bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the implications of access to toilet and water facilities on the health of households in the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana
Authors: Asare Prince Philip Ankapong , Barimah Antwi Joseph , Mensah Catherine , Munkaila Leilat Iddris , Addo Henry Ofosu 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackgroundUncontaminated water and adequate sanitation facilities are of major importance for limiting the incidence of infectious diseases. In Ghana, about 80% of people still do not have access to proper sanitation, including latrines, which have dramatic consequences on human health, dignity, security and the environment. Potable water coverage in the Sunyani municipality stands at 47 percent in the urban areas and 33.5 percent in the rural areas. Many of the households in the Sunyani Municipality do not have toilet facilities, putting pressure on the few existing public toilet facilities available.MethodsUsing a simple random sampling technique, a total of 500 households were selected for the study. Structured questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data. In addition, a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) receiver was used to pick geographic coordinates of various water and toilet facilities. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.ResultsThe results indicate inconsistencies in the spatial distribution of toilet and water facilities with an average distance of 33 meters. The study further revealed the current system of public toilets operating in the towns cannot be resource intensive to meet households’ targets because they do not satisfy sanitation needs (p<0.001). On the contrary, it tends to rather create even more problems, thereby encouraging open defecation. Also, their impact on human and environmental health needs to be taken into account.ConclusionAccess to potable water and improved toilet facility remains a challenge as most households do not have toilets within their homes. Financial constraints, distance travelled and poor condition of public toilets were the main factors determining utilization of public toilet facilities. The types of toilet facilities used in the Municipality influence disease prevalence. The prevalence of cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid, skin rashes and eye infections were as a result of improper or no washing of hands.
Prognostic biomarkers of intracerebral hemorrhage identified using targeted proteomics and machine learning algorithms
Authors: Misra Shubham , Kawamura Yuki , Singh Praveen , Sengupta Shantanu , Nath Manabesh , Rahman Zuhaibur , Kumar Pradeep , Kumar Amit , Aggarwal Praveen , Srivastava Achal K. , Pandit Awadh K. , Mohania Dheeraj , Prasad Kameshwar , Mishra Nishant K. , Vibha Deepti 
Published: December 2023

AbstractEarly prognostication of patient outcomes in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is critical for patient care. We aim to investigate protein biomarkers’ role in prognosticating outcomes in ICH patients. We assessed 22 protein biomarkers using targeted proteomics in serum samples obtained from the ICH patient dataset (N=150). We defined poor outcomes as modified Rankin scale score of 3-6. We incorporated clinical variables and protein biomarkers in regression models and random forest-based machine learning algorithms to predict poor outcomes and mortality. We report Odds Ratio (OR) or Hazard Ratio (HR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI). We used five-fold cross-validation and bootstrapping for internal validation of prediction models. We included 149 patients for 90-day and 144 patients with ICH for 180-day outcome analyses. In multivariable logistic regression, UCH-L1 (aOR 9.23; 95%CI 2.41-35.33), alpha-2-macroglobulin (5.57; 1.26-24.59), and Serpin-A11 (9.33; 1.09-79.94) were independent predictors of 90-day poor outcome; MMP-2 (6.32; 1.82-21.90) was independent predictor of 180-day poor outcome. In multivariable Cox regression models, IGFBP-3 (aHR 2.08; 1.24-3.48) predicted 90-day and MMP-9 (1.98; 1.19-3.32) predicted 180-day mortality. Using machine learning, UCH-L1 and APO-C1 predicted 90-day mortality, and UCH-L1, MMP-9, and MMP-2 predicted 180-day mortality. Overall, random forest models outperformed regression models for predicting 180-day poor outcomes (AUC 0.89), and 90-day (AUC 0.81) and 180-day mortality (AUC 0.81). Serum biomarkers independently predicted short-term poor outcomes and mortality after ICH. Further research utilizing a multiomics platform and temporal profiling is needed to explore additional biomarkers and refine predictive models for ICH prognosis.
