bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analyzing the performance impact on metallic foams: a comprehensive overview
Authors: KUMAR ASHWINI , Kumar Ajay , Čep Robert , Maitra Sumit Kumar , Salau Ayodeji Olalekan , Żurek-Mortka Marta , Sharma Kanishk , Logesh K
Published: November 2024

A cellular structure characterized by an artistic material or robust metal containing a significant portion of volume filled with gas-filled pores is commonly referred to as metallic foams. These gas-filled pores can be of a sealed type (closed-cell foams) or an interconnected structure (open-cell foams), exhibiting exceptionally high permeability with typically 70-95% of content comprising empty spaces. Given its widespread application in the realm of thermal management for aircraft and energy utilization systems to enhance the thermal performance of heat sinks and heat exchangers, it has emerged as a promising and intriguing research area within the fields of aviation and thermo physics. Understanding the fluid dynamics and heat transfer characteristics of metal foams serve as the fundamental basis for the optimal design of heat transfer devices employing these materials. The primary objective of this article is to focus on reviewing recent studies and the thermal performance of metal foams by summarizing the majority of theoretical and experimental inquiries into heat transfer enhancement and flow characteristics. By elucidating the fundamentals of heat transfer, thermal conductivity behaviour, and the thermal performance of Aluminium, Copper, Nickel, Magnesium, and Composite foams, this article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject matter.
Prediction of signal attenuation due to air pollutants using bayes-DCNN
Authors: Subbiyan Prakash , Krishnamurthy Sangeetha
Published: November 2024

In modern wireless communication, radio waves are crucial for signal transmission between mobile devices, but they are subject to attenuation when interacting with air pollutants such as PM10 particles. This research proposes a novel Bayes-Deep Convolutional Neural Network (Bayes-DCNN) to predict signal attenuation caused by air pollution. The model incorporates Bayes by Backprop to manage uncertainty and improve training accuracy. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed Bayes-DCNN outperforms existing methods, achieving an accuracy of 95.52%, compared to 92.15% for CNN, 91.11% for SVM, and 89.47% for LSTM. The model also exhibited superior precision (94.38%), recall (93.50%), and F1-score (94.36%) when evaluated against other deep learning and non-deep learning approaches. Additionally, Bayes-DCNN reduced root mean squared error (RMSE) to 0.143, outperforming CNN (RMSE of 0.146), SVM (RMSE of 0.155), and LSTM (RMSE of 0.167). These improvements demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed model in predicting signal attenuation under various air pollution conditions.
Machine-learned interatomic potentials for accurate analysis of the mechanical properties of boron nitride sheets
Authors: Choyal Vijay , Patil Mahesh , Luhadiya Nitin , Kundalwal S I
Published: November 2024

We introduced a novel machine-learned interatomic potential (MLIP) by thoroughly discussing the step–by–step MLIP creation process using precise but limited data. This study explored the mechanical properties of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets and addressed the challenges of accurately predicting their structural properties. We explored the use of ab initio molecular dynamics and classical molecular dynamics (CMD) simulation techniques, emphasizing the necessity for a more effective and efficient solution. We also discussed the machine learning procedure to construct an effective interatomic potential. Furthermore, we address techniques for evaluating the performance and robustness of MLIPs on unseen datasets. Using the newly formed MLIP in a CMD simulation, we investigated the mechanical attributes of hBN nanosheets, exploring the fluctuations in sheet strength across a range of dimensions, temperatures, and varying numbers of layers. We obtained an average Young’s modulus in the range of 980–1000 GPa at 1 K, whereas the average failure stress and strain were approximately 106 GPa and 0.16, respectively. Our results demonstrate significant improvements in the accuracy of hBN nanosheets compared to prior studies, highlighting the effectiveness of MLIP in achieving higher precision with minimal computational cost. This study offers comprehensive analysis and theoretical exploration, delivering valuable insights into MLIP and the mechanical properties of hBN nanosheets, and paves the way for future applications in materials science and engineering.
Biomimetic inner helicoidal microfluidics with enhanced capillary rise for step liquid lifting mimicking transpiration
Authors: Wang Zhaolong , Li Yinfeng , Zhan Ziheng , Xie Mingzhu , Li Yingying , Zhang Chengqi , Dong Zhichao , Shuai Yong
Published: November 2024

Bionic microfluidics is garnering increasing attention due to the superior fluidic performance enabled by biomimetic microstructures. Inspired by the unique structures of young pumpkin stems, we fabricate helicoidally patterned microchannels with precisely controlled morphologies using the projection micro-stereolithography (PμSL)-based 3D printing technique. Our helicoidally patterned microchannels achieve approximately twice the liquid lifting height compared to similarly sized smooth microchannels. This improvement is attributed to the enhanced capillary force. The additional meniscus formed between the helicoidally patterned microstructures significantly contributes to the increased capillary effects. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms of fluidic performance in helicoidally patterned microchannels are theorized using a newly developed equation, which is also employed to optimize the geometric parameters and fluidic performance of the biomimetic helicoidal microchannels. Additionally, our biomimetic helicoidally patterned microchannels facilitate a significant step-lifting phenomenon, mimicking tall trees’ transpiration. The fluidic performance of our biomimetic helicoidally patterned microchannels show promise for applications in enhanced liquid lifting, step-lifting, clean-water production, and others.
Toward Deeper Dialogue: Constitutional and International Law
Authors: Saunders Cheryl
Published: November 2024

