bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
SnO2 quantum dots dispersed TGCN nanosheets for improved ethanol sensing under ambient conditions
Authors: Kamathe Vishal , Kumar Arun , Khanuja Manika , Nagar Rupali 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
This study investigates ethanol sensing properties of a hybrid sensing material prepared by mechano-mixing of tin oxide (SnO2) quantum dots (SQDs) and template-free graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) i.e. TGCN nanosheets (TNSs). Hybrid sensors comprising of various weight ratios of TNSs and SQDs ranging from 1:5 to 1:50 (T-SX where X denotes the proportion of SQDs) were prepared and tested for ethanol vapor sensing under ambient conditions. Structural, thermal, optical, and morphological properties of the hybrid samples were analyzed comprehensively using techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman microscopy. The results indicate that the SQDs crystallize in rutile crystal structure with an average diameter of ∼ 2.7 nm and are dispersed on the TNSs. The best response and recovery time were observed for T-S20 with a fast response time of 12 ± 3 s and recovery time of 20 ± 3 s under ambient conditions. The hybrid sensor showed a 48% faster response time, and 57% faster recovery time as compared to pure quantum dots. This improvement is attributed to dispersed SQDs on TNSs, optimum bond strength between SQDs and TNSs, surface plasmon states of SQDs, higher surface area of TNSs, catalytic activity of N-atoms and finally the heterojunction formed between SnO2 quantum dots and TNSs which attracts bipolar hyroxyl group of ethanol vapors under ambient conditions and aids in their faster detection.
Is it just about the parties? A social welfare approach to familiar problems of international arbitration
Authors: Kostcov Vladimir 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Many doctrinal discussions of arbitration, such as the law applicable to arbitration agreement, joinder of third parties, and arbitrability, are based on formalist methodology that derives answers from categorical notions such as party autonomy. This paper attempts to take a different route and addresses arbitration from the viewpoint of social welfare, using economic methodology. The paper highlights that arbitration, due to its procedural features and private-regarding incentives of arbitrators, comes with a cost to society. Even though that cost is outweighed by its benefits, this fact can inform our thinking about arbitration and inspire novel legal solutions to familiar problems.
Efficient genome monomer higher-order structure annotation and identification using the GRMhor algorithm
Authors: Glunčić Matko , Barić Domjan , Paar Vladimir 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Motivation
Tandem monomeric units, integral components of eukaryotic genomes, form higher-order repeat (HOR) structures that play crucial roles in maintaining chromosome integrity and regulating gene expression and protein abundance. Given their significant influence on processes such as evolution, chromosome segregation, and disease, developing a sensitive and automated tool for identifying HORs across diverse genomic sequences is essential.

Results
In this study, we applied the GRMhor (Global Repeat Map hor) algorithm to analyse the centromeric region of chromosome 20 in three individual human genomes, as well as in the centromeric regions of three higher primates. In all three human genomes, we identified six distinct HOR arrays, which revealed significantly greater differences in the number of canonical and variant copies, as well as in their overall structure, than would be expected given the 99.9% genetic similarity among humans. Furthermore, our analysis of higher primate genomes, which revealed entirely different HOR sequences, indicates a much larger genomic divergence between humans and higher primates than previously recognized. These results underscore the suitability of the GRMhor algorithm for studying specificities in individual genomes, particularly those involving repetitive monomers in centromere structure, which is essential for proper chromosome segregation during cell division, while also highlighting its utility in exploring centromere evolution and other repetitive genomic regions.

Availability and implementation
Source code and example binaries freely available for download at github.com/gluncic/GRM2023.
HAlign 4: a new strategy for rapidly aligning millions of sequences
Authors: Zhou Tong , Zhang Pinglu , Zou Quan , Han Wu 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Motivation
HAlign is a high-performance multiple sequence alignment software based on the star alignment strategy, which is the preferred choice for rapidly aligning large numbers of sequences. HAlign3, implemented in Java, is the latest version capable of aligning an ultra-large number of similar DNA/RNA sequences. However, HAlign3 still struggles with long sequences and extremely large numbers of sequences.

Results
To address this issue, we have implemented HAlign4 in C++. In this version, we replaced the original suffix tree with Burrows–Wheeler Transform and introduced the wavefront alignment algorithm to further optimize both time and memory efficiency. Experiments show that HAlign4 significantly outperforms HAlign3 in runtime and memory usage in both single-threaded and multi-threaded configurations, while maintains high alignment accuracy comparable to MAFFT. HAlign4 can complete the alignment of 10 million coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) sequences in about 12 min and 300 GB of memory using 96 threads, demonstrating its efficiency and practicality for large-scale alignment on standard workstations.

