bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thunderstorm detection from GPM IMERG rainfall: Climatology of dynamical and thermodynamical processes over India
Authors: Sasanka Talukdar , Priya Kumari , Osuri Krishna K. , Niyogi Dev 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThis study aims to (i) prepare a premonsoon thunderstorms database, (ii) understand the thunderstorm frequency, duration and intensity and (iii) composite analysis of dynamic and thermodynamic processes related to thunderstorms over India. The thunderstorm associated rainfall varies across India. Hence, a percentile‐based approach is implemented with the integrated multi‐satellite retrievals for global precipitation measurement (IMERG) dataset at 0.1° resolution to identify thunderstorms for 2001–2021. The 93rd percentile appears to be better for thunderstorm detection, with a success ratio of 82% (642 events are confirmed out of 786 detected) in eastern India. Further analysis indicated that 84% of the detected thunderstorms in eastern and northeastern India are associated with lightning activity. Based on this long‐term (2001–2021) thunderstorm data, the highest frequency of thunderstorms (40–45 events·year−1) is observed over the western foothills of the Himalayas, the northeast region, and the west coast of Kerala. The thunderstorm duration in the eastern and northeastern regions and the southwest coast of India is mostly 0.5–2.5 h, producing heavy rainfall (>7 mm·h−1) due to more moisture content and stronger updrafts. The composite structure of thermodynamic indices exhibits significant spatial variations over India and can be used to differentiate the regions of high thunderstorm activity. The minimum (maximum) convective available potential energy (convective inhibition) value required for thunderstorm development is not uniform throughout the country. However, the composites of K index and total totals index during thunderstorms are mostly uniform. This study highlights the benefits of IMERG rainfall in thunderstorm detection over India and helps to understand the local forcings and the effect of thunderstorm activity on different sectors like aviation, agriculture and so forth.
Enhancement of the E12g and A1g Raman modes and layer identification of 2H‐WS2 nanosheets with metal coatings
Authors: Rajeswaran Bharathi , Konar Rajashree , Yitzhari Rena , Nessim Gilbert Daniel , Tischler Yaakov Raphael 
Published: August 2023

AbstractRaman spectroscopy in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) helps determine their structural information and layer dependency. Because it is non‐destructive and fast, it is an archetypal spectroscopic technique to investigate the structure and defects in TMDCs. In our earlier study, we used a metal‐dielectric coating to enhance Raman signal of WS2 because the Raman Spectra measured from WS2 coated on the standard Si/SiO2 was significantly lower. This metal‐dielectric coating allowed access to the otherwise unavailable E12g and A1g modes of WS2. In this study, we compare the Raman spectra of WS2 on a Si/SiO2 to that of metal layers (Au [200 nm] and Al [200 nm]). A significant enhancement in the Raman signal of 2‐3L WS2 is observed for both the Au and Al coatings. Although 200 nm Au coating enhances the Raman Signal better than the 10 nm Au coating, it does not resolve the other signature vibrations other than E12g and A1g. Whereas, coating based on Al (200 nm) and Al (10 nm) both enhance the Raman signal of WS2. In the case of Al coating, we report well‐resolved vibrational modes such as the ones below <300 cm−1in a few layered WS2. This enhancement allows us to quantify the number of layers and also investigate the presence of defects. Photoluminescence measurements on 2–3L and 15L WS2 on Al (200 nm) confirm this.
