bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Secondhand smoke exposure and associated factors among city residents living in multiunit housing in Bangladesh
Authors: Kibria Md. Golam , Hossain Ahmed , Islam Taslima , Islam Kazi Rakibul , Mahmud H. M. Miraz , Nabi Mohammad Hayatun , Hawlader Mohammad Delwer Hossain
Published: September 2023

Background

Secondhand smoke (SHS) poses a high health risk to those living in multiunit housing (MUH) since it can easily spread from unit to unit and throughout the building’s communal areas. MUH residents in Bangladesh are particularly vulnerable to SHS due to the absence of smoking restrictions within a housing complex. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of SHS exposure and its associated factors among MUH residents living in seven divisional cities of Bangladesh- Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barishal, and Rangpur.

Methods

From April 2019 to November 2019, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 616 MUH residents aged 18 or older who had been residing in MUH for at least two years in the seven divisional cities of Bangladesh. A multivariable logistic regression model was performed to determine the associated factors of SHS exposure.

Results

In MUH complexes, more than half (54.9%) of the 616 respondents were exposed to SHS. The key factors positively associated with SHS exposure were females (aOR: 1.8, 95% CI:1.236–2.681), residents with a low monthly family income (aOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.162–3.220), those whose family members smoked (aOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.537–3.746), and Dhaka city residents (aOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.013–3.440).

Conclusions

This study revealed a high prevalence of SHS exposure among Bangladeshi MUH residents. Therefore, a smoking ban is needed in and around MUH complexes to protect non-smoking residents from SHS exposure.
Effect of sacubitril/valsartan on brain natriuretic peptide level and prognosis of acute cerebral infarction
Authors: Shen Xiaozhu , Gong Chen , Liu Mengqian , Jiang Yi , Xu Yiwen , Ge Zhonglin , Tao Zhonghai , Dong Nan , Liao Juan , Yu Liqiang , Fang Qi
Published: September 2023

Background and purpose

Previous studies demonstrated that elevated brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level is associated with adverse clinical outcomes of acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Researchers hypothesized that BNP might be a potential neuroprotective factor against cerebral ischemia because of the antagonistic effect of the natriuretic peptide system on the renin-angiotensin system and regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis. However, whether decreasing the BNP level can improve the prognosis of ACI has not been studied yet. The main effect of sacubitril/valsartan is to enhance the natriuretic peptide system. We investigated whether the intervention of plasma BNP levels with sacubitril/valsartan could improve the prognosis of patients with ACI.

Methods

In a randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial of patients with ACI within 48 hours of symptom onset and need for antihypertensive therapy, patients have randomized within 24 hours to sacubitril/valsartan 200mg once daily (the intervention group) or to conventional medical medication (the control group). The primary outcome was a change in plasma BNP levels before and after sacubitril/valsartan administration. The secondary outcomes included plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), Corin and neprilysin (NEP) before and after medication, the modified Rankin scale, and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (at onset, at discharge, 30 days, and 90 days after discharge).

Results

We evaluated 80 eligible patients admitted to the Stroke Center of Lianyungang Second People’s Hospital between 1st May, 2021 and 31st June, 2022. Except for 28 patients excluded before randomization and 14 patients who did not meet the criteria or dropped out or lost to follow-up during the trial, the remaining 38 patients (intervention group: 17, control group: 21) had well-balanced baseline features. In this trial, we found that plasma BNP levels (P = 0.003) decreased and NEP levels (P = 0.006) increased in enrolled patients after treatment with sacubitril/valsartan. There were no differences in plasma BDNF and Corin levels between the two groups. Furthermore, no difference in functional prognosis was observed between the two groups (all P values>0.05).

Conclusions

Sacubitril/valsartan reduced endogenous plasma BNP levels in patients with ACI and did not affect their short-term prognosis.
Effect of cocooning conditions on the structure, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of silks
Authors: Li Hao , He Yujie , Jia Liling , Liu Yong , Yang Dan , Shao Shuai , Lv Gang , Yang Hailiang , Zheng Hailing , Cui Xuhong , Zhou Yang , Peng Zhiqin
Published: September 2023

The stable isotope technique provides the possibility to trace ancient textiles because the technique is associated with advantages such as trace indication, fast detection, and accurate results. Since different cocooning conditions may impact cocoons even under identical habitats, it is important to investigate the effects of different cocooning temperatures and humidity on the isotope incorporation values in the cocoons. In this study, silk fibers were reeled under different conditions of temperature and humidity, followed by analysis of the secondary structure of cocoon proteins and isotope incorporation patterns. We found that the deviations in carbon isotope values of silk under different cocooning conditions could reach up to 0.76‰, while the deviation in carbon isotope values at different locations of a single silk was 2.75‰. Further, during the cocooning process, depletion of the 13C-isotope at different locations of the silk fibers was observed, reducing the δ13C values. We proposed that the changes in carbon isotopes in silk were related to the content of sericin and silk fibroin in silk. Finally, we did not observe a significant difference in isotope ratios in degummed cocoons. In summary, the 13C isotope was enriched in sericin, whereas 15N was enriched in fibroin, and these findings provide basic information for tracing the provenance of silks.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism and arterial blood pressure among the Tawang Monpa of Eastern Himalayan Mountains: Is there a signature of natural selection?
Authors: Ghosh Sudipta
Published: September 2023

Objectives

The present paper aims to characterize the Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genotype, with particular emphasis on its association with arterial oxygen saturation, arterial blood pressure, hemoglobin [Hb] concentration, and ventilatory measures among the Tawang Monpa, a high-altitude native population of the Eastern Himalaya, India.

