bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Theoretical exploration of atomic structure calculation of sodium atom confined in the fullerene cage: a primer investigation for EIT applications
Authors: Ahmad Mobassir , Jose Jobin , Goswami Biplab , Easwaran Raghavan K
Published: June 2024

Alterations in the electronic structural properties of a sodium atom confined inside a fullerene cage are investigated in this manuscript; the engineered atom is explored to suit for the quantum technique applications. A Gaussian annular square well (GASW) model has been used to mimic the fullerene environment. Electronic properties such as energy levels, probabilities, the lifetime of the levels, etc, have been studied for various confinement depths of GASW using the multi-configuration Dirac Hartree–Fock technique. The wavelengths of the D lines of the sodium atom have been shifted from the typical yellow to the blue and then to the ultraviolet region upon confinement. Using the range-shifted blue D lines of the engineered atom, a typical Λ-type electromagnetically induced transparency configuration is proposed. Furthermore, we have shown the explicit dependency of relevant atomic parameters on the confinement depth, which showcases the tunability to suit the engineered atoms for various applications; for instance, increasing the confinement depth increases the lifetime of

3

D

5

/

2

and

3

D

3

/

2

states significantly from the typical lifetime value, which has potential applications in quantum technologies.
Hierarchy of tripartite entanglement detection in a cavity magnomechanical system
Authors: Niu Wei , Cheng Jiong , Zhang Wen-Zhao , Zhang Cheng-Jie
Published: June 2024

We propose a criterion for detecting quantum states containing non-zero entanglement with respect to all possible bipartitions of a tripartite system. Our criterion, together with two other criteria, forms a hierarchy of tripartite entanglement detection, revealing three distinct types: genuine tripartite entanglement, entanglement with respect to all bipartitions, and standard tripartite entanglement. Furthermore, we present a feasible scheme for generating and detecting this hierarchy of tripartite entanglement within a cavity magnomechanical system. Our research paves the way for generating and detecting tripartite entanglement hierarchies in continuous variable systems.
An ultraviolet photodetector based on conductive hydrogenated TiO2 film prepared by radio frequency atmospheric pressure plasma
Authors: Zhang Yu , Wang Haozhe , Cui Jie , He Tao , Qiu Gaote , Xu Yu , Zhang Jing
Published: June 2024

The growing demand for real-time ultraviolet (UV) monitoring calls for a simple, rapid, and low-cost strategy to prepare UV photodetectors (PDs). We prepare a wearable real-time UV PD based on hydrogenated titanium dioxide film synthesized by radio frequency atmospheric pressure plasma. The conductivity of our hydrogenated titanium dioxide is improved to 10.2 S cm−1, nine orders of magnitude higher than that of pristine titanium dioxide after 10 min plasma treatment. Plasma hydrogenation disrupts the surface crystal structure, introducing oxygen vacancies (OVs) that create self-doped titanium(III) and titanium(II) species. First-principles calculations indicate that the OVs raise the Fermi level of TiO2 and distort the lattice locally. Our optimized film has a distinctive periodic switching characteristic under intermittent illumination; its responsivity is good from 280 to 400 nm, peaking at 632.35 mA W−1 at 365 nm. The fabricated wearable sensor based on the optimized film effectively monitors the daily variation of ambient UV intensity in three typical weather types, transferring its data to a smartphone via Wi-Fi.
Anomalous thermodynamic cost of clock synchronization
Authors: Yang Cheng , Sheng Jiteng , Wu Haibin
Published: June 2024

Clock synchronization is critically important in positioning, navigation and timing systems. While its performance has been intensively studied in a wide range of disciplines, much less is known for the fundamental thermodynamics of clock synchronization‒what limits the precision and how to optimize the energy cost for clock synchronization. Here, we report the first experimental investigation of two stochastic autonomous clocks synchronization, unveiling the thermodynamic relation between the entropy cost and clock synchronization in an open cavity optomechanical system. Two interacting clocks are synchronized spontaneously owing to the disparate decay rates of hybrid modes by engineering the controllable cavity-mediated dissipative coupling. The measured dependence of the degree of synchronization on the overall entropy cost exhibits an unexpected non-monotonic characteristic, while the relation between the degree of synchronization and the entropy cost for the synchronization is monotonically decreasing. The investigation of transient dynamics of clock synchronization exposes a trade-off between energy and time consumption. Our results demonstrate the possibility of clock synchronization in an effective linear system, reveal the fundamental relation between clock synchronization and thermodynamics, and have a great potential for precision measurements, distributed quantum networks, and biological science.
Design of a dynamically switchable metamaterial solar heating and daytime radiative cooling device based on reversible metal electrodeposition
Authors: Xie Tao , Jin Shenghao , Zhao C Y , Wang B X
Published: June 2024

