bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ginsenoside Rh2 represses autophagy to promote cervical cancer cell apoptosis during starvation
Authors: Wang Jiawen , Bian Shuai , Wang Siming , Yang Song , Zhang Wanying , Zhao Daqing , Liu Meichen , Bai Xueyuan
Published: November 2020

Background

Cancer cells through autophagy-mediated recycling to meet the metabolic demands of growth and proliferation. The steroidal saponin 20(S)-ginsenoside Rh2 effectively inhibits the growth and survival of a variety of tumor cell lines and animal models, but the effects of Rh2 on autophagy remain elusive.

Methods

Cell viability was measured by CCK-8 (cell counting kit-8) assays. Apoptosis, ROS generation and mitochondrial membrane potential were analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blot analyses were used to determine changes in protein levels. Morphology of apoptotic cells and autophagosome accumulation were analyzed by DAPI staining and transmission electron microscopy. Autophagy induction was monitored by acidic vesicular organelle staining, EGFP-LC3 and mRFP-GFP-LC3 transfection. Atg7 siRNA and autophagy regulator was used to assess the effect of autophagy on apoptosis induced by G-Rh2.

Results

In this study, we found that low concentration G-Rh2 attenuated cancer cell growth and induced apoptosis upon serum-free starvation. Caspase 3 inhibitors failed to block apoptosis in G-Rh2-treated cells, indicating a caspase-independent mechanism. G-Rh2-treated cells in serum-deprived conditions showed impaired mitochondrial function, increased release and nuclear translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor, but little changes in the mitochondrial and cytoplasmic distributions of cytochrome C. Annexin A2 overexpression in 293T cells inhibited G-Rh2-induced apoptosis under serum-starved conditions. Meanwhile, G-Rh2 reduced lysosomal activity and inhibited the fusion of autophagosome and lysosome, leading to a block of autophagic flux. Knockdown Atg7 significantly inhibited autophagy and triggered AIF-induced apoptosis in serm free condition. The autophagy inducer significantly decreased the apoptosis levels of G-Rh2-treated cells in serum-free conditions.

Conclusions

Under nutrient deficient conditions, G-Rh2 represses autophagy in cervical cancer cells and enhanced apoptosis through an apoptosis-inducing factor mediated pathway.
Parent Engagement and Agency in Latin American Childhood Cancer Treatment: A Qualitative Investigation
Authors: Olarte-Sierra María Fernanda , Rossell Nuria , Zubieta Marcela , Challinor Julia
Published: November 2020

PURPOSE

Parent engagement in childhood cancer treatment is central for positive outcomes. Aspects of fruitful engagement have been described mainly in high-income countries (HICs) where family autonomy is valued, health care provider-patient relationships are less hierarchical, and active family participation in health care is welcomed. In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), these aspects are not always valued or encouraged. We explored childhood cancer treatment engagement in Latin America as part of a larger engagement study in 10 LMICs worldwide.

METHODS

A qualitative investigation was conducted with parents (with the exception of one grandmother and two aunts in loco parentis; n = 21) of children with cancer in El Salvador, Peru, and Mexico. Participants were recruited by two Childhood Cancer International foundations and two local hospitals. A pediatric oncology psychologist and a medical anthropologist (experienced, native Latin Americans researchers) conducted focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews that were recorded and transcribed, and analyzed data.

RESULTS

Parents in the three countries actively engage in their child’s treatment, despite challenges of communicating effectively with health care staff. Hierarchical health care provider relationships and generalized socioeconomic disparities and cultural diversity with health care staff notwithstanding, parents find ways to navigate cancer treatment by exerting their agency and exploiting resources they have at hand.

CONCLUSION

In Latin America, engagement materializes in ways that are not necessarily reflected in existing literature from HICs and, thus, engagement may seem nonexistent. Health care teams’ recognition of parents’ substantial sacrifices to adhere to complex demands as treatment engagement, may positively impact the children’s (and family’s) quality of life, treatment experience, adherence, and posttreatment circumstances.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Therapy After Amniotic Fluid Embolism With Undetectable ROTEM FIBTEM Activity: A Case Report
Authors: Chiao Sunny S. , Sheeran Jessica S.
Published: November 2020

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare but devastating condition with mortality rates as high as 60%–80%.
1,2
We report a case of AFE complicating the labor of a parturient with no reported risk factors. She received general anesthesia for emergent cesarean delivery (CD), after which she developed a pulseless electrical activity (PEA) event requiring resuscitation, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and postpartum hemorrhage with undetectable fibrinogen activity by ROTEM FIBTEM assay. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy was successfully initiated, and she was discharged home without neurologic sequelae. ECMO therapy can be considered for the treatment of AFE even in the absence of fibrinogen activity.
Kakanian Flyspecks: Film Criticism in Austria since the 1990s
Authors: Naqvi Fatima
Published: November 2020

