bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
YAP1 overexpression contributes to the development of enzalutamide resistance by induction of cancer stemness and lipid metabolism in prostate cancer
Authors: Lee Hsiu-Chi , Ou Chien-Hui , Huang Yun-Chen , Hou Pei-Chi , Creighton Chad J. , Lin Yi-Syuan , Hu Che-Yuan , Lin Shih-Chieh
Published: March 2021

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a malignant and lethal disease caused by relapse after androgen-deprivation (ADT) therapy. Since enzalutamide is innovated and approved by US FDA as a new treatment option for mCRPC patients, drug resistance for enzalutamide is a critical issue during clinical usage. Although several underlying mechanisms causing enzalutamide resistance were previously identified, most of them revealed that drug resistant cells are still highly addicted to androgen and AR functions. Due to the numerous physical functions of AR in men, innovated AR-independent therapy might alleviate enzalutamide resistance and prevent production of adverse side effects. Here, we have identified that yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is overexpressed in enzalutamide-resistant (EnzaR) cells. Furthermore, enzalutamide-induced YAP1 expression is mediated through the function of chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor 2 (COUP-TFII) at the transcriptional and the post-transcriptional levels. Functional analyses reveal that YAP1 positively regulates numerous genes related to cancer stemness and lipid metabolism and interacts with COUP-TFII to form a transcriptional complex. More importantly, YAP1 inhibitor attenuates the growth and cancer stemness of EnzaR cells in vitro and in vivo. Finally, YAP1, COUP-TFII, and miR-21 are detected in the extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from EnzaR cells and sera of patients. In addition, treatment with EnzaR-EVs induces the abilities of cancer stemness, lipid metabolism and enzalutamide resistance in its parental cells. Taken together, these results suggest that YAP1 might be a crucial factor involved in the development of enzalutamide resistance and can be an alternative therapeutic target in prostate cancer.
Microbiome diversity of cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii) is associated with host alternation
Authors: Ma Yan-jie , He Hao-peng , Zhao Hai-meng , Xian Yi-dan , Guo Hui , Liu Biao , Xue Kun
Published: March 2021

Aphids are infected by a series of bacteria that can help them survive on specific host plants. However, the associations between aphids and these bacteria are not clear, and the bacterial communities in many aphid species are poorly characterized. Here, we investigated the bacterial communities of cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii) on 2 representative winter host plants and transferred to 3 summer host plants by 16S rDNA sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Our results revealed that the bacterial communities varied among cotton aphids on hibiscus, cotton aphids on pomegranate, cotton aphids on cotton transferred from hibiscus, cotton aphids on muskmelon transferred from hibiscus, cotton aphids on cucumber transferred from hibiscus,. The diversity and richness of the bacterial communities were significantly higher in aphids on muskmelon and aphids on cucumber than in the other treatments. There were two main factors influencing the distribution of internal bacterial OTUs revealed by principal component analysis, including the differences among Punicaceae, Malvaceae and Cucurbitaceae. There were 28 bacterial communities with significant differences between two arbitrary treatments, which could be grouped into 6 main clusters depending on relative abundance. Moreover, our results indicated that in addition to the obligate endosymbiont Buchnera, with a dominant position (> 52%), A. gossypii also harbored 3 facultative endosymbiotic bacteria (Serratia, Arsenophonus, and Wolbachia) and 3 possibly symbiotic bacteria (Acinetobacter, Pantoea, and Flavobacterium). There were several correspondences between the symbiotic bacteria in cotton aphids and the specific host plants of the aphids. This study provides a better understanding of the interactions among symbiotic bacteria, aphids and host plants, suggesting that the selection pressure on aphid bacterial communities is likely to be exerted by the species of host plants.
Distinct effects of V617F and exon12-mutated JAK2 expressions on erythropoiesis in a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based model
Authors: Nilsri Nungruthai , Jangprasert Panchalee , Pawinwongchai Jaturawat , Israsena Nipan , Rojnuckarin Ponlapat
Published: March 2021

Activating mutations affecting the JAK-STAT signal transduction is the genetic driver of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) which comprise polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and myelofibrosis. The JAK2p.V617F mutation can produce both erythrocytosis in PV and thrombocytosis in ET, while JAK2 exon 12 mutations cause only erythrocytosis. We hypothesized that these two mutations activated different intracellular signals. In this study, the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were used to model JAK2-mutated MPNs. Normal iPSCs underwent lentiviral transduction to overexpress JAK2p.V617F or JAK2p.N542_E543del (JAK2exon12) under a doxycycline-inducible system. The modified iPSCs were differentiated into erythroid cells. Compared with JAK2V617F-iPSCs, JAK2exon12-iPSCs yielded more total CD71+GlycophorinA+ erythroid cells, displayed more mature morphology and expressed more adult hemoglobin after doxycycline induction. Capillary Western immunoassay revealed significantly higher phospho-STAT1 but lower phospho-STAT3 and lower Phospho-AKT in JAK2exon12-iPSCs compared with those of JAK2V617F-iPSCs in response to erythropoietin. Furthermore, interferon alpha and arsenic trioxide were tested on these modified iPSCs to explore their potentials for MPN therapy. Both agents preferentially inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of the iPSCs expressing mutant JAK2 compared with those without doxycycline induction. In conclusion, the modified iPSC model can be used to investigate the mechanisms and search for new therapy of MPNs.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Uncertainty in estimating the number of contributors from simulated DNA mixture profiles, with and without allele dropout, from Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Caucasian ethnic populations
Authors: Chong Kevin Wai Yin , Syn Christopher Kiu-Choong
Published: March 2021