This chapter in honor of Mark Tushnet calls for deeper dialogue between the subdisciplines of constitutional and international law, characterized by mutual understanding and respect. It argues that, for reasons that are attributable to what might loosely be described as their respective world views, the two subdisciplines tend to operate in silos disregarding, sometimes to the point of disparaging, each other. The silo effect has persisted notwithstanding the pace of globalization over the decades spanning the turn of the century. For reasons that this chapter seeks to explain, it is no longer sustainable in practice, with implications for theory. The point is demonstrated through a brief case study of the relationship between constitutional and international law in the context of peace and constitution-building when the resolution of intrastate conflict seems to demand constitutional change. In conclusion, the chapter points to contemporary shared challenges, including the rise of authoritarianism and the impacts of climate change, as factors making dialogue both more urgent and mutually beneficial. It notes that the (re-)emergence of a multipolar world is likely to further complicate the relationship and resolution of it.
The Political Paradox of African Constitutionalism Revisited: Kenya’s BBI Case
Authors: O’Regan Catherine
Published: November 2024

In the early 1990s the Kenyan scholar Okoth-Ogendo wrote a seminal article arguing that Africa had “constitutions without constitutionalism.” This African political paradox, he asserted, was premised on the basis that on the one hand, African leaders embraced constitutions because they established the legitimacy and sovereignty of African states, something denied during the period of European colonialism in Africa. On the other, African leaders, he said, were unwilling to accept that constitutions limit and control state power. He identified various techniques by which African leaders sought to manage this paradox, one of which was to turn constitutions into sites of political contestation resulting in extensive constitutional amendment. Since the early 1990s, countries across southern and eastern Africa, including Kenya, have adopted new constitutions. In 2020 Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta sought to introduce an array of significant amendments to Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, apparently in an attempt to resolve longstanding political conflict, in an initiative he labeled the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). In a case of high constitutional significance, the BBI case, these constitutional amendments were successfully challenged in all three tiers of Kenya’s superior courts: the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. This chapter examines the BBI case to consider whether it can be said that the political paradox of African constitutionalism still endures, or whether the robust decision of the Kenyan Supreme Court holding that the Kenyan Constitutional Amendment 2020 was unconstitutional signals its demise.
Common Law and the Liberation of Self-Interest from Regulation
Authors: Donald David C
Published: November 2024

This chapter examines how early 21st-century comparative law came to value common law over civil law while scholars and policymakers espoused market forces as the best organizing principle for human affairs. Common law and market forces have similar structural dynamics when used to order society. Both common law and market forces supply their product only in response to customer demand, neither clutters the landscape with unwanted products, and both assume the presence of an unseen ordering principle that ultimately defines justice in the one case and fair price in the other. During the early 21st century, conceptually devised frameworks of regulation and civil law were seen to merely obstruct the marvelous ordering action of rational self-interest. While scholars came to doubt the ability of duty-bound officials to account for all available information in their decisions, these same scholars championed the ability of profit-driven traders efficiently to process all available information when making a bid. Reasoned action through government became an obstruction to the natural force of self-interested action, so that many of the protections erected since the early 20th century against the dangers of unchecked economic power were seen as unnecessary, and discarded. Results include a sharp increase in economic inequality and a general breakdown of civic collaboration.
The Possibilities of Constitutional Tourism
Authors: Greene Jamal
Published: November 2024

Comparative constitutional law as a project poses risks of being merely a form of constitutional “tourism,” with all the risks so well detailed by Günter Frankenberg. But Tushnet in his work has made himself less vulnerable to these risks, in at least three ways. First, the sheer volume of his travel, as well as his indiscriminate choice of destinations, allows him to compare A to B and B to C and D to B, E, and G, rather than simply bringing all conversations back to A. Second, Tushnet’s comprehensive skepticism about the constraining power of any institutions leads him to deeply question both his own country’s arrangements and those of others. Third, and relatedly, Tushnet advances his ideas as hypotheses—always tentative, and subject to testing, qualification, and revision. This chapter reflects on these virtues as it considers Tushnet’s legacy.
Beethoven’s Religious Works before theMissa solemnis
Authors: Chong Nicholas
Published: November 2024

