bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
S100A4 enhances protumor macrophage polarization by control of PPAR-γ-dependent induction of fatty acid oxidation
Authors: Liu Shuangqing , Zhang Huilei , Li Yanan , Zhang Yana , Bian Yangyang , Zeng Yanqiong , Yao Xiaohan , Wan Jiajia , Chen Xu , Li Jianru , Wang Zhaoqing , Qin Zhihai 
Published: June 2021

BackgroundThe peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ)-dependent upregulation of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) mediates protumor (also known as M2-like) polarization of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). However, upstream factors determining PPAR-γ upregulation in TAM protumor polarization are not fully identified. S100A4 plays crucial roles in promotion of cancer malignancy and mitochondrial metabolism. The fact that macrophage-derived S100A4 is major source of extracellular S100A4 suggests that macrophages contain a high abundance of intracellular S100A4. However, whether intracellular S100A4 in macrophages also contributes to cancer malignancy by enabling TAMs to acquire M2-like protumor activity remains unknown.MethodsGrowth of tumor cells was evaluated in murine tumor models. TAMs were isolated from the tumor grafts in whole-body S100A4-knockout (KO), macrophage-specific S100A4-KO and transgenic S100A4WT−EGFP mice (expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the control of the S100A4 promoter). In vitro induction of macrophage M2 polarization was conducted by interleukin 4 (IL-4) stimulation. RNA-sequencing, real-time quantitative PCR, flow cytometry, western blotting, immunofluorescence staining and mass spectrometry were used to determine macrophage phenotype. Exogenous and endogenous FAO, FA uptake and measurement of lipid content were used to analyze macrophage metabolism.ResultsTAMs contain two subsets based on whether they express S100A4 or not and that S100A4+ subsets display protumor phenotypes. S100A4 can be induced by IL-4, an M2 activator of macrophage polarization. Mechanistically, S100A4 controls the upregulation of PPAR-γ, a transcription factor required for FAO induction during TAM protumor polarization. In S100A4+ TAMs, PPAR-γ mainly upregulates CD36, a FA transporter, to enhance FA absorption as well as FAO. In contrast, S100A4-deficient TAMs exhibited decreased protumor activity because of failure in PPAR-γ upregulation-dependent FAO induction.ConclusionsWe find that macrophagic S100A4 enhances protumor macrophage polarization as a determinant of PPAR-γ-dependent FAO induction. Accordingly, our findings provide an insight into the general mechanisms of TAM polarization toward protumor phenotypes. Therefore, our results strongly suggest that targeting macrophagic S100A4 may be a potential strategy to prevent TAMs from re-differentiation toward a protumor phenotype.
Pericardial disease in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Authors: Gong Jingyi , Drobni Zsofia Dora , Zafar Amna , Quinaglia Thiago , Hartmann Sarah , Gilman Hannah K , Raghu Vineet K , Gongora Carlos , Sise Meghan E , Alvi Raza M , Zubiri Leyre , Nohria Anju , Sullivan Ryan , Reynolds Kerry L , Zlotoff Daniel , Neilan Tomas G 
Published: June 2021

BackgroundThere are limited data on the occurrence, associations and outcomes of pericardial effusions and pericarditis on or after treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).MethodsThis was a retrospective study at a single academic center that compared 2842 consecutive patients who received ICIs with 2699 age- and cancer-type matched patients with metastatic disease who did not receive ICI. A pericardial event was defined as a composite outcome of pericarditis and new or worsening moderate or large pericardial effusion. The endpoints were obtained through chart review and were blindly adjudicated. To identify risk factors associated with a pericardial event, we compared patients who developed an event on an ICI with patients treated with an ICI who did not develop a pericardial event. Cox proportional-hazard model and logistical regression analysis were performed to study the association between ICI use and pericardial disease as well as pericardial disease and mortality. An additional 6-week landmark analysis was performed to account for lead-time bias.ResultsThere were 42 pericardial events in the patients treated with ICI (n=2842) over 193 days (IQR: 64–411), yielding an incidence rate of 1.57 events per 100 person-years. There was a more than fourfold increase in risk of pericarditis or a pericardial effusion among patients on an ICI compared with controls not treated with ICI after adjusting for potential confounders (HR 4.37, 95% CI 2.09 to 9.14, p<0.001). Patients who developed pericardial disease while on an ICI had a trend for increased all-cause mortality compared with patients who did not develop a pericardial event (HR 1.53, 95% CI 0.99 to 2.36, p=0.05). When comparing those who developed pericardial disease after ICI treatment with those who did not, a higher dose of corticosteroid pre-ICI (>0.7 mg/kg prednisone) was associated with increased risk of pericardial disease (HR 2.56, 95% CI 1.00 to 6.57, p=0.049).ConclusionsICI use was associated with an increased risk of development of pericardial disease among patients with cancer and a pericardial event on an ICI was associated with a trend towards increase in mortality.
Novel non-terminal tumor sampling procedure using fine needle aspiration supports immuno-oncology biomarker discovery in preclinical mouse models
Authors: Sitnikova Suzanne Isabelle , Munnings-Tomes Sophie , Galvani Elena , Kentner Stacy , Mulgrew Kathy , Rands Chris , España Agustí Judit , Zhang Tianhui , Ilieva Kristina M , Rosignoli Guglielmo , Ghadially Hormas , Robinson Matthew J , Slidel Tim , Wilkinson Robert W , Dovedi Simon J 
Published: June 2021

