bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Treatment of Equine Tarsus Long Medial Collateral Desmitis with Allogenic Synovial Membrane Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhanced by Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Conditioned Medium: Case Report
Authors: Leal Reis Inês , Lopes Bruna , Sousa Patrícia , Sousa Ana Catarina , Branquinho Mariana , Caseiro Ana Rita , Rêma Alexandra , Briote Inês , Mendonça Carla , Santos Jorge Miguel , Atayde Luís , Alvites Rui , Maurício Ana Colette
Published: September 2023

Horses are high performance athletes prone to sportive injuries such as tendonitis and desmitis. Fibrous tissue formation with loss of mechanical properties occurs in tendon repair, becoming a therapeutic challenge to overcome. This impels regenerative medicine to develop innovative therapies that enhance tissue regeneration retrieving original tissue properties. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been successfully used to develop therapeutic products. They secrete a variety of bioactive molecules that play a pivotal role in tissue regeneration. These factors are released in culture media producing conditioned media (CM). The aforementioned assumptions impelled us to formulate equine synovial membrane stem cells (eSM-MSCs) – the cellular pool that naturally regenerates joint tissue, combined with medium enriched in immunomodulatory factors produced by umbilical cord stroma-derived MSCs (eUC-MSCs), that naturally contribute to suppress the immune rejection in the maternal-fetal frontier. A clinical case of an equine acute desmitis, treated with the abovementioned formulation is presented. Ligament regeneration occurred in a reduced time frame, reducing stoppage time, allowing return to unrestricted competition after completion of a physical rehabilitation program. This study focus was determination of the formulation therapeutic potential and the evaluation of its synergistic effect in an equine desmitis treatment, utilizing the cells themselves and its secretome.
From Fragmented to Integrated: Transforming Emergency Healthcare Delivery through Digital Twin Technology
Authors: Morande Swapnil
Published: September 2023

The prevalence of chronic diseases is dramatically increasing demand for emergency healthcare. Existing systems rely on patients self-identifying symptoms, causing dangerous delays. This study develops an AI and IoT-powered “digital twin” solution to enable continuous real-time monitoring and timely prediction of diverse medical emergencies. A digital twin is a virtual representation of an individual, modeled using multidimensional physiological data from wearable sensors. Machine learning techniques analyze patterns in this data to identify anomalies and predict emergencies like heart attacks or falls. A key contribution is an optimized ensemble algorithm combining gradient boosted trees, neural networks, and other techniques to accurately detect emergency events. Evaluation on a dataset of 9158 samples shows the digital twin identifies key emergencies with over 90% recall, enabling prevention and rapid response. It allows risk stratification and personalized interventions based on early warnings, circumventing over 2 million avoidable emergency room visits annually. This study demonstrates the feasibility of an integrated, predictive, patient-centric emergency response system enabled by digital twin technology.
Rare and Complex Cardiac Anomalies Associated with 22q11.2 Deletion: An Ultrasonographic Visual Trip from Diagnosis until Delivery
Authors: Vlădăreanu Radu , Maier Călina , Tocariu Raluca , Șerban Marcela , Brătilă Elvira
Published: September 2023

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is the most common chromosomal microdeletion disorder caused by hemizygous microdeletion of the long arm of chromosome 22. It is now known to have a heterogenous presentation that includes multiple additional congenital anomalies and later-onset conditions, such as gastrointestinal and renal abnormalities, autoimmune disease, variable cognitive delays, behavioral phenotypes and psychiatric illness. The purpose of our paper is to present the case of a fetus diagnosed with a rare and complex cardiac malformation (interrupted aortic arch (IAA) type B, large malalignment-type ventricular septal defect (VSD), pulmonary valve dysplasia, aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA). The result of the genetic testing revealed 22q11.2 deletion and after genetic counselling the patient decided to continue the pregnancy. She was regularly followed until delivery which took place in Germany so that neonatal cardiac surgery could be performed in an experienced center for cardiac malformations. We emphasize on the ultrasound aspects regarding the cardiac anomaly and specific features of 22q11.2DS in a continuous manner from diagnosis until delivery.
Plasma Cytokines for Prediction of the Effectiveness of TNFα Inhibitors Etanercept, Infliximab, and Adalimumab in the Treatment of Psoriasis
Authors: Arfenya Karamova , Znamenskaya Ludmila , Vorontsova Anastasiia , Obraztsova Olga , Nikonorov Alexandr , Nikonorova Eugenia , Deryabin Dmitry , Kubanov Alexey
Published: September 2023

