bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Alternatively activated macrophages are associated with faster growth rate in vestibular schwannoma
Authors: Gregory Grace E , Haley Michael J , Jones Adam P , Hannan Cathal J , Evans D Gareth , King Andrew T , Paszek Pawel , Pathmanaban Omar N , Couper Kevin N , Brough David 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
The variability in vestibular schwannoma growth rates greatly complicates clinical treatment. Management options are limited to radiological observation, surgery, radiotherapy and, in specific cases, bevacizumab therapy. As such, there is a pressing requirement for growth restricting drugs for vestibular schwannoma. This study explored potential predictors of vestibular schwannoma growth in depth, highlighting differences between static and growing vestibular schwannoma to identify potential therapeutic targets. High-dimensional imaging was used to characterize the tumour micro-environment of four static and five growing vestibular schwannoma (indicated by volumetric change &lt; 20% or ≥ 20% per year, respectively). Single-cell spatial information and protein expression data from a panel of 35 tumour immune-targeted antibodies identified specific cell populations, their expression profiles and their spatial localization within the tumour micro-environment. Growing vestibular schwannoma contained significantly more proliferative and non-proliferative alternatively activated tumour-associated macrophages per millimetre square compared with static vestibular schwannoma. Furthermore, two additional proliferative cell types were identified in growing and static vestibular schwannoma: transitioning monocytes and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1+) Schwann cells. In agreement, growing vestibular schwannoma was characterized by a tumour micro-environment composed of immune-enriched, proliferative neighbourhoods, whereas static vestibular schwannoma were composed of tumour-enriched, non-proliferative neighbourhoods. Finally, classically activated macrophages significantly colocalized with alternatively activated macrophages in static vestibular schwannoma, but this sequestration was reduced in growing vestibular schwannoma. This study provides a novel, spatial characterization of the immune landscape in growing vestibular schwannoma, whilst highlighting the need for new therapeutic targets that modulate the tumour immune micro-environment.
Structural covariance alterations reveal motor damage in periventricular leukomalacia
Authors: Lin Jieqiong , Zhao Xin , Qi Xinxin , Zhao Wen , Teng Songyu , Mo Tong , Xiao Xin , Li Peng , Chen Turong , Yun Guojun , Zeng Hongwu 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Periventricular leukomalacia is a common neuroimaging finding in patients with spastic cerebral palsy. Myelin damage disrupts neuronal connectivity. However, specific alterations in the grey matter structure and their impact on the whole brain remain unclear, particularly when differentiating between preterm and full-term periventricular leukomalacia. This study investigated the grey matter network alterations following early white matter injury in infants and young children. High-resolution T1-weighted 3 T brain magnetic resonance imaging, clinical data and motor function scores were collected from 42 children with periventricular leukomalacia and 38 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Based on gestational age, the periventricular leukomalacia group was stratified into preterm (n = 27) and full-term (n = 15) groups. Voxel-based morphometry was used to analyse whole-brain structural metrics, and motor-related regions were selected as nodes for network construction. Structural covariance analysis was used to quantify the strength of the structural connections between grey matter regions, and graph theory metrics were used to assess network properties. Motor assessments included gross and fine motor skills, and their associations with brain regions were analysed. Both preterm and full-term periventricular leukomalacia groups exhibited abnormal motor networks. Preterm periventricular leukomalacia showed more extensive central grey matter nuclei atrophy, whereas full-term periventricular leukomalacia was predominantly localized to the motor cortex. Children with periventricular leukomalacia displayed decreased connectivity between the central grey matter nuclei and other regions, coupled with increased connectivity between the motor cortex and cerebellar hemispheres. Thalamic volume correlated with gross motor scores in preterm infants. These findings suggest that ischaemic–hypoxic injury disrupts motor grey matter networks, with preterm infants being more severely affected. This study highlights the potential of structural covariance patterns for monitoring brain development and advancing our understanding of aberrant brain development in children with periventricular leukomalacia.
