integrates stakeholders’ salience, potential impact, and relational strategy simultaneously. The framework is expected to aid project managers during crucial project decision-making stages to assess stakeholders, their participation provisos, and desired engagement approaches. The proposed framework exhibits the requisite flexibility for its application on diverse infrastructure projects with certain project-specific modifications.
Cynanchum atratum Ameliorates Airway Inflammation via Maintaining Alveolar Barrier and Regulating Mast Cell-Mediated Inflammatory Responses
Authors: Kim Yeon-Yong , Lee Soyoung , Jang Hyun-Jae , Hur Gayeong , Lee Seung Woong , Jung Kyungsook , Lee Seung-Jae , Kim Sang-Hyun , Rho Mun-Chual
Published: December 2019

Asthma is a common allergic airway inflammatory disease, characterized by abnormal breathing due to bronchial inflammation. Asthma aggravates the patient’s quality of life and needs continuous pharmacological treatment. Therefore, discovery of drugs for the treatment of asthma is an important area of human health. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether Cynanchum atratum extract (CAE) modulates the asthma-like allergic airway inflammation and to study its possible mechanism of action using ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway inflammation and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice, as well as a mast cell-based in vitro model. The histological analysis showed that CAE reduced the airway constriction and immune cell infiltration. CAE also inhibited release of [Formula: see text]-hexosaminidase and expression of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-[Formula: see text], interleukin (IL)-4, and IL-5 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissues. In addition, CAE reduced the OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E, total IgE, IgG1, and IgG2a levels in the serum. In the LPS-induced ALI model, CAE suppressed the LPS-induced lung barrier dysfunction and the release of proinflammatory cytokines. Because allergic airway inflammatory responses are associated with the activation of mast cells, RBL-2H3 cells were used to evaluate the underlying mechanism of CAE effects. In RBL-2H3 cells, CAE down-regulated release of [Formula: see text]-hexosaminidase and histamine by reducing the intracellular calcium influx. In addition, CAE suppressed the expression of proinflammatory cytokines by inhibiting nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-[Formula: see text]B. Taken together, our findings suggest that CAE may help in the prevention or treatment of airway inflammatory diseases.
Random products of maps synchronizing on average
Authors: Matias Edgar , Melo Ítalo
Published: December 2019

We present a necessary and sufficient condition for a random product of maps on a compact metric space to be (strongly) synchronizing on average.
Degenerate Landau–Zener model in the presence of quantum noise
Authors: Militello Benedetto
Published: December 2019

The degenerate Landau–Zener–Majorana–Stückelberg model consists of two degenerate energy levels whose energies vary with time and in the presence of an interaction which couples the states of the two levels. In the adiabatic limit, it allows for the populations transfer from states of one level to the states of the other level. The presence of an interaction with the environment influences the efficiency of the process. Nevertheless, identification of possible decoherence-free subspaces permits to engineer coupling schemes for which the effects of quantum noise can be made negligible.
Geochronology and geochemistry of the Tabaquito batholith (Frontal Cordillera, Argentina): geodynamic implications and temporal correlations in the SW Gondwana margin
Authors: Moreno Juan A. , Dahlquist Juan A. , Morales Cámera Matías M. , Alasino Pablo H. , Larrovere Mariano A. , Basei Miguel A. S. , Galindo Carmen , Zandomeni Priscila S. , Rocher Sebastian
Published: December 2019

The Tabaquito batholith (Frontal Cordillera, western Argentina), is mainly composed of shallowly emplaced granodiorite to minor monzogranite with abundant mafic microgranular enclaves. New sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe U–Pb zircon ages of
c.
337 Ma (biotite granodiorite) and
c.
284 Ma (mafic dyke) along with previously published geochronological data suggest that a long-lived magmatic system formed through at least two magmatic pulses at
c.
337 and
c.
322 Ma with later superimposition of Permian magmatism. The Tabaquito granitoids are metaluminous, calc-alkalic and magnesian with I-type affinity. Elevated Th/Nb, Y/Nb and La/Nb ratios along with negative Nb–Ta and positive Pb anomalies are consistent with a continental arc setting. Hf, Nd and Sr isotopic composition of the Tabaquito granitoids suggests that their source could result from mixing of an old felsic crustal component and a juvenile mafic to intermediate component. New geochronological and geochemical data together with published data reveal a continuous arc setting from the Carboniferous to the Permian in Argentina, and important magmatic compositional variations through time and space controlled by episodic fluctuations in the subduction angle of the oceanic plate. Reported and compiled data allow us to infer the continuity of the Carboniferous magmatic arc along the west margin of Gondwana.

