bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estrogen and progesterone receptor expression: Impacts on platinum sensitivity and survival outcomes in high‐grade serous ovarian cancer
Authors: Can Behzat , Gül Ezgi Roza , Semiz Hüseyin Salih , Hansu Kemal , Karataşlı Volkan , Sayhan Sevil , Sancı Muzaffer
Published: August 2024

Background

This study aimed to explore the impact of patient‐specific factors on the effectiveness of platinum‐based chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression levels and platinum sensitivity, and how this influenced treatment outcomes and prognosis. We conducted a survival analysis on patients who underwent surgical treatment for serous ovarian cancer and received platinum‐based adjuvant therapies.

Methods

This study was a retrospective observational analysis of 171 patients with high‐grade serous ovarian cancer. We extracted and analyzed the patients' clinical data, focusing on platinum sensitivity concerning hormone receptor expression. We also assessed survival outcomes based on receptor expression and platinum resistance.

Results

Our findings revealed that 78.4% (n = 134) of the patients were platinum‐sensitive, while 21.6% (n = 37) were platinum‐resistant. The expression of hormone receptors showed significant associations with platinum sensitivity, particularly among ER‐positive patients (p < 0.05). Age, disease stage, preoperative carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) levels, and residual tumor size were identified as notable factors influencing both progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). In terms of PFS, 88.5% of patients remained free from disease progression after one year, but this percentage dropped to 21% after five years. The average duration of PFS was 35.3 months. As for OS, 93.5% of patients were still alive after one year, but this percentage decreased to 50.5% after five years. The average survival duration was 64 months. Furthermore, platinum resistance was found to be a significant risk factor for disease progression, with a more than fivefold increase in risk (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Our study identified disease stage progression, ER negativity, and platinum resistance as the primary factors influencing OS. We also found that ER and PR expression played a crucial role in determining the sensitivity to platinum‐based chemotherapy in patients with serous ovarian cancer.
Simultaneous whole‐liver water T1 and T2 mapping with isotropic resolution during free‐breathing
Authors: Stelter Jonathan , Weiss Kilian , Steinhelfer Lisa , Spieker Veronika , Huaroc Moquillaza Elizabeth , Zhang Weitong , Makowski Marcus R. , Schnabel Julia A. , Kainz Bernhard , Braren Rickmer F. , Karampinos Dimitrios C.
Published: August 2024

Purpose

To develop and validate a data acquisition scheme combined with a motion‐resolved reconstruction and dictionary‐matching‐based parameter estimation to enable free‐breathing isotropic resolution self‐navigated whole‐liver simultaneous water‐specific
(
) and
(
) mapping for the characterization of diffuse and oncological liver diseases.

Methods

The proposed data acquisition consists of a magnetization preparation pulse and a two‐echo gradient echo readout with a radial stack‐of‐stars trajectory, repeated with different preparations to achieve different
and
contrasts in a fixed acquisition time of 6 min. Regularized reconstruction was performed using self‐navigation to account for motion during the free‐breathing acquisition, followed by water–fat separation. Bloch simulations of the sequence were applied to optimize the sequence timing for
insensitivity at 3 T, to correct for relaxation‐induced blurring, and to map
and
using a dictionary. The proposed method was validated on a water–fat phantom with varying relaxation properties and in 10 volunteers against imaging and spectroscopy reference values. The performance and robustness of the proposed method were evaluated in five patients with abdominal pathologies.

Results

Simulations demonstrate good
insensitivity of the proposed method in measuring
and
values. The proposed method produces co‐registered
and
maps with a good agreement with reference methods (phantom:
;
). The proposed
and
mapping exhibits good repeatability and can be robustly performed in patients with pathologies.

Conclusions

The proposed method allows whole‐liver
and
quantification with high accuracy at isotropic resolution in a fixed acquisition time during free‐breathing.
Oral health access and self‐reported outcomes in patients with chronic intestinal failure requiring home intravenous support
Authors: Osland Emma J. , Bhatt Swati , Nelms Melanie , Pateman Kelsey
Published: August 2024

Background

Patients with chronic intestinal failure (CIF) may be predisposed to poor oral health outcomes. This study explored the self‐reported oral health status, function, and psychological impacts of oral health of adult patients with CIF, their access to dental care, and how these compare with the broader population.

Methods

All patients >18 years old receiving home intravenous therapies for CIF were invited to complete a self‐reported questionnaire providing information on oral health status and access to oral health services. Collateral information was provided by treating clinicians. Descriptive data analysis was undertaken, including subgroup analysis of clinical characteristics, and was compared with the available population‐level data.

Results

Twenty‐four patients participated. Short gut and dysmotility accounted for 88% of the etiologies of CIF. Respondents reported good preventative oral health behaviors (96%), accessing dental care within the last 12 months (75%), and limited barriers to receiving care. Dry mouth (96%), oral pain (59%), and temperature sensitivity (60%) were commonly reported across the cohort. Smoking history and reduced oral diet were associated with significantly worse self‐reported oral health outcomes. Patients with CIF reported worse oral health outcomes despites better oral health access than the general population.

