bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The spectral slope as a marker of excitation/inhibition ratio and cognitive functioning in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Akbarian Fahimeh , Rossi Chiara , Costers Lars , D'hooghe Marie B. , D'haeseleer Miguel , Nagels Guy , Van Schependom Jeroen
Published: September 2023

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by neuronal and synaptic loss, resulting in an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission and potentially cognitive impairment. Current methods for measuring the excitation/inhibition (E/I) ratio are mostly invasive, but recent research combining neurocomputational modeling with measurements of local field potentials has indicated that the slope with which the power spectrum of neuronal activity captured by electro‐ and/or magnetoencephalography rolls off, is a non‐invasive biomarker of the E/I ratio. A steeper roll‐off is associated with a stronger inhibition. This novel method can be applied to assess the E/I ratio in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS), detect the effect of medication such as benzodiazepines, and explore its utility as a biomarker for cognition. We recruited 44 healthy control subjects and 95 pwMS who underwent resting‐state magnetoencephalographic recordings. The 1/f spectral slope of the neural power spectra was calculated for each subject and for each brain region. As expected, the spectral slope was significantly steeper in pwMS treated with benzodiazepines (BZDs) compared to pwMS not receiving BZDs (p = .01). In the sub‐cohort of pwMS not treated with BZDs, we observed a steeper slope in cognitively impaired pwMS compared to cognitively preserved pwMS (p = .01) and healthy subjects (p = .02). Furthermore, we observed a significant correlation between 1/f spectral slope and verbal and spatial working memory functioning in the brain regions located in the prefrontal and parietal cortex. In this study, we highlighted the value of the spectral slope in MS by quantifying the effect of benzodiazepines and by putting it forward as a potential biomarker of cognitive deficits in pwMS.
A virtual tracer experiment to assess the temporal origin of root water uptake, evaporation, and drainage
Authors: Nasta Paolo , Šimůnek Jirka , Zhou Tiantian , Stumpp Christine , Romano Nunzio
Published: September 2023

The temporal origin of drainage, evaporation, and root water uptake (RWU) are indicators of ecosystem functioning that shed light on how natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect plant resilience and aquifer vulnerability. A virtual tracer experiment was carried out in HYDRUS‐1D using data from a soil lysimeter planted with winter rye in Austria. The RWU (τR), evaporation (τE), and drainage (τD) transit times (τ) were determined by using the actual dispersivity optimized in a prior study. First, τR and τD were compared to RWU (τPT,R) and drainage (τPT,D) advective transit times estimated using the particle tracking algorithm. The τR values were in agreement with τPT,R while large discrepancies were detected when estimating drainage transit times using the two approaches. A sensitivity analysis revealed that dispersivity had a mild, poor, and strong influence on τR, τE, and τD. The longitudinal dispersivity describes how a tracer spreads along the flow paths. The longer the flow paths, the more dispersion affects the tracer transport. On average, water parcels originating from rainfall in the growing season took 18 and 201 days to reach the roots (with RWU being 21% of rainwater) and the soil profile bottom (with drainage being 36% of rainwater), respectively. In contrast, 10% of rainwater that fell in the dormant season became RWU after 264 days, while 79% became drainage after 294 days. The temporal origin of water can be explored in other plots by using the guidelines proposed in this study.
Evaluation of wearable sports rehabilitation medical measurement system based on the internet of things
Authors: Qi Wenwen
Published: September 2023

Sports rehabilitation medicine uses sports training and rehab treatment to improve physical function recovery after illnesses, injuries, disabilities, or surgeries. It involves restoring muscle strength, joint range of motion, flexibility, and coordination while reducing pain and soreness, and improving cardiopulmonary function. Wearable IoT devices with sensors and wireless communication tech collect and transmit physiological information for analysis and processing. These devices monitor health, provide exercise training, and assist with rehab in daily wear equipment. The Internet of Things technology can provide a more accurate, convenient and personalized rehabilitation treatment method, accelerating the recovery and rehabilitation process of patients. This project would utilize Internet of Things technology to construct a medical measurement system for sports rehabilitation through measurement algorithms for sports rehabilitation data. Through comparative experiments, the accuracy of the exercise rehabilitation data measurement algorithm based on Internet of Things technology in measuring patient body data was studied and tested. After experimental verification, the actual heart rates of the 10 subjects were 76, 80, 79, 83, 72, 81, 77, 71, 72, and 78, respectively. The data measured using Internet of Things based algorithms were 75, 80, 80, 83, 73, 81, 78, 71, 72, and 77, respectively. Based on this, it could be concluded that the measured values of the algorithm were very close to the actual values, indicating that the algorithm had quite accurate heart rate measurement ability. Therefore, the sports rehabilitation medical testing system constructed by applying this algorithm had strong and accurate data measurement performance.
New protocol to affix sample for environmental and high vacuum electron microscopy
Authors: Mugnai Riccardo , Salazar Sander Santos , Maciel Adeilton Pereira , Andrade Daniel da Silva , Santos Arielly de Sousa
Published: September 2023

Electron microscopy has become increasingly essential as an investigative research resource in various fields of science. Despite the evolution of the equipment and preparation techniques, little has been published on techniques for affixation and removal of samples on the stubs after analysis. This work aims to illustrate a quick and low‐cost procedure for fixing and removing a sample from the support for analysis by electronic microscopy, applied to crustacean and insect species, as well as other invertebrates. It thus makes it feasible to use specimens or anatomical portions of specimens represented by a few individuals, or designated as paratypes or holotypes in a collection.

