bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Uncertainty‐aware refinement framework for ovarian tumor segmentation in CECT volume
Authors: Hu Jiaqi , Cui Zhiming , Zhang Xiao , Zhang Jiadong , Ge Yuyan , Zhang Honghe , Lu Yan , Shen Dinggang 
Published: October 2023

AbstractBackgroundOvarian cancer is a highly lethal gynecological disease. Accurate and automated segmentation of ovarian tumors in contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images is crucial in the radiotherapy treatment of ovarian cancer, enabling radiologists to evaluate cancer progression and develop timely therapeutic plans. However, automatic ovarian tumor segmentation is challenging due to factors such as inhomogeneous background, ambiguous tumor boundaries, and imbalanced foreground‐background, all of which contribute to high predictive uncertainty for a segmentation model.PurposeTo tackle these challenges, we propose an uncertainty‐aware refinement framework that aims to estimate and refine regions with high predictive uncertainty for accurate ovarian tumor segmentation in CECT images.MethodsTo this end, we first employ an approximate Bayesian network to detect coarse regions of interest (ROIs) of both ovarian tumors and uncertain regions. These ROIs allow a subsequent segmentation network to narrow down the search area for tumors and prioritize uncertain regions, resulting in precise segmentation of ovarian tumors. Meanwhile, the framework integrates two guidance modules that learn two implicit functions capable of mapping query features sampled according to their uncertainty to organ or boundary manifolds, guiding the segmentation network to facilitate information encoding of uncertain regions.ResultsFirstly, 367 CECT images are collected from the same hospital for experiments. Dice score, Jaccard, Recall, Positive predictive value (PPV), 95% Hausdorff distance (HD95) and Average symmetric surface distance (ASSD) for the testing group of 77 cases are 86.31%, 73.93%, 83.95%, 86.03%, 15.17 mm and 2.57 mm, all of which are significantly better than that of the other state‐of‐the‐art models. And results of visual comparison shows that the compared methods have more mis‐segmentation than our method. Furthermore, our method achieves a Dice score that is at least 20% higher than the Dice scores of other compared methods when tumor volumes are less than 20 cm, indicating better recognition ability to small regions by our method. And then, 38 CECT images are collected from another hospital to form an external testing group. Our approach consistently outperform the compared methods significantly, with the external testing group exhibiting substantial improvements across key evaluation metrics: Dice score (83.74%), Jaccard (69.55%), Recall (82.12%), PPV (81.61%), HD95 (12.31 mm), and ASSD (2.32 mm), robustly establishing its superior performance.ConclusionsExperimental results demonstrate that the framework significantly outperforms the compared state‐of‐the‐art methods, with decreased under‐ or over‐segmentation and better small tumor identification. It has the potential for clinical application.
Psychological well‐being as a motive for and result of post‐bariatric body contouring procedures
Authors: Pehlke Britta , Oliveira Filipa , Varnava Charalampos , Nehls Fabian , Wiebringhaus Philipp , Kueckelhaus Maximilian , Hirsch Tobias , Dermietzel Alexander Frederik 
Published: October 2023

