bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Body Composition Parameters, Adiponectin, Leptin and Adiponectin/Leptin Ratio are Correlated with LH/FSH Ratio in Women with PCOS but not in Women without PCOS
Authors: Gita Pratama  , Wiweko Budi , Asmarinah  , Widyahening Indah Suci , Andraini Trinovita , Hartanto Bayuaji  , Andon Hestiantoro  
Published: February 2024

Objective: To investigate the correlation between body composition parameters, adiponectin, leptin and the adiponectin/leptin ratio and the LH/FSH ratio in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Reproductive Cluster Yasmin, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia, with sixty women with PCOS and sixty healthy women as controls (matched for age and BMI). Body composition parameters, including body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to hip ratio (WHR), percent body fat (PBF), visceral fat area (VFA), percent subcutaneous fat (PSF) and skeletal muscle mass (SMM), were measured; levels of fasting glucose, fasting insulin, testosterone, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were measured; and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values, anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), free androgen index (FAI), Ferriman-Gallwey (FG) score, adiponectin levels, leptin levels, adiponectin/leptin ratio, LH, FSH and LH/FSH ratio were measured.
Results: Body composition parameters (body weight, BMI, WC, WHR, PBF, VFA, PSF, SMM) were not significantly different between women with PCOS and controls. Fasting insulin (P<0.05), HOMA-IR (P<0.05), AMH (P<0.01), FAI (P<0.01), FG score (P<0.01) and LH/FSH ratio (P<0.05) were higher in PCOS women. Adiponectin (P<0.01) was lower in PCOS women, while leptin and the adiponectin/leptin ratio were not significantly different between groups. Most of body composition parameters, adiponectin, leptin and adiponectin/leptin ratio were correlated with HOMA-IR in both groups.
SMM was positively correlated with the LH/FSH ratio, while body weight, BMI, WC, PBF, VFA, and PSF were inversely correlated with the LH/FSH ratio in PCOS patients but not in controls. WHR was not correlated in either group. Leptin (r=-0.278; P<0.05) was negatively correlated with the LH/FSH ratio only in the PCOS group. Adiponectin (r=0.394; P<0.01) and the adiponectin/leptin ratio (r=0.413; P<0.01) were also positively correlated with the LH/FSH ratio only in the PCOS group. AMH was correlated with the LH/FSH ratio, whereas testosterone level, FAI, FG score, fasting insulin level and HOMA-IR value were not correlated with the LH/FSH ratio in PCOS women.
Conclusion: Most of the body composition parameters, leptin, adiponectin and the adiponectin/leptin ratio were significantly correlated with HOMA-IR in both groups. However, correlations of those parameters with LH/FSH ratio were found only in PCOS but not in women without PCOS. Adiponectin and leptin may play a significant role in the mechanism of neuroendocrine disorders in PCOS, which is characterized by an increased LH/FSH ratio.
Keywords: adiponectin, adiponectin/leptin ratio, body composition, HOMA-IR, leptin, LH/FSH ratio, PCOS
Strategie rozwoju miast po reformie systemu zarządzania rozwojem - pierwsze doświadczenia i oceny
Authors: Maleszyk Piotr 
Published: February 2024

Celem artykułu jest ocena procesu tworzenia i zawartości strategii rozwoju miast w kontekście założeń reformy systemu zarządzania rozwojem z 2020 r. oraz rekomendacji zawartych w literaturze. Ocena koncentruje się na trzech aspektach: integracji planowania rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego i przestrzennego, uspołecznienia prac nad strategią oraz systemie wdrażania strategii. Analizą objęto cztery miasta wojewódzkie, które jako pierwsze uchwaliły nowe strategie: Gorzów Wielkopolski, Łódź, Białystok i Lublin. Realizacji celu badawczego służył przegląd strategii i miejskich raportów oraz wywiady z osobami odpowiedzialnymi za tworzenie strategii. Wyniki badań potwierdzają, że postulat integracji planowania rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego i przestrzennego okazał się trudny w realizacji, a zmiany legislacyjne nie doprowadziły do przezwyciężenia dysfunkcji planowania rozwoju. Znacznie lepiej samorządy poradziły sobie z realizacją postulatów zarządzania partycypacyjnego, pomimo ograniczeń wynikających z pandemii. W systemach wdrażania strategii pozytywnie oceniono założenia monitorowania i ewaluacji, więcej zastrzeżeń wzbudził instytucjonalny system wdrażania. W artykule omówiono motywacje samorządów wyjaśniające ich podejście do strategii terytorialnych, wskazano dobre praktyki i rekomendacje dla polityki rozwoju oraz zaprezentowano oceny zmian legislacyjnych formułowane przez przedstawicieli miast.
The concept of the “co-created city” – experiences and visions of its implementation from the viewpoint of the Łódź authorities and Municipal Office stakeholders
Authors: Kretek-Kamińska Agnieszka , Brzeziński Kamil 
Published: February 2024

