bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A high gain multiband offset MIMO antenna based on a planar log-periodic array for Ku/K-band applications
Authors: Fakharian Mohammad M. , Alibakhshikenari Mohammad , See Chan Hwang , Abd-Alhameed Raed 
Published: March 2022

AbstractAn offset quad-element, two-port, high-gain, and multiband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) planar antenna based on a log-periodic dipole array (LPDA) for Ku/K-band wireless communications is proposed, in this paper. A single element antenna has been designed starting from Carrel’s theory and then optimized with a 50-Ω microstrip feed-line with two orthogonal branches that results mainly in a broadside radiation pattern and improves diversity parameters. For experimental confirmation, the designed structure is printed on an RT-5880 substrate with a thickness of 1.57 mm. The total substrate dimensions of the MIMO antenna are 55 × 45 mm2. According to the measured results, the designed structure is capable of working at 1.3% (12.82–12.98 GHz), 3.1% (13.54–13.96 GHz), 2.3% (14.81–15.15 GHz), 4.5% (17.7–18.52 GHz), and 4.6% (21.1–22.1 GHz) frequency bands. Additionally, the proposed MIMO antenna attains a peak gain of 4.2–10.7 dBi with maximum element isolation of 23.5 dB, without the use of any decoupling structure. Furthermore, the analysis of MIMO performance metrics such as the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and mean effective gain (MEG) validates good characteristics, and field correlation performance over the operating band. The proposed design is an appropriate option for multiband MIMO applications for various wireless systems in Ku/K-bands.
ACE2 protein expression in lung tissues of severe COVID-19 infection
Authors: Gheware Atish , Ray Animesh , Rana Deeksha , Bajpai Prashant , Nambirajan Aruna , Arulselvi S. , Mathur Purva , Trikha Anjan , Arava Sudheer , Das Prasenjit , Mridha Asit Ranjan , Singh Geetika , Soneja Manish , Nischal Neeraj , Lalwani Sanjeev , Wig Naveet , Sarkar Chitra , Jain Deepali 
Published: March 2022

AbstractAngiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a key host protein by which severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters and multiplies within cells. The level of ACE2 expression in the lung is hypothesised to correlate with an increased risk of severe infection and complications in COrona VIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). To test this hypothesis, we compared the protein expression status of ACE2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in post-mortem lung samples of patients who died of severe COVID-19 and lung samples obtained from non-COVID-19 patients for other indications. IHC for CD61 and CD163 was performed for the assessment of platelet-rich microthrombi and macrophages, respectively. IHC for SARS-CoV-2 viral antigen was also performed. In a total of 55, 44 COVID-19 post-mortem lung samples were tested for ACE2, 36 for CD163, and 26 for CD61, compared to 15 non-covid 19 control lung sections. Quantification of immunostaining, random sampling, and correlation analysis were used to substantiate the morphologic findings. Our results show that ACE2 protein expression was significantly higher in COVID-19 post-mortem lung tissues than in controls, regardless of sample size. Histomorphology in COVID-19 lungs showed diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), acute bronchopneumonia, and acute lung injury with SARS-CoV-2 viral protein detected in a subset of cases. ACE2 expression levels were positively correlated with increased expression levels of CD61 and CD163. In conclusion, our results show significantly higher ACE2 protein expression in severe COVID-19 disease, correlating with increased macrophage infiltration and microthrombi, suggesting a pathobiological role in disease severity.
Exposure to 1800 MHz LTE electromagnetic fields under proinflammatory conditions decreases the response strength and increases the acoustic threshold of auditory cortical neurons
Authors: Souffi Samira , Lameth Julie , Gaucher Quentin , Arnaud-Cormos Délia , Lévêque Philippe , Edeline Jean-Marc , Mallat Michel 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIncreased needs for mobile phone communications have raised successive generations (G) of wireless technologies, which could differentially affect biological systems. To test this, we exposed rats to single head-only exposure of a 4G long-term evolution (LTE)-1800 MHz electromagnetic field (EMF) for 2 h. We then assessed the impact on microglial space coverage and electrophysiological neuronal activity in the primary auditory cortex (ACx), under acute neuroinflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide. The mean specific absorption rate in the ACx was 0.5 W/kg. Multiunit recording revealed that LTE-EMF triggered reduction in the response strength to pure tones and to natural vocalizations, together with an increase in acoustic threshold in the low and medium frequencies. Iba1 immunohistochemistry showed no change in the area covered by microglia cell bodies and processes. In healthy rats, the same LTE-exposure induced no change in response strength and acoustic threshold. Our data indicate that acute neuroinflammation sensitizes neuronal responses to LTE-EMF, which leads to an altered processing of acoustic stimuli in the ACx.
CX-5461 induces radiosensitization through modification of the DNA damage response and not inhibition of RNA polymerase I
Authors: Lehman Stacey L. , Schwartz Kayla R. , Maheshwari Shrankhla , Camphausen Kevin , Tofilon Philip J. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIncreased ribosome biogenesis is a distinguishing feature of cancer cells, and small molecule inhibitors of ribosome biogenesis are currently in clinical trials as single agent therapy. It has been previously shown that inhibiting ribosome biogenesis through the inhibition of nuclear export of ribosomal subunits sensitizes tumor cells to radiotherapy. In this study, the radiosensitizing potential of CX-5461, a small molecule inhibitor of RNA polymerase I, was tested. Radiosensitization was measured by clonogenic survival assay in a panel of four tumor cell lines derived from three different tumor types commonly treated with radiation. 50 nM CX-5461 radiosensitized PANC-1, U251, HeLa, and PSN1 cells with dose enhancement factors in the range of 1.2–1.3. However, 50 nM CX-5461 was not sufficient to inhibit 45S transcription alone or in combination with radiation. The mechanism of cell death with the combination of CX-5461 and radiation occurred through mitotic catastrophe and not apoptosis. CX-5461 inhibited the repair and/or enhanced the initial levels of radiation-induced DNA double strand breaks. Understanding the mechanism of CX-5461-induced radiosensitization should be of value in the potential application of the CX-5461/radiotherapy combination in cancer treatment.
A deep learning-driven low-power, accurate, and portable platform for rapid detection of COVID-19 using reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification
Authors: Waheed Waqas , Saylan Sueda , Hassan Taimur , Kannout Hussain , Alsafar Habiba , Alazzam Anas 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThis paper presents a deep learning-driven portable, accurate, low-cost, and easy-to-use device to perform Reverse-Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) to facilitate rapid detection of COVID-19. The 3D-printed device—powered using only a 5 Volt AC-DC adapter—can perform 16 simultaneous RT-LAMP reactions and can be used multiple times. Moreover, the experimental protocol is devised to obviate the need for separate, expensive equipment for RNA extraction in addition to eliminating sample evaporation. The entire process from sample preparation to the qualitative assessment of the LAMP amplification takes only 45 min (10 min for pre-heating and 35 min for RT-LAMP reactions). The completion of the amplification reaction yields a fuchsia color for the negative samples and either a yellow or orange color for the positive samples, based on a pH indicator dye. The device is coupled with a novel deep learning system that automatically analyzes the amplification results and pays attention to the pH indicator dye to screen the COVID-19 subjects. The proposed device has been rigorously tested on 250 RT-LAMP clinical samples, where it achieved an overall specificity and sensitivity of 0.9666 and 0.9722, respectively with a recall of 0.9892 for Ct < 30. Also, the proposed system can be widely used as an accurate, sensitive, rapid, and portable tool to detect COVID–19 in settings where access to a lab is difficult, or the results are urgently required.
The dynamics of disease mediated invasions by hosts with immune reproductive tradeoff
Authors: Young Matthew J. , Fefferman Nina H. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe modern world involves both increasingly frequent introduction of novel invasive animals into new habitat ranges and novel epidemic-causing pathogens into new host populations. Both of these phenomena have been well studied. Less well explored, however, is how the success of species invasions may themselves be affected by the pathogens they bring with them. In this paper, we construct a simple, modified Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model for a vector-borne pathogen affecting two annually reproducing hosts. We consider an invasion scenario in which a susceptible native host species is invaded by a disease-resistant species carrying a vector-borne infection. We assume the presence of abundant, but previously disease-free, competent vectors. We find that the success of invasion is critically sensitive to the infectivity of the pathogen. The more the pathogen is able to spread, the more fit the invasive host is in competition with the more vulnerable native species; the pathogen acts as a ‘wingman pathogen,’ enhancing the probability of invader establishment. While not surprising, we provide a quantitative predictive framework for the long-term outcomes from these important coupled dynamics in a world in which compound invasions of hosts and pathogens are increasingly likely.
Structural and immunoendocrine remodeling in gut, pancreas and thymus in weaning rats fed powdered milk diets rich in Maillard reactants
Authors: Dereke J. , Ekblad E. , Weström B. , Erlanson-Albertsson C. , Landin-Olsson M. , Sjöholm I. , Hillman M. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractWestern diet is extending worldwide and suspected to be associated with various metabolic diseases. Many food products have skim milk powder added to it and, during processing, lactose reacts with milk proteins and Maillard reaction products (MRPs) are formed. Dietary MRPs are suggested risk factors for metabolic dysregulation, but the mechanisms behind are still enigmatic. Here we describe that weaning rats fed diets rich in MRPs are affected in both their immune and endocrine systems. Marked structural changes in pancreas, intestine and thymus are noted already after 1 week of exposure. The pancreatic islets become sparser, the intestinal mucosa is thinner, and thymus displays increased apoptosis and atrophy. Glucagon- like peptide-1 (GLP-1) seems to play a key role in that the number of GLP-1 expressing cells is up-regulated in endocrine pancreas but down-regulated in the intestinal mucosa. Further, intestinal GLP-1-immunoreactive cells are juxta positioned not only to nerve fibres and tuft cells, as previously described, but also to intraepithelial CD3 positive T cells, rendering them a strategic location in metabolic regulation. Our results suggest dietary MRPs to cause metabolic disorders, dysregulation of intestinal GLP-1- immunoreactive cells, arrest in pancreas development and thymus atrophy.
Inhibition of RANKL and Sema4D improves residual ridge resorption in mice
Authors: Hisamoto Meri , Kimura Shunsuke , Iwata Kai , Iwanaga Toshihiko , Yokoyama Atsuro 
Published: March 2022

