bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The establishment of a prognostic model based on bioinformatic analysis of DNA damage repair genes in lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Yang Hongjuan , He Xinying , Shen Zhenyan , Sun Yuehong , Zhou Jianxi , Yin Xiaoming , Fan Kui , Liang Wei , Yang Weibo , Sun Yunchuan
Published: August 2023

Objective
To analyze the expression of DNA damage repair related genes form TCGA and GEO databases and establish a clinical prognosis prediction model in lung adenocarcinoma.
Methods
The RNA sequencing and clinical information data of lung adenocarcinoma were downloaded from the TCGA database, and differential analysis of DNA damage repair genes was performed between cancer and normal tissues. Cox proportional risk model and Lasso regression were used to construct the prediction model of DNA repair related genes, and the external model was verified by GSE30219. Metascape and GSEA were used to analyze the relevant mechanisms.
Results
Total of 74 DNA damage repair related genes were screened out from RNA sequencing data of 515 cases of lung adenocarcinoma and 59 cases of normal lung tissues. Based on Cox and Lasso regression analysis, a risk prediction model composing of PLK1, NEIL3 and EXO1 was constructed, and the risk scoring formula was riskscore = PLK1*0.011259 + NEIL3*0.022537 + EXO1*0.015379. In the TCGA dataset and external validation set of GSE30219, the overall survival of the high-risk group was significantly lower than that of the low-risk group (P < 0.01). The results of mechanism analysis showed that the poor prognosis of high risk group patients was related to mTOR, Myc, G2M and E2F pathways.
Conclusion
The risk model composed of PLK1, NEIL3 and EXO1 is established in this study, which can accurately predict the prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
Outcome of Keratorefractive Surgery Among Myopes at Eye Foundation Hospital Group, Nigeria
Authors: Obiajulu Agu , Ashaye Abimbola
Published: August 2023

OBJECTIVES
To determine the outcome of keratorefractive surgical procedures among myopes at Eye Foundation Hospital Group, Nigeria.
MATERIALS & METHODS
The study was a non-randomized prospective study with secondary intervention, conducted among consecutive consenting new patients diagnosed with myopia between − 1.0D to -10D at Eye foundation hospital group. Interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focused group discussions were used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics and post operative feed backs. Participants who had the surgery were closely observed to determine the safety, efficacy, predictability, and stability of the procedure.
RESULTS
Three hundred and two participants were enrolled into the study with mean age of 30.48 ± 8.44 years and an age range of 18 years to 57 years.Ten eyes of six participants underwent keratorefractive surgery constituting an uptake of 2.0%. The mean age of the participants who underwent keratorefractive surgeries was 28 ± 10.9 years and the range was 18 to 44 years. The mean spherical equivalent for those that had surgery were − 4.3 ± 2.7 D. Eighty percent and 100% of eyes were within ± 0.5 and 1.0 D of the intended correction, respectively and regarding efficacy at 3 months post-operation, the proportion of participants with post-operative uncorrected distance visual acuity of ≥ 6/9 and ≥ 6/6 were 100% and 70% respectively. Regarding safety at 3 months post-operation, 3 eyes (30%) showed no change in corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), 6 eyes (60%) gained 1 line and 1 eye (10%) lost 1 line. No vision threatening complications were observed in any of the cases.
CONCLUSION
Good surgical outcome was observed amongst those that were treated and future studies on keratorefractive surgery with larger sample sizes to determine the long-term effects among Nigerians are advocated.
ADMM-TGV image restoration for scientific applications with unbiased parameter choice
Authors: Zietlow Christian , Lindner Jörg K. N.
Published: August 2023

Image restoration via Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) has gained large interest within the last decade. Solving standard problems of Gaussian and Poisson noise, the set of ‘Total Variation’ (TV) based regularizers proved to be efficient and versatile. In the last few years the ‘Total Generalized Variation’ (TGV) approach combined TV regularizers of different orders adaptively to better suit local regions in the image. This improved the technique significantly. The approach solved the staircase problem inherent of the first order TV while keeping the beneficial edge preservation. The iterative minimization for the augmented Lagrangian of TGV problems requires four important parameters, two penalty parameters ρ and η and two regularization parameters λ0 and λ1. The choice of penalty parameters decides on the convergence speed, the regularization parameters decide on the impact of the respective regularizer and are determined by the noise level in the image. For scientific applications of such algorithms, an automated and thus objective method to determine these parameters is essential to receive unbiased results independent of the user. Obviously, both sets of parameters are to be well-chosen to achieve optimal results, too. In this paper a method is proposed to adaptively chose optimal ρ and η values for the iteration to converge faster, based on the primal and dual residuals arising from the opti-mality conditions of the augmented Lagrangian. Further, we show how to choose λ0 and λ1 based on the inherent noise in the image.
The effect of stand homogeneity on basal area growth for unthinned and thinned Pinus taeda L. stands in southern Brazil
Authors: de Oliveira Ximena Mendes , McTague John Paul , Junior Mário Dobner , Scolforo José Roberto Soares , Scolforo Henrique Ferraço
Published: August 2023

