bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Current and Future Habitat Suitability Models for Four Ticks of Medical Concern in Illinois, USA
Authors: Kopsco Heather Lynn , Gronemeyer Peg , Mateus-Pinilla Nohra , Smith Rebecca Lee
Published: February 2023

The greater U.S. Midwest is on the leading edge of tick and tick-borne disease (TBD) expansion, with tick and TBD encroachment into Illinois occurring from both the northern and the southern regions. To assess historical and future habitat suitability of four ticks of medical concern within the state, we fit individual and mean-weighted ensemble species distribution models for Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, and a newly invading species, Amblyomma maculatum using a variety of landscape and mean climate variables for the periods of 1970-2000, 2041-2060, and 2061-2080. Ensemble model projections for the historical climate were consistent with known distributions of each species but predicted the habitat suitability of A. maculatum to be much greater throughout Illinois than what known distributions demonstrate. Presence of forest and wetlands were the most important landcover classes predicting occurrence of all tick species. As the climate warmed, the expected distribution of all species became strongly responsive to precipitation and temperature variables, particularly precipitation of the warmest quarter and mean diurnal range, as well as proximity to forest cover and water sources. The suitable habitat all species was predicted to shrink in the 2050 climate scenario, and then increase more broadly statewide in the 2070 scenario, but at reduced likelihoods. Predicting where ticks may invade and concentrate as the climate changes will be important to anticipate, prevent, and treat TBD in Illinois.
Effects of Riparian Vegetation on the Evolution of an Experimental Meandering Channel Downstream a Scour Pit
Authors: Song Xiaolong , Xu Haijue , Bai Yuchuan
Published: February 2023

We conducted the meander evolution experiments incorporating the effects of riparian vegetation and the series of upper vortex flow disturbances induced by a scour pit simultaneously. Two employed nonlegume plants with salinity and alkalinity resistance, had uniform degrees of seedling normal growth and different lengths of root networks. Our results show that riparian vegetation in general can consolidate the single-thread channel planform without branching outward under the flooding flow conditions. Transverse point bars on inner banks were instead by downstream scroll bars in overall channel for long, unless the coupling of riparian vegetation and flood scour. Shallow-rooted plant was inadequate to resist the inner-bank cutting effect brought by the upper vortex flow. Deep-rooted plant can stabilize the bank-lines and thalweg significantly, but that was susceptible to locally low vegetation coverage. Using evolutionary spectral analysis based on thalweg, we found streamwise high-frequency distribution of bed topography mainly concentrated downstream the bifurcation interface in unvegetated scenario when faced with a flood, shrank to the upper isolated turning interface in shallow-rooted scenario, and conversely stood out along the bare roots disturbed region in deep-rooted scenario. This experimental study expands a much wider understanding of vegetation effects in hydro-bio-geomorphological systems engineering.
Smarter Sustainable Tourism: Data-Driven Multi-Perspective Parameter Discovery for Autonomous Design and Operations
Authors: Alsahafi Raniah , Alzahrani Ahmed , Mehmood Rashid
Published: February 2023

The Global natural and manmade events are exposing the fragility of the tourism industry and its impact on the global economy. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism contributed 10.3% to the global GDP and employed 333 million people but saw a significant decline due to the pandemic. Sustainable and smart tourism requires collaboration from all stakeholders and a comprehensive understanding of global and local issues to drive responsible and innovative growth in the sector. This paper presents an approach for leveraging big data and deep learning to dis-cover holistic, multi-perspective (e.g., local, cultural, national, and international) and objective information on a subject. Specifically, we develop a machine learning pipeline to extract parameters from academic literature and public opinions on Twitter, providing a unique and comprehensive view of the industry from both academic and public perspectives. The academic-view dataset was created from the Scopus database and contains 156,759 research articles from 2000 to 2022, which were modelled to identify 33 distinct parameters in 4 categories: Tourism Types, Planning, Challenges, and Media & Technologies. A Twitter dataset of 485,813 tweets was collected over 18 months starting March 2021 to August 2022 to showcase public perception of tourism in Saudi Arabia, which was modelled to reveal 13 parameters categorized into two broader sets: Tourist Attractions and Tourism Services. Discovering system parameters are re-quired to embed autonomous capabilities in systems and for decision-making and problem-solving during system design and operations. The proposed approach improves AI-based information discovery by extending the use of scientific literature, Twitter, and other sources for autonomous, dynamic optimizations of systems, promoting novel research in the tourism sector and contributing to the development of smart and sustainable societies. The paper also presents a comprehensive knowledge structure and literature review of the tourism sector based on over 250 research articles.
A New Way to 2,3,4-Trisubstituted Benzo[h]quinolines: Synthesis, Consecutive Reactions and Cellular Activities
Authors: Zapol’skii Viktor A. , Kaul Sandra , Karge Bianka , Brönstrup Mark , Gjikaj Mimoza , Kaufmann Dieter E.
Published: February 2023

