bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dubowski’s stages of alcohol influence and clinical signs and symptoms of drunkenness in relation to a person’s blood-alcohol concentration—Historical background
Authors: Jones Alan Wayne 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
This article traces the origin of various charts and tables delineating the stages of alcohol influence in relation to the clinical signs and symptoms of drunkenness and a person’s blood-alcohol concentration (BAC). In forensic science and legal medicine, the most widely used such table was created by Professor Kurt M. Dubowski (University of Oklahoma). The first version of the Dubowski alcohol table was published in 1957, and minor modifications appeared in various articles and book chapters until the final version was published in 2012. Seven stages of alcohol influence were identified including subclinical (sobriety), euphoria, excitement, confusion, stupor, alcoholic coma and death. The BAC causing death was initially reported as 0.45+ g%, although the latest version cited a mean and median BAC of 0.36 g% with a 90% range from 0.21 g% to 0.50 g%. An important feature of the Dubowski alcohol table was the overlapping ranges of BAC for each of the stages of alcohol influence. This was done to reflect variations in the physiological effects of ethanol on the nervous system between different individuals. Information gleaned from the Dubowski table is not intended to apply to any specific individual but more generally for a population of social drinkers, not regular heavy drinkers or alcoholics. Under real-world conditions, much will depend on a person’s age, race, gender, pattern of drinking, habituation to alcohol and the development of central nervous tolerance. The impairment effects of ethanol also depend to some extent on whether observations are made on the rising or declining phase of the blood-alcohol curve (Mellanby effect). There will always be some individuals who do not exhibit the expected behavioral impairment effects of ethanol, such as regular heavy drinkers and those suffering from an alcohol use disorder.
Two albums of drawings by Lombard masters of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, from the estate of the Clary-Aldringen family
Authors: Zlatohlávková Eliška , Zlatohlávek Martin 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Two albums of drawings by Lombard masters of the Renaissance period (sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries), the contents of which are now in museums in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, constitute one of the most valuable collections of drawings preserved in Bohemia from the seventeenth century. Apparently originally the property of Antonio Maria Viani (1555/60–1630), it remains impossible to identify with certainty who collected the drawings at some time before 1676 and pasted them into the two albums, or how they came to be in the possession of the Clary-Aldringen family, from whose hands they eventually passed into public ownership. The aim of this article is to trace the records of this extraordinary collection in the possession of the Clary-Aldringen family since 1676, and its fate after 1945. While one of the albums was later dismembered and the constituent drawings were variously treated, we have been able to trace almost the whole of this collection.
Emphasizing Writing Acts: The Exclamation Point in German as a Lexical Operator for Verum
Authors: Bücking Sebastian 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
This paper is concerned with the interpretation of the exclamation point in German; for example, Es hat geschneit! ‘It has been snowing!’. I argue that the exclamation point contributes a lexical operator for verum at the layer of writing acts. Specifically, it introduces the writer’s wish to ensure the recognition of the writing act in its scope. This lexicon-based proposal builds on a lexicon-based analysis of verum focus. However, while verum focus is related to the propositional layer, the exclamation point is argued to relate to the act layer. The following advantages are defended: (i) The proposal accounts for both the functional kinship between exclamation points and verum focus and their distributional differences. On the one hand, both means introduce affirmative emphasis by a bouletic attitude; on the other hand, the exclamation point has a much wider distribution than verum focus, as it is not bound to contexts that provide a