bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multiday Beetroot Juice Ingestion Improves Some Aspects of Neuromuscular Performance in Semi-Professional, Male Handball Players: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study
Authors: Muñoz Alejandro , de la Rubia Alfonso , Lorenzo-Calvo Jorge , Karayigit Raci , Garcés-Rimón Marta , López-Moreno Miguel , Domínguez Raúl , Scanlan Aaron T. , López-Samanes Álvaro 
Published: November 2024

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of multiday beetroot juice ingestion on neuromuscular performance in semi-professional, male handball players. Twelve handball players competing in the second Spanish national division received 70 ml of beetroot juice (6.4 mmol of nitrate []) or 70 ml of a placebo beetroot juice (0.04 mmol ) for three consecutive days in a randomized, double-blind, crossover manner with a 1-week washout between conditions. Following supplementation in each condition, players completed a neuromuscular test battery involving handball throwing, isometric handgrip strength, countermovement jump, change-of-direction speed, and repeated-sprint assessments, with side effects also measured. Countermovement jump (4.7%; p = .038; Hedge’s gav = 0.29) and isometric handgrip strength (7.8%; p = .021; gav = 0.59) were significantly superior with beetroot juice ingestion compared to the placebo. In contrast, nonsignificant differences were evident between conditions for all other neuromuscular performance variables (p > .05; gav = 0.00–0.27). Red urine production was the only side effect, demonstrating a significantly higher prevalence (p = .046) with beetroot juice ingestion. Three days of beetroot juice supplementation may be a useful nutritional strategy in semi-professional, male handball players given its ergogenic benefit to some aspects of neuromuscular performance.
What’s (Not) in Your Supplement? An Energy and Macronutrient Analysis of Commercially Available Carbohydrate Gels
Authors: Tiller Nicholas B. , Burke Louise M. , Howe Stephanie M. , Koop Jason , Ohm Johanna R. , Burgess Brady 
Published: November 2024

Carbohydrate (CHO) gels are a staple among endurance athletes. When ingested during competition, CHO gels can improve endurance performance by acting as an external energy substrate, sparing endogenous glycogen, mitigating the risk of hypoglycemia, and engaging the central nervous system via receptors in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. However, published studies and a growing number of anecdotal reports have raised concerns about possible energy and macronutrient deficiencies in several products. We therefore performed a content analysis on CHO gels from Gu Energy, Honey Stinger, Hüma, Maurten, Näak, Precision Fuel, Science in Sport, and Spring Energy. On average, products contained significantly less energy than stated on the labels (n = 8, p = .047, large effect) but with no discrepancy in CHO content (n = 8, p = .219, medium effect). Bland–Altman analyses revealed a systematic bias toward less energy and CHO in measured samples relative to the label-derived nutritional information. Moreover, the Spring Energy product fell outside the 95% limits of agreement for both energy and CHO, containing ∼71% less energy (53 vs. 180 kcal) and ∼72% less CHO (12.5 vs. 45 g) than stated on the label. A follow-up analysis revealed similar discrepancies in several Spring Energy products from multiple lots. These findings have performance, clinical, and legal implications.
Genome sequence of potential psychobiotic
Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus
A20T1A using long-read ONT technology
Authors: Franciosa Irene , Buzzanca Davide , Cocolin Luca , De Filippis Francesca , Ferrocino Ilario 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACT

We present the genome sequence of
Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus
isolated from human gut using Oxford Nanopore technology sequencing. The annotated draft genome of
L. rhamnosus
A20T1A showed the presence of probiotics and psychobiotics genomic traits relevant for gut colonization and human health.
The transcriptional response to low temperature is weakly conserved across the
Enterobacteriaceae
Authors: Hoang Johnson , Stoebel Daniel M. 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACT

Bacteria respond to changes in their external environment, such as temperature, by changing the transcription of their genes. We know little about how these regulatory patterns evolve. We used RNA-seq to study the transcriptional response to a shift from 37°C to 15°C in wild-type
Escherichia coli
,
Salmonella enterica
,
Citrobacter rodentium
,
Enterobacter cloacae
,
Klebsiella pneumoniae
, and
Serratia marcescens
, as well as ∆
rpoS
strains of
E. coli
and
S. enterica
. We found that these species change the transcription of between 626 and 1057 genes in response to the temperature shift, but there were only 16 differentially expressed genes in common among the six species. Species-specific transcriptional patterns of shared genes were a prominent cause of this lack of conservation. Gene ontology enrichment of regulated genes suggested many species-specific phenotypic responses to temperature changes, but enriched terms associated with iron metabolism, central metabolism, and biofilm formation were implicated in at least half of the species. The alternative sigma factor RpoS regulated about 200 genes between 37°C and 15°C in both
E. coli
and
S. enterica
, with only 83 genes in common between the two species. Overall, there was limited conservation of the response to low temperature generally, or the RpoS-regulated part of the response specifically. This study suggests that species-specific patterns of transcription of shared genes, rather than horizontal acquisition of unique genes, are the major reason for the lack of conservation of the transcriptomic response to low temperature.

IMPORTANCE

We studied how different species of bacteria from the same Family (Enterobacteriaceae) change the expression of their genes in response to a decrease in temperature. Using
de novo
-generated parallel RNA-seq data sets, we found that the six species in this study change the level of expression of many of their genes in response to a shift from human body temperature (37°C) to a temperature that might be found out of doors (15°C). Surprisingly, there were very few genes that change expression in all six species. This was due in part to differences in gene content, and in part due to shared genes with distinct expression profiles between the species. This study is important to the field because it illustrates that closely related species can share many genes but not use those genes in the same way in response to the same environmental change.
Randomised placebo-controlled trial of triclofos versus melatonin for sedating children undergoing sleep EEG
Authors: Mohanan Priyamol T , Jha Ruchika , Kurup Arjun , Kohli Sarvesh , Badal Sachendra , Adhikari Krishna Moorthi , Ahmad Faiz MH , Devgan Amit , Sondhi Vishal 
Published: November 2024

ObjectiveTo determine the efficacy of addition of melatonin or triclofos to sleep deprivation as compared with sleep deprivation with placebo for conduct of successful sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) among children between 6 months and 12 years of age.Design, setting and Patients486 children aged between 6 months and 12 years who were uncooperative or referred for sleep EEG were enrolled for this double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial between 30 June 2022 and 31 March 2023.InterventionOn the day of sleep EEG, participants were sleep deprived by 25% of their regular sleep duration and then randomly assigned to receive either triclofos (50 mg/kg), melatonin (weight ≤15 kg=3 mg; weight >15 kg=6 mg) or placebo.OutcomePrimary outcome was the conduct of a successful sleep EEG.Results486 children were randomly assigned to intervention with triclofos (n=165), melatonin (n=161) or placebo (n=160). Sleep EEG success (p<0.001) with different interventions was: triclofos=145/165(88%); melatonin=123/161 (76%) and placebo=65/160 (41%). Sleep EEG’s success rate was better with triclofos than melatonin (OR=2.2; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.1) or placebo (OR=10.6; 95% CI 6.1 to 19.0). Melatonin was better than placebo in the rate of successful sleep EEG (OR=4.7; 95% CI 2.9 to 7.7). Beta artefacts were significantly more with triclofos (51/145) than melatonin (19/123) and placebo (12/65), but the readability of EEG was not impacted. Movement/unwanted arousal artefacts were significantly more with placebo (37/65) than with triclofos (37/145) and melatonin (34/123). Drug-related adverse events were comparable between triclofos and melatonin. Neither of the drugs was associated with any serious adverse events.ConclusionsBoth triclofos and melatonin are individually better than sleep deprivation alone for conducting successful sleep EEGs. Triclofos is significantly better than melatonin for conducting sleep EEGs, with no significant increase in adverse events.Trial registration numberCTRI/2022/05/042479; Clinical Trials Registry of India
Religious identity-based discrimination in the physician workforce: findings from a survey of Muslim physicians in the UK
Authors: Azam Laila , Murrar Sohad , Maravia Usman , Davila Omar , Padela Aasim I 
Published: November 2024

