bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A bidirectional Mendelian randomisation study to evaluate the relationship between body constitution and hearing loss
Authors: He Yiyan , Karhunen Ville , Pulakka Anna , Kantomaa Marko , Sebert Sylvain 
Published: October 2023

AbstractHearing loss and hearing disorders represent possible mediating pathways in the associations between noise exposures and non-auditory health outcomes. In this context, we assessed whether the noise-obesity associations should consider hearing functions as possible mediators and applied Mendelian randomisation (MR) to investigate causal relationships between body constitution and hearing impairments. We obtained genetic associations from publicly available summary statistics from genome-wide association studies in European ancestry adult populations (N= from 210,088 to 360,564) for (i) body constitution: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and body fat percentage (BFP), and (ii) hearing loss: sensorineural hearing loss, noise-induced hearing loss, and age-related hearing impairment (ARHI). We employed colocalisation analysis to investigate the genetic associations for BMI and ARHI liability within an FTO locus. We conducted bi-directional MR for the ‘forward’ (from body constitution to hearing) and ‘reverse’ directions. We applied the random effects inverse variance-weighted method as the main MR method, with additional sensitivity analyses. Colocalisation analysis suggested that BMI and ARHI shared a causal variant at the FTO gene. We did not find robust evidence for causal associations from body constitution to hearing loss and suggested that some associations may be driven by FTO variants. In the reverse analyses, ARHI was negatively associated with BMI [effect size – 0.22 (95% CI – 0.44 to – 0.01)] and BFP [effect size – 0.23 (95% CI – 0.45 to 0.00)], supporting the notion that ARHI may diminish body constitution. Finally, our data suggest that there is no strong evidence that hearing explains the association between noise exposure and body constitution.
An MR spectroscopy study of temporal areas excluding primary auditory cortex and frontal regions in subjective bilateral and unilateral tinnitus
Authors: Wójcik Joanna , Kochański Bartosz , Cieśla Katarzyna , Lewandowska Monika , Karpiesz Lucyna , Niedziałek Iwona , Raj-Koziak Danuta , Skarżyński Piotr Henryk , Wolak Tomasz 
Published: October 2023

AbstractPrevious studies indicate changes in neurotransmission along the auditory pathway in subjective tinnitus. Most authors, however, investigated brain regions including the primary auditory cortex, whose physiology can be affected by concurrent hearing deficits. In the present MR spectroscopy study we assumed increased levels of glutamate and glutamine (Glx), and other Central Nervous System metabolites in the temporal lobe outside the primary auditory cortex, in a region involved in conscious auditory perception and memory. We studied 52 participants with unilateral (n = 24) and bilateral (n = 28) tinnitus, and a control group without tinnitus (n = 25), all with no severe hearing losses and a similar hearing profile. None of the metabolite levels in the temporal regions of interest were found related to tinnitus status or laterality. Unexpectedly, we found a tendency of increased concentration of Glx in the control left medial frontal region in bilateral vs unilateral tinnitus. Slightly elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms were also shown in participants with tinnitus, as compared to healthy individuals, with the bilateral tinnitus group marginally more affected. We discuss no apparent effect in the temporal lobes, as well as the role of frontal brain areas, with respect to hearing loss, attention and psychological well-being in chronic tinnitus. We furthermore elaborate on the design-related and technical obstacles of MR spectroscopy.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells expression of miR-200c, miR-125b, miR-27b, miR-203, and miR-155 in patients with significant or insignificant coronary artery stenosis
Authors: Saadatian Zahra , Mansoori Yaser , Nariman-Saleh-Fam Lida , Daraei Abdolreza , Vahed Sepideh Zununi , Navid Shadan , Nariman-Saleh-Fam Ziba 
Published: October 2023

AbstractCoronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the principal causes of death worldwide. Among several predisposing factors, inflammation and inflammatory genes play a significant role in disease pathogenesis. Inflammatory microRNAs, small noncoding RNAs involved in regulating inflammation, are promising candidates for understanding pathogenesis of CAD and developing diagnostic biomarkers. The aim of the study was to evaluate the alteration of miR-200c, miR-125b, miR-27b, miR-203 and, miR-155 in patients suffering from coronary artery stenosis and insignificant coronary artery stenosis compared to healthy subjects. In this study we compared expressions of five inflammatory miRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 72 patients suffering significant coronary artery stenosis (CAD), 74 individuals without coronary artery disease and 30 individuals with insignificant coronary artery stenosis (ICAD). After blood collection, PBMCs were isolated and RNA was extracted. Gene expression levels were assessed by SYBR green based real-time PCR. Statistical analysis was performed using R program. Expression levels of miR-200c, miR-203, and miR-155 were lower in subjects with ICAD than that in CAD patients and subjects of the control group. MiR-125b was downregulated in CAD and ICAD groups compared to the control group. PBMC miR-27b was upregulated in the CAD group as compared to the ICAD and control groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis verified potential of three miRNAs in separating subjects with ICAD from CAD patients and healthy individuals. In conclusion, this original investigation suggested that altered expression of these five miRNAs may serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker discriminating clinical presentations of coronary artery diseases.
Understanding the hot isostatic pressing effectiveness of laser powder bed fusion Ti-6Al-4V by in-situ X-ray imaging and diffraction experiments
Authors: Mishurova Tatiana , Evsevleev Sergei , Piault Pierre , King Andrew , Henry Laura , Bruno Giovanni 
Published: October 2023

AbstractIn the present study, in-situ observation of Hot Isostatic Pressure (HIP) procedure of laser powder bed fusion manufactured Ti-6Al-4V parts was performed to quantitatively estimate the densification rate of the material and the influence of the defect initial size and shape on such rate. The observations were performed in-situ using the Ultrafast Tomography Paris-Edinburgh Cell and the combination of fast phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray tomography and energy dispersive diffraction. With this strategy, we could quantify how the effectiveness of HIP depends on the characteristics of a defect. Smaller defects showed a higher densification rate, while the defect shape did not have significant effect on such rate.
Detection of Ponzi scheme on Ethereum using machine learning algorithms
Authors: Onu Ifeyinwa Jacinta , Omolara Abiodun Esther , Alawida Moatsum , Abiodun Oludare Isaac , Alabdultif Abdulatif 
Published: October 2023

AbstractSecurity threats posed by Ponzi schemes present a considerably higher risk compared to many other online crimes. These fraudulent online businesses, including Ponzi schemes, have witnessed rapid growth and emerged as major threats in societies like Nigeria, particularly due to the high poverty rate. Many individuals have fallen victim to these scams, resulting in significant financial losses. Despite efforts to detect Ponzi schemes using various methods, including machine learning (ML), current techniques still face challenges, such as deficient datasets, reliance on transaction records, and limited accuracy. To address the negative impact of Ponzi schemes, this paper proposes a novel approach focusing on detecting Ponzi schemes on Ethereum using ML algorithms like random forest (RF), neural network (NN), and K-nearest neighbor (KNN). Over 20,000 datasets related to Ethereum transaction networks were gathered from Kaggle and preprocessed for training the ML models. After evaluating and comparing the three models, RF demonstrated the best performance with an accuracy of 0.94, a class-score of 0.8833, and an overall-score of 0.96667. Comparative evaluations with previous models indicate that our model achieves high accuracy. Moreover, this innovative work successfully detects key fraud features within the Ponzi scheme dataset, reducing the number of features from 70 to only 10 while maintaining a high level of accuracy. The main strength of this proposed method lies in its ability to detect clever Ponzi schemes from their inception, offering valuable insights to combat these financial threats effectively.
Automated detection, segmentation and measurement of major vessels and the trachea in CT pulmonary angiography
Authors: Kahraman Ali T. , Fröding Tomas , Toumpanakis Dimitrios , Sladoje Nataša , Sjöblom Tobias 
Published: October 2023

