bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Correlations between Castelli’s Risk Index and Subclinical Coronary Atherosclerosis
Authors: gu xiaosong , Song Jinyou , Chao Tang , Su Tianhong , Du Shiyu , Qiao Shunsong , Zhu Jingjing , Zhao Fan
Published: March 2023

Objective
To investigate the relations between blood lipid level, plasma atherogenic index and coronary artery structural changes in patients with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis.
Method
209 patients who had accomplished Coronary CT Angiography (coronary CTA) are selected. the patients were classified into subclinical coronary atherosclerosis group (n = 124) and the normal group (n = 85). The clinical data of all patients were collected. Non-high-density lipoprotein, plasma atherogenic index, Castelli risk index and atherosclerosis coefficient were calculated according to the four items of blood lipids.
Results
There were significant differences between the subclinical coronary atherosclerosis group and the normal group in terms of gender, smoking history, and history of Hyperuricemia (P < 0.05), and the levels of Non-HDL-C, CRI-1, CRI-2, and AC were slightly higher than those in the normal group (P < 0.05).There was a correlation between subclinical coronary atherosclerosis and calcification score (P < 0.05). Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that Smoking, Age and CRI-2 were independent risk factors for subclinical coronary atherosclerotic. The ROC of subclinical coronary atherosclerotic lesions diagnosed by CRI-2 was the largest, 0.611 (0.531–0.69).
Conclusion
Smoking, age and plasma CRI-2 level are associated with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis. CRI-2 in the plasma atherogenic index can be used for early screening of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis patients.
Assessing Efficacy of Plastic-free Alternative Ties For Coral Propagation in Reef Restoration
Authors: Strudwick Paige , Camp Emma F , Seymour Justin , Roper Christine , Edmondson John , Howlett Lorna , Suggett David J
Published: March 2023

Coral propagation and out-planting based restoration approaches
are increasingly being applied as tools to assist natural recovery
and preserve resilience of coral reefs. However, many out-planting
and propagation methods rely on plastic zip-ties to fasten corals
to structures in coral nurseries, which is potentially problematic
and unsustainable for the marine environment. Plastic-free
biodegradable alternatives are becoming available but may pose
unique risks by impacting coral associated bacterial communities
that are integral to coral health. We therefore examined the
bacterial communities of Acropora millepora coral
fragments propagated in coral nurseries in two experiments on the
northern Great Barrier Reef to identify whether biodegradable
materials differentially impact coral associated bacterial
communities. In each study coral fragments were secured to nursery
frames with conventional plastic, metal and biodegradable
(polyester and polycaprolactone) ties, and both tie failure and
coral associated bacterial communities were characterised during a
six-month period. Minimal coral mortality was observed (3.6-8 %)
and all ties tested had low failure rates (0-4.2 %) with the
exception of the polyester biodegradable material (29.2 % failure).
No differences were observed between coral associated bacterial
communities of fragments secured in the coral nursery with
different tie types, and no proliferation of putatively pathogenic
bacteria was recorded for fragments secured with biodegradable
ties. Overall, our findings suggest that reducing reliance on
conventional plastic can be achieved through transitions to
biodegradable materials, without any notable impacts on
coral-associated bacterial communities, but we caution the need to
examine wider coral taxa of different morphologies and growth
dynamics, and any new plastic-free materials prior to
application.
Fairness-driven Skilled Task Assignment with Extra Budget in Spatial Crowdsourcing
Authors: Zhou Yunjun , Wan Shuhan , Zhang Detian , Wen Shiting
Published: March 2023

With the prevalence of mobile devices and ubiquitous wireless networks, spatial crowdsourcing has attracted much attention from both academic and industry communities. On spatial crowdsourcing platforms, task requesters can publish spatial tasks and workers need to move to destinations to perform them. In this paper, we formally define a new problem, i.e., the Skilled Task Assignment with Extra Budget (STAEB), which aims to maximize total platform revenue and achieve fairness for workers and task requesters. In the STAEB problem, the complex task needs more than one worker to satisfy its skill requirement and has the extra budget to subsidize extra travel cost of workers to attract more workers. We prove that the STAEB problem is NP-complete. Therefore, two approximation algorithms are proposed to solve it, including a greedy approach and a game-theoretic approach. Extensive experiments on both real and synthetic datasets demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed approaches.
Adsorption and corrosion inhibition behavior of Pterocarpus marsupium stem extract on mild steel in acid medium: Experimental and Statistical approach
Authors: M Lavanya , Suvarna Aishwarya S , P Preethi Kumari
Published: March 2023

The present work emphasizes the corrosion mitigation behavior of Pterocarpus marsupium stem extract (PMSE) on mild steel (MS) in various concentrations of hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution using an electrochemical technique. The experiments were conducted in three different levels of acid concentrations (0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 M), three levels of inhibitor concentration (0.03, 0.12 and 0.24 g/L), and at three different temperatures (303 to 313 K) and optimized to get maximum inhibition efficiency. The inhibition efficiency increased with an increase in PMSE concentrations in all the acid concentrations and decreased with an increase in temperature. The Tafel polarization technique revealed mixed inhibition behaviour of PMSE with maximum inhibition efficiency (% IE) of 88.9 % at 303 K containing 0.24 g/L of PMSE in 0.1 M HCl solution. The adsorption mechanism of PMSE on the surface of MS is consistent with physisorption by obeying Freundlich’s adsorption isotherm. The corrosion inhibition of PMSE predominantly owing to protective film formation on the metal surface and is confirmed by surface morphological and FTIR spectral studies. RSM studies using the Taguchi method revealed the highest inhibition efficiency to be predicted at minimum temperature and acid concentration and at the maximum inhibitor concentration as obtained in the experiments.
Gain-of-function RAC2 variants presenting as autoinflammatory phenotypes
Authors: Zhang Liang , Lv Ge , Li Zhihui , Zhao Xiaodong
Published: March 2023

