bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Upper gastrointestinal tumors during pregnancy: diagnosis, risk factors and treatment options – A literature review
Authors: Plum Patrick S. , Nowotny Robert , Thieme René , Kreuser Nicole , Gockel Ines
Published: February 2025

Background: Malignant (and benign) tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract are very rare in pregnancy and can be difficult to diagnose because their symptoms are often misinterpreted as “typical” symptoms of pregnant women like vomiting, nausea, and reflux. Alterations of the female hormones may affect central aspects, such as modulation of immune response and prognosis.
Summary: Prolonged “pregnancy-associated” symptoms need further diagnostics in all cases. Once diagnosed, treatment of upper gastrointestinal tumors during pregnancy is based on multimodal treatment approaches depending on the gestational age of the pregnancy and the stage of the tumor and may include chemotherapy and radical surgical resection.
Key Message: Only little data exists analyzing the treatment modalities of upper gastrointestinal tumors during pregnancy. Nevertheless, this data demonstrates that curative therapeutic options and guideline-related oncologic concepts can safely be performed in pregnant women. In particular, radical oncologic surgical resection is practicable in different stages of pregnancy and should not be delayed. In any case, decisions in regard to therapy have to be made by a group of specialists taking into account the specific circumstances of the individual patient especially gestational age and tumor stage.
Operational landscapes as culture generators: the case of Barros de Beja
Authors: Carrasco Miguel Angel Palacios
Published: February 2025

Historically, the countryside has been seen as having a subordinate role to the development of cities. Its place in the understanding of the processes that shape the spatial and social organization of society has often been neglected. But if the countryside is thought of not only as a support to the city, but as a territory with autonomous characteristics, it acquires a radical potential for the transformation of urban development. Starting from this question the research aims to explore the confrontation between ancient and contemporary organization of the hinterlands territory, and examines it as an opportunity to establish alternative development processes. This investigation finds its specificity in the low fields of Alentejo, a region in the south of Portugal that can be understood as a mutating territory, where a wide range of traces of its historical landscape are dispersed within a highly operationalized agro landscape. The proposed research advocates for the view of the countryside as a cultural generator, and sees this characteristic as having the potential to mediate between infrastructural transformations and human settlements.
Misérias de um rei deposto: O ennui na apologética pascaliana
Authors: Oliveira Camila Lima de
Published: February 2025

Pascal compara a condição humana à situação de um “rei deposto” (un roi dépossédé), um soberano que perdeu seu reino, do qual carrega apenas a reminiscência que revela a dualidade de sua natureza, simultaneamente grande e miserável. Nesse estado paradoxal, em que grandeza e miséria se entrelaçam, a reminiscência de um passado satisfatório e perfeito colide com imperfeições e frustrações do presente, colocando o ser humano em um dilema: a incapacidade de não desejar a verdade e a felicidade e a impossibilidade de alcançar ambas as coisas.
Labor e libido: Processos imperiais de valoração em uma paisagem spinozista
Authors: Farhi Neto Leon
Published: February 2025

Neste artigo, operamos metodologicamente dentro de uma paisagem mental spinozista, isto é, a partir das ideias de Spinoza, mas provocadas por ideias de outros pensadores. Nossa reflexão parte do questionamento da fórmula latina, retomada por Spinoza, segundo a qual os humanos tendem a fugir do labor para se entregar à libido. Nossa intenção é mostrar que essa tendência não é absoluta, mas relativa aos processos de valoração que, a partir do desejo, se estabelecem como experiência coletiva. Para tanto, investigamos os conceitos de império e de libido. E, com base nisso, buscamos compreender a oposição entre vida laboriosa e vida libidinosa, existente nos impérios capitalistas de tipo clássico-comercial e moderno-industrial, e sua surpreendente composição no império capitalista de tipo contemporâneo-neoliberal.
Sane Approach to Optimizing the Workload in Remote Monitoring of Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Devices
Authors: Sane Markus , Jäntti Toni , Marjamaa Annukka , Pennanen Elina , Aura Charlotte , Torvinen Eeva , Karjalainen Leena , Raatikainen Pekka , Karvonen Jarkko
Published: February 2025

BACKGROUND:

Remote monitoring offers an effective and safe method for monitoring patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices. The downside of remote monitoring is the overflow of the data. Since many of the remote monitoring transmissions are nonactionable, optimizing alert transmissions could partly overcome this problem.

METHODS:

We collected data on the number and the causes of all alert-, scheduled-, and patient-initiated transmissions as well as actions initiated by these transmissions in 2023. According to our strategy, all clinically nonrelevant alerts were turned off. The trend of alert transmissions and the proportion of actionable scheduled transmissions are presented. The patient safety was monitored by analyzing the premortem alerts and changes to alert settings in deceased patients, as well as the rate of actionable scheduled or patient-initiated transmissions during follow-up.

