bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Platinum exposure and cause‐specific mortality among patients with testicular cancer
Authors: Groot Harmke J. , van Leeuwen Flora E. , Lubberts Sjoukje , Horenblas Simon , de Wit Ronald , Witjes J. Alfred , Groenewegen Gerard , Poortmans Philip M. , Hulshof Maarten C. C. M. , Meijer Otto W. M. , de Jong Igle J. , van den Berg Hetty A. , Smilde Tineke J. , Vanneste Ben G. L. , Aarts Maureen J. B. , Jóźwiak Katarzyna , van den Belt‐Dusebout Alexandra W. , Gietema Jourik A. , Schaapveld Michael 
Published: November 2019

BackgroundAlthough testicular cancer (TC) treatment has been associated with severe late morbidities, including second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) and ischemic heart disease (IHD), cause‐specific excess mortality has been rarely studied among patients treated in the platinum era.MethodsIn a large, multicenter cohort including 6042 patients with TC treated between 1976 and 2006, cause‐specific mortality was compared with general population mortality rates. Associations with treatment were assessed with proportional hazards analysis.ResultsWith a median follow‐up of 17.6 years, 800 patients died; 40.3% of these patients died because of TC. The cumulative mortality was 9.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.5%‐10.7%) 25 years after TC treatment. In comparison with general population mortality rates, patients with nonseminoma experienced 2.0 to 11.6 times elevated mortality from lung, stomach, pancreatic, rectal, and kidney cancers, soft‐tissue sarcomas, and leukemia; 1.9‐fold increased mortality (95% CI, 1.3‐2.8) from IHD; and 3.9‐fold increased mortality (95% CI, 1.5‐8.4) from pneumonia. Seminoma patients experienced 2.5 to 4.6 times increased mortality from stomach, pancreatic, bladder cancer and leukemia. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy were associated with 2.1 (95% CI, 1.8‐2.5) and 2.5 times higher SMN mortality (95% CI, 2.0‐3.1), respectively, in comparison with the general population. In a multivariable analysis, patients treated with platinum‐containing chemotherapy had a 2.5‐fold increased hazard ratio (HR; 95% CI, 1.8‐3.5) for SMN mortality in comparison with patients without platinum‐containing chemotherapy. The HR for SMN mortality increased 0.29 (95% CI, 0.19‐0.39) per 100 mg/m2 platinum dose administered (Ptrend < .001). IHD mortality was increased 2.1‐fold (95% CI, 1.5‐4.2) after platinum‐containing chemotherapy in comparison with patients without platinum exposure.ConclusionsPlatinum‐containing chemotherapy is associated with a dose‐dependent increase in the risk of SMN mortality.
Pan‐cancer clinical and molecular analysis of racial disparities
Authors: Lara Olivia D. , Wang Ying , Asare Amma , Xu Tao , Chiu Hua‐Sheng , Liu Yuexin , Hu Wei , Sumazin Pavel , Uppal Shitanshu , Zhang Lin , Rauh‐Hain J. Alejandro , Sood Anil K. 
Published: November 2019

BackgroundRacial disparities in cancer outcomes are increasingly recognized, but comprehensive analyses, including molecular studies, are limited. The objective of the current study was to perform a pan‐cancer clinical and epigenetic molecular analysis of outcomes in African American (AA) and European American (EA) patients.MethodsCross‐platform analyses using cancer databases (the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program database and the National Cancer Data Base) and a molecular database (The Cancer Genome Ancestry Atlas) were performed to evaluate clinical and epigenetic molecular differences between AA and EA patients based on genetic ancestry.ResultsIn the primary pan‐cancer survival analysis using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2,045,839 patients; 87.5% EA and 12.5% AA), AA patients had higher mortality rates for 28 of 42 cancer types analyzed (hazard ratio, >1.0). AAs continued to have higher mortality in 13 cancer types after adjustment for socioeconomic variables using the National Cancer Database (5,150,023 patients; 11.6% AA and 88.4% EA). Then, molecular features of 5,283 tumors were analyzed in patients who had genetic ancestry data available (87.2% EA and 12.8% AA). Genes were identified with altered DNA methylation along with increased microRNA expression levels unique to AA patients that are associated with cancer drug resistance. Increased miRNAs (miR‐15a, miR‐17, miR‐130‐3p, miR‐181a) were noted in common among AAs with breast, kidney, thyroid, or prostate carcinomas.ConclusionsThe current results identified epigenetic features in AA patients who have cancer that may contribute to higher mortality rates compared with EA patients who have cancer. Therefore, a focus on molecular signatures unique to AAs may identify actionable molecular abnormalities.
