bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inconsistent aerosol indirect effects on water clouds and ice clouds over the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Hua Shan , Liu Yuzhi , Luo Run , Shao Tianbin , Zhu Qingzhe
Published: November 2019

Recently, satellites have observed that dust events are occurring more frequently over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), which implies a new issue of aerosols influencing cloud properties and presents a new challenge in research on the role of the TP in climate change. In this study, combining satellite observations with Climate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) model simulations, the inconsistent aerosol indirect effects on the properties of water clouds and ice clouds over the TP are compared and quantified. Analyses of satellite observations show that, compared with water clouds, ice clouds are observed more frequently and are more significantly correlated with aerosols over the TP. Correspondingly, the aerosol effect on the radiative forcing of ice clouds is more significant than that on the forcing of water clouds, in which the aerosol indirect effect is dominated by the effect on the shortwave radiative forcing of ice clouds. Both observations and CMIP5 model simulation results show that, due to the variation of aerosols, changes in the ice cloud radiative forcing cover most of the TP, while changes in the water cloud radiative forcing mainly appear over the southern edge of the TP. The CMIP5 simulation results suggest that the aerosol indirect effect on the total radiative forcing of water clouds over the TP is −0.34 (±0.03) W⋅m−2, while that on the forcing of ice clouds is −0.73 (±0.03) W⋅m−2. Overall, both the model simulations and satellite results show that the indirect effect of aerosols on ice clouds is more pronounced than that on water clouds.
Glacier Peak and mid‐Lateglacial Katla cryptotephras in Scotland: potential new intercontinental and marine‐terrestrial correlations
Authors: Pyne‐O'Donnell Sean D. F. , Jensen Britta J. L.
Published: November 2019

Using contiguous high resolution sampling methods, we report the detection of a Glacier Peak volcanic ash from North America in Lateglacial Interstadial lake sediments in western Scotland. It occurs in close proximity to the Icelandic Borrobol and Penifiler tephras, but is distinguishable by its rhyolitic major‐element composition that is consistent with the earliest set G layer, one of a number of mid‐Interstadial Glacier Peak eruptions dated between 13.71 and 13.41 cal ka bp. Another cryptotephra layer present in these same Interstadial sediments has a rhyolitic composition consistent with the Icelandic Katla source. However, it is in a stratigraphic position below the widespread mid‐Lateglacial Stadial Vedde Ash from Katla, which is also present in these cores. The Katla layer is stratigraphically well defined, suggesting primary airfall, and is compositionally similar to a mid‐Interstadial rhyolitic tephra reported from a North Atlantic marine sequence south of Iceland dated to ~13.6 ka. The detection of Glacier Peak G in the European tephrostratigraphy will permit direct high‐precision correlation of mid‐Interstadial palaeoenvironments between North American and European terrestrial sequences. Any correlation between the new Katla layer and similar marine layers remains provisional, though if verified would permit similar correlation between North Atlantic marine and European terrestrial records.
Impact of the extent of pathologic complete response on outcomes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Authors: Lee Minna K. , Srour Marissa K. , Walcott‐Sapp Sarah , Cook‐Wiens Galen , Amersi Farin , Giuliano Armando E. , Chung Alice
Published: November 2019

Background and Objective

With advances in systemic therapies for breast cancer, responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have increased. Pathologic complete response (pCR) after NAC is an independent prognostic factor. We examined the impact of breast and/or lymph node (LN) pCR on survival.

Methods

From a prospectively maintained database, 202 women were identified with LN‐positive breast cancer who underwent NAC then surgery. Clinicopathologic factors and survival were compared between four groups: breast/LNs pCR, node‐only pCR, breast‐only pCR, and residual disease (RD).

Results

Forty‐eight (23.8%) patients had breast/LNs pCR, 43 (21.3%) node‐only pCR, 5 (2.5%) breast‐only pCR, and 106 (52.5%) had RD. There was no difference in age, stage, or breast operation between groups. With a median follow‐up of 48.2 months, patients with any pCR had improved disease‐free survival (DFS) (HR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.157‐0.572) and OS (HR, 0.192; 95% CI, 0.057‐0.652) compared with RD patients. There were no significant differences in DFS (log‐rank P = .18) and OS (log‐rank P = 0.12) between patients with node‐only pCR, breast‐only pCR, and breast/LNs pCR.