Research Highlights

This study presents a quick and low‐cost procedure for fixing and removing samples from support for electron microscopy analysis.

This technique makes it possible to use individual specimens or anatomical portions represented in a collection.

Fluidization of the adhesive and its complete removal allow easy recovery and repositioning of samples.
From zero to ossified: Larval skeletal ontogeny of the Neotropical Cichlid fish Cichlasoma dimerus
Authors: Beriotto Agustina C. , Vissio Paula G. , Gisbert Enric , Fernández Ignacio , Álvarez González Carlos A. , Di Yorio María P. , Sallemi Julieta E. , Pérez Sirkin Daniela I.
Published: September 2023

The identification of skeletal elements, the analysis of their developmental sequence, and the time of their appearance during larval development are essential to broaden the knowledge of each fish species and to recognize skeletal abnormalities that may affect further fish performance. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a general description of the development of the entire skeleton highlighting its variability in Cichlasoma dimerus. Larvae of C. dimersus were stained with alcian blue and alizarin red from hatching to 25 days posthatching. Skeletogenesis began with the endoskeletal disk and some cartilage structures from the caudal fin and the splachnocranium, while the first bony structure observed was the cleithrum. When larvae reached the free‐swimming and exogenous feeding stage, mostly bones from the jaws, the branchial arches, and the opercle series evidenced some degree of ossification, suggesting that the ossification sequence of C. dimerus adjusts to physiological demands such as feeding and ventilation. The caudal region was the most variable regarding meristic counts and evidenced higher incidence of bone deformities. In conclusion, this work provides an overview of C. dimerus skeletogenesis and lays the groundwork for further studies on diverse topics, like developmental plasticity, rearing conditions, or phylogenetic relationships.
Sub‐lineage B.1.6 of hMPXV in a global context: Phylogeny and epidemiology
Authors: Molina Iris S. , Jimenez‐Vasquez Victor , Lizarraga Wendy , Sevilla Nieves , Hurtado Veronica , Padilla‐Rojas Carlos
Published: September 2023

During the 2022 COVID‐19 pandemic, monkeypox emerged as a significant threat to global health. The virus responsible for the disease, the human monkeypox virus (hMPXV), underwent various genetic changes, resulting in the emergence of over a dozen distinct lineages, which could be identified by only a small number of unique mutations. As of January 25, 2023, genomic information of hMPXV generated had reached 4632 accessions in the GISAID database. In this study, we aimed to investigate the epidemiological and phylogenetic characteristics of the B.1.6 sub‐lineage of hMPXV in Peru, compared with other circulating sub‐lineages during the global outbreak. The B.1.6 sub‐lineage, characterized by the 111029G>A mutation, was estimated to have emerged in June 2022 and was found mainly in Peru. Most cases (95.8%) were men with an average age of 33 years, and nearly half of the patients had HIV, of whom only 77.35% received antiretroviral therapy. Our findings revealed that the B.1.6, B.1.4, and B.1.2 sub‐lineages were well represented and had a higher number of mutations despite having the lowest media substitution rates per site per year. Moreover, it was estimated that B.1.2 and B.1.4 appeared in February 2022 and were the first two sub‐lineages to emerge. A mutation profile was also obtained for each sub‐lineage, reflecting that several mutations had a pattern similar to the characteristic mutation. This study provides the first estimation of the substitution rate and ancestry of each monkeypox sub‐lineage belonging to the 2022 outbreak. Based on our findings, continued genomic surveillance of monkeypox is necessary to understand better and track the evolution of the virus.
SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of polarized human airway epithelium induces necroptosis that causes airway epithelial barrier dysfunction
Authors: Hao Siyuan , Ning Kang , Kuz Cagla A. , Xiong Min , Zou Wei , Park Soo Y. , McFarlin Shane , Yan Ziying , Qiu Jianming
Published: September 2023

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is the cause the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). One key feature associated with COVID‐19 is excessive pro‐inflammatory cytokine production that leads to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Although the cytokine storm induces inflammatory cell death in the host, which type of programmed cell death mechanism that occurs in various organs and cells remains elusive. Using an in vitro culture model of polarized human airway epithelium (HAE), we observed that necroptosis, but not apoptosis or pyroptosis, plays an essential role in the damage of the epithelial barrier of polarized HAE infected with SARS‐CoV‐2. Pharmacological inhibitors of necroptosis, necrostatin‐2 and necrosulfonamide, efficiently prevented cell death and epithelial barrier dysfunction caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Moreover, the silencing of genes that are involved in necroptosis, RIPK1, RIPK3, and MLKL, ameliorated airway epithelial damage of the polarized HAE infected with SARS‐CoV‐2. This study, for the first time, confirms that SARS‐CoV‐2 infection triggers necroptosis that disrupts the barrier function of human airway epithelia in vitro.
Effect of aromatic ring on surface and self‐assembly properties of synthesized heterocyclic‐based surfactants
Authors: Patel Divya , Sekhar Kanaparedu P. C. , Nayak Rati Ranjan , Kanjilal Sanjit
Published: September 2023