ObjectiveExamine relationships between religiosity, workplace discrimination, religious accommodation and related professional and psychological outcomes among UK Muslim physicians.MethodsIn 2021, a national survey of British Islamic Medical Association members was conducted. Statistical analyses explored associations between participant religiosity, sociodemographic characteristics and the specified outcome measures.ResultsOut of 104 participants with a mean age of 39, the majority were male (56%), Asian (81%), adult immigrants to the UK (56%) and wore a beard or a hijāb (73%). Workplace experiences revealed that 40% experienced discrimination primarily based on religious identity, with 44% facing regular discrimination since medical school. Notably, 38% reported current workplace discrimination, 15% encountered patient refusals based on religion and 56% felt heightened scrutiny due to religious identity. Most struggled with prayer at work (69%), and 28% felt inadequately accommodated. In multivariate models, religiosity was associated with experiencing discrimination from patients and struggle with prayer accommodation at work but increased the odds of perceiving religious identity to be accommodated at work. Notably, participants wearing hijāb or a beard reported higher job satisfaction and lower odds of burn-out and depression. Increasing participant age lowered the odds of burn-out but increased the odds of religious discrimination at the current workplace and over one’s career, as well as being passed over for professional advancement.ConclusionThese findings underscore the urgent need for the National Health Service to address religious discrimination in the workplace by implementing policies that accommodate the workplace needs of Muslim physicians.
Heart valve clinics: an expanding role for the clinical scientists - validation of a framework for competency and certification
Authors: Zhou Can , Fekadu Jerusalem , Hayes Anna , Aure Nathalie , Sivalinganathan Masha , Bowen Lucy , Campbell Brian , Subbiah Sheila , Page Curtis , Bennett Sophie , Rajani Ronak , Demetrescu Camelia 
Published: November 2024

BackgroundValvular heart disease (VHD) represents a significant burden on healthcare systems worldwide, necessitating specialised care through multidisciplinary valve clinics. However, there is a lack of a standardised training and certification framework for clinical scientists and specialist physiologists (CSSPs) working within specialist valve clinics (SVCs). This study aimed to design, implement and validate a competency framework dedicated to training and certifying valve CSSPs to enhance patient outcomes and establish standardised care.MethodsA comprehensive competency framework was developed and implemented, consisting of two levels: Enhanced Valve Clinic Training (EVCT) and Advanced Valve Clinic Training (AVCT). The programme was trialled at Guy’s Valve Clinic, London, over a 12-month period. Validation was undertaken through trainee and patient feedback, including multiple-choice questions, clinical skills assessments, and patient satisfaction surveys.ResultsNine CSSPs completed the EVCT and four the AVCT. All participants passed their certification examinations with scores ranging from 80% to 95%. The time to complete each programme averaged 6 months. After certification, clinical queries raised by EVCT trainees averaged 1.2 per session but dropped by 75% to 0.3 per session in the AVCT group, indicating greater confidence and independence in managing cases. Physician review of trainee-led cases led to additional tests or treatment changes in 23% of cases and referrals to physician clinics in 11%. Patient feedback was positive: 95% felt confident in the clinical scientists' knowledge, and 100% were satisfied with the clarity of their care plans and follow-up.ConclusionsThe implementation of this training and certification framework demonstrated enhanced clinical outcomes and care delivery in SVCs. By advocating for formal recognition and accreditation of valve clinic training, this framework could serve as a model for national and international standardisation in valve care and clinical training.
Coupling a peatland hydrological model with a snowmelt module in order to model the snowmelt runoff in a boreal ombrotrophic peatland in eastern Québec (Canada)
Authors: Riahi Khawla , St-Hilaire André , Bourgault Marc-André , Taillardat Pierre , Prijac Antonin , Garneau Michelle 
Published: November 2024

