bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Imaging of Bone in the Head and Neck Region, is There More Than CT?
Authors: Eley Karen A. , Delso Gaspar
Published: April 2022

Purpose of Review

The objective of this review is to document the advances in non-ionising imaging alternatives to CT for the head and neck.

Recent Findings

The main alternative to CT for imaging bone of the head and neck region is MRI, particularly techniques which incorporate gradient echo imaging (Black Bone technique) and ultra-short or zero-echo time imaging. Since these techniques can provide high resolution isometric voxels, they can be used to provide multi-planar reformats and, following post processing, 3D reconstructed images of the craniofacial skeleton. As expected, the greatest advancements in recent years have been focused on enhanced image processing techniques and attempts to address the difficulties encountered at air-bone interfaces.

This article will review the imaging techniques and recent advancements which are bringing non-ionising alternatives to CT imaging of the bone of the head and neck region into the realm of routine clinical application.
Real-world evaluation of weekly subcutaneous treatment with semaglutide in a cohort of Italian diabetic patients
Authors: Marzullo P. , Daffara T. , Mele C. , Zavattaro M. , Ferrero A. , Caputo M. , Prodam F. , Aimaretti G.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Registered trials and real-world evidence (RWE) studies provided evidence on the efficacy of once-weekly (OW) semaglutide on hyperglycaemia and cardiovascular risk factors as add-on or de-novo treatment in type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods

In a retrospective analysis of electronic data files from 258 T2D patients, this RWE study aimed to explore the impact of OW semaglutide on biochemical and anthropometric outcomes after 6 and 12 months in patients receiving at least one prescription of OW semaglutide between September 2019 and May 2021.

Results

During the study period, 154 and 56 consecutive patients completed the 6 and 12 months of OW semaglutide treatment. HbA1c levels decreased by -1.02±0.1% after 6 months and -1.1±0.1% after 12 months of OW semaglutide (p<0.0001 for both). At these time-points, HbA1c values were <7% in 61% and 57% of cases. HbA1c reduction was greater in patients with higher baseline HbA1c levels and it occurred irrespective of gender, age, insulin therapy and complications. The residual number of cases with HbA1c ≥9% by the study end was low (5.3% vs 18.9% at baseline). Weight loss occurred in 73.5% and 78.1% of cases and, compared to baseline, it was ≥5% in 21.2- 25.4% and ≥10% in 6.8-18.2% after 6 and 12 months, respectively. Significant predictors of HbA1c reduction after 6 months of OW semaglutide treatment were baseline HbA1c (p<0.0001), bodyweight reduction (p<0.0001) and disease duration (p<0.001), while baseline HbA1c was the only predictor of HbA1c response after 12 months (p<0.0001). Reported adverse events were consistent with the known safety profile of semaglutide.

Conclusions

Real-world evaluation of weekly subcutaneous treatment with semaglutide in a cohort of Italian diabetic patients.
FLAG: Towards Graph Query Autocompletion for Large Graphs
Authors: Yi Peipei , Li Jianping , Choi Byron , Bhowmick Sourav S. , Xu Jianliang
Published: April 2022

Graph query autocompletion (GQAC) takes a user’s graph query as input and generates top-k query suggestions as output, to help alleviate the verbose and error-prone graph query formulation process in a visual interface. To compose a target query with GQAC, the user may iteratively adopt suggestions or manually add edges to augment the existing query. The current state-of-the-art of GQAC, however, focuses on a large collection of small- or medium-sized graphs only. The subgraph features exploited by existing GQAC are either too small or too scarce in large graphs. In this paper, we present Flexible graph query autocompletion for LArge Graphs, called FLAG. We are the first to propose wildcard labels in the context of GQAC, which summarizes query structures that have different labels. FLAG allows augmenting users’ queries with subgraph increments with wildcard labels to form suggestions. To support wildcard-enabled suggestions, a new suggestion ranking function is proposed. We propose an efficient ranking algorithm and extend an index to further optimize the online suggestion ranking. We have conducted a user study and a set of large-scale simulations to verify both the effectiveness and efficiency of FLAG. The results show that the query suggestions saved roughly 50% of mouse clicks and FLAG returns suggestions in few seconds.
Best practice in determining key photophysical parameters in triplet–triplet annihilation photon upconversion
Authors: Edhborg Fredrik , Olesund Axel , Albinsson Bo
Published: April 2022

Triplet–triplet annihilation photon upconversion (TTA-UC) is a process in which low-energy light is transformed into light of higher energy. During the last two decades, it has gained increasing attention due to its potential in, e.g., biological applications and solar energy conversion. The highest efficiencies for TTA-UC systems have been achieved in liquid solution, owing to that several of the intermediate steps require close contact between the interacting species, something that is more easily achieved in diffusion-controlled environments. There is a good understanding of the kinetics dictating the performance in liquid TTA-UC systems, but so far, the community lacks cohesiveness in terms of how several important parameters are best determined experimentally. In this perspective, we discuss and present a “best practice” for the determination of several critical parameters in TTA-UC, namely triplet excited state energies, rate constants for triplet–triplet annihilation ($$k_{{{\text{TTA}}}}$$

