bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Frailty detection among primary care older patients through the Primary Care Frailty Index (PC-FI)
Authors: Vetrano Davide Liborio , Zucchelli Alberto , Onder Graziano , Fratiglioni Laura , Calderón-Larrañaga Amaia , Marengoni Alessandra , Marconi Ettore , Cricelli Iacopo , Lora Aprile Pierangelo , Bernabei Roberto , Cricelli Claudio , Lapi Francesco 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe prompt identification of frailty in primary care is the first step to offer personalized care to older individuals. We aimed to detect and quantify frailty among primary care older patients, by developing and validating a primary care frailty index (PC-FI) based on routinely collected health records and providing sex-specific frailty charts. The PC-FI was developed using data from 308,280 primary care patients ≥ 60 years old part of the Health Search Database (HSD) in Italy (baseline 2013–2019) and validated in the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K; baseline 2001–2004), a well-characterized population-based cohort including 3363 individuals ≥ 60 years old. Potential health deficits part of the PC-FI were identified through ICD-9, ATC, and exemption codes and selected through an optimization algorithm (i.e., genetic algorithm), using all-cause mortality as the main outcome for the PC-FI development. The PC-FI association at 1, 3 and 5 years, and discriminative ability for mortality and hospitalization were tested in Cox models. The convergent validity with frailty-related measures was verified in SNAC-K. The following cut-offs were used to define absent, mild, moderate and severe frailty: < 0.07, 0.07–0.14, 0.14–0.21, and ≥ 0.21. Mean age of HSD and SNAC-K participants was 71.0 years (55.4% females). The PC-FI included 25 health deficits and showed an independent association with mortality (hazard ratio range 2.03–2.27; p < 0.05) and hospitalization (hazard ratio range 1.25–1.64; p < 0.05) and a fair-to-good discriminative ability (c-statistics range 0.74–0.84 for mortality and 0.59–0.69 for hospitalization). In HSD 34.2%, 10.9% and 3.8% were deemed mildly, moderately, and severely frail, respectively. In the SNAC-K cohort, the associations between PC-FI and mortality and hospitalization were stronger than in the HSD and PC-FI scores were associated with physical frailty (odds ratio 4.25 for each 0.1 increase; p < 0.05; area under the curve 0.84), poor physical performance, disability, injurious falls, and dementia. Almost 15% of primary care patients ≥ 60 years old are affected by moderate or severe frailty in Italy. We propose a reliable, automated, and easily implementable frailty index that can be used to screen the primary care population for frailty.
An extended Hilbert transform method for reconstructing the phase from an oscillatory signal
Authors: Matsuki Akari , Kori Hiroshi , Kobayashi Ryota 
Published: March 2023

AbstractRhythmic activity is ubiquitous in biological systems from the cellular to organism level. Reconstructing the instantaneous phase is the first step in analyzing the essential mechanism leading to a synchronization state from the observed signals. A popular method of phase reconstruction is based on the Hilbert transform, which can only reconstruct the interpretable phase from a limited class of signals, e.g., narrow band signals. To address this issue, we propose an extended Hilbert transform method that accurately reconstructs the phase from various oscillatory signals. The proposed method is developed by analyzing the reconstruction error of the Hilbert transform method with the aid of Bedrosian’s theorem. We validate the proposed method using synthetic data and show its systematically improved performance compared with the conventional Hilbert transform method with respect to accurately reconstructing the phase. Finally, we demonstrate that the proposed method is potentially useful for detecting the phase shift in an observed signal. The proposed method is expected to facilitate the study of synchronization phenomena from experimental data.