The combination of daytime radiative cooling and solar heating can regulate the temperature of buildings in all seasons, which is vital to achieving energy savings. However, achieving a dynamic and efficient switch between radiative cooling and solar heating states is still challenging. The reversible metal electrodeposition is a promising electrochromic (EC) technology that can dynamically manipulate the visible and infrared spectrum by depositing a nanoscale metal layer. By combining it with a delicate nanostructure design, reconfigurable daytime radiative cooling and solar heating states can be achieved. In this work, a metamaterial EC device capable of efficiently switching between high solar reflectance (91.73%) and high solar absorptance (95.41%) via reversible silver layer electrodeposition has been developed. This device consists of a top layer, which is a visible transparent electrode of indium tin oxide covered with an ultrathin platinum film, an electrolyte in the middle, and a metamaterial absorber based on a metal/dielectric multilayered structure at the bottom. Afterward, we analyze the spectrum of each part of the device and carry out a parametric study on the practical performance with different ambient temperatures and convective heat transfer coefficients. The average solar reflectance of the device in the radiative cooling state is 93.41% within the range of 0.3–2.5 μm. In the solar heating mode, the average solar absorptance of the device reaches 95.46%. Numerical simulations show that the device in the cooling mode achieves a temperature drop of 5 °C–9.8 °C and an average cooling power of 140.8

W

m

−
2

. The device in heating mode achieves a maximum temperature rise of 45 °C and a maximum heating power of 700

W

m

−
2

. This work provides a feasible design for solar heating and daytime radiative cooling switching devices, which is promising in applications like energy-saving buildings, wearable devices, electric vehicles and other outdoors facilities.
Nonlinear dynamic behavior of single-layered black phosphorus with an attached mass
Authors: Peng Die , Zhang Yiqing
Published: June 2024

The investigation of black phosphorus-based (BP)-based mass sensors provides theoretical support for the development of mass-detection devices. This study examines the non-linear dynamic behavior of a rectangular single-layered BP (SLBP) with an attached mass through the utilization of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and a nonlinear orthotropic plate model (NOPM) with a concentrated mass. The results indicate that significant deformation of an SLBP with an attached mass necessitates consideration of geometric nonlinearity, although the attached mass does not affect the deformation. Additionally, this paper discusses the impact of the attachment mass and the amplitude of harmonic force on the non-linear forced vibration of the SLBP. It is observed that as the attachment mass increases, the nonlinear vibration resonance frequency decreases, while the peak amplitude increases. Furthermore, the thermal nonlinear vibration of SLBP with an attached mass has been investigated, revealing that an increase in the attached mass leads to a decrease in the nonlinear vibration frequency but an increase in the amplitude of the nonlinear vibration of SLBP with an attached mass. Overall, comparison with MD simulation results, this investigation suggests that NOPM with a concentrated mass effectively describes the nonlinear vibration behavior of an SLBP with an attached mass, providing theoretical support for designing such devices to detect attached masses.
Multi-variable integration with a variational quantum circuit
Authors: Cruz-Martinez Juan M , Robbiati Matteo , Carrazza Stefano
Published: June 2024

In this work we present a novel strategy to evaluate multi-variable integrals with quantum circuits. The procedure first encodes the integration variables into a parametric circuit. The obtained circuit is then derived with respect to the integration variables using the parameter shift rule technique. The observable representing the derivative is then used as the predictor of the target integrand function following a quantum machine learning approach. The integral is then estimated using the fundamental theorem of integral calculus by evaluating the original circuit. Embedding data according to a reuploading strategy, multi-dimensional variables can be easily encoded into the circuit’s gates and then individually taken as targets while deriving the circuit. These techniques can be exploited to partially integrate a function or to quickly compute parametric integrands within the training hyperspace.
Intelligent pesticide recommendation system for cocoa plant using computer vision and deep learning techniques
Authors: Arakeri Megha , M P Dhatvik , Kavan A V , Murthy Kamma Sushreya , Nishitha Nagineni Lakshmi , Lakshmi Napa
Published: June 2024

Agriculture in India is a vital sector that contains a major portion of the population and impacts substantially the country’s economy. Cocoa is a crop that has commercial importance and is used for the production of chocolates. It is one of the main crops cultivated in south India due to the humid tropical climate. However, the cocoa plant is susceptible to various diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and pests resulting in yield losses. Visual analysis is a subjective and time-consuming process. Further, farmers use improper pesticides to prevent diseases, and this will degrade the plant and soil quality. To overcome these problems, this paper proposes an automatic cocoa plant disease detection and pesticide recommendation system using computer vision and deep learning techniques. The proposed system was evaluated on several cocoa plant images, and an accuracy of 97.36% was obtained in disease classification. The proposed system can help cocoa farmers in the detection of cocoa plant diseases in the early stage and reduce the use of excessive pesticides, thus promoting sustainable agriculture practices.
Implementation of exact thermal analysis in extended Oxley’s predictive machining theory
Authors: Dubey Aakash , Lalwani Devdas
Published: June 2024

Finding the exact solution to the generated temperatures that are more closely aligned with the actual nature of the process is important while conducting analytical modeling of the chip formation process in metal cutting. The extended Oxley’s predictive machining theory is implemented with the exact thermal analysis approach. This study presents temperature distributions near the shear plane on the workpiece side along with an exact temperature prediction for orthogonal cutting using the Komanduri-Hou model for the shear plane heat source. An explicit solution is also derived to obtain the tool-chip interface temperatures. The intricate formulae utilized in the original research study of Komanduri-Hou are solved using MATLAB code. The approach used here makes it easier to use the exact solution in future research for various categories of materials. The temperature distribution plots help to clarify the metal-cutting procedure and understand the different heat zones. The outcomes of shear angle, forces, stresses, strains, strain rates, and average temperatures are consistent with those reported in earlier studies.
Electro-thermal and mechanical property analysis of powder metallurgy processed, multi-stage ball milled aluminium-copper-multi walled carbon nanotube composite
Authors: Kundu Subham , Mondal Subhas Chandra
Published: June 2024

Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite (Al-MMC) is a favourable option for industries like automotive, aerospace, sports equipment, electronic packaging and renewable energy because of its impressive strength-to-weight ratio, effective thermal and electrical conductivity, abundant availability and reasonable cost of aluminium. Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced Al-MMC is popular among researchers due to its impressive strength and stiffness. The electrical and thermal conductivity of Al-CNT is a less focused field with challenges like uniform dispersion and structural integrity of CNT depending on the manufacturing process. In this paper, a novel method of Multistage ball milling (MSBM) was introduced to develop a powder metallurgy processed Al-MMC, consisting of 5-weight percentage (5 wt%) of copper (Cu) and 0.5 to 1.5 volume percentage (0.5–1.5 vol%) multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). In MSBM, mixing was done in two stages with two different rpms of the ball mill to add the advantages of flake powder metallurgy with lower chances of structural damage and the agglomeration of CNT. Mechanical, electrical, thermal, and microstructure characteristics of the fixed-speed single-stage ball milling (SSBM) process and the MSBM were compared. MSBM-processed Al-5Cu-0.5CNT composites showed higher electrical conductivity (15.03%), thermal conductivity (5.88%) and hardness (9.68%) than SSBM-processed composites. Al-5Cu-0.5CNT developed by the MSBM process achieved superior electrical and thermal conductivity, surpassing pure sintered Al by 138.45% and 9.39%, respectively.
HLG-YOLOv7: small object detection in conveyor belt damage based on leveraging hybrid local and global features
Authors: Wang Gongxian , Yue Qiang , Sun Hui , Tian Yu , Wang Yueyin , Zhou Qiao
Published: June 2024

In the industrial production process, the detection of conveyor belt damage plays a crucial role in ensuring the stable operation of the transportation system. To tackle the issues of significant changes in damage size, missed detections, and poor detection ability of small-size objects in conveyor belt surface damage detection, an improved HLG-YOLOv7 (Hybrid Local and Global Features Network) conveyor belt surface defect detection algorithm is proposed. Firstly, Next-VIT is employed as the backbone network to fully extract local and global features of the damage, enhancing the model’s ability to extract features of different-sized damages. Additionally, to deeply utilize the extracted local and global features, the Explicit Visual Center (EVC) feature fusion module is introduced to obtain comprehensive and discriminative feature representations, further enhancing the detection capability of small objects. Lastly, a lightweight neck structure is designed using GSConv to reduce the complexity of the model. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has better small object detection performance compared to existing methods. The improved algorithm achieves mAP and F1 scores of 96.24% and 97.15%, respectively, with an FPS of 28.2.
Fabrication of tips for scanning probe magnetometry by diamond growth
Authors: Götze Arne , Vidal Xavier , Lang Nicola , Giese Christian , Quellmalz Patricia , Jeske Jan , Knittel Peter
Published: June 2024

The use of quantum sensors is promising detailed insights into physical phenomena such as magnetism or superconductivity. One example of such quantum sensors is a microscopic diamond tip containing nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers, which is capable of producing correlated measurements of vectorial magnetic fields and the sample topography on the nanoscale. In this study, we present a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to produce diamond tips with NV centers by overgrowing microstructured diamond substrates. The resulting diamond tips exhibit a radius of curvature of approximately 10 nm, suitable for use as a probe in an atomic force microscope. The magnetic sensitivity of the CVD-grown diamond tips is characterized with pulsed measurements of the optically detected magnetic resonance, which yield a minimum magnetic sensitivity of 60 µT

Hz

−
1

. The growth of the diamond microstructures is observed to differ from the commonly used geometric model predicting CVD growth of bulk diamond crystals. We identify an empirical model for the growth behavior of the microstructures by taking into account processes described in the step flow growth model for crystals. Additionally, we demonstrate the applicability of the developed CVD growth process to membrane substrates required for the preparation of magnetometry-capable diamond tips.
Large values of quadratic Dirichlet 𝐿-functions over monic irreducible polynomial in 𝔽_{𝕢}[𝕥]
Authors: Darbar Pranendu , Maiti Gopal
Published: June 2024

We prove an

Ω
\Omega

-result for the quadratic Dirichlet

L
L

-function

|

L
(
1

/

2
,

χ
P

)

|

|L(1/2, \chi _P)|

over irreducible polynomials

P
P

associated with the hyperelliptic curve of genus

g
g

over a fixed finite field

F

q

\mathbb {F}_q

in the large genus limit. In particular, we showed that for any

ϵ
∈
(
0
,
1

/

2
)

\epsilon \in (0, 1/2)

