bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of sleep duration with stroke, myocardial infarction, and tumors in a Chinese population with metabolic syndrome: a retrospective study
Authors: YE Yingnan , ZHANG Linxi , WANG Anping , Wang Yuxia , WANG Shiqing , NING Guang , MU Yiming
Published: June 2020

Background

Previous studies have suggested that abnormal sleep duration is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, evidence on the association of sleep duration with stroke, myocardial infarction (MI) and tumors in populations with MetS is limited.

Methods

A total of 8968 participants (2754 with MetS at baseline) were recruited in this retrospective study between March 2012 and December 2012. The baseline characteristics and information on sleep duration were collected by self-reported questionnaires. In addition, physical examination and blood test were also performed. The outcome events in this study were new onset of stroke, MI and tumors during subsequent follow-up. Multivariate logistic regressions were adopted to investigate the relationships between sleep duration and outcome events among different sleep duration groups (< 6 h, 6–7 h, 7–8 h [reference], 8–9 h, and > 9 h per day) in participants with MetS.

Results

The mean self-reported total sleep duration was 7.8 ± 1.2 h. Compared with participants with MetS slept for 7–8 h per day, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for those slept for > 9 h in stroke, MI and tumors were 2.014 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.184–3.426,P = 0.010), 1.731 (95% CI: 0.896–3.344,P = 0.102) and 2.159 (95% CI: 0.991–4.704,P = 0.053), respectively, whereas the adjusted ORs for those slept for < 6 h in stroke, MI and tumors were 2.249 (95% CI: 0.973–5.195,P = 0.058), 1.213 (95% CI, 0.358–4.104,P = 0.756) and 1.743 (95% CI, 0.396–7.668,P = 0.462), respectively.

Conclusions

Long sleep duration (> 9 h) significantly increased the risk of stroke but not MI and tumors in individuals with MetS compared with 7–8 h of sleep duration. Short sleep duration (< 6 h) was not associated with the increased risk of stroke, MI and tumors in individuals with MetS.
BRAFV600E mutation, BRAF-activated long non-coding RNA and miR-9 expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma, and their association with clinicopathological features
Authors: Shi Chenlei , Cao Jia , Shi Tiefeng , Liang Meihua , Ding Chao , Lv Yichen , Zhang Weifeng , Li Chuanle , Gao Wenchao , Wu Gang , Man Jianting
Published: June 2020

Background

The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing worldwide. This study investigated the association of B-type RAF kinase (BRAF)V600E mutation status, the expression of BRAF-activated long non-coding RNA (BANCR) and microRNA miR-9, and the clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Methods

Clinicopathological data for PTC patients (n = 51) diagnosed and treated between 2018 and 2019 were collected. Carcinoma and adjacent normal tissue samples were analyzed for the presence of the BRAFV600E mutation and/or expression of BANCR and miR-9.

Results

Larger tumor, higher rate of bilateral tumors and multifocality, extracapsular invasion, and lateral lymph node metastasis (LNM) were observed in PTC patients with BRAF V600E mutation. Patients with higher BANCR expression had a higher rate of extracapsular invasion and lateral LNM in carcinoma tissue and a lower frequency of bilateral tumors and multifocality in normal adjacent tissue. Patients with higher miR-9 expression had a lower rate of central and lateral LNM in carcinoma tissue and higher rates of bilateral tumor location and multifocality in normal adjacent tissue. Patients with BRAFV600E mutation have a higher rate of BANCR overexpression and tended to have a lower rate of miR-9 overexpression (P = 0.057), and a negative association was observed between BANCR and miR-9 expression in carcinoma tissue.

Conclusions

BRAFV600E mutation and the BANCR and miR-9 expression were closely associated with the tumor size, bilateral tumor location, multifocality, extracapsular invasion, and lateral LNM. PTC patients with these clinicopathological characteristics, BRAFV600E mutation, and high BANCR expression and low miR-9 expression needed earlier surgical treatment and are recommended for total thyroidectomy in primary surgery for reducing the risk of recurrence. These findings provide new insight into the molecular basis for PTC and can inform strategies for the management of PTC.
27-Hydroxycholesterol contributes to cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 transgenic mice through microbiota dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction
Authors: Wang Ying , An Yu , Ma Weiwei , Yu Huiyan , Lu Yanhui , Zhang Xiaona , Wang Yushan , Liu Wen , Wang Tao , Xiao Rong
Published: June 2020

Background

Research on the brain-gut-microbiota axis has led to accumulating interest in gut microbiota dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our previous studies have demonstrated neurotoxic effects of 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) in in vitro and in vivo models. Here, alterations in the gut microbiota and intestinal barrier functions were investigated as the possible causes of cognitive deficits induced by 27-OHC treatment.

