bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Incorporating automatic speech recognition methods into the transcription of police-suspect interviews: factors affecting automatic performance
Authors: Harrington Lauren 
Published: July 2023

IntroductionIn England and Wales, transcripts of police-suspect interviews are often admitted as evidence in courts of law. Orthographic transcription is a time-consuming process and is usually carried out by untrained transcribers, resulting in records that contain summaries of large sections of the interview and paraphrased speech. The omission or inaccurate representation of important speech content could have serious consequences in a court of law. It is therefore clear that investigation into better solutions for police-interview transcription is required. This paper explores the possibility of incorporating automatic speech recognition (ASR) methods into the transcription process, with the goal of producing verbatim transcripts without sacrificing police time and money. We consider the potential viability of automatic transcripts as a “first” draft that would be manually corrected by police transcribers. The study additionally investigates the effects of audio quality, regional accent, and the ASR system used, as well as the types and magnitude of errors produced and their implications in the context of police-suspect interview transcripts.MethodsSpeech data was extracted from two forensically-relevant corpora, with speakers of two accents of British English: Standard Southern British English and West Yorkshire English (a non-standard regional variety). Both a high quality and degraded version of each file was transcribed using three commercially available ASR systems: Amazon, Google, and Rev.ResultsSystem performance varied depending on the ASR system and the audio quality, and while regional accent was not found to significantly predict word error rate, the distribution of errors varied substantially across the accents, with more potentially damaging errors produced for speakers of West Yorkshire English.DiscussionThe low word error rates and easily identifiable errors produced by Amazon suggest that the incorporation of ASR into the transcription of police-suspect interviews could be viable, though more work is required to investigate the effects of other contextual factors, such as multiple speakers and different types of background noise.
Threshold values of brachial cuff-measured arterial stiffness indices determined by comparisons with the brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity: a cross-sectional study in the Chinese population
Authors: Zhang Xujie , Jiang Yumin , Liang Fuyou , Lu Jianping 
Published: July 2023

BackgroundArterial Velocity-pulse Index (AVI) and Arterial Pressure-volume Index (API), measured by a brachial cuff, have been demonstrated to be indicative of arterial stiffness and correlated with the risk of cardiovascular events. However, the threshold values of AVI and API for screening increased arterial stiffness in the general population are yet to be established.MethodsThe study involved 860 subjects who underwent general physical examinations (M/F = 422/438, age 53.4 ± 12.7 years) and were considered to represent the general population in China. In addition to the measurements of AVI, API and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), demographic information, arterial blood pressures, and data from blood and urine tests were collected. The threshold values of AVI and API were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses and covariate-adjusted ROC (AROC) analyses against baPWV, whose threshold for diagnosing high arterial stiffness was set at 18 m/s. Additional statistical analyses were performed to examine the correlations among AVI, API and baPWV and their correlations with other bio-indices.ResultsThe area under the curve (AUC) values in ROC analysis for the diagnosis with AVI/API were 0.745/0.819, 0.788/0.837, and 0.772/0.825 (95% CI) in males, females, and all subjects, respectively. Setting the threshold values of AVI and API to 21 and 27 resulted in optimal diagnosis performance in the total cohort, whereas the threshold values should be increased to 24 and 29, respectively, in order to improve the accuracy of diagnosis in the female group. The AROC analyses revealed that the threshold values of AVI and API increased markedly with age and pulse pressure (PP), respectively.ConclusionsWith appropriate threshold values, AVI and API can be used to perform preliminary screening for individuals with increased arterial stiffness in the general population. On the other hand, the results of the AROC analyses imply that using threshold values adjusted for confounding factors may facilitate the refinement of diagnosis. Given the fact that the study is a cross-sectional one carried out in a single center, future multi-center or follow-up studies are required to further confirm the findings or examine the value of the threshold values for predicting cardiovascular events.
Analysis of risk factors for intra-cystic hemorrhage in microwave ablation of partially cystic thyroid nodules
Authors: Fu Yao , Huang Yuhui , Liu Yongtai , Song Yu 
Published: July 2023

