bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Astragalus membranaceus and its monomers treat peritoneal fibrosis and related muscle atrophy through the AR/TGF-β1 pathway
Authors: Sheng Li , Sun Jinyi , Huang Liyan , Yu Manshu , Meng Xiaohui , Shan Yun , Dai Huibo , Wang Funing , Shi Jun , Sheng Meixiao 
Published: August 2024

Background: To anticipate the potential molecular mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and its monomer, Calycosin, against peritoneal fibrosis (PF) and related muscle atrophy using mRNA-seq, network pharmacology, and serum pharmacochemistry.Methods: Animal tissues were examined to evaluate a CKD-PF mice model construction. mRNA sequencing was performed to find differential targets. The core target genes of AM against PF were screened through network pharmacology analysis, and CKD-PF mice models were given high- and low-dose AM to verify common genes. Serum pharmacochemistry was conducted to clarify which components of AM can enter the blood circulation, and the selected monomer was further validated through cell experiments for the effect on PF and mesothelial mesenchymal transition (MMT) of peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs).Results: The CKD-PF mice models were successfully constructed. A total of 31,184 genes were detected in the blank and CKD-PF groups, and 228 transcription factors had significant differences between the groups. Combined with network pharmacology analysis, a total of 228 AM-PF-related targets were identified. Androgen receptor (AR) was the remarkable transcription factor involved in regulating transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). AM may be involved in regulating the AR/TGF-β1 signaling pathway and may alleviate peritoneal dialysis-related fibrosis and muscle atrophy in CKD-PF mice. In 3% peritoneal dialysis solution-stimulated HMrSV5 cells, AR expression levels were dramatically reduced, whereas TGF-β1/p-smads expression levels were considerably increased.Conclusion: AM could ameliorate PF and related muscle atrophy via the co-target AR and modulated AR/TGF-β1 pathway. Calycosin, a monomer of AM, could partially reverse PMC MMT via the AR/TGF-β1/smads pathway. This study explored the traditional Chinese medicine theory of “same treatment for different diseases,” and supplied the pharmacological evidence of “AM can treat flaccidity syndrome.”
Rational analysis of data from LC-MS/MS: new insights in acylcarnitines as biomarkers for brain disorders or neurotoxicity
Authors: Chen Li , Zhu Ruiqin , Ma Yaxing , Huang Chuixiu , Shen Xiantao 
Published: August 2024

ObjectiveLC-MS/MS-based metabolomics is an important tool for studying disease-related biomarkers. Conventionally, different strategies have been used to screen biomarkers. However, many studies for biomarker screening by different strategies have ignored the dose-response relationship between the biomarker level and exposure level, and no relevant studies have described and compared different strategies in detail. Phenobarbital (PHB) which belongs to the barbiturates, was selected as the typical representative of neurotoxins. Acylcarnitines have been promising candidates for diagnostic biomarkers for several neurological disorders and neurotoxicity. In this work, we aimed to use an acute PHB poisoning animal model to clarify PHB poisoning effects on plasma and brain acylcarnitine changes and how to rationally analyze data from LC-MS/MS.MethodsThe acylcarnitine profiles in plasma and brain regions in an actuate PHB poisoning animal model were utilized. The dose-response relationship between plasma PHB and carnitine and acylcarnitines (CARs) in plasma and brain were assessed by the variance analysis trend test and Spearman’s rank correlation test. In different strategies, principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) screened the differential CARs, variable importance plots (VIPs) were utilized to select putative biomarkers for PHB-induced toxicity, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis then illustrated the reliability of biomarkers.ResultsUnder the first strategy, 14 potential toxicity biomarkers were obtained including eight downregulated CARs with AUC &gt;0.8. Under the second strategy, 11 potential toxicity biomarkers were obtained containing five downregulated CARs with AUC &gt;0.8. Only when the dose-response relationship was fully considered, different strategies screen for the same biomarkers (plasma acetyl-carnitine (C2) and plasma decanoyl-carnitine (C10)), which indicated plasma acylcarnitines might serve as toxicity biomarkers. In addition, the plasma CAR level changes showed differences from brain CAR level changes, and correlations between plasma CARs and their brain counterparts were weak.ConclusionWe found that plasma C2 and C10 might serve as toxicity biomarkers for PHB poisoning disorders, and PHB poisoning effects on changes in plasma CARs may not be fully representative of changes in brain CARs.
Comparative analysis of the complete mitogenomes of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis and C. sinensis var. assamica provide insights into evolution and phylogeny relationship
Authors: Li Li , Li Xiangru , Liu Yun , Li Junda , Zhen Xiaoyun , Huang Yu , Ye Jianghua , Fan Li 
Published: August 2024

