bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Making It Work—Experiences of Women Who Engage in Technological Making at Home
Authors: Regal Georg , Smit Dorothé , França Nathalia Campreguer , Fuchsberger Verena , Tscheligi Manfred 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
This paper presents the results of a 5-month diary study into the practices and routines that develop around technological making in the home, particularly focused on the experiences of women, as they continue to be an underrepresented group in the maker community. In this study, we provided participants with an entry-level electronics making kit. Over the course of twenty weeks, the participants documented their making activities via photos, videos, text messages and taking part in interviews. By means of interpretative phenomenological analysis, we identified six core themes related to women’s experiences with technological making in the home. These experiences ranged from positive—feeling challenged, proud of accomplishments, inspired; to negative—feeling frustrated, guilty due to lack of progress or confused and overwhelmed. These experiences are discussed and contextualized by aspects related to hurdles experienced by the participants, and success factors that contribute to proactive engagement with making in the home.
Research Highlights Twenty-week photo diary study and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Identification of six core themes based on empirical data on experiences with technological making in the home context. Discourse around thresholds to engage women in technological making and the maker community. Design and research directions to reduce barriers in technological making.
Implementation of the EUCAST rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test (RAST) for carbapenemase/ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, and its effect on mortality
Authors: Tayşi Muhammet Rıdvan , Öcal Duygu , Çiçek Şentürk Gönül , Çalişkan Elif , Çelik Bahar , Şencan İrfan 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Objectives
With the rise in antimicrobial resistance, there is a growing demand for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (RAST). In this study, we applied the EUCAST RAST method to ESBL/carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates without using advanced identification systems and analysed the effect of this method on mortality rates Also the clinical impact of this method on patients infected with these bacteria and its effect on mortality rates were investigated.

Methods
RAST was used for clinical blood cultures containing carbapenemase/ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae without advanced identification systems (e.g. MALDI TOF), with preliminary identification by simple diagnostic tests (predicted RAST, or p-RAST), and its categorical agreement was investigated. The impact of the method on mortality was analysed by comparing the clinical data of patients whose blood cultures were subject to p-RAST (p-RAST group, n = 49) and those who were not subject to p-RAST (non-RAST group, n = 145).

Results
p-RAST results were analysed based on 539 antibiotic-bacteria combinations. Total error rates at 4, 6 and 8 h of incubation were 2.9%, 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively. In the p-RAST group, patients who did not receive appropriate antibiotics (29/45, 59.1%) were switched to appropriate treatment within 8 h at the latest. In contrast, in the non-RAST group, treatment of patients who received inappropriate antibiotics (79/145, 54.5%) could be changed after at least 24 h. Mortality rates were lower in the p-RAST group than in the non-RAST group (28.6% versus 51.7%, P = 0.005).

Conclusions
p-RAST can be used safely in hospital laboratories with high rates of antimicrobial resistance and can reduce mortality rates by shortening the transition time to appropriate treatment.
Biomedical blockchain with practical implementations and quantitative evaluations: a systematic review
Authors: Lacson Roger , Yu Yufei , Kuo Tsung-Ting , Ohno-Machado Lucila 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Objective
Blockchain has emerged as a potential data-sharing structure in healthcare because of its decentralization, immutability, and traceability. However, its use in the biomedical domain is yet to be investigated comprehensively, especially from the aspects of implementation and evaluation, by existing blockchain literature reviews. To address this, our review assesses blockchain applications implemented in practice and evaluated with quantitative metrics.

Materials and Methods
This systematic review adapts the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to review biomedical blockchain papers published by August 2023 from 3 databases. Blockchain application, implementation, and evaluation metrics were collected and summarized.

Results
Following screening, 11 articles were included in this review. Articles spanned a range of biomedical applications including COVID-19 medical data sharing, decentralized internet of things (IoT) data storage, clinical trial management, biomedical certificate storage, electronic health record (EHR) data sharing, and distributed predictive model generation. Only one article demonstrated blockchain deployment at a medical facility.