An improved energy‐low clustering hierarchy protocol based on ensemble algorithm
Authors: Xie Penghua , Lv Ming , Zhao Juanjuan 
Published: November 2019

SummaryLEACH (low‐energy adaptive clustering hierarchy) protocol is an important part of wireless sensor network (WSN) and consisting of a good deal of energy‐constrained nodes. LEACH is widely used but also faces various challenges and constraints. The biggest constraint is that the energy is limited and the network life is finite. In the article, an improved ensemble algorithm based on energy‐efficient LEACH is proposed. The ensemble algorithm benefits from the cuckoo search algorithm (CS), glowworm swarm optimization (GSO), and bacterial foraging optimization (BFO). The paper enhances local and global search capabilities by modify the CS GSO and BFO algorithm. To verify results, this paper performs statistical comparatives with oriented cuckoo search (OCS), bat algorithm with characteristics of Levy flights, particle swarm optimization, and adaptive differential evolution algorithm. Comparison results shows that the new method is effective. Moreover, the research also showed the universal applicability of the ensemble strategy in solving diverse problems by using above different optimization algorithms. To further exploit our mind, this paper applies the improved coupling algorithm to LEACH for selecting the cluster‐head node. Computational experiments illustrate that the method proposed in this paper can provide very competitive results compared to these bio‐inspired LEACH, both in terms of reducing the network energy consumption and improving the lifecycle of nodes.
Optimized traffic flow prediction based on cluster formation and reinforcement learning
Authors: Rajkumar S.C. , L. Jegatha Deborah , P. Vijayakumar 
Published: November 2019

SummaryIn recent days, the traffic flow information is collected using the global positioning system through the Internet, which is yet to become ubiquitous. A novel technique is proposed for the intelligent transportation system, which leads to reduce the traffic congestion that will become an unavoidable phenomenon in the near future. This system uses a magnetic sensor to identify the type of the vehicle and the exact vehicle count in the traffic environment based on variation in the magnetic flux. This information is transmitted to the cloud server with the help of cluster by utilizing the nearby proximity services. An intelligent agent that uses reinforcement learning is implemented in the cloud server to learn the real‐time traffic flow from multiple sources for the prediction of a valid and optimized route suggestion for the registered users. This work is implemented, and implementation results show that the proposed work achieves an accuracy of 98.36%. Hence, this intelligence method for VANETs will certainly account for improved traffic prediction to the vehicle transportation. It can reduce the vehicles waiting time in traffic and that would minimize the fuel consumption. It will make an eco‐friendly environment of reduced carbon dioxide emissions in urban cities.
Analyzing lifetime of energy harvesting underwater wireless sensor nodes
Authors: Erdem H. Emre , Gungor V. Cagri 
Published: November 2019

SummaryUnderwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) are utilized to monitor underwater environments that pose many challenges to researchers. One of the key complications of UWSNs is the difficulty of changing node batteries after their energy is depleted. This study aims to diminish the issues related to battery replacement by improving node lifetime. For this goal, three energy harvesting devices (turbine harvester, piezoelectric harvester, and hydrophone harvester) are analyzed to quantitate their impacts on node lifetime. In addition, two different power management schemes (schedule‐driven and event‐driven power management schemes) are combined with energy harvesters for further lifetime improvement. Performance evaluations via simulations show that energy harvesting methods joined by power management schemes can improve node lifetime substantially when actual conditions of Istanbul Bosporus Strait are considered. In this respect, turbine harvester makes the biggest impact and provides lifetime beyond 2000 days for most cases, while piezoelectric harvester can perform the same only for low duty cycle or event arrival values at short transmission ranges.
