bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Peritoneal Tumor DNA as a Prognostic Biomarker in Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Allan Zexi , Witts Sasha , Wong Darren J. , Lee Margaret M. , Tie Jeanne , Tebbutt Niall C. , Clemons Nicholas J. , Liu David S. 
Published: March 2024

PURPOSE Gastric cancers commonly spread to the peritoneum. Its presence significantly alters patient prognosis and treatment-intent; however, current methods of peritoneal staging are inaccurate. Peritoneal tumor DNA (ptDNA) is tumor-derived DNA detectable in peritoneal lavage fluid. ptDNA positivity may indicate peritoneal micrometastasis and may be more sensitive than cytology in staging the peritoneum. In this meta-analysis, we evaluated the prognostic potential of ptDNA in gastric cancer. METHODS PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched using PRISMA guidelines. Studies published between January 1, 1990, and April 30, 2023, containing quantitative data relating to ptDNA in gastric cancer were meta-analyzed. RESULTS Six studies were analyzed. Of the total 757 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, 318 (42.0%) were stage I, 311 (41.0%) were stage II/III, 116 (15.3%) were stage IV, and 22 (2.9%) were undetermined. Overall, ptDNA detected cytology-positive cases with a sensitivity and specificity of 85.2% (95% CI, 66.5 to 100.0) and 91.5% (95% CI, 86.5 to 96.6), respectively. Additionally, ptDNA was detected in 54 (8.5%) of 634 cytology-negative patients. The presence of ptDNA negatively correlated with pathological stage I (relative risk [RR], 0.29 [95% CI, 0.13 to 0.66]) and positively correlated with pathological stage IV (RR, 8.61 [95% CI, 1.86 to 39.89]) disease. Importantly, ptDNA positivity predicted an increased risk of peritoneal-specific metastasis (RR, 13.81 [95% CI, 8.11 to 23.53]) and reduced 3-year progression-free (RR, 5.37 [95% CI, 1.39 to 20.74]) and overall (hazard ratio, 4.13 [95% CI, 1.51 to 11.32]) survival. CONCLUSION ptDNA carries valuable prognostic information and can detect peritoneal micrometastases in patients with gastric cancer. Its clinical utility in peritoneal staging for gastric cancer deserves further investigation.
Spatial cell fate manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells by controlling the microenvironment using photocurable hydrogel
Authors: Wang Zhe , Numada Akira , Wagai Fumi , Oda Yusuke , Ohgushi Masatoshi , Maki Koichiro , Adachi Taiji , Eiraku Mototsugu 
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT
Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) dynamically respond to their chemical and physical microenvironment, dictating their behavior. However, conventional in vitro studies predominantly employ plastic culture wares, which offer a simplified representation of the in vivo microenvironment. Emerging evidence underscores the pivotal role of mechanical and topological cues in hPSC differentiation and maintenance. In this study, we cultured hPSCs on hydrogel substrates with spatially controlled stiffness. The use of culture substrates that enable precise manipulation of spatial mechanical properties holds promise for better mimicking in vivo conditions and advancing tissue engineering techniques. We designed a photocurable polyethylene glycol-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA-PEG) hydrogel, allowing the spatial control of surface stiffness and geometry at a micrometer scale. This versatile hydrogel can be functionalized with various extracellular matrix proteins. Laminin 511-functionalized PVA-PEG gel effectively supports the growth and differentiation of hPSCs. Moreover, by spatially modulating the stiffness of the patterned gel, we achieved spatially selective cell differentiation, resulting in the generation of intricate patterned structures.
Age-dependent perfume development in male orchid bees, Euglossa imperialis
Authors: Henske Jonas , Eltz Thomas 
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT
Male neotropical orchid bees concoct complex perfume blends by collecting exogenous volatiles from various sources, including orchids. These perfumes, stored in specialized hind-leg pouches and released during courtship, serve as inter-sexual signals. It has been hypothesized that male perfumes honestly indicate aspects of male fitness. If perfume traits such as quantity or complexity increase over individual lifetime, perfumes could reflect age (survival) and cumulative foraging success of males. We conducted a two-season mark–recapture study with Euglossa imperialis in Costa Rica, monitoring the balance of perfume uptake and expenditure over individual male lifetime. We sealed one hind-leg pouch upon initial capture, ‘freezing’ the perfume status on one side, and compared it with the other side at recapture to assess changes in perfume traits over time. Additionally, we used a novel method to estimate individual age by combining two parameters of wing degradation. Contrary to predictions, young to intermediate-aged bees had the highest quantities of perfume and the highest diversity of detected compounds. At the same time, the change in perfume between recaptures was positive (increase in amount and complexity) in young bees, whereas it was neutral to negative in older bees. Although these findings do not disprove an indicator function of male perfume, they shift the emphasis to non-cumulative fitness components such as sensory acuteness or cognitive capacity as likely targets of selection. Females preferring strong perfume signals in mates would maximize speed of foraging in offspring rather than their lifetime cumulative yield.
Receptors underlying an odorant's valence across concentrations in Drosophila larvae
Authors: Perry Sarah , Clark Jonathan T. , Ngo Paulina , Ray Anandasankar 
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT
Odorants interact with receptors expressed in specialized olfactory neurons, and neurons of the same class send their axons to distinct glomeruli in the brain. The stereotypic spatial glomerular activity map generates recognition and the behavioral response for the odorant. The valence of an odorant changes with concentration, typically becoming aversive at higher concentrations. Interestingly, in Drosophila larvae, the odorant (E)-2-hexenal is aversive at low concentrations and attractive at higher concentrations. We investigated the molecular and neural basis of this phenomenon, focusing on how activities of different olfactory neurons conveying opposing effects dictate behaviors. We identified the repellant neuron in the larvae as one expressing the olfactory receptor Or7a, whose activation alone at low concentrations of (E)-2-hexenal elicits an avoidance response in an Or7a-dependent manner. We demonstrate that avoidance can be overcome at higher concentrations by activation of additional neurons that are known to be attractive, most notably odorants that are known activators of Or42a and Or85c. These findings suggest that in the larval stage, the attraction-conveying neurons can overcome the aversion-conveying channels for (E)-2-hexenal.
Buy Now Pay (Pain?) Later
Authors: deHaan Ed , Kim Jungbae , Lourie Ben , Zhu Chenqi 
Published: March 2024

