bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Growing disparity in the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease between people with and without disabilities: a Korean nationwide serial cross-sectional study
Authors: Min Jinsoo , Park Jong Eun , Kim So Young , Kim Yeon Yong , Park Jong Hyock 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFew studies have examined the association between disability and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We compared the trends in the annual COPD prevalence between people with and without disabilities, and examined the association between disability and COPD. We linked the National Health Information Database (2008–2017) with the National Disability Registration Database, which includes more than 2 million people with disabilities every year. In the 2017 dataset, people with disabilities had a higher prevalence of COPD than those without disabilities (30.6% vs. 12.5%, P < 0.001). The age-standardized prevalence rate of COPD among people without disabilities increased from 4.2 in 2008 to 10.9% in 2017 (change of 6.7%), whereas that among those with disabilities increased from 7.0 to 17.1% (change of 10.1%). In multivariate analysis, compared to people without disabilities, those with disabilities had a higher probability of having COPD (adjusted odds ratio, 1.42; 95% confidence interval 1.42–1.43). The results of subgroup analysis by disability characteristics suggested that disabilities due to failure of an organ, such as the kidney, lung, heart, or liver, and severe disabilities were particularly vulnerable to COPD. In conclusion, people with disabilities are more likely to have COPD compared to people without disabilities. Further longitudinal studies that examine cause-and-effect relationship between disability and COPD are needed to clarify this relationship and to further investigate any potential negative effects associated with the coexistence of these conditions.
Bioinspired preactivation reflex increases robustness of walking on rough terrain
Authors: Bunz Elsa K. , Haeufle Daniel F. B. , Remy C. David , Schmitt Syn 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWalking on unknown and rough terrain is challenging for (bipedal) robots, while humans naturally cope with perturbations. Therefore, human strategies serve as an excellent inspiration to improve the robustness of robotic systems. Neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) models provide the necessary interface for the validation and transfer of human control strategies. Reflexes play a crucial part during normal locomotion and especially in the face of perturbations, and provide a simple, transferable, and bio-inspired control scheme. Current reflex-based NMS models are not robust to unexpected perturbations. Therefore, in this work, we propose a bio-inspired improvement of a widely used NMS walking model. In humans, different muscles show an increase in activation in anticipation of the landing at the end of the swing phase. This preactivation is not integrated in the used reflex-based walking model. We integrate this activation by adding an additional feedback loop and show that the landing is adapted and the robustness to unexpected step-down perturbations is markedly improved (from 3 to 10 cm). Scrutinizing the effect, we find that the stabilizing effect is caused by changed knee kinematics. Preactivation, therefore, acts as an accommodation strategy to cope with unexpected step-down perturbations, not requiring any detection of the perturbation. Our results indicate that such preactivation can potentially enable a bipedal system to react adequately to upcoming unexpected perturbations and is hence an effective adaptation of reflexes to cope with rough terrain. Preactivation can be ported to robots by leveraging the reflex-control scheme and improves the robustness to step-down perturbation without the need to detect the perturbation. Alternatively, the stabilizing mechanism can also be added in an anticipatory fashion by applying an additional knee torque to the contralateral knee.
Physical exercise and major depressive disorder in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Pérez Bedoya Édison Andrés , Puerta-López Luisa Fernanda , López Galvis Daniel Alejandro , Rojas Jaimes Diego Alejandro , Moreira Osvaldo Costa 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe objective of this study was to assess the benefits and potential risks associated with different physical exercise modalities for managing symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder who were not receiving second-generation antidepressants or cognitive behavioral therapy. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted. The search included multiple databases: Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Clinical Trials repository, gray literature, and manual search. No language restrictions were applied. Eligible studies involved RCTs of adults with major depressive disorder who were not on antidepressants or receiving psychological therapy, comparing various exercise modalities with second-generation antidepressants or cognitive behavioral therapy, body-mind exercise, or no exercise interventions. Nine RCTs involving 678 adults were analyzed. The pooled results indicated a small clinical effect favoring exercise in reducing depressive symptoms, although the difference was not statistically significant (SMD = 0.27, 95% CI [− 0.58, 0.04], P = 0.09). Subgroup analyses suggested that intervention duration, frequency, intensity, supervision, age, overweight/obesity status, and diagnosis of depression could influence treatment outcomes. A sensitivity analysis was conducted for studies with controls without exercise interventions and a low risk of bias in the domains related to the randomization process and deviations from the intended interventions. The results showed that there are no statistically significant differences when interventions are compared with medication and body-mind exercise (p = 0.12, I2 = 78%). Furthermore, the analysis showed a moderate effect size favoring exercise, but no statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.05), with high heterogeneity (I2 = 85%). The evidence quality was generally low to very low, and methodological limitations compromised the certainty of the findings. Adverse events associated with exercise were manageable. The study emphasizes the need for well-designed RCTs to provide clearer insights into the potential benefits of exercise in managing major depressive disorder symptoms. Caution is warranted in interpreting these results due to the limitations of the included studies.Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42022356741.