,
\[
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="max Underscript StartLayout 1st Row upper P element-of script upper P Subscript 2 g plus 1 Baseline EndLayout Endscripts StartAbsoluteValue upper L left-parenthesis 1 slash 2 comma chi Subscript upper P Baseline right-parenthesis EndAbsoluteValue much-greater-than exp left-parenthesis left-parenthesis StartRoot left-parenthesis 1 slash 2 minus epsilon right-parenthesis ln q EndRoot plus o left-parenthesis 1 right-parenthesis right-parenthesis StartRoot StartFraction g ln Subscript 2 Baseline g Over ln g EndFraction EndRoot right-parenthesis comma">

max

P
∈

P

2
g
+
1

|

L
(
1

/

2
,

χ
P

)

|

≫
exp
⁡

(

(

(
1

/

2
−
ϵ
)

ln
⁡
q

+
o
(
1
)
)

g

ln
2

⁡
g

ln
⁡
g

)

,

\max _{\substack {P\in \mathcal {P}_{2g+1}}}|L(1/2, \chi _P)|\gg \exp \left (\left (\sqrt {\left (1/2-\epsilon \right )\ln q}+o(1)\right )\sqrt {\frac {g \ln _2 g}{\ln g}}\right ),

\]
where

P

2
g
+
1

\mathcal {P}_{2g+1}

is the set of all monic irreducible polynomials of degree

2
g
+
1

2g+1

. This matches with the order of magnitude of the Bondarenko–Seip bound.
Effect of Interaction Between Vitamin D and Serum Uric Acid on Hypertension in Adults
Authors: Qianqian Wang , Xinlei Miao , Guimin Tang , Manling Hu , Shuang Liu , Xiangjun Niu , Wan Zhao , Song Leng
Published: June 2024

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether the interaction between serum vitamin D and serum uric acid has an effect on blood pressure.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 7,951 subjects selected from the health management center of the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University during 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2022. The dose–response relationship between serum vitamin D, blood uric acid, and blood pressure was analyzed using restricted cubic spline. The relationship between each variable and elevated blood pressure was analyzed using multifactorial analysis in a generalized additive model and combined with a multiplicative–additive hierarchical interaction model to explore the effects of the interaction of serum vitamin D and blood uric acid on elevated blood pressure.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study population was (42.61 ± 11.17) years and the detection rate of hypertension was 12.14% (965/7,951). The risk of elevated blood pressure (high-normal blood pressure + hypertension) decreased with increasing serum vitamin D concentration, but the risk of elevated blood pressure increased with increasing serum uric acid levels. Compared with those with adequate serum vitamin D and normal blood uric acid, the odds ratio (OR) for the risk of high-normal blood pressure was 1.54 [95% confidence interval, CI (1.22, 1.94), P < 0.001] and the OR for the risk of hypertension was 3.17 [95% CI (2.13, 4.72), P < 0.001] for those with inadequate serum vitamin D and high blood uric acid. The risk of elevated blood pressure was highest when serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was less than 25 nmol/l and blood uric acid was higher than 600 µmol/l.

CONCLUSIONS

The interaction between serum vitamin D and blood uric acid has an effect on elevated blood pressure. The risk of hypertension was maximized when serum vitamin D was insufficient and blood uric acid was high.
The role of imagination in protest
Authors: Devraj Megha
Published: June 2024

Recent literature on social movements assigns a central role to the imagination. One way for activists to further their aims is through dramatic, confrontational acts of protest. I argue that transcendent imagining is key to understanding what protest does qua act of speech. A common approach to protest sees it as a speech act of condemning some feature of the socio-political world and appealing for change. While this is a helpful general template for what vocal dissent is, it is insufficient to explain what gives protests their political power. Specifically, it overlooks the fact that effective protests usually create a theatrical spectacle of norm breaking. Displays of defiance lift a constraint on how we imagine our socio-political world, and so allow us to begin reshaping it.
scVIC: deep generative modeling of heterogeneity for scRNA-seq data
Authors: Xiong Jiankang , Gong Fuzhou , Ma Liang , Wan Lin
Published: June 2024

Motivation

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has become a valuable tool for studying cellular heterogeneity. However, the analysis of scRNA-seq data is challenging because of inherent noise and technical variability. Existing methods often struggle to simultaneously explore heterogeneity across cells, handle dropout events, and account for batch effects. These drawbacks call for a robust and comprehensive method that can address these challenges and provide accurate insights into heterogeneity at the single-cell level.

Results

In this study, we introduce scVIC, an algorithm designed to account for variational inference, while simultaneously handling biological heterogeneity and batch effects at the single-cell level. scVIC explicitly models both biological heterogeneity and technical variability to learn cellular heterogeneity in a manner free from dropout events and the bias of batch effects. By leveraging variational inference, we provide a robust framework for inferring the parameters of scVIC. To test the performance of scVIC, we employed both simulated and biological scRNA-seq datasets, either including, or not, batch effects. scVIC was found to outperform other approaches because of its superior clustering ability and circumvention of the batch effects problem.