AbstractObjectiveThis study investigates whether psychological well‐being in post‐bariatric patients seeking body contouring procedures differs from those who do not seek body contouring procedures, those who have already undergone body contouring procedures, and those who are unsure about body contouring procedures.MethodsAn anonymous, nonrandomized, cross‐sectional survey study was designed. Psychological well‐being of four groups of post‐bariatric‐patients (undergone body contouring procedures, seeking body contouring procedures, not seeking body contouring procedures, unsure about body contouring procedures) were compared.ResultsA total of 345 patients were included in this study. No significant difference between patients seeking body contouring procedures and those not seeking body contouring procedures was found with regard to depressive symptoms, self‐esteem, and body image. Patients who had already undergone body contouring procedures scored lower on depressive symptoms (p = 0.035) and reported feeling more attractive (p < 0.001) and less insecure (p = 0.030) than patients who had not yet undergone body contouring procedures but sought it. Satisfaction with the result of the body contouring procedures was associated with lower depression levels (p < 0.001), higher self‐esteem (p < 0.001) and a more positive body‐image (p < 0.001).ConclusionsDepressive symptoms or low self‐esteem are not motivational factors for post‐bariatric patients to seek body contouring procedures. Body contouring procedures are associated with improvement in psychological well‐being in post‐bariatric patients. Patients' satisfaction with the result of the body contouring procedures is significantly associated with positive psychological well‐being.
The effect of psychotic proneness and psychopathy on theory of mind
Authors: Atakan Begüm , Yildirim Elif 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the interaction between positive psychotic experiences and psychopathic traits on the theory of mind in a non‐clinical sample. The results showed that distinct constructs of psychopathy can lead to distinct theory of mind profiles when interacting with psychotic proneness.
Dynamics and recognition of homeodomain containing protein‐DNA complex of IRX4
Authors: Malik Adil , Jayarathna Dulari K. , Fisher Mark , Barbhuiya Tabassum Khair , Gandhi Neha S. , Batra Jyotsna 
Published: October 2023

AbstractIroquois Homeobox 4 (IRX4) belongs to a family of homeobox TFs having roles in embryogenesis, cell specification, and organ development. Recently, large scale genome‐wide association studies and epigenetic studies have highlighted the role of IRX4 and its associated variants in prostate cancer. No studies have investigated and characterized the structural aspect of the IRX4 homeodomain and its potential to bind to DNA. The current study uses sequence analysis, homology modeling, and molecular dynamics simulations to explore IRX4 homeodomain‐DNA recognition mechanisms and the role of somatic mutations affecting these interactions. Using publicly available databases, gene expression of IRX4 was found in different tissues, including prostate, heart, skin, vagina, and the protein expression was found in cancer cell lines (HCT166, HEK293), B cells, ascitic fluid, and brain. Sequence conservation of the homeodomain shed light on the importance of N‐ and C‐terminal residues involved in DNA binding. The specificity of IRX4 homodimer bound to consensus human DNA sequence was confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations, representing the role of conserved amino acids including R145, A194, N195, S190, R198, and R199 in binding to DNA. Additional N‐terminal residues like T144 and G143 were also found to have specific interactions highlighting the importance of N‐terminus of the homeodomain in DNA recognition. Additionally, the effects of somatic mutations, including the conserved Arginine (R145, R198, and R199) residues on DNA binding elucidated the importance of these residues in stabilizing the protein‐DNA complex. Secondary structure and hydrogen bonding analysis showed the roles of specific residues (R145, T191, A194, N195, R198, and R199) in maintaining the homogeneity of the structure and its interaction with DNA. The differences in relative binding free energies of all the mutants shed light on the structural modularity of this protein and the dynamics behind protein‐DNA interaction. We also have predicted that the C‐terminal sequence of the IRX4 homeodomain could act as a potential cell‐penetrating peptide, emphasizing the role these small peptides could play in targeting homeobox TFs.
Tyrosine phosphorylation of recombinant hirudin increases affinity to thrombin and antithrombotic activity
Authors: Volkova Alina , Semenyuk Pavel 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThrombin is one of the key enzymes of the blood coagulation system and a promising target for the development of anticoagulants. One of the most specific natural thrombin inhibitors is hirudin, contained in the salivary glands of medicinal leeches. The medicinal use of recombinant hirudin is limited because of the lack of sulfation on Tyr63, resulting in a 10‐fold decrease in activity compared to native (sulfated) hirudin. In the present work, a set of hirudin derivatives was tested for affinity to thrombin: phospho‐Tyr63, Tyr63(carboxymethyl)Phe, and Tyr63Glu mutants, which mimic Tyr63 sulfation and Gln65Glu mutant and lysine‐succinylated hirudin, which enhance the overall negative charge of hirudin, as well as sulfo‐hirudin and desulfo‐hirudin as references. Using steered molecular dynamics simulations with subsequent umbrella sampling, phospho‐hirudin was shown to exhibit the highest affinity to thrombin among all hirudin analogs, including native sulfo‐hirudin; succinylated hirudin was also prospective. Phospho‐hirudin exhibited the highest antithrombotic activity in in vitro assay in human plasma. Taking into account the modern methods for obtaining phospho‐hirudin and succinylated hirudin, they are prospective as anticoagulants in clinical practice.
Spatial mixing and the random‐cluster dynamics on lattices
Authors: Gheissari Reza , Sinclair Alistair 
Published: October 2023