Determining the number of contributors (NOC) accurately in a forensic DNA mixture profile can be challenging. To address this issue, there have been various studies that examined the uncertainty in estimating the NOC in a DNA mixture profile. However, the focus of these studies lies primarily on dominant populations residing within Europe and North America. Thus, there is limited representation of Asian populations in these studies. Further, the effects of allele dropout on the NOC estimation has not been explored. As such, this study assesses the uncertainty of NOC in simulated DNA mixture profiles of Chinese, Malay, and Indian populations, which are the predominant ethnic populations in Asia. The Caucasian ethnic population was also included to provide a basis of comparison with other similar studies. Our results showed that without considering allele dropout, the NOC from DNA mixture profiles derived from up to four contributors of the same ethnic population could be estimated with confidence in the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Caucasian populations. The same results can be observed on DNA mixture profiles originating from a combination of differing ethnic populations. The inclusion of an overall 30% allele dropout rate increased the probability (risk) of underestimating the NOC in a DNA mixture profile; even a 3-person DNA mixture profile has a > 99% risk of underestimating the NOC as two or fewer contributors. However, such risks could be mitigated when the highly polymorphic SE33 locus was included in the dataset. Lastly there was a negligible level of risk in misinterpreting the NOC in a mixture profile as deriving from a single source profile. In summary, our studies showcased novel results representative of the Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnic populations when examining the uncertainty in NOC estimation in a DNA mixture profile. Our results would be useful in the estimation of NOC in a DNA mixture profile in the Asian context.
Role of wetlands in reducing structural loss is highly dependent on characteristics of storms and local wetland and structure conditions
Authors: Sheng Y. Peter , Rivera-Nieves Adail A. , Zou Ruizhi , Paramygin Vladimir A.
Published: March 2021

Coastal communities in New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), and Connecticut (CT) sustained huge structural loss during Sandy in 2012. We present a comprehensive science-based study to assess the role of coastal wetlands in buffering surge and wave in the tri-state by considering Sandy, a hypothetical Black Swan (BS) storm, and the 1% annual chance flood and wave event. Model simulations were conducted with and without existing coastal wetlands, using a dynamically coupled surge-wave model with two types of coastal wetlands. Simulated surge and wave for Sandy were verified with data at numerous stations. Structural loss estimated using real property data and latest damage functions agreed well with loss payout data. Results show that, on zip-code scale, the relative structural loss varies significantly with the percent wetland cover, the at-risk structural value, and the average wave crest height. Reduction in structural loss by coastal wetlands was low in Sandy, modest in the BS storm, and significant in the 1% annual chance flood and wave event. NJ wetlands helped to avoid 8%, 26%, 52% loss during Sandy, BS storm, and 1% event, respectively. This regression model can be used for wetland restoration planning to further reduce structural loss in coastal communities.
Risk factors for distant metastasis in locoregionally controlled oral squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective study
Authors: Tomioka Hirofumi , Yamagata Yuko , Oikawa Yu , Ohsako Toshimitsu , Kugimoto Takuma , Kuroshima Takeshi , Hirai Hideaki , Shimamoto Hiroaki , Harada Hiroyuki
Published: March 2021

The control of distant metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma is an important determinant of improved prognosis. The study aimed to identify risk factors for distant metastasis in patients with locoregionally controlled oral carcinoma. We identified 982 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma treated at our hospital between January 2008 and December 2017. After excluding patients with distant metastasis at initial treatment, patients with metastasis to the oral cavity, those receiving palliative treatment, and those lacking follow-up data, 941 patients were selected. Finally, among these 941 patients, 887 with locoregionally controlled oral squamous cell carcinoma were included in the study. Among the 887 patients, 36 had confirmed distant metastasis (4.1%), and the lung was the most common site (31/36 patients, 86.1%). Multivariate analysis showed that the incidence of primary intraosseous carcinoma of the mandible, cervical lymph node metastasis at levels IV and V, and the presence of pathological extranodal extension were significant risk factors for distant metastasis. When treating patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who are positive for the aforementioned risk factors, the possibility of developing distant metastases must be accounted for, and aggressive treatment should be planned accordingly.
Spent coffee ground characterization, pelletization test and emissions assessment in the combustion process
Authors: Colantoni A. , Paris E. , Bianchini L. , Ferri S. , Marcantonio V. , Carnevale M. , Palma A. , Civitarese V. , Gallucci F.
Published: March 2021

