bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
May the force be with you: understanding how patellofemoral joint reaction force compares across different activities and physical interventions—a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hart Harvi F , Patterson Brooke E , Crossley Kay M , Culvenor Adam G , Khan Michaela C M , King Matthew G , Sritharan Prasanna
Published: February 2022

Objective

To systematically review and synthesise patellofemoral joint reaction force (PFJRF) in healthy individuals and those with patellofemoral pain and osteoarthritis (OA), during everyday activities, therapeutic exercises and with physical interventions (eg, foot orthotics, footwear, taping, bracing).

Design

A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Data sources

Medline, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, SportDiscus and Cochrane Library databases were searched.

Eligibility criteria

Observational and interventional studies reporting PFJRF during everyday activities, therapeutic exercises, and physical interventions.

Results

In healthy individuals, the weighted average of mean (±SD) peak PFJRF for everyday activities were: walking 0.9±0.4 body weight (BW), stair ascent 3.2±0.7 BW, stair descent 2.8±0.5 BW and running 5.2±1.2 BW. In those with patellofemoral pain, peak PFJRF were: walking 0.8±0.2 BW, stair ascent 2.5±0.5 BW, stair descent 2.6±0.5 BW, running 4.1±0.9 BW. Only single studies reported peak PFJRF during everyday activities in individuals with patellofemoral OA/articular cartilage defects (walking 1.3±0.5 BW, stair ascent 1.6±0.4 BW, stair descent 1.0±0.5 BW). The PFJRF was reported for many different exercises and physical interventions; however, considerable variability precluded any pooled estimates.

Everyday activities and exercises involving larger knee flexion (eg, squatting) expose the patellofemoral joint to higher PFJRF than those involving smaller knee flexion (eg, walking). There were no discernable differences in peak PFJRF during everyday activities between healthy individuals and those with patellofemoral pain/OA. The information on PFJRF may be used to select appropriate variations of exercises and physical interventions.
Germline biomarkers predict toxicity to anti-PD1/PDL1 checkpoint therapy
Authors: Weidhaas Joanne , Marco Nicholas , Scheffler Aaron W , Kalbasi Anusha , Wilenius Kirk , Rietdorf Emily , Gill Jaya , Heilig Mara , Desler Caroline , Chin Robert K , Kaprealian Tania , McCloskey Susan , Raldow Ann , Raja Naga P , Kesari Santosh , Carrillo Jose , Drakaki Alexandra , Scholz Mark , Telesca Donatello
Published: February 2022

Background

There is great interest in finding ways to identify patients who will develop toxicity to cancer therapies. This has become especially pressing in the era of immune therapy, where toxicity can be long-lasting and life-altering, and primarily comes in the form of immune-related adverse effects (irAEs). Treatment with the first drugs in this class, anti-programmed death 1 (anti-PD1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PDL1) checkpoint therapies, results in grade 2 or higher irAEs in up to 25%–30% of patients, which occur most commonly within the first 6 months of treatment and can include arthralgias, rash, pruritus, pneumonitis, diarrhea and/or colitis, hepatitis, and endocrinopathies. We tested the hypothesis that germline microRNA pathway functional variants, known to predict altered systemic stress responses to cancer therapies, would predict irAEs in patients across cancer types.

Methods

MicroRNA pathway variants were evaluated for an association with grade 2 or higher toxicity using four classifiers on 62 patients with melanoma, and then the panel’s performance was validated on 99 patients with other cancer types. Trained classifiers included classification trees, LASSO-regularized logistic regression, boosted trees, and random forests. Final performance measures were reported on the training set using leave-one-out cross validation and validated on held-out samples. The predicted probability of toxicity was evaluated for its association, if any, with response categories to anti-PD1/PDL1 therapy in the melanoma cohort.

Results

A biomarker panel was identified that predicts toxicity with 80% accuracy (F1=0.76, area under the curve (AUC)=0.82) in the melanoma training cohort and 77.6% accuracy (F1=0.621, AUC=0.778) in the pan-cancer validation cohort. In the melanoma cohort, the predictive probability of toxicity was not associated with response categories to anti-PD1/PDL1 therapy (p=0.70). In the same cohort, the most significant biomarker of toxicity in RAC1, predicting a greater than ninefold increased risk of toxicity (p<0.001), was also not associated with response to anti-PD1/PDL1 therapy (p=0.151).

Conclusions

A germline microRNA-based biomarker signature predicts grade 2 and higher irAEs to anti-PD1/PDL1 therapy, regardless of tumor type, in a pan-cancer manner. These findings represent an important step toward personalizing checkpoint therapy, the use of which is growing rapidly.
Dominant negative mutation in oxalate transporterSLC26A6associated with enteric hyperoxaluria and nephrolithiasis
Authors: Cornière Nicolas , Thomson R Brent , Thauvin Stéphanie , Villoutreix Bruno O , Karp Sophie , Dynia Diane W , Burlein Sarah , Brinkmann Lennart , Badreddine Alaa , Dechaume Aurélie , Derhourhi Mehdi , Durand Emmanuelle , Vaillant Emmanuel , Froguel Philippe , Chambrey Régine , Aronson Peter S , Bonnefond Amélie , Eladari Dominique
Published: February 2022

Background

Nephrolithiasis (NL) is a complex multifactorial disease affecting up to 10%–20% of the human population and causing a significant burden on public health systems worldwide. It results from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Hyperoxaluria is a major risk factor for NL.