Background
An expanded spectrum of gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 2 (RAC2) causes severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) or combined immunodeficiency (CID), which present with various phenotypes; these immunodeficiencies are characterized by severe lymphopenia, recurrent sinopulmonary infections, bronchiectasis, invasive viral infections, or severe bone marrow hypoplasia. Autoinflammatory features are rarely reported.
Method
We describe the cases of two girls presenting with novel autoinflammatory phenotypes associated with GOF RAC2 variants. An up-to-date review of the literature was conducted to explore the various spectra of clinical manifestations in patients with GOF RAC2 variants.
Results
One patient presented with vasculitis and leg ulcers, whereas the other presented with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and severe uveitis.
Conclusion
Our data extend the spectrum of the clinical presentation of GOF RAC2 variants, which may be associated with autoinflammation, highlighting novel and unusual clinical phenotypes.
A Security Analysis and Assessment for Petri Net-Based OpenStack Cloud Infrastructure
Authors: Morshedi Roya , Matinkhah S Mojtaba
Published: March 2023

Cloud computing is an important innovation in the current computing model that can provide an easy way to host and manage infrastructure and applications. Accordingly, due to the rapid growth of cloud computing over the past few years, security concerns have been raised. Various methods have been proposed for more security in the use of cloud computing, but not enough efforts have been made to evaluate the above methods. Providing and guaranteeing security as one of the most important open issues in cloud computing has always been the focus of researchers. The cloud service provider must adopt the necessary security strategies to increase the security of service allocation, operation continuity, storage management, information security and privacy protection in order to satisfy and reassure customers. Dealing with the challenges and threats identified in this environment requires providing a basic solution. In this article, infrastructure services as a service in cloud computing are described and the vulnerability of each is analyzed. According to the Petri net modeling tool, a new method to evaluate the security of infrastructure systems as a service is presented and analyzed. In this method, it is tried to be able to analyze the desired service provider and then define it through official models, thus creating an executive model of it, which can be serviced by applying existing security features. He evaluated the intended provider in terms of security and other characteristics. With the help of this method, the level of security of infrastructure systems as a service in cloud computing can be compared and evaluated. Then, using the Petri net modeling tool, one of the famous business systems for providing infrastructure as a service called Openstack is modeled and the behavior of attacks on it is evaluated. Applying the mentioned method on the Openstack system shows that our work has good security and it is expected that researchers, designers and companies providing cloud services will make significant use of the results in order to increase the security of services.
Green nanocoating-based chitosan and starch decorated with Egyptian kaolinite doped by ZnONPs for antimicrobial paper coating
Authors: Hasanin Mohamed S. , -Saied Houssni El , Morsy Fatma A. , Rokbaa Hanaa Hassan Abdel Latif
Published: March 2023

The paper coating is an out-layer of the paper that plays an important role in a paper’s properties, functionality and application. The nanocoating is a multifunction layer that supplied the paper with unique features. In this present work, nanocoating formulas were prepared using a green method and component as well. The nanocoating formulas were based on biopolymers (nanostarch and nanochitosan) decorated with Egyptian kaolinite doped with zinc nanoparticles (Ka/ZnONPs) as support for multifunctional uses. The nanocoating formulas were characterized using a physiochemical analysis as well as a topographical study. Additionally, the prepared nanocoating formulas affirmed an excellent antimicrobial activity as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial active agent with excellent activity against all representative microbial communities. Besides, the coated paper's optical, mechanical and physical properties were improved.
Eco-physiological screening and genetic diversity analysis of tomato genotypes in response to summer heat.
Authors: Vijayakumar Amrutha , R Beena
Published: March 2023

The impact of heat stress on agriculture is severe and negatively impacts crop productivity. In tropical and subtropical tomato-growing regions around the world, poor fruiting of tomato plants caused by heat stress is a major factor in low output. Exceeding optimum temperatures can shorten plant life and greatly accelerate fruit flowering and maturation. Temperatures above the reference temperature cause irregular flower development, reduced pollen production, pollen viability, fruit drop, ovule abortion, and ultimately reduced yield, generates an excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress, and metabolic mechanism instability. High temperatures severely affect flower shedding, with tomato plants losing 80% of their flowers and reducing fruit set. For the characteristics pollen viability, photosynthetic rate, membrane stability and fruit number, high values of genotypic coefficient of variability, phenotypic coefficient of variability, heritability, and genetic progress were discovered. All nine separate traits demonstrated additive gene action in trait expression and should be given the utmost weight in phenotypic selection. Eigen value > 1 and cumulative variance of 75.04% were shown for the four main components.
The Impact of Farmland Management Scale on Carbon Emissions
Authors: 刘 军 , Bai Jing , Ma LiBang , Zhang WenBo
Published: March 2023