Conclusion

In node‐positive breast cancer patients receiving NAC, any pCR was associated with improved survival vs RD. The anatomic site of pCR did not impact survival. This suggests that any favorable response to NAC has prognostic value.
Photonics‐Based Microwave Frequency Mixing: Methodology and Applications
Authors: Tang Zhenzhou , Li Yifei , Yao Jianping , Pan Shilong
Published: November 2019

Photonics‐based microwave frequency mixing provides distinct features in terms of wide frequency coverage, broad instantaneous bandwidth, small frequency‐dependent loss, and immunity to electromagnetic interference as compared with its electronic counterpart, which can be a key technical enabler for future broadband and multifunctional RF systems. Herein, all‐optical and optoelectronic microwave frequency mixing techniques are reviewed, with an emphasis on the latest advances in photonics‐based microwave frequency mixers with improved performance in terms of conversion efficiency, dynamic range, mixing‐spur suppression, mixing functionality, and polarization independence. Innovative applications enabled by photonics‐based microwave frequency mixers, such as radio‐over‐fiber communication systems, radar systems, satellite payloads and electronic warfare systems, are also reviewed. In addition, efforts in implementing integrated photonics‐based microwave mixers that lead to a dramatic reduction in size, weight, and power consumption are also reviewed.
A New Optical Method for Online Monitoring of the Light Dose and Dose Profile in Photodynamic Therapy
Authors: Beigzadeh Amir Mohammad , Rashidian Vaziri Mohammad Reza , Ziaie Farhood , Sharif Samaneh
Published: November 2019

Background and Objectives

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has gained widespread popularity in the last decades because of its distinctive advantages over the other commonly used cancer treatments. PDT dosimetry is a crucial factor in achieving a good optimization of PDT treatment planning. PDT dosimetry is a complex task since light dose as well as photosensitizer and oxygen concentrations in tissue need to be measured (ideally continuously) to be able to fully characterize the biological response. Light dose in PDT is routinely measured by the optical fibers that provide dose data at a limited number of discrete points and are not able to capture spatial dose profiles. The objective of this study is to propose and develop a new optical method for online monitoring of the dose profile data for PDT.

Study Design/Materials and Methods

Using the digital holography technique, first, the general sketch of an experimental setup for PDT light dosimetry is provided. The theory behind the proposed method for using the experimental setup in PDT light dosimetry is fully described, and its limits of validity are determined. In a proof of principle study, the ability of the method for online monitoring of the absorbed light dose profile in PDT is evaluated by a simple experimental setup.

Results

The experimental results confirm the usefulness of the proposed method in providing continuous online dose profiles. The absorbed light dose profiles from an infrared light source in a quartz cell containing water are measured and shown. The depth‐dose curves are extracted and it is shown that how these dosimetric data can be used for assisting the physicians in determining the appropriate spatiotemporal characteristics for treating the infected tissues and solid tumors with the required light dose amounts. A conversion relation is also derived for transforming the measured light dose with the proposed method to the most frequently used dose values by PDT practitioners, in terms of light power per square area.

Conclusions

There is no restriction in using the method with other commonly used light sources in PDT, like light‐emitting diodes and filtered lamps, with different wavelengths in visible or infrared regions of the spectrum. More complex experimental setups can be used in future studies to study the role of accumulated photosensitizers in malignant tissues. The proposed method in this study can also be used for light dose monitoring in other biomedical applications, where light is used for treating special diseases, and patients must receive sufficient amounts of light dose. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Development of ICAR ATRP–Based Polymerization‐Induced Self‐Assembly and Its Application in the Preparation of Organic–Inorganic Nanoparticles
Authors: Shi Boyang , Zhang Hao , Liu Yi , Wang Jian , Zhou Peng , Cao Mengya , Wang Guowei
Published: November 2019

The functionalization and application of nano‐objects generated using a polymerization induced self‐assembly (PISA) procedure is becoming a focus in recent years. In this contribution, using ethanol as solvent, poly(oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate) (POEOMA) as macro‐initiator/stabilizer, and 2‐(perfluorohexyl)ethyl methacrylate (PFHEMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as comonomers, the initiators for continuous activator regeneration atom transfer radical polymerization (ICAR ATRP)‐based PISA is realized. The lower GMA content system tends to form spheres with large diameters and heavy contrast, while the lower PFHEMA content system tends to form the spheres or short worms with small diameters. However, the system with further increased GMA content results in the failed ICAR ATRP PISA procedure with the formation of precipitates by the cross‐linking reaction between pendant epoxy groups. Furthermore, using the efficient reaction between the epoxy group on GMA and thiol group on mercapto‐succinic acid agent, the carboxyl groups can be introduced into the inner cavity of the nano‐objects and used for incorporation with the Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions, and the organic–inorganic nanoparticles Fe3O4@POEOMA are finally prepared in the presence of a reductant.
Diagnostic accuracy of midkine for hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhang Yu , Tang Juan , Zhou Xiao , Zhu Shao‐Liang , Li Le‐Qun
Published: November 2019

Background

There have been many reports on midkine as a promising marker in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the results are inconsistent and even conflicting.

Methods

This meta‐analysis was performed to investigate the accuracy of midkine in the diagnosis of HCC. Meta‐DiSc 1.4 software was used to extract data and to calculate the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Data are presented as forest plots and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve analysis was used to summarize the overall test performance.

Results

Ten studies with a total of 753 HCC patients and 977 non‐HCC patients were included. The overall pooled diagnostic data were as follows: the pooled sensitivity of 0.86 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 083–0.88), the pooled specificity of 0.75 (95% CI: 0.73–0.78), the pooled PLR of 4.71 (95% CI: 2.80–7.90), the pooled NLR of 0.18 (95% CI: 0.11–0.30), and the pooled DOR of 36.83 (95% CI: 13.56–100.05). The area under curve value was 0.9266 in the overall SROC curve.

