bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sulfamethizole Attenuates Pentylenetetrazole‐Induced Seizures in Mice via mTOR Inhibition
Authors: Kambli Lazari , Raut Dezaree , Bhatt Lokesh Kumar 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTEpilepsy affects at least 1% of the global population of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Data obtained from previous studies suggest the role of mTOR signaling in epileptogenesis. The present study aimed to investigate the hypothesis that mTOR inhibitor sulfamethizole might produce antiepileptic effects in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)‐induced kindling seizures in mice. For induction of kindling, mice were administered 40 mg/kg PTZ on alternate days for 13 days. The severity of kindling was analyzed using a seizure intensity score. Rotarod performance, actophotometer, and chimney tests were performed to check muscle coordination and locomotor functions. mTOR and IL‐6 levels were measured in the brain homogenate. Histological analyses were done using hematoxylin–eosin and cresyl violet stains. Sulfamethizole was administered daily at 10 and 50 mg/kg doses. PTZ administration resulted in kindling seizures in the PTZ‐veh group. In addition, mice from the PTZ‐veh group showed decreased fall time in rotarod performance, reduced locomotor activity, and failed chimney tests. mTOR and IL‐6 levels were also increased in the brain, along with neuronal degeneration and a decreased layer of neuronal cells in the hippocampus. Treatment with sulfamethizole at 50 mg/kg significantly ameliorated seizure intensity score, seizure latency and duration, muscle coordination, and locomotor functions compared to the PTZ‐veh group. It also downregulated brain mTOR and IL‐6 expression significantly. In conclusion, sulfamethizole showed antiepileptic activity against PTZ‐induced kindling seizure in mice via mTOR inhibition.
Toward a Unified, Inclusive, and Standardized Approach for Assessing Help‐Seeking Behavior in Eating Disorder Populations: A Commentary on Ali et al. (2024)
Authors: Nicula Maria , Couturier Jennifer 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTAli et al. (2024) found that help‐seeking rates remain low among individuals meeting the diagnostic criteria for eating disorders (EDs). Their review highlighted variability in definitions of help‐seeking and a lack of adequate representation of marginalized groups across the included studies. Building on these findings, this commentary offers four recommendations to guide future researchers toward a more unified and inclusive approach when studying help‐seeking patterns in ED populations by: (1) capturing alternative and indirect forms of help‐seeking by engaging partners with lived experience of EDs; (2) prioritizing the inclusion of marginalized groups in the pursuit of understanding diverse help‐seeking behaviors; (3) establishing a consensus on standardized measures of help‐seeking within the research community; and (4) simultaneously collecting data regarding the receipt of help and treatment when conducting help‐seeking research. These recommendations aim to expand upon the authors' work by proposing new ways for researchers to more accurately capture where individuals are seeking help for their ED concerns, which is an essential step in ensuring that accessible care is available to meet their needs.
Thermoelectric performance enhancement of environmentally‐friendly SrTiO3 epitaxial films by hydrogen substitution
Authors: Kimura Masatoshi , Ochiai Masahiro , He Xinyi , Katase Takayoshi , Hiramatsu Hidenori , Hosono Hideo , Kamiya Toshio 
Published: December 2024

AbstractDeveloping high‐efficiency and environmentally‐friendly thermoelectric materials has been a significant challenge. Conventional thermometric materials consist of heavy (toxic) elements to reduce thermal conductivity (κ), while we demonstrated light‐element hydride anion (H−) substitution in SrTiO3 can largely reduce κ and enhance thermometric efficiency (ZT) without heavy elements. In this paper, we succeeded in maximizing the ZT of SrTiO3−xHx by applying topochemical reaction directly to SrTiO3 epitaxial films with CaH2, which realized wide‐range control of carrier concentration (ne) from 1.5 × 1020 cm−3 to 4.1 × 1021 cm−3. The power factor (PF) showed a dome‐shaped behavior with respect to ne, and the maximum PF = 22.5 μW/(cmK2) was obtained at the optimal ne = 3.4 × 1020 cm−3. Carrier transport analyses clarified that the carrier mobility was limited by impurity scattering of H‐related impurities in the SrTiO3−xHx films, while the hydrogen substitution induced a much lower κ of 4.6 W/(mK) than other heavy‐element substituted Sr1−xLaxTiO3 and SrTi1−xNbxO3 films in the wide ne range, resulting in the higher ZT value of 0.14 in maximum at room temperature. In addition, the ZT increased to 0.17 at 373 K due to the large decrease in κ for a SrTiO3−xHx film with the hydrogen concentration of 1.2 × 1021 cm−3. Further study on H− substitution approach and modulation of the H state in transition metal oxides would lead to development of high ZT environmentally‐friendly thermoelectric materials.