AbstractAn important paradigm in the understanding of mixing times of Glauber dynamics for spin systems is the correspondence between spatial mixing properties of the models and bounds on the mixing time of the dynamics. This includes, in particular, the classical notions of weak and strong spatial mixing, which have been used to show the best known mixing time bounds in the high‐temperature regime for the Glauber dynamics for the Ising and Potts models. Glauber dynamics for the random‐cluster model does not naturally fit into this spin systems framework because its transition rules are not local. In this article, we present various implications between weak spatial mixing, strong spatial mixing, and the newer notion of spatial mixing within a phase, and mixing time bounds for the random‐cluster dynamics in finite subsets of for general . These imply a host of new results, including optimal mixing for the random cluster dynamics on torii and boxes on vertices in at all high temperatures and at sufficiently low temperatures, and for large values of quasi‐polynomial (or quasi‐linear when ) mixing time bounds from random phase initializations on torii at the critical point (where by contrast the mixing time from worst‐case initializations is exponentially large). In the same parameter regimes, these results translate to fast sampling algorithms for the Potts model on for general .
Probing and Evaluating the Anion Binding Effects in One‐Walled meso‐Phenylboronic Acid Appended Calix[4]pyrrole (C4P) Based Supramolecular Receptors
Authors: Rather Ishfaq Ahmad , Alam Manawwer , Ali Rashid 
Published: October 2023

AbstractHerein, binding affinities of one‐walled meso‐phenylboronic acid functionalized calix[4]pyrroles (C4Ps, 3 a & 3 b) with diverse anions including spherical, linear, trigonal, and tetrahedral through UV‐Vis spectroscopy have successfully been revealed in acetonitrile solvent. The C4P derivative 3 b was newly synthesized from an easily accessible 3‐acetylphenylboronic acid via both conventional as well as green protocols. Structure of the final compound 3 b and the dipyrromethane (DPM) 2 b, were unambiguously established by means of 1H‐NMR, 13C‐NMR, and HRMS spectral data. From the outcomes of the UV‐Vis titrations of 3 a/3 b with different anions (e. g., F−, Cl−, Br−, I−, NO3−, HSO4−, H2PO4−, CH3COO−, & SCN−), used as their tetrabutylammonium (TBA) salts in CH3CN, 1 : 1 stoichiometric binding mode were observed from the BindFit v0.5 and Job plots. Overall, the binding affinity of receptor (3 b) with different anions were found higher in comparison to the receptor (3 a), presumably due to more cooperative NH and/or OH hydrogen bonding interactions. On the basis of varied size of halide ions, typical trend of anion binding affinity i. e., F−>Cl−>Br−>I−, was detected with increase in size of halide ions from F− to I−. Hopefully, these anion binding investigations with C4P‐based meso‐functionalized architectures will open new possibilities to the researchers to generate even more interesting artificial anion receptors based on vital boronic acid functionality, as biological and chemical importance of the anions is continuously motivating the synthetic chemists worldwide.
Bifunctional Ni Foam Supported TiO2@Ni3S2 core@shell Nanorod Arrays for Boosting Electrocatalytic Biomass Upgrading and H2 Production Reactions
Authors: Wei Meng , Li Mingli , Gao Qiongzhi , Cai Xin , Zhang Shengsen , Fang Yueping , Peng Feng , Yang Siyuan 
Published: October 2023

