bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Deep learning‐based motion tracking using ultrasound images
Authors: Dai Xianjin , Lei Yang , Roper Justin , Chen Yue , Bradley Jeffrey D. , Curran Walter J. , Liu Tian , Yang Xiaofeng 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPurposeUltrasound (US) imaging is an established imaging modality capable of offering video‐rate volumetric images without ionizing radiation. It has the potential for intra‐fraction motion tracking in radiation therapy. In this study, a deep learning‐based method has been developed to tackle the challenges in motion tracking using US imaging.MethodsWe present a Markov‐like network, which is implemented via generative adversarial networks, to extract features from sequential US frames (one tracked frame followed by untracked frames) and thereby estimate a set of deformation vector fields (DVFs) through the registration of the tracked frame and the untracked frames. The positions of the landmarks in the untracked frames are finally determined by shifting landmarks in the tracked frame according to the estimated DVFs. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on the testing dataset by calculating the tracking error (TE) between the predicted and ground truth landmarks on each frame.ResultsThe proposed method was evaluated using the MICCAI CLUST 2015 dataset which was collected using seven US scanners with eight types of transducers and the Cardiac Acquisitions for Multi‐structure Ultrasound Segmentation (CAMUS) dataset which was acquired using GE Vivid E95 ultrasound scanners. The CLUST dataset contains 63 2D and 22 3D US image sequences respectively from 42 and 18 subjects, and the CAMUS dataset includes 2D US images from 450 patients. On CLUST dataset, our proposed method achieved a mean tracking error of 0.70 ± 0.38 mm for the 2D sequences and 1.71 ± 0.84 mm for the 3D sequences for those public available annotations. And on CAMUS dataset, a mean tracking error of 0.54 ± 1.24 mm for the landmarks in the left atrium was achieved.ConclusionsA novel motion tracking algorithm using US images based on modern deep learning techniques has been demonstrated in this study. The proposed method can offer millimeter‐level tumor motion prediction in real time, which has the potential to be adopted into routine tumor motion management in radiation therapy.
Gusseisen, Gummi, Bodenproben ‐ Referenzstandards für die analytische Chemie
Authors: Recknagel Sebastian 
Published: November 2021

AbstractNur mit Referenzmaterialien lässt sich überprüfen, ob Analysenmethoden zuverlässig und Messergebnisse richtig sind. Die Nachfrage nach Materialien mit zertifizierten Gehalten an Kohlenstoff, Schwermetallen oder anderen Analyten steigt. Eine Ursache: neue Grenzwerte und auch Reach.
Sparse multivariate regression with missing values and its application to the prediction of material properties
Authors: Teramoto Keisuke , Hirose Kei 
Published: November 2021

AbstractIn the field of materials science and engineering, statistical analysis and machine learning techniques have recently been used to predict multiple material properties from an experimental design. These material properties correspond to response variables in the multivariate regression model. In this study, we conduct a penalized maximum likelihood procedure to estimate model parameters, including the regression coefficients and covariance matrix of response variables. In particular, we employ ‐regularization to achieve a sparse estimation of The regression coefficients and inverse covariance matrix of response variables. In some cases, there may be a relatively large number of missing values in the response variables, owing to the difficulty of collecting data on material properties. We therefore propose a method that incorporates a correlation structure among the response variables into a statistical model to improve the prediction accuracy under the situation with missing values. The expectation maximization algorithm is also constructed, which enables application to a dataset with missing values in the responses. We apply our proposed procedure to real data consisting of 22 material properties.
Development and testing of the situational judgement test to measure safety performance of healthcare professionals: An explorative cross‐sectional study
Authors: Heier Lina , Gambashidze Nikoloz , Hammerschmidt Judith , Riouchi Donia , Geiser Franziska , Ernstmann Nicole 
Published: November 2021