Conclusion

Midkine has moderate diagnostic accuracy for HCC. Due to the design limitations, results inpublished studies should be carefully interpreted. In addition, more well‐designed studies with large sample sizes should be performed to rigorously evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the MDK.
Oscillations up to terahertz frequency in resonant tunneling diodes
Authors: Feng Wei
Published: November 2019

We investigate the THz current oscillations in resonant tunneling diodes (RTD) oscillators with the transient drift‐diffusion model. The oscillation frequencies have a strong dependence on the biased voltage and doping concentration. With proper biased voltage and doping concentration, the high frequency up to THz can be obtained. The simulations are helpful to deepen the understanding of physical mechanism and guide to improve the performances of RTDs and RTD oscillators. The investigations make RTDs promising candidates as THz sources at room temperature.
PLAYING THE LONG GAME
Authors: Atwood Stephen P.
Published: November 2019

There is an expression that many of you may have heard known as “Playing the long game.” It is generally defined as having a long‐term plan or strategy and pursuing it without letting short‐term obstacles get in the way. If your goal is to drive from Boston to San Francisco in five days, then it really doesn't matter whether you make a few wrong turns, get delayed in some construction, or need to change your route because of the weather. As long as you cover 600 or so generally westerly miles per day for five days, you will reach your destination according to plan. This is not the same as leaving work at 5:30 pm for a 6:30 pm movie date 40 miles away, where each minor encumbrance can scuttle the entire plan.
A TIME FOR REFLECTION
Authors: Seetzen Helge
Published: November 2019

In our industry, the fall season offers several opportunities for introspection. It's a time when the exhilaration of new technology advances presented at Display Week slowly fades, but the excitement of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is still a few months away.
Assortment optimization with position effects under the nested logit model
Authors: Chen Rui , Jiang Hai
Published: November 2019

We study the assortment optimization problem with position effects under the nested logit model, whose goal is to find the revenue‐maximizing subset of products as well as their corresponding display positions. In this joint assortment‐position optimization problem, the choices of products are affected by not only their qualities and prices but also the positions where they are displayed. Despite determining the assortment and their corresponding display positions sequentially, we propose to solve this problem in an integrated way to obtain the optimal solution. We formulate this problem as a nonlinear binary integer programming model and develop a dynamic programming based solution approach to obtain the optimal assortment‐position assignments. We carry out extensive numerical experiments to evaluate the benefit of our integrated approach. The most important insight we discover is that it is not necessarily better to put the most attractive products in the best position. Moreover, we show that compared to the sequential approaches, our approach can improve revenue by 10.38% on average, which suggests that firms should take into consideration position effects when making assortment decisions. Finally, we discuss results related to two extensions of this problem, that is, the special case when positions are preassigned to nests, and the joint assortment‐position‐price optimization problem.
Muslin: A QoE‐aware CDN resources provisioning and advertising system for cost‐efficient multisource live streaming
Authors: Da Silva Simon , Bruneau‐Queyreix Joachim , Lacaud Mathias , Negru Daniel , Réveillère Laurent
Published: November 2019

Delivering video content with a high and fairly shared quality of experience is a challenging task in view of the drastic video traffic increase forecasts, as live video traffic will grow 15‐fold by 2022. Currently, content delivery networks provide numerous servers hosting replicas of the video content, and consuming clients are redirected to the closest server. Then, the video content is streamed using adaptive streaming solutions. However, servers and network links often become overloaded during major events, and users may experience a poor or unfairly distributed quality of experience, unless more servers are provisioned. In this paper, we propose Muslin, a streaming solution supporting a high, fairly shared end users' quality of experience for live streaming, while minimizing the required content delivery platform scale. Muslin leverages on MS‐Stream, a content delivery solution, which aggregates video content from multiple servers to offer a high quality of experience for its users. Muslin dynamically provisions servers and replicates content into servers and advertises servers to clients based on real‐time delivery conditions. We have used Muslin to replay a 1‐day video‐games event, with hundreds of clients and several test beds. Our results show that our approach outperforms traditional content delivery schemes by increasing the fairness and quality of experience at the user side with a smaller infrastructure scale.
On the distance between random events on a network
Authors: Wei Ningji , Walteros Jose L. , Batta Rajan
Published: November 2019

In this paper, we study several statistical properties regarding the distance between events that take place on random locations along the edges of a given network. We derive analytical expressions for the arbitrary moments of such a distance, its probability density function, its cumulative distribution function, as well as their conditional counterparts for the cases in which the position of one event is known in advance. As part of this study, we implement our developments as a callable library for the Python language, to provide potential users with a computational engine able to calculate and visualize these statistics for any given network. We test our implementation on several networks of different sizes and topologies, analyze some of interesting properties we observed in our experiments, and discuss several applications for our proposed methodology. In particular, we focus our discussion on applications aimed to help with the optimal design of emergency response systems on infrastructure networks.
Modelling the predictors of young consumers' sustainable consumption intention
Authors: Joshi Yatish , Sangroya Deepak , Srivastava Anugamini Priya , Yadav Mayank
Published: November 2019

