bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changes in specific and nonspecific psychopathology network structure after intensive cognitive behavior therapy in patients with anorexia nervosa
Authors: Calugi Simona , Dametti Laura , Dalle Grave Anna , Dalle Grave Riccardo
Published: June 2022

Objective

This study aimed to compare eating disorder‐specific and nonspecific clinical features in patients with anorexia nervosa before and after intensive enhanced cognitive behavior therapy (CBT‐E) via network analysis.

Methods

All consecutive patients admitted to intensive CBT‐E were eligible, and the sample comprised patients aged ≥16 years who completed a 20‐week intensive CBT‐E program. Body mass index (BMI), Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire and Brief Symptoms Inventory responses were gathered at baseline and end of treatment, and used to generate statistical networks of the connections between symptoms (nodes) and the strength and centrality thereof.

Results

A total of 214 patients were included. Most nodes had relatively similar centrality compared to other nodes in the networks. “Eating concern” and “phobic anxiety” showed the greatest bridge centrality at both time points. No differences were found between baseline and the end of treatment in either global network or individual connection strengths.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that some clinical expressions not specific to eating‐disorder psychopathology remain strongly connected in the generalized network of patients with anorexia nervosa after CBT‐E. Future research should examine whether additional procedures specifically designed to target these symptoms should be integrated into this and other treatments.
A New Class of Water‐Soluble Aryl Sulfonium Decavanadates and Their Antioxidant Activity: Effects of Cluster Reduction and Counter Ion Substitution on Activity
Authors: Routh Kousik , Kaur Sandeep , Pradeep Chullikkattil P.
Published: June 2022

The development of biocompatible and water‐soluble inorganic antioxidants is important, given the increasing demand for antioxidants worldwide. Polyoxovanadate (POV) clusters have been extensively explored for several biological applications, but the antioxidant properties of POVs remain largely unexplored. Herein, we developed a series of water‐soluble aryl sulfonium decavanadate ([V10O28]6−) hybrids and studied their antioxidant properties. The hybrids were characterized by several analytical and spectroscopic techniques such as ESI‐MS, XPS, and single‐crystal XRD analyses. The antioxidant properties of these hybrids were explored under native and photochemically reduced conditions using standard in vitro antioxidant assays such as H2O2 scavenging assay, lipid peroxidation inhibitory assay, DPPH radical scavenging assay, and reducing power assay. These analyses showed that these aryl sulfonium POV hybrids exhibit comparable or better antioxidant activities than the parent [V10O28]6− cluster and the standard ascorbic acid in some of the assays studied. The cytotoxicity studies using MG‐63 cells revealed that these hybrids exhibit moderate cytotoxicity. Further, it was found that introducing a phenolic functional group on the counter ion moiety helps to improve the overall antioxidant properties of the POV‐based hybrids. The present study, therefore, reports a series of water‐soluble aryl sulfonium polyoxometalate hybrids‐based antioxidants for the first time. However, more toxicological studies using similar hybrids are required to fully understand the biocompatible nature of these systems before considering their potential biological applications.
The Development of a 3D Pore‐Scale Lattice Boltzmann Model for 3D Microstructure Modeling and Design of Li‐Ion Battery Electrodes
Authors: Zhang Duo , Liu Wenwei , Wu Chuan-Yu , Cai Qiong
Published: June 2022

Herein, the development of a 3D pore‐scale lattice Boltzmann (LB) model for simulating the transport processes and electrochemical performance of the porous electrodes in Li‐ion batteries is reported. The model captures the transport of ions, electrons, and liquid electrolyte species, coupled with the electrochemical reactions at the interface between the active material and the liquid electrolyte with complex boundary conditions. The model‐predicted discharge curves of a realistic nickel–manganese–cobalt battery electrode are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental measurement on the same electrode, demonstrating the validity of the model prediction. The LB model is then applied to simulate a series of electrode structures generated using the discrete‐element method, to understand the effects of particle size and distribution, porosity, pore size distribution, surface area, and tortuosity on the performance of the electrode. It is revealed that surface area and pore size distribution are the dominant factors for the performance, and electrodes with structured patterns are beneficial for achieving uniform local distribution of Li and current densities within the electrode. The LB model provides insightful understanding of spatial distribution of Li and local phenomenon in 3D electrode structures, and can be a useful tool for designing next‐generation battery electrodes.
Stimulated pH‐Dependence Phosphorus Platinum–Nickel Alloy Cluster as Hydrogen Generation Electrocatalyst in Alkaline Solution
Authors: Bi Songhu , Xu Hong , Xue Mingzhe , Jin Liming , Geng Zhen , Zhang Cunman
Published: June 2022