AbstractAimTo measure safety performance, situational judgement test, which is a method composed of job‐related situations, can be used. This study aimed to develop and test its psychometric properties by measuring the safety performance of healthcare professionals in German hospitals.DesignAn explorative cross‐sectional study.MethodsA team of researchers, nurses and physicians developed seven items, which focus on different safety areas. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each item. Cronbach's alpha was calculated as an indication of internal consistency. Spearman's correlation between the items was evaluated as analysis of construct validity. A cross‐sectional survey with healthcare professionals in three German hospitals was conducted to test the developed instrument.ResultsA total of 168 healthcare professionals participated (response rate: 39.1%). 70.2% were women, and 38.7%, 33.9%, 15.5% and 11.3% were registered nurses, nurses in training, physicians and other healthcare professionals respectively. The situational judgement test demonstrated an acceptable psychometric performance.
Metabolic tumor constitution is superior to tumor regression grading for evaluating response to neoadjuvant therapy of esophageal adenocarcinoma patients
Authors: Buck Achim , Prade Verena M , Kunzke Thomas , Feuchtinger Annette , Kröll Dino , Feith Marcus , Dislich Bastian , Balluff Benjamin , Langer Rupert , Walch Axel 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe response to neoadjuvant therapy can vary widely between individual patients. Histopathological tumor regression grading (TRG) is a strong factor for treatment response and survival prognosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) patients following neoadjuvant treatment and surgery. However, TRG systems are usually based on the estimation of residual tumor but do not consider stromal or metabolic changes after treatment. Spatial metabolomics analysis is a powerful tool for molecular tissue phenotyping but has not been used so far in the context of neoadjuvant treatment of esophageal cancer. We used imaging mass spectrometry to assess the potential of spatial metabolomics on tumor and stroma tissue for evaluating therapy response of neoadjuvant‐treated EAC patients. With an accuracy of 89.7%, the binary classifier trained on spatial tumor metabolite data proved to be superior for stratifying patients when compared with histopathological response assessment, which had an accuracy of 70.5%. Sensitivities and specificities for the poor and favorable survival patient groups ranged from 84.9% to 93.3% using the metabolic classifier and from 62.2% to 78.1% using TRG. The tumor classifier was the only significant prognostic factor (HR 3.38, 95% CI 1.40–8.12, p = 0.007) when adjusted for clinicopathological parameters such as TRG (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.67–1.53, p = 0.968) or stromal classifier (HR 1.86, 95% CI 0.81–4.25, p = 0.143). The classifier even allowed us to further stratify patients within the TRG1–3 categories. The underlying mechanisms of response to treatment have been figured out through network analysis. In summary, metabolic response evaluation outperformed histopathological response evaluation in our study with regard to prognostic stratification. This finding indicates that the metabolic constitution of the tumor may have a greater impact on patient survival than the quantity of residual tumor cells or the stroma. © 2021 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Entering the plasma agriculture field: An attempt to standardize protocols for plasma treatment of seeds
Authors: Waskow Alexandra , Avino Fabio , Howling Alan , Furno Ivo 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPlasma treatments are currently being assessed as a seed processing technology for agricultural purposes. There is sufficient information as a proof‐of‐concept, but a lack of standardization in the methodology prevents a convincing evaluation of plasma treatment on seeds. It would be helpful to coordinate research efforts to make the entry for newcomers into this interdisciplinary field less overwhelming and to aid in transferring this technology into the industry by establishing a common protocol. This review presents the parameters used in the seed preparation, the plasma treatment of the seed, and the seed posttreatment. This summary of the plasma and biological parameters is intended to raise awareness about questions that need to be addressed to properly record protocol details and reproduce results for the plasma treatment of seeds.
Higher fibrotic content of endometriotic lesions is associated with diminished prostaglandin E2 signaling
