bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microglia/macrophages express alternative proangiogenic factors depending on granulocyte content in human glioblastoma
Authors: Blank Anne , Kremenetskaia Irina , Urbantat Ruth M , Acker Güliz , Turkowski Kati , Radke Josefine , Schneider Ulf C , Vajkoczy Peter , Brandenburg Susan 
Published: October 2020

AbstractMyeloid cells are an inherent part of the microenvironment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). There is growing evidence for their participation in mechanisms of tumor escape, especially in the development of resistance following initially promising anti‐VEGF/VEGFR treatment. Thus, we sought to define the capability of myeloid cells to contribute to the expression of proangiogenic molecules in human GBM. We investigated GBM specimens in comparison with anaplastic astrocytoma (WHO grade III) and epilepsy patient samples freshly obtained from surgery. Flow cytometric analyses revealed two distinct CD11b+CD45+ cell populations in GBM tissues, which were identified as microglia/macrophages and granulocytes. Due to varied granulocyte influx, GBM samples were subdivided into groups with low (GBM‐lPMNL) and high (GBM‐hPMNL) numbers of granulocytes (polymorphonuclear leukocytes; PMNL), which were related to activation of the microglia/macrophage population. Microglia/macrophages of the GBM‐lPMNL group were similar to those of astrocytoma specimens, but those of GBM‐hPMNL tissues revealed an altered phenotype by expressing high levels of CD163, TIE2, HIF1α, VEGF, CXCL2 and CD13. Although microglia/macrophages represented the main source of alternative proangiogenic factors, additionally granulocytes participated by production of IL8 and CD13. Moreover, microglia/macrophages of the GBM‐hPMNL specimens were highly associated with tumor blood vessels, accompanied by remodeling of the vascular structure. Our data emphasize that tumor‐infiltrating myeloid cells might play a crucial role for limited efficacy of anti‐angiogenic therapy bypassing VEGF‐mediated pathways through expression of alternative proangiogenic factors. © 2020 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Preparation, hydrogen bonding and properties of polyurethane elastomers with 1,2,3‐triazole units by click chemistry
Authors: Gu Xiao , Guo Shiqing , Wang Guiyou 
Published: October 2020

AbstractTwo kinds of diols containing 1,2,3‐triazole units were synthesized through the azide‐alkyne cycloaddition reaction between propargyl alcohol and 1,4‐diazidobutane. One of the diols, (butane‐1,4/1,5‐diylbis[1H‐1,2,3‐triazole‐1,4/1,5‐diyl])dimethanol (BDTDO‐1), containing 1,4/1,5‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazole regioisomers, was directly prepared under thermal condition without Cu(I) catalyst. The other diol, (butane‐1,4‐diylbis[1H‐1,2,3‐triazole‐1,4‐diyl])dimethanol (BDTDO‐2), containing 1,4‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazoles, was prepared by Cu(I) catalyzed click chemistry. Then, two kinds of 1,2,3‐triazole modified polyurethane elastomers (PUEs) were prepared from the reaction of 4,4′‐methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate) and poly(tetramethylene ether) glycol, with BDTDO‐1 or BDTDO‐2 as the chain extender (CE). It was found that the introduction of 1,2,3‐triazoles and their substitution positions had significant influences on the hydrogen bonding, thermal and mechanical properties of PUEs. Compared with the PUE prepared from 1,4‐butanediol as the CE, the PUE containing symmetric 1,4‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazoles units in the main chains shows higher values of hydrogen bonding, physical crosslinking density, Young's modulus, tensile strength and melting temperature, while lower glass transition temperature, resulting from the rigid structure and the ability to form more hydrogen bonds. However, the introduction of asymmetric 1,4/1,5‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazole moieties decreases the values of hydrogen bonding, thermal and mechanical properties of PUE appreciably due to the destruction of the ordered structure of the hard segments.
Robust H−/H∞ fault detection observer design for polytopic spatially interconnected systems over finite frequency domain
Authors: Zhai Xiaokai , Xu Huiling , Wang Guopeng 
Published: October 2020

