bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Heat-Processed Artemisia capillaris Thunberg by Regulating IκBα/NF-κB Complex and 15-PGDH in Mouse Macrophage Cells
Authors: Ali Akhtar , Lim Junsik , Kim En Hyung , Lee Jong-Hyun , Seong Shin , Kim Wonnam
Published: June 2021

Growing evidence suggests that dietary nutrients in herbs and plants are beneficial in improving inflammatory disorders. Artemisia capillaris Thunberg (AC) is a traditional herbal medicine widely used in East Asia to treat pain, hepatotoxicity, and inflammatory disorders. Heat processing is a unique pharmaceutical method used in traditional herbal medicine to enhance the pharmacological effects and safety of medicinal plants. This study demonstrates the anti-inflammatory effects of heat-processed AC (HPAC) in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) treated mouse macrophage cells. HPAC reduced LPS-induced inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, NO, and PGE2 in RAW 264.7 cells. Interestingly, 15-PGDH appears to play a pivotal role rather than COX-2 and mPGES-1 when HPAC regulated PGE2 levels. Meanwhile, HPAC showed anti-inflammatory effects by blocking IκBα phosphorylation and NF-κB nuclear translocalization. Also, we found that HO-1 upregulation was mediated by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in HPAC-treated RAW 264.7 cells. And, in RAW 264.7 cells challenged with LPS, HPAC restored HO-1 expression, leading to NF-κB inhibition. Through further experiments using specific MAPK inhibitors, we found that, in response to LPS, the phosphorylated IκBα and activated NF-κB were attenuated by p38 MAPK/HO-1 pathway. Therefore, HPAC targeting both the IκBα/NF-κB complex and 15-PGDH may be considered as a potential novel anti-inflammatory agent derived from a natural source.
Eliminating the Effect of Common-Mode Voltage on an Open-End Winding PMSM Based on Model Predictive Torque Control
Authors: Lin Zhiming , Lei Bicheng , Wu Lingwei , Mei Pan
Published: June 2021

In the open-end winding permanent magnet synchronous motor (OEW-PMSM) with common DC link, the common-mode voltage (CMV) will cause leakage current and zero-sequence current, which will lead to the decrease in the system life and efficiency. To solve this problem, the loop characteristics of leakage current and zero-sequence current were analyzed, and the condition for eliminating the leakage current and the zero-sequence current was deduced. Then, the CMV of the voltage vectors for the OEW-PMSM system was calculated, and the appropriate voltage vectors satisfying the conditions were selected to form the control vector sets. Combined with the model predictive torque control (MPTC), a cost function without the weight factor was proposed. The voltage vector sets were predicted by the cost function. The optimal voltage vectors were selected to control the OEW-PMSM, which can eliminate the leakage current and the zero-sequence current caused by the CMV. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by the simulation results.
Study on Probabilistic Safety Goals for Multimodule High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Based on Chinese Societal Risks
Authors: Zhang Jinghan , Zhao Jun , Tong Jiejuan
Published: June 2021

Nuclear safety goal is the basic standard for limiting the operational risks of nuclear power plants. The statistics of societal risks are the basis for nuclear safety goals. Core damage frequency (CDF) and large early release frequency (LERF) are typical probabilistic safety goals that are used in the regulation of water-cooled reactors currently. In fact, Chinese current probabilistic safety goals refer to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and they are not based on Chinese societal risks. And the CDF and LERF proposed for water reactor are not suitable for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR), because the design of HTGR is very different from that of water reactor. And current nuclear safety goals are established for single reactor rather than unit or site. Therefore, in this paper, the development of the safety goal of NRC was investigated firstly; then, the societal risks in China were investigated in order to establish the correlation between the probabilistic safety goal of multimodule HTGR and Chinese societal risks. In the end, some other matters about multireactor site were discussed in detail.
Research on Mount Wilson Magnetic Classification Based on Deep Learning
Authors: He Yuanbo , Yang Yunfei , Bai Xianyong , Feng Song , Liang Bo , Dai Wei
Published: June 2021

The Mount Wilson magnetic classification of sunspot groups is thought to be meaningful to forecast flares’ eruptions. In this paper, we adopt a deep learning method, CornerNet-Saccade, to perform the Mount Wilson magnetic classification of sunspot groups. It includes three stages, generating object locations, detecting objects, and merging detections. The key technologies consist of the backbone as Hourglass-54, the attention mechanism, and the key points’ mechanism including the top-left corners and the bottom-right corners of the object by corner pooling layers. These technologies improve the efficiency of detecting the objects without sacrificing accuracy. A dataset is built by a total of 2486 composited images which are composited with the continuum images and the corresponding magnetograms from HMI and MDI. After training the network, the sunspot groups in a composited solar full image are detected and classified in 3 seconds on average. The test results show that this method has a good performance, with the accuracy, precision, recall, and mAP as 0.94, 0.93, 0.94, and 0.90, respectively. Moreover, the flare productivities of different types of sunspot groups from 2011 to 2020 are calculated. As

I

tot

 

≥

 1, the flare productivities of

α
,
β
,
β
γ
,
β
δ

, and

β
γ
δ

sunspot groups are 0.14, 0.28, 0.61, 0.71, and 0.87, respectively. As

I

tot

 

≥

 10, the flare productivities are 0.02, 0.07, 0.27, 0.45, and 0.65, respectively. It means that the

