bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predicting the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis based on interpretable machine models in a Chinese T2DM population
Authors: Tusongtuoheti Ximisinuer , Shu Yimeng , Huang Guoqing , Mao Yushan 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) has emerged as a global public health concern. Identifying and preventing subclinical atherosclerosis (SCAS), an early indicator of CVD, is critical for improving cardiovascular outcomes. This study aimed to construct interpretable machine learning models for predicting SCAS risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.MethodsThis study included 3084 T2DM individuals who received health care at Zhenhai Lianhua Hospital, Ningbo, China, from January 2018 to December 2022. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator combined with random forest-recursive feature elimination were used to screen for characteristic variables. Linear discriminant analysis, logistic regression, Naive Bayes, random forest, support vector machine, and extreme gradient boosting were employed in constructing risk prediction models for SCAS in T2DM patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was employed to assess the predictive capacity of the model through 10-fold cross-validation. Additionally, the SHapley Additive exPlanations were utilized to interpret the best-performing model.ResultsThe percentage of SCAS was 38.46% (n=1186) in the study population. Fourteen variables, including age, white blood cell count, and basophil count, were identified as independent risk factors for SCAS. Nine predictors, including age, albumin, and total protein, were screened for the construction of risk prediction models. After validation, the random forest model exhibited the best clinical predictive value in the training set with an AUC of 0.729 (95% CI: 0.709-0.749), and it also demonstrated good predictive value in the internal validation set [AUC: 0.715 (95% CI: 0.688-0.742)]. The model interpretation revealed that age, albumin, total protein, total cholesterol, and serum creatinine were the top five variables contributing to the prediction model.ConclusionThe construction of SCAS risk models based on the Chinese T2DM population contributes to its early prevention and intervention, which would reduce the incidence of adverse cardiovascular prognostic events.
Identifying favourable conditions for farm scale trafficability and grass growth using a combined Sentinel-2 and soil moisture deficit approach
Authors: Basu Rumia , Fenton Owen , Daly Eve , Tuohy Patrick 
Published: February 2024

In Atlantic Europe, on poorly drained grasslands soils, compaction negatively affects soil health when trafficked in wet conditions, while optimum grass growth cannot be achieved in excessively dry conditions. In Ireland, daily soil moisture deficit (SMD) information is forecasted at regional scale for all soil drainage classes. Optimal paddock conditions can occur between trafficking (10 mm) and optimum grass growth (50 mm) SMD thresholds for an identified drainage class. The objective of this farm scale study is to improve the identification of optimum conditions in time and space by combining high resolution spatial soil moisture estimates with soil drainage class specific SMD data. For that purpose, Sentinel- 2 (S-2) data was used in a modified Optical Trapezoid Model (OPTRAM) to derive normalised surface soil moisture (nSSM) estimates at farm level. In-situ soil moisture sensors providing daily estimates of volumetric soil moisture were used for validation of OPTRAM with an RMSE of 0.05. Cumulative 7-day SMD prior to the date of each S-2 image was analysed for each year from 2017-2021 to select nSSM maps corresponding to negative, 0 or −0 and positive SMD. Results established a relationship between nSSM and SMD indicating optimal conditions changed spatially and temporally. The months of April, May, August and September always presented at least 35% of the farm area available for optimum management operations. Future refinement of this methodology utilising daily high resolution remote sensing data could provide near real-time information for farmers.
Site occupancy of select mammals in the tropical forest of Eastern Himalaya
Authors: Ahmad Arif , Gopi Govindan Veeraswami 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionTerrestrial mammals play a pivotal role in tropical forest ecosystems, representing a rich and functionally diverse component of these biomes. However, they confront formidable threats globally, such as hunting, habitat loss, and fragmentation, amidst the expansion of human-altered landscapes in tropical regions. Understanding the impacts of these changes on mammal communities is crucial for designing effective conservation interventions. Northeast India's tropical forests, a biodiversity hotspot, host a diverse array of mammalian fauna. The primary challenge faced by these species involves anthropogenic activities leading to the shrinkage and fragmentation of forested habitats.MethodologyIn this study, we conducted systematic camera trapping in Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) to assess mammal status and distribution. Employing single-season occupancy models, we evaluated factors influencing mammalian species' detection probability and spatial utilization within the landscape. ResultsThe study documented 27 mammalian species, with 12 identified as "threatened" on the IUCN Red List. Species like clouded leopard, marbled cat, Gongshan muntjac, red goral, Mishmi takin, and sambar were recorded but observed infrequently. Notably, we reported the Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine's first sighting in Mehao. Our findings revealed that undisturbed forest habitats were preferred by all species. Mainland serow dominated most of the sanctuary's area, followed by northern red muntjac, yellow-throated marten, and masked palm civet.DiscussionThe response of mammalian species to ecological and anthropogenic covariates varied significantly, underscoring the necessity for species-specific management strategies alongside a landscape-scale conservation approach. These outcomes emphasize the urgency of managing and safeguarding rare and elusive mammalian species within and around Mehao WLS.
