bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐term surgical and functional outcomes after anterolateral thigh flap and free jejunal transfer reconstruction of circumferential pharyngoesophageal defects
Authors: Ishida Katsuhiro , Hirayama Haruyuki , Kishi Keita , Miyawaki Takeshi 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBackgroundCircumferential pharyngoesophageal defects resulting from total pharyngolaryngectomy are commonly reconstructed using free jejunal (FJ) transfer or an anterolateral thigh (ALT) free flap.MethodsWe reviewed the medical records of 92 patients with ALT free flaps and 140 who underwent FJ transfer between 2009 and 2022, and compared their surgical outcomes.ResultsTotal flap loss occurred in two (2%) and five (4%) patients in the ALT free flap and FJ transfer groups, respectively. Fistula rates were 5% in both groups. Stricture rates were 21% and 5% in the ALT free flap and FJ transfer groups, respectively (p < 0.01). At the 5‐year follow‐up evaluation, intelligible speech was achieved by 83% and 28% of patients (p < 0.01) in the ALT free flap and FJ transfer groups, respectively.ConclusionsEach reconstructive method can be further optimized by proficient surgeons with expertise in the available methods and by considering patient‐specific factors and available evidence.
Xerostomia: An easily ignored symptom induced by induction chemotherapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Zhou Ping , Zhou Rui , Yu Yi‐Feng , Rao Ming‐Yue , Wu San‐Gang 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBackgroundTo investigate the prevalence and predictive factors of xerostomia during induction chemotherapy (IC) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).MethodsWe prospectively enrolled NPC patients who received IC between October 2020 and October 2021. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Xerostomia Inventory (XI) were used to evaluate the condition of xerostomia. The volume of the submandibular gland (SMG) was also calculated before and after IC.ResultsFifty‐two patients were enrolled in this study. Of these patients, 32.7% (n = 17) experienced xerostomia before IC. There were 32 (61.5%) patients suffered from xerostomia after IC, including 21 (40.4%) patients with newly diagnosed xerostomia after IC and 11 (21.1%) patients complained their xerostomia aggravated in those with xerostomia before IC. The median XI scores increased from 11 (standard deviation [SD], 2.930) to 18 (SD 3.995), 16 (SD 3.605), and 17 (SD 4.331) after the first, second, and third cycles of IC, respectively. The median score of VAS also increased from 0 to 4 during the following three cycles of IC. In those with IC‐related xerostomia, the SMG volume after IC was significantly decreased compared with those without IC‐related xerostomia (P = 0.001). The reduction of the SMG volume after IC was the independent risk factor for xerostomia (P = 0.002).ConclusionApproximately two‐thirds of NPC patients suffered from IC‐related xerostomia and patients with a reduction of SMG volume after IC had a higher risk of xerostomia.
Why do parents employ helicopter parenting in the post‐COVID‐19 era? An actor‐partner interdependence mediation model
Authors: Wu Wei , Chao Yufan , Ji Zouhui , Wang Yanhan , Wang Yan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractIntroductionIn the post‐COVID‐19 era, small‐scale and long‐term recurrences of the pandemic can exacerbate future economic uncertainty. Previous studies have found that stressful situations are strongly associated with a controlling type of parenting. The relationship between parental perceptions of future economic uncertainty (PFEU) and helicopter parenting is currently unclear. This study aimed to examine the dyadic relationship between PFEU and helicopter parenting among Chinese parents in the postpandemic era and its underlying mechanisms from a family system perspective.MethodsQuestionnaire data were collected from 395 pairs of parents (Mfather = 43.65 ± 5.30, Mmother = 40.71 ± 5.16, Madolescent = 13.17 ± 0.87, 45.3% male) in Jiangxi Province, China in October 2021. An actor‐partner interdependence mediation model was established.ResultsThe results indicated that fathers' and mothers' PFEU were positively associated with their own helicopter parenting. Additionally, paternal parenting stress mediated the relationship between fathers' and mothers' PFEU and paternal helicopter parenting, whereas mothers' parenting stress mediated the association between mothers' PFEU and paternal and maternal helicopter parenting.ConclusionsThe current research provides important insights for improving Chinese family education practices in the postpandemic era.
