bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seismic slip distribution and rupture model of the Lenglongling Fault Zone, northeastern Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Jiang Wenliang , Jiao Qisong , Tian Tian , Zhang Jingfa
Published: September 2020

The Lenglongling Fault Zone (LLLFZ) is an important left‐lateral strike‐slip tectonic belt in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP), and the tectonic deformation and seismic activity of the LLLFZ reflect tectonic adjustments of the Qilian‐Haiyuan tectonic zone to the NETP. Although historical records of large earthquakes along the LLLFZ are not available, offset landforms reveal that large earthquakes have occurred. Therefore, offset landforms are used to study the seismic slip distribution to determine a fault slip model and earthquake recurrence behaviour based on an analysis of high‐resolution remote sensing images. Geomorphic markers associated with 316 systematically sinistrally deflected landforms were measured and analysed. The cumulative offset probability densities were analysed according to slip distributions measured along two segments of the fault. Offset density peaks in the eastern section of the fault decay exponentially with increasing offset size, suggesting that approximately seven palaeoearthquakes with an average slip of approximately 8 m occurred during the Holocene. The cumulative slips in the western segment increase gradually from west to east, with single‐event slips of approximately 2–3 m in the western part of the western segment and approximately 5–7 m in the eastern part. The seismic slip distributions of the LLLFZ indicate that the fault conforms to a quasi‐characteristic slip model. Both the eastern and western segments present typical left‐lateral strike‐slip movement. A magnitude of 8.0 was estimated for the LLLFZ palaeoearthquakes that occurred during the Holocene according to empirical relations. This study is helpful for understanding the tectonic deformation of the NETP.
Maternal stress and birth outcomes: Evidence from an unexpected earthquake swarm
Authors: Menclova Andrea Kutinova , Stillman Steven
Published: September 2020

We examine the impact of a major earthquake that unexpectedly affected the Canterbury region of New Zealand on a wide‐range of birth outcomes, including birth weight, gestational age, and an indicator of general newborn health. We control for observed and unobserved differences between pregnant women in the area affected by the earthquake and other pregnant women by including mother fixed effects in all of our regression models. We extend the previous literature by comparing the impact of the initial unexpected earthquake to the impacts of thousands of aftershocks that occurred in the same region over the 18 months following the initial earthquake. We find that exposure to these earthquakes reduced gestational age, increased the likelihood of having a late birth, and negatively affected newborn health—with the largest effects for earthquakes that occurred in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. Our estimates are similar when we focus on just the impact of the initial earthquake or, in contrast, on all earthquakes controlling for endogenous location decisions using an instrumental variables approach. This suggests that the previous estimates in the literature that use this approach are likely unbiased and that treatment effects are homogenous in the population. We present supporting evidence that the likely channel for these adverse effects is maternal stress.
Identifying and clustering performance shaping factors for nuclear power plant commissioning tasks
Authors: Yin Zijian , Liu Zhaopeng , Li Zhizhong
Published: September 2020

The commissioning of a nuclear power plant (NPP) is the last stage in the life cycle of an NPP before commercial operation. Human errors in this stage cannot only harm workers' safety but can also cause damage to system facilities, postpone the commissioning schedule, and become latent problems in the system if the errors are not discovered during the commissioning stage. Therefore, identifying and controlling potential human errors is of great importance at this stage. This study first reviewed existing performance shaping factor (PSF) models and related research on NPPs as well as in other industry fields. Based on these aspects, and with the consideration of the characteristics of commissioning tasks, 8 PSF components and 110 PSF indicators were identified through a literature review and interview. Then, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 269 respondents from 3 NPPs in China to determine commissioning workers' judgment of perceived occurrence frequency and impact of each indicator. Relevant PSF indicators were clustered into 24 PSF factors by exploratory factor analysis. Finally, the risk levels for identified factors and indicators were evaluated. The results show some commonalities with other PSF frameworks, and the differences are discussed.
Magnetohydrodynamic flow of Williamson fluid in a microchannel for both horizontal and inclined loci with wall shear properties
Authors: Gireesha B. J. , Sindhu S. , Sowmya G. , Felicita A.
Published: September 2020

This study reports the flow of Williamson fluid in a microchannel, considering the effect of thermal radiation, heat source, slip regime, and convective boundary. The physical phenomenon is demonstrated by employing the Williamson model. The mathematical expressions are made dimensionless by using nondimensional quantities. The numerical approach called Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg scheme is hired to get the solution. The upshots of the pertinent flow parameter on physical features are visualized through graphs. It is established that the augmentation of Nusselt number has been achieved by increasing Weissenberg number and Reynolds number. In addition to this, it is emphasized that the reduction in the wall velocity gradient is obtained for a higher Weissenberg number.
Does economic uncertainty matter in international commodity futures markets?
Authors: Kim Sun Young , Kwon Kyung Yoon
Published: September 2020

