bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐term immune changes in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia following treatment with venetoclax plus rituximab
Authors: Kater Arnon P. , Eichhorst Barbara F. , Owen Carolyn J. , Jaeger Ulrich , Chyla Brenda , Lefebure Marcus , Millen Rosemary , Jiang Yanwen , Thadani‐Mulero Maria , Boyer Michelle , Seymour John F. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractImmune dysregulation is a hallmark of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Anti‐CD20 antibodies (e.g., rituximab [R]) can be combined with venetoclax (Ven) to treat CLL. However, anti‐CD20 antibodies can increase hypogammaglobulinemia risk, while the effects of Ven on immune dysregulation are still uncertain. We report long‐term immune changes in VenR‐ and bendamustine‐R (BR)‐treated patients with relapsed/refractory CLL in the MURANO trial (NCT02005471). Patients were randomized to fixed‐duration VenR (2 years Ven; VenR for the first 6 months) or BR (6 months). Immune cell levels were evaluated at the end of combination treatment (EOCT), end of treatment (EOT; VenR arm only), and 12 and 24 months post‐EOCT. Overall, 130/194 VenR‐ and 134/195 BR‐treated patients completed treatment without progressive disease. In patients who completed VenR combination therapy, median immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM levels decreased from baseline to EOT (p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.0001, respectively); by 24 months, post‐EOT IgG had returned to baseline level and IgM had increased from baseline (p ≤ 0.001). Median IgA levels increased from baseline to 12 (p ≤ 0.0001) and 24 months post‐EOT (p ≤ 0.0001). In BR‐treated patients, changes in IgG, IgA, and IgM levels across the assessed time points were not significant, and by 24 months, post‐EOCT IgG, IgA, and IgM were above baseline levels. Grade ≥3 infection rates on treatment were low. Overall, immune recovery was observed with VenR and BR, with stabilization of Ig levels after treatment. Post‐treatment infection rates were generally low, making these very tolerable therapies for CLL.
Assessing the implementation of healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices in Early Childhood Education and Care in New South Wales, Australia: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Renda Ana , Reilly Kathryn , Yoong Serene , Lum Melanie , Lecathelinais Christophe , Hodder Rebecca , Grady Alice 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIssue AddressedAustralian children are not meeting the recommended physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) guidelines. Health behaviour practices implemented in community settings such as early education services can improve child's health outcomes and are therefore key to help meet guidelines. This study aimed to measure the implementation of HE and PA policies and practices in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and to examine their association with service characteristics.MethodsA random sample of 1122 centre‐based ECEC services were invited to a cross‐sectional survey measuring HE and PA policy and practice implementation. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between the service characteristics and implementation of policies/practices.ResultsIn total, 565 ECEC services completed the survey. Results show that while some practices are implemented, the implementation of practices promoting HE and PA education is low. Practices related to educator training for HE (18%) and PA (13%) were poorly implemented. The implementation of practices such as ‘providing educator training around child PA’, ‘engaging families in activities to increase child PA’ and ‘encouraging supportive feeding practices’ were significantly higher in services located in major cities than regional/remote services. ‘Having a PA policy’ and the practice of ‘limiting the use of screen time’ was significantly higher in long day care services than in preschools. The implementation of ‘providing educator‐led PA’, ‘providing free play opportunities’ and ‘having a PA policy’ was significantly lower in private not‐for‐profit community managed services than in private for‐profit services.ConclusionsImplementation of various HE and PA policies and practices in regional/remote services, private not‐for‐profit services and preschools across NSW could be improved.So What?Future research should be prioritised towards identifying factors influencing the implementation of these policies and practices to best tailor implementation support efforts for those who need it the most.
