bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resilience-building in palliative care professionals: scoping review
Authors: Yongpraderm Suwanan , Inpithuk Patcharanat , Wongprom Itthipon
Published: January 2025

Resilience-building in palliative care professionals: scoping review

Background

Burnout, demoralisation and compassion fatigue are common among palliative care professionals. Practising palliative care necessitates a quality of resilience in order to ensure constant and optimal patient care. However, there is no universal approach to prevent burnout or raise resilience among palliative care professionals. This study aims to provide an overview of interventions and explore their effectiveness in building resilience in palliative care professionals.

Methods

The search was conducted in four databases: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane Database. Two independent investigators reviewed eligibility, with conflicts resolved by a third investigator. One reviewer performed data extraction, later reviewed by a second investigator. All eligible studies were manually re-reviewed. Quantitative and qualitative data synthesis were conducted.

Results

The search initially revealed 11 470 potentially eligible citations. 12 studies were included in the analysis. Most studies had a small number of participants. The studies varied in sample size, interventions and assessment tools, making it challenging to identify the most effective resilience-building interventions. However, our analysis revealed commonly found elements among these interventions: five essential elements (regularity, self-care, mindfulness, reflective practice and cognitive–behavioural therapy) and three supporting elements (peer support, educational sessions and organisational support).

Discussion

While the effectiveness of specific interventions remains inconclusive, this review highlights essential and supporting elements that should be considered in designing resilience-building programmes for palliative care professionals. Future research should focus on developing assessment tools specific to palliative care, conducting well-designed studies, and creating replicable, standardised interventions.
Parameter constraints on a black hole with Minkowski core through quasiperiodic oscillations
Authors: Guo Ming-Yu , Wu Meng-He , Kuang Xiao-Mei , Guo Hong
Published: January 2025

We investigate the geodesic motion of charged particles in the vicinity of regular black holes with a Minkowski core, embedded in a uniform magnetic field, and study the influences of magnetic field and regular black hole parameter on the radial effective potential and angular momentum of the particles’ orbits. We perturb the circular orbit and analyze the characteristic frequencies of the epicyclic oscillations, which are closely related with the quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) phenomena of the accretion disc surrounding the black hole. Then using the MCMC simulation, we fit our theoretical results with four observational QPOs events (GRO J1655-40, XTE J1550-564, XTE J1859+226, and GRS 1915+105) and provide constraints on the magnetic field strength B, the characteristic radius r, the mass M, and the regular black hole parameter g. In particular, since the parameter g describes the degree of deviation from the classical Schwarzschild black hole, our studies suggest that, within a certain level of confidence, the black holes in the current model can deviate from the classical singularity structure of Schwarzschild black holes, and exhibit quantum corrections near the core.
Isospin-breaking contribution to the model-independent axion-photon-photon coupling in U(3) chiral theory
Authors: Gao Rui , Hao Jin , Duan Chun-Gui , Guo Zhi-Hui , Oller J. A. , Zhou Hai-Qing
Published: January 2025

We pursue the calculation of the model-independent component of the axion-photon-photon coupling in the U(3) chiral perturbation theory up to next-to-leading order, with the emphasis on the isospin breaking effect. The mixing of the

$$\pi ^0$$

π
0

-

$$\eta $$

η

-

$$\eta '$$

η
′

-axion system is revised as well by working out the complete linear isospin-breaking terms. Our calculation shows that the isospin-breaking correction to the axion-photon-photon coupling amounts to more than 15%, comparing with the result in the isospin limit.
Development and Reliability and Validity Test of the Adolescent Global Citizenship Scale
Authors: Zhang Can , Li Chengquan
Published: January 2025

Under the influence of globalization and informatization, the world is gradually becoming a community, and adolescents need corresponding literacy and competence as world citizens in the international community. Based on literature combing and in-depth interviews, this study determines the theoretical conclusions and initial entries of the adolescent global citizenship scale, and revises the entries through the Delphi Method. The final scale was formed through item analysis, factor analysis, reliability, and validity test. The adolescent global citizenship scale includes three-dimensions of global awareness, citizenship, and sustainable development perspective, with a total of 21 items. The exploratory factor analysis extracted three common factors, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 54.86%; the results of the validation factor analysis showed that the model fit was good. The standardized coefficients of each item in each dimension of the scale were greater than 0.5, the combined reliability was 0.86, 0.89, 0.86, and the total Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.87. Therefore, the reliability of the Adolescent Global Citizenship Scale is good, and it can be used in related research.
Give Engineers Problems, Not Solutions
Authors: Limoncelli Thomas A.
Published: January 2025

This technique is about providing the "why" instead of the "how." Instead of dictating specific solutions, present the problem and desired outcome, and let your team figure out how to solve it. This fosters creativity, shared ownership, and collaborative problem-solving. It also empowers the team to strive for the best solution.
Enabling Harmonious Human-Machine Interaction with Visual-Context Augmented Dialogue System: A Review
Authors: Wang Hao , Guo Bin , Zeng Yating , Chen Mengqi , Ding Yasan , Zhang Ying , Yao Lina , Yu Zhiwen
Published: January 2025