Platinum‐based catalysts play an outstanding role in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) but with sluggish reaction kinetics. Herein, stimulated pH‐dependence phosphorus‐embedded PtNi nano‐alloy clusters (P@PtNi/C) with good alkaline HER catalytic activity are obtained. The overpotential of P@PtNi/C at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 is 26 mV in 1M KOH solution. At the overpotential of 70 mV, the mass activity of P@PtNi/C is 4.62 A mgPt−1, which is 21 times that of commercial 20 wt% Pt/C in terms of the unit mass of Pt. Due to the doping of P elements, the electronic interface is optimized, which enhances the OH− sensitivity and enables more OHad* to be involved in the overall alkaline cathode reaction. Density functional theory calculations suggest that PtNi3P/C can promote the further reduction of OHad* to generate Oad*, which plays an important role in the decomposition of H2O* to form OHad*. A closed‐looping H2O reduction process that exhibits the pH‐dependent characteristics of alkaline HER is proposed. OH− is appropriately integrated into the alkaline HER catalytic process based on P@PtNi/C catalyst, which provides a feasible consideration for the design of alkaline HER catalyst.
Alternating Current Impedance Probing Capacity of Lithium‐Ion Battery by Gaussian Process Regression
Authors: Zhu Jiangong , Zhang Qianqian , Mereacre Liuda , Wang Xueyuan , Jiang Bo , Dai Haifeng , Wei Xuezhe , Knapp Michael , Ehrenberg Helmut
Published: June 2022

Alternating current (AC) impedance is an important and promising feature for lithium‐ion battery state estimation and prediction. Herein, a new battery capacity estimation method using AC impedance with Gaussian process regression (GPR) is proposed. A bunch of high‐energy 18 650‐type batteries with a nominal capacity of 3.5 Ah are cycled at 25, 35, and 45 °C until the capacity drops below 2.6 Ah. Two single‐frequency points are found which are highly correlated with the battery residual capacity regardless of the cycling temperatures. Machine learning methods are used to probe the battery capacity with the real and imaginary impedance of two single‐frequency points. The best model achieves a test root‐mean‐squared error of 0.5% (17.36 mAh) with GPR. This work provides a new perspective to predicting the complex dynamical behavior of batteries by combining electrochemical impedance with data‐driven methods.
Game theory based hybrid localization technique for underwater wireless sensor networks
Authors: Kumar Manni , Goyal Nitin , Qaisi Ramy Mohammed Aiesh , Najim Mohd , Gupta Sachin Kumar
Published: June 2022

In an underwater environment, it is necessary but tough to track the location of deployed sensor nodes because of node's mobility, nonavailability of GPS, node software or hardware failure and so forth. Due to these reasons, nodes cannot directly communicate with enough beacons in the neighbourhoods, resulting into localization error. This creates the need to develop the range‐based localization method that takes into consideration the features of the underwater environment with precise location estimation. The existing range‐based localization techniques involve huge computational and storage overhead along with localization latency. To solve these problems, a hybrid localization estimation technique of received signal strength (RSS) and angle of arrival (AoA) is presented in this article. In this hybrid method, AoA is estimated from the primary anchor (PA) while RSS is measured from the selected set of secondary anchors (SAs). Further, Game theory model is also applied to considerably increase the precision by choosing the optimum set of SAs even in the mobility assisted underwater environment. The proposed technique of identifying unknown sensor nodes is tested through NS2 simulation with multiple runs. The proposed technique achieves minimum localization error, delay, energy consumption and high packet delivery ratio in comparison to topology control for energy‐efficient localization, game theory based routing protocol, iterative mobile target localization, and RSS‐based localization.
Forecasting value at risk and expected shortfall using high‐frequency data of domestic and international stock markets
Authors: Wang Man , Cheng Yihan
Published: June 2022

This paper first proposes the generalized autoregressive score (GAS) factor X model for predicting Value‐at‐Risk (VaR) and expected shortfall (ES). This model is flexible for adding explanatory variables (X) that are informative for forecasting extreme risks and thus can improve forecast accuracy of the traditional GAS factor model. Then, to investigate whether high‐frequency data of domestic and international stock market are predictive of the extreme risk of Chinese stock market, X is set to be the corresponding realized volatility (RV) of these markets. Empirical studies based on 13 stock markets show that lagged RVs of domestic and influential international markets have prediction ability of extreme risks in Chinese stock market. The RV of the domestic market is more informative than that of international markets, among which the RVs of Asian and US markets are more predictive than European markets. We have also investigated compound information of the RVs of all markets, the results of which show that the mean of RVs is more informative than the first principle component; however, it is less informative than the individual RV of some markets. Additionally, there is no gain in forecast accuracy of the GAS factor RV models by forecast combination.
Mixed membership nearest neighbor model with feature difference
Authors: Cheung Simon K. C. , Cheung Tommy K. Y.
Published: June 2022

The nearest neighbor model has been a popular model for spatial data. This model assumes a distance‐based neighborhood structure among a set of entities that define the observations in a dataset. Values of a dependent variable are a function of the corresponding values of its neighbors and values of its own explanatory variables. In this paper, we extend the concept of “spatial neighbors” to a more general network dependency where the nearest neighbor is not necessarily distance‐based. As each entity can belong to multiple groups, observations can be related by multiple networks. By exploring the overlapping information that are exhibited by an entity and its neighbors, we modify the traditional spatial autoregressive model with autoregressive disturbances (SARAR) in three ways. First, multiple networks are allowed. Second, differences between the explanatory variables and their corresponding neighboring averages are applied. Third, apart from independent innovations, we investigate the case where the innovations are also multiple‐network dependent. Statistical inference of the model parameters is achieved via maximizing the profile log‐likelihood function. The standard errors of the profile maximum likelihood estimators are calculated by the inverse Fisher information matrix. Four variations of the multiple network autoregressive models are applied to predict changes in stock prices of 555 companies listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The model with attribute differencing and dependent innovations produces a smaller out‐of‐sample mean prediction error sum of squares than that of the other models.
Impacts of Land‐Use Change on the Hydrology of Lake Tana Basin, Upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia
Authors: Getachew Birhan , Manjunatha Busnur Rachotappa
Published: June 2022