SummaryThis article aims at solving the problem of robust H−/H∞ fault detection (FD) over finite frequency domain for spatially interconnected systems (SISs) with polytopic uncertainties. A fault detection observer is designed to generate the residual signal, and in order for the observer to work, the well‐posedness, robust stability, and finite frequency H−/H∞ indexes are properly defined for the error systems. A sufficient condition for the well‐posedness and robust stability of error systems is given based on the theory of continuous semigroup. Then, to obtain the H−/H∞ performance indexes conditions, a reformed generalized Kalman‐Yakubovich‐Popov (GKYP) lemma for polytopic SISs is derived, which takes the noncasual structure of SISs into account. It turns out that the reformed GKYP lemma is an extension of some existing results in traditional multidimensional casual systems. By resorting to Finsler's lemma and a linearization technique, the existence conditions of finite frequency H−/H∞ FD observer for polytopic SISs are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities. An illustrative example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Synergistic effect of nanofat and mouse nerve-growth factor for promotion of sensory recovery in anterolateral thigh free flaps
Authors: Xiao Shune , Zhang Fengling , Zheng Yongjian , Liu Zhiyuan , Wang Dali , Wei Zairong , Deng Chengliang 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Anterolateral thigh (ALT) free flaps are widely used for reconstruction, but poor sensory recovery of the flap tissue can cause unsatisfactory outcomes and poor function. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) promote neural regeneration, but the clinical use of stem-cell therapy has been limited by lack of regulatory approval. Nanofat is an autologous product that is prepared mechanically from harvested fat. It is enriched in ADSCs and does not contain any exogenous substances. The developmental and adult neurobiology of nerve-growth factor (NGF) are well investigated, and mouse (m)NGF has been used to promote recovery following peripheral nerve injury. We investigated the promotion of nanofat and mNGF as either mono- or combined therapy on the sensory recovery of ALT free flaps. We found that nanofat and mNGF had a synergistic effect on sensory recovery that was associated with stimulation of angiogenesis and neurogenesis. Nanofat combined with mNGF was better at promoting neural regeneration and improving sensory recovery than treatment with either agent alone. The results provide a theoretical rationale for further study of the clinical use of nanofat combined with mNGF to promote the sensory recovery of ALT free flaps.
Asymmetric role of tourism development and technology innovation on carbon dioxide emission reduction in the Chinese economy: Fresh insights from QARDL approach
Authors: Razzaq Asif , Sharif Arshian , Ahmad Paiman , Jermsittiparsert Kittisak 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThis study examines the association between tourism development, technology innovation, and carbon emissions by simultaneously testing Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in China. The study develops and uses a novel composite index of tourism development and technology innovation. Utilizing quarterly data from 1995Q1 to 2017Q4, the study employs QARDL (Quantile Autoregressive Distributive Lag) approach and Granger causality‐in‐quantiles. The outcome of the study reveals that the observed relationship is quantile‐dependent, which may disclose misleading results in previous studies using traditional linear methodologies (such as OLS/ARDL) that address the averages. Primarily, the findings indicate that tourism development (TOR) and technology innovation (TII) significantly mitigate the level of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in the long run at lower‐higher (0.05–0.95) emissions quantiles and higher‐highest (0.7–0.95) emissions quantiles, respectively. Economic growth (GDP) and globalization (GLO) exert a positive asymmetric influence on CO2 only at lower‐medium (0.05–0.40) emissions quantiles and medium‐higher emissions quantiles (0.50–0.95), respectively. In the short run, TII, and GDP2 possess an insignificant impact across all emissions levels, while TOR shows a positive influence on CO2 only at lowest‐lower (0.05–0.20) emissions quantiles. The study confirms the presence of the EKC hypothesis at lower‐higher (0.05–0.70) emissions quantiles in the long run. Moreover, the outcomes of Granger causality in quantiles confirm asymmetric bidirectional quantile causality between TOR, TII, GLO, and CO2, while a unidirectional causality running from GDP to CO2. The results recommend that the Chinese government should implement integrated “tourism‐technology” policies based on the asymmetric emissions‐reduction effects of tourism and technology innovation in the long run.
Analysis of time‐to‐event for observational studies: Guidance to the use of intensity models
Authors: Kragh Andersen Per , Pohar Perme Maja , van Houwelingen Hans C. , Cook Richard J. , Joly Pierre , Martinussen Torben , Taylor Jeremy M. G. , Abrahamowicz Michal , Therneau Terry M. 
Published: October 2020