An analysis of the relationship between plasma cytokines and the effectiveness of treatment with TNFαinhibitors was performed in 81 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Treatment efficacy was assessed by PASI score, and patients were classified into a positive effect (PASI≥75) and no effect group (PASI≤50). A positive effect was reached in 11 (41%) patients for etanercept, 14 (52%) for adalimumab, and 26 (96%) for infliximab. Data analysis did not show  differences in baseline TNFα levels and subsequent treatment effectiveness. The CART algorithm showed that at the baseline level of VEGF ≥ 32 pg/ml and IL17F < 26 pg/ml, there was an 83% probability of a positive effect. Random forest analysis showed the importance of VEGF, ICAM1, sCD40L, IL17F and IL31 baseline levels in the prediction of treatment effectiveness.   Significant differences between the groups before/after the treatment were found only for TNFα: the median values were more than 50 times higher in no effect compared with positive effect group. There were differences before/after therapy in the levels of IL20, ICAM1, IL22, IL23 in the no effect group. The treatment affected the cytokine profile in most cases regardless of the effectiveness of therapy.
Preliminary Results on Health Issues Incidence Evaluation in a Research Farm with Romanian Black Spotted Dairy Calves Breed
Authors: Raducanu Elena , Grigore Daniela-Mihaela , Gavojdian Dinu , Mărginean Gheorghe Emil , Vidu Livia
Published: September 2023

Dairy calves are susceptible to a great range of welfare and health issues up to the age of weaning. The aim of the current pilot study was to evaluate incidence of the main health disorders affecting dairy calves up to one year of age. The study was carried out at the Experimental Farm of the Research and Development Institute for Bovine Balotesti, Romania, were health data was collected for two consecutive years, between November 2017 and October 2019, from a number of 176 purebred Romanian Black and White calves. Diarrhea had the highest incidence in un-weaned calves (0-3months old), of 29.55±0.34%, significantly higher (p≤0.001) compared to 3-6 months (2.16±1.24) and 6-12 months age groups (5.88±2.17), respectively. Coccidiosis incidence was on average of 39.20±0.36% in un-weaned calves, 1.44±1.01% in the 3-6 months group and of 5.04±2.01% in the 6-12 months group, significantly higher (p≤0.001) in the 0-3 months age group, compared to older calves.
Use of Artificial Intelligence to Hasten Progress in Plant Genetics
Authors: Patil Abhinandan
Published: September 2023

There has been a revolution in crop breeding, the age-old technique of improving plant features for agricultural and nutritional purposes. The merging of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and genetics is the driving force behind these changes. The combination of AI-driven models, genomic data, and cutting-edge tools like CRISPR-Cas9 to speed up genetic improvements in crops is described in this abstract. From increased disease resistance and production potential to better nutritional content, AI plays a crucial role in the identification and improvement of crop features. The time it takes to review, select, and cross several generations of crops is reduced by AI's data-driven selection, precision editing, and predictive modeling. This innovative tool has the potential to transform farming by helping to combat issues like hunger, climate change, and malnutrition on a worldwide scale. Equal access, protecting genetic variety, and assessing risks are only some of the ethical and regulatory issues raised by AI-enhanced agricultural breeding. Responsible and equitable implementation of AI in agricultural breeding relies on successfully navigating these challenges. Finally, the use of artificial intelligence to improve crop breeding marks a revolutionary change in agriculture, speeding up genetic improvements to meet the needs of a growing global population while also addressing urgent environmental and nutritional concerns. This abstract provides a taste of the promise, difficulty, and ethical questions that characterize this innovative subject, where artificial intelligence and genetics join forces to grow a better future for agricultural production around the world.
Future Cities Carbon Emission Models: Hybrid Vehicle Emission Modelling for Low-Emission Zones
Authors: Mądziel Maksymilian
Published: September 2023

The cities of the future are places of sustainable mobility and a continuous reduction in the amount of harmful substances entering the surrounding environment. Current emission models are mainly dedicated to fully combustion vehicles and do not fully reflect the actual emissions of vehicles in the fleet, which is becoming increasingly diverse. The increasing share of hybrid and electric vehicles is generating the need to measure emissions and energy consumption from these vehicles and to develop new emission models that are accurate. This problem mainly concerns low-emission zones in cities, where mobility planning should be based on simulation models that are based on a continuously updated database. This work concerns the proposal of a two-dimensional model of emissions from hybrid vehicles using artificial neural networks for low-emission zones. The results can be used to further develop such emission models.
Impact of Policy Packages on Beef Cattle Breeding in China: Evidence from 297 Beef Cattle Farmers
Authors: Li Junru , Shi Zizhong
Published: September 2023

Based on survey data from 297 beef cattle farmers in five provinces, Hunan, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Gansu, the impact of the package of support policies on farmers' beef cattle production was assessed by means of propensity score matching (PSM). The results showed that the package of support policies, the education level of the household head, participation in beef cattle professional cooperatives and taking out loans for beef cattle farming had significant positive impacts on farmers’ inventories of beef cattle and breeding cows. The current package of beef cattle support policies implemented by the national and local governments has significantly promoted the production of beef cattle by farmers, and the effects of the policy implementation have been positive. The implementation of the relevant support policies led to increases in farmers’ inventories of approximately 17 head of beef cattle and approximately 9 head of breeding cows. The contribution rates of the policy implementation to the beef cattle and breeding cow inventories reached 52.96% and 67.30%, respectively.
Career Adaptability and Resilience of Mental Health Service Users: The Role of Career Counseling
Authors: Drosos Nikos , Korfiatis Antonis
Published: September 2023