Ammonium oxidation by bacteria and archaea have functional implications for nitrification across a forested landscape
Authors: Wen Jennifer , Upchurch Rima , Zak Donald R. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractAmmonia‐oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB) control nitrification in terrestrial systems. Soil pH and substrate availability (NH4+) can influence community composition, which may affect the contributions of these organisms to nitrification in forest soils. Using high‐throughput sequencing, we identified the amoA of AOA and AOB from northern forest stands that occur across a natural gradient of nitrification, soil pH, and net N mineralization (i.e., NH4+ availability). Specifically, we investigated changes in relative abundance and community composition of AOA and AOB across a soil pH and net N mineralization gradient, and how turnover in community composition is linked to nitrification. We found that soil pH was a stronger driver of AOA and AOB relative abundance than was NH4+ availability. Generally, AOA and AOB turnover were positively associated with soil pH; however, some AOA taxa also displayed a negative association. Interestingly, the relative abundance of only a small number of AOA and AOB taxa was significantly associated with net nitrification rates. Our findings reveal that coexisting taxonomical groups of ammonia‐oxidizers in forest soils have diverse responses to environmental factors, which influence how ammonia‐oxidizer communities are structured, likely having direct implications for nitrification and the regulation of N cycling in forest systems.
Experimental study on the load‐carrying capacity of steel‐mesh‐reinforced rubber bearings under axial compression
Authors: Li Han , Tian Shengze , Shahria Alam M. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractIsolation bearings play an important role in the seismic resilience of highway bridges. Flexible and high‐strength reinforcement has been applied in elastomeric isolation bearings to substitute conventional rigid steel plate reinforcement to enhance their lateral performance, for example, lower lateral stiffness and larger deformability. However, the main literature shows that existing flexible reinforcement, such as carbon/glass fiber fabric, may not guarantee a sufficient vertical load‐carrying capacity of elastomeric bearings to meet the design requirement of 30 MPa considering the vertical seismic effect. To this end, the emerging high‐strength steel woven wire mesh was introduced as an alternative flexible reinforcement for the bearings in this study to increase their ultimate compression capacity while maintaining superior lateral performance. Vertical compression tests were conducted on 34 specimens of the proposed unbonded steel‐mesh‐reinforced bearings (USRBs) to investigate the ultimate compression capacity. In addition to the general ultimate behavior of USRBs under vertical loading, the influence of various design parameters (i.e., individual rubber layer thickness, number of reinforcement layers, bearing design load) was investigated through comparisons among the specimens. From the test results, the compressive failure mechanism of USRBs was unveiled, which originated from the tensile failure of the steel mesh reinforcement. The steel mesh reinforcement was proved to increase the bearing ultimate compression capacity to an average of 52.0 MPa compared to fiber‐reinforced bearings, with 85% of specimens exceeding 30 MPa. Moreover, the compression capacity of USRBs was identified to be significantly affected by the individual rubber layer thickness. Specific discussions were further provided concerning the influence of potential manufacturing defects. Finally, suggestions were provided to further enhance the ultimate compression capacity of USRBs based on the results and discussions.
Construction of Dibenzo[a,c]Carbazoles through Oxidative Diels‐Alder Reaction of 2‐Phenyl‐1H‐Indoles and Benzynes
Authors: Xu Xinlu , Wang Yanqiao , Xu Weijie , Wei Qi , Ruan Xin , Zhang Xiaofeng , Huang Qiufeng 
Published: December 2024

AbstractWe present here a convenient synthesis of the dibenzo[a,c]carbazoles via oxidative [4+2] Diels‐Alder cycloaddition of 2‐phenyl‐1H‐indoles with benzynes. The features of this protocol include the use of readily available raw materials, molecular oxygen as the oxidant, it being free of transition‐metal‐catalyst, and convenient method for the preparation of π‐extended dibenzo[a,c]carbazoles.