Cost‐effectiveness Analysis of Inferior Turbinate Reduction and Immunotherapy in Allergic Rhinitis
Authors: Yong Michael , Aravinthan Kaishan , Kirubalingam Keshinisuthan , Thamboo Andrew , Hwang Peter H. , Nadeau Kari , Walgama Evan 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundAllergic rhinitis (AR) is a common condition that is frequently associated with atopic inferior turbinate hypertrophy (ITH) resulting in nasal obstruction. Current guidelines support the use of subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy (SCIT) when patients fail pharmacologic management. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding the role of inferior turbinate reduction (ITR), a treatment that we hypothesize is cost‐effective compared with other available treatments.MethodsWe conducted a cost‐effectiveness analysis comparing the following treatment combinations over a 5‐year time horizon for AR patients presenting with atopic nasal obstruction who fail initial pharmacotherapy: (1) continued pharmacotherapy alone, (2) allergy testing and SCIT, (3) allergy testing and SCIT and then ITR for SCIT nonresponders, and (4) ITR and then allergy testing and SCIT for ITR nonresponders. Results were reported as incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios (ICERs).ResultsFor patients who fail initial pharmacotherapy, prioritizing ITR, either by microdebrider‐assisting submucous resection or radiofrequency ablation, before SCIT was the most cost‐effective strategy. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis demonstrated that prioritizing ITR before SCIT was the most cost‐effective option in 95.4% of scenarios. ITR remained cost‐effective even with the addition of concurrent septoplasty.ConclusionFor many AR patients who present with nasal obstruction secondary to atopic inferior turbinate hypertrophy that is persistent despite pharmacotherapy, ITR is a cost‐effective treatment that should be considered prior to immunotherapy.Level of EvidenceNA – Laryngoscope, 2023 Laryngoscope, 134:1572–1580, 2024
Hydrophobic Bombyx mori Silk Fibroin: Routes to Functionalization with Alkyl Chains
Authors: Rizzo Giorgio , Ricciardelli Carola , Sardella Eloisa , Musio Roberta , Presti Marco Lo , Vona Danilo , Omenetto Fiorenzo G. , Farinola Gianluca Maria 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) is a very versatile biopolymer due to its biocompatibility and exceptional mechanical properties which make possible its use as a functional material in several applications. SF can be modified with a large variety of chemical approaches which endow the material with tailored chemical–physical properties. Here, a systematic investigation of different routes is reported to graft long alkyl chains on SF based on both liquid‐ and solid‐phase, aiming to modulate its hydrophobic behavior. The liquid phase method involves direct activation of SF tyrosine residues via diazo coupling and cycloaddition reactions, generating hydrophobic materials insoluble in any common solvent. The solid phase approach consists of the chemical modification of drop‐casted SF films by esterification of hydroxyl groups of serine, threonine, and tyrosine SF residues with acyl chlorides of fatty acids. For the solid‐state functionalization, a new class of hydrophobic pendant groups is synthesized, based on triple esters of gallic acid anhydrides, that are reacted with the biopolymer to further enhance its resulting hydrophobic features.
Harnessing Formamide Groups to Enhance the Heat‐Resistance of Poly(β‐amino esters) with Investigation into Reprocessability and Fluorescence
Authors: Li Guanglong , Zhao Yunxiang , Huang Jing , Wei Xiaobo , Li Ting , Wang Yang , Wang Shibo , Dong Weifu 
Published: August 2023

AbstractPoly(β‐amino ester)s, which can be reprocessed via aza‐Michael adducts catalyzing transesterification, are a type of highly promising thermosetting material. However, the low heat deformation temperatures of poly(β‐amino ester)s limit their applications in high‐performance materials. In this study, formamide groups are introduced into poly(β‐amino ester) networks to prepare a series of poly(β‐hydrazide ester)s (PHE)s. The presence of formamide groups in PHE networks is found to be effective in improving the heat deformation temperatures (glass transition temperature, Tg = 130 °C) of PHEs through hydrogen bonding without affecting network rearrangement rates. This enabled reprocessing temperatures and times of PHEs to remain close to those of poly(β‐ amino ester)s. In addition, the aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) of ester and formamide groups allowed PHEs to demonstrate fluorescence, potentially expanding their application gallery. These discoveries offer a new way to produce high‐value reprocessable materials that possess both high heat resistance and fluorescence capability.
