bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical characteristics of acute acquired concomitant esotropia in China: a retrospective study
Authors: Liang Shuting , Wu Xi , Wang Lejin 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Purpose
To compare the clinical characteristics of acute acquired concomitant esotropia (AACE) patients in different age of onset groups before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Methods
A retrospective study included 126 patients who underwent AACE surgery from January 2015, and December 2023. Detailed information on demographic data and clinical characteristics was collected and compared between different age of onset groups.
Results
A total of 115 patients (91.3%) spent more than four hours a day for near work. The near and distance deviations were 20.00 (12.00, 30.00) prism diopters (PD) and 25.00 (20.00, 35.00) PD, respectively, which has significant difference (P < 0.001). The mean spherical equivalent (SE) of non-dominant and dominant eye were − 4.00 (-5.31, -2.50) diopters (D) and − 4.00 (-5.31, -2.25) D, respectively (P = 0.001). The child group included 40 patients, while the adult group included 86 patients. The near and distance deviations in the child group were 25.00 (16.50, 70.00) PD and 35.00 (25.00, 71.50) PD, respectively, and those in the adult group were 20.00 (12.00, 30.00) PD and 25.00 (18.00, 35.00) PD, respectively. The near and distance deviation were both significantly larger in the child group compared with the adult group (P = 0.02 and P = 0.004), while no statistically significant difference was observed in duration of disease (P = 0.128). The mean SE of dominant eye and non-dominant eye both had larger degrees of myopia in the adult group than the child group (P = 0.001 and P = 0.028). The duration of disease in the pre-pandemic group was significantly longer than the post-pandemic group (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
The non-dominant eye had a larger degree of myopia than the dominant eye, and the distance esodeviation was larger than the near esodeviation in AACE patients. Children presented a larger esodeviation and were less myopic than that of adults. The disease progressed more quickly to require surgery and the number of AACE surgeries increased remarkably after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Evaluation of the effect of a pneumatic dental elevator on tooth extraction
Authors: Feng Xiancheng , Tian Yiyuan , Du Qingjie , Wang Keyi , Chen Ruiqi , Du Juanjuan , Dai Pengxiu , Zhang Xinke 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Pneumatic tooth elevators are newly developed surgical instruments that utilize compressed air to drive a small, oscillating tip that can gently loosen the tooth from its socket. However, the effect of pneumatic tooth elevators in veterinary clinical practice is not yet clear. In this study, 6 dogs were used as experimental animals. and maxillary first premolars and mandibular first molars were extracted using traditional (control group) and pneumatic dental elevators (experimental group). Physiological parameters, extraction time, intraoperative complications, hematological examination, and tissue healing were compared to investigate the effect of pneumatic dental elevators. The results showed that compared to the control group, the experimental group had a smaller increase in heart rate and respiratory rate, and the time required to extract the mandibular first molar was less. The incidence of complications in the control group was 25% (3/12), while there were no complications in the experimental group. Additionally, all cases in the control group had defects in the mandibular alveolar bone, while only 2/3 of the cases in the experimental group had defects, and the degree of defect was less than that of the control group. The white blood cell count and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The early wound healing score (EHS), soft tissue healing index, and trabecular area in the experimental group were all significantly greater than those in the control group. The above results indicate that using pneumatic dental elevators reduces the degree of pain during the surgical process, takes less time, causes less damage to periodontal tissues, reduces the severity of postoperative inflammation, and promotes better tissue healing. This study provides a theoretical basis and technical reference for the clinical application of the new type of pneumatic dental elevator, promoting its wider application.
Structural and vascular features of the retina and choroid with retinitis pigmentosa imaged using ultra- widefield swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography
Authors: Zhao Hong-chao , Yang Shi-shi , Yang Hong , Zhang Ya-juan , Shi Mei-yu 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Purpose: Information from optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) on the pathogenesis of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is limited to the posterior pole; however, pathological changes begin at the peripheral pole. Therefore, we imaged eyes diagnosed with RP using ultra-widefield swept-source (UWF SS)-OCTA.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with RP and age-matched controls who underwent fovea-centered UWF SS-OCTA imaging.
Results: We examined 63 RP eyes and 40 healthy eyes. RP eyes had thinner outer retinal and choroidal thicknesses (p≤0.01), greater inner retinal thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer (p<0.01), decreased superficial capillary plexus (SCP) area throughout the retina, and larger foveal avascular zone area (p<0.01) than healthy eyes. SCP microvessel density, deep capillary plexus, and choroidal capillary plexus were markedly decreased in RP eyes (p<0.01). SCP area and density were positively correlated at a diameter of 6 mm and SCP vessel density and inner retinal thickness were strongly negatively correlated at a diameter of 3 mm (p=0.01). Further, outer retinal thickness was significantly correlated with choroidal thickness (p<0.05).