Methods

A cross-sectional sample of 168Monpa participants from Tawang town, Arunachal Pradesh, India, was selected who live at an altitude of ∼3,200 meters (m) above sea level. For each participant, height, weight, and skinfold thickness were measured, based on which body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and percentage of body fat (%BF) were calculated. Physiological measures, such as the transcutaneous arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), hemoglobin [Hb] concentration, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1-second (FEV1), and systemic arterial blood pressure were measured. First, the peripheral venous blood samples (four ml) were drawn, and then white blood cells were separated for the ACE genotyping of each participant.

Results

Unlike high-altitude natives from Peru and Ladakh, who exhibit high frequencies of II homozygotes, the Tawang Monpa shows a significantly high frequency of ID heterozygotes (p<0.0001). In addition, no significant association was identified between ACE gene polymorphism and arterial blood pressure, oxygen saturation at rest, vital capacity, or [Hb] concentration.

Discussion

The results suggest that the association of the ACE gene with resting SaO2 is inconsistent across native populations living under hypobaric hypoxia. Further, ACE I/D gene polymorphism may not be under natural selection in specific native populations, including Tawang Monpa, for their adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia.
Exploring the path to corruption–An informed grounded theory study on the decision-making process underlying corruption
Authors: Manara Muhammad Untung , Nübold Annika , van Gils Suzanne , Zijlstra Fred R. H.
Published: September 2023

Past corruption research at the individual level has mainly focused on demographics, personality, attitudes, or morality related variables. Until now, only a few studies have focused on the intra-individual psychological mechanisms of corruption. Building on normative decision-making theory, the present study attempts to shed further light on the internal mechanisms that lead to the decision that corruption is a viable path. Following an informed grounded theory approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 38 Indonesian prisoners who have been convicted of corruption. Guided by a multi-step decision-making process, including problem recognition, information search, and evaluation of the information, our results revealed unique insights into individuals’ considerations that led to corruption. We elaborate on interrelations between these stages and explore new forms of corrupt decision-making elements within this process. Theoretical implications for corruption research and the practical implications for anti-corruption programs of these findings are discussed.
The level of the gender gap in academic publishing varies by country and region of affiliation: A cross-sectional study of articles published in general medical journals
Authors: Sebo Paul , Schwarz Joëlle
Published: September 2023

Background

Women are generally under-represented as authors of publications, and especially as last authors, but this under-representation may not be uniformly distributed across countries. We aimed to document by country and region the proportion of female authors (PFA) in high-impact general medical journals.

Methods

We used PyMed, a Python library that provides access to PubMed, to retrieve all PubMed articles published between January 2012 and December 2021 in the fifty general internal medicine journals with the highest 2020 impact factor according to Journal Citation Reports. We extracted first/last authors’ main country of affiliation for all these articles using regular expressions and manual search, and grouped the countries into eight regions (North/Latin America, Western/Eastern Europe, Asia, Pacific, Middle East, and Africa). We used NamSor to determine first/last authors’ gender and computed the PFA for each country/region.

Results

We retrieved 163,537 publications for first authors and 135,392 for last authors. Gender could be determined for 160,891 and 133,373 publications, respectively. The PFA was 41% for first authors and 33% for last authors, but it varied widely by country (first authors: >50% for eight countries, maximum = 63% in Romania, minimum = 19% in Japan; last authors: >50% for two countries, maximum = 53% in Romania, minimum = 9% in Japan). The PFA also varied by region. It was highest for Eastern Europe (first authors = 53%, last authors = 40%), and lowest for Asia (36% and 29%) and the Middle East (35% and 27%).

Conclusion

We found that the PFA varied widely by country and region, and was lowest in Asia, particularly Japan, and the Middle East. The under-representation of women as authors of publications, especially in these two regions, needs to be addressed and correcting persistent gender discrimination in research should be a top priority.
Prevalence and influencing factors of probiotic usage among colorectal cancer patients in China: A national database study
Authors: Yao Difei , He Wei , Hu Yangmin , Yuan Ying , Xu Huimin , Wang Juan , Dai Haibin
Published: September 2023

