bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A numerical study on the effects of spatial and temporal discretization in cardiac electrophysiology
Authors: Woodworth Lucas A. , Cansız Barış , Kaliske Michael 
Published: February 2021

AbstractMillions of degrees of freedom are often required to accurately represent the electrophysiology of the myocardium due to the presence of discretization effects. This study seeks to explore the influence of temporal and spatial discretization on the simulation of cardiac electrophysiology in conjunction with changes in modeling choices. Several finite element analyses are performed to examine how discretization affects solution time, conduction velocity and electrical excitation. Discretization effects are considered along with changes in the electrophysiology model and solution approach. Two action potential models are considered: the Aliev‐Panfilov model and the ten Tusscher‐Noble‐Noble‐Panfilov model. The solution approaches consist of two time integration schemes and different treatments for solving the local system of ordinary differential equations. The efficiency and stability of the calculation approaches are demonstrated to be dependent on the action potential model. The dependency of the conduction velocity on the element size and time step is shown to be different for changes in material parameters. Finally, the discrepancies between the wave propagation in coarse and fine meshes are analyzed based on the temporal evolution of the transmembrane potential at a node and its neighboring Gauss points. Insight obtained from this study can be used to suggest new methods to improve the efficiency of simulations in cardiac electrophysiology.
Iron deficiency impacts prognosis but less exercise capacity in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Authors: Barandiarán Aizpurua Arantxa , Sanders‐van Wijk Sandra , Brunner‐La Rocca Hans‐Peter , Henkens Michiel T.H.M. , Weerts Jerremy , Spanjers Mireille H.A. , Knackstedt Christian , van Empel Vanessa P.M. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAimsWhether and how iron deficiency (ID) impacts patients with heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remain unclear. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of ID on functional status, exercise capacity, and prognosis in HFpEF.Methods and resultsThe study population consisted of 300 HFpEF patients. ID was defined as serum ferritin <100 μg/L or 100–300 μg/L and transferrin‐saturation <20%. Baseline functional status, quality of life (HADS score and EQ 5D index), 6 min walking test, echocardiography, and outcome (all‐cause mortality and combined all cause‐mortality and HF hospitalization) were evaluated. ID was found in 159 (53%) patients. Patients with ID had a worse prognosis with a higher combined endpoint of all‐cause mortality and HF hospitalization after 4 years of follow‐up (log rank = 0.008). Pulmonary hypertension, depression, and thyroid disease were more prevalent in the ID group. Multivariable analysis showed that ID was independently associated with body mass index (P = 0.003), pulmonary hypertension (P = 0.008), and thyroid disease (P = 0.01). Although patients with ID had a lower exercise capacity compared with patients without ID (393 m [294–455] vs. 344 m [260–441], P = 0.008), there was no significant correlation after multivariable correction for age, BMI, NT‐proBNP, DM, and depression.ConclusionsHeart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients with ID have a worse prognosis and impaired exercise capacity compared with those without ID. However, although a trend was observed, after multivariable correction ID was no longer significantly associated with a reduced exercise capacity. This reflects that impaired exercise capacity in HFpEF is complex and seems multifactorial. Interestingly, pulmonary hypertension was an independent predictor of both ID and exercise capacity.
Acute pulmonary pressure change after transition to sacubitril/valsartan in patients with heart failure reduced ejection fraction
Authors: Tran Jeffrey S. , Havakuk Ofer , McLeod Jennifer M. , Hwang Jennifer , Kwong Hoi Yan , Shavelle David , Zile Michael R. , Elkayam Uri , Fong Michael W. , Grazette Luanda P. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAimsSacubitril/valsartan combines renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibition with amplification of natriuretic peptides. In addition to well‐described effects, natriuretic peptides exert direct effects on pulmonary vasculature. The effect of sacubitril/valsartan on pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) has not been fully defined.Methods and resultsThis was a retrospective case‐series of PAP changes following transition from angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) to sacubitril/valsartan in patients with heart failure reduced ejection fraction and a previously implanted CardioMEMS™ sensor. Pre‐sacubitril/valsartan and post‐sacubitril/valsartan PAPs were compared for each patient by examining averaged consecutive daily pressure readings from 1 to 5 days before and after sacubitril/valsartan exposure. PAP changes were also compared between patients based on elevated trans‐pulmonary gradients (trans‐pulmonary gradient ≥ 12 mmHg) at time of CardioMEMS™ sensor implantation. The cohort included 18 patients, 72% male, mean age 60.1 ± 13.6 years. There was a significant decrease in PAPs associated with transition from ACEI/ARB to sacubitril/valsartan. The median (interquartile range) pre‐treatment and post‐treatment change in mean, systolic and diastolic PAPs were −3.6 (−9.8, −0.7) mmHg (P < 0.001), −6.5 (−15.0, −2.0) mmHg (P = 0.001), and −2.5 (−5.7, −0.7) (P = 0.001), respectively. The decrease in PAPs was independent of trans‐pulmonary gradient (F(1,16) = 0.49, P = 0.49).ConclusionsIn this retrospective case series, transition from ACEI/ARB to sacubitril/valsartan was associated with an early and significant decrease in PAPs.