β
γ
,
β
δ

, and

β
γ
δ

types are indeed very closely related to the eruption of solar flares, especially the

β
γ
δ

type. Based on the reliability of this method, the sunspot groups of the HMI solar full images from 2011 to 2020 are detected and classified, and the detailed data are shared on the website (https://61.166.157.71/MWMCSG.html).
Distributed Path Planning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Communication Chain Based on Dual Decomposition
Authors: Wei Xiaohua , Xu Jianliang
Published: June 2021

Limited by the insufficiency of single UAV’s load and flight time capabilities, the multi‐UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) collaboration to improve mission efficiency and expand mission functions has become the focus of current UAV theory and application research. In this paper, the research on UAV global path planning is carried out using the ant colony algorithm, and an indoor UAV path planning model based on the ant colony algorithm is constructed. In order to improve the efficiency of the algorithm, enhance the adaptability and robustness of the algorithm, a distributed path planning algorithm based on the dual decomposition UAV communication chain is proposed. This algorithm improves the basic ant colony algorithm from the aspects of path selection, pheromone update, and rollback strategy in view of the inherent shortcomings of the ant colony algorithm. In order to achieve the best performance of the algorithm, this paper analyzes each parameter in the ant colony algorithm in depth and obtains the optimal combination of parameters. The construction method of the Voronoi diagram was improved, and the method was simulated to verify that the method can obtain a Voronoi diagram path that is safer than the original method under certain time conditions. Through the principle analysis and simulation verification of the Dijkstra algorithm and the dual decomposition ant colony algorithm, it is concluded that the dual decomposition ant colony algorithm is more efficient in pathfinding. Finally, through simulation, it was verified that the dual decomposition ant colony algorithm can plan a safe and reasonable flight path for multiple UAV formation flights in an offline state and achieve offline global obstacle avoidance for multiple UAVs.
Modified Linear Active Disturbance Rejection Control for Uncertain Robot Manipulator Trajectory Tracking
Authors: Hu Hongjun , Xiao Shungen , Shen Haikuo
Published: June 2021

To solve the problems of model uncertainties, dynamic coupling, and external disturbances, a modified linear active disturbance rejection controller (MLADRC) is proposed for the trajectory tracking control of robot manipulators. In the computer simulation, MLADRC is compared to the proportional-derivative (PD) controller and the regular linear active disturbance rejection controller (LADRC) for performance tests. Multiple uncertain factors such as friction, parameter perturbation, and external disturbance are sequentially added to the system to simulate an actual robot manipulator system. Besides, a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) manipulator is constructed to verify the control performance of the MLADRC. Compared with the regular LADRC, MLADRC is significantly characterized by the addition of feedforward control of reference angular acceleration, which helps robot manipulators keep up with target trajectories more accurately. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the MLADRC over the regular LADRC for the trajectory tracking control.
Systematic Investigation of the Effect of Powerful Tianma Eucommia Capsule on Ischemic Stroke Using Network Pharmacology
Authors: Feng Pengcheng , Li Guixia , Huang Yan , Pei Jinhong
Published: June 2021

Background. Ischemic stroke (IS) is a serious disease with a high rate of death and disability, and a growing number of people are becoming victims. Existing drugs not only have limited therapeutic effects but also have obvious side effects. Most importantly, drug resistance due to long-term or improper use of drugs is detrimental to patients. Therefore, it is urgent to find some alternative or supplementary medicines to alleviate the current embarrassment. Powerful Tianma Eucommia Capsule (PTEC) is mainly used to treat IS in China for thousands of years; however, the molecular mechanism is not clear. Methods. Pharmacology ingredients and target genes were filtered and downloaded from websites. A pharmacology ingredient-target gene network was constructed to predict the molecular interactions between ingredients and target genes. Enrichment analysis was performed to explore the possible signal pathways. LeDock was used to simulate the interaction form between proteins and main active ingredients and to deduce key amino acid positions. Results. Two hundred eighty-nine target genes and seventy-four pharmacological ingredients were obtained from public databases. Several key ingredients (quercetin, kaempferol, and stigmasterol) and primary core target genes (PTGS1, NCOA2, and PRSS1) were detected through ingredient-target gene network analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis demonstrated that ingredients affect networks mainly in nuclear receptor activity and G protein-coupled amine receptor activity; besides, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, human cytomegalovirus infection, and hepatitis B signaling pathways might be the principal therapy ways. A series of presumed key amino acid sites (189ASP, 190SER, 192GLN, 57HIS, and 99TYE) were calculated in PRSS1. Six of the target genes were differentially expressed between male and female patients. Conclusions. Seven new putative target genes (ACHE, ADRA1A, AR, CHRM3, F7, GABRA1, and PRSS1) were observed in this work. Based on the result of GO and KEGG analysis, this work will be helpful to further demonstrate the molecular mechanism of PTEC treatment of IS.
Significance of MHD Radiative Non-Newtonian Nanofluid Flow towards a Porous Channel: A Framework of the Casson Fluid Model
Authors: Thamaraikannan N. , Karthikeyan S. , Chaudhary Dinesh Kumar
Published: June 2021