IntroductionAmong cultivated tea plants (Camellia sinensis), only four mitogenomes for C. sinensis var. assamica (CSA) have been reported so far but none for C. sinensis var. sinensis (CSS). Here, two mitogenomes of CSS (CSSDHP and CSSRG) have been sequenced and assembled.MethodsUsing a combination of Illumina and Nanopore data for the first time. Comparison between CSS and CSA mitogenomes revealed a huge heterogeneity.ResultsThe number of the repetitive sequences was proportional to the mitogenome size and the repetitive sequences dominated the intracellular gene transfer segments (accounting for 88.7%- 92.8% of the total length). Predictive RNA editing analysis revealed that there might be significant editing in NADH dehydrogenase subunit transcripts. Codon preference analysis showed a tendency to favor A/T bases and T was used more frequently at the third base of the codon. ENc plots analysis showed that the natural selection play an important role in shaping the codon usage bias, and Ka/Ks ratios analysis indicated Nad1 and Sdh3 genes may have undergone positive selection. Further, phylogenetic analysis shows that six C. sinensis clustered together, with the CSA and CSS forming two distinct branches, suggesting two different evolutionary pathway.DiscussionAltogether, this investigation provided an insight into evolution and phylogeny relationship of C. sinensis mitogenome, thereby enhancing comprehension of the evolutionary patterns within C. sinensis species.
Treatment expectations of patients and clinicians: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Li Jiarui , Xiao Chunfeng , Li Tao , Duan Yanping , Jiang Yinan , Shi Lili , Hong Xia , Geng Wenqi , Hu Jiaojiao , Wang Yufei , Dai Bindong , Cao Jinya , Wei Jing 
Published: August 2024

ImportanceUnderstanding treatment expectations of patients and their clinicians is of great importance in improving personalized medical services and enhancing patient safety systems.ObjectiveTo investigate treatment expectations of patients and their clinicians and compare differences between both, by using a pair of validated structured assessment tools covering three key aspects/dimensions of clinical interests.Design, setting, and participantsThis single-center cross-sectional study was conducted at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in China. The study enrolled patients aged 16 years and older receiving inpatient care and their clinicians. Patient recruitment was conducted from March 2023 to November 2023.AssessmentsIn addition to demographic and clinical characteristics, this study employed two validated structured assessment tools to evaluate treatment expectations among patients and their clinicians: the Hospitalized Patients’ Expectations for Treatment Scale-Patient version (HOPE-P) and its counterpart, the Hospitalized Patients’ Expectations for Treatment Scale-Clinician version (HOPE-C).ResultsA total of 233 patients (mean [SD] age, 52.3 [15.1] years; 108 [46.4%] female) along with their clinicians, who numbered 75 in total were enrolled in this study. The distribution of total scores for HOPE-P and HOPE-C displayed similar patterns, with most scores concentrated in the higher range (above 50% of the full score). The mean HOPE-P total score was higher than that of HOPE-C (mean [SD] score, 38.78 [4.86] vs 37.49 [4.32]; t = 3.12, P = 0.002). In Dimension 2, the HOPE-P score was higher than HOPE-C (23.67 [3.20] vs 21.72 [3.03]; t = 6.98, P &lt; 0.001). However, in Dimensions 1 and 3, HOPE-P scored lower than HOPE-C (13.37 [2.44] vs 13.84 [1.73]; t = -2.384, P &lt; 0.018; 1.74 [1.14] vs 1.94 [1.00]; t = -2.00, P = 0.047). Certain demographic and clinical characteristics led to variations in patients’ treatment expectations, including marital status, monthly family income, and smoking history.Conclusions and relevanceThis cross-sectional study revealed significant differences between patients’ and doctors’ treatment expectations. Notably, it highlighted the need for clinicians to focus on rationalizing patients’ expectations concerning treatment outcomes.Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry IdentifierChiCTR2300075262.
The “canine first technique” in maxillary impacted canines: analysis of the treatment duration and success of therapy
Authors: Perrotta Stefania , Bocchino Tecla , Amato Massimo , Michelotti Ambrosina , Simeon Vittorio , D’Antò Vincenzo , Piombino Pasquale , Carraturo Emanuele , Vollaro Stefano , Valletta Rosa 
Published: August 2024

