bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Past and Present of Thought Experiments' Research at Glancy: Bibliometric Review and Analysis
Authors: Bancong Hartono
Published: February 2024

In the development of physical theories, thought experiments play a crucial role. This topic has been the subject of study since 1976, and its progress has continued until the present. This study aims to provide a more complete picture of the progress of thought experiments over the past two decades. This study employs bibliometric mapping methods. There were a total of 679 published papers analyzed, including articles (504), conference papers (92), and book Chaps. (83) from numerous sources. This data was retrieved from the Scopus database. The study's findings reveal that research and publications on thought experiments are of interest and have gotten a lot of attention during the last eight years. According to the findings, 85% of the top 20 publishers contributing to thought experiments are from journals in the first and second quartiles (Q1 and Q2). This level shows the quality and significant influence of a journal. The geographical distribution then reveals that the United States contributes the most to thought experiments research, with 213 documents, 2592 citations, and 47 links. We also discovered several prospective keywords that could be the focus of future academics based on our bibliometric study, including artificial intelligence, physics education, fiction, god, theology, productive imagination, technology, speculative design, and critical design. Therefore, this study contributes to providing a thorough picture of thought experiment research trends and future directions of potential topics that can be the focus of future researchers.
Intermodal Targeted Energy Transfer in Two Dimensions - Part I: Transient Response
Authors: Veltman Yuval , Gzal Majdi , Gendelman Oleg V.
Published: February 2024

This paper is the first one in the series of two papers that explore the implementation of the intermodal targeted energy transfer (IMTET) mechanism for passive mitigation of a two-dimensional asymmetric linear oscillator subjected to the external excitation. The considered model contains a planar rigid body with clearance cast in the form of asymmetric rotated elliptical hole, and a fixed internal rigid core. The planar oscillator possesses three degrees of freedom, namely, two translations and rotation. Current paper deals with the case of blast mitigation. The latter is achieved by inducing extreme, fast time-scale energy transfers from low-frequency to high-frequency structural modes. These targeted (directed) energy transfers within the modal space are governed by a non-resonant nonlinear dynamical mechanism induced by vibro-impacts between the primary linear oscillator and the internal rigid barrier inside the tilted elliptical clearance. To improve the blast mitigation performance, the clearance parameters are optimized using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. The results demonstrate that redistributing the blast energy from low- to high-frequency structural modes significantly reduces the amplitude of the overall structural response within an extremely fast time-scale while efficiently utilizing the intrinsic dissipative modal capacity of the structure. Additional blast energy dissipation is achieved by considering inelastic and frictional vibro-impacts. The robustness of the proposed two-dimensional IMTET mechanism has been demonstrated for a wide set of bi-axial blast excitations.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Ning Shuangcheng , Zou Zhi , Liu Bang , Chen Xiangyu , Wang Jin
Published: February 2024

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to address the current uncertainty surrounding the causal relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and prostate cancer. By employing Mendelian randomization studies, we aim to eliminate the influence of confounding factors and clarify the relationship between T2DM and prostate cancer. Understanding the causal effect will contribute to the improvement of prevention and control strategies for both conditions in clinical practice.
Methods
European population-derived summary data from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) was utilized to investigate the relationship between T2DM and prostate cancer. T2DM data from 148,726 patients with T2DM and 965,732 controls were included, as well as prostate cancer data from 30,945 prostate cancer patients and 368,725 controls, totaling 399,670 samples. T2DM was utilized as an exposure indicator, and significant and independent SNPs were screened as instrumental variables. A two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) approach was used to evaluate the link between T2DM and prostate cancer in the overall sample. Five different methods, including Inverse Variance Weighting (IVW) and MR-Egger, were implemented in the analysis process to establish causal associations. IVW was selected as the main analysis method, and gender heterogeneity was detected by the Cochran Q test.
Results
Our analysis revealed a positive correlation between T2DM and prostate cancer in the overall population (IVW, OR = 7.88; 95% CI: 6.95–8.93, P < 0.005), indicating a causal relationship.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that T2DM does increase the risk of prostate cancer and that a causal relationship between the two does exist.
DC-Graph: A Chunk Optimization Model Based on Document Classification and Graph Learning
Authors: Zhang Guohao , Li Xuefeng , Zhang Hao
Published: February 2024

Existing machine reading comprehension methods use a fixed stride to chunk long texts, which leads to missing contextual information at the boundaries of the chunks and a lack of communication between the information within each chunk. This paper proposes DC-Graph model, addressing existing issues in terms of reconstructing and supplementing information in long texts. Knowledge graphs contain extensive knowledge, and the semantic relationships between entities exhibit strong logical characteristics, which can assist the model in semantic understanding and reasoning. By categorizing the questions, this paper filters the content of long texts based on categories and reconstructs the content that aligns with the question category, compressing and optimizing the long text to minimize the number of document chunks when inputted into BERT. Additionally, unstructured text is transformed into a structured knowledge graph, and features are extracted using graph convolutional networks. These features are then added as global information to each chunk, aiding answer prediction. Experimental results on the CoQA, QuAC, and TriviaQA datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms both BERT and Recurrent Chunking Mechanisms, which share the same improvement approach, in terms of F1 and EM score.
STAT6 blockade ameliorates thyroid function in Graves' disease via downregulation of the Sodium/Iodide Symporter
Authors: Yang Qian , zhang Qinnan , Pan Fanfan Pan , Zha Bingbing
Published: February 2024

