bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dual‐Conductive CoSe2@TiSe2‐C Heterostructures Promoting Overall Sulfur Redox Kinetics under High Sulfur Loading and Lean Electrolyte
Authors: Wang Lufei , Meng Xinyan , Wang Xiaoyu , Zhen Mengmeng
Published: February 2023

Although lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) possess a high theoretical specific capacity and energy density, the inherent problems including sluggish sulfur conversion kinetics and the shuttling of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) have severely hindered the development of LSBs. Herein, cobalt selenide (CoSe2) polyhedrons anchored on few‐layer TiSe2‐C nanosheets derived from Ti3C2Tx MXenes (CoSe2@TiSe2‐C) are reported for the first time. The dual‐conductive CoSe2@TiSe2‐C heterostructures can accelerate the conversion reaction from liquid LiPSs to solid Li2S and promote Li2S dissociation process through high conductivity and lowered reaction energy barriers for promoting overall sulfur redox kinetics, especially under high sulfur loadings and lean electrolyte. Electrochemical analysis and density functional theory calculation results clearly reveal the catalytic mechanisms of the CoSe2@TiSe2‐C heterostructures from the electronic structure and atomic level. As a result, the cell with CoSe2@TiSe2‐C interlayer maintains a superior cycling performance with 842.4 mAh g−1 and a low‐capacity decay of 0.031% per cycle over 800 cycles at 1.0 C under a sulfur loading of 2.5 mg cm−2. More encouragingly, it with a high sulfur loading of ≈7.0 mg cm−2 still harvests a high areal capacity of ≈6.25 mAh cm−2 under lean electrolyte (electrolyte/sulfur, E/S ≈ 4.5 µL mg−1) after 50 cycles at 0.05 C.
Electrical Sympathetic Neuromodulation Protects Bone Marrow Niche and Drives Hematopoietic Regeneration during Chemotherapy
Authors: Hsu Ya‐Ting , Chen Li‐Hsien , Liu Ya‐Hui , Chu Shih‐Kai , Chen Tsai‐Yun , Tsai Kuen‐Jer , Shen Meng‐Ru , Liu Wentai
Published: February 2023

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) of the bone marrow regulates the regeneration and mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells. Chemotherapy can damage bone marrow SNS, which impairs hematopoietic regeneration and aggravates hematologic toxicities. This leads to long‐term bone marrow niche damage and increases mortality in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Electrical neuromodulation has been used to improve functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury. This study demonstrates that electrical sympathetic neuromodulation (ESN) of bone marrow can protect the bone marrow niche from chemotherapy‐induced injury. Using carboplatin‐treated rats, the SNS via the sciatic nerve innervating the femoral marrow with the effective protocol for bone marrow sympathetic activation is electrically stimulated. ESN can mediate several hematopoietic stem cells maintenance factors and promote hematopoietic regeneration after chemotherapy. It also activates adrenergic signals and reduces the release of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, particularly interleukin‐1
β, which contribute to chemotherapy‐related nerve injury. Consequently, the severity of chemotherapy‐related leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and mortality can be reduced by ESN. As a result, in contrast to current drug‐based treatment, such as granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor, ESN can be a disruptive adjuvant treatment by protecting and modulating bone marrow function to reduce hematologic toxicity during chemotherapy.
Chinese Tofu‐Inspired Biomimetic Conductive and Transparent Fibers for Biomedical Applications
Authors: Chen Shuo , Jiang Sihan , Qiao Dan , Wang Jiangyue , Zhou Qiangqiang , Wu Chunmao , Li Xuefei , Neisiany Rasoul Esmaeely , Sun Lijie , Liu Yuehua , You Zhengwei , Zhu Meifang , Pan Jie
Published: February 2023

Conductive fibers are vital for next‐generation wearable and implantable electronics. However, the mismatch of mechanical, electrical, and biological properties between existing conductive fibers and human tissues significantly retards their further development. Here, the concept of neuro‐like fibers to meet these aforementioned requirements is proposed. A new wet spinning process is established to continuously produce pure gelatin hydrogel fibers. The key is the controllable and rapid gelation of spinning solutions based on the salting‐out effect, which is inspired by the Chinese food tofu. The resultant fibers exhibit neuro‐like features of soft‐while‐strong mechanical properties, high ionic conductivity, and superior biological properties including biodegradability, biocompatibility, and edibility, which are crucial for implanted applications but seldom reported. Furthermore, all‐weather suitable neuro‐like fibers with excellent anti‐freezing and water retention properties are developed by introducing glycerol for wearable applications. The optical fiber, transient electronics, and electronic data glove made of neuro‐like fibers profoundly demonstrate their potential in biomedical applications.
AutoCRW: Learning based robust watermarking for smart city applications
Authors: Amrit Preetam , Singh Amit Kumar
Published: February 2023