Availability and implementation
Source code is available at https://github.com/malabz/HAlign-4, dataset is available at https://zenodo.org/records/13934503.
Efficacy of needle tract embolization using gelfoam in reducing incidence of pneumothorax in CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsies: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Singh Parneet , Nayak Manoj Kumar , Singhal Tejasvini , Parida Girish Kumar , Agrawal Kanhaiyalal , Sahoo Biswajit , Deep (Bag) Nerbadyswari 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Objective
Transthoracic CT-guided lung biopsy is associated with risk of pneumothorax, requiring chest tube placement at times. From available literature, we tried to compare the incidence rate of pneumothorax in cases undergoing CT-guided lung biopsy with versus without use of gelfoam slurry for tract occlusion.

Methods
Databases like SCOPUS, PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE were searched for original studies analysing the efficacy of gelfoam for needle tract embolization following CT-guided lung biopsy till September 2023. Bias in the selected studies was assessed using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool. Pooled odds ratio of the effect of gelfoam slurry on the rate of pneumothorax and chest tube placement following CT-guided lung biopsy was calculated and represented with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and prediction interval (PI).

Results
Pooled analysis of six studies revealed that patients undergoing needle tract embolization when compared to non-embolized patients had a significantly decreased risk of pneumothorax with odds reduced by 59% (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.25-0.66, P = .01; PI = −1.694 to 0.094). Also, it led to a significant reduction in severe pneumothorax requiring chest tube placement with reduced odds by 63% (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.20-0.69, P = .01; PI = −1.855 to 0.115).

Conclusion
Needle tract embolization using gelfoam has a significant protective effect against pneumothorax as well as chest tube insertion in patients undergoing CT-guided lung biopsy.

Advances in knowledge
Gelfoam needle tract embolization can effectively reduce the risk of pneumothorax and chest tube requirement after lung biopsy.

PROSPERO registration ID
CRD42024505788
Impact of fixation duration on messenger RNA detectability in human formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded brain tissue
Authors: Hurler Charlene-Annett , Liebscher Sabine , Arzberger Thomas , Jäkel Sarah 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Technologies to study mRNA in post-mortem human brain samples have greatly advanced our understanding of brain pathologies. With ongoing improvements, particularly in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue, these technologies will continue to enhance our knowledge in the future. Despite various considerations for tissue and mRNA quality, such as pre-mortem health status and RNA integrity, the impact of the tissue fixation time has not been addressed in a systemic fashion yet. In this study, we employed RNAscope to assess mRNA detectability in human post-mortem brain tissue in relation to fixation time. Our results reveal a dynamic change in mRNA detection across varying fixation durations, accompanied by an increase in signal derived from the negative probe and autofluorescence background. These findings highlight the critical relevance of standardized fixation protocols for the collection of human brain tissue in order to probe mRNA abundancy to ensure reliable and comparable results.
Effects of template molecules on the molecular permeability of molecularly imprinted polysaccharide composite films
Authors: Sagawa Takuya , Yamamoto Tamao , Hashizume Mineo 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
pH-responsive materials comprising natural polysaccharides have attracted attention due to their high biocompatibility and biodegradability, and are potentially useful as biomaterials. In particular, polysaccharide film materials can be used as drug carriers, wound dressings, and separation materials. We have succeeded in the fabrication of polysaccharide composite films from polyion complexes of anionic polysaccharides and chitosan. These films showed molecular permeability and the permeation behavior can be controlled by applying a molecular imprinting approach while using a cationic molecule as the template. However, the details of the effects of template molecules have not been clarified. In this study, to investigate the effects of the characteristics of the template molecules on the molecular permeability of the film, molecularly imprinted polysaccharide composite films were prepared by using template molecules with different sizes and charge valences. The molecular permeation behaviors of the resulting films were then evaluated under different pH conditions. It was found that differences in template molecules affected the swelling ratio and surface charge of the films. Moreover, the permeation behavior was largely affected by the surface charge of the film, while the size of the template molecule had little effect. Based on the results, the mechanism for the molecular permeation is discussed. These results will contribute to the application of polysaccharide composite films as pH-responsive materials.
Brain–clinical pattern alterations after treatment in schizophrenia
Authors: Jing Rixing , Wang Qiandong , Liu Guozhong , Shi Jie , Fan Yong , Lu Lin , Lin Xiao , Li Peng 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Discovering meaningful brain–clinical patterns would be a significant advancement for elucidating the pathophysiology underlying schizophrenia. In the present study, we analyzed associations between functional brain characters (average functional connectivity strength and its fluctuations) and clinical features (age onset, illness duration, and positive, negative, disorganized, excited, and depressed) using partial least squares. Also, we analyzed the brain–clinical relationship changes after 6-wk of treatment. At baseline, 2 identified latent brain–clinical dimensions collectively accounted for 33.2% of the covariance between clinical data and brain function. The illness onset age and duration significantly contributed to all latent dimensions. The disorganized symptoms contributed to the first latent variable, while the positive and depressed symptoms notably negatively contributed to the second variable. The average functional connectivity strength of first latent variable could positively predict the treatment effect, especially in the positive, negative, excited, and overall symptoms. No significant correlation between average functional connectivity strength and treatment effect was obtained in second latent variable. We also found that functional connectivity and its fluctuations altered after treatment, with similar patterns of brain characteristic alterations across the 2 latent variables. By simultaneously taking into account both clinical manifestations and brain abnormalities, the present results open new avenues for predicting treatment responses in schizophrenia.
An Empirical Study on Personal Data Protection in the Banking Sector across Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China
Authors: Wang Zhangyu , Du Li 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
This study examines the personal data protection practices within the banking sectors in the Greater Bay Area—Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China. Our analysis reveals significant inconsistencies in the application of related privacy policies of banks across the three regions, with specific focus on aspects such as personal and sensitive data, data processing, and the protection of minors’ personal data. The discrepancies stem from diverse regional laws, regulations, and judicial practices that generate legal uncertainties, subsequently impacting cross-border data transfer. The study emphasizes an urgent need for a harmonized approach to data protection within the Greater Bay Area and highlights practical challenges encountered in harmonizing the relevant laws across the three regions. It recommends developing data protection standards for the banking industry and using such standards as useful guidelines for addressing the existing discrepancies in data protection regulations and practices. This could ensure consistency, allow for daily banking operations that comply with the diverse data protection rules across the three regions, and foster data flow within the banking sector in the Greater Bay Area.
Converting dose-area product to effective dose in dental cone-beam computed tomography using organ-specific deep learning
Authors: Pauwels Ruben 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Objective
To develop an accurate method for converting dose-area product (DAP) to patient dose for dental cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) using deep learning.

