bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isolated ACTH deficiency during single-agent pembrolizumab for squamous cell lung carcinoma: a case report
Authors: Tanaka Sho , Kushimoto Masaru , Nishizawa Tsukasa , Takubo Masahiro , Mitsuke Kazutaka , Ikeda Jin , Fujishiro Midori , Ogawa Katsuhiko , Tsujino Ichiro , Suzuki Yutaka , Abe Masanori
Published: January 2020

Background

The programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab is a promising agent for treatment of several different malignancies, but as with all immunotherapy there is a potential risk of immune-related adverse events. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency and hypophysitis have been reported in patients treated with a different PD-1 inhibitor, nivolumab. However, clinical characteristics of these side effects associated with pembrolizumab have yet to be described in detail.

Case presentation

An 85-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed with advanced squamous cell lung cancer. The patient was treated with 200 mg pembrolizumab every three weeks as first-line therapy. Routine examination including thyroid function, complete blood count, serum cortisol and sodium levels before each pembrolizumab infusion had shown no significant changes up to the eighth cycle. However, 8 days after the eighth cycle of single-agent pembrolizumab, she presented with rapidly worsening general fatigue and appetite loss over two days. Laboratory data revealed a low serum cortisol level (0.92 μg/dL) with inappropriately low ACTH (8.3 pg/mL), hyponatremia (122 mmol/L) and hypoglycemia (68 mg/dL). Standard-dose short ACTH testing showed an unsatisfactory cortisol response, indicating adrenal insufficiency. Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse substantial gadolinium enhancement, T2 hyperintensity, loss of pituitary bright spot, but no pituitary enlargement. Serum cortisol and ACTH levels were low throughout the day, and urinary free cortisol excretion fell below the lower normal limit. There was no ACTH and cortisol response in the corticotropin-releasing hormone test, despite significant responses of other anterior pituitary hormones to their corresponding challenge tests. Thus, isolated ACTH deficiency was diagnosed, and hypophysitis was suspected as the etiology. After administration of 15 mg/day hydrocortisone, the patient’s debilitation, hyponatremia, and hypoglycemia swiftly disappeared.

Conclusion

This is a case of isolated ACTH deficiency possibly due to hypophysitis in a patient with advanced lung cancer, in whom recent routine examinations had shown unremarkable results. We therefore conclude that isolated ACTH deficiency can suddenly arise during pembrolizumab monotherapy, albeit probably only rarely. Caution should be exercised to make sure that adrenal insufficiency is recognized immediately in order to achieve swift recovery by steroid replacement.
Learning from patient involvement in a clinical study analyzing PET/CT in women with advanced breast cancer
Authors: Vogsen Marianne , Geneser Susanne , Rasmussen Marie Lykke , Hørder Mogens , Hildebrandt Malene Grubbe
Published: January 2020

Background

Despite increasing interest in patient involvement in health care research, researchers may be uncertain about the benefits of involving patients in the design and conduction of clinical studies. We aimed to evaluate the impact of patient involvement on patient recruitment and retention in a clinical study of PET/CT in women with advanced breast cancer. Further, we report our experience regarding the researchers’ attitudes towards involving patients as partners in the research process.

Methods

Two patient representatives from the Danish Breast Cancer Organization were invited as partners in the research team. These patient partners were asked to contribute in particular to participator information material and evaluation of ethical aspects of the study. The impact of patient involvement on patient recruitment was evaluated by comparing expected versus actual number of patients recruited, and then relating it to patient recruitment in a similar study at the same institution that did not involve patients as research partners.

Results

Having patients as partners in the research team led to a major revision of the participator information material and improved patient recruitment. The expected number of patients was 260, but 380 were actually enrolled within the planned study period, thus 146% of the expected patient recruitment. In the previous study, only 100 of the expected 150 patients were enrolled during a 10-month extended study period, i.e. 67% of the expected number. Patient retention in the current study was high, with 86% of eligible patients attending follow-up scans. We observed initial resistance amongst researchers against inviting patients as team partners. This resistance gradually lessened during the study, and the most reluctant researchers at the beginning of the study later applauded the collaboration and the ideas generated by the patient representatives.

Conclusion

Involving patients as partners in the research team resulted in major changes to the participator information material and contributed to higher than expected patient recruitment and retention. Furthermore, we observed a positive change of attitude amongst the researchers towards patient involvement in the research process.

Trial registration

Ongoing study: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03358589).

Previous study: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01552655).
Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma Patients With Poor Survival Often Show Brown Adipose Tissue Activation
Authors: Abdul Sater Zahraa , Jha Abhishek , Hamimi Ahmed , Mandl Adel , Hartley Iris R , Gubbi Sriram , Patel Mayank , Gonzales Melissa , Taïeb David , Civelek Ali Cahid , Gharib Ahmed M , Auh Sungyoung , O’Mara Alana E , Pacak Karel , Cypess Aaron M
Published: January 2020

Context

Pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PPGLs) are neuroendocrine tumors that can secrete norepinephrine (NE). Brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation is mediated through the action of NE on β-adrenoceptors (β-ARs). In some malignancies, BAT activation is associated with higher cancer activity.

