bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Regulation of Corneal Stromal Cell Behavior by Modulating Curvature Using a Hydraulically Controlled Organ Chip Array
Authors: Kim Jungkyu (Jay) , Kim Minju , Choi Kanghoon , Krizaj David 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Curvature is a critical factor in cornea mechanobiology, but its impact on phenotypic alterations and extracellular matrix remodeling of cornea stroma remains unclear. In this work, we investigated how curvature influences the corneal stroma using a hydraulically controlled curvature array chip. The responses of stromal cells to low, medium, and high curvatures were observed by preparing three phenotypes of corneal stromal cells: corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts. Keratocytes exhibited phenotypic alterations in response to curvature changes, notably including a decrease in ALDH3 expression and an increase in α-SMA expression. For focal adhesion, corneal fibroblast and myofibroblasts showed enhanced vinculin localization in response to curvature, while corneal keratocytes presented reduced vinculin expression. For cell alignment and ECM expression, most stromal cells under all curvatures showed a radially organized f-actin and collagen fibrils. Interestingly, for corneal fibroblast under medium curvature, we observed orthogonal cell alignment, which is linked to the unique hoop and meridional stress profiles of the curved surface. Furthermore, lumican expression was upregulated in corneal keratocytes, and keratocan expression was increased in corneal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts due to curvature. These results demonstrate that curvature influences both the phenotype of corneal stromal cells and the structural organization of corneal stroma tissue without any external stimuli. This curvature-dependent behavior of corneal stromal cells presents potential opportunities for creating therapeutic strategies for corneal shape dysfunctions.
Disparities in Disease Severity at Presentation among Patients with Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Rodriguez Nina , Vujovic Dragan , Alsen Mathilda , Genden Eric , Gerwen Maaike 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Prior research suggests that racial and ethnic minorities tend to present with more advanced papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Traditionally, these studies have used pathologic staging from surgical specimen to characterize disease severity at presentation. It has become evident, however, that marginalized populations are also the most likely to experience delays in surgical treatment from initial presentation. The aim of the present study is to investigate if disparities in initial clinical presentation, defined using Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) cytology, exist in our institutional cohort of patients with PTC.
Methods
A single-site retrospective review of 443 patients with PTC from 2018–2019 was performed. We investigated the association between several sociodemographic variables and the likelihood of presenting with malignancy on FNA using the Bethesda classification system.
Results
On multivariable analysis, young age and lower socioeconomic status (SES) were significant predictors of presenting with a cytologic diagnosis of malignant disease, while adjusting for race/ethnicity and insurance status.
Conclusion
Within our diverse patient cohort, differences in initial clinical presentation were observed. We identified SES and age as independent predictors of presenting with malignancy. These findings highlight specific patient factors that can help support providers with prompt diagnosis and effective management of PTC in high-risk patient cohorts.
An Accelerator Power Supply Based on Multi-Pulse Rectifier
Authors: Li Quanhui , Gao Lei , Meng Fangang 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
To enhance the power quality of the accelerator power supply system, a series-connected multi-pulse rectifier (MPR) is proposed, utilizing a novel hybrid harmonic suppression method. The operating modes are analyzed by considering the topology of the rectifier. The turn ratio and switching angle are determined based on the operating mode, with the goal of minimizing the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the input voltage. To further study the performance of the rectifier and lay a foundation for its application of accelerator power supply system, the relationship among the amplitude and frequency of input voltage, the input inductors the load and the output voltage is researched. Testing results show that after using the proposed harmonic suppression method, the capacity of the injection transformer is only about 2% of the output power, the THD values of the input voltages and currents reduce significantly, the output voltage has low ripple with different loads.
Human trajectory prediction using LSTM with Attention mechanism
Authors: manafi Amin , semnani samaneh hosseini 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
