bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predictive Modelling of Linear Growth Faltering Among Pediatric Patients with Diarrhea in Rural Western Kenya: An Explainable Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Ogwel Billy , Mzazi Vincent H. , Awuor Alex O. , Okonji Caleb , Anyango Raphael O. , Oreso Caren , Ochieng John B. , Munga Stephen , Nasrin Dilruba , Tickell Kirkby D. , Pavlinac Patricia B. , Kotloff Karen L. , Omore Richard
Published: March 2024

Introduction:
Stunting affects one-fifth of children globally with diarrhea accounting for an estimated 13.5% of stunting. Identifying risk factors for its precursor, linear growth faltering (LGF), is critical to designing interventions. Moreover, developing new predictive models for LGF using more recent data offers opportunity to improve model performance and capture new insights. We employed machine learning (ML) to derive and validate a predictive model for LGF among children enrolled with diarrhea in the Vaccine Impact on Diarrhea in Africa (VIDA) study and the Enterics for Global Heath (EFGH) ― Shigella study in rural western Kenya.
Methods
We used 7 ML algorithms to retrospectively build prognostic models for the prediction of LGF (≥ 0.5 decrease in height/length for age z-score [HAZ]) among children 6–35 months. We used de-identified data from the VIDA study (n = 1,473) combined with synthetic data (n = 8,894) in model development, which entailed split-sampling and K-fold cross-validation with over-sampling technique, and data from EFGH-Shigella study (n = 655) for temporal validation. Potential predictors included demographic, household-level characteristics, illness history, anthropometric and clinical data chosen using an explainable model agnostic approach. The champion model was determined based on the area under the curve (AUC) metric.
Results
The prevalence of LGF in the development and temporal validation cohorts was 187 (16.9%) and 147 (22.4%), respectively. The following variables were associated with LGF in decreasing order: age (16.6%), temperature (6.0%), respiratory rate (4.1%), SAM (3.4%), rotavirus vaccination (3.3%), breastfeeding (3.3%), and skin turgor (2.1%). While all models showed good prediction capability, the gradient boosting model achieved the best performance (AUC% [95% Confidence Interval]: 83.5 [81.6–85.4] and 65.6 [60.8–70.4] on the development and temporal validation datasets, respectively).
Conclusion
Our findings accentuates the enduring relevance of established predictors of LGF whilst demonstrating the practical utility of ML algorithms for rapid identification of at-risk children.
Genetic Diversity and Relationship of Some Sugar Beet Population by Morpho-physiological Traits
Authors: Golabadi Maryam , Asadi Abouzar , Dabaghi Mojgan
Published: March 2024

The present study focuses on presenting the distribution of genetic diversity in some of the breeding populations of Beta vulgaris L. using yield, yield component, and root morpho-physiological traits. For this purpose, 80 genotypes from 8 different sugar beet populations were used under a randomized complete block design with five replicates at the Azad University research field during the 2021–2022 cropping season. Overall results of ANOVA led to the identification of significant statistical differences among the populations that indicate the genetic difference of the studied sugar beet population. According to the mean comparison of analyzed data, P191 displayed better traits in terms of sugar content, nitrogen content, pure sugar content, extraction coefficient, and root dry matter. Similarly, population M224 exhibited better root number, root yield, leaf weight, and sugar yield than other populations. The dendrogram using UPGMA revealed that the population formed three distinct clusters, with the greatest genetic distance between M249 and the 191 populations. This distance is expected to create maximum heterosis through crossbreeding between these two populations. The results indicate that the number of roots significantly affects RY, LY, Na, and WSY, but does not have a significant correlation with other traits. RY is correlated with LY, Na, and WSY, while LY is inversely correlated with WSC, ECS, and DM, and directly correlated with Na. Principal component analysis based on varimax rotation revealed that the three factors explained 87.6% of the total variance with this arrangement: the first factor named WSC explained 54.5%, the second factor, called RY, accounted for 22.8% and the third factor contributed to 10.2% of the total variance. The Biplot from the first two components also groups populations similar to cluster analysis grouping. It is noticeable that the findings of this research could provide valuable insights into the breeding and improvement of sugar beet populations, which could ultimately benefit the sugar industry.
Reduced Tolerogenic Program Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1)-expressed Conventional Type 1 Dendritic cells (cDC1) Is Associated with A Rapid Decliner Phenotype of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Authors: Chen Kuan-Yuan , Sun Wei-Lun , Wu Sheng-Ming , Feng Po-Hao , Lin Chiou-Feng , Chen Tzu-Tao , Lu Yueh-Hsun , Ho Shu-Chuan , Chen Yueh-Hsi , Lee Kang-Yun
Published: March 2024