Human activities impact hydrology through changes in land use and land cover. This study examins the effects of changing land use on hydrological processes using the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model. The data is acquired from Landsat 4‐5 Thematic Mapper (TM) in 1989, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) in 2005, and Landsat 8 Operational Land Inventory (OLI) in 2019. Image preprocessing, which includes georeferencing, radiometric and atmospheric correction, image enhancement, band composite, mosaicking, and sub‐setting, are performed. After that, supervised classification, accuracy assessment, and change detection are carried out. The hydrological changes in 1989, 2005, and 2019 are analyzed using land‐use maps. The SWAT model's calibration, validation, and sensitivity analysis are performed using the Integrated Parameter Estimation and Uncertainty Analysis Tool in the four main rivers of the basin. Farmlands and built‐up lands are found to have steadily increased in the basin, while shrublands, grasslands, and bare lands declined. Due to an expansion of agricultural and built‐up lands and a decrease in shrublands and grasslands, the basin's mean annual water yield and surface runoff increased in 2019, while evapotranspiration and lateral flow decreased compared to 1989 and 2005. Therefore, future watershed and basin management shall consider changing land use.
Organic Electrolytes Recycling From Spent Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Zhang Ruihan , Shi Xingyi , Esan Oladapo Christopher , An Liang
Published: June 2022

Lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are regarded to be the most promising electrochemical energy storage device for portable electronics as well as electrical vehicles. However, due to their limited‐service life, tons of spent LIBs are expected to be produced in the recent years. Suitable recycling technology is therefore becoming more and more important as improper treatment of spent LIBs, especially the aged organic electrolyte, can cause severe environmental pollution and threats to human health. The organic solvents and high concentration of lithium salts in aged electrolytes are always sensitive toward water and air, which would easily hydrolyze and decompose into toxic fluorine‐containing compounds, leading to severe fluorine pollution of the surrounding environment. Hence, recycling aged electrolytes from spent LIBs is an efficient way to avoid this potential risk to the environment. However, several issues inhibit the realization of electrolyte recycling, including the volatile, inflammable, and toxic nature of the electrolytes, the difficulty to extract electrolytes from the electrodes and separators, and various electrolyte compositions inside LIBs from different applications and companies. Herein, the current progress in recycling methods for aged electrolytes from spent LIBs is summarized and perspectives on future development of electrolyte recycling are presented.
Proteome profiling of enzalutamide‐resistant cell lines and serum analysis identified ALCAM as marker of resistance in castration‐resistant prostate cancer
Authors: Csizmarik Anita , Keresztes Dávid , Nagy Nikolett , Bracht Thilo , Sitek Barbara , Witzke Kathrin , Puhr Martin , Tornyi Ilona , Lázár József , Takács László , Kramer Gero , Sevcenco Sabina , Maj‐Hes Agnieszka , Jurányi Zsolt , Hadaschik Boris , Nyirády Péter , Szarvas Tibor
Published: June 2022

Enzalutamide (ENZA) is a frequently used therapy in metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Baseline or acquired resistance to ENZA have been observed, but the molecular mechanisms of resistance are poorly understood. We aimed to identify proteins involved in ENZA resistance and to find therapy‐predictive serum markers. We performed comparative proteome analyses on ENZA‐sensitive parental (LAPC4, DuCaP) and ‐resistant prostate cancer cell lines (LAPC4‐ENZA, DuCaP‐ENZA) using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS). The top four most promising candidate markers were selected using bioinformatic approaches. Serum concentrations of selected markers (ALCAM, AGR2, NDRG1, IDH1) were measured in pretreatment samples of 72 ENZA‐treated mCRPC patients using ELISA. In addition, ALCAM serum levels were measured in 101 Abiraterone (ABI) and 100 Docetaxel (DOC)‐treated mCRPC patients' baseline samples. Results were correlated with clinical and follow‐up data. The functional role of ALCAM in ENZA resistance was assessed in vitro using siRNA. Our proteome analyses revealed 731 significantly differentially abundant proteins between ENZA‐sensitive and ‐resistant cells and our filtering methods identified four biomarker candidates. Serum analyses of these proteins revealed only ALCAM to be associated with poor patient survival. Furthermore, higher baseline ALCAM levels were associated with poor survival in ABI‐ but not in DOC‐treated patients. In LAPC4‐ENZA resistant cells, ALCAM silencing by siRNA knockdown resulted in significantly enhanced ENZA sensitivity. Our analyses revealed that ALCAM serum levels may help to identify ENZA‐ and ABI‐resistant patients and may thereby help to optimize future clinical decision‐making. Our functional analyses suggest the possible involvement of ALCAM in ENZA resistance.
LiteCovidNet: A lightweight deep neural network model for detection of COVID‐19 using X‐ray images
Authors: Kumar Sachin , Shastri Sourabh , Mahajan Shilpa , Singh Kuljeet , Gupta Surbhi , Rani Rajneesh , Mohan Neeraj , Mansotra Vibhakar
Published: June 2022

