bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Local tissue electrical parameters predict oral mucositis in HNSCC patients: A diagnostic accuracy double-blind, randomized controlled trial
Authors: Sanches Gabriela Luize Guimarães , da Silva Menezes Agna Soares , Santos Laércio Ives , Durães Cristina Paixão , Fonseca Larissa Lopes , Baldo Marcelo Perim , de Oliveira Faria Thais , de Araújo Andrade Luciano Alves , Ekel Petr Iakovlevitch , Santos Sérgio Henrique Sousa , de Paula Alfredo Maurício Batista , Farias Lucyana Conceição , D’Angelo Marcos Flávio Silveira Vasconcelos , Guimarães André Luiz Sena 
Published: June 2020

AbstractOral Mucositis (OM) is a common adverse effect of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of early changes in tissue electrical parameters (TEPs) in predicting the development of OM in HNSCC patients receiving radiation therapy (RT). The current study combined two study designs. The first was a case-control study. The control group comprised of RT patients who did not receive head and neck RT, and patients with HNSCC who received RT comprised the case group. In the second part of the study, the case group was included in a parallel cohort. A total of 320 patients were assessed for eligibility, and 135 patients were enrolled. Double blinding was performed, and neither the patients nor the care providers knew the measured parameters. The primary outcome was the detection of between-group changes in local TEPs over the follow-up period. The secondary outcome was the appearance of OM grades II, III, or IV and the predictive value of local TEPs in determining the incidence of OM after RT. The variables, impedance module, resistance, reactance, phase angle, and capacitance, were analyzed by the receiver operator curves (ROC). The case and control groups did not differ in demographic and clinical characteristics. Radiation therapy increased the local impedance module, resistance, reactance, and phase angle and reduced the local tissue capacitance in both groups. Evaluation of TEPs in the first week of RT correlated with the development of OM lesions during cancer therapy. ROC analysis showed that local impedance module and resistance presented higher specificity than did other parameters in predicting OM. In conclusion, local tissue electrical parameters measured at the first RT week can be useful tools to predict oral mucositis.
Brain Responses to Emotional Infant Faces in New Mothers and Nulliparous Women
Authors: Zhang Kaihua , Rigo Paola , Su Xueyun , Wang Mengxing , Chen Zhong , Esposito Gianluca , Putnick Diane L. , Bornstein Marc H. , Du Xiaoxia 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe experience of motherhood is one of the most salient events in a woman’s life. Motherhood is associated with a series of neurophysiological, psychological, and behavioral changes that allow women to better adapt to their new role as mothers. Infants communicate their needs and physiological states mainly through salient emotional expressions, and maternal responses to infant signals are critical for infant survival and development. In this study, we investigated the whole brain functional response to emotional infant faces in 20 new mothers and 22 nulliparous women during functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. New mothers showed higher brain activation in regions involved in infant facial expression processing and empathic and mentalizing networks than nulliparous women. Furthermore, magnitudes of the activation of the left parahippocampal gyrus and the left fusiform gyrus, recruited during facial expression processing, were positively correlated with empathic concern (EC) scores in new mothers when viewing emotional (happy-sad) faces contrasted to neutral faces. Taken together, these results indicate that the experience of being a mother affects human brain responses in visual and social cognitive brain areas and in brain areas associated with theory-of-mind related and empathic processing.
Robust combination of liver stereotactic body radiotherapy modulates pharmacokinetics of sorafenib toward preferable parameters
Authors: Hsieh Chen-Hsi , Chen Yu-Jen , Tsai Tung-Hu , Wang Li-Ying , Tai Hung-Chi , Huang Hsiang-Ling , Huang Yu-Chuen 
Published: June 2020