The effect of various parameters in the unsteady pulsating flow of radiative hydromagnetic Casson nanofluid through a porous channel is investigated. The governing equations were nondimensionalized by applying suitable transformations. The perturbation technique was employed to solve the resulting similarity equations. The velocity and temperature fields are illustrated for several pertinent flow parameters. The fluid velocity has been enhancing for higher values of the frequency parameter, Casson fluid parameter, nanoparticle volume fraction, and Darcy number. The reverse impact is observed for larger values of the Hartmann number. The result reveals that adding the nanoparticles has enhanced the heat transfer of the base fluid as the nanoparticles increase the heat conductivity. Furthermore, it is noticed that the temperature profile decreases rapidly for higher values of the cross Reynolds number and the radiation parameter. Finally, an excellent agreement between the current results and previous results is obtained by comparing with the available limiting results in the literature.
A Generalization of Caristi’s Fixed Point Theorem in the Variable Exponent Weighted Formal Power Series Space
Authors: Bakery Awad A. , El Dewaik M. H.
Published: June 2021

Suppose

p

n

be sequence of positive reals. By

H

w

p

n

, we represent the space of all formal power series

∑

n
=
0

∞

a

n

z

n

equipped with

∑

n
=
0

∞

λ

a

n

/

n
+
1

p

n

<
∞

, for some

λ
>
0
.

Various topological and geometric behavior of

H

w

p

n

and the prequasi ideal constructs by

s

-numbers and

H

w

p

n

have been considered. The upper bounds for

s

-numbers of infinite series of the weighted

n

-th power forward shift operator on

H

w

p

n

with applications to some entire functions are granted. Moreover, we investigate an extrapolation of Caristi’s fixed point theorem in

H

w

p

n

.
CMMCSegNet: Cross-Modality Multicascade Indirect LGE Segmentation on Multimodal Cardiac MR
Authors: Wang Yu , Zhang Jianping
Published: June 2021

Since Late-Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) visualizes myocardial infarction, and the balanced-Steady State Free Precession (bSSFP) cine sequence can capture cardiac motions and present clear boundaries; multimodal CMR segmentation has played an important role in the assessment of myocardial viability and clinical diagnosis, while automatic and accurate CMR segmentation still remains challenging due to a very small amount of labeled LGE data and the relatively low contrasts of LGE. The main purpose of our work is to learn the real/fake bSSFP modality with ground truths to indirectly segment the LGE modality of cardiac MR by using a proposed cross-modality multicascade framework: cross-modality translation network and automatic segmentation network, respectively. In the segmentation stage, a novel multicascade pix2pix network is designed to segment the fake bSSFP sequence obtained from a cross-modality translation network. Moreover, we propose perceptual loss measuring features between ground truth and prediction, which are extracted from the pretrained vgg network in the segmentation stage. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method on the multimodal CMR dataset and verify its superiority over other state-of-the-art approaches under different network structures and different types of adversarial losses in terms of dice accuracy in testing. Therefore, the proposed network is promising for Indirect Cardiac LGE Segmentation in clinical applications.
Distance Two Surjective Labelling of Paths and Interval Graphs
Authors: Amanathulla Sk , Muhiuddin G. , Al-Kadi D. , Pal Madhumangal
Published: June 2021

Graph labelling problem has been broadly studied for a long period for its applications, especially in frequency assignment in (mobile) communication system,

X

-ray crystallography, circuit design, etc. Nowadays, surjective

L

2,1

-labelling is a well-studied problem. Motivated from the

L

2,1

-labelling problem and the importance of surjective

L

2,1

-labelling problem, we consider surjective

L

2,1

-labelling (

SL
21

-labelling) problems for paths and interval graphs. For any graph

G
=

V
,
E

, an

SL
21

-labelling is a mapping

φ
:
V
⟶

1,2
,
…
,
n

so that, for every pair of nodes

u

and

v

, if

d

u
,
v

=
1

, then

φ

u

−
φ

v

≥
2

; and if

d

u
,
v

=
2

, then

φ

u

−
φ

v

≥
1

, and every label

1,2
,
…
,
n

is used exactly once, where

d

u
,
v

represents the distance between the nodes

u

and

v

, and

n

is the number of nodes of graph

G

. In the present article, it is proved that any path

P

n

can be surjectively

L

2,1

-labelled if

n
≥
4

, and it is also proved that any interval graph

IG

G

having

n

nodes and degree

Δ
>
2

can be surjectively

L

2,1

-labelled if

n
=
3
Δ
−
1

. Also, we have designed two efficient algorithms for surjective

L

2,1

-labelling of paths and interval graphs. The results regarding both paths and interval graphs are the first result for surjective

L

2,1

-labelling.
Uncertainty Quantification of GEKO Model Coefficients on Compressible Flows
Authors: Jung Yeong-Ki , Chang Kyoungsik , Bae Jae Hyun
Published: June 2021

