bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Breathing wave solutions and Y-type soliton solutions of the (3+1)-dimensional Ito equation
Authors: Cui Jingyi , Guo Yanfeng , Zhang Jingjun
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we mainly concentrate on the exact solutions of the (3+1)-dimensional Ito equation. Applying the parametric limit method, the breathing wave solutions derived with the three-wave approach are degenerated into lump solutions. Then, the Y-type soliton solutions are constructed based on the N-soliton solutions. Next, employing the parametric complex conjugation technique, the N-soliton solutions are transformed into P-breathing wave solutions. Finally, the interaction solutions between breathing waves and Y-type solitons are investigated by the partial degeneration of Y-type soliton solutions.
Relationship between tobacco and nicotine products use and clinical presentation at the Emergency Department: study protocol
Authors: Campagna Davide , Farsalinos Konstantinos , Costantino Giorgio , Carpinteri Giuseppe , Polosa Riccardo
Published: July 2023

Background
In the last years several alternative to smoking nicotine products have become available. While laboratory and limited clinical studies suggest that these devices are less toxic compared to classic tobacco cigarettes, very little is still known about their epidemiological impact. Visiting the Emergency Department (ED) often represents the first or the only contact of patients with the healthcare system, so a study conducted at ED to assess the impact of these products on health is reliable and reflects the real life.
Methods
The study will be an observational study, with no intervention or randomization, to analyse the association between severity of clinical presentation during an ED visit as well as the outcome (hospitalization and death) and different patterns of nicotine products use. Approximately 1500–2000 people will be enrolled and categorized according to different pattern of tobacco and nicotine consumption through a specific questionnaire.
Discussion
There is a lot of debate about the harm reduction potential of alternative nicotine products in terms of their smoking-cessation and risk reduction potential. This study represents an opportunity to document epidemiological data on the link between different nicotine product use and disease diagnosis and severity during an ED visit, and thus evaluate the harm reduction potential claims for these products.
Load-sharing characteristics of stenting and post-dilation in heavily calcified coronary artery
Authors: Dong Pengfei , Colmenarez Jose , Lee Juhwan , Hassani Neda Shafiabadi , Wilson David L. , Bezerra Hiram G. , Gu Linxia
Published: July 2023

In this work, stenting in non-calcified and heavily calcified coronary arteries was quantified in terms of diameter-pressure relationships and load transfer from the balloon to the artery. The efficacy of post-dilation in non-calcified and heavily calcified coronary arteries was also characterized in terms of load sharing and the changes in tissue mechanics. Our results have shown that stent expansion exhibits a cylindrical shape in non-calcified lesions, while it exhibits a dog bone shape in heavily calcified lesions. Load-sharing analysis has shown that only a small portion of the pressure load (1.4 N, 0.8% of total pressure load) was transferred to the non-calcified lesion, while a large amount of the pressure load (19 N, 12%) was transferred to the heavily calcified lesion. In addition, the increasing inflation pressure (from 10 to 20 atm) can effectively increase the minimal lumen diameter (from 1.48 mm to 2.82 mm) of the heavily calcified lesion, the stress (from 1.5 MPa to 8.4 MPa) the strain energy in the calcification (1.77 mJ to 26.5 mJ), which associated with the potential of calcification fracture. Results indicated that increasing inflation pressure can be an effective way to improve the stent expansion if a dog bone shape of the stenting profile is observed. Considering the risk of a balloon burst, our results support the design and application of the high-pressure balloon for post-dilation.
Nano-Clustering in Water-Lean Solvents Establishes Novel CO2 Chemistry
Authors: Leclaire Julien , Heldebrant David , Grubel Katarzyna , Septavaux Jean , Hennebelle Marc , Walter Eric , Chen Ying , Bañuelos Jose , Zhang Difan , Nguyen Manh , Ray Debmalya , Allec Sarah , Malhotra Deepika , Joo Wontae , King Jaelynne
Published: July 2023

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage is a key yet cost-intensive technology for the fight against climate change. In a combined experimental and modeling study of single-component water-lean solvent, we found that CO2 capture is accompanied by the self-assembly of reverse micelle-like tetrameric clusters in solution. This spontaneous aggregation leads to stepwise cooperative capture phenomena with highly contrasting kinetic and thermodynamic features. The emergence of well-defined supramolecular architectures displaying a H-bonded internal core, reminiscent of enzymatic active sites, enables the formation of unprecedented CO2-containing molecular species such as carbamic acid, carbamic-anhydride, and alkoxy carbamic anhydrides. This dynamic combinatorial system based on a single absorbent and CO2 extends the scope of adducts and mechanisms observed during carbon capture. It opens the way to new materials with a higher CO2 storage capacity as well as provides a means for carbamates to potentially act as initiators for future oligomerization or polymerization of CO2.
Context-dependent benefits of ectomycorrhizal fungi on Aleppo pine seedling performance under drought and interplant competition
Authors: Herol Lior , Avidar Mor , Yirmiahu Shahar , Zach Yair Yehoshua , Klein Tamir , Shemesh Hagai , Livne-Luzon Stav
Published: July 2023

