bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ecophysiological models for global invaders: Is Europe a big playground for the African clawed frog?
Authors: Ginal Philipp , Mokhatla Mohlamatsane , Kruger Natasha , Secondi Jean , Herrel Anthony , Measey John , Rödder Dennis 
Published: December 2020

AbstractOne principle threat prompting the worldwide decline of amphibians is the introduction of nonindigenous amphibians. The African Clawed Frog,Xenopus laevis, is now one of the widest distributed amphibians occurring on four continents with ongoing range expansion including large parts of Europe. Species distribution models (SDMs) are essential tools to predict the invasive risk of these species. Previous efforts have focused on correlative approaches but these can be vulnerable to extrapolation errors when projecting species' distributions in nonnative ranges. Recent developments emphasise more robust process‐based models, which use physiological data like critical thermal limits and performance, or hybrid models using both approaches. Previous correlative SDMs predict different patterns in the potential future distribution ofX. laevisin Europe, but it is likely that these models do not assess its full invasive potential. Based on physiological performance trials, we calculate size and temperature‐dependent response surfaces, which are scaled to geographic performance layers matching the critical thermal limits. We then use these ecophysiological performance layers in a standard correlative SDM framework to predict the potential distribution in southern Africa and Europe. Physiological performance traits (standard metabolic rate and endurance time of adult frogs) are the main drivers for the predicted distribution, while the locomotor performance (maximum velocity and distance moved in 200 ms) of adults and tadpoles have low contributions.
Adult hypertrophic pyloric stenosis that improved by spontaneous double channel pylorus formation
Authors: Hattori Aiji , Kawabata Hiroyuki , Umeda Yuhei , Tsuboi Junya , Yamada Reiko , Hamada Yasuhiko , Tanaka Kyosuke 
Published: December 2020

AbstractAdult hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (AHPS) is a rare disease and presents as pyloric obstruction. Double pylorus is also a rare condition due to a gastroduodenal fistula connecting from the gastric antrum to the duodenum. A 42‐year‐old woman without a history of vomiting in infancy presented with postprandial abdominal distension and repeated vomiting. Abdominal computed tomography showed gastric dilatation and wall thickening of the distal stomach. Endoscopy and contrast gastrography revealed gastric outlet obstruction due to stenosis and an ulcer in the antral and pyloric region. Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed circumferential thickening of the muscularis propria layer of the pylorus. Her symptoms improved with treatment consisting of drainage, fasting, and a proton pump inhibitor. Two weeks after onset, follow‐up endoscopy revealed a healing ulcer and double channel pylorus. Based on her clinical course and findings of clinical images, she was diagnosed with gastric outlet obstruction due to AHPS that was improved by double channel pylorus formation. In conclusion, AHPS that was improved by double channel pylorus formation is an extremely rare condition, and we should be aware of this disease entity.
Persons who inject drugs (PWID) retain functional NK cells, dendritic cell stimulation, and adaptive immune recall responses despite prolonged opioid use
Authors: Tomescu Costin , Colon Krystal , Smith Peter , Taylor Mack , Azzoni Livio , Metzger David S , Montaner Luis J 
Published: December 2020

