bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The characteristics, occurrence, and toxicological effects of alternariol: a mycotoxin
Authors: Saleh Iman , Zeidan Randa , Abu-Dieyeh Mohammed 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAlternaria species are mycotoxin-producing fungi known to infect fresh produce and to cause their spoilage. Humans get exposed to fungal secondary metabolites known as mycotoxin via the ingestion of contaminated food. Alternariol (AOH) (C14H10O5) is an isocoumarins produced by different species of Alternaria including Alternaria alternata. AOH is often found in grain, fruits and fruits-based food products with high levels in legumes, nuts, and tomatoes. AOH was first discovered in 1953, and it is nowadays linked to esophagus cancer and endocrine disruption due to its similarity to estrogen. Although considered as an emerging mycotoxin with no regulated levels in food, AOH occurs in highly consumed dietary products and has been detected in various masked forms, which adds to its occurrence. Therefore, this comprehensive review was developed to give an overview on recent literature in the field of AOH. The current study summarizes published data on occurrence levels of AOH in different food products in the last ten years and evaluates those levels in comparison to recommended levels by the regulating entities. Such surveillance facilitates the work of health risk assessors and highlights commodities that are most in need of AOH levels regulation. In addition, the effects of AOH on cells and animal models were summarized in two tables; data include the last two-year literature studies. The review addresses also the main characteristics of AOH and the possible human exposure routes, the populations at risk, and the effect of anthropogenic activities on the widespread of the mycotoxin. The commonly used detection and control methods described in the latest literature are also discussed to guide future researchers to focus on mitigating mycotoxins contamination in the food industry. This review aims mainly to serve as a guideline on AOH for mycotoxin regulation developers and health risk assessors.
Duct Stenting in Duct-Dependent Systemic Blood Flow, Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Schranz Dietmar 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Arterial duct stenting, pioneered in the early 1990s for newborns with a duct-dependent pulmonary and systemic circulation, has evolved significantly over the past decades. This progressive technique has led to the development of novel therapeutic strategies, including the Hybrid approach introduced three decades ago, and more recently, a complete transcatheter approach for treating newborns with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Subsequently, the transcatheter method has been extended to bi-ventricular lesions and patients with pulmonary hypertension, establishing a reverse Potts-shunt pathophysiology. Considering current experiences, this review aims to assess the strengths, weaknesses, and complications associated with ductal stenting, which represents a critical component of these complex treatment strategies. Despite advancements, the mortality rate of Norwood and Hybrid stage-1 procedures has plateaued, underscoring the importance of enhancing the quality of life of affected patients as the primary therapeutic goal. The prerequisite is a gentle, almost atraumatic medicine, particularly during the newborn period. It is essential to recognize that both the Hybrid and total transcatheter approaches demand comparable experience to Norwood surgery. Successful outcomes hinge on much more than merely inserting a stent into the duct; they require meticulous attention to detail and comprehensive management strategies.
The need for surgery in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with biologicals
Authors: Kolho Kaija-Leena , Nikkonen Anne , Merras-Salmio Laura , Molander Pauliina 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in childhood often presents with a more extensive and more aggressive disease course than adult-onset disease. We aimed to evaluate if biological treatment started in childhood decreases the need for intestinal surgery over time.

Methods
This was a retrospective, single-center, cohort study. All pediatric patients with IBD initiated to biological therapy at the Children’s Hospital, were included in the study and followed up to the first surgical procedure or re-operation in their adulthood or until 31.12.2021 when ≥ 18 of age. Data were collected from the pediatric registry of IBD patients with biologicals and medical charts.

Results
A total of 207 pediatric IBD patients were identified [150 with Crohn´s disease (CD), 31 with ulcerative colitis (UC), 26 with IBD unclassified (IBDU)] of which 32.9% (n = 68; CD 49, UC 13, IBDU 6) underwent intestinal surgery. At the end of a median follow-up of 9.0 years (range 2.0-25.9), patients reached a median age of 21.4 years (range 18–36). Patients who had intestinal surgery in childhood were more likely to have IBD-related surgery also in early adulthood. The duration of the disease at induction of the first biological treatment emerged as the only risk factor, with a longer duration in the surgical group than in patients with no surgery.