The employment rate of people who face severe mental health issues is extremely low, while the vast majority expresses their willingness to work. There are various obstacles that impede their work re-integration process. Apart from the illness’ symptoms and the employers’ stigma, these barriers are strongly associated with the effects of long-term unemployment and the lack of positive psychosocial resources, such as career adaptability and resilience. The present study aims at investigating career adaptability and resilience of mental health service users who receive career counseling services. The career counseling approach that was used combines elements from the IPS model and the career construction approach that has been developed to address the contemporary world of work challenges. We investigated how mental health service users view themselves in terms of career adaptability and resilience, and which factors contributed to their development or impeded them. We used a qualitative approach, which allows for an in-depth exploration of the participants’ views. Fifteen mental health users who receive career counseling services were interviewed. Results showed that mental health service users believe that they can overcome any difficulties and setbacks, when they have adequate support from their social network and when they receive career counseling services. They highlighted the importance of counseling services to maintain their work and cope with stressful events. Further implications of the results regarding vocational rehabilitation of mental health users as means for social inclusion are discussed.
Novel Gain-of-Function Mutation in the Kv11.1 Channel Found in Patient with Brugada Syndrome and Mild QTc Shortening
Authors: Abramochkin Denis , Li Bowen , Zhang Han , Kravchuk Ekaterina , Nesterova Tatiana , Glukhov Grigory , Shestak Anna , Zaklyazminskaya Elena , Sokolova Olga S.
Published: September 2023

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inherited disease characterized by right precordial ST-segment elevation on electrocardiograms (ECGs), and a high risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhyth-mia and sudden cardiac death. In BrS patients, except for SCN5A, mutations in other responsible genes are poorly elucidated. We identified a new missense mutation, c.1189C>T (p.R397C), in the KCNH2 gene in asymptomatic male proband with diagnosed BrS. We performed patch-clamp analysis on I(Kr) reconstituted with this KCNH2 mutation in Chinese hamster ovary cells and compared the phenotype with the wild type. We found that the R397C mutation increased the I(Kr) density. In silico modeling demonstrated that this missense mutation potentially leads to the shortening of action potential in the heart.
Role of pH and Crosslinking Ions on Cell Viability and Metabolic Activity in Alginate-gelatin 3D Prints
Authors: Souza Andrea , Parnell Matthew , Rodriguez Brian J. , Reynaud Emmanuel
Published: September 2023

Alginate-gelatin hydrogels are extensively used in bioengineering. However, despite different formulations being utilized for growing different cell types in vitro, their pH and its effect, together with the crosslinking ions, of those formulations are still infrequently assessed. In this work we studied how these elements can affect hydrogel stability and printability and influence U2OS and NIH/3T3 cell viability and metabolism on the resulting 3D prints. In this context, 6% alginate + 2% gelatin hydrogels were prepared with 0.1 M MES buffer with pH 5.5, 6.5, 7.0 or 8.0, printed by extrusion-based 3D printing, and crosslinked immediately after printing with either CaCl2 or BaCl2. Our results showed that both the buffer pH and the crosslinking ion (Ca2+ or Ba2+) influence the swelling and degradation rates of the prints. Moreover, the buffer pH influenced the printability of the hydrogel in air, but when printed directly in a fluid-phase CaCl2 or BaCl2 crosslinking bath. In addition, both U2OS and NIH/3T3 cells showed greater cell metabolic activity on one-layer prints crosslinked with Ca2+. Besides, Ba2+ increased cell death of NIH/3T3 cells while had no effect on the U2OS cell viability. The pH of the buffer also caused an important impact on the cell behaviour. U2OS cells showed a 2.25-fold cell metabolism increase on one-layer prints prepared at pH 8.0 in comparison to those prepared at pH 5.5. Whereas, NIH/3T3 cells showed greater metabolism on one-layer prints with pH 7.0. Finally, we observed a difference on cell arrangement of the U2OS cells growing on prints prepared from hydrogels with acidic buffer in comparison to cells growing on those prepared using neutral or basic buffer. These results show that both pH and crosslinking ion influence hydrogel strength and cell behaviour.
Biochar and Organic Fertilizer Co-Application Enhances Soil Carbon Priming Increasing CO2 Fluxes in Two Contrasting Arable Soils
Authors: Bednik Magdalena , Medyńska-Juraszek Agnieszka , Ćwieląg-Piasecka Irmina
Published: September 2023