Discussion
Ethereum was the most common blockchain platform. All but one implementation was developed with private network permissions. Also, 8 articles contained storage speed metrics and 6 contained query speed metrics. However, inconsistencies in presented metrics and the small number of articles included limit technological comparisons with each other.

Conclusion
While blockchain demonstrates feasibility for adoption in healthcare, it is not as popular as currently existing technologies for biomedical data management. Addressing implementation and evaluation factors will better showcase blockchain’s practical benefits, enabling blockchain to have a significant impact on the health sector.
Functional completeness and primitive positive decomposition of relations on finite domains
Authors: Koshkin Sergiy 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
We give a new and elementary construction of primitive positive decomposition of higher arity relations into binary relations on finite domains. Such decompositions come up in applications to constraint satisfaction problems, clone theory and relational databases. The construction exploits functional completeness of 2-input functions in many-valued logic by interpreting relations as graphs of partially defined multivalued ‘functions’. The ‘functions’ are then composed from ordinary functions in the usual sense. The construction is computationally effective and relies on well-developed methods of functional decomposition, but reduces relations only to ternary relations. An additional construction then decomposes ternary into binary relations, also effectively, by converting certain disjunctions into existential quantifications. The result gives a uniform proof of Peirce’s reduction thesis on finite domains, and shows that the graph of any Sheffer function composes all relations there.
PrP is cleaved from the surface of mast cells by ADAM10 and proteases released during degranulation
Authors: Willows Steven D , Vliagoftis Harissios , Sim Valerie L , Kulka Marianna 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
While several functions of the endogenous prion protein have been studied, the homeostatic function of prion protein is still debated. Notably, prion protein is highly expressed on mast cells, granular immune cells that regulate inflammation. When activated, mast cells shed prion protein, although the mechanism and consequences of this are not yet understood. First, we tested several mast cell lines and found that, while prion protein was almost always present, the total amount differed greatly. Activation of mast cells induced a cleavage of the N-terminal region of prion protein, and this was reduced by protease inhibitors. Exogenous mast cell proteases caused a similar loss of the prion protein N-terminus. Additionally, mast cells shed prion protein in an ADAM10-dependent fashion, even in the absence of activation. Our results suggest that prion protein is cleaved from resting mast cells by ADAM10 and from activated mast cells by mast cell proteases. Prion protein also appears to affect mast cell function, as Prnp−/− bone marrow–derived mast cells showed lower levels of degranulation and cytokine release, as well as lower levels of both FcεRI and CD117. Finally, we sought to provide clinical relevance by measuring the levels of prion protein in bodily fluids of asthmatic patients, a disease that involves the activation of mast cells. We found an N-terminal fragment of prion protein could be detected in human sputum and serum, and the amount of this prion protein fragment was decreased in the serum of patients with asthma.
Genipin improves obesity through promoting bile secretion and changing bile acids composition in diet-induced obese rats
Authors: Guan Lili , Zhang Lei , Gong Dezheng , Li Pengcheng , Zhu Shengnan , Tang Jiulan , Du Man , Zhang Maokun , Zou Yuan 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Objectives
Bile acids (BAs), as signaling molecules to regulate metabolism, have received considerable attention. Genipin is an iridoid compound extracted from Fructus Gradeniae, which has been shown to relieve adiposity and metabolic syndrome. Here, we investigated the mechanism of genipin counteracting obesity and its relationship with BAs signals in diet-induced obese (DIO) rats.

Methods
The DIO rats were received intraperitoneal injections of genipin for 10 days. The body weight, visceral fat, lipid metabolism in the liver, thermogenic genes expressions in brown fat, BAs metabolism and signals, and key enzymes for BAs synthesis were determined.

Key findings
Genipin inhibited fat synthesis and promoted lipolysis in the liver, and upregulated thermogenic gene expressions in brown adipose tissue of DIO rats. Genipin increased bile flow rate and upregulated the expressions of aquaporin 8 and the transporters of BAs in liver. Furthermore, genipin changed BAs composition by promoting alternative pathways and inhibiting classical pathways for BAs synthesis and upregulated the expressions of bile acid receptors synchronously.