The intelligent dialogue system, aiming at communicating with humans harmoniously with natural language, is brilliant for promoting the advancement of human-machine interaction in the era of artificial intelligence. With the gradually complex human-computer interaction requirements, it is difficult for traditional text-based dialogue system to meet the demands for more vivid and convenient interaction. Consequently, Visual-Context Augmented Dialogue System (VAD), which has the potential to communicate with humans by perceiving and understanding multimodal information (i.e., visual context in images or videos, textual dialogue history), has become a predominant research paradigm. Benefiting from the consistency and complementarity between visual and textual context, VAD possesses the potential to generate engaging and context-aware responses.
To depict the development of VAD, we first characterize the concept model of VAD and then present its generic system architecture to illustrate the system workflow, followed by a summary of multimodal fusion techniques. Subsequently, several research challenges and representative works are investigated, followed by the summary of authoritative benchmarks and real-world application of VAD. We conclude this paper by putting forward some open issues and promising research trends for VAD, e.g., the cognitive mechanisms of human-machine dialogue under cross-modal dialogue context, mobile and lightweight deployment of VAD.
Online Lewis Weight Sampling
Authors: Woodruff David P. , Yasuda Taisuke
Published: January 2025

The seminal work of Cohen and Peng [10] (STOC 2015) introduced
Lewis weight sampling
to the theoretical computer science community, which yields fast row sampling algorithms for approximating

\(d\)

-dimensional subspaces of

\(\ell_{p}\)

up to

\((1+ \varepsilon)\)

relative error. Prior works have extended this important primitive to other settings, such as the online coreset and sliding window models [4] (FOCS 2020). However, these results are only for

\(p\in\{1,2\}\)

, and results for

\(p=1\)

require a suboptimal

\(\tilde{O}(d^{2}/\varepsilon^{2})\)

samples.

In this work, we design the first nearly optimal

\(\ell_{p}\)

subspace embeddings for all

\(p\in(0,\infty)\)

in the online coreset and sliding window models. In both models, our algorithms store

\(\tilde{O}(d/\varepsilon^{2})\)

rows for

\(p\in(0,2)\)

and

\(\tilde{O}(d^{p/2}/\varepsilon^{2})\)

rows for

\(p\in(2,\infty)\)

. This answers a substantial generalization of the main open question of [4], gives the first results for all

\(p\notin\{1,2\}\)

, and achieves nearly optimal sample complexities for all

\(p\)

.

Towards our result, we give the first analysis of “one-shot” Lewis weight sampling of sampling rows proportionally to their Lewis weights, which gives a sample complexity of

\(\tilde{O}(d^{p/2}/\varepsilon^{2})\)

rows for

\(p>2\)

. Previously, such a sampling scheme was only known to have a sample complexity of

\(\tilde{O}(d^{p/2}/\varepsilon^{5})\)

[10], whereas a bound of

\(\tilde{O}(d^{p/2}/\varepsilon^{2})\)

is known if a more sophisticated recursive sampling algorithm is used [20, 32]. Note that the recursive sampling strategy cannot be implemented in an online setting, thus necessitating an analysis of one-shot Lewis weight sampling. Perhaps surprisingly, our analysis crucially uses a novel connection to online numerical linear algebra,
even for offline Lewis weight sampling
.

As an application, we obtain the first online coreset algorithms for

\((1+\varepsilon)\)

approximation of important generalized linear models, such as logistic regression and

\(p\)

-probit regression. Our upper bounds are parameterized by a complexity parameter

\(\mu\)

introduced by [31], and we also provide the first lower bounds showing that a linear dependence on

\(\mu\)

is necessary.
GFPNet: Generalizable Face Privacy Network with Dynamic Defense Training
Authors: Li Yucheng , Zhou Siwang , Tang Deyan , Ouyang Liubo , Liu Jia
Published: January 2025

In certain specific scenarios, there is a risk of privacy leakage in terms of the soft biometric attributes on a person’s face. However, existing face privacy-enhancing techniques suffer from limited generalizability, meaning that they can only induce misclassification in a specific classifier but fail to generalize this effect well to arbitrary attribute classifiers. Moreover, existing methods reverse attributes to improve face privacy, but this may result in privacy recovery. To address those problems, we propose GFPNet, a novel privacy-enhancing model that can provide generalizable and reliable privacy to face images. The key factor for improving generalizability is that GFPNet uses defense training, which is an effective way to improve model robustness, to dynamically strengthen the mediocre auxiliary attribute classifier during iterative training. Specifically, the generalizability of GFPNet is enhanced in the game between attack and defense, where the generator attempts to deceive the auxiliary attribute classifier and the classifier defends against the generator’s attack by defense training. Furthermore, instead of reversing attributes, skewing attributes to one side is used to avoid attribute recovery. GFPNet also integrates a face matcher, multi-scale discriminator, and Demiguise Attack to improve face matching and image quality. Extensive experiments demonstrate that GFPNet has excellent generalizability to arbitrary attribute classiﬁers and satisfactory face-matching utility.
Popular Arborescences and Their Matroid Generalization
Authors: Kavitha Telikepalli , Makino Kazuhisa , Schlotter Ildikó , Yokoi Yu
Published: January 2025

Consider a directed, rooted graph

\(G=(V\cup\{r\},E)\)

where each vertex in

\(V\)

has a partial order preference over its incoming edges. The preferences of a vertex naturally extend to preferences over arborescences rooted at

\(r\)

. We present a polynomial-time algorithm that decides whether a given input instance admits a popular arborescence, i.e., one for which there is no “more popular” arborescence.

