bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sex-related differences in retinal function in Wistar rats: implications for toxicity and safety studies
Authors: Tyszkiewicz Cheryl , Hwang Seo-Kyoung , Manickam Balasubramanian , Jakubczak Ben , Walters Karen M. , Bolt Michael W. , Santos Rosemary , Liu Chang-Ning 
Published: May 2023

Introduction: Wistar Han rats are a preferred strain of rodents for general toxicology and safety pharmacology studies in drug development. In some of these studies, visual functional tests that assess for retinal toxicity are included as an additional endpoint. Although the influence of gender on human retinal function has been documented for more than 6 decades, preclinically it is still uncertain if there are differences in retinal function between naïve male and female Wistar Han rats.Methods: In this study, sex-related differences in the retinal function were quantified by analyzing electroretinography (ERG) in 7-9-week-old (n = 52 males and 51 females) and 21–23-week-old Wistar Han rats (n = 48 males and 51 females). Optokinetic tracking response, brainstem auditory evoked potential, ultrasonic vocalization and histology were tested and evaluated in a subset of animals to investigate the potential compensation mechanisms of spontaneous blindness.Results/Discussion: Absence of scotopic and photopic ERG responses was found in 13% of 7-9-week-old (7/52) and 19% of 21–23-week-old males (9/48), but none of female rats (0/51). The averaged amplitudes of rod- and cone-mediated ERG b-wave responses obtained from males were significantly smaller than the amplitudes of the same responses from age-matched females (−43% and −26%, respectively) at 7–9 weeks of age. There was no difference in the retinal and brain morphology, brainstem auditory responses, or ultrasonic vocalizations between the animals with normal and abnormal ERGs at 21–23 weeks of age. In summary, male Wistar Han rats had altered retinal responses, including a complete lack of responses to test flash stimuli (i.e., blindness), when compared with female rats at 7–9 and 21–23 weeks of age. Therefore, sex differences should be considered when using Wistar Han rats in toxicity and safety pharmacology studies with regards to data interpretation of retinal functional assessments.
Raw potato starch diet supplement in weaned pigs could reduce Salmonella Typhimurium infection by altering microbiome composition and improving immune status
Authors: Yi Seung-Won , Lee Han Gyu , Kim Eunju , Jung Young-Hun , Bok Eun-Yeong , Cho Ara , Do Yoon Jung , Hur Tai-Young , Oh Sang-Ik 
Published: May 2023

BackgorundSalmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) is one of the causative agents of gastroenteritis in pigs. Pigs fed a diet supplemented with raw potato starch (RPS) have improved gut health by the alteration of the microbiota composition and production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of RPS supplementation in reducing infection severity and fecal shedding in ST-infected pigs.MethodsThe weaned experimental pigs were divided into two groups: CON (n = 6) fed a corn/soybean-based diet and TRT (n = 6) supplemented with 5% RPS. After 21 d, the pigs were inoculated with ST, and their body weight, clinical signs, and fecal shedding of ST were monitored for 14 d. At 14 d post-inoculation (dpi), the jejunum, cecum, ileum, and colon tissues were collected from euthanized pigs, and histopathological lesions and cytokine gene expression were compared. Additionally, blood samples at 2 dpi were analyzed for gene ontology enrichment. Moreover, the gutmicrobiome was analyzed using 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing, and the SCFA concentration was measured using gas chromatography.ResultsThe average daily weight gain was significantly higher in TRT than in CON during the ST infection period; however, histopathological lesion scores were significantly lower in TRT than in CON. The relative abundance of nine genera of butyrate- and acetate-producing bacteria significantly increased in TRT compared with that of only two acetate-producing bacteria in CON. Among the genes involved in the immune response, IL-18 expression level was significantly lower in the jejunum and colon in TRT than in CON. Furthermore, Reg3γ expression was significantly different in the cecum and colon of both groups.ConclusionThe diet supplemented with RPS in weaned pigs could result in predominance of butyrate- and acetate-producing bacteria, reducing the severity of ST infection by improving the immune status.
Characterization of the Liriodendron chinense Pentatricopeptide Repeat (PPR) Gene Family and Its Role in Osmotic Stress Response
Authors: Ma Xiaoxiao , Wang Dandan , Xue Guoxia , Zheng Xueyan , Lu Ye , Shi Jisen , Hao Zhaodong , Chen Jinhui 
Published: May 2023

The Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) superfamily is a large gene family in plants that regulates organelle RNA metabolism, which is important for plant growth and development. However, a genome-wide analysis of the PPR gene family and its response to abiotic stress has not been reported for the relict woody plant Liriodendron chinense. In this paper, we identified 650 PPR genes from the L. chinense genome. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the LcPPR genes could roughly be divided into the P and PLS subfamilies. We found that 598 LcPPR genes were widely distributed across 19 chromosomes. An intraspecies synteny analysis indicated that duplicated genes from segmental duplication contributed to the expansion of the LcPPR gene family in the L. chinense genome. In addition, we verified the relative expression of Lchi03277, Lchi06624, Lchi18566, and Lchi23489 in the roots, stems, and leaves and found that all four genes had the highest expression in the leaves. By simulating a drought treatment and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, we confirmed the drought-responsive transcriptional changes in four LcPPR genes, two of which responded to drought stress independent of endogenous ABA biosynthesis. Thus, our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the L. chinense PPR gene family. It contributes to research into their roles in this valuable tree species’ growth, development, and stress resistance.
Applying Machine Learning Techniques in Air Quality Prediction—A Bucharest City Case Study
Authors: Cican Grigore , Buturache Adrian-Nicolae , Mirea Radu 
Published: May 2023

Air quality forecasting is very difficult to achieve in metropolitan areas due to: pollutants emission dynamics, high population density and uncertainty in defining meteorological conditions. The use of data, which contain insufficient information within the model training, and the poor selection of the model to be used limits the air quality prediction accuracy. In this study, the prediction of NO2 concentration is made for the year 2022 using a long short-term memory network (LSTM) and a gated recurrent unit (GRU). this is an improvement in terms of performance compared to traditional methods. Data used for predictive modeling are obtained from the National Air Quality Monitoring Network. The KPIs(key performance indicator) are computed based on the testing data subset when the NO2 predicted values are compared to the real known values. Further, two additional predictions were performed for two days outside the modeling dataset. The quality of the data is not as expected, and so, before building the models, the missing data had to be imputed. LSTM and GRU performance in predicting NO2 levels is similar and reasonable with respect to the case study. In terms of pure generalization capabilities, both LSTM and GRU have the maximum R2 value below 0.8. LSTM and GRU represent powerful architectures for time-series prediction. Both are highly configurable, so the probability of identifying the best suited solution for the studied problem is consequently high.
Trends in consultations and prescribing for rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: an electronic primary care records study
Authors: Welsh Victoria K , Mason Kayleigh J , Bailey James , Bajpai Ram , Jordan Kelvin P , Mallen Christian D , Burton Claire 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundRheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are common and generally managed in primary care through supported self-care, physiotherapy, analgesia, and specialist referral where indicated. The COVID-19 pandemic led to abrupt changes in primary care delivery, including moves to remote consulting, pauses on group-based self-care, and restricted referrals.AimTo describe how patterns of UK primary healthcare consultations and analgesic prescribing relating to RMDs changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design and settingObservational study using routinely collected national primary care electronic health record data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink between 1 April 2017 and 1 October 2021.MethodRMD and analgesic SNOMED-CT codes were derived through consensus and published work. Prevalent and incident RMD-related consultations were determined, and RMD consultations matched to prevalent and incident analgesia prescriptions. Joinpoint regression was used to describe trends over time.ResultsPrevalent and incident RMD consultations steadily increased until March 2020 when a substantial drop occurred as pandemic- related restrictions were introduced; levels had not recovered to pre-pandemic highs by October 2021. While incident and prevalent analgesic prescribing also reduced around March 2020, the proportion of patients with an RMD consultation prescribed any analgesic increased from 27.72% in February 2020 to 38.15% in April 2020, with increases across all analgesic groups. A higher proportion of strong opioid prescriptions was seen in the most deprived areas.ConclusionPandemic-associated restrictions led to fewer primary care consultations and relative increases in analgesic prescribing, including strong opioids, for RMDs in the UK. Policymakers must consider the impact of these changes in future healthcare resource planning.
Compact and portable quantum sensor module using diamond NV centers
Authors: Deguchi Hiroshige , Hayashi Tsukasa , Saito Hiroya , Nishibayashi Yoshiki , Teramoto Minori , Fujiwara Masanori , Morishita Hiroki , Mizuochi Norikazu , Tatsumi Natsuo 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
We developed a compact and portable measuring instrument using diamond NV centers that operates on the USB 3.0 power supply of a laptop computer. Its portability is achieved by the low power consumption of the optics, realized by the diamond corner cube that enhanced the current of the photodiode to 2.1 times higher than that of the planar diamond, and that of the microwave source, reduced by 20 dB, which was realized by a microwave resonator using a λ/4 open stub that strongly magnetically drives the NV center. These results contribute to the social implementation of diamond sensors.
Edukasi Kesehatan : Pemanfaatan Bakteri Dalam Berbagai Aspek Kehidupan
Authors: Adriani Adriani , Esti Rizkiana Pratiwi  , Andi Nur Samsi  , Muthmainnah Muthmainnah , Ube Dagonala  
Published: May 2023

