bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tobacco retailer density and smoking behaviour: how are exposure and outcome measures classified? A Systematic Review
Authors: Baker John , Lenz Katrin , Masood Mohd , Rahman Muhammad Aziz , Begg Stephen 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Introduction: To date only a limited number of reviews have focused on how exposure and outcome measures are defined in the existing literature on associations between tobacco retailer density (‘density’) and smoking behaviour (‘smoking’). Therefore this systematic review classified and summarised how both density and smoking variables are operationalised in the existing literature, and provides several methodological recommendations for future density and smoking research. Methods: Two literature searches between March and April 2018 and April 2022 were conducted across 10 databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed and keyword database searches were undertaken. Studies were imported into Covidence. Cross-sectional studies that met the inclusion criteria were extracted and a quality assessment was undertaken. Studies were categorised according to the density measure used, and smoking was re-categorised using a modified classification tool. Results: Large heterogeneity was found in the operationalisation of both measures in the 47 studies included for analysis. Density was most commonly measured directly from geocoded locations using circular buffers at various distances (n = 14). After smoking was reclassified using a smoking classification tool, past-month smoking was the most common smoking type reported (n = 26). Conclusions: It is recommended that density is measured through length-distance and travel time using the street network and weighted (e.g. by the size of an area), or by using Kernel Density Estimates as these methods provide a more accurate measure of geographical to tobacco and e-cigarette retailer density. The consistent application of a smoking measures classification tool, such as the one developed for this systematic review, would enable better comparisons between studies. Future research should measure exposure and outcome measures in a way that makes them comparable with other studies. Implications This systematic review provides a strong case for improving data collection and analysis methodologies in studies assessing tobacco retailer density and smoking behaviour to ensure that both exposure and outcome measures are clearly defined and captured. As large heterogeneity was found in the operationalisation of both density and smoking behaviour measures in the studies included for analysis, there is a need for future studies to capture, measure and classify exposure measures accurately, and to define outcome measures in a manner that makes them comparable with other studies.
Monitoring and simulating landscape changes: How do long-term changes in land use and climate affect regional biophysical conditions in southern Malawi?
Authors: Nkolokosa C , Stothard Russell , Jones Chris , Stanton Michelle , Chirombo James , Tangena Julie-Anne Akiko 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
We set out to reveal the effects of long-term changes in land use and climate on the regional biophysical environment in southern Malawi. Object oriented supervised image classification was performed on Landsat 5 and 8 satellite images from 1990 to 2020 to identify and quantify past and present land use-land cover changes using a Support Vector Machine classifier. Subsequently, using 2000 and 2010 land use-land cover in an artificial neural network, land use-land cover for 2020 driven by elevation, slope, precipitation and temperature, population density, poverty, distance to major roads and distance to villages data was simulated. Between 1990-2020, area of land cover increased in built-up (209%), bare land (10%) and cropland (10%) and decreased in forest (30%), herbaceous (4%), shrubland (20%) and water area (20%). Overall, the findings reveal that southern Malawi is dominantly an agro-mosaic landscape shaped by the combined effects of urban and agricultural expansions and climate. The findings also suggest the need to enhance the machine learning algorithms to improve capacity for landscape modelling and ultimately, prevention, preparedness and response to environmental risks.
Using Ant Colony Optimization for Results Merging in Federated Search
Authors: Garba Adamu , Khalid Shah , Shah Habib , Ullah Irfan , Tairan Nasser Mansoor , Mumin Diyawu 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Federated search routes the user's search query to multiple component collections and presents a merged results list in ranked order by comparing the relevance score of each returned result. However, the heterogeneity of the component collections makes it challenging for the central broker to compare these relevance scores while fusing the results in ranked order. To address this issue, most existing approaches merged the returned results by changing the document ranks to their ranking scores or downloading the documents and computing their relevance score at query time. However, these approaches are less efficient as the former suffer from limited efficiency of results merging due to negligible overlapping documents among the component collections, and the latter is resource intensive. This research addresses this problem by proposing a new method that extracts features of both the documents and component collections from the available information provided by the collections at querying time. Next, each document and its collection features are exploited together to establish the document relevance score. The ant colony optimization is then used for information foraging to create a merged results list. The empirical results on a real-world dataset demonstrate significant improvements by the proposed approach over baseline approaches.