Deep learning has become a promising model in the industry due to its superior learning accuracy and efficiency. In addition to conventional applications, such as fraud detection, natural language processing, image classification and reconstruction, object detection and segmentation this model can be widely used for data hiding, that is, watermarking. Existing transformed‐domain‐based watermarking provided better robustness toward attacks. In this article, an interesting autoencoder convolutional neural network (CNN)‐based watermarking technique, AutoCRW, is proposed, which can prevent intellectual property theft of digital images. First, the autoencoder functionality of CNN generates two versions of the same image, namely positive and negative version of the images, which decompose by a transformed domain scheme. Then, watermark information is embedded into the output images, which can be extracted to realize copyright protection and ownership verification. Finally, a denoising convolutional neural network (DnCNN) is employed over the extracted mark to ensure the robustness of the watermarking system. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has high invisibility and good robustness against several attacks.
On the Exact Regions Determined by Kendall’s Tau and Other Concordance Measures
Authors: Kokol Bukovšek Damjana , Stopar Nik
Published: February 2023

We determine the upper and lower bounds for possible values of Kendall’s tau of a bivariate copula given that the value of its Spearman’s footrule or Gini’s gamma is known, and show that these bounds are always attained.
Public Mental Health in internationaler Perspektive: vom Shifting the Curve zur Inklusion vulnerabler Populationen
Authors: Reininghaus Ulrich , Rauschenberg Christian , Schick Anita , Hartmann Jessica A.
Published: February 2023

In den letzten Jahren haben sich die Anstrengungen im Bereich der Public Mental Health intensiviert, die psychische Gesundheit und Gesundheitskompetenz auf Bevölkerungsebene zu stärken sowie Fortschritte in der Prävention und Versorgung von psychischen Erkrankungen zu erzielen. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über derzeitige Konzeptualisierungen von Indikatoren und Determinanten der Public Mental Health sowie von populationsbasierten Interventionsstrategien aus internationaler Perspektive. Derzeitige konzeptionelle und methodische Herausforderungen von sogenannten Hochrisikostrategien, Populationsstrategien und dem vulnerablen Populationsansatz werden kritisch diskutiert. Zukünftige Anstrengungen in Politik, Forschung und Praxis sollten fundamentale Ursachen sozialer und gesundheitlicher Ungleichheiten unter Einbezug aller gesellschaftlichen Handlungsfelder stärker in den Blick nehmen, um einen Beitrag zur Verbesserung der populationsbasierten Gesundheit zu leisten.
Machine learning approach to residential valuation: a convolutional neural network model for geographic variation
Authors: Lee Hojun , Han Hoon , Pettit Chris , Gao Qishuo , Shi Vivien
Published: February 2023

Geographic location and neighbourhood attributes are major contributors to residential property values. Automated valuation models (AVM) often use hedonic pricing with location and neighbourhood attributes in the form of numeric and categorical variables. This paper proposed a novel approach to automated property valuation using a machine learning model with a convolutional neural network (CNN), fully connected neural network layers with numeric and categorical variables. In this study we compare the results of a fused model, which treat geographical data as an input with the performance of the baseline neural network model with only numerically or categorically represented data. Furthermore, the residential valuation by the proposed fused model was tested with actual sold price data in Greater Sydney, Australia. The study found that the fused model produced valuations with a significantly lower mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) (8.71%) than the MAPE of the baseline model (11.59%). The results show that the fused model with CNN significantly improves the accuracy for residential valuation, reducing spatial information loss by data manipulation and distance calibration.
Machine vision-based gradient-boosted tree and support vector regression for tool life prediction in turning
Authors: Bagga Prashant J. , Patel Kaushik M. , Makhesana Mayur A. , Şirin Şenol , Khanna Navneet , Krolczyk Grzegorz M. , Pala Adarsh D. , Chauhan Kavan C.
Published: February 2023

One of the essential elements of automated and intelligent machining processes is accurately predicting tool life. It also helps in achieving the goal of producing quality products with reduced production costs. This work proposes a computer vision-based tool wear monitoring and tool life prediction system using machine learning methods. Gradient-boosted trees and support vector machine (SVM) techniques are used to predict tool life. The experimental investigation on the CNC machine is conducted to study the applicability of the proposed tool wear monitoring system. Experiments are performed using workpiece material made of alloy steel and PVD-coated cutting inserts, and flank wear is monitored. An imaging system consisting of an industrial camera, lens, and LED ring light is mounted on the machine to capture tool wear zone images. Images are then processed by algorithms developed in MATLAB®. Boosted tree methods and the SVM methodology have 96% and 97% prediction accuracy, respectively. Validation tests are carried out to determine the accuracy of proposed models. It is observed that the prediction accuracy of boosted three and SVM is good, with a maximum error of 5.89% and 7.56%, respectively. The outcome of the study established that the developed system can monitor the tool wear with good accuracy and can be adopted in industries to optimize the utilization of tool inserts.
Putative molecular targets for vitamin A in neutralizing oxidative stress in acute and chronic pancreatitis — a systematic review
Authors: Burzyński Jacek , Fichna Jakub , Tarasiuk Aleksandra
Published: February 2023