AbstractReplacing traditional oxygen evoltion reaction (OER) with biomass oxidation reaction (BOR) is an advantageous alternative choice to obtain green hydrogen energy from electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, a novel of extremely homogeneous Ni3S2 nanosheets covered TiO2 nanorod arrays are in situ growth on conductive Ni foam (Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2). The Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2 electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity and long‐term stability for both BOR and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Especially, taking glucose as a typical biomass, the average hydrogen production rate of the HER‐glucose oxidation reaction (GOR) two‐electrode system reached 984.74 µmol h−1, about 2.7 times higher than that of in a common HER//OER two‐electrode water splitting system (365.50 µmol h−1). The calculated power energy saving efficiency of the GOR//HER system is about 13% less than that of the OER//HER system. Meanwhile, the corresponding selectivity of the value‐added formic acid produced by GOR reaches about 80%. Moreover, the Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2 electrode also exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity on a diverse range of typical biomass intermediates, such as urea, sucrose, fructose, furfuryl alcohol (FFA), 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and alcohol (EtOH). These results show that Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2 has great potential in electrocatalysis, especially in replacing OER reaction with BOR reaction and promoting the sustainable development of hydrogen production.
Overcoming Downscaling Limitations in Organic Semiconductors: Strategies and Progress
Authors: Park Taehyun , Kim Minseo , Lee Eun Kwang , Hur Jaehyun , Yoo Hocheon 
Published: October 2023

AbstractOrganic semiconductors have great potential to revolutionize electronics by enabling flexible and eco‐friendly manufacturing of electronic devices on plastic film substrates. Recent research and development led to the creation of printed displays, radio‐frequency identification tags, smart labels, and sensors based on organic electronics. Over the last 3 decades, significant progress has been made in realizing electronic devices with unprecedented features, such as wearable sensors, disposable electronics, and foldable displays, through the exploitation of desirable characteristics in organic electronics. Neverthless, the down‐scalability of organic electronic devices remains a crucial consideration. To address this, efforts are extensively explored. It is of utmost importance to further develop these alternative patterning methods to overcome the downscaling challenge. This review comprehensively discusses the efforts and strategies aimed at overcoming the limitations of downscaling in organic semiconductors, with a particular focus on four main areas: 1) lithography‐compatible organic semiconductors, 2) fine patterning of printing methods, 3) organic material deposition on pre‐fabricated devices, and 4) vertical‐channeled organic electronics. By discussing these areas, the full potential of organic semiconductors can be unlocked, and the field of flexible and sustainable electronics can be advanced.
Regulating Oxygen Redox Chemistry through the Synergistic Effect of Transition‐Metal Vacancy and Substitution Element for Layered Oxide Cathodes
Authors: Cheng Chen , Yan Tianran , Yuan Cheng , Hu Haolv , Xia Xiao , Shen Yihao , Zhou Xi , Zeng Pan , Zhang Liang 
Published: October 2023

AbstractReversible oxygen redox (OR) is considered as a paradigmatic avenue to boost the energy densities of layered oxide cathodes. However, its activation is largely coupled with the local coordination environment around oxygen, which is usually accompanied with irreversible oxygen release and unfavorable structure distortion. Herein, it is revealed that the synergistic effect of transition‐metal (TM) vacancy and substitution element for modulating the OR activity and reversibility of layered Na0.67MnO2 through multimodal operando synchrotron characterizations and electrochemical investigations. It is disclosed that TM vacancy can not only suppress the complicated phase transition but also stimulate the OR activity by creating nonbonding O 2p states via the Na─O─vacancy configurations. Notably, the substitution element plays a decisive role for regulating the reversibility of vacancy‐boosted OR activity: the presence of strong Al─O bonds stabilizes the Mn‐O motifs by sharing O with Al in the rigid Mn─O─Al frameworks, which mitigates TM migration and oxygen release induced by TM vacancy, leading to enhanced OR reversibility; while the introduction of weak Zn─O bonds exacerbates TM migration and irreversible oxygen release. This work clarifies the critical role of both TM vacancy and substitution element for regulating the OR chemistry, providing an effective avenue for designing high‐performance cathodes employing anionic redox.
Pd “Kills Two Birds with One Stone” for the Synthesis of Catalyst: Dual Active Sites of Pd Triggers the Kinetics of O2 Electrocatalysis
Authors: Kumar Greesh , Das Sabuj Kanti , Nayak Chandrani , Dey Ramendra Sundar 
Published: October 2023