Studies show that heterogeneity among plants interferes with stand productivity, however, this information has not been incorporated in models to assist forest managers. This paper presents a new format for growth modeling, that includes the effect of heterogeneity on final stand productivity and was developed for unthinned and thinned Pinus taeda stands. The data used came from a 3 x 3 factorial experiment with the factors initial density (2500, 1250, and 625 trees.ha− 1) and thinning (without thinning, moderate thinning, and heavy thinning). The diameter distribution represented by the percentile method were used to represent stand homogeneity. The diameters (located in the 10th and 63rd percentiles) were inserted into the basal area growth model, reducing the mean absolute error (MAE) and the square root of the mean error (RMSE) on average from 4.8433 m².ha− 1 to 2.7702 m².ha− 1 relative to the predicted estimates, and from 4.3139 m².ha− 1 to 2.6984 m².ha− 1 for the projected estimates. The validation of the equation with the homogeneity proxy variable was performed by the Bootstrap method. A simultaneous equation, compatible in prediction and projection, with the inclusion of homogeneity, is recommended for estimating the growth in the basal area of Pinus taeda stands in southern Brazil.
Underwater Image Quality Assessment method basedon Color Space Multi-feature Fusion
Authors: Chen Tianhai , Yang Xichen , Li Nengxin , Wang Tianshu , Ji Genlin
Published: August 2023

The complexity and challenging underwater environment leading to degradation in underwater image. Measuring the qualityof underwater image is a significant step for the subsequent image processing step. Existing Image Quality Assessment(IQA) methods do not fully consider the characteristics of degradation in underwater images, which limits their performance inunderwater image assessment. To address this problem, an Underwater IQA (UIQA) method based on color space multi-featurefusion is proposed to focus on underwater image. The proposed method converts underwater images from RGB color space toCIELab color space, which has a higher correlation to human subjective perception of underwater visual quality. The proposedmethod extract histogram features, morphological features, and moment statistics from luminance and color components anduse multi-feature fusion to better quantify the degradation in underwater image quality. After features extraction, support vectorregression(SVR) is employed to learn the relationship between fusion features and image quality scores, and gain the qualityprediction model. Experimental results on the SAUD dataset and UIED dataset show that our proposed method can performwell in underwater image quality assessment. The performance comparisons on LIVE dataset, TID2013 dataset and SIQADdataset demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method.
Promoting psychological well-being in preschoolers through mindfulness-based socioemotional learning: A randomized-controlled trial
Authors: Courbet Ophélie , Daviot Quent , Kalamarides Victoire , Habib Marianne , Thomas Villemonteix
Published: August 2023

Mental health issues in children and young people are frequent and can have enduring negative consequences. Preventive early interventions delivered at school may foster psychological well-being, and preliminary evidence suggests that mindfulness-based social and emotional study was to evaluate a mindfulness-based SEL curriculum including a French adaptation of the Kindness Curriculum (KC), delivered by pre-kindergarten teachers, in a cluster randomized control trial. Sixty-four classes (761 children, aged 38-58 months) from a socio-economically disadvantaged area in France were randomly assigned to either intervention or waiting-list control conditions. Indicator -management, positive relationships with teachers and peers, emotional processing and executive functioning were collected through teacher-rated questionnaires, standardized observations, and behavioral tasks. Results in mental health, including a reduction in emotional, conduct and peer relationship problems, and a reduction in teacher-child conflicts. No significant effects were found on the other indicators. Heterogeneity analyses revealed stronger effects of the intervention on mental health and positive effects on self-management, relationships with teachers and relationships with peers in several subgroups. This program appears as a promising early intervention promoting mental health and positive relationships, especially for at-risk subgroups of preschool-aged children.
Development and validation of nomograms to predict prognosis of Burkitt's lymphoma: a SEER-based study
Authors: He Yang , Weijie Ma , Yang Bingbing , Da Dezhuan , Dang Chunyan , Li Hongling
Published: August 2023

Background: The purpose of this study was to establish two practical and valid nomograms to predict overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with Burkitt's lymphoma.
Methods: A total of 3972 patients with Burkitt's lymphoma diagnosed in 2000-2015 were screened from the SEER database and randomized into training cohorts (N=2780) and validation cohorts (N=1192). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to select independent risk factors affecting prognosis, followed by the construction of nomograms for OS and CSS. The reliability of the nomogram was validated with C-index and calibration curve. DCA plots were used to compare the clinical value of the nomogram with Ann Arbor Stage staging. In addition, patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups according to the mean of their scores as a cut-off, and survival was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results: According to the results of multivariate Cox regression analysis, the common independent prognostic factors affecting OS and CSS were age, race, marital status, year of diagnosis, primary site, stage, and chemotherapy. Based on these variables, two prediction models were constructed. In the training cohort, the C-index of the nomogram for OS was 0.741. DCA plots indicated that our nomogram had more clinical net benefits than the Ann Arbor staging system.
Conclusion: A comprehensive assessment of the incidence and survival prognosis of Burkitt's lymphoma was conducted using a large database, and two nomograms were created to predict patient risk and prognostic factors, thereby guiding clinicians in individualized clinical practice.
Biologically and Catalytically Active Cubic Silver Chloride- anchored Palladium/Gold Bimetallic Nanomaterials
Authors: Sarvalkar Prashant D. , Vadanagekar Apurva S. , Karvekar Omkar S. , Teli Shivanand B. , Kurhe Deepti N. , Nimbalkar Mansingraj S. , Prasad Neeraj R. , Sharma Kiran Kumar K.
Published: August 2023