Supplementary material:
Detailed petrography, analytical methods and data, zircon cathodoluminescence images and supplementary figures are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4763993
Ginger and its bioactive component 6-shogaol mitigate lung inflammation in a murine asthma model
Authors: Yocum Gene T. , Hwang Julie J. , Mikami Maya , Danielsson Jennifer , Kuforiji Aisha S. , Emala Charles W.
Published: December 2019

Asthma, a common disorder associated with airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness, remains a significant clinical burden in need of novel therapeutic strategies. Patients are increasingly seeking complementary and alternative medicine approaches to control their symptoms, including the use of natural products. Ginger, a natural product that we previously demonstrated acutely relaxes airway smooth muscle (ASM), has long been reported to possess anti-inflammatory properties, although a precise mechanistic understanding is lacking. In these studies, we demonstrate that chronic administration of whole ginger extract or 6-shogaol, a bioactive component of ginger, mitigates in vivo house dust mite antigen-mediated lung inflammation in mice. We further show that this decrease in inflammation is associated with reduced in vivo airway responsiveness. Utilizing in vitro studies, we demonstrate that 6-shogaol augments cAMP concentrations in CD4 cells, consistent with phosphodiesterase inhibition, and limits the induction of nuclear factor-κB signaling and the production of proinflammatory cytokines in activated CD4 cells. Sustained elevations in cAMP concentration are well known to inhibit effector T cell function. Interestingly, regulatory T cells (Tregs) utilize cAMP as a mediator of their immunosuppressive effects, and we demonstrate here that 6-shogaol augments the Treg polarization of naïve CD4 cells in vitro. Taken together with previous reports, these studies suggest that ginger and 6-shogaol have the potential to combat asthma via two mechanisms: acute ASM relaxation and chronic inhibition of inflammation.
A review of efferent cholinergic synaptic transmission in the vestibular periphery and its functional implications
Authors: Poppi L. A. , Holt J. C. , Lim R. , Brichta A. M.
Published: December 2019

It has been over 60 years since peripheral efferent vestibular terminals were first identified in mammals, and yet the function of the efferent vestibular system remains obscure. One reason for the lack of progress may be due to our deficient understanding of the peripheral efferent synapse. Although vestibular efferent terminals were identified as cholinergic less than a decade after their anatomical characterization, the cellular mechanisms that underlie the properties of these synapses have had to be inferred. In this review we examine how recent mammalian studies have begun to reveal both nicotinic and muscarinic effects at these terminals and therefore provide a context for fast and slow responses observed in classic electrophysiological studies of the mammalian efferent vestibular system, nearly 40 years ago. Although incomplete, these new results together with those of recent behavioral studies are helping to unravel the mysterious and perplexing action of the efferent vestibular system. Armed with this information, we may finally appreciate the behavioral framework in which the efferent vestibular system operates.
Ovarian Hormones and Reward Processes in Palatable Food Intake and Binge Eating
Authors: Ma Ruofan , Mikhail Megan E. , Culbert Kristen M. , Johnson Alex W. , Sisk Cheryl L. , Klump Kelly L.
Published: December 2019

Ovarian hormones are associated with risk for binge eating in women. Recent animal and human studies suggest that food-related reward processing may be one set of neurobiological factors that contribute to these relationships, but additional studies are needed to confirm and extend findings.
Electrical Stimulation of Muscle: Electrophysiology and Rehabilitation
Authors: Enoka Roger M. , Amiridis Ioannis G. , Duchateau Jacques
Published: December 2019

The generation of action potentials in intramuscular motor and sensory axons in response to an imposed external current source can evoke muscle contractions and elicit widespread responses throughout the nervous system that impact sensorimotor function. The benefits experienced by individuals exposed to several weeks of treatment with electrical stimulation of muscle suggest that the underlying adaptations involve several physiological systems, but little is known about the specific changes elicited by such interventions.
Nonlinear Input-Output Functions of Motoneurons
Authors: Binder Marc D. , Powers Randall K. , Heckman C. J.
Published: December 2019

