bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative study between two 2D-Shear Waves Elastography techniques for the non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection
Authors: Bâldea Victor , Bende Felix , Popescu Alina , Șirli Roxana , Sporea Ioan
Published: March 2021

Aims: We aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of two 2D-Shear Wave Elastography (2D-SWE) techniques for the non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection using Transient Elas-tography (TE) as reference. Material and methods: We enrolled 208 consecutive patients with chronic HCV infection, in which liver stiffness (LS) was evaluated in the same session using two 2D-SWE techniques: 2D-SWE.GE and 2D-SWE.SSI using TE as the method of reference. LS measurements were considered failures when no value was obtained after 10 attempts. Results: Valid LSMs were obtained in 95.6% (199/208) of cases by 2D-SWE.GE, 92.7% (193/208) of cases by 2D-SWE.SSI, and in 94.7% (197/208) of cases by TE (p>0.05). The mean LS values by 2D-SWE.GE were significantly lower than those obtained by 2D-SWE.SSI: 10.3±3.8 kPa vs. 15±10.4 kPa (p<0.0001). 2D-SWE.GE LSMs correlated better with TE than 2D-SWE.SSI (r=0.75, p<0.0001 vs. r=0.57, p<0.0001, z test p=0.0012). Linear regression analysis showed a moderate correlation between LSMs obtained by 2D-SWE.GE and 2D-SWE.SSI (r=0.63, R2=0.4, P<0.0001). Pairwise comparison of receiver operating characteristics curves (ROC) found no significant differences between 2D-SWE.GE and 2D-SWE.SSI in identifying F≥2 fibrosis (0.97 vs. 0.96, P = 0.5650), F≥3 (0.97 vs. 0.95, P = 0.2935), or F=4 (0.97 vs. 0.96, p = 0.6914). Conclusions: Both 2D-SWE techniques had good feasibility for the noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis. LS values obtained by 2D-SWE.GE were significantly lower than those obtained by 2D-SWE.SSI. No significant differences were found between both methods in staging liver fibrosis in patients with chronic HCV.
Evaluation of the biomechanical properties of the posterior eye using Shear Wave Elastography in patients with increased intracranial pressure
Authors: Xiao Chufan , Huang Xiaoling , Li Maoping , Wu Jiarui , Huang Huiying
Published: March 2021

Aims: This study aims to investigate the biomechanical properties of the posterior eye using the shear wave elastography (SWE) in increased intracranial pressure (ICP) patients and healthy subjects. Material and methods:This study enrolled 54 healthy subjects and 54 patients with increased ICP, including 29 patients with space-occupying lesions (SOLs) and 25 patients with intracranial haemorrhage (ICH). Optic nerve sheath diameter and the stiffness of the optic nerve head, peripapil-lary sclera and optic nerve were evaluated. Results:Patients with increased ICP had a significantly higher optic nerve sheath diameter, Young’s modulus of optic nerve head, and Young’s modulus of peripapillary sclera than healthy subjects (p<0.01 for all). The optic nerve sheath diameter, Young’s modulus of optic nerve head and Young’s modulus of the peripapillary sclera were similar between the SOLs group and ICH group (p>0.05 for all). Young’s modulus of the optic nerve in the ICH group was similar to the control group (p>0.05), whereas the SOLs group had higher Young’s modulus of optic nerve comparing the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The stiffness of the optic nerve head and peripapillary sclera were higher in patients with increased ICP than healthy subjects, and the optic nerve stiffness of SOLs patients was the highest in all subjects. The SWE could provide a quantitative analysis of the posterior eye’s biomechanical properties and help the clinic diagnose the degree of visual impairments.
Have Astronomers Found a Star Older Than the Universe?
Authors: Lincoln Don
Published: March 2021

The theory of the Big Bang is accepted nearly universally among the scientific community. However, there is a small cadre of individuals who dispute this consensus and they point to a handful of datums that don’t fit into the picture. One such datum is the existence of a star with an age reported to be older than the cosmos itself. This star is called the Methuselah star, named after the biblical patriarch. Obviously, if the age of this star is truly older than the universe, it would be a discovery of considerable concern to those who accept Big Bang cosmology. In the following text, I describe the debate, beginning with a brief historical treatment of the early discoveries. I have made this choice because the early papers are easy to understand and are accessible suggested reading for introductory students interested in the origins of some of the key evidence supporting the Big Bang.
Exploring Hubble Constant Data in an Introductory Course
Authors: Hyde Jeffrey M.
Published: March 2021

Popular accounts of exciting discoveries often draw students to physics and astronomy, but at the introductory level it is challenging to connect with these in a meaningful way. The use of real astronomical data in the classroom can help bridge this gap and build valuable quantitative and scientific reasoning skills. This paper presents a strategy for studying Hubble’s law and the accelerating expansion of the universe using actual data. Along with understanding the physical concepts, an explicit goal is to develop skills for analyzing data in terms of a model.
Resources for Supporting Students With and Without Disabilities in Your Physics Courses
Authors: Lannan Amanda , Chini Jacquelyn J. , Scanlon Erin
Published: March 2021

