bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
PD-L1 expression as a predictor of postoperative recurrence and the association between the PD-L1 expression and EGFR mutations in NSCLC
Authors: Kojima Kensuke , Sakamoto Tetsuki , Kasai Takahiko , Kagawa Tomoko , Yoon Hyungeun , Atagi Shinji 
Published: September 2021

AbstractAlthough information on the PD-L1 expression and EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is important for therapeutic strategies, the effect of these factors on postoperative recurrence and the association between each factor have remained unclear. We retrospectively assessed the PD-L1 expression and EGFR mutations in 280 NSCLC patients, and analyzed the associations by multivariate analyses. The hazard ratio (HR) of postoperative recurrence in cases with high (≥ 50%) PD-L1 expression regarding negative expression was 4.83 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.51–15.5). The HR for the PD-L1 expression, considered a continuous variable, was 1.016 (95% CI 1.01–1.03). The HRs in cases with EGFR major and minor mutations were 0.42 (95% CI 0.14–1.25) and 0.63 (95% CI 0.18–2.15), respectively. The high PD-L1 (≥ 50%) expression was significantly associated with exon 21 L858R mutation (Ex21) of EGFR (odds ratio, 0.10; 95% CI 0.01–0.87). The risk of postoperative recurrence increased 1.016-fold for every 1% increase in the PD-L1 expression, and a marked increase in risk was observed for expression levels of ≥ 50%. Whereas EGFR mutations were not an independent risk factor. The high PD-L1 (≥ 50%) expression was negatively associated with Ex21. These findings may help identify NSCLC patients with an increased risk of postoperative recurrence.
Comprehensive evaluation of soil quality in a desert steppe influenced by industrial activities in northern China
Authors: Xu Zhe , Mi Wenbao , Mi Nan , Fan Xingang , Zhou Yao , Tian Ying 
Published: September 2021

AbstractDesert steppe soil security issues have been the focus of attention. Therefore, to understand the impact of industrial activities on the soil quality of desert grasslands, this experiment investigated the Gaoshawo Industrial Concentration Zone in Yanchi County. Based on the distance and direction from the industrial park, sample plots were established at intervals of 1–2 km. A total of 82 surface soil samples (0–20 cm) representing different pollution sources were collected. The samples were analysed for pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, available potassium, organic matter, copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn). The desert steppe soil quality was analysed based on the integrated fertility index (IFI) and the Nemerow pollution index (PN), followed by the calculation of the comprehensive soil quality index (SQI), which considers the most suitable soil quality indicators through a geostatistical model. The results showed that the IFI was 0.393, indicating that the soil fertility was relatively poor. Excluding the available potassium, the nugget coefficients of the fertility indicators were less than 25% and showed strong spatial autocorrelation. The average values of Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb and Zn were 21.64 ± 3.26, 0.18 ± 0.02, 44.99 ± 21.23, 87.18 ± 25.84, and 86.63 ± 24.98 mg·kg−1, respectively; the nugget coefficients of Cr, Pb and Zn were 30.79–47.35%. Pb was the main element causing heavy metal pollution in the study area. Higher PN values were concentrated north of the highway in the study area, resulting in lower soil quality in the northern region and a trend of decreasing soil quality from south to north. The results of this research showed that the average SQI was 0.351 and the soil quality was extremely low. Thus, industrial activities and transportation activities in the Gaoshawo Industrial Zone significantly impact the desert steppe soil quality index.
Dimension- and position-controlled growth of GaN microstructure arrays on graphene films for flexible device applications
Authors: Yoo Dongha , Lee Keundong , Tchoe Youngbin , Guha Puspendu , Ali Asad , Saroj Rajendra K. , Lee Seokje , Islam A. B. M. Hamidul , Kim Miyoung , Yi Gyu-Chul 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThis paper describes the fabrication process and characteristics of dimension- and position-controlled gallium nitride (GaN) microstructure arrays grown on graphene films and their quantum structures for use in flexible light-emitting device applications. The characteristics of dimension- and position-controlled growth, which is crucial to fabricate high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices, were investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopes and power-dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements. Among the GaN microstructures, GaN microrods exhibited excellent photoluminescence characteristics including room-temperature stimulated emission, which is especially useful for optoelectronic device applications. As one of the device applications of the position-controlled GaN microrod arrays, we fabricated light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by heteroepitaxially growing InxGa1−xN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and a p-type GaN layer on the surfaces of GaN microrods and by depositing Ti/Au and Ni/Au metal layers to prepare n-type and p-type ohmic contacts, respectively. Furthermore, the GaN microrod LED arrays were transferred onto Cu foil by using the chemical lift-off method. Even after being transferred onto the flexible Cu foil substrate, the microrod LEDs exhibited strong emission of visible blue light. The proposed method to enable the dimension- and position-controlled growth of GaN microstructures on graphene films can likely be used to fabricate other high-quality flexible inorganic semiconductor devices such as micro-LED displays with an ultrahigh resolution.
Non-fusion palliative spine surgery without reconstruction is safe and effective in spinal metastasis patients: retrospective study
Authors: Suvithayasiri Siravich , Santipas Borriwat , Wilartratsami Sirichai , Ruangchainikom Monchai , Luksanapruksa Panya 
Published: September 2021

