bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Validation of the hotspot for dorsolateral subthalamic nucleus targeting in deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson’s disease: a post hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Bolier Erik , Holewijn Rozemarije , De Bie Rob M A , Beudel Martijn , van den Munckhof Pepijn , Schuurman Richard , Bot Maarten
Published: July 2024

Background

Visualisation of the dorsolateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) remains challenging on 1.5 and 3Tesla T2-weighted MRI. Our previously defined hotspot, relative to the well-visualised medial STN border, serves as an MRI landmark for dorsolateral STN identification in deep brain stimulation (DBS). We aimed to validate this hotspot in a separate trial cohort of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and refine its location.

Methods

In this post hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial, in which the hotspot was taken into account during target planning, responses to DBS were evaluated using hemibody improvement on the Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale motor examination and compared with our historical cohort, as well as dopaminergic medication reduction. Then, a refined hotspot was calculated and the Euclidean distance from individual active contacts to the refined hotspot was correlated with motor improvement.

Results

The first quartile of the hemibodies (poor responders) showed an average improvement of 13%, which was higher than the —8% in the historical control group (p=0.044). Dopaminergic medication reduction was greater in the current cohort compared with the historical cohort (p=0.020). Overall variability of hemibody motor improvement was reduced in the current cohort compared with the historical control group (p=0.003). Motor improvement correlated to the Euclidean distance from active contact to the refined hotspot (2.8 mm lateral, 1.1 mm anterior and 2.2 mm superior to the medial STN border) (p=0.001).

Conclusion

We validated the hotspot for dorsolateral STN targeting in DBS for patients with PD and showed an improved motor response in poor responders, a reduced variability in motor improvement and a greater dopaminergic medication reduction. We then refined the hotspot at 2.8 mm lateral, 1.1 mm anterior and 2.2 mm superior relative to the medial STN border, which visualises a readily implementable target within the dorsolateral STN on lower field strength MRI.
Socioeconomic burden of AQP4-antibody seropositive NMOSD: a nationwide registry-based study
Authors: Papp Viktoria , Wandall-Holm Malthe , Bacher Svendsen Kristina , Frederiksen Jette , Sellebjerg Finn , Illes Zsolt , Magyari Melinda
Published: July 2024

Background

AQP4-antibody seropositive (AQP4-Ab+) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) may cause reduced work capability due to disability. Here, we evaluated the socioeconomic status of patients with AQP4-Ab+NMOSD in off-label therapy era compared with the general population.

Methods

A longitudinal nationwide population-based study including all Danish patients with AQP4-Ab+NMOSD and matched controls from the general population. The cohort was linked to other Danish nationwide population-based databases. The study period was from 1992 to 2021. The main outcomes were loss of income from salary, limited work capability, disability pension and civil status. The longitudinal risks of outcomes were presented in cumulative incidence curves. Fisher’s exact test, χ2test or Wilcoxon test were applied for comparison.

Results

We included 65 patients with a median follow-up of 8.6 years. Annual income declined significantly after disease onset (index year) compared with the general population. One year after the index year, the median annual income in 2015-indexed Euro for patients averaged 13 285 (IQR: 139 to 36 336) versus controls 33 035 (IQR: 6870 to 45 978); p=0.04. Five years postindex year, the average income for patients further dropped to 276 (IQR: 0 to 23 691) versus controls 22 141 (IQR: 0 to 42 986); p=0.03. At the end of follow-up, significantly higher proportion of patients were either in ‘flexjob’ (36.9% patients vs 14% controls, p<0.00) or receiving disability pension (16.9% patients vs 4.3% controls, p<0.00).

Conclusions

The socioeconomic status of patients with AQP4-Ab+NMOSD deteriorates rapidly following disease onset. A substantial proportion of these patients lose their work capacity leading to increased financial burden on both their families and society.
External workload and cognitive performance of a tactical military scenario-based field exercise
Authors: Walker Faye S , Needham-Beck S C , Vine C A J , Blacker S D , Greenlees I , Sharpe B T , Siddall A G , Maroni T , Ashdown K M , Hinde K L , Elliott E , Rayson M , Knight E , Myers S D
Published: July 2024

Introduction

Military personnel must manage a multitude of competing physiological and cognitive stressors while maintaining high levels of performance. Quantifying the external workload and cognitive demands of tactical military field exercises closely simulating operational environments, will provide a better understanding of stressors placed on personnel to inform evidence-based interventions.

Methods

Thirty-one soldiers completing a dismounted 48 hours tactical field exercise, participated in the study. External workload was quantified using a wrist-worn triaxial accelerometer, with cognitive function (Go-/No-Go, N-back, psychomotor vigilance task and subjective workload ratings (NASA-TLX) assessed pre-exercise, mid-exercise and postexercise. Physical activity was described using Euclidian Norm Minus One (mg), with moderate vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary light physical activity (SLPA) as ≥ or <113 mg, respectively. Changes in general cognitive performance (total accuracy-speed trade-off (ASTO) % change) and function outcome variables (overall mean reaction time, ASTO and number of correct and missed responses) were calculated for each assessment from pre-exercise, to mid-exercise and postexercise.

