bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 screening in low resource settings using artificial intelligence for chest radiographs and point-of-care blood tests
Authors: Murphy Keelin , Muhairwe Josephine , Schalekamp Steven , van Ginneken Bram , Ayakaka Irene , Mashaete Kamele , Katende Bulemba , van Heerden Alastair , Bosman Shannon , Madonsela Thandanani , Gonzalez Fernandez Lucia , Signorell Aita , Bresser Moniek , Reither Klaus , Glass Tracy R. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) systems for detection of COVID-19 using chest X-Ray (CXR) imaging and point-of-care blood tests were applied to data from four low resource African settings. The performance of these systems to detect COVID-19 using various input data was analysed and compared with antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests. Participants were tested using the gold standard of RT-PCR test (nasopharyngeal swab) to determine whether they were infected with SARS-CoV-2. A total of 3737 (260 RT-PCR positive) participants were included. In our cohort, AI for CXR images was a poor predictor of COVID-19 (AUC = 0.60), since the majority of positive cases had mild symptoms and no visible pneumonia in the lungs. AI systems using differential white blood cell counts (WBC), or a combination of WBC and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) both achieved an AUC of 0.74 with a suggested optimal cut-off point at 83% sensitivity and 63% specificity. The antigen-RDT tests in this trial obtained 65% sensitivity at 98% specificity. This study is the first to validate AI tools for COVID-19 detection in an African setting. It demonstrates that screening for COVID-19 using AI with point-of-care blood tests is feasible and can operate at a higher sensitivity level than antigen testing.
Ab initio structural dynamics of pure and nitrogen-containing amorphous carbon
Authors: Steele Brad A. , Bastea Sorin , Kuo I-Feng W. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractAmorphous carbon (a-C) has attracted considerable interest due to its desirable properties, which are strongly dependent on its structure, density and impurities. Using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations we show that the sp2/sp3 content and underlying structural order of a-C produced via liquid quenching evolve at high temperatures and pressures on sub-nanosecond timescales. Graphite-like densities ($$\lesssim$$
≲
2.7 g/cc) favor the formation of layered arrangements characterized by sp2 disordered bonding resembling recently synthesized monolayer amorphous carbon (MAC), while at diamond-like densities ($$\gtrsim$$
≳
3.3 g/cc) the resulting structures are dominated by disordered tetrahedral sp3 hybridization typical of diamond-like amorphous carbon (DLC). At intermediate densities the system is a highly compressible mixture of coexisting sp2 and sp3 regions that continue to segregate over 10’s of picoseconds. The addition of nitrogen (20.3%) (a-CN) generates major system features similar with those of a-C, but has the unexpected effect of reinforcing the thermodynamically disfavored carbon structural motifs at low and high densities, while inhibiting phase separation in the intermediate region. At the same time, no nitrogen elimination from the carbon framework is observed above $$\simeq$$
≃
2.8 g/cc, suggesting that nitrogen impurities are likely to remain embedded in the carbon structures during fast temperature quenches at high pressures.
Development of a portable on-site applicable metagenomic data generation workflow for enhanced pathogen and antimicrobial resistance surveillance
Authors: Bloemen Bram , Gand Mathieu , Vanneste Kevin , Marchal Kathleen , Roosens Nancy H. C. , De Keersmaecker Sigrid C. J. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractRapid, accurate and comprehensive diagnostics are essential for outbreak prevention and pathogen surveillance. Real-time, on-site metagenomics on miniaturized devices, such as Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION sequencing, could provide a promising approach. However, current sample preparation protocols often require substantial equipment and dedicated laboratories, limiting their use. In this study, we developed a rapid on-site applicable DNA extraction and library preparation approach for nanopore sequencing, using portable devices. The optimized method consists of a portable mechanical lysis approach followed by magnetic bead-based DNA purification and automated sequencing library preparation, and resulted in a throughput comparable to a current optimal, laboratory-based protocol using enzymatic digestion to lyse cells. By using spike-in reference communities, we compared the on-site method with other workflows, and demonstrated reliable taxonomic profiling, despite method-specific biases. We also demonstrated the added value of long-read sequencing by recovering reads containing full-length antimicrobial resistance genes, and attributing them to a host species based on the additional genomic information they contain. Our method may provide a rapid, widely-applicable approach for microbial detection and surveillance in a variety of on-site settings.
Molecular genetic divergence analysis amongst high curcumin lines of Golden Crop (Curcuma longa L.) using SSR marker and use in trait-specific breeding
Authors: Gogoi Anindita , Munda Sunita , Paw Manabi , Begum Twahira , Siddiqui Manzer H. , Gaafar Abdel-Rhman Z. , Kesawat Mahipal Singh , Lal Mohan 
Published: November 2023