In this study, we present the first biogenic production of cubic AgCl anchor (Pd and Au) bimetallic (AgCl@Pd/Au) nanoparticles (NPs) with metabolic waste from the Bos Taurus Indicus (BTI) species. The biological components in BTI urine are proposed to serve as reducing agents in the straightforward reduction synthesis of Pd and Au bimetallic NPs. AgCl@Pd/Au bimetallic alloy NPs are characterized as synthesized materials through XRD, FT-IR, SEM/FE-SEM, TEM, XPS, particle size with zeta potential, and other techniques. The XRD data was refined, revealing the synthesized substance to be composed of AgCl, Pd, and Au. AgCl@Pd/Au bimetallic alloy NPs have been studied for their catalytic activity against toxic dyes and nitroarenes in the presence of NaBH4. Newly synthesized AgCl@Pd/Au bimetallic alloy NPs are also studied for their antibacterial and antioxidant characteristics; results reveal strong antimicrobial and moderate antioxidant activity. This study presents a novel method for the large-scale synthesis of nanomaterials and nanocomposites with tailor-made morphologies and compositions: the use of BTI urine as a reducing agent.
VDTA Based Transadmittance Mode Instrumentation Amplifier with Experimental results
Authors: Raj Niranjan , Dutta Somenath , Ranjan Rajeev Kumar , Singh Dharmendra Kumar , Kuntman Hakan
Published: August 2023

A Voltage Differencing Transconductance Amplifier (VDTA) based trans-admittance mode (TAM) instrumentation amplifier (IA) has been proposed in this article. Proposed IA provides electronically tunable gain with biasing current along with high bandwidth (BW) and CMRR. In addition, the proposed IA does not need any resistor matching. An offset of the presented amplifier circuit can be suppressed using an integrator feedback stage. The functional verification is performed using 0.18 µm TSMC process parameter. Monte Carlo Sampling (MCS) is carried out, thus proving robustness of the circuit. As an application part, a noisy ECG signal is applied to get a clean amplified signal. A CMRR of 131dB-146.8 dB has been obtained depending on different values of the components, and biasing conditions. 30 MHz bandwidth is obtained for the proposed IA. The IA layout required 80 × 49 µm2 areas. The experimental verification has been done using commercially available ICs CA3080.
Comparison of the cytokines levels in aqueous humor in vitrectomized eyes versus non-vitrectomized eyes with diabetic macular edema
Authors: Wang Yiheng , Luan Jie
Published: August 2023

Background
To compare concentrations of VEGF family growth factors, inflammation-related factors, and adhesion molecules in the aqueous humor of eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME), with and without prior vitrectomy
Methods
A total of 31 eyes were included, 11 with DME that had undergone vitrectomy, 9 with DME but without vitrectomy, and 11 from age-related cataract patients as controls. The concentrations of cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IP-10,MCP-1, IFN-γ, MIP-1 α, MIP-1 β, PECAM-1, MIF, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, PIGF were quantified using Luminex Human Discovery Assay. The relationship between cytokine levels and central macular thickness was evaluated using OCT.
Results
(1) The concentrations of VEGF, PlGF, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, MIF, IFN-γ, TNF-α, PECAM-1, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 in the aqueous humor of diabetic macular edema (DME) patients with and without vitrectomy were similar. Vitrectomized DME eyes exhibited significantly higher levels of IL-6 and IL-8 compared to non-vitrectomized eyes (P < 0.05). (2) In vitrectomized group, after Benjamini-Hochberg correction, there was a significant positive correlation between the levels of VEGF and PlGF (rs = 0.855, P < 0.05), the levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ were also significantly positively correlated (rs = 0.858, P < 0.05). In non-vitrectomized group, significant positive correlations were found between VEGF and PlGF levels after correcting for multiple comparisons (rs = 0.9, P < 0.05). (3) In non-vitrectomized group, the concentrations of VEGF and PlGF in aqueous humor were significantly positively correlated with CMT (rs = 0.95, P < 0.05; rs = 0.9, P < 0.05, respectively).
Conclusions
The concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 in the aqueous humor were significantly higher in DME patients who underwent vitrectomy compared to those without vitrectomy, while the levels of VEGF were similar between the two groups which indicating that inflammation after vitrectomy may be a key factor in the occurrence and development of DME.
What makes a bank a bank? Differences and commonalities in credit calculation, application, and risks in mitigation banks targeting freshwater systems
Authors: Theis Sebastian , Poesch Mark
Published: August 2023