Noninvasive vs Invasive Respiratory Support for Patients with Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure
Authors: Mosier Jarrod M , Subbian Vignesh , Pungitore Sarah , Prabhudesai Devashri , Essay Patrick , Bedrick Edward J , Stocking Jacqueline C. , Fisher Julia M 
Published: December 2023

AbstractRationaleNoninvasive respiratory support modalities are common alternatives to mechanical ventilation for patients with early acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. These modalities include noninvasive positive pressure ventilation, using either continuous or bilevel positive airway pressure, and nasal high flow using a high flow nasal cannula system. However, outcomes data historically compare noninvasive respiratory support to conventional oxygen rather than to mechanical ventilation.ObjectivesThe goal of this study was to compare the outcomes of in-hospital death and alive discharge in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure when treated initially with noninvasive respiratory support compared to patients treated initially with invasive mechanical ventilation.MethodsWe used a validated phenotyping algorithm to classify all patients with eligible International Classification of Diseases codes at a large healthcare network between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019 into noninvasive respiratory support and invasive mechanical ventilation cohorts. The primary outcome was time-to-in-hospital death analyzed using an inverse probability of treatment weighted Cox model adjusted for potential confounders, with estimated cumulative incidence curves. Secondary outcomes included time-to-hospital discharge alive. A secondary analysis was conducted to examine potential differences between noninvasive positive pressure ventilation and nasal high flow.ResultsDuring the study period, 3177 patients met inclusion criteria (40% invasive mechanical ventilation, 60% noninvasive respiratory support). Initial noninvasive respiratory support was not associated with a decreased hazard of in-hospital death (HR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.35 - 1.2), but was associated with an increased hazard of discharge alive (HR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.92 - 2.67). In-hospital death varied between the nasal high flow (HR 3.27, 95% CI: 1.43 - 7.45) and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.25 - 1.07), but both were associated with increased likelihood of discharge alive (nasal high flow HR 2.12, 95 CI: 1.25 - 3.57; noninvasive positive pressure ventilation HR 2.29, 95% CI: 1.92 - 2.74),ConclusionThese observational data from a large healthcare network show that noninvasive respiratory support is not associated with reduced hazards of in-hospital death but is associated with hospital discharge alive. There are also potential differences between the noninvasive respiratory support modalities.
Age prediction using resting-state functional MRI
Authors: Chang Jose Ramon , Yao Zai-Fu , Hsieh Shulan , Nordling Torbjörn E. M. 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACTThe increasing lifespan and large individual differences in cognitive capability highlight the importance of comprehending the aging process of the brain. Contrary to visible signs of bodily ageing, like greying of hair and loss of muscle mass, the internal changes that occur within our brains remain less apparent until they impair function. Brain age, distinct from chronological age, reflects our brain’s health status and may deviate from our actual chronological age. Notably, brain age has been associated with mortality and depression. The brain is plastic and can compensate even for severe structural damage by rewiring. Functional characterization offers insights that structural cannot provide. Contrary to the multitude of studies relying on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we utilize resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI). We also address the issue of inclusion of subjects with abnormal brain ageing through outlier removal.In this study, we employ the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) to identify the 39 most predictive correlations derived from the rsfMRI data. The data is from a cohort of 116 healthy right-handed volunteers, aged 18-18 years (9 81 male female, mean age 8, SD 11) collected at the Mind Research Imaging Center at the National Cheng Kung University.We establish a normal reference model by excluding 68 outliers, which achieves a leave-one-out mean absolute error of 2. 8 years. By asking which additional features that are needed to predict the chronological age of the outliers with a smaller error, we identify correlations predictive of abnormal aging. These are associated with the Default Mode Network (DMN).Our normal reference model has the lowest prediction error among published models evaluated on adult subjects of almost all ages and is thus a candidate for screening for abnormal brain aging that has not yet manifested in cognitive decline. This study advances our ability to predict brain aging and provides insights into potential biomarkers for assessing brain age, suggesting that the role of DMN in brain aging should be studied further.
Impact of Insurance Status on Late-Stage Disease Presentation and Disease-Specific Survival among US Patients With Gastric Cancer
Authors: Akhiwu Ted O. , Freeman Jincong Q. , Scott Adam W. , Umutoni Victoria , Kanemo Philip O. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractPurposeThe impact of insurance status on cause-specific survival and late-stage disease presentation among US patients with gastric cancer (GC) has been less well-defined.Materials and MethodsA retrospective study analyzed the 2007-2016 Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results. GC events were defined as GC-specific deaths; patients without the event were censored at the time of death from other causes or last known follow-up. Late-stage disease was stage III-IV. Insurance status was categorized as “uninsured/Medicaid/private.” Five-year survival rates were compared using log-rank tests. Cox regression was used to assess the association between insurance status and GC-specific survival. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship of insurance status and late-stage disease presentation.ResultsOf 5,529 patients, 78.1% were aged ≥50 years; 54.2% were White, 19.4% Hispanic, and 14.0% Black; 73.4% had private insurance, 19.5% Medicaid, and 7.1% uninsured. The 5-year survival was higher for the privately insured (33.9%) than those on Medicaid (24.8%) or uninsured (19.2%) (p<0.001). Patients with Medicaid (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.22, 95%CI: 1.11-1.33) or uninsured (aHR 1.43, 95%CI: 1.25-1.63) had worse survival than those privately insured. The odds of late-stage disease presentation were higher in the uninsured (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.61, 95%CI: 1.25-2.08) or Medicaid (aOR 1.32, 95%CI: 1.12-1.55) group than those with private insurance. Hispanic patients had greater odds of late-stage disease presentation (aOR 1.35, 95%CI: 1.09-1.66) than Black patients.ConclusionsFindings highlight the need for policy interventions addressing insurance coverage among GC patients and inform screening strategies for populations at risk of late-stage disease.
