bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
In-vivo biocontrol of Fusarium wilt in chilli plants using hypersaline Bacillus paralicheniformis strain MPSK23
Authors: Pawaskar M. , Kerkar S 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Fusarium solani is the causative mycopathogen for wilting in chilli plants across India and results in a substantial yield loss of chillies. The current study aims at evaluating the potential of a hypersaline Bacillus paralicheniformis strain MPSK23 in the control of Fusarium wilt and its effect on the growth of the infected plants. Co-inoculation of MPSK23 with Fusarium solani, exhibited 94% decrease in weight of the pathogen in liquid media. Usage of MPSK23 as a biocontrol agent resulted in significant increase in germination percentage (100%) and germination energy (73.33%) of chilli seeds of Khola and Sitara variety. The treatment also reduced the mean germination time by 3 days in Khola and 1.5 days in Sitara. Both the hypocotyl and the root length of the seedlings exhibited increase after the MPSK23 treatment, with the vigour index of seedlings being 25 times higher than the control. In-vivo inoculation of chilli seedlings of both the varieties, with MPSK23 resulted in a complete suppression of wilt in plants hence exhibiting highest protective value against the pathogen. Increment in the plant’s defense enzyme activities (Peroxidase, Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, Polyphenol oxidase) along with total phenol content was also observed after treating with MPSK23. Similarly, the treated plants revealed better foliage, increase in total height of the plants and increase in the length and weight of roots and shoot. This study thus ascertains the role of Bacillus paralicheniformis strain MPSK23 as an effective and efficient biocontrol agent in the control of wilt in chilli plants.
PCV13 Vaccination Innovative Strategy in Weifang City, China - a case study
Authors: Wang Jiachen , Wang Yujue , XU Ruoyu , Zhang Ting , Jiang Yanyan , Wang Yuanyuan , Wang Yi , Du Yuanze , Sun Wenxue , Deng Kai , Yang Weizhong , Wang Zengwu , Feng Luzhao , Wang Chunping 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Pneumococcal diseases (PDs) are highly prioritized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a vaccine-preventable disease. WHO recommends including Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in national immunization programs worldwide. However, PCV is not included in the National Immunization Programs (NIP) and has a low vaccination coverage due to high costs in China. To address this issue, Weifang City implemented an innovative strategy for 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13) from June 1, 2021. This strategy aimed to provide one free dose of PCV13 to children aged 6 months to 2 years with household registration and adopt a commercial insurance model with one free dose of PCV13 in 2023 for children over 2 years old. The Weifang Municipal Health Commission and other departments conducted a comprehensive investigation and considered various factors, such as vaccine effectiveness, safety, accessibility, vaccine price, and immunization schedules for school-age children. They also solicited opinions from various stakeholders before implementing the policy. The Commission negotiated with vaccine manufacturers to maximize negotiating power and reduce vaccine prices. The implementation plan was introduced under the Healthy Weifang Strategy. After implementing the innovative strategy, the full course of vaccination coverage increased significantly, from 0.67% to 6.59%. However, the vaccination coverage is still lower compared to developed countries. Weifang's PCV13 vaccination innovative strategy is the first case in mainland China and an active pilot of non-immunization program vaccination strategies. To further promote the PCV13 vaccination, it is recommended that Weifang City continue to implement this strategy and explore appropriate financing channels. Regions with higher economic levels can innovate the implementation paths, broaden the financing channels, improve the accessibility of vaccination services, and advocate for more localities incorporate PCV13 into local expanded program on immunization or government benefiting projects. A monitoring and evaluation system should also be established to evaluate the implementation effects.
Long-Term Quality of Life and Psychological Outcomes in Live Donors Following Paediatric and Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Belgian Experience.
Authors: Onghena Louis , Poppe Carine , Nuyttens Marieke , Hecke Eline , Vanlander Aude , Troisi Roberto Ivan , de Hemptinne Bernard 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
With an increasing shortage of deceased donors for liver transplantation, living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) poses a valuable alternative. Therefore, it is important to investigate the risks healthy donors face during and after this procedure. We investigated complications and their impact on long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical and mental functioning.
