bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Effect of the Great Recession on Italian Life Expectancy
Authors: Salinari Giambattista , Benassi Federico , Carboni Gianni 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe 2008 economic crisis, also called the Great Recession, produced only a moderate rise in unemployment in Italy, but the consequences for public debt management were far more serious. Italy makes for a good case study for evaluating the effect on life expectancy at birth of the cost containment program in the health care system, implemented after the crisis began. To this end we employed the Artificial Control method using the data from the Human Mortality Database to assess the causal effect of the 2008 economic crisis on the subsequent evolution of life expectancy at birth (until 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic). Our analysis identifies a significant deceleration in the progression of Italian life expectancy. Ten years after the onset of the crisis, Italy appears to have lost almost 1 year of life expectancy with respect to what would have been expected had the crisis never happened.
Identification of gene markers to predict proanthocyanidins biosynthesis in cell culture of Croton lechleri
Authors: Quaggiotti Silvia , Ruperti Benedetto , Frigo Marco , Bertaiola Oriana , Pressi Giovanna , Carraro Pietro , Ravazzolo Laura 
Published: January 2023

AbstractCroton lechleri Müll. Arg. is a traditional medicinal tree growing in South America, which produces a deep red sap known as Dragon’s Blood Sap (DBS) used for its many therapeutic benefits. DBS bioactivity is mainly due to the high content of proanthocyanidins (PAs), important plant secondary metabolites involved in plant defence, but also utilised as antioxidant for human health. Since the process to directly obtain DBS from the C. lechleri tree is expensive, time-consuming and strongly dependent on the environmental conditions, the use of plant cell cultures for DBS production seems to represent a suitable alternative. The aptitude of plant cell cultures to synthesize specific secondary metabolites can be elicited by different types of abiotic stresses. In this study, the C. lechleri main genes putatively involved in the PAs biosynthetic pathway were identified and their expression was evaluated in both calli in solid medium and cell culture suspensions to identify the most suitable predictive gene markers for PAs biosynthesis. C. lechleri cell cultures were grown and elicited by N-starvation to induce the production of PAs and were then monitored by assessing the expression of previously identified gene markers, by quantifying the content of PAs and measuring few phenotypical parameters. The results show a new perspective on how PA gene transcript abundance could be used to predict the biosynthesis of useful secondary metabolites in plant cell cultures and to speed up the screening of putative elicitors.
Bariatric Surgery Should Be Offered to Active-Duty Military Personnel: a Retrospective Study of the Canadian Armed Forces’ Experience
Authors: Mailloux Olivier , Tassé Nicolas , Tchernof André , Nadeau Mélanie , Dawe Philip , Beckett Andrew , Biertho Laurent 
Published: January 2023

Abstract

Purpose

Like most Western armies, obesity affects Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel. Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for obesity. However, this is not yet accepted for active-duty soldiers in most countries. The CAF have approved bariatric surgery since 2005. Our aim is to assess weight loss, resolution of obesity-related comorbidities, and impacts of bariatric surgery on military careers.

Materials and Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the perioperative data, long-term bariatric results, and military outcomes of 108 CAF active-duty military personnel who underwent bariatric surgery in Canada over a 61-month period.

Results
The cohort was predominantly male (66.7%) with a mean preoperative body mass index (BMI) of 43.6 ± 5.8 kg/m2. Roux-Y gastric bypass was performed in 59 patients, sleeve gastrectomy in 29, and gastric banding in 20. All the surgeries were performed laparoscopically. The total body weight loss at the last follow-up visit was 22.5 ± 11.0%. Remission or improvement of hypertension was observed in 91.2%, diabetes in 85.7%, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) in 43.6%, sleep apnea in 43.1%, and dyslipidemia in 42.9%. One patient (0.9%) was medically released due to postoperative complications. Fifteen patients (13.9%) were deployed postoperatively. The combined deployable and possibly deployable statuses increased from 35.4% preoperatively to 47.9% postoperatively.