Heterocyclic‐based cationic surfactants with dodecyl tail group bridged to the head group either via aromatic ether [3‐(4‐dodecyloxybenzyl)‐1‐methyl‐imidazolium bromide (Ar‐I) and 4‐(4‐dodecyloxybenzyl)‐4‐methyl‐morpholinium bromide (Ar‐M)] or via aliphatic ether [3‐(2‐dodecyloxyethyl)‐1‐methyl imidazolium bromide (Al‐I) and 4‐(2‐dodecyloxyethyl)‐4‐methyl morpholinium bromide (Al‐M)] were synthesized and characterized using different spectral techniques. For the synthesis of Ar‐I and Ar‐M, 4‐hydroxybenzoic acid was esterified initially, followed by O‐alkylation, reduction, bromination and finally quaternization either with 1‐methylimidazole or with 4‐methylmorpholine. For the synthesis of aliphatic analogues (Al‐I and Al‐M), ethylene glycol was initially alkylated, followed by tosylation, bromination and quaternization either with 1‐methylimidazole or with 4‐methylmorpholine. Synthesized surfactants were evaluated for surface and self‐assembly properties. Impact of the presence or absence of phenyl ring bridging the polar head and nonpolar tail of the surfactant and also type of heterocyclic moiety in the head group region on micellization and surface properties such as wetting, foaming and emulsification was studied. Surfactants with the bridged aromatic ether moiety were observed to display lower critical micelle concentration than those with the bridged aliphatic ether moiety irrespective of type of heterocyclic molecule in the head group region. Foam volume and stability of the aromatic ether‐bridged surfactant were observed to be superior to their corresponding aliphatic analogs. Similar trend was observed in stabilizing the emulsion. However, aromatic ether‐bridged surfactant depicted poor wetting ability compared to their aliphatic analog. Aliphatic ether bridged surfactant showed higher aggregation number compared to their aromatic counterparts, but depicted similar micellar core polarity.
Preoperative inspiratory muscle weakness as a risk factor of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients with esophageal cancer
Authors: Okura Kazuki , Suto Akiyoshi , Sato Yusuke , Takahashi Yusuke , Hatakeyama Kazutoshi , Nagaki Yushi , Wakita Akiyuki , Kasukawa Yuji , Miyakoshi Naohisa , Minamiya Yoshihiro
Published: September 2023

Objective

We examined whether preoperative inspiratory muscle weakness (IMW) is a risk factor for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) in patients with esophageal cancer who underwent subtotal esophagectomy.

Methods

This single‐center retrospective cohort study enrolled patients with esophageal cancer who underwent a scheduled subtotal esophagectomy between June 2020 and May 2022. Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) was measured as inspiratory muscle strength using a respiratory dynamometer, and we defined IMW as MIP < 80% of the predicted value. Our primary outcome comprised overall PPCs. We investigated the relationship between IMW and PPCs using the Bayesian logistic regression model.

Results

After exclusion, 72 patients were included in this study. IMW was identified in 26 patients (36%), and PPCs developed in 28 patients (39%). Among patients with IMW, 15 (58%) developed PPCs. Preoperative IMW was associated with PPCs (mean odds ratio [OR]: 3.58; 95% credible interval [95% CrI]: 1.29, 9.73) in the unweighted model. A similar association was observed in the weighted model adjusted for preoperative and intraoperative contributing factors (mean OR: 4.15; 95% CrI: 2.04, 8.45).

Conclusions

Preoperative IMW was associated with PPCs in patients with esophageal cancer who underwent subtotal esophagectomy. This association remained after adjusting for preoperative and intraoperative contributing factors.
“A slap in the face”: Institutional betrayal, burnout, and career choice regret among frontline health care workers serving COVID‐19 patients
Authors: Park Soim , Closser Svea , Cooney Erin E. , Atkins Kaitlyn , Thrul Johannes , McDonald Kathryn M. , Langhinrichsen‐Rohling Jennifer , Veenema Tener Goodwin
Published: September 2023

The COVID‐19 pandemic has exacted a physical and mental health toll on health care and hospital workers (HHWs). To provide COVID‐19 care, HHWs expected health care institutions to support equipment and resources, ensure safety for patients and providers, and advocate for employees’ needs. Failure to do these acts has been defined as institutional betrayal. Using a mixed‐methods approach, this study aimed to explore the experience of institutional betrayal in HHWs serving COVID‐19 patients and the associations between self‐reported institutional betrayal and both burnout and career choice regret. Between July 2020 and January 2021, HHWs working in an urban U.S. health care system participated in an online survey (n = 1,189) and semistructured interview (n = 67). Among 1,075 quantitative participants, 57.8% endorsed institutional betrayal. Qualitative participants described frustration when the institution did not prioritize their safety while reporting they perceived receiving inadequate compensation from the system and felt that leadership did not sufficiently respond to their needs. Participants who endorsed prolonged breaches of trust reported more burnout and stronger intent to quit their job. Quantitatively, institutional betrayal endorsement was associated with 3‐fold higher odds of burnout, aOR = 2.94, 95% CI [2.22, 3.89], and 4‐fold higher odds of career choice regret, aOR = 4.31, 95% CI [3.15, 5.89], compared to no endorsement. Developing strategies to prevent, address, and repair institutional betrayal in HHWs may be critical to prevent and reduce burnout and increase motivation to work during and after public health emergencies.
Dermoscopic features of follicular mycosis fungoides of nonscalp areas: Report of 11 cases and literature review
Authors: Saber Mina , Mohaghegh Fatemeh , Mardani Elahe , Fatemi Naeini Farahnaz
Published: September 2023

Background

Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides (FMF) is a rare variant of MF that involves hair follicles and requires a more aggressive treatment regime. Significantly, some patients with classic MF can eventually have some degree of follicular involvement.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to describe the dermoscopic features of FMF in nonscalp areas to facilitate early diagnosis and posttreatment monitoring.

