bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of lenalidomide in HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis patients with persistent intracranial inflammation: an open-label, single-arm, prospective interventional study
Authors: Wan Zhikai , Tao Ran , Hui Jiangjin , Liu Xiang , Peng Xiaorong , Guo Yongzheng , Zhu Xueling , Huang Ying , Zhu Biao 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
Background
Patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis (HIV-CM) have persistent intracranial inflammation despite negative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fungal cultures after optimal treatment for CM, which could be devastating for the central nervous system. However, a definitive treatment strategy for persistent intracranial inflammation despite optimal antifungal therapies is undefined.

Methods
We identified 14 HIV-CM patients with persistent intracranial inflammation and conducted a 24-week, prospective, interventional study. All participants received lenalidomide (25 mg, p.o.) on days 1 to 21 of a 28-day cycle. Follow-up lasted for 24 weeks with visits at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 12, and 24. The primary endpoint was the change in clinical manifestations, routine CSF parameters, and MRI findings after lenalidomide treatment. An exploratory analysis was made on changes in cytokine levels in CSF. Safety and efficacy analyses were undertaken in patients who received at least one dose of lenalidomide.

Results
Of 14 participants, 11 patients completed the 24 weeks of follow-up. Rapid clinical remission following lenalidomide therapy was observed. Clinical manifestations (fever, headache, altered mentation) were reversed fully by week-4 and remained stable during follow-up. A significant reduction in white blood cell (WBC) count in CSF was noted occurred at week-4 (P = 0.009). The median protein concentration in CSF decreased from 1.4 (0.7–3.2) g/L at baseline to 0.9 (0.6–1.4) at week-4 (P = 0.004). The median albumin concentration in CSF decreased from 79.2 (48.4–149.8) mg/L at baseline to 55.3 (38.3–89.0) mg/L at week-4 (P = 0.011). The WBC count, protein level, and albumin level in CSF remained stable and approached a normal range through week-24. There was no significant change in immunoglobulin-G, intracranial pressure (ICP), or chloride-ion concentration at each visit. Brain MRI demonstrated multiple lesions to be absorbed post-therapy. Levels of tumor necrosis factor-α granulocyte colony stimulating factor, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-17A decreased significantly during 24-week follow-up. Two (14.3%) patients had mild skin rash, which resolved spontaneously. Lenalidomide-related serious adverse events were not observed.

Conclusion
Lenalidomide could improve persistent intracranial inflammation in HIV-CM patients significantly and was well tolerated without serious adverse events observed. And the additional randomized controlled study is required to further validate the finding.
The pharmacological management of acute behavioural disturbance in pregnancy
Authors: Powell Jennifer , Taylor David , Manoharan Manonmani 
Published: February 2023

SUMMARYAcute behavioural disturbance is relatively common during the perinatal period. The management of agitation in pregnant women is similar to that in the general population, although with some additional considerations, such as modifications to restraint techniques, careful medication selection, monitoring of maternal and fetal well-being and the importance of a debrief. There are benefits of agreeing a pre-determined care plan for women who are at risk.
Assessing the Contribution of Scanned Outside Documents to the Completeness of Real-World Data Abstraction
Authors: Zhao Yayi , Howard Rachel , Amorrortu Rossybelle P. , Stewart Sandra C. , Wang Xiaoliang , Calip Gregory S. , Rollison Dana E. 
Published: February 2023

PURPOSE Electronic health record (EHR) data are widely used in precision medicine, quality improvement, disease surveillance, and population health management. However, a significant amount of EHR data are stored in unstructured formats including scanned documents external to the treatment facility presenting an informatics challenge for secondary use. Studies are needed to characterize the clinical information uniquely available in scanned outside documents (SODs) to understand to what extent the availability of such information affects the use of these real-world data for cancer research. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two independent EHR data abstractions capturing 30 variables commonly used in oncology research were conducted for 125 patients treated for advanced non–small-cell lung cancer at a comprehensive cancer center, with and without consideration of SODs. Completeness and concordance were compared between the two abstractions, overall, and by patient groups and variable types. RESULTS The overall completeness of the data with SODs was 77.6% as compared with 54.3% for the abstraction without SODs. The differences in completeness were driven by data related to biomarker tests, which were more likely to be uniquely available in SODs. Such data were prone to missingness among patients who were diagnosed externally. CONCLUSION There were no major differences in completeness between the two abstractions by demographics, diagnosis, disease progression, performance status, or oral therapy use. However, biomarker data were more likely to be uniquely contained in the SODs. Our findings may help cancer centers prioritize the types of SOD data being abstracted for research or other secondary purposes.
Validity and Accuracy of Impulse-Response Models for Modeling and Predicting Training Effects on Performance of Swimmers
Authors: BUSSO THIERRY , CHALENCON SÉBASTIEN 
Published: February 2023

ABSTRACT

Purpose
The aim of this study was to compare the suitability of models for practical applications in training planning.