Acute pancreatitis (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) are debilitating diseases of gastrointestinal tract and constitute great threat for human health in high-income countries. Recent studies emphasize the impact of oxidative stress on development of these pathologies, and numerous authors evaluate the effect of the antioxidant therapy on the course of AP and CP. Though several antioxidative agents were discovered in the past decades, vitamins remain canonical antioxidants. Despite the fact that vitamin A is known for its antioxidative effect, there is little data about the impact of vitamin A on oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of AP and CP. The scope of the review is to evaluate molecular targets for vitamin A, which may be involved in oxidative stress occurring in the course of AP and CP. Our research of available literature revealed that several mechanisms are responsible for attenuation of oxidative stress in AP and CP, including Nrf2, MAPK, AMPK, TLR3, and TLR4. Furthermore, these factors are at least partially expressed in vitamin A-dependent manner, though further investigations are required for elucidating in detail the role of vitamin A in defense against reactive oxygen species. Our review revealed that vitamin A might influence the expression of several molecular pathways involved in antioxidative defense and cytoprotection; thus, its administration during AP and CP may change the course of the disease.
Endolymphatic hydrops imaging and correlation with clinical characteristics, audiovestibular function and mental impairment in patients with Meniere’s disease
Authors: Hu Ying , Zhang Yue , Zhao Xu , Li Juan
Published: February 2023

Purpose

MR imaging was used to visualize the vestibular and cochlear endolymphatic hydrops in patients with Meniere’s disease (MD). The relationship between the degree of hydrops and clinical characteristics, audiovestibular function, anxiety and depression state in MD patients.

Methods

70 patients with definitely or probably unilateral Meniere’s disease received bilateral intratympanic gadolinium administration and MR scanning. The degree of bilateral vestibular and cochlea hydrops were analyzed and evaluated by three-dimensional real inversion recovery (3D-real IR) sequence, and the correlation between the grades of endolymphatic hydrops (EH) and disease course, vertigo grading assessment, the duration of vertigo, hearing loss level, caloric test, vestibular myogenic evoked potential (VEMP), electrocochleogram (EcoG), vertigo disability scale (physical, emotional, functional), anxiety and depression scale were studied.

Results

It was found that the vestibule and cochlea EH of the affected and the contralateral ear had different degrees of hydrops and there was no statistical difference between the left and right vestibules. The degree of vestibule EH (V-EH) was significantly positively correlated with the degree of cochlear EH (C-EH). C-EH and hearing loss level were positively correlated with EcoG. There was positive correlation between vestibular EH and hearing loss level, VEMP, caloric test, disease course or vertigo duration. There was a negative relationship between Dizziness Handicap Inventory (Emotion) (DHI(E)) and VEMP. Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores were positive correlated with DHI(E) and DHI total scores in MD patients.

Conclusion

Endolymph-enhancing MRI was used as an important imaging method for the diagnosis of labyrinthine hydrops in Meniere’s disease. There were certain correlation between EH and the degree of vertigo attack, hearing loss level, vestibular function, and further changes in anxiety and depression emotion.
Endoscopic therapy replaces surgery for clinical T1 oesophageal cancer in the Netherlands: a nationwide population-based study
Authors: Noordzij Irma C. , Hazen Marije L. , Nieuwenhuijzen Grard A. P. , Verhoeven Rob H. A. , Schoon Erik J.
Published: February 2023

Background

Endoscopic resection for early oesophageal cancer was introduced around 2000 in the Netherlands. The scientific question was how the treatment and survival of early oesophageal and gastro-oesophageal junction cancer has changed over time in the Netherlands.

Methods

Data were obtained from the nationwide population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry. All patients diagnosed with clinical in situ or T1 oesophageal or GOJ cancer without lymph node or distance metastasis during the study period (2000–2014) were extracted. Primary outcome parameters were the trends in treatment modalities over time and relative survival of each treatment regime.

Results

A total of 1020 patients were diagnosed with a clinical in situ or T1 oesophageal or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer without lymph node or distance metastasis. The proportion of patients who received endoscopic treatment increased from 2.5% in 2000 to 58.1% in 2014. During the same period the proportion of patients who received surgery decreased from 57.5 to 23.1%. Five-year relative survival of all patients was 69%. Five-year relative survival after endoscopic therapy was 83% and after surgery 80%. Relative excess risk analyses showed no significant difference in survival between patients in the endoscopic therapy group and patients in the surgery group after adjustment for age, sex, clinical TNM classification, morphology and tumour location (RER 1.15; CI 0.76–1.75; p 0.76).