This chapter situates within the context of the German Catholic Enlightenment the three major works of religious music that Beethoven composed during the first decade of the nineteenth century: the Gellert Lieder, Christus am Ölberge, and the Mass in C. The Catholic Enlightenment’s interest in ecumenical outreach to Protestants is reflected in Beethoven’s choice of poet for the Gellert Lieder and his desire to publish his mass with a German text. Two other concerns of the Catholic Enlightenment feature prominently in the Gellert Lieder and Christus: an emphasis on God’s presence in nature and the importance of ethical conduct. The manner in which Beethoven set the text in his mass accords with the Catholic Enlightenment’s encouragement of an engaged attitude toward the liturgy. However, Beethoven’s portrayal of Christ in Christus, along with some aspects of the Mass in C, also hints at an openness to the more conservative Catholic Restoration.
TheMissa solemnis
Authors: Chong Nicholas
Published: November 2024

This chapter situates Beethoven’s Missa solemnis within the German Catholicism of his time, especially the theology of Johann Michael Sailer, which the composer engaged with while working on the piece. Some of the compositional techniques in the Missa resemble those in Beethoven’s earlier Mass in C—for instance, a strikingly vivid approach to depicting the meaning of the Mass text—but are used more frequently or in more extreme ways. Therefore, Beethoven’s engagement with Sailer’s thought, rather than causing a significant change in his views, probably reinforced religious ideas for which he already felt an affinity. However, the explicit references in the Missa to “archaic” Catholic musical styles such as plainchant do represent a more significant departure from the Mass in C and may have been inspired by Sailer’s theology, potentially signaling a “conservative” turn in Beethoven’s attitude to religious music that can be linked to the Catholic Restoration.
Adipose Tissue, Regeneration, and Skin Health: The Next Regenerative Frontier
Authors: Widgerow Alan D
Published: November 2024

Adipose tissue, or fat compartments, has long been considered a storage depot and an energy source. However, a large part of new research, starting with the discovery of adipose-derived stem cells, has redirected this thinking toward the tremendous regenerative capacity that adipose tissue possesses when it is healthy. This has resulted in multiple technologies being explored with fat as a basis or with fat as a target aiming at the stimulation of new small hyperplastic adipose cells exuding adipokines and encouraging the proliferation of a whole host of progenitor cells that can have positive effects on many organ systems. One of these organ systems is skin, and there is a direct correlation with various fat compartments and skin health. Dermal fat tissue, also known as dermal white adipose tissue, is one such compartment that originates from dermal preadipocytes transdifferentiating into adipocytes and progenitor adipose cells under the right cues. The author of this paper discusses these potential cues, including injectable fillers, fat grafts, and topical formulations, and their capacity to impact skin health through the generation of healthy fat tissue. In addition, small molecules such as glucagon-like peptide-1 peptides and their impact on fat tissue are discussed. Adipose tissue is being recognized as the next regenerative frontier with exciting prospects ahead.

Level of Evidence: 5 (Therapeutic)
SAMP: Identifying antimicrobial peptides by an ensemble learning model based on proportionalized split amino acid composition
Authors: Feng Junxi , Sun Mengtao , Liu Cong , Zhang Weiwei , Xu Changmou , Wang Jieqiong , Wang Guangshun , Wan Shibiao
Published: November 2024

It is projected that 10 million deaths could be attributed to drug-resistant bacteria infections in 2050. To address this concern, identifying new-generation antibiotics is an effective way. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), a class of innate immune effectors, have received significant attention for their capacity to eliminate drug-resistant pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Recent years have witnessed widespread applications of computational methods especially machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) for discovering AMPs. However, existing methods only use features including compositional, physiochemical, and structural properties of peptides, which cannot fully capture sequence information from AMPs. Here, we present SAMP, an ensemble random projection (RP) based computational model that leverages a new type of feature called proportionalized split amino acid composition (PSAAC) in addition to conventional sequence-based features for AMP prediction. With this new feature set, SAMP captures the residue patterns like sorting signals at both the N-terminal and the C-terminal, while also retaining the sequence order information from the middle peptide fragments. Benchmarking tests on different balanced and imbalanced datasets demonstrate that SAMP consistently outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods, such as iAMPpred and AMPScanner V2, in terms of accuracy, Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC), G-measure, and F1-score. In addition, by leveraging an ensemble RP architecture, SAMP is scalable to processing large-scale AMP identification with further performance improvement, compared to those models without RP. To facilitate the use of SAMP, we have developed a Python package that is freely available at https://github.com/wan-mlab/SAMP.
MCGAE: unraveling tumor invasion through integrated multimodal spatial transcriptomics
Authors: Yang Yiwen , Zhang Chengming , Liu Zhaonan , Aihara Kazuyuki , Zhang Chuanchao , Chen Luonan , Wei Wu
Published: November 2024