Peatlands are relatively common in the province of Quebec (Canada) where they occupy about 12% of the surface. The hydrology of peatlands remains insufficiently documented, more specifically during the spring period where data are currently lacking in many regions, including in the Quebec boreal territory. The paucity of spring data are due to snowmelt that causes flooding in peatlands and along rivers, which makes hydrometry complicated during this period of the year. In this paper, the Peatland Hydrological Impact Model (PHIM) was coupled with a snowmelt module (CemaNeige) to simulate spring flows in an ombrotrophic peatland located in the Romaine River watershed (Quebec). Discharge data from two summer seasons (2019 and 2020) were used to calibrate the hydrological model. Despite the relatively short time series, the results show a good performance. The simulated spring flows resulting from the PHIM + CemaNeige combination are of the right order of magnitude.
Reflecting attack and improvement of a semi-quantum private comparison protocol with three-particle GHZ-like states
Authors: Yang Chun-Wei , Huang Yu-Yun , Tsai Chia-Wei , Lin Jason 
Published: November 2024

This study focuses on semi-quantum private comparison (SQPC) protocols, where participants with limited quantum capabilities compare private information with the help of a quantum third party (TP). Yan et al. introduced an SQPC protocol in 2021, but Li et al. later found it vulnerable to double controlled NOT (CNOT) operation attacks and proposed improvements. However, this study identifies a different vulnerability in Yan et al.’s protocol — a reflecting attack that allows information leakage. Bob can intercept and reflect quantum states, avoiding detection and then use Alice’s measurement outcomes and pre-shared key to access her confidential information. The study also proposes an enhanced method to secure the protocol.
Acoustic Waves in Axial Crystals and Quasicrystals with Preliminary Finite Strains
Authors: Sokolova Marina , Khristich Dmitrii 
Published: November 2024

The dynamic problem of acoustic wave propagation in elastic bodies with preliminary finite deformations is formulated. Several types of anisotropic elastic materials are considered: hexagonal crystals of class [Formula: see text], transversally isotropic materials and axial quasicrystals with an arbitrary order of the rotary axis. A variant of nonlinear hypoelasticity relations is constructed for these materials. In the constitutive relations, the tensor connecting the rate of change of the stress tensor and the strain rate tensor is a function of deformations. The propagation of acoustic waves in a hypoelastic material with preliminary finite deformations and stresses is described as a process of weak perturbations superimposed on finite strains. The characteristic features of elastic wave propagation in hexagonal crystals and axial quasicrystals are revealed. Within the framework of the constructed models, the most significant differences are found in the phase velocities of a transverse wave with a polarization vector located in the crystallographic plane (110). Unlike hexagonal crystals, in axial quasicrystals, there are such directions of acoustic wave propagation for which the phase velocities of transverse waves are insensitive to the degree of preliminary deformations. Based on the solution of the problem of elastic wave propagation, a program of dynamic experiments with macrosamples, which allows to distinguish axial quasicrystals from hexagonal crystals by the peculiarities of acoustic wave propagation, is proposed.
GCNTrain+: A Versatile and Efficient Accelerator for Graph Convolutional Neural Network Training
Authors: Song Zhuoran , Long Jiabei , Jiang Li , Jing Naifeng , Liang Xiaoyao 
Published: November 2024