Exploring the diagnostic value of eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to differentiate Kawasaki disease from other febrile diseases based on clinical prediction model
Authors: Guo Xin , Liao Jinwen , Fan Xue , Xu Mingguo 
Published: March 2023

AbstractKawasaki disease (KD) is a febrile disease that affects children under 5 years of age and leads to serious cardiovascular complications such as coronary artery disease. The development of markers that can predict early is important to reduce the under- and misdiagnosis of KD. The aim of this research was to develop a diagnostic predictive model to differentiate Kawasaki disease (KD) from other febrile diseases using eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (ELR) and other biomarkers. We recruited a total of 190 children with KD and 1604 children with other febrile diseases. We retrospectively collected clinical information from the children, which included laboratory data on the day of admission, such as white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (HGB), calcitoninogen (PCT), hypersensitive c-reactive protein (CRP), snake prognostic nutritional index (PNI), peripheral blood neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and ELR. We performed analyses using univariate analysis, multivariate logistic regression, and column line plots, and evaluated the diagnostic parameters of the predictive models. ELR was significantly increased in patients with KD. After multivariate logistic regression, WBC, HGB, CRP, NLR, ELR and PNI were finally included as indicators for constructing the prediction model. The ROC curve analysis suggested that the C-index of the diagnostic prediction model was 0.921. The calibration curve showed good diagnostic performance of the columnar graph model. The cut-off value of ELR alone for KD was 0.04, the area under the ROC curve was 0.809. Kids with KD show highly expressive level of ELR compared to children with febrile disease, which can be used to diagnose KD, and column line graphs constructed together with other indicators can help pediatricians to identify KD more effectively from febrile children.
Diffusion tensor imaging metrics associated with future disability in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Lopez-Soley E. , Martinez-Heras E. , Solana E. , Solanes A. , Radua J. , Vivo F. , Prados F. , Sepulveda M. , Cabrera-Maqueda J. M. , Fonseca E. , Blanco Y. , Alba-Arbalat S. , Martinez-Lapiscina E. H. , Villoslada P. , Saiz A. , Llufriu S. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe relationship between brain diffusion microstructural changes and disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains poorly understood. We aimed to explore the predictive value of microstructural properties in white (WM) and grey matter (GM), and identify areas associated with mid-term disability in MS patients. We studied 185 patients (71% female; 86% RRMS) with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), timed 25-foot walk (T25FW), nine-hole peg test (9HPT), and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) at two time-points. We used Lasso regression to analyse the predictive value of baseline WM fractional anisotropy and GM mean diffusivity, and to identify areas related to each outcome at 4.1 years follow-up. Motor performance was associated with WM (T25FW: RMSE = 0.524, R2 = 0.304; 9HPT dominant hand: RMSE = 0.662, R2 = 0.062; 9HPT non-dominant hand: RMSE = 0.649, R2 = 0.139), and SDMT with GM diffusion metrics (RMSE = 0.772, R2 = 0.186). Cingulum, longitudinal fasciculus, optic radiation, forceps minor and frontal aslant were the WM tracts most closely linked to motor dysfunction, and temporal and frontal cortex were relevant for cognition. Regional specificity related to clinical outcomes provide valuable information that can be used to develop more accurate predictive models that could improve therapeutic strategies.
Bacillus subtilis isolates from camel milk as probiotic candidates
Authors: Daneshazari Roya , Rabbani Khorasgani Mohammad , Hosseini-Abari Afrouzossadat , Kim June-Hyung 
Published: March 2023

AbstractRecently Bacillus spp. has gained much attention as potential probiotics due to the production of resistant cells. So, this research is purposeful for evaluation of probiotic characteristics of Bacillus isolates from camel milk as a suitable source for growth and isolation of microorganisms that can be candidate to be used as probiotic. First, forty-eight colonies were screened by using morphological and biochemical analysis. Among the isolates, two of them were recognized as Bacillussubtilis CM1 and CM2 by partial 16SrRNA sequencing that, probiotic potentials of them were evaluated. Both of them, in the preliminary safety screening, were found negative for hemolysis and lecithinase activity. Also, in vitro characteristics such as acid, bile salts and artificial gastric juice resistant, cell surface hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation, antioxidant characteristics, and adherent capability to HT-29 cells were determined for them approximately in the range of other probiotic strains. Two strains were susceptible to various antibiotics and enterotoxigenic activities were not detected by PCR which means isolated Bacillus strains could be classified as safe. Altogether, results demonstrate that Bacillus CM1 and CM2 strains could have the potential of consideration as probiotics, however more extensive in vitro/vivo studies are needed.