RESULTS:

During the study period 8182 transmissions were generated from 3732 cardiovascular implantable electronic devices. Of these, 2306 (28%) were alert transmissions, of which 57% (n=1290) were considered clinically nonrelevant. The rate of alerts decreased by 44% from January to December (0.07 versus 0.04 per device per month,
P
=0.001). Of the 3335 scheduled transmissions, 11% (364) were actionable, and the proportion of actionable scheduled transmissions remained unchanged during the follow-up period (
P
=0.08). Notably, none of the deaths were linked to the adjustment of alert settings.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our data indicated that active evaluation of the clinical relevance of all alert transmissions and deactivation of clinically nonrelevant alerts reduce the remote monitoring workload. However, long-term follow-up is needed to ensure that patient safety is not compromised.
Analysis of Functional Connectivity Changes from Childhood to Old Age: A Study Using HCP-D, HCP-YA, and HCP-A Datasets
Authors: Wang Yaotian , Li Shuoran , He Jie , Peng Lingyi , Wang Qiaochu , Zou Xu , Tudorascu Dana L. , Schaeffer David J. , Schaeffer Lauren , Szczupak Diego , Park Jung Eun , Sukoff Rizzo Stacey J. , Carter Gregory W. , Silva Afonso C. , Zhang Tingting
Published: February 2025

We present a new clustering-enabled regression approach to investigate how functional connectivity (FC) of the entire brain changes from childhood to old age. By applying this method to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data aggregated from three Human Connectome Project studies, we cluster brain regions that undergo identical age-related changes in FC and reveal diverse patterns of these changes for different region clusters. While most brain connections between pairs of regions show minimal yet statistically significant FC changes with age, only a tiny proportion of connections exhibit practically significant age-related changes in FC. Among these connections, FC between region clusters from the same functional network tends to decrease over time, whereas FC between region clusters from different networks demonstrates various patterns of age-related changes. Moreover, our research uncovers sex-specific trends in FC changes. Females show much higher FC mainly within the default mode network, whereas males display higher FC across several more brain networks. These findings underscore the complexity and heterogeneity of FC changes in the brain throughout the lifespan.
Dual-Branch Super-Resolution (DBSR): Lightweight DBSR Network for Enhancing Remote Sensing Images
Authors: Tang Tianjun , Ren Yuheng , Feng Shuwan
Published: February 2025

Recent advances in deep learning-based super-resolution (SR) techniques for remote sensing images (RSIs) have shown significant promise. However, these performance improvements often come at a high computational cost, which limits their practical application. To address this issue, this paper proposes a dual-branch SR model (DBSR) that enhances both model performance and efficiency through primary and auxiliary branches. The primary branch integrates the advantages of channel recalibration, a separable swin transformer (SST), and a spatial refinement module to achieve fine-grained feature extraction. The SST serves as the core of the primary branch, employing hierarchical window attention calculations to facilitate lightweight and effective multiscale feature representation. Conversely, the auxiliary branch enhances shallow features through a global information enhancement module, which mitigates the misleading effects of directly upsampling these shallow features on the SR results. Comparative and ablation experiments conducted on four RSI datasets and five SR benchmark datasets demonstrate that our DBSR method effectively balances the number of parameters with performance, showcasing its potential for application in RSI processing.
Preparation of porous flower-like graded structure Co3O4/g-C3N4 and its ethanol gas-sensitive properties
Authors: Li Xiaodong
Published: February 2025

The porous flower-like structure of Co3O4 and Co3O4/g-C3N4 composites derived from the cobalt-based metal organic framework (MOF) were prepared by one-step hydrothermal method and high temperature calcination, and the gas sensitivity of the synthesized samples to ethanol gas was tested. The structure and morphology of the synthesized samples were characterized via X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N2 adsorption-desorption. The gas-sensitive properties of the synthesized samples for ethanol gas were tested. It was demonstrated that the response of Co3O4/g-C3N4 to 100 ppm ethanol at 220°C was 36.33, which was 1.5 times higher than that of pure Co3O4. In addition, this gas sensor exhibited excellent selectivity, good repeatability, and long-term stability for ethanol. The gas-sensitive properties of the Co3O4/g-C3N4 graded structure towards ethanol were attributed to the unique porous graded structure of the material, the large specific surface area and the p-n heterojunction. This method provided a new idea for the porous flower-like hierarchical structure of metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) derived from MOFs.
Seismic analysis of a 20-story building with single and multi-tuned mass dampers including SSI effects
Authors: Liu Shutong , Li Haochen , Yang Jingchao , Li Peizhen , Yang Shutong
Published: February 2025

Tuned mass damper (TMD) has been widely used as a common vibration reduction device to provide effective protection for structures. Soil–structure interaction (SSI) effects are significant for accurately assessing seismic responses of structure and TMD performance. In the present research, the effectiveness of TMD is comprehensively investigated by simulating the seismic responses of a 20-story structure equipped with TMD with different features including SSI effects. This paper establishes a reliable numerical model that incorporates SSI effects, and the viscoelastic boundary is utilized to simulate the soil condition and impose seismic action. By comparison with the results of the theory and shake program, the rationality of the model is verified. The mitigating effects of TMDs with different frequencies, mass and damping ratios are investigated under rigid foundation and soil condition, and the effectiveness of multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMDs) using two different approaches is compared. The results show that the TMD tuned to SSI system provides better applicability and performance. Whether considering SSI effects or not, increases its mass can amplify its mitigation effects, but may amplify its negative effects at lower floors. The MTMDs installed at top floor of the structure can perform better than that equally distributed at different floors in SSI system. This paper provides some valuable reference for the seismic analysis of soil-structure-TMD system in practical engineering.
A qualitative exploration of the perceived barriers and enablers of providing mental health care in rural Australian general practice
Authors: Fuss Belinda , Shelby-James Tania , Lawn Sharon , Worley Paul , Manger Sam , Phegan Caroline , Rattray Megan
Published: February 2025

