bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Fully Enclosed Wave Energy Converter and Effects of Cable-Based Power Take-Off System on Power Absorption
Authors: Lu Xinrui , Han Xiao , Chen Yuan
Published: November 2024

Existing wave energy converters (WECs) are limited by high unit energy costs, narrow bandwidths, and vulnerability to seawater corrosion, making it difficult for wave energy to compete with solar and wind energy. This paper presents a fully enclosed WEC based on cable-driven parallel mechanisms, which absorbs energy from multiple directions to enhance the total energy absorption efficiency and bandwidth. The configuration of the inner cable-parallel mechanism (CDPM) is the key to this improved absorption efficiency. A configuration synthesis method of cable-driven parallel mechanisms is proposed to generate more configurations for the fully enclosed WEC. The motion equation of the fully enclosed WEC is derived to evaluate the power absorption performance. Moreover, a configuration synthesis method for realizing n-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) configurations in the fully-constrained CDPMs is proposed, and the configurations of these nDOF fully-constrained CDPMs with (n + 1) cables are acquired. Then, the power absorption performance under different power take-off system parameters and wave frequencies is calculated, and the effects of the CDPM configuration are investigated. The results indicate that the proposed WECs exhibit excellent performance in mean absorbed power and bandwidth. Several principles for configuration selection are provided to further improve the performance of the CDPM-based fully enclosed WEC.
Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Tunnel Hydrofoil—Stern Flap on the Motion Stability of a Double M-Craft in Regular Waves
Authors: Zhang Ziji , Li Shujiang , Ya Yu , Zhang Jianfeng , Mou Wenzheng , Jian Ranran
Published: November 2024

The double M-craft is a new type of high-performance multihull vessel that combines the gliding characteristics of a planing boat with the resistance-reducing characteristics of a hovercraft, but it also suffers from motion instability in regular waves. At present, there is scarce study on the effect of appendage on the motion stability of double M-craft in regular waves. By using the software star-ccm+ to numerically simulate the pitching and heaving motions of a double M-craft installed with tunnel hydrofoils and stern flaps in regular waves. Based on the overset mesh technology, the volume of fluid (VOF) method is used to capture the water–gas two-phase flow field. The 2-degree of freedom (2-DOF) motion of the rigid body is simulated by dynamic fluid-body interaction (DFBI). After investigating the effects of these combined appendages on the hydrodynamic performance, running attitude, and motion response of a double M-craft in regular waves, the optimal mounting parameters of the combined appendage have been obtained. The results have shown that all nine types of combined appendages can reduce the heave and pitch. The optimal combined appendage installation parameters include a hydrofoil longitudinal mounting position of 1/8L, an angle of attack of 3 deg, a stern flap length of 1.5%L, and a flap angle of 5 deg, which can effectively reduce the pitching response by about 8% and reduce the swaying response by about 2.6%, and enhance its longitudinal motion stability.
The Cooling Effect of Combustor Exit Louver Scheme on a Transonic Nozzle Guide Vane Endwall
Authors: Mao Shuo , Zhang Kaiyuan , Van Hout Daniel , Ng Wing F. , Xu Hongzhou , Fox Michael
Published: November 2024

The ever-increasing combustor exit temperature in modern turbine engine designs raises cooling challenges for the nozzle guide vane (NGV). Due to the complexity of NGV cooling design, the cooling effect from the upstream combustor cooling features can prove valuable. This study investigates, experimentally and numerically, the cooling effect of a louver cooling scheme near the combustor exit on the NGV endwall. Wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics simulation are carried out with engine-representative conditions of an exit Mach number of 0.85, an exit Reynolds number of 1.5 × 106, an inlet turbulence intensity of 16%, and a density ratio of 2.1. Various coolant mass flow ratios from 1% to 4% are tested to demonstrate the effect of the coolant rate. For the geometry studied, the results found a critical mass flow ratio between 1% and 2%. When exceeding this rate, the coolant forms a uniform film, providing satisfactory coverage upstream of the NGV passage inlet. For the cooling of the NGV passage, the mass flow ratio of the range investigated is insufficient for desirable cooling performance. The pressure side endwall proves the most difficult for the coolant to reach. In addition, the fishmouth cavity at the combustor–NGV interface causes a three-dimensional cavity vortex that transports the coolant in the pitch-wise direction. The coolant transport pattern is dependent on the coolant mass flow ratio. Based on the results, the authors propose combining this louver scheme with the upstream jump cooling scheme for a desirable NGV cooling system.
Blast Mitigation Using Monolithic Closed-Cell Aluminum Foam
Authors: Dey Chitralekha , Gokhale Amol A.
Published: November 2024

Blast protection using cellular materials is being actively pursued at research and technology levels. The present work uniquely demonstrates the generation of stress waves, strain waves, and mass velocities in monolithic closed-cell aluminum foams of different densities and lengths, subjected to simulated blast loads, and their combined effect on blast attenuation. The foams were assumed to be resting against a rigid end wall. If the numerically calculated stress at the back face was found less than the applied stress at the front face, the interaction was termed blast mitigation or attenuation. The results show “pressure mitigation” to occur for low-density foams whose plastic strength is less than the applied pressure, but pressure amplification for high-density foams whose plastic strength is higher than the applied pressure. The pressure amplification observed in shorter-length high-density foams transformed to pressure mitigation if the foams were sufficiently long. Based on these results and other stress-, strain-, and velocity-related diagnostics, the underlying mechanism behind blast wave amplification/mitigation and its relation with foam density and length are proposed.
Intelligently Constructing Polyaniline/Nickel Hydroxide Core–Shell Nanoflowers as Anode for Flexible Electrode-Enhanced Lithium-/Sodium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Xiao Zhiyuan , Li Xinyi , Gao Zhiyang , Qi Meili , Mu Xin , Pan Jiaqi
Published: November 2024