The reaction of mercaptoacetic acid esters with pentachloro-2-nitro-1,3-butadiene provides appropriate precursors for the synthesis of 2,3,4-trisubstituted benzo[h]quinolines. These heterocycles are easily accessible via a single-step reaction with 1-naphthyl- or 1-anthracenylamine, respectively. Due to steric bulk and high electron density ring closure to benzo[h]quinolines takes place, exclusively. Such highly substituted annelated pyridine systems can be modified in subsequent, selective reactions to build up new N-heterocycles with promising microbiological properties. Antibacterial and antiproliferative assays against four cell mammalian cell lines demonstrate that some of the sulfur-substituted benzo[h]quinolines analogs display potent phenotypic bioactivities in the single-digit micromolar range.
aeroBERT-Classifier: Classification of Aerospace Requirements using BERT
Authors: Tikayat Ray Archana , Cole Bjorn F. , Pinon Fischer Olivia J. , White Ryan T. , Mavris Dimitri N.
Published: February 2023

Requirements are predominantly written in Natural Language (NL), which makes them accessible to stakeholders with varying degrees of experience, as compared to a model-based language which requires special training. However, despite its benefits, NL can introduce ambiguities and inconsistencies in requirements, which may eventually result in system quality degradation and system failure altogether. The system complexity that characterizes current systems warrants an integrated and comprehensive approach to system design and development. This need has brought about a paradigm shift towards Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approaches to system design and a departure from traditional document-centric methods. While, MBSE shows great promise, the ambiguities and inconsistencies present in NL requirements hinder their conversion to models directly. The field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) has demonstrated great potential in facilitating the conversion of NL requirements into a semi-machine-readable format that enables their standardization and use in a model-based environment. A first step towards standardizing requirements consists of classifying them according to the ``type'' (design, functional, performance, etc.) they represent. To that end, a language model capable of classifying requirements needs to be fine-tuned on labeled aerospace requirements. This paper presents the development of an annotated aerospace requirements corpus and its use to fine-tune BERT$_\text{BASE-UNCASED}$ to obtain aeroBERT-Classifier: a new language model for classifying aerospace requirements into design, functional, or performance requirements. A comparison between aeroBERT-Classifier and bart-large-mnli (zero-shot text classification) showcased the superior performance of aeroBERT-Classifier on classifying aerospace requirements despite being fine-tuned on a small labeled dataset.
Statewide Policy to Increase Provision of Take-Home Naloxone at Emergency Department Visits for Opioid Overdose, Rhode Island, 2018‒2019
Authors: Griffith Jennifer , Yorlets Rachel R. , Chambers Laura C. , Davis Corey S. , Wentz Anna , Beaudoin Francesca L. , Baird Janette , Samuels Elizabeth A.
Published: February 2023

In 2017, Rhode Island responded to rising overdose deaths by establishing statewide emergency department (ED) treatment standards for opioid overdose and opioid use disorder. One requirement of the policy is that providers prescribe or provide take-home naloxone to anyone presenting to EDs with opioid overdose. Among adults presenting to EDs with opioid overdose from 2018 to 2019, approximately half received take-home naloxone. Receipt of naloxone was associated with administration of naloxone before ED presentation, ED policy certification level, and regional overdose frequency. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(4):372–377. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307213 )
Multiple indicators of violence against female sex workers and its associated factors in Ghana: Evidence from the 2015 Integrated Bio-Behavioural Surveillance Survey
Authors: Ayamah P , Atuahene KS , Annang DA , Nartey DT , Amuasi SA , Abrefa-Gyan T , Aheto Justice Moses K.
Published: February 2023

Background and Aims: Violence against female sex workers (FSWs) is a widespread phenomenon, especially in African nations like Ghana where sex work is outlawed primarily because of the pervasive worldview that sex work is a contravention of morality. Violence against FSWs deters them from accessing critical health services and heightens their risk of STIs including HIV infection. The study examined the prevalence and the associated factors of multiple indicators of violence against FSWs.
Methods: The study utilised a cross-sectional secondary data from the 2015 Integrated Bio-Behavioural Surveillance Survey (IBBSS) conducted among FSWs and their non-paying partners by Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC). We analysed data on a total of 4279 participants. Bivariate, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were utilized to identify factors associated with physical and sexual violence against FSWs. Data were analysed using Stata version 15.
Results: The prevalence of physical and sexual violence were 10% and 25% respectively. Physical violence was perpetrated mainly by first-time paying clients (51%) and regular paying clients (31%) with similar trend observed for sexual violence. The predictors of physical violence are being a seater (aOR=0.53, 95%CI: 0.36-0.74), aged ≥40 (aOR=0.23, 95%CI: 0.08-0.64), non-use of drugs (aOR=0.56, 95%CI: 0.44-0.70), and not using alcohol before sex (aOR=0.69, 95%CI: 0.56-0.86). Sexual violence was predicted by those aged age 31-40 (aOR=0.68, 95%CI: 0.49-0.94) and age≥40 (aOR=0.38, 95%CI: 0.22-0.66), currently married (aOR=0.42, 95%CI: 0.27-0.67), having no living children (aOR=0.69, 95%CI: 0.51-0.94), non-use of drugs (aOR=0.80, 95%CI: 0.68-0.94), and not using alcohol before sex (aOR=0.74, 95%CI: 0.63-0.86). Both physical and sexual violence had negative consequences on consistency of condom use and condom failure among FSWs.
Conclusion: Physical and sexual violence against FSWs is pervasive, and a critical public health issue in Ghana. The identified associated factors could be considered as part of an overall strategy aimed at addressing the menace.
Effectiveness of the secondary distribution of HIV self-testing with and without monetary incentives among Men Who Have Sex with Men living with HIV in China: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Hu Siyue , Lu Ying , He Xi , Zhou Yi , Wu Dan , Tucker Joseph D. , Yang Bin , Tang Weiming
Published: February 2023

