bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
LncRNA HOTAIR down-expression inhibits the invasion and tumorigenicity of epithelial ovarian cancer cells by suppressing TGF-β1 and ZEB1
Authors: Zhou Yufu , Zhang Yunjie , Shao Yidan , Yue Xiaoli , Chu Yifan , Yang Cuiping , Chen Dengyu 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a pathological type with a higher mortality rate among gynecological cancers today. Long-chain noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can regulate the transcription and expression of cellular genes. However, the downstream molecules regulated by lncRNA HOTAIR have not been well studied. The effects of downregulated lncRNA HOTAIR on EOC invasiveness and tumorigenicity in nude mice, along with TGF- β1 and ZEB1 in epithelial ovarian cancer cells, need to be investigated in further research.

Results
RT-qPCR was used to detect lncRNA HOTAIR and TGF-β1 and ZEB1 mRNA expression in EOC SKOV3 cells. The expression of lncRNA HOTAIR in SKOV3 cells transfected with the recombinant shHOTAIR interference plasmid was significantly lower than that of the negative control. Compared with the negative control, the matrix gel invasion ability of shHOTAIR SKOV3 cells in vitro and their tumorigenicity in nude mice were significantly reduced. Moreover, compared with the control, the expression of ZEB1 protein in shHOTAIR-SKOV3 xenograft tumors was significantly reduced. Downregulation of lncRNA HOTAIR expression significantly reduced TGF-β1 and ZEB1 mRNA expression, but increased the expression of E-cadherin mRNA. In summary, downregulated lncRNA HOTAIR in EOC SKOV3 cells transfected with shHOTAIR can inhibit TGF-β1, reduce ZEB1, increase E-cadherin, and significantly reduce the invasiveness and tumorigenicity of ovarian epithelial cancer SKOV3 cells.

Conclusions
These results suggest that the lncRNA HOTAIR may be an effective target for the treatment of human EOC.
Valorization of baobab seeds (Adansonia digitata) as a coffee-like beverage: evaluation of roasting time on bioactive compounds
Authors: Marcolino Etivaldo , Salavarria Diogo , da Silva Luíz Guilherme Malaquias , Almeida Adelaide , Oliveira da Silva Flávia Matias , Ribeiro Carlos , Dias João 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, and its fruit presents high nutritional value. However, baobab seeds are often discarded and their potential remains underutilized. This study aimed to investigate the effect of roasting time (30/55/80/105 min at 200 °C) on the physical–chemical properties of baobab seeds and the bioactive compounds in a coffee-like beverage. The results showed a decrease in moisture, Aw (water activity), and hardness of baobab seeds with increasing roasting time. These changes resulted from moisture loss, caramelization, and Maillard reactions, which also affected appearance when compared with unroasted baobab seeds. The pH of the beverage decreased to a value of around 6.01 after 105 min of roasting. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the beverage increased with roasting time, reaching 851.2 mg GAE/100 g (after 80 min) and 18.9 mmol Fe2+/100 g (after 55 min), respectively. The caffeine content remained stable around 16 mg/100 g from 55 to 105 min, lower than that of unroasted coffee beans and decaffeinated coffee. These findings suggest the potential for valorizing baobab seeds in the development of a new coffee-like beverage with lower caffeine content.
Rapid and efficient inactivation of viruses in seawater by LIG electrodes
Authors: Zhang Ju , Gu Guoqian , Liu Congnuan , Marques Ana Rita , Go Yun Young , St-Hilaire Sophie 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWater-borne viral diseases are a significant concern for public health. In particular, they threaten the health of people and animals in countries that lack proper water treatment facilities. Novel water treatment technology may efficiently improve water quality and prevent the spread of waterborne viral pathogens. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has been shown to inactivate viruses and bacteria with its photothermal properties, electrochemical reaction, and rough surface texture. However, LIG's activity to prevent virus transmission via contaminated water has not been fully explored. Here, we demonstrated that enveloped and non-enveloped viruses in seawater could be rapidly inactivated by LIG technology. After being activated by 3 V of electricity, the LIG electrodes inactivated both types of viruses spiked in water within 30 min. In addition, the electrolyzed seawater exhibited virucidal effects even after the cessation of the electrical charge. The generation of different oxidants, such as chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and hydrogen peroxide, may play an essential role in the antiviral mechanism of the LIG electrodes. Furthermore, after 10 min of electrolysis, the pH of the seawater dropped from approximately 8–5, which may also have contributed to the virucidal effects of the LIG technology. The virucidal activity of LIG technology highlighted its potential for preventing the spread of viral infections via seawater systems which may have public health implications in areas where seawater is used in the sewage system. It may also have applications in aquaculture, where viral diseases do not have treatments and can cause high fish mortality.
Prediction of white spot disease susceptibility in shrimps using decision trees based machine learning models
Authors: Tuyen Tran Thi , Al-Ansari Nadhir , Nguyen Dam Duc , Le Hai Minh , Phan Thi Nga Quynh , Prakash Indra , Costache Romulus , Pham Binh Thai 
Published: December 2023

