bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cohort profile: a nationwide population-based retrospective assessment of oesophageal cancer in the Finnish National Esophago-Gastric Cancer Cohort (FINEGO)
Authors: Söderström Henna K , Räsänen Jari , Saarnio Juha , Toikkanen Vesa , Tyrväinen Tuula , Rantanen Tuomo , Valtola Antti , Ohtonen Pasi , Pääaho Minna , Kokkola Arto , Kallio Raija , Karttunen Tuomo J , Pohjanen Vesa-Matti , Ristimäki Ari , Laine Simo , Sihvo Eero , Kauppila Joonas H
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The Finnish National Esophago-Gastric Cancer Cohort (FINEGO) was established to combine the available registry data with detailed patient information to form a comprehensive, retrospective, population-based research platform of surgically treated oesophageal and gastric cancer in Finland. This cohort profile describes the 2045 surgically treated patients with oesophageal cancer included in the FINEGO cohort.

Participants

Registry data were collected from the National Cancer, Patient, Education and Death Registries from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 2016. All patients over 18 years of age, who had either curative surgery, palliative surgery or salvage surgery for primary cancer in the oesophagus are included in this study.

Findings to date

2045 patients had surgery for oesophageal cancer in the selected time period. 67.2% were man, and the majority had only minor comorbidities. The proportions of adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas were 43.1% and 44.4%, respectively, and 12.5% had other or missing histology. Only about 23% of patients received neoadjuvant therapy. Oesophagectomy was the treatment of choice and most patients were treated at low-volume centres, but median annual hospital volume increased over time. Median overall survival was 23 months, 5-year survival for all patients in the cohort was 32.9% and cancer-specific survival was 36.5%.

Future plans

Even though Finland only has a population of 5.5 million, surgery for oesophageal carcinoma has not been centralised and therefore previously reported results have mostly been small, single-centre cohorts. Because of FINEGO, we now have a population-based, unselected cohort of surgically treated patients, enabling research on national trends over time regarding oesophageal cancer, including patient characteristics, tumour histology, stage and neoadjuvant treatment, surgical techniques, hospital volumes and patient mortality. Data collection is ongoing, and the cohort will be expanded to include more detailed data from patient records and national biobanks.
Impact of dementia on informal care: a systematic review of family caregivers’ perceptions
Authors: Lindeza Patrícia , Rodrigues Mário , Costa João , Guerreiro Manuela , Rosa Mario Miguel
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Caregivers play a major role in providing all the support and care in daily activities for their relatives with dementia. To fully describe the influence of dementia caregiving on family caregivers’ life, we conducted a systematic review including caregivers’ perceptions about the positive and negative aspects of caring and the expressed factors.

Materials and methods

We conducted a systematic review including articles from January 1998 to July 2020. Qualitative studies reporting family caregivers’ perceptions about their experiences and the effects/impact of dementia caregiving were eligible. Two authors extracted the data independently, and the analysis focused on the positive and negative aspects of dementia caregiving in caregivers’ life.

Results

Eighty-one studies with 3347 participants were included in this review. The positive aspects of caregiving in caregivers’ life encompass personal accomplishment and strengthening relationships, which were enhanced by good medical counselling/formal care support and family/friends support. The negative aspects included emotional and social aspects experienced by caregivers. Other factors such as inappropriate medical/formal care support, illness progression and the costs of dementia contributed to negative appraisal.

Discussion and implications

The findings provide insights into the holistic experience of caring for a person with dementia revelling the major positive and negative aspects underlying the caregiver role. The evidence emphasises the need ‘to focus on positive aspects’ and targeted interventions aimed at reducing the negative impact of caregiving, which has serious consequences on caregivers’ quality of life. A multicomplex intervention for dementia informal caregiving should be developed, committing the society to promote mental health, address these community needs and improve the quality of life of the person with dementia and their family caregivers.
MSSM WIMPs–Nucleon cross-section for Eχ < 500GeV
Authors: Fushimi K. , Mosquera M. E. , Civitarese O.
Published: October 2020

Among dark matter candidates are the Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). Low-threshold detectors could directly detect dark matter by measuring the energy deposited by the particles. In this work, we examine the cross-section for the elastic scattering of WIMPs on nucleons, in the spin-dependent and spin-independent channels. WIMPs are taken as neutralinos in the context of the minimal super-symmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM). The dependence of the results with the adopted MSSM parameters is discussed.
Prediction of Highly Volatile Cryptocurrency Prices Using Social Media
Authors: McCoy Mason , Rahimi Shahram
Published: October 2020

Trading cryptocurrencies (digital currencies) are currently performed by applying methods similar to what is applied to the stock market or commodities; however, these algorithms are not necessarily well-suited for predicting cryptocurrency prices. Unlike stock exchanges, which shut down for several hours or days at a time, digital currency prediction and trading seem to be of a more consistent and predictable nature. In this work, we benefit from sentiment analysis of tweets using both an existing sentiment analysis package and a manually tailored “objective analysis,” to calculate one impact value for each analysis every 15[Formula: see text]min. We then select the most appropriate training method by applying evolutionary techniques and discover the best subset of the generated features to include, as well as other parameters. One of the unique contributions of this work is the analysis of both English and Japanese tweets with a tailored “objective analysis” tool. This resulted in implementation of predictors which yielded 28% to 122% profit in a four-week simulation, much more than simply holding a digital currency for the same period of time.
China-UK Cooperation on African Peace and Security
Authors: Zhou Jinyan
Published: October 2020