Objectives: General practice plays an important role in delivering and supporting mental health care within communities, particularly for those living in rural areas where access to specialised support is limited. This study sought to understand the barriers and facilitators to providing mental health care in rural Australian general practices. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was undertaken involving online interviews with 14 staff at three rural Australian general practices between June and September 2023. Participants included nurses ( n = 4), GPs, ( n = 4), reception staff ( n = 3) and practice managers ( n = 3). Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Our analysis identified three themes: (i) systemic challenges and supportive infrastructure; (ii) health care personnel factors; and (iii) patient characteristics and preferences. Systemic challenges included limited access to services and specialist support, and challenges with information transmission, while the clinic location and set-up were seen as beneficial. Health care personnel factors included interpersonal needs and challenges, time constraints and how to balance care needs, and the difficulties of attracting and retaining a local workforce. Patient characteristics and preferences included societal stigma and individual hesitancy, lack of awareness, understanding and education around mental health and willingness and affordability of travel and using technology. Conclusions: Rural general practice in Australia faces a range of barriers and enablers that shape the provision of mental health care. To address these challenges, collaboration across various sectors will be required. Improving infrastructure, better resource allocation, addressing workforce shortages, reducing stigma, enhancing mental health literacy, and ensuring the accessibility of mental health care services are all crucial steps. It will be important to align policy goals across sectors to improve the delivery of mental health care in rural general practice in Australia.
Enhancing Mental Skills for Freelance Dance Artists: A Qualitative Study Protocol
Authors: Schachtler Dwarika Michelle , Quinton Mary , Nordin-Bates Sanna , Cumming Jennifer
Published: February 2025

Freelance dance artists face a range of challenges that might negatively impact their mental well-being. To address these issues, research indicates that mental skills training (MST) could be beneficial for freelance dance artists, but no recognised manualised programme currently exists for this group. Prior to developing a MST programme, more knowledge is required on freelance artists’ use of mental skills. This protocol outlines a qualitative interview study to investigate: a) what mental techniques, skills and qualities freelance dance artists perceive to be beneficial in negotiating challenges and enhancing their wellbeing; b) gain insight into mechanisms underpinning the process of MST; and c) determine crucial characteristics (e.g., duration, teaching techniques) essential to a feasible and meaningful MST programme for freelance dance artists. Embedded in a person-based approach (PBA) to intervention development and underpinned by a pragmatic stance, the study will employ snowball sampling to recruit 8 freelance dance artists and 8 psychologically informed practitioners for semi-structured interviews. Data will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication in a scientific journal.
What Determines the Socio-economic Vulnerability of Women in the Informal Sector? Insights from a Case Study of Vendors in Nagaland, India
Authors: Odyuo Mhadeno , Thangkhiew Darishisha War
Published: February 2025

Informal sector is a dominant sector in many developing economies. Although both genders face challenges in the informal sector, it can have differing impacts on the sexes. Women in the informal sector are subjected to instability of employment and income which exacerbates their socio-economic vulnerability. Additionally, adverse conditions emanating from personal and household circumstances can inflict further damage. As such, study of socio-economic vulnerabilities of women in the informal sector warrants further examination. The overall goal of this study is to examine the determinants of socio-economic vulnerabilities among female vendors in Nagaland, India. The study also intends to bring to light, the multi-dimensional nature of vulnerability. Primary data has been collected from 393 vendors in two districts of Nagaland – Kohima and Dimapur. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are applied to the data analysis. The initial determinants of socio-economic vulnerability are captured by 22 variables chosen after a thorough examination of literature. After which factor analysis and ordinal logistic regression were used for further analysis. The findings of the study indicate that being a migrant and residing in rented accommodations significantly elevate the vulnerability of the women, while being married significantly diminishes it. Also, the impact of vulnerability varies across dimensions. In our study, occupancy attributes have the most pronounced influence on vulnerability, while health attributes contribute the least.
Identifying barriers and facilitators to psychosocial care for people living with HIV in Ireland: a mixed methods study
Authors: Burke Aoife , Davoren Martin P. , Arensman Ella , Harrington Janas
Published: February 2025

Background

The effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy means that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can now be defined as a manageable chronic illness. It is the facilitation of psychosocial care that has increasingly become a priority, as people living with HIV (PLWH) are disproportionately impacted by psychosocial stressors compared to the general population. The aim of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to psychosocial care for PLWH in Ireland.

