bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mapping geographic disparities in treatment and clinical outcomes of high-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in the United States
Authors: Dicpinigaitis Alis J , Fortunato Michael P , Goyal Anjali , Syed Shoaib A , Patel Rohan , Subah Galadu , Rosenberg Jon B , Bowers Christian A , Mayer Stephan A , Jankowitz Brian , Gandhi Chirag D , Al-Mufti Fawaz
Published: February 2024

Background and objective

Although high-grade (Hunt and Hess 4 and 5) aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) typically portends a poor prognosis, early and aggressive treatment has previously been demonstrated to confer a significant survival advantage. This study aims to evaluate geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic determinants of high-grade aSAH treatment in the United States.

Methods

The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was queried to identify adult high-grade aSAH hospitalizations during the period of 2015 to 2019 using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD) codes. The primary clinical endpoint of this analysis was aneurysm treatment by surgical or endovascular intervention (SEI), while the exposure of interest was geographic region by census division. Favorable functional outcome (assessed by the dichotomous NIS-SAH Outcome Measure, or NIS-SOM) and in-hospital mortality were evaluated as secondary endpoints in treated and conservatively managed groups.

Results

Among 99 460 aSAH patients identified, 36 795 (37.0%) were high-grade, and 9210 (25.0%) of these were treated by SEI. Following multivariable logistic regression analysis, determinants of treatment by SEI included female sex (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.42, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.51), transfer admission (aOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.25), private insurance (ref: government-sponsored insurance) (aOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.28), and government hospital ownership (ref: private ownership) (aOR 1.17, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.25), while increasing age (by decade) (aOR 0.93, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.95), increasing mortality risk (aOR 0.60, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.63), urban non-teaching hospital status (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.73), rural hospital location (aOR 0.13, 95% CI 0.7 to 0.25), small hospital bedsize (aOR 0.68, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.76), and geographic region (South Atlantic (aOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.83), East South Central (aOR 0.75, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.88), and Mountain (aOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.85)) were associated with a lower likelihood of treatment. High-grade aSAH patients treated by SEI experienced significantly greater rates of favorable functional outcomes (20.1% vs 17.3%; OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.28, P<0.001) and lower rates of mortality (25.8% vs 49.1%; OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.38, P<0.001) in comparison to those conservatively managed.

Conclusion

A complex interplay of demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic factors influence treatment patterns of high-grade aSAH in the United States.
The Ableist stare: an interdisciplinary, narrative-driven exploration of staring at disabled bodies
Authors: Schmid Spencer James
Published: February 2024

In this paper, I explore a phenomenon those with visible disabilities are all too familiar with: being stared at for their disabled bodies. Drawing on the interrelated fields of psychology, narrative, autoethnography and philosophy, I argue that staring at disabled bodies morally harms disabled people. This moral harm arises from the fact that not only does staring at disabled people fundamentally treat them as means to ends in which they cannot share, and thus, violates the Kantian formula of humanity, but also because this staring results in further, consequential harms for disabled people as well. In elaborating on these consequential harms, I draw largely on the works of disability ethicists Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and Elizabeth Barnes and argue that staring at disabled people contributes to the hermeneutical injustice disabled people face in their largely ableist world. Having identified these harms, I then explore the ameliorative potential of elevating disability narrative (with various disability narratives largely leading the discussion, including my own), drawing on Hilden Lindemann’s
Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair
, and hope to call attention to the ways in which our broader structurally ableist world contributes to disabled people being stared at for their bodies in such harmful fashion.
Palliative radiotherapy: survival prognostic factors - single-centre retrospective cohort study
Authors: Cooper Sian , Denholm Mary , Malek Abdul Shawal , Rubasingham Jeffrey Arun , Tsang David
Published: February 2024

Objective

Patients with non-curative malignancy can receive palliative radiotherapy (PR) to alleviate symptoms. However, choosing the right patient to receive PR can be challenging, as some patients may not survive long enough to gain benefit. This study aims to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and 30-day mortality (30DM) following PR and to test these in a real-world cohort.

Method

A retrospectively collected data set of all adults completing PR between 1 August 2018 and 31 December 2018 at a single centre (n=214, Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK) was used to test prognostic factors. Factors such as demographics, tumour primary, treatment area, fractionation regime, performance status (PS), progressive disease (PD), opioid or steroid use and haemoglobin level, as well as overall survival, were collected. Cox regression was used to examine survival predictors, and logistic regression was used to determine the predictive strength of factors for 30DM.

Results

Overall 30DM was 14%. There was significantly worse survival in patients with poor PS (HR 1.2406, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.64. p=0.01). Patients with PS 3 had a median OS of 75 days and were more likely to experience 30DM (OR 6.2, 95% CI 1.226 to 45.42, p=0.03). Patients with PD outside of the radiation field (46%, 30 out of 65 documented) had significantly worse OS (HR 5.24, 95% CI 2.19 to 12.5, p<0.001).

