bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multi Population's Killer Whales Optimizer: A New Optimization Approach Based On Fixed Primary Objective
Authors: Moosavi Seyyed Hamid samareh , khaliji seyed mostafa moosavi , Bardsiri Vahid Khatibi 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
This paper has presented a new algorithm called Multi Population's Killer Whales Optimizer (MPKWO). This algorithm is inspired by hunting of a group of Southern Hemisphere Killer Whales. In MPKWO algorithm, a fixed primary objective is used for optimization and search of the main target. In MPKWO algorithm, two populations of the Killer Whales, those waves-generating and the spy Killer Whales, have been used to simulate the hunting process. The spy Killer Whales have a fixed position (fixed primary objective) and wave-generating Killer Whales move closer to the target by moving in each iteration of the algorithm. In fact, in MPKWO algorithm, initially, an initial value is considered as the target, and the position of the main objective is searched for around that point. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated by 18 functions of the standard test. The results obtained from the proposed algorithm are compared with several known and new algorithms. In other words, compared to other algorithms, the proposed algorithm has successfully obtained the optimal values in 71.4% of the cases for Unimodal functions, 66.64% for Multi-modal functions and 80% for fixed-dimension multimodal functions. In addition, three classic engineering problems are solved by MPKWO algorithm. For a more accurate evaluation, the MPKWO algorithm was ultimately used to estimate the software effort and optimize the ABE method. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has been more effective than the compared algorithms.
The fluorescent ligand bTVBT2 reveals increased p-tau uptake by retinal microglia in Alzheimer’s disease patients and AppNL-F/NL-F mice
Authors: Nuñez-Diaz Cristina , Andersson Emelie , Schultz Nina , Pocevičiūtė Dovilė , Hansson Oskar , Bank The Netherlands Brain , Nilsson K Peter R , Wennström Malin 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background: Amyloid beta (Ab) deposits and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) accumulation have been identified in the retina of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and transgenic AD mice. Previous studies have shown that retinal microglia engulf Ab, but this property decrease in AD patients. Whether retinal microglia also take up p-tau and if this event is affected in AD is yet not described. In the current study, we use the p-tau specific thiophene-based ligand bTVBT2 to investigate the relationship between disease progression and microglia p-tau uptake in the retina of AD patients and AppNL-F/NL-F knock-in mice, an AD mouse model known to demonstrate extracellular Ab plaques and dystrophic neurites in the brain from at 6 months of age.
Methods: Evaluation of bTVBT2 specificity and presence of bTVBT2 inside microglia was performed by immunoflourescently stain hippocampi sections and whole mount samples of retina from non-demented controls (NC), AD patients, 3-, 9- and 12-months-old AppNL-F/NL-F knock-in mice and 12-month-old wild type (WT) mice. The amount of bTVBT2 inside Iba-1-positive microglia was analyzed using ImageJ and co-localization between the ligand and p-tau variant Ser396/Ser404 (PHF-1), Ab, phosphorylated TAR DNA binding protein 43 (pTDP-43) and islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) in brain and retina was analyzed using confocal imaging.
Results: Confocal imaging analysis showed that bTVBT2 binds to PHF-1-positive aggregates inside retinal microglia, and not to Ab, pTDP-43 or IAPP. The density of bTVBT2 positive microglia was higher in cases with high Ab load patients compared to cases with low Ab load and correlated with neurofibrillary tangle load in brain, but not with retinal levels of high molecular weight (aggregates) Ab40 or Ab42. Analysis of AppNL-F/NL-F knock-in mouse retina further showed that 50% of microglia in 3-months-old AppNL-F/NL-F knock-in mice contained bTVBT2, and that the percentage was significantly increased in 9- and 12-months-old mice.
Conclusion: Our study suggests that microglial capability to take up p-tau in retina remains and enhances along with AD progression. These results also highlight bTVBT2 as a ligand of interest in future monitoring of retinal AD pathology.
