bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Seismic Site Response and Liquefaction Potential for Seismic Site Classification in the Niger Delta Region
Authors: TrustGod John A. , Kennedy Charles , Ataria Robert B. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

A comprehensive seismic site characterization of Igbogene in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria was conducted to evaluate the site response and liquefaction potential. Field investigations included borehole drilling, Standard Penetration Testing (SPT), and Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) testing to obtain soil samples and characterize subsurface properties. Laboratory tests determined soil classification, index properties, density, and geotechnical parameters per ASTM standards. Mathematical correlations were developed through regression modelling to estimate SPT N-values, shear wave velocity (Vs), and liquefaction and safety factor factor based on soil depth, composition, moisture content, and effective stress. The correlations demonstrated strong agreement with measured field and laboratory data, outperforming existing empirical models. Subsurface conditions comprised predominantly loose to dense silty sands and soft compressible clays within the upper 30 m. Shear wave velocity profiles matched closely with the developed velocity correlation, averaging 5.2% error. Site response analyses and simplified liquefaction evaluations were conducted to assess seismic hazards. The results showed amplification factors ranging from 1.5 to over 3 for the loose sandy soils, demonstrating their ability to significantly amplify ground shaking. Liquefaction potential maps were generated based on spatial variations in geologic conditions. This comprehensive site characterization provided reliable input for seismic microzonation and geotechnical earthquake engineering design as per international codes. This study's results can aid in stimulating infrastructure resilience against seismic activity throughout the Niger Delta region.
Roles of cytokines in modulating Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection outcomes in vervet monkeys
Authors: Adung’a Vincent , Jebet Clara , John Thuita , Masiga Daniel , John Oidho , Field Mark , Matovu Enock , Orindi Benedict 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), caused by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, remains a threat in east and southern African regions. The disease is widely categorised as acute, but often presents varying clinical outcomes that could also be considered as chronic. Although the mechanisms underpinning these variable clinical dynamics are poorly understood, host and parasite factors or both have been suggested. Here we assessed the roles of host cytokines in disease progression using a non-human primate (NHP), vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) model of HAT. We quantified the levels of eight cytokines, including TNF-α, IFN- γ, IL-10, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-1 β, the brain injury biomarker S100β, clinical data and compared acute and chronic infections. As expected, cytokine levels in both infected groups were significantly higher than uninfected controls (P<0.05). IL-12, IL-6 and IL-1β cytokines were significantly elevated (p < 0.05) in early-stage disease which extended from infection to the onset of late stage disease at a median (range) time of 16 (8-24) and 16 (12-28) dpi for acute and chronic strains respectively. IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-10 are implicated in pro- and counter inflammatory responses and their modulation. C. aethiops infected with KETRI 3801 died with a mean survival time of 28 days compared to KETRI 3928 with a mean survival time of 95 days. In addition, CSF parasite and WBC levels were higher in KETRI 3801 as compared to KETRI 3928 infections. We conclude that cytokines play a role in modulating disease progression and severity in a NHP model of T. b. rhodesiense HAT. Further, we validate the cyclic vervet monkey model of HAT, enhancing its utility for disease pathogenesis studies. These results are important in investigating host-pathogen interactions to unravel varying infection outcomes.
Occluded Person Re-ID Based on Dual Attention Mask Guidance
Authors: Liao Kaiyang , Lin Jie , Zheng Yuanlin , Liu Haiwen , Tan Yunfei , Feng Wen 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Occluded person re-identification aims to match occluded pedestrian with pedestrian images from nonintersecting cameras. For dealing with the task of Occluded Person Re-ID, existing methods focus only on tackling the pedestrian occlusion issue. Yet they all ignore the fact that salient nonhuman body parts such as hats, bags, and jewelry can provide more discriminatory informational cues. In this regard, this paper proposed an Occluded Person Re-ID algorithm based on Dual Attention Mask (DAM) guidance, which simultaneously solves the problems of pedestrian occlusion and significant non-human body part features that are easily ignored. Specifically, DAM consists of Pose Attention (PA) and Saliency Attention (SA). PA utilizes human pose key points to generate heatmap, and the produced heatmap indicates whether a specific body part is occluded or not, as well as guides the model to focus on the non-occluded region. SA then locates dropped salient non-human body part features through spatial attention and channel attention, and generates a saliency attention heat map to direct the model focus on the salient non-human body part features. Accordingly, DAM not only highlights the visible body parts while suppressing the occluded parts, but also localizes the prominent non-human body parts in the background. Finally, extensive experiments on three occlusion datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Impact of a 2-week Flipped Classroom Virtual Neurology Clerkship versus a Traditional 4- week Rotation on NBME Shelf Exam Scores
Authors: Rybinnik Igor , Pal Gian , Farrukh Humza , Przydzial Paulina , Mani Ram 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Objective
There is conflicting evidence whether decreased clerkship duration is associated with reduced NBME shelf examination performance. We hypothesized that scores would remain stable for students in a shortened 2-week flipped classroom-based virtual rotation as compared to the traditional 4-week Neurology clerkship.