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate an increase in endoscopic treatment and a decrease of surgical treatment for in situ and T1 oesophageal/GOJ cancer between 2000–2014 in the Netherlands. The relative 5-year survival after endoscopic treatment is high (83%) and comparable with surgery (80%).
Extended trochanteric osteotomy is a safe procedure in two-stage hip revision: a systematic review of the literature
Authors: Cacciola Giorgio , Giustra Fortunato , Bosco Francesco , Aprato Alessandro , De Meo Federico , Cavaliere Pietro , Vezza Daniele , Giachino Matteo , Sabatini Luigi , Massè Alessandro
Published: February 2023

Background

Extended trochanteric osteotomy (ETO) has proved to be an effective technique in complicated stem removal in femoral aseptic loosening or periprosthetic fracture. Debate remains about its safety in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). The primary aim of this study is to analyze the ETO reinfection and union rate in two-stage hip revision.

Material and methods

A systematic literature review was performed regarding all studies reporting ETO outcomes in the two-stage revision for hip PJI up to October 2022, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria. A literature search was conducted in the following databases: MEDLINE/EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane. Quality assessment of the articles was performed using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies. This systematic review was registered in the International Prospective Registry of Systematic Reviews. Patient demographic, clinical, and surgical data were collected.

Results

This systematic review included and analyzed nine clinical studies with a total of 382 ETO PJI hips in two-stage revision. The overall ETO reinfection rate was 8.9% (34 hips), consistent with the reinfection rate after two-stage revision in patients without ETO. The overall ETO union rate was 94.8% (347 hips), comparable to the ETO union rate in non-septic patients. Compared between a group of patients with ETO PJI and a group of patients with non-PJI ETO, there were no significant differences in postoperative complications, both septic and aseptic, and for postoperative HHS.

Conclusion

ETO proved to be a safe and effective procedure in PJI revisions. It may be a viable option in challenging femoral stem removal during the two-stage hip revision in PJI.

Level of evidence

IV.
Exploiting domain knowledge to address class imbalance and a heterogeneous feature space in multi-class classification
Authors: Hirsch Vitali , Reimann Peter , Treder-Tschechlov Dennis , Schwarz Holger , Mitschang Bernhard
Published: February 2023

Real-world data of multi-class classification tasks often show complex data characteristics that lead to a reduced classification performance. Major analytical challenges are a high degree of multi-class imbalance within data and a heterogeneous feature space, which increases the number and complexity of class patterns. Existing solutions to classification or data pre-processing only address one of these two challenges in isolation. We propose a novel classification approach that explicitly addresses both challenges of multi-class imbalance and heterogeneous feature space together. As main contribution, this approach exploits domain knowledge in terms of a taxonomy to systematically prepare the training data. Based on an experimental evaluation on both real-world data and several synthetically generated data sets, we show that our approach outperforms any other classification technique in terms of accuracy. Furthermore, it entails considerable practical benefits in real-world use cases, e.g., it reduces rework required in the area of product quality control.
Heavy metal exposure risk associated with ingestion of Oreochromis niloticus and Coptodon kottae harvested from a lacustrine ecosystem
Authors: Egbe Awo Miranda , Tabot Pascal Tabi , Fonge Beatrice Ambo , Ngole-Jeme Veronica M.
Published: February 2023

Lacustrine ecosystems have not been widely assessed for heavy metal contamination and associated health risks; yet, they could be accumulating these contaminants to the detriment of aquatic organisms and communities relying on them for various aspects. The water quality index (WQI) and concentrations of heavy metals including As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in water, sediment, Oreochromis niloticus, and in the endemic and endangered Coptodon kottae in Lake Barombi Kotto in Cameroon were determined to evaluate fish heavy metal bioaccumulation, and heavy metal exposure risk posed to communities consuming these fish species. The WQI of the lake was found to be excellent with heavy metal concentrations that were lower than what was obtained in the sediments and fish samples. Mean heavy metal concentrations in sediment ranged from 0.86 ± 0.03 mg/kg for Cd to 560.1 ± 11.15 mg/kg for Fe. In both fish species, Fe, Mn, and Cu had the highest concentrations. Though the heavy metal concentrations in the lake water were low, heavy metal bioconcentration factors for both fish species were very high ranging from 1.6 for Fe to 1568 for Mn. The concentration patterns of heavy metals in the organs of both fish species followed the order bones > gut > muscle. Consumption of these two fish species contributes less than 1.0% of the permissible tolerable daily intake (PTDI) and provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of these metals with lead (Pb) having the potential to exceed permissible exposure levels when high amounts of these fish are consumed by adults.
Augustine and Heidegger on Verticality and Everydayness
Authors: Dahl Espen
Published: February 2023

The first part of the article examines how Augustine’s notion of the everyday is mediated by his mystical ascensions, which give him the sense of height against which everydayness appears as oriented downward or fallen. These are the coordinates that make up the fundamental verticality of Augustine’s view. Heidegger’s understanding of everydayness was influenced by Augustine, particularly its inherent tendency to fall. In the article’s second part, it is argued that Heidegger explicitly avoids all references to metaphysical or religious heights. For his reason, his notion of falling appears problematic as it both invokes and abandons verticality. Arguably, Heidegger’s turning from verticality to horizontality comes with a cost, as it must renounce the possibility of conceiving the radicality of the fall from a perspective from above. However, as the article’s final part shows, Heidegger and Augustine do not only provide a view of everydayness as falling, but they both share the conviction that there is more to it: Heidegger speaks of the enigmas rooted in everydayness itself, which, however, do not point above, but toward its overlooked sense of Being; Augustine invokes ordinary events as traces of wonder that point from the lowly up to the transcendence of God.
Phase angle in localized bioimpedance measurements to assess and monitor muscle injury
Authors: Nescolarde Lexa , Talluri Antonio , Yanguas Javier , Lukaski Henry
Published: February 2023