AbstractConsidering the shorter life expectancy and poorer prognosis of metastatic epidural spinal cord compression patients, anterior reconstruction and fusion may be unnecessary. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of palliative surgery for metastatic epidural spinal cord compression with neurological deficit among patients who underwent posterior decompression and instrumentation without fusion or anterior reconstruction. This single-center retrospective review included all patients aged > 18 years with thoracic or lumbar spinal metastasis who were surgically treated for metastatic spinal cord compression without fusion or anterior reconstruction at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand during July 2015 to December 2017. Data from preoperation to the 1-year follow-up, including demographic and clinical data, Frankel classification, pain scores, complication, revision surgery, health-related quality-of-life scores, and survival data, were collected and analyzed. A total of 30 patients were included. The mean age was 59.83 ± 11.73 years, and 20 (66.7%) patients were female. The mean operative time was 208.17 ± 58.41 min. At least one Frankel grade improvement was reported in 53.33% of patients. The pain visual analog scale, the EuroQOL five-dimension five-level utility score, and the Oswestry Disability Index were all significantly improved at a minimum of 3 months after surgery. No intraoperative mortality or instrument-related complication was reported. The mean survival duration was 11.4 ± 8.97 months. Palliative non-fusion surgery without anterior reconstruction may be considered as a preferable choice for treating spinal metastasis patients with spinal cord compression with neurological deficits.
Neuronal activity in the monkey prefrontal cortex during a duration discrimination task with visual and auditory cues
Authors: Chiba Atsushi , Morita Kazunori , Oshio Ken-ichi , Inase Masahiko 
Published: September 2021

