bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic effects and outcomes of rescue high-frequency oscillatory ventilation for premature infants with severe refractory respiratory failure
Authors: Hsu Jen-Fu , Yang Mei-Chin , Chu Shih-Ming , Yang Lan-Yan , Chiang Ming-Chou , Lai Mei-Yin , Huang Hsuan-Rong , Pan Yu-Bin , Fu Ren-Huei , Tsai Ming-Horng 
Published: April 2021

AbstractDespite wide application of high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) in neonates with respiratory distress, little has been reported about its rescue use in preterm infants. We aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of HFOV in preterm neonates with refractory respiratory failure and investigate the independent risk factors of in-hospital mortality. We retrospectively analyzed data collected prospectively (January 2011–December 2018) in four neonatal intensive care units of two tertiary-level medical centers in Taiwan. All premature infants (gestational age 24–34 weeks) receiving HFOV as rescue therapy for refractory respiratory failure were included. A total of 668 preterm neonates with refractory respiratory failure were enrolled. The median (IQR) gestational age and birth weight were 27.3 (25.3–31.0) weeks and 915.0 (710.0–1380.0) g, respectively. Pre-HFOV use of cardiac inotropic agents and inhaled nitric oxide were 70.5% and 23.4%, respectively. The oxygenation index (OI), FiO2, and AaDO2 were markedly increased after HFOV initiation (all p < 0.001), and can be decreased within 24–48 h (all p < 0.001) after use of HFOV. 375 (56.1%) patients had a good response to HFOV within 3 days. The final in-hospital mortality rate was 34.7%. No association was found between specific primary pulmonary disease and survival in multivariate analysis. We found preterm neonates with gestational age < 28 weeks, occurrences of sepsis, severe hypotension, multiple organ dysfunctions, initial higher severity of respiratory failure and response to HFOV within the first 72 h were independently associated with final in-hospital mortality. The mortality rate of preterm neonates with severe respiratory failure remains high after rescue HFOV treatment. Aggressive therapeutic interventions to treat sepsis and prevent organ dysfunctions are the suggested strategies to optimize outcomes.
COMMD4 functions with the histone H2A-H2B dimer for the timely repair of DNA double-strand breaks
Authors: Suraweera Amila , Gandhi Neha S. , Beard Sam , Burgess Joshua T. , Croft Laura V. , Bolderson Emma , Naqi Ali , Ashton Nicholas W. , Adams Mark N. , Savage Kienan I. , Zhang Shu-Dong , O’Byrne Kenneth J. , Richard Derek J. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractGenomic stability is critical for normal cellular function and its deregulation is a universal hallmark of cancer. Here we outline a previously undescribed role of COMMD4 in maintaining genomic stability, by regulation of chromatin remodelling at sites of DNA double-strand breaks. At break-sites, COMMD4 binds to and protects histone H2B from monoubiquitination by RNF20/RNF40. DNA damage-induced phosphorylation of the H2A-H2B heterodimer disrupts the dimer allowing COMMD4 to preferentially bind H2A. Displacement of COMMD4 from H2B allows RNF20/40 to monoubiquitinate H2B and for remodelling of the break-site. Consistent with this critical function, COMMD4-deficient cells show excessive elongation of remodelled chromatin and failure of both non-homologous-end-joining and homologous recombination. We present peptide-mapping and mutagenesis data for the potential molecular mechanisms governing COMMD4-mediated chromatin regulation at DNA double-strand breaks.
HDAC6 inhibitor WT161 performs anti-tumor effect on osteosarcoma and synergistically interacts with 5-FU
Authors: Sun Jun , Wu Wei , Tang Xiaofeng , Zhang Feifei , Ju Cheng , Liu Renfeng , Liang Yiping , Yu Bo , Lv Bin , Guo Yuhong , Zeng Duo , Tao Xuchang , Wang Min , Zhang Zhiping , Zhang Changhua , Lv Xiao-Bin 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: WT161, as a selective HDAC6 inhibitor, has been shown to play anti-tumor effects on several kinds of cancers. The aim of the present study is to explore the roles of WT161 in osteosarcoma and its underlying mechanisms.
Methods: The anti-proliferative effect of WT161 on osteosarcoma cells was examined using MTT assay and colony formation assay. Cell apoptosis was analyzed using flow cytometer. The synergistic effect was evaluated by isobologram analysis using CompuSyn software. The osteosarcoma xenograft models were established to evaluate the anti-proliferative effect of WT161 in vivo.
Results: WT161 suppressed the cell growth and induced apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Mechanistically, we found that WT161 treatment obviously increased the protein level of PTEN and decreased the phosphorylation level of protein kinase-B (AKT). More importantly, WT161 showed synergistic inhibition with 5-FU on osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo.
Conclusions: These results indicate that WT161 inhibits the growth of osteosarcoma through PTEN and has a synergistic efficiency with 5-FU.
A meta-analysis of the activity, stability, and mutational characteristics of temperature-adapted enzymes
Authors: Gault Stewart , Higgins Peter M. , Cockell Charles S. , Gillies Kaitlyn 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Understanding the characteristics that define temperature-adapted enzymes has been a major goal of extremophile enzymology in recent decades. In the present study, we explore these characteristics by comparing psychrophilic, mesophilic, and thermophilic enzymes. Through a meta-analysis of existing data, we show that psychrophilic enzymes exhibit a significantly larger gap (Tg) between their optimum and melting temperatures compared with mesophilic and thermophilic enzymes. These results suggest that Tg may be a useful indicator as to whether an enzyme is psychrophilic or not and that models of psychrophilic enzyme catalysis need to account for this gap. Additionally, by using predictive protein stability software, HoTMuSiC and PoPMuSiC, we show that the deleterious nature of amino acid substitutions to protein stability increases from psychrophiles to thermophiles. How this ultimately affects the mutational tolerance and evolutionary rate of temperature adapted organisms is currently unknown.
An approach to adaptive filtering with variable step size based on geometric algebra
Authors: Wang Haiquan , He Yinmei , Li Yanping , Wang Rui 
Published: April 2021

