bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Automatic detection of exudates and hemorrhages in low‐contrast color fundus images using multi semantic convolutional neural network
Authors: Selçuk Turab , Beyoğlu Abdullah , Alkan Ahmet 
Published: January 2022

AbstractDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is a pathology occurring in the optic nerve due to an excessive blood sugar level in human body. It is one of the major reasons for visual impairment in the developed and developing countries. Patients with DR usually suffer from visual damages due to a high blood sugar level in retinal blood vessel walls. These damages may also leak into other retinal layers of the eye within time. As a result of these leakages and nutritional disorders, a number of lesions such as excudate, edema, microaneurysm, and hemorrhage may occur. In this respect, an accurate and effective detection of these lesions in earlier stages of DR plays an important role in the progression of the disease. In the proposed study, exudate and hemorrhages, which are important clinical findings for DR, were automatically detected from low contrast colored fundus images. Exudate and hemorrhages are lesions with different characteristics. However, in this study, high performance was achieved by making a three‐class semantic segmentation. In addition, a color space transformation was performed and the classical U‐Net algorithm was provided to achieve stable high performance in low contrast images. Finally, lesion images which were manually detected by a physician were matched with automatically segmented excudate and hemorrhage images using the proposed method. Thus, both segmentation and lesion detection performances of the proposed method were measured. The findings demonstrated that Dice and Jaccard similarity indexes were calculated nearly as 0.95 for the segmentation performance. A sensitivity of 98% and specificity value of 91% were measured for detection performance. It can be inferred from these figures that the proposed method can be effectively used as a supporting system by physicians for the detection and classification of lesions in the color fundus images for the diagnosis of DR.
Fe2O3/FePO4/FeOOH Ternary Stepped Energy Band Heterojunction Photoanode with Cascade‐Driven Charge Transfer and Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance
Authors: Wang Qian , Zong Xiaohang , Tian Li , Han Yu , Ding Yong , Xu Chao , Tao Ran , Fan Xiaoxing 
Published: January 2022

AbstractControlling the charge transfer pathway in semiconductors is an important method to improve charge separation efficiency and enhance photoelectrochemical activity. In this work, a Fe2O3/FePO4/FeOOH nanorod photoanode with stepped energy band structure is prepared by a hydrothermal and water bath method. The charge separation efficiency of the ternary heterojunction is higher than that of the traditional type II heterojunction, which might be due to the efficient cascade charge transfer and separation effect of the ternary stepped energy band heterojunction. The H2 and O2 evolution rates for photoelectrochemical water splitting of Fe2O3/FePO4/FeOOH photoanode are 0.247 and 0.111 μmol min−1, which is 2.15 and 1.95 times that of the Fe2O3/FePO4 photoanode, respectively. The incident photocurrent efficiency (IPCE) of Fe2O3/FePO4/FeOOH photoanode under 365 nm light irradiation is 1.5 and 1.8 times that of Fe2O3/FePO4 and Fe2O3/FeOOH photoanodes, respectively. This work provides an attractive strategy for solar energy conversion to construct efficient photoelectrochemical photoanode materials.
Interfacial engineering of nanostructured photoanode in fiber dye‐sensitized solar cells for self‐charging power systems
Authors: Song Weixing , Bie Zhe , Yan Wei , Zhu Junbo , Ma Weiting 
Published: January 2022

AbstractSolar cells offer an environmentally sustainable and convenient option for power source of next‐generation wearable electronics. Due to the advantages of low cost, easy fabrication and deformation, fiber dye‐sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs) are required to be suitable for the available wearable electronics. Herein, through introduced nanopillar arrays over the Ti wire and atomic layer deposition of conformal TiO2 layer to make the photoanode, the energy conversion efficiency of the FDSSCs is improved by 45%. The FDSSCs are combined with planar microsupercapacitor (MSC) clusters to make self‐charging power system on a polymer sheet. The interdigital finger electrodes of MSC were obtained in a single‐step method by laser‐inducing on a polyimide film, and two series can be charged up to 1.8 V in 30 s by the FDSSCs under solar irradiation. This power sheet can be attached to various surfaces such as skin, cloths, and electronic devices for practical applications.image
Impact of lipid rafts on transient receptor potential channel activities
Authors: Bobkov Danila , Semenova Svetlana 
Published: January 2022

