bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Translating the evolving molecular landscape of tumors to biomarkers of response for cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Anagnostou Valsamo , Landon Blair V. , Medina Jamie E. , Forde Patrick , Velculescu Victor E.
Published: November 2022

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer therapeutics, triggering studies to understand the molecular and cellular wiring of response and resistance. Our increased understanding of the underlying biology of response to ICI has enabled the investigation of tumor-intrinsic and -extrinsic features that may predict therapeutic outcomes. In parallel, liquid biopsy measurements of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can be used to assess real-time molecular responses and guide clinical decisions during ICI. The combination of these approaches provides a deeper understanding of cancer biology, immunoediting, and evolution during ICI and promise to extend the utility of immunotherapies for patients with cancer.
Interleukin-2–based therapies in cancer
Authors: Raeber Miro E. , Sahin Dilara , Boyman Onur
Published: November 2022

Molecular insights into the mechanism of beneficial and adverse effects of interleukin-2 (IL-2) have resulted in the development of improved IL-2 formulations with IL-2 receptor bias and tissue-targeting properties. Several of these compounds are currently in clinical development and are ushering IL-2 therapy into the current era of cancer immunotherapy.
Bipartite
rgp
Locus Diversity in Streptococcus thermophilus Corresponds to Backbone and Side Chain Differences of Its Rhamnose-Containing Cell Wall Polysaccharide
Authors: Lavelle Katherine , Sadovskaya Irina , Vinogradov Evgeny , Kelleher Philip , Lugli Gabriele A. , Ventura Marco , van Sinderen Douwe , Mahony Jennifer
Published: November 2022

Streptococcus thermophilus
is present and applied in industrial and artisanal dairy fermentations for the production of various cheeses and yogurt. During these fermentations,
S. thermophilus
is vulnerable to phage predation, and recent studies have identified the rhamnose-glucose polymer (Rgp) as the definitive receptor for at least one problematic phage species.
LAMP3/CD63 Expression in Early and Late Endosomes in Human Vaginal Epithelial Cells Is Associated with Enhancement of HSV-2 Infection
Authors: Nazli Aisha , Chow Ryan , Zahoor Muhammad Atif , Workenhe Samuel Tekeste , Dhawan Tushar , Verschoor Chris , Kaushic Charu
Published: November 2022

Collectively, these results showed that HSV-2 is taken up by human vaginal epithelial cells through an endosomal-lysosomal pathway in association with LAMP3, which plays a crucial role in the enhancement of HSV-2 replication. These findings provide the basis for the future design of antiviral agents for prophylactic measures against HSV-2 infection.
Coding-Complete Genome Sequence of an African Swine Fever Virus from an Outbreak in 2021 among Domestic Pigs in Pangasinan, Philippines
Authors: Montecillo Andrew D. , Baybay Zyne , Cabug Ralph Carolyn , Cariaso Wreahlen , Jose John Paulo , Mantaring Sheila , Briones Annabelle , Warr Amanda , Burkard Christine , Villegas Lucille , Pantua Homer
Published: November 2022

We report a coding-complete genome sequence of an African swine fever virus from an outbreak in 2021 among domestic pigs in Pangasinan, Philippines using Oxford Nanopore Technologies minION. The linear genome assembly is a single contig with 192,377 bp.
Complete Genome and Partial Megaplasmid Sequences of Mycobacterium pseudoshottsii Strain NJB1907-Z4, Isolated from an Aquarium-Reared Japanese Sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in Japan
Authors: Komine Takeshi , Fukano Hanako , Yoshida Mitsunori , Inohana Mari , Hoshino Yoshihiko , Kurata Osamu , Wada Shinpei
Published: November 2022

Mycobacterium pseudoshottsii
, a slow-growing nontuberculous mycobacterium, has been isolated from wild and cultured fish. We report here the complete genome and partial megaplasmid sequences of a strain isolated from an aquarium-reared Japanese sardine (
Sardinops melanostictus
) in Japan,
M. pseudoshottsii
NJB1907-Z4.
Whole-Genome Sequencing-Based Species Classification, Multilocus Sequence Typing, and Antimicrobial Resistance Mechanism Analysis of the Enterobacter cloacae Complex in Southern China
Authors: Dong Xu , Zhu Mei , Li Yaxuan , Huang Dawei , Wang Lan , Yan Chunxia , Zhang Linhua , Dong Fubo , Lu Junwan , Lin Xi , Li Kewei , Bao Qiyu , Cong Cheng , Pan Wei
Published: November 2022

The presence and emergence of multiple species/subspecies of ECC have led to diversity and complications at the taxonomic level, which impedes our further understanding of the epidemiology and clinical significance of species/subspecies of ECC. Accurate identification of ECC species is extremely important.
Limited Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the Human Naso-Oropharyngeal Microbiota in Hospitalized Patients
Authors: Lai Christopher K. C. , Cheung Man Kit , Lui Grace C. Y. , Ling Lowell , Chan Jason Y. K. , Ng Rita W. Y. , Chan Hiu Ching , Yeung Apple C. M. , Ho Wendy C. S. , Boon Siaw Shi , Chan Paul K. S. , Chen Zigui
Published: November 2022