Background
There is conflicting evidence whether decreased clerkship duration is associated with reduced NBME shelf examination performance. We hypothesized that Neurology shelf exam scores would remain stable for students in a shortened 2-week flipped classroom-based virtual rotation as compared to the traditional 4-week Neurology clerkship with direct patient care supplemented by didactics.
Methods
This is a retrospective observational cohort study. In April 2020, the neurology clerkship at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School switched from a traditional 4-week in-person clinical rotation supplemented by didactics to a 2-week flipped classroom-based virtual-only curriculum decoupled from a supplementary 2-week in-person clinical rotation to be completed later. Students were offered the opportunity to test after the 2-week virtual curriculum. NBME shelf scores for these “exam before clinical rotation” (EBC) students over the final quarter of the academic year 2019–2020 were compared to those of the “exam after clinical” (EAC) students undergoing the 4-week traditional rotation from July 2018 to March 2020.
Results
321 students completed the shelf exam between July 2018 and June 2020, of which 284 students comprised the EAC cohort and 37 students, the EBC cohort. Mean scores did not differ between the EBC and EAC cohorts (81.8 ± 6.7 versus 81.8 ± 6.5, p = 0.96). Additional analyses showed no significant differences in the performance of EBC students as compared to the EAC students that tested within the same academic year 2019–2020 or within the matched quarter of the prior academic year 2018–2019, and students completing the virtual rotation who delayed testing after the clinical experience.
Conclusions
Testing after a 2-week flipped classroom-based virtual curriculum in Neurology without additional clinical training did not negatively affect neurology NBME shelf scores. Decoupling clinical experiences from knowledge acquisition and the evaluation of that knowledge base by means of NBME shelf examination is not likely to disadvantage learners with respect to shelf examination performance.
Clinical Trial Number: Not applicable. This is not a clinical trial.
Seasonal Dynamics of Soil Microbiome in Response to Dry-Wet Alternation along the Jinsha River Dry-hot Valley
Authors: Jiang Hao , Chen Xiaoqing , Li Yongping , Chen Jiangang , Wei Li , Zhang Yuanbin 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background
Soil microorganisms play a key role in nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and other important ecosystem processes, yet their response to seasonal dry-wet alternation remains poorly understood. Here, we collected 120 soil samples from dry-hot valleys (DHVs, ~1100 m a.s.l.), transition (~2000 m a.s.l.) and alpine zones (~3000 m a.s.l.) along the Jinsha River in southwest China during both wet and dry seasons. Our aims were to investigate the bacterial microbiome across these zones, with a specific focus on the difference between wet and dry seasons.
Results
Despite seasonal variations, bacterial communities in DHVs exhibit resilience, maintaining consistent community richness, diversity, and coverage. This suggests that the microbes inhabiting DHVs have evolved adaptive mechanisms to withstand the extreme dry and hot conditions. In addition, we observed season-specific microbial clades in all sampling areas, highlighting their resilience and adaptability to environmental fluctuations. Notably, we found similarities in microbial clades between soils from DHVs and the transition zones, including the phyla Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Proteobacteria. The neutral community model respectively explained a substantial proportion of the community variation in DHVs (87.7%), transition (81.4%) and alpine zones (81%), indicating that those were predominantly driven by stochastic processes. Our results showed that migration rates were higher in the dry season than in the wet season in both DHVs and the alpine zones, suggesting fewer diffusion constraints. However, this trend was reversed in the transition zones.
Conclusions
Our findings contribute to a better understanding of how the soil microbiome responds to seasonal dry-wet alternation in the Jinsha River valley. These insights can be valuable for optimizing soil health and enhancing ecosystem resilience, particularly in dry-hot valleys, in the context of climate change.
Radiomics improves the prognosis assessment of glioma recurrences: Focus on reliability analysis of MRI features
Authors: Li Linlin , Yan Ying , Zhang Jiaxin , Lv Zhiru , Liu Bing , Tong Guiyuan , Xue Zhaofeng , Sun Ying , Zhao Xinzhuo 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate whether imaging biomarkers could improve the efficacy of recurrent glioma survival prediction compared with that of the established clinical factors model.
Method
The clinical information of 80 patients was recorded in detail along with the radiomic features of the tumor region on recurrent MR images. An overall survival (OS) prediction model was proposed that combines clinical information and radiomic features. To improve the model’s generalizability and reliability, three-level feature selection methods (Kruskal‒Wallis test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and LASSO) were utilized. Finally, feature maps were constructed to explain the radiomic features.