All students deserve access to effective, equitable physics education. Postsecondary faculty have been shown to be unprepared to support students with disabilities in their classes, and popular, research-based introductory physics curricula do not adequately plan for variations in learners’ needs, abilities, and interests. It is urgent to address this disparity because students with disabilities are enrolling in postsecondary education at increasing rates and enroll in STEM degree programs at steady rates. Specifically, in 2014, the National Center on Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) found that 10.5% of students enrolled in science and engineering degree programs identified with a disability. The purpose of this paper is to provide resources that instructors can use in their classes to promote accessibility and support all learners. In this paper we: 1) provide a brief review of the literature related to supporting students with disabilities in the context of STEM; 2) describe Universal Design for Learning, which is a design framework intended to encourage development of curricula that support all learners; and 3) provide a list of resources that physics instructors can use to increase support for students with disabilities.
Gravitational Analogies for the Stopping Voltage and the Work Function in the Photoelectric Effect
Authors: Fuster Gonzalo , Rojas Roberto
Published: March 2021

The photoelectric effect consists of electrons emerging from the region near the inner surface of a metallic solid toward the outside vacuum, when the metal surface is illuminated. The effect depends on the frequency of the light waves and the properties of the metal surface. In particular, a minimum or “threshold” frequency of light is necessary to produce the effect in each metal.
The Write Stuff: Does Writing on Multiple-Choice Exams Correlate with Student Success?
Authors: Young Kaisa , Young Chadwick , Marlow Matthew , Cortez Mallory , Borsetta Alberto
Published: March 2021

Students in the physical sciences—physics and chemistry—often take multiple-choice exams for introductory courses. Some students will write a lot on their exams, while others write very little. Does the student doing more scratch work on their exam perform better than one who does not write as much? We analyzed multiple-choice exams in physics and chemistry, measuring the amount of student writing on each exam, and explored the correlation between scratch work and exam grade. We conclude that, on average, successful students write more on their exams than unsuccessful students. Faculty should model problem-solving strategies that involve writing and drawing to increase a student’s propensity for success.
Energy Conservation in a Motor-Driven Generator
Authors: Goodman D. S. , Wells J. E.
Published: March 2021

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical work and an electric generator converts mechanical work into electrical energy. The symmetry between the motor and generator naturally leads to questions about creating a perpetual motion machine. The allure of this question has inspired textbook problems, physics education articles, and award-winning physics demonstrations. It is commonly taught that spinning a generator faster produces a larger electromotive force (EMF), because the generator’s instantaneous EMF is proportional to the angular rate of rotation. When making this point in class, students will often ask about an interesting thought experiment, which is depicted in Fig. 1. The student question is as follows: “If an electric motor is connected via a system of gears to an electric generator, so that the generator spins faster than the motor, then does the generator’s output power PG exceed the motor’s input power PM ?”
REVIEWS OF ACOUSTICAL PATENTS
Authors: Fulop Sean A.
Published: March 2021

The purpose of these acoustical patent reviews is to provide enough information for a Journal reader to decide whether to seek more information from the patent itself. Any opinions expressed here are those of the reviewers as individuals and are not legal opinions. Patents are available via the internet at the USPTO website.
An All-Out Test to Determine Finger Flexor Critical Force in Rock Climbers
Authors: Giles David , Hartley Cam , Maslen Hamish , Hadley Josh , Taylor Nicola , Torr Ollie , Chidley Joel , Randall Tom , Fryer Simon
Published: March 2021

Purpose: The fatigue resistance of the finger flexors is known to be a key determinant of climbing performance. This study set out to establish the association between the single all-out assessment of finger flexor critical force (ff-CF) and the impulse above CF (W') on climbing performance (self-reported sport and boulder climbing ability). Methods: A total of 129 subjects completed an assessment of dominant arm ff-CF, comprised of a series of rhythmic isometric maximum voluntary contractions (CF defined as mean end-test force [in kilograms]; W' impulse above CF [in kilogram second]). Results: The ff-CF protocol resulted in the same force decay to a plateau seen in previous isometric critical torque and critical force tests. Linear regression analysis, adjusting for sex, revealed that CF percentage of body mass explained 61% of sport and 26% of bouldering performance and W' per kilogram body mass explained 7% sport and 34% bouldering performance. A combined model of CF as a percentage of body mass and W' per kilogram body mass, after adjustment for sex differences, was able to explain 66% of sport climbing and 44% of bouldering performance. Conclusions: The results illustrate the relevance of the CF threshold in describing the fatigue resistance of the finger flexors of rock climbers. Given ff-CF ability to describe a considerable proportion of variance in sport climbing and bouldering ability, the authors expect it to become a common test used by coaches for understanding exercise tolerance and for determining optimal training prescription.
A rare case of perforated gastric duplication cyst associated with gastric diverticulum
Authors: Smith Joseph M , Elliott Jessie A , Gillis Amy E , Ridgway Paul F
Published: March 2021