In rural China, the conversion between fine-grained farmland and large-scale farmland is a widespread phenomenon, with different impacts on agricultural carbon emissions. Therefore, how to define the optimal scale of farmland management to achieve " reducing CO2" has become an urgent problem to be solved. Based on the agricultural panel data of Gansu Province for 2000–2020, taking the scale of agricultural land management as the breakthrough point and the consumption intensity of agricultural materials as the intermediary factor, this paper discusses the driving mechanism of agricultural carbon emissions by the scale of agricultural land management. The results including: (1) From the perspective of the intermediary effect, large-scale farmers pay more attention to input efficiency of chemicals such as fertilizers than small-scale farmers, which can effectively promote the development of low-carbon agriculture. (2) A “U-shaped” relationship existed between agricultural land management scale and agricultural carbon emissions. The optimal agricultural land management scale was 7.413 mu/person without considering intermediary variables, and the agricultural carbon emissions were the lowest when agricultural land management scale in Gansu was 9.12 mu/person after adding the intermediary variables. (3) Dividing Gansu into different regions and considering intermediary factors, the carbon emission intensity reached its peak when the scale of farmland management in the Hexi region was 2.14 mu/person. When the optimal scale of farmland management in the Longdong and Longnan regions was 2.14 and 5.22 mu/person, respectively, intermediary variables such as chemical fertilizers in these regions all showed complete intermediary effects.
Spatial Variability of Rainfall and Classification of Peninsular Indian Catchments
Authors: Naik M. Ravi , Giridhar M. V.S.S
Published: March 2023

The strength and success of hydrological analysis depend upon the quantity and quality of observed data. In the recent past, the availability of advanced computing facilities and measurement techniques had a great impact on the field of hydrology, especially in hydrologic analysis and hydrologic modeling. In spite of such growth, the present hydrologic modeling has certain challenges: complexity (involving a large number of parameters), applicability to a specific region (difficult to generalize for other regions), and lack of understanding of the connection between model theories and the actual system. The general solution of simplifying the models in terms of developing a classification framework has been discussed and focused on in the present study. It will greatly help to overcome the hydrologic modeling challenges and provides a better understanding of the hydrologic process. In general, classification is a way of grouping entities which has similar characteristics. The importance of applying nonlinear dynamics and chaos methods for classification has been realized in the recent past; since such studies provide exclusive information on hidden characteristics such as complexity, nonlinearity, dimensionality, etc. Of hydrological processes. The hydrologic processes are complex. In this study, information regarding the complexity is extracted by statistical analysis and linear methods such as Autocorrelation Function, and Average Mutual Information. 367 gridded rainfall stations over Peninsular Indian basins are used to investigate the applicability of different methods used in the study.
Raltitrexed combined with carbon nanoparticles for lymphatic chemotherapy: on the in vitro cytotoxic behavior of HCT-116 cells
Authors: 伏 亚彦 , Sun Qiannan , Ma Yue , Shao Wenzhe , Ren Jun , Wang Daorong
Published: March 2023

Objective Carbon nanoparticle has a lymphatic tracing effect, which can be combined with anti-tumor drugs to induce lymph nodes and have a strong inhibitory effect on tumor cells. Evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the method.
Methods： CCK8 method was used to detect 1. IC50% (50% minimum lethal concentration) of CNP (50ug/ml-1500ug/ml) and RTX (10ug/ml-100ug/ml) on colorectal cancer cells HCT116, 2. Western blotting experiment (western blot, WB) to detect the effect of CNP (500ug/ml) on the apoptosis pathway of colorectal cancer cells HCT116. 3. The inhibitory effect of CNP+RTX (500ug/ml+40ug/ml) on intestinal cancer cells HCT116. Compare the inhibitory effect of pure RTX (40ug/ml).
Results: 1. The carbon nanoparticles had antiproliferative toxicity to HCT-116 cells in vitro.2. The IC50% of CNP and RTX on intestinal cancer cells HCT116 were 500ug/ml and 40ug/ml, respectively.3. Carbon nanoparticles promote the apoptosis of intestinal cancer cells HCT116.4. In the in vitro cytotoxicity test, CNP combined with RTX has a strong inhibitory effect on intestinal cancer cell HCT116, which is superior to RTX alone.
Conclusions: In vivo studies suggest that colorectal cancer cells HCT116 have obvious apoptosis under the treatment of carbon nanoparticles, and CNP+RTX has a significant inhibitory effect on colorectal cancer cells HCT116. Carbon nanoparticles raltitrexed combined with carbon nanoparticles may be a potential delivery system during lymphatic chemotherapy.
Drug Repurposing by in silico Prediction of Cyclizine Derivatives as Antihyperlipemic Agents
Authors: S Afanamol M , A Deepika Dinesh , K Shifa Ali , Vengamthodi Ajeesh , Rasheed Arun
Published: March 2023

