bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ultrasound techniques for measurement of blood flow and tissue motion
Authors: Hoskins P.R. 
Published: November 2024

This article will review the ability of ultrasound techniques to provide 3D information on arterial geometry, blood flow and tissue motion. 3D systems. 3D datasets can be obtained by sequential acquisition of 2D slices. Ideally a transducer is required in which there is full control of beam steering within a 3D volume. This requires a 2D array consisting of several thousand elements. Prototype 2D arrays have been built which provide several 3D datasets per second. Blood velocity measurement. Current Doppler systems estimate only the component of velocity in the direction of the Doppler beam. Lack of knowledge of the direction of blood motion and also other effects associated with ‘spectral broadening’ limit the accuracy of velocity measurement. Improved accuracy can be obtained using vector Doppler systems using 2 or 3 beam directions; this approach is referred to as ‘vector Doppler’. Tissue motion. Doppler techniques can also be used to detect tissue motion (Tissue Doppler Imaging or TDI). Motion of the artery wall can be calculated from the TDI images. It is possible to estimate simultaneously motion for adjacent diameters within the longitudinal plane, and to visualise the relative motion at different parts of the wall.
A General Equilibrium of COVID-19 and Environmental Economy
Authors: Choi Jai-Young , Yu Eden 
Published: November 2024

This article investigates the economic implications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the 2×3 Heckscher-Ohlin model of general equilibrium by integrating the interactive relationships among COVID-19 pandemic, environment and the economy. We consider the environment (a) as a by-product of COVID-19 pandemic, (b) as a public input used for production of goods and services and (c) as a public good directly affecting social utility. A crucial feature of the model is the short-run versus the log-run environmental effects of COVID-19. It is shown that the signs of the environmental response to COVID-19, relative magnitudes of the sectoral environment-output responses and the sectoral factor intensities jointly determine the effects of COVID-19 on factor prices, sectoral outputs and employment and stability of the environmental economy. We show while COVID-19 is bad for society in the short-run; however, in the long-run COVID-19 may be welfare-improving under certain conditions regarding the response of the environment to the human remedial measures. Furthermore, for an environmental economy to be dynamically stable, the net environmental effect of COVID-19 should move in the positive direction; specifically, if the environment is at equilibrium (disequilibrium), the optimum optimorum is free trade policy together with lump-sum income tax used to subsidise the production of counteractive pandemic measures. JEL Codes: F51, F11, I18, Q50
Exploring the association of dietary inflammatory index, disease progression and cellular integrity in chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Bhat Prathiksha R , Urooj Asna , Nalloor Srinivas 
Published: November 2024

Background While the anti-inflammatory effects of specific nutrients are well established, there is limited research on the relationship between overall dietary patterns and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Therefore, we aimed to assess the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) scores and biochemical and body composition parameters in pre-dialysis CKD patients. Methods The DII scores of 143 pre-dialysis CKD subjects were calculated using 24-h recalls. Body composition was measured using bioelectric impedance-based InBody 770. Oxidative stress and total antioxidant capacity were measured using thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and uric acid-independent FRAP (FRAP_UA) assays respectively. C-reactive protein (CRP) was selected as an inflammatory marker while other biochemical parameters were analysed using diagnostic kits. Results Subjects were categorized into early-stage CKD (ES; eGFR: 30 to 59 ml/min/1.73 m2) and late-stage CKD (LS; eGFR: < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2). The ES group had a lower extracellular to total body water ratio (p < 0.01) and higher levels of whole-body phase angle (p < 0.01) compared to the LS group. However, FRAP_UA was higher in the LS group (p < 0.05). For each increase in DII score by 1, eGFR decreased by 2.31 ml/min/1.73 m2 (p < 0.01) and phase angle by 0.11 degrees (p < 0.05). Consuming cereals and millets, other vegetables, roots and tubers, spices, poultry, oils and fats significantly contributed to the anti-inflammatory potential of the diet (p < 0.01). Conclusion A pro-inflammatory diet was associated with disease progression and decreased cell integrity, underscoring the importance of its consideration in CKD management.
Diagnostic testing in psychiatry: insights and examples from a Bayesian perspective
Authors: Maguire Paul A , Looi Jeffrey CL 
Published: November 2024

Objective To demonstrate the application of Bayes’ theorem to diagnostic testing in clinical settings, especially with respect to rare diseases, enhancing an understanding of pre-test probability and its implications. Conclusion Bayes’ theorem enables the revision of the conditional probabilities of an event occurring when new information is acquired. It demonstrates that when the prevalence of a disease is very low, there are a high number of false positives, thereby reducing the clinical utility and cost benefit profile of the diagnostic test, even in the presence of relatively high sensitivities and specificities of the chosen test.
Correlates of Food Contamination by Heavy Metals in Northwest Nigeria
Authors: Ibrahim Usman Muhammad , Karkarna Mustapha Zakariyya , Babura Salisu Muazu , Matazu Mujahid Ajah , Jibo Abubakar Mohammed , Umar Muhammad Lawan , Aliyu Muktar Hassan 
Published: November 2024

