bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease overview
Authors: Rodríguez-Olivas Armando O. , Hernández-Zamora Edgar , Reyes-Maldonado Elba
Published: March 2022

Background

Legg–Calvé–Perthes Disease (LCPD) is a necrosis of the femoral head which affects the range of motion of the hips. Its incidence is variable, ranging from 0.4/100,000 to 29.0/ 100,000 children. Although LCPD was first described in the beginning of the past century, limited is known about its etiology. Our objective is to describe the main areas of interest in Legg–Calve–Perthes disease.

Methods

A review of the literature regarding LCPD etiology was performed, considering the following inclusion criteria: Studies reporting clinical or preclinical results. The research group carried out a filtered search on the PubMed and Science Direct databases. To maximize the suitability of the search results, we combined the terms ‘‘Perthes disease” OR “LCPD” OR “children avascular femoral head necrosis” with “diagnostic” OR “treatment” OR “etiology” as either key words or MeSH terms.

Results

In this article been described some areas of interest in LCPD, we include topics such as: history, incidence, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and possible etiology, since LCPD has an unknown etiology.

Conclusions

This review suggests that LCPD has a multifactorial etiology where environmental, metabolic and genetic agents could be involved.
Dynamic liquid biopsy components as predictive and prognostic biomarkers in colorectal cancer
Authors: Raza Afsheen , Khan Abdul Q. , Inchakalody Varghese Philipose , Mestiri Sarra , Yoosuf Zeenath Safira K. M. , Bedhiafi Takwa , El-Ella Dina Moustafa Abo , Taib Nassiba , Hydrose Shereena , Akbar Shayista , Fernandes Queenie , Al-Zaidan Lobna , Krishnankutty Roopesh , Merhi Maysaloun , Uddin Shahab , Dermime Said
Published: March 2022

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. The diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic monitoring of CRC depends largely on tissue biopsy. However, due to tumor heterogeneity and limitations such as invasiveness, high cost and limited applicability in longitudinal monitoring, liquid biopsy has gathered immense attention in CRC. Liquid biopsy has several advantages over tissue biopsy including ease of sampling, effective monitoring, and longitudinal assessment of treatment dynamics. Furthermore, the importance of liquid biopsy is signified by approval of several liquid biopsy assays by regulatory bodies indicating the powerful approach of liquid biopsy for comprehensive CRC screening, diagnostic and prognostics. Several liquid biopsy biomarkers such as novel components of the microbiome, non-coding RNAs, extracellular vesicles and circulating tumor DNA are extensively being researched for their role in CRC management. Majority of these components have shown promising results on their clinical application in CRC including early detection, observe tumor heterogeneity for treatment and response, prediction of metastases and relapse and detection of minimal residual disease. Therefore, in this review, we aim to provide updated information on various novel liquid biopsy markers such as a) oral microbiota related bacterial network b) gut microbiome-associated serum metabolites c) PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), microRNA(miRNAs), Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs) and d) circulating tumor DNAs (ctDNA) and circulating tumor cells (CTC) for their role in disease diagnosis, prognosis, treatment monitoring and their applicability for personalized management of CRC.
Sex differences in the association between diabetes and hypertension and the risk of stroke: cohort of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study
Authors: Ramezankhani Azra , Parizadeh Donna , Azizi Fereidoun , Hadaegh Farzad
Published: March 2022

Background

We assessed the sex differences in the association between blood pressure categories and glucose intolerance status with overall and ischemic stroke among Iranian adults.

Methods

This prospective study was conducted on 5349 individuals (2446 men) aged ≥ 40 years. Cox models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and men-to-women ratios of HRs (RHRs) of overall and ischemic stroke for systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, pre-hypertension, hypertension, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Results

Each 0.55 mmol/L increase in FPG was associated with a higher HR of overall stroke in men than women [RHRs 1.05 (1.01–1.09)]. The associations between each 10 mmHg increase in DBP and stroke events were stronger in men than women, with RHRs of 1.20 (1.00–1.45) and 1.29 (1.04–1.60) for overall and ischemic stroke, respectively. Hypertension was associated with a higher HR of overall [RHRs: 2.41 (1.21–4.8)] and ischemic stroke [2.37 (1.12–5.01)] in men than women. We also found that T2Dwas associatedwithhigher risksof overall and ischemic stroke in men than women: the RHRs were 2.16 (1.24–3.75) and 1.93 (1.05–3.55) for overall and ischemic stroke, respectively.

Conclusion

Hypertension and T2D induced higher risk of overall and ischemic stroke in men than women among Iranian population.
ELECTRA-DTA: a new compound-protein binding affinity prediction model based on the contextualized sequence encoding
Authors: Wang Junjie , Wen NaiFeng , Wang Chunyu , Zhao Lingling , Cheng Liang
Published: March 2022

Motivation

Drug-target binding affinity (DTA) reflects the strength of the drug-target interaction; therefore, predicting the DTA can considerably benefit drug discovery by narrowing the search space and pruning drug-target (DT) pairs with low binding affinity scores. Representation learning using deep neural networks has achieved promising performance compared with traditional machine learning methods; hence, extensive research efforts have been made in learning the feature representation of proteins and compounds. However, such feature representation learning relies on a large-scale labelled dataset, which is not always available.