Industrial development and increased energy requirements have led to high consumption of fossil fuels. Thus, environmental pollution has become a profound problem. Every year, a large amount of agro-industrial, municipal and forest residues are treated as waste, but they can be recovered and used to produce thermal and electrical energy through biological or thermochemical conversion processes. Among the main types of agro-industrial waste, soluble coffee residues represent a significant quantity all over the world. Silver skin and spent coffee grounds (SCG) are the main residues of the coffee industry. The many organic compounds contained in coffee residues suggest that their recovery and use could be very beneficial. Indeed, thanks to their composition, they can be used in the production of biodiesel, as a source of sugar, as a precursor for the creation of active carbon or as a sorbent for the removal of metals. After a careful evaluation of the possible uses of coffee grounds, the aim of this research was to show a broad characterization of coffee waste for energy purposes through physical and chemical analyses that highlight the most significant quality indexes, the interactions between them and the quantification of their importance. Results identify important tools for the qualification and quantification of the effects of coffee waste properties on energy production processes. They show that (SCG) are an excellent raw material as biomass, with excellent values in terms of calorific value and low ash content, allowing the production of 98% coffee pellets that are highly suitable for use in thermal conversion systems. Combustion tests were also carried out in an 80kWth boiler and the resulting emissions without any type of abatement filter were characterized.
Clot waveform of APTT has abnormal patterns in subjects with COVID-19
Authors: Shimura Takuya , Kurano Makoto , Kanno Yoshiaki , Ikeda Mahoko , Okamoto Koh , Jubishi Daisuke , Harada Sohei , Okugawa Shu , Moriya Kyoji , Yatomi Yutaka
Published: March 2021

In Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) subjects, recent evidence suggests the presence of unique coagulation abnormalities. In this study, we performed clot waveform analyses to investigate whether specific modulations are observed in COVID-19 subjects. We analyzed the second derivative of the absorbance in routine APTT tests performed using an ACL-TOP system. We observed high frequencies of abnormal patterns in APTT second-derivative curves that could be classified into an early shoulder type, a late shoulder type, or a biphasic type, high maximum first-derivative and second-derivative peak levels, and a low minimum second-derivative peak level in COVID-19 subjects. These modulations were not observed in subjects with disseminated intravascular coagulation. These abnormal patterns are also observed in patients with lupus anticoagulant, hemophilia, or factor IX deficiency. The plasma fibrinogen levels might also be involved in the abnormal APTT waveforms, especially the high maximum first-derivative and second-derivative peak levels. The abnormal patterns in the APTT second-derivative curves appear with highest frequency at around 2 weeks after the onset of COVID-19 and were not associated with the severity of COVID-19. These results suggest the possible presence of a specific abnormal coagulopathy in COVID-19.
Padina boryana mediated green synthesis of crystalline palladium nanoparticles as potential nanodrug against multidrug resistant bacteria and cancer cells
Authors: Sonbol Hana , Ameen Fuad , AlYahya Sami , Almansob Abobakr , Alwakeel Suaad
Published: March 2021

Green synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a new and promising alternative to overcome the drug resistance problem. Peculiar nano-specific features of palladium NPs (Pd-NPs) offer invaluable possibilities for clinical treatment. Due to the development of multi-drug resistance (MDR) in pathogenic bacteria and the prevalence of cancers, use of algae-mediated Pd-NPs could be a prospective substitute. Therefore, Pd-NPs were synthesized by a one-step, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly green method using the extract from a brown alga, Padina boryana (PB-extract), and evaluated for their antibacterial, antibiofilm, and anticancer activities. Pd-NPs were physicochemically characterized for size, shape, morphology, surface area, charge, atomic composition, crystal structure, and capping of Pd-NPs by PB-extract biomolecules by various techniques. The data revealed crystalline Pd-NPs with an average diameter of 8.7 nm, crystal size/structure of 11.16 nm/face-centered cubic, lattice d-spacing of 0.226 nm, 28.31% as atomic percentage, surface area of 16.1 m2/g, hydrodynamic size of 48 nm, and zeta-potential of − 28.7 ± 1.6 mV. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis revealed the role of PB-extract in capping of Pd-NPs by various functional groups such as –OH, C=C, C–O, and C–N from phenols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic rings, and aliphatic amine. Out of 31, 23 compounds were found involved in biosynthesis by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Isolated strains were identified as MDR Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia fergusonii, Acinetobacter pittii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas enteropelogenes, and Proteus mirabilis and Pd-NPs exhibited strong antibacterial/antibiofilm activities against them with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the range of 62.5–125 μg/mL. Moreover, cell viability assays showed concentration-dependent anti-proliferation of breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Pd-NPs also enhanced mRNA expression of apoptotic marker genes in the order: p53 (5.5-folds) > bax (3.5-folds) > caspase-3 (3-folds) > caspase-9 (2-folds) at 125 μg/mL. This study suggested the possible role of PB-extract capped Pd-NPs for successful clinical management of MDR pathogens and breast cancer cells.
Interactive effect of potassium and cadmium on growth, root morphology and chlorophyll a fluorescence in tomato plant
Authors: Naciri Rachida , Lahrir Meryeme , Benadis Chahinez , Chtouki Mohamed , Oukarroum Abdallah
Published: March 2021