Localized bioimpedance (L-BIA) measurements are an innovative method to non-invasively identify structural derangement of soft tissues, principally muscles, and fluid accumulation in response to traumatic injury. This review provides unique L-BIA data demonstrating significant relative differences between injured and contralateral non-injured regions of interest (ROI) associated with soft tissue injury. One key finding is the specific and sensitive role of reactance (Xc), measured at 50 kHz with a phase-sensitive BI instrument, to identify objective degrees of muscle injury, localized structural damage and fluid accretion, determined using magnetic resonance imaging. The predominant effect of Xc as an indicator of severity of muscle injury is highlighted in phase angle (PhA) measurements. Novel experimental models utilizing cooking-induced cell disruption, saline injection into meat specimens, and measurements of changing amounts of cells in a constant volume provide empirical evidence of the physiological correlates of series Xc as cells in water. Findings of strong associations of capacitance, computed from parallel Xc (XCP), with whole body counting of 40-potassium and resting metabolic rate support the hypothesis that parallel Xc is a biomarker of body cell mass. These observations provide a theoretical and practical basis for a significant role of Xc, and hence PhA, to identify objectively graded muscle injury and to reliably monitor progress of treatment and return of muscle function.
Masked Vision-language Transformer in Fashion
Authors: Ji Ge-Peng , Zhuge Mingchen , Gao Dehong , Fan Deng-Ping , Sakaridis Christos , Gool Luc Van
Published: February 2023

We present a masked vision-language transformer (MVLT) for fashion-specific multi-modal representation. Technically, we simply utilize the vision transformer architecture for replacing the bidirectional encoder representations from Transformers (BERT) in the pre-training model, making MVLT the first end-to-end framework for the fashion domain. Besides, we designed masked image reconstruction (MIR) for a fine-grained understanding of fashion. MVLT is an extensible and convenient architecture that admits raw multi-modal inputs without extra pre-processing models (e.g., ResNet), implicitly modeling the vision-language alignments. More importantly, MVLT can easily generalize to various matching and generative tasks. Experimental results show obvious improvements in retrieval (rank@5: 17%) and recognition (accuracy: 3%) tasks over the Fashion-Gen 2018 winner, Kaleido-BERT. The code is available at https://github.com/GewelsJI/MVLT.
Small Mediterranean coastal Lagoons Under Threat: Hydro-ecological Disturbances and Local Anthropogenic Pressures (Size Matters)
Authors: Ligorini Viviana , Crayol Eléa , Huneau Frédéric , Garel Emilie , Malet Nathalie , Garrido Marie , Simon Louise , Cecchi Philippe , Pasqualini Vanina
Published: February 2023

Mediterranean coastal lagoons are affected by multiple threats (demographic pressures, eutrophication, climate change) expected to increase in the future and impact the ecosystem services provided. Conservation norms and scientific studies usually focus on large lagoons (> 0.5 km2) due to their economic importance, while they ignore smaller lagoons. These are poorly understood and often unprotected, despite their prevalence within the Mediterranean region and their importance. Qualitative and quantitative characterisation of small lagoons, in terms of functioning and sensitivity to global and local changes, are needed to develop appropriate management strategies. For this purpose, this work provides the first inventory of all Corsican lagoons and has investigated three of them of small size (Arasu, Santa Giulia, Balistra), characterised by contrasting anthropogenic contexts (highly modified/disturbed, medium disturbance, quasi-pristine). At the regional level, 91 of the 95 lagoons identified are < 0.5 km2, making Corsica a good example for the study of small Mediterranean lagoons. The three case studies showed differences in their seasonal biogeochemical cycles and phytoplankton communities (biomass, diversity, photosynthetic efficiency). Arasu and Santa Giulia lagoons showed an increase in watershed urbanisation (+ 12% and + 6% in 30 years), high phytoplankton biomass, low diversity and blooms of potentially harmful dinoflagellates. Conversely, Balistra lagoon showed a good status overall, but some anthropogenic pollution sources within its watershed. This study demonstrates the importance of small lagoons at regional and Mediterranean scale, and provides knowledge on studied local sites but also potential applications elsewhere. The importance of an integrated approach considering lagoons within their adjacent connected systems (watershed and sea) and anthropogenic contexts is highlighted.
Estimating Juvenile Salmon Estuarine Carrying Capacities to Support Restoration Planning and Evaluation
Authors: Hall Jason , Roni Phil , Ross Kai , Camp Meghan J. , Nuckols Jason , Ruffing Claire
Published: February 2023