Methods
Thirty-three out of 51 Belgian liver donors who underwent a donor hepatectomy at the Ghent University Hospital from 1/1/2000 – 31/12/2015 consented to participate. Blood samples, a liver ultrasound, a clinical examination by a liver surgeon, and a socio-psychological interview supervised by a transplant psychologist were conducted. Additionally, participants completed a survey that examined the HRQoL (SF-36 and EQ-5D-3L), Depression, anxiety and stress (DASS), and donor experiences. Fischer’s exact, Mann-Whitney-U test, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used, and statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 27.0.
Results
Donor complications were recorded in 24.8% without relation to long-term mental QoL and physical symptoms. Type of lobe donation had no significant effect on HRQoL, mood, anxiety and stress, and complications. Recipient complications and death, negative mood, anxiety, and stress were found to be related to a lower donor physical and mental HRQoL. Patients donating to pediatric recipients scored significantly better for mental and physical HRQoL.
Conclusions
Generally, donor experience is positive, with own complications having no lasting effect on QoL and mental health, however, complications in the recipient are more difficult to cope with and impact the mental HRQoL of the donor. LDLT in Belgium is ready to be standardized care for end-stage liver disease.
Association between ULK1 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to multisystem tuberculosis
Authors: Zhang Juan , Xiang Xi , Liu Quan-xian , Wang Ming-Gui , He Jian-Qing 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Objectives: The association of ULK1 gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to tuberculosis or multisystem tuberculosis remains unclear.
Methods: We used a case‒control study in a Chinese Han population and included 411 patients with multisystem tuberculosis and 581 healthy controls. Four tag polymorphisms of the ULK1 gene at loci rs9481, rs7138581, rs11616018 and rs1134574 were selected and genotyped using a SNPscan Kit (Cat#: G0104, Genesky Biotechnologies Inc., Shanghai, China).
Results: The minor allele C of rs7138581 showed a significantly reduced risk of susceptibility to multisystemic tuberculosis (OR: 0.759, 95% CI: 0.597-0.965; P=0.025) and showed a significant association after adjusting for age and sex (ORa: 0.770, 95% CI: 0.605-0.980; Pa=0.034). In the analysis of the additive model and dominant model, rs7138581 still showed a significant reduction in the risk of multisystem tuberculosis after adjusting for age and sex (ORa: 0.761, 95% CI: 0.595-0.974; Pa=0.03 and ORa: 0.754, 95% CI: 0.573-0.993; Pa=0.044).
Conclusions: rs7138581 of the ULK1 gene may be associated with multisystem tuberculosis susceptibility in the Chinese Han population.
Ride comfort and segmental vibration transmissibility analysis of an automobile passenger model under whole body vibration
Authors: Guruguntla Veeresalingam , Lal Mohit , Ghantasala G S Pradeep , Vidyullatha P. , Alqahtani Malak S. , Alsubaie Najah , Abbas Mohamed , Soufiene Ben Othman 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
The examination of seated occupants' ride comfort under whole-body vibration is a complex topic that involves multiple factors. Whole-body vibration refers to the mechanical vibration that is transmitted to the entire body through a supporting surface, such as a vehicle seat, when traveling on rough or uneven surfaces.There are several methods to assess ride comfort under whole-body vibration, such as subjective assessments, objective measurements, and mathematical models. Subjective assessments involve asking participants to rate their perceived level of discomfort or satisfaction during the vibration exposure, typically using a numerical scale or questionnaire. Objective measurements include accelerometers or vibration meters that record the actual physical vibrations transmitted to the body during the exposure. Mathematical models use various physiological and biomechanical parameters to predict the level of discomfort based on the vibration data. The examination of seated occupants ride comfort under whole-body vibration (WBV) has been of great interest for many years. In this paper, a multi-body biomechanical model of a seated occupant with a backrest is proposed to perform ride comfort analysis. The novelty of the present model is that it represents complete passenger by including thighs, legs, and foot which were neglected in the past research. A multi-objective firefly algorithm (FA) is developed to evaluate the biomechanical parameters (mass, stiffness and damping) of the proposed model. Based on the optimized parameters, segmental transmissibilities are calculated and compared with experimental readings. The proposed model is then combined with a 7-dofs commercial car model to perform a ride comfort study. The ISO 2631-1:1997 ride comfort standards are used to compare the simulated segmental accelerations. Additionally, the influence of biomechanical parameters on most critical organs is analyzed to improve ride comfort. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that seated occupants perceive maximum vibration in the 3–6 Hz frequency range. To improve seated occupants' ride comfort, automotive designers must concentrate on the pelvis region. The adopted methodology and outcomes are helpful to evaluate protective measures in automobile industries. Furthermore, these procedures may be used to reduce the musculoskeletal disorders in seated occupants.
