bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of the “Open‐Y” technique in recipient perforator vessels: A comparison study between “Open‐Y” and conventional end‐to‐end anastomosis in terms of postoperative complications
Authors: Scaglioni Mario F. , Meroni Matteo , Fritsche Elmar 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundOver the last few years, the increasing employment of perforators as both donor and recipient vessels for free flap tissue transfer lead the surgeons to perform increasingly smaller anastomosis. Size discrepancy is a common problem that might affect the patency rate. This has many implications in the outcome of the procedure and the “Open‐Y” technique might be useful to perform an easier anastomosis by using a bifurcation area.Patients and MethodsBetween April 2018 and April 2020 a total of 98 patients who received a free tissue transfer reconstruction throughout the body were retrospectively recruited. The “Open‐Y” technique of anastomosis was used in the recipient artery of 40 perforator‐based flaps, while in 58 cases a conventional anastomosis with nonperforator vessel was performed. The size discrepancy rate and the arterial anastomotic site‐related complications were evaluated and compared.ResultsThe flap success rate was 100% (40/40) in the “Open‐Y” group, slightly better than the conventional group (96.5%; 56/58) despite a higher size discrepancy rate in the “Open‐Y” group (27.5%; 11/40) compared to the conventional one (12%; 7/58) (p value, .053). The rate of complications was different, too. Better results were obtained in the “Open‐Y” group with 4/40 (10%) complications compared to the 18/58 (31%) of the conventional group (p value, .013).ConclusionsThe “Open‐Y” technique is a simple and interesting procedure to increase the vessels' diameter thus reducing size discrepancy and increasing the reliability of the anastomosis. This is extremely valuable in the perforator‐to‐perforator free tissue transfer setting where surgeons are often forced to work in a supermicrosurgical field. Every time a suitable bifurcation is encountered this might be a useful procedure to increase the end‐surface available for the anastomosis or to reduce vessels size discrepancy.
Improved simultaneous multislice cardiac MRI using readout concatenated k‐space SPIRiT (ROCK‐SPIRiT)
Authors: Demirel Omer Burak , Weingärtner Sebastian , Moeller Steen , Akçakaya Mehmet 
Published: February 2021

PurposeTo develop and evaluate a simultaneous multislice (SMS) reconstruction technique that provides noise reduction and leakage blocking for highly accelerated cardiac MRI.MethodsReadOut Concatenated k‐space SPIRiT (ROCK‐SPIRiT) uses the concept of readout concatenation in image domain to represent SMS encoding, and performs coil self‐consistency as in SPIRiT‐type reconstruction in an extended k‐space, while allowing regularization for further denoising. The proposed method is implemented with and without regularization, and validated on retrospectively SMS‐accelerated cine imaging with three‐fold SMS and two‐fold in‐plane acceleration. ROCK‐SPIRiT is compared with two leakage‐blocking SMS reconstruction methods: readout‐SENSE‐GRAPPA and split slice–GRAPPA. Further evaluation and comparisons are performed using prospectively SMS‐accelerated cine imaging.ResultsResults on retrospectively three‐fold SMS and two‐fold in‐plane accelerated cine imaging show that ROCK‐SPIRiT without regularization significantly improves on existing methods in terms of PSNR (readout‐SENSE‐GRAPPA: 33.5 ± 3.2, split slice–GRAPPA: 34.1 ± 3.8, ROCK‐SPIRiT: 35.0 ± 3.3) and SSIM (readout‐SENSE‐GRAPPA: 84.4 ± 8.9, split slice–GRAPPA: 85.0 ± 8.9, ROCK‐SPIRiT: 88.2 ± 6.6 [in percentage]). Regularized ROCK‐SPIRiT significantly outperforms all methods, as characterized by these quantitative metrics (PSNR: 37.6 ± 3.8, SSIM: 94.2 ± 4.1 [in percentage]). The prospectively five‐fold SMS and two‐fold in‐plane accelerated data show that ROCK‐SPIRiT and regularized ROCK‐SPIRiT have visually improved image quality compared with existing methods.ConclusionThe proposed ROCK‐SPIRiT technique reduces noise and interslice leakage in accelerated SMS cardiac cine MRI, improving on existing methods both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Patient preference elicitation instrument, OABCare, to facilitate shared decision‐making in the care of overactive bladder
Authors: Chhatre Sumedha , Newman Diane K. , Wein Alan J. , Jayadevappa Ravishankar 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAimsTo describe the development and feasibility of a preference elicitation instrument, OABCare, using choice‐based adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA) among patients with overactive bladder (OAB).MethodsThis was a two‐phase study. In Phase 1, an extensive literature review along with patient and provider focus groups yielded the attributes and levels for our OABCare instrument. The hierarchical Bayesian random‐effects model generated utilities and mean relative importance scores of treatment attributes. Phase 2 consisted of a cohort study to assess the association between OAB treatment uptake and treatment attributes elicited from OABCare, using generalized linear models.ResultsLiterature review and provider and patient focus groups in Phase 1 yielded themes related to OAB management that were used to develop 11 attributes for the ACA instrument. For Phase 2 of the study, 108 patients were recruited who completed the OABCare instrument. Results showed that the top five attributes with the highest mean utility values were caregiver burden, impaired bladder function, social interaction constraints, treatment side effects, and use of pads. In addition, impaired bladder function (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1, 2.1), disturbed sleep (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.47), social interaction constraints (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.32), and out‐of‐pocket costs (OR = 0.79, 95 % CI = 0.61, 0.94) were associated with OAB treatment uptake.ConclusionsOur ACA‐based instrument, OABCare, is a feasible and acceptable tool for assessing preferences in OAB patients. Preference assessment can facilitate shared decision‐making and may enhance the quality of OAB care. Future work will evaluate the OABCare instrument in different subgroups based on sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics, and its integration into clinical care settings.