Three major factors have made closer China-UK cooperation on African peace and security not only desirable but also feasible: expanding convergence of outlook and overlap of interests, the pan-African vision of peace and development as outlined in Agenda 2063, and the launch of a global comprehensive strategic partnership between Beijing and London. At the same time, the increasing securitization of Britain’s aid policy, Africans’ growing concern about unwarranted external intervention in continental affairs, and disparate development priorities may present significant challenges for closer trilateral coordination. The prospects of China-UK cooperation on African peace and security depend on whether Beijing and London can narrow differences, achieve policy alignment, and build a multilayered security cooperation mechanism. This article proposes three priorities where closer three-way coordination can contribute to African peace and security: a regularized China-UK-Africa peace dialogue, a development-centered approach to conflict prevention and response, and increased cooperation on nontraditional security risks.
Topological Computing of Arrangements with (Co)Chains
Authors: Paoluzzi Alberto , Shapiro Vadim , Dicarlo Antonio , Furiani Francesco , Martella Giulio , Scorzelli Giorgio
Published: October 2020

In many areas of applied geometric/numeric computational mathematics, including geo-mapping, computer vision, computer graphics, finite element analysis, medical imaging, geometric design, and solid modeling, one has to compute incidences, adjacencies, and ordering of cells, generally using disparate and often incompatible data structures and algorithms. This article introduces computational topology algorithms to discover the two-dimensional (2D)/3D space partition induced by a collection of geometric objects of dimension 1D/2D, respectively. Methods and language are those of basic geometric and algebraic topology. Only sparse vectors and matrices are used to compute both spaces and maps, i.e., the chain complex, from dimension zero to three. The prototype software is written in Julia, the novel language for scientific computing. The applications may vary from 3D graphics to 3D printing, from images to scene understanding, and from games to building information modeling.
Bridging Storage Semantics Using Data Labels and Asynchronous I/O
Authors: Kougkas Anthony , Devarajan Hariharan , Sun Xian-He
Published: October 2020

In the era of data-intensive computing, large-scale applications, in both scientific and the BigData communities, demonstrate unique I/O requirements leading to a proliferation of different storage devices and software stacks, many of which have conflicting requirements. Further, new hardware technologies and system designs create a hierarchical composition that may be ideal for computational storage operations. In this article, we investigate how to support a wide variety of conflicting I/O workloads under a single storage system. We introduce the idea of a
Label
, a new data representation, and, we present LABIOS: a new, distributed, Label- based I/O system. LABIOS boosts I/O performance by up to 17× via asynchronous I/O, supports heterogeneous storage resources, offers storage elasticity, and promotes
in situ
analytics and software defined storage support via data provisioning. LABIOS demonstrates the effectiveness of storage bridging to support the convergence of HPC and BigData workloads on a single platform.
Fluid shear stress enhances differentiation of jejunal human enteroids in Intestine-Chip
Authors: Yin Jianyi , Sunuwar Laxmi , Kasendra Magdalena , Yu Huimin , Tse Chung-Ming , Talbot C. Conover , Boronina Tatiana , Cole Robert , Karalis Katia , Donowitz Mark
Published: October 2020

This study showed that polarized enteroid models in which there is no basolateral Wnt3a, are differentiated, regardless of the Wnt3a status of the apical media. The study supports the concept that in the human intestine villus differentiation is not an all or none phenomenon, demonstrating that at different days after lack of basolateral Wnt exposure, clusters of genes and proteins exist geographically along the villus with different domains having different functions.
Genetic determinants of ammonia-induced acute lung injury in mice
Authors: Bein Kiflai , Ganguly Koustav , Martin Timothy M. , Concel Vincent J. , Brant Kelly A. , Di Y. P. Peter , Upadhyay Swapna , Fabisiak James P. , Vuga Louis J. , Kaminski Naftali , Kostem Emrah , Eskin Eleazar , Prows Daniel R. , Jang Ann-Soo , Leikauf George D.
Published: October 2020

In this study, a genetically diverse panel of 43 mouse strains was exposed to ammonia, and genome-wide association mapping was performed employing a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assembly. Transcriptomic analysis was used to help resolve the genetic determinants of ammonia-induced acute lung injury. The encoded proteins were prioritized based on molecular function, nonsynonymous SNP within a functional domain or SNP within the promoter region that altered expression. This integrative functional approach revealed 14 candidate genes that included Aatf, Avil, Cep162, Hrh4, Lama3, Plcb4, and Ube2cbp, which had significant SNP associations, and Aff1, Bcar3, Cntn4, Kcnq5, Prdm10, Ptcd3, and Snx19, which had suggestive SNP associations. Of these genes, Bcar3, Cep162, Hrh4, Kcnq5, and Lama3 are particularly noteworthy and had pathophysiological roles that could be associated with acute lung injury in several ways.
Hypertension is associated with blunted NO-mediated leg vasodilator responsiveness that is reversed by high-intensity training in postmenopausal women
Authors: Gunnarsson Thomas P. , Ehlers Thomas S. , Baasch-Skytte Thomas , Lund Anders P. , Tamariz-Ellemann Andrea , Gliemann Lasse , Nyberg Michael , Bangsbo Jens
Published: October 2020