Assessment of in vitro activity of ceftazidime/avibactam on carbapenemase‐producing Enterobacterales from Iran: An experimental study
Authors: Haeili Mehri , Ghaderi Bavil‐Olyaei Parisa 
Published: August 2024

AbstractBackground and AimsThe prevalence of carbapenemase‐producing Enterobacterales (CPE) continues to increase worldwide. Combination of β‐lactam and novel β‐lactamase inhibitors introduce a revolutionary treatment option for CPE. Ceftazidime/avibactam (CAZ/AVB) has been recently developed for treatment of severe infections caused by multidrug‐resistant bacteria. We aimed to evaluate in vitro activity of CAZ/AVB on a collection of 85 ESBL‐producing‐carbapenemase negative and CPE from Iran.MethodsESBL and carbapenemase production was phenotypically confirmed by combined disk test and modified carbapenem inactivation method respectively. The presence of clinically important carbapenemase encoding genes was examined using PCR. Susceptibility of all isolates to CAZ/AVB was determined using discs containing 30 μg ceftazidime +20 μg avibactam (AVB). Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of CAZ/AVB in 28 CPE (4 Escherichia coli and 24 Klebsiella pneumoniae) was determined by gradient diffusion method using MIC test strips (0.016−256 mg/L ceftazidime +4 mg/L AVB).ResultsAll phenotypically identified ESBL positive‐carbapenemase negative isolates were found to be susceptible to CAZ/AVB. Among the carbapenem resistant isolates, CAZ/AVB showed potent inhibitory activity against all OXA‐48‐like (MIC ranges 0.125/4−0.75/4 mg/L) and KPC positive isolates (MIC ranges <0.016/4−0.19/4 mg/L). However, AVB could not restore the activity of ceftazdime against isolates producing metallo‐β‐lactamases (MLBs) including VIM, NDM (MIC > 256/4 mg/L) and IMP (MIC > 8/4 mg/L).ConclusionOur data highlighted the excellent in vitro performance of CAZ/AVB against ESBL‐producing and CPE suggesting that this combination can efficiently be used as therapeutic option for management of CPE infections particularly in regions with high prevalence of KPC and/or OXA‐48‐like positive but MBL‐negative Enterobacterales.
Mixed convective nanofluid flow and heat transfer induced by a stretchable rotating disk in porous medium
Authors: Maiti Hiranmoy , Mukhopadhyay Swati 
Published: August 2024

AbstractEnhancement of “heat transfer” using “nanofluid” has diverse potential applications in heat exchangers, thermal management of electric devices, cooling of tractors, solar thermal systems, manufacturing of paper, and many others. Hence, the aim of the current investigation is to explore the impacts of “mixed convection” on “nanofluid flow” over a permeable rotating disk, which is stretched radially in a porous medium. Variable wall “temperature” and “convective boundary conditions” are also considered here. This makes the present investigation different from others. The suitable “similarity transformations” are imposed to alter the governing partial differential equations into a set of coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Then, these ODEs are solved numerically by the “4th order Runge‐Kutta method” using the “shooting technique” with the help of the bvp4c package in MATLAB software. The effects of fluid controlling “parameters” on “flow and thermal fields” as well as “skin friction coefficient” and “Nusselt number” are presented graphically and explained physically. Due to enhanced rotation of the disk, the radial and azimuthal velocity of the fluid increase and the temperature of the fluid decreases. Most importantly, it is observed that when the disk rotates faster than the stretching rate, the temperature of the nanofluid decreases rapidly, which has wider applications for cooling purposes. It is also noted that when the suction parameter increases its value from −1 to 1, for Ag–water nanofluid, the “skin friction coefficient” decreases by 73.56%, and the Nusselt number also decreases by 24.11%, and for Fe3O4–water nanofluids, the “skin friction coefficient” decreases by 71.25% and the Nusselt number decreases by 24.47%.
Utilizing multilayer perceptron for machine learning diagnosis in phase change material‐based thermal management systems
Authors: Arif Abdul , Reddy Vallapureddy Siva Nagi , Srividya Kode , Mallampalli Ujwal Teja 
Published: August 2024

AbstractElectric vehicles encounter significant challenges in colder climates due to reduced battery efficiency at low temperatures and increased electricity demand for cabin heating, which impacts vehicle propulsion. This study aims to address these challenges by implementing a thermal management system utilizing Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and validating the performance of a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) model in predicting PCMs behavior and battery temperature distributions. The study employs an MLP model trained with 160 samples of diverse heat inputs, including pulsating, constant, wiener, discharging, and random temperatures. The model uses these temperatures as inputs and liquid fractions as target values. Performance evaluation is conducted using the MATLAB platform and is benchmarked against existing approaches, such as Long Short‐term Memory (LSTM), spatiotemporal convolutional neural network (CNN), and pooled CNN‐LSTM. The MLP model's accuracy in predicting PCMs phase transitions is validated by comparing predicted liquid fractions with numerically obtained values. Additionally, this study forecasts temperature distributions within a standard battery pack under various discharge scenarios, considering the performance of commercial lithium‐ion batteries. The proposed MLP model demonstrates high efficacy, achieving a correlation of up to 0.999 and root mean squared error below 0.013 compared with numerical results.