Results

For the exercise duration (50:12±02:06 hh:mm) participants spent more time completing SLPA compared with MVPA (1932±234 vs 1074±194 min;p<0.001), equating to 33% of the time spent completing MVPA. Overall cognitive performance decreased over the exercise (pre-to-post: −249). However, the largest decrement was observed pre-to-mid (−168). Perceived mental demand associated with the cognitive assessments significantly increased over the duration of the exercise (pre-: 33; mid-: 38 and post-: 51; χ2F(2)= 26.7,p= <0.001, W=0.477) which could suggest that participants were able to attenuate a further decline in cognitive performance by investing more effort/mental resources when completing assessments.

Conclusion

The study successfully quantified the physical activity, and subsequent impact on cognitive function, in soldiers completing a 48 hours tactical field exercise. Further research is needed to better understand how physiological stressors interact with cognitive function during military operations.
Data Processing of Bridge IoT Monitoring Based on Task Scheduling of Cloud Service Listening Signal
Authors: Yang Tao , Li Rui , Li Chengjun
Published: July 2024

For the long-term continuous monitoring of bridge-related indicators, it is necessary to arrange relatively perfect acquisition equipment on the bridge, which can feedback various information parameters of the bridge. However, there are many parameters to feedback the bridge information, which leads to the complex and overstaffed structure of the monitoring system. Furthermore, the huge amount of data collected and the complex calculation process also increase the difficulty of the operation of the monitoring system. In this regard, we should choose more scientific and reasonable indicators, lightweight data structure, stable data transmission, and analysis programs to improve the accuracy of continuous monitoring. To establish a stable and efficient bridge monitoring system, we use the distance coefficient-effective independent algorithm to optimize. Then, we calculate the relevant information of the strain environment with the help of a neural network model, strengthen the training of deep learning through the YOLOv5s model, and improve the task scheduling strategy of attention concentration. Through that, we solve the problem of embedded systems with relatively low computing power. Different weights are assigned to each fused feature map, and the nodes at the highest level and the lowest level are deleted so that a concise and efficient lightweight network model is constructed. Multiple iterations are performed to achieve deeper feature fusion. Therefore, the complexity of the model is effectively reduced, and the monitoring performance can be effectively improved. Finally, through the experimental analysis, it is proved that compared with the traditional fusion model, the number of parameters of the improved fusion network structure in bridge health monitoring is reduced by 7.37%. The detection speed is increased by 18.2%. The amount of computation is reduced by 42.92%, and the average detection accuracy is required to reach 95.33%. It is verified that the proposed method can effectively improve the accuracy and risk control ability of the detection data by learning from the samples with small labels. It also has great practical significance and market value for the design and optimization of the bridge health monitoring system, which is suitable for the monitoring data of large-scale construction projects.
Optimizing TCAD Model and Temperature-Dependent Analysis of Pt/AlN Schottky Barrier Diodes for High-Power and High-Temperature Applications
Authors: Hossain Md Maruf , Singha Showmik , Titirsha Twisha , Eliza Sazia A. , Islam Syed Kamrul
Published: July 2024

This research presents a comprehensive investigation and optimization of the Pt/AlN Schottky Barrier diode (SBD) using technology computer-aided design (TCAD) modeling. The study explores the electrical characteristics of AlN SBDs with various metal contacts, including Aluminum (Al), Silver (Ag), Tungsten (W), Gold (Au), Nickel (Ni), and Platinum (Pt). Through the comparative analyses of different metal/AlN Schottky contacts, the Pt/AlN structure emerges as the most promising due to its superior barrier height and lower leakage current. At [Formula: see text]K, the diode demonstrates a barrier height of 2.72[Formula: see text]V, a nearly ideal leakage current of 0.046[Formula: see text]pA, and a breakdown voltage of 363[Formula: see text]V. The research extends to examining the temperature-dependent electrical behavior of Pt/AlN Schottky diodes, particularly for high-power and high-temperature applications. Analysis carried out across temperatures ranging from [Formula: see text]K to [Formula: see text]K reveals a trend of increasing ON resistance and consistently lower leakage current with rising temperature. Importantly, the study indicates that the impact of temperature on the barrier height and breakdown voltage of the diode is negligible, thus rendering it suitable for high-temperature operation. Leveraging the unique properties of AlN as an ultra-wide bandgap material within the III-V compound semiconductor family, this research provides valuable insights into the potential applications of Pt/AlN Schottky contact. The study highlights that the Pt/AlN Schottky contact is effective not only for high-power, high-temperature SBDs but also as superior metal/semiconductor gate contacts for field-effect transistors (FETs). Their suitability is attributed to their ability to handle high voltages, minimize reverse leakage current, and demonstrate improved thermal stability.
Unsteady MHD dusty fluid flow over a non-isothermal cone embedded in a porous medium
Authors: Hanafi Hajar , Hanif Hanifa , Shafie Sharidan
Published: July 2024

An investigation of the impacts of magnetic field, heat generation/absorption and thermal radiation on unsteady free convection dusty fluid flow over a non-isothermal vertical cone enclosed inside a porous medium is explored. The Crank–Nicolson approach is used to get the numerical solutions for these nonlinear, coupled partial differential equations (PDEs). The interaction of physical parameter range on temperature and velocity distribution is calculated and graphically presented. The results demonstrate that when the porosity, heat generation/absorption, and thermal radiation parameters are increased, the velocities rise, whereas the magnetic and mass concentration of particle phase parameters have an opposite effect. Furthermore, raising the fluid-particle interaction parameter causes a rise in dust phase velocity but a reduction in fluid phase velocity.
Non-Newtonian blood flow across stenosed elliptical artery: Case study of nanoparticles for brain disabilities with fuzzy logic
Authors: Shahzad Muhammad Hasnain , Ahammad N. Ameer , Nadeem Sohail , Awan Aziz Ullah , Guedri Kamel , Alamer Ahmed , Fadhl Bandar M.
Published: July 2024