Lip reading of Sentence with combined model of long short-term memory network and temporal convolutional network.
Authors: MiLED Malek , MESSAOUD Mohamed Anouar BEN 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Lip-reading is the process of recognizing speech based on lip movements. This is a difficult task because the actions of the lips when pronouncing some of the words are identical. Phoneme describes lip motions during a dialogue. During this work, we developed an accurate and robust phoneme sequence recognition system by lip reading. We applied a lip segmentation to input of the proposed network combined of long short-term memory network and temporal convolutional network. Our network is trained to predict phoneme labels from the corresponding mouth area input images. Finally, our evaluation results demonstrate that the use of lip segmented with neural network to predict phrase the performance of our system. Our proposed method improves that accuracy had 61.49% compared to other works.
Concordance of Targeted Sequencing from Circulating Tumor DNA and Paired Tumor Tissue for Early Breast Cancer
Authors: Huang Chi-Cheng , Tsai Yi-Fang , Liu Chun-Yu , Lien Pei-Ju , Lin Yen-Shu , Chao Ta-Chung , Feng Chin-Jung , Chen Yen-Jen , Lai Jiun-I , Cheng Han-Fang , Chen Bo-Fang , Hsu Chih-Yi , Chiu Jen-Hwey , Tseng Ling-Ming 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Purpose
In this study we evaluated the concordance of targeted sequencing between paired circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and matched tumor samples from early breast cancers treated with curative intention. Most studies for liquid biopsy were performed for advanced disease, and we reported the scenario of early breast cancer.
Materials and Methods
The study VGH-TAYLOR comprised a subgroup of early-stage breast cancer. Molecular profiling was performed for both fresh-frozen paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue and plasma using the Oncomine Comprehensive Assay v3 and the Oncomine Breast cfDNA Assay v2, respectively. Common genes interrogated by both platforms were identified, and concordance between paired targeted sequencing results from the same individual was reported.
Results
A total of 612 patients underwent liquid biopsy; 239 (39%) of which reported at least one mutation. Among 246 early-stage patients assayed for both ctDNA and matched tumor, cfDNA assay detected 73 (29.6%) and comprehensive assay detected 201 (81.7%) breast cancers with at least one alteration (c2 test, p = 0.001). Sixty-seven (25.6%) were tested positive for both platforms, while cfDNA and comprehensive assay detected additional 10 (4%) and 138 (56%) cases, respectively. The most prevalent mutant genes were TP53 (68.3%) and KRAS (53.5%), while PIK3CA (39.4%), AKT1 (45.9%) and ERBB2 (17.1%) mutations constituted biomarkers for FDA-approved therapeutics.
Conclusion
Only one-quarter of breast cancers were concordant between tumor and liquid biopsy from the same subject. Early-stage breast cancer might shed fewer ctDNA from tumor and compromise detectability of liquid biopsy. Our study showed that tumor tissue should be the source of actionable mutation detection for early breast cancers.