Methods

A mixed methods study design was used, employing a national survey of PLWH (n = 54) via Qualtrics and semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals that provide clinical support to PLWH across Ireland (n = 11). Content analysis was used to analyse the interviews.

Results

More than half (59.3%) of survey respondents agreed that living with HIV currently impacts their mental health, with nearly two thirds (64.8%) agreeing that they have experienced stigma as a result of living with HIV. Less than half (40.7%) were comfortable disclosing their status to family, and less than a third (27.8%) to friends. Stigma was identified by healthcare professionals as a barrier to psychosocial care, along with a number of system-level barriers, provider-level or practical barriers, and individual barriers. The value of multidisciplinary care teams and reliance on community support was emphasised, and potential for further integration of support services was highlighted.

Conclusion

Community-based organisations contribute significantly to the facilitation of psychosocial support for PLWH in Ireland, and greater integration of community services could promote a more holistic, patient-centred approach to meeting the diverse needs of this growing cohort. PLWH benefit from multidisciplinary care teams, and the facilitation of safe and effective peer support should be encouraged to afford opportunities to disclose and receive social support. HIV-related stigma remains a barrier to psychosocial care, highlighting the need for stigma reduction interventions.
Development of a predictive nomogram based on preoperative inflammation-nutrition-related markers for prognosis in locally advanced lip squamous cell carcinoma after surgical treatment
Authors: Cheng Hao , Xu Xue-Lian , Zhang Zheng , Xu Jin-Hong , Li Zhuo-Ran , Wang Ya-Nan , Zhang Bo-Dong , Chen Ke , Wang Shou-Yu
Published: February 2025

Background

The prognostic role of preoperative inflammation-nutrition-related markers in locally advanced lip squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess the impact of various preoperative inflammation-nutrition-related markers on the prognosis of patients with locally advanced LSCC undergoing surgical treatment and to establish a corresponding predictive model.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 169 patients with locally advanced LSCC who underwent surgical treatment. A total of 27 clinicopathological variables, including inflammation-nutrition-related markers, were collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). The nomogram models were validated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Risk stratification was performed based on the nomogram scores, and differences between risk subgroups were explored.

Results

The extranodal extension (ENE), surgical safety margin, Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), Controlling Nutrition score (CONUT), American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, and adjuvant radiotherapy were independent prognostic factors for DFS. In contrast, ENE, surgical safety margin, GNRI, CONUT, AJCC stage, and adjuvant radiotherapy were also independent prognostic factors for OS. The nomograms demonstrated better predictive performance than the AJCC staging system. Based on the nomogram model, patients were stratified into low-, medium-, and high-risk subgroups, which exhibited significant differences in survival outcomes.

Conclusion

GPS, GNRI, and CONUT are independent factors affecting the prognosis of patients with locally advanced LSCC undergoing radical surgery. By combining GPS, GNRI, and COUNT with other independent clinicopathological prognostic factors, a reliable nomogram model can be established to accurately predict patients' DFS and OS. This provides a powerful tool for individualized prognostic assessment, optimized risk stratification, and treatment decision-making.
Work restrictions among healthcare providers in a northern Italian public academic hospital: an observational study
Authors: Pazzaglia Silvia , Bruno Martina , Gambazza Simone , Binda Filippo , Bisesti Alberto , Calegari Jessica Graziella , Laquintana Dario
Published: February 2025

Background

Reduced work capacity in public hospitals has organizational repercussions, given the aging population, the shortage of healthcare workers, and the greater demand for healthcare services. In this study, we analysed the characteristics of staff assessed as "fit with restrictions" at a public academic hospital in northern Italy. We also aimed to identify individual and work-related variables that may be associated with the probability and timing of being “fit with restrictions”.

Methods

In this single-center observational study, sociodemographic data from staff employed in the Department of Healthcare Professions at our institution were analyzed using logistic regression to assess any associations between staff characteristics and the probability of being "fit with restrictions". Additionally, a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was fitted to investigate the potential association between staff characteristics and the timing of their first assessment as "fit with restrictions".

Results

The study population was 2251 employees of which 18.4% (415/2251) were "fit with restrictions"; 56.1% (233/415) of nursing staff had at least one restriction, whereas 72.3% (300/415) of staff with restrictions had a permanent restriction. Sex was not associated with the probability of being "fit with restrictions" (odds ratio [OR] 0.75, 95%CI: 0.55 to 1.03). However, the probability was 22.9% lower (95%CI: 14.1% to 31.8%) for rehabilitation and technical healthcare staff compared to that of nurses and midwives. The Cox model showed an increase in the hazards of being "fit with restrictions" by a factor of 1.30 (95%CI: 1.02–1.68) for females.