In this paper, we propose a human trajectory prediction model that combines a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network with an attention mechanism. To do that, we use attention scores to determine which parts of the input data the model should focus on when making predictions. Attention scores are calculated for each input feature, with a higher score indicating the greater significance of that feature in predicting the output. Initially, these scores are determined for the target human’s position, velocity, and their neighboring individuals’ positions and velocities. By using attention scores, our model can prioritize the most relevant information in the input data and make more accurate predictions. We extract attention scores from our attention mechanism and integrate them into the trajectory prediction module to predict humans’ future trajectories. To achieve this, we introduce a new neural layer that processes attention scores after extracting them and concatenates them with positional information. We evaluate our approach on the publicly available ETH and UCY datasets and measure its performance using the final displacement error (FDE) and average displacement error (ADE) metrics. We show that our modified algorithm performs better than the Social LSTM in predicting the future trajectory of pedestrians in crowded spaces. Specifically, our model achieves an improvement of 6.2% in ADE and 6.3% in FDE compared to the Social LSTM results in the literature.
Development and Characterization of the Novel Cannabidiol Loaded Polycaprolactone Nanoparticles to Boost the Bioavailability in Medicinal Oral Supplements
Authors: Ediz Emre Fatih , Kars Meltem Demirel , çetin kemal 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
The potential therapeutic applications of cannabidiol (CBD) extend to various health conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, cancer, nausea, insomnia, and anxiety. However, the practical use of CBD for medicinal purposes is hindered by its high lipophilicity, posing challenges in dosage and bioavailability. To address this, sustained release of CBD was assured by encapsulating CBD in biodegradable and biocompatible polymer polycaprolactone (PCL). Ultrasonication and oil in water emulsion was employed and 5, 10, 15, and 30 mg CBD were used for encapsulation into PCL nanoparticles, namely CBD-PCL NPs-1, NPs-2, NPs-3, NPs-4, respectively. The study evaluated morphological and physicochemical characteristics through FE-SEM, STEM, zeta size, HPLC, FT-IR and DSC analyses. The blank NPs-0 and CBD loaded NPs-1-4, exhibited mean particle diameters in between 207.5 nm and 227.7 nm with charges ranging − 23.37 and − 9.40 mV. Release kinetics of CBD-NPs were assessed and found to fit Zero-order kinetic model at pH 1.2 and Higuchi kinetic model at 7.4. The internalization of NPs into fibroblast cells and the impact of CBD on cell proliferation were also communicated. The findings suggest the potential application of innovative NPs as carriers for sustained release of CBD to be used in oral supplement formulations.
Clinical features in primary biliary cholangitis:A retrospective analysis of 67 cases
Authors: Zhou Jingping , Li Shuqi , Chen Meiya , Zhou Fei , Liu Jingjing , Chen Ligang , Ren Jianlin 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Objective Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease with unknown etiology. The purpose of this study is to summarize the clinical characteristics of PBC patients in Xiamen, China, hoping to increase our understanding of PBC and reduce clinical misdiagnosis.
Methods The clinical data of 67 PBC patients admitted in department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University from January 2018 to June 2022 were collected retrospectively. SPSS16.0 software was used for data analysis.
Results Of the 67 patients 9 were males and 58 were females. The ratio of female to male was 6.4:1. The average age was 64 years.Five patients(7.5%) had poor outcome such as primary hepatic carcinoma or hepatic failure. Gallbladder and bile duct diseas, thyroid disease and Sjogren syndrome(SS) were most common concomitant disease. Liver biopsy were performed in 32(47.8%) patients and 14 cases (20.9%) were diagnosed with PBC-AIH overlap syndrome(PBC-AIH OS). The positive rate of serum anti-mitochondrial antibody-M2(AMA-M2) and antinuclear antibody(ANA) were 82.1% and 71.6% respectively. The globulin,ALT,AST,IgG level and anti-SSA positive rate were higer in PBC-AIH OS group than in PBC group. The PLT and TBA level were statistically different between non-cirrhotic and cirrhotic groups.SSB and age are predictor for poor prognosis in PBC.
Conclusion PBC is most common in middle-aged and elderly women. AMA-M2 and ANA are still key autoantibodies for diagnosis of PBC. Early diagnosis and standardized treatment are crucial for improving disease prognosis. The PLT and TBA levels are associated with progression of disease.SSB and age are risk factors for poor outcomes.
Potential role of dietary white poplar (Populus alba L.) in stimulating growth, digestion, and antioxidant/immune status of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Authors: Ibrahim Rowida E. , ElHady Mohamed , Ghetas Hanan A. , Elsayed Faten , Younis Elsayed M. , Abdelwarith Abdelwahab A. , Badran Mohamed F. , Davies Simon J. , Rahman Afaf N. Abdel 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

