bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding good communication in ambulance pre-alerts to the emergency department: findings from a qualitative study of UK emergency services
Authors: Sampson Fiona C , O’Hara Rachel , Long Jaqui , Coster Joanne
Published: January 2025

Objectives

Prehospital notifications (pre-alerts) enable emergency department (ED) staff to prepare for the arrival of patients requiring a time-critical response. Effective communication of the pre-alert is key to enabling the ED to prepare appropriately, but evidence on communication practices is lacking. We undertook qualitative research to understand how pre-alert communication may be improved to optimise the ED response for pre-alerted patients.

Design, setting and participants

Data collection took place within three UK Ambulance Services and six EDs between August 2022 and April 2023. We undertook semi-structured interviews with 34 ambulance and 40 ED staff and 156 hours non-participation observation of pre-alert practice (143 pre-alerts). Verbatim interview transcripts and observation notes were imported into NVivo and analysed using a thematic approach.

Results

We identified significant variation in how pre-alerts were communicated that influenced how effectively information was transferred. Ambulance and ED staff demonstrated a shared recognition that pre-alerts need to be communicated concisely, but both received minimal training in how to give and receive pre-alerts. Efficient pre-alerting was influenced by clinician experience and seniority. ED and ambulance clinicians following different information-sharing formats sometimes led to interruptions, information loss and tensions, particularly when an early ‘headline’ clinical concern had not been shared. Ambulance clinicians sometimes questioned the appropriateness of their pre-alert when ED clinicians did not explain the rationale for not giving the expected response (that is, being accepted into a high-priority area of the ED). Additional sources of frustration included technological problems and poor communication of estimated time of arrival and caller/responder identities.

Conclusions

Use of a shared format, including a headline ‘cause for concern’, may improve the clarity, usefulness and civility of pre-alerts, particularly when the clinician’s concern is not obvious from observations. Basic training on how to undertake pre-alerts for both ED and ambulance clinicians may improve understanding of the importance of pre-alert communication.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN12652860.
Prognostic impact of albuminuria in early-stage chronic kidney disease on cardiovascular outcomes: a cohort study
Authors: Yaqoob Khadija , Naderi Hafiz , Thomson Ross J , Aksentijevic Dunja , Jensen Magnus T , Munroe Patricia B , Petersen Steffen E , Aung Nay , Yaqoob Muhammed Magdi
Published: January 2025

Background

The impact of early-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) on cardiovascular outcomes, particularly when albuminuria is present, remains unclear. This study examined the associations between early CKD (stages 1 and 2) with and without albuminuria and the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), heart failure (HF) and all-cause mortality.

Methods

A cohort of 456 015 participants from the UK Biobank was categorised by CKD stage using serum creatinine to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (≥3 mg/mmol) to define albuminuria. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were applied to evaluate the associations between CKD stages and cardiovascular outcomes. Additionally, left ventricular mass (LVM), an intermediate cardiovascular risk marker, was assessed in a subset of participants using cardiovascular MRI.

Results

Compared with normal kidney function, the risk of adverse outcomes increased progressively with advancing CKD stages, except for stage 2 CKD without albuminuria. Stage 2 CKD with albuminuria was associated with higher risks of MACE (HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.38), HF (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.67 to 1.92) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.44 to 1.58), comparable to stage 3A CKD without albuminuria. The presence of albuminuria significantly interacted with the relationships between CKD stages and outcomes. No significant differences in indexed LVM were observed between early-stage CKD with albuminuria and normal renal function.

Conclusions

In early-stage CKD, albuminuria is independently associated with increased risks of MACE, HF and mortality. These findings support the use of albuminuria over eGFR decline alone for cardiovascular risk stratification in early CKD.
Long-term effects of urban renewal on health and health inequalities: the Neighbourhoods Law in Barcelona, Spain
Authors: Mehdipanah Roshanak , Pérez Katherine , Palència Laia , Bushman Gregory , Heinze Justin , Borrell Carme
Published: January 2025

Introduction

Few studies exist examining the long-term effects of urban renewal programmes on health. The purpose of this study is to examine the long-term effects of an urban renewal programme on the health and health inequality outcomes of residents living in the neighbourhoods intervened in Barcelona city by the Neighbourhoods Law (NL), while comparing them to a comparison group of non-intervention neighbourhoods with similar socioeconomic status.

Methods

The Barcelona Health Survey was used for studying changes in self-rated health, mental health, hypertension and meeting walking requirements set by the WHO in pre (2006) and post (2016) years of neighbourhoods intervened by the NL and a group of comparison neighbourhoods with similar socioeconomic characteristics. We used logistic regression models to examine pre–post differences in health outcomes within intervention or comparison neighbourhoods. A difference-in-difference regression was used to assess the overtime impact of the NL intervention on the health outcomes compared with the comparison groups. All models were adjusted by the highest education level attained and age.

Results

In the intervention neighbourhoods, self-rated health improved for manual workers, hypertension dropped in men and more women met the walking requirements compared with similar groups in the comparison neighbourhoods. Across all groups, mental health worsened.