Seedling establishment under natural conditions is limited by numerous interacting factors. Here, we tested the combinatorial effects of drought, herbaceous competition, and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) on the performance of Aleppo pine seedlings grown under shade house conditions. All pine seedlings were strongly dominated by Geopora, a fungal genus known to inoculate seedlings in dry habitats. EMF inoculum significantly increased seedling height, biomass, and the number of side branches. However, under either competition or drought, the positive effect of EMF on seedling biomass and height was greatly reduced, while the effect on shoot branching was maintained. Further, under a combination of drought and competition, EMF had no influence on either plant growth and shape. The discrepancy in pine performance across treatments highlights the complexity of benefits provided to seedlings by EMF under ecologically relevant settings.
A rapid determination of wheat flour’s components based on near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics
Authors: Zhou WanZhu , Zhou QiDong , Lei YongQian , Wu PeiShan , Xu JingWei , Xu ChunHua
Published: July 2023

In this work, a rapid and simple analytical method for the quantitative determination of moisture, protein, wet gluten, starch and sedimentation index in the wheat flour was established by the combination of near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics. The spectra of the 229 wheat flour samples were collected by a portable near infrared fast analyzer. The contents of these components were determined according to the relevant Chinese National Standards, and were taken as the corresponding reference database. Partial least squares (PLS) modeling method was used, and seven spectral pretreatment methods were employed to eliminate the optical interference from background and other noise information, then the quantitative analysis effect of the model on wheat flour index was investigated. The best result was obtained with FD + SG(15, 3) + MC method for moisture, protein, wet gluten and sedimentation index, FD + SG(15, 2) + MC method was more suitable for starch. The principal component numbers (PCs) were also optimized to obtain a superior model effect. In this study, the predicted values and the reference values in the PLS model of wheat flour showed superior linear relationship within the calibration range. Moreover, the absolute error of the predicted values and their corresponding reference values were within their confidence intervals, respectively. The deviations for moisture, protein, wet gluten and starch fluctuated less, only sedimentation index fluctuated greatly. The actual prediction correct rate of moisture, protein, wet gluten, starch and sedimentation index were 96.8%, 96.8%, 90.3%, 100.0% and 80.6%, respectively, which indicated the prediction was excellent.
Two Independent Teachers are Better Role Model
Authors: Khaled Afifa , Mubarak Ahmed , He Kun
Published: July 2023

Recent deep learning models have attracted substantial attention in infant brainanalysis. These models have performed state-of-the-art performance, such as semi-supervised techniques (e.g., Temporal Ensembling, mean teacher). However, these models depend on an encoder-decoder structure with stacked local operators togather long-range information, and the local operators limit the efficiency and effectiveness. Besides, the MRI data contain different tissue properties (T P s) suchas T1 and T2. One major limitation of these models is that they use both dataas inputs to the segment process, i.e., the models are trained on the dataset once, and it requires much computational and memory requirements during inference. In this work, we address the above limitations by designing a new deep-learningmodel, called 3D-DenseUNet, which works as adaptable global aggregation blocksin down-sampling to solve the issue of spatial information loss. The self-attention module connects the down-sampling blocks to up-sampling blocks, and integrates the feature maps in three dimensions of spatial and channel, effectively improvingthe representation potential and discriminating ability of the model. Additionally, we propose a new method called Two Independent Teachers (2IT), that summarizes the model weights instead of label predictions. Each teacher model is trainedon different types of brain data, T1 and T2, respectively. Then, a fuse model is added to improve test accuracy and enable training with fewer parameters andlabels compared to the Temporal Ensembling method without modifying the network architecture. Empirical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The code is publicly available at: https://github.com/AfifaKhaled/Two-Independent-Teachers-are-Better-Role-Model
Aberrant expression of PTPRN2 promotes malignant transformation of colorectal cancer cells through EMT/TRAF2/STAT3 signaling pathway
Authors: Chen Jing , Bai Zhenzhen , Wang Yue , Zhang Hao , Wen Yixun , Zhu Xiaoya , Zhang Shiwu , Cao Liyu
Published: July 2023