Biochar soil amendment along with non-tillage agriculture, are often proposed as a strategy for organic carbon sequestration in soil. How the quality of biochar might influence the priming effect on soil organic matter mineralization and whether the addition of fresh organic matter will affect its stability in soil is still questionable. In the study, six biochars of different biomass origin and three exogenous organic matter sources were added to two distinct arable soils. CO2 emission was monitored for 100 days of incubation and CO2 flux was estimated. Results showed that biochar application increased soil CO2 fluxes. The highest peaks were recorded in treatments with food waste biochars, suggesting that this feedstock serves as sources of labile C fractions to soil microbes. Co-application of raw organic materials (manure and fresh clover biomass) enhanced CO2 emission and estimated carbon losses, especially in sandy soil with low organic carbon content. Biochar properties and content of labile C fractions can stimulate CO2 emission, however in a long-term period this contribution is negligible. Findings of our study showed that more attention should be paid to priming effects caused by addition of exogenous organic matter e.g. fertilizers or cover crops when applied to biochar amended soils.
Psychometric Properties of the Dutch Version of the Eating Competence Satter Inventory (ecSI 2.0TM) in Community Adolescents
Authors: Claes Laurence , Vankerckhoven Lore , Smits Dirk , Kiekens Glenn , Stukken Loes , Luyckx Koen
Published: September 2023

Eating competence can play a role in helping adolescents navigate their food choices and attitudes toward eating in a healthy and balanced way. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Dutch translation of the Eating Competence Satter Inventory 2.0TM (ecSI 2.0TM), which was developed to assess eating attitudes and behaviors. A sample of 900 Flemish adolescents completed the ecSI 2.0TM DUTCH and two self-report measures on eating disorder symptoms and identity functioning (i.e., confusion and synthesis). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the ecSI 2.0TM DUTCH, and the resulting four subscales (Eating Attitudes, Food Acceptance, Internal Regulation, and Contextual Skills) showed acceptable to excellent reliability (α ranging from .69 to .91). The ecSI 2.0TM also showed to be scalar invariant across sex and age (<17 years, ≥ 17 years). Boys reported significantly higher ecSI 2.0TM DUTCH scores than girls on the four subscales and the total scale. The two age groups did not differ significantly on the ecSI 2.0TM DUTCH scales. Finally, scores on the ecSI 2.0TM subscales showed no or small negative correlations with adolescents’ BMI, large negative correlations with eating disorder symptoms and identity confusion, and large positive associations with identity synthesis. The Dutch translation of the ecSI 2.0TM is a valid and reliable instrument to assess eating competence skills in male and female adolescents.
Immunotherapy Strategy for Systemic Autoimmune Diseases: Betting on CAR-T
Authors: Chasov Vitaly , Zmievskaya Ekaterina , Ganeeva Irina , Gilyazova Elvina , Davletshin Damir , Mirgayazova Regina , Khadiullina Raniya , Valiullina Aygul , Rizvanov Albert , Bulatov Emil
Published: September 2023

Systemic autoimmune diseases (SAIDs) such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are fully related to the unregulated innate and adaptive immune systems involved in their pathogenesis. They have similar pathogenic characteristics including the interferon signature, loss of tolerance to self-nuclear antigens, and enhanced tissue damage like necrosis and fibrosis. Glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants, which have limited specificity and are prone to tolerance, are used as the first-line therapy. A plethora of novel immunotherapies have been developed including monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, and other biological agents to target cellular and soluble factors involved in disease pathogenesis such as B cells, co-stimulatory molecules, cytokines or their receptors, and signalling molecules. Many of these have shown encouraging results in clinical trials. CAR-T cell therapy is considered the most promising technique for curing autoimmune diseases, with recent successes in the treatment of SLE and SSc.
Investigation of Material Loading on an Evolved Antecedent Hexagonal CSRR-Loaded Electrically Small Antenna
Authors: Ng Jake Peng Sean , Sum Yee Loon , Soong Boon Hee , Monteiro Paulo J. M.
Published: September 2023

Recent advances in embedded antenna and sensor technologies for 5G communications have galvanized a response toward the investigation of their electromagnetic (EM) performance for urban context and civil engineering applications. This article quantitatively investigates the effects of material loading on an evolved antecedent-based design of a hexagonal-stubbed Complementary Split-Ring Resonator (CSRR)-loaded antenna through simulation and experimentation. The optimized antenna design is first conceptualized within a simulation environment to achieve EM resonance at 3.50 GHz before delving into the analysis of operational performance characteristics. As a proof-of-concept, a physical antenna prototype is fabricated on a printed circuit board for the in-situ evaluation of S11 parameter plot. Subsequently, a simulation-based parametric study is conducted on antenna prototypes embedded into Ordinary Portland Cement pastes with varying weight percentages of iron(III) oxide. Simulation-derived and experimental results are mutually verified, achieving a systemic downward shift in resonant frequency and corresponding variations in impedance matching induced by changes in the loading reactance. Finally, an inversion modeling procedure is employed using perturbation theory to extrapolate the relative permittivity of the dielectric embedding materials. Our proposed analysis contributes to optimizing concrete-embedded 5G antenna sensor designs and establishes a foundational framework for estimating unknown EM parameters of cement-based composites.
Network analysis of depressive and anxiety symptoms in older Chinese adults with diabetes mellitus
Authors: Guo Zhihua , Cui Yi , Li Yijun , Lu Hongliang , Liu Quanhui , Zhu Xia
Published: September 2023