Amphiphilic Surface‐Active Methacrylic Urethane Additives for the Design of Photopolymerized Coatings with Great Potential for Marine Fouling‐Release Applications
Authors: Guazzelli Elisa , Rollo Marco , Oliva Matteo , Cardone Sara , Pretti Carlo , Maniero Francesco , Martinelli Elisa 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAmphiphilic photopolymerized network films are prepared, based on a hexyl acrylate (HA) hydrophobic matrix containing varied amounts of urethane dimethacrylates bearing a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) segment and terminated with hydrophobic, low surface energy groups, i.e., a short perfluorohexyl chain (for EF) or a fluorine‐free heptamethyltrisiloxane group (for ES). These films are extensively characterized in bulk and at the surface by thermal, mechanical, solvent and water uptake, contact angle, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. On one hand, surface characterizations reveal that the amphiphilic chains of the additives enrich the topmost layer of the films, thus generating a water‐responsive surface. The reconstruction process is found to be faster for the perfluorinated additive EF and slower for the fluorine‐free ES ones. On the other hand, HA provides a hydrophobic matrix with low elastic modulus, dimensional stability, and adhesion to the substrates even after the absorption of water after prolonged immersion. A field immersion trial carried out in a touristic harbor in Leghorn points out that the films, although being ineffective in preventing organism settlement, are easily cleaned by a water jet after three months of immersion, showing a final residual coverage of panels as low as 15%.
Immune landscape in molecular subtypes of human papillomavirus‐negative head and neck cancer
Authors: Xie Mengyu , Chaudhary Ritu , Slebos Robbert J. C. , Lee Kyubum , Song Feifei , Poole Maria I. , Hoening Dirk S. , Noel Leenil C. , Hernandez‐Prera Juan C. , Conejo‐Garcia Jose R. , Chung Christine H. , Tan Aik Choon 
Published: September 2023

AbstractHead and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) remain a poorly understood disease clinically and immunologically. HPV is a known risk factor of HNSCC associated with better outcome, whereas HPV‐negative HNSCC are more heterogeneous in outcome. Gene expression signatures have been developed to classify HNSCC into four molecular subtypes (classical, basal, mesenchymal, and atypical). However, the molecular underpinnings of treatment response and the immune landscape for these molecular subtypes are largely unknown. Herein, we described a comprehensive immune landscape analysis in three independent HNSCC cohorts (>700 patients) using transcriptomics data. We assigned the HPV− HNSCC patients into these four molecular subtypes and characterized the tumor microenvironment using deconvolution method. We determined that atypical and mesenchymal subtypes have greater immune enrichment and exhibit a T‐cell exhaustion phenotype, compared to classical and basal subtypes. Further analyses revealed different B cell maturation and antibody isotypes enrichment patterns, and distinct immune microenvironment crosstalk in the atypical and mesenchymal subtypes. Taken together, our study suggests that treatments that enhances B cell activity may benefit patients with HNSCC of the atypical subtypes. The rationale can be utilized in the design of future precision immunotherapy trials based on the molecular subtypes of HPV− HNSCC.