The intelligent design of advanced anode materials plays a pivotal role in energy storage for lithium-ion (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), offering the potential for broadening their practical applications through the development of flexible electrodes. In this study, nickel hydroxide nanoflowers grown on Ni foam (Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Subsequently, nickel hydroxide nanoflowers–polyaniline (Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI) were synthesized by electrodeposition method. Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF and Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI can be straightforwardly utilized as pliable electrodes. For the first discharge capacity, Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode delivers a higher capacity (1608.1 mAh g−1) than Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF (1464.1 mAh g−1) for LIBs. For the first discharge capacity, Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode delivers a superior capacity (473.4 mAh g−1) than Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF (406.6 mAh g−1) for SIBs. Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode demonstrated enhanced rate performance and cycling stability than the Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF electrode.
Nondispersive ultraviolet monitoring of pulsed H2S gas delivery
Authors: Kalanyan Berc , Jahrman Evan P. , Maslar James E.
Published: November 2024

This article describes time-resolved optical measurements of H2S partial pressure and mass flow in a pulsed gas delivery system approximating injection conditions encountered during atomic layer deposition. A high-speed nondispersive ultraviolet (NDUV) gas analyzer design is employed for in-line H2S detection in a gas delivery line with flowing carrier gas. An in-place analyzer calibration performed in a reference cell yields an H2S detection limit of ≈1.4 Pa (at 22 °C) at a sampling rate of 1 kHz. Flow measurements performed on the delivery line are used to evaluate the effects of adjustable delivery parameters on the time-dependent injection system output. Short pulse widths exhibit partial pressure transients attributed to flow development within the different volumes of the delivery system. After ≈1.0 s of injection, steady-state flow is established across flow elements. A partial pressure of H2S in the delivery line is found to vary linearly with upstream H2S pressure, consistent with choked flow. A stronger scaling of partial pressure is evident when the flow coefficient of the downstream metering valve is adjusted. Estimated steady-state H2S flow rates in the range of 0.05–0.21 mg/s are observed within a limited range of valve flow coefficients. However, further increases in the flow coefficient do not result in increased flow, likely due to conductance limitations in downstream flow system components. The utility of NDUV absorption measurements for high-pressure pulsed gas delivery systems is discussed.
The role of serum albumin in
Candida albicans
filamentation, germ tube formation, and farnesol sequestration
Authors: Gutzmann Daniel J. , Toomey Brigid M. , Atkin Audrey L. , Nickerson Kenneth W.
Published: November 2024

Candida albicans
is an opportunistic pathogen and colonizer of the human gut and mucosal membranes.
C. albicans
exhibits morphological plasticity, which is crucial for its fitness within the host and virulence. Morphogenesis in
C. albicans
is regulated, in part, by its production of farnesol, an autoregulatory molecule that inhibits filamentation. Morphogenesis is also regulated in response to external cues, such as serum, which stimulates hyphal formation by
C. albicans
. The precise mechanism by which serum stimulates hyphal formation is unknown. The most abundant serum protein is albumin. The binding affinity of albumin for nonpolar, fatty-acid-like molecules suggests that it may interact directly with exogenous farnesol and influence morphogenesis through sequestration of free farnesol. To test this hypothesis, we assessed whether albumin and albumin devoid of fatty acids (i) stimulated farnesol secretion and (ii) influenced the farnesol threshold required to inhibit filamentation. We found that albumin promoted farnesol secretion and filamentation, and the extent of its ability to do so was based on the presence or absence of bound fatty acids. We hypothesize that albumin not bound to fatty acids has the capacity to bind to farnesol and sequester it from
C. albicans
, encouraging filamentation.

IMPORTANCE

For at least 50 years, researchers have wondered about the mechanisms by which serum stimulates germ tube formation (GTF) and hyphal growth in
C. albicans
. Here, we tested a model (Nickerson et al., Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 88:e00081-22, 2024,
https://doi.org/10.1128/mmbr.00081-22
) that serum promotes GTF and farnesol synthesis in part by extracting internal farnesol (F
i
) from the cells toward the excess binding capacity of the albumins. The data presented here suggests that albumin not bound by fatty acids sequesters free farnesol thereby modulating filamentation and farnesol secretion by altering the equilibrium of internal vs external farnesol. We expect that the influence of secreted farnesol on cell morphology will differ during pathogenesis depending on location within the body, but sequestration of farnesol in the blood could mediate immune cell recruitment and promote hyphal formation.
Identification of the critical residues of TMPRSS2 for entry and host range of human coronavirus HKU1
Authors: Chen Yahan , Ou Xiuyuan , Li Pei , Zan Fuwen , Tan Lin , Qian Zhaohui
Published: November 2024

