bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neuronal travelling waves explain rotational dynamics in experimental datasets and modelling
Authors: Kuzmina Ekaterina , Kriukov Dmitrii , Lebedev Mikhail 
Published: February 2024

AbstractSpatiotemporal properties of neuronal population activity in cortical motor areas have been subjects of experimental and theoretical investigations, generating numerous interpretations regarding mechanisms for preparing and executing limb movements. Two competing models, representational and dynamical, strive to explain the relationship between movement parameters and neuronal activity. A dynamical model uses the jPCA method that holistically characterizes oscillatory activity in neuron populations by maximizing the data rotational dynamics. Different rotational dynamics interpretations revealed by the jPCA approach have been proposed. Yet, the nature of such dynamics remains poorly understood. We comprehensively analyzed several neuronal-population datasets and found rotational dynamics consistently accounted for by a traveling wave pattern. For quantifying rotation strength, we developed a complex-valued measure, the gyration number. Additionally, we identified parameters influencing rotation extent in the data. Our findings suggest that rotational dynamics and traveling waves are typically the same phenomena, so reevaluation of the previous interpretations where they were considered separate entities is needed.
Long-term liming changes pasture mineral profile
Authors: Li Guangdi D. , Conyers Mark K. , Refshauge Gordon , Ataollahi Forough , Hayes Richard C. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThere is limited information on changes of pasture mineral concentrations over the long-term in response to liming. A long-term field experiment was conducted to assess the influence of lime application on (a) changes in pasture mineral composition over time; and (b) key pasture mineral concentrations and ratios important to animal health. Perennial and annual pastures with or without lime application were sampled annually over 12 years and analysed for macro- and micro-minerals. Mineral ratios and indices were calculated to assess the potential impact on animal health. Liming increased the concentrations of calcium, sodium and silicon, but decreased the concentrations of micro-nutrients including copper, zinc and manganese. The same trend was found in both annual and perennial pastures although there were some fluctuations between years. Liming increased the calcium:phosphorus ratio and the dietary cation–anion difference but reduced the tetany index on both annual and perennial pastures. These findings suggest a potential benefit to improve animal health outcomes for some disorders on the limed pastures. However, the reduced concentrations of some trace elements following liming potentially decreases antioxidant capacity and requires further research.
Impact of Co3O4 nanoparticles on epoxy's mechanical and corrosion-resistance properties for carbon steel in seawater
Authors: Deyab M. A. , El-Shamy Omnia A. A. , Alghamdi Majed M. , El-Zahhar Adel A. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractCo3O4 nanoparticles (Co3O4-NPs) are synthesized using the facile solvothermal method. FT-IR and XRD spectroscopic analyses verify the creation of cobalt oxide nanoparticles with an average size of 13.20 nm. Furthermore, Zeta potential assessments were carried out to identify the electrical charge of the surface of the produced Co3O4-NPs, which was found to be -20.5 mV. In addition, the average pore size of Co3O4-NPs is 19.8 nm, and their BET surface area is 92.4 m/g. The study also concerned the effect of Co3O4-NPs on epoxy's improvement of mechanical and corrosion protection for carbon steel in salt solution. By including Co3O4-NPs in an epoxy (EP) coating, corrosion is effectively prevented by non-permeable protective coatings that effectively reduce the transfer of corrosion ions and oxygen.
Spinal osteoarthritis is a risk of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women
Authors: Kuroda Tatsuhiko , Shiraki Masataka , Saito Mitsuru , Urano Tomohiko 
Published: February 2024