AbstractCurcuma longa L., is recognized worldwide as a medicinally and economically important plant species due to its curcumin content which is an industrially important compound. In this study, a total of 329 accessions were collected from four states of India and planted in the experimental farm of CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, India, in augmented design. Among these, 152 high curcumin (> 1.50%) accessions were screened for molecular divergence study using 39 SSR primers. The primers showed the most efficient outcome with 2–8 allele/ loci and a total 163 number of alleles with 100% polymorphism. Cluster analysis revealed the construction of three clusters, out of which one cluster was geographically dependent, and germplasm was particularly from Assam state. Jaccard's pairwise coefficient showed maximum genetic dissimilarity of (0.75) between accession RRLJCL 3 and RRLJCL 126, indicating high variation as it was from two different states viz Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland respectively and minimum genetic dissimilarity of (0.09) between RRLJCL 58 and RRLJCL 59 indicating significantly less variation as the two accessions were from same state, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh. Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) revealed high molecular variation within the population (87%) and significantly less variation among the population (13%). Additionally, Neighbour Joining dendrogram, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and bar plot structure revealed similar clustering of germplasm. This diversity assessment will help in selecting the trait-specific genotypes, crop improvement program, conservation of gene pool, marker-assisted breeding, and quantitative trait loci identification. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first molecular diversity report among 152 high curcumin lines of C. longa from North East India using 39 SSR primers.
Multiband terahertz metamaterial perfect absorber for microorganisms detection
Authors: Bhati Ruchi , Malik Anil K 
Published: November 2023

AbstractWe report a multi-resonant terahertz (THz) metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA)-based biosensor in the working frequency range of $$0 - 3.8 THz$$

0
-
3.8
T
H
z

for sensing of microorganisms (such as fungi, yeast) and wheat pesticides. Nearly $$100\%$$

100
%

absorption is realized at $$f_1= 1.7THz, f_2= 2.8THz, f_3=3.2THz,$$

f
1

=
1.7
T
H
z
,

f
2

=
2.8
T
H
z
,

f
3

=
3.2
T
H
z
,

and $$f_4=3.5THz$$

f
4

=
3.5
T
H
z

. We designed our THz MPA sensor making resonators’ gap area compatible with the microorganisms’ size. To obtain optimum performance of the MPA, a mapping of amplitudes and shifts in the absorption resonance peaks with different structural parameters of the resonators is carried out. A very high-frequency shift is obtained for microorganisms such as Penicillium chrysogenum (fungi), yeast, and pesticides (Imidacloprid, N, N-Diethyldithiocarbamate sodium salt trihydrate, Daminozide, N, N-Diethyldithiocarbamate sodium salt hydrate, and Dicofol). An equivalent circuit model using Advance Design System (ADS) software is developed. The calculated results through the model show similar trends as obtained in the simulations using CST. Investigations of the effect of incidence angle of THz wave on the absorption spectra of the MPA are also carried out. It is found that incidence angle does not impact the stability of the lower resonance absorption peak (1.79THz). Due to the wide working frequency range, the proposed sensor is extremely suitable for the detection of all range of pesticides because their specific absorption fingerprint lies in the frequency range of 0–3.8THz. We believe that our sensor could be a potential detection tool for detecting pesticide residues in agriculture and food products. The THz MPA-based biosensor is capable of detecting a very small change in the effective dielectric constant of the MPA environment. Therefore, it can also offer huge opportunities in label-free biosensing for future biomedical applications.
Quantitative analysis of peroxisome tracks using a Hidden Markov Model
Authors: Svensson Carl-Magnus , Reglinski Katharina , Schliebs Wolfgang , Erdmann Ralf , Eggeling Christian , Figge Marc Thilo 
Published: November 2023