Impacts of COVID‐19 on caregivers of childhood cancer survivors
Authors: Wimberly Courtney E. , Towry Lisa , Caudill Caroline , Johnston Emily E. , Walsh Kyle M. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractPurposeWe sought to assess the impact of disruptions due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) on caregivers of childhood cancer survivors.MethodsA 13‐question survey containing multiple‐choice, Likert‐type, and free‐text questions on experiences, behaviors, and attitudes during the COVID‐19 outbreak was sent to childhood cancer caregivers and completed between April 13 and May 17, 2020. Ordered logistic regression was used to investigate relationships between demographics, COVID‐related experiences, and caregiver well‐being.ResultsCaregivers from 321 unique families completed the survey, including 175 with children under active surveillance/follow‐up care and 146 with children no longer receiving oncology care. Overall, caregivers expressed exceptional resiliency, highlighting commonalities between caring for a child with cancer and adopting COVID‐19 prophylactic measures. However, respondents reported delayed/canceled appointments (50%) and delayed/canceled imaging (19%). Eleven percent of caregivers reported struggling to pay for basic needs, which was associated with greater disruption to daily life, greater feelings of anxiety, poorer sleep, and less access to social support (p < .05). Caregivers who were self‐isolating reported greater feelings of anxiety and poorer sleep (p < .05). Respondents who expressed confidence in the government response to COVID‐19 reported less disruption to their daily life, decreased feelings of depression and anxiety, better sleep, and greater hopefulness (p < .001)ConclusionsCaregivers are experiencing changes to medical care, financial disruptions, and emotional distress due to COVID‐19. To better serve caregivers and medically at‐risk children, clinicians must evaluate financial toxicity and feelings of isolation in families affected by childhood cancer, and work to provide reliable information on how COVID‐19 may differentially impact their children.
Reciprocating friction and wear performances of nanometer sized‐TiO2 filled epoxy composites
Authors: Tian Jingwei , Li Chenggao , Xian Guijun 
Published: February 2021

AbstractNanometer‐sized particles, for example, TiO2, have gradually gained the attention to improve the mechanical and tribological properties of epoxy composite coatings. In the present paper, TiO2 with the size of 300 nm was applied to improve the reciprocating friction and wear performances of an epoxy composite. The effects of TiO2 content and sample preparation methods on the mechanical and tribological performances were investigated experimentally. It was found that the optimal mixture ratio of TiO2 was 4 wt%, and the tensile strength of composite increased by up to 30% compared with the control sample. The TiO2 nanoparticles were treated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and then mixed into epoxy resin with three‐roll mill grinding technique. The PVP molecules could surround a single TiO2 to form super‐monomer, which produced repulsive force to aim to disperse nanoparticles, and the three‐roll mill grinding could utilize the compression of axis surfaces and friction at different speeds to reduce the size of agglomerations of more than 5 microns. The results showed that the PVP molecules treatment could improve tensile strength and modulus, and three‐roll mill grinding technique could enhance the elongation at break. In addition, the reciprocating wear rate and frictional coefficient of the epoxy composite plates also were reduced remarkably owing to the pretreatment of TiO2 particles, for example, and the frictional coefficient of epoxy composite decreased from 0.09 to 0.04 for the optimal ratio of TiO2, and special wear rate also decreased by 87.5% compared with the control sample. This was because the TiO2 nanoparticles acted as the stress transfer medium and could undertake part of loading to relieve stress directly into the epoxy matrix. There was a thin transfer film in which the particles acted as a membrane skeleton to avoid matrix further being torn. Because of the hardness and nanoeffect of particles, TiO2 could fill the defects in the wear interface to form a protective film and improve surface fatigue resistance property. The more uniform dispersion of TiO2 particles brought about the obvious improvement of wear resistance of composites.