AbstractRecently, adaptive filtering algorithms have attracted much more attention in the field of signal processing. By studying the shortcoming of the traditional real‐valued fixed step size adaptive filtering algorithm, this paper proposed the novel approach to adaptive filtering with variable step size based on Sigmoid function and geometric algebra (GA). First, the proposed approach to adaptive filtering with variable step size based on geometric algebra represents the multi‐dimensional signal as a GA multi‐vector for the vectorization process. Second, the proposed approach to adaptive filtering with variable step size based on geometric algebra solves the contradiction between the steady‐state error and the convergence rate by establishing a non‐linear function relationship between the step size and the error signal. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach to adaptive filtering with variable step size based on geometric algebra achieves better performance than that of the existing adaptive filtering algorithms.
Distributed mechanism design for multi‐cell communications aided by multiple reconfigurable intelligent surfaces
Authors: Di Boya 
Published: April 2021

AbstractReconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) has drawn great attention as a promising technique that triggers a revolution in multi‐antenna systems. It can intelligently reconstruct the propagation environments passively without extra hardware or power consumption. In this paper, the multi‐RIS aided downlink multi‐cell communication systems are considered. Adjacent base stations (BSs) are allowed to share and jointly control the same RISs to mitigate the influence brought by the inter‐cell interference. For the sum‐rate maximisation, a distributed negotiation mechanism is designed where each BS only communicates with its neighbours to reach a consensus on the RIS‐based analogue beamforming. Meanwhile, given the incomplete knowledge of other cells, each BS independently optimises its digital beamformer based on its iteratively updated estimates over the other cells without revealing any location and channel information of its own serving users. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves a close performance compared to the centralised scheme, and much better than the traditional no‐RIS system. The influence of the discrete phase shifts and the RIS size on the system performance are also evaluated.
Edge detection by spiral phase contrast imaging at terahertz frequencies
Authors: Liu Hui , Wu Shiyou , Zhao Meng , Zheng Shen , Li Chao , Fang Guangyou 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThis paper proposes the spiral phase contrast (SPC) imaging at terahertz (THz) frequencies to achieve the target edge detection. The THz SPC imaging is built based on a classical 4f imaging system, and a spiral phase plate is placed in the Fourier plane to generate the spiral phase. Owing to the unique nature of the spiral phase, edge detection can be achieved. The THz SPC imaging mechanism is analysed by the scalar diffraction theory, and its corresponding analytic expression is derived. A circle target is simulated and the resultant image shows a remarkable edge detection. A proof‐of‐principle experiment is carried out using our designed THz SPC imaging system and the effectiveness of target edge extraction on the THz images is validated. A circle same as the simulation is imaged firstly, which is consistent with the simulated result. And the letter “Z” with more edges is imaged later. All edges in experiments are extracted perfectly, which are extremely consistent with the THz SPC imaging theory.
A greedy non‐hierarchical grey wolf optimizer for real‐world optimization
Authors: Akbari Ebrahim , Rahimnejad Abolfazl , Gadsden Stephen Andrew 
Published: April 2021