Ocular and inflammatory markers associated with Gulf War illness symptoms
Authors: Kalahasty Karthik , Lee Yonghoon , Locatelli Elyana , Djulbegovic Mak , Cabrera Kimberly , Pakravan Parastou , Goodman Courtney , Jensen Andrew , Aenlle Kristina , Klimas Nancy , Goldhardt Raquel , Galor Anat 
Published: March 2023

AbstractTo examine the utility of ocular coherence tomography (OCT) metrics, in conjunction with systemic markers of inflammation, in identifying individuals with Gulf War Illness (GWI) symptoms. Prospective case–control study of 108 Gulf War Era veterans, split into 2 groups based on the presence of GWI symptoms, defined by the Kansas criteria. Information on demographics, deployment history, and co-morbidities were captured. 101 individuals underwent OCT imaging and 105 individuals provided a blood sample which was analyzed for inflammatory cytokines using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based chemiluminescent assay. The main outcome measure was predictors of GWI symptoms, examined with multivariable forward stepwise logistic regression analysis followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The mean age of the population was 55 ± 4, 90.7% self-identified as male, 53.3% as White, and 54.3% as Hispanic. A multivariable model that considered demographics and co-morbidities found that a lower inferior temporal ganglion cell layer-inner plexiform layer (GCL‒IPL) thickness, higher temporal nerve fiber layer (NFL) thickness, lower interleukin (IL)-1β levels, higher IL-1α levels, and lower tumor necrosis factor-receptor I levels correlated with GWI symptoms. ROC analysis demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.78 with the best cut-off value for the prediction model having a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 58%. RNFL and GCL‒IPL measures, namely increased temporal thickness and decreased inferior temporal thickness, respectively, in conjunction with a number of inflammatory cytokines, had a reasonable sensitivity for the diagnosis of GWI symptoms in our population.
A comparative study of smart nanoformulations of diethyldithiocarbamate with Cu4O3 nanoparticles or zinc oxide nanoparticles for efficient eradication of metastatic breast cancer
Authors: Abu-Serie Marwa M. , Abdelfattah Eisayeda Zeinab A. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractMetastatic tumor is initiated by metastatic seeds (cancer stem cells “CSCs”) in a controlled redox microenvironment. Hence, an effective therapy that disrupts redox balance with eliminating CSCs is critical. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DE) is potent inhibitor of radical detoxifying enzyme (aldehyde dehydrogenase “ALDH”1A) causing effective eradication of CSCs. This DE effect was augmented and more selective by its nanoformulating with green synthesized copper oxide (Cu4O3) nanoparticles (NPs) and zinc oxide NPs, forming novel nanocomplexes of CD NPs and ZD NPs, respectively. These nanocomplexes exhibited the highest apoptotic, anti-migration, and ALDH1A inhibition potentials in M.D. Anderson-metastatic breast (MDA-MB) 231 cells. Importantly, these nanocomplexes revealed more selective oxidant activity than fluorouracil by elevating reactive oxygen species with depleting glutathione in only tumor tissues (mammary and liver) using mammary tumor liver metastasis animal model. Due to higher tumoral uptake and stronger oxidant activity of CD NPs than ZD NPs, CD NPs had more potential to induce apoptosis, suppress hypoxia-inducing factor gene, and eliminate CD44+CSCs with downregulating their stemness, chemoresistance, and metastatic genes and diminishing hepatic tumor marker (α-fetoprotein). These potentials interpreted the highest tumor size reduction with complete eradicating tumor metastasis to liver in CD NPs. Consequently, CD nanocomplex revealed the highest therapeutic potential representing a safe and promising nanomedicine against the metastatic stage of breast cancer.