Background
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized, at least in part, by autoimmunity through amplified T helper 1 and 17 (Th1 and Th17) immune response. Loss of immune tolerance controlled by programed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) may contribute to it
Objectives
We studied the tolerogenic role of PD-L1+dendritic cells (DCs) and its subtypes in relation to specific T cell immunity and clinical phenotypes of COPD.
Methods
We used flow cytometry to analyzed PD-L1 expression on DC and its subtypes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from normal and COPD participants. T cells proliferation and signature cytokines of T cell subtypes stimulated with elastin as autoantigens were measured by flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively
Measurement and main results
A total of 83 participants were enrolled (normal, n = 29; COPD, n = 54). Reduced PD-L1+ conventional dendritic cell 1 (cDC1) in PBMCs of COPD patients was shown (13.7± 13.7%, P = 0.03). The decrease in PD-L1+ cDC1 was associated with a rapid decliner phenotype of COPD (P = 0.02) and correlated with CD4+ T cells (r=-0.33, P=0.02). Functionally, PD-L1 blockade enhanced CD4+ T cells proliferation stimulated with CD3/elastin (31.2±22.3%, P=0.04) and interleukin (IL)-17A production with both CD3 (156.3±54.7, P=0.03) and CD3/elastin (148±64.9, P=0.03) from normal PBMCs. PD-L1 blockade failed to increase IL-17A production in cDC1-depleted PBMCs. By contrast, there was no significant change in interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-4, and IL-10 after PD-L1 blockade.
Conclusion
Circulating PD-L1+ cDC1 was reduced in COPD, which the tolerogenic role was suppressed with susceptibility to self-antigens and linked to a rapid decliner phenotype through Th17-skewed chronic inflammation.
Shadowgraph Tomography of a High Pressure GDI Spray
Authors: Lazzaro Maurizio , Alfuso Salvatore , Ianniello Roberto
Published: March 2024

An isooctane spray from a high-pressure multi-hole GDI injector (Bosch HDEV6) was characterized by means of optical extinction tomography, relying on parallel illumination by a focused-shadowgraph setup. The tests were carried out in air at ambient conditions at an injection pressure of 300 bar. Extinction images of the spray were acquired over a 180-degree angular range in 1-degree increments. The critical issues of optical extinction tomography of sprays, related to the strong light extinction by the dense liquid core of fuel jets, were addressed. To mitigate artifacts arising from the reconstruction process, the extinction data were subjected to spatially-variant filtering steps of both the raw and post-log data, before being analytically inverted through the inverse Radon transform. This made it possible to process extinction data for very large optical depths. A nearly complete three-dimensional reconstruction of the spray was obtained, providing significant details of the spray morphology and the internal structure of the jets throughout the spray development. The different phases of the atomization process from the near-field to far-field regions of the spray were observed.
Thermal Cycle Behavior of the Interface of AG3/75E/55E and AU4G/75E/55E Multimaterials Elaborated by Thermal Spray
Authors: Harichane Alya
Published: March 2024

This study aims at the elaboration of two aluminum alloys based multimaterials (AG3/75E / 55E, AU4G/75E/55E); using the thermal projection technique. Thermanit stainless steel (55E) was deposited on two aluminum alloys: AG3 (5754) and AU4G (2017A) which are commonly used in the aeronautical industry; a Ni-Al bond coat (75E) was deposited between the coatings and the substrates to avoid the unwanted effect of aluminum oxide on the two substrates which acts as a diffusion barrier and therefore penalizes bonding. A thermal fatigue device was also used in order to study physico-chemical and mechanical behavior of the interface under application of thermal shocks and post treatment. The results show a better better resistance to cycles thermal in the case of composite AU4G/75E/55E was noted.
Is There an Optimal Time for the Second Surgery of Staged Bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty When the Intervals Are Determined by Patients?
Authors: Lv Yang , Liu& Hongliang , Huang Zexin , Chen Bojian , Lin Dingkun , Xu Shuchai , Guo Da
Published: March 2024

Purpose
The decision to perform a second surgery in terms of staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty (BTKA) remains undetermined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the optimal time frame for the second surgery in staged BTKA.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed 528 patients (1,056 knees) who underwent staged BTKA between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019. Considering the different intervals, all patients were divided into 3 groups using 3 different cut-off points: group A (≤ 180 days), group B (> 180 days and ≤ 365 days), and group C (> 365 days). Comparison was done among the 3 groups for the second arthroplasties (A2 vs. B2 vs. C2). In each group, comparison was conducted between two surgeries (A1 vs. A2, B1 vs. B2, and C1 vs. C2, respectively). We evaluated demographics and clinical outcomes, major complications, and hospital adverse events.
Results
There were no statistically significant differences in any of the clinical outcomes, major complications, and hospital adverse events among the 3 groups (A2 vs. B2 vs. C2). When C1 and C2 were compared, LOS (12.23 ± 3.41 vs 10.12 ± 2.76, P < 0.0001), drainage volume (115.62 ± 45.67 vs 101.26 ± 49.28, P = 0.003), additional morphine analgesics consumption (131.52 ± 259.11 vs 69.78 ± 159.89, P = 0.016), and the rate of hospital adverse events (58.33% vs 46.15%, P = 0.026) were significantly better in group C2.
Conclusion
The time frame of staged BTKAs has no influence on postoperative outcomes when the intervals are determined by patients. If patients are willing to wait, we advise that patients could take second surgery over a year after the first surgery.
Trial registration number：ZE2020-139-01, for retrospectively registered trials.
Level of Evidence： Retrospective cohort study，LEVEL III
Key Role of Adsorption Site Abundance in the Direct Electrochemical Co-Detection of Estradiol and Dopamine
Authors: Delmo Naela , Pande Ishan , Peltola Emilia
Published: March 2024