In fact, our algorithm solves the more general popular common base problem in the intersection of two matroids: we are given an arbitrary matroid 

\(M=(E,\mathcal{I})\)

and a partition matroid

\(M_{\text{part}}\)

over 

\(E\)

, where partition classes correspond to a set 

\(V\)

of agents with

\(|V|={\rm rank}(M)\)

and each agent has a partial order preference over its associated partition class; the problem asks for a common base of 

\(M\)

and

\(M_{\text{part}}\)

such that there is no “more popular” common base. Our algorithm is combinatorial, and can be regarded as a primal–dual algorithm. It searches for a solution along with its dual certificate, a chain of subsets of 

\(E\)

, witnessing its popularity. Our generalized results, expressed in terms of matroids, demonstrate that the identification of agents with vertices of the graph in the popular arborescence problem is not essential.

We also study the related popular common independent set problem. For the case with weak rankings, we formulate the popular common independent set polytope, and thus show that a minimum-cost popular common independent set can be computed efficiently. By contrast, we prove that it is

\(\mathsf{NP}\)

-hard to compute a minimum-cost popular arborescence, even when rankings are strict.
Case 337
Authors: Mu Brian H. , Galambo Faris , Al-Ali Hadeer W. , Dua Sumeet G. , Dixon Chanae D. , Zhang Xinhai R. , Mafraji Mustafa A.
Published: January 2025

History

A 38-year-old previously healthy male patient presented with left-sided facial pain over the prior 5 weeks. He first noticed the pain while washing and applying pressure to his face. The pain was described as shock-like, sharp and shooting, and radiating along the left cheek and temple. It began as 1–2-second episodes occurring two to three times per day, sometimes spontaneously, progressing in severity and frequency over time. Mild progressive left facial weakness also developed a few weeks after initial symptoms. Physical examination demonstrated reproducible pain in the distribution of the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve (V2), with normal motor and sensory function. A recent routine dental examination demonstrated healthy teeth and gums, and there was no history of dental procedures or trauma. The rest of the physical and neurologic examinations revealed no abnormalities. The patient was afebrile with normal vital signs. Findings of routine laboratory testing, including complete blood count, metabolic panel with electrolytes, kidney and liver function, and inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, were all within normal limits. Following the neurologic and otolaryngologic evaluations, imaging was recommended. The patient was also started on treatment with carbamazepine for trigeminal neuralgia, with modest improvement of symptoms. He initially underwent MRI of the temporal bones at an outside hospital. After subsequent referral to our hospital, follow-up concomitant MRI and CT ( Figs 1 – 4 ) were performed approximately 3 months after the initial imaging.
Editors’ Choice—Investigation of the Dynamic Evolution of the Cathode-Electrolyte Interphase Using Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy
Authors: Li Guoxin , Guo Congshan , Lv Wenjie , Zhao Jin , Lv Zhizhen , Chen Zhihui , Meng Zeyi , Tang Jigui , Hui Jingshu
Published: January 2025

Cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) is critical for inhibiting the cathode degradation to maintain cell life. However, the evolution of the CEI is still unclear due to its complex and slow dynamic process. Here we used scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) for in situ investigation of CEI formation process on LiFePO4 cathode. Feedback images and probe scan curves showed a heterogeneous passivation that was gently generated on the LiFePO4 particles during both charging and discharging. Besides, a LiFePO4 composited electrode was also used to investigate the CEI formation to simulate the condition of real battery system. The composited cathode does not show obvious CEI formation within first two cycles. The SECM results between the pristine LiFePO4 particles and the composited LiFePO4 indicated the dynamic accumulation of CEI, which is influenced by the ability to charge transfer kinetics of cathode materials. This approach provided a feasible consideration for the connections between the dynamic evolution of the CEI and changes in charge transfer capability of cathode during cycling.
Modeling ocular surface ion and water transport by generation of lipid- and mucin-producing human meibomian gland and conjunctival epithelial cells
Authors: Radji Chloë , Barrault Christine , Flausse Roxane , Leveziel Nicolas , Cantereau Anne , Bur Catherine , Terrasse Gaëtan , Becq Frédéric
Published: January 2025

We generated human meibomian gland and conjunctival epithelial cells producing lipids and mucins. We identified ion channels including ENaC, CFTR, TMEM16a, and KCNQ1, as well as NKCC. We found that electrolyte and water flux are regulated by signaling pathways mediated by purinergic and VIP receptors. Our findings provide valuable insights into epithelial ion and water transport in the human conjunctiva and meibomian gland, enhancing understanding of these processes in both physiological and disease states.
Cdc42 is crucial for the early regulation of hepatic stellate cell activation
Authors: Yuasa Hideto , Matsubara Tsutomu , Urushima Hayato , Daikoku Atsuko , Ikenaga Hiroko , Kadono Chiho , Kinoshita Masahiko , Kimura Kenjiro , Ishizawa Takeaki , Ohta Keisuke , Kawada Norifumi , Ikeda Kazuo
Published: January 2025