Methods

We used a whole exome-based approach in a patient with calcium oxalate NL. The effects of the mutation were characterised using cell culture and in silico analyses.

Results

We identified a rare heterozygous missense mutation (c.1519C>T/p.R507W) in theSLC26A6gene that encodes a secretory oxalate transporter. This mutation cosegregated with hyperoxaluria in the family. In vitro characterisation of mutant SLC26A6 demonstrated that Cl−-dependent oxalate transport was dramatically reduced because the mutation affects both SLC26A6 transport activity and membrane surface expression. Cotransfection studies demonstrated strong dominant-negative effects of the mutant on the wild-type protein indicating that the phenotype of patients heterozygous for this mutation may be more severe than predicted by haploinsufficiency alone.

Conclusion

Our study is in line with previous observations made in the mouse showing thatSLC26A6inactivation can cause inherited enteric hyperoxaluria with calcium oxalate NL. Consistent with an enteric form of hyperoxaluria, we observed a beneficial effect of increasing calcium in the patient’s diet to reduce urinary oxalate excretion.
Improving Security of Internet of Vehicles Based on Post-quantum Signatures with Systolic Divisions
Authors: Yi Haibo , Chi Ruinan , Huang Xin , Cai Xuejun , Nie Zhe
Published: February 2022

Internet of Things (IoT) techniques have been employed in many areas, e.g., vehicles, smart home, and medicine. Among the applications of IoTs, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is one of the most popular techniques. IoVs are protected by public key cryptographic systems, such as RSA and ECC. However, such systems are vulnerable to quantum computer attacks. Thus, we improve the security of IoV-based post-quantum signatures, which can resist quantum computer attacks. The key operations are divisions in a finite field. Hence, we improve the security of IoV-based post-quantum signatures with division by employing systolic architectures. We propose a systolic architecture for computing division in composite fields. After that, we improve the IoT security-based post-quantum signatures with systolic divisions. We test and verify our design on a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA); the experimental results confirm our estimates. Furthermore, the optimized method proposed can be further applied to various applications like solving system of linear equations and cryptographic applications for IoT security.
PPRP: Preserving-Privacy Route Planning Scheme in VANETs
Authors: Liang Yangfan , Liu Yining , Gupta Brij B.
Published: February 2022

Route planning helps a vehicle to share a message with the roadside units (RSUs) on its path in advance, which greatly speeds the authentication between the vehicle and the RSUs when the vehicle enters the RSUs’ coverage. In addition, since only a small amount of necessary information needs to be shared between the vehicle and the RSUs, route planning can reduce the storage overhead of the vehicle’s on-board unit (OBU) and the RSUs. However, the message sharing requires the assistance of the certification authority (CA), which will lead CA easily to obtain the vehicle’s planning route. Although CA knows the vehicle’s registration information and helps the vehicle to communicate with RSUs, it is unacceptable that the path of their vehicle is obtained by CA for most drivers. In fact, vehicle’s sensitive information such as planning route, starting time, stop place, should be privacy for others including CA. Inspired with the method of oblivious transfer, a preserving-privacy route planning scheme in VANETs is proposed in this article, in which, a vehicle deduces the information of RSUs on its path with the help of CA, while CA knows nothing about which RSUs’ information has been deduced by the vehicle. Later, fast authentication or other service is easily achieved between the vehicle and the RSUs (V2R) with the pre-shared information. After V2R authentication, vehicles could easily communicate with adjacent vehicles with the help of RSUs (V2V). Finally, compared with related schemes, performance evaluation illustrates the proposed scheme is better in terms of time consumption.
Fog Computing Platforms for Smart City Applications: A Survey
Authors: Da Silva Thiago Pereira , Batista Thais , Lopes Frederico , Neto Aluizio Rocha , Delicato Flávia C. , Pires Paulo F. , Da Rocha Atslands R.
Published: February 2022

Emerging IoT applications with stringent requirements on latency and data processing have posed many challenges to cloud-centric platforms for Smart Cities. Recently, Fog Computing has been advocated as a promising approach to support such new applications and handle the increasing volume of IoT data and devices. The Fog Computing paradigm is characterized by a horizontal system-level architecture where devices close to end-users and IoT devices are used for processing, storage, and networking functions. Fog Computing platforms aim to facilitate the development of applications and systems for Smart Cities by providing services and abstractions designed to integrate data from IoT devices and various information systems deployed in the city. Despite the potential of the Fog Computing paradigm, the literature still lacks a broad, comprehensive overview of what has been investigated on the use of such paradigm in platforms for Smart Cities and open issues to be addressed in future research and development. In this paper, a systematic mapping study was performed and we present a comprehensive understanding of the use of the Fog Computing paradigm in Smart Cities platforms, providing an overview of the current state of research on this topic, and identifying important gaps in the existing approaches and promising research directions.
Decentralized Dynamic Scheduling of TCPS Flows and a Simulator for Time-sensitive Networking
Authors: Polachan Kurian , Singh Chandramani , Prabhakar T. V.
Published: February 2022