Methods

Male APP/PS1 transgenic and C57BL/6J mice were treated for 3 weeks with 27-OHC (5.5 mg/kg/day, subcutaneous injection) and either a 27-OHC synthetase inhibitor (anastrozole, ANS) or saline. The Morris water maze and passive avoidance test were used to assess cognitive impairment. Injuries of the intestine were evaluated by histopathological examination. Intestinal barrier function was assessed by plasma diamine oxidase (DAO) activity and d-lactate. Systemic and intestinal inflammation were evaluated by IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-10, and IL-17 concentrations as determined by ELISA. The fecal microbiome and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were analyzed using 16S rDNA sequencing and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Tight junction proteins were evaluated in the ileum and colon by qRT-PCR and Western blots. Tight junction ultrastructure was examined by transmission electron microscopy.

Results

Treatment with 27-OHC resulted in severe pathologies in the ileum and colon. There was impaired intestinal barrier integrity as indicated by dilated tight junctions and downregulation of tight junction proteins, including occludin, claudin 1, claudin 5, and ZO-1, and signs of inflammation (increased IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-17). Fecal 16S rDNA sequencing and taxonomic analysis further revealed a decreased abundance of Roseburia and reduced fecal levels of several SCFAs in 27-OHC-treated mice. Meanwhile, co-treatment with ANS reduced intestinal inflammation and partially preserved intestinal barrier integrity in the presence of 27-OHC.

Conclusions

The current study demonstrates for the first time that 27-OHC treatment aggravates AD-associated pathophysiological alterations, specifically gut microbiota dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction, which suggests that the gut microbiome and intestinal barrier function warrant further investigation as potential targets to mitigate the neurotoxic impact of 27-OHC on cognitive function and the development of AD.
Bioproduction of succinic acid from xylose by engineered Yarrowia lipolytica without pH control
Authors: Prabhu Ashish A. , Ledesma-Amaro Rodrigo , Lin Carol Sze Ki , Coulon Frederic , Thakur Vijay Kumar , Kumar Vinod
Published: June 2020

Background

Xylose is the most prevalent sugar available in hemicellulose fraction of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) and of great interest for the green economy. Unfortunately, most of the cell factories cannot inherently metabolize xylose as sole carbon source. Yarrowia lipolytica is a non-conventional yeast that produces industrially important metabolites. The yeast is able to metabolize a large variety of substrates including both hydrophilic and hydrophobic carbon sources. However, Y. lipolytica lacks effective metabolic pathway for xylose uptake and only scarce information is available on utilization of xylose. For the economica feasibility of LCB-based biorefineries, effective utilization of both pentose and hexose sugars is obligatory.

Results

In the present study, succinic acid (SA) production from xylose by Y. lipolytica was examined. To this end, Y. lipolytica PSA02004 strain was engineered by overexpressing pentose pathway cassette comprising xylose reductase (XR), xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) and xylulose kinase (XK) gene. The recombinant strain exhibited a robust growth on xylose as sole carbon source and produced substantial amount of SA. The inhibition of cell growth and SA formation was observed above 60 g/L xylose concentration. The batch cultivation of the recombinant strain in a bioreactor resulted in a maximum biomass concentration of 7.3 g/L and SA titer of 11.2 g/L with the yield of 0.19 g/g. Similar results in terms of cell growth and SA production were obtained with xylose-rich hydrolysate derived from sugarcane bagasse. The fed-batch fermentation yielded biomass concentration of 11.8 g/L (OD600: 56.1) and SA titer of 22.3 g/L with a gradual decrease in pH below 4.0. Acetic acid was obtained as a main by-product in all the fermentations.

Conclusion

The recombinant strain displayed potential for bioconversion of xylose to SA. Further, this study provided a new insight on conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added products. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on SA production by Y. lipolytica using xylose as a sole carbon source.
Colonic mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue in a renal transplant recipient: a case report
Authors: Martin Kylie , Taylor Andrew , Tam Constantine , Hill Prue , Machet David , Goodman David
Published: June 2020

Background

Extra-gastric (particularly colonic) lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue in the immunosuppressed solid organ transplant recipient is rare. We report a case of low-volume mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma with colonic and bone marrow involvement in a renal transplant recipient that has been managed conservatively.

Case presentation

A 62-year-old Caucasian man, 14 years after kidney transplantation, was diagnosed as having extra-nodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue with bone marrow and colonic involvement, after a colonoscopy identified mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma in a sessile sigmoid polyp following surveillance fecal occult blood testing that returned a positive result. A gastric biopsy showed no evidence of Helicobacter pylori, but Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G was positive. He received Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment and is being managed expectantly. Immunosuppression was unchanged with prednisolone, mycophenolate mofetil, and cyclosporine A. Renal allograft function has remained stable.

Conclusions

This case highlights the unexpected occurrence of colonic mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma in a kidney transplant recipient. The case emphasizes the importance of histopathological diagnosis of colonic lesions in this patient cohort because the unusual diagnosis of low-volume mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma can be managed expectantly as it does not appear to be clinically aggressive in the immunosuppressed solid organ transplant.
The effect of high-volume image-guided injection in the chronic non-insertional Achilles tendinopathy: a retrospective case series
Authors: Nielsen Torsten Grønbech , Miller Lene Lindberg , Mygind-Klavsen Bjarne , Lind Martin
Published: June 2020

Purpose

To evaluate if High-volume Image-guided Injection (HVIGI)-treatment for chronic mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy (AT) improve function and reduce pain at 12-months follow-up.