AbstractTo investigate neuronal processing involved in the integration of auditory and visual signals for time perception, we examined neuronal activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) of macaque monkeys during a duration discrimination task with auditory and visual cues. In the task, two cues were consecutively presented for different durations between 0.2 and 1.8 s. Each cue was either auditory or visual and was followed by a delay period. After the second delay, subjects indicated whether the first or the second cue was longer. Cue- and delay-responsive neurons were found in PFC. Cue-responsive neurons mostly responded to either the auditory or the visual cue, and to either the first or the second cue. The neurons responsive to the first delay showed activity that changed depending on the first cue duration and were mostly sensitive to cue modality. The neurons responsive to the second delay exhibited activity that represented which cue, the first or second cue, was presented longer. Nearly half of this activity representing order-based duration was sensitive to cue modality. These results suggest that temporal information with visual and auditory signals was separately processed in PFC in the early stage of duration discrimination and integrated for the final decision.
Biocompatibility and patency of a novel titanium vascular anastomotic device in a pig jugular vein
Authors: An Sanghyun , Kim Junsik , Lee Donghyun , Kim Minwoo , Byun Kangil , Yun Jangkyu , Jeong Woonhyeok , Son Daegu 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThis study aimed to evaluate the biocompatibility and patency of our newly developed titanium vascular anastomotic device (TVAD) in a pig jugular vein. TVAD was made of commercially pure grade 2 titanium. The patency and anastomotic time were simultaneously confirmed in an ex-vivo system developed by the authors and in vivo using pig jugular veins. Five 8-month-old pigs, with body weights of 50–60 kg, underwent anastomosis of both jugular veins using the device. Graft patency was evaluated for 12 weeks by biplane angiography and sonography. All tissue biopsy samples were analysed by histology. In all 10 cases, the anastomosis was completed in < 5 min. The vessel lumen was not damaged, and the inner vessel wall was completely endothelialised at the anastomotic site. No foreign body reactions were observed at the vessel lumen, vessels, and outer vessel walls by histopathologic analysis. Patency and absence of leakage at the anastomotic site of the follow-up period were confirmed clearly by angiography and sonography. This preliminary animal study proved that our newly developed device is a very promising tool for intima-to-intima contact anastomosis. TVAD can be used as a feasible and safe medical tool for vessel anastomosis.
ALS-related FUS mutations alter axon growth in motoneurons and affect HuD/ELAVL4 and FMRP activity
Authors: Garone Maria Giovanna , Birsa Nicol , Rosito Maria , Salaris Federico , Mochi Michela , de Turris Valeria , Nair Remya R. , Cunningham Thomas J. , Fisher Elizabeth M. C. , Morlando Mariangela , Fratta Pietro , Rosa Alessandro 
Published: September 2021

AbstractMutations in the RNA-binding protein (RBP) FUS have been genetically associated with the motoneuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Using both human induced pluripotent stem cells and mouse models, we found that FUS-ALS causative mutations affect the activity of two relevant RBPs with important roles in neuronal RNA metabolism: HuD/ELAVL4 and FMRP. Mechanistically, mutant FUS leads to upregulation of HuD protein levels through competition with FMRP forHuDmRNA 3’UTR binding. In turn, increased HuD levels overly stabilize the transcript levels of its targets, NRN1 and GAP43. As a consequence, mutant FUS motoneurons show increased axon branching and growth upon injury, which could be rescued by dampening NRN1 levels. Since similar phenotypes have been previously described in SOD1 and TDP-43 mutant models, increased axonal growth and branching might represent broad early events in the pathogenesis of ALS.
Functional Impacts of Aminoglycoside Treatment on Speech Perception and Extended High-Frequency Hearing Loss in a Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Cohort
Authors: Blankenship Chelsea M. , Hunter Lisa L. , Feeney M. Patrick , Cox Madison , Bittinger Lindsey , Garinis Angela C. , Lin Li , McPhail Gary , Clancy John P. 
Published: September 2021

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to better understand the prevalence of ototoxicity-related hearing loss and its functional impact on communication in a pediatric and young adult cohort with cystic fibrosis (CF) and individuals without CF (controls).

Method

We did an observational, cross-sectional investigation of hearing function in children, teens, and young adults with CF (
n
= 57,
M
= 15.0 years) who received intravenous aminoglycoside antibiotics and age- and gender-matched controls (
n
= 61,
M
= 14.6 years). Participants completed standard and extended high-frequency audiometry, middle ear measures, speech perception tests, and a hearing and balance questionnaire.

Results
Individuals with CF were 3–4 times more likely to report issues with hearing, balance, and tinnitus and performed significantly poorer on speech perception tasks compared to controls. A higher prevalence of hearing loss was observed in individuals with CF (57%) compared to controls (37%). CF and control groups had similar proportions of slight and mild hearing losses; however, individuals with CF were 7.6 times more likely to have moderate and greater degrees of hearing loss. Older participants displayed higher average extended high-frequency thresholds, with no effect of age on average standard frequency thresholds. Although middle ear dysfunction has not previously been reported to be more prevalent in CF, this study showed that 16% had conductive or mixed hearing loss and higher rates of previous otitis media and pressure equalization tube surgeries compared to controls.

