bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prediction of intravenous immunoglobulin retreatment in children with Kawasaki disease using models combining lymphocyte subset and cytokine profile in an East Asian cohort
Authors: Zhang Chun , Chen Sun , Bian Yan , Qian Xiaohua , Liu Yurui , Zhao Liqing , Shen Jia , Song Jiani , Zhang Peng , Chen Lun , Jiang Limin 
Published: March 2024

AbstractObjectivesFor children with Kawasaki disease (KD) at high risk of developing coronary artery lesions and requiring retreatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), the availability of accurate prediction models remains limited because of inconsistent variables and unsatisfactory prediction results. We aimed to construct models to predict patient's probability of IVIG retreatment combining children's individual inflammatory characteristics.MethodsClinical manifestations and laboratory examinations of 266 children with KD were retrospectively analysed to build a development cohort data set (DC) and a validation cohort data set (VC). In the DC, binary logistic regression analyses were performed using R language. Nomograms and receiver operating curves were plotted. The concordance index (C index), net reclassification index, integrated discrimination improvement index and confusion matrix were applied to evaluate and validate the models.ResultsModels_5V and _9V were established. Both contained variables including the percentages of CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD3+ T cells, levels of interleukin (IL)‐2R and CRP. Model_9V additionally included variables for IL‐6, TNF‐α, NT‐proBNP and sex, with a C index of 0.86 (95% CI 0.79–0.92). When model_9V was compared with model_5V, the NRI and IDI were 0.15 (95% CI 0.01–0.30, P < 0.01) and 0.07 (95% CI 0.02–0.12, P < 0.01). In the VC, the sensitivity, specificity and precision of model_9V were 1, 0.875 and 0.667, while those of model_5V were 0.833, 0.875 and 0.625.ConclusionModel_9V combined cytokine profiles and lymphocyte subsets with clinical characteristics and was superior to model_5V achieving satisfactory predictive power and providing a novel strategy early to identify patients who needed IVIG retreatment.
Analysing and quantifying chronic stress‐associated endogenous steroids in hair samples
Authors: Grafinger Katharina Elisabeth , Kassis Wassilis , Favre Céline A. , Aksoy Dilan , Gaugler Stefan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIn previous studies, various steroids have been associated with stress and have therefore been quantified to investigate stress‐related questions. Since the main stress‐related steroid cortisol follows a circadian rhythm, often hair is analysed to quantify this steroid. Further, hair analysis gives the unique possibility of long‐time monitoring by analysing a certain segment of hair, since hair grows on average 1 cm per month. Hair is a difficult matrix due to the complex sample preparation with many steps including washing and grinding, followed by various extraction steps. Additionally, steroids are endogenous and are therefore present in the hair matrix. Hence, no analyte free matrix is available, which is needed for the quantification via external calibrators. To overcome this problem, the so‐called surrogate methods can be used, for which a 13C3 labelled or deuterated reference compound of the steroid of interest is used for quantification. In the present study, a surrogate method was developed and fully validated for the quantitative analysis of seven steroids in human hair. Validation experiments showed that the method is further suitable for semi‐quantitative analysis of estradiol. However, it is not suitable for the analysis of androsterone and DHEAS. The method was successfully used to analyse steroids in a comprehensive study of 360 adolescent hair samples, enabling research into stress markers.
Synthesis of Ferrocenyl Boranes and their Application as Lewis Acids in Epoxide Rearrangements
Authors: Köring Laura , Birenheide Bernhard , Krämer Felix , Wenzel Jonas O. , Schoch Roland , Brehm Martin , Breher Frank , Paradies Jan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractA series of substituted ferrocenyl boron derivatives was synthesized. The oxidation of the ferrocenyl unit resulted in a significant increase of the boron‐centered Lewis acidity. The neutral and cationic Lewis acids were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, crystal structure analysis and by computational methods. The new Lewis acids were then applied in the Meinwald rearrangement of epoxides, predominantly furnishing aldehydes as the kinetic products.