This paper examines whether economic uncertainty risk is significantly priced in international commodity futures markets. Contrary to the belief that commodity futures are sensitive to economic uncertainty, our results provide concrete evidence that uncertainty risk is not significantly priced. To explain these results, we examine whether financial intermediaries who are supposed to be marginal investors are not uncertainty averse. We find that the effect of economic uncertainty becomes insignificant after financialization, that is, a large inflow of financial investors, in 2004 and the relation between economic uncertainty and intermediaries' leverage ratio is insignificant. These results suggest that economic uncertainty might not be priced because it is not a significant concern of financial intermediaries.
Sovereign ratings, foreign direct investment and contagion in emerging markets: Does being a BRICS country matter?
Authors: Emara Noha , El Said Ayah
Published: September 2020

Using dynamic panel System GMM for 24 EMs over the period 1990–2018, we analyse how changes in sovereign ratings affect FDI inflows to EMs. The study also estimates the contagion effect of a ratings change among any of the BRICS countries on three regions, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Latin America and Asia. Third, we estimate the impact of a ratings change on FDI inflows in the presence of two types of crises, the 2007–2009 global financial crisis as well as country‐specific crises. The results suggest that sovereign ratings have a statistically significant impact on the flow of FDI to EMs and that the BRICS countries as a bloc exert a statistically significant contagion impact on the FDI inflows into the three regions examined. We also find that the impact of sovereign ratings change on FDI inflows increases in crisis times, both country‐specific, as well as the global financial crisis.
Can pre‐eclampsia explain higher cesarean rates in the different groups of Robson's classification?
Authors: Sanchez Mariana P. , Guida Jose P. , Simões Marcela , Marangoni‐Junior Marcos , Cralcev Christopher , Santos Juliana C. , Dias Tabata Z. , Luz Adriana G. , Costa Maria L.
Published: September 2020

Objective

To evaluate the impact of pre‐eclampsia on cesarean delivery by using the Robson classification.

Methods

A retrospective cross‐sectional study including all women who delivered in a referral maternity hospital in southeast Brazil from January 2017 to February 2018. Women were classified into 1 of 10 Robson groups and then further subdivided into pre‐eclampsia (PE) and non‐PE (NPE) groups. Frequency of cesarean was determined for each group and compared by using χ2 and prevalence ratio.

Results

Overall, 3102 women were included, of whom 1578 (50.9%) delivered by cesarean. Classification in Robson group 5 was the most frequent among all women (n=727, 23.4%). In the PE group (n=258, 8.3%), group 10 was the most frequent classification (n=120, 46.5%); in NPE, Robson group 5 was the most frequency (n=682, 24.0%). Pre‐eclampsia was associated with a higher occurrence of cesarean (77.5% vs 48.4%; prevalence ratio, 2.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.82–2.82), owing to higher rates in Robson groups 1, 5, and 10.

Conclusion

Pre‐eclampsia was associated with a higher occurrence of cesarean delivery in some Robson groups. Robson classification may be used to evaluate the impact of specific conditions at a facility level to help plan future interventions to optimize the use of cesarean.
Girl‐centered campaigns to increase and sustain uptake of the HPV vaccine
Authors: Jones Amy L.
Published: September 2020

The value, preliminary results, and key principles of girl‐centered campaigns supporting the HPV vaccine in resource‐limited countries are discussed.
A cost effective‐ secure algorithm for work‐flow scheduling in cloud computing
Authors: Hammed Shahul S , Arunkumar Balachandran
Published: September 2020

The work‐flow is emerging as the promising paradigm for the different computing infrastructures of distributed nature. It is applied widely in various scientific fields and simple job execution. To manage with the enormous flow of data in the work‐flow, the requirement of huge infrastructure and the execution in the reasonable time. The work ‐flow adapts to the cloud environment. Though cloud environment provides with the large‐scale infrastructure and consistency and efficiency on comparing to the system operated over non‐cloud, a proper scheduling is entailed for the execution of tasks satisfying the specified constraints with the necessary security measure that has to be provided as the cloud does not provide with the counter measures for the security threats. More over as the real world tasks are most probably heterogeneous requiring virtual machines of different instance of series. So the paper proffers a cost‐effective algorithm based on the multi‐populated genetic algorithm (Multi‐populated GA) implanted with particle swarm optimization (PSO) for the heterogeneous networks so as to minimize the cost of the execution and meet out the QOS constraints, the results serve as the guiding principle for the security level improvement for the (sensitive) critical tasks. The performance evaluation of the scheduling using the workflowsim is performed to evidence the maximum reduction in the cost of the execution and the QOS constraints met using the proposed system.
Network traffic anomaly detection using PCA and BiGAN
Authors: Patil Rajlaxmi , Biradar Rajshekhar , Ravi Vinayakumar , Biradar Poornima , Ghosh Uttam
Published: September 2020

In this paper, an intelligent and lightweight anomalous network traffic detection framework is proposed. The framework uses principal component analysis (PCA) with the main purpose of feature extraction and dimensionality reduction and bidirectional generative adversarial network (BiGAN) model is used to detect the anomalous network traffic. The proposed framework was evaluated using KDDCUP‐99 dataset and was compared with recent deep learning models. Various visualization methods were also employed to understand the characteristics of the dataset and to visualize the KDDCUP‐99 dataset features. Our work shows the importance of feature reduction in improving the overall performance of the BiGAN models. In addition, the proposed models are faster and efficient at test time.
Targeting Bone Cells During Sexual Maturation Reveals Sexually Dimorphic Regulation of Endochondral Ossification
Authors: Fairfield Heather , Costa Samantha , DeMambro Victoria , Schott Celine , Martins Janaina Da Silva , Ferron Mathieu , Vary Calvin , Reagan Michaela R
Published: September 2020