Results

We present an end-to-end deep learning framework, ELECTRA-DTA, to predict the binding affinity of drug-target pairs. This framework incorporates an unsupervised learning mechanism to train two ELECTRA-based contextual embedding models, one for protein amino acids and the other for compound SMILES string encoding. In addition, ELECTRA-DTA leverages a squeeze-and-excitation (SE) convolutional neural network block stacked over three fully connected layers to further capture the sequential and spatial features of the protein sequence and SMILES for the DTA regression task. Experimental evaluations show that ELECTRA-DTA outperforms various state-of-the-art DTA prediction models, especially with the challenging, interaction-sparse BindingDB dataset. In target selection and drug repurposing for COVID-19, ELECTRA-DTA also offers competitive performance, suggesting its potential in speeding drug discovery and generalizability for other compound- or protein-related computational tasks.
Improving the performance of models for one-step retrosynthesis through re-ranking
Authors: Lin Min Htoo , Tu Zhengkai , Coley Connor W.
Published: March 2022

Retrosynthesis is at the core of organic chemistry. Recently, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has spurred a variety of novel machine learning approaches for data-driven synthesis planning. These methods learn complex patterns from reaction databases in order to predict, for a given product, sets of reactants that can be used to synthesise that product. However, their performance as measured by the top-Naccuracy in matching published reaction precedents still leaves room for improvement. This work aims to enhance these models by learning to re-rank their reactant predictions. Specifically, we design and train an energy-based model to re-rank, for each product, the published reaction as the top suggestion and the remaining reactant predictions as lower-ranked. We show that re-ranking can improve one-step models significantly using the standard USPTO-50k benchmark dataset, such as RetroSim, a similarity-based method, from 35.7 to 51.8% top-1 accuracy and NeuralSym, a deep learning method, from 45.7 to 51.3%, and also that re-ranking the union of two models’ suggestions can lead to better performance than either alone. However, the state-of-the-art top-1 accuracy is not improved by this method.

Graphical Abstract
Association between work ability and work stressors: cross-sectional survey of elderly services and health and social care service employees
Authors: Selander Kirsikka , Nikunlaakso Risto , Laitinen Jaana
Published: March 2022

Background

Work in the health and social care services (HSS) is very stressful and sickness absences are high. Nevertheless, little is known about their work stressors and work ability. The first aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of different work stressors and their accumulation among eldercare workers compared to general HSS workers. Second aim is to analyze associations between different work stressors and work ability and thus provide information on factors that are important in enhancing work ability.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey examined HSS employees in Finland in 2020. The response rate was 67% (N = 22,502). Descriptive analyses were used to describe the control variables and the differences between the work stressors of general HSS and eldercare employees. After this, multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed the association between work stressors and work ability.

Results

Eldercare employees experienced more often moral distress than HSS employees in general, and this further lowers their work ability. Single work stressors––Karasek’s strain, Siegrist’s ERI, organizational injustice and moral distress––increased the odds of low work ability (OR range 1.4–2.5) in comparison to no work stressors. However, the association with single stressors was roughly one third of that with the accumulation of all four work stressors (OR = 6.8). Thus, the accumulation of several stressors was most harmful for work ability.

Conclusions

This study provides novel information on the accumulation of work stressors in relation to work ability. The results suggest that in order to enhance work ability, HSS organizations should pay more attention to preventing several stressors from accumulating. Eldercare organizations in particular need to develop effective measures for lowering moral distress.
Impaired glymphatic function in the early stages of disease in a TDP-43 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Zamani Akram , Walker Adam K. , Rollo Ben , Ayers Katie L. , Farah Raysha , O’Brien Terence J. , Wright David K.
Published: March 2022

Background

Multiple lines of evidence suggest possible impairment of the glymphatic system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To investigate this, we used in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess glymphatic function early in the course of disease in a transgenic mouse with doxycycline (Dox)-controlled expression of cytoplasmic human TDP-43 (hTDP-43ΔNLS), mimicking the key pathology implicated in ALS.

Methods

Adult TDP-43 transgenic and littermate monogenic control mice underwent longitudinal multimodal MRI one and three weeks after the cessation of Dox feed, together with weekly rotarod assessments of motor performance. Glymphatic function was assessed using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI to track the clearance of an MR contrast agent injected into the cisterna magna.

Results

Compared to their littermate controls, TDP-43 mice exhibited progressive neurodegeneration including that within the primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex and corticospinal tract, significant weight loss including gastrocnemius atrophy, and shortened telomere length. Furthermore, in the presence of this ALS-like phenotype, these mice have significantly disrupted glymphatic function.