Keberadaan bakteri di alam tidak semuanya merugikan. Berbagai jenis bakteri mampu meningkatkan kualitas hidup manusia melalui peningkatan pertumbuhan tanaman dan mutu bahan pangan serta produksi obat. Informasi mengenai manfaat bakteri masih belum banyak diketahui oleh masyarakat umum. Oleh karena itu kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat (PKM) dalam bentuk melalui talkshow ini diharapkan dapat memberikan edukasi kepada masyarakat luas mengenai peranan bakteri bagi manusia. Kegiatan ini bekerja sama dengan Konklusi Indonesia dan dilakukan secara daring menggunakan zoom video conferencing platform. Berdasarkan hasil talkshow, para peserta sepakat bahwasanya bakteri yang ada di sekitar kita memiliki peranan yang penting bagi kehidupan.
PEMBERDAYAAN PUSAT KULINER SEAFOOD SEBAGAI USAHA PENINGKATAN BLUE ECONOMY MASYARAKAT KAMPUNG NELAYAN BERBASIS EDUPRENEURSHIP
Authors: Ilham Albohari  , Eka Swajaya Putri  , Mawar Puspita sari  , M. Randi Briliansaputra  , Tomi Hidayat  
Published: May 2023

Kelurahan Malabero merupakan salah satu sentral masyarakat nelayan penghasil makanan laut (seafood) di Kota Bengkulu. Mata pencaharian nelayan Kelurahan Malabero berpotensi cukup besar dimana pada musim panen rata-rata setiap nelayan mampu memproduksi seafood sebanyak 400 kg sampai 500 kg setiap harinya. Kelompok Nelayan Kelurahan Malabero masih menggunakan metode pengolahan yang masih berupa bahan setengah jadi. Permasalahan pokok yang dihadapi masyarakat nelayan tersebut berkaitan dengan kualitas produksi hasil tangkapan biota laut berupa ikan laut, cumi, kepiting, udang, lokan/remis mutu sumberdaya yang rendah dan sarana prasarana tidak memadai, sehingga berakibat kualitas blue economy, ketahanan pangan dan kesejahteraan ekonomi masayarakat nelayan juga tidak cukup baik. Untuk itu aplikasi teknologi yang berbasis edupreneurship dalam hal produksi hasil tangkapan nelayan diharapkan dapat meningkatkan blue economy, ketahanan pangan dan kesejahteraan ekonomi masyarakat nelayan Kelurahan Malabero Kota Bengkulu. Melalui proses aplikasi teknologi pengalengan ini, diharapkan para masyarakat nelayan Kelurahan Malabero Kota Bengkulu dapat meningkatkan blue economy, ketahanan pangan dan kesejahteraan ekonomi masyarakat nelayan. Proses aplikasi teknologi tepat guna ini diawali dengan memetakan potensi blue economy, ketahanan pangan, modal, peluang usaha, pemasaran, komunikasi, motivasi, dan pengenalan edupreneurship.