In endochondral ossification, chondroblasts become embedded in their matrix and become chondrocytes, which are mature cells that continue to proliferate, eventually becoming hypertrophic. Hypertrophic chondrocytes produce cartilage that is then resorbed by osteoclasts prior to bone matrix replacement via osteoblasts. Although sexually dimorphic bone phenotypes have long been characterized, specific modulation of the growth plate during a critical window in sexual maturation has not been evaluated. Here we report that specific depletion of osteocalcin‐ (OCN‐) expressing cells in vivo during sexual maturation leads to dimorphic bone phenotypes in males and females. At 6 to 8 weeks of age, OCN‐Cre;iDTR (inducible diphtheria toxin receptor‐expressing) mice were treated with diphtheria toxin (DT) for 2 weeks to deplete OCN+ cells. At the end of the study, long bones were collected for μCT and histomorphometry, and serum was collected for proteomic and lipidomic analyses. Ablation of OCN+ cells in mice leads to consistent trends for weight loss after 2 weeks of treatment. Females exhibited decreased skeletal parameters in response to OCN+ cell ablation treatment, as expected. However, OCN+ cell ablation in males uniquely displayed an expansion of hypertrophic chondrocytes, a widening of the growth plate, and an abnormal “clubbing” anatomy of the distal femur. Following DT treatment, mice from both sexes also underwent metabolic cage analysis, in which both sexes exhibited decreased energy expenditure. We conclude that skewing endochondral bone formation during longitudinal growth has a profound effect on body weight and energy expenditure with sex‐specific effects on developing bone. © 2020 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Zingerone suppresses cell proliferation via inducing cellular apoptosis and inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in human prostate cancer PC‐3 cells
Authors: Qian Shengqiang , Fang Huiying , Zheng Lu , Liu Mei
Published: September 2020

Prostate cancer (PCa) is both the foremost and second cause of cancer death in the male population. Patients with hormone‐dependent PCa are initially sensitive to androgen‐deprivation therapy, later the cancer progress to a hormone‐independent state and fails to respond and progress to the metastatic stage, where the cells gain the ability to escape cell death and develop resistance to current therapies, thereby leading to migration, invasion, and metastasis of cancer. Many clinical trials using nutraceuticals on cancer using human subjects have also been extensively studied, these studies confirm the efficacy of drugs tested in in vitro and in vivo preclinical models. Among various dietary phytochemicals, ginger is commonly used in the diet and possesses many active principles that act against cancer. Among various active principles, zingerone is a key active phenolic compound present in Zingiber officinale (Ginger), it has potent antioxidant property and it acts against carcinogens. The present study evaluated the efficacy of zingerone at different doses on the PCa cell line regarding apoptosis, upstream signing molecules such as Akt/mTOR, and migration metastasis. A cell viability assay using MTT was performed to estimate the percentage of viability of zingerone‐treated PC‐3 cells. The mitochondrial membrane potential, intracellular reactive oxygen species, and apoptosis induction in the zingerone‐treated PC‐3 cells were studied by using different fluorescence staining techniques. The expression patterns of PI3K, AKT, p‐AKT, mTOR, and p‐mTOR were investigated through the Western blot analysis assay. Zingerone induces apoptosis and alters Akt/mTOR molecules; it also inhibits cell adhesion and migration of PCa cells. From the present study, it is concluded that zingerone effectively induces apoptosis and inhibits cancer signaling, thereby acting as a potent drug against PCa.
Protective effect of panaxydol against repeated administration of aristolochic acid on renal function and lipid peroxidation products via activating Keap1‐Nrf2/ARE pathway in rat kidney
Authors: Guo Yinxue , Hu Maorong , Ma Juan , Chinnathambi Arunachalam , Alharbi Sulaiman Ali , Shair Omar H. M. , Ge Pingyu
Published: September 2020

Panaxydol (PX), a polyacetylenic compound isolated from the roots of Panax notoginseng, is found to possess various biological functions. However, its protective effects against aristolochic acid (AA)‐induced renal injury have not been elucidated yet. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the renoprotective effect of PX on Wistar male rats via activating Keap1‐Nrf2/ARE pathway. Experimental animals were randomized into four groups, such as control group, I/R group, AA (5 mg/kg/d; ip for 10 days), and AA‐induced rats treated with PX (10 and 20 mg/kg/d; po for 20 days). At the end of the experimental period, the rats were killed, and the biochemical parameters denoting renal functions were evaluated; histological analysis displaying the renal tissue architecture, real‐time quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of Keap1‐Nrf2/ARE genes were elucidated. The results demonstrated that the rats administered with AA displayed a significant increase in the blood urea nitrogen level with an increased urine creatinine and protein excretion. Also, the serum levels of urea, uric acid, and albumin levels were increased. Furthermore, the histological evaluation denoted the cellular degeneration with increased tissue lipid peroxidation levels. In contrast, rats administered with PX significantly prevented the tissue degeneration with improved antioxidant levels. Conversely, PX treatment increased the messenger RNA expression of Nrf2, NQO1, HO‐1 with an attenuated expression of 4HNE and NOX‐4 levels in IHC analysis. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that PX could suppress AA‐induced renal failure by suppressing oxidative stress through the activation of Keap1‐Nrf2 signaling pathway.
General recurrence‐relation generation scheme for molecular integral evaluation
Authors: Gao Bin
Published: September 2020