AbstractTo evaluate the effect and mechanism of radiotherapy (RT)–sorafenib pharmacokinetics (PK) in different regimens with conventional or high dose irradiation. Between February 2012 and December 2018, 43 patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis treated with sorafenib plus conventional RT (58%) or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT, 42%) were retrospectively reviewed. In vivo and in vitro studies of concurrent and sequential RT with sorafenib were designed. SBRT resulted in a 3-fold increase in complete recanalization compared to conventional RT group (28% vs. 8%, p = 0.014). Compared to the control group, the area under the concentration vs. time curve (AUC) of sorafenib was increased in the concurrent RT2Gy and RT9Gy groups and the sequential RT9Gy group by 132% (p = 0.046), 163% (p = 0.038) and 102% (p = 0.018), respectively; and was decreased by 59% in the sequential RT2Gy group (p = 0.036). Sequential RT2Gy and RT9Gy increased CYP3A4 activity by 82% (p = 0.028) and 203% (p = 0.0004), respectively, compared to that with the corresponding concurrent regimen. SBRT produced better recanalization than conventional RT with sorafenib. The AUC of sorafenib was modulated by RT. P-gp expression was not influenced by RT. The sequential RT regimen increased CYP3A4 activity that may increase the RT-sorafenib synergy effect and overall sorafenib activity. The biodistribution of sorafenib was modulated by local RT with the different regimens.
Continuous radon monitoring during seven years of volcanic unrest at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy)
Authors: Sabbarese C. , Ambrosino F. , Chiodini G. , Giudicepietro F. , Macedonio G. , Caliro S. , De Cesare W. , Bianco F. , Pugliese M. , Roca V. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThis is a seven-year study (1/7/2011-31/12/2017) of radon monitoring at two sites of Campi Flegrei caldera (Neaples, Southern Italy) that in the last 70 years experienced repeated phases of volcanic unrest. The sites are equipped with devices for radon detection, based on the spectrometry analysis of the α-particles of radon daughters. A hybrid method, as combination of three known methods, is applied for the identification of residuals (anomalies) and trends of the time series of Radon. The results are compared with the following indicators of current caldera unrest: the tremor caused by the major fumarolic vent registered by a seismic station; the cumulative of background seismicity; the maximum vertical deformation acquired by GPS networks during the current phase of uplift; the temperature-pressure of the hydrothermal system estimated based on gas geo-indicators. The comparisons show strong correlation among independent signals and suggest that the extension of the area affected by current Campi Flegrei crisis is larger than the area of seismicity and of intense hydrothermal activity from which the radon stations are 1–4 km away. These results represent an absolute novelty in the study of a such calderic area and mark a significant step forward in the use and interpretation of the radon signal.
Survival impact of the time gap between surgery and chemo-radiotherapy in Glioblastoma patients
Authors: Zur Inbar , Tzuk-Shina Tzahala , Guriel Marina , Eran Ayelet , Kaidar-Person Orit 
Published: June 2020