Spatially Resolved Transcriptomics (SRT) serves as a cornerstone in biomedical research, revealing the heterogeneity of tissue microenvironments. Integrating multimodal data including gene expression, spatial coordinates, and morphological information poses significant challenges for accurate spatial domain identification. Herein, we present the Multi-view Contrastive Graph Autoencoder (MCGAE), a cutting-edge deep computational framework specifically designed for the intricate analysis of spatial transcriptomics (ST) data. MCGAE advances the field by creating multi-view representations from gene expression and spatial adjacency matrices. Utilizing modular modeling, contrastive graph convolutional networks, and attention mechanisms, it generates modality-specific spatial representations and integrates them into a unified embedding. This integration process is further enriched by the inclusion of morphological image features, markedly enhancing the framework’s capability to process multimodal data. Applied to both simulated and real SRT datasets, MCGAE demonstrates superior performance in spatial domain detection, data denoising, trajectory inference, and 3D feature extraction, outperforming existing methods. Specifically, in colorectal cancer liver metastases, MCGAE integrates histological and gene expression data to identify tumor invasion regions and characterize cellular molecular regulation. This breakthrough extends ST analysis and offers new tools for cancer and complex disease research.
The combined focal loss and dice loss function improves the segmentation of beta-sheets in medium-resolution cryo-electron-microscopy density maps
Authors: Mu Yongcheng , Nguyen Thu , Hawickhorst Bryan , Wriggers Willy , Sun Jiangwen , He Jing
Published: November 2024

Although multiple neural networks have been proposed for detecting secondary structures from medium-resolution (5–10 Å) cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps, the loss functions used in the existing deep learning networks are primarily based on cross-entropy loss, which is known to be sensitive to class imbalances. We investigated five loss functions: cross-entropy, Focal loss, Dice loss, and two combined loss functions. Using a U-Net architecture in our DeepSSETracer method and a dataset composed of 1355 box-cropped atomic-structure/density-map pairs, we found that a newly designed loss function that combines Focal loss and Dice loss provides the best overall detection accuracy for secondary structures. For β-sheet voxels, which are generally much harder to detect than helix voxels, the combined loss function achieved a significant improvement (an 8.8% increase in the F1 score) compared to the cross-entropy loss function and a noticeable improvement from the Dice loss function. This study demonstrates the potential for designing more effective loss functions for hard cases in the segmentation of secondary structures. The newly trained model was incorporated into DeepSSETracer 1.1 for the segmentation of protein secondary structures in medium-resolution cryo-EM map components. DeepSSETracer can be integrated into ChimeraX, a popular molecular visualization software.

Availability and implementation

https://www.cs.odu.edu/~bioinfo/B2I_Tools/.
FungiFun3: systemic gene set enrichment analysis for fungal species
Authors: Garcia Lopez Albert , Albrecht-Eckardt Daniela , Panagiotou Gianni , Schäuble Sascha
Published: November 2024

The ever-growing amount of genome-wide omics data paved the way for solving life science problems in a data-driven manner. Among others, enrichment analysis is part of the standard analysis arsenal to determine systemic signals in any given transcriptomic or proteomic data. Only a part of the members of the fungal kingdom, however, can be analyzed via public web applications, despite the global rise of fungal pathogens and their increasing resistance to antimycotics. We present FungiFun3, a major update of our user-friendly gene set enrichment web application dedicated to fungi. FungiFun3 was rebuilt from scratch to support a modern and easy-to-use web interface and supports >4-fold more fungal strains (n = 1287 in total) than its predecessor. In addition, it also allows ranked gene set enrichment analysis at the genomic scale. FungiFun3 thus serves as a starting hub for identifying molecular signals in omics datasets related to a vast amount of available fungal strains including human fungal pathogens of the WHO’s priority list and far beyond.

Availability and implementation

FungiFun3, including sample data and FAQ, is freely available at https://fungifun3.hki-jena.de/.
Expert-guided protein language models enable accurate and blazingly fast fitness prediction
Authors: Marquet Céline , Schlensok Julius , Abakarova Marina , Rost Burkhard , Laine Elodie
Published: November 2024

Motivation

Exhaustive experimental annotation of the effect of all known protein variants remains daunting and expensive, stressing the need for scalable effect predictions. We introduce VespaG, a blazingly fast missense amino acid variant effect predictor, leveraging protein language model (pLM) embeddings as input to a minimal deep learning model.

Results

To overcome the sparsity of experimental training data, we created a dataset of 39 million single amino acid variants from the human proteome applying the multiple sequence alignment-based effect predictor GEMME as a pseudo standard-of-truth. This setup increases interpretability compared to the baseline pLM and is easily retrainable with novel or updated pLMs. Assessed against the ProteinGym benchmark (217 multiplex assays of variant effect—MAVE—with 2.5 million variants), VespaG achieved a mean Spearman correlation of 0.48 ± 0.02, matching top-performing methods evaluated on the same data. VespaG has the advantage of being orders of magnitude faster, predicting all mutational landscapes of all proteins in proteomes such as Homo sapiens or Drosophila melanogaster in under 30 min on a consumer laptop (12-core CPU, 16 GB RAM).