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to evaluate the role of potassium (K) in tomato plant growth exposed to cadmium (Cd) stress. In this work, the effects of three potassium nutrition regimes (155, 232 and 310 ppm of K) combined with Cd at different levels (0, 12 and 25 µM of CdCl2) on chlorophyll content index, root and shoot dry weights, root morphology, chlorophyllafluorescence and translocation factor were analyzed. The results showed a negative effect of cadmium, at different concentrations, on all these parameters. However, optimization of K nutrition has shown promising results by limiting the negative effect of Cd. A positive effect of the high concentration of K (310 ppm) was observed on leaf chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a fluorescence compared to 232 and 155 ppm under Cd stress. K supply improved the electron transport at PSI side indicated by the increase in the amplitude of the I–P phase of OJIP transient. Also, K at a concentration of 310 ppm significantly reduced Cd translocation from root to shoot and improved root and shoot growth parameters in the presence of Cd. K supplementation can reduce the negative effect of Cd by improving photosynthesis and promoting chlorophyll synthesis. The optimization of nutrients composition and concentration might be a good strategy to reduce the impact of Cd on plant growth and physiology.
O-Directed C–H functionalization via cobaltacycles: a sustainable approach for C–C and C–heteroatom bond formations
Authors: Banjare Shyam Kumar , Nanda Tanmayee , Pati Bedadyuti Vedvyas , Biswal Pragati , Ravikumar Ponneri Chandrababu
Published: March 2021

This review focuses on providing comprehensive highlights of the recent advances in the field of cobalt-catalysed C–H functionalization and related synthetic concepts, relying on these through oxygen atom coordination.
Catalytic hydrogenation enabled by ligand-based storage of hydrogen
Authors: McNeece Andrew J. , Jesse Kate A. , Filatov Alexander S. , Schneider Joseph E. , Anderson John S.
Published: March 2021

Using inspiration from biological cofactors, the reversible storage of hydrogen on a supporting dihydrazonopyrrole ligand enables catalytic hydrogenation reactivity with nickel.
The keto–enol tautomerization of ethyl acetoacetate in choline ionic liquids: the role of cation and anion in switching the tautomeric equilibrium
Authors: Kumar Madhu Deepan , Jaccob Madhavan
Published: March 2021

In the present study, the specific role of the individual cations and anions of ionic liquids in shifting the tautomeric equilibrium of EAA was investigated.
PdRuIr ternary alloy as an effective NO reduction catalyst: insights from first-principles calculation
Authors: Aspera Susan Meñez , Arevalo Ryan Lacdao , Chantaramolee Bhume , Nakanishi Hiroshi , Kasai Hideaki
Published: March 2021

The PdRuIr ternary alloy surface is a promising catalyst for NO dissociation and is expected to be stable against the formation of volatile Ru oxide. A criterion for determining alloyed surface’ activity for NO dissociation is also proposed.
Blue light-promoted radical sulfoximido-chalcogenization of aliphatic and aromatic alkenes
Authors: Chen Hongyi , Chen Li , He Ze , Zeng Qingle
Published: March 2021

A transition metal-free synthesis of N-(arylthio/seleno)ethyl sulfoxidmines via blue LED light-promoted radical sulfoximido-chalcogenization of aliphatic and aromatic alkenes was developed.
To shift, or not to shift: adequate selection of an internal standard in mass-shift approaches using tandem ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS)
Authors: Bolea-Fernandez Eduardo , Rua-Ibarz Ana , Resano Martín , Vanhaecke Frank
Published: March 2021

This paper addresses selection of the internal standard when using a mass-shift approach in the collision/reaction cell of an ICP-MS/MS unit to address spectral overlap: can it be monitored on-mass or does it also need to be mass-shifted?
Heck macrocyclization in natural product total synthesis
Authors: Zhang Weicheng
Published: March 2021

This review highlights the Heck macrocyclization in the context of natural product synthesis, showcasing its value in constructing diverse macrocycles.
Dissociation of large gaseous serine clusters produces abundant protonated serine octamer
Authors: Jordan Jacob S. , Williams Evan R.
Published: March 2021

Dissociation of large multiply protonated serine clusters produces abundant protonated octamer at an optimum ion temperature predominantly through a doubly protonated decamer intermediate.
Low-valent dialkoxytitanium(ii): a useful tool for the synthesis of functionalized seven-membered ring compounds
Authors: Bodinier Florent , Sanogo Youssouf , Ardisson Janick , Lannou Marie-Isabelle , Sorin Geoffroy
Published: March 2021

Herein, we describe unprecedented access to all-carbon or heterocyclic seven-membered ring frameworks from 1,8-ene-ynes promoted by inexpensive low-valent titanium(ii) species, readily available from a combination of Ti(OiPr)4 and Grignard reagent.
A silver-catalyzed domino inverse electron-demand oxo-Diels–Alder reaction of 3-cyclopropylideneprop-2-en-1-ones with 2,3-dioxopyrrolidines via cyclobutane-fused furan
Authors: Zhang Yanshun , Wei Yin , Shi Min
Published: March 2021

A silver-catalyzed diastereoselective domino cyclization-migration/inverse electron-demand oxo-Diels–Alder reaction of the in situ generated cyclobutane-fused furan intermediate with oxo-IED-diene for constructing complicated tricyclic compounds.
Cometabolic degradation of toxic trichloroethene or cis-1,2-dichloroethene with phenol and production of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)
Authors: Chang Young-Cheol , Venkateswar Reddy M. , Choi DuBok
Published: March 2021

