bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CNS sites controlling the gastric pyloric sphincter: Neuroanatomical and functional study in the rat
Authors: Richardson Janell , Dezfuli Ghazaul , Mangel Allen W. , Gillis Richard A. , Vicini Stefano , Sahibzada Niaz 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe pyloric sphincter receives parasympathetic vagal innervation from the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). However, little is known about its higher‐order neurons and the nuclei that engage the DMV neurons controlling the pylorus. The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, to identify neuroanatomical connections between higher‐order neurons and the DMV. This was carried out by using the transneuronal pseudorabies virus PRV‐152 injected into rat pylorus torus and examining the brains of these animals for PRV labeling. Second, to identify the specific sites within the DMV that functionally control the motility and tone of the pyloric sphincter. For these studies, experiments were performed to assess the effect of DMV stimulation on pylorus activity in urethane‐anesthetized male rats. A strain gauge force transducer was sutured onto the pyloric tonus to monitor tone and motility. L‐glutamate (500 pmol/30 nL) was microinjected unilaterally into the rostral and caudal areas of the DMV. Data from the first study indicated that neurons labeled with PRV occurred in the DMV, hindbrain raphe nuclei, midbrain Edinger–Westphal nucleus, ventral tegmental area, lateral habenula, and arcuate nucleus. Data from the second study indicated that microinjected L‐glutamate into the rostral DMV results in contraction of the pylorus blocked by intravenously administered atropine and ipsilateral vagotomy. L‐glutamate injected into the caudal DMV relaxed the pylorus. This response was abolished by ipsilateral vagotomy but not by intravenously administered atropine or L‐NG‐nitroarginine methyl ester (L‐NAME). These findings identify the anatomical and functional brain neurocircuitry involved in controlling the pyloric sphincter. Our results also show that site‐specific stimulation of the DMV can differentially influence the activity of the pyloric sphincter by separate vagal nerve pathways.
Nuclei and tracts in the epithalamus of crocodiles
Authors: Pritz Michael B. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe epithalamus, an area of the dorsal diencephalon found in all vertebrates, consists of the habenula, the subhabenular nuclei, and associated tracts. The habenula is itself divisible into two parts—a medial and a lateral nucleus differing in their inputs, outputs, and cellular morphology. The medial component is related to the limbic system and serotonergic raphe, while the lateral nucleus is more interconnected with the basal ganglia and midbrain dopamine systems. These findings, which come from experiments mainly done on mammals, serve as a basis for comparison with other vertebrates. However, similar studies in other amniotes, such as reptiles, are few. To fill this gap in knowledge, two species of crocodiles were examined utilizing a variety of histological methods in various planes of section. The following results were obtained. First, the habenula was divided into medial and lateral parts based on its cytoarchitecture. Neurons in the medial habenula were small, were closely packed, and had a limited dendritic arbor characterized by unusual distal dendritic appendages, whereas neurons in the lateral habenula were larger, were more loosely packed, and had longer dendritic processes that were commonly beaded. Second, the stria medullaris, the major input to the habenula, was identified by its immunoreactivity to parvalbumin. Third, the fasciculus retroflexus (habenulointerpeduncular tract), the primary output of the habenula, was visualized by staining with acetylcholinesterase. Fourth, nuclei associated with the habenula, the subhabenular nuclei, have been identified and characterized. These features provide a means to recognize the major nuclei and tracts in the epithalamus in crocodiles and are likely applicable to other reptiles.