Conclusions
These results suggest that genipin ameliorate obesity through BAs-mediated signaling pathways.
A dual regulatory role for the arbuscular mycorrhizal master regulator RAM1 in tomato
Authors: Ho-Plágaro Tania , Tamayo-Navarrete María Isabel , Ćavar Zeljković Sanja , Tarkowski Petr , García-Garrido José Manuel 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
The REQUIRED FOR ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZATION1 (RAM1) transcription factor from the GRAS family is well known for its role as a master regulator of the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis in dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous species, being essential in transcriptional reprogramming for the development and functionality of the arbuscules. In tomato, SlGRAS27 is the putative orthologue of RAM1 (here named SlRAM1), but has not yet been characterized. A reduced colonization of the root and impaired arbuscule formation were observed in SlRAM1-silenced plants, confirming the functional conservation of the RAM1 orthologue in tomato. However, unexpectedly, SlRAM1-overexpressing (UBIL:SlRAM1) plants also showed decreased mycorrhizal colonization. Analysis of non-mycorrhizal UBIL:SlRAM1 roots revealed an overall regulation of AM-related genes and a reduction of strigolactone biosynthesis. Moreover, external application of the strigolactone analogue GR244DO almost completely reversed the negative effects of SlRAM1 overexpression on the frequency of mycorrhization. However, it only partially recovered the pattern of arbuscule distribution observed in control plants. Our results strongly suggest that SlRAM1 has a dual regulatory role during mycorrhization and, in addition to its recognized action as a positive regulator of arbuscule development, it is also involved in different mechanisms for the negative regulation of mycorrhization, including the repression of strigolactone biosynthesis.
High-accuracy emulators for observables in ΛCDM, Neff, Σmν, and w cosmologies
Authors: Bolliet Boris , Spurio Mancini Alessio , Hill J Colin , Madhavacheril Mathew , Jense Hidde T , Calabrese Erminia , Dunkley Jo 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT
We use the emulation framework CosmoPower to construct and publicly release neural network emulators of cosmological observables, including the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization power spectra, matter power spectrum, distance-redshift relation, baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and redshift-space distortion (RSD) observables, and derived parameters. We train our emulators on Einstein–Boltzmann calculations obtained with high-precision numerical convergence settings, for a wide range of cosmological models including ΛCDM, wCDM, ΛCDM + Neff, and ΛCDM + Σmν. Our CMB emulators are accurate to better than 0.5 per cent out to ℓ = 104, which is sufficient for Stage-IV data analysis, and our P(k) emulators reach the same accuracy level out to $k=50 \, \, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, which is sufficient for Stage-III data analysis. We release the emulators via an online repository (CosmoPower Organisation), which will be continually updated with additional extended cosmological models. Our emulators accelerate cosmological data analysis by orders of magnitude, enabling cosmological parameter extraction analyses, using current survey data, to be performed on a laptop. We validate our emulators by comparing them to class and camb and by reproducing cosmological parameter constraints derived from Planck TT, TE, EE, and CMB lensing data, as well as from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Data Release 4 CMB data, Dark Energy Survey Year-1 galaxy lensing and clustering data, and Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 12 BAO and RSD data.
An analytic description of electron thermalization in kilonovae ejecta
Authors: Shenhar Ben , Guttman Or , Waxman Eli 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT
A simple analytic description is provided of the rate of energy deposition by β-decay electrons in the homologously expanding radioactive plasma ejected in neutron star mergers, valid for a wide range of ejecta parameters – initial entropy, electron fraction {s0, Ye}, and scaled (time-independent) density ρt3. The formulae are derived using detailed numerical calculations following the time-dependent composition and β-decay emission spectra (including the effect of delayed deposition). The deposition efficiency depends mainly on ρt3 and only weakly on {s0, Ye}. The time te at which the ratio between the rates of electron energy deposition and energy production drops to 1 − e−1, is given by $t_e=t_{0e}\Big (\frac{\rho t^3}{0.5(\rho t^3)_0}\Big)^a$, where $(\rho t^3)_0=\frac{0.05\, {\rm M}_{\odot }}{4\pi (0.2c)^3}$, t0e(s0, Ye) ≈ 17 d, and 0.4 ≤ a(s0, Ye) ≤ 0.5. The fractional uncertainty in te due to nuclear physics uncertainties is $\approx 10~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. The result a ≤ 0.5 reflects the fact that the characteristic β-decay electron energies do not decrease with time (largely due to ‘inverted decay chains’ in which a slowly decaying isotope decays to a rapidly decaying isotope with higher end-point energy). We provide an analytic approximation for the time-dependent electron energy deposition rate, reproducing the numerical results to better than 50 per cent (typically $\lt 30~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, well within the energy production rate uncertainty due to nuclear physics uncertainties) over a 3–4 orders-of-magnitude deposition rate decrease with time. Our results may be easily incorporated in calculations of kilonovae light curves (with general density and composition structures), eliminating the need to numerically follow the time-dependent electron spectra. Identifying te, e.g. in the bolometric light curve, will constrain the ejecta density distribution.
Factors associated with discrepancies in disease activity as assessed by SDAI and RAPID3 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Data from a multicentre observational study (T-FLAG)
Authors: Suzuki Mochihito , Asai Shuji , Ohashi Yoshifumi , Sobue Yasumori , Ishikawa Hisato , Takahashi Nobunori , Terabe Kenya , Sato Ryo , Kosugiyama Hironobu , Hasegawa Junya , Ohno Yusuke , Sugiura Takaya , Imagama Shiro 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT

Objectives
The present study aimed to examine discrepancies between assessments based on Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID3) and Simple Disease Activity Index (SDAI) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with controlled disease activity.

Methods
Data from 464 RA patients in SDAI remission or low disease activity (REM/LDA) were analysed. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures, including Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25), and Kihon checklist (KCL), were assessed. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with RAPID3 moderate or high disease activity (MDA/HDA). Cutoff values of RAPID3 MDA/HDA for each PRO evaluation item were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Results
Among RA patients in SDAI REM/LDA, 84.9% were in RAPID3 REM/LDA. Multivariable analysis revealed that HAQ-DI, GLFS-25, and KCL were independently associated with RAPID3 MDA/HDA. Subdomain analysis of KCL revealed that activities of daily living, physical function, cognitive function, and depressive mood were significantly associated with RAPID3 MDA/HDA. Cutoff values for HAQ-DI and KCL were 0.38 and 8, respectively.

Conclusions
In RA patients with controlled disease activity, discrepancies between RAPID3 and SDAI assessments were observed, with factors such as HAQ-DI, GLFS-25, and KCL being independently associated with RAPID3 MDA/HDA.
Factors associated with drug retention of mepolizumab in patients with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis: A multicentre REVEAL cohort study
Authors: Shiomi Mayu , Watanabe Ryu , Matsuda Shogo , Kotani Takuya , Okazaki Ayana , Masuda Yuichi , Yoshida Tsuneyasu , Shoji Mikihito , Tsuge Ryosuke , Kadoba Keiichiro , Hiwa Ryosuke , Yamamoto Wataru , Takeda Akitoshi , Itoh Yoshiaki , Hashimoto Motomu 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT

Objectives
To determine the current retention rate of mepolizumab (MPZ) and identify factors associated with drug retention in patients with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) in the Kansai multicentre cohort (REVEAL cohort).

Methods
Sixty patients diagnosed with EGPA and treated with MPZ between December 2016 and June 2023 were enrolled. The clinical characteristics, including laboratory data, treatments administered, and disease course outcomes, were collected retrospectively. The patients were stratified into MPZ continuation (n = 53) and discontinuation (n = 7) groups, and drug retention was statistically compared using the log-rank test.

Results
The median age of patients was 54.5 years, with 55% females, and 33% antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive at disease onset. MPZ exhibited a retention rate of 78.7% after 5 years. The reasons for discontinuation included treatment of coexisting diseases, inadequate response, and remission. Patient characteristics at disease onset were comparable between the groups. Patients receiving immunosuppressants (IS) before MPZ introduction demonstrated significantly higher retention rates (P = 0.038). During the final observation, the MPZ continuation group had a lower vasculitis damage index score (P = 0.027).

