bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Meta‐analysis evaluating apixaban in patients with atrial fibrillation and end‐stage renal disease requiring dialysis
Authors: AlTurki Ahmed , Marafi Mariam , Dawas Ahmed , Joza Jacqueline , Proietti Riccardo , Russo Vincenzo , Mavrakanas Thomas , Trinh Emilie , Weber Catherine , Suri Rita , Essebag Vidal , Huynh Thao 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBackgroundWarfarin is considered the primary oral anticoagulant for patients with atrial fibrillation and end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis. Although warfarin can offer significant stroke prevention in this population, the accompanying major bleeding risks make warfarin nearly prohibitive. Apixaban was shown to be superior to warfarin in preventing stroke or systemic embolism, with a lower risk of bleeding and mortality in a large, randomized trial of individuals with mostly normal renal function but none with ESRD.MethodsWe systematically reviewed evidence comparing apixaban versus warfarin for atrial fibrillation in this population, and evaluated outcomes of stroke or systemic embolism, and major bleeding using random‐effects models. The main safety outcome was major bleeding, and the main effectiveness outcome was stroke or systemic embolism.ResultsWe found five observational studies of 10 036 patients (2638 receiving apixaban, and 7398 receiving warfarin) meeting inclusion criteria. Pooled analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in major bleeding with apixaban as compared to warfarin (odds ratio [OR] 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42–0.61; p < .0001). Apixaban was also associated with a reduction in intracranial bleeding (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37–0.92; p = .02) and in gastrointestinal bleeding (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.51–0.73; p < .0001). Furthermore, apixaban was associated with a reduction in stroke/systemic embolism (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.50–0.82; p < .0001).ConclusionApixaban was associated with superior outcomes and reduced adverse events compared to warfarin in observational studies of patients with atrial fibrillation on dialysis. Randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Wastewater monitoring of SARS‐CoV‐2 gene for COVID‐19 epidemiological surveillance in Tucumán, Argentina
Authors: D'Arpino María Cecilia , Sineli Pedro Eugenio , Goroso Gustavo , Watanabe William , Saavedra María Lucila , Hebert Elvira María , Martínez María Alejandra , Migliavacca Julieta , Gerstenfeld Silvina , Chahla Rossana Elena , Bellomio Augusto , Albarracín Virginia Helena 
Published: May 2024

AbstractWastewater‐based epidemiology provides temporal and spatial information about the health status of a population. The objective of this study was to analyze and report the epidemiological dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in the province of Tucumán, Argentina during the second and third waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) between April 2021 and March 2022. The study aimed to quantify SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in wastewater, correlating it with clinically reported COVID‐19 cases. Wastewater samples (n = 72) were collected from 16 sampling points located in three cities of Tucumán (San Miguel de Tucumán, Yerba Buena y Banda del Río Salí). Detection of viral nucleocapsid markers (N1 gene) was carried out using one‐step reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). Viral loads were determined for each positive sample using a standard curve. A positive correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between viral load (copies/mL) and the clinically confirmed COVID‐19 cases reported at specific sampling points in San Miguel de Tucumán (SP4, SP7, and SP8) in both months, May and June. Indeed, the high viral load concurred with the peaks of COVID‐19 cases. This method allowed us to follow the behavior of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection during epidemic outbreaks. Thus, wastewater monitoring is a valuable epidemiological indicator that enables the anticipation of increases in COVID‐19 cases and tracking the progress of the pandemic. SARS‐CoV‐2 genome‐based surveillance should be implemented as a routine practice to prepare for any future surge in infections.