Authors: Huang Qingqing , Liu Xishi , Guo Sun‐Wei 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPurposeWhile the prevailing view holds that the prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) signaling plays a vital role in endometriosis, PGE2 also is known to be anti‐fibrotic. We investigated the immunostaining of COX‐2, EP2, and EP4, along with fibrotic content in ovarian endometrioma (OE) and deep endometriosis (DE) lesions, and in OE lesions from adolescent and adult patients. In addition, we evaluated the effect of substrate stiffness on the expression of COX‐2, EP2, and EP4 in endometrial stromal cells.MethodsImmunohistochemistry analysis of COX‐2, EP2, and EP4, along with the quantification of lesional fibrosis, was conducted for OE and DE lesion samples and also OE lesion samples from adolescent and adult patients. The effect of substrate rigidity on fibroblast‐to‐myofibroblast transdifferentiation (FMT) and the expression of COX‐2, EP2, and EP4, with or without TGF‐β1 stimulation, were investigated.ResultsThe immunostaining of COX‐2, EP2, and EP4 was substantially reduced in endometriotic lesions as lesions became more fibrotic. Both TGF‐β1 stimulation and stiff substrates induced FMT and reduced the expression of COX‐2, EP2, and EP4.ConclusionsSince fibrosis is a common feature of endometriosis, our results thus cast doubts on the use of therapeutics that suppresses the PGE2 signaling pathway, either by inhibiting COX‐2 or EP2/EP4.
CAR-NK Cells from Engineered Pluripotent Stem Cells: Off-the-shelf Therapeutics for all Patients
Authors: Lu Shi-Jiang , Feng Qiang 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Clinical success of adoptive cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for treating hematological malignancies has revolutionized the field of cellular immunotherapy. However, due to the nature of utilizing autologous T cells, affordability and availability are major hurdles, in addition to scientific challenges relating to CAR-T therapy optimization. Natural killer (NK) cell is a specialized immune effector cell type that recognizes and kills targets without human leukocyte antigen (HLA) restriction and prior sensitization. CAR-NK cells do not cause graft vs host disease and can be obtained from unrelated donors as well as pluripotent stem cells (PSC), representing an ideal off-the-shelf therapeutics readily available for patients. Furthermore, unlike cytotoxic T cells, NK cells specifically target and eliminate cancer stem cells, which are the cells causing relapse and metastasis. PSCs can be genetically manipulated and engineered with CARs at the pluripotent stage, which allows the establishment of permanent, stable, and clonal PSC-CAR lines for the manufacture of unlimited homogenous CAR-NK cells. Multiple master PSC-CAR cell banks targeting a variety of antigens for cancer, viral infection, and autoimmune diseases provide inexhaustible cell sources for all patients. Development of a next-generation 3D bioreactor platform for PSC expansion and NK cell production overcomes major barriers related to cost and scalability for CAR-NK product.
Cell‐Derived Biogenetic Gold Nanoparticles for Sensitizing Radiotherapy and Boosting Immune Response against Cancer
Authors: Qin Xianya , Yang Conglian , Xu Hongbo , Zhang Runzan , Zhang Dan , Tu Jingyao , Guo Yuanyuan , Niu Boning , Kong Li , Zhang Zhiping 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe biosynthesis of nanomedicine has gained enormous attention and exhibited promising prospects, while the underlying mechanism and advantage remain not fully understood. Here, a cell‐reactor based on tumor cells is developed to obtain biogenetic gold nanoparticles (Au@MC38) for sensitizing radiotherapy and boosting immune responses. It demonstrates that the intracellular biomineralization and exocytosis process of Au@MC38 can be regulated by the cellular metabolites level and other factors, such as glutathione and reactive oxygen species (ROS), autophagy, and UV irradiation. The elucidation of mechanisms may promote the understanding of interaction principles between nanoparticles and biosystems in the process of biosynthesis. Combined with radiotherapy, Au@MC38 strengthens the radiation‐induced DNA damage and ROS generation, thus aggravating cell apoptosis and necrosis. Benefiting from homologous targeting and transcytosis effect, Au@MC38 demonstrates good tumor distribution. Local radiation‐induced immunogenic cell death initiates an effective immune response. Especially, CD8a+ dendritic cells are significantly increased in mice that received combinatorial treatment. This radio‐sensitization strategy has demonstrated the effective inhibition on primary and metastatic tumors, and achieved satisfactory survival benefit in combinatorial with immune checkpoint blockade. Thus, this bio‐inspired synthetic strategy may impulse the development of biosynthesis and its therapeutic applications, contributing to a non‐invasive and efficient modality for nanomedicine exploitation.
Linear functional equations and their solutions in generalized Orlicz spaces
Authors: Morawiec Janusz , Zürcher Thomas 
Published: November 2021