Association of serum beta hCG levels in women with palpable malignant breast lesions
Authors: Mohammed Ashfaque , Ahmed Talha , Bhat Rahul R. , Mallik Esha , Arulprakasam Aashika 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThis study aims to determine whether serum Beta hCG can be used as a tumour marker in Breast malignancies. The objective of this study is to evaluate the serum Beta hCG in various stages of breast carcinoma and to correlate its level with disease severity and prognosis. Cross sectional analytical study of assessing serum Beta hCG in 200 patients with palpable breast malignancies at hospitals in urban Mangalore, India. In our study there was No increase in serum Beta hCG, in women with breast malignancies, but there was a pattern amongst the negative results. A Beta hCG of < 5mIU/mL is taken as negative, but in our study of 200 individuals, a mean value of 2mIU/mL was used as differentiation between low and high risk individuals. With our study we tried to correlate the value of Beta hCG with malignant breast lesions, and even though women with such lesions did not have a value of > 5mIU/mL, we found substantial evidence that women who had a value of > 2mIU/mL had a more advanced disease, be it in terms of staging, and comparing it with markers like ki67. A direct correlation between Beta hCG and severity of the disease in terms of staging was proved, hereby directly affecting the outcome of patients. Higher the level of Beta hCG, graver the prognosis. Even though Beta hCG cannot be used as tumour marker, it can be used to prognosticate the severity in women with palpable breast malignancies.
Asymmetric charge balanced waveforms direct retinal ganglion cell axon growth
Authors: Peng M. G. , Iseri E. , Simonyan A. , Lam P. , Kim T. , Medvidovic S. , Paknahad J. , Machnoor M. , Lazzi G. , Gokoffski K. K. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFailure to direct axon regeneration to appropriate targets is a major barrier to restoring function after nerve injury. Development of strategies that can direct targeted regeneration of neurons such as retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are needed to delay or reverse blindness in diseases like glaucoma. Here, we demonstrate that a new class of asymmetric, charge balanced (ACB) waveforms are effective at directing RGC axon growth, in vitro, without compromising cell viability. Unlike previously proposed direct current (DC) stimulation approaches, charge neutrality of ACB waveforms ensures the safety of stimulation while asymmetry ensures its efficacy. Furthermore, we demonstrate the relative influence of pulse amplitude and pulse width on the overall effectiveness of stimulation. This work can serve as a practical guideline for the potential deployment of electrical stimulation as a treatment strategy for nerve injury.
Identification of new cold tolerant Zoysia grass species using high-resolution RGB and multi-spectral imaging
Authors: Ku Ki-Bon , Mansoor Sheikh , Han Gyung Deok , Chung Yong Suk , Tuan Thai Thanh 
Published: August 2023

AbstractZoysia grass (Zoysia spp.) is the most widely used warm-season turf grass in Korea due to its durability and resistance to environmental stresses. To develop new longer-period greenness cultivars, it is essential to screen germplasm which maintains the greenness at a lower temperature. Conventional methods are time-consuming, laborious, and subjective. Therefore, in this study, we demonstrate an objective and efficient method to screen maintaining longer greenness germplasm using RGB and multispectral images. From August to December, time-series data were acquired and we calculated green cover percentage (GCP), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Red Edge Index (NDRE), Soil-adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) values of germplasm from RGB and multispectral images by applying vegetation indexs. The result showed significant differences in GCP, NDVI, NDRE, SAVI, and EVI among germplasm (p < 0.05). The GCP, which evaluated the quantity of greenness by counting pixels of the green area from RGB images, exhibited maintenance of greenness over 90% for August and September but, sharply decrease from October. The study found significant differences in GCP and NDVI among germplasm. san208 exhibiting over 90% GCP and high NDVI values during 153 days. In addition, we also conducted assessments using various vegetation indexes, namely NDRE, SAVI, and EVI. san208 exhibited NDRE levels exceeding 3% throughout this period. As for SAVI, it initially started at approximately 38% and gradually decreased to around 4% over the course of these days. Furthermore, for the month of August, it recorded approximately 6%, but experienced a decline from about 9% to 1% between September and October. The complementary use of both indicators could be an efficient method for objectively assessing the greenness of turf both quantitatively and qualitatively.