Availability and implementation

VespaG is available freely at https://github.com/jschlensok/vespag. The associated training data and predictions are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11085958.
Torticollis in incomplete Kawasaki disease: a case of atlantoaxial rotatory fixation
Authors: Ryu Keisho
Published: November 2024

Various respiratory, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, neurological, and urinary complications have been reported in Kawasaki disease. Here, we describe a rare case of atlantoaxial rotatory fixation (AARF) associated with incomplete Kawasaki disease. The case is of a healthy 4-year-old Japanese boy who had a high-grade fever, lymphadenopathy, and torticollis diagnosed with incomplete Kawasaki disease. Intravenous high-dose immunoglobulin and oral aspirin quickly resolved his fever and improved his lymphadenopathy, but torticollis remained. On orthopaedic examination, torticollis was observed with a marked restriction of rotation, and an open-mouth anteroposterior cervical radiograph and a CT scan confirmed rotational dislocation at the dens axis (AARF). Cervical collar fixation was immediately started, and the torticollis gradually normalized within a week. AARF is defined as torticollis due to dislocation or subluxation of the atlantoaxial joint. The diagnosis of AARF is difficult with routine plain cervical radiographs in 2 directions alone, and an additional cervical open-mouth anteroposterior radiograph and a CT scan aid the diagnosis. AARF associated with Kawasaki disease is uncommon, and only 24 cases have been reported in the literature. AARF may occur in Kawasaki disease patients with cervical lymphadenopathy. Still, torticollis is often transient and may not be recognized or ignored by family doctors and paediatricians. Reduction of the atlantoaxial joint can often be achieved spontaneously or with conservative treatment such as a collar or neck traction, but treatment is difficult if the diagnosis is delayed. Therefore, family doctors and paediatricians need to suspect the onset of AARF if torticollis is observed during treatment for Kawasaki disease, perform plain cervical radiographs including open-mouth anteroposterior view and a CT scan of the cervical spine, and have orthopaedists immediately intervene to avoid invasive surgery.
My body is a short-circuit that doesn’t need fixing: a disabled remediation of Zoom
Authors: Melling Rowan
Published: November 2024

During COVID-19 lockdowns, I started doing watercolor paintings of the interface of the videoconferencing program Zoom. Because I have a neurological disability, Zoom feels horrible for me to use; painting focused me and helped me cope. Using disability and these painting “remediations” as methods, I argue that digital interfaces function by sensorially training users to smoothly integrate as part of their operation. Disability is merely a word for the failure of a medium to properly interpellate a subject into the orientation necessary to facilitate its smooth functionality. Instead of suggesting accommodating upgrades to Zoom, I refuse the ableist demands of increased productivity that Zoom turns into requirements, and that require Zoom in order to register as norms. Using Zoom as a case study, my goal is to push back against the expectation that bodies passively adapt to the roll-out of technical systems, and the norms they operationalize.
Clinicopathological characteristics and favourable prognosis of paediatric cutaneous nodular fasciitis: a case series
Authors: Zhao Mutong , Han Xiaofeng , Wei Li , Sun Juan , Li Xu , Liang Yuan
Published: November 2024

Cutaneous nodular fasciitis (cNF) is a rare, benign myofibroblastic proliferation commonly misdiagnosed as a malignancy due to its rapid growth and histological features. We reviewed 15 paediatric patients with cNF, highlighting clinical, histological and molecular characteristics. The patients’ median age was 6 years, and there was a predilection for cNF in the head and neck region. Histologically, cNF showed plump spindle cells and myxoid stromal changes. USP6 rearrangement, particularly MYH9–USP6 fusion, was present in the majority of patients. Spontaneous resolution was observed in nonsurgically managed cases. Accurate diagnosis by screening for USP6 rearrangement is essential to avoid overtreatment. This study underscores the benign nature of cNF and the importance of conservative management, especially in cosmetically sensitive areas.
New approaches to acute kidney injury
Authors: Noel Sanjeev , Kapoor Radhika , Rabb Hamid
Published: November 2024

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious clinical syndrome that involves complex interplay between different cellular, molecular, metabolic and immunologic mechanisms. Elucidating these pathophysiologic mechanisms is crucial to identify novel biomarkers and therapies. Recent innovative methodologies and the advancement of existing technologies has accelerated our understanding of AKI and led to unexpected new therapeutic candidates. The aim of this review is to introduce and update the reader about recent developments applying novel technologies in omics, imaging, nanomedicine and artificial intelligence to AKI research, plus to provide examples where this can be translated to improve patient care.
Approaches to patients with obesity and CKD: focus on nutrition and surgery
Authors: Bellizzi Vincenzo , Annunziata Giuseppe , Albanese Alice , D'Alessandro Claudia , Garofalo Carlo , Foletto Mirto , Barrea Luigi , Cupisti Adamasco , Zoccali Carmine , De Nicola Luca
Published: November 2024

Obesity is recognized as a public health challenge. During the last three decades, the global age-standardized prevalence increased from 8.8% to 18.5% in women and from 4.8% to 14.0% in men, with an absolute current number of 878 million obese subjects. Obesity significantly increases per se the risk of developing disability and chronic diseases, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). Specifically, obesity acts as a major, modifiable cause of CKD onset and progression toward kidney failure; as such, it is considered by the International Society of Nephrology a major health priority. This review analyses the effectiveness, safety and practicability of non-pharmacological anti-obesity interventions in CKD as the different patient phenotypes that may take advantage of personalized approaches.
Change in adiposity indices after 1 year of peritoneal dialysis: a single-center cohort study
Authors: Yang Zhikai , Ng Jack Kit-Chung , Fung Winston Wing-Shing , Chan Gordon Chun-Kau , Chow Kai-Ming , Szeto Cheuk-Chun
Published: November 2024

Background

Weight gain is common after starting peritoneal dialysis (PD). Several adiposity indices have been developed recently as potential indicators of visceral adiposity and lipid accumulation. We aim to investigate the prevalence and prognostic implications of the change in adiposity indices after 1 year of PD.

