bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potentialities of Complex Network Theory Tools for Urban Drainage Networks Analysis
Authors: Simone A. , Cesaro A. , Del Giudice G. , Di Cristo C. , Fecarotta O.
Published: August 2022

Urban drainage networks (UDNs) represent important infrastructures to protect and maintain community health and safety. For these reasons, technicians and researcher are focusing more and more on topics related to vulnerability, resilience and monitoring for controlling illicit intrusions, contaminant and pathogenic spread. In the last years the complex network theory (CNT) is attracting attention as a new, useful and structured approach to analyze urban systems. The aim of this work is to evaluate potentialities of CNT approaches for UDNs vulnerability assessment and monitoring system planning. Limits and potentialities of applicability of CNT tools to UDNs are first provided evaluating the performances of standard centrality metrics. Then, it is proposed the use of tailored metrics embedding prior information, as intrinsic relevance of each node and pipe flow direction, which derive from the Horton's hierarchy and geometric data (pipe slope), respectively, without performing hydraulic simulations. The analysis is applied on two schematic literature networks of different complexity and to a real case‐study. The results suggest that vulnerability/resilience, monitoring design, contaminant and pathogenic spreads can be effectively analyzed using tailored metrics. Therefore, the proposed approach represents a complementary tool respect the more complex and computationally expensive methodologies and it is particular useful for large complex networks.
Opioid antagonism in humans: a primer on optimal dose and timing for central mu-opioid receptor blockade
Authors: Trøstheim Martin , Eikemo Marie , Haaker Jan , Frost J. James , Leknes Siri
Published: August 2022

Non-human animal studies outline precise mechanisms of central mu-opioid regulation of pain, stress, affiliation and reward processing. In humans, pharmacological blockade with non-selective opioid antagonists such as naloxone and naltrexone is typically used to assess involvement of the mu-opioid system in such processing. However, robust estimates of the opioid receptor blockade achieved by opioid antagonists are missing. Dose and timing schedules are highly variable and often based on single studies. Here, we provide a detailed analysis of central opioid receptor blockade after opioid antagonism based on existing positron emission tomography data. We also create models for estimating opioid receptor blockade with intravenous naloxone and oral naltrexone. We find that common doses of intravenous naloxone (0.10–0.15 mg/kg) and oral naltrexone (50 mg) are more than sufficient to produce full blockade of central MOR (>90% receptor occupancy) for the duration of a typical experimental session (~60 min), presumably due to initial super saturation of receptors. Simulations indicate that these doses also produce high KOR blockade (78–100%) and some DOR blockade (10% with naltrexone and 48–74% with naloxone). Lower doses (e.g., 0.01 mg/kg intravenous naloxone) are estimated to produce less DOR and KOR blockade while still achieving a high level of MOR blockade for ~30 min. The models and simulations form the basis of two novel web applications for detailed planning and evaluation of experiments with opioid antagonists. These tools and recommendations enable selection of appropriate antagonists, doses and assessment time points, and determination of the achieved receptor blockade in previous studies.
Integrity of cerebellar tracts associated with the risk of bipolar disorder
Authors: Hou Le , Lam Bess Yin-Hung , Wong Nichol M. L. , Lu Weicong , Zhang Ruoxi , Ning Yuping , Lin Kangguang
Published: August 2022

This study examined the structural brain differences across individuals of different BD stages and the risks of developing bipolar disorder (BD) associated with these brain differences. A total of 221 participants who were recruited from the Guangzhou Brain Hospital and the community were categorized into four groups: NC (healthy control) (N = 77), high risk (HR) (N = 42), ultra-high risk (UHR) (N = 38), and bipolar disorder (BD) (N = 64) based on a list of criteria. Their demographics, clinical characteristics, and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) data were collected. ANCOVA results showed that the HR group had significantly reduced mean diffusivity (MD) (p = 0.043) and radial diffusivity (RD) (p = 0.039) of the left portico-ponto-cerebellar tracts when compared with the BD group. Moreover, logistic regression results showed that the specific diffusivity measures of cerebellar tracts (e.g., cortico-ponto-cerebellar tract), particularly the RD and MD revealed differences between groups at different BD stages after controlling for the covariates. The findings suggested that specific diffusivity (RD and MD) of cerebellar tracts (e.g., cortico-ponto-cerebellar tract) revealed differences between groups at different BD stages which is helpful in detecting the trajectory changes in BD syndromes in the early stages of BD, particularly when the BD syndromes start from HR stage.
A lymphatic-absorbed multi-targeted kinase inhibitor for myelofibrosis therapy
Authors: Ross Brian D. , Jang Youngsoon , Welton Amanda , Bonham Christopher A. , Palagama Dilrukshika S. W. , Heist Kevin , Boppisetti Jagadish , Imaduwage Kasun P. , Robison Tanner , King Leah R. , Zhang Edward Z. , Amirfazli Cyrus , Luker Kathryn E. , Lee Winston Y. , Luker Gary D. , Chenevert Thomas L. , Van Dort Marcian E.
Published: August 2022