Evaluating models and assessment techniques for understanding oral biofilm complexity
Authors: Ramachandra Srinivas Sulugodu , Wright Patricia , Han Pingping , Abdal‐hay Abdalla , Lee Ryan S. B. , Ivanovski Saso 
Published: August 2023

AbstractOral biofilms are three‐dimensional (3D) complex entities initiating dental diseases and have been evaluated extensively in the scientific literature using several biofilm models and assessment techniques. The list of biofilm models and assessment techniques may overwhelm a novice biofilm researcher. This narrative review aims to summarize the existing literature on biofilm models and assessment techniques, providing additional information on selecting an appropriate model and corresponding assessment techniques, which may be useful as a guide to the beginner biofilm investigator and as a refresher to experienced researchers. The review addresses previously established 2D models, outlining their advantages and limitations based on the growth environment, availability of nutrients, and the number of bacterial species, while also exploring novel 3D biofilm models. The growth of biofilms on clinically relevant 3D models, particularly melt electrowritten fibrous scaffolds, is discussed with a specific focus that has not been previously reported. Relevant studies on validated oral microcosm models that have recently gaining prominence are summarized. The review analyses the advantages and limitations of biofilm assessment methods, including colony forming unit culture, crystal violet, 2,3‐bis‐(2‐methoxy‐4‐nitro‐5‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐tetrazolium‐5‐carboxanilide inner salt assays, confocal microscopy, fluorescence in situ hybridization, scanning electron microscopy, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and next‐generation sequencing. The use of more complex models with advanced assessment methodologies, subject to the availability of equipment/facilities, may help in developing clinically relevant biofilms and answering appropriate research questions.
A novel m7G regulator‐based methylation patterns in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Ying Yukang , Zhang Wei , Zhu Haoran , Luo Jun , Xu Xuhui , Yang Suqing , Zhao Yue , Zhang Zhenxing 
Published: August 2023

AbstractAbnormal RNA N7‐methylguanosine (m7G) modification is known to contribute to effects on tumor occurrence and development. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of its function in immunoregulation, tumor microenvironment (TME) modulation, and tumor promotion remain largely unknown. A series of computer‐aided bioinformatic analyses were conducted based on transcriptomic, single‐cell sequence, and spatial transcriptomic data to determine the m7G modification patterns in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Consensus clustering approach was employed according to the expressions of 33 m7G regulators. ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, and single sample gene set enrichment analysis algorithms were adopted to investigate the immune cell infiltration features. A prognostic model named m7Gscore was established. Seurat, SingleR, and Monocle2 were used to analyze the single‐cell sequence profiling. STUtility was used to integrate multiple spatial transcriptomic datasets. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, transwell, and wound‐healing assay were performed to verify the oncogenes. Here, three different m7G modification patterns were highlighted in HNSCC patients, which were also related to various clinical manifestations and three representative immunophenotypes: immune‐excluded, immune‐desert, and inflamed, separately. Patients with lower m7Gscore were highlighted by higher immune cell infiltrations, better overall survival rates, lesser tumor mutation burden (TMB), lower sensitivities to target inhibitors therapies, and better immunotherapeutic response. Moreover, DCPS, EIF4E, EIF4E2, LSM1, NCBP2, NUDT1, and NUDT5 were identified to play critical roles in T‐cell differentiation. Knockdown of LSM1/NUDT5 could restrain the malignancy of HNSCC cells. Collectively, quantitative assessment of m7G modification patterns in individual HNSCC patients could contribute to identifying more efficient immunotherapeutic approaches and improve the clinical outcome of HNSCC.
Aberrant expression of CKS2 induced by ELK1 contributes to malignant progression of pancreatic cancer
Authors: Chen Qiuyang , Fu Yue , Liu Xinchun , Wang Peng , Dai Shangnan , Zhu Feng , Liu Tongtai , Xu Wenbin , Wu Junli 
Published: August 2023

AbstractCyclin‐dependent kinase subunit 2 (CKS2) has been reported to promote various malignancies. This study investigated the functional role of CKS2 in pancreatic cancer (PC). An analysis of abnormally expressed genes and their prognostic value for PC was performed by using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database and performing immunohistochemical staining on 64 samples of tumor tissue. CCK‐8 assays, EdU staining, colony formation assays, flow cytometry, and a xenograft tumor model were used to analyze the biological function of CKS2 in PC. Our results revealed that CKS2 was expressed at significantly higher levels in PC tissues than in adjacent normal tissues, and a high level of CKS2 expression was associated with a poor prognosis for patients with PC. Moreover, functional assays revealed that CKS2 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation, induced cell cycle S phase, G2/M phase arrest, and apoptosis in vitro, and also reduced tumor growth in vivo. In addition, CKS2 knockdown increased the levels of Bax, caspase‐3, P53, P21, and GADD45α expression, but decreased Bcl‐2, Cyclin B1, CDK1, Cyclin A, and Cdc25C expression. CKS2 overexpression produced the opposite effects of CKS2 knockdown. Furthermore, we found that ELK1 protein regulated transcription of the CKS2 gene. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CKS2 expression is regulated by ELK1, which could possibly serve as prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for PC.