We develop a new scheme for evaluating different molecular integrals using Gaussian type orbitals. In this new scheme, the evaluation of integrals is performed in two steps during runtime. The first step is a top‐down procedure that maps each recurrence relation into a jagged array (array of arrays), where each element of a member array represents either the final results or some intermediate integrals that are stored in our developed data structure “coarse‐grained circular buffer”. This step is the same for all different one‐ and two‐electron operators so that the same algorithm and source codes can be used. In the second step, a bottom‐up procedure is carried out that computes all the intermediate and the final molecular integrals by backtracking elements from the last member array of each jagged array. Different source codes should in principle be used for different electron operators in the second step, but which can be generated automatically by our developed recurrence‐relation compiler. The currently proposed general recurrence‐relation generation scheme provides a new, generic and automatic programming way for various one‐ and two‐electron integrals needed in computational chemistry. Users can even introduce new electron operators and evaluate their integrals during runtime by combining the implementation of the proposed new scheme and the just‐in‐time compilation technique.
Retracted: Two Co(II) coordination polymers: Inhibitory effect on chronic myocarditis by reducing expression levels of the hs‐cTnT in the cardiomyocytes
Authors: Ping Tian , Liang Yanchao , Li Shan , Wang Fang
Published: September 2020

Under the solvothermal conditions, by using the rigid π‐conjugated connector of H4L (5,5′‐[1,3,6,8‐tetraoxobenzo [lmn] [3], [8] phenanthroline‐2‐7‐diyl] bis‐1,3‐benzenedicarboxylic acid) and the nitrogen‐donor auxiliary connector, two novel coordination polymers (CPs) based on Co ions as nodes {([Co(L)0.5(bpy)(H2O)]·3.5H2O)}n (1, bpy = 4,4′‐bipyridine) and {[Co(L)0.5(1,4‐bib)(H2O)2]·2·5H2O·DMA}n (2, 1,4‐bib = 1,4‐bis[1‐imidazoly]benzene) have been synthesized. Furthermore, the treatment activities of the compounds on the pediatric chronic myocarditis were evaluated. The relative expression of the hs‐cTnT in the cardiomyocytes was determined by the real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The inflammatory cytokines content resealed by the cardiomyocytes was also determined using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detection kit.
The overview and perspectives of biosensors and Mycobacterium tuberculosis: A systematic review
Authors: Salimiyan Rizi Kobra , Aryan Ehsan , Meshkat Zahra , Ranjbar Golnaz , Sankian Mojtaba , Ghazvini Kiarash , Farsiani Hadi , Pourianfar Hamid R. , Rezayi Majid
Published: September 2020

Tuberculosis (TB) is referred to as a “consumption” or phthisis, which has been a fatal human disease for thousands of years. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) might have been responsible for the death of more humans than any other bacterial pathogens. Therefore, the rapid diagnosis of this bacterial infection plays a pivotal role in the timely and appropriate treatment of the patients, as well as the prevention of disease spread. More than 98% of TB cases are reported in developing countries, and due to the lack of well‐equipped and specialized diagnostic laboratories, development of effective diagnostic methods based on biosensors is essential for this bacterium. In this review, original articles published in English were retrieved from multiple databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Cochrane Library during January 2010–October 2019. In addition, the reference lists of the articles were also searched. Among 109 electronically searched citations, 42 articles met the inclusion criteria. The highest potential and wide usage of biosensors for the diagnosis of M. tb and its drug resistance belonged to DNA electrochemical biosensors (isoniazid and rifampin strains). Use of biosensors is expanding for the detection of resistant strains of anti‐TB antibiotics with high sensitivity and accuracy, while the speed of these sensory methods is considered essential as well. Furthermore, the lowest limit of detection (0.9 fg/ml) from an electrochemical DNA biosensor was based on graphene‐modified iron‐oxide chitosan hybrid deposited on fluorine tin oxide for the MPT64 antigen target. According to the results, the most common methods used for M. tb detection include acid‐fast staining, cultivation, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Although molecular techniques (e.g., PCR and real‐time PCR) are rapid and sensitive, they require sophisticated laboratory and apparatuses, as well as skilled personnel and expertise in the commentary of the results. Biosensors are fast, valid, and cost‐efficient diagnostic method, and the improvement of their quality is of paramount importance in resource‐constrained settings.
TSPO ligand FGIN‐1‐27 controls priapism in sickle cell mice via endogenous testosterone production
Authors: Musicki Biljana , Karakus Serkan , La Favor Justin D. , Chen Haolin , Silva Fabio H. , Sturny Mikael , Zirkin Barry R. , Burnett Arthur L.
Published: September 2020

