bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electrochemical performance study of Ag/AgCl and Au flexible electrodes for unobtrusive monitoring of human biopotentials
Authors: Kurniawan Jonas F. , Allegra Alexis B. , Pham Timothy , Nguyen Andrew K. L. , Sit Nathan L. J. , Tjhia Boris , Shin Andrew J. , Coleman Todd P.
Published: May 2022

Flexible and stretchable electronics are a logical choice for the recording of biopotentials, due to their improved patient comfort and customizability. There is, however, significant variance in the signal quality received from these electrodes based on material, size, and target recording frequency. Here we develop a methodology based on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and circuit modeling for optimizing electrodes for a specific application. We use EIS to measure the frequency dependent impedance characteristics of gold (Au) and silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrodes of different diameters. Additionally, we use a Randles circuit model and perform model fitting with our data to extrapolate results to arbitrary frequencies and diameters. We found that at low frequencies (<1 Hz), Ag/AgCl had lower overall magnitude impedance than Au and at higher frequencies (1–1000 Hz), Au and Ag/AgCl performed similarly. Further, the magnitude impedance of the electrodes decreased linearly as electrode diameter increased. The methodology described in this study can be applicable to any customizable stretchable electronics fabrication process and enables design optimization for a target frequency, electrode size, and material.
GPR denoising via shearlet transformation and a data‐driven tight frame
Authors: Zhang Liang , Tang Jingtian , Li Yaqi , Liu Zhengguang , Chen Wenjie , Li Guang
Published: May 2022

Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) is commonly used to detect buried and near‐surface geophysical structures. GPR denoising is necessary because some level of interference, such as from clutter, random noise and/or the column artefact, are inevitable and can cause false geological interpretations. Existing sparse representation methods, including wavelet transformation, curvelet transformation and dictionary learning, are critical in GPR denoising. However, they perform poorly in some cases because GPR data cannot be represented efficiently under severe interference. Thus, this study proposes an approach that combines shearlet transformation (ST) and a data‐driven tight frame (DDTF) to improve data sparsity. The ST can provide the prior information of GPR data to the DDTF, while the DDTF can self‐adaptively represent GPR data. First, we separate significant reflections and interferences using ST. Second, we apply the DDTF to further suppress the interferences by setting different thresholds in different ST scales and directions. Finally, we adopt inverse transformations to recover the GPR data. In the experiments, ST is used to show the differences between the significant reflections and interferences of the synthetic GPR data. We also sequentially remove each interference of the synthetic GPR data to clearly highlight the performance of the method. To ensure the effectiveness of the ST‐DDTF approach, we test the method using synthetic GPR data from different models, along with some example field GPR data. The ST‐DDTF method, which is aimed at improving data sparsity, shows state‐of‐the‐art results relative to more standard GPR denoising methods. Although our approach is time consuming, it is useful in processing small GPR data and obtaining accurate denoising results.
Flexible micro–nano composite membranes based on a two‐step strategy: charge recovery and efficient gradient air filtration
Authors: Fan Yujia , Li Ting‐Ting , Ge Wankai , Lou ChingWen , Lin Jia‐Horng
Published: May 2022

A two‐step strategy is used to produce micro–nano composite filters that are flexible and exhibit charge recovery. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) electret powders are incorporated during the process to provide melt‐blown micro–nano membranes with good charge recovery and improved fiber fineness. Then the advantages of the nanofiber membrane are utilized to load the PTFE suspension onto the surface of melt‐blown microfiber membranes to construct a composite filtration membrane with a micro–nano structure, to achieve high‐efficiency and gradient filtration. The test results indicate that the gradient filtration composite membranes exhibit 100% filtration efficiency against 2.5 μm particles, 94.96% filtration efficiency against 0.200–2.5 μm particles and 95.39% filtration efficiency against 0.200–4.595 μm particles, which is 232.02% higher than that of polypropylene membranes. In addition, the gradient filtration composite membranes have a pressure drop that is only 86 Pa and a quality factor of 0.0358 Pa−1. Featuring excellent electret property and charge recovery rate, the gradient filtration micro–nano composite membranes are outstanding filters that have high filtration efficiency, low pressure drop, stable surface potential and excellent thermal stability. © 2022 Society of Industrial Chemistry.
Effect of radiotherapy and chemotherapy on the survival rate of Asian Americans with nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Chen Allen M. , Qi Lihong , Cress Rosemary D. , Li Yueju , Beckett Laurel , Li Baoqing
Published: May 2022

Objective

To evaluate how the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radiation therapy (RT) affects outcomes for Asian American patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods

Using the California Cancer Registry – a population‐based, state‐sponsored database – Asian American patients with newly‐diagnosed, locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed between 1998 and 2010 were identified. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to analyze overall survival and cancer‐specific survival. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to investigate the association with chemotherapy. Propensity score methods were used to control for measure confounders.

Results

A total of 812 Asian Americans were included; 91 (11.2%) underwent RT alone, and 721 (88.8%) underwent RT with chemotherapy. The overall survival at 5 years was 65% with RT alone versus 72% with RT plus chemotherapy (p = 0.31). The corresponding rates of cancer‐specific survival were 70% and 78% (p = 0.35). Cox regression analysis confirmed a trend toward reduced mortality (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.62–1.25, p = 0.37) in patients receiving RT and chemotherapy.