Objective

To study the relationship between BAT activation and PPGL clinical outcomes.

Design

A retrospective case-control study that included 342 patients with PPGLs who underwent 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) imaging at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We excluded all patients with parasympathetic tumors and those who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT after PPGL resection. Scans of 205 patients were reviewed by 2 blinded nuclear medicine physicians; 16 patients had BAT activation on 18F-FDG PET/CT [7.80%; age 27.50 (15.00–45.50) years; 10 female/6 male; body mass index [BMI] 24.90 [19.60–25.35] kg/m2). From the remaining 189 patients, we selected 36 matched controls (age 34.4 [25.4–45.5] years; 21 female/15 male; BMI 25.0 [22.0–26.0] kg/m2).

Primary Outcome Measure

Overall survival.

Results

The presence of active BAT on 18F-FDG PET/CT was associated with decreased overall survival when compared with the control group (HRz 5.80; 95% CI, 1.05–32.05; P = 0.02). This association remained significant after adjusting for the SDHB mutation. Median plasma NE in the BAT group was higher than the control group [4.65 vs 0.55 times above the upper limit of normal; P < 0.01]. There was a significant association between higher plasma NE levels and mortality in PPGLs in both groups.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the detection of BAT activity in PPGL patients is associated with higher mortality. We suggest that BAT activation could either be reflecting or contributing to a state of increased host stress that may predict poor outcome in metastatic PPGL.
Let-7e-5p Regulates GLP-1 Content and Basal Release From Enteroendocrine L Cells From DIO Male Mice
Authors: Handgraaf Sandra , Dusaulcy Rodolphe , Visentin Florian , Philippe Jacques , Gosmain Yvan
Published: January 2020

Characterization of enteroendocrine L cells in diabetes is critical for better understanding of the role of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in physiology and diabetes. We studied L-cell transcriptome changes including microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation in obesity and diabetes. We evaluated the regulation of miRNAs through microarray analyses on sorted enteroendocrine L cells from control and obese glucose-intolerant (I-HFD) and hyperglycemic (H-HFD) mice after 16 weeks of respectively low-fat diet (LFD) or high-fat diet (HFD) feeding. The identified altered miRNAs were studied in vitro using the mouse GLUTag cell line to investigate their regulation and potential biological functions. We identified that let-7e-5p, miR-126a-3p, and miR-125a-5p were differentially regulated in L cells of obese HFD mice compared with control LFD mice. While downregulation of let-7e-5p expression was observed in both I-HFD and H-HFD mice, levels of miR-126a-3p increased and of miR-125a-5p decreased significantly only in I-HFD mice compared with controls. Using miRNA inhibitors and mimics we observed that modulation of let-7e-5p expression affected specifically GLP-1 cellular content and basal release, whereas Gcg gene expression and acute GLP-1 secretion and cell proliferation were not affected. In addition, palmitate treatment resulted in a decrease of let-7e-5p expression along with an increase in GLP-1 content and release, suggesting that palmitate acts on GLP-1 through let-7e-5p. By contrast, modulation of miR-125a-5p and miR-126a-3p in the same conditions did not affect content or secretion of GLP-1. We conclude that decrease of let-7e-5p expression in response to palmitate may constitute a compensatory mechanism contributing to maintaining constant glycemia in obese mice.
Strengthened thalamoparietal functional connectivity in patients with hemifacial spasm: a cross-sectional resting-state fMRI study
Authors: Niu Xuan , Xu Hui , Guo Chenguang , Yang Tong , Kress Dustin , Gao Lin , Ma Shaohui , Zhang Ming , Wang Yuan
Published: January 2020

Objective:

In spite of the well-known importance of thalamus in hemifacial spasm (HFS), the thalamic resting-state networks in HFS is still rarely mentioned. This study aimed to investigate resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of the thalamus in HFS patients and examine its association with clinical measures.

Methods:

25 HFS patients and 28 matched healthy controls underwent functional MRI at rest. Using the left and right thalamus as seed regions respectively, we compared the thalamic resting-state networks between patient and control groups using two independent sample t-test.

Results:

Compared with controls, HFS patients exhibited strengthened bilateral thalamus-seeded FC with the parietal cortex. Enhanced FC between right thalamus and left somatosensory association cortex was linked to worse motor disturbance, and the increased right thalamus-right supramarginal gyrus connection were correlated with improvement of affective symptoms.

Conclusion:

Our findings indicate that the right thalamus–left somatosensory association cortex hyperconnectivity may represent the underlying neuroplasticity related to sensorimotor dysfunction. In addition, the upregulated FC between the right thalamus and right supramarginal gyrus in HFS, is part of the thalamo-default mode network pathway involved in emotional adaptation.