Background
The HIV epidemic is still expanding among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China, but HIV testing rates remain suboptimal. Network-based interventions, such as secondary distribution, have shown promise to expand HIV self-testing (HIVST) among partners of MSM living with HIV (MLWH) but have not been widely implemented. Monetary incentives could enhance the secondary distribution of HIVST in some settings. We will conduct a randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of monetary incentives in expanding the secondary distribution of HIVST among MLWH in China.
Methods
We will recruit 200 eligible participants at three antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics in China. Participants are eligible if they are 18 years of age or over, assigned as male at birth, have had anal sex with men, are living with HIV, are willing to apply for the HIVST kit at ART clinics, and are willing to provide personal contact information for follow-up. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to one of two groups: standard secondary distribution group and secondary distribution group with monetary incentives. Participants (defined as "index") will distribute the HIVST kits to members of their social network (defined as "alter") and will be required to complete a baseline survey and a 3-month follow-up survey. All alters will be encouraged to report their testing results by taking photos of used kits and completing an online survey. The primary study outcomes will compare the mean number of alters and newly-tested alters motivated by each index participant in each group. Secondary study outcomes will include the mean number of alters who tested positive, the cost per person tested, and the cost per HIV diagnosed for each group.
Discussion
Few studies have evaluated interventions to enhance the implementation of secondary distribution. Our study will provide information on the effectiveness of monetary incentives in expanding HIVST secondary distribution among MLWH. The findings of this trial will contribute to implementing HIVST secondary distribution services among MLWH in China and facilitating HIV case identifications.
Trial registration
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2200064517; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=177896. Registered on 10th October 2022.
Analyzing the Relationship Between Gene Expression and Phenotype in Space-Flown Mice Using a Causal Inference Machine Learning Ensemble
Authors: Casaletto James , Scott Ryan , Myrick Makenna , Mackintosh Graham , Chok Hamed , Saravia-Butler Amanda , Hoarfrost Adrienne , Galazka Jonathan , Sanders Lauren , Costes Sylvain
Published: February 2023

Spaceflight has several detrimental effects on human and rodent health. For example, liver dysfunction is a common phenotype observed in space-flown rodents, and this dysfunction is partially reflected in transcriptomic changes. Studies linking transcriptomics with liver dysfunction rely on tools which exploit correlation, but these tools make no attempt to disambiguate true correlations from spurious ones. In this work, we use a machine learning ensemble of causal inference methods called the Causal Research and Inference Search Platform (CRISP). It was specifically developed to predict causal features of a binary response variable in high-dimensional input. We used CRISP to search gene expression data for genes truly correlated with a lipid density phenotype using transcriptomic and histological data from the NASA Space Biology Open Science Data Repositories (OSDR). Our approach identified genes and molecular targets not predicted by previous traditional system biology approaches. These genes are likely to play a pivotal role in the liver dysfunction observed in space-flown rodents, and this work opens the door to identifying novel countermeasures for space travel.
Deep learning-based image-analysis identifies a DAT-negative subpopulation of dopaminergic neurons in the lateral Substantia nigra.
Authors: Burkert Nicole , Roy Shoumik , Häußler Max , Wuttke Dominik , Müller Sonja , Wiemer Johanna , Hollmann Helene , Ramirez-Franco Jorge , Benkert Julia , Fauler Michael , Duda Johanna , Pötschke Christina , Goillard Jean-Marc , Münchmeyer Moritz , Parlato Rosanna , Liss Birgit
Published: February 2023

Here we present a deep learning-based image analysis platform (DLAP), tailored to autonomously quantify numbers of neuronal subtypes in defined areas, and of fluorescence signals, derived from RNAscope probes or immunohistochemistry, in defined cellular compartments. As proof-of-principle, we utilized DLAP to analyse subtypes of dopaminergic midbrain neurons in mouse and human brain-sections. These neurons modulate complex behaviour like voluntary movement, and are differentially affected in Parkinson’s and other diseases. DLAP allows the analysis of large cell numbers from different species, and facilitates the identification of small cellular subpopulations, based on differential mRNA- or protein-expression, and anatomical location. Using DLAP, we identified a small subpopulation of dopaminergic midbrain neurons (~5%), mainly located in the very lateral Substantia nigra (SN), that was immunofluorescence-negative for the plasmalemma dopamine transporter (DAT), with ~30% smaller cell-bodies, and a ~4-fold higher likelihood of calbindin-d28k co-expression. These results have important implications, as DAT is crucial for dopamine-signalling, and its expression is commonly used as marker for dopaminergic SN neurons.
Long-term effective remediation of black-odorous water via regulating calcium nitrate sustained-release
Authors: Wan Rui , Zha Yunyi , Wu Mengqi , Li Xiaoxiao , Yang Haifeng , Liu Hongming
Published: February 2023