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to identify risk factors of intra-cystic hemorrhage in microwave ablation of mixed solid and cystic microwave ablation s, and to design a preoperative nomogram to predict the risk value of intraoperative bleeding with the goal of individualizing the surgical approach toward different types of cystic and solid thyroid nodules.MethodsA total of 241 patients with cystic-solid thyroid nodules who underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation were retrospectively divided into a bleeding group and a non-bleeding group to compare the diameter, cystic proportion, cystic fluid nature, color Doppler flow imaging, Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) findings, and operative methods. Based on univariate and multivariate analysis, the important risk factors of nodular intracapsular hemorrhage in the ablation procedure were projected to a nomogram for predicting the possibility of intraoperative hemorrhage in the thyroid cystic solid nodules.ResultsIntra-cystic hemorrhage was developed in 37 cases during the ablation of mixed thyroid nodules with a total incidence of 15% (37/241). Significant differences were found statistically between the two groups on the diameter of the lesions, CEUS findings, the cystic fluid ratio, and operative methods (P = 0.000, P = 0.001, P = 0.024, P = 0.002). The possibility of intraoperative nodular intracapsular hemorrhage was predicted by the model based on the risk factors with the accuracy of 81% and prediction consistency index (C-index) of 0.78.ConclusionA new and efficient prediction model was developed based on the identified risk factors for intracapsular hemorrhage during microwave ablation of mixed thyroid nodules, which will aid in the development of targeted surgical planning for different types of cystic thyroid nodules, thus reducing the risk of hemorrhage during ablation.
Reconstructing the thermal history of fish juveniles using stable oxygen isotope analysis of otoliths
Authors: Morat Fabien , Blamart Dominique , Bounket Bernadette , Argillier Christine , Carrel Georges , Maire Anthony 
Published: July 2023

Introduction: Characterizing the thermal habitat of fish is key to understanding their ecological requirements in order to make appropriate management plans for the preservation of fish populations in the context of climate change. Little is known about the thermal habitat of the early life stages of fish (larvae and juveniles), as most methods have been designed for large, easily handled individuals. In particular, the study of otoliths holds great promise for unveiling the early thermal history of fish, although it is challenging to implement due to the very small size of the biological material.Methods: The stable oxygen isotope content (δ18O) of biogenic carbonates (such as otoliths) can be used to reconstruct the life temperature of fish individuals. However, relationships between δ18O of otoliths and ambient temperature are scarce and mainly developed for commercial species. In this study, we assessed the δ18O of juvenile European chub (Squalius cephalus, Linnaeus 1758) living in a section of the lower Rhône River in France.Results: The δ18O of otoliths showed significant relationship with ambient temperature [δ18Ooto(VPDB)- δ18Ow(VPDB) = 33.391 – 0.2641 * T (°C)], and the relationship between temperature and the fractionation factor (α) was 1,000 ln α = −43.472 + 21.205 [1,000/T(K)].Discussion: As expected, back-calculated temperatures from these equations were in much better agreement with the measured in situ temperatures than previously published equations. This equation is the first to be developed for leuciscid fish in Europe and the second in the world.
Impact of pesticide outsourcing services on farmers’ low-carbon production behavior
Authors: Yang Yifan , Yu Yanli , Li Ruining , Jiang Debang 
Published: July 2023