The menopausal transition is associated with increased prevalence of hypertension, and in time, postmenopausal women (PMW) will exhibit a cardiovascular disease risk score similar to male counterparts. Hypertension is associated with vascular dysfunction, but whether hypertensive (HYP) PMW have blunted nitric oxide (NO)-mediated leg vasodilator responsiveness and whether this is reversible by high-intensity training (HIT) is unknown. To address these questions, we examined the leg vascular conductance (LVC) in response to femoral infusion of acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and skeletal muscle markers of oxidative stress and NO bioavailability before and after HIT in PMW [12.9 ± 6.0 (means ± SD) years since last menstrual cycle]. We hypothesized that ACh- and SNP-induced LVC responsiveness was reduced in hypertensive compared with normotensive (NORM) PMW and that 10 wk of HIT would reverse the blunted LVC response and decrease blood pressure (BP). Nine hypertensive (HYP (clinical systolic/diastolic BP, 149 ± 11/91 ± 83 mmHg) and eight normotensive (NORM (122 ± 13/75 ± 8 mmHg) PMW completed 10 wk of biweekly small-sided floorball training (4–5 × 3–5 min interspersed by 1–3-min rest periods). Before training, the SNP-induced change in LVC was lower ( P < 0.05) in HYP compared with in NORM. With training, the ACh- and SNP-induced change in LVC at maximal infusion rates, i.e., 100 and 6 µg·min−1·kg leg mass−1, respectively, improved ( P < 0.05) in HYP only. Furthermore, training decreased ( P < 0.05) clinical systolic/diastolic BP (−15 ± 11/−9 ± 7 mmHg) in HYP and systolic BP (−10 ± 9 mmHg) in NORM. Thus, the SNP-mediated LVC responsiveness was blunted in HYP PMW and reversed by a period of HIT that was associated with a marked decrease in clinical BP.
Renal functional reserve: from physiological phenomenon to clinical biomarker and beyond
Authors: Jufar Alemayehu H. , Lankadeva Yugeesh R. , May Clive N. , Cochrane Andrew D. , Bellomo Rinaldo , Evans Roger G.
Published: October 2020

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is acutely increased following a high-protein meal or systemic infusion of amino acids. The mechanisms underlying this renal functional response remain to be fully elucidated. Nevertheless, they appear to culminate in preglomerular vasodilation. Inhibition of the tubuloglomerular feedback signal appears critical. However, nitric oxide, vasodilator prostaglandins, and glucagon also appear important. The increase in GFR during amino acid infusion reveals a “renal reserve,” which can be utilized when the physiological demand for single nephron GFR increases. This has led to the concept that in subclinical renal disease, before basal GFR begins to reduce, renal functional reserve can be recruited in a manner that preserves renal function. The extension of this concept is that once a decline in basal GFR can be detected, renal disease is already well progressed. This concept likely applies both in the contexts of chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury. Critically, its corollary is that deficits in renal functional reserve have the potential to provide early detection of renal dysfunction before basal GFR is reduced. There is growing evidence that the renal response to infusion of amino acids can be used to identify patients at risk of developing either chronic kidney disease or acute kidney injury and as a treatment target for acute kidney injury. However, large multicenter clinical trials are required to test these propositions. A renewed effort to understand the renal physiology underlying the response to amino acid infusion is also warranted.
Effect of endoplasmic reticulum stress on endothelial ischemia-reperfusion injury in humans
Authors: Hemingway Holden W. , Moore Amy M. , Olivencia-Yurvati Albert H. , Romero Steven A.
Published: October 2020

Endoplasmic reticulum stress contributes to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rodent and cell models. However, the contribution of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the pathogenesis of endothelial I/R injury in humans is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that compared with placebo, inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress via ingestion of tauroursodeoxycholic acid would prevent the attenuation of endothelium-dependent vasodilation following I/R injury. Twelve young adults (6 women) were studied following ingestion of a placebo or 1,500 mg tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA). Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was assessed via brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (duplex ultrasonography) before and after I/R injury, which was induced by 20 min of arm ischemia followed by 20 min of reperfusion. Endothelium-independent vasodilation (glyceryl trinitrate-mediated vasodilation) was also assessed after I/R injury. Compared with placebo, TUDCA ingestion increased circulating plasma concentrations by 145 ± 90 ng/ml and increased concentrations of the taurine unconjugated form, ursodeoxycholic acid, by 560 ± 156 ng/ml (both P < 0.01). Ischemia-reperfusion injury attenuated endothelium-dependent vasodilation, an effect that did not differ between placebo (pre-I/R, 5.0 ± 2.1% vs. post-I/R, 3.5 ± 2.2%) and TUDCA (pre-I/R, 5.6 ± 2.1% vs. post-I/R, 3.9 ± 2.1%; P = 0.8) conditions. Similarly, endothelium-independent vasodilation did not differ between conditions (placebo, 19.6 ± 4.8% vs. TUDCA, 19.7 ± 6.1%; P = 0.9). Taken together, endoplasmic reticulum stress does not appear to contribute to endothelial I/R injury in healthy young adults.
From motor planning to execution: a sensorimotor loop perspective
Authors: Bizzi Emilio , Ajemian Robert
Published: October 2020