All movements are generated by the activation of motoneurons, and hence their input-output properties define the final step in processing of all motor commands. A major challenge to understanding this transformation has been the striking nonlinear behavior of motoneurons conferred by the activation of persistent inward currents (PICs) mediated by their voltage-gated Na+and Ca2+channels. In this review, we focus on the contribution that these PICs make to motoneuronal discharge and how the nonlinearities they engender impede the construction of a comprehensive model of motor control.
Prediction and Structural Comparison of Deleterious Coding Nonsynonymous Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in Human LEP Gene Associated with Obesity
Authors: Bouafi Hind , Bencheikh Sara , Mehdi Krami AL , Morjane Imane , Charoute Hicham , Rouba Hassan , Saile Rachid , Benhnini Fouad , Barakat Abdelhamid
Published: December 2019

Leptin is a peptide hormone that regulates fat stores in the body and appetite by controlling the feeling of satiety. This hormone is secreted by the white adipose tissue and plays a role in the storage and mobilization of fatty acids. Mutations of the LEP gene have been associated with obesity in different populations; it is a multifactorial disease that constitutes a major public health problem. In this study, we evaluated the impact of missense SNPs in the LEP gene extracted from dbSNP using 8 computational prediction tools. Out of the total of 4337 SNPs, 93 were nsSNPs (nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms). Among 93 nsSNPs, 12 (S46L, G59S, D61N, D100N, N103K, C117S, D76V, S88C, P90R, I95N, L161R, and R105W) variants were predicted to be the most deleterious by prediction software. On these 12 deleterious SNPs, 8 variants (S46L, G59S, D61N, D100N, N103K, C117S, L161R, and R105W) were located in the conserved positions and showed a decrease in structure stability which was evaluated by I-Mutant and Mupro. Then, by analyzing the different interactions between different amino acids in wild and mutated proteins, we assessed the structural impact of the deleterious modifications using the YASARA software. Among 8 deleterious nsSNPs, we revealed structure changes in the 6 variants S46L, G59S, D100N, L103K, R105W, L161R, two of which R105W, N103K were previously reported as associated with obesity. Our study suggests 6 deleterious mutations could play an important role in contributing to human obesity and worth to be included in association and functional studies, then may be a drug target.
Increased Neuronal Differentiation Efficiency in High Cell Density-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Authors: Srimasorn Sumitra , Kirsch Matthias , Hallmeyer-Ellgner Susanne , Lindemann Dirk , Storch Alexander , Hermann Andreas
Published: December 2019

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), provide access to hard-to-obtain cells for studies under physiological and disease conditions. For the study of neurodegenerative diseases, especially sporadic cases where the “disease condition” might be restricted towards the neuroectodermal lineage, obtaining the affected neurons is important to help unravel the underlying molecular mechanism leading to the diseases. Although differentiation of iPSCs to neural lineage allows acquisition of cell types of interest, the technology suffers from low efficiency leading to low yield of neurons. Here, we investigated the potential of adult neuroprogenitor cells (aNPCs) for iPSC derivation and possible confounders such as cell density of infected NPCs on their subsequent neuronal differentiation potential from reprogrammed cells under isogenic conditions. Characterized hiPSCs of defined cell densities generated from aNPCs were subjected to neuronal differentiation on PA6 stromal cells. The results showed that hiPSC clones obtained from low seeding density (iPSC-aNPCLow) differentiated less efficiently compared to those from higher density (iPSC-aNPCHigh). Our findings might help to further improve the yield and quality of neurons for in vitro modelling of neurodegenerative diseases.
Investigation of Two‐Dimensional Viscoelastic Fluid with Nonuniform Heat Generation over Permeable Stretching Sheet with Slip Condition
Authors: Rasheed Haroon Ur , Khan Zeeshan , Islam Saeed , Khan Ilyas , Guirao Juan L. G. , Khan Waris
Published: December 2019

Here, in this research article, we have investigated an incompressible viscoelastic fluid flow over a uniform stretching surface sheet along with slip boundary conditions in the presence of porous media. The partial differential equations which govern the fluid flow are changed into ordinary differential equations through suitable similarity transformation variables. Finally, the transformed ordinary differential equations are solved with the help of a seminumerical technique known as the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The uniqueness of our study is not only to analyze and carry out the effect of the elastic parameter but also to account for viscous dissipation which is important in the case of optically transparent flow. The novel effects for the parameters which affect the flow and heat transfer, such as the Eckert number, porous medium parameter, and the velocity slip parameter, are studied through graphs. Also, the convergence analysis for the proposed method is addressed. Additionally, for the sake of validation, the present work is also compared with the already published work and an outstanding agreement is found.
Lack of Associations between Elevated Serum Uric Acid and Components of Metabolic Syndrome Such as Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, and T2DM in Overweight and Obese Chinese Adults
Authors: Li Li , Song Qifa , Yang Xi
Published: December 2019