CO‐Boosted Protocol for the Photocatalytic C−H Thiolation of Aldehydes Using Phenylthiobenzenesulfonate
Authors: Pan Lin‐Wei , Taniguchi Nobukazu , Hyodo Mamoru , Ryu Ilhyong 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe formyl C−H thiolation of aldehydes using thiosulfonates and the decatungstate anion as a photocatalyst is reported. Using this photocatalytic protocol together with a CO atmosphere, both aromatic and aliphatic thioesters can be synthesized in good yields. The transformation consists of a cascade of double SH2 reactions, HAT and an ArS group transfer. CO atmosphere effectively limits the extent of decarbonylation of acyl radicals that are generated in the reaction.
Effect soluble organic fraction mass fraction on emission characteristics of carbon black
Authors: Li Jiansong , Meng Zhongwei , Liao Jianxiong 
Published: March 2024

AbstractAccording to China's latest emission regulations for the year 2021, diesel vehicles are required to be equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) in accordance with emission standards. To comprehensively understand the regeneration and emission performance of the DPF, an externally heated regeneration performance test bench was established. This study aims to investigate the influence of the soluble organic fraction (SOF) and types of carbon black on particle emissions from the outlet of the DPF. The experimental results indicate that both SOF and carbon black structure can affect DPF regeneration. When the SOF mass fraction increases to 20%, SOF plays a dominant role. The regeneration efficiency of Printex‐U and FW200 carbon black is 62.4% and 60.6%, respectively, with total mass concentrations of 21.8 and 14.9 mg/m3 at the DPF outlet. Compared to conditions without SOF, the regeneration efficiency and total mass concentration at the DPF outlet increase by 1.3 times and 6.6 times for Printex‐U carbon black, and 1.8 times and 440 times for FW200 carbon black, respectively. Additionally, when SOF mass fraction is 0%, the highest proportion of the average particle diameter for both Printex‐U and FW200 carbon black is in the [10, 20] nm range, at 20% and 95%, respectively. When the SOF mass fraction is increased to 20%, the proportions of the average particle diameter for both types of carbon black in the [10, 20] nm range rise to above 99%. This study provides a relevant experimental foundation for the emission control of DPF.
Use of All-Male cyp17a1-Deficient Zebrafish (Danio rerio) for Evaluation of Environmental Estrogens
Authors: Jia Jingyi , Shi Shengchi , Liu Congying , Shu Tingting , Li Tianhui , Lou Qiyong , Jin Xia , He Jiangyan , Du Zhenyu , Zhai Gang , Yin Zhan 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Natural and synthetic environmental estrogens (EEs) are widespread and have received extensive attention. Our previous studies demonstrated that depletion of the cytochrome P450 17a1 gene (cyp17a1) leads to all-testis differentiation phenotype in zebrafish and common carp. In the present study, cyp17a1-deficient zebrafish with defective estrogen biosynthesis were used for the evaluation of EEs, as assessed by monitoring vitellogenin (vtg) expression. A rapid and sensitive assessment procedure was established with the 3-day administration of estradiol (E2), followed by examination of the transcriptional expression of vtgs in our cyp17a1-deficient fish. Compared with the control fish, a higher E2-mediated vtg upregulation observed in cyp17a1-deficient zebrafish exposed to 0.1 μg/L E2 is known to be estrogen receptor–dependent and likely due to impaired in vivo estrogen biosynthesis. The more responsive vtg expression in cyp17a1-deficient zebrafish was observed when exposed to 200 and 2000 μg/L bisphenol A (BPA) and perfluoro-1-octanesulfonate (PFOS). The estrogenic potentials of E2, BPA, and PFOS were compared and assessed by the feminization effect on ovarian differentiation in cyp17a1-deficient zebrafish from 18 to 50 days postfertilization, based on which a higher sensitivity of E2 in ovarian differentiation than BPA and PFOS was concluded. Collectively, through the higher sensitivity to EEs and the capacity to distinguish chemicals with different estrogenic potentials exhibited by the all-male cyp17a1-deficient zebrafish with impaired estrogen biosynthesis, we demonstrated that they can be used as an excellent in vivo model for the evaluation of EEs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1062–1074. © 2024 SETAC
The higher sensitivity to EEs exhibited by the all-male cyp17a1-deficient zebrafish with impaired estrogen biosynthesis.