Mitigation banking is part of the ever-expanding global environmental market framework that aims to balance negative approved anthropogenic impacts versus third-party provided ecosystem benefits, sold in the form of credits. Given the need to conserve freshwater biodiversity and habitat, banking has received great traction in freshwater systems. While extensive reviews and studies have been conducted on evaluating if equivalency between impacts and offset can be achieved, there is almost no research being done on the way credits are being generated. Synthesizing banking data through cluster analyses from 26 banks in the United States generating credits for freshwater species and systems, we show two dominant approaches: removing barriers and targeting whole communities. Both address crucial freshwater conservation needs but come with their risks and caveats. Using common characteristics and management practices within these two groups, we showcase and conclude that credit generation via barrier removal can be at risk of granting credit generation for too large of an area, leading to over-crediting. Banks targeting whole freshwater communities and accounting for landscape-level interactions and influences can potentially be detrimental for species on an individual level and large-scale credit availability as well as transfer can incentivize non-compliance with the mitigation hierarchy.
Nondestructive Assessment of Woody Breast Myopathy in Chicken Fillets Using Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging with Machine Learning
Authors: Ekramirad Nader , Yoon Seung-Chul , Bowker Brian C. , Zhuang Hong
Published: August 2023

Woody breast (WB) myopathy is a major muscle abnormality in chicken fillets, causing excessive hardness and chewiness. The WB condition can potentially cause big economical losses in the poultry industry by decreasing meat quality, increasing waste, degrading nutritional content, and reducing customer satisfaction. A histological technique using a light microscope has been the gold standard to characterize the sub-surface properties of the muscle with the WB condition, which is destructive, costly, time-consuming, and limited to analyzing only small sample areas. It is currently very challenging to assess the degree of WB myopathy objectively and rapidly in individual fillets. There is a need to develop an effective sensing technology for rapidly characterizing the WB condition by measuring the sub-surface cross-sections of the entire fillet at a high resolution. In this study, we utilized optical coherence tomography (OCT) to image the sub-surface microstructure of chicken muscle tissue along the entire fillet with a micrometer resolution. The OCT images provided valuable microstructural features, which were further analyzed using machine learning models to classify chicken fillets based on the WB severity. The results demonstrated a detection accuracy of up to 100% in detecting severe WB samples. The machine learning models achieved a classification accuracy of 93.3% in distinguishing normal from WB fillets. Overall, the successful application of large-scale OCT imaging demonstrated its effectiveness as a non-invasive method for evaluating WB in chicken meat. Furthermore, the study suggests that OCT imaging holds the potential for evaluating other agricultural and food products.
Safety and blood levels of daratumumab after switching from intravenous to subcutaneous administration in patients with multiple myeloma
Authors: Yamaoka Kenta , Irie Kei , Hiramoto Nobuhiro , Hirabatake Masaki , Ikesue Hiroaki , Hashida Tohru , Shimizu Tadashi , Ishikawa Takayuki , Muroi Nobuyuki
Published: August 2023

Purpose: The intravenous administration (IV) of daratumumab sometimes causes an infusion reaction and needs a long infusion time. Recently, a subcutaneous formulation (SC) of daratumumab, which has fewer infusion reactions and shorter administration time, was approved. However, because SC has a fixed dose, overdosing is a concern for patients with low body weights. In this study, we investigated the safety and blood levels of daratumumab after switching from IV to SC in patients with multiple myeloma (MM).
Methods: Patients who switched from IV to SC of daratumumab between June 2021 and May 2022 at Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital were included in the study. Blood daratumumab levels were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Safety after switching from IV to SC was evaluated for six months and graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5.0.
Results: The median body weight of ten patients included in the analysis was 57.4 kg (range: 45.0–74.4). Blood daratumumab levels were significantly increased after switching to SC (p=0.002); median through concentration at the last IV dose was 403.6 µg/mL (range: 96.3–776.3) and that at the third SC dose was 557.1 µg/mL (range: 288.3–997.2). Grade 1–2 injection site reactions were observed in six patients (60.0%) after switching to SC. A new grade 3 adverse event was observed in only one patient (neutropenia).
Conclusion:The blood levels of daratumumab were significantly increased after switching from IV to SC in patients with MM; however, the dosage was tolerable.
Comparison between Multi-Scale Decomposition and Spatial Frequency based Methods for the Integration of Panchromatic and Multispectral Pictures
Authors: Kumar Gaurav , Rajput Upendra Kumar , Saini Rakesh Kumar
Published: August 2023

A technique for merging a high-resolution PAN image with a low-resolution multispectral image from LISS-III and World View-2 is suggested in this paper. The spatial-frequency technique, in particular the pseudo-Wigner distribution (PWD), offers pixel-by-pixel analysis, shift invariance, and characterization of local spectral features of nonstationary images. The suggested approach is compared with multi-scale decomposition techniques like NSCT and SWT. Using root mean square error (RMSE), peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), correlation coefficient (CC), relative dimensionless global error (ERGAS), and RASE, the performance of the suggested technique, the non-subsampled contour-let transform, and the stationary wavelet transform (SWT), is compared. Based on thorough tests using the LISS-III and World View-2 datasets, it is observed that the suggested method is statistically and visually more effective than traditional picture fusion algorithms. The suggested approach enhances spatial resolution while retaining spectral data.
Oceanic turbulent effect on the propagation properties of a Generalized Hermite cosh-Gaussian beam
Authors: Saad Faroq , Benzehoua Halima , Belafhal Abdelmajid
Published: August 2023