Conclusions

Our study is among the first to examine the long-term effects of urban renewal programmes. Although there exist complexities in studying these long-term effects, they are critical to ensure urban renewal programmes continue to improve health and reduce inequality among residents.
First record of trichomycete fungi from Rouge National Urban Park and Greater Toronto Area
Authors: Lehn Maija , Sriram Sumhithaa , Wang Yan
Published: January 2025

Insect gut-dwelling fungi, also known as trichomycete fungi, are obligate symbionts that reside in the digestive tracts of freshwater insect larvae or nymphs. Trichomycete fungi have been extensively documented worldwide and hold significant ecological and evolutionary importance. However, their distribution in Rouge National Urban Park (RNUP) and Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ontario, Canada, remains underexplored. To enhance our understanding of microbial fungal resources in Canada and to examine trichomycetes diversity in urban environments, a comprehensive study was conducted in RNUP and associated watersheds in GTA, including Highland Creek, Little Rouge Creek, and West Duffins Creek. A total of 28 collection sites were sampled, leading to the identification of various species new to the area, including Caudomyces sp., Ejectosporus trisporus, Genistelloides sp., Stachylina paucispora, Stachylina penetralis, Trichozygospora chironomidarum, Smittium caudatum, Smittium culicis, and Smittium simulii. Our findings significantly expand the known distribution of these symbiotic fungi in urban environments and underscore the importance of these habitats as reservoirs of microbial fungal diversity.
Three-dimensional non-relativistic Hietarinta supergravity
Authors: Concha Patrick , Rodríguez Evelyn , Salgado Sebastián
Published: January 2025

In this work we present the non-relativistic regime of the Hietarinta gravity theory and its extension to supergravity. At the bosonic level, we derive the non-relativistic version of the Hietarinta model by employing a contraction process and addressing the non-degeneracy of the invariant metric. To incorporate supersymmetry, we apply the Lie algebra expansion method to obtain the non-relativistic formulation of

$${\mathcal {N}}=2$$

N
=
2

Hietarinta supergravity. Our results reveal that the non-relativistic Hietarinta theory encompasses the extended Bargmann (super)gravity as a special case, yet it differs significantly from other existing non-relativistic (super)gravity models. Furthermore, we generalize our analysis to include a cosmological constant term in the non-relativistic Hietarinta (super)gravity action and examine its effects on the torsion structure.
Perturbation to μ–τ symmetry using type I and type II seesaw mechanisms under SU(2)L×Δ(27)×Z2 flavor symmetry
Authors: Wilina Ph. , Singh N. Nimai
Published: January 2025

We construct the neutrino mass matrix by using the [Formula: see text] flavor symmetry group and apply the perturbation to [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] symmetric neutrino mass matrix generated from type I seesaw mechanism with the contribution from type II seesaw. The symmetric neutrino mass matrix is obtained by transforming the right-handed neutrinos [Formula: see text] as [Formula: see text], SM Higgs doublets H as [Formula: see text], scalar singlet [Formula: see text] as [Formula: see text] under [Formula: see text](27) symmetry whereas contribution from type II is obtained by transforming the scalar triplet [Formula: see text] as 3 under [Formula: see text](27) symmetry. We obtain non-diagonal charged-lepton mass matrix by transforming scalar doublets [Formula: see text] as [Formula: see text], scalar singlet [Formula: see text] as [Formula: see text] under [Formula: see text](27) symmetry. The detailed numerical analysis is carried out by scanning the type II seesaw strength and other input parameters. The neutrino oscillation parameters are found to be consistent with the 3[Formula: see text] bound of the latest experimental neutrino oscillation data. The analysis also focuses on the Planck cosmological bound on the sum of the three absolute neutrino masses, [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]eV. We obtain baryon asymmetry via lepton asymmetry for both normal and inverted hierarchy in agreement with the Planck bound on the baryon-to-photon ratio.
The Price of Intelligence
Authors: Russinovich Mark , Salem Ahmed , Zanella-Béguelin Santiago , Zunger Yonatan
Published: January 2025

The vulnerability of LLMs to hallucination, prompt injection, and jailbreaks poses a significant but surmountable challenge to their widespread adoption and responsible use. We have argued that these problems are inherent, certainly in the present generation of models and likely in LLMs per se, and so our approach can never be based on eliminating them; rather, we should apply strategies of "defense in depth" to mitigate them, and when building and using these systems, do so on the assumption that they will sometimes fail in these directions.
Don't Splat your Gaussians: Volumetric Ray-Traced Primitives for Modeling and Rendering Scattering and Emissive Media
Authors: Condor Jorge , Speierer Sebastien , Bode Lukas , Bozic Aljaz , Green Simon , Didyk Piotr , Jarabo Adrian
Published: January 2025

Efficient scene representations are essential for many computer graphics applications. A general unified representation that can handle both surfaces and volumes simultaneously remains a research challenge. In this work we propose a compact and efficient alternative to existing volumetric representations for rendering such as voxel grids. Inspired by recent methods for scene reconstruction that leverage mixtures of three-dimensional Gaussians to model radiance fields, we formalize and generalize the modeling of scattering and emissive media using mixtures of simple kernel-based volumetric primitives. We introduce closed-form solutions for transmittance and free-flight distance sampling for different kernels and propose several optimizations to use our method efficiently within any off-the-shelf volumetric path tracer. We demonstrate our method in both forward and inverse rendering of complex scattering media. Furthermore, we adapt and showcase our method in radiance field optimization and rendering, providing additional flexibility compared to current state of the art given its ray-tracing formulation. We also introduce the Epanechnikov kernel and demonstrate its potential as an efficient alternative to the traditionally used Gaussian kernel in scene reconstruction tasks. The versatility and physically based nature of our approach allows us to go beyond radiance fields and bring to kernel-based modeling and rendering any path-tracing enabled functionality such as scattering, relighting, and complex camera models.
KG4RecEval
: Does Knowledge Graph Really Matter for Recommender Systems?
Authors: Zhang Haonan , Wang Dongxia , Sun Zhu , Li Yanhui , Sun Youcheng , Liang Huizhi , Wang Wenhai
Published: January 2025