Human coronavirus (CoV) HKU1 infection typically causes common cold but can lead to pneumonia in children, older people, and immunosuppressed individuals. Recently, human transmembrane serine protease 2 (hTMPRSS2) was identified as the functional receptor for HKU1, but its region and residues critical for HKU1 S binding remain elusive. In this study, we find that HKU1 could utilize human and hamster, but not rat, mouse, or bat TMPRSS2 for virus entry, displaying a narrow host range. Using human–bat TMPRSS2 chimeras, we show that the serine peptidase (SP) domain of TMPRSS2 is essential for entry of HKU1. Further extensive mutagenesis analyses of the C-terminal regions of SP domains of human and bat TMPRSS2s identify residues 417 and 469 critical for entry of HKU1. Replacement of either D417 or Y469 with asparagine in hTMPRSS2 abolishes its abilities to mediate entry of HKU1 S pseudovirions and cell–cell fusion, whereas substitution of N417 with D or N469 with Y in bat TMPRSS2 (bTMPRSS2) renders it supporting HKU1 entry. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of coronavirus–receptor interactions and cross-species transmission.

IMPORTANCE

The interactions of coronavirus (CoV) S proteins with their cognate receptors determine the host range and cross-species transmission potential. Recently, human transmembrane serine protease 2 (hTMPRSS2) was found to be the receptor for HKU1. Here, we show that the TMPRSS2 of hamster, but not rat, mouse, or bat, can serve as a functional entry receptor for HKU1. Moreover, swapping the residues at the positions of 417 and 469 of bTMPRSS2 with the corresponding residues of hTMPRSS2 confers it supporting entry of HKU1 S pseudovirions, indicating the critical role of these residues in HKU1 entry. Our study identified the critical residues in hTMPRSS2 responsible for receptor interaction and host range of HKU1.
The complete genome sequence of “
Candidatus
Liberibacter asiaticus” strain 9PA and the characterization of field strains in the Brazilian citriculture
Authors: Dutra Michele F. S. , Silva Priscila A. , Chen Jianchi , Wulff Nelson A.
Published: November 2024

“
Candidatus
Liberibacter asiaticus” (CLas) is associated with citrus huanglongbing, a severe disease with global importance that affects citrus production in Brazil. This study reports the first complete genome of a Brazilian strain of CLas. The genomic structure comparison of strain 9PA with those of 13 complete CLas genomes revealed 9,091 mismatches and 992 gaps/insertions, highlighting eight locally colinear blocks, among which six are in the prophage region. Phylogenetic analysis categorized 13 CLas genomes into two clusters with 9PA clustered with strains from China and the United States. Whole-genomic comparison identified diverse hypervariable genomic regions (HGRs). Three HGRs in the chromosomal region and three in the prophage region were selected and investigated by polymerase chain reaction. HGRs assessed from 68 samples, from medium- to high-huanglongbing incidence areas in Sao Paulo state, were grouped into haplotypes A to P. Haplotype A, which includes strain 9PA, is the second most prevalent, representing 19.1% of the samples. Haplotype B, the most common, accounts for 42.6%. Together with haplotype C, these make up 72% of the evaluated samples. The 9PA strain has prophage P-9PA-1, both integrated and circularized, and P-9PA-3, only found in a circularized form. Prophages show high identity with SC1 (83%) and P-JXGC-3 (98%). Co-occurrence of both type 1 and 3 prophages was observed in field samples. The approach employed provides insights into the Brazilian CLas population, providing markers for population studies and highlighting the prevalence of type 1 and 3 prophages in the population.

IMPORTANCE

CLas is a destructive pathogen responsible for causing the severe citrus disease known as huanglongbing. Our study presents the first fully sequenced Brazilian strain of CLas, designated as 9PA, and includes an analysis of two prophages occurring in this strain. The main objective of our research was to compare the genome features of this Brazilian strain with other fully sequenced genomes and to identify its hypervariable genetic regions. These regions were subsequently used to assess genomic variability within both the chromosomal and prophage regions in Brazilian isolates of CLas. Our findings offer valuable insights into the diversified adaptation of CLas.
Physiological oxygen concentration during sympathetic primary neuron culture improves neuronal health and reduces HSV-1 reactivation
Authors: Dochnal Sara A. , Krakowiak Patryk A. , Whitford Abigail L. , Cliffe Anna R.
Published: November 2024

Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) establishes a latent infection in peripheral neurons and periodically reactivates in response to a stimulus to permit transmission.
In vitro
models using primary neurons are invaluable to studying latent infection because they use bona fide neurons that have undergone differentiation and maturation
in vivo
. However, culture conditions
in vitro
should remain as close to those
in vivo
as possible. This is especially important when considering minimizing cell stress, as it is a well-known trigger of HSV reactivation. We recently developed an HSV-1 model system that requires neurons to be cultured for extended lengths of time. Therefore, we sought to refine culture conditions to optimize neuronal health and minimize secondary effects on latency and reactivation. Here, we demonstrate that culturing primary neurons under conditions closer to physiological oxygen concentrations (5% oxygen) results in cultures with features consistent with reduced stress. Furthermore, culture in these lower oxygen conditions diminishes the progression to full HSV-1 reactivation despite minimal impacts on latency establishment and earlier stages of HSV-1 reactivation. We anticipate that our findings will be useful for the broader microbiology community as they highlight the importance of considering physiological oxygen concentration in studying host-pathogen interactions.