In November 2021, the Łódź City Council adopted the “City Development Strategy – Łódź 2030+” document. The strategy used the “cocreated city” catchword as its guiding idea. Also in 2021, the Łódź Foundation launched the Project “Łódź as a Co-Created And Co-Governed City”, which included a series of individual in-depth interviews with local journalists and municipal office stakeholders. For the purposes of this article, the collected research material was analysed in terms of current application of the governance concept elements. The visions of city governance offered by the authorities and by representatives of various stakeholder groups were also compared to each other. Moreover, an attempt was made to analyse the possible directions for the implementation of these visions. The conducted analyses show that the directions of activities to be undertaken in order to make the idea of governance a reality have been identified and described in a similar way by both the Łódź Municipal Office and the stakeholders. The differences between the two visions are the result of participatory, not always positive, experiences of stakeholders. Based on the hypothetical directions of implementing the idea of governance, either a variant assuming a new opening in relations with stakeholders or a variant of continued apparent activities appears likely.
The importance of urbanization in the process of shaping the “ubiquitous city” on the example of Songdo International Business District, South Korea
Authors: Potera Natalia 
Published: February 2024

Both the smart city and U-city concepts were created as a response to the challenges related to the increasing level of urbanization and the further development of the latest technologies. These so-called smart cities are designed to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve operational efficiency, make information available to the public, provide better government services and increase the overall level of well-being of citizens. In this article the author will analyze the development of the “smart city” concept, and then present her conclusions and observations based on the example of the South Korean city of Songdo, which is currently one of the most progressive business centers of the ubiquitous city type. Subsequently she will answer two main research questions: 1. What distinguishes a ubiquitous city from a standard smart city project? 2. What are the obstacles, challenges, and incentives for further development in the implementation of the above concept in South Korea? Two main research methods will be used in the article – a comparative method, helpful in identifying visible links between similar phenomena and entities, and a content analysis method, based on a literature review on the topics covered in the work, including issues related to the city of Songdo.
The potential of blue-green infrastructure in spatial revitalization – application in Municipal Revitalization Programs
Authors: Cichocki Michał , Chruściel Klaudia 
Published: February 2024