Backgroud: Tumor heterogeneity complicates treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, as it leads to different responses to therapies. Polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs) are a rare special subpopulation of heterogeneous cancer cells that are a source of solid tumor heterogeneity. Daughter cells derived from PGCCs through asymmetric cell division exhibit strong migration, invasion and proliferation abilities. However, the underlying molecular mechanism concerning the malignant biological properties in daughter cells remains unclear. Methods: In this study, PGCCs were successfully induced in CRC cells via chemotherapy, using 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. Oncomine, UALCAN, GEPIA, and HPA databases were used to analyze the expression of PTPRN2 and its effect on the survival rate of CRC patients was evaluated on the univariate and multivariate analysis of the GSE39582 dataset. The cellular aggressive phenotype and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry, transwell, wound healing, and colony formation assays. Transient transfection, western blotting, and co-immunoprecipitation assays were used to analyze molecular mechanism. Results: PTPRN2 is significantly up-regulated compared to that in normal colorectal lesions at the mRNA and protein levels. Patients with CRC exhibiting higher PTPRN2 expression had an unfavorable overall survival. The expression of PTPRN2 was signally elevated in PGCCs with daughter cells whose migration, invasion, and proliferation abilities were significantly weakened after PTPRN2 knockdown. Mechanistic investigations suggested that the expression of the proteins in the MAPK pathway, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, and STAT3/cyclin D1 signaling decreased markedly after PTPRN2 knockdown in PGCCs and their daughter cells. In addition, PTPRN2 exerted these effects through interactions with tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2), twist1, and cyclin D1. In PGCCs and their daughter cells, TRAF2 is mainly K63-ubiquitinated, which is necessary for the activation of the MAPK pathway. After PTPRN2 was inhibited, the K63-linked ubiquitination of TRAF2 reduced. Conclusions: PTPRN2 enhanced the malignant transformation in PGCCs and their daughter cells by mediating the EMT process, STAT3/cyclin D1, and MAPK signaling pathways, interacting with twist1, cyclin D1, and TRAF2, and especially accelerating the K63-linked ubiquitination chain attached to TRAF2. Overall, our results indicate that PTPRN2 may be a novel prognostic and theraeputic target for CRC treatment.
Conceptual model of land development based on wheat cultivation
Authors: Saharkhiz Abbas , Mohammadi Iraj Malek , Zamani Gholam Hossein
Published: July 2023

The development of Iran's agricultural sector is influenced by policies based on economic growth, industrial modernization, technology transfer, and an emphasis on increasing production and exports regardless of land management, talent, and capabilities, leading to instability in the agricultural sector and thus failing to achieve its goal. This research was conducted with a capacity-oriented approach to design a ground model for the development of wheat cultivation from a qualitative perspective. Data processing in the open coding process using MAXQDA software version 20 leads to the extraction of 92 concepts (with 377 repetitions) and 27 subcategories, which were divided into 3 levels or main categories. Findings showed that the main drivers of wheat land development consist of economic factors with 10 variables, social factors with 7 variables, and environmental factors with 10 variables. A Comparison of the software model and theoretical model showed that the variable of exploitation type was removed due to non-repetition and relevance and the variables of age, occupation, and education were combined in the variables of demographic characteristics and land integration variables, area under cultivation, irrigation method, price and cost to economic factors and variables of ownership, education and promotion, poverty and destitution, technical knowledge and labor performance to social factors and variables of cultivation type, land use, fallow, optimal cultivation pattern, GDD and use of fertilizers and pesticides to factors Climate added.
Collection of cassava landraces and associated farmers’ knowledge, genetic diversity and viral incidence assessment in western Kenya
Authors: OBARE IVAN , Charimbu Miriam K , Mafurah Joseph , Mutoni Christine K , Woyengo Vincent W , Shah Trushar , Ferguson Morag E
Published: July 2023

Cassava is a crucial food crop in the western region of Kenya, producing 60% of the country’s production. It is mainly grown by small-scale farmers for subsistence use, with any surplus being sold. Many cassava landraces from the western region have been seriously affected by two viral diseases, cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) but have not been conserved, together with associated farmer knowledge, in national or international germplasm repositories. This study aimed at collecting landraces and associated farmers’ knowledge, identifying collected cultivars and determining their genetic diversity. In addition, the incidence and distribution of CMD and CBSD was determined. A collection mission was undertaken covering five counties of western Kenya; Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Migori and Homabay. A total of 256 cassava samples were collected from 203 households. In addition, leaf samples were taken from 210 perceived improved varieties and genotyped with the landraces using DArTSeq to confirm whether any of the landraces were infact improved varieties. Stakes from the collected landraces were established in the glasshouse for sprouting and subsequent virus indexing. Molecular diagnostics revealed that 60.5% of collected samples were CMD positive with 33.2% of these being East African Cassava Mosaic Virus and 27.3% being African Cassava Mosaic Virus, and 22.7% were CBSD positive with 12.1% being Cassava Brown Streak Virus and 10.6% being Ugandan Cassava Brown Streak Virus. Interestingly CMD causing viruses were found in all the counties but CBSD-associated viruses were not detected in Kakamega or Bungoma counties. Dual infection of the CMD and CBSD-causing viruses were also found on collected cassava landraces from Busia, Homabay and Migori. These results confirm the urgent need for deployment of varieties with dual resistance to CMD and CBSD. Key informant interviews highlight the importance of cooking as well as eating properties of cassava and yield and time to maturity amongst other characteristics. A total of 57 unique genotypes (39 landraces and 18 improved varieties) were identified. Cassava germplasm from western Kenya was found to have low genetic variability, and this, coupled with the incidences of CMD and CBSD emphasizes the urgent development and deployment of varieties with dual virus resistance. Farmer and consumer preferences should be used to inform priority traits in cassava breeding programmes for the region.
Maternal dietary copper deficiency induces cardiomyopathy and liver injury in offspring
Authors: Hu Ruixiang , Huang Yipu , Jiang Xin , Xu Yi , Zheng Zhirui , Shi Yuansen , Liu Yun
Published: July 2023