Who embodies the evaluative state? Programmatic actors in the chilean and colombian policies of quality assurance in higher education
Authors: Duque Juan Felipe 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBased on the Programmatic Action Framework (PAF), this article presents a comparative analysis of the Chilean and Colombian policies of quality assurance (QA) in higher education. Despite their instrumental commonalities, these policies actually reflect two contrasting approaches to quality: a flexible approach in Chile versus an excellence‐oriented approach in Colombia. The article shows that both policies were initially developed by groups of prestigious academics who shared most of the features of programmatic elites and that the contrast between the approaches to quality arises from the divergent evolution of the policy program of these groups: The policy of QA was subjected to an instrumental layering in Chile while, in Colombia, it followed a path‐dependent evolution. The study shows that sociological perspectives like the PAF can provide a more complete and dynamic understanding of the Evaluative State that takes into account the instrumental and the social dimensions of quality‐related activities.
The Open Brain Consent: Informing research participants and obtaining consent to share brain imaging data
Authors: Bannier Elise , Barker Gareth , Borghesani Valentina , Broeckx Nils , Clement Patricia , Emblem Kyrre E. , Ghosh Satrajit , Glerean Enrico , Gorgolewski Krzysztof J. , Havu Marko , Halchenko Yaroslav O. , Herholz Peer , Hespel Anne , Heunis Stephan , Hu Yue , Hu Chuan‐Peng , Huijser Dorien , de la Iglesia Vayá María , Jancalek Radim , Katsaros Vasileios K. , Kieseler Marie‐Luise , Maumet Camille , Moreau Clara A. , Mutsaerts Henk‐Jan , Oostenveld Robert , Ozturk‐Isik Esin , Pascual Leone Espinosa Nicolas , Pellman John , Pernet Cyril R , Pizzini Francesca Benedetta , Trbalić Amira Šerifović , Toussaint Paule‐Joanne , Visconti di Oleggio Castello Matteo , Wang Fengjuan , Wang Cheng , Zhu Hua 
Published: February 2021

AbstractHaving the means to share research data openly is essential to modern science. For human research, a key aspect in this endeavor is obtaining consent from participants, not just to take part in a study, which is a basic ethical principle, but also to share their data with the scientific community. To ensure that the participants' privacy is respected, national and/or supranational regulations and laws are in place. It is, however, not always clear to researchers what the implications of those are, nor how to comply with them. The Open Brain Consent (https://open-brain-consent.readthedocs.io) is an international initiative that aims to provide researchers in the brain imaging community with information about data sharing options and tools. We present here a short history of this project and its latest developments, and share pointers to consent forms, including a template consent form that is compliant with the EU general data protection regulation. We also share pointers to an associated data user agreement that is not only useful in the EU context, but also for any researchers dealing with personal (clinical) data elsewhere.