How is an evanescent wish to move translated into a concrete action? This simple question and puzzling miracle remains a focal point of motor systems neuroscience. Where does the difficulty lie? A great deal has been known about biomechanics for quite some time. More recently, there have been significant advances in our understanding of how the spinal system is organized into modules corresponding to spinal synergies, which are fixed patterns of multimuscle recruitment. But much less is known about how the supraspinal system recruits these synergies in the correct spatiotemporal pattern to effectively control movement. We argue that what makes the problem of supraspinal control so difficult is that it emerges as a result of multiple convergent and redundant sensorimotor loops. Because these loops are convergent, multiple modes of information are mixed before being sent to the spinal system; because they are redundant, information is overlapping such that a mechanism must exist to eliminate the redundancy before the signal is sent to the spinal system. Given these complex interactions, simple correlation analyses between movement variables and neural activity are likely to render a confusing and inconsistent picture. Here, we suggest that the perspective of sensorimotor loops might help in achieving a better systems-level understanding. Furthermore, state-of-the-art techniques in neurotechnology, such as optogenetics, appear to be well suited for investigating the problem of motor control at the level of loops.
Fuzzy Approach Analyzing SEIR‐SEI Dengue Dynamics
Authors: Bhuju G. , Phaijoo G. R. , Gurung D. B.
Published: October 2020

Dengue fever is a mosquito‐borne infectious disease threatening more than a hundred tropical countries of the world. The heterogeneity of mosquito bites of human during the spread of dengue virus is an important factor that should be considered while modeling the dynamics of the disease. However, traditional models assumed homogeneous transmission between host and vectors which is inconsistent with reality. Mathematically, we can describe the heterogeneity and uncertainty of the transmission of the disease by introducing fuzzy theory. In the present work, we study transmission dynamics of dengue with the fuzzy SEIR‐SEI compartmental model. The transmission rate and recovery rate of the disease are considered as fuzzy numbers. The dynamical behavior of the system is discussed with different amounts of dengue viruses. Also, the fuzzy basic reproduction number for a group of infected individuals with different virus loads is calculated using Sugeno integral. Simulations are made to illustrate the mathematical results graphically.
Noninvasive Biomarkers of Gut Barrier Function in Patients Suffering from Diarrhea Predominant-IBS: An Update
Authors: Linsalata Michele , Riezzo Giuseppe , Clemente Caterina , D’Attoma Benedetta , Russo Francesco
Published: October 2020

The intestinal barrier plays a crucial role in the absorption of nutrients and in preventing the entry of pathogenic microorganisms and toxic molecules. Several studies have shown a compromised intestinal barrier associated with low-grade inflammation in the small intestinal mucosa in celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), particularly in IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D). In light of these new data, IBS is no longer considered a functional disease but rather a heterogeneous syndrome that has yet to be carefully studied. Therefore, investigating the integrity and function of the intestinal barrier is now essential to improving knowledge of the pathophysiology of IBS-D and to improving the management of IBS-D patients. However, the study of the intestinal barrier must clarify some still unsolved methodological aspects and propose standardised assays before becoming a useful diagnostic tool. In this framework, this review will discuss data about the tests that noninvasively evaluate the integrity and functionality of the human intestinal barrier, paying particular attention to patients with IBS-D, in both clinical and research situations.
Ameloblastic Carcinoma with Calcification: A Rare Case Report in the Mandible and Literature Review
Authors: Khoozestani Neda Kardouni , Mosavat Farzaneh , Shirkhoda Mohammad , Azar Ramtin
Published: October 2020

Ameloblastic carcinoma (AC) is a scarce malignant tumor which is more prevalent in the mandible than the maxilla. It occurs in a wide range of age groups, and there is a sex predilection in males. AC shows specific microscopic features and requires more aggressive surgical treatment plans in comparison with conventional ameloblastoma. Radiographically, AC resembles ameloblastoma except that it rarely represents focal mineralized materials, seemingly reflecting dystrophic calcification. This characteristic is uncommon in typical ameloblastomas, and only few cases reported with such opacities and mineralized materials. Due to this rare radiographic and microscopic presentation, an accurate diagnosis could be challenging, and pathologists should consider a combination of benign and malignant odontogenic tumors occurring in jaws.
Integer Linear Programming Models for the Containership Stowage Problem
Authors: Zhu Huiling , Ji Mingjun , Guo Wenwen
Published: October 2020

This study deals with the containership stowage problem, determining how to stow containers to the containership slots. To improve the containership operational efficiency and meet the containership seaworthy requirements, a basic model is proposed for the simplified containership stowage problem. And then, it is extended by incorporating more practical considerations, which are progressively embedded in extensive models for different scenarios. These integer linear programming models aim to minimize the number of overstows under the restriction of the mechanical factors, the physical structure, and the stowing rules. The experimental results show that the models have strong scalability for various scenarios.
Vehicle Emission Detection in Data-Driven Methods
Authors: He Zheng , Ye Gang , Jiang Hui , Fu Youming
Published: October 2020