In the present work, supersonic flows over an axisymmetric base and a 24-deg compression ramp are investigated using the generalized

k

-

ω

(GEKO) model implemented in the commercial software, ANSYS FLUENT. GEKO is a two-equation model based on the

k

-

ω

formulation, and some specified model coefficients can be tuned depending on the flow characteristics. Uncertainty quantification (UQ) analysis is incorporated to quantify the uncertainty of the model coefficients and to calibrate the coefficients. The Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method is used for sampling independent input parameters as a uniform distribution. A metamodel is constructed based on general polynomial chaos expansion (gPCE) using ordinary least squares (OLS). The influential coefficient closure is obtained by using Sobol indices. The affine invariant ensemble algorithm (AIES) is selected to characterize the posterior distribution via Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. Calibrated model coefficients are extracted from posterior distributions obtained through Bayesian inference, which is based on the point-collocation nonintrusive polynomial chaos (NIPC) method. Results obtained through calibrated model coefficients by Bayesian inference show superior prediction with available experimental measurements than those from original model ones.
Dual Covalent Inhibition of PKM and IMPDH Targets Metabolism in Cutaneous Metastatic Melanoma
Authors: Zerhouni Marwa , Martin Anthony R. , Furstoss Nathan , Gutierrez Vincent S. , Jaune Emilie , Tekaya Nedra , Beranger Guillaume E. , Abbe Patricia , Regazzetti Claire , Amdouni Hella , Driowya Mohsine , Dubreuil Patrice , Luciano Frédéric , Jacquel Arnaud , Tulic Meri K. , Cluzeau Thomas , O'Hara Brendan P. , Ben-Sahra Issam , Passeron Thierry , Benhida Rachid , Robert Guillaume , Auberger Patrick , Rocchi Stéphane
Published: June 2021

Overcoming acquired drug resistance is a primary challenge in cancer treatment. Notably, more than 50% of patients with BRAFV600E cutaneous metastatic melanoma (CMM) eventually develop resistance to BRAF inhibitors. Resistant cells undergo metabolic reprogramming that profoundly influences therapeutic response and promotes tumor progression. Uncovering metabolic vulnerabilities could help suppress CMM tumor growth and overcome drug resistance. Here we identified a drug, HA344, that concomitantly targets two distinct metabolic hubs in cancer cells. HA344 inhibited the final and rate-limiting step of glycolysis through its covalent binding to the pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) enzyme, and it concurrently blocked the activity of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of de novo guanylate synthesis. As a consequence, HA344 efficiently targeted vemurafenib-sensitive and vemurafenib-resistant CMM cells and impaired CMM xenograft tumor growth in mice. In addition, HA344 acted synergistically with BRAF inhibitors on CMM cell lines in vitro. Thus, the mechanism of action of HA344 provides potential therapeutic avenues for patients with CMM and a broad range of different cancers.

Significance:

Glycolytic and purine synthesis pathways are often deregulated in therapy-resistant tumors and can be targeted by the covalent inhibitor described in this study, suggesting its broad application for overcoming resistance in cancer.
Lymphatic PD-L1 Expression Restricts Tumor-Specific CD8+ T-cell Responses
Authors: Cousin Nikola , Cap Stefan , Dihr Manuel , Tacconi Carlotta , Detmar Michael , Dieterich Lothar C.
Published: June 2021

Lymph node (LN)–resident lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) mediate peripheral tolerance by self-antigen presentation on MHC-I and constitutive expression of T-cell inhibitory molecules, including PD-L1 (CD274). Tumor-associated LECs also upregulate PD-L1, but the specific role of lymphatic PD-L1 in tumor immunity is not well understood. In this study, we generated a mouse model lacking lymphatic PD-L1 expression and challenged these mice with two orthotopic tumor models, B16F10 melanoma and MC38 colorectal carcinoma. Lymphatic PD-L1 deficiency resulted in consistent expansion of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in tumor-draining LNs in both tumor models, reduced primary tumor growth in the MC38 model, and increased efficacy of adoptive T-cell therapy in the B16F10 model. Strikingly, lymphatic PD-L1 acted primarily by inducing apoptosis in tumor-specific CD8+ central memory T cells. Overall, these findings demonstrate that LECs restrain tumor-specific immunity via PD-L1, which may explain why some patients with cancer without PD-L1 expression in the tumor microenvironment still respond to PD-L1/PD-1–targeted immunotherapy.

Significance:

A new lymphatic-specific PD-L1 knockout mouse model reveals that lymphatic endothelial PD-L1 expression reduces tumor immunity, inducing apoptosis in tumor-specific CD8+ central memory cells in tumor-draining lymph nodes.
Longitudinal Evaluation of Neuromuscular Dysfunction in Long-term Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
Authors: Rodwin Rozalyn L. , Chen Yan , Yasui Yutaka , Leisenring Wendy M. , Gibson Todd M. , Nathan Paul C. , Howell Rebecca M. , Krull Kevin R. , Mohrmann Caroline , Hayashi Robert J. , Chow Eric J. , Oeffinger Kevin C. , Armstrong Gregory T. , Ness Kirsten K. , Kadan-Lottick Nina S.
Published: June 2021

Background:

Children treated for cancer are at risk for neuromuscular dysfunction, but data are limited regarding prevalence, longitudinal patterns, and long-term impact.

Methods:

Longitudinal surveys from 25,583 childhood cancer survivors ≥5 years from diagnosis and 5,044 siblings from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study were used to estimate the prevalence and cumulative incidence of neuromuscular dysfunction. Multivariable models adjusted for age, sex, race, and ethnicity estimated prevalence ratios (PR) of neuromuscular dysfunction in survivors compared with siblings, and associations with treatments and late health/socioeconomic outcomes.