Availability and implementation

The code of scVIC and replication for this study are available at https://github.com/HiBearME/scVIC/tree/v1.0.
MCDHGN: heterogeneous network-based cancer driver gene prediction and interpretability analysis
Authors: Wang Lexiang , Zhou Jingli , Wang Xuan , Wang Yadong , Li Junyi
Published: June 2024

Motivation

Accurately predicting the driver genes of cancer is of great significance for carcinogenesis progress research and cancer treatment. In recent years, more and more deep-learning-based methods have been used for predicting cancer driver genes. However, deep-learning algorithms often have black box properties and cannot interpret the output results. Here, we propose a novel cancer driver gene mining method based on heterogeneous network meta-paths (MCDHGN), which uses meta-path aggregation to enhance the interpretability of predictions.

Results

MCDHGN constructs a heterogeneous network by using several types of multi-omics data that are biologically linked to genes. And the differential probabilities of SNV, DNA methylation, and gene expression data between cancerous tissues and normal tissues are extracted as initial features of genes. Nine meta-paths are manually selected, and the representation vectors obtained by aggregating information within and across meta-path nodes are used as new features for subsequent classification and prediction tasks. By comparing with eight homogeneous and heterogeneous network models on two pan-cancer datasets, MCDHGN has better performance on AUC and AUPR values. Additionally, MCDHGN provides interpretability of predicted cancer driver genes through the varying weights of biologically meaningful meta-paths.

Availability and implementation

https://github.com/1160300611/MCDHGN
GenoFig: a user-friendly application for the visualization and comparison of genomic regions
Authors: Branger Maxime , Leclercq Sébastien O
Published: June 2024

Motivation

Understanding the molecular evolutionary history of organisms usually requires visual comparison of genomic regions from related species or strains. Although several applications already exist to achieve this task, they are either too old, too limited, or too complex for most user’s needs.

Results

GenoFig is a graphical application for the visualization of prokaryotic genomic regions, intended to be as easy to use as possible and flexible enough to adapt to a variety of needs. GenoFig allows the personalized representation of annotations extracted from GenBank files in a consistent way across sequences, using regular expressions. It also provides several unique options to optimize the display of homologous regions between sequences, as well as other more classical features such as sequence GC percent or GC-skew representations. In summary, GenoFig is a simple, free, and highly configurable tool to explore the evolution of specific genomic regions in prokaryotes and to produce publication-ready figures.

Availability and implementation

Genofig is fully available at https://forgemia.inra.fr/public-pgba/genofig under a GPL 3.0 license.
MetaboReport: from metabolomics data analysis to comprehensive reporting
Authors: Dong Yonghui , Malitsky Sergey
Published: June 2024

Motivation

Metabolomics, as an essential tool in systems biology, is now widely accessible to researchers of all levels. Yet challenges remain in data analysis and result interpretation. To address these challenges, we introduced MetaboReport, a versatile and interactive web app that simplifies metabolomics experiment design, data preprocessing, exploration, statistical analysis, visualization, and reporting.

Results

MetaboReport produces a comprehensive HTML report, including project details, an introduction, interactive plots and tables, statistical results and an in-depth explanations and interpretation of the results. MetaboReport is particularly tailored for research labs and metabolomics core facilities that provide metabolomics services, allowing them to efficiently manage and document different metabolomics projects, and effectively report the metabolomics results to users.

Availability and implementation

MetaboReport is freely accessible on https://metaboreport.com, with source code available on GitHub (https://github.com/YonghuiDong/MetReport). Alternatively, users can install MetaboReport as a standalone desktop app (https://metaboreport.sourceforge.io).
Gene expression landscape of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression
Authors: Bencomo Tomas , Lee Carolyn S
Published: June 2024

Background

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) are the second most common human cancer and have been characterized by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq); however, the transferability of findings from individual studies may be limited by small sample sizes and diverse analysis protocols.

Objectives

To define the transcriptome landscape at different stages in the progression of normal skin to cSCC via a meta-analysis of publicly available RNA-Seq samples.

Methods

Whole-transcriptome data from 73 clinically normal skin samples, 46 actinic keratoses (AK) samples, 16 in situ SCC samples, 13 keratoacanthoma (KA) samples and 147 cSCC samples [including 30 samples from immunocompromised patients and 8 from individuals with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB)] were uniformly processed to harmonize gene expression. Differential expression, fusion detection and cell-type deconvolution analyses were performed.

Results

Individual RNA-Seq studies of cSCC demonstrated study-specific clustering and varied widely in their differential gene expression detection. Following batch correction, we defined a consensus set of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including those altered in the preinvasive stages of cSCC development, and used single-cell RNA-Seq data to demonstrate that DEGs are often – but not always – expressed by tumour-specific keratinocytes (TSKs). Analysis of the cellular composition of cSCC, KA and RDEB-cSCC identified an increase in differentiated keratinocytes in KA, while RDEB-cSCC contained the most TSKs. Compared with cSCC arising in immunocompetent individuals, cSCC samples from immunosuppressed patients demonstrated fewer memory B cells and CD8+ T cells. A comprehensive and unbiased search for fusion transcripts in cSCC and intermediate disease stages identified few candidates that recurred in >1% of all specimens, suggesting that most cSCC are not driven by oncogenic gene fusions. Finally, using Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) data, we distilled a novel 300-gene signature of chronic sun exposure that affirms greater cumulative ultraviolet (UV) exposure in later stages of cSCC development.