AbstractMediastinal structure measurements are important for the radiologist’s review of computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) examinations. In the reporting process, radiologists make measurements of diameters, volumes, and organ densities for image quality assessment and risk stratification. However, manual measurement of these features is time consuming. Here, we sought to develop a time-saving automated algorithm that can accurately detect, segment and measure mediastinal structures in routine clinical CTPA examinations. In this study, 700 CTPA examinations collected and annotated. Of these, a training set of 180 examinations were used to develop a fully automated deterministic algorithm. On the test set of 520 examinations, two radiologists validated the detection and segmentation performance quantitatively, and ground truth was annotated to validate the measurement performance. External validation was performed in 47 CTPAs from two independent datasets. The system had 86–100% detection and segmentation accuracy in the different tasks. The automatic measurements correlated well to those of the radiologist (Pearson’s r 0.68–0.99). Taken together, the fully automated algorithm accurately detected, segmented, and measured mediastinal structures in routine CTPA examinations having an adequate representation of common artifacts and medical conditions.
Co-infection dynamics of COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS
Authors: Batu Tesfaneh Debele , Obsu Legesse Lemecha , Deressa Chernet Tuge 
Published: October 2023

AbstractAlthough there are many results that can be used to treat and prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), these diseases continue to be public health concerns and cause socioeconomic consequences. Following compromised immunity, COVID-19 is considered to be a challenge for people with HIV. People with advanced HIV are considered a vulnerable population at high risk in several case studies that discuss COVID-19 and HIV co-infection. As there is no cure for HIV and there is a chance of contracting COVID-19 again, co-infection continues to pose a problem. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of intervention strategies and identify the role of different parameters in risking people living with HIV to death when they get infected with COVID-19. This is achieved through the development and rigorous analysis of a mathematical model that considers a population at risk of death due to COVID-19 and HIV. The model formulation provides a detailed explanation of the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 and HIV co-infection. The solution’s invariant region, positivity, and boundedness were established. The reproduction numbers of the sub-models and the co-infection model were determined. The existence and stability of equilibria, including backward bifurcation for the COVID-19 sub-model, were examined. The epidemiological significance of backward bifurcation is that the condition $${\mathscr {R}}_0$$

R
0

less than 1 for eliminating COVID-19, though necessary, is no longer sufficient. Parametric estimation and curve fitting were performed based on data from Ethiopia. Numerical simulations were employed to support and clarify the analytical findings and to show some parameter effects on COVID-19 and HIV co-infection. Accordingly, the simulations indicated that parameters $$\gamma _c$$

γ
c

, $$\gamma _h$$

γ
h

, $$\epsilon$$
ϵ
, and $$\kappa$$
κ
, related to HIV patients’ exposure to other diseases and the increase in infectiousness, have a positive role in increasing the number of co-infections. On the other hand, an increase in COVID-19 vaccination ($$\xi$$
ξ
) shows the suppression of co-infection cases. In addition, treating co-infected individuals for COVID-19, increasing treatment rates $$\alpha$$
α
and $$\varphi$$
φ
, reduces the death risk of HIV-infected individuals due to the co-infection burden. It was implied that improving vaccine delivery programs and other medical interventions have important contributions to lowering the risk of COVID-19 infection-related fatalities in HIV patients.
Characteristics, distribution, and origin of ferruginous deposits within the Late Ordovician glaciogenic setting of Arabia
Authors: Alqubalee Abdullah , Salisu Anas Muhammad , Bello Abdulwahab Muhammad , Al-Hussaini Abdulkarim , Al-Ramadan Khalid 
Published: October 2023