AbstractRecently, the spread of white spot disease in shrimps has a major impact on the aquaculture activity worldwide affecting the economy of the countries, especially South-East Asian countries like Vietnam. This deadly disease in shrimps is caused by the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). Researchers are trying to understand the spread and control of this disease by doing field and laboratory studies considering effect of environmental conditions on shrimps affected by WSSV. Generally, they have not considered spatial factors in their study. Therefore, in the present study, we have used spatial (distances to roads and factories) as well as physio-chemical factors of water: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Salinity, NO3, P3O4 and pH, for developing WSSV susceptibility maps of the area using Decision Tree (DT)-based Machine Learning (ML) models namely Random Tree (RT), Extra Tree (ET), and J48. Model’s performance was evaluated using standard statistical measures including Area Under the Curve (AUC). The results indicated that ET model has the highest accuracy (AUC: 0.713) in predicting disease susceptibility in comparison to other two models (RT: 0.701 and J48: 0.641). The WSSV susceptibility maps developed by the ML technique, using DT (ET) method, will help decision makers in better planning and control of spatial spread of WSSV disease in shrimps.
Discourse developments within the public agenda on Danish nature management 2016–2021: Animal welfare ethics as a barrier to rewilding projects
Authors: Christensen Roland Vestergaard Kragh , Bentsen Niclas Scott 
Published: December 2023

AbstractPrompted by the increasing public focus on environmental policy and the continuous inability of States to reach environmental targets agreed upon in the context of the United Nations and the European Union, we explore the development of discourses within the Danish public agenda regarding nature management 2016–2021. This is done through a mixed-methods framework of discourse analysis and structural topic modeling based on documents from the Danish Parliament’s Environmental committee 2016–2021, estimating topic prevalence, and analyzing the discourses within each topic, resulting in a qualitative overview of 21 identified topics and their associated discourses and an overview of how the different topic proportions changed over time. A shift in the public agenda was found: a change from discussions about untouched forest focused on trade-offs between timber extraction and biodiversity, to a discussion about different understandings of animal welfare in the context of large grazers in nature national parks in Denmark.
Assessing the presence and motivations of orthorexia nervosa among athletes and adults with eating disorders: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Foyster Mandy , Sultan Nessmah , Tonkovic Matilda , Govus Andrew , Burton-Murray Helen , Tuck Caroline J. , Biesiekierski Jessica R. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Orthorexia nervosa involves restricting diet based on quality rather than quantity. Although orthorexia is well reported in many at-risk populations, limited data addresses its presence in individuals with eating disorder history (EDs) or athletes. We aimed to identify the presence and potential drivers of orthorexia in adults with EDs and endurance athletes, compared to control subjects.

Methods
Participants ≥ 18y included: people with a diagnosed eating disorder (ED as per DSM-5); endurance athletes (training/competing ≥ 5 h/week); or control subjects. Participants (n = 197) completed an online survey assessing orthorexia (eating habits questionnaire, EHQ), eating motivations (TEMS-B) and compulsive exercise (CET).