k
TTA

), triplet excited-state lifetimes ($$\tau_{{\text{T}}}$$

τ
T

), and excitation threshold intensity ($$I_{{{\text{th}}}}$$

I
th

). Finally, we introduce a newly developed method by which $$k_{{{\text{TTA}}}}$$

k
TTA

, $$\tau_{{\text{T}}}$$

τ
T

, and $$I_{{{\text{th}}}}$$

I
th

may be determined simultaneously using the same set of time-resolved emission measurements. The experiment can be performed with a simple experimental setup, be ran under mild excitation conditions, and entirely circumvents the need for more challenging nanosecond transient absorption measurements, a technique that previously has been required to extract $$k_{{{\text{TTA}}}}$$

k
TTA

. Our hope is that the discussions and methodologies presented herein will aid the photon upconversion community in performing more efficient and manageable experiments while maintaining—and sometimes increasing—the accuracy and validity of the extracted parameters.
Testosterone Therapy is Associated with Depression, Suicidality, and Intentional Self-Harm: Analysis of a National Federated Database
Authors: Nackeeran Sirpi , Patel Mehul S. , Nallakumar Devi T. , Ory Jesse , Kohn Taylor , Deibert Christopher M. , Carto Chase , Ramasamy Ranjith
Published: April 2022

Background

Long-term use of testosterone can be associated with mood destabilizing effects. Most studies investigating psychiatric complications of anabolic steroids have used small samples, but a comprehensive assessment of the risk of developing mental health disorders after testosterone use has not been performed at the population level.

Aim

To determine whether testosterone therapy is associated with major depressive disorder or suicide attempts in men.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 70.3 million electronic health records collected from 46 healthcare organizations encompassing flagship hospitals, satellite hospitals, and outpatient clinics since 2008 to determine whether testosterone use is associated with major depressive disorder and suicide attempts in a large population. We included men 18 or older who either used testosterone or did not, defined by reported use, insurance claim, or prescription use of testosterone documented in the electronic health record. We propensity-score matched by age, race, ethnicity, obesity, and alcohol-related disorder. Additionally, a sub-group analysis was performed in testosterone deficient (<300 ng/dL) men comparing those with TD on testosterone therapy to a control group of men with TD who are not using testosterone.

Outcomes

We determined measures of association with a new diagnosis of major depressive disorder and suicide attempt or intentional self-harm following testosterone use within 5 years.

Results

A total of 263,579 men who used testosterone and 17,838,316 men who did not were included in the analysis. Testosterone use was independently associated with both Major Depressive Disorder (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.94–2.04, P < .0001) and Suicide Attempt/Intentional Self-Harm (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.40-1.65, P < .0001). Results remained significant in testosterone deficient sub-group analysis.

Clinical Implications

Men who use testosterone should be screened for and counseled about risks of depression and suicidality.

Strengths and Limitations

Strengths of this study include a large sample size, the ability to account for chronology of diagnoses, the use of propensity score matching to control for potentially confounding variables, and the consistency of results with sub-group analyses. Limitations include the potential for incorrect coding within the electronic health record, a lack of granular information regarding testosterone therapy adherence, the possibility that unrecorded testosterone or anabolic steroid use were prevalent but not captured within the control group, and a lack of data regarding testosterone withdrawal.

Conclusion

Testosterone use is independently associated with new-onset mental health disorders. Future studies are necessary to elucidate the role that androgen withdrawal plays and whether a causal relationship exists.
Training the next generation of translational scientists: The Case Western Reserve University Translational Fellows Program
Authors: Thompson Cheryl L. , Misko Tessianna A. , Chance Mark R.
Published: April 2022

Background:

An important part of biomedical research is the translation of discoveries into clinical or community applications that impact patient health. For a vast majority of clinical applications and sustainable community interventions, a time-tested way to get innovations to patients is through licensing of the technology and commercial development, often through startups. While biomedical scientists and trainees are schooled in discovery research, the processes of commercialization are foreign or intimidating. Further, many trainees will not aspire to a faculty position, and other avenues of advancement are desirable.

Methods:

At Case Western Reserve University, we developed and launched a Translational Fellows Program to provide such training for the community, focusing specifically on graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The goals of this program include familiarizing our trainees with the principles of entrepreneurship, product development, and startups. This is accomplished through study of their laboratory’s technology to identify points of translational focus and to increase awareness to potentially move ideas and products toward societal impact. This program leverages much of our existing infrastructure and provides a mechanism for the prioritization of the translation of the technology as well as “release-time” to promote effort.

Results:

Launched in summer 2020, our first cohort had 3 of the 12 fellows launching startups based on their technology and submitting an National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal. At least 80% reported increased knowledge and confidence in five of six key translational competencies.