Background
Maternal nutritional deficiencies contribute to birth defects and an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease. Accumulating evidences demonstrate that copper deficiency (CuD) is involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including heart diseases and liver diseases. However, the effect of maternal CuD on offspring is not clearly explicated. Our study aims to investigate the role of maternal CuD on heart and liver of offspring.
Method
We established a maternal CuD mouse model by feeding pregnant C57BL/6 mice with CuD diet till the end of the experiment. Echocardiography was performed on offspring at postanal day (PND) 14.
Results
We found that CuD caused cardiac systolic dysfunction and cardiac hypertrophy. Moreover, CuD caused hepatic steatosis and hepatic injury. Furthermore, we presented the increased LC3 and decreased p62 in CuD mouse heart and liver tissues, suggesting the activation of autophagy.
Conclusion
maternal CuD caused severely adverse effects on the heart and liver of offspring, which illuminated a better understanding of CuD.
Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome: oro-dental manifestations and management
Authors: Daume Linda , Renz Cornelius , Trento Guilherme , Kleinheinz Johannes
Published: July 2023

Background: Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome (KTWS) is a rare congenital systemic disease characterized by cutaneous haemangioma, arterio-venous fistulas or varicosities (or both) and unilateral hypertrophy of hard and soft tissue with different localizations. Typical orofacial manifestations include facial asymmetry, jaw enlargement and malocclusion.
Case presentation: A previously diagnosed 55-year-old male patient was referred to the Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery presenting with extended mandibular ramus exostosis on the left side and concomitant malocclusion. Surgical removal of the hypertrophic bone was performed due to progressive mouth opening restriction, limited oral hygiene ability and increased mandible deviation. Bleeding complications and wound healing disorders were not observed. Consistent mouth opening training resulted in an improvement in mouth opening.
Conclusion: It is suggested to consider KTWS as one of the differential diagnoses if vascular syndromes in the head and neck region occur. Special attention must be given to dental treatment due to eventual excessive haemorrhage that might occur after oral surgical procedures.
Using Multimodal Learning Analytics to Model Students’ Learning Behavior in Animated Programming Classroom
Authors: Yusuf Abdullahi , M.D Norah , Bello Shamsudeen
Published: July 2023

Studies examining students’ learningbehavior predominantly employed rich video data as their main source of information due to the limited knowledge of computer vision and deep learning algorithms. However, one of the challenges faced during such observation is the strenuous task of coding large amounts of video data through repeated viewings. In this research, we confirm the possibilities of classifying students’ learning behavior using data obtained from multimodal distribution. We employed computer algorithms to classify students’ learning behavior in animated programming classrooms and used information from this classification to predict learning outcomes. Specifically, our study indicates the presence of three clusters of students in the domain of “stay active”, “stay passive”, and “to-passive”. We also found a relationship between these profiles and learning outcomes. We discussed our findings in accordance with the engagement and instructional quality models and believed that our statistical approach will support the ongoing refinement of the models in the context of behavioral profiling and classroom interaction. We recommend that further studies should identify different epistemological frames in diverse classroom settings to provide sufficient explanations of students’ learning processes.
Evaluating fermented fish viscera silage in diets for Colossoma macropomum and its effects on physical quality of pellets, production performance, health parameters, and economic analysis
Authors: Santana Thiago M. , Dantas Francisco M. , Prestes Armando G. , Jerônimo Gabriela T. , Costa Jesaías I. , Santos Driely K. Monteiro dos , Pastrana Yugo M. , Yamamoto Fernando Y. , Gonçalves Ligia U.
Published: July 2023

The production of silage preserves fish viscera using simple techniques and allow the reutilization of nutrients that are usually discarded; thus, promoting circular aquaculture. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of increasing levels of fish viscera silage on the physical quality of the feed pellets, and the growth performance, health parameters, and economic analysis when tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) were offered the experimental diets. A fermented fish viscera silage (5% yogurt; 15% molasses; 0.25% antioxidant) was included in the formulation at graded levels in a wet-basis (VS 0%, VS 5%; VS 10%; VS 15%, and VS 20%). Tambaqui (initial weight ~ 22.6 g) were stocked in a recirculation system and fed the experiment diets to apparent satiation for 13 week. At the end of the feeding trial, fish presented ~ 500% growth for all experimental groups. Average feed efficiency was 0.78, protein efficiency rate 2.28%, and relative growth rate 1.79%.day− 1. Fish fed with the highest level of inclusion of viscera silage showed high concentrations of plasma cholesterol but with acceptable values for this species. The inclusion of fish viscera silage in diets for juveniles of tambaqui reduced the activity of the ALT enzyme, confirming normal liver function. Diets with fish viscera silage had a production cost of US$ 0.95 per kg, without significantly impacting on the economic indices. Up to 20% of fish viscera silage can be included in the extruded feed formulation to juveniles of tambaqui, without impairing growth performance and health parameters.
The prognostic factors on survival outcome following locoregional recurrence after mastectomy for breast cancer – A retrospective study in single medical centre in lower incidence and young age area
Authors: Hong Zhi-Jie , Liao Guo-Shiou , Feng An-Chieh , Hsu Sheng-Der , Yu Jyh-Cherng
Published: July 2023