ObjectivesThe goal of the study was to analyze the eruption time of the maxillary impacted canines treated with the “canine first technique” and evaluate the success rate.Materials and methodsA total of 103 patients with 131 impacted canines were treated. Alpha angle, Erickson–Kurol sectors, and age were studied to assess the difficulty of canine eruption. All the canines were treated with the “canine first” approach. The median follow-up time was evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier inverse procedure. The primary outcome (canine eruption time) was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier curves. The curve comparison between the different known risk factors was made using the log-rank test. The median eruption time (95% confidence interval) was calculated for each result.ResultsThe majority of the canines (66.4%) were placed palatally and positioned in sector 3 (30.16%). The median alpha angle was 38.7°. In 88.9% of cases, canines erupted and the median time of eruption was 4.2 months. A statistically significant difference in alpha angle &gt;/&lt;22° able to influence the eruption time was assessed. The variation of the alpha angle (&gt;/&lt;22°) has found to be statistically significative when compared to the eruption time variation.ConclusionThe canine first technique is effective for the eruption of impacted canines, and an alpha angle &lt;22° can be considered a favorable prognostic factor.
Automatic detection of unidentified fish sounds: a comparison of traditional machine learning with deep learning
Authors: Mouy Xavier , Archer Stephanie K. , Dosso Stan , Dudas Sarah , English Philina , Foord Colin , Halliday William , Juanes Francis , Lancaster Darienne , Van Parijs Sofie , Haggarty Dana 
Published: August 2024

Many species of fishes around the world are soniferous. The types of sounds fishes produce vary among species and regions but consist typically of low-frequency (<1.5 kHz) pulses and grunts. These sounds can potentially be used to monitor fishes non-intrusively and could complement traditional monitoring techniques. However, the significant time required for human analysts to manually label fish sounds in acoustic recordings does not yet allow passive acoustics to be used as a viable tool for monitoring fishes. In this paper, we compare two different approaches to automatically detect fish sounds. One is a more traditional machine learning technique based on the detection of acoustic transients in the spectrogram and the classification using Random Forest (RF). The other is using a deep learning approach and is based on the classification of overlapping segments (0.2 s) of spectrogram using a ResNet18 Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). Both algorithms were trained using 21,950 manually annotated fish and non-fish sounds collected from 2014 to 2019 at five different locations in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. The performance of the detectors was tested on part of the data from the Strait of Georgia that was withheld from the training phase, data from Barkley Sound, British Columbia, and data collected in the Port of Miami, Florida, United States. The CNN performed up to 1.9 times better than the RF (F1 score: 0.82 vs. 0.43). In some cases, the CNN was able to find more faint fish sounds than the analyst and performed well in environments different from the one it was trained in (Miami F1 score: 0.88). Noise analysis in the 20–1,000 Hz frequency band shows that the CNN is still reliable in noise levels greater than 130 dB re 1 μPa in the Port of Miami but becomes less reliable in Barkley Sound past 100 dB re 1 μPa due to mooring noise. The proposed approach can efficiently monitor (unidentified) fish sounds in a variety of environments and can also facilitate the development of species-specific detectors. We provide the software FishSound Finder, an easy-to-use open-source implementation of the CNN detector with detailed documentation.
Antegrade persufflation of porcine kidneys improves renal function after warm ischemia
Authors: Min Catherine , Galons Jean-Philippe , Lynch Ronald M. , Steyn Leah V. , Price Nicholas D. , Weegman Brad P. , Taylor Michael J. , Pandey Abhishek , Harland Robert , Martin Diego , Besselsen David , Putnam Charles W. , Papas Klearchos K. 
Published: August 2024