Conclusion

Patients with CIF appear to be at risk of poor oral health outcomes, especially where smoking or reduced oral intake are concurrently involved. Clinicians involved in CIF care should be alert to the oral health needs of this population and consider oral and dental health as part of the multidisciplinary care required for optimal CIF care.
Semiexplicit K‐symplectic‐like methods with energy conservation for noncanonical Hamiltonian systems
Authors: Zhu Beibei , Gu Ran
Published: August 2024

For the nonseparable noncanonical Hamiltonian systems, we propose efficient K‐symplectic‐like methods which are semiexplicit and energy‐preserving. By introducing two copies of the phase space and constructing an augmented Hamiltonian, we can separate the noncanonical Hamiltonian system into two explicitly integrable parts. Subsequently, explicit K‐symplectic methods can be constructed by using the splitting and composing method. To enforce constraints on the two copies of the phase space, we provide two transformations with energy conservation property. This enables us to obtain semiexplicit K‐symplectic‐like methods that preserve energy. Two algorithms are provided to implement the semiexplicit K‐symplectic‐like methods with energy conservation and their convergence has been proved. Numerical results on two noncanonical Hamiltonian systems demonstrate that the energy errors of our proposed methods remain bounded within machine precision over long time without exhibiting energy drift. Furthermore, the proposed methods exhibit superior computational efficiency compared to the canonicalized symplectic methods of the same order.
Risk Factors for Plate Infection, Exposure, and Removal in Mandibular Reconstruction
Authors: Shah Keshav V. , Patel Saawan D. , Rajasekaran Karthik , Cannady Steven B. , Chalian Ara A. , Brody Robert M.
Published: August 2024

Objective

Mandibular plate reconstruction (MPR) is often indicated after tumor ablation, osteoradionecrosis excision, and traumatic bone loss to restore oral functionality and facial cosmetics. There are limited analyses identifying risk factors that lead to plate infection (PIn), exposure, and removal (“plate complications”).

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Academic tertiary medical center.

Methods

Patients who underwent MPR from 2013 to 2022 were identified. Risk factors for plate complications were analyzed based on demographic, clinical, intraoperative, and postoperative factors. Multivariable analysis was conducted with logistic regression. Survival analysis was conducted with a Cox model.

Results

Of the 188 patients analyzed, 48 (25.5%) had a plate complication [infection: 22 (11.7%); exposure: 23 (12.2%); removal: 35 (18.6%)]. Multivariate analysis revealed predictive associations between at least 1 plate complication and the following variables: smoking status, soft tissue defect size, number of plates, average screw length, and various postoperative complications. Other associations approached the threshold for significance. Prior and adjuvant radiation therapy, type of free flap, stock versus custom plates, and perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis regimens were not associated with plate complications. No plate complication was independently associated with lower overall survival. PIn (hazard ratio, HR: 7.99, confidence interval, CI [4.11, 15.54]) and exposure (HR: 3.56, CI [1.79, 7.08]) were independently associated with higher rates of plate removal.

Conclusion

Plate complications are relatively common after MPR. Smoking history, specific disease characteristics, hardware used during surgery, and postoperative complications may help identify higher‐risk patients, but additional larger‐scale studies are needed to validate our findings and resolve discrepancies in the current literature.
Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Requirements for Otolaryngologic Procedures in 2021
Authors: Miller Lauren E. , Miller Ashley L. , Rocco James W. , Rathi Vinay K.
Published: August 2024

Little is known about the extent of prior authorization requirements in otolaryngology. We performed a secondary analysis of data comparing prior authorization (PA) policies across 5 major Medicare Advantage insurers to estimate the counterfactual proportion of 2021 Medicare Part B fee‐for‐service spending and utilization for commonly performed otolaryngologic procedures that would have required PA. The counterfactual proportion of spending (range: 20.4%–27.6%) and utilization (range: 1.8%–4.5%) requiring PA was relatively consistent across insurers and largely attributable to rhinologic procedures. However, PA requirements for specific services varied widely among insurers. Among the 70 (of 196; 35.7%) services subject to PA by any insurer, nearly half were subject to PA by a single insurer (n = 34; 48.6%). Only 10 (14.3%) services were subject to PA by 4 (n = 6; 8.6%) or 5 (n = 4; 5.7%) insurers. These discrepancies illustrate the challenges of navigating discordant insurer policies for otolaryngologists and raise concerns about the validity of certain PA requirements.
The rise of female warriors: Unveiling the factors behind career progression of Indonesia's army corps
Authors: Sikki Nurhaeni , Ali Qaisar
Published: August 2024

Although modern‐day institutions have bridged gender inequality gaps to some extent by recruiting female employees, there is limited information about the career progression (CP) of these females especially in military institutions. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate the factors affecting the CP of female army corps employed in developing countries. The fundamentals of the theory of gendered organizations are operationalized to develop the theoretical model and investigate whether institutional factors (IFC), sociocultural background (SCB), resource facilitation (RFC), and personal skill and competency (PSC) influence CP of female army corps. The primary data was collected from 352 females employed in the army corps and was analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The findings confirm that our conceptualized factors (IFC, SCB, RFC, and PSC) influence CP. Particularly, the results indicate a significant positive impact of IFC and PSC and an insignificant positive impact of SCB and RFC on the CP of female army corps. This empirical study contributes to developing gender and talent management strategies in the workplace by enhancing the CP of females.
Characterizing social conflict over wolf reintroduction in Colorado: A theoretical model of intergroup conflict
Authors: Gonzalez Mireille N. , Heid Taylor N. , Niemiec Rebecca
Published: August 2024

Context: Wolf restoration is a highly divisive issue in the American West, with stakeholder conflict driven by value and identity‐based disagreements. Research suggests that such conflicts require reconciliation to repair intergroup relations before negotiations to address the issue can begin, yet, in the conservation and natural resource management fields, stakeholder processes about divisive issues typically focus only on negotiations. There is a gap in the literature on how to identify and target the drivers of value and identity‐based conflicts.