AbstractGrey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm is a new emerging algorithm that is based on the social hierarchy of grey wolves as well as their hunting and cooperation strategies. Introduced in 2014, this algorithm has been used by a large number of researchers and designers, such that the number of citations to the original paper exceeded many other algorithms. In a recent study by Niu et al., one of the main drawbacks of this algorithm for optimizing real‐world problems was introduced. In summary, they showed that GWO's performance degrades as the optimal solution of the problem diverges from 0. In this paper, by introducing a straightforward modification to the original GWO algorithm, that is, neglecting its social hierarchy, the authors were able to largely eliminate this defect and open a new perspective for future use of this algorithm. The efficiency of the proposed method was validated by applying it to benchmark and real‐world engineering problems.
MSAR‐DefogNet: Lightweight cloud removal network for high resolution remote sensing images based on multi scale convolution
Authors: Zhou Ying , Jing Weipeng , Wang Jian , Chen Guangsheng , Scherer Rafal , Damaševičius Robertas 
Published: April 2021

AbstractHigh resolution remote sensing image cloud removal can bring a lot of convenience for human activities. However, the existing cloud removal algorithms have a variety of disadvantages. First of all, they have the disadvantages of long computing time and large consumption of computing resources. Secondly, the effect of recovery needs to be improved. In order to improve the above two points, a near real‐time effective algorithm is proposed, namely MSAR‐Defognet (multiple scale attention residual network using for cloud remove), which consumes less computing power and space and has superior cloud removal effect. On the one hand, several different large‐scale filters are chosen to extract the weak information effectively, while can save the computing power and shorten the image processing time. On the other hand, the fine‐grained convolution residual block with channel attention mechanism is used to enhance the network's ability to extract cloud features. In addition, a data set which is closer to the real cloud shape and has higher richness to train the cloud removal network, so that the parameters obtained by training have stronger robustness and can adaptively remove clouds with different thickness. Experiments show that, compared with other advanced network models, the network not only has the advantage of fast processing speed, but also has better image restoration effect in high‐resolution remote sensing image restoration. It can meet the requirements of many hard real‐time tasks, so that remote sensing images can play a greater value for human activities.
A domain‐of‐influence based pricing strategy for task assignment in crowdsourcing package delivery
Authors: Zhou Zhifeng , Chen Rong , Guo Shikai 
Published: April 2021

AbstractCrowdsourced package delivery has gained great interest from the logistics industry and academe due to its significant economic and environmental impact. However, there are few research achievements about incentive mechanism to motivate people to participate. A novel domain‐of‐influence based pricing strategy for crowdsourced delivery is proposed. The three‐stage package delivery framework is extended with the proposed pricing algorithm, which can iteratively figure out the price that represents a state of balance between the package demand and driver supply. To create better matching, even hyperbolic temporal discounting function is employed to estimate the driver's perceived reward to accept the package. The performance is evaluated using the Jinan dataset and real delivery data. Results show that economic utility and stable assignment rate have been increased by over 9% and over 6%, respectively, while the average delivery time and average delivery price have also been improved.
Radiographic Results after Vertebral Body Tethering
Authors: Baroncini Alice , Trobisch Per David , Birkenmaier Christof , Da Paz Stephanie , Migliorini Filippo 
Published: April 2021

AbstractVertebral body tethering (VBT), otherwise known as fusion-less anterior scoliosis correction (ASC), is a new and increasingly interesting therapeutic option for selected scoliosis patients. The available data on this surgical technique are still limited and guidelines on patient selection or surgical timing are not available. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the available literature on VBT. The analysis was performed in accordance with the PRISMA Statement. Nine studies with data from 175 patients were available. On average, 7.3 vertebrae were instrumented. Surgical time was 230 min and the estimated blood loss 153 ml. The mean correction on the coronal plane was 52%, and there was no significant change in sagittal parameters. The revision rate was 18.9%. The methodological quality assessment with the Coleman score gave unsatisfactory results, so that available data are not sufficient to propose general indications or guidelines to perform
VBT.
Medizinische Rehabilitation bei chronisch entzündlichen Darmerkrankungen: Zugang, Prozess und Ergebnisse
Authors: Raspe Heiner , Langbrandtner Jana , Hüppe Angelika 
Published: April 2021

