bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Determining the effect of tung biodiesel on thermodynamic, thermoeconomic, and exergoeconomic analyses at high engine speeds
Authors: Şanlı Bengi , Güven Onur , Özcanlı Mustafa , Uludamar Erinç 
Published: February 2024

Tung biodiesel is a promising alternative fuel type produced from the tung tree. In the current study, the effect of the addition of 20%, by volume, of tung biodiesel to diesel fuel was evaluated in terms of energetic–exergetic analyses based on the first and second laws of thermodynamic at various high engine speeds (2,400, 2,600, and 2,800 rpm). Additionally, this study aimed to assess the thermoeconomic and exergoeconomic aspects of a diesel engine. The findings revealed that the amount of energy converted to useful work for the diesel fuel was higher than that of the DTB20 fuel, even though the fuel energy obtained from DTB20 fuel was higher than that of diesel fuel at all engine speeds. The highest energy and exergy efficiencies for the engine fueled with diesel fuel were obtained as 31.07% and 29.15% respectively, while the corresponding values for the engine fueled with DTB20 fuel were determined as 27.15% and 25.19% at the engine speed of 2,400 rpm, respectively. However, at 2,800 rpm, a significant decrease in both the energy and exergy efficiencies was observed for both diesel and tung biodiesel blended fuels due to the increased mechanical friction of the engine components. Furthermore, at the highest engine speed, entropy generation increased, owing to a higher exergy destruction rate. The entropy generation rate increased to 0.38 kW/K for diesel fuel and 0.46 kW/K for DTB20 fuel since the enhancement of the engine speed caused the ascent of the fuel consumption rate. Regarding thermoeconomic–exergoeconomic analyses, for both diesel and tung biodiesel blended fuels, there is no distinct difference in the thermoeconomic–exergoeconomic parameters at 2,400 and 2,600 rpm as the values of these parameters at the engine speed of 2,800 rpm increased significantly. In light of all the findings, it can be concluded that the engine speed of 2,800 rpm is not applicable to run the engine due to higher friction and corresponding energy destruction in the engine system.
Pan-immune inflammation value as a prognostic biomarker for cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Authors: Kuang Tianrui , Qiu Zhendong , Wang Kunpeng , Zhang Lilong , Dong Keshuai , Wang Weixing 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent a paradigm shift in the development of cancer therapy. However, the improved efficacy of ICIs remains to be further investigated. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the pan-immunoinflammatory value (PIV) and PILE score used to predict response to ICI therapy.MethodsWe searched selected databases for studies on pan-immune inflammation values and their association with outcomes of treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. We used hazard ratios (HRS) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to summarize survival outcomes. All data analyses were performed using STATA 15.0.Results7 studies comprising 982 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that higher PIV was significantly associated with shorter overall survival OS (HR = 1.895, 95%CI: 1.548-2.318) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 1.582, 95%CI: 1.324-1.890). Subgroup analyses also confirmed the reliability of the results.ConclusionsHigh PIV and PILE metrics are associated with lower survival in cancer patients receiving ICIs.
Higher remnant cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a community-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Ai Yating , Zhou Chunyi , Wang Ming , Yang Chongming , Zhou Shi , Dong Xinxiu , Ye Niansi , Li Yucan , Wang Ling , Ren Hairong , Gao Xiaolian , Xu Man , Hu Hui , Wang Yuncui 
Published: February 2024

Background and aimsAmnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is the most common subtype of MCI, which carries a significantly high risk of transitioning to Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, increasing attention has been given to remnant cholesterol (RC), a non-traditional and previously overlooked risk factor. The aim of this study was to explore the association between plasma RC levels and aMCI.MethodsData were obtained from Brain Health Cognitive Management Team in Wuhan (https://hbtcm.66nao.com/admin/). A total of 1,007 community-dwelling elders were recruited for this project. Based on ten tools including general demographic data, cognitive screening and some exclusion scales, these participants were divided into the aMCI (n = 401) and normal cognitive groups (n = 606). Physical examinations were conducted on all participants, with clinical indicators such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids collected.ResultsThe aMCI group had significantly higher RC levels compared to the normal cognitive group (0.64 ± 0.431 vs. 0.52 ± 0.447 mmol/L, p &lt; 0.05). Binary logistics regression revealed that occupation (P&lt;0.001, OR = 0.533, 95%CI: 0.423–0.673) and RC (p = 0.014, OR = 1.477, 95% CI:1.081–2.018) were associated factors for aMCI. Partial correlation analysis, after controlling for occupation, showed a significant negative correlation between RC levels and MoCA scores (r = 0.059, p = 0.046), as well as Naming scores (r = 0.070, p = 0.026). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that RC levels had an independent predictive efficacy in predicting aMCI (AUC = 0.580, 95%CI: 0.544 ~ 0.615, P &lt; 0.001).ConclusionHigher RC levels were identified as an independent indicator for aMCI, particularly in the naming cognitive domain among older individuals. Further longitudinal studies are necessary to validate the predictive efficacy of RC.