Estradiol (E2) is a hormone that influences various aspects of women’s health. Beyond its reproductive functions, E2 impacts neurotransmitter systems such as dopamine (DA). Vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs) have shown good sensitivity, selectivity, biocompatibility, and reduced fouling in DA sensing. In this study, we explore the use of Ti-Ni-CNF electrodes with two fiber lengths (referred to as short and long) for the direct electrochemical co-detection of E2 and DA. In E2 detection, the electrodes demonstrate a wide linear range of 0.05-10 µM and sensitivity of 0.016 and 0.020 µA/µM for short and long CNFs, respectively. The sensor performance remains largely unaffected even in the presence of other steroid hormones such as progesterone and testosterone. Remarkably, co-detection of E2 and DA shows promising peak separation, sensitivity, and stability. Furthermore, in such a scenario where both analytes rely on adsorption for oxidation, the availability of adsorption sites emerges as a critical factor, highlighting the significant role of material morphology in its performance. While detecting small and fluctuating physiological concentrations remains a challenge, these findings can be used in choosing and fabricating electrode materials for more accurate and accessible continuous hormone measurements, including the possibility of multianalyte sensing platforms.
The Impact of Parenthood on Chronic Diseases and Frailty in Older Adults: A Gender- Specific Analysis
Authors: Ceker Eda , Cataltepe Esra , Fadiloglu Ayse , Gungor Fatih , Karakurt Nermin , Varan Hacer Dogan
Published: March 2024

Background: This study aimed to investigate the impact of having a child and the number of children on chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes including frailty, considering the sex of the parent.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and above. Demographic data including age, marital status, education level, and the number of children were collected. All participants underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment.
Results: Out of 737 participants, 64.9% were female, with a median of three children. Among women, those with children exhibited higher susceptibility to depression and physical frailty, slower gait speed, lower ADL, IADL, and MNA-SF scores, as well as a higher disease burden. Conversely, men showed no significant changes related to parenthood. The number of children correlated positively with disease burden and depressive symptoms and negatively with education. ROC analysis identified having more than two children as a predictor for physical frailty. However, this association diminished in multivariate regression analysis.
Conclusions: While the number of children correlates with higher disease burden and geriatric syndromes among women different from men, its direct association with physical frailty diminishes when considering other factors.
Socioeconomic and demographic determinants of polygynous marriages in India: Multilevel analysis of nationally representative survey data, 2019-21
Authors: Kumari Nutan , Ram Rajan
Published: March 2024

Polygyny occurs when a man has more than one wife at the same time. The present study examines the prevalence and determinants of polygyny marriage at the district and all India levels. The present study utilized the cross-sectional data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) conducted during 2019–21.The sample size for the present study was 513,251 women who were currently married. Moreover, the number of women whose husbands had more than one wife is 8,284. A multilevel logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of polygyny marriage. There is a decline in polygynous marriage, but still very high in a few regions (states) of India such as Mizoram, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. The prevalence of polygyny marriage is high among women in the 25–34, and 35–49 age groups, with no or primary education, consanguineous marriage, being Muslim, scheduled caste, and belonging to rural residence and poorest wealth index were factors associated with polygyny marriage. Individual and community-level factors were identified as predictors of polygyny, even though polygamy is illegal under the Indian Penal Code, except among Muslim. There is need to improve education and awareness about the act among the community level.
Reconstructing Computational Spectra Using Deep Learning's Self-Attention Method
Authors: Wu Hao , Wu Hui , su xingyu , Wu Jingjun , liu shuangli
Published: March 2024

Miniaturized computational spectrometers have become a new research hotspot due to their portability and miniaturization. However, there are several issues, like low precision and poor stability. Because the problem of spectrum reconstruction accuracy is very evident, we suggested a novel approach to raise the reconstruction accuracy. Using the time-domain finite-difference (FDTD) method, a library of transmittance functions was acquired. A cross-correlation algorithm was then used to choose 100 sparse transmittance functions, which were then built as an encoding matrix. Then, based on the encoding matrix, a self-attention mechanism algorithm was used to improve the accuracy of the reconstructed spectrum by improving the autocorrelation characteristics between input signals. The mean square error (MSE) of the reconstructed spectrum is 0.0019, and its similarity coefficient (R2) is 0.9780. This self-attention mechanism spectral reconstruction technique will open up new possibilities for high-accuracy reconstruction for a variety of computational spectrometer types.
Weakly-supervised Temporal Action Localization using Multi-branch Attention Weighting
Authors: Liu Mengxue , Li Wenjing , Ge Fangzhen , Gao Xiangjun
Published: March 2024