Probiotics have become increasingly popular among cancer patients. However, there is limited data from a real-world setting. This study aims to conduct a retrospective analysis to understand the trend of probiotic prescriptions in Chinese colorectal cancer patients. The Mann-Kendall and Cochran-Armitage trend test was applied to estimate the trend significance. Gephi software identified the combination of probiotic strains. The binary logistic regression investigated influence factors, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient calculated correlations between probiotics and antitumor drug usage. The probiotic prescription percentage increased from 3.3% in 2015 to 4.2% in 2021 (Z = 12.77, p < 0.001). Although 48.3% of probiotic prescriptions had no indication-related diagnosis, diarrhea (OR 10.91, 95% CI 10.57–11.26) and dyspepsia (3.97, 3.82–4.12) included prescriptions most likely to contain probiotics. Prescriptions from the tertiary hospital (1.43,1.36–1.50), clinics (1.30, 1.28–1.33), and senior patients (1.018 per year, 1.017–1.019) were more likely to contain probiotics. Most probiotic prescriptions (95.0%) contained one probiotic product but multiple strains (69.3%). Enterococcus faecalis (49.7%), Lactobacillus acidophilus (39.4%), and Clostridium butyricum (27.9%) were the most prescribed strains. The probiotics co-prescribed with antitumor agents increased rapidly from 6.6% to 13.8% in seven years (Z = 15.31, p < 0.001). Oral fluorouracil agents (2.35, 2.14–2.59), regorafenib (1.70,1.27–2.26), and irinotecan (1.27,1.15–1.41) had a higher probability to co-prescribed with probiotics. There was no correlation between probiotic strain selection and specific antitumor drug use. The increasing prescription of probiotics in colorectal cancer patients in China may be related to treating the gastrointestinal toxicity of anti-cancer drugs. With unapproved indications and a lack of strain selectivity, evidence-based guidelines are urgently needed to improve probiotic use in this population.
Depression in the next generation is related with maternal behaviors: A cross-comparison by alternating rat’s mother care
Authors: Yong Ruixin , Chai Hongxia , Ran Lei , Li Yuhao , An Bei
Published: September 2023

This study investigated the potential impacts of depressive rats’ maternal behavior as an early life stress on the outcome of offspring as an adulthood. Offspring from the same mother were divided into two groups, half of them were fostered or remained by a depressive mother, and the other half remained or fostered by a control mother, respectively. The results showed that offspring fostered by depressive mothers presented significant depressive behaviors. Meanwhile, depressive mothers engaged in more grooming during the light cycle, but less off-the-pup behavior during the dark phase. In conclusion, offspring exposed to a postnatal depressive maternal environment developed a depressive-like behavior. Contrarily, postpartum maternal behaviors play an essential role, which might determine the outcome of the next generation. Furthermore, the appropriate timing of postpartum maternal caring sequences, which might eliminate prenatal stressful influences, was recognized and might be a promising approach for reducing children’s predisposition to mental disorders in their life time.
Susceptibility to Zika virus in a Collaborative Cross mouse strain is induced by Irf3 deficiency in vitro but requires other variants in vivo
Authors: Bourdon Marie , Manet Caroline , Conquet Laurine , Ramaugé Parra Corentin , Kornobis Etienne , Bonnefoy Eliette , Montagutelli Xavier
Published: September 2023

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a Flavivirus responsible for recent epidemics in Pacific Islands and in the Americas. In humans, the consequences of ZIKV infection range from asymptomatic infection to severe neurological disease such as Guillain-Barré syndrome or fetal neurodevelopmental defects, suggesting, among other factors, the influence of host genetic variants. We previously reported similar diverse outcomes of ZIKV infection in mice of the Collaborative Cross (CC), a collection of inbred strains with large genetic diversity. CC071/TauUnc (CC071) was the most susceptible CC strain with severe symptoms and lethality. Notably, CC071 has been recently reported to be also susceptible to other flaviviruses including dengue virus, Powassan virus, West Nile virus, and to Rift Valley fever virus. To identify the genetic origin of this broad susceptibility, we investigated ZIKV replication in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from CC071 and two resistant strains. CC071 showed uncontrolled ZIKV replication associated with delayed induction of type-I interferons (IFN-I). Genetic analysis identified a mutation in the Irf3 gene specific to the CC071 strain which prevents the protein phosphorylation required to activate interferon beta transcription. We demonstrated that this mutation induces the same defective IFN-I response and uncontrolled viral replication in MEFs as an Irf3 knock-out allele. By contrast, we also showed that Irf3 deficiency did not induce the high plasma viral load and clinical severity observed in CC071 mice and that susceptibility alleles at other genes, not associated with the IFN-I response, are required. Our results provide new insight into the in vitro and in vivo roles of Irf3, and into the genetic complexity of host responses to flaviviruses.
Bacillus subtilis and Trichoderma harzianum on the quality and occurrence of anthracnose in bananas
Authors: Viencz Thayna , Malmann Nedilha Laís Cristina , Marek Janaina , Duarte Rios Faria Cacilda Márcia , Vasconcelos Botelho Renato
Published: September 2023