Gastric-filling ultrasonography to evaluate gastric motility in patients with Parkinson's disease
Authors: Zou Xianwei , Chen Xiaqing , Wen Yanxia , Jing Xiaofeng , Luo Man , Xin Fengyue , Tang Yao , Hu Mengfei , Liu Jian , Xu Fan 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundDelayed gastric emptying is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is currently no objective evaluation and diagnostic method for this condition.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of gastric-filling ultrasonography for gastric motility in patients with PD and the relationship between gastric dynamics and gastrointestinal symptoms and motor symptoms of PD.Design, setting, and patientsWe performed a case-control study with 38 patients with PD and 34 healthy controls.MethodsAll patients underwent a 120-min ultrasonography examination using a 500-ml semi-liquid test meal. We determined the antral contraction amplitude (ACA), the antrum contraction frequency (ACF), the motility index (MI), and the gastric antral cross-sectional area (CSA). We acquired the CSA at six time points: fasting for 12 h (T0), immediately after drinking the semi-liquid test meal (T1); and at 30 (T30), 60 (T60), 90 (T90), and 120 (T120) min. We calculated the gastric emptying rate (GER) at different time points by using the CSA. We compared the GER between the groups and evaluated the correlation between the GER and gastrointestinal symptoms and motor symptoms of PD.ResultsThe MI and ACF were significantly lower in the PD group compared with the control group (P &lt; 0.05). The GER at T30 and the ACA showed no significant difference between the groups (P &gt; 0.05). At different time points, the GER was significantly different between the PD and control groups (P &lt; 0.001). There was no significant association between the GER and gastrointestinal symptoms; none of them were risk factors for impaired gastric emptying (odds ratio &gt; 1). The GER was negatively correlated with the severity of PD motor symptoms (P &lt; 0.05).ConclusionPatients with PD had significantly delayed gastric emptying, which was negatively correlated with the severity of PD motor symptoms. Measuring gastric emptying by gastric-filling ultrasound had good diagnostic value in clinical screening for delayed gastric motility in patients with PD.Clinical Trial Registrationhttps://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=126304.
Syllable-rate-adjusted-modulation (SRAM) predicts clear and conversational speech intelligibility
Authors: Yang Ye , Zeng Fan-Gang 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionObjectively predicting speech intelligibility is important in both telecommunication and human-machine interaction systems. The classic method relies on signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) to successfully predict speech intelligibility. One exception is clear speech, in which a talker intentionally articulates as if speaking to someone who has hearing loss or is from a different language background. As a result, at the same SNR, clear speech produces higher intelligibility than conversational speech. Despite numerous efforts, no objective metric can successfully predict the clear speech benefit at the sentence level.MethodsWe proposed a Syllable-Rate-Adjusted-Modulation (SRAM) index to predict the intelligibility of clear and conversational speech. The SRAM used as short as 1 s speech and estimated its modulation power above the syllable rate. We compared SRAM with three reference metrics: envelope-regression-based speech transmission index (ER-STI), hearing-aid speech perception index version 2 (HASPI-v2) and short-time objective intelligibility (STOI), and five automatic speech recognition systems: Amazon Transcribe, Microsoft Azure Speech-To-Text, Google Speech-To-Text, wav2vec2 and Whisper.ResultsSRAM outperformed the three reference metrics (ER-STI, HASPI-v2 and STOI) and the five automatic speech recognition systems. Additionally, we demonstrated the important role of syllable rate in predicting speech intelligibility by comparing SRAM with the total modulation power (TMP) that was not adjusted by the syllable rate.DiscussionSRAM can potentially help understand the characteristics of clear speech, screen speech materials with high intelligibility, and convert conversational speech into clear speech.