Results
ED had the highest orthorexia symptom severity (92.0 ± 3.02, n = 32), followed by athletes (76.2 ± 2.74, n = 54) and controls (71.0 ± 1.80, n = 111) (F (2) = 18.2, p < 0.001). A strong positive correlation existed between weight control motives and higher orthorexia symptom severity (r = 0.54, 95% CI [1.35, 2.36], p < 0.001), while a weak negative association existed between Hunger and Pleasure motives and higher orthorexia symptom severity (r = 0.23, 95% CI [− 2.24, − 0.34], p = 0.008; r = 0.26, 95% CI [− 2.11, − 0.47], p = 0.002, respectively). A moderate positive relationship was found between CET and orthorexia symptom severity (95% CI [1.52, 3.12], p < 0.001).

Conclusion
Adults with ED history and endurance athletes have greater orthorexia symptom severity compared to control. Clinicians working with at-risk populations should screen patients and be aware of red-flags of orthorexic traits, desire to control weight, and compulsive exercise behavior.

Level of evidence
III: Evidence obtained from cohort studies.
On the unfinalizability and uncertainty of contemporary literature—an analysis of Mo Yan’s new novels
Authors: Liu Jiangkai , Chu Yunxia 
Published: December 2023

AbstractMo Yan, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012, has published many new works of different genres since 2017, such as novels, poems, dramas, operas and even sketch stories, attracting a lot of attention and discussion. Although these new works are numerous, they are still characterized by exploration and transition. There is a phenomenon of “unfinalizability” in these new novels, which is characteristic of Mo Yan’s literary writings, such as the recurrence of the literary figure “Mo Yan”. Mo Yan has adopted many writing techniques in his new works to strengthen their concern and criticism of reality, such as reflecting society through focusing on individuals, close-up simple descriptions, typification of contemporary group mentality and a new “hit acupoint” illustration style. Moreover, his new novels present literary, realistic and even philosophical “uncertainty” through a method of life intuition. However, when we analyze Mo Yan’s new works in his whole writing lineage, we will realize the author’s loyalty to reality and art, and his works’ foreseeing power unconsciously becomes evident.
Interpreters as cultural experts? Asylum practices in Slovakia
Authors: Tužinská Helena 
Published: December 2023

AbstractCultural expertise can be a meaningful part of judicial proceedings, including asylum appeals. In countries where it is not yet common, the need to address questions of cultural identity might be communicated indirectly through interpreters. As a result, interpreters implicitly and explicitly respond to co-producing the Other. This paper uses empirical data from long-term ethnographic research on interpreting asylum hearings to trace their institutional conditions in Slovakia and the actors’ approaches to the culturally sensitive aspects of interpretation in these proceedings. The perspectives of asylum applicants, their legal representatives, interpreters and decision-making authorities are analysed through the concepts of sayability and interpretability—the relationship between representations of legal, cultural, and linguistic identities. This article discusses how the research participants’ norms of interpreting, awareness of positionality, and procedural neutrality influence the spoken and written file narrative. Legal terms and administrative jargon are often not translated into plain language, accessible to laypeople. The often unacknowledged misinterpretation also affects the flow of the proceedings. Thus, systemic training of interpreters is essential, particularly public service interpreters who actively shape their informal role as cultural experts. At a time of increased demand for cross-cultural understanding, this article provides new perspectives on exploring the challenges for interpreters as well as other public service professions in relation to the notions ascribed to cultural identities.
Multifractal parameterization of a periodic surface microrelief formed at the face milling. 2. Distribution of elements volume of surface relief
Authors: Balytska N. , Penter L. , Kryzhanivskyy V. , Melnyk O. , Polonsky L. , Shadura V. , Ihlenfeldt S. , Moskvin P. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis study represents the first application of multifractal analysis to characterize spatial microforms’ volumes resulting from face milling on flat surfaces, emphasizing its novelty. Photographs of samples of C35 steel and AA22024 aluminum alloy, subjected to various cutting conditions during milling, were utilized to apply the multifractal approach for describing the machined surface microrelief. Multifractal spectra and their key parameters were computed for the samples’ surfaces generated at various feed rates and cutting depths. It is demonstrated that the characteristic functions of the performed multifractal analysis align with their canonical forms. The results offer compelling evidence that machining results in the formation of a system exhibiting self-similarity and fractal symmetry properties on the specimen’s surface. The practical significance of this research lies in the establishment of quantitative dependences between the parameters of the multifractal spectrum of surface microforms generated during the face milling under varying cutting depths and feed rates. This facilitates the identification of technological and physical factors responsible for observed variations in surface fractal properties. The formation of the multifractal spectra from surface element volumes is discussed in connection with the underlying physical phenomena associated with cutting conditions.
Deceptive XAI: Typology, Creation and Detection
Authors: Schneider Johannes , Meske Christian , Vlachos Michalis 
Published: December 2023