Our results showed that while both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 hospitalized patients differed in the composition, alpha and beta diversity, and metabolic potential of the naso-oropharyngeal microbiota compared with local controls, the microbial communities in the two hospitalized patient groups did not differ significantly from each other, indicating a limited impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the naso-oropharyngeal microbiota in hospitalized patients. Besides, we identified
Alloprevotella
and
Solobacterium
as bacterial genera uniquely enriched in COVID-19 patients, which may serve as more specific biomarkers for COVID-19 detection.
Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection
Authors: Fogh Kamille , Larsen Tine Graakjær , Hansen Cecilie B. , Hasselbalch Rasmus B. , Eriksen Alexandra R. R. , Bundgaard Henning , Frikke-Schmidt Ruth , Hilsted Linda M. , Østergaard Lars , Johansen Isik S. , Hageman Ida , Garred Peter , Iversen Kasper
Published: November 2022

This cohort study included questionnaire data as well as anti-nucleocapsid antibody analysis, allowing us to determine whether participants were seropositive due to vaccination or natural infection. The study emphasizes the importance of early confirmation of COVID-19, as antibodies recede with time, and it indicates an overlap between long COVID symptoms and symptoms possibly of another origin.
Fully Attenuated
meq
and
pp38
Double Gene Deletion Mutant Virus Confers Superior Immunological Protection against Highly Virulent Marek’s Disease Virus Infection
Authors: Sun Aijun , Zhao Xuyang , Zhu Xiaojing , Kong Zhengjie , Liao Yifei , Teng Man , Yao Yongxiu , Luo Jun , Nair Venugopal , Zhuang Guoqing , Zhang Gaiping
Published: November 2022

MDV is a highly contagious immunosuppressive and neoplastic pathogen. The virus can be controlled through vaccination via an attenuated
meq
deletion mutant virus that retains the ability to induce lymphoid organ atrophy.
Pathological ankle fracture due to brown tumour: atypical presentation of low serum vitamin D with normal parathyroid hormone and bone profile
Authors: Lim Yizhe , Ball Thomas Alfred , Chin Wen Wei
Published: November 2022

Osteoclastomas or brown tumours are named as such due to increased vascularity, subsequent haemorrhage and haemosiderin deposition giving the lesion a reddish brown appearance under gross microscopic examination. It is due to an increase in parathyroid hormone activity from several causes, such as parathyroid adenomas, renal impairment and low vitamin D levels. The lesions increase the tendency of the bone to fracture. The challenging aspect of the diagnosis is that a histological diagnosis without immunohistochemistry is impossible to make. This is because, without special staining, brown tumours cannot be differentiated from giant cell tumours, which are also classed as benign but can be locally destructive and has potential for malignant transformation. Once tissue diagnosis is confirmed as a brown tumour, then aggressive forms of treatment are not needed, and they generally resolve once the underlying cause is treated. We describe a woman in her 80s who presented to the local Orthopaedic service with a pathological ankle fracture due to a brown tumour.
Prostate MRI versus PSA screening for prostate cancer detection (the MVP Study): a randomised clinical trial
Authors: Nam Robert , Patel Chirag , Milot Laurent , Hird Amanda , Wallis Christopher , Macinnis Patrick , Singh Mala , Emmenegger Urban , Sherman Christopher , Haider Masoom A
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Our objective was to compare prostate cancer detection rates between patients undergoing serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) vs magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for prostate cancer screening.

Design

Phase III open-label randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Single tertiary cancer centre in Toronto, Canada.

Participants

Men 50 years of age and older with no history of PSA screening for ≥3 years, a negative digital rectal exam and no prior prostate biopsy.

Interventions

Patients were recommended to undergo a prostate biopsy if their PSA was ≥2.6 ng/mL (PSA arm) or if they had a PIRADS score of 4 or 5 (MRI arm). Patients underwent an end-of-study PSA in the MRI arm.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Adenocarcinoma on prostate biopsy. Prostate biopsy rates and the presence of clinically significant prostate cancer were also compared.

Results

A total of 525 patients were randomised, with 266 in the PSA arm and 248 in the MRI arm. Due to challenges with accrual and study execution during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was terminated early. In the PSA arm, 48 patients had an abnormal PSA and 28 (58%) agreed to undergo a prostate biopsy. In the MRI arm, 25 patients had a PIRADS score of 4 or 5 and 24 (96%) agreed to undergo a biopsy. The relative risk for MRI to recommend a prostate biopsy was 0.52 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.82, p=0.005), compared with PSA. The cancer detection rate for patients in the PSA arm was 29% (8 of 28) vs 63% (15 of 24, p=0.019) in the MRI arm, with a higher proportion of clinically significant cancer detected in the MRI arm (73% vs 50%). The relative risk for detecting cancer and clinically significant with MRI compared with PSA was 1.89 (95% CI 0.82 to 4.38, p=0.14) and 2.77 (95% CI 0.89 to 8.59, p=0.07), respectively.

Conclusions

Prostate MRI as a stand-alone screening test reduced the rate of prostate biopsy. The number of clinically significant cancers detected was higher in the MRI arm, but this did not reach statistical significance. Due to early termination, the study was underpowered. More patients were willing to follow recommendations for prostate biopsy based on MRI results.

