bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biomechanical effects of different mandibular movements and torque compensations during mandibular advancement with clear aligners: a finite element analysis
Authors: Wang Ya , Daraqel Baraa , Wang Ying , Yang Dan , Dong Yihan , Hu Yun , Zheng Leilei 
Published: November 2024

IntroductionThis study aimed to evaluate the biomechanical effects of different mandibular movements and torque compensations during mandibular advancement with clear aligners using finite element analysis.MethodsModels were constructed to include the mandible, teeth, periodontal ligament (PDL), and clear aligners with buccal wings. Five oral muscles (superficial masseter, deep masseter, medial temporalis, posterior temporalis, and medial pterygoid) were represented as springs. Muscle values were measured and applied during different mandibular movements, including advancement distances (1–7 mm) and occlusal opening distances (2–4 mm). Different torque compensation angles (0°, 1°, 2°, and 3°) were applied to the mandibular central incisor.ResultsWhen the mandibular advancement was equal to or slightly excessed the occlusal opening distance, stress on the posterior PDL decreased and became more evenly distributed. Increasing the occlusal opening distance significantly raised stress on the posterior PDL and caused grater labial inclination of the mandibular anterior teeth. As the torque compensation increased, the labial inclination of the mandibular central incisor decreased, but stress on the PDL increased. Nearly complete bodily movement of the lower central incisor was achieved with torque compensation angles of approximately 15°, 19°, and 20° in models M1-2, M2-3, and M3-4, respectively.ConclusionTo maintain periodontal health during mandibular advancement, it is recommended that the mandibular advancement distance be equal to or slightly excessed the occlusal opening distance. Excessive occlusal opening distance increases stress on the posterior PDL and the labial inclination of mandibular anterior teeth, requiring careful control. Additionally, proper torque control of the mandibular interior teeth is crucial for optimal outcomes.
Significance of exosomes in osteosarcoma research: a systematic review and meta-analysis of a singular clinical investigation
Authors: Liu Xuehong , Ye Jingyao , Guo Wenlong , Wang Junqing 
Published: November 2024

BackgroundOsteosarcoma is the most prevalent among primary bone malignancies, and its standard intervention involves neoadjuvant chemotherapy - surgical adjuvant chemotherapy (MAP regimen) with adriamycin, cisplatin, and high-dose methotrexate. Early-stage osteosarcoma can be effectively treated with surgical resection along with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, as the cancer progresses, the efficacy of chemo- and radiotherapy decreases, and the associated problems increase. The current understanding of osteosarcoma development, diagnosis, and treatment does not meet clinical demands. More recently, there has been a significant increase in exosome-associated osteosarcoma research, potentially opening up novel possibilities for osteosarcoma research.PurposeWe comprehensively evaluated and analyzed the advancement of preclinical research related to exosome-osteosarcoma. We aimed to establish a practical, theoretical foundation for future research initiatives.Study designThe selected design was a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsScientific databases, such as PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, were extensively screened for exosome and osteosarcoma articles. Two highly trained investigators separately reviewed the literature, extracted relevant information, and assessed study quality. Subsequently, we conducted a meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.4.ResultsIn total, 25 animal-based randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected for analysis. Among them, 13 studies provided strong evidence of cellular exosomes regulating osteosarcoma development from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, osteosarcoma cells, and macrophages. In addition, 12 studies demonstrated the therapeutic potential of exosomes in managing osteosarcoma, among which 7 studies transplanted transfected exosomes directly into animals as drugs, and five studies employed exosomes as drug carriers, which were next transplanted into animals.ConclusionBased on our meta-analysis, macrophages strongly modulate osteosarcoma development, and engineered exosomes provide the most effective exosome-based osteosarcoma treatment.
Vascular endothelial growth factor facilitates the effects of telocytes on tumor cell proliferation and migration
Authors: Li Fujie , Tang Xueying , Cao Haitao , Wang Wenya , Geng Chengyue , Sun Zuyao , Shen Xiaokun , Li Shinan 
Published: November 2024

BackgroundTelocytes, recently recognized as interstitial cells with a diverse range of potential functions, have attracted considerable attention for their involvement in tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, owing to certain challenges in the isolation and cultivation of telocytes, the research on telocytes has advanced rather slowly. Therefore, it is imperative to study the role and mechanisms of telocytes in tumors.MethodsWe improved the separation method and successfully isolated telocytes by exploiting the combination of cell adhesion and magnetic bead sorting. Telocytes conditioned medium was collected to culture tumor cells and explore the role and mechanisms of telocytes in tumors.ResultsMTT and colony formation assays demonstrated that telocytes promoted tumor cell proliferation. Wound healing experiments and transwell assays indicated that telocytes enhanced tumor cell migration. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR analysis showed that the expression of E-cadherin was decreased, and that of Vimentin was notably increased. ELISA results revealed that telocytes secreted high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). And the promoting effects were alleviated by the VEGF inhibitor bevacizumab.ConclusionOur findings revealed that telocytes promoted tumor cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis through VEGF. Notably, these effects were inhibited by the addition of bevacizumab. In conclusion, our findings illuminated the role of telocytes in promoting tumor progression, and confirmed their crucial regulatory role in the growth of tumor cells.
Structural and antimicrobial properties of synthesized gold nanoparticles using biological and chemical approaches
Authors: Kalantari Hamidreza , Turner Raymond J. 
Published: November 2024