Conclusion

Poor PS and PD were prognostic of OS and 30DM. Future work should include validation with a prospectively collected cohort.
Using explainable AI for enhanced understanding of winter road safety: insights with support vector machines and SHAP
Authors: Shuai Zehua , Kwon Tae J. , Xie Qian
Published: February 2024

This study investigates the utility of machine learning (ML) in understanding and mitigating winter road risks. Despite their capability in managing complex data structures, ML models often lack interpretability. We address this issue by integrating Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) with a support vector machine (SVM) model. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 231 snowstorm events collected in the city of Edmonton across two winter seasons, the SVM model achieved an accuracy rate of 87.2%. Following model development, a SHAP summary plot was employed to identify the contribution of individual features to collision predictions—an insight not achievable through ML alone. Next, SHAP waterfall plots were used to assess the reliability of individual predictions. The findings enhanced our understanding of the complex SVM model and provided greater insights into the diverse factors affecting winter road safety.
Hybrid Classifier for Crowd Anomaly Detection with Bernoulli Map Evaluation
Authors: Chaudhary Rashmi , Kumar Manoj
Published: February 2024

Automatically detecting unusual behavior in a crowded environment greatly improves public safety. Unusual behaviors are those that depend on the rules established in the environment under consideration and cannot be properly described. This paper proposes a new deep feature-based crowd anomaly detection method. Priorly, the input image is preprocessed using the Weiner filtering method. Subsequently, AlexNet, VGGnet, and ResNet-based deep features are extracted. During this process, all three models were optimally tuned. For optimization, a new hybrid optimization method called Hybrid COOT and Bald Eagle with Bernoulli Map Evaluation (HCBEBME) is introduced in this work. This improves the performance of extracting features from the input. Finally, based on the proposed feature set, anomalies are detected by the hybrid detection model that combines LSTM and Bi-GRU models, respectively. Finally, the performance of the proposed model is validated over the conventional models. The detection accuracy of the suggested approach is 96.59%, whereas the minimal accuracy scores for the other methods BRCASO, GNNN, CNN-BILSTM, LSTM, BIGRU, BILSTM, CNN, and RNN are 93.63%, 79.16%, 87.57%, 73.85%, 70.59%, 77.08%, 81.44%, and 84.66% respectively.
Robust Clustering-Based Automated Video Shot Boundary Detection Using Handcrafted and Deep Feature Fusion
Authors: Mishra Ravi , Nandkishor Chopkar Priyanka , Moyal Vishal , Marotkar Devashree Shrish , Kapur Vivek Rajkumar
Published: February 2024

Video shot boundary detection (VSBD) plays a key role in analyzing, summarizing, indexing and retrieving content-based data from videos. Many artificial intelligence (AI)-based techniques have recently been introduced to detect the gradual transition from video frames. However, those techniques fail to detect the presence of inter-classes like fade-in, fade-out and dissolve from gradual transition video frames. In addition, the existing techniques face high computational complexity during detecting transitions from the video frames. This research brings novel clustering-based techniques to classify the inter-classes like fade-in, fade-out and dissolve from gradual transition video frames. At the initial stage, color histogram differences (CHD) technique is introduced to detect the abrupt transition from the video frames. The identified abrupt transitions are completely removed from the video frames. Then, segmentation is done to segment the gradual transitions from the video frames. The segmented gradual transition frames are then given to extract the handcrafted and deep features from the video frames. The deep features are extracted from the segments using the Morlet Wavelet-assisted modified stacked autoencoder (MW-MSAE) technique. The extracted handcrafted features and deep features are then concatenated together, and finally, fused feature vectors are obtained. The fused features are then fed to the robust deep [Formula: see text]-means map clustering method (RDKMM) to aggregate based on similar features. For calculating the similar features, a similarity-based correlation calculation (SBCC) is done in adjacent frames to determine gradual shot transitions like fade-in, fade-out and dissolve. The dataset used in this research is the TREC Video Retrieval Evaluation (TRECVID) 2021 dataset. In the experimental scenario, an accuracy of 95.5%, a sensitivity of 95.3%, a specificity of 96.9%, a precision of 93.9%, an F-measure of 94.6% and Mathew’s correlation coefficient (MCC) of 92.4% are obtained.
Catalysing Sustainability: Exploring Factors Shaping Green Initiatives in Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Authors: Hamdani Lukman , Subing Hesty Juni Tambuati , Yusfiarto Rizaldi
Published: February 2024

By applying the PLS-SEM method to survey the data of 350 samples in Indonesia, this paper develops a framework based on three potential elements: push effect (partnership and cooperation, rules and regulations, value practices), pull effect (government support, market sophistication, environmental awareness), and mooring effect (technological support and switching costs) about the transition of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) towards green practices. The study reveals that these factors exhibit variations in terms of statistical significance. The findings indicate that an increase in the push effect and pull effect significantly influences the switching behaviour of MSME owners/managers. In contrast, concerning the mooring effect, each element demonstrates varying levels of direct influence on the transition towards green practices in MSMEs, with some impacts proving to be statistically significant and others not. Overall, these findings shed light on the intricate dynamics of MSMEs environmental responsibility, offering valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners.
A Study on the Dynamic Relationship between Embodied Carbon Productivity and Embodied Value Added in China’s Industrial Sectors: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Decoupling Model and the Panel Multinomial Logit Model
Authors: WANG Lei , HU Jianbo , LUO Zhipeng
Published: February 2024