Recently, graph convolutional networks (GCNs) have gained wide attention due to their ability to capture node relationships in graphs. One problem appears when full-batch GCN is trained on large graph datasets, where the computational and memory requirements are unacceptable. To address this issue, mini-batch GCN training is introduced to improve the scalability of GCN training for large datasets by sampling and training only a subset of the graph in each batch. Although several acceleration techniques have been designed for boosting the efficiency of full-batch GCN, they lack attention to mini-batch GCN, which differs from full-batch GCN in terms of the sampled dynamic graph structures. Based on our previous work GCNTrain [28], which was originally excogitated for accelerating full-batch GCN training, we devise GCNTrain+—a universal accelerator to tackle the performance bottlenecks associated with both full-batch and mini-batch GCN training.
GCNTrain+ is equipped with two engines to optimize computation and memory access in GCN training, respectively. To reduce the computation overhead, we propose to dynamically reconfigure the computation order based on the varying data dimensions involved in each training batch. Moreover, we build a unified computation engine to perform the sparse-dense matrix multiplications (SpDM) and sparse-sparse matrix multiplications (SpSpM) discovered in GCN training uniformly. To alleviate the memory burden, we devise a two-phased dynamic clustering mechanism to capture data locality as well as customized hardware to reduce the clustering overhead. We evaluate GCNTrain+ on seven datasets, and the result shows that GCNTrain+ achieves 136.0 ×, 52.6 ×, 2.2 ×, and 1.5 × speedup over CPU, GPU, GCNAX, and GCNTrain in full-batch GCN training. Additionally, GCNTrain+ outperforms them with speedups of 131.6 ×, 67.1 ×, 4.4 ×, and 1.5 × in mini-batch GCN training.
Optimal Intervention Strategies on TB Epidemiology in a Prison Population
Authors: Maku Vyambwera Sibaliwe , Witbooi Peter 
Published: November 2024

This paper presents a compartmental model in ordinary differential equations of tuberculosis (TB) disease dynamics in a prison population, which is calibrated to reflect the unique conditions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data are sourced from various sources of statistics that are publicly available and also from other modeling publications. The model is utilized to determine the optimal roll‐out strategy for a combination of intervention strategies in TB control in a prison population. The two control functions both address treatment but are linked to different infection classes, making them distinct functions of time. Numerical simulations reveal that without well‐planned control measures, TB remains endemic. However, optimal control strategies can potentially eliminate the disease, provided the influx of TB‐infected prisoners is controlled. Implementing these strategies can significantly reduce the number of infectious TB cases while minimizing treatment costs.MSC2020 Classification: 92D30, 34K20
A Comparative Analysis of Hydroxyurea Treatment on Coagulation Profile Among Sickle Cell Anaemia Children in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Kene-Udemezue Blessing E. , Salako Abideen O. , Akinsete Adeseye M. , Odubela Oluwatosin O. , Adeyemo Titilope A. 
Published: November 2024

Background: Hydroxyurea (HU) is a disease‐modifying therapy with significant clinical and laboratory efficacy among individuals living with sickle cell anaemia (SCA). This is evident through increased fetal haemoglobin, higher packed cell volume, improved red cell hydration, reduced leukocytes, and platelet function. The effect on the coagulation pathway and pathophysiologic mechanism remains unclear, especially in children living with SCA. This study evaluated the coagulation profile using D‐dimer and thrombin antithrombin complex (TAT) in children with SCA.Methods: The cross‐sectional study was conducted over three months at LUTH among 80 children living with SCA in steady state aged 2–18 years (40 HU exposed and 40 HU naïve, respectively). Blood samples were assayed for D‐dimer, TAT, and complete blood count. Descriptive analysis such as mean and standard deviation for normally distributed variables or median and interquartile range for skewed data were used to summarize continuous variables, while proportion or percentages for categorical variables. Univariate analysis and bivariate analysis were done and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: The mean age (±SD) of study participants in both groups was 11.35 (±4.6 years). D‐dimer levels (23.27 ng/mL) and TAT (29.79 pg/mL) were significantly lower among HU exposed compared to HU naïve children (62.73 ng/mL and 109.34 pg/mL, respectively) p < 0.001. There was a negative correlation between D‐dimer and TAT with the duration of HU use (r = −0.499, p = 0.001, and r = −0.401, p = 0.010), respectively. There was a positive correlation between D‐dimer and TAT with total WBC (r = 0.368, p = 0.019, and r = 0.385, p = 0.014, respectively) among the HU naïve participants and a negative correlation between D‐dimer and TAT with haemoglobin level (r = −0.303, p = 0.047, and r = −0.311, p = 0.041, respectively) among HU exposed children.Conclusion: HU modulates the D‐dimer and TAT levels of children living with SCA toward the normal reference range, thus reducing the risk of hypercoagulability and associated sequelae. Therefore, continuous advocacy for HU use should entail close monitoring of adverse effects.