Evaluation and projection of the summer precipitation recycling over the Tibetan plateau based on CMIP6 GCMs
Authors: Xu Ying , Han Zhenyu , Liu Yanju , Wu Jie 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBased on ERA5 and 23 CMIP6 models under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), we assess the performance of CMIP6 models in reproducing the summer precipitation, evaporation and precipitation recycling ratio (PRR) over the Tibetan plateau (TP) during 1981–2014. We also project future changes of the summer precipitation, evaporation, PRR and moisture transport over the TP during 2021–2100. CMIP6 models and their ensemble mean to reproduce the temporal and spatial characteristics of precipitation, evaporation, PRR and moisture transport over the TP. And the performance in simulating precipitation is better than that in simulating evaporation and PRR. The precipitation and evaporation under the three SSPs will increase, with the significant upward trends of 0.84%/decade ~2.79%/decade and 0.80%/decade ~2.14%/decade, respectively. However, the PRR will increase slightly (0.13%/decade) and then marginally reduce (−0.22%/decade). In the late 21st century, regional mean summer precipitation, evaporation and PRR over the TP in SSP5‐8.5 will change by about 20.13%, 17.14%, and −0.77%, respectively. From spatial distribution, precipitation will increase in most parts of the TP in the 21st century, especially in the western part of the plateau, reaching more than 50% in of the late 21st century, the area of PRR decreased gradually expanded, with the maximum reduction (15%–20%) of PRR in the western region. It indicates that more precipitation in the western of the plateau depends on the external moisture transport. The PRR in the southern part of the plateau will increase, with a maximum of more than 20%, which indicates the contribution of the external water vapour transport to the southern precipitation will decrease, and that of the internal cycle (local evaporation) to the local precipitation will increase. In conclusion, the increase of the regional mean precipitation over the TP in the near and mid‐21st century is mainly due to the local evaporation, while the increase of the summer precipitation in the late 21st century is due to both the local evaporation and the external water vapour advection, it shows that the precipitation generated by the inner circulation is becoming weaker and more dependent on the external water vapour transport.
Enhanced performance of CMIP6 climate models in simulating historical precipitation in the Florida Peninsula
Authors: Wang Hui , Asefa Tirusew 
Published: May 2024

AbstractAssessing the performance of General Circulation Models (GCMs) in simulating historical regional precipitation is essential for climate assessments. This study analysed 18 GCMs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and 27 GCMs from Phase 6 (CMIP6) for the Florida Peninsula. Naïve combinations formed the CMIP5‐Ensemble and CMIP6‐Ensemble. The reference dataset consisted of global gridded precipitation data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GCM‐simulated precipitation data were compared to the reference dataset across multiple time scales between 1951 and 2005. Most CMIP5 and CMIP6 GCMs exhibited a negative bias at the daily time scale, with an absolute value ranging between 0 and 2 mm day−1 at the median level, except for INM‐CM4 and MRI‐CGCM3 (CMIP5) and CNRM‐ESM2‐1 (CMIP6). Two performance metrics, that is, Pearson correlation and mean absolute error (MAE), were used to evaluate the GCMs. A correlation value above 0.3 is statistically significant at the significance level (α = 0.05). For the Pearson correlation between simulated and observed monthly precipitation, only 15% of CMIP5 GCMs (3 out of 19) had a median value above 0.3, whilst this increased to approximately 39% (11 out of 28) for CMIP6 GCMs. For monthly climatological precipitation, only 21% (4 out of 21) of GCMs in CMIP5 showed a correlation with a median value of 0.8 or higher. This percentage rose to 50% (14 out of 28) for CMIP6. A notable difference was observed in the MAE between CMIP5 and CMIP6 climate models. Lastly, GCM raw outputs were evaluated based on rainy season characteristics (onset, demise and duration). Significant improvements from the CMIP5 to the CMIP6 models were observed in capturing the rainy season in the Florida Peninsula. This study thoroughly compares CMIP5 and CMIP6 climate models in simulating historical precipitation at various time scales for the study region. Although the results are specific to the study area, the methods can be applied more broadly.