Nitrate addition was reported as the cost-effective method for remediating black-odorous water, which was induced by the deficiency of electron acceptors. However, the excessive release of nitrate and nitrite and lack of long-term effectiveness caused by directly dosing nitrate method significantly limited its application. Herein, we constructed a nitrate sustained-release ecoN-concrete, in which calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) was dosed in the concrete revetment, to remediate black-odorous water. Identically, chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, ammonia, phosphates, and sulfate were significantly removed after loading black-odorous water into an ecoN-concrete-contained reactor, and its removal efficiency was largely dependent on Ca(NO3)2 dosage. Meanwhile, the released nitrate was only accounted for 25% of the total dosage and nitrite was lower than 1.5 mg/L via 14 days cultivation. After three recycles, the removal efficiencies of COD and turbidity by ecoN-concrete were still higher than 85% indicating this concrete was good at nitrate sustainable release and controlling water re-blackening and re-stinking in suit. Further investigation illustrated that the ecoN-concrete (1) decreased the abundance of Desulfovibrio, Desulfomonile, and Desulforhabdus in the phylum of Desulfobacterota to alleviate the odorous gases production, (2) significantly increased the abundance of Bacillus and Thermomonas, which utilized the released-nitrate to consume organic matters and ammonia. This study provided an artful Ca(NO3)2 dosing strategy and long-term effective method for black-odorous water remediation.
Systematic Analysis of Levels of Evidence Supporting American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Pattern Guidelines, 2012-2021
Authors: Song Ailin , Lusk Jay B. , Kuo Anthony N. , Muir Kelly W. , Stinnett Sandra S. , Borkar Durga S.
Published: February 2023

Background
Despite the increased emphasis on evidence-based medicine, the current state of evidence behind ophthalmology clinical practice guidelines is unknown. The purpose of this systematic analysis was to understand the levels of evidence (LOE) supporting American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Preferred Practice Pattern (PPP) guidelines, assess changes over time, and compare LOE across ophthalmology subspecialties.
Methods
All current PPP guidelines and their immediate predecessors were comprehensively reviewed to identify all recommendations with LOE provided (I [randomized controlled trials], II [case-control or cohort studies], and III [nonanalytic studies]).
Results
Twenty-three out of 24 current PPPs had a prior edition. Among the PPPs with a prior edition, the number of recommendations with LOE decreased from 1254 in prior PPPs to 94 in current PPPs. The number of recommendations with LOE I decreased from 114 to 83, LOE II decreased from 147 to 2, and LOE III decreased from 993 to 9. However, the proportion of LOE I recommendations increased from 9–88%, driven by a disproportionate decrease in reporting of evidence lower than LOE I. Subgroup analysis by subspecialty showed similar trends (LOE I recommendations in prior PPPs vs current PPPs: retina: 57 [12%] vs 19 [100%]; cornea: 33 [17%] vs 24 [100%]; glaucoma: 9 [23%] vs 17 [100%]; cataract: 13 [17%] vs 18 [100%]).
Conclusions
Trends in LOE reporting in PPP guidelines indicate an increasing emphasis on evidence from randomized controlled trials from 2012 to 2021. The decline in the number of recommendations with LOE reported suggests an area for improvement in future guidelines as the presence of LOE is crucial to facilitate interpretation of clinical practice guidelines.
Causes of sudden death in a young (<40 years-old) South European population: a postmortem study
Authors: Carrington Mafalda , de Gouveia Rosa Henriques Henriques , Teixeira Rogério , Corte-Real Francisco , Gonçalves Lino , Providencia Rui
Published: February 2023

Aims
To describe the annual incidence and the leading causes of sudden non-cardiac and cardiac death (SCD) in children and young adult Portuguese population.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed autopsy of sudden unexpected deaths reports from the Portuguese National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences’ database, between 2012 and 2016, for the central region of Portugal, Azores and Madeira (ages 1–40: 26% of the total population).
Results
During a 5-year period, 159 SD were identified, corresponding to an annual incidence of 2,4 (95%confidence interval, 1,5 − 3,6) per 100.000 people-years. Victims had a mean age of 32 ± 7 years-old, and 72,3% were male. There were 70,4% cardiac, 16,4% respiratory and 7,5% neurologic causes of SD. The most frequent cardiac histopathological diagnosis was atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) (33,0%). There were 15,2% victims with left ventricular hypertrophy, with a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy only possible in 2,7%. The prevalence of cardiac pathological findings of uncertain significance was 30,4%.
Conclusions
The annual incidence of SD was low. Atherosclerotic CAD was diagnosed in 33,0% victims, suggesting the need to intensify primary prevention measures in the young. The high prevalence of pathological findings of uncertain significance emphasizes the importance of molecular autopsy and screening of first-degree relatives.
The prognostic role of coagulation markers in the progression and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Huang Qiongling , Chen Jing , Huang Yanjun , Xiong Yu , Zhou Jiao , Zhang Yizheng , Lu Ming , Hu Weipeng , Zheng Feng , Zheng Chaohui
Published: February 2023