Film criticism helped constitute what is now called New Austrian Cinema. This article looks at “short form” criticism in edited volumes and emerging journals that worked to establish this cinema’s coherence and prestige. The virtuous cycle inaugurated in the 1990s—when critics wrote with great acuity about recent films, and filmmakers seemed to work to meet heightened expectations—has continued with full-length monographs for a wider audience in the new millennium. This development, however, has not been without its detractors. Specifically, Michael Haneke’s Caché (2005) can be interpreted as an ambivalent statement about the power of the critic.
Playing the “Lady Sambo”
Authors: Francis Leigh-Anne
Published: November 2020

In the post–Civil War South, black women litigants made conscious tactical appeals to white male judges’ racism, particularly the racist-sexist stereotypes at the heart of the white paternalism ethos, in order to win lawsuits against whites who defrauded them. African American women’s arsenal of legal strategies included the “Lady Sambo,” an intentional racialized gender performance of feigned ignorance. By performing the “Lady Sambo”—an ignorant, servile black woman in need of protection—some poor black women mobilized their expertise in white racism to defend their economic rights. In a white-dominated society predicated upon the denial of black rights, freedom, and dignity, poor black women seeking justice in civil court cases had to employ resistance strategies that did not openly challenge white authority. In white paternalism, a cultural mainstay of the postbellum South, poor black women discerned and wrested an opportunity to covertly resist economic racism. Unable to attenuate or eradicate structural racism, black women treated racism as a weakness that, at times, made whites vulnerable to manipulation. As long as judges’ legal decisions left the white male power structure intact, some black women were the potential beneficiaries of jurists’ racial paternalism ethos. While whites imagined themselves as controlling paternalistic exchanges with blacks, black people engaged whites as conscious actors drawing on a keen understanding of white people’s supremacist self-perceptions and projections onto blacks. When possible, black women exploited white racism to their advantage and white judges’ racial paternalism ethos occasioned such exploitation. In so doing, black women earned their legal victories by acting intentionally and with savvy.
Different When I Opened My Mouth
Authors: Sembiante Sabrina F. , Salinas Cristóbal , Ramírez J. Andrés , Vásquez-Colina Maria D. , Silva Yamilé
Published: November 2020

This article explores experiences, reflections, and perspectives of actual or perceived linguistic discrimination as experienced by four Latina/o and one White foreign-born professors currently working in research universities across the United States. Building on the literature on linguistic discrimination and the theoretical framing of LangCrit, the authors exemplify instances of linguistic discrimination resulting from a member of the majority culture asserting their native speaker power over the foreign-born speaker with an accent. Through examining the participants’ accents, the authors expose the paradoxical simultaneous positions the participants occupy as oppressed-privileged beings. In the discussion and implications, the authors address raising consciousness around linguistic discrimination in an effort to transform the educational landscape and opportunities for historically marginalized communities.
Head and neck sarcomas: imaging “pearls” and “mimics”
Authors: Kowa Xin-Ying , Otero Sofia , Jawad Susan
Published: November 2020

Sarcomas are rare tumours, which can arise in any location in the head and neck. This review highlights the characteristic features of the commoner subtypes of bone and soft tissue sarcomas (including radiation-induced sarcomas), with emphasis on diagnostic “pearls” and imaging “mimics”. This knowledge will help the radiologist formulate a differential diagnosis and expedite referral to a regional sarcoma unit for definitive management.
MR lymphography with superparamagnetic iron oxide for sentinel lymph node mapping of N0 early oral cancer: A pilot study
Authors: Sugiyama Satomi , Iwai Toshinori , Baba Junichi , Oguri Senri , Izumi Toshiharu , Sekino Masaki , Kusakabe Moriaki , Mitsudo Kenji
Published: November 2020

Objectives:

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the usefulness of magnetic resonance lymphography (MRL) with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) in sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping of clinically N0 early oral cancer, and to conduct a comparative study of this MRL with CT lymphography (CTL).

Methods:

CTL and MRL were performed for SLN mapping before surgery for 20 patients with clinically N0 early oral cancer. The detection rate, number, and location of SLNs in CTL and MRL were evaluated. Furthermore, optimal scanning/imaging timing in MRL was examined.

Results:

SLNs were detected by CTL in 18 (90%) patients, and the total and mean number of SLN were 35 and 1.8, respectively. All SLNs could be detected 2 min and 3.5–5 min after contrast medium injection. In all patients, SLNs were detected by MRL at 10 min after SPIO injection, and the total and mean number of SLN was 53 and 2.7, respectively. MRL at 30 min after the injection showed additional 18 secondary lymph nodes.