Approach: We interviewed stakeholders highly engaged in the issue of proposed wolf reintroduction in Colorado to gain insight on the drivers of the conflict and to inform reconciliation interventions. We pulled from conflict and peace‐building theories to frame our analysis, specifically suggestions that conflict is fueled by four categories of perceptions, including perceptions of: the group one is in conflict with, one's own social group, the relationship between groups, and the nature of the conflict.

Key Findings: We found that all interviewees discussed perceptions that can fuel conflict within each of these four categories. However, interviewees who identified as 3rd parties to the conflict primarily discussed the relationships between those in conflict and engaged in thoughtful perspective‐taking, an activity that can help reduce conflict. Conversely, both those strongly in support of reintroduction and strongly opposed to reintroduction most commonly described negative perceptions about individuals they are in conflict with and positive perceptions about themselves and their social group. For example, when discussing others, both groups described each other as acting in unjust and unfair ways, as being incapable of or unwilling to change, and as misinformed. When describing positive perceptions of themselves, both those in support and those in opposition viewed their own goals as just and themselves as victims of outgroup members’ actions.

Synthesis and applications: Based on our findings, we suggest various reconciliation interventions that may assist wildlife managers in reducing the conflict about wolf reintroduction in Colorado. These recommendations may also be applicable to wildlife managers working on other issues with high stakeholder conflict.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Shape memory liquid crystalline polymers: Stimuli‐responsiveness, advanced technologies, and key applications
Authors: Prathumrat Peerawat , Nikzad Mostafa , Arablouei Reza , Okhawilai Manunya
Published: August 2024

Liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) represent a distinct class of materials that have garnered significant interest for their utilisation in diverse industrial and engineering applications. A prominent attribute of LCPs is their stimuli‐responsiveness. These materials can undergo deformation and subsequently recover their original shapes when subjected to external stimuli such as heat, light, and electromagnetic fields. The molecular structure of LCPs consists of mesogens and flexible tails, mirroring the fundamental molecular mechanism found in shape memory polymers. This characteristic positions LCPs as promising materials for shape memory applications. This article provides a comprehensive review of LCPs, focusing on their various forms of stimuli‐responsiveness. In addition, it delves into the application of additive manufacturing and machine learning technologies in the context of shape memory LCPs. Finally, the article concludes by exploring the critical applications of LCPs as shape memory materials.
Imaging adjuvants in pediatric surgical oncology
Authors: Fusco Joseph C. , Abdelhafeez Abdelhafeez H. , Krauel Lucas , Honeyman Joshua N. , Ehrlich Peter F. , Wijnen Marc , Lautz Timothy B. , Pachl Max , Malek Marcus M.
Published: August 2024

Surgery is a crucial component of pediatric cancer treatment, but conventional methods may lack precision. Image‐guided surgery, including fluorescent and radioguided techniques, offers promise for enhancing tumor localization and facilitating precise resection. Intraoperative molecular imaging utilizes agents like indocyanine green to direct surgeons to occult deposits of tumor and to delineate tumor margins. Next‐generation agents target tumors directly to improve specificity. Radioguided surgery, employing tracers like metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG), complements fluorescent techniques by allowing for detection of tumors at a greater depth. Dual‐labeled agents combining both modalities are under development. Three‐dimensional modeling and virtual/augmented reality aid in preoperative planning and intraoperative guidance. The above techniques show great promise to benefit patients with pediatric tumors, and their continued development will almost certainly improve surgical outcomes.
Racial disparities in prosthesis abandonment and mobility outcomes after lower limb amputation from a dysvascular etiology in a veteran population
Authors: Hurwitz Max , Czerniecki Joseph , Morgenroth David , Turner Aaron , Henderson Alison W. , Halsne Beth , Norvell Daniel
Published: August 2024

Background

Non‐Hispanic Black (NHB) individuals have higher rates of amputation and increased risk of a transfemoral amputation due to dysvascular disease than non‐Hispanic White (NHW) individuals. However, it is unclear if NHB individuals have differences in prosthesis use or functional outcomes following an amputation.

Objective

To determine if there are racial disparities in prosthesis abandonment and mobility outcomes in veterans who have undergone their first major unilateral lower extremity amputation (LEA) due to diabetes and/or peripheral artery disease.

Design

National cohort study that identified individuals retrospectively through the Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) from March 1, 2018, to November 30, 2020, then prospectively collected their self‐reported prosthesis abandonment and mobility. Multiple logistic regression was used to control for potential confounders and identify potential effect modifiers.