controversy between a proposition and its negation. (ii) The difference in semantic scope can be traced back to a structural difference. While verum focus is integrated into its host clause, exclamation points occupy a peripheral structural position, which is typical of act modifiers. (iii) The lexicon-based approach to the interpretation of exclamation points has noteworthy broader implications. It provides an independent cross-modal piece of evidence in favor of a lexicon-based analysis of verum focus instead of a focus-based one. Furthermore, it is amenable to a formal compositional implementation. This implementation comprises first steps toward a formal model of writing acts in terms of Commitment Space Semantics and advances the general hypothesis that the graphematic form licenses a systematic mapping from form to meaning in its own right.
Macroeconomic and financial mixed frequency factors in a big data environment
Authors: Peng Weijia , Swanson Norman R , Yang Xiye , Yao Chun 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
In this paper, we evaluate the predictive content of 3 new business condition indexes and uncertainty measures that are estimated using high-frequency financial and low-frequency macroeconomic time series data. More specifically, our measures are defined as latent factors that are extracted from a state space model that includes multiple different frequencies of non-parametrically estimated components of quadratic variation, as well as mixed frequency macroeconomic variables. When forecasting growth rates of various monthly financial and macroeconomic variables, use of our new mixed frequency factors is shown to result in significant improvement in predictive performance, relative to a number of benchmark models. Additionally, when used to forecast corporate yields, predictive gains associated with the use of our measures are shown to be monotonically increasing, as one moves from predicting higher to lower rated bonds. This is consistent with the existence of a natural pricing channel wherein financial risk (as measured using our volatility factors) contains more predictive information for lower grade bonds. We also find that a variety of extant risk factors including the Aruoba et al. [(2009a). Real-time measurement of business conditions. Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 27(4), 417427] business conditions index also contain marginal predictive content for the variables that we examine, although their inclusion does not reduce the usefulness of our measures.
Symptomatic syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone as a rare early presentation of primary thymic carcinoma: a case report
Authors: Samsuddin Muhammad Juffri , Yaacob Siti Sara , Razi Adli Azam Bin Mohammad 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone (SIADH) can be presented as a paraneoplastic syndrome in primary malignancies involving the lung and brain. However, the development of SIADH in primary thymic carcinoma is poorly documented. We report a case of an elderly, with an initial presentation of symptomatic persistent hyponatremia as a paraneoplastic syndrome of SIADH with an incidental finding of anterior mediastinal mass confirmed on imaging. Further investigations are consistent with the diagnosis of poorly differentiated locally advanced thymic carcinoma with lung infiltration (T3N1Mx). The patient underwent an En-bloc total thymectomy and subsequently completed adjuvant chemotherapy and further follow-up showed a complete resolution of hyponatraemic SIADH. In conclusion, SIADH may be presented as a paraneoplastic syndrome in primary thymic carcinoma and early detection of thymic malignancy is paramount to ensure early diagnosis and prognostication.
Delayed care-seeking in international migrant workers with imported malaria in China
Authors: Gu Jiyue , Cao Yuanyuan , Chai Liying , Xu Enyu , Liu Kaixuan , Chong Zeyin , Zhang Yuying , Zou Dandan , Xu Yuhui , Wang Jian , Müller Olaf , Cao Jun , Zhu Guoding , Lu Guangyu 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Background
Imported malaria cases continue to pose major challenges in China as well as in other countries that have achieved elimination. Early diagnosis and treatment of each imported malaria case is the key to successfully maintaining malaria elimination success. This study aimed to build an easy-to-use predictive nomogram to predict and intervene against delayed care-seeking among international migrant workers with imported malaria.