Effect of muscle pre‐tension and pre‐impact neck posture on the kinematic response of the cervical spine in simulated low‐speed rear impacts
Authors: Correia Matheus A. , Corrales Miguel A. , McLachlin Stewart D. , Cronin Duane S. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractComputational human body models (HBMs) can identify potential injury pathways not easily accessible through experimental studies, such as whiplash induced injuries. However, previous computational studies investigating neck response to simulated impact conditions have neglected the effect of pre‐impact neck posture and muscle pre‐tension on the intervertebral kinematics and tissue‐level response. The purpose of the present study was addressing this knowledge gap using a detailed neck model subjected to simulated low‐acceleration rear impact conditions, towards improved intervertebral kinematics and soft tissue response for injury assessment. An improved muscle path implementation in the model enabled the modeling of muscle pre‐tension using experimental muscle pre‐stretch data determined from previous cadaver studies. Cadaveric neck impact tests and human volunteer tests with the corresponding cervical spine posture were simulated using a detailed neck model with the reported boundary conditions and no muscle activation. Computed intervertebral kinematics of the model with pre‐tension achieved, for the first time, the S‐shape behavior of the neck observed in low severity rear impacts of both cadaver and volunteer studies. The maximum first principal strain in the muscles for the model with pre‐tension was 27% higher than that without pre‐tension. Although, the pre‐impact neck posture was updated to match the average posture reported in the experimental tests, the change in posture was generally small with only small changes in vertebral kinematics and muscle strain. This study provides a method to incorporate muscle pre‐tension in HBM and quantifies the importance of pre‐tension in calculating tissue‐level distractions.
Assessing a heterogeneous model for accounting for endovascular devices in hemodynamic simulations of cerebral aneurysms
Authors: Bérod Alain , Mut Fernando , Cebral Juan , Mendez Simon , Chnafa Christophe , Nicoud Franck 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe heterogeneous model developed by Berod et al [Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng 38, 2021] for representing the hemodynamic effects of endovascular prostheses is applied to a series of 10 patient specific cerebral aneurysms, 6 being treated by flow diverters, 4 being equipped with WEBs. Two markers correlated with the medical outcome of the treatment are used to assess the potential of the model, namely the saccular mean velocity and the inflow rate at the neck of the aneurysm. The comparison with the corresponding wire‐resolved simulations is very favorable in both cases, and the model‐based simulations also retrieve the jetting‐type flows generated downstream of the struts. Noteworthy, the very same model was used for representing the flow diverters and the WEBs, showing the versatility and robustness of the heterogeneous modeling of the devices.
Design of Silica@Au Hybrid Nanostars for Enhanced SERS and Photothermal Effect
Authors: Kaur Gagandeep , Kaur Vishaldeep , Kaur Navneet , Kaur Charanleen , Sood Kritika , Shanavas Asifkhan , Sen Tapasi 
Published: July 2023

AbstractCore‐shell nanostructures of silicon oxide@noble metal have drawn a lot of interest due to their distinctive characteristics and minimal toxicity with remarkable biocompatibility. Due to the unique property of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), plasmonic nanoparticles are being used as surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based detection of pollutants and photothermal (PT) agents in cancer therapy. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of multifunctional silica core – Au nanostars shell (SiO2@Au NSs) nanostructures using surfactant free aqueous phase method. The SERS performance of the as‐synthesized anisotropic core‐shell NSs was examined using Rhodamine B (RhB) dye as a Raman probe and resulted in strong enhancement factor of 1.37×106. Furthermore, SiO2@Au NSs were also employed for PT killing of breast cancer cells and they exhibited a concentration‐dependent increase in the photothermal effect. The SiO2@Au NSs show remarkable photothermal conversion efficiency of up to 72 % which is unprecedented. As an outcome, our synthesized NIR active SiO2@Au NSs are of pivotal importance to have their dual applications in SERS enhancement and PT effect.
Complex‐order controller design examples and their implementation
Authors: Nako Julia , Psychalinos Costas , Elwakil Ahmed S. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractA systematic method for approximating the complex‐order Laplacian operator by realizable integer‐order transfer functions is presented in this work. The realization is performed by a simple structure where only one active element is used. Thanks to the employment of complex‐order impedances, both integrators and differentiators can be readily implemented by the same core simply by interchanging the associated impedance locations. The validity of the presented concept is verified through simulation and experimental results, using the OrCAD PSpice suite and a Field Programmable Analog array device.