Facultative mycorrhizal associations promote plant naturalization worldwide
Authors: Pyšek Petr , Guo Wen‐Yong , Štajerová Kateřina , Moora Mari , Bueno C. Guillermo , Dawson Wayne , Essl Franz , Gerz Maret , Kreft Holger , Pergl Jan , van Kleunen Mark , Weigelt Patrick , Winter Marten , Zobel Martin 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMycorrhizal symbiosis has received relatively little attention as a mechanism explaining plant naturalizations at a global scale. Here, we combined data on vascular plant species occurrences in over 840 mainland and island regions from the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database with up‐to‐date databases of mycorrhizal associations. We tested whether the mycorrhizal type (arbuscular, AM; ectomycorrhizal, ECM; and non‐mycorrhizal, NM) and status (facultative and obligate) were associated with two measures of naturalization success, (1) naturalization incidence (reflecting the ability to naturalize, and expressed as whether or not a plant species is recorded as naturalized anywhere in the world) and (2) naturalization extent (expressed as the number of GloNAF regions where the species occurs). In total, we found information on mycorrhizal type and status for 3211 naturalized plant species and 4200 non‐naturalized plant species. Mycorrhizal plant species, both AM and ECM, were more likely to be naturalized and naturalized to a greater extent than NM plants. The effect of being an AM species was always stronger, with AM species having a greater naturalization extent than ECM species. Being the same mycorrhizal type or status, annual species were generally more likely to be naturalized than perennials. Species with facultative mycorrhizal associations were more successful than those with obligate mycorrhizal associations, but both groups tended to have a greater chance of being naturalized than NM species. These results indicate that being NM is generally less favorable for naturalization. Overall, our results confirm, at the global scale, those of regional studies that facultative association with AM provides plant species with a naturalization advantage. For the first time, we have shown that being mycorrhizal contributes not only to the size of the naturalized range, reflecting the ability to spread, but also to the ability to become naturalized in the first instance.
Response mechanisms of sediment microbial communities in different habitat types in a shallow lake
Authors: Wang Wenjun , Yi Yujun , Yang Yufeng , Zhou Yang , Jia Wenfei , Zhang Shanghong , Wang Xuan , Yang Zhifeng 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMicroorganisms are important drivers of material and energy circulation in freshwater ecosystems. Altered aquatic sedimentary environments disturbed by human activities affect microbial community composition. Concentrations of heavy metals, and sediment physicochemical properties, are described for 25 sediment samples collected from five habitat types (residential, duck farm, lotus pond, fish farm, and a reference reserve shallow freshwater lake site) around Baiyangdian Lake, China. Bacterial and fungal communities in sediments were determined using 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA high‐throughput sequencing technology. Sediment physicochemical properties and heavy metal concentrations vary significantly among habitat types. Bacterial genera involved in S and N cycles are most abundant, followed by those that degrade organic pollutants, and are tolerant of heavy metals. Sediment bacterial Chao1 index is predominantly regulated by cobalt concentrations. The microbial communities within replicate samples within habitats are more similar to each other than they are between habitats. Redundancy analysis indicates Zn, pH, and TP are the main environment factors structuring bacterial communities, while fungal communities are most significantly influenced by Co and TP. The genus Cryptomonas is a food source for small zooplankton and fishes, and is mainly distributed in fish farm and lotus pond habitats. Species of Pseudallescheria that cause mycetoma, maduromycosis, and other infections in humans are highly abundant in duck farm and residential habitats. Species of Aleuria are saprobes; decompose organic matter, dead organisms, or biological excrement; and are highly accumulated in duck farm habitat.