AbstractFerruginous deposits are iron-rich sediments or sedimentary rocks found in various sizes, shapes, and compositions within sedimentary strata in different depositional settings. This study investigates the characteristics, distribution, and origin of ferruginous deposits found in the Late Ordovician glaciogenic Sarah Formation and surrounding deposits in central Saudi Arabia. Several types of ferruginous deposits have been identified through field observations and laboratory investigations, including thin-section petrography, geochemical, surface, and bulk mineralogical analyses, and computed tomography scans. The identified ferruginous deposits include solid and rinded concretions, pipes, layers, ferricretes, liesegang bands, and fracture infills. They were associated with the periglacial and proglacial facies of the Sarah Formation. For instance, ferruginous deformed layers were mainly observed in subglacial facies, while rinded concretions occurred in bleached glaciofluvial facies. Ferruginous deposits were also found in the uppermost parts of non-glacial facies, such as the shallow marine Quwarah Member of the Qasim Formation and the braided deltaic Sajir Member of the Saq Formation. Compositionally, goethite was the dominant iron oxide mineral in all ferruginous deposits, and it is mostly distributed as cement, filling pore spaces. In comparison to ferruginous deposits reported in different depositional settings on Earth and Mars, the studied ferruginous deposits in an ancient glaciogenic setting exhibit different mineralogical characteristics. Specifically, the studied solid concretions are less abundant and primarily amalgamated, while the rinded concretions appear to be more mature than those reported in other depositional environments. This study suggests that the weathered basement rocks of the Arabian Shield were the primary source of iron. The iron-bearing rocks were eroded and transported by Hirnantian glaciation and deglaciation processes.
Population genomics reveals how 5 ka of human occupancy led the Lima leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus sentosus) to the brink of extinction
Authors: Arana Alejandra , Esteves Juan , Ramírez Rina , Galetti Pedro M. , Pérez Z. José , Ramirez Jorge L. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractSmall species with high home fidelity, high ecological specialization or low vagility are particularly prone to suffer from habitat modification and fragmentation. The Lima leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus sentosus) is a critically endangered Peruvian species that shelters mostly in pre-Incan archeological areas called huacas, where the original environmental conditions are maintained. We used genotyping by sequencing to understand the population genomic history of P. sentosus. We found low genetic diversity (He 0.0406–0.134 and nucleotide diversity 0.0812–0.145) and deviations of the observed heterozygosity relative to the expected heterozygosity in some populations (Fis − 0.0202 to 0.0187). In all analyses, a clear population structuring was observed that cannot be explained by isolation by distance alone. Also, low levels of historical gene flow were observed between most populations, which decreased as shown in contemporary migration rate analysis. Demographic inference suggests these populations experienced bottleneck events during the last 5 ka. These results indicate that habitat modification since pre-Incan civilizations severely affected these populations, which currently face even more drastic urbanization threats. Finally, our predictions show that this species could become extinct in a decade without further intervention, which calls for urgent conservation actions being undertaken.
The prevalence and risk factors for physical impairments in Chinese post-cancer treated breast cancer survivors: a 4 years’ cross-sectional study at a single center
Authors: Chen Dan , Li Li , Jiang Liu-Ya , Jia Jie 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe incidence of breast cancer in China was 19.2% in 2018, with a five-year survival rate of up to 80%. The impairments that may result from breast cancer treatment, such as lymphedema, pain, and symptoms related to nerve damage, could have long-term side effects. Its prevalence and symptom profile have been commonly reported in various countries, but such data are rarely available for China. Physical function was assessed in 138 breast cancer survivors (BCSs) in the study. The prevalence of lymphedema (65.9%) was higher than that of pain (31.2%), shoulder range of motion (ROM) restriction (20.3%), grip strength restriction (GSR) (21.7%) and paresthesia (11.6%). These impairments mainly appeared within 28 months after breast cancer diagnosis, but could happen in 10 years. Carcinoma in situ and radiotherapy (RT) were related to the occurrence of lymphedema (respectively B = -1.8, p = 0.003; B = 1.3, p = 0.001). RT and delayed rehabilitation time (DRT) may increase the severity of lymphedema (respectively p = 0.003, p = 0.010). Breast conserving surgery (B = -2.1, p = 0.002) and the occurrence of AWS (B = 3.1, p = 0.006) were related to the occurrence of pain. The occurrence of brachial plexus injury (BPI) (B = 3.1, p < 0.001) and pain (B = 1.9, p = 0.002) improved the occurrence of shoulder ROM restriction. The occurrence of BPI (B = 3.6, p < 0.001) improved the occurrence of GSR. The occurrence of pain (B = 2.1, p = 0.001) improved the occurrence of paresthesia. These findings prompt us to further investigate the actual rehabilitation needs of survivors and the specific barriers to rehabilitation in the following research.
Novel, clinically relevant genomic patterns identified by comprehensive genomic profiling in ATRX-deficient IDH-wildtype adult high-grade gliomas
Authors: Bedics Gábor , Szőke Péter , Bátai Bence , Nagy Tibor , Papp Gergő , Kránitz Noémi , Rajnai Hajnalka , Reiniger Lilla , Bödör Csaba , Scheich Bálint 
Published: October 2023