Conclusion

Consistent with other studies that have been published, the addition of chemotherapy to RT was associated with improved clinical outcomes. Although this improvement did not reach statistical significance, the use of concurrent chemoradiation seems reasonable for Asian Americans with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Clinical annotations for prostate cancer research: Defining data elements, creating a reproducible analytical pipeline, and assessing data quality
Authors: Keegan Niamh M. , Vasselman Samantha E. , Barnett Ethan S. , Nweji Barbara , Carbone Emily A. , Blum Alexander , Morris Michael J. , Rathkopf Dana E. , Slovin Susan F. , Danila Daniel C. , Autio Karen A. , Scher Howard I. , Kantoff Philip W. , Abida Wassim , Stopsack Konrad H.
Published: May 2022

Background

Routine clinical data from clinical charts are indispensable for retrospective and prospective observational studies and clinical trials. Their reproducibility is often not assessed. We developed a prostate cancer‐specific database for clinical annotations and evaluated data reproducibility.

Methods

For men with prostate cancer who had clinical‐grade paired tumor–normal sequencing at a comprehensive cancer center, we performed team‐based retrospective data collection from the electronic medical record using a defined source hierarchy. We developed an open‐source R package for data processing. With blinded repeat annotation by a reference medical oncologist, we assessed data completeness, reproducibility of team‐based annotations, and impact of measurement error on bias in survival analyses.

Results

Data elements on demographics, diagnosis and staging, disease state at the time of procuring a genomically characterized sample, and clinical outcomes were piloted and then abstracted for 2261 patients (with 2631 samples). Completeness of data elements was generally high. Comparing to the repeat annotation by a medical oncologist blinded to the database (100 patients/samples), reproducibility of annotations was high; T stage, metastasis date, and presence and date of castration resistance had lower reproducibility. Impact of measurement error on estimates for strong prognostic factors was modest.

Conclusions

With a prostate cancer‐specific data dictionary and quality control measures, manual clinical annotations by a multidisciplinary team can be scalable and reproducible. The data dictionary and the R package for reproducible data processing are freely available to increase data quality and efficiency in clinical prostate cancer research.
Does previous prostate surgery affect multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging accuracy in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer? Results from a single institution series
Authors: Pellegrino Francesco , Stabile Armando , Mazzone Elio , Sorce Gabriele , Barletta Francesco , De Angelis Mario , Brembilla Giorgio , Gandaglia Giorgio , De Cobelli Francesco , Montorsi Francesco , Briganti Alberto
Published: May 2022

Background

Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) has demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for clinically significant PCa (csPCa). However, the accuracy of this test in men that received a previous prostatic surgery is still controversial. We aimed at assessing the effect of previous prostatic surgery on the detection of csPCa in a tertiary referral center.

Method

We relied on a cohort of 311 men with a positive mpMRI (prostate imaging ‐ reporting and data system [PI‐RADS] ≥ 3) who underwent a targeted (TBx) plus concomitant systematic random biopsy (SBx) at a single tertiary referral center between 2017 and 2020. The study outcome was to compare the detection of csPCa (Gleason score ≥ 3 + 4) between the two groups (no previous prostate surgery [Group 1] vs. previous prostate surgery [Group 2]). Multivariable logistic regression analysis (MVA) was used to assess the relationship between previous prostate surgery and the detection of csPCa at TBx, after taking into account potential clinical confounders.

Results

Overall, 24 (8%) patients received a previous prostate surgery before undergoing mpMRI. Median prostate‐specific antigen density was 0.15 versus 0.08 ng/ml/cc, in Group 1 versus 2, respectively. The most frequent finding at mpMRI was in Group 1 versus 2, PI‐RADS 4 (55%) versus PI‐RADS 3 and 4 (42% each). The majority of patients were biopsy naïve in both Groups 1 (66%) and 2 (71%). The overall detection of csPCa in Group 1 versus 2 was 83% versus 75%, respectively. Differently, the detection of csPCa at TBx in Groups 1 versus 2 was 76% versus 71%, respectively. At MVA, previous prostate surgery (odds ratio: 0.65; p = 0.02) was significantly associated with lower csPCa detection at TBx, after accounting for potential confounders.

Conclusion

The presence of previous prostate surgery significantly decreases the accuracy of mpMRI in detecting csPCa. These results should be taken into account when assessing patients with a history of prostatic surgery and a suspicious lesion at mpMRI, to better select those who might avoid an unnecessary biopsy.
Gender differences in peer review of innovation
Authors: Belz Andrea P. , Graddy‐Reed Alexandra , Hanewicz Isabel , J. Terrile Richard
Published: May 2022

Research Summary

Gender differences in peer review and the associated impact on innovation financing are well documented but less well understood. We study peer review in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Small Business Innovation Research program, a public initiative seeking to increase women's access to innovation funds. We theorize that reviewers use status characteristics inappropriately as heuristics and create gender bias. Econometric analysis shows evidence of direct bias against female applicants, an effect linked to challenges for newcomers in demonstrating individual legitimacy rather than concerns about the organizational legitimacy of the associated firm. We also demonstrate a corrective redistribution to reverse this bias and create equity in the funding outcome. As these results negatively impact diversity in innovation, we propose policy recommendations to overcome this bias.