Based on the decoupling theory, this paper analyzes the relationship between the embodied carbon productivity and the embodied value added in China’s industrial sectors, evaluates the development mode of the sectors, and explores a reasonable path to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the sectors based on the panel multinomial logit model. The empirical conclusions are as follows: (i) Except for the decrease in 2002–2005, the embodied carbon productivity achieved rapid growth in other time periods; during the period of 2002–2020, the embodied value added increased by 339.59 percentage points, with an average annual growth rate of 8.57%, and the embodied carbon productivity increased by 70.59 percentage points, with an average annual growth rate of 3.01%. (ii) As the embodied value added of the 28 industrial subsectors expanded, the changes in their embodied carbon productivity were different. This process can be roughly classified into three main phases: The first phase is the extensive growth period of 2002–2005, in which the embodied carbon productivity of most industrial subsectors declined while the embodied value added expanded; the second phase is the low-carbon transformation and development period of 2005–2012, during which the recessive positive-efficiency emission reduction became the dominant mode; and the third phase is the low-carbon development period of 2012–2020, in which the high-efficiency emission reduction became the dominant mode. (iii) When the industrial sectors are in an expansive state, increasing the substitution of capital for energy factors will make the transformation of industrial sectors more inclined to expansive high-efficiency emission reduction mode, and when the industrial sectors fall into recession, optimizing the energy structure will produce the same effect.
Interview with Mariusz Pisarski
Authors: Atzenbeck Claus
Published: February 2024

Dr Mariusz Pisarski is a hypertext scholar, translator, publisher, the chief editor of "Techsty"---a Polish journal on new media and literature. He teaches creative writing, hypertext, Twine and non-linear storytelling. His translation and media translation projects include Polish editions of Michael Joyce's hypertext fictions, poetry generator "Sea and Spar Between" by Stephanie Strickland and Nick Montfort and "Hegirascope" by Stuart Moulthrop. Recently he has created the online English edition of "Twilight. A Symphony" (2022) by Michael Joyce.

His forthcoming publication is "The Challenges of Born-Digital Fiction: Editions, Translations, and Emulations" (co-authored with Dene Grigar) by Cambridge University Press. He is an assistant professor at Chair of Media and Journalism, University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów, Poland and the secretary of Electronic Literature Research Center at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań.
Connected Components for Scaling Partial-order Blocking to Billion Entities
Authors: Backes Tobias , Dietze Stefan
Published: February 2024

In entity resolution,
blocking
pre-partitions data for further processing by more expensive methods. Two entity mentions are in the same block if they share identical or related
blocking-keys
. Previous work has sometimes related blocking keys by grouping or alphabetically sorting them, but—as was shown for author disambiguation—the respective equivalences or total orders are not necessarily well-suited to model the logical matching-relation between blocking keys. To address this, we present a novel blocking approach that exploits the subset
partial
order over entity representations to build a matching-based bipartite graph, using connected components as blocks. To prevent over- and underconnectedness, we allow specification of overly general and generalization of overly specific representations. To build the bipartite graph, we contribute a new parallellized algorithm with configurable time/space tradeoff for minimal element search in the subset partial order. As a job-based approach, it combines dynamic scalability and easier integration to make it more convenient than the previously described approaches. Experiments on large gold standards for publication records, author mentions, and affiliation strings suggest that our approach is competitive in performance and allows better addressing of domain-specific problems. For duplicate detection and author disambiguation, our method offers the expected performance as defined by the vector-similarity baseline used in another work on the same dataset and the common surname, first-initial baseline. For top-level institution resolution, we have reproduced the challenges described in prior work, strengthening the conclusion that for affiliation data, overlapping blocks under minimal elements are more suitable than connected components.
Roles of Technology for Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Bangladesh during COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Sinha Anik , Ahmed Nova , Ahmed Sabbir , Abeer Ifti Azad , Rony Rahat Jahangir , Saha Anik , Khan Syeda Shabnam , Amir Shajnush , Khan Shabana
Published: February 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic required clear communication of risk and community engagement. A gap is noted in scholarly studies portraying strong community engagement for risk handling, particularly in resource-constrained regions in the HCI community. This study covers community engagement and its use of technology during COVID-19 through a qualitative study of Bangladesh. The study looks at marginalized communities who have struggled through the pandemic yet handled the difficult time through their effective problem solving, working together as a community when there was not enough support from authorities. It is a qualitative study during the pandemic consisting of nine communities, including 58 participants (
N
= 58, Female = 33, Male = 23, Transgender = 2) across four divisions of Bangladesh covering urban, semi-urban, and rural regions. The study uncovers the challenges and close community structures. It also shows the enhanced and increased positive role of technology during the pandemic while also pointing out that a few communities were digitally disconnected and could benefit from digital connectivity in the future through increased awareness and support.
Learning to Generate Temporal Origin-destination Flow Based-on Urban Regional Features and Traffic Information
Authors: Rong Can , Liu Zhicheng , Ding Jingtao , Li Yong
Published: February 2024