AbstractDiffusion and mobility are essential for cellular functions, as molecules are usually distributed throughout the cell and have to meet to interact and perform their function. This also involves the cytosolic migration of cellular organelles. However, observing such diffusion and interaction dynamics is challenging due to the high spatial and temporal resolution required and the accurate analysis of the diffusional tracks. The latter is especially important when identifying anomalous diffusion events, such as directed motions, which are often rare. Here, we investigate the migration modes of peroxisome organelles in the cytosol of living cells. Peroxisomes predominantly migrate randomly, but occasionally they bind to the cell's microtubular network and perform directed migration, which is difficult to quantify, and so far, accurate analysis of switching between these migration modes is missing. We set out to solve this limitation by experiments and analysis with high statistical accuracy. Specifically, we collect temporal diffusion tracks of thousands of individual peroxisomes in the HEK 293 cell line using two-dimensional spinning disc fluorescence microscopy at a high acquisition rate of 10 frames/s. We use a Hidden Markov Model with two hidden states to (1) automatically identify directed migration segments of the tracks and (2) quantify the migration properties for comparison between states and between different experimental conditions. Comparing different cellular conditions, we show that the knockout of the peroxisomal membrane protein PEX14 leads to a decrease in the directed movement due to a lowered binding probability to the microtubule. However, it does not eradicate binding, highlighting further microtubule-binding mechanisms of peroxisomes than via PEX14. In contrast, structural changes of the microtubular network explain perceived eradication of directed movement by disassembly of microtubules by Nocodazole-treatment.
Analytical modeling and numerical analysis of thermoelastic damping in ultrathin elastic films due to surface effects
Authors: Huang Dianwu , Xiong Houren , Yang Guangying 
Published: November 2023

AbstractAnalytical techniques used for estimating thermoelastic damping by incorporating both mechanical and thermal interactions between surfaces and the rest of the bulk are intricate and challenging due to the limited understanding of the damping mechanisms in extra-thin films subjected to forced vibrations. This paper proposes a modified model to analytically calculate the thermoelastic damping of ultrathin elastic films due to surface effects and analyzes the thermoelastic damping variation with different factors through numerical experiments on two materials. The model considers surface stresses derived from the elastic surface theory using Kirchhoff's kinetic hypothesis and determines thermoelastic damping by considering thermal dissipation and elastic potential energy. The results show that surface effects significantly influence the thermoelastic damping of the film, and the specific behavior of a thin film’s thermoelastic damping with respect to film thickness is impacted by various factors, including material property, the variation range of film thickness, and the forced vibration frequency. This study provides insights into the thermoelastic damping behavior of thin films and has important implications for the development of nanoscale oscillators in MEMS or NEMS systems.
Emotional intelligence as a conduit for improved occupational health safety environment in the oil and gas sector
Authors: Edmund Nkrumah Nana Kwame , Suxia Liu , Ebenezer Larnyo , Kachie Arielle Doris Tetgoum 
Published: November 2023

AbstractTo address the issue of promoting occupational health and safety at the workplace, this study aimed to evaluate the mediating effect of four different dimensional constructs of Emotional Intelligence (EI) on the influence Occupational Health and Safety Management Practices (OHSMP) hold on safety performance and workplace accidents among oil and gas workers. The study is explanatory research that adopted a cross-sectional survey design. Convenience and stratified sampling techniques were used to select 699 respondents from the three major government-owned oil and gas organizations. The multiple standard regression and bootstrapping mediation methods were used for data analysis after subjecting the data to exploratory and confirmatory factor assessments. Results indicated that OHSMP significantly predicts EI, safety performance, and workplace accidents. Again, EI was found to predict safety performance and workplace accidents significantly. Results also indicated that all the construct dimensions for measuring EI significantly explain the relationship between OHSMP and safety performance, as well as the influence of OHSMP on workplace accidents. The theoretical basis for these findings is that workers with high-level EI are likely to cope with occupational health and safety lapses or safety-related challenges at the workplace by participating and complying with the organization’s safety management practices or procedures. Such employees are likely to exhibit safe working behaviors and contribute to improving safety performance in the organization.
Hypothyroidism increases angiotensinogen gene expression associated with vascular smooth muscle cells cholesterol metabolism dysfunction and aorta remodeling in Psammomys obesus
Authors: Neggazi Samia , Hamlat Nadjiba , Berdja Sihem , Boumaza Saliha , Smail Leila , Beylot Michel , Aouichat-Bouguerra Souhila 
Published: November 2023