Impact of disease status at allogeneic stem cell transplantation on adolescent and young adult patients with early T‐cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Meng Tongyan , Qi Jiaqian , Zhu Yuanxin , Xu Yang , Chen Feng , Xue Shengli , Miao Miao , Chen Suning , Han Yue , Tang Xiaowen , Qiu Huiying , Sun Aining , Wu Depei , Wang Ying 
Published: February 2021

AbstractEarly T‐cell precursor (ETP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is an aggressive subset of T‐cell ALL, and the role of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) in adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients has not been sufficiently described. We retrospectively analysed the data of 30 AYA patients (19 in first complete remission [CR1], 3 in CR2, and 8 with active disease) with ETP‐ALL who underwent myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) from HLA‐matched related, n = 2, unrelated, n = 5, or HLA‐haploidentical related, n = 23 donors with an emphasis on the impact of disease status on the outcomes of transplant. The stem cell source was unmanipulated G‐CSF mobilized bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells. All patients achieved neutrophil engraftment with full donor chimerism. The cumulative incidences of grade II to IV acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) and chronic GVHD at 2 years were 37% and 33%, respectively. Overall, 16 patients died. The causes of death were relapse (8 patients), infection (4 patients) and GVHD (4 patients). The estimated 2‐year overall survival (OS) and leukemia‐free survival (LFS) for the whole cohort were 47.8% and 46.2%, respectively. Patients transplanted in CR1/2 had significantly better 2‐year OS and LFS than patients with active disease (61.7% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.02; and 58.3% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.04, respectively). There was a trend toward an inferior OS rate in those patients in CR1 with chemoresistance or in CR2 compared with patients in CR1 with chemosensitivity, although this did not reach statistical significance. Our data support allo‐HSCT, especially from HLA‐haploidentical donors as an effective therapeutic strategy in AYA patients with ETP‐ALL and disease status was significantly associated with survival in these patients.
Flow and thermal field in sessile droplet evaporation at various environmental conditions
Authors: Prakash Jyoti , Sikarwar Basant S. , Agarwal Basant K. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractSessile droplets' evaporation is a complex process that involves fluid flow coupled with heat and mass transfer. In this study, mathematical modelling of sessile droplet evaporation on hydrophobic substrates is developed and simulations are carried out on COMSOL. The model results are validated with the data available in the literature. Postvalidation, the simulation of droplet evaporation is carried out on the various substrate hydrophobicities and various environmental conditions. For these conditions, contours are plotted for temperature, velocity, and mass concentration for the droplet and moist air domain. The result shows that Marangoni convection plays a very important role in droplet evaporation. A high rate of evaporation is observed at the droplet interface at low relative humidity and a large degree of subheating. The effect of air velocity on the evaporation rate is studied, however, its effect is very marginal as compared to relative humidity and degree of subheating. The heat flux at the three‐phase contact line is large for a smaller Prandtl number fluid. Overall, the evaporation rate increases with increasing the Prandtl number because it has a large value of Marangoni convection.
HOXD13 suppresses prostate cancer metastasis and BMP4‐induced epithelial‐mesenchymal transition by inhibiting SMAD1
Authors: Xu Fan , Shangguan Xun , Pan Jiahua , Yue Zhiying , Shen Kai , Ji Yiyi , Zhang Weiwei , Zhu Yinjie , Sha Jianjun , Wang Yanqing , Fan Liancheng , Dong Baijun , Wang Qi , Xue Wei 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe HOX genes are a group of highly conserved Homeobox‐containing genes that control the body plan organization during development. However, their contributions to tumorigenesis and tumor progression remain uncertain and controversial. Here we provided evidence of tumor‐suppressive activity of HOXD13 in prostate cancer. HOXD13 depletion contributes to more aggressiveness of prostate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. These effects were corroborated in a metastatic mice model, where we observed more bone metastatic lesions formed by prostate cancer cells with HOXD13 ablation. Mechanistically, HOXD13 prevents BMP4‐induced epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) by inhibiting mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 1 (SMAD1) transcription. Both bioinformation and our tissue microarray cohort data show that HOXD13 expression inversely correlated in advanced prostate cancer patient specimens. Our findings establish HOXD13 as a negative regulator of prostate cancer progression and metastasis by preventing BMP4/SMAD1 signaling, and potentially suggest new strategies for targeting metastatic prostate cancer.