Environmental protection is a fundamental policy in many countries, where the vehicle emission pollution turns to be outstanding as a main component of pollutions in environmental monitoring. Remote sensing technology has been widely used on vehicle emission detection recently and this is mainly due to the fast speed, reality, and large scale of the detection data retrieved from remote sensing methods. In the remote sensing process, the information about the fuel type and registration time of new cars and nonlocal registered vehicles usually cannot be accessed, leading to the failure in assessing vehicle pollution situations directly by analyzing emission pollutants. To handle this problem, this paper adopts data mining methods to analyze the remote sensing data to predict fuel type and registration time. This paper takes full use of decision tree, random forest, AdaBoost, XgBoost, and their fusion models to successfully make precise prediction for these two essential information and further employ them to an essential application: vehicle emission evaluation.
Imrecoxib Inhibits Paraquat-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis through the NF-κB/Snail Signaling Pathway
Authors: Jin Haihao
Published: October 2020

Objective. In recent years, pulmonary fibrosis caused by paraquat poisoning is still concerned. However, no effective drugs have been developed yet to treat paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis. The aim of our research is to investigate whether imrecoxib can inhibit paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis and its possible mechanism. Methods. Extraction of primary pulmonary fibrosis cells (PPF cells) in vitro by the method of trypsin digestion. RT-qPCR and western blot were employed to measure the transcription level and protein expression of EMT related markers in paraquat-induced A549 cells. MTT, wound-healing, and Transwell experiments were used to verify the effect of imrecoxib on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PPF and HFL1 cells. Results. Firstly, our results confirmed that paraquat can induce EMT and activate the NF-κB/snail signal pathway in lung epithelial cell A549. Furthermore, experimental results showed that imrecoxib could repress the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PPF and HFL1 cells. Finally, our study found that imrecoxib can inhibit EMT of paraquat-induced A549 cells by the NF-κB/snail signal pathway. Conclusion. Imrecoxib can inhibit EMT of paraquat-induced A549 cells and alleviate paraquat-caused pulmonary fibrosis through the NF-κB/snail signal pathway. Therefore, imrecoxib is a drug worthy of study in the treatment of paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis.
Evaluation on Nonholonomic Constraints and Rauch–Tung–Striebel Filter-Enhanced UWB/INS Integration
Authors: Gao Zhouzheng , Chen Lin , Min Yu , Lv Jie , Li You
Published: October 2020

Precise and seamless positioning is becoming a basic requirement for the Internet of Things (IoT). However, there is a gap for precise positioning in Global Navigation Satellite System- (GNSS-) denied indoor areas. Thus, a multisensor integration system based on ultrawide-band (UWB), inertial navigation system (INS), nonholonomic constraints (NHCs), and Rauch–Tung–Striebel (RTS) smoother is proposed. In this system, the UWB performs as the major precise positioning system, while the INS bridges the UWB-degraded and UWB-denied periods. Meanwhile, the NHC restrains the drifts of INS, while the RTS smoother further upgrades the navigation accuracy. The contributions of this article are as follows. First, it presents the robust least square- (RLS-) based UWB positioning. The proposed method is effective in mitigating the impact of the effect of non-line-of-sight (NLOS), which is one of the most significant error sources for UWB positioning. Second, it derives the mathematical model of the UWB/INS/NHC/RTS integration, which is new compared to the existing approaches. Results illustrate that the proposed system can provide centimeter-level positioning accuracy, millimeter-level velocimetry accuracy, and accuracy of better than 0.05 and 0.15 degrees for horizontal and vertical attitude angles, respectively. Even in the scenario with short-term UWB outages (30 s), simulation results show that the three-dimensional position still can be better than 20 cm. Such accuracy values reach the state-of-the-art for indoor positioning using UWB and INS.
Performance and Stability Comparison of Low-Cost Mixed Halide Perovskite Solar Cells: CH3NH3PbI3-

x

Cl

x

and CH3NH3PbI3-

x

SCN

x
Authors: Poespawati Nji Raden , Sulistianto Junivan , Abuzairi Tomy , Purnamaningsih Retno Wigajatri
Published: October 2020

Perovskite solar cell is categorized as a third-generation solar cell which is used for its high-performance and low-cost production. However, device stability is a major problem in the development of perovskite solar cells. Mixed halide perovskite is one of the subjects that have been proposed to improve perovskite solar cell stability. Research about solar cells using mixed halide perovskite is widely reported. However, complex configurations and fabrication using sophisticated equipment were usually used in those reported studies. In this work, the fabrication of solar cells using mixed halide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3-

x

Cl

x

and CH3NH3PbI3-

x

SCN

x

was conducted using a simple and low-cost structure. Solution-processed deposition fabrication method using spin coating was used to fabricate the devices. Optimization of the spin coating rate for each layer in the perovskite solar cells was performed to ensure that the devices exhibited decent performance. Stability measurement and analysis of the perovskite solar cells were conducted. Summarily, solar cells with mixed halide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3-

x

Cl

x

exhibit the highest performance with an efficiency of 2.92%. On the other hand, solar cell with mixed halide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3-

x

SCN

x

has the best stability which only drops its efficiency by 39% from its initial value after 13 days.
Cyborgan OS: A Lightweight Real-Time Operating System for Artificial Organ
Authors: Lv Pan , Li Hong , Qiu Jinsong , Li Yiqi , Pan Gang
Published: October 2020