In this study, for the first-time biological conversion of Trichloroethene (TCE) or cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE) into poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) by Cupriavidus sp. CY-1 was evaluated.
Interaction, binding capacity and anticancer properties ofN,N′-bis(acetylacetone)-propylenediimine-copper(ii) on colorectal cancer cell line Caco-2
Authors: Stevanović Nikola , Apostolović Danijela , Milčić Miloš , Lolić Aleksandar , van Hage Marianne , Veličković Tanja Ćirković , Baošić Rada
Published: March 2021

The binding capacity and interaction ofN,N′-bis(acetylacetone)propylenediimine-copper(ii) with HSA were systemically investigatedin vitroandin silico.
High-energetic and low-sensitive 1,3,5-triamino 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) crystal: first principles investigation and Hirshfeld surface analysis
Authors: Liu Yingzhe , Yu Tao , Lai Weipeng , Ma Yiding , Ge Zhongxue , Yang Fang-Ling , Liang Peng-Yu , Long Yu , Zhou Pan-Pan , Yang Zhaoyong
Published: March 2021

The N–H⋯O hydrogen bonding between neighboring TATB molecules within a planar layer cooperates with π⋯π interaction between two adjacent molecules from two adjacent layers in the TATB crystal.
Visible-light driven reduction of CO2 to formate by a water-soluble zinc porphyrin and formate dehydrogenase system with electron-mediated amino and carbamoyl group-modified viologen
Authors: Miyaji Akimitsu , Amao Yutaka
Published: March 2021

Visible-light-driven CO2 reduction to formate with a system consisting of water-soluble zinc porphyrin, formate dehydrogenase from Candida boidinii and 1-amino-1′-carbamoyl-4,4′-bipyridinium salt as an electron mediator in the presence of triethanolamine was developed.
Eukaryotic protein uS19: a component of the decoding site of ribosomes and a player in human diseases
Authors: Graifer Dmitri , Karpova Galina
Published: March 2021

Proteins belonging to the universal ribosomal protein (rp) uS19 family are constituents of small ribosomal subunits, and their conserved globular parts are involved in the formation of the head of these subunits. The eukaryotic rp uS19 (previously known as S15) comprises a C-terminal extension that has no homology in the bacterial counterparts. This extension is directly implicated in the formation of the ribosomal decoding site and thereby affects translational fidelity in a manner that has no analogy in bacterial ribosomes. Another eukaryote-specific feature of rp uS19 is its essential participance in the 40S subunit maturation due to the interactions with the subunit assembly factors required for the nuclear exit of pre-40S particles. Beyond properties related to the translation machinery, eukaryotic rp uS19 has an extra-ribosomal function concerned with its direct involvement in the regulation of the activity of an important tumor suppressor p53 in the Mdm2/Mdmx-p53 pathway. Mutations in the RPS15 gene encoding rp uS19 are linked to diseases (Diamond Blackfan anemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Parkinson's disease) caused either by defects in the ribosome biogenesis or disturbances in the functioning of ribosomes containing mutant rp uS19, likely due to the changed translational fidelity. Here, we review currently available data on the involvement of rp uS19 in the operation of the translational machinery and in the maturation of 40S subunits, on its extra-ribosomal function, and on relationships between mutations in the RPS15 gene and certain human diseases.
Preclinical Dysphagia in Community Dwelling Older Adults: What Should We Look For?
Authors: Madhavan Aarthi
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Traditionally, etiology of dysphagia is thought to be related to multiple medical diagnoses including stroke, head and neck cancer, degenerative neurological conditions, and so forth. However, community dwelling older adults (CDOA) can present with dysphagia in the absence of any specific etiology. The purpose of this research was to develop a multidimensional framework to help identify those CDOA at risk for dysphagia of nonspecific etiology.

Method

Pertinent literature was examined to identify support for the proposed framework and to explain how the various elements support the model.

Results

Several factors that are not traditionally thought to be associated with dysphagia can both initiate and exacerbate symptoms of swallowing difficulties. Swallowing difficulties may be subtle and underreported. Monitoring for symptoms related to preclinical dysphagia may be helpful for early identification.

Conclusions

Dysphagia in CDOA is complex and multidimensional. Clinicians working with older adults will benefit from considering elements described in this multidimensional framework to better understand the etiology of swallowing deficits and improve management.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14150078
Practical stability of time‐varying positive systems with time delay
Authors: Li Ruonan , Zhao Ping
Published: March 2021

This paper considers the problem of practical stability for time‐varying positive systems with time delay. For both non‐linear time‐varying positive systems and linear time‐varying positive (LTVP) systems with time delay, sufficient conditions on practical stability are derived by the max‐separable Lyapunov‐Krasovskii (L–K) functional method. Then based on the obtained results, an effective method for designing a desired controller in terms of state feedback and state feedback with input delay is established for LTVP systems with time delay. At the end, numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of our results.
Robust 3D face reconstruction from single noisy depth image through semantic consistency
Authors: Li Peixin , Pei Yuru , Zhong Yicheng , Guo Yuke , Zha Hongbin
Published: March 2021