IMPORTANCE

Establishing models to investigate host-pathogen interactions requires mimicking physiological conditions as closely as possible. One consideration is the oxygen concentration used for
in vitro
tissue culture experiments. Standard incubators do not regulate oxygen levels, exposing cells to oxygen concentrations of approximately 18%. However, cells within the body are exposed to much lower oxygen concentrations, with physiological oxygen concentrations in the brain being 0.55%–8% oxygen. Here, we describe a model for herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) latent infection using neurons cultured in 5% oxygen. We show that culturing neurons in more physiological oxygen concentrations improves neuronal health to permit long-term studies of virus-cell interactions and the impact on reactivation.
Binary Coded Unary Regular Languages
Authors: Geffert Viliam , Pališínová Dominika , Šebej Juraj
Published: November 2024

[Formula: see text] is a binary coded unary regular language, if there exists a unary regular language [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is in [Formula: see text] if and only if the binary representation of [Formula: see text] is in [Formula: see text]. If a unary language [Formula: see text] is accepted by a minimal deterministic finite automaton (DFA) [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] states, then its binary coded version [Formula: see text] is regular and can be accepted by a DFA [Formula: see text] using at most [Formula: see text] states, but at least [Formula: see text] states. There are witness languages matching these upper and lower bounds exactly, for each [Formula: see text].

More precisely, if [Formula: see text] uses [Formula: see text] states in the initial segment and [Formula: see text] states in the loop, where [Formula: see text] is odd and [Formula: see text], then the minimal [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] consists of a preamble with at most [Formula: see text] but at least [Formula: see text] states, except for [Formula: see text] with no preamble, and a kernel with at most [Formula: see text] but at least [Formula: see text] states. Also these lower bounds are matched exactly by witness languages, for each [Formula: see text]. If the length of the loop is fixed, the size of the preamble is bounded by [Formula: see text].

The conversion in the opposite way is not always granted: there are binary regular languages the unary versions of which are not even context free.

The conversion of a unary nondeterministic finite automaton (NFA) to a binary NFA uses [Formula: see text] states and introduces a binary version of Chrobak normal form.
MonoFG: Monocular 3D Object Detection with Knowledge Distillation for Human-Centric Autonomous Driving Systems
Authors: Gao Honghao , Yu Xinxin , Xu Yueshen , Ran Qionghuizi , Hussain Walayat
Published: November 2024

Monocular 3D object detection is essential for identifying objects in road images, thus offering valuable environmental perception data that are crucial for human-centric autonomous driving systems. However, due to the inherent limitations of camera imaging, obtaining precise depth information from images alone is challenging, which hampers the accuracy of within-scene object localization. In this paper, we introduce a monocular 3D object detection method called MonoFG that uses knowledge distillation with separated foreground and background components to improve the accuracy of object localization. First, detached foreground and background distillation processes can strategically leverage the distinct positional information acquired from each location to optimize the produced global distillation effects. This step serves as the foundation for the subsequent feature and response distillation process, which focuses on the distilled foreground and background rather than isolated object distillation. Second, triple attention mechanism-based feature distillation intensifies the feature imitation and feature representation capabilities of the student network. Spatial and channel attention mechanisms encourage the student network to capture crucial pixels and channels from the teacher network, whereas a self-attention mechanism globally transfers the learned relationships between pixels. Third, localization error-based response distillation facilitates a clearer transfer of positional information from the teacher network to the student network. Only when the positioning ability of the teacher network exceeds that of the student network can knowledge be comprehensively distilled across both the foreground and background. Therefore, the distillation process is constrained to specific content, which is delineated by positioning errors that serve as the boundaries. Finally, experiments conducted on the KITTI benchmark dataset demonstrate that our method outperforms many well-known baseline methods in several representative evaluation tasks (e.g., 3D object detection and bird's-eye view (BEV) detection) involving human-centric autonomous driving systems.
Adversarial Circuit Rewriting against Graph Neural Network-based Operator Detection
Authors: Zhao Guangwei , Shamsi Kaveh
Published: November 2024

Recent work has shown that graph neural networks (GNNs) can be used to recover high-level word operators and their boundaries in gate-level netlists. Unlike formal methods, however, the GNN does not prove functional equivalence. As such, there is a question of whether structural transforms like circuit rewrites that preserve the functionality of the circuit can diminish the performance of GNN-based operator detection. In this work, we explore this problem by performing simple rewrites on benchmark circuits and showing that indeed there is a performance degradation. We propose new features and learning strategies that can alleviate this. Finally, we develop a rewriting framework that aims to optimize GNN accuracy degradation, which translates to a fine-grained adversarial circuit rewriting of sorts. This can have applications in circuit obfuscation or further improving reverse engineering by providing synthetic training data. We show how this methodology beats non-adversarial rewriting under the same area overhead.
A Primer on Stochastic Partial Differential Equations with Spatially Correlated Noise
Authors: Newhall Katherine A.
Published: November 2024