Results
Six radiomic features and three clinical factors were identified to have prognostic value for recurrent glioma. The model combining radiomics features and clinical factors achieved better predictive performance (C-index = 0.787) than the clinical-based model (C-index = 0.734). KM survival curves showed clear differences between the high- and low-risk OS groups, with C-indexes of 0.751 (p < .0001) and 0.687 (p = 0.018), respectively.
Conclusion
Radiomics features improve overall survival prediction for recurrent glioma patients.
Antioxidant and genotoxic activity of Pistacia terebinthus and Ephedra alata crude extracts
Authors: HARIR Mohammed , Bnedif Hamdi , Reimann hauker , Filomena Silva , Nerin Cristina , Hintzsche Henning 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

In the last decades, cases of poisoning due to medicinal plants have been very common in many countries including Algeria. Algerian herbal medicines have been used in effectively treating several health problems, but their toxicity limits their use. Pistacia terebinthus and Ephedra alata herbal medicine collected from Algeria have been used for a long time to treat several diseases. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the chemical composition and evaluate the genotoxicity and the antioxidant activity of crude extracts of these two herbal medicines (E. alata and P. terebinthus) traditionally used in Algeria and North Africa. For this purpose, genotoxicity was assessed using the micronucleus test. Additionally, compounds with antioxidant and genotoxic activities of these two plants were identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The highest antioxidant capacity of the extracts was found in P. terebinthus ethanol extract owing to its richness of daphnetin, and oleic acid amide. Our results showed that most of these plants exhibited antioxidant activities and genotoxic effects, depending on the level of administered doses. To our knowledge, this is the first report on these effects caused by of both plants.
The application of Information Poverty Theory to health information and misinformation in the digital age
Authors: Matli Walter 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Purpose – The growing use and availability of advanced technologies have helped empower communities around health issues across the world. This review article focuses more specifically on health misinformation, paying particular attention to the interplay between a lack of adequate data for decision-making during health emergencies and the context of widespread uncertainty around the use and reliability of information from digital sources.
Design/methodology/approach – The systematic review sampled the Scopus database to access articles using several literature searches. This qualitative review article adopts the Information Poverty Theory to understand better decision-making regarding the availability of health information by both communities and individuals.
Findings – First, health emergencies result in uneven situations for some people and communities, as they are not active participants in the use of information technology. In many cases, this is not by choice but because of the situations in which they find themselves. Second, there are concerns about the lack of social integration with new technologies. We live in an unequal world, where the privileged have access to and use technology to access health-related information, whereas, for others, access and use are difficult or not an option at all.
Originality – As digital health information distribution grows and as more data becomes available, society requires information that will assist them in responding to health emergencies and in becoming more knowledgeable about how to access such information. Policymakers within the healthcare sector and in governments need to learn the importance of increasing access to advanced information technologies as part of their approach to sharing health information, especially for those with poor or no access to information and communication infrastructure and to learn from recent failures and successes experienced.
Effect of cations on ATP binding to the N-domain of Na+, K+-ATPase
Authors: Ramírez-Alonso Jocelin I. , Sampedro José G. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

The nucleotide-binding domain (N-domain) of the Na+, K+-ATPase (NKA) is physicochemically characterized by a high content of Glu and Asp residues, resulting in a low isoelectric point (pI = 5.0). Acidic proteins are known to interact with cations. The analysis in silico revealed potential cation interaction sites in the NKA N-domain structure. The interaction with cations was tested in vitro by using a recombinant NKA N-domain. The N-domain contains two Trp residues at the protein surface, as determined by acrylamide-mediated fluorescence quenching, that are useful for structural studies through fluorescence changes. Intrinsic fluorescence of the N-domain was quenched by the presence of cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+) indicating an effect on the protein structure. ATP binding also quenched the N-domain intrinsic fluorescence, which allowed nucleotide affinity determination and sigmoid kinetics for binding. In the presence of cations, the N-domain affinity for ATP was increased, as well as binding cooperativity. Molecular docking of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) with the N-domain showed two binding modes with the isothiocyanate group located 5–6 Å close to Lys480 and Lys501 in the nucleotide-binding site. The presence of ATP prevented the FITC covalent labeling of the N-domain demonstrating the competitive behavior for the binding site. Finally, it was found that the presence of Na+ and K+, but not Ca2+, diminished the FITC labeling of the N-domain; i.e., by decreasing FITC affinity at the nucleotide-binding site. It is proposed that cations interact with the N-domain structure and thereby modulate nucleotide (ATP) affinity and possibly affecting NKA catalysis.