The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus subtilis on postharvest control of anthracnose, the effects on postharvest quality in ‘Nanicão’ bananas, and the sensory acceptance of fruits. In vitro and in vivo tests were performed. The in vitro tests included the following treatments: control (distilled water), T. harzianum, B. subtilis, and thiabendazole. In vitro tests consisted of pairing Colletotrichum musae with T. harzianum and B. subtilis by daily measuring the mycelial growth of C. musae and by counting the spore germination of C. musae. For in vivo tests, the treatments were control (distilled water), T. harzianum, B. subtilis, T. harzianum + B. subtilis, and thiabendazole. In vivo tests consisted of a daily evaluation of the incidence and severity of anthracnose in ‘Nanicão’ bananas. Some physicochemical characteristics of fruits were evaluated (weight loss, color, pulp firmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, and SS/TA ratio), as well as the sensory acceptance of bananas. Based on the results, the application of T. harzianum in ‘Nanicão’ bananas was efficient in decreasing the severity of anthracnose caused by C. musae, but treatments with biological control agents were inefficient in this process. On postharvest quality, treatments with biological control agents seem to have accelerated the maturation process. However, results from the sensory analysis showed that fruit acceptance was not affected.
Physiological responses of Physalis angulata L. grown under molybdenum rates in hydroponic system
Authors: Fonseca Josandra Souza Teles , Pelacani Claudinéia Regina , Nascimento Marilza Neves do , Leite Romeu da Silva , Silva Aritana Alves da , Vilanova Thicyanne Oliveira
Published: September 2023

Studies on plant development evaluating the effects of molybdenum (Mo) applications are important for nutritional management in crops, such as Physalis angulata L. crops. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the responses of Physalis angulata grown under molybdenum rates in hydroponic system. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design, with 12 replications and five treatments (Mo rates: 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.015, and 0.02 mg dm-3 of H2MoO*4H2O). Chlorophyll content, gas exchange parameters, nitrate reductase activity, total protein content, dry weights of leaves, stems, and roots, and root to shoot ratio were evaluated. Supplying Mo (0.02 mg dm-3) provided gains in biomass, which is connected to the total plant weight and total chlorophyll content. The nitrate reductase activity in leaves and roots was stimulated by Mo supplementation; the highest activity was found in the roots. Photosynthetic rate (0.010 mg dm-3) and water use efficiency (0.015 mg dm-3) were favored by increases in Mo rates. The results showed that application of molybdenum as a fertilizer resulted in positive effects on biomass gain, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, and water use efficiency for P. angulata plants grown in hydroponics.
Slow and Steady: A Slowly Progressing Neuroendocrine Tumor
Authors: Zheng Christie , Al Shabeeb Reem , Shah Dipam , Sardana Nitin
Published: September 2023

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare malignant tumors that arise from neuroendocrine cells throughout the body, most commonly in the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. We report a case of well-differentiated grade 2 NET with a computed tomography scan showing multiple liver lesions consistent with the liver lesions seen 11 years before diagnosis. This case highlights the possibility of an indolent or prolonged clinical course of metastatic NET with an unknown primary vs primary hepatic NET.
A ordem importa
Authors: Cardoso Paula Raianny Santos , Freitag Raquel Meister Ko.
Published: September 2023

As representações sociais da violência contra mulheres e o papel das estratégias linguísticas são investigadas em um corpus constituído por 100 notícias sobre violência contra mulher no Brasil entre 2018 e 2019, em que foram controlados os recursos gramaticais usados para a inclusão ou a exclusão de atores sociais. O uso de estratégias para omitir os autores dos crimes, como a voz passiva e a agentividade atribuída a outros atores para tirar o agressor do primeiro plano discursivo, reforça e naturaliza representações sociais já existentes, dificultando o combate à violência contra mulheres.
Uso do artigo definido antes de nome próprio em postagens da internet
Authors: Moraes Ronaldo Nogueira de
Published: September 2023

O presente trabalho analisa a variação no uso do artigo definido antes de nome próprio de pessoas em postagens publicadas na rede social Twitter. Amparado pelos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Sociolinguística Variacionista (Labov, 2008), objetiva-se descrever e analisar o fenômeno variável “artigo diante de nome próprio” em dados de língua escrita, a fim de examinar o comportamento da variável na modalidade escrita e verificar o quanto esse uso se aproxima ou se afasta do que já se observou para dados de fala do português brasileiro. Os dados coletados foram tratados e controlados segundo às variáveis linguísticas pertinentes e analisadas de acordo com os resultados apresentados pelo programa GoldVarb X. Os resultados mostraram uso significativo de artigo antes de nome próprio de pessoas – 76,2% –, o que evidencia que, no gênero textual considerado, os usos observados na fala também foram observados na escrita.
Das soziale Gehirn – 2. Bedeutung von erworbenen Hirnschädigungen für das Sozialverhalten: Klinik, Diagnostik und Therapie
Authors: Fries W.
Published: September 2023

Nach erworbenen Hirnschädigungen führen Störungen der sozialen Kognition und der sozialen Kompetenz häufig zu erheblichen Einschränkungen in der sozialen Teilhabe, zu sozialem Rückzug und Isolation. Infolge erhöhter Morbidität und Mortalität sind diese Störungen auch sozialmedizinisch relevant. Allerdings besteht ein Mangel sowohl an Diagnostik als auch an Angeboten therapeutischer oder rehabilitativer Interventionen. Die vorliegende Literaturübersicht plädiert nach einem Überblick über die Studienlage für eine systematischeren Erfassung von Störungen der sozialen Kognition und Kompetenz nach erworbener Hirnschädigung sowie für die Entwicklung und Überprüfung weiterer therapeutische Interventionen zu ihrer Behandlung. Schlüsselwörter: soziale Kognition, soziale Kompetenz, erworbene Hirnschädigung, Schädel-Hirn-Trauma, Schlaganfall, Teilhabe, Rehabilitation
Die Auswirkung von Farben auf die Raumwahrnehmung von Patienten mit visuellem Neglect: Eine multiple Einzelfallstudie
Authors: Schuld M. , Jung M. , Plassmann C.
Published: September 2023