Elevated total cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease and stroke in both developed and developing countries. Hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis cause around 30% of ischemic heart disease. (WHO) Low HDL and high LDL and VLDL caused CVD before. Modern research has demonstrated that type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and others affect CVD. This study repurposes drugs. Repurposing is the best way to produce a medicine for hyperlipidemia, a key cause of cardiovascular illnesses. It finds unique drug characteristics. Repurposing early research are cheaper and faster with fewer resources. Computational studies of cyclizine derivatives were done to identify their antihyperlipidemic effect since fenofibrate's nucleus is similar. 16 cyclizine derivatives docked against PPAR alpha scored higher than fenofibrate. Lifarizine and medibazine outperform fenofibrate in mmgbsa. Fenofibrate, etodroxizine, meclizine, and cinnarizine had similar mmgbsa scores.
Establishment of a method for attaching animal-borne data logger to freshwater turtles
Authors: Ohtani Kentaro , Ushimaru Atushi , Iwata Takashi
Published: March 2023

The lack of knowledge regarding the ecology of aquatic reptiles hampers the development of effective conservation strategies. Biologging is widely used to investigate behavioral ecology and physiology with animal-borne data loggers. In recent years, behavioral ecology studies using biologging have been conducted in freshwater turtles. However, universal methods for deployment of animal-borne data loggers in freshwater turtles have not yet been established. In this study, we established a method for attaching a data logger to freshwater turtles by conducting field experiments on a wild Reeves’ pond turtle and a wild red-eared slider. We attached a data logger to the carapace of a pond turtle using quick-setting epoxy, and by drilling holes in the marginal scutes of the slider’s carapace, and attaching it with cable ties. The data logger was deployed on the Reeves’ pond turtle for more than 3 h and on the red-eared slider for 26 days. We show that deployment of a data logger by fixing it on the holes in marginal scutes with cable ties is effective. In addition, analysis of the obtained data revealed that the movement speed of a pond turtle and the dynamic acceleration of a slider tended to be small in the periods from sunset to sunrise. It is expected that the diffusion of the attaching method of the animal-borne data logger established in this study will enable the elucidation of the behavioral ecology of freshwater turtles, such as classifying their behavior with acceleration, like walking and swimming, and calculating the proportion of each classified behavior.
Road Disease Detection Algorithm Based on YOLOv5s-DSG
Authors: Xiang Wanni , Wang Haichen , Xu Yuan , Zhao Yixuan , Zhang Luning , Duan Yali
Published: March 2023

Automatic detection and classification of road conditions are critical for the timely maintenance and repair of road surfaces. Aiming at the problems of single detection type, low detection efficiency, the low resolution of detection objects, and difficult detection of small object features in the road disease detection scene, this paper proposes an improved YOLOv5s road disease detection algorithm, YOLOv5s-DSG. First, optimize the depth and width of the network structure to reduce the impact on road damage image detection performance. Secondly, the Ghost module replaces the traditional convolution to reduce the number of model parameters, making the model lightweight and improving the detection rate. Finally, the Space-to-depth-Conv module is introduced to adapt to low-resolution and small object detection tasks. A large number of experiments on datasets such as Road Damage Dataset 2022 show that the average accuracy of the improved model at low resolution 640×640 is 1.1% higher than that of the original model, and the FPS is increased from 85 to 90; when the resolution is reduced to 480×480, the average accuracy remains the same and the FPS increases to 93. Compared with existing algorithms, it has apparent advantages in road comprehensive disease detection and classification.
Fabrication and Properties of Chitosan/ Keratin Reinforced with Musa Bagasse Membranes for Food Packaging
Authors: Jayasankar Sruthy , Tense Digin , Thomas Jubin Biju , V Sreelekshmi N , Manirethan Vishnu
Published: March 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Distributed Homology-based Algorithm for solving Set k-Cover problem in Heterogeneous Directional Sensor Networks
Authors: Varposhti Marzieh
Published: March 2023

Coverage is one of the fundamental problems in directional sensor networks (DSNs). This problem is more complicated when we deal with heterogeneous DSNs (HDSNs). Prolonging the network lifetime is another important problem in this area. The problem of finding k disjoint cover sets known as the Set k-Cover problem can solve both the coverage and lifetime issues. In this paper a distributed algorithm is proposed for the Set k-Cover problem in HDSNs and then the method is applied for target k-tracking problem. In the Set k-Cover problem, directional sensors are partitioned into k disjoint sets where each set covers the entire area, and in object k-tracking problem, the object must be tracked by at least k sensors. The proposed algorithms are based on the notion of homology in Algebraic Topology. We consider the Nerve complex corresponding to the HDSN and demonstrate how topological properties of the Nerve complex of the network can be used to formulate the Set k-Cover problem as an integer linear programming problem. Then, we propose a distributed algorithm based on the subgradient method for this problem. After that, we propose a distributed algorithm for object k-tracking based on the solution of the Set k-Cover problem. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms by conducting simulation experiments.
A comprehensive decision support tool for chemotherapy cycle prescribing: a feasibility study
Authors: Iivanainen Sanna , Arokoski Reetta , Mentu Santeri , Lang Laura , Ekström Jussi , Virtanen Henri , Kataja Vesa , Koivunen Jussi Pekka
Published: March 2023

Background

Chemotherapy cycle prescription is generally carried out through a manual process. ICT tools with data analytics could streamline this process and limit human errors.