Mechanistic and biophysical characterization of polymyxin resistance response regulator PmrA in Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Ouyang Zhenlin , He Wenbo , Jiao Min , Yu Qinyue , Guo Yucheng , Refat Moath , Qin Qian , Zhang Jiaxin , Shi Qindong , Zheng Fang , Wen Yurong 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionAcinetobacter baumannii PmrAB is a crucial two-component regulatory system (TCS) that plays a vital role in conferring resistance to polymyxin. PmrA, a response regulator belonging to the OmpR/PhoB family, is composed of a C-terminal DNA-binding effector domain and an N-terminal receiver domain. The receiver domain can be phosphorylated by PmrB, a transmembrane sensor histidine kinase that interacts with PmrA. Once phosphorylated, PmrA undergoes a conformational change, resulting in the formation of a symmetric dimer in the receiver domain. This conformational change facilitates the recognition of promoter DNA by the DNA-binding domain of PmrA, leading to the activation of adaptive responses.MethodsX-ray crystallography was carried out to solve the structure of PmrA receiver domain. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay and Isothermal titration calorimetry were recruited to validate the interaction between the recombinant PmrA protein and target DNA. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was employed to characterize the surface morphology of A. baumannii in both the PmrA knockout and mutation strains.ResultsThe receiver domain of PmrA follows the canonical α5β5 response regulator assembly, which undergoes dimerization upon phosphorylation and activation. Beryllium trifluoride is utilized as an aspartate phosphorylation mimic in this process. Mutations involved in phosphorylation and dimerization significantly affected the expression of downstream pmrC and naxD genes. This impact resulted in an enhanced cell surface smoothness with fewer modifications, ultimately contributing to a decrease in colistin (polymyxin E) and polymyxin B resistance. Additionally, a conservative direct-repeat DNA PmrA binding sequence TTTAAGNNNNNTTTAAG was identified at the promoter region of the pmrC and naxD gene. These findings provide structural insights into the PmrA receiver domain and reveal the mechanism of polymyxin resistance, suggesting that PmrA could be a potential drug target to reverse polymyxin resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii.
Comparison of different rhythmic auditory stimuli on prefrontal cortex cortical activation during upper limb movement in patients with Parkinson’s disease: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
Authors: Wang Jie , Li Yingqi , Wang Yingpeng , Wang Congxiao , Qie Shuyan , Jin Zhaohui , Du Wenjun 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundA large number of literatures show that rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) can effectively improve Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients’ gait speed, frequency and speed. Its application and curative effect on upper limb motor function is relatively few.ObjectiveBy studying the immediate effect of RAS with different rhythms on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) blood oxygen response during upper limb movement in PD patients, this study discusses the potential neurophysiological mechanism of RAS on upper limb movement in PD patients, which is expected to provide guidance for patients with upper limb dysfunction such as Parkinson’s disease.MethodsIn this study, 31 PD patients with upper limb static tremors were recruited to complete the nail board task on the healthy upper limb under the baseline rhythm, slow rhythm and fast rhythm provided by the therapist. At the same time, fNIRS was used to observe the blood oxygen response of PFC.ResultsThere was no significant main effect onsidein all brain regions (p &gt; 0.05), and there was no interaction between rhythm and side (p &gt; 0.05); Except lPFC, the main effect of rhythm in other brain regions was significant (p &lt; 0.05), and ΔHbO increased with the change of rhythm. Paired analysis showed that there were significant differences in ΔHbO between slow rhythm and baseline rhythm, between fast rhythm and baseline rhythm, and between slow rhythm and fast rhythm (p &lt; 0.05); The ΔHbO of rPFC, lDLPFC and rDLPFC were significantly different between slow rhythm and fast rhythm (p &lt; 0.05); there were significant differences in the ΔHbO of BA8 between slow rhythm and baseline rhythm, and between slow rhythm and fast rhythm (p &lt; 0.05).ConclusionRAS may be a useful upper limb rehabilitation strategy for PD patients with upper limb dysfunction. At the same time, RAS with different rhythms also have different responses to PFC blood oxygen during upper limb movement in PD patients, so that we can design interventions for this kind of cortical mechanism. Identifying the neurophysiological mechanism of RAS on upper limb movement in PD patients may help clinicians customize rehabilitation methods for patients according to clues, so as to highly personalize upper limb training and optimize its effect.