Conclusions

A significant proportion of nursing staff face mobility and posture restrictions, with older hires and greater seniority associated with higher probabilities of restrictions. These findings underscore the importance of addressing aging and workplace conditions in the public healthcare sector, particularly considering differences across job profiles and sex.
Proceedings from the CIHLMU International Health Symposium 2023: “One Health Approach to Neglected Tropical Diseases”
Authors: Hayibor Kenneth Mawuta , Pamba Doreen Ibrahim , Banze Denise Floripes Tinga , Mfinanga Alfred Arnold , Hanago Getu Ataro , Singh Ankita , Froeschl Guenter , Hoffaeller Lisa , Scholze Sarah
Published: February 2025

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of 20 conditions that affect impoverished communities and disproportionately impact women and children in tropical areas. The symposium aimed to raise awareness of NTDs and explore the One Health approach as well as actions needed to successfully combat NTDs. It featured four presentations and two panel discussions. The presentations covered topics such as the “Burden of NTDs in Low-and middle-income countries”, “Challenges in the prevention and control of NTDs: Schistosomiasis”, “One health action needed to address NTDs: the case of Neurocysticercosis”, and “The success of one health intervention in the fight against Trachoma in Kenya”. All presenters emphasized the crucial role of the One Health integrated approach in effectively and sustainably preventing NTDs.
Injectable platelet-mimicking silk protein-peptide conjugate microspheres for hemostasis modulation and targeted treatment of internal bleeding
Authors: Shuai Yajun , Qian Yu , Zheng Meidan , Yan Chi , Wang Jue , Wang Peng , Wang Jie , Mao Chuanbin , Yang Mingying
Published: February 2025

Uncontrolled deep bleeding, commonly encountered in surgical procedures, combat injuries, and trauma, poses a significant threat to patient survival and recovery. The development of effective hemostatic agents capable of precisely targeting trauma sites in deep tissues and rapidly halt bleeding remains a considerable challenge. Drawing inspiration from the natural hemostatic cascade, we present platelet-like microspheres composed of silk fibroin (SF) and thrombus-targeting peptides, engineered to mimic natural platelets for rapid hemostasis in vivo. These peptide/SF hemostatic microspheres, formulated using a freezing self-assembly technology, closely resemble natural platelets in terms of size, shape, and zeta potential. Moreover, they exhibit favorable cytocompatibility, hemocompatibility, and anti-cell adhesion. Assessment of fibrin polymerization revealed that these hemostatic microspheres possessed enzymatic physiological functions, similar to activated platelets, facilitating platelet adhesion, fibrin binding, and wound-triggered hemostasis. Notably, these hemostatic microspheres rapidly target the bleeding site in vivo within 5 min, with minimal dispersion elsewhere, persisting after blood clot formation. Furthermore, these microspheres exhibit favorable metabolic kinetics, with 71% degradation occurring within one-day post-subcutaneous injection. Histological assessment revealed well-preserved organ structures and minimal inflammatory responses at 14 d post-injection, supporting their long-term biocompatibility. Importantly, they can be injected and targeted into damaged blood vessels, selectively binding to fibrin and forming blood clots within 2 min, resulting in a 74% reduction in bleeding volume compared to SF microspheres alone. Therefore, these injectable SF-based hemostatic microspheres emerge as promising candidates for future rapid hemostasis in tissue injuries.

Graphical Abstract
Proficiency in motor imagery is linked to the lateralization of focused ERD patterns and beta PDC
Authors: Angulo-Sherman Irma Nayeli , León-Domínguez Umberto , Martinez-Torteya Antonio , Fragoso-González Gilberto Andrés , Martínez-Pérez Mayté Verónica
Published: February 2025

Background

Motor imagery based brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCIs) are systems that detect the mental rehearsal of movement from brain activity signals (EEG) for controlling devices that can potentiate motor neurorehabilitation. Considering the problem that MI proficiency requires training and it is not always achieved, EEG desirable features should be investigated to propose indicators of successful MI training.

Methods

Nine healthy right-handed subjects trained with a MI-BCI for four sessions. In each session, EEG was recorded for 30 trials that consisted of a rest and a dominant-hand MI sequence, which were used for calibrating the system. Then, the subject participated in 160 trials in which a cursor was displaced on a screen by performing MI or relaxing to hit a target. The session’s accuracy was calculated. For each trial from the calibration phase of the first session, the power spectral density (PSD) and the partial directed coherence (PDC) of the rest and MI EEG segments were obtained to estimate the event-related synchronization changes (ERS) and the connectivity patterns of the

$$\theta$$

θ

,

$$\alpha$$

α

,

$$\beta$$

β

and

$$\gamma$$

γ

bands that are associated with high BCI control (accuracy above 70% in at least one session). Finally, t-tests and rank-sum tests (

$$p<0.05$$

p
<
0.05

, with Benjamini-Hochberg correction) were used to compare the ERS/ERD and PDC values of subjects with high and low accuracy, respectively.

Results

Proficient users showed greater

$$\alpha$$

α

ERD on the right-hand motor cortex (left hemisphere). Furthermore, the

$$\beta$$

β

PDC related to the ipsilateral motor cortex is commonly weakened during motor imagery, while the contralateral motor cortex

$$\gamma$$

γ

PDC is enhanced.