Conclusions
Individuals with CF have a higher prevalence of conductive, mixed, and sensorineural hearing loss; poorer speech-in-noise performance; and higher rates of multiple symptoms associated with otologic disorders (tinnitus, hearing difficulty, dizziness, imbalance, and otitis media) compared to controls. Accordingly, children with CF should be asked about these symptoms and receive baseline hearing assessment(s) prior to treatment with potentially ototoxic medications and at regular intervals thereafter in order to provide otologic and audiologic treatment for hearing- and ear-related problems to improve communication functioning.
Unisensory and Multisensory Stroop Effects Modulate Gender Differences in Verbal and Nonverbal Emotion Perception
Authors: Lin Yi , Ding Hongwei , Zhang Yang 
Published: September 2021

Purpose
This study aimed to examine the Stroop effects of verbal and nonverbal cues and their relative impacts on gender differences in unisensory and multisensory emotion perception.

Method
Experiment 1 investigated how well 88 normal Chinese adults (43 women and 45 men) could identify emotions conveyed through face, prosody and semantics as three independent channels. Experiments 2 and 3 further explored gender differences during multisensory integration of emotion through a cross-channel (prosody-semantics) and a cross-modal (face-prosody-semantics) Stroop task, respectively, in which 78 participants (41 women and 37 men) were asked to selectively attend to one of the two or three communication channels.

Results
The integration of accuracy and reaction time data indicated that paralinguistic cues (i.e., face and prosody) of emotions were consistently more salient than linguistic ones (i.e., semantics) throughout the study. Additionally, women demonstrated advantages in processing all three types of emotional signals in the unisensory task, but only preserved their strengths in paralinguistic processing and showed greater Stroop effects of nonverbal cues on verbal ones during multisensory perception.

Conclusions
These findings demonstrate clear gender differences in verbal and nonverbal emotion perception that are modulated by sensory channels, which have important theoretical and practical implications.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16435599
Normalised complexity metric for manoeuvering target tracking
Authors: Liu Bing , Shen Xiao Jing 
Published: September 2021

AbstractManoeuvering target tracking is a challenging problem for filter design in a variety of tracking systems. However, how to quantify the complexity of this problem is seldom studied. In this paper, a normalised complexity metric for manoeuvering target tracking called relative difficulty to Kalman filter is defined as the ratio between maximum tolerance error of positional estimation and its requirement precision of positional measurement. It can be employed as an indicator of the difficulty of designing an advanced filter to satisfy the tracking requirement. Analytical expression of RD2KF in three‐dimensional space is derived. Two typical tracking examples show that RD2KF is affected by manoeuver intensity, data rate and the required precision of the tracking mission.
Multi‐model fusion of classifiers for blood pressure estimation
Authors: Ye Qi , Wing‐Kuen Ling Bingo , Xu Nuo , Lin Yuxin , Hu Lingyue 
Published: September 2021

AbstractPrehypertension is a new risky disease defined in the seventh report issued by the Joint National Commission. Hence, detecting prehypertension in time plays a very important role in protecting human lives. This study proposes a method for categorising blood pressure values into two classes, namely the class of healthy blood pressure values and the class of prehypertension blood pressure values, as well as estimating the blood pressure values continuously only by employing photoplethysmograms. First, the denoising of photoplethysmograms is performed via a discrete cosine transform approach. Then, the features of the photoplethysmograms in both the time domain and the frequency domain are extracted. Next, the feature vectors are categorised into the two classes of blood pressure values by a multi‐model fusion of the classifiers. Here, the support vector machine, the random forest and the K‐nearest neighbour classifier are employed for performing the fusion. There are two types of blood pressure values. They are the systolic blood pressure values and the diastolic blood pressure values. For each class and each type of blood pressure values, support vector regression is used to estimate the blood pressure values. Since different classes and different types of blood pressure values are considered separately, the proposed method achieves an accurate estimation. The computed numerical simulation results show that the proposed method based on the multi‐model fusion of the classifiers achieves both higher classification accuracy and higher regression accuracy than the individual classification methods.
Barium lines in high-quality spectra of two metal-poor giants in the Galactic halo
Authors: Cescutti G. , Morossi C. , Franchini M. , Di Marcantonio P. , Chiappini C. , Steffen M. , Valentini M. , François P. , Christlieb N. , Cortés C. , Kobayashi C. , Depagne E. 
Published: September 2021