BackgroundImmuno-oncology therapies are now part of the standard of care for cancer in many indications. However, durable objective responses remain limited to a subset of patients. As such, there is a critical need to identify biomarkers that can predict or enrich for treatment response. So far, the majority of putative biomarkers consist of features of the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, in preclinical mouse models, the collection of tumor tissue for this type of analysis is a terminal procedure, obviating the ability to directly link potential biomarkers to long-term treatment outcomes.MethodsTo address this, we developed and validated a novel non-terminal tumor sampling method to enable biopsy of the TME in mouse models based on fine needle aspiration.ResultsWe show that this technique enables repeated in-life sampling of subcutaneous flank tumors and yields sufficient material to support downstream analyses of tumor-infiltrating immune cells using methods such as flow cytometry and single-cell transcriptomics. Moreover, using this technique we demonstrate that we can link TME biomarkers to treatment response outcomes, which is not possible using the current method of terminal tumor sampling.ConclusionThus, this minimally invasive technique is an important refinement for the pharmacodynamic analysis of the TME facilitating paired evaluation of treatment response biomarkers with outcomes and reducing the number of animals used in preclinical research.
Diffusive search and trajectories on tubular networks: a propagator approach
Authors: Scott Zubenelgenubi C. , Brown Aidan I. , Mogre Saurabh S. , Westrate Laura M. , Koslover Elena F. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractSeveral organelles in eukaryotic cells, including mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum, form interconnected tubule networks extending throughout the cell. These tubular networks host many biochemical pathways that rely on proteins diffusively searching through the network to encounter binding partners or localized target regions. Predicting the behavior of such pathways requires a quantitative understanding of how confinement to a reticulated structure modulates reaction kinetics. In this work, we develop both exact analytical methods to compute mean first passage times and efficient kinetic Monte Carlo algorithms to simulate trajectories of particles diffusing in a tubular network. Our approach leverages exact propagator functions for the distribution of transition times between network nodes and allows large simulation time steps determined by the network structure. The methodology is applied to both synthetic planar networks and organelle network structures, demonstrating key general features such as the heterogeneity of search times in different network regions and the functional advantage of broadly distributing target sites throughout the network. The proposed algorithms pave the way for future exploration of the interrelationship between tubular network structure and biomolecular reaction kinetics.Graphic Abstract
Optimistically Compressed Hash Tables & Strings in theUSSR
Authors: Gubner Tim , Leis Viktor , Boncz Peter 
Published: June 2021