Weakly-supervised temporal action localization trains an action localization model using only video-level labels for training. Owing to the lack of frame-level temporal annotations, most existing weakly-supervised temporal action localiza-tion methods are based on multiple instance learning mechanisms to predict the start and end times of all action instances in an untrimmed video and to classify them. Many localization approaches focus only on the most discriminative regions that contribute to the classification task, but ignore a large number of ambiguous background and context snippets in a video. So that results in poor localization performance. We believe that it is helpful to identify such snippets by modeling the background and context. Therefore, we propose a multi-branch attention weighting network (MAW-Net), which introduces an additional non-action class and integrates a multi-branch attention module to generate action and background attention, respectively. In addition, considering the correlation among context, action, and background, we use the difference of action and background attention to construct context attention. Finally, based on these three types of attention values, we obtain three new class activation sequences that distinguish action, background, and context. This enables our proposed model to effectively suppress the activation of context and background snippets and achieve better localization performance. Extensive experiments were performed on the 1 THUMOS-14 and Activitynet1.3 datasets. The experimental results show that our method is superior to other state-of-the-art methods, and its performance is comparable to those of fully-supervised approaches.
Effect of grazing intensity on plant–soil ecological stoichiometry within a desert grassland under long-term grazing
Authors: Zhang Yutong , Yan Wei , Gao Cuiping
Published: March 2024

High-intensity grazing in Mongolian grasslands has led to the general deterioration of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Abundant evidence shows that grazing affects the structure and function of grassland ecosystems, especially under overgrazing. We examined the effects of three grazing intensities (0, 1.92, and 3.08 sheep ha-1 a-1) on plant communities, plant and soil C, N and P contents, and plant and soil C:N:P stoichiometry in a desert grassland in different years. Grazing did not affect plant coverage, richness, or N:P, and the plant community biomass, litter biomass and C:N and C:P were highest under a zero grazing intensity. Soil C:N changed with the year and grazing intensity. However, soil C:P and N:P were higher in 2018 than in 2016 and 2017. Our study suggested that grazing promoted the flow of N between plants and the soil, especially at 3.08 sheep ha-1 a-1. Under grazing stress, plants maintained the potential for compensatory growth. Furthermore, N was shown to be the limiting fertilizer component for plants growing in this area among the three grazing intensities.
Technical Efficiency Effects of agroecological practices use on crop-producing farms: Empirical Evidence from Northern Benin Republic using an endogeneity corrected stochastic frontier model.
Authors: AKPATCHO Leon Hounkpealodo , ADEGBOLA Ygué Patrice , BALARABE Oumarou , YABI Jacob Affouda , ZINSOU Prisciron Sourou
Published: March 2024

Agroecology is a sustainable production approach that has positive effects for farms. However, some innovations of this approach penalize yields at the beginning and do not promote their good perception per farmers. To boost agroecology adoption in such context, technical efficiency analysis of production of main crops is done to highlight this approach contributions to improving performance in agriculture. 509 farms in municipalities of Banikoara, Kandi, Péhunco, Parakou and Savalou were surveyed. Cobb-Douglas endogenous stochastic production frontier analysis approach was adopted. The results showed a correlation of technical production efficiency with labor intensity, use of chemical fertilizer, farmer profile and type of operation. Thus, agricultural mechanization is suggested to reducing pressure on family labor which could exacerbate child labor. Also, agroecological practices and chemical fertilizer combining had an interesting effect in terms of improving production performance and suggests the maintenance of chemical inputs in production systems. So, agroecological practices scaling up in Benin cotton areas must be accompanied by appropriate mechanization and chemical fertilizer using, with gradually decrease of its amount following soil under agroecological management fertility improvement.
Anatomic Characteristics of the Vertebrobasilar Artery: A Three-dimensional Reconstruction Study Based on Computed Tomography Angiography
Authors: Chao Qing , Hu YuanLiang , Zhao Biao , Sun YuXi , Shu Hansheng , Wang DaWei , Cheng Zhe
Published: March 2024

Objective: The vertebrobasilar artery (VBA) exhibits substantial inter-individual variation that must be considered in diagnosis and surgical planning. We conducted three-dimensional reconstruction of the bilateral VBA based on head and neck computed tomography angiography (CTA) to assess bilateral, individual, age-dependent, and sex-dependent differences in anatomical parameters.
Methods: Individual three-dimensional models of the VBA and skull were constructed and morphology evaluated based on head and neck CTA data from 199 adults. According to morphological and anatomical variation, the VBA was divided into three types: balanced, L, and S. The diameters and lengths of basilar and bilateral vertebral artery intracranial segments as well as VBA blending length, and bilateral distances of the vertebral arteries moving up the atlas were measured and statistically compared.
Results The L-type was the most common VBA morphology, and anatomic type distribution differed significantly by age (P < 0.05). Vertebral artery diameter was 3.34±0.68 mm on the left side and 3.09±0.71 mm on the right side, while bending length was 5.62±3.35 mm on the left and 4.94±3.41 mm on the right side. Balanced basilar arteries measured 3.41±0.61 mm in diameter, 2.83±0.33 cm in length, and 2.55±2.45 mm in bending length. The L-type basilar artery measured 3.48±0.71 mm in diameter, 3.06±0.44 cm in length, and 2.78±0.37 mm in bending length.Finally, S-type basilar arteries measured 3.84±0.86 mm in diameter, 3.38±0.61 cm in length, and 3.67±4.39 mm in bending length. The distance traveled by the vertebral artery across the atlas differed significantly between left and right sides as well as between males and females (P < 0.05).
Conclusions The VBA can be accurately reconstructed in three-dimensions using head and neck CTA. These reconstructions confirmed the basic anatomic types proposed previously and further identify bilateral, sex-dependent, and age-dependent differences.
A Comprehensive Detection and Mitigation Mechanism to Protect SD-IoV Systems Against Controller-Targeted DDoS Attacks
Authors: Alemu Behaylu Tadele , Muhammed Alemu Jorgi , Belachew Habtamu Molla , Beyene Mulatu Yirga
Published: March 2024