AbstractMembers of the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily are cation channels that are expressed in nearly every mammalian cell type and respond as cellular sensors to various environmental stimuli. Light, pressure, osmolarity, temperature, and other stimuli can induce TRP calcium conductivity and correspondingly trigger many signaling processes in cells. Disruption of TRP channel activity, as a rule, harms cellular function. Despite numerous studies, the mechanisms of TRP channel regulation are not yet sufficiently clear, in part, because TRP channels are regulated by a broad set of ligands having diverse physical and chemical features. It is now known that some TRP members are located in membrane microdomains termed lipid rafts. Moreover, interaction between specific raft‐associated lipids with channels may be a key regulation mechanism. This review examines recent findings related to the roles of lipid rafts in regulation of TRP channel activity. The mechanistic events of channel interactions with the main lipid raft constituent, cholesterol, are being clarified. Better understanding of mechanisms behind such interactions would help establish the key elements of TRP channel regulation and hence allow control of cellular responses to environmental stimuli.
C/EBPβ promotes the expression of atrophy‐inducing factors by tumours and is a central regulator of cancer cachexia
Authors: AlSudais Hamood , Rajgara Rashida , Saleh Aisha , Wiper‐Bergeron Nadine 
Published: January 2022

AbstractBackgroundCCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein β (C/EBPβ) is a transcription factor whose high expression in human cancers is associated with tumour aggressiveness and poor outcomes. Most advanced cancer patients will develop cachexia, characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass. In response to secreted factors from cachexia‐inducing tumours, C/EBPβ is stimulated in muscle, leading to both myofibre atrophy and the inhibition of muscle regeneration. Involved in the regulation of immune responses, C/EBPβ induces the expression of many secreted factors, including cytokines. Because tumour‐secreted factors drive cachexia and aggressive tumours have higher expression of C/EBPβ, we examined a potential role for C/EBPβ in the expression of tumour‐derived cachexia‐inducing factors.MethodsWe used gain‐of‐function and loss‐of‐function approaches in vitro and in vivo to evaluate the role of tumour C/EBPβ expression on the secretion of cachexia‐inducing factors.ResultsWe report that C/EBPβ overexpression up‐regulates the expression of 260 secreted protein genes, resulting in a secretome that inhibits myogenic differentiation (−31%, P < 0.05) and myotube maturation [−38% (fusion index) and −25% (myotube diameter), P < 0.05]. We find that knockdown of C/EBPβ in cachexia‐inducing Lewis lung carcinoma cells restores myogenic differentiation (+25%, P < 0.0001) and myotube diameter (+90%, P < 0.0001) in conditioned medium experiments and, in vivo, prevents muscle wasting (−51% for small myofibres vs. controls, P < 0.01; +140% for large myofibres, P < 0.01). Conversely, overexpression of C/EBPβ in non‐cachectic tumours converts their secretome into a cachexia‐inducing one, resulting in reduced myotube diameter (−41%, P < 0.0001, EL4 model) and inhibition of differentiation in culture (−26%, P < 0.01, EL4 model) and muscle wasting in vivo (+98% small fibres, P < 0.001; −76% large fibres, P < 0.001). Comparison of the differently expressed transcripts coding for secreted proteins