AbstractGlioblastoma treatment protocol includes chemo-radiation (CRT) after maximal safe resection. However, the recommended time-gap between surgery and CRT is unclear, most trials protocol required an interval of less than 6 weeks. In the current study we evaluated the association of the time-gap between surgery and CRT to overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) in a tertiary center. After ethics committee approval, a retrospective study was conducted. Data was collected from the medical records of consecutive glioblastoma patients treated between 2005–2014. Parameters of interest included: background characteristics of patients, treatment dates and type of treatment, treatment interruptions and survival. Only patients who were diagnosed with WHO IV, underwent surgical resection (any type), and treated with postoperative CRT were included. For the analysis, patients were divided into 3 groups according to the time gap from surgery to CRT: <4 weeks, 4–6 weeks and >6 weeks. Overall survival and PFS were investigated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard model. Out of 465 patients, 204 were included. Median age was 60 years (range: 23–79 years) and 61.7% male vs. 38.3% female. There was a significant difference in OS (HR = 0.49, p-value = 0.002, 95% CI: 0.32–0.78) and PFS (HR = 0.51, p-value = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.33–0.79) in the group who was treated with CRT 6 weeks or more after surgery, compared with the other two groups tested. In our study, 6 weeks or more time-gap (median of 8 weeks) between surgery and CRT was associated with better OS and PFS among newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients. Our results are probably subjected to unaccounted biases of a retrospective study, and that CRT in this patient population is an effective therapy that overcomes the potential harm of initiating therapy later than 6 weeks. Our current approach is to initiate CRT within 6 weeks after surgery, similar to what is recommended in the literature, but the data from this study provide us with information that no major harms was done in patients who were delayed.
Invasive paper wasp turns urban pollinator gardens into ecological traps for monarch butterfly larvae
Authors: Baker Adam M. , Potter Daniel A. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractInvasive species can be particularly disruptive when they intersect with organisms of conservation concern. Stabilizing the declining eastern migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) is projected to require extensive habitat restoration across multiple land use sectors including metropolitan areas. Numerous conservation programs encourage urban citizens to plant gardens with milkweeds, the obligate larval host plants of the monarch. Here, we show that predation by Polistes dominula, an invasive paper wasp that is particularly abundant in urban settings, can turn such sites into ecological traps for monarch larvae. Polistes dominula was the predominant paper wasp seen foraging in central Kentucky pollinator gardens. In 120 observed encounters with monarch larvae on milkweeds in gardens, most second to fourth instars were killed, whereas most fifth instars escaped by thrashing or dropping. The wasps bit and carried off second instars whole, whereas third and fourth instar kills were first gutted, then processed and carried away piecemeal. Predation on sentinel larvae was much higher in urban gardens than in rural settings. The wasps exploited ornamental butterfly “hibernation boxes” in pollinator gardens as nesting habitat. Polistes dominula is an under-recognized predator that may diminish the urban sector’s contributions to monarch habitat restoration.
The outcomes and quality of life of young patients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy versus non-radiotherapy following surgery treating early FIGO stage cervical squamous cell cancer in southwestern China
Authors: Yang Lingyun , Yuan Jialing , Zeng Xi , Xi Mingrong , Wang Hongjing 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackground: The incidence of cervical cancer in young women is rising, and squamous cell carcinoma makes up a great percentage of the histological types. The presence of aggressive pathologic risk factors following patients’ primary surgery may warrant the use of adjuvant radiotherapy. It is important to weigh up the risks and benefits of using adjuvant radiotherapy for each young patient so as to maximize their prognosis while minimizing the treatment-related morbidity. Methods: A retrospective study was performed. It consisted of 97 patients under 35 years old who were diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma and underwent treatment at West China Second University Hospital between December 2009 and January 2014. Five-year follow-up, prognostic risks, long-term radiation toxicity, female sexual function, and quality of life were investigated. Results: Adjuvant radiotherapy did improve the prognosis of young patients with lymph node metastases. However, there were few significant differences in progress-free survival and overall survival for the young patients without lymph node metastases following adjuvant radiotherapy. Besides, young patients who took radiotherapy exhibited greater intestinal dysfunction, more severe lower extremities edema, greater sexual dysfunction, and worse long-term quality of life. Conclusion: Young patients with early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma without lymph node metastases who have undergone the primary surgery should be counseled in detail before the decision to use adjuvant radiotherapy can be made. The counseling should emphasize not only the benefit that local recurrence rates can be reduced, but also the risks that treatment-related side effects could increase and lower QoL could occur.
Alpha1-antitrypsin protects lung cancer cells from staurosporine-induced apoptosis: the role of bacterial lipopolysaccharide
Authors: Schwarz Natalie , Tumpara Srinu , Wrenger Sabine , Ercetin Evrim , Hamacher Jürg , Welte Tobias , Janciauskiene Sabina 
Published: June 2020