Conclusion:

We are now continuing and improving the program and searching for sustainable support to stabilize the program for a long-term productive future.
Slip Characteristics of Induced Earthquakes: Insights From the 2015 Mw 4.0 Guthrie, Oklahoma Earthquake
Authors: Pennington Colin N. , Uchide Takahiko , Chen Xiaowei
Published: April 2022

To better quantify how injection, prior seismicity, and fault properties control rupture growth and propagation of induced earthquakes, we perform a finite‐fault slip inversion on a Mw 4.0 earthquake that occurred in April 2015, the largest earthquake in an induced sequence near Guthrie, Oklahoma. The slip inversion reveals a rupture with slip patches that are anti‐correlated to the locations of prior seismicity. The prior seismicity driven by low pore pressure changes and static stress changes occurred on weaker portions of the fault, while the Mw 4.0 earthquake likely ruptured relatively stronger portions of the fault. To resolve if pore pressure changes or the initial underlying stress distribution and fault strength controlled the final slip distribution of the Guthrie Mw 4.0 earthquake, we compare strike‐slip events of similar magnitude from tectonically active regions and previously inactive regions. Earthquakes on reactivated faults exhibit different slip distributions than active regions, they have more prominent and well separated slip patches, a behavior often associated with faults of lower fault maturity. Pore pressure shows little effect on the distributions. These observations suggest that the initial underlying stress distribution and fault strength of reactivated faults in low deformation regions is the primary controlling factor of the slip distribution with pore pressure perturbations and earthquake interactions being secondary. Therefore, Guthrie Mw 4.0 earthquakes slip distribution was enhanced by pore‐pressure perturbations and earthquake interactions by creating an optimal stress state for its failure, but the slip distribution itself is controlled by its fault's initial stress and strength state.
Generalized Modeling and Propagation Characterization of THz Wireless Links in Computer Desktop Environment
Authors: Fu Jinbang , Juyal Prateek , Zajić Alenka
Published: April 2022

In this paper presents terahertz (THz) channel propagation characterization and generalized channel model for a desktop environment. Path loss and power delay profiles (PDPs) measured on the motherboard in both free space and desktop‐like metal cavity are compared. To characterize the large scale fading of the channel, a mean path loss model as a function of antenna height is proposed by treating the motherboard desktop environment as a partially dielectric filled resonant cavity. The measured and modeled mean path loss achieve 98.5% R‐squared goodness of fit. For the shadowing, a Gamma‐mixture model is applied to characterize the oscillations of in‐cavity measured path loss. Results show that with proper choice of the number of mixed Gamma distributions k, the goodness of fit between the model and the probability density function (PDF) can be greater than 97%. Multipath components are characterized by cluster‐based channel modeling. Modifications were made on the conventional Saleh‐Valenzuela (S‐V) model to accurately characterize the channel by rewriting the cluster power decay with step‐wise functions and each sub‐function is expressed exponentially in dB, and the ray power decay with power law approach. It is shown that measured and simulated multipath components match well with each other with at least 98.2% goodness of fit.
Thank You to Our 2021 Reviewers
Authors: Caprarelli Graziella , Altintas Ilkay , Baratoux David , Cervato Cinzia , Diviacco Paolo , Donea Alina , Donnellan Andrea , Gentemann Chelle , Glaves Helen M. , Jiang Jonathan H. , Jones Cathleen E. , Maute Astrid , Pirenne Benoit , Pryor Sara C. , Tiampo Kristy , Xie Zunyi
Published: April 2022

On behalf of the Editorial Board and Staff of Earth and Space Science, I thank the reviewers whose selfless dedication to science has ensured, once again, that the papers published in our journal in 2021 highlight the best Earth and space science in a manner that does justice to the authors and their work. All of us at Earth Peer reviewing is a demanding and often thankless job. It is however an essential component of the scientific process, ensuring the highest standards of integrity and rigor. Without the work of reviewers, who check data and procedures for possible bias and to ensure reproducibility, and who share their expertise to verify that the interpretations and conclusions of a paper are consistent with assumptions and existing knowledge, it would not be possible to trust in the scientific process. Our journal is particularly indebted to our reviewers: Earth and Space Science is a multidisciplinary journal that highlights methods, instruments, data and algorithms, and therefore we rely heavily on the direct expertise of our reviewers to verify and vouch for the quality of the papers we publish. We are indebted to all our reviewers, and we are delighted to acknowledge them publicly in this Editorial.
Incredible Journeys on the Crown of the Continent
Authors: Morton Mary
Published: April 2022

Living in Geologic Time: The making, breaking, and backpacking of North America’s Continental Divide.
LHRH sparing therapy in patients with chemotherapy-naïve, mCRPC treated with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone: results of the randomized phase II SPARE trial
Authors: Ohlmann Carsten-Henning , Jäschke Michelle , Jaehnig Peter , Krege Susanne , Gschwend Jürgen , Rexer Heidrun , Junker Kerstin , Zillmann Roger , Rüssel Christoph , Hellmis Eva , Suttmann Henrik , Janssen Martin , Marin Jan , Hübner Andreas , Mathers Michael , Gleißner Jochen , Scheffler Michael , Feyerabend Susan , Telle Jens , Klier Jörg , Stöckle Michael
Published: April 2022

Background

Although the benefit of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) continuation in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains controversial, clinical evidence is lacking. Recent results indicated that treatment with abiraterone acetate (AA) plus prednisone (P) further suppresses serum testosterone levels over ADT alone, suggesting that continuation of ADT in the treatment of mCRPC may not be necessary.