The syndrome called COVID‐19 which was firstly spread in Wuhan, China has already been declared a globally “Pandemic.” To stymie the further spread of the virus at an early stage, detection needs to be done. Artificial Intelligence‐based deep learning models have gained much popularity in the detection of many diseases within the confines of biomedical sciences. In this paper, a deep neural network‐based “LiteCovidNet” model is proposed that detects COVID‐19 cases as the binary class (COVID‐19, Normal) and the multi‐class (COVID‐19, Normal, Pneumonia) bifurcated based on chest X‐ray images of the infected persons. An accuracy of 100% and 98.82% is achieved for binary and multi‐class classification respectively which is competitive performance as compared to the other recent related studies. Hence, our methodology can be used by health professionals to validate the detection of COVID‐19 infected patients at an early stage with convenient cost and better accuracy.
A modified DeepLabV3+ based semantic segmentation of chest computed tomography images for COVID‐19 lung infections
Authors: Polat Hasan
Published: June 2022

Coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) affects the lives of billions of people worldwide and has destructive impacts on daily life routines, the global economy, and public health. Early diagnosis and quantification of COVID‐19 infection have a vital role in improving treatment outcomes and interrupting transmission. For this purpose, advances in medical imaging techniques like computed tomography (CT) scans offer great potential as an alternative to RT‐PCR assay. CT scans enable a better understanding of infection morphology and tracking of lesion boundaries. Since manual analysis of CT can be extremely tedious and time‐consuming, robust automated image segmentation is necessary for clinical diagnosis and decision support. This paper proposes an efficient segmentation framework based on the modified DeepLabV3+ using lower atrous rates in the Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling (ASPP) module. The lower atrous rates make receptive small to capture intricate morphological details. The encoder part of the framework utilizes a pre‐trained residual network based on dilated convolutions for optimum resolution of feature maps. In order to evaluate the robustness of the modified model, a comprehensive comparison with other state‐of‐the‐art segmentation methods was also performed. The experiments were carried out using a fivefold cross‐validation technique on a publicly available database containing 100 single‐slice CT scans from >40 patients with COVID‐19. The modified DeepLabV3+ achieved good segmentation performance using around 43.9 M parameters. The lower atrous rates in the ASPP module improved segmentation performance. After fivefold cross‐validation, the framework achieved an overall Dice similarity coefficient score of 0.881. The results demonstrate that several minor modifications to the DeepLabV3+ pipeline can provide robust solutions for improving segmentation performance and hardware implementation.
Neuromelanins in brain aging and Parkinson's disease: synthesis, structure, neuroinflammatory, and neurodegenerative role
Authors: Zucca Fabio A. , Capucciati Andrea , Bellei Chiara , Sarna Michał , Sarna Tadeusz , Monzani Enrico , Casella Luigi , Zecca Luigi
Published: June 2022

Neuromelanins are compounds accumulating in neurons of human and animal brain during aging, with neurons of substantia nigra and locus coeruleus having the highest levels of neuromelanins. These compounds have melanic, lipid, peptide, and inorganic components and are contained inside special autolysosomes. Neuromelanins can participate in neuroprotective or toxic processes occurring in Parkinson's disease according to cellular environment. Their synthesis depends on the concentration of cytosolic catechols and is a protective process since it prevents the toxic accumulation of catechols‐derived reactive compounds. Neuromelanins can be neuroprotective also by binding reactive/toxic metals to produce stable and non‐toxic complexes. Extraneuronal neuromelanin released by dying dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease activates microglia which generate reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, and proinflammatory molecules, thus producing still neuroinflammation and neuronal death. Synthetic neuromelanins have been prepared with melanic, protein structure, and metal content closely mimicking the natural brain pigment, and these models are also able to activate microglia. Neuromelanins have different structure, synthesis, cellular/subcellular distribution, and role than melanins of hair, skin, and other tissues. The main common aspect between brain neuromelanin and peripheral melanin is the presence of eumelanin and/or pheomelanin moieties in their structure.
Is split‐dose better than single‐dose? Results of Turkish Stem Cell Coordination Center (TURKOK) donors in the era of rising biosimilar G‐CSF
Authors: Pınar İbrahim Ethem , Özkocaman Vildan , Özkalemkaş Fahir , Durgut Himmet , Dakiki Bahar , Ersal Tuba , Gürsoy Vildan , Yalçın Cumali , Orhan Bedrettin , Candar Ömer , Ali Rıdvan
Published: June 2022

Background

Turkish Stem Cell Coordination Center (TURKOK) carries out the procurement process of unrelated allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells in Turkey. This study aims to compare the efficacy of both once‐daily and divided‐dose G‐CSF administration and the original and biosimilar G‐CSF use and the frequency and severity of adverse events in TURKOK donors.

Method

The study was conducted retrospectively with 142 healthy TURKOK donors. For PBSC mobilization, two different subcutaneous G‐CSF programs were used as 10 μ/kg/day single‐dose and 5 μ/kg/12 h. Neupogen (Amgen, Puerto Rico) and Tevagrastim (Teva, Kfar Saba, Israel) were used as G‐CSF. All donors started apheresis on the fifth day, and all side effects were recorded during the procedure.