IntroductionTransplantation of kidneys from expanded criteria donors (ECD), including after circulatory death (DCD), is associated with a higher risk of adverse events compared to kidneys from standard criteria donors. In previous studies, improvements in renal transplant outcomes have been seen when kidneys were perfused with gaseous oxygen during preservation (persufflation, PSF). In the present study, we assessed ex-vivo renal function from a Diffusion Contrast Enhanced (DCE)-MRI estimation of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR); and metabolic sufficiency from whole-organ oxygen consumption (WOOCR) and lactate production rates.MethodsUsing a porcine model of DCD, we assigned one kidney to antegrade PSF, and the contralateral kidney to static cold storage (SCS), both maintained for 24 h at 4°C. Post-preservation organ quality assessments, including eGFR, WOOCR and lactate production, were measured under cold perfusion conditions, and biopsies were subsequently taken for histopathological analysis.ResultsA significantly higher eGFR (36.6 ± 12.1 vs. 11.8 ± 4.3 ml/min, p &lt; 0.05), WOOCR (182 ± 33 vs. 132 ± 21 nmol/min*g, p &lt; 0.05), and lower rates of lactate production were observed in persufflated kidneys. No overt morphological differences were observed between the two preservation methods.ConclusionThese data suggest that antegrade PSF is more effective in preserving renal function than conventional SCS. Further studies in large animal models of transplantation are required to investigate whether integration with PSF of WOOCR, eGFR or lactate production measurements before transplantation are predictive of post-transplantation renal function and clinical outcomes.
The effect of agricultural information provision on smallholders’ technology adoption and yield: experimental evidence from Ethiopia
Authors: Waje Samuel Semma , Shano Berhanu Kuma , Walelign Solomon Zena , Kassie Workineh Asmare 
Published: August 2024

IntroductionLack of sufficient agricultural information has led smallholders’ to rely on traditional agricultural farming technologies in Sub-Saharan African countries, resulting in low adoption of modern inputs and low yield. Understanding the effect of information dissemination is essential for smallholder farmers in rural areas. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of a randomized agricultural information provision on technology adoption and yield of cassava producers in Sodo Zuria, Offa, and Kindo Koysha Woredas in Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia Regional Sate.MethodsThe study utilized panel data collected in two rounds from 1040 farmers in 2021 and 2023. A Randomized control trial (RCT) design was applied to evaluate the effect agricultural information provision on technology adoption and yields, comparing the results between treatment and control groups. The study employed three related information interventions for beneficiaries of the Ethiopian Rural Productive Safety Net Program: (i) agronomic technical information, (ii) productivity and profitability information, and (iii) pooled information on both treatments.Results and discussionThe study found that agricultural information provision increases the adoption of modern agricultural technologies, land allocated to cassava, and yield. The provision of agricultural information is negatively related to access to media exposure, access to cell phones, and access to infrastructure while positively associated with participation in social groups, farm size, and farm income. Further policy research and evaluation are needed to assess the effectiveness of information intervention in different contexts and settings and factors that influence the improved cassava adoption and yield.
Associations between fatty infiltration of rotator cuff muscles and tear size or location of rotator cuff tendon
Authors: Kajiyama Shiro , Chiba Ko , Aoki Tatsunari , Sada Kiyoshi , Sato Shuntaro , Osaki Makoto 
Published: August 2024