Setting

The VA CDW, participant mailings and phone calls.

Participants

Three hundred fifty‐seven individuals who underwent an incident transtibial or transfemoral amputation due to diabetes and/or peripheral arterial disease.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcomes Measures

(1) Self‐reported prosthesis abandonment. (2) Level of mobility assessed using the Locomotor Capabilities Index.

Results

Rurally located NHB individuals without a major depressive disorder (MDD) had increased odds of abandoning their prosthesis (adjusted odds ratios [aOR] = 5.3; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.3–21.1]). This disparity was nearly three times as large for rurally located NHB individuals with MDD diagnosis, compared with other races from rural areas and with MDD (aOR = 15.8; 95% CI, 2.5–97.6). NHB individuals living in an urban area were significantly less likely to achieve advanced mobility, both with MDD (aOR=0.16; 95% CI: [0.04–7.0]) and without MDD (aOR = 0.26; 95% CI: [0.09–0.73]).

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that health care disparities persist for NHB veterans following a dysvascular LEA, with increased prosthesis abandonment and worse mobility outcomes.
Salivary‐secreted vitellogenin suppresses H2O2 burst of plants facilitating Recilia dorsalis leafhopper feeding
Authors: Lu Chengcong , Zhang Yating , Xu Yuanyuan , Wei Taiyun , Chen Qian
Published: August 2024

BACKGROUND

Vitellogenin (Vg), known as the yolk protein precursor for oocyte development in female insects, can be secreted to plant host from salivary glands of hemipterans, including rice leafhopper Recilia dorsalis. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of salivary‐secreted Vg of R. dorsalis (RdVg) in rice host. We propose that RdVg possibly regulates the rice defense against insects, benefiting R. dorsalis feeding.

RESULTS

RdVg was released into rice phloem along with saliva during R. dorsalis feeding. Knocking down RdVg increased the level of H2O2 and improved H2O2 metabolism in rice plants, making it difficult for R. dorsalis to feed. The transient expression or overexpression of the lipoprotein N‐terminal domain of RdVg (RdVg2) significantly reduced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) metabolism in plants. This suggests that salivary‐secreted RdVg acts as an effector suppressing the H2O2 burst in rice plants, and RdVg2 is the key domain. RdVg2 could interact with rice sulfite oxidase (OsSO), which catalyzes the oxidation of SO32− and produces H2O2. Exposure of rice plants to R. dorsalis, overexpression of RdVg2 or knocking out OsSO reduced OsSO accumulation and SO32− oxidation, benefiting R. dorsalis feeding. However overexpression of OsSO increased SO32− oxidation and H2O2 metabolism, inhibiting R. dorsalis feeding.

CONCLUSION

RdVg inhibits H2O2 generation via suppressing OsSO accumulation, ultimately benefiting R. dorsalis feeding. These findings identify RdVg as an effector that suppresses plant defense to insects, and provide insights into the function of salivary‐secreted Vg in other Hemiptera insects. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
Study of Migration Behavior and Optical Properties of Self‐Trapped Hole by Hydrogen Vacancy in KH2PO4 Crystal
Authors: Jiang Jinsong , Hong Wei , Liu Tingyu , Song Wenqi , Yang Liying
Published: August 2024

The behavior of self‐trapped holes (STH) adjacent to a H vacancy in K (KDP) crystals is investigated using the DFT + U and hybrid density functional calculations. The calculated results reveal that STH is located on one O atom near and introduces new defect energy levels in the bandgap. The hole tends to be self‐trapped and is more stable at room temperature along with partial lattice distortions. The STH in KDP crystals has a large migration barrier energy, implying a small mobility rate. The optical properties associated with STH are calculated and the emission peak is predicted to be 2.55 eV (487 nm) and the absorption peak to be 4.58 eV (271 nm), which is in good agreement with the experimental results.
Air travel in patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension—A prospective, multicentre study
Authors: Yogeswaran Athiththan , Grimminger Jan , Tello Khodr , Becker Lukas , Seeger Werner , Grimminger Friedrich , Sommer Natascha , Ghofrani Hossein A. , Lange Tobias J. , Stadler Stefan , Olsson Karen , Kamp Jan C. , Rosenkranz Stephan , Gerhardt Felix , Milger Katrin , Barnikel Michaela , Ulrich Silvia , Saxer Stéphanie , Grünig Ekkehard , Harutynova Satenik , Opitz Christian , Klose Hans , Wilkens Heinrike , Halank Michael , Heberling Melanie , Gall Henning , Richter Manuel J.
Published: August 2024

The PEGASUS study is the first multicentric and prospective assessment of the safety of air travel flying in pulmonary hypertension (PH) (NCT03051763). Data of air travel from 60 patients with PH was available. No severe adverse events occurred. Nine patients self‐reported mild adverse events during flight (13%), while after landing, 12 patients reported events (20%). Solely one patient (2%) had an adverse event leading to medical consultation. In patients with PH and World Health Organization functional classes II and III, air travel was safe.
Prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation in Guyana
Authors: Joseph Gary , Houvessou Gbenankpon Mathias , Boston Cecil , James Michelle Karim
Published: August 2024

Objective

To assess the prevalence and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Methods

This study used data from an institution‐based cross‐sectional study conducted at GPHC from July to September 2022. A structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. A total of 1276 mothers were interviewed and provided data on early initiation of breastfeeding. Early initiation of breastfeeding was defined as mothers who breastfed their babies within the first hour after birth. We performed descriptive analyses for both the outcome and the independent variables. Logistic regression and backward selection procedure were used to assess factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding.