Results

Stem cell yield was similar between single‐dose and divided‐doses based on donor weight, favoring the split‐dose based on recipient weight (P = .506 and P = .023, respectively). Both G‐CSF posologies were comparable if the target CD34+ cell yield was ≥4 × 106/kg. CD34+ cell yield was equivalent when evaluated against recipient weight, significantly favoring Tevagrastim vs Neupogen by donor weight (P = .740 and P = .021, respectively). Side effects, duration of pain, and need for analgesia favor Tevagratim over Neupogen.

Conclusion

Split‐dose may be recommended for cases where the need for large numbers of CD34+ cells to be harvested is anticipated due to significant cell yield relative to recipient weight. However, sufficient hematopoietic stem cells can be collected with both posology. Tevagrastim is non‐inferiority effective to Neupogen. Side effects during administration are both low‐grade and temporary.
Association of perturbation of oral bacterial with incident of Alzheimer's disease: A pilot study
Authors: Taati Moghadam Majid , Amirmozafari Nour , Mojtahedi Ali , Bakhshayesh Babak , Shariati Aref , Masjedian Jazi Faramarz
Published: June 2022

Objective

This case‐control study was designed to compare the composition of the predominant oral bacterial microbiome in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and control group.

Subject

A total of 30 adult participants (15 AD and 15 healthy individuals) were entered in this study. The composition of oral bacterial microbiome was examined by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) using bacterial 16S rDNA gene. The levels of systemic inflammatory cytokines in both groups were assessed using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

Results

The loads of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Prevotella intermedia were significantly more abundant in the AD compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Although Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Streptococcus mutans were relatively frequent in the AD group, no significance difference was observed in their copy number between two groups. Although the concentrations of IL‐1, IL‐6, and TNF‐α were higher in the AD group, there was a significant difference in their levels between the two groups (p < 0.05). Finally, there was a significant relationship between increased number of pathogenic bacteria in oral microbiome and higher concentration of cytokines in patient's blood.

Conclusion

Our knowledge of oral microbiome and its exact association with AD is rather limited; our study showed a significant association between changes in oral microbiome bacteria, increased inflammatory cytokines, and AD.
Upregulation of INHBA mediated by the transcription factor BHLHE40 promotes colon cancer cell proliferation and migration
Authors: Wang Jianan , Li Bo , Yang Shaohui , Ma Chenyang , Liu Kaitai , Chen Xue , Cui Wei
Published: June 2022

Background

Colon cancer is highly prevalent, and cell proliferation and migration are major reasons for its progression to malignancy. The upregulation of INHBA, a glycoprotein hormone that regulates the secretion of pituitary hormones, is documented to be oncogenic in numerous cancers, consisting of breast, gastric, and ovarian cancer. Herein, we assessed the role of INHBA in the proliferation along with the migration of colon cancer cells.

Methods

TCGA datasets were used to assess INHBA expression and its correlation with prognosis in colon cancer patients. Analyses on JASPAR, PROMO, and ENCODE databases, uncovered high correlation between INHBA and BHLHE40. Western blot and RT‐qPCR analysis were used to determine protein and mRNA levels. Cell transfection inhibited the expression of INHBA and BHLHE40. Cell proliferation rates were determined using CCK8 analysis. Wound healing assays were adopted to explore cell migration.

Results

INHBA is markedly elevated in colon cancer tissues along with cells and is a predictive factor for patient's prognosis with colon cancer. INHBA silencing suppressed colon cancer cell proliferation and migration. Furthermore, we confirmed the association of INHBA with BHLHE40 in colon cancer cells. BHLHE40 could directly modulates INHBA expression. Here, we show that BHLHE40 modulates the expression of INHBA, which influences the proliferation, and migration of colon cancer cells.

Conclusion

INHBA acts as an oncogene in colon cancer and it can be regulated by the transcription factor BHLHE40.
Prognostic value of dynamic cardiac biomarkers in patients with acquired refractory thrombocytopenic purpura: A retrospective study in Chinese population
Authors: Xu Yinan , Gu Chengyuan , Wang Ruju , Qi Jiaqian , Wang Jun , Jiang Tingbo , Jiang Min , Wu Depei , You Tao , Fu Jianhong
Published: June 2022

Introduction

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is becoming a curable disease with the introduction of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). However, cardiovascular complications remain essential causes of mortality in patients with refractory TTP, while the association of cardiac biomarkers with the prognosis of TTP warrants further investigation.

Methods

Patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University for refractory TTP from 2013 through 2020 were included in this retrospective study. Clinical characteristics were collected from electronic health records. Biomarker levels on admission and post TPE were recorded. Logistic regression was adopted to identify risk factors for mortality.

Results

A total of 78 patients with refractory TTP were included in this study. Twenty‐one patients died during hospitalization, with a mortality rate of 26.9%. High‐sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs‐cTnT), N‐terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratios (AAR) were increased in deceased patients compared with the survival group. Multivariate analysis showed that AAR after TPE was associated with overall mortality (OR: 4.45, 95% CI 1.09–18.19). The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of AAR, hs‐cTnT, and NT‐proBNP for the association with mortality were 0.814, 0.840, and 0.829, respectively.

Conclusion

Higher post‐TPE cardiac biomarker levels are associated with increased in‐hospital mortality in patients with refractory TTP.
Focused group analytic psychotherapy: An integration of clinical experience and research
Authors: Lorentzen Steinar
Published: June 2022

Objective

Group‐analytic psychotherapy is probably the most commonly used psychodynamic group therapy in Europe. This paper describes focused group analytic psychotherapy (FGAP), a new time–limited version of this therapy, based on clinical experience and research.