Exploring the potential mechanisms of action of Gentiana veitchiorum Hemsl. extract in the treatment of cholestasis using UPLC-MS/MS, systematic network pharmacology, and molecular docking
Authors: Wang Yue , Tan Nixia , Su Rong , Liu Zhenhua , Hu Na , dong Qi 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance
Gentiana veitchiorum Hemsl. (GV) has a long history in Tibetan medicine for the treatment of the hepatobiliary disease, cholestasis. However, the mechanisms mediating its efficacy in the treatment of cholestasis have not been determined.
Purpose
To elucidate the mechanisms of action of GV in the treatment of cholestasis, an integrated approach combining ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis with network pharmacology and molecular docking was established.
Materials and methods
A comprehensive analysis of the chemical composition of GV was achieved by UPLC-MS/MS. Subsequently, a network pharmacology method that integrated target prediction, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, gene set enrichment analysis and component-target-pathway network was established. The network pharmacological results were validated through molecular docking analysis.
Results
The UPLC-MS/MS analysis identified twenty compounds in GV. Network pharmacology identified 299 targets for the components of GV and 2999 targets for cholestatic diseases, from which 103 intersectional targets were obtained by Venn diagram. A PPI network was constructed to screen the following core proteins: AKT1, GAPDH, TNF, IL6, VEGFA, and CASP3. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses results suggested that GV may treat cholestatic disease through biological pathways related to proteolysis, cytosol, caspase complex, enzyme binding, and pathways in cancer, lipid and atherosclerosis, HIF-1, TNF, IL-17 and other key signaling pathways. The results were validated by molecular docking studies, which indicated good binding affinities between core compounds and targets, with similar binding energies to those of the positive control drugs.
Conclusions
In this study, UPLC-MS/MS analysis and network pharmacology were used in conjunction to provide potential mechanisms of action of GV in the treatment of cholestasis.
Correlation between paraspinal muscle changes and lumbar lordosis, intervertebral disc degeneration in young adults with low back pain: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Tang Liang , Liu Xiaoming , Zhang Yangyang , Zhao Jian , Ye Xiaojian , Yu Jiangming 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background:
Previous studies have showed that intervertebral disc degeneration was significantly associated with low back pain, and there was a significantly greater proportion of chronic low back pain patients with lower lumbar lordosis. Paraspinal muscles have gained more attention because of their relationship with the spinal degenerative disease in elder patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between the degree of paraspinal muscle degeneration and decreased lumbar lordosis and lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration in younger patients with low back pain.
Methods:
Seventy patients with chronic low back pain (39 males, 31 females) and seventy-five healthy controls (36 males, 39 females) were enrolled. The correlation of the degree of multifidus muscle degeneration with lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration and lumbar lordosis was analyzed.
Results:
Disc degeneration at L3-4 showed no significant difference between the low back pain group and the control group (p > 0.05). However, there was a significant difference between the two groups at both L4-5 and L5-S1 (P < 0.05). At L4-5, the degree of fat infiltration showed significantly greater in the low back pain group (0.23 ± 0.035) than that in the control group (0.18 ± 0.037) (p < 0.05). At L5-S1, both relative multifidus muscle cross-sectional area and the degree of fat infiltration demonstrated significant differences between the two groups (p < 0.05). A significant correlation was observed between lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration and the degree of fat infiltration at L4-5 (r = 0.405, p < 0.05) and L5-S1 (r = 0.397, p < 0.05), respectively. Additionally, lumbar lordosis was found significantly decreased in the low back pain group (18.5°±4.3) compared with that in the control group (37.4 ± 8.5) (p < 0.05) and also significantly correlated with the degree of fat infiltration at L5-S1 (r= -0.422, P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Multifidus atrophy and fatty infiltration showed significantly correlated with lumbar lordosis and lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration in younger populations. Enhanced function in paraspinal muscles might contribute to improving the symptoms of low back pain and spinal degeneration.