Hintergrund: Personen mit einem visuellen Neglect erfahren eine Einschränkung in der Partizipation und Selbstständigkeit. Diese Studie untersucht, ob diese Wahrnehmungsstörung durch die aufmerksamkeitslenkende Wirkung von Farben beeinflusst werden kann. Fragestellung: Die zugrundeliegende Fragestellung nach dem PICO-Prinzip lautet: Führen verschiedene Farben des Bells Tests bei einem Patienten mit visuellem Neglect zu unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen in der Ausführung? Methode: In einer multiplen Einzelfallstudie (n=2, männlich) wurde den Testpersonen der Bells Test in der Originalversion und in sechs Farbvarianten vorgelegt. Dazu wurden die Farben Rot, Blau und Grün genutzt. Jede dieser Farben wurde sowohl als Hintergrundfarbe und Symbolfarbe genutzt. Untersucht wurde je ein Proband mit chronischem und akutem Neglect der linken Seite. Die Auswertung erfolgte anhand der insgesamt gefundenen Glocken, der gefundene Glocken pro Testseite, des Suchmusters und des Laterality Index (LI). Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen positiven Trend der Farbe Rot auf die Raumwahrnehmung der Probanden. Die Farbe hatte sowohl positive Auswirkungen auf die Anzahl der insgesamt gefundenen Glocken wie auch auf die gefundenen Glocken auf der linken Seite. Diskussion: Die Aussagekraft der vorliegenden Studie ist begrenzt. Die Stichprobengröße n = 2 lässt keine repräsentative Aussage über die Allgemeinheit der Neglectpatient:innen zu. Es besteht weiterer Forschungsbedarf zum Zusammenhang von Farben und der Raumwahrnehmung von Neglectpatient:innen. Schlüsselwörter: visueller Neglect, Raumwahrnehmung, Farben, Bells Test
In memoriam Professoris Lech Marian Mokrzecki (1935–2021)
Authors: Maliszewska Agnieszka , Maliszewski Tomasz
Published: September 2023

The article presents Professor Lech Mokrzecki who passed away in July 2021 and was an outstanding expert in the history of education, science and culture of the Old Polish period, a researcher of the history of science in Gdansk in the 16th–18th centuries, the intellectual and artistic culture of Royal Prussia and the early maritime knowledge in former Poland, as well as a researcher of the pre- partition history of historiography and the early history teaching in Poland and other European countries. The authors present his educational and professional path, with special emphasis placed on academic activity and the related achievements. The text also incorporates the Professor’s remarks; as a result, the readers can better understand his approach to the duties of an academic as a researcher, promoter, and a reviewer of the achievements of others.
Cultural Conditions of Constructing Hegemonic Masculinity in the Polish Environment of West Prussia in the in the Mid-19th Century
Authors: Śpica Paweł
Published: September 2023

The article presents cultural factors contributing to hegemonic masculinity in the Polish community of West Prussia in the mid-19th century. Starting from the perspective of social constructionism, Raewyn Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity was used in the research process to reveal the dominant discourse of masculinity in the studied milieu. The source base for the research was the Polish journalism of the region in question (predominantly the local press), mainly from the late 1840s and 1850s, less frequently from later periods. The contextual analysis of the research material made it possible to identify five basic, cultural determinants cultivating hegemonic masculinity in the Polish community of West Prussia in the period studied, analysed in detail (in separate parts) in the present article. These determinants include: the dominant narrative on the role of the male in the family, the position of the male in social structure, the role of the insurrectionary and organic work ethos, the influence of professed faith, including the views proclaimed by Catholic moralists, and the resulting beliefs about male sexuality. The research has shown the significant influence of Catholic ethics and national ideas derived from the nobility on the creation of a hegemonic image of masculinity in the Polish community of the studied region. This discourse was explicitly conservative and essentialist in nature. It also played an important role in maintaining and developing Polish identity in the absence of the Polish statehood.
The Long-Term Effects of Unilateral Divorce Laws on the Noncognitive Skill of Conscientiousness
Authors: Hayduk Iryna , Kleinjans Kristin J.
Published: September 2023

This paper provides the first causal evidence of the effect of a change in divorce laws on noncognitive skills in adulthood. We exploit state-cohort variation in the adoption of unilateral divorce laws in the U.S. to assess whether children exposed to this law have different noncognitive skills in adulthood compared to those never exposed or exposed as adults. Using data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the U.S. (MIDUS) and employing the staggered difference-in-differences identification strategy developed by Callaway and Sant’Anna, we show that divorce reform had a detrimental long-term effect on the conscientiousness of those who were exposed as children whether their parents divorced or not. Changes in parental inputs can explain most of the effect, which is greatest for men whose parents divorced.
Wall-less Flow Phantoms with 3D printed Soluble Filament for Ultrasonic Experiments
Authors: Huber Christian Marinus , Heim Christian , Ermert Helmut , Rupitsch Stefan J. , Ullmann Ingrid , Lyer Stefan
Published: September 2023