Modern query engines rely heavily on hash tables for query processing. Overall query performance and memory footprint is often determined by how hash tables and the tuples within them are represented. In this work, we propose three complementary techniques to improve this representation: Domain-Guided Prefix Suppression bit-packs keys and values tightly to reduce hash table record width. Optimistic Splitting decomposes values (and operations on them) into (operations on) frequently- and infrequently-accessed value slices. By removing the infrequently-accessed value slices from the hash table record, it improves cache locality. The Unique Strings Self-aligned Region (USSR) accelerates handling frequently occurring strings, which are widespread in real-world data sets, by creating an on-the-fly dictionary of the most frequent strings. This allows executing many string operations with integer logic and reduces memory pressure.
We integrated these techniques into Vectorwise. On the TPC-H benchmark, our approach reduces peak memory consumption by 2-4× and improves performance by up to 1.5×. On a real-world BI workload, we measured a 2× improvement in performance and in micro-benchmarks we observed speedups of up to 25×.
Antiamylase, Antiglucosidase, and Antiglycation Properties of Millets and Sorghum from Sri Lanka
Authors: Senevirathne Ilangasingha Gamlathge Nethmini Hansika , Abeysekera Walimuni Kanchana Subhashini Mendis , Abeysekera Walimuni Prabhashini Kaushalya Mendis , Jayanath Nileththi Yasendra , Galbada Arachchige Sirimal Premakumara , Wijewardana Danthasingha Chithra Mulacharige Susantha Indika 
Published: June 2021

The present study evaluated a range of biological activities of selected millet types and sorghum varieties in Sri Lanka in relation to diabetes and its complications management. Five millet types, namely, proso millet, white finger millet, kodo millet, foxtail millet, and finger millet (Oshadha and Rawana), and two sorghum varieties, namely, sweet sorghum and sorghum ICSV 112, were used in this study. Methanolic extracts of whole grains were studied for antiamylase, antiglucosidase, and early- and middle-stage antiglycation and glycation reversing activities in vitro. Tested millets and sorghum showed significant (

p

< 0.05) and dose-dependent antiamylase (IC50: 33.34 ± 1.11–1446.70 ± 54.10 μg/ml), early-stage antiglycation (IC50: 15.42 ± 0.50–270.03 ± 16.29 μg/ml), middle-stage antiglycation (135.08 ± 12.95–614.54 ± 6.99 μg/ml), early-stage glycation reversing (EC50: 91.82 ± 6.56–783.20 ± 61.70 μg/ml), and middle-stage glycation reversing (393.24 ± 8.68–1374.60 ± 129.30 μg/ml) activities. However, none of the studied millet and sorghum showed antiglucosidase activity. Out of the samples studied, pigmented samples, namely, sweet sorghum, Oshadha, and Rawana, exhibited significantly high (

p

< 0.05) antiamylase and early- and middle-stage antiglycation and glycation reversing activities compared to other millet and sorghum samples. Interestingly, sweet sorghum exhibited nearly four times potent antiamylase activity compared to the standard drug acarbose (IC50 111.98 ± 2.68 μg/ml) and sweet sorghum, kodo millet, Oshadha, and Rawana showed comparable early-stage antiglycation activities in comparison to the reference standard Rutin (IC50 21.88 ± 0.16 μg/ml). Therefore, consumption of whole grains of pigmented millet and sorghum in Sri Lanka may play an important role in the prevention and management of diabetes and its complications. Interestingly, this is the 1st study to report all the tested biological activities for millet and sorghum in Sri Lanka and the 1st study to report both early- and middle-stage glycation reversing activities of millet and sorghum worldwide.
iPark: automated smart parking system
Authors: Atiqur Rahman 
Published: June 2021

Parking problems became ubiquitous and are growing at an alarming rate in every major city. It causes parking problems which cause a trafficjam, driver’s frustration, and pollution. One time we visit differentpublic places for example shopping center, multiplex movies hall &amp; lodging house during carnivals or holidays, it makes the added parking difficult. Checking out a parking lot results in 40% to 50% of traffic jams. Due to this, car parking, in turn, causes the traffic issue. There are some problems associated with car parking like the way to control the amount of the car within the parking zone, monitoring the movement of the car in/outside of the parking zone, check whether there's an area inside for more cars or not and therefore the safety to park. This paper proposes an answer for these problems using the concept of the web of Things. iParkisa fully automated system that senses the entry and exit of a car, displays the entire number of cars parked within the parking zone on screen, and the way many free spaces are available within the parking lot.
Postgraduate students’ perspective on supporting “learning from home” to solve the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Khuluqo Ihsana El , Ghani Abdul Rahman A. , Fatayan Arum 
Published: June 2021