Methods

The clinical and dermoscopic features in 11 FMF patients were analyzed and compared with the reports in the literature.

Results

Obliteration of hair follicles, loss of terminal hairs and hair loss were detected in all patients. Follicular accentuation, follicular dilation and broken hairs were found in almost all patients (90.9%). Other common follicular‐based dermoscopic features (<50%) were follicular plugging, perifollicular orange colour, perifollicular erythema and vessels, hyperpigmented halo around the follicle, follicular hyperkeratosis, comedo‐like lesions and perifollicular scales. The most frequent ‘dominant’ dermoscopic features were follicular accentuation with follicular plugging and dilation of follicular opening.

Conclusions

Identification of specific distinguishing dermoscopic patterns of FMF not only could be helpful in classifying MF patients but also could provide prognostic information regarding the disease course and aid in therapeutic decisions. In MF patients, dilation of follicular opening and spiky follicular keratosis are considered the most specific dermoscopic features of follicular involvement since they are uncommon in other conditions.
Cough Sounds in Screening and Diagnostics: A Scoping Review
Authors: Hegde Siddhi , Sreeram Shreya , Alter Isaac L. , Shor Chaya , Valdez Tulio A. , Meister Kara D. , Rameau Anaïs
Published: September 2023

Objective

The aim of the study was to examine applications of cough sounds towards screening tools and diagnostics in the biomedical and engineering literature, with particular focus on disease types, acoustic data collection protocols, data processing and analytics, accuracy, and limitations.

Data Sources

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, IEEE Xplore, Engineering Village, and ACM Digital Library were searched from inception to August 2021.

Review Methods

A scoping review was conducted on screening and diagnostic uses of cough sounds in adults, children, and animals, in English peer‐reviewed and gray literature of any design.

Results

From a total of 438 abstracts screened, 108 articles met inclusion criteria. Human studies were most common (77.8%); the majority focused on adults (57.3%). Single‐modality acoustic data collection was most common (71.2%), with few multimodal studies, including plethysmography (15.7%) and clinico‐demographic data (7.4%). Data analytics methods were highly variable, with 61.1% using machine learning, the majority of which (78.8%) were published after 2010. Studies commonly focused on cough detection (41.7%) and screening of COVID‐19 (11.1%); among pediatric studies, the most common focus was diagnosis of asthma (52.6%).

Conclusion

Though the use of cough sounds in diagnostics is not new, academic interest has accelerated in the past decade. Cough sound offers the possibility of an accessible, noninvasive, and low‐cost disease biomarker, particularly in the era of rapid development of machine learning capabilities in combination with the ubiquity of cellular technology with high‐quality recording capability. However, most cough sound literature hinges on nonstandardized data collection protocols and small, nondiverse, single‐modality datasets, with limited external validity.Laryngoscope, 134:1023–1031, 2024
Pretend‐but‐perform regulation of a duopoly under three competition modes
Authors: Saglam Ismail
Published: September 2023

This paper considers a duopoly with asymmetric costs and demand uncertainty to study the welfare effects of the pretend‐but‐perform regulation (PPR) under three modes of competition, involving the Cournot, conjectural variations, and supply function competitions. The PPR induces a two‐stage game where each firm declares in the first stage a cost report and produces in the second stage accordingly. Theoretically, characterizing and numerically computing the equilibrium of this game, we show that the consumer surplus increases if the PPR is applied under the Cournot competition and it decreases if the PPR is applied under the other modes of competition.
Cell‐penetrating peptides predictors: A comparative analysis of methods and datasets
Authors: Guerrero‐Vázquez Karen , Del Rio Gabriel , Brizuela Carlos A.
Published: September 2023

Cell‐Penetrating Peptides (CPP) are emerging as an alternative to small‐molecule drugs to expand the range of biomolecules that can be targeted for therapeutic purposes. Due to the importance of identifying and designing new CPP, a great variety of predictors have been developed to achieve these goals. To establish a ranking for these predictors, a couple of recent studies compared their performances on specific datasets, yet their conclusions cannot determine if the ranking obtained is due to the model, the set of descriptors or the datasets used to test the predictors. We present a systematic study of the influence of the peptide sequence's similarity of the datasets on the predictors’ performance. The analysis reveals that the datasets used for training have a stronger influence on the predictors performance than the model or descriptors employed. We show that datasets with low sequence similarity between the positive and negative examples can be easily separated, and the tested classifiers showed good performance on them. On the other hand, a dataset with high sequence similarity between CPP and non‐CPP will be a hard dataset, and it should be the one to be used for assessing the performance of new predictors.
Trimethylation profile of histones H3 lysine 4 and 9 in late preantral and early antral caprine follicles grown in vivo versus in vitro in the presence of anethole
Authors: Silva Ana F. B. , Morais Ana N. P. , Lima Laritza F. , Ferreira Anna C. A. , Silva Renato F. , Sá Naiza A. R. , Kumar Satish , Oliveira Ariclécio C. , Alves Benner G. , Rodrigues Ana P. R. , Gastal Eduardo L. , Bordignon Vilceu , Figueiredo José R.
Published: September 2023