Trial registration number

NCT02799303.
Indicators of optimal diabetes care and burden of diabetes complications in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Kibirige Davis , Chamba Nyasatu , Andia-Biraro Irene , Kilonzo Kajiru , Laizer Sweetness Naftal , Sekitoleko Isaac , Kyazze Andrew Peter , Ninsiima Sandra , Ssekamatte Phillip , Bongomin Felix , Mrema Lucy Elauteri , Olomi Willyhelmina , Mbunda Theodora D , Ntinginya Nyanda Elias , Sabi Issa , Sharples Katrina , Hill Philip , te Brake Lindsey , VandeMaat Josephine , vanCrevel Reinout , Critchley Julia Alison
Published: November 2022

Objective

Contemporary data on the attainment of optimal diabetes treatment goals and the burden of diabetes complications in adult populations with type 2 diabetes in Africa are lacking. We aimed to document the current status of attainment of three key indicators of optimal diabetes care and the prevalence of five diabetes complications in adult African populations with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

We systematically searched Embase, PubMed and the Cochrane library for published studies from January 2000 to December 2020. Included studies reported any information on the proportion of attainment of optimal glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) goals and/or prevalence of five diabetes complications (diabetic peripheral neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy, foot ulcers and peripheral arterial disease). Random effect model meta-analysis was performed to determine the pooled proportion of attainment of the three treatment goals and the prevalence of five diabetes complications.

Results

In total, 109 studies with a total of 63 890 participants (53.3% being females) were included in the meta-analysis. Most of the studies were conducted in Eastern African countries (n=44, 40.4%). The pooled proportion of attainment of an optimal HbA1c, BP and LDLC goal was 27% (95% CI 24 to 30, I2=94.7%), 38% (95% CI 30 to 46, I2=98.7%) and 42% (95% CI 32 to 52, I2=97.4%), respectively. The pooled prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, peripheral arterial disease and foot ulcers was 38% (95% CI 31 to 45, I2=98.2%), 32% (95% CI 28 to 36, I2=98%), 31% (95% CI 22 to 41, I2=99.3%), 19% (95% CI 12 to 25, I2=98.1%) and 11% (95% CI 9 to 14, I2=97.4%), respectively.

Conclusion

Attainment of optimal diabetes treatment goals, especially HbA1c, in adult patients with type 2 diabetes in Africa remains a challenge. Diabetes complications, especially diabetic peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy, are highly prevalent in adult populations with type 2 diabetes in Africa.
Prevalence and associated factors of anxiety among the population in an urban area of China: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Wang Qingqing , Zhang Juhua , Yao Huiqing , Jin Pengfei , Zhao Fei , Zhang Peng
Published: November 2022

Objective

This study was conducted to explore the prevalence and associated factors of anxiety disorder among the population in an urban area of China.

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Setting

The study was conducted in Shanghai, China.

Participants

Residents aged 30–70 years who have lived for over 6 months in Shanghai from December 2018 to April 2019 were included in the study.

Outcome measures

The main study outcome was the prevalence of anxiety. The association of demographic information, medical expenses, living habits and sleep conditions with anxiety was also evaluated based on the collected data using structured questionnaires.

Results

Among 5063 participants, 498 (9.84%, 95% CI: 9.02% to 10.66%) suffered from anxiety. The female sex, age 60–70 years old, lower educational level, partly self-expenses, higher family medical expenses in the past year, stroke history, hypertension history, dyslipidaemia history, diabetes history, drinking, sleeping on average <6 hours per day and waking up suffocating during sleep were associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety (p<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, gender, type of medical expenses, family medical expenses, hours of sleep and waking up suffocating were related to anxiety (p<0.05).

Conclusions

Our findings showed an alarmingly high prevalence of anxiety in the population living in an urban area of China. Sleep time <6 hours and waking up suffocating had a significant association with anxiety. These findings suggest that future anxiety prevention programmes in urban areas should incorporate interventions targeted at these factors, such as improving residents’ sleep quality.
Sex differences in health-related quality of life trajectories following myocardial infarction: national longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Dondo Tatendashe Bernadette , Munyombwe Theresa , Hall Marlous , Hurdus Ben , Soloveva Anzhela , Oliver Gerard , Aktaa Suleman , West Robert M , Hall Alistair S , Gale Chris P
Published: November 2022

Objectives

To investigate sex-based differences in baseline values and longitudinal trajectories of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a large cohort of myocardial infarction (MI) survivors after adjusting for other important factors.

Design

Longitudinal cohort study.

Setting

Population-based longitudinal study the Evaluation of the Methods and Management of Acute Coronary Events study linked with national cardiovascular registry. Data were collected from 77 hospitals in England between 1 November 2011 and 24 June 2015.

Participants

9551 patients with MI. Patients were eligible for the study if they were ≥18 years of age.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

HRQoL was measured by EuroQol five-dimension, visual analogue scale (EQ-5D, EQ VAS) survey at baseline, 1, 6 and 12 months after discharge. Multi-level linear and logistic regression models coupled with inverse probability weighted propensity scoring were used to evaluate sex differences in HRQoL following MI.