This study explores the synthesis and characterization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using green and chemical methods, employing ginger extract and curcumin as reducing agents, in comparison to sodium citrate reduction. The biosynthesized AuNPs synthesized with ginger extract exhibited an average hydrodynamic diameter of 15 and 10 nm for curcumin-conjugated AuNPs, while chemically synthesized AuNPs with sodium citrate displayed an average size of 10 nm. Assessments via Zeta potential measurements revealed negative surface charges across all samples, with the curcumin-conjugated AuNPs showing −36.3 mV, ginger extract-synthesized AuNPs showing −31.7 mV, and chemically produced gold nanoparticles having a surface charge of −40.4 mV. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) confirmed spherical morphologies for the synthesized nanoparticles,and it revealed the presence of biomolecules embedded within the nanoparticles synthesized using biological materials, whereas chemically synthesized AuNPs lacked such features. The FTIR spectra of the biosynthesized AuNPs highlighted the presence of phenolic and aromatic compounds from the ginger extract and curcumin, indicating their role in coating the nanoparticles. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis identified gingerol as a key component in the ginger extract, contributing to nanoparticle capping. The antimicrobial efficacy of the AuNPs was evaluated against P. aeruginosa, E. coli, and S. aureus, revealing superior activity for curcumin-AuNPs, with ginger-AuNPs also outperforming chemically synthesized counterparts. These findings confirm the advantages of biological approaches, using a plant extract like ginger and pure curcumin suspension, for better size distribution when used as reducing agents, along with improved antimicrobial efficacy compared to chemically produced gold nanoparticles synthesized with sodium citrate. This study also highlight the potential of green-synthesized AuNPs in biomedical applications, due to their enhanced stability from higher surface charge and the repeatability of biological methods.
Developing teamwork: transitioning between stages in human-agent collaboration
Authors: Kaelin Vera C. , Tewari Maitreyee , Benouar Sara , Lindgren Helena 
Published: November 2024

IntroductionHuman-centric artificial intelligence (HCAI) focuses on systems that support and collaborate with humans to achieve their goals. To better understand how collaboration develops in human-AI teaming, further exploration grounded in a theoretical model is needed. Tuckman's model describes how team development among humans evolves by transitioning through the stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore transitions between the first three stages in a collaborative task involving a human and a human-centric agent.MethodThe collaborative task was selected based on commonly performed tasks in a therapeutic healthcare context. It involved planning activities for the upcoming week to achieve health-related goals. A calendar application served as a tool for this task. This application embedded a collaborative agent designed to interact with humans following Tuckman's stages of team development. Eight participants completed the collaborative calendar planning task, followed by a semi-structured interview. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using inductive content analysis.ResultsThe results revealed that the participants initiated the storming stage in most cases (n = 7/8) and that the agent initiated the norming stage in most cases (n = 5/8). Additionally, three main categories emerged from the content analyses of the interviews related to participants' transition through team development stages: (i) participants' experiences of Tuckman's first three stages of team development; (ii) their reactions to the agent's behavior in the three stages; and (iii) factors important to the participants to team up with a collaborative agent.ConclusionResults suggest ways to further personalize the agent to contribute to human-agent teamwork. In addition, this study revealed the need to further examine the integration of explicit conflict management into human-agent collaboration for human-agent teamwork.
Charge-coupled device readout by digital-correlated double sampling
Authors: Cruz Carlos , De Vicente Juan 
Published: November 2024