Conclusions

Motor imagery proficiency is related to the focused and lateralized event-related

$$\alpha$$

α

desynchronization patterns and the lateralization of

$$\beta$$

β

and

$$\gamma$$

γ

PDC. Future analysis of these features could allow complimenting the information for assessment of subject-specific BCI control and the prediction of the effectiveness of motor-imagery training.
Two-fold red excess (TREx): a simple and novel digital color index that enables non-invasive real-time monitoring of green-leaved as well as anthocyanin-rich crops
Authors: Agarwal Avinash , Colwell Filipe de Jesus , Galvis Viviana Andrea Correa , Hill Tom R. , Boonham Neil , Prashar Ankush
Published: February 2025

Background

Digital color indices provide a reliable means for assessing plant status by enabling real-time estimation of chlorophyll (Chl) content, and are thus adopted widely for crop monitoring. However, as all prevalent leaf color indices used for this purpose have been developed using green-leaved plants, they do not perform reliably for anthocyanin (Anth)-rich red-leaved varieties. Hence, the present study investigates digital color indices for six types of leafy vegetables with different levels of Anth to identify congruent trends that could be implemented universally for non-invasive crop monitoring irrespective of species and leaf Anth content. For this, datasets from three digital color spaces, viz., RGB (Red, Green, Blue), HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value), and L*a*b* (Lightness, Redness-greenness, Yellowness-blueness), as well as various derived plant color indices were compared with Anth/Chl ratio and SPAD Chl meter readings of n = 320 leaf samples.

Results

Logarithmic decline of G/R, G-minus-R, and Augmented Green-Red Index (AGRI) with increasing Anth/Chl ratio (R

2
 > 0.8) revealed that relative Anth content affected digital color profile markedly by shifting the greenness-redness balance until the Anth/Chl ratio reached a certain threshold. Further, while most digital color features and indices presented abrupt shifts between Anth-rich and green-leaved samples, the proposed color index Two-fold Red Excess (TREx) did not exhibit any deviation due to leaf Anth content and showed better correlation with SPAD readings (R

2
 = 0.855) than all other color features and vegetation indices.

Conclusion

The present study provides the first in-depth assessment of variations in RGB-based digital color indices due to high leaf Anth contents, and uses the data for Anth-rich as well as green-leaved crops belonging to different species to formulate a universal digital color index TREx that can be used as a reliable alternative to handheld Chl meters for rapid high-throughput monitoring of green-leaved as well as red-leaved crops.
Production of HSVd- and PPV-free apricot cultivars by in vitro thermotherapy followed by meristem culture
Authors: Pérez-Caselles C. , Burgos L. , Yelo E. , Faize L. , Alburquerque N.
Published: February 2025

Background

The production of virus-free apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.) is essential for controlling viral diseases, exchanging breeding materials without the risk of spreading new diseases, and preserving plant germplasm. Plum pox virus (PPV) is the most devastating disease of the Prunus genus and Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) is prevalent in most apricot-growing regions. It was evaluated whether thermotherapy, etiolation, or a combination of both followed by meristem culture could effectively eliminate PPV and HSVd from ‘Canino’ and ‘Mirlo Rojo’ apricot cultivars in vitro.

Results

In the thermotherapy treatments, shoots were exposed to 38ºC and 32ºC, alternating every four hours, for 30, 35, 40, and 45 days. Before this, shoots were acclimated to heat for one day at 28ºC and two days at 30ºC. Etiolation experiments consisted of eight weeks of culture in dark conditions. A combination of 45 days of thermotherapy, as described previously, and etiolation was also performed. At the end of each treatment, 1.5 mm meristems were cultured, and developed as potential independent pathogen-free lines. The presence or absence of pathogens was analysed by RT-PCR. The 45 days of thermotherapy and the combined thermotherapy and etiolation treatments resulted in the highest percentages of PPV-free plants (66.7 and 75.0%, respectively). At least 40 days of thermotherapy were required to obtain HSVd-free plants, although the best efficiency was achieved at 45 days (22.7%).

Conclusions

In this study, we have developed an effective in vitro thermotherapy protocol that eliminates PPV and HSVd from apricot cultivars. This is the first report where a thermotherapy protocol eliminates HSVd in Prunus species.
Impact of enzyme replacement therapy and migalastat on disease progression in females with fabry disease
Authors: Lenders Malte , Nowak Albina , Cybulla Markus , Kaufeld Jessica , Köhn Anja Friederike , Muschol Nicole Maria , Kurschat Christine , Brand Eva
Published: February 2025

Aim

The aim of our multicenter study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and chaperone therapy on the disease progression in female Fabry disease (FD) patients and to compare the individual treatment regimens.

Methods

Data from 3 consecutive visits of 102 female FD patients from 6 Fabry centers were retrospectively analyzed. According to their FD-specific treatment, patients were separated in 5 groups: Newly agalsidase-beta- [n = 18], agalsidase-alfa- [n = 29] and migalastat-[n = 14] treated patients, and long-term agalsidase-beta- [n = 7] and agalsidase-alfa-[n = 34] treated patients. Clinical presentation and laboratory data, including plasma lyso-Gb3 levels were assessed.