Recommender systems (RSs) are designed to provide personalized recommendations to users. Recently, knowledge graphs (KGs) have been widely introduced in RSs to improve recommendation accuracy. In this study, however, we demonstrate that RSs do not necessarily perform worse even if the KG is downgraded to the user-item interaction graph only (or removed). We propose an evaluation framework
KG4RecEval
to systematically evaluate how much a KG contributes to the recommendation accuracy of a KG-based RS, using our defined metric
KG utilization efficiency in recommendation
(KGER). We consider the scenarios where knowledge in a KG gets completely removed, randomly distorted and decreased, and also where recommendations are for cold-start users. Our extensive experiments on four commonly used datasets and a number of state-of-the-art KG-based RSs reveal that: to remove, randomly distort or decrease knowledge does not necessarily decrease recommendation accuracy, even for cold-start users. These findings inspire us to rethink how to better utilize knowledge from existing KGs, whereby we discuss and provide insights into what characteristics of datasets and KG-based RSs may help improve KG utilization efficiency. The code and supplementary material of this article are available at:
https://github.com/HotBento/KG4RecEval
.
Multi-Modal Twitter Data Analysis for Identifying Offensive Posts Using a Deep Cross Attention based Transformer Framework
Authors: Paul Jayanta , Mallick Siddhartha , Mitra Abhijit , Roy Anuska , Sil Jaya
Published: January 2025

In today’s society dissemination of information among the individuals occur very rapidly due to the widespread usage of social media platforms like Twitter (now-a-days acclaimed as X). However, information may pose challenges to maintaining a healthy online environment because often it contains harmful content. This paper presents a novel approach to identify different categories of offensive posts such as hate speech, profanity, targeted insult, and derogatory commentary by analyzing multi-modal image and text data, collected from Twitter. We propose a comprehensive deep learning framework, “Value Mixed Cross Attention Transformer” (VMCA-Trans) that leverage a combination of computer vision and natural language processing methodologies to effectively classify the posts into four classes with binary labels. We have created an in-house dataset (OffenTweet) comprising of Twitter posts having textual content, accompanying with images to build the proposed model. The dataset is carefully annotated by several experts with offensive labels such as hate speech, profanity, targeted insult, and derogatory commentary. VMCA-Trans utilizes fine-tuned state-of-the-art transformer based backbones such as ViT, BERT, RoBERTA etc. The combined representation of image and text embeddings obtained by these fine-tuned transformer encoders, is fed into a classifier to categorize the posts into offensive and non-offensive classes. To assess its effectiveness, we extensively evaluate the VMCA-Trans model using various performance metrics. The results indicate that the proposed multi-modal approach, achieves superior performance compared to traditional unimodal methods.
Clustering on Attributed Graphs: From Single-view to Multi-view
Authors: Li Mengyao , Yang Zhibang , Zhou Xu , Fang Yixiang , Li Kenli , Li Keqin
Published: January 2025

Attributed graphs with both topological information and node information have prevalent applications in the real world, including recommendation systems, biological networks, community analysis, and so on. Recently, with rapid development of information gathering and extraction technology, the sources of data become more extensive and multi-view data attracts growing attention. Consequently, attributed graphs can be divided into two categories: single-view attributed graphs and multi-view attributed graphs. Compared with single-view attributed graphs, multi-view attributed graphs can provide more complementary information but also pose challenges to fusing information of multi-views. Moreover, attributed graph clustering aims to reveal the inherent community structure of the graph, which is widely applied in fraud detection, crime recognition, and recommendation systems. Recently, numerous methods based on various ideas and techniques have appeared to cluster attributed graphs, thus there is an urgent need to summarize related methods. To this end, we make a timely and comprehensive review of recent methods. Furthermore, we provide a novel standard according to fusion results to classify related methods into three categories: fusion on adjacency matrix methods, fusion on embedding methods, and model-based methods. Moreover, to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of existing methods, this article evaluates these advanced methods with sufficient experimental results and theoretical analysis. Finally, we analyze the challenges and open opportunities to promote the future development of this field.
Bridging the Abstraction Gap: A Systematic Approach to Rule-Based Transformational Design for Embedded Systems
Authors: Bahrami Fahimeh , Jordao Rodolfo , Sander Ingo , Söderquist Ingemar
Published: January 2025

Raising the level of abstraction is considered key to addressing the ever-increasing complexity of embedded system design, but it causes additional challenges due to the larger abstraction gap between the initial specification and the final implementation. This paper addresses the current lack of systematic design methods by extending existing design-transformation-based approaches and wrapping them into a rule-based transformational design methodology for heterogeneous multi-processor platforms. The methodology cross-fertilizes embedded system design with program transformation techniques while taking into account the interplay of tight constraints and platform heterogeneity inherent in such systems. It advocates step-wise transformations starting from initial requirements to yield a final refined model that is efficient for implementation.

