bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long-term outcome of surgically treated and conservatively managed Rathke cleft cysts
Authors: Schmutzer-Sondergeld Michael , Weller Jonathan , Thorsteinsdottir Jun , Schichor Christian , Rachinger Walter , Thon Niklas , Ueberschaer Moritz 
Published: April 2024

Abstract

Objective
Rathke cleft cysts (RCC) are benign lesions of the sellar region that require surgical treatment in case of visual deterioration or progression of the cyst. However, the natural course is often stable and asymptomatic.
We aimed to investigate the characteristics of patients with cyst progression during follow-up (FU) and to compare the natural history of patients with RCC with patients who underwent surgery.

Methods
Patients with an MR morphologic cystic sellar lesion classified as RCC between 04/2001 and 11/2020 were included. Functional outcomes, including ophthalmologic, endocrinologic, and MRI data, were retrospectively analyzed and compared between surgically treated patients, patients on a “watch and wait” strategy (WWS), and patients on a WWS who underwent secondary surgery due to cyst progression.

Results
One hundred forty patients (median age 42.8 years) with RCC on MRI were identified. 52/140 (37.1%) underwent primary surgery. Of 88 patients (62.9%) with initial WWS, 21 (23.9%) underwent surgery for secondary cyst progression. Patients on the WWS had significantly smaller cyst volumes (p = 0.0001) and fewer visual disturbances (p = 0.0004), but a similar rate of hormone deficiencies (p = 0.99) compared with surgically treated patients preoperatively. Postoperatively patients suffered significantly more often from hormone deficiencies than WWS patients (p = 0.001).
Patients who switched to the surgical group were significantly more likely to have preoperative T1 hyperintense signals on MRI (p = 0.0001) and visual disturbances (p = 0.001) than patients with continuous WWS. Postoperatively, these patients suffered more frequently from new hormonal deficiencies (p = 0.001). Endocrine and ophthalmologic outcomes in patients with primary and secondary surgery were comparable.
Multivariate analysis showed that WWS patients were at a higher risk of requiring surgery for cyst progression when perimetric deficits (p = 0.006), hyperprolactinemia (p = 0.003), and corticotropic deficits (p = 0.005) were present.

Conclusion
Surgical treatment of RCC may cause new hormonal deficiencies, which are rare in the natural course. Therefore, the indication for surgery should be carefully evaluated. Hyperprolactinemia and corticotropic deficits were significant indicators for a secondary cyst progression in patients with RCC. However, a significant amount of almost 25% of initially conservatively managed cysts showed deterioration, necessary for surgical intervention.
No evidence tube entrapment distresses rodents in typical empathy tests
Authors: Nugroho Dwi Atmoko Agung , Kusrohmaniah Sri , Pilz Emma , Krikorian Clare , Kearns David , Slotnick Burton , Gomez Maria , Silberberg Alan 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
In the first two experiments an empty tube open at one end was placed in different locations. Male hamsters, tested one at a time, tended to stay close to the tube or in it. During the first minute of the first 4 sessions of Experiment 3, the hamster was unrestrained. If it entered the tube, it was locked within the tube. If it did not enter the tube during the first min, it was placed in it, and the tube was locked. Fifteen min later, the tube was opened, and the hamster was unrestrained for a further 20 min. The tube remained open during Session 5. Hamsters spent more time near the tube than predicted by chance and continued to enter the tube although tube-occupancy duration did not differ from chance levels. In Experiment 4, male rats were tested in two groups: rats in one group had been previously trapped in a tube and rats in the other group allowed to freely explore the test space. For the first two min of each of four 20-min sessions, trapped-group subjects were permitted to move about the chamber unless they entered the tube. In that case, they were locked in for the remainder of the session. If, after two min, they did not enter the tube, they were locked in it for the remaining 18 min. Free rats were unrestricted in all sessions. In Session 5, when both groups were permitted to move freely in the chamber, trapped and free rats spent more time in and near the tube than predicted by chance. These data show tube restraint does not seem to distress either hamsters or rats.
A preliminary analysis of the effect of individual differences on cognitive performance in young companion dogs
Authors: Smith Jordan G. , Krichbaum Sarah , Montgomery Lane , Cox Emma , Katz Jeffrey S. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Many factors influence cognitive performance in dogs, including breed, temperament, rearing history, and training. Studies in working dog populations have demonstrated age-related improvements in cognitive task performance across the first years of development. However, the effect of certain factors, such as age, sex, and temperament, on cognitive performance in puppies has yet to be evaluated in a more diverse population of companion dogs. In this study, companion dogs under 12 months of age were tested once on two tasks purported to measure aspects of executive function: the delayed-search task (DST) and the detour reversal task (DRT). Owners also filled out the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) to evaluate how temperament influenced task performance. Contrary to prior research, performance did not improve with age on either task. However, the lack of age effects was likely the result of small sample sizes and individual differences across other factors influencing performance. Specifically, temperament differences as measured by the C-BARQ subscales for nonsocial fear and excitability predicted task performance on the DST, but the effect of temperament on task performance differed between males and females. Excitability also predicted performance on the DRT, but the effect depended on the age of the dog. In addition, no correlations were observed between task measures, indicating a lack of construct validity. Overall, these findings provide a preliminary analysis of factors that appear to influence cognitive task performance in young companion dogs and highlight suggestions for future research evaluating the impact of individual differences on cognitive performance.
Cattle, conflict, and climate variability: explaining pastoralist conflict intensity in the Karamoja region of Uganda
Authors: Wennström Patrick 
Published: April 2024