Activation of compensatory signaling nodes in cancer often requires combination therapies that are frequently plagued by dose-limiting toxicities. Intestinal lymphatic drug absorption is seldom explored, although reduced toxicity and sustained drug levels would be anticipated to improve systemic bioavailability. A potent orally bioavailable multi-functional kinase inhibitor (LP-182) is described with intrinsic lymphatic partitioning for the combined targeting of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways without observable toxicity. We demonstrate selectivity and therapeutic efficacy through reduction of downstream kinase activation, amelioration of disease phenotypes, and improved survival in animal models of myelofibrosis. Our further characterization of synthetic and physiochemical properties for small molecule lymphatic uptake will support continued advancements in lymphatropic therapy for altering disease trajectories of a myriad of human disease indications.
Ultrafast laser-driven topological spin textures on a 2D magnet
Authors: Strungaru Mara , Augustin Mathias , Santos Elton J. G.
Published: August 2022

Ultrafast laser excitations provide an efficient and low-power consumption alternative since different magnetic properties and topological spin states can be triggered and manipulated at the femtosecond (fs) regime. However, it is largely unknown whether laser excitations already used in data information platforms can manipulate the magnetic properties of recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials. Here we show that ultrashort laser pulses (30−85 fs) can not only manipulate magnetic domains of 2D-XY CrCl3 ferromagnets, but also induce the formation and control of topological nontrivial meron and antimeron spin textures. We observed that these spin quasiparticles are created within ~100 ps after the excitation displaying rich dynamics through motion, collision and annihilation with emission of spin waves throughout the surface. Our findings highlight substantial opportunities of using photonic driving forces for the exploration of spin textures on 2D magnetic materials towards magneto-optical topological applications.
Brief memory reactivations induce learning in the numeric domain
Authors: Schrift Gilad , Dotan Dror , Censor Nitzan
Published: August 2022

Learning of arithmetic facts such as the multiplication table requires time-consuming, repeated practice. In light of evidence indicating that reactivation of encoded memories can modulate learning and memory processes at the synaptic, system and behavioral levels, we asked whether brief memory reactivations can induce human learning in the numeric domain. Adult participants performed a number-fact retrieval task in which they learned arbitrary numeric facts. Following encoding and a baseline test, 3 passive, brief reactivation sessions of only 40 s each were conducted on separate days. Learning was evaluated in a retest session. Results showed reactivations induced learning, with improved performance at retest relative to baseline test. Furthermore, performance was superior compared to a control group performing test-retest sessions without reactivations, who showed significant memory deterioration. A standard practice group completed active-retrieval sessions on 3 separate days, and showed significant learning gains. Interestingly, while these gains were higher than those of the reactivations group, subjects showing reactivation-induced learning were characterized by superior efficiency relative to standard practice subjects, with higher rate of improvement per practice time. A follow-up long-term retention experiment showed that 30 days following initial practice, weekly brief reactivations reduced forgetting, with participants performing superior to controls undergoing the same initial practice without reactivations. Overall, the results demonstrate that brief passive reactivations induce efficient learning and reduce forgetting within a numerical context. Time-efficient practice in the numeric domain carries implications for enhancement of learning strategies in daily-life settings.
Post-translational control of beige fat biogenesis by PRDM16 stabilization
Authors: Wang Qiang , Li Huixia , Tajima Kazuki , Verkerke Anthony R. P. , Taxin Zachary H. , Hou Zhishuai , Cole Joanne B. , Li Fei , Wong Jake , Abe Ichitaro , Pradhan Rachana N. , Yamamuro Tadashi , Yoneshiro Takeshi , Hirschhorn Joel N. , Kajimura Shingo
Published: August 2022

Compelling evidence shows that brown and beige adipose tissue are protective against metabolic diseases1,2. PR domain-containing 16 (PRDM16) is a dominant activator of the biogenesis of beige adipocytes by forming a complex with transcriptional and epigenetic factors and is therefore an attractive target for improving metabolic health3–8. However, a lack of knowledge surrounding the regulation of PRDM16 protein expression hampered us from selectively targeting this transcriptional pathway. Here we identify CUL2–APPBP2 as the ubiquitin E3 ligase that determines PRDM16 protein stability by catalysing its polyubiquitination. Inhibition of CUL2–APPBP2 sufficiently extended the half-life of PRDM16 protein and promoted beige adipocyte biogenesis. By contrast, elevated CUL2–APPBP2 expression was found in aged adipose tissues and repressed adipocyte thermogenesis by degrading PRDM16 protein. Importantly, extended PRDM16 protein stability by adipocyte-specific deletion of CUL2–APPBP2 counteracted diet-induced obesity, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia in mice. These results offer a cell-autonomous route to selectively activate the PRDM16 pathway in adipose tissues.
A dataset of road-killed vertebrates collected via citizen science from 2014–2020
Authors: Heigl Florian , Teufelbauer Norbert , Resch Stefan , Schweiger Silke , Stückler Susanne , Dörler Daniel
Published: August 2022