Conclusion:

MRL with SPIO is safe and useful imaging for the detection of SLNs in clinically N0 early oral cancer, and the optimal imaging timing is 10 min after SPIO injection.
Localizing emotions: Soundscape representations through Smartphone Use
Authors: Gazi Angeliki , Rizopoulos Charalampos , Christidis Yiannis
Published: November 2020

The term “soundscape” refers to a well-defined field that acts as a source of auditory stimuli and whose characteristics are directly related to the listener’s position. The study of soundscapes entails the study of the interplay between the listener and sound, as well as the attribution of representation to auditory information. The investigation of representation is intimately related to the person and emotions, as well as the spatial and auditory aspects of the environment. Emotion is a way of understanding the listeners, their experiences, and the environment. The research described in this paper aimed to identify and investigate the representation of the soundscape through emotional response. The research took place in the city of Limassol, Cyprus. The participants consisted of four groups of 10-15 persons each. A mixed methodological approach was followed – both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. For the geolocation of the emotional responses that arise as a result of the representation of the urban soundscape in question, a mobile app was developed for the mediated experience; it runs on on Android, it is titled Locomotion, and it provides participants with the ability to indicate their emotional state based on the dimensions of Russell’s (2003) circumplex model of affect. The emotion-related information provided by the participants is overlaid on a map of the city, so that the emotional significance of various units of the urban environment is readily visible.
Setting up a successful nurse-led intravitreal injections service: pearls from Swindon
Authors: Hasan Hani , Mamtora Sunil , Shah Nimish
Published: November 2020

The demand for performing intravitreal injections has increased in recent years, prompting the need for more nurse training in their administration. The Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust in Swindon has developed a structured nurse training programme and now has 8 independent nurse injectors trained to undertake injections independently; nurse practitioners now contribute upwards of 85% of the total number of injections. The authors have also demonstrated the financial benefits of using injection assistant devices and shown the positive impact such devices have on training. In September 2019, the authors organised the first course to offer nurses and doctors hands-on experience in administering injections, using the Swindon training model to provide participants with a structured approach to learn how to perform intravitreal injections safely. Nurses made up 96% of participants; the remainder were doctors and managers; 6% had never performed an intravitreal injection; of units where they had, disposable drapes and a speculum were used in 71% of these. The number of injections performed per session at participants' units at the time they attended the course was: 17 or more injections=46%, 13–14=39%, and 11–12=15%. The course was rated 8.9/10 overall for content, with 85% very likely to recommend it to colleagues. All participants indicated that using the Swindon model made them feel confident to deliver injections safely. The authors demonstrated that using a structured training protocol and intravitreal assistant device improves the quality of nurse training and increases confidence in administering intravitreal injections.
Mandatory vaccination for seasonal influenza: what are nurses' views?
Authors: Flanagan Paula , Dowling Maura , Gethin Georgina
Published: November 2020

Background:

Preventing seasonal influenza is a public health priority but, although the benefits of vaccinating healthcare workers (HCWs) are emphasised, seasonal influenza vaccine uptake rates remain low. Voluntary vaccination policies have been less successful in achieving high vaccine uptake when compared to mandatory policies and the persistently low vaccine uptake among HCWs has fuelled debate on whether mandatory vaccination programmes should be implemented in the interest of patient safety.

Aim:

This study explored nurses' views on mandatory vaccination policy for seasonal influenza.

Methods:

A self-selected sample (n=35) of qualified nurses working in two large hospital sites in Ireland participated in five focus groups. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's framework.

Findings:

Two themes were identified: (1) mixed views on mandatory vaccination and (2) leave nurses to make their own choice on vaccination.

Conclusion:

This study provides an understanding of nurses' views regarding mandatory vaccination policy for seasonal influenza and highlights that individual choice and autonomy are crucial for vaccine acceptance.
A service evaluation: impact of nurse-led regional familial hypercholesterolaemia service on a hospital adult lipid clinic
Authors: Wilkinson Benjamin , George Elaine , Horton Sally , Bellaby Judith , Min San San , Gama Rousseau
Published: November 2020

The authors evaluated the impact of genetic screening for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) in a lipid clinic cohort of patients with definite and possible FH as defined by the Simon Broome Register (SBR) criteria. Methods: Patients with a lipid clinic diagnosis of definite and possible FH based on the SBR criteria were referred to a nurse-led regional service for FH genetic testing. Findings: 140 patients were referred for genetic testing. Six had SBR-definite FH due to the presence of tendon xanthomata and 134 had SBR-possible FH. A monogenic FH mutation was detected in all six patients (100%) with SBR-definite FH and in 34 (25%) of patients with possible FH. Conclusion: The appropriate use of molecular genetics in a lipid clinic will greatly facilitate the management of hyperlipidaemia and cardiovascular risk since the management of FH patients (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guideline 71) is different from non-FH patients (NICE Clinical Guideline 181).
Peer reviewing power: a case for a European evidence ombudsman
Authors: Hines Philip A. , Brand Angela
Published: November 2020

Background:

The use of evidence in the European Union’s (EU) policymaking remains largely ad hoc, political and opaque. These flaws are substantial, with a residual lack of appropriate methodology and transparency in the selection and use of evidence - including from stakeholder consultations - to inform policymaking across all EU institutions.

Aims and objectives:

To build on previous research and suggest a systematic solution to improving the use of evidence in EU policymaking.

Methods:

The solution was assessed using principles of good governance of evidence.