Background
The move away from investigating mental disorders as whole using sum scores to the analysis of symptom-level interactions using network analysis has provided new insights into comorbidity. The current study explored the dynamic interactions between depressive and anxiety symptoms in older Chinese adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) and identified central and bridge symptoms in the depression-anxiety network to provide targets for prevention and intervention into depression and anxiety.
Methods
This study used a cross-sectional design with data from the 2017–2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). A regularized partial correlation network for depression and anxiety was estimated based on self-reported scales completed by 1685 older adults with DM aged 65 years or older. Expected influence (EI) and bridge expected influence (BEI) indices were calculated for each symptom.
Results
The prevalences of depression and anxiety in our sample were 52.9% and 12.8%, respectively. The comorbidity rate of depression and anxiety was 11.5%. The six edges with the strongest regularized partial correlations were between symptoms from the same disorder. “Feeling blue/depressed”, “Nervousness or anxiety”, “Uncontrollable worry”, “Trouble relaxing”, and “Worry too much” had the highest EI values. “Nervousness or anxiety” and “Everything was an effort” exhibited the highest BEI values.
Conclusion
Central and bridge symptoms were highlighted in this study. Targeting these symptoms may be effective in preventing the comorbidity of depressive and anxiety symptoms and facilitate interventions in older Chinese adults with DM who are at risk for or suffer from depressive and anxiety symptoms.
From pilot to a multi-site trial: Refining the Early Detection of Deterioration in Elderly Residents (EDDIE+) intervention
Authors: Allen Michelle J. , Carter Hannah E. , Cyarto Elizabeth , Meyer Claudia , Dwyer Trudy , Oprescu Florin , Aitken Christopher , Farrington Alison , Shield Carla , Rowland Jeffrey , Lee Xing J. , Graves Nick , Parkinson Lynne , Harvey Gillian
Published: September 2023

Background
Early Detection of Deterioration in Elderly Residents (EDDIE+) is a multi-modal intervention focused on empowering nursing and personal care workers to identify and proactively manage deterioration of residents living in residential aged care (RAC) homes. Building on successful pilot trials conducted between 2014 and 2017, the intervention was refined for implementation in a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial in 12 RAC homes from March 2021 to May 2022. We report the process used to transition from a small-scale pilot intervention to a multi-site intervention, detailing the intervention to enable future replication.
Methods
The EDDIE + intervention used the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework to guide the intervention development and refinement process. We conducted an environmental scan; multi-level context assessments; convened an intervention working group (IWG) to develop the program logic, conducted a sustainability assessment and deconstructed the intervention components into fixed and adaptable elements; and subsequently refined the intervention.
Results
The original EDDIE pilot intervention included four components: nurse and personal care worker education; decision support tools; diagnostic equipment; and facilitation and clinical support. Deconstructing the intervention into core components and what could be flexibly tailored to context was essential for refining the intervention and informing the implementation across multiple sites. Intervention elements considered unsustainable were updated and refined to enable their scalability. Refinements included: an enhanced educational component with a greater focus on personal care workers and interactive learning; decision support tools that were based on updated evidence; equipment that aligned with recipient needs and available organisational support; and updated facilitation model with local and external facilitation.
Conclusion
By using the i-PARIHS framework in the scale-up process, the EDDIE + intervention was tailored to fit the needs of intended recipients and contexts, enabling flexibility for local adaptation. The process of transitioning from a pilot to larger scale implementation in practice is vastly underreported yet vital for better development and implementation of multi-component interventions across multiple sites. We provide an example using an implementation framework and show it can be advantageous to researchers and health practitioners from pilot stage to refinement through to larger scale implementation.
Trial registration
The trial was prospectively registered with the Australia New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12620000507987, registered 23/04/2020).
Micro-expression recognition using a multi-scale feature extraction network with attention mechanisms
Authors: Wang Yan , Zhang Qingyun , Shu Xin
Published: September 2023

Micro-expressions are instantaneous flashes of facial expressions that reveal a person's true feelings and emotions. Micro-expression recognition (MER) is challenging due to its low motion intensity, short duration, and the limited number of publicly available samples. Although the present MER methods have achieved great progress, they face the problems of a large number of training parameters and insufficient feature extraction ability. In this paper, we propose a lightweight network MFE-Net with Res-blocks to extract multi-scale features for MER. To extract more valuable features, we incorporate Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) attention and multi-headed self-attention (MHSA) mechanisms in our MFE-Net. The proposed network is used for learning features from three optical flow features (i.e. optical strain, horizontal and vertical optical flow images) which are calculated from the onset and apex frames. We employ the LOSO cross-validation strategy to conduct experiments on CASME II and the composite dataset selected by MEGC2019, respectively. The extensive experimental results demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of our method.
Pharmacological inhibition of α-synuclein aggregation
within liquid condensates
Authors: Vendruscolo Michele , Dada Samuel , Toprakcioglu Zenon , Hardenberg Maarten , Cali Mariana , Mrugalla Lena , Morris Owen , Roentgen Alexander , Knowles Tuomas
Published: September 2023