Data on road-killed animals is essential for assessing the impact of roads on biodiversity. In most European countries data on road-killed huntable wildlife exists, but data on other vertebrate species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, small mammals) is scarce. Therefore, we conducted a citizen science project on road-killed vertebrates as a useful supplement to data on huntable wildlife collected by public authorities. The dataset contains 15198 reports with 17163 individual road-killed vertebrates collected by 912 participants. The reports were made in 44 countries, but the majority of data was reported in Austria. We implemented a data validation routine which led to three quality levels. Reports in quality level 1 are published via GBIF, reports in quality level 2 via Zenodo and reports in quality level 3 were deleted. The dataset is relevant for the scientific community studying impacts of roads on fauna as well as for those who are responsible for road planning and implementing mitigation measures.
An Electroencephalography-based Database for studying the Effects of Acoustic Therapies for Tinnitus Treatment
Authors: Cuevas-Romero Alma Rosa , Alonso-Valerdi Luz María , Intriago-Campos Luis Alejandro , Ibarra-Zárate David Isaac
Published: August 2022

The present database provides demographic (age and sex), clinical (hearing loss and acoustic properties of tinnitus), psychometric (based on Tinnitus Handicapped Inventory and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and electroencephalographic information of 89 tinnitus sufferers who were semi-randomly treated for eight weeks with one of five acoustic therapies. These were (1) placebo (relaxing music), (2) tinnitus retraining therapy, (3) auditory discrimination therapy, (4) enriched acoustic environment, and (5) binaural beats therapy. Fourteen healthy volunteers who were exposed to relaxing music and followed the same experimental procedure as tinnitus sufferers were additionally included in the study (control group). The database is available at https://doi.org/10.17632/kj443jc4yc.1. Acoustic therapies were monitored one week after, three weeks after, five weeks after, and eight weeks after the acoustic therapy. This study was previously approved by the local Ethical Committee (CONBIOETICA19CEI00820130520), it was registered as a clinical trial (ISRCTN14553550) in BioMed Central (Springer Nature), the protocol was published in 2016, it attracted L’Oréal-UNESCO Organization as a sponsor, and six journal publications have resulted from the analysis of this database.
Nitrogen use aggravates bacterial diversity and network complexity responses to temperature
Authors: Xing Xiaoyi , Xu Huifang , Wang Dou , Yang Xianjun , Qin Hongling , Zhu Baoli
Published: August 2022

Rising temperature affects microbial composition and function in agriculture field, especially under nitrogen fertilization. In this study, we investigated the bacterial community of paddy soil incubated at controlled temperatures (5 °C, 15 °C, 25 °C, and 35 °C). Results showed that the response of bacterial communities to temperature was not uniform. Temperature elevation from 15 to 25 °C abruptly shifted the soil bacterial community, whereas elevation from 5 to 15 °C and from 25 to 35 °C had a marginal effect. The bacterial α-diversity was higher at 5 °C and 15 °C, owing to the massively distributed taxa with low abundance. However, as the temperature increased to 25 °C and 35 °C, these taxa were diminished, whereas Firmicutes significantly increased, resulting in a strong decline in α-diversity. Simultaneously, bacterial network complexity significantly increased at 25 °C and 35 °C, indicating the bacteria had closer interactions. Nitrogen application aggravated the variation in bacterial diversity and network complexity among temperatures. Interestingly, most complex network was observed under higher temperatures in fertilized soils. Collectively, these results indicate that nitrogen exacerbates the response of the soil bacterial community to temperature, and association between diversity and network complexity may be present.
Structural characterization of aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Authors: Teakel S. L. , Fairman J. W. , Muruthi M. M. , Abendroth J. , Dranow D. M. , Lorimer D. D. , Myler P. J. , Edwards T. E. , Forwood J. K.
Published: August 2022

Gonorrhoea infection rates and the risk of infection from opportunistic pathogens including P. aeruginosa have both risen globally, in part due to increasing broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance. Development of new antimicrobial drugs is necessary and urgent to counter infections from drug resistant bacteria. Aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (ASADH) is a key enzyme in the aspartate biosynthetic pathway, which is critical for amino acid and metabolite biosynthesis in most microorganisms including important human pathogens. Here we present the first structures of two ASADH proteins from N. gonorrhoeae and P. aeruginosa solved by X-ray crystallography. These high-resolution structures present an ideal platform for in silico drug design, offering potential targets for antimicrobial drug development as emerging multidrug resistant strains of bacteria become more prevalent.
Genetic structure and trait variation within a maple hybrid zone underscore North China as an overlooked diversity hotspot
Authors: Yang Rui , Deng Ya-Wen , Liu Yan , Zhao Jing , Bao Lei , Ge Jian-Ping , Wang Hong-Fang
Published: August 2022