Methods

A one-arm multicenter prospective clinical trial ECHO 7/2019-1/2021 (NCT04081558) investigated the use of a novel Kaiku Health ePRO tool in cancer care. The most important patient inclusion criteria were colorectal cancer (CRC) planned to be treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy as an adjuvant therapy or in the first or second line setting of advanced disease, age ≥18 years, ECOG performance score of 0-2, and internet access. A decision support tool consisting of a digital symptom monitoring, laboratory value interface, and treatment schedule integration for a semi-automatized chemotherapy cycle prescribing was created for the trial.

Results

The dataset included CRC patients (n=43) treated with doublet or triplet chemotherapy in adjuvant or metastatic setting, and 339 prescribed chemotherapy cycles. For the 77% of the new chemotherapy cycles, ePRO questionnaire data was available. 65% of cycles had symptom questionnaires grading at ≤ 1 while 67% of the cycles had laboratory values at pre-set range. The recommendation by the tool for a new chemotherapy cycle was (green/go) in 42.8%, two (yellow/evaluate) in 24.5%, and three (red/hold) 32.7% of the cycles. HCPs valued the improved workflow, faster patient evaluation, and direct messaging option the most.
Conclusions
In this study, we investigated the feasibility of a decision support system in chemotherapy cycle pre-evaluation and prescription. The study shows that the functionalities of the investigated tool were feasible, and an automated approach to chemotherapy cycle prescription was possible for nearly half of the cycles.
Trial registration: NCT04081558 9th Sep 2019
Effect of deoiled silkworm pupae meal (Bombyx mori) as a replacement of fish meal in the diet of juveniles of Silver pompano, Trachinotus blochii
Authors: S MithunKumar , J Jaculine Pereira , S Athithan , P Padmavathy , D Lingaprabu , KS Vijayamirtharaj
Published: March 2023

A ninety days growth trial and four weeks of digestibility study were conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing fish meal (FM) with deoiled silkworm pupae meal (DSWP) in the diet of juvenile silver pompano. Silver pompano seeds (0.93 ± 0.07 g) were randomly distributed into 15 FRP tanks (120 × 55 × 38cm) each consisting of 20 fish. Fish were fed thrice a day until apparent satiation with five experimental diets (RD, 25FMODSWP, 50FMODSWP, 75FMODSWP and 100 FMODSWP) which was prepared by replacing fishmeal at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% with DSWP respectively. The replacement of fishmeal with DSWP at 25% (p < 0.05) improved the final body weight, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio. Apparent digestibility coefficient (ADCs) values of crude protein and fat was found to be higher in the RD and 25FMODSWP groups. Protease activity was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in fish fed the 25FMODSWP diet while amylase and lipase activities were higher in the 75FMODSWP and 100FMODSWP, respectively. The replacement of fishmeal by 75FMODSWP resulted in lower (p < 0.05) fat deposition in the whole-body tissue. The dietary inclusion of DSWP significantly (p < 0.05) improved overall blood profile until 50% FM protein replacement. The replacement of fishmeal with DSWP beyond 50% affects the intestinal structure due to necrotic lesions in the microvilli and detachment of surface epithelial cells from lamina propria. The results of this study suggested that DSWP can be used to replace 30.5% of FM protein which accounts 9.5% of SWP in the diet of silver pompano without any adverse effect on fish.
Resting energy expenditure, body composition, and metabolic alterations in breast cancer survivors vs. healthy controls: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Soom Timia Van , Tjalma Wiebren , Daele Ulrike Van , Gebruers Nick , Breda Eric van
Published: March 2023

Purpose:This study aimed to investigate the difference in absolute and relative measured resting energy expenditure (mREE) and body composition (body weight, fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM)) between breast cancer survivors (BCs) and controls. Correlations with body composition were analyzed. We examined if survival year, the metabolic state, or being metabolically dysfunctional were confounding factors.Methods:A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 32 BCs ≤5years post treatment and 36 healthy controls. Indirect calorimetry measured absolute mREE. Body composition was determined by BOD POD. Relative mREE was calculated (absolute mREE/FFM). The Harris-Benedict equation was used to predict REE and determine the metabolic state (mREE/pREE). The database of the multidisciplinary breast clinic of the University Hospital of Antwerp was consulted for survival year and metabolic dysfunctions.Results:BCs have similar absolute mREE and greater relative mREE compared to controls with similar body composition. Absolute mREE and body composition between BCs differed; relative mREE was similar. FFM correlated significantly with absolute and relative mREE in BCs. A significant interaction term was found between survival year and FM for absolute mREE. The metabolic state was a significant contributor to absolute and relative mREE.Conclusion:BCs have similar or higher mREE. Differences in body composition between BCs are suggested to cause inter-individual variations in absolute mREE. We hypothesize that increased energy requirements are caused by metabolic stress related to cancer/treatment. Accurate measurement of REE and body composition is advised when adapting nutritional strategies, especially in patients at risk for developing metabolic dysfunctions.
Influence of Multi-source Data Analysis on Absolute Gravity Observations: Case Study of Jiufeng, Wuhan
Authors: Zhou Hao , Liu Ziwei , Zhang Xiaotong , Jiang Ying , Zhai Dulin , Chi Xiaozhuang
Published: March 2023