Conclusions

Our results define the gene expression landscape of cSCC progression, characterize cell subpopulation heterogeneity in cSCC subtypes that contribute to their distinct clinical phenotypes, demonstrate that gene fusions are not a common cause of cSCC and identify UV-responsive genes associated with cSCC development.
Candidaemia and Candida colonization in patients with epidermal necrolysis: a retrospective case series
Authors: Chantelot Louise , Gaillet Antoine , Botterel Françoise , Ingen-Housz-Oro Saskia , de Prost Nicolas
Published: June 2024

Sepsis is a leading cause of death in patients with epidermal necrolysis (EN). However, fungal infections have rarely been reported. From a monocentric retrospective study conducted between 2000 and 2023 in the medical intensive care unit of the reference centre for severe drug reactions in France, we report on the epidemiology of candidaemia and Candida sp. colonization in patients with EN. Of 155 patients with EN who were admitted to the ICU, 36 had a positive Candida sp. skin culture without candidaemia, 12 developed candidaemia and 107 had a negative skin culture and no candidaemia. Skin cultures showed a good sensitivity [89%; 95% CI (52–100%)] and excellent negative predictive values [99%; 95% CI (94–100%)] for candidaemia.
Clinical phenotyping is key to differentiating RFC1-associated neuropathy from immune-mediated neuropathy
Authors: Siow Sue-Faye , Kumar Kishore Raj
Published: June 2024

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Pathologic RFC1 repeat expansions do not contribute to the development of inflammatory neuropathies’, by Nagy et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcae163).
Differences Between the 2016 and 2022 Food and Drug Administration Guidance—Implications for Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials in Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Hanzel Jurij , Ma Christopher , Peyrin-Biroulet Laurent , Danese Silvio , Sands Bruce E , Jairath Vipul
Published: June 2024

Background

In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its draft guidance for drug development in ulcerative colitis, replacing the version from 2016. Several changes from the 2016 version merit further discussion as they impact clinical trial design and the interpretation of trial results.

Methods

We compared both documents and critically appraised the changes and implications for future clinical trials.

Results

The 2022 guidance recommends full colonoscopy, rather than flexible sigmoidoscopy, to document disease activity in all involved segments of the colon. The concordance between the findings of the 2 procedures is very high and there is little evidence to support colonoscopy over sigmoidoscopy. The use of colonoscopy, rather than sigmoidoscopy, is also associated with a higher burden to trial participants who must undergo full bowel preparation, cost, and a potential for more adverse events. The definition of the Mayo endoscopic score of 0 was changed from the original publication to “normal appearance of mucosa,” which suggests that endoscopic signs of prior disease, such as pseudopolyps and scarring, are incompatible with a score 0, even though they are not associated with active disease. The term “mucosal healing” has been abolished and histologic outcomes defined as exploratory. A welcome change is that shorter washout periods than 5 half-lives will be considered to reduce patient exposure to corticosteroids as bridging therapy.

Conclusions

The 2022 FDA draft guidance includes changes which for the most part are not informed by empirical evidence, which may ultimately complicate interpretation of future trials and preclude comparisons with past trials.
Risk factors and pattern of metastatic recurrence after endoscopic resection with additional treatment for esophageal cancer
Authors: Tanaka Ippei , Hatta Waku , Koike Tomoyuki , Takahashi So , Shimada Tomohiro , Hikichi Takuto , Toya Yosuke , Onozato Yusuke , Hamada Koichi , Fukushi Daisuke , Watanabe Ko , Kayaba Shoichi , Ito Hirotaka , Tatsuta Tetsuya , Oikawa Tomoyuki , Takahashi Yasushi , Kondo Yutaka , Yoshimura Tetsuro , Shiroki Takeharu , Nagino Ko , Hanabata Norihiro , Funakubo Akira , Ohira Tetsuya , Nakamura Jun , Nakamura Tomohiro , Nakaya Naoki , Iijima Katsunori , Matsumoto Takayuki , Fukuda Shinsaku , Masamune Atsushi , Hirasawa Dai
Published: June 2024