Digital journalism, ethnic media, and transcultural potential
Authors: Yu Sherry S , Atrchian Borna 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Ethnic media serve a myriad of functions within their respective ethnic communities. However, less attention has been paid to their role within broader society. Using Brantner and Herczeg’s concept of “transcultural ethnic media,” this study identifies typologies of online English or bilingual ethnic media originating in Canada and explores their transcultural potential. A mixed methods approach, through the examination of these media’s mission statements and the analysis of interviews with media practitioners as well as news articles from New Canadian Media (NCM) and The Caribbean Camera (TCC), identifies a set of typologies (cultural, multicultural, and transcultural ethnic media) that can serve as a new conceptual lens through which ethnic media can be studied. Further, transculturality appears to primarily be a function, rather than an intention, for cultural ethnic media, and operates within and between communities for transcultural ethnic media.
Employer as an AI System Operator and Tortious Liability for Damage Caused by AI Systems: European and US Perspectives
Authors: Gredka-Ligarska Iwona 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
The article examines if the standard of protecting parties injured by artificial intelligence (AI) systems used by professional operators is high in the European Union (EU) as compared to the USA—that is, whether the liability model of an operator, as applicable in the EU, ensures that injured parties have effective protection. For the purposes of this article, the term ‘effective protection’ should be understood as referring to a liability model guaranteeing to injured parties a real possibility of obtaining due compensation without the burden of proof that a claimant cannot fulfil. The EU legislature has proposed amendments in the area of non-contractual civil liability of AI system users, which also includes professional operators of such systems. An employer using an AI system for professional or commercial purposes and deriving profits from such use qualifies, in a legal sense, as a professional operator of such a system. Therefore, it is worth considering the question whether the EU, compared to the USA, is really in the vanguard when it comes to drafting legislation tailored to the challenges of AI technology and if the currently proposed legislative amendments ensure effective legal protection to persons injured by AI systems used by a professional operator.
Refining the CHA2DS2VASc risk stratification scheme: shall we drop the sex category criterion?
Authors: Yoshimura Hiroyuki , Providencia Rui , Finan Chris , Schmidt Amand Floriaan , Lip Gregory Y H 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Aims
The CHA2DS2VASc score is recommended for stroke risk stratification in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This score assigns one extra point to female sex based on evidence from the early 2000s, suggesting higher thromboembolic risk in women. This incremental risk of thromboembolism in women has decreased over time between 2007 and 2018, becoming non-significant in recent years. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of removing the sex category (Sc) from the CHA2DS2VASc score, thus validating a non-sex CHA2DS2VASc (i.e. CHA2DS2VA) score.

Methods and results
We analysed UK primary and secondary care data comprising 195 719 patients with AF followed between 1998 and 2016 (mean age: 75.9 ± 12.3 years; 49.2% women). Among 126 428 non-anticoagulated patients, we compared the CHA2DS2VASc vs. CHA2DS2VA scores every calendar year. Throughout 413 007 patient-years, a total of 8742 events of ischaemic stroke or systemic embolism were recorded. Sex differences in thromboembolic risk were not observed in the lower-risk population, but higher stroke rates were consistently seen in female patients in the higher-risk category (i.e. CHA2DS2VA ≥2). C-statistics for both CHA2DS2VA and CHA2DS2VASc scores were similar over the years (ranging from 0.62 to 0.71). With CHA2DS2VA, no relevant differences were observed in integrated discrimination improvement, and net reclassification improvement (NRI) resulted in improved reclassification (11%) in lower thromboembolic risk groups. The NRI suggested misclassification in higher thromboembolic risk patients (−7%), but this did not affect their indication for anticoagulation (i.e. patients retained their high-risk status).

Conclusion
Removing Sc from the CHA2DS2VASc score does not affect its ability to discriminate thromboembolic events in the population with AF. The use of CHA2DS2VA may simplify initial decision-making for thromboprophylaxis.