This paper aims to study the evolution behavior of Generalized Hermite cosh-Gaussian beam (GHCGB), when it propagates through a turbulent oceanic medium. Extended Huygens-Fresnel principal is used to evaluate the received intensity expression for the considered beam propagating in oceanic turbulence. Numerical examples are analyzed to illustrate the variations of average intensity under the influences of the oceanic turbulence parameters and the source beam parameters. Results show that the GHCGB propagating in stronger oceanic turbulence will lose its first profile and evolve into a Gaussian distribution rapidly with the larger dissipation rate of mean squared temperature and relative strength of temperature and salinity fluctuations or the smaller rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy per unit mass of fluid, in the far field. According to the provided study, the results obtained are useful to the practical application of the GHCGB in oceanic turbulence for both imaging systems and underwater optical communication.
Xiaoyan granule plus aptinib in patients with advanced gastric cancer who failed radiotherapy and chemotherapy: A prospective, phase II trial
Authors: Kong Fanming , Wang Na , Li Longhui , Yu Minghui , Liang Yangyueying , Liao Dongying
Published: August 2023

Objective
Xiaoyan granule (XYG) is a type of Chinese medicine preparation, which has been confirmed as an adjuvant therapeutic scheme for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Apatinib has been recommended as a third-line treatment option for AGC. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of XYG combined with apatinib in the treatment of AGC patients who failed radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Methods
207 eligible patients were enrolled at the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in this randomized controlled trial from January 2020 to December 2021. They were assigned to the treatment group to receive XYG combined with apatinib (n = 100) or to the control group to accept apatinib (n = 107, among which 7 patients were lost to follow-up). Patients with stable status continued to be treated (28 days as a course of treatment) until disease progression or unaccepted toxicity occurred. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety.
Results
In contrast to the control group, patients in the treatment group were able to significantly prolong PFS (6.67 vs 4.00 months, P < 0.05). The second endpoints of the treatment group were also remarkably improved (ORR: 46.0% vs 41.0%, P < 0.05; DCR: 82.0% vs 69.0%, P < 0.05). In terms of safety, there was no statistical difference in any grade of adverse events between the two groups. The treatment group could significantly reduce the incidence of grade III-IV adverse events.
Conclusion
The synergistic effect of XYG combined with apatinib could prolong the survival time and improve the safety of AGC patients who failed radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
A 10-gene signature associated with elevated levels of NCAPH identifies luminal A breast cancer patients with a risk of relapse
Authors: Mendiburu-Eliçabe Marina , García-Sancha Natalia , Corchado-Cobos Roberto , Martínez-López Angélica , Chang Hang , Mao Jian Hua , Blanco-Gómez Adrián , García-Casas Ana , Castellanos-Martín Andrés , Salvador Nélida , Jiménez-Navas Alejandro , Pérez-Baena Manuel Jesús , Sánchez-Martín Manuel Adolfo , Abad-Hernández María Del Mar , Carmen Sofía Del , Claros-Ampuero Juncal , Cruz-Hernández Juan Jesús , Rodríguez-Sánchez César Augusto , García-Cenador María Begoña , García-Criado Francisco Javier , Vicente Rodrigo Santamaría , Castillo-Lluva Sonia , Pérez-Losada Jesús
Published: August 2023

Background
Despite their generally favorable prognosis, luminal A tumors paradoxically pose the highest ten-year recurrence risk among breast cancers, with a quarter recurring within five years. Identifying such patients is crucial as long-term relapsers could benefit from extended hormone therapy, while early relapsers may require aggressive treatment. We propose a gene signature, sourced from genes such as NCAPH associated with luminal A breast cancer pathogenesis and poor prognosis, for improved stratification of these high-risk patients.
Methods
We used in vitro and in vivo mouse models to study the implication of NCAPH in breast cancer progression. We performed transcriptomic analysis from a backcross cohort of mice with breast tumors. Transcripts that were associated with high intratumoral Ncaph levels were used for a LASSO multivariate regression model in the human databases.
Results
We demonstrated that NCAPH participates in the pathogenesis of luminal breast cancer in vitro and in vivo using different mouse models. Transgenic mice overexpressing NCAPH generated breast tumors with a long latency, and in MMTV-NCAPHErbB2+ double-transgenic mice, the luminal tumors formed were more aggressive. In addition, high levels of Ncaph were associated with worse evolution and a poor response to chemotherapy in a cohort of genetically heterogeneous transgenic mice generated by backcrossing. Moreover, NCAPH levels were higher in patients with poor long-term evolution. Using LASSO multivariate regression, we identified a ten-gene risk score formed by a gene signature (Gene Signature for Luminal A 10 or GSLA10) that correlated with high intratumoral NCAPH expression and poor luminal A breast cancer evolution. This GSLA10 signature outperforms the Oncotype DX signature in distinguishing tumors with a poor outcome (previously categorized as luminal A by PAM50) in three independent human cohorts.
Conclusions
The GSLA10 signature assists in identifying patients with luminal A tumors exhibiting poor prognosis, who could thus potentially benefit from personalized treatment strategies.
Predictors of HIV status disclosure among PLHIV in the Volta region of Ghana: the disclosure conundrum and its policy implications.
Authors: Alhassan Robert Kaba
Published: August 2023