BackgroundFatty infiltration (FI) of rotator cuff muscles in patients with rotator cuff tears is an important imaging factor for determining surgical indications. However, the associations between FI grade and the size or location of adjacent rotator cuff tears are not well-known. This study aimed to primarily determine whether tear size and location, especially for the SSc tendon, are associated with FI of adjacent rotator cuff muscles. The secondary aim was to clarify which patient factors are associated with rotator cuff muscle FI in rotator cuff tear cases.MethodsThis study examined 373 shoulders of 348 patients (264 males and 109 females; mean age of 62.8 years) who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery. The FI grades of the supraspinatus (SSP), infraspinatus (ISP), and subscapularis (SSc) muscles were assessed using preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the Goutallier classification modified by Fuchs. According to the preoperative MRI and intraoperative findings, the tear size of the posterior–superior rotator cuff (SSP–ISP) was classified using a modified six-grade scale of the Cofield classification, and that of the SSc tear was classified using a six-grade scale according to the Lafosse classification. Age at surgery, sex, body mass index (BMI), presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) or hyperlipidemia (HL), trauma history, and duration of symptoms were investigated.ResultsThe FI grades of the SSP, ISP, and SSc were significantly associated with the size of the tears in those muscles (all P &lt; 0.01). Furthermore, the FI grades of the SSP and the ISP were significantly associated with SSc tear size (P &lt; 0.01), and the FI grade of the SSc was significantly associated with SSP–ISP tear size (P &lt; 0.01). Patient age at surgery was significantly associated with FI grade (P &lt; 0.01), with significant progression of the FI grade with advancing age. However, there were no significant associations between the FI grade and sex, BMI, presence of DM or HL, trauma history, and duration of symptoms.ConclusionsThe FI grade of each of the rotator cuff muscles is affected by not only the tear severity of the muscle concerned but also by the severity of any tear in the adjacent rotator cuff.
Owner-reported treatments and outcomes of perceived injuries to the thoracic and pelvic limb of agility dogs
Authors: Alva Bianca M. , Pechette Markley Arielle , Shoben Abigail , Kieves Nina R. 
Published: August 2024

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify the type of veterinary care sought by handlers of injured agility dogs, the types of treatments the dogs received, and the timeframe for return to training and competition.ProceduresOwners of agility dogs completed an internet-based survey. They were instructed to report injuries that had kept the dog from training or competing for over a week, identify which area(s) of the body had been injured and answer questions about the most severe injury to each body part. Additional questions included if handlers had sought veterinary care, who primarily determined treatment, type of treatment(s), and length of time before the dog could return to full training and competition.ResultsThis sample included data on 1,714 total injuries from 1,256 unique dogs. Handlers sought veterinary care for over 80% of injuries across all anatomical locations. Handlers were most likely to seek specialty veterinary care for reported injuries to the stifle (71%), iliopsoas (63%) and tibia (61%), and least likely for reported injuries to the carpus (34%), metatarsus (33%) and metacarpus (22%). Treatment of reported injuries to the antebrachium and stifle were most likely to be directed by a veterinarian (&gt;70%), while reported injuries of the thigh (51%) and hip (53%) were least likely. Rest was the most common treatment for all injuries. Return to sport within 3 months was common (&gt;67%) for most perceived injury locations, though dogs with reported stifle injuries took longer to return to competition and had a higher rate of retirement.Conclusion and clinical relevanceOwners of agility dogs have a high rate of seeking veterinary care for injuries. Overall return to sport rates were high, with the stifle being the notable exception. Future studies regarding specific treatment of injuries in agility dogs, and how injuries and their treatment affect return to agility after injury are required to provide optimal care protocols for these canine athletes.