Although esophageal cancers invading the muscularis mucosa (pT1a-MM) or submucosa (pT1b-SM) after endoscopic resection (ER) are associated with a risk of lymph node metastasis, details of metastatic recurrence after additional treatment remain unknown. We aimed to identify the risk factors for metastatic recurrence and recurrence patterns in patients receiving additional treatment after ER for esophageal cancer. Between 2006 and 2017, patients with pT1a-MM/pT1b-SM esophageal cancer who underwent ER with additional treatment (esophagectomy, chemoradiotherapy [CRT], and radiation therapy) at 21 institutions in Japan were enrolled. We evaluated the risk factors for metastatic recurrence after ER with additional treatment. Subsequently, the rate and pattern (locoregional or distant) of metastatic recurrence were investigated for each additional treatment. Of the 220 patients who received additional treatment, 57, 125, and 38 underwent esophagectomy, CRT, and radiation therapy, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, lymphatic invasion was the sole risk factor for metastatic recurrence after additional treatment (hazard ratio, 3.50; P = 0.029). Although the risk of metastatic recurrence with additional esophagectomy was similar to that with CRT (hazard ratio, 1.01; P = 0.986), the rate of locoregional recurrence tended to be higher with additional esophagectomy (80.0% (4/5) vs. 36.4% (4/11)), leading to a better prognosis in patients with metastatic recurrence after additional esophagectomy than CRT (survival rate, 80.0% (4/5) vs. 9.1% (1/11)). Patients with lymphatic invasion have a high risk of metastatic recurrence after ER with additional treatment for pT1a-MM/pT1b-SM esophageal cancer. Additional esophagectomy may result in a better prognosis after metastatic recurrence.
The epicardial adipose tissue confined in the atrioventricular groove can be used to assess atrial adipose tissue and atrial dysfunction in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Bialobroda Jonathan , Bouazizi Khaoula , Ponnaiah Maharajah , Kachenoura Nadjia , Charpentier Etienne , Zarai Mohamed , Clement Karine , Andreelli Fabrizio , Aron-Wisnewsky Judith , Hatem Stéphane N , Redheuil Alban
Published: June 2024

Aims

The growing interest in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) as a biomarker of atrial fibrillation is limited by the difficulties in isolating EAT from other paracardial adipose tissues. We tested the feasibility and value of measuring the pure EAT contained in the atrioventricular groove (GEAT) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in patients with distinct metabolic disorders.

Methods and results

CMR was performed on 100 patients from the MetaCardis cohort: obese (n = 18), metabolic syndrome (MSD) (n = 25), type-2 diabetes (T2D) (n = 42), and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (n = 15). GEAT volume measured from long-axis views was obtained in all patients with a strong correlation between GEAT and atrial EAT (r = 0.95; P < 0.0001). GEAT volume was higher in the three groups of patients with metabolic disorders and highest in the MSD group compared with controls. GEAT volume, as well as body mass and body fat, allowed obese, T2D, and MSD patients to be distinguished from controls. GEAT T1 relaxation and peak longitudinal left atrial (LA) strain in CMR were decreased in T2D patients. Logistic regression and random forest machine learning methods were used to create an algorithm combining GEAT volume, GEAT T1, and peak LA strain to identify T2D patients from other groups with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.81 (Se: 77%, Spe: 80%; 95% confidence interval 0.72–0.91, P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Atrioventricular groove adipose tissue characteristics measured during routine CMR can be used as a proxy of atrial EAT and integrated in a multi-parametric CMR biomarker for early identification of atrial cardiomyopathy.
Gender Differences in Math Tests: the Role of Time Pressure
Authors: Galasso Vincenzo , Profeta Paola
Published: June 2024

We investigate the role of time pressure in generating gender gaps in math tests. In a randomised experiment, college students took a twenty-question math test under high, low or no time pressure. Reducing or eliminating time pressure decreases the math gender gap by up to 40%. Larger gaps under time pressure are mostly due to increased anxiety rather than to students modifying their test-taking strategies. The correlation between math test scores and university performance is equally high under the different scenarios. Hence, less time pressure may increase gender equality in math subjects with no effect on the selection process.
Residential exposure to greenness and mortality in a cardio-oncologic population
Authors: Ashri S , Cohen G , Itzhaki Ben Zadok O , Moran M , Broday D M , Steinberg D M , Keinan-Boker L , Witberg G , Bental T , Golan L , Kornowski R , Gerber Y
Published: June 2024

Background

Knowledge is lacking on the relationship between greenness and all-cause mortality in cancer survivors who subsequently experience an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a cardio-oncologic population. We aimed to investigate the association between residential greenness exposure and mortality in this cardio-oncologic population.

Methods

Cancer survivors undergoing percutaneous intervention at a medical center in Israel between 2004 and 2014 were included in the study. Clinical data were collected from medical records during index hospitalization. Residential greenness was estimated by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a satellite-based index derived from Landsat imagery at 30 m spatial resolution, with larger values indicating higher levels of vegetative density (ranging between -1 to 1). NDVI values were retrieved for a buffer within 300 m radius around each patient’s home address. Mortality follow-up data (through the end of 2021) were obtained from the Ministry of Health. Data on residential socioeconomic status (rSES) were obtained from Central Bureau of Statistics based on home addresses. Cox models were used to assess the hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality per 1SD increase in NDVI.

Results

Among 1,331 patients analyzed [median age, 77 (IQR 69-83) y, 373 (28%) females], the mean (SD) NDVI-300 was 0.12 (0.03). During a median follow-up period of 12.0 (IQR 9.2-14.7) years, 883 (66%) participants died. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, including rSES, smoking, and residential NOx exposure, NDVI-300 was linearly associated with lower mortality [HR (95% CI) = 0.93 (0.86, 1.00); p=.04]. Individuals with lower rSES scores had a lower point estimate for the HR, compared with individuals with higher rSES (Figure 1). The association was more robust among individuals with recently diagnosed cancer (up to ten years prior to ACS onset; Figure 2).