Background Globally, over 40 million lives have been claimed by HIV/AIDS. In Ghana, more than 350,000 people are currently living with HIV with 66% of them being females; out of this number, 71% know their status and 99% of the people diagnosed with HIV in Ghana received sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 79% on ART have achieved viral suppression. Non-disclosure of HIV status is a major barrier to HIV/AIDS eradication; yet, little is known on the determinants of HIV status disclosure among the adult population of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ghana. Objective Determine the predictors of HIV status disclosure among the adult population of PLHIV and stimulate national policy discourse on support systems for self-disclosure in Ghana. Methods The study is a descriptive cross-sectional design among PLHIV (n = 181) in a tertiary hospital in the Volta region of Ghana. Bivariate analysis with Pearson Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact tests were run alongside stepwise forward logistic regression to determine factors associated with HIV status disclosure among PLHIV at 95% confidence level. Results HIV status disclosure was reported by 50% of the respondents; nearly 65% disclosed their status to non-family members. HIV status disclosure was significantly associated with marital status (p = 0.000), level of education (p = 0.035), divorce due to HIV (p = 0.000), monthly income (p = 0.019), occupation (p = 0.010) and partner being HIV positive. The odds of disclosing HIV status was higher among single/never married persons (OR = 0.012; p-value = 0.017, 95% [CI = 0.000 0.447), persons of Catholic denomination (OR = 0.060; p-value = 0.057, 95% [CI = 0.003 1.089), persons with monthly income of approximately (USD 44–88) (OR = 0.068; p-value = 0.011, 95% [CI = 0.009 0.543]) and persons adherent to ART (OR = 6.161; p-value = 0.058, 95% [CI = 0.937 40.490]). Conclusions HIV status disclosure is low in Ghana due to socio-economic and religious factors. There is the need for a national debate on policy guidelines for HIV status disclosure for PLHIV; targeted support systems for vulnerable groups within PLHIV would also help ameliorate their predicaments.
To waste or not to waste: A multi-proxy analysis of human-waste interaction and rural waste management in Indus Era Gujarat
Authors: Chakraborty Kalyan Sekhar , Bestel Shehan , Lucus Mary , Roberts Patrick , Shirvalkar Prabodh , Rawat Yadubirsingh , Larsen Thomas , Miller Heather M.-L
Published: August 2023

Waste management is paramount to town planning and ancient civilizations across the world have spent resources and mobilized labor for waste disposal and reuse. While the Indus Civilization is famous for its urban waste management practices, almost no work has been done on waste management practices at the Indus Era rural settlements. In this paper, using isotopic and microscopic proxies, we characterize the waste that was disposed of at the settlement of Kotada Bhadli to reconstruct the sources of waste, including animal dung, and how rural agro-pastoral settlements in Gujarat during the Indus Era systematically discarded such waste in specific locations. By characterizing waste produced at Kotada Bhadli, we are also able to reconstruct the natural environment and how the natural and cultural landscape around the settlement was exploited by the residents of settlement for their domestic and occupational needs. Our identification of the attention paid to waste disposal by the inhabitants of Kotada Bhadli adds significant data to our understanding of waste disposal as an insight into past lives.
Determining a musculoskeletal system's pre-stretched state using continuum-mechanical forward modelling and joint range optimization
Authors: Avci Okan , Röhrle Oliver
Published: August 2023

The biomechanics of a musculoskeletal joint system is a complex interaction of three-dimensional, inhomogeneous, anisotropic and contracting muscle tissue with nonlinear mechanical behaviour. The human-specific range of motion (RoM) of a joint system is efficiently balanced by the pre-stretch of the individual muscles, which utmost effects their contraction capability. Using a forward approach for movement analysis of the musculoskeletal system of the forearm, we developed a novel optimization process to determine the muscle fibre pre-stretch situation for a given initial arm position. We created a detailed 3D finite element model of the forearm with the flexors \biceps, \brachi, and \bradi and the extensors \triceps and \man including their distinctive fibre orientations from Visible Human Data. The optimization goal is to balance the muscle fibre pre-stretches by activating the extensors and then the flexors alternately with respect to the extension and flexion. The experimental RoM data of the elbow joint were taken from the relevant literature of a healthy person. The muscles’ stress-strain behavior of the pre-stretch optimized design shows a heterogeneous distribution, emphasizing that the structural behavior of the muscle is a complex 3D continuum problem. In addition, the optimal design are compared with handpicked design points with different muscle pre-stretch situations that also fulfill the optimization criterion. The deviations between them are large, \eg, up to 15° in motion and up to 40\,$\%$ muscle force, which underlines the importance of accurate determination of muscles’ fibre pre-stretch.
Volume of the Dentate Gyrus/CA4 Hippocampal Subfield Mediates the Interplay between Sleep Quality and Depressive Symptoms
Authors: Wang Yulin , Tian Yun , Long Zhiliang , Dong Debo , He Qinghua , Qiu Jiang , Feng Tingyong , Chen H , Tahmasia Masoud , Lei Xu
Published: August 2023