Advances in knowledge:

This study provides new insights on the integrative role of thalamo-parietal connectivity, which participates in differential neural circuitry as a mechanism underlying motor and emotional functions in HFS patients.
Next-generation sequencing of microbial cell-free DNA for rapid noninvasive diagnosis of infectious diseases in immunocompromised hosts
Authors: Camargo Jose F. , Ahmed Asim A. , Lindner Martin S. , Morris Michele I. , Anjan Shweta , Anderson Anthony D. , Prado Clara E. , Dalai Sudeb C. , Martinez Octavio V. , Komanduri Krishna V.
Published: January 2020

Background: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing has emerged as an effective laboratory method for rapid and noninvasive diagnosis in prenatal screening testing, organ transplant rejection screening, and oncology liquid biopsies but clinical experience for use of this technology in diagnostic evaluation of infections in immunocompromised hosts is limited. 

Methods: We conducted an exploratory study using next-generation sequencing (NGS) for detection of microbial cfDNA in a cohort of ten immunocompromised patients with febrile neutropenia, pneumonia or intra-abdominal infection. 

Results: Pathogen identification by cfDNA NGS demonstrated positive agreement with conventional diagnostic laboratory methods in 7 (70%) cases, including patients with proven/probable invasive aspergillosis, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia, Cytomegalovirus and Adenovirus viremia. NGS results were discordant in 3 (30%) cases including two patients with culture negative sepsis who had undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplant in whom cfDNA testing identified the potential etiological agent of sepsis; and one kidney transplant recipient with invasive aspergillosis who had received >6 months of antifungal therapy prior to NGS testing.

Conclusion: These observations support the clinical utility of measurement of microbial cfDNA sequencing from peripheral blood for rapid noninvasive diagnosis of infections in immunocompromised hosts. Larger studies are needed.
A phase 2 open-label study of carboplatin in combination with gemcitabine as a dose-dense schedule in patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer that are resistant to anthracyclines and taxanes
Authors: Mansbridge Christopher , Simmonds Peter , Murray Nicholas , Davies Andrew , Stanton Louise , Chinnery Fay , Archer Caroline , Barrett-Lee Peter , Hickish Tamas , Crabb Simon
Published: January 2020

Background: Anthracycline- and taxane-based regimens form the mainstay of chemotherapy treatment in metastatic breast cancer. In patients who develop resistance to these agents, management options are limited and there is no standard of care. Thus, investigation into other chemotherapeutic agents is warranted.

Methods: In this non-randomised prospective trial, patients with human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER-2)-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer that were anthracycline- and taxane-resistant were treated with carboplatin at a dose equivalent to an area under the concentration–time curve of 4.5 mg/ml.min on day 1 and gemcitabine 1500 mg/m2 on day 2 of every 2-week cycle. The primary end point was overall response rate.

Results: A total of five patients were enrolled prior to early termination due to difficulty in recruitment. The principal reason for recruitment difficulty was mandating anthracycline and taxane pre-treatment and HER-2 negativity. One patient had a complete response, one had a partial response, one had stable disease and two had progressive disease. Grade 4 neutropenia occurred in two patients.

Conclusions: In this patient population, inclusion criteria that are too stringent may result in difficulties reaching recruitment targets. Carboplatin in combination with gemcitabine appears to be a safe option for treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Due to the small sample size, it is not possible to draw firm conclusions regarding efficacy from this trial.

Registration: EU Clinical Trials Register ID 2005-005164-83, registered on 10 April 2006.
Monotonicity and Weighted Prenucleoli: A Characterization Without Consistency
Authors: Calleja Pedro , Llerena Francesc , Sudhölter Peter
Published: January 2020

A solution on a set of transferable utility (TU) games satisfies strong aggregate monotonicity (SAM) if every player can improve when the grand coalition becomes richer. It satisfies equal surplus division (ESD) if the solution allows the players to improve equally. We show that the set of weight systems generating weighted prenucleoli that satisfy SAM is open, which implies that for weight systems close enough to any regular system, the weighted prenucleolus satisfies SAM. We also provide a necessary condition for SAM for symmetrically weighted nucleoli. Moreover, we show that the per capita nucleolus on balanced games is characterized by single-valuedness (SIVA), translation covariance (TCOV) and scale covariance (SCOV), and equal adjusted surplus division (EASD), a property that is comparable to but stronger than ESD. These properties together with ESD characterize the per capita prenucleolus on larger sets of TU games. EASD and ESD can be transformed to independence of (adjusted) proportional shifting, and these properties may be generalized for arbitrary weight systems p to I(A)Sp. We show that the p-weighted prenucleolus on the set of balanced TU games is characterized by SIVA, TCOV, SCOV, and IASp and on larger sets by additionally requiring ISp.
CADEIA GLOBAL DE VALOR, CLUSTERS E REDE DE EMPRESAS:Uma Análise Relacional
Authors: MacLennan Maria Laura Ferranty , Massaini Silvye Ane , Semensato Bárbara Ilze , Oliva Fabio Lotti
Published: January 2020