A 50-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a 1-day history of severe epigastric pain, vomiting and fever. He had a background of alcohol excess and smoking. The patient was tachycardic and febrile with an elevated white blood cell count and C reactive protein. CT demonstrated extensive upper abdominal free fluid, without free air, with a large cystic lesion arising from the greater curvature of the stomach, and a second smaller cystic lesion arising from the posterior aspect of the gastric fundus. The patient was managed with nasogastric drainage, parenteral nutrition, intravenous antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors, and CT-guided abdominal drainage, with resolution of sepsis, and further outpatient care was transferred to our unit. Follow-up endoscopy demonstrated a diverticulum arising from the posterior aspect of the gastric fundus, with normal mucosa throughout the remaining stomach, while CT showed an additional cystic lesion arising from the greater curvature, with thickening of the adjacent gastric wall consistent with a gastric duplication cyst (GDC). Laparoscopy confirmed a small diverticulum at the fundus, and a large GDC anteriorly with associated omental adhesions consistent with prior perforation—two wedge resections were performed. Histology demonstrated no evidence of malignancy or ectopic mucosa. The patient recovered uneventfully and remained free from recurrent symptoms at 6 weeks postoperatively. GDC is a rare entity, which may be associated with ectopic mucosa, malignant transformation and upper gastrointestinal perforation. No previous report describes the coexistence of a GDC and gastric diverticulum. Herein we describe the investigation and management of this condition, and review the associated peer-reviewed literature.
Lower motor neuron facial palsy in a postnatal mother with COVID-19
Authors: Kumar Vignesh , Narayanan Priyanka , Shetty Seema , Mohammed Afsal P
Published: March 2021

COVID-19 is caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 and is a potentially fatal disease that is of great global public health concern. In addition to respiratory symptoms, neurological manifestations have been associated with COVID-19. This is attributed to the neurotropic nature of coronaviruses. The authors present a case of Bell’s palsy associated with COVID-19 in a term primigravida.
Accuracy and comparison of two rapid multiplex PCR tests for gastroenteritis pathogens: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Chang Li-Jun , Hsiao Chun-Jen , Chen Bing , Liu Tzu-Yu , Ding Julia , Hsu Wan-Ting , Su-Ortiz Victor , Chen Szu-Ta , Su Ke-Ying , Wu Han-Ping , Lee Chien-Chang
Published: March 2021

Objectives

The primary aim is to provide a summary of evidence for the diagnostic accuracies of multiplex PCR gastrointestinal (GI) panels—BioFire FilmArray and Luminex xTAG on the detection of gastroenteritis pathogens. The secondary aim is to compare the performance of these GI panels head to head.

Methods

A comprehensive search up to 1 December 2019 was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Ovid Medline and Web of Science for studies that used FilmArray or Luminex xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP) for diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis. A summary of diagnostic accuracies for the 16 pathogens were calculated by comparing the GI panels to the current gold standards (conventional standard microbiology techniques such as culture or PCR for bacteria, PCR or enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for viruses, microscopy or EIA for parasite). Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) curve analysis, pretest and post-test probabilities were used for estimating the pathogen detection performance.

Results

A total of 11 studies with 7085 stool samples were eligible for analysis. Multiplex PCRs demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy, with specificity ≧0.98 and area under the ROC curve (AUROC) ≧0.97 for all the pathogens except forYersinia enterocolitica(AUROC 0.91). The FilmArray panel demonstrated a higher sensitivity than xTAG GPP for most of the pathogens with the exception of Rotavirus A (xTAG GPP and FilmArray were both 0.93).

Conclusions

This is the first meta-analysis that is a head-to-head comparison examining the performance of the novel multiplex PCR-based tests Luminex xTAG GPP and FilmArray GI panel in detecting each pathogen. Point estimates calculated from eligible studies showed that both GI panels are highly accurate and may provide important diagnostic information for early identification of gastroenteritis. In addition, although FilmArray has higher sensitivity and post-test probability than xTAG GPP for most of the pathogens, how this will translate to a clinical setting remains unclear.
Arsenic Dispensing Powder Promotes Erythropoiesis in Myelodysplastic Syndromes via Downregulation of HIF1A and Upregulation of GATA Factors
Authors: Fan Teng , Feng Xiaomin , Yokota Asumi , Liu Weiyi , Tang Yuting , Yan Xiaomei , Xiao Haiyan , Wang Yue , Deng Zhongyang , Zhao Pan , Wang Mingjing , Wang Hongzhi , Ma Rou , Hu Xiaomei , Huang Gang
Published: March 2021

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a practical medicine based on thousands of years of medical practice in China. Arsenic dispensing powder (ADP) has been used as a treatment for MDS patients with a superior efficacy on anemia at Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed MDS patients that received ADP treatment in the past 9 years and confirmed that ADP improves patients’ anemia and prolongs overall survival in intermediate-risk MDS patients. Then, we used the MDS transgenic mice model and cell line to explore the drug mechanism. In normal and MDS cells, ADP does not show cellular toxicity but promotes differentiation. In mouse MDS models, we observed that ADP showed significant efficacy on promoting erythropoiesis. In the BFU-E and CFU-E assays, ADP could promote erythropoiesis not only in normal clones but also in MDS clones. Mechanistically, we found that ADP could downregulate HIF1A in MDS clones through upregulation of VHL, P53 and MDM2, which is involved in two parallel pathways to downregulate HIF1A. We also confirmed that ADP upregulates GATA factors in normal clones. Thus, our clinical and experimental studies indicate that ADP is a promising drug to promote erythropoiesis in both MDS and normal clones with a superior outcome than current regular therapies. ADP promotes erythropoiesis in myelodysplastic syndromes via downregulation of HIF1A and upregulation of GATA factors.
Adaptive preload controller design and analysis for electrostatic suspension system
Authors: Wang Yukun , Wang Zhi ,   On behalf of The Taiji Scientific Collaboration
Published: March 2021