Origin-destination (OD) flow contains population mobility information between every two regions in the city, which is of great value in urban planning and transportation management. Nevertheless, the collection of OD flow data is extremely difficult due to the hindrance of privacy issues and collection costs. Significant efforts have been made to generate OD flow based on urban regional features, e.g., demographics, land use, and so on, since spatial heterogeneity of urban function is the primary cause that drives people to move from one place to another. On the other hand, people travel through various routes between OD, which will have effects on urban traffic, e.g., road travel speed and time. These effects of OD flows reveal the fine-grained spatiotemporal patterns of population mobility. Few works have explored the effectiveness of incorporating urban traffic information into OD generation. To bridge this gap, we propose to generate real-world daily temporal OD flows enhanced by urban traffic information in this paper. Our model consists of two modules:
Urban2OD
and
OD2Traffic
. In the
Urban2OD
module, we devise a spatiotemporal graph neural network to model the complex dependencies between daily temporal OD flows and regional features. In the
OD2Traffic
module, we introduce an attention-based neural network to predict urban traffic based on OD flow from the
Urban2OD
module. Then, by utilizing gradient backpropagation, these two modules are able to enhance each other to generate high-quality OD flow data. Extensive experiments conducted on real-world datasets demonstrate the superiority of our proposed model over the state of the art.
Preservation of recipient plasma sphingosine-1-phosphate levels reduces transfusion-related acute lung injury
Authors: Hsing Vanessa , Zhao Han Qi , Post Martin , Devine Dana , McVey Mark J.
Published: February 2024

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) though relatively rare represents a severe lung injury. The sphingolipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) regulates the severity of platelet-mediated TRALI. Female platelet transfusion recipient plasmas or stored platelets from female donors have higher S1P levels than males, which reduces TRALI. Cold storage of murine platelets preserves platelet-S1P, which reduces TRALI in platelet-transfused recipients.
Calculation Method and Characteristic Analysis for Fault Current of Permanent Magnet Direct-Drive Wind Power System considering Positive and Negative Sequence Decomposition
Authors: Li Botong , Zhong Qing , Wen Weijie , Li Bin , Chen Xiaolong
Published: February 2024

In view of the fact that the influence of positive and negative sequence decomposition, which is widely used in positive and negative sequence decoupling control in control system, on the fault current calculation process is not deeply considered in the existing transient analysis methods of permanent magnet direct-drive wind farm short circuit current, this paper proposes a transient short circuit current calculation model that takes into account positive and negative sequence decomposition. The influence of the transient characteristics of positive and negative sequence decomposition on the control system is studied, and the mechanism of its action on the transient change of short circuit current is revealed. The positive and negative sequence decoupling processes of the circuit equation are modified, and the characteristics of the coupling equation are analyzed. The difference in the converter output voltage between the circuit equation and the control equation and the depth of its influence on the calculation process is revealed. On the basis of quantifying the difference at the converter output voltage, the circuit equation and the control equation are combined to form a short-circuit current calculation model with positive and negative sequence decomposition, which accurately characterizes the transient characteristics of fault current under different voltage drops and effectively improves the accuracy of the calculation results.
A Case Study of Tunnel Reinforcement Measure during Traffic Upgrading in Chongqing City, China
Authors: Cai Zhiwei , Wu Tongqing , Zhang Hao , Liu Jie , Xiang Zhao , Tao Ying , Feng Xingfa
Published: February 2024

Because the urban tunnel is an essential knot of urban traffic and an easy blocking point in busy hours, upgrading the urban tunnel was necessary for the city after the tunnel being in service for a long time. However, to demolish the existing tunnel, some problems may be encountered, and these problems include occurrence of longitudinal cracks at the tunnel vault, increase of load due to infrastructure construction over the tunnel, unloading due to excavation of the rock over the tunnel, and uneven load due to asymmetric excavation or construction. To reinforce a cracked tunnel in Chongqing City, China, steel arches were installed to improve its bearing capacity, but some steel arches failed during the excavation of ground over the tunnel. Therefore, the scheme of “steel arch + shotcrete + tube column + transversal horizontal bracing” (hereinafter referred to as SASTCT) was proposed to ensure tunnel safety due to unloading and uneven load during the subsequent construction procedures. Numerical analysis indicated that the SASTCT measure can ensure the safety of the traffic and subsequent construction, which can provide some suggestions for similar tunnel upgrades in the future.
Mathematical Modeling of the Bearing Ratio Curve Rmr (50% Rz), through Investigation of the Effect of Process Parameters in Hard Turning of Steel C55 (DIN) with Mixed Ceramics MC2 (Al2O3 + TiC)
Authors: Shabani Mevludin , Tomov Mite
Published: February 2024

The subject of modeling and predicting roughness parameters in hard machining has been discussed in many literature sources. However, most of these sources cover only the amplitude parameters such as Ra and Rz, leaving it unexplored to the right extent compared to its importance the roughness parameter bearing ratio curve (the Abbott–Firestone curve) which is essential in understanding the actual contact area of mating surfaces. To bridge this gap, this research has developed a mathematical model using the design of experiments method through investigation of the effect of process parameters in hard turning of Steel C55 (DIN) with mixed ceramics MC2 (Al2O3 + TiC). The model predicts the bearing ratio curve parameter Rmr (50% Rz), statistically processed using CADEX and Matlab. The research includes the ANOVA as a complementary tool in validating the generated mathematical model. The research analyzes the effects of material properties, cutting forces, and tool geometry as factors that affect the machining process. Additionally, it emphasizes the robustness of hard turning in consistently producing waviness patterns. Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the predictable effects of parameters on machined surfaces, which contributes to a better understanding of surface finish in metalworking.
Retinoid Treatment for Oral Leukoplakia: Current Evidence and Future Development
Authors: Hu Yuting , Wang Ying , Li Ying , Zeng Xin , Li Jing , Zhou Yu , Chen Qianming
Published: February 2024