Conclusions

Although the relationship between glymphatic clearance and ALS disease progression remains to be elucidated, these changes occurred very early in the disease course. This provides initial evidence to suggest that the glymphatic system might be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of ALS.
Spatiotemporal analysis of droughts characteristics and drivers in the Omo-Gibe River basin, Ethiopia
Authors: Anose Fikru Abiko , Beketie Kassahun Ture , Zeleke Tadesse Terefe , Ayal Desalegn Yayeh , Feyisa Gudina Legese , Haile Bereket Tesfaye
Published: March 2022

Background

Drought is one of the leading destructive natural disasters adversely affecting natural resources and livelihoods. Thus, this study evaluated the spatial and temporal meteorological drought characteristics and their drivers in the Omo-Gibe River basin (OGRB) from 1981 to 2017. The drought analysis used the standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) with 4- and 12-month timescales. The Mann–Kendall (MK), Sen's slope estimator, and Pettit test were used to evaluate the trend and change points of the time series. Pearson correlation was used to examine the teleconnection between large-scale global climate signals with the basin's seasonal and annual drought indices.

Results

Accordingly, extreme and severe drought events were observed in 1988, 2000, and 2009. In the basin, prolonged drought events were recorded from 2000 to 2015. The statistically significant (P < 0.05) increasing trend of seasonal and annual drought events was observed in all basin parts. However, more drought events distribution was exhibited in the south than in the north and central parts. The Sawla station (southern part) showed a higher drought frequency, ranging from 18.18 to 20.36%. The maximum intensity and peak drought events were observed in this sub-basin, with SPEI reaching − 2.27 and − 4.89, respectively. The global indices NINO3.4, SOI, and DMI are drivers for triggering the meteorological droughts in OGRB.

Conclusions

Substantial warming and erratic rainfall have made OGRB vulnerable to drought events. The intensification of droughts in the basin has also been recorded in humid parts of the basin which has a significant adverse effect on the water availability of down streams. This indicates that the observed drought intensity can increase the water deficit and other natural resources degradation. Therefore, this study provides essential information on drought characteristics for decision-makers to plan appropriate strategies for early warning systems to adapt and mitigate drought hazards in the basin.
Individual variations and sex differences in hemodynamics and percutaneous arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) in Tibetan highlanders of Tsarang in the Mustang district of Nepal
Authors: Nishimura Takayuki , Arima Hiroaki , Koirala Sweta , Ito Hiromu , Yamamoto Taro
Published: March 2022

Background

Many studies have indicated specific low-hemoglobin (Hb) adaptation to high altitude in the Tibetan population, but studies focusing on physiological variations within this population are limited. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between SpO2 and related factors, including individual variations and sex differences, to assess the generality of high-altitude adaptation in the Tibetan population of Tsarang.

Methods

The participants were 31 male and 41 female community-dwelling people aged ≥18 years living in Tsarang, in the Mustang district of Nepal. Height, weight, SpO2, Hb concentration, finger temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure were measured. Lifestyle information was obtained by interview.

Results

Men had significantly higher systolic blood pressure (p = 0.002) and Hb (p < 0.001) than women. There was no significant correlation between SpO2 and other parameters in men. In women, SpO2 was negatively correlated with heart rate (p = 0.036), Hb (p = 0.004), and finger temperature (p = 0.037). In multiple regression analysis, a higher SpO2 was marginally correlated with lower age (β = −0.109, p = 0.086) and higher Hb (β = 0.547, p = 0.053) in men. In women, higher SpO2 was significantly correlated with lower heart rate (β = −0.045, p = 0.036) and Hb (β = −0.341, p = 0.018). Mean hemoglobin (95% confidence interval) was 13.6 g/dl (13.1–14.0 g/dl), which is lower than that found previously in Andeans and almost equal to that in Japanese lowlanders measured using the same device. In some participants of both sexes, hemoglobin was >17.0 g/dl.

Conclusion

Higher SpO2 was marginally correlated with younger age and higher Hb in men and with lower heart rate and lower Hb in women. Hemoglobin concentration was similar to that found previously in lowlanders, but higher in some individuals. These results indicate individual variation and sex differences in the hemodynamics of high-altitude adaptation in Tibetan highlanders of Tsarang, as well as low-Hb adaptation to high altitude equal to that of other Tibetans.
Associations between testicular development and fetal size in the pig
Authors: Stenhouse Claire , Cortes-Araya Yennifer , Donadeu F. Xavier , Ashworth Cheryl J.
Published: March 2022

Background

Impaired reproductive performance is the largest contributing factor for the removal of boars from commercial systems. Intrauterine growth restricted piglets represent 25% of the total number of piglets born and have impaired reproductive performance. This study aimed to improve the understanding of temporal changes in testicular gene expression during testes development in fetuses of different size. The lightest and closest to mean litter weight (CTMLW) male Large White × Landrace littermates were collected at gestational days (GD) 45, 60 and 90 (n = 5–6 litters/GD).