The overweight and obese population experiences a higher occurrence of both hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome. The present study was to explore the relationship between serum uric acid and metabolic syndrome-related risk factors among 409 obese Chinese adults (254 women and 155 men) with >24 kg/m2 BMI. Based on sex-specific reference ranges, 233 (57%) patients showed elevated serum uric acid. A total of 15 attributes were selected to assess the associations between elevated serum uric acid and components of metabolic syndrome, including serum uric acid, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglyceride, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, HOMA-IR, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine, urine microalbumin, muscle mass amount, BMI, and age. Among the participants stratified into three groups of grade I, grade II, and grade III obesity, as well as among the participants stratified into male and female groups, univariate correlation analysis identified a negative association (P<0.01) for age, positive associations (P<0.01) for BMI, muscle mass, alanine aminotransferase, and creatinine. The stepwise multivariate logistic regression proved similar associations for age, BMI, creatinine, and alanine aminotransferase. No significant associations were testified between serum uric acid levels and cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglyceride, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, HOMA-IR, and urine microalbumin. Factor analysis illustrated that 15 attributes could be grouped into two common factors and five individual factors. A common underlying factor was identified among uric acid, muscle mass, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, and BMI. The results indicate that serum uric acid has no apparent association with metabolic syndromes that are commonly characterized by hypertension, dyslipidemia, and T2DM.
A Six-Gene Signature Predicts Survival of Adenocarcinoma Type of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Comprehensive Study Based on Integrated Analysis and Weighted Gene Coexpression Network
Authors: Xie Hui , Xie Conghua
Published: December 2019

Background and Goals. To identify a multigene signature model for prognosis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, we first found 2146 consensus differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in NSCLC overlapped in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and TCGA lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) datasets using integrated analysis. We constructed a weighted gene coexpression network (WGCN) using the consensus DEGs and identified the module significantly associated with pathological M stage and consisted of 61 genes. After univariate Cox regression analysis and subsequent stepwise model selection by the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and multivariate Cox hazard model analysis, an mRNA signature model which calculated prognostic score was generated: prognostic score = (−0.2491 × EXPRRAGB) + (−0.0679 × EXPRSPH9) + (−0.2317 × EXPRPS6KL1) + (−0.1035 × EXPRXFP1) + 0.1571 × EXPRRM2 + 0.1104 × EXPRTL1, where EXP is the fragments per kilobase million (FPKM) value of the mRNA included in the model. The prognostic model separated NSCLC patients in the TCGA-LUAD dataset into the low- and high-risk score groups with a median prognostic score of 0.972. Higher scores predicted higher risk. The area under ROC curve (AUC) was 0.994 or 0.776 in predicting the 1- to 10-year survival of NSCLC patients. The prognostic performance of this prognostic model was validated by an independent GSE11969 dataset of NSCLC adenocarcinoma with AUC values between 0.822 and 0.755 in predicting 1- to 10-year survival of NSCLC. These results suggested that the six-gene signature functioned as an independent biomarker to predict the overall survival of NSCLC adenocarcinoma.
Bursting and Synchronization of Coupled Neurons under Electromagnetic Radiation
Authors: Hu Xiaoyu , Liu Chongxin
Published: December 2019

Bursting is an important firing activity of neurons, which is caused by a slow process that modulates fast spiking activity. Based on the original second‐order Morris‐Lecar neuron model, an improved third‐order Morris‐Lecar neuron model can produce bursting activity is proposed, in which the effect of electromagnetic radiation is considered as a slow process and the original equation of Morris‐Lecar neuron model as a fast process. Extensive numerical simulation results show that the improved neuron model can produce different types of bursting, and bursting activity shows a deep dependence on system parameters and electromagnetic radiation parameters. In addition, synchronization transitions of identical as well as no‐identical coupled third‐order Morris‐Lecar neurons are studied, the results show that identical coupled neurons experience a complex synchronization process and reach complete synchronization finally with the increase of coupling intensity. For no‐identical coupled neurons, only anti‐phase synchronization and in‐phase synchronization can be reached. The studies of bursting activity of single neuron and synchronization transition of coupled neurons have important guiding significance for further understanding the information processing of neurons and collective behaviors in neuronal network under electromagnetic radiation environment.
Competitive Endogenous RNA Network Construction and Comparison of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Smokers and Nonsmokers
Authors: Yao Yan , Zhang Tingting , Qi Lingyu , Liu Ruijuan , Liu Gongxi , Wang Xue , Li Jie , Li Jia , Sun Changgang
Published: December 2019