m6A-Related lncRNAs as Novel Biomarkers in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with Prognostic and Therapeutic Implication
Authors: Luo Jiayue , Yang Weibang , Liu Qing , Cai Gengxi 
Published: July 2023

AbstractPurpose：Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is highly heterogeneous and lacks effective targeted therapy. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) may contribute significantly to the prognostic predictions of TNBC.Methods：Based on 223 m6A-related lncRNAs (MRLs) and 134 TNBC samples from the TCGA database, we comprehensively investigated an MRL-based nomogram to separate TNBC patients into different risk groups. The clinical features, immune infiltration, functional status, chemotherapy responses, the prognosis of different risk groups were further investigated.Results:Three MRLs were selected to construct an MRL-based nomogram and separated patients into high- and low-risk groups by the cut-off point. Compared to low-risk group patients, high-risk group patients had advanced stage and poorer survival outcome. The functional analysis illustrated that the oxidative phosphorylation pathway was enriched in the high-risk group and its inhibitor combined with chemotherapy might be beneficial for these patients. Moreover, we found that the estimated IC50 values of paclitaxel were significantly reduced in the high-risk group, indicating that paclitaxel was the preferred chemotherapy agent for the high-risk group.Conclusion:This study demonstrated that an MRL-based nomogram can serve as an effective prognostic model and predictive indicator for therapeutic responses in TNBC patients.
Modeling, Hardware Architecture, and Performance Analyses of an AEAD-based Lightweight Cipher
Authors: Jhawar Kartik , Gandhi Jugal , Shekhawat Diksha , Upadhyay Aniket , Harkishanka Avadh , Chaturvedi Nitin , Santosh M. , Pandey Jai Gopal 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Ensuring data security and integrity is crucial for achieving the highest level of protection and performance in modern cyber-physical systems (CPS). Authenticated encryption with associated data (AEAD) is an efficient and secure way to encrypt data that ensures confidentiality and authenticity. In this study, we focus on image encryption using the TinyJAMBU cipher within the AEAD scheme. In this paper, image encryption using the TinyJAMBU cipher with software and hardware modeling has been proposed, and image encryption evaluation over standard matrices has been performed. The hardware architecture for TinyJAMBU has been implemented on the Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA device. The implementation results are compared with the realization of other contemporary ciphers that bring TinyJAMBU-128's implementation better in terms of look-up tables (LUTs), slice utilization, and power consumption. In the experimentation phase, the results of TinyJAMBU-128/192/256 for image encryption have been compared with existing image encryption techniques. It has been observed that, compared to other implementations, the proposed image encryption application using TinyJAMBU provides better results for PSNR, MSE, RMSE, and UACI.
Influencing factors and establishment of a prediction model for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer
Authors: liu zhiyu , xu dong , chen xihao , li jipeng 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the influencing factors of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer and construct an efficacy prediction model.
Methods
A total of 158 LARC patients who underwent total mesenteric excision after receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment at the First Hospital Affiliated to Air Force Medical University from January 2016 to December 2020 were enrolled. Baseline clinical indicators before neoadjuvant therapy were collected, including laboratory data, tumor markers and MRI. The efficacy prediction model was constructed through the R language, the predictive performance of the model was evaluated using DCA curves and calibration curves, and the accuracy of the model was tested through 10-fold cross-validation.
Results
Ninety-eight patients achieved complete response (CR) or partial response (PR), with an overall response rate was 62%. Sixty patients had a poor neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy response, either stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD). Pretreatment tumor diameter, time to surgery after neoadjuvant therapy, D-dimer, Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and extramural vascular invasion (EMVI) were included in the prediction model. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the LARC neoadjuvant radiotherapy prediction model was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.780–0.899), with a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 72%.In the calibration curve, the predicted results are in good agreement with the actual results, with good prediction accuracy; the DCA curve shows that the efficacy prediction model can bring clinical net benefit to diagnosis.
Conclusion
Pretreatment tumor diameter, time to surgery after neoadjuvant therapy, D-dimer, PNI, CEA and EMVI are independent risk factors for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in LARC patients. The efficacy prediction model based on the above factors has good predictive efficacy for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in LARC patients.