Application of transcranial alternating current stimulation to improve eSports-related cognitive performance
Authors: Jiao Fujia , Zhuang Jie , Nitsche Michael A. , Lin Zhenggen , Ma Yuanbo , Liu Yu 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionElectronic Sports (eSports) is a popular and still emerging sport. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) and First/Third Person Shooting Games (FPS/TPS) require excellent visual attention abilities. Visual attention involves specific frontal and parietal areas, and is associated with alpha coherence. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a principally suitable tool to improve cognitive functions by modulation of regional oscillatory cortical networks that alters regional and larger network connectivity.MethodsIn this single-blinded crossover study, 27 healthy college students were recruited and exposed to 10 Hz tACS of the right frontoparietal network. Subjects conducted a Visual Spatial Attention Distraction task in three phases: T0 (pre-stimulation), T1 (during stimulation), T2 (after-stimulation), and an eSports performance task which contained three games (“Exact Aiming,” “Flick Aiming,” “Press Reaction”) before and after stimulation.ResultsThe results showed performance improvements in the “Exact Aiming” task and hint for a prevention of reaction time performance decline in the “Press Reaction” task in the real, as compared to the sham stimulation group. We also found a significant decrease of reaction time in the visual spatial attention distraction task at T1 compared to T0 in the real, but not sham intervention group. However, accuracy and inverse efficiency scores (IES) did not differ between intervention groups in this task.DiscussionThese results suggest that 10 Hz tACS over the right frontal and parietal cortex might improve eSports-related skill performance in specific tasks, and also improve visual attention in healthy students during stimulation. This tACS protocol is a potential tool to modulate neurocognitive performance involving tracking targets, and might be a foundation for the development of a new concept to enhance eSports performance. This will require however proof in real life scenarios, as well optimization.
Deep learning-based radiomics model from pretreatment ADC to predict biochemical recurrence in advanced prostate cancer
Authors: Wang Huihui , Wang Kexin , Zhang Yaofeng , Chen Yuke , Zhang Xiaodong , Wang Xiaoying 
Published: February 2024

PurposeTo develop deep-learning radiomics model for predicting biochemical recurrence (BCR) of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) based on pretreatment apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps.MethodsData were collected retrospectively from 131 patients diagnosed with advanced PCa, randomly divided into training (n = 93) and test (n = 38) datasets. Pre-treatment ADC images were segmented using a pre-trained artificial intelligence (AI) model to identify suspicious PCa areas. Three models were constructed, including a clinical model, a conventional radiomics model and a deep-radiomics model. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC), precision-recall (PR) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to assess predictive performance in test dataset. The net reclassification index (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were employed to compare the performance enhancement of the deep-radiomics model in relation to the other two models.ResultsThe deep-radiomics model exhibited a significantly higher area under the curve (AUC) of ROC than the other two (P = 0.033, 0.026), as well as PR curve (AUC difference 0.420, 0.432). The DCA curve demonstrated superior performance for the deep-radiomics model across all risk thresholds than the other two. Taking the clinical model as reference, the NRI and IDI was 0.508 and 0.679 for the deep-radiomics model with significant difference. Compared with the conventional radiomics model, the NRI and IDI was 0.149 and 0.164 for the deep-radiomics model without significant difference.ConclusionThe deep-radiomics model exhibits promising potential in predicting BCR in advanced PCa, compared to both the clinical model and the conventional radiomics model.
Effect of anatomical liver resection on early postoperative recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma assessed based on a nomogram: a single-center study in China
Authors: Shi Ruizi , Wang Jianjun , Zeng Xintao , Luo Hua , Yang Xiongxin , Guo Yangjie , Yi Long , Deng Hong , Yang Pei 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionWe aimed to investigate risk factors for early postoperative recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and determine the effect of surgical methods on early recurrence to facilitate predicting the risk of early postoperative recurrence in such patients and the selection of appropriate treatment methods.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed clinical data concerning 428 patients with HCC who had undergone radical surgery at Mianyang Central Hospital between January 2015 and August 2022. Relevant routine preoperative auxiliary examinations and regular postoperative telephone or outpatient follow-ups were performed to identify early postoperative recurrence. Risk factors were screened, and predictive models were constructed, including patients’ preoperative ancillary tests, intra- and postoperative complications, and pathology tests in relation to early recurrence. The risk of recurrence was estimated for each patient based on a prediction model, and patients were categorized into low- and high-risk recurrence groups. The effect of anatomical liver resection (AR) on early postoperative recurrence in patients with HCC in the two groups was assessed using survival analysis.ResultsIn total, 353 study patients were included. Multifactorial logistic regression analysis findings suggested that tumor diameter (≥5/&lt;5 cm, odds ratio [OR] 2.357, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.368–4.059; P = 0.002), alpha fetoprotein (≥400/&lt;400 ng/L, OR 2.525, 95% CI 1.334–4.780; P = 0.004), tumor number (≥2/&lt;2, OR 2.213, 95% CI 1.147–4.270; P = 0.018), microvascular invasion (positive/negative, OR 3.230, 95% CI 1.880–5.551; P &lt; 0.001), vascular invasion (positive/negative, OR 4.472, 95% CI 1.395–14.332; P = 0.012), and alkaline phosphatase level (&gt;125/≤125 U/L, OR 2.202, 95% CI 1.162–4.173; P = 0.016) were risk factors for early recurrence following radical HCC surgery. Model validation and evaluation showed that the area under the curve was 0.813. Hosmer-Lemeshow test results (X2 = 1.225, P = 0.996 &gt; 0.05), results from bootstrap self-replicated sampling of 1,000 samples, and decision curve analysis showed that the model also discriminated well, with potentially good clinical utility. Using this model, patients were stratified into low- and high-risk recurrence groups. One-year disease-free survival was compared between the two groups with different surgical approaches. Both groups benefited from AR in terms of prevention of early postoperative recurrence, with AR benefits being more pronounced and intraoperative bleeding less likely in the high-risk recurrence group.DiscussionWith appropriate surgical techniques and with tumors being realistically amenable to R0 resection, AR is a potentially useful surgical procedure for preventing early recurrence after radical surgery in patients with HCC.