Conclusion
This is the largest series of bariatric surgeries performed in active-duty military personnel. Bariatric surgery is effective and safe and improves deployability without impairing military careers. These results are relevant to the military of many industrialized countries. Bariatric surgery should be considered for all active-duty military personnel who meet surgical criteria for the treatment of obesity.

Graphical Abstract
The role of marketing in new ventures: How marketing activities should be organized in firms’ infancy
Authors: Fürst Andreas , Gabrielsson Mika , Gabrielsson Peter , Prigge Jana-Kristin 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Although marketing activities are vital for new ventures (NVs) to ensure growth and survival, previous research is silent on how to organize them in firms’ infancy. The entrepreneurship literature focuses on which marketing activities to perform in NVs but not on how to organize these activities, whereas the marketing literature concentrates on how to organize marketing activities in established firms but not in NVs, which face specific opportunities and challenges in their early stage of development. This article aims to tackle this research gap by examining marketing’s role within NVs’ organization. Drawing on in-depth interviews with managers, we identify two key organizational dimensions: marketing’s dispersion (related to the proliferation and, thus, wide anchoring of marketing responsibilities) and marketing’s structuration (related to the manifestation and, thus, deep anchoring of marketing responsibilities). Through a field survey and archival data, we show that marketing’s dispersion enhances NV profitability, while marketing’s structuration decreases it, and that with increasing marketing influence (i.e., power of marketing actors) in NVs and NV maturity (i.e., age and size), this diametrical pattern of effects becomes less pronounced. Overall, the findings provide novel theoretical and practical insights into the organizational design of marketing in firms’ infancy.
Ameliorative Effects of Thunbergia erecta L. Leaves Against the Initiation of Hepatocarcinogenesis Induced by Diethylnitrosamine in the Rat Model
Authors: Farag Fatma Sayed Abdel-Aal , Anwar Hend Mohamed , Aboushousha Tarek , Mohammed Hala Sh. , Ismail Lotfi Diab Mousa 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Thunbergia erecta L. contains cytotoxic and liver-protective compounds. Thunbergia erecta L. leaves were macerated in 70% aqueous ethanol, then fractionated with ethyl acetate (9.3 g) and butanol (12.7 g), and attenuated Den-induced liver cancer in a Wistar rat experimental model. Ethyl acetate and butanol fractions were chromatographed using column chromatography and solid-phase extraction (SPE); Vicenin-II (1), kaempferol (2), biochanin A, sissotrin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside (3), gentianose (4), acacetin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside (5), apigenin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside (6), and rosmarinic acid (7) were extracted, and their structures were determined using NMR spectroscopy and ESI-mass spectrometry. Sixty rats were divided into six groups (ten each): control group, Den group, doxorubicin/Den-treated group, butanol fraction/Den-treated group, and isolated acacetin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside/Den-treated group. The liver enzymes and proinflammatory biomarkers were used to estimate the liver function. In addition, liver tissues were collected for analysis of oxidative stress markers, gene expression, and histopathology. There is a significant increase in the levels of liver enzymes, AFP, and TNF-ἁ. This was conveyed by a significant increase of IL-1 and caspase-3, elevation of MDA and reduction of GSH, and suppression of Bcl2 and elevation of Bax expression. All parameters in butanol, ethyl acetate fractions, and isolated acacetin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside (major constituents) of T. erecta L. were significantly improved to values close to those of the control group.
p53 Inhibition in Pancreatic Progenitors Enhances the Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Pancreatic β-Cells