AbstractRecent studies have revealed that despite high bone mineral density (BMD), osteoarthritis (OA) is a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures. However, the relationship between spinal OA and vertebral fractures has not yet been fully investigated. This longitudinal analysis used a subset of ongoing cohort study consist with Japanese postmenopausal women. The prevalence of spinal OA was determined using Kellgren–Lawrence grading method. The incidence of vertebral fractures were determined by semiquantitative analysis of spinal X-ray films. The relationship between the presence of spinal OA and incidence of vertebral fractures was evaluated using the Cox regression analysis. In total, 1480 women were followed up for 8.1 ± 6.4 years. Among them, 923 were diagnosed with spinal OA, and incident vertebral fractures were observed in 473 participants. After adjusting for confounding variables, the spinal OA (≥ grade 2) was a significant predictor of incident vertebral fractures (hazard ratio, 1.52; 95% confidence interval: 1.19–1.93, p = 0.001). Using ROC analysis, the thresholds of lumbar BMD for incident vertebral fractures were 0.952 g/cm2 for patients with spinal OA and 0.753 g/cm2 for patients without spinal OA. The presence of spinal OA is a risk factor for incident vertebral fractures despite high lumbar BMD.
Doping of casted silk fibroin membranes with extracellular vesicles for regenerative therapy: a proof of concept
Authors: Fuest Sandra , Salviano-Silva Amanda , Maire Cecile L. , Xu Yong , Apel Christian , Grust Audrey Laure Céline , Delle Coste Arianna , Gosau Martin , Ricklefs Franz L. , Smeets Ralf 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBioactive material concepts for targeted therapy have been an important research focus in regenerative medicine for years. The aim of this study was to investigate a proof-of-concept composite structure in the form of a membrane made of natural silk fibroin (SF) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) from gingival fibroblasts. EVs have multiple abilities to act on their target cell and can thus play crucial roles in both physiology and regeneration. This study used pH neutral, degradable SF-based membranes, which have excellent cell- and tissue-specific properties, as the carrier material. The characterization of the vesicles showed a size range between 120 and 180 nm and a high expression of the usual EV markers (e.g. CD9, CD63 and CD81), measured by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and single-EV flow analysis (IFCM). An initial integration of the EVs into the membrane was analyzed using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and vesicles were successfully detected, even if they were not homogeneously distributed in the membrane. Using direct and indirect tests, the cytocompatibility of the membranes with and without EVs could be proven and showed significant differences compared to the toxic control (p < 0.05). Additionally, proliferation of L929 cells was increased on membranes functionalized with EVs (p > 0.05).
Evaluation of the antidermatophytic activity of potassium salts of N-acylhydrazinecarbodithioates and their aminotriazole-thione derivatives
Authors: Ciesielska Anita , Kowalczyk Aleksandra , Paneth Agata , Stączek Paweł 
Published: February 2024

AbstractNowadays, dermatophyte infections are relatively easy to cure, especially since the introduction of orally administered antifungals such as terbinafine and itraconazole. However, these drugs may cause side effects due to liver damage or their interactions with other therapeutics. Hence, the search for new effective chemotherapeutics showing antidermatophyte activity seems to be the urge of the moment. Potassium salts of N-acylhydrazinecarbodithioates are used commonly as precursors for the synthesis of biologically active compounds. Keeping that in mind, the activity of a series of five potassium N-acylhydrazinecarbodithioates (1a–e) and their aminotriazole-thione derivatives (2a–e) was evaluated against a set of pathogenic, keratinolytic fungi, such as Trichophyton ssp., Microsporum ssp. and Chrysosporium keratinophilum, but also against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. All tested compounds were found non-toxic for L-929 and HeLa cells, with the IC30 and IC50 values assessed in the MTT assay above 128 mg/L. The compound 5-amino-3-(naphtalene-1-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5-thione (2d) was found active against all fungal strains tested. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed inhibition of mycelium development of Trichophyton rubrum cultivated on nail fragments and treated with 2d 24 h after infection with fungal spores. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) observation of mycelium treated with 2d showed ultrastructural changes in the morphology of germinated spores. Finally, the RNA-seq analysis indicated that a broad spectrum of genes responded to stress induced by the 2d compound. In conclusion, the results confirm the potential of N-acylhydrazinecarbodithioate derivatives for future use as promising leads for new antidermatophyte agents development.
Atmospheric pollen concentrations and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients visits in Beijing: time series analysis using a generalized additive model
Authors: Liu Aizhu , Sheng Weixuan , Tang Xianshi 
Published: February 2024