Background: The increasing cases of chronic kidney disease is a global public health concern. The potential link between consumption of food contaminated with heavy metals and development of end stage renal disease is becoming an emerging challenge. This study aimed to identify heavy metal contaminants in food and environmental risk factors for development of chronic kidney disease in Nigeria. Methods: Cross-sectional survey in 4 high burden local government areas of Jigawa state, northwest Nigeria. Results: The median age of the respondents was 45 years (interquartile range = 30–80) years. All the households had normal values of cadmium in the food analyzed. The majority of households (97.8%) had elevated mercury levels in analyzed food. Approximately 4.2% of households had increased lead levels. Elevated mercury levels were significantly higher in households that did not cultivate the food they consumed (median = 2.503 mg/kg, P = .05), those that did not use fertilizer on their farms (median = 2.522 mg/kg, P = .02), and those whose farms were located outside their communities (median = 2.733 mg/kg, P = .020). Households that did not use fertilizer on the farm (median = 0.027 mg/kg, P = .007), and those that primarily consumed rice (median = 0.023 mg/kg, P = .005) had significantly higher lead concentrations. Conclusions: We identified high levels of mercury in food samples of the majority of the households studied. Elevated levels of mercury were associated with food cultivation practices and fertilizer use. We recommend future studies that will identify points of food contamination and inform the development of appropriate environmental remediation measures.
Enriched environment may improve secondary brain injury after traumatic brain injury by regulating the TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway
Authors: Wu Muyao , He Xiaoyi , Gong Yating , Wang Chaoyu , Huang Yaqian , Gao Fan , Dang Baoqi 
Published: November 2024

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause damage to the blood-brain barrier, resulting in neuroinflammatory reactions and brain edema that seriously affect the recovery of neurological function. We hypothesize that an enriched environment (EE) regulates the TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway and thereby modulates the integrity of the blood-brain barrier to achieve neuroprotective effects. Objective This study evaluated the expression of toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 after TBI in a rat model, with the aim of determining whether TLR2/NF-κB improves secondary brain injury by inhibiting the release of inflammatory factors and reducing brain edema. Methods We established a TBI model using Sprague-Dawley rats and implemented EE intervention or TLR2 siRNA to reduce TLR2. Western-blot analysis, real-time PCR, immunofluorescence staining, ELISA, TUNEL and FJC staining, wet–dry methods, rotarod testing, and neurological scoring were then applied for analysis. Results Our results revealed that TLR2 was activated after TBI in rats and that EE or silencing of TLR2 with TLR2 siRNA reduced the level of inflammation, significantly alleviating brain edema, neuronal apoptosis, and degeneration. TBI exacerbated brain edema and nerve damage caused by TLR2/NF-κB signaling, and EE appeared to regulate neuroinflammation and brain edema by reducing TLR2. Conclusions Inhibition of TLR2 with EE might constitute a successful approach in the management of TBI.
Early Outcomes for Management of Atrioventricular Septal Defect—Tetralogy of Fallot in the Last Decade: A Congenital Heart Surgeons’ Society Study
Authors: Callahan Connor P. , Argo Madison B. , McCrindle Brian W. , Barron David J. , Jegatheeswaran Anusha , Honjo Osami , Polimenakos Anastasios C. , Turek Joseph W. , Dabal Robert J. , Kirklin James K. , DeCampli William M. , Eghtesady Pirooz , Overman David M. ,   the Congenital Heart Surgeons’ Society AVSD-TOF Working Group
Published: November 2024

Background We sought to determine the management and early outcomes of complete atrioventricular septal defect—tetralogy of Fallot (AVSD-TOF) for a contemporary multicenter cohort. Methods Of 739 participants in the Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society AVSD cohort (January 2012-May 2021), 40 had AVSD-TOF. We first compared survival differences for patients with AVSD-TOF versus those with isolated AVSD using propensity matching. Secondly, for patients with AVSD-TOF, we compared staged (n = 16) versus primary (n = 24) repair by assessing the following: patient characteristics, progression of atrioventricular valve (AVV) regurgitation, and time-related reoperation and survival. Results Five-year survival was similar between matched AVSD-TOF and isolated AVSD groups (80% vs 81%, P = .9). Compared with primary repair patients, staged patients had smaller pulmonary valve annulus Z-score measured at first presentation (−2.2 vs −2.9, P = .006). All staged patients (12 Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunts, 3 right-ventricular-outflow-tract stents, 1 ductal stent) survived to complete repair. Freedom from AVSD-related reoperation five years post-AVSD-TOF repair was 57% after staged versus 90% after primary repair ( P < .05) and left AVV reoperations were the most frequent reintervention. Survival five years after AVSD-TOF repair was 80% (63% after staged vs 90% after primary repair; P = .08). Conclusions Patients undergoing AVSD-TOF repair have similar survival compared with matched isolated AVSD patients. Although approximately half of AVSD-TOF patients had initial palliation and all survived to complete repair, staged repair patients had lower survival and a higher reintervention rate compared with primary repair patients. The decision to pursue staged versus primary repair for future babies with AVSD-TOF remains challenging and should be chosen based on individual circumstances.
The Role of Information Visualisation and Anecdotal Evidence in Medical Students’ Clinical Reasoning Process: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study
Authors: Janssen Anna , Goldwater Micah B. , Hilton Courtney B. , Bonner Carissa , Shaw Tim 
Published: November 2024