Automatic mental health identification method based on natural gait pattern
Authors: Miao Beibei , Liu Xiaoqian , Zhu Tingshao 
Published: February 2021

AbstractMental health has become a global problem, as over 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression and 200 million from anxiety disorders, which are ranked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the first and sixth leading causes of disability, respectively. Due to the limited health resources, the traditional method of mental health diagnosis as one‐to‐one consultation is difficult to meet the needs of the large number of mental subhealth population. In this article, we propose a new method for mental health recognition that could identify potentially clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety based on daily gait. Eighty‐eight participants were recruited, and their gaits were recorded by a digital camera. Then they were required to complete two rating scales, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) and the seven‐item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD‐7), to measure their depression and anxiety levels. Specifically, 18 key points of each individual's body trunk were captured from video, and both time‐domain features and frequency‐domain behavioral features were extracted for each key point. Lastly, machine‐learning algorithms were utilized to build the mental health recognition models. Results showed that the proposed method is feasible and effective, with a correlation coefficient of depression (measured by PHQ‐9) recognition above 0.5 and anxiety (measured by GAD‐7) recognition above 0.4, achieving medium correlation. This new, low‐cost, and convenient mental health recognition pattern could be applied in daily monitoring of mental health and large‐scale preliminary screening of mental diseases.
Fused filament fabrication of polyetheretherketone/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites: the effect of thermally conductive nanometric filler on the printability and related properties
Authors: Rinaldi Marianna , Ghidini Tommaso , Nanni Francesca 
Published: February 2021

AbstractFused filament fabrication is an additive layer manufacturing technique. It was extensively used at the beginning for the manufacturing of prototypes, and it has been adopted during the last few years for the manufacturing of fully functional components. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has been thoroughly investigated as a composite matrix because of its outstanding mechanical properties and thermal and chemical stability. This study is focused on PEEK nanocomposites with different amounts of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (i.e. 3, 5, 10 wt%) produced in the form of a filament and successively 3D printed. The influence of the CNT presence on printability was studied and correlated to the nanocomposite feedstock thermal and microstructural properties, defining a substrate temperature processability window. Interestingly the addition of CNTs significantly limits the processability window due to the influence on the crystallization process and viscosity. Moreover, the thermal and mechanical properties of 3D printed bulk samples were investigated in view of the PEEK/CNT nanocomposite feedstock properties. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry
Global analysis of lysine acetylome reveals the potential role of CCL18 in non‐small cell lung cancer
Authors: Kong Shuai , Ding Lu , Fan Chenkun , Li Yun , Wang Chi , Wang Ke , Xu Weilong , Shi Xuanming , Wu Quan , Wang Fengsong 
Published: February 2021

AbstractC‐C motif chemokine 18 (CCL18) belongs to the chemokine CC family and is predominantly secreted by M2‐tumor‐associated macrophages. It has been reported to be associated with various diseases and malignancies. Previous studies showed that CCL18 promotes metastasis by activating downstream kinases. However, it remains unknown whether CCL18 regulates post‐translational modifications, other than phosphorylation, during tumorigenesis. Here, we demonstrate that CCL18 is up‐regulated in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is involved in regulating the lysine acetylome in A549 cells. Using the combination of SILAC labeling and high‐efficiency acetylation enrichment methods, we identified 1372 lysine acetylation (Kac) sites on 796 proteins in CCL18‐treated A549 cells. Among the identified Kac sites, 147 from 126 proteins were down‐regulated and seven from five proteins were up‐regulated with fold changes more than two and the p‐value less than 0.05. Bioinformatics analysis further showed that the proteins with down‐regulated acetylation play critical roles in glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and pentose phosphate pathway in A549 cells. These results suggest that CCL18 may be involved in the development of NSCLC by regulating acetylation of the proteins in many fundamental cellular processes, especially the metabolic reprogramming of tumor cells.
Promising iron(II) complexes of curcumins: designing, density functional theory, and molecular docking
Authors: Kumar Ajay , Kumar Vinod , Kumari Kamlesh , Jain Pallavi , Kaushik Nagendra Kumar , Singh Prashant 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCurcumin is the key compound of turmeric and was identified as diferuloylmethane. It can be administered through various routes like orally and inhalation. It is hydrophobic, and the bioavailability for oral administration of curcumin is low. It is an important biological promising compound and used for the treatment of patients' suffering from atherosclerosis, colon cancer, hypercholesteremia, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic cancer, and so forth. The work aims to design the iron(II) complexes of curcumin and its derivatives. The designed complexes were studied by the density functional theory (DFT) approach for their stability and were investigated based on IR spectra using Gaussian 9.0. Further, curcumin and the iron (II) complexes were explored for their biological potency as inhibitors against the main protease of SARS‐CoV‐2, as well as for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities using molecular docking with the iGemDock. Based on the results, it has been observed that among the iron(II) complexes of curcumin, C1 showed promising biological activities against tyrosinase kinase and the main protease of SARS‐CoV‐2 as well as satisfactory action againstEscherichia coli.