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund MERCED ist eine randomisierte kontrollierte Versorgungsstudie zu Wirksamkeit und Nutzen einer medizinischen Rehabilitation (MR) bei sozialversicherten Erwerbstätigen mit einer chronisch entzündlichen Darmerkrankung. Im Vergleich zur fortgesetzten Routineversorgung („usual care“) zeigte sich für die Interventionsgruppe (IG) im Mittel 8 Monate nach MR ein moderater, aber klinisch relevanter Zusatznutzen für verschiedene Teilhabe-, klinische und psychologische Parameter. Für die Entwicklung des Erwerbsstatus, der Arbeitsunfähigkeitstage und die subjektive Erwerbsprognose ergaben sich jedoch keine Vorteile gegenüber der Kontrollbedingung.
Methodik Wir nutzten mit Fragebögen erfasste Berichte und Bewertungen der 211 Mitglieder der IG zu ihrem Zugang zur MR, den Reha-Prozessen und deren subjektiven Erfolgen sowie Effekten im prä-post-Vergleich.
Ergebnisse Drei Leistungsangebote der Reha-Kliniken mit Bezug zur Erwerbsfähigkeit und Berufstätigkeit (Beratungen zum Arbeitsplatz, Sozialrecht, Nachsorge) erreichten 33, 48 bzw. 23% der Rehabilitanden. Versicherte mit besonderen beruflichen Belastungen zeigen gleiche Teilnahmehäufigkeit wie solche ohne. Die 3 Angebote erhalten im Vergleich zu 12 anderen auf einer 5-stufigen Skala (1=sehr gut bis 5=sehr schlecht) die schlechteren Beurteilungen (2,3 – 2,5 – 3,0).
Schlussfolgerung Die relative Vernachlässigung des Problemfelds Arbeit und Beruf in der MR kann die beobachtete, i.e.S. ‚sozialmedizinische‘ Ineffektivität der Rehamaßnahmen wenigstens teilweise erklären. Aus den Erfahrungen und Daten von MERCED leiten wir Empfehlungen zur Intensivierung des Zugangs, zu den Prozessen und zur Evaluation einer beruflich stärker orientierten MR ab.
An I(I)/I(III) Catalysis Route to the Heptafluoroisopropyl Group: A Privileged Module in Contemporary Agrochemistry
Authors: Gilmour Ryan , Martín-Heras Víctor , Daniliuc Constantin G. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe heptafluoroisopropyl group is emerging as a privileged chemotype in contemporary agrochemistry and features prominently in the current portfolio of leading insecticides. To reconcile the expansive potential of this module with the synthetic challenges associated with preparing crowded, fluorinated motifs, I(I)/I(III) catalysis has been leveraged. Predicated on in situ generation of p-TolIF2, this route enables the direct difluorination of α-trifluoromethyl-β-difluorostyrenes in a single operation. This formal addition of fluorine across the alkene π-bond is efficient (up to 91% yield) and is compatible with a broad range of functional groups. The ArCF(CF3)2 moiety is conformationally preorganised, with the C(sp3)–F bond coplanar to the framework of the aryl ring, thereby minimising 1,3-allylic strain. Moreover, orthogonal multipolar C–F···C=O interactions have been identified in a phthalimide derivative. It is envisaged that this programmed vicinal difluorination enabled by a hypervalent iodine species will find application in functional molecule design in a broader sense.
A New Synthesis Strategy for Rhodanine and Its Derivatives
Authors: Pan Zhenliang , An Wankai , Wu Lulu , Fan Liangxin , Yang Guoyu , Xu Cuilian 
Published: April 2021