AbstractConflicts between pastoralist groups in Africa are rampant and cause numerous deaths each year, but their intensity exhibits significant spatial and temporal variations. Under what conditions do some pastoralist conflicts turn more violent than others? Previous research has shown that climate variability may be a relevant explanatory factor under certain conditions, yet little is known about how specific combinations of conditions jointly affect pastoralist conflict intensity. Moreover, many studies have investigated the link between resource scarcity and conflict, but few have examined how asymmetrical distribution of resources between groups affects levels of violence. This article contributes to filling these gaps through a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of pastoralist conflicts in Karamoja, Uganda—a region characterized by cattle husbandry, communal conflict, and a highly variable climate. Five conditions that are related either to incentives for taking to violence or to opportunity structures are examined and three pathways to high-intensity conflict are identified. The results show that an asymmetrical distribution of resources between pastoralist groups during a drought incentivizes conflict, particularly in remote areas with nearby armed conflicts. The article highlights some implications for future research and policy. First, it shows that this type of conflict cannot be reduced to simple “resource scarcity conflicts” since climate variability only has an effect in combination with other conditions. Second, it emphasizes the need for policy approaches that consider both environmental variability and political contexts in addressing pastoralist violence.
Assessing inconsistencies in historical land-use reconstructions for Africa at 1800
Authors: Kabora Tabitha K. , Stump Daryl , Thomas Chris D. , Beale Colin M. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractReconstructing historical land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) inevitably involves interpolation across regions for which there is limited data to support reconstructions. Here, we evaluate the extent to which the global land-use model HYDE v3.2.1 reflects historical land use in sub-Saharan Africa (including Madagascar) when compared to archaeological and historical reconstructions. Both the HYDE models and Widgren’s archaeological and historical reconstructions estimate that agriculture was widely scattered across sub-Saharan Africa in 1800 CE. However, in steep terrain, at slopes greater than 10°, the HYDE model estimated 0% cropland allocation while archaeological and historical observations suggest intensive, mixed and extensive farming was common in these areas. In addition, while HYDE allocates farmland primarily into high-quality soils, archaeological reconstructions suggest that intensive farming occurred across a wide range of soil qualities. Gaps in our knowledge of cropland distribution have significant impacts on models of biodiversity change since understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene is reliant on our understanding of past land-use changes. While HYDE’s mismatches are known, the research presented here provides an important resource in identifying where these allocation rules fail. These mismatches in global land-use models such as HYDE might also be replicated for other regions of the world, such as South America. These mismatches also need to be accounted for when generating model projections that use historical land-use models to impute present and future trends in land-use, climate and biodiversity change. Localised archaeological and historical data can therefore be used to support historical global land-use reconstructions for Africa and other regions across the world.
Convolutional neural network deep learning model accurately detects rectal cancer in endoanal ultrasounds
Authors: Carter D. , Bykhovsky D. , Hasky A. , Mamistvalov I. , Zimmer Y. , Ram E. , Hoffer O. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Background
Imaging is vital for assessing rectal cancer, with endoanal ultrasound (EAUS) being highly accurate in large tertiary medical centers. However, EAUS accuracy drops outside such settings, possibly due to varied examiner experience and fewer examinations. This underscores the need for an AI-based system to enhance accuracy in non-specialized centers. This study aimed to develop and validate deep learning (DL) models to differentiate rectal cancer in standard EAUS images.