The electrostatic suspension control system (ESCS) is the core component of the inertial sensor in space gravitational wave detection. To adapt to the changes in orbit environment and satellite platform vibration, the test mass stable is kept in the center of the electrode cage, the ESCS requires high-precision parameters calibration and high-stability verification of the control system. This paper studied the ESCS method, an adaptive controller with variable preload was proposed, and the stability conditions of the control system are given to provide a theoretical basis for the design of the controller. The structure and working principle of the system were also introduced. The electrostatic control system model was derived, and the performance of adaptive preload controller was analyzed. Finally, a simulation was conducted under different disturbance conditions. The results show that the control method proposed in this paper can achieve stable control in difference disturbance, and the preload voltage will change with the conditions. Compared with the traditional fixed preload method, we can see that our method has significantly improved the stability margin and the control quality during the process of dynamic response. This paper provides a solid foundation for the future exploration of space gravitational waves in China and clears the optimization direction for the next step.
VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLE, SOLITARY AND PERIODIC WAVE SOLUTIONS OF THE FRACTAL MODIFIED EQUAL WIDTH EQUATION IN PLASMA PHYSICS
Authors: WANG KANG-JIA , WANG GUO-DONG
Published: March 2021

The unsmooth boundary will greatly affect the motion morphology of ion-acoustic waves in plasma, so a modified equal width equation with fractal derivatives is proposed. The fractal variational formulation of the problem is established by using the semi-inverse method, which provides the conservation laws in an energy form in the fractal space and reveals the possible solution structures of the equation. Then He’s variational method based on the variational theory and Ritz-like method, combined with the two-scale transform is used to seek the periodic and solitary wave solutions of the fractal modified equal width equation. The obtained results show that the variational method is simple but powerful, which is expected to open some new perspectives toward the study of traveling wave theory in fractal space.
AN IMPROVEMENT OF HÖLDER INTEGRAL INEQUALITY ON FRACTAL SETS AND SOME RELATED SIMPSON-LIKE INEQUALITIES
Authors: LUO CHUNYAN , YU YUPING , DU TINGSONG
Published: March 2021

The purpose of this work is to investigate some inequalities for generalized [Formula: see text]-convexity on fractal sets [Formula: see text], which are associated with Simpson-like inequalities. To this end, an improved version of Hölder inequality and a Simpson-like identity on fractal sets are established, in view of which we give several estimation-type results involving Simpson-like inequalities for the first-order differentiable mappings. Moreover, we provide five examples to illustrate our results. As applications with respect to local fractional integrals, we derive two inequalities according to [Formula: see text]-type special means and generalized probability density functions.
An L2-approximation method for construction and smoothing estimates of Markov semigroups for interacting diffusion processes on a lattice
Authors: Won Yong Sul
Published: March 2021

We develop an [Formula: see text]-approximation strategy to study Markov semigroups generated by an infinite system of elliptic diffusion processes on a lattice. The proposed dynamics incorporate nearest neighbor interactions influencing diffusivity, which has received little attention so far as a mathematical problem. We prove the existence and the smoothness of Markov semigroups by extending the well-known pointwise estimation techniques such as the finite speed of propagation property and the Lyapunov function methods.
Path independence of the additive functionals for McKean–Vlasov stochastic differential equations with jumps
Authors: Qiao Huijie , Wu Jiang-Lun
Published: March 2021

In this paper, the path independent property of additive functionals of McKean–Vlasov stochastic differential equations with jumps is characterized by nonlinear partial integro-differential equations involving [Formula: see text]-derivatives with respect to probability measures introduced by Lions. Our result extends the recent work16 by Ren and Wang where their concerned McKean–Vlasov stochastic differential equations are driven by Brownian motions.
Performance Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Buildings During the Sivrice-Elazığ Earthquake (Mw=6.8, January 24, 2020) in Accordance with Turkish Earthquake Code
Authors: Demir Serhat , Günaydin Murat , Atmaca Barbaros , Altunişik Ahmet Can , Hüsem Metin , Adanur Süleyman , Angin Zekai , Ateş Şevket
Published: March 2021

