bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Phase 2 Study of Adjuvant Radiotherapy Following Narrow‐Margin Hepatectomy in Patients With HCC
Authors: Chen Bo , Wu Jian‐Xiong , Cheng Shu‐Hui , Wang Li‐Ming , Rong Wei‐Qi , Wu Fan , Wang Shu‐Lian , Jin Jing , Liu Yue‐Ping , Song Yong‐Wen , Ren Hua , Fang Hui , Tang Yuan , Li Ning , Li Ye‐Xiong , Wang Wei‐Hu 
Published: June 2021

Background and Aims
Surgical resection is the primary treatment for HCC; however, it is associated with a high rate of recurrence and death. We conducted this phase 2 study to investigate the efficacy and safety of postoperative intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for HCC after narrow‐margin hepatectomy.

Approach and Results
We designed a single‐arm, prospective phase 2 trial to evaluate overall survival (OS), disease‐free survival (DFS), recurrence patterns, and toxicity in patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy. The eligibility criteria included the following: pathological diagnosis of HCC after hepatectomy, with narrow pathological margins (< 1 cm); age > 18 years; and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 0 or 1. Patients received IMRT within 4‐6 weeks after surgical resection. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01456156). Between 2008 and 2016, a total of 76 eligible patients who underwent narrow‐margin resection were enrolled. The median follow‐up duration was 70 months; the 3‐year OS and DFS rates were 88.2% and 68.1%, respectively; and the 5‐year OS and DFS rates were 72.2% and 51.6%, respectively. Intrahepatic recurrence was the primary recurrence pattern. No marginal recurrence was found. Intrahepatic, extrahepatic, and combined recurrences at the first relapse were found in 33, 5, and 1 patient, respectively. The most common radiation‐related grade‐3 toxicities were leukopenia (7.9%), elevated alanine aminotransferase (3.9%) and aspartate aminotransferase (2.6%) levels, and thrombocytopenia (1.3%). Classical or nonclassical radiation‐induced liver disease was not noted.

Conclusions
Adjuvant radiotherapy is an effective, well‐tolerated, and promising adjuvant regimen in patients with HCC who have undergone narrow‐margin hepatectomy. Our trial provides evidence and a rationale for planning a future phase 3 trial.
Clinical effect of lymphocyte immunotherapy on patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion
Authors: Liu Sudong , Gu Xiaodong , Weng Ruiqiang 
Published: June 2021

AbstractIntroductionLymphocyte immunotherapy (LIT) is believed to be a viable treatment for unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA), but its effect remains controversial. This study aims to investigate the clinical effect of LIT in patients with URSA and clarify the factors that may influence the outcome of LIT.MethodsThis study included a total of 704 URSA patients, of which 444 patients accepted LIT treatment. URSA patients that did not accept LIT served as control group. Clinical characteristics were collected and analyzed between LIT and control group. The blocking antibody was tested before and after LIT. The outcome of LIT treatment was recorded. Logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the independent predictors of LIT success.ResultsAfter LIT treatment, 77.9% (346/444) of USRA patients turned to BA positive, and the conversion rate elevated with increased LIT (p < .001). LIT significantly improved the pregnancy rate and live birth rate in USRA patients (65.3% vs. 29.6%, p < .001; 80.3% vs. 50.6%, p < .001). Multivariate regression analysis suggested that younger maternal age and positive BA were independent predictors of LIT success.ConclusionLIT effectively induced the production of BA, and improved pregnancy rate and live birth rate in URSA patients. Our findings supported LIT as a beneficial treatment for URSA.