Kata Kunci : Blue economy, edupreneurship, seafood, kampung nelayan.
Rank-based Transformation Algorithm (RBT) for Image Contrast Adjustment
Authors: Chen Cheng-Hui , Nordling Torbjörn E. M. 
Published: May 2023

<p>Performing proper image contrast adjustment without information loss is an art. The default settings are often inappropriate for the image in question rendering a contrast adjustment depending on trial and error. We propose a simple method, rank-based transformation (RBT), for image contrast adjustment that requires no prior knowledge. This makes RBT an ideal first tool to apply for underexposed images. The RBT algorithm normalizes and equalizes all the intensity differences of the image over the full intensity range of the image data type, and thus assigning equal weight to all gradients. Even the state-of-the-art AI tool Cellpose visually benefits from RBT preprocessing. Our comparison of histogram normalization methods demonstrates the ability of RBT to bring out image features. </p>
Phasic and tonic muscle synergies are different in number, structure and sparseness in upper limb multi-directional movements
Authors: Brambilla Cristina , Russo Marta , d'Avella Andrea , Scano Alessandro 
Published: May 2023

<p> In the last two decades, muscle synergies analysis has been commonly used to assess the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying human motor control. Despite several synergy models and algorithms have been employed for processing the electromyographic (EMG) signal, and neural substrates indicate their non?homogeneous origin, EMG patterns are usually preprocessed without separating phasic (movement-related) and tonic (anti-gravity and related to co-contraction) components. Using a comprehensive mapping of upper?limb point-to-point movements, synergies were extracted from phasic and tonic EMG signal separately, estimating the tonic components with a linear ramp model. The goodness of reconstruction (R2 ) as a function of the number of synergies was compared, and synergies extracted from each dataset at three threshold levels (0.80, 0.85, 0.90) were retained for further analysis. Then, shared, phasic-specific, and tonic-specific synergies were extracted from the two datasets concatenated. We found only few shared synergies, indicating that phasic and tonic synergies have in general different structures. Shared, phasic-specific and tonic-specific synergies were clustered separately and compared for evaluating differences in synergy composition. Phasic-specific clusters were more numerous than tonic-specific ones and with a higher sparseness, suggesting that they were more differentiated among subjects. The structure of the clusters indicated that phasic synergies identify specific patterns related to the movement (sparse composition) while tonic synergies show co-contraction of multiple muscles for joint stabilization and holding postures. These results suggest that phasic and tonic synergies should be extracted separately, especially when performing muscle synergy analysis in patients with abnormal tonic activity and for tuning devices with gravity support </p>
Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique for Efforts to Improve Imbalanced Data in Classification of Lettuce Plant Diseases
Authors: Nasution Nurliana , Feldiansyah Feldiansyah , Zamsuri Ahmad , Hasan Mhd Arief 
Published: May 2023

In this study we classified lettuce plant diseases. These plant diseases are available in the form of images that have been converted in .csv format to be classified. These plant diseases are available in the form of images that have been converted in .csv format to be classified. Image These plant diseases have been divided into several classes or categories. Then we determine the features of each row and column of the dataset. Each line in the CSV file represents one image, and each column represents one feature Each line in the CSV file represents one image, and each column represents one feature. Then a label is made for each line in the CSV file, namely the class or category where the images are grouped. Thus, so that we get datasets that are ready to be processed with machine learning. However, in processing the dataset, we get imbalanced data. So we added the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE) method to overcome the imbalance that occurs. So that the data can be classified using several algorithms to find the best accuracy.
Analisa Pengaruh Perbedaan Waktu Belajar Terhadap Hasil Belajar Mata Kuliah Matematika Diskrit Mahasiswa STIKOM Tunas Bangsa
Authors: Nasution Zulaini Masruro , Kirana Ika Okta , Anggraini Fitri 
Published: May 2023

