bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dexamethasone is a regulator of clock genes in testicular peritubular cells
Authors: Welter Harald , Kreitmair Nicole , Schneider Michaela , Schneider Julia , Petkov Stoyan , Stepanov Youli , Köhn Frank‐Michael , Pickl Ulrich , Trottmann Matthias , Fröhlich Thomas , Behr Rüdiger , Mayerhofer Artur 
Published: November 2024

AbstractBackgroundWe recently found that peritubular cells of the human testis are a dominant site of expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR; encoded by NR3C1). Activation of GR by dexamethasone (Dex) strongly influences the phenotype of cultured human testicular peritubular cells (HTPCs), causing massive changes of their proteome and secretome. As glucocorticoids (GC) are also known to set the internal clock of peripheral organs by regulating clock genes, we tested such an influence of Dex in HTPCs.MethodsWe performed cellular studies with HTPCs and immortalized nonhuman primate (Callithrix jacchus; Cj)‐derived peritubular cells, organotypic incubations of testicular fragments of Cj, qPCR and proteomic, as well as immunohistochemical studies.ResultsBasal clock gene expression levels, when monitored by qPCR under standard culture conditions, showed alterations over 24 h, suggesting an endogenous circadian rhythm, especially for BMAL1. Dex (1 µM) when added to cells, caused a strong and significant increase of PER1, followed by elevations of BMAL1, and other clock genes. This action was observed as early as 4 h after the addition of Dex. Immunohistochemistry and data mining revealed GR in testicular peritubular cells and other somatic cells of Cj, in situ. We therefore performed organotypic incubations of testicular fragments of Cj (n = 3) and found that upon addition of Dex (1 µM), mRNA levels of BMAL1 and PER1 also increased in samples of two out of three animals after 6 h. Mass spectrometry did, however, not reveal significant alterations of the testicular proteome, possibly due to the short time point and/or the fact that the somatic GR‐expressing cells represent only a small portion of the testis. In support for this assumption, Dex (1 µM; 6 h) significantly increased mRNA levels of BMAL1 and PER1 in Cj‐derived immortalized testicular peritubular cells.ConclusionThe results indicate that an internal clock system likely exists in peritubular cells of the testis and that Dex, via testicular GR expressed by peritubular cells and other somatic cells, is a strong regulator of this system. In a physiological situation, GC thus may be important regulators of the testicular clock, while in a situation of prolonged stress or GC‐medication, derangements in clock gene expression may result.
Urinary interferon‐γ‐induced protein‐10/creatinine ratio as a predictor of severe paediatric infections: A prospective pilot study
Authors: Chen Cheng‐Han , Liao Wan‐Ting , Cheng Chao‐Min , Chen Chih‐Chia , Liu Ching‐Chuan , Shen Ching‐Fen 
Published: November 2024

AbstractAimThis prospective pilot study evaluated urinary interferon‐γ‐induced protein‐10 (IP‐10)/creatinine and tumour necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL)/creatinine ratios as non‐invasive biomarkers for distinguishing bacterial from viral infections and assessing disease severity in febrile children.MethodsThe study involved 85 febrile children and 29 healthy controls, measuring urinary IP‐10/creatinine and TRAIL/creatinine ratios to determine their diagnostic utility.ResultsBoth ratios were significantly elevated in infected patients compared to controls. The IP‐10/creatinine ratio effectively assessed disease severity in the overall cohort and subgroups (AUC: 0.7324, 0.7192, 0.7277; p < 0.05). Serum C‐reactive protein showed limited discriminatory ability in viral infections (AUC = 0.5385, p = 0.7257). Differentiation between bacterial and viral infections using IP‐10/creatinine approached significance (p = 0.082). No significant differences in biomarker levels were observed across pathogens.ConclusionThe urinary IP‐10/creatinine ratio shows promise as a biomarker for assessing paediatric infection severity, particularly when traditional markers are less effective. Larger studies are needed to validate these results and improve its discriminatory accuracy in clinical practice.