Cerebellar Modulation of Sensorimotor Associative Plasticity Is Impaired in Cervical Dystonia
Authors: Grimm Kai , Prilop Lisa , Schön Gerhard , Gelderblom Mathias , Misselhorn Jonas , Gerloff Christian , Zittel Simone 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackgroundIn recent years, cervical dystonia (CD) has been recognized as a network disorder that involves not only the basal ganglia but other brain regions, such as the primary motor and somatosensory cortex, brainstem, and cerebellum. So far, the role of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of dystonia is only poorly understood.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate the role of the cerebellum on sensorimotor associative plasticity in patients with CD.MethodsSixteen patients with CD and 13 healthy subjects received cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) followed by a paired associative stimulation (PAS) protocol based on transcranial magnetic stimulation that induces sensorimotor associative plasticity. Across three sessions the participants received excitatory anodal, inhibitory cathodal, and sham ctDCS in a double‐blind crossover design. Before and after the intervention, motor cortical excitability and motor symptom severity were assessed.ResultsPAS induced an increase in motor cortical excitability in both healthy control subjects and patients with CD. In healthy subjects this effect was attenuated by both anodal and cathodal ctDCS with a stronger effect of cathodal stimulation. In patients with CD, anodal stimulation suppressed the PAS effect, whereas cathodal stimulation had no influence on PAS. Motor symptom severity was unchanged after the intervention.ConclusionsCerebellar modulation with cathodal ctDCS had no effect on sensorimotor associative plasticity in patients with CD, in contrast with the net inhibitory effect in healthy subjects. This is further evidence that the cerebello‐thalamo‐cortical network plays a role in the pathophysiology of dystonia. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
W‐band large‐scale high‐gain filtering reflectarray antenna
Authors: Zang Jiawei , Wang Shouyuan , Pan Juan , Meng Meng , Wang Ziren , An Shaogeng 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThis article presents a W‐band three‐layer reflectarray antenna that can be easily fabricated using printed circuit board (PCB) process. The proposed reflectarray element is composed of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) structure and slot‐coupled patch. By controlling the length of SIW in each element, the compensation phases required for the reflectarray to generate focused beam at in‐band frequencies are realized. However, at the out‐of‐band frequencies, the elements fail to provide the required compensation phases as the incident electromagnetic wave cannot couple to the SIW. Thus, filtering performance is realized. A circular aperture prototype reflectarray comprising of 5024 elements are employed to yield a high‐gain narrow beam. The measured results show that the proposed reflectarray antenna attains a peak gain of 40.5 dB at 94 GHz with aperture efficiency of 41.3%, and out‐of‐band suppression higher than 22 dB.