AbstractAssume that $$\Omega \subset \mathbb {R}^k$$

Ω
⊂

R

k

is an open set, V is a real separable Banach space and $$f_1,\ldots ,f_N :\Omega \rightarrow \Omega $$

f
1

,
…
,

f
N

:
Ω
→
Ω

, $$g_1,\ldots , g_N:\Omega \rightarrow \mathbb {R}$$

g
1

,
…
,

g
N

:
Ω
→
R

, $$h_0:\Omega \rightarrow V$$

h
0

:
Ω
→
V

are given functions. We are interested in the existence and uniqueness of solutions $$\varphi :\Omega \rightarrow V$$

φ
:
Ω
→
V

of the linear equation $$\varphi =\sum _{k=1}^{N}g_k\cdot (\varphi \circ f_k)+h_0$$

φ
=

∑

k
=
1

N

g
k

·

(
φ
∘

f
k

)

+

h
0

in generalized Orlicz spaces.
The Schlaining quartz-stibnite deposit, Eastern Alps, Austria: constraints from conventional and infrared microthermometry and isotope and crush-leach analyses of fluid inclusions
Authors: Sośnicka Marta , de Graaf Stefan , Morteani Giulio , Banks David A. , Niedermann Samuel , Stoltnow Malte , Lüders Volker 
Published: November 2021

AbstractStibnite was mined until the end of the twentieth century in the Schlaining ore district, Austria, near the easternmost border of the Eastern Alps where windows of Penninic ophiolites and metasediments are exposed below Austroalpine tectonic units. In Early Miocene, structurally controlled small vein and metasomatic stibnite-quartz deposits were formed in Penninic Mesozoic calcareous marbles and calcite schists. Fluid inclusion studies identified two fluids involved in the mineralization: (i) a low-salinity, low-CO2 metamorphic fluid that precipitated quartz at approximately 240 °C and (ii) a stibnite-forming ore fluid that had a meteoric origin. There is no evidence of boiling or that the fluids mixed during mineralization. The ore components Sb and H2S were leached by fluid/rock interaction from buried rock units. Stibnite mineralization occurred by cooling the ore fluid to below 300 °C, at less than 2000 m depth. Quartz precipitated at slightly lower temperatures, approximately contemporaneous with stibnite. Fluid migration and ore deposition are probably related to high heat flow during the exhumation of the Rechnitz Window in response to Neogene extension and/or shallow Early Miocene andesitic magmatism. The study emphasizes that data obtained from the analyses of gangue minerals alone cannot routinely be used to infer the origin and depositional conditions of the associated ore minerals.
Bayesian analysis of mixture autoregressive models covering the complete parameter space
Authors: Ravagli Davide , Boshnakov Georgi N. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractMixture autoregressive (MAR) models provide a flexible way to model time series with predictive distributions which depend on the recent history of the process and are able to accommodate asymmetry and multimodality. Bayesian inference for such models offers the additional advantage of incorporating the uncertainty in the estimated models into the predictions. We introduce a new way of sampling from the posterior distribution of the parameters of MAR models which allows for covering the complete parameter space of the models, unlike previous approaches. We also propose a relabelling algorithm to deal a posteriori with label switching. We apply our new method to simulated and real datasets, discuss the accuracy and performance of our new method, as well as its advantages over previous studies. The idea of density forecasting using MCMC output is also introduced.
NOD2 and reproduction-associated NOD-like receptors have been lost during the evolution of pangolins
Authors: Salova Margarita , Sipos Wolfgang , Tschachler Erwin , Eckhart Leopold 
Published: November 2021

AbstractNOD-like receptors (NLRs) are sensors of pathogen-associated molecular patterns with critical roles in the control of immune responses and programmed cell death. Recent studies have revealed inter-species differences in mammalian innate immune genes and a particular degeneration of nucleic acid sensing pathways in pangolins, which are currently investigated as potential hosts for zoonotic pathogens. Here, we used comparative genomics to determine which NLR genes are conserved or lost in pangolins and related mammals. We show that NOD2, which is implicated in sensing bacterial muramyl dipeptide and viral RNA, is a pseudogene in pangolins, but not in any other mammalian species investigated. NLRC4 and NAIP are absent in pangolins and canine carnivorans, suggesting convergent loss of cytoplasmic sensing of bacterial flagellin in these taxa. Among NLR family pyrin domain containing proteins (NLRPs), skin barrier-related NLRP10 has been lost in pangolins after the evolutionary divergence from Carnivora. Strikingly, pangolins lack all NLRPs associated with reproduction (germ cells and embryonic development) in other mammals, i.e., NLRP2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 14. Taken together, our study shows a massive degeneration of NLR genes in pangolins and suggests that these endangered mammals may have unique adaptations of innate immunity and reproductive cell biology.
β2-Adrenoceptor Activation Stimulates IL-6 Production via PKA, ERK1/2, Src, and Beta-Arrestin2 Signaling Pathways in Human Bronchial Epithelia
Authors: Zhang Rui-Gang , Niu Ya , Pan Ke-Wu , Pang Hao , Chen Chun-Ling , Yip Chung-Yin , Ko Wing-Hung 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Objective
β2-Adrenoceptor agonists are widely used to treat asthma because of their bronchial-dilation effects. We previously reported that isoprenaline, via the apical and basolateral β2-adrenoceptor, induced Cl− secretion by activating cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent pathways in human bronchial epithelia. Despite these results, whether and how the β2-adrenoceptor-mediated cAMP-dependent pathway contributes to pro-inflammatory cytokine release in human bronchial epithelia remains poorly understood.