Results

Testes weight and testes weight as a percentage of fetal weight were not associated with fetal size at GD60 or 90. Fetal plasma testosterone was not associated with fetal size at GD90. There was no association between fetal size and seminiferous tubule area and number, number of germ or Sertoli cells per tubule. The lightest fetuses tended to have wider seminiferous tubules compared to the CTMLW fetuses at GD90 (P = 0.077). The testicular expression of KI67 (P ≤ 0.01) and BAX:BCL2 ratio (P = 0.058) mRNAs decreased as gestation progressed. Greater SPP1 mRNA expression was observed at GD60 when compared with GD45 and 90 (P ≤ 0.05). Lower expression of DMRT1 and SPP1 (P < 0.01) mRNAs was observed in testes associated with the lightest fetuses compared to the CTMLW fetuses at GD90.

Conclusions

These findings provide novel insights into the expression profiles of genes associated with testicular development and function. Further, these data suggest that programming of reproductive potential in IUGR boars occurs late in gestation, providing a platform for further mechanistic investigation.
Comfort related woven fabric transmission properties made of cotton and nylon
Authors: Adamu Biruk Fentahun , Gao Jing
Published: March 2022

The interaction of water and air i.e. moisture regain, water vapor transmission, wicking and air permeability with woven textiles are tested to investigate the comfort of woven fabrics made of nylon, cotton, and cotton–nylon mixtures with different yarn counts. The fabrics porosity (based on equation 1 and 2), woven fabric sett (ASTM D3775-03), fabric thickness (ASTM D1777-96), fabric weight (ASTM D3776M - 20), fabric vapour transmission (ASTM E96-00), transfer wicking, and longitudinal wicking (DIN 53924), moisture regain (ASTM D2495-07), and air permeability (ASTM D737) were examined for investigations based on the standards in the brackets. The experimental results showed that fabric transfer wicking, longitudinal wicking, moisture regain and air permeability properties increase as the yarn goes to coarser for all woven fabric samples but the water vapor transmission property decrease. Additionally, fabric transfer and longitudinal wicking capabilities improved with increased nylon fiber blend ratios within fiber conformation. However, the nylon fiber composition has negative impact on air permeability, water vapor transfer rate, wicking and moisture capabilities of the woven fabrics. Generally, it can be concluded that the existence of nylon fiber, and yarn count coarseness improved wicking properties of the woven fabrics and decreased the air permeability property of woven fabrics.
Associations of maternal exposure to fine particulate matter with preterm and early-term birth in high-risk pregnant women
Authors: Cao Kaixin , Jin Hongyan , Li Haoxin , Tang Mengmeng , Ge Jianhong , Li Zekang , Wang Xiaoyun , Wei Xuetao
Published: March 2022

Background

Environmental pollution is a risk factor for adverse birth outcomes, especially preterm birth (PTB) and early-term birth (ETB). It has been revealed that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during pregnancy increase the prevalence of PTB. However, the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and ETB has not been elucidated. In high-risk pregnancies, whether PM2.5 exposure will bring higher risk of PTB and ETB than in normal pregnancies is still unclear, and the susceptible exposure window is obscure. Therefore, it is worthy of assessing the risk on PTB and ETB and identifying the susceptible exposure windows of PM2.5 exposure in high-risk pregnant women.

Results

This paper collected the clinical data of 7974 singletons, high-risk pregnant women in Peking University First Hospital from 2014 to 2018, and analyzed them using logistic regression and stratified analysis. We observed that exposure to high-level (≥ 75 µg/m3) of PM2.5 during the third trimester of pregnancy increases the risk of PTB and ETB (PTB: odds ratio[OR] = 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.05–1.93. ETB: OR = 1.29, 95%CI: 1.09–1.54). Furthermore, the effects of each 10ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 on PTB and ETB were significant during the third trimester (PTB: OR = 1.35, 95%CI:1.16–1.58. ETB: OR = 1.12, 95%CI:1.02–1.22) and the entire pregnancy (PTB: OR = 6.12, 95%CI:4.27–8.89. ETB: OR = 1.96, 95%CI:1.59–2.43) in the high-level exposure group.

Conclusions

These results suggest that high-level PM2.5 exposure during pregnancy is associated with high risk of PTB and ETB in high-risk pregnancies. The third trimester of pregnancy is speculated to be the susceptible exposure window.
Unexpected death in a newborn due to a congenital partial pericardial defect: a case report
Authors: de Almeida Prado Patricia Shirley , Fernandes Laísa Caldas , Tavares Ramão
Published: March 2022

Background

Pericardial defects are rare anatomical variations that can present as an isolated variation or be associated with other conditions. They are usually asymptomatic and misdiagnosed conditions, and given their rarity, partial pericardial defects can have devastating outcomes. The sudden death of an apparently healthy newborn certainly raises concerns, and a medico-legal investigation is crucial in establishing the cause of death. This case report highlights the importance of awareness on the part of obstetric professionals of the lethal outcomes of pericardial partial congenital defects. This case also demonstrates the difficulty of establishing a correct diagnosis.