Software-defined networking (SDN) has emerged as a transformative technology that separates the control plane from the data plane, providing advantages such as flexibility, centralized control, and programmability. This innovation proves particularly beneficial for Internet of Vehicles (IoV) networks, which amalgamate the Internet of Things (IoT) and Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET) to implement Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). By employing an SDN controller, IoV networks can leverage centralized control and enhanced manageability, leading to the emergence of Software-Defined Internet of Vehicles (SD-IoV) as a promising solution for future communications. However, the integration of SDN into IoV networks introduces a potential vulnerability in the form of a single point of failure, particularly susceptible to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. This is because of the centralized nature of SDN and the dynamic nature of IoV. In this context, the SDN controller becomes a prime target for attackers who flood it with massive packet-in messages. To address this security concern, we propose an efficient and lightweight attack detection and mitigation scheme within the SDN controller. The scheme includes a detection module that utilizes entropy and flow rate to identify patterns indicative of attack traffic behavior. Additionally, a mitigation module is designed to minimize the effect of attack traffic on the normal operation, this is performed through analysis of payload lengths. An adaptive threshold computation for all parameter values enhances the scheme's effectiveness. We conducted simulations using SUMO, Mininet-WiFi, and Scapy. The simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed scheme in terms of detection time, accuracy, mitigation efficiency, controller load, and link bandwidth consumption, showcasing its superiority compared to existing works in the field.
Integrating Phenotypic Information of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Deep Representation of Sleep-Event Sequences for Cardiovascular Risk Prediction
Authors: Zheng Yali , Song Zhengbi , Cheng Bo , Peng Xiao , Huang Yu , Min Min
Published: March 2024

Background: Advances in mobile, wearable and machine learning (ML) technologies for gathering and analyzing long-term health data have opened up new possibilities for predicting and preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Meanwhile, the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and CV risk has been well-recognized. This study seeks to explore effective strategies of incorporating OSA phenotypic information and overnight physiological information for precise CV risk prediction in the general population.
Methods: 1,874 participants without a history of CVDs from the MESA dataset were included for the 5-year CV risk prediction. Four OSA phenotypes were first identified by the K-mean clustering based on static polysomnographic (PSG) features. Then several phenotype-agnostic and phenotype-specific ML models, along with deep learning (DL) models that integrate deep representations of overnight sleep-event feature sequences, were built for CV risk prediction. Finally, feature importance analysis was conducted by calculating SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values for all features across the four phenotypes to provide model interpretability.
Results: All ML models showed improved performance after incorporating the OSA phenotypic information. The DL model trained with the proposed phenotype-contrastive training strategy performed the best, achieving an area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.877. Moreover, PSG and FOOD FREQUENCY features were recognized as significant CV risk factors across all phenotypes, with each phenotype emphasizing unique features.
Conclusion: Models that are aware of OSA phenotypes are preferred, and lifestyle factors should be a greater focus for precise CV prevention and risk management in the general population.
The effect of a split-dose intravenous dexamethasone and a single high-dose on postoperative blood glucose after total joint arthroplasty： A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Liu Xiao-yang , Mou Ping , Cao Jian , Chen Xu-ming , Wang Hao-yang , Zeng Wei-nan , Zhou Zong-ke
Published: March 2024

Background
In patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA), the administration of dexamethasone may contribute to perioperative blood glucose (BG) disturbances, potentially resulting in complications, even in patients without diabetes. This study aimed to demonstrate the impact of different administration regimens of dexamethasone in postoperative BG levels.
Methods
In this randomized, controlled, double-blind trial, 136 patients without diabetes scheduled for TJA were randomly assigned to three groups: two perioperative saline injections (Group A, placebo); a single preoperative injection of 20 mg dexamethasone and a postoperative saline injection (Group B), and two perioperative injections of 10 mg dexamethasone (Group C). Primary outcomes were the postoperative fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels. Secondary outcome parameters were the postoperative postprandial blood glucose (PBG) levels. Postoperative complications within 90 days were also recorded. Risk factors for FBG ≥ 140 mg/dl and PBG ≥ 180 mg/dl were investigated.
Results
Compared to Group A, there were transient increases in FBG and PBG on postoperative days (PODs) 0 and 1 in Groups B and C. Statistical differences in FBG and PBG among the three groups were nearly absent from POD 1 onward. Both dexamethasone regimens did not increase the risk for postoperative FBG ≥ 140 mg/dl or PBG ≥ 180 mg/dl. Elevated preoperative HbA1c levels may increase the risk of postoperative FBG ≥ 140 mg/dl or PBG ≥ 180 mg/dl, respectively.
Conclusion
Perioperative intravenous high-dose dexamethasone to patients without diabetes has transient effects on increasing BG levels after TJA. However, no differences were found between the split-dose and single high-dose regimens. The elevated preoperative HbA1c, but not the dexamethasone regimens were the risk factor for FBG ≥ 140 mg/dl and PBG ≥ 180 mg/dl.
Trial registration
Chinese Clinical Trail Registry, ChiCTR2300069473. Registered 17 March 2023, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=186760.
Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Models under the Skew Normal Settings
Authors: Wei Zheng , Choy S.T. Boris , Wang Tonghui , Zhu Xiaonan
Published: March 2024