The influence of the background environment on absolute gravity values cannot be ignored. Based on multi-source data between 2013 and 2023 (including absolute gravity, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observation, underground fluid and rainfall, and vertical gravity gradient data), this paper calculated the influence of changes in the background environment on absolute gravity values and conducted linear fitting and analysis. The results indicated that the average annual rate of change in absolute gravity, underground fluid, and surface deformation at the Wuhan Jiufeng Seismic Station was − 0.1141 µGal/y, -0.5233m/y, and − 0.0016mm/y, respectively. Changes caused by various environmental factors were deducted from the measured absolute gravity values to obtain relatively reasonable and accurate absolute gravity values. Based on the research data and results, the trend of the underground movements of materials was analysed. This provides a theoretical basis for error correction and gravitational reference values for calibrating absolute gravity values at the Wuhan Jiufeng Seismic Station in the future.
Squamous cell carcinoma , serous adenocarcinoma and osteosarcoma arising in a mature cystic teratoma of the ovary: a case report and literature review
Authors: Huang Xiaoming , Liao Xuankai , Chen Xianwen , Zeng Zhouhong
Published: March 2023

Background
Malignant transformation of mature ovarian teratomas is a rare phenomenon, occurring mainly in postmenopausal women. Secondary malignancies may originate in either of the ectodermal, mesodermal and endodermal germ layers. Sarcomatous transformation is much less common than transformation into a malignant epithelial component. Cases of smooth muscle sarcoma, angiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and chondrosarcoma arising in mature ovarian teratomas have been described in the literature so far.
Case presentation
We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma, serous adenocarcinoma and osteosarcoma presenting in a mature ovarian teratoma in a 55-year-old woman. The presence of a mixture of the three tumour components in a background of typical dermatomal cysts, where the transition from normal squamous epithelium to squamous cell carcinoma was seen, is strong evidence that this particular tumour combination originated from an ovarian teratoma.
Conclusions
We report a rare tumour combination occurring in an ovarian teratoma and to date, to our knowledge, such a tumour combination should be described for the first time. More similar cases are needed to elucidate the biological pathways and underlying molecular mechanisms of these rare tumour combinations.
Causal Effects of Genetically Predicted Endometriosis on Breast cancer: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Yan Shuixin , Li Jiadi , Chen Jiafeng , Chen Yan , Qiu Yu , Zhou Yuxin , Wu Weizhu
Published: March 2023

This study used a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to investigate the causal relationship between genetically predicted endometriosis (EMS) and breast cancer risk. A total of 122,977 cases and 105,974 controls were included in the analysis, with gene-level summary data obtained from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. An inverse variance-weighting approach was applied to assess the causal relationship between EMS and breast cancer risk, and weighted median and MR-Egger regression methods were used to evaluate pleiotropy. Results showed a causal relationship between EMS and a decreased risk of overall breast cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 0.95; 95% CI 0.90–0.99, p = 0.02). Furthermore, EMS was associated with a lower risk for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer in a subgroup analysis based on immunohistochemistry type (OR = 0.91; 95% CI 0.86–0.97, p = 0.005). However, there was no causal association between ER-negative breast cancer and survival (OR = 1.00; 95% CI 0.94–1.06, p = 0.89). Pleiotropy was not observed. These findings provide evidence of a relationship between EMS and reduced breast cancer risk in invasive breast cancer overall and specific tissue types, and support the results of a previous observational study. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this association.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Abbreviated MRI Protocol (ABB-MRI) For Detection of Breast Cancer in Women With Dense Breast: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis
Authors: Parsaei Amirhossein , Karvane Houshang Bavandpour , Rahmani Alireza , Moradi Soroush , Amini Behnam , Hajighadery Abdolkarim , Dehghanbanadaki Hojat , Safari Roxana
Published: March 2023

Background
2D and 3D mammography are less accurate than MRI for breast cancer diagnosis. ABB-MRI is a solution to the constraints of full diagnostic protocol MRI (FDP-MRI). This study synthesizes the evidence on the diagnostic effectiveness of ABB-MRI for screening women with dense breast tissue.
Methods
Using PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on multiple databases in August 2022. This review included studies that enrolled women with dense breast for screening, evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of ABB-MRI, and included a reference standard (histopathology). Students with all risk evaluation categories (mixed risk) were included in the study. We assessed the quality of included studies using QUADAS-2 in terms of bias concerns and applicability concerns. We synthesized the data by using a bivariate random-effects model and characterized overall values with forest plots. ABB-MRI performance was shown in the analysis with a 95% confidence region using a SROC plot. In a ROC analysis, the average true positive rate over a range of false positives was calculated.
Results
After reviewing 25 articles, 7 studies were included for quality assessment and quantitative analysis. In terms of bias and applicability, all studies exhibited low-risk. The meta-analysis includes 7 studies (plus one reader) that compared the sensitivity and specificity of an abbreviated MRI protocol (index test) to histology or follow-up. The pooled overall accuracy values of ABB-MRI for all included studies were sensitivity = 0.96 [0.91– 0.98] and specificity = 0.88 [0.85–0.91]. The SROC curve indicated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.98 [0.96–0.99].
Conclusions
Abbreviated Breast MRI Protocol (ABB-MRI) provides good specificity and sensitivity for identifying breast lesions in women with dense breasts. More research is needed to answer the broader questions raised by this study about the efficacy, safety, cost, and practicality of using this technique among this population.
Effect of dietary zinc on the antioxidant parameters of juvenile common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
Authors: MUSTAFA Shokri Omar Mustafa , HARLIOĞLU Muzaffer Mustafa , AKSU Önder , Batool Zahra
Published: March 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
A MMFF94 study of the structure and interactions of ocular solutions containing hyaluronic acid with collagen models
Authors: Ikeora Obinna Chiedozie , Joseph Simi Sabu , Zeinalipour-Yazdi Constantinos D.
Published: March 2023