“Buy-now-pay-later” (BNPL) is a relatively unregulated FinTech innovation that provides consumers with easy access to credit for retail purchases. BNPL spending is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2025, but we know little about its effects. Using banking data for 10.6 million U.S. consumers, we investigate the effects of BNPL on leading indicators of users’ financial health. We find that new BNPL users experience rapid increases in bank overdraft charges and credit card interest and fees compared with nonusers, consistent with BNPL facilitating overborrowing. An instrumental variable exploiting consumers’ pre-BNPL shopping habits bolsters our inferences. Our results inform regulatory investigations into the effects of BNPL on users’ financial health and expand academia’s understanding of an important consumer credit innovation. This paper was accepted by Camelia Kuhnen, finance. Funding: E. deHaan acknowledges financial support from Stanford University; B. Lourie and C. Zhu acknowledge financial support from University of California Irvine. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.03266 .
Conservation in Community: FoProBiM’s Mangrove Restoration Project
Authors: Wiener Jean 
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Haiti’s forests are some of the most degraded on earth. Charcoal production is one of the primary causes of this degradation, and the need for fuel is the main driver. These photos show efforts by the Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine (FoProBiM), one of Haiti’s oldest environmental organizations, to rehabilitate the mangrove forests devastated by the charcoal trade.
Direct detection Φ-OTDR based on UWFBG array using linear-phase-modulated double-pulse
Authors: Hong Rui , Wang Feng , Yu Yong , Tian Ruifeng , Jiang Wei , Lu Yanqing , Zhang Lin , Zhang Yixin , Zhang Xuping 
Published: March 2024