The therapy/suitability of patients

It is relatively structured and individually oriented, and designed for patients with a certain ability to tolerate internal and external stress, without decompensating or developing serious behavioral disturbances (they should have a limited degree of personality pathology). Patients entering FGAP should establish a circumscribed therapy focus ahead of therapy, based on some dysfunctional patterns of interpersonal problems, conflicts, and/or symptoms related to a psychodynamic hypothesis/case formulation.

Selection/preparation

The paper describes patient selection and preparation, the evolvement of the group process, and how therapist and other group members interact/intervene.

Clinical material/vignettes

Central elements in the evaluation and aspects of the therapy are described and illustrated with an extensive case description and clinical material and vignettes from the group process.
Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Lenvatinib in Chinese Patients With Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Real‐World Data
Authors: Hu Yingying , Chen Ruijia , Ye Zhenjie , Wei Fuqun , Lin Kecan , Liu Jingfeng , Zeng Yongyi
Published: June 2022

Lenvatinib is a novel oral angiogenesis inhibitor approved in China for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without prior systemic treatment. We described the population pharmacokinetics of lenvatinib in Chinese patients with advanced HCC and explore the potential patient characteristics associated with lenvatinib pharmacokinetics using real‐world data. A total of 266 samples, provided by 127 Chinese patients with advanced HCC, were analyzed by nonlinear mixed‐effects modeling. Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to assess impact of covariates on the exposure to lenvatinib. The clearance of lenvatinib in Chinese patients with advanced HCC was 5.3 L/h, and alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, and sex were identified as important covariates associated with it. The clearance of Child‐Pugh class B patients (4.82L/h) was significantly lower than that of Child‐Pugh class A patients (5.53 L/h), and the systemic exposure increased with the increase of alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin. There were sex differences in the pharmacokinetic characteristics of lenvatinib. The clearance of women was significantly lower than that of men (4.61 vs 5.6 L/h; P < .001), and the area under the plasma concentration–time curve of women was ≈20% higher than that of men. In this study, a population pharmacokinetic model of lenvatinib was established, which can be used to simulate clinical trials or various dosing scenarios. Our findings provide important new insights for optimizing the use of lenvatinib in patients with advanced HCC.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) update: From metabolic reprogramming to immunometabolism
Authors: Rudiansyah Mohammad , Jasim Saade Abdalkareem , Mohammad pour Zeinab Gol , Athar Sara Sohrabi , Jeda Ali Salimi , doewes Rumi Iqbal , Jalil Abduladheem Turki , Bokov D. O. , Mustafa Yasser Fakri , Noroozbeygi Mina , Karampoor Sajad , Mirzaei Rasoul
Published: June 2022

The field of immunometabolism investigates and describes the effects of metabolic rewiring in immune cells throughout activation and the fates of these cells. Recently, it has been appreciated that immunometabolism plays an essential role in the progression of viral infections, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Regarding COVID‐19, the aberrant immune response underlying the progression of diseases establishes two major respiratory pathologies, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or pneumonia‐induced acute lung injury (ALI). Both innate and adaptive immunity (T cell‐based) were impaired in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. Current findings have deciphered that macrophages (innate immune cells) are involved in the inflammatory response seen in COVID‐19. It has been demonstrated that immune system cells can change metabolic reprogramming in some conditions, including autoimmune diseases, cancer, and infectious disease, including COVID‐19. The growing findings on metabolic reprogramming in COVID‐19 allow an exploration of metabolites with immunomodulatory properties as future therapies to combat this hyperinflammatory response. The elucidation of the exact role and mechanism underlying this metabolic reprograming in immune cells could help apply more precise approaches to initial diagnosis, prognosis, and in‐hospital therapy. This report discusses the latest findings from COVID‐19 on host metabolic reprogramming and immunometabolic responses.
Deletion of YJL218W reduces salt tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Li Mengyan , Zhang Yu , Deng Juqing , Wang Hanying , Ma Jiaqing , Wang Weiqun , Lyu Lechun
Published: June 2022

The YJL218W open reading frame may be involved in peroxisomal biogenesis. However, whether it mediates salt tolerance is unclear. We found that after knockdown of YJL218W in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae), its salt tolerance was reduced and cell death was increased. Transcriptome sequencing and analysis further revealed that YJL218W knockdown mediated significant changes in the expression of 1432 messenger RNA (mRNAs), of which 603 were upregulated. KEGG enrichment analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay indicated that YJL218W mediated the regulation of peroxisome‐related genes. Therefore, YJL218W may regulate salt stress in S. cerevisiae by regulating peroxisome assembly.
Spatiotemporal patterns and evolution of heavy rainfall trajectories in China
Authors: Xu Chang , Chen Zhihe , Zhu Zhihua
Published: June 2022