Case presentation

The autopsy of a 15-h-old neonate revealed a partial pericardial defect ending in a biventricular strangulation by the defective pericardium. Other findings, such as the patency of the arterial ductus, a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and aspiration of amniotic fluid, were also reported.

Conclusions

Although imaging techniques have evolved, fetal detection of cardiac abnormalities can be tricky, especially when occurring as an isolated variation.
Characterization of advanced Parkinson’s disease in Germany: results of the non-interventional OBSERVE-PD study
Authors: Pedrosa David J. , Gandor Florin , Jost Wolfgang H. , Arlt Carolin , Onuk Koray , Timmermann Lars
Published: March 2022

Background

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder. In the advanced stages it can result in severe disability despite optimal treatment. Data suggests heterogeneous classification of PD stages among physicians in different countries. The purpose of the OBSERVE-PD study was to evaluate the proportion of patients with advanced PD (APD) according to physicians’ judgments in an international cohort.

Methods

A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in 18 countries. Data were collected during a single patient visit. Demographic data, disease status, current medical treatment, and quality of life were evaluated for the German cohort and compared to the international cohort. Potential prognostic factors of physicians’ classification of APD in the German and international cohorts were identified using logistic regression.

Results

In total, 177 German and 2438 international patients were enrolled. 68.9% of the German and 50.0% of the international patients were classified by physicians as APD. Despite similar demographics and comparable disease severity, motor fluctuations (odds ratio [OR], 49.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.5–291.9) and current device-aided treatment (OR 8.7; CI 5.5–13.8) showed the strongest association to physicians’ classification of APD in the German and the international cohorts, respectively. The number of different oral anti-Parkinson-medications showed opposed associations with APD-classification between the international (OR 1.19; CI 1.03–1.37) and German (OR 0.46; CI 0.18–1.18) cohort. Although 58.2% of the German patients diagnosed with APD were considered eligible for device-aided treatment, only 40.8% actually received it.

Conclusions

This study highlights the challenges in the recognition and the effective management of APD in Germany and emphasizes the necessity of complying with standard diagnostic criteria for identification of patients with APD. Therapeutic approaches differed internationally, with a tendency in Germany towards a more complex oral medication regimen for patients with APD. In view of similar quality of life and disease status in both cohorts, our findings may prompt further exploration of parameters for disease classifications, and consideration of optimal treatment strategies.
An optimized finite-difference method to minimize numerical dispersion of acoustic wave propagation using a genetic algorithm
Authors: Vanga Mounika , Barman Debajeet , Ojha Maheswar
Published: March 2022

The finite-difference method (FDM) is one of the most popular methods for numerical simulation of wave propagation. The major challenge that we face in solving a partial differential equation for the wave propagation is numerical dispersion. We use an automated and optimized FDM using a genetic algorithm (GA) to optimally compute second-order spatial derivatives. In our method, the explicit finite-difference coefficients are calculated using the GA to minimize the dispersion (phase velocity) for all wavenumbers without using any specific window function. The amplitudes of the pseudospectral window (finite difference [FD] coefficients) are optimized by making the phase velocity close to the analytical solution at each wavenumber and stability close to that of the conventional FDM. Although FD coefficients in this method depend on velocity, grid spacing, and time step, less dispersive solutions can be achieved by computing suitable FD coefficients for varying cases. It takes only a few seconds of additional computation time depending on the order of approximation (e.g., approximately 20 s for the 12th order of approximation in a machine with 120 GB RAM and 2.0 GHz processor). Comparison of the numerical results from our algorithm with those from an existing pseudospectral method, the conventional FDM, and an existing time-space optimized FDM indicates that the proposed method is less dispersive for any order of approximation.
Elastic reverse time migration angle gathers using a stabilized Poynting vector without zero points within the wave propagation ranges
Authors: Yang Kai , Wang Xiaoyi , Zhang Jianfeng
Published: March 2022

Generation of PP and PS angle gathers for elastic reverse time migration (ERTM) has important applications in velocity model updating and subsurface parameter inversion. The Poynting-vector-based method provides a cost-effective way to extract angle gathers from ERTM. However, the estimated propagation directions or angles based on Poynting vectors at or near zero points are unstable, and the reflection energy at these points is likely to be placed in an incorrect angle bin. This instability problem severely limits its use in the generation of high-quality angle gathers. To overcome this problem, we add the conventional Poynting vector with an ancillary one of the Hilbert transformed wavefield, a 90° phase-shifted version of the original wavefield. The Poynting vector of the Hilbert transformed wavefield points in the same propagation direction as the conventional Poynting vector, but they have different zero-point distributions. Adding them together allows us to obtain a stabilized Poynting vector which thoroughly eliminates the zero points within the wave propagation range, and thus we obtain a stable algorithm to extract high-quality angle gathers from ERTM. The Hilbert transformed wavefield already exists in the P/S and up/down wavefield decomposition procedure, which has become a necessary step for ERTM to separate overlapping wavefields at reflectors before the computation of Poynting vectors. Results from two synthetic numerical examples indicate the effectiveness of our method in generating high-quality angle gathers for ERTM.
Lower limits and controlling factors of the petrophysical properties of coal-measure sandstone oil reservoirs: A case study of the Jurassic Yan’an Formation in the Huanjiang area, Ordos Basin, China
Authors: Zhou Qingan , Dai Rong , Wang Xiqiang , Zhou Guoxiao , Luo Shunshe , Huang Daojun , Liu Liping
Published: March 2022