Sustainable consumption refers to consumers' socially and environmentally responsible consumption practices. The present study is the first to investigate possible individual, behavioural, and situational factors that predict sustainable consumption intention among young consumers in India. A survey was carried out on 325 young consumers. Structural equation modelling was applied to check the extent to which the considered variables predicted sustainable consumption. The results determined drive for environmental responsibility, subjective norm, and attitude towards sustainable consumption as key predictors of consumers' sustainable consumption intention. The paper offers a better understanding of the main predictors of consumers' sustainable consumption intention. Such understanding may enable managers to design effective marketing strategies to encourage sustainable consumption intention and behaviour.
Precarious livelihoods: Examining the intersection of fish work and ecological change in coastal Jamaica
Authors: Marschke Melissa , Campbell Donovan , Armitage Derek
Published: November 2019

Precarity has not been applied in the context of fisheries‐based work, even as working conditions in fisheries are emerging to be a real issue.

There has been limited analysis of fish work outside the media spotlight or how changing ecological and biophysical conditions (e.g. climate change and its effects) intersect with poor working conditions.

We use insights from fieldwork along the southwest coast of Jamaica, to ask the following questions: (a) what does precarity mean for mixed‐gear fishers working in the nearshore context, particularly with reference to working conditions and (b) how do changing ecological and biophysical conditions intersect with working conditions to further influence fisher precarity?

Our results highlight how fishing livelihoods in Jamaica are generally precarious because of limited options for fish workers in this sector. Even so, certain fishing activities are far riskier than others – particularly for compressor dive fishers – and that levels of precarity are differentiated by age and fishing gear ownership.

A more integrative (or social and ecological) approach to precarity analysis helps characterize and give nuance to fish work operating across time and space, and shows how such work intersects with ecological decline and further drives precarity.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Psychiatrists' views on their role in monitoring patient physical health
Authors: Burlingham Amy , Greenstone Harriet
Published: November 2019

Despite the growing focus on the responsibilities of and role for psychiatrists in managing their patients' physical health, there is a paucity of literature on the subject. Here, the authors explore relevant concepts and uncover barriers to physical health care provision for those with mental illness, in terms of patient factors, limited resources and psychiatrists' skills. The vital role of the multidisciplinary team in optimal health care is also discussed.
Quetiapine modified‐release versus immediate‐release in early psychosis
Authors: Kelbrick Marlene
Published: November 2019

Antipsychotic treatment choice in first‐episode psychosis is multifaceted with a need to focus on all aspects of recovery. There are clear differences between quetiapine immediaterelease (IR) and modified‐release (MR) that may have clinical significance in this patient group.
Lest we forget: towards therapeutic amnesia
Authors: Greener Mark
Published: November 2019

Recent insights into the biological mechanisms underlying memory formation, including the idea that memory is malleable in the early stages, offer the tantalising prospect of a novel psychotherapeutic intervention for illnesses such as post‐traumatic stress disorder.
High prevalence of persistent emotional distress in desmoid tumor
Authors: Ingley Katrina M. , Klein Roberta , Theobalds Nicole , Burtenshaw Sally , Abdul Razak Albiruni R. , Chen Bo , Xu Wei , Gladdy Rebecca , Li Madeline , Gupta Abha A.
Published: November 2019

Objective

Clinical experience suggests a high prevalence of emotional distress in patients with desmoid tumor (DT). We examine longitudinal Distress Assessment and Response Tool (DART) scores to estimate prevalence and persistence of distress, and compare cross‐sectional data between DT and malignant sarcoma cohorts, to identify predictors of distress.

Methods

Patients with DT completed DART at: T1—diagnosis, T2—during, T3—<6 months, and T4—≥6 months, post‐treatment. DART includes patient‐reported outcome measures of physical symptoms (ESAS‐r), depression (PHQ‐9), anxiety (GAD‐7), and social difficulties (SDI‐21). Descriptive prevalence and persistence of anxiety, depression, and wellbeing are reported, and mixed model regression analyses determine predictors of distress.

Results

Between 2012 and 2018, a total of 152 DART screens from 94 patients with DT were completed (T1: n = 44, T2: n = 31, T3: n = 22, T4: n = 55). Patients had a mean age 40 years, 78% were female and DT locations were abdominal wall (48%), extremity (30%), and mesentery (22%). Moderate to severe ESAS‐r scores (≥4) persisted at T4 for anxiety (20%), depression (13%), and poor wellbeing (31%). Compared to 402 patients with malignant sarcoma, patients with abdominal wall sited DT reported severe PHQ‐9 and GAD‐7 scores twice as frequently. Abdominal wall location, female sex, history of mood problems, and psychosocial concerns were significant predictors of anxiety, depression, and poor wellbeing in DT.