AbstractElevated levels of plasma alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) correlate with a poor prognosis of various cancers. Herein, we investigated effects of exogenous AAT on non-small lung cancer cell lines with high (H1975) and very low (H661) baseline expression of SERPINA1 gene encoding AAT protein. Comparison of cells grown for 3 weeks in a regular medium versus medium supplemented with 2 mg/ml of AAT revealed that in the presence of AAT cells acquire better proliferative properties, resistance to staurosporine (STS)-induced apoptosis, and show higher expression of CLU, a pro-tumorigenic gene coding clusterin protein. Similarly, the co-administration of STS with AAT or addition of AAT to the cells pre-treated with STS abrogated effects of STS in both cell lines. Following experiments with H1975 cells have shown that AAT blocks critical steps in STS-induced cell death: inhibition of AKT/MAPK pathways, and activation of caspase 3 and autophagy. AAT does not inhibit apoptosis-triggered by chloroquine (inhibitor of autophagy) or streptonigrin (inducer of p53 pathway). The anti-apoptotic effects of AAT were unaffected by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, AAT induced TLR4 levels and enhanced LPS effects on the production of IL-6, a tumor-promoting cytokine. Our data provide further evidence that AAT plays a significant role in the tumorigenesis.
Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide (GLP) enhances antitumor immune response by regulating differentiation and inhibition of MDSCs via a CARD9-NF-κB-IDO pathway
Authors: Wang Yongyong , Fan Xiaowu , Wu Xiaowei 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
A homogeneous polysaccharide (GLP), with an average molecular weight of 4.44 × 104 Da, was isolated and purified from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum. In this work, we examined the antitumor activities of GLP using a mouse Lewis lung cancer (LLC) model and explored possible molecular pathways involved in its immunomodulatory mechanism on tumor–host interaction. GLP administration (25 and 100 mg/kg) significantly inhibited tumor growth, as evidenced by the decreased tumor volume and tumor weight, as well as histological features of tumor tissues with concomitant down-regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) proliferative marker. Less myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) were accumulated in both spleen and tumor tissues from GLP-treated mice. In contrast, the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells together with the production of Th1-type cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-12) was increased in the spleen of LLC-bearing mice following GLP administration. Furthermore, GLP administration reversed the attenuated expression of CARD9, p-Syk and p-p65, and increased indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) protein expression in MDSCs of LLC-bearing mice. Collectively, our data demonstrated the first time that GLP induced the differentiation of MDSCs and inhibited the accumulation of MDSCs via CARD9-NF-κB-IDO pathway, thus prevented lung cancer development.
Enhanced bactericidal activity of azithromycin‐coated silver nanoprisms in comparison to their spherical‐shaped counterparts
Authors: Yaqub Atif , Ali Sharafat , Ditta Sarwar Allah , Tanvir Fouzia , Ali Shaista , Naz Misbah 
Published: June 2020

Human beings have been bearing great medical, social, and economic losses due to the ever‐increasing rate of microbial infections and the development of resistance; hence, there is a dire need to develop novel strategic alternate tools to circumvent these infections. In this regard, metallic nanomaterials (NMs) have been reported to exhibit promising bactericidal properties. In the present study, two different shaped silver NMs, i.e. silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver nanoprisms (AgNPrs) and their conjugates with azithromycin were synthesised, characterised, and tested for their bactericidal activity. The average particle sizes analysed for spherical nanoparticles were 30–47.5 nm, and for prismatic‐nanoparticles was 35–60 nm, respectively. The distinct ultraviolet–visible peaks were obtained for NMs and their nanoconjugates. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the interaction of various functional groups from Azy with metallic NMs. The nanoprisms and their conjugates showed enhanced bactericidal potential as compared to AgNPs and their corresponding control. The efficiency of Azy–AgNPrs was statistically higher (P <0.05) than AgNPs, Azy–AgNPs, and AgNPrs against the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. These results can be used as an innovative tool for further in‐depth optimisation of shape‐dependent nanoconjugates for their bactericidal activity.
Preparation and characterisation of carbon‐coated Magnéli phase Ti4O7 by modified carbon‐thermal reduction route
Authors: Bao Xinjun , Zhang Zejie , Yi Shijie , Yang Qingshan , Yu Peng , Zhou Debi 
Published: June 2020