Molecular modelling techniques have been widely used in drug discovery fields for rational drug design and compound screening. They have however not been used extensively to understand the mechanism of action of drugs within the human body. In this computational study we have used molecular mechanics modelling to describe a complicated biochemical system that exists in the human eye and to describe the mechanism of action of hyaluronic acid in hydrating the collagen from which the cornea of the eyes are made of. Our studies include atomistic level details about what kind of interactions water has with hyaluronic acid and collagen and in systems containing both hyaluronic acid and collagen models. We observe that water has a greater binding energy to collagen than to hyaluronic acid and that hyaluronic acid binds to collagen via H-bonding and maintains its ability to become hydrated with water based on energetic considerations of the binding energy of water with these biomolecules. The study demonstrates the mechanism of action of hyaluronic acid hydration in the human eye which can be used as model system to study the hydrating effect of other ocular solutions based on the quantitative determination of the binding energy of water with these biological molecules.
Endothelial dysfunction is associated with reduced myocardial mechano-energetic efficiency in drug-naïve hypertensive individuals with a broad spectrum of glucose tolerance
Authors: Cefalo Chiara M. A. , Riccio Alessia , Fiorentino Teresa Vanessa , Rubino Mariangela , Massimino Mattia , Mannino Gaia Chiara , Succurro Elena , Perticone Maria , Sciacqua Angela , Andreozzi Francesco , Sesti Giorgio
Published: March 2023

Background:Impaired myocardial mechano-energetics efficiency (MEEi) was shown to predict incident heart failure, but pathophysiological mechanisms linking impaired MEEi with heart failure have not been elucidated. Endothelial dysfunction is a plausible candidate because it has been associated with heart failure. This study aims to investigate the association between MEEi and endothelium‐dependent vasodilation, among drug-naïve hypertensive individuals with a broad spectrum of glucose tolerance.Methods:199 drug-naïve hypertensive individuals participating in the CATAnzaro MEtabolic RIsk factors (CATAMERI) study were included. All participants underwent to an oral glucose tolerance test and to an echocardiogram for myocardial MEEi measurement. Endothelial-dependent and endothelial-independent vasodilatation were measured by strain-gauge plethysmography during intra-arterial infusion of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside, respectively. A multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the independent association between endothelial-dependent vasodilation and MEEi.Results:ACh-stimulated forearm blood flow (FBF) was associated to decreased myocardial MEEi at all the three doses tested: 7.5, 15, and 30 µg/mL-1 x min-1 (β =0.201, P=0.002; β =0.171, P=0.008; β =0.205, P=0.002 respectively) independently of well‐established cardiovascular risk factorsincluding age, sex, BMI, waist circumference, smoking status, total and HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, hsCRP, glucose tolerance status, and HOMA-IR index of insulin resistance. No association was observed between SNP-stimulated vasodilation and MEEi.Conclusions:We found that endothelium-mediated vasodilation contributed to reduced myocardial MEEi independently of several potential confounders. Because diminished myocardial MEE has been associated with incident heart failure, assessment of myocardial MEEi may improve the identification of individuals at risk of heart failure requiring a closer follow-up.
The stratification and invariant region of chaotic sea in an area-preserving Lozi map
Authors: Li Bo , Gu En-Guo
Published: March 2023

In this paper, we study the hierarchical structure of a chaotic sea and the existence condition and delimitation method of island chain for Lozi map. The regular island chains associated with elliptic periodic points in chaotic sea are investigated by the theory presented in [15]. A method for determining the boundaries of the island chain is introduced. Multiple layers of a chaotic sea are found which are dependent on initial values. A method of determining the layer boundary of chaotic sea is presented. We found that critical line plays an important role in determining the boundaries of the layer of chaotic sea. We also prove that all trajectories are symmetric with respect to the diagonal dividing line of the second and fourth quadrants.
Pooled analysis of diagnostic performance of the instrument-read Quidel Sofia SARS antigen Fluorescent Immunoassay (FIA)
Authors: Lippi Giuseppe , Henry Brandon M. , Plebani Mario
Published: March 2023