Exploring the impact of gut microbiota and diet on breast cancer risk and progression
Authors: Teng Nancy M. Y. , Price Christopher A. , McKee Alastair M. , Hall Lindsay J. , Robinson Stephen D. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThere is emerging evidence that resident microbiota communities, that is, the microbiota, play a key role in cancer outcomes and anticancer responses. Although this has been relatively well studied in colorectal cancer and melanoma, other cancers, such as breast cancer (BrCa), have been largely overlooked to date. Importantly, many of the environmental factors associated with BrCa incidence and progression are also known to impact the microbiota, for example, diet and antibiotics. Here, we explore BrCa risk factors from large epidemiology studies and microbiota associations, and more recent studies that have directly profiled BrCa patients' gut microbiotas. We also discuss how in vivo studies have begun to unravel the immune mechanisms whereby the microbiota may influence BrCa responses, and finally we examine how diet and specific nutrients are also linked to BrCa outcomes. We also consider future research avenues and important considerations with respect to study design and implementation, and we highlight some of the important unresolved questions, which currently limit our overall understanding of the mechanisms underpinning microbiota‐BrCa responses.
Multiphoton tomography in differentiation of morphological and molecular subtypes of breast cancer: A quantitative analysis
Authors: Gubarkova Ekaterina V. , Elagin Vadim V. , Dudenkova Varvara V. , Kuznetsov Sergey S. , Karabut Maria M. , Potapov Arseny L. , Vorontsov Dmitry A. , Vorontsov Alexey Y. , Sirotkina Marina A. , Zagaynova Elena V. , Gladkova Natalia D. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn this study multiphoton tomography, based on second harmonic generation (SHG), and two‐photon‐excited fluorescence (TPEF) was used to visualize both the extracellular matrix and tumor cells in different morphological and molecular subtypes of human breast cancer. It was shown, that quantified assessment of the SHG based imaging data has great potential to reveal differences of collagen quantity, organization and uniformity in both low‐ and highly‐ aggressive invasive breast cancers. The values of quantity and uniformity of the collagen fibers distribution were significantly higher in low‐aggressive breast cancer compared to the highly‐aggressive subtypes, while the value representing collagen organization was lower in the former type. Additionally, it was shown, that TPEF detection of elastin fibers and amyloid protein may be used as a biomarker of detection the low‐aggressive breast cancer subtype. Thus, TPEF/SHG imaging offers the possibility of becoming a useful tool for the rapid diagnosis of various subtypes of breast cancer during biopsy as well as for the intraoperative determinination of tumor‐positive resection margins.
Sirtuin‐3 activation by honokiol restores mitochondrial dysfunction in the hippocampus of the hepatic encephalopathy rat model of ammonia neurotoxicity
Authors: Anamika  , Trigun Surendra K. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe neurotoxic level of ammonia in the brain during liver cirrhosis causes a nervous system disorder, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), by affecting mitochondrial functions. Sirtuin‐3 (SIRT3) is emerging as a master regulator of mitochondrial integrity, which is currently being focused as a pathogenic hotspot for HE. This article describes SIRT3 level versus mitochondrial dysfunction markers in the hippocampus of the control, the moderate‐grade hepatic encephalopathy (MoHE), developed in thioacetamide‐induced (100 mg/kg bw ip for 10 days) liver cirrhotic rats, and the MoHE rats treated with an SIRT3 activator, honokiol (HKL; 10 mg/kg bw ip), for 7 days from 8th day of the thioacetamide schedule. As compared with the control group rats, hippocampus mitochondria of MoHE rats showed a significant decline in SIRT3 expression and its activity with concordant enhancement of ROS and declined membrane permeability transition and organelle viability scores. This was consistent with the declined mitochondrial thiol level and thiol‐regenerating enzyme, isocitrate dehydrogenase 2. Also, significantly declined activities of electron transport chain complexes I, III, IV, and Q10, decreased NAD+/NADH and ATP/AMP ratios, and enhanced number of the shrunken mitochondria were recorded in the hippocampus of those MoHE rats. However, all these mitochondrial aberrations were observed to regain their normal profiles/levels, concordant to the enhanced SIRT3 expression and its activity due to treatment with HKL. The findings suggest a role of SIRT3 in mitochondrial structure–function derangements associated with MoHE pathogenesis and SIRT3 activation by HKL as a relevant strategy to protect mitochondrial integrity during ammonia neurotoxicity.