AbstractResidual ridge resorption (RRR) is a chronic and progressive bone resorption following tooth loss. It causes deterioration of the oral environments and leads to the pathogenesis of various systemic diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms and risk factors for RRR progression are still unclear and controversial. In this study, we developed a tooth extraction model using mice for analyzing long-term morphological and gene expression changes in the alveolar bone. We further applied ovariectomy to this model to elucidate the effects of osteoporosis on RRR progression. As a result, the alveolar bone loss was biphasic and consisted of rapid loss in the early stages and subsequently slow and sustained bone loss over a long period. Histological analysis indicated that ovariectomy prolonged the activation of osteoclasts in the alveolar bone. Furthermore, the expressions of Tnfsf11 and Sema4d kept increasing for a long time in OVX mice. Administration of neutralization antibodies for receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) effectively suppressed RRR. Similarly, inhibition of Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) also improved alveolar bone loss. This study demonstrated that reduced ovarian function may be a risk factor for RRR and that RANKL and Sema4D suppression are potential treatments.
Prediction of surgical margin status and location after radical prostatectomy using positive biopsy sites on 12-core standard prostate biopsy
Authors: Jeong Hyeon , Choo Min Soo , Cho Min Chul , Son Hwancheol , Yoo Sangjun 
Published: March 2022