The potential use of feed supplements as immune-stimulant and growth-promoting agents in fish diets has drawn a lot of attention. The current research investigated the effects of feeding Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) on white poplar (Populus alba L.) leaves powder (WP) as a dietary supplement on the growth, digestive functions, and immne-antioxidant parameters. In addition, the fish resistance against Aeromonas sobria challenge was investigated. For 60 days, fish (n = 160; 34.61 ± 0.16 g) were divided equally into four groups, each had four replicates. Fish were fed on diets supplemented with varying levels of WP; 0 g/kg (WP0), 2 g/kg (WP2), 4 g/kg (WP4), and 6 g/kg (WP6), where WP0 was the control diet. The results revealed that WP diets (2–6 g/kg level) substantially boosted the growth (final body weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate %, with improvement of the feed conversion ratio) of Nile tilapia. WP diets improved the amylase (4–6 g/kg level) and lipase (2–6 g/kg level) activity and the intestinal morphometric measures (2–6 g/kg level). WP diets increased the growth hormone (4–6 g/kg level) and reduced leptin hormone and glucose levels (2–6 g/kg level). The immune-antioxidant indices (total protein, albumin, globulin, complement 3, lysozymes, nitric oxide, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase) were significantly improved by WP diets (2–6 g/kg level). The survival % of fish was improved in a level dependent manner (2–6 g/kg level) compared to the control (WP0) during the A. sobria challenge. Noteworthy, WP diets especially at a level of 6g/kg could be used as a feed supplement for improving the health, growth, immune-antioxidant functions, and disease resistance of Nile tilapia.
Sex-specific and multiomic integration enhance accuracy of peripheral blood biomarkers of major depressive disorder
Authors: Lutz Pierre-Eric , Mokhtari Amazigh , Ibrahim El Cherif , Gloaguen Arnaud , Barrot Claire-Cécile , Cohen David , Derouin Margot , Vachon Hortense , Charbonnier Guillaume , Loriod Béatrice , Yalcin Ipek , Marie-Claire Cynthia , Etain Bruno , Belzeaux Raoul , Delahaye-Duriez Andrée 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability and reduced life expectancy, with a two-fold increase in prevalence in women compared to men. Over the last few years, identifying reliable molecular biomarkers of MDD has proved challenging, likely reflecting the fact that, in addition to sex-differences, a variety of environmental and genetic risk factors are implicated. Recently, epigenetic processes have been proposed as mediators of the impact of life experiences on functional regulation of the genome, with the potential to contribute to MDD biomarker development. In this context, here we characterized and integrated gene expression data with two upstream mechanisms for epigenomic regulation, DNA methylation (DNAm) and microRNAs (miRNAs). The 3 molecular layers were analyzed in peripheral blood samples from a well-characterized cohort of individuals with MDD (n=80) and healthy controls (n=89), and explored using 3 complementary strategies. First, we conducted case-control comparisons for each single omic layer, and contrasted sex-specific adaptations. Second, we leveraged network theory to define gene co-expression modules, followed by step-by-step annotations across omic layers. Finally, we implemented a genome-wide and multiomic integration strategy that included cross-validation and bootstrapping. The approach was used to systematically compare the performance of MDD prediction across 6 methods for dimensionality reduction and, importantly, for every combination of 1, 2 or 3 types of molecular data. Results showed that performance was higher when female and male cohorts were analyzed separately, rather than combined, and also progressively increased with the number of molecular datasets considered. While multiomic informational gain has already been illustrated in other medical fields, our results pave the way towards similar advances in molecular psychiatry, and have practical implications towards developing clinically useful biomarkers of MDD.
Enterosignatures of the Fecal Pig Microbiota: Exploring Determinants and Revealing Host-Performance Consequences
Authors: Vourlaki Ioanna-Theoni , Rio Raquel , Clavell Adria , Ramírez-Ayala Lino C. , Ballester Maria , Sanchez Juan Pablo , Piles Miriam , Quintanilla Raquel , de Oliveira Angela Cristina Fonseca , Costa Leandro Batista , Dalmau Antoni , Ramayo-Caldas Yuliaxis 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
The pig gut microbiota is a complex ecosystem composed of microbial guilds, which until recently were unknown. Here, we decomposed the pig fecal microbiota of 648 healthy pigs during the transition (n=400) and growing-finishing (n=248) periods in co-occurring bacterial communities defined as pig enterosignatures (pig ES). Our results indicate that fecal microbial ecosystems can accurately be described by combinations of at least six pig ES, driven by Prevotella (ES-Prev), Treponema (ES-Trep), Lactobacillus (ES-Lact), Clostridium (ES-Clost), Streptococcus (ES-Strep), and UBA2810 (ES-UBA2) genera. We observed a dynamic shift in the composition of pig ES, where ES-Prev, ES-Strep, and ES-Lact seem to be core components, while ES-Trep, ES-Clost, and ES-UBA play age-specific roles. Our results suggest partial genetic control by the host, with heritabilities of pig ES composition ranging from 0.30 to 0.42. Furthermore, our findings indicate that stress can impact pig ES assembly, decreasing ES-Lact abundance while increasing the prevalence of ES-Strep. We noted a positive link between ES-Prev and growth at 60 days, which later evolved negatively, impacting feed efficiency during the finish-growing period. Additionally, we observed a negative association of ES-Strep and a positive impact of ES-Lact on growth and feed efficiency during the growing period. Remarkably, a negative association between the abundance of ES-Lact and levels of hair cortisol was also observed during this period. Overall, our findings confirm the key ecological roles of Prevotella, Treponema, Lactobacillus, and Streptococcus from previous studies in pigs and reveal novels links with relevant porcine physiological and performance traits. Finally, despite pig ES proving valuable in dissecting microbial communities into assemblies of underlying microbial guilds, showcasing its potential as a novel tool in breeding and precision farming. Our findings emphasize the importance of customizing microbial consortia to meet the nutritional and health requirements at each stage or category of the porcine production chain.
Improving piano music signal recognition through enhanced frequency domain analysis
Authors: Gao Hongjiao 
Published: February 2024

