bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical development of immunotherapies for HER2+ breast cancer: a review of HER2-directed monoclonal antibodies and beyond
Authors: Costa Ricardo L. B. , Czerniecki Brian J. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractHuman epidermal growth factor receptor 2–positive (HER2+) breast cancer accounts for ~25% of breast cancer cases. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against HER2 have led to unparalleled clinical benefit for a subset of patients with HER2+ breast cancer. In this narrative review, we summarize advances in the understanding of immune system interactions, examine clinical developments, and suggest rationales for future investigation of immunotherapies for HER2+ breast cancer. Complex interactions have been found between different branches of the immune system, HER2+ breast cancer, and targeted treatments (approved and under investigation). A new wave of immunotherapies, such as novel HER2-directed mAbs, antibody drug conjugates, vaccines, and adoptive T-cell therapies, are being studied in a broad population of patients with HER2-expressing tumors. The development of immunotherapies for HER2+ breast cancer represents an evolving field that should take into account interactions between different components of the immune system.
An automated predictor for identifying transition states in solids
Authors: Yin Ketao , Gao Pengyue , Shao Xuecheng , Gao Bo , Liu Hanyu , Lv Jian , Tse John S. , Wang Yanchao , Ma Yanming 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe minimum energy path (MEP) and transition state are two key parameters in the investigation of the mechanisms of chemical reactions and structural phase transformations. However, determination of transition paths in solids is challenging. Here, we present an evolutionary method to search for the lowest energy path and the transition state for pressure-induced structural transformations in solids without any user input or prior knowledge of possible paths. Instead, the initial paths are chosen stochastically by connecting randomly selected atoms from the initial to final structure. The MEP of these trials paths were computed and ranked in order of their energies. The matrix particle swarm optimization algorithm is then used to generate improved transition paths. The procedure is repeated until the lowest energy MEP is found. This method is validated by reproducing results of several known systems. The new method also successfully located the MEP for the direct low-temperature pressure induced transformation of face centered-cubic (FCC) silicon to the simple hexagonal(sh) phase and FCC lithium to a complex body centered-cubic cI16 high-pressure phase. The proposed method provides a convenient, robust, and reliable approach to identify the MEP of phase transformations. The method is general and applicable to a variety of problems requiring the location of the transition state.
Cardiopoietic stem cell therapy restores infarction-altered cardiac proteome
Authors: Arrell D. Kent , Rosenow Christian S. , Yamada Satsuki , Behfar Atta , Terzic Andre 
Published: March 2020

AbstractCardiopoietic stem cells have reached advanced clinical testing for ischemic heart failure. To profile their molecular influence on recipient hearts, systems proteomics was here applied in a chronic model of infarction randomized with and without human cardiopoietic stem cell treatment. Multidimensional label-free tandem mass spectrometry resolved and quantified 3987 proteins constituting the cardiac proteome. Infarction altered 450 proteins, reduced to 283 by stem cell treatment. Notably, cell therapy non-stochastically reversed a majority of infarction-provoked changes, remediating 85% of disease-affected protein clusters. Pathway and network analysis decoded functional reorganization, distinguished by prioritization of vasculogenesis, cardiac development, organ regeneration, and differentiation. Subproteome restoration nullified adverse ischemic effects, validated by echo-/electro-cardiographic documentation of improved cardiac chamber size, reduced QT prolongation and augmented ejection fraction post-cell therapy. Collectively, cardiopoietic stem cell intervention transitioned infarcted hearts from a cardiomyopathic trajectory towards pre-disease. Systems proteomics thus offers utility to delineate and interpret complex molecular regenerative outcomes.
Comparing utility-reported hours of piped water supply to households’ experiences
Authors: Rawas Farah , Bain Rob , Kumpel Emily 
Published: March 2020

AbstractPiped water supplies that deliver water only intermittently serve more than one billion people around the world. Measuring the continuity of these intermittent water supplies (IWS) is necessary for tracking utility performance and understanding the impact on consumers. We compared reporting of IWS continuity between utility benchmarking data on hours of water supply and households’ reports of water outages in piped systems in Peru. Nationally, the estimated population with IWS as reported by households (23–26%) was slightly higher than that reported by utilities (20–21%) from 2010 to 2014. While the national population with IWS was markedly similar between both measures, household- and utility-reported IWS matched in only 2 of the 23 regions of Peru. We examined the influence of varying thresholds of water supply continuity on the results. Our findings highlight a need to reconcile different approaches to monitoring piped water supply continuity.