AbstractWe evaluated the surgical margin status after radical prostatectomy according to sites positive for prostate cancer on standard 12-core transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy. Among patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at Boramae Medical Center, 520 patients with preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level < 20 ng/mL and locally confined prostate cancer on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, treated with nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, were included in the analysis. The surgical margin was positive for cancer in 166 (31.9% of the total) patients. The preoperative PSA level (9.3 vs. 8.0, ng/mL p = 0.001) and number of positive cores on 12-core prostate biopsy (4.1 vs. 3.4, p = 0.003) were significantly higher in patients with positive surgical margins. Moreover, the biopsy Gleason grade was higher in patients with positive surgical margins (p = 0.001). However, the pathologic Gleason grade and tumor volume were equivalent between the 2 groups. On multivariate analysis, the detection of prostate cancer on anterior lateral biopsy was associated with an increased rate of positive surgical margins (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.781, p = 0.008) after adjusting for other variables. Anterior lateral (HR: 1.919, p = 0.020), basal lateral (HR: 9.176, p < 0.001), basal medial (HR: 3.302, p = 0.031), and mid lateral (HR: 2.501, p = 0.044) biopsies were associated with positive apical, posterior, basal, and lateral surgical margins, respectively, after adjusting for other variables. The sites of prostate cancer on standard 12-core prostate biopsy could be useful for predicting surgical margin positivity after radical prostatectomy. In other words, clinicians should consider the sites of prostate cancer on prostate biopsy to reduce margin positivity after radical prostatectomy.
Exploring the mechanical and morphological rationality of tree branch structure based on 3D point cloud analysis and the finite element method
Authors: Tsugawa Satoru , Teratsuji Kaname , Okura Fumio , Noshita Koji , Tateno Masaki , Zhang Jingyao , Demura Taku 
Published: March 2022

AbstractTrees are thought to have acquired a mechanically optimized shape through evolution, but a scientific methodology to investigate the mechanical rationality of tree morphology remains to be established. The aim of this study was to develop a new method for 3D reconstruction of actual tree shape and to establish a theoretical formulation for elucidating the structure and function of tree branches. We obtained 3D point cloud data of tree shape of Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) using the NavVis Lidar scanner, then applied a cylinder structure extraction from point cloud data with error estimation. We then formulated the mechanical stress of branches under gravity using the elastic theory, and performed finite element method simulations to evaluate the mechanical characteristics. Subsequently, we constructed a mechanics-based theoretical formulation of branch development that ensures constant bending stress produces various branching patterns depending on growth properties. The derived theory recapitulates the trade-off among branch growth anisotropy, stress-gravity length, and branch shape, which may open the quantitative way to evaluate mechanical and morphological rationality of tree branches.
Preparation of mixed-mode stationary phase for separation of peptides and proteins in high performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Alharthi Sarah , Ali Ashraf , Iqbal Muzaffar , Ibrar Aliya , Ahmad Bashir , Nisa Sobia , Mabood Fazal 
Published: March 2022

AbstractPorous silica particles were prepared by sol–gel method with some modification to get wide-pore particles. These particles were derivatized with N-phenylmaleimide-methylvinylisocyanate (PMI) and styrene by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to prepare N-phenylmaleimide embedded polystyrene (PMP) stationary phases. Narrow bore stainless steel column (100 × 1.8 mm i.d) was packed by slurry packing method. The chromatographic performance of PMP column was evaluated for the separation of synthetic peptides mixture composed of five peptides (Gly-Tyr, Gly-Leu-Tyr, Gly-Gly-Tyr-Arg, Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg, Leucine enkephalin) and tryptic digest of human serum albumin (HAS) respectively. Number of theoretical plates as high as 280,000 plates/m were obtained for peptides mixture at optimum elution condition. Separation performance of the developed column was compared with commercial Ascentis Express RP-Amide column and it was observed that separation performance of PMP column was better than commercial column in terms of separation efficiency and resolution.
Elevated mid-pregnancy plasma levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in women prior to the development of preeclampsia
Authors: Junus Katja , Björk Ragnarsdóttir Inger , Nordlöf Callbo Paliz , Bergman Lina , Lager Susanne , Wikström Anna-Karin 
Published: March 2022