Authors: Aigha Idil I. , Abdelalim Essam M. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe multipotent pancreatic progenitor cells (MPCs) co-expressing the transcription factors, PDX1 and NKX6.1, are the source of functional pancreatic β-cells. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of p53 inhibition in MPCs on the generation of PDX1+/NKX6.1+ MPCs and pancreatic β-cell generation. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were differentiated into MPCs and β-cells. hESC-MPCs (stage 4) were treated with different concentrations of p53 inhibitors, and their effect was evaluated using different approaches. NKX6.1 was overexpressed during MPCs specification. Inhibition of p53 using pifithrin-μ (PFT-μ) at the MPC stage resulted in a significant increase in the number of PDX1+/NKX6.1+ cells and a reduction in the number of CHGA+/NKX6.1− cells. Further differentiation of MPCs treated with PFT-μ into pancreatic β-cells showed that PFT-μ treatment did not significantly change the number of C-Peptide+ cells; however, the number of C-PEP+ cells co-expressing glucagon (polyhormonal) was significantly reduced in the PFT-μ treated cells. Interestingly, overexpression of NKX6.1 in hESC-MPCs enhanced the expression of key MPC genes and dramatically suppressed p53 expression. Our findings demonstrated that the p53 inhibition during stage 4 of differentiation enhanced MPC generation, prevented premature endocrine induction and favored the differentiation into monohormonal β-cells. These findings suggest that adding a p53 inhibitor to the differentiation media can significantly enhance the generation of monohormonal β-cells.
Graphical Abstract
Assessment of Public Services Distribution in African Urban Areas: a Cost-Benefit Analysis Based on Bid Rents from Spatial Interaction Models
Authors: Dentinho Tomaz Ponce , Pakissi César 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe paper proposes a cost-benefit analysis of alternative school networks that are otimized to cover the territory of the central part of Huambo Municipality in Angola. Benefits comes from increases in housing prices associated with changes in employment generated by schools, evaluated by variations in values of real estate estimated by the bid-rents of a spatial interaction model using hedonic regression methods. Costs are associated with construction and functioning of schools. The more advisable school networks alternatives are the ones that optimize the coverage of the region with education services while securing individual viability of each one of the schools.
The Student Strike that Won Ethnic Studies and Black Student College Admissions
Authors: Epstein Kitty Kelly , Stringer Bernard 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis article explores the student strike which won Ethnic Studies and Black college student admissions. The San Francisco State Strike of 1968 which shut down the campus for five months was unique in its vision, its intensity, its class composition, its strategies, and its relationship to both the Black community and non-Black student organizations. The event is significant because the creation of Ethnic Studies as an academic field has vastly expanded humanity’s knowledge of African-American history and the history of other people of color, and the percentage of Black students completing four years of college more than doubled in the period following this strike and subsequent similar college movements. One of the authors was a leader of the Black Student Union Central Committee. The authors use interviews with the leaders, personal reflection, and archival material to draw conclusions about the reasons for the strike’s success and long-lasting impact. Its lessons may have importance for the racial and social justice movements of today.
Semi-autonomous inspection for concrete structures using digital models and a hybrid approach based on deep learning and photogrammetry