The causal effects of leisure screen time on irritable bowel syndrome risk from a Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Lu Liesheng , Liu Changqin , Liu Kunpeng , Shi Chenzhang , Liu Zhongchen , Jiang Xun , Wang Feng 
Published: August 2023

AbstractAssociations between leisure sedentary behavior (especially leisure screen time, LST) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have been reported, but causality is unclear. Here, the two-sample Mendelian randomization was performed to investigate the causal association between LST and IBS. Two recently published genome-wide association studies (GWASs) including a total of 1,190,502 people from Europe were used as our data source. Inverse variance weighting (OR = 1.120, 95% CI 1.029–1.219) and weighted median (OR = 1.112, 95% CI 1.000–1.236) analyses revealed a causal effect between LST and IBS. There was no evidence of pleiotropy in the sensitive analysis (MR-Egger, p = 0.139). After removing potentially confounding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), similar results were found using inverse variance weighting (OR = 1.131, 95% CI 1.025–1.248) and weighted median (OR = 1.151, 95% CI 1.020–1.299), as well as in the validation analyses using inverse variance weighting (OR = 1.287, 95% CI 0.996–1.662). This study provided support for a possible causal relationship between leisure screen time and IBS.
Stability evaluation of rock pillar between twin tunnels using the YAI
Authors: Zhang Huijian , Liu Gongning , Liu Weixiong , Chen Zekun , Miao Zengrun , Liu Qiuyang 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe stability of rock pillar is crucial for ensuring the construction safety of twin tunnels with small clearance, especially when transitioning from the traditional left–right tunnel layouts to the up-down configurations due to complex and variable site constraints. However, there are limited researches on the evaluation and comparative study of the stability of these two types of rock pillars in twin tunnels. This paper introduces the yield approach index (YAI) as a measure to assess the stability of rock pillar in twin tunnels with small clearance, and various influencing factors including side pressure coefficient (SPC), stress release rate (SRR), and the thickness of rock pillar (characterised by the ratio of rock pillar thickness to tunnel diameter, RPT/TD) are considered in the analysis. The study compares and analyzes the stability differences of the rock pillar in different situations. It is observed that the two sides of up-down tunnels pose a higher risk while the rock pillar in the left–right configuration being the most vulnerable. The stability of the rock pillar between the up-down tunnels is significantly higher than that of the left–right tunnels under similar conditions. Moreover, the up-down tunnels exhibit greater sensitivity to SPC, whereas the left–right tunnels are more sensitive to SRR. Additionally, the study reveals that increasing the RPT/TD can effectively improve the stability of the rock pillar within a specific range (1/4 to 2/3). The research method and obtained results of this paper can provide some important references for the stability evaluation and design of twin tunnels with small clearance.
Irrigated barley–grass pea crop mixtures can revive soil microbial activities and alleviate salinity in desertic conditions of southern Morocco
Authors: Ashilenje Dennis S. , Amombo Erick , Hirich Abdelaziz , Devkota Krishna P. , Kouisni Lamfeddal , Nilahyane Abdelaziz 
Published: August 2023

AbstractSoil salinity adversely limits crop and soil health, and this can be reversed by cropping systems where species exclude salts and activate microbial nutrient cycling. A randomized complete block design experiment was established in Laayoune–Morocco to evaluate the influence of irrigated grass pea and barley monocrops or combined together in 50–50% and 70–30% mixtures against soil salinity and CO2-C flux in sites with varying salinity. Site by treatment interaction significantly influenced (p < 0.05) soil salinity and CO2-C flux. Salinity reduced by 37 to 68 dS m−1 in highly saline soils across season regardless of treatment and barley monocrop retained the least salinity (15 dS m−1). Same applied to sites with low (1 to 2 dS m−1) and medium (2 to 5 dS m−1) salinity although less pronounced. The 70–30% grass pea, barley mixture maintained the greatest CO2-C flux in soils with low salinity and marginally enhancing soil active carbon (130 to 229 mg kg−1 soil) in different sites. Increasingly saline water filled pore space devastated CO2-C flux, although this process recovered under barley at extreme salinity. Overall, barley in mixture with grass pea can alleviate salinity and accelerate microbial carbon sequestration if irrigation is modulated in shallow desertic soils.