in C/EBPβ‐overexpressing myoblasts with the secretome from 27 different types of human cancers revealed ~18% similarity between C/EBPβ‐regulated secreted proteins and those secreted by highly cachectic tumours (brain, pancreatic, and stomach cancers). At the protein level, we identified 16 novel secreted factors that are present in human cancer secretomes and are up‐regulated by C/EBPβ. Of these, we tested the effect of three factors (SERPINF1, TNFRSF11B, and CD93) on myotubes and found that all had atrophic potential (−33 to −36% for myotube diameter, P < 0.01).ConclusionsWe find that C/EBPβ is necessary and sufficient to induce the secretion of cachexia‐inducing factors by cancer cells and loss of C/EBPβ in tumours attenuates muscle atrophy in an animal model of cancer cachexia. Our findings establish C/EBPβ as a central regulator of cancer cachexia and an important therapeutic target.
Pharmacological activation of the Sonic hedgehog pathway with a Smoothened small molecule agonist ameliorates the severity of alcohol‐induced morphological and behavioral birth defects in a zebrafish model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Authors: Burton Derek F. , Boa‐Amponsem Oswald M. , Dixon Maria S. , Hopkins Michael J. , Herbin Te‐Andre , Toney Shiquita , Tarpley Michael , Rodriguez Blanca V. , Fish Eric W. , Parnell Scott E. , Cole Gregory J. , Williams Kevin P. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractEthanol exposure during the early stages of embryonic development can lead to a range of morphological and behavioral differences termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). In a zebrafish model, we have shown that acute ethanol exposure at 8–10 hr postfertilization (hpf), a critical time of development, produces birth defects similar to those clinically characterized in FASD. Dysregulation of the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway has been implicated as a molecular basis for many of the birth defects caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. We observed in zebrafish embryos that shh expression was significantly decreased by ethanol exposure at 8–10 hpf, while smo expression was much less affected. Treatment of zebrafish embryos with SAG or purmorphamine, small molecule Smoothened agonists that activate Shh signaling, ameliorated the severity of ethanol‐induced developmental malformations including altered eye size and midline brain development. Furthermore, this rescue effect of Smo activation was dose dependent and occurred primarily when treatment was given after ethanol exposure. Markers of Shh signaling (gli1/2) and eye development (pax6a) were restored in embryos treated with SAG post‐ethanol exposure. Since embryonic ethanol exposure has been shown to produce later‐life neurobehavioral impairments, juvenile zebrafish were examined in the novel tank diving test. Our results further demonstrated that in zebrafish embryos exposed to ethanol, SAG treatment was able to mitigate long‐term neurodevelopmental impairments related to anxiety and risk‐taking behavior. Our results indicate that pharmacological activation of the Shh pathway at specific developmental timing markedly diminishes the severity of alcohol‐induced birth defects.
COVID‐19 infection and its consequences among surgical oncology patients: A systematic analysis, meta‐analysis and meta‐regression
Authors: Kamal Mona , Baudo Massimo , Shmushkevich Shon , Geng Yimin , Hanna Ehab , Goepfert Ryan P. , Lewis Carol M. , Rahouma Mohamed 
Published: January 2022