Methods
We investigated β2-adrenoceptor-mediated signaling pathways involved in the production of two pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, in 16HBE14o- human bronchial epithelia. The effects of isoprenaline or formoterol were assessed in the presence of protein kinase A (PKA), exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (EPAC), Src, and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK)1/2 inhibitors. The involvement of β-arrestin2 was examined using siRNA knockdown.

Results
Isoprenaline and formoterol (both β2 agonists) induced IL-6, but not IL-8, release, which could be inhibited by ICI 118,551 (β2 antagonist). The PKA-specific inhibitor, H89, partially inhibited IL-6 release. Another intracellular cAMP receptor, EPAC, was not involved in IL-6 release. Isoprenaline-mediated IL-6 secretion was attenuated by dasatinib, a Src inhibitor, and PD98059, an ERK1/2 inhibitor. Isoprenaline treatment also led to ERK1/2 phosphorylation. In addition, knockdown of β-arrestin2 by siRNA specifically suppressed cytokine release when a high concentration of isoprenaline (1 mM) was used.

Conclusion
Our results suggest that activation of the β2-adrenoceptor in 16HBE14o- cells stimulated the PKA/Src/ERK1/2 and/or β-arrestin2 signaling pathways, leading to IL-6 release. Therefore, our data reveal that β2-adrenoceptor signaling plays a role in the immune regulation of human airway epithelia.
Approximate Minimum Selection with Unreliable Comparisons
Authors: Leucci Stefano , Liu Chih-Hung 
Published: November 2021

AbstractWe consider the approximate minimum selection problem in presence of independent random comparison faults. This problem asks to select one of the smallest k elements in a linearly-ordered collection of n elements by only performing unreliable pairwise comparisons: whenever two elements are compared, there is a small probability that the wrong comparison outcome is observed. We design a randomized algorithm that solves this problem with a success probability of at least $$1-q$$

1
-
q

for $$q \in (0, \frac{n-k}{n})$$

q
∈
(
0
,

n
-
k

n

)

and any $$k \in [1, n-1]$$

k
∈
[
1
,
n
-
1
]

using $$O\big ( \frac{n}{k} \big \lceil \log \frac{1}{q} \big \rceil \big )$$

O

(

n
k

⌈

log

1
q

⌉

)

comparisons in expectation (if $$k \ge n$$

k
≥
n

or $$q \ge \frac{n-k}{n}$$

q
≥

n
-
k

n

the problem becomes trivial). Then, we prove that the expected number of comparisons needed by any algorithm that succeeds with probability at least $$1-q$$

1
-
q

must be $${\varOmega }(\frac{n}{k}\log \frac{1}{q})$$

Ω
(

n
k

log

1
q

)

whenever q is bounded away from $$\frac{n-k}{n}$$

n
-
k

n

, thus implying that the expected number of comparisons performed by our algorithm is asymptotically optimal in this range. Moreover, we show that the approximate minimum selection problem can be solved using $$O( (\frac{n}{k} + \log \log \frac{1}{q}) \log \frac{1}{q})$$

O
(

(

n
k

+
log
log

1
q

)

log

1
q

)

comparisons in the worst case, which is optimal when q is bounded away from $$\frac{n-k}{n}$$

n
-
k

n

and $$k = O\big ( \frac{n}{\log \log \frac{1}{q}}\big )$$

k
=
O

(

n

log
log

1
q

)

.