Methods

In this exploratory phase 2 study, mCRPC patients were randomized with a 1:1 ratio to receive either continued ADT plus AA + P (Arm A) or AA + P alone (Arm B). The primary endpoint was the rate of radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) at month 12. Secondary endpoints included PSA-response rate, objective response, time to PSA progression and safety.

Results

A total of 68 patients were equally randomized between the two study arms. Median testosterone-levels remained below castrate-levels throughout treatment in all patients. According to the intention-to-treat analysis the rPFS rate was 0.84 in Arm A and 0.89 in Arm B. Moderate and severe treatment-emergent adverse events were reported for 72% of the patients in Arm A and for 85% of the patients in Arm B.

Conclusions

AA + P treatment without ADT may be effective in mCRPC patients and ADT may not be necessary in patients receiving AA + P.
Ecological and genomic responses of soil microbiomes to high-severity wildfire: linking community assembly to functional potential
Authors: Dove Nicholas C , Taş Neslihan , Hart Stephen C
Published: April 2022

Increasing wildfire severity, which is common throughout the western United States, can have deleterious effects on plant regeneration and large impacts on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling rates. Soil microbes are pivotal in facilitating these elemental cycles, so understanding the impact of increasing fire severity on soil microbial communities is critical. Here, we assess the long-term impact of high-severity fires on the soil microbiome. We find that high-severity wildfires result in a multi-decadal (>25 y) recovery of the soil microbiome mediated by concomitant differences in aboveground vegetation, soil chemistry, and microbial assembly processes. Our results depict a distinct taxonomic and functional successional pattern of increasing selection in post-fire soil microbial communities. Changes in microbiome composition corresponded with changes in microbial functional potential, specifically altered C metabolism and enhanced N cycling potential, which related to rates of potential decomposition and inorganic N availability, respectively. Based on metagenome-assembled genomes, we show that bacterial genomes enriched in our earliest site (4 y since fire) harbor distinct traits such as a robust stress response and a high potential to degrade pyrogenic, polyaromatic C that allow them to thrive in post-fire environments. Taken together, these results provide a biological basis for previously reported process rate measurements and explain the temporal dynamics of post-fire biogeochemistry, which ultimately constrains ecosystem recovery.
Research progress of Nedd4L in cardiovascular diseases
Authors: Li Mohan , Sun Guozhe , Wang Pengbo , Wang Wenbin , Cao Kexin , Song Chunyu , Sun Yingxian , Zhang Ying , Zhang Naijin
Published: April 2022

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are a covalent processing process of proteins after translation. Proteins are capable of playing their roles only after being modified, so as to maintain the normal physiological function of cells. As a key modification of protein post-translational modification, ubiquitination is an essential element, which forms an enzyme-linked reaction through ubiquitin-activating enzyme, ubiquitin binding enzyme, and ubiquitin ligase, aiming to regulate the expression level and function of cellular proteins. Nedd4 family is the largest group of ubiquitin ligases, including 9 members, such as Nedd4-1, Nedd4L (Nedd4-2), WWP1, WWP2, ITCH, etc. They could bind to substrate proteins through their WW domain and play a dominant role in the ubiquitination process, and then participate in various pathophysiological processes of cardiovascular diseases (such as hypertension, myocardial hypertrophy, heart failure, etc.). At present, the role of Nedd4L in the cardiovascular field is not fully understood. This review aims to summarize the progress and mechanism of Nedd4L in cardiovascular diseases, and provide potential perspective for the clinical treatment or prevention of related cardiovascular diseases by targeting Nedd4L.
Roles of resonant muonic molecule in new kinetics model and muon catalyzed fusion in compressed gas
Authors: Yamashita Takuma , Kino Yasushi , Okutsu Kenichi , Okada Shinji , Sato Motoyasu
Published: April 2022

Muon catalyzed fusion ($$\mu$$
μ
CF) in which an elementary particle, muon, facilitates the nuclear fusion between the hydrogen isotopes has been investigated in a long history. In contrast to the rich theoretical and experimental information on the $$\mu$$
μ
CF in cold targets, there is relatively scarce information on the high temperature gas targets of deuterium-tritium mixture with high-thermal efficiency. We demonstrate new kinetics model of $$\mu$$
μ
CF including three roles of resonant muonic molecules, (i) changing isotopic population, (ii) producing epi-thermal muonic atoms, and (iii) inducing fusion in-flight. The new kinetics model reproduces experimental observations, showing higher cycle rate as the temperature increasing, over a wide range of target temperatures ($$T<800$$

T
<
800

K) and tritium concentrations. Moreover, it can be tested by measurements of radiative dissociation X-rays around 2 keV. High energy-resolution X-ray detectors and intense muon beam which are recently available are suitable to reveal these dynamical mechanism of $$\mu$$
μ
CF cycles. Towards the future $$\mu$$
μ
CF experiments in the high-temperature gas target we have clarified the relationship between the fusion yield and density-temperature curve of adiabatic/shock-wave compression.
How bilingualism modulates selective attention in children
Authors: Phelps Jacqueline , Attaheri Adam , Bozic Mirjana
Published: April 2022