Numerical investigation of gas‐liquid displacement between borehole and gassy fracture using response surface methodology
Authors: Ma Tianshou , Tang Tao , Chen Ping , Li Zhilin , Liu Shaohu 
Published: November 2019

AbstractGas‐liquid displacement occurs often in fractured gas reservoirs, and can cause gas kick and mud leakage, resulting in a very high risk of losing well control. To analyze gas‐liquid displacement between borehole and gassy fracture, we used computational fluid dynamics to simulate its behaviors. We also used response surface methodology (RSM) to design numerical experiments. The effects of fracture width, bottom‐hole differential pressure, mud density, mud viscosity, and mud displacement were taken into account. We used RSM to determine the influence of the multifactor interaction of gas‐liquid displacement and established an empirical formula for the gas displacement rate. The results show that gas‐liquid displacement is proportional to fracture width, bottom‐hole differential pressure, mud density, and mud displacement; however, the displacement is inversely proportional to mud viscosity. The sensitivity sequence of the gas‐liquid displacement rate is fracture width > bottom‐hole differential pressure > mud viscosity > mud density > mud velocity. The impact of fracture width is clearly higher than that of the other factors, while the mud velocity has almost no impact. Our established empirical formula can be used to predict bottom‐hole gas kick and drilling mud leakage and to inversely predict the fracture width and formation gas pressure.
Woven Wearable Electronic Textiles as Self‐Powered Intelligent Tribo‐Sensors for Activity Monitoring
Authors: Zhang Xiuling , Wang Jiaona , Xing Yi , Li Congju 
Published: November 2019

AbstractWearable and shape‐adaptive electronic textiles (E‐textiles) for human activities detection such as diversity joints motion are highly desired. However, conventional E‐textiles still remain great challenges, such as flexibility, air permeability, and large‐area fabrication. Here, a fabric E‐textile is developed as a self‐powered textile for tracking active motion signals. The fiber‐shaped coaxial tribo‐sensor is fabricated with silver yarn (Ag) and polytetrafluoroethylene yarn, which allows for integrating well with cloths at large scales due to its satisfactory breathability, good washability, and desirable flexibility. Based on the coaxial‐structured design, the fabricated E‐textile is optimized to generate the output performance with maximum short‐current (Isc) of 90 nA and open‐voltage (Voc) of 8 V. Moreover, the E‐textile can also be utilized as a self‐powered activity tribo‐sensor to monitor the motion signals of the human body. More significantly, the obtained E‐textile performs outstanding finger‐touching sensitivity, which can be applied in a wireless controller, active sensor, and human–machine interactions. This work presents a new way for a multifunctional E‐textile with potential applications in smart home systems, wearable electronics, and personalized healthcare.
Enhanced striatal and prefrontal activity is associated with individual differences in nonreinforced preference change for faces
Authors: Salomon Tom , Botvinik‐Nezer Rotem , Oren Shiran , Schonberg Tom 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDeveloping effective preference modification paradigms is crucial to improve the quality of life in a wide range of behaviors. The cue‐approach training (CAT) paradigm has been introduced as an effective tool to modify preferences lasting months, without external reinforcements, using the mere association of images with a cue and a speeded button response. In the current work for the first time, we used fMRI with faces as stimuli in the CAT paradigm, focusing on face‐selective brain regions. We found a behavioral change effect of CAT with faces immediately and 1‐month after training, however face‐selective regions were not indicative of behavioral change and thus preference change is less likely to rely on face processing brain regions. Nevertheless, we found that during training, fMRI activations in the ventral striatum were correlated with individual preference change. We also found a correlation between preference change and activations in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during the binary choice phase. Functional connectivity among striatum, prefrontal regions, and high‐level visual regions was also related to individual preference change. Our work sheds new light on the involvement of neural mechanisms in the process of valuation. This could lead to development of novel real‐world interventions.