A carbon‐coated Magnéli phase Ti4O7 composite has been successfully synthesised, via modified carbonthermal reduction of amorphous TiO2, which was prepared from hydrolysis of titanium sulphate and polyvinyl alcohol, at a relatively low temperature and fast reaction rate. Moreover, the effect of heat treatment temperature and time on the reduced phases is revealed. Despite removal of oxide ions, scanning electron microscopic images clearly show the obtained carbon‐coated Ti4O7 composite retains well the spherical morphology of the precursor, and the high‐pressure pelleted treatment effectively inhibits the growth of the final product during the heat treatment process. In addition, the prepared composite with mesopore structure exhibits a Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area as high as 84.495 m2 g−1 and good electrochemical stability in alkaline electrolyte, as well as some oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity. The results presented in this work open an avenue for its potential electrochemical applications.
Effects of C4H9NH3Br additive on properties of CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite thin films
Authors: Yang Yanchun , Yu Sheng , Cao Yongjun , Li Wei 
Published: June 2020

Short‐chain C4H9NH3Br compound can be used as the surface capping to synthesise CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite nanocrystal. In this work, employed as the surface ligand of CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite thin films, the influence of C4H9NH3Br additive on the morphology and optical properties of CH3NH3PbBr3 thin films were studied systematically. As the doping ratio of C4H9NH3Br compound increases, the growth of CH3NH3PbBr3 crystal grain can be controlled, and optical properties of CH3NH3PbBr3 thin films can be improved. The best quality can be obtained with 20% of C4H9NH3Br. Finally, the optimal sintering conditions of CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite thin films are determined at 80°C, 4 min.
Microfluidisation trends in the development of nanodelivery systems: characterisation and release study of resveratrol‐loaded nanostructured lipid carrier prepared with high‐pressure microfluidisation
Authors: Wang Jianmin , Sun Hao , Liu Xin 
Published: June 2020

The release behaviour and kinetic evaluation of resveratrol (Res) from nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) have been conducted after characterisation for Res‐NLC in this study. High‐pressure microfluidisation technique was successfully applied to manufacturing Res‐NLC, and the morphology of nanoparticle was observed via freeze‐fracture transmission electron microscopy. Photon correlation spectroscopy was used to characterise the NLC system for particle size (PS) and polydispersity index (PDI). The in vitro release research was implemented by the dialysis method with active ingredient determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Fitting of release data to different kinetic models was carried out. The optimised Res‐NLC was physically stable with the PS below 200 nm, PDI below 0.3 and zeta potential (ZP) above 50 mV. The encapsulation efficiency was above 80%. Moreover, an in vitro release analysis demonstrated the sustained release profile of contents from NLC formulation over 12 h, with about 90% of the active ingredient released. Res‐NLC presented the best fit with the Weibull model accompanied by better correlation value. In conclusion, all the obtained results demonstrated that the release study of Res‐loaded NLC exhibited the promising application of the NLC formulation system in active ingredient sustained release carrier.
Mimicking spectropolarimetric inversions using convolutional neural networks
Authors: Milić I. , Gafeira R. 
Published: June 2020

Context. Interpreting spectropolarimetric observations of the solar atmosphere takes much longer than the acquiring the data. The most important reason for this is that the model fitting, or “inversion”, used to infer physical quantities from the observations is extremely slow, because the underlying models are numerically demanding.
Aims. We aim to improve the speed of the inference by using a neural network that relates input polarized spectra to the output physical parameters.
Methods. We first select a subset of the data to be interpreted and infer physical quantities from corresponding spectra using a standard minimization-based inversion code. Taking these results as reliable and representative of the whole data set, we train a convolutional neural network to connect the input polarized spectra to the output physical parameters (nodes, in context of spectropolarimetric inversion). We then apply the neural network to the various other data, previously unseen to the network. As a check, we apply the referent inversion code to the unseen data and compare the fit quality and the maps of the inferred parameters between the two inversions.
Results. The physical parameters inferred by the neural network show excellent agreement with the results from the inversion, and are obtained in a factor of 105 less time. Additionally, substituting the results of the neural network back in the forward model, shows excellent agreement between inferred and original spectra.
Conclusions. The method we present here is very simple for implementation and extremely fast. It only requires a training data set, which can be obtained by inverting a representative subset of the observed data. Applying these (and similar) machine learning techniques will yield orders of magnitude acceleration in the routine interpretation of spectropolarimetric data.