No-tillage with total green manure mulching reduces soil respiration by regulating soil moisture affecting heterotrophic respiration
Authors: Shang Yongpan , YU Aizhong , Wang Yulong , Wang Pengfei , Lyu Hanqiang , Wang Feng , Yang Xuehui , Liu Yalong , Yin Bo , Zhang Dongling 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background and aims
Green manure is widely used in agricultural production due to its beneficial soil modification and fertilization functions. However, the mechanisms related to the effects of green manure return methods on soil respiration (Rs) and its components are not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of green manure return methods on Rs in maize fields by quantifying Rs.
Methods
A field experiment with five treatments was conducted in 2021–2023 in the inland river oasis irrigation area of Gansu: tillage with a full quantity of green manure incorporated into the soil (TG), no-tillage with a full quantity of green manure mulched into the soil surface (NTG), tillage with roots incorporated into the soil and above ground green manure removed (T), no-tillage with above ground manure removed (NT) and conventional tillage and leisure (CT).
Results
The results showed that compared to CT, the NTG treatment increases maize grain yield while reducing Rs by 6.7–8.7%, carbon emission (CE) by 6.7–8.6%, and improving carbon emission efficiency (CEE) by 20.8–25.6%. The increase in soil water content (SWC) significantly reduced soil heterotrophic respiration rate (Rh) during all growth periods, which was the main reason for the decrease in Rs. Additionally, under this treatment, the NEP-C of the farmland ecosystem is positive, indicating that the soil acts as a carbon "sink".
Conclusions
Therefore, no-tillage with full quantity of green manure mulched on soil surface is an effective measure for carbon sequestration and emission reduction in farmland.
Graphene-based High-frequency Millimeter-wave Tunable Broadband Absorber
Authors: Jia yilin , Dian Wang , Shilong Miao , Xinran JI , Binyi Ma , Qiannan Wu 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

To address the issues of narrow absorption bandwidth and low absorption rate in current high-frequency millimeter-wave absorbers, this paper proposes a graphene-based metamaterial broadband absorber. The absorber consists of a PET layer at the bottom, an ITO layer, a SiO2 layer, a surface graphene layer, and a patterned copper structure. Simulation results indicate that the proposed absorber achieves an absorption bandwidth of 101.3 GHz, with an absorption frequency range of 117.5 to 218.8 GHz, where the absorption rate exceeds 90%. Near-perfect absorption is achieved at 170 GHz, covering the high-frequency millimeter-wave band. By adjusting the Fermi level of graphene, tunable absorption can be achieved, and the absorber is insensitive to both TE and TM polarization. The proposed absorber features good symmetry, compact size, tunability, and excellent insensitivity to TE and TM waves. This design holds promise for enhancing communication security and reducing electromagnetic interference in sixth-generation (6G) devices.
Determining Empty Seed Formation and Germination Rates Induced by Leptoglossus occidentalis (Heidemann) in Coniferous Species in Turkiye Forests
Authors: parlak salih , YILMAZ Mustafa 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

In recent years, low germination rates have been a problem in the seeds of various coniferous species in Turkiye, particularly Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia) and black pine (Pinus nigra), which are commonly used species for afforestation activities. The increase in low germination rates corresponds to the spread of Leptoglossus occidentalis in coniferous forests, suggesting an investigation of potential correlation between the spread of this insect and the empty seed formation and germination rates. This study aimed to investigate the main causes of empty seeds and low germination rates induced by Leptoglossus occidentalis (Heidemann) in coniferous species in Turkiye. In the study, sample cones from various coniferous species including Fir (Abies spp.), Stone pine (Pinus pinea), Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia), Spruce (Picea orientalis), Cedar (Cedrus libani), Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), Black pine (Pinus nigra) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were collected based on their geographical distribution, and then their seeds were extracted. The 1000-seed weights were determined for each species, followed by germination tests conducted under controlled conditions. Statistical analysis revealed significant variations in germination rates among species. Among the eight species examined, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) had the highest germination rate at 37.9%, while fir (Abies spp) had the lowest rate at 0.4%. Further statistical analysis revealed variations in germination rates based on aspects, with generally higher rates observed in sunny aspects. The results indicated that Leptoglossus occidentalis caused a significant decrease in seed germination ranging from 60–99% in coniferous species. Additionally, reductions in 1000-seed weights ranging from 19–81% were observed in the species, except Scots pine. The findings highlight widespread germination issues in seeds of majority of the coniferous tree in Turkiye. As a result, it was found that L. occidentalis significantly contributes to empty seed formation and lower germination rates in coniferous forests. Therefore, it is essential to develop strategies to protect and conserve seed resources to mitigate any negative impacts on forest resources.