bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microencapsulated Asiatic Pennywort (Centella asiatica) fortified chocolate oat milk beverage: Formulation, polyphenols content, and consumer acceptability
Authors: Samaratunga Roselle , Kantono Kevin , Kam Rothman , Gannabathula Swapna , Hamid Nazimah 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThis study investigated the use of microencapsulated Asiatic pennywort (Centella asiatica) (CA) as a functional ingredient to formulate a novel chocolate oat milk beverage. The main objectives of the study were to characterize and encapsulate bioactive components from CA and to determine the polyphenol content and sensory properties of the beverage. CA extract was microencapsulated using maltodextrin and gum Arabic as carriers and subsequently freeze‐dried to produce microcapsules. Microencapsulated CA was incorporated into chocolate oat milk at varying concentrations. Polyphenol content of the beverages was quantified using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Consumer acceptability and sensory perception of the beverages were evaluated through an acceptance test and a check‐all‐that‐apply test, respectively, to assess the sensory characteristics of the chocolate oat milk beverage. CA fortified chocolate oat milk contained fourteen polyphenols. Increasing the concentration of microencapsulated CA led to an increase in the polyphenol content of the beverage. Among the identified polyphenols, asiatic acid and asiaticoside stood out as the unique and most abundant compounds in CA (p < 0.05). Additionally, the incorporation of cocoa powder into the beverage further contributed to the polyphenol content, introducing bioactive compounds such as benzoic acid, caffeic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol, luteolin, madecassic acid, p‐coumaric acid, and quercetin. Evaluation of consumer acceptability revealed that chocolate oat milk beverages containing 2% and 4% microencapsulated CA were liked by consumers. However, beverages with higher concentrations of CA were perceived as less acceptable, characterized by grassy, bitter, and earthy attributes. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potential of microencapsulated CA as a functional ingredient in chocolate oat milk beverages.Practical ApplicationThis study reveals new insights on the microencapsulation of bioactive compounds in CA, proposing its potential as a novel functional ingredient in food and beverage applications in Western markets. The study revealed microencapsulated CA retained polyphenols in CA including asiatic acid and asiaticoside responsible for its bioactive properties. Consumer perception of CA added to oat milk revealed that it can be added at an acceptable level of 4%; however, higher amounts can decrease consumer acceptability. As practitioners explore the incorporation of CA as a functional component in food products, it is crucial to explore preservation techniques for the sensitive bioactive components while balancing the optimal amount of CA to enhance overall consumer liking.
Preparation of a colorimetric hydrogel indicator reinforced with modified aramid nanofiber employing natural anthocyanin to monitor shrimp freshness
Authors: Tang Qiushi , Hu Jiwen , Liu Feng , Gui Xuefeng , Tu Yuanyuan 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe pH‐responsive hydrogels have potential applications in food visualization detection, but their fragile mechanical properties limit their applicability. The excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability of aramid nanofibers (ANFs) can improve the structural stability of hydrogels. In this study, the surface properties of ANFs were enhanced through modification to improve their surface activity. The modified ANFs, designated as ANF‐SN, were produced following treatment with a mixture of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3), which led to increased reactivity and dispersibility of the ANFs due to the proliferation of active groups on their nanofiber surface. The preferred anthocyanin extract from purple sweet potatoes (purple sweet potato extract [PSPE]) had significant color responses to pH (2–12) and ammonia vapor. A stable dual‐network colorimetric hydrogel was fabricated by combining ANF‐SN, polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate (PVA/SA), and PSPE through a two‐step method (freeze‐thawing and staining). Characterization analysis showed that the strong acid modification of ANFs effectively improved their chemical reactivity. ANF‐SN was better than ANF in promoting the formation of hydrogen bond networks, enhancing hydrogel network structures, and improving the viscoelasticity of hydrogels. The optimal hydrogel indicator PVA/SA/ANF‐SN/PSPE had good color responsiveness and sensitivity to ammonia. It can also be used to further determine shrimp freshness value using a smartphone and RGB color‐picking software.