We propose what we believe to be a novel direct detection phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) based on ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating (UWFBG) array to achieve distributed vibration measurements with exceptional sensitivity and remarkable stability. Our system employs a pulse modulator to generate a double pulse and achieves linear phase modulation of one pulse by one cycle through a phase modulator. The phase change can be quantitatively demodulated using our proposed N-step phase-shifted demodulation algorithm. This method effectively mitigates the influence of phase noise of the laser and the pulse modulator, while also eliminating fluctuations in the half-voltage of the phase modulator. Compared with the existing phase modulation methods, our method avoids stringent requirements for the stability and precision of phase modulation. Moreover, we propose a phase-shifted approximation method, breaking the limitation of sensing length on the traditional differential approximation method and improving the accuracy significantly. The technique's effectiveness is experimentally demonstrated on a 1 km UWFBG array with a reflectivity of −40 dB to −45 dB and a spatial resolution of 10 m. Vibrations with different amplitudes are measured quantitatively with good linearity. The low-frequency self-noise is greatly suppressed and the overall self-noise is −54.3 dB rad2/Hz.
Cardiovascular risk factors among nurses: A global systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Khani Saghar , Rafiei Sima , Ghashghaee Ahmad , Masoumi Maryam , Rezaee Srva , Kheradkhah Golnaz , Abdollahi Bahare 
Published: March 2024

Background
Nurses as the largest group of health workers have a very stressful job which can cause number of diseases specially increase cardiovascular risk factors. This study aims to investigate the overall epidemiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among nurses.

Method
We searched all four main databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Embase and Web of Sciences from the beginning of 2000 to March 2022 with appropriate Mesh Terms. We also searched Google scholar. Then we applied inclusion and exclusion criteria and after selection the studies the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the methodological quality of included studies. Comprehensive Meta-analysis and R software was used for analysis.

Results
Finally, 22 articles with a total number of 117922 nurses were included. Among all risk factors, sedentary lifestyle and lack of regular physical activity with a prevalence of 46.3% (CI 95%, 26.6–67.2) was regarded as the main prevalent risk factor among nurses. The mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) measured in the study population was 121.31 (CI 95%, 114.73–127.90) and the mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 78.08 (CI 95%, 74.90–81.25). Also family history of cardiovascular disease (41.9%; 95% IC: 29.8–55.1%), being overweight (33.3%; 95% IC: 24.7–43.2%), and alcohol consumption (24.6%; 95% IC: 16.4–35.2%) was found among the participants.

Conclusion
Study results revealed that sedentary lifestyle was the main prevalent CVD risk factor among nurses followed by family history of cardiovascular disease, being overweight and alcohol consumption. Furthermore, among nurses with shift works almost all risk factors got higher score representing the worse condition in comparison with day workers’ nurses. This study enables learning the associated risk factors of CVD among nurses to facilitate interventional programs with a view to reduce the exposure of nursing staff particularly those who work in shifts to cardiovascular risk factors.

1. What was already known?
In general, many studies have emphasized the impact of the nursing profession on the incidence of some cardiovascular patients. Also, different shifts of nurses can have a double effect.

2. What are the new findings?
In this study, the mean for sedentary lifestyle was reported to be 46.3% which represented the most prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular risk factors among study population.