Background Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 6 (STAT6) is an important nuclear transcription factor. Previous study demonstrated that blockading STAT6 can ameliorate thyroid function by reducing serum T3 and T4. Sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) is a key protein that mediates active iodine uptake and plays an important role in regulating thyroid function. This study explored the interaction between STAT6 and NIS.Methods Immunohistochemical staining was performed for detecting the expression of NIS in different tissues. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed for evaluating the mRNA level of NIS when Nthy-ori 3-1cells were incubated with IL4, TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) or monoclonal TSAb (thyroid-specific stimulatory autoantibody) for 24h. Quantitative RT-PCR,Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis were performed for detecting NIS expression after inhibiting STAT6 phosphorylation by AS1517499. Finally, we used Luciferase reporter assays to explore the ability of STAT6 to regulate the promoter activity of the NIS-coding gene.Results NIS was highly expressed in thyroid epithelial cells of EAGD mice or Graves' disease(GD) patients and TSAb increased the expression of NIS. We show that STAT6 phosphorylation inhibitor can attenuate the effect of TSAb on increasing NIS protein and mRNA levels. Finally, we confirm that transcription factor STAT6 can mediate NIS transcription and co-activator P100 protein can enhance STAT6-dependent transcriptional activation.Conclusion In Graves' disease, TSAb induces STAT6 signaling to upregulate NIS expression and STAT6 blockade ameliorates thyroid function via downregulation of the Sodium/Iodide Symporter. Our study furthers understanding of the effects of STAT6 on thyroid function and reveals new avenues for GD treatment.
Clinical and sociodemographic predictors of depressive symptoms in epilepsy patients in a single tertiary epilepsy center
Authors: Hajder Dragica , Sekulić Slobodan , Ignjatović Vojislava Bugarski , Popović Sanela , Popović Nemanja , Nikolašević Željka , Bukurov Ksenija Gebauer
Published: February 2024

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of depressive symptoms in patients with epilepsy (PWE) in a tertiary epilepsy center and, then analyze possible predictors of depression from several domains, including clinical characteristics of epilepsy and sociodemographic factors
Methods
PWE who visited our epilepsy clinic during 6th months period in 2020 and 2021 were enrolled in our study. In order to collect data, structured scales were created for the clinical characteristics of the disease and sociodemographic data. All participants completed Back Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression were conducted to identify the factors associated with depressive symptoms in PWE.
Results
A total of 131 PWE were recruited in this study. It was determined that depressive symptoms were represented in 51.1% PWE. Of these, 49.25% manifest severe depressive symptoms. It was determined that about 18% of PWE use antidepressant medications which is significantly less in comparison to those PWE who are currently depressed. Univariate regression analysis showed that female gender (p = 0.013); severe seizure frequency in the past year (p = 0.001); antiseizure medication polytherapy (p = 0.018); presence of side effects of antiseizure medications (p = 0.001); history of febrile seizures (p = 0.015); focal impaired awareness seizures (p = 0,051), as well as a combination of focal aware seizures to focal impaired awareness seizures to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (p = 0,006) may associate with depressive symptoms in PWE. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that side effects of antiseizure medications (OR = 3.01; 95% CI:1.09–8.32), history of febrile seizures (OR = 3.75; 95% CI:1 .07–13.11), female gender (OR = 2.16; 95% CI: 0.984–4.73), as well as the combination of focal aware seizures to focal impaired awareness seizures to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (OR = 7.32; 95% CI: 0.830–64.59) represent unique, independent predictors of depressive symptoms in patients with epilepsy.
Conclusion
Depressive symptoms in PWE are frequent, severe, undiagnosed, and mostly untreated. Side effects of antiseizure medications, history of febrile seizures, female gender, as well as the combination of focal aware seizures to focal impaired awareness seizures to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures represent unique, independent predictors of depressive symptoms in PWE.
Maternal Oxygen Inhalation Affects the Fetal Hemodynamic in Low-Risk with Uncomplicated Late Pregnancy
Authors: Wu Xiu-Qin , Yang Xiao-Feng , Ye Lin , Zhang Xiao-bin , Hong Yong-Qiang , Chiu Wei-Hsiu
Published: February 2024