Aggregated forms of α-synuclein constitute the major component of Lewy bodies, the proteinaceous aggregates characteristic of Parkinson’s disease1,2. Emerging evidence suggests that α-synuclein aggregation may occur within liquid condensates formed through phase separation3-5. This mechanism of aggregation creates new challenges and opportunites for drug discovery for Parkinson’s disease, which is otherwise still incurable6. Here we show that the condensation-driven aggregation pathway of α-synuclein can be inhibited using small molecules. We report that the aminosterol claramine stabilizes α-synuclein condensates, and inhibits α-synuclein aggregation within the condensates both in vitro and in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson’s disease. By using a chemical kinetics approach, we show that the mechanism of action of claramine is to inhibit primary nucleation within the condensates. These results illustrate a possible therapeutic route based on the inhibition of protein aggregation within condensates, a phenomenon likely to be relevant in other neurodegenerative disorders.
Vigorous vertical mixing supports biological production in the mesoscale Tsugaru Gyre
Authors: KANEKO Hitoshi , TANAKA Takahiro , Wakita Masahide , Sasaki Ken'ichi , OKUNISHI Takeshi , TATAMISASHI Shoko , SATO Yoshiaki , HASHIMUKAI Takayuki , CHIBA Tomokazu , TAKADA Makoto , YOSHINO Jun
Published: September 2023

Examining localized nutrient supplies that facilitate broader-scale biological production is imperative for comprehending marine ecosystems. Nutrients transported vertically in specific hotspot areas that reach the surface can be conveyed downstream by background currents, thereby augmenting surface biological production over a wider expanse, including robust currents traversing seamounts. However, assessing the influence of such transport on large-scale production poses challenges due to spatiotemporal disparities. We present an analysis of the Tsugaru Strait, a critical conduit linking the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. Our investigation utilizes high-resolution surface current data acquired from a long-term high-frequency radar system aligned with direct turbulence measurements. Shipboard observations unveil significant turbulence and diffusive nitrate fluxes, surpassing open ocean levels by a factor of 10 or more. The intensified turbulence was associated with heightened surface density, indicative of a surface divergence field. A six-year statistical analysis establishes a positive correlation between this surface divergence and downstream chlorophyll-a distribution, aligning with the formation area of the hundred-kilometre-scale anticyclonic Tsugaru Gyre. Therefore, the Tsugaru Strait emerges as a hotspot for the production of the gyre, which is renowned as a valuable fishing ground. This discovery carries significant implications for monitoring and conserving marine ecosystems to ensure sustainability.
A Bibliometric Analysis on Climate Finance: Current Status and Future Directions
Authors: Shang Qingyi , Jin Xin
Published: September 2023

Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, different countries have implemented various measures to achieve climate governance. This has attracted significant attention from the academic community, resulting in a rapid increase in climate finance literature. This study conducts bibliometric analysis and systematic review to identify the development trends and research hotspots in the field of climate finance. The empirical findings reveal that climate finance research primarily focuses on environmental science, energy fuels, economics, and finance. However, there is limited coverage of climate finance content in finance journals. Moreover, scholars in developing countries show less interest in climate finance compared to them in developed countries, and there is limited cross-regional collaboration among scholars from developing countries. Finally, this paper analyzes clustering results to identify and categorize the focal areas dispersed across research articles, and provides future directions for the advancement of climate finance.
Loss of Plasticity in Deep Continual Learning
Authors: Dohare Shibhansh , Hernandez-Garcia Juan , Rahman Parash , Sutton Richard , Mahmood A. Rupam
Published: September 2023

Modern deep-learning systems are specialized to problem settings in which training occurs once and then never again, as opposed to continual-learning settings in which training occurs continually. If deep-learning systems are applied in a continual learning setting, then it is well known that they may fail to remember earlier examples. More fundamental, but less well known, is that they may also lose their ability to learn on new examples, a phenomenon called loss of plasticity. We provide direct demonstrations of loss of plasticity using the MNIST and ImageNet datasets repurposed for continual learning as sequences of tasks. In ImageNet, binary classification performance dropped from 89% accuracy on an early task down to 77%, about the level of a linear network, on the 2000th task. Loss of plasticity occurred with a wide range of deep network architectures, optimizers, activation functions, batch normalization, dropout, but was substantially eased by L2-regularization, particularly when combined with weight perturbation. Further, we introduce a new algorithm—continual backpropagation—which slightly modifies conventional backpropagation to reinitialize a small fraction of less-used units after each example and appears to maintain plasticity indefinitely.
Non-linear associations of HOMA2-IR with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in obese individuals: insights from NHANES 1999-2006
Authors: Zhang Aikai , Huang Lingchen , Tang Min
Published: September 2023