Charge-coupled devices (CCDs) play crucial roles in astronomy owing to their widespread use in the optical band, offering high sensibility, low noise, high dynamic range, and high spatial resolution. Recent advancements in CCDs have focused on improving the sub-electron noise levels for particle detection and enhancing readout speeds through simulation studies. The main objective of this study is to replace the analog processing of CCD signals using the digital-correlated double sampling (DCDS) technique. DCDS allows post-acquisition noise correction through intermittent sampling of an internal reference voltage to provide compact and flexible performance. In this study, DCDS was evaluated using two digital processing systems, namely, a 2.5 mega-samples per second (MSPS) 24-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) board and a 250 MSPS 16-bit ADC field-programmable-gate-array( FPGA)-based buffer memory board. The readout noise value at 74 kpix/s (7.1 e) was a significant improvement over that obtained with analog processing (9.7 e). The DCDS implementation demonstrates optimal signal-to-noise ratio for a wide range of readout speeds. Parameters such as the sample positions per pixel, number of samples, and number of pixels were identified to be essential in achieving an accurate gain value. Finally, hardware implementation of the DCDS IP core algorithm on a Xilinx Zynq-7000 AP system-on-a-chip (SoC) showed a significant improvement in power dissipation (7.1 W) compared to the analog Monsoon correlated double sample (CDS) circuit (13.6 W). The DCDS IP core implementation also showed a background noise reduction of up to 34% compared to DCDS offline readout processing using a Python algorithm.
Optimization method for predicting coal reservoir fractures in the Laochang area of Eastern Yunnan using paleotectonic stress inversion
Authors: Wu Changwu , Wang Bo , Hu Xiong , Jin Xue , Liang Wei , Shi Mingjian , Zhu Xueguang , Guo Liang 
Published: November 2024

IntroductionCoal reservoir fractures serve as critical storage spaces and migration pathways for coalbed methane (CBM), significantly influencing CBM enrichment. The characteristics of coal reservoir fracture development can be obtained using traditional simulation methods, but these still have shortcomings. This work presents an optimization approach for the traditional method.MethodsThis study introduces an optimization approach for traditional methods with two novel contributions. This study integrates the simulation of tectonic stress fields with fracture prediction, using surface sandstone fractures as constraints to reconstruct the paleostress field of the coal seam, while also accounting for the influence of coal thickness on fracture development to calculate fracture density.ResultsThe predicted fracture density results were validated against measured values from the Bailongshan mine and Xiongdong coal mine with a relative error of approximately 12%, suggesting a reasonable degree of reliability.DiscussionBased on the results of the fracture simulation predictions, it is believed that the coal seam fracture density in the study area is mostly 10–20 lines/m and that the sweet spot for CBM development is located in the Yuwang block.
The use of autonomy among physical education teachers in Finland and Kurdistan region of Iraq
Authors: Lagestad Pål , Makrooni Golaleh , Mohammed Warhel Asim , Kalari Joonas 
Published: November 2024

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to examine fifth-grade physical education (PE) teachers’ reflections and perceptions about PE teaching in Finland and Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), using analyses of in-depth interviews with a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach.MethodsThis was accomplished by exploring eight Finnish and six KRI PE teachers’ opinions, attitudes, experiences, and reflections regarding their work as PE teachers, using semi-structured in-depth interviews about PE, as well as their reflections related to an indoor and an outdoor video from ordinary PE teaching in the other country. The initial analyses of the two groups of teachers using the qualitative analysis program NVivo revealed interesting findings related to student autonomy, and these differences were examined closely.ResultsWhile the analyses showed that all the Finnish PE teachers highlighted the importance of providing student autonomy within the open-ended questions related to PE, PE teachers in KRI seldom discussed autonomy during the open-ended questions. Instead, they seemed to organize their teaching in a way that decreased autonomy. The Finnish PE teachers indicated that the use of autonomy was central in the curriculum, and that they used autonomy to increase the students’ motivation and to make PE more meaningful for the students. With such a strategy, the use of autonomy would also activate and include more students, even if Finnish PE teachers reported certain challenges with students’ autonomy. The PE teachers from KRI, however, related PE to be mainly focused on performing sport activities and reflected a strategy of “just do as I do” - a strategy that created little room for autonomy, even if the findings pointed to some traces of autonomy among the PE teachers in KRI.DiscussionConsidering the findings and the theoretical concept of self-determination theory that highlight students’ autonomy as essential for students’ motivation, integration, wellness, and well-being in PE, our findings suggest that new perspectives and practices are needed among teachers in KRI to ensure autonomy in PE teaching. In this vein, increased exchange of experiences and collaboration between educators from Finland and KRI could be beneficial.
Influence of a chatbot based on a conversational agent on the adaptability of first-year students of a Peruvian private university
Authors: Mejia Yahaira Zileri Odalis Arapa , Navarro Christopher Andrew Dobson , Casildo-Bedón Nancy Esther , Pezo Yngue Elizabeth Ramirez 
Published: November 2024

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the influence of using a chatbot-based conversational agent, named ODAbot, on the adaptability of first-year students at a private university in Peru.MethodsThe design of this study was pre-experimental with a quantitative approach. The sample consisted of 53 university students who participated in the research during March and April 2024. Participants completed pre-test and post-test questionnaires to assess their adaptability to university life before and after interacting with ODAbot. Additionally, a user experience questionnaire was used to measure satisfaction with the chatbot interaction. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test to determine the statistical significance of the results.ResultsThe results showed that the use of ODAbot had a significant impact on students’ adaptability, especially in the social dimension (p = 0.000), while no significant differences were found in the institutional dimension (p = 0.124). The user experience was positive, with students reporting ease of navigation and understanding of the responses provided by the chatbot.ConclusionA notable improvement was recorded in the social dimension, promoting peer integration, as well as in the academic dimension, where students expressed greater satisfaction with the information provided. However, no significant differences were observed in the institutional dimension. Overall, the implementation of chatbots presents a promising opportunity to improve the adaptability of university students and ensure a quality educational experience.
The effect of foreign language enjoyment on willingness to communicate among Chinese EFL students: conscientiousness as a mediator
Authors: Zhao Jin , Guan Kaining , Feng Yu , Liu Ziqing 
Published: November 2024