Tertiary relict flora in East Asia can be divided into northern and southern regions. North China is a diversity hotspot because it can be the secondary contact zone of ancient lineages from the two regions. To test the extent of ancient lineages hybridization and distinguish between the putative species pair Acer pictum subsp. mono and Acer truncatum, we conducted genetic and ecological studies within a maple hybrid zone in North China. Our results suggest that the two lineages of Acer coexist in the hybrid zone and that adult and offspring populations show typical bimodal genetic patterns. Hybrid individuals are established at intermediate altitudes between the two parental lineages. Flowering phenology is divergent between lineages, whereas the complex sexual system of Acer may ensure pollination among lineages. Leaf and fruit morphologies are different between the northern and southern origin lineages, corresponding to A. pictum subsp. mono and A. truncatum, respectively. Reduced gene flow between lineages suggests that they should be considered as two species. However, large morphological variations within each species and the existence of hybrids offer low reliability of species identification based solely on morphological traits. Our study underscores North China as an overlooked diversity hotspot that requires further study in the future.
Low pH structure of heliorhodopsin reveals chloride binding site and intramolecular signaling pathway
Authors: Besaw Jessica E. , Reichenwallner Jörg , De Guzman Paolo , Tucs Andrejs , Kuo Anling , Morizumi Takefumi , Tsuda Koji , Sljoka Adnan , Miller R. J. Dwayne , Ernst Oliver P.
Published: August 2022

Within the microbial rhodopsin family, heliorhodopsins (HeRs) form a phylogenetically distinct group of light-harvesting retinal proteins with largely unknown functions. We have determined the 1.97 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of Thermoplasmatales archaeon SG8-52-1 heliorhodopsin (TaHeR) in the presence of NaCl under acidic conditions (pH 4.5), which complements the known 2.4 Å TaHeR structure acquired at pH 8.0. The low pH structure revealed that the hydrophilic Schiff base cavity (SBC) accommodates a chloride anion to stabilize the protonated retinal Schiff base when its primary counterion (Glu-108) is neutralized. Comparison of the two structures at different pH revealed conformational changes connecting the SBC and the extracellular loop linking helices A–B. We corroborated this intramolecular signaling transduction pathway with computational studies, which revealed allosteric network changes propagating from the perturbed SBC to the intracellular and extracellular space, suggesting TaHeR may function as a sensory rhodopsin. This intramolecular signaling mechanism may be conserved among HeRs, as similar changes were observed for HeR 48C12 between its pH 8.8 and pH 4.3 structures. We additionally performed DEER experiments, which suggests that TaHeR forms possible dimer-of-dimer associations which may be integral to its putative functionality as a light sensor in binding a transducer protein.
Predicting social anxiety in young adults with machine learning of resting-state brain functional radiomic features
Authors: Kim Byung-Hoon , Kim Min-Kyeong , Jo Hye-Jeong , Kim Jae-Jin
Published: August 2022

Social anxiety is a symptom widely prevalent among young adults, and when present in excess, can lead to maladaptive patterns of social behavior. Recent approaches that incorporate brain functional radiomic features and machine learning have shown potential for predicting certain phenotypes or disorders from functional magnetic resonance images. In this study, we aimed to predict the level of social anxiety in young adult participants by training machine learning models with resting-state brain functional radiomic features including the regional homogeneity, fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, fractional resting-state physiological fluctuation amplitude, and degree centrality. Among the machine learning models, the XGBoost model achieved the best performance with balanced accuracy of 77.7% and F1 score of 0.815. Analysis of input feature importance demonstrated that the orbitofrontal cortex and the degree centrality were most relevant to predicting the level of social anxiety among the input brain regions and the input type of radiomic features, respectively. These results suggest potential validity for predicting social anxiety with machine learning of the resting-state brain functional radiomic features and provide further understanding of the neural basis of the symptom.
An image based application in Matlab for automated modelling and morphological analysis of insect wings
Authors: Eshghi Shahab , Nabati Fatemeh , Shafaghi Shaghayegh , Nooraeefar Vahid , Darvizeh Abolfazl , Gorb Stanislav N. , Rajabi Hamed
Published: August 2022

Despite extensive research on the biomechanics of insect wings over the past years, direct mechanical measurements on sensitive wing specimens remain very challenging. This is especially true for examining delicate museum specimens. This has made the finite element method popular in studies of wing biomechanics. Considering the complexities of insect wings, developing a wing model is usually error-prone and time-consuming. Hence, numerical studies in this area have often accompanied oversimplified models. Here we address this challenge by developing a new tool for fast, precise modelling of insect wings. This application, calledWingGram, uses computer vision to detect the boundaries of wings and wing cells from a 2D image. The app can be used to develop wing models that include complex venations, corrugations and camber.WingGramcan extract geometric features of the wings, including dimensions of the wing domain and subdomains and the location of vein junctions. Allowing researchers to simply model wings with a variety of forms, shapes and sizes, our application can facilitate studies of insect wing morphology and biomechanics. Being an open-access resource,WingGramhas a unique application to expand how scientists, educators, and industry professionals analyse insect wings and similar shell structures in other fields, such as aerospace.
Application of XGBoost model for in-situ water saturation determination in Canadian oil-sands by LF-NMR and density data
Authors: Markovic Strahinja , Bryan Jonathan L. , Rezaee Reza , Turakhanov Aman , Cheremisin Alexey , Kantzas Apostolos , Koroteev Dmitry
Published: August 2022