High stakes slow responding, but do not help overcome Pavlovian biases in humans
Authors: Algermissen Johannes , den Ouden Hanneke E. M. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract“Pavlovian” or “motivational” biases are the phenomenon that the valence of prospective outcomes modulates action invigoration: the prospect of reward invigorates actions, while the prospect of punishment suppresses actions. Effects of the valence of prospective outcomes are well established, but it remains unclear how the magnitude of outcomes (“stake magnitude”) modulates these biases. In this pre-registered study (N= 55), we manipulated stake magnitude (high vs. low) in an orthogonalized Motivational Go/NoGo Task. We tested whether higher stakes (a) strengthen biases or (b) elicit cognitive control recruitment, enhancing the suppression of biases in motivationally incongruent conditions. Confirmatory tests showed that high stakes slowed down responding, especially in motivationally incongruent conditions. However, high stakes did not affect whether a response was made or not, and did not change the magnitude of Pavlovian biases. Reinforcement-learning drift- diffusion models (RL-DDMs) fit to the data suggested that response slowing was best captured by stakes prolonging the non-decision time. There was no effect of the stakes on the response threshold (as in typical speed-accuracy tradeoffs). In sum, these results suggest that high stakes slow down responses without affecting the expression of Pavlovian biases in behavior. We speculate that this slowing under high stakes might reflect heightened cognitive control, which is however ineffectively used, or reflect positive conditioned suppression, i.e., the interference between goal-directed and consummatory behaviors, a phenomenon previously observed in rodents that might also exist in humans. Pavlovian biases and slowing under high stakes may arise in parallel to each other.
Temporal Transcriptome Analysis Uncovers Regulatory Modules Programming Embryo Development from Embryonic Morphogenesis to Post-Germination
Authors: Wang Yen-Ching , Hsieh Wei-Hsun , Huang Chu-Jun , Jhan Ya-Ting , Zhan Junpeng , Chang Ching-Chun , Hsieh Tzung-Fu , Lin Jer-Young 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACTWe profiled the soybean seed embryo transcriptome across embryonic development to post-germinative development to understand gene activities and regulatory networks promoting these processes. Transcriptomic landscapes feature highly prevalent transcripts which are categorized into early and late groups with major functions of reserve accumulation and energy generation, respectively, and both functions are dominant during late reserve accumulation as the transitioning stage. During the mid-reserve accumulation, regulatory events simultaneously dominate at the transcriptional and chromatin levels, followed by the emergence of distinct mRNA populations during late reserve accumulation throughout germination. We identified diverse functions conducted by sequentially activated genes across developmental stages. Gene coexpression network analysis reveals modules associated with developmental stages, some of which are enriched in genes with functions involved in specific developmental processes. We identified an early-desiccation-associated gene module, containing most transcription factors responsive to abiotic stress, within which one transcription factor is functionally validated to demonstrate increased drought tolerance in Arabidopsis overexpression lines. Finally, we found that a subset of genes is under purifying selection, surpasses the number of their Arabidopsis germination-specific homologs and most are active before germination from embryonic morphogenesis through dormancy, suggesting a potential role in governing physical dormancy in soybean compared to physiological dormancy in Arabidopsis. Our data represent a step toward identifying genes and regulatory networks in the soybean genome facilitating developmental programs across transition phases to bridge embryonic and germinative development.
Plasticity of the MFS1 promotor is not the only driver of Multidrug resistance in Zymoseptoria tritici
Authors: Patry-Leclaire Simon , Neau Elza , Pitarch Anaïs , Walker Anne-Sophie , Fillinger Sabine 
Published: December 2023

BackgroundMultidrug resistance has been identified in the fungal pathogen responsible for Septoria leaf blotch,Zymoseptoria tritici, since 2011. It has been linked to the overexpression of the gene encoding the MFS1 transporter due to inserts in the promoter region ofMFS1(PMFS1), namely types I-III. Recently, two new inserts were discovered in PMFS1that were not linked to MDR, interrogating about whether PMFS1inserts are the only drivers of MDR inZ. tritici.The goal of our study was to gain a more complete view of MDR inZ. triticiby examining the genotypic diversity associated with the MDR phenotype in a large sample of the modern population.ResultsWe isolated 384 potential MDR strains between 2020 and 2021 in northern Europe for PMFS1genotype and MDR assessment. We discovered six new inserts in PMFS1, bringing the total count to 13 including one insertion-deletion in the 5’ UTR region. Of these, 11 display similarities with transposable elements, and 3 are not linked to MDR. Some field strains were significantly more resistant than their respective reference of the same PMFS1genotype and some strains without insert displayed MDR phenotype.ConclusionWe described the landscape of the MDR in modernZ. triticipopulation and postulate that PMFS1is a hot-spot for insertions involving transposition events. Our study shows that MDR cannot be solely explained by inserts found in PMFS1, and that additional mechanisms might be at work.