Detection and quantification of the metabolite Ac‐Tβ1–14 in in vitro experiments and urine of rats treated with Ac‐Tβ4: A potential biomarker of Ac‐Tβ4 for doping tests
Authors: Rahaman Khandoker Asiqur , Muresan Anca Raluca , Hasan Md Lemon , Joung Yoon Ki , Min Hophil , Son Junghyun , Kang Min‐Jung , Kwon Oh‐Seung 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThymosin β4 (Tβ4) was reported to exert various beneficial bioactivities such as tissue repair, anti‐inflammation, and reduced scar formation, and it is listed on the prohibited substances in sports by the World Anti‐Doping Agency. However, no metabolism studies of Tβ4 were reported yet. Previously, our lab reported in in vitro experiment that a total of 13 metabolites were found by using multiple enzymes, and six metabolites (Ac‐Tβ31–43, Ac‐Tβ17–43, Ac‐Tβ1–11, Ac‐Tβ1–14, Ac‐Tβ1–15, and Ac‐Tβ1–17) were confirmed by comparing with the synthetic standards. This study was aimed at identifying new metabolites of Tβ4 leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), human kidney microsomes (HKM), cultured huvec cells, and rats after administration of Tβ4 protein to develop biomarkers for detecting doping drugs in sports. A method for detecting and quantifying Ac‐Tβ1–14 was developed and validated using Q‐Exactive orbitrap mass spectrometry. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of the Ac‐Tβ1–14 were 0.19 and 0.58 ng/mL, respectively, and showed a good linearity (r2 = 0.9998). As a result, among the six metabolites above, Ac‐Tβ1–14, as a common metabolite, was found in LAP, HKM, huvec cells exposed to Tβ4, and the urine of rats intraperitoneally treated with 20‐mg/kg Tβ4. And the metabolite Ac‐Tβ1–14 was quantitatively determined by 48 h in rats, with the highest concentration occurring between 0 and 6 h. Ac‐Tβ1–14 was not detected in non‐treated control groups, including human blank urine. These results suggest that Ac‐Tβ1–14 in urine is a potential biomarker for screening the parent Tβ4 in doping tests.
Insularity determines nestling sex ratio variation in Egyptian vulture populations
Authors: Gómez‐López Guillermo , Sanz‐Aguilar Ana , Carrete Martina , Arrondo Eneko , Benítez José Ramón , Ceballos Olga , Cortés‐Avizanda Ainara , de Pablo Félix , Donázar José Antonio , Frías Óscar , Gangoso Laura , García‐Alfonso Marina , González José Luis , Grande Juan Manuel , Serrano David , Tella José Luis , Blanco Guillermo 
Published: July 2023

AbstractVariation in offspring sex ratio, particularly in birds, has been frequently studied over the last century, although seldom using long‐term monitoring data. In raptors, the cost of raising males and females is not equal, and several variables have been found to have significant effects on sex ratio, including food availability, parental age, and hatching order. Sex ratio differences between island populations and their mainland counterparts have been poorly documented, despite broad scientific literature on the island syndrome reporting substantial differences in population demography and ecology. Here, we assessed individual and environmental factors potentially affecting the secondary sex ratio of the long‐lived Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus. We used data collected from Spanish mainland and island populations over a ca. 30‐year period (1995–2021) to assess the effects of insularity, parental age, breeding phenology, brood size, hatching order, type of breeding unit (pairs vs. trios), and spatial and temporal variability on offspring sex ratio. No sex bias was found at the population level, but two opposite trends were observed between mainland and island populations consistent with the island syndrome. Offspring sex ratio was nonsignificantly female‐biased in mainland Spain (0.47, n = 1112) but significantly male‐biased in the Canary Islands (0.55, n = 499), where a male‐biased mortality among immatures could be compensating for offspring biases and maintaining a paired adult sex ratio. Temporal and spatial variation in food availability might also have some influence on sex ratio, although the difficulties in quantifying them preclude us from determining the magnitude of such influence. This study shows that insularity influences the offspring sex ratio of the Egyptian vulture through several processes that can affect island and mainland populations differentially. Our research contributes to improving our understanding of sex allocation theory by investigating whether sex ratio deviations from parity are possible as a response to changing environments comprised by multiple and complexly interrelated factors.