Introduction: Promoting low-carbon development in agriculture is crucial for achieving agricultural modernization. One practical issue worth studying is whether outsourcing services can encourage farmers to adopt low-carbon production practices. This study analyzes the impact of pesticide outsourcing services on the low-carbon production behavior of farmers to provide China with practical recommendations.Methods: This empirical study investigates the impact of pesticide outsourcing services on farmers’ low-carbon production behavior using survey data from 450 rice growers in the Ningxia and Shaanxi provinces by endogenous switching regressions (ESR) model.Results and Discussion: Results showed that 1) outsourcing services have a significant negative impact on farmers’ manual weeding behavior, leading to a reduction in the frequency of manual weeding; 2) outsourcing services have a significant positive impact on farmers’ herbicide application behavior. In other words, participation in outsourcing leads to excessive pesticide application; 3) outsourcing services do not support a green and low-carbon production model where manual weeding replaces herbicide application. Due to the imperfect development of the outsourcing market in China, especially in the northwest region, the construction of outsourcing service system is lagging, and it is difficult for non-professional outsourcing services to play a driving role in green and low-carbon production for farmers, who will often choose the lower-cost mechanical application for maximum profit. The policy implication of this study is the need for a comprehensive and objective understanding of the impact and role of pesticide outsourcing services on farmers’ low-carbon production behavior. This understanding can help improve the market, policy, and other external environments for farmers to participate in outsourcing, ultimately promoting the sustainable development of green and low-carbon agriculture. This paper adds to the discussion of pesticide outsourcing services and farmers’ low-carbon production by drawing different conclusions from previous studies, providing a fresh foundation for policy-making.
Metabolomics acts as a powerful tool for comprehensively evaluating vaccines approved under emergency: a CoronaVac retrospective study
Authors: Liu Xinyu , Xiao Congshu , Guan Pengwei , Chen Qianqian , You Lei , Kong Hongwei , Qin Wangshu , Dou Peng , Li Qi , Li Yanju , Jiao Ying , Zhong Zhiwei , Yang Jun , Wang Xiaolin , Wang Qingqing , Zhao Jinhui , Xu Zhiliang , Zhang Hong , Li Rongkuan , Gao Peng , Xu Guowang 
Published: July 2023

IntroductionTo control the COVID-19 pandemic, great efforts have been made to realize herd immunity by vaccination since 2020. Unfortunately, most of the vaccines against COVID-19 were approved in emergency without a full-cycle and comprehensive evaluation process as recommended to the previous vaccines. Metabolome has a close tie with the phenotype and can sensitively reflect the responses to stimuli, rendering metabolomic analysis have the potential to appraise and monitor vaccine effects authentically.MethodsIn this study, a retrospective study was carried out for 330 Chinese volunteers receiving recommended two-dose CoronaVac, a vaccine approved in emergency in 2020. Venous blood was sampled before and after vaccination at 5 separate time points for all the recipients. Routine clinical laboratory analysis, metabolomic and lipidomic analysis data were collected.Results and discussionIt was found that the serum antibody-positive rate of this population was around 81.82%. Most of the laboratory parameters were slightly perturbated within the relevant reference intervals after vaccination. The metabolomic and lipidomic analyses showed that the metabolic shift after inoculation was mainly in the glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid metabolism, urea cycle, as well as microbe-related metabolism (bile acid metabolism, tryptophan metabolism and phenylalanine metabolism). Time-course metabolome changes were found in parallel with the progress of immunity establishment and peripheral immune cell counting fluctuation, proving metabolomics analysis was an applicable solution to evaluate immune effects complementary to traditional antibody detection. Taurocholic acid, lysophosphatidylcholine 16:0 sn-1, glutamic acid, and phenylalanine were defined as valuable metabolite markers to indicate the establishment of immunity after vaccination. Integrated with the traditional laboratory analysis, this study provided a feasible metabolomics-based solution to relatively comprehensively evaluate vaccines approved under emergency.
Immune-related adverse events associated with nab-paclitaxel/paclitaxel combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Authors: Hao Wenjing , Zhang Jun , Wang Yunxia , Fang Boyu , Jin Shasha , Yuan Jing , Cai Weimin 
Published: July 2023