The utility of next‐generation sequencing in distinguishing between separate primary lung carcinomas and intrapulmonary metastasis: A case report
Authors: Mantri Shilpa S. , Wallace William D. , Nieva Jorge J. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe distinction between separate primary lung carcinomas (SPLCs) and intrapulmonary metastases (IPMs) is crucial to accurate cancer staging. Histopathology‐based classification cannot always determine the relatedness of multiple tumors taken from the lung. Recently, next‐generation sequencing (NGS) has been used for biomarker determination, but it also has the potential to inform clonality determination among multiple tumors. Here we present a patient with three lung tumors, each diagnosed as adenocarcinoma by histopathology with a differential diagnosis of SPLC versus IPM. We pursued molecular profiling by NGS, which revealed three unique mutational patterns ruling out the possibility of clonal relatedness among the cancers. Our case supports the utility of NGS in supplementing histopathological methods to distinguish between SPLCs and IPMs and to guide treatment decisions.
Lead isotopes may link the earliest silver hoard from Megiddo to the military campaign of Thutmose III
Authors: Eshel Tzilla , Finkelstein Israel 
Published: August 2024

AbstractDuring the University of Chicago excavations at Megiddo, a 135 g hoard of silver fragments wrapped in cloth and enclosed in a small clay jug was unearthed in a room with an earthen or plastered floor, in a focal point of the Middle Bronze (MB) city. It was affiliated by the excavators with Stratum XIIIA, dated to the MB I. The hoard is published here for the first time, along with various possibilities for its dating, the weights of the items, and the chemical composition and isotopic ratios of a selected number of them. Although the hoard could be associated with several overlying MB II strata, the isotopic ratios of the silver, combined with archaeological considerations, suggest that it be placed in the Late Bronze Stratum IX and associated with the siege and takeover of Megiddo by Thutmose III in the mid‐15th century bce.
Identifying and responding to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in child and family health: Lessons from an exploratory mixed methods study
Authors: Evans Susan , Lucas Barbara R. , Monds Lauren Ann , Montebello Mark 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIntroductionDevelopmental outcomes for children and young people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are optimised if their needs are identified early. Yet, health workers miss vital opportunities to identify and respond to FASD due to a lack of support, knowledge and skills.MethodsThrough surveys and interviews, our study investigated what child and family health workers in an Australian metropolitan local health district understand, already do and want to learn about FASD.ResultsThe study provided evidence of low FASD knowledge and confidence and a lack of referral options with some workers ‘patching together’ care planning in a ‘referral black hole’. Qualitative data provided insight into how skilled clinicians engage families in FASD assessment and negotiate gaps in clinical knowledge.Discussion and ConclusionsHealth workers in this study requested high‐quality training and the development of FASD practice guidelines to improve role clarity and clinical impact when working with FASD populations.
Beneficiary appointment and delivery planning in a conflict setting
Authors: Balcik Burcu , Battarra Maria , Celik Melih , Khoury Bashar , Subramanian Anand 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIn this study, we explore the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations engaged in relief efforts for internally displaced individuals during armed conflicts. Based on our semistructured interviews with three local nongovernmental organizations (LNGOs) in Syria, we introduce a new appointment scheduling problem to improve decision‐making for aid delivery planning in conflict settings. Operating in a highly resource‐constrained environment, these LNGOs face complexities that necessitate effective decision support tools to streamline supply delivery at relief facilities, where a large number of registered beneficiaries are served. Our proposed appointment scheduling problem aims to optimize the allocation of delivery times for various supplies, taking into account the urgency of needs and operational limitations. We present a heuristic that addresses the complexities of the proposed scheduling problem in a flexible way. The heuristic can accommodate simple rules derived from LNGOs' operational policies on the ground, such as imposing a single visit per beneficiary, delivering a single supply type per day, and preallocating time slots to conflict groups. We present a case study based on the Latakia district of Syria to assess the performance of our heuristic and the effectiveness of simplified delivery strategies. Our results not only showcase the efficiency of the heuristic, but also provide valuable managerial insights. We find that cross‐training of staff is more beneficial when supplies are relatively abundant. Furthermore, the simplified delivery policies are effective in certain conditions contingent upon various factors, including supply scarcity, difficulty of travel, and the level of conflict in the population.