Emerging evidence increasingly suggests that poor sleep quality is associated with depressive symptoms. The hippocampus plays a crucial role in the interplay between sleep disturbance and depressive symptomatology e.g., accelerated hippocampal atrophy is typically seen in both insomnia disorder and depression. Hence, it is critical to examine the pivotal role of hippocampal volumes in modulating the interplay between poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms in large-scale healthy populations. To cover this research gap, the present study investigated the association between self-reported sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and hippocampal total and subfields’ volumes. Furthermore, we assessed the mediatory role of hippocampal volumes on the link between sleep quality and depressive symptoms in a large sample (N=1603) of young adults using mediation analysis. Sleep quality was correlated with self-report depressive symptoms. Moreover, sleep quality was found to be negatively associated with the volume of three hippocampal subfields, including dentate gyrus (DG), cornu ammonis fields (CA-3 and CA-4), but not correlated with total hippocampal volume. Interestingly, the volume of hippocampal DG and CA4 mediated the influence of poor sleep quality on depressive symptoms. Our findings improved our current understanding of the relationship between sleep disturbance, depressive symptomatology, and hippocampal subfields in the healthy populations. Considering the crucial role of DG in hippocampal neurogenesis, our results suggest that poor sleep quality may contribute to depression through a reduction of DG volume leading to impaired neurogenesis which is crucial for the regulation of mood.
Improving the Security of IoT Devices by Analyzing Network Attack Data with Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: MEHTA AMAN , Tiwari Shreeya
Published: August 2023

This research article explores the security concerns in the Internet of Things (IoT) and aims to enhance the security of IoT devices by investigating network attacks using ordinary device network data and attack network data. The study focuses on smart healthcare systems with IoT devices and conducts botnet attacks to generate data. Statistical measures like the Pearson coefficient and entropy are used to extract relevant features from the collected data. Machine learning algorithms are employed to distinguish between normal and attack traffic, and data preprocessing techniques are applied to increase accuracy. The generated dataset is cross-evaluated with an existing dataset for authentication. The research provides insights into the behavior of normal and attack networks on IoT devices and the potential of machine learning for improving IoT device security. The article emphasizes the importance of adopting sophisticated strategies for detecting and mitigating network attacks.
Mental Health Disorders among Healthcare Workers in Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Ajman during the COVID19 Pandemic
Authors: fouda Ghada
Published: August 2023

Background: The covid19 disease was declared a pandemic in March 2020. The fast spread of this pandemic put the healthcare facilities under stress and put a great burden on healthcare workers. Aim: This study aimed to protect the mental health of HCWs and to promote the social support of healthcare workers in Sheikh Khalifa Medical City Ajman (SKMCA), UAE during the COVID19 pandemic.
Subjects and Methods: this was a web-based cross-sectional analytic study where a form including four sections to assess socio- demographic characteristics, perceived stress, anxiety, and depression respectively. The form was randomly distributed via email to the selected healthcare worker. Data was collected in the period from 1st of January to end of March 2021.
Results: The mean age of healthcare workers was 37.2 ± 8.7 years, 70% were females, about 74% were married and 59.2% were nurses. The mean score of stress, depression and anxiety scale was 17.2 ± 4.8, 6 ± 3.4 and 4.8 ± 2.3 respectively. The majority of the participants (72.5) had moderate stress. Half of the participants (50.2%) had mild depression. About 55% of healthcare workers had mild anxiety. Being a female was significant risk factor for stress (OR=1.994, 95% CI (1.130-3.519) (p= 0.017), while being a nurse and allied health decrease the probability of stress (OR=0.295, 95% CI (0.125-0.699) (p=0.006); OR=0.145, 95 % CI (0.053- 0.398) (p<0.001) respectively. Being married was significantly associated with anxiety (Or=2.294, 95% CI (1.323- 3.977) (p=0.003). Being a physician increase the probability of depression (OR=6.798, 95%CI (2.140-21.592) (p=0.001).
Relationship of Central Corneal Thickness and Central Corneal Epithelial Thickness with Anthropoemetric and Biochemical Data in Individuals with Impaired Glucose Metabolism
Authors: Boyacı İhsan , Demirci Göktuğ
Published: August 2023

Background
Measure central corneal thickness (CCT) and central corneal epithelial thickness (CCET) with anterior segment-optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in individuals with impaired glucose metabolism and to analyze, the effect of impaired glucose metabolism on the cornea.
Methods
140 eyes of 70 participants, including 20 healthy controls, 17 insulin resistant, and 33 prediabetic, were evaluated by AS-OCT. Glucose metabolism was examined using a 2-hour 75 g oral glucose tolerance test and glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Anthropoemetric measurements, physical examinations, and blood pressure were recorded of all participants. The biochemical parameters were studied.
Results
The mean age of the participants was 37.93±12.30 years, and the mean HbA1c was 5.50±0.38%. CCET measurements were significantly different and higher in the prediabetic group (p<0.01). A significant positive correlation was found between both CCETR and CCETL and age, HbA1c, and fasting plasma glucose (p<0.05). There was found a significant positive correlation was found between CCETR and total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein (p<0.05). Anthropoemetric parameters were significantly different in prediabetics (p˂0.001 and p˂0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between body fat percentage and CCT (p˂0.05). CCET showed a significant positive correlation with neck circumference (p<0.05).
Conclusions
It may be suggested that impaired metabolic processes during prediabetes may affect CCET. We believe that prediabetes detection should not be limited to HbA1c and OGTT; A multifactorial algorithm could be developed. AS-OCT may be an easily accessible and useful tool for the early diagnosis of prediabetes.
Evaluation of Adaptive Reconciliation Protocols for CV-QKD using Systematic Polar Codes
Authors: Zhang Meixiang , Wang Qiang , Son Thara , Kim Sooyoung
Published: August 2023