Cerebroplacental ratio and aortic isthmus Doppler in early fetal growth restriction
Authors: Choudhary Pratibha , Malik Amita , Batra Achla 
Published: June 2021

AbstractPurposeTo assess the utility of cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) and fetal aortic isthmus (AoI) Doppler in the prediction of perinatal outcome in early fetal growth restriction (FGR).MethodsA prospective observational cohort study of 70 early FGR cases was conducted through serial Doppler examinations and findings of the last examination were correlated with perinatal outcome. Doppler blood flow measurements of AoI included end diastolic velocity (EDV), peak systolic velocity (PSV), pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and isthmic flow index (IFI).ResultsSignificant association of CPR and all Doppler indices of AoI with the overall adverse perinatal outcome was seen. The sensitivity of CPR was moderate (63.64%) but higher than most AoI indices. Most AoI Doppler indices (PI, RI, IFI) had higher specificities (100%). AoI PSV and EDV had higher sensitivities than CPR for the prediction of overall adverse perinatal outcome, with AoI PSV having the highest sensitivity (100%).ConclusionCPR shows significant association and moderate sensitivity for prediction of overall adverse perinatal outcome in early FGR; hence recommended in all cases of early FGR. AoI Doppler also appears to have a role in assessment and decision making in FGR in view of high sensitivity and high specificity of AoI indices in the prediction of perinatal outcome. However, larger studies are required to confirm its utility in the management of early FGR.
Anti‐tachycardia pacing for non‐fast and fast ventricular tachycardias in individual Japanese patients: From Nippon‐storm study
Authors: Chinushi Masaomi , Saitoh Osamu , Furushima Hiroshi , Aizawa Yoshifusa , Noda Takashi , Nitta Takashi , Ohe Tohru , Kurita Takashi 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBackgroundAnti‐tachycardia pacing (ATP) delivered from an implantable device is a useful tool to terminate ventricular tachycardia (VT). But its real‐world efficacy for those patients having multiple VTs with varying VT rates has not been fully studied.MethodsUsing the Nippon‐storm study database, efficacy of patient‐by‐patient basis ATP programing for Japanese patients having both non‐fast (120‐187 bpm) and fast VT (≥188 bpm) was assessed. According to the useful criteria of ≥50% success termination by ATP, patients were divided into three subgroups; success ≥50% for both non‐fast and fast VT (both useful), ≥50% only for non‐fast VT (non‐fast VT useful), or ≥50% for neither non‐fast nor fast VT (neither useful).ResultsDuring a median follow‐up of 28 months, ATP terminated 184 of the 203 non‐fast VT episodes (91%) and 86 of the 113 fast VT episodes (76%) in all 41 patients. In the patient‐by‐patient analysis, efficacy of ATP was not different between non‐fast and fast VT in most of the patients (36/41 = 88%); 32 patients were in the both useful and four other patients in the neither useful. Neither ischemic nor non‐ischemic structural heart disease was associated with the ATP efficacy, whereas LVEF more than 37.0% and non‐prescribed amiodarone were characteristics of the patients classified into the both useful.ConclusionsATP well terminated both non‐fast and fast VT occurring in individual Japanese patients with various structural heart diseases in the real‐world device treatment and this finding further supports ATP programing for all device tachycardia detection zones in most patients with multiple VTs.
SHINERS in cultural heritage: Can SHINERS spectra always be compared with normal Raman spectra? A study of alizarin and its adsorption in the silicon dioxide shell
Authors: Puglieri Thiago Sevilhano , Madden Odile , Andrade Gustavo F. S. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractRaman microspectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique in cultural heritage. However, results are often compromised by luminescence interference and poor sensitivity. Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an alternative that can enhance the Raman signal and quench luminescence, but the interaction of an analyte and metal substrate produces altered Raman spectra. Shell‐isolated nanoparticle‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS) is a promising modification of SERS that encases the metal nanoparticles in ultrathin inert shells. As a consequence, it is reported that SHINERS spectra can be directly compared with normal Raman spectra, but this is not always the case, as discussed in this work. SHINERS, SERS, and normal Raman spectra were obtained from alizarin. The resulting spectra showed that the SHINERS data are comparable with the normal Raman spectrum of alizarin adsorbed in silica, not that of isolated alizarin. The structure of alizarin adsorbed in silica is discussed. Luminescence quenching observed in the SHINERS spectra can be attributed both to LSPR of the metallic nanoparticle cores and to alizarin–silica shell chemisorption. Both silica‐encapsulated silver and gold nanoparticles were considered, and it is shown that SHINERS spectra are dependent on the interaction of alizarin with silica, rather than the specific metal core within, in contrast to our observations of Ag and Au SERS nanoparticles. The metal agnostic quality of SHINERS is a potential advantage for the collection and comparison of reference data. Additionally, SHINERS systems result in quite stable spectra in pHs ranging from, at least, 6.0 to 9.3. Future research directions for SHINERS in cultural heritage are also discussed.