Tissue-mimicking materials (TMMs) typically used for ultrasound phantoms include gelatin, agarose and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). These materials have shown sufficient similarity in ultrasound parameters compared to human tissue. Despite their extensive use for years to generate ultrasound phantoms, no simple and easily reproducible way to generate complex, wall-less ultrasound flow phantoms has been introduced. Commercially available ultrasound flow phantoms are limited to simple flow geometries that do not reflect the complex blood flow in humans. Flow phantoms with complex geometries presented in scientific publications either have walls between TMMs and the flow channel, are limited to one material, or are complicated to produce. In this contribution, we present a method using 3D printing and soluble filament that allows for the reliable and consistent production of complex flow geometries with the typical materials used for ultrasound phantoms and without any walls.
Development of a current controlled stimulation setup for investigating the effect of electrical currents on implant infections caused by biofilms
Authors: Fenko Maxim , Valtin Markus , Wiesener Constantin , Fanaei Pirlar Rima , Trampuz Andrej , Schauer Thomas
Published: September 2023

Introduction: Biofilms are bacterial communities that transform into a state enclosed in an extracellular polymeric substance, which makes them less susceptible to antibiotics. Those bacterial formations often develop on metal implants and cause chronic infections. Due to the severely reduced impact of antibiotics against biofilms, the effect of electric stimulation (on its own and in combination with antimicrobials) needs to be further observed, as available studies indicate a positive effect. Methods: Therefore, this work examined the development of a six-channel current-controlled stimulation setup, which enables further in vitro research on the effects of electric stimulation on biofilms. The setup controls the desired stimulation current through the load to counteract electrochemical processes, which constantly change its resistive and capacitive properties. Results: Each channel of the stimulator is able to operate within an amplitude range of 50 μA to 1 mA, a frequency range of 0 Hz to 1 kHz, and a pulse width range of 50 μs to 1 ms. The current control provides a sufficient rise time of 3.3 μs for three different stimulation modes: constant direct current (DC), pulsed DC, and biphasic-pulsed alternating current (AC). Furthermore, a graphical user interface enables the user to regulate and observe the stimulation on a computer to which the stimulator device is connected. Conclusion: The achieved variety of stimulation parameters in one device makes it possible to analyze the effect of different stimulation paradigms on biofilms and therefore enables more in vitro research which is inevitable to develop a sufficient treatment for patients with biofilm-infected implants.
Machine-based emotion-assessment in waiting rooms – a feasibility and acceptance study
Authors: Binz Eike , Seuß Dominik , Pahl Jaspar , Ko Yon-Dschun , Wittenberg Thomas
Published: September 2023

Background: Due to an aging society and changing health behaviors, emergency room crowding has become a major problem in western health care systems. Empowering patients and health care workers to assess necessary and relevant information is critical to streamline clinical workflows. Health kiosks, designed for services like self-check-in or (ideally contactless) health self-assessment may be instrumental in solving this issue. Based on the collected data, automated workflows such as flagging critical patients, inducing specific diagnostics or early symptomatic treatment could be implemented. Objective: Using an AI-supported software, which visually analyzes and categorizes facial expressions, the emotional status of hemato-oncologic patients in a German oncology outpatient clinic was examined. Additionally a survey was conducted, evaluating the acceptance of such a self-assessment solution. Results: 98% of the participants were not stressed by the real-time emotion analysis. However, the current set of registered emotion categories was found to be only partially sufficient to adequately describe the emotional status of the patients. More importantly, 88% of the participants found such a system to be meaningful. Also, 84% of the participants agreed that such a self-analysis could be of potential assistance. No relevant generation- or gender-specific differences could be observed. Discussion: Automated analysis of patients’ emotional status can be a first step toward a more comprehensive assessment of the respective health status. Patients, in particular the elderly, approve to the vision and development of such a system. Next steps are a further improvement of the AI-based emotion recognition software with respect to more emotional states as well as the definition, inclusion and ideally contactless acquisition of physical biomarkers (as e.g. heart rate or respiratory rate) determining physical and mental well-being.
Calculation of standardized uptake values (SUVs) and time activity curves (TACs) of mice in FDG-PET
Authors: Jafarian-Dehkordi Forough , Tanha Kaveh , Hoeschen Christoph
Published: September 2023