Chewing Through Challenges: Exploring the Evolutionary Pathways to Wood-Feeding in Insects
Authors: Beza-Beza Cristian F. , Wiegmann Brian M. , Ware Jessica A. , Petersen Matt , Gunter Nicole , Cole Marissa E. , Schwarz Melbert , Bertone Matthew A. , Young Daniel , Mikaelyan Aram 
Published: December 2023

AbstractDecaying wood, while an abundant and stable resource, presents considerable nutritional challenges due to its structural rigidity, chemical recalcitrance, and low nitrogen content. Despite these challenges, certain insect lineages have successfully evolved saproxylophagy (consuming and deriving sustenance from decaying wood), impacting nutrient recycling in ecosystems and carbon sequestration dynamics. This study explores the uneven phylogenetic distribution of saproxylophagy across insects and delves into the evolutionary origins of this trait in disparate insect orders. Employing a comprehensive analysis of gut microbiome data, encompassing both previously published datasets and newly generated data, from both saproxylophagous insects and their non-saproxylophagous relatives, thisHypothesispaper discusses the broader phylogenetic context and potential morphological, physiological, and symbiotic adaptations necessary for this dietary specialization. The study proposes the “Detritivore-First Hypothesis,” suggesting an evolutionary pathway to saproxylophagy through detritivory, and highlights the critical role of symbiotic gut microbiomes in the digestion of decaying wood. The article aims to provide a deeper understanding of the macroevolutionary landscape and mechanisms underpinning the multiple origins and distribution of saproxylophagy in insects.
Emerging dynamic regimes and tipping points from finite empirical principles
Authors: Cobo-López Sergio , Witt Matthew , Carbajal Lucas J. , Rohwer Forest L. , Luque Antoni 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAll dynamical systems are transient. The dynamics of our world at biogeochemical, ecological, and astronomical scales exist in a transient state because the Earth, Sun, and universe are evolving toward thermodynamic equilibrium. However, predicting the tipping points associated with major dynamical shifts in these systems remains a significant challenge. Here, we introduce a new theoretical framework to predict tipping points. Our approach builds on two empirical principles: Observations occur over a finite time, and changes are perceptible when system variations are substantial relative to reference values. As a consequence, processes governing the dynamics of a system can become inactive over an observation time, and tipping points are reached when the processes switch off or on. The two principles were encoded mathematically, defining dynamic weights: contributions relative to reference values of the dynamic processes to the rate-of-change of agents in the system for a finite observational time. Operationally, processes were considered active if their weights were above a critical threshold. Tipping points were defined as reaching critical thresholds that activated or inactivated processes. This Finite Observational Dynamics Analysis Method (FODAM) predicted that a system with n underlying dynamic processes could display 2ndifferent dynamic regimes. However, the structure of regimes depend on the observational time. The tipping points predicted the conditions for regime shifts. The application of FODAM was illustrated with a Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model featuring the interaction of bacteria and bacteriophage. The error of the method was analyzed and discussed. Also, Colab notebook was developed and deployed online to facilitate the application of the method to other systems. We conclude the article by discussing how our new approach bridges prior frameworks describing tipping point dynamics and critical transitions. We also outline the application of the method to empirical data to predict tipping points in complex systems.
Contrasting urban adaptations of seed dispersal traits in two closely-related plant species
Authors: Nakano Shuhei H , Ushimaru Atushi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractUrbanisation has largely altered city landscapes, resulting in habitat loss, fragmentation, and environmental degradation. City plants often have adapting traits and ecologies to such urban habitat environments. The existing literature on urban adaptation has often focused on species that shrink the abundances in urban areas compared to rural areas. Meanwhile, the studies on species that expand their range in cities remain limited, although they would exhibit different trait responses to urban environments, particularly in dispersal-related traits.In this study, we compared seed dispersal-related traits betweenYoungia japonicasubsp.japonica (Y.j. japonica), which is expanding its range in urban areas and its closely-relativeY.j. elstonii, which is contracting its range in urban areas along an urban-rural gradient of the Osaka-Kobe megacity area. We also examined relationships between seed traits and terminal velocity which influences seed dispersal ability.We found that achene length increased with the degree of urbanisation only inY.j. japonica, while pappus length decreased only inY.j. elstonii. The terminal velocity had a significant relationship only with pappus length inY. japonica.Seed traits of two subspecies with different urban distributions showed different responses to urbanisation. Our results suggest that species expanding their distribution in urban areas has increased seed competitiveness while maintaining dispersal ability. In contrast, species that has shrunk in urban areas likely showed a passive response to urban fragmentation, indicating a loss of seed dispersal ability.