This analysis aimed to explore the blood-based non-Newtonian hybrid nanofluid flow in elliptical stenosed artery with single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes as nanoparticles. The Carreau fluid model is incorporated to assess the non-Newtonian rheology of blood-based nanofluid for mild stenosis. In particular, the carotid artery is responsible for delivering blood to the brain. If normal blood circulation is disrupted or in the case of severe stenosis, blockage of the carotid artery can lead to the development of brain disability or stroke, which in turn can lead to death. The idealized mathematical equation is transformed into a nondimensional form and solved analytically via the perturbation method through a novel polynomial technique. These analytical solutions are explored and explained graphically. The system’s disorder and variability are assessed by completing an entropy production analysis. The disruption in blood flow due to the presence of nanoparticles causes uncertainty in the flow nature. This uncertainty is dealt with by fuzzy analysis of temperature distribution by accounting for the nanoparticle volume fractions as triangular fuzzy numbers. It is noticed that stenosis shapes and height greatly impact the flow characteristics. The nanoparticles’ percentage in fluid affected the temperature profile. The non-Newtonian characteristics of blood are found to be more dominant along the minor axis, and an effectively higher disorder is produced in this direction. It is observed that the temperature of nanofluid emerged as a triangular fuzzy number of symmetric shape.
MODELING THE EFFECTS OF PESTS AND PESTICIDE ON CROP YIELDS IN A MULTIPLE CROPPING SYSTEM
Authors: YADAV AKASH , PANDEY RITESH , JHA NAVNIT , MISRA ARVIND KUMAR
Published: July 2024

Pest infestation poses a significant threat to agricultural crop yields, and to control it, farmers spray chemical pesticides. The persistent use of these chemical agents not only leads to pesticide residues within crops but also exerts collateral damage on the beneficial pest population. In this research work, we formulate a nonlinear mathematical model to assess the impacts of pesticide on crop yields within a multiple cropping system. Model analysis illustrates that crop consumption rates destabilize, and the spraying rate of pesticide stabilizes the system. Furthermore, we determine conditions for the global stability of the coexisting equilibrium and conduct a global sensitivity analysis to identify model parameters that significantly influence pest population density. Our findings emphasize that, for effective pest population control and enhanced crop yields, farmers should choose either pesticides with a high pest abatement rate or those with a higher pesticide uptake rate. Considering the spraying rate of pesticide as time-dependent, we also suggest an optimal control strategy to minimize the pest population and associated costs. We provide analytical results backed by numerical simulations implemented through the non-standard finite difference scheme to support our findings.
Clinical Characteristics, Predictors for Mortality and Comparison of the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score and the Five-Factor Score on Survival in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis in Hong Kong
Authors: Yeung Joshua Ka Ho , Young Joyce Kit Yu
Published: July 2024

Objective: To describe the clinical profile and predictors of mortality of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients in Hong Kong. To compare the accuracy of the latest Five-Factor Score (FFS-2009) and the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) in prediction of survival with this local cohort.

Methods: A retrospective observational study on newly diagnosed AAV patients, from January 1, 2011 to March 31, 2022, managed in the Kowloon West Cluster (KWC) hospitals in Hong Kong. Demographic and baseline characteristics, clinical profile, and treatment profile were reviewed. Factors associated with mortality were analyzed with the Cox proportional hazards model. The performances of FFS and BVAS in mortality prediction were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Results: A total of 83 AAV patients were included in the study. The median age was 70.5 years at diagnosis. Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA; 69.9%) was the most common AAV subtype. The median FFS and BVAS were 2 and 20, respectively. The overall mortality was 45.6% across the study period. Multivariate Cox regression identified age at diagnosis (HR 1.043, [Formula: see text]), stabilized peak serum creatinine (HR 1.002, [Formula: see text]), hemoglobin level (HR 0.754, [Formula: see text]), cardiac involvement (HR 3.862, [Formula: see text]), and use of maintenance therapy (HR 0.261, [Formula: see text]) as independent predictors of overall survival. Both FFS and BVAS were significant predictors of overall survival. The areas under the curve (AUC) of ROC curves suggested FFS was a good prediction tool for early mortality in 1 year, with an AUC value of 0.874.