Water saturation determination is among the most challenging tasks in petrophysical well-logging, which directly impacts the decision-making process in hydrocarbon exploration and production. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) measurements can provide reliable evaluation. However, quantification of oil and water volumes is problematic when their NMR signals are not distinct. To overcome this, we developed two machine learning frameworks for predicting relative water content in oil-sand samples using LF-NMR spin–spin (T2) relaxation and bulk density data to derive a model based on Extreme Gradient Boosting. The first one facilitates feature engineering based on empirical knowledge from the T2 relaxation distribution analysis domain and mutual information feature extraction technique, while the second model considers whole samples’ NMR T2-relaxation distribution. The NMR T2 distributions were obtained for 82 Canadian oil-sands samples at ambient and reservoir temperatures (164 data points). The true water content was determined by Dean-Stark extraction. The statistical scores confirm the strong generalization ability of the feature engineering LF-NMR model in predicting relative water content by Dean-Stark—root-mean-square error of 0.67% and mean-absolute error of 0.53% (R2 = 0.90). Results indicate that this approach can be extended for the improved in-situ water saturation evaluation by LF-NMR and bulk density measurements.
CX-5461 causes nucleolar compaction, alteration of peri- and intranucleolar chromatin arrangement, an increase in both heterochromatin and DNA damage response
Authors: Snyers Luc , Laffer Sylvia , Löhnert Renate , Weipoltshammer Klara , Schöfer Christian
Published: August 2022

In this study, we characterize the changes in nucleolar morphology and its dynamics induced by the recently introduced compound CX-5461, an inhibitor of ribosome synthesis. Time-lapse imaging, immunofluorescence and ultrastructural analysis revealed that exposure of cells to CX-5461 has a profound impact on their nucleolar morphology and function: nucleoli acquired a compact, spherical shape and display enlarged, ring-like masses of perinucleolar condensed chromatin. Tunnels consisting of chromatin developed as transient structures running through nucleoli. Nucleolar components involved in rRNA transcription, fibrillar centres and dense fibrillar component with their major constituents ribosomal DNA, RNA polymerase I and fibrillarin maintain their topological arrangement but become reduced in number and move towards the nucleolar periphery. Nucleolar changes are paralleled by an increased amount of the DNA damage response indicator γH2AX and DNA unwinding enzyme topoisomerase I in nucleoli and the perinucleolar area suggesting that CX-5461 induces torsional stress and DNA damage in rDNA. This is corroborated by the irreversibility of the observed altered nucleolar phenotypes. We demonstrate that incubation with CX-5461, apart from leading to specific morphological alterations, increases senescence and decreases cell replication. We discuss that these alterations differ from those observed with other drugs interfering with nucleolar functions.
Diabetic retinopathy screening and treatment through the Brazilian National Health Insurance
Authors: Fernandes Arthur Gustavo , Ferraz Aline Nunes , Brant Rodrigo , Malerbi Fernando Korn
Published: August 2022

The current study aimed to investigate diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening and treatment coverages among diabetic patients evaluated through the Brazilian National Health Insurance from 2014 to 2019. The Brazilian Public Health System Information Database was used as the primary data source. DR screening coverage was calculated as the rate of procedures of clinical dilated fundus exam and color fundus photograph over the number of diabetic patients. DR treatment coverage was calculated as the rate of procedures of intravitreal injection, photocoagulation, and panretinal photocoagulation over the number of diabetic patients presumably in need of DR treatment. The overall screening coverage increased from 12.1% in 2014 to 21.2% in 2019 (p < 0.001) with substantial regional discrepancies so that North region was the only one with no changes along the period. The overall treatment coverage increased from 27.7% in 2014 to 44.1% in 2019, with Southeast and Midwest absorbing the demand for service from the North, Northeast and South. Despite an improvement along the past years, both screening and treatment coverages for DR in diabetes patients are ineffective in Brazil. Public health policies should address resources disparities throughout the country aiming to offer same healthcare conditions to patients regardless their geographic location.
Topology optimization of a heat-assisted magnetic recording write head to reduce transition curvature using a binary optimization algorithm utilizing the adjoint method
Authors: Wautischer Gregor , Abert Claas , Bruckner Florian , Slanovc Florian , Suess Dieter
Published: August 2022

In this work, the possibility to reduce transition curvature in heat-assisted magnetic recording, using a conventional write head design, by shaping the recording field to counteract the circular profile of the heat pulse is investigated. Topology optimization of the head tip is performed in order to create the desired cross-track field profile for increasing distances from the write head tip. For the topology optimization, the adjoint method is utilized to calculate the necessary gradients and a binary optimization scheme is proposed. The optimizations are performed considering linearized material parameters reducing the computational complexity and the results are compared to optimizations incorporating the full non-linear material behavior. The optimized field profiles are evaluated for their influence on the read-back process. To do so, switching probability phase diagrams are calculated and the curvature parameter, the signal to noise ratio and the channel bit density are extracted. The presented results show that while transition curvature can be reduced by shaping the cross-track profile of the write field, this alone does not consequently lead to an improvement of the read back process. Therefore, completely new head designs, considering additional parameters have to be investigated.
Verteporfin ameliorates fibrotic aspects of Dupuytren’s disease nodular fibroblasts irrespective the activation state of the cells
Authors: Puerta Cavanzo Nataly , Riesmeijer Sophie A. , Holt-Kedde Iris L. , Werker Paul M. N. , Piersma Bram , Olinga Peter , Bank Ruud A.
Published: August 2022