MRI‐based quantification of whole‐organ renal metabolic rate of oxygen
Authors: Deshpande Rajiv S. , Langham Michael C. , Susztak Katalin , Wehrli Felix W. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractDuring the early stages of diabetes, kidney oxygen utilization increases. The mismatch between oxygen demand and supply contributes to tissue hypoxia, a key driver of chronic kidney disease. Thus, whole‐organ renal metabolic rate of oxygen (rMRO2) is a potentially valuable biomarker of kidney function. The key parameters required to determine rMRO2 include the renal blood flow rate (RBF) in the feeding artery and oxygen saturation in the draining renal vein (SvO2). However, there is currently no noninvasive method to quantify rMRO2 in absolute physiologic units. Here, a new MRI pulse sequence, Kidney Metabolism of Oxygen via T2 and Interleaved Velocity Encoding (K‐MOTIVE), is described, along with evaluation of its performance in the human kidney in vivo. K‐MOTIVE interleaves a phase‐contrast module before a background‐suppressed T2‐prepared balanced steady‐state‐free‐precession (bSSFP) readout to measure RBF and SvO2 in a single breath‐hold period of 22 s, yielding rMRO2 via Fick's principle. Variants of K‐MOTIVE to evaluate alternative bSSFP readout strategies were studied. Kidney mass was manually determined from multislice gradient recalled echo images. Healthy subjects were recruited to quantify rMRO2 of the left kidney at 3‐T field strength (N = 15). Assessments of repeat reproducibility and comparisons with individual measurements of RBF and SvO2 were performed, and the method's sensitivity was evaluated with a high‐protein meal challenge (N = 8). K‐MOTIVE yielded the following metabolic parameters: T2 = 157 ± 19 ms; SvO2 = 92% ± 6%; RBF = 400 ± 110 mL/min; and rMRO2 = 114 ± 117(μmol O2/min)/100 g tissue. Reproducibility studies of T2 and RBF (parameters directly measured by K‐MOTIVE) resulted in coefficients of variation less than 10% and intraclass correlation coefficients more than 0.75. The high‐protein meal elicited an increase in rMRO2, which was corroborated by serum biomarkers. The K‐MOTIVE sequence measures SvO2 and RBF, the parameters necessary to quantify whole‐organ rMRO2, in a single breath‐hold. The present work demonstrates that rMRO2 quantification is feasible with good reproducibility. rMRO2 is a potentially valuable physiological biomarker.
Immunogenicity and safety of a booster COVID‐19 vaccination in patients with chronic liver disease: A multicenter study
Authors: Wang Jitao , Ai Jingwen , Xiang Huiling , Zhang Yanliang , Hou Zhiyun , Zhang Qiran , Lv Jiaojian , Chen Shubo , Liu Chuan , Li Qianqian , Liang Jing , Xie Faren , Jiang Shujun , Zhang Nina , Zhang Aiguo , Lan Xiaolin , Zhang Xuying , Li Jinlong , Liu Dengxiang , Wang Wenchuan , Rao Wei , Qun Zhang , Tian Qiuju , Qi Xiaolong , Zhang Wenhong 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAimPatients with chronic liver disease (CLD), especially cirrhosis, are at a high risk of severe illness or death from coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) and may have a suboptimal immune response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) vaccine. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the COVID‐19 booster vaccination in patients with CLD.MethodsThe study protocol was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (No. NCT05204602) after approval by the Ethics Committee. Adult participants with CLD were enrolled in this multicenter prospective study. They completed two doses of the inactivated COVID‐19 vaccine and received booster doses at least 6 months later. Adverse reactions were recorded within 14 days after the booster dose. Serum samples of the enrolled patients were collected before and after booster vaccination and tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 receptor‐binding domain (RBD) immunoglobulin G and neutralizing antibodies. The chi‐squared or Fisher's exact test was used to compare categorical data, and the Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare continuous variables. Two‐sided p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.ResultsIn total, 63 patients were enrolled from four hospitals in China, including 29 patients with cirrhosis. The median age of all patients was 55 years, and 61.9% (39/63) were male. The vaccines were well tolerated; most adverse reactions were mild and transient, and injection site pain (6.4%; 4/63) and fatigue (3.2%, 2/63) were the most frequent local and systemic adverse events. Following the booster vaccination, our results showed that in the whole cohort, the levels and positive rates of anti‐RBD IgG and neutralizing antibodies were significantly higher than baseline levels (all p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe inactivated COVID‐19 booster vaccine was safe and significantly increased antibody levels and positivity rates following standard vaccination regimens in patients with CLD, especially those with cirrhosis.
The translocation of a polymer through a nanopore with sandglass‐like geometry
Authors: Qian Jun‐Lin , Li Haibin , Sun Li‐Zhen 
Published: September 2023

AbstractIn recent years, non‐uniformly geometrical nanopores, such as conical nanopores, have gained significant attention in nanopore sensing technology due to their advantages in analyte manipulation and clear output signals. This paper focuses on the polymer translocation through a sandglass‐like nanopore, characterized by a double‐conical geometry with a tip at the middle. We systematically investigate the effects of pore geometry on the translocation dynamics through computational simulations and theoretical analyses. The polymer translocation process is divided into three stages: approaching, threading, escaping, corresponding to the movement from the entry to the tip, through the tip, and from the tip to the exit, respectively. Our findings reveal that the duration of the approaching stage highly depends on the polymer conformations, while the durations of the threading and escaping stages are primarily influenced by the driving force associated with the pore geometry and the accompanying free energy change. Additionally, we report a relationship between the threading speed of the polymer at the tip and the combination of the driving force there and the free energy change during the threading stage.