Sugaring‐out induced homogeneous liquid‐liquid microextraction as an alternative mode for biological sample preparation: A comparative study
Authors: Abdallah Inas A. , Hammad Sherin F. , Bedair Alaa , Mansour Fotouh R. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractMiniaturization of liquid‐liquid extraction is a growing field of sample preparation to reduce solvent consumption, protect the environment, and preserve operators’ health. In this work, four different modes of liquid‐liquid microextraction have been compared including dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction, binary and ternary salting‐out, and sugaring‐out induced liquid‐liquid microextraction. The extraction efficiency was evaluated by the enrichment factors of 14 different drugs from three pharmacological classes. Compared with the other modes, sugaring‐out induced liquid‐liquid microextraction was found to be the most efficient and, thus, it was applied for sample preparation of the antivirals in human plasma. Method optimization was performed using response surface methodology for the sugar type and amount (in mg), the sample pH, the equilibration time (in min), and the extractant volume (in µL). The method was then validated and found linear in the concentration range of 0.10‐10 µg/mL for daclatasvir, 0.05‐10 µg/mL for velpatasvir, and 0.20‐10 µg/mL for ledipasvir, with correlation coefficients in the range 0.996‐0.999. These results shows that sugaring‐out induced liquid‐liquid microextraction could be a more efficient microextraction mode for preparation of biological samples. Compared with other types of microextraction, sugaring‐out induced liquid‐liquid microextraction is greener, simpler, and cost‐effective, with less tendency to affect the sample pH.
Higher incidence of headache in patients with intermittent mucosal contact points between the septum and lateral nasal wall
Authors: Shaikh Ahmed , Al Saey Hamad , Ashkanani Sara , Alsulaiti Mansour , Alduhirat Emad , Aljariri Adham , Abdulraheem Maryam , Ganesan Shanmugam 
Published: June 2021

AbstractIntroductionThe nasal mucosal contact points between the two opposing mucosal surfaces leading to the headache had been a point of debate for many years; the intermittent and fixed contact points and their relationship with headache have never been investigated before. We have studied the relationship of headache with a different type of contact points in our study.ObjectivesThe aim of our study was to study two different types of mucosal contact point between the lateral nasal wall and the nasal septum and to study their relationship with symptom of headache.There have been many papers published related to the mucosal contact points in the nose and their relationship with headache, most of the published data did not find any relation between the headache and the mucosal contact points. We conducted a retrospective study of 116 patients with deviated nasal septum and contact point with the lateral nasal wall.MethodsA retrospective study done at a tertiary institute Included 116 CT scan of paranasal sinuses showing the deviated nasal septum with mucosal contact points, 64 CT scan showed severe deviated nasal septum with fixed contact points between the septum and the inferior turbinate, other 52 scans showed the intermittent mucosal contact point, that is, septum is coming in contact with inferior turbinate only when turbinate is enlarged.ResultsThirteen patients out of 64 patients (20.31%) had a headache in the fixed contact point group as compared to 20 out of 52 (38.46%) patients in the intermittent mucosal contact points group; post‐surgery, the 17/20 patients improved in the intermittent mucosal contact points group as compared to 5/13 in fixed contact points group.ConclusionsWe conclude that the overall incidence of headache associated with mucosal contact points is low but the higher association is seen in the intermittent contact group.Level of Evidence4.