A great number of reinforced concrete building structures were damaged or collapsed during the earthquake that hit Sivrice district of Elazığ city located in the southwest of the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey on January 24, 2020. Magnitude of the earthquake were announced as [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] by Kandilli Observatory & Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) and Earthquake Department of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), respectively. More than a thousand of aftershocks with the magnitude of 1.2–5.1 occurred between January and February 2020. The magnitude of the structural damage was relatively high compared with the peak value of recorded ground acceleration (2.85[Formula: see text]m/s2) at the epicenter (Sivrice district) of the earthquake. It was determined that 584 buildings were demolished, 6845 were severely damaged, 1207 were moderately damaged, 14,389 were slightly damaged and 14,317 were undamaged. Also, there were 235 buildings that required urgent demolition. In this paper, the performance of the reinforced concrete buildings during the Sivrice-Elazığ earthquake is presented along with time-histories of ground motion records and response spectrums. Observed design and construction practices were carefully evaluated and compared with Turkish Earthquake Code. It was seen that the most significant causes of the failures were due to the poor concrete quality, the use of non-ductile detailing, the poor project design and construction quality. According to field inspections of our technical team, it is concluded that performances of the undamaged buildings following earthquakes do not prove that they have adequate seismic safety.
About this title - The Geology and Tectonics of the Jabal Akhdar and Saih Hatat Domes, Oman Mountains
Authors: Scharf A. , Mattern F. , Al-Wardi M. , Frijia G. , Moraetis D. , Pracejus B. , Bauer W. , Callegari I.
Published: March 2021

The geology of the Oman Mountains, including the Jabal Akhdar and Saih Hatat domes, is extraordinarily well-exposed and diverse, spanning a geological record of more than 800 Ma. The area is blessed with first-class outcrops and is well known in the geological community for its ophiolite. The Oman Mountains have much more to offer; including, Neoproterozoic diamictites (“Snowball Earth”), fossil-rich Permo-Mesozoic carbonates and metamorphic rocks. The arid climate and deep incision of wadis allow for nearly complete rock exposure which can be investigated in all three dimensions. The diverse geology is also responsible for the breathtaking landscape. New roads and the nature of the friendly Omani people make fieldwork unforgettable.

This Memoir provides a thorough state-of-the-art overview of the geology and tectonics of the Southeastern Oman Mountains, and is accompanied by an over-sized geological map and a correlation chart.
Chapter 2 Tectonostratigraphy of the eastern part of the Oman Mountains
Authors: Scharf Andreas , Mattern Frank , Al-Wardi Mohammed , Frijia Gianluca , Moraetis Daniel , Pracejus Bernhard , Bauer Wilfried , Callegari Ivan
Published: March 2021

This chapter provides comprehensive descriptions of 52 numbered formations/rock units of the Southeastern Oman Mountains, based on available literature. The oldest eight siliciclastic and carbonate formations are positioned below the ‘Hercynian’ Unconformity. The overlying formation (9–16) mostly represent carbonates which accumulated in a passive margin platform setting during or after the opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. The passive margin slope and platform collapsed during the late Cretaceous because of the obduction of the Semail Ophiolite along with the deep marine Hawasina sedimentary rocks. The collapsing passive margin interval was recorded within the syn-obductional Aruma Group (17; Muti Formation). Above this formation are the allochthonous units (18–42) of the tectonically lower Hawasina deep-sea basin and the structurally overlying Semail Ophiolite. The former contains Permian to Upper Cretaceous formations, while the latter is Cenomanian in age. Above the allochthonous rocks, the Neo-autochthonous formations were deposited, starting with the post-obductional uppermost Cretaceous Aruma Group (43; Al-Khod Formation) until the Quaternary deposits (52). All these formations/rock units are depicted on an accompanying map and stratigraphic chart.
Directed Evolution of Microbial Communities
Authors: Sánchez Álvaro , Vila Jean C.C. , Chang Chang-Yu , Diaz-Colunga Juan , Estrela Sylvie , Rebolleda-Gomez María
Published: March 2021

Directed evolution is a form of artificial selection that has been used for decades to find biomolecules and organisms with new or enhanced functional traits. Directed evolution can be conceptualized as a guided exploration of the genotype–phenotype map, where genetic variants with desirable phenotypes are first selected and then mutagenized to search the genotype space for an even better mutant. In recent years, the idea of applying artificial selection to microbial communities has gained momentum. In this article, we review the main limitations of artificial selection when applied to large and diverse collectives of asexually dividing microbes and discuss how the tools of directed evolution may be deployed to engineer communities from the top down. We conceptualize directed evolution of microbial communities as a guided exploration of an ecological structure–function landscape and propose practical guidelines for navigating these ecological landscapes.
A Novel Impregnation-Reduction Method Combined with Galvanic Replacement for Fabricating Low Cost MEA with High Performance for PEM Fuel Cells
Authors: Chen Zhenjie , Fu Tao , Kong Xiangbang , Chen Xingqiao , Yang Qi , Zhao Jinbao , Li Bing , Luo Jiangshui
Published: March 2021