As relações de cooperação entre as organizações vêm sendo abordadas na literatura como um fenômeno relevante para o desenvolvimento de regiões e para a competitividade das empresas. As vertentes teóricas a esse respeito, no entanto, têm suas bases fundamentadas em diversos conceitos, que, por muitas vezes, são utilizados indistintamente. Procurando ampliar a discussão teórica acerca das relações de cooperação entre empresas, este artigo versa sobre três conceitos principais: clusters, cadeias globais de valor e redes de empresas, que, por apresentarem abordagens teóricas interconectadas, carecem de estudos inter-relacionais. Sendo assim, a pesquisa possui como principal objetivo a análise da literatura acerca das cadeias globais de valor, clusters e redes de empresas, visando identificar suas principais linhas teóricas e suas interconexões sob a perspectiva organizacional. Busca-se, portanto, verificar similaridades e complementaridades dentre os conceitos estudados, de forma a pontuar a sobreposição dessas literaturas e apontar suas possíveis diferenças, por meio de um ensaio teórico.
Abnormal evolutionary dynamics of erupting solitons in dissipative systems
Authors: Zhong Xianqiong , Xu Jiameng , Wu Bo , Cheng Ke
Published: January 2020

The evolution of initial finite-energy Airy pulse pairs with different initial relative phases and time separations is numerically investigated in the erupting soliton parameter region of the cubic-quintic complex Ginzberg–Laudau equation-governed dissipative system. It shows that, before evolving to the final erupting solitons, all of the Airy pulse pairs will experience a special soliton dynamic called erupting soliton molecules that consist of two or more branches of erupting solitons. Moreover, the number and structures of the suberupting solitons will vary with different initial relative phases and time separations. Before forming the finally single erupting solitons, these suberupting solitons may merge for one moment and separate for the next. The merging or separating position as well as the erupting positions of every suberupting soliton may vary with the propagation distance. The evolutionary dynamics of the final erupting solitons also varies with different initial relative phases and time separations.
Performance analysis of a LDPC coded OAM-based UCA FSO system exploring linear equalization with channel estimation over atmospheric turbulence: comment
Authors: Yue Peng , Yi Xiang , Zheng RuiQi , Xu DongLing
Published: January 2020

In a previously published paper [Opt. Express 26(17), 22182 (2018)], the performance of a LDPC coded OAM-based UCA FSO system exploring linear equalization with channel estimation over atmospheric turbulence has been analyzed. We find that some concepts and descriptions in [Opt. Express 26(17), 22182 (2018)] are inconsistent and paradoxical. In this comment, we point out the referred inconsistency and paradox one by one and present the correct explanations.
Theory of the quasi-steady-state self-focusing of partially coherent light pulses in nonlinear media
Authors: Wang Huan , Ji Xiao-Ling , Deng Yu , Li Xiao-Qing , Yu Hong
Published: January 2020

The quasi-steady-state (QSS) self-focusing of partially coherent light pulses (PCLPs) in nonlinear media is studied. The analytical formulas of the QSS self-focusing of PCLPs in nonlinear media (e.g.,  the beam width, spatial coherence width, and focal length) are presented. The effect of spatial coherence on the focal length and focus moving is investigated in detail. In particular, it is found that a PCLP has more advantages to avoid the optical damage of materials than a fully coherent light pulse.
Dual-side view optical coherence tomography for thickness measurement on opaque materials
Authors: Wu Qian , Wang Xiwen , Liu Linbo , Mo Jianhua
Published: January 2020

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), as an optical interferometric imaging technique, has found wide applications in various fields. In principle, OCT is well suited for imaging layered structures, and thus, one of the typical applications is thickness measurement. However, due to the limited imaging depth resulting from light attenuation, thickness measurement by OCT is limited to non-opaque materials. In this study, we developed a novel (to the best of our knowledge) dual-side view OCT (DSV-OCT) system for thickness measurement on opaque materials. The dual-side view was achieved on a conventional swept source OCT platform by creating two symmetrical sampling arms. This allows us to image both sides of the material simultaneously and produce the surface contours of the two sides in a single C scan. Finally, the thickness of the opaque material can be calculated from the two surface contours above. We demonstrated that our DSV-OCT technique can measure the thickness of opaque material with an accuracy of about 3 µm.
Optical signatures of Mott-superfluid transition in nitrogen-vacancy centers coupled to photonic crystal cavities: publisher’s note
Authors: You Jia-Bin , Yang Wan-Li , Chen Gang , Xu Zhen-Yu , Wu Lin , Png Ching-Eng , Feng Mang
Published: January 2020

This publisher’s note contains corrections to Opt. Lett.
44, 2081 (2019)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.44.002081.
17.9  W continuous-wave self-frequency-doubled Nd:GdCOB laser
Authors: Du Jinheng , Wang Jiyang , Yu Haohai , Zhang Huaijin
Published: January 2020

We demonstrated the output power scaling of a self-frequency-doubled (SFD) laser with

N
d

:

G
d
C
a

4

O

(

B
O

3

)
3

(Nd:GdCOB) crystal by employing a partially end-pumped slab structure and optimized laser-diode (LD) pump wavelength. Associated with the theoretical calculation about the thermal distribution in the SFD Nd:GdCOB crystal, the maximum SFD output power was achieved to be 17.91 W at the wavelength of 545.5 nm, which represents the highest output power in SFD lasers, and the optical conversion efficiency from the LD to SFD laser power reached up to 20%. Since the wavelength at 545.5 nm is located at the eye-sensitive spectral region and the SFD lasers have the advantages in the compact structure, the demonstrated SFD laser should have promising applications in some regimes such as laser display, medical, military, and scientific research.
Quantum versus optical interaction contribution to giant spectral splitting in a strongly coupled plasmon–molecules system
Authors: Wang Bo , Zeng Xian-Zhe , Li Zhi-Yuan
Published: January 2020