Results

The prevalence of early breastfeeding at GPHC was 27.8% (95%CI: 25.4–30.3). Mothers who were primigravida (AOR: 0.52; 95%CI: 0.36–0.75), who had urinary tract infections during pregnancy (AOR: 0.72; 95%CI: 0.52–0.99), and who delivered by caesarean section (AOR: 0.06; 95%CI: 0.03–0.11) were less likely to breastfeed their babies in the first hour after birth. Likewise, babies who were diagnosed with any health problems after birth (AOR: 0.34; 95%CI: 0.21–0.54) had a lesser chance to receive breastfeeding in the first hour after birth, compared with their counterparts.

Conclusion

Less than one‐third of mothers who delivered at GPHC breastfed their babies within the first hour after birth. Targeted intervention focuses on promoting early initiation of breastfeeding, immediate skin‐to‐skin contact between mothers and babies, timely diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections during pregnancy are essential to improve the prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding at GPHC.
Design and optimization of hexagonal tungsten ring metasurface perfect absorbers with circuit model
Authors: Sarikhani Ali Reza , Salehi Mohammad Reza , Mortazavifar Seyedeh Leila , Shahraki Mojtaba , Abiri Ebrahim
Published: August 2024

In this paper, a perfect absorber (PA) based on tungsten is proposed to include hexagonal‐shaped metasurface absorbers with varying hole sizes ranging from quadrangular to circular, allowing them to cover a wide wavelength spectrum. The study investigates the effects of various parameters, including the number of sides of the inner hole, on the absorber's performance and identifies the most suitable absorber by introducing an equivalent circuit. The outcomes of full‐wave numerical simulations primarily based on the finite element method (FEM) highly correspond to the final results of the circuit model. Additionally, the circuit model significantly reduces computation time and requires less storage compared with full‐wave simulations. The results show that the hexagonal‐square metasurface absorber achieves exceptional absorption rates, with an average of 99.9% in the 431 to 532 nm wavelength range and over 90% in the 300 to 915 nm range. The hexagonal‐hexagonal metasurface absorber also exhibits high absorption rates, with an average of over 99% in the 431 to 518 nm and 700 to 780 nm ranges, and over 90% in the 300 to 940 nm range. The absorption performance of the proposed hexagonal‐circle metasurface absorber is also remarkable, with an absorption value of over 99% in the 670 to 771 nm range and above 90% in the 365 to 991 nm range. These models can be utilized to design and simulate other subwavelength absorbers in a broad frequency range, including terahertz and visible light, making them suitable for various applications.
Bio‐Inspired Carbon Dots as Malondialdehyde Indicator for Real‐Time Visualization of Lipid Peroxidation in Depression
Authors: Wu Xiaoyan , Cai Hao , Liao Rui , Tedesco Antonio Claudio , Li Zijian , Wang Feng , Bi Hong
Published: August 2024

Brain lipidic peroxidation is closely associated with the pathophysiology of various psychiatric diseases including depression. Malondialdehyde (MDA), a reactive aldehyde produced in lipid region, serves as a crucial biomarker for lipid peroxidation. However, techniques enabling real‐time detection of MDA are still lacking due to the inherent trade‐off between recognition dynamics and robustness. Inspired by the structure of phospholipid bilayers, amphiphilic carbon dots named as CG‐CDs targeted to cell membrane are designed for real‐time monitoring of MDA fluctuations. The design principle relies on the synergy of dynamic hydrogen bonding recognition and cell membrane targetability. The latter facilitates the insertion of CG‐CDs into lipid regions and provides a hydrophobic environment to stabilize the labile hydrogen bonding between CG‐CDs and MDA. As a result, recognition robustness and dynamics are simultaneously achieved for CG‐CDs/MDA, allowing for in situ visualization of MDA kinetics in cell membrane due to the instant response (<5 s), high sensitivity (9‐fold fluorescence enhancement), intrinsic reversibility (fluorescence on/off), and superior selectivity. Subsequently, CG‐CDs are explored to visualize nerve cell membrane impairment in depression models of living cells and zebrafish, unveiling the extensive heterogeneity of the lipid peroxidation process and indicating a positive correlation between MDA levels and depression.
Closed‐Loop Control of Macrophage Engineering Enabled by Focused‐Ultrasound Responsive Mechanoluminescence Nanoplatform for Precise Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Xu Sixin , Meng Lingkai , Hu Qian , Li Fang , Zhang Jieying , Kong Na , Xing Zhenyu , Hong Guosong , Zhu Xingjun
Published: August 2024