Findings:

This paper presents the idea of a European Evidence Ombudsman (EEO), a body to systematically and independently make proposals to improve the EU’s governance.

Discussion and conclusion:

Through better evidenced and more transparent policymaking, the EEO could help improve the legitimacy, quality and predictability of the EU’s legislation. Its mandate could include designing, recommending, and upon their approval by the EU institutions, enforcing improvements to evidence governance. This advisory mandate could see validated methods to select and weigh evidence in a transparent manner become a norm. Through using pre-existing EU expertise and engaging independent academics, the ombudsman could have a role as an evidence ambassador, providing an independent voice to strongly criticise the misuse of evidence, and improve evidence accountability and governance across all EU institutions.
Improved SSD network for accurate detection of optic disc and fovea and application in excyclotropia screening
Authors: Xie Huiying , Tang Chen , Xu Min , Lei Zhenkun
Published: November 2020

The detection of the optic disc (OD) and fovea is essential to many automatic diagnosis systems for retinal diseases. The single shot multibox detector (SSD) can generate predictions from feature maps of various resolutions, which has not been introduced into the OD and fovea detection. To enhance the detection performance, we propose an improved SSD network, which has strengthened information flow enabled by the dense connections. The proposed method can achieve multiscale detection of the OD and fovea with strengthened feature propagation. Extensive experiments on the publicly available Messidor database and local fundus images are performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Compared with seven types of representative solutions in the Messidor database, the proposed method can achieve competitive performance compared to state-of-the-art algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed method is applied to the excyclotropia screening. The screening results demonstrate promising application prospects for the proposed method in medical practice.
Theoretical explanation of spectral super-broadening of backward stimulated Raman scattering in liquids
Authors: He Guang S. , Zhang Feng-Dong , Shen Yuzhen , Cui Yiping
Published: November 2020

Spectral super-broadening (could be up to

≥

450

c
m

−
1

) has been recently observed for backward stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in several liquids under the pump conditions using 532 nm and

∼

11

n
s

pulses from a frequency-doubled and Pockels

Q

-switched Nd:YAG laser device working in multi-longitudinal modes. A theoretical model of Raman resonance-enhanced refractive-index change and the cross-phase modulation (XPM) between the pump sub-pulse and the SRS sub-pulse is presented. Based on the experimental fact that the pump pulse consists of successive sub-pulses of

≤

50

p
s

duration, the pump-induced phase change experienced by a forward and a backward SRS sub-pulse is calculated separately as a function of the peak intensity of the pump sub-pulse. For an individual forward SRS sub-pulse, it can only interact with one co-propagating pump sub-pulse; thus, the XPM induced spectral broadening remains in a limited spectral broadening range. However, for each individual backward SRS sub-pulse, it can sequentially interact with multiple counter-propagating pump sub-pulses, which results in a much larger broadening range of more than several hundreds of

c
m

−
1

, depending on how many pump sub-pulses could interact with a single backward SRS sub-pulse within the Raman liquid. By choosing appropriate numerical simulation parameters, the calculated distribution of spectral broadening can be in good agreement with the experimental result.
Phase-coherent asynchronous optical sampling system
Authors: Yang Honglei , Zhang Shengkang , Zhao Huan , Ge Jun
Published: November 2020

Mutual phase coherence is the utmost crucial factor in an asynchronous optical sampling system. The enhancement is commonly achieved by phase-locking dual femtosecond lasers to a shared narrow-linewidth cavity-stabilized laser. Here we report such a system with a low residual optical phase jitter at a level of 0.04 rad in a Fourier frequency band from 1 Hz to 5 MHz around 1.55 µm, corresponding to a timing jitter of 30 as. The residual phase jitter reaches 1 rad at a Fourier frequency between 0.06 Hz and 0.1 Hz, from which the phase-coherence time is inferred to be at least 10 s. The multi-heterodyne beats experimentally reveal a hardware-limited phase coherence time of ∼8.155 s throughout the direct lasing spectral band.
Quasi-continuous tuning of a 1.3-µm-wavelength superstructure grating distributed Bragg reflector laser by enhancing carrier-induced refractive index change
Authors: Shindo Takahiko , Fujiwara Naoki , Ohiso Yoshitaka , Sato Tomonari , Matsuzaki Hideaki
Published: November 2020

To overcome the limitation of the small tuning range of 1.3-µm-wavelength distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers using the carrier-plasma effect, we designed a DBR structure with InAlAs carrier confinement layers and an InGaAlAs core layer. We found that the enhanced carrier density and small effective mass of electrons in the core layer of the DBR regions resulted in a wide Bragg wavelength shift. The enhanced refractive-index change due to the new structure enabled us to fabricate the world’s first 1.3-µm-wavelength superstructure-grating DBR laser with a quasi-continuous tuning range of over 30 nm.
Effect of heating/cooling dynamics in the hysteresis loop and tunable IR emissivity of VO2 thin films
Authors: Larciprete Maria Cristina , Centini Marco , Paoloni Stefano , Dereshgi Sina A. , Tang Kechao , Wu Junqiao , Aydin Koray
Published: November 2020