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is an important imaging practice in cancer diagnosis, staging, treatment planning, and response assessment. Accurate interpretation of PET results requires an understanding of FDG uptake in organs. The time activity curve (TAC) and standardized uptake value (SUV) are the two common tools to measure tracer uptake in regions of interest. The TAC provides information on glucose consumption dynamics, while the SUV involves measuring the amount of tracer taken up by a specific region or volume of interest, and then adjusting the measurement by the amount of tracer injected and the subject’s characteristics. In the current study, we measured the TACs and SUVs of the heart, brain, kidney, and muscle in ten mice injected with FDG over a period of 120 minutes. According to the TACs obtained in this study, the brain has a slower uptake than the other organs with a tendency to keep the FDG for a longer period of time. Also, the SUV of the brain showed a rising trend until the middle of the experiment with a sharp falloff afterwards. The pattern of the curves of the other three organs was almost the same. The findings of this study were in agreement with a similar study on humans and are explained by the metabolic activity and physiology of the organs studied.
Temporal bone phantom for decoupled cochlear implant electrode insertion force measurement
Authors: Cramer Jakob , Dassow Niklas , Böttcher-Rebmann Georg , Budde Leon , Lenarz Thomas , Rau Thomas S.
Published: September 2023

In research on cochlear implants, preclinical testing of newly developed electrode arrays and surgical tools is an essential procedure, which requires the availability of a suitable testing environment. For this purpose, human temporal bone specimens are most realistic, but their availability is limited and additional parameters such as insertion forces are hardly measurable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a temporal bone phantom with realistic anatomical structures for intracochlear force measurement. The temporal bone was segmented from CBCT data of a human cadaver head. The segmented model was 3D printed with an additional artificial skin layer to enable the simulated use of surgical instruments such as a self-retaining retractor. A mechanically decoupled artificial cochlear model was realistically positioned within the temporal bone and was furthermore attached to a force sensor. The usability of the phantom was evaluated by performing automated EA insertions using an automated hydraulic insertion device. The experiments showed that the insertion forces within the cochlea could be measured without interferences from surrounding structures. Moreover, the artificial skin provided a rigid interface for the insertion tool. The new phantom is a realistic testing and training platform for cochlear implant electrode insertions with the advantage of measureable insertion forces.
Analysis of EDA and Heart Rate Signals for Emotional Stimuli Responses
Authors: Arabian Herag , Schmid Ramona , Wagner-Hartl Verena , Moeller Knut
Published: September 2023

Emotion intelligence is a popular research topic that stems to bridge the gap between human-machine interaction. The use of such systems varies, however, the goal remains the same, to develop a robust and accurate model for detecting and identifying emotions. Physiological signals, such as electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR), when coupled with facial expression analyses can bolster the efficacy of the recognition system. To this end, the aim of this study is to analyse EDA and HR signals to identify reactions to emotional stimuli. The data used in this work was collected from different subjects taking part in a separate study on emotion induction methods. The obtained physiological signals were processed to identify the stimulus trigger instances and detect trends between the different administered emotional stimuli. The results showed that the EDA signal was able to pinpoint the emotional trigger with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.9871. The HR signal showed inconsistencies, however, a clear trend was observed between the emotion reaction and relaxation phase. This preliminary study assessment highlights the possibility of implementing data fusion in emotion recognition systems.
Lymph node metastases detection in Whole Slide Images using prototypical patterns and transformer-guided multiple instance learning
Authors: Heinlein Lukas , Benz Michaela , Kuritcyn Petr , Bruns Volker , Hartmann Arndt , Keil Felix , Geppert Carol , Evert Katja , Wittenberg Thomas
Published: September 2023

Background: The examination of lymph nodes (LNs) regarding metastases is vital for the staging of cancer patients, which is necessary for diagnosis and adequate treatment selection. Advancements in digital pathology, utilizing Whole-Slide Images (WSIs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs), pose new opportunities to automate this procedure, thus reducing pathologists’ workload while simultaneously increasing the accuracy in metastases detection. Objective: To address the task of LN-metastases detection, the use of weakly supervised transformers are applied for the analysis of WSIs. Methods & Materials: As WSIs are too large to be processed as a whole, they are divided into non-overlapping patches, which are converted to feature vectors using a CNN network, pre-trained on HE-stained colon cancer resections. A subset of these patches serves as input for a transformer to predict if a LN contains a metastasis. Hence, selecting a representative subset is an important part of the pipeline. Hereby, a prototype based clustering is employed and different sampling strategies are tested. Finally, the chosen feature vectors are fed into a transformer-based multiple instance learning (MIL) architecture, classifying the LNs into healthy/negative (that is, containing no metastases), or metastatic/positive (that is, containing metastases). The proposed model is trained only on the Camelyon16 training data (LNs from breast cancer patients), and evaluated on the Camelyon16 test set. Results: The trained model achieves accuracies of up to 92.3% on the test data (from breast LNs). While the model struggles with smaller metastases, high specificities of up to 96.9% can be accomplished. Additionally, the model is evaluated on LNs from a different primary tumor (colon), where accuracies between 62.3% and 95.9% could be obtained. Conclusion: The investigated transformer-model performs very good on LN data from the public LN breast data, but the domain transfer to LNs from the colon needs more research.
Robotic Scrub Nurse: Surgical Instrument Handling with a Granular Jamming Gripper
Authors: Schäfer Max B. , Friedrich Jolanda H. , Hotz Jonas , Worbs Lukas , Weiland Sophie , Pott Peter P.
Published: September 2023