Managerial Summary

Peer review is an important mechanism to rank and select technical proposals for funding. We examine the role of gender in a government program conducting this process. Controlling for the proposal quality and other factors, we show that the gender of the proposer is linked to lower scores. This effect is associated with proposals from females who are new to the program, suggesting their challenges in demonstrating credibility as leaders of these projects, and exacerbated by the fact that women represent a disproportionately high share of newcomers. Subsequently, the program reverses this bias such that the funding outcomes do not show the same inequities. This has important implications for policies supporting gender diversity in innovation.
A pragmatic dementia risk score for patients with mild cognitive impairment in a memory clinic population: Development and validation of a dementia risk score using routinely collected data
Authors: Wang Meng , Sajobi Tolulope T. , Ismail Zahinoor , Seitz Dallas , Chekouo Thierry , Forkert Nils D. , Fischer Karyn , Mackie Aaron , Pearson Dawn , Patry David , Cieslak Alicja , Menon Bijoy , Barber Philip , McLane Brienne , Granger Robert , Hogan David B. , Smith Eric E. ,   for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: May 2022

Introduction

This study aimed to develop and validate a 3‐year dementia risk score in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) based on variables collected in routine clinical care.

Methods

The prediction score was trained and developed using data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC). Selection criteria included aged 55 years and older with MCI. Cox models were validated externally using two independent cohorts from the Prospective Registry of Persons with Memory Symptoms (PROMPT) registry and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database.

Results

Our Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia Risk (CIDER) score predicted dementia risk with c‐indices of 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.66–0.72), 0.61 (95% CI 0.59–0.63), and 0.72 (95% CI 0.69–0.75), for the internally validated and the external validation PROMPT, and ADNI cohorts, respectively.

Discussion

The CIDER score could be used to inform clinicians and patients about the relative probabilities of developing dementia in patients with MCI.
Communication about Alzheimer's disease and research among American Indians and Alaska Natives
Authors: Boyd Amanda D. , Railey Ashley F. , Kirkpatrick Alex W. , Hsu Ying‐Chia , Muller Clemma , Buchwald Dedra
Published: May 2022

Introduction

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people infrequently participate in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research, despite the rapidly increasing population of AI/AN people aged 65 and older.

Methods

We surveyed 320 adults who identified as AI/AN at two Native‐focused events and used ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression models to test associations between demographic factors and perceived risk of AD, knowledge about AD, and willingness to participate in research, along with preferred source of AD information.

Results

Willingness to participate in research was highest among those living in a city versus reservation and associated with perceived personal risk for AD. Health professionals and the internet were preferred sources of information about AD.

Discussion

These hypothesis‐generating results provide insight into perceptions of AD and willingness to participate in research. Conclusions could inform development of AD recruitment strategies for AI/ANs and influence participation in AD research.
Unraveling the relationship between autoimmune pancreatitis type 2 and inflammatory bowel disease: Results from two centers and systematic review of the literature
Authors: Nikolic Sara , Lanzillotta Marco , Panic Nikola , Brismar Torkel B. , Moro Carlos Fernández , Capurso Gabriele , Della Torre Emanuel , Löhr J.‐Matthias , Vujasinovic Miroslav
Published: May 2022

Introduction

The relationship between autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) type 2 and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been established and previously described within International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria. However, it is unknown if the presence of IBD changes the natural disease course of AIP type 2. Our aim was to investigate the association between AIP type 2 and IBD as well as to systematically summarize all the existing evidence in the literature.

Methods

Electronic medical record analysis was conducted in two centers (in Stockholm, Sweden, and Milan, Italy; records dated between January 2001 and June 2021). Additionally, we conducted a systematic review of the literature.

Results

A total of 35 patients (18 females, 51.4%) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of AIP type 2 and were included in the study. A diagnosis of IBD was established in 29 patients (82.8%), ulcerative colitis in 17 (58.6%) and Crohn's disease in 11 (37.9%). Median follow‐up was 54 months. AIP patients with IBD commonly presented with abdominal pain and/or acute pancreatitis at diagnosis, the latter was prevailing in concomitant and later IBD onset. These patients more frequently used steroids, but there were no differences in relapse rates. Concomitant onset of IBD was associated with the development of diabetes mellitus. There were no cases of colon or pancreatic malignancy during follow‐up. In our systematic analysis, a total of 693 AIP type 2 patients were included from 24 single‐center retrospective studies and 8 multicenter retrospective studies. A diagnosis of IBD was reported in 330 (47.8%) patients. Relapse rate was 20.0%.