The fuel cells have outstanding advantages in the new energy application, but the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of fuel cells is difficult to produce at low-cost and large-scale, which restricts their applications. To simplify the preparation of MEA, for the first time, we successfully develop a novel impregnation-reduction method combined with galvanic replacement to grow Ag/Pt bimetallic nanocatalyst onto a Nafion membrane (Nafion-Ag/Pt membrane), and the deposited Ag/Pt catalyst is very stable, which can be directly used as a novel ultra-thin catalyst layer in MEA. This novel method possesses mild conditions, simple procedure, good repeatability and practicability in a large-scale production. Moreover, a very low Pt loading amount of Nafion-Ag/Pt membrane can be achieved by regulating experimental conditions, which brings excellent Pt utilization. Therefore, the MEA made from Nafion-Ag/Pt membrane exhibits a Pt mass specific power (1.519 W mgPt
−1) that is 12.3 times higher than that of a conventional MEA. These results demonstrate that this novel impregnation-reduction method can reduce the cost of fuel cells by reducing the difficulty of MEA preparation and the Pt loading amount of MEA and simultaneously enhancing its performance, which shows great potential in fuel cell application.
GIP receptor deletion in mice confers resistance to high-fat diet-induced obesity via alterations in energy expenditure and adipose tissue lipid metabolism
Authors: Boer Geke Aline , Keenan Stacey N. , Miotto Paula M. , Holst Jens Juul , Watt Matthew J.
Published: March 2021

GIPR KO mice fed a high-fat diet have reduced adiposity despite transporting more ingested lipids into adipose tissue. This can be partly explained by accelerated adipose tissue lipolysis and increased energy expenditure in GIPR KO mice. These new insights rationalize targeting the GIPR as part of a weight management strategy in obesity.
Effects of SGLT2 inhibitor and dietary NaCl on glomerular hemodynamics assessed by micropuncture in diabetic rats
Authors: Thomson Scott Culver , Vallon Volker
Published: March 2021

It has been theorized that Na-glucose cotransporter (SGLT2) blockade slows progression of diabetic kidney disease by reducing physical strain on the glomerulus. This is the first direct measurement of intraglomerular pressure during SGLT2 blockade. Findings confirmed that SGLT2 blockade does reduce glomerular capillary pressure, that this is mediated through tubuloglomerular feedback, and that the tubuloglomerular feedback response to SGLT2 blockade involves preglomerular vasoconstriction and postglomerular vasorelaxation.
Experimental Study on the Mechanical Behavior of Yunnan Limestone in Natural and Saturated States
Authors: Zhang Xutao , Ren Mingyang , Meng Zhaobo , Zhang Baoliang , Li Jinglong
Published: March 2021

Rock material is a kind of mineral assemblage with complex structural heterogeneity, whose mechanical behavior is strongly affected by water or moisture content. In this work, we carried out a series of laboratory tests to investigate the mechanical response (e.g., deformation, strength, and failure characteristics) of Yunnan limestone in natural and saturated states. Our test results show that (1) after saturation, the stiffness and strength of Yunnan limestone degenerate considerably. Compared with the natural condition, the elastic modulus, deformation modulus, and tensile modulus decrease by about 30% on average, and uniaxial compressive strength and tensile strength also decrease by about 15% and 20%, respectively. While Poisson’s ratio is less affected by water content, it can be regarded as a constant; (2) the elastic modulus and deformation modulus of Yunnan limestone are significantly affected by confining pressure, and the relationship between them and confining pressure satisfies the law of hyperbolic function; (3) the peak strength envelope of Yunnan limestone has significant nonlinear characteristics, which can be well described by generalized Hoek‐Brown strength criterion. However, the generalized Hoek‐Brown criterion does not apply to the residual strength, which shows a linearly increasing trend with the increasing confining pressure; (4) the failure modes of Yunnan limestone are significantly dependent on confining pressure but insensitive to water content. With the increasing confining pressure, the failure modes of Yunnan limestone transform from splitting failure, tension‐shear mixed failure, single inclined plane shear failure to Y‐shaped or X‐shaped conjugated shear failure. The test results can provide important experimental data for the establishment of the constitutive model of Yunnan limestone, which will contribute to obtain more reliable results for stability assessment of Xianglu Mountain Tunnel.
The Diagnosis Value of a Novel Model with 5 Circulating miRNAs for Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B
Authors: Zhang Qingqing , Zhang Qidi , Li Binghang , Qu Ying , Li Zhenghong , Lu Lungen , Li Rongzhou , Cai Xiaobo
Published: March 2021

Background and Aim. miRNAs play an important role in the development of human fibrosis. However, miRNA expression profiles during different stages of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are not well defined. In this study, we aimed to further validate the features of 5 miRNA candidates from our previous study during different fibrotic stages and the value of diagnosis for liver fibrosis. Methods. Differential expression of five selected miRNAs (hsa-mir-1225-3p, hsa-mir-1238, hsa-miR-3162-3P, hsa-miR-4721, and hsa-miR-H7) was verified by qRT-PCR in the plasma of 83 patients and 20 healthy controls. The relative expression of these miRNAs was analyzed in different groups to screen target miRNA. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess factors associated with fibrosis progression. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and discriminant analyses validated the ability of these predicted variables to discriminate the nonsignificant liver fibrosis group from the significant liver fibrosis group. Furthermore, the established models were compared with other prediction models to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency. Results. These five tested miRNAs all had signature correlations with hepatic fibrotic level (

p
<
0.05

), and the upregulation trends were consistent with miRNA microarray analysis previously. The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that a model of five miRNAs (miR-5) had a high diagnostic accuracy in discrimination of different stages of liver fibrosis. The ROC showed that the miR-5 has excellent value in diagnosis of fibrosis, even better than the Forns score, FIB-4, S index, and APRI. GO functions of different miRNAs mainly involved in various biological processes were markedly involved in HBV and revealed signaling pathways dysregulated in liver fibrosis of CHB patients. Conclusions. It was validated that the combination of these five miRNAs was a new set of promising molecular diagnostic markers for liver fibrosis. The diagnosis model (miR-5) can distinguish significant and nonsignificant liver fibrosis with high sensitivity and specificity.
Optimization of Construction Parameters and Deformation Characteristics of Large‐Section Loess Tunnel: A Case Study from Xi’an Metro
Authors: Zhao Mingji , Cheng Yun , Song Zhanping , Wang Tong , Zhang Yuwei , Liulian Baichao
Published: March 2021