Methods
A transfer learning approach with fine-tuned DL architectures was employed, utilizing a dataset of 294 images. The performance of DL models was assessed through a tenfold cross-validation.

Results
The DL diagnostics model exhibited a sensitivity and accuracy of 0.78 each. In the identification phase, the automatic diagnostic platform achieved an area under the curve performance of 0.85 for diagnosing rectal cancer.

Conclusions
This research demonstrates the potential of DL models in enhancing rectal cancer detection during EAUS, especially in settings with lower examiner experience. The achieved sensitivity and accuracy suggest the viability of incorporating AI support for improved diagnostic outcomes in non-specialized medical centers.
A Guideline for Open-Source Tools to Make Medical Imaging Data Ready for Artificial Intelligence Applications: A Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) Survey
Authors: Vahdati Sanaz , Khosravi Bardia , Mahmoudi Elham , Zhang Kuan , Rouzrokh Pouria , Faghani Shahriar , Moassefi Mana , Tahmasebi Aylin , Andriole Katherine P. , Chang Peter , Farahani Keyvan , Flores Mona G. , Folio Les , Houshmand Sina , Giger Maryellen L. , Gichoya Judy W. , Erickson Bradley J. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn recent years, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medical imaging has become increasingly prominent, with the majority of AI applications approved by the FDA being in imaging and radiology in 2023. The surge in AI model development to tackle clinical challenges underscores the necessity for preparing high-quality medical imaging data. Proper data preparation is crucial as it fosters the creation of standardized and reproducible AI models while minimizing biases. Data curation transforms raw data into a valuable, organized, and dependable resource and is a fundamental process to the success of machine learning and analytical projects. Considering the plethora of available tools for data curation in different stages, it is crucial to stay informed about the most relevant tools within specific research areas. In the current work, we propose a descriptive outline for different steps of data curation while we furnish compilations of tools collected from a survey applied among members of the Society of Imaging Informatics (SIIM) for each of these stages. This collection has the potential to enhance the decision-making process for researchers as they select the most appropriate tool for their specific tasks.
The 24th International Seaweed Symposium - ‘Seaweeds in a changing world’
Authors: Robledo Daniel 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe 24th edition of the International Seaweed Symposium (ISS), an academic-industry event that dates back to 1952, was held for the first time in Oceania. The local organizing committee chaired by Professor Catriona Hurd, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, and Professor Michael A. Borowitzka, Murdoch University, Western Australia worked tirelessly to curate a program that balanced scientific rigor with engaging discussions, providing ample opportunities for networking and collaboration. “Seaweeds in a changing world” was the theme of this symposium, participants from 48 countries from all over the world attended this symposium from 19-24 February 2023. More than 576 on-site and 207 virtual participants registered for the Symposium who contributed to the success of this event. The International Seaweed Association (ISA) ensures the continued development of seaweed and its benefits and serves as a bridge between research academia and industry. The ISA is ready to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the ISS and is also proud to announce that the 25th International Seaweed Symposium (ISS) will be held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 4-9 May, 2025 with the Local support of Ocean Networks Canada, Cascadia Seaweed, and the Pacific Seaweed Industry Association (https://iss25.com).
Efficient Stacking and Grasping in Unstructured Environments
Authors: Wang Fei , Liu Yue , Shi Manyi , Chen Chao , Liu Shangdong , Zhu Jinbiao 
Published: April 2024