Authors: Mirzazade Ali , Popescu Cosmin , Gonzalez-Libreros Jaime , Blanksvärd Thomas , Täljsten Björn , Sas Gabriel 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBridge inspections are relied heavily on visual inspection, and usually conducted within limited time windows, typically at night, to minimize their impact on traffic. This makes it difficult to inspect every meter of the structure, especially for large-scale bridges with hard-to-access areas, which creates a risk of missing serious defects or even safety hazards. This paper presents a new technique for the semi-automated damage detection in tunnel linings and bridges using a hybrid approach based on photogrammetry and deep learning. The first approach involves using photogrammetry to reconstruct a 3D model. It is shown that a model with sub-centimeter accuracy can be obtained after noise removal. However, noise removal also reduces the point cloud density, making the 3D point cloud unsuitable for quantification of small-scale damages such as fine cracks. Therefore, the captured images are also analyzed using deep convolutional neural network (CNN) models to enable crack detection and segmentation. For this aim, in the second approach, the 3D model is generated by the output of CNN models to enable crack localization and quantification on 3D digital model. These two approaches were evaluated in separate case studies, showing that the proposed technique could be a valuable tool to assist human inspectors in detecting, localizing, and quantifying defects on concrete structures.
Evidence for parent-of-origin effects in autism spectrum disorder: a narrative review
Authors: Ryan Niamh M. , Heron Elizabeth A. 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous group of early-onset neurodevelopmental disorders known to be highly heritable with a complex genetic architecture. Abnormal brain developmental trajectories that impact synaptic functioning, excitation-inhibition balance and brain connectivity are now understood to play a central role in ASD. Ongoing efforts to identify the genetic underpinnings still prove challenging, in part due to phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity.This review focuses on parent-of-origin effects (POEs), where the phenotypic effect of an allele depends on its parental origin. POEs include genomic imprinting, transgenerational effects, mitochondrial DNA, sex chromosomes and mutational transmission bias. The motivation for investigating these mechanisms in ASD has been driven by their known impacts on early brain development and brain functioning, in particular for the most well-documented POE, genomic imprinting. Moreover, imprinting is implicated in syndromes such as Angelman and Prader-Willi, which frequently share comorbid symptoms with ASD. In addition to other regions in the genome, this comprehensive review highlights the 15q11-q13 and 7q chromosomal regions as well as the mitochondrial DNA as harbouring the majority of currently identified POEs in ASD.
A combined bio-system to improve effluent water quality from sewage wastewater plants for agricultural reuse
Authors: Gadow Samir I. , El-Shawadfy Mohamed A. , Abd El-Zaher Fatma H. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractA continuous lab-scale integrated bio-system
was conducted to treat sewage wastewater from Abu-Rawash wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The bio-system showed high efficiency in removing chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), and total suspended solids (TSS). The experimental analysis results indicated that the maximum COD removal and methane yields were 97.6 and 13.74 mmol CH4/Kg COD at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 h, respectively. Zn, Mn, and Fe were removed at a high rate of up to 96.6%. The sponge bio-carriers have improved overall treatment performance and substantially improved mixed liquor volatile suspended solids/mixed liquor suspended solids (MLVSS/MLSS) ratio at an appreciated range, and the total pathogenic organisms were removed up to 99.8% in the second stage. Because the innovative bio-system enables a rapid startup process, is simple to use, and is inexpensive, it can provide an economically feasible alternative for wastewater management and could be extended to full-scale applications for agricultural purposes.
A Diagnostic Method Based on Deflection Analysis for Monitoring Post-elastic Response of Beams
Authors: Sciegaj Adam 
Published: January 2023