There is substantial evidence that learning and using multiple languages modulates selective attention in children. The current study investigated the mechanisms that drive this modification. Specifically, we asked whether the need for constant management of competing languages in bilinguals increases attentional capacity, or draws on the available resources such that they need to be economised to support optimal task performance. Monolingual and bilingual children aged 7–12 attended to a narrative presented in one ear, while ignoring different types of interference in the other ear. We used EEG to capture the neural encoding of attended and unattended speech envelopes, and assess how well they can be reconstructed from the responses of the neuronal populations that encode them. Despite equivalent behavioral performance, monolingual and bilingual children encoded attended speech differently, with the pattern of encoding across conditions in bilinguals suggesting a redistribution of the available attentional capacity, rather than its enhancement.
High-throughput precise particle transport at single-particle resolution in a three-dimensional magnetic field for highly sensitive bio-detection
Authors: Abedini-Nassab Roozbeh , Shourabi Reza
Published: April 2022

Precise manipulation of microparticles have fundamental applications in the fields of lab-on-a-chip and biomedical engineering. Here, for the first time, we propose a fully operational microfluidic chip equipped with thin magnetic films composed of straight tracks and bends which precisely transports numerous single-particles in the size range of ~ 2.8–20 µm simultaneously, to certain points, synced with the general external three-axial magnetic field. The uniqueness of this design arises from the introduced vertical bias field that provides a repulsion force between the particles and prevents unwanted particle cluster formation, which is a challenge in devices operating in two-dimensional fields. Furthermore, the chip operates as an accurate sensor and detects low levels of proteins and DNA fragments, being captured by the ligand-functionalized magnetic beads, while lowering the background noise by excluding the unwanted bead pairs seen in the previous works. The image-processing detection method in this work allows detection at the single-pair resolution, increasing the sensitivity. The proposed device offers high-throughput particle transport and ultra-sensitive bio-detection in a highly parallel manner at single-particle resolution. It can also operate as a robust single-cell analysis platform for manipulating magnetized single-cells and assembling them in large arrays, with important applications in biology.
Collisional positron acoustic soliton and double layer in an unmagnetized plasma having multi-species
Authors: Akter Shahrina , Hafez M. G.
Published: April 2022

This paper explores the head-on collision between two-counter propagating positron acoustic solitons and double layers (DLs) in an unmagnetized collisionless plasma having mobile cold positrons fluid, immobile positive ions and ($$r,\;q$$

r
,

q

)-distributed hot positrons, and hot electrons. By employing the extended Poincaré–Lighthill–Kuo method, the coupled Korteweg–de Vries (KdV), modified KdV (mKdV) and Gardner equations are derived to archive this goal. The effect of dimensionless parameters on the propagation characteristics of interacting KdV solitons (KdVSs), mKdV solitons (mKdVSs), Gardner solitons (GSs) and DLs are examined in detail by considering the limiting cases of ($$r,\;q$$

r
,

q

)-distribution. It is noted that the interaction of GSs and DLs are reported for the first time. The outcomes might be comprehended and beneficial not only in space and astrophysical environments but also in laboratory studies.
Observational study of rebiopsy in EGFR-TKI-resistant patients with EGFR mutation-positive advanced NSCLC
Authors: Koyama Kenichi , Miura Satoru , Watanabe Satoshi , Shoji Satoshi , Koshio Jun , Hayashi Yoshiki , Ishikawa Daisuke , Sato Ko , Miyabayashi Takao , Okajima Masaaki , Ota Takeshi , Tanaka Tomohiro , Matsumoto Naoya , Kuriyama Hideyuki , Abe Tetsuya , Nozaki Koichiro , Ichikawa Kosuke , Kondo Rie , Tanaka Hiroshi , Kikuchi Toshiaki
Published: April 2022

The identification of acquired resistance mutations has been essential in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) active mutations. Rebiopsy plays a pivotal role in selecting the optimal treatment for patients who develop resistance to initial EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). This multicenter, observational study was conducted to investigate the details of rebiopsy in Japanese clinical practice. The primary endpoints were the implementation rate of rebiopsy and the concordance rate for T790M mutation detection between histological and cytological specimens using the cobas EGFR Mutation Test, version 2. One hundred ninety-four patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC were enrolled, and 120 patients developed acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs. The median age was 68 years (range 20–87), and 52.5% of the patients were women. Rebiopsy was performed in 109 patients, and the implementation rate of rebiopsy was 90.8%. The success rates of rebiopsy in the total, histology, cytology and liquid biopsy populations were 67.9%, 81.3%, 66.7% and 43.8%, respectively. The positive percent agreement and the negative percent agreement in the detection of the T790M mutation between the histological and cytological specimens were both 90.9%. Obtaining histological or cytological tissue samples at rebiopsy may contribute to improving the detection rate of the T790M mutation (trial registration number: UMIN000026019).
Accuracy and self-validation of automated bone age determination
Authors: Martin D. D. , Calder A. D. , Ranke M. B. , Binder G. , Thodberg H. H.
Published: April 2022