Priapism, a prolonged penile erection in the absence of sexual arousal, is common among patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Hypogonadism is also common in patients with SCD. While the administration of exogenous testosterone reverses hypogonadism, it is contraceptive. We hypothesized that the stimulation of endogenous testosterone production decreases priapism by normalizing molecular signaling involved in penile erection without decreasing intratesticular testosterone production, which would affect fertility. Treatment of SCD mice with FGIN‐1‐27, a ligand for translocator protein (TSPO) that mobilizes cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane, resulted in eugonadal levels of serum testosterone without decreasing intratesticular testosterone production. Normalized testosterone levels, in turn, decreased priapism. At the molecular level, TSPO restored phosphodiesterase 5 activity and decreased NADPH oxidase‐mediated oxidative stress in the penis, which are major molecular signaling molecules involved in penile erection and are dysregulated in SCD. These results indicate that pharmacologic activation of TSPO could be a novel, targetable pathway for treating hypogonadal men, particularly patients with SCD, without adverse effects on fertility.
Associations of low handgrip strength with cancer mortality: a multicentre observational study
Authors: Zhuang Cheng‐Le , Zhang Feng‐Min , Li Wei , Wang Kun‐Hua , Xu Hong‐Xia , Song Chun‐Hua , Guo Zeng‐Qing , Shi Han‐Ping
Published: September 2020

Background

Handgrip strength (HGS) is associated with poor clinical outcomes, including all‐cause, non‐cardiovascular, and cardiovascular mortalities. The published cut‐off points for HGS are mostly based on community populations from Western countries, lacking information on cancer patients from China. The objective of this study was to establish sex‐specific cut‐off points for Chinese cancer patients and investigate the effect of low HGS on cancer mortality.

Methods

We did a retrospective cohort study of patients who were diagnosed with malignant cancer from June 2012 to December 2018. HGS was measured using a hand dynamometer in 8257 cancer patients. Optimal stratification was used to solve threshold points. The hazard ratio (HR) of all cancer mortality and cancer‐specific mortality was calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models.

Results

Among all participants, there were 3902 (47.3%) women and 4355 (52.7%) men. The median age was 58 years old. The cut‐off points of HGS to best classify patients with respect to time to mortality were <16.1 kg for women and <22 kg for men. Low HGS was associated with overall cancer mortality in both women and men [HR = 1.339, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.170–1.531, P < 0.001; HR = 1.346, 95% CI = 1.176–1.540, P < 0.001, respectively]. For specific cancer types, low HGS was associated with breast cancer (HR = 1.593, 95% CI = 1.230–2.063, P < 0.001) in women, and lung cancer (HR = 1.369, 95% CI = 1.005–1.866, P = 0.047) and colorectal cancer (HR = 1.399, 95% CI = 1.007–1.944, P = 0.045) in men.

Conclusions

On the basis of our sex‐specific cut‐off points, low HGS was strongly associated with cancer mortalities. These results indicate the usefulness of HGS measurement in routine clinical practice for improving patient assessments, cancer prognosis, and intervention.
miR‐211‐5p is down‐regulated and a prognostic marker in bladder cancer
Authors: Wang Weisheng , Liu Zhiming , Zhang Xuegang , Liu Junning , Gui Junqing , Cui Maorong , Li Yong
Published: September 2020

Background

The micro RNA (miRNA)/histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9) signaling axis has been reported to be involved in initiating and developing multiple malignant tumors. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether miR‐211‐5p serves as a post‐transcriptional regulator in bladder cancer (BCa) cell proliferation and apoptosis by targeting HDAC9.

Methods

miRNA expression profiling of BCa tissues and para‐carcinoma tissues was screened by miRNA microarray. After transfection with miR‐211‐5p mimics or short hairpin RNA of HDAC9 (sh‐HDAC9), mRNA and protein expression was evaluated using a quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. A bioinformatics algorithm was used, and a dual‐luciferase reporter assay was performed to validate HDAC9 as a direct target of miR‐211‐5p. Cell proliferation was analyzed by the 3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazl2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick‐end labeling (TUNEL) detection was used to evaluate apoptosis in 5637 and T24 cells. A transwell assay was used to assess migration and invasion.

Results

miR‐211‐5p is down‐regulated in BCa tumor tissues and cell lines. miR‐211‐5p is identified as an independent biomarker for predicting overall survival. HDAC9 is a direct target of miR‐211‐5p, and overexpression of miR‐211‐5p represses HDAC9 protein expression in vitro. Overexpression of miR‐211‐5p or HDAC9 knockdown significantly inhibits proliferation, migration and invasion of 5637 and T24 cells, and also induces cell apoptosis.

Conclusions

miR‐211‐5p may play a role as a tumor suppressor and as a favourable prognostic marker in BCa.
Deep learning analysis for the detection of pancreatic cancer on endosonographic images: a pilot study
Authors: Tonozuka Ryosuke , Itoi Takao , Nagata Naoyoshi , Kojima Hiroyuki , Sofuni Atsushi , Tsuchiya Takayoshi , Ishii Kentaro , Tanaka Reina , Nagakawa Yuichi , Mukai Shuntaro
Published: September 2020

Background/Purpose

The application of artificial intelligence to clinical diagnostics using deep learning has been developed in recent years. In this study, we developed an original computer‐assisted diagnosis (CAD) system using deep learning analysis of EUS images (EUS‐CAD), and assessed its ability to detect pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC), using control images from patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and those with a normal pancreas (NP).