Conclusions

Clinical and radiological remission of AIP type 2 was high, while the cumulative incidence of relapse is around 20%. Our results show that concomitance of IBD imposes no obvious risk of a different disease course for AIP type 2.
Conduction Velocity in Cardiac Tissue as Function of Ion Channel Conductance and Distribution
Authors: Hustad Kristian Gregorius , Ivanovic Ena , Recha Adrian Llop , Sakthivel Abinaya Abbi
Published: May 2022

Ion channels on the membrane of cardiomyocytes regulate the propagation of action potentials from cell to cell and hence are essential for the proper function of the heart. Through computer simulations with the classical monodomain model for cardiac tissue and the more recent extracellular-membrane-intracellular (EMI) model where individual cells are explicitly represented, we investigated how conduction velocity (CV) in cardiac tissue depends on the strength of various ion currents as well as on the spatial distribution of the ion channels. Our simulations show a sharp decrease in CV when reducing the strength of the sodium (Na+) currents, whereas independent reductions in the potassium (K1 and Kr) and L-type calcium currents have negligible effect on the CV. Furthermore, we find that an increase in number density of Na+ channels towards the cell ends increases the CV, whereas a higher number density of K1 channels slightly reduces the CV. These findings contribute to the understanding of ion channels (e.g. Na+ and K+ channels) in the propagation velocity of action potentials in the heart.
A Computational Study of Flow Instabilities in Aneurysms
Authors: Berre Nanna , Castro Gabriela , Kjeldsberg Henrik , Masri Rami , Gjerde Ingeborg
Published: May 2022

The majority of hemorrhagic strokes are caused by cerebral aneurysms, harboured in a large portion of the human population. Currently, it is unclear what constitutes a dangerous aneurysm, and the risk of rupture of such aneurysms is challenging to quantify. Previous studies have shown that flow dynamics play an important role in the development of aneurysms. However, there is varying consensus on blood flow patterns and stability. In this work, we formulate a Reynolds–Orr method to quantify the stability of blood flow in arteries. Applying this method to blood flow in four different arterial models, we find that the blood flow therein is unstable under physiological conditions. We show the most unstable eigenmodes for each of these models and discuss how they potentially could help explain the initiation and growth of aneurysms.
A year in pharmacology: new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2021
Authors: Kayki-Mutlu Gizem , Aksoyalp Zinnet Sevval , Wojnowski Leszek , Michel Martin C.
Published: May 2022

The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic had no adverse effect on the number of new drug approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Quite the contrary, with a total of 50 new drugs, 2021 belongs to the most successful FDA years. We assign these new drugs to one of three levels of innovation: (1) first drug against a condition (“first-in-indication”), (2) first drug using a novel molecular mechanism (“first-in-class”), and (3) “next-in-class”, i.e., a drug using an already exploited molecular mechanism. We identify 21 first-in-class, 28 next-in-class, and only one first-in-indication drugs. By treatment area, the largest group is once again cancer drugs, many of which target specific genetic alterations. Every second drug approved in 2021 targets an orphan disease, half of them being cancers. Small molecules continue to dominate new drug approvals, followed by antibodies and non-antibody biopharmaceuticals. In 2021, the FDA continued to approve drugs without strong evidence of clinical effects, best exemplified by the aducanumab controversy.
A framework for randomized time-splitting in linear-quadratic optimal control
Authors: Veldman D. W. M. , Zuazua E.
Published: May 2022

Inspired by the successes of stochastic algorithms in the training of deep neural networks and the simulation of interacting particle systems, we propose and analyze a framework for randomized time-splitting in linear-quadratic optimal control. In our proposed framework, the linear dynamics of the original problem is replaced by a randomized dynamics. To obtain the randomized dynamics, the system matrix is split into simpler submatrices and the time interval of interest is split into subintervals. The randomized dynamics is then found by selecting randomly one or more submatrices in each subinterval. We show that the dynamics, the minimal values of the cost functional, and the optimal control obtained with the proposed randomized time-splitting method converge in expectation to their analogues in the original problem when the time grid is refined. The derived convergence rates are validated in several numerical experiments. Our numerical results also indicate that the proposed method can lead to a reduction in computational cost for the simulation and optimal control of large-scale linear dynamical systems.
Predicting complicated appendicitis based on clinical findings: the role of Alvarado and Appendicitis Inflammatory Response scores
Authors: Haak F. , Kollmar O. , Ioannidis A. , Slotta J. E. , Ghadimi M. B. , Glass T. , von Strauss und Torney M.
Published: May 2022

Purpose

The pre-interventional differentiation between complicated and uncomplicated appendicitis is decisive for treatment. In the context of conservative therapy, the definitive diagnosis of uncomplicated appendicitis is mandatory. This study investigates the ability of clinical scoring systems and imaging to differentiate between the two entities.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of two cohorts from two tertiary referral centers in Switzerland and Germany. All consecutive patients underwent appendectomy between January 2008 and April 2013 (in the first cohort) or between January 2017 and June 2019 (the second cohort). Exclusion criteria did not apply as all patients found by the database search and received an appendectomy were included. Diagnostic testing and calculation of a receiver operating curve were performed to identify a cutoff for clinical scores that resulted in a minimum sensitivity of 90% to detect complicated appendicitis. The cutoff was combined with additional diagnostic imaging criteria to see if diagnostic properties could be improved.