Background.
Women of breast cancer with locoregional recurrence is a ‘high risk’ subgroup with respect to systemic recurrence and mortality after mastectomy. It is important to early identify the prognostic factors on survival outcome following locoregional recurrence after mastectomy, especially in low incidence and young age area.
Methods.
Of 3,364 patients undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer from 2002 to 2020, total 68 patients (2.02%) with the age of 32 to 81 years, had locoregional recurrence as the first event. We analysed prognostic factors on overall and post-relapse survival outcomes, like as age at primary diagnosis, intrinsic molecular subtypes, initial diagnosis stage, prior neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and time to relapse, by Kaplan-Meier Estimate Method and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05.
Results.
Of 68 patients with locoregional recurrence, 37 patients are alive and 31 patients died on the end of study. The survival group has longer time to relapse (mean, 77.87 vs. 33.28 months), compared to the mortality group. Among all collected factors, age at primary diagnosis (age ≦ 55 vs. >55 y/o) is one important prognostic factor on overall (p = 0.044) and post-relapse survival outcomes (p = 0.046), after controlled all confounding factors of initial diagnosis stage, prior neoadjuvant chemotherapy condition, and time to relapse after initial therapy by cox proportional hazard model.
Conclusions.
The patients with the age > 55 years at primary diagnosis is a significantly poor prognostic factor on survival outcome following locoregional recurrence after mastectomy, so they need more aggressive treatment when encountering locoregional recurrence.
Screening for primary aldosteronism on and off interfering medications
Authors: Li Xiaoyu , Liang Jiayu , Hu Jingbo , Ma Linqiang , Yang Jun , Zhang Aipin , Jing Ying , Song Ying , Yang Yi , Feng Zhengping , Du Zhipeng , Wang Yue , Luo Ting , He Wenwen , Shu Xiaoyu , yang shumin , Li Qifu
Published: July 2023

Objective
To determine whether antihypertensives will affect diagnostic accuracy of the ARR to an extent that is clinically relevant.
Methods
Confirmatory tests were used to confirm or exclude PA diagnosis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), specificity and sensitivity of ARR performance in different conditions were calculated.
Results
208 PA and 78 essential hypertension (EH), and 125 PA and 206 EH patients, were included in the retrospective and prospective cohort, respectively. AUC of ARR on interfering medications was comparable to ARR off interfering medications (retrospective: 0.82 vs. 0.87, p = 0.20; prospective: 0.78 vs. 0.84, p = 0.07). At a threshold of 20 pg/µIU, the sensitivity of ARR on interfering medications was lower (11.1–23.2%) while the specificity was higher (10.2–15.2%) than ARR off interfering medications. However, when the ARR threshold on interfering medications was lowered to 10 pg/µIU, both the sensitivity (retrospective: 0.91 vs. 0.90, p = 0.61; prospective: 0.86 vs. 0.82, p = 0.39) and specificity (retrospective: 0.49 vs. 0.59, p = 0.20; prospective: 0.58 vs. 0.66, p = 0.10) were comparable to the ARR threshold off interfering medications.
Conclusion
Using ARR to screen for PA whilst taking interfering antihypertensive drugs is feasible in most cases, but the ARR threshold needs to be reduced.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04991961
Weighted directed graph-based automatic seizure detection with effective brain connectivity for EEG signals
Authors: Sun Qi , Liu Yuanjian , Li Shuangde
Published: July 2023

Epileptic seizure is one of the most common neurological disorders characterized by sudden abnormal discharge of neurons in the brain. Automated seizure detection using electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings would improve the quality of treatment and reduce medical overhead. The purpose of this paper is to design an automated seizure detection framework that can effectively identify seizure and non-seizure events by discovering connectivity between brain regions. In this work a weighted directed graph-based method with effective brain connectivity (EBC) is proposed for seizure detection. The weighted directed graph is built by analyzing the correlation among the different regions of the brain. Then, graph theory-based measures are used to extract features for classification. Furthermore, we illustrate the ability of the proposed method to achieve seizure detection for the patient-specific model and the cross-patient model. The results show that the proposed method achieves accuracy values of 99.97% and 98.29% for the patient-specific model and the cross-patient model in the CHB-MIT dataset, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves an effective classification performance and can be used to provide assistance for automatic seizure detection and clinical diagnosis.
Synthetic computed tomography generation from multi-sequence magnetic resonance images for nasopharyngeal carcinoma treatment planning via cycle-consistent generative adversarial network
Authors: Liu Yimei , Wu Shuyu , Chen Meining , Wang Yixuan , Gu Huikuan , Zhang Jun , Zhao Chong , Lu Yao , Shen Guanzhu , Qi Zhenyu , Deng Xiaowu , Peng Yinglin
Published: July 2023