AbstractRhodanine and its derivatives have been known as privileged structures in pharmacological research because of their wide spectrum of biological activities, but the synthesis method of rhodanine skeleton is limited. In this paper, not only rhodanine skeleton, but also N-aryl rhodanines can be directly prepared via the reaction of thioureas and thioglycolic acid in one step catalyzed by protic acid, which provides a new approach of the synthesis of rhodanine and its derivatives. The developed strategy is straightforward, efficient, atom economical, and convenient in good yields.
Unlocking in COVID Times: The Neurosurgical Way
Authors: Kalra Samir Kumar , Kalra Vandana , Kumar Raj 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe humankind is facing one of the worst nightmares in the form of the ongoing Corona crisis. The pandemic has spread all across the globe and we are struggling to deal with its might. All nations have made their own strategies to deal with this situation and mainly a phase of lockdown has been the savior in most countries, especially India, where it was enforced early and well in time. After a successful lockdown, there is a phase of unlocking, which is equally important. One should exercise caution in that this should be done gradually and phased, with all the precautions in place and without any complacency. Neurosurgeons are faced with a situation pertaining to those afflicted by posterior fossa lesions with hydrocephalus. They are treated with ventriculoperitoneal shunt, but sometimes they develop reverse tentorial herniation. This needs prompt evaluation and intervention and carries a poor prognosis if untreated. Another situation is where bifrontal contusions need decompressive surgery; some patients develop encephaloceles and extradural hematomas following successful surgery and complicate the prognosis. Both situations emerge due to sudden decompression, leading to quick changes in brain pressure and perfusion. The solution is slow and careful decompression, with all precautions in place despite the temptation of eureka moments. A similar response could be desirous over the course of our unlocking period. Hope this wisdom brings us good results in these Corona times.
Long-term Dysphagia following Acoustic Neuroma Surgery: Prevalence, Severity, and Predictive Factors
Authors: Abbas-Kayano Raiene Telassin , Solla Davi Jorge Fontoura , Rabelo Nicollas Nunes , Teles Gomes Marcos de Queiroz , Cabrera Hector Tomas Navarro , Teixeira Manoel J. , Figueiredo Eberval Gadelha 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background Acoustic neuroma (AN) may compress the cerebellum and brainstem and may cause dysfunction of bulbar cranial nerves.
Objective To describe swallowing function outcomes in the late postoperative period after AN surgery.
Methods This cohort study included patients operated on between 1999–2014, with a mean follow up of 6.4 ± 4.5 years. The swallowing function was assessed through the functional oral intake scale (FOIS). The primary outcome was defined by scores 5 to 1, which implied oral feeding restriction or adaptation. Risks factors were identified through multivariate logistic regression.
Results 101 patients were evaluated. As many as 46 (45.5%) presented dysphagia on the late postoperative period. Women comprised 77.2%, and the mean age was 47.1 ± 16.0 years (range 19–80). Dysphagic patients presented more type II neurofibromatosis (NF II) (32.6% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.007), larger tumors (3.8 ± 1.1 vs. 3.1 ± 1.0 cm, p < 0.001), partial resection (50.0% vs. 85.5%, p < 0.001) and needed more surgeries (≥2, 39.1% vs. 18.2%, p = 0.019). Important peripheral facial palsy (PFP) (House–Brackmann [HB] grade ≥3) was present before the surgery on 47.5% and worsened on 55.4%. Postoperative PFP (p < 0.001), but not preoperative PFP, was predictive of postoperative dysphagia. On multivariate analysis, the following factors were risk factors for dysphagia: NF II (OR 5.54, p = 0.034), tumor size (each 1 cm, OR 2.13, p = 0.009), partial resection (OR 5.23, p = 0.022) and postoperative HB grade ≥3 (OR 12.99, p = 0.002).
Conclusions Dysphagia after AN surgery is highly correlated to postoperative facial motor function. NF II, tumor size, and extent of resection were also predictive of this morbidity in the late postoperative period.
A Rare Case of Calcifying Pseudoneoplasms of the Neural Axis in Lumbar Spine
Authors: Ravi Venkatesan , Srinath Pammi 
Published: April 2021

AbstractCalcified pseudoneoplasm of the neural axis (CAPNON) is a very rare, non-neoplastic, calcified pathological entity occurring anywhere in the central nervous system (CNS). Overall, less than 100 cases were reported, of which less than 50% were from the spine. We present a case of a 53-year-old lady with a history of L4–L5 radiculopathy, known case of rheumatoid arthritis, and with no previous history of trauma, tumor or infection. MRI showed calcified intradural mass, extending into the right lateral recess, which was isointense on T1- and T2-weighted sequences. Fenestration on right side along with complete resection of the lesion was done. Mass was found adherent around the dura, extending in to right L5 nerve root foramen, and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of CAPNON. At 6 months follow-up, the patient is pain-free with no radicular symptoms. This entity should be taken in as differential in cases of calcified intraspinal and intracranial lesions. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice.