bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mechanosensing and Mechanoregulation of Endothelial Cell Functions
Authors: Fang Yun , Wu David , Birukov Konstantin G. 
Published: March 2019

ABSTRACTVascular endothelial cells (ECs) form a semiselective barrier for macromolecules and cell elements regulated by dynamic interactions between cytoskeletal elements and cell adhesion complexes. ECs also participate in many other vital processes including innate immune reactions, vascular repair, secretion, and metabolism of bioactive molecules. Moreover, vascular ECs represent a unique cell type exposed to continuous, time‐dependent mechanical forces: different patterns of shear stress imposed by blood flow in macrovasculature and by rolling blood cells in the microvasculature; circumferential cyclic stretch experienced by the arterial vascular bed caused by heart propulsions; mechanical stretch of lung microvascular endothelium at different magnitudes due to spontaneous respiration or mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. Accumulating evidence suggests that vascular ECs contain mechanosensory complexes, which rapidly react to changes in mechanical loading, process the signal, and develop context‐specific adaptive responses to rebalance the cell homeostatic state. The significance of the interactions between specific mechanical forces in the EC microenvironment together with circulating bioactive molecules in the progression and resolution of vascular pathologies including vascular injury, atherosclerosis, pulmonary edema, and acute respiratory distress syndrome has been only recently recognized. This review will summarize the current understanding of EC mechanosensory mechanisms, modulation of EC responses to humoral factors by surrounding mechanical forces (particularly the cyclic stretch), and discuss recent findings of magnitude‐specific regulation of EC functions by transcriptional, posttranscriptional and epigenetic mechanisms using ‐omics approaches. We also discuss ongoing challenges and future opportunities in developing new therapies targeting dysregulated mechanosensing mechanisms to treat vascular diseases. © 2019 American Physiological Society.Compr Physiol9:873‐904, 2019.
Software‐defined network‐enabled opportunistic offloading and charging scheme in multi‐unmanned aerial vehicle ecosystem
Authors: Vashisht Sahil , Jain Sushma 
Published: March 2019

SummaryUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are autonomous fliers, which can play different roles in modern day applications. In one of the important role, UAVs can act as aerial data forwarding nodes for communication range enhancement in remote areas. UAVs form a web of drones, which can be geo‐distributed across a large area to serve various applications. However, the two major contradicting challenges with respect to multi‐UAV networks are channel congestion and flight time enhancement. The use of effective data transmission techniques to handle congestion can lead to higher battery dissipation, which in turn end up in the reduction in flight time. However, it is utmost necessity to provide an effective framework, which can provide a viable solution for handling congestion in multi‐UAV networks while enhancing the flight time of UAVs. To handle these issues, software‐defined network (SDN)–enabled opportunistic offloading and charging scheme (SOOCS) in multi‐UAV ecosystem is designed in this paper. In this scheme, an opportunistic offloading scheme is proposed, which uses an SDN‐based control model to handle congestion issues. Apart from this, an opportunistic energy‐charging scheme is designed, wherein the UAVS can either replenish their batteries using solar plates or they can wirelessly charge energy from charging points deployed at various geo‐distributed locations. The proposed scheme is evaluated using a simulation‐based study over the realistic deployment of charging points in Chandigarh City, India. The results obtained show the superiority of SOOCS over other variants of its category in terms of end‐to‐end delay, throughput, and hand‐over latency.
Immature beach/dune sands along a passive continental margin: Composition, grain size and hydraulic properties of coastal sands, Parque del Plata and Las Vegas, Uruguay
Authors: Missimer Thomas M. , Goso César , Maliva Robert G. , Hegy Michael C. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe modal composition of sandstones has long been used as a tool for palaeotectonic and palaeoenvironmental analyses. Herein it is demonstrated that caution must be used when beach sand composition is utilized to assess tectonic provenances at both the local and continental scales. The occurrence of quartz arenites and compositionally mature sands along the coast of Brazil corresponds well to their passive margin location. However, modern sands from some beach locations in coastal Uruguay are less compositionally mature compared to the quartz arenites found in coastal Brazil. Along the beaches of Las Vegas and Parque del Plata, the composition of the beach and dune sands is impacted by the transport of continental outwash sediments derived from the Palaeozoic and Precambrian rocks in the interior to the beach by a low‐gradient stream, Arroyo Solis Chico, and the erosion of Pleistocene‐age formations that crop out on the beach and along an erosional scrap. The mean beach composition ratio of monocrystalline quartz to feldspar to rock fragments plus composite quartz grains is 67.5/8.0/24.5 compared to the ratio along the coast of Brazil at 86/4/10. The beach and coastal dunes environment studied is representative of about 35% of coastal Uruguay. At the smaller scale, changes in the textural properties of the beach and dune sands (grain‐size distribution and roundness) are caused by the addition of the sediment derived from erosion and stream transport. Porosity values show little influence and range between 0.35 and 0.36, but hydraulic conductivity is influenced to a greater degree, ranging from 18.5 to 31 m/day. Within one kilometre down‐drift of the river, the mean grain diameter and the mean hydraulic conductivity increase to the same values found in the up‐gradient area before influence of the sediment flux, due to the offshore transport of the finer sediment fraction during down‐gradient movement along the beach. The Arroyo Solis Chico area demonstrates that abrupt changes in composition and hydraulic properties can occur over short distances in sands deposited in passive margin environments. The potential for this local variability in sand composition and hydraulic properties should be considered in the analyses of ancient marine sandstones deposited in beach and coastal dunes environments.
Navigating the university transition among women who self‐report an eating disorder: A qualitative study
Authors: Goldschen Lauren , Lundblad Wynne , Fertig Alexis M. , Auster Lauren S. , Schwarzbach Hannah L. , Chang Judy C. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractObjectiveAlthough developmental milestones have been observed to alter eating disorder (ED) symptom burden, it remains unknown how the transition to university affects symptomatology. To address this gap, we designed a qualitative study to elucidate how students with an ED perceive their general university experience and to describe how the university environment shapes their ED.MethodUndergraduate students who self‐reported an ED were recruited through fliers, an undergraduate advocacy organization, and local treatment centers. We conducted audio‐recorded semi‐structured individual interviews. Two investigators separately coded verbatim transcripts using an editing approach, and final themes emerged from the pattern of descriptors.ResultsFifteen undergraduate students participated. Participants endorsed a variety of ED symptoms and sought various levels of treatment. Most participants transitioned to university with an already‐established diagnosis. Participants described that ED symptoms tended to worsen in university for a variety of reasons including (a) minimization of ED severity, (b) loss of external accountability, (c) use of ED symptoms as a coping mechanism, and (d) glorification of ED behaviors in campus diet culture. Subsequently, the ED disrupted the university experience by (e) hindering participants' ability to focus on academic responsibilities and (f) leading to social isolation on campus.DiscussionWe identified challenges unique to the university experience that can be addressed by ED treatment teams in order to provide anticipatory guidance and patient‐centered care. Study limitations include lack of formal diagnostic ED assessment by research team and sampling of students from one university.
A novel approach to understanding bird communities using informed diversity estimates at local and regional scales in northern California and southern Oregon
Authors: Wolfe Jared D. , Alexander John D. , Stephens Jaime L. , Ralph C. John 
Published: March 2019

AbstractAssessment and preservation of biodiversity has been a central theme of conservation biology since the discipline's inception. However, when diversity estimates are based purely on measures of presence–absence, or even abundance, they do not directly assess in what way focal habitats support the life history needs of individual species making up biological communities. Here, we move beyond naïve measures of occurrence and introduce the concept of “informed diversity” indices which scale estimates of avian species richness and community assemblage by two critical phases of their life cycle: breeding and molt. We tested the validity of the “informed diversity” concept using bird capture data from multiple locations in northern California and southern Oregon to examine patterns of species richness among breeding, molting, and naïve (based solely on occurrence) bird communities at the landscape and local scales using linear regression, community similarity indices, and a Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA). At the landscape scale, we found a striking pattern of increased species richness for breeding, molting, and naïve bird communities further inland and at higher elevations throughout the study area. At the local scale, we found that some sites with species‐rich naïve communities were in fact species‐poor when informed by breeding status, indicating that naïve richness may mask more biologically meaningful patterns of diversity. We suggest that land managers use informed diversity estimates instead of naïve measures of diversity to identify ecologically valuable wildlife habitat.
Increased snowfall weakens complementarity of summer water use by different plant functional groups
Authors: Chi Yonggang , Zhou Lei , Yang Qingpeng , Li Shao‐peng , Zheng Shuxia 
Published: March 2019

AbstractWinter snowfall is an important water source for plants during summer in semiarid regions. Snow, rain, soil water, and plant water were sampled for hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes analyses under control and increased snowfall conditions in the temperate steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. Our study showed that the snowfall contribution to plant water uptake continued throughout the growing season and was detectable even in the late growing season. Snowfall versus rainfall accounted for 30% and 70%, respectively, of the water source for plants, on the basis of hydrogen stable isotope signature (δD) analysis, and accounted for 12% and 88%, respectively, on the basis of oxygen stable isotope signature (δ18O) analysis. Water use partitioning between topsoil and subsoil was found among species with different rooting depths. Increased snowfall weakened complementarity of plant water use during summer. Our study provides insights into the relationships between precipitation regimes and species interactions in semiarid regions.
Relative humidity versus moisture content relationship for several commercial wood species and its potential effect on flame spread
Authors: Hasburgh Laura E. , Craft Steven T. , Van Zeeland Ineke , Zelinka Samuel L. 
Published: March 2019

SummaryRecently, measured flame spread indices on commercial wood species tested per ASTM E84 were found to be lower than previously published data. One reason for this may be that the hygrothermal conditioning of the red oak calibrant required by the test standards for measuring flame spread was changed between 1973 and 1981. This paper examines how much variability there is in the moisture content of commercially important wood species at 50% relative humidity by collecting water vapor sorption isotherms. Additionally, the effect of moisture content on the flame spread was evaluated after conducting 14 tests with eastern white pine in accordance with CAN/ULC‐S102 and four in accordance with ASTM E84 at four commercial test laboratories. For the sorption isotherms, it was found that the moisture contents at 50% relative humidity ranged from 6.8% to 11.4% moisture content and depended on the species and whether the specimens had been conditioned in absorption or desorption. The flame spread indices, as measured as different laboratories, also varied from 37% at 10.4% reported moisture content to 200% at 6.5% reported moisture content. The findings suggest that the wood moisture content and conditioning requirements of the standards are important test variables that affect the flame spread results.
Epigenetic‐Based Mechanisms of Osteoblast Suppression in Multiple Myeloma Bone Disease
Authors: Adamik Juraj , Roodman G David , Galson Deborah L 
Published: March 2019

ABSTRACTMultiple myeloma (MM) bone disease is characterized by the development of osteolytic lesions, which cause severe complications affecting the morbidity, mortality, and treatment of myeloma patients. Myeloma tumors seeded within the bone microenvironment promote hyperactivation of osteoclasts and suppression of osteoblast differentiation. Because of this prolonged suppression of bone marrow stromal cells’ (BMSCs) differentiation into functioning osteoblasts, bone lesions in patients persist even in the absence of active disease. Current antiresorptive therapy provides insufficient bone anabolic effects to reliably repair MM lesions. It has become widely accepted that myeloma‐exposed BMSCs have an altered phenotype with pro‐inflammatory, immune‐modulatory, anti‐osteogenic, and pro‐adipogenic properties. In this review, we focus on the role of epigenetic‐based modalities in the establishment and maintenance of myeloma‐induced suppression of osteogenic commitment of BMSCs. We will focus on recent studies demonstrating the involvement of chromatin‐modifying enzymes in transcriptional repression of osteogenic genes in MM‐BMSCs. We will further address the epigenetic plasticity in the differentiation commitment of osteoprogenitor cells and assess the involvement of chromatin modifiers in MSC‐lineage switching from osteogenic to adipogenic in the context of the inflammatory myeloma microenvironment. Lastly, we will discuss the potential of employing small molecule epigenetic inhibitors currently used in the MM research as therapeutics and bone anabolic agents in the prevention or repair of osteolytic lesions in MM. © 2019 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Modulation of Fexofenadine Pharmacokinetics by Osimertinib in Patients With Advanced EGFR‐Mutated Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Calvo Emiliano , Lee Jong‐Seok , Kim Sang‐We , Moreno Victor , deCastro Carpeno Javier , Weilert Doris , Laus Gianluca , Mann Helen , Vishwanathan Karthick 
Published: March 2019

AbstractOsimertinib is a potent, third‐generation, irreversible, central nervous system active epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that selectively inhibits EGFR‐TKI sensitizing and EGFR T790M resistance mutations. It is approved for first‐line treatment of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations, and for patients with T790M‐positive advanced NSCLC whose disease has progressed on or after EGFR‐TKI therapy. This study investigated the pharmacokinetics (PK) of fexofenadine (P‐glycoprotein substrate) following single‐ and multiple‐dose osimertinib in patients with advanced NSCLC who have progressed on prior EGFR‐TKI therapy. This open‐label, phase 1 study (NCT02908750) comprised the PK phase and continued access phase. The former comprised 2 distinct periods with a 3‐ to 7‐day washout: treatment period 1 (n = 24, fexofenadine 120 mg, day 1) and treatment period 2 (fexofenadine 120 mg + osimertinib 80 mg single dose on days 1 and 39 and osimertinib 80 mg once daily from days 4 to 41). Patients could continue osimertinib 80 mg once daily based on investigator's discretion in the continued access phase. Fexofenadine area under the plasma concentration–time curve and maximum concentration increased by 56% (90% confidence interval [CI], 35.4–78.6) and 76% (90%CI, 49.3–108.3) following coadministration with osimertinib single dose, and by 27% (90%CI, 11.2–45.8) and 25% (90%CI, 5.6–48.1) when given with osimertinib at steady state, respectively. Following osimertinib coadministration, median fexofenadine time to maximum concentration increased by approximately 30 minutes compared with time to maximum concentration following fexofenadine alone. No new osimertinib safety findings were observed. The increase in fexofenadine exposure following osimertinib coadministration shows osimertinib as a weak P‐glycoprotein inhibitor.
Effect of Intravenous Oxycodone Versus Sufentanil on the Incidence of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Undergoing Gynecological Laparoscopic Surgery
Authors: Tao Bingdong , Liu Kun , Wang Dandan , Ding Mengmeng , Zhao Ping 
Published: March 2019