AbstractTo investigate the correlation between the daily visits of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in hospital clinic and pollen concentrations in Beijing. We collected daily visits of COPD patients of Beijing Shijitan Hospital from April 1st, 2019 to September 30th, 2019. The relationship between pollen concentrations and COPD patient number was analyzed with meteorological factors, time trend, day of the week effect and holiday effect being controlled by the generalized additive model of time series analysis. R4.1.2 software was applied to generate Spearman correlation coefficient, specific and incremental cumulative effect curves of relative risks as well as the response and three-dimensional diagrams for the exposure lag effect prediction. The fitting models were used to predict the lag relative risk and 95% confidence intervals for specific and incremental cumulative effects of specific pollen concentrations. The number of COPD patients was positively correlated with pollen concentration. When pollen concentration increased by 10 grains/1000 mm2, the peak value of the specific cumulative effect appeared on day0, with the effect gone on day4 and a lag time of 4 days observed, whereas the incremental cumulative effect’s peak value was shown on day17, and the effect disappeared on day18, with a lag time of 18 days. The results showed that pollen concentration was not only positively correlated with the number of COPD patients, but also had a bimodal lag effect on COPD visits in the hospital at Beijing.
Post-hypnotic safety suggestion improves stress coping with long-lasting effects
Authors: Schmidt Barbara , Rohleder Nicolas , Engert Veronika 
Published: February 2024

AbstractEffective coping with acute stress is important to promote mental health and to build stress resilience. Interventions improving stress coping usually require long training periods. In this study, we present a hypnosis-based intervention that produces long-term effects after a single hypnosis session. In that session, we established a post-hypnotic safety suggestion that participants can activate afterwards with a cue, the Jena Safety Anchor. We tested 60 participants in our study who all received the hypnosis session and a stress task. The safety group used the Jena Safety Anchor during acute stress (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST). The control group used a neutral anchor. We measured subjective stress responses via self-reports and physiological stress responses via saliva and blood samples as well as heart rate. One week later, all participants filled in an online survey to measure long-term effects of the post-hypnotic safety suggestion. We found that participants using the Jena Safety Anchor during the TSST reported significantly lower stress compared to the control group. The safety group also reported significantly fewer negative thoughts concerning their TSST performance than the control group during the stress recovery phase and 1 week later. All participants indicated that the Jena Safety Anchor still worked 1 week after its establishment. Suggestibility did not affect the efficacy of the Jena Safety Anchor. Our findings demonstrate that post-hypnotic safety suggestions improve stress coping with long-lasting effects, which makes it a promising intervention to promote mental health and establish stress resilience in just one hypnosis session.
miR-30c affects the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis by regulating target gene VIP
Authors: Dong Xiang , Zhan Yuling , Yang Minghui , Li Suwan , Zheng Hailun , Gao Yu 
Published: February 2024

AbstractMicroRNAs play a crucial role in regulating the epithelial barrier and immune response, which are implicated in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aimed to investigate the role and molecular mechanism of miR-30c in the pathogenesis of UC using a dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS)-induced colitis model, which is similar to ulcerative colitis. Wild-type (WT) and miR-30c knockout (KO) mice were assigned to either control or DSS-treated groups to evaluate the influence of aberrant miR-30c expression on UC pathogenesis. The disease activity index, inflammatory factors, and the extent of pathological and histological damage in colon tissues were analyzed. The effect of miR-30c on vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) gene expression was validated through luciferase reporter assay, qRT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. The results showed that miR-30c KO mice with DSS-induced colitis model showed more severe phenotypes: significantly higher disease activity indices, significant body weight loss, reduced length of the colon of mice, increased number of aberrant crypt structures, reduced mucus secretion, and significant differences in inflammatory factors. These findings suggested that the absence of miR-30c might promote DSS-induced colitis, and the targe-regulatory effect of miR-30c on VIP might play an important role in the development of colitis.
Electrophysiological findings in long-term type 1 diabetes patients without diabetic retinopathy using different ERG recording systems
Authors: Arias-Alvarez Marta , Tomas-Grasa Cristina , Sopeña-Pinilla Maria , Orduna-Hospital Elvira , Fernandez-Espinosa Guisela , Bielsa-Alonso Sofia , Acha-Perez Javier , Rodriguez-Mena Diego , Pinilla Isabel 
Published: February 2024