This paper addresses the 3D face reconstruction and semantic annotation from a single‐view noisy depth image. A deep neural network‐based coarse‐to‐fine framework is presented to take advantage of 3D morphable model (3DMM) regression and per‐vertex geometry refinement. The low‐dimensional subspace coefficients of the 3DMM initialize the global facial geometry, being prone to be over‐smooth because of the low‐pass characteristics of the shape subspace. The proposed geometry refinement subnetwork predicts per‐vertex displacements to enrich local details, which is learned from unlabelled noisy depth images based on the registration‐like loss. In order to guarantee the semantic correspondence between the resultant 3D face and the depth image, a semantic consistency constraint is introduced to adapt an annotation model learned from the synthetic data to real noisy depth images. The resultant depth annotations are required to be consistent with the label propagation from the coarse and refined parametric 3D faces. The proposed coarse‐to‐fine reconstruction scheme and the semantic consistency constraint are evaluated on the depth‐based 3D face reconstruction and semantic annotation. The series of experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves the performance improvements over compared methods regarding 3D face reconstruction and depth image annotation.
Blind multipurpose watermarking with insertion of a single watermark: a generic construction based on verifiable threshold secret sharing
Authors: Sheidani Sorour , Eslami Ziba
Published: March 2021

Currently, the existing literature on multipurpose watermarking employs multiple watermarks for simultaneous achieving of multiple security objectives. This approach can be problematic since a watermark targeting tampers might fail to detect tampering of another watermark inserted for copyright violation. Moreover, most of the current schemes follow a non‐blind approach where the original watermark is needed for authentication. A question that naturally arises is whether multipurpose watermarking can be realised with the insertion of a single watermark in a blind way or not. The goal of the authors study is to provide an affirmative answer to this important question. They show how a cryptographic primitive called verifiable threshold secret sharing can be used to come up with a generic construction for blind multipurpose watermarking which inserts a single watermark into the host image for simultaneous achieving of copyright protection, authentication, and tamper localisation. The generic property of the proposed scheme provides flexibility for choosing the embedding/extraction of the watermark based on the desired level of fidelity, robustness and capacity. Experimental results are provided to confirm the superiority of their proposed technique as compared to existing approaches.
Flow‐based frame interpolation networks combined with occlusion‐aware mask estimation
Authors: Zhang Dacheng , Lei Weimin , Zhang Wei , Chen Xinyi
Published: March 2021

Frame interpolation is one of the most challenging tasks in the video processing field. Recent advances have demonstrated that the deep learning‐based frame interpolation methods are promising. However, the experiments show that most existing deep learning‐based methods have the same problem as traditional methods. When these algorithms handle severe occlusions, they will produce distortions, especially around the motion boundaries. To better synthesise the image of the motion areas, the authors design a mask‐guided frame synthesis model, which consists of multiple components, based on deep convolutional neural networks. The proposed model first estimates the asymmetric bi‐directional optical flows from the intermediate frame to the input frames. Then it estimates the occlusion‐aware masks, which can compensate for the optical flow inaccuracy based on optical flows and correlation information. Finally, the warped frames are adaptively fused under the guidance of the masks to generate a high‐quality intermediate frame. Furthermore, to generate more realistic video frames, they train the network model with the pixel‐based loss and the feature‐based loss in a step‐by‐step way. In the experiment, they analyse the proposed model and compare it with the high‐performance methods, both qualitative and quantitative results show that their method performs better.
Agile reactive navigation for a non‐holonomic mobile robot using a pixel processor array
Authors: Liu Yanan , Bose Laurie , Greatwood Colin , Chen Jianing , Fan Rui , Richardson Thomas , Carey Stephen J. , Dudek Piotr , Mayol‐Cuevas Walterio
Published: March 2021

This paper presents an agile reactive navigation strategy for driving a non‐holonomic ground vehicle around a pre‐set course of gates in a cluttered environment using a low‐cost processor array sensor. This enables machine vision tasks to be performed directly upon the sensor's image plane, rather than using a separate general‐purpose computer. The authors demonstrate a small ground vehicle running through or avoiding multiple gates at high speed using minimal computational resources. To achieve this, target tracking algorithms are developed for the Pixel Processing Array and captured images are then processed directly on the vision sensor acquiring target information for controlling the ground vehicle. The algorithm can run at up to 2000 fps outdoors and 200 fps at indoor illumination levels. Conducting image processing at the sensor level avoids the bottleneck of image transfer encountered in conventional sensors. The real‐time performance of on‐board image processing and robustness is validated through experiments. Experimental results demonstrate the algorithm's ability to enable a ground vehicle to navigate at an average speed of 2.20 m/s for passing through multiple gates and 3.88 m/s for a ‘slalom’ task in an environment featuring significant visual clutter.
Weakly supervised salient object detection via double object proposals guidance
Authors: Zhou Zhiheng , Guo Yongfan , Dai Ming , Huang Junchu , Li Xiangwei
Published: March 2021