AbstractPrevious literature suggests that acute opioid use results in the functional impairment of the immune response, thereby decreasing resistance to viral infection. Here, we assessed if innate and adaptive immune responses are compromised ex vivo in persons who inject drugs (PWID) and whether long-term injection drug use may impact host susceptibility to in vitro HIV infection. We measured the frequency, activation state, and functional profile of NK cells, dendritic cells, and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in low-risk PWID who do not share needles, high-risk needle-sharing PWID, and control donors who did not inject drugs. We also assessed plasma levels of inflammatory markers and CD4+ T cell susceptibility to HIV infection. We observed a significant increase in the amount of sCD14 (P = 0.0023, n = 16) and sCD163 (P = 0.0001, n = 16) in the plasma of PWID compared to controls. Evidence of constitutive activation was noted in PWID as compared to controls with increased CD69 expression in CD56dim NK cells (P = 0.0103, n = 26) and increased CD38 and HLA-DR expression in CD4+ T cells (P = 0.0355, n = 23). However, no innate or adaptive functional differences were detected between PWID and controls, including: NK cell direct or antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity poly-functional response, TLR-stimulated dendritic cell/NK crosstalk, CD8+ T cell response to Staphylococcal enterotoxin B or CMV/EBV/FLU peptides, or constitutive or anti-CD3/CD28-stimulated CD4+ T cell infectivity with CCR5-tropic or CXCR4-tropic HIV-1 isolates. Our data indicate that PWID who utilize opioids over as prolonged time frame can retain a functional ex vivo immune response without a measurable increase in CD4+ T cell infectivity suggesting that leukocytes from PWID are not intrinsically more susceptibility to infection with HIV than non-PWID controls.
Quantum dot celluar automata‐based encoder and priority encoder circuits: Low latency and area efficient design
Authors: Kaity Aishwarya , Singh Sangeeta , Hossain Kabirul 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe transistorless technology, quantum dot cellular automata (QCA) becomes one of the potential candidates of nanotechnology for signal processing circuits because of its ultra‐low power requirement, high frequency of operation, extreme‐low area requirement, and short channel effect (SCEs) immune at nanoscale circuits. Quasi‐adiabatic switching of QCA makes its data transfer faster. This work reports faster, smaller, and low‐power, 4‐to‐2 and 8‐to‐3 encoder, and priority encoder circuits designed on QCA platform. Both of these encoders and priority encoders are widely used circuits for communication to encode the data. These circuits are realized using three‐input majority gates, five‐input majority gates, and co‐planar clock zone‐based crossover technique. The proposed circuits show the improvement in performance in terms of cell count, area requirement, delay, quantum cost, and energy dissipation as compared to the existing circuits. The cell count and the area requirement of the proposed circuits have been magnificently lowered as compared to the recent literature. Moreover, these circuits also require 75% lesser clock periods than the existing literature, thus demonstrate lower latency. This work shows the way for future exploration of QCA‐based encoder circuits.
An Automated ALARA Method for Ultrasound
Authors: Flint Katelyn , Bottenus Nick , Bradway David , McNally Patricia , Ellestad Sarah , Trahey Gregg 
Published: December 2020

ObjectivesUltrasound users are advised to observe the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle, but studies have shown that most do not monitor acoustic output metrics. We developed an adaptive ultrasound method that could suggest acoustic output levels based on real‐time image quality feedback using lag‐one coherence (LOC).MethodsLag‐one coherence as a function of the mechanical index (MI) was assessed in 35 healthy volunteers in their second trimester of pregnancy. While imaging the placenta or the fetal abdomen, the system swept through 16 MI values ranging from 0.15 to 1.20. The LOC‐versus‐MI data were fit with a sigmoid curve, and the ALARA MI was selected as the point at which the fit reached 98% of its maximum.ResultsIn this study, the ALARA MI values were between 0.35 and 1.03, depending on the acoustic window. Compared to a default MI of 0.8, the pilot acquisitions suggested a lower ALARA MI 80% of the time. The contrast, contrast‐to‐noise ratio, generalized contrast‐to‐noise ratio, and LOC all followed sigmoidal trends with an increasing MI. The R2 of the fit was statistically significantly greater for LOC than the other metrics (P < .017).ConclusionsThese results suggest that maximum image quality can be achieved with acoustic output levels lower than the US Food and Drug Administration limits in many cases, and an automated tool could be used in real time to find the ALARA MI for specific imaging conditions. Our results support the feasibility of an automated, LOC‐based implementation of the ALARA principle for obstetric ultrasound.
Redefining Success by Focusing on Failures After Pediatric Hypoglossal Stimulation in Down Syndrome
Authors: Yu Phoebe K. , Jayawardena Asitha D. L. , Stenerson Matthew , Pulsifer Margaret B. , Grieco Julie A. , Abbeduto Leonard , Dedhia Raj C. , Soose Ryan J. , Tobey Allison , Raol Nikhila , Ishman Stacey L. , Shott Sally R. , Cohen Michael S. , Skotko Brian G. , Kinane Thomas B. , Keamy Donald G. , Hartnick Christopher J. 
Published: December 2020