Results

Nine hundred fifty-six patients were included in the analysis. Two hundred twenty patients (23%) had complicated appendicitis, and 736 patients (77%) had uncomplicated appendicitis or no inflammation. The complicated appendicitis cohort had a mean Alvarado score of 7.03 and a mean AIR of 5.21. This compared to a mean Alvarado of 6.53 and a mean AIR of 4.07 for the uncomplicated appendicitis cohort. The highest Alvarado score with a sensitivity of > 90% to detect complicated appendicitis was ≧ 5 (sensitivity = 95%, specificity 8.99%). The highest AIR score with a sensitivity of > 90% to detect complicated appendicitis was ≧ 3 (sensitivity 91.82%, specificity 18.53). The analysis showed that additional CT information did not improve the sensitivity of the proposed cut-offs.

Conclusion

AIR and Alvarado scores showed limited capability to distinguish between complicated and uncomplicated appendicitis even with additional imaging in this retrospective cohort. As conservative management of appendicitis needs to exclude patients with complicated disease reliably, appendectomy seems until now to remain the safest option to prevent undertreatment of this mostly benign disease.
Energy balance-related factors and risk of colorectal cancer based on KRAS, PIK3CA, and BRAF mutations and MMR status
Authors: Jenniskens Josien C. A. , Offermans Kelly , Simons Colinda C. J. M. , Samarska Iryna , Fazzi Gregorio E. , van der Meer Jaleesa R. M. , Smits Kim M. , Schouten Leo J. , Weijenberg Matty P. , Grabsch Heike I. , van den Brandt Piet A.
Published: May 2022

Introduction

KRAS mutations (KRASmut), PIK3CAmut, BRAFmut, and mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) have been associated with the Warburg-effect. We previously observed differential associations between energy balance-related factors (BMI, clothing-size, physical activity) and colorectal cancer (CRC) subtypes based on the Warburg-effect. We now investigated whether associations between energy balance-related factors and risk of CRC differ between subgroups based on mutation and MMR status.

Methods

Information on molecular features was available for 2349 incident CRC cases within the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS), with complete covariate data available for 1934 cases and 3911 subcohort members. Multivariable-adjusted Cox-regression was used to estimate associations of energy balance-related factors with risk of CRC based on individual molecular features (KRASmut; PIK3CAmut; BRAFmut; dMMR) and combinations thereof (all-wild-type + MMR-proficient (pMMR); any-mutation/dMMR).

Results

In men, BMI and clothing-size were positively associated with risk of colon, but not rectal cancer, regardless of molecular features subgroups; the strongest associations were observed for PIK3CAmut colon cancer. In women, however, BMI and clothing-size were only associated with risk of KRASmut colon cancer (p-heterogeneityKRASmut versus all-wild-type+pMMR = 0.008). Inverse associations of non-occupational physical activity with risk of colon cancer were strongest for any-mutation/dMMR tumors in men and women, and specifically for PIK3CAmut tumors in women. Occupational physical activity was inversely associated with both combination subgroups of colon cancer in men.

Conclusion

In men, associations did not vary according to molecular features. In women, a role of KRAS mutations in the etiological pathway between adiposity and colon cancer is suggested, and of PIK3CA mutations between physical activity and colon cancer.
A Faster Reduction of the Dynamic Time Warping Distance to the Longest Increasing Subsequence Length
Authors: Sakai Yoshifumi , Inenaga Shunsuke
Published: May 2022

The similarity between a pair of time series, i.e., sequences of indexed values in time order, is often estimated by the dynamic time warping (DTW) distance, instead of any in the well-studied family of measures including the longest common subsequence (LCS) length and the edit distance. Although it may seem as if the DTW and the LCS(-like) measures are essentially different, we reveal that the DTW distance can be represented by the longest increasing subsequence (LIS) length of a sequence of integers, which is the LCS length between the integer sequence and itself sorted. For a given pair of time series of lengthnsuch that the dissimilarity between any elements is an integer between zero andc, we propose an integer sequence that represents any substring-substring DTW distance as its band-substring LIS length. The length of the produced integer sequence is$$O(c n^2)$$O(cn2), which can be translated to$$O(n^2)$$O(n2)for constant dissimilarity functions. To demonstrate that techniques developed under the LCS(-like) measures are directly applicable to analysis of time series via our reduction of DTW to LIS, we present time-efficient algorithms for DTW-related problems utilizing the semi-local sequence comparison technique developed for LCS-related problems.
A prognostic scoring system for conversion surgery after trastuzumab-based chemotherapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive advanced gastric cancer
Authors: Arigami Takaaki , Matsushita Daisuke , Okubo Keishi , Shimonosono Masataka , Sasaki Ken , Tsuruda Yusuke , Kita Yoshiaki , Tanabe Kan , Mori Shinichiro , Yanagita Shigehiro , Uenosono Yoshikazu , Nakajo Akihiro , Kurahara Hiroshi , Ohtsuka Takao
Published: May 2022

Purpose

To investigate the clinical indications and prognostic significance of surgical interventions after chemotherapy using trastuzumab-containing regimens for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive advanced gastric cancer (AGC).

Methods

A total of 146 patients with AGC who underwent chemotherapy were enrolled in this retrospective study. Tumors with an immunohistochemistry (IHC) score of 3 + or an IHC score of 2 + plus fluorescence in situ hybridization positivity were defined as HER2-positive AGC. We devised a scoring system for predicting prognosis associated with conversion surgery.