Oral leukoplakia (OLK) is one of the most common oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). Preventing malignant transformation is the main purpose of OLK treatment. The treatment approaches of OLK include surgery, chemotherapy, and other therapies, such as photodynamic therapy and CO2 laser. The application of genomic variation‐based chemotherapy in OLK deserves further exploration. As chemopreventive drugs, drug resistance and disease recurrence have limited their use in OLK. In this review, we concentrate on the retinoid treatment for OLK, summarizing the current status of retinoids in the treatment of OLK, the mechanism of retinoid action, and the mechanisms of resistance to retinoid therapy, and we highlight the strategies to improve retinoid efficacy in the treatment of OLK, such as the combination of retinoids and epigenetic regulators or metabolism‐blocking agents, new synthetic retinoids, and new drug delivery systems of retinoids, providing new methods for the successful clinical application of retinoids in the treatment of OLK.
Transitional Strategies of Juvenile Green Sturgeon from a Riverine to a Brackish Water Environment
Authors: Poytress William R. , Polansky Leo C. , Gruber Joshua J.
Published: February 2024

Information on habitat transitions is critical to understand whether efforts to manage the freshwater phase of juvenile green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) rearing habitats are feasible or beneficial. We implanted microacoustic transmitters in naturally produced age-0 juvenile green sturgeon in the Sacramento River to evaluate residency, general spatial distribution, movement rates, and downstream migration patterns over 300 river kilometers. Furthermore, we investigated whether changes in three environmental variables (discharge, turbidity, and water temperature) were associated with the beginning of movements resulting in the transition from riverine to brackish waters during their outmigration to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary. We captured 183 juvenile green sturgeon by trawl of which 88 were implanted with microacoustic tags. An additional 10 individuals were collected and tagged from the Red Bluff Diversion Dam rotary-screw traps. Linear mixed models showed that individuals caught by trawl had longer upper river residence times, post-tagging, than those caught by trap. Intergate velocity models showed that trap-caught individuals relocated at higher upper river reach velocities than trawl-caught fish, but there were no differences between trap- and trawl-caught fish within the middle or lower reach. Detections showed that juvenile green sturgeon began the downstream transition to brackish water habitat when discharge and turbidity increased. Temperature was not found to significantly influence the initiation of downstream migration. Both continuous and stepped downstream migration patterns were observed in each of the four cohorts, with smaller individuals being more likely to exhibit stepped migration. These data provide information that was previously unknown about the life history of the southern distinct population segment of the North American green sturgeon and can be utilized to assist with water resource management and recovery of this threatened fish species.
Bone Char Adsorption of COD and Colour from Tannery Wastewater: Breakthrough Curve Analysis and Fixed Bed Dynamic Modelling
Authors: Appiah-Brempong Miriam , Essandoh Helen Michelle Korkor , Asiedu Nana Yaw , Momade Francis Yao
Published: February 2024

This study delves into the simultaneous adsorption of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and colour from tannery wastewater using bone char through a fixed bed column. The bone char, which was derived from cattle skulls, was characterised using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Braeuer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, and the scanning electron microscope/energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. The effects of different process conditions, specifically, packed bed height (5, 10, and 15 cm) and flow rate (2, 5, and 8 mL/min), on the adsorption efficiency of the fixed bed column were assessed through breakthrough curve analysis. The results revealed that the efficiency of the column bed enhanced with increasing bed height and declined with increasing wastewater flow rate. The optimal operating conditions for COD and colour removal onto the bone char occurred at 15 cm bed height and 2 mL/min flow rate. The adsorption capacities at these conditions were 227.4 mg/g and 53.03 Pt‐Co/g for COD and colour, respectively. The kinetics associated with the fixed bed adsorption of COD and colour onto bone char were elucidated through the fitting of the Thomas, Adams–Bohart, and Yoon–Nelson models to the experimental data. Among the three models, the Yoon–Nelson model gave the best prediction of the experimental data. Maximum adsorption efficiencies of 80.65% and 84% were attained for COD and colour removal, respectively, proving that bone char is a promising and ecologically friendly alternative adsorbent for the treatment of tannery wastewater.
Using QoE Metric as a Decision Criterion in Multimedia Heterogeneous Network Optimization: Challenges and Research Perspectives
Authors: Omar M. Hamidou Harouna , Justin P. Kouraogo , Windmi Jonathan M. Kabre , Stanislas David Wendkouni Tapsoba , Oumarou Pr Sie
Published: February 2024