Methods

A total of 920 endosonographic images were used for the training and 10‐fold cross‐validation, and another 470 images were independently tested. The detection abilities in both the validation and test setting were assessed, and independent factors associated with misdetection were identified among participants' characteristics and endosonographic image features.

Results

Regarding the detection ability of EUS‐CAD, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were found to be 0.924 and 0.940 in the validation and test setting, respectively. In the analysis of misdetection, no factors were identified on univariate analysis in PDAC cases. On multivariate analysis of non‐PDAC cases, only mass formation was associated with overdiagnosis of tumors.

Conclusions

Our pilot study demonstrated the efficacy of EUS‐CAD for the detection of PDAC.
HIV seronegativity in children, adolescents and young adults living with perinatally acquired HIV: A cross‐sectional study in Thailand
Authors: Wirotpaisankul Praew , Lapphra Keswadee , Maleesatharn Alan , Rungmaitree Supattra , Wittawatmongkol Orasri , Phongsamart Wanatpreeya , Kongstan Nantaka , Khumcha Benjawan , Chokephaibulkit Kulkanya
Published: September 2020

Introduction

Early initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) with long‐term viral suppression may lead to seronegativity in grown‐up children with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV). This study aimed to determine the frequency and associated factors of seronegativity in Thai children, adolescents and young adults with PHIV.

Methods

A cross‐sectional HIV serological study was performed in children, adolescents and young adults two years or older who were receiving ART with undetectable HIV‐RNA for at least one year from August 2018 to August 2019. Medical records were extracted for multivariate analysis of independent factors for seronegativity.

Results and discussion

Of 110 patients, 50 male, median (range) age was 18.4 (4.8 to 26.6) years, 8 (7.3%) were seronegative, and 1 (0.9 %) was inconclusive. The seronegative group had a younger median (range) age at ART initiation: 3.0 (1.0 to 12.0) versus 40.0 (2.0 to 207.0) months, p = 0.045; and shorter median (range) duration from ART initiation to viral suppression: 16.8 (7.2 to 42.0) versus 55.2 (6.0 to 214.8) months, p = 0.036. Multivariate analysis identified younger age at ART initiation (aOR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.98, p = 0.038) and shorter time to viral suppression after ART initiation (aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.99, p = 0.019) as independent factors associated with HIV seronegativity. Of the infants who initiated ART < 3 and between three and six months of age, 50% and 26.7% became seronegative respectively.

Conclusions

HIV seronegativity was observed in children and adolescents with PHIV who initiated ART early in infancy and had rapid and sustained virological response. Awareness of this phenomenon will help avoid inappropriate treatment interruption on the basis of negative antibody testing.
Academics and Election Administration in Nigeria
Authors: Arowosegbe Jeremiah O.
Published: September 2020

Democratization has proceeded in Africa in terms of implementing multiparty democracy. However, there are still major challenges with this process across the continent. By examining the contribution of the intellectual to election administration in Africa vis‐à‐vis the political obligation of the citizen to the state, the knowledge of political science plays a significant role in resolving the challenges mitigating against democratic consolidation in the continent. This article interrogates the responsibilities of university academics in election administration from 1959 to 2019 and recounts the impact of such interventions for democratization and political stability in Nigeria. Our enquiry reveals that many of the problems undermining election administration are clearly beyond the interventions by these academics. The constraints and limitations of university academics in their efforts as instruments of large‐scale political change in Nigeria are connected largely with the fact that no institution or segment of the society is insulated from the power associated with politics in Nigeria. Accordingly, beyond election administration and also beyond the role of the intelligentsia therein, Nigeria's political ecology must undergo significant holistic changes to deliver a credible, fair and transparent electoral process. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Immune response against SARS‐CoV‐2 in pediatric patients including young infants
Authors: Kawamura Yoshiki , Higashimoto Yuki , Miura Hiroki , Ihira Masaru , Inaba Masato , Ito Ryota , Kozawa Kei , Yoshikawa Tetsushi
Published: September 2020