We experimentally investigate the semiconductor-to-metal transition (SMT) in vanadium dioxide thin ﬁlms using an infrared thermographic technique. During the semiconductor to metal phase change process, VO2 optical properties dynamically change and infrared emission undergoes a hysteresis loop due to differences between heating and cooling stages. The shape of the hysteresis loop was accurately monitored under different dynamic heating/cooling rates. In order to quantify and understand the effects of different rates, we used a numerical modelling approach in which a VO2 thin layer was modeled as metamaterial. The main experimental findings are interpreted assuming that both the rate of formation and shape of metallic inclusions are tuned with the heating/cooling rate. The structural transition from monoclinic to tetragonal phases is the main mechanism for controlling the global properties of the phase transition. However, our experimental results reveal that the dynamics of the heating/cooling process can become a useful parameter for further tuning options and lays out a macroscopic optical sensing scheme for the microscopic phase change dynamics of VO2. Our study sheds light on phase-transition dynamics and their effect on the infrared emission spectra of VO2 thin films, therefore enabling the heating/cooling rate to be an additional parameter to control infrared emission characteristics of thermal emitters. The hysteresis loop represents the phase coexistence region, thus being of fundamental importance for several applications, such as the operation of radiative thermal logic elements based on phase transition materials. For such applications, the phase transition region is shifted for heating and cooling processes. We also show that, depending on the way the phase change elements are heated, the temperature operation range will be slightly modified.
PAExM: label-free hyper-resolution photoacoustic expansion microscopy
Authors: Kim Hyojin , Baik Jin Woo , Jeon Seungwan , Kim Jin Young , Kim Chulhong
Published: November 2020

Reflection-mode ultraviolet photoacoustic microscopy (UV-PAM) is capable of imaging cell nuclei in thick tissue without complex preparation procedures, but it is challenging to distinguish adjacent nuclei due to the limited spatial resolution. Tissue expansion technology has recently been developed to exceed the diffraction-limited fluorescence microscopies, but it is accompanied by limitations including additional staining. Herein, photoacoustic expansion microscopy (PAExM) is presented, which is an advanced histologic imaging strategy combining advantages of fast label-free reflection-mode UV-PAM and the tissue expansion technology. Clustered cell nuclei in an enlarged volume of a mouse brain section can be visually resolved without staining, demonstrating a great potential of the system to be widely used for histologic applications throughout biomedical fields.
Real-time continuous calibration method for an ultraviolet camera
Authors: Wu Kuijun , Feng Yutao , Xiong Yuanhui , Duan Weimin , Yu Guangbao , Li Faquan
Published: November 2020

The accuracy of

S
O

2

cameras is significantly determined by the ability to obtain an accurate calibration. This work presents a real-time continuous calibration method for

S
O

2

cameras with a moderate resolution spectrometer by taking realistic radiative transfer into account. The effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method have been verified through simulations and experiments. The calibration error can be reduced by about 20–80% compared with the commonly used cell calibration, especially for situations of long distance, poor visibility, or optically thick plumes.
Study on the mechanism of a femtosecond laser-induced breakdown of the deposited substrate mediated by aluminum nanoparticles in a vacuum
Authors: Lin Qing , Ren Naifei , Da Yang
Published: November 2020

The mechanism of a femtosecond laser-induced breakdown of deposited substrates mediated by aluminum nanoparticles in a vacuum environment was studied. This model of optical breakdown mediated by aluminum nanoparticles includes the electromagnetic field model for the description of near-field enhancement of aluminum nanoparticles, the two-temperature model for the description of electron and lattice temperature of aluminum nanoparticles, and the plasma model for the description of the evolution of electron density in the deposited substrate. These three physical field models were fully coupled in this model. We defined a new modified dielectric function model to describe the dielectric function of aluminum nanoparticles, due to the strength of near-field enhancement depends on the size and morphology of nanoparticles. The near-field enhancement of different types of aluminum nanoparticles, the femtosecond laser breakdown threshold of deposited substrates, and the evolution of the lattice temperature of aluminum nanoparticles were investigated. The results showed that assembled aluminum nanoparticles can significantly reduce the femtosecond laser breakdown threshold of deposited substrates in a vacuum, and the lattice temperature of aluminum nanoparticle was lower than the melting point, under the irradiation of a single-pulse femtosecond laser with a wavelength of 800 nm and pulse width of 25 fs.
Spatiotemporal characterization of nonlinear intermodal interference between selectively excited modes of a few-mode fiber
Authors: Dacha Sai Kanth , Murphy Thomas E.
Published: November 2020

Nonlinear propagation of signals in single-mode fibers is well understood, and is typically observed by measuring the temporal profile or optical spectrum of an emerging signal. In multimode fibers, the nonlinearity has both a spatial and a temporal element, and a complete investigation of the interactions between propagating modes requires resolving the output in both space and time. We report here spatiotemporal measurements of a time-dependent mode interference effect, arising from the Kerr nonlinearity, of two selectively excited