Ictal semiology in temporo‐frontal epilepsy: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Oane Irina , Barborica Andrei , Mîndruţă Ioana 
Published: December 2024

AbstractWe performed a systematic review of the ictal semiology of temporo‐frontal seizures with the aim to summarize the state‐of‐the‐art anatomo‐clinical correlations in the field, and help guide the interpretation of ictal semiology within the framework of presurgical evaluation. We conducted the systematic review and meta‐analysis, and reported its results according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis statement. We searched electronic databases (Scopus, PUBMED, Web of Science, and EMBASE) using relevant keywords related to temporal, frontal and sublobar structures, semiology, and electroencephalography/stereoelectroencephalography exploration. The risk of bias was evaluated using the QUADAS2. We included articles in English, reporting the seizure semiology of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy with temporal‐frontal involvement and patients with frontal lobe epilepsy and fronto‐temporal network involved. We performed hierarchical cluster analysis to determine signs and symptoms associated with the temporo‐frontal epileptogenic network for all patients and for each subgroup (frontal/temporal seizure onset). Fisher exact test was performed to evaluate the difference in seizure freedom and clinical sign/symptom occurrence in patients that underwent unilobar versus bilobar resection. Meta‐analysis on the prevalence of temporo‐frontal/fronto‐temporal involvement applying a random‐effect model was used. We included 40 articles and we extracted data from 109 patients. The meta‐analysis showed the total prevalence of temporo‐frontal/fronto‐temporal network involvement was 19.75%, CI 12.02–27.47, high heterogeneity (82.71%). For the whole group and subgroups, the main cluster of clinical manifestations is emotional, autonomic, cognitive, grimace, hyperkinetic (association coefficient higher than .6). Elementary motor semiology is significantly associated with multilobar resection (p = .022 whole group and p = .0012 fronto‐temporal subgroup). Fifty‐eight patients were seizure‐free after surgery. There was no significant difference between seizure freedom in uni versus bilobar resections (p = .28). Seizures involving temporo‐frontal/fronto‐temporal network usually manifest with a cluster of signs and symptoms: emotional, autonomic, grimace, cognitive and hyperkinetic behavior. Based on semiology, one cannot distinguish between fronto‐temporal and temporo‐frontal cases at individual patient level. In those patients undergoing a surgical procedure, elementary motor seizure semiology is significantly associated with multilobar resection.
Preparation of Collagen Peptide Nanoliposomes From Sturgeon Fish Cartilage and Explore Their Anti‐Osteoarthritis Effects in Rats
Authors: Kung Chia‐Chi , Lin Mei‐Zhen , Chen Bing‐Huei 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTThis study aims to extract pepsin soluble collagen (PSC) from sturgeon cartilage, hydrolyze to sturgeon cartilage collagen peptides (SCCP), and prepare SCCP nanoliposomes to explore the treatment effects of osteoarthritis (OA) in rats. PSC was extracted using 0.5 M acetic acid and pepsin (10%) and enzymatically hydrolyzed with 4.5% alcalase plus 4.5% flavourzyme to obtain SCCP. Amino acid analysis revealed the presence of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline in high amounts, while SDS‐PAGE showed that the PSC belonged to type II collagen with molecular weight (MW) of SCCP being <2 kDa and MALDI‐TOF‐MS indicated the MW distribution to range from 302.594 to 683.050 Da with the peptide fragments <500 Da accounting for 89.71%. SCCP nanoliposomes composed of phosphatidylcholine, fatty acid sucrose ester, glycerol, and deionized water were prepared with size at 34.58 nm, polydispersity index at 0.19, zeta potential at ‐54.53 mV, and encapsulation efficiency at 88.14%. Tube feeding of SCCP/SCCP nanoliposomes into OA rats alleviated pain responses by joint damage through reduction in hind limb weight‐bearing difference, knee joint width difference, and levels of serum biomarkers including CTX‐II, TGF‐β1, PIICP, and COMP. Histopathologic images demonstrated the mitigation of joint damage symptoms in the tissue by reducing cartilage joint damage, inhibiting chondrocyte apoptosis, promoting chondrocyte regeneration, and reducing synovitis. Collectively, the high dose of SCCP nanoliposomes was the most effective in alleviating OA possessing a great potential to be developed into a health food or botanic drug for the treatment of joint‐related disease.