Results

Thirty-three patients received trastuzumab-based chemotherapy for HER2-positive tumors. Multivariate analyses identified advanced age, peritoneal dissemination, histologically undifferentiated tumors, and tumor response of progressive disease as independent prognostic factors for a worse prognosis. Twelve patients with HER2-positive AGC underwent conversion surgery. The conversion surgery group of patients with HER2-positive AGC had a better prognosis than the chemotherapy-alone group. A prognostic scoring system based on age, peritoneal dissemination, and histological type was significantly correlated with the presence or absence of conversion surgery and the prognosis of patients with HER2-positive AGC.

Conclusions

Our scoring system has the clinical potential to predict prognosis associated with conversion surgery after trastuzumab-containing chemotherapy for patients with HER2-positive AGC.
Interpolating between volume and lattice point enumerator with successive minima
Authors: Freyer Ansgar , Lucas Eduardo
Published: May 2022

We study inequalities that simultaneously relate the number of lattice points, the volume and the successive minima of a convex body to one another. One main ingredient in order to establish these relations is Blaschke’s shaking procedure, by which the problem can be reduced from arbitrary convex bodies to anti-blocking bodies. As a consequence of our results, we obtain an upper bound on the lattice point enumerator in terms of the successive minima, which is equivalent to Minkowski’s upper bound on the volume in terms of the successive minima.
Are the statistical tests the best way to deal with the biomarker selection problem?
Authors: Urkullu Ari , Pérez Aritz , Calvo Borja
Published: May 2022

Statistical tests are a powerful set of tools when applied correctly, but unfortunately the extended misuse of them has caused great concern. Among many other applications, they are used in the detection of biomarkers so as to use the resulting p-values as a reference with which the candidate biomarkers are ranked. Although statistical tests can be used to rank, they have not been designed for that use. Moreover, there is no need to compute any p-value to build a ranking of candidate biomarkers. Those two facts raise the question of whether or not alternative methods which are not based on the computation of statistical tests that match or improve their performances can be proposed. In this paper, we propose two alternative methods to statistical tests. In addition, we propose an evaluation framework to assess both statistical tests and alternative methods in terms of both the performance and the reproducibility. The results indicate that there are alternative methods that can match or surpass methods based on statistical tests in terms of the reproducibility when processing real data, while maintaining a similar performance when dealing with synthetic data. The main conclusion is that there is room for the proposal of such alternative methods.
Hecke correspondences for smooth moduli spaces of sheaves
Authors: Neguţ Andrei
Published: May 2022

We define functors on the derived category of the moduli space ℳ of stable sheaves on a smooth projective surface (under Assumptions A and S below), and prove that these functors satisfy certain commutation relations. These relations allow us to prove that the given functors induce an action of the elliptic Hall algebra on the$K$K-theory of the moduli space ℳ, thus generalizing the action studied by Nakajima, Grojnowski and Baranovsky in cohomology.
A deep ensemble learning method for colorectal polyp classification with optimized network parameters
Authors: Younas Farah , Usman Muhammad , Yan Wei Qi
Published: May 2022

Colorectal Cancer (CRC), a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, can be abated by timely polypectomy. Computer-aided classification of polyps helps endoscopists to resect timely without submitting the sample for histology. Deep learning-based algorithms are promoted for computer-aided colorectal polyp classification. However, the existing methods do not accommodate any information on hyperparametric settings essential for model optimisation. Furthermore, unlike the polyp types, i.e., hyperplastic and adenomatous, the third type, serrated adenoma, is difficult to classify due to its hybrid nature. Moreover, automated assessment of polyps is a challenging task due to the similarities in their patterns; therefore, the strength of individual weak learners is combined to form a weighted ensemble model for an accurate classification model by establishing the optimised hyperparameters. In contrast to existing studies on binary classification, multiclass classification require evaluation through advanced measures. This study compared six existing Convolutional Neural Networks in addition to transfer learning and opted for optimum performing architecture only for ensemble models. The performance evaluation on UCI and PICCOLO dataset of the proposed method in terms of accuracy (96.3%, 81.2%), precision (95.5%, 82.4%), recall (97.2%, 81.1%), F1-score (96.3%, 81.3%) and model reliability using Cohen’s Kappa Coefficient (0.94, 0.62) shows the superiority over existing models. The outcomes of experiments by other studies on the same dataset yielded 82.5% accuracy with 72.7% recall by SVM and 85.9% accuracy with 87.6% recall by other deep learning methods. The proposed method demonstrates that a weighted ensemble of optimised networks along with data augmentation significantly boosts the performance of deep learning-based CAD.
Using machine learning to create a repository of judgments concerning a new practice area: a case study in animal protection law
Authors: Watson Joe , Aglionby Guy , March Samuel
Published: May 2022