AbstractA non-destructive diagnostic method based on deflection analysis for monitoring the post-elastic response of beams was developed, and a diagnostic indicator was proposed. The indicator was defined as the second moment of the normalised curvature function about the mid-span, where the curvature was computed from the normalised deflection function. Elastic reference values of the indicator were computed for simply supported beams under uniformly distributed load, three-point, and four-point bending. Development of the indicator under progressive loading was examined with the help of finite element analyses. The indicator value monotonically decreased with increasing deformation provided that maximum bending moment was located between 0.41L and 0.59L, where L is the span of the beam. In this interval, the value of the indicator was unique and enabled the direct monitoring of the post-elastic stress level in the cross-section. The method was validated with the help of available experiments on simply supported beams. For beams working in the elastic range, a mean error of $${2.1}{\%}$$

2.1

%

was obtained between the measured and theoretical indicator values. For quasi-brittle material in the post-elastic stage, the decreasing value of the indicator signified the development of damage in accordance with experimental results.
The Effect of Expressed Gratitude Interventions on Psychological Wellbeing: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Studies
Authors: Kirca Abdurrahman , M. Malouff John , Meynadier Jai 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe effectiveness of expressed gratitude interventions in enhancing psychological wellbeing has been explored in a number of studies. The present meta-analysis synthesized results from 25 randomized controlled trials, including a total of 6,745 participants, to examine the effect of expressed gratitude interventions on positive indicators of psychological wellbeing, including life satisfaction, positive affect, and happiness. The results showed that expressed gratitude interventions had a significant effect on psychological wellbeing relative to neutral comparison groups, Hedges’ g = 0.22, 95% CI [0.11, 0.33], p < .001. The significant effects applied to each of the three elements of positive wellbeing. Intervention length and duration from baseline to final assessment did not significantly moderate effect sizes across studies. The present findings indicate that expressed gratitude interventions have value in improving psychological wellbeing.
Evaluation of physico-chemical and heavy metals status in irrigation, stagnant, and Indus River water at the trans-Himalayan region
Authors: Charan Guru , Bharti Vijay K. , Giri Arup , Kumar Prabhat 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe water quality of various resources is changing everywhere, including the high-altitude region, which may have adverse health effects on animals and the human population. So far, not much study has been conducted on high-mountain region water resources. Therefore, this study was conducted at Leh-Ladakh, a high-altitude region, to know the water quality of different sources. For this, water samples were collected from irrigation, stagnant (pond), and Indus river water resources and analyzed different physicochemical parameters as per standard methods and heavy metals using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (Optima 7000 DV, Perkin Elmer) at the laboratory. The results revealed that the total mean values of pH (7.58 ± 0.04), electrical conductivity (EC-243.78 ± 18.05 µS/cm), salinity (0.12 ± 0.01%), total dissolved solids (TDS-121.519.75 mg/L), turbidity (1.17 ± 0.22 NTU) and chemical oxygen demand (COD-31.45 ± 0.73 mg/L) of Indus river water, pH (7.43 ± 0.05), EC (231.86 ± 11.00 µS/cm), salinity (0.11 ± 0.01%), TDS (113.31 ± 5.48 mg/L), turbidity (0.85 ± 0.11 NTU) and COD (29.74 ± 0.49 mg/L) of irrigation water, and pH (7.46 ± 0.03), EC (233.14 ± 11.41 µS/cm), salinity (0.12 ± 0.01%), TDS (115.03 ± 5.78 mg/L), turbidity (0.67 ± 0.13 NTU) and COD (29.65 ± 0.57 mg/L) of pond water were within the prescribed limit by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water. However, variances in the range of heavy metals were observed in Indus river water, irrigation water, and in stagnant water at different sites. Our results revealed that the As, Cd, and Pb were above the permissible limit of WHO for drinking water. At the same time, the Ni and Cr levels were observed below the maximum permissible limit. Therefore, these water resources, if used for more extended periods, may pose health-related issues to humans and animals from these elements. So, this study finding will help develop specific mitigation strategies for water management for drinking and other purposes.
Sudden Cardiac Arrests in the Polish Tatra Mountains: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Mikiewicz Maciej , Polok Kamil , Szczeklik Wojciech , Górka Andrzej , Kosiński Sylweriusz 
Published: January 2023

Introduction Achieving the optimal survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest in mountains is challenging. The odds of surviving are influenced mainly by distance, response time, and organization of the emergency medical system. The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiology and outcomes of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed in the Polish Tatra Mountains. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of data on sudden cardiac arrest collected from the database of the Tatra Mountain Rescue Service and local emergency medical system from 2001 to 2021. Results A total of 74 cases of sudden cardiac arrest were recorded. The mortality rate was 88% (65/74). Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 22 (30%) patients. A group of survivors was characterized by more frequent use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) (56% vs 14%, P=0.011), a shorter interval between cardiac arrest and emergency team arrival (12 vs 20 min, P=0.005), and a shorter time to initiation of advanced life support (ALS) (12 vs 22 min, P=0.004). All survivors had a shockable initial rhythm. The majority of survivors (8/9, 89%) had a good or moderate neurological outcome. Conclusions This study confirms poor survival rate after sudden cardiac arrest in the mountain area. The use of AED, shockable initial rhythm, and shorter time interval to emergency team arrival and ALS initiation are associated with better outcomes.