HTG: A heterogeneous topology aware model to improve cold start in cloud service QoS prediction
Authors: Chen Manman , Yu Jian , Wang Junfeng , Li Xiaohui 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe massive deployment of cloud services makes it a significant challenge to guarantee end‐to‐end QoS, QoS prediction is used to address this challenge. Accurate QoS prediction values can help select quality services and sense the network situation. Most existing QoS prediction methods focus only on improving prediction accuracy in the warm‐start situation. However, they do not consider the frequent cold‐start phenomenon, hindering their applicability in real‐world scenarios. In addition, previous approaches have made great progress in leveraging contextual information, such as geographic regions, but have neglected the process of service invocation. This article proposes a Heterogeneous Topology aware model based on Graph neural network (HTG) for QoS prediction. In HTG, users/services and invocation processes are modeled as a heterogeneous communication subgraph. HTG captures subgraph neighborhood features of users and services based on a predefined node information aggregation approach. Multi‐task learning is introduced to enhance HTG's generalization ability and simultaneously predict multiple QoS attributes. For new users or services, HTG generates their representations by fusing their attributes with geographically adjacent neighbors' features. Then, these representations of new users/services are fed into the well‐trained HTG to obtain their related QoS prediction values, without relying on additional training. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that HTG not only outperforms the current state‐of‐the‐art methods in the warm‐start situation but also significantly improves the prediction accuracy in the cold‐start situation. In the warm‐start situation, HTG improves the state‐of‐the‐art method by an average of 11.47% and 9.08% for MAE in different matrix densities on the task of throughput and response time prediction, respectively. As for the cold‐start situation, these gains are 31.76% and 32.17%.
Calcium‐dependent antimicrobials: Nature‐inspired materials and designs
Authors: Wang Zhong , Zeng Yongjie , Ahmed Zubair , Qin Hui , Bhatti Ijaz Ahmad , Cao Huiliang 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBacterial infection remains a major complication answering for the failures of various implantable medical devices. Tremendous extraordinary advances have been published in the design and synthesis of antimicrobial materials addressing this issue; however, the clinical translation has largely been blocked due to the challenge of balancing the efficacy and safety of these materials. Here, calcium's biochemical features, natural roles in pathogens and the immune systems, and advanced uses in infection medications are illuminated, showing calcium is a promising target for developing implantable devices with less infection tendency. The paper gives a historical overview of biomedical uses of calcium and summarizes calcium's merits in coordination, hydration, ionization, and stereochemistry for acting as a structural former or trigger in biological systems. It focuses on the involvement of calcium in pathogens’ integrity, motility, and metabolism maintenance, outlining the potential antimicrobial targets for calcium. It addresses calcium's uses in the immune systems that the authors can learn from for antimicrobial synthesis. Additionally, the advances in calcium's uses in infection medications are highlighted to sketch the future directions for developing implantable antimicrobial materials. In conclusion, calcium is at the nexus of antimicrobial defense, and future works on taking advantage of calcium in antimicrobial developments are promising in clinical translation.
Facile construction of dual‐response super‐resolution probes for tracking organelles dynamics
Authors: Liu Daili , Fang Guiqian , Wang Yanfeng , Meng Caicai , Liu Zhidong , Chen Qixin , Shao Xintian 
Published: March 2024

AbstractSuper‐resolution imaging techniques, such as structured illumination microscopy (SIM), have enabled researchers to obtain nanoscale organelle‐level outputs in living systems, but they impose additional stringent requirements on fluorescence probes. However, high‐performance, custom‐designed SIM probes that can explain underlying biological processes remain unavailable. Herein, a customizable engineering toolkit is developed for the facile assembly of SIM probes suitable for subcellular component detection. This toolkit is used to customize a fluorescent molecule, CPC (coumarin–phenylhydrazine–carboxyl), capable of simultaneously monitoring peroxynitrite (ONOO−) and polarity distribution in mitochondria and lipid droplets (LDs), respectively, through functional ON–OFF mechanisms. The customized CPC molecule demonstrated excellent imaging capabilities under SIM, enabled the successful localization of multiple organelles, and reliably tracked the distribution of different components, thus facilitating the study of the interplay between organelles. Using CPC, the physical transition of intracellular LDs is demonstrated from heterogeneity to homogeneity. This was specifically observed during ferroptosis where the polarity of the LDs increased and their morphology became more contracted. Furthermore, the loss of LDs functionality could not counteract the accumulation of ONOO− within the mitochondria, leading to the decoupling of mitochondrial LDs during ferroptosis. These results confirmed the potential mechanism of LDs dysfunction and decoupling triggered via cumulative mitochondrial oxidative stress during ferroptosis. To summarize, this toolkit will be a powerful tool for examining subtle variations among components during the interplay between different organelles, thus offering novel avenues for understanding and treating related diseases.