Highly sensitive CMOS plasmon detector with a low‐gain buffer amplifier for terahertz imaging systems
Authors: Lee Ha‐Neul , Lee Hyo‐Jin , Han Seong‐Tae , Yang Jong‐Ryul 
Published: June 2021

AbstractA CMOS plasmon detector with a low‐gain buffer amplifier, which enhances the characteristics of the detector core, is proposed for improving the performance of THz imaging systems. A high voltage gain (AV) of the main amplifier integrated with the detector improves the voltage responsivity (RV) but not the performances of the detector core itself. The increase in the ratio of the RV to the noise‐equivalent power (NEP) in the proposed detector with a low‐gain buffer can improve the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of the THz images. The proposed detector with a − 1.5 dB AV buffer amplifier is fabricated by TSMC 0.25 μm CMOS technology and measured to have the RV of 357.1 kV/W and NEP of 57.3 pW/√Hz at the gate bias of 0.17 V for 0.2 THz input signals. The measurement results indicate that the proposed detector has an RV lower than that of a detector with an AV of 11.2 dB exhibiting a similar NEP. The obtained 0.2 THz raster scanning images show that the image SNR can be improved by 14.8 dB using in the proposed detector.
Technical Note: Four‐dimensional deformable digital phantom for MRI sequence development
Authors: Hanson Hanna M. , Eiben Björn , McClelland Jamie R. , van Herk Marcel , Rowland Benjamin C. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractPurposeMR‐guided radiotherapy has different requirements for the images than diagnostic radiology, thus requiring development of novel imaging sequences. MRI simulation is an excellent tool for optimizing these new sequences; however, currently available software does not provide all the necessary features. In this paper, we present a digital framework for testing MRI sequences that incorporates anatomical structure, respiratory motion, and realistic presentation of MR physics.MethodsThe extended Cardiac‐Torso (XCAT) software was used to create T1, T2, and proton density maps that formed the anatomical structure of the phantom. Respiratory motion model was based on the XCAT deformation vector fields, modified to create a motion model driven by a respiration signal. MRI simulation was carried out with JEMRIS, an open source Bloch simulator. We developed an extension for JEMRIS, which calculates the motion of each spin independently, allowing for deformable motion.ResultsThe performance of the framework was demonstrated through simulating the acquisition of a two‐dimensional (2D) cine and demonstrating expected motion ghosts from T2 weighted spin echo acquisitions with different respiratory patterns. All simulations were consistent with behavior previously described in literature. Simulations with deformable motion were not more time consuming than with rigid motion.ConclusionsWe present a deformable four‐dimensional (4D) digital phantom framework for MR sequence development. The framework incorporates anatomical structure, realistic breathing patterns, deformable motion, and Bloch simulation to achieve accurate simulation of MRI. This method is particularly relevant for testing novel imaging sequences for the purpose of MR‐guided radiotherapy in lungs and abdomen.
Inverse dynamics‐based formulation of finite horizon optimal control problems for rigid‐body systems
Authors: Katayama Sotaro , Ohtsuka Toshiyuki 
Published: June 2021

AbstractWe propose a formulation of the finite horizon optimal control problem (FHOCP) based on inverse dynamics for general open‐chain rigid‐body systems, which reduces the computational cost from the conventional formulation based on forward dynamics. We regard the generalized acceleration as a decision variable and inverse dynamics as an equality constraint. To treat under‐actuated systems with inverse dynamics that are well defined only to fully actuated systems, that is, to consider passive joints in this FHOCP, we add an equality constraint to zero the corresponding generalized torques. We include the contact forces in the decision variables of this FHOCP and treat the contact constraints using Baumgarte's stabilization method for numerical stability. We derive the optimality conditions and formulate the two‐point boundary‐value problem that can be efficiently solved using the recursive Newton–Euler algorithm (RNEA) and the partial derivatives of RNEA. We conducted three numerical experiments on model predictive control based on the proposed formulation to demonstrate its effectiveness. The first experiment involved simulating a swing‐up control of a four‐link arm with a passive joint and showed that the proposed formulation is effective for under‐actuated systems. The second one involved comparing the proposed formulation with the conventional forward‐dynamics‐based formulation with various numbers of joints and showed that the proposed formulation reduces computational cost regardless of the number of joints. The third experiment involved simulating a whole‐body control of a quadruped robot, a floating‐base system having four contacts with the ground, and showed that the proposed formulation is applicable even for floating‐base systems with contacts.
Stepwise migration: What drives the relocation of migrants upon return?