Judgments concerning animals have arisen across a variety of established practice areas. There is, however, no publicly available repository of judgments concerning the emerging practice area of animal protection law. This has hindered the identification of individual animal protection law judgments and comprehension of the scale of animal protection law made by courts. Thus, we detail the creation of an initial animal protection law repository using natural language processing and machine learning techniques. This involved domain expert classification of 500 judgments according to whether or not they were concerned with animal protection law. 400 of these judgments were used to train various models, each of which was used to predict the classification of the remaining 100 judgments. The predictions of each model were superior to a baseline measure intended to mimic current searching practice, with the best performing model being a support vector machine (SVM) approach that classified judgments according to term frequency—inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) values. Investigation of this model consisted of considering its most influential features and conducting an error analysis of all incorrectly predicted judgments. This showed the features indicative of animal protection law judgments to include terms such as ‘welfare’, ‘hunt’ and ‘cull’, and that incorrectly predicted judgments were often deemed marginal decisions by the domain expert. The TF-IDF SVM was then used to classify non-labelled judgments, resulting in an initial animal protection law repository. Inspection of this repository suggested that there were 175 animal protection judgments between January 2000 and December 2020 from the Privy Council, House of Lords, Supreme Court and upper England and Wales courts.
Model order reduction of layered waveguides via rational Krylov fitting
Authors: Druskin Vladimir , Güttel Stefan , Knizhnerman Leonid
Published: May 2022

Rational approximation recently emerged as an efficient numerical tool for the solution of exterior wave propagation problems. Currently, this technique is limited to wave media which are invariant along the main propagation direction. We propose a new model order reduction-based approach for compressing unbounded waveguides with layered inclusions. It is based on the solution of a nonlinear rational least squares problem using the RKFIT method. We show that approximants can be converted into an accurate finite difference representation within a rational Krylov framework. Numerical experiments indicate that RKFIT computes more accurate grids than previous analytic approaches and even works in the presence of pronounced scattering resonances. Spectral adaptation effects allow for finite difference grids with dimensions near or even below the Nyquist limit.
A Sensitive Spectrofluorimetric Method for Curcumin Analysis
Authors: Sravani Anne Boyina , Mathew Elizabeth Mary , Ghate Vivek , Lewis Shaila A
Published: May 2022

Curcumin (CUR), a natural polyphenolic compound extracted from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa, is used as a pharmaceutical agent, spice in food, and as a dye. Currently, CUR is being investigated for cancer treatment in Phase-II clinical trials. CUR also possesses excellent activities like anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-oxidant, therefore quality control is crucial. The present research work was to develop a new, simple, validated and time-saving rapid 96-well plate spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of CUR. The developed method was compared with routinely used high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique. The developed method were found to be linear in the concentration range of 15 to 3900 ng/mL with R2 ≥ 0.9983 for spectrofluorimetric and 50-7500 ng/mL with R2 ≥ 0.9999 for HPLC method. Accuracy, intraday and interday precision was adequate, with RSD lower than the suggested limits. The limits for the detection and the quantification of CUR were 7 and 15 ng/mL for spectrofluorimetric, and 25 and 50 ng/mL for HPLC respectively. The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated the similarities between the two methods. The 96-well plate method was successfully applied to determine CUR in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and chitosan nanoparticles (Chi-NPs). The developed spectrofluorimetric method can hence serve as a possible replacement for the HPLC method for the quantification of CUR in healthcare and food products.
Silicone rubber composite reinforced by bismuth tungsten oxide as an effective gamma ray protective materials
Authors: Saeed Aly , Abu-raia W. A.
Published: May 2022

The workers’ continual exposure to nuclear radiation makes it indispensable to invent and form lightweight materials as flexible radiation shields. So, in this article, silicone rubber SR inlaid with varying filler ratios of bismuth tungsten oxide Bi2(WO4)3 was produced. Mechanical properties, hardness, tensile strength, tensile modulus, and elongation at break, of the SR/Bi2(WO4)3 composites were studied as a function of filler concentration and irradiation dose. The Bi2(WO4)3 filler enhanced these properties. On the other hand, with augmentation of irradiation dose, hardness of the SR/Bi2(WO4)3 composites increased and the other mechanical properties decreased. Under accurate geometry conditions, the gamma ray attenuation coefficients of the SR/Bi2(WO4)3 composites were studied at the energies 661.66, 1173.24, and 1332.5 keV. The attenuation parameters, linear attenuation coefficients $$\mu$$
μ
, experimental mass attenuation coefficients $${\sigma }_{exp.}$$

σ

e
x
p
.

, and half value layer HVL results revealed that the attenuation ability of the composite was enhanced with the increase of Bi2(WO4)3 concentration. The results of $${\sigma }_{exp.}$$

σ

e
x
p
.

were confirmed through their congruence with the theoretical calculations of mass attenuation coefficients $${\sigma }_{theo.}$$

σ

t
h
e
o
.

Considering the merits of lightweight, high mechanical properties, superior attenuation ability, and appropriate irradiation resistance, the produced SR/Bi2(WO4)3 composite is suitable as durable and flexible gamma ray shields such as anti-radiation coats, gloves, shoes.
Dynamics of a vibro-impact self-propelled capsule encountering a circular fold in the small intestine
Authors: Yan Yao , Zhang Baoquan , Liu Yang , Prasad Shyam
Published: May 2022