Conclusions

Adults with DT experience persistently high emotional distress compared to patients with malignant sarcoma. Women with abdominal wall DT, prior mood, and current psychosocial concerns need early attention within multidisciplinary treatment settings to reduce persistent distress.
Diagnosis and treatment of eczema in children
Authors: Ridd Matthew
Published: November 2019

Eczema in children is usually of mild or moderate severity, but it can have a significant psychosocial impact and be challenging to treat. This article discusses the diagnosis and treatment of mild to moderate eczema in children, which can usually be effectively managed in primary care.
Recommended management of dyspepsia in primary care
Authors: Gosson Caroline , Gorard Lucy , Goel Rishi
Published: November 2019

Dyspepsia is a symptom frequently encountered in primary care, and is associated with poor health‐related quality of life. This article discusses the causes of dyspepsia, the investigations required and current treatment approaches.
An enlarged azygos vein traversing an azygos lobe reveals a connection between the inferior vena cava and azygos vein
Authors: Miura Hiroyuki , Goto Shinichi , Miura Jun , Tachibana Keisei , Tanaka Ryota , Kondo Haruhiko
Published: November 2019

We report a rare case where the inferior vena cava connected to the azygos vein, a diagnosis triggered by observation of an enlarged azygos vein traversing an azygos fissure. A 16‐year‐old male patient presented with an abnormal shadow on chest X‐ray. Chest computed tomography showed an enlarged azygos vein connecting to the inferior vena cava, with no other connection to the atrium. There were no associated malformations. The patient remains alive and has been asymptomatic for the past two years. If the flow through the connection was to be interrupted during the course of thoracic or abdominal surgery, this would invariably prove to be fatal. In addition, this abnormality prevents direct access to the atrium on attempting interventional radiology via the inferior vena cava, for example, during ablation. When an azygos lobe is identified on a chest X‐ray, a prominent solid structure traversing it may represent an engorged azygos vein with an anomalous course.
Joint modeling of binary response and survival for clustered data in clinical trials
Authors: Chen Bingshu E. , Wang Jia
Published: November 2019

In clinical trials, it is often desirable to evaluate the effect of a prognostic factor such as a marker response on a survival outcome. However, the marker response and survival outcome are usually associated with some potentially unobservable factors. In this case, the conventional statistical methods that model these two outcomes separately may not be appropriate. In this paper, we propose a joint model for marker response and survival outcomes for clustered data, providing efficient statistical inference by considering these two outcomes simultaneously. We focus on a special type of marker response: a binary outcome, which is investigated together with survival data using a cluster‐specific multivariate random effect variable. A multivariate penalized likelihood method is developed to make statistical inference for the joint model. However, the standard errors obtained from the penalized likelihood method are usually underestimated. This issue is addressed using a jackknife resampling method to obtain a consistent estimate of standard errors. We conduct extensive simulation studies to assess the finite sample performance of the proposed joint model and inference methods in different scenarios. The simulation studies show that the proposed joint model has excellent finite sample properties compared to the separate models when there exists an underlying association between the marker response and survival data. Finally, we apply the proposed method to a symptom control study conducted by Canadian Cancer Trials Group to explore the prognostic effect of covariates on pain control and overall survival.
Mixed Organic Ligand Shells: Controlling the Nanoparticle Surface Morphology toward Tuning the Optoelectronic Properties
Authors: Henkel Christian , Wittmann Judith E. , Träg Johannes , Will Johannes , Stiegler Lisa M. S. , Strohriegl Peter , Hirsch Andreas , Unruh Tobias , Zahn Dirk , Halik Marcus , Guldi Dirk M.
Published: November 2019

Precise control over the ratio of perylene bisimide (PBI) monomers and aggregates, immobilized on alumina nanoparticle (NP) surfaces, is demonstrated. Towards this goal, phosphonic acid functionalized PBI derivatives (PA‐PBI) are shown to self‐assemble into stoichiometrically mixed monolayers featuring aliphatic, glycolic, or fluorinated phosphonic acid ligands, serving as imbedding matrix (PA‐M) to afford core–shell NPs. Different but, nevertheless, defined PBI monomer/aggregate composition is achieved by either the variation in the PA‐PBI to PA‐M ratios, or the utilization of different PA‐Ms. Various steady‐state as well as time‐resolved spectroscopy techniques are applied to probe the core–shell NPs with respect to changes in their optical properties upon variations in the shell composition. To this end, the ratio between monomer and excimer‐like emission assists in deriving information on the self‐assembled monolayer composition, local ordering, and corresponding aggregate content. With the help of X‐ray reflectivity measurements, accompanied by molecular dynamics simulations, the built‐up of the particle shells, in general, and the PBI aggregation behavior, in particular, are explored in depth.
DevDocOps: Enabling continuous documentation in alignment with DevOps
Authors: Rong Guoping , Jin Zefeng , Zhang He , Zhang Youwen , Ye Wenhua , Shao Dong
Published: November 2019