The proper timing of Atoh1 expression is pivotal for hair cell subtype differentiation and the establishment of inner ear function
Authors: You Dan , Ni Wenli , Huang Yikang , Zhou Qin , Zhang Yanping , Jiang Tao , Chen Yan , Li Wenyan 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Atoh1 overexpression is essential for hair cell (HC) regeneration in the sensory epithelium of mammalian auditory and vestibular organs. However, Atoh1 overexpression alone cannot induce fully mature and functional HCs in the mammalian inner ear. In the current study, we investigated the effect of Atoh1 constitutive overexpression in native HCs by manipulating Atoh1 expression at different developmental stages. We demonstrated that constitutive overexpression of Atoh1 in native vestibular HCs did not affect cell survival but did impair vestibular function by interfering with subtype differentiation of HCs and hair bundle development. In contrast, Atoh1 overexpression in cochlear HCs impeded their maturation, eventually leading to gradual HC loss and hearing dysfunction in the cochlea. Our study suggests that time-restricted Atoh1 expression is essential for the differentiation and survival of HCs in the inner ear, which is pivotal for both hearing and vestibular function re-establishment through Atoh1 overexpression-induced HC regeneration strategies.
Clinical predictors of stroke prognosis after endovascular therapy
Authors: Wang Yu-gang , Yuan Xingyun , Kang Yonggang , Yu Liping , Chen Wanhong , Fan Gang 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background and Aims
Endovascular therapy (EVT) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of large vascular occlusive stroke, but many factors are correlated with the outcome for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients after EVT[1]. There are so many factors such as baseline admitting NIHSS score, smoking, last known normal (LKN) time to puncture and so on impacted functional outcome of AIS[2]. This study aims to find the main factors that influence the poor prognosis of AIS patients after EVT by analyzing the clinical data of AIS patients.
Methods
We analyzed the clinical data of AIS patients in the First People’s Hospital of Xian Yang city in Sha’anXi province from June 2017 to August 2021 following treatment with EVT. The data included the patient blood pressure upon admission, blood glucose, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, and 90-day modified Rankin scale (mRs) score follow-up data, last known normal (LKN) time to puncture, LKN time to puncture was defined as the time from the patient's last normal time to the successful groin puncture (GP), calculated in minutes. A good outcome was defined as a 90-day mRs score of 0 to 3, and a poor outcome was defined as a 90-day mRs score of 4 to 6.
Results
A total of 144 patients were included in the study, baseline admitting NIHSS score, smoking, and LKN time to puncture, After NIHSS stratification, an NIHSS score of 6–12 was found to be relevant to the prognosis from the results of the univariate analysis. The baseline NIHSS were (odds ratio = 3.02; 95% confidence interval, 2.878–4.252; P < 0.001), LKN time to GP (odds ratio = 2.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.341–2.625; P < 0.01), and time stratification (6–12h) (odds ratio = 4.22; 95% confidence interval, 2.519–5.561; P < 0.001).The result showed higher baseline NIHSS, LKN time to puncture, and time were associated with poorer prognosis of stroke patients after EVT in a multivariate analysis.
Conclusions
Our study indicated that smoking, the baseline NIHSS score, and LKN time to puncture were the risk factors for a poor outcome of stroke patients following an EVT. Quitting smoking, shortening LKN time to puncture should improve the outcome of AIS after EVT.
Extreme and heterogeneous conditions of the desert wetland Chott Ech Chergui (Algeria) allow isolating halophilic, alkalophilic and thermophilic bacteria.