AbstractIt has been previously shown that clinical cardiovascular manifestations can be caused by mild changes in thyroid function. However, the implication of angiotensinogen (Agt) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) dysfunction in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular manifestations in hypothyroidism have not yet been investigated. We induced experimental hypothyroidism in Psammomys obesus by administering carbimazole for five months. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed and histopathological analysis was performed using Masson's trichrome staining of the aorta and thyroid gland. The expression of the Agt gene and the genes implicated in cholesterol metabolism regulation in the liver and VSMCs was determined by qRT-PCR. Histological observations revealed profound remodeling of the aorta structure in animals with hypothyroidism. In addition, Agt gene expression in the liver was significantly increased. In vitro study, showed that VSMCs from hypothyroid animals overexpressed 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (Hmgcr) and Acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (Acat) 1, with failure to increase the efflux pathway genes (ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member (Abcg) 1 and 4). These results suggest that hypothyroidism leads to vascular alterations, including structural remodeling, VSMCs cholesterol metabolism dysfunction, and their switch to a synthetic phenotype, together with hepatic Agt gene overexpression.
Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and risk of long COVID symptoms: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Congdon Seth , Narrowe Zev , Yone Nang , Gunn Jacob , Deng Yuting , Nori Priya , Cowman Kelsie , Islam Marjan , Rikin Sharon , Starrels Joanna 
Published: November 2023