Background
This study explored the prognostic role of coagulation markers in the progression and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).
Methods
Coagulation markers of patients with LSCC receiving surgery in our institute from January 2013 to May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed and compared with those of contemporary patients with benign laryngeal diseases. The prognostic value in the progression and metastasis of LSCC was determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The relationship between clinicopathological features of LSCC and coagulation parameters was analyzed with the chi-square and rank sum tests.
Results
303 patients with LSCC and 533 patients with benign laryngeal diseases were included in the present analysis. Compared to the control group, prothrombin time (PT) (p < 0.001), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) (p = 0.001), and Fib (p < 0.001) in patients with LSCC were significantly higher, while mean platelet volume (MPV) (p < 0.001) was significantly shorter. Significant increases were detected in PT (Z = 14.342, p = 0.002), Fib (Z = 25.985, p < 0.001), platelet count (PC) (Z = 12.768, p = 0.005), PCT (Z = 9.178, p = 0.027), MPV (F = 2.948, p = 0.033) in T4 stage. Fib (Z = 25.832, p < 0.001), PC (Z = 23.842, p < 0.001), and PCT (Z = 20.15, p < 0.001) in N1 and N3 stages were significantly higher than in N0 stage. PT (Z = 12.174, p = 0.007), Fib (Z = 23.873, p < 0.001), PC (Z = 17.785, p < 0.001), and PCT (Z = 14.693, p = 0.002) were significantly higher in stage IV than in stage I and II. APTT (Z=-1.983, p = 0.047), Fib (Z=-2.68, p = 0.007), PC (Z=-2.723, p = 0.006), and PCT (Z=-2.592, p = 0.01) increased significantly when the tumor invaded neurovascular tissue.
Conclusions
Coagulation markers have the potential to act as biomarkers for predicting pathological features of LSCC. The high level of Fib was helpful for the diagnosis of LSCC and the detection of advanced LSCC.
Elevation in white blood cell count and development of hyper LDL cholesterolemia: a retrospective observational study
Authors: Okutsu Shota , Kato Yoshifumi , Takeoka Hiroaki , Funakoshi Shunsuke , Maeda Toshiki , Yoshimura Chikara , Kawazoe Miki , Satoh Atsushi , Tada Kazuhiro , Takahashi Koji , Ito Kenji , Yasuno Tetsuhiko , Fujii Hideyuki , Mukoubara Shigeaki , Saku Keijiro , Kodama Shohta , Kawanami Daiji , Masutani Kosuke , Arima Hisatomi , Nabeshima Shigeki
Published: February 2023

Purpose : We investigated the association between white blood cell (WBC) count and future development of hyper- low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterolemia in general Japanese population.
Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study using data of annual health examinations for residents of Iki City, Japan. Participants and Intervention : A total of 3312 participants (aged ≥30 years), who did not have hyper-LDL cholesterolemia at baseline, were registered for the present analysis. Primary outcome was incidence of hyper-LDL cholesterolemia (LDL cholesterol levels of ≥3.62 mmol /L and/or use of lipid lowering drugs).
Results: During an averate follow-up of 4.6 years, development of hyper-LDL cholesterolemia was observed among 698 participants (incidence 46.8 per 1,000 person-years). The incidence of hyper-LDL cholesterolemia increased with elevation of leukocyte count (1st quartile group : 38.5, 2nd quartile group : 47.7, 3rd quartile group : 47.3, and 4th quartile group : 52.4 per 1,000 person-years, P for trend = 0.012). Statistically significant associations were also observed after adjusting for age, gender, smoking, alcohol intake, leisure-time exercise, obesity, hypertension and diabetes: hazard ratio 1.24 (95% confidence interval 0.99 to 1.54) for 2nd quartile group, 1.29 (1.03 to 1.62) for 3rd quartile group and 1.39 (1.10-1.75) for 4th quartile group, compared with 1st quartile group (P for trend = 0.006).
Conclusion : Increased WBC count was related to incidence of hyper-LDL cholesterolemia in general Japanese population.
Clinical characteristics and outcome of COVID-19 patients with non cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis
Authors: Mohamed-Hussein Aliae , Shaddad Ahmad , Hashem Maiada , Okasha Maha
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Non cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis is an uncommon respiratory disease and was described as a rare imaging feature of COVID-19 infection, but no published studies are reporting the clinical course and outcome of coexisting COVID-19 and confirmed cases of bronchiectasis during acute stage. The aim of this study was to assess the course and outcome of COVID-19 infection in bronchiectasis patient.
Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study including 411 COVID-19 confirmed cases that were examined by high resolution computed tomography of the chest during acute phase (4 weeks) of the infection. They were divided into Group A: COVID-19 patients without bronchiectasis (n=400) and Group B included COVID-19 patients with preexisting clinical and radiologic evidence of bronchiectasis (n=11).
Results: Patients with preexisting chronic bronchiectasis (Grup B) had significantly higher cough score, frequency of colored sputum and mMRC score, respiratory distress (p< 0.001) and respiratory failure (p= 0.02) than those without bronchiectasis. They also had the higher frequency of ICU’s admission (p< 0.001), need to non-invasive (p= 0.01), and invasive mechanical ventilation (p= <0.001), duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU’s stay and overall hospital stay (p<0.001). Death rate was also statistically significantly higher in Group B compared to Group A (p= 0.04).
Conclusion: Concomitant bronchiectasis increases disease burden in COVID-19 patients. It increased the severity of presenting symptoms and was associated with worse clinical outcome (ICU admission, need for ventilator support) and mortality.
Transformer-based Deep Learning Empowers the Discovery of Self-Assembling Peptides with over Ten Trillion Sequence Quantities
Authors: Wang Jiaqi , Liu Zihan , Zhao Shuang , Xu Tengyan , Wang Huaimin , Li Stan , Li Wenbin
Published: February 2023