Coal-measure sandstone oil reservoirs of the Jurassic Yan’an Formation in the Ordos Basin, China, have strong heterogeneity. Reservoir quality is the core factor that determines the large-scale accumulation of hydrocarbons. Taking the Yan’an Formation in the Huanjiang area, Ordos Basin, as an example, we have calculated the lower limits of petrophysical properties based on empirical statistics, porosity and permeability intersections, mercury injections and irreducible water analysis, oil tests, oil-bearing property analysis, and distribution functions. In addition, we have investigated the main controlling factors of effective reservoirs in the Yan’an Formation. The results demonstrate that the lower limits of petrophysical properties of the effective reservoir in the Yan’an Formation display a gradually decreasing trend as the depth increases. Furthermore, we have obtained the functions of the lower limits of the petrophysical properties and the depth. Sedimentation and diagenesis have a significant control effect on the quality of reservoirs in the Yan’an Formation. High-quality reservoirs have mainly developed in the sedimentary microfacies of point sand bar and distributary channel sand bodies. The strong compaction and cementation in the diagenesis process are the internal reasons for the poor petrophysical properties of the Yan’an Formation reservoirs. Overall, the effect of compaction on the petrophysical properties of the reservoir is stronger than that of cementation, whereas the secondary dissolution pores significantly improve the petrophysical properties of the reservoir.
Insular activation and functional connectivity in firefighters with post-traumatic stress disorder
Authors: Lee Deokjong , Lee Jung Eun , Lee Junghan , Kim Changsoo , Jung Young-Chul
Published: March 2022

Background

Firefighters are frequently exposed to stressful situations and are at high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hyperresponsiveness to threatening and emotional stimuli and diminishment of executive control have been suggested as manifestations of PTSD.

Aims

To examine brain activation in firefighters with PTSD by conducting an executive control-related behavioural task with trauma-related interferences.

Method

Twelve firefighters with PTSD and 14 healthy firefighters underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a Stroop match-to-sample task using trauma-related photographic stimuli. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis was conducted using regions identified in fMRI contrast analysis.

Results

Compared with the controls, the participants with PTSD had longer reaction times when the trauma-related interferences were presented. They showed significantly stronger brain activation to interfering trauma-related stimuli in the left insula, and had weaker insular functional connectivity in the supplementary motor area and the anterior cingulate cortex than the controls. They also showed a significant correlation between left insula–supplementary motor area connectivity strength and the hyperarousal subscale of the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that trauma-related stimuli elicit excessive brain activation in the left insula among firefighters with PTSD. Firefighters with PTSD also appear to have weak left insular functional connectivity with executive control-related brain regions. This aberrant insular activation and functional connectivity could be related to the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms in firefighters.
Cultural modification of neuropsychiatric assessment: complexities to consider
Authors: Tanveer Sandila , Croucher Matthew J. , Porter Richard
Published: March 2022

Cognitive screening tests are culture bound and have been shown to perform differently depending on the culture, even with adequate translation. Khan et al examine in detail ways in which the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) has been modified for different languages and cultures and produce a systematic guide for future modifications. However, questions arise regarding the availability of the MoCA. Other important issues in the transcultural use and modification of neuropsychiatric tests include providing a culturally safe context for testing, understanding the cultural context in which screening takes place and assessing other neuropsychiatric conditions, which may manifest differently in different cultural contexts and which affect cognition.
Can we understand the mechanisms of tumor formation by analyzing dynamics of cancer initiation?
Authors: Teimouri Hamid , Kolomeisky Anatoly B.
Published: March 2022

Cancer is a collection of related genetic diseases exhibiting uncontrolled cell growth that interferes with normal functioning of human organisms. It results from accumulation of unfavorable mutations in tissues. While the biochemical picture of how cancer appears is known, the molecular mechanisms of tumor formation remain not fully understood despite tremendous efforts of researchers in multiple fields. New approaches for investigating cancer are constantly sought. In this paper, we discuss a powerful method of clarifying better a more microscopic picture of cancer by analyzing the dynamics of tumor formation. Using physics- and chemistry-inspired discrete-state stochastic description of cancer initiation, it is shown how the mechanisms of tumor formation can be uncovered. This approach is suggested as a powerful new physical-chemical tool for a better understanding of complex processes associated with cancer.
Empagliflozin and Decreased Risk of Nephrolithiasis: A Potential New Role for SGLT2 Inhibition?
Authors: Balasubramanian Priyadarshini , Wanner Christoph , Ferreira João Pedro , Ofstad Anne Pernille , Elsaesser Amelie , Zinman Bernard , Inzucchi Silvio E
Published: March 2022

Context

Diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for nephrolithiasis. A recent observational study found that in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), SGLT2 inhibitor use was associated with a 49% lower risk of nephrolithiasis compared with GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Objective

We examined the association between nephrolithiasis and the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin, using existing data from randomized clinical trials.