Pediatric cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) are generally mild or asymptomatic, and are usually detected by virological examination following close contact with COVID‐19 patients, often the children's parents. The detailed clinical features and virological data of pediatric patients with COVID‐19, particularly young infants, remain unclear. Here, the clinical and virological characteristics of four children with COVID‐19 including two young infants were investigated. One‐ and 4‐month‐old boys with COVID‐19 were both asymptomatic, and seroconversion was demonstrated. These findings suggest that even young infants can mount an immune response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), despite having weaker immune defenses than adolescents and adults. Three‐year‐old boy, who was SARS‐CoV‐2‐negative, was admitted to the same room as his SARS‐CoV‐2‐positive father due to the lack of caregivers. Although he was asymptomatic, he had seroconverted to SARS‐CoV‐2. Eleven‐year‐old boy, who was sibling of the 3‐year‐old boy, was also SARS‐CoV‐2‐negative. He was isolated in his own room and did not seroconvert. If young children are SARS‐CoV‐2 negative, they should be isolated from their SARS‐CoV‐2‐positive parents. This may be difficult in practice, if parents with COVID‐19 are the only available caregivers. In such situations, the most appropriate measures should be taken for each patient.
COVID‐19 in people living with HIV: Clinical implications of dynamics of the immune response to SARS‐CoV‐2
Authors: Mondi Annalisa , Cimini Eleonora , Colavita Francesca , Cicalini Stefania , Pinnetti Carmela , Matusali Giulia , Casetti Rita , Maeurer Markus , Vergori Alessandra , Mazzotta Valentina , Gagliardini Roberta , De Zottis Federico , Schininà Vincenzo , Girardi Enrico , Puro Vincenzo , Ippolito Giuseppe , Vaia Francesco , Capobianchi Maria Rosaria , Castilletti Concetta , Agrati Chiara , Antinori Andrea
Published: September 2020

Little evidence on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in people living with HIV (PLWH) is currently available. We reported clinical and viroimmunological data of all HIV‐positive patients admitted to our center with COVID‐19 from March 1 to May 12, 2020. Overall, five patients were included: all were virologically‐suppressed on antiretroviral therapy and CD4+ count was greater than 350 cell/mm3 in all but two patients. Although all patients had evidence of pneumonia on admission, only one developed respiratory failure. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) RNA was never detected from nasopharyngeal swabs in two patients, whereas in the others, viral clearance occurred within a maximum of 43 days. Immunoglobulin G production was elicited in all patients and neutralizing antibodies in all but one patient. Specific‐T‐cell response developed in all patients but was stronger in those with the more severe presentations. Similarly, the highest level of proinflammatory cytokines was found in the only patient experiencing respiratory failure. Despite a mild presentation, patients with more pronounced immunosuppression showed high degrees of both cytokines production and immune activation. Our study did not find an increased risk and severity of COVID‐19 in PLWH. Adaptative cellular immune response to SARS‐CoV‐2 appeared to correlate to disease severity. The mild clinical picture showed in advanced HIV patients, despite a significant T‐cell activation and inflammatory profile, suggests a potential role of HIV‐driven immunological dysregulation in avoiding immune‐pathogenetic processes. However, other possible explanations, as a protective role of certain antiretroviral drugs, should be considered. Further larger studies are needed to better clarify the impact of HIV infection on COVID‐19.
The precipitation patterns and atmospheric dynamics of the Serengeti National Park
Authors: Mahony Josephine , Dyer Ellen , Washington Richard
Published: September 2020

The unique precipitation patterns over the Serengeti National Park in East Africa form the foundation of an internationally important ecosystem. Quantifying these precipitation patterns, and identifying the causal atmospheric processes, can improve understanding of past and future changes to regional rainfall. Precipitation and reanalysis datasets (CHIRPS v2.0, TRMM 3B42, ERA5) were used to quantify the regional climatic conditions on annual, monthly and hourly timescales. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified regions with distinct annual cycles of precipitation. Annual and monthly precipitation over the wider Serengeti domain (1°–4°S, 33°–37°E) was spatially heterogeneous. Cluster analysis identified five sub‐regions with distinct annual cycles, with differing rainfall totals during January–February and June–September, wet season peak rainfall months, and rainfall peak symmetry. Seasonality was broadly controlled by the biannual passage of the tropical rainfall belt. Low‐level wind, humidity and convergence patterns were impacted by the topography and Lake Victoria. An afternoon convergence zone between tropical easterlies and lake breeze winds always ran through the park and was associated with ascending motion and convection. The spatial progression of diurnal rainfall over the Serengeti followed the direction of 750 hPa tropical easterlies. The majority of the park received a late‐afternoon rainfall peak, but from October to March an early afternoon peak was present between the wind convergence line over the central Serengeti and the rift topography. We propose that interactions between tropical easterlies, lake breeze westerlies and the topography control the spatial distribution of Serengeti precipitation, and that the seasonally changing rainfall gradient over the Serengeti may be generated by storms forming at the lake front and propagating in the direction of tropospheric easterlies. We suggest the early precipitation peak in the eastern Serengeti may be due to variability in the position of the lake front, or small storms generated by localized solar heating.
Laboratory Studies to Determine Suitable Chemicals to Improve Oil Recovery from Garzan Oil Field
Authors: Ercan Can , Safran S. Esra , Türkmenoğlu Artuğ , Karabakal Uğur
Published: September 2020