Industry 4.0 technologies for cultivated meat manufacturing
Authors: Kamalapuram Sishir K. , Choudhury Deepak 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIndustry 4.0 integrates the physical, digital, and biological realms by applying digital automation in systems, processes, and manufacturing facilities. Industry 4.0 is actively shaping the development of intelligent food processing industries in cultivated meat (CM) sector. This integration plays a crucial role in accelerating progress within the global CM sector, facilitating the achievement of its objectives related to food sustainability, security, human health, environmental concerns, and hygiene. Incorporating Industry 4.0 into CM manufacturing systems empowers upstream and downstream production processes to become more intelligent and capable of self‐optimisation. However, enabling rapid adoption of Industry 4.0 by emerging startups and small to medium‐sized enterprises in the CM industry necessitates a thorough understanding of prerequisites and evaluation of technological and biological limitations. Challenges include the substantial initial costs associated with establishing Industry 4.0 infrastructure, robust cybersecurity measures to ensure effective risk management, and acquiring skilled professionals proficient in both operational and maintenance roles. Integrating Industry 4.0 with the evolving CM sector presents an exciting opportunity to foster business‐to‐business investments across various domains, including local markets, export opportunities, and the broader global consumer ecosystem.
Silver mining and landscape changes in medieval Central Europe: Reconstructing ore processing in a buried fir forest on the Bohemian‐Moravian Highlands (Koječín, Czech Republic)
Authors: Hrubý Petr , Kaiser Knut , Kočár Petr , Malý Karel , Petr Libor 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis study discusses the potential of archaeological organic objects in anthropogenic sediments in terms of research into human impact on the medieval landscape and environment. In the Bohemian‐Moravian Highlands, at a mid‐altitudinal stream valley site (ca. 510 m asl), remains of a cut medieval forest stand with anthropogenic wooden structures and buried by technogenic sediments (e.g., ore, gangue and tailings) were archaeologically excavated. The site was analysed using an interdisciplinary approach, applying methods from archaeology, archaeobotany, sedimentology, pedology and geochemistry as well as dendrochronology and radiometric dating. The vegetation can be reconstructed as forest with a dominance of fir and an admixture of spruce and alder. The surrounding slopes were covered by broadleaf trees. Remains of wooden technical structures, stamped, ground and washed ores and gangue, together with fragments of grinding stones, allow the interpretation of the site as an ore and stamp mill linked to ore washing equipment. This record of a buried medieval fir forest can be likewise used as a historical testimony and analogue for present‐day issues on ecology and forestry, aiming at ecological revitalisation and adaptation of forests to ongoing climate change in Central Europe.