Artificial intelligence in diagnosing dens evaginatus on periapical radiography with limited data availability
Authors: Choi Eunhye , Pang KangMi , Jeong Eunjae , Lee Sangho , Son Youngdoo , Seo Min-Seock 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThis study aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model using deep learning techniques to diagnose dens evaginatus (DE) on periapical radiography (PA) and compare its performance with endodontist evaluations. In total, 402 PA images (138 DE and 264 normal cases) were used. A pre-trained ResNet model, which had the highest AUC of 0.878, was selected due to the small number of data. The PA images were handled in both the full (F model) and cropped (C model) models. There were no significant statistical differences between the C and F model in AI, while there were in endodontists (p = 0.753 and 0.04 in AUC, respectively). The AI model exhibited superior AUC in both the F and C models compared to endodontists. Cohen’s kappa demonstrated a substantial level of agreement for the AI model (0.774 in the F model and 0.684 in C) and fair agreement for specialists. The AI’s judgment was also based on the coronal pulp area on full PA, as shown by the class activation map. Therefore, these findings suggest that the AI model can improve diagnostic accuracy and support clinicians in diagnosing DE on PA, improving the long-term prognosis of the tooth.
Unexpected growth of an illegal water market
Authors: Klassert Christian , Yoon Jim , Sigel Katja , Klauer Bernd , Talozi Samer , Lachaut Thibaut , Selby Philip , Knox Stephen , Avisse Nicolas , Tilmant Amaury , Harou Julien J. , Mustafa Daanish , Medellín-Azuara Josué , Bataineh Bushra , Zhang Hua , Gawel Erik , Gorelick Steven M. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractScarce and unreliable urban water supply in many countries has caused municipal users to rely on transfers from rural wells via unregulated markets. Assessments of this pervasive water re-allocation institution and its impacts on aquifers, consumer equity and affordability are lacking. We present a rigorous coupled human–natural system analysis of rural-to-urban tanker water market supply and demand in Jordan, a quintessential example of a nation relying heavily on such markets, fed by predominantly illegal water abstractions. Employing a shadow-economic approach validated using multiple data types, we estimate that unregulated water sales exceed government licences 10.7-fold, equalling 27% of the groundwater abstracted above sustainable yields. These markets supply 15% of all drinking water at high prices, account for 52% of all urban water revenue and constrain the public supply system’s ability to recover costs. We project that household reliance on tanker water will grow 2.6-fold by 2050 under population growth and climate change. Our analysis suggests that improving the efficiency and equity of public water supply is needed to ensure water security while avoiding uncontrolled groundwater depletion by growing tanker markets.
Red emissive carbon dots: a promising next-generation material with intracellular applicability
Authors: Warjurkar Khushboo , Panda Satyajit , Sharma Vinay 
Published: August 2023

In this article, we present a thorough review on the use of RCDs in biomedical applications, including in vivo and in vitro bioimaging, photoacoustic imaging, monitoring temperature and polarity changes in living cells, tumour therapy, and drug delivery.
Concomitant Venous Thrombosis in Cellulitis of the Upper Extremity
Authors: Gawaz Andrea , Gonser Lena , Walter Vincent , Strölin Anke , Kofler Katrin 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Objectives Concurrent thrombosis is observed in up to 15 % of the patients with cellulitis of the lower extremity. The risk of concomitant venous thrombosis in patients with upper extremity cellulitis has not been investigated, yet. Aim of this study is to examine the frequency of concomitant venous thrombosis in patients with cellulitis of the upper extremity and to identify risk factors, comorbidities, and complications.
Materials and Methods From 2014 to 2021, patients with cellulitis of the arm that received duplexsonography of the same limb were included. Files were reviewed for demographic data, comorbidities, and risk factors.
Results 53 patients with upper limb cellulitis were included. In 11.3 % of the patients (n = 6), concomitant venous thrombosis of the upper extremity was detected. Three patients had deep arm thrombosis (brachial and subclavian veins), three had superficial vein thrombosis.
Conclusion Cellulitis may increase the risk for venous thrombosis. Venous catheters and chronic lymphedema favor the occurrence of both cellulitis and venous thrombosis. Oncological patients are at particular risk for developing concomitant venous thrombosis.
Update Perioperative Antibiotikaprophylaxe in der
Neonatologie
Authors: Simon Arne , Meier Clemens Magnus , Baltaci Yeliz , Müller Rachel , Heidtmann Solvej Agneta , Zemlin Michael , Renk Hanna 
Published: August 2023

ZusammenfassungIn dieser Übersicht werden Grundprinzipien der perioperativen
Antibiotikaprophylaxe (PAP) bei Früh- und Reifgeborenen diskutiert und
es wird auf einige Besonderheiten bei den Indikationen und der Dosierung der PAP
eingegangen. Auch wenn intensivmedizinisch behandelte Neugeborene eine
vulnerable Patientengruppe darstellen, soll die PAP in ihrem Wirkspektrum
gezielt und in der Regel nicht länger als 24 Stunden verabreicht
werden.