Conclusion: Despite the advances in treatment, AAV still carried significant morbidities with high mortality. Clinical predictors and existing scoring systems showed good predictive power on mortality.
What Are the Points of Concern for Players about VR Games: An Empirical Study based on User Reviews in Different Languages
Authors: Dong Jiong , Ota Kaoru , Dong Mianxiong
Published: July 2024

In recent years, the boom of Virtual Reality (VR) technology has signaled fruitful applications in various fields, such as education, industry, animation, entertainment, and game. The global VR games market is projected to grow to $53.44 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 31.4% in the 2021–2028 period. Therefore, what players care about most about VR games is a topic worthy of research. In this article, we conduct an in-depth study of 1,362 VR games and 484,070 reviews on the Steam platform. Unlike other literature focusing only on monolingual reviews (e.g., English), we apply the topic clustering model (BERTopic) to comprehensively analyze multilingual user reviews, including English, Simplified Chinese, and French. We find that the three features people praise the most are the music, the gaming experience, and the gameplay. Meanwhile, gamers’ most common complaints are bug issues, insufficient content, and excessive pricing.
An Empirical Study of VR Head-Mounted Displays Based on VR Games Reviews
Authors: Lu Yijun , Ota Kaoru , Dong Mianxiong
Published: July 2024

With the development of virtual reality (VR) technology, various VR devices are flooding the market. VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) sales are overgrowing as the primary medium for experiencing VR games. Therefore, exploring user concerns about HMDs is significant, enabling developers to design better VR devices and VR games. In this work, we conduct an empirical study of 7,413 VR games and 176,428 player reviews collected from three platforms (i.e., Oculus, Steam, and Viveport). First, we investigate the evolutionary trends of HMDs based on VR games. Subsequently, we extract nine topics (e.g., cybersickness, performance, and privacy) related to HMDs from game reviews that users are concerned about, analyze the emotional trends, and explore the voices of players. We find that users complain less about the cybersickness and immersion of HMDs and more about other topics (e.g., performance, tracking, and compatibility). In addition, more users have expressed concerns about privacy in recent years.
Trust Based Active Game Data Collection Scheme in Smart Cities
Authors: Xia Zhuoqun , Wang Ziyu , Liu Xiao
Published: July 2024

The concept of a smart city is to equip sensors to various objects in urban life to monitor areas and collect sensing data, and make wise decisions based on the collected data. However, some malicious sensor devices may interrupt and interfere with data collection, leading to a reduction in the integrity and availability of information, thereby causing harm to Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Therefore, identifying the credibility of sensor nodes to ensure the credibility of data collection is a challenge. This article proposes a trust-based active game data collection (TAGDC) scheme to collect trust data in the IoT. This TAGDC scheme mainly includes the following parts: (1) An active trust framework plus evolutionary game theory is proposed to encourage high-energy sensors to send detection routes and quickly obtain sensor trust. (2) In order to balance the data security requirements of subnetworks, the number and frequency of detection routes required by subnetworks are estimated through mechanism modeling and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. (3) The design focuses on the internal trust computing model in the region to evaluate the trust of nodes. The findings of the experiment demonstrate that the TAGDC scheme, as described in this research study, enhances the accuracy of identifying malicious nodes by 20%, reduces the required identification time by 40%, and improves the data collection success rate by 5%.
CAME: Competitively Learning a Mixture-of-Experts Model for First-stage Retrieval
Authors: Guo Jiafeng , Cai Yinqiong , Bi Keping , Fan Yixing , Chen Wei , Zhang Ruqing , Cheng Xueqi
Published: July 2024

The first-stage retrieval aims to retrieve a subset of candidate documents from a huge collection both effectively and efficiently. Since various matching patterns can exist between queries and relevant documents, previous work tries to combine multiple retrieval models to find as many relevant results as possible. The constructed ensembles, whether learned independently or jointly, do not care which component model is more suitable to an instance during training. Thus, they cannot fully exploit the capabilities of different types of retrieval models in identifying diverse relevance patterns. Motivated by this observation, in this article, we propose a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) model consisting of representative matching experts and a novel competitive learning mechanism to let the experts develop and enhance their expertise during training. Specifically, our MoE model shares the bottom layers to learn common semantic representations and uses differently structured upper layers to represent various types of retrieval experts. Our competitive learning mechanism has two stages: (1) a standardized learning stage to train the experts equally to develop their capabilities to conduct relevance matching; (2) a specialized learning stage where the experts compete with each other on every training instance and get rewards and updates according to their performance to enhance their expertise on certain types of samples. Experimental results on retrieval benchmark datasets show that our method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines in the in-domain and out-of-domain settings.
RevGNN: Negative Sampling Enhanced Contrastive Graph Learning for Academic Reviewer Recommendation
Authors: Liao Weibin , Zhu Yifan , Li Yanyan , Zhang Qi , Ou Zhonghong , Li Xuesong
Published: July 2024

Acquiring reviewers for academic submissions is a challenging recommendation scenario. Recent graph learning-driven models have made remarkable progress in the field of recommendation, but their performance in the academic reviewer recommendation task may suffer from a significant false negative issue. This arises from the assumption that unobserved edges represent negative samples. In fact, the mechanism of anonymous review results in inadequate exposure of interactions between reviewers and submissions, leading to a higher number of unobserved interactions compared to those caused by reviewers declining to participate. Therefore, investigating how to better comprehend the negative labeling of unobserved interactions in academic reviewer recommendations is a significant challenge. This study aims to tackle the ambiguous nature of unobserved interactions in academic reviewer recommendations. Specifically, we propose an unsupervised Pseudo Neg-Label strategy to enhance graph contrastive learning (GCL) for recommending reviewers for academic submissions, which we call RevGNN. RevGNN utilizes a two-stage encoder structure that encodes both scientific knowledge and behavior using Pseudo Neg-Label to approximate review preference. Extensive experiments on three real-world datasets demonstrate that RevGNN outperforms all baselines across four metrics. Additionally, detailed further analyses confirm the effectiveness of each component in RevGNN.
Algorithm 1047: FdeSolver, a Julia Package for Solving Fractional Differential Equations
Authors: Khalighi Moein , Benedetti Giulio , Lahti Leo
Published: July 2024