Cybersickness and control-loop instabilities are two main concerns in Tactile Cyber-Physical Systems (TCPS). TCPS applications demand stringent bounds on end-to-end latencies to avoid their occurrences. Traditional best-effort networks cannot guarantee packet latencies in the presence of external traffic. However, emerging deterministic networks such as IEEE 802.1 Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) can isolate time-critical flows from external traffic using IEEE 802.1Qbv Time-Aware Shaper (TAS) to guarantee bounded end-to-end packet latencies. In this work, we develop eDDSCH-TSN, a decentralized dynamic scheduling protocol to configure non-overlapping gate slots in TAS-enabled TSN switches to support TCPS flows. eDDSCH-TSN supports plug-and-play operation of compatible TCPS terminals with guaranteed minimal end-to-end packet latencies. Compared to the state-of-the-art, eDDSCH-TSN provides three orders lower end-to-end packet latencies for TCPS flows in mid-size networks with 10 hops between source and destination terminals. Further, we also present PYTSN, an open-source discrete-event TSN simulator that we use for evaluating eDDSCH-TSN. In particular, we use PYTSN to show the isolation of TCPS flows from external traffic and plug-and-play operation of TCPS terminals.
Constructive or Optimized: An Overview of Strategies to Design Networks for Time-Critical Applications
Authors: Gavriluţ Voica , Pruski Aleksander , Berger Michael Stübert
Published: February 2022

Distributed systems are pervasive nowadays, being found in different areas, from smart toys to smart factories. As the usage of such systems increases, so does their complexity and design. Therefore, this work aims to overview the methods for designing networks that accommodate time-constrained distributed applications.

The work starts with a history of time-aware Ethernet-based protocols. Then, it continues with an overview of the design strategies from the literature. For each research paper, there are presented the model, addressed problem, exploration strategy, and results. Furthermore, for each type of problem are identified the constructive and optimization design strategies. Regarding the results, this work investigates the improvements of reliability, timeliness, and network cost.
AI in Finance: Challenges, Techniques, and Opportunities
Authors: Cao Longbing
Published: February 2022

AI in finance refers to the applications of AI techniques in financial businesses. This area has attracted attention for decades, with both classic and modern AI techniques applied to increasingly broader areas of finance, economy, and society. In contrast to reviews on discussing the problems, aspects, and opportunities of finance benefited from specific or some new-generation AI and data science (AIDS) techniques or the progress of applying specific techniques to resolving certain financial problems, this review offers a comprehensive and dense landscape of the overwhelming challenges, techniques, and opportunities of AIDS research in finance over the past decades. The challenges of financial businesses and data are first outlined, followed by a comprehensive categorization and a dense overview of the decades of AIDS research in finance. We then structure and illustrate the data-driven analytics and learning of financial businesses and data. A comparison, criticism, and discussion of classic versus modern AIDS techniques for finance follows. Finally, the open issues and opportunities to address future AIDS-empowered finance and finance-motivated AIDS research are discussed.
Resilient Distributed Constraint Reasoning to Autonomously Configure and Adapt IoT Environments
Authors: Rust Pierre , Picard Gauthier , Ramparany Fano
Published: February 2022

In this article, we investigate multi-agent techniques to install autonomy and adaptation in IoT-based smart environment settings, like smart home scenarios. We particularly make use of the smart environment configuration problem (SECP) framework, and map it to a distributed optimization problem (DCOP). This consists in enabling smart objects to coordinate and self-configure as to meet both user-defined requirements and energy efficiency, by operating a distributed constraint reasoning process over a computation graph. As to cope with the dynamics of the environment and infrastructure (e.g., by adding or removing devices), we also specify the
k
-resilient distribution of graph-structured computations supporting agent decisions, over dynamic and physical multi-agent systems. We implement a self-organizing distributed repair method, based on a distributed constraint optimization algorithm to adapt the distribution as to ensure the system still performs collective decisions and remains resilient to upcoming changes. We provide a full stack of mechanisms to install resilience in operating stateless DCOP solution methods, which results in a robust approach using a fast DCOP algorithm to repair any stateless DCOP solution methods at runtime. We experimentally evaluate the performances of these techniques when operating stateless DCOP algorithms to solve SECP instances.
Governance of Autonomous Agents on the Web: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Kampik Timotheus , Mansour Adnane , Boissier Olivier , Kirrane Sabrina , Padget Julian , Payne Terry R. , Singh Munindar P. , Tamma Valentina , Zimmermann Antoine
Published: February 2022

The study of autonomous agents has a long history in the Multiagent System and the Semantic Web communities, with applications ranging from automating business processes to personal assistants. More recently, the Web of Things (WoT), which is an extension of the Internet of Things (IoT) with metadata expressed in Web standards, and its community provide further motivation for pushing the autonomous agents research agenda forward. Although representing and reasoning about norms, policies, and preferences is crucial to ensuring that autonomous agents act in a manner that satisfies stakeholder requirements, normative concepts, policies, and preferences have yet to be considered as first-class abstractions in Web-based multiagent systems. Towards this end, this article motivates the need for alignment and joint research across the Multiagent Systems, Semantic Web, and WoT communities, introduces a conceptual framework for governance of autonomous agents on the Web, and identifies several research challenges and opportunities.
Development of Electrochemical 6-Well Plates and Its Stability as an Immunosensor
Authors: Cui Feiyun , Zhou Zhiru , Qu Bin , Zhou Qin , Zhou H. Susan
Published: February 2022