AbstractProviding rationales for decisions can enhance transparency and cultivate trust. Nevertheless, in light of economic incentives and other factors that may encourage manipulation, the reliability of such explanations comes into question. This manuscript builds upon a previous conference paper$$^*$$

∗

by introducing a conceptual framework for deceptive explanations and constructing a typology grounded in interdisciplinary literature. The focus of our work is on how AI models can generate and detect deceptive explanations. In our empirical evaluation, we focus on text classification and introduce modifications to the explanations generated by GradCAM, a well-established method for explaining neural networks. Through a user study comprising 200 participants, we demonstrate that these deceptive explanations have the potential to mislead individuals. However, we also demonstrate that machine learning (ML) techniques can discern even subtle deceptive tactics with an accuracy exceeding 80%, given sufficient domain expertise. Furthermore, even in the absence of domain knowledge, unsupervised learning can be employed to identify inconsistencies in the explanations, provided that fundamental information about the underlying predictive model is accessible.
Parasitic Egg Detection and Classification in Low-Cost Microscopic Images Using Transfer Learning
Authors: Suwannaphong Thanaphon , Chavana Sawaphob , Tongsom Sahapol , Palasuwan Duangdao , Chalidabhongse Thanarat H. , Anantrasirichai Nantheera 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIntestinal parasitic infection leads to several morbidities in humans worldwide, especially in tropical countries. The traditional diagnosis usually relies on manual analysis from microscopic images which is prone to human error due to morphological similarity of different parasitic eggs and abundance of impurities in a sample. Many studies have developed automatic systems for parasite egg detection to reduce human workload. However, they work with high-quality microscopes, which unfortunately remain unaffordable in some rural areas. Our work thus exploits a benefit of a low-cost USB microscope. This instrument however provides poor quality images due to the limitation of magnification (10$$\times$$
×
), causing difficulty in parasite detection and species classification. In this paper, we propose a CNN-based technique using transfer learning strategy to enhance the efficiency of automatic parasite classification in poor-quality microscopic images. The patch-based technique with a sliding window is employed to search for the location of the eggs. Two networks, AlexNet and ResNet50, are examined with a trade-off between architecture size and classification performance. The results show that our proposed framework outperforms the state-of-the-art object recognition methods. Our system combined with the final decision from an expert may improve the real faecal examination with low-cost microscopes.
The Coronal Alignment of Lower Limbs in the Adolescent Football and Ice Hockey Players
Authors: Žlak Nik , Krajnc Zmago , Merčun Aljaž , Drobnič Matej , Kacin Alan 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background
To investigate the influence of sport-specific activities on coronal axial alignment of the lower limbs in adolescent football and ice hockey players.

Methods
This cross-sectional study targeted healthy adolescent male football and ice hockey players with at least 3 years of sports participation. 90 football and 38 ice hockey players aged 12–16 years were divided into five age-matched subgroups. Coronal alignment of the lower limbs was determined by measuring the players' intercondylar or intermalleolar (ICD-IMD) distance with a custom-made calliper. In addition, their sports history was recorded. An age-matched comparison between the two sports groups was performed using the two-way model ANOVA and a multiple regression model for ICD-IMD was constructed. Results were additionally compared with age-matched data from the general population published in recent literature.