LP

0
m

modes of a step-index few-mode fiber. We describe a method to selectively excite two propagating modes through the use of a phase mask directly patterned on the entrance face of the fiber. The output is resolved by raster-scanning a near-field tapered single-mode optical fiber probe that is connected to a high-speed detector. The results show that in the presence of nonlinearity, the output exhibits a spatiotemporal character that cannot be adequately characterized by a camera image or pulse shape alone.
Unifying the mechanism of mitotic exit control in a spatiotemporal logical model
Authors: Howell Rowan S. M. , Klemm Cinzia , Thorpe Peter H. , Csikász-Nagy Attila
Published: November 2020

The transition from mitosis into the first gap phase of the cell cycle in budding yeast is controlled by the Mitotic Exit Network (MEN). The network interprets spatiotemporal cues about the progression of mitosis and ensures that release of Cdc14 phosphatase occurs only after completion of key mitotic events. The MEN has been studied intensively; however, a unified understanding of how localisation and protein activity function together as a system is lacking. In this paper, we present a compartmental, logical model of the MEN that is capable of representing spatial aspects of regulation in parallel to control of enzymatic activity. We show that our model is capable of correctly predicting the phenotype of the majority of mutants we tested, including mutants that cause proteins to mislocalise. We use a continuous time implementation of the model to demonstrate that Cdc14 Early Anaphase Release (FEAR) ensures robust timing of anaphase, and we verify our findings in living cells. Furthermore, we show that our model can represent measured cell–cell variation in Spindle Position Checkpoint (SPoC) mutants. This work suggests a general approach to incorporate spatial effects into logical models. We anticipate that the model itself will be an important resource to experimental researchers, providing a rigorous platform to test hypotheses about regulation of mitotic exit.
Hypoxia-induced miR-92a regulates p53 signaling pathway and apoptosis by targeting calcium-sensing receptor in genetically improved farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Authors: Qiang Jun , He Jie , Tao Yi-Fan , Bao Jin-Wen , Zhu Jun-Hao , Xu Pao
Published: November 2020

miR-92a miRNAs are immune molecules that regulate apoptosis (programmed cell death) during the immune response. Apoptosis helps to maintain the dynamic balance in tissues of fish under hypoxia stress. The aim of this study was to explore the role and potential mechanisms of miR-92a in the liver of tilapia under hypoxia stress. We first confirmed that CaSR (encoding a calcium-sensing receptor) is a target gene of miR-92a in genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) using luciferase reporter gene assays. In GIFT under hypoxia stress, miR-92a was up-regulated and CaSR was down-regulated in a time-dependent manner. Knocked-down CaSR expression led to inhibited expression of p53, TP53INP1, and caspase-3/8, reduced the proportion of apoptotic hepatocytes, and decreased the activity of calcium ions induced by hypoxia in hepatocytes. GIFT injected in the tail vein with an miR-92a agomir showed up-regulation of miR-92a and down-regulation of CaSR, p53, TP53INP1, and caspase-3/8 genes in the liver, resulting in lower serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities under hypoxia stress. These findings suggest that stimulation of miR-92a interferes with hypoxia-induced apoptosis in hepatocytes of GIFT by targeting CaSR, thereby alleviating liver damage. These results provide new insights into the adaptation mechanisms of GIFT to hypoxia stress.
Probable PTSD, depression and anxiety in 40,299 UK police officers and staff: Prevalence, risk factors and associations with blood pressure
Authors: Stevelink Sharon A. M. , Opie Elena , Pernet David , Gao He , Elliott Paul , Wessely Simon , Fear Nicola T. , Hotopf Matthew , Greenberg Neil
Published: November 2020

Introduction

Police employees undertake challenging duties which may adversely impact their health. This study explored the prevalence of and risk factors for probable mental disorders amongst a representative sample of UK police employees. The association between mental illness and alterations in blood pressure was also explored.

Methods

Data were used from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study which was established to monitor the possible physical health impacts of a new communication system on police employees. Data included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and blood pressure. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the prevalence of probable mental disorders and associated factors. Stepwise linear regression was conducted, controlling for confounding variables, to examine associations between mental disorders and blood pressure.

Results

The sample included 40,299 police staff, police constable/sergeants and inspectors or above. Probable depression was most frequently reported (9.8%), followed by anxiety (8.5%) and PTSD (3.9%). Groups at risk for probable mental disorders included police staff, and police employees who reported drinking heavily. Police employees exposed to traumatic incidents in the past six months had a doubling in rates of anxiety or depression and a six-fold increase in PTSD compared to those with no recent trauma exposure. Adjusted logistic regression models did not reveal any significant association between probable mental disorders and systolic blood pressure but significantly elevated diastolic blood pressure (≈1mmHg) was found across mental disorders.