Vacuum Rabi splitting, which stems from a single photon interaction with a quantum emitter (a single atom, molecule, or quantum dot), is a fundamental quantum phenomenon. Many reports have claimed that using J aggregate coupling to highly localized plasmon can produce giant Rabi splitting (in scattering spectra) that is proportional to

N

, where

N

is the number of excitons in J aggregates, and this splitting originates purely from quantum interaction between excitons and plasmons. In this work, we show that the scattering spectra are very sensitive to the surrounding matter, and the giant spectral splitting stems both from the quantum interaction of a single molecule with plasmons (Rabi splitting) and from the classical optical interaction of multiple molecules with plasmons. We develop a Lorentzian model to describe molecules and plasmon and find that the collective optical interaction is dominant in generating the giant splitting (in scattering spectra), which is also proportional to

N

, upon the quantum interaction of single-molecule Rabi splitting. Simply speaking, the observed giant spectral splitting is not a pure quantum Rabi splitting effect, but rather a mixture contribution from the large spectral modulation by the collective optical interaction of all molecules with plasmons and the modest quantum Rabi splitting of a single molecule strongly coupled with plasmons.
Broadband supercontinuum generation in nitrogen-rich silicon nitride waveguides using a 300  mm industrial platform
Authors: Lafforgue Christian , Guerber Sylvain , Ramirez Joan Manel , Marcaud Guillaume , Alonso-Ramos Carlos , Le Roux Xavier , Marris-Morini Delphine , Cassan Eric , Baudot Charles , Boeuf Frédéric , Cremer Sébastien , Monfray Stéphane , Vivien Laurent
Published: January 2020

We report supercontinuum generation in nitrogen-rich (N-rich) silicon nitride waveguides fabricated through back-end complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible processes on a 300 mm platform. By pumping in the anomalous dispersion regime at a wavelength of 1200 nm, two-octave spanning spectra covering the visible and near-infrared ranges, including the O band, were obtained. Numerical calculations showed that the nonlinear index of N-rich silicon nitride is within the same order of magnitude as that of stoichiometric silicon nitride, despite the lower silicon content. N-rich silicon nitride then appears to be a promising candidate for nonlinear devices compatible with back-end CMOS processes.
Passively Q-switched and femtosecond mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser based on a 2D palladium disulfide (PdS2) saturable absorber
Authors: Cheng Ping Kwong , Tang Chun Yin , Wang Xin Yu , Zeng Long-Hui , Tsang Yuen Hong
Published: January 2020

Stable

Q

-switched and mode-locked erbium-doped fiber lasers (EDFLs) are first demonstrated by using the novel layered palladium disulfide (

PdS
2

), a new member of group 10 transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs)-based saturable absorbers (SAs). Self-started

Q

-switched operation at 1567 nm was achieved with a threshold pump power of 50.6 mW. The modulation ranges of pulse duration and repetition rate were characterized as 12.6–4.5 μs and 17.2–26.0 kHz, respectively. Meanwhile, a mode-locked EDFL was also obtained with a pump power threshold of 106.4 mW. The achieved pulse duration is 803 fs, corresponding to a center wavelength of 1565.8 nm and 4.48 nm 3 dB bandwidth. To the best of our knowledge, the achieved pulse duration of the mode-locked EDFL in this work is the narrowest compared with all other group 10 TMD SA-based lasers.
Úvodník 2019/XIV/2 – Úvahy v roce nula
Authors: Dlouhá Jana
Published: January 2020

Milí čtenáři, vítáme vás v roce, v jehož letopočtu jsou nuly hned dvě. Možná je to symbolické číslo, a tak nám dovolte několik úvah hned v jeho začátku.
V posledních třiceti letech jsme dosáhli všeho, o co jsme usilovali – nebo téměř všeho. Naše demokracie dospěla, nám všem ale pořád něco schází.
Co je to, co nám takto zásadně chybí?
Více v pdf verzi úvodníku...
DPTree
Authors: Zhou Xinjing , Shou Lidan , Chen Ke , Hu Wei , Chen Gang
Published: January 2020

The emergence of persistent memory (PM) spurs on redesigns of database system components to gain full exploitation of the persistence and speed of the hardware. One crucial component studied by researchers is persistent indices. However, such studies to date are unsatisfactory in terms of the number of expensive PM writes required for crash-consistency. In this paper, we propose a new persistent index called DPTree (Differential Persistent Tree) to address this. DPTree's core idea is to batch multiple writes in DRAM persistently and later merge them into a PM component to amortize persistence overhead. DPTree includes several techniques and algorithms to achieve crash-consistency, reduce PM writes significantly, and maintain excellent read performance. To embrace multi-core processors, we present the design of concurrent DPTree. Our experiments on Intel's Optane DIMMs show that DPTree reduces PM writes by a factor of 1.7x-3x compare to state-of-the-art counterparts. Besides, DPTree has a competitive or better read performance and scales well in multi-core environment.
Joins on samples
Authors: Huang Dawei , Yoon Dong Young , Pettie Seth , Mozafari Barzan
Published: January 2020