Conclusion
Despite initiation of biological treatment, the risk of intestinal surgery remains high in pediatric IBD patients and often the need for surgery emerges after the transition to adult IBD clinics.
Unveiling the promising anticancer effect of copper-based compounds: a comprehensive review
Authors: Abdolmaleki Sara , Aliabadi Alireza , Khaksar Samad 
Published: April 2024

AbstractCopper is a necessary micronutrient for maintaining the well-being of the human body. The biological activity of organic ligands, especially their anticancer activity, is often enhanced when they coordinate with copper(I) and (II) ions. Copper and its compounds are capable of inducing tumor cell death through various mechanisms of action, including activation of apoptosis signaling pathways by reactive oxygen species (ROS), inhibition of angiogenesis, induction of cuproptosis, and paraptosis. Some of the copper complexes are currently being evaluated in clinical trials for their ability to map tumor hypoxia in various cancers, including locally advanced rectal cancer and bulky tumors. Several studies have shown that copper nanoparticles can be used as effective agents in chemodynamic therapy, phototherapy, hyperthermia, and immunotherapy. Despite the promising anticancer activity of copper-based compounds, their use in clinical trials is subject to certain limitations. Elevated copper concentrations may promote tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis by affecting cellular processes.
Development of a finite element groundwater flow model to test drainage management strategies for the expansion of the Dareh-Zar open pit mine, Iran
Authors: Parsasadr Hossein , Mustafa Syed , Golian Mohsen , Bense Victor 
Published: April 2024

AbstractA finite-element groundwater flow model was developed for the expanding Dareh-Zar open pit mine in southern Iran, to simulate groundwater inflow into the excavation and mine wall pore pressure dynamics. The model was used to test the effectiveness of implementing different drainage management strategies to reduce groundwater inflow rates and mine wall pore pressures, including abstraction wells and horizontal drains. Model predictions suggest the implementation of abstraction wells will reduce groundwater inflow rates by 75% during the first 12 years of mining and 50% during the subsequent 5 years relative to a ‘no drainage’ management scenario, with further reductions in groundwater inflow achieved through horizontal drain installation. Furthermore, the installation of horizontal drains was found to be necessary to reduce mine-wall pore pressures from destabilizing the mine walls. Groundwater management of the decommissioned pit mine was also evaluated, with simulation results suggesting that backfilling the excavation would restore the groundwater level within the open pit mine region to ~2,442 m above sea level, representing a net restoration of ~204 m relative to the water table prior to mine closure.
The Impact of Telemedicine on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Related Clinical Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Cox Avery Lin , Tsang Daniel , Spacek Lisa A. , Daskalakis Constantine , Coppock Dagan 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exacerbated barriers to care for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH). The quick uptake of telemedicine in the outpatient setting provided promise for care continuity. In this study, we compared appointment and laboratory no-show rates in an urban outpatient HIV clinic during three time periods: (1) Pre-COVID-19: 9/15/2019–3/14/2020 (predominately in-person), (2) “Early” COVID-19: 3/15/2020-9/14/2020 (predominately telemedicine), and (3) “Later” COVID-19: 9/15/2020-3/14/2021 (mixed in-person/telemedicine). Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated the two study hypotheses: (i) equivalence of Period 2 with Period 1 and of Period 3 with Period 1 and (ii) improved outcomes with telemedicine over in-person visits. No-show rates were 1% in Period 1, 4% in Period 2, and 18% in Period 3. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, individuals had a higher rate of appointment no-shows during Period 2 [OR (90% CI): 7.67 (2.68, 21.93)] and 3 [OR (90% CI): 30.91 (12.83 to 75.06). During the total study period, those with telemedicine appointments were less likely to no-show than those with in-person appointments [OR (95% CI): 0.36 (0.16–0.80), p = 0.012]. There was no statistical difference between telemedicine and in-person appointments for laboratory completion rates. Our study failed to prove that no-show rates before and during the pandemic were similar; in fact, no-show rates were higher during both the early and later pandemic. Overall, telemedicine was associated with lower no-show rates compared to in-person appointments. In future pandemics, telemedicine may be a valuable component to maintain care in PLWH.
Revolutionizing personalized medicine with generative AI: a systematic review
Authors: Ghebrehiwet Isaias , Zaki Nazar , Damseh Rafat , Mohamad Mohd Saberi 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Background
Precision medicine, targeting treatments to individual genetic and clinical profiles, faces challenges in data collection, costs, and privacy. Generative AI offers a promising solution by creating realistic, privacy-preserving patient data, potentially revolutionizing patient-centric healthcare.

Objective
This review examines the role of deep generative models (DGMs) in clinical informatics, medical imaging, bioinformatics, and early diagnostics, showcasing their impact on precision medicine.

Methods
Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, the review analyzes studies from databases such as Scopus and PubMed, focusing on AI's impact in precision medicine and DGMs' applications in synthetic data generation.

Results
DGMs, particularly Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), have improved synthetic data generation, enhancing accuracy and privacy. However, limitations exist, especially in the accuracy of foundation models like Large Language Models (LLMs) in digital diagnostics.