SummaryThis paper provides guidance for researchers with some mathematical background on the conduct of time‐to‐event analysis in observational studies based on intensity (hazard) models. Discussions of basic concepts like time axis, event definition and censoring are given. Hazard models are introduced, with special emphasis on the Cox proportional hazards regression model. We provide check lists that may be useful both when fitting the model and assessing its goodness of fit and when interpreting the results. Special attention is paid to how to avoid problems with immortal time bias by introducing time‐dependent covariates. We discuss prediction based on hazard models and difficulties when attempting to draw proper causal conclusions from such models. Finally, we present a series of examples where the methods and check lists are exemplified. Computational details and implementation using the freely available R software are documented in Supplementary Material. The paper was prepared as part of the STRATOS initiative.
The benefits and negative impacts of citizen science applications to water as experienced by participants and communities
Authors: Walker David W. , Smigaj Magdalena , Tani Masakazu 
Published: October 2020

AbstractCitizen science is proliferating in the water sciences with increasing public involvement in monitoring water resources, climate variables, water quality, and in mapping and modeling exercises. In addition to the well‐reported scientific benefits of such projects, in particular solving data scarcity issues, it is common to extol the benefits for participants, for example, increased knowledge and empowerment. We reviewed 549 publications concerning citizen science applications in the water sciences to examine personal benefits and motivations, and wider community benefits. The potential benefits of involvement were often simply listed without explanation or investigation. Studies that investigated whether or not participants and communities actually benefitted from involvement, or experienced negative impacts, were uncommon, especially in the Global South. Assuming certain benefits will be experienced can be fallacious as in some cases the intended benefits were either not achieved or in fact had negative impacts. Identified benefits are described and we reveal that more consideration should be given to how these benefits interrelate and how they build community capitals to foster their realization in citizen science water projects. Additionally, we describe identified negative impacts showing they were seldom considered though they may not be uncommon and should be borne in mind when implementing citizen science. Given the time and effort commitment made by citizen scientists for the benefit of research, there is a need for further study of participants and communities involved in citizen science applications to water, particularly in low‐income regions, to ensure both researchers and communities are benefitting.This article is categorized under:
Human Water > Human Water
Climate Change Adaptation: Implications for Food Security and Nutrition
Authors: Ajilogba Caroline Fadeke , Walker Sue 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIt is apparent that climate change affects every facet of life as no living organism lives outside of the universal environment (air, water, land), and all of these are affected by one or more climate or weather conditions. Climate affects agriculture and vice versa as they are deeply interconnected. The effect of climate change on agriculture goes a long way to increase or decrease food security and invariably food nutrition through its impacts on agricultural lands. This is because the more food insecurity there is, the more issues of undernutrition are observed.This chapter studies the different ways climate and climate change affect crop production through the different sections of agriculture in terms of plant diseases and biocontrol, food production, livestock rearing, fish production, forestry, and microbial diversity. It goes further to look at the different ways nations and communities are adapting to climate change to mitigate the challenges of food insecurity and nutrition. Finally, some of the solutions that can be pilot tested at the community level, which can later be cascaded to national and regional levels, are also emphasized. Other recommendations that can become a research focus to forestall this threat are also highlighted and would be important in policy development.
NSAIDs for Prophylaxis for Heterotopic Ossification After Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Bayesian Network Meta-analysis
Authors: Migliorini Filippo , Trivellas Andromahi , Eschweiler Jörg , Driessen Arne , Tingart Markus , Maffulli Nicola 
Published: October 2020