This article explores the growing importance of the QoE (Quality of Experience) metric as a fundamental criterion in the optimization of heterogeneous multimedia networks. We explore the benefits of using QoE, such as improving user experience, efficient resource management, and adaptation to network conditions. However, this paradigm presents technical challenges, including accurately measuring QoE and managing the complexity of heterogeneous networks. To address these challenges, we highlight promising research prospects, such as the development of advanced algorithms, real-time measurement of QoE, and the integration of machine learning. Ultimately, the use of QoE in the optimization of heterogeneous multimedia networks contributes to a substantial improvement in the quality of multimedia services offered to end users.
Breast Cancer Index and Prediction of Extended Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy Benefit in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer from the NRG Oncology/NSABP B-42 Trial
Authors: Mamounas Eleftherios P. , Bandos Hanna , Rastogi Priya , Zhang Yi , Treuner Kai , Lucas Peter C. , Geyer Charles E. , Fehrenbacher Louis , Chia Stephen K. , Brufsky Adam M. , Walshe Janice M. , Soori Gamini S. , Dakhil Shaker , Paik Soonmyung , Swain Sandra M. , Sgroi Dennis C. , Schnabel Catherine A. , Wolmark Norman
Published: February 2024

Purpose:

BCI (H/I) has been shown to predict extended endocrine therapy (EET) benefit. We examined BCI (H/I) for EET benefit prediction in NSABP B-42, which evaluated extended letrozole therapy (ELT) in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer after 5 years of ET.

Experimental Design:

A stratified Cox model was used to analyze RFI as the primary endpoint, with DR, BCFI, and DFS as secondary endpoints. Because of a nonproportional effect of ELT on DR, time-dependent analyses were performed.

Results:

The translational cohort included 2,178 patients (45% BCI (H/I)-High, 55% BCI (H/I)-Low). ELT showed an absolute 10-year RFI benefit of 1.6% (P = 0.10), resulting in an underpowered primary analysis (50% power). ELT benefit and BCI (H/I) did not show a significant interaction for RFI (BCI (H/I)-Low: 10 years absolute benefit 1.1% [HR, 0.70; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.43–1.12; P = 0.13]; BCI (H/I)-High: 2.4% [HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.55–1.26; P = 0.38]; Pinteraction = 0.56). Time-dependent DR analysis showed that after 4 years, BCI (H/I)-High patients had significant ELT benefit (HR = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.12–0.69; P < 0.01), whereas BCI (H/I)-Low patients were less likely to benefit (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.33–1.39; P = 0.29; Pinteraction = 0.14). Prediction of ELT benefit by BCI (H/I) was more apparent in the HER2- subset after 4 years (ELT-by-BCI (H/I) Pinteraction = 0.04).

Conclusions:

BCI (H/I)-High versus BCI (H/I)-Low did not show a statistically significant difference in ELT benefit for the primary endpoint (RFI). However, in time-dependent DR analysis, BCI (H/I)-High patients experienced statistically significant benefit from ELT after 4 years, whereas (H/I)-Low patients did not. Because BCI (H/I) has been validated as a predictive marker of EET benefit in other trials, additional follow-up may enable further characterization of BCI's predictive ability.
Circulating microRNA Analysis in a Prospective Co-clinical Trial Identifies MIR652–3p as a Response Biomarker and Driver of Regorafenib Resistance Mechanisms in Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Hedayat Somaieh , Cascione Luciano , Cunningham David , Schirripa Marta , Lampis Andrea , Hahne Jens C. , Tunariu Nina , Hong Sung Pil , Marchetti Silvia , Khan Khurum , Fontana Elisa , Angerilli Valentina , Delrieux Mia , Nava Rodrigues Daniel , Procaccio Letizia , Rao Sheela , Watkins David , Starling Naureen , Chau Ian , Braconi Chiara , Fotiadis Nicos , Begum Ruwaida , Guppy Naomy , Howell Louise , Valenti Melanie , Cribbes Scott , Kolozsvari Bernadett , Kirkin Vladimir , Lonardi Sara , Ghidini Michele , Passalacqua Rodolfo , Elghadi Raghad , Magnani Luca , Pinato David J. , Di Maggio Federica , Ghelardi Filippo , Sottotetti Elisa , Vetere Guglielmo , Ciracì Paolo , Vlachogiannis Georgios , Pietrantonio Filippo , Cremolini Chiara , Cortellini Alessio , Loupakis Fotios , Fassan Matteo , Valeri Nicola
Published: February 2024

Purpose:

The multi-kinase inhibitor (mKi) regorafenib has demonstrated efficacy in chemorefractory patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, lack of predictive biomarkers and concerns over significant toxicities hamper the use of regorafenib in clinical practice.

Experimental Design:

Serial liquid biopsies were obtained at baseline and monthly until disease progression in chemorefractory patients with mCRC treated with regorafenib in a phase II clinical trial (PROSPECT-R n = 40; NCT03010722) and in a multicentric validation cohort (n = 241). Tissue biopsies collected at baseline, after 2 months and at progression in the PROSPECT-R trial were used to establish patient-derived organoids (PDO) and for molecular analyses. MicroRNA profiling was performed on baseline bloods using the NanoString nCounter platform and results were validated by digital-droplet PCR and/or ISH in paired liquid and tissue biopsies. PDOs co-cultures and PDO-xenotransplants were generated for functional analyses.