<span lang="EN-US">The objective of this present research was to reveal how the postgraduate student perceive of or respond to the online learning process. Quantitative method was adopted in this present research. The results showed that most students who had experienced of the online learning activities encountered some obstacles because they had never conducted Learning From Home (LFH) activities before. The respondents were 428 postgraduate students who actively joined in the LFH activities. There were 316 students used the platform Zoom as the supporting application in the LFH activities. Respondents filled in Google Form, then the collected data could be quickly and accurately processed. Other respondents preferred Google Classroom, WhatsApp and other applications in following the learning activities according to the agreement and features provided in each platform. There were 408 respondents experienced Two-ways communication between the lecturers and the students during the LFH activities. They stated that the limited internet network hindered the online lecturing. There were 31 respondents declared that technology limitations hampered the online lecturing and 105 students revealed that it is the limitations in using the application that caused the online lecturing to become obstacles. </span>
A study of a single phase grid connected pv inverter performance under a weak grid conditions and distorted grid voltage for Cambodia
Authors: Phoeurn Sovanna , Somkun Sakda 
Published: June 2021

<span lang="EN-US">A single-phase grid-connected PV inverter performance under a weak grid is a model designed to penetrate PV energy with a weak grid. Usually, this model gets complex and unstable in power system control such as THD growth, harmonic effects, voltage surges, inverter performance. Experimental results would present the impacts on the system which would lead to instability in the grid system. This study was based on inverter performance control, a weak grid control, the grid distortion examination, and harmonic effects. To optimize this grid system, hence, the proposed methods of oscilloscope and power meter were proportionally used to control the grid impacts and stabilities. The results showed that current THD in distorted grid voltage system surged to 8.88%. V<sub>PCC</sub> growth was 238.11V, equivalent to 8.23% in a weak grid (X<sub>L</sub> and R). Such a huge increase could prevent the grid system from transferring power for later operation. During the experiment, the inverter, S power and Q power performances stood for good operating processes without impacts on the grid performance. This method should be applied with a weak grid system because it provided information about grid stability control.</span>
Detailed modelling and simulation of different DC motor types for research and educational purposes
Authors: Sami Saif Sabah , Obaid Zeyad Assi , Muhssin Mazin T. , Hussain Ali N. 
Published: June 2021

The devastating impact of Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to e-learning in the higher education. Particularly in the electrical machines courses, that often include laboratory experiments. However, no detailed models of DC motors, developed in MATLAB/Simulink, were reported in literature. Hence, in this paper, a virtual laboratory consist of models of DC motors was built for the first time. The proposed models are easy to use and modify, and allow all machines’ parameters to be altered for students to replicate easily to support and enhance the learning process of electrical machines courses. Consequently, the developed models are effective tools for educational and research purposes. Dynamic models of DC motors were developed using MATLAB/Simulink, namely separately excited, permanent magnet, shunt-connected and series-connected DC motors. Two different approaches for modelling were proposed, the block diagram representation and Simscape based models. The two modelling methods were validated against the built-in DC machine model. The proposed models are easy to use and modify, and allow all machines’ parameters to be altered for monitoring and comparison purposes. Consequently, the developed models are effective tools for research and educational purposes.
Efeitos agudos do treinamento intervalado de alta intensidade sobre a pressão arterial de adolescentes com sobrepeso/obesidade
Authors: Faria Waynne Ferreira de , Elias Rui Gonçalves Marques , Santos Géssika Castilho dos , Gonçalves Ezequiel Moreira , Sasaki Jeffer Eidi , Stabelini Neto Antonio 
Published: June 2021

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o comportamento da pressão arterial (PA) em adolescentes com excesso de peso após uma sessão de high intensity interval training (HIIT) na esteira ergométrica. Trata-se de uma pesquisa com delineamento cross-over aleatorizado, a amostra foi formada por 11 adolescentes do sexo masculino, 81,81% com obesidade e idade entre 15 e 18 anos. Os voluntários realizaram dois protocolos experimentais: controle e HIT. O protocolo HIIT foi constituído de cinco séries de 85 a 95% do VO2pico por um minuto, intercalados por três minutos de recuperação de 40 a 50% do VO2pico. Antes e após os protocolos, os parâmetros hemodinâmicos foram obtidas por meio de um monitor automático (SpaceLabs 90207), programado para realizar medidas a cada 20 minutos no período das 12:00 às 22:00 horas. Foi observado diferença signifi cativa entre as médias da pressão sistólica nos protocolos controle e HIIT somente na primeira hora após o fi nal do exercício (131,90±7,93 vs 124,18±7,56 mmHg). A comparação entre os protocolos e as medidas hemodinâmicas pré-sessão e média pós-sessão (10 horas) demonstrou que o HIIT promoveu uma redução signifi cativa na pressão arterial média em comparação a pré-sessão. Em conclusão, o protocolo HIIT empregado promoveu efeito hipotensor de baixa magnitude sobre as medidas hemodinâmicas pós-exercício no que diz respeito a PAS.
Modelos Teóricos Explicativos Para Instituições Participativas: construção de um quadro conceitual
Authors: Costa André Galindo da , Peres Ursula Dias 
Published: June 2021