The global shortage of healthcare staff has led to high workloads and subsequent risks to patient well-being. One of the professions affected is that of the scrub nurse. Robotic scrub nurse systems have the potential to reduce workload and to assist in handling surgical instruments. Existing approaches mostly use two-finger grippers or electromagnetic grippers. However, it is assumed that a granular jamming gripper is more suitable for handling various surgical instruments, regardless of material and shape. A gripping unit based on a granular jamming gripper and attached to a robotic arm is presented. For evaluation, six surgical instruments were repeatedly gripped and transported. The granular jamming gripper was found to be suitable for picking up and transferring most instruments, however, handling very flat instruments turned out to be challenging.
Third-order SVD based denoising of multi-channel ECG
Authors: Schanze Thomas
Published: September 2023

Denoising of time series is still a challenge, especially when the spectral components of wanted signal and noise overlap. However, denoising is an inverse problem and its solution is of often ambiguous. Standard methods often use predefined functions, e.g., sine waves, to decompose a time series into wanted and unwanted parts. More recent methods calculate the basis for the representation of a time series by the time series itself. Such a method is singular spectrum analysis (SSA). SSA uses Hankel matrix embedding of a time series and singular value decomposition to determine wanted and unwanted components, e.g., noise. The wanted components are then used to compute the wanted part of the time series. Here we present a method that provides an extension of SSA for analyzing and - in particular - denoising multi-channel time series, i.e., multi-channel SSA-based denoising of multi-channel time series (MSSAD). The performance of the new method, which is based on Hankel embedding and tensor decomposition, is demonstrated on a 12-lead ECG.
A Lightweight Framework for Semantic Segmentation of Biomedical Images
Authors: Rieken Münke Friedrich , Rettenberger Luca , Popova Anna , Reischl Markus
Published: September 2023

We introduce a lightweight framework for semantic segmentation that utilizes structured classifiers as an alternative to deep learning methods. Biomedical data is known for being scarce and difficult to label. However, this framework provides a lightweight, easy-to-apply, and fast-to-train approach that can be adapted to changes in image material though efficient retraining. Moreover, the framework is able to adapt to various input sizes making it robust against changes in resolution and is not tied to specialized hardware, which allows efficient application on standard laptops or desktops without GPUs. We benchmark two distinct models, a single structured classifier and an ensemble of structured classifiers, against a U-Net, evaluating overall performance and training speed. The framework is versatile and can be applied to multi-class semantic segmentation. Our study shows that the proposed framework can effectively compete with established deep learning methods on diverse datasets in terms of performance while reducing training time immensely.
Decoupling the effects of varying amplitude and frequency in the electrical stimulation of optic nerve fibers
Authors: Romeni Simone , Marino Gabriele , Pierantoni Luca , Micera Silvestro
Published: September 2023

Introduction. Computational models of optic nerve stimulation can allow to estimate the neural response of optic nerve fibers electrical stimulation and thus can be exploited to tune stimulation parameters to obtain a specific target perception. In principle, such tuning should be performed in an automatic way, so that the chosen stimulation parameters minimize some given cost function related to the quality of resulting the visual perception, but the use of such automatic methods is still under study and no satisfactory solution is available yet. In the absence of automatic methods, stimulation parameters are customarily set via manual tuning, which can be extremely time-consuming if performed in a non-principled way. Methods. We build biophysically-accurate hybrid models of monopolar and bipolar electrical stimulation of optic nerve fibers to study how the fibers firing rates depend upon the stimulation parameters. Results. In the case of monopolar sinusoidal stimulation of optic nerve fibers, we show that the amplitude of stimulation controls the size of the recruited cluster of fibers, and that the frequency controls their firing rate, independently. Instead, for bipolar stimulation, we show that when cross-talk is non negligible it is very difficult to obtain rules of thumb linking the firing rate of target fibers to stimulation parameters. Conclusion. We show that, if the stimulation amplitude is kept such that neighboring stimulating sites do not produce cross-talk, it is possible to reconstruct visual scenes “pixel-by-pixel” without needing any optimization process. If on the contrary current steering is required and cross-talk is non negligible, then it is very difficult to obtain rules of thumb and the development and use of automatic optimization techniques should be preferable.
From Multispectral-Stereo to Intraoperative Hyperspectral Imaging: a Feasibility Study
Authors: Wisotzky Eric L. , Triller Jost , Kossack Benjamin , Globke Brigitta , Arens Philipp , Hilsmann Anna , Eisert Peter
Published: September 2023

Spectral imaging allows to analyze optical tissue properties that are invisible to the naked eye. Different spectral setups have been introduced in the last years to allow intraoperative image-guidance. All systems suffer from different disadvantages, such as lack of real-time capability, limited spectral coverage or low resolution. We present a novel approach using two multispectral snapshot cameras covering different spectral ranges as a stereo-system. The proposed method allows for continuous hyperspectral imaging of the surgical scene, while also enabling 3D scene reconstruction. The study demonstrates the feasibility of this approach and its potential applications in real-time monitoring and tissue identification of surgical interventions. The paper also discusses the technical challenges and future directions for improving the imaging system.