Garzan oil field is located at the south east of Turkey. It is a mature oil field and the reservoir is fractured carbonate reservoir. After producing about 1% original oil in place (OOIP) reservoir pressure started to decline. Waterflooding was started in order to support reservoir pressure and also to enhance oil production in 1960. Waterflooding improved the oil recovery but after years of flooding water breakthrough at the production wells was observed. This increased the water/oil ratio at the production wells. In order to enhance oil recovery again different techniques were investigated. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are gaining attention all over the world for oil recovery. Surfactant injection is an effective way for interfacial tension (IFT) reduction and wettability reversal. In this study, 31 different types of chemicals were studied to specify the effects on oil production. This paper presents solubility of surfactants in brine, IFT and contact angle measurements, imbibition tests, and lastly core flooding experiments. Most of the chemicals were incompatible with Garzan formation water, which has high divalent ion concentration. In this case, the usage of 2‐propanol as co‐surfactant yielded successful results for stability of the selected chemical solutions. The results of the wettability test indicated that both tested cationic and anionic surfactants altered the wettability of the carbonate rock from oil‐wet to intermediate‐wet. The maximum oil recovery by imbibition test was reached when core was exposed 1‐ethly ionic liquid after imbibition in formation water. Also, after core flooding test, it is concluded that considerable amount of oil can be recovered from Garzan reservoir by waterflooding alone if adverse effects of natural fractures could be eliminated.
Diagnoses, treatment, and oncologic outcomes in patients with calcaneal malignances: Case series, systematic literature review, and pooled cohort analysis
Authors: Newman Erik T. , van Rein Eveline A. J. , Theyskens Nina , Ferrone Marco L. , Ready John E. , Raskin Kevin A. , Lozano Calderon Santiago A.
Published: September 2020

Background and Objectives

Malignant tumors of the calcaneus are rare but pose a treatment challenge. Aims: (1) describe the demographics of calcaneal malignancies in a large cohort; (2) describe survival after amputation versus limb‐salvage surgery for high‐grade tumors.

Methods

Study group: a “pooled” cohort of patients with primary calcaneal malignancies treated at two cancer centers (1984−2015) and systematic literature review. Kaplan−Meier analyses described survival across treatment and diagnostic groups; proportional hazards modeling assessed mortality after amputation versus limb salvage.

Results

A total of 131 patients (11 treated at our centers and 120 patients from 53 published studies) with a median 36‐month follow‐up were included. Diagnoses included Ewing sarcoma (41%), osteosarcoma (30%), and chondrosarcoma (17%); 5‐year survival rates were 43%, 73% (70%, high grade only), and 84% (60%, high grade only), respectively. Treatment involved amputation in 52%, limb salvage in 27%, and no surgery in 21%. There was no difference in mortality following limb salvage surgery (vs. amputation) for high‐grade tumors (HR 0.38; 95% CI 0.14−1.05), after adjusting for Ewing sarcoma diagnosis (HR 5.15; 95% CI 1.55−17.14), metastatic disease at diagnosis (HR 3.88; 95% CI 1.29−11.64), and age (per‐year HR 1.04; 95% CI 1.02−1.07).

Conclusions

Limb salvage is oncologically‐feasible for calcaneal malignancies.
Nonnegative solutions to time fractional Keller–Segel system
Authors: Aruchamy Akilandeeswari , Tyagi Jagmohan
Published: September 2020

We establish the existence of nonnegative weak solutions to time fractional Keller–Segel system with Dirichlet boundary condition in a bounded domain with smooth boundary. Since the considered system has a cross‐diffusion term and the corresponding diffusion matrix is not positive definite, we first regularize the system. Then under suitable assumptions on the initial conditions, we establish the existence of solutions to the system by using the Galerkin approximation method. The convergence of solutions is proved by means of compactness criteria for fractional partial differential equations. The nonnegativity of solutions is proved by the standard arguments. Furthermore, the existence of the weak solution to the system with Neumann boundary condition is discussed.
CRAFT for NMR lipidomics: Targeting lipid metabolism in leucine‐supplemented tumor‐bearing mice
Authors: Johnson Hayden , Puppa Melissa , van der Merwe Marie , Tipirneni‐Sajja Aaryani
Published: September 2020

Lipid profiling by 1H‐NMR has gained increasing utility in many fields because of its intrinsically quantitative, nondestructive nature and the ability to differentiate small molecules based on their spectral location. Most nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for metabolite quantification use frequency domain analysis that involves many user‐dependent steps such as phase and baseline correction and quantification by either manual integration or peak fitting. Recently, Bayesian analysis of time‐domain NMR data has been shown to reduce operator bias and increase automation in NMR spectroscopy. In this study, we demonstrate the use of CRAFT (complete reduction to amplitude–frequency table), a Bayesian‐based approach to automate processing in NMR‐based lipidomics using lipid standards and tissue samples of healthy and tumor‐bearing mice supplemented with leucine. Complex mixtures of lipid standards were prepared and examined using CRAFT to validate it against conventional Fourier transform (FT)‐NMR and derive a fingerprint to be used for analyzing lipid profiles of serum and liver samples. CRAFT and FT‐NMR were comparable in accuracy, with CRAFT achieving higher correlation in quantifying several lipid species. Analysis of the serum lipidome of tumor‐bearing mice revealed hyperlipidemia and no signs of hepatic triglyceride accumulation compared with that of the healthy group demonstrating that the tumor‐bearing mice were in a state of precachexia. Leucine‐supplementation was associated with minimal changes in the lipid profile in both tissues. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the CRAFT method can accurately identify and quantify lipids in complex lipid mixtures and murine tissue samples and, hence, will increase automation and reproducibility in NMR‐based lipidomics.