Background
Maternal oxygen inhalation is associated without significant benefit in newborn during labor. However, it is unknown whether maternal oxygen inhalation effects are fetal hemodynamic in late pregnancy.
Objective
We aimed to determine late trimester whether oxygen inhalation and fetal hemodynamic change are relevant, and attempt to quest the effect of short-term maternal oxygenation inhalation on fetal hemodynamic change, and appraise whether this practice could have any benefit or potential harmful in fetus.
Study Design
This retrospective data was obtained from singleton pregnancies who underwent a after 32+ 0 weeks prenatal ultrasound examination between January 2022 and December 2022, with and without oxygen inhalation women. Our study analysis was performed in August 2023. In oxygen inhalation group, pregnant women received oxygen inhalation with 3 liters/minute for 30 minutes by nasal cannula, and before went to department of ultrasound for sonographic assessment within 1 hour. Each woman was recorded doppler index and calculated placental pulsatility index (PPI) and cerebroplacental ratio (CPR). Moreover, fetal cardiac function was assessed within pulsed Doppler or M-mode.
Main outcome
The primary outcome presented higher PPI, lower CPR, and lower birth weight for the exposure maternal oxygen inhalation group, compare to non-oxygen inhalation group.
Results
Among 104 singleton fetuses (oxygen inhalation group: 48) between 18+ 0 and 40+ 6 weeks of gestation in the final study. In spite of resistance index values of uterine arteries, umbilical arteries, middle cerebral arteries, descending aorta, ductus venosus, and umbilical vein were not reached the statistical different, the data still had variants on oxygen inhalation group. Most importantly, the index of higher sensitivity predicting adverse outcome, PPI (0.76 ± 0.11 vs. 0.81 ± 0.12, p < 0.05) and CPR (2.28 ± 0.70 vs. 1.98 ± 0.56, p < 0.05), presented statistical difference. Meanwhile, birth weight was lower in oxygen inhalation group (2983.78 ± 468.18gm vs. 3178.41 ± 477.59gm, p < 0.05) in our study.
Conclusion
The change in the more sensitive index for predicting unfavorable prenatal outcome, higher PPI and lower CPR, correlated strongly with the maternal oxygen inhalation group compared with the non-oxygen inhalation group. Our results might could be assisted a careful evaluation of the decision-making process and feasibility evaluation in the treatment of oxygen inhalation in pregnancy women especially high-risk pregnancies. Concurrently provided the gauging doppler index for observation before and after treatment in the necessary situation also.
Chemotherapy for elderly Stage II colorectal cancer patients with primary cardiovascular diseases: less is more?
Authors: Zhang Ruoxin , Ye Zilan , Weng Junyong , Jiang Yuying , Li Xinxiang
Published: February 2024

Objective
It is a controversial topic in clinical work to develop an appropriate chemotherapy scheme for elderly stage II colorectal cancer (CRC). We attempted to explore the impact of primary hypertension (HTN) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) on the prognosis of stage II CRC patients.
Methods
The data on 2461 stage II CRC patients who received surgical treatment in Shanghai Cancer Center of Fudan University from 2008 to 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were stratified according to whether they were over 65 years old, and the prognosis difference between HTN/CVD (-) group and HTN/CVD (+) group was compared.
Results
Among patients over 65 years old with chemotherapy, the overall survival of HTN/CVD (-) group was significantly better than that of HTN/CVD (+) group [HR = 3.118(1.275, 7.625), p = 0.0127], while the overall survival of the two groups were similar in patients with no chemotherapy (p>0.05). No matter whether the age was over 65 years old or not, primary diseases had no effect on disease-free survival (p > 0.05).
Conclusion
The elderly stage II CRC patients with basic diseases might have poor prognosis due to the cardiovascular events induced by chemotherapy. When making chemotherapy decisions for such patients, clinical workers should pay attention to the close monitoring of cardiovascular events. Weakened chemotherapy regimen may be better.
Camera Self-Calibration and 3D Stratified Reconstruction for Image Sequences with Geometric Features
Authors: Jiang Wen , Zhao Yue , Zhuo Qing-Feng , Zhao Qing-Yang
Published: February 2024

Three-dimensional (3D) stratified reconstruction under geometric transformations is of great significance in computer vision research. Certain applications involve projective or affine reconstruction; however, metric reconstruction best reflects the factual information of the object. The internal and external parameters of the camera play important roles in the stratified reconstruction. This study performed camera calibration using the geometric constraints of a scene in an image sequence or video stream. Consequently, 3D stratified reconstruction from the point cloud was performed according to the algebraic and geometric relations between projective, affine, and metric transformations. Delaunay triangulation and texture mapping were then used to restore the surface of the object in the scene. The results show that the object could be reconstructed both in disordered images and video streams and could be used to restore the 3D appearance of the object and obtain its corresponding geometric information. Finally, the You Only Look Once Version (YOLOV5) target detection algorithm was used to detect the metric reconstruction results, which demonstrated that the effect was satisfactory.
Clonazepam repurposing in ARID1B patients through conventional RCT and N-of-1 Trials - An experimental strategy for orphan disease development
Authors: Sluijs Pleuntje J. van der , Pour Koshar Safai , Berends Cecile , Kruizinga Matthijs D. , Müller Annelieke R. , Eeghen Agnies M. van , Girondo Mar D.M. Rodríguez , Juachon Maria J. , Steenbeek Duco , Cohen Adam F. , Zuiker Rob G.J.A. , Santen Gijs.W.E.
Published: February 2024