To consider the effect of transformations on different properties of the system at each step, the system is specified with a set of requirements, an application model, a platform model, and a set of mapping decisions; referred to as the
RAMP
view of the system. The RAMP view and its carefully selected underlying unified
abstract graph representation
lay the foundations for mechanizing and potentially automating design transformations. A
pattern matching
technique is introduced and a proof-of-concept tool is implemented that automatically detects all possible transformations by matching the patterns defined by the transformation rules to the abstract graph representation of the system model. The underlying graph representation enables complex transformations on different aspects of the design, resulting in an improved design space definition. The design space can be explored by application-platform co-exploration techniques, yielding the most promising sequence of application transformations alongside the best matching platform. The applicability and potential of the proposed methodology are showcased through the design of both an image processing system and a cloud detection system.
Text Classification Using Graph Convolutional Networks: A Comprehensive Survey
Authors: Haider Rizvi Syed Mustafa , Imran Ramsha , Mahmood Arif
Published: January 2025

Text classification is a quintessential and practical problem in natural language processing with applications in diverse domains such as sentiment analysis, fake news detection, medical diagnosis, and document classification. A sizable body of recent works exists where researchers have studied and tackled text classification from different angles with varying degrees of success. Graph convolution network (GCN)-based approaches have gained a lot of traction in this domain over the last decade with many implementations achieving state-of-the-art performance in more recent literature and thus, warranting the need for an updated survey. This work aims to summarize and categorize various GCN-based Text Classification approaches with regard to the architecture and mode of supervision. It identifies their strengths and limitations and compares their performance on various benchmark datasets. We also discuss future research directions and the challenges that exist in this domain.
PCR-Free Self-Calibrated Ratiometric Electrochemical Genosensor Utilizing a Dual-Signal Amplification Approach for Genomic Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: BUNYARATAPHAN SASINEE , Prammananan Therdsak
Published: January 2025

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a critical global health challenge. While many electrochemical (EC) biosensors have been developed for Mycobacterium detection, most relied on PCR amplification strategies. This study introduced a PCR-free, self-calibrated ratiometric electrochemical (REC) genosensor leveraging dual-signal amplification for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Electroactive silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were modified onto screen-printed gold electrodes, followed by chemisorption of a methylene blue (MB)-tagged peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe targeting MTB genomic DNA. MTB presence triggered structural changes in the probe, reducing the MB redox current (IMB) as the detection signal, while the Ag current (IAg) diminished as an internal calibration marker. This ratiometric mechanism minimized system errors, enhancing detection reliability. The genosensor achieved a broad detection range (3.5 fM–35 nM) with a detection limit of 1.59 fM for non-amplified MTB DNA, showing high specificity, reproducibility, and accuracy comparable to standard diagnostic methods. It effectively detected MTB in simulated sputum samples, demonstrating its potential for reliable, rapid, and amplification-free TB diagnostics.
Mapping Temperature Zone of Ethiopia for Binder Performance Grading System
Authors: Mihretu Mahlet G. , Zelelew Habtamu M.
Published: January 2025

Several studies from the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) have demonstrated that improving asphalt binder standards by incorporating performance‐based characteristics can benefit road network administrators. This approach provides a better understanding of pavement behavior during its operational phase. Despite these findings, Ethiopia’s current asphalt binder procurement process still relies on the penetration grading system, which uses a 25°C test temperature with a 100‐g loading weight. This method fails to simulate the extreme temperature and loading conditions that pavements experience. Additionally, the empirical parameters derived from this test do not fully capture the stress–strain relationships of pavement performance. This research introduces the performance grading (PG) system, a key component of SHRP’s developments, with two main objectives: (1) to develop a PG map for Ethiopia and (2) to evaluate asphalt binder performance using PG testing standards. Achieving these objectives requires two different approaches. First, the PG map was developed using 20 years of air temperature data from the National Meteorological Agency. The SHRP prediction model was applied to convert air temperature to pavement temperature, yielding a PG classification with 98% reliability. The second objective involved performing conventional and Superpave binder tests on asphalt samples collected from various ongoing projects. The PG determination test provided a generic binder classification, while the multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) tests delivered more detailed performance data, including traffic loading capacity and maximum temperature tolerance. The results identified five major PG‐grade temperature zones in Ethiopia, with PG 58‐10 and PG 64‐10 dominating. While the asphalt binders are suitable for most regions, projects in eastern and western Ethiopia (PG 76‐10 and PG 70‐10) may experience excessive rutting with current binders usage (60/70 and 40/50).
Multiomics Analysis of Exportin Family Reveals XPO1 as a Novel Target for Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Hao Yanhong , Lv Hongchun , Yan Xu , Liang Yanyan , Jiang Aimin , Zhao Yuxia
Published: January 2025

Background: Recently, exportin gene family members have been demonstrated to play essential roles in tumor progression. However, research on the clinical significance of exportin gene family members is limited in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

Methods: Pan‐cancer data, ccRCC multiomics data, and single‐cell sequence were included to analyze the differences in DNA methylation modification, single nucleotide variations (SNVs), copy number variations (CNVs), and expression levels of exportin gene family members. Non‐negative matrix factorization was used to identify molecular subtypes based on exportin gene family members, and the prognostic and biological differences of different molecular subtypes were compared across multiple dimensions.