Methods
We tested six impulse-response models, including Banister’s model (Model Ba), a variable dose–response model (Model Bu), and indirect-response models differing in the way they account or not for the effect of previous training on the ability to respond effectively to a given session. Data from 11 swimmers were collected during 61 wk across two competitive seasons. Daily training load was calculated from the number of pool-kilometers and dry land workout equivalents, weighted according to intensity. Performance was determined from 50-m trials done during training sessions twice a week. Models were ranked on the base of Aikaike’s information criterion along with measures of goodness of fit.

Results
Models Ba and Bu gave the greatest Akaike weights, 0.339 ± 0.254 and 0.360 ± 0.296, respectively. Their estimates were used to determine the evolution of performance over time after a training session and the optimal characteristics of taper. The data of the first 20 wk were used to train these two models and predict performance for the after 8 wk (validation data set 1) and for the following season (validation data set 2). The mean absolute percentage error between real and predicted performance using Model Ba was 2.02% ± 0.65% and 2.69% ± 1.23% for validation data sets 1 and 2, respectively, and 2.17% ± 0.65% and 2.56% ± 0.79% with Model Bu.

Conclusions
The findings showed that although the two top-ranked models gave relevant approximations of the relationship between training and performance, their ability to predict future performance from past data was not satisfactory for individual training planning.
COVID-19 anxiety and uncertainty of classes: Devastating effect on students’ academic behavior and performance
Authors: Kulal Abhinandan , Rahiman Habeeb Ur 
Published: February 2023

Background: The second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) upsurged the level of anxiety among students and in addition to this, frequent closure of class, switching of teaching and learning to virtual added more agony to academic life. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 anxiety and uncertainty in class on academic performance moderated through academic behavior. Methods: A structured questionnaire was developed to collect primary data and was distributed to 480 students using a systematic sampling technique. A structured equation model was developed and tested with a few hypotheses to answer the research objectives. A conceptual model was developed with the help of literature in order to understand causal relationship between study variables and tested with the help of the structured equation model. Results: The study results showed that COVID-19 anxiety and uncertainty in classes negatively impacted students' academic behaviour, which lead to students' poor performance. The study identified that COVID-19 anxiety and uncertainty of class do not have a direct impact on academic performance; it only has an indirect negative impact on academic performance. Conclusions: It can be concluded that uncertainty of classes during lockdown increased anxiety among students and it negatively impacted the academic behaviour of the students which lead to poor academic performance. The study helps the policymakers of the education sector to uplift the spirit of students in this pandemic situation and motivate the students to keep hope in their future careers; therefore, this study helps to fill that gap by contributing a working model
The apparent burden of unexplained sudden infant deaths in Lusaka, Zambia: Findings from analysis of verbal autopsies
Authors: Osei-Poku Godwin K. , Mwananyanda Lawrence , Elliott Patricia A. , MacLeod William B. , Somwe Somwe Wa , Pieciak Rachel C. , Gill Christopher J. 
Published: February 2023

Background: The contribution of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) has received little attention in global health. The objective of this study was to estimate the burden of SUID in Lusaka, Zambia. Methods: Verbal autopsies were conducted on infants who died in Lusaka, between 2017 and 2020. From these, we performed a qualitative analysis of the free text narratives of the final series of events leading to each infant’s death and classified these as symptomatic deaths or SUID. Any narrative that described an infant who was otherwise healthy with no antecedent illness prior to death and found dead in bed after a sleep episode was classified as SUID. We used logistic regression to test for statistical differences between asymptomatic deaths and SUIDs on key infant, maternal and other risk factors of SUIDs. Results: Eight hundred and nine verbal autopsies were conducted with families of decedent infants younger than six months of age. A total of 92.6% (749/809) had presented with symptoms prior to death, whereas 7.4% (60/809) died without preceding symptoms or obvious cause of death. Of these, 16/60 were compatible with accidental suffocation deaths, and 54/60 appeared to be sudden infant death syndrome. SUID deaths were concentrated in infants younger than two months of age with peak age of one to two months. Age at death was the only significant factor in multivariate analysis. Infants aged between one and two months had 2.84 increased odds of suspected SUIDs compared to infants in the first month of life (aOR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.31, 6.16). Conclusions: Our findings suggest SUID could be accounting for a significant proportion of infant deaths in Zambia, but this cause of infant mortality is going unrecognized. Public health interventions in Zambia, and Africa more broadly, are likely overlooking SUIDs as an important cause of infant mortality.
Phylogeny-wide analysis of G-protein coupled receptors in social amoebas and implications for the evolution of multicellularity
Authors: Hall Grant , Kelly Sarah , Schaap Pauline , Schilde Christina 
Published: February 2023