AbstractTo assess full-field electroretinogram findings in long-term type 1 diabetes patients without diabetic retinopathy. Prospective study including 46 eyes of 23 patients with type 1 diabetes and 46 age-matched healthy eyes evaluated by the RETI-port/scan21 and the portable system RETeval following ISCEV guidelines. The average duration of diabetes was 28.88 ± 8.04 years. In scotopic conditions, using the RETI-port/scan21, diabetic patients showed an increase in b-wave implicit time (IT) (p = 0.017) with the lowest stimuli; a diminished b-wave amplitude (p = 0.005) in the mixed response, an increased IT (p = 0.004) with the high-intensity stimuli and an OP2 increased IT (p = 0.008) and decreased amplitude (p = 0.002). Under photopic conditions, b-wave amplitude was lower (p < 0.001) and 30-Hz flicker response was diminished (p = 0.021). Using the RETeval, in scotopic conditions, diabetic patients showed a reduction in the rod b-wave amplitude (p = 0.009), an increase in a-wave IT with the 280 Td.s stimulus (p = 0.005). OP2 had an increased IT and diminished amplitude (p = 0.003 and p = 0.002 respectively). 16 Td.s flicker showed an increased IT (p = 0.008) and diminished amplitude (p = 0.048). Despite variations in values between both systems, nearly all results displayed positive correlations. Long-term type 1 diabetes patients without diabetic retinopathy exhibit alterations in scotopic conditions, as evidenced by both conventional and portable electroretinogram devices. These findings suggest a modified retinal function, particularly in rod-driven pathways, even in the absence of vascular signs.
Effects of AIDiet intervention to improve diet quality, immuno-metabolic health in normal and overweight PCOS girls: a pilot study
Authors: Mizgier Małgorzata , Więckowska Barbara , Formanowicz Dorota , Lombardi Giovanni , Brożek Alicja , Nowicki Marcin , Durkalec-Michalski Krzysztof , Kędzia Witold , Jarząbek-Bielecka Grażyna 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThis study was conducted in two groups of girls with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) categorized as slim (group N) and overweight-to-obese (group Ov/Ob). The study's primary outcome was to assess the impact of a 12-week anti-inflammatory diet (AIDiet) intervention, without energy deficit, on daily diet quality improvement, evaluated according to the KIDMED index. The secondary outcome was improving inflammatory, redox, hormonal, and metabolic statuses. In the study, which was completed by 13 girls from the Ov/Ob group and 19 girls from the N group, a significant improvement in the mean KIDMED score was obtained. Moreover, the intervention significantly improves concentration of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), fasting insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index, in the Ov/Ob group, while both groups experienced a reduction in the concentration of interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6, tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α), and androstenedione. The AIDiet intervention effectively improved the quality of the subjects' diets, which was associated with the improvement of hormonal and immuno-metabolic markers. However, these changes in normal-weight patients were observed regardless of body weight reduction. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT04738409.
Elder (Sambucus nigra), identified by high-content screening, counteracts foam cell formation without promoting hepatic lipogenesis
Authors: Steinbauer Stefanie , König Alice , Neuhauser Cathrina , Schwarzinger Bettina , Stangl Herbert , Iken Marcus , Weghuber Julian , Röhrl Clemens 
Published: February 2024