AbstractMore than 30% of patients who undergo surgery will experience postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) if no prophylactic treatments are used. Although numerous studies have been performed to investigate the factors related to PONV, the effect of perioperative intravenous oxycodone on the incidence of PONV has not been well investigated. In this study, gynecological patients (grade I‐II, aged 18‐65 years, scheduled to undergo elective gynecological laparoscopic surgery under general anesthesia) were randomized to the oxycodone group or the sufentanil group. In the oxycodone group, patients received intravenous oxycodone for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia, as well as postoperative analgesia, while sufentanil was used in the sufentanil group. The primary outcome variable was the incidence of PONV. As secondary outcomes, time to first PONV, the rating of the most severe PONV, postoperative pain scores at different time points, hemodynamics, and side effects were evaluated. We found that, compared with sufentanil, oxycodone decreased the incidence of PONV by 13.5% (P = .041). The time to first vomiting was longer in the oxycodone group than in the sufentanil group. Postoperative pain scores at different time points and hemodynamics were comparable between the oxycodone and sufentanil groups. We concluded that the incidence of PONV in gynecological patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery was lower when using intravenous oxycodone for anesthesia induction, anesthesia maintenance, and postoperative analgesia than when using intravenous sufentanil. However, oxycodone and sufentanil provided the same stable hemodynamics during surgery and satisfactory postoperative analgesia.
Muscle fat quantification using magnetic resonance imaging: case–control study of Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease patients and volunteers
Authors: Kim Hyun Su , Yoon Young Cheol , Choi Byung‐Ok , Jin Wook , Cha Jang Gyu 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate the potential value of 3D multiple gradient echo Dixon‐based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence as a tool for thigh intramuscular fat quantification in Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) patients.MethodsA prospective comparison study comprising 18 CMT patients and 18 age/sex‐matched volunteers was performed. MRI including 3D multiple gradient echo Dixon‐based imaging was performed for each subject. Region of interest analyses were performed at the upper and lower third of both thighs. The two‐sample t‐test or Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for intergroup comparison of the mean muscle fat fraction. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the interobserver agreement and test–retest reproducibility. Semiquantitive analysis using the Goutallier classification (Grades 0–4) was performed on T1‐weighted images in upper thigh muscles. For Goutallier Grade 0 muscles, comparison of the mean intramuscular fat fraction between volunteers and CMT patients was performed.ResultsThe interobserver agreements were excellent for all measurements (intraclass correlation coefficients > 0.8). Mean muscle fat fractions were significantly higher in all the measured muscles of CMT patients (P < 0.05) except in the adductor magnus in the upper thigh (P = 0.109). Goutallier Grade 0 muscles of the CMT patients showed a significantly higher mean fat fraction compared with that of the volunteers (P < 0.05).Conclusions3D multiple gradient echo Dixon‐based MRI is a reproducible and sensitive technique which can reveal a significant difference in the fat fraction of thigh muscle, including comparison between Goutallier Grade 0 muscles, between CMT patients and volunteers.
Supporting the creation of shared value
Authors: Mendy John 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe negative externalities that are due to companies limiting themselves to objectives such as “maximisation of profits” and “commoditization” can be mitigated with supporting the creation of shared value. A method is formulated which helps to implement Porter and Kramer's Shared Value model. The results suggest that individuals developed ways to increase their ability to act expertly—that is resiliently in the face of the challenges. It is argued that the proposed method is similar to but also substantially different from the scientific method (used to acquire knowledge rather than gain expertise as the new method is designed to do). The formulation of the method helps to identify how it is insufficient to realize the aims of creating shared value and suggests a way to do so.