Population-Based Analysis of Demographic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Pediatric CNS Cancer Survival in the United States
Authors: Fineberg Robert , Zahedi Shadi , Eguchi Megan , Hart Muriel , Cockburn Myles , Green Adam L. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractPrevious studies have demonstrated effects of racial and socioeconomic factors on survival of adults with cancer. While less studied in the pediatric population, data exist demonstrating disparities of care and survival in pediatric oncology patients based on socioeconomic and racial/ethnic factors. Brain cancers recently overtook leukemia as the number one cause of childhood cancer fatalities, but demographic and socioeconomic disparities in these tumors have not been adequately studied. We obtained data from the SEER Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). We selected patients under 19 years of age with central nervous system (CNS) cancers diagnosed between 2000 and 2015. We included patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment, and socioeconomic characteristics as covariates in the analysis. We measured overall survival and extent of disease at diagnosis. We saw that Black and Hispanic patients overall had a higher risk of death than non-Hispanic White patients on multivariable analysis. On stratified analysis, Black and Hispanic patients with both metastatic and localized disease at diagnosis had a higher risk of death compared to White, non-Hispanic patients, although the difference in Black patients was not significant after adjusting for mediating factors. However, our findings on extent of disease at diagnosis demonstrated that neither Black race nor Hispanic ethnicity increased the chance of metastatic disease at presentation when controlling for mediating variables. In summary, racial and ethnic disparities in childhood CNS tumor survival appear to have their roots at least partially in post-diagnosis factors, potentially due to the lack of access to high quality care, leading to poorer overall outcomes.
Efficacy of Electrical Stimulation for Spinal Fusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Akhter Shakib , Qureshi Abdul Rehman , Aleem Idris , El-Khechen Hussein Ali , Khan Shadman , Sikder Omaike , Khan Moin , Bhandari Mohit , Aleem Ilyas 
Published: March 2020

AbstractSpinal fusion is one of the most common procedures performed in spine surgery. As rates of spinal fusion continue to increase, rates of complications such as nonunions continue to increase as well. Current evidence supporting the use of electrical stimulation to promote fusion is inconclusive. This review aimed to determine if postoperative electrical stimulation is more efficacious than no stimulation or placebo in promoting radiographic fusion in patients undergoing spinal fusion. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, CINAHL and MEDLINE from date of inception to current. Ongoing clinical trials were also identified and reference lists of included studies were manually searched for relevant articles. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. Data were pooled using the Mantel-Haenszel method. Trialists were contacted for any missing or incomplete data. Of 1184 articles screened, 7 studies were eligible for final inclusion (n = 941). A total of 487 patients received postoperative electrical stimulation and 454 patients received control or sham stimulation. All evidence was of moderate quality. Electrical stimulation (pulsed electromagnetic fields, direct current, and capacitive coupling) increased the odds of a successful fusion by 2.5-fold relative to control (OR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.86 to 3.43, p < 0.00001). A test for subgroup interaction by stimulation type, smoking status, and number of levels fused was not significant (p = 0.93, p = 0.82 and p = 0.65, respectively). This systematic review and meta-analysis found moderate-quality evidence supporting the use of postoperative electrical stimulation as an adjunct to spinal fusion surgery. Patients treated with electrical stimulation have significantly greater rates of successful fusion. The level of evidence for this study is therapeutic level I.
Comprehensive cell surface proteomics defines markers of classical, intermediate and non-classical monocytes
Authors: Ravenhill Benjamin J. , Soday Lior , Houghton Jack , Antrobus Robin , Weekes Michael P. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMonocytes are a critical component of the cellular innate immune system, and can be subdivided into classical, intermediate and non-classical subsets on the basis of surface CD14 and CD16 expression. Classical monocytes play the canonical role of phagocytosis, and account for the majority of circulating cells. Intermediate and non-classical cells are known to exhibit varying levels of phagocytosis and cytokine secretion, and are differentially expanded in certain pathological states. Characterisation of cell surface proteins expressed by each subset is informative not only to improve understanding of phenotype, but may also provide biological insights into function. Here we use highly multiplexed Tandem-Mass-Tag (TMT)-based mass spectrometry with selective cell surface biotinylation to characterise the classical monocyte surface proteome, then interrogate the phenotypic differences between each monocyte subset to identify novel protein markers.