Background. Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is a subtype of highly malignant lung cancer with poor prognosis, for which smoking is the main risk factor. However, the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms of smoking-related LUSC remain largely unknown. Methods. We mined existing LUSC-related mRNA, miRNA, and lncRNA transcriptome data and corresponding clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and divided them into smoking and nonsmoking groups, followed by differential expression analysis. Functional enrichment analysis of the unique differentially expressed mRNAs of the two groups was performed using the DAVID database. Subsequently, the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network of LUSC in smoking and nonsmoking groups was constructed. Finally, survival analyses were performed to determine the effects of differentially expressed lncRNAs/mRNAs/miRNAs that were involved in the ceRNA network on overall survival and to discover the hub genes. Results. A total of 1696 lncRNAs, 125 miRNAs, and 3246 mRNAs and 1784 lncRNAs, 96 miRNAs, and 3229 mRNAs with differentially expressed profiles were identified in the smoking and nonsmoking groups, respectively. The ceRNA network and survival analysis revealed four lncRNAs (LINC00466, DLX6-AS1, LINC00261, and AGBL1), one miRNA (hsa-mir-210), and two mRNAs (CITED2 and ENPP4), with the potential as biomarkers for smoking-related LUSC diagnosis and prognosis. Conclusion. Taken together, our research has identified the differences in the ceRNA regulatory networks between smoking and nonsmoking LUSC, which could lay the foundation for future clinical research.
Synchronization of Synchronous Reluctance Motors Using the Discrete Sliding Mode Control Technique
Authors: Abdul Rahman Salahuddin , Zribi Mohamed , Smaoui Nejib
Published: December 2019

The synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) drive system is known to exhibit chaotic behavior under specified conditions. In this paper, the discrete‐time sliding mode control (DSMC) technique is used to synchronize two SynRMs starting from different sets of initial conditions. The mixed variable speed reaching law is adopted in the design of the controller scheme. The parameters of the designed control scheme are tuned using a genetic algorithm (GA). Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. In addition, the performance of the proposed control scheme is studied through simulations when bounded disturbances and mismatches between the parameters of the systems and those of the control scheme exist. The simulation results show that the designed control scheme is robust to bounded external disturbances and to mismatches in the parameters of the systems.
Review of Exogenous Economic Indicators Influencing Construction Industry
Authors: Asamoah Richard Oduro , Baiden Bernard Kofi , Nani Gabriel , Kissi Ernest
Published: December 2019

Research works into the effect of economic factors on the construction industry are enormous. But finding the core economic factors is limited in the Ghanaian construction industry. In an attempt to address this research gap, this study articulates the aim of identifying exogenous economic factors influencing the construction industry through a qualitative literature review. The study used secondary data collected from over 50 published journals, conference papers, and dissertations on exogenous factors. Fifty‐nine exogenous factors were identified, and the most prevailing ones were GDP, exchange rate, inflation, interest rate, consumer price index, etc. It also revealed that black market is a factor affecting construction industry in Saudi Arabia. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting generic and specific exogenous factors that should be of concern to players in the construction industry including policy makers in their project planning. This will help to reduce the incidence of high failure rate of construction firms. Again, it establishes the need to further study the real impact of these exogenous factors as well as the strategies to mitigate the influence of exogenous factors on the construction industry as this study was limited to qualitative literature review.
Joint Optimization of Energy Conservation and Migration Cost for Complex Systems in Edge Computing
Authors: Xu Xiaolong , Xue Yuan , Cui Mengmeng , Yuan Yuan , Qi Lianyong
Published: December 2019

By means of the complex systems, multiple renewable energy sources are integrated to provide energy supply for users. Considering that there are massive services needed to process in complex systems, the mobile services are offloaded from mobile devices to edge servers for efficient implementation. In spite of the benefits of complex systems and edge servers, massive resource requirements for implementing the increasing resource requests decrease the execution efficiency and affect the whole resource usage of edge servers. Therefore, it remains an issue to achieve dynamic scheduling of the computing resources across edge servers. With the consideration of this issue, a Balanced Resource Scheduling Method, named BRSM, for trade‐offs between virtual machine (VM) migration cost and energy consumption of VM migrations for edge server management, named BRSM, is designed in this paper. Technically, we analyze the load conditions of edge servers and formulate the energy consumption of VM migrations and VM migration cost as a multi‐objective optimization problem. Then, we propose a dynamic resource scheduling method for WMAN to deal with the multi‐objective optimization problem. In addition, nondominated sorting genetic algorithm III (NSGA‐III) is adopted to generate optimal resource scheduling strategies. Finally, we conduct experiment simulations to testify the efficiency of the proposed method BRSM.
Diuretic and Antidiuretic Activities of Ethanol Extract and Fractions of Lagopsis supina in Normal Rats
Authors: Liu Zhiyong , Yang Li , Li Longxue , Wei Rongrui , Luo Xiaoquan , Xu Tingting , Huang Yun , Mu Zejing , He Junwei
Published: December 2019