Methods

We recruited 110 patients treated with PD for 12 months. Adiposity indices, including triglyceride glucose index, lipid accumulation product, visceral adiposity index and conicity index, were measured at baseline and then 1 year after PD started. The relation between their changes (Δ) and other clinical and biochemical parameters, as well as survival and hospitalization rates were analyzed.

Results

After 1 year of PD, more than half of the patients had increased adiposity indices. The change in adipose tissue mass significantly correlated with the concomitant changes in triglyceride glucose index (ΔTyGI) (r = 0.25, P = .01), lipid accumulation product (ΔLAP) (r = 0.27, P = .007) and visceral adiposity index (ΔVAI) (r = 0.26, P = .01). ΔTyGI significantly correlated with the change in insulin resistance as represented by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r = 0.22, P = .02), while ΔLAP and change in conicity index (ΔCI) correlated with the changes in various anthropometric parameters. However, no indices variation was associated with patient survival, technique survival or hospitalization rate.

Conclusions

Increased adiposity indices were common after 1 year of PD. The changes in adiposity indices had variable correlation with the change in adipose tissue mass, insulin resistance and anthropometric parameters. Further studies are required to identify simple metabolic parameters with a prognostic impact that could be suitable for serial monitoring.
Low Incidence of Macular Edema and Other Ocular Events in the Etrasimod Development Program
Authors: Dubinsky Marla C , Wu Joseph , McDonnell Aoibhinn , Lazin Krisztina , Goetsch Martina , Branquinho Diogo , Modesto Irene , Armuzzi Alessandro
Published: November 2024

Background and Aims

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulators have been associated with an increased risk of macular edema. Etrasimod is an oral, once-daily, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate1,4,5 receptor modulator.

Methods

We report the proportions and incidence rates (per 100 patient-years of exposure) of Macular edema and other ocular adverse events in the etrasimod clinical program, including patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, alopecia areata, and atopic dermatitis. Ulcerative colitis data were analyzed in 2 cohorts: Placebo-controlled ulcerative colitis and All ulcerative colitis (comprising the Placebo-controlled ulcerative colitis cohort plus open-label extension studies).

Results

In the Placebo-controlled ulcerative colitis cohort, Macular edema was reported in 2 patients receiving etrasimod (0.3%; incidence rate: 0.70) and 1 receiving placebo (0.3%; incidence rate: 0.84). In the All ulcerative colitis cohort, 1 patient (0.1%; incidence rate: 0.13) receiving etrasimod reported 2 events of Cystoid macular edema. All events were nonserious, and 1 led to treatment discontinuation. No events of Macular edema were reported in other conditions. Nine and 4 patients receiving etrasimod reported Vision blurred and Visual impairment adverse events, respectively. All events were nonserious and most did not require any intervention.

Conclusions

Macular edema and other ocular events were uncommon in patients treated with etrasimod across multiple conditions. Incidence of Macular edema was comparable with placebo.

Clinical Trials.gov identifiers

NCT02447302; NCT03945188; NCT03996369; NCT02536404; NCT03950232; NCT04176588; NCT04173273; NCT04682639; NCT04556734; NCT04162769
Development and Validation of a Sexual Quality of Life Score for Youths With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Mancheron Alexandre , Dumas Agnès , Nion Larmurier Isabelle , Landman Cecilia , Peyrin Biroulet Laurent , Caron Bénédicte , Baudry Clotilde , Allez Matthieu , Serrero Mélanie , Yahioune Dalal , Nancey Stéphane , Roman Céline , Ducleau-Loras Rémi , Coopman Stéphanie , Boizeau Priscilla , Husson Mathilde , Sable Shaya , Tarbet Iona , Devos Corinne , Bourmaud Aurelie , Martinez-Vinson Christine
Published: November 2024

Background and Aims

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is known to impact patients' sexual lives. The aim of this study is to create and validate a sexual quality of life (QoL) designed for youth with IBD.

Methods

This study was conducted in 2 phases: development of the score and validation of the items. A multidisciplinary team created a score called BLOOMI, based on 2 validated scores: the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and the Sexual Function Questionnaire 28 (SFQ28). It was validated through a French multicentric cross-sectional study among patients aged 15-25 years with IBD by comparison with IIEF and SFQ28 gold standard scores.