Dupuytren’s disease is a chronic, progressive fibroproliferative condition of the hand fascia which results in digital contraction. So far, treatments do not directly interfere with the (myo)fibroblasts that are responsible for the formation of the collagen-rich cords and its contraction. Here we investigated whether verteporfin (VP) is able to inhibit the activation and subsequent differentiation of DD nodular fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. Fibroblasts were isolated from nodules of 7 Dupuytren patients. Cells are treated (1) for 48 h with 5 ng/ml transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) followed by 48 h with/without 250 nM VP in the absence of TGF-β1, or treated (2) for 48 h with TGF-β1 followed by 48 h with/without VP in the presence of TGF-β1. mRNA levels were measured by means of Real-Time PCR, and proteins were visualized by means of Western blotting and/or immunofluorescence. Quantitative data were statistically analyzed with GraphPad Prism using the paired t-test. We found that fibroblasts activated for 48 h with TGF-β1 show a decrease in mRNA levels of COL1A1, COL3A1, COL4A1, PLOD2, FN1EDA, CCN2 and SERPINE1 when exposed for another 48 h with VP, whereas no decrease is seen for ACTA2, YAP1, SMAD2 and SMAD3 mRNA levels. Cells exposed for an additional 48 h with TGF-β1, but now in the presence of VP, are not further activated anymore, whereas in the absence of VP the cells continue to differentiate into myofibroblasts. Collagen type I, fibronectin-extra domain A, α-smooth muscle actin, YAP1, Smad2 and Smad3 protein levels were attenuated by both VP treatments. We conclude that VP has strong anti-fibrotic properties: it is able to halt the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, and is also able to reverse the activation status of fibroblasts. The decreased protein levels of YAP1, Smad2 and Smad3 in the presence of VP explain in part the strong anti-fibrotic properties of VP. Verteporfin is clinically used as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy to eliminate abnormal blood vessels in the eye to attenuate macular degeneration. The antifibrotic properties of VP do not rely on photo-activation, as we used the molecule in its non-photoinduced state.
A delay deviation tolerance IP geolocation method with error estimation
Authors: Zu Shuodi , Luo Xiangyang , Du Shaoyong , Wang Liang
Published: August 2022

IP geolocation is an important basis of location-based network services, while error estimation is an important basis for judging the reliability of results. Most of the existing IP geolocation algorithms cannot estimate the geolocation error. A few can achieve error estimation through high-precision delay measurement, but their performance is also affected by the common delay inflation in the actual network. A new IP target location estimation method is proposed in this manuscript to achieve geolocation with reliable error estimation of IP targets in actual network. Firstly, after the landmark set divided into training set and verification set for path detection, the metropolitan area network (MAN) topology is extracted through train path set. Secondly, the governed landmarks are searched level by level through the MAN, and the minimum covering circles are calculated through the geographical distribution of the landmarks to infer the routers’ area center. Then, geolocation errors are counted after simulated geolocation through the verification path set, and the minimum mean square error radius of the error mean and the minimum covering circle radius is calculated as the router area radius. Finally, the path to the IP target is measured and compared with the MAN to get the location estimation result. The experimental results based on 12 cities in China show that compared with the existing typical algorithms, the proposed method not only improves the error estimation accuracy, but also has finer geolocation granularity and lower median error.
Nucleation and growth of gold nanoparticles in the presence of different surfactants. A dissipative particle dynamics study
Authors: Suárez-López Rosa , Puntes Víctor F. , Bastús Neus G. , Hervés Carmen , Jaime Carlos
Published: August 2022

Nanoparticles (NPs) show promising applications in biomedicine, catalysis, and energy harvesting. This applicability relies on controlling the material’s features at the nanometer scale. Surfactants, a unique class of surface-active molecules, have a remarkable ability to tune NPs activity; provide specific functions, avoid their aggregation, and create stable colloidal solutions. Surfactants also control nanoparticles’ nucleation and growth processes by modifying nuclei solubility and surface energy. While nucleation seems independent from the surfactant, NP’s growth depends on it. NP`s size is influenced by the type of functional group (C, O, S or N), length of its C chain and NP to surfactant ratio. In this paper, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) are taken as model systems to study how nucleation and growth processes are affected by the choice of surfactants by Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) simulations. DPD has been mainly used for studying biochemical structures, like lipid bilayer models. However, the study of solid NPs, and their conjugates, needs the introduction of a new metallic component. To represent the collective phenomena of these large systems, their degrees of freedom are reduced by Coarse-Grained (CG) models. DPD behaved as a powerful tool for studying complex systems and shedding some light on some experimental observations, otherwise difficult to explain.
Socioeconomic burden of pneumonia due to multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Korea
Authors: Kim Chung-Jong , Song Kyoung-Ho , Choi Nam-Kyong , Ahn Jeonghoon , Bae Ji Yun , Choi Hee Jung , Jung Younghee , Lee Seung Soon , Bang Ji-Hwan , Kim Eu Suk , Moon Song Mi , Song Je Eun , Kwak Yee Gyung , Chun Shin Hye , Kim Yeon-Sook , Park Kyung-Hwa , Kang Yu Min , Choe Pyoeng Gyun , Lee Shinwon , Kim Hong Bin ,   Korea INfectious Diseases (KIND) Study Group, Park Sang Won , Lee Chan Mi , Jung Sook-In , Kim Seong Eun , Park Wan Beom , Kim Nam Joong , Lee Sun Hee , Lee Hyunju , Park Jeong Su , Kim Young-Jun
Published: August 2022