Elevated level of circulating calprotectin correlates with severity and high mortality in patients with COVID‐19
Authors: Zhang Haoran , Zhang Qingyu , Liu Kun , Yuan Zenong , Xu Xiqiang , Dong Jun 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBackgroundPatients with coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) are characterized by hyperinflammation. Calprotectin (S100A8/S100A9) is a calcium‐ and zinc‐binding protein mainly secreted by neutrophilic granulocytes or macrophages and has been suggested to be correlated with the severity and prognosis of COVID‐19.AimTo thoroughly evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of calprotectin in patients with COVID‐19 by analyzing relevant studies.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were comprehensively searched from inception to August 1, 2023 to retrieve studies about the application of calprotectin in COVID‐19. Useful data such as the level of calprotectin in different groups and the diagnostic efficacy of this biomarker for severe COVID‐19 were extracted and aggregated by using Stata 16.0 software.ResultsFifteen studies were brought into this meta‐analysis. First, the pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) were used to estimate the differences in the levels of circulating calprotectin between patients with severe and non‐severe COVID‐19. The results showed an overall estimate of 1.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–2.60). Diagnostic information was extracted from 11 studies, and the pooled sensitivity and specificity of calprotectin for diagnosing severe COVID‐19 were 0.75 (95% CI: 0.64–0.84) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.79–0.94), respectively. The AUC was 0.89 and the pooled DOR was 18.44 (95% CI: 9.07–37.51). Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between elevated levels of circulating calprotectin and a higher risk of mortality outcomes in COVID‐19 patients (odds ratio: 8.60, 95% CI: 2.17–34.12; p < 0.1).ConclusionThis meta‐analysis showed that calprotectin was elevated in patients with severe COVID‐19, and this atypical inflammatory cytokine might serve as a useful biomarker to distinguish the severity of COVID‐19 and predict the prognosis.
Berberine: A natural modulator of immune cells in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Yazdanpanah Esmaeil , Dadfar Sepehr , Shadab Alireza , Orooji Niloufar , Nemati MohammadHossein , Pazoki Alireza , Esmaeili Seyed‐Alireza , Baharlou Rasoul , Haghmorad Dariush 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBerberine is a benzylisoquinoline alkaloid found in such plants asBerberis vulgaris, Berberis aristata, and others, revealing a variety of pharmacological properties as a result of interacting with different cellular and molecular targets. Recent studies have shown the immunomodulatory effects of Berberine which result from its impacts on immune cells and immune response mediators such as diverse T lymphocyte subsets, dendritic cells (DCs), and different inflammatory cytokines. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disabling and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by the recruitment of autoreactive T cells into the CNS causing demyelination, axonal damage, and oligodendrocyte loss. There have been considerable changes discovered in MS regards to the function and frequency of T cell subsets such as Th1 cells, Th17 cells, Th2 cells, Treg cells, and DCs. In the current research, we reviewed the outcomes of in vitro, experimental, and clinical investigations concerning the modulatory effects that Berberine provides on the function and numbers of T cell subsets and DCs, as well as important cytokines that are involved in MS.
Health utility values of breast cancer treatments and the impact of varying quality of life assumptions on cost‐effectiveness
Authors: Kregting Lindy M. , Vrancken Peeters Noëlle J. M. C. , Clarijs Marloes E. , Koppert Linetta B. , Korfage Ida J. , van Ravesteyn Nicolien T. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIn breast cancer research, utility assumptions are outdated and inconsistent which may affect the results of quality adjusted life year (QALY) calculations and thereby cost‐effectiveness analyses (CEAs). Four hundred sixty four female patients with breast cancer treated at Erasmus MC, the Netherlands, completed EQ‐5D‐5L questionnaires from diagnosis throughout their treatment. Average utilities were calculated stratified by age and treatment. These utilities were applied in CEAs analysing 920 breast cancer screening policies differing in eligible ages and screening interval simulated by the MISCAN‐Breast microsimulation model, using a willingness‐to‐pay threshold of €20,000. The CEAs included varying sets on normative, breast cancer treatment and screening and follow‐up utilities. Efficiency frontiers were compared to assess the impact of the utility sets. The calculated average patient utilities were reduced at breast cancer diagnosis and 6 months after surgery and increased toward normative utilities 12 months after surgery. When using normative utility values of 1 in CEAs, QALYs were overestimated compared to using average gender and age‐specific values. Only small differences in QALYs gained were seen when varying treatment utilities in CEAs. The CEAs varying screening and follow‐up utilities showed only small changes in QALYs gained and the efficiency frontier. Throughout all variations in utility sets, the optimal strategy remained robust; biennial for ages 40–76 years and occasionally biennial 40–74 years. In sum, we recommend to use gender and age stratified normative utilities in CEAs, and patient‐based breast cancer utilities stratified by age and treatment or disease stage. Furthermore, despite varying utilities, the optimal screening scenario seems very robust.