With the growing number of microscale devices from computer memory to microelectromechanical systems, such as lab-on-a-chip biosensors and the increased ability to experimentally measure at the micro- and nanoscale, modeling systems with stochastic processes is a growing need across science. In particular, stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) naturally arise from continuum models—for example, a pillar magnet's magnetization or an elastic membrane's mechanical deflection. In this review, I seek to acquaint the reader with SPDEs from the point of view of numerically simulating their finite-difference approximations, without the rigorous mathematical details of assigning probability measures to the random field solutions. I will stress that these simulations with spatially uncorrelated noise may not converge as the grid size goes to zero in the way that one expects from deterministic convergence of numerical schemes in two or more spatial dimensions. I then present some models with spatially correlated noise that maintain sampling of the physically relevant equilibrium distribution. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the dynamics; the code is publicly available on GitHub.
Greater motor unit discharge rate during rapid contractions in chronically strength-trained individuals
Authors: Škarabot Jakob , Casolo Andrea , Balshaw Thomas G. , Maeo Sumiaki , Lanza Marcel Bahia , Holobar Aleš , Farina Dario , Folland Jonathan P. , Del Vecchio Alessandro
Published: November 2024

Chronically strength-trained and untrained individuals show similar motor unit discharge rates during slow sustained contractions, however, potential differences in motor unit discharge rates during rapid contractions remained unclear. Here, we show greater maximal motor unit discharge rates during rapid contractions of chronically strength-trained individuals. However, the augmented spinal cord output of strength-trained individuals did not lead to greater relative maximal rate of force development compared with untrained men.
Performance Study of an Autotriggered Anticollapse Fusing Hardware and Its Application on Transmission Lines Subjected to Conductor Breakage
Authors: Li Jia-Xiang , Zhang Chao , Fu Xing , Sun Jian , Jiang Wen-Qiang , Wang Biao , Qu Chun-Xu
Published: November 2024

Conductor breakage with ice load is one of the major threats to the safe operation of transmission lines. The ice load increases the unbalanced longitudinal tension, leading to failure of tower members and even progressive collapse of the transmission line. This paper proposes an autotriggered anticollapse fusing hardware (AAFH), designed to reduce the unbalanced longitudinal tension caused by conductor breakage. When the longitudinal unbalanced tension of the transmission line exceeds the threshold of the AAFH, the fused part is destroyed, and the AAFH is elongated to reduce the longitudinal unbalanced tension. First, the construction and working mechanism of the device are introduced, and a numerical model of the transmission line–AAFH system is established to verify its effectiveness. Then, a parameter determination method for unbalanced tension in the tower‐line system subjected to conductor breakage is proposed. In addition, the control performance of the device is studied. The results show that AAFH can effectively reduce the unbalanced tension induced by conductor breakage. The proposed method can predict the unbalanced tension of transmission lines, with an error within 10%. The greater the length of vertical/horizontal elongation, the better the protective effect. From a safety perspective, the AAFH should be designed according to the actual transmission line parameters to achieve an ideal control effect.
Prevalence of Autoantibodies in Patients with Hereditary Alpha-Tryptasemia
Authors: Slapnicar Calum , Lee Erika , Vadas Peter
Published: November 2024

Introduction: Hereditary alpha-tryptasemia (HαT) is associated with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). While POTS, hEDS, and MCAS have all demonstrated increased prevalence of autoimmunity, this has not been investigated in HαT populations. Our objective was to describe the prevalence of autoantibodies in individuals with HαT. Methods: We retrospectively studied a cohort of patients with positive genotyping for HαT at a tertiary-care allergy clinic. Demographic data including previous autoimmune history and autoantibody serologies were extracted on chart review. A literature search was conducted to determine the prevalence of specific autoimmune and autoantibody prevalences in the general population. We compared the proportions of autoantibody positivity and established autoimmune diseases in our cohort of HαT individuals against those in general populations. Results: We identified 101 patients with HαT. Median age was 43 years (range 15–75), and most were female (87/101; 86.1%). Prevalence of self-reported drug hypersensitivity was 52/101 (52.5%) patients. The proportion of individuals with HαT with positive tTG antibody (3/61, 4.9%) was significantly higher than that reported in the general population (133/16,667, 0.8%) (p < 0.001). The prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (1/101, 1%) and celiac disease (5/101, 5%) in our cohort were found to be significantly higher than the prevalence in the general population (194/96,996, 0.2% [p = 0.035] and 26/2,845, 0.9% [p < 0.001], respectively). Conclusion: Patients with HαT have increased prevalence of celiac disease, SLE, and positive anti-tTG serology, as well as self-reported drug hypersensitivity, relative to general populations.
The Potential of ESCO2 as a Prognostic and Immunotherapeutic Marker of Pan-Cancer and Its Role in Anti-PD-1 Treatment of Bladder Cancer
Authors: Guo Wei , Zhao Shuo , Yan Keqiang , Fan Yidong , Liu Jikai
Published: November 2024