Maleic acid as an important monomer in synthesis of stimuli-responsive poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide-co-maleic acid) superabsorbent polymer
Authors: Jamali Fatemeh , Etminani-Esfahani Negar , Rahmati Abbas 
Published: March 2023

AbstractPoly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide-co-maleic acid) (p(AA-co-AM-co-MA)) superabsorbent polymer was synthesized from acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM), and maleic acid (MA) via free radical copolymerization. Results showed the presence of maleic acid in structure of superabsorbent has the key and superior role in creating a smart superabsorbent. The structure, morphology, and strength of the superabsorbent were characterized using FT-IR, TGA, SEM, and rheology analysis. The effect of different factors was investigated to determine the ability of water absorbency of the superabsorbent. According to optimized conditions, the water absorbency capacity of the superabsorbent in distilled water (DW) was 1348 g/g and in a solution containing 1.0 wt.% NaCl (SCS) was 106 g/g. The water retention ability of the superabsorbent was also investigated. The kinetic swelling of superabsorbent was identified by Fickian diffusion and Schott's pseudo-second-order model. Furthermore, the reusability of superabsorbent was studied in distilled water and saline solution. The ability of superabsorbent was investigated in simulated urea and glucose solutions, and very good results were obtained. The response ability of the superabsorbent was confirmed by swelling and shrinking behavior against changes of temperature, pH, and ionic strength.
Synthesis and characterization of novel acrylamide derivatives and their use as corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel in hydrochloric acid solution
Authors: Fouda A. S. , Khalil E. M. , EL-Mahdy G. A. , Shaban M. M. , Mohammed A. S. , Abdelsatar N. A. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractTwo new acrylamide derivatives were prepared namely: “N-(bis(2-hydroxyethyl) carbamothioyl) acrylamide (BHCA) and N-((2-hydroxyethyl) carbamothioyl) acrylamide( HCA) and their chemical structures were analyzed and confirmed using IR and 1H NMR”. These chemicals were investigated as corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel (CS) in 1 M HCl medium using chemical method (mass loss, ML), and electrochemical techniques including potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the acrylamide derivatives work well as corrosion inhibitors, with inhibition efficacy (%IE) reaching 94.91–95.28% at 60 ppm for BHCA and HCA, respectively. Their inhibition depends mainly on their concentration and temperature of the solution. According to the PDP files, these derivatives function as mixed-type inhibitors that physically adsorb on the CS surface in accordance with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, creating a thin coating that shields the CS surface from corrosive fluids. The charge transfer resistance (Rct) increased and the double layer capacitance (Cdl) decreased as a result of the adsorption of the used derivatives. Calculated and described were the thermodynamic parameters for activation and adsorption. Quantum chemistry computations and Monte Carlo simulations were examined and discussed for these derivatives under investigation. Surface analysis was checked using atomic force microscope (AFM). Validity of the obtained data was demonstrated by the confirmation of these several independent procedures.
Transcriptomic profile comparison reveals conservation of ionocytes across multiple organs
Authors: Pou Casellas Carla , Pleguezuelos-Manzano Cayetano , Rookmaaker Maarten B. , Verhaar Marianne C. , Clevers Hans 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSingle-cell RNA sequencing has recently led to the identification of a flurry of rare, new cell types, such as the CFTR-high ionocytes in the airway epithelium. Ionocytes appear to be specifically responsible for fluid osmolarity and pH regulation. Similar cells exist in multiple other organs and have received various names, including intercalated cell in the kidney, mitochondria-rich cell in the inner ear, clear cell in the epididymis, and ionocyte in the salivary gland. Here, we compare the previously published transcriptomic profile of cells expressing FOXI1, the signature transcription factor expressed in airway ionocytes. Such FOXI1+ cells were found in datasets representing human and/or murine kidney, airway, epididymis, thymus, skin, inner ear, salivary gland, and prostate. This allowed us to assess the similarities between these cells and identify the core transcriptomic signature of this ionocyte ‘family’. Our results demonstrate that, across all these organs, ionocytes maintain the expression of a characteristic set of genes, including FOXI1, KRT7, and ATP6V1B1. We conclude that the ionocyte signature defines a class of closely related cell types across multiple mammalian organs.