Self-assembling of peptides is essential for a variety of biological and medical applications. However, it is challenging to investigate the self-assembling properties of peptides within the complete sequence space due to the enormous sequence quantities. Here, we demonstrate that a Transformer-based deep learning model is effective in predicting the aggregation propensity (AP) of peptide systems, even for decapeptide and mixed pentapeptide systems with over ten trillion sequence quantities. Based on the predicted AP values, we are not only able to derive the aggregation laws for designing self-assembling peptides, but also reveal the transferability relation among the AP's of pentapeptides, decapeptides, and mixed pentapeptides, leading to discoveries of self-assembling peptides by concatenating or mixing, as consolidated by experiments. Our deep learning approach enables speedy, accurate, and thorough search and design of self-assembling peptides with the complete sequence space of oligopeptides, advancing peptide science by inspiring new biological and medical applications.
Estimating current and future range shifts of exotic species as a tool for protected-area threat assessment in Chile
Authors: Lira Erick , Núñez-Hidalgo Ignacio , Vásquez Alexis E. , Alaniz Alberto J , Carvajal Mario A , Vergara Pablo M
Published: February 2023

Although protected areas (PAs) are considered fundamental to the conservation of nature, exotic species (ES) impose challenges on their role as biodiversity reservoirs, especially under climate change scenarios. In this regard, PAs of temperate & non-tropical countries of the Southern Hemisphere, like Chile, may be particularly vulnerable to ES due to the high endemism plus the expense due to control programs of exotic species and of the environmental conditions suitable for them. Here, we evaluated how vulnerable PAs are to the exposure of some of the “100 of The World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species”, which include animals and plants introduced in Chile, by combining climate change scenarios and ecological niche modeling. We projected the niche requirement of these exotic species on two alternative emission scenarios with varying levels of mitigation by 2050. We found that the central-southern and southern macro-regions are the most susceptible to be invaded in mainland Chile, with the occurrence of at least 80% of evaluated species. National Reserves (homologated with category IV IUCN) of the central and southern regions were the PAs most exposed sites to the spread of the evaluated species under climate change scenarios. These findings provide helpful evidence of the vulnerability of Chilean PAs and important insights into the need for urgent management intended to avoid future climate change-induced establishment of exotic species.
Adapting Tools of Causality to Analyze the Obesity Paradox
Authors: Mitra Prasenjit , Zhang Xinyuan (Cindy) , Heaton Connor
Published: February 2023

The prevailing sentiment in the general population is that a Body Mass Index (BMI) above desired levels leads to less than optimal health outcomes and increased likelihood of death. Recent medical studies, however, have found evidence that the opposite is true for a certain subset of the population, particularly those with a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). These studies found that individuals with a BMI slightly above desired experience more optimal health outcomes compared to those with a BMI in the \textit{desired} range - a phenomenon known as the ``obesity paradox.'' However, these studies have primarily been performed using classical tools of probability and statistics. In this study, we apply tools appropriated from causal inference, with some loosened restrictions, to the age >= 65 population of the Kailuan dataset, a longitudinal dataset tracking almost 15,000 patients, 10,005 of which have a history of CVD , 4,641 have a BMI slightly above desired, 5,863 have a BMI in the desired range, and 317 a BMI slightly below desired. We ultimately find some evidence of the obesity paradox in this dataset.
Human health risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in vegetables irrigated with wastewater from an urban market drain in Zaria, Nigeria
Authors: Tanimu Yahuza , Lawal Khadijah , Ahmed Bilkisu
Published: February 2023

The use of wastewater for the irrigation of vegetables is on the increase because of its richness in nutrients and it reduces the pressure on available freshwater resources. Untreated wastewater may, however, be a source of contamination of the vegetables by potentially toxic elements, which may, in turn, constitute a health risk to consumers. Samples of seven vegetables: cabbage, onion bulbs, bitter leaf, jute mallow, spinach, tomato, and lettuce irrigated with wastewater were collected and analysed for potentially toxic elements using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence. The Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and Health Index (HI) were determined based on the estimated daily metal intake of Cd, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe Mg, and Mn through the consumption of these vegetables. Cancer Risk was assessed for Cd, Ni, and Pb. Except for Mg, for which no guideline value was found for vegetables, the concentration of Cu in cabbage and Mn in tomato were found to be within the permissible limit, whereas Cd, Ni, Pb Zn, and Fe were found to be above the permissible limits of the FAO/WHO in all the vegetables. The Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) shows that adult consumers of all seven vegetables are at risk of non-carcinogenic toxicity of Cd, Ni, and Pb, while in children, the risk extends to Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn (with tomato as the only exception for Mn). The Health Index being greater than 1in all vegetables means there is a non-carcinogenic risk health risk associated with the consumption of all vegetables by children and adults. The Target cancer Risk shows that adults are exposed to cancer risk from the consumption of all the vegetables due to Ni and Cd contamination (except onion for cadmium), while in children, the risk extends to Pb (except for onion). The consumption of vegetables irrigated with untreated wastewater from the Sabon Gari market drain is an exposure route to potentially toxic elements such as Cd, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn, with resultant non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks. These health risks were found to be higher in children.
The Poisson distribution model fits UMI-based single-cell RNA-sequencing data
Authors: Pan Yue , Landis Justin T. , Moorad Razia , Wu Di , Marron J.S. , Dittmer Dirk P.
Published: February 2023