Communication preferences and perceptions of cancer patient during their first medical oncology appointment
Authors: Vicente Rodrigo Santos , Freitas Ana Rita , Ferreira Ricardo Miguel Azevedo , Prada Sofia Parada , Martins Telma Sofia , Martins Telma Caleça , Duarte Mendes Ana , Vitorino Marina Miguel , Chaves Andreia Filipa , Santos Catarina Castro , Alpuim Costa Diogo , Custódio Maria Paula , Barbosa Miguel 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe first medical oncology appointment serves as a platform for patients to comprehend their diagnosis and prognostic implications of cancer. This study aimed to determine patients' communication preferences during their first medical oncology appointment and to assess the disparities between patients' preferences and perceptions.MethodsA total of 169 cancer patients participated by completing the Communication in First Medical Oncology Appointment Questionnaire (C‐FAQ), a two‐section questionnaire designed to assess patients’ preferences and perceptions regarding Content (information provided and its extent), Facilitation (timing and location of information delivery), and Support (emotional support) during their first medical oncology appointment. A comparative analysis was conducted to assess the variations between preferences and perceptions.ResultsContent emerged as the most significant dimension compared to Facilitation and Support. The physician's knowledge, honesty, and ability to provide clear information were considered the most important attributes. Patients evaluated most of their preferences as “very important”. Patients’ perception of the communication dimensions present during their appointment was below preferences for 11 items, indicating significant discrepancies in clinical practice.ConclusionsPatients highly valued their preferences concerning Content, Facilitation, and Support dimensions of communication. However, patient preferences were more prominently oriented towards the Content dimension. The discrepancies between preferences and perceptions should be viewed as an opportunity for enhancing communication skills through training.
Peasant traders, migrant workers and “supermarkets”: Low‐cost provisions and the reproduction of migrant labor in China
Authors: Nguyen Minh T. N. , Wei Lan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis article analyzes the social and spatial dynamics of the mobile trade in low‐cost goods by rural people from a mountainous region of China's Zhejiang province and how these interact with the mobility and social reproductive patterns of the rural–urban migrant workers they cater to. Also formally categorized as peasants, the traders not only supply the goods necessary for the maintenance of the workers but also of their spatially divided household, thus contributing to the reproduction of migrant labor power more generally. In doing so, they assume mobility trajectories that align with those of factory production and experience familial trade‐offs commonly experienced by migrant workers. Meanwhile, the provision of low‐cost goods to migrant workers has enabled a thriving economy employing peasant families for whom agricultural livelihoods slowly disappear. These dynamics indicate the mutual connection between waged and self‐employed labor that works in the interest of capital accumulation at the same time with the differentiation of migrant labor. As in other comparable Asian contexts, their connection lies at the heart of the state‐sponsored production regime premised on the low‐cost reproduction of flexible migrant labor.
Molecular design and properties of a P‐N synergistic flame retardant epoxy resin curing agent
Authors: Cheng Hengxing , Guo Junhong , Zhao Tianjing , Ye Yuan , Yang Baoping , Cui Jinfeng , Mu Bo , Bao Xuemei , Tian Li , Zhang Xiujun , Zhou Yingping 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe utilization of epoxy resin (EP) is widespread across various industries. Nevertheless, its combustibility restricts its broader utilization. Additive flame retardants have proven effective in enhancing EP flame retardancy in recent decades. However, poor weather and aging resistance have always been the defects of added flame retardants. A reactive flame retardant (VPD) was synthesized from 3, 5‐diamino‐1, 2, 4‐triazole and phenylphosphonic dichloride, and was used to prepare VPD/EP flame retardant epoxy thermosets. The mechanical properties of the VPD/EP flame retardant epoxy thermosets are lower than those of pure epoxy, because the distance between molecules of VPD is increased compared with that of DDM, the cross‐linking density of the polymer after curing is decreased, and the intermolecular force is reduced. The VPD/EP flame retardant epoxy thermosets have a 40% reduction in total heat release compared to pure EP, an increase in limiting oxygen index value from 24.7% (pure EP) to 29.4%, and a V‐1 rating in UL‐94 testing. The obtained EP has not only good flame retardancy but also better weather resistance and aging resistance than additive flame retardants.Highlights
An intrinsic flame‐retardant P and N coacting EP was designed and synthesized.