Mobile stroke units services in Germany: A cost‐effectiveness modeling perspective on catchment zones, operating modes, and staffing
Authors: Rink Johann S. , Szabo Kristina , Hoyer Carolin , Saver Jeffrey L. , Nour May , Audebert Heinrich J. , Kunz Wolfgang G. , Froelich Matthias F. , Heinzl Armin , Tschalzev Andrej , Hoffmann Jens , Schoenberg Stefan O. , Tollens Fabian 
Published: November 2024

AbstractBackground and PurposeInvestigating the cost‐effectiveness of future mobile stroke unit (MSU) services with respect to local idiosyncrasies is essential for enabling large‐scale implementation of MSU services. The aim of this study was to assess the cost‐effectiveness for varying urban German settings and modes of operation.MethodsCosts of different operating times together with different personnel configurations were simulated. Different possible catchment zones, ischemic stroke incidence, circadian distribution, rates of alternative diagnoses, as well as missed cases were incorporated to model case coverage and patient numbers. Based on internationally reported clinical outcomes of MSUs, a 5‐year Markov model was applied to analyze the cost‐effectiveness for the different program setups.ResultsCompared with standard stroke care, MSUs achieved an additional 0.06 quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs) over a 5‐year time horizon. Assuming a catchment zone of 750,000 inhabitants and 8 h/7 day operation resulted in an incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio (ICER) of €37,182 per QALY from a societal perspective and €45,104 per QALY from a healthcare perspective. Lower ICERs were possible when coverage was expanded to 16 h service on 7 days per week and larger populations. Sensitivity analyses revealed that missing ischemic strokes significantly deteriorated economic performance of MSU.ConclusionsMajor determinants of cost‐effectiveness should be addressed when setting up novel MSU programs. Catchment zones of more than 500,000–700,000 inhabitants and operating times of at least 12–16 h per day, 7 days per week could enable the most cost‐effective MSU services in the German healthcare system.
Interval Time Series Forecasting: An Innovative Approach Transforming Interval to Single Time Series
Authors: Varelas George , Tzimas Giannis 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACTInterval Time Series are present in everyday life. An example is the opening and closing value of some stock in a market for certain time intervals. The forecasting plays an essential role in many financial organisations. The development of new mathematical tools or improving the existing ones will lead to more accurate forecasting techniques. Interval Arithmetic is a mathematical field that uses intervals by nature and algorithms that use it are involved in the solution of Interval Time Series. Another classical algorithm is VAR models. In this paper, a method that comes from the insurance sector is used to forecast Brent Oil monthly values. The innovation of what we propose is that it converts the Interval Time Series system into a single time series and can propagate the results back to each time series of the system. This way the researcher works with only one time series instead of two (or more). The forecasting algorithm is a choice of the researcher, expediting the development of forecasting (even ARIMA can be applied). We demonstrate our methodology in forecasting the Brent Oil monthly prices by applying the ANFIS algorithm.