Nephroprotective effect of umbelliferone against cisplatin‐induced kidney damage is mediated by regulation of NRF2, cytoglobin, SIRT1/FOXO‐3, and NF‐kB‐p65 signaling pathways
Authors: Ali Fares E. M. , Hassanein Emad H. M. , El‐Bahrawy Ali H. , Omar Zainab M. M. , Rashwan Eman K. , Abdel‐Wahab Basil A. , Abd‐Elhamid Tarek H. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCisplatin (Cis) is one of the most potent and effective broad‐spectrum antitumor drugs, but its use is limited due to nephrotoxicity. The current study investigated the renoprotective effect of umbelliferone (UMB) on Cis‐induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Renal injury was induced by a single injection of Cis (7 mg/kg, ip). Our results exhibited that the injection of Cis significantly disrupted renal function biomarkers as well as KIM‐1 expression. The expressions of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, NF‐kB‐p65, and IKKβ were elevated along with downregulation of IkBα expression. Also, Cis disrupted cellular oxidant/antioxidant balance through the reduction of glutathione (GSH), glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and elevation of malondialdehyde (MDA) content. On the contrary, the levels of renal function biomarkers, cytokines, NF‐kB‐p65, IkBα, IKKβ, and oxidant/antioxidant status have been improved after UMB treatment. Mechanistically, rats administered Cis only exhibited a significant decrease in NRF2 and cytoglobin expressions as well as the CREB, SIRT1, FOXO‐3, and PPAR‐γ genes. Treatment with UMB significantly upregulated NRF2 and cytoglobin proteins, as well as effectively increased the expression of CREB, SIRT1, FOXO‐3, PPAR‐γ, and NRF2 genes. Histopathological findings strongly supported our biochemical results, as evidenced by attenuation of renal hemorrhage, cast diffusion, and inflammatory cell infiltration. Interestingly, UMB significantly enhanced Cis cytotoxicity in both HL‐60 and HeLa cells in a dose‐dependent manner. Together, our results demonstrated that UMB can protect against Cis‐induced nephrotoxicity in normal rats along with the enhancement of its in vitro antitumor activity. These findings suggested that UMB could be used as a potential adjuvant therapy in Cis chemotherapeutic protocols.
Machine learning techniques to detect and forecast the daily total COVID‐19 infected and deaths cases under different lockdown types
Authors: Saba Tanzila , Abunadi Ibrahim , Shahzad Mirza Naveed , Khan Amjad Rehman 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCOVID‐19 has impacted the world in many ways, including loss of lives, economic downturn and social isolation. COVID‐19 was emerged due to the SARS‐CoV‐2 that is highly infectious pandemic. Every country tried to control the COVID‐19 spread by imposing different types of lockdowns. Therefore, there is an urgent need to forecast the daily confirmed infected cases and deaths in different types of lockdown to select the most appropriate lockdown strategies to control the intensity of this pandemic and reduce the burden in hospitals. Currently are imposed three types of lockdown (partial, herd, complete) in different countries. In this study, three countries from every type of lockdown were studied by applying time‐series and machine learning models, named as random forests, K‐nearest neighbors, SVM, decision trees (DTs), polynomial regression, Holt winter, ARIMA, and SARIMA to forecast daily confirm infected cases and deaths due to COVID‐19. The models' accuracy and effectiveness were evaluated by error based on three performance criteria. Actually, a single forecasting model could not capture all data sets' trends due to the varying nature of data sets and lockdown types. Three top‐ranked models were used to predict the confirmed infected cases and deaths, the outperformed models were also adopted for the out‐of‐sample prediction and obtained very close results to the actual values of cumulative infected cases and deaths due to COVID‐19. This study has proposed the auspicious models for forecasting and the best lockdown strategy to mitigate the causalities of COVID‐19.
Power and supply chain development in the South African and Thai automotive industries: What lessons can be learnt?
Authors: Bell Jason F. , Monaco Lorenza 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn today's highly globalised, increasingly interlinked and extremely competitive auto industry, it is important to understand how some countries succeed in adopting the latest technologies while others are left behind. The creation of a competitive auto industry requires a deep supply chain. One that can compete in the global automotive space and develop and apply technologies as well as penetrate niche markets. Building on comparative research, this article seeks to understand the factors and power relations that led to the deepening of the Thai auto sector, specifically of its automotive component manufacturers, and how South Africa can learn from it.