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are seven-transmembrane proteins and constitute the largest group of receptors within eukaryotes. The presence of a large set of GPCRs in the unicellular Amoebozoa was surprising and is indicative of the largely undiscovered environmental sensing capabilities in this group. Evolutionary transitions from unicellular to multicellular lifestyles, like we see in social amoebas, have occurred several times independently in the Amoebozoa, and GPCRs may have been co-opted for new functions in cell-cell communication. Methods We have analysed a set of GPCRs from fully sequenced Amoebozoan genomes by Bayesian inference, compared their phylogenetic distribution and domain composition, and analysed their temporal and spatial expression patterns in five species of dictyostelids. Results We found evidence that most GPCRs are conserved deeply in the Amoebozoa and are probably performing roles in general cell functions and complex environmental sensing. All families of GPCRs (apart from the family 4 fungal pheromone receptors) are present in dictyostelids with family 5 being the largest and family 2 the one with the fewest members. For the first time, we identify the presence of family 1 rhodopsin-like GPCRs in dictyostelids. Some GPCRs have been amplified in the dictyostelids and in specific lineages thereof and through changes in expression patterns may have been repurposed for signalling in multicellular development. Discussion Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that GPCR families 1, 2 and 6 already diverged early in the Amoebozoa, whereas families 3 and 5 expanded later within the dictyostelids. The family 6 cAMP receptors that have experimentally supported roles in multicellular development in dictyostelids (carA-carD; tasA/B) originated at the root of all dictyostelids and only have weakly associated homologs in Physarum polycephalum. Our analysis identified candidate GPCRs which have evolved in the dictyostelids and could have been co-opted for multicellular development.
Bend-resistant stress-type segmented cladding large-mode-area single-mode fibers
Authors: Wang Yajie , Hou Shanglin , Xie Caijian , Wu Gang , Yan Zuyong 
Published: February 2023

We propose a novel bend-resistant stress-type large-mode-area fiber with segmented cladding, to the best of our knowledge, in which a high refractive index stress rod is introduced at the core, to improve the loss ratio between the least high-order mode (HOM) and fundamental mode loss, and to reduce the fundamental mode loss effectively. The mode loss and effective mode field area with or without heat load, and mode field evolution between the straight and bending transition are investigated, by utilizing the finite element method and the coupled-mode theory. The results show that the effective mode field area and the loss of the fundamental mode can reach up to 1050.1 µm2 and 0.0055dB⋅m−1, respectively, and the loss ratio between the least loss HOM and fundamental mode loss is greater than 210. The coupling efficient of the fundamental mode in the straight-bending transition reaches 0.85 at a wavelength of 1.064 µm and a bending radius of 24 cm. In addition, the fiber is insensitive to the bending direction and has excellent single-mode performance in any bending direction; the fiber maintains single-mode operation under heat load from 0 to 8 W/m. This fiber has potential application in compact fiber lasers and amplifiers.
Confocal microscopic and spectroscopic investigation of autofluorescence of Dictyosphaerium pulchellum wood
Authors: Joshi N.V. , Medina H. , Vielma Maria 
Published: February 2023

Dictyosphaerium pulchellum Wood, a typical a fresh water alga, is known for photosynthesis and expected to have photoluminescence also. We have, therefore, carried out a confocal fluorescence microscopic and spectroscopic study of this species. 3-D image constructed from 50 optical sections clearly reveals that fluorescence is originated from only the outer layer and not from the central core. Spectral investigation shows that a strong and sharp peak is located at 684 nm. At this peak value, the power measurement was carried out and the number of photons emitted by alga in the solid angle 48.59 Ω was calculated and found to be 3.4*1010/ sec.
The other significant feature of the responsible fluorophore is that the present photoluminescence has a very low quenching rate and hence the emitted radiation is observed for a very long time (512 sec.). This directly suggests that this fluorophore could have direct applications in dye related industries.
Optoacoustic detection of selective RPE cell damage during µs-laser irradiation
Authors: Schüle Georg , Joachimmeyer Elke , Framme Carsten , Roider Johann , Birngruber Reginald , Brinkmann Ralf 
Published: February 2023

Objective: The selective damage of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) with repetitive µs laser pulses is a new technique for the treatment of several retinal diseases. RPE can selectively be damaged by simultaneously sparing off the adjacent photoreceptor tissue. Objective of this study is to investigate whether optoacoustic (OA) transients occurring during irradiation might be used to control the invisible treatment effect.
Setup: A train of frequency doubled Nd:YLF laser pulses (527 nm, 1.7µs pulse length, 500Hz rep. rate) were applied via a laser slit lamp on porcine RPE samples. The acoustic transients were recorded with a broadband transducer.
Results: At low radiant exposures (< 100 mJ/cm2) we found a bipolar pressure transient due to thermoelastic expansion of the RPE. The pressure waves from the individual pulses of one pulse train show nearly identical transients. The transients differ slightly from different sites on the sample. At higher radiant exposures (> 150 mJ/cm2), the OA transients differ from pulse to pulse within a pulse train, which can be attributed to microbubble formation around the strong absorbing melanosomes inside the RPE cells. FFT spectra of the OA transients show slight differences in the frequency spectrum with the different radiant exposures.
DNA Biochips based on Surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) for high-throughput interaction studies
Authors: Stich Norbert , Mayer Christian , Bauer Georg , Schalkhammer Thomas 
Published: February 2023