Methods

Patients with resistant mid-portion AT who failed to improve after a three-month eccentric loading program were included in the study. Maximal tendon thickness was assessed with ultrasound. All patients were injected with 10 mL of 0.5% Marcaine, 0.5 mL Triamcinolonacetonid (40 mg/mL) and 40 mL of 0.9% NaCl saline solution under real-time ultrasound-guidance and high pressure. All outcome measures were recorded at baseline and 12 months. A standardized eccentric rehabilitation protocol was prescribed after HVIGI-treatment. Clinical outcome was assessed with the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles tendon questionnaire (VISA-A) and statistically analyses were performed.

Results

The study included 30 single treatment HVIGI procedures in AT in 28 patients (23 men, 5 women) with a mean age of 45.1 (range 16–63). The mean duration of symptoms before HVIGI was 37 months. The baseline VISA-A score of 50 ± 15 (range 14–74) improved to 61 ± 21 (range 31–94) after 1 year (p = 0.04). Of the 30 AT procedures 10 patients (11 AT) were not satisfied after the initial HVIGI procedure. Of these, 8 patients (9 AT) needed additional HVIGI and two patients needed surgery. Of the remaining 18 patients (19 AT), 10 patients had more than a 10-point improvement in the VISA-A score after 1 year.

Conclusions

In this retrospective case-study, only 10 patients (33%) did benefit of a single HVIGI treatment at 12-months and an 11-point significant improvement was seen at on the VISA-A score.
Organic matter quality of forest floor as a driver of C and P dynamics in acacia and eucalypt plantations established on a Ferralic Arenosols, Congo
Authors: Koutika Lydie-Stella , Cafiero Lorenzo , Bevivino Annamaria , Merino Agustín
Published: June 2020

Background

Land-use change and forest management may alter soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient dynamics, due in part to alterations in litter input and quality. Acacia was introduced in eucalypt plantations established in the Congolese coastal plains to improve soil fertility and tree growth. Eucalypt trees were expected to benefit from N2 fixed by acacia. However, some indicators suggest a perturbation in SOM and P dynamics might affect the sustainability of the system in the medium and long term. In tropical environments, most of the nutrient processes are determined by the high rates of organic matter (OM) mineralization. Therefore, SOM stability might play a crucial role in regulating soil-plant processes. In spite of this, the relationship between SOM quality, C and other nutrient dynamics are not well understood. In the present study, OM quality and P forms in forest floor and soil were investigated to get more insight on the C and P dynamics useful to sustainable management of forest plantations.

Methods

Thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TGA)) and nuclear magnetic resonance (solid state 13C CPMASS and NMR and 31P-NMR) spectroscopy have been applied to partially decomposed forest floor and soils of pure acacia and eucalypt, and mixed-species acacia-eucalypt stands.

Results

Thermal analysis and 13C NMR analysis revealed a more advanced stage of humification in forest floor of acacia-eucalypt stands, suggesting a greater microbial activity in its litter. SOM were related to the OM recalcitrance of the forest floor, indicating this higher microbial activity of the forest floor in this stand might be favouring the incorporation of C into the mineral soil.

Conclusions

In relation with the fast mineralization in this environment, highly soluble orthophosphate was the dominant P form in both forest floor and soils. However, the mixed-species forest stands immobilized greater P in organic forms, preventing the P losses by leaching and contributing to sustain the P demand in the medium term. This shows that interactions between plants, microorganisms and soil can sustain the demand of this ecosystem. For this, the forest floor plays a key role in tightening the P cycle, minimizing the P losses.
Promoting digital humanitarian action in protecting human rights: hope or hype
Authors: Akhmatova Dzhennet-Mari , Akhmatova Malika-Sofi
Published: June 2020

The digital transformation has affected every aspect of human being by bringing fundamental changes in technology, culture, operations, and principles of creating new products and services in the framework of economic globalization and innovations. Humanitarian action has not been left out either as the implementation of digital solutions provides large-scale opportunities to enhance the performance of humanitarian practices and, as a result, the capability to save more lives of people affected by armed conflicts or disasters, migrants, and refugees. In this commentary, we are focused on such a vulnerable subject as human rights, freedoms, and dignity protection in the digital domain of humanitarian assistance since it is inextricably linked to risks and threats of being a member of the digital world. We consider and synthesize the experience of parties involved into the valuable work on humanitarian action and highlight the lessons from the past as well as decisions taken in the present to fundamentally update and adapt humanitarian assistance to confidently meet challenges while protecting its fundamental principles and add value to humanitarian missions.
Morphometric and density comparisons of Bos taurus scapulae as a proxy to human frontal crania
Authors: Taylor S. C. , Hammer N. , Zwirner J. , Ondruschka B. , Kieser D. C.
Published: June 2020

Background

In the absence of cadaveric tissues, forensic simulation, trauma modelling, and cranial surgical training necessitates a surrogate for the human calvaria. This study investigates the validity ofBos taurusscapulae as a proxy for human frontal bones by comparing the laminar and cancellous bone thickness, as well as the bone mineral density (BMD) of cadaveric frontal bones and adultBos taurusscapulae.