The proliferation of DevOps enables significant acceleration and automation of the delivery and deployment of massive software products. Unfortunately, the development of supporting documents that is vital for large‐scale software systems in many cases does not keep pace with the rhythm of feature delivery using DevOps in practice, which becomes the bottleneck for many software organizations to deliver full value to the customers as claimed by the DevOps. This paper proposes, implements, and evaluates an integrated approach, DevDocOps, for continuous automated documentation, in particular for DevOps. With DevDocOps, supporting documents are created along with the development process simultaneously by various roles within a DevOps project, which largely guarantees the accuracy and integrity of documents as well as significantly increases their delivery speed. Within an established delivery chain, a set of templates are created to collect and transform the required information from its origin to the target documents for delivery. A real system, iDoc, is implemented to map, collect, and synthesize the information from document templates and automate the documentation process. DevDocOps has been successfully adopted in a top‐tier global telecommunication enterprise to support more than 5000 users with different roles related to documentation. The lag time between the releases of the product version and its supporting document has been shortened from 1 to 2 months on average to less than 2 days. DevDocOps extends the scope of DevOps and enhances the value delivery by supporting continuous documentation and bridges the gap between feature delivery and document delivery with automation.
In Vitro Digestibility and Predicted Glycemic Index of Chemically Modified Rice Starch by One‐Step Reactive Extrusion
Authors: Cai Canxin , Tian Yaoqi , Yu Zhiwei , Sun Chunrui , Jin Zhengyu
Published: November 2019

The in vitro digestibility of chemically modified rice starch by one‐step reactive extrusion (REX) via esterification, acetylation, hydroxypropylation, and cross‐linking or dual‐modification (hydroxypropylation‐cross‐linking and acetylation‐cross‐linking) is investigated. After REX processing, pasting viscosity is decreased, while the viscosity of esterification samples is lower than that of cross‐linking samples. Molecular structure analysis suggests that the degradation of starch molecules is retarded by esterification whereas enhanced by cross‐linking. Dual modification (hydroxypropylation and phosphorylation, hydroxypropylation‐cross‐linking (HP‐CL) sample) involving hydroxypropylation and phosphorylation (HP‐CL sample) is more conducive to preventing enzyme hydrolysis than the other modifications. HP‐CL sample achieves the lowest predicted glycemic index (pGI) value (88.1) and the highest RS content (15.3%). Thus, the one‐step REX is a useful method for reducing rice starch digestibility or pGI value.
Mixed‐charge bionanointerfaces: Opposite charges work in harmony to meet the challenges in biomedical applications
Authors: Li Huan , Li Xu , Ji Jian
Published: November 2019

Understanding and regulation of the interfaces formed between materials and biological systems has been considered as one of the major tasks in nanotechnology, as the bionanointerfaces often exert profound effects on the fates and therapeutic outcomes of nanomaterials. In the last decades, materials with mixed‐charge surfaces have witnessed fast development. The oppositely charged units on the materials' surface could work in a charge balanced way or a charge biased way, which offers much more possibilities to the bionanointerfaces than materials with singly charged surface. It has been found out that mixed‐charge residues could bring about functionalities such as antifouling ability, pH‐sensitivity, self‐assemble propensity, thermal sensitivity, and so on. In this review, recent advances in developing mixed‐charge bionanointerfaces would be carefully overviewed and the potential applications and challenges of mixed‐charge materials in biomedical field will be discussed.

This article is categorized under:

Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies

Biology‐Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus‐Based Structures
Exponential Decay of Truncated Correlations for the Ising Model in any Dimension for all but the Critical Temperature
Authors: Duminil-Copin Hugo , Goswami Subhajit , Raoufi Aran
Published: November 2019

The truncated two-point function of the ferromagnetic Ising model on$${\mathbb {Z}}^d$$Zd($$d\ge 3$$d≥3) in its pure phases is proven to decay exponentially fast throughout the ordered regime ($$\beta >\beta _c$$β>βcand$$h=0$$h=0). Together with the previously known results, this implies that the exponential clustering property holds throughout the model’s phase diagram except for the critical point:$$(\beta ,h) = (\beta _c,0)$$(β,h)=(βc,0).
Biorecovery of cobalt and nickel using biomass-free culture supernatants from Aspergillus niger
Authors: Yang Yuyi , Song Wenjuan , Ferrier John , Liu Feixue , Csetenyi Laszlo , Gadd Geoffrey Michael
Published: November 2019

In this research, the capabilities of culture supernatants generated by the oxalate-producing fungus Aspergillus niger for the bioprecipitation and biorecovery of cobalt and nickel were investigated, as was the influence of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on these processes. The removal of cobalt from solution was >90% for all tested Co concentrations: maximal nickel recovery was >80%. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of cobalt and nickel oxalate. In a mixture of cobalt and nickel, cobalt oxalate appeared to predominate precipitation and was dependent on the mixture ratios of the two metals. The presence of EPS together with oxalate in solution decreased the recovery of nickel but did not influence the recovery of cobalt. Concentrations of extracellular protein showed a significant decrease after precipitation while no significant difference was found for extracellular polysaccharide concentrations before and after oxalate precipitation. These results showed that extracellular protein rather than extracellular polysaccharide played a more important role in influencing the biorecovery of metal oxalates from solution. Excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy showed that aromatic protein-like and hydrophobic acid-like substances from the EPS complexed with cobalt but did not for nickel. The humic acid-like substances from the EPS showed a higher affinity for cobalt than for nickel.
Male and female inheritance patterns in tetraploid ‘Moncada’ mandarin
Authors: Garavello Miguel , Cuenca José , Garcia-Lor Andrés , Ortega Neus , Navarro Luis , Ollitrault Patrick , Aleza Pablo
Published: November 2019

Key message

Tetraploid `Moncada´ mandarin, used as male and female in interploidy hybridizations, displays mainly tetrasomic inheritance for most LGs, with slight variations according to the direction of the crossing.