Forces required to create impressions in clay
Authors: Lalicata Leonardo Maria , Stallebrass Sarah Elizabeth , McNamara Andrew 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Several centrifuge and full-scale tests have demonstrated that an impression pile provides increased geotechnical capacity of up to 40% compared to a straight shafted pile depending on the quality of the indentations. The feasibility of creating indentations is governed by the strength of the clay, the capacity of the jack used in the impression tool, the impression shape and the area being impressed. Model tests and limit analyses have been carried out to optimise the impression tool. Results show that a flat-end or a flat-conical tip represents the best compromise between the need to reduce bearing capacity of the tip whilst maximising the indentation depth. Indentations must be spaced by at least 3 times their width to ensure a well-constructed impression pile with independent indentations.
Detection and Frequency of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Rifampicin Resistance Among Patients Attending the National TB Control Program in Sana'a, Yemen Using Xpert- MTB/RIF Assay
Authors: Alharazi Talal , Alzubiery Tawfique , Alcantara Jerold Casem 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
Tuberculosis persists as the primary cause of illness and death globally and remains a significant public health issue. Multidrug resistant tuberculosis epidemic poses a significant threat to international and national tuberculosis control initiatives. The study sought to assess the frequency of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and rifampicin resistance in patients attending the National Tuberculosis Control Program, using the Xpert-MTB/RIF assay.
Methods
A large-scale cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 8896 clinical samples of suspected tuberculosis patients between 2019 to 2021. Samples were examined using the Zeil Neelsen stain and GeneXpert assay. Factors associated were identified using the chi-square and logistic regression. Multiple logistic regression was employed to find variables in binary logistic regression that were associated significantly at the P value ≤ 0.05 level.
Results
The frequency of MTB was 6.1%, with 9.1% having rifampicin resistant-MTB. MTB prevalence was significantly higher among those aged 16–30 years (P < 0.003). Patients from the Taiz governorate were significantly more likely to have MTB (P < 0.003). Old cases of TB patients, previously treated patients, were associated significantly to MTB (P < 0.040) and were highly likely to have RR-MTB (P < 0.031).
Conclusion
Patients who had previously received treatment for tuberculosis had a higher prevalence of MTB and rifampicin resistant-MTB. Thus, it is critical to implement effective control and prevention measures to limit the spread of TB, as well as improving the adherence of known TB patients to their treatment.
Knowledge Distillation of Multi-scale Dense Prediction Transformer for Self-supervised Depth Estimation
Authors: Song Jimin , Lee Sang Jun 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Depth estimation is an inverse projection problem that estimates pixel-level distances from a single image. Although, supervised methods have shown promising results, it has intrinsic limitations in requiring ground truth depth from an external sensor. On the other hand, self-supervised depth estimation relieves the burden for collecting calibrated training data, while there is still a large performance gap between supervised and self-supervised methods. The objective of this study is to reduce the performance gap in supervised and self-supervised depth estimation. The loss function of previous self-supervised methods is mainly based on a photometric error, which is indirectly computed from synthesized images using depth and pose estimates. In this paper, we argue that direct depth cue is more effective to train a depth estimation network. To obtain the direct depth cue, we employed a knowledge distillation technique, which is a teacher-student learning framework. The teacher network was trained in a self-supervised manner based on a photometric error, and its predictions were utilized to train a student network. We constructed a multi-scale dense prediction transformer with Monte Carlo dropout, and multi-scale distillation loss was proposed to train the student network based on the ensemble of stochastic estimates. Experiments were conducted on the KITTI and Make3D datasets, and our proposed method achieved the state-of-the-art accuracy in self-supervised depth estimation. Our code is publicly available at https://github.com/ji-min-song/KD-of-MS-DPT.