Results

This study aimed to validate the bovine scapulae as a valid proxy for forensic experiments, which benefit researchers and investigators who need to recreate forensic scenarios where synthetic proxies are found unsuitable due to their non-viscoelastic nature and cadaveric human models are unavailable due to ethical restrictions. Our results identified different total thicknesses of the relative bones, but non-different cortical measurements between human frontal bone and bovine scapulae. The bone mineral density is similar between both groups.

Conclusion

This study has foundBos taurusscapulae to be a suitable proxy for human frontal bones as it has a similar morphology with regard to thickness and structure as well as a comparable density. However, there is a significant difference between the cancellous bone, and therefore, the overall thickness.
Investigation of different pre-treatments of chromium leather shavings to improve biogas production
Authors: Gomes Carolina Scaraffuni , Repke Jens-Uwe , Meyer Michael
Published: June 2020

Chromium shavings are wet by-products of the leather industry, of which thousands of tons accrue worldwide during leather manufacture. Due to their chromium content, chromium shavings are responsible for the most important ecological challenges caused by the leather industry. They are stable towards temperatures of up to 110 °C and enzymatic degradation. This high stability is caused by the three-dimensional native structure, typical for collagen, and additional chemical cross-links between the collagen fibres achieved by Cr3+ salts in the tanning process. Therefore, hitherto chromium shavings are not utilized industrially to produce biogas. In order to generate biogas, this stable structure has to be denatured. Chromium shavings were pre-treated by extrusion and hydrothermal methods. To prove the enzymatic degradability, the different pre-treatments were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), enzymatic assays, and by measuring the solubility in water. The biogas production potential was investigated using batch trials to examine feasibility. Results demonstrated that both pre-treatments allowed enzymatic attack and increased degradability of the chromium shavings reducing the lag-phase of biogas production and the remaining waste.

Graphical abstract
Multivariable Prediction Model for Biochemical Response to First-Generation Somatostatin Receptor Ligands in Acromegaly
Authors: Coopmans Eva C , Korevaar Tim I M , van Meyel Sebastiaan W F , Daly Adrian F , Chanson Philippe , Brue Thierry , Delemer Brigitte , Hána Václav , Colao Annamaria , Carvalho Davide , Jaffrain-Rea Marie-Lise , Stalla Günter K , Fajardo-Montañana Carmen , Beckers Albert , van der Lely Aart J , Petrossians Patrick , Neggers Sebastian J C M M
Published: June 2020

Context

First-generation somatostatin receptor ligands (fg-SRLs) represent the mainstay of medical therapy for acromegaly, but they provide biochemical control of disease in only a subset of patients. Various pretreatment biomarkers might affect biochemical response to fg-SRLs.

Objective

To identify clinical predictors of the biochemical response to fg-SRLs monotherapy defined as biochemical response (insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 ≤ 1.3 × ULN (upper limit of normal)), partial response (>20% relative IGF-1 reduction without normalization), and nonresponse (≤20% relative IGF-1 reduction), and IGF-1 reduction.

Design

Retrospective multicenter study.

Setting

Eight participating European centers.

Methods

We performed a meta-analysis of participant data from 2 cohorts (Rotterdam and Liège acromegaly survey, 622 out of 3520 patients). Multivariable regression models were used to identify predictors of biochemical response to fg-SRL monotherapy.

Results

Lower IGF-1 concentration at baseline (odds ratio (OR) = 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72–0.95 IGF-1 ULN, P = .0073) and lower bodyweight (OR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.98–0.99 kg, P = .038) were associated with biochemical response. Higher IGF-1 concentration at baseline (OR = 1.40, (1.19–1.65) IGF-1 ULN, P ≤ .0001), the presence of type 2 diabetes (oral medication OR = 2.48, (1.43–4.29), P = .0013; insulin therapy OR = 2.65, (1.02–6.70), P = .045), and higher bodyweight (OR = 1.02, (1.01–1.04) kg, P = .0023) were associated with achieving partial response. Younger patients at diagnosis are more likely to achieve nonresponse (OR = 0.96, (0.94–0.99) year, P = .0070). Baseline IGF-1 and growth hormone concentration at diagnosis were associated with absolute IGF-1 reduction (β = 0.90, standard error (SE) = 0.02, P ≤ .0001 and β  = 0.002, SE = 0.001, P = .014, respectively).

Conclusion

Baseline IGF-1 concentration was the best predictor of biochemical response to fg-SRL, followed by bodyweight, while younger patients were more likely to achieve nonresponse.
Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy on Bone Mass After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Ha Jeonghoon , Park Sung-Soo , Park Silvia , Yoon Jae-Ho , Baek Ki-Hyun , Kim Hee-Je , Lee Seok , Kim Mi Ran , Kang Moo Il , Lee Jong Wook
Published: June 2020

Context and Objectives

This study aimed to assess the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on bone mineral density (BMD) in young women who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Participants and Methods

This retrospective cohort included 234 female patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) who underwent allogeneic HSCT between April 2009 and April 2016 at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul, Korea. Inclusion criteria included adult patients who were age 40 years or younger at the time of transplantation and were followed for at least 3 years after HSCT.