The intrinsic flame‐retardant EP has excellent weather and aging resistance.
The presence of the P, the residual char generated by combustion is denser.
Similarity contrastive estimation for image and video soft contrastive self-supervised learning
Authors: Denize Julien , Rabarisoa Jaonary , Orcesi Astrid , Hérault Romain 
Published: September 2023

AbstractContrastive representation learning has proven to be an effective self-supervised learning method for images and videos. Most successful approaches are based on Noise Contrastive Estimation (NCE) and use different views of an instance as positives that should be contrasted with other instances, called negatives, that are considered as noise. However, several instances in a dataset are drawn from the same distribution and share underlying semantic information. A good data representation should contain relations between the instances, or semantic similarity and dissimilarity, that contrastive learning harms by considering all negatives as noise. To circumvent this issue, we propose a novel formulation of contrastive learning using semantic similarity between instances called Similarity Contrastive Estimation (SCE). Our training objective is a soft contrastive one that brings the positives closer and estimates a continuous distribution to push or pull negative instances based on their learned similarities. We validate empirically our approach on both image and video representation learning. We show that SCE performs competitively with the state of the art on the ImageNet linear evaluation protocol for fewer pretraining epochs and that it generalizes to several downstream image tasks. We also show that SCE reaches state-of-the-art results for pretraining video representation and that the learned representation can generalize to video downstream tasks. Source code is available here: https://github.com/juliendenize/eztorch.
A Keynesian–Minskian perspective on the transformation of industrial into financial capitalism
Authors: Heise Arne 
Published: September 2023

AbstractDuring the past decades, industrial capitalism has been transformed into something which has been dubbed ‘Casino Capitalism’, ‘Turbo Capitalism’ or ‘Money Manager Capitalism’ by different authors: financial accumulation has outpaced real accumulation. This process of ‘financialisation’ has been discussed quite intensively in the literature with respect to its historical determinants and its macroeconomic effects, yet it has not been studied thoroughly whether the shift from the production and allocation of commodities and services towards the origination and distribution of loans and assets as the main activity of non-financial companies challenges our theoretical principles and, therefore, demands a new macroeconomic approach. The objective of this paper is to argue in a preliminary way that financialisation is not merely to be understood as the relative growth of the financial sector based on a deepening of financial intermediation but as a structural transformation of the core business of non-financial firms. This is based on an extended post-Keynesian theory of monetary production and an application of Minskian short- and long-term instability cycles.
Echinochrome exhibits anti-asthmatic activity through the suppression of airway inflammation, oxidative stress, and histopathological alterations in ovalbumin-induced asthma in BALB/c mice
Authors: Abdelmawgood Islam Ahmed , Mahana Noha A. , Badr Abeer Mahmoud , Mohamed Ayman Saber 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAsthma is a chronic pulmonary disease with marked infiltrating inflammatory cells and reduced respiratory performance. Echinochrome (Ech) is a dark-red pigment isolated from the sea urchin spines, shells, and ova. It has antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, but whether it can be used in asthma treatment has yet to be investigated. In this research, we aimed to study the inhibitory actions of Ech on allergic asthma symptoms in mice. Mice were divided into 4 groups (n = 8 for each): control, ovalbumin-challenged, and Ech-treated (0.1 and 1 mg/kg). At the end of the experiment, nasal scratching, lung oxidative stress, airway inflammation, and remodeling were assessed. In ovalbumin-challenged BALB/C mice, treatment with Ech significantly decreased nasal scratching, lung oxidative stress, inflammatory cell infiltration, mucus hyperproduction and hyperplasia of goblet cells, IgE levels, and inflammatory cytokines. It also inhibited NF-κB phosphorylation. This is the first study to investigate the immunomodulatory effect of Ech against allergic asthma in mice. According to our findings, we imply that Ech may be utilized as a treatment for allergic asthma.
Graphical Abstract