Results:

Large-scale microRNA expression analysis in longitudinal matched liquid and tissue biopsies from the PROSPECT-R trial identified MIR652–3p as a biomarker of clinical benefit to regorafenib. These findings were confirmed in an independent validation cohort and in a “control” group of 100 patients treated with lonsurf. Using ex vivo co-culture assays paired with single-cell RNA-sequencing of PDO established pre- and post-treatment, we modeled regorafenib response observed in vivo and in patients, and showed that MIR652–3p controls resistance to regorafenib by impairing regorafenib-induced lethal autophagy and by orchestrating the switch from neo-angiogenesis to vessel co-option.

Conclusions:

Our results identify MIR652–3p as a potential biomarker and as a driver of cell and non–cell-autonomous mechanisms of resistance to regorafenib.
TABLE 4 from Genomic Characterization and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Peritoneal Metastases from the AACR GENIE Biopharma Collaborative Colorectal Cancer Registry
Authors: Sanz-Garcia Enrique , Brown Samantha , Lavery Jessica A. , Weiss Jessica , Fuchs Hannah E. , Newcomb Ashley , Postle Asha , Warner Jeremy L. , LeNoue-Newton Michele L. , Sweeney Shawn M. , Pillai Shirin , Yu Celeste , Nichols Chelsea , Mastrogiacomo Brooke , Kundra Ritika , Schultz Nikolaus , Kehl Kenneth L. , Riely Gregory J. , Schrag Deborah , Govindarajan Anand , Panageas Katherine S. , Bedard Philippe L.
Published: February 2024

Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models for OS
Data from Genomic Characterization and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Peritoneal Metastases from the AACR GENIE Biopharma Collaborative Colorectal Cancer Registry
Authors: Sanz-Garcia Enrique , Brown Samantha , Lavery Jessica A. , Weiss Jessica , Fuchs Hannah E. , Newcomb Ashley , Postle Asha , Warner Jeremy L. , LeNoue-Newton Michele L. , Sweeney Shawn M. , Pillai Shirin , Yu Celeste , Nichols Chelsea , Mastrogiacomo Brooke , Kundra Ritika , Schultz Nikolaus , Kehl Kenneth L. , Riely Gregory J. , Schrag Deborah , Govindarajan Anand , Panageas Katherine S. , Bedard Philippe L.
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Peritoneal metastases (PM) are common in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We aimed to characterize patients with mCRC and PM from a clinical and molecular perspective using the American Association of Cancer Research Genomics Evidence Neoplasia Information Exchange (GENIE) Biopharma Collaborative (BPC) registry. Patients’ tumor samples underwent targeted next-generation sequencing. Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes were collected retrospectively. Overall survival (OS) from advanced disease and progression-free survival (PFS) from start of cancer-directed drug regimen were estimated and adjusted for the left truncation bias. A total of 1,281 patients were analyzed, 244 (19%) had PM at time of advanced disease. PM were associated with female sex [OR: 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–2.54; P = 0.014] and higher histologic grade (OR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.08–2.71; P = 0.022), while rectal primary tumors were less frequent in patients with PM (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.29–0.88; P < 0.001). APC occurred less frequently in patients with PM (N = 151, 64% vs. N = 788, 79%) while MED12 alterations occurred more frequently in patients with PM (N = 20, 10% vs. N = 32, 4%); differences in MED12 were not significant when restricting to oncogenic and likely oncogenic variants according to OncoKB. Patients with PM had worse OS (HR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.16–1.81) after adjustment for independently significant clinical and genomic predictors. PFS from initiation of first-line treatment did not differ by presence of PM. In conclusion, PM were more frequent in females and right-sided primary tumors. Differences in frequencies of MED12 and APC alterations were identified between patients with and without PM. PM were associated with shorter OS but not with PFS from first-line treatment.
Significance:
Utilizing the GENIE BPC registry, this study found that PM in patients with colorectal cancer occur more frequently in females and right-sided primary tumors and are associated with worse OS. In addition, we found a lower frequency of APC alterations and a higher frequency in MED12 alterations in patients with PM.
Bone Conduction Implants: Comparative of Audiometric Results and Quality-of-Life Bonebridge® versus Osia®
Authors: Lorente-Piera Joan , Manrique-Huarte Raquel , Patricio de Lima Janaina , Huarte-Irujo Alicia , Manrique Manuel
Published: February 2024