Authors: Zouggar Aicha Mehirou , Mirleau Pascal , Chenuil Anne , Denis Françoise , Caruso Aurore , Ayad Sidi Mohammed El Amine Abi , Lamara Sid Ahmed Chawki 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Wetlands concentrate biodiversity, particularly in arid regions. Chott Ech Chergui (Algeria), one of the biggest wetlands of the north African desert, presents extreme temperatures and salinity conditions. We initiated a physico-chemical and microbiological survey at seven sites encompassing various conditions (salt lakes, freshwater lakes and hot springs), through a one-year monthly sampling campaign. Four sites under the influence of the spring showed little temporal physio-chemical variation. Three sites displayed higher variation and the aridity level, high from late spring until autumn, was a strong predictor of water chemistry. We evidenced extremophile bacteria. Among 320 bacterial isolates tested for thermo-, acido- and alcalino- tolerance, 39, affiliated to Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, were successfully maintained and underwent physiological, biochemical and molecular characterization. Thermotolerance was recorded up to 100°C for a water isolate affiliated to Geobacillus stearothermophilus. Halotolerance was recorded up to 30% NaCl (w:v) for soil isolates affiliated to Salinicola zeshunii, Chromohalobacter beijerinckii and Virgibacillus halodenitrificans. Acido- and alcalo- tolerance were recorded for a pH range from 5 to 11 for several soil and water isolates affiliated to Exiguobacterium, Bacillus, Salinicola and Chromohalobacter genus. Our results comfort the interest of studying extremophile diversity in wetlands of the highly arid Sahara region.
Analysis of the Clinical Efficacy of Visualization of Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy Combined with Annulus Fibrosus Suture in Lumbar Disc Herniation
Authors: Xi Jintao , Xie Wei , Li Xugui , Wu CongJun , Zhang TongHui , Lu Qilin 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Objective:The objective of this study is to compare the clinical effectiveness of visualization of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (VPELD) combined with annulus fibrosus suture technique and simple percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) technique in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.
Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 106 cases of lumbar disc herniation treated with foraminoscopic technique at our hospital from January 2020 to February 2022. Among them, 33 cases were treated with VPELD combined with annulus fibrosus suture in group A, and 73 cases were treated with PELD in group B. The preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS), functional index (Oswestry disability index, ODI), healing of the annulus fibrosus, intervertebral space height, and postoperative recurrence were recorded and compared between the two groups.
Results:All patients underwent preoperative and postoperative MRI examinations, and the average follow-up period was 12±2 months. Both groups showed significant improvements in postoperative VAS and ODI scores compared to the preoperative scores (P < 0.05), with no statistically significant difference between the groups during the same period (P > 0.05). There was no significant decrease in intervertebral space between the two groups after surgery (P > 0.05). Group A showed significantly lower postoperative recurrence rate and better annulus fibrosus healing compared to group B (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:The VPELD combined with annulus fibrosus suture technique is a safe, feasible, and effective procedure for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. When the indications are strictly adhered to, this technique can effectively reduce the postoperative recurrence rate and reoperation rate. It offers satisfactory clinical efficacy and can be considered as an alternative treatment option for eligible patients.
The Impact of Urban Population on Housing Cost: The Case of Australia
Authors: Sim Nicholas , Leishman Chris , Liang Weidong 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Rapid population expansions in urban areas have significant implications for housing costs, creating challenges for housing affordability. However, estimating the causal effect of population on housing costs is challenging due to various confounding issues, such as unobserved location-specific attributes, measurement error, and the potential bi-directional relationship between population and housing costs. To address them, we adopt a city-level analysis and introduce a novel instrumental variable (IV) that enables us to employ fixed effects IV estimation. Our findings indicate that housing costs tend to increase at a faster rate than population growth. As individuals and households with lower incomes tend to allocate a larger proportion of their earnings to housing expenses, an upward trajectory of housing costs may dramatically widen the inequality in income after housing expenditure.