Macrophage engineering has emerged as a promising approach for modulating the anti‐tumor immune response in cancer therapy. However, the spatiotemporal control and real‐time feedback of macrophage regulatory process is still challenging, leading to off‐targeting effect and delayed efficacy monitoring therefore raising risk of immune overactivation and serious side effects. Herein, a focused ultrasound responsive immunomodulator‐loaded optical nanoplatform (FUSION) is designed to achieve spatiotemporal control and status reporting of macrophage engineering in vivo. Under the stimulation of focused ultrasound (FUS), the immune agonist encapsulated in FUSION can be released to induce selective macrophage M1 phenotype differentiation at tumor site and the near‐infrared mechanoluminescence of FUSION is generated simultaneously to indicate the initiation of immune activation. Meanwhile, the persistent luminescence of FUSION is enhanced due to hydroxyl radical generation in the pro‐inflammatory M1 macrophages, which can report the effectiveness of macrophage regulation. Then, macrophages labeled with FUSION as a living immunotherapeutic agent (FUSION‐M) are utilized for tumor targeting and focused ultrasound activated, immune cell‐based cancer therapy. By combining the on‐demand activation and feedback to form a closed loop, the nanoplatform in this work holds promise in advancing the controllability of macrophage engineering and cancer immunotherapy for precision medicine.
Dehydration Achieving the Iron Spin State Regulation of Prussian Blue for Boosted Sodium‐Ion Storage Performance
Authors: Meng Tianli , Chen Zifang , Lai Xiaoxu , Xing Jiayi , Chen Chi , Sun Dan
Published: August 2024

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) show promise as cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries due to their notable cycle stability, cost‐effectiveness, and eco‐friendly nature, yet the presence of interstitial water limits the specific capacity and obstructs Na+ mobility within the material. Although considerable experimental efforts are focused on dehydrating water for capacity enhancement, there is still a deficiency of a comprehensive understanding of the low capacity of low‐spin Fe resulting from interstitial water, which holds significance in Na+ storage. This study introduces a novel gas‐assisted heat treatment method to efficiently remove interstitial water from Fe‐based PBA (NaFeHCF) electrodes and combines experiments and theoretical calculations to reveal the iron spin state regulation that is related to the capacity enhancement mechanism. This dehydration strategy significantly enhances battery capacity, especially the portion at higher voltages (3.4–4.0 V). The increase in capacity is attributed to the following factors: an enhanced proportion of Fe2+, reduced water content which facilitates faster charge transfer, and the activation of low spin Fe2+. The optimized NaFeHCF demonstrated impressive half‐cell performance of retaining 87.3% capacity after 2000 cycles at a 5 C rate and achieving 100 mAh g−1 capacity over 200 cycles when being paired with hard carbon, exhibiting its practical potential.
Integrating Ozone Pollutant Elimination in N2 Electrolysis to Produce Nitrate with Reduced Reaction Steps
Authors: Yu Yaodong , Liu Jiao , Sun Mingzi , Han Jiani , Chi Jingqi , Huang Bolong , Lai Jianping , Wang Lei
Published: August 2024

The synthesis of nitrate by the electrochemical N2 oxidation reaction (NOR) is currently one of the most promising routes. However, the traditional generation of nitrate depends on the oxidation reaction between N2 and H2O (or ·OH), which involves complex reaction steps and intermediates, showing strong competition from oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here, an effective NOR method is proposed to directly oxidize N2 by using O3 as a reactive oxygen source to reduce the reaction step. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that the nitrate yield of Pd‐Mn3O4/CNT electrocatalyst reaches the milligram level, which is the highest yield reported so far for electrocatalytic NOR. Quantitative characterization is employed to establish a comprehensive set of benchmarks to confirm the intrinsic nature of nitrogen activation and test the O3‐mediated reaction mechanism. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the heterostructure Pd‐Mn3O4 leads to a strong adsorption preference for N2 and O3, which greatly reduces the activation energy barrier for N2. This accelerates the synthesis of nitrate based on the direct formation mechanism, which reduces energy barriers and the reaction steps, thus increasing the performance of electrocatalytic nitrate production. The techno‐economic analysis underscores the promising feasibility and sustainable economic value of the presented method.
A non‐stationary factor copula model for non‐Gaussian spatial data
Authors: Mondal Sagnik , Krupskii Pavel , Genton Marc G.
Published: August 2024

We introduce a new copula model for non‐stationary replicated spatial data. It is based on the assumption that a common factor exists that controls the joint dependence of all the observations from the spatial process. As a result, our proposal can model tail dependence and tail asymmetry, unlike the Gaussian copula model. Moreover, we show that the new model can cover a full range of dependence between tail quadrant independence and tail dependence. Although the log‐likelihood of the model can be obtained in a simple form, we discuss its numerical computational issues and ways to approximate it for drawing inference. Using the estimated copula model, the spatial process can be interpolated at locations where it is not observed. We apply the proposed model to temperature data over the western part of Switzerland, and we compare its performance with that of its stationary version and with the Gaussian copula model.
Metastatic renal carcinoma in a horse presented for lameness examination and suspected pneumonia
Authors: Hollenbach Elza , Mitchell Emily P. , Randlehoff Corme , Munoz Juan Alberto
Published: August 2024