Background: Modeling of single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data remains challenging due to a high percentage of zeros and data heterogeneity, so improved modeling has strong potential to benefit many downstream data analyses. The existing zero-inflated or over-dispersed models are based on aggregations at either the gene or the cell level. However, they typically lose accuracy due to a too crude aggregation at those two levels.
Results: We avoid the crude approximations entailed by such aggregation through proposing an Independent Poisson Distribution (IPD) particularly at each individual entry in the scRNA-seq data matrix. This approach naturally and intuitively models the large number of zeros as matrix entries with a very small Poisson parameter. The critical challenge of cell clustering is approached via a novel data representation as Departures from a simple homogeneous IPD (DIPD) to capture the per-gene-per-cell intrinsic heterogeneity generated by cell clusters. Our experiments using real data and crafted experiments show that using DIPD as a data representation for scRNA-seq data can uncover novel cell subtypes that are missed or can only be found by careful parameter tuning using conventional methods.
Conclusions: This new method has multiple advantages, including (1) no needfor prior feature selection or manual optimization of hyperparameters; (2) flexibility to combine with and improve upon other methods, such as Seurat. Another novel contribution is the use of crafted experiments as part of the validation of our newly developed DIPD-based clustering pipeline. This new clustering pipeline is implemented in the R (CRAN) package scpoisson.
A Combined U-Net and Multi-Class Support Vector Machine Learning Models for Diabetic Retinopathy Macula Edema Segmentation and Classification DME
Authors: udayaraju pamula , Jeyanthi P. , Raju Bh V S Ramakrishnam , Rajasri T. , Ramadevi N.
Published: February 2023

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the major eye problems caused by defects in the blood vessels that occur in retinal tissues. Uncontrolled blood sugar makes diabetic retinopathy. Majority of the diabetic patients are affected by Macula Edema problems which makes vision loss. Diabetic Macula Edema can be identified at its earlier stage by floaters, dark areas, and blur in the vision. Earlier stages of the DME can be treated and saved from vision loss. The flow or deposit of the blood make swelling in the macula and it makes a serious complication called DME. Ophthalmologists used various computer methods to diagnose fundus images to identify macular Edema and its stages, but the accuracy of the DME detection and classification using fundus images with traditional methods is less. This problem is considered as a major problem and most medical and healthcare experts are trying to provide a better solution with high accuracy. This paper has aimed to develop a combination of the U-Net model with the Multi-Class Support Vector Machine for segmenting and classifying OCT images. The experimental results show that the proposed U-Net-MSVM provides high accuracy in terms of classification. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated by comparing its result with earlier methods.
Well-being in patients with breast cancer and healthy women: The role of expected and actual support for personal projects
Authors: Csuka Sára Imola , Désfalvi Judit , Thege Barna Konkolÿ , Sallay Viola , Martos Tamás
Published: February 2023

Background
For breast cancer patients, the partner’s support for personal projects can serve as a means of adaptation. We aimed to investigate the associations between the intimate partner’s personal project support and women’s well-being.
Methods
A sample of 274 Hungarian women (breast cancer patients n = 137, control = 137) took part in the study. Expected and actually received autonomy-, and directive- and emotional project support was assessed by the procedure of Personal Project Assessment. Well-being was measured by the Relationship Assessment Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. For investigating the associations between project support and well-being in a multivariate way, structural equation modelling was used.
Results
Except for autonomy support, participants expected more support than they received. A path model indicated multiple associations between types of project support and relationship satisfaction and self-esteem. The partner’s emotional project support was predictive of women’s relationship satisfaction and self-esteem, while directive support was predictive of self-esteem. The associations showed similar patterns in the subgroups of patients with breast cancer and control.
Conclusions
Our results highlight the importance of involving women’s subjective perspectives regarding the partner’s project support and have important practical implications for rehabilitation interventions.
Utilization of different radionuclides for high-energy extended efficiency calibration of HPGe for improved determination of calcium and sulfur using k0-INAA
Authors: Soliman Mohamed Ali , Mindil Ahmed , Takamiya Koichi
Published: February 2023

The present study reports on the performance of three reactor-produced radionuclides (24Na, 56Mn, and 72Ga) and one accelerator-produced radionuclide (56Co) for extending the full energy peak efficiency calibration of a coaxial HPGe detector up to ~3100 keV at different detector to source distance. The differences in the efficiency curves obtained with and without the use of high-energy gamma emitters radionuclides have a considerable impact on the accuracy of Na, Ca, and S determination by the k0-INAA as evidenced by analysis results of reference materials. The results revealed that the use of 24Na is the most suitable radionuclide for high-energy efficiency calibration due to its reasonable availability, low production cost, simple decay scheme, and well-defined decay properties.
The Mechanism and Performance of Rock Breakage by Undercutting Disc Cutter with Advanced Slotting
Authors: Jiang Hongxiang , Zhang Xiaodi , Zhao Huihe , Liu Zenghui , Wang Yongxin
Published: February 2023