This study assessed the histones methylation profile (H3K4me3 and H3K9me3) in late preantral (PA) and early antral (EA) caprine follicles grown in vivo and in vitro, and the anethole effect during in vitro culture of PA follicles. Uncultured in vivo–grown follicles (PA, n = 64; EA, n = 73) were used as controls to assess the methylation profile and genes' expression related to apoptosis cascade (BAX, proapoptotic; BCL2, antiapoptotic), steroidogenesis (CYP17, CYP19A1), and demethylation (KDM1AX1, KDM1AX2, KDM3A). The isolated PA follicles (n = 174) were cultured in vitro for 6 days in α‐MEM+ in either absence (control) or presence of anethole. After culture, EA follicles were evaluated for methylation, mRNA abundance, and morphometry. Follicle diameter increased after culture, regardless of treatment. The methylation profile and the mRNA abundance were similar between in vivo–grown PA and EA follicles. Anethole treatment led to higher H3K4me3 fluorescence intensity in EA follicles. The mRNA abundances of BAX, CYP17, and CYP19A1 were higher, and BCL2 and KDM3A were lower in in vitro–grown EA follicles than in vivo–grown follicles. In conclusion, in vitro follicle culture affected H3K4me3 fluorescence intensity, mRNA abundance of apoptotic genes, and steroidogenic and demethylase enzymes compared with in vivo–grown follicles.
Recurrent urinary tract infection management and prevention techniques among a population‐based cohort of women
Authors: Gleicher Stephanie , Sebesta Elisabeth M. , Kaufman Melissa R. , Dmochowski Roger R. , Reynolds William Stuart
Published: September 2023

Introduction

Recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI), defined as three or more UTIs in 12 months, has psychological, physical, and financial burden. Many women with rUTI are not satisfied with care and report only starting preventative measures after several infections. The goal of this study is to elucidate current UTI management trends and the implementation of UTI prevention strategies.

Methods

A web‐based study was sent to a national sample of adult women enrolled in ResearchMatch.org. Women were recruited to participate if they had a self‐reported UTI in the past 12 months.

Results

Of the 755 subjects, nearly 30% reported rUTI. Among women with rUTI, more than 50% reported being peri‐ or postmenopausal, and two‐thirds reported vaginal symptoms. 15.8% of women with rUTI reported dissatisfaction with care versus 7.9% of women without rUTI. Most women see their primary care physician for UTI management and only 26% of women with rUTI follow with a urologist. More than 65% of women increase their fluid intake, wipe from front to back, and urinate after sexual activity to prevent UTIs. Significantly more women with rUTI use transvaginal estrogen, cranberry extract, and low‐dose prophylactic antibiotics. These interventions appear to be driven by urologists.

Conclusion

Most women who have had a UTI in the last 12 months implement lifestyle changes to prevent future infections. Most women see their PCP for UTI management and women with rUTI are twice as likely to report dissatisfaction with care. Despite urologists optimizing medical rUTI prevention, they appear to be underutilized.
Simulation of precipitate hardening in ferroelectric material
Authors: Bohnen Matthias , Müller Ralf
Published: September 2023

Precipitate hardening is introduced as a mechanism to tune the reaction of ferroelectric materials to the application of an external electric field. For this purpose, a phase field model for polarization in ferroelectric material is presented in this paper. Different materials with and without precipitates are simulated and the respective hysteresis curves for charge and macroscopic strain are derived. The results show a reduction of the hysteresis curves if precipitates are present in the material, which confirms the experimental observation of recent material studies.
Rational tailoring of architectures and microenvironment on MOFs/natural clay hybrid materials for efficiently boosted performance of hybrid proton exchange membranes
Authors: Feng Xiaohong , Wang Jie , Liu Hai , Gong Chunli , Cheng Fan , Ni Jing , Hu Fuqiang
Published: September 2023

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is now becoming the most fascinating conductive materials due to designable structure and pores at molecular level, and available crystal structure for the study of conduction mechanism. Nevertheless, comparing to the design of molecular structures of MOFs, the hybrid of MOFs with special micro/nano‐structured materials is considered to be a more effective approach for improved properties. In this study, the PAT@UiO‐66‐SO3H hybrid material was constructed with high conductive UiO‐66‐SO3H, a famous kind of MOFs, and polydopamine‐coated natural clay attapulgite (PAT), then the prepared hybrid material was blended with chitosan (CS) to prepare proton exchange membranes (PEMs). Owing to the special architectures and microenvironment, combining with the advantages of composition with UiO‐66‐SO3H and attapulgite, the prepared composite membranes showed considerable improved performances, including tensile strength, thermal and structural stability, fuel resistance ability, conduction and single cell performances. The CS/PAT@UiO‐66‐SO3H‐5 composite membrane exhibited the highly enhanced tensile strength of 67 MPa and improved thermal stability with Tg value of 235°C, as well as the lowest methanol crossover value of 1.2 × 10−6 cm2 s−1. Besides, the highest proton conductivity of 38.8 mS cm−1 at 80°C and power density of 37.9 mWcm−2 was achieved with CS/PAT@UiO‐66‐SO3H‐3 composite membrane, these performances were higher than pristine CS of 22.7 mS cm−1 and 32.2 mW cm−2 respectively. Our investigation reveals great application potential of MOFs based hybrid materials in fabricating of high performance composite PEMs.