Recently, a skew normal-based stochastic frontier model has emerged as a promising tool for efficiency analysis. In this paper, a Bayesian framework for statistical inference is presented, incorporating both informative and non-informative prior knowledge. The efficacy of the Bayesian approach is evaluated through rigorous examination using both simulation data and real data from a manufacturing productivity study. A comprehensive comparison with the conventional maximum likelihood approach is conducted. Results from both simulated and empirical investigations unequivocally demonstrate the superior performance of the Bayesian methodology.
Giant cell tumor of the bone: Both common and rare clinical aspects. Single institute experience
Authors: Mirioglu Akif , Dalkir Kaan Ali , Kiran Veli Can , Olke Hakki Can , Kundakci Bugra , Bagir Melih , Deveci Mehmet Ali , Ozkan Cenk
Published: March 2024

Objective Giant cell tumor of the bone remains one of the popular subjects for its biologically and clinically unpredictable behaviors. This paper presents the long-term outcomes, common and also rare clinical features of the patients with giant cell tumors of the bone.Methods Sixty-eight patients were included in the study between January 1996 and December 2022. Demographic data of the patients were extracted from the hospital database. The radiological assessment was conducted using the Picture Archive Communication System. Information on local adjuvants, filling material of the residual space, systemic administration of Denosumab, and presence of metastasis and local recurrences were enrolled from the patient files. The tumors were classified according to Campanacci classification.Results The most frequent site for the tumor was the knee (59.3%). Among the tumors 22.1% were grade-1, 39.7% were grade-2 and 38.2% were grade-3. The mean tumor volume was 182.8 cm3. Sixteen (23.5%) patients had received Denosumab as a systemic treatment. Fifty-five patients were treated with curettage, twelve with resection, and one with amputation. Chemical local adjuvants were used in 42 patients. The tumor bed was filled with cement in 38 patients, bone graft in 12, and remained unfilled in 5 patients. The rate of recurrence was 35.3%. Six patients experienced multiple recurrences. The rate of metastasis was 11.8%, and malignant giant cell tumor of the bone was diagnosed in two (2.9%) patients. Age, gender, tumor grade, size, and location, neo-adjuvant denosumab treatment, the use or type of local adjuvants, and the presence of tumor thrombus were not found to be related to recurrence or metastasis rates; however, marginal resection as initial surgery was found to be significantly related to decreased recurrence rates.Conclusion Metastasis and local recurrence rates were not affected by the preoperative Campanacci grade, neo-adjuvant denosumab administration, type of local adjuvant, filling material, or tumor volume. However, decreased recurrence rate was found to be related to the patients underwent resection.
Rigorous Quality Assessment of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Microfluidic Technologies as Rapid Tests during COVID-19 using the AGREE II Instrument
Authors: Shahid Hammad , Ramsay Kaitlyn
Published: March 2024

Microfluidic technologies offer a paradigm shift in healthcare diagnostics and monitoring, with potential implications across a multitude of clinical scenarios. Their optimal implementation hinges on robust, evidence-based clinical guidelines. This study provides an in-depth quality assessment of existing guidelines for microfluidic technologies used to rapidly diagnose COVID-19 utilizing the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument.
Combined Lie’s type D and type A agenesis of the left internal carotid artery diagnosed by magnetic resonance angiography
Authors: Maki Takashi , Uchino Akira , Sugiyama Munehiro , Mizunuma Kimiyoshi , Baba Yasutaka
Published: March 2024