Introduction: Establishment of sister chromatid cohesion N-acetyltransferase 2 (ESCO2), a member of the EFO2 family, is implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of various cancers. However, there has been limited comprehensive pan-cancer analysis conducted on ESCO2 thus far. Methods: Publicly available databases, such as the UCSC Xena database, were utilized to examine differential expression patterns across various cancer types. In addition, variations in expression levels were investigated across distinct clinical stages. Univariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact on overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), disease-free interval (DFI), and progression-free interval (PFI) at the pan-cancer level. The correlation between ESCO2 expression and immune cell infiltration was examined to gain insight into the tumor microenvironment (TME) in different cancers. The results of the bioinformatic analysis were validated using immunotherapy clinical trials and pathological specimens. CCK-8 and Transwell assay experiments were performed to investigate the biological function of ESCO2. Results: ESCO2 expression was found to be upregulated in most cancers, with a correlation to TNM stages. Prognostic analysis indicated that overexpression of ESCO2 was associated with poor prognosis in various cancers. Furthermore, the correlation between ESCO2 expression and immune cell infiltration suggested its potential as a predictor for immunotherapy efficacy. Notably, ESCO2 expression showed positive associations with immunoinhibitor, immunostimulator, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule, chemokine receptor, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) levels in bladder cancer (BLCA). The validation cohort for immunotherapy corroborated these findings and substantiated that ESCO2 could function as an autonomous prognostic biomarker and a promising target for cancer treatment via immunotherapy. In addition, in vitro experiments confirmed the role of ESCO2 in influencing the proliferation, invasion, and migration of BLCA cells. Conclusion: ESCO2 participates in regulating the immune infiltration and affecting the prognosis of patients in many cancers, especially in BLCA. ESCO2 may serve as a prognostic and immunotherapy biomarker in future treatment of human cancer.
Validation of a Urine-Based Proteomics Test to Predict Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer: Complementing mpMRI Pathway
Authors: Frantzi Maria , Morillo Ana C. , Lendinez Guillermo , Blanca Ana , Lopez Ruiz Daniel , Parada Jose , Heidegger Isabel , Culig Zoran , Mavrogeorgis Emmanouil , Beltran Antonio Lopez , Mora-Ortiz Marina , Carrasco-Valiente Julia , Mischak Harald , Medina Rafael A. , Campos Hernandez Pablo , Gómez Gómez Enrique
Published: November 2024

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men. A major clinical need is to accurately predict clinically significant PCa (csPCa). A proteomics-based 19-biomarker model (19-BM) was previously developed using capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) and validated in close to 1,000 patients at risk for PCa. This study aimed to validate 19-BM in a multicenter prospective cohort of 101 biopsy-naive patients using current diagnostic pathways. Methods: Urine samples from 101 patients with suspicious of PCa were analyzed using CE-MS. All patients underwent multiparametric or magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) using a 3-T system. The 19-BM score was estimated using support vector machine-based software (MosaCluster v1.7.0), employing the previously published cut-off criterion of −0.07. Diagnostic nomograms were investigated along with mpMRI. Results: Independent validation of 19-BM yielded a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 85% (AUC:0.81). This performance surpassed those of prostate-specific antigen (PSA; AUC:0.56) and PSA density (AUC:0.69). For PI-RADS≤ 3 patients, 19-BM showed a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 88%. Integrating 19-BM with mpMRI resulted in significantly better accuracy (AUC:0.90) compared to individual investigations alone (AUC19BM = 0.81; p = 0.004 and AUCmpMRI: 0.79; p = 0.001). Examining the decision curve analysis, 19-BM with mpMRI surpassed other approaches for the prevailing risk interval from a 30% cut-off. Conclusions: 19-BM exhibited favorable reproducibility for the prediction of csPCa. In patients with PI-RADS ≤3, 19-BM correctly classified 88% of the patients with insignificant PCa at the cost of 1 missed csPCa patient. Utilizing the 19-BM test could prove valuable in complementing mpMRI and reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies.
Risk Factors for Major Bleeding among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Treated with Acetylsalicylic Acid
Authors: Schwartz Yoskovitz Gil , Schwartz Yoskovitz Meytal , Haim-Pinhas Hadar , Saban Mor , Pereg David , Wand Ori , Rozenberg Ilan , Benchetrit Sydney , Cohen-Hagai Keren
Published: November 2024

Introduction: Individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at increased risk of thrombotic events and bleeding. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), an effective antiplatelet agent, is one of the most frequently used medications for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, it can also contribute to bleeding events due to its inherent antiplatelet effect. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of CKD patients at increased risk of bleeding under ASA therapy. Methods: This retrospective analysis included patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD who were treated with ASA for primary prevention of CVD for at least 3 consecutive months and did not receive anti-coagulants or anti-platelets. Data were collected from electronic medical records from January 2014 to December 2018. CKD diagnosis was based on an estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 mL/min/1.73 m2. CKD patients who experienced major bleeding events during ASA therapy (bleeding group) versus all others (control group) were compared. Additional outcomes included first documented nonfatal cardiovascular event and all-cause mortality. Results: Of the 900 adult CKD patients included in this analysis, 82 (9.1%) had a major bleeding event during 31.6 ± 25.9 months of follow-up. The most common bleeding site was gastrointestinal (52 cases, 63.4% of major bleeding events). Patients who had a major bleeding event were older (76.5 ± 10 vs. 74 ± 10.3 years, p = 0.038). On multivariate analysis, age was the most important predictor of major bleeding event (odds ratio: 1.029, 95% confidence interval: 1.004–1.056). Conclusions: Given its controversial efficacy in primary prevention of CVD in CKD patients, characterizing those at increased risk of bleeding under ASA therapy is important in the era of tailored medicine. Age, CKD stage, and cardiovascular risk are key factors to consider regarding the safety and effectiveness of ASA for CKD patients.
A Programmatic Approach to En Bloc Transurethral Enucleation of the Prostate with Bipolar System: A Single-Center Retrospective Report
Authors: Lai Peng , Lu Ying , Lu Weihong , Chao Fan , Zhang Jianping
Published: November 2024