The activation of hepatic stellate cells from a quiescent state is a cause and a therapeutic target for liver fibrosis. Morphological alterations in the hepatic stellate cells play a critical role in initiating their activation. However, the mechanisms that regulate these alterations remain unexplored. Our results indicate that cell division cycle 42 is a crucial regulator of hepatic stellate cell activation and a novel target for the development of therapeutic agents against liver fibrosis.
Furin-Mediated Modification Is Required for Epithelial Sodium Channel-Activating Activity of Soluble (Pro)Renin Receptor in Cultured Collecting Duct Cells
Authors: Zheng Huaqing , Helms My N. , Zou Changjiang , Zimmerman Elizabeth , Feng Ye , Yang Tianxin
Published: January 2025

(Pro)renin receptor (PRR) contains overlapping cleavage site for site-1 protease (S1P) and furin for generation of soluble PRR (sPRR). Although S1P-mediated cleavage mediates the release of sPRR, the functional implication of furin-mediated cleavage is unclear. Here we tested whether furin-mediated cleavage was required for the activity of sPRR in activating ENaC in cultured M-1 cells. M-1 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.4 containing full-length PRR with (Furin-site Mut) or without (WT) mutagenesis of the furin cleavage site. As compared with empty vector control (EM), Furin-site Mut showed the attenuation effect on WT-induced α-ENaC expression and amiloride-sensitive short circuit current. In a separate experiment, M-1 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.4 containing cDNA for sPRR with S1P cleavage (AA 1-282) (sPRR-S1P) or with furin cleavage (AA 1-279) (sPRR-furin), indicating overexpression of the two types of sPRR induced a significant and comparable increase in the release of sPRR, but only sPRR-furin showed an increase of ENaC activity. Single channel analysis of ENaC activity in Xenopus A6-2F3 cells confirms sPRR-furin activation of ENaC open probability. Lastly, HEK-293 cells were pretreated with furin inhibitor α1-antitrypsin Portland (α1-PDX) followed by transfection with EM, WT PRR. sPRR in the conditioned medium was enriched by using protein centrifugal filter devices and applied to M-1 cells followed by measurement of ENaC activity, demonstrating that pretreatment with α1-PDX attenuated ENaC-acting activity induced by overexpression of WT PRR. In summary, we conclude that furin-mediated modification is required for the activity of sPRR to increase ENaC-mediated Na+ transport in the CD cells.
Cardiac dilation, energy stress and ventricular remodeling: insights from prolonged voluntary exercise in male mice with TAC-induced HFpEF
Authors: Liu Yanna , Wang Li , Jiao Sirui , Yang Xiaohan , Liu Gang , Fan Kai , Zhao Henan , Ma Jianmei
Published: January 2025

Exercise in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains a hot topic, although current treatment strategies have not been shown to improve the long-term prognosis of HFpEF. Previous studies have mostly focused on the roles of endurance training, the mechanisms underlying long-term voluntary exercise have not been elucidated. The purpose of the present analysis was to evaluate alterations in cardiac function in HFpEF mice (HFpEF-Sed) after 6 weeks of voluntary running (HFpEF-Ex), investigate mechanisms, and compare the effects with fluoxetine (HFpEF-FLX). We found that voluntary exercise, instead of fluoxetine intervention, significantly improved left ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter (LVIDd) and the rate of change in anterior wall thickness (ATW) in HFpEF mice. The exercise capacity of HFpEF-Sed mice was significantly reduced, but prolonged voluntary running significantly reversed the expression of myocardial BNP, TNF-α, and IL-6, α-MHC, and β-MHC in HFpEF-Sed mice, along with myocardial fiber disorders accompanied by massive inflammatory cell infiltrates. Importantly, myocardial Complex III and Complex V, Mfn2, Drp1, p62, and LC3 II/I expression in HFpEF-Sed mice were all significantly different from those of normal mice, whereas voluntary exercise significantly reversed these expressions. These findings strongly suggest that long-term voluntary exercise is effective in avoiding acute and chronic energy stress in HFpEF-Sed mice, which is consistent with the mechanism of current first-line treatment for HFpEF. This notion was further supported by electron microscopy results, which showed no pathological features in cardiomyocyte mitochondrial morphology after prolonged voluntary exercise. Additionally, fluoxetine was found to inhibit depressive-like behavior in HFpEF mice.
Relationship of Early Embryonic Development In Vitro Fertilization With Sperm Zinc Homeostasis and Seminal Plasma Antioxidation
Authors: Du Meiyang , Hu Yizhen , Yang Dan , Luan Shiwei , Luo Xiaowei , Dai Haoyang , Geng Yasong , Zheng Bo , Wang Shusong
Published: January 2025