Diabetes and pre-diabetes among adults reaching health centers in Luanda, Angola: prevalence and associated factors
Authors: Robbiati Claudia , Putoto Giovanni , Da Conceição Natália , Armando António , Segafredo Giulia , Atzori Andrea , Cavallin Francesco 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWith the lack of surveys, surveillance program and/or statistical data, epidemiologic studies can provide a better understanding of diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa. This was a cross-sectional survey to determine prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) among adults attending six health centres in six different districts of Luanda (Angola) during August-November 2018, followed by a case-control study to assess the risk factors for IFG and diabetes in a subgroup of subjects not receiving treatment for diabetes. Factors associated with diabetes/IFG were assessed using a generalized ordered logit model and the effects were expressed as odds ratios (OR1 for IFG/diabetes vs. no IFG/diabetes; OR2 for diabetes vs. no diabetes) with 95% CI (confidence interval). Some 1,803 participants were included in the survey. Prevalence of diabetes was 12.0% (95%CI 10.5% to 13.5%) and prevalence of IFG was 9.0% (95%CI 7.7% to 10.4%). Older age (OR1 = OR2 1.03, 95%CI 1.02 to 1.04), higher weight (OR1 = OR2 1.01, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.03), having measured glycaemia before (OR2 2.07, 95%CI 1.29 to 3.31), feeling polyuria (OR1 1.93, 95%CI 1.13 to 3.28; OR2 2.18, 95%CI 1.32 to 3.59), feeling polydipsia (OR1 1.92, 95%CI 1.16 to 3.18), feeling weakness (OR1 = OR2 2.22, 95%CI 1.39 to 3.55), consumption of free-sugars food/beverages (OR1 = OR2 2.34, 95%CI 1.44 to 3.81) and time spent seated (OR1 1.80, 95%CI 1.17 to 2.76) were associated with increased likelihood of diabetes and/or IFG, while eating vegetables was associated with decreased likelihood of IFG or diabetes (OR1 = OR2 0.69, 95%CI 0.47 to 0.99). In conclusion, the high prevalence of diabetes and IFG, with common unawareness of the disease, calls for appropriate interventions in Angolan urban settings. Further research may evaluate the impact of context-specific factors to enhance intervention strategies and feed the results into local health policies. In addition, such information may be useful for selecting high-risk subjects to test.
Removal of inorganic impurities from wastewater after production of soda ash on selected sorbents
Authors: Gołub Adam , Piekutin Janina 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe soda ash industry is a part of the chemical industry, which is responsible for the production of sodium carbonate, calcium chloride, absorbent masses, evaporated wet salt, food salt, pickling salt or salt tablets. During manufacturing of those products, strongly alkaline wastewater is generated. It could be characterised by a high electrolytic conductivity and concentration of ions: chlorides, sulfates, phosphates, calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and ammonium. The aim of the research was to test the effectiveness of removing sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and ammonium from wastewater after production of soda ash by three sorbents: Halosorb, Compakt and Damsorb K. The process was carried out using dynamic method with different flow of wastewater through the column with sorbent. It allowed to reduce concentrations of all cations tested. Moreover, it was found that sorbent type did not significantly affect the removal of any of the ions, but the deposit load had significant impact on the removal of all ions tested.
Jointly modelling longitudinally measured urinary human chorionic gonadotrophin and early pregnancy outcomes
Authors: Ashra N. B. , Marriott L. , Johnson S. , Abrams K. R. , Crowther M. J. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractHuman chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is largely used to confirm pregnancy. Yet evidence shows that longitudinal hCG profiles are distinguishable between healthy and failing pregnancies. We retrospectively fitted a joint longitudinal-survival model to data from 127 (85 healthy and 42 failing pregnancies) US women, aged 18–45, who were attempting to conceive, to quantify the association between longitudinally measured urinary hCG and early miscarriage. Using subject-specific predictions, obtained uniquely from the joint model, we investigated the plausibility of adaptively monitoring early pregnancy outcomes based on updating hCG measurements. Volunteers collected daily early morning urine samples for their menstrual cycle and up to 28 days post day of missed period. The longitudinal submodel for log hCG included a random intercept and slope and fixed linear and quadratic time terms. The survival submodel included maternal age and cycle length covariates. Unit increases in log hCG corresponded to a 63.9% (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.16, 0.47) decrease in the risk of miscarriage, confirming a strong association between hCG and miscarriage. Outputted conditional survival probabilities gave individualised risk estimates for the early pregnancy outcomes in the short term. However, longer term monitoring would require a larger sample size and prospectively followed up data, focusing on emerging extensions to the joint model, which allow assessment of the specificity and sensitivity.
Parapapillary atrophy and changes in the optic nerve head and posterior pole in high myopia
Authors: Sung Mi Sun , Heo Hwan , Piao Helong , Guo Yue , Park Sang Woo 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWe investigated the relationship between microstructure of β-parapapillary atrophy (β-PPA) and morphologic features of optic nerve head (ONH) and posterior pole in highly myopic eyes. Eighty-nine highly myopic eyes were included in this study. Bruch’s membrane opening (BMO) area, lamina cribrosa (LC) thickness, anterior laminar depth, peripapillary and subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT), macular Bruch’s membrane (BM) length, and width of β-PPA with and without Bruch’s membrane (PPA+BMand PPA−BM) were evaluated. The mean age and axial length of the included subjects were 26.88 ± 2.44 years and 27.03 ± 0.88 mm, respectively. The width of PPA−BMwas larger with increasing BMO area (P = 0.001), whereas the BMO area was not associated with the width of PPA+BM. The large PPA+BMwas significantly related to a thinner LC (P = 0.003), deeper anterior lamina surface (P < 0.001), longer macular BM length (P = 0.008), and thinner temporal peripapillary CT (P = 0.034). We found that the morphologic features of the ONH and posterior pole in highly myopic eyes were different based on the microstructure of β-PPA. Whether these features are linked to the development of glaucoma in myopic eyes should be investigated in future studies.