Highlights

PAT@UiO‐66‐SO3H hybrid materials were constructed from MOFs and natural clay.

The hybrid materials possessed special architectures and microenvironment.

The PAT@UiO‐66‐SO3H introduced consecutive channels and proton sites.

The hybrid membranes achieved excellent performances.
Structural, mechanical, and thermal features of PVA/starch/graphene oxide nanocomposite enriched with WO3 as gamma–ray radiation shielding materials for medical applications
Authors: Atta M. M. , Abou‐Laila M. T. , Abdelwahed Mohsen H. , Dwidar Samy A. , Desouky Omar
Published: September 2023

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/starch/graphene oxide nanocomposites containing different ratios of tungsten oxide (WO3) were prepared for use in the medical field as low‐cost, facile, eco‐friendly, and biodegradable low‐energy γ‐ray shielding materials. The effect of different WO3 loading (0, 2, 4, 8, and 12 wt%) on nanocomposites' structural, mechanical, and gamma attenuation properties was studied. X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscope verified the incorporation of WO3 into the nanocomposite matrix. The thermal stability and activation energy of the decomposition of nanocomposites showed continuous improvement with increasing WO3. The maximum tensile strength and elongation of nanocomposites were achieved by incorporating 4 wt% WO3 compared to the lowest tensile strength and elongation at 8 and 12 wt% of WO3, respectively. The good filler distribution inside the polymeric matrix at lower filler loading compared to the creation of voids and agglomeration at higher filler levels explains this behavior. It was found that nanocomposites' calculated mass attenuation coefficient μm (cm2/g) increased with increasing WO3 at different photon energies. Half‐value layer (HVL) and tenth‐value layer (TVL) values fall as WO3 concentration rises. The sample with 12 wt% of WO3 exhibits lower HVL and TVL values and higher μm, demonstrating a more remarkable gamma attenuation ability. Such results endorsed the prepared nanocomposites as low energy γ‐rays attenuation materials in medical fields.

Highlights

PVA/starch/graphene oxide nanocomposites with different WO3s were fabricated as shielding materials.

The impact of WO3 on nanocomposites' mechanical and shielding characteristics was studied

Thermal stability of nanocomposites showed continuous improvement with increasing WO3

μm increased with continuously increasing WO3 at different photon energies.
Associating a standardized reporting tool for chest radiographs with clinical complications in pediatric acute chest syndrome
Authors: Morrone Kerry , Andreca Mihai , Silver Ellen J. , Xiang Angell , Strumph Kaitlin , Manwani Deepa , Rinke Michael L. , Kurian Jessica , Orentlicher Rona , Liszewski Mark C.
Published: September 2023

Background

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is an important cause of morbidity in sickle cell disease (SCD). A standardized tool for reporting chest radiographs in pediatric SCD patients did not previously exist.

Objective

To analyze the interobserver agreement among pediatric radiologists' interpretations for pediatric ACS chest radiographs utilizing a standardized reporting tool. We also explored the association of radiographic findings with ACS complications.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study of pediatric ACS admissions from a single institution in 2019. ICD‐10 codes identified 127 ACS admissions. Two radiologists independently interpreted the chest radiographs utilizing a standardized reporting tool, a third radiologist adjudicated discrepancies, and κ analysis assessed interobserver agreement. Clinical outcomes were correlated with chest radiograph findings utilizing Pearsons' χ2, t tests, and Mann–Whitney U tests. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

Results

Interobserver agreement was moderate to near‐perfect across variables, with κ analysis showing near‐perfect agreement for opacity reported in the right upper lobe (0.84), substantial agreement for right lower lobe (0.63), and vertebral bony changes (0.72), with moderate agreement for all other reported variables. On the initial chest radiograph, an opacity located in the left lower lobe (LLL) correlated with pediatric intensive care unit transfer (p = .03). Pleural effusion on the initial chest radiograph had a 3.98 OR (95% CI: 1.35–11.74) of requiring blood products and a 10.67 OR (95% CI: 3.62–31.39) for noninvasive ventilation.

Conclusion

The standardized reporting tool showed moderate to near‐perfect agreement between radiologists. LLL opacity, and pleural effusion were associated with increased risk of ACS complications.
Association of rhinovirus and potentially pathogenic bacterial detections in the first 3 months of life with subsequent wheezing in childhood
Authors: Takashima Mari D. , Grimwood Keith , Sly Peter D. , Lambert Stephen B. , Ware Robert S.
Published: September 2023

Objective

Airway interactions between viruses, especially rhinoviruses, and potentially pathogenic bacteria (PPB; Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis) in early infancy may increase the risk of subsequent wheezing and asthma. We evaluated the association between rhinovirus and PPB in the first 3 months of life and wheezing episodes before age 2 years and asthma at age 5–7 years.