Results

Treatment with agalsidase-beta, agalsidase-alfa, and migalastat was safe and severe adverse events were rare. Newly and long-term-treated patients presented a stable disease course over time. None of the patients required hospitalization due to cardiac events. Overall septum thickness remained stable in all groups (p > 0.05). Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) only slightly decreased in patients treated with agalsidase-alfa [newly- and long-term-treated: -1.5 ± 3.2 and − 1.3 ± 3.9 ml/min/1.73 m²/year; p = 0.0056 and p = 0.0187, respectively] but the decrease was in the range of natural eGFR decline. eGFRs in agalsidase-beta and migalastat-treated patients were stable. No clinically relevant differences concerning treatment efficacy between agalasidase-beta, agalsidase-alfa, and migalastat were detected.

Conclusion

We conclude that treatment of females with agalsidase-beta, agalsidase-alfa, and migalastat was safe. Independent of the chosen treatment regimen, nearly all patients presented with a stable disease course over time. In our cohort, a comparison of therapy efficacies showed no relevant clinical differences between the groups.
CDCA3-MYC positive feedback loop promotes bladder cancer progression via ENO1-mediated glycolysis
Authors: Shen Dexin , Yu Xiang , Fan Xuefeng , Liang Yu , Lu Dongmei , Ke Zongpan , Wang Lei , Xiang Ping , Xiao Jun
Published: February 2025

Background

Bladder cancer (BLCA) ranks among the most prevalent malignancies of the urinary system, with its clinical diagnosis predominantly reliant on invasive procedures. Traditional chemotherapy regimens exhibit significant limitations, underscoring the urgency of identifying novel diagnostic biomarkers and strategies to enhance chemotherapy efficacy. CDCA3 has been recognized as a facilitator of BLCA progression, activated by MYBL2. However, its precise regulatory mechanisms in BLCA pathogenesis remain incompletely elucidated.

Methods

To investigate the functional role of CDCA3 in BLCA, MTT and colony formation assays were employed to assess cellular proliferation, while flow cytometry was utilized to evaluate apoptosis and intracellular ROS levels. The expression of CDCA3, ENO1, TRIM28, and MYC was analyzed through WB and qRT-PCR, and Co-IP assays were conducted to delineate interactions among CDCA3, TRIM28, and MYC.

Results

CDCA3, a key regulator of the cell cycle, facilitates BLCA glycolysis by modulating the transcriptional expression of α-Enolase (ENO1), thereby enhancing BLCA progression. Mechanistically, CDCA3 recruits TRIM28, which stabilizes MYC, while MYC transcriptionally upregulates CDCA3, establishing a self-reinforcing CDCA3-MYC feedback loop. A risk prediction model incorporating the expression profiles of CDCA3 and ENO1 was developed to evaluate the overall survival of patients with BLCA. This model provides a prognostic tool to predict survival outcomes in patients with BLCA based on CDCA3 and ENO1 expression levels.

Conclusions

This study delineates a novel role for CDCA3 in the regulation of BLCA glycolysis and identifies its interaction with MYC as a critical positive feedback mechanism, providing fresh insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying BLCA progression.
Critical interventions, diagnosis, and mortality in children treated by a physician-manned mobile emergency care unit
Authors: McKenzie Alexandra Claire , Risom Mads Belger , Møller Jens-Jakob Kjer , Mikkelsen Johan , Skole-Sørensen Sarah Friis , Nielsen Vibe Maria Laden , Clausen Nicola Groes , Mikkelsen Søren
Published: February 2025

Background

The purpose of this study was to clarify the potentially life-saving critical interventions performed on children below the age of seven by the physician-manned mobile emergency care unit (MECU) in Odense, Denmark. We investigated critical interventions in relation to morbidity and mortality.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of all MECU missions involving children below the age of seven. The study period was from October 1 2007 to December 31 2020. Data sources were the MECU Odense database, the Danish National Patient Registry, and the Danish Civil Registration System. Variables were critical interventions, the severity of injury/illness, MECU on-scene time, in-hospital diagnosis and 7-day, 30-day, and 90-day mortality.

Results

The MECU carried out 4,032 missions to children below 7 years. 88 patients (2.2%) received at least one critical prehospital intervention. Upper airway suction was performed in 39 cases (1.0%), endotracheal intubation (all causes) in 36 cases (0.9%), and intraosseous access in 21 cases (0.5%). General anaesthesia was induced in 29 cases (0.7%). Seventeen patients (0.4%) received cardiopulmonary resuscitation and two patients received manual defibrillation (< 0.1%). 3,278 patients were admitted to the hospital and assigned a diagnosis when discharged. The most common diagnoses were assigned within the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision Chapter XVIII (Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified), which includes febrile convulsions. 1,437 patients (43.8%) were assigned diagnoses within this diagnosis group.

The overall 7-day mortality in the cohort was 0.74%, 30-day mortality was 0.82%, and 90-day mortality was 1.02%.

Conclusion

Prehospital critical interventions are rarely performed in children under the age of 7 years. The low frequency of these interventions may have implications for maintaining the clinical routine of the prehospital care providers.
Identification and attribution of weekly periodic biases in global epidemiological time series data
Authors: Gallagher Kit , Creswell Richard , Gavaghan David , Lambert Ben
Published: February 2025

Objective

COVID-19 data exhibit various biases, not least a significant weekly periodic oscillation observed in case and death data from multiple countries. There has been debate over whether this may be attributed to weekly socialising and working patterns, or is due to underlying biases in the reporting process. We investigate these periodic reporting trends in epidemics of COVID-19 and cholera, and discuss the possible origin of these oscillations.