Influence of hydrological variability and life history strategy on riverine fish assemblages in the Australian wet‐dry tropics
Authors: King Alison J. , Olden Julian D. , Luiz Osmar J. , Kennard Mark J. , Adair Brendan , Crook David A. , Douglas Michael M. , Saunders Thor M. , Wedd Dion 
Published: August 2024

AbstractRiverine fish assemblages are strongly influenced by attributes of the flow regime. Tropical savannah river systems have distinct and predictable hydrologic seasonality, reflecting the wet‐dry climate, but can vary substantially in terms of dry season flow permanency and wet season flow‐pulse characteristics. Understanding how flow permanence and variability influence fish assemblages, and whether these factors can be used to predict responses to future hydrological change, are key knowledge gaps that impede effective management. We examined the influence of hydrological variability on the structure and diversity of freshwater fish assemblages across rivers of the wet‐dry tropics of northern Australia. We found distinct fish assemblages that varied predictably across three hydrological river types: Intermittent, Perennial Stable and Perennial Flashy flow regimes. This distinction emerged despite a common species pool across the region. Species richness was greatest in rivers with Perennial Stable flow regimes, whereas beta‐diversity was greatest in Intermittent rivers. However, life history strategies of constituent species were generally poor predictors of species abundances within each hydrological river type. The distinct fish assemblages evident among hydrological classes may provide some cautious ability to both predict potential fish assemblage changes with future hydrological changes (e.g. if perennial streams became more flashy or intermittent), and to predict fish assemblages expected in unsampled rivers with particular hydrological characteristics. Our findings provide further support for the importance of maintaining regional flow‐habitat heterogeneity and the connectivity between hydrological river types, and their essential role for conserving tropical fish species diversity into an uncertain hydrological future.
Increased sensorimotor activity during categorisation of emotionally ambiguous faces
Authors: Karakale Özge , McNair Nicolas , Moore Matthew , Kirk Ian 
Published: August 2024

AbstractActions are rarely devoid of emotional content. Thus, a more complete picture of the neural mechanisms underlying the mental simulation of observed actions requires more research using emotion information. The present study used high‐density electroencephalography to investigate mental simulation associated with facial emotion categorisation. Alpha‐mu rhythm modulation was measured at each frequency, from 8 Hz to 13 Hz, to infer the degree of sensorimotor simulation. Results suggest the sensitivity of the sensorimotor activity to emotional information, because (1) categorising static images of neutral faces as happy or sad was associated with stronger suppression in the central region than categorising clearly happy faces, (2) there was preliminary evidence indicating that the strongest suppression in the central region was in response to neutral faces, followed by sad and then happy faces and (3) in the control task, which required categorising images with the head oriented right, left, or forward as right or left, differences between conditions showed a pattern more indicative of task difficulty rather than sensorimotor engagement. Dissociable processing of emotional information in facial expressions and directionality information in head orientations was further captured in beta band activity (14–20 Hz). Stronger mu suppression to neutral faces indicates that sensorimotor simulation extends beyond crude motor mimicry. We propose that mu rhythm responses to facial expressions may serve as a biomarker for empathy circuit activation. Future research should investigate whether atypical or inconsistent mu rhythm responses to facial expressions indicate difficulties in understanding or sharing emotions.