3. What is their significance?
This study enables learning the associated risk factors of CVD among nurses to facilitate interventional programs with a view to reduce the exposure of nursing staff particularly those who work in shifts to cardiovascular risk factors. This information can comprise essential tools for health human resource management contributing to advance nursing.
Estimating multiplicity of infection, allele frequencies, and prevalences accounting for incomplete data
Authors: Hashemi Meraj , Schneider Kristan A. 
Published: March 2024

BackgroundMolecular surveillance of infectious diseases allows the monitoring of pathogens beyond the granularity of traditional epidemiological approaches and is well-established for some of the most relevant infectious diseases such as malaria. The presence of genetically distinct pathogenic variants within an infection, referred to as multiplicity of infection (MOI) or complexity of infection (COI) is common in malaria and similar infectious diseases. It is an important metric that scales with transmission intensities, potentially affects the clinical pathogenesis, and a confounding factor when monitoring the frequency and prevalence of pathogenic variants. Several statistical methods exist to estimate MOI and the frequency distribution of pathogen variants. However, a common problem is the quality of the underlying molecular data. If molecular assays fail not randomly, it is likely to underestimate MOI and the prevalence of pathogen variants.Methods and findingsA statistical model is introduced, which explicitly addresses data quality, by assuming a probability by which a pathogen variant remains undetected in a molecular assay. This is different from the assumption of missing at random, for which a molecular assay either performs perfectly or fails completely. The method is applicable to a single molecular marker and allows to estimate allele-frequency spectra, the distribution of MOI, and the probability of variants to remain undetected (incomplete information). Based on the statistical model, expressions for the prevalence of pathogen variants are derived and differences between frequency and prevalence are discussed. The usual desirable asymptotic properties of the maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE) are established by rewriting the model into an exponential family. The MLE has promising finite sample properties in terms of bias and variance. The covariance matrix of the estimator is close to the Cramér-Rao lower bound (inverse Fisher information). Importantly, the estimator’s variance is larger than that of a similar method which disregards incomplete information, but its bias is smaller.ConclusionsAlthough the model introduced here has convenient properties, in terms of the mean squared error it does not outperform a simple standard method that neglects missing information. Thus, the new method is recommendable only for data sets in which the molecular assays produced poor-quality results. This will be particularly true if the model is extended to accommodate information from multiple molecular markers at the same time, and incomplete information at one or more markers leads to a strong depletion of sample size.
Web-based survey investigating cardiovascular complications in hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome after COVID-19 infection and vaccination
Authors: Guerrerio Anthony L. , Mateja Allyson , MacCarrick Gretchen , Fintzi Jonathan , Brittain Erica , Frischmeyer-Guerrerio Pamela A. , Dietz Harry C. 
Published: March 2024

Background
Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a heritable connective tissue disorder associated with generalized joint hypermobility but also other multisystem comorbidities, many of which may be exacerbated during a viral illness or after a vaccination. We sought to determine whether individuals with hypermobile Ehlers Danlos syndrome report an increase in adverse events, including cardiovascular events, after COVID-19 illness or vaccination.

Methods
A cross-sectional web-based survey was made available from November 22, 2021, through March 15, 2022. 368 respondents primarily from the United States self-reported data including diagnosis. We used a Cox proportional hazards model with time varying indicators for COVID-19 illness or vaccination in the previous 30 days.

Results
We found a significantly increased rate of new abnormal heart rhythms reported in the 30 days following COVID-19 illness. No additional cardiovascular events were reported after COVID-19 illness. 2.5% of respondents with COVID-19 illness were hospitalized. We did not find a statistically significant increased rate of cardiovascular events in the 30 days following any COVID-19 vaccination dose. Post COVID-19 vaccination, 87.2% of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome respondents endorsed an expected adverse event (EAE), and 3.1% reported an emergency department visit/hospitalization, of those who received at least one vaccine dose. Events possibly reflecting exacerbation of orthostasis/dysautonomia were common.

Conclusion
Respondents did not report an increased rate of any cardiovascular events in the 30 days following COVID-19 vaccination; however, those with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome experienced a high rate of expected adverse events after vaccination consistent with a high baseline prevalence of similar symptoms. No cardiovascular events other than new abnormal heart rhythms were reported at any point after a COVID-19 illness.
Cost-utility analysis of atezolizumab combined with bevacizumab for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma in Thailand
Authors: Sriphoosanaphan Supachaya , Pantumongkol Witthawat , Kulpeng Wantanee , Charonpongsuntorn Chanchai , Tanwandee Tawesak , Sukeepaisarnjaroen Wattana , Sobhonslidsuk Abhasnee , Tangkijvanich Pisit 
Published: March 2024

Background
Clinical trials have proven the efficacy and safety of atezolizumab combined with bevacizumab (A+B) in treating unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). This study aimed to assess the cost-utility of A+B compared to best supportive care (BSC) among uHCC patients in Thailand.