Role of TRAK1 variants in epilepsy: genotype–phenotype analysis in a pediatric case of epilepsy with developmental disorder
Authors: Li Ren-Ke , Xiong Yu-Rong , Pan Shu-Jing , Lei Wen-Ting , Shu Xiao-Mei , Shi Xiao-Qi , Tian Mao-Qiang 
Published: February 2024

PurposeThe TRAK1 gene is mapped to chromosome 3p22.1 and encodes trafficking protein kinesin binding 1. The aim of this study was to investigate the genotype–phenotype of TRAK1-associated epilepsy.MethodsTrio-based whole-exome sequencing was performed on a cohort of 98 patients with epilepsy of unknown etiologies. Protein modeling and the VarCards database were used to predict the damaging effects of the variants. Detailed neurological phenotypes of all patients with epilepsy having TRAK1 variants were analyzed to assess the genotype–phenotype correlations.ResultsA novel TRAK1 compound heterozygous variant comprising variant c.835C &gt; T, p.Arg279Cys and variant c.2560A &gt; C, p.Lys854Gln was identified in one pediatric patient. Protein modeling and VarCards database analyses revealed that the variants were damaging. The patient received a diagnosis of early infantile epileptic spasms with a developmental disorder; he became seizure-free through valproate and adrenocorticotropic hormone treatment. Further results for six variants in 12 patients with epilepsy indicated that biallelic TRAK1 variants (including homozygous or compound heterozygous variants) were associated with epilepsy with developmental disorders. Among these patients, eight (67%) had epileptic spasms and seven (58%) were intractable to anti-seizure medicines. Moreover, eight patients experienced refractory status epilepticus, of which seven (88%) died in early life. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of epilepsy caused by TRAK1 compound heterozygous variants.ConclusionBiallelic TRAK1 variants can cause epilepsy and developmental disorders. In these patients, seizures progress to status epilepticus, suggesting a high risk for poor outcomes and the requirement of early treatment.
Sex differences in cardiometabolic risk factors and in response to lifestyle intervention in prepubertal and pubertal subjects with obesity
Authors: Gilardini Luisa , Croci Marina , Cavaggioni Luca , Pasqualinotto Lucia , Bertoli Simona 
Published: February 2024

ObjectivesChildhood obesity is a growing health problem and requires a tailored treatment. This study explored the sex differences in cardiovascular risk factors in children/adolescents with obesity and in response to a weight loss intervention.MethodsFive hundred and thirty-three children/adolescents with obesity and their parents underwent to a 3-months lifestyle intervention program. Tanner criteria were used to assess the pubertal stage. Before and after 3 months, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure (BP), and biochemical measurements were assessed.ResultsFour hundred and forty five participants completed the treatment (age 12.4 ± 2.7 years, males 45.8%, prepubertal 29.2%, BMI z score 2.3 ± 0.2). In comparison to boys, prepubertal girls had higher values of BMI z score (2.4 ± 02 vs. 2.3 ± 0.2, p &lt; 0.05), waist circumference z score (2.2 ± 0.3 vs. 2.0 ± 0.3, p &lt; 0.05), HOMA-IR [2.9 (2.1–4.9) vs. 2.3(1.5–3.6), p &lt; 0.01], prevalence of hypertransaminasemia (41.3% vs. 17.7%, p &lt; 0.05) and lower levels of HDL cholesterol (46.2 ± 9.8 vs. 51.2 ± 10.5 mg/dl, p &lt; 0.05). In the pubertal stage, boys had worse cardiometabolic risk profile than girls, including unfavourable measure of systolic BP (z score: 0.6 ± 1.0 vs. 0.3 ± 1.0, p &lt; 0.01), fasting glucose (87.2 ± 6.1 vs. 84.8 ± 7.7 mg/dl, p &lt; 0.01), ALT (26.9 ± 21.5 vs. 20.2 ± 10.6 U/L, p &lt; 0.001) and uric acid (6.1 ± 1.9 vs. 5.0 ± 1.0 mg/dl, p &lt; 0.001). After the lifestyle intervention, changes in BMI z score (p &lt; 0.05) were higher in pubertal boys than pubertal girls. The systolic blood pressure decrease was greater in pubertal boys than in their female counterpart (Δ systolic BP: −7.2 mmHg in boys vs. −3.6 mmHg in girls, p &lt; 0.05; Δ systolic BP z score: −0.6 in boys vs. −0.3 in girls, p &lt; 0.05). LDL cholesterol showed an improvement only in boys, and ALT in the whole group.ConclusionOur study showed that a short-term lifestyle intervention is more effective in reducing BMI z score and cardiovascular risk factors in pubertal boys than in their female counterparts. Further investigation is needed to deepen this gender difference, especially to develop a tailor-made intervention.