Results:

Prevalence of neuromuscular dysfunction was 14.7% in survivors 5 years postdiagnosis versus 1.5% in siblings [PR, 9.9; 95% confidence interval (CI), 7.9–12.4], and highest in survivors of central nervous system (CNS) tumors (PR, 27.6; 95% CI, 22.1–34.6) and sarcomas (PR, 11.5; 95% CI, 9.1–14.5). Cumulative incidence rose to 24.3% in survivors 20 years postdiagnosis (95% CI, 23.8–24.8). Spinal radiotherapy and increasing cranial radiotherapy dose were associated with increased prevalence of neuromuscular dysfunction. Platinum exposure (vs. none) was associated with neuromuscular dysfunction (PR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.5–2.1), even after excluding survivors with CNS tumors, cranial/spinal radiotherapy, or amputation. Neuromuscular dysfunction was associated with concurrent or later obesity (PR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.1–1.2), anxiety (PR, 2.5; 95% CI, 2.2–2.9), depression (PR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.9–2.3), and lower likelihood of graduating college (PR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.90–0.94) and employment (PR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.8–0.9).

Conclusions:

Neuromuscular dysfunction is prevalent in childhood cancer survivors, continues to increase posttherapy, and is associated with adverse health and socioeconomic outcomes.

Impact:

Interventions are needed to prevent and treat neuromuscular dysfunction, especially in survivors with platinum and radiation exposure.
Dermoscopic Predictors of Benignity and Malignancy in Equivocal Lesions Predominated by Blue Color
Authors: Lallas Konstantinos , Arceu Montserrat , Martinez Guisella , Manoli Sofia-Magdalini , Papageorgiou Chryssoula , Ilieva Andzelka , Todorovska Verce , Vakirlis Efstratios , Sotiriou Eleni , Ioannides Dimitrios , Apalla Zoe , Lallas Aimilios
Published: June 2021

Background: Blue color in dermoscopy can be seen in a wide range of benign and malignant lesions, melanocytic or not. Some blue-colored dermoscopic criteria have been associated with specific tumors, such as blue-white veil with melanoma and homogeneous blue with blue nevi. However, when blue color occupies a large part of the lesion’s surface, the dermoscopic assessment might be particularly challenging. Objective: To identify dermoscopic predictors associated with benignity and malignancy in tumors characterized by a predominant dermoscopic presence of blue color. Methods: We retrospectively screened our institutional database for tumors exhibiting blue color in at least 50% of their surface with available histopathologic diagnosis. Lesions with blue color covering less than 50% of their extent and lesions not histopathologically assessed were excluded. The dermoscopic images were evaluated for the presence of predefined criteria, including the characteristics of the blue color, coexisting colors, and the vascular structures. Results: Of 91 included tumors, 53 were benign (35 blue nevi, 10 angiomas, and 8 seborrheic keratoses) and 38 malignant (12 melanomas and 26 basal cell carcinomas). Our analysis revealed 3 potent dermoscopic predictors of benignity: extension of blue color in more than 75% of the surface, diffuse distribution of blue color, and absence of vessels, posing a 2.3-fold, 5.6-fold, and 6.7-fold increased probability of benignity, respectively. In contrast, asymmetric distribution of blue color, blue clods, coexistence of gray color and linear vessels were significantly predictive of malignancy, posing a 8.9-fold, 2.8-fold, 13.5-fold, and 10.4-fold increased probability, respectively. Conclusion: In predominantly blue tumors, the probability of malignancy is high when blue color is seen in clods or is asymmetrically distributed and when gray color or linear vessels coexist. In contrast, a diffuse distribution of blue color, its expansion in more than 75% of the surface, and the absence of vessels are highly suggestive of a benign tumor.
A Prior Information Enhanced Extraction Framework for Document-level
Financial Event Extraction
Authors: Wang Haitao , Zhu Tong , Wang Mingtao , Zhang Guoliang , Chen Wenliang
Published: June 2021

Document-level financial event extraction (DFEE) is the task of detecting events and extracting the corresponding event arguments in financial documents, which plays an important role in information extraction in the financial domain. This task is challenging as the financial documents are generally long text and event arguments of one event may be scattered in different sentences. To address this issue, we proposed a novel Prior Information Enhanced Extraction framework (PIEE) for DFEE, leveraging prior information from both event types and pre-trained language models. Specifically, PIEE consists of three components: event detection, event argument extraction, and event table filling. In event detection, we identify the event type. Then, the event type is explicitly used for event argument extraction. Meanwhile, the implicit information within language models also provides considerable cues for event arguments localization. Finally, all the event arguments are filled in an event table by a set of predefined heuristic rules. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed framework, we participated in the share task of CCKS2020 Task 4-2: Document-level Event Arguments Extraction. On both Leaderboard A and Leaderboard B, PIEE took the first place and significantly outperformed the other systems.
The Simba Rebellion, the Cold War, and the Stanleyville Hostages in the Congo
Authors: O'Malley Alanna
Published: June 2021

In late October 1964, nearly 1,000 European and U.S. citizens were taken hostage by rebel forces in Stanleyville in northern Congo as part of an attempt to create the “People’s Republic of Congo,” an opposition regime designed to rival the pro-Western government in the capital Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). The hostages were captured to use as leverage against the advancing Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC), led by white mercenaries as part of a Western-backed military effort to crush the rebellion. In response, Belgium and the United States launched a military intervention to rescue their citizens on 24 November 1964, publicly justifying the incursion on humanitarian grounds. In reality, the main purpose was to crush the rebellion and secure Western interests in Congo. The intervention reflected a cavalier attitude toward sovereignty, international law, and the use of force in postcolonial Africa and had the adverse effect of discrediting humanitarian reasoning as a basis for military intervention until the end of the Cold War. The massacre of tens of thousands of Congolese in Stanleyville was a unique moment in which African countries united in their criticism of Western policies and demanded firmer sovereignty in the postcolonial world.
Randomized Self-Organizing Map
Authors: Rougier Nicolas P. , Detorakis Georgios Is.
Published: June 2021

We propose a variation of the self-organizing map algorithm by considering the random placement of neurons on a two-dimensional manifold, following a blue noise distribution from which various topologies can be derived. These topologies possess random (but controllable) discontinuities that allow for a more flexible self-organization, especially with high-dimensional data. The proposed algorithm is tested on one-, two- and three-dimensional tasks, as well as on the MNIST handwritten digits data set and validated using spectral analysis and topological data analysis tools. We also demonstrate the ability of the randomized self-organizing map to gracefully reorganize itself in case of neural lesion and/or neurogenesis.
Power Function Error Initialization Can Improve Convergence of Backpropagation Learning in Neural Networks for Classification
Authors: Knoblauch Andreas
Published: June 2021

Supervised learning corresponds to minimizing a loss or cost function expressing the differences between model predictions yn and the target values tn given by the training data. In neural networks, this means backpropagating error signals through the transposed weight matrixes from the output layer toward the input layer. For this, error signals in the output layer are typically initialized by the difference yn- tn, which is optimal for several commonly used loss functions like cross-entropy or sum of squared errors. Here I evaluate a more general error initialization method using power functions |yn- tn|q for q>0, corresponding to a new family of loss functions that generalize cross-entropy. Surprisingly, experiments on various learning tasks reveal that a proper choice of q can significantly improve the speed and convergence of backpropagation learning, in particular in deep and recurrent neural networks. The results suggest two main reasons for the observed improvements. First, compared to cross-entropy, the new loss functions provide better fits to the distribution of error signals in the output layer and therefore maximize the model's likelihood more efficiently. Second, the new error initialization procedure may often provide a better gradient-to-loss ratio over a broad range of neural output activity, thereby avoiding flat loss landscapes with vanishing gradients.
Untold diversity: the astonishing species richness of the Notodelphyidae (Copepoda: Cyclopoida), a family of symbiotic copepods associated with ascidians (Tunicata)
Authors: KIM IL-HOI , BOXSHALL GEOFF A.
Published: June 2021

Detailed study of the Monniot collection of copepods belonging to the family Notodelphyidae has revealed an extraordinary diversity of novel taxa. With rare exceptions notodelphyids live in association with ascidians and the Monniot collection was built up over several decades of field collecting and taxonomic research on the ascidian hosts by Drs Claude & Françoise Monniot (MNHN, Paris). This paper describes a total of 178 new species of notodelphyids from ascidian hosts and 37 new genera are established: Bathynotodelphys gen.nov., Pronotodelphys gen. nov., Ooishillgia gen. nov., Nobinerilla gen. nov., Notopygus gen. nov., Chelipygus gen. nov., Sympygus gen. nov., Vaoda gen. nov., Gosbia gen. nov., Pentachaetus gen. nov., Diceratus gen. nov., Prodoroixys gen. nov., Notoixys gen. nov., Borixys gen. nov., Cystixys gen. nov., Ammonixys gen. nov., Ctenixys gen. nov., Ademoixys gen. nov., Gallincola gen. nov., Scoliosoma gen. nov., Contoura gen. nov., Unimeria gen. nov., Mecodelphys gen. nov., Tubipedia gen. nov., Procampodelphys gen. nov., Janius gen. nov., Campodelphys gen. nov., Hamaticoxa gen. nov., Adrodelphys gen. nov., Phyllodelphys gen. nov., Lissodelphys gen. nov., Nodoscarus gen. nov., Diblastus gen. nov., Chilodelphys gen. nov., Scaridelphys gen. nov., Socotradelphys gen. nov., and Aplodelphys gen. nov. Prior to this study the Notodelphyidae comprised exactly 200 valid species classified in 46 genera, a mean species richness of 4.3 species per genus. After the addition of the new taxa described here, the family now comprises 378 species in 83 genera, a mean species richness of 4.6 species per genus. Generic diagnoses are provided for all genera represented in the collection and the availability of a wider range of taxa has allowed certain generic boundaries to be better defined, resulting in transfers of species between genera and the recognition of 16 new combinations. A further 51 existing species are also reported, and brief supplementary notes or full redescriptions are provided as appropriate.
The Influence of Wildfire Smoke on Cloud Microphysics during the September 2020 Pacific Northwest Wildfires
Authors: Conrick Robert , Mass Clifford F. , Boomgard-Zagrodnik Joseph P. , Ovens David
Published: June 2021

During late summer 2020, large wildfires over the Pacific Northwest produced dense smoke that impacted the region for an extended period. During this period of poor air quality, persistent low-level cloud coverage was poorly forecast by operational numerical weather prediction models, which dissipated clouds too quickly or produced insufficient cloud coverage extent. This deficiency raises questions about the influence of wildfire smoke on low-level clouds in the marine environment of the Pacific Northwest.