Methods
A prediction model was built based on cases with imported malaria from 2012 to 2019, in Jiangsu Province, China. Routine surveillance information (e.g. sex, age, symptoms, origin country and length of stay abroad), data on the place of initial care-seeking and the gross domestic product (GDP) of the destination city were extracted. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors and a nomogram was established to predict the risk of delayed care-seeking. The discrimination and calibration of the nomogram was performed using area under the curve and calibration plots. In addition, four machine learning models were used to make a comparison.

Results
Of 2255 patients with imported malaria, 636 (28.2%) sought care within 24 h after symptom onset, and 577 (25.6%) sought care 3 days after symptom onset. Development of symptoms before entry into China, initial care-seeking from superior healthcare facilities and a higher GDP level of the destination city were significantly associated with delayed care-seeking among migrant workers with imported malaria. Based on these independent risk factors, an easy-to-use and intuitive nomogram was established. The calibration curves of the nomogram showed good consistency.

Conclusions
The tool provides public health practitioners with a method for the early detection of delayed care-seeking risk among international migrant workers with imported malaria, which may be of significance in improving post-travel healthcare for labour migrants, reducing the risk of severe malaria, preventing malaria reintroduction and sustaining achievements in malaria elimination.
Seroprevalence of dengue, Japanese encephalitis and Zika among long-term expatriates in Thailand
Authors: Kitro Amornphat , Imad Hisham Ahmed , Pisutsan Phimphan , Matsee Wasin , Sirikul Wachiranun , Sapbamrer Ratana , Rapheal Erica , Fernandez Stefan , Cotrone Thomas S , Farmer Aaron R , Hunsawong Taweewun , Silachamroon Udomsak , Chatapat Lapakorn , Olanwijitwong Jutarmas , Salee Parichat , Anderson Kathryn B , Piyaphanee Watcharapong 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Background
Travel to Southeast Asia increases the likelihood of acquiring mosquito-borne Flavivirus infections such as dengue (DENV), Japanese encephalitis (JEV) and Zika viruses (ZIKV). Expatriates are long-term travellers who have a higher risk of mosquito-borne illness at their destination country. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of DENV, JEV and ZIKV infections and the determinants contributing to seropositivity among expatriates living in Thailand.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was performed from December 2017 to February 2020. Expatriates from non-Flavivirus endemic countries were recruited. 5 mL of blood was collected for DENV 1–4, JEV and ZIKV antibody testing by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT50). Individuals with vaccination histories or diagnoses for dengue, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever and tick-borne encephalitis were excluded.

Results
Among 254 participants, most participants (83.1%) were male, the mean age was 65 years and the median duration of stay in Thailand was 6 years. Seroprevalence rate of any Flavivirus, non-specific DENV, DENV1–4, JEV and ZIKV were 34.3, 30.7, 20.5, 18.1, 18.9, 10.6, 4.7 and 2.8%, respectively. The presence of neutralizing antibodies against DENV1–4 positively correlates with the duration of stay in Thailand. DENV seropositivity was associated with living in urban areas (aOR 2.75, 95% CI 1.36–5.57). Expatriates were unlikely to have detectable anti-JEV antibodies regardless of time spent in a JEV-endemic area. No risk factors were identified that were significantly associated with JEV or ZIKV seropositivity. Only 48.4% received pre-travel counselling services, while only 18.9% visited a travel medicine specialist.

Conclusions
A high proportion (34.3%) of long-term expatriates living in Thailand were seropositive for flavivirus, mainly from dengue (30.7%). To minimize risk, travel medicine practitioners should provide adequate pre-travel health risk information on mosquito-borne flavivirus infection and offer advice on mosquito bite prevention strategies. Dengue vaccine might be considered in high-risk travellers such as long-term expatriate.
Integrating sexual and reproductive health into pre-travel consultations
Authors: Santaolaya Carlos , Malhotra Juhi , Fowler James A , Warzywoda Sarah , Debattista Joe , Mills Deborah J , Lau Colleen , Furuya-Kanamori Luis , Durham Jo , Mullens Amy B , Istiko Satrio N , Dean Judith A 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Background
Casual sex during travel is a major preventable factor in the global transmission of sexually transmissible infections (STI). Pre-travel consults present an excellent opportunity for practitioners to educate travellers about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and safety. This scoping review aims to explore and understand the extent to which SRH is included in pre-travel consultations.

Methods
PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, Medline and Web of Science were systematically searched for primary research articles exploring whether health care practitioners (HCP) included SRH in pre-travel consultations. Extracted findings were synthesized and presented in narrative form.

Results
Findings across 13 articles suggest HCPs infrequently broached SRH in pre-travel consultations with HCP discomfort, and lack of time and resources presented as key barriers. Urban practice settings, HCP experience, training in travel medicine and traveller characteristics such as sexual orientation were positively associated with discussions about SRH. SRH advice reported was general in nature, primarily focusing on safer sex, condoms or unspecified STI advice. Risk assessments based solely on age or stereotypes around sexual preferences led to key aspects of SRH care being missed for some (e.g. SRH was less likely to be discussed with older travellers).