Triploid-breeding programs in citrus are key tool to develop seedless cultivars. Obtaining triploid citrus hybrids may be achieved through different strategies, such as the exploitation of female unreduced gamete in crosses between diploid parents and diploid by tetraploid sexual hybridizations, in which tetraploid genotypes can be used as male or female parents. Genetic configuration of triploid populations from interploid crosses greatly depends on the chromosomic segregation mode of the tetraploid parent used. Here, we have analyzed the inheritance of the tetraploid ‘Moncada’ mandarin and compared the genetic structures of the resulting gametes when used as male and as female parent. The preferential chromosome pairing rate is calculated from the parental heterozygosity restitution (PHR) of codominant molecular markers, indicating the proportion between disomic and tetrasomic segregation. Tetraploid ‘Moncada’ both as female and male parent largely exhibited tetrasomic segregation. However, as female parent, one linkage group (LG8) showed intermediate segregation with tendency towards tetrasomic inheritance, while another linkage group (LG4) evidenced a clear intermediate segregation. On the other hand, when used as male parent two linkage groups (LG5 and LG6) showed values that fit an intermediate inheritance model with tetrasomic tendency. Significant doubled reduction (DR) rates were observed in five linkage groups as female parent, and in six linkage groups as male parent. The new knowledge generated here will serve to define crossing strategies in citrus improvement programs to efficiently obtain new varieties of interest in the global fresh consumption market.
Budget impact of botulinum toxin treatment for spasticity after stroke — a German perspective
Authors: Neusser Silke , Kreuzenbeck Cordula , Pahmeier Kathrin , Lux Beate , Wilke Alexander , Wasem Jürgen , Neumann Anja
Published: November 2019

Aim

Botulinum toxin agents can improve the quality of life of patients with post-stroke upper limb spasticity (ULS) and are recommended by international and German guidelines. However, health-services research indicates an underuse of botulinum toxin agents in this patient group. The study aims to clarify the budget impact of treatment with botulinum toxin agents according to the guidelines for all eligible patients with ULS in Germany compared to usual care.

Methods

The budgetary impact for the statutory health insurance system was estimated by calculating a Markov cohort model with a timeframe of 5 years comparing three treatment options. Four health states were included. The base-case analysis compares standard doses of two botulinum toxin agents to usual care. The model accounts for direct medical costs. Sensitivity analyses vary doses of botulinum toxin agents and prevalence of spasticity after stroke.

Results

In the base case, both botulinum toxin agents lead to increased costs compared to usual care. Treatment with Dysport® (cumulative costs for the 5-year period: €280,321,317) is less expensive than the treatment with Xeomin® (€377,511,529). Cumulative costs over 5 years in usual care are €61,306,062.

Conclusion

The botulinum toxin therapy is associated with additional costs, but an increased use of botulinum toxin would be consistent with guideline-based therapy. In particular, it has to be considered that spasticity as a chronic condition is accompanied by a relevant loss of quality of life. Thus, considering only the therapy costs may not be sufficient for making final therapeutic decisions.
Corrective osteotomies at the distal humerus and forearm: a practical review
Authors: Mader Konrad , Farkondeh Fal Milad , Ham John , Flipsen Mark , Nüchtern Jakob , Schlickewei-Yarar Sinef , Wintges Kristofer , Seybold Dominik , Hollinger Boris
Published: November 2019

Complex deformities of the distal humerus and forearm of either posttraumatic or hereditary origin have a significant negative impact on the functional integrity of the affected limb. They lead to pain, instability in both the elbow and the proximal/distal radioulnar joint, and profound motion deficit. Corrective procedures and more advanced surgical interventions for the main index procedures at the proximal forearm are extremely challenging for the treating upper extremity specialist due to the complex pathoanatomy in this region. This practical review focuses on the main aspects of correcting deformities of the distal humerus (malunion and non-union), the proximal forearm (differential therapy of chronic radial dislocation in children and adolescents), and the restoration of forearm rotation using rapid prototyping templates and computerized planning as the evolving standard technique in this region. In addition to the technical aspects, focus is put on planning (conventional vs. modern computerized three-dimensional (3D) planning), on different osteotomy techniques, and the surgical armamentarium that the specialist center should have available. Finally, some light is shed on the long-term outcome that can be expected and possible complications that can occur when performing these complex corrective procedures.
Prophylactic veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention
Authors: van den Brink F. S. , Meijers T. A. , Hofma S. H. , van Boven A. J. , Nap A. , Vonk A. , Symersky P. , Sjauw K. D. , Knaapen P.
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Complex high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is challenging and frequently accompanied by haemodynamic instability. Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) can provide cardiopulmonary support in high-risk PCI. However, the outcome is unclear.