Background and purpose: The reliability of deep-learning-based methods for synthetic CT (SCT) generation depends on magnetic resonance (MR)-CT registration errors and the different anatomical information and contract divergence of various tissues in different sequences MRI. This study aimed at establishing CycleGAN models of different single-sequence MRI images and multi-sequence MRI images and investigating the effect of different MRI sequences in the patients with complex nasopharyngealcarcinoma.
Materials and methods: Three sequences of MR and planning CT (PCT) images of 151 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were acquired in the radiation treatment position. The number of training, verification, and test sets was 108, 16, and 27, respectively. Four unsupervised CycleGAN-based models were trained using different sequences (single channels) and combinations (multiple channels) as inputs. PCT and MRI pairs were used for network training and testing, respectively. The variables were evaluated between the PCTs and SCTs generated from the different models.
Results: T2WI CycleGAN model achieved better results than those of T1WIC and T1WI for a single-sequence model. The CycleGAN model with multiple sequences (T1WI+T2WI+T1WIC) as input to generate the SCT achieved a higher accuracy than that of any single MR sequence model. Meanwhile, the average (3%, 3 mm) gamma passing rates were over 99.06%, and the absolute dose discrepancies within the regions of interest were 0.73%±0.73% for the multi-sequence MR model.
Conclusion: CycleGAN with multiple MR sequences as the model input showed the best accuracy. The T2WI images are suitable for SCT prediction in clinical scenarios with limited acquisition sequences or times.
Concomitant BRAF V600E and NRAS Q61R Mutations in the Same Thyroid Nodule : A Case Report
Authors: Brogna M. , Collina F. , Losito S. , Clery E. , Montone A. , DelSesto M. , Ferrara G.
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACT: Papillary thyroid cancer(PTC) is the most common type of well differentiated endocrine malignancy Generally thyroid nodules with multiple oncogenic mutations are uncommon with an occurrence whic may be related to more aggressive biological behavior of tumors. (6).
RET/PTC rearrangement, RAS, and BRAF mutations are considered to be mutually exclusive in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) (8). Concomitant RET/PTC, RAS, or BRAF mutations have been documented, although the impact of these mutations for tumor growth and survival is debated (6,7,8).
CASE PRESENTATION: Here we present a rare case of woman 46 years old with a neck mass and thyroid nodule classified as TIR5 on cytological examination.
We found contemporary BRAF p.(Val600Glu) (p. (V600E); c. 1799T>A) and NRAS p. (Gln61Arg) (p. (Q61R); c.182A>G) mutations in morphologically different areas within the same lobe (the right one); The two lesions show different morphology. The mutated BRAF lesion showed morphological characteristics compatible with classic papillary carcinoma; The mutant NRAS lesion shows morphological features compatible with follicular variant papillary carcinoma.
To the best of our knowlodges, this is the first time that such mutations, which are normally mutually exclusive, have been detected at the same time.
CONCLUSIONS: The finding of synchronous mutations is a rare occurrence suggesting for intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) even in PTC.
Patients with multiple mutations have a clinical worse prognosis, generally characterized by an aggressive thyroid cancer, which may influence the surgical treatment, chemotherapy, and BRAFV600E mutation-targeting therapy.
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on emergency psychiatry department admissions
Authors: Poyraz Cana Aksoy , Bostan Büşra Uçar , Çelik Elif Burcu Ersungur , Çelik Beril Kara
Published: July 2023

Background: This study aimed to explore the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and lockdown period (LP) measures on patients’ visits to psychiatric emergency department (PED) of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Medical School.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing the number and characteristics of patients during the initial lockdown with visits in the pre- and post-lockdown months. We also investigated the number of monthly PED visits and hospitalizations between March 11, 2020-2021 and compared it to the same period in 2019 and between March 2021-2022.
Results: PED visits in the initial LP in Istanbul increased by 109% compared to the pre-lockdown months in the previous year. Anxiety and depressive disorders were responsible for most of this increase. The decline in PED visits was 3.1% and 42% during the first and second year of the pandemic, respectively; however, among the major diagnostic categories, we found that the rates of anxiety, depressive disorders, and OCD increased significantly in the first year, while psychotic disorders declined and bipolar disorders remained the same. In the second year, there was a trend toward pre-pandemic year ratios.
Conclusion: The present findings highlight the immediate and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on patients’ admission to the PED.
ACE-2 receptor expression on the back of the hand: Implications in the indirect transmission of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Acosta Gustavo Acosta Altamirano , Chávez Miguel A. Chávez Martínez , Martínez-Quezada Rebeca Martínez-Quezada , Rodríguez Carlos E. Miguel , Reyes-Montes María R. Reyes-Montes , Sánchez-Conejo Alma Rosa , Valencia-Ledezma Omar E.
Published: July 2023

The SARS-CoV-2, is the causative agent of COVID-19, a disease that was declared a pandemic by the WHO, at the beginning of 2020. Various authors have pointed out that morbidity and mortality, as well as the economic consequences of a pandemic, are influenced by factors such as the susceptibility of the population to infection, the severity of the disease, transmissibility and routes of transmission. It was of particular interest in this work to focus on the last two aspects, and, more specifically, on indirect transmission through contact with the back of the hand, highlighting the importance of this site during the transmission process of SARS-CoV- 2. The expression, as well as the functionality of the ACE-2 receptors on the back of the hand was demonstrated by immunohistochemical techniques, and the implications of these findings in the indirect transmission of the virus were discussed. We conclude that contact with the skin, for example, through the fist salute, contributes to the increase in infections, in such a way that we suggest that this practice be avoided as a protection measure.
Comparison of CSF and plasma NfL and pNfH for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. A memory clinic study.
Authors: Vrillon Agathe , Ashton Nicholas J. , Karikari Thomas K. , Götze Karl , Cognat Emmanuel , Dumurgier Julien , Lilamand Matthieu , Zetterberg Henrik , Blennow Kaj , Paquet Claire
Published: July 2023