Breeding trials in water-stress conditions: identification of sensitive traits in early stages and characterization of a tropical maize public panel
Authors: Machado Ingrid Pinheiro , Pontes Fernanda Carla Ferreira , Silveira Maria Valnice Souza , Lobo Antônio Lucas Aguiar , Siqueira Michele Jorge Silva , Fritsche-Neto Roberto , DoVale Júlio César 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

One of the major goals of modern agriculture is to achieve increased crop yield using less water. Despite the significant advances in genomics, a phenotypic characterization efficient is essential for the success of a modern breeding program, which wants to speed up the genetic gains by deploying selection in the early stages. Thus, this study aimed to identify which traits are most important to discriminate the maize genotypes to support early selection under contrasting water availability conditions. For this, we used a public diversity panel consisting of 360 tropical maize inbred lines, involving two conditions, well-watered (WW) and water-stress (WS), in eight trials. Evaluations were carried out in the phenological stage V6 for shoot and root traits. There was a significant variation in the panel performance, mainly for root traits under WS conditions, composing six clusters. However, the traits showed a similar pattern of clustering evidenced by principal components in WW and WS conditions. Moreover, a strong relationship was found among the roots' length, surface area, and volume. Based on this, we suggest discarding the most error-prone ones. Our results showed via Redundancy Analysis (RDA) that plant height, stalk diameter, and lateral roots length are traits more sensitive to WS and, therefore, may be considered in early selection in breeding programs aiming for water use efficiency.
THeragnostic Utilities for Neoplastic DisEases of the Rectum by MRI guided radiotherapy (THUNDER 2) phase II trial: Interim Safety Analysis
Authors: Chiloiro Giuditta , Romano Angela , Cusumano Davide , Boldrini Luca , Panza Giulia , Placidi Lorenzo , Meldolesi Elisa , Nardini Matteo , Meffe Guenda , Nicolini Gianluca , Votta Claudio , Indovina Luca , Gambacorta Maria Antonietta 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
The THUNDER-2 trial investigates the benefits of MRI-guided radiotherapy (MRIgRT) in treating locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). This study focuses on evaluating the impact of escalating radiation therapy doses in poor responders using the Early Tumour Regression Index (ERI) for complete responses. This interim analysis assesses the feasibility and safety of the proposed MRIgRT dose escalation strategy.
Methods
Stage cT2-3, N0-2, or cT4 patients with anal sphincter involvement, N0-2a, M0, but without high-risk features were enrolled. MRIgRT treatment consisted of a standard dose of 55 Gy to the Gross Tumor Volume (GTV) and mesorectum, and 45 Gy to the mesorectum and drainage nodes in 25 fractions with concomitant chemotherapy. 0.35 T MRI was used for simulation imaging and daily alignment. ERI was calculated at the 10th fraction. Non-responders with an ERI above 13.1 received intensified dose escalation from the 11th fraction, resulting in a total dose of 60.1 Gy. Acute toxicity was assessed using the CTCAE v.5 scale.
Results
From March 2021 to November 2022, 33 out of 63 patients (52.4%) were included, with one withdrawal unrelated to treatment. Sixteen patients (50%) underwent dose escalation. Treatment was well tolerated, with only one patient (3.1%) in the standard treatment group experiencing acute Grade 3 diarrhea, proctitis, and cystitis. No significant differences in toxicity were observed between the two groups.
Conclusions
MRIgRT treatment with dose escalation up to 60.1 Gy is well tolerated in LARC patients predicted as non-responders by ERI, confirming the feasibility and safety of this approach. The THUNDER-2 trial's primary and secondary endpoints will be fully analyzed when all planned patients are enrolled.