A heavy rainfall trajectory (HRT) is defined as the trajectory formed by the movement of the rainstorm centre of a heavy rainfall event over time. Based on this definition, the dispersion degree (DD) of HRTs is applied based on the Euclidean distance and an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) to quantify the spatiotemporal distribution and evolution characteristics of HRTs in China. The results show that (a) the spatial distribution and length of HRTs in China have distinct geographical and seasonal characteristics, which are strongly influenced by the East Asian summer monsoon. (b) From southeast China to northwest China, the DDs increased to 8 and the length of HRTs decreased by 53,925 m. (c) According to EOF analysis, the direction angle change of northeast‐oriented HRTs shows a significant negative trend across the country, while those of southeast‐, southwest‐ and northwest‐oriented HRTs show a significant positive trend. From 2008 to 2019, HRTs flattened in the northeast and southwest directions, while HRTs steepened in the southeast and northwest directions. This research provides certain scientific guidance for the prevention and mitigation of regional disasters and provides necessary theoretical support for the changing patterns of the climate system under the impact of climate change.
Sagittal plane ankle kinetics are associated with dynamic hip range of motion and gait efficiency in women with hip osteoarthritis
Authors: Huang Chun‐Hao , Aydemir Burcu , Foucher Kharma C.
Published: June 2022

Loss of sagittal plane hip range of motion (ROM) is a commonly reported walking gait impairment in people with hip osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether sagittal plane hip ROM reduction and the resulting altered sagittal plane ankle kinetics during gait influence the energy cost of walking in people with hip OA. We evaluated 24 women with unilateral hip OA (60 ± 9.1 years; 29.4 ± 6.1 kg/m2). Sagittal plane hip ROM and peak ankle dorsiflexion moment were assessed by instrumented gait analysis. We also used a portable metabolic system to measure the energy cost of walking. Pearson correlations and regression analyses were performed to test our hypotheses. We found that greater involved limb sagittal plane hip ROM was associated with a larger ankle peak dorsiflexion moment at push‐off during gait (R = 0.50, p = 0.01). Greater involved limb peak ankle dorsiflexion moment at push‐off was associated with a lower oxygen consumption during gait (R = −0.51, p = 0.01). Involved limb peak ankle dorsiflexion moment at push‐off predicted 26% of the variance in O2 cost. Statement of Clinical Significance: Sagittal plane hip ROM was associated with peak ankle dorsiflexion moment at push‐off during gait in women with hip OA. Moreover, peak ankle dorsiflexion moment at push‐off was associated with the energy cost of walking. Therefore, modifying sagittal plane hip ROM and peak ankle dorsiflexion moment could be a possible rehabilitation strategy to improve gait efficiency in women with hip OA.
Patterns of lipid‐injectable emulsion use in neonatal intensive care units across the United States: A multi‐institution survey
Authors: Huff Katie A. , Nayak Sujir Pritha , Ahmad Irfan , DiGeronimo Robert , Hair Amy , Kim Jae H. , Markel Troy , Piazza Anthony , Reber Kristina , Roberts Jessica , Sharma Jotishna , Sullivan Kevin , Ahmad Kaashif A. , Yanowitz Toby , Premkumar Muralidhar H.
Published: June 2022

Background

Lipid‐injectable emulsions (ILEs) are a necessity for neonates dependent on parenteral nutrition (PN). In this manuscript, we describe the patterns of ILE use in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the United States (US).

Methods

An electronic survey was sent to 488 NICUs across the US between December 2020 and March 2021. Survey fields included availability and utilization of various ILE in neonates.

Results

The response rate was 22% (107 out of 488). Soybean oil ILE (SO‐ILE) and soybean oil, medium‐chain triglycerides, olive oil, fish oil ILE (SO, MCT, OO, FO‐ILE) had similar availability (87% vs 86%, respectively), and SO, MCT, OO, FO‐ILE was more commonly used (SO‐ILE, 71% vs SO, MCT, OO, FO‐ILE, 86%). Fish oil‐ILE (FO‐ILE) was used by 55% of centers. SO‐ILE was most frequently used with PN and needs <4 weeks without cholestasis (79%). The most common reason for SO, MCT, OO, FO‐ILE use was cholestasis (71%). ILE minimization was used by 28% of SO‐ILE and 22% of SO, MCT, OO, FO‐ILE users; 95% of these centers restrict SO, MCT, OO, FO‐ILE to doses ≤2 g/kg/day. Twenty‐two percent of centers started FO‐ILE at direct bilirubin of >5 mg/dl.

Conclusion

The results of this survey reveal significant variability in ILE usage across the US. Lipid minimization with SO, MCT, OO, FO‐ILE and initiation of FO‐ILE for cholestasis at higher bilirubin thresholds are prevalent. Such reports are crucial for a better understanding of ILE use in the NICU and in future ILE development.
Middle‐phase microemulsion with CO2 responsiveness
Authors: Guan Dan , Luan Huoxin , Shao Hongzhi , Que Tingli , Xu Congjun , Liu Lulu , Huang Huiyu , Huang Xiaoling , Su Xin
Published: June 2022