Despite decades of research on AQP (approximate query processing), our understanding of sample-based joins has remained limited and, to some extent, even superficial. The common belief in the community is that joining random samples is futile. This belief is largely based on an early result showing that the join of two
uniform
samples is not an independent sample of the original join, and that it leads to quadratically fewer output tuples. Unfortunately, this early result has little applicability to the key questions practitioners face. For example, the success metric is often the final approximation's accuracy, rather than output cardinality. Moreover, there are many non-uniform sampling strategies that one can employ. Is sampling for joins still futile in all of these settings? If not, what is the best sampling strategy in each case? To the best of our knowledge, there is no formal study answering these questions.

This paper aims to improve our understanding of sample-based joins and offer a guideline for practitioners building and using real-world AQP systems. We study limitations of offline samples in approximating join queries: given an offline sampling budget, how well can one approximate the join of two tables? We answer this question for two success metrics: output size and estimator variance. We show that maximizing output size is easy, while there is an information-theoretical lower bound on the lowest variance achievable by any sampling strategy. We then define a hybrid sampling scheme that captures all combinations of stratified, universe, and Bernoulli sampling, and show that this scheme with our optimal parameters achieves the theoretical lower bound within a constant factor. Since computing these optimal parameters requires shuffling statistics across the network, we also propose a decentralized variant in which each node acts autonomously using minimal statistics. We also empirically validate our findings on popular SQL and AQP engines.
Development of the Narva-Jõesuu beach, mineral composition of beach deposits and destruction of the pier, southeastern coast of the Gulf of Finland
Authors: Järvelill Johanna-Iisebel
Published: January 2020

Narva-Jõesuu lies at the eastern southeastern coast of the Gulf of Finland, at the Estonian and Russian border. The beach is influenced by heavy winds, waves and drift ice attacks, which are seriously changing the beach. It is the longest sandy beach in Estonia and longshore drift on this beach has induced favorable conditions for the separation of heavy minerals. The aims of the study were to describe the development of the coast, discuss the influence of the destructed pier, and to identify the mineral composition of beach sands. The dynamics of the coast were mainly through comparison with older topographic maps (from the beginning of the 20th century). For mineral analysis the immersion method was applied. The heavy mineral content was found to increase from east to west. The pier was built in Narva-Jõesuu in 1987/88 for protecting the coast, but it is now broken. Consequently, storms are crashing against the coast and erosion of the sandy shore has started. Therefore, the pier should be restored to avoid further beach destruction.
A comprehensive scheme for lithological mapping using Sentinel-2A and ASTER GDEM in weathered and vegetated coastal zone, Southern China
Authors: Lin Jingyu , Wang Ran , Zhao Bo , Cheng Sanyou
Published: January 2020

Lithological mapping in weathered and vegetated coastal zone is always a crucial but challenging issue for geological remote sensing. This study tested the applicability of Sentinel-2A and ASTER GDEM data for lithological mapping in the coastal zone of Shanwei district, southern China. Here, a comprehensive scheme for tuff and granite outcrops extraction and lithological classification was employed to process the remote sensing data: 1) Using the matched filtering with image-derived spectra as references, the weathered but representative outcrop-related patches were preliminarily extracted based on the fractal “DN-A” (digital number-area) algorithm; 2) The image masks of NDXI (NDVI, NDSI and MNDWI) in conjunction with spatial intersection, were conducted to minimize the influence of vegetation coverage; 3) Considering terrain features caused by differential weathering, slope analysis have allowed us to discriminate from tuff to granite outcrops; 4) A set of empirical verification criteria were established to assess the classification accuracy, which are exactly 82.4~83.2% of tuff and 91.3~92.3% of granite. The peak values of tuff and granite patch areas are 0–0.1 km2 (51%) and 0–0.5 km2 (60%), and 90% of patches are < 0.6 km2 of tuff and < 3.5 km2 of granite, respectively. The protolith of extracted weathered outcrops were further identified by several excavated trenches. This research has contributed a useful case study for remote-sensing lithological mapping in weathered and vegetated coastal zone, and the proposed approach should have a great possibility to be extrapolated for other similar cases.
Decadal variations of total organic carbon production in the inner-shelf of the South China Sea and East China Sea
Authors: Abate Rediat , Chen Changping , Liang Junrong , Sun Lin , Li Xuesong , Huang Bangqin , Gao Yahui
Published: January 2020