Results: Exportin gene family members were upregulated in pan‐cancer expression, and their aberrant expression was significantly influenced by DNA methylation, SNV, and CNV, particularly in ccRCC. Based on the expression matrix of exportin gene family members, two molecular subtypes, exportin famliy genes (XPO)–based subtype 1 (XPS1) and exportin famliy genes (XPO)–based subtype 2 (XPS2), were identified. The expression levels of exportin gene family members in the XPS2 subtype were significantly higher than those in XPS1, and the prognosis was poorer. The XPS2 subtype had lower immune component abundance and higher immune exhaustion scores. Its response rate to immunotherapy was significantly lower than that of the XPS1 subtype, but it was more sensitive to small molecules, including mercaptopurine and nutlin. Among them, exportin‐1 (XPO1) is a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for ccRCC, which can promote renal cancer progression by activating the PI3K‐AKT‐mTOR (phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K)/AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT)/mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR)) and interferon alpha pathways.

Conclusion: This study analyzed the variations of exportin gene family members at the pan‐cancer level and identified two distinct ccRCC subtypes, which can guide personalized management of patients.
Performance of Extracellular Vesicles From Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum for Serological Diagnosis of Human and Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis
Authors: da Cruz Allecineia Bispo , Carneiro Francieli Marinho , Taniwaki Noemi Nosomi , Namiyama Gislene Mitsue , dos Santos Débora Oliveira , Castellão Katia Gomes , Ferreira Isabelle Martins Ribeiro , Hiramoto Roberto Mitsuyoshi , Pereira-Chioccola Vera Lucia
Published: January 2025

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonotic disease in which dogs are the main reservoirs. Until now, the serological tests do not present satisfactory sensitivity for diagnosis of these hosts. One of the functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is related to immunological host response. Here, we evaluated the ability of EVs released by Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum promastigotes (Leish‐EVs) to be source of antigens for use in serological diagnosis for human visceral leishmaniasis (HumVL) and canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanVL). A total of 300 sera were tested. The 155 human sera were divided into 4 groups and 145 canine sera into 3 groups. In human sera, Leish‐EVs were reactive in 73/74 sera from patients with VL (Hum‐VL) with 98.64% sensitivity. The 26 sera from healthy individuals (NH) and 27 from individuals with asymptomatic toxoplasmosis (ATx) were nonreagent (100% specificity). Leish‐EVs‐ELISA had cross‐reactivity or inconclusive results in 13.5% of sera from Chagas disease patients (CD). In canine sera, Leish‐EVs were reactive in 60/63 sera from dogs with CanVL (Can‐VL) with 95.24% sensitivity. Leish‐EVs were nonreactive in sera from 57 dogs without Can‐VL (NC) and 25 with other infections (OIs) with 100% specificity. Hum‐VL produced more IgG1 against Leish‐EVs than IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4. Can‐VL produced more IgG2 against Leish‐EVs than IgG1. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that Leish‐EVs released by L. (L.) infantum when used as antigen in ELISA identified the host antibodies. The methodology was effective for serological diagnosis of VL, since results exhibited good sensitivity and specificity for human and canine sera.
Scale‐Up of Tailor‐Made Onsite Enzyme Blend From Cassava Peels for Industrial Bioethanol Production
Authors: Budu Martison , Boakye Patrick , Bentil Joseph A.
Published: January 2025

Bioethanol production is one of the key alternatives for fossil fuel use due to climate change. The study seeks to upscale tailor‐made onsite enzyme blends for the bioconversion of cassava peels to bioethanol in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process using cassava peels‐degrading fungi. The starch and cellulose contents of peels were determined. The results showed significant levels of cellulose (39.78%) and starch (31.21%), indicating that cassava peels are valuable raw materials for bioethanol production. To investigate cassava‐degrading microbes, Aspergillus niger demonstrated the highest enzyme activity with a diameter of zone of clearance of 16 mm. Tailor‐made enzyme blends were produced with the A. niger using various substrate concentrations (1%, 3%, 5%, 8%, and 10%) of milled cassava peels at periods of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 days with a spore concentration of 2.1 × 105 cells/mL. The amylolytic and cellulolytic activities were determined as 4.759 U/mL and 4.265 U/mL, respectively, at 5% and 6‐day optimal conditions. The enzyme blend was upscaled using three fermentation vessels, thus 0.250 L flask, 1.0 L flask, and 10 L fermenter at optimized conditions in the SSF process for bioethanol production. These optimal conditions were firstly applied to a 0.250 L flask in the SSF process, a fixed enzyme dose of 20 mL and 1.5 g of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with varying substrate concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 20% and ethanol analyzed daily for 10 days. The theoretical ethanol yields recorded were 15.64%, 16.02%, and 14.91% for 0.250, 1, and 10 volumes obtained at different fermentation days. These optimized conditions demonstrate the potential for industrial bioethanol production in Ghana.
Hadoop in Banking: Event‐Driven Performance Evaluation
Authors: Panda Monalisa , Garnayak Mamata , Ray Mitrabinda , Rath Smita , Mohanta Anuradha , Priyadarshini Sushree Bibhuprada B.
Published: January 2025