We introduce FdeSolver, an open-source Julia package designed to solve fractional-order differential equations efficiently. The available solutions are based on product-integration rules, predictor–corrector algorithms, and the Newton-Raphson method. The package covers solutions for one-dimensional equations with orders of positive real numbers. For higher-dimensional systems, it supports orders up to one. Incommensurate derivatives are allowed and defined in the Caputo sense. Here, we summarize the implementation for a representative class of problems and compare it with available alternatives in Julia and MATLAB. Moreover, FdeSolver leverages the power and flexibility of the Julia environment to offer enhanced computational performance, and our development emphasizes adherence to the best practices of open research software. To highlight its practical utility, we demonstrate its capability in simulating microbial community dynamics and modeling the spread of COVID-19. This latter application involves fitting the order of derivatives grounded on real-world epidemiological data. Overall, these results highlight the efficiency, reliability, and practicality of the FdeSolver Julia package.
Viral Recognition and Evasion in Plants
Authors: Lozano-Durán Rosa
Published: July 2024

Viruses, causal agents of devastating diseases in plants, are obligate intracellular pathogens composed of a nucleic acid genome and a limited number of viral proteins. The diversity of plant viruses, their diminutive molecular nature, and their symplastic localization pose challenges to understanding the interplay between these pathogens and their hosts in the currently accepted framework of plant innate immunity. It is clear, nevertheless, that plants can recognize the presence of a virus and activate antiviral immune responses, although our knowledge of the breadth of invasion signals and the underpinning sensing events is far from complete. Below, I discuss some of the demonstrated or hypothesized mechanisms enabling viral recognition in plants, the step preceding the onset of antiviral immunity, as well as the strategies viruses have evolved to evade or suppress their detection.
Fighting for Survival at the Stomatal Gate
Authors: Melotto Maeli , Fochs Brianna , Jaramillo Zachariah , Rodrigues Olivier
Published: July 2024

Stomata serve as the battleground between plants and plant pathogens. Plants can perceive pathogens, inducing closure of the stomatal pore, while pathogens can overcome this immune response with their phytotoxins and elicitors. In this review, we summarize new discoveries in stomata–pathogen interactions. Recent studies have shown that stomatal movement continues to occur in a close-open-close-open pattern during bacterium infection, bringing a new understanding of stomatal immunity. Furthermore, the canonical pattern-triggered immunity pathway and ion channel activities seem to be common to plant–pathogen interactions outside of the well-studied Arabidopsis–Pseudomonas pathosystem. These developments can be useful to aid in the goal of crop improvement. New technologies to study intact leaves and advances in available omics data sets provide new methods for understanding the fight at the stomatal gate. Future studies should aim to further investigate the defense–growth trade-off in relation to stomatal immunity, as little is known at this time.
Dual-Earner Couples
Authors: Shockley Kristen M. , Shen Winny , Dodd Hope
Published: July 2024

In Western societies, most married working employees are now part of a dual-earner couple, meaning both people are engaged in the paid workforce to some extent. Such arrangements introduce benefits as well as challenges in managing two unique work roles and the shared family domain. In this review, we first summarize research about how dual-earner couples manage work and family, including the division of labor, decision-making processes, and specific behavioral strategies. Next, we discuss research on dual-earner couples’ well-being and quality of life, making explicit comparisons to single-earner couples where possible. We close our review with a discussion of research on the macroenvironment, including how cultural norms and state policies relate to dual-earner couples’ functioning. Lastly, we offer numerous recommendations for future researchers to explore the contexts and conditions that facilitate the blending of dual-earner couples’ work and family roles.
Identifying Mechanisms and Challenges for Electrochemical Oxidation of Cyclohexane to KA Oil
Authors: Siboonruang Tana , Alaufey Rayan , Attanayake N. Harsha , Tang Maureen
Published: July 2024

Electrochemical oxidation of cyclohexane to KA oil, a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol, holds great promise for decarbonized chemical manufacturing based on the value of products and the thermodynamic equilibrium potential. However, fundamental understanding of this reaction is extremely limited. For example, even the number of electrons in this reaction has not yet been identified. In this work, we elucidate the mechanism of electrochemical cyclohexane oxidation to KA oil on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), platinum, and glassy carbon anodes. Using three-electrode electroanalysis, isotopic labeling, and concentration studies, we show that electrochemical cyclohexane oxidation to KA oil is similar to its thermochemical analogue in that O2, not water, is the primary oxygen source. The reaction is initiated through the formation of cyclohexyl or hydroxyl radicals, depending on electrode and electrolyte composition. Additionally, crossover from undivided two-electrode cells is found to impact measurements such that cathodic reaction and reactor design may introduce potential artifacts to anodic activity and selectivity. These findings have significant implications for the technological viability of a theoretically promising electrosynthesis process.
Influence of endogenous and exogenous hormones on the cardiovascular response to lower extremity exercise and group III/IV activation in young females
Authors: Asirvatham-Jeyaraj Ninitha , Anselmo Miguel , Chantigian Daniel P. , Larson Mia , Lee Emma J. , Keller-Ross Manda L.
Published: July 2024