Conclusions

In a cohort of cardio-oncologic patients, greenness was associated with lower mortality. The association was strongest among individuals from deprived neighborhoods and with recently diagnosed cancer.
Higher burden of classical, novel and socioeconomic risk factors in young women with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a middle eastern population. Results from the ANCORS-YW Study
Authors: Ayasrah L , Asfour H , Sabanekh C , Sawalha L , Qasem F , Alrawajih T , Ababneh Z , Ababneh A , Ababneh L , Al-Omari B , Bani Younis D , Hammoudeh A
Published: June 2024

Introduction/Background

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is highly prevalent in adults of all ages in the Middle East (ME). Limited is known about the coexistence with classical, novel, and socioeconomic cardiovascular risk factors (RFs) in young women with T2D in the ME.

Aim/Purpose

We aimed to assess the clinical profiles and prevalence of traditional, novel, sex-specific, and socioeconomic RFs in young women with or without atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in the ME.

Methods

The Atherosclerosis Novel and Classical RF in Young Women (ANCORs YW) in the ME Study enrolled consecutive young women (18-50 years of age) with ASCVD, each was aged-matched with two women without ASCVD. In this analysis, we compare the risk profile of various RFs in women who have T2D compared with women without T2D.

Results

Of the 627 young women enrolled in the study, 132 (21.5%) had T2D, and 494 (78.5%) did not have T2D. The mean age of women in the 2 groups was 45.9±4.1 and 44.2±5.5 (p<0.001), respectively. ASCVD was more prevalent in the T2D group (62.8% vs. 25.5%, p<0.001). Young women with T2D had a higher prevalence of four of the six classical RFs compared to women without ASCVD; hypertension (HTN) (72.0% vs. 27.7%), obesity (57.6% vs. 40.0%), family history of ASCVD (45.5% vs. 28.1%), and physical inactivity (86.4% vs. 71.9%); all p values <0.001. Smoking and elevated LDL-C rates were similar in both groups, but women with T2D showed a higher prevalence of low HDL-C and hypertriglyceridemia. Of all sex-specific RFs tested, only gestational DM was more prevalent in women with T2D (25.8% vs. 8.7%, p<0.001). No significant differences were observed in the prevalence of hypertensive disease of pregnancy, preterm delivery, persistent weight gain after pregnancy, premature menopause, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Fewer women with T2D completed graduate and postgraduate education (24.2% vs. 43.0%, 0<0.0001). Urban residence and depression rates did not differ from those without T2D. On multivariate analysis, T2D was an independent factor for ASCVD (odds ratio 2.97, 95% CI 1.83-4.82, p<0.001).

Conclusion

In this cohort of ME young women, those with T2D exhibited poorer clinical profiles, including higher prevalence of ASCVD, classical RFs and gestational DM. Urgent cardiovascular screening and aggressive management of T2D are essential for primary and secondary prevention in this region.
Pain in my heart: chronic angina is linked to poor mental health among patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection
Authors: Tulloch H , Stragapede E , Bouchard K , Knight L , So D , Reed J , Wells G , Coutinho T
Published: June 2024

Background

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an increasingly recognized form of acute coronary syndrome that often causes myocardial infarction, particularly among women. Even after their dissection has healed, a significant portion of these patients experience ongoing chest pain. Research with patients with obstructive forms of coronary artery disease shows that chronic angina is linked to mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety and, in turn, mortality. To our knowledge, few studies have reported on angina burden among patients with SCAD, and no studies have examined the angina-mental health connection among this unique population. Given their young age, uncertainty about prognosis and treatment, and the prevalence of emotional stressors pre-SCAD, these patients may be at higher risk for chest pain and psychological distress post-SCAD.

Objective

The purpose of the study was to examine the association between angina burden, depression and anxiety among patients with SCAD.

Methods

Patients with a diagnosed SCAD were recruited from a cardiac care hospital. Patients completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and validated measures of angina burden (Seattle Angina Questionnaire; SAQ), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PHQ-9), generalized anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7; GAD-7), cardiac-related anxiety (Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire; CAQ) and posttraumatic stress (PTSD Checklist; PCL-5). Descriptive analyses and bivariate correlations were conducted.

Results

Participants (N=97; 80% female; M age=52 years; 75% White). Overall, patients’ angina-related health status fell in the poor to good category; lower scores were noted for angina stability (i.e., angina when doing strenuous activity). On average, patients reported experiencing angina on a monthly basis. Satisfaction of angina treatment was rated fair to good (M=70.8). About 20% of participants reported clinically elevated symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety, while 14% had scores indicating a probable diagnosis of posttraumatic stress. Cardiac-related anxiety was most prevalent; 40% of participants fell in the clinical range. All SAQ subscales (physical limitation, angina stability, angina frequency, angina treatment satisfaction, and QoL) were negatively associated with depression (r=.29-.41; ps<.004), generalized anxiety (r=.29-.39; ps<.007), cardiac-related anxiety (r=.34-.61; ps<.001) and posttraumatic stress (r=.29-.46; ps<.005).

Conclusions

These preliminary data suggest that chronic angina is strongly linked to mental health symptoms among patients who have experienced SCAD. As depression and anxiety have been previously associated with poor clinical outcomes, interventions to assist patients to cope with chronic angina may be required to enhance mental health and, possibly, improve cardiac outcomes.