Taxonomic and functional shifts of gut microbiome in immunoglobulin A vasculitis children and their mothers
Authors: Liang Yijia , Zhao Changying , Zhao Lanlan , Sheng Dashuang , Chen Bin , Zhao Guoping , Wang Qinghua , Zhang Lei 
Published: February 2024

ObjectivesTo examine the gut microbiota characteristics in children with immunoglobulin A vasculitis and their interrelationships with the host, while evaluate the vertical inheritance of microbiota in the development and progression of IgA vasculitis.MethodsThis study investigated the gut microbiome of 127 IgA vasculitis mother-child pairs and 62 matched healthy mother-child pairs, and compared the gut microbial composition of different groups. The pathway enrichment analysis evaluated potential gut microbiome-mediated pathways involved in the pathophysiology of IgA vasculitis. The Spearman correlation analysis illustrated the relationships between clinical variables and bacterial biomarkers.ResultsThis study identified distinct intestinal microbiome in IgA vasculitis children compared to healthy children, and further pointed out the association in gut microbiota between IgA vasculitis children's and their mother's. The relative abundance of Megamonas and Lactobacillus in IgAV children was positively correlated with that in their mothers. The pathway enrichment analysis found microbial biosynthesis of vitamins and essential amino acids was upregulated in children with IgA vasculitis. Correlation analysis showed bacterial biomarkers were correlated with indicators of blood coagulation.ConclusionChildren with IgA vasculitis have unique bacterial biomarkers and may affect coagulation function, and their gut microbiome was closely associated with that of their mothers. The observed association in gut microbiota between IgA vasculitis children and their mothers suggested a potential intergenerational influence of the maternal microbiota on the development or progression of IgA vasculitis in children.
Gestational diabetes and risk of perinatal depression in low- and middle-income countries: a meta-analysis
Authors: Jin Yuqing , Wu Chengkai , Chen Wanlin , Li Jingsong , Jiang Haiteng 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundThe relationship between gestational diabetes (GDM) and the risk of depression has been thoroughly investigated in high-income countries on their financial basis, while it is largely unexplored in low- and middle- income countries. This meta-analysis aims to assess how GDM influences the risk of perinatal depression by searching multiple electronic databases for studies measuring the odds ratios between them in low- and middle-income countries.MethodsTwo independent reviewers searched multiple electronic databases for studies that investigated GDM and perinatal mental disorders on August 31, 2023. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random effect model. Subgroup analyses were further conducted based on the type of study design and country income level.ResultsIn total, 16 observational studies met the inclusion criteria. Only the number of studies on depression (n=10) satisfied the conditions to conduct a meta-analysis, showing the relationship between mental illness and GDM has been overlooked in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence shows an elevated risk of perinatal depression in women with GDM (pooled OR 1.92; 95% CI 1.24, 2.97; 10 studies). The increased risk of perinatal depression in patients with GDM was not significantly different between cross-sectional and prospective design. Country income level is a significant factor that adversely influences the risk of perinatal depression in GDM patients.ConclusionOur findings suggested that women with GDM are vulnerable to perinatal depressive symptoms, and a deeper understanding of potential risk factors and mechanisms may help inform strategies aimed at prevention of exposure to these complications during pregnancy.