In today’s data‐intensive atmosphere, performance evaluation in the banking industry depends on timely and accurate insights, leading to better decision making and operational efficiency. Traditional methods for assessing bank performance often need to be improved to handle the volume, velocity, and variety of data generated in real time. This study proposes an event‐driven approach for performance evaluation in banking alongside a Hadoop‐based architecture. Infused with real‐time event analytics, this scalable framework can process and analyze fast‐moving transactional data. Hence, the framework allows banks to monitor key performance indicators and detect real‐time operational anomalies. This is supported by the Hadoop ecosystem, which provides distribution of the processing and storage, making it fit for handling large datasets with high fault tolerance and parallel computation levels. This study analyzes transaction and user engagement data using Hive queries, focusing on credit card transactions via MasterCard. Two cases are examined: a detailed snapshot of individual transactions and a five‐day trend analysis. Metrics like active users, card registrations, and retention are visualized through dashboards. Findings reveal user activity patterns and areas for improvement, emphasizing scalable, data‐driven approaches for transaction analytics. This framework conceives a functional approach for banks to exploit extensive data‐analytic capabilities to strive for competitive advantage and survivability of a business by adding any required metrics. The findings signify that the Hadoop‐integrated event‐driven analytics method could act as a game changer for performance evaluation in the banking sector.
Oropharyngeal Cancer Incidence and Trends in Brazil
Authors: Arboleda Lady Paola Aristizabal , de Souza Dyego Leandro Bezerra , Mendonça e Silva Diego Rodrigues , Curado Maria Paula
Published: January 2025

Background:

Oropharyngeal cancer incidence is rising globally, predominantly in high-income countries, because of human papillomavirus infection. However, further data on oropharyngeal cancer incidence in Brazil is needed. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence, trends, and predictions of oropharyngeal cancer in Brazilian population-based cancer registries (PBCR) by period, sex, and topography.

Methods:

Data on oropharyngeal cancer were collected from PBCRs (1988–2020). Age-standardized rates were calculated from 2000 onward using the 2010 Brazilian census and world standard population. Annual average percent change was analyzed using the joinpoint regression model. Predictions up to 2034 were made using the Nordpred program and the age–period–cohort model.

Results:

A total of 17,980 oropharyngeal cancer cases were recorded across 30 PBCRs (1988–2020). Most cases involved males (81.58%) ages 55 to 59 years (17.06%). The oropharynx not otherwise specified (40.58%), base of the tongue (24.98%), and tonsils (22.52%) were the sites most affected. The highest incidence rates were found in the southeastern and southern regions (3.1–9.4/100,000). Incidence trends increased for 10 PBCR regions in males and 6 regions in females. Predictions up until 2034 indicate decreasing trends for females and increasing trends for males in the north and south of Brazil.

Conclusions:

The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer in Brazil differs among regions, with higher rates observed in the south and southeast. The prevalence of the human papillomavirus-attributable fraction for oropharyngeal cancer is unknown.

Impact:

Analysis of oropharyngeal cancer incidence rates and regional trends aims to better understand the epidemiology of this malignancy in the Brazilian population.
Bone-Induced HER2 Promotes Secondary Metastasis in HR+/HER2− Breast Cancer
Authors: Alam Rahat , Reva Anna , Edwards David G. , Lege Bree M. , Munoz-Arcos Laura S. , Reduzzi Carolina , Singh Swarnima , Hao Xiaoxin , Wu Yi-Hsuan , Tian Zeru , Natalee Laura M. , Damle Gargi , Demircioglu Deniz , Wang Yixian , Wu Ling , Molteni Elisabetta , Hasson Dan , Lim Bora , Gugala Zbigniew , Chipuk Jerry E. , Lang Julie E. , Sparano Joseph A. , Cheng Chonghui , Cristofanilli Massimo , Xiao Han , Zhang Xiang H.-F. , Bado Igor L.
Published: January 2025

Bone metastases can disseminate to secondary sites and promote breast cancer progression, creating additional clinical challenges. The mechanisms contributing to secondary metastasis are barely understood. Here, we evaluate the prediction power of HER2-expressing (HER2E) circulating tumor cells (CTC) after analyzing over 13,000 CTCs from a cohort of 137 patients with metastatic breast cancer with initial HR+/HER2− status and use preclinical models of bone metastasis (BM) to validate the role of HER2E CTCs in multiorgan metastases. Although HER2 expression was higher in patients with BM, experimental analyses revealed that HER2E CTCs derived from bone lesions were more dependent on HER2 activity and more susceptible to anti-HER2 therapy. Targeting the bone-mediated HER2 induction reduces CTC detection and abrogates secondary metastasis from the bone. Overall, we elucidate that HER2E CTCs can serve as a noninvasive biomarker for BM formation with high therapeutic benefit for patients with HR+ metastatic breast cancer.