Response of evapotranspiration to the 2022 unprecedented extreme drought in the Yangtze River Basin
Authors: Zhang Yu , Liu Xiaomang , Wang Kaiwen , Bai Peng 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe response of evapotranspiration (ET) to drought is essential for understanding water availability under drought conditions, which has received increasing scientific attention but remains highly uncertain. An unprecedented extreme drought sweeping the whole Yangtze River Basin during the summer and autumn of 2022 provides a novel opportunity to explore the ET response to drought within large river basins. Here, we apply multiple ET products to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of ET during the 2022 extreme drought and analyse the response of ET to drought in the Yangtze River Basin. The results show that this drought, characterized by widespread substantial precipitation deficit and high level of atmospheric evaporative demand (AED), leads to evident abnormal ET. Over the whole basin, ET exhibits a notable increase in the initial 2 months of this drought, which can significantly reduce water availability. However, despite continued high AED, the increase in ET fails to remain in the following months due to limited moisture supply. This suggests that ET response to drought varies as drought progresses. Among other drought events from 2003 to 2022, the response of ET is similar to that in the 2022 extreme drought. Specifically, for most sub‐basins, ET typically shows positive anomalies in the early stage of drought, followed by negative anomalies in the late stage. Generally, our findings improve the understanding of the dynamic response of ET to drought at the basin scale, which is crucial for basin water security.
Substantial innovation or strategic innovation? The impact of government venture capital guidance funds on corporate innovation
Authors: Saci Fateh , Ahmad Mohamad 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBased on a dual‐differential model of the number of patent applications issued by A‐share enterprises from 2014 to 2019, this article analyzes impact of Venture Capital (VC) guided by government on company's innovation and their internal mechanisms. The results show that the number of patent applications increases after enterprises are invested directly or indirectly by the government guiding fund, indicating that this kind of VC has a positive guidance on enterprise innovation. However, after further studying by subdividing patent types, it is found that enterprises pay less attention to invention patents, which hold higher technical requirements, and focus on “quantity” rather than “quality” in patent applications. This result also reflects that the investment of VC guided by government promotes the overall enterprise innovation, but the positive effect on the innovation quality is not significant. Our article not only affirms the positive influence of VC guided by government on enterprise innovation, but also puts forward some suggestions on the management of government guiding fund.
Targeting lysosomal quality control as a therapeutic strategy against aging and diseases
Authors: He Yuchen , Fan Yishu , Ahmadpoor Xenab , Wang Yumin , Li Zhong Alan , Zhu Weihong , Lin Hang 
Published: May 2024

AbstractPreviously, lysosomes were primarily referred to as the digestive organelles and recycling centers within cells. Recent discoveries have expanded the lysosomal functional scope and revealed their critical roles in nutrient sensing, epigenetic regulation, plasma membrane repair, lipid transport, ion homeostasis, and cellular stress response. Lysosomal dysfunction is also found to be associated with aging and several diseases. Therefore, function of macroautophagy, a lysosome‐dependent intracellular degradation system, has been identified as one of the updated twelve hallmarks of aging. In this review, we begin by introducing the concept of lysosomal quality control (LQC), which is a cellular machinery that maintains the number, morphology, and function of lysosomes through different processes such as lysosomal biogenesis, reformation, fission, fusion, turnover, lysophagy, exocytosis, and membrane permeabilization and repair. Next, we summarize the results from studies reporting the association between LQC dysregulation and aging/various disorders. Subsequently, we explore the emerging therapeutic strategies that target distinct aspects of LQC for treating diseases and combatting aging. Lastly, we underscore the existing knowledge gap and propose potential avenues for future research.