Background
Clinical trials for rare disorders have unique challenges, due to low prevalence, patient phenotype variability, and high expectations. These challenges are highlighted by our study on clonazepam in ARID1B patients, a common cause of intellectual disability. Previous studies on Arid1b haploinsufficient mice showed positive effects of clonazepam on various cognitive aspects.
Methods
This study utilized a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-way crossover study (RCT), followed by an N-of-1 design. ARID1B patients received clonazepam (max 0.5 mg, twice daily) or a placebo for 22 days with a 3-week washout period. Assessments included safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics on neurocognitive tasks, behavior and cognitive function.
Results
In the clonazepam group (n=16, 15 completing both periods), seven (44%) reported improvement on Clinician Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) versus two (13%) on placebo. Thirteen (87%) showed 'no change' after placebo (two (13%) on clonazepam), while seven (44%) on clonazepam reported deterioration, often linked to side effects (n=6), suggesting potential benefit from lower dosing. Three N-of-1 trials with RCT responders saw two patients improve on clonazepam during double-blinding, but clinical evaluation deemed the improvements insufficient.
Limitations
Our study selectively included patients able to handle multiple tests, potentially introducing selection bias.
Conclusions
Our approach shows the feasibility and strength of combining conventional RCT and N-of-1 studies for therapeutic studies in populations with intellectual disabilities, distinguishing real treatment effects from expectation bias. Our findings suggest that clonazepam has no additional therapeutic value in ARID1B patients.
Trail registration
The study was registered in the EU Clinical Trials Register (no. 2019-003558-98).
Association of major dietary patterns and obesity phenotypes in southwest China : Baseline survey results from Hechuan
Authors: Wang Shaomei , Jing Dezhi , Li Mengfen , Duan Huaan , Qin Yi , Ding Xianbin , Peng Juan , Li Xia , Zhu Yanfeng
Published: February 2024

Background: Dietary patterns play an important role in obesity and metabolic syndrome, and there are few studies on the relationship between dietary patterns and obesity phenotype. In order to identify the main dietary patterns in Hechuan and clarify how they are associated with obesity phenotypes.
Methods: The data were derived from the baseline survey data of Hechuan Cohort, a general population cohort study in Southwest China. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to investigate dietary habits of the subjects in the past year. Principal component analysis was used to identify the main dietary patterns, and multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to describe the correlation between dietary patterns and obesity phenotypes.
Results: Three major dietary patterns were identified. The subjects followed the wheaten food dietary pattern had a higher likelihood having MHO (OR 1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08), MUNW (OR 1.08, 95%CI 1.00-1.16) and MUO (OR 1.07, 95%CI 1.04-1.11). Specifically, those with the highest wheaten food dietary pattern were 1.60 times more likely to have MHO (OR 1.60, 95%CI 1.25-2.05), 2.62 times more likely to have MUNW (OR 2.62, 95%CI 1.28-5.37) and 2.01 times more likely to have MUO (OR 2.01,95%CI 1.51-2.69) than those with the lowest wheaten food pattern.
Conclusions: wheaten food dietary pattern can increase the risk of obesity and metabolic abnormalities, and timely intervention should be carried out for this group of people.
Landslide-channel feedbacks amplify channel widening during floods
Authors: Bennett Georgina L , Panici Diego , Rengers Francis , Kean Jason , Rathburn Sara
Published: February 2024

Channel widening is a major hazard during floods, particularly in confined mountainous catchments where roads and buildings compete for space with river channels. Flood-induced channel widening is also an important process in eroding and shaping the landscape. However, channel widening during floods is not well understood and not always explained by hydraulic variables alone, with implications for flood risk management. Floods in mountainous regions often coincide with landslides triggered by heavy rainfall on steep valley sides. Whilst the long-term impact of increased sediment supply on channel widening is well established, landslide-channel interactions at the event timescale are not well known or documented. Here we demonstrate with an example from the Great Colorado Flood in 2013, a 1000-yr precipitation event that induced a 200-yr flood, and 100-yrs of erosion, how landslide-channel feedbacks can substantially amplify channel widening and flood risk. We use a combination of field analysis and multiphase flow modeling to document landslide-channel interaction during the flood event in which sediment delivered by landslides temporarily dammed the channel before failing and bulking the flow with sediment resulting in large channel widening. We propose that such landslide-flood interactions will become increasingly important to account for in flood hazard assessment as flooding and landsliding increase with extreme rainfall under climate change.
Musculoskeletal health and work: development and internal-external cross-validation of a model to predict risk of work absence and presenteeism in people seeking primary healthcare
Authors: Archer Lucinda , Peat George , Snell Kym IE , Hill Jonathan C , Dunn Kate M , Foster Nadine E , Bishop Annette , Windt Danielle van der , Wynne-Jones Gwenllian
Published: February 2024