Objectives/HypothesisPatients with Down syndrome have a high incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and limited treatment options. Hypoglossal stimulation has shown efficacy but has not yet been approved for pediatric populations. Our objective is to characterize the therapy response of adolescent patients with down syndrome and severe OSA who underwent hypoglossal stimulation.Study DesignProspective longitudinal trial.MethodsWe are conducting a multicenter single‐arm trial of hypoglossal stimulation for adolescent patients with Down syndrome and severe OSA. Interim analysis was performed to compare objective sleep and quality of life outcomes at 12 months postoperatively for the first 20 patients.ResultsThe mean age was 15.5 and baseline AHI 24.2. Of the 20 patients, two patients (10.0%) had an AHI under 1.5 at 12 months; nine patients of 20 (45.0%) under five; and 15 patients of 20 (75.0%) under 10. The mean decrease in AHI was 15.1 (P < .001). Patients with postoperative AHI over five had an average baseline OSA‐18 survey score of 3.5 with an average improvement of 1.7 (P = .002); in addition, six of these patients had a relative decrease of apneas compared to hypopneas and seven had an improvement in percentage of time with oxygen saturation below 90%.ConclusionsPatients with persistently elevated AHI 12 months after hypoglossal implantation experienced improvement in polysomnographic and quality of life outcomes. These results suggest the need for a closer look at physiologic markers for success beyond reporting AHI as the gold standard.Level of Evidence4 Laryngoscope, 131:1663–1669, 2021
Physical activity levels, its barriers, and associated factors among the patients with type 2 diabetes residing in the capital city of Bangladesh
Authors: Sadia Laila , Barua Lingkan , Banik Palash Chandra , Faruque Mithila 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIntroductionThe purpose of this study was to determine the level of physical activity (PA), its barriers, and the associated factors among the patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Bangladesh.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study recruited 215 patients with T2DM who visited the Bangladesh Institute of Health Sciences General Hospital from January to December 2019. Their PA level and its barriers were detected using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Barriers to Being Active Quiz, respectively. The PA levels and their barriers were presented using descriptive statistics. The associated factors of PA were identified using the multinomial logistic regression analysis.ResultsNearly one third of the study subjects (31.2%) were physically inactive. Among the active subjects (68.8%), more than half were moderately active (46%) and rest (22.8%) were engaged in vigorous PA. In the reported barriers of PA, half of the respondents considered “lack of willpower” as the major barrier followed by “lack of energy” (39.4%) and “lack of time” (36.7%). The associated factors of PA level were the occupational status (employed), monthly income, and the personal barrier “lack of time.”ConclusionA significant portion of Bangladeshi patients did not meet the recommended PA and several personal barriers were identified as the contributing factors of this inactivity. It demands intervention to motivate them to increase PA and their commitment to time management. Future research could clarify the current finding more precisely using the objective measurement of PA in a large sample of patients with T2DM.
The pleiotropic role of transcription factor STAT3 in oncogenesis and its targeting through natural products for cancer prevention and therapy
Authors: Garg Manoj , Shanmugam Muthu K. , Bhardwaj Vipul , Goel Akul , Gupta Rajat , Sharma Arundhiti , Baligar Prakash , Kumar Alan Prem , Goh Boon Cher , Wang Lingzhi , Sethi Gautam 
Published: December 2020

AbstractSignal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is one of the crucial transcription factors, responsible for regulating cellular proliferation, cellular differentiation, migration, programmed cell death, inflammatory response, angiogenesis, and immune activation. In this review, we have discussed the classical regulation of STAT3 via diverse growth factors, cytokines, G‐protein‐coupled receptors, as well as toll‐like receptors. We have also highlighted the potential role of noncoding RNAs in regulating STAT3 signaling. However, the deregulation of STAT3 signaling has been found to be associated with the initiation and progression of both solid and hematological malignancies. Additionally, hyperactivation of STAT3 signaling can maintain the cancer stem cell phenotype by modulating the tumor microenvironment, cellular metabolism, and immune responses to favor drug resistance and metastasis. Finally, we have also discussed several plausible ways to target oncogenic STAT3 signaling using various small molecules derived from natural products.
A multilevel hybrid anomaly detection scheme for industrial wireless sensor networks
Authors: Gavel Shashank , Raghuvanshi Ajay Singh , Tiwari Sudarshan 
Published: December 2020