IntroductionAn increasing body of research has explored the predictive effect of personality traits and affective factors on EFL learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC). However, more is needed to know about how the sub-facets of individual personality traits influence WTC in the classroom context. Therefore, drawing on positive psychology, this study aims to bridge this gap by examining these roles in a mediation model of WTC incorporating FLE and conscientiousness.MethodsTo this end, 244 Chinese EFL undergraduates from two distinct universities participated in an online survey, completing a composite questionnaire of the three constructs. The bootstrapping technique was employed to test the proposed relationships.ResultsThe findings indicated a positive correlation between both FLE and conscientiousness with WTC. Additionally, conscientiousness significantly mediated the relationship between FLE and WTC, supporting a partial mediation effect. Also, FLE had a direct influence on conscientiousness. These results may have some notable implications for EFL educators.DiscussionThe adoption of a holistic approach that emphasizes affective factors alongside acknowledging individual differences among learners could enhance students’ willingness to communicate in English.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and the risk of erectile dysfunction: a drug target Mendelian randomization study
Authors: An Hongjin , Xie Kexin , Gan Huatian 
Published: November 2024

BackgroundGlucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have been widely used for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and weight management. However, the causal relationship of GLP-1RAs with erectile dysfunction (ED) was still unclear.MethodsMendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to reveal the association of genetically proxied GLP-1RAs with ED. The proportion of potential mediators mediating GLP-1RAs to ED was also assessed by two-step MR. Finally, a series of sensitivity analyses and Two-Sep cis-MR (TSCMR) were performed to evaluate the robustness of the results.ResultsMR evidence suggested that genetically proxied GLP-1RAs reduced the risk of ED [odds ratio (OR): 0.493; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.430 to 0.565; P&lt;0.001]. Further mediation analysis via two-step MR showed that this effect was partly mediated through reduced T2D, obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD), with mediated proportions of 2.89% (95% CI: 1.28% to 4.49%), 6.83% (95% CI: 2.25% to 11.41%), 3.22% (95% CI: 1.21% to 5.23%), and 3.06% (95% CI: 0.51% to 5.62%), respectively.ConclusionsGLP-1RAs were associated with a reduced risk of ED, and to a lesser extent, T2D, obesity, hypertension and CVD mediated this effect. Nevertheless, the potential implications of our results for ED prevention policies required validation in further clinical randomized controlled trials.
Heatwave-amplified atmospheric oxidation in a multi-province border area in Xuzhou, China
Authors: Zhang Guoxian , Yu Xingyu , Yin Hao , Feng Chunli , Ma Chao , Sun Shiqiang , Cheng Haoqiang , Wang Shiyu , Shang Kunqi , Liu Xiaoyan 
Published: November 2024

Ozone formation is closely tied to emissions of precursors, meteorological conditions, and atmospheric chemistry. In June 2024, Xuzhou City, located at the intersection of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui provinces in East China, experienced a series of ozone pollution events. The continuous pollution episodes were characterized by consistently high levels of ozone, with daytime peaks reaching 130 ppb. By combining observations of atmospheric oxidation and the use of the Observation-Based Model model, it was determined that the pollution was the result of a “heatwave-ozone” co-occurring extreme event triggered by elevated temperatures, low humidity, and intense radiation. The heatwave led to increased emissions of VOCs from both natural and human-related sources, with more pronounced contribution from Bio-alkenes and OVOCs. This, in turn, resulted in higher levels of oxidizing agents and ozone formation potential, exacerbating the co-occurrence of heatwaves and ozone extremes. Sensitivity tests on enhanced controls showed that reducing NOx had a significant adverse effect on ozone levels, whereas reducing VOCs had positive benefits, particularly for controlling alkenes. Despite ongoing reductions in anthropogenic VOCs, the elevated temperatures led to an increase in natural VOCs emissions. On average, a 1°C temperature decrease could reduce the reactivity ratio of VOCs to NOx (VOCR/NOxR) by 0.12, thereby enhancing the advantages of emission reductions. Therefore, implementing measures to alleviate extreme heatwaves, such as limiting high-energy consumption and inducing artificial rainfall, can simultaneously reduce the intensity and reactivity of VOC emissions, aiding in the effective implementation of ozone pollution control policies.