Convergent evolution in shape in European lineages of gobies
Authors: Vukić Jasna , Bílá Kristina Beatrix , Soukupová Tereza , Kovačić Marcelo , Šanda Radek , Kratochvíl Lukáš 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
During their radiation, certain groups of animals evolved significant phenotypic disparity (morphological diversity), enabling them to thrive in diverse environments. Adaptations to the same type of environment can lead to convergent evolution in function and morphology. However, well-documented examples in repeated adaptations of teleost fishes to different habitats, which are not primarily related to trophic specialization, are still scarce. Gobies are a remarkable fish group, exhibiting a great species diversity, morphological variability, and extraordinary ability to colonize very different environments. A variety of lifestyles and body forms evolved also in European lineages of gobies. We conducted two-dimensional geometric morphometric and phylomorphospace analyses in European lineages of gobies and evaluated the extent of convergent evolution in shape associated with adaptation to various habitats. Our analyses revealed the change in shape along the nektonic-cryptobenthic axis, from very slender head and body to stout body and wide head. We showed convergent evolution related to mode of locomotion in the given habitat in four ecological groups: nektonic, hyperbenthic, cryptobenthic, and freshwater gobies. Gobies, therefore, emerge as a highly diversified lineage with unique lifestyle variations, offering invaluable insights into filling of ecomorphological space and mechanisms of adaptation to various aquatic environments with distinct locomotion requirements.
MetaCompare 2.0: differential ranking of ecological and human health resistome risks
Authors: Rumi Monjura Afrin , Oh Min , Davis Benjamin C , Brown Connor L , Juvekar Adheesh , Vikesland Peter J , Pruden Amy , Zhang Liqing 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
While numerous environmental factors contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), quantifying their relative contributions remains a fundamental challenge. Similarly, it is important to differentiate acute human health risks from environmental exposure, versus broader ecological risk of ARG evolution and spread across microbial taxa. Recent studies have proposed various methods for achieving such aims. Here, we introduce MetaCompare 2.0, which improves upon original MetaCompare pipeline by differentiating indicators of human health resistome risk (potential for human pathogens of acute resistance concern to acquire ARGs) from ecological resistome risk (overall mobility of ARGs and potential for pathogen acquisition). The updated pipeline's sensitivity was demonstrated by analyzing diverse publicly-available metagenomes from wastewater, surface water, soil, sediment, human gut, and synthetic microbial communities. MetaCompare 2.0 provided distinct rankings of the metagenomes according to both human health resistome risk and ecological resistome risk, with both scores trending higher when influenced by anthropogenic impact or other stress. We evaluated the robustness of the pipeline to sequence assembly methods, sequencing depth, contig count, and metagenomic library coverage bias. The risk scores were remarkably consistent despite variations in these technological aspects. We packaged the improved pipeline into a publicly-available web service (http://metacompare.cs.vt.edu/) that provides an easy-to-use interface for computing resistome risk scores and visualizing results.
Imipenem exposure influences the expression of quorum-sensing receptor sdiA in Escherichia coli
Authors: Deshamukhya Chandrayee , Begom Ferdous , Das Bhaskar Jyoti , Laskar Monjur Ahmed , Goala Sangeeta , Choudhury Manabendra Dutta , Dhar (Chanda) Debadatta , Bhattacharjee Amitabha 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
The increasing trend of carbapenem resistance amongst Escherichia coli poses a major public health crisis and requires active surveillance of resistance mechanisms to control the threat. Quorum-sensing system plays a role in bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Quorum sensing is a cell–cell communication system where bacteria alter their gene expression in response to specific stimuli. Here, in this study we investigated the transcriptional response of quorum-sensing receptor, sdiA in E. coli under sub-inhibitory concentration of carbapenem in the presence of quorum-sensing signal molecules. Two E. coli isolates harbouring blaNDM were subjected to treatment with 10% Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) for 20 consecutive days of which blaNDM encoding plasmid was successfully eliminated from one isolate. Both the wild type and the cured mutant were then allowed to grow under eight different inducing conditions and the transcriptional response of sdiA gene was studied by quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methodt. We found different response levels of sdiA in wild type and cured mutant under exogenous AHL and imipenem and when co-cultured with Pseudomonas aeruginosa under imipenem stress. This study highlighted that sub-inhibitory concentration of imipenem in combination with AHL is acting as a signal to SdiA, a quorum-sensing receptor in E. coli.