Context. Theoretical results showed the possibility that neutron capture elements were produced in the early Universe by two different sources: a frequent s-process source hosted by rotating massive stars, and a rare r-process source hosted most likely by neutron star mergers. The two sources produce barium with different isotopic compositions.
Aims. We aim to investigate the lines of barium in two halo stars, HD 6268 and HD 4306. The spectra present an exquisite quality, both in terms of resolution (R > 100 000) and signal-to-noise (~400). Due to hyperfine splitting (hfs) effects, barium lines are expected to show slightly different profiles depending on the barium isotopic fraction.
Methods. We applied a standard local thermodynamic equilibrium synthesis of the barium lines. We compared the synthetic results assuming an s-process isotopic pattern or an r-process isotopic pattern for the two barium lines for each star that exhibited hfs. We also applied a methodology, less dependent on the accuracy of the theoretical Ba hfs structure, that transforms the lines of HD 4306 into those we would observe if its atmospheric parameter values (i.e. Teff, log g, micro- and macro-turbulence, V sin i, and Ba abundance) were the same as those of HD 6268.
Results. With both methods, our results show that the barium lines with hfs effects of HD 4306 are in agreement with an s-process composition and the lines in HD 6268 have a different profile, which is most likely linked to the presence of an r-process isotopic pattern.
Conclusions. Two lines of barium of HD 6268 and HD 4306 seem to confirm the theoretical expectation that both r-process events and also s-process contribution by rotating massive stars have polluted the ancient halo of our Galaxy.
Treatment against helminths in Norwegian sheep: a questionnaire-based survey
Authors: Gravdal Maiken , Robertson Lucy J. , Tysnes Kristoffer R. , Höglund Johan , Chartier Christophe , Stuen Snorre 
Published: September 2021

A questionnaire was distributed to 5487 farmers throughout Norway in order to obtain information about management practices regarding helminth infections in sheep. In addition, the farmers’ perceptions of helminths and anthelmintic efficacy were investigated. Most farmers (80%) treated prophylactically against nematodes, and 24% also used prophylactic treatment against Fasciola hepatica. Overall, few farmers (11%) used parasitological analysis as a tool to assess the timing of treatment, but rather based it on other factors such as previous experience (70%). In the surveyed sheep flocks, the use of benzimidazoles was reduced from 2018 (52%) to 2019 (47%) (p < 0.01), whereas the use of macrocyclic lactones increased from 2017 (23%) to 2019 (36%) (p < 0.001). Poor anthelmintic efficacy was suspected by 10% of the farmers, and 11% reported that helminths were an increasing problem in their flocks. The majority of farmers (72%) considered their veterinarian as the most important advisor for treatment of parasites, but reported a high level of uncertainty regarding which parasites were present in their flocks, with unknown status most frequently reported for Haemonchus contortus (71.5%). This is probably related to the fact that very few farmers (15%) regularly test their animals for parasites. The present study provides up-to-date information on treatment practices for helminths in Norwegian sheep flocks.
Zum Stand der klinischen Forschung in der
Aromatherapie
Authors: Stange Rainer 
Published: September 2021

ZusammenfassungAus der Fülle der Veröffentlichungen der letzten ca. 30 Jahre zur
klinischen Forschung mit Aromatherapie bzw. ätherischen Ölen
werden ausgewählte Einzelstudien wie Reviews kurzreferiert. Es besteht
nicht der Anspruch einer systematischen Erfassung und Beschreibung dieser
Forschung, vielmehr soll die Breite der Indikationen, der verwendeten Pflanzen
und der methodologischen Ansätze vermittelt werden. Der Schwerpunkt der
untersuchten Indikationen liegt dabei bislang bei wahrnehmbaren bzw. psychischen
Qualitäten wie Schmerzen, Schlafstörungen,
Depressivität, Agitiertheit und neuerdings auch demenziellen
Prozessen.