Equine renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a rare and poorly understood condition, making the diagnosis challenging. We present a case of a 16‐year‐old Warmblood gelding referred for lameness and suspected pneumonia. The horse exhibited diverse non‐specific symptoms, including pyrexia, coughing, weight loss and lameness. Diagnostic imaging revealed an osseous neoplastic lesion and lung metastasis. Postmortem confirmed metastatic renal carcinoma. This case underscores the difficulty of RCC diagnosis due to non‐specific clinical signs, necessitating a comprehensive approach involving clinical, imaging and histopathological findings. RCC offers limited treatment options as it is typically diagnosed at advanced stages, leading to a poor prognosis and euthanasia. Increased awareness and research are crucial for early detection and better understanding of this rare equine disease.
Bilateral idiopathic oculomotor neuropathy in a cat
Authors: Soares Marques de Almeida Francisca , Kumaratunga Vim , Marsh Oliver
Published: August 2024

Idiopathic oculomotor neuropathy is a well‐recognised syndrome in people, and it has also been described in dogs. In dogs, the disease appears to have a good prognosis; however, only reports of a unilateral presentation exist. Evidence of oculomotor dysfunction in cats has been previously associated with intracranial neoplasia, with a poor prognosis. This case report describes the clinical and imaging findings and outcome of a 12‐year‐old, male, neutered, domestic shorthair cat with bilateral mydriasis, unresponsive to light, as the sole clinical sign. Thorough diagnostic investigations led to a diagnosis of bilateral idiopathic oculomotor neuropathy. No treatment was prescribed, and there was no change in the clinical signs with 9‐month follow‐up. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of bilateral idiopathic oculomotor neuropathy in a cat, which, based on this case, suggests a good prognosis with minimal adverse impact on the patient.
Marked clinical improvement in a cat with a refractory non‐surgical case of dermatophytic pseudomycetoma responding to combination antifungal therapy
Authors: Putra Andhika Hardani , Plowgian Curtis
Published: August 2024

Feline dermatophytosis is a common dermatological manifestation that carries a good prognosis once a proper diagnosis has been achieved. In rare cases, dermatophytosis can manifest as a nodular dermatosis. This condition, known as dermatophytic pseudomycetoma, can be challenging to diagnose and treat. Surgical excision and systemic antifungal therapy are the standard treatments, which generally will carry a good prognosis for the patient. This case report describes a non‐surgical dermatophytic pseudomycetoma, which failed treatment with a singular antifungal agent, but improved when multiple antifungal medications were combined. This case highlights challenges associated with treating a cat with severe dermatophytic pseudomycetoma and concurrent feline leukaemia virus.
Acute liver failure following fatal zinc phosphide poisoning in a dog
Authors: Wardsworth Isaiah , Prittie Jennifer , Mastrocco Alicia
Published: August 2024

Zinc phosphide is a highly toxic rodenticide that leads to organ dysfunction by disruption of oxidative phosphorylation via inhibition of the final enzyme of the mitochondrial transport chain (cytochrome C oxidase). A 5‐year‐old, female, spayed Shiba Inu presented in status epilepticus secondary to ingestion of this poison. The dog developed rapid progressive neurological decline, severe cardiotoxicity and acute liver failure, the latter manifested by hepatic encephalopathy and clinicopathological abnormalities, including coagulopathy, progressive liver enzyme elevations and hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycaemia, hypoalbuminaemia, hypocholesterolaemia and low blood urea nitrogen. The dog ultimately died after 22 hours of hospitalisation. While this toxicosis is reported in several other species, this is the first case report documenting clinical acute liver failure secondary to zinc phosphide poisoning in a dog. Previous canine reports of zinc phosphide exposure suggest a generally favourable prognosis, whereas this case of toxicity was rapidly fatal, suggesting that reassessment of prognosis secondary to this toxicity is prudent.
Transformer technology in molecular science
Authors: Jiang Jian , Ke Lu , Chen Long , Dou Bozheng , Zhu Yueying , Liu Jie , Zhang Bengong , Zhou Tianshou , Wei Guo‐Wei
Published: August 2024

A transformer is the foundational architecture behind large language models designed to handle sequential data by using mechanisms of self‐attention to weigh the importance of different elements, enabling efficient processing and understanding of complex patterns. Recently, transformer‐based models have become some of the most popular and powerful deep learning (DL) algorithms in molecular science, owing to their distinctive architectural characteristics and proficiency in handling intricate data. These models leverage the capacity of transformer architectures to capture complex hierarchical dependencies within sequential data. As the applications of transformers in molecular science are very widespread, in this review, we only focus on the technical aspects of transformer technology in molecule domain. Specifically, we will provide an in‐depth investigation into the algorithms of transformer‐based machine learning techniques in molecular science. The models under consideration include generative pre‐trained transformer (GPT), bidirectional and auto‐regressive transformers (BART), bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT), graph transformer, transformer‐XL, text‐to‐text transfer transformer, vision transformers (ViT), detection transformer (DETR), conformer, contrastive language‐image pre‐training (CLIP), sparse transformers, and mobile and efficient transformers. By examining the inner workings of these models, we aim to elucidate how their architectural innovations contribute to their effectiveness in processing complex molecular data. We will also discuss promising trends in transformer models within the context of molecular science, emphasizing their technical capabilities and potential for interdisciplinary research. This review seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the transformer‐based machine learning techniques that are driving advancements in molecular science.