Small intestinal mucosal abnormalities using video capsule endoscopy in Intestinal lymphangiectasia
Authors: Lin Lin , Liu Kuiliang , Liu Hong , Xin Jianfeng , Sun Yuguang , Xia Song , Shen Wenbin , Wu Jing 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Objectives
To disclose the video capsule endoscopy (VCE) characteristics of small intestinal mucosal abnormalities in patients with intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL), and to investigate the relationship between clinical and VCE characteristics.
Methods
Consecutive patients with IL underwent the VCE were enrolled into the retrospective study. The cases were classified into white villi group and non-white villi group according to mucosal abnormalities detected by VCE. Clinical and endoscopic characteristics were investigated and analyzed.
Results
A total of 98 patients with IL with a median onset age of 26.3 ± 19.2 years were included. VCE disclosed the following small intestinal lesions: (i) white villi type (57/98, 58.2%), i.e.: white-tipped or granular villi, white nodular villi or plaques; (ii) non-white villi type (41/98, 41.8%), i.e.: diffused low and round villi; (iii) complications (46/98, 46.9%), i.e.: bleeding, ulcers, protruding or vesicular-shaped lesions, stenosis and lymphatic leakage. 58.2% (57) and 41.8% (41) of cases were classified into white villi and non-white villi group respectively. The percentage of chylothorax in white villi group was significantly lower than non-white villi group (12/57 vs. 19/41, p = 0.008). In VCE, there were no significant differences in involved segments and total detected rate of complications between white villi and non-white villi groups (p > 0.05), while the detected rate of lymphatic leakage in white villi group was significantly higher than non-white villi group (31.6% vs. 12.2%, p = 0.026).
Conclusions
Our study identified the entire small intestinal mucosal abnormalities of IL by VCE, especially in endoscopic complications. IL has specific VCE abnormalities in addition to classical endoscopic findings.
Cell death-related signature associated with prognosis and immune infiltration in glioma
Authors: Zhou Quanwei , Cao Tuo , Zhang Wenlong , Guo Youwei , Jiang Xingjun , Ren Caiping , Ke Yiquan 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background:
Accumulating evidence suggests that a wide variety of cell deaths are deeply involved in cancer immunity. However, their roles remain unexplored in glioma.
Methods:
Logistic regression with shrinkage regularization (LASSO) Cox was conducted to develop a scoring system based on the cell deaths patterns (cuproptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, apoptosis, necrosis) in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. A nomogram for overall survival was developed and validated, whose discrimination was evaluated by ROC and calibration curves, respectively. Cell-type identification was estimated by CIBERSORT and ssGSEA methods. Hub genes associated with the prognostic model were screened by machine learning. The expression pattern and clinical significance of MYD88 were investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC).
Results:
Cell death score represents an independent prognostic factor of poor outcomes in glioma patients. A nomogram performed well in predicting outcomes by time-dependent ROC and calibration plots. In addition, the high-risk score has a significant relationship with high expression of immune checkpoints and dense infiltration of pro-tumor cells, including macrophage M2. Based on machine learning and differential expression analysis, MYD88 was a hub gene associated with a cell death-based prognostic model. Up-regulated MYD88 was associated with malignant phenotypes and undesirable prognosis by IHC. Furthermore, high-expression MYD88 was associated with poor clinical outcomes, and positively related to CD163, PD-L1, and Vimentin expression in the in-horse cohort.
Conclusions:
Cell death score provides a precise stratification and immune status for glioma. MYD88 was found to be an outstanding representative that might play an important role in glioma.