Results

At the first and second years after HRT, there was a significant increase in the BMD of the lumbar spine of the HRT group (n = 170) compared to that of the non-HRT group (n = 64) (P = .033 and P = .047, respectively). The BMD of the lumbar spine significantly increased from baseline by 4.16 ± 4.39% and 5.42 ± 5.86% after 1 and 2 years of HRT, respectively (P = .037 and P = .021). The BMD of the femoral neck and total hip also showed a significant percentage increase from baseline after 2 years of HRT. These changes were significant even in the presence of graft-versus-host disease or steroid exposure. For HRT that was initiated within 12 months after HSCT, the increase in BMD in the lumbar spine was greatest after 2 years of HRT.

Conclusions

These results support that early and active hormonal therapy might be beneficial for BMD in female HSCT recipients with POI.
Negative Cosmopolitanism: The Case of V. S. Naipaul
Authors: Tsang Philip
Published: June 2020

This essay illustrates a “negative cosmopolitanism” in V. S. Naipaul’s work. Both defenders and critics of cosmopolitanism readily identify the concept with the European philosophical tradition. Arguing that European thinkers do not have a patent on cosmopolitanism, I contend that the anomalies, dissonances, and ruptures that define colonial modernity can open up a “negative cosmopolitanism,” which locates the potential for ethical engagement in what seems like the waste products of history. For Naipaul, cosmopolitanism designates not a volitional, character-strengthening endeavor but, rather, a painful process of self-negation. Traversing a world profoundly shaped by colonialism, the writer and his characters are at a loss to make sense of their historical lineage and their place in a rapidly changing landscape. Through a reading of The Loss of El Dorado (1969) and A Bend in the River (1979), I demonstrate that it is finally the failure of connection or solidarity that motivates Naipaul’s attentiveness to the other.
Introduction
Authors: Schuller Kyla , Gill-Peterson Jules
Published: June 2020

In this special issue, the contributors argue that plasticity, the capacity of living systems to generate and take on new forms, is a central axis of biopolitical governance. While plasticity has a specific meaning in the life sciences, conceptually it has infused a broad range of theoretical, material, and scientific idioms for describing the malleability of a given body or system. Each of these conceptions of plasticity provides an account of malleability that, seemingly inexhaustible in its disorganizing qualities, has sometimes been framed as a resource for the disruption of normalizing systems of power. The articles in this special issue show that, by contrast, plasticity does not resist but is actually enlisted by state power through biopolitics. “The Biopolitics of Plasticity” investigates how race and state power actually depend on and enlist malleability and formlessness to govern living populations and individuals. By unevenly distributing the capacity of corporeal malleability, plasticity functions as a key logic underpinning the modern notion of racial difference. The issue’s introduction proposes a critical reckoning with the racial politics of this important concept to ask new questions about how to understand the organic malleability of the body and such categories as race, sex, gender, and sexuality.
Trans* Plasticity and the Ontology of Race and Species
Authors: Amin Kadji
Published: June 2020

During the 1920s, French surgeon Serge Voronoff became an international sensation for his technique of grafting chimpanzee testicular matter into human testicles. Félicien Champsaur’s 1929 popular speculative fiction novel, Nora, la guenon devenue femme (Nora, the Ape-Woman), imagines the possibilities of human-ape ontological and erotic proximity suggested by Voronoff’s practice of gland xenotransplantation, or transspecies transplantation. This article puts Nora and the early twentiethcentury science of ductless glands (ovaries, testicles, thyroid, thalamus, etc.) into conversation with trans* new materialist science studies around their shared investment in plasticity. In so doing, it contributes to the burgeoning inquiry into transsex, tranimal, and transspecies plasticity— which the author terms, jointly, trans* plasticity—while interrogating the affirmative and even utopian valance of such inquiry. Trans* plasticity describes the capacity of organic matter to transform itself in ways that transgress ontological divides among sex, race, and species. Building on Eva Hayward and Che Gossett’s claim that “the Human/Animal divide is a racial and colonial divide,” this article zeroes in on the historical process by which race and animality were produced in relation to each other. Ultimately, the author argues that gland xenotransplantation was a use of trans* plasticity that generated rather than troubled the ontobiological concepts of sexual, racial, and species difference.
Does Cognition Translate?
Authors: Kukkonen Karin
Published: June 2020