Conclusion: UWF-SS-OCTA, enabling the visualization of the peripheral fundus area, is useful in quantifying structural and vascular parameters of the central and peripheral retinal and choroidal layers in RP eyes, and can aid in elucidating the pathophysiology and monitoring disease progression.
The criticality of cocoa- how environmental intelligence and open data can avert the current crisis and establish greater resilience in cocoa supply chains
Authors: Martindale W. , Alifa Nicholas 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

This research investigates cocoa (Thebroma cacao) supply from the global primary producers. The research examines long-term precipitation and vegetation index data to understand the reasons for change in production that have impacted the global supply of cocoa. This analysis aims to inform strategic decisions for countries like the UK, which relies on the supply of many sub-tropical and tropical crop products. The need for climate-smart production in Côte d'Ivoire is a priority for confectionery and chocolate manufacturers in the UK. The research reported uses long-term precipitation and vegetation index data to assess why and how production changes have changed global supply and highlights that the initial impacts of climate change for food supply may well be seen first for luxury products such as chocolate. These are products that are supplied for the value of taste and food experience. The global food system depends on these ingredients from tropical and subtropical regions, where environmental degradation is being acutely impacted by climate change, political disruption, and financial pressures placed on producers. This research highlights these products needing climate-smart farming to improve resilience in response to climate change.
Perceived changes in health behaviours and body weight in response to a cancer diagnosis among individuals living with and beyond breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Castillo Francisco Brenes , Goodman William , Lally Phillippa , Fisher Abigail , Beeken Rebecca J 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Purpose
This study explored perceived changes in health behaviours and body weight following a cancer diagnosis and investigated related sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.
Methods
Individuals living with and beyond breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer (N = 5835) completed the ‘Health and Lifestyle After Cancer Survey’ which explored their perceptions of health behaviour change following a cancer diagnosis. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted with perceived changes as dependent variables, and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as independent variables.
Results
Approximately half of the participants did not perceive changes in their physical activity, alcohol intake and body weight, and most did not perceive dietary changes. Less than a third of individuals perceived positive health behaviour changes (11.7% increased physical activity, 24.3% healthier diet, and 31.3% decreased alcohol intake), 35.9% perceived decreases in physical activity, and 27.0% perceived increases in body weight, whereas 19.2% perceived decreases in body weight. Individuals from specific groups (e.g., no education and unmarried), and with poorer self-rated health (e.g., with anxiety/depression), were more likely to perceive changes in physical activity, body weight, and diet, but in different directions. Younger individuals were more likely to perceive increases in physical activity, body weight, and alcohol intake, and have a healthier diet.
Conclusion
Following a diagnosis of cancer, a large proportion of individuals perceived that their health behaviours were unchanged. However, some groups of individuals were more likely to perceive positive changes, whereas others were more likely to perceive negative changes, with differences also observed according to the type of health behaviour. Clinicians should consider targeting health behaviour support to prevent worse outcomes in the long-term.
Early growth response factor 1 promotes HCC progression by activating the MAPK/ERK pathway through transcriptional upregulation of PAR1
Authors: Bi Jian-gang , Li Qi , Guo Yu-sheng , Tang Hong-gui , Xu Ping 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. The prognosis of HCC patients who undergo surgical resection is still poor. Therefore, it is urgent to clarify the potential mechanism of HCC progression. This article reports the important role of the transcription factor early growth response 1 (Egr1) in promoting HCC progression. First, Egr1 expression was abnormally elevated in clinical HCC samples and enhanced the proliferation, invasion and migration of cancer cells. Moreover, we found that the mRNA expression levels of protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) and Egr1 in clinical specimens were positively correlated. Dual luciferase reporter gene assays verified that Egr1 is an upstream transcriptional regulator of PAR1, that enhances the proliferation, invasion and migration of cancer cells by upregulating PAR1. Mechanistically, we found that Egr1 activates the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway through PAR1. Finally, we demonstrated that thrombin does not affect the regulatory effect of Egr1 on PAR1 in HCC cells. In conclusion, Egr1 promotes HCC progression by upregulating PAR1 to activate the MAPK/ERK pathway.
Comprehensive Analysis of Surgical Strategies and Prognosis for Non- Small Cell Lung Cancer with Pleural Metastasis Detected Intraoperatively
Authors: Meng Fanmao , Ren Na , Zhang Guochao , Xu Ruifeng , Tian Mengbai , Sun Xin , Zhao Liang 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Lung cancer is one of the prevailing malignancies worldwide. Surgical interventions hold an important position in the treatment framework for lung cancer. Pleural metastasis is often assumed to be a surgical contraindication, but not all instances of pleural metastasis can be accurately identified before surgery. The question of how to address pleural metastasis detected intraoperatively is still undecided.