Conclusion
Overcoming data scarcity and ensuring realistic, privacy-safe synthetic data generation are crucial for advancing personalized medicine. Further development of LLMs is essential for improving diagnostic precision. The application of generative AI in personalized medicine is emerging, highlighting the need for more interdisciplinary research to advance this field.
Interpretable representations in explainable AI: from theory to practice
Authors: Sokol Kacper , Flach Peter 
Published: April 2024

AbstractInterpretable representations are the backbone of many explainers that target black-box predictive systems based on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. They translate the low-level data representation necessary for good predictive performance into high-level human-intelligible concepts used to convey the explanatory insights. Notably, the explanation type and its cognitive complexity are directly controlled by the interpretable representation, tweaking which allows to target a particular audience and use case. However, many explainers built upon interpretable representations overlook their merit and fall back on default solutions that often carry implicit assumptions, thereby degrading the explanatory power and reliability of such techniques. To address this problem, we study properties of interpretable representations that encode presence and absence of human-comprehensible concepts. We demonstrate how they are operationalised for tabular, image and text data; discuss their assumptions, strengths and weaknesses; identify their core building blocks; and scrutinise their configuration and parameterisation. In particular, this in-depth analysis allows us to pinpoint their explanatory properties, desiderata and scope for (malicious) manipulation in the context of tabular data where a linear model is used to quantify the influence of interpretable concepts on a black-box prediction. Our findings lead to a range of recommendations for designing trustworthy interpretable representations; specifically, the benefits of class-aware (supervised) discretisation of tabular data, e.g., with decision trees, and sensitivity of image interpretable representations to segmentation granularity and occlusion colour.
Evaluation of potentially toxic elements and microplastics in the water treatment facility
Authors: Bhat Mansoor Ahmad , Janaszek Agata 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe potentially harmful effects of consuming potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and microplastics (MPs) regularly via drinking water are a significant cause for worry. This study investigated PTEs (Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pd, Zn, Co), MPs, turbidity, pH, conductivity, and health risk assessment in the water treatment plant in Kielce, Poland. Zn had the highest concentrations throughout the water treatment facility, whereas Cd, Pb, and Co had lower concentrations (< 0.1 µg/L). The order of the concentrations among the specified PTEs was like Zn˃Cu˃Ni˃Cr˃Cd˃Pb and Co. The minimum turbidity was 0.34, and the maximum was 1.9 NTU. The range of pH in water samples was 6.51—7.47. The conductivity was 1,203—1,445 ms in water samples. These identified MPs were categorized into fiber and fragments. The color of these identified MPs was blue, red, black, green, and transparent. The minimum and maximum size of the MPs was 196 and 4,018 µm, while the average size was 2,751 ± 1,905 µm. The average concentration of MPs per liter of the water treatment plant was 108.88 ± 55.61. The elements listed are C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, and Ti. Fe and Zn were the predominant elements seen using EDX. HQ values of the PTEs were less than one for adults and children. The human health risk associated with all detected PTEs revealed that the HQ values exhibit a satisfactory degree of non-carcinogenic adverse health risk. HI values for adults and children age groups were less than one. In most water treatment samples, the carcinogenic value exceeds the threshold value of 10−6. The PTEs and MP concentrations in drinking water should be periodically monitored to minimize consumers' environmental pollution and health risks.
Give us ideas! Creating innovativeness through strategic direction of reverse technology transfers
Authors: Schaefer Kerstin J. , Hennemann Stefan , Liefner Ingo 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
This paper addresses the research gap in understanding the role of intra-firm reverse technology transfers for building output versus innovation capabilities. While we understand that some firms use external sources to create new technology before they are able to build internal innovation capability, the role of bridging lack of innovation capability through internal reverse technology transfers has not been explored in this context. We analyze the technology transfer strategy in the case of Huawei Technologies through a mixed methods design combining quantitative survival analysis of patents and qualitative interviews to understand and contextualize its mechanisms. The results show that the company strategically transferred ideas for new and complex technologies from centers of state-of-the-art technology towards its domestic Chinese locations. Tapping into offshore innovation capability is done by hiring experienced personnel that transfers innovative ideas to China instead of developing new products abroad. We find that this systematic transfer of complex ideas enabled Huawei to build output capability by bridging its lack of domestic innovation capability. This might be a way for growing firms to become competitive on the world market before having to build innovation capability at home first.
Some Ways the Ways the World Could Have Been Can’t Be
Authors: Masterman Christopher James 
Published: April 2024

AbstractLet serious propositional contingentism (SPC) be the package of views which consists in (i) the thesis that propositions expressed by sentences featuring terms depend, for their existence, on the existence of the referents of those terms, (ii) serious actualism—the view that it is impossible for an object to exemplify a property and not exist—and (iii) contingentism—the view that it is at least possible that some thing might not have been something. SPC is popular and compelling. But what should we say about possible worlds, if we accept SPC? Here, I first show that a natural view of possible worlds, well-represented in the literature, in conjunction with SPC is inadequate. Though I note various alternative ways of thinking about possible worlds in response to the first problem, I then outline a second more general problem—a master argument—which generally shows that any account of possible worlds meeting very minimal requirements will be inconsistent with compelling claims about mere possibilia which the serious propositional contingentist should accept.
Towards a Benchmark for Scientific Understanding in Humans and Machines
Authors: Barman Kristian Gonzalez , Caron Sascha , Claassen Tom , de Regt Henk 
Published: April 2024