Comparative literature and cognitive literary studies both consider literature as a worldwide phenomenon. The move toward world literature in comparative literature made salient the issue of reading some texts in translation, and world literature turned its attention to whether texts are entirely translatable and how center and periphery in the “world republic of literature” are organized around languages that are predominantly translated (or translated into). This article proposes that cognitive literary studies and comparative literature could enter into conversation around the topic of language differences and translation. For cognitive literary studies, the approaches of predictive processing and embodied cognition have in recent years developed the conceptual means to include these differences in our discussions without falling back on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Language shapes thought, but it does so in a flexible exchange between verbal markers and language-created contexts. The author models this exchange for literary texts by means of salient verbal markers that indicate plot events and outlines possible shared avenues of future research for cognitive literary studies and comparative literature along these lines. The examples discussed are the Finnish national epic Kalevala, its French and English translations, and the contemporary novel Sankarit by Johanna Sinisalo.
Staging Sincerity in Renaissance Italy and Early Modern China; or, Why Real Lovers Quarrel
Authors: Schoenberger Casey
Published: June 2020

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in China and the West saw a wave of skeptical approaches to metaphysics, ethics, and the physical sciences, including a related interest in “playing devil’s advocate” for seemingly weak propositions. This article analyzes two works of musical theater from these geographically remote traditions to argue that use of historically problematic romances to explore the relationship of ethics, emotion, and reason resulted in novel depictions of attachment emotions as neither purely selfless “gut reactions” nor calculating facades. Scenes depicting lovers’ quarrels and morally flawed characters may paradoxically strike audiences as more authentically romantic because they dramatize an aspect of attachment emotions’ functioning recently elucidated by cognitive science, namely, that of “body budgeting” (allocation of energy resources by the brain). Monteverdi and Busenello’s Coronation of Poppaea and Hóng Shēng’s Palace of Lasting Life use contrastive poetic and musical styles to dramatize the debate-like quality inherent in such negotiations, further revealing a strong connection between the affective “ingredients” that make up socially mediated emotion states and the mechanisms by which music and prosody affect them.
The Unspoken Intimacy of Aesthetic Experience
Authors: Auyoung Elaine
Published: June 2020

Philosophers, artists, and scholars have long recognized a kinship between the verbal and visual arts, but what, exactly, unites our experience of them has remained difficult to answer. This article demonstrates how techniques in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Edgar Degas’s 1873 Dance Class enable audiences to experience a form of social connection unavailable to them in everyday life. Drawing on perspectives from sociolinguistics, discourse comprehension, and empirical aesthetics, the author shows how the cumulative experience of grasping what a literary text or painting does not fully represent can carry a metamessage of unspoken intimacy.
Debates in the Field
Authors: Briggs Laura
Published: June 2020

Debt and imperialism have long been crucial questions for transnational feminism. This article attends particularly to recent and historical traditions of resistance in Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean. It argues that part of the intellectual and political struggle has been to identify debt as an extractive enterprise and seize hold of a notion of freedom that is robust enough to resist what Jodi Kim and Michael Hudson have called “debt imperialism.” Paying attention to the recent Puerto Rican revolt against the governor, the fiscal control board, the management of hurricane relief, femicide, and policing, this article attends to deep histories of slavery, revolt, and marronage as resources for a feminist rejection of the liberal notions of freedom that make indebtedness possible.
Federada Testimonioson the Ground
Authors: Garcia Alyssa
Published: June 2020

In 1961, several mass organizations in Cuba collaborated as Fidel Castro launched a national campaign against prostitution. By 1965, only four years later, the Revolution proclaimed “the elimination of prostitution” in Cuba. This article examines the Cuban Revolution’s national campaign to end prostitution as a case study to investigate how gender and patriarchy affect the ways social change is operationalized. Interested in the relationship between social and cultural change, following the tradition of feminist historians, this article utilizes the oral histories of two Cuban federada women involved in the State’s campaign to consider how the Revolution’s macro program was implemented and carried out at micro level. The narratives of these local agents in the everyday spaces of the campaign provide a bottom-up lens which can be juxtaposed with the Revolution’s proclaimed “success.” These testimonios detail how gender and patriarchy played out on the ground, limiting the campaign’s efforts toward social change, therefore demonstrating the tensions and contradictions of how social change is exercised within human agency and constraint.
Evaluation of clinical efficacy of Chemotherapy for Rhabdomyosarcoma in children
Authors: Ning Zhaohui , Liu Xiping , Qin Guang , Wei Lei , Li Xia , Shen Jingjing
Published: June 2020

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment methods of rhabdomyosarcoma in children and the efficacy of the methods.

Methods: The clinical data of 30 children with rhabdomyosarcoma who were admitted to our hospital from August 2013 to August 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical characteristics were summarized, and the curative effect and prognosis were evaluated.

Results: Among all the children (N=30), there were 20 males and 10 females, with a median age of 3.5 years. As to the primary site, there were 13 cases of head and neck, 11 cases of trunk, three cases of urogenital system and three cases of limbs. There were 25 cases of embryonic type, 4 cases of alveolar type and one case of polymorphic type. As regards clinical stage, there were one case of stage I, 9 cases of stage II, 13 cases of stage III and 7 cases of stage IV. There were one case of low risk, 19 cases of medium risk and 10 cases of high risk. Eight cases received surgery alone, 22 cases received combined treatment of surgery and chemotherapy (the chemotherapeutics followed three schemes, low-risk group (VAC+VA), moderate risk group (VAC) and high risk group (alternating use of VDC and IE). Among all the cases (N=30), there were 14 cases of complete remission (CR), five cases of partial remission (PR), four cases of stable disease (SD), and 7 cases of progressive disease (PD). The CR rate was (N=14, 46.7%). The three-year overall survival (OS) rate was (N=19, 63.3%). The clinical efficacy and prognosis of children receiving surgery and chemotherapy were better than those of children receiving surgery alone, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Rhabdomyosarcoma in children frequently happens in the head, neck and trunk. Embryonic type is the main pathological type of rhabdomyosarcoma. Comprehensive and standardized treatment based on surgery and chemotherapy is an important way to improve the curative effect in the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma in children.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.1829