Characteristics and FEA verification of the attraction between like magnetic poles
Authors: Chen Christina H. , Zou Min , Ran Sijie , Meng Hui , Mizzell George , Shen Abby , Qian Michelle 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe attraction between unequally sized like magnetic poles is characterized herein. Finite element analysis (FEA) simulation has verified that attraction can occur between like poles. Between two unequally sized like poles with various dimensions and alignments, a turning point (TP) appears on the curves of force vs. distance between them, which is caused by the localized demagnetization (LD). The LD plays a role far before the distance between the poles reduces to the TP. The LD area may have a changed polarity, making the attraction possible and not in violation of basic laws of magnetism. Here, the LD levels have been determined using FEA simulation, and the factors affecting the LD have been explored, including the geometry, the linearity of the BH curve, and the alignment of the magnet pairs. Novel devices can be designed with attraction between the centers of such like poles and repulsion when off-center.
Decoding behavior from global cerebrovascular activity using neural networks
Authors: Berthon Béatrice , Bergel Antoine , Matei Marta , Tanter Mickaël 
Published: March 2023

AbstractFunctional Ultrasound (fUS) provides spatial and temporal frames of the vascular activity in the brain with high resolution and sensitivity in behaving animals. The large amount of resulting data is underused at present due to the lack of appropriate tools to visualize and interpret such signals. Here we show that neural networks can be trained to leverage the richness of information available in fUS datasets to reliably determine behavior, even from a single fUS 2D image after appropriate training. We illustrate the potential of this method with two examples: determining if a rat is moving or static and decoding the animal’s sleep/wake state in a neutral environment. We further demonstrate that our method can be transferred to new recordings, possibly in other animals, without additional training, thereby paving the way for real-time decoding of brain activity based on fUS data. Finally, the learned weights of the network in the latent space were analyzed to extract the relative importance of input data to classify behavior, making this a powerful tool for neuroscientific research.
Size distribution and relationship of airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA to indoor aerosol in hospital ward environments
Authors: Groma V. , Kugler Sz. , Farkas Á. , Füri P. , Madas B. , Nagy A. , Erdélyi T. , Horváth A. , Müller V. , Szántó-Egész R. , Micsinai A. , Gálffy G. , Osán J. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAerosol particles proved to play a key role in airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Therefore, their size-fractionated collection and analysis is invaluable. However, aerosol sampling in COVID departments is not straightforward, especially in the sub-500-nm size range. In this study, particle number concentrations were measured with high temporal resolution using an optical particle counter, and several 8 h daytime sample sets were collected simultaneously on gelatin filters with cascade impactors in two different hospital wards during both alpha and delta variants of concern periods. Due to the large number (152) of size-fractionated samples, SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies could be statistically analyzed over a wide range of aerosol particle diameters (70–10 µm). Our results revealed that SARS-CoV-2 RNA is most likely to exist in particles with 0.5–4 µm aerodynamic diameter, but also in ultrafine particles. Correlation analysis of particulate matter (PM) and RNA copies highlighted the importance of indoor medical activity. It was found that the daily maximum increment of PM mass concentration correlated the most with the number concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the corresponding size fractions. Our results suggest that particle resuspension from surrounding surfaces is an important source of SARS-CoV-2 RNA present in the air of hospital rooms.
Nordic microalgae produce biostimulant for the germination of tomato and barley seeds
Authors: Alling Teodor , Funk Christiane , Gentili Francesco G. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractMicroalgal biomass may have biostimulating effects on plants and seeds due to its phytohormonal content, and harnessing this biostimulating effect could contribute to sustainable agriculture. Two Nordic strains of freshwater microalgae speciesChlorella vulgarisandScenedesmus obliquuswere each cultivated in a photobioreactor receiving untreated municipal wastewater. The algal biomass and the supernatant after algal cultivation were tested on tomato and barley seeds for biostimulating effects. Intact algal cells, broken cells, or harvest supernatant were applied to the seeds, and germination time, percentage and germination index were evaluated. Seeds treated withC. vulgaris, in particular intact cells or supernatant, had up to 25 percentage units higher germination percentage after 2 days and an overall significantly faster germination time (germinated on average between 0.5 and 1 day sooner) than seeds treated withS. obliquusor the control (water). The germination index was higher inC. vulgaristreatments than in the control for both tomato and barley, and this was observed for both broken and intact cells as well as supernatant. The Nordic strain ofC. vulgariscultivated in municipal wastewater thus shows potential for use as biostimulant in agriculture, adding novel economic and sustainability benefits.