The software of artificial organ is more and more complex, but it lacks real-time operating system to manage and schedule its resources. In this paper, we propose a lightweight real-time operating system (RTOS) Cyborgan OS based on the SmartOSEK OS. Cyborgan OS optimizes and improves it from the code size, context switch, low power consumption, and partial dynamic update, making it suitable for the artificial organ control system. Finally, we use the heart blood pump model to analyze the task allocation and execution sequence as well as the code size of the whole program. In this application, the maximum space occupied by the code is only 15 kB, which is suitable for most microcontrollers.
A Novel Long- and Short-Term Memory Network with Time Series Data Analysis Capabilities
Authors: Qiao Mu , Cheng Zixuan
Published: October 2020

Time series data are an extremely important type of data in the real world. Time series data gradually accumulate over time. Due to the dynamic growth in time series data, they tend to have higher dimensions and large data scales. When performing cluster analysis on this type of data, there are shortcomings in using traditional feature extraction methods for processing. To improve the clustering performance on time series data, this study uses a recurrent neural network (RNN) to train the input data. First, an RNN called the long short-term memory (LSTM) network is used to extract the features of time series data. Second, pooling technology is used to reduce the dimensionality of the output features in the last layer of the LSTM network. Due to the long time series, the hidden layer in the LSTM network cannot remember the information at all times. As a result, it is difficult to obtain a compressed representation of the global information in the last layer. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the information from the previous hidden unit to supplement all of the data. By stacking all the hidden unit information and performing a pooling operation, a dimensionality reduction effect of the hidden unit information is achieved. In this way, the memory loss caused by an excessively long sequence is compensated. Finally, considering that many time series data are unbalanced data, the unbalanced K-means (UK-means) algorithm is used to cluster the features after dimensionality reduction. The experiments were conducted on multiple publicly available time series datasets. The experimental results show that LSTM-based feature extraction combined with the dimensionality reduction processing of the pooling technology and cluster processing for imbalanced data used in this study has a good effect on the processing of time series data.
FDA Approval Summary: Tucatinib for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced or Metastatic HER2-positive Breast Cancer
Authors: Shah Mirat , Wedam Suparna , Cheng Joyce , Fiero Mallorie H. , Xia Huiming , Li Fang , Fan Jianghong , Zhang Xinyuan , Yu Jingyu , Song Pengfei , Chen Wei , Ricks Tiffany K. , Chen Xiao Hong , Goldberg Kirsten B. , Gong Yutao , Pierce William F. , Tang Shenghui , Theoret Marc R. , Pazdur Richard , Amiri-Kordestani Laleh , Beaver Julia A.
Published: October 2020

On April 17, 2020, the FDA approved tucatinib in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for the treatment of patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including patients with brain metastases, who have received one or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting. This was the first new molecular entity evaluated under Project Orbis, an FDA Oncology Center of Excellence initiative, which supports concurrent review of oncology drugs by multiple global health authorities. Approval was based on the HER2CLIMB trial, which randomized patients to receive tucatinib or placebo with trastuzumab and capecitabine. Tucatinib demonstrated efficacy compared with placebo in progression-free survival [PFS; HR: 0.54; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.42–0.71; P < 0.00001] and overall survival (OS; HR: 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50–0.87; P = 0.00480). Patients with either treated and stable or active brain metastases made up 48% of the study population. PFS in patients with brain metastases confirmed benefit (HR: 0.48; 95% CI, 0.34–0.69; P < 0.00001). The benefit in patients with brain metastases allowed for inclusion of this specific population in the indication. Important safety signals included diarrhea and hepatotoxicity which are listed under Warnings and Precautions. This article summarizes the FDA thought process and data supporting the favorable benefit–risk profile and approval of tucatinib.
Novel Variant of AVPR2 Giving Rise to X-Linked Congenital Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus in a 7-Month-Old Danish Boy
Authors: Sollid Johanne Emy , Joshi Shivani , Pulczynska Wason Malgorzata  , Rittig Søren , Hvarregaard Christensen Jane , Kamperis Konstantinos
Published: October 2020

Patients affected with congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (CNDI) have reduced ability to concentrate urine. Early diagnosis of CNDI is important to avoid recurrent episodes of severe dehydration. We present a Danish male suffering from typical symptoms and diagnosed with CNDI at the age of 7 months. Gene sequencing of this proband and his mother revealed a novel variant in the gene encoding the antidiuretic hormone receptor (AVPR2). The variant is a deletion of nucleotide c.151 in exon 2 of AVPR2 (GenBank NM_000054.4:c.151del). This 1bp deletion is predicted to cause a frameshift that results in tryptophan replacing valine at position 51 in AVPR2 and a premature stop codon three codons downstream (p.Val51Trpfs*3) likely resulting in faulty expression of the receptor. Identification of disease-causing variants such as the one described here contributes to precise diagnosis, especially in carriers and newborns, thus preventing the long-term physical and intellectual disability observed in some CNDI-patients.
Identification of Long Noncoding RNA Expression Profiles in HPV-Negative Cervical Cancer
Authors: Ooi Shiyin , Liao Yuandong , Liu Pan , Xu Ganlin , Liu Tianyu , Yao Shuzhong
Published: October 2020