SummaryReal‐time sensing plays an important role in ensuring the reliability of industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs). Sensor nodes in IWSNs have inherent limitations that give rise to different anomalies in the network. These anomalies can lead to disastrous and harmful situations or even serious system failures. This article presents a formulation to the design of an anomaly detection scheme for detecting the anomalous node along with the type of anomaly. The proposed scheme is divided into two major parts. First, spatiotemporal correlation within a cluster is obtained for the normal and anomalous behavior of sensor nodes. Second, the multilevel hybrid classifier is used by combining the sequential minimal optimization support vector machine (SMO‐SVM) as a binary classifier with optimally pruned extreme learning machine (OP‐ELM) as a multiclass classifier for detection of an anomalous node and type of anomalies, respectively. Mahalanobis distance‐based lightweight K‐Medoid clustering is used to build a new set of training datasets that represents the original training dataset, by significantly reducing the training time of a multilevel hybrid classifier. Results are analyzed using standard WSN datasets. The proposed model shows high accuracy, i.e., 94.79%and detection rate, i.e., 94.6%with a reduced false positive rate as compared to existing hybrid methods.
High-Flow Oxygen and High-Flow Air for Dyspnea in Hospitalized Patients with Cancer: A Pilot Crossover Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Hui David , Hernandez Farley , Urbauer Diana , Thomas Saji , Lu Zhanni , Elsayem Ahmed , Bruera Eduardo 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
The effect of high-flow oxygen (HFOx) and high-flow air (HFAir) on dyspnea in nonhypoxemic patients is not known. We assessed the effect of HFOx, HFAir, low-flow oxygen (LFOx), and low-flow air (LFAir) on dyspnea.

Subjects, Materials, and Methods
This double-blind, 4×4 crossover clinical trial enrolled hospitalized patients with cancer who were dyspneic at rest and nonhypoxemic (oxygen saturation &gt;90% on room air). Patients were randomized to 10 minutes of HFOx, HFAir, LFOx, and LFAir in different orders. The flow rate was titrated between 20–60 L/minute in the high-flow interventions and 2 L/minute in the low-flow interventions. The primary outcome was dyspnea numeric rating scale (NRS) “now” where 0 = none and 10 = worst.

Results
Seventeen patients (mean age 51 years, 58% female) completed 55 interventions in a random order. The absolute change of dyspnea NRS between 0 and 10 minutes was −1.8 (SD 1.7) for HFOx, −1.8 (2.0) for HFAir, −0.5 (0.8) for LFOx, and − 0.6 (1.2) for LFAir. In mixed model analysis, HFOx provided greater dyspnea relief than LFOx (mean difference [95% confidence interval] −0.80 [−1.45, −0.15]; p = .02) and LFAir (−1.24 [−1.90, −0.57]; p &lt; .001). HFAir also provided significantly greater dyspnea relief than LFOx (−0.95 [−1.61, −0.30]; p = .005) and LFAir (−1.39 [−2.05, −0.73]; p &lt; .001). HFOx was well tolerated. Seven (54%) patients who tried all interventions blindly preferred HFOx and four (31%) preferred HFAir.

Conclusion
We found that HFOx and HFAir provided a rapid and clinically significant reduction of dyspnea at rest in hospitalized nonhypoxemic patients with cancer. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02932332).