Intensive care management of right ventricular failure and pulmonary hypertension crises
Authors: Coleman Ryan D. , Chartan Corey A. , Mourani Peter M. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractPulmonary hypertension (PH), an often unrelenting disease that carries with it significant morbidity and mortality, affects not only the pulmonary vasculature but, in turn, the right ventricle as well. The survival of patients with PH is closely related to the right ventricular function. Therefore, having an understanding of how to manage right ventricular failure (RVF) and acute pulmonary hypertensive crises is imperative for clinicians who encounter these patients. This review addresses the management of these patients in detail, addressing: (a) the pathophysiology of RVF, (b) intensive care monitoring of these patients in the intensive care unit, (c) imaging of the right ventricle, (d) intubation and mechanical ventilation, (e) inotrope and vasopressor selection, (f) pulmonary vasodilator use, (g) interventional and surgical procedures for the acutely failing right ventricle, and (h) mechanical support for RVF.
Determination of Particulate Matter Emission Factors of Common Pyrotechnic Articles
Authors: Keller Fritz , Schragen Christian 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe measurement of particulate matter (TSP, PM10, and PM2.5) emitted by pyrotechnic articles is described. For this purpose, pyrotechnic articles for entertainment purposes of category F2 (i. e. consumer fireworks according to European legislation) are examined exemplarily. The aim was to determine reliable emission factors (EF). Different types of pyrotechnic articles were used to obtain a more representative database. Commonly used analytical methods, like impactor technology, are accompanied by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy to obtain a better insight into the nature of the emissions. Specific emission factors are determined for each pyrotechnic article. In the absence of activity rates, an average specific emission factor can be used to assess emission inventories. The average emission factors for investigated articles are 253 g PM10 per kg net explosive content (NEC) and 200 g PM2.5 per kg NEC. The highest emission is found for a battery of shot tubes, the lowest emission of particulate matter is found for a fountain‐like pyrotechnic article. Furthermore, the hypothesis is assessed whether it makes a difference to determine emission data based on pyrotechnic mixtures or pyrotechnic articles. It is demonstrated that the combustion of pyrotechnic articles generates a higher amount of particulate matter than the combustion of pyrotechnic mixtures.
Finite‐time adaptive fault‐tolerant tracking control for nonlinear switched systems with dynamic uncertainties
Authors: Cui Di , Wu Yifei , Xiang Zhengrong 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn this paper, a finite‐time adaptive fault‐tolerant control (FTC) scheme is researched for a class of nonlinear systems with unmodeled dynamics, where the dynamic system is switched. Due to the complexity of the system and switching characteristics, it is not easy to solve the tracking problem in a finite time adopting existing approaches. In this study, a new FTC method is presented. This is completed by using the backstepping technology, common Lyapunov function method, and radial basis function (RBF) neural networks (NNs) which are utilized to estimate unknown functions. It is shown that all signals in the closed‐loop system are semi‐global bounded under arbitrary switching, and the tracking error converges to a small region around the origin in a finite time. An effective simulation example is given to prove the practicability of the designed scheme in the end.
Microfabrication Enables Quantification of Interfacial Activity in Thermal Catalysis
Authors: Frei Matthias S. , Veenstra Florentine L. P. , Capeder David , Stewart Joseph A. , Curulla‐Ferré Daniel , Martín Antonio J. , Mondelli Cecilia , Pérez‐Ramírez Javier 
Published: February 2021

AbstractA myriad of heterogeneous catalysts comprises multiple phases that need to be precisely structured to exert their maximal contribution to performance through electronic and structural interactions at their peripheries. In view of the nanometric, tridimensional, and anisotropic nature of these materials, a quantification of the interface and the impact of catalytic sites located there on the global performance is a highly challenging task. Consequently, the true origin of catalysis often remains subject of debate even for widely studied materials. Herein, an integrated strategy based on microfabricated catalysts and a custom‐designed reactor is introduced for determining interfacial contributions upon catalytic activity assessment under process‐relevant conditions, which can be easily implemented in the common catalysis research infrastructure and will accelerate the rational design of multicomponent heterogeneous catalysts for diverse applications. The method is validated by studying the high‐pressure continuous‐flow hydrogenation of CO and CO2 over Cu–ZnO catalysts, revealing linear correlations between the methanol formation rate and the interface between the metal and the oxide. Characterization of fresh and used materials points to the model catalyst preparation as the current challenge of the methodology that can be addressed through further development of nanotechnological tools.