Conclusions
HCPs frequently miss opportunities to integrate SRH into pre-travel consultations. Strategies to promote HCP confidence and awareness present a promising means to boost the frequency and quality of SRH advice disseminated. Integrating culturally safe and responsive SRH history-taking and advice into pre-travel consultations may contribute to global reductions in STI transmission and promote traveller SRH well-being.
Oligogalacturonide application increases resistance to Fusarium head blight in durum wheat
Authors: Bigini Valentina , Sillo Fabiano , Giulietti Sarah , Pontiggia Daniela , Giovannini Luca , Balestrini Raffaella , Savatin Daniel V 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Fusariosis causes substantial yield losses in the wheat crop worldwide and compromises food safety because of the presence of toxins associated with the fungal disease. Among the current approaches to crop protection, the use of elicitors able to activate natural defense mechanisms in plants is a strategy gaining increasing attention. Several studies indicate that applications of plant cell-wall-derived elicitors, such as oligogalacturonides (OGs) derived from partial degradation of pectin, induce local and systemic resistance against plant pathogens. The aim of this study was to establish the efficacy of OGs in protecting durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum), which is characterized by an extreme susceptibility to Fusarium graminearum. To evaluate the functionality of OGs, spikes and seedlings of cv. Svevo were inoculated with OGs, F. graminearum spores, and a co-treatment of both. Results demonstrated that OGs are active elicitors of wheat defenses, triggering typical immune marker genes and determining regulation of fungal genes. Moreover, bioassays on spikes and transcriptomic analyses on seedlings showed that OGs can regulate relevant physiological processes in Svevo with dose-dependent specificity. Thus, the OG sensing system plays an important role in fine tuning immune signaling pathways in durum wheat.
A meta-analysis of urinary transferrin for early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy
Authors: Li Bangjian , Wang Jieying , Ye Wen 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Objective
To assess the diagnostic value of urinary transferrin (Tf) in early diabetic nephropathy (DN) to propose a more sensitive and noninvasive biomarker for screening and monitoring DN in clinical practice.

Methods
We searched 3 databases from their inception to May 2023, to identify studies investigating the diagnostic value of Tf in patients with DN. Meta-DiSc software, version 1.4, and Stata software, version 15.1 (StataCorp) were used to conduct a meta-analysis and evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of urine Tf levels for DN.

Results
The meta-analysis included 6 relevant studies investigating the diagnostic value of Tf level for DN. Urinary Tf as a diagnostic marker demonstrated a combined sensitivity of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.71-0.89) and specificity of 0.88 (0.84-0.92). the positive diagnostic likelihood ratio was 7.07 (4.57-10.93), the negative diagnostic likelihood ratio was 0.20 (0.12-0.35), and the diagnostic odds ratio was 34.49 (13.61-87.44). Also, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.92 (0.89-0.94), indicating that urinary Tf has a decent discriminative ability in diagnosing DN.

Conclusion
Tf level is a valuable biological marker for early diagnosis and monitoring of DN in clinical practice. It has statistically significant predictive value for patients in the early phases of DN.
Clinical management of a patient following a granulocyte transfusion from a donor positive for COVID-19
Authors: Woo Jennifer S , Zhuang Lefan , Jackson Ryan , Wang Shirong , Agrawal Vaibhav , Blackmon Amanda , Pourhassan Hoda , Yuan Shan 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Granulocyte transfusions are indicated for patients with severe neutropenia and evidence of bacterial or fungal infection who are unresponsive to standard antimicrobial therapy. With a limited expiration time of 24 hours after collection, granulocytes are often transfused before results of infectious-disease screening tests are available, and before a transfusion service can perform a risk assessment if postdonation information is provided after the collection. The case we describe herein demonstrates a clinical scenario meeting indications for granulocyte transfusion, coupled with the clinical management undertaken after the granulocyte donor disclosed a positive result for a COVID-19 self-test taken 1 day after donation. In this case, the patient did not develop new COVID-19 symptoms and tested negative for COVID-19 after transfusion of the implicated unit. These findings add to the body of evidence in the literature that COVID-19 is not transmitted via blood transfusion.
The role of gastrin 17 and pepsinogen I:pepsinogen II ratio in pathological diagnosis and endoscopic selection in gastritis patients
Authors: Ye Qian , Xu Kai , Tong Yu , Zhao, Misheng 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Background
The noninvasive serum markers pepsinogen I (PGI), pepsinogen II (PGII), gastrin-17 (G17), and PGI:PGII ratio (PGR) have recently been proposed as a new tool for predicting various gastric pathologies.