Implications for Practice
This double-blind, 4×4 crossover trial examined the effect of oxygen or air delivered at high- or low-flow rates on dyspnea in hospitalized nonhypoxemic patients with cancer. High-flow oxygen and high-flow air were significantly better at reducing dyspnea than low-flow oxygen/air, supporting a role for palliation beyond oxygenation.
Understanding the Role of pH in Protein‐Haptenation Reaction: Kinetics and Mechanisms of the Protein‐Haptenation Reactions of Selected Quinones Present in the Environment
Authors: Olusegun Olufunmilayo A. , Martincigh Bice S. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThere are several xenobiotics (allergens) in the environment which may induce allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), an occupational and environmental health disease. This health disease is of global concern because it has no cure and can only be managed in affected individuals by preventing them from further exposure to these allergens. The following quinones (Q) are known to be air pollutants: 1,2‐naphthoquinone (1,2‐NQ), 1,4‐naphthoquinone (1,4‐NQ), 9,10‐phenanthraquinone (PQ), and 9,10‐anthraquinone (AQ). There have been studies on the cytotoxicity of these air pollutants, but no kinetic studies have been carried out on them to determine their chemical reactivity and, more especially, their interaction with model proteins so as to ascertain if they can react with skin proteins thereby causing allergic reactions. This article provides details on the kinetics studies carried out on the protein‐haptenation reactions of these quinones with 4‐nitrobenzenethiol (NBT), a model nucleophile, as well as the mechanisms of their reactions. The NBT−Q reactions were investigated under pseudo‐first‐order conditions at various concentration ratios at a temperature of 25 °C at three different pH values by either ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐Vis) or stopped‐flow spectrophotometry, as appropriate. The reaction rate constants obtained for the NBT−Q reactions were in the following order: at pH 7.42: 1,2‐NQ>1,4‐NQ>PQ>AQ while at pH 5.65, the order was observed to be 1,2‐NQ>1,4‐NQ>PQ>AQ and at pH 8.41, it was 1,4‐NQ>PQ>AQ>1,2‐NQ. These trends for the reaction rate constants of the Q at the three pH values can be attributed to inductive effects and the position of oxo‐groups on the phenyl rings. The NBT−Q reactions were further investigated by determining the effect of ionic strength on the reaction rate constants with potassium sulphate as the background electrolyte. Our findings showed that there are no charged species at the transition state of the NBT−Q reactions. The products of the NBT−Q reactions were isolated and characterized by means of UV‐Vis and FTIR spectrophotometry and NMR and TOF‐MS spectrometry. The deduced mechanisms for the NBT−Q reactions were validated by computer simulation with “Simkine3” software.
Synthesis and Nucleotide Pyrophosphatase/Phosphodiesterase Inhibition Studies of Carbohydrazides Based on Benzimidazole‐Benzothiazine Skeleton
Authors: Kanwal Afshan , Ullah Saif , Ahmad Matloob , Pelletier Julie , Aslam Sana , Sultan Sadia , Sévigny Jean , Iqbal Mazhar , Iqbal Jamshed 
Published: December 2020

AbstractEcto‐nucleotide pyrophosphatases/phosphodiesterases (ENPPs) are important family of ecto‐nucleotidases. There are seven members of ENPP family out of which ENPP1 and ENPP3 hydrolyze nucleotides whereas, ENPP2 preferably hydrolyzes phospholipids as compared to nucleotides. Overexpression of ENPP1 and ENPP3 has been reported to be associated with many health disorders such as diabetes, chondrocalcinosis, osteoarthritis, and cancer. Development of ENPP1 and −3 inhibitors might be useful for the treatment of these disorders. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory potentials of the synthesized benzimidazole‐benzothiazine hybrid molecules on ecto‐nucleotide pyrophosphatases/phosphodiesterases (ENPPs) enzymes. A series of benzimidazole‐benzothiazine hybrid molecules was synthesized by Gabriel–Colman rearrangement of methyl 2‐(1,1‐dioxido‐3‐oxobenzo[d]isothiazol‐2(3H)‐yl)acetate. The successfully synthesized compounds (6 a–6 m) were evaluated for ENPP1 and −3 inhibitory activities. Among the investigated compounds 6 m with an IC50 value of 0.14 μM, and 6 h with an IC50 value of 0.12 μM, were found to be the most potent inhibitors of ENPP1 and −3, respectively. Molecular docking studies of most active and selective inhibitors showed putative mode of binding interactions responsible for highest potency and selectivity of docked inhibitors. The overall in‐silico results were found to be highly correlated with in‐vitro results showed in Table 1.
Surfactant Encapsulated Iron (III) Coordinated Phosphomolybdate Hybrid: A Novel Adsorbent for the Selective Removal of Anionic Dyes
Authors: Mani Chandhru , Ramalingam Meenakshi , Manickam Sundar , Vijayakumar Bavithra , Rani Srinivasalu Kutti 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn this work, Keggin type phosphomolybdate inorganic‐organic hybrid material coordinated to with iron was synthesized by hydrothermal process followed by precipitation with organic cation. The prepared hybrid was fully characterized using conventional spectroscopic techniques. The adsorption efficiencies of the hybrid were evaluated for the removal of both anionic and cationic dyes from aqueous solutions. From the studies, it was concluded that hybrid has high adsorption as well as high selectivity for anionic dyes than cationic dyes. The results from the adsorption experiments revealed that the hybrid have specific methyl orange dye removal efficiency ≥96 % for 20 mgL−1 concentration. The reaction kinetics and adsorption isotherm also discussed.