Pituitary abscess: A descriptive analysis of a series of 19 patients: a multi-center experience
Authors: Xue Qiang , Shi Xiuhua , Fu Xiaoling , Yin Yating , Zhou Hui , Liu Suiyi , Sun Qingfang , Meng Jin , Bian Liiuguan , Tan Hong , He Hua 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

Object: The study aims to investigate the intractable pituitary abscess (PA) diagnosis and assess the significance of combined intraoperative surgery with postoperative antibiotic treatment. Method: We retrospectively analyzed 19 pituitary abscess patients confirmed by histopathology, all consecutive patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) as pituitary adenomas after accepting comprehensive preoperative inspections, including routine tests, endocrine assay, and imaging examination. Result: Other sellar lesions were misdiagnosed prior to surgery. The favorable prognosis was largely due to surgical and active postoperative antibiotic therapy. Conclusion: Due to the lack of clarity in preoperative diagnosis, typical intraoperative findings and effective antibiotics are more indicative of the correct diagnosis than other tests. When it comes to therapy, optimal surgical and postoperative active antibiotic treatment benefits the PA dilemma.
An estimate of cumulative live birth rates and perinatal outcomes over multiple IVF/ICSI cycles in patients with diminished ovarian reserve at different ages: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Du Wenjing , Li Shaofei , Ma Xiaoling , Yang Yongxiu 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
This study aims to estimate cumulative pregnancy outcomes and perinatal outcomes following frozen-embryo transfer (FET) in diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) patients who could obtain viable embryos with their eggs during in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) treatments.
Methods
This study retrospectively analyzed 1230 DOR women undergoing 2055 complete cycles from 2019 to 2021 with follow-up visits until 2022. Cumulative live birth rates (CLBRs) and perinatal outcomes across multiple IVF/ICSI cycles were compared in the study population stratified by age.
Results
The clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) per ovum pick-up (OPU) cycle for DOR patients in different age groups were 39.1%, 31% and 13.6%, respectively, but the cumulative clinical pregnancy rates (CCPRs) after OPU repeatedly reached 58.4%, 47.3% and 25.6%, respectively. The live-birth rate (LBR) was negatively associated with maternal age, with the highest LBR of 30.2% in younger DOR women (under 32 years of age) and the lowest LBR of 7.9% among women older than 38 years of age. With repeated oocyte retrievals, CLBRs per patient in the three groups reached 52.0%, 43.3% and 18.0%. Based on binary logistic regression, the number of transferred embryos per transfer and type of transferred embryos were positively associated with the CCPR and CLBR. In addition, we found that the incidence of low birth weight was highest in young DOR patients. However, there was no association between DOR and the obstetric outcomes.
Conclusions
Cumulative pregnancy outcomes following FET were reasonable for DOR patients with different ages using viable embryos derived from autologous oocytes through repeated oocyte retrievals.
Biosorption of nickel and cadmium using Pachira aquatica Aubl. peel Biochar
Authors: Nascimento Talita L. S. , Oliveira Karine F. S. , Junior Joemil O. D. , Pimenta Alexandre S. , Melo Dulce M. A. , Melo Marcus A. F , Braga Renata Martins 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Chemical contamination of the environment by heavy metals is becoming a serious problem in the worldwide due to increased human activities and industrial development. Therefore, researchers have been looking for alternatives to remediate these contaminants with economical and efficient technologies. This work aimed to value Pachira aquatica Aubl. fruit peels through the applicability of this material in the biosorption process for removal of Ni(II) and Cd(II) metal ions. Characterization of Pachira aquatica Aubl. fruit peel biochar (PAB) was performed through the proximate analysis, helium pycnometry, XRD, SEM, point of zero charges, zeta potential, and Boehm titration method. Design of experiment (DOE) was carried out, as well as kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic batch biosorption, and finally, column biosorption tests were performed. The PAB presents potential as a biosorbent due to its low amount of moisture, density similar to that of commercial activated carbons, neutral point of zero charges, porous, irregular, heterogeneous, and negative surface within the presence of functional groups capable of efficiently connecting with heavy metal. The biosorption equilibrium time was obtained at 300 min for both ions, following a pseudo second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. The column tests presented an exhaust volume of 40.2 mg/L and 29.2 mg/L for Ni(II) and Cd(II), respectively. Thus, it is concluded that the PAB has the potential as a biosorbent for the removal of heavy, it leads to the valorization of this co-product and the reduction of environmental pollution.