AbstractPreeclampsia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) share multiple features and risk factors. Circulating angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is increased in CVD and mediates SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells, causing COVID-19 infection. The role of ACE2 in preeclampsia pathophysiology is unknown. We hypothesized that circulating ACE2 is increased in mid-pregnancy in women later developing preeclampsia. We included 296 women later developing preeclampsia (cases) and 333 women with a continuous healthy pregnancy (controls). Circulating ACE2 was measured with an immunoassay based on proximity extension assay technology, with levels being expressed as relative quantification on a log2 scale. Median (interquartile range) ACE2 levels were higher in cases than in controls; 3.84 (3.50–4.24) vs. 3.72 (3.45–4.04), p = 0.002. Adjusted logistic regression models showed a 60% increased risk for later development of preeclampsia with one unit elevation of ACE2 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.60, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.17–2.18). Preterm preeclampsia (diagnosis before 37 gestational weeks, n = 97) seemed to have a stronger ACE2 association than term preeclampsia, n = 199 (aORs, 95% Cis 2.14, 1.15–3.96 and 1.52, 1.04–2.23, respectively). Circulating ACE2 is increased at mid-pregnancy in women later developing preeclampsia, particularly preterm preeclampsia. Thus, our finding indicates a partly shared pathophysiological pathway between preeclampsia and CVD.
The tripartite quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation and upper bound on shareability of quantum discord
Authors: Dolatkhah Hazhir , Mohammadi Abolhassan , Haseli Soroush 
Published: March 2022

AbstractQuantum discord and quantum uncertainty are two important features of the quantum world. In this work, the relation between entropic uncertainty relation and the shareability of quantum discord is studied. By using tripartite quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation, an upper bound for the shareability of quantum discord among different parties of a composite system is obtained. It is also shown that, for a specific class of tripartite states, the obtained relation could be expressed as monogamy of quantum discord. Moreover, it is illustrated that the relation could be generalized and an upper bound for the shareability of quantum discord for multipartite states is derived.
CBRAM technology: transition from a memory cell to a programmable and non-volatile impedance for new radiofrequency applications
Authors: López-Soriano Sergio , Methapettyparambu Purushothama Jayakrishnan , Vena Arnaud , Perret Etienne 
Published: March 2022

AbstractElectrical resistance control programming of conductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM) radio frequency (RF) switches could benefit the development of electronically controlled non-volatile RF attenuators and other reconfigurable devices. The object of this study is to adapt a conventional CBRAM based memory cell to be used as an RF switch, and to demonstrate the feasibility of programming non-volatile RF CBRAM switches to achieve specific target resistances within a range of continuous values. The memory-RF technologic transition implies a drastic increase of the geometry in order to handle a much higher power, a decrease of the transition capacitance in order to operate at much higher frequencies, and a decrease of the LRS to a few ohms, which is critical for RF applications. These studies are initially performed on an in-house made RF CBRAM cell array at DC frequency, and then extended successfully to a co-planar waveguide (CPW) based shunt mode RF switch with an integrated CBRAM cell. Reliability of the proposed technique is validated through detailed analysis of factors like repeatability of the process, time stability of programmed states, and statistics of time taken to converge to a desired resistance value for an arbitrary RF CBRAM switch.
An efficient self-attention network for skeleton-based action recognition
Authors: Qin Xiaofei , Cai Rui , Yu Jiabin , He Changxiang , Zhang Xuedian 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThere has been significant progress in skeleton-based action recognition. Human skeleton can be naturally structured into graph, so graph convolution networks have become the most popular method in this task. Most of these state-of-the-art methods optimized the structure of human skeleton graph to obtain better performance. Based on these advanced algorithms, a simple but strong network is proposed with three major contributions. Firstly, inspired by some adaptive graph convolution networks and non-local blocks, some kinds of self-attention modules are designed to exploit spatial and temporal dependencies and dynamically optimize the graph structure. Secondly, a light but efficient architecture of network is designed for skeleton-based action recognition. Moreover, a trick is proposed to enrich the skeleton data with bones connection information and make obvious improvement to the performance. The method achieves 90.5% accuracy on cross-subjects setting (NTU60), with 0.89M parameters and 0.32 GMACs of computation cost. This work is expected to inspire new ideas for the field.