Sex differences in the cardiovascular response to exercise have been demonstrated and may be dependent on sex hormone levels. Furthermore, oral contraceptives (OCs) have been shown to exaggerate the blood pressure response to upper extremity exercise. The results of this study indicate that neither endogenous nor exogenous (OC) sex hormones modulate BP during lower extremity dynamic exercise or with group III/IV afferent activation in young, healthy females.
Genetic drivers of age-related changes in urinary magnesium excretion
Authors: van Megen Wouter H. , de Baaij Jeroen H. F. , Churchill Gary A. , Devuyst Olivier , Hoenderop Joost G. J. , Korstanje Ron
Published: July 2024

Aging increased urinary magnesium (Mg2+) excretion in mice. We show here that variation in Oit3, a candidate gene for the locus associated with Mg2+ excretion in young mice, is unlikely to be involved as knockout of Oit3 did not affect Mg2+ excretion. Differences in the expression of the renal Mg2+ channel TRPM6 may contribute to the variation in urinary Mg2+ excretion in older mice.
Echoes of Home: Mapping Vulnerable Places for Cantonese‐Speaking Immigrants Seeking Family Doctors in the Greater Toronto Area
Authors: Liu Dong , Lee Jinhyung , Zhong Shiran , Gilliland Jason
Published: July 2024

Family doctors serve as the initial contact for individuals seeking regular medical service like routine physical exam, diagnosis, and treatment of illness. Nonetheless, immigrant population who do not speak the official language usually prefers receiving healthcare in their own mother tongues. Past studies have focused on exploring accessibility to family doctors speaking Mandarin Chinese, which is not mutually intelligible with another major Chinese language called Cantonese. Despite the significant number of Cantonese‐speaking population in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and a recent wave of immigration from Hong Kong, China (hereafter “Hong Kong”) to Canada, little knowledge has been obtained regarding the geographic accessibility to Cantonese‐speaking family doctors. This study seeks to fill the knowledge gap of spatial accessibility to Cantonese‐speaking family doctors in the GTA by using the two‐step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method. By considering the vulnerability in terms of spatial accessibility and attractiveness to the new immigrants from Hong Kong, we have unveiled that more than 90% of neighbourhoods, with below‐median accessibility scores across all five thresholds yet high likelihood of attracting new Hong Kong immigrants, are clustered within four lower‐tier municipalities of Markham, Toronto, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan. This study not only sheds lights on the knowledge gap but also provides timely guidance in formulating public health policies in light of the incoming Cantonese‐speaking immigrants from Hong Kong.
Millet Milk: A Potential Cattle Milk Alternative—Extraction and Value Addition
Authors: Pandey Surabhi , Singh Anurag
Published: July 2024

Consumer health concerns in recent years have spurred a shift from dairy consumption to dairy‐free or plant‐based diets. Factors such as lactose intolerance, milk allergies, ethical concerns, environmental sustainability, and personal health preferences drive this trend. Millet milk offers a viable alternative for cattle milk like any other plant‐based milk. Compared to other plant‐based milk alternatives, millet milk has a better nutritional profile. Moreover, the extracted millet milk can be used for the development of various value‐added products. Millet, being a potential source of antinutritional factors, requires pretreatments before milk extraction. This review discusses in detail the nutritional profile of millets along with the pretreatments to reduce the antinutritional factors in millets, followed by the extraction of millet milk. The comparative study of millet milk versus other plant‐based milks has also been explored. The potential usage of millet milk for further value addition has also been highlighted in the present article.
Endodontic Treatment of Maxillary Premolar With Three Roots: A Case Report
Authors: Jiannan Chen , Yangpeng Zhao , Huanhuan Sun , Qiang Zhu
Published: July 2024

Background: The aim of this case was to understand and treat the intricate root canal anatomy observed in complex maxillary first premolars, particularly those exhibiting three root canals, emphasizing the significance of understanding root canal morphological variations in their treatment.

Conclusions: This case reported the methods of treating three‐root canal maxillary first premolars, including warm vertical compression technique, root canal microsurgery, and the application of rubber dam. The utilization of dental operating microscopes, various surgical strategies, and key assessments of X‐rays and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were all essential steps for achieving accurate and safe root canal therapy.
Data from Platform for Quantitative Evaluation of Spatial Intratumoral Heterogeneity in Multiplexed Fluorescence Images
Authors: Spagnolo Daniel M. , Al-Kofahi Yousef , Zhu Peihong , Lezon Timothy R. , Gough Albert , Stern Andrew M. , Lee Adrian V. , Ginty Fiona , Sarachan Brion , Taylor D. Lansing , Chennubhotla S. Chakra
Published: July 2024