The BoneXpert method for automated determination of bone age from hand X-rays was introduced in 2009 and is currently running in over 200 hospitals. The aim of this work is to present version 3 of the method and validate its accuracy and self-validation mechanism that automatically rejects an image if it is at risk of being analysed incorrectly. The training set included 14,036 images from the 2017 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Bone Age Challenge, 1642 images of normal Dutch and Californian children, and 8250 images from Tübingen from patients with Short Stature, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and Precocious Puberty. The study resulted in a cross-validated root mean square (RMS) error in the Tübingen images of 0.62 y, compared to 0.72 y in the previous version. The RMS error on the RSNA test set of 200 images was 0.45 y relative to the average of six manual ratings. The self-validation mechanism rejected 0.4% of the RSNA images. 121 outliers among the self-validated images of the Tübingen study were rerated, resulting in 6 cases where BoneXpert deviated more than 1.5 years from the average of the three re-ratings, compared to 72 such cases for the original manual ratings. The accuracy of BoneXpert is clearly better than the accuracy of a single manual rating. The self-validation mechanism rejected very few images, typically with abnormal anatomy, and among the accepted images, there were 12 times fewer severe bone age errors than in manual ratings, suggesting that BoneXpert could be safer than manual rating.
Investigating the dispersal of macro- and microplastics on agricultural fields 30 years after sewage sludge application
Authors: Weber Collin J. , Santowski Alexander , Chifflard Peter
Published: April 2022

Plastic contamination of terrestrial ecosystems and arable soils pose potentially negative impacts on several soil functions. Whereas substantial plastic contamination is now traceable in agro-landscapes, often internal-caused by the application of fertilizers such as sewage sludge, questions remain unanswered concerning what happens to the plastic after incorporation. Based on a combined surface and depth sampling approach, including density separation, fluorescence staining and ATR-FTIR or µFTIR analyses, we quantified macro- and microplastic abundance on two agricultural fields—34 years after the last sewage sludge application. By sub-dividing the study area around sludge application sites, we were able to determine spatial distribution and spreading of plastics. Past sewage sludge application led to a still high density of macroplastics (637.12 items per hectare) on agricultural soil surfaces. Microplastic concentration, measured down to 90 cm depth, ranged from 0.00 to 56.18 particles per kg of dry soil weight. Maximum microplastic concentrations were found in regularly ploughed topsoils. After 34 years without sewage sludge application, macro- and microplastic loads were significantly higher on former application areas, compared to surrounding areas without history of direct sewage application. We found that anthropogenic ploughing was mainly responsible for plastic spread, as opposed to natural transport processes like erosion. Furthermore, small-scale lateral to vertical heterogeneous distribution of macro- and microplastics highlights the need to determine appropriate sampling strategies and the modelling of macro- and microplastic transport in soils.
Deep learning-based single image super-resolution for low-field MR brain images
Authors: de Leeuw den Bouter M. L. , Ippolito G. , O’Reilly T. P. A. , Remis R. F. , van Gijzen M. B. , Webb A. G.
Published: April 2022

Low-field MRI scanners are significantly less expensive than their high-field counterparts, which gives them the potential to make MRI technology more accessible all around the world. In general, images acquired using low-field MRI scanners tend to be of a relatively low resolution, as signal-to-noise ratios are lower. The aim of this work is to improve the resolution of these images. To this end, we present a deep learning-based approach to transform low-resolution low-field MR images into high-resolution ones. A convolutional neural network was trained to carry out single image super-resolution reconstruction using pairs of noisy low-resolution images and their noise-free high-resolution counterparts, which were obtained from the publicly available NYU fastMRI database. This network was subsequently applied to noisy images acquired using a low-field MRI scanner. The trained convolutional network yielded sharp super-resolution images in which most of the high-frequency components were recovered. In conclusion, we showed that a deep learning-based approach has great potential when it comes to increasing the resolution of low-field MR images.
Transcriptional profiling of macrophages reveals distinct parasite stage-driven signatures during early infection by Leishmania donovani
Authors: Chaparro Visnu , Graber Tyson E. , Alain Tommy , Jaramillo Maritza
Published: April 2022

Macrophages undergo swift changes in mRNA abundance upon pathogen invasion. Herein we describe early remodelling of the macrophage transcriptome during infection by amastigotes or promastigotes of Leishmania donovani. Approximately 10–16% of host mRNAs were differentially modulated in L. donovani-infected macrophages when compared to uninfected controls. This response was partially stage-specific as a third of changes in mRNA abundance were either exclusively driven by one of the parasite forms or significantly different between them. Gene ontology analyses identified categories associated with immune functions (e.g. antigen presentation and leukocyte activation) among significantly downregulated mRNAs during amastigote infection while cytoprotective-related categories (e.g. DNA repair and apoptosis inhibition) were enriched in upregulated transcripts. Interestingly a combination of upregulated (e.g. cellular response to IFNβ) and repressed (e.g. leukocyte activation, chemotaxis) immune-related transcripts were overrepresented in the promastigote-infected dataset. In addition, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) associated specific mRNA subsets with a number of upstream transcriptional regulators predicted to be modulated in macrophages infected with L. donovani amastigotes (e.g. STAT1 inhibition) or promastigotes (e.g. NRF2, IRF3, and IRF7 activation). Overall, our results indicate that early parasite stage-driven transcriptional remodelling in macrophages contributes to orchestrate both protective and deleterious host cell responses during L. donovani infection.
Vaccine hunters and jostlers may have hurt the COVID-19 vaccination effort
Authors: Mollerstrom Johanna , Thunström Linda
Published: April 2022