AbstractRobotics has been booming in recent years. Especially with the development of artificial intelligence, more and more researchers have devoted themselves to the field of robotics, but there are still many shortcomings in the multi-task operation of robots. Reinforcement learning has achieved good performance in manipulator manipulation, especially in grasping, but grasping is only the first step for the robot to perform actions, and it often ignores the stacking, assembly, placement, and other tasks to be carried out later. Such long-horizon tasks still face the problems of expensive time, dead-end exploration, and process reversal. Hierarchical reinforcement learning has some advantages in solving the above problems, but not all tasks can be learned hierarchically. This paper mainly solves the complex manipulation task of continuous multi-action of the manipulator by improving the method of hierarchical reinforcement learning, aiming to solve the task of long sequences such as stacking and alignment by proposing a framework. Our framework completes simulation experiments on various tasks and improves the success rate from 78.3% to 94.8% when cleaning cluttered toys. In the stacking toy experiment, the training speed is nearly three times faster than the baseline method. And our method can be generalized to other long-horizon tasks. Experiments show that the more complex the task, the greater the advantage of our framework.
Novel pH-sensitive triptolide-loaded micelles: a potential approach to increase anti-tumor activity of the diterpenoid epoxide
Authors: Lu Zhimeng , Yan Kun , Liu Chunlei , Wang Jiapeng , Yu Guiping , Zhang Hao 
Published: April 2024

AbstractTripterygium wilfordii Hook F, a traditional medicine in China has bioactive but toxic triptolide (TP, a diterpenoid triepoxide) as its main active constituents. The applications of TP are hampered by its prominent toxicity and low solubility in water. In this study, a safe pH-sensitive material [methoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG)- adipic dihydrazide (ADH)] was synthesized and loaded with TP to form pH-sensitive polymeric micelles, thereby improving the safety and solubility of TP, as well as providing a theoretical basis for the wide application of TP. The mPEG-ADH/TP micelles were characterized by a series of indicators [namely entrapment efficiency (EE), critical micellar concentration (CMC), electrokinetic potential, stability, polydispersed index (PDI), and particle size]. Also, we ascertained the in vitro release of TP from mPEG-ADH/TP micelles along with pharmacokinetic investigations in vivo. Besides, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of mPEG-ADH/TP micelles against A549 cells, HCT116 cells, and HaCat cells and further conducted in vivo toxicity studies in rats. The TP-loaded mPEG-ADH micelles had smaller sized particles (48.3 nm), excellent PDI (0.142), stable property and higher EE (89.87%). Importantly, the TP in the mPEG-ADH/TP micelles was almost completely released at acidic pH (pH 5.0), while the drug was released slowly and sparingly at physiological pH (pH 7.4). The results suggest the release of TP from mPEG-ADH/TP micelles was sensitive to pH, which could facilitate targeting of the drug into intra-cellularly low pH endosomes and lysosomes as well as enhance cytotoxicity in cancer tissues. Moreover, mPEG-ADH/TP micelles exhibited excellent proliferation inhibition on tumor cells. In addition, the liver injury of rats in the 1 mg/kg dose of mPEG-ADH/TP micelles group was significantly reduced by Hematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining. Taken together, mPEG-ADH/TP micelles could act as a promising alternative to enhance the efficacy of oncologic treatments.
Self-Enhanced Attention for Image Captioning
Authors: Sun Qingyu , Zhang Juan , Fang Zhijun , Gao Yongbin 
Published: April 2024