Conclusions
MPZ exhibited a high 5-year retention rate, particularly in patients requiring IS. This study implies that long-term use of MPZ may mitigate irreversible organ damage.
Drawing human pedigree charts with DrawPed
Authors: Schönberger Janina , Steinhaus Robin , Seelow Dominik 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Creating pedigree charts is a recurring task in biomedical research, but there are few online tools for drawing complex human pedigrees available and even fewer are free. With DrawPed we aim to close this gap. DrawPed automatically draws pedigree charts from standard PED format pedigree files. Users can also create pedigrees from scratch and interactively edit existing pedigrees. The application can display conditions not captured in a PED file such as deceased persons or suspected consanguinity of parents. Pedigree charts are displayed as SVGs, which are scalable and hence publication-ready. Pedigrees can be exported as PED files for storage, exchange, or use in other applications. DrawPed is open source and freely available at https://www.genecascade.org/DrawPed/.
Constraints on the emergence of RNA through non-templated primer extension with mixtures of potentially prebiotic nucleotides
Authors: Jia Xiwen , Zhang Stephanie J , Zhou Lijun , Szostak Jack W 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
The emergence of RNA on the early Earth is likely to have been influenced by chemical and physical processes that acted to filter out various alternative nucleic acids. For example, UV photostability is thought to have favored the survival of the canonical nucleotides. In a recent proposal for the prebiotic synthesis of the building blocks of RNA, ribonucleotides share a common pathway with arabino- and threo-nucleotides. We have therefore investigated non-templated primer extension with 2-aminoimidazole-activated forms of these alternative nucleotides to see if the synthesis of the first oligonucleotides might have been biased in favor of RNA. We show that non-templated primer extension occurs predominantly through 5′-5′ imidazolium-bridged dinucleotides, echoing the mechanism of template-directed primer extension. Ribo- and arabino-nucleotides exhibited comparable rates and yields of non-templated primer extension, whereas threo-nucleotides showed lower reactivity. Competition experiments confirmed the bias against the incorporation of threo-nucleotides. The incorporation of an arabino-nucleotide at the end of the primer acts as a chain terminator and blocks subsequent extension. These biases, coupled with potentially selective prebiotic synthesis, and the templated copying that is known to favour the incorporation of ribonucleotides, provide a plausible model for the effective exclusion of arabino- and threo-nucleotides from primordial oligonucleotides.
A programmable dual-targeting siRNA scaffold supports potent two-gene modulation in the central nervous system
Authors: Belgrad Jillian , Tang Qi , Hildebrand Sam , Summers Ashley , Sapp Ellen , Echeverria Dimas , O’Reilly Dan , Luu Eric , Bramato Brianna , Allen Sarah , Cooper David , Alterman Julia , Yamada Ken , Aronin Neil , DiFiglia Marian , Khvorova Anastasia 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Divalent short-interfering RNA (siRNA) holds promise as a therapeutic approach allowing for the sequence-specific modulation of a target gene within the central nervous system (CNS). However, an siRNA modality capable of simultaneously modulating gene pairs would be invaluable for treating complex neurodegenerative disorders, where more than one pathway contributes to pathogenesis. Currently, the parameters and scaffold considerations for multi-targeting nucleic acid modalities in the CNS are undefined. Here, we propose a framework for designing unimolecular ‘dual-targeting’ divalent siRNAs capable of co-silencing two genes in the CNS. We systematically adjusted the original CNS-active divalent siRNA and identified that connecting two sense strands 3′ and 5′ through an intra-strand linker enabled a functional dual-targeting scaffold, greatly simplifying the synthetic process. Our findings demonstrate that the dual-targeting siRNA supports at least two months of maximal distribution and target silencing in the mouse CNS. The dual-targeting divalent siRNA is highly programmable, enabling simultaneous modulation of two different disease-relevant gene pairs (e.g. Huntington's disease: MSH3 and HTT; Alzheimer's disease: APOE and JAK1) with similar potency to a mixture of single-targeting divalent siRNAs against each gene. This work enhances the potential for CNS modulation of disease-related gene pairs using a unimolecular siRNA.