PurposeTo develop and validate prediction models for the risk of future work absence and level of presenteeism, in adults seeking primary healthcare with musculoskeletal disorders (MSD).MethodsSix studies from the West-Midlands and Northwest regions of England, recruiting adults consulting in primary care with MSD, and including work outcome data up to 12 months following consultation, were included for model development and internal-external cross-validation (IECV). The primary outcome was any work absence within 6 months of their consultation. Ten candidate predictors were included: age; sex; multisite pain; baseline pain score; pain duration; job type; anxiety/depression; presence of comorbidities; absence in the previous 6 months; baseline presenteeism.ResultsFor the 6-month absence model, a total of 2179 participants (215 absences) were available across five studies. Calibration was promising, although varied across individual studies, with a pooled calibration slope of 0.93 (95%CI: 0.41 to 1.46) on IECV. On average, the model discriminated well between those with work absence within 6 months, and those without (IECV-pooled C-statistic 0.76, 95%CI: 0.66 to 0.86).ConclusionsThe model reasonably predicts risk of work absence within 6 months, on average, in adults consulting with MSD, and showed potential over a range of threshold outcome probabilities. This information could be useful to support shared decision-making and to target occupational health interventions at those individuals with a higher risk of absence in the 6 months following consultation. Further external validation is needed before the model’s use can be recommended or its impact on patients can be fully assessed.
Extinction threshold for woody plants and regime shift in a biodiversity hotspot
Authors: Rigueira Dary Moreira Gonçalves , Mariano-Neto Eduardo
Published: February 2024

Loss of natural habitats is the main cause of global biodiversity decline. This process has led to local extinctions of different species, in some cases abruptly, revealing threshold responses. Such thresholds may be associated with a loss of resilience, representing a regime shift between two alternative states. In recent years, studies have reported the occurrence of thresholds in various biological groups sensitive to deforestation. However, the occurrence of an extinction threshold for a completely super-diverse community, such as rainforest woody plants, remains unknown. We aimed to assess the influence of habitat quantity on the richness of woody plants in fragmented landscapes of the Atlantic Forest. Eleven landscapes with different proportions of habitat (between 5–60%) were studied in different parts of the northern Atlantic Forest (Bahia, Brazil). In each landscape, eight plots of 250 m² were established and branches of individuals with a circumference at breast height (CAP) ≥ 8 cm were collected. An extinction threshold was observed for the entire community, about 30% of the remaining habitat. When the richest families were considered, species loss occurred both linearly and at the threshold. The occurrence of the threshold in a super-diverse community without turnover suggests a regime change triggered by habitat loss. We discuss the implications of this knowledge for the management of human-modified landscapes, guiding strategies aimed at maintaining or restoring native vegetation above the threshold.
Optimizing Electric Bill Savings: Integrating Peak Shaving, Frequency Regulation, and Battery Performance
Authors: Hayat Saad , Nawaz Aamir , Khan Muhammad Hassan , Mustafa Ehtasham
Published: February 2024

The study offers a method for reducing electric bills by combining peak shaving and frequency management with lithium-ion batteries. The integration of lithium-ion battery losses resulting from a dynamic model, cell deterioration, and power conditioning system losses along with the addition of the yearly cost model of uninterruptible power supply greatly improves the consumer’s comprehension of the electricity cost model. Utilizing the load profile of a business user, linear optimization is used on solely peak shaving model to explain how to improve the commercial customer’s generic electricity cost model. The CH75-6 lithium-ion battery losses combined with analytical considerations on Power Conditioning System losses are integrated into the already optimized model of the power bill. The mathematical results of the model revealed that the co-application of peak shaving, frequency controls, and other parameters such as the dynamic loss model, cell degradation constant, and power conditioning losses can assist commercial users in lowering their electricity bills.
Comparison of energy and nutrient intake with dietary guidance recommendations for older adults in rural communities and its relationship with oxidative stress levels: A latent class analysis study
Authors: Kong Weijuan , Jiang Ting , Ning Yanhua , LYU Xiongxiong , Li Meiman , Guo Yahong , Liu Haiyan , Shi Jing , Liu Lingna
Published: February 2024

Background The level of oxidative stress in the human body is related to diet and nutrient intake, and it is the common pathogenic mechanism of chronic diseases. Understanding the nutrient intake status and its relationship with oxidative stress is beneficial for addressing elder’s nutritional issues in the context of aging. This study aimed to describe the status of energy intake and intake of different nutrients and their relationship with oxidative stress through latent class analysis. Methods We invited 376 older residents from 3 rural communities to complete a questionnaire survey and collect blood samples in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, between April and August 2021. The participants completed questionnaires regarding their general characteristics, and dietary status, and venous blood was collected to detect biomarkers of oxidative stress. Latent class analysis was employed to identify distinct energy and nutrient intake group subgroups. Results The results revealed three classes, “imbalanced nutrient—high energy” (37.50%, imbalanced in intake of energy and nutrients with high energy and protein intake), “sufficient nutrient—low energy and protein” (18.35%, sufficient and balanced intake of other nutrients except for energy and protein), and “low nutrient” (44.15%, low intake of energy and various nutrients). Among the oxidative stress biomarkers, imbalanced nutrient—high energy had higher value than did the other classes for 8-iso-PGF2α; sufficient nutrient—low energy and protein valued higher than imbalanced nutrient—high energy and low nutrient classes for SOD. Conclusion Oxidative stress can be measured based on the different energy and nutrient intake classes and their predictors.
Heavy Metal Concentration in the Sera and Brain of Selected Wildlife Species – Eulipotyphla, Columbiformes, Pelecaniformes, Sciuromorpha
Authors: Igado Olumayowa Olawumi , Olopade Funmilayo Eniola , Omile Irene Chizubelu , Gilbert Taidinda Tashara , Obasa Adedunsola Adewunmi , Fatola Olanrewaju Ifeoluwa , Peter-Ajuzie Iheanyi Kemdirim , Adedokun Kehinde Iyanuoluwa , Olopade James Olukayode
Published: February 2024