Balancing work and private life: when does workplace flexibility really help? New insights into the interaction effect of working from home and job autonomy
Authors: Baum Lisa , Rau Renate 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionEmpirical research has reported variable and inconsistent findings regarding the relationship between working from home (WFH) and work-life balance (WLB). We propose that the inconsistency in the relationship between WFH and WLB may be due to unexplored moderators of this relationship. The work characteristic “job autonomy,” defined as the degrees of freedom in terms of time and content, is examined as one such possible moderator. We address the question of whether different types of negative spillover (strain-based and time-based spillover) from work to private life are dependent on an interaction effect between the use of WFH and job autonomy.MethodExperienced occupational psychologists analyzed heterogeneous workplaces in an organization over a whole shift using a task-related instrument (TAG-MA: Tool for task analyses and job design in jobs with mental work requirements). The degrees of freedom in terms of content and time were assessed within this. Online questionnaires were used to measure WFH use, perceived job demands, and negative spillover from work to private life. Four moderator models were tested in a sample of 110 employees from various occupations.ResultsThe results show that WFH is associated with a decrease in negative work-life spillover, especially when people have limited autonomy at work.DiscussionThe results are discussed and differentiated in more detail for the different types of spillover. The implications for health-promoting work design are derived.
Passive heating-induced changes in muscle contractile function are not further augmented by prolonged exposure in young males experiencing moderate thermal stress
Authors: Treigyte Viktorija , Chaillou Thomas , Eimantas Nerijus , Venckunas Tomas , Brazaitis Marius 
Published: February 2024

Background: We investigated the impact of 1) passive heating (PH) induced by single and intermittent/prolonged hot-water immersion (HWI) and 2) the duration of PH, on muscle contractile function under the unfatigued state, and during the development of muscle fatigue.Methods: Twelve young males volunteered for this study consisting of two phases: single phase (SP) followed by intermittent/prolonged phase (IPP), with both phases including two conditions (i.e., four trials in total) performed randomly: control passive sitting (CON) and HWI (44–45°C; water up to the waist level). SP-HWI included one continuous 45-min bath (from 15 to 60 min). IPP-HWI included an initial 45-min bath (from 15 to 60 min) followed by eight additional 15-min baths interspaced with 15-min breaks at room temperature between 75 and 300 min. Intramuscular (Tmu; measured in the vastus lateralis muscle) and rectal (Trec) temperatures were determined. Neuromuscular testing (performed in the knee extensors and flexors) was performed at baseline and 60 min later during SP, and at baseline, 60, 90, 150 and 300 min after baseline during IPP. A fatiguing protocol (100 electrical stimulations of the knee extensors) was performed after the last neuromuscular testing of each trial.Results: HWI increased Tmu and Trec to 38°C–38.5°C (p &lt; 0.05) during both SP and IPP. Under the unfatigued state, HWI did not affect electrically induced torques at 20 Hz (P20) and 100 Hz (P100). However, it induced a shift towards a faster contractile profile during both SP and IPP, as evidenced by a decreased P20/P100 ratio (p &lt; 0.05) and an improved muscle relaxation (i.e., reduced half-relaxation time and increased rate of torque relaxation; p &lt; 0.05). Despite a reduced voluntary activation (i.e., −2.63% ± 4.19% after SP-HWI and −5.73% ± 4.31% after IPP-HWI; condition effect: p &lt; 0.001), HWI did not impair maximal isokinetic and isometric contraction torques. During the fatiguing protocol, fatigue index and the changes in muscle contractile properties were larger after HWI than CON conditions (p &lt; 0.05). Finally, none of these parameters were significantly affected by the heating duration.Conclusion: PH induces changes in muscle contractile function which are not augmented by prolonged exposure when thermal stress is moderate.