The study aims to explore the sperm parameters that affect early embryo development in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and to study their relationship with sperm zinc homeostasis and seminal plasma antioxidation. The semen samples were incubated at 37°C for 1, 2, 3, and 4 h, and the sperm progressive motility (PR) was analyzed. We found that the sperm PR significantly decreased after 3 h of incubation (p < 0.01) and further decreased after 4 h (p < 0.001). The correlation analysis showed that sperm PR was significant positively correlated with transferable embryo rate (r = 0.155, p = 0.026) and blastocyst formation rate (r = 0.140, p = 0.044) after incubation for 4 h, while its decline rate was significant negatively correlated with transferable embryo rate (r = −0.151, p = 0.030) and blastocyst formation rate (r = −0.220, p = 0.002). Additionally, the ELISA assay indicated that patients with PR > 32% and decline rate < 30% had significantly higher levels of total antioxidant capacity (T‐AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the seminal plasma compared to patients with PR < 32% and decline rate > 30% (p < 0.05), while malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly lower (p < 0.05). The results of the zinc fluorescence probe showed that the level of free zinc ion in sperm in the high motility and low decline rate group was significantly higher than that in the low motility and high decline rate group (p < 0.05). The quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) and immunofluorescence results showed that the group with high motility and low decline rate had significantly higher relative expression levels of G protein‐coupled receptor 39 (GPR39), anoctamin 1 (ANO1), and zinc transporter protein 13 (ZIP13) mRNA (p < 0.05). In conclusion, patients with low PR and high PR decline rate after 4 h of incubation had poor early embryo development results in IVF. This may be through the reduction of zinc homeostasis‐associated protein expression to accelerate the oxidative stress process, thereby reducing sperm quality and ultimately affecting embryonic development.
Polymicrobial Osteomyelitis in a Patient With Isolation of Trueperella bernardiae: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Delaye-Martínez Marco Antonio , Vanegas-Rodríguez Edgar Samuel , Mendez-Sotelo Braulio , García-Hernández María de Lourdes , Colín-Castro Claudia Adriana , Franco-Cendejas Rafael , López-Jácome Luis Esaú
Published: January 2025

Background: Trueperella bernardiae is a Gram‐positive rod that has been described as an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. In a significant number of documented cases, infections with Trueperella bernardiae have been associated with polymicrobial infections, which highlight the fact that important bacteria–bacteria relations might be involved in the natural course of these infections, especially in patients with chronic disease courses and a history of multiple antibiotic treatments.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 24‐year‐old woman with a 3‐year history of a chronic pressure ulcer on the right foot associated with varus and cavus deformity. As per relevant medical history, she was positive for multiple wound healing sessions with wound debridement and a large number of antibiotic treatments with minimal improvement. Microbiological cultures were taken from the wound, and a soft tissue infection diagnosis was initially made. Empirical treatment was initiated with levofloxacin. At 48 h, cultures were positive for Providencia stuartii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus penneri, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Trueperella bernardiae, and the susceptibility test was performed. Three weeks later, the symptoms progressed to purulent exudate of the wound and foul‐smelling with the positive probe‐to‐bone test. Diagnosis was changed to polymicrobial osteomyelitis, and antibiotic therapy with ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole was prescribed for a 4‐week course of treatment, achieving the complete remission of symptoms.

Conclusions: Trueperella bernardiae represents an emerging bacterium that can be isolated in various clinical presentations. On osteoarticular infections, the presence of comorbidities, mobility limitations, and a history of multiple antibiotic treatments may be determinant. Their isolation as part of polymicrobial infections highlights relevant interspecies interactions. Research is still lacking in determining standardized methodologies for susceptibility testing and specific clinical breakpoints to guide clinical decisions.
Comprehensive Studies on Detection of Palm Oil Adulteration in Clarified Milk Fat (Ghee)
Authors: Ramani Akshay , Hazra Tanmay , Tarafdar Ayon , Sirohi Ranjna , Das Anamika , Dey Swarnima , Kumar Yogesh
Published: January 2025

Heat‐clarified milk fat (ghee) is one of the costlier fat‐rich dairy products, and palm oil adulteration is a common practice. Limited studies compared traditional physicochemical techniques with advanced chromatographic techniques and chromogenic tests (rapid tests) to ascertain palm oil’s presence in ghee. It is a very hard task to ascertain the presence of palm oil in clarified milk fat (ghee) and select the right analytical technique for routine quality control analysis. The present study was designed to validate and compare the physicochemical methods, triglyceride content, phytosterol levels, and rapid chromogenic tests including 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) or ferric‐based assay methods to check the presence of palm oil in clarified milk fat. Physicochemical methods like Reichert–Meissl (RM) value, iodine value (IV), and Butyro refractometer (BR) reading can be used to detect palm oil adulteration below 10%. However, the Kirschner value analysis was able to confirm the presence of palm oil admixture at 5% in clarified milk fat. In chromatographic analytical approaches, triglyceride analysis (S‐value) was carried out using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC‐FID), and plant sterol detection was done by HPLC, which proved to be the robust method for ascertaining the presence of palm oil in milk fat (ghee) at 5%. Chromogenic tests (DPPH and ferric‐based assays) provided quick and qualitative assays to detect the presence of palm oil in ghee at a 5% level.
Docosahexaenoic Acid Inhibits p62‐Dependent Autophagy by Targeting HSP70A1A/TGM‐2 Axis to Alleviate Arecoline‐Induced Oral Submucosal Fibrosis
Authors: Hu Zhaoyong , Dai Yuzhe , Wang Chenwei , Liu Yanli , Li Qun , Zuo Qiaojuan , Chen Ruiyi , Tan Jin
Published: January 2025

Background: The role of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in fibrosis of other organs has been studied, but its function in oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) has not been reported. This study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of DHA in OSF.