Developing low-cost and multiplexing electrochemical (EC) devices for bioassay is imperative. Herein, a polymer-based EC device, named EC 6-well plate, was proposed and fabricated using a non-photolithography method. Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) was used as a substrate and laser-cut polyester (PET) film was used as a mask for patterning the electrodes. The diameter of the working electrode (WE) was 900 μm, and each WE-modifying step only requires 1 μl of reagent. Acrylic mold with wells (60 μl) was bonded to the PETG substrate. Miniaturization of reference electrodes (RE) was discussed. The solid-state Ag/AgCl RE-based three-electrode system, the Au three-electrode system (3E), and Au two-electrode system (2E) were prepared and employed to develop an immunosensor for toxin B detection. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were applied to test the stability of the EC immunosensor. The solid-state Ag/AgCl RE-based system showed a standard deviation of open circuit potential (OCP) of 4.6 mV. The 3E system and 2E system showed the standard deviations of OCP of 0.0026 mV and 0.32 mV, respectively. It revealed that the EC 6-well plate with the 3E system is excellent for developing an EC immunosensor.
Study on Leaching of Phosphate from Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Sewage Sludge and Followed by Adsorption on Mg‐Al Layered Double Hydroxide
Authors: Phuong Thao , Cong Tien Dung , Ta Van Thanh , Nguyen Thu Hang
Published: February 2022

Sewage sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant was a rich phosphorus resource. In this study, HCl, H2SO4, and HNO3 were investigated as leaching acids for extraction of phosphate from the sludge to recover this value nutrient by adsorption using layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanomaterial. Mg‐Al LDH was synthesized by coprecipitation at room temperature and at a constant pH of 10 (±0.5) with Mg/Al molar ratio of 2.0. The material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer‐Emmet‐Teller (BET), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and then was used to adsorb phosphate leaching from the sewage sludge. Adsorption experiments were carried out as a function of adsorbent dose, phosphate initial concentrations, and pH. The adsorption isotherm data fitted the Langmuir model perfectly. The high adsorption capacity of Mg‐Al LDH and slowly released phosphate of the post‐adsorption LDH suggested that this material was an excellent adsorbent for phosphate recovery and could be considered as a potential phosphate release fertilizer.
Blockchain-Based Proof of Retrievability Scheme
Authors: Ren Yan , Guan Haipeng , Zhao Qiuxia , Yi Zongxiang
Published: February 2022

In the internet of things, user information is usually collected by all kinds of smart devices. The collected user information is stored in the cloud storage, and there is a risk of information leakage. In order to protect the security and the privacy of user information, the user and cloud provider will periodically execute a protocol called proof of retrievability scheme. A proof of retrievability scheme ensures the security of the data by generating proof to convince the user that the cloud provider does correctly store the user information. In this paper, we construct a proof of retrievability scheme using the blockchain technology. Using the advantage that the stored data cannot be tampered with in blockchain, this ensures the integrity of the data. Specifically, some related definitions, security models, and a blockchain-based construction of a proof of retrievability scheme are given. Then the validity and security of the scheme are proved later. As a result, user information can be protected by our scheme.
The Frequency of Intrathyroidal Follicular Helper T Cells Varies with the Progression of Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Authors: Cai Yun , Wang Zhixiao , Liu Xiaoyun , Wei Ling , Li Shushu , Zheng Xuqin , Yang Tao , Xu Xinyu
Published: February 2022

Objective. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD), mainly Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), are common organ-specific autoimmune diseases characterized by circulating antibodies and lymphocyte infiltration. Follicular helper T (Tfh) cell dysregulation is involved in the development of autoimmune pathologies. We aimed to explore the role of intrathyroidal and circulating Tfh cells in patients with GD and HT. Methods. Ultrasound-guided thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was conducted in 35 patients with GD, 40 patients with HT, and 22 patients with nonautoimmune thyroid disease (nAITD). Peripheral blood samples were also obtained from 40 patients with GD, 40 patients with HT, and 40 healthy controls. The frequencies of intrathyroidal and circulating Tfh cells from FNA and peripheral blood samples were assessed by flow cytometry. Additionally, the correlations between the frequencies of the Tfh cells and the levels of autoantibodies and hormones or disease duration were analyzed. Results. The frequency of intrathyroidal CD4+CXCR5+ICOShigh Tfh cells was higher in HT patients than in GD patients. Significant correlations were identified between the percentages of circulating and intrathyroidal Tfh cells and the serum concentrations of thyroid autoantibodies, especially thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), in AITD. Intrathyroidal CD4+CXCR5+ICOShigh Tfh cells were positively correlated with free triiodothyronine (FT3) in HT patients but negatively correlated with FT3 in GD patients. In addition, HT patients with a longer disease duration had an increased frequency of intrathyroidal CD4+CXCR5+ICOShigh and CD4+CXCR5+PD-1+ Tfh cells. In contrast, in the GD patients, a longer disease duration did not affect the frequency of intrathyroidal CD4+CXCR5+ICOShigh but was associated with a lower frequency of CD4+CXCR5+PD-1+ Tfh cells. Conclusions. Our data suggest that intrathyroidal Tfh cells might play a role in the pathogenesis of AITD and they are potential immunobiomarkers for AITD.
Prediction of the Active Components and Possible Targets of Xanthii Fructus Based on Network Pharmacology for Use in Chronic Rhinosinusitis
Authors: Ding Shun , Duan Tingting , Xu Zhengyang , Qiu Dongqin , Yan Jingren , Mu Zhonglin
Published: February 2022