Background
The association of homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2-IR) and mortality among obese and non-obese population has not been clearly explained so far.
Methods
A total of 7,085 individuals aged ≥ 20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2006 were included in the study. The study endpoints were all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models, restricted cubic spline analysis and Kaplan-Meier curve were employed for the evaluation.
Results
In a study comprising 59,815,733 weighted eligible participants, a total of 1666 all-cause deaths and 555 cardiovascular (CV) deaths were recorded over a mean follow-up period of 195.53 months. Notably, a significant difference in obesity was observed in relation to the association between HOMA2-IR and mortality. Upon adjusting for multiple variables, the highest group of HOMA2-IR exhibited an increased risk of all-cause and CV mortality among non-obese individuals when compared to the middle group. Conversely, the lowest group of HOMA2-IR was linked to higher CV mortality in obese participants compared to the middle group (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.82, 95% confidence interval, 1.14–2.92, P = 0.013). The results from the restricted cubic spline analysis displayed a J-shaped correlation between HOMA2-IR and all-cause, as well as CV mortality. Additionally, a nonlinear U-shaped correlation was observed in the obese population, with inflection points identified at 1.64 and 1.85. Below these inflection points, a negative relationship between HOMA2-IR and mortality was observed.
Conclusions
Elevated HOMA2-IR demonstrated a noteworthy correlation with escalated risks of both all-cause and CV mortality. It was noteworthy that excessively diminished levels of insulin resistance exhibited a distinct association with heightened mortality among obese individuals.
Risk Factors for Low Back Pain Amongst Adults in Nigeria and South Africa. A Systematic Review
Authors: Fay Matthew , Black Michelle
Published: September 2023

Background
The burden on the individual, society and healthcare providers of low back pain in the western world is well documented. Globalisation and urbanisation, it has been reported, has led to an increase in low back pain in developing countries such as those situated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Low back pain determinants are framed, according to the individual, social and cultural context. The aim of this systematic review is determine the risk factors of low back pain in Nigeria and South Africa, whose growing and modernising economies operate alongside more traditional labour-intensive practices provide a comparison for modern-day Sub-Saharan Africa.
Method
A systematic review of literature was conducted, searching Embase, Medline, PubMed and Africa Index Medicus, from inception to November 2022. Owing to study heterogeneity a stratified synthesis was performed to analyse study data.
Results
Thirty-three studies were included. Their ability to demonstrate a cause and effect relationship between risk factor and low back pain is limited by study design. Overall, there is poor, moderate to good quality evidence of an association between sociodemographic, lifestyle, occupational and psychosocial risk factors and low back pain.
Conclusion
This review suggests common risk factors for low back pain exists in Nigerian and South African populations as they do in other countries. Rapid urbanisation and paucity in literature indicates future attention should focus on urban and rural community settings. Such efforts may assist in confirming common risk factors and prevalence of low back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions, initially in Nigeria and South Africa, and help contribute to relevant public health initiative prioritisation.
PROSPERO registration number: CRD 42023378363
Microcirculatory Resistance Based on a Single Angiographic View in ST- segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients
Authors: Zhang Zhe , Dai Qing , Zhang Xinlin , Qiao Shiyang , Bao Xue , Wang Kun , Xue Peng , Gao Yuan , Guo Xuemei , Xue Yanan , Wei Zhonghai , Xu Biao , Kang Lina
Published: September 2023

Background
Angio-based microvascular resistance (AMR) was proposed as a tool to quantitatively assess coronary microvascular based on single angiographic projection. The aims of this study are to assess the diagnostic accuracy and prognostic significance of AMR in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.
Methods
AMR was measured (Of these, 22 patients measured index of microvascular resistance (IMR)) in 70 STEMI patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). ST-segment resolution (STR) was assessed 2 hours after pPCI simultaneously. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed within 1 day and approximately 1 year after pPCI. STEMI patients underwent pPCI were followed up for 7.3 years and the primary endpoint was the major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (MACCEs).
Results
AMR showed significant correlations with IMR (R = 0.334, P = 0.005). AMR has good predictive power for STR after pPCI (area under the curve: 0.889, sensitivity: 94.59%, specificity: 75.76%) in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Low-AMR patients showed markedly improved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 1 year after pPCI (42(40–49) vs 41(39–44), P = 0.041). High-AMR patients showed higher risk for MACCEs than those with Low-AMR (HR = 3.90, P = 0.02). In multivariate cox regression analysis, AMR was considered an independent predictor of MACCEs (HR: 1.153, P = 0.020).
Conclusions
AMR was a reliable tool for the estimation of microvascular resistance and prognosis in the absence of intracoronary pressure-temperature sensor wire and adenosine based on single angiographic projection.
High-Modulus Homochiral Torsional Oxide Ceramic Artificial Muscles
Authors: Yan Jianhua , wu jiawei , Zhu Chuang , Guo Yongshi , Di Jiangtao , Zhang Xiaohua , Wei Liying , Tian Xuwang , Fu Kun
Published: September 2023