This article is categorized under:

Data Science > Chemoinformatics

Data Science > Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
Ecotoxicological assessment, in freshwater environment, of wastewater sludge coupled and uncoupled with micro‐polyvinyl chloride on algae and water fleas
Authors: Pignattelli Sara , Provenza Francesca , Rampih Darian , Crisci Alfonso , Renzi Monia
Published: August 2024

In the frame of bioeconomy and circular economy, wastewater sludge (WS) could be a good candidate for its use in agriculture as fertilizer, due to its high content of organic matter, N and P, but on the other hand, it is full of toxicants such as heavy metal, microplastics, detergent, antibiotics, and so on that can reach groundwater and water bodies in leachate form. In this study, we have investigated different sludge concentrations in the eluate form, combined and not with PVC on two different freshwater organisms Selenastrum capricornutum and Daphnia magna, using ecotoxicity tests. At the endpoint, we have evaluated inhibition growth rate, oxidative stress, and pigments production for S. capricornutum, while in case of D. magna, we have assessed organism immobilization and development. From our results, it emerged that at the higher WS concentration, there was not inhibition growth rate, while at oxidative stress, it was higher in algae treated with WS and PVC. Higher Chl‐a production was shown for algae treated with 0.3 g/L of sludge coupled with PVC, where higher phaeopigments production were recorded for algae treated with 0.3 g/L of WS. D. magna has shown an opposite trend when compared with algae, where at the highest WS concentrations supplied was corresponding to an increased mortality explaned as the highest immobility percentage.

Practitioner Points

Wastewater sludge is used in agriculture as fertilizer.

PVC microplastic presence and associate ecotoxicity was tested.

PVC presence increased oxidative stress in S. capricornutum.

D. magna was significantly affected by sludge concentrations supplied.
Highly accelerated life testing (HALT): A review from a statistical perspective
Authors: Collins David H. , Huzurbazar Aparna V. , Warr Richard L.
Published: August 2024

Despite its use in one form or another for at least four decades, HALT and related techniques [e.g., highly accelerated‐stress screening (HASS) and stress audits (HASA)] are not well understood within the statistical community and remain controversial. This largely reflects a conflict in motivation between engineers, testing under harsh conditions to discover and eliminate failure modes, and statisticians, taking a more cautious approach to develop quantitative estimates of parameters such as mean time between failures (MTBF). This review article will clarify HALT concepts and methods and explain where it fits within the universe of methods that involve the application of accelerating factors to compress the time required to evaluate or enhance product reliability. A major distinction is between methods such as HALT, a high‐stress test‐analyze‐fix‐test iterative process directed at improving reliability by discovering and fixing weak points in a design, and quantitative accelerated life testing (QALT), whose goal is the estimation of product life for a fixed design. We discuss methods such as physics of failure that offer some hope of bridging the gap between the qualitative nature of HALT, and purely quantitative statistical methods. We present a variety of engineering applications of HALT including metal fatigue, piping and pressure vessels, structural damage, radiation damage, and rotating machinery. We also discuss potential synergies between HALT and QALT, such as rapid identification, through HALT, of failure modes requiring quantitative analysis. For further study, extensive references to the applicable literature are provided as well as an appendix that describes related methods.

This article is categorized under:

Statistical and Graphical Methods of Data Analysis > Reliability, Survivability, and Quality Control
Inertial drag combined with non‐uniform heat generation/absorption effects on the hydromagnetic flow of polar nanofluid over an elongating permeable surface due to the impose of chemical reaction
Authors: Panda Subhajit , Pattnaik Pradyumna Kumar , Baithalu Rupa , Mishra Satya Ranjan
Published: August 2024

The pivotal role of Brownian and thermophoresis in investigating the flow characteristic of polar nanofluid is important nowadays due to various engineering applications. The enhanced thermal and transport properties in the field of biomedical nanomedicine for hyperthermia treatments, and for enhancing the efficiency of heat exchange processes in cooling electronic devices, heat exchangers, and automotive engines the use of Brownian and thermophoresis is important. Therefore, the present study reveals the importance of Darcy–Forchheimer inertial drag combined with the space‐ and temperature‐dependent heat generation/absorption on the flow of polar nanofluid over an elongating surface. The surface is considered to be permeable for which the hydromagnetic flow in the presence of thermal radiation specifically, Brownian and thermophoresis affects the flow phenomena significantly. The proposed flow model designed with the aforementioned physical properties is standardized into the set of nonlinear ordinary equations by the implementation of suitable similarity rules. Further, the characteristics of various physical quantities are deployed by solving the system by using traditional Rung–Kutta fourth‐order technique. Further, the analysis of several factors is deployed briefly via graphically, and simulation of rate coefficients is presented through tables. The important outcomes of the study are deployed as the inclusion of thermal and solutal buoyancy enhances the velocity distribution, whereas reverse impact is observed for the increasing inertial drag. Also, space‐ and temperature‐dependent heat source augments the temperature profile but Lewis number decelerates the fluid concentration significantly.