Estimating juvenile salmon habitat carrying capacities is a critical need for restoration planning. We assimilated more than 4500 unique estimates of published juvenile densities (e.g., fish/m2) in estuarine and floodplain habitats. These density data were categorized by species and life stage, habitat type, seasonal period, and geographic region to develop frequency statistics (e.g., 25th and 75th percentiles, or quartiles). These frequency statistics were then used in a habitat expansion approach to estimate carrying capacities based on habitat extent. We demonstrate the habitat expansion approach by applying the quantiles of observed juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (O. kisutch) densities (fish/ha) to spatial data describing current, historical or potential, and predicted (based on seal level rise) habitat extents for 16 coastal Oregon estuaries to estimate carrying capacities. Current carrying capacities based on 75th percentile springtime (Apr–Jun) densities ranged from 2902 to 33,817 fish/delta for Chinook salmon and 2507 to 20,206 fish/delta for coho salmon. Historic carrying capacities during the peak rearing period (spring) ranged from 3869 to 71,844 fish/delta for Chinook salmon and 3201 to 38,337 fish/delta for coho salmon, representing a 3 to 72% loss in Chinook salmon capacity and 2 to 67% loss in coho salmon capacity. Estimated carrying capacities were predicted to decline by 2 to 54% with 1.4 m of sea level rise in systems that are projected to lose vegetated tidal wetland habitat, while a 1 to 320% increase in capacity was predicted for systems that are predicted to increase in area with sea level rise. Finally, we demonstrate how the carrying capacity estimates can be used to estimate changes in juvenile Chinook and coho salmon capacity following restoration, which can be used to both design and evaluate restoration projects.
A multicenter prospective study of next-generation sequencing-based newborn screening for monogenic genetic diseases in China
Authors: Yang Ru-Lai , Qian Gu-Ling , Wu Ding-Wen , Miao Jing-Kun , Yang Xue , Wu Ben-Qing , Yan Ya-Qiong , Li Hai-Bo , Mao Xin-Mei , He Jun , Shen Huan , Zou Hui , Xue Shu-Yuan , Li Xiao-Ze , Niu Ting-Ting , Xiao Rui , Zhao Zheng-Yan
Published: February 2023

Background

Newborn screening (NBS) is an important and successful public health program that helps improve the long-term clinical outcomes of newborns by providing early diagnosis and treatment of certain inborn diseases. The development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology provides new opportunities to expand current newborn screening methodologies.

Methods

We designed a a newborn genetic screening (NBGS) panel targeting 135 genes associated with 75 inborn disorders by multiplex PCR combined with NGS. With this panel, a large-scale, multicenter, prospective multidisease analysis was conducted on dried blood spot (DBS) profiles from 21,442 neonates nationwide.

Results

We presented the positive detection rate and carrier frequency of diseases and related variants in different regions; and 168 (0.78%) positive cases were detected. Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDD) and phenylketonuria (PKU) had higher prevalence rates, which were significantly different in different regions. The positive detection of G6PD variants was quite common in south China, whereas PAH variants were most commonly identified in north China. In addition, NBGS identified 3 cases with DUOX2 variants and one with SLC25A13 variants, which were normal in conventional NBS, but were confirmed later as abnormal in repeated biochemical testing after recall. Eighty percent of high-frequency gene carriers and 60% of high-frequency variant carriers had obvious regional differences. On the premise that there was no significant difference in birth weight and gestational age, the biochemical indicators of SLC22A5 c.1400C > G and ACADSB c.1165A > G carriers were significantly different from those of non-carriers.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that NBGS is an effective strategy to identify neonates affected with treatable diseases as a supplement to current NBS methods. Our data also showed that the prevalence of diseases has significant regional characteristics, which provides a theoretical basis for screening diseases in different regions.
Spanish Version of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P)
Authors: Martínez Laura Barrio , Martínez-Pampliega Ana , Ramos Laura Merino
Published: February 2023

Objectives

The Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses mindful parenting. The scale has a brief version of 8 items and an extended version of 31 items. The objective of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Spanish versions of the IM-P.

Method

A back-translation of the IM-P was performed by two bilingual experts in the field. A factor analysis of the instrument’s brief and extended versions was conducted, and their criterion validity was examined. Two samples were used to conduct the study (Sample 1, n = 385; Sample 2, n = 303). The factorial structure of the Spanish version of the IM-P was compared to the original version and other factor structures validated in different languages.

Results

Both versions of the scale showed psychometric robustness, as well as a 4-factor factor structure. The results showed adequate validity and reliability of the short version of the scale compared to that of the original version. The extended version did not adequately fit the original factor structure, so we compared it to different factor structures. The results confirmed the 4-factor structure obtained by a study in Hong Kong, similar to that of the brief version. In addition, the different factors were correlated significantly in the expected direction with measures of mindfulness, parental affection, and parental stress.

Conclusions

Both versions of the scale showed the instrument’s adequate validity and reliability. Although further studies are needed, both the brief and extended versions of the Spanish adaptation of the IM-P seem suitable for understanding mindful parenting.