AbstractNon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) have been recommended to prevent of heterotopic ossification (HO) after total hip arthroplasty (THA), but debates are still ongoing. The present Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) compared all available pathways of NSAID treatment as prophylaxis for HO after THA. The present Bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted according to The PRISMA Extension Statement for Reporting of Systematic Reviews Incorporating Network Meta-analyses of Health Care Interventions guidelines. All randomized clinical trials comparing two or more interventions to prevent HO after THA were considered for analysis. HO was classified according to Brooker. The quality of the methodological assessment was performed through the risk of bias summary tool of the Review Manager Software 5.3 (The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen). The network meta-analysis was performed through a STATA routine for Bayesian hierarchical random-effects model analysis, with log odd ratio (LOR) effect measure. Data from 26 studies (6396 THAs; 58% females) were collected. The mean follow-up was 10.50 ± 5.7 months. ANOVA showed good comparability among mean age and gender (P > 0.5). Celecoxib demonstrated the highest rate of Brooker class 0 (LOR 6.96), followed by diclofenac (LOR 6.94). Naproxen demonstrated the lowest rate of Brooker I HO (LOR 2.82), followed by celecoxib (LOR 3.52). Celecoxib demonstrated lowest rate of Brooker class II HO (LOR 1.66), class III (LOR), and class IV (LOR 0.25). The equation for global linearity detected no statistically significant inconsistency (P > 0.5) in all the comparisons. The present Bayesian network meta-analysis encourages the use of celecoxib as a prophylaxis for HO. These conclusions must be interpreted in light of the limitations of the present study. Future investigations are required to establish more definitely the role of celecoxib.Level of Evidence: I, Bayesian network analysis of RCTs.
Haemodynamic changes in cirrhosis following terlipressin and induction of sepsis—a preclinical study using caval subtraction phase-contrast and cardiac MRI
Authors: Chouhan Manil D. , Taylor Stuart A. , Bainbridge Alan , Walker-Samuel Simon , Davies Nathan , Halligan Steve , Lythgoe Mark F. , Mookerjee Rajeshwar P. 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Objectives
Effects of liver disease on portal venous (PV), hepatic arterial (HA), total liver blood flow (TLBF), and cardiac function are poorly understood. Terlipressin modulates PV flow but effects on HA, TLBF, and sepsis/acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF)-induced haemodynamic changes are poorly characterised. In this study, we investigated the effects of terlipressin and sepsis/ACLF on hepatic haemodynamics and cardiac function in a rodent cirrhosis model using caval subtraction phase-contrast (PC) MRI and cardiac cine MRI.

Methods
Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 18 bile duct–ligated (BDL), n = 16 sham surgery controls) underwent caval subtraction PCMRI to estimate TLBF and HA flow and short-axis cardiac cine MRI for systolic function at baseline, following terlipressin and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infusion, to model ACLF.

Results
All baseline hepatic haemodynamic/cardiac systolic function parameters (except heart rate and LV mass) were significantly different in BDL rats. Following terlipressin, baseline PV flow (sham 181.4 ± 12.1 ml/min/100 g; BDL 68.5 ± 10.1 ml/min/100 g) reduced (sham − 90.3 ± 11.1 ml/min/100 g, p < 0.0001; BDL − 31.0 ± 8.0 ml/min/100 g, p = 0.02), sham baseline HA flow (33.0 ± 11.3 ml/min/100 g) increased (+ 92.8 ± 21.3 ml/min/100 g, p = 0.0003), but BDL baseline HA flow (83.8 ml/min/100 g) decreased (− 34.4 ± 7.5 ml/min/100 g, p = 0.11). Sham baseline TLBF (214.3 ± 16.7 ml/min/100 g) was maintained (+ 2.5 ± 14.0 ml/min/100 g, p > 0.99) but BDL baseline TLBF (152.3 ± 18.7 ml/min/100 g) declined (− 65.5 ± 8.5 ml/min/100 g, p = 0.0004). Following LPS, there were significant differences between cohort and change in HA fraction (p = 0.03) and TLBF (p = 0.01) with BDL baseline HA fraction (46.2 ± 4.6%) reducing (− 20.9 ± 7.5%, p = 0.03) but sham baseline HA fraction (38.2 ± 2.0%) remaining unchanged (+ 2.9 ± 6.1%, p > 0.99). Animal cohort and change in systolic function interactions were significant only for heart rate (p = 0.01) and end-diastolic volume (p = 0.03).

Conclusions
Caval subtraction PCMRI and cardiac MRI in a rodent model of cirrhosis demonstrate significant baseline hepatic haemodynamic/cardiac differences, failure of the HA buffer response post-terlipressin and an altered HA fraction response in sepsis, informing potential translation to ACLF patients.