Environmental pollution due to heavy metal pollution is of growing concern, due to the increased industrial activities. The release of these substances into the atmosphere poses a great risk to humans, animals and the ecosystem at large. This study assesses the metal concentration levels of nine metals (lead, nickel, magnesium, cadmium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, copper and iron) in the sera and different brain regions (cerebellum, cerebrum and brainstem) of the hedgehog (Eulipotyphla), pigeon (Columbiformes), cattle egret (Pelecaniformes) and two species of the squirrel (sciuromorpha) using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Results obtained showed that of all the metals tested for, magnesium had the highest concentration across all samples and regions in all animals tested. Metal levels appeared to be higher than those reported in some previous studies from other climes, except for cobalt where there was no detectable level in all the tissues tested. Values obtained were highest in the serum, more than the brain. There was no particular pattern to the concentration of the metals in the brain regions. Data obtained from this study will serve as an indicator of the level of environmental pollution going on, and the long-term effect it can have on wildlife behavioural patterns and consequently the ecosystem.
Identifying Corridors for Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus) in a part of Eastern Himalayas, India
Authors: Bhattacharya Malyasri , Sarkar Debanjan , Pandey Sneha , Mondal Indranil , Sathyakumar S. , Kumar R. Suresh , Talukdar Gautam
Published: February 2024

One of the largest mammals of Sikkim state in India, the Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are threatened by rapid modification of their once pristine natural habitats. Over the past few decades, Sikkim has suffered extensive loss of forest cover due to rapid urbanization and tourism activities. Consequently, the population of Black bears is constricted to smaller habitat patches fragmented by road networks and urban settlements. Designating corridors is crucial to maintaining gene flow and species range shift under changing environmental conditions. Identifying corridors and areas with high potential of Black bear movement becomes essential. This study identified corridors and pinch points between 8 different Protected areas for Ursus thibetanus using the MaxEnt and Circuitscape modelling approach. We used Black bear presence points (collected through Camera traps and sign surveys) and 24 environmental variables to identify the corridors. We mapped seven corridors and five pinch points essential to maintain black bear connectivity in the Sikkim Himalayas. Our model predicted pinch points near few settlement areas; Mangan, Dikchu, Pangthang, Kabi, Yuksum and Lachen. Notably, these areas also coincides with Black bear conflict zones from Sikkim. The output of this study will improve conservation and management strategies promoting the recovery of isolated habitat patches providing sustainable intervention measures for forest managers.
Consensus, dissensus and synergy between clinicians and specialist foundation models in radiology report generation
Authors: Tanno Ryutaro , Barrett David , Sellergren Andrew , Ghaisas Sumedh , Dathathri Sumanth , See Abigail , Welbl Johannes , Singhal Karan , Azizi Shekoofeh , Tu Tao , Schaekermann Mike , May Rhys , Lee Roy , Man SiWai , Ahmed Zahra , Mahdavi S. Sara , Matias Yossi , Barral Joelle , Eslami Ali , Belgrave Danielle , Natarajan Vivek , Shetty Shravya , Kohli Pushmeet , Huang Po-Sen , Karthikesalingam Alan , Ktena Ira
Published: February 2024

Radiology reports are an instrumental part of modern medicine, informing key clinical decisions such as diagnosis and treatment. The worldwide shortage of radiologists, however, restricts access to expert care and imposes heavy workloads, contributing to avoidable errors in report delivery. While recent progress in automated report generation with vision-language models offers clear potential to ameliorate this situation, the path toward real-world adoption has been stymied by the challenge of evaluating the clinical quality of AI-generated reports. In this study, we build a state-of-the-art report generation system for chest radiographs, Flamingo-CXR, by fine-tuning a well-known vision-language foundation model on radiology data. To measure the quality of the AI-generated reports, we perform an expert evaluation, that is largest in scale and diversity to date, by engaging a group of 27 certified radiologists in the United States and India to provide detailed assessment of AI-generated and human written reports from an intensive care setting as well as an inpatient setting. We observe a wide distribution of preferences across the panel, ranging from full consensus to dissensus, across clinical settings and regions, with 55.4% of Flamingo-CXR intensive care reports evaluated to be preferable or equivalent to clinician reports, by half or more of the panel, rising to 77.7% for outpatient x-rays overall and to 94% for the subset of cases with no pertinent abnormal findings. For reports that contain errors we develop an assistive setting, the first demonstration of clinician-AI collaboration for radiology report composition, and we observe a synergistic improvement across all clinical settings. Altogether, these nuanced evaluations reveal disparities between the AI system and radiologists, identify areas for potential clinical utility and pave the way toward a collaborative system that enhances clinical accuracy of radiology reporting.
Increasing risk of dam failures in the United States due to compound risk of rainfall clusters as climate changes
Authors: Hwang Jeongwoo , Lall Upmanu
Published: February 2024