Urinary Tract Infections Amongst Adults With Intellectual Disabilities With Urinary Incontinence
Authors: Finlayson Janet , Gore Nick , Ord Paul , Roche Fiona , Butcher John , Kean Ryan , Skelton Dawn A. 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACTBackgroundBetween 26% and 52% of adults with intellectual disability experience urinary incontinence (UI). Little is known about the implications of urinary tract infections (UTIs) for this group. The aim was to screen for UTIs in a sample of adults with intellectual disability and UI.MethodTwenty adults with intellectual disability and UI recruited via community intellectual disability health care teams and provided a urine sample. Each sample was tested for the presence of UTI bacteria.ResultsHalf of the sample were found to have a possible or probable UTI. Nine adults had also been treated for a UTI within the previous 12 months; six adults had more than once.ConclusionUTIs appear to be very common amongst adults with intellectual disability and UI, and careful attention to UTI symptoms, screening and treatment options for this group are recommended. Larger studies on UTI prevalence and associated factors are also warranted.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05626062
Prognosis of patients with wild‐type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis and non‐sustained ventricular tachycardia
Authors: Sehrawat Ojasav , Swain William H. , Alcantara Hannah P. , Tan Nicholas Y. , Abou Ezzeddine Omar F. , Grogan Martha , Dispenzieri Angela , Lin Grace , Noseworthy Peter A. , Siontis Konstantinos C. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractIntroductionLittle is known regarding the prevalence and prognostic implications of non‐sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) in patients with wild‐type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTRwt‐CA). We aimed to investigate the prevalence of NSVT in patients with ATTRwr‐CA, and the association of NSVT with sustained ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and all‐cause mortality.MethodsIn a cohort of ATTRwt‐CA patients from 2011 to 2022 without prior sustained VA, we ascertained the presence and characteristics of NSVT during clinically indicated ambulatory Holter monitoring. Patients were stratified based on the presence of NSVT at baseline. The primary and secondary endpoints of sustained VA and all‐cause mortality, respectively, were assessed during follow‐up.ResultsThe cohort included 217 patients with ATTRwt‐CA (95% males, median age 75 years; median NYHA class 2). Baseline Holter monitoring demonstrated NSVT in 116 (53%) patients. During a median follow‐up of 27 months (IQR 16–45) after the index Holter monitor, 11 (5.1%) patients reached the primary endpoint of sustained VA (incidence 1.8 per 100 person‐years, all monomorphic VT), and 46 (21%) patients died. In univariable Cox proportional hazard model, NYHA class 3 or 4 heart failure (p = .048), the presence of NSVT (p = .04), the duration of longest NSVT run (p = .029), and the percentage of ventricular ectopy (p < .001) were associated with the primary outcome. When adjusting for age and NYHA class 3 or 4 heart failure, the presence of NSVT remained associated with the primary outcome (p = .03). All‐cause mortality was not significantly different between patients with and without NSVT. A cutoff for ventricular ectopy burden of 0.5%, the median for all patients in this study, was associated with increased risk in sustained VA (log‐rank p = .004) and mortality (log‐rank p = .02).ConclusionNSVT is highly prevalent among ATTRwt‐CA patients undergoing clinically indicated Holter monitoring and may confer an increased risk of incident sustained VA.
Old genres, new media: Collective witnessing and social memory‐making on Argentine Twitter
Authors: Martin Samantha A. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThrough a linguistic anthropological lens of interdiscursivity, this article analyzes the semiotic and historical development of the testimonio genre of #Cuéntalo (“tell it [your story]”), a 2018 Twitter movement that began in Spain to protest sexual violence and evolved when the hashtag traveled to Argentina. The recognition of #Cuéntalo tweets as a genre helped to put the narratives on the public record by offering a paradigmatic frame that invited participation and poetic variation, producing a sense of performance of witnessing and memory‐making. I argue that this endeavor was ultimately a successful intervention due to the following factors: the infrastructure and participation frameworks of social media, the historical precedent of women's and feminist movements in the region, the genre's allowance for first‐person storytelling by other narrators, and the subsequent archival efforts and media recontextualizations. The large quantity of tweets—iterations of a similar story—demonstrated the truth and severity of the issue, as each tweet was simultaneously narrated by the victim, the tweet's author, and society as a whole. In the case of #Cuéntalo testimonios, the individual and the aggregate came together via hashtag activism in a collective witnessing of social injustice that was archived as subaltern social memory.