Classification of images derived from submarine fibre optic sensing: detecting broadband seismic activity from hydroacoustic signals
Authors: Matthaiou Ioannis , Masoudi Ali , Araki Eiichiro , Kodaira Shuichi , Modafferi Stefano , Brambilla Gilberto 
Published: November 2024

SUMMARY
Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is an optoelectronic technology that utilizes fibre optic cables to detect disturbances caused by seismic waves. Using DAS, seismologists can monitor geophysical phenomena at high spatial and temporal resolutions over long distances in inhospitable environments. Field experiments using DAS, are typically associated with large volumes of observations, requiring algorithms for efficient processing and monitoring capabilities. In this study, we present a supervised classifier trained to recognize seismic activity from other sources of hydroacoustic energy. Our classifier is based on a 2-D convolutional neural network architecture. The 55-km-long ocean-bottom fibre optic cable, located off Cape Muroto in southwest of Japan, was interrogated using DAS. Data were collected during two different monitoring time periods. Optimization of the model’s hyperparameters using Gaussian Processes Regression was necessary to prevent issues associated with small sizes of training data. Using a test set of 100 labeled images, the highest-performing model achieved an average classification accuracy of 92 per cent, correctly classifying 100 per cent of instances in the geophysical class, 80 per cent in the non-geophysical class and 96 per cent in ambient noise class. This performance demonstrates the model's effectiveness in distinguishing between geophysical data, various sources of hydroacoustic energy, and ambient noise.
The role of state-of-the-art IVF care as a marker of societal development
Authors: Quaas Alexander M , Adashi Eli Y , Paulson Richard J 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Access to state-of-the-art ART can be viewed as a marker of societal development. The recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling represents a major local setback in the access to state-of-the-art ART. If this isolated local incident becomes a national trend, the USA will lose ground in this emerging area of healthcare, and its citizens will be left with substandard treatment options for the redress of infertility.
Anhedonia is associated with a specific depression profile and poor antidepressant response
Authors: Luca Antonina , Luca Maria , Kasper Siegfried , Pecorino Basilio , Zohar Joseph , Souery Daniel , Montgomery Stuart , Ferentinos Panagiotis , Rujescu Dan , Messina Antonino , Zanardi Raffaella , Ferri Raffaele , Tripodi Mariangela , Baune Bernhard T , Fanelli Giuseppe , Fabbri Chiara , Mendlewicz Julien , Serretti Alessandro 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Background
Anhedonic features within major depressive disorder (MDD) have been associated with worse course and outcome and may predict nonresponse to treatment. However, a detailed clinical profile of anhedonia in MDD is still lacking.

Materials and Methods
One thousand two hundred ninety-four patients with MDD were selected from the cross-sectional European multicenter Group for the Study of Resistant Depression study. Anhedonia was assessed through the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale anhedonia item “inability to feel.” Clinical and demographic features were then analyzed.

Results
The presence of anhedonia related to a distinct demographical (living alone) and clinical profile (thyroid diseases, diabetes, suicide risk, high number of previous depressive episodes, more severe MDD, and more frequent inpatient status). Furthermore, anhedonia was associated with nonresponse to treatment and treatment resistance, even after adjusting for confounding variables.

Conclusions
Our findings support the role of anhedonia as a modulating feature of MDD, being associated with a more severe depression profile. Moreover, anhedonic features are independent predictors of poor treatment response.