Methods

A two-centre, retrospective study was performed of all patients undergoing high-risk PCI and receiving VA-ECMO for cardiopulmonary support.

Results

A total of 14 patients (92% male, median age 69 (53–83) years), of whom 50% had previous coronary artery disease in the form of a coronary artery bypass graft (36%) and a PCI (14%) underwent high-risk PCI and received VA-ECMO support. The main target lesion was a left main coronary artery in 78%, a left anterior descending artery in 14%, a right coronary artery in 7%, and 71% underwent multi-vessel PCI in addition to main target vessel PCI. The median SYNTAX score was 27.2 (8–42.5) and in 64% (9/14) there was a chronic total occlusion. Left ventricular function was mildly impaired in 7% (1/14), moderately impaired in 14% (2/14) and severely impaired in 64% (9/14). Cannulation was femoral-femoral in all patients. Median ECMO run was 2.57 h (1–4). Survival was 93% (13/14). One patient died during hospitalisation due to refractory cardiac failure. All other patients survived to discharge. Complications occurred in 14% (2/14), with one patient developing a transient ischaemic attack post-ECMO and one patient developing a thrombus in the femoral vein used for ECMO cannulation.

Conclusion

VA-ECMO in high-risk PCI is feasible with a good outcome. It can be successfully used for cardiopulmonary support in selected patients.
Safety and efficacy of balloon pulmonary angioplasty in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension in the Netherlands
Authors: van Thor M. C. J. , Lely R. J. , Braams N. J. , ten Klooster L. , Beijk M. A. M. , Heijmen R. H. , van den Heuvel D. A. F. , Rensing B. J. W. M. , Snijder R. J. , Vonk Noordegraaf A. , Nossent E. J. , Meijboom L. J. , Symersky P. , Mager J. J. , Bogaard H. J. , Post M. C.
Published: November 2019

Background

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) is an emerging treatment in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and chronic thromboembolic disease (CTED). We describe the first safety and efficacy results of BPA in the Netherlands.

Methods

We selected all consecutive patients with inoperable CTEPH and CTED accepted for BPA treatment who had a six-month follow-up in the St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein and the Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC) in Amsterdam. Functional class (FC), N‑terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), 6‑minute walking test distance (6MWD) and right-sided heart catheterisation were performed at baseline and six months after last BPA. Complications for each BPA procedure were noted.

Results

A hundred and seventy-two BPA procedures were performed in 38 patients (61% female, mean age 65 ± 15 years). Significant improvements six months after BPA treatment were observed for functional class (63% FC I/II to 90% FC I/II, p = 0.014), mean pulmonary artery pressure (−8.9 mm Hg, p = 0.0001), pulmonary vascular resistance (−2.8 Woods Units (WU), p = 0.0001), right atrial pressure (−2.0 mm Hg, p = 0.006), stroke volume index (+5.7 ml/m2, p = 0.009) and 6MWD (+48m, p = 0.007). Non-severe complications occurred in 20 (12%) procedures.

Conclusions

BPA performed in a CTEPH expert centre is an effective and safe treatment in patients with inoperable CTEPH.
Domesticated cynomolgus monkey embryonic stem cells allow the generation of neonatal interspecies chimeric pigs
Authors: Fu Rui , Yu Dawei , Ren Jilong , Li Chongyang , Wang Jing , Feng Guihai , Wang Xuepeng , Wan Haifeng , Li Tianda , Wang Libin , Zhang Ying , Hai Tang , Li Wei , Zhou Qi
Published: November 2019

Blastocyst complementation by pluripotent stem cell (PSC) injection is believed to be the most promising method to generate xenogeneic organs. However, ethical issues prevent the study of human chimeras in the late embryonic stage of development. Primate embryonic stem cells (ESCs), which have similar pluripotency to human ESCs, are a good model for studying interspecies chimerism and organ generation. However, whether primate ESCs can be used in xenogenous grafts remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the chimeric ability of cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) ESCs (cmESCs) in pigs, which are excellent hosts because of their many similarities to humans. We report an optimized culture medium that enhanced the anti-apoptotic ability of cmESCs and improved the development of chimeric embryos, in which domesticated cmESCs (D-ESCs) injected into pig blastocysts differentiated into cells of all three germ layers. In addition, we obtained two neonatal interspecies chimeras, in which we observed tissue-specific D-ESC differentiation. Taken together, the results demonstrate the capability of D-ESCs to integrate and differentiate into functional cells in a porcine model, with a chimeric ratio of 0.001–0.0001 in different neonate tissues. We believe this work will facilitate future developments in xenogeneic organogenesis, bringing us one step closer to producing tissue-specific functional cells and organs in a large animal model through interspecies blastocyst complementation.