Introduction: This study presents a systematic approach for en bloc transurethral enucleation of the prostate utilizing a bipolar system (TUEB), evaluating its effectiveness and safety. Furthermore, the research aims to pinpoint risk factors contributing to early stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after undergoing en bloc TUEB. Methods: The en bloc TUEB procedure is visually demonstrated through images and videos. A retrospective analysis was conducted based on the data of 88 patients diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who underwent en bloc TUEB between January 2018 and April 2023. Detailed perioperative and follow-up clinical data were collected and analyzed. Patients were categorized based on the occurrence of SUI, and their clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results: The mean surgical duration was 113.1 ± 50.0 min, resulting in an excised prostate gland weighing 58.0 ± 34.3 g and a hemoglobin drop of 14.3 ± 11.2 g/L. The average enucleation rate was 79.00 ± 11.01%, enucleation efficiency was 0.54 ± 0.26 g/min and prostate-specific antigen reduction rate was 42.08 ± 22.85%. There were no major complications during operation. Twenty-three patients (26.13%) developed early SUI after catheter removal, and 74% of them were in remission within 1 month. Importantly, no cases of persistent SUI were observed. Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs) duration was significantly different between patients with and without postoperative SUI. Residual urine volume, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and Quality of Life (QoL) score were significantly improved in BPH patients after surgery (p < 0.05). Twelve months after surgery, only 2 patients (2.27%) had urethral stricture, although it recovered after transurethral dilation. Conclusions: En bloc TUEB is proven to be effective, practical, efficient, and safe with minimal complications. This procedure could be standardized and widely adopted. LUTS duration can predict the risk of early SUI.
СПЕЦИФІКА ВИКЛАДАННЯ У МЕДИЧНИХ ЗАКЛАДАХ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ В ДИСТАНЦІЙНОМУ ФОРМАТІ
Authors: Демидчук А. С. , Шамало С. М.
Published: November 2024

Викладачі сучасних медичних ЗВО у світовій освітній практиці є викладачами безпосередньо, практикуючими лікарями, а також дослідниками одночасно. Вони мусять формувати у студентів-медиків позитивну мотивацію до навчання, нести відповідальність за якість здобувачів освіти та володіти високими професійними здібностями. Викладачу медичного університету потрібно постійно аналізувати й оцінювати та підлаштовувати себе у відповідь на зміни в педагогічній діяльності та професійно-педагогічному середовищі.
Сьогоденні медичні ЗВО, поряд із традиційними формами, також мусять розвивати навчання на основі сучасних та інноваційних освітніх технологій виховання. Педагогічні працівники адаптуються до мінливого напряму сучасної медичної освіти, готують студентів-медиків, у тому числі із використанням компʼютерних технологій. У рамках освітнього середовища університету, а також за його межами постає можливість реалізувати різноманітні форми комп’ютерної взаємодії між викладачами та студентами. Компʼютерні технології на даний час використовуються при вивченні всіх дисциплін (теоретичних та клінічних) у сучасних медичних університетах світу. Програмне забезпечення призначене та є дуже вагомим для початкової, поточної та безперервної освіти студентів-медиків. Освітні університетські платформи надають доступ до електронного онлайн-навчання, сприяють засвоєнню нової інформації й оснащені всім необхідним для підготовки та використання студентами відповідними навчальними матеріалами, які є необхідними при ефективному навчанні. Студенти-медики, у свою чергу, постійно звертаються до надійних джерел інтернет-ресурсів, щоб отримати додатковий матеріал, розширити свої знання і поліпшити свою практику. Під час пандемії COVID-19 у всіх країнах світу започаткувалося активне онлайн-навчання, що дало можливість продовжити безперервну медичну освіту. На жаль, після пандемії впровадження цифрових форматів навчання студентів-медиків в Україні не зупинилося через військове вторгнення росії.
Онлайн-навчання хоча і має велику кількість позитивних моментів, але воно не може повністю замінити традиційне аудиторне навчання. Тому українські викладачі повинні і надалі вдосконалювати свої знання в цифрових технологіях для онлайн-навчання.
ВИКОРИСТАННЯ PubMed У ВИКЛАДАННІ КЛІНІЧНИХ ДИСЦИПЛІН СТУДЕНТАМ МЕДИЧНОГО УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ
Authors: Хапченкова Д. С. , Жигаль Ю. В. , Кривошеєва В. В.
Published: November 2024