Abstract
We introduce THRIVE (Tumor Heterogeneity Research Interactive Visualization Environment), an open-source tool developed to assist cancer researchers in interactive hypothesis testing. The focus of this tool is to quantify spatial intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH), and the interactions between different cell phenotypes and noncellular constituents. Specifically, we foresee applications in phenotyping cells within tumor microenvironments, recognizing tumor boundaries, identifying degrees of immune infiltration and epithelial/stromal separation, and identification of heterotypic signaling networks underlying microdomains. The THRIVE platform provides an integrated workflow for analyzing whole-slide immunofluorescence images and tissue microarrays, including algorithms for segmentation, quantification, and heterogeneity analysis. THRIVE promotes flexible deployment, a maintainable code base using open-source libraries, and an extensible framework for customizing algorithms with ease. THRIVE was designed with highly multiplexed immunofluorescence images in mind, and, by providing a platform to efficiently analyze high-dimensional immunofluorescence signals, we hope to advance these data toward mainstream adoption in cancer research. Cancer Res; 77(21); e71–74. ©2017 AACR.
Blood Magnesium Level and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Prospective Liver Cirrhosis Cohort
Authors: Zhang Xinyuan , Zhao Longgang , Dai Qi , Hou Tao , Danford Christopher J. , Lai Michelle , Zhang Xuehong
Published: July 2024

Background:

Higher magnesium intake was linked to a lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the relationship between blood magnesium level and HCC has not been fully characterized, especially among patients with liver cirrhosis who are at a higher risk for HCC.

Methods:

In the Mass General Brigham Biobank, we developed a new prospective cohort of 1,430 patients with liver cirrhosis without liver cancer history using the validated International Classification of Diseases codes. We used Cox proportional hazards models to generate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident HCC and used generalized estimating equations to compare changes in liver biomarkers according to baseline blood magnesium, adjusting for age, sex, race, lifestyles, body mass index, type 2 diabetes, model for end-stage liver disease score, and hepatitis infection.

Results:

During a median follow-up period of 4.26 years, 109 patients developed HCC. Magnesium deficiency (<1.70 mg/dL; N = 158) was associated with a higher risk of HCC (HR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.12–3.30) compared with magnesium sufficiency (≥1.70 mg/dL; N = 1282). This association remained robust in the 1-year lag analysis (HR = 2.18; 95% CI, 1.11–4.28) and in sensitivity analysis excluding patients with alcoholic liver disease (HR = 2.41; 95% CI, 1.23–4.74). Magnesium in the lowest quartile was associated with a faster increase in alanine transaminase (β = 4.35; 95% CI, 1.06–7.63), aspartate aminotransferase (β = 6.46; 95% CI, 0.28–12.6), direct bilirubin (β = 0.18; 95% CI, 0.01–0.35), and total bilirubin (β = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.03–0.39), compared with the highest quartile.

Conclusions:

Lower blood magnesium level is associated with higher HCC risk and unfavorable liver biomarker changes.

Impact:

If confirmed, our findings may potentially enable better identification of high-risk patients for HCC and inform better management strategies for liver cirrhosis.
Figure 4 from Putrescine Supplementation Limits the Expansion of pks+ Escherichia coli and Tumor Development in the Colon
Authors: Oliero Manon , Cuisiniere Thibault , Ajayi Ayodeji S. , Gerkins Claire , Hajjar Roy , Fragoso Gabriela , Calvé Annie , Vennin Rendos Hervé , Mathieu-Denoncourt Annabelle , Dagbert François , De Broux Éric , Loungnarath Rasmy , Schwenter Frank , Sebajang Herawaty , Ratelle Richard , Wassef Ramses , Richard Carole , Duperthuy Marylise , Gravel Andrée E. , Vincent Antony T. , Santos Manuela M.
Published: July 2024

Gut microbiota modulation by putrescine supplementation in the AOM/DSS mouse model of colitis-associated colorectal CRC. A, Chao1, ACE, and Shannon indexes at day 70 (mean ± SEM, t test). B, Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) of the unweighted UniFrac and Bray–Curtis distances. C, Differential bacterial abundance at the phylum and genus levels (mean ± SEM, FDR corrected). Bar graphs of relative abundances at the phylum level at day 70. Each stacked bar represents a single mouse. N = 8–9 mice per group.
Figure 2 from Putrescine Supplementation Limits the Expansion of pks+ Escherichia coli and Tumor Development in the Colon
Authors: Oliero Manon , Cuisiniere Thibault , Ajayi Ayodeji S. , Gerkins Claire , Hajjar Roy , Fragoso Gabriela , Calvé Annie , Vennin Rendos Hervé , Mathieu-Denoncourt Annabelle , Dagbert François , De Broux Éric , Loungnarath Rasmy , Schwenter Frank , Sebajang Herawaty , Ratelle Richard , Wassef Ramses , Richard Carole , Duperthuy Marylise , Gravel Andrée E. , Vincent Antony T. , Santos Manuela M.
Published: July 2024

Putrescine supplementation lowers EcNC101 colonization and tumor development in the AOM/DSS colorectal cancer mouse model. A, Study design. B, EcNC101 abundance at the endpoint was assessed by CFUs (log-scale representation). C, Body weight variation of mice throughout the experiment (mean ± SEM; repeated-measure ANOVA, post hoc Tukey; *, P < 0.01, between the groups). D, Representative pictures of the colon and quantification of the colon length. Colonic (E) tumor count and (F) tumor size. ANOVA, post hoc Tukey; *, P < 0.05, between EcNC101 WT and EcNC101 ΔclbP of the same treatment group; N = 8–9 per group.
White Matter Hyperintensities Are Associated with Slower Gait Speed in Older Adults without Dementia
Authors: Vazquez Juan P. , Verghese Joe , Barzilai Nir , Milman Sofiya , Blumen Helena M.
Published: July 2024