segcsvdWMH: A Convolutional Neural Network‐Based Tool for Quantifying White Matter Hyperintensities in Heterogeneous Patient Cohorts
Authors: Gibson Erin , Ramirez Joel , Woods Lauren Abby , Ottoy Julie , Berberian Stephanie , Scott Christopher J. M. , Yhap Vanessa , Gao Fuqiang , Coello Roberto Duarte , Valdes Hernandez Maria , Lang Anthony E. , Tartaglia Carmela M. , Kumar Sanjeev , Binns Malcolm A. , Bartha Robert , Symons Sean , Swartz Richard H. , Masellis Mario , Singh Navneet , Moody Alan , MacIntosh Bradley J. , Wardlaw Joanna M. , Black Sandra E. , Lim Andrew S. P. , Goubran Maged ,   ONDRI Investigators, ADNI, CAIN Investigators, colleagues from the Foundation Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTWhite matter hyperintensities (WMH) of presumed vascular origin are a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐based biomarker of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). WMH are associated with cognitive decline and increased risk of stroke and dementia, and are commonly observed in aging, vascular cognitive impairment, and neurodegenerative diseases. The reliable and rapid measurement of WMH in large‐scale multisite clinical studies with heterogeneous patient populations remains challenging, where the diversity of imaging characteristics across studies adds additional complexity to this task. We present segcsvdWMH, a convolutional neural network‐based tool developed to provide reliable and accurate WMH quantification across diverse clinical datasets. segcsvdWMH was developed using a large dataset consisting of over 700 fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery MRI scans from seven multisite studies, spanning a wide range of clinical populations, WMH burdens, and imaging protocols. Model training incorporated anatomical information through a novel hierarchical segmentation approach, together with extensive data augmentation techniques to improve performance across varied imaging conditions. Benchmarked against three widely available segmentation tools, segcsvdWMH demonstrated superior accuracy, achieving mean Dice score improvements of 7.8% ± 9.7% over HyperMapp3r, 21.8% ± 8.6% over SAMSEG, and 43.5% ± 7.1% over WMH‐SynthSeg across four diverse test datasets. segcsvdWMH also maintained consistently high Dice scores across these test datasets (mean DSC = 0.86 ± 0.08), and exhibited strong, stable correlations with periventricular, deep, and total WMH ground truth volumes (mean r = 0.99 ± 0.01). Additionally, segcsvdWMH was robust to low and moderate levels of simulated MRI spike noise artifacts and maintained strong performance across a range of binary segmentation thresholds and WMH burden levels. These findings suggest that segcsvdWMH may provide more accurate and robust WMH segmentation performance for heterogeneous clinical datasets characterized by varying degrees of CSVD severity.
The Anatomy of Context
Authors: Burwell Rebecca D. 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTFor most of my career, I focused on understanding how and where spatial context, the place where things happen, is represented in the brain. My interest in this began in the early 1990's, during my postdoctoral training with David Amaral, when we defined the rodent homolog of the primate parahippocampal cortex, a region implicated in processing spatial and contextual information. We parceled out the caudal portion of the rat perirhinal cortex (PER) and called it the postrhinal cortex (POR). In my own lab at Brown University, I continued to study the anatomy of the PER, POR, and entorhinal cortices. I also began to characterize and differentiate the functions of these regions, particularly the newly defined POR and the redefined PER. Our electrophysiological and behavioral evidence supports a view of POR function that aligns with our anatomical evidence. Briefly, the POR integrates object and feature information from the PER with spatial information from the retrosplenial, posterior parietal, and secondary visual cortices and the pulvinar and uses this information to represent specific environmental contexts, including the spatial arrangement of objects and features within each context. In addition to maintaining a representation of the current context, the POR plays an attentional role by continually monitoring the context for changes and updating the context representation when changes occur. This context representation is accessible to other regions for cognitive processes, including binding life events with context to form episodic memories, guiding context‐relevant behavior, and recognizing objects within scenes and contexts.