This paper investigates the effects of wildfire smoke on the properties of low-level clouds, including their formation, microphysical properties, and dissipation. A case study from 12-14 September 2020 is used as a testbed to evaluate the impact of wildfire smoke on such clouds. Observations from satellites and surface observing sites, coupled with mesoscale model simulations, are applied to understand the influence of wildfire smoke during this event. Results indicate that the presence of thick smoke over Washington led to decreased temperatures in the lower troposphere which enhanced low-level cloud coverage, with smoke particles altering the microphysical structure of clouds to favor high concentrations of small droplets. Thermodynamic changes due to smoke are found to be the primary driver of enhanced cloud lifetime during these events, with microphysical changes to clouds as a secondary contributing factor. However, both the thermodynamic and microphysical effects are necessary to produce a realistic simulation.
Use of Botulinum Toxin Injections for the Treatment of Chronic Anal Fissure: Results From an American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Survey
Authors: Borsuk Daniel J. , Studniarek Adam , Park John J. , Marecik Slawomir J. , Mellgren Anders , Kochar Kunal
Published: June 2021

Background

Chronic anal fissure (CAF) is commonly treated by colorectal surgeons. Pharmacological treatment is considered first-line therapy. An alternative treatment modality is chemical sphincterotomy with injection of botulinum toxin (BT). However, there is a lack of a consensus on the BT administration procedure among colorectal surgeons.

Methods

A national survey approved by the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) Executive Council was sent to all members. An eight-question survey was sent via ASCRS email correspondence between December 2019 and February 2020. Questions were derived from available meta-analyses and expert opinions on BT use in CAF patients and included topics such as BT dose, injection technique, and concomitant therapies. The survey was voluntary and anonymous, and all ASCRS members were eligible to complete it. Responses were recorded and analyzed via an online survey platform.

Results

216 ASCRS members responded to the survey and 90% inject 50-100U of BT. Most procedures are performed under MAC anesthesia (56%). A majority of respondents (64%) inject into the internal sphincter and a majority (53%) inject into 4 quadrants in the anal canal circumference. Some respondents perform concomitant manual dilatation (34%) or fissurectomy (38%). Concomitant topical muscle relaxing agents are not used uniformly among respondents.

Discussion

Injection of BT for CAF is used commonly by colorectal surgeons. There is consensus on BT dosage, administration site, technique, and the use of monitored anesthesia care.
The relationship of childhood maltreatment to deviant behaviours among young Iraqi adults: A cross sectional study
Authors: Al Shawi Ameel F. , Sarhan Yassen T.
Published: June 2021

Background:

The exposure to stressful events during childhood may have prolonged effects and is associated with a higher risk of psychopathology during adulthood.

Objective:

To assess the relationship between exposure to childhood maltreatment and the occurrence of deviant behaviours among Iraqi young adults.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was done from October 2018 to April 2019. A non -random convenient sample that consisted of young adults of age between 18 and 20 years. The childhood maltreatment was measured by Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, while the deviant behaviours were assessed by Deviant Behaviour Variety Scale.

Results:

The participants were 401. There was a positive correlation between ACE score and deviant behaviours score. The male subjects had higher mean of deviant behaviour variety score compare to that of the female subjects. The linear regression model showed that exposure to physical abuse (β = 0.180, p < 0.001), sexual abuse (β = 0.138, p = 0.003) during the first 18 years of age significantly predicts the variety of deviant behaviours.

Conclusion:

Childhood maltreatment was associated with high risk for deviant behaviours among young Iraqi adults. The physical abuse was the main predictor for deviant behaviours in adulthood.
Psychiatric Problems in Adolescence Mediate the Association Between Childhood Learning Disabilities and Later Well-Being
Authors: Eloranta Anna-Kaija , Närhi Vesa M. , Muotka Joona S. , Tolvanen Asko J. , Korhonen Elisa , Ahonen Timo P. S. , Aro Tuija I.
Published: June 2021

This follow-up study investigated the associations of childhood learning disabilities (LDs) with adult-age anxiety, depression, and unemployment. Psychosocial problems in childhood and psychiatric diagnoses and lack of education in adolescence were studied as potential mediators, and gender and mother’s education were studied as potential moderators of these associations. Data on childhood clinical neuropsychological assessments and lifelong register data on individuals with childhood LD ( n = 430; 301 [70%] males; 20–39 years of age) and matched controls ( n = 2,149) were applied. Mediation analyses were performed using structural equation modeling. Childhood LDs exerted a significant, but relatively small effect on psychiatric diagnoses in adolescence, which predicted adult-age depression and anxiety. Learning disabilities were related to unemployment both directly and via psychiatric diagnoses in adolescence. Examination of differences in the effects on adult-age outcomes of subtypes of LDs revealed mathematical disability to be more strongly associated with psychosocial problems in childhood and psychiatric problems in adolescence and adulthood than reading disability. Our findings show that LD has small and mostly indirect effects on the risk for later well-being problems. The findings emphasize the importance of adolescence in predicting adult-age psychiatric and employment problems and call for more holistic support for individuals with LDs.
Circular RNA expression profile in transgenic diabetic mouse kidneys
Authors: Xiong Xuan , Liu Changchun , Shen Meiren , Yang Qian , Zhao Qiang , Li Xiaoyan , Zhong Xiaoshi , Wang Zhiwei
Published: June 2021

Background

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most important complications in patients with diabetes. The etiology and pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy remain unclear. Several studies have indicated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play crucial regulatory roles in numerous human diseases and normal physiology; however, to date, no study has focused on the comprehensive expression profile of circRNAs in the kidneys of diabetic mice. Therefore, we aimed to identify differentially expressed circRNAs in diabetic mouse kidneys to explore the possible roles of dysregulated circRNAs in diabetic nephropathy development.