We aimed to estimate the socioeconomic burden of pneumonia due to multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MRPA). We prospectively searched for MRAB and MRPA pneumonia cases and matched them with susceptible-organism pneumonia and non-infected patients from 10 hospitals. The matching criteria were: same principal diagnosis, same surgery or intervention during hospitalisation, age, sex, and admission date within 60 days. We calculated the economic burden by using the difference in hospital costs, the difference in caregiver costs, and the sum of productivity loss from an unexpected death. We identified 108 MRAB pneumonia [MRAB-P] and 28 MRPA pneumonia [MRPA-P] cases. The estimated number of annual MRAB-P and MRPA-P cases in South Korea were 1309–2483 and 339–644, with 485–920 and 133–253 deaths, respectively. The annual socioeconomic burden of MRAB-P and MRPA-P in South Korea was $64,549,723–122,533,585 and $15,241,883–28,994,008, respectively. The results revealed that MRAB-P and MRPA-P occurred in 1648–3127 patients, resulted in 618–1173 deaths, and caused a nationwide socioeconomic burden of $79,791,606–151,527,593. Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) impose a great clinical and economic burden at a national level. Therefore, controlling the spread of MDRO will be an effective measure to reduce this burden.
Correlation analysis of metabolic characteristics and the risk of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease - related hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Xie Xuancheng , Zheng Mengyao , Guo Weibo , Zhou Ying , Xiang Zhao , Li Yuting , Yang Jinhui
Published: August 2022

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease worldwide and the main cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To explore the risk factors of MAFLD-HCC, we evaluated the independent and combined effects of metabolic characteristics on the risk of MAFLD-HCC. We retrospectively analyzed 135 MAFLD-HCC patients who were treated at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from January 2015 to December 2020 and 135 MAFLD patients as the control group. Independent and joint effects of metabolic traits on the risk of HCC were evaluated. Each metabolic feature was significantly correlated with the increased risk of MAFLD-HCC (p < 0.05); obesity had the strongest correlation (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.99–6.62). In patients with superimposed features, HCC risk was higher with more metabolic features (p < 0.05). The correlation between metabolic characteristics and risk of MAFLD-HCC in patients without cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis was basically consistent with the overall analysis. Metabolic characteristics increase the risk of MAFLD-HCC, and the risk is positively correlated with the number of metabolic characteristics. Obesity has the strongest correlation with HCC.
Risk factors for unfavourable outcomes after shunt surgery in patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus
Authors: Kobayashi Erena , Kanno Shigenori , Kawakami Nobuko , Narita Wataru , Saito Makoto , Endo Keiko , Iwasaki Masaki , Kawaguchi Tomohiro , Yamada Shigeki , Ishii Kazunari , Kazui Hiroaki , Miyajima Masakazu , Ishikawa Masatsune , Mori Etsuro , Tominaga Teiji , Tanaka Fumiaki , Suzuki Kyoko
Published: August 2022

A number of vascular risk factors (VRFs) have been reported to be associated with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), but it remains unclear whether these VRFs are related to patient outcomes after shunt surgery. Therefore, we investigated the risk factors for unfavourable outcomes after shunt surgery in iNPH patients using two samples from Tohoku University Hospital and from a multicentre prospective trial of lumboperitoneal (LP) shunt surgery for patients with iNPH (SINPHONI-2). We enrolled 158 iNPH patients. We compared the prevalence of VRFs and clinical measures between patients with favourable and unfavourable outcomes and identified predictors of unfavourable outcomes using multivariate logistic regression analyses. The presence of hypertension, longer disease duration, more severe urinary dysfunction, and a lower Evans’ index were predictors of unfavourable outcomes after shunt surgery. In addition, hypertension and longer disease duration were also predictors in patients with independent walking, and a lower Evans’ index was the only predictor in patients who needed assistance to walk or could not walk. Our findings indicate that hypertension is the only VRF related to unfavourable outcomes after shunt surgery in iNPH patients. Larger-scale studies are needed to elucidate the reason why hypertension can affect the irreversibility of symptoms after shunt placement.
High-temperature ethanol fermentation from pineapple waste hydrolysate and gene expression analysis of thermotolerant yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Phong Huynh Xuan , Klanrit Preekamol , Dung Ngo Thi Phuong , Thanonkeo Sudarat , Yamada Mamoru , Thanonkeo Pornthap
Published: August 2022