Growth Performance, Mucosal Immunity and Disease Resistance in Goldfish (Carassius auratus) Orally Administered with Escherichia coli Strain Nissle 1917
Authors: Nofouzi Katayoon , Sheikhzadeh Najmeh , Hamidian Gholamreza , Shahbazfar Amir Ali , Soltani Mehdi , Marandi Amin 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

The current research aimed to shed light on the efficacy of Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 (EcN) on goldfish growth, gut immunity, morphology, bacterial nutritional enzyme activity and resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila infection. The fish that were fed with EcN at 106, 107 and 108 CFU/ g for eighty days showed an enhanced growth compared to those fed with basal diet. Also, fish gut innate immunity, in terms of lysozyme activity, immunoglobulin and total protein levels, was improved in the treatment fish with the best result being observed in fish fed EcN at 108 CFU/ g. In addition, an increase was noted in the up-regulation of immune-relevant genes, namely lysozyme, interleukin − 1ß, inducible nitric oxide synthase and tumor necrosis factor ɑ of fish intestine. A marked surge in the number of proteolytic and heterotrophic bacteria was noted in the gut of fish nourished with the probiotic. Histological studies showed an improvement in the intestinal absorption surface area, intraepithelial lymphocyte count and goblet cell density. Significantly higher survival rate was also shown in fish fed EcN at 108 CFU/ g compared with the fish fed with the basal diet. These data exhibited the beneficial effect of EcN on goldfish growth, digestive enzymes, intestine heterotrophic bacteria and resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila. This study confirmed the favorable outcomes resulting from the administration of EcN at108 CFU/ g.
An Efficient Method for Blur Kernel Size Estimation in Blind Image Deblurring
Authors: Abdollahi Mitra , ahmadyfard Alireza 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

In blind image deblurring task, imperfect blur kernel estimation causes severe artifacts in deblurring results. One of the main reasons for the deblurring artifacts is an incorrect selection of the blur kernel size. In this paper, we propose a method for estimating the size of the blur kernel from the given blur image. In this method, we learn the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features for sharp images from the corresponding blurry images. For this purpose, we train SVR models using a set of sharp and blurry pair images. This process is performed in different image pyramid levels. In contrast to previous methods, we train a regression model to estimate directly the kernel size from HOG features, without making any assumption on the shape of kernel blur. As our experimental results show, this method better estimates the size of blur kernel from blurry images. This reduces the deblurring artifacts caused by incorrect estimating the kernel size.
Formation of clathrin-pits and ATP-independent cholesterol-dependent tubules initiates mechano-regulation on de-adhesion
Authors: Mandal Tithi , Biswas Arikta , Ghosh Tanmoy , Manikandan Sreekanth , Kundu Avijit , Banerjee Ayan , Mitra Dhrubaditya , Sinha Bidisha 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Adherent cells ensure membrane homeostasis during de-adhesion by various mechanisms including endocytosis. Although mechano-chemical feedbacks involved in this process have been studied, the step-by-step build-up and resolution of the mechanical changes by endocytosis is not well understood. To investigate this, we studied the de-adhesion of HeLa cells using a combination of interference reflection microscopy, optical-trapping and fluorescence experiments. We found that de-adhesion enhanced membrane height fluctuations of the basal membrane in the presence of an intact cortex. A reduction in the tether-force was also noted at the apical side. However, membrane fluctuations reveal phases of an initial drop in effective tension followed by a saturation. The area fractions of early (Rab5-labelled) and recycling (Rab4-labelled) endosomes as well as transferrin-labelled pits close to the basal plasma membrane also transiently increased. On blocking dynamin-dependent scission of endocytic pits, the regulation of fluctuations was not blocked but proceeded uncontrolled. Interestingly, the regulation could not be suppressed by ATP or cholesterol depletion individually but was arrested on depleting both. The data strongly supports pit-formation to be central to the reduction in fluctuations whether in normal or ATP depleted condition. Furthermore, while in normal conditions the contribution of clathrin-mediated endocytosis is clear, under ATP-depleted conditions we propose that cholesterol-dependent pits spontaneously regulate tension.