Significance:

Given the urgent need for alternative strategies to block metastasis progression, we demonstrate that blocking HER2-mediated secondary metastasis improves clinical outcome and establish HER2 as a biomarker for bone metastasis in patients with initial HR+/HER2− breast cancer, which represents ∼70% of all cases.
Tables S1-S8 from Targeting PRMT1 Reduces Cancer Persistence and Tumor Relapse in EGFR- and KRAS-Mutant Lung Cancer
Authors: Sun Xiaoxiao , Kumbier Karl , Gayathri Savitha , Steri Veronica , Wu Lani F. , Altschuler Steven J.
Published: January 2025

Supplementary Tables
Figure 3 from Targeting PRMT1 Reduces Cancer Persistence and Tumor Relapse in EGFR- and KRAS-Mutant Lung Cancer
Authors: Sun Xiaoxiao , Kumbier Karl , Gayathri Savitha , Steri Veronica , Wu Lani F. , Altschuler Steven J.
Published: January 2025

PRMT1 knockdown enhances tumor regression in EGFRmut and KRASG12C lung cancer xenograft models. A and B, EGFRmut lung cancer cells HCC827 (A) and KRASG12Clung cancer cells H1373 (B) were engineered to express PRMT1-targeting shRNA and subcutaneously injected into the flanks of nude mice. Once tumors reached an average volume of 500 mm3 (dashed lines), animals were randomly assigned to different groups (8–10 animals per group) and began receiving doxycycline (Dox, 1 mg/mL) in drinking water. After 3 days of Dox treatment to ensure PRMT1 knockdown, daily oral administration of either vehicle or targeted drugs began: 5 mg/kg osimertinib (Osi) for HCC827 and 100 mg/kg sotorasib (Soto) for H1373. Treatment with vehicle or targeted drugs was discontinued at the residual disease stage, whereas Dox administration continued until the end of the study. The dosing schedules of targeted drugs are marked with gray triangles. Tumor volumes were measured biweekly, and the data are presented as mean ± standard error. C and D, Tumor volumes of HCC827 (C) and H1373 (D) xenografts were normalized to baseline at randomization (dashed line) for each animal. Statistical comparisons between groups were based on the integrated tumor volume over time (area under curve; AUC), using one-sided Mann–Whitney tests. The significance of the results is indicated by symbols: *, P ≤ 0.05; **, P ≤ 0.01. E and F, Waterfall plots show the percentage change in tumor volume from baseline for individual animals at the conclusion of HCC827 (E) and H1373 (F) studies.
Impact of Time to Catheter-Based Therapy on Outcomes in Acute Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: Zhang Robert S. , Yuriditsky Eugene , Zhang Peter , Taslakian Bedros , Elbaum Lindsay , Greco Allison A. , Mukherjee Vikramjit , Postelnicu Radu , Amoroso Nancy E. , Maldonado Thomas S. , Horowitz James M. , Bangalore Sripal
Published: January 2025

BACKGROUND:

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of early versus delayed catheter-based therapies (CBTs) on clinical outcomes in patients with acute intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism (PE).

METHODS:

This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from 2 academic centers involving patients with intermediate-risk PE from January 2020 to January 2024. Patients were divided into early (<12 hours) and delayed CBT (≥12 hours) groups. The primary outcome was a composite of 30-day mortality, resuscitated cardiac arrest, hemodynamic instability, and 90-day readmission. Secondary outcomes included a composite of 30-day mortality, resuscitated cardiac arrest, and hemodynamic instability. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to balance covariates.

RESULTS:

A total of 133 patients were included (mean age, 58.3 years; 44% women; 29% catheter-directed thrombolysis; 68% mechanical thrombectomy; and 3% both). The median time to intervention was 6.1 hours in the early group and 20.8 hours in the delayed group (
P
<0.001). A total of 16 patients (12% of patients) experienced the primary composite outcome. Early CBT was associated with a significantly lower rate of the primary composite outcome (4% versus 18%; log-rank
P
<0.001; inverse probability of treatment weighting [hazard ratio, 0.13 (95% CI, 0.03–0.58);
P
=0.007]) and secondary composite outcome (0% versus 9%; log-rank
P
=0.02). The early CBT group also had lower intensive care unit (3.0 versus 3.4 days;
P
=0.01) and hospital length of stay (5.0 versus 6.1 days;
P
=0.046). When patients were stratified by timing of CBT (early/late) and the composite PE shock score (high ≥3; low <3), all 16 patients who experienced the primary composite outcome had a high composite PE shock score, with 14/16 (87.5%) having a high composite PE shock score and delayed intervention.

CONCLUSIONS:

Early CBT was associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients with acute intermediate-risk PE. The composite PE shock score may help identify patients who will benefit from early CBT. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.
Optimal Predilatation Treatment Before Implantation of a Magmaris Bioresorbable Scaffold in Coronary Artery Stenosis: The OPTIMIS Trial
Authors: Hansen Kirstine Nørregaard , Trøan Jens , Maehara Akiko , Noori Manijeh , Hougaard Mikkel , Ellert-Gregersen Julia , Veien Karsten Tange , Junker Anders , Hansen Henrik Steen , Lassen Jens Flensted , Jensen Lisette Okkels
Published: January 2025

BACKGROUND:

Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) were developed to overcome limitations related to late stent failures of drug-eluting stents, but lumen reductions over time after implantation of BRS have been reported. This study aimed to investigate if lesion preparation with a scoring balloon compared with a standard noncompliant balloon minimizes lumen reduction after implantation of a Magmaris BRS assessed with optical coherence tomography and intravascular ultrasound.

METHODS:

Eighty-two patients with stable angina were randomized in a ratio of 1:1 to lesion preparation with a scoring balloon versus a standard noncompliant balloon before implantation of a Magmaris BRS. The primary end point was minimal lumen area at 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS:

Following Magmaris BRS implantation, minimal lumen area (6.4±1.6 versus 6.3±1.5 mm
2
;
P
=0.65), mean scaffold area (7.8±1.5 versus 7.5±1.7 mm
2
;
P
=0.37), and mean lumen area (8.0±1.6 versus 7.7±2.1 mm
2
;
P
=0.41) did not differ significantly in patients with lesions prepared with scoring versus standard noncompliant balloon, respectively. Six-month angiographic follow-up with optical coherence tomography and intravascular ultrasound was available in 74 patients. The primary end point, 6-month minimal lumen area, was significantly larger in lesions prepared with a scoring balloon compared with a standard noncompliant balloon (4.7±1.4 versus 3.9±1.9 mm
2
;
P
=0.04), whereas mean lumen area (7.2±1.4 versus 6.8±2.2 mm
2
;
P
=0.35) did not differ significantly. Intravascular ultrasound findings showed no difference in mean vessel area at the lesion site from baseline to follow-up in the scoring balloon group (16.8±2.9 versus 17.0±3.6 mm
2
;
P
=0.62), whereas mean vessel area (17.1±4.4 versus 15.7±4.9 mm
2
;
P
<0.001) was smaller in lesions prepared with a standard noncompliant balloon due to negative remodeling.

CONCLUSIONS:

Lesion preparation with a scoring balloon before implantation of a Magmaris BRS resulted in a significantly larger minimal lumen area after 6 months due to less negative remodeling compared with lesion preparation with a standard noncompliant balloon.

REGISTRATION:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT04666584.
Language Models and Externalism: A Reply to Mandelkern and Linzen
Authors: Ostertag Gary
Published: January 2025

Do texts generated by language models refer? Mandelkern and Linzen (2024) argue that externalist principles point to an affirmative conclusion. What grounds reference, according to their externalist, is a term’s “natural history”. For example, ‘water’ refers to H2O among English speakers, and not to the phenomenally indistinguishable chemical XYZ, because H2O, and not XYZ, is implicated in the natural history of ‘water’. Appealing to the literature on contrastive explanation, I show that a term’s natural history does not generally ground its referential properties. Thus, Mandelkern and Linzen’s quick route to the referentiality of LM-generated texts fails.
Unveiling Factors Impacting Women’s Positions in Paradiplomacy across Spain’s Autonomous Communities
Authors: Rydzewska Agata
Published: January 2025

This study addresses a research gap by integrating a gender perspective into the examination of paradiplomacy. It explores how women are positioned in paradiplomacy and investigates how factors from diplomacy studies impact elected and appointed positions that shape the external actions of sub-state actors. Data collected from paradiplomatic bodies in seventeen Spanish Autonomous Communities reveals a gender composition trend, with men occupying higher-ranking paradiplomatic roles and women more prevalent in less influential positions. Feminist institutionalism is employed to understand gender representation factors and reveal the influence of electoral systems and party ideology. The analysis suggests that men are favoured in challenging positions and prosperous countries, reinforcing gendered assumptions. The study underscores the importance of recognising that all the institutions are gendered and provides insights for further research on gendered institutions in sub-state diplomacy. Despite the limited sample size, the study sheds light on evolving gender patterns within paradiplomacy.
Eleven new heteroscleromorph Demospongiae (Porifera), and a new record of the tetractinellid Ancorina corticata, from Walters Shoal, a shallow seamount on the Madagascar Ridge in the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO)
Authors: PAYNE ROBYN P. , SAMAAI TOUFIEK , JANSON LIESL , KERWATH SVEN E. , GIBBONS MARK J.
Published: January 2025

Walters Shoal is a shallow seamount located on the South Madagascar Ridge, which is situated approximately 833 km south of Madagascar and 1,296 km east of South Africa. Even though it penetrates the euphotic zone (summit is 15 m below the sea surface) and is protected by the Southern Indian Ocean Deep-Sea Fishers Association, there is a paucity of biodiversity and oceanographic data. Thus, a multidisciplinary cruise was initiated in May 2014 on the FRS Algoa as a component of the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (III). This paper reports on 11 new heteroscleromorph Demospongiae collected from Walters Shoal, namely Chelotropella alexrogersi sp. nov., Penares waltershoalensis sp. nov., Tethya muricyi sp. nov., Agelas kellyae sp. nov., Ptilocaulis ramosus sp. nov., Halichondria (Halichondria) madagascarensis sp. nov., Aaptos incrustans sp. nov., Lissodendoryx (Lissodendoryx) ingolei sp. nov., Fibulia punicea sp. nov., Clathria (Clathria) flo sp. nov. and Callyspongia (Callyspongia) cacumen sp. nov. Additionally, a range extension of Ancorina corticata Lévi, 1964, is reported. The sponge assemblage had high levels of endemism with several species shared by both the western and eastern flanks of the seamount. In contrast, sponge assemblages differed significantly according to depth, with the mesophotic zone (31–150 m) acting as a transition between the shallow (15–30 m) and submesophotic (> 150 m) zones. Species richness and the number of new species were highest in the submesophotic zone.