BACKGROUND Medical students are often taught clinical reasoning implicitly, rather than through a formal curriculum. Like qualified health professionals, they engage in a wide range of information seeking and other practices as part of the clinical reasoning process. This increasingly includes seeking out information online and being informed by anecdotal information from social media or peer groups. The aim of this research was to investigate how anecdotes and icon arrays influenced the clinical reasoning process of medical students deciding to prescribe a hypothetical new drug. METHODS A cross-sectional survey design was used. The survey required participants to respond to six hypothetical clinical scenarios in which they were asked to prescribe a hypothetical drug “polypill” for a specific patient. The order of delivery of the six scenarios was randomised for each participant. In response to each scenario, participants indicated how effective they perceived each drug to be. The study received ethics approval from the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee: Protocol No: 2019/001. All participants provided written informed consent before agreeing to participate in the study. RESULTS A total of 56 medical students fully completed the survey. Statistical analysis of the responses indicated that the icon array may be effective for highlighting how the polypill reduces CVD risk, reducing the impact of anecdotes on efficacy judgments. Without the icon array, both the positive and negative anecdotes made participants less willing to prescribe the polypill. CONCLUSIONS Medical student clinical reasoning processes appear to be influenced by anecdotal information and data visualisations. The extent of this influence is unclear, but there may be a need to actively educate students about the influence of these factors on their decision-making as they graduate into a world where they will be increasingly interacting with anecdotal information on social media and visualisations of electronic data.
CD70 CAR T cells secreting an anti-CD33/anti-CD3 dual-targeting antibody overcome antigen heterogeneity in AML
Authors: Silva Harrison J. , Martin Grace , Birocchi Filippo , Wehrli Marc , Kann Michael C. , Supper Valentina , Parker Aiyana , Graham Charlotte , Bratt Alexandra , Bouffard Amanda , Donner Hannah , Escobar Giulia , Takei Hana , Armstrong Alexander , Goncalves Sadie , Berger Trisha R. , Choi Bryan D. , Maus Marcela V. , Leick Mark B. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
CD70 has emerged as a promising target in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and we have previously demonstrated the potency of an optimized CD70-targeted ligand-based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). However, here, we identify in vivo CD70 antigen escape as a limitation of single-antigen targeting. Combination targeting of CD70 and CD33 may overcome AML antigen heterogeneity. We hypothesized that modifying our CD70 CAR platform to secrete a bispecific T-cell engaging antibody molecule (TEAM) targeting CD33 (7033) would create a therapeutic window whereby AML heterogeneity could be addressed without increasing tissue toxicity. We found that CD33 TEAMs mediated specific cytotoxicity across AML cell lines, including CD33 or CD70 single-antigen knockout tumors. 7033 CAR T cells eradicated tumor in an in vivo mixed tumor model of CD70 antigen escape and outperformed the previously optimized CD70 CAR in a patient-derived xenograft. In vivo gene expression profiling of CAR T cells revealed enhanced 7033 CAR T-cell pathway scoring for persistence, activation, and T-cell receptor signaling. Additionally, CD33 TEAMs successfully redirected T cells isolated from patients with AML to activate, secrete cytokines, and kill tumor targets despite exposure to substantial prior cytotoxic therapies. In summary, our findings demonstrate the feasibility of our 7033 CAR to overcome AML heterogeneity and leverage the bystander T cells of patients; this approach warrants further study in patients with this dire clinical need.
Development of hyperdiploidy starts at an early age and takes a decade to complete
Authors: Samur Mehmet K. , Aktas Samur Anil , Shah Parth , Park Joseph S. , Fulciniti Mariateresa , Shammas Masood , Corre Jill , Anderson Kenneth C. , Parmigiani Giovanni , Avet-Loiseau Hervé , Munshi Nikhil C. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Nearly half of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) have hyperdiploidy (HMM) at diagnosis. Although HMM occurs early, the mutational processes before and after hyperdiploidy are still unclear. Here, we used 72 whole-genome sequencing samples from patients with HMM and identified pre- and post-HMM mutations to define the chronology of the development of hyperdiploidy. An MM cell accumulated a median of 0.56 mutations per megabase before HMM, and for every clonal pre-HMM mutation, 1.21 mutations per megabase accumulated after HMM. This analysis using mutations before and after hyperdiploidy shows that hyperdiploidy happens after somatic hypermutation. Prehyperdiploidy mutations are activation-induced cytidine deaminase and age/clock-like signature driven, whereas posthyperdiploidy mutations are from DNA damage and APOBEC. Interestingly, the first hyperdiploidy event occurred within the first 3 decades of life and took a decade to complete. Copy number changes affecting chromosomes 15 and 19 occurred first. Finally, mutations before initiating event affected chromosomes at different rates, whereas post–initiating event mutational processes affect each chromosome equally.
Chronic inflammation deters natural killer cell fitness and cytotoxicity in myeloid leukemia
Authors: Kuznetsova Valeriya , Krishnan Vaidehi , Costa Amanda , Ren Xi , Ricketts Tiffany D. , Patel Sweta B. , Connelly Ashley N. , Goel Paran , Knapp Joshua P. , Franceski Alana M. , Luca Francesca , Lobo de Figueiredo-Pontes Lorena , Bhatia Ravi , Prabhakar Shyam , Ong S. Tiong , Welner Robert S. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells play an integral role in immunosurveillance against myeloid malignancies, with their mature phenotype and abundance linked to prolonged treatment-free remission in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, NK cell function is suppressed during the disease, and the orchestrators of this impairment are not fully understood. Using a chimeric BCR::ABL1+ CML mouse model, we characterized the impact of the leukemic microenvironment on NK cell function. We showed that NK cells have reduced counts, immature phenotype, poor cytotoxicity, and altered expression of activating and inhibitory receptors in CML mice, which revert to a steady state upon BCR::ABL1 inhibition. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed an inflammatory cytokine response in CML-exposed NK cells, highlighted by the tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)-induced gene signature, upregulation of TNFα receptor 2, and enrichment of suppressor of cytokine signaling family genes such as Cish, the critical NK cell checkpoint. Ex vivo exposure of healthy NK cells to leukemic soluble factors compromised target-specific NK cell degranulation, which was partially rescued by targeting Cish or TNFα. In alignment with these findings, NK cells from healthy donors displayed suppressed cytotoxicity when exposed to plasma from untreated patients with CML, with a partial restoration upon Cish or TNFα inhibition. Furthermore, NK cells from newly diagnosed patients with CML predestined for blast crisis showed an enrichment of the TNFα-induced proinflammatory gene signature identified in CML mice. These results suggest that targeting inflammatory signaling could enhance NK cell-based immunotherapies for CML.
“Infectious uveitis: a comprehensive systematic review of emerging trends and molecular pathogenesis using network analysis”
Authors: Asghar Muhammad Arif , Tang Shixin , Wong Li Ping , Yang Peizeng , Zhao Qinjian 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Background
Infectious uveitis is a significant cause of visual impairment worldwide, caused by diverse pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Understanding its prevalence, etiology, pathogenesis, molecular mechanism, and clinical manifestations is essential for effective diagnosis and management.

Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, focusing on studies published in the last fifteen years from 2009 to 2023. Keywords included “uveitis,” “infectious uveitis,” “viral uveitis,” and others. Rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and data were synthesized thematically. Gene symbols related to infectious uveitis were analyzed using protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and pathway analyses to uncover molecular mechanisms associated with infectious uveitis.

Results
The search from different databases yielded 97 eligible studies. The review identified a significant rise in publications on infectious uveitis, particularly viral uveitis, over the past fifteen years. Infectious uveitis prevalence varies geographically, with high rates in developing regions due to systemic infections and limited diagnostic resources. Etiologies include viruses (39%), bacteria (17%), and other pathogens, substantially impacting adults aged 20–50 years. Pathogenesis involves complex interactions between infectious agents and the ocular immune response, with key roles for cytokines and chemokines. The PPI network highlighted IFNG, IL6, TNF, and CD4 as central nodes. Enriched pathways included cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and JAK-STAT signaling. Clinical manifestations range from anterior to posterior uveitis, with systemic symptoms often accompanying ocular signs. Diagnostic strategies encompass clinical evaluation, laboratory tests, and imaging, while management involves targeted antimicrobial therapy and anti-inflammatory agents.

Conclusion
This review underscores the complexity of infectious uveitis, driven by diverse pathogens and influenced by various geographical and systemic factors. Molecular insights from PPI networks and pathway analyses provide a deeper understanding of its pathogenesis. Effective management requires comprehensive diagnostic approaches and targeted therapeutic strategies.