Feature extraction is a crucial component in the analysis of piano music signals. This article introduced three methods for feature extraction based on frequency domain analysis, namely short-time Fourier transform (STFT), linear predictive cepstral coefficient (LPCC), and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC). An improvement was then made to the MFCC. The inverse MFCC (IMFCC) was combined with mid-frequency MFCC (MidMFCC). The Fisher criterion was used to select the 12-order parameters with the maximum Fisher ratio, which were combined into the F-MFCC feature for recognizing 88 single piano notes through a support vector machine. The results indicated that when compared with the STFT and LPCC, the MFCC exhibited superior performance in recognizing piano music signals, with an accuracy rate of 78.03 % and an F1 value of 85.92 %. Nevertheless, the proposed F-MFCC achieved a remarkable accuracy rate of 90.91 %, representing a substantial improvement by 12.88 % over the MFCC alone. These findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of the designed F-MFCC feature for piano music signal recognition as well as its potential application in practical music signal analysis.
Smart River Information Services in managing Nile River navigation system
Authors: Kamal Noha 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

In terms of the significance of incorporating smart techniques into large river navigation systems to increase inland navigation competitiveness, this article introduces the development of smart River Information Services (RIS) in Egypt based on smart information and communication technologies as real-time tracking systems, Open Geographic Information Systems, and Nile River Information Systems, as well as proposes measures to tackle the challenges that may be faced, compared with experiences and knowledge of RIS in large river smart navigation systems. This comparison creates new frameworks for the future development of using smart technology in inland waterways in Egypt. It could be concluded that advanced navigation technologies and infrastructures are still being developed in Egypt and are not yet available. Almost all of Egypt's Vessel Traffic Services station equipment and applications are imported from Europe. Undoubtedly, there will be at least a 5- to 10-year time lag for Egypt to develop independent RIS to its full extent. It is necessary to keep good cooperation with the European and Chinese inland sector and refer to their experience and knowledge.
Web-Based Information on Spinal Cord Stimulation: Qualitative Assessment of Publicly Accessible Online Resources
Authors: Miller Tiev , Hosseinzadeh Ali , Thordarson Thomas , Kalimullina Tamila , Samejima Soshi , Shackleton Claire , Malik Raza , Calderón-Juárez Martín , Sachdeva Rahul , Krassioukov Andrei 
Published: February 2024

Background
Despite the growing accessibility of web-based information related to spinal cord stimulation (SCS), the content and quality of commonly encountered websites remain unknown.

Objective
This study aimed to assess the content and quality of web-based information on SCS.

Methods
This qualitative study was prospectively registered in Open Science Framework. Google Trends was used to identify the top trending, SCS-related search queries from 2012 to 2022. Top queried terms were then entered into separate search engines. Information found on websites within the first 2 pages of results was extracted and assessed for quality using the DISCERN instrument, the Journal of the American Medical Association benchmark criteria, and the Health on the Net Foundation code of conduct certification. Website readability and SCS-related information were also assessed.

Results
After exclusions, 42 unique sites were identified (scientific resources: n=6, nonprofit: n=12, for-profit: n=20, news or media: n=2, and personal or blog: n=2). Overall, information quality was moderate (DISCERN). Few sites met all the Journal of the American Medical Association benchmark criteria (n=3, 7%) or had Health on the Net Foundation certification (n=7, 16%). On average, information was difficult to read, requiring a 9th- to 10th-grade level of reading comprehension. Sites described SCS subcategories (n=14, 33%), indications (n=38, 90%), contraindications (n=14, 33%), side effects or risks (n=28, 66%), device considerations (n=25, 59%), follow-up (n=22, 52%), expected outcomes (n=31, 73%), provided authorship details (n=20, 47%), and publication dates (n=19, 45%). The proportion of for-profit sites reporting authorship information was comparatively less than other site types (n=3, 15%). Almost all sites focused on surgically implanted SCS (n=37, 88%). On average, nonprofit sites contained the greatest number of peer-reviewed reference citations (n=6, 50%). For-profit sites showed the highest proportion of physician or clinical referrals among site types (n=17, 85%) indicating implicit bias (ie, auto-referral).

Conclusions
Overall, our findings suggest the public may be exposed to incomplete or dated information from unidentifiable sources that could put consumers and patient groups at risk.