Results

Of the 9551 patients with MI and complete data on sex, 25.1% (2,397) were women. At baseline, women reported lower HRQoL (EQ VAS (mean (SD) 59.8 (20.4) vs 64.5 (20.9)) (median (IQR) 60.00 (50.00–75.00) vs 70.00 (50.00–80.00))) (EQ-5D (mean (SD) 0.66 (0.31) vs 0.74 (0.28)) (median (IQR) 0.73 (0.52–0.85) vs 0.81 (0.62–1.00))) and were more likely to report problems in each HRQoL domain compared with men. In the covariate balanced and adjusted multi-level model sex differences in HRQoL persisted during follow-up, with lower EQ VAS and EQ-5D scores in women compared with men (adjusted EQ VAS model sex coefficient: −4.41, 95% CI −5.16 to −3.66 and adjusted EQ-5D model sex coefficient: −0.07, 95% CI −0.08 to −0.06).

Conclusions

Women have lower HRQoL compared with men at baseline and during 12 months follow-up after MI. Tailored interventions for women following an MI could improve their quality of life.

Trial registration number

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04598048,NCT01808027,NCT01819103
Test reliability and comparability of paper and Chinese electronic version of the western Ontario and McMaster University osteoarthritis index: protocol for a randomised controlled clinical trial
Authors: Zhang Yujie , Zhao Ye , Liu Kaoqiang , Chai Yongli , Lin Fen , Zhan Hongsheng , Zheng Yuxin , Yuan Weian
Published: November 2022

Introduction

The Western Ontario and McMaster University osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) is the most commonly used indicator of disease-specific outcome in knee osteoarthritis for its convenience and reliability. It has two formats the paper-based WOMAC (p-WOMAC) and the electronic WOMAC (e-WOMAC). In China, the p-WOMAC has been widely used though e-WOMAC is yet untested. This study aims to test whether e-WOMAC is consistent with the p-WOMAC before and after the intervention.

Methods and analysis

A total of 70 patients from Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine will be randomly assigned in two groups, named, group A and group B. This study is divided into three stages. In the first stage, patients in group A will be evaluated first by p-WOMAC and then by e-WOMAC. Patients in group B will be evaluated by e-WOMAC and then by p-WOMAC. In the second stage of the study, drug interventions will be implemented. 200 mg celecoxib will be administered orally once a day starting from the second day of enrolment for a period of 21 days. In the third stage, postintervention evaluation will be conducted after administration. Patients in group A will be evaluated first by e-WOMAC and then by p-WOMAC. Patients in group B will be evaluated first by p-WOMAC and then by e-WOMAC. In order to avoid the possible bias because of patients’ potential memory, e-WOMAC and p-WOMAC will be taken for each patient at 15 min apart. The primary outcome of the study is the mean score difference in WOMAC, and the secondary outcomes are the score differences in WOMAC subscales: pain, stiffness and physical function.

Ethics and dissemination

The protocol has been approved by the Independent Review Board of SGH (approval number: 2020-814-21-01). The results of the trial will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Trial registration number

ChiCTR2100050914.
What should nurses do on post-stroke depression? A global systematic assessment of clinical practice guidelines
Authors: Jiang Li , Cheng Linqing , Li Xingyu , Yan Jie
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most common mental disorder in post-stroke patients. Yet, the recommendations related to nursing in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have not been systematically sorted out. This study aimed to assess the methodological quality of current CPGs related to PSD and develop an algorithm using nursing process as a framework for nurses.

Design

A systematic assessment of CPGs.

Interventions

A systematic search for relevant CPGs published between 2017 and 2022 was conducted. Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ instrument was used to assess methodological quality. Recommendations related to nursing practice from high-quality CPGs were summarised and developed into an algorithm to provide reference for the standardised construction of nursing practice scheme.

Results

497 records were initially identified from database searches and other sources. Finally, 12 CPGs were included, of which 6 were rated as high quality. A total of 35 recommendations from the 6 highest-scoring CPGs were summarised and used to develop an algorithm.

Conclusions

This study indicated deficiencies and variability in current available CPGs. Based on six high-quality CPGs, we developed an algorithm to facilitate nurses’ adherence to CPGs and contribute to evidence-based nursing. In the future, more nursing specialists should participate in the formulation of the CPGs to provide nursing insights.
BeatPain Utah: study protocol for a pragmatic randomised trial examining telehealth strategies to provide non-pharmacologic pain care for persons with chronic low back pain receiving care in federally qualified health centers
Authors: Fritz Julie M , Del Fiol Guilherme , Gibson Bryan , Wetter David W , Solis Victor , Bennett Emily , Thackeray Anne , Goode Adam , Lundberg Kelly , Romero Adrianna , Ford Isaac , Stevens Leticia , Siaperas Tracey , Morales Jennyfer , Yack Melissa , Greene Tom
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Although evidence-based guidelines recommend non-pharmacologic treatments as first-line care for chronic low back pain (LBP), uptake has been limited, particularly in rural, low-income and ethnically diverse communities. The BeatPain study will evaluate the implementation and compare the effectiveness of two strategies to provide non-pharmacologic treatment for chronic LBP. The study will use telehealth to overcome access barriers for persons receiving care in federally qualified health centres (FQHCs) in the state of Utah.