Background Plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a promising biomarker of axonal and neuronal damage in central nervous system disorders, displaying potential for the differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. The heavy chain of the neurofilaments, and specifically the phosphorylated form (pNfH), has demonstrated its value in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis but has much less been explored in neurocognitive disorders. Our aim was to compare the positive and differential diagnosis performance of NfL, CSF and plasma pNfH in patients from daily clinical practice in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias.Methods In a cross-sectional retrospective study, we compared NfL and pNfH levels in CSF and plasma for AD diagnosis in n = 188 patients from the Center of Cognitive Neurology, Lariboisiere Hospital, Paris, France including AD at the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage (AD-MCI, n = 36) and at the dementia stage (n = 64), as well as non-AD MCI (n = 38), non-AD dementia (n = 28) patients and neurological controls (NC) (n = 22). Plasma NfL, plasma and CSF pNfH levels were measured using the Simoa technique and CSF NfL using Elisa.Results NfL and pNfH, in plasma and CSF, were associated with age (rho = 0.259–0.451, P < 0.003). The correlation between CSF and plasma levels was stronger for NfL than pNfH (respectively, rho = 0.77 and rho = 0.52, respectively). Both CSF and plasma NfL and CSF pNfH were associated with CSF p-tau levels in AD patients, but not plasma pNfH. All neurofilament markers were increased in AD-MCI, AD dementia and non-AD dementia compared with NC. CSF NfL, CSF pNfH and plasma NfL showed high performance to discriminate AD at both MCI and dementia stage from control subjects (AUC = 0.82–0.91). Conversely, plasma pNfH displayed overall lower AUCs for discrimination between groups compared with CSF pNfH. Nfs markers showed moderate association with cognition. NfL displayed significant association with mediotemporal lobe atrophy and white matter lesions, in the whole cohort and in the AD subgroup.Conclusion CSF NfL and pNfH as well as plasma NfL displayed equivalent performance in both positive and differential AD diagnosis in a memory clinic setting. In contrast to motoneuron disorders, plasma pNfH did not demonstrate added value as compared with plasma NfL.
Effects of dietary thiamin (vitamin B1) on the growth performances, serum biochemistry factors, immune response, and antioxidant activity of great sturgeon (Huso huso) juveniles
Authors: Behbodi Zahra , Bahram Somayeh , Bahrekazemi Masoumeh , Javadian Seyed Rohollah , Bozorgnia Abas , Abdel-Tawwab Mohsen
Published: July 2023

The present research evaluated the effects of dietary thiamin (vitamin B1) levels on the growth performances, serum biochemistry factors, immune response, and antioxidant activity of great sturgeon (Huso huso) juveniles. Thiamin was included in diets with levels of 0 (T0), 7 (T7), 15 (T15) and 25 (T25) mg/kg diet. Sturgeon juveniles (156 individuals) with average weight of 44.8 ± 1.96 g were distributed into 12 tanks, and fed with the experimental diets for 8 weeks. The dietary thiamin levels significantly enhanced the growth parameters including final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, and feed efficiency, and the optimum thiamin level was obtained in T15. A significant difference was observed between the treatments in the activity levels of trypsin, chymotrypsin, creatine kinase, lipase, amylase and alkaline phosphatase. The amount of glucose was not significantly different between the experimental treatments. Triglyceride, cholesterol, and total protein levels were significantly higher in the thiamin-fed treatments than in the control group. A significant decrease in the activity of aminotransferase aspartate and alanine aminotransferase enzymes was observed by increasing dietary thiamin level. Serum antioxidant enzymes were significantly higher in the thiamin treated fish than in the control group. Serum malondialdehyde was affected by dietary thiamin and was significantly lower in the treatments fed with thiamin than in the control fish group. Total immunoglobulin, lysozyme, and ACH50 values were significantly higher in fish fed with thiamin-supplemented diets than in the control group. The results of the present study demonstrated that the optimal level of thiamin is 19.72–25.28 mg/kg diet based on weight gain, specific growth rate, and hepatic thiamin content.
Risk factors and a nomogram prediction model for Restricted Life-Space in Chinese older adults with diabetes:A single-center cross-sectional study
Authors: Zhang Hai-yan , Guo Jiong-chao , Zhang Li , Deng Man , Yu wei-hua
Published: July 2023