Methods

An Australian community‐based birth cohort of healthy children involved parents collecting nasal swabs weekly and completing symptom diaries daily until age 2 years. In a follow‐up subset, asthma diagnosis was assessed annually until age 7 years. Swabs were analyzed by real‐time polymerase chain reaction assays. Children were included if they returned symptom diaries beyond age 3 months (wheeze) or were reviewed at age 5–7 years (asthma).

Results

1440 swabs were returned by 146 children in the first 3 months of life. Wheeze and asthma outcomes were recorded for 146 and 84 children, respectively. Each additional week of rhinovirus detection increased the incidence of wheezing before age 2 years by 1.16 times (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.99–1.35). There were no significant associations between bacteria and wheeze. Each additional week with H. influenzae increased the odds of asthma at age 5–7 years by 135% (odds ratio: 2.35, 95% CI: 0.99–5.58). No significant interaction was observed between rhinovirus and PPB for wheezing or asthma.

Conclusion

Early life rhinovirus infection was associated with wheezing before age 2 years and H. influenzae with asthma by age 5–7 years. Microbes may play an etiologic role in wheezing and asthma, warranting further study.
Rare HER2 L796P missense mutation promotes the growth and oncogenic signaling in breast cancer cells
Authors: Zhang Dongxue , Shi Xiaoyu , Zheng Weimin , Zhang Xian , Chen Yun
Published: September 2023

Purpose

This research aimed to find potential HER2 mutations that would have an impact on breast cancer and investigate the underlying mechanism.

Experimental design

This study first investigated 238 pairs of breast cancer and para‐cancerous tissue samples from patients on the targeted next‐generation sequencing (tNGS) platform. CCK‐8 and clone formation assay were used to investigate whether the mutation exerts proliferative effects on breast cancer cells. In addition, mass spectrometry‐based comparative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses of the mutation types and wild types of MCF‐7 cell lines were carried out.

Results

Among the identified mutations, a new mutation HER2 L796P promoted the proliferation of breast cancer cells and had resistance to lapatinib using CCK‐8 cell proliferation assay and clone formation assay. The bioinformatic analysis showed that RAS family proteins and ERK phosphorylated proteins significantly increased in the L796P mutant cells. The Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that L796P mutation affected the function of breast cancer at the level of upstream genes in the MAPK and PI3K‐AKT‐TOR pathways.

Conclusions and clinical relevance

This study demonstrated that a rare mutation HER2 L796P could be a potential therapeutic target for the clinical management of breast cancer.
A review of colored light production by pyrotechnic materials
Authors: Kanitkar Swarom , Haynes Daniel , Sabolsky Edward M. , Chorpening Benjamin
Published: September 2023

Pyrotechnics are a unique set of materials because they can be formulated to control combustion behavior to elicit desired effects such as light emission, smoke formation, and noise. The ability to enhance and control light emission is particularly desirable for entertainment purposes, as well as military applications. Designing such materials for high color purity at a specific wavelength requires an understanding of the different factors that affect their performance. This review will cover the various aspects of color production, including light emission mechanisms, components of a color composition, and key parameters that determine the optical wavelength band for these compositions. Additionally, because conventional pyrotechnic formulations are known to produce toxic emissions, less hazardous and sustainably formulated pyrotechnics for color production will also be reviewed. Finally, a short perspective is presented on the possible extension of pyrotechnic applications beyond conventional, civilian, and military purposes.
Modulated Magnetic, Electronic, and Optical Properties of Vanadium‐Doped LaAlO3: A First‐Principles Study
Authors: Butt Mehwish Khalid , Aldaghfag Shatha A. , Kazim Muhammad Zafarullah , Yaseen Muhammad , Zahid Muhammad , Ishfaq Mudassir
Published: September 2023

The optoelectronic and magnetic features of La1−xVxAlO3 (x = 12.5, 25, 50, 75%) perovskites are investigated within density functional theory (DFT) using generalized gradient approximation by Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE–GGA). The effect of different percentages of vanadium (V) substitution on the properties of LaAlO3 is studied and stability is confirmed through formation energies. The spin‐polarized band structure of La1−xVxAlO3 (x = 12.5, 25, 50, 75%) elucidates their half‐metallic ferromagnetic character. Furthermore, the optical performance of the given compounds is explored by optical parameters like dielectric function, optical conductivity, refractive index, reflectivity, absorption, and extinction coefficients. The obtained results make these compounds suitable for optoelectronic applications. It is observed that the determined magnetic moment in La1−xVxAlO3 is mainly due to the V‐3d states. The regulated reduction in bandgap (Eg) with the upsurge of V doping and half‐metallic ferromagnetic nature makes them appropriate for spintronic and magnetic devices.
Tricky sepsis biomarker: Extremely high procalcitonin in squamous cell lung cancer with doubtful infection
Authors: Ermayanti Sabrina , Afriani Afriani , Firdaus Dimas Bayu
Published: September 2023

Procalcitonin is a 116 amino acid polypeptide synthesized by the C‐cells of the thyroid gland. Elevated serum procalcitonin levels are generally thought to be the result of systemic bacterial infection, but recent reviews have suggested an association between procalcitonin and patients with cancer. This case report discusses an illustrative case with elevated procalcitonin levels in a patient with squamous cell carcinoma and multiple metastases. The increase in procalcitonin in patients may be due to an inflammatory state in the tumour microenvironment. Elevated procalcitonin is associated with disease progression, the presence of metastases, and a poor prognosis.
Frequentist analysis of basket trials with one‐sample Mantel‐Haenszel procedures
Authors: Hattori Satoshi , Morita Satoshi
Published: September 2023