Preregistration

This study is not preregistered.
Clinical expert consensus document on drug-coated balloon for coronary artery disease from the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics
Authors: Muramatsu Takashi , Kozuma Ken , Tanabe Kengo , Morino Yoshihiro , Ako Junya , Nakamura Shigeru , Yamaji Kyohei , Kohsaka Shun , Amano Tetsuya , Kobayashi Yoshio , Ikari Yuji , Kadota Kazushige , Nakamura Masato ,   The Task Force of the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention, Therapeutics (CVIT)
Published: February 2023

Drug-coated balloon (DCB) technology was developed to deliver the antiproliferative drugs to the vessel wall without leaving any permanent prosthesis or durable polymers. The absence of foreign material can reduce the risk of very late stent failure, improve the ability to perform bypass-graft surgery, and reduce the need for long-term dual antiplatelet therapy, potentially reducing associated bleeding complications. The DCB technology, like the bioresorbable scaffolds, is expected to be a therapeutic approach that facilitates the “leave nothing behind” strategy. Although newer generation drug-eluting stents are the most common therapeutic strategy in modern percutaneous coronary interventions, the use of DCB is steadily increasing in Japan. Currently, the DCB is only indicated for treatment of in-stent restenosis or small vessel lesions (< 3.0 mm), but potential expansion for larger vessels (≥ 3.0 mm) may hasten its use in a wider range of lesions or patients with obstructive coronary artery disease. The task force of the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics (CVIT) was convened to describe the expert consensus on DCBs. This document aims to summarize its concept, current clinical evidence, possible indications, technical considerations, and future perspectives.
What can Australian schools do better? Supporting students during menstruation
Authors: Ferfolja Tania , Holmes Kathryn , Curry Christina , Sherry  , Parry Kelly , Armour Mike
Published: February 2023

Menstrual management is recognized as a critical issue for young people internationally. Relatively little published research explores issues pertaining to menstruation in school education. This paper is based on the results of an Australian survey of 5007 young women aged 13–25, which examined their experiences of menstruation and dysmenorrhea. It focuses specifically on participant qualitative responses to the question, “What do you think schools could do to better support girls during their period?” Six key themes were identified across responses. These related to sanitation; pain management; removing stigma; adequate breaks; and being considerate. The findings reported herein highlight some of the challenges menstruating young people encounter at school and give voice to their needs; these have important implications for school improvement in this area.
Culturally based learning needs of Korowai students in a lowland-remote area of Indonesian Papua: school physical environment and building design
Authors: Fiharsono Albertus , Carey Michael , Hyde Mervyn , Beazley Harriot , Yektiningtyas-Modouw Wigati
Published: February 2023

This study explored the culturally based learning needs of Korowai students living in a lowland-remote area in Papua to address the question of how education in this part of Indonesia could be inclusive and engaging for indigenous students and their community. Case study was selected as it has potential to reveal detailed structured information and in-depth description of people and their experiences within a particular location, time and socio-political circumstance. The case study school was purposively chosen, due to its uniqueness of being situated in a remote, hunter-gatherer community that only recently began to modernise. School physical environment and building design was one of the identified themes that emerged in the case study school. This theme included some sub-themes, namely (1) the school building design, (2) forest as the school’s physical environment, and (3) school garden and animal husbandry. The Korowai students brought social and cultural capital and expectations to their local school that differed from those of traditional Indonesian school expectations and presented different learning needs. How the local school and teachers responded to these varied expectations and learning needs also differed and revealed further needs for differentiation in education. These points of differentiation include needs in their physical environment: to build some classrooms in the style of Korowai treehouse dwellings and to replant forest and food trees close to the school to provide students with a sense of cultural connection and school belonging.
A unified analysis for reaction–diffusion models with application to the spiral waves dynamics of the Barkley model
Authors: Alnashri Yahya , Alzubaidi Hasan
Published: February 2023

Applying the gradient discretisation method (GDM), the paper develops a comprehensive numerical analysis for nonlinear equations called the reaction–diffusion model. Using only three properties, this analysis provides convergence results for several conforming and non-conforming numerical schemes that align with the GDM. As an application of this analysis, the hybrid mimetic mixed (HMM) method for the reaction–diffusion model is designed, and its convergence is established. Numerical experiments using the HMM method are presented to facilitate the study of the creation of spiral waves in the Barkley model and the ways in which the waves behave when interacting with the boundaries of their generating medium.
Role of Multiparametric-MRI in Bladder Cancer
Authors: Eusebi Laura , Masino Federica , Gifuni Rossella , Fierro Davide , Bertolotto Michele , Cova Maria Assunta , Guglielmi Giuseppe
Published: February 2023

Purpose of Review

This narrative review article aims to show the actual role of imaging, in particular MRI, and the role of VI-RADS Score, in recognition and follow-up of the tumor.