Organic carbon content is one of the major proxies of aquatic primary production and implication of environmental changes. However, there is a scarcity of information regarding the decadal variation of organic carbon production in inner-shelf of South China Sea (SCS) and East China Sea (ECS). To bridge this gap of information two sediment cores were collected from the inner shelf of SCS (Leizhou Peninsula) and ECS. Then, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC) and Total Nitrogen (TN) content were examined. The TOC content in the Leizhou Peninsula averaged 0.56% and varied from 0.35% to 0.81%. At decadal time scale, the TOC content of Leizhou Peninsula erratically increased in the last century, and it distinctly peaked after 1990’s. This is related to increased primary production due to the increased input of anthropogenic nutrients and rainfall level. The TOC content of the inner shelf of ECS averaged 0.5% and varied narrowly from 0.46% to 0.53%. The TOC:TN ratio of ECS averaged 5.65 and varied from 4.42 to 7.85, indicating there is high degree of organic matter degradations. The TN:TP ratios were below 10 for the periods before late-1990’s, indicating that there had been a potential nitrogen limitation in the inner shelf of ECS. Generally, this study showed that the TOC and TIC of ECS and SCS inner-shelf had undergone substantial changes in the last century.
Hydrogeothermal potentials of Rogozna mountain and possibility of their valorization
Authors: Ivanović D. R. , Valjarević Dj. A , Srećković-Batoćanin R. D. , Martić-Bursać N. M. , Vukoičić D. Ž. , Ivanović R. M.
Published: January 2020

The subjects of this study are hydrogeothermal potentials of Rogozna mountain (Serbia) and possibility of their use. Thermo-mineral springs at the mountain’s foothill are the leftovers from an intensive volcanic activity during the Tertiary. The most famous and the most valuable ones are the springs in Novopazarska Spa, Banjska and in the village of Vuca, with a number of springs yet to be examined. The hydrogeothermal potential of these springs is significant, with the total thermal power of 4.6 MWt and the thermal energy of 145.4 TJ/year, but these could be greatly enlarged through the additional investigation in the interior of Rogozna. It is believed that the primary reservoir lies at the approximate depth of 2 km and that the water temperature is about 120∘C. In the area of Rogozna mountain there are a lot of thermomineral springs (TM) with outlet temperature between 30 and 54∘C. The main goal of this study is to determine the thermo-mineral capacity and energy potential in the area of three spas. This study allows the hypothesis that thermo-mineral springs in the area of Rogozna mountain have large potential. The researched area of Rogozna mountain is insufficiently investigated geo-space, which is rich in thermo-mineral springs. Thermal sources in Rogozna mountain produce heat power of 4.6MWt or 1.4% of heat power given by all the sources in Serbia. The waters of these springs are solely used for balneological and recreational purposes. Yet they could successfully be used in warming and cooling the space, for greenhouses in fruit, vegetable and flower production. In the end, all geospatial data with the help of GIS advanced techniques were digitized and visualized.
Prevalence of Human Papilloma Virus in Patients With Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Dadashi Masoud , Tavakolian Shaian , Faghihloo Ebrahim
Published: January 2020

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is considered as one of the most common carcinogenic viruses in humans throughout the world and is mostly associated with gynecologic malignancies. However, it is also one of the environmental factors that is involved in colorectal cancer (CRC). Objective: A meta-analysis was performed to investigate the prevalence of HPV infection in patients suffering from the CRC. Methods: The frequency of the HPV in patients with CRC was studied from 2001 to 2016. To this end, several databases were reviewed, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Iranmedex, and the Scientific Information Database. Then, the analysis was done by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (V2.0, Biostat) software. Considering heterogeneity between different studies, the random effect model was used and then the results were checked with Cochran’s Q-statistic. Results: The meta-analysis revealed that the frequency of HPV infection in patients with CRC was 33.7% (a 95% CI of 28.4-39.5). The additional stratified analysis also showed that HPV infection in CRC patients was more widespread in European countries compared to Asian and American countries. Conclusion: The high rate of HPV infection is a major concern in sexually transmitted diseases around the world, therefore, controlling high-risk behaviors, vaccination, screening, and HPV subtyping can be useful in managing HPV infections.
A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on the Epidemiology of Antibiotic-resistant Yersinia Species in Food and Clinical Specimens in Iran
Authors: Khademi Farzad , Sahebkar Amirhossein
Published: January 2020

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Yersinia species, especially Y. enterocolitica from non-clinical and clinical isolates in Iran. Materials and Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and the Scientific Information Database (SID) using "antibiotic resistance", "Yersinia", and "Iran" as major keywords until June 10, 2019. According to the predefined article selection criteria, published studies addressing the epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant Yersinia species in Iran were included in the meta-analysis. Data were extracted and exported to the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software to evaluate antibiotic resistance rates, heterogeneity of studies and publication bias. Results: Twelve studies reported antimicrobial susceptibility testing using disk diffusion method. The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Yersinia species in food and clinical specimens in Iran was as follows: 22.4% to amoxicillin, 41.9% to ampicillin, 6% to gentamicin, 17% to trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole, 19% to tetracycline, 10.3% to ciprofloxacin, 10.5% to streptomycin, 3.8% to chloramphenicol, 79.3% to cephalothin, 18.4% to nalidixic acid, 6.6% to cefotaxime, and 12.2% to trimethoprim. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of resistant Y. enterocolitica strains isolated from food and clinical specimens in Iran to β-lactams, while the resistance rates to aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolone and chloramphenicol were low. Our findings recommended the necessity of a continuous surveillance of the resistance patterns and prudent use of trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, and nalidixic acid to prevent the development of antibioticresistant Y. enterocolitica strains in Iran.
Characteristics of Erythromycin Resistance in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolated From Raw Milk
Authors: Mahdavi Fatemeh , Zaboli Fatemeh , Khoshbakht Rahem
Published: January 2020