Recent substantial advances of molecular targeted oncology drug development is requiring new paradigms for early‐phase clinical trial methodologies to enable us to evaluate efficacy of several subtypes simultaneously and efficiently. The concept of the basket trial is getting of much attention to realize this requirement borrowing information across subtypes, which are called baskets. Bayesian approach is a natural approach to this end and indeed the majority of the existing proposals relies on it. On the other hand, it required complicated modeling and may not necessarily control the type 1 error probabilities at the nominal level. In this article, we develop a purely frequentist approach for basket trials based on one‐sample Mantel‐Haenszel procedure relying on a very simple idea for borrowing information under the common treatment effect assumption over baskets. We show that the proposed Mantel‐Haenszel estimator for the treatment effect is consistent under two limiting models of the large strata and sparse data limiting models (dually consistent) and propose dually consistent variance estimators. The proposed estimators are interpretable even if the common treatment effect assumptions are violated. Then, we can design basket trials in a confirmatory matter. We also propose an information criterion approach to identify effective subclasses of baskets.
Cyano‐Rich g‐C3N4 in Photochemistry: Design, Applications, and Prospects
Authors: Jing Liquan , Xu Yuanguo , Xie Meng , Li Zheng , Wu Chongchong , Zhao Heng , Zhong Na , Wang Jiu , Wang Hui , Yan Yubo , Li Huaming , Hu Jinguang
Published: September 2023

Cyano‐rich g‐C3N4 materials are widely used in various fields of photochemistry due to the very powerful electron‐absorbing ability and electron storage function of cyano, as well as its advantages in improving light absorption, adjusting the energy band structure, increasing the polarization rate and electron density in the structure, active site concentration, and promoting oxygen activation ability. Notwithstanding, there is yet a huge knowledge break in the design, preparation, detection, application, and prospect of cyano‐rich g‐C3N4. Accordingly, an overall review is arranged to substantially comprehend the research progress and position of cyano‐rich g‐C3N4 materials. An overall overview of the current research position in the synthesis, characterization (determination of their location and quantity), application, and reaction mechanism analysis of cyano‐rich g‐C3N4 materials to provide a quantity of novel suggestions for cyano‐modified carbon nitride materials' construction is provided. In view of the prevailing challenges and outlooks of cyano‐rich g‐C3N4 materials, this paper will purify the growth direction of cyano‐rich g‐C3N4, to achieve a more in‐depth exploration and broaden the applications of cyano‐rich g‐C3N4.
Salt‐Adaptively Conductive Ionogel Sensor for Marine Sensing
Authors: Li Huijing , Li Long , Wei Junjie , Chen Tao , Wei Peng
Published: September 2023

Hydrophobic ionogel has attracted much attention in underwater sensing as the artificial electronic skins and wearable sensors. However, when the low conductive ionogel‐based sensor works in the marine environment, the salty seawater weakens its sensing performance, which is difficult to recognize. Herein, a salt‐adaptively conductive ionogel with high submarine strain sensitivity is reported. Based on the preliminary improvement via the proton conduction mechanism, the conductivity of the ionogel further increases with the surrounding salinity rising up since the salt‐induced dissociation phenomenon, which is described as the environmental salt‐adaptive feature. In seawater, the conductivity of the ionogel is as high as 2.90 × 10−1 S m−1. Significantly, with its long‐term underwater stability and adhesion, the resultant ionogel‐based sensor features prominent strain sensing performance (gauge factor: 1.12) while combining with various soft actuators in the marine environment. The ionogel‐based sensor is capable of monitoring human breath frequency, human actions, and the locomotion of soft actuators, demonstrating its great potential in diving detection and intelligent preceptive soft robotics for marine environmental protection and exploration.
Light‐Driven Biomimetic Nanomotors for Enhanced Photothermal Therapy
Authors: Wang Hong , Gao Junbin , Xu Cong , Jiang Yuejun , Liu Meihuan , Qin Hanfeng , Ye Yicheng , Zhang Li , Luo Wanxian , Chen Bin , Du Lingli , Peng Fei , Li Yingjia , Tu Yingfeng
Published: September 2023

Nanotechnology‐based strategy has recently drawn extensive attention for the therapy of malignant tumors due to its distinct strengths in cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, the limited intratumoral permeability of nanoparticles is a major hurdle to achieving the desired effect of cancer treatment. Due to their superior cargo towing and reliable penetrating property, micro‐/nanomotors (MNMs) are considered as one of the most potential candidates for the coming generation of drug delivery platforms. Here, near‐infrared (NIR)‐actuated biomimetic nanomotors (4T1‐JPGSs‐IND) are fabricated successfully and we demonstrate that 4T1‐JPGSs‐IND selectively accumulate in homologous tumor regions due to the effective homing ability. Upon laser irradiation, hyperthermia generated by 4T1‐JPGSs‐IND leads to self‐thermophoretic motion and photothermal therapy (PTT) to ablate tumors with a deep depth, thereby improving the photothermal therapeutic effect for cancer management. The developed nanomotor system with multifunctionalities exhibits promising potential in biomedical applications to fight against various diseases.