Results

BLOOMI is a sexual QoL designed with 10 items and formatted as a disk. The score was validated through the participation of 104 patients with a median age of 23.2 years. BLOOMI was well correlated with both gold standards and had a strong internal consistency. In total, 19.1% of IIEF-responders have erectile dysfunction and median scores for the SFQ domains Desire, Arousal sensation and cognition, and orgasm are below the threshold for the absence of sexual dysfunction. Fatigue, abdominal pain, body image concerns, or fear of anal leakages are correlated to a poorer sexual QoL.

Conclusions

The BLOOMI score is a newly validated score to assess the sexual QoL in 15-25 years with IBD. This tool may improve the screening for sexual challenges encountered by youths with IBD and may support future research into the impact of IBD on young patients’ lives.
Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and clinical outcomes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and diabetes: A population-based cohort study
Authors: Jung Mi-Hyang , Cho Jung Sun , Lee So-Young , Youn Jong-Chan , Choi Young , Chung Woo-Baek , Lee Jungkuk , Kang Dongwoo , Kwon Woojin , Kim Tae-Seok , Ihm Sang-Hyun , Jung Hae Ok
Published: November 2024

Aims

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is associated with a significant risk of arrhythmia and heart failure (HF), yet treatment options for patients with HCM have remained limited. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) use and clinical outcomes among patients with concurrent HCM and diabetes in real-world settings.

Methods and results

Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, we identified patients with a confirmed diagnosis of HCM and prescriptions for antidiabetic drugs from 2018 to 2022. After propensity matching, we compared 2063 patients who received SGLT2i with 2063 patients who did not for clinical outcomes. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause death and HF hospitalization. Secondary outcomes included individual outcomes of all-cause death, HF hospitalization, sudden cardiac death, and ischaemic stroke. During a median follow-up period of 3.1 years, patients with HCM on SGLT2i had a significantly lower risk of the primary outcome [hazard ratio (HR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.67–0.86]. Specifically, SGLT2i use was associated with reduced all-cause mortality (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.46–0.68) and fewer HF hospitalizations (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.72–0.94). Additionally, SGLT2i use was linked to a decreased risk of sudden cardiac death (HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.33–0.77) and ischaemic stroke (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.62–0.88). Subgroup analyses by age, sex, and atrial fibrillation did not reveal any significant interactions.

Conclusion

The use of SGLT2i was associated with a decreased risk of adverse clinical outcomes among patients with HCM with concurrent diabetes on antidiabetic drugs.

Lay Summary

This population-based cohort study examined the association between sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and clinical outcomes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and diabetes. Patients with HCM and diabetes who used SGLT2i had a significantly lower risk of all-cause death and heart failure hospitalization compared with those who did not use SGLT2i.These associations were consistent across various subgroups, including sex, age, atrial fibrillation, and income levels.
Correlated evolution of categorical characters under a simple model
Authors: Grundler Michael C
Published: November 2024

I describe a simple model for quantifying the strength of association between two categorical characters evolving on a phylogenetic tree. The model can be used to estimate a correlation statistic that asks whether or not the two characters tend to change at the same time (positive correlation) or at different times (no correlation). This is different than asking if changes in one character are associated with a particular state in another character, which has been the focus of most prior tests for phylogenetic correlation in categorical characters. Analyses of simulated data indicate that positive correlations can be accurately estimated over a range of different tree sizes and phylogenetic signals.
Global genotype by environment prediction competition reveals that diverse modeling strategies can deliver satisfactory maize yield estimates
Authors: Washburn Jacob D , Varela José Ignacio , Xavier Alencar , Chen Qiuyue , Ertl David , Gage Joseph L , Holland James B , Lima Dayane Cristina , Romay Maria Cinta , Lopez-Cruz Marco , de los Campos Gustavo , Barber Wesley , Zimmer Cristiano , Trucillo Silva Ignacio , Rocha Fabiani , Rincent Renaud , Ali Baber , Hu Haixiao , Runcie Daniel E , Gusev Kirill , Slabodkin Andrei , Bax Phillip , Aubert Julie , Gangloff Hugo , Mary-Huard Tristan , Vanrenterghem Theodore , Quesada-Traver Carles , Yates Steven , Ariza-Suárez Daniel , Ulrich Argeo , Wyler Michele , Kick Daniel R , Bellis Emily S , Causey Jason L , Soriano Chavez Emilio , Wang Yixing , Piyush Ved , Fernando Gayara D , Hu Robert K , Kumar Rachit , Timon Annan J , Venkatesh Rasika , Segura Abá Kenia , Chen Huan , Ranaweera Thilanka , Shiu Shin-Han , Wang Peiran , Gordon Max J , Amos B Kirtley , Busato Sebastiano , Perondi Daniel , Gogna Abhishek , Psaroudakis Dennis , Chen Chun-Peng James , Al-Mamun Hawlader A , Danilevicz Monica F , Upadhyaya Shriprabha R , Edwards David , de Leon Natalia
Published: November 2024