Approved immune checkpoint inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma: a large-scale meta-analysis and systematic review
Authors: Zhang Ruyi , Wang Fang , You Zhiyu , Deng Dongyang , He Jiangyan , Yan Wentao , Quan Jian , Wang Jing , Yan Shujuan 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Purpose A meta-analysis was performed to assess the benefits and safety profile of approved immune checkpoint inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.Methods Eligible studies were searched from Cochrane, Embase, and PubMed databases based on a well-established strategy. Review manager version 5.4 was employed for data analysis.Results Following the exclusion of ineligible studies, eight studies were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with control group, immune checkpoint inhibitors were associated with improved ORR (OR 3.65, 95% CI 2.82–4.73, P < 0.00001), DCR (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02–1.35, P = 0.02), SD (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.58–0.89, P = 0.002), and more risk of all caused any-grade adverse events (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.03–2.60, P = 0.004). However, no significant differences were observed in PD (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.82–1.12, P = 0.59), OS (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.66–0.87, P = 0.25), PFS (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.63–0.87, P = 0.24) and all caused grade 3 or 4 adverse events (OR 1.22, 95% CI 0.98–1.52, P = 0.07), treatment-related any grade adverse events (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.48–2.07, P = 0.98), treatment-related grade 3 or 4 events (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.81–1.35, P = 0.72) between the two groups. After studies with nivolumab as a monotherapy excluded, patients in the immune checkpoint inhibitor group showed significant improvements in OS (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.58–0.77, P < 0.00001) and PFS (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.54–0.71, P < 0.00001).Conclusion Immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated peculiar benefits in the treatment of HCC with an acceptable safety profile. Combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with other medications may be more beneficial for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Object Detection Performance: A Comparative Study
Authors: Qaddour Jihad 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Object detection is a critical task in computer vision with applications in many domains. Recent advances in deep learning have led to significant improvements in the performance of object detectors. This paper presents a comparative performance analysis of generic object detectors, with a focus on single-stage and two-stage detectors. The paper first discusses the taxonomy of object detection algorithms, and then presents a detailed performance comparison of single-stage and two-stage detectors. The performance of different detectors was evaluated on two different datasets, Microsoft COCO and PASCAL VOC 2012. The results showed that DetectoRS is a state-of-the-art two-stage object detector, outperforms all other two-stage models. While YOLOv4 and FCOS are the two most accurate single-stage detectors. The comparative results also show that single-stage detectors are generally less accurate than two-stage detectors, but they are typically faster. The paper also includes the strengths and weaknesses of different object detection approaches and identifies promising directions for future research.
On the Advantages of a Different Redshift Scale-factor Relation.
Authors: Hunter John 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
In the 25 years following the introduction of dark energy to cosmology there has been little progress in understanding this phenomenon. Recently the Hubble tension has also arisen. Therefore a radical solution is considered - to change the redshift scale-factor relation. A new relation explains why Concordance Cosmology, possibly using the wrong relation, needs an apparently low matter density and dark energy. There are solutions to the flatness problem, the coincidence problem and the Hubble tension.
Recent Advances in the Impact of Antibiotic and Antioxidant
Multifunctional Hydrogel on Diabetic Wounds Healing
Authors: Bhardwaj Harish , Joshi Renjil , Khute Sulekha , Jangde Rajendra Kumar 
Published: July 2023

Abstract:
Hyperglycemia is a metabolic illness characterized by diabetes mellitus. Chronic hyperglycemia
can lead to infection, production of more reactive oxygen species, chronic inflammation, and
impaired angiogenesis, thus increasing the wound’s healing time. As the diabetic wound healing process
is a more complex pathology, the demand to develop a topical application has emerged. This review
focuses on the diabetic wound, wound healing, and the factors that influence diabetic wound
healing. It also highlights the impact of combination delivery of antibiotics and antioxidants loaded
with multifunctional hydrogel on diabetic wound healing. Due to the immense financial strain caused
by this pathology, there is a need for other effective novel methods for wound healing. Therefore, multifunctional
hydrogels, which are effective and have been used mainly as a carrier system for diabetic
wound treatment, have been studied. Hence, the application of antibiotics and antioxidants loaded with
multifunctional hydrogel in treating diabetic wounds is reviewed. Hydrogels present a significant theoretical
reference for diabetic wound healing.