The causal effect of two occupational factors on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis: a Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Huang Jian 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are two common types of arthritis. We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to estimate the causal effects of two common occupational factors—job involves heavy manual or physical work and job involves mainly walking or standing—on OA and RA in individuals of European ancestry.MethodsInstruments were chosen from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) that identified independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) robustly linked to job involves heavy manual or physical work (N = 263,615) as well as job involves mainly walking or standing (N = 263,556). Summary statistics for OA and RA were taken from the Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) GWAS database; both discovery and replication GWAS datasets were considered. The primary analysis utilized the inverse variance weighted (IVW) MR method supplemented by various sensitivity MR analyses.ResultsIn the IVW model, we found that genetically predicted job involves heavy manual or physical work was significantly associated with OA in both the discovery [odds ratio (OR) = 1.034, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.016–1.053, P = 2.257 × 10−4] and replication (OR = 1.857, 95% CI: 1.223–2.822, P = 0.004) analyses. The causal associations were supported in diverse sensitivity analyses. MR analyses suggested no causal effect of genetically predicted job involves heavy manual or physical work on RA. Similarly, our data provided no evidence that genetically predicted job involves mainly walking or standing was related to OA and RA.ConclusionsOur MR study suggests that job involves heavy manual or physical work is a risk factor for OA. It is of utmost importance to create preventive strategies aimed at reducing its impact on OA at such work sites.
Stenotrophomonas strain CD2 reduces cadmium accumulation in Brassica rapa L.
Authors: Fan Xia , Yuan Kai , Peng Qian , Lv Ruiling , Zheng Yongliang 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionCadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal which contaminates agricultural soils and is easily absorbed by plants. Brassica rapa L. is one of the most popular vegetables in China and is known to accumulate Cd in its roots and aerial tissues.MethodsA highly Cd-resistant bacterium (‘CD2’) was isolated and identified. Its ability to immobilize Cd(II) in medium was studied. Strain CD2 were added into Cd-polluted soil to ameliorate Cd accumulation in B. rapa. The underlying mechanisms of ‘CD2’ to reduce Cd accumulation in B. rapa. were analyzed by transcriptomics.Results and discussionStrain CD2 was classified as belonging to the genus Stenotrophomonas. Strain CD2 was found to be able to remove 0.1 mmol/L Cd(II) after 36 h by intracellular sequestration and by producing biofilm, exopolysaccharide, and H2S. When applied to Cd-contaminated soil, ‘CD2’ significantly increased the content of nonbioavailable Cd by 212.70%. Furthermore, ‘CD2’-inoculated B. rapa exhibited a 51.16% decrease in the Cd content of roots and a 55.56% decrease in the Cd content of aerial tissues. Transcriptome analysis identified 424 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the roots and 501 DEGs in the aerial tissues of uninoculated Cd-exposed plants. By comparison, 1107 DEGs were identified in the roots and 1721 DEGs were identified in the aerial tissues of ‘CD2’-inoculated Cd-exposed plants. In both treatment groups, genes related to vacuolar sequestration were upregulated, resulting in inhibited Cd transport. In addition, both catalase and glutathione transferase were induced in uninoculated plants, while the oxidative stress-related genes CPK and RBOH belonged to ‘plant-pathogen interactions’ were upregulated in ‘CD2’-inoculated plants. Moreover, inoculation with ‘CD2’ resulted in the enrichment of phenylpropane metabolism; cutin, suberine, and wax biosynthesis; and the AP2, Dof, WOX, Trihelix, B3, EIL, and M-type_MADS transcription factors; as well as the downregulation of zinc transporters and blue copper proteins. All of these changes likely contributed to the reduced Cd accumulation in ‘CD2’-inoculated B. rapa. The results of this study suggest that Stenotrophomonas sp. CD2 may prove to be a useful inoculant to prevent Cd accumulation in B. rapa.