Loess geological tunnels are characterized by weak geological structure and poor self‐stability of surrounding rock, so effectively controlling the excavation face distances of different caverns is of great significance for guiding the safe construction of large‐section tunnels. Based on the excavation of large‐section loess tunnel from Xi’an Metro Line 4, the optimal excavation face distance is determined based on Midas numerical model. Then, the surface settlement and horizontal deformation are analyzed based on monitoring data, and, finally, the rationality of excavation face distance is verified. The results show that the influence of excavation face distance on surface settlement, vault settlement, and horizontal deformation is consistent. The surface settlement mainly occurs in the range of −20∼20 m from the tunnel centerline and the settlement trough formed has asymmetric characteristics. The vault settlement and horizontal deformation undergo first a rapid settlement and then a slow settlement. The connection between initial support and middle partition is mainly tensile stress and the middle and bottom parts of the supporting structure are mainly compressive stress. Numerical results suggest that the optimal excavation faces distance of L1, L2, and L3 which can be 4, 9, and 9 m, respectively. Construction monitoring data show that the double‐sides heading method has a significant effect on surface settlement, vault settlement, and horizontal deformation. The surface settlement occurs within the range of −17∼6 m from the tunnel centerline. The maximum vault settlement and horizontal deformation are 73.00% and 65.50% of the maximum allowable. It can be seen that the actual excavation parameters optimized by Midas numerical model have high reliability.
Stress Distribution and Gas Concentration Evolution during Protective Coal Seam Mining
Authors: Niu Xingang , Shi Biming , Zhang Zhigang , Zhang Yongjiang
Published: March 2021

Coal and gas burst is one of the significant and catastrophic hazards in underground longwall operations. To date, the protective coal seam mining has been recognized as the most effective mining method for minimizing or even avoiding the effect of the coal and gas burst. In this paper, numerical modelling and field test were carried out for the longwall operation in Qidong Coal Mine in order to investigate the induced stress and coal seam gas drainage performance in the protected coal seam after the complete extraction of the protective coal seam. It was found that four stress zones can be classified in the protected coal seam being the original stress zone, stress concentration zone, stress relief zone, and recompaction zone. In addition, the monitoring data of gas concentration and volume change in the field agree well with the numerical modelling results.
Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Analysis on Molecular Targets and Mechanisms of Buyang Huanwu Decoction in the Treatment of Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Gao Qiang , Tian Danfeng , Han Zhenyun , Lin Jingfeng , Chang Ze , Zhang Dandan , Ma Dayong
Published: March 2021

Background and Objective. With the exact clinical efficacy, Buyang Huanwu decoction (BHD) is a classical prescription for the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS). Here, we aimed to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms of BHD in treating IS using systems biology approaches. Methods. The bioactive components and potential targets of BHD were screened by TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM, ETCM, and SymMap databases. Besides, compounds that failed to find the targets from the above databases were predicted through STITCH, SwissTargetPrediction, and SEA. Moreover, six databases were searched to mine targets of IS. The intersection targets were obtained and analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment. Furthermore, BHD-IS PPI network, compound-target network, and herb-target-pathway network were constructed by Cytoscape 3.6.0. Finally, AutoDock was used for molecular docking verification. Results. A total of 235 putative targets were obtained from 59 active compounds in BHD. Among them, 62 targets were related to IS. PPI network showed that the top ten key targets were IL6, TNF, VEGFA, AKT1, etc. The enrichment analysis demonstrated candidate BHD targets were more frequently involved in TNF, PI3K-Akt, and NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Network topology analysis showed that Radix Astragali was the main herb in BHD, and the key components were quercetin, beta-sitosterol, kaempferol, stigmasterol, etc. The results of molecular docking showed the active components in BHD had a good binding ability with the key targets. Conclusions. Our study demonstrated that BHD exerted the effect of treating IS by regulating multitargets and multichannels with multicomponents through the method of network pharmacology and molecular docking.
Abstract IA-08: High parameter single cell analysis has driven deep understanding of immune processes
Authors: Nolan Garry P.
Published: March 2021

High parameter single cell analysis has driven deep understanding of immune processes. Using a next-generation single-cell “mass cytometry” platform we quantify surface and cytokine or drug responsive indices of kinase target with 45 or more parameter analyses (e.g. 45 antibodies, viability, nucleic acid content, and relative cell size). Similarly, we have developed two advanced technologies termed MIBI and CODEX that enable deep phenotyping of solid tissue in both fresh frozen and FFPE formats (50 – 100 markers). Collectively, the systems allow for subcellular analysis from the 70nm resolution scale to whole tissue in 3D. I will present evidence of deep internal order in immune functionality demonstrating that differentiation and immune activities have evolved with a definable “shape”. Further, specific cellular neighborhoods of immune cells are now definable with unique abilities to affect cellular phenotypes—and these neighborhoods alter in various cancer disease states. In addition to cancer, these shapes and neighborhoods are altered during immune action and “imprinted” during, and after, pathogen attack, traumatic injury, or auto-immune disease. Hierarchies of functionally defined trans-cellular modules are observed that can be used for mechanistic and clinical insights in cancer and immune therapies.