Rapid multi‐catheter segmentation for magnetic resonance image‐guided catheter‐based interventions
Authors: Aleong Amanda M. , Berlin Alejandro , Borg Jette , Helou Joelle , Beiki‐Ardakani Akbar , Rink Alexandra , Raman Srinivas , Chung Peter , Weersink Robert A. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBackgroundMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for delineating cancerous lesions in soft tissue. Catheter‐based interventions require the accurate placement of multiple long, flexible catheters at the target site. The manual segmentation of catheters in MR images is a challenging and time‐consuming task. There is a need for automated catheter segmentation to improve the efficiency of MR‐guided procedures.PurposeTo develop and assess a machine learning algorithm for the detection of multiple catheters in magnetic resonance images used during catheter‐based interventions.MethodsIn this work, a 3D U‐Net was trained to retrospectively segment catheters in scans acquired during clinical MR‐guided high dose rate (HDR) prostate brachytherapy cases. To assess confidence in segmentation, multiple AI models were trained. On clinical test cases, average segmentation results were used to plan the brachytherapy delivery. Dosimetric parameters were compared to the original clinical plan. Data was obtained from 35 patients who underwent HDR prostate brachytherapy for focal disease with a total of 214 image volumes. 185 image volumes from 30 patients were used for training using a five‐fold cross validation split to divide the data for training and validation. To generate confidence measures of segmentation accuracy, five trained models were generated. The remaining five patients (29 volumes) were used to test the performance of the trained model by comparison to manual segmentations of three independent observers and assessment of dosimetric impact on the final clinical brachytherapy plans.ResultsThe network successfully identified 95% of catheters in the test set at a rate of 0.89 s per volume. The multi‐model method identified the small number of cases where AI segmentation of individual catheters was poor, flagging the need for user input. AI‐based segmentation performed as well as segmentations by independent observers. Plan dosimetry using AI‐segmented catheters was comparable to the original plan.ConclusionThe vast majority of catheters were accurately identified by AI segmentation, with minimal impact on plan outcomes. The use of multiple AI models provided confidence in the segmentation accuracy and identified catheter segmentations that required further manual assessment. Real‐time AI catheter segmentation can be used during MR‐guided insertions to assess deflections and for rapid planning of prostate brachytherapy.
R2* mapping and reduced field‐of‐view diffusion‐weighted imaging for preoperative assessment of nonenlarged lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer
Authors: Wang Jing , Hu Shan , Liang Ping , Hu Xuemei , Shen Yaqi , Peng Yang , Kamel Ihab , Li Zhen 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe aim of the current study is to investigate the diagnostic value of R2* mapping versus reduced field‐of‐view diffusion‐weighted imaging (rDWI) of the primary lesion of rectal cancer for preoperative prediction of nonenlarged lymph node metastasis (NLNM). Eighty‐one patients with pathologically confirmed rectal cancer underwent preoperative R2* mapping and rDWI sequences before total mesorectal excisions and accompanying regional lymph node dissections. Two radiologists independently performed whole‐tumor measurements of R2* and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) parameters on primary lesions of rectal cancer. Patients were divided into positive (NLNM+) and negative (NLNM‐) groups based on their pathological analysis. The tumor location, maximum diameter of the tumor, and maximum short diameter of the lymph node were assessed. R2* and ADC, pT stage, tumor grade, status of mesorectal fascia, and extramural vascular invasion were also studied for their potential relationships with NLNM using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The NLNM+ group had significantly higher R2* (43.56 ± 8.43 vs. 33.87 ± 9.57, p < 0.001) and lower ADC (1.00 ± 0.13 vs. 1.06 ± 0.22, p = 0.036) than the NLNM‐ group. R2* and ADC were correlated to lymph node metastasis (r = 0.510, p < 0.001 for R2*; r = −0.235, p = 0.035 for ADC). R2* and ADC showed good and moderate diagnostic abilities in the assessment of NLNM status with corresponding area‐under‐the‐curve values of 0.795 and 0.636. R2* provided a significantly better diagnostic performance compared with ADC for the prediction of NLNM status (z = 1.962, p = 0.0498). The multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that R2* was a compelling factor of lymph node metastasis (odds ratio = 56.485, 95% confidence interval: 5.759–554.013; p = 0.001). R2* mapping had significantly higher diagnostic performance than rDWI from the primary tumor of rectal cancer in the prediction of NLNM status.