AbstractImage captioning, which involves automatically generating textual descriptions based on the content of images, has garnered increasing attention from researchers. Recently, Transformers have emerged as the preferred choice for the language model in image captioning models. Transformers leverage self-attention mechanisms to address gradient accumulation issues and eliminate the risk of gradient explosion commonly associated with RNN networks. However, a challenge arises when the input features of the self-attention mechanism belong to different categories, as it may result in ineffective highlighting of important features. To address this issue, our paper proposes a novel attention mechanism called Self-Enhanced Attention (SEA), which replaces the self-attention mechanism in the decoder part of the Transformer model. In our proposed SEA, after generating the attention weight matrix, it further adjusts the matrix based on its own distribution to effectively highlight important features. To evaluate the effectiveness of SEA, we conducted experiments on the COCO dataset, comparing the results with different visual models and training strategies. The experimental results demonstrate that when using SEA, the CIDEr score is significantly higher compared to the scores obtained without using SEA. This indicates the successful addressing of the challenge of effectively highlighting important features with our proposed mechanism.
Enhancing the Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication and Vibration Behavior of Rolling Bearings Using a Hybrid Bio-Grease Blended with Activated Carbon Nanoparticles
Authors: Abouelkasem Zeyad A. , Nassef Galal A. , Abdelnaeem Mohamed , Nassef Mohamed G. A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn recent years, bio-lubricants have received a growing interest for industrial applications. Still, a full-scale implementation in machinery lubrication requires a thorough evaluation of their performance through tribological and operational tests to stand upon their performance. Additionally, the promising outcomes achieved by nanoadditives in improving the performance of synthetic lubricants have prompted research efforts to identify suitable nanoadditives for bio-grease. This paper introduces a bio-grease from a hybrid vegetable oil and glycerol monostearate as a thickener for the lubrication of rolling bearings. Activated carbon nanoparticles (ACNPs) as nanoadditives were synthesized, characterized, and incorporated into the bio-grease at concentrations of 0.5, 1, and 2% by weight. Tribo-tests were conducted on these bio-grease blends, and running tests were carried out using 6006 ball bearings on a custom test rig. Throughout a 30-min test run under a radial load of 10% of the bearing’s dynamic load rating, mechanical vibrations and power consumption were measured and analyzed for each bearing. The bio-grease with ACNPs exhibited a substantial reduction in wear scar diameter (WSD) and coefficient of friction (COF), achieving improvements of up to 73.6 and 65%, respectively, in comparison to lithium grease. Furthermore, the load carrying capacity was enhanced by 200%. The study revealed a strong correlation between measured vibration amplitudes and the viscosity of the bio-grease. The absence of high frequency resonant bands in vibration spectra indicated that the test grease samples satisfied the conditions of elastohydrodynamic lubrication, and these findings were corroborated through calculations of the minimum oil film thickness.
Removal of chromium(III) from contaminated waters using cobalt ferrite: how safe is remediated water to aquatic wildlife?
Authors: Almeida Joana C. , Cardoso Celso E. D. , Tavares Daniela S. , Trindade Tito , Vale Carlos , Freitas Rosa , Pereira Eduarda 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe release of hazardous elements by industrial effluents to aquatic ecosystems is a potential threat to the environment. Chromium (Cr) is one of the elements whose levels in several freshwater ecosystems should be reduced to promote water reuse. In recent years, magnetic materials have gained increasing interest as sorbents because of their easy removal from treated water through magnetic separation. In this study, colloidal cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) particles were investigated as magnetic sorbents for chromium-aqueous chemical species. The oxidative stress responses of Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels exposed to 200 μg/L of Cr, resembling remediated water, were evaluated. More than 95% of Cr was removed from contaminated solutions by CoFe2O4 aqueous suspensions at pH 6 and pH 10. The kinetics of sorption experiments were examined using pseudo-1st order, pseudo-2nd order and Elovich models to evaluate which mathematical model has a better adjustment to the experimental data. The present study revealed that the levels of Cr that remained in remediated water induced limited biochemical changes in mussels, being considered safe for aquatic systems. Overall, the use of cobalt ferrite–based sorbents may constitute a promising approach to remediate contaminated water.