The weakly supervised methods for salient object detection are attractive, since they greatly release the burden of annotating time‐consuming pixel‐wise masks. However, the image‐level annotations utilized by current weakly supervised salient object detection models are too weak to provide sufficient supervision for this dense prediction task. To this end, a weakly supervised salient object detection method is proposed via double object proposals guidance, which is generated under the supervision of double bounding boxes annotations. With the double object proposals, the authors' method is capable of capturing both accurate but incomplete salient foreground and background information, which contributes to generating saliency maps with uniformly highlighted saliency regions and effectively suppressed background. In addition, an unsupervised salient object segmentation method is proposed, taking advantage of the non‐parametric statistical active contour model (NSACM), for segmenting salient objects with complete and compact boundaries. Experiments on five benchmark datasets show that the authors' weakly supervised salient object detection approach consistently outperforms other weakly supervised and unsupervised methods by a considerable margin, and even has comparable performance to the fully supervised ones.
Laser processing of micro/nano biomimetic structures
Authors: Xiao Guijian , He Yi , Liu Shuai , Yi Hao , Du Lingyan
Published: March 2021

Inspired by nature, many researchers have noticed that the micro‐ and nano‐structures originated from organism's surfaces which indict unique properties such as superhydrophobicity, drag reduction, structure colour have much use in academic value. However, conventional processing methods for mimicking biomimetic surface need multistep and is time wasted, not environmental friendly and uneconomic. Thanks to the development of ultrafast laser technology, the pulse duration can reach femtosecond scale, which can precisely realize micro‐ and nano‐processing in one‐step. Here, we introduce and demonstrate the principles of some typical properties. The typical structures caused by interaction between laser and material are discussed. Moreover, laser‐processing methods for biomimetic surface are highlighted to achieve specialized performance.
Effects of different weed cutting methods on physical and hydromorphological conditions in lowland streams
Authors: Rasmussen Jes Jessen , Kallestrup Helena , Thiemer Kirstine , Baisner Alnøe Anette , Dalsgaard Henriksen Lisbeth , Larsen Søren Erik , Baattrup-Pedersen Annette
Published: March 2021

Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of stream flooding events. In response, managing authorities may increase frequency and intensity of aquatic plant removal (weed cutting) to lower the water level in rivers possibly impairing physical and hydromorphological stream conditions. We studied 32 Danish lowland streams subjected to three different weed cutting practices, representing a gradient in weed cutting intensity, and uncut controls to compare physical and hydromorphological habitat quality parameters among stream groups. Moreover, we measured short-term changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and suspended sediment (SS) transport in two streams before, during, and just after weed cutting for the least and most pervasive weed cutting method, respectively. Our results indicated a lower habitat quality affiliated with increasing intensity of weed cutting practice, notably an association with silt cover at the expense of hard substrate. DO concentrations were relatively unaltered but an abrupt increase in SS transport comparable to storm events was observed during cutting with the most pervasive method. Our results indicate that ecological and hydromorphological effects of high intensity weed cutting should be carefully studied and considered before large scale implementation.
Ball tipped guide wire for broken nail removal: a case report
Authors: Iqbal Faizan , Zamir Mehroze , Ahmed Nasir , Kamal Syed Wajahat , Memon Nouman
Published: March 2021

A broken intramedullary nail is a well-known complication of non-union of femur shaft fractures. Numerous surgical techniques have been presented before in patients with non-union of long bone fractures. We report the surgical technique used to perform removal of the broken distal segment of a nail in a patient who achieved uneventful union after intramedullary nailing of closed femur shaft fracture. A ball-tipped guidewire was inserted through the broken segment of the femur nail. A pre-bend plain wire was then inserted. With the help of a vise-grip, both wires were twisted in order to make a secure handle between guidewires and a broken implant. With the help of a mallet upward-directed blows were applied to extract a broken segment of the nail. We found ball-tipped guidewire technique a useful and effective technique in removing the broken distal portion of the nail.
Lymphstase und Fettgewebshypertrophie – Pathophysiologische Zusammenhänge und therapeutische Optionen
Authors: Faerber Gabriele
Published: March 2021

Angeborene oder erworbene, iatrogene, traumatische oder postinfektiöse Störungen des Lymphabflusses führen aufgrund der Lymphstase im Laufe der Zeit zu Gewebeveränderungen wie Fibrosierung und vermehrter lokaler Fettgewebebildung. Häufig kommt es hierdurch zu einer extremen Volumenzunahme der betroffenen Extremität, die nicht durch das Lymphödem allein, sondern vor allem durch die massive Fettgewebshypertrophie bedingt ist. Lymphgefäße und Lymphknoten sind immer in Fettgewebe eingebettet. Dieses perilymphatische Fettgewebe ist essenziell für die lymphatische wie auch immunologische Funktion des Lymphsystems, da das Lymphsystem Fettsäuren als primäre Energiequelle nützt. Kommt es nach Lymphadenektomie und/oder Unterbrechung von Lymphgefäßen zur Lymphstase in der betroffenen Extremität, signalisiert diese einen gesteigerten Energiebedarf für die notwendige Immunantwort und die chronische Inflammation verursacht eine Überstimulation der Fettgewebsproliferation, um ausreichend Energie zur Verfügung stellen zu können. In der Folge kommt es zu weiteren pathophysiologischen Veränderungen, die die Drainagefunktion und damit die Lymphstase weiter verschlechtern. Es hat sich ein Circulus vitiosus aus Lymphstase, Fettgewebsproliferation und Fibrosierung entwickelt.