Methods and analysis

BeatPain Utah is a pragmatic randomised clinical trial with a hybrid type I design investigating different strategies to provide non-pharmacologic care for adults with chronic LBP seen in Utah FQHCs. The intervention strategies include a brief pain consult (BPC) and telehealth physical therapy (PT) component provided using either an adaptive or sequenced delivery strategy across two 12-week treatment phases. Interventions are provided via telehealth by centrally located physical therapists. The sequenced delivery strategy provides the BPC, followed by telehealth PT in the first 12 weeks for all patients. The adaptive strategy uses a stepped care approach and provides the BPC in the first 12 weeks and telehealth PT to patients who are non-responders to the BPC component. We will recruit 500 English-speaking or Spanish-speaking participants who will be individually randomised with 1:1 allocation. The primary outcome is the Pain, Enjoyment and General Activity measure of pain impact with secondary outcomes including the additional pain assessment domains specified by the National Institutes (NIH) of Health Helping to End Addiction Long Initiative and implementation measures. Analyses of primary and secondary measures of effectiveness will be performed under longitudinal mixed effect models across assessments at baseline, and at 12, 26 and 52 weeks follow-ups.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the University of Utah Institutional Review Board. On completion, study data will be made available in compliance with NIH data sharing policies.

Trial registration number

NCT04923334.
Antibiotic Treatment foLlowing surgical drAinage of perianal abScess (ATLAS): protocol for a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial
Authors: van Oostendorp Justin Y , Dekker Lisette , van Dieren Susan , Bemelman Willem A , Han-Geurts Ingrid J M
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Perianal fistula is a burdening disease with an annual incidence of 6–12/100 000 in Western countries. More than 90% of crypto-glandular fistulas originate from perianal abscess. Despite adequate drainage, up to 83% recur or result in an anal fistula, the majority developing within 12 months. There is some evidence that gut-derived bacteria play a role in the development of perianal fistula. Up till now, it is not common practice to routinely administer prophylactic antibiotics to prevent anal fistula development. There is a need for a study to establish whether adding antibiotic treatment to surgical drainage of perianal abscess results in a reduction in perianal fistulas.

Methods and analysis

This multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial investigates whether addition of antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and metronidazole) to surgical drainage of a perianal abscess is beneficial compared with surgical drainage alone. The primary outcome is the development of a perianal fistula within 1 year. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, treatment costs, need for repeated drainage, patient-reported outcomes and other clinical outcomes. Participants are recruited in one academic and seven peripheral Dutch clinics. To demonstrate a reduction of perianal fistula from 30% to 15% when treated with adjuvant antibiotics with a two-sided alpha of 0.05, a power of 80% and taking a 10% loss to follow-up percentage into account, the total sample size will be 298 participants. Data will be analysed according to the intention-to-treat principle.

Ethics and dissemination

The study protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethics Review Committee of the Amsterdam University Medical Centers (nr. 2021_010). Written consent is obtained from each participant prior to randomisation into the study. The results of this trial will be submitted for publication in international peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and spread to coloproctological associations.

Trial registration numbers

2020-004449-35;NCT05385887.
Choroid plexus enlargement in paediatric multiple sclerosis: clinical relevance and effect of sex
Authors: Margoni Monica , Gueye Mor , Meani Alessandro , Pagani Elisabetta , Moiola Lucia , Preziosa Paolo , Filippi Massimo , Rocca Maria A
Published: November 2022

Background

Choroid plexus (CP) enlargement has been suggested as a reliable marker of neuroinflammation in adult multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigated CP volume in patients with paediatric MS compared with matched healthy controls (HC), possible sex-related effect, and the associations with clinical and structural MRI variables.

Methods

Brain 3.0 T dual-echo and three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted sequences were selected retrospectively from 69 patients with paediatric MS and 23 age-matched and sex-matched HC. CP volume was manually obtained from 3D T1-weighted scans by two expert raters.

Results

CP segmentation was highly reproducible (intraobserver agreement: rater I=0.963, rater II=0.958; interobserver agreement=0.968). Compared with HC, patients with paediatric MS showed higher normalised CP volume (p<0.001). Both female and male patients with paediatric MS showed higher normalised CP volume compared with sex-matched HC (women: p<0.001 and men: p=0.021), with a significant disease×sex interaction (p=0.040). In patients with MS, a higher normalised CP volume was significantly associated with higher brain lesional volume (β=0.252, p=0.017), larger lateral ventricle volume (β=0.470, false discovery rate (FDR)-p<0.001), lower normalised brain volume (β=−0.413, FDR-p=0.002) and lower normalised thalamic volume (β=0.291, FDR-p=0.046). No associations with disease duration, Expanded Disability Status Scale score, normalised cortical and white matter volumes were found (FDR-p≥0.172). A significant effect of the disease in the negative association between normalised volumes of CP and thalami was observed (FDR-p=0.046).