AbstractWe conducted this meta‐analysis to address the outcomes in cancer patients after oncologic surgery during COVID‐19 pandemic. The primary endpoint was the COVID‐19–related mortality rate. Higher body mass index was significantly and negatively associated with higher all‐cause mortality and in‐hospital COVID‐19 infection rates. Male sex, preoperative respiratory disease, and smoking history were positively and significantly associated with increased all‐cause mortality rates. Furthermore, male sex was positively and significantly associated with the COVID‐19 infection rate.
Discriminating grey wolf kill sites using GPS clusters
Authors: Irvine Courtney C. , Cherry Seth G. , Patterson Brent R. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractCharacteristics of spatio‐temporal clusters of locations from global positioning system (GPS)‐collars have been used to distinguish kill sites of various predators. We deployed GPS collars on 9 grey wolves (Canis lupus) in the southwest area of Prince Albert National Park in central Saskatchewan, Canada, and used a GPS location clustering algorithm to identify kill sites of ungulate and other large‐bodied prey during winter, December 2013–March 2017. We used logistic regression in a model‐selection framework to determine if spatio‐temporal and habitat characteristics of grey wolf GPS clusters could be used to reliably identify sites where wolves had killed prey. Global positioning system clusters were more likely to be wolf kill sites when they had a higher number of location fixes, did not begin within 300 m and 30 days of a previous cluster, did not begin within 1 km and 4 days of a previous cluster, began in the evening, had a high percentage of fixes occurring during the day, occurred farther from open habitat, and had both a high number of location fixes and a high percentage of fixes occurring during the day. Our results highlight the limits of using spatio‐temporal clusters with a fix rate of 1/hour to discriminate wolf kill sites in systems dominated by deer (Odocoileus spp.) because of the associated short handling time with these prey.
Woodland restoration and forest structure affect nightjar abundance in the Ozark Highlands
Authors: Thompson Frank R. , Roach Melissa C. , Bonnot Thomas W. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractChuck‐will's‐widow (Antrostomus carolinensis) and eastern whip‐poor‐will (Antrostomus vociferus) are nightjars in eastern North America that have declined 69% and 67%, respectively, in abundance since 1966, resulting in conservation concerns for these species. We investigated relationships between nightjar abundance and landscape composition, forest structure, and application of tree thinning and prescribed fire because of regional interest in woodland restoration and nightjar conservation. We conducted nocturnal nightjar surveys at 385 points in southern Missouri, USA, in 2014 and 2015 and related counts to pine (Pinusspp.) and hardwood basal area, canopy closure, percent forest cover, and percent of area thinned or burned within 500 m of survey points. We modeled abundance of chuck‐will's‐widow and eastern whip‐poor‐will using time‐removal models that included a detection process and an abundance process within a hierarchical Bayesian framework. We detected 534 eastern whip‐poor‐will and 186 chuck‐will's‐widow during surveys. Our data supported global models that included all 6 vegetation and management variables for both species. Chuck‐will's‐widow abundance was negatively related to hardwood basal area and peaked at intermediate values of percent area burned and percent forest cover. Eastern whip‐poor‐will abundance was negatively related to hardwood basal area and canopy cover, positively related to percent forest cover and percent of area burned, and peaked at low to moderate levels of percent of area thinned. Relationships to forest structure and management activities generally supported the conclusion that woodland restoration benefits nightjars and that chuck‐will's‐widow select landscapes with less forest cover than eastern whip‐poor‐will.
High‐resolution quantitative MRI of multiple sclerosis spinal cord lesions
Authors: McDowell Amy R. , Petrova Natalia , Carassiti Daniele , Miquel Marc E. , Thomas David L. , Barker Gareth J. , Schmierer Klaus , Wood Tobias C. 
Published: January 2022