Four‐quadrant vector mapping of hybrid multidimensional MRI data for the diagnosis of prostate cancer
Authors: Chatterjee Aritrick , Fan Xiaobing , Oto Aytekin , Karczmar Gregory 
Published: August 2023

AbstractPurposeThe interpretation of prostate multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is subjective in nature, and there is large inter‐observer variability among radiologists and up to 30% of clinically significant cancers are missed. This has motivated the development of new MRI techniques and sequences, especially quantitative approaches to improve prostate cancer diagnosis. Using hybrid multidimensional MRI, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and T2 have been shown to change as a function of echo time (TE) and b‐values, and that this dependence is different for cancer and benign tissue, which can be exploited for prostate cancer diagnosis. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether four‐quadrant vector mapping of hybrid multidimensional MRI (HM‐MRI) data can be used to diagnose prostate cancer (PCa) and determine cancer aggressiveness.MethodsTwenty‐one patients with confirmed PCa underwent preoperative MRI prior to radical prostatectomy. Axial HM‐MRI were acquired with all combinations of TE = 47, 75, 100 ms and b‐values of 0, 750, 1500 s/mm2, resulting in a 3 × 3 data matrix associated with each voxel. Prostate Quadrant (PQ) mapping analysis represents HM‐MRI data for each voxel as a color‐coded vector in the four‐quadrant space of HM‐MRI parameters (a 2D matrix of signal values for each combination of b‐value and TE) with associated amplitude and angle information representing the change in T2 and ADC as a function of b‐value and TE, respectively.ResultsCancers have a higher PQ4 (22.50% ± 21.27%) and lower PQ2 (69.86% ± 28.24%) compared to benign tissue: peripheral, transition, and central zone (PQ4 = 0.13% ± 0.56%, 5.73% ± 15.07%, 2.66% ± 4.05%, and PQ2 = 98.51% ± 3.05%, 86.18% ± 21.75%, 93.38% ± 9.88%, respectively). Cancers have a higher vector angle (206.5 ± 41.8°) and amplitude (0.017 ± 0.013) compared to benign tissue. PQ metrics showed moderate correlation with Gleason score (|ρ| = 0.388–0.609), with more aggressive cancers being associated with increased PQ4 and angle and reduced PQ2 and amplitude. A combination of four‐quadrant analysis metrics provided an area under the curve of 0.904 (p < 0.001) for the differentiation of prostate cancer from benign prostatic tissue.ConclusionsFour‐quadrant vector mapping of HM‐MRI data provides effective cancer markers, with cancers associated with high PQ4 and high vector angle and lower PQ2 and vector amplitude.
Fog‐Sec: Secure end‐to‐end communication in fog‐enabled IoT network using permissioned blockchain system
Authors: Babu Erukala Suresh , Rao Mekala Srinivasa , Swain Gandharba , Nikhath A. Kousar , Kaluri Rajesh 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe technological integration of the Internet of Things (IoT)‐Cloud paradigm has enabled intelligent linkages of things, data, processes, and people for efficient decision making without human intervention. However, it poses various challenges for IoT networks that cannot handle large amounts of operation technology (OT) data due to physical storage shortages, excessive latency, higher transfer costs, a lack of context awareness, impractical resiliency, and so on. As a result, the fog network emerged as a new computing model for providing computing capacity closer to IoT edge devices. The IoT‐Fog‐Cloud network, on the other hand, is more vulnerable to multiple security flaws, such as missing key management problems, inappropriate access control, inadequate software update mechanism, insecure configuration files and default passwords, missing communication security, and secure key exchange algorithms over unsecured channels. Therefore, these networks cannot make good security decisions, which are significantly easier to hack than to defend the fog‐enabled IoT environment. This paper proposes the cooperative flow for securing edge devices in fog‐enabled IoT networks using a permissioned blockchain system (pBCS). The proposed fog‐enabled IoT network provides efficient security solutions for key management issues, communication security, and secure key exchange mechanism using a blockchain system. To secure the fog‐based IoT network, we proposed a mechanism for identification and authentication among fog, gateway, and edge nodes that should register with the blockchain network. The fog nodes maintain the blockchain system and hold a shared smart contract for validating edge devices. The participating fog nodes serve as validators and maintain a distributed ledger/blockchain to authenticate and validate the request of the edge nodes. The network services can only be accessed by nodes that have been authenticated against the blockchain system. We implemented the proposed pBCS network using the private Ethereum 2.0 that enables secure device‐to‐device communication and demonstrated performance metrics such as throughput, transaction delay, block creation response time, communication, and computation overhead using state‐of‐the‐art techniques. Finally, we conducted a security analysis of the communication network to protect the IoT edge devices from unauthorized malicious nodes without data loss.