Opposing the spatial degeneration of cities requires a wide range of efforts which combine, among others, activities related to blue and green infrastructure (BGI). This paper examines the scope and manner of using BGI to revitalise space in municipal revitalisation programmes (MRP). In the first part of the study, the theoretical framework for the studied issues has been outlined based on subject literature. The manner of understanding BGI and revitalisation in the current legal system has been defined. The analysis covered 60 MRPs from 2016 to 2021 in accordance with the methodology set out in the second part of the study, based on how often BGI appeared in key MRP sections such as in-depth diagnosis of revitalisation area, the objectives and directions of the process, and the revitalisation projects. The last part of the paper describes the results of analysis and their evaluation. One of the main conclusions of the work we conducted is that BGI elements appear quite frequently in revitalisation programmes; however, their full potential remains untapped. The projects carried out in the studied area have rarely had the form of complex urban projects. The main method of using BGI in MRPs is currently the technical dimension that focuses on improving the quality of existing resources. To a lesser extent, revitalisation projects that use the BGI concept are reflected in the social and occasionally in the natural dimension.
The causal effect of hypertension, intraocular pressure, and diabetic retinopathy: a Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Wang Xiao-Fang , Zhang Xiao-Wen , Liu Ya-Jun , Zheng Xin-Yu , Su Meng-Ru , Sun Xing-Hong , Jiang Feng , Liu Zhi-Nan 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundPrevious research has indicated a vital association between hypertension, intraocular pressure (IOP), and diabetic retinopathy (DR); however, the relationship has not been elucidated. In this study, we aim to investigate the causal association of hypertension, IOP, and DR.MethodsThe genome-wide association study (GWAS) IDs for DR, hypertension, and IOP were identified from the Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) Open GWAS database. There were 33,519,037 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a sample size of 1,030,836 for DR. There were 16,380,466 SNPs and 218,754 participants in the hypertension experiment. There were 9,851,867 SNPs and a sample size of 97,465 for IOP. Univariable, multivariable, and bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) studies were conducted to estimate the risk of hypertension and IOP in DR. Moreover, causality was examined using the inverse variance weighted method, and MR results were verified by numerous sensitivity analyses.ResultsA total of 62 SNPs at the genome-wide significance level were selected as instrumental variables (IVs) for hypertension-DR. The results of univariable MR analysis suggested a causal relationship between hypertension and DR and regarded hypertension as a risk factor for DR [p = 0.006, odds ratio (OR) = 1.080]. A total of 95 SNPs at the genome-wide significance level were selected as IVs for IOP-DR. Similarly, IOP was causally associated with DR and was a risk factor for DR (p = 0.029, OR = 1.090). The results of reverse MR analysis showed that DR was a risk factor for hypertension (p = 1.27×10-10, OR = 1.119), but there was no causal relationship between DR and IOP (p &gt; 0.05). The results of multivariate MR analysis revealed that hypertension and IOP were risk factors for DR, which exhibited higher risk scores (p = 0.001, OR = 1.121 and p = 0.030, OR = 1.124, respectively) than those in univariable MR analysis. Therefore, hypertension remained a risk factor for DR after excluding the interference of IOP, and IOP was still a risk factor for DR after excluding the interference of hypertension.ConclusionThis study validated the potential causal relationship between hypertension, IOP, and DR using MR analysis, providing a reference for the targeted prevention of DR.
Effects of serial radon spa therapy on pain and peripheral immune status in patients suffering from musculoskeletal disorders– results from a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Donaubauer Anna-Jasmina , Becker Ina , Klein Gerhart , Voll Reinhard E. , Weikl Lena , Klieser Martin , Barzangi Shakar , Zhou Jian-Guo , Fietkau Rainer , Gaipl Udo S. , Frey Benjamin 
Published: February 2024