A portfolio diversification measure in the unit interval: A coherent and practical approach
Authors: Flores Yuri Salazar , Diaz‐Hernandez Adan , Nolasco‐Jauregui Oralia , Quezada‐Tellez Luis Alberto 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIn this article, we introduce and examine the efficiency of a portfolio diversification measure. Using the recently developed coherence properties for diversification measures as well as other criteria, we show that the novel measure outperforms the most commonly used diversification measures. Although similar in shape to other measures, our measure is the only one that satisfies all nine coherence properties whilst being easily interpreted. After testing interpretability and coherence for all measures, we perform an empirical analysis divided into two main parts. In the first part, we test some common diversification measures in a Gaussian context and in the second part we consider three empirical portfolios during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We establish the efficiency of our measure in capturing the changing level of diversification in empirical portfolios. We believe these results imply a competitive advantage for our measure and make it relevant for econometricians, practitioners and decision‐makers in general in a portfolio optimisation context.
A review of memristive reservoir computing for temporal data processing and sensing
Authors: Jang Yoon Ho , Han Joon‐Kyu , Hwang Cheol Seong 
Published: August 2024

AbstractReservoir computing (RC) is a promising paradigm for machine learning that uses a fixed, randomly generated network, known as the reservoir, to process input data. A memristor with fading memory and nonlinearity characteristics was adopted as a physical reservoir to implement the hardware RC system. This article reviews the device requirements for effective memristive reservoir implementation and methods for obtaining higher‐dimensional reservoirs for improving RC system performance. In addition, recent in‐sensor RC system studies, which use a memristor that the resistance is changed by an optical signal to realize an energy‐efficient machine vision, are discussed. Finally, the limitations that the memristive and in‐sensor RC systems encounter when attempting to improve performance further are discussed, and future directions that may overcome these challenges are suggested.
Assessment of irrigation performance trends using selected comparative indicators over consecutive periods: A case study of the Koga Irrigation Scheme in the Amhara region, Ethiopia
Authors: Tegegne Desalegn , Damtie Menwagaw T. , Shumye Alebachew 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe Koga Irrigation Scheme is a modern irrigation scheme in Ethiopia, and furrow irrigation is a common water application method. The main purpose of this study is to show in which year it performed well and what the problems were and to identify the best alternatives that may be essential for managing the scheme effectively and efficiently. The performance trends of the Koga Irrigation Scheme were evaluated using four selected performance indicators, namely, physical, agricultural, water use and economic performance indicators. Primary and secondary data, including geographic locations, water supply, harvested yield, market prices, irrigated crops, actual irrigated area, planned irrigable area, total management and operation cost, water fees and historical climate data, were collected. Land use performance analysis indicates that the scheme operates below its potential. The maximum irrigated area was 6,327.7 ha less than the designed 7,000 ha in 2015 and 3,619.9 ha in 2016. Water consumption peaked in 2015 and decreased in 2016. The dominant crops were wheat (55%), potato (19%), barley (7.6%), onion (7.4%), maize (5.6%) and other crops (5.4%). This suggests a preference for low‐value, water‐intensive crops. Water use by crops is lower than reservoir release, indicating significant water loss. Economic water productivity is low, primarily due to the dominance of low‐value, water‐intensive crops. To enhance scheme performance, the study recommends adjusting cropping patterns, estimating actual water demand for the respective crops and irrigation scheduling, adopting efficient water application methods and strengthening the market chain.