Methods: OSF rat and cell models were established induced by arecoline. Through a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments, the function of DHA in OSF was investigated. Mechanistically, the interaction of TGM‐2 with HSP70A1A and p62 proteins was validated using co‐immunoprecipitation. Additionally, in cells transfected with overexpression vectors of HSP70A1A or TGM‐2 and treated with DHA and arecoline or co‐treated with a p62 inhibitor XRK3F2 along with DHA and arecoline, the function of the DHA/HSP70A1A/TGM‐2/p62 axis in OSF was explored.

Results: In vivo, arecoline caused severe pathological damage and fibrosis in rat oral mucosal tissues and induced overexpression of HSP70A1A. Arecoline treatment also elevated tissue ROS levels and the expression of α‐SMA, Collagen I, TGM‐2, and LC3 II/I, while decreasing tissue p62 protein expression and serum GSH levels. Treatment with DHA reversed these changes and improved the pathological damage and fibrosis in OSF rats. In vitro, arecoline induced the expression of HSP70A1A in a concentration‐dependent manner, and DHA inhibited its expression by directly binding to HSP70A1A and reducing the expression of α‐SMA, Collagen I, TGM‐2, LC3 II/I, and ROS levels induced by arecoline in cells, while increasing p62 protein expression and GSH levels in cell supernatants. Furthermore, arecoline induced TGM‐2 expression, and overexpression of HSP70A1A counteracted the protective effect of DHA on cells and the suppression of TGM‐2 expression. TGM‐2 interacted with HSP70A1A and p62 proteins. Overexpression of TGM‐2 or treatment with XRK3F2 activated autophagy and abolished the protective effect of DHA on cells.

Conclusion: DHA inhibits p62‐dependent autophagy through targeting the HSP70A1A/TGM‐2 axis, thereby alleviating arecoline‐induced OSF. These results suggest that DHA and its mediated autophagy regulation mechanism can be a therapeutic target for OSF.
An Efficient PINN–Based Calibration Method for Mesoscale Peridynamic Concrete Models
Authors: Lin Zhe , Gu Eric , Huang Surong , Wang Lei
Published: January 2025

Mesoscale models are crucial for the refined analysis of material damage behaviors. However, it remains a challenging task to calibrate a mesoscale model so as to accurately simulate the mechanical behaviors (MBs) of macroscale structural components. The models may be nonlinear, involve numerous material parameters (MPs), and be large‐scale. In addition, solutions to inverse problems may lack accuracy or be nonunique. A recent emerging method, physics‐informed neural network (PINN), combines deep learning with physical laws to solve complex problems and significantly reduce computational costs. This paper presents an effective PINN approach for mesoscale model calibration. The approach establishes a relationship between the MPs of a mesoscale model and the MBs of structural components using PINN, with constraints based on known physical relationships. Both forward PINN (MPs as inputs and MBs as outputs) and reverse PINN (swapping inputs and outputs) models are used. Calibration is achieved efficiently by combining the forward PINN model with an optimization algorithm or directly using the reverse PINN model. Validation is performed using a mesoscale concrete model in peridynamics (PDs). The relationship between the elastic modulus of bonds in PD and MBs of components is constrained by physical laws. The datasets are generated through OpenSees analysis. The PINN method demonstrates its effectiveness, particularly with the reverse model, which is both efficient and accurate.
Time Dependency for Human Papillomavirus Circulating Tumor DNA Detection after Chemoradiation as a Prognostic Biomarker for Localized Anal Cancer
Authors: Morris Van K. , Xiao Weihong , Lin Kangyu , Wong Chi Wut , Wotman Michael T. , Holliday Emma B. , Huey Ryan W. , Noticewala Sonal S. , Ludmir Ethan B. , Bent Alisha H. , Ludford Kaysia , Messick Craig , Koay Eugene J. , Smith Grace , Konishi Tsuyoshi , Bednarski Brian , Chang George J. , Koong Albert C. , You Y. Nancy , Das Prajnan , Gillison Maura L.
Published: January 2025

Purpose:

Although detection of ctDNA weeks after surgery is linked to recurrence for other solid tumors, the optimal time point for ctDNA assessment as a prognostic biomarker following chemoradiation for anal cancer is undefined.

Experimental Design:

Patients with stages I to III anal cancer treated with chemoradiation between December 2020 and March 2024 were evaluated for human papillomavirus (HPV) ctDNA status at baseline, at the end of chemoradiation, and during surveillance using a droplet digital HPV ctDNA PCR assay, targeting HPV E6 and E7 oncogenes for 13 oncogenic HPV types. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) according to HPV ctDNA status was estimated via Kaplan–Meier and compared using a log-rank test.