A randomized controlled trial of a smoking cessation smartphone application with a carbon monoxide checker
Authors: Masaki Katsunori , Tateno Hiroki , Nomura Akihiro , Muto Tomoyasu , Suzuki Shin , Satake Kohta , Hida Eisuke , Fukunaga Koichi 
Published: March 2020

AbstractEvidence of the long-term efficacy of digital therapies for smoking cessation that include a smartphone application (app) is limited. In this multi-center randomized controlled trial, we tested the efficacy of a novel digital therapy for smoking cessation: the “CureApp Smoking Cessation (CASC)” system, including a CASC smartphone app, a web-based patient management PC software for primary physicians, and a mobile exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) checker. A total of 584 participants with nicotine dependence were recruited from October 2017 to January 2018, and allocated 1:1 to the CASC intervention group or the control group. Both groups received a standard smoking cessation treatment with pharmacotherapy and counseling for 12 weeks. Meanwhile, the intervention group used the CASC system, and the control group used a control-app without a mobile CO checker, each for 24 weeks. The primary outcome was the biochemically validated continuous abstinence rate (CAR) from weeks 9 to 24. The main secondary outcome was an extended CAR from weeks 9 to 52. Except for 12 participants who did not download or use the apps, 285 participants were assigned to the intervention group, and 287, to the control. CAR from weeks 9 to 24 in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group (63.9% vs. 50.5%; odds ratio [OR], 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24 to 2.42;P = 0.001). The CAR from weeks 9 to 52 was also higher in the intervention group than that in the control group (52.3% vs. 41.5%; OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.11 to 2.16;P = 0.010). No specific adverse events caused by the CASC system were reported. Augmenting standard face-to-face counseling and pharmacotherapy with a novel smartphone app, the CASC system significantly improved long-term CARs compared to standard treatment and a minimally supportive control app.
Topological state engineering via supersymmetric transformations
Authors: Queraltó Gerard , Kremer Mark , Maczewsky Lukas J. , Heinrich Matthias , Mompart Jordi , Ahufinger Verònica , Szameit Alexander 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe quest to explore new techniques for the manipulation of topological states simultaneously promotes a deeper understanding of topological physics and is essential in identifying new ways to harness their unique features. Here, we examine the potential of supersymmetric transformations to systematically address, alter and reconfigure the topological properties of a system. To this end, we theoretically and experimentally study the changes that topologically protected states in photonic lattices undergo as supersymmetric transformations are applied to their host system. In particular, we show how supersymmetry-induced phase transitions can selectively suspend and re-establish the topological protection of specific states. Furthermore, we reveal how understanding the interplay between internal symmetries and the symmetry constraints of supersymmetric transformations provides a roadmap to directly access the desirable topological properties of a system. Our findings pave the way for establishing supersymmetry-inspired techniques as a powerful and versatile tool for topological state engineering.
Analysis, design, and optimisation of an LCC/S compensated WPT system featured with wide operation range
Authors: Qi Jiajin 
Published: March 2020

Wireless power transfer (WPT) offers the advantages of convenience, safety, low‐maintenance, high reliability, and strong adaptability to the environment. This study proposes a design method to help LCC/S compensation topology achieve zero voltage switching (ZVS), which helps improve the efficiency of the system. The optimisation design of the magnetic coupling structure is conducted first via the finite element simulation software, ANSYS Maxwell. Planar circular coil offers superior comprehensive performance over other structures and is thus utilised in this study, which theoretically analyses the primary characteristics of LCC/S (primary inductor‐capacitor‐capacitor, secondary series) compensation topology. The study makes an in‐depth comparison of two methods for achieving ZVS, adjusting secondary series compensation capacitance, and making a primary T‐type network asymmetric. The conclusions of the theoretical analysis indicate that making a primary T‐type network asymmetric is the most suitable method for the proposed WPT system. A 400 W prototype was built, and it consistently achieved ZVS operation within the entire load range (5–50 Ω). The highest power transfer efficiency (PTE) achieved by the prototype was 92.9%, and the PTE was consistently above 88% within the entire power range (50–400 W).