Crude oil is the most exploited energy source and the best way to increase the yield of oil recovery is the use of middle‐phase microemulsions. But the consecutive formation of water‐in‐oil emulsions needs oil–water separation. Reversible middle‐phase microemulsions were prepared with tetradecane (equivalent alkane for crude oil from Xinjiang oilfields, China) and aqueous solutions containing 1‐pentanol, N,N‐dimethyltetradecylamine and NaCl, and stimulated with CO2. By adding and removing CO2, the conductivity of aqueous solutions without NaCl increases from 20 μS/cm to 3.6 mS/cm reversibly. Additionally, the surface and interfacial tensions of aqueous solution show reversible changes. The middle‐phase microemulsion is stable in CO2 atmosphere. After removing CO2, it becomes separated into oil and aqueous phases. However, by sparging CO2 and standing for 2 days, it becomes middle‐phase microemulsion again. This research is expected to launch a brand‐new avenue for the CO2‐stimulated reversible microemulsification.
Usefulness of Intestinal Ultrasound to Detect Small Intestinal Stenosis in Patients With Crohn's Disease
Authors: Takeuchi Keiko , Inokuchi Toshihiro , Takahara Masahiro , Ohmori Masayasu , Yasutomi Eriko , Oka Shohei , Igawa Shoko , Takei Kensuke , Baba Yuki , Kawano Seiji , Yamasaki Yasushi , Kinugasa Hideaki , Harada Keita , Hiraoka Sakiko , Okada Hiroyuki
Published: June 2022

Objectives

Double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) with retrograde contrast is useful as a monitoring tool for small intestinal lesions in Crohn's disease (CD), but these are burdensome for patients. Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) can be used with ease in daily clinical practice, but there is less evidence regarding the accuracy of detection of small intestinal stenosis in CD. This study aimed to examine the diagnostic power of IUS for small intestinal stenosis in patients with CD.

Methods

The findings of DBE and IUS in 86 patients with CD with small intestinal lesions were evaluated. Using DBE as the reference standard, we examined the detection rate of IUS for small intestinal stenosis. We evaluated three parameters: luminal narrowing, prestenotic dilation, and to‐and‐fro movement for determining stenosis using IUS. In addition, we compared the characteristics between the stenosis‐detectable and stenosis‐undetectable groups by IUS.

Results

Of the 86 patients, 30 had small intestinal stenosis. In IUS findings, when lesions that met two or more of the three parameters were judged as stenosis, the detection rate was 70.0% for sensitivity, 98.2% for specificity, and 88.4% for accuracy. Moreover, there were patients with a younger age at diagnosis (P < 0.05) and more ileocolonic disease location (P < 0.05) in the stenosis‐detectable group by IUS. The stenoses detected by IUS were significantly longer than those undetected by IUS (14.1 mm versus 5.2 mm, P < 0.05).

Conclusions

IUS delivered reliable results for clinically important small intestinal stenosis of CD with high diagnostic accuracy.
Application of a Tele‐Ultrasound Robot During COVID‐19 Pandemic
Authors: Jiang Wenli , Zhao Xia , Gan Tian , Liu Ying , Luo Shuilian , Zhu Meifang , Chen Sikai , Jiang Yu , Wu Meng
Published: June 2022

Objective

To investigate the accuracy of ultrasonic diagnosis using the tele‐ultrasound robot in Leishen Shan Hospital.

Method

Twenty‐two patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia from Leishen Shan Hospital voluntarily participated in this study. Their thyroids, neck vessels, hepatobiliaries and kidneys were scanned by both a tele‐ultrasound robot manufactured by Imabot Co., Ltd, Wuhan and conventional method. The ultrasound diagnosis of each patient was compared, and the ultrasound images obtained by the two methods were mixed together and double‐blindly diagnosed by an experienced ultrasound radiologist.

Results

There were 44 positive lesions in 110 sites of 22 patients. Of which the two methods, 40 positive lesions were detected by the robotic method with 4 lesions missed (2 small polyps of gallbladder, 1 small hemangioma of liver and 1 small cyst of kidney) and 1 lesion misdiagnosed (normal carotid artery was misdiagnosed as carotid atherosclerotic plaque); 44 positive lesions were detected by conventional method with 1 small cyst of the liver was missed. There was no statistically significant difference in the accuracy rate between the robotic method and the conventional method using the chi‐square test of the four‐grid data (P>.05).

Conclusion

The application of tele‐ultrasound robot meets the standard of patient care during the pandemic. The method is feasible to provide adequate ultrasound information to diagnose common abdominal, vascular, superficial organ pathologies in patients with COVID‐19 with acceptable accuracy compared with a conventional ultrasound scan.
Kinetics study of the OH + SiH4 hydrogen abstraction reaction: A theoretical analysis
Authors: Espinosa‐Garcia Joaquín
Published: June 2022

The temperature dependence of the rate constants and the kinetics isotope effects of the OH + SiH4 hydrogen abstraction reaction were theoretically studied. Three different kinetics approaches were used in this study: variational transition state theory with multidimensional tunneling (VTST/MT) corrections, quasi‐classical trajectory (QCT) calculations, and ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD). These studies were performed on a global analytical potential energy surface based on explicitly correlated high level ab initio calculations developed in the present work. While the experimental rate constants are practically independent with temperature, the VTST/MT results show a pronounced dependence, the QCT partially corrects this behavior, and RPMD rates are in better agreement with experiment. In this case, in the experimental common temperature range, 300–600 K, the T‐expression for the RPMD rate constants is: k(T) = 6.40 × 10−13.T0.52exp(−0.10/T). The kinetics isotope effects, H/D, are small in this temperature range, revealing the small importance of tunneling effects in this very exothermic and low barrier reaction. Different factors, such as anharmonicity, the zero‐point violation problem or limitations of the surface, without ruling out experimental uncertainties, were analyzed to explain the discrepancies.