Da die komplexe Entstauungstherapie diesen Zustand allein nicht wesentlich verbessern kann, kommen therapeutisch zusätzliche gewebereduzierende operative Verfahren, in erster Linie die Liposuktion, ggf. in Kombination mit mikrochirurgischen Operationstechniken, zum Einsatz.
A Rare Case of Gastric Perforation Secondary to Endoscopic Glue Injection for Gastric Varices
Authors: Khandagale Varun , Sharma Sandesh , Raghuwanshi Pranav , Kumar Sanjay
Published: March 2021

Gastric perforation is very rare. Gastric perforation following endoscopic glue injection for gastric varices (GVs) in patients with portal hypertension (PHT) has not been documented till date. They are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We present a glue injection-induced gastric perforation in patients with PHT that has been treated with primary closure at our institution. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of such complication following endoscopic glue injection for GVs. Such site of glue-induced perforation has not been reported in literature till date. A 38-year-old male patient having cirrhosis of liver with PHT underwent repeated upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic procedures for recurrent upper GI bleed. After 20 days of third endoscopic procedure in which he had undergone glue injection for GVs, patient developed abdominal pain and abdominal radiograph was suggestive of bowel perforation. Emergency laparotomy was performed that showed gastric perforation near to glue injection site which was repaired with primary closure at our institution. Complication such as glue injection-induced gastric perforation has not yet been documented. It is potentially life-threatening. Early recognition may lead to a better prognosis through earlier intervention.
A 1D Lyman-alpha profile camera for plasma edge neutral studies on the DIII-D tokamak
Authors: Rosenthal A. M. , Hughes J. W. , Bortolon A. , Laggner F. M. , Wilks T. M. , Vieira R. , Leccacorvi R. , Marmar E. , Nagy A. , Freeman C. , Mauzey D.
Published: March 2021

A one dimensional, absolutely calibrated pinhole camera system was installed on the DIII-D tokamak to measure edge Lyman-alpha (Ly-α) emission from hydrogen isotopes, which can be used to infer neutral density and ionization rate profiles. The system is composed of two cameras, each providing a toroidal fan of 20 lines of sight, viewing the plasma edge on the inboard and outboard side of DIII-D. The cameras’ views lie in a horizontal plane 77 cm below the midplane. At its tangency radius, each channel provides a radial resolution of ∼2 cm full width at half maximum (FWHM) with a total coverage of 22 cm. Each camera consists of a rectangular pinhole, Ly-α reflective mirror, narrow-band Ly-α transmission filter, and a 20 channel AXUV photodetector. The combined mirror and transmission filter have a FWHM of 5 nm, centered near the Ly-α wavelength of 121.6 nm and is capable of rejecting significant, parasitic carbon-III (C-III) emission from intrinsic plasma impurities. To provide a high spatial resolution measurement in a compact footprint, the camera utilizes advanced engineering and manufacturing techniques including 3D printing, high stability mirror mounts, and a novel alignment procedure. Absolutely calibrated, spatially resolved Ly-α brightness measurements utilize a bright, isolated line with low parasitic surface reflections and enable quantitative comparison to modeling to study divertor neutral leakage, main chamber fueling, and radial particle transport.
Multi-species modeling in the particle-based ellipsoidal statistical Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook method for monatomic gas species
Authors: Pfeiffer M. , Mirza A. , Nizenkov P.
Published: March 2021

Multi-species modeling is implemented for the particle-based ellipsoidal statistical Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook method for monatomic species in the open-source plasma simulation suite PICLas. After a literature review on available multi-species extensions of the kinetic model equations and approaches for the determination of the transport coefficients, Brull's model is implemented for the former and Wilke's mixing rules and collision integrals for the latter. The implementation is verified with two simulation test cases: a supersonic Couette flow and the hypersonic flow around a 70° blunted cone. The simulation results are compared with the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, where good overall agreement can be achieved. However, the determination of the transport coefficients through collision integrals offers better agreement with the DSMC results at acceptable computational cost. For the last test case, a comparison of the computational efficiency is presented.
Directional percolating pathways in demixing blends on a wetting substrate
Authors: Goyal Abheeti , van der Schoot Paul , Toschi Federico
Published: March 2021

Understanding the dynamical evolution of a percolating network during liquid–liquid demixing is crucial for many technological applications, including plastic electronics, such as organic photovoltaics, whose performance depends on the efficiency to transport the positive and negative charge carriers to the corresponding electrodes. The transport and collection of the charge carriers require sufficient asymmetry between the donor and acceptor phases by attaining a minimum concentration of the majority fluids in it, called the percolation threshold. We investigate demixing in symmetric binary blends on a substrate preferentially wet by one of the fluids from the perspective of such a percolation threshold to achieve directed and connectivity percolation. We also study the influence of the strength of the substrate interaction and the property of the blend right before the quench with respect to the critical point. It is commonly assumed that the bicontinuous morphology of a symmetric blend guarantees percolation, where the average concentration of the blend distinguishes the two phases. However, if the percolation threshold is larger than the average concentration, we find that percolating pathways grow monotonically and a percolating cluster forms only after a time lag. Furthermore, we find that this time lag is characterized by two universal kinetic regimes that can explain all our observations. The first regime is associated with the percolation threshold itself, which grows exponentially. The second regime displays an algebraic growth with an exponent of 1/3 and we argue that it must be associated with the directional connectivity of the wetting phase to the substrate.