AbstractScientific understanding is a fundamental goal of science. However, there is currently no good way to measure the scientific understanding of agents, whether these be humans or Artificial Intelligence systems. Without a clear benchmark, it is challenging to evaluate and compare different levels of scientific understanding. In this paper, we propose a framework to create a benchmark for scientific understanding, utilizing tools from philosophy of science. We adopt a behavioral conception of understanding, according to which genuine understanding should be recognized as an ability to perform certain tasks. We extend this notion of scientific understanding by considering a set of questions that gauge different levels of scientific understanding, covering information retrieval, the capability to arrange information to produce an explanation, and the ability to infer how things would be different under different circumstances. We suggest building a Scientific Understanding Benchmark (SUB), formed by a set of these tests, allowing for the evaluation and comparison of scientific understanding. Benchmarking plays a crucial role in establishing trust, ensuring quality control, and providing a basis for performance evaluation. By aligning machine and human scientific understanding we can improve their utility, ultimately advancing scientific understanding and helping to discover new insights within machines.
Studies on electromagnetic waves for ferromagnetic materials
Authors: Pinar Izgi Zehra , Sahoo Subhadarshan , Rezazadeh Hadi , Hosseinzadeh Mohammad Ali , Salahshour Soheil 
Published: April 2024

AbstractWith the developing technology, magneto-optical and ferromagnetic materials are gaining importance and are used especially in magneto-optics, ferromagnetism, fluid mechanics, etc. These processes are modeled via Kadomtsev–Petviashvili-type models. In this work, a generalized (3+1)-dimensional variable-coefficient modified Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (vcmKP) system and special cases are considered that simulates electromagnetic, water, and powder-acoustic/ion-acoustic/dust-ion-acoustic waves. As to the novelty of this paper, the travelling wave, soliton solutions of the considered systems are hold by using Bernoulli method which is the well-known ansatz-based method and the analytical method. As far as we know, the obtained solutions are seen for the first time in this study and are important for the development of the use of magneto-optical and ferromagnetic materials in industry and applied sciences, fiber optic communication fields.
The S1 to S2 and S2 to S3 state transitions in plant photosystem II: relevance to the functional and structural heterogeneity of the water oxidizing complex
Authors: Pavlou Andrea , Styring Stenbjörn , Mamedov Fikret 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn Photosystem II, light-induced water splitting occurs via the S state cycle of the CaMn4O5-cluster. To understand the role of various possible conformations of the CaMn4O5-cluster in this process, the temperature dependence of the S1 → S2 and S2 → S3 state transitions, induced by saturating laser flashes, was studied in spinach photosystem II membrane preparations under different conditions. The S1 → S2 transition temperature dependence was shown to be much dependent on the type of the cryoprotectant and presence of 3.5% methanol, resulting in the variation of transition half-inhibition temperature by 50 K. No similar effect was observed for the S2 → S3 state transition, for which we also show that both the low spin g = 2.0 multiline and high spin g = 4.1 EPR configurations of the S2 state advance with similar efficiency to the S3 state, both showing a transition half-inhibition temperature of 240 K. This was further confirmed by following the appearance of the Split S3 EPR signal. The results are discussed in relevance to the functional and structural heterogeneity of the water oxidizing complex intermediates in photosystem II.
Role of oxalic acid in fungal and bacterial metabolism and its biotechnological potential
Authors: Grąz Marcin 
Published: April 2024

AbstractOxalic acid and oxalates are secondary metabolites secreted to the surrounding environment by fungi, bacteria, and plants. Oxalates are linked to a variety of processes in soil, e.g. nutrient availability, weathering of minerals, or precipitation of metal oxalates. Oxalates are also mentioned among low-molecular weight compounds involved indirectly in the degradation of the lignocellulose complex by fungi, which are considered to be the most effective degraders of wood. The active regulation of the oxalic acid concentration is linked with enzymatic activities; hence, the biochemistry of microbial biosynthesis and degradation of oxalic acid has also been presented. The potential of microorganisms for oxalotrophy and the ability of microbial enzymes to degrade oxalates are important factors that can be used in the prevention of kidney stone, as a diagnostic tool for determination of oxalic acid content, as an antifungal factor against plant pathogenic fungi, or even in efforts to improve the quality of edible plants. The potential role of fungi and their interaction with bacteria in the oxalate-carbonate pathway are regarded as an effective way for the transfer of atmospheric carbon dioxide into calcium carbonate as a carbon reservoir.