Metal‐Free Visible Light‐Promoted Synthesis of 1,2,2‐Triarylethanones and 2,2‐Diarylethanones: Route Towards Tamoxifen
Authors: Zhu Zhiqiang , Chen Shaoshuai , Qiu Dian , Li Bao Qiong 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAn efficient and straightforward methodology for the synthesis of 1,2,2‐triarylethanones and 2,2‐diarylethanones has been developed, via a visible light‐promoted/Brønsted acid‐catalyzed carbonyl‐alkyne metathesis/transfer hydrogenation one‐pot reaction of benzoquinone, arylalkyne, and Hantzsch ester. A series of synthetically useful triarylethanones and diarylethanones were achieved in excellent yield under mild reaction conditions. This protocol is operationally simple, photocatalyst‐free, and scalable and has a broad substrate scope. Moreover, this reaction involves the formation of three chemical bonds, namely C=O, C−C, and C−H bonds. This feature enables de novo synthesis of 1,2,2‐triarylethanones and 2,2‐diarylethanones. Additionally, this protocol provides a convenient and practical synthetic route for tamoxifen.
Synthesis and Chiroptical Properties of Binaphthyl‐Hinged [5]Helicenes
Authors: Hasegawa Masashi , Nojima Yuki , Nagata Yuya , Usui Kazuteru , Sugiura Ken‐ichi , Mazaki Yasuhiro 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe synthesis, structure, and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) of two types of shape‐persistent [5]helicenes, hinged by a tethered (−OCH2CH2O−) or untethered (−OCH3) binaphthyl, are reported. The binaphthyl tethering system facilitated an effective Wittig ring‐closure reaction in the synthesis of a macrocyclic precursor, which could be easily converted to the title compound via successive photocyclization. The tethered groups were replaced with untethered −OCH3 groups by treatment with BBr3 followed by methylation. Both compounds exhibited similar spectra, and their longest wavelength absorption band with a low intensity was attributed to the transition from HOMO to LUMO+1. These compounds exhibited CPL with higher dissymmetry factors glum values than unlocked helicenes.
Religious costly signal induces more trustworthiness than secular costly signal: A study of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Authors: Chvaja Radim , Chinchilla Juana , Goméz Ángel , Lang Martin 
Published: July 2023

AbstractResearch suggests that costly displays of commitment increase trust and cooperation. In five studies (total n > 1,700), we investigated whether costly behaviours are more effective in promoting trust when integrated within a religious rather than secular context using the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela as a costly display of commitment. First, we show that pilgrims base their pilgrim identity on physical effort (Studies 1A and 1B). Next, in three pre‐registered experiments (Studies 2–4) with the Spanish population, we compared the trustworthiness of people posting on Facebook about their participation in a religious pilgrimage and a secular pilgrimage/hike with various control posts. The results showed that pilgrims/hikers are perceived as more trustworthy than non‐pilgrims and that long‐distance pilgrims are perceived as more trustworthy than short‐distance pilgrims. Moreover, these effects are stronger when the pilgrimage is framed in a religious context compared to a secular context. Our research highlights the key role of religion in the costly signalling of commitment.