Lagopsis supina is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine and used as an agent for diuresis in China for centuries. This is the first time to evaluate the diuretic activity of the ethanol extract of L. supina (LS) and its four fractions (LSA, LSB, LSC, and LSD) in normal rats. After the administration of LS-H, LS-M, LSB-H, and LSC-L, the urine output of the rats was significantly increased, while the urine excretion was significantly reduced after treatment with LSB-L. The urine Na+ excretion was remarkably increased with LS-H, LS-M, LSA-H, LSA-L, LSB-H, LSC-L, and LSD-L, and the urine K+ excretion was significantly increased after administration of LS-H and LSB-H. Moreover, the urine Na+ and K+ excretion was significantly reduced after treatment with LSC-H and LSD-H. However, the urine pH values and urine and serum Na+-K+-ATPase levels did not show remarkable change after administration of LS or its four fractions in comparison with the control group. On the contrary, LS and its four fractions can suppress the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), including ADH arrest by LSB-H, LSB-L, LSC-L, LSD-L, and LSD-H and ALD arrest by LSD-L, as well as promote ANP release by LS-M, LSB-H, LSC-H, and LSD-H, while furosemide can suppress only arrest of ADH within 24 h compared with the control group. In addition, LS and its four fractions did not change the urine and serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels in normal rats within 24 h. This study will provide a quantitative basis for explaining the natural medicinal use of LS as a diuretic agent for edema and promoting the diuretic process.
Route Identification Method for On-Ramp Traffic at Adjacent Intersections of Expressway Entrance
Authors: Wang Wenxuan , Zhu Xiaodong , Wang Yanli , Wu Bing
Published: December 2019

To determine the control strategy at intersections adjacent to the expressway on-ramp, a route identification method based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and dynamic time warping (DTW) is established. First, the de-noise function of EMD method is applied to eliminate disturbances and extract features and trends of traffic data. Then, DTW is used to measure the similarity of traffic volume time series between intersection approaches and expressway on-ramp. Next, a three-dimensional feature vector is built for every intersection approach traffic flow, including DTW distance, space distance between on-ramp and intersection approach, and intersection traffic volume. Fuzzy C-means clustering method is employed to cluster intersection approaches into classifications and identify critical routes carrying the most traffic to the on-ramp. The traffic data are collected by inductive loops at Xujiahui on-ramp of North and South Viaduct Expressway and surrounding intersections in Shanghai, China. The result shows that the proposed method can achieve route classification among intersections for different time periods in one day, and the clustering result is significantly influenced by three dimensions of traffic flow feature vector. As an illustrative example, micro-simulation models are built with different control strategies. The simulation shows that the coordinated control of critical routes identified by the proposed method has a better performance than coordinated control of arterial roads. Conclusions demonstrated that the proposed route identification method could provide a theoretical basis for the coordinated control of traffic signals among intersections and on-ramp.
A Provably Secure and Lightweight Identity-Based Two-Party Authenticated Key Agreement Protocol for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks
Authors: Li Quanrun , Hsu Ching-Fang , Raymond Choo Kim-Kwang , He Debiao
Published: December 2019

As an important part of smart cities, vehicle ad hoc networks (VANETs) have attracted much attention from both industry and academia. In a VANET, generating a secure session key to facilitate subsequent data-in-transit transfer between two or more vehicles is crucial, which can be achieved by using an authenticated key agreement protocol. However, most of the existing identity-based two-party authenticated key agreement protocols have significant computational requirements or are known to be insecure. Thus, in this paper, a secure and efficient identity-based two-party authenticated key agreement protocol is presented by us. This protocol does not involve complex bilinear pairing computations and can generate a valid session key in two rounds. The security of the proposed protocol is proved in the eCK model which has better capability to describe a protocol’s security than the famous CK model, and it has been widely used in the security proof of ID-based key agreement protocols currently. Additionally, we also evaluate its performance for potential utility in a VANET.