AbstractWe conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess whether treatment with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was associated with a reduced risk of long COVID. We enrolled 500 adults with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 who were eligible for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir; 250 who took nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and 250 who did not. The primary outcome was the development of one or more of eleven prespecified long COVID symptoms, assessed through a structured telephone interview four months after the positive SARS-CoV-2 test. Multivariable logistic regression models controlled for age, sex, race/ethnicity, chronic conditions, and COVID-19 vaccination status. We found that participants who took nirmatrelvir/ritonavir were no less likely to develop long COVID symptoms, compared to those who did not take the medication (44% vs. 49.6%, p = 0.21). Taking nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was associated with a lower odds of two of the eleven long COVID symptoms, brain fog (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.38–0.88) and chest pain/tightness (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.28–0.91). Our finding that treatment with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was not associated with a lower risk of developing long COVID is different from prior studies that obtained data only from electronic medical records.
Application of multivariate chemometrics tools for spectrophotometric determination of naphazoline HCl, pheniramine maleate and three official impurities in their eye drops
Authors: Kelani Khadiga M. , Hegazy Maha A. , Hassan Amal M. , Tantawy Mahmoud A. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThis work is concerned with exploiting the power of chemometrics in the assay and purity determination of naphazoline HCl (NZ) and pheniramine maleate (PN) in their combined eye drops. Partial least squares (PLS) and artificial neural network (ANN) were the chosen models for that purpose where three selected official impurities, namely; NZ impurity B and PN impurities A and B, were successfully determined. The quantitative determinations of studied components were assessed by percentage recoveries, standard errors of prediction as well as root mean square errors of prediction. The developed models were constructed in the ranges of 5.0–13.0 μg mL−1 for NZ, 10.0–60.0 μg mL−1 for PN, 1.0–5.0 μg mL−1 for NZ impurity B and 2.0–14.0 μg mL−1 for two PN impurities. The proposed models could determine NZ and PN with respective detection limits of 0.447 and 1.750 μg mL−1 for PLS, and 0.494 and 2.093 μg mL−1 for ANN. The two established models were compared favorably with official methods where no significant difference observed.
Synthesis, characterization, and preliminary insights of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles into potential applications, with a focus on gas sensing
Authors: Abdulhamid Zeyad M. , Dabbawala Aasif A. , Delclos Thomas , Straubinger Rainer , Rueping Magnus , Polychronopoulou Kyriaki , Anjum Dalaver H. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThis work presents a hydrothermal-based facile method for synthesizing ZnFe2O4, whose size can be controlled with the concentration of sodium acetate used as a fuel and its physical changes at nanoscales when exposed to two different gases. The structural, morphological, compositional, and electronic properties of the synthesized samples are also presented in this paper. The crystal structure of the synthesized samples was determined using an X-ray Diffractometer (XRD). The results revealed fluctuations in the size, lattice parameter, and strain in the nanoparticles with increasing the concentration of sodium acetate. Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) was used to determine synthesized materials’ morphology and particle size. It revealed that the particles possessed approximately spherical morphology whose size decreased significantly with the increasing amount of sodium acetate. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was utilized to determine the structure, morphology, and elemental distributions in particles at the nanoscale, and it confirmed the findings of XRD and FESEM analyses. The high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) imaging analysis of the nanoparticles in our studied samples revealed that the particles predominantly possessed (001) type facets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and core-loss electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) showed an increasing fraction of Fe2+ with the decreasing size of the particles in samples. The Brunauer, Emmett, and Tellers (BET) analysis of samples revealed a higher surface area as the particle size decreases. In addition, the determined surface area and pore size values are compared with the literature, and it was found that the synthesized materials are promising for gas-sensing applications. The ab initio calculations of the Density of States (DOS) and Band structure of (001) surface terminating ZnFe2O4 were carried out using Quantum Espresso software to determine the bandgap of the synthesized samples. They were compared to their corresponding experimentally determined bandgap values and showed close agreement. Finally, in-situ TEM measurement was carried out on one of the four studied samples with robust properties using Ar and CO2 as reference and target gases, respectively. It is concluded from the presented study that the size reduction of the ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) tunes the bandgap and provides more active sites due to a higher concentration of oxygen vacancies. The in-situ TEM showed us a nanoscale observation of the change in one of the crystal structure parameters. The d spacing of ZnFe2O4 NPs showed a noticeable fluctuation, reaching more than 5% upon exposure to CO2 and Ar gases.
A neck-sparing short stem shows significantly lower blood loss in total hip arthroplasty compared to a neck-resecting short stem
Authors: Stadler Christian , Schauer Bernhard , Brabec Katja , Schopper Clemens , Gotterbarm Tobias , Luger Matthias 
Published: November 2023

AbstractShort stems are associated with a significantly lower blood loss (BL) compared to straight stems in total hip arthroplasty (THA). Different types of stems differ in design, fixation and level of femoral neck osteotomy. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the difference regarding the perioperative BL between two short stems with different designs in direct anterior approach (DAA). A total of 187 THA performed by a single surgeon were analysed. 107 patients received a neck-resecting (Group A) and 80 patients a neck-sparing short stem (Group B). Blood counts of the day before surgery and of two days after surgery were evaluated. Total blood volume and BL were calculated. Additionally, duration of surgery was analysed. The perioperative BL was significantly lower in Group B (451.4 ± 188.4 ml) compared to Group A (546.6 ± 232.7 ml; p = 0.002). The postoperative haematocrit (31.6 ± 3.7% vs. 30.4 ± 4.4%; p = 0.049) and haemoglobin-level (11.0 ± 1.3 g/dL vs. 10.4 ± 1.5 g/dL; p = 0.002) were significantly higher in Group B. Duration of surgery was significantly shorter in Group B (62.0 ± 11.4 min vs. 72.6 ± 21.8 min; p < 0.001). The use of a neck-sparing short stem leads to a significantly decreased BL compared to a neck-resecting short stem in DAA THA. A less extensively conducted capsular release necessary for optimal femoral exposition might lead to a lower perioperative BL and shorter durations of surgery.