Methods
A total of 83 gastritis patients confirmed by gastroscopy were enrolled, with 78 undergoing concurrent colonoscopies. The control group included 99 healthy subjects. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect PGI, PGII, G17, and PGR. The performance of serological analysis for detecting gastritis pathology was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Results
The G17 and PGII levels increased significantly (P &lt; .001), whereas PGR levels decreased (P = .001) in the gastritis group. The ROC analysis revealed that PGR had a sensitivity and specificity of 70.83% and 86.67%, respectively, in predicting Helicobacter pylori-infected gastritis and a sensitivity and specificity of 88% and 65.52%, respectively, in predicting active gastritis. The G17 levels were significantly elevated in gastritis patients undergoing concurrent colonoscopies (P &lt; .05).

Conclusion
Pepsinogen I:pepsinogen II ratio was found to be a useful predictor of active gastritis and H pylori-infected gastritis. Furthermore, G17 was found to be closely related to pathological conditions found by colonoscopy and may provide recommendations for whether gastritis patients should undergo a concurrent colonoscopy.
Differential role of bovine serum albumin and HCO3− in the regulation of GSK3 alpha during mouse sperm capacitation
Authors: Mohanty Gayatri , Sanchez-Cardenas Claudia , Paudel Bidur , Tourzani Darya A , Salicioni Ana M , Santi Celia M , Gervasi María G , Pilsner J Richard , Darszon Alberto , Visconti Pablo E 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
To become fertile, mammalian sperm are required to undergo capacitation in the female tract or in vitro in defined media containing ions (e.g. HCO3 −, Ca2+, Na+, and Cl−), energy sources (e.g. glucose, pyruvate) and serum albumin (e.g. bovine serum albumin (BSA)). These different molecules initiate sequential and concomitant signaling pathways, leading to capacitation. Physiologically, capacitation induces changes in the sperm motility pattern (e.g. hyperactivation) and prepares sperm for the acrosomal reaction (AR), two events required for fertilization. Molecularly, HCO3 − activates the atypical adenylyl cyclase Adcy10 (aka sAC), increasing cAMP and downstream cAMP-dependent pathways. BSA, on the other hand, induces sperm cholesterol release as well as other signaling pathways. How these signaling events, occurring in different sperm compartments and with different kinetics, coordinate among themselves is not well established. Regarding the AR, recent work has proposed a role for glycogen synthase kinases (GSK3α and GSK3β). GSK3α and GSK3β are inactivated by phosphorylation of residues Ser21 and Ser9, respectively, in their N-terminal domain. Here, we present evidence that GSK3α (but not GSK3β) is present in the anterior head and that it is regulated during capacitation. Interestingly, BSA and HCO3 − regulate GSK3α in opposite directions. While BSA induces a fast GSK3α Ser21 phosphorylation, HCO3 − and cAMP-dependent pathways dephosphorylate this residue. We also show that the HCO3−-induced Ser21 dephosphorylation is mediated by hyperpolarization of the sperm plasma membrane potential (Em) and by intracellular pH alkalinization. Previous reports indicate that GSK3 kinases mediate the progesterone-induced AR. Here, we show that GSK3 inhibition also blocks the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin-induced AR, suggesting a role for GSK3 kinases downstream of the increase in intracellular Ca2+ needed for this exocytotic event. Altogether, our data indicate a temporal and biphasic GSK3α regulation with opposite actions of BSA and HCO3 −. Our results also suggest that this regulation is needed to orchestrate the AR during sperm capacitation.