How to cite this:Ning Z, Liu X, Qin G, Wei L, Li X, Shen J. Evaluation of clinical efficacy of Chemotherapy for Rhabdomyosarcoma in children. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(5):1069-1074. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.1829

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Role of serum matrix metalloproteinase in the diagnosis of gastric cancer
Authors: Liu Jian , Zhou Liya , Lin Sanren , Yao Bei
Published: June 2020

Objective: To determine the clinical value of a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) antibody array in diagnosing gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: In this prospective study, serum samples of patients with GC (n=66) and non-neoplastic gastric disease (NGD; n=34) were collected between November 2017 and July 2018. The quantitative measurement of 10 MMP-related proteins was done using MMP arrays and compared between the two groups.

Results: The serum levels of MMPs 3, 8, 9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) 1 and 2 were significantly higher in the GC group than in the NGD group (p<0.05). The area under curve (AUC) of the 10 MMP proteins for the diagnosis of GC varied between 0.500 and 0.658. The total AUC of all MMPs was 0.897 (95% CI: 0.837-0.957). The total AUC of the five MMPs (MMPs 3, 8, 9, and TIMPs 1 and 2) was 0.821 (95% CI: 0.733-0.909) for diagnosing GC. Also, the 10-factor and 5-factor predictive models had good diagnostic ability for early GC with an AUC of 0.865 (95% CI: 0.753-0.977) and 0.749 (95% CI: 0.600-0.898), respectively.

Conclusions: The detection of multiple serum MMPs with protein biochip technology is promising to be used as a novel non-invasive tool for facilitating early diagnosis or screening of GC.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.2059

How to cite this:Liu J, Zhou L, Lin S, Yao B. Role of serum matrix metalloproteinase in the diagnosis of gastric cancer. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(5):1025-1031. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.2059

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
A Comprehensive Review on State-of-the-Art Image Inpainting Techniques
Authors: Patil Balasaheb H , P.M. Patil
Published: June 2020

Image inpainting is the process of restoring missing pixels in digital images in a plausible way. A study on image inpainting technique has acquired a significant consideration in various regions, i.e. restoring the damaged and old documents, elimination of unwanted objects, cinematography, retouch applications, etc. Even though, limitations exist in the recovery process due to the establishment of certain artifacts in the restored image areas. To rectify these issues, more and more techniques have been established by different authors. This survey makes a critical analysis of diverse techniques regarding various image inpainting schemes. This paper goes under (i) Analyzing various image inpainting techniques that are contributed in different papers; (ii) Makes the comprehensive study regarding the performance measures and the corresponding maximum achievements in each contribution; (iii) Analytical review concerning the chronological review and various tools exploited in each of the reviewed works. Finally, the survey extends with the determination of various research issues and gaps that might be useful for the researchers to promote improved future works on image inpainting schemes.
Chicken-Moth Search Optimization-based Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Image Steganography
Authors: V K Reshma , R S Vinod Kumar , D Shahi , M B Shyjith
Published: June 2020

Image steganography is considered as one of the promising and popular techniques utilized to maintain the confidentiality of the secret message that is embedded in an image. Even though there are various techniques available in the previous works, an approach providing better results is still the challenge. Therefore, an effective pixel prediction based on image stegonography is developed, which employs error dependent Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN) classifier for pixel identification. Here, the best pixels are identified from the medical image based on DCNN classifier using pixel features, like texture, wavelet energy, Gabor, scattering features, and so on. The DCNN is optimally trained using Chicken-Moth search optimization (CMSO). The CMSO is designed by integrating Chicken Swarm Optimization (CSO) and Moth Search Optimization (MSO) algorithm based on limited error. Subsequently, the Tetrolet transform is fed to the predicted pixel for the embedding process. At last, the inverse tetrolet transform is used for extracting the secret message from an embedded image. The experimentation is carried out using BRATS dataset, and the performance of image stegonography based on CMSO-DCNN+tetrolet is evaluated based on correlation coefficient, Structural Similarity Index, and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio, which attained 0.85, 46.981dB, and 0.6388, for the image with noise.
A Comprehensive Survey of the Routing Schemes for IoT applications
Authors: Shende Dipali K , S.S Sonavane , Angal Yogesh
Published: June 2020