Influence of the post‐processing protocol on a biocompatible 3D‐printed resin
Authors: López‐García Sergio , Pecci‐Lloret Miguel Ramón , Pecci‐Lloret María Pilar , García‐Bernal David , Oñate‐Sánchez Ricardo Elías 
Published: November 2024

AbstractPurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of a biocompatible 3D‐printed resin material for occlusal devices after post‐processing with two different high‐intensity UV‐polymerization devices and two rinsing solvents, in the presence of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs).Material and MethodsSample discs from the 3D‐printed resin material were printed (2 mm in height and 6 mm in diameter [N = 40]) and divided into 4 groups (n = 10) based on post‐processing methods: a high‐intensity UV polymerization device with isopropyl alcohol, a high‐intensity UV polymerization device with a modified glycol solvent, a UV cleaning and curing unit with isopropyl alcohol, a UV cleaning and curing unit with a modified glycol solvent, and a control group cultured in DMEM medium. Different tests were performed to evaluate their cytocompatibility on HGFs: MTT assay, cell migration assay, cell cytoskeleton staining, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cell apoptosis and generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Statistical analyses were performed using one‐way ANOVA and the Tukey post hoc test (α = 0.05).ResultsCytocompatibility, MTT assay, cell migration assay, cell cytoskeleton staining, and SEM images were similar, regardless of the post‐processing protocol, compared with the control group.ConclusionsNo differences were found in the cytotoxicity of the 3D‐printed resin material for occlusal devices after the following post‐processing methods: two different UV‐polymerization devices and two rinsing solvents (isopropyl alcohol and a modified glycol solvent).
Old‐Age Support Policy Effects on Economic Growth and Fertility
Authors: Yakita Akira 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACTSalient features of major economies around the world, specifically in high‐income countries, are graying population and declining fertility. Incorporating the quantity–quality tradeoff of children into an overlapping generations model, this paper presents an analysis of the effects of formal old‐age support on fertility and economic growth. Because of health risks during old age, which might be too severe to be covered privately, some economically developed countries have public old‐age support programs. Formal old‐age support provision is regarded as involving management costs, for instance, caused by X‐inefficiency in addition to labor costs. Findings demonstrate that when management costs are sufficiently small, formal old‐age support raises the balanced economic growth rate, involving a smaller tax burden and freeing individual time from family old‐age support, but it lowers fertility. Effects on the lifetime utility of individuals are indeterminate. By contrast, when management costs are high, the increased formal old‐age support deters economic growth through a negative income effect. However, it also lowers the fertility rate. In this case, lifetime utility becomes lower. Our major finding is that, when the cost inefficiency of public support is not high, formal old‐age support might increase long‐term lifetime welfare of individuals, but it lowers fertility.
You shall know a species by the company it keeps: Leveraging co‐occurrence data to improve ecological prediction
Authors: Siefert Andrew , Laughlin Daniel C. , Sabatini Francesco Maria 
Published: November 2024

AbstractAimMaking predictions about species, including how they respond to environmental change, is a central challenge for ecologists. Because of the huge number of species, ecologists seek generalizations based on species’ traits and phylogenetic relationships, but the predictive power of trait‐based and phylogenetic models is often low. Species co‐occurrence patterns may contain additional information about species’ ecological attributes not captured by traits or phylogenies. We propose using a novel ordination technique to encode the information contained in species co‐occurrence data in low‐dimensional vectors that can be used to represent species in ecological prediction.MethodWe present an efficient method to derive species vectors from co‐occurrence data using Global Vectors for Word Representation (GloVe), an unsupervised learning algorithm originally designed for language modelling. To demonstrate the method, we used GloVe to generate vectors for nearly 40,000 plant species using co‐occurrence statistics derived from sPlotOpen, an open‐access global vegetation plot database, and tested their ability to predict elevational range shifts in European montane plant species.ResultsCo‐occurrence‐based species vectors were weakly correlated with traits or phylogeny, indicating that they encode unique information about species. Models including co‐occurrence‐based vectors explained twice as much variation in species range shifts as models including only traits or phylogenetic information.ConclusionsGiven the widespread availability of species occurrence data, species vectors learned from co‐occurrence patterns are a widely applicable and powerful tool for encoding ecological information about species, with many potential applications for describing and predicting the ecology of species, communities and ecosystems.