Results

Diabetic BKS-Leprem2Cd479/Nju (BKS-DB/Nju) mice and their nondiabetic wild-type littermates of C57BL/KsJ wild-type (WT) mice were used as experimental animals. Among all circRNAs identified by high-throughput RNA sequencing, four circRNAs were upregulated and ten were downregulated in diabetic mouse kidneys compared to those in nondiabetic mouse kidneys. After verification using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays, we found that circR_1084, circR_182, circR_4, circR_50, circR_596, circR_897, and circR_203 were downregulated, whereas circR_627, circR_628, circR_735, and circR_801 were upregulated in the renal tissues of 8- and 16-week-old BKS-DB/Nju mice compared to those in WT mice.

Conclusion

We studied the circRNA expression profile in the kidneys of diabetic mice. Differentially expressed circRNAs may be useful as candidate biomarkers for diabetic nephropathy. Collectively, our results provide a novel theoretical basis for further investigation of the regulatory roles of circRNA in the etiology and pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy.
A retrospective analysis of high sensitivity cardiac troponin-T ranges in non-myocardial infarction emergency department visits
Authors: Kong Nathan , Chua Rhys F. M. , Besser Stephanie A. , Heelan Louise , Nathan Sandeep , Spiegel Thomas F. , van Wijk Xander M. R. , Tabit Corey E.
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Current evidence suggests that high sensitivity cardiac troponin-T (hs-cTnT) values differ based on sex, race, age, and kidney function. However, most studies examining the relationship of hs-cTnT and these individual factors are in healthy participants, leading to difficulty in interpreting hs-cTnT values in the Emergency Department (ED) setting. We seek to examine the relationship between hs-cTnT values and sex, race, age, and kidney function in a contemporary, urban academic setting.

Methods

ED visits from June 2018 through April 2019 with at least 1 hs-cTnT and no diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at an academic medical center in the south side of Chicago were retrospectively analyzed. Median hs-cTnT values were stratified by sex (male or female), race (African American or Caucasian), age, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and stage of chronic kidney disease.

Results

9679 encounters, representing 7989 distinct patients, were included for analysis (age 58 ± 18 years, 59% female, 85% black). Males had significantly higher median hs-cTnT values than females (16 [8–34] vs. 9 [6–22] ng/L, p < 0.001), African Americans had a significantly lower median value than Caucasians (10 [6–24] vs. 15 [6–29] ng/L, p < 0.001), and those with atrial fibrillation (27 [16–48] vs. 9 [6–19] ng/L, p < 0.001) and heart failure (28 [14–48] vs. 8 [6–15] ng/L, p < 0.001) had higher median values than those without. Median hs-cTnT values increased significantly with increased age and decreased eGFR. All relationships continued to be significant even after multivariable regression of sex, age, race, eGFR, presence of atrial fibrillation, and presence of heart failure (p < 0.01).

Conclusions

Analysis of hs-cTnT in non-AMI patients during ED encounters showed that males have higher values than females, African Americans have lower values than Caucasians, those with atrial fibrillation and heart failure have higher values than those without, and that older age and lower eGFR were associated with higher median values.
Prognostic relevance of elevated plasma osmolality on admission in acute decompensated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: insights from PURSUIT-HFpEF registry
Authors: Nakagawa Akito , Yasumura Yoshio , Yoshida Chikako , Okumura Takahiro , Tateishi Jun , Yoshida Junichi , Tamaki Shunsuke , Yano Masamichi , Hayashi Takaharu , Nakagawa Yusuke , Yamada Takahisa , Nakatani Daisaku , Hikoso Shungo , Sakata Yasushi ,   Osaka CardioVascular Conference (OCVC) Heart Failure Investigators
Published: June 2021

Background

Complicated pathophysiology makes it difficult to identify the prognosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). While plasma osmolality has been reported to have prognostic importance, mainly in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), its prognostic meaning for HFpEF has not been elucidated.

Methods

We prospectively studied 960 patients in PURSUIT-HFpEF, a multicenter observational study of acute decompensated HFpEF inpatients. We divided patients into three groups according to the quantile values of plasma osmolality on admission. During a follow-up averaging 366 days, we examined the primary composite endpoint of cardiac mortality or heart failure re-admission using Kaplan–Meier curve analysis and Cox proportional hazard testing.

Results

216 (22.5%) patients reached the primary endpoint. Kaplan–Meier curve analysis revealed that the highest quantile of plasma osmolality on admission (higher than 300.3 mOsm/kg) was significantly associated with adverse outcomes (Log-rank P = 0.0095). Univariable analysis in the Cox proportional hazard model also revealed significantly higher rates of adverse outcomes in the higher plasma osmolality on admission (hazard ratio [HR] 7.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.25–23.92, P = 0.0009). Multivariable analysis in the Cox proportional hazard model also showed that higher plasma osmolality on admission was significantly associated with adverse outcomes (HR 5.47; 95% CI 1.46–21.56, P = 0.0113) independently from other confounding factors such as age, gender, comorbid of atrial fibrillation, hypertension history, diabetes, anemia, malnutrition, E/e′, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide elevation.

Conclusions

Higher plasma osmolality on admission was prognostically important for acute decompensated HFpEF inpatients.