Authors: Croitoru Alin , Vlase Ionela 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThis study explores the drivers of migrants' internal relocation upon return from abroad. Acknowledging that return cannot be disconnected from prior international migration, as suggested by the new theoretical developments in stepwise migration (King & Skeldon, 2010), we provide quantitative and qualitative evidence to substantiate these patterns of stepwise migration among Romanian returnees. Building on the distinction between U‐turn and J‐turn, namely, return to the same place versus relocation to a different place within the origin country, our findings suggest that alongside the structural context and life course careers, individual sociodemographics and aspects of migration experience abroad play a significant role in explaining the choice of a J‐turn. Women, for instance, are more likely to relocate upon return than their male counterparts, whereas older returnees have lower odds of a J‐turn trajectory compared with younger migrants. Similarly, an increased length of stay abroad and repeated migrations are positively associated with a J‐turn.
Scale‐free protocol design for delayed regulated synchronization of multi‐agent systems subject to unknown, nonuniform, and arbitrarily large communication delays
Authors: Nojavanzadeh Donya , Liu Zhenwei , Saberi Ali , Stoorvogel Anton A. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractIn this article, we study scale‐free delayed regulated state/output synchronization for homogeneous and heterogeneous networks of multi‐agent systems (MAS) subject to unknown, nonuniform, and arbitrarily large communication delays. A delay transformation is utilized to transform the original MAS to a new system without delayed states. The proposed scale‐free dynamic protocols are developed for non‐introspective homogeneous and introspective heterogeneous MAS. The protocol design utilizes localized information exchange with neighbors and is solely based on the knowledge of agent models. In other words, the scale‐free protocol design is independent of information about the communication network or the size of the network.
Evaluation of bond‐slip behavior of reinforcement in ultra‐high‐performance fiber‐reinforced concrete
Authors: Wang Dan‐Dan , Shi Qian‐Qian , Wang Yi‐Xia , Kang Shao‐Bo 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBond strength of steel reinforcement embedded in ultra‐high‐performance fiber‐reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) plays a vital role in the post‐cracking behavior of reinforced UHPFRC members in flexure or tension. This paper presents an analytical study on the bond strength of steel reinforcement in UHPFRC. Three different bond‐slip models, namely the modified fib model, Marchand model and the proposed model are compared in the analytical method and explicit equations are also proposed. Comparisons with test data suggest that the proposed model and explicit equations can evaluate the bond‐slip behavior of reinforcement with good accuracy. Marchand model shows similar predictions of bond‐slip behavior to the proposed model at different load levels, whereas the modified fib model is accurate only when the reinforcement nearly yields in tension. The embedment length required for embedded reinforcement to develop its yield and ultimate strengths can also be calculated from the analytical method and explicit equations.
Migration of CMSWEB cluster at CERN to Kubernetes: a comprehensive study
Authors: Imran Muhammad , Kuznetsov Valentin , Dziedziniewicz-Wojcik Katarzyna Maria , Pfeiffer Andreas , Paparrigopoulos Panos , Trigazis Spyridon , Tedeschi Tommaso , Ciangottini Diego 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment heavily relies on the CMSWEB cluster to host critical services for its operational needs. The cluster is deployed on virtual machines (VMs) from the CERN OpenStack cloud and is manually maintained by operators and developers. The release cycle is composed of several steps, from building RPMs to their deployment, validation, and integration tests. To enhance the sustainability of the CMSWEB cluster, CMS decided to migrate its cluster to a containerized solution based on Docker and orchestrated with Kubernetes (K8s). This allows us to significantly speed up the release upgrade cycle, follow the end-to-end deployment procedure, and reduce operational cost. In this paper, we give an overview of the CMSWEB VM cluster and the issues we discovered during this migration. We discuss the architecture and the implementation strategy in the CMSWEB Kubernetes cluster. Even though Kubernetes provides horizontal pod autoscaling based on CPUs and memory, in this paper, we provide details of horizontal pod autoscaling based on the custom metrics of CMSWEB services. We also discuss automated deployment procedure based on the best practices of continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) workflows. We present performance analysis between Kubernetes and VM based CMSWEB deployments. Finally, we describe various issues found during the implementation in Kubernetes and report on lessons learned during the migration process.