Effect of covalently functionalized Indian bentonite clay on thermal, mechanical strength and morphology structure of extrusion/injection‐molded nylon 6 composites
Authors: Shanmugam Kumaresan , Rokade Dhammaraj S. , Ingole Pravin G. , Pol Harshawardhan V. , Arunachalam Saravanakumar , Bajaj Hari C. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe research and development of functional polymer composites and their production have posed significant challenges, particularly in creating high mechanical strength and thermal stability composites. In this study, we utilized a micro corotation extruder and injection molding to produce covalently functionalized Indian bentonite clay‐nylon 6 high‐strength nanocomposites. For comparison, two different amines, 3‐aminopropyl trimethoxysilane and N‐[3‐(trimethoxysilyl) propyl] ethylene di‐amine, were used to functionalize bentonite clay. Additionally, 3% and 5% less amino clay filler was added in the nanocomposite to manufacture the polymer composite. Analytical techniques such as Powder X‐Ray Diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, thermal gravimetric analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area were used to characterize the molecular orientation of amine functionalization on clay minerals. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscope were used to characterize the nylon 6 intercalated in amino clay nanocomposite and the polymer structure morphology. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were used to investigate the crystalline thermal behavior of clay‐nylon 6 composites. From the results, it was observed that the composition containing 5 wt.% amino clay demonstrated a significant improvement in tensile strength when compared with the composition containing 3 wt.% amino clay. The mechanical strength and the thermal behavior showed a significant improvement of ⁓200% for 5% amino clay‐nylon 6 nanocomposite.
About birds and bees, snails and trees: Children's ideas on animal and plant evolution
Authors: Adler Isabell K. , Fiedler Daniela , Harms Ute 
Published: May 2024

AbstractEvolution is the integrative framework of the life sciences. Even though the topic is often not formally introduced before high school, young children already have various ideas about evolutionary principles (variation, inheritance, and selection) and their underlying key concepts (e.g., differential fitness, reproduction, and speciation). Describing and refining those ideas has increasingly received attention over the last two decades. However, we see two scopes of improvement in the field: (1) There is a need to examine children's ideas about evolutionary concepts holistically rather than focusing at specific aspects. (2) Although research has shown that older students have different ideas about animal and plant evolution, there is little data on children's ideas about plant evolution to compare with their ideas about animal evolution. All of this results in an incomplete record of children's pre‐existing ideas that would help to design assessments or interventions. Consequently, we developed a set of questions, about the evolutionary principles and interviewed 24 kindergarten children. Most children had basic ideas about individual variation in animals and plants but experienced a lack of knowledge about the origin of variation. Most children seemed to acknowledge plants as living beings and reasoned equally about animals and plants for most concepts. However, many children failed to reason about reproduction and inheritance in plants because they believed plants would not reproduce sexually. Confronted with a selection scenario, most children struggled applying concepts previously shown on an individual level to a population level. Considering our findings, we propose ideas about how to measure and foster children's pre‐existing ideas about evolution.
Enhancing Photocatalytic Activity, Stability, and Separability of TiO2 through Synthesis of Fe3O4@Fibroin‐TiO2 Composite
Authors: Garjaei Soheila Samadi , Koukabi Nadiya , Parouch Ahmad Nouri 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis report uses a low‐cost and straightforward technique to synthesize a highly active, magnetically separable, and optically active nano‐biocomposite. The nanocomposite was created by combining Fibroin, TiO2, and Fe3O4. The analyses confirmed the formation of a core‐shell structure of Fibroin and Fe3O4, which was then combined with titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The incorporation of nanoparticles reduced the band gap of the system from 3.2 eV in bare titanium oxide to 1.8 eV. This enhancement improved its light absorption and charge generation. Additionally, the nano‐biocomposite showed improved chemical stability and photocatalytic activity when compared to bare TiO2 in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol under visible light (With 99 % yield and over 99 % selectivity). These results suggest that our nano‐biocomposite is a promising catalyst for photocatalytic applications under visible light.