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a complex condition brought on for many reasons, and its prevalence is rising gradually around the world. Xanthii Fructus (XF) has been used in the treatment of CRS for decades and is effective. The chemical and pharmacological profiles of XF, on the other hand, are still unknown and need to be clarified. The potential mechanisms of XF in CRS treatment were investigated using a network pharmacology approach in this study. OB and DL were in charge of screening the bioactive components in XF and drug-likeness. TCMSP and PubChem databases were used to identify prospective XF proteins, whereas GeneCards and the DisGeNET database were used to identify potential CRS genes. An interactive network of XF and CRS is built using the STRING database based on common goals identified by the online tool Venny. Cytoscape was used to visualize the topological characteristics of nodes, while the biological function pathways were identified by GO Knowledge Base, KEGG. There were 26 bioactive components and 115 potential targets in XF that bind to CRS or are considered therapeutically relevant. Five significant signaling pathways have been found for CRS by the pathway analysis including the HIF-1 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. We simultaneously confirmed that the PI3K-Akt pathway promotes the development of CRS. Finally, this study took a holistic approach to the pharmacological actions and molecular mechanisms of XF in the treatment of CRS. TNF, INS, CCL2, CXCL8, IL-10, VEGFA, and IL-6 have all been identified as potential targets for anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting effects. This network pharmacology prediction could be useful in manifesting the molecular mechanisms of the Chinese herbal compound XF for CRS.
Alectinib Monotherapy in Isolated Central Nervous System Relapse of ALK-Positive Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma
Authors: Verran Julian , Mathavan Vidya
Published: February 2022

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK-positive ALCL) is an aggressive form of peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL), harbouring an underlying pathogenic ALK fusion gene that produces a constitutively activated tyrosine kinase. The ALK tyrosine kinase provides a targeted treatment option in the form of ALK inhibitors. ALK-positive ALCL may rarely involve the central nervous system (CNS), either at presentation or on relapse of disease. The outcomes of CNS relapse in PTCL are historically extremely poor. We present a case of a 20-year-old man diagnosed with stage IVB ALK-positive ALCL. He responded favourably to six cycles of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, and prednisone (CHOEP). He unfortunately relapsed with isolated CNS involvement only 3 weeks after completing his sixth cycle of CHOEP chemotherapy. The CNS-penetrating ALK inhibitor alectinib was identified as a targeted treatment option, as he was not a candidate for CNS-penetrating chemotherapy due to significant iatrogenic renal impairment. After commencing alectinib monotherapy, he rapidly achieved a clinical and radiological response. He has now remained in a durable remission for more than two years on alectinib monotherapy.
Thermomechanical Analysis of a Reactor Pressure Vessel under Pressurized Thermal Shock Caused by Inadvertent Actuation of the Safety Injection System
Authors: Annor-Nyarko M. , Xia Hong , Ayodeji Abiodun
Published: February 2022

The damage induced pressurized thermal shock (PTS) may pose to a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is a critical safety requirement assessed as part of the ageing management programme of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). A number of researches have studied PTS initiated mainly by postulated accidents such as loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs). However, investigations on PTS-induced threat on RPV caused by inadvertent actuation of the safety injection, a frequent anticipated transient, have not been thoroughly studied. In this paper, a simplified multistep analysis method is applied to study the thermomechanical status of a two-loop PWR under PTS loads caused by inadvertent actuation of the safety injection system. A direct-coupling thermomechanical analysis is performed using a three-dimensional (3D) RPV finite element model. A 3D finite element submodel (consisting of the highiest stress concentration area in the RPV) and an assumed crack are then used to perform fracture mechanics analysis. Subsequently, the critical integrity parameter-stress intensity factor (SIF) is estimated based on FRANC3D-M-integral method coupled in the multistep simulation. The material fracture toughness of the vessel is computed based on the master curve method with experimental fracture toughness data. The results obtained from the direct coupling stress analysis in comparison with sequential coupling approach demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed multistep method. Also, comparing SIF results obtained with that calculated based on the conventional virtual crack-closure technique (VCCT) and extended finite element method (XFEM) show good agreement. This study provides a useful basis for future studies on anticipated transient-induced crack propagation and remaining service life prediction of ageing reactor pressure vessels.
Multimodal Sentiment Analysis Based on Interactive Transformer and Soft Mapping
Authors: Li Zuhe , Guo Qingbing , Feng Chengyao , Deng Lujuan , Zhang Qiuwen , Zhang Jianwei , Wang Fengqin , Sun Qian
Published: February 2022