Background. This article presents a critical literature review and meta-analysis of diagnostic performance of Quidel Sofia SARS antigen Fluorescent Immunoassay (FIA), a rapid diagnostic antigen test (RDT-Ag) adapted for automatic reading with portable instruments, thus potentially combining the advantages of point-of-care testing with those of a laboratory-based immunoassay.
Methods: We conduced an electronic search in PubMed and Scopus with the keywords "Quidel" OR “SOFIA” AND “Antigen” AND "SARS-CoV-2" OR “COVID-19” up to March 24, 2023, for identifying articles containing data on accuracy of Quidel Sofia SARS antigen FIA for diagnosing acute SARS-CoV-2 infections. We selected those where test accuracy was compared to that of a reference SARS-CoV-2 molecular assay, and with sufficient information for constructing a 2×2 table.
Results: A total number of 18 articles (48165 samples; 9.8% positive at molecular testing) were included in this meta-analysis, averaging 24 sample cohorts. The diagnostic accuracy (summary area under the curve), sensitivity and specificity were 0.980, 0.76 and 1.00 in all samples, 0.981, 0.81 and 0.99 in samples collected from symptomatic patients, 0.931, 0.55 and 1.00 in those taken from asymptomatic patients, and 0.960, 0.77 and 0.99 in samples from mixed cohorts of patients, respectively. Minor and clinically negligible differences of accuracy could be found by comparing test results in nasal and nasopharyngeal swabs.
Conclusion: Quidel Sofia SARS Ag FIA meets the minimum performance criteria of accuracy for SARS-CoV-2 antigenic testing, thus combining satisfactory diagnostic performance with the advantages of being potentially used as a portable device.
Film Etkili Turizm Kapsamında “Zeytin Ağacı” Dizisinin Göstergebilimsel Bir Analizi (A Semiotic Analysis of the “Another Self” Series in the Scope of Film Effective Tourism)
Authors: ALKAYA Serap , MUTLU ÖZTÜRK Hande
Published: March 2023

Turizm sektörü hem ülkemizde hem de dünyada her geçen gün değişen koşullara göre yeni ihtiyaçları beraberinde getirmektedir. Sektörün gelişmesinde farklı parametrelerin etkili olduğu araştırmalarda da görülmektedir. Pazarın çeşitlenmesi ve pazarlama faaliyetlerinin yetersiz kalması nedeniyle, kurum, şirket ve hatta ülkeler, geleneksel pazarlama yöntemleri dışında farklı yöntemler geliştirme konusunda çalışmalar yapmaktadırlar. Film veya dizilerin turizm üzerinde etkisi olduğu ile ilgili varsayımlar bu alanda bilimsel çalışmaların artmasına neden olmuştur. Araştırmamızda yöntem olarak Saussure modellemesine dayalı göstergebilimsel analiz kullanılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında örneklem olarak, “Zeytin Ağacı” dizisinin birinci sezonundaki 419 dakikalık 8 bölümünde kullanılan gösterenler belirlenmiştir. Dizide gösterenler vasıtasıyla bölgenin birçok yönünün izleyiciye gösterildiği görülmüştür. Film etkili turizm kapsamında bölgenin ve ülkenin tanıtımının yapılması, hem iç pazar hem de uluslararası pazarda yaratacağı etki bakımından önemlidir.
Turistlerin Risk ve Güvenlik Algılarının Algılanan Değer ve Destinasyon Tercihine Etkisi (The Effect of Tourists Perceptions of Risk and Security on Perceived Value and Destination Preference)
Authors: KARATAŞ Ahmet , ŞAHİN Seda
Published: March 2023

Bir destinasyonun benzer özelliklere sahip diğer destinasyonlarla rekabet edebilmesi için destinasyonun sahip olduğu kaynaklarla beraber turistik tüketicilere sunduğu mal ve hizmetlerin tüketiciler tarafından nasıl algılandığı bilinmelidir. Çünkü algılanan risk ve olumsuz güvenlik algısı destinasyon seçim süreci ile tüketicilerin mal ve hizmet alımında satın alma davranışını etkileyebilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı; turistik tüketicilerin risk algıları, güven algıları ve değer algıları arasındaki ilişkiyi ve söz konusu ilişkilerin destinasyon tercihine etkisini belirlemektir. Turistlerin destinasyona yönelik risk, güvenlik, değer algı düzeylerinin tespit edilmesi destinasyonel ürün planlanmasında ve destinasyonun pazarlanmasına katkı sağlaması açısından önemlidir. Antalya ilinde yürütülen bu araştırmada turistlerin destinasyona yönelik risk ve güvenlik algılarının algılanan değer ve destinasyon tercihine etki ettiği bulgulanmıştır.
ChatGPT ile Sohbetler: Turizmde ChatGPT nin Önemi (Chats with ChatGPT: Importance of ChatGPT in Tourism)
Authors: ERUL Emrullah , IŞIN Alper
Published: March 2023

Sanayi devrimi sonrası özellikle teknolojideki ilerlemelerle birlikte turizm, günümüzdeki modern konumuna kavuşmuştur. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, ChatGPT’nin (dil modelinin programı veya yapay zekâ robotu), turizm alanında incelenmesidir. Birçok alanda ChatGPT olumlu veya olumsuz olarak tartışılırken, bununla ile ilgili turizm alanında yapılan çalışmalar yalnızca turizm eğitimi ile sınırlı olduğu fark edilmiştir. Ancak, literatürde ChatGPT’nin turizm ile ilgili seyahat, ulaşım, konaklama, eğlence gibi sektörlere nasıl katkı sağlayacağı ve turizm sektörü için önemini araştıran bir çalışmaya rastlanmamıştır. Sohbet teorisi kullanılarak yapılan bu araştırma ile ChatGPT’nin turizmdeki önemi vurgulanmıştır. Sonuçlara göre ChatGPT’nin, turizm ile ilgili sektörlere katkılar sağlayacak potansiyele sahip olduğu düşünülmektedir.