Molecular interaction especially biorecognitive binding can be visualized by metal cluster enhanced fluorescence. Fluorescent molecules that are bound within the electromagnetic field of a layer of metal clusters exhibit a strong boost in excitation as well as emission. We present a study, using novel surface enhanced chips in glass-slide-format, their set up, the micro arraying onto the surface, and the hybridization of oligonucleotides on these chips.
Compared to standard (glass slide) DNA chips, performance, fluorescent signals as well as signal to noise ratio were considerably higher.
Non-Linear Mixing
Authors: Welge Karl H. 
Published: February 2023

We report investigations with tunable VUV radiation, employing VUV generation in regions down to the cut-off wavelength of lithium fluorid crystal (~ 110 nm) by frequency tripling of tunable UV from dye laser. -Experiments on multiphoton excitation and ionization of atomic hydrogen with tunable VUV light at Lyman-α, have been carried out with the following objectives: (1) sensitive H and D atom detection by two-photon ionization i. e.

1s

ω

Lyα

→

2
p

ω

uv

→

ion

, (2) two-photon ionization of H with high resolution at Lyman-α to resolve the hyperfine groundstate doublet, aiming at the production of polarized protons, (3) state selective production of high Rydberg states

(

1
s

ω

Lyα

→

2p

ω

uv

→

ns, nd

)

, and their ionization, (4) Doppler line shape spectroscopy at Lyman-α applied to recoil energy and momentum distribution measurements of H and D atoms in dissociation processes. -Depending on the objective, different experimental conditions and systems have been employed, for instance atomic beam configuration, mass-spectroscopic ion detection, field ionization in cryogenetic environment, and for Doppler measurements laser induced fluorescence.
Recent Advances in Submillimeter Remote Sensing and Analysis
Authors: Carlotti Massimo 
Published: February 2023

The spectral region of submillimeter-waves (from 10 cm-1 to 200 cm-1) has proven to be suitable for the remote sensing of the atmosphere in terms of the number of species that can be observed, the intensity of the transitions that produce spectral features, and the diurnal coverage of the emission measurements that can be obtained. Fourier Transform spectrometers have been built for this purpose at the Istituto di Ricerca sulle Onde Elettromagnetiche (IROE) [1] and at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) [2]. Both instruments had several successful flights in which they measured the emission of the atmosphere, from a balloon-borne platform, with the limb-scanning observation technique. The analysis of the spectra has two main objectives:
i) identification of atmospheric constituents through the assignment of the observed spectral features to specific transitions,
ii) determination of the altitude distribution (profile) of the molecules that have been identified.
Gradient Index Imaging Optics Today
Authors: Marchand Erich W. 
Published: February 2023

100 AD Greeks and Egyptians observe astronomical refraction
1854 Maxwell's fisheye lens
1900 Wood lens invented
1944 Luneburg lens
1954 Fletcher's analysis of GRIN rod (Fletcher, Murphy, and Young, Proc. Roy Soc. , London, 223, 216 1954).
Stress-Induced Birefringence in Gradient-Index Structures Fabricated by Ion-Exchange
Authors: Tomkinson Todd H. , Saxer Christopher E. 
Published: February 2023

This paper examines an axial gradient-index (GRIN) glass sample produced by ion-exchange in the glass system:

0.704

SiO

2

+
0.044

Al

2

O
3

+
(
0.252
−
χ
(
z
)
)

Na

2

O
+
χ
(
z
)

Li

2

O

(where χ(z) represents the degree of exchange versus position, z), with the intention of determining χ(z) from a measurement of the index profile, n(z). Due to the ion-exchange conditions, the sample contains “frozen-in” stresses that strain the glass network, preventing it from obtaining its free expansion volume. The resulting volume change causes an additional birefringent index change. Therefore, when the index profile of the sample, n(z), is measured, it is necessary to take into account the sample’s birefringence to accurately determine the exchange profile, χ(z).
The gradient’s index change, Δn(z), (where, Δn(z)=n(z)-nb, and nb is the base index), can be determined to accuracies reaching 0.03%. This paper shows that when frozen stresses are not taken into consideration, errors in determining χ(z) can reach 1.8%. However, it is shown that by also measuring the sample’s birefringence, determination of χ(z) may become more accurate.