To study the mechanism and performance of rock breakage by an undercutting disc cutter with advanced slotting, a three-dimensional numerical model of rock cutting by a disc cutter with advanced slotting assistance was established based on the discrete element method. The parallel bond constitutive model was selected to describe the micromechanical properties of rock. The correctness of the established numerical model is verified through rock breakage experiments, and the rock cutting process by the disc cutter was analyzed by a combination of the force chain and crack distribution. The influencing factors, such as advanced slotting depth, cutting thickness, rock strength, and cutter rotation speed, on rock cutting performance were investigated. The results show that a compact zone is gradually formed between the rock and disc cutter at the beginning, then a large number of microscopic tensile and shear cracks in the compact zone due to micro failure of rock are formed; the subsequent main rock fragment is mainly caused by tensile failure; advanced slotting can reduce the rock bearing capacity and bending resistance, the rock above the advanced slotting fractured easily due to its lower bending resistance, and the volume compact zone is relatively small. When the advanced slotting depth is equal to 12.5 mm, the propulsive force and specific energy consumption of rock cutting by the disc cutter are reduced by 61.6% and 16.5%, respectively. The propulsive force and specific energy consumption increase as the rock strength increases, but they tend to close when the rock strength is greater than 80 MPa, which indicates that advanced slotting assistance is more suitable for hard rock.
N_ResNet: A Real-Time Traffic Light Recognition Network Using Object Detection
Authors: ZENG SHENGKUN , WANG RAN , LI MENGSHAN , GUAN LIXIN
Published: February 2023

Traffic light recognition is a critical requirement in autonomous driving. Incorrect recognition of traffic lights may lead to serious traffic accidents. Traditional traffic light recognition methods are categorized into model-based methods, semantic-segmentation-based methods, and object-detection-based methods. Model-based methods are strongly influenced by the lighting and environment. Although semantic-segmentation-based methods can detect traffic lights well, their time cost is high. Object-detection-based methods can satisfy the requirements of real-time traffic light recognition in terms of performance and time. This study proposes a real-time traffic light recognition algorithm that first extracts traffic lights from images using the YOLOv5s object detection algorithm based on the N_ResNet network and then classifies the state of the extracted traffic light images using the SVM classifier. To address the inconsistent size of traffic lights in real scenes and the large number of medium-size traffic lights, this study proposes a new network structure called N_ResNet. N_ResNet can effectively detect traffic lights of different sizes, especially those of medium size. It is similar to the three-layer ResNet network structure; the main difference is that the size of the convolutional kernel of the first convolutional layer is 3. We apply N_ResNet to the YOLOv5s object detection algorithm for traffic light detection. The results show that the proposed network achieves a significant improvement in the recall compared to DarkNet. The overall recall is improved by 2.66%, including 0.47% for traffic lights in the daytime and 11.32% for traffic lights in the nighttime. In addition, the accuracy of the SVM classifier reaches 92.2%.
Functional Analysis of Reproductive Hormone Profile Estimation, Semen Parameters and Y Chromosome Microdeletion in Male Infertility
Authors: Nacarkahya Gulper , Horozoglu Cem , Koroglu Pınar , Baturu Muharrem , Ozturk Mehmet
Published: February 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Pattern and Outcome of Abdominal Injury Patients Admitted in AaBET Hosital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2020/2021
Authors: Muche Matebe , Kebede Sofia , Michael Mebrat , Andualem Habtamu , Dessie Zelalem
Published: February 2023

Background

Abdominal trauma is a major public health problem for all nations and all socioeconomic strata and associated with high morbidity and mortality in the world. Abdominal injury is classified as blunt and penetrating trauma. The main problems for inadequate treatment outcome are misdiagnosis and delayed arrival of patients to health institutions.

Objective

The aim of this study was to assess the pattern and outcome of abdominal trauma in AaBET hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from March 2021 to April 2021. Method: Institutional based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among abdominal trauma patients admitted in AaBET hospital emergency department from January 2018 to January 2021. Data was collected using a pre-tested structured checklist from patient`s chart review. The data was checked for its’ completeness and entered into Epi data version 3.1 then exported to SPSS version 25 software for analysis. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to describe frequency distribution and associations between independent variables respectively.

Result

Penetrating abdominal injury 58.9% was the greatest proportion of mechanism of abdominal injury. Stab injury 40(55.56%) was the major cause of penetrating injury. Road traffic accident 24(47.1%) was the commonest cause of blunt abdominal trauma. Bowel 41(62.1%) was the highly injured hollow viscous organ in penetrating abdominal trauma and liver 7(38.9%) was the commonest injured solid organ in blunt abdominal trauma.

Conclusion

Among 124 abdominally injured patient 10(8.1%) died. GCS < 9, post-operative hemodynamic complication, past medical history of illness and bowel evisceration were significantly associated with mortality.