У статті розглянуто питання щодо використання сучасних джерел інформації у викладанні клінічних дисциплін студентам медичного університету. Постійне та швидке оновлення існуючих протоколів, схем, алгоритмів діагностики та лікування диктує необхідність використання сучасних інформаційних додатків. Потреба сьогодення в кваліфікованих медичних фахівцях, що використовують найсучасніші методи дослідження та протоколи лікування, не викликає сумніву. Одним із пріоритетних напрямів вивчення клінічних дисциплін є доцільне використання сучасних інформаційних джерел, обробка й аналіз отриманої інформації та правильність її використання не тільки для підготовки до практичних занять, але й у подальшій професійній діяльності. Здобувачі освіти без перехідних періодів прискорено впроваджують використання цифрових інформаційних застосунків для виконання навчальних планів, засвоєння практичних навичок, отримання актуальної медичної інформації з будь-якої тематики. Вивчено навчальний потенціал бази даних PubMed в оновленні змісту дисциплін професійної підготовки лікарів. Наголошено на важливості структурування змісту клінічних дисциплін. Сформульовано вимоги до відбору інформаційних матеріалів із бази PubMed із погляду навчальних, професійних, актуальних інтересів студентів медичних університетів. Визначено переваги PubMed та пов’язаного сервісу MEDLINE у викладанні клінічних дисциплін у медичному університеті. Зроблено акцент на необхідності вільного володіння англійською мовою здобувачами освіти, що значно полегшить та прискорить можливість використання сучасних медичних застосунків, обмін актуальною інформацією та спілкування з колегами. Можливість використання інформаційних застосунків забезпечить безперервність навчання як студентів, так і досвідчених лікарів, надасть можливість отримувати актуальну медичну інформацію та впроваджувати нові стандарти медичної допомоги.
КРЕАТИВНІ ПІДХОДИ ДО НАВЧАЛЬНО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНОГО ПРОЦЕСУ НА КАФЕДРІ АНАТОМІЇ ЛЮДИНИ ТЕРНОПІЛЬСЬКОГО НАЦІОНАЛЬНОГО МЕДИЧНОГО УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ ІМЕНІ І. Я. ГОРБАЧЕВСЬКОГО МІНІСТЕРСТВА ОХОРОНИ ЗДОРОВʼЯ УКРАЇНИ
Authors: Пришляк А. М. , Ремінецький Б. Я. , Яворська С. І. , Гантімуров А. В.
Published: November 2024

Навчально-методичне й організаційне забезпечення підготовки фахівців за освітньо-професійними та освітньо-науковими програмами вимагає дослідження як класичних, так і сучасних креативних методів навчання. Підвищення ефективності сприйняття інформації досягається різними способами, насамперед емоційною та естетичною складовими організації навчального процесу і позааудиторною роботою здобувачів вищої освіти. Намагаючись полегшити й оптимізувати процес засвоєння студентами предмета, на кафедрі нормальної анатомії вже кілька років використовують традиційні та сучасні методи педагогічного процесу. До ключових компетентностей студента та фахівця належить уміння вчитися, чому сприяє розширення спектра методів із врахуванням особистих здібностей здобувача вищої освіти. Моделювання є універсальним ефективним методом у процесі вивчення та закріплення морфологічних знань. Даний метод застосовується у процесі пізнання як на практичних, так і більшою мірою на заняттях анатомічного студентського гуртка, оскільки потребує більше творчості і часу, що не завжди передбачено у тривалості аудиторних занять. Згідно з експертними оцінками, найбільш успішними на ринку праці є фахівці, які вміють навчатися впродовж життя, критично мислити, ставити цілі та досягати їх, працювати в команді. Згідно з «пірамідою навчання», фокусуємо увагу на застосуванні найбільш ефективної методи (коефіцієнт засвоєння понад 90 %) оволодіння знаннями – активної діяльності. При конструюванні двовимірних та тривимірних моделей залучаються не лише зорові та слухові аналізатори, а й кінестетичний, тактильний і творчий компоненти. Істотними ознаками виготовлення матеріальної моделі є наочність, абстракція, елемент наукової фантазії й уяви, використання аналогії як логічного методу побудови. Це значно підвищує ефективність засвоєння і довготривале запам’ятовування морфологічних знань.
НОВІ ВИКЛИКИ ДО ПІДГОТОВКИ СТУДЕНТІВ-РЕАБІЛІТОЛОГІВ: СПЕЦИФІЧНІ НАВИЧКИ ТА ЗНАННЯ ДЛЯ РОБОТИ В УМОВАХ БОЙОВИХ ДІЙ ТА У ПІСЛЯВОЄННИЙ ПЕРІОД
Authors: Швед М. І. , Ястремська І. О. , Мартинюк Л. П. , Кучмій В. Ю.
Published: November 2024

Анотація. У звʼязку з військовими конфліктами та їх наслідками для здоровʼя населення підготовка фахівців з реабілітації набуває особливої важливості. Стаття присвячена аналізу нових викликів, що постають перед системою медичної освіти, зокрема у підготовці студентів-реабілітологів. Висвітлено специфічні навички та знання, необхідні для надання якісної допомоги пацієнтам, які зазнали фізичних та психологічних травм у результаті бойових дій. Розглянуто ключові аспекти підготовки реабілітологів для роботи в умовах воєнного стану та післявоєнного періоду, зокрема інтенсивне навчання тактичної медицини, технік фізичної реабілітації при травмах кінцівок, нейрореабілітації, а також роботи з пацієнтами, що мають посттравматичні стресові розлади. Особлива увага приділяється значенню міждисциплінарного підходу в реабілітаційній практиці та необхідності інтеграції сучасних технологій, таких як телемедицина, віртуальна реальність та симуляційне навчання, у навчальний процес. Також обговорюються проблеми кадрового забезпечення та підготовки викладачів, які повинні мати спеціалізовані знання для навчання студентів у цих складних умовах. Запропоновано рекомендації щодо адаптації навчальних програм з урахуванням нових вимог, що виникли внаслідок військових дій, із метою підвищення ефективності реабілітаційної допомоги та забезпечення повноцінної інтеграції постраждалих у суспільство після завершення конфлікту. Таким чином, стаття підкреслює необхідність модернізації навчальних програм для реабілітологів, щоб забезпечити їх готовність до викликів сьогодення і сприяти відновленню здоровʼя населення після завершення війни.