Multimodal sentiment analysis aims to harvest people’s opinions or attitudes from multimedia data through fusion techniques. However, existing fusion methods cannot take advantage of the correlation between multimodal data but introduce interference factors. In this paper, we propose an Interactive Transformer and Soft Mapping based method for multimodal sentiment analysis. In the Interactive Transformer layer, an Interactive Multihead Guided-Attention structure composed of a pair of Multihead Attention modules is first utilized to find the mapping relationship between multimodalities. Then, the obtained results are fed into a Feedforward Neural Network. The Soft Mapping layer consisting of stacking Soft Attention module is finally used to map the results to a higher dimension to realize the fusion of multimodal information. The proposed model can fully consider the relationship between multiple modal pieces of information and provides a new solution to the problem of data interaction in multimodal sentiment analysis. Our model was evaluated on benchmark datasets CMU-MOSEI and MELD, and the accuracy is improved by 5.57% compared with the baseline standard.
The Psychometric Properties of the Original Version of Assessment of Time Management Skills (ATMS)
Authors: Roshanay Afsaneh , Janeslätt Gunnel , Lidström-Holmqvist Kajsa , White Suzanne , Holmefur Marie
Published: February 2022

Background. To perform daily activities, time management and organizational skills are essential and therefore also important intervention focus in occupational therapy. To guide and evaluate intervention, valid and reliable instruments that measure time management and organization skills are necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Assessment of Time Management Skills (ATMS). Methods. Eligible participants were volunteer adults from the general population who were aged between 18 and 65 years, had a good understanding of English, and were not currently involved in any training or education to improve time management. The ATMS was filled out as a computer-administered survey. Rasch measurement analysis was used to evaluate the validity and aspects of reliability of the ATMS. Results. In total, 241 adults (112 male and 129 female, mean

age
=
40

) participated. The analysis of principal components of residuals (PCA) and the item goodness-of-fit indicated that the 30-item scale does not measure only one single trait. Three subscales, time management (11 items), organization and planning (11 items), and regulation of emotion (5 items), were detected. One item each on the 11-item subscale showed misfit, but they were kept due to high relevance. All three subscales showed excellent results on analyses of PCA, local independence, and reliability. Conclusions and Relevance. ATMS can provide valid measures of time management, organization and planning skills, and regulation of emotion in a general population and presumably also in a population with cognitive impairment. The measure is useful for occupational therapists in assessing patients’ strengths and barriers in time management skills. It can also be useful in identifying the necessity of training time management skills, to guide OT intervention programs and to evaluate interventions. What This Article Adds. Knowledge about the psychometric properties and usefulness of the ATMS in English-speaking countries.
A New Preparation Method for Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy in Patients with Achalasia Can Effectively Reduce the Esophageal Residual Contents: A Comparative Retrospective Study
Authors: Zhang Zehua , Yan Xiaohan , Duan Bensong , Leng Zhuyun , Zhang Haibin , Li Jinze , Zhu Yinghua , Xu Meidong , Xu Qinwei
Published: February 2022

Background and Aim. After routine fasting for patients with achalasia before POEM (peroral endoscopic myotomy) procedure, solid contents may still remain in the esophagus. We aimed to compare the efficacy and patient satisfaction in patients with and without drinking large amounts of carbonated beverages preoperatively. Methods. This retrospective study enrolled 65 achalasia patients who underwent POEM from June 2017 to October 2021. Based on the preoperative diet strategies, patients were divided into carbonated beverage group (

n
=
48

) and control group (

n
=
17

). Demographic and clinical data, duration of preoperative endoscopy, quality of esophagus cleansing, and patient satisfaction on preoperative procedure were collected and compared. In the current study, we established the quality of esophagus cleansing: Grade A, no remnants or only liquid or frothy discharge; Grade B, a little amount of solid content remained; and Grade C, a large amount of solid content remained. Results. There were 41 Grade A, 6 Grade B, and 1 Grade C patients in the carbonated beverage group, while there were 8 Grade A, 6 Grade B, and 3 Grade C patients in the control group (

p

value = 0.001). The esophagus cleansing degrees were significantly ameliorated after drinking carbonated beverages in all the three subtypes of achalasia according to the degree of dilatation. The mean duration of preoperative endoscopy was

6.54
±
2.250

minutes in the carbonated beverage group and

10.27
±
4.788

minutes in the control group (

p

value = 0.010). The score of patient satisfaction concerning the procedure before the POEM in the carbonated beverage group was

4.5
±
0.652

, while the score in the control group was

4.35
±
0.702

(

p

value = 0.436). In the multivariate analysis, patient satisfaction was significantly associated with male (odds ratio 0.296, 95% CI: 0.097-0.905,

p

value = 0.033). Conclusions. Drinking carbonated beverages reduce the duration of preoperative endoscopy and ameliorate the esophagus cleansing degrees without impairing patient satisfaction.
Extended Use of The Spanner® Temporary Prostatic Stent in Catheter-Dependent Men with Comorbidities
Authors: Cambio Angelo J. , Roach Richard M. , Arnold Paul , Cambio Joseph , Gluck Clifford D. , Heron Sean P.
Published: February 2022