Methods
A total of 24 384 CBCT exposures of an adult phantom were simulated with PCXMC 2.0, using permutations of tube voltage, filtration, source-isocenter distance, beam width/height, and isocenter position. Equivalent organ doses as well as DAP values were recorded. Next, using the aforementioned scan parameters as inputs, neural networks (NN) were trained using Keras for estimating the equivalent dose per DAP for each organ. Two methods were explored for positional input features: (1) “Coordinate” mode, which uses the (continuous) XYZ coordinates of the isocentre, and (2) “AP/JAW” mode, which uses the (categorical) anteroposterior and craniocaudal position. Each network was trained, validated, and tested using a 3/1/1 data split. Effective dose (ED) was calculated from the combination of NN outputs using ICRP 103 tissue weighting factors. The performance of the resulting NN models for estimating ED/DAP was compared with that of a multiple linear regression (MLR) model as well as direct conversion coefficients (CC).

Results
The mean absolute error (MAE) for organ dose/DAP on the test data ranged from 0.18% (bone surface) to 2.90% (oesophagus) in “Coordinate” mode and from 2.74% (red bone marrow) to 14.13% (brain) in “AP/JAW” mode. The MAE for ED was 0.23% and 4.30%, respectively, for the two modes, vs. 5.70% for the MLR model and 20.19%-32.67% for the CCs.

Conclusions
NNs allow for an accurate estimation of patient dose based on DAP in dental CBCT.
Right ventricular to pulmonary arterial coupling as a predictor of survival in patients undergoing mitral valve surgery for mitral regurgitation
Authors: Chehab Omar , Long Edouard , Androshchuk Vitaly , Gill Harminder , Avlonitis Vassilios , Bosco Paolo , Lucchese Gianluca , Patterson Tiffany , Redwood Simon , Rajani Ronak 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Right ventricular-to-pulmonary artery coupling has been associated with outcomes in mitral regurgitation treated by transcatheter approaches. We evaluated right ventricular-to-pulmonary artery coupling as a predictor of survival and postoperative length of hospital stay (LOS) in patients with mitral regurgitation undergoing mitral valve surgery.

METHODS
In this retrospective analysis (median follow-up: 5.8 years), right ventricular-to-pulmonary artery coupling was quantified as the ratio of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion to pulmonary artery systolic pressure (TAPSE/PASP) using transthoracic echocardiography. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimum cut-point of TAPSE/PASP to predict all-cause mortality, and the study population was dichotomized according to this value. The primary end point was all-cause mortality. A secondary end point of LOS was also assessed.