Essential health services tracker to enhance routine data use for sector‐wide decision‐making
Authors: Kikoba Bigten , Mahundi Masoud 
Published: August 2024

AbstractHealthcare actors have designated a set of services as essential health services (EHSs), essential for achieving universal health coverage. Therefore, monitoring the provision of EHS is indispensable to gauge how countries progress toward achieving universal health coverage. However, there are no mechanisms for sector‐wide monitoring of these services. While EHSs cover the entire health sector, monitoring is left to individual subunits and health programs, which often confine themselves to specific diseases and health interventions. This makes it difficult to monitor interferences to the provision of these services. Such interferences include epidemics and pandemics such as COVID‐19, Marburg, Ebola, and seasonal incidences of cholera. This study, therefore, proposes an EHS tracker, a data visualization tool, to enhance routine data use for monitoring and tracking EHSs regularly. The paper details a collaborative process for developing the tracker, culminating in the creation of the tool itself. The paper contributes to the ongoing initiatives to strengthen data use practices using innovative solutions in the efforts to institutionalize data use practices and data‐driven decision‐making for improved healthcare service delivery.
p38MAPK/HSPB1 is involved in the regulatory effects of selenomethionine on the apoptosis, viability and testosterone secretion of sheep Leydig cells exposed to heat
Authors: Xu Yinying , Xia Yuting , Zhao Jie , Yu Hao , Zhang Yanli , Mao Dagan 
Published: August 2024

AbstractTestosterone derived from testicular Leydig cells (LCs) is important for male sheep, and the testis is susceptible to external temperature. The present study aimed to explore the alleviating effect of selenomethionine (Se‐Met) on heat‐induced injury in Hu sheep LCs. Isolated LCs were exposed to heat (41.5°C, heat exposure, HE) or not (37°C, nonheat exposure, NE), and cells in NE and HE were treated with 0 (C) or 8 μmol/L (S) Se‐Met for 6 h. Cell viability, testosterone level, and the expression of GPX1, HSD3B, apoptosis‐related genes and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (p38MAPK)/heat shock protein beta‐1 (HSPB1) pathway were examined. The results showed that Se‐Met increased GPX1 expression (NE‐S vs. NE‐C: 2.28‐fold; HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 2.36‐fold, p < 0.05) and alleviated heat‐induced decrease in cell viability (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 1.41‐fold; HE‐C vs. NE‐C: 0.61‐fold, p < 0.01), although the viability was still lower than that in the NE‐C cells (HE‐S vs. NE‐C: 0.85‐fold) and Se‐Met‐treated cells (HE‐S vs. NE‐S: 0.81‐fold). Se‐Met relieved heat‐induced decrease in testosterone level (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 1.84‐fold, p < 0.05) and HSD3B expression (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 1.67‐fold, p < 0.05). Se‐Met alleviated heat‐induced increase in Bcl2‐associated protein X (BAX) expression (HE‐C vs. HE‐S: 2.4‐fold, p < 0.05), and decrease in B‐cell lymphoma‐2 (BCL2) expression (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 2.62‐fold, p < 0.05), resulting in increased BCL2/BAX ratio in the HE‐S cells (HE‐S vs. HE‐C: 5.24‐fold, p < 0.05). Furthermore, Se‐Met alleviated heat‐induced activation of p‐p38MAPK/p38MAPK (HE‐C vs. HE‐S: 1.79‐fold, p < 0.05) and p‐HSPB1/HSPB1 (HE‐C vs. HE‐S: 2.72‐fold, p < 0.05). In conclusion, p38MAPK/HSPB1 might be involved in Se‐Met‐mediated alleviation of heat‐induced cell apoptosis, cell viability and testosterone secretion impairments in sheep LCs.
Effects of surface acting on exhaustion of Korean school counselors
Authors: Lim Hajin , Lee Tsai‐Ju , Weng Cathy , Lee Sang Min 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThis study investigated the impact of surface acting on exhaustion in Korean school counselors. Using the daily diary method with 223 school counselors, the study examined how maintaining a positive outward image through surface acting is related to job exhaustion. The results indicated that surface acting at both Level 1 and Level 2 positively affects exhaustion. Additionally, a supportive administrative climate negatively predicted exhaustion. Interestingly, the relationship between surface acting and exhaustion was found to be more pronounced when administrators were perceived as highly supportive, whereas this relationship was attenuated in the context of low administrative support. These findings highlight the complexity of emotional labor and the crucial role of administrative support in the well‐being of school counselors. Future research should further explore these dynamics to develop effective strategies for reducing burnout among school counselors.