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisa waktu belajar dengan hasil belajar Matematika diskrit. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian kuantitatif menggunakan survey expose facto. Populasi penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa STIKOM Tunas Bangsa Pematangsiantar. Sampel yang digunakan adalah 75 mahasiswa yang terbagi menjadi 2 kelompok belajar yaitu mahasiswa sesi pagi yang terdiri dari 40 mahasiswa dan mahasiswa sesi siang yang terdiri dari 35 mahasiswa semester 6 TA 2021-2022. Pengumpulan data menggunakan hasil belajar mahasiswa (Nilai UAS) pada mata kuliah matematika diskrit.Analisisi data menggunakan analisis regresi sederhana berbantu software SPSS 25. Hasil analisa yaitu nilai signifikan 0,542 lebih besar dari 0,05. Nilai signifikansi sebesar 0,542 merujuk pada cara pengambilan keputusan berdasarkan nilai signifikansi yaitu 0,542 > 0,05 maka, waktu belajar tidak memiliki pengaruh terhadap variabel terikat yaitu hasil belajarmatematika diskrit mahasiswa semester 6 TA. 2021-2022 prodi Sistem Informasi STIKOM Tunas Bangsa Pematangsiantar.
How pre-processing decisions affect the reliability and validity of the approach–avoidance task: Evidence from simulations and multiverse analyses with six datasets
Authors: Kahveci Sercan , Rinck Mike , van Alebeek Hannah , Blechert Jens 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Reaction time (RT) data are often pre-processed before analysis by rejecting outliers and errors and aggregating the data. In stimulus–response compatibility paradigms such as the approach–avoidance task (AAT), researchers often decide how to pre-process the data without an empirical basis, leading to the use of methods that may harm data quality. To provide this empirical basis, we investigated how different pre-processing methods affect the reliability and validity of the AAT. Our literature review revealed 108 unique pre-processing pipelines among 163 examined studies. Using empirical datasets, we found that validity and reliability were negatively affected by retaining error trials, by replacing error RTs with the mean RT plus a penalty, and by retaining outliers. In the relevant-feature AAT, bias scores were more reliable and valid if computed with D-scores; medians were less reliable and more unpredictable, while means were also less valid. Simulations revealed bias scores were likely to be less accurate if computed by contrasting a single aggregate of all compatible conditions with that of all incompatible conditions, rather than by contrasting separate averages per condition. We also found that multilevel model random effects were less reliable, valid, and stable, arguing against their use as bias scores. We call upon the field to drop these suboptimal practices to improve the psychometric properties of the AAT. We also call for similar investigations in related RT-based bias measures such as the implicit association task, as their commonly accepted pre-processing practices involve many of the aforementioned discouraged methods.

Highlights
• Rejecting RTs deviating more than 2 or 3 SD from the mean gives more reliable and valid results than other outlier rejection methods in empirical data
• Removing error trials gives more reliable and valid results than retaining them or replacing them with the block mean and an added penalty
• Double-difference scores are more reliable than compatibility scores under most circumstances
• More reliable and valid results are obtained both in simulated and real data by using double-difference D-scores, which are obtained by dividing a participant’s double mean difference score by the SD of their RTs
GAUDIE: Development, validation, and exploration of a naturalistic German AUDItory Emotional database
Authors: Lingelbach Katharina , Vukelić Mathias , Rieger Jochem W. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractSince thoroughly validated naturalistic affective German speech stimulus databases are rare, we present here a novel validated database of speech sequences assembled with the purpose of emotion induction. The database comprises 37 audio speech sequences with a total duration of 92 minutes for the induction of positive, neutral, and negative emotion: comedian shows intending to elicit humorous and amusing feelings, weather forecasts, and arguments between couples and relatives from movies or television series. Multiple continuous and discrete ratings are used to validate the database to capture the time course and variabilities of valence and arousal. We analyse and quantify how well the audio sequences fulfil quality criteria of differentiation, salience/strength, and generalizability across participants. Hence, we provide a validated speech database of naturalistic scenarios suitable to investigate emotion processing and its time course with German-speaking participants. Information on using the stimulus database for research purposes can be found at the OSF project repository GAUDIE: https://osf.io/xyr6j/.
El Uso de las Tic en la Educación: Una Aproximación a la Educación Digital Pospandemia en el Ecuador
Authors: Borja Solano Marco Paulino 
Published: May 2023

La tecnología y la sociedad ha evolucionado, dando como resultado un cambio en la forma de hacer las cosas. La educación no queda fuera de esta transición, y se ha visto obligada a buscar nuevas alternativas que vayan acorde a las necesidades actuales, sobre todo luego de la pandemia del Covid -19. El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como finalidad plantear el uso de las TIC como recursos educativos en una educación pos - pandemia en el Ecuador, mejorando la experiencia y el proceso educativo en estudiantes de la Unidad Educativa Abelardo Tamariz Crespo. Se utilizó un enfoque mixto y un método descriptivo, dando como resultado una gran aceptación en los estudiantes del uso de las TIC como recursos educativos, pero un rechazo parcial de cierto sector de los docentes que no se acoplan todavía a esta nueva forma de enseñar, sin embargo, esta aceptación estudiantil no garantiza que ellos manejen al 100% las TIC. Se concluye que en la actualidad la importancia de las TIC en el proceso enseñanza aprendizaje se consolida, ya que ofrece grandes beneficios en la construcción del conocimiento como brindar mayor interés y motivación por las clases.