Introduction: Slow gait speed is associated with poor health outcomes in aging, but the relationship between cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) pathologies and gait speed in aging is not well understood. We investigated the relationships between CSVD imaging markers and gait speed during simple (normal pace walking [NPW]) and complex (walking while talking [WWT]) as both measures are associated with shared health outcomes such as falls, frailty, disability, mortality, and dementia. Methods: A total of 113 Ashkenazi Jewish adults over 65 (M age = 78.6 ± 6.3 years, 45.8% women) and without dementia were examined. Established rating systems were used to quantify white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and lacunes of presumed vascular origin from fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. Linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, global health, and total intracranial volume were used to examine associations between CSVD markers and gait speed during NPW and WWT. Student t tests were used to contrast gait speed in those with “confluent-diffuse” WMH and those with “mild or no” WMH. Results: The number of WMH in the basal ganglia (β = −3.274 cm/s p = 0.047) and temporal lobes (β = −3.113 cm/s p = 0.048) were associated with slower NPW speed in adjusted models. Participants with higher CSVD burden (confluent-diffuse pattern) in the frontal lobe (94.65 cm/s vs. 105.21 cm/s, p = 0.018) and globally (98.98 cm/s vs. 107.24 cm/s, p = 0.028) also had lower NPW speed. WMHs were not associated with WWT speeds. Lacunes were not associated with NPW or WWT speed. Conclusion: Adjusted models found higher CSVD burden as measured by the presence of WMH in the basal ganglia and temporal lobes were associated with slower normal pace gait speed in older adults, but not with complex walking speeds. Participants with confluent-diffuse WMHs in the frontal lobes were found to have slower average normal gait speed. Further studies are needed to establish the temporality of WMH and gait speed decline as well as mechanistic links between the two.
Three-Dimensional Fractional Moving Blood Volume: A Robust Bedside Tool for Evaluation of Fetal Multiorgan Perfusion
Authors: Smelt Emily , Thomas Samantha , Barber Tracie , Stevenson Gordon , Cung Alexandria Bao-Ngoc , Welsh Alec William
Published: July 2024

Introduction: Three-dimensional fractional moving blood volume (3D-FMBV) may provide superior noninvasive measurement of feto-placental perfusion compared to current methods. This study investigated the feasibility and repeatability of producing 3D-FMBV measurements of the placenta, fetal liver, kidney, and brain in a single ultrasound consultation. Methods: The placenta, fetal liver, kidney, and brain were scanned in triplicate using 3D power Doppler ultrasound (3D-PDU) in 48 women ≥22 weeks of gestation with healthy fetuses. 3D-FMBV was calculated by two analyzers. Feasibility was assessed as the percentage of cases where 3D-FMBV could be evaluated; repeatability (intraobserver and interobserver) using two-way mixed measure intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Results: 3D-FMBV was calculated for 100% of scanned organs. Intraobserver ICCs (95% CI) were good to excellent; 0.93 (0.88–0.96) and 0.87 (0.78–0.92) for placenta, 0.95 (0.92–0.97) and 0.98 (0.96–0.99) for fetal liver, 0.96 (0.94–0.98) and 0.91 (0.85–0.95) for fetal kidney, and 0.98 (0.97–0.99) and 0.97 (0.95–0.98) for fetal brain. Interobserver ICCs (95% CI) were 0.50 (0.08–0.73), 0.92 (0.85–0.96), 0.89 (0.78–0.94), and 0.71 (0.46–0.85) for placenta, fetal liver, kidney, and brain. Conclusion: Feto-placental perfusion assessment with 3D-FMBV is highly reliable in healthy pregnancies ≥22 weeks of gestation and can be feasibly calculated in four feto-placental vascular beds in a single ultrasound consultation.
Oral Contraceptives and the Risk of Psychiatric Side Effects: A Review
Authors: Ciarcia Julia , Huckins Laura M.
Published: July 2024

Importance: Oral contraceptives (OCs) are an essential medicine used by millions of people every day. Given the widespread usage of these medicines, even a small increase in psychiatric risk could be of clinical significance. Although mood-related side effects are a common reason for OC hesitancy and discontinuation, studies investigating psychiatric responses to OC treatment have had inconsistent results.
Observations: While OCs are beneficial for most users, there is evidence that a subgroup of users are susceptible to mood side effects. Randomized controlled trials have generally failed to find differences in mood symptoms between OC and placebo users, but observational studies comparing OC users to non-users have reported increases in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Additionally, observational evidence suggests that OC users may be more likely to use prescription psychotropic medications and to attempt or die by suicide. However, responses to OC treatment are highly heterogeneous, and some users report mood improvement. A variety of factors may increase the likelihood of negative psychiatric side effects, including younger age, previous experience of side effects from OCs, and pre-existing psychiatric disorders. Progestin-only pills may confer a higher psychiatric risk than combination pills.
Conclusions and Relevance: Further research investigating factors that contribute to susceptibility to the mood-related side effects of OCs is clearly warranted. Genomic approaches may provide insight as to why some users experience side effects while others do not. Research elucidating who is most at risk and why will be essential to addressing prevalent concerns about the psychiatric risk of OCs.