Results
A statistically significant increase in ICD-IMD values (p < 0.05) was found between 12 (football 0 mm; ice hockey − 64 mm) and 16 years (football 340 mm; ice hockey 310 mm) in both sports groups. Results of regression analysis of pooled group data showed that ICD-IMD has low positive correlation (r = 0.407; r2 = 0.168; p < 0.05) with time of participation in sport, but no association with age of athletes at the start of their sport participation (r = − 0.018; r2 = 0.000; p > 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups at any time point. Both sports groups showed a significant increase in ICD-IMD values (mean 198 mm) after the age of 14 compared to the general population.

Conclusions
Participation in football and ice hockey is associated with a similar increase in ICD-IMD in the adolescent years in male athletes. The observed increase was higher in both groups of athletes than in their peers who do not regularly participate in sports.

Level of Evidence
Level 4 (case series).
Merocyanines form bacteriorhodopsins with strongly bathochromic absorption maxima
Authors: Mackintosh Megan J. , Hoischen Dorothee , Martin Hans-Dieter , Schapiro Igor , Gärtner Wolfgang 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThere is a need to shift the absorbance of biomolecules to the optical transparency window of tissue for applications in optogenetics and photo-pharmacology. There are a few strategies to achieve the so-called red shift of the absorption maxima. Herein, a series of 11 merocyanine dyes were synthesized and employed as chromophores in place of retinal in bacteriorhodopsin (bR) to achieve a bathochromic shift of the absorption maxima relative to bR’s $${\lambda }_{\mathrm{max}}^{a}$$

λ

max

a

of 568 nm. Assembly with the apoprotein bacterioopsin (bO) led to stable, covalently bound chromoproteins with strongly bathochromic absorbance bands, except for three compounds. Maximal red shifts were observed for molecules 9, 2, and 8 in bR where the $${\lambda }_{\mathrm{max}}^{a}$$

λ

max

a

was 766, 755, and 736 nm, respectively. While these three merocyanines have different end groups, they share a similar structural feature, namely, a methyl group which is located at the retinal equivalent position 13 of the polyene chain. The absorption and fluorescence data are also presented for the retinal derivatives in their aldehyde, Schiff base (SB), and protonated SB (PSB) forms in solution. According to their hemicyanine character, the PSBs and their analogue bRs exhibited fluorescence quantum yields (Φf) several orders of magnitude greater than native bR (Φf 0.02 to 0.18 versus 1.5 × 10–5 in bR) while also exhibiting much smaller Stokes shifts than bR (400 to 1000 cm−1 versus 4030 cm−1 in bR). The experimental results are complemented by quantum chemical calculations where excellent agreement between the experimental $${\lambda }_{\mathrm{max}}^{a}$$

λ

max

a

and the calculated $${\lambda }_{\mathrm{max}}^{a}$$

λ

max

a

was achieved with the second-order algebraic-diagrammatic construction [ADC(2)] method. In addition, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations were employed to shed light on the origin of the bathochromic shift of merocyanine 2 in bR compared with native bR.
Graphical abstract
Snow Accumulation Variability at the South Pole From 1983 to 2020, Associated With Central Tropical Pacific Forcing
Authors: Zhai Zhaosheng , Wang Yetang , Lazzara Matthew A. , Keller Linda M. , Wu Qingli 
Published: December 2023

AbstractDespite a variety of efforts made to measure snow accumulation at the South Pole (SP), snow accumulation changes and their mechanism have not yet been fully explained. Here, SP stake farm measurements, global sea surface temperature observations, and atmospheric circulation data from European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis version 5 were used to investigate the annual and seasonal snow accumulation changes at the SP during 1983–2020, and their association with central tropical Pacific Sea surface temperature variations. SP annual snow accumulation decreased significantly for the 1983–2007 period at a rate of −39.7 ± 1.4 mm decade−1, but switched to a dramatically positive trend during 2008–2020 (108.7 ± 2.7 mm decade−1), with the strongest increase in the austral autumn. The switch to a dramatically upward trend can largely be attributed to a cyclonic anomaly over the South Atlantic and an anticyclonic anomaly over the Drake Passage, causing the enhanced advection of warm and wet air into the SP. These circulation patterns were generated by an atmospheric Rossby wave train forced by rapid warming in the central tropical Pacific during 2008–2020.