RESULTS
Out of 142 patients (median age: 67, female: 49%), 35 showed impaired coupling at baseline (TAPSE/PASP ≤0.35). Patients with TAPSE/PASP ≤0.35 had higher absolute mortality (37% vs 8%, P &lt; 0.001) and longer LOS (7 days vs 9 days, P = 0.04). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed lower survival in patients with TAPSE/PASP ≤0.35 (log-rank: P &lt; 0.0001). In multivariable Cox regression, TAPSE/PASP ≤0.35 was the most significant predictor of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 3.69, 95% confidence interval 1.31–10.1, P = 0.011), alongside chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and estimated glomerular filtration rate. TAPSE/PASP ≤0.35 was associated with significantly increased LOS (β: 4.6, 95% confidence interval 0.66–8.5, P = 0.022) alongside left ventricular ejection fraction, mitral valve replacement and urgent operation.

CONCLUSIONS
In mitral regurgitation patients undergoing mitral valve surgery, TAPSE/PASP ≤0.35 is associated with increased mortality and LOS. Further validation is indicated in larger, prospective cohorts.
Reverse-engineering the Venus figurines: An eco-life-course hypothesis for the aetiology of obesity in the Palaeolithic
Authors: Wells Jonathan C K , Williams Frank L’Engle , Desoye Gernot 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Evolutionary perspectives on obesity have been dominated by genetic frameworks, but plastic responses are also central to its aetiology. While often considered a relatively modern phenomenon, obesity was recorded during the Palaeolithic through small statuettes of the female form (Venus figurines). Even if the phenotype was rare, these statuettes indicate that some women achieved large body sizes during the last glacial maximum, a period of nutritional stress. To explore this paradox, we develop an eco-life-course conceptual framework that integrates the effects of dietary transitions with intergenerational biological mechanisms. We assume that Palaeolithic populations exposed to glaciations had high lean mass and high dietary protein requirements. We draw on the protein leverage hypothesis, which posits that low-protein diets drive overconsumption of energy to satisfy protein needs. We review evidence for an increasing contribution of plant foods to diets as the last glacial maximum occurred, assumed to reduce dietary protein content. We consider physiological mechanisms through which maternal overweight impacts the obesity susceptibility of the offspring during pregnancy. Integrating this evidence, we suggest that the last glacial maximum decreased dietary protein content and drove protein leverage, increasing body weight in a process that amplified across generations. Through the interaction of these mechanisms with environmental change, obesity could have developed among women with susceptible genotypes, reflecting broader trade-offs between linear growth and adiposity and shifts in the population distribution of weight. Our approach may stimulate bioarchaeologists and paleoanthropologists to examine paleo-obesity in greater detail and to draw upon the tenets of human biology to interpret evidence.
Hiding in plain sight: the Y chromosome and its reinvigorated role in evolutionary processes
Authors: van der Bijl Wouter , Mank Judith E 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Recent methodological approaches have expanded our understanding of Y chromosome sequence, revealed unexpected Y diversity, and sparked a growing realization of its importance in evolutionary processes. To fully understand the diversity and importance of the Y chromosome, we suggest the need to move from a holotype Y chromosome sequence, based on a single individual and meant to represent the species, to a thorough understanding of Y chromosome haplotype diversity, its phenotypic implications, and its phylogeographic distribution. Additionally, the Y chromosome may play an important role in two key rules of speciation that have otherwise been attributed to the X, namely Haldane’s Rule and the Large-X Effect. Emerging genomic tools and analytical approaches are just now giving us the means to ask how important this small, often forgotten region of the genome is in evolutionary processes.
Masu salmon species complex relationships and sex chromosomes revealed from analyses of the masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou masou) genome assembly
Authors: Christensen Kris A , Flores Anne-Marie , Joshi Jay , Shibata Kiko , Fujimoto Takafumi , Koop Ben F , Devlin Robert H 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) are the only Pacific salmon endemic to Asia. Some researchers prefer to categorize these salmon into 4 subspecies (masu—Oncorhynchus masou masou, amago—Oncorhynchus masou ishikawae, Biwa—Oncorhynchus masou subsp., and Formosan—Oncorhynchus masou formosanus), while others prefer individual species designations. Even though the masu salmon fishery is thousands of years old, classification of the diversity within the masu salmon species complex remains elusive. In this study, a genetic map and reference genome assembly were generated for 1 species/subspecies (masu) to provide resources for understanding the species complex. In O. m. masou, the sex chromosome was determined to be chromosome 7. Resequenced genomes from 2 other putative subspecies (amago and Biwa) provided evidence that they do not share the same sex chromosome. Principal component and admixture analyses clustered the amago and Biwa salmon close together. This supported previous findings of a close relationship between amago and Biwa salmon and a more distant relationship to masu salmon for both. Additional analyses of the masu salmon species complex will benefit from using the new reference genome assembly.