SMARCB1 (INI‐1) and NUT immunoexpression in a large series of head and neck carcinomas in a Brazilian reference center
Authors: Neves‐Silva Rodrigo , Almeida Luciana Y. , Silveira Heitor A. , Colturato Carla B. N. , Duarte Andressa , Ferrisse Tulio M. , Silva Evânio V. , Vanzolin Bárbara F. , Bufalino Andreia , Ribeiro‐Silva Alfredo , León Jorge E. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractBackgroundSMARCB1 (INI‐1)‐deficient carcinomas and NUT carcinomas are aggressive neoplasms, often affecting the sinonasal region. Not uncommonly, their diagnoses are made retrospectively.MethodsThrough SMARCB1 (INI‐1) and NUT immunomarkers, 643 head and neck carcinomas were assessed retrospectively. Moreover, SMARCB1 (INI‐1)‐deficient and NUT carcinomas were additionally evaluated by immunohistochemistry, as well as in situ hybridization analysis for HPV and EBV.ResultsFour SMARCB1 (INI‐1)‐deficient carcinomas (located in lower lip, soft palate, hypopharynx and vocal cord, this latter high‐risk HPV positive) and three NUT carcinomas (all located in oropharynx) were detected, previously diagnosed as nonkeratinizing or moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. All cases showed squamous differentiation. NUT carcinomas than SMARCB1 (INI‐1)‐deficient carcinomas showed low overall survival rate.ConclusionThe current cases expand the clinicopathological spectrum of SMARCB1 (INI‐1)‐deficient carcinomas and NUT carcinomas. Notably, the diagnosis of these cases is easily reached through immunohistochemistry, with impact on their accurate classification, treatment, and prognosis.
Incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries after implementing the Triepi‐45 tool to improve episiotomy angle in instrumental deliveries
Authors: Gonzalez‐Díaz Enrique , Fernández Fernández Camino , Gonzalo Orden Jose Manuel , Fernández Corona Alfonso 
Published: November 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the impact of Triepi‐45—a tool that enables an episiotomy angle of 45° to be marked on the perineum at rest—on the incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) during operative vaginal delivery (OVD).MethodA retrospective–prospective cohort study was performed among successive women who underwent OVD at Complejo Asistencial Universitario de de León, Spain, between 2011 and 2013 (preintervention cohort, n=986) and between 2014 and 2016 (intervention cohort, n=986) after implementation of an interventional programme in 2013 to improve the episiotomy angle, including use of Triepi‐45, in OVD.ResultsThe intervention cohort had a lower incidence of OASIS than the preintervention cohort (70/986 [7.1%] vs 93/986 [9.4%]), but the difference was not significant, owing to the low use of Triepi‐45 in the intervention cohort (n=375). However, the OASIS incidence was significantly lower in the Triepi‐45 cohort than in the preintervention cohort (18/375 [4.8%] vs 93/986 [9.4%]; odds ratio, 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.26–0.86).ConclusionUse of Triepi‐45 had a positive impact on reducing OASIS in OVD. It remains essential to raise obstetricians’ awareness of the importance of the episiotomy angle and to implement the systematic use of tools to reduce the incidence of OASIS.
In vitro effects of standard antioxidants on lactoperoxidase enzyme–A molecular docking approach
Authors: Kalin Ramazan , Koksal Zeynep , Kalin Pinar , Karaman Muhammet , Gulcin İlhami , Ozdemir Hasan 
Published: November 2019

AbstractLactoperoxidase (LPO), an antioxidant enzyme, is a natural antimicrobial system that eliminates the harmful effects of microorganisms in milk. It has a wide range of applications and is also preferred in cosmetic and clinical applications, as well as used in foods. The use of antioxidants is well recognized in the food and feed industries to improve the shelf life of products. This study aimed to determine the in vitro inhibition effects of Trolox, α‐tocopherol, butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene, and propyl gallate, which are commonly used as antioxidants in food and pharmaceutical products. For this purpose, LPO was first purified in a single step using sepharose‐4B‐l‐tyrosine‐sulfanilamide affinity gel chromatography. Also, some inhibition parameters, including half‐maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), Ki values, and inhibition types, were calculated for each antioxidant molecule. The IC50 values of these molecules, which exhibited competitive inhibition, varied between 377.7 and 3397.8 nM. Molecular docking studies were also performed for all compounds. According to the binding scores, α‐tocopherol was shown to exhibit the most effective inhibitor property (IC50: 377.7 nM and Ki: 635.8 ± 16.8 nM) among the standard antioxidants used in this study. Inhibiting the LPO activity by standard antioxidants results in the weakening of the immune system during lactation, which is important for metabolism.