ObjectiveThe combination of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX)/paclitaxel (PTX) with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has demonstrated significant efficacy in cancer patients. However, the safety of these combination regimens remains conflicting in former researches. Therefore, in order to address this issue, we performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to evaluate and compare the safety profile.MethodsWe performed a systematic review by searching randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Web of Science up to August 15, 2022. The primary outcomes were all‐grade (grade 1‐5) and high‐grade (grade 3‐5) immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Secondary outcomes were all‐grade (grade 1‐5) and high‐grade (grade 3‐5) irAEs of subgroups of ICIs.ResultsThere were 22 RCTs included in the NMA, involving a total of 15 963 patients diagnosed with any type of cancer. ICIs+nab-PTX was associated with a noticeably decreased risk of grade 3-5 pneumonitis (odds ratio [OR]=0.28, 95% credible interval [CrI]: 0.09,0.90) compared to ICI monotherapy; ICIs+PTX showed a lower risk of grade 1-5 hyperthyroidism (OR=0.46, 95% CrI: 0.22-0.96) and grade 1-5 hypothyroidism (OR=0.49, 95% CrI: 0.26-0.93) than ICIs. Compared with PD-1, PD-1+PTX was associated with a statistically significantly lower risk of grade 1-5 pneumonitis (OR=0.32, 95% CrI: 0.11-0.92). PD-L1 resulted in a noticeably lower risk of grade 1-5 hypothyroidism (OR=0.34, 95% CrI: 0.12-1.00) than PD-L1+PTX. Nearly all treatment regimens containing ICIs demonstrated significantly higher risks of irAEs compared to the standard chemotherapy groups.ConclusionNab-PTX/PTX+ICIs demonstrated an approach leading to decreased risk of irAEs compared with ICI monotherapy. This finding supports that ICIs+nab-PTX/PTX may be a safer treatment strategy. Moreover, we also found that the combination regimens containing ICIs had a higher risk of irAEs than standard chemotherapy. Additionally, ICIs+nab-PTX demonstrated a decreased risk of irAEs compared to ICIs+PTX. PD-1 inhibitors were associated with a higher risk of irAEs than PD-L1 inhibitors.
Optimizing animal models of autoimmune encephalitis using active immunization
Authors: Linnoila Jenny , Jalali Motlagh Negin , Jachimiec Grace , Lin Chih-Chung Jerry , Küllenberg Enrico , Wojtkiewicz Gregory , Tanzi Rudolph , Chen John W. 
Published: July 2023

Background and objectivesEncephalitis is a devastating neurologic disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Autoimmune causes are roughly as common as infectious ones. N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis (NMDARE), characterized by serum and/or spinal fluid NMDAR antibodies, is the most common form of autoimmune encephalitis (AE). A translational rodent NMDARE model would allow for pathophysiologic studies of AE, leading to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder. The main objective of this work was to identify optimal active immunization conditions for NMDARE in mice.MethodsFemale C57BL/6J mice aged 8 weeks old were injected subcutaneously with an emulsion of complete Freund’s adjuvant, killed and dessicated Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and a 30 amino acid peptide flanking the NMDAR GluN1 subunit N368/G369 residue targeted by NMDARE patients’ antibodies. Three different induction methods were examined using subcutaneous injection of the peptide emulsion mixture into mice in 1) the ventral surface, 2) the dorsal surface, or 3) the dorsal surface with reimmunization at 4 and 8 weeks (boosted). Mice were bled biweekly and sacrificed at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 14 weeks. Serum and CSF NMDAR antibody titer, mouse behavior, hippocampal cell surface and postsynaptic NMDAR cluster density, and brain immune cell entry and cytokine content were examined.ResultsAll immunized mice produced serum and CSF NMDAR antibodies, which peaked at 6 weeks in the serum and at 6 (ventral and dorsal boosted) or 8 weeks (dorsal unboosted) post-immunization in the CSF, and demonstrated decreased hippocampal NMDAR cluster density by 6 weeks post-immunization. In contrast to dorsally-immunized mice, ventrally-induced mice displayed a translationally-relevant phenotype including memory deficits and depressive behavior, changes in cerebral cytokines, and entry of T-cells into the brain at the 4-week timepoint. A similar phenotype of memory dysfunction and anxiety was seen in dorsally-immunized mice only when they were serially boosted, which also resulted in higher antibody titers.DiscussionOur study revealed induction method-dependent differences in active immunization mouse models of NMDARE disease. A novel ventrally-induced NMDARE model demonstrated characteristics of AE earlier compared to dorsally-induced animals and is likely suitable for most short-term studies. However, boosting and improving the durability of the immune response might be preferred in prolonged longitudinal studies.
Transition practice for primary immunodeficiency diseases in Southeast Asia: a regional survey
Authors: Chan Chee Mun , Abdul Latiff Amir Hamzah , Noh Lokman Mohd , Ismail Intan Hakimah , Abd Hamid Intan Juliana , Liew Woei Kang , Zhong Youjia , Suratannon Narissara , Nantanee Rapisa , Santos-Ocampo Fatima Johanna , Castor Mary Anne R. , Nguyen-Ngoc-Quynh Le , Van Nguyen Anh Thi , Thuc Huyen Thanh , Tuan Nguyen Minh , Muktiarti Dina , Amalia Rizqi , Chean Sophâl , Try Lytheang , Ali Adli 
Published: July 2023