Purpose: To report a rare case of internal carotid artery (ICA) agenesis combined with Lie’s types D and A, diagnosed by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).
Methods: A 60-year-old woman with dizziness underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MRA of the intracranial region for the evaluation of brain and vascular lesions. The magnetic resonance machine was a 3.0-T scanner.
Results: MRI showed no abnormalities, except for multiple small white matter lesions. MRA showed that the left ICA was absent, except for the supraclinoid segment, and an anastomotic vessel was present between the paraclinoid segments of the bilateral ICAs, suggesting Lie's type D ICA agenesis. The left posterior communicating artery (PCoA) was also present. Thus, there were also features of type A ICA agenesis. The anastomotic vessels between the bilateral ICAs and ipsilateral PCoA were relatively small in caliber.
Conclusion: Lie’s type D ICA agenesis usually does not communicate with the anterior and posterior circulations. We encountered a case of combined type D and type A ICA agenesis. To our knowledge, no similar case has been reported in the English literature. This is the second case of type D ICA agenesis with patent ipsilateral PCoA. In these two cases of patent ipsilateral PCoA, the anastomotic vessels between the bilateral ICAs were relatively small in caliber. ICA agenesis is an extremely rare abnormality, and most patients are asymptomatic. However, it can be associated with an increased risk of stroke and aneurysm formation.
A comparison of ductal stenting and surgical shunts for infants with duct-dependent pulmonary blood flow; the impact of single versus biventricular repair pathways on outcomes.
Authors: Fitzgerald Nicholas , Adams Paul , Mervis Jonathan , Webb Annabel , Roberts Philip , Ayer Julian
Published: March 2024

Background: Ductal stenting (DS) is an alternative to the Blalock-Taussig-Thomas Shunt (BTTS) as initial palliation for congenital heart disease with duct dependent pulmonary blood flow (DDBPF). We sought to analyse the impact of intended single ventricle (SV) and biventricular (BiV) repair pathways on the outcome of DS and BTTS in infants with DDPBF.
Methods: A single-centre, retrospective comparison of infants with DDPBF who underwent either DS (2012-2022) or BTTS procedures (2013-2017). Primary outcomes included all-cause mortality and risk of unplanned re-intervention. Participants were divided into four groups: 1.SV with DS, 2.SV with BTTS, 3.BiV with DS and 4.BiV with BTTS.
Results: Fifty-one DS (SV 45%) and 86 BTTS (SV 49%) procedures were undertaken. For those who had DS, mortality was lower in the BiV compared to SV patients (BiV: 0/28, versus SV: 4/23, P=0.04). Compared to BiV DS, BiV BTTS had a higher risk of combined death or unplanned re-intervention (HR 4.28; CI 1.25-14.60; p=0.02). In SV participants, there was no difference for either primary outcome based on procedure type. DS was associated with shorter intensive care length of stay for SV participants (mean difference 5 days, P=0.01) and shorter intensive care and hospital stay for BiV participants (mean difference 11 days for both outcomes, P=0.001).
Conclusions:
There is a survival benefit for DS in BiV participants compared with DS in SV and BTTS in BiV participants. Ductal stenting is associated with a shorter intensive care and hospital length of stay.
Two flavors in adulterated sesame oil: Discovery, Confirmation, and Content Regularity Study
Authors: Liu chuan , Chen Yan-Qiu , Lin Hao , Shi Pei-Yu , Wu Wen-Lin , Xiao Quan-Wei , Dai Qin
Published: March 2024

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was utilized to identify the 5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methylthiazole and γ-Nonanolactone in adulterated sesame oil. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was then employed for qualitative analysis of these flavors. A quantitative analysis method was successfully developed using methanol extraction and vanillin-D3 as an internal standard, with analyte recoveries ranging from 88.5–102.2% and relative standard deviations between 2.6% and 10.5% (n = 6). Subsequently, 31 batches of sesame oil from the market were tested, revealing that all samples contained the identified flavors within a relatively consistent range. However, some samples exhibited unusually high concentrations of these flavors, suggesting a potential risk of adulteration.
Phosphoproteomics Analysis of Elderly people with sarcopenia
Authors: 尤 聪瑶 , Zhao Yi-ding , Yang Tie-ying , Zhang Yan
Published: March 2024

Sarcopenia is a progressive and systemic skeletal muscle disease that involves an accelerated loss of muscle mass and function. It is associated with increased adverse outcomes, including falls, functional decline, frailty, and death. With the advent of an aging society, sarcopenia has become a focus of intensive research. However, the molecular signaling pathways and phosphosignaling transduction changes in patients with sarcopenia are still unclear. To this end, we performed a quantitative mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics study on 6 patients with sarcopenia and 6 normal elderly subjects, and quantitatively analyzed 6163 phosphorylation sites of 2253 proteins. Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed that many phosphorylated proteins are involved in sarcomere organization and muscle filament sliding pathways. Kinase prediction analysis suggests that serine/threonine protein kinases VRK1, VRK2, etc. may play an important role in abnormal muscle metabolism. This study greatly expands our understanding of this disease by performing phosphoproteomics analysis on patients with sarcopenia. These findings provide a basis for the study of other age-related diseases.
Carbon sequestration in sugarcane plant - soil system as influenced by nutrient integration practices under Indo-Gangetic plains of India
Authors: Kumar Ajeet , Meena Sunita Kumari , Singh Sanjay Kumar , Sinha S.K. , Singh A.K.
Published: March 2024