Conclusions

These results show lower rates of probable mental disorders, especially PTSD, than reported in other studies focusing on police employees. Although mental ill health was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure, this was unlikely to be clinically significant. These findings highlight the importance of continued health monitoring of members of the UK police forces, focusing on employees recently exposed to traumatic incidents, heavy drinkers and police staff.
Graph-based feature extraction: A new proposal to study the classification of music signals outside the time-frequency domain
Authors: Melo Dirceu de Freitas Piedade , Fadigas Inacio de Sousa , Pereira Hernane Borges de Barros
Published: November 2020

Most feature extraction algorithms for music audio signals use Fourier transforms to obtain coefficients that describe specific aspects of music information within the sound spectrum, such as the timbral texture, tonal texture and rhythmic activity. In this paper, we introduce a new method for extracting features related to the rhythmic activity of music signals using the topological properties of a graph constructed from an audio signal. We map the local standard deviation of a music signal to a visibility graph and calculate the modularity (Q), the number of communities (Nc), the average degree (〈k〉), and the density (Δ) of this graph. By applying this procedure to each signal in a database of various musical genres, we detected the existence of a hierarchy of rhythmic self-similarities between musical styles given by these four network properties. UsingQ,Nc, 〈k〉 and Δ as input attributes in a classification experiment based on supervised artificial neural networks, we obtained an accuracy higher than or equal to the beat histogram in 70% of the musical genre pairs, using only four features from the networks. Finally, when performing the attribute selection test withQ,Nc, 〈k〉 and Δ, along with the main signal processing field descriptors, we found that the four network properties were among the top-ranking positions given by this test.
Repurposing therapeutics for COVID-19: Rapid prediction of commercially available drugs through machine learning and docking
Authors: Mohapatra Sovesh , Nath Prathul , Chatterjee Manisha , Das Neeladrisingha , Kalita Deepjyoti , Roy Partha , Satapathi Soumitra
Published: November 2020

Background

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread rapidly around the globe during the past 3 months. As the virus infected cases and mortality rate of this disease is increasing exponentially, scientists and researchers all over the world are relentlessly working to understand this new virus along with possible treatment regimens by discovering active therapeutic agents and vaccines. So, there is an urgent requirement of new and effective medications that can treat the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Methods and findings

We perform the study of drugs that are already available in the market and being used for other diseases to accelerate clinical recovery, in other words repurposing of existing drugs. The vast complexity in drug design and protocols regarding clinical trials often prohibit developing various new drug combinations for this epidemic disease in a limited time. Recently, remarkable improvements in computational power coupled with advancements in Machine Learning (ML) technology have been utilized to revolutionize the drug development process. Consequently, a detailed study using ML for the repurposing of therapeutic agents is urgently required. Here, we report the ML model based on the Naive Bayes algorithm, which has an accuracy of around 73% to predict the drugs that could be used for the treatment of COVID-19. Our study predicts around ten FDA approved commercial drugs that can be used for repurposing. Among all, we found that 3 of the drugs fulfils the criterions well among which the antiretroviral drug Amprenavir (DrugBank ID–DB00701) would probably be the most effective drug based on the selected criterions.

Conclusions

Our study can help clinical scientists in being more selective in identifying and testing the therapeutic agents for COVID-19 treatment. The ML based approach for drug discovery as reported here can be a futuristic smart drug designing strategy for community applications.
Sex disparities in dialysis initiation, access to waitlist, transplantation and transplant outcome in German patients with renal disease—A population based analysis
Authors: Melk Anette , Schmidt Bernhard M. W. , Geyer Siegfried , Epping Jelena
Published: November 2020

Background

Renal transplantation access and outcome differ between men and women, but no analysis has considered all transition phases and transplant outcome using the same data set. We analyzed sex disparities in all phases of patients’ clinical path (progression to dialysis, waitlisting, transplantation, graft failure/death).

Methods

In a population based approach using health insurance data (2005–2013) we examined patients’ risk of changing from one phase to another applying Cox Proportional Hazards model.

Results

After adjusting for age and comorbidities, women had a 16% lower risk of progression to ESRD (HR/95%-CI: 0.84/0.79–0.88). Access to the waitlist was lowered by 18% in women compared to men (HR/95%-CI: 0.82/0.70–0.96). An age stratified analysis did not reveal differences in any age group. Once waitlisted, the chance to receive a transplant was identical (HR/95%-CI: 0.96/0.81–1.15). The risk of transplant failure/death was identical for both sexes (HR/95%-CI: 0.99/0.73–1.35), but the effect was modified by age: in younger women (18–45 years) the risk was twice as high compared to men (HR/95%-CI: 2.08/1.04–4.14), whereas the risk in elderly women (> 65 years) was only half the risk of men (HR/95%-CI: 0.47/0.24–0.93).