Methods: This retrospective study included 187 lung cancer patients who underwent surgery from 2005 to 2017 in whom pleural metastasis was discovered incidentally during the operation. Data on demographic, surgical, pathological, postoperative treatment, and survival information were collected for further analysis.
Results: For patients with intraoperatively detected pleural metastasis, two independent protective prognostic factors were receiving primary tumor resection (compared to only receiving pleural nodule biopsy, HR=0.079, p=0.022) and receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (HR=0.081, p<0.001). Simultaneously, performing systematic lymph node dissection during primary tumor resection was found to be detrimental to long-term prognosis (HR=2.375, p=0.044). However, the resection of pleural metastatic lesions did not significantly impact patient prognosis.
Conclusion: Our study supports the implementation of major tumor resection in patients with pleural metastasis detected intraoperatively but not lymph node dissection or the resection of pleural metastatic lesions. Postoperative chemotherapy is also necessary.
Impact of a Model Physiotherapy Centre on The Quality of Life Of Disabled Children from UBA Adopted Villages by Reducing Caregiver Burden: Developing A Model
Authors: Kanniappan Vadivelan , Muthuperumal Prakash , Venkataraman P , Veeragoudhaman T S , Chinnasami Balaji , Muthiah Manikumar , R Abishek J , M Manju Bashini , S Shrisruthi , N Ashok 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Background
Approximately 1 in 8 children under the age of 6 in Tamil Nadu are diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD), yet only a fraction of these children receives proper medical care. The unequal distribution of healthcare services is mainly due to the lack of accessibility, especially in rural areas, leading to a significant burden on caregivers. This research aims to alleviate caregiver burden and reduce disability in preschool children by establishing model clinics or specialized outreach centers in rural villages, supported by SRM Institute of Science and Technology under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Scheme.
Methods
The study will commence with screening all preschool children registered in Anganwadi in the designated villages. Tailored model clinics will be set up in these villages based on the prevalence of NDD. Once established, children diagnosed with NDD will undergo rehabilitation for a year. Baseline and endline assessments will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the model center on both the child's disability and the caregiver burden.
Discussion
This research will demonstrate the effectiveness of a model outreach center in rural villages in reducing disability levels in children and alleviating caregiver burden by eliminating the need for long travels to access rehabilitation services. The findings of this study will not only contribute to the objectives of UBA-SRMIST in uplifting villages but also facilitate the creation of registries and provision of data to the government for the implementation of policies that address the current disparities in healthcare access.
Trial registration:
Trail has been prospectively registered under Clinical Trials Registry – India on 19th June 2024 (CTRI/2024/06/069196)
Enhancing Hard Turning performance on AISI 02 Steel with CuO Nano Cutting Fluids
Authors: Bacha Mohamed , ELBAH Mohamed , Laouici Hamdi , Yallese Mohamed Athmane , Hacene Sassi 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

This research investigates the machinability of AISI 02 tool steel under various lubrication conditions, focusing on the application of Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) and an innovative Cupric oxide (CuO)-based nanofluid. A temperature and tool wear investigation were undertaken for machining environment. A comprehensive experimental setup, utilizing L36 Taguchi-based orthogonal arrays to conduct trials under dry, MQL, and NMQL (Nanofluid MQL) conditions. The study meticulously examines the impact of four principal machining parameters: cutting speed, feed rate, environment, and cutting depth on critical outcomes such as surface roughness, cutting force, and power consumption. Employing Response Surface Methodology (RSM), the research delineates the optimal machining conditions that enhance these parameters. Notably, the feed rate was found to significantly affect surface roughness, while both cutting depth and feed rate were instrumental in determining cutting force and power consumption. The use of Cu nanofluid with MQL substantially enhanced machining performance. The paper culminates with an exploration of cutting condition optimization through the Desirability Function (DF) and the multi objectives Manta Ray Foraging Optimizer (MOMRFO), aiming to minimize surface roughness (Ra), cutting force (Ft), and power consumption (Pc). The results indicate that both DF and MOMRFO yield highly effective optimal settings, offering substantial contributions to the domain of hard machining.