Methods

We pooled data from 15 081 T2D patients randomized to empagliflozin (n = 10 177) or placebo (n = 4904) from 20 phase I-IV trials, including the large cardiovascular outcome trial, EMPA-REG OUTCOME. Incident urinary tract stone events were captured using a predefined collection of MedRA terms. A sensitivity analysis using a narrower definition was also performed. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% CIs were calculated using the relative risk estimate, stratified by study.

Results

The median exposures to study drug were 543 days (placebo) and 549 days (empagliflozin); 183 patients experienced an incident urolithiasis during follow-up (placebo, 79; empagliflozin, 104), yielding annual incidence rates of 1.01 vs 0.63 events/100 patient-years in the 2 respective groups. The IRR was 0.64 (95% CI, 0.48-0.86), in favor of empagliflozin. In the sensitivity analysis, the results were similar (IRR, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.45-0.85]).

Conclusion

Compared with placebo, empagliflozin therapy was associated with an approximate 40% reduced risk of urinary tract stone events in T2D patients. The underlying mechanisms are unknown but may involve altered lithogenic profile of the urine. Dedicated randomized prospective clinical trials are warranted to confirm these initial observations in patients with and without T2D.
Deletion of Gdf15 Reduces ER Stress-induced Beta-cell Apoptosis and Diabetes
Authors: Xu Guanlan , Chen Junqin , Jo SeongHo , Grayson Truman B , Ramanadham Sasanka , Koizumi Akio , Germain-Lee Emily L , Lee Se-Jin , Shalev Anath
Published: March 2022

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress contributes to pancreatic beta-cell apoptosis in diabetes, but the factors involved are still not fully elucidated. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a stress response gene and has been reported to be increased and play an important role in various diseases. However, the role of GDF15 in beta cells in the context of ER stress and diabetes is still unclear. In this study, we have discovered that GDF15 promotes ER stress-induced beta-cell apoptosis and that downregulation of GDF15 has beneficial effects on beta-cell survival in diabetes. Specifically, we found that GDF15 is induced by ER stress in beta cells and human islets, and that the transcription factor C/EBPβ is involved in this process. Interestingly, ER stress-induced apoptosis was significantly reduced in INS-1 cells with Gdf15 knockdown and in isolated Gdf15 knockout mouse islets. In vivo, we found that Gdf15 deletion attenuates streptozotocin-induced diabetes by preserving beta cells and insulin levels. Moreover, deletion of Gdf15 significantly delayed diabetes development in spontaneous ER stress-prone Akita mice. Thus, our findings suggest that GDF15 contributes to ER stress-induced beta-cell apoptosis and that inhibition of GDF15 may represent a novel strategy to promote beta-cell survival and treat diabetes.
Mothers in the Military: Effect of Maternity Leave Policy on Take-Up
Authors: Bacolod Marigee , Heissel Jennifer A. , Laurita Laura , Molloy Matthew , Sullivan Ryan
Published: March 2022

This study exploits changes in paid maternity leave offered by one of the United States’ largest employers, the Department of Defense, to estimate the effect of such policies on mothers' leave-taking. Since 2015, the U.S. Marine Corps has shifted its maternity leave policy from 6 to 18 to 12 weeks. Leave expansions increased leave duration, whereas contractions decreased leave taken by active-duty service members. However, the policy changes crowded out other forms of leave: with an increase in maternity leave available, mothers increased use of maternity leave and stopped supplementing with additional annual leave. Although all mothers used the full 6 weeks of leave in the early period, it is the less advantaged mothers—those in the enlisted ranks, first-time mothers, and single mothers—who disproportionately used more of the additional leave than officers, experienced mothers, and married mothers. Pregnant officers, experienced mothers, and single women used less leave than nonpregnant women in the months leading up to birth, but expecting additional post-birth leave did not change average pre-birth leave-taking. Our results highlight the importance of optimally sizing family leave policies and provide evidence that the true cost of such programs may be lower than the raw count of weeks provided by additional maternity leave allowances.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis Surgery for Symptomatic Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease
Authors: Gonzalez Nestor R. , Quintero-Consuegra Miguel D. , Chan Julie L. , Chang Daniel , Tseng Chi-Hong , Saver Jeffrey L.
Published: March 2022

Encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) is a promising treatment for cerebral arterial steno-occlusive disorders, with proven efficacy in moyamoya disease and a growing interest in potential application for patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease, given the early results of intermediate development trials showing reduced rates of recurrence stroke and improved clinical outcomes compared with those patients treated with intense medical management (IMM) alone. Although clinical outcomes are the fundamental goal when considering patient care paradigms, a cost-effective analysis is key to obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the impact EDAS may provide to patients with atherosclerotic disease on a larger scale. Here, we evaluate the EDAS + IMM cost-effectiveness over time in the treatment of intracranial atherosclerotic disease compared with IMM alone.
Starting CT-guided robotic interventional oncology at a UK centre
Authors: Johnston Edward W , Basso Jodie , Winfield Jessica , McCall James , Khan Nasir , Messiou Christina , Koh Dow-Mu , Fotiadis Nicos
Published: March 2022

Objective

A commercially available CT-guided robot offers enhanced abilities in planning, targeting, and confirming accurate needle placement. In this short communication, we describe our first UK experience of robotic interventional oncology procedures.

Methods

We describe the device, discuss installation, operation, and report upon needle insertion success, accuracy (path deviation; PD and tip deviation; TD), number of adjustments, complications, and procedural success.

Results

Nine patients (seven males), median age 66 years (range 43–79) were consented for biopsy or ablation between March and April 2021. Needle placement in biopsy was more accurate than ablation (median 1 vs 11 mm PD and 1 vs 20 mm TD) and required fewer adjustments (median 0 vs 5). No complications arose, and all procedures were successful (diagnostic material obtained or complete ablation at follow-up).

Conclusion

Short procedure times and very high levels of accuracy were readily achieved with biopsy procedures, although tumour ablation was less accurate which likely reflects higher procedural complexity.

Advances in knowledge

Achieving highly accurate robotic biopsy with is feasible within a very short time span. Further work is required to maximise the potential of robotic guidance in tumour ablation procedures, which is likely due to higher complexity giving a longer learning curve.
Force Attenuation Properties of Padded Dance Support Socks
Authors: Russell Jeffrey A. , Mueller Isabella F.
Published: March 2022

Background: Foot injuries occur frequently in dancers, and researchers have investigated different protective measures to reduce their incidence. Research has primarily focused on ballet, but foot injuries also are common in modern and contemporary dance where footwear is not worn. While padded dance socks are a potential solution, the extent to which they provide force reduction for the feet is unknown.
 Purpose: This study investigates the extent to which padded dance support socks can reduce force on the foot during a dance sequence and when landing from a sauté jump.
 Methods: Twenty-one injury-free dancers (2 M, 19 F; age: 21.5 ± 6.7 years; height: 165.5 ± 6.1 cm; mass: 68.6 ± 15.0 kg) volunteered for this randomized, cross-over design study. Participants per- formed a 40-second modern dance sequence and a sauté jump landing under two conditions: wearing Apolla Performance Shock™ dance socks (DS) and with bare feet (BF). During these activities, 1.0 cm diameter circular force transducers were affixed under the first metatarsophalangeal joint and under the center of the heel. The sensors wirelessly recorded peak toe force, peak heel force, mean toe force, and mean heel force during dancing. A force platform measured vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) and time to peak VGRF, while the foot sensors measured peak toe force and peak heel force, during the jump landings. A Noraxon MR3.12 biomechanics system synchronized and recorded the data. All force data were normalized to body weight (BW). Dependent samples t-tests were used to assess pairwise differences in these measures between the DS and BF conditions. Alpha was set at p < 0.05.
 Results: Mean and peak heel forces/BW when dancing with DS were significantly lower than during BF dancing (mean: p = 0.015; peak: p = 0.0004). Peak VGRF/BW when landing from the sauté jump with DS was significantly lower compared with landing in BF (p = 0.035). All other variables were not significantly different between conditions, but all DS force values were lower than BF.
 Conclusions: We offer evidence that padded dance socks may reduce foot forces dancers commonly encounter during modern dance. The trends we recorded require further study to assess the extent to which the socks exhibit beneficial effects when considering both the many hours dancers train and the cumulative effects of impacts sustained by their feet.
A Systematic Review of Individual Differences in Perception, Action, and Decision Making: Implications for Dance Education
Authors: Brown Derrick D. , Meulenbroek Ruud G. J.
Published: March 2022

This systematic bibliometric review summarizes recent neurocognitive research highlighting inter-individual differences in perception, action, and decision making that may have implications for dance education. First, the relevance of individual differences in cognitive functioning for dance education is illustrated by describing how a person's preferred reliance on certain perceptual, motor, or (meta) cognitive skills may be exploited in dance training. Subsequently, we describe the findings of a literature search conducted to identify cognitive neuroscientific publications between 2010 and 2021 that highlight individual differences in cognitive functions that were also found to be supported by structural or functional-connectivity differences in the central nervous system. To cluster the findings of the literature search, we propose a simplified, six-category information processing model. Finally, for each model category, we summarize recent representative findings on salient individual differences and tentatively formulate testable implications for dance education practice with regard to pedagogical and curricula adaptations. Finally, the review also delineates an agenda for lines of research of which the results hopefully will assist dance instructors in the future.