Purpose. This US FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) study evaluated the extended use of The Spanner® Temporary Prostatic Stent in catheter-dependent men with urinary retention who were not deemed candidates for corrective surgery but demonstrated bladder contractility. Materials and Methods. The Spanner was placed for 3 cycles of 30 days in catheter-dependent men with comorbid conditions, confirmed detrusor contractility, and catheter-associated discomfort. At each visit, postvoid residual, maximum flow rate, international prostate symptom score, quality of life, and adverse events were assessed. Voiding success was defined as PVR ≤ 150 ml at all visits. Results. One hundred seven men were enrolled at 8 US sites; 82/107 (76.6%) completed the trial, and 79/107 (73.8%) successfully maintained PVR ≤ 150 ml for the trial duration. Patients were 77.1 ± 10.6 years old; 63/107 (58.9%) were dependent on Foley and 40/107 (37.4%) on intermittent catheterization for 36.0 ± 39.3 days and 30.2 ± 45.8 days, respectively. 25/107 (23.4%) discontinuations were primarily due to voluntary patient withdrawal 9/107 (8.4%), investigator-initiated withdrawal 8/107 (7.5%), or lack of effectiveness 4/107 (3.7%). During Spanner use, the mean Qmax was 11.2 ± 6.6, mean IPSS was 7.5 ± 6.4, and mean QOL was 2.0 ± 1.6. The most prevalent device-related adverse events were asymptomatic bacteriuria 25/107 (23.4%), discomfort 10/107 (9.4%), and urinary urgency 8/107 (7.5%). No device-related serious AEs were reported. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that catheter-dependent men with sufficient bladder contractility can achieve volitional voiding and successful bladder drainage using The Spanner Temporary Prostatic Stent for extended periods of time.
Exosomes Secreted from Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Are a Potential Treatment Agent for Immune-Mediated Alopecia
Authors: Li Yanqiao , Wang Guangxing , Wang Qian , Zhang Yun , Cui Lei , Huang Xin
Published: February 2022

Background. Alopecia has become an exceedingly prevalent dermatological disorder. Etiologically, infection (bacterial and fungal infection), inflammation, and immune dysregulation are the main causes of immune-mediated hair loss. Treating hair loss has remained challenging as the available therapies are limited. Exosomes from adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC-Exos) have been used for treating neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases and in wound-healing treatments. However, the function and mechanism of ADSC-Exos in alopecia treatment remain unclear. This study is aimed at investigating the effects of ADSC-Exos on hair growth in vitro and in vivo for potentially treating immune-mediated alopecia and further exploring the underlying mechanism. Methods. Cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of dermal papilla cells (DPCs) that were treated with ADSC-Exos were detected using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, scratch wound-healing assay, and flow cytometry assay, respectively. A C57BL/6 hair-depilated mouse model was established in vivo; then, ADSC-Exos were subcutaneously injected alone or in combined with minoxidil. The effects of ADSC-Exos on hair growth, pathological changes, and the related mechanism were investigated by HE staining, quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting, and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Results. ADSC-Exos significantly promoted DPC proliferation and migration while also reducing apoptosis. In addition, compared with the control group, ADSC-Exos-treated mice had better hair growth, more hair follicles (HFs) and thicker dermis. RNA-seq revealed that the miR-22 and TNF-α signaling pathways were markedly downregulated in DPCs after ADSC-Exos treatment. In addition, according to qRT-PCR and western blotting results, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was activated in the skin of ADSC-Exos-treated mice. Conclusion. ADSC-Exos therapy positively affected the promotion of hair regrowth by regulating miR-22, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, and the TNF-α signaling pathway, implying that ADSC-Exos could be a promising cell-free therapeutic strategy for immune-mediated alopecia.
Correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a Cohort of Adult Women in South Africa
Authors: Lentoor Antonio G. , Myburgh Lezani
Published: February 2022

Objective. Recent evidence suggests that obesity is increasing worldwide and may negatively impact neurocognition. Local studies on the association of weight status with neurocognitive function are sparse. This study is aimed at examining the association between body mass index (BMI) and neurocognitive functioning scores in a cohort of adult women. Methods. A convenience sample of 175 women aged 18 to 59 years (

28.03
±
8.87

) recruited in a community-based quantitative study completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The BMI metric was used to measure body fat based on weight and height and was stratified as high BMI (overweight or obese) or low BMI (normal weight). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess depression. Pearson’s correlation analysis and the student’s

t

-test analysis were performed. Results. We observed a significant inverse association between BMI and performance on MoCA (

r

173

=
−
0.32

,

p
<
0.001

). Performance on subtest of attention, memory, constructive abstraction, and executive functions significantly and inversely correlated with BMI. Significantly lower scores on the MoCA were found in women with a high BMI compared to women with a low BMI (

23
±
4

vs.

26
±
3

),

t

173

=
4.12

,

p
<
0.0001

). Conclusions. BMI and MoCA were inversely associated on both global and domain-specific neurocognitive test of attention, memory, and executive function; key neurocognitive control; and regulatory functions underlying behavior and decision-making. The findings provide a rationale for further research into the long-term effects of BMI on neurocognition.
Experimental Investigation on Tribological Behaviour of AA6066: HSS-Cu Hybrid Composite in Dry Sliding Condition
Authors: Sathish T. , Natrayan L. , Prasad Jones Christydass S. , Sivananthan S. , Kamalakannan R. , Vijayan V. , Paramasivam Prabhu
Published: February 2022