Aim: HPV-negative cervical cancer (CC) usually appears more aggressive and causes poorer survival outcomes compared to HPV-positive cases. However, the research in regard to HPV-negative CC is rare, and the related molecular mechanism underlying remains unclear. We intended to explore the expression profiles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and identify the tumor-associated lncRNAs which might be used as the potential biomarker for HPV-negative CC. Methods: Bioinformatics analyses were utilized to construct the expression profiles of lncRNAs, Gene Ontology, and KEGG analyses and draw the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network in HPV-negative CC. The expression levels of the top 5 marked-up tumor-associated lncRNAs were detected by qRT-PCR. The effect of LINC00115 on CC growth and metastasis was studied by Cell Counting Kit-8 and transwell assays. Results: In comparison to normal cervix (NC), 2,052 lncRNAs were differentially expressed in HPV-negative CC. It demonstrated that LINC00115 was significantly upregulated in HPV-negative CC cells compared to NC, and it could promote proliferation, migration, and invasion of HPV-negative CC cells. Conclusion: LINC00115 might be a potential biomarker for HPV-negative CC.
Thermal Perception Abnormalities Can Predict Diabetic Kidney Disease in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients
Authors: Fang Wei-Ching , Chou Kuei-Mei , Sun Chiao-Yin , Lee Chin-Chan , Wu I-Wen , Chen Yung-Chang , Pan Heng-Chih
Published: October 2020

Background: Previous studies have illustrated clinical associations between diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Quantitative sensory testing (QST) can accurately detect thermal perception abnormalities and aid in the early diagnosis of asymptomatic small-fiber DPN in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to determine the predictive value of thermal perception abnormalities by QST to detect DKD. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 432 patients with type 2 diabetes (50.2% male, mean age 57.2 years, and average duration of diabetes 9.9 years) at our hospital between 2016 and 2017. Demographic and clinical data of the patients were recorded and analyzed. Diagnosis and staging of DKD were determined by urinary albumin excretion rate and estimated glomerular filtration rate. The presence of thermal perception abnormalities was determined by QST. Multiple logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to investigate the relationships between thermal perception abnormalities and DKD in these patients. Results: In multiple regression analysis, abnormal cold perception in the lower limbs was associated with an increased risk of advanced DKD. Area under the ROC curve analysis revealed that four-limb cold perception abnormalities had the best discriminatory power (0.741 ± 0.053) to predict advanced DKD. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the value of using thermal perception abnormalities to identify patients with type 2 diabetes also at risk of DKD.
Immunohistochemical Analysis of Mismatch Repair Gene Proteins in Early Gastric Cancer Based on Microsatellite Status
Authors: Sugimoto Ryo , Endo Masaki , Osakabe Mitsumasa , Toya Yosuke , Yanagawa Naoki , Matsumoto Takayuki , Sugai Tamotsu
Published: October 2020

Background: Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a major pathway involved in gastric carcinogenesis and is observed in 10–20% of early gastric cancers (EGCs). Early detection of EGCs with an MSI-high phenotype would be useful for elucidating the mechanisms of gastric carcinogenesis and improving outcomes in patients with GC. Objective: We explored the usefulness of immunohistochemical expression of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, including MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, and MSH6 in EGC. Methods: We examined the expression of 4 MMR proteins using immunohistochemistry in 119 patients with EGC based on MS status, as determined by polymerase chain reaction-microsatellite analysis. In addition, methylation of the MLH1 gene was quantified by pyrosequencing. Results: EGCs were classified into 46 MSI-high phenotypes and 73 microsatellite stable (MSS) phenotypes. Although loss of MLH1 expression was associated with loss of PMS2 expression in the MSI-high phenotype, discordant cases of loss of expression between MLH1 and PMS2 were found (MLH1 [−]/PMS2 [+], 3 cases). Loss of MLH1/PMS2 expression was observed in 2 of 73 MSS phenotypes. Loss of MSH2/MSH6 expression was found in 4 of 46 MSI-high phenotypes, whereas loss of MSH2/MSH6 expression was not detected in the MSS phenotype. In addition, loss of MLH1 expression was correlated with methylation of MLH1. However, there were discordant cases in which loss of MLH1 expression was not accompanied by methylation of MLH1. Conclusion: Although immunostaining of MMR proteins could help predict MSI in EGCs, immunostaining did not have the same value as genetic testing for determination of MSI.
Development of a Portable Tool to Identify Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Using Clinical Notes From the Electronic Medical Record
Authors: Shah Rashmee U. , Mutharasan R. Kannan , Ahmad Faraz S. , Rosenblatt Anna G. , Gay Hawkins C. , Steinberg Benjamin A. , Yandell Mark , Tristani-Firouzi Martin , Klewer Jake , Mukherjee Rebeka , Lloyd-Jones Donald M.
Published: October 2020

Background:

The electronic medical record contains a wealth of information buried in free text. We created a natural language processing algorithm to identify patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using text alone.