Introduction: Bone conduction implants have been indicated for patients with conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, and even profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. With the introduction of Bonebridge®, new transcutaneous implant options emerged. The latest is Osia®, a direct-drive variant or active systems, where the implant directly generates and applies vibration to the bone. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study of two cohorts of patients treated with active bone conduction implants at a single center, one with the Bonebridge® device and the other with Osia®. Outcomes: Fourteen patients were included, seven in each group (n = 14). The Bonebridge® group showed an average hearing gain in tonal intelligibility thresholds of 32.43 ± 21.39 dB and a gain in the average intelligibility threshold (with 50% discrimination) of 26.29 ± 19.10 dB. In the Osia® group, there was a gain in average tonal thresholds of 41.49 ± 14.16 dB and 23.72 ± 6.98 dB in average intelligibility thresholds. Both devices contributed to improvements in patients’ quality of life, as assessed with APHAB in all the variables studied in the test. Both devices offer rehabilitation for hearing loss as an alternative to hearing aids. The Osia® system shows statistically significant (p < 0.05) improvements in mid and high frequencies, but Bonebridge® slightly outperforms in speech understanding at 50%. Differences in average tonal thresholds and quality of life are not statistically significant. Conclusions: While auditory improvement is observed postimplantation, other aspects, such as intelligibility thresholds and quality of life, lack statistical significance. Given the limited experience with Osia® and the small sample size, the choice of the device should be personalized. Although the literature is inconsistent due to small sample sizes and variable approaches, some studies suggest potential advantages of the Osia® system, especially in speech comprehension in different environments and greater hearing gain compared to Bonebridge®.
Racial Differences in Donor-Derived Cell-Free DNA and Mitochondrial DNA After Heart Transplantation, on Behalf of the GRAfT Investigators
Authors: Shah Palak , Agbor-Enoh Sean , Lee Seiyon , Andargie Temesgen E. , Sinha Shashank S. , Kong Hyesik , Henry Lawrence , Park Woojin , McNair Erick , Tchoukina Inna , Shah Keyur B. , Najjar Samer S. , Hsu Steven , Rodrigo Maria E. , Jang Moon Kyoo , Marboe Charles , Berry Gerald J. , Valantine Hannah A. ,   on behalf of the GRAfT Investigators
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND:

Black heart transplant patients are at higher risk of acute rejection (AR) and death than White patients. We hypothesized that this risk may be associated with higher levels of donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) and cell-free mitochondrial DNA.

METHODS:

The Genomic Research Alliance for Transplantation is a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Sequencing was used to quantitate dd-cfDNA and polymerase chain reaction to quantitate cell-free mitochondrial DNA in plasma. AR was defined as ≥2R cellular rejection or ≥1 antibody-mediated rejection. The primary composite outcome was AR, graft dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction <50% and decrease by ≥10%), or death.

RESULTS:

We included 148 patients (65 Black patients and 83 White patients), median age was 56 years and 30% female sex. The incidence of AR was higher in Black patients compared with White patients (43% versus 19%;
P
=0.002). Antibody-mediated rejection occurred predominantly in Black patients with a prevalence of 20% versus 2% (
P
<0.001). After transplant, Black patients had higher levels of dd-cfDNA, 0.09% (interquartile range, 0.001–0.30) compared with White patients, 0.05% (interquartile range, 0.001–0.23;
P
=0.003). Beyond 6 months, Black patients showed a persistent rise in dd-cfDNA with higher levels compared with White patients. Cell-free mitochondrial DNA was higher in Black patients (185 788 copies/mL; interquartile range, 101 252–422 133) compared with White patients (133 841 copies/mL; interquartile range, 75 346–337 990;
P
<0.001). The primary composite outcome occurred in 43% and 55% of Black patients at 1 and 2 years, compared with 23% and 27% in White patients,
P
<0.001. In a multivariable model, Black patient race (hazard ratio, 2.61 [95% CI, 1.35–5.04];
P
=0.004) and %dd-cfDNA (hazard ratio, 1.15 [95% CI, 1.03–1.28];
P
=0.010) were associated with the primary composite outcome.

CONCLUSIONS:

Elevated dd-cfDNA and cell-free mitochondrial DNA after heart transplant may mechanistically be implicated in the higher incidence of AR and worse clinical outcomes in Black transplant recipients.

REGISTRATION:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT02423070.
Quantifying human gray matter microstructure using neurite exchange imaging (NEXI) and 300 mT/m gradients
Authors: Uhl Quentin , Pavan Tommaso , Molendowska Malwina , Jones Derek K. , Palombo Marco , Jelescu Ileana Ozana
Published: February 2024

Biophysical models of diffusion tailored to quantify gray matter microstructure are gathering increasing interest. The two-compartment Neurite EXchange Imaging (NEXI) model has been proposed recently to account for neurites, extra-cellular space, and exchange across the cell membrane. NEXI parameter estimation requires multi-shell multi-diffusion time data and has so far only been implemented experimentally on animal data collected on a preclinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) set-up. In this work, the translation of NEXI to the human cortex in vivo was achieved using a 3 T Connectom MRI system with 300 mT/m gradients, that enables the acquisition of a broad range of b-values (0 – 7.5 ms/µm²) with a window covering short to intermediate diffusion times (20 – 49 ms) suitable for the characteristic exchange times (10 – 50 ms). Microstructure estimates of four model variants: NEXI, NEXIdot (its extension with the addition of a dot compartment), and their respective versions that correct for the Rician noise floor (NEXIRM and NEXIdot,RM) that particularly impacts high b-value signal, were compared. The reliability of estimates in each model variant was evaluated in synthetic and human in vivo data. In the latter, the intra-subject (scan-rescan) versus between-subjects variability of microstructure estimates was compared in the cortex. The better performance of NEXIRM highlights the importance of correcting for Rician bias in the NEXI model to obtain accurate estimates of microstructure parameters in the human cortex, and the sensitivity of the NEXI framework to individual differences in cortical microstructure. This application of NEXI in humans represents a significant step, unlocking new avenues for studying neurodevelopment, aging, and various neurodegenerative disorders.