Controlling mildew of tobacco leaf by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ZH-2 and its effect on storage quality of tobacco leaf
Authors: Zhou Hang , Yang Yongfeng , Jia Tao , Yu Yangyang , Chen Siyuan , Qiu Yao , Zhang Ruina , Chen Hongli 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Tobacco mildew is a common fungal disease that reduces tobacco quality, resulting in serious economic losses in the tobacco industry. In this study, the pathogens Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Rhizopus arrhizus were isolated from infected leaves. Furthermore, five Bacillus sp. strains isolated from healthy tobacco leaves were found to possess strong antifungal activity against these pathogens. Among these strains, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ZH-2 exerted the strongest antagonistic effect against all mildew types (bacteriosphere diameter > 22 mm). The antagonistic action of ZH-2 was further observed using scanning electron microscopy, which revealed signs of contraction, deformation, and dissolution of the treated mycelia compared with that seen in the control group. The ZH-2 strain was found to produce high levels of proteases, chitinases, and β-1,3-glucanase, contributing to its antifungal activity via fungal cell wall rupture. The antifungal activity of ZH-2 was also demonstrated in the application test, as indicated by the significant reduction in mildew disease severity in tobacco leaves treated with this strain. Fermentation tests showed that the quality of ZH-2–treated, solid-state fermented tobacco leaves was superior to that of the control. Specifically, the alkaloid content significantly decreased by 10.62%, whereas the total and reduced sugar contents increased by 12.9 and 55.75%, respectively. Furthermore, macromolecular starch, cellulose, and protein contents significantly decreased by 25.85, 12.77, and 10.04%, respectively. These results indicate that the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ZH-2 strain is effective against tobacco mildew and can improve tobacco quality upon solid-state fermentation.
Enhancing Anti-Cancer Immune Response by Acidosis-sensitive Nanobody Display
Authors: Knepper Leah E. , Ankrom Emily T. , Thévenin Damien 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

One of the main challenges with many cancer immuno-therapies is that they depend on biomarkers for targeting. These biomarkers are often associated with tumors but are not specific to a particular tumor, which can lead to damage in healthy tissues, resistance to treatment, and the need for customization for different types of cancer due to the variations in targets. A promising alternative approach is to target the acidic microenvironment found in most solid tumor types. This can be achieved using the pH (Low) Insertion Peptide (pHLIP), which inserts selectively into cell membranes in acidic conditions, sparing healthy tissues. pHLIP has shown potential for imaging, drug delivery, and surface display. For instance, we previously used pHLIP to display epitopes on the surfaces of cancer cells, enabling antibody-mediated immune cell recruitment and selective killing of cancer cells. In this study, we further this concept by directly fusing an anti-CD16 nanobody, which activates Natural Killer (NK) cells, to pHLIP, eliminating the need for antibody recruitment. Our results demonstrate pH-sensitive insertion into cancer cells, activation of the CD16 receptor on effector cells, and successful targeting and destruction of cancer cells by high-affinity CD16+ NK cells in two cancer cell lines.
GBM-QTMT: Gradient Boosting Machine-based fast QTMT partition decision for VVC inter-coding
Authors: Bakkouri Siham , Bakkouri Ibtissam , Elyousfi Abderrahmane 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Versatile Video Coding (VVC) is the next-generation video coding standard. VVC proposes a new partitioning block structure called Quadtree with Nested Multi-Type Tree (QTMT) that introduces a more flexible partition shape using a quadtree (QT) and a nested multi-type tree (MTT) splitting compared to the previous splitting algorithms, namely Quadtree plus Binary Tree (QTBT) and QT structures adopted in High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). QTMT significantly improves coding efficiency, but it brings considerable computational complexity, which limits VVC's practical applications. To efficiently address this problem of redundant processing in QTMT structures in inter-mode prediction, this paper proposes a fast QTMT inter-partitioning algorithm based on gradient boosting machines (GBM). The proposed algorithm is divided into three steps. In the first step, the average local variance (ALV) is extracted from each coding unit (CU) to determine their homogeneity. Then, a classification-based gradient boosting machine (GBM) is employed to analyze and build a binary classification model from the extracted ALV features. The GBM model is employed to extract and efficiently obtain suitable thresholds for each QT CU size and a threshold between QT and MTT modes. In the last step, a fast QTMT partition decision algorithm is performed based on the extracted thresholds. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm reduces a significant amount of encoding time, while the loss in coding efficiency is negligible.
Optimization Study of Emergency Logistics Operations Based on Colored Petri Nets
Authors: Lei Yihu , Mu Haibo 
Published: August 2024

Abstract

Emergency logistics transportation plays a crucial role in China's logistics system. We addresses inefficiencies and complexities in the emergency logistics transportation process under air-rail intermodal transport using Colored Petri Nets (CPN) theory. We perform hierarchical modeling based on actual emergency logistics activities and CPN theory. Using CPN IDE simulation software, we set monitors for transitions in the model and conduct simulations to determine the running time and transition occupancy rates for each process stage. By analyzing transition occupancy rates, we identify inefficient stages in the emergency logistics process and propose optimization solutions, constructing an optimized CPN model for emergency logistics transportation. The average time for the original emergency logistics process is 4256.325 minutes, while the optimized process averages 3292.475 minutes, a decrease of 22.65%. The experimental results show a significant reduction in overall process time, demonstrating that CPN theory and the optimization are feasible for improving emergency logistics transportation efficiency.