Conclusion

Sex disparities occurred at different steps in the history of patients with renal disease and affected progression to dialysis, waitlisting and transplantation outcome in a population with equal access to medical treatment.
Hydrogen sulfide facilitates reprogramming and trans-differentiation in 3D dermal fibroblast
Authors: Ostrakhovitch Elena A. , Akakura Shin , Tabibzadeh Siamak
Published: November 2020

The efficiency of cell reprogramming in two-dimensional (2D) cultures is limited. Given that cellular stemness is intimately related to microenvironmental changes, 3D cell cultures have the potential of overcoming this limited capacity by allowing cells to self-organize by aggregation. In 3D space, cells interact more efficiently, modify their cellular topology, gene expression, signaling, and metabolism. It is yet not clear as how 3D culture environments modify the reprogramming potential of fibroblasts. We demonstrate that 3D spheroids from dermal fibroblasts formed under ultra-low attachment conditions showed increased lactate production. This is a requisite for cell reprogramming, increase their expression of pluripotency genes, such as OCT4, NANOG and SOX2, and display upregulated cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production. Knockdown of CBS by RNAi suppresses lactic acid and H2S production and concomitantly decreases the expression of OCT4 and NANOG. On the contrary, H2S donors, NaHS and garlic-derived diallyl trisulfide (DATS), promote the expression of OCT4, and support osteogenic trans-differentiation of fibroblasts. These results demonstrate that CBS mediated release of H2S regulates the reprogramming of dermal fibroblasts grown in 3D cultures and supports their trans-differentiation.
Probing cardiomyocyte mobility with multi-phase cardiac diffusion tensor MRI
Authors: Moulin Kévin , Verzhbinsky Ilya A. , Maforo Nyasha G. , Perotti Luigi E. , Ennis Daniel B.
Published: November 2020

Purpose

Cardiomyocyte organization and performance underlie cardiac function, but the in vivo mobility of these cells during contraction and filling remains difficult to probe. Herein, a novel trigger delay (TD) scout sequence was used to acquire high in-plane resolution (1.6 mm) Spin-Echo (SE) cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) at three distinct cardiac phases. The objective was to characterize cardiomyocyte organization and mobility throughout the cardiac cycle in healthy volunteers.

Materials and methods

Nine healthy volunteers were imaged with cDTI at three distinct cardiac phases (early systole, late systole, and diastasis). The sequence used a free-breathing Spin-Echo (SE) cDTI protocol (b-values = 350s/mm2, twelve diffusion encoding directions, eight repetitions) to acquire high-resolution images (1.6x1.6x8mm3) at 3T in ~7 minutes/cardiac phase. Helix Angle (HA), Helix Angle Range (HAR), E2 angle (E2A), Transverse Angle (TA), Mean Diffusivity (MD), diffusion tensor eigenvalues (λ1-2-3), and Fractional Anisotropy (FA) in the left ventricle (LV) were characterized.

Results

Images from the patient-specific TD scout sequence demonstrated that SE cDTI acquisition was possible at early systole, late systole, and diastasis in 78%, 100% and 67% of the cases, respectively. At the mid-ventricular level, mobility (reported as median [IQR]) was observed in HAR between early systole and late systole (76.9 [72.6, 80.5]° vs 96.6 [85.9, 100.3]°, p<0.001). E2A also changed significantly between early systole, late systole, and diastasis (27.7 [20.8, 35.1]° vs 45.2 [42.1, 49]° vs 20.7 [16.6, 26.4]°, p<0.001).

Conclusion

We demonstrate that it is possible to probe cardiomyocyte mobility using multi-phase and high resolution cDTI. In healthy volunteers, aggregate cardiomyocytes re-orient themselves more longitudinally during contraction, while cardiomyocyte sheetlets tilt radially during wall thickening. These observations provide new insights into the three-dimensional mobility of myocardial microstructure during systolic contraction.
Unmet clinical needs for COVID-19 tests in UK health and social care settings
Authors: Graziadio Sara , Urwin Samuel G. , Cocco Paola , Micocci Massimo , Winter Amanda , Yang Yaling , Price D. Ashley , Messenger Mike , Allen A. Joy , Shinkins Bethany ,   on behalf of the CONDOR Steering group
Published: November 2020

There is an urgent requirement to identify which clinical settings are in most need of COVID-19 tests and the priority role(s) for tests in these settings to accelerate the development of tests fit for purpose in health and social care across the UK. This study sought to identify and prioritize unmet clinical needs for COVID-19 tests across different settings within the UK health and social care sector via an online survey of health and social care professionals and policymakers. Four hundred and forty-seven responses were received between 22nd May and 15th June 2020. Hospitals and care homes were recognized as the settings with the greatest unmet clinical need for COVID-19 diagnostics, despite reporting more access to laboratory molecular testing than other settings. Hospital staff identified a need for diagnostic tests for symptomatic workers and patients. In contrast, care home staff expressed an urgency for screening at the front door to protect high-risk residents and limit transmission. The length of time to test result was considered a widespread problem with current testing across all settings. Rapid tests for staff were regarded as an area of need across general practice and dental settings alongside tests to limit antibiotics use.