IntroductionWith increased diagnostic capabilities and treatment modalities in the field of primary immunodeficiencies (PID), many pediatric patients survive beyond childhood and experience a change of care to the adult-oriented healthcare system. Unfortunately, the transition pathways for PID are less clearly defined, resulting in deterioration of quality of care in adulthood. Hence, this is the first regional study to address PID clinicians’ opinions on practices and challenges of transition care in 7 Southeast Asia (SEA) countries.MethodsWe adopted a cross-sectional study design through an online survey platform to enquire opinions of transition practices from expert representatives in 7 SEA countries.ResultsRegionally, 3 out 7 countries reported having no practice of transition care. Among cited challenges were reluctant adaptation by patients and caregivers to unfamiliarized adult healthcare systems, inadequate ratio of adult immunologists to patients and lack of facilities for transfer.Discussion and conclusionOur study provides evidence to advocate policy makers on the importance of standardized integration of transition practice towards betterment of transiting PID patients into adulthood.
Case report: A novel 10.8-kb deletion identified in the β-globin gene through the long-read sequencing technology in a Chinese family with abnormal hemoglobin testing results
Authors: Shao Mingkun , Wan Yaoyao , Cao Weipeng , Yang Juan , Cui Di , Ma Minhui , Hu Wanqin 
Published: July 2023

BackgroundThalassemia is a common inherited hemoglobin disorder caused by a deficiency of one or more globin subunits. Substitution variants and deletions in the HBB gene are the major causes of β-thalassemia, of which large fragment deletions are rare and difficult to be detected by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods.Case reportIn this study, we reported a 26-year-old Han Chinese man, whose routine blood parameters were found to be abnormal. Hemoglobin testing was performed on the proband and his family members, of whom only the proband's mother had normal parameters. The comprehensive analysis of thalassemia alleles (CATSA, a long-read sequencing-based approach) was performed to identify the causative variants. We finally found a novel 10.8-kb deletion including the β-globin (HBB) gene (Chr11:5216601-5227407, GRch38/hg38) of the proband and his father and brother, which were consistent with their hemoglobin testing results. The copy number and exact breakpoints of the deletion were confirmed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and gap-polymerase chain reaction (Gap-PCR) as well as Sanger sequencing, respectively.ConclusionWith this novel large deletion found in the HBB gene in China, we expand the genotype spectrum of β-thalassemia and show the advantages of long-read sequencing (LRS) for comprehensive and precise detection of thalassemia variants.