Na década de 1980, junto ao processo de redemocratização, o Brasil desenvolveu diversos arranjos participativos. Estes arranjos se tornariam ainda mais marcantes no cenário político nacional entre as décadas de 1990 e 2000, passando a compor parte da estrutura da administração pública brasileira. Orçamentos participativos, conselhos Artigo Modelos Teóricos Explicativos Para Instituições Participativas: Construção de um Quadro Conceitual Explanatory Theoretical M odels to Participatory Institutions: Building a Conceptual Framework Los modelos teóricos explicativos de las instituciones participativas: La construcción de un marco conceptual Galindo da Costa, André & Peres, Ursula Dias. RG&PP vol. 4(1): 1-21, 2014 2 de políticas públicas, planos diretores e audiências públicas são alguns exemplos de instâncias participativas nas diferentes esferas de governo. Cada um desses arranjos possui certa relevância para determinado processo político, sendo inovações criadas em governos para atender à crescente necessidade de abertura política da redemocratização. O artigo tem dois objetivos: O primeiro é apresentar a dinâmica histórico-social que influenciou o cenário de surgimento desses espaços participativos. Em segundo lugar, apresentar as teorias mais influentes na explicação dos fenômenos envolvidos nesse tipo de inovação democrática. Para tanto, o artigo destaca três modelos teóricos com potencial explicativo sobre as instituições participativas, os quais são: Teoria da Aprendizagem Social, Teoria da Estrutura de Oportunidade Política e Crítica à Teoria Normativa da Sociedade Civil.
Identification of Low-Voltage Areas: A Unipolar, Bipolar, and Omnipolar Perspective
Authors: van Schie Mathijs S. , Kharbanda Rohit K. , Houck Charlotte A. , Lanters Eva A.H. , Taverne Yannick J.H.J. , Bogers Ad J.J.C. , de Groot Natasja M.S. 
Published: June 2021

Background:
Low-voltage areas (LVAs) are commonly considered surrogate markers for an arrhythmogenic substrate underlying tachyarrhythmias. It remains challenging to define a proper threshold to classify LVA, and it is unknown whether unipolar, bipolar, and the recently introduced omnipolar voltage mapping techniques are complementary or contradictory in classifying LVAs. Therefore, this study examined similarities and dissimilarities in unipolar, bipolar, and omnipolar voltage mapping and explored the relation between various types of voltages and conduction velocity (CV).

Methods:
Intraoperative epicardial mapping (interelectrode distance 2 mm, ±1900 sites) was performed during sinus rhythm in 21 patients (48±13 years, 9 male) with atrial volume overload. Cliques of 4 electrodes (2×2 mm) were used to calculate the maximal unipolar, bipolar, and omnipolar voltages and mean CV. Areas with maximal bipolar or omnipolar clique voltage ≤0.5 mV were defined as LVA.

Results:

The maximal unipolar clique voltage was not only larger than maximal bipolar clique voltage but also larger than maximal omnipolar clique voltage (7.08 [4.22–10.59] mV versus 5.27 [2.39–9.56] mV and 5.77 [2.58–10.52] mV, respectively,
P
<0.001). In addition, the largest bipolar clique voltage was on average 1.66 (range: 1.0–59.0) times larger to the corresponding perpendicular bipolar voltage pair. LVAs identified by a bipolar or omnipolar threshold corresponded to a broad spectrum of unipolar voltages and, although CV was generally decreased, still high CVs and large unipolar voltages were found in these LVAs.

Conclusions:
In patients with atrial volume overload, there were considerable discrepancies in the different types of LVAs. Additionally, the identification of LVAs was hampered by considerable directional differences in bipolar voltages. Even using directional independent omnipolar voltage to identify LVAs, high CVs and large unipolar voltages are present within these areas. Therefore, a combination of low unipolar and low omnipolar voltage may be more indicative of true LVAs.