A changing climate, with intensifying precipitation may contribute to increasing failures of dams by overtopping. We present the first analysis of rainfall sequences and events associated with recent hydrologic failures of 630 dams in the United States. We find that the maximum one-day rainfall associated with failure was often not extreme compared to dam spillway design criteria, even when accounting for rainfall statistics changing with time at each site. However, the combination of the total rainfall 5 to 30 days prior and the maximum one-day rainfall associated with dam failure is rare. Persistent atmospheric circulation patterns that lead to recurrent rainfall events, rather than just more moisture in the atmosphere is a possible reason. The probability of these compound precipitation risks has increased across much of the country. With over 90,000 aging dams still in service, the increasing likelihood of intense rainfall sequences raises concerns about future dam failures.
Prevalence and Factors Influencing Sexual Violence against Women Aged 15-49 in Kenya: Findings from the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey
Authors: Ikwara Emmanuel Asher , Humphrey Atwijukiire , Meble Kasande , Hannington Wamani Gamukama
Published: February 2024

Background: Sexual violence, a global concern, disproportionately affects women. In Kenya, over 40% of women experience intimate partner violence, reflecting a pressing need for understanding and addressing this issue. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a 18.7% prevalence with deep-rooted determinants like unequal power relations and cultural practices. Consequences from unwanted pregnancy to trauma hinder development goals. This study focuses on sexual violence among Kenyan women aged 15-49, aiming to inform policies and contribute to a safer, more equitable society.
Methods: This study analyzed 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey data. It used a two-stage cluster sampling method, surveyed 32,156 women aged 15-49, examined determinants of sexual violence, and employed statistical analysis to identify significant predictors.
Results: In the 2022 Kenya DHS study involving 32,156 reproductive-age women, 16% reported experiencing sexual violence. Significant factors associated with sexual violence included age, with older women facing a higher risk, urban residence, non-Catholic religion, wealthier households, not desiring children in the next two years, and healthcare decisions made by the husband/partner. In the bivariate analysis of factors associated with sexual violence among Kenyan women aged 15-49, various variables were significantly linked to sexual violence, including the person responsible for healthcare decisions, the respondent's employment status, husband/partner's education level, desire for more children, wealth index, household characteristics, religion, and age groups. Notably, the sex of the household head showed no association with sexual violence. The multivariate analysis confirmed that older age, rural residence, specific religion, lack of desire for children, healthcare decisions involving the husband/partner, household attributes like the presence of a radio, and a higher wealth index were significant predictors of sexual violence.
Conclusions and recommendations
This study examines sexual violence among Kenyan women aged 15-49, highlighting a 16% prevalence. It identifies determinants like age, residence, and religion and offers recommendations emphasizing awareness, education, collaboration, and legal reform to combat this issue effectively.
Impact of Computer Programming on Mathematics Education in K-12: Literature Review and Perspectives
Authors: AMIMOUR Amine
Published: February 2024

This literature review examines the impact of integrating computer programming into the teaching of mathematics within primary, middle, and secondary (K-12) educational institutions. Analysing 12 selected articles, the study highlights the various aspects of this integration, detailing observed outcomes on the understanding of mathematical concepts, the development of reasoning skills, and learner engagement. The articles also reveal challenges related to teacher training and learners’ perception of this innovative pedagogical approach. Furthermore, this review identifies unexplored research areas and proposes recommendations for future studies, emphasizing avenues for investigating specific mathematical concepts and the use of diverse programming languages.
Uterine carcinosarcomas: a clinicopathological report of 8 cases from a low-income country
Authors: Efared Boubacar , Koura Halidou Hamadou , Bako Aïchatou Balaraba Abani , Boubacar Idrissa , Boureima Habiba Salifou , Mahamadou Garba , Nouhou Hassan
Published: February 2024

Background
Uterine carcinosarcomas (UCS) are rare aggressive biphasic tumors classified as a subtype of high grade uterine carcinomas. However, these tumors have particular histopathological features and clinical behavior with worse prognosis than high grade uterine carcinomas. Their incidence is increasing and more studies are required to elucidate their clinical and histopathological characteristics. Herein we report clinicopathological features of 8 cases of UCS in a low-income country.
Cases Presentation:
Patients with UCS represent 11.76% of all uterine malignancies with a mean age of 59.75 years (range of 50–65 years). Abdominal pain and metrorrhagia were the main clinical presentation. The epithelial component of UCS was often a serous carcinoma (62.5%) and patients presented with large tumors (mean size of 8.02 cm, range of 5–17 cm), with advanced FIGO stage (stage IV) in 4/8 patients (50%). Follow-up data were available in 4/8 patients among which only one were alive 25 months after the surgical treatment (overall survival of 25%).
Conclusion
UCS are rare and aggressive uterine tumors with very poor prognosis especially in low-income countries.
Weak Soil Modifications Using Sustainable Recycled Municipal Solid Waste Ash
Authors: Tuleun Lawrence Zahemen
Published: February 2024