Sugarcane is a multi-purpose crop. The capability of sugarcane crop to sequestrate carbon into soil and plant is of great importance. Under this study the carbon sequestration in planted sugarcane and their rhizospheric soil under different nutrient management practices was assessed. As IPCC reported, that the rising temperature of earth surface resulted of GHGs emission which causes global warming. In order to stabilize the global temperature, the anthropogenic CO2has to be mitigated to a significant level and the surplus atmospheric CO2in plants and soil has to be sunk, under this circumstance, sugarcane cultivation plays pivotal role in utilising CO2since it is a C4plant having high efficiency of utilising CO2during photosynthesis. There is another intervention might be enhancing the CO2capture by changing the nutrient management practices which enhances chlorophyll synthesis by the way of increasing nitrogen efficiency in sugarcane. The different treatment composition enhances photosynthesis where more CO2has been captured. Thus the sugarcane crop and rhizospheric soils act as important carbon sinks in decarbonisation of atmosphere that ultimately reduces carbon level and causes the global cooling.Soil Properties and Carbon Storage: The results showed that soil physical properties and chemical properties were significantly differed among treatments due to application of different organic amendments over control. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was analysed which ranges from 0.47 to 0.67%. The different organic amendments treatments had a considerable effect on soil bulk density and porosity with significant improvement in soil carbon storage.Plant Carbon Storage: The carbon stocks in different sugarcane plant parts, including roots, shoots and leaves were significantly different. The highest amount of carbon stock was found in leaves (877.08 kg ha− 1) under T6followed by roots (668.74 kg ha− 1) in T2and carbon stock in shoots (422.77 kg ha− 1) in T5showing that 30.41% and 107.58% more carbons were stored in the leaves as compared to the roots and shoots while in roots 58.18% more carbon stored in comparison to shoots. The total carbon storage in sugarcane biomass including aboveground parts and belowground part i.e. roots, in different treatment was significantly different. The mean value of carbon stored in the aboveground parts (leaves and stalks) was significantly higher (1239.65 kg ha− 1) than that of underground plant part (621.73 kg ha− 1) (roots). The results showed that the sugarcane farming practices have promising effect for carbon sequestration and consequently enhancing the mitigation of climate change impacts.
Appliances Energy Prediction using Supervised Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Beldar Pankaj Ramanlal
Published: March 2024

This paper presents and discusses data-driven predictive models for the energy use of appliances. Data used include measurements of temperature and humidity sensors from a wireless network, weather from a nearby airport station and recorded energy use of lighting fixtures. The paper discusses data filtering to remove non-predictive parameters and feature ranking. When using all the predictors. From the wireless network, the data from the kitchen, laundry and living room were ranked the highest in importance for the energy prediction. The prediction models with only the weather data, selected the atmospheric pressure (which is correlated to wind speed) as the most relevant weather data variable in the prediction. Therefore, atmospheric pressure may be important to include in energy prediction models and for building performance modelling.
Global climate change effect on Asian Mus musculus; Implication from last glacial maximum to the end of the 21st century
Authors: Afzali Yaser Amir
Published: March 2024

Global climate change poses unprecedented challenges to biodiversity, prompting urgent investigations into its effects on various species. This study focuses on Mus musculus, a small rodent species and a crucial indicator of ecosystem health. Spanning from the last glacial maximum to the end of the 21st century, employed Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to assess the impacts of climate change on Mus musculus and its four subspecies across Asia (M. m musculus, M. m domesticus, M. m castaneus, and M. m bactrianus). The SDMs reveal nuanced responses among subspecies, with M. m. domesticus, M. m. musculus, and M. m. castaneus facing potential habitat contractions, while M. m. bactrianus shows habitat expansion. Variable importance analysis highlights the significance of temperature-related variables, indicating the growing impact of rising temperatures on distribution patterns. Findings underscore the ecological implications of these shifts, emphasizing the need for tailored conservation strategies. The robustness of models, as indicated by high Area Under the Curve (AUC) values, enhances confidence in the reliability of predictions. Despite data limitations, this study contributes valuable insights into the complex dynamics between climate change and Mus musculus populations, guiding future conservation efforts in the face of ongoing global environmental transformations.
"Je größer die Liebe und Nähe (zwischen Nachbarn), desto mehr Hass und Entfremdung kann es geben." : Interview zur Berufung von Prof. Dr. Nathan Gibson
Authors: Dücker Malte
Published: March 2024

Neu am Fachbereich begrüßen wir Prof. Dr. Nathan Gibson als Professor für Religionswissenschaft mit dem Schwerpunkt „Jüdisch-Islamische Beziehungen“. Ein Gespräch über Forschung auf drei Kontinenten, „Facebook für Verstorbene“ und Begegnungen zwischen den drei abrahamitischen Religionen in Geschichte und Gegenwart.
Interview: Was macht eigentlich... Angela Rascher?
Authors: Dücker Malte
Published: March 2024

Ende der 1990er Jahre begann Angela Rascher in Frankfurt ihr Theologiestudium. Heute ist die promovierte Neutestamentlerin Referentin für Hospizarbeit und diakonisch-kirchliche Kultur bei der Diakonie Hessen. Im Gespräch berichtet sie über den sehr kleinen „Campus“ in Frankfurt-Hausen, wie viel Theologie in der diakonischen Praxis steckt und die sozialpolitischen Herausforderungen der Gegenwart.