We examine how salience of extreme actions to gain access to vaccines affect general vaccine preferences using a survey experiment conducted shortly after a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines were made available to prioritized groups. We document that learning about people who jump the line (jostlers) or people who go through great lengths to secure left-over vaccine doses (hunters) is off-putting, and has a meaningful, negative effect on people’s vaccine preferences. Most people, however, predict the opposite—that news about extreme behavior would help the vaccination effort. If policy makers or public health authorities share these incorrect beliefs, they run the risk of implementing information policies that backfire in their effort to signal desirability of the vaccine.
Pomegranate trees quality under drought conditions using potassium silicate, nanosilver, and selenium spray with valorization of peels as fungicide extracts
Authors: Mosa Walid F. A. , Behiry Said I. , Ali Hayssam M. , Abdelkhalek Ahmed , Sas-Paszt Lidia , Al-Huqail Asma A. , Ali Muhammad Moaaz , Salem Mohamed Z. M.
Published: April 2022

The current study was performed on 8 years old "Succary" pomegranate cultivar (Punica granatumL.) during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. One hundred pomegranate trees were chosen and sprayed three times at the beginning of flowering, full bloom, and 1 month later with the following treatments: water as control, 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 mg/L Se; 5 mL/L, 7.5 and 10 mL/L Ag NPs, and 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/L K2Si2O5. The results showed that spraying of SE, Ag NPs, and K2Si2O5ameliorated the shoot length, diameter, leaf chlorophyll content, set of fruiting percentage, and fruit yield per tree and hectare compared to control through studying seasons. Moreover, they improved the fruit weight, length, and diameter, as well as total soluble solids, total, reduced, and non-reduced sugars percent, while they lessened the juice acidity percentage compared to control. The most obvious results were noticed with Se at 0.1 mg/L, Ag NPs at 10 mL/L, and K2Si2O5at 2 mg/L in both experimental seasons over the other applied treatments. By HPLC analysis, peel extracts showed the presence of several bioactive compounds of catechol, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, benzoic acid, caffeic acid, pyrogallol, gallic acid, ferulic acid, salicylic acid, cinnamic acid, and ellagic acid. The extracts applied to Melia azedarach wood showed promising antifungal activity againstRhizoctonia solaniand were considered wood-biofingicides.
Optical reciprocity induced wavefront shaping for axial and lateral shifting of focus through a scattering medium
Authors: Sanjeev Abhijit , Trivedi Vismay , Zalevsky Zeev
Published: April 2022

Light propagating along a reversed path experiences the same transmission coefficient as in the forward direction, independent of the path complexity. This is called the optical reciprocity of light, which is valid for not too intense scattering media as well. Hence, by utilizing the reciprocity principle, the proposed novel technique can achieve axially and laterally tunable focus, non-invasively, through a scattering media without a priori knowledge or modeling of its scattering properties. Moreover, the uniqueness of the proposed technique lies in the fact that the illumination and detection are on the same side of the scattering media.
An AHP based approach to forecast groundwater level at potential recharge zones of Uckermark District, Brandenburg, Germany
Authors: Raihan Ahmed Tahmid , Bauer Sonja , Mukhopadhaya Sayan
Published: April 2022

Uckermark, a district of the state Brandenburg, Germany is situated in one of the driest regions of Germany. The district is known for its agricultural activities and natural resources. But in recent times the district is being prone to groundwater deficit due to the dryness of its climate. In this research initiative, a GIS and Remote Sensing based approach has been made to detect the potential groundwater recharge zones of Uckermark district and observe the groundwater level condition over a period of 21 years (2000–2020). Analytic Hierarchy Process has been used to locate the potential groundwater recharge zones and later a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) based model has been developed to forecast the seasonal groundwater level for the upcoming five years in the potential groundwater recharge zones based on observation data from groundwater measurement points. This enabled us to see the groundwater condition of Uckermark in near future and point out the necessary steps to be taken.
Babesiosis in cattle and ixodid tick distribution in Dasenech and Salamago Districts, southern Ethiopia
Authors: Fesseha Haben , Mathewos Mesfin , Eshetu Eyob , Tefera Bereket
Published: April 2022