Forming our grief rhythm: The relational window of tolerance for bereaved parents
Authors: Barboza Jessica , Seedall Ryan , Hooghe An , Kaplow Julie , Bradshaw Spencer 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe shared loss of a child can present challenges to couple relationships as both partners attempt to cope with their own grief and their partner's grief. In this longitudinal qualitative study, five bereaved parent couples participated in 13 total interviews, revealing coregulatory interactions surrounding their shared loss. Using thematic coding and grounded theory analysis, their reflections were organized into three interrelated process themes: regulating self, regulating other, and forming our grief rhythm. This article explores the complexity of the last theme “forming our grief rhythm” in‐depth, and a new theoretical orientation, the relational window of tolerance, is introduced to examine how couples coregulate both fragile and stable states within their shared grief. The reflections of bereaved parents indicated that prolonged “dual fragile states” and prolonged “imbalanced states” may hinder relationship quality. In order to regain relationship stability, couples learned to trade off supporting one another and/or to resonate with one another in their shared pain. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed, focusing especially on how to integrate individual and relational needs into grief therapy frameworks.
Association of biomarkers and Barthel Index with occurrence of age‐related adverse health outcomes in individuals with diabetes
Authors: Umamoto Kotaro , Bouchi Ryotaro , Soeda Kotaro , Satake Shosuke , Hosoyama Tohru , Ohsugi Mitsuru , Ueki Kohjiro , Kajio Hiroshi 
Published: August 2024

AbstractAims/IntroductionThe clinical significance of age‐related biomarkers in patients with diabetes has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we aimed to establish models to predict the progression of aging in patients with diabetes using biomarkers.Materials and MethodsThis single‐center, retrospective cohort study included 115 Japanese patients with diabetes aged ≥60 years. Age‐related adverse health outcomes were defined as emergency hospitalization, any increase in the level of nursing care certification, admission to a nursing home or death. The associations of age‐related biomarker levels (adiponectin, growth differentiation factor 15 [GDF15], C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 9 and apelin) and clinical indicators with age‐related adverse health outcomes were evaluated. Factors that predominantly influenced the occurrence of age‐related adverse health outcomes were explored using the Cox proportional hazards model.ResultsThe mean age of the 115 participants was 73 years, 50.6% were men, the mean body mass index and hemoglobin A1c level were 25.3 kg/m2 and 9.79%, respectively. There were 26 age‐related adverse health outcomes during the study period (median 1.93, range 0–4.65 years). In a model combining clinical indicators and biomarkers, including the Barthel Index, GDF15 and adiponectin, the occurrence of age‐related adverse health outcomes was found to be significantly associated with GDF15 and Barthel Index. The group with both GDF15 and adiponectin levels higher than the median proved to be significantly higher than the group with both lower.ConclusionsThe measurement of GDF15 and adiponectin levels and the Barthel Index might be useful for predicting age‐related adverse health outcomes in patients with diabetes.
Additive inclusion in plastic life cycle assessments, part II: Review of additive inventory data trends and availability
Authors: Logan H. , DeMeester S. , Astrup T. F. , Damgaard A. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractPlastic additives are as essential as polymers to the production and performance of plastic materials. Additive content can vary in composition and functionality depending on the product, producer, application, and production method. Such variation may be a barrier to achieving high‐quality recycling and planning for plastic circular economy futures. Yet, as found in Part I, although there is increasing awareness of the importance of additives in plastics, they are often poorly disclosed or only briefly discussed in life cycle assessments (LCAs). In part II, we focus on the inclusion of additives in plastic processes in the database most used in plastic LCAs to date (Ecoinvent) and find that additives have historically been omitted from plastic granulate data and in production processes in the evaluated database. Thus, many practitioners will need to separately include additives in their models of plastic life cycles. To support practitioners in this endeavor, we then assess the availability of the 13,587 additives identified in the recent UN Chemicals in Plastics Report across the three major LCI databases (CarbonMinds, Ecoinvent, and LCA for Experts [GaBi]). We find that databases currently cover only 1,209 of these additives. Moreover, we assert that transparency regarding additive inclusion in plastics datasets, availability of additive datasets, and additive data completeness are major barriers to additive inclusion in plastic LCAs. Thus, we recommend focusing on the development of additive datasets, and we provide a tool for the identification of additive dataset availability and data gaps to improve the quality of plastic LCAs.