Fibroblast growth factor 2 enhances BMSC stemness through ITGA2‐dependent PI3K/AKT pathway activation
Authors: Jiang Nizhou , Hu Zhenxin , Wang Quanxiang , Hao Jiayu , Yang Rui , Jiang Jian , Wang Hong 
Published: August 2024

AbstractBone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) are promising cellular reservoirs for treating degenerative diseases, tissue injuries, and immune system disorders. However, the stemness of BMSCs tends to decrease during in vitro cultivation, thereby restricting their efficacy in clinical applications. Consequently, investigating strategies that bolster the preservation of BMSC stemness and maximize therapeutic potential is necessary. Transcriptomic and single‐cell sequencing methodologies were used to perform a comprehensive examination of BMSCs with the objective of substantiating the pivotal involvement of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and integrin alpha 2 (ITGA2) in stemness regulation. To investigate the impact of these genes on the BMSC stemness in vitro, experimental approaches involving loss and gain of function were implemented. These approaches encompassed the modulation of FGF2 and ITGA2 expression levels via small interfering RNA and overexpression plasmids. Furthermore, we examined their influence on the proliferation and differentiation capacities of BMSCs, along with the expression of stemness markers, including octamer‐binding transcription factor 4, Nanog homeobox, and sex determining region Y‐box 2. Transcriptomic analyzes successfully identified FGF2 and ITGA2 as pivotal genes responsible for regulating the stemness of BMSCs. Subsequent single‐cell sequencing revealed that elevated FGF2 and ITGA2 expression levels within specific stem cell subpopulations are closely associated with stemness maintenance. Moreover, additional in vitro experiments have convincingly demonstrated that FGF2 effectively enhances the BMSC stemness by upregulating ITGA2 expression, a process mediated by the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway. This conclusion was supported by the observed upregulation of stemness markers following the induction of FGF2 and ITGA2. Moreover, administration of the BEZ235 pathway inhibitor resulted in the repression of stemness transcription factors, suggesting the substantial involvement of the PI3K/AKT pathway in stemness preservation facilitated by FGF2 and ITGA2. This study elucidates the involvement of FGF2 in augmenting BMSC stemness by modulating ITGA2 and activating the PI3K/AKT pathway. These findings offer valuable contributions to stem cell biology and emphasize the potential of manipulating FGF2 and ITGA2 to optimize BMSCs for therapeutic purposes.
Ankle‐brachial index and carotid ultrasound as surrogates for coronary artery disease diagnosis
Authors: Salles Barbosa Henrique , Tavares Contim Mariana , Gomes Bastos Marcus 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIntroductionCardiovascular disease represents the foremost cause of death among chronic and non‐transmissible diseases. Diagnostic tools commonly used for peripheral and carotid atherosclerosis, such as ankle‐brachial index (ABI) and carotid ultrasonography (CU), may contribute as surrogates for the diagnosis of coronary arterial disease (CAD).Material and MethodsWe report a cross‐sectional study of 50 patients referred to elective invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Patients were submitted to ABI and CU—for carotid intima‐media thickness (CIMT) and carotid atherosclerotic plaque screening (CAPS). Clinical and demographic variables were also evaluated. CAD was defined as greater than 50% stenosis in at least one coronary artery.ResultsIn logistic regression analysis, only CAPS showed a statistically significant area under the curve (AUC) for CAD prediction: 0.812 (95% CI, p <0.001). ABI and CIMT did not show statistically significant performance. For multivariate logistic regression analysis, the model including variables “gender,” “dyslipidemia,” “smoking,” “pack‐years,” and CAPS predicted CAD better. The AUC for this model was 0.912 (95% CI, p = 0.002).ConclusionThe screening for carotid atherosclerotic plaques may enhance traditional risk stratification strategies for CAD. Longitudinal studies and bigger samples of subject are needed to allow extrapolation of our findings.