Methods
We conducted a cost-utility analysis from a societal perspective. We used a three-state Markov model to estimate relevant costs and health outcomes over the lifetime horizon. Local cost and utility data from Thai patients were applied. All costs were adjusted to 2023 values using the consumer price index. We reported results as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in United States dollars ($) per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. We discounted future costs and outcomes at 3% per annum. We then performed one-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to assess parameter uncertainty. The budget impact was conducted to estimate the financial burden from the governmental perspective over a five-year period.

Results
Compared to BSC, A+B provided a better health benefit with 0.8309 QALY gained at an incremental lifetime cost of $45,357. The ICER was $54,589 per QALY gained. The result was sensitive to the hazard ratios for the overall survival and progression-free survival of A+B. At the current Thai willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $4,678 per QALY gained, the ICER of A+B remained above the threshold. The projected budgetary requirements for implementing A+B in the respective first and fifth years would range from 8.2 to 27.9 million USD.

Conclusion
Although A+B yielded the highest clinical benefit compared with BSC for the treatment of uHCC patients, A+B is not cost-effective in Thailand at the current price and poses budgetary challenges.
Spray drying of cellulases produced by Bacillus sp. SMIA-2
Authors: Cruz Erica , Talma Simone Vilela , Barbosa João Batista , Pires Bolzan Raphael , Ladeira Silvania Alves , Vieira de Carvalho Raquel , Lelis Leal Martins Meire 
Published: March 2024

Microbial cellulases present biotechnological potential to be used in several industries, including food, brewery and wine, industrial waste for chemical feedstock, animal feed, pulp and paper, agriculture, textile and detergent production. In this work, cellulases produced by the thermophilic Bacillus sp. SMIA-2 in submerged cultures containing sugarcane bagasse, corn steep liquor and passion fruit rind flour were spray-dried, in an attempt to improve their stability for industrial purposes. The cellulases were spray dried and analyzed before and after the drying process and subsequent storage. A Central Composite Design (CCD) 23 was used to investigate the effect of different concentrations of arabic gum and microcrystalline cellulose, as well as the spray dryer inlet temperature on the cellulase spray drying process. The results evidenced that the combination of 1.0 % (w/v) arabic gum and 1.0% (w/v) microcrystalline cellulose, at inlet temperature of 70 °C, was effective in maintaining the activities of both avicelases (avicel-hydrolyzing enzymes) and carboxymethylcellulases (carboxymethylcellulose-hydrolyzing enzymes - CMCase). The dried avicelase was completely preserved when stored at 5oC, while the CMCase retained 89% of its activity, which indicates promising potential for industrial uses, especially in detergent formulations.
Temperature-dependent short channel effects in nanoscale double gate FinFETs: A comparative study
Authors: Nura Muhammad Shehu  , Garba Babaji  , Mutari Hajara Ali  
Published: March 2024

This work investigates the impact of temperature variation on Short Channel Effects (SCEs). Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), Gallium Antimonide (GaSb), Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon (Si) are the channel materials that are investigated. The study examines phenomenal metrics such as Drain Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL), Subthreshold Swing (SS), Threshold Voltage Roll-off, On-current and Transconductance using PADRE Simulator. The results revealed that GaAs-FinFET excels in terms of DIBL, threshold voltage, transconductance and on-current at higher temperatures. On the other hand, GaN-FinFET excels in terms of SS at lower temperatures. These findings contribute to the understanding of temperature effects on nanoscale double gate FinFETs, aiding their optimization for diverse electronic devices.