Stability estimates of Nyström discretizations of Helmholtz decomposition boundary integral equation formulations for the solution of Navier scattering problems in two dimensions with Dirichlet boundary conditions
Authors: Domínguez Víctor , Turc Catalin 
Published: November 2024

AbstractHelmholtz decompositions of elastic fields is a common approach for the solution of Navier scattering problems. Used in the context of boundary integral equations (BIE), this approach affords solutions of Navier problems via the simpler Helmholtz boundary integral operators (BIOs). Approximations of Helmholtz Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DtN) can be employed within a regularizing combined field strategy to deliver BIE formulations of the second kind for the solution of Navier scattering problems in two dimensions with Dirichlet boundary conditions, at least in the case of smooth boundaries. Unlike the case of scattering and transmission Helmholtz problems, the approximations of the DtN maps we use in the Helmholtz decomposition BIE in the Navier case require incorporation of lower order terms in their pseudodifferential asymptotic expansions. The presence of these lower order terms in the Navier regularized BIE formulations complicates the stability analysis of their Nyström discretizations in the framework of global trigonometric interpolation and the Kussmaul–Martensen kernel singularity splitting strategy. The main difficulty stems from compositions of pseudodifferential operators of opposite orders, whose Nyström discretization must be performed with care via pseudodifferential expansions beyond the principal symbol. The error analysis is significantly simpler in the case of arclength boundary parametrizations and considerably more involved in the case of general smooth parametrizations that are typically encountered in the description of one-dimensional closed curves.
Phylogenetic analysis of Syrphidae (Insecta, Diptera) based on low-coverage whole genomes
Authors: Wu Gang , Li Hu , Mengual Ximo , Wang Yifan , Zhao Rui 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
The hoverflies are one of the most abundant families in Diptera and an important category of resource insects. They can provide important ecosystem services such as pollination and beneficial biological control agents. In the four-subfamily classification system of the Syrphidae, the monophyly of the Eristalinae within Syrphidae has not been recovered. In this study, we performed new sequencing and analysis of low-coverage whole genomes for 25 species of Syrphidae. Phylogenetic reconstructions were conducted based on different datasets and analytical strategies. Across all our analyses, the monophyly of the Syrphinae is supported but we do not recover the monophyly of the Eristalinae, consistent with previous research findings. Additionally, employing fossil calibrations for divergence time estimation, our results indicate that the origin of the Syrphidae occurred between the Albian and Aptian stages, approximately between 120.5 and 109.3 million years ago, the origin of the subfamily Syrphinae was dated in the Early Eocene, about 50.8–47.8 million years ago, in accordance with the diversification of their prey. This study will help us understand the higher-level phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships within Syrphidae.
Urban–rural links in relaunching left-behind places: the case of Portuguese municipalities
Authors: Alamá-Sabater Luisa , Márquez Miguel Á , Tortosa-Ausina Emili , Cravo Júlia 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
During the last few decades, the gap between the most prosperous metropolitan areas and the rural areas has widened, especially since the 2008 crisis. This gap has been particularly relevant in relation to population and employment. However, the bi-directional links in terms of population and employment between rural places and the most urbanized areas have been partly overlooked by the literature. At the same time, recent studies have brought the plight of “left-behind” areas to the forefront, highlighting rural as well as other types of “left-behind” places as focal points of discontent. In the context of the debate on left-behind areas, and in an attempt to address the decline in population and employment that they are experiencing, this article proposes a strategy based on the spatial interactions among the different types of territories. Specifically, we develop a spatial econometric model capable of testing all interactions among different territorial typologies based on their degree of urbanization. We apply the model to 278 continental municipalities in Portugal during the period 2010–8. The model estimates have implications for understanding the dynamics of territorial interactions in Portugal, highlighting the crucial role of semi-urban municipalities. The results reveal the positive and significant connections between change in employment in semi-urban municipalities and population change in both neighboring rural and urban municipalities. The findings suggest that semi-urban/rural diffusion should be promoted as a policy approach to left-behind rural places in Portugal.