Aluminum is among the most preferred materials based on the desired properties. This investigation focused on to evaluate the wear rate of the AA6066 aluminium alloy composite by using pin-on-disc apparatus. The composites were created with three materials such as AA6066 alloy, high-speed steel, and copper which have a volume percentage variation of 92%, 5%, and 3%, respectively. These three parameters were considered for the experimental results of the wear rate such as load applied, sliding speed, and sliding distance. Experimental results of the composites were compared using an applied load of 20 N, a sliding velocity of 3.0 m/s and 1800 m of sliding distance with AAHSSCu reinforced composites offering a minimum wear rate. Similarly, using a 40 N applied load, the minimum wear rate is obtained. Further increasing the applied load to 60 N with 600 m of sliding distance provided a lower wear rate. The various graphical representations such as three-dimensional surface plots, contour plots, and bar charts were used for the experimental results. Wear rate consequences were expressed individually compared based on the considered parameters. Experimental results were having the reliability of nearly ninety-one percentage with only wear rate being focused. Finally, an optimized wear rate is obtained at the sliding distance of 1200 m with an applied load of 40 N and a spindle speed of 3 m/s.
Neoadjuvant Therapy Induces a Potent Immune Response to Sarcoma, Dominated by Myeloid and B Cells
Authors: Goff Peter H. , Riolobos Laura , LaFleur Bonnie J. , Spraker Matthew B. , Seo Y. David , Smythe Kimberly S. , Campbell Jean S. , Pierce Robert H. , Zhang Yuzheng , He Qianchuan , Kim Edward Y. , Schaub Stephanie K. , Kane Gabrielle M. , Mantilla Jose G. , Chen Eleanor Y. , Ricciotti Robert , Thompson Matthew J. , Cranmer Lee D. , Wagner Michael J. , Loggers Elizabeth T. , Jones Robin L. , Murphy Erin , Blumenschein Wendy M. , McClanahan Terrill K. , Earls Jon , Flanagan Kevin C. , LaFranzo Natalie A. , Kim Teresa S. , Pollack Seth M.
Published: February 2022

Purpose:

To characterize changes in the soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) tumor immune microenvironment induced by standard neoadjuvant therapy with the goal of informing neoadjuvant immunotherapy trial design.

Experimental Design:

Paired pre- and postneoadjuvant therapy specimens were retrospectively identified for 32 patients with STSs and analyzed by three modalities: multiplexed IHC, NanoString, and RNA sequencing with ImmunoPrism analysis.

Results:

All 32 patients, representing a variety of STS histologic subtypes, received neoadjuvant radiotherapy and 21 (66%) received chemotherapy prior to radiotherapy. The most prevalent immune cells in the tumor before neoadjuvant therapy were myeloid cells (45% of all immune cells) and B cells (37%), with T (13%) and natural killer (NK) cells (5%) also present. Neoadjuvant therapy significantly increased the total immune cells infiltrating the tumors across all histologic subtypes for patients receiving neoadjuvant radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy. An increase in the percentage of monocytes and macrophages, particularly M2 macrophages, B cells, and CD4+ T cells was observed postneoadjuvant therapy. Upregulation of genes and cytokines associated with antigen presentation was also observed, and a favorable pathologic response (≥90% necrosis postneoadjuvant therapy) was associated with an increase in monocytic infiltrate. Upregulation of the T-cell checkpoint TIM3 and downregulation of OX40 were observed posttreatment.

Conclusions:

Standard neoadjuvant therapy induces both immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive effects within a complex sarcoma microenvironment dominated by myeloid and B cells. This work informs ongoing efforts to incorporate immune checkpoint inhibitors and novel immunotherapies into the neoadjuvant setting for STSs.
Take-Home Naloxone Kits: Attitudes and Likelihood-Of-Use Outcomes from a European Survey of Potential Overdose Witnesses
Authors: McDonald Rebecca , Breidahl Sibella , Abel-Ollo Katri , Akhtar Shabana , Clausen Thomas , Day Ed , Kelleher Mike , McAuley Andrew , Petersen Helle , Sefranek Martin , Thiesen Henrik , Strang John
Published: February 2022

Background: Injectable naloxone is already provided as take-home naloxone (THN), and new concentrated intranasal naloxone is now being introduced in Europe. Despite evidence of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of THN, little is known about the attitudes of key target populations: people who use opioids (PWUO), family/friends, and staff. We examined the acceptability of different naloxone devices (ampoule, prefilled syringe, and concentrated nasal spray) across 5 European countries. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare THN target groups (PWUO vs. family/friends vs. staff) in their past rates of witnessed overdose and THN administration (as indicators of future use), current THN device preference, and THN carriage on the day of survey. Method: Cross-sectional survey of respondents (age ≥18) in addiction treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services in Denmark, England, Estonia, Norway, and Scotland. A purpose-developed questionnaire (59 items) was administered in the local language electronically or in a pen-and-paper format. Results: Among n = 725 participants, 458 were PWUO (63.2%), 214 staff (29.5%), and 53 (7.3%) family members. The groups differed significantly in their likelihood-of-future THN use (p < 0.001): PWUO had the highest rate of previously witnessing overdoses (352; 77.7%), and staff members reported the highest past naloxone use (62; 30.1%). Across all groups, most respondents (503; 72.4%) perceived the nasal spray device to be the easiest to use. Most reported willingness to use the spray in an overdose emergency (508; 73.5%), followed by the prefilled syringe (457; 66.2%) and ampoules (64; 38.2%). Average THN carriage was 18.6%, ranging from 17.4% (PWUO) to 29.6% (family members). Conclusion: Respondents considered the concentrated naloxone nasal spray the easiest device to use. Still, most expressed willingness to use the nasal spray as well as the prefilled syringe in an overdose emergency. Carriage rates were generally low, with fewer than 1 in 5 respondents carrying their THN kit on the day of the survey.