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are one of the most important multidrug resistant microorganisms that threaten human health. Objective: The present study was conducted to evaluate genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of erythromycin resistance among MRSA isolates recovered from raw milk in Iran. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 MRSA isolates were recovered from raw milk. Tests for erythromycin and clindamycin susceptibility and inducible clindamycin resistance were done. In addition, the presence of the methicillin resistance determinant (mecA), erythromycin resistance genes (ermA, ermB, ermC and msrA) and an important virulence gene (Panton– Valentine leukocidin) were investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Results: Forty-eight percent (24/50) and 46% (23/50) of the isolates were resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin, respectively. Seven (14%) isolates showed inducible clindamycin resistance phenotype. The mecA gene was detected in 88% (44/50) of MRSA isolates. The incidence of the ermA, ermB, ermC and msrA genes was 14%, 64%, 12%, and 26%, respectively and the PVL gene was present in 18% (9/50) of MRSA isolates. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the incidence of erythromycin resistance genes and inducible clindamycin-resistant MRSA strains was high in raw milk samples in Iran.
Evaluation of the Antileishmanial Properties of Ixora brachiata Roxb on Leishmania major and Leishmania infantum by Colorimetric MTT Assay
Authors: Eskandari Kaveh , Khademvatan Shahram , Sadeghi Nejad Batool , Yusef Naanaie Sedigheh , kohansal Kobra
Published: January 2020

Background: Leishmaniasis is a major global health problem which affects millions of people, especially in the developing countries. The incidence of leishmaniasis has increased and there is no vaccination for Leishmania infections and standard drugs for treatment of the disease have many side effects; therefore, it is necessary to find new effective alternatives. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antileishmanial activity of Ixora brachiata root extract against Leishmania major and Leishmania infantum promastigotes. Materials and Methods: Different doses of the selected plant extract was tested against L. major and L. infantum promastigotes using colorimetric MTT [3-(4, 5-methylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. Glucantime was used as the positive control. Results: Anti-parasitic activity was revealed for I. brachiata root on L. major and L. infantum with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 0.91 and 2.63 µg/mL, respectively compared to the standard drugs, glucantime, which had an IC50 value of 40.2 µg/mL for L. major and 18.5 µg/ mL for L. infantum after 72 hours. Conclusion: The results of this study created a new background on the development of drug against leishmania parasite.
Survey of Giardiasis Symptoms in Patients Referred to Health Care Centers in Zahedan, South-Eastern Iran, 2017-2018
Authors: Raissi Vahid , Zibaei Mohammad , Sarani Aliabadi Parvaneh , Hashemi Baghi Zeinab , Etemadi Soudabeh
Published: January 2020

Background: There are many pathogenic intestinal parasites in humans, one of which is Giardia lamblia. This parasite has a variety of clinical symptoms in individuals. Poor health, weather conditions, and inappropriate lifestyle are all factors contributing to the high incidence of giardiasis. Objective: Based on factors influencing the prevalence of giardiasis in the region, this study was performed on subjects referred to Zahedan health care centers. Materials and Methods: A total of 671 stool specimens of subjects who referred between March 2017 and October 2018 were examined using direct and formalin ether concentration techniques. All demographic and clinical data in questionnaires were recorded. Data were analyzed using X2 test to determine any differences in the prevalence of giardiasis and clinical symptoms between different age groups. Results: Of 671 samples, 346 (51.1%) were positive. The most common complaint among participants was abdominal pain (64.1%), followed by diarrhea (53.7%), abdominal cramps (44.7%), nausea (32.6%), weight loss (30.9%), anorexia (26.8%), headache (22.2%), fatigue (14.1%), and fever (13.2%). Most of the clinical symptoms such as abdominal pain, abdominal cramp, weight loss, and headache were reported in females, and the results of chi-square test showed a significant difference (P<0.05). The age group of 1-12 years had the highest percentage of infection (49.42%). The data indicated that the highest rate of infection was observed in this group, showing a significant difference in comparison with other age groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that in addition to health education, preventing the transmission of parasites to children would also be necessary.
A Newborn Infant With Poor Feeding: Non-ketotic Hyperglycinemia
Authors: Ghesmati Masoumeh , Jashni Motlagh Alireza
Published: January 2020

Non-ketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder affecting glycine metabolism that is a rare metabolic disorder in infants. The clinical manifestations of poor sucking, hypotonicity, lethargy, hiccups, and seizures develop within six hours to eight days of the birth of an otherwise healthy newborn. The present study introduced a newborn girl with poor feeding and hypotonia in the first day after birth with NKH. In addition, the patient was evaluated regarding hypotonia and poor feeding. The neonatal-onset NKH was diagnosed based on a markedly elevated cerebrospinal fluid/plasma glycine ratio of 0.32 and confirmed by the genetic test. It is extremely rare that NKH is manifested with poor feeding and hypotonia thus considering this diagnosis in infants with poor feeding and hypotonia is highly important.