Predicting phenotypes from a combination of genetic and environmental factors is a grand challenge of modern biology. Slight improvements in this area have the potential to save lives, improve food and fuel security, permit better care of the planet, and create other positive outcomes. In 2022 and 2023, the first open-to-the-public Genomes to Fields initiative Genotype by Environment prediction competition was held using a large dataset including genomic variation, phenotype and weather measurements, and field management notes gathered by the project over 9 years. The competition attracted registrants from around the world with representation from academic, government, industry, and nonprofit institutions as well as unaffiliated. These participants came from diverse disciplines, including plant science, animal science, breeding, statistics, computational biology, and others. Some participants had no formal genetics or plant-related training, and some were just beginning their graduate education. The teams applied varied methods and strategies, providing a wealth of modeling knowledge based on a common dataset. The winner's strategy involved 2 models combining machine learning and traditional breeding tools: 1 model emphasized environment using features extracted by random forest, ridge regression, and least squares, and 1 focused on genetics. Other high-performing teams’ methods included quantitative genetics, machine learning/deep learning, mechanistic models, and model ensembles. The dataset factors used, such as genetics, weather, and management data, were also diverse, demonstrating that no single model or strategy is far superior to all others within the context of this competition.
Inflammatory Indices and Their Associations With Postoperative Delirium
Authors: Mintz Gabrielle E , Marcantonio Edward R , Walston Jeremy D , Dillon Simon T , Jung Yoojin , Trivedi Shrunjal , Gu Xuesong , Fong Tamara G , Cavallari Michele , Touroutoglou Alexandra , Dickerson Bradford C , Jones Richard N , Shafi Mouhsin M , Pascual-Leone Alvaro , Travison Thomas G , Inouye Sharon K , Libermann Towia A , Ngo Long H , Vasunilashorn Sarinnapha M
Published: November 2024

Background

Although the pathogenesis of delirium is poorly understood, increasing evidence supports a role for inflammation. Previously, individual inflammatory biomarkers have been associated with delirium. Aggregating biomarkers into an index may provide more information than individual biomarkers in predicting certain health outcomes (eg, mortality); however, inflammatory indices have not yet been examined in delirium.

Methods

Four inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, soluble tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor-1, and chitinase-3 like protein-1, were measured preoperatively and on postoperative day 2 in 548 adults aged 70+ undergoing major noncardiac surgery (mean age 76.7 [standard deviation 5.2], 58% female, 24% delirium). From these markers, 4 inflammatory indices were considered: (i) quartile summary score, (ii) weighted summary score, (iii) principal component score, and (iv) a well-established inflammatory (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator-derived) index associated with mortality. Delirium was assessed using the Confusion Assessment Method, supplemented by chart review. Generalized linear models with a log-link term were used to determine the association between each inflammatory index and delirium incidence.

Results

Among the inflammatory indices, the weighted summary score demonstrated the strongest association with delirium: participants in the weighted summary score quartile (Q)4 had a higher risk of delirium versus participants in Q1, after clinical variable adjustment (relative risk, 95% confidence interval for preoperatively: 3.07, 1.80–5.22; and postoperative day 2: 2.65, 1.63–4.30). The weighted summary score was more strongly associated with delirium than the strongest associated individual inflammatory marker (preoperatively chitinase-3 like protein-1 [relative risk 2.45, 95% confidence interval 1.53–3.92]; postoperative day 2 interleukin-6 [relative risk 2.39, 95% confidence interval 1.50–3.82]).

Conclusions

A multi-protein inflammatory index using a weighted summary score provides a slight advantage over individual inflammatory markers in their association with delirium.
Adaptive output regulation for a one-dimensional wave system with variable coefficients subject to unknown biased harmonic disturbances
Authors: Peng Ning , Liu Jun-Jun
Published: November 2024

In this work, we consider the output tracking problem of a hybrid wave-ODE system subject to unknown external disturbances in all possible channels. Both the disturbances and the reference signal are of unknown harmonic type. The performance output is noncollocated with the control input. We first construct an undisturbed auxiliary system and a proper internal model dynamic to restructure the tracking error. Then, we propose an error-based feedback controller to achieve output tracking by utilizing an invertible transform and an adaptive frequency estimation method. The well-posedness and stability of the closed-loop system is established by exploiting the principles of semigroup theory. Finally, these theoretical results are illustrated with numerical simulations.
U.S. NAMRU SOUTH's Insights and Contributions to Diagnostics in the Context of Malaria Elimination
Authors: Tapia L Lorena , Salas Carola J , Sanchez Juan F , Pannebaker Danielle L , Valdivia Hugo O
Published: November 2024

Timely and accurate diagnosis is a critical aspect of malaria surveillance, treatment, and intervention campaigns. Currently, field malaria diagnostics rely almost primarily on light microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests. However, both methods miss a significant proportion of asymptomatic patients and perform poorly in low transmission settings. In this review, we present tools that have been used by U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) SOUTH and its collaborators during the last 40 years for various aspects of malaria research, including clinical trials, outbreak response, and epidemiologic surveillance in South and Central America. Overall, the current and future toolbox for malaria diagnostics needs to be carefully evaluated and tailored to the malaria transmission dynamics in each focus to maximize its effectiveness and achieve the goal of malaria elimination.