Babesiosis, caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia, and ixodid ticks are considered to be one of the most important causes that result in significant economic losses in cattle production worldwide, including in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in the Dasenech and Salamago Districts of South Omo zone Ethiopia to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of babesia infection and ixodid ticks of cattle using Giemsa-stained thin and thick film techniques and morphological identification keys for babesia species and tick identification, respectively. Out of 470 examined cattle, 102 (21.7%) were infected by Babesiosis (15.53% Babesia bigemina and 6.17% Babesia bovis). A statistically significant association (p < 0.05) was observed between babesia infection and season and tick infestation. However, cattle that were infected with the Babesia parasite revealed a lower mean PCV value (21.49%) than noninfected cattle (28.29%) and showed a statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference with the occurrence of Babesia infection. The overall prevalence of ixodid ticks was 53.8% (253/470) and revealed a statistically significant association (p < 0.05) between the season and origin of the animal. However, no statistically significant association (p > 0.05) was observed between sex, age, and body condition score of the animal with the occurrence of ixodid tick. A total of 8040 adult ticks belonging to four tick genera, Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus), Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus, were collected from various body parts and identified. The high prevalence of Babesia infection and ixodid ticks in cattle at the study sites requires seroprevalence and molecular studies to identify the predominant Babesia species and to detect Babesia in tick hemolymph for the identification of tick genera responsible for the occurrence of Babesia infection. Additionally, tailoring suitable and coordinated tick management methods using chemotherapy as well as strategic treatment to overt clinical cases of bovine babesiosis is critical.
The significance of NAD + metabolites and nicotinamide N-methyltransferase in chronic kidney disease
Authors: Takahashi Rina , Kanda Takeshi , Komatsu Motoaki , Itoh Tomoaki , Minakuchi Hitoshi , Urai Hidenori , Kuroita Tomohiro , Shigaki Shuhei , Tsukamoto Tasuku , Higuchi Naoko , Ikeda Minoru , Yamanaka Risa , Yoshimura Norito , Ono Takashi , Yukioka Hideo , Hasegawa Kazuhiro , Tokuyama Hirobumi , Wakino Shu , Itoh Hiroshi
Published: April 2022

Dysregulation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD +) metabolism contributes to the initiation and progression of age-associated diseases, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), a nicotinamide (NAM) metabolizing enzyme, regulates both NAD + and methionine metabolism. Although NNMT is expressed abundantly in the kidney, its role in CKD and renal fibrosis remains unclear. We generated NNMT-deficient mice and a unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO) model and conducted two clinical studies on human CKD to investigate the role of NNMT in CKD and fibrosis. In UUO, renal NNMT expression and the degraded metabolites of NAM increased, while NAD + and NAD + precursors decreased. NNMT deficiency ameliorated renal fibrosis; mechanistically, it (1) increased the DNA methylation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), and (2) improved renal inflammation by increasing renal NAD + and Sirt1 and decreasing NF-κB acetylation. In humans, along with CKD progression, a trend toward a decrease in serum NAD + precursors was observed, while the final NAD + metabolites were accumulated, and the level of eGFR was an independent variable for serum NAM. In addition, NNMT was highly expressed in fibrotic areas of human kidney tissues. In conclusion, increased renal NNMT expression induces NAD + and methionine metabolism perturbation and contributes to renal fibrosis.
A wildfire vulnerability index for buildings
Authors: Papathoma-Köhle M. , Schlögl M. , Garlichs C. , Diakakis M. , Mavroulis S. , Fuchs S.
Published: April 2022

Recent wildfire events (e.g. Mediterranean region, USA, and Australia) showed that this hazard poses a serious threat for wildland–urban interface (WUI) areas around the globe. Furthermore, recent events in regions where wildfire does not constitute a frequent hazard (e.g. Siberia, Scandinavia) indicated that the spatial pattern of wildfire risk might have significantly changed. To prepare for upcoming extreme events, it is critical for decision-makers to have a thorough understanding of the vulnerability of the built environment to wildfire. Building quality and design standards are important not only because building loss is costly but also because robust buildings may offer shelter when evacuation is not possible. However, studies aiming at the analysis of wildfire vulnerability for the built environment are limited. This paper presents an innovative solution for the vulnerability assessment to wildfires, making use of an all-relevant feature selection algorithm established on statistical relationships to develop a physical vulnerability index for buildings subject to wildfire. Data from a recent and systematically documented wildfire event in Greece (Mati, 2018) are used to select and weight the relevant indicators using a permutation-based automated feature selection based on random forests. Building characteristics including the structural type, the roof type, material and shape, the inclination of the ground, the surrounding vegetation, the material of the shutters and the ground covering were selected and formed into the index. The index may be used in other places in Europe and beyond, especially where no empirical data are available supporting decision-making and risk reduction of an emerging hazard amplified by climate change.
Practical method to determine the effective zero-point of indentation depth for continuous stiffness measurement nanoindentation test with Berkovich tip
Authors: Geng Diancheng , Yu Hao , Okuno Yasuki , Kondo Sosuke , Kasada Ryuta
Published: April 2022

The zero-point of indentation depth in nanoindentation or depth-sensing instrumented indentation tests should be precisely set to evaluate the indentation hardness and indentation elastic modulus of materials to be tested, especially at shallow depths. A critical contact stiffness value has been widely used to determine the zero-point in nanoindentation tests with a Berkovich tip using the continuous stiffness measurement (CSM) method. However, this criterion occasionally gives an inadequate zero-point owing to the surface roughness of materials, the vibration of the testing system, and the flaws of the CSM method at shallow depth. This study proposes a practical method to determine the effective zero-point of indentation depth, which was obtained linearly at the zero-point of contact stiffness and extrapolated from the depth-dependent contact stiffness values, except for those at initially unstable contact depths. The proposed method enables nanoindentation tests to obtain a constant indentation elastic modulus and low deviation of nanoindentation hardness of homogenously fused silica and metallic materials, which provides an efficient way to obtain more accurate test data.