PurposeValidation of quantitative MR measures for myelin imaging in the postmortem multiple sclerosis spinal cord.MethodsFour fixed spinal cord samples were imaged first with a 3T clinical MR scanner to identify areas of interest for scanning, and then with a 7T small bore scanner using a multicomponent‐driven equilibrium single‐pulse observation of T1 and T2 protocol to produce apparent proton density, T1, T2, myelin water, intracellular water, and free‐water fraction maps. After imaging, the cords were sectioned and stained with histological markers (hematoxylin and eosin, myelin basic protein, and neurofilament protein), which were quantitatively compared with the MR maps.ResultsExcellent correspondence was found between high‐resolution MR parameter maps and histology, particularly for apparent proton density MRI and myelin basic protein staining.ConclusionHigh‐resolution quantitative MRI of the spinal cord provides biologically meaningful measures, and could be beneficial to diagnose and track multiple sclerosis lesions in the spinal cord.
Volumetric and multispectral DWI near metallic implants using a non‐linear phase Carr‐Purcell‐Meiboom‐Gill diffusion preparation
Authors: Lee Philip K. , Yoon Daehyun , Sandberg Jesse K. , Vasanawala Shreyas S. , Hargreaves Brian A. 
Published: January 2022

PurposeDWI near metal implants has not been widely explored due to substantial challenges associated with through‐slice and in‐plane distortions, the increased encoding requirement of different spectral bins, and limited SNR. There is no widely adopted clinical protocol for DWI near metal since the commonly used EPI trajectory fails completely due to distortion from extreme off‐resonance ranging from 2 to 20 kHz. We present a sequence that achieves DWI near metal with moderate b‐values (400–500 s/mm2) and volumetric coverage in clinically feasible scan times.Theory and MethodsMultispectral excitation with Cartesian sampling, view angle tilting, and kz phase encoding reduce in‐plane and through‐plane off‐resonance artifacts, and Carr‐Purcell‐Meiboom‐Gill (CPMG) spin‐echo refocusing trains counteract T2* effects. The effect of random phase on the refocusing train is eliminated using a stimulated echo diffusion preparation. Root‐flipped Shinnar‐Le Roux refocusing pulses permits preparation of a high spectral bandwidth, which improves imaging times by reducing the number of excitations required to cover the desired spectral range. B1 sensitivity is reduced by using an excitation that satisfies the CPMG condition in the preparation. A method for ADC quantification insensitive to background gradients is presented.ResultsNon‐linear phase refocusing pulses reduces the peak B1 by 46% which allows RF bandwidth to be doubled. Simulations and phantom experiments show that a non‐linear phase CPMG pulse pair reduces B1 sensitivity. Application in vivo demonstrates complementary contrast to conventional multispectral acquisitions and improved visualization compared to DW‐EPI.ConclusionVolumetric and multispectral DW imaging near metal can be achieved with a 3D encoded sequence.
Inequities in the distribution of flood risk under floodplain restoration and climate change scenarios
Authors: Gourevitch Jesse D. , Diehl Rebecca M. , Wemple Beverley C. , Ricketts Taylor H. 
Published: January 2022

Abstract

The combined impacts of climate change and ecological degradation are expected to worsen inequality within society. These dynamics are exemplified by increases in flood risk globally. In general, low‐income and socially vulnerable populations disproportionately bear the cost of flood damages. Climate change is expected to increase the number of people exposed to fluvial flood risk and cause greater property damages. Floodplain restoration has the potential to mitigate these impacts, but the distribution of future risks among different types of property owners under these altered conditions is often unknown.

Here, we develop a simple probabilistic approach for estimating flood risk to property owners under floodplain restoration and climate change scenarios for a range of flood recurrence intervals. We apply this approach in the Vermont, USA portion of the Lake Champlain Basin.

Over a 100‐year time horizon, we estimate that the value of property damages caused by flood inundation is approximately $2.13 billion under the baseline scenario. Climate change is expected to increase damages to $5.29 billion, a 148% increase; however, floodplain restoration has the potential to reduce these impacts by approximately 20%.

For all scenarios, a larger proportion of lower‐value properties, specifically mobile homes, face greater flood risk compared to higher‐value properties. Climate change is expected to cost higher‐value properties and commercial properties more than other types of properties, but these same groups are also expected to benefit most from floodplain restoration.

In general, these results raise concern that those least able to prepare for and recover from flood damages are also the people who face the greatest threats. In response, public policy interventions must consider not only where flood risk is most severe, but also the vulnerability of people exposed to such risk.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Fiber contribution on elastic properties of cellulose composites: A multiscale numerical study
Authors: Yasuda Shogai , Teramoto Yoshikuni , Ogoe Shinji , Uetsuji Yasutomo 
Published: January 2022

AbstractMultiscale finite element analysis based on the asymptotic homogenization theory was carried out for short fiber reinforced plastics (FRP), and the effects of fiber morphologies on mechanical properties were systematically organized. Cellulose microfibers were used as the reinforcing fibers and polypropylene was used as the matrix. In order to quantify the enhancement effect of intrinsic fibers on the mechanical properties, a new indicator based on strain energy, contribution proportion of fiber (CPf) was proposed. In this paper, as the first demonstration of introducing the CPf, unidirectionally oriented short FRP was focused and elastic properties were analyzed for fundamental fiber morphologies. In terms of the fluctuation rate based on the elastic modulus of the matrix, when the volume content of fiber is 3.0 vol%, the elastic modulus of composites varied by 106%, 105%, 97.6%, and 35.1%, respectively, depending on the fiber orientation, fiber aspect ratio, fiber/matrix interface and fiber‐to‐fiber distance. Based on the CPf, fiber morphologies could be divided into two. The first factors are fiber orientation angle and fiber content, which determine the rate of change in mechanical properties with respect to the CPf. The second factors are fiber aspect ratio, fiber/matrix interface, and fiber‐to‐fiber distance, which affect the mechanical properties according to the rate of change determined by the first factors. The complicated influence of the fiber morphologies on the mechanical properties could be unified by introducing the CPf. These computations show that CPf is effective for systematic analysis and design of fiber morphologies.