Artificial muscles are soft actuators used to mimic human muscle movements, but using oxide ceramics to fabricate high-modulus artificial muscles is a challenge since they are prone to fracture during homochiral torsion. Here, we report a strategy of ceramic metallization to solve the problem of low-shear and low-stretchability of ceramics and fabricate homochiral coiled alumina yarn artificial muscles with a solenoid structure. The alumina muscle can carry objects of 0.28 million times its own weight and provide a high actuation stress of 483.5 MPa while maintaining a large tensile stroke of 13.5%. In addition, it shows a contraction power 18 times and an energy density 240 times of human muscles, as well as a high energy conversion efficiency of 7.59% under an electric drive mode, which far exceed most reported polymer and carbon muscles. This work realizes large-scale fabrication of high-modulus ceramic muscles.
A global increase in nearshore tropical cyclone intensification
Authors: Balaguru Karthik , Chang Chuan-Chieh , Leung L. , Foltz Gregory , Hagos Samson , Wehner Michael , Kossin James , Ting Mingfang , Xu Wenwei
Published: September 2023

Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. While past studies examined several aspects of landfalling TCs, storm intensification nearshore has hitherto not been explored at the global scale. Here, we address this using a suite of observations and numerical model simulations. Over the historical period 1979-2020, observations reveal a global mean TC intensification rate increase of about 3 kt per 24-hr in regions close to the coast. Analysis of the observed large-scale environment shows that stronger decreases in vertical wind shear and larger increases in relative humidity relative to the open oceans are responsible. Further, climate model simulations suggest that nearshore TC intensification will continue to rise under global warming. Decreasing shear near coastlines, driven by amplified warming in the upper troposphere and changes in heating patterns, is the likely pathway for these projected increases in TC intensification nearshore.
Dynamic effects of a regulating valve in the assessment of water leakages in single pipelines
Authors: Coronado-Hernandez Oscar Enrique , Fuertes-Miquel Vicente S , Pérez-Sánchez Modesto , Coronado-Hernández Jairo R. , Quiñones-Bolaños Edgar , Ramos Helena M.
Published: September 2023

Water losses in water distribution systems are typically analysed using extended period simulations, where its numerical resolution is commonly achieved using the gradient method. These models assume that adjustments to regulating valves occur, either manually or automatically, over an extended period of time, then the system inertia can be neglected. This research introduces the development of a rigid water column model for analysing water leakages in single pipelines, which can be employed to account for regulation valve adjustments in shorter time periods, thereby providing greater accuracy when assessing water losses. The application to a case study is presented to analyse pressure variations and leakage flow patterns over 30, 60, and 180 s. A comparison between the extended period simulation and rigid water column model is presented in order to note the order of magnitude on leakages when the system inertia is not considered. The results confirm that is crucial for water utilities the consideration of inertial system to simulate adequately opening and closure manoeuvres in water distribution systems, since according to the case study the extended period simulation can overestimated or underestimated the total leakage volume in percentages of 37.1 and 55.2 %, respectively.
Implications of Financial Leverage for Bank Profitability
Authors: Alnaa Samuel Erasmus , Matey Juabin
Published: September 2023

This study discusses the implications of financial leverage (debt) as a financing model compared to equity capital in Ghana's banking sector. It highlights the examination of Risk-Adjusted Return on Assets (RAROA) and Risk-Adjusted Return on Equity (RAROE) as response variables in the established financing model, with three explanatory variables: bank credit risk, liquidity risk, and bank capital sufficiency.

The analysis of the data revealed several findings, including an inverse relationship between bank profitability (as measured by RAROA) and credit risk. This suggests that effective risk management practices can reduce volatility and improve profitability for banks. Additionally, the use of equity capital provides full control over business ownership compared to debt capital, although it may have a contractionary effect on ploughed-back accrued income.

Based on the analysis, the recommendation is to have a moderate use of equity capital over debt capital. This suggests that a balanced approach, combining both debt and equity financing, can be beneficial for banks in Ghana's banking sector.

Financial decisions and capital structure considerations can vary depending on various factors, including industry dynamics, the regulatory environment, and individual company circumstances.
Personalized surgical treatment recommendation with joint consideration of multiple decision-making dimensions
Authors: Sun Zhijing , Du Zhe , Liu Zhaoyang , Deng Ke , Zhu Lan , Fu Linru , Wang Che
Published: September 2023

Surgical treatment planning is a highly complicated and personalized procedure, where a surgeon needs to balance multiple decision-making dimensions including effectiveness, risk, and cost wisely for the best benefit of the patient, based on his/her conditions and preferences. Developing an algorithm-driven support system for surgical treatment planning is a great appeal. This study fills in this gap with MUBA (multidimensional Bayesian recommendation), an interpretable data-driven intelligent system that supports personalized surgical treatment recommendations on both the patient’s and the surgeon’s side with joint consideration of multiple decision-making dimensions. Applied to surgical treatment recommendation for Pelvic Organ Prolapse, a common female disease with significant negative impacts on the life quality of patients, MUBA achieved excellent performance that was comparable to top urogynecologists, with a transparent decision-making process that made communications between surgeons and patients much easier. Such a success indicates that MUBA has good potential in solving similar problems in other diseases.