AbstractCholesterol deposition in intimal macrophages leads to foam cell formation and atherosclerosis. Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), initiated by efflux of excess cholesterol from foam cells, counteracts atherosclerosis. However, targeting RCT by enhancing cholesterol efflux was so far accompanied by adverse hepatic lipogenesis. Here, we aimed to identify novel natural enhancers of macrophage cholesterol efflux suitable for the prevention of atherosclerosis. Plant extracts of an open-access library were screened for their capacity to increase cholesterol efflux in RAW264.7 macrophages trace-labeled with fluorescent BODIPY-cholesterol. Incremental functional validation of hits yielded two final extracts, elder (Sambucus nigra) and bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.) that induced ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) expression and reduced cholesteryl ester accumulation in aggregated LDL-induced foam cells. Aqueous elder extracts were subsequently prepared in-house and both, flower and leaf extracts increased ABCA1 mRNA and protein expression in human THP-1 macrophages, while lipogenic gene expression in hepatocyte-derived cells was not induced. Chlorogenic acid isomers and the quercetin glycoside rutin were identified as the main polyphenols in elder extracts with putative biological action. In summary, elder flower and leaf extracts increase macrophage ABCA1 expression and reduce foam cell formation without adversely affecting hepatic lipogenesis.
Comparison of retinal thickness measurements among four different optical coherence tomography devices
Authors: Nam Ki Tae , Yun Cheolmin , Seo Myungho , Ahn Somin , Oh Jaeryung 
Published: February 2024

AbstractWe sought to compare the retinal thickness measurements collected using different optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices. This prospective study included 21 healthy cases, and the retinal thickness was measured using the PLEX Elite (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, California, USA), DRI OCT-1 Atlantis (Topcon Corp, Tokyo, Japan), Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec), and Spectralis OCT (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany), respectively. The mean central retinal thickness (CRT) and mean retinal thickness of the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) area were compared. The CRT varied significantly among the different OCT devices (P < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis revealed that the CRT measured using PLEX Elite (278.95 ± 20.04 µm) and Spectralis (271.86 ± 17.92 µm) were similar, and both were greater than the CRT measurements of DRI OCT-1 (239.57 ± 21.06 µm) and Cirrus (256.76 ± 17.82 µm). Additionally, the mean retinal thickness in each ETDRS area showed significant differences among the four devices (all P < 0.001). The mean retinal thickness measured varied according to the device used, and this needs to be considered when comparing retinal thickness measurements taken with different devices.
CDYL for infrared and visible light image dense small object detection
Authors: Wu Huixin , Zhu Yang , Li Shuqi 
Published: February 2024

AbstractTo address the phenomenon of many small and hard-to-detect objects in infrared and visible light images, we propose an object detection algorithm CDYL (Convolution to Fully Connect-ed-Deformable Convolution You only Look once) based on the CFC-DC (Convolution to Fully Connected-Deformable Convolution) module. The core operator of CDYL is CFC-DC, making our model not only have a large effective receptive field in infrared and visible light images, but also have adaptive spatial aggregation conditioned by input and task information. As a result, the CDYL reduces the strict inductive bias of traditional CNNs and has long-range dependence for large kernel convolution as well as adaptive spatial aggregation, deeply mining of edge and correlation information in images to enhance sensitivity to small objects, thereby improving performance in dense small object detection tasks. In order to improve the ability of the CFC-DC module to perceive the detailed information of the image, we use the Mish activation function, which has a wider minima which improves the generalization. The effectiveness as well as the generalization of CDYL is evaluated on an infrared image dataset and an UAV image dataset, and it is compared with other state-of-the-art object detection algorithms. Compared to the baseline network YOLOv8l, our model achieved a 3.0% improvement in mAP0.5 in infrared image detection tasks and a 1.1% improvement in mAP0.5 in visible light image detection tasks. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm achieves superior average precision values on both infrared and visible light images, while maintaining a light weight. Code is publicly available at https://github.com/yangzhu1/CDYL.