Conclusions

CP enlargement occurs in paediatric MS, suggesting its early involvement in the pathophysiology of the disease. The higher CP volume, which is found especially in female patients, supports the hypothesis of sex-related differences occurring already in paediatric MS.
Analgesic benefits of single-shot versus continuous adductor canal block for total knee arthroplasty: a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials
Authors: Hussain Nasir , Brull Richard , Zhou Steven , Schroell Robert , McCartney Colin , Sawyer Tamara , Abdallah Faraj
Published: November 2022

Background

Adductor canal block (ACB) can provide important analgesic benefits following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), however, the extent to which these benefits can be enhanced or prolonged by a continuous catheter-based infusion compared with a single-shot injection of local anesthetic is unclear.

Objectives

This systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO: CRD42021292738) review sought to compare the analgesic effectiveness of single shot to continuous ACB following TKA.

Evidence review

We sought randomized trials from the US National Library of Medicine database (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica database (EMBASE), and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from inception to November 1, 2021, that compared single-shot to continuous ACB in adult patients undergoing TKA. The primary outcomes were (1) area under the curve (AUC) pain severity at rest and (2) cumulative opioid (oral morphine equivalent) consumption during the first 48 hours postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain severity scores up to 48 hours, cumulative opioid consumption at 24 hours, functional recovery, opioid-related side effects, and block-related complications. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Statistical pooling was conducted using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method for random effects. No funding was obtained for this review.

Findings

Eleven trials (1185 patients) were included. No differences were observed in rest pain severity (AUC) or cumulative opioid consumption up to 48 hours postoperatively. In addition, no differences were observed in individual postoperative rest pain scores in the recovery room and at 12 and 24 hours, or in cumulative opioid consumption at 24 hours, functional recovery, and opioid-related side effects. Finally, fewer block-related complications were observed with single-shot ACB, with an OR (95% CI) of 0.24 (0.14 to 0.41) (p=0.002).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that continuous catheter-based ACB does not enhance or prolong the analgesic benefits when compared with single-shot ACB for TKA over the first 48 hours postoperatively. Overall, the results of our meta-analysis do not support the routine use of continuous ACB for postoperative analgesia after TKA.
Dynamics of a multi-species lottery competition model in stochastic environments
Authors: Cheng Jiaqi , Han Xiaoying , Liao Ming
Published: November 2022

An N-dimensional lottery model for competition among [Formula: see text] ecological species in stochastic environments is studied under the i.i.d. assumption. First, a system of nonlinear stochastic differential equations (SDEs) is developed as the diffusion approximation for the discrete lottery model. Then the existence and uniqueness of positive and bounded global solutions, as well as long-term dynamics for the solution are investigated. In particular, sufficient conditions under which extinction and persistence occur are constructed, respectively.
Non-inertial effects on a non-relativistic quantum harmonic oscillator in the presence of a screw dislocation
Authors: Santos L. C. N. , Da Silva F. M. , Mota C. E. , Bezerra V. B.
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we investigate non-inertial effects induced by a rotating frame on a non-relativistic quantum harmonic oscillator as well as of the topology associated to a screw dislocation, which corresponds to a distortion of a vertical line into a vertical spiral. To do this, we obtain the analytical solutions of the time-independent Schrdinger equation for this harmonic oscillator potential in this background. The expressions for the energy spectrum are obtained and the solutions for four quantum states, namely, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], are analyzed. Our results show that the presence of the topological defect (screw dislocation) as well the fact that we are analyzing the system from the point of view of a rotating frame, changes the solutions of Schrdinger equation and the corresponding spectrum. Now these quantities depend on the angular velocity of the rotating frame, [Formula: see text], and also on the parameter [Formula: see text], which codifies the presence of the screw dislocation. Particularly, with respect to the energy spectrum of the system the changing is such that when [Formula: see text] increases, the energy can increase or decrease depending on the values we assign to the eigenvalues of the angular and linear momenta. Additionally, we observe that the values of the parameter [Formula: see text] that characterizes the screw dislocation cause a shift in the energy spectrum.
Gravitational lensing for wormhole with scalar field in f(R) gravity
Authors: Godani Nisha , Samanta Gauranga C.
Published: November 2022

Horizonless compact objects with light rings are becoming more popular in recent years for numerous motives. In this paper, the conditions under which the throat of a Morris–Thorne wormhole can act as an effective photon sphere are worked out. A specific example which satisfies all the energy conditions in modified theory of gravity is considered and the formation of relativistic images is studied. We have detected photon spheres for the wormhole modeling due to the effect of strong gravitational lensing. Subsequently, we have found the expression for deflection angle in terms of the angular separation between the image and lens by determining the strong-field limit coefficients. It is found to diverge for the impact parameter corresponding to the photon sphere. We observed that the angle of Einstein ring [Formula: see text] and relativistic Einstein ring [Formula: see text] are completely distinguishable. Given the configuration of the gravitational lensing and the radii of the Einstein ring and relativistic Einstein rings, we can distinguish between a black hole and a wormhole in principle. The stability of wormholes is examined from the positivity of the shape function and satisfaction of the flare-out condition.
Energy storage properties in Nd-doped AgNbTaO3 lead-free antiferroelectric ceramics with Nb-site vacancies
Authors: Lu Zhilun , Sun Dongyang , Wang Ge , Zhao Jianwei , Zhang Bin , Wang Dawei , Shyha Islam
Published: November 2022