Citation Format: Garry P. Nolan. High parameter single cell analysis has driven deep understanding of immune processes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging; 2021 Jan 13-14. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(5_Suppl):Abstract nr IA-08.
Abstract PO-002: Pan-cancer integrative histology-genomic analysis via interpretable multimodal deep learning
Authors: Chen Richard J. , Lu Ming Y. , Shady Maha , Lipkova Jana , Chen Tiffany , Williamson Drew Fabrizio , Joo Bumjin , Mahmood Faisal
Published: March 2021

Cancer prognostication and therapeutic response prediction is driven by prognostic markers in both histopathology slides and molecular profiles. The rapidly emerging field of deep learning-based computational pathology has demonstrated promise in developing objective prognostic models from histology whole slide images. Several studies have focused on predicting genomic and transcriptomic alterations from histology images. However, most prognostic models are either based on histology or genomics alone and do not address how histology and genomics can be integrated to develop joint image-omic assays and prognostic models. To overcome these challanges, we present a pan-cancer integrative platform for biomarker discovery in both histology slides and molecular profile data (http://pancancer.ai). We used corresponding gigapixel whole-slide images, RNA-Seq abundance, copy number variation, and mutation data from 5,720 patients across 14 cancer types to train a weakly supervised, interpretable, multimodal deep learning algorithm that is able to not only fuse these heterogenous modalities for survival analysis, but also discover prognostic features from these modalities that corroborate with poor and favorable survival outcomes using multimodal interpretability. In a 5-fold cross validation, we compared our model with unimodal deep learning models trained on histology slides and molecular profiles alone, and demonstrate performance increase in risk stratification on 9 out of 14 cancers, as well as shifts in feature importance when conditioned on more than one modality. To validate our setup as a platform for driving biomarker discovery, we analyzed both morphological and molecular features that were identified by high attribution regions in every patient, and discovered statistically significant associations between high tumor-infilitrating lymphocyte (TIL) presence in H&E tissue and favorable survival outcomes made by our model. This indicates that our weakly supervised prognostic models are able to separate immune hot and immune cold patients while no pixel level annotations were used during training.

Citation Format: Richard J. Chen, Ming Y. Lu, Maha Shady, Jana Lipkova, Tiffany Chen, Drew Fabrizio Williamson, Bumjin Joo, Faisal Mahmood. Pan-cancer integrative histology-genomic analysis via interpretable multimodal deep learning [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging; 2021 Jan 13-14. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(5_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-002.
Abstract PO-007: Deep learning-based computational pathology predicts origins for cancers of unknown primary
Authors: Lu Ming Yang , Chen Tiffany Y. , Williamson Drew D.W. , Zhao Melissa , Shady Maha , Lipkova Jana , Mahmood Faisal
Published: March 2021

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is an enigmatic group of diagnoses where the primary anatomical site of tumor origin is undetermined. This poses a significant challenge to effective patient care as modern therapeutics are often specific to the primary tumor. Patients with a CUP diagnosis routinely undergo an extensive diagnostic work-up to determine the primary origin, which is resource-intensive, might significantly delay the administration of suitable treatment, and is not always successful. While previous works have demonstrated the feasibility of predicting the primary origin based on molecular information, we present a deep learning-based algorithm that can provide a differential diagnosis for CUP using routine histology slides. We used 22,833 gigapixel whole slide images with known primaries spread over 18 common origins to train a multi-task deep model to identify the tumor as primary or metastatic and predict its site of origin. We tested our model on a set of 6,499 cases with known primaries and achieved a top-1 accuracy of 0.83, a top-3 accuracy of 0.96 while on our external set of 682 cases from 202 different hospitals, it achieved a top-1 and top-3 accuracy of 0.80 and 0.93 respectively. Additionally, on 316 CUP cases assigned a differential diagnosis, our predictions resulted in concordance for 61% of cases (κ=0.52) and a top-3 agreement of 82%. Our approach can potentially be used as an assistive tool for pathologists and reduce the number of diagnostic IHCs required and improve the quality of diagnosis particularly in low-resource settings where pathology expertise is limited, and genomic testing may not be available.

Citation Format: Ming Yang Lu, Tiffany Y. Chen, Drew D.W. Williamson, Melissa Zhao, Maha Shady, Jana Lipkova, Faisal Mahmood. Deep learning-based computational pathology predicts origins for cancers of unknown primary [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging; 2021 Jan 13-14. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(5_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-007.