Key Points
Caval subtraction phase-contrast and cardiac MRI demonstrate:
• Significant differences between cirrhotic/non-cirrhotic rodent hepatic blood flow and cardiac systolic function at baseline.
• Failure of the hepatic arterial buffer response in cirrhotic rodents in response to terlipressin.
• Reductions in hepatic arterial flow fraction in the setting of acute-on-chronic liver failure.
High-Field Pulsed ENDOR with Intra-cavity Radiofrequency Coil
Authors: Annino G. , Moons H. , Fittipaldi M. , Van Doorslaer S. , Goovaerts E. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThis study compares the performance of two coil configurations for W-band pulsed ENDOR using a setup with both a radiofrequency ‘hairpin’ coil internal to a microwave non-radiative resonator and Helmholtz-like coils external to the resonator. Evaluation of the different coil performances is achieved via the ENDOR study of two model systems. The efficiencies of the coil configurations are first investigated numerically, showing that a higher radiofrequency current-to-magnetic field conversion factor can be achieved with the intra-cavity coil, with a similar radiofrequency magnetic field uniformity. This result is then confirmed by the broadband ENDOR spectra acquired with the two coil arrangements. A gain in the signal-to-noise ratio enabled by the internal coil of about a factor 10 was observed. In some cases, the high conversion factor of the intra-cavity coil led to a saturation of the ENDOR transitions. The possibility to implement a similar intra-cavity radiofrequency coil configuration in higher field spectrometers is finally discussed.
Customs brokers as intermediaries in international trade
Authors: Medin Hege 
Published: October 2020

AbstractRecent studies suggest that intermediaries like merchants facilitate international trade by reducing fixed trade costs for producers that trade through them instead of exporting or importing directly. This study argues that customs brokers–a type of intermediary rarely studied in economics before–play a similar role by reducing fixed costs of clearing goods through customs for firms that use them instead of self-declaring. Using panel data of Norwegian trade transactions, the paper shows that the majority of manufacturing producers participating in international trade use such brokers, and that the brokers typically handle large trade values on behalf of several different produces. In an econometric analysis, the author finds that the share of a producer’s market specific trade that is self-declared rather than handled by brokers increases with the traded value. This is in line with predictions from theoretical models on trade intermediaries and holds after controlling for observed as well as unobserved factors at the producer, country and product level. Results are similar for exporting and importing, indicating that brokers facilitate both modes of trade.
Investigating the effects of gender, dialect, and training size on the performance of Arabic speech recognition
Authors: Alsharhan Eiman , Ramsay Allan 
Published: October 2020

AbstractResearch in Arabic automatic speech recognition (ASR) is constrained by datasets of limited size, and of highly variable content and quality. Arabic-language resources vary in the attributes that affect language resources in other languages (noise, channel, speaker, genre), but also vary significantly in the dialect and level of formality of the spoken Arabic they capture. Many languages suffer similar levels of cross-dialect and cross-register acoustic variability, but these effects have been under-studied. This paper is an experimental analysis of the interaction between classical ASR corpus-compensation methods (feature selection, data selection, gender-dependent acoustic models) and the dialect-dependent/register-dependent variation among Arabic ASR corpora. The first interaction studied in this paper is that between acoustic recording quality and discrete pronunciation variation. Discrete pronunciation variation can be compensated by using grapheme-based instead of phone-based acoustic models, and by filtering out speakers with insufficient training data; the latter technique also helps to compensate for poor recording quality, which is further compensated by eliminating delta-delta acoustic features. All three techniques, together, reduce Word Error Rate (WER) by between 3.24% and 5.35%. The second aspect of dialect and register variation to be considered is variation in the fine-grained acoustic pronunciations of each phoneme in the language. Experimental results prove that gender and dialect are the principal components of variation in speech, therefore, building gender and dialect-specific models leads to substantial decreases in WER. In order to further explore the degree of acoustic differences between phone models required for each of the dialects of Arabic, cross-dialect experiments are conducted to measure how far apart Arabic dialects are acoustically in order to make a better decision about the minimal number of recognition systems needed to cover all dialectal Arabic. Finally, the research addresses an important question: how much training data is needed for building efficient speaker-independent ASR systems? This includes developing some learning curves to find out how large must the training set be to achieve acceptable performance.