AbstractNoble metal‐based catalyst, despite their exorbitant cost, are the only successful catalyst for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis owing to their capability to drive forward the reaction rate kinetically. Therefore, it is desirable to diminish the noble metal loading without any compromise in the catalyst performance. In this study, the aim to achieve two goals with one action via a single‐step route to have ultra‐low loading of Pd in the catalyst. The Pd is used as a catalyst for C─C bond formation followed by complexation reactions or vice versa, in conventional Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling (SMCC) reaction, which yields a Pd‐based porous organic polymer. Interestingly, it is found that dispersed Pd nanocluster (PdNC) is present together with Pd single atom doped into nanocarbon (Pd‐NC) matrix in the catalyst (PdNC/Pd‐NC800) that obtained after pyrolysis of the porous polymer. The catalyst exhibits remarkable bifunctional activity and durability towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Further, it is studied that the in situ attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR‐IR) spectroscopy at different electrochemical potentials during ORR and OER to observe the reaction intermediates. The homemade zinc‐air battery with the catalyst displayed great performance, establishing the significance of PdNC/Pd‐NC800 as a bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst.
Managing asynchronous workloads in a multi‐tenant microservice enterprise environment
Authors: Batista Cesar , Morais Felipe , Cavalcante Everton , Batista Thais , Proença Bruno , Rodrigues Cavalcante William Breno 
Published: October 2023

AbstractA multi‐tenant microservice architecture involving components with asynchronous interactions and batch jobs requires efficient strategies for managing asynchronous workloads. This article addresses this issue in the context of a leading company developing tax software solutions for many national and multi‐national corporations in Brazil. A critical process provided by the company's cloud‐based solutions encompasses tax integration, which includes coordinating complex tax calculation tasks and needs to be supported by asynchronous operations using a message broker to guarantee order correctness. We explored and implemented two approaches for managing asynchronous workloads related to tax integration within a multi‐tenant microservice architecture in the company's context: (i) a polling‐based approach that employs a queue as a distributed lock (DL) and (ii) a push‐based approach named single active consumer (SAC) that relies on the message broker's logic to deliver messages. These approaches aim to achieve efficient resource allocation when dealing with a growing number of container replicas and tenants. In this article, we evaluate the correctness and performance of the DL and SAC approaches to shed light on how asynchronous workloads impact the management of multi‐tenant microservice architectures from delivery and deployment perspectives.
Contextualizing student affairs and services in global higher education
Authors: Jamieson Ian , Coggo Cristofoletti Evandro , Oanda Ibrahim , Saarinen Taina 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThis article outlines major developments in higher education policies in terms of massification, diversification and stratification, marketization, and globalization. Although these developments are global, their local instantiations create a diverse backdrop for student affairs and services. By giving examples from different contexts, we illustrate the various effects that the enlargement of higher education systems, their diversification, pressures to marketize, and increased global mobility have on the provision of student services and access to them. Through these windows, we demonstrate how student services have developed in different contexts and what implications this has on student access to those services. We conclude the article by presenting future topics for student services research and policy.
Perspectives from the Asia region
Authors: Songco Evelyn , Bonnet Ma. Paquita , Loyola Leandro , Loong Teresa W. K. , So Joseph C. H. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe authors in this article share how the Asia Pacific Student Services Association was the impetus in the birth of student affairs and services and talent and development in the region. In Hong Kong, the Philippines, and most recently, in Macao, associations are creating communities of practices to assist in the work of the ever‐changing university environments and the necessity of life‐long learning and progress.
Perspectives from the Middle East Region
Authors: Stryker Courtney , Kruse Theodore , Perozzi Brett , ElKaleh Eman S. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractHigher Education offerings have expanded over the last two decades in the Middle East and North Africa region. As a result, the authors share the beginnings of a regional association tied back to the United States that has created culturally relevant professional development programs and opportunities that enhance how the staff is supporting students.