It is crucial to discover lead-free materials with ultrahigh recoverable energy density ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]) that can be employed in future pulse power capacitors. In this work, a high [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]of 4.51 J/cm3 was successfully obtained in lead-free Nd-doped AgNb[Formula: see text]Ta[Formula: see text]O3 antiferroelectric ceramics at an applied electric field of 290 kV/cm. It is discovered that Nd doping paired with Nb-site vacancies could stabilize the antiferroelectric phase by lowering the temperatures of the M1–M2 and M2–M3 phase transitions, which leads to higher energy storage efficiency. Furthermore, Nd and Ta co-doping will contribute to the electrical homogeneity and low electrical conductivity, resulting in large breakdown strengths. Aliovalent doping in Ag-site with Nb-site vacancies serves as a novel strategy for the construction of AgNbO3-based ceramics with excellent energy storage performance.
Efficient Dataflow Modeling of Peripheral Encoding in the Human Visual System
Authors: Brown Rachel , Dutell Vasha , Walter Bruce , Rosenholtz Ruth , Shirley Peter , McGuire Morgan , Luebke David
Published: November 2022

Computer graphics seeks to deliver compelling images, generated within a computing budget, targeted at a specific display device, and ultimately viewed by an individual user. The foveated nature of human vision offers an opportunity to efficiently allocate computation and compression to appropriate areas of the viewer’s visual field, of particular importance with the rise of high-resolution and wide field-of-view display devices. However, while variations in acuity and contrast sensitivity across the field of view have been well-studied and modeled, a more consequential variation concerns peripheral vision’s degradation in the face of clutter, known as crowding. Understanding of peripheral crowding has greatly advanced in recent years, in terms of both phenomenology and modeling. Accurately leveraging this knowledge is critical for many applications, as peripheral vision covers a majority of pixels in the image. We advance computational models for peripheral vision aimed toward their eventual use in computer graphics. In particular, researchers have recently developed high-performing models of peripheral crowding, known as “pooling” models, which predict a wide range of phenomena but are computationally inefficient. We reformulate the problem as a dataflow computation, which enables faster processing and operating on larger images. Further, we account for the explicit encoding of “end stopped” features in the image, which was missing from previous methods. We evaluate our model in the context of perception of textures in the periphery, including a novel texture dataset and updated textural descriptors. Our improved computational framework may simplify development and testing of more sophisticated, complete models in more robust and realistic settings relevant to computer graphics.
ctFS: Replacing File Indexing with Hardware Memory Translation through Contiguous File Allocation for Persistent Memory
Authors: Li Ruibin , Ren Xiang , Zhao Xu , He Siwei , Stumm Michael , Yuan Ding
Published: November 2022

Persistent byte-addressable memory (PM)
is poised to become prevalent in future computer systems. PMs are significantly faster than disk storage, and accesses to PMs are governed by the
Memory Management Unit (MMU)
just as accesses with volatile RAM. These unique characteristics shift the bottleneck from I/O to operations such as block address lookup—for example, in write workloads, up to 45% of the overhead in ext4-DAX is due to building and searching extent trees to translate file offsets to addresses on persistent memory.

We propose a novel
contiguous
file system, ctFS, that eliminates most of the overhead associated with indexing structures such as extent trees in the file system. ctFS represents each file as a contiguous region of virtual memory, hence a lookup from the file offset to the address is simply an offset operation, which can be efficiently performed by the hardware MMU at a fraction of the cost of software-maintained indexes. Evaluating ctFS on real-world workloads such as LevelDB shows it outperforms ext4-DAX and SplitFS by 3.6× and 1.8×, respectively.
Reconfigurable System-on-Chip Architectures for Robust Visual SLAM on Humanoid Robots
Authors: Gkeka Maria Rafaela , Patras Alexandros , Tavoularis Nikolaos , Piperakis Stylianos , Hourdakis Emmanouil , Trahanias Panos , Antonopoulos Christos D. , Lalis Spyros , Bellas Nikolaos
Published: November 2022

Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (vSLAM)is the method of employing an optical sensor to map the robot’s observable surroundings while also identifying the robot’s pose in relation to that map. The accuracy and speed of vSLAM calculations can have a very significant impact on the performance and effectiveness of subsequent tasks that need to be executed by the robot, making it a key building component for current robotic designs. The application of vSLAM in the area of humanoid robotics is particularly difficult due to the robot’s unsteady locomotion. This paper introduces a pose graph optimization module based on RGB (ORB) features, as an extension of the KinectFusion pipeline (a well-known vSLAM algorithm), to assist in recovering the robot’s stance during unstable gait patterns when the KinectFusion tracking system fails. We develop and test a wide range of embedded MPSoC FPGA designs, and we investigate numerous architectural improvements, both precise and approximation, to study their impact on performance and accuracy. Extensive design space exploration reveals that properly designed approximations, which exploit domain knowledge and efficient management of CPU and FPGA fabric resources, enable real-time vSLAM at more than 30 fps in humanoid robots with high energy-efficiency and without compromising robot tracking and map construction. This is the first FPGA design to achieve robust, real-time dense SLAM operation targeting specifically humanoid robots. An open source release of our implementations and data can be found in [1].
Modeling User Reviews through Bayesian Graph Attention Networks for Recommendation
Authors: Zhao Yu , Xu Qiang , Zou Ying , Li Wei
Published: November 2022