Assessing the Feasibility of a Novel Solar Still With Fins, Phase Change Materials, and Wick Materials for Sustainable Water Production
Authors: Mahala Trinath , Sharma Naveen 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTThis work aims to enhance the performance of square pyramid solar stills, both conventional (CPSS) and modified (MPSS), by using wick materials, namely, black cotton cloth and jute cloth. The MPSS features fins and paraffin wax as the phase change material within the basin. The performance of solar stills (SSs) is evaluated through productivity, energy, exergy, economic, and environmental analyses, with sustainability assessed based on the energy production factor and energy payback period. The results confirm an improvement of about 43.08%, 30.77%, 29.23%, 17.89%, and 6.15% in daily yield for MPSS+C, MPSS+J, MPSS, CPSS+C, and CPSS+J, respectively, in comparison to CPSS. MPSS+C shows the maximum energy and exergy improvement of 45.82% and 177.2%, respectively. Energy production factors range from 1.87 to 4.79, with energy payback periods between 0.21 and 0.53 years across six cases. Interestingly, the MPSS+C shows a reduction in cost per liter in productivity and payback period of 10.1% each, in comparison to CPSS. The MPSS+C shows an increase in carbon credits of about 43%, while reducing the CO2 emission of 3.27 tons. The results also proved that the productivity of SS using cotton is 12.31% higher than that of jute.
Impacts of Urbanization on the Riverine Flooding in Major Cities Across the Eastern United States
Authors: Amorim Renato , Villarini Gabriele 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTThe increase in the societal and economic impacts of flooding across the eastern United States has brought attention to the potential link between long‐term increases in urban areas and changes in the watersheds' flood response. One outstanding challenge is to isolate the effects of land cover changes from other flood‐related factors. To advance our understanding of these processes and their nexus, we utilise a statistical framework in which we use different parameterizations of the Generalised Pareto distribution (GPD) to model sub‐daily peak‐over‐threshold (POT) events at 102 stream gauges in the following metropolitan areas across the eastern United States: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, and Tampa. While we keep the shape parameter constant, we allow the scale parameter to: (1) be constant; (2) depend on hourly accumulated rainfall; or (3) be dependent on a combination of hourly accumulated rainfall and the temporal changes in the percentage of the watershed's developed land. Based on our modelling results, we select the model with the land change as a predictor in only 3% of the watersheds. Moreover, the model configuration in which rainfall is the only predictor is selected the most frequently (~80% of the sites) across the eight metropolitan regions. Therefore, our findings indicate that rainfall is the key flood driver in urban basins across the eastern United States considered in this study, without clear evidence linking long‐term changes of impervious area (i.e., urbanisation) and the watersheds' flood response.
Carbon Performance and Financial Performance: How R&D Makes a Difference Pre‐ and Post‐Paris Accord
Authors: Shahrour Mohamad H. , Rohani Alireza , Wojewodzki Michal , Tran Dung V. 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTThis study examines how R&D investments influence U.S. firms' abilities to align environmental initiatives with financial outcomes. It employs a sample of 229 firms listed on the S&P 500 between 2003 and 2021 and multivariate panel regression models with fixed effects to explore how R&D moderates the relationship between corporate carbon performance (CP) and financial performance (ROA). Findings reveal that a 1% increase in CP corresponds to a 0.429% increase in ROA. Moreover, R&D positively enhances this association, with each additional 1% R&D amplifying the CP's effect on financial performance by 0.154 units. However, following the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the moderating effect of R&D diminishes significantly. These results are robust to alternative analyses and emphasise the importance of stable climate policies for fostering green innovation. The study emphasises the important role of R&D to sustain long‐term competitive advantage in the face of evolving environmental regulations. It further suggests that firms can benefit from prioritising R&D, fostering innovation in green technologies and adapting to environmental regulations. This alignment of sustainability with profitability provides a competitive edge, promotes long‐term environmental goals and sets industry benchmarks, ultimately driving a more sustainable business landscape.