Given the anatomy of the small intestine, this paper investigates the dynamics of a vibro-impact capsule moving on an intestinal substrate with the consideration of a circular fold which provides the main resistance for the capsule’s progression. To this end, a new mathematical model of the capsule-fold contact that can depict the entire procedure of fold crossing is proposed. Our bifurcation analyses suggest that the capsule always performs period-1 motion when the driving force is small, and fold crossing requires a large excitation amplitude, especially when the duty cycle ratio is small. By contrast, the excitation period of the capsule does not have a strong influence on fold crossing. It is found that the inner mass, capsule mass, frictional coefficient and fold’s height have a significant influence on capsule’s crossing motion. We also realise that Young’s modulus of the tissue has a critical influence on the bifurcation pattern of the capsule, where a stiffer tissue may lead to the co-existence of three stable attractors. On the contrary, the capsule’s length and stiffness of the impact springs have less influence on the capsule’s dynamics. The findings of this study can help with the optimisation and control of capsule’s locomotion in the small intestine.
Stated benefits of teleworking in Mexico City: a discrete choice experiment on office workers
Authors: Lara-Pulido Jose Alberto , Martinez-Cruz Adan L.
Published: May 2022

Commuting is expensive in megacities of emerging economies. By decreasing work-related trips, teleworking may reduce congestion and commuting time. Taking Mexico City’s office workers’ as case study, this paper reports findings from a discrete choice experiment (DCE) exploring willingness to see a cut in monthly paycheck in exchange for teleworking two days a week from a shared office. This DCE explores preferences for bike parking spaces at shared office’s facilities, and walking commuting time to shared office. This design allows estimation of willingness to pay (WTP) for teleworking across commuting time scenarios. Monthly WTP for teleworking 2 days a week starts at (2019) USD 76.68—if commuting time is zero. As 1 h of commuting time is valued at USD 61.97 on a monthly basis, WTP for teleworking 30 min away from home is USD 45.69. Wealthier respondents report higher value for commuting time and WTP for teleworking. Monthly value of bike parking infrastructure is USD 14.70—reaching USD 30.98 for commuters that walk or (motor-)bike less than 50 min. We illustrate how these stated benefits can inform cost-benefit analysis of transportation, housing, and labor policies that enable teleworking and/or reduce commuting times in Mexico City.
Individuelle Schüler*innenprofile des situationalen und dispositionalen Interesses und ihre Bedeutung für die Wahrnehmung der Unterrichtsqualität im Fach Mathematik
Authors: Willems Ariane S.
Published: May 2022

Empirische Befunde zeigen, dass die Unterrichtswahrnehmung von Schüler*innen individuell stark variiert. Solche Wahrnehmungsunterschiede werden dabei auch von dispositionalen motivational-affektiven Merkmalen der Lernenden erklärt. Die vorliegende Studie analysiert unter Verwendung eines personenzentrierten Ansatzes die Bedeutung des situationalen und dispositionalen Interesses von Schüler*innen für ihre Wahrnehmung der Unterrichtsqualität im Fach Mathematik. Basierend auf Daten einer Studie mit 940 Schüler*innen der 8. Jahrgangsstufe werden vier charakteristische Schüler*innenprofile identifiziert: Schüler*innen mit konsistent hohen bzw. konsistent niedrigen Ausprägungen im situationalen und dispositionalen Interesse sowie Schüler*innen mit Mischprofilen bestehend aus einem hohen situationalen und gleichzeitig niedrigem dispositionalen Interesse bzw. umgekehrt. Die Befunde zeigen, dass Schüler*innen, die über konsistent positive motivational-affektive Voraussetzungen oder über ein hohes situationales Interesse verfügen, die Unterrichtsqualität signifikant positiver einschätzen, als Schüler*innen mit weniger günstigen Profilen des situationalen und dispositionalen Interesses. Die Studie bekräftigt damit auch vor allem die Bedeutung des situationalen Interesses für die Analyse von Unterrichtsprozessen.
Splitting of γ′ Precipitates in the Context of Phase Equilibrium
Authors: Ardell Alan J.
Published: May 2022

The splitting of γ′ (Ni3Al and Ni3Si) precipitates in five binary Ni-Al alloys and one Ni-Si alloy is reviewed in the context of phase equilibrium. Two mechanisms are considered: Purely Elastic (PE) splitting, driven solely by competition between elastic and interfacial free energies; Thermodynamically Driven (TD) splitting, involving precipitation of the Ni-Al or Ni-Si solid solution γ phases within supersaturated γ′ particles. The main assertion is that TD splitting is responsible for all the observations, with the possible exception of dendritic growth of Ni3Si precipitates; dendritic morphologies can mimic split configurations. In three of the six investigations splitting was reported for alloy compositions lying within the single-phase γ regions of the binary Ni-Al and Ni-Si phase diagrams wherein the γ′ phases are unstable. For the three others the aging temperatures were at or barely below the solvus temperatures, suggesting that five of the alloys were compositionally heterogeneous, “solution treatment” having failed to dissolve pre-existing γ′ particles. TD splitting was thus a byproduct of slow cooling to the aging temperatures, as in the formation of hierarchical microstructures. The nature of secondary γ′ precipitation in some of the alloys indicates that their compositions exceeded the authors’ quoted values, the enrichment enabling precipitation of γ′ during solution treatment followed by TD splitting on slow cooling. PE splitting is the only possible mechanism in solution-treated specimens that are quenched and subsequently isothermally aged. Splitting under such conditions has never been reported, lending further support to the viability of the TD mechanism.