Ultrasonographic measurement of the prostatic dimension‐to‐aortic luminal diameter in healthy intact male dogs and dogs with benign prostatic hyperplasia
Authors: Ponglowhapan S. , Pattanaviboon K. , Maneerattanavichien Y. , Phitchayangkoon P. , Lueangprasert P. , Preechatangkit A. , Suthigarn S. , Saisawart P. , Thanaboonnipat C. , Choisunirachon N. 
Published: August 2024

ObjectivesTo establish ultrasonographic measurements of the prostatic dimension‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratios including the prostatic volume‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratio in healthy, intact male dogs and compare these ratios between healthy dogs and dogs affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia.Materials and MethodsHealthy dogs (n = 75) and dogs affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia (n = 104) were included in the study. Prostate length, width, average height and aortic luminal diameter were measured from ultrasonographic images. In addition, prostatic volume was calculated, and prostatic volume‐to‐aortic luminal diameter were also compared.ResultsIn healthy dogs, aortic luminal diameter was significantly associated with bodyweight and the prostatic width while body condition scores, prostate length and prostatic average height were not associated. Prostatic dimension‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratios and prostatic volume‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratio was not significantly different among dogs with different body condition scores either in healthy dogs or dogs affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia, except prostatic volume‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratio in benign prostatic hyperplasia. Prostatic dimension‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratios were significantly higher in benign prostatic hyperplasia while prostatic volume‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratio significantly higher in healthy dogs. Prostatic dimension‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratios demonstrated medium to high sensitivity and specificity when distinguishing between healthy dogs and dogs affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia. Prostatomegaly, should be considered when the prostatic dimension‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratios increase. The calculated cut‐off values were 3.68, 4.46 and 3.06 for prostate length‐to‐aortic luminal diameter, prostatic width‐ to‐aortic luminal diameter and prostatic average height‐to‐aortic luminal diameter, respectively.Clinical SignificanceThe prostatic dimension‐to‐aortic luminal diameter ratios could be useful to evaluate the size of the prostate in dogs, as it is unaffected by the body condition scores.
Progress and future directions for seaweed holobiont research
Authors: Saha Mahasweta , Dittami Simon M. , Chan Cheong Xin , Raina Jean‐Baptiste , Stock Willem , Ghaderiardakani Fatemeh , Valathuparambil Baby John Ann Mary , Corr Shauna , Schleyer Guy , Todd Jonathan , Cardini Ulisse , Bengtsson Mia M. , Prado Soizic , Skillings Derek , Sonnenschein Eva C. , Engelen Aschwin H. , Wang Gaoge , Wichard Thomas , Brodie Juliet , Leblanc Catherine , Egan Suhelen 
Published: August 2024

SummaryIn the marine environment, seaweeds (i.e. marine macroalgae) provide a wide range of ecological services and economic benefits. Like land plants, seaweeds do not provide these services in isolation, rather they rely on their associated microbial communities, which together with the host form the seaweed holobiont. However, there is a poor understanding of the mechanisms shaping these complex seaweed–microbe interactions, and of the evolutionary processes underlying these interactions. Here, we identify the current research challenges and opportunities in the field of seaweed holobiont biology. We argue that identifying the key microbial partners, knowing how they are recruited, and understanding their specific function and their relevance across all seaweed life history stages are among the knowledge gaps that are particularly important to address, especially in the context of the environmental challenges threatening seaweeds. We further discuss future approaches to study seaweed holobionts, and how we can apply the holobiont concept to natural or engineered seaweed ecosystems.