Background
Physical activity is a crucial component of the treatment and management of diabetes, yet older individuals with diabetes generally exhibit insufficient physical activity levels. Life space mobility (LSM), which reflects the physical activity and psychological well-being of older individuals within their actual environment, poses challenges to the management of diabetes in this age group, significantly jeopardizing their physical and mental health.
Aim
The objective of this study is twofold: first, to investigate the risk factors associated with mobility restriction among older adults with diabetes mellitus; and second, to develop and verify a restricted life-space risk nomogram prediction model for this population by nomogram.
Methods
The convenient sampling method was employed to recruit participators aged 60 years and above from both the endocrinology clinic and health examination center situated in a Grade A hospital located in Anhui. These participators were then categorized into two groups: the Restricted Life-Space(RLS) group and the non-Restricted Life-Space group. The Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to decrease data dimensionality and select features, while the C index and Brier score were employed to assess the model's discrimination and calibration, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration curve were generated to visualize the performance of the model.Decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curve (CIC) were conducted to evaluate the clinical value of the model. The internal validity of the model was confirmed using the bootstrapping method, while external validation was performed to test its generalizability.
Results
A risk nomogram prediction model was developed using four predictors: fear of falling, decline of activities of daily living (ADL), lower limb hypofunction, and decline of vision.Internal validation of the model yielded the following results: a C index of 0.936, a goodness-of-fit test χ2 value of 1.21 with a corresponding P-value of 0.75, and a Brier score of 0.081. In the DCA, the threshold ranged from 0.1 to 0.95, and the clinical net benefit was consistently greater than 0. The CIC demonstrated that the predicted risk generated via the model was highly consistent with the actual risk. External validation of the model resulted in a C index of 0.932, a goodness-of-fit test χ2 value of 3.11 with a corresponding P-value of 0.60, and a Brier score of 0.106.
Conclusion
The risk nomogram prediction model constructed in this study based on the above four independent risk factors is noninvasive, inexpensive, and easily accessible, with high sensitivity, specificity, and utility, and provides a reference for the assessment and intervention of life-space mobility levels in older adults with diabetes.
A systematic literature review of vehicle-to-everything in communication, computation and service scenarios
Authors: Lv Shengnan , Qin Yong , Gan Weidong , Xu Zeshui , Shi Lefeng
Published: July 2023

The notion of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) has been adopted and developed in a host of application scenarios due to its wide compatibility with intelligent transport, smart city or other relevant concepts since it was set forth. Benefiting from the application of advanced technologies, vehicles are connected with more and more objects, such as vehicle-to-unmanned aerial vehicles (V2U), vehicle-to-subway (V2S), etc., making the application scenarios of V2X constantly updated. Narrative reviews for specific V2X, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-grid (V2G), rather than a comprehensive review of V2X, cannot provide a reference for a broader and comprehensive application of V2X. Therefore, this study first investigates the knowledge landscape of V2X publications by bibliometric analysis to portray the theme evolution and outline of V2X research. Then, the applications of V2X are then summarized into communication, computation, and service scenarios, and their forms, supporting technologies, and challenges are reviewed. The relationships and synergistic development in various V2X are also discussed. This holistic insight is necessary to help researchers connect the sub-concepts of V2X for the synergistic development of various V2X.
Long-term patient-reported knee-related outcomes and quality of life of patients with tibial plateau fractures; a mixed methods study
Authors: Gaast Nynke van der , Edwards Britt H.J. , Alderlieste Dagmar S. , Jaarsma Ruurd L. , Ed Michael J.R. , Doornberg Job N. , Hermans Erik
Published: July 2023

Purposes This study aims to 1) provide a comprehensive assessment of the long-term functional outcomes in patients who sustained a tibial plateau fracture by combining patient-reported outcomes and a qualitative analysis of their healthcare experiences and 2) compare the long-term outcomes of tibial plateau fracture patients with a matched healthy population.
Methods All eligible patients (n=165) were treated for a tibial plateau fracture at a level-1 trauma center in Australia and were asked to complete the KOOS and EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Additionally, the outcomes (KOOS and EQ-5D-5L) of our patient sample were compared to those of a matched sample of the general population. Lastly, in-depth interviews were conducted in a subset of participating patients to gain insight in their treatment experiences.
Results Out of 165 patients, 46 patients (28% response rate) agreed to participate in this study and 18 patients consented to an additional interview. Patient demographics showed a mean age of 52.8 years, ranging from 18 to 72 years. Patients who sustained a tibial plateau fracture exhibited significant deterioration compared to a matched healthy population, with decreases ranging from 17 to 38 points in each KOOS questionnaire subcategory respectively. Moreover, their quality of life, as measured by the EQ-5D-5L index score, significantly declined for patients with tibial plateau fractures (0.79±0.26) compared to a matched health population (0.88±0.03). The qualitative analysis highlights patient perspectives and suggests potential improvements, such as standard referral to physical therapy and optimization of support services, to enhance both short-term and long-term outcomes for patients who suffered from a tibial plateau fracture.
Conclusion This study demonstrates the substantial impact of tibial plateau fractures on knee-related outcomes and quality of life for patients, even 5-10 years post-injury, when compared to a matched healthy population. The qualitative findings of this study emphasize the importance of implementing physical therapy and improving support services to potentially achieve better outcomes for patients with tibial plateau fractures.
Trial registration: This study was approved by the hospitals’ local ethics committee (Southern Adelaide Local Health Network LNR/22/SAC/174).