Results:

Detection of HPV ctDNA at ≥3 months after chemoradiation was associated with recurrence (80% vs. 2%; OR, 168; 95% confidence interval (CI), 13.6–2,080; P < 0.0001) and inferior RFS [4.9 months vs. not reached; HR, 39.2; 95% CI, 4.6–330; P < 0.0001] relative to HPV ctDNA–negative status. Sensitivity and specificity for recurrence according to HPV ctDNA detection were 89% and 95%, respectively, with positive and negative predictive values of 80% and 98%, respectively. Differences in RFS according to HPV ctDNA status were not observed at the end of treatment (median RFS, not reached for both; HR, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.35–7.4; P = 0.48).

Conclusions:

With a novel, highly sensitive assay, detection of HPV ctDNA at least 3 months after chemoradiation was associated with unfavorable survival. Future clinical trials should incorporate this 3-month post-treatment time point to identify patients with HPV-positive anal cancer at elevated recurrence risk according to HPV ctDNA status.
Inconsistent terminology in rodent anatomy hinders appropriate blood sampling in laboratory animal science: A review of blood sampling techniques on the head of mice
Authors: Štrbenc Malan
Published: January 2025

Blood sampling is often performed during animal studies. This is more challenging in mice than in larger animal species owing to their size and lack of blood vessel visibility. Guidelines for blood sampling in mice and papers on animal welfare often refer to the submandibular, cheek, buccal, and anterior facial veins. However, these terms are imprecise. There are at least two different superficial veins that can be used for blood sampling on the head of the mouse; moreover, most studies ignore this distinction. Inaccurate descriptions and even incorrect labelling of the images lead to confusion and unnecessary delays in learning blood collection techniques, as well as stress and pain in animals due to failed attempts. This review explains the most common terminological errors, demonstrates the distinction between bleeding facial and superficial temporal veins using original photographs, and discusses the suitability of sampling from both veins.
Using Student Voice to Improve Schoolwide PBIS Implementation in Secondary Schools
Authors: Hinrichs Quin-Anne , Johnston Chelsea R. , Feuerborn Laura , Tyre Ashli
Published: January 2025

Implementation of a culturally responsive positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework is associated with positive outcomes for secondary students when implemented schoolwide. Yet, educators often report more implementation challenges in secondary school as compared to elementary school settings. Difficulties obtaining student buy-in may make PBIS implementation more challenging. Secondary student input on school climate and discipline systems could be an integral source of information for educators who are working to establish more effective behavioral support systems. Using authentic student voice data from an example secondary school, the authors provide a research-based approach to amplifying student voice and increasing student involvement in culturally responsive PBIS.
Social Interventions for Liquid Waste Management on Livelihood: A Case of Indore, India
Authors: Pradhan Sambit , Bhatt Megha , Gautam Rajendra Singh
Published: January 2025

Liquid waste disposal is a significant global issue, contributing to health hazards and unhygienic conditions. Addressing these challenges is critical, and one effective approach is through social intervention using Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) methods to influence individual behaviours. Changing people’s mindsets and introducing new practices is undoubtedly challenging, but Indore City has shown that it is possible. Through persistent efforts and innovative strategies, Indore has transformed itself into one of the cleanest cities in India. This success story highlights that with the right educational tools and community engagement, substantial improvements in waste management and public health can be achieved.
Addressing Homelessness in Internal Displacement in The Philippines: What State Social Work Can Offer?
Authors: Collado Zaldy C.
Published: January 2025

Homelessness is a huge and complex problem in conflict-induced internal displacement in the Philippines. Despite its visible character, state social work seems to have a very limited response. While waiting for the construction of temporary housing, the study argues that state social work can help address homelessness in several ways (perhaps) not previously considered. The first is to introduce the internally displaced to the state agency that funds affordable housing. Second, is to work on potential access of the displaced population to financing institutions. Last, is for state social work to develop a program that will subsidise renting arrangements.
Systematic review of 99 extremity bone malignancy survival prediction models
Authors: Lai Cheng-Yo , Yen Hung-Kuan , Lin Hao-Chen , Groot Olivier Quinten , Lin Wei-Hsin , Hsu Hao-Ping
Published: January 2025

Background

Various prediction models have been developed for extremity metastasis and sarcoma. This systematic review aims to evaluate extremity metastasis and sarcoma models using the utility prediction model (UPM) evaluation framework.

Methods

We followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane to identify articles presenting original prediction models with 1-year survival outcome for extremity metastasis and 5-year survival outcome for sarcoma. Identified models were assessed using the UPM score (0–16), categorized as excellent (12–16), good (7–11), fair (3–6), or poor (0–2). A total of 5 extremity metastasis and 94 sarcoma models met inclusion criteria and were analyzed for design, validation, and performance.

Results

We assessed 5 models for extremity metastasis and 94 models for sarcoma. Only 4 out of 99 (4%) models achieved excellence, 1 from extremity metastasis and 3 from sarcoma. The majority were rated good (62%; 61/99), followed by fair (31%, 31/99) and poor (3%, 3/99).

Conclusions

Most predictive models for extremity metastasis and sarcoma fall short of UPM excellence. Suboptimal study design, limited external validation, and the infrequent availability of web-based calculators are main drawbacks.

Level of evidence

This study is classified as Level 2a evidence according to the Oxford 2011 Levels of Evidence.