In this randomized, placebo-controlled cross-over trial we aimed to investigate if radon spa therapy exerts more pain relief than exposure to warm water alone. In addition, immunological parameters were assessed in both treatment groups. In the RAD-ON02 trial, 116 patients suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) received either serial radon spa or solely warm water baths. Pain intensity was assessed by determination of different pain parameters on a visual analogue scale and by pressure point dolorimetry at baseline and at weeks 4, 12 and 24. The longitudinal immune status of the patients was analyzed by a flow cytometry-based assay from peripheral blood at the time points of pain assessments. There were no side effects attributable to radon exposure observed. However, radon spa was superior to warm water applications at week 4 in terms of pain reduction. Pain and morning stiffness at the time of assessment were significantly reduced after radon spa (p&lt;0.001, p&lt;0.01) but not after warm water baths. The dolorimetry resulted in a significantly higher exerted pressure strength in patients after radon spa (p&lt;0.001), but not after warm water applications. During the long-term follow-up, both treatment modalities reduced pain to a similar degree and pain modulation was not distorted by the participants’ intake of analgesics. No significant changes in the immune status attributable specifically to radon were found, even though the increase in regulatory T cell counts occurs earlier after radon baths than after sole warm water baths and a higher level of significance is reached after radon spa at week 24. Serial radon spa has additive pain-relieving effects. The immunological parameters assessed in our study appear not to be directly linked to the pain reduction caused by radon exposure, at least in MSD patients with predominantly degenerative diseases.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search?query=rad-on02, identifier 2016-002085-31; https://drks.de/search/de/trial, identifier DRKS00016019.
Development and application of the direct mycobacterial growth inhibition assay: a systematic review
Authors: Painter Hannah , Harriss Eli , Fletcher Helen A. , McShane Helen , Tanner Rachel 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionFirst described by Wallis et al. in 2001 for the assessment of TB drugs, the direct mycobacterial growth inhibition assay (MGIA) offers a tractable ex vivo tool measuring the combined influences of host immunity, strain virulence and intervention effects. Over the past 13 years, we have led efforts to adapt the direct MGIA for the assessment of TB vaccines including optimisation, harmonisation and validation of BCG vaccine-induced responses as a benchmark, as well as assay transfer to institutes worldwide.MethodsWe have performed a systematic review on the primary published literature describing the development and applications of the direct MGIA from 2001 to June 2023 in accordance with the PRISMA reporting guidelines.ResultsWe describe 63 studies in which the direct MGIA has been applied across species for the evaluation of TB drugs and novel TB vaccine candidates, the study of clinical cohorts including those with comorbidities, and to further understanding of potential immune correlates of protection from TB. We provide a comprehensive update on progress of the assay since its conception and critically evaluate current findings and evidence supporting its utility, highlighting priorities for future directions.DiscussionWhile further standardisation and validation work is required, significant advancements have been made in the past two decades. The direct MGIA provides a potentially valuable tool for the early evaluation of TB drug and vaccine candidates, clinical cohorts, and immune mechanisms of mycobacterial control.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023423491.
Artificial intelligence-assisted management of retinal detachment from ultra-widefield fundus images based on weakly-supervised approach
Authors: Li Huimin , Cao Jing , You Kun , Zhang Yuehua , Ye Juan 
Published: February 2024

BackgroundRetinal detachment (RD) is a common sight-threatening condition in the emergency department. Early postural intervention based on detachment regions can improve visual prognosis.MethodsWe developed a weakly supervised model with 24,208 ultra-widefield fundus images to localize and coarsely outline the anatomical RD regions. The customized preoperative postural guidance was generated for patients accordingly. The localization performance was then compared with the baseline model and an ophthalmologist according to the reference standard established by the retina experts.ResultsIn the 48-partition lesion detection, our proposed model reached an 86.42% (95% confidence interval (CI): 85.81–87.01%) precision and an 83.27% (95%CI: 82.62–83.90%) recall with an average precision (PA) of 0.9132. In contrast, the baseline model achieved a 92.67% (95%CI: 92.11–93.19%) precision and limited recall of 68.07% (95%CI: 67.25–68.88%). Our holistic lesion localization performance was comparable to the ophthalmologist’s 89.16% (95%CI: 88.75–89.55%) precision and 83.38% (95%CI: 82.91–83.84%) recall. As to the performance of four-zone anatomical localization, compared with the ground truth, the un-weighted Cohen’s κ coefficients were 0.710(95%CI: 0.659–0.761) and 0.753(95%CI: 0.702–0.804) for the weakly-supervised model and the general ophthalmologist, respectively.ConclusionThe proposed weakly-supervised deep learning model showed outstanding performance comparable to that of the general ophthalmologist in localizing and outlining the RD regions. Hopefully, it would greatly facilitate managing RD patients, especially for medical referral and patient education.
Transcriptomic and metabolic analysis unveils the mechanism behind leaf color development in Disanthus cercidifolius var. longipes
Authors: Tian Xiaoming , Xiang Guangfeng , Lv Hao , Zhu Lu , Peng Jing , Li Gaofei , Mou Cun 
Published: February 2024