AbstractGlioblastomas are the most common IDH-wildtype adult high-grade gliomas, frequently harboring mutations in the TERT gene promoter (pTERT) and utilizing the subsequent telomerase overexpression for telomere length maintenance. However, some rare cases show loss of ATRX and use alternative mechanisms of telomere lengthening. In this study, we performed the first complex genomic analysis specifically concentrating on the latter subgroup. Comprehensive genomic profiling of 12 ATRX-deficient and 13 ATRX-intact IDH-wildtype adult high-grade gliomas revealed that ATRX and pTERT mutations are mutually exclusive. DNMT3A alterations were confined to ATRX-deficient, while PTEN mutations to ATRX-intact cases. RAS–MAPK pathway alterations, including NF1 mutations, were more characteristic in the ATRX-deficient group. Variants of genes related to homologous recombination repair showed different patterns of affected genes. Two ATRX-deficient tumors with high tumor mutational burden and mismatch repair deficiency were found. One of these contained a novel fusion involving the NTRK2 and LRRFIP2 genes, while the other showed loss of MSH2 and MSH6 without genetic alterations in the encoding genes suggesting an epigenetic background. Genetic characteristics of ATRX-deficient IDH-wildtype adult high-grade gliomas suggest that these tumors are particularly intriguing targets of potential future therapeutic interventions including immunotherapies combined with MAPK pathway inhibition and DNA repair inhibitors.
Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analyses of Asian lineage Zika virus whole genome sequences derived from Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes and urine of patients during the 2020 epidemic in Thailand
Authors: Phumee Atchara , Chitcharoen Suwalak , Sutthanont Nataya , Intayot Proawpilart , Wacharapluesadee Supaporn , Siriyasatien Padet 
Published: October 2023

AbstractZika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has been continually emerging and re-emerging since 2010, with sporadic cases reported annually in Thailand, peaking at over 1000 confirmed positive cases in 2016. Leveraging high-throughput sequencing technologies, specifically whole genome sequencing (WGS), has facilitated rapid pathogen genome sequencing. In this study, we used multiplex amplicon sequencing on the Illumina Miseq instrument to describe ZIKV WGS. Six ZIKV WGS were derived from three samples of field-caught Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes (two males and one female) and three urine samples collected from patients in three different provinces of Thailand. Additionally, successful isolation of a ZIKV isolate occurred from a female Cx. quinquefasciatus. The WGS analysis revealed a correlation between the 2020 outbreak and the acquisition of five amino acid changes in the Asian lineage ZIKV strains from Thailand (2006), Cambodia (2010 and 2019), and the Philippines (2012). These changes, including C-T106A, prM-V1A, E-V473M, NS1-A188V, and NS5-M872V, were identified in all seven WGS, previously linked to significantly higher mortality rates. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis indicated that the seven ZIKV sequences belonged to the Asian lineage. Notably, the genomic region of the E gene showed the highest nucleotide diversity (0.7–1.3%). This data holds significance in informing the development of molecular tools that enhance our understanding of virus patterns and evolution. Moreover, it may identify targets for improved methods to prevent and control future ZIKV outbreaks.
The quest for the reliability of machine learning models in binary classification on tabular data
Authors: Araujo Santos Vitor Cirilo , Cardoso Lucas , Alves Ronnie 
Published: October 2023

AbstractIn this paper we explore the reliability of contexts of machine learning (ML) models. There are several evaluation procedures commonly used to validate a model (precision, F1 Score and others); However, these procedures are not linked to the evaluation of learning itself, but only to the number of correct answers presented by the model. This characteristic makes it impossible to assess whether a model was able to learn through elements that make sense of the context in which it is inserted. Therefore, the model could achieves good results in the training stage but poor results when the model needs to be generalized. When there are many different models that achieve similar performance, the model that presented the highest number of hits in training does not mean that this model is the best. Therefore, we created a methodology based on Item Response Theory that allows us to identify whether an ML context is unreliable, providing an extra and different validation for ML models.