High-temperature ethanol fermentation by thermotolerant yeast is considered a promising technology for ethanol production, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, optimization conditions for high-temperature ethanol fermentation of pineapple waste hydrolysate (PWH) using a newly isolated thermotolerant yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae HG1.1, and the expression of genes during ethanol fermentation at 40 °C were carried out. Three independent variables, including cell concentration, pH, and yeast extract, positively affected ethanol production from PWH at 40 °C. The optimum levels of these significant factors evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) were a cell concentration of 8.0 × 107 cells/mL, a pH of 5.5, and a yeast extract concentration of 4.95 g/L, yielding a maximum ethanol concentration of 36.85 g/L and productivity of 3.07 g/L. Gene expression analysis during high-temperature ethanol fermentation using RT–qPCR revealed that the acquisition of thermotolerance ability and ethanol fermentation efficiency of S. cerevisiae HG1.1 are associated with genes responsible for growth and ethanol stress, oxidative stress, acetic acid stress, DNA repair, the pyruvate-to-tricarboxylic acid (TCA) pathway, and the pyruvate-to-ethanol pathway.
Transport of polymer-coated metal–organic framework nanoparticles in porous media
Authors: Nune Satish K. , Miller Quin R. S. , Schaef H. Todd , Jian Tengyue , Song Miao , Li Dongsheng , Shuttanandan Vaithiyalingam , McGrail B. Peter
Published: August 2022

Injecting fluids into deep underground geologic structures is a critical component to development of long-term strategies for managing greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating energy extraction operations. Recently, we reported that metal–organic frameworks are low-frequency, absorptive-acoustic metamaterial that may be injected into the subsurface to enhance geophysical monitoring tools used to track fluids and map complex structures. A key requirement for this nanotechnology deployment is transportability through porous geologic media without being retained by mineral-fluid interfaces. We used flow-through column studies to estimate transport and retention properties of five different polymer-coated MIL-101(Cr) nanoparticles (NP) in siliceous porous media. When negatively charged polystyrene sulfonate coated nanoparticles (NP-PSS-70K) were transported in 1 M NaCl, only about 8.4% of nanoparticles were retained in the column. Nanoparticles coated with polyethylenimine (NP-PD1) exhibited significant retention (> 50%), emphasizing the importance of complex nanoparticle-fluid-rock interactions for successful use of nanofluid technologies in the subsurface. Nanoparticle transport experiments revealed that nanoparticle surface characteristics play a critical role in nanoparticle colloidal stability and as well the transport.
Minimizing the wiring in distributed strain sensing using a capacitive sensor sheet with variable-resistance electrodes
Authors: Nesser Hussein , Lubineau Gilles
Published: August 2022

Strain mapping over a large area usually requires an array of sensors, necessitating extensive and complex wiring. Our solution is based on creating multiple sensing regions within the area of a single capacitive sensor body by considering the sensor as an analogical transmission line, reducing the connections to only two wires and simplifying the electronic interface. We demonstrate the technology by using piezoresistive electrodes in a parallel plate capacitor that create varying proportions of electromagnetic wave dissipation through the sensor length according to the interrogation frequency. We demonstrate, by a sensor divided into four virtual zones, that our cracked capacitive sensor can simultaneously record strain in each separated zone by measuring the sensor capacitance at a high frequency. Moreover, we confirm that by changing the frequency from high to low, our sensor is able to measure the local strain amplitudes. This sensor is unique in its ability to monitor strain continuously over a large area with promoted spatial resolution. This sensing technology with a reduced number of wires and a simple electronic interface will increase the reliability of sensing while reducing its cost and complexity.
Infections with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant exhibit fourfold increased viral loads in the upper airways compared to Alpha or non-variants of concern
Authors: von Wintersdorff Christian J. H. , Dingemans Jozef , van Alphen Lieke B. , Wolffs Petra F. G. , van der Veer Brian M. J. W. , Hoebe Christian J. P. A. , Savelkoul Paul H. M.
Published: August 2022

There has been a growing body of evidence that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant (B.1.617.2) shows enhanced transmissibility and increased viral loads compared to other variants. A recent study has even suggested that respiratory samples from people infected with the Delta variant can harbor up to 1000 times higher viral loads compared to samples with variants that are more closely related to the original Wuhan strain, although the sample size of this study (n = 125) was very limited. Here, we have compared the viral load in 16,185 samples that were obtained in periods during which non-VOC, the Alpha (B.1.1.7) or Delta variant (B.1.617.2) were dominant as evidenced by genomic surveillance. We found that the Delta variant contained about fourfold higher viral loads across all age groups compared to the non-VOC or Alpha variants, which is significantly lower than reported earlier. Interestingly, the increased viral load for the Delta variant seemed to be age-dependent, regardless of sex, as the viral load was about 14-fold higher for Delta compared to the non-VOC or Alpha variant in age group 0–20 years and fourfold higher in age group 21–40 years, while there was no difference in viral load between variants in age groups 41–60 and 61+ years, most likely as a consequence of a higher degree of vaccination in the older age groups.