Due to the ever growing need to incorporate ecofriendly and cost effective materials in construction projects, this research study was carried out with an overall aim of attempting to address the aforementioned need by investigating the possibility of stabilizing clayey lateritic soils using recycled municipal solid waste ash as an innovative material. The laterite specimens were incorporated with the varying ash contents and tested for atterberg limits, compaction and unconfined compressive strength behavior. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) test was conducted to determine the morphology changes in the soil when blended with RMSWA contents at curing ages of 1,7 and 14 days. Based on the results of UCS test, stress - strain behavior, load - deformation relationships curves were also established and analyzed. Results from the atterberg limit test revealed that the plastic index, plastic limit, liquid limit ranged between 1.6-11.9%, 20.6-24.5% and 26.1-35.0%. The maximum dry density of the samples increased with the ash inclusion, with the maximum dry density value of 2020Kg/m3 achieved at 6% ash inclusion, thus making it suitable in laterite stabilization. Base on the investigation, 6%MSWA can potentially be used to improve the engineering properties silty-clayey lateritic soils provided the adequate curing conditions are adhered to.
First report on Brachymeria spp (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) as a Hyperparasitoid of Charops bicolor Szepligeti (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) an larval parasitoid of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) in Maize from Southern Rajasthan India
Authors: Kumar Amit , Babu S Ramesh , Singh Beerendra , K Sruthi K
Published: February 2024

Background
Spodoptera frugiperda, is an invasive pest that poses a significant threat to global food security by causing significant crop loss. There is a need for more environmentally friendly control methods, including biological control of this pest. Charops bicolor is an effective larval parasitoid of many lepidopteran insect pests, including S. frugiperda. Brachymeria spp was found as a parasitoid and hyperparasitoid of many parasitoid species, including C. bicolor.
Results
During the survey and observations recorded under laboratory conditions, it was found that a black-bodied hymenopteran Brachymeria spp was first time reported as a hyperparasitoid of Charops bicolor which was a larval parasitoid of S.frugiperda in maize from Southern Rajasthan, India.
Conclusions
The invasion of FAW in India as well as in Rajasthan has created an opportunity for enhancing biological control of fall armyworm using parasitoids for sustainable production of maize. The hyperparasitism success of Brachymeriaspp can create higher chances of disrupting the parasitism potential of other parasitoid species and allow S. frugiperda to cause more damage.
Robust estimations from distribution structures: I. Mean
Authors: Li Tuobang
Published: February 2024

As the most fundamental problem in statistics, robust location estimation has many prominent solutions, such as the trimmed mean, Winsorized mean, Hodges–Lehmann estimator, Huber M-estimator, and median of means. Recent studies suggest that their maximum biases concerning the mean can be quite different, but the underlying mechanisms largely remain unclear. This study exploited a semiparametric method to classify distributions by the asymptotic orderliness of quantile combinations with varying breakdown points, showing their interrelations and connections to parametric distributions. Further deductions explain why the Winsorized mean typically has smaller biases compared to the trimmed mean; two sequences of semiparametric robust mean estimators emerge, particularly highlighting the superiority of the median Hodges–Lehmann mean.
Europium Doped FeTiO3 Thin Films By RF Magnetron Sputtering Method for Spintronic Applications
Authors: Rehman Abdul , Minhas Awais Shahid , Rehman Malik Saif Ur
Published: February 2024

Pure and doped Titanium dioxide TiO2 thin film with Europium-iron was prepared by sol-gel method and deposited the thin film on a glass substrate by RF magnetron sputtering. The prepared sample was characterized by XRD, VSM, and dielectric properties for the analysis of structural, magnetic behavior, and chemical bonding, respectively. XRD shows the pure phase of FeTiO3 at 6wt% to 10wt%. An increase in crystallite size is observed with the increase in dopant concentration. Crystallite size varied from 21nm to 26 nm with an increase in the dopant concentration. The dielectric constant and tangent loss showed normal dispersion behavior. VSM showed the Soft Ferromagnetic behavior. The decrease in saturation magnetization is associated with an increase in dislocations in FeTiO3 thin films. This type of material is suitable for Spintronic devices.
Boris Timofeevich Matienko and Early Research on Cucurbit Crops at the Moldavian Academy of Sciences
Authors: Krasnow Charles S.
Published: February 2024

Boris Timofeevich Matienko (1929–2004) was a respected plant anatomist and physiologist in Soviet Moldova. Matienko’s research was primarily on the growth, development, and senescence of cucurbits, as well as apples, plums, and other vegetable crops. His studies provided a wealth of information to those interested in the anatomic structure of pumpkins, squash, gourds, watermelon, and minor Cucurbitaceae. Using insightful and detailed descriptions, he depicted cellular changes of the fruit during development, aging, and senescence. Practical experiments on storage corroborated his detailed microscope studies. Matienko worked during a time when the problems of the agriculture sector in Moldova were immense and varied, and he faced structural and societal challenges that underscore his scientific accomplishments. The quality of cucurbits grown in Moldova and the region improved as a result of this research. He was widely respected by colleagues and the scientific community, and his work continues to provide insight to researchers of these important crops.