Introduction: Leaf coloration in Disanthus cercidifolius var. longipes results from the interplay of various pigments undergoing complex catalytic reactions.Methods: We aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of pigment biosynthesis affecting leaf color transition in D. cercidifolius var. longipes by analyzing variations in pigment accumulation and levels of gene expression.Results: We identified 468, 577, and 215 differential metabolites in green leaves (GL), gradual-color-changing leaves (GCCL), and red leaves (RL), respectively, with 94 metabolites shared across all comparisons. Metabolite accumulation patterns were similar among GL, GCCL, and RL, with flavonoids being the main differential metabolites. Delphinidin, malvidin, and petunidin derivatives were mostly accumulated in GCCL, whereas cyanidin, pelargonidin, and peonidin derivatives accumulated in RL. Transcriptome sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed genes. The expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway genes was associated with anthocyanin accumulation patterns.Discussion: Our findings reveal that the content of delphinidin, malvidin, petunidin, and carotenoids collectively determines the gradual transition of leaf color from green in spring and summer to green, purple, and orange-yellow in early autumn, whereas the content of cyanidin, peonidin, pelargonidin, and carotenoids together causes the autumnal transition to red or orange-red colors as leaves of D. cercidifolius var. longipes age.
Increased IgA-mediated responses to the gut paracellular pathway and blood–brain barrier proteins predict delirium due to hip fracture in older adults
Authors: Thisayakorn Paul , Thipakorn Yanin , Tantavisut Saran , Sirivichayakul Sunee , Vojdani Aristo , Maes Michael 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionDelirium is accompanied by immune response system activation, which may, in theory, cause a breakdown of the gut barrier and blood–brain barrier (BBB). Some results suggest that the BBB is compromised in delirium, but there is no data regarding the gut barrier. This study investigates whether delirium is associated with impaired BBB and gut barriers in elderly adults undergoing hip fracture surgery.MethodsWe recruited 59 older adults and measured peak Delirium Rating Scale (DRS) scores 2–3 days after surgery, and assessed plasma IgG/IgA levels (using ELISA techniques) for zonulin, occludin, claudin-6, β-catenin, actin (indicating damage to the gut paracellular pathway), claudin-5 and S100B (reflecting BBB damage), bacterial cytolethal distending toxin (CDT), LPS-binding protein (LBP), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Helicobacter pylori.ResultsResults from univariate analyses showed that delirium is linked to increased IgA responses to all the self-epitopes and antigens listed above, except for LPS. Part of the variance (between 45–48.3%) in the peak DRS score measured 2–3 days post-surgery was explained by independent effects of IgA directed to LPS and LBP (or bacterial CDT), baseline DRS scores, and previous mild stroke. Increased IgA reactivity to the paracellular pathway and BBB proteins and bacterial antigens is significantly associated with the activation of M1 macrophage, T helper-1, and 17 cytokine profiles.ConclusionHeightened bacterial translocation, disruption of the tight and adherens junctions of the gut and BBB barriers, elevated CDT and LPS load in the bloodstream, and aberrations in cell–cell interactions may be risk factors for delirium.
Comparing data-driven physiological denoising approaches for resting-state fMRI: implications for the study of aging
Authors: Golestani Ali M. , Chen J. Jean 
Published: February 2024

IntroductionPhysiological nuisance contributions by cardiac and respiratory signals have a significant impact on resting-state fMRI data quality. As these physiological signals are often not recorded, data-driven denoising methods are commonly used to estimate and remove physiological noise from fMRI data. To investigate the efficacy of these denoising methods, one of the first steps is to accurately capture the cardiac and respiratory signals, which requires acquiring fMRI data with high temporal resolution.MethodsIn this study, we used such high-temporal resolution fMRI data to evaluate the effectiveness of several data-driven denoising methods, including global-signal regression (GSR), white matter and cerebrospinal fluid regression (WM-CSF), anatomical (aCompCor) and temporal CompCor (tCompCor), ICA-AROMA. Our analysis focused on the consequence of changes in low-frequency, cardiac and respiratory signal power, as well as age-related differences in terms of functional connectivity (fcMRI).ResultsOur results confirm that the ICA-AROMA and GSR removed the most physiological noise but also more low-frequency signals. These methods are also associated with substantially lower age-related fcMRI differences. On the other hand, aCompCor and tCompCor appear to be better at removing high-frequency physiological signals but not low-frequency signal power. These methods are also associated with relatively higher age-related fcMRI differences, whether driven by neuronal signal or residual artifact. These results were reproduced in data downsampled to represent conventional fMRI sampling frequency. Lastly, methods differ in performance depending on the age group.DiscussionWhile this study cautions direct comparisons of fcMRI results based on different denoising methods in the study of aging, it also enhances the understanding of different denoising methods in broader fcMRI applications.