Proactive and reactive language control in bilingual language production revealed by decoding sustained potentials and electroencephalography oscillations
Authors: Zhang Zhaoqi , Ma Fengyang , Guo Taomei 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAdopting highly sensitive multivariate electroencephalography (EEG) and alpha‐band decoding analyses, the present study investigated proactive and reactive language control during bilingual language production. In a language‐switching task, Chinese–English bilinguals were asked to name pictures based on visually presented cues. EEG and alpha‐band decoding accuracy associated with switch and non‐switch trials were used as indicators for inhibition over the non‐target language. Multivariate EEG decoding analyses showed that the decoding accuracy in L1 but not in L2, was above chance level shortly after cue onset. In addition, alpha‐band decoding results showed that the decoding accuracy in L1 rose above chance level in an early time window and a late time window locked to the stimulus. Together, these asymmetric patterns of decoding accuracy indicate that both proactive and reactive attentional control over the dominant L1 are exerted during bilingual word production, with a possibility of overlap between two control mechanisms. We addressed theoretical implications based on these findings for bilingual language control models.
Web‐based comparative study of some national experiences of health care quality management
Authors: Dare Labante Outcha , Champagne François , Denis Jean‐Louis , Ste‐Marie Genevieve , Yordanov Yassen 
Published: July 2023

AbstractSince the publication of study results on adverse events to health care in OECD countries, the importance of the national quality improvement strategies has been recognised. To examine how these strategies have been shaped in different jurisdictions, we carried out this study. We conducted a web‐based comparative study of international practices. We first defined seven key health care and services quality management functions. We then drew on the experience of authors to make a reasoned selection of 13 countries or states across the world. We determined the distance that separates each of these functions from a country's Ministry of Health (MoH); and examined whether these functions are concentrated in a single organisation or dispersed across several organisations. Afterwards, we correlated our results with the quality level of these countries based on the OECD's health care indicators. Overall, Netherlands, Québec (Canada), Korea, Germany, England (UK), and the United States had at least 50% of their quality management functions controlled by self‐regulated organisations. The Market Concentration Index ranged from 937 for the United States to 6800 for Russia. Graphical representation has shown us two health system models. Our results also clearly showed that countries had a better quality of care most often when they belong to model 1 of our taxonomy. These findings will help countries design and implement large‐scale health care and services quality strategies for better and safer health care and services.
Toward more accurate diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: Automated lesion segmentation in brain magnetic resonance image using modified U‐Net model
Authors: Amaludin Bakhtiar , Kadry Seifedine , Ting Fung Fung , Taniar David 
Published: July 2023

AbstractEarly diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) through the delineation of lesions in the brain magnetic resonance imaging is important in preventing the deteriorating condition of MS. This study aims to develop a modified U‐Net model for automating lesions segmentation in MS more accurately. The proposed modified U‐Net uses residual dense blocks to replace the standard convolutional stacks and incorporates three axes (axial, sagittal, and coronal) of 2D slice images as input. Furthermore, a custom fusion method is also introduced for merging the predicted lesions from different axes. The model was implemented on ISBI2015 and OpenMS data sets. On ISBI2015, the proposed model achieves the best overall score of 93.090% and DSC of 0.857 on the OpenMS data set.
Impact of pharmacist‐provided medication therapy management service on reducing unplanned readmissions in adult patients in Singapore
Authors: Lee Elena Meishan , Toh Yue Feng , Lim Nathaniel Wei Xiong , See Qin Yong 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIntroductionOlder patients on polypharmacy are predisposed to drug‐related problems (DRPs). While medication therapy management (MTM) with pharmacist involvement can reduce DRP occurrence, few have examined its impact on reducing unplanned admissions. This study was designed to determine whether a pharmacist‐provided MTM service can reduce unplanned admissions through the comparison with patients receiving usual care.MethodsA retrospective case–control study was conducted in Changi General Hospital. Patients enrolled to MTM service from January 2016 to December 2021 were included in the intervention arm (n = 96) while patients who were not enrolled were recruited as control (n = 96). Primary outcome was the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of unplanned admissions within 6 months postindex visit comparing between intervention arm and control arm. Secondary outcomes included number of DRPs identified, types of DRPs, and the potential risks avoided by resolving DRPs. The negative binomial mixed model was used to model the unplanned admissions data.ResultsMTM with pharmacists' involvement