Internet of Things (IoT) is with a perception of ‘anything’, ‘anywhere’ and provides the interconnection among devices with a remarkable scale and speed. The prevalent intention of IoT is the datatransmission through the internet without the mediation of humans. An efficient routing protocol must be included in the IoT network for the accomplishment of its objectives and securing data transmission. Accordingly, the survey presents various routing protocols for secure data communication in IoT for providing a clear vision as the major issue in the IoT networks is energy consumption. Therefore, there is a need for devising an effective routing scheme to provide superior performance over the other existing schemes in terms of energy consumption. Thus, this review article provides a detailed review of 52 research papers presenting the suggested routing protocols based on the contentbased, clustering-based, fuzzy-based, Routing Protocol for Low power and Lossy Networks, tree-based and so on. Also, a detailed analysis and discussion are made by concerning the parameters, simulation tool, and year of publication, network size, evaluation metrics, and utilized protocols. Finally, the research gaps and issues of various conventional routing protocols are presented for extending the researchers towards a better contribution of routing protocol for the secure IoT routing.
An Analytical Model of a Corporate Software-Controlled Network Switch
Authors: Mochalov Valery P. , Linets Gennady I. , Bratchenko Natalya Yu. , Govorova Svetlana V.
Published: June 2020

Implementing the almost limitless possibilities of a software-defined network requires additional study of its infrastructure level and assessment of the telecommunications aspect. The aim of this study is to develop an analytical model for analyzing the main quality indicators of modern network switches. Based on the general theory of queuing systems and networks, generated functions and Laplace-Stieltjes transforms, a three-phase model of a network switch was developed. Given that, in this case, the relationship between processing steps is not significant, quality indicators were obtained by taking into account the parameters of single-phase networks. This research identified the dependencies of service latency and service time of incoming network packets on load, as well as equations for finding the volume of a switch’s buffer memory with an acceptable probability for message loss.
A Distributed Neural Network Training Method Based on Hybrid Gradient Computing
Authors: Lu Zhen , Lu Meng , Liang Yan
Published: June 2020

The application of deep learning in industry often needs to train large-scale neural networks and use large-scale data sets. However, larger networks and larger data sets lead to longer training time, which hinders the research of algorithms and the progress of actual engineering development. Data-parallel distributed training is a commonly used solution, but it is still in the stage of technical exploration. In this paper, we study how to improve the training accuracy and speed of distributed training, and propose a distributed training strategy based on hybrid gradient computing. Specifically, in the gradient descent stage, we propose a hybrid method, which combines a new warmup scheme with the linear-scaling stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithm to effectively improve the training accuracy and convergence rate. At the same time, we adopt the mixed precision gradient computing. In the single-GPU gradient computing and inter-GPU gradient synchronization, we use the mixed numerical precision of single precision (FP32) and half precision (FP16), which not only improves the training speed of single-GPU, but also improves the speed of inter-GPU communication. Through the integration of various training strategies and system engineering implementation, we finished ResNet-50 training in 20 minutes on a cluster of 24 V100 GPUs, with 75.6% Top-1 accuracy, and 97.5% GPU scaling efficiency. In addition, this paper proposes a new criterion for the evaluation of the distributed training efficiency, that is, the actual average single-GPU training time, which can evaluate the improvement of training methods in a more reasonable manner than just the improved performance due to the increased number of GPUs. In terms of this criterion, our method outperforms those existing methods.
Complex of heliogeophysical instruments of new generation
Authors: Zherebtsov Geliy
Published: June 2020

The paper discusses the importance of the problem of adverse effects of cosmic processes and phenomena (space weather factors) on the ground engineering and technical infrastructure, space-born radio-electronic facilities, etc. It examines the state of the experimental base for research in solar, atmosphere, and near-Earth space physics in Russia and abroad. The necessity of creating new-generation instruments, developed using advanced engineering solutions and technologies, is justified. The complex of the main facilities and instruments of the National Heliogeophysical Complex of the Russian Academy of Sciences is analyzed. The main scientific directions of basic research and applied problems are formulated.
Multiwave Siberian Radioheliograph
Authors: Altyntsev Alexander , Lesovoi Sergey , Globa Mariia , Gubin Aleksey , Kochanov Aleksey , Grechnev Victor , Ivanov Evgeniy , Kobets Veronika , Meshalkina Nataliya , Muratov Anatoliy , Prosovetsky Dmitriy , Myshyakov Ivan , Uralov Arkadiy , Fedotova Anastasiya
Published: June 2020

The article discusses characteristics, fundamental and applied tasks of the Siberian Radioheliograph that is developed at the ISTP SB RAS Radio Astrophysical Observatory and spectropolarimetric complex that measures the total flux of solar radio emission. The multi-wave mapping of the Sun in the microwave range is a powerful and relatively inexpensive, in comparison with space technologies, means of observing solar activity processes and diagnosing plasma parameters. All-weather monitoring of electromagnetic solar emission (in the range from meter to millimeter waves, including measurements of the solar activity index at 2.8 GHz), and at the location of other diverse diagnostic facilities of the Heliogeophysical Complex, is of particular value. Radioheliograph data is necessary to develop and implement methods of short-term forecast of solar flares, measurements of kinematics and characteristics of coronal mass ejection plasma, forecast of characteristics of fast solar wind streams.