Methods and Results:

We created 3 data sets from patients with at least one AF billing code from 2010 to 2017: a training set (n=886), an internal validation set from site no. 1 (n=285), and an external validation set from site no. 2 (n=276). A team of clinicians reviewed and adjudicated patients as AF present or absent, which served as the reference standard. We trained 54 algorithms to classify each patient, varying the model, number of features, number of stop words, and the method used to create the feature set. The algorithm with the highest F-score (the harmonic mean of sensitivity and positive predictive value) in the training set was applied to the validation sets. F-scores and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were compared between site no. 1 and site no. 2 using bootstrapping. Adjudicated AF prevalence was 75.1% at site no. 1 and 86.2% at site no. 2. Among 54 algorithms, the best performing model was logistic regression, using 1000 features, 100 stop words, and term frequency-inverse document frequency method to create the feature set, with sensitivity 92.8%, specificity 93.9%, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.93 in the training set. The performance at site no. 1 was sensitivity 92.5%, specificity 88.7%, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.91. The performance at site no. 2 was sensitivity 89.5%, specificity 71.1%, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80. The F-score was lower at site no. 2 compared with site no. 1 (92.5% [SD, 1.1%] versus 94.2% [SD, 1.1%];
P
<0.001).

Conclusions:

We developed a natural language processing algorithm to identify patients with AF using text alone, with >90% F-score at 2 separate sites. This approach allows better use of the clinical narrative and creates an opportunity for precise, high-throughput cohort identification.
China, Responsibility to Protect, and the Case of Syria
Authors: Gegout Catherine , Suzuki Shogo
Published: October 2020

Will the rise of China, an authoritarian, party-state with a poor record of protecting its citizens’ human rights, undermine humanitarian intervention? This question has been particularly pertinent since China’s “assertive turn” in foreign policy. Drawing on the case of Chinese reactions to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, this article argues that China’s attitude toward humanitarian intervention remains ambiguous and contradictory. While China has at times prevented the UN Security Council from threatening sanctions on Syria, it has not necessarily denied that a humanitarian crisis exists. The article shows that the People’s Republic of China is beginning to act more as a norm maker than norm taker, and is offering its own vision of humanitarian intervention, coined as “responsible protection.”
Erratum: Notes on the type specimen of Acanthocalyx delavayi (Caprifoliaceae) at Herbarium of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (P)

Authors: MU QI-YONG , YU CHIH-CHIEH , XING YAO-WU
Published: October 2020

N/A
Nepenthes diabolica (Nepenthaceae), a new species of toothed pitcher plant from Central Sulawesi

Authors: BIANCHI ANDREA , LEE CHIEN C. , GOLOS MICHAL R. , MEY FRANÇOIS S. , MANSUR MUHAMMAD , MAMBRASAR YASPER MICHAEL , ROBINSON ALASTAIR S.
Published: October 2020

Nepenthes diabolica, a new species of tropical pitcher plant from Central Sulawesi, is described and illustrated. It is a high-montane, terrestrial to epiphytic taxon, distinguished by its elaborately flanged peristome and rufous, woolly pitcher indumentum. N. diabolica is a member of section Tentaculatae, showing morphological affinities with N. hamata. Nevertheless, the two species can be distinguished by morphological characters as well as by ecology and geography. A diagnostic key to the species of section Tentaculatae is provided. Owing to its highly restricted range, small number of recorded individuals, and desirability among plant collectors, the conservation status of N. diabolica is assessed as Critically Endangered under the IUCN criteria. Finally, N. hamata, until now based on lost types and mixed paratypes, is lectotypified using recently uncovered original material.
Assemblages of myxomycetes on subantarctic Macquarie Island and tropical Christmas Island

Authors: STEPHENSON STEVEN L.
Published: October 2020

Christmas Island and Macquarie Island are two isolated islands of essentially the same size but providing very different environmental conditions for myxomycetes. The former is located in the tropics and the latter in the subantarctic. Surveys for myxomycetes carried out on Christmas Island in 2017 and Macquarie Island in 1995 yielded a total of 85 species. These data were published in two previous papers, but these papers did not consider the biogeographical distribution of all of the myxomycetes recorded from the two islands. Christmas Island and Macquarie Island share only nine species in common. Two of the 26 species recorded from Macquarie Island and one of the 68 species recorded Christmas Island were new to science.
Two new combinations in Elatostematoides (Urticaceae) for species from Sarawak and Sumatra

Authors: RODDA MICHELE , TSENG YU-HSIN , MONRO ALEXANDRE K.
Published: October 2020

Based on a recently published phylogeny, Elatostematoides is monophyletic and distinct from Elatostema. As more taxa are included in the molecular phylogeny, new combinations will need to be created to accommodate in Elatostematoides species formerly in Elatostema. In the present paper we provide evidence that Elatostema hirtum belongs to Elatostematoides. New combinations in Elatostematoides for Elatostema hirtum and the similar Elatostema scandens are proposed, resulting in the first additions to the genus since 1934.
Pachyphlodes atropurpurea and P. excavata, two new truffle species from Southwest China

Authors: LIU JIAN-WEI , WAN SHANPING , GONG HEDE , YU FUQIANG
Published: October 2020

Pachyphlodes atropurpurea and P. excavata are described as new species of truffles based on both phylogenetic and morphological analyses. Phylogenetically these two species are clearly distinct from described species of Pachyphlodes. Morphologically, P. atropurpurea is characterized by subglobose, purple black ascomata, and ascospores with acute-tipped spines. P. excavata is characterized by its ascomata with an obvious basal and internal cavity and slender fusiform asci (150–180 × 30–40 μm).