Trial registration This study was registered in PROSEPRO (CRD42022373391, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=373391).
Comparative outcomes of thulium laser enucleation by prostate volume: a three-group analysis from a single-center study in Vietnam
Authors: Tran Hoai Nam , Tran Van Hinh , Nguyen Viet Cuong
Published: January 2025

Abstracts

Purpose

To evaluate the impact of prostate volume on the safety and efficacy of Thulium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (ThuLEP) in treating benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) across different prostate volume groups.

Materials and Methods

This prospective study included 92 BPE patients who underwent ThuLEP, stratified into three groups based on prostate volume: Group A (< 50 ml), Group B (50–80 ml), and Group C ( >80 ml). Preoperative and postoperative functional outcomes, intraoperative parameters, and complications were analyzed and compared among the groups. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.

Results

Operative time significantly increased with prostate size (Group C: 105 ± 32.74 min vs. Group A: 71.45 ± 33.87 min, p < 0.001). Enucleation time per ml of prostate tissue was most efficient in Group C (0.98 ± 0.55 min/ml, p < 0.001). Postoperative improvements in IPSS, Qmax, QoL, and PVR were significant across all groups, with no notable differences among the groups at 6 months (p > 0.05). The overall complication rate was low (11.96%), with major complications (Clavien-Dindo grade II or higher) accounting for only 6.52%. No significant differences in complication rates were observed among the groups.

Conclusions

ThuLEP demonstrated excellent safety and efficacy in treating BPE, regardless of prostate size. Larger prostates required longer operative times but achieved comparable functional outcomes with low complication rates. These findings support ThuLEP as a reliable and versatile surgical option for a wide range of prostate volumes.
Correcting scale distortion in RNA sequencing data
Authors: Thron Christopher , Jafari Farhad
Published: January 2025

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) is the conventional genome-scale approach used to capture the expression levels of all detectable genes in a biological sample. This is now regularly used for population-based studies designed to identify genetic determinants of various diseases. Naturally, the accuracy of these tests should be verified and improved if possible. In this study, we aimed to detect and correct for expression level-dependent errors which are not corrected by conventional normalization techniques. We examined several RNA-seq datasets from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Stand Up 2 Cancer (SU2C), and GTEx databases with various types of preprocessing. By applying local averaging, we found expression-level dependent biases that differ from sample to sample in all datasets studied. Using simulations, we show that these biases corrupt gene-gene correlation estimations and t tests between subpopulations. To mitigate these biases, we introduce two different nonlinear transforms based on statistical considerations that correct these observed biases. We demonstrate that these transforms effectively remove the observed per-sample biases, reduce sample-to-sample variance, and improve the characteristics of gene-gene correlation distributions. Using a novel simulation methodology that creates controlled differences between subpopulations, we show that these transforms reduce variability and increase sensitivity of two population tests. The improvements in sensitivity and specificity were of the order of 3-5% in most instances after the data was corrected for bias. Altogether, these results improve our capacity to understand gene-gene relationships, and may lead to novel ways to utilize the information derived from clinical tests.
Marigold: a machine learning-based web app for zebrafish pose tracking
Authors: Teicher Gregory , Riffe R. Madison , Barnaby Wayne , Martin Gabrielle , Clayton Benjamin E. , Trapani Josef G. , Downes Gerald B.
Published: January 2025

Background

High-throughput behavioral analysis is important for drug discovery, toxicological studies, and the modeling of neurological disorders such as autism and epilepsy. Zebrafish embryos and larvae are ideal for such applications because they are spawned in large clutches, develop rapidly, feature a relatively simple nervous system, and have orthologs to many human disease genes. However, existing software for video-based behavioral analysis can be incompatible with recordings that contain dynamic backgrounds or foreign objects, lack support for multiwell formats, require expensive hardware, and/or demand considerable programming expertise. Here, we introduce Marigold, a free and open source web app for high-throughput behavioral analysis of embryonic and larval zebrafish.

Results

Marigold features an intuitive graphical user interface, tracks up to 10 user-defined keypoints, supports both single- and multiwell formats, and exports a range of kinematic parameters in addition to publication-quality data visualizations. By leveraging a highly efficient, custom-designed neural network architecture, Marigold achieves reasonable training and inference speeds even on modestly powered computers lacking a discrete graphics processing unit. Notably, as a web app, Marigold does not require any installation and runs within popular web browsers on ChromeOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. To demonstrate Marigold’s utility, we used two sets of biological experiments. First, we examined novel aspects of the touch-evoked escape response in techno trousers (tnt) mutant embryos, which contain a previously described loss-of-function mutation in the gene encoding Eaat2b, a glial glutamate transporter. We identified differences and interactions between touch location (head vs. tail) and genotype. Second, we investigated the effects of feeding on larval visuomotor behavior at 5 and 7 days post-fertilization (dpf). We found differences in the number and vigor of swimming bouts between fed and unfed fish at both time points, as well as interactions between developmental stage and feeding regimen.

Conclusions

In both biological experiments presented here, the use of Marigold facilitated novel behavioral findings. Marigold’s ease of use, robust pose tracking, amenability to diverse experimental paradigms, and flexibility regarding hardware requirements make it a powerful tool for analyzing zebrafish behavior, especially in low-resource settings such as course-based undergraduate research experiences. Marigold is available at: https://downeslab.github.io/marigold/.