Framing Effects in Intertemporal Choices: 3 Two‐Step Experiments
Authors: Faralla Valeria , Migheli Matteo , Novarese Marco 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACTFramings may affect individuals' choices. In particular, the perception of (implicit) risks and their costs may influence intertemporal choices. In a between‐subjects experimental design, participants are presented choices either in a standard (i.e., current vs. future payoffs), penalty (i.e., the same as before, presenting the differences between present and future amounts as losses), future‐improved (i.e., increasing by 35% the future payoff with respect to the standard frame) or penalty present‐improved way (i.e., with small differences between present and future amounts). Undergraduate students participated in 3 two‐step experiments. The results show that the negative and the present‐improved frames render the participants more patient and subjects who are trained to be more farsighted using a penalty decision problem continue to be patient in subsequent classical formulations where that specific attribute is no longer present.
Positive correlation between shock stage and petrologic type in ordinary chondrites: Implications for the internal structures and thermal histories of ordinary‐chondrite parent asteroids
Authors: Rubin Alan E. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractH, L, and LL chondrites all exhibit positive correlations between mean shock stage and petrologic type. At a given shock energy, hot samples exhibit more intense shock features than cold samples. After the ordinary‐chondrite (OC) parent asteroids were collisionally disrupted, jumbled, and gravitationally reassembled, the correlations between mean shock stage and petrologic type may have resulted from stochastic collisions into material of different temperatures that were randomly distributed in the near‐surface regions of the rubble‐pile asteroids. Late‐stage processes including shock events and post‐shock annealing affected the preexisting correlations to only minor degrees. This model, combined with literature data, permits the following scenario: Each principal OC asteroid initially had an onion‐shell structure with deeply buried type 6 materials cooling slowly, yielding young closure ages in Pb‐phosphate data. The OC bodies were disrupted at ~60 Ma, locking in the Pb‐phosphate record of the onion‐shell structure. The H‐chondrite parent body was collisionally disrupted somewhat later than the L or LL bodies and was thus somewhat cooler at the time of disruption. In the OC asteroidal rubble piles, materials of different petrologic types cooled at similar rates through ~500°C, precluding a correlation between petrologic type and metallographic cooling rate. Shortly after rubble‐pile formation, materials of higher petrologic types remained hotter than materials of lower petrologic types. The hotter materials recorded more intense shock features from the common meteoroid flux, leading to positive correlations in each OC asteroid between petrologic type and mean shock stage. The cooler H‐chondrite materials manifested a lower range in mean shock stage.
Cardio‐Ankle Vascular Index: Test–Retest Reliability and Agreement in People With Stroke
Authors: Ho Lily Y. W. , Lai Claudia K. Y. , Ng Shamay S. M. 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACTThe cardio‐ankle vascular index (CAVI) is superior to traditional methods of measuring arterial stiffness. However, its application in clinical practice has lagged behind the science. This study aimed to (1) examine its test–retest reliability and agreement between repeated measurements, (2) identify the correlation with fatigue and sleep quality, and (3) compare the CAVI values of the bilateral sides of people with stroke, and those of stroke survivors with and without fatigue. Participants (n = 67) were assessed using the CAVI, Fatigue Assessment Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The test–retest reliability ranged from 0.77 to 0.86. The Bland–Altman plots showed good agreement between test and retest. The standard error of measurement ranged from 0.59 to 0.66. The minimal detectable change ranged from 1.15 to 1.29. The CAVI values of the bilateral sides correlated with fatigue and those at the paretic side correlated with sleep quality. The CAVI values of the paretic side were higher than those of the non‐paretic side in people with stroke. Stroke participants with fatigue had higher CAVI values than those without fatigue. CAVI has good test–retest reliability and agreement between repeated measurements for clinical use.