Recent Findings

A team of professionals created VI-RADS with the goal of standardizing the acquisition and interpretation of multiparametric-MRI in bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer is the most common cancer involving the urinary system. It is the fourth most common urological cancer in men and the second most frequent cancer affecting the urinary tract. Main risks factors are advanced age, male sex, and cigarette smoking. Bladder cancer ranges from unaggressive and usually non-invasive tumors that recur and commit patients to long-term invasive surveillance, to aggressive and invasive tumors with high disease-specific mortality. At the time of diagnosis, 70% of patients are experiencing non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Vesical imaging-reporting and data system score (VI-RADS) is a scoring system useful to standardize the approach to multiparametric-MRI interpretation, and reporting for bladder cancer.
Delineation of hydrothermal alteration zones associated with mineral deposits, using remote sensing and airborne geophysics data. A case study: El-Bakriya area, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt
Authors: El-Qassas Reda Abdu Yousef , Abu-Donia Atef Mohamed , Omar Ali Elsayed Ali
Published: February 2023

El-Bakriya area is situated in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. It includes several mineral occurrences and/or deposits. Data from remote sensing and airborne geophysics (gamma-ray and magnetic) were combined to identify the hydrothermal alteration zones and structures related to these occurrences. Various processing of ASTER satellite images revealed fifteen zones of high probability for metallic mineralizations. Airborne gamma-ray spectrometric data clarify K-enrichment zones, which are correlated geologically with the distribution of calc-alkaline, alkali feldspar granites (Younger granites), and calc-alkaline quartzdiorites to granodiorites (Older granites), as well as basement metavolcanics and metasediments. An integrated hydrothermal alteration map was constructed, based on both ASTER remote sensing and airborne gamma-ray spectrometric data. This map delineates some metallic mineral occurrences and/or deposits, which are located in the detected hydrothermal alteration zones. Besides, it displays new potential zones for mineralization, such as: Gabal (G.) El-Shalul, G. El-Bakriya, G. Siwat El-Arsha and G. Umm Bisilla. The geologic and airborne magnetic maps demonstrate five structural lineament trends of E–W, ENE–WSW, NE–SW, NW–SE, and NNW–SSE directions, which might act as pathways to transport the hydrothermal solutions in the study area.
Examining reactivity to intensive longitudinal ecological momentary assessment: 12-month prospective study
Authors: Cajita Maan Isabella , Rathbun Stephen L. , Shiffman Saul , Kline Christopher E. , Imes Christopher C. , Zheng Yaguang , Ewing Linda J. , Burke Lora E.
Published: February 2023

Purpose

To examine the association between intensive, longitudinal ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and self-reported eating behaviors.

Methods

Secondary analysis of the EMPOWER study—a 12-month observational study that examined the microprocesses of relapse following intentional weight loss using smartphone-administered EMA—was conducted. Participants were asked to complete four types of EMA surveys using a mobile app. For this analysis, only the number of completed random EMA surveys was used. Using linear mixed-effects modeling, we analyzed whether the number of completed random EMA surveys was associated with changes in self-reported dietary restraint, dietary disinhibition, and susceptibility to hunger measured using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ).

Results

During the 12-month study, 132 participants completed a mean of 1062 random EMA surveys (range: 673–1362). The median time it took for participants to complete random EMA surveys was 20 s and 90% of random EMA surveys were completed within 46 s. The number of completed random EMA surveys was not significantly associated with the TFEQ scores.

Conclusions

Intensive longitudinal EMA did not influence self-reported eating behaviors. The findings suggest that EMA can be used to frequently assess real-world eating behaviors with minimal concern about assessment reactivity. Nonetheless, care must be taken when designing EMA surveys—particularly when using self-reported outcome measures.

Level of evidence

Level III, prospective observational study.
A Systematic Review of the Placental Translocation of Micro- and Nanoplastics
Authors: Medley Eleanor A. , Spratlen Miranda J. , Yan Beizhan , Herbstman Julie B. , Deyssenroth Maya A.
Published: February 2023

Purpose of Review

Despite increasing awareness of the ubiquity of microplastics (MPs) in our environments, little is known about their risk of developmental toxicity. Even less is known about the environmental distribution and associated toxicity of nanoplastics (NPs). Here, we review the current literature on the capacity for MPs and NPs to be transported across the placental barrier and the potential to exert toxicity on the developing fetus.

Recent Findings

This review includes 11 research articles covering in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo models, and observational studies. The current literature confirms the placental translocation of MPs and NPs, depending on physicochemical properties such as size, charge, and chemical modification as well as protein corona formation. Specific transport mechanisms for translocation remain unclear. There is emerging evidence of placental and fetal toxicity due to plastic particles based on animal and in vitro studies.

Nine out of eleven studies examined in this review found that plastic particles were capable of placental translocation. In the future, more studies are needed to confirm and quantify the existence of MPs and NPs in human placentas. Additionally, translocation of different plastic particle types and heterogenous mixtures across the placenta, exposure at different periods of gestation, and associations with adverse birth and other developmental outcomes should also be investigated.