Recommender systems relieve users from cognitive overloading by predicting preferred items for users. Due to the complexity of interactions between users and items, graph neural networks (GNN) use graph structures to effectively model user–item interactions. However, existing GNN approaches have the following limitations: (1) User reviews are not adequately modeled in graphs. Therefore, user preferences and item properties that are described in user reviews are lost for modeling users and items; and (2) GNNs assume deterministic relations between users and items, which lack the stochastic modeling to estimate the uncertainties in neighbor relations. To mitigate the limitations, we build tripartite graphs to model user reviews as nodes that connect with users and items. We estimate neighbor relations with stochastic variables and propose a Bayesian graph attention network (i.e., ContGraph) to accurately predict user ratings. ContGraph incorporates the prior knowledge of user preferences to regularize the posterior inference of attention weights. Our experimental results show that ContGraph significantly outperforms 13 state-of-the-art models and improves the best performing baseline (i.e., ANR) by 5.23% on 25 datasets in the five-core version. Moreover, we show that correctly modeling the semantics of user reviews in graphs can help express the semantics of users and items.
Push the Limit of Millimeter-wave Radar Localization
Authors: Zhang Guidong , Chi Guoxuan , Zhang Yi , Ding Xuan , Yang Zheng
Published: November 2022

Existing device-free localization systems have achieved centimeter-level accuracy and show their potential in a wide range of applications. However, today’s radio-based solutions fail to locate the target in millimeter-level due to their limited bandwidth and sampling rate, which constrains their applications in high-accuracy demand scenarios. We find an opportunity to break the bottleneck of existing radio-based localization systems by reconstructing the accurate signal spectral peak from the discrete samples, without changing either the bandwidth or the sampling rate of the radio hardware. This study proposes
milliLoc
, a millimeter-level radio-based localization system. We first derive a
spectral peak reconstruction algorithm
to reduce the ranging error from the previous centimeter-level to millimeter-level. Then, we improve the AoA measurement accuracy by leveraging the signal amplitude information. To ensure the practicality of
milliLoc
, we further extend our system to handle multi-target situations. We fully implement
milliLoc
on a commercial mmWave radar. Experiments show that
milliLoc
achieves a median ranging accuracy of 5.5 mm and decreases the AoA measurement error by 31.2% compared with the baseline. Our system fulfills the accuracy requirements of most application scenarios and can be easily integrated with other existing solutions, shedding light on high-accuracy location-based applications.
Attacking DoH and ECH: Does Server Name Encryption Protect Users’ Privacy?
Authors: Trevisan Martino , Soro Francesca , Mellia Marco , Drago Idilio , Morla Ricardo
Published: November 2022

Privacy on the Internet has become a priority, and several efforts have been devoted to limit the leakage of personal information. Domain names, both in the TLS Client Hello and DNS traffic, are among the last pieces of information still visible to an observer in the network. The Encrypted Client Hello extension for TLS, DNS over HTTPS or over QUIC protocols aim to further increase network confidentiality by encrypting the domain names of the visited servers.

In this article, we check whether an attacker able to passively observe the traffic of users could still recover the domain name of websites they visit even if names are encrypted. By relying on large-scale network traces, we show that simplistic features and off-the-shelf machine learning models are sufficient to achieve surprisingly high precision and recall when recovering encrypted domain names. We consider three attack scenarios, i.e., recovering the per-flow name, rebuilding the set of visited websites by a user, and checking which users visit a given target website. We next evaluate the efficacy of padding-based mitigation, finding that all three attacks are still effective, despite resources wasted with padding. We conclude that current proposals for domain encryption may produce a false sense of privacy, and more robust techniques should be envisioned to offer protection to end users.
AI-Based Intrusion Detection Systems for In-Vehicle Networks: A Survey
Authors: Rajapaksha Sampath , Kalutarage Harsha , Al-Kadri M. Omar , Petrovski Andrei , Madzudzo Garikayi , Cheah Madeline
Published: November 2022

The Controller Area Network (CAN) is the most widely used in-vehicle communication protocol, which still lacks the implementation of suitable security mechanisms such as message authentication and encryption. This makes the CAN bus vulnerable to numerous cyber attacks. Various Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) have been developed to detect these attacks. However, the high generalization capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) make AI-based IDS an excellent countermeasure against automotive cyber attacks. This article surveys AI-based in-vehicle IDS from 2016 to 2022 (August) with a novel taxonomy. It reviews the detection techniques, attack types, features, and benchmark datasets. Furthermore, the article discusses the security of AI models, necessary steps to develop AI-based IDSs in the CAN bus, identifies the limitations of existing proposals, and gives recommendations for future research directions.
Statistical Applications to Cognitive Diagnostic Testing
Authors: Zhang Susu , Liu Jingchen , Ying Zhiliang
Published: November 2022

Diagnostic classification tests are designed to assess examinees’ discrete mastery status on a set of skills or attributes. Such tests have gained increasing attention in educational and psychological measurement. We review diagnostic classification models and their applications to testing and learning, discuss their statistical and machine learning connections and related challenges, and introduce some contemporary and future extensions.