Results

We present a systematic, global characterisation of these weekly biases and identify an equivalent bias in the current Haitian cholera outbreak. By comparing published COVID-19 time series to retrospective datasets from the United Kingdom (UK), we demonstrate that the weekly trends observed in the UK may be fully explained by biases in the testing and reporting processes. These conclusions play an important role in forecasting healthcare demand and determining suitable interventions for future infectious disease outbreaks.
Quantification of measurement uncertainty in ERT data and its effect on the inverted resistivity model
Authors: Li Ang , Parsekian Andrew D. , Grana Dario , Carr Bradley J.
Published: February 2025

Quantification of fluid distribution and flow in the Earths near-surface benefits from precise estimation of electrical properties of fluid-saturated rocks, such as resistivity estimated from inversion of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. The predicted resistivity values are often uncertain due to two main types of uncertainties: epistemic uncertainty in the inversion process (e.g., inaccuracy in the physical models) and aleatoric uncertainty in the data (e.g., measurement errors). This work focuses on the quantification of aleatoric variability in the ERT measurements and its effect on the inverted resistivity models. We first investigate how measurement uncertainty, in the form of reciprocal error, correlates with the measured electrical contact resistance of electrodes with ground. Next, we apply a statistical approach based on the stochastic perturbation and inversion of multiple realizations of resistance data to study the uncertainty in the predicted resistivity tomograms. We then study the effect of data uncertainty on the inverted resistivity model for individual data sets. We finally quantify the effect of variation in data quality over time on the inverted time-lapse resistivity results. The results from 20 campaigns and two time-lapse ERT data sets show that reciprocal error is positively correlated with both contact resistance and grounds apparent resistivity, confirming the significance of practicing lowering electrode contact resistance during ERT field campaigns. Additionally, our results show that uncertainty in the estimated resistivity model depends on both the grounds resistivity and measurement error of the input data. The time-lapse results provide additional insight that model uncertainty is the highest at the driest and coldest months of the year, corresponding to the highest measured contact resistance and reciprocal error.
Radiomics and Deep Learning Prediction of Immunotherapy-Induced Pneumonitis From Computed Tomography
Authors: Smith David S. , Lippenszky Levente , LeNoue-Newton Michele L. , Jain Neha M. , Mittendorf Kathleen F. , Micheel Christine M. , Cella Patrick A. , Wolber Jan , Osterman Travis J.
Published: February 2025

PURPOSE

Primary barriers to application of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for cancer include severe side effects (such as potentially life threatening pneumonitis [PN]), which can cause the discontinuation of treatment. Predicting which patients may develop PN while on ICI would improve both safety and potential efficacy because treatments could be safely administered for longer or discontinued before severe toxicity.

METHODS

Starting from a cohort of 3,351 patients with cancer who received previous ICI therapy at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, we curated 2,700 contrast chest computed tomography (CT) volumes for 671 patients. Three different pure imaging models predicted the potential for PN using only a single time point before the first ICI dose.

RESULTS

The first model used 109 radiomics features only and achieved an AUC of 0.747 (CI, 0.705 to 0.789) with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.244 (CI, 0.211 to 0.276) at a sensitivity of 0.553 (CI, 0.485 to 0.621) using mainly features describing the global lung properties. The second model used a convolutional neural network (CNN) on the raw CTs to improve to an AUC of 0.819 (CI, 0.781 to 0.857) with a PPV of 0.244 (CI, 0.203 to 0.284) at a sensitivity of 0.743 (CI, 0.681 to 0.806). The third model combined both radiomics and deep learning but, with an AUC of 0.829 (CI, 0.797 to 0.862) and a PPV of 0.254 (CI, 0.228 to 0.281) at a sensitivity of 0.780 (CI, 0.721 to 0.840), did not show a significant improvement on the CNN-only model.

CONCLUSION

This new model suggests the utility of deep learning in PN prediction over traditional pure radiomics and promises better management for patients receiving ICI and the ability to better stratify patients in immunotherapy drug trials.
Indigenous Allies and the Conquest of Maranhão
Authors: Farnsworth Cacey Bowen
Published: February 2025

Indigenous allies have received considerable scholarly attention over the last decade or so with the development of “New Conquest” historiography. However, these studies remain overwhelmingly focused on Mesoamerica and to some degree Peru with their large sedentary populations. The overarching goal of this article is to expand upon “New Conquest” historiography through an examination of semisedentary Indigenous participation in the conquest of an understudied area during an understudied period—the Brazilian region of Maranhão during the first two decades of the seventeenth century. While it is difficult to recover individual Native perspectives for Brazil during the period in the archives, this article’s employment of an ethnohistorical lens provides a better understanding of Native motivations and actions while confirming the fact that the conquest of Maranhão, and Brazil in general, largely depended upon Indigenous allies.