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure cryptographic technology that enables two authenticated parties to share secret keys. Information reconciliation is an essential step in continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocols, which affects both the complexity and performance of the system. This paper reviews adaptive reconciliation protocols, and also proposes a new efficient scheme using systematic polar codes. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly increase reconciliation efficiency and reduce the overall computational complexity by reducing the average number of retransmissions, without significant reduction in effective secret key length.
Near-extremal limits of warped CFTs
Authors: Aggarwal Ankit , Castro Alejandra , Detournay Stéphane , Mühlmann Beatrix
Published: August 2023

Warped conformal field theories (WCFTs) are two-dimensional non-relativistic systems, with a chiral scaling and shift symmetry. We present a detailed derivation of the near-extremal limit for their torus partition function. This limit requires large values of the central charge, and is only consistent for non-unitary WCFT. We compare our analysis with previous studies of WCFT and its relation to a one-dimensional warped-Schwarzian theory. We discuss different ensembles of warped CFTs and contrast our results with analogous limits in two-dimensional CFTs.
Search for ultralight axion dark matter in a side-band analysis of a ${}^{199}$Hg free-spin precession signal
Authors: Abel C. , Ayres N. J. , Ban G. , Bison G. , Bodek K. , Bondar V. , Chanel E. , Crawford C. B. , Daum M. , Dechenaux B. , Emmenegger S. , Flaux P. , Griffith W. C. , Harris P. G. , Kermaidic Y. , Kirch K. , Komposch S. , Koss P. A. , Krempel J. , Lauss B. , Lefort T. , MohanMurthy Prajwal , Naviliat Cuncic Oscar , Pais D. , Piegsa F. M. , Pignol Guillaume , Rawlik M. , Ries D. , Roccia Stephanie , Rozpedzik D. , Schmidt-Wellenburg Philipp , Severijns N. , Stadnik Y. V. , Thorne J. A. , Weis A. , Wursten E. , Zejma Jacek , Zsigmond Geza
Published: August 2023

Ultra-low-mass axions are a viable dark matter candidate and may form a coherently oscillating classical field. Nuclear spins in experiments on Earth might couple to this oscillating axion dark-matter field, when propagating on Earth’s trajectory through our Galaxy. This spin coupling resembles an oscillating pseudo-magnetic field which modulates the spin precession of nuclear spins. Here we report on the null result of a demonstration experiment searching for a frequency modulation of the free spin-precession signal of 199Hg in a magnetic field. Our search covers the axion mass range 10^{-16} \textrm{eV} \lesssim m_a \lesssim 10^{-13} \textrm{eV}10−16eV≲ma≲10−13eV and achieves a peak sensitivity to the axion-nucleon coupling of g_{aNN} \approx 3.5 \times 10^{-6} \textrm{GeV}^{-1}gaNN≈3.5×10−6GeV−1.
Development of a system for measuring the efficiency of teaching and scientific activities in higher education: Experience of St. Petersburg State University
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Kropachev Nikolay M. , Eremeev Vladimir V. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Popov Anton V. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: August 2023

The system of higher education has not yet developed verified and reasonable criteria for evaluating the effi ciency of the teaching staff. The mentioned problem affects not only the field of management theory in higher education, but also has a quite visible practical implementation. Th e current state of affairs and prospects for the development of Russian higher education largely depends on the extent to which the system of performance indicators will create impetus for the professional growth of university teachers. The correctness and validity of the practical methods used in the implementation of these indicators is a factor that determines the social reputation and professional authority of scientific and pedagogical staff in higher education institutions. In the modern Russian system of higher education, there is a search for the most reasonable, objective and fair criteria for evaluating the activities of the teaching staff. The main of these methods presents visible innovations in the employment relations based on a system of effective contracts. At the same time, the large-scale changes that this system brought to the sphere of employment relations could not objectively enter into everyday life bypassing problems and contradictions. The objectives of this article are to summarize and show the positive experience in application of the system of indicators for evaluating the efficiency of scientific and pedagogical staff accumulated at St. Petersburg State University. The experience allowed us to evaluate the most significant and important elements of this system, which, being tested in practice, have shown their effectiveness as motivation for the professional growth of the teaching and scientific staff and, at the same time, confirmed their importan ce as a mean of achieving the goals of the St. Petersburg State University’s development program. The research relevance of this article is to point out the practical foundations available at St. Petersburg State University for the development of universal provisions on the creation and implementation of an effective system of incentives regulating the work of scientific and pedagogical staff.