bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New entity of adult ultra-short coeliac disease: the first international cohort and case–control study
Authors: Raju Suneil A , Greenaway Emily A , Schiepatti Annalisa , Arpa Giovanni , Vecchione Nicoletta , Jian Chao LA , Grobler Charlotte , Maregatti Margherita , Green Olivia , Bowker-Howell Freya J , Shiha Mohamed G , Penny Hugo A , Cross Simon S , Ciacci Carolina , Rostami Kamran , Ahmadipour Shokoufeh , Moradi Afshin , Rostami-Nejad Mohammad , Biagi Federico , Volta Umberto , Fiorentino Michelangelo , Lebwohl Benjamin , Green Peter HR , Lewis Suzanne , Molina-Infante Javier , Mata-Romero Pilar , Vaira Valentina , Elli Luca , Soykan Irfan , Ensari Arzu , Sanders David S
Published: March 2024

Background

Ultra-short coeliac disease (USCD) is defined as villous atrophy only present in the duodenal bulb (D1) with concurrent positive coeliac serology. We present the first, multicentre, international study of patients with USCD.

Methods

Patients with USCD were identified from 10 tertiary hospitals (6 from Europe, 2 from Asia, 1 from North America and 1 from Australasia) and compared with age-matched and sex-matched patients with conventional coeliac disease.

Findings

Patients with USCD (n=137, median age 27 years, IQR 21–43 years; 73% female) were younger than those with conventional coeliac disease (27 vs 38 years, respectively, p<0.001). Immunoglobulin A-tissue transglutaminase (IgA-tTG) titres at index gastroscopy were lower in patients with USCD versus conventional coeliac disease (1.8×upper limit of normal (ULN) (IQR 1.1–5.9) vs 12.6×ULN (IQR 3.3–18.3), p<0.001).

Patients with USCD had the same number of symptoms overall (median 3 (IQR 2–4) vs 3 (IQR 1–4), p=0.875). Patients with USCD experienced less iron deficiency (41.8% vs 22.4%, p=0.006).

Both USCD and conventional coeliac disease had the same intraepithelial lymphocytes immunophenotype staining pattern; positive for CD3 and CD8, but not CD4.

At follow-up having commenced a gluten-free diet (GFD) (median of 1181 days IQR: 440–2160 days) both USCD and the age-matched and sex-matched controls experienced a similar reduction in IgA-tTG titres (0.5 ULN (IQR 0.2–1.4) vs 0.7 ULN (IQR 0.2–2.6), p=0.312). 95.7% of patients with USCD reported a clinical improvement in their symptoms.

Interpretation

Patients with USCD are younger, have a similar symptomatic burden and benefit from a GFD. This study endorses the recommendation of D1 sampling as part of the endoscopic coeliac disease diagnostic workup.
Impact of post-COVID-19 condition on health status and activities of daily living: the PRIME post-COVID study
Authors: Van Herck Maarten , Pagen Demi M E , van Bilsen Céline J A , Brinkhues Stephanie , Konings Kevin , den Heijer Casper D J , Mujakovic Suhreta , ter Waarbeek Henriëtte L G , Burtin Chris , Janssen Daisy J A , Hoebe Christian J P A , Spruit Martijn A , Dukers-Muijrers Nicole H T M
Published: March 2024

Objective

To assess health and activities of daily living (ADL) in SARS-CoV-2-positive adults with and without post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) and compare this with negative tested individuals. Furthermore, different PCC case definitions were compared with SARS-CoV-2-negative individuals.

Methods

All adults tested PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2 at the Public Health Service South Limburg (Netherlands) between June 2020 and November 2021 (n=41 780) and matched PCR negative individuals (2:1, on age, sex, year-quarter test, municipality; n=19 875) were invited by email. Health (five-level EuroQol five-dimension (EQ5D) index and EuroQol visual analogue scale (EQVAS)) and ADL impairment were assessed. PCC classification was done using the WHO case definition and five other common definitions.

Results

In total, 8409 individuals (6381 SARS-CoV-2 positive; 53±15 years; 57% female; 9 (7–11) months since test) were included. 39.4% of positives had PCC by the WHO case definition (EQVAS: 71±20; EQ5D index: 0.800±0.191; ADL impairment: 30 (10–70)%) and perceived worse health and more ADL impairment than negatives, that is, difference of −8.50 points (95% CI −9.71 to −7.29; p<0.001) for EQVAS, which decreased by 1.49 points (95% CI 0.86 to 2.12; p<0.001) in individuals with PCC for each comorbidity present, and differences of −0.065 points (95% CI −0.074 to −0.056; p<0.001) for EQ5D index, and +16.72% (95% CI 15.01 to 18.43; p<0.001) for ADL impairment. Health and ADL impairment were similar in negatives and positives without PCC. Replacing the WHO case definition with other PCC definitions yielded comparable results.

Conclusions

Individuals with PCC have substantially worse health and more ADL impairment than negative controls, irrespective of the case definition. Authorities should inform the public about the associated burden of PCC and enable adequate support.
Correlation of density fluctuation in a magnetized QCD matter near the critical end point
Authors: Rahaman Mahfuzur , Hasanujjaman Md. , Sarwar Golam , Bhattacharyya Abhijit , Alam Jan-e
Published: March 2024

The dynamical correlation of density fluctuation in quark gluon plasma with a critical end point has been investigated within the scope of the Müller–Israel–Stewart theory in the presence of static ultra-high external magnetic field. The dynamic structure factor of the density fluctuation exhibits three Lorentzian peaks in absence of external magnetic field – a central Rayleigh peak and two Brillouin peaks situated symmetrically on the opposite sides of the Rayleigh peak. The spectral structure displays five peaks in presence of the magnetic field due to the coupling of the magnetic field with the hydrodynamic fields in second-order hydrodynamics. The emergence of the extra peaks is due to the asymmetry in the pressure gradient caused by the external magnetic field in the system. Interestingly, it is observed that near the critical end point, all the Brillouin peaks disappear irrespective of the presence or absence of the external magnetic field.
Atomic physics-inspired atom search optimization heuristics integrated with chaotic maps for identification of electro-hydraulic actuator systems
Authors: Mehmood Khizer , Chaudhary Naveed Ishtiaq , Khan Zeshan Aslam , Cheema Khalid Mehmood , Zahoor Raja Muhammad Asif
Published: March 2024

Electro-hydraulic actuator system (EHAS) has imposed a challenge in the research community for accurate mathematical modeling and identification due to non-linearities. In this paper, autoregressive exogenous (ARX) structure is used for EHAS modeling and identification is performed by exploiting the competency of atomic physics-based chaotic atom search optimization (CASO) that adapts ten chaotic maps (Chebyshev, Circle, Gauss, Iterative, Logistic, Piecewise, Sine, Singer, Sinusoidal and Tent) in position update of atom search optimization (ASO). The fitness/merit function of the EHAS model is developed in mean-square error (MSE) sense between desired and approximated values. Simulations and analysis show that ASO with a chaotic logistic map (CASO5) performs better than the ASO and its other chaotic variants, as well as other recently introduced metaheuristics for diverse variations in the system model. Statistics based on MSE, learning plots, results of autonomous trials and average fitness analyses verify the consistency and reliability of the CASO5 for the identification of the EHAS model.
Efficient Online Big Data Stream Clustering Using Dual Interactive Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network
Authors: Matheswaran Suresh , Nachimuthu Nandhagopal , Prakash G.
Published: March 2024

Numerous real-world applications, such as online gaming, video streaming, and internet calls are streamed enormous volumes of data. So it is important to quickly process data streams in real-time. Data clustering methods are historically effective and efficient in extracting data from large datasets. Typically, they are ineffective for online data stream clustering. Therefore, an efficient online big data stream clustering using dual interactive Wasserstein generative adversarial network (OBDSC-DI-WGAN) is proposed in this paper. The proposed method consists of three phases: data initialization, online clustering, offline clustering. Initially, the input data are taken from Forest Cover Type dataset. During initialization phase, the dimensions of the input data can be reduced using kernel co-relation approach. After the initialization, the dimension-reduced data are fed to the dual interactive Wasserstein generative adversarial network (DI-WGAN) to accomplish efficient data stream clustering. Then the data enter the selected grid during the stage of online clustering. Afterward, the data stream is activated through the stage of online clustering and the data are activated in the stage of offline depending upon user request. The grid is regarded as a virtual data point in its geometric center during the offline phase. The density radius along cluster centers is determined under Billiards-inspired optimization algorithm. Finally, the clustering outcome is derived from optimum density radius. The proposed technique is activated in MATLAB, and its efficiency is analyzed under some performance metrics, such as accuracy, dice coefficient, purity, sensitivity, specificity, precision, processing time and jacquard coefficient. The proposed method provides better accuracy 27.5%, 10.32% and 16.65%, better precision 30.93%, 11.14% and 15.3% compared with existing methods, like fast grid-based clustering approach for hybrid data stream (FGCH-CCFD-OBDSC), optimized deep autoencoder including CNN for non-stationary environments surveillance data streams (DAE-CNN-OBDSC) and asynchronous dual-pipeline deep learning framework for online data stream classification (1D-CNN-OBDSC) respectively.
Open Exploration and Reduction of Paediatric Supracondylar Humerus Fracture with Pink, Pulseless Hand in Resource-Limited Settings
Authors: KANUMURI Sanjana , SUBHANSAB Sameer Kolimi , AGARWAL-HARDING Kiran J. , VAMSI KRISHNA Sathya
Published: March 2024

Background: Supracondylar humerus fractures (SHFs) are common paediatric injuries, with high risk of vascular compromise. Some patients present with a ‘pink, pulseless hand’, caused by occlusion of brachial artery flow but with collateral circulation preserving distal perfusion. Management of these patients remains controversial, especially when resources may be limited for prolonged hospitalisation and serial monitoring by skilled staff. The aim of this study is to present the intraoperative findings, surgical procedures done and outcomes at 6 weeks for patients with paediatric supracondylar fractures with a pink pulseless hand.

Methods: We retrospectively identified 13 patients who presented to a public hospital between January 2019 and May 2023 with a displaced SHF and pink, pulseless hand. All patients underwent an open reduction with an anterior approach allowing for exploration, protection and repair of neurovascular structures. Distal flow was restored in the brachial artery either with topical lidocaine application, thrombectomy or artery reconstruction.

Results: Out of 13 patients, all had intact median nerves and 10 had intact arteries (69%), of which seven were interposed at the fracture site and four were in vasospasm. Of the three patients with true arterial injury (23%), two had a crushed artery and one had thrombosis of the artery. Peripheral pulses were restored within an hour of fracture open reduction in all patients. At final follow-up, a mean 6 weeks postoperatively, all patients had recovered without neurovascular deficit, compartment syndrome or Volkmann ischemic contracture.

Conclusions: In resource-limited settings, we recommend performing open exploration and reduction for patients with SHFs with pink, pulseless hand. This approach prevents iatrogenic neurovascular injury during closed reduction attempts, allows for immediate repair of a brachial artery injury and avoids unnecessary hospitalisation and serial monitoring.

Level of Evidence: Level IV (Therapeutic)
The Effect of Age and Sex on Early Postoperative Outcomes after Surgical Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures
Authors: ROBERTS Tyler , SAMBHARIYA Varun , LY Colin , HO Alison , PIENTKA William F.
Published: March 2024

Background: We aim to evaluate the impact of advanced age and sex on postoperative complications and radiographic outcomes after open reduction with internal fixation of distal radius fractures (DRF).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review, including all patients who underwent open reduction with internal fixation of a DRF between 2012 and 2018 at a single level 1 trauma centre. We recorded patient age, sex, fracture classification (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen/Orthopaedic Trauma Association [AO/OTA]), time from injury to surgical date, surgical duration, diabetes status, tobacco use, illicit drug use, history of osteoporosis, use of adjuvants, fixation type, postoperative radiographic restoration of normal parameters and early complications including loss of reduction within 30 days postoperatively. Advanced age was defined as age greater than 60 years.

Results: A total of 521 patients underwent operative treatment – 264 males and 257 females. Males were twice as likely (23.5% vs. 10.1%; p < 0.0001) to sustain a type C3 fracture and be treated with a wrist spanning plate (5.3% vs. 0; p < 0.0001). A larger percentage of elderly patients undergoing operative treatment of DRF were female (20.2% vs. 5.7%; p < 0.0001) and females were more likely to carry a pre-injury diagnosis of osteoporosis (9.3% vs. 0%; p < 0.0001). And 100% of the elderly patients received were treated with a volar plate. The overall early loss of reduction was 7.5%. The overall complication rate was 8.2%. No differences in early postoperative complications were identified between sexes or age groups. Neither female sex nor advanced age was found to have increased risk of postoperative complications or early loss of reduction. Similar postoperative radiographic parameter measurements were obtained across groups as well.

Conclusions: Our results support the idea that operative treatment of unstable DRF in elderly patients and women is a reasonable treatment option without significant increases in early postoperative complications.

Level of Evidence: Level III (Therapeutic III)
The impact of faulting-induced uplift and subsidence on terrace formation and abandonment: a case study of the Huangshui River, NE Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Su Qiang , Wang Xianyan , Gao Linman , Yi Shuangwen , Han Zhiyong , Ren Junjie , Vandenberghe Jef , Lu Huayu , Van Balen Ronald
Published: March 2024

Fluvial terraces are important archives for inferring changes in river dynamics. In the NE Tibetan Plateau, the Huangshui River flows through broad depressions and narrow gorges. This morphology is the result of strike-slip and reverse faulting. Differential vertical motion has led to the formation of diverse fluvial terraces. We used morphological analyses, sedimentary successions and optically stimulated luminescence dating to map, characterize and date fluvial terraces in two depressions and the connecting gorge. Our results show that an important phase of tectonism occurred shortly after 138 ka because: (1) terraces older than 138 ka in the gorge show clear deformation in their longitudinal profiles; (2) terraces from the last interglacial are composed of a thick fill terrace in the upstream depression, a strath terrace in the gorge and a fill terrace created by an alluvial fan in the downstream depression; and (3) the aggradation of the last interglacial terrace began synchronously in the upstream and downstream depressions, whereas the abandonment age becomes younger in an upstream direction (from
c.
131 to
c.
91 ka). The transient abandonment reflects an upstream-migrating knickpoint.

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonics, landscape and climate change collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/mesozoic-and-cenozoic-tectonics-landscape-and-climate-change
Multi-Think Transformer for Enhancing Emotional Health
Authors: Wang Jiarong , Wu Jiaji , Chen Shaohong , Han Xiangyu , Tan Mingzhou , Yu Jianguo
Published: March 2024

The smart healthcare system not only focuses on physical health but also on emotional health. Music therapy, as a non-pharmacological treatment method, has been widely used in clinical treatment, but music selection and generation still require manual intervention. AI music generation technology can assist people in relieving stress and providing more personalized and efficient music therapy support. However, existing AI music generation highly relies on the note generated at the current time to produce the note at the next time. This will lead to disharmonious results. The first reason is the small errors being ignored at the current generated note. This error will accumulate and spread continuously, and finally make the music become random. To solve this problem, we propose a music selection module to filter the errors of generated note. The multi-think mechanism is proposed to filter the result multiple times, so that the generated note is as accurate as possible, eliminating the impact of the results on the next generation process. The second reason is that the results of multiple generation of each music clip are not the same or even do not follow the same music rules. Therefore, in the inference phase, a voting mechanism is proposed in this paper to select the note that follow the music rules that most experimental results follow as the final result. The subjective and objective evaluations demonstrate the superiority of our proposed model in generation of more smooth music that conforms to music rules. This model provides strong support for clinical music therapy, and provides new ideas for the research and practice of emotional health therapy based on the Internet of Things.
Discrete Federated Multi-behavior Recommendation for Privacy-Preserving Heterogeneous One-Class Collaborative Filtering
Authors: Yang Enyue , Pan Weike , Yang Qiang , Ming Zhong
Published: March 2024

Recently, federated recommendation has become a research hotspot mainly because of users’ awareness of privacy in data. As a recent and important recommendation problem, in heterogeneous one-class collaborative filtering (HOCCF), each user may involve of two different types of implicit feedback, that is, examinations and purchases. So far, privacy-preserving HOCCF has received relatively little attention. Existing federated recommendation works often overlook the fact that some privacy sensitive behaviors such as purchases should be collected to ensure the basic business imperatives in e-commerce for example. Hence, the user privacy constraints can and should be relaxed while deploying a recommendation system in real scenarios. In this article, we study the federated multi-behavior recommendation problem under the assumption that purchase behaviors can be collected. Moreover, there are two additional challenges that need to be addressed when deploying federated recommendation. One is the low storage capacity for users’ devices to store all the item vectors, and the other is the low computational power for users to participate in federated learning. To release the potential of privacy-preserving HOCCF, we propose a novel framework, named discrete federated multi-behavior recommendation (DFMR), which allows the collection of the business necessary behaviors (i.e., purchases) by the server. As to reduce the storage overhead, we use discrete hashing techniques, which can compress the parameters down to 1.56% of the real-valued parameters. To further improve the computation-efficiency, we design a memorization strategy in the cache updating module to accelerate the training process. Extensive experiments on four public datasets show the superiority of our DFMR in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.
PolarScheduler
: Dynamic Transmission Control for Floating LoRa Networks
Authors: Zheng Xiaolong , Li Ruinan , Wang Yuting , Liu Liang , Ma Huadong
Published: March 2024

LoRa is widely deploying in aquatic environments to support various Internet of Things applications. However, floating LoRa networks suffer from serious performance degradation due to the polarization loss caused by the swaying antenna. Existing methods that only control the transmission starting from the aligned attitude have limited improvement due to the ignorance of aligned period length. In this article, we propose
PolarScheduler
, a dynamic transmission control method for floating LoRa networks.
PolarScheduler
actively controls transmission configurations to match polarization aligned periods. We propose a V-zone model to capture diverse aligned periods under different configurations. We also design a low-cost model establishment method and an efficient optimal configuration searching algorithm to make full use of aligned periods. To deal with packet collisions in a multiple-node environment, we further propose an Attitude-aware Slot-allocation MAC protocol, which avoids both packet collisions and polarization loss. We implement
PolarScheduler
on commercial LoRa platforms and evaluate its performance in a deployed network. Extensive experiments show that
PolarScheduler
can improve the packet delivery rate and throughput by up to 20.0% and 15.7%, compared to the state-of-the-art method.
THAR- Targeted Hate Speech Against Religion: A high-quality Hindi-English code-mixed Dataset with the Application of Deep Learning Models for Automatic Detection
Authors: Sharma Deepawali , Singh Aakash , Singh Vivek Kumar
Published: March 2024

During the last decade, social media has gained significant popularity as a medium for individuals to express their views on various topics. However, some individuals also exploit the social media platforms to spread hatred through their comments and posts, some of which target individuals, communities or religions. Given the deep emotional connections people have to their religious beliefs, this form of hate speech can be divisive and harmful, and may result in issues of mental health as social disorder. Therefore, there is a need of algorithmic approaches for the automatic detection of instances of hate speech. Most of the existing studies in this area focus on social media content in English, and as a result several low-resource languages lack computational resources for the task. This study attempts to address this research gap by providing a high-quality annotated dataset designed specifically for identifying hate speech against religions in the Hindi-English code-mixed language. This dataset “Targeted Hate Speech Against Religion” (THAR)) consists of 11,549 comments and has been annotated by five independent annotators. It comprises two subtasks: (i) Subtask-1 (Binary classification), (ii) Subtask-2 (multi-class classification). To ensure the quality of annotation, the Fleiss Kappa measure has been employed. The suitability of the dataset is then further explored by applying different standard deep learning, and transformer-based models. The transformer-based model, namely Multilingual Representations for Indian Languages (MuRIL), is found to outperform the other implemented models in both subtasks, achieving macro average and weighted average F1 scores of 0.78 and 0.78 for Subtask-1, and 0.65 and 0.72 for Subtask-2, respectively. The experimental results obtained not only confirm the suitability of the dataset but also advance the research towards automatic detection of hate speech, particularly in the low-resource Hindi-English code-mixed language.
Study on the Relationship between GDL Wettability and Liquid Water Behavior in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Authors: Naito Hiroshi , Hirai Shuichiro
Published: March 2024

Liquid water that accumulates inside gas diffusion layers (GDL) prevents oxygen transport and degrades the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Therefore, improving the drainage of GDL is neccesary. One factor that directly affects drainage is the wettability of GDLs. In this study, the relationship between wettability of GDL and drainage was investigated through a numerical simulation using the volume of fluid (VOF) method. The simulation incorporated condensation model to mimic the actual operation of a PEFC. As a result of the simulation, it was found that condensation occurs near the catalyst layer (CL), and that liquid water accumulation develops from the vicinity of the CL side to the channel side. Simulations for different contact angles of θ

contact
= 60°, 90°, 110°, and 150° were performed, and showed that the liquid water volume inside the GDL decreased in the case of higher contact angle. In addition, we found that the hydrophobicity of the GDL promotes the movement of liquid water and hastened liquid-water discharge from the GDL surface. In the case of higher contact angle, the proportion of the gas-liquid interface in the GDL and its curvature were found to increase. Furthermore, the liquid water was discharged from greater number of pores on the GDL surface.
Roles for epithelial integrin α3β1 in regulation of the microenvironment during normal and pathological tissue remodeling
Authors: Miskin Rakshitha Pandulal , DiPersio C. Michael
Published: March 2024

Integrin receptors for the extracellular matrix activate intracellular signaling pathways that are critical for tissue development, homeostasis, and regeneration/repair, and their loss or dysregulation contributes to many developmental defects and tissue pathologies. This review will focus on tissue remodeling roles for integrin α3β1, a receptor for laminins found in the basement membranes (BMs) that underlie epithelial cell layers. As a paradigm, we will discuss literature that supports a role for α3β1 in promoting ability of epidermal keratinocytes to modify their tissue microenvironment during skin development, wound healing, or tumorigenesis. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that this role depends largely on ability of α3β1 to govern the keratinocyte’s repertoire of secreted proteins, or the “secretome,” including 1) matrix proteins and proteases involved in matrix remodeling and 2) paracrine-acting growth factors/cytokines that stimulate other cells with important tissue remodeling functions (e.g., endothelial cells, fibroblasts, inflammatory cells). Moreover, α3β1 signaling controls gene expression that helps epithelial cells carry out these functions, including genes that encode secreted matrix proteins, proteases, growth factors, or cytokines. We will review what is known about α3β1-dependent gene regulation through both transcription and posttranscriptional mRNA stability. Regarding the latter, we will discuss examples of α3β1-dependent alternative splicing (AS) or alternative polyadenylation (APA) that prevents inclusion of cis-acting mRNA sequences that would otherwise target the transcript for degradation via nonsense-mediated decay or destabilizing AU-rich elements (AREs) in the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR). Finally, we will discuss prospects and anticipated challenges of exploiting α3β1 as a clinical target for the treatment of cancer or wound healing.
TIMP2 protects against sepsis-associated acute kidney injury by cAMP/NLRP3 axis-mediated pyroptosis
Authors: Xu Dongxue , Jiang Jun , Liu Ye , Pang Jingjing , Suo Jinmeng , Li Yiming , Peng Zhiyong
Published: March 2024

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP-2) has been found to be the best biomarker for predicting the risk of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI). However, its role and the underlying mechanism in SA-AKI remain elusive. The authors demonstrated in this study using kidney tubule-specific knockout mice model of SA-AKI and primary renal tubule cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that extracellular TIMP-2 promoted NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) ubiquitination and autophagy-dependent degradation by increasing intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), thus attenuated pyroptosis and alleviated renal damage.
Aberrant Glycosylation in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma 3D Organoids Is Mediated by KRAS Mutations
Authors: Nakahashi Hiromitsu , Oda Tatsuya , Shimomura Osamu , Akashi Yoshimasa , Takahashi Kazuhiro , Miyazaki Yoshihiro , Furuta Tomoaki , Kuroda Yukihito , Louphrasitthiphol Pakavarin , Mathis Bryan J. , Tateno Hiroaki
Published: March 2024

Aberrant glycosylation in tumor cells is a hallmark during carcinogenesis. KRAS gene mutations are the most well-known oncogenic abnormalities but their association with glycan alterations in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is largely unknown. We employed patient-derived 3D organoids to culture pure live PDAC cells, excluding contamination by fibroblasts and immune cells, to gasp the comprehensive cancer cell surface glycan expression profile using lectin microarray and transcriptomic analyses. Surgical specimens from 24 PDAC patients were digested and embedded into a 3D culture system. Surface-bound glycans of 3D organoids were analyzed by high-density, 96-lectin microarrays. KRAS mutation status and expression of various glycosyltransferases were analyzed by RNA-seq. We successfully established 16 3D organoids: 14 PDAC, 1 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and 1 normal pancreatic duct. KRAS was mutated in 13 (7 G12V, 5 G12D, 1 Q61L) and wild in 3 organoids (1 normal duct, 1 IPMN, 1 PDAC). Lectin reactivity of AAL (Aleuria aurantia) and AOL (Aspergillus oryzae) with binding activity to α1-3 fucose was higher in organoids with KRAS mutants than those with KRAS wild-type. FUT6 (α1-3fucosyltransferase 6) and FUT3 (α1-3/4 fucosyltransferase 3) expression was also higher in KRAS mutants than wild-type. Meanwhile, mannose-binding lectin (rRSL [Ralstonia solanacearum] and rBC2LA [Burkholderia cenocepacia]) signals were higher while those of galactose-binding lectins (rGal3C and rCGL2) were lower in the KRAS mutants. We demonstrated here that PDAC 3D-cultured organoids with KRAS mutations were dominantly covered in increased fucosylated glycans, pointing towards novel treatment targets and/or tumor markers.
Thermal Analysis of a Casson Boundary Layer Flow over a Penetrable Stretching Porous Wedge
Authors: Sagheer Dur-e-Shehwar , Alqudah Mohammad , Alshehri Nawal A. , Khan M. Sabeel , Memon M. Asif , Shehzad R. , Fenta Amsalu
Published: March 2024

This work aims to analyze the Casson thermal boundary layer flow over an expanding wedge in a porous medium with convective boundary conditions and ohmic heating. Moreover, the effects of porosity and viscous dissipation are studied in detail and included in the analysis. The importance of this study is due to its applications in biomedical engineering where the analysis of behavior of non-Newtonian blood flow in arteries and veins is desired. Within the context of blood flow, it is also applicable to many other fields, for instance, radiative therapy, MHD generators, soil machines, melt-spinning, and insulation processes. The modeled problem is a set of PDEs, which is nondimensionalized to derive a nonlinear boundary value problem (BVP). The obtained BVP is solved using the shooting technique, endowed with the order four Runge-Kutta and Newton methods. The impact of different parameters on the momentum and temperature fields is investigated along with two important parameters of physical significance, i.e., the Nusselt number and the surface drag force. Results are validated, and an excellent agreement is seen for the parameters of interest using MATLAB built-in function bvp4c. A significant finding is that by increasing the Casson liquid parameter, the velocity decreases as the wedge expands quicker than the free stream velocity at R=2. However, the velocity increases for the case when R=0.1. A decrease in the Darcy number increases the temperature profile. Furthermore, the convective parameter accelerated the heat transmission rate, and a rise in the Prandtl number thickens the thermal boundary layer. The findings of this investigation contribute to problems in fluid dynamics and heat transfer that involve studying the behavior of a non-Newtonian fluid with Casson rheological properties near a solid porous wedge surface.
Relationships between the Spinal Dural Pulsations and the Short-Term Efficacy of Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection
Authors: Park Chan Hong , Lee Sang Ho
Published: March 2024

Background. Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) causes low back pain, leg pain, numbness in the leg, and neurogenic intermittent claudication. Epidural steroid injection (ESI) has been used for treating spinal stenosis symptoms. We hypothesized that dural pulsation was variable for lumbar spinal stenosis. In cases of the presence of dural pulsation, the pain relief after the ESI was better than in the absence of dural pulsation. This study aimed at investigating the relationships between the presence or absence of spinal dural pulsations and the efficacy of ESI. Methods. A total of 71 patients were enrolled in this prospective study. Prior to the ESI, the dural pulsation was measured using a 5-1 MHz array ultrasound transducer. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score was measured pre-ESI and 2 weeks post-ESI and 4 weeks post-ESI. At 4 weeks post-ESI, dural pulsation was rechecked. Results. The VAS scores improved after the ESI procedure regardless of the presence or absence of dural pulsation. There was a correlation between the pulsation of the dura and post-ESI VAS scores. However, VAS was not significantly different for different grades of stenosis. Conclusion. The ESI was effective in patients with spinal stenosis in short-term follow-up. Dural pulsation of the spinal cord was a positive predictive factor for the ESI effect, but the grade of spinal stenosis severity had no effect on the effectiveness of ESI.
A Meta-Analysis of MiRNA-497 and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Xie Zhiqiang , Hao Qingzhi , Zhu Rongrong , Ma Ruiping
Published: March 2024

Background. Recently, microRNA-497 (miR-497) has been reported as a prognostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, there is no systematic study summarizing these data. Herein, we elucidated the prognostic role of miR497 in HCC by using meta-analysis. Methods. We systematically searched Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and, China National Knowledge Infrastructure for relevant studies. The two researchers conducted data extraction and quality evaluation independently. We used hazard ratios (HRs), odds ratios (ORs), and their 95% confidence interval (95% CI) to evaluate the relationship between miR-497 expression level and HCC prognosis. Results. A total of 6 studies involving 457 participants were included in this meta-analysis. There was a significant association between the lower level of miR-497 expression and the shorter overall survival (HR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.67–2.84, P<0.001). Meanwhile, patients with low miR-497 expression were more prone to vascular infiltration (OR = 2.73, 95%: 1.79–4.17, P<0.001). However, the lower expression level of miR-497 had no significant correlation with TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) stage (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.17–12.49, P=0.47). Conclusions. MiR-497 might serve as a prognostic biomarker in HCC, but more clinical studies are needed to confirm this view.
A Rare Clinical Case of Oral White Sponge Nevus and the Associated Challenges in Its Differential Diagnosis
Authors: Deliverska E. , Genadieva Marusya , Yordanov B. , Kirilova J.
Published: March 2024

White sponge nevus is a rare genetic autosomal dominant disorder characterized by irregular patches of thick, white diffuse plaques, which mainly affects the oral mucosa and, very rarely, the skin or mucosa of the nose, esophagus, and anogenital region. We present a case of oral white sponge nevus in a 62‐year‐old woman, the differential diagnosis of which was of particular interest due to other similar white oral lesions, some of which are potentially malignant. The lesions were verified histologically. However, no treatment was performed due to the benign and asymptomatic nature of the lesions.
Effects of Glucagon‐Like Peptide‐1 Receptor Agonists and Sodium‐Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors on Intima‐Media Thickness: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Akbari Abolfazl , Hadizadeh Shiva , Heidary Leida
Published: March 2024

Background. Beyond glycemic control, glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1 RAs) and sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) have been proposed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. The aim of the present systematic review and meta‐analysis is to demonstrate the effects of GLP‐1 RA and SGLT2is on intima‐media thickness (IMT). Methods. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar databases were searched from inception to September 9, 2023. All interventional and observational studies that provided data on the effects of GLP‐1 RAs or SGLT2is on IMT were included. Critical appraisal was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklists. IMT changes (preintervention and postintervention) were pooled and meta‐analyzed using a random‐effects model. Subgroup analyses were based on type of medication (GLP‐1 RA: liraglutide and exenatide; SGLT2i: empagliflozin, ipragliflozin, tofogliflozin, and dapagliflozin), randomized clinical trials (RCTs), and diabetic patients. Results. The literature search yielded 708 related articles after duplicates were removed. Eighteen studies examined the effects of GLP‐1 RA, and eleven examined the effects of SGLT2i. GLP‐1 RA and SGLT2i significantly decreased IMT (MD = −0.123, 95% CI (‐0.170, ‐0.076), P < 0.0001, I2 = 98% and MD = −0.048, 95% CI (‐0.092, ‐0.004), P = 0.031, I2 = 95%, respectively). Metaregression showed that IMT change correlated with baseline IMT, whereas it did not correlate with gender, duration of diabetes, and duration of treatment. Conclusions. Treatment with GLP‐1 RA and SGLT2i can lower IMT in diabetic patients, and GLP‐1 RA may be more effective than SGLT2i.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Performance of ZnFe2O4-g-C3N4 Composites for Tetracycline Removal from Contaminated Water
Authors: Samuel Humphrey Mutuma , M’Arimi Milton M. , Achisa Mecha Cleophas
Published: March 2024

The presence of emerging contaminants in wastewater like tetracycline poses a significant challenge in water reuse worldwide. The implementation of a p-n heterojunction and dye-sensitized techniques in the enhancement of graphite carbon nitride provides a promising alternative for visible light-driven degradation of emerging contaminants present in wastewater. The present study investigated dye-sensitized and plain composites in degrading tetracycline using natural sunlight in a parabolic trough reactor. The study synthesized four composites of ZnFe2O4-g-C3N4 at 5, 15, and 25 wt% loading of the ferrite by direct annealing of melamine, followed by thermal and ultrasonic exfoliation of bulk graphite carbon nitride and in situ precipitation with zinc ferrites to yield a composite photocatalyst. The photocatalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses which confirmed that all the spinel ferrite phases of ZnFe2O4 were well bonded with g-C3N4 nanosheets to form a composite. The crystallite sizes were calculated by the Debye–Scherrer equation indicating crystal sizes of between 4.63 and 8.61 nm confirming the nanostructures. The scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) tests verified that the spherical globules of ZnFe2O4 were well attached to the mesoporous layers of g-C3N4 and absence of contaminant phases. The UV-Vis analysis for 25% ZF-GCN revealed a band gap reduction from 2.67 eV to 2.03 eV. The PL intensity for all the composites decreased at excitation of 266 nm and 550 nm which was evidence for suppressed charge recombination. A 25% ferrite loading resulted in the best photocatalytic performance with tetracycline degradation of 93.64% and total organic carbon (TOC) removal of 51.89%. The sensitization of the 25% ZF-GCN composite with Eosin Y further improved its performance for degradation of tetracycline to 94.62% and TOC removal to 68.29%. Therefore, dye sensitization is an efficient way of improving the photocatalytic activity of a multicomponent photocatalyst for the removal of emerging pollutants.
TABLE 3 from Health Care Access Dimensions and Racial Disparities in End-of-Life Care Quality among Patients with Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Karanth Shama , Osazuwa-Peters Oyomoare L. , Wilson Lauren E. , Previs Rebecca A. , Rahman Fariha , Huang Bin , Pisu Maria , Liang Margaret , Ward Kevin C. , Schymura Maria J. , Berchuck Andrew , Akinyemiju Tomi F.
Published: March 2024

Adjusted count ratio estimates of the associations between HCA dimensions, patient race and ethnicity, and counts of EOL care quality outcomes as count ratios, from fully-adjusteda negative binomial model
Supplementary Methods from Targeting Tryptophan Catabolism in Ovarian Cancer to Attenuate Macrophage Infiltration and PD-L1 Expression
Authors: Crump Lyndsey S. , Floyd Jessica L. , Kuo Li-Wei , Post Miriam D. , Bickerdike Mike , O'Neill Kathleen , Sompel Kayla , Jordan Kimberly R. , Corr Bradley R. , Marjon Nicole , Woodruff Elizabeth R. , Richer Jennifer K. , Bitler Benjamin G.
Published: March 2024

Supplementary Methods
FIGURE 1 from Health Care Access Dimensions and Racial Disparities in End-of-Life Care Quality among Patients with Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Karanth Shama , Osazuwa-Peters Oyomoare L. , Wilson Lauren E. , Previs Rebecca A. , Rahman Fariha , Huang Bin , Pisu Maria , Liang Margaret , Ward Kevin C. , Schymura Maria J. , Berchuck Andrew , Akinyemiju Tomi F.
Published: March 2024

Participant flowchart for NHB, Hispanic and NHW patients with ovarian cancer, SEER-Medicare 2008–2015. Percentage of NHB patients presented for sensitivity purposes.
Transcription Factor 21: A Transcription Factor That Plays an Important Role in Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Luo Yaqian , He Fangzhou , Zhang Yifang , Li Shufan , Lu Ruirui , Wei Xing , Huang Ji
Published: March 2024

Background: According to the World Health Organisation’s Health Report 2019, approximately 17.18 million people die from cardiovascular disease each year, accounting for more than 30% of all global deaths. Therefore, the occurrence of cardiovascular disease is still a global concern. The transcription factor 21 (TCF21) plays an important role in cardiovascular diseases. This article reviews the regulation mechanism of TCF21 expression and activity and focuses on its important role in atherosclerosis in order to contribute to the development of diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Summary: TCF21 is involved in the phenotypic regulation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), promotes the proliferation and migration of VSMCs, and participates in the activation of inflammatory sequences. Increased proliferation and migration of VSMCs can lead to neointimal hyperplasia after vascular injury. Abnormal hyperplasia of neointima and inflammation are one of the main features of atherosclerosis. Therefore, targeting TCF21 may become a potential treatment for relieving atherosclerosis. Key Messages: TCF21 as a member of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors regulates cell growth and differentiation by modulating gene expression during the development of different organs and plays an important role in cardiovascular development and disease. VSMCs and cells derived from VSMCs constitute the majority of plaques in atherosclerosis. TCF21 plays a key role in regulation of VSMCs’ phenotype, thus accelerating atherogenesis in the early stage. However, TCF21 enhances plaque stability in late-stage atherosclerosis. The dual role of TCF21 should be considered in the translational medicine.
Detection and Analysis of Commonly Used Infection Indicators in Patients with Acute Urticaria
Authors: Deng Jia , Liu Jifeng , Xiang Wenzhong
Published: March 2024

Introduction: In this study, we investigated the correlation and clinical significance of peripheral blood leukocytes, neutrophils, C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) in patients with acute urticaria. Methods: Complete blood count with differential, CRP, and PCT tests were conducted on patients with acute urticaria. A total of 614 patients with acute urticaria were divided into three groups: the first group consisted of patients with elevated leukocyte and neutrophil count, the second group consisted of patients with normal leukocyte and neutrophil count, and the third group consisted of patients with abnormal leukocyte and neutrophil count. A correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the levels of leukocytes, neutrophils, CRP, and PCT in the three groups. Results: The results of Kruskal-Wallis’ nonparametric test revealed statistically significant variations in leukocytes, neutrophils, CRP, and PCT among the three groups (p < 0.001). However, CRP and PCT showed no statistically significant differences between the second and third groups (p < 0.001, p = 0.0041, p = 0.0032). Additional multiple comparisons in Spearman correlation analysis indicated statistically significant differences (p = 0.55). Across all groups, there was a statistically significant difference in the correlation between CRP-PCT and leukocytes-neutrophils (p = 0.53). Conclusion: Leukocytes and neutrophils are sensitive to the impact of medications and stress on the body. Combining CRP and PCT, as well as routine blood test, may be a comprehensive assessment of infection presence and severity in patients, providing guidance for antibiotic treatment.
Feeling Alone Together: Loneliness in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment and Their Family Caregivers with Low Mastery
Authors: Sung Pildoo , Chan Angelique , Lim-Soh Jeremy
Published: March 2024

Introduction: Loneliness in older persons with cognitive impairment (PCI) may beget loneliness in their family caregivers, depending on buffering resources caregivers possess. This study examined the association between loneliness in older PCI and loneliness experienced by their family caregivers, and the moderating role of caregiver mastery in this association. Methods: Dyadic data from 135 PCI and their family caregivers in Singapore were analyzed using multivariable regression. Loneliness was measured using a three-item UCLA loneliness scale. Mastery was assessed using a seven-item Pearlin instrument. Results: Multivariable regression showed that PCI loneliness and caregiver loneliness were weakly associated, taking other covariates into account. Notably, a significant interaction between PCI loneliness and caregiver mastery was observed, indicating that PCI loneliness was associated with caregiver loneliness only when caregivers had low mastery. Conclusion: Lonely PCI may share their feelings of loneliness with their caregivers, and this can lead to loneliness among caregivers if they have low mastery. Promoting caregiver mastery may help reduce caregiver loneliness, directly and indirectly as a buffer against PCI loneliness.
Cholestatic Hepatitis with Concomitant Nephrotic Syndrome due to Secondary Syphilis in a Young Man
Authors: Yang Chun-Chi , Chen Jui-Yi , Chang Hsuan-Yuan , Sheu Ming-Jen , Feng I-Che , Wang Su-Hung , Kuo Hsing-Tao
Published: March 2024

Introduction: Syphilis, an ancient sexually transmitted disease, is recognized as a systemic infection disease manifesting with diverse symptoms and variations. Secondary syphilis characterized by systemic symptoms resulted from hematogenous and lymphatic dissemination of the infection, may include manifestations such as hepatitis and nephrotic syndrome. However, the simultaneous occurrence of hepatitis and nephrotic syndrome in secondary syphilis is rare. Case Presentation: A young man presented with fatigue, abnormal liver function tests, and hyperbilirubinemia and had history of men who have sex with men (MSM). Serological tests confirmed the diagnosis of secondary syphilis, and kidney biopsy indicated membranous nephritis. After antibiotic treatment, the patient experienced resolution of proteinuria, and liver enzyme levels returned to normal. Conclusion: Syphilis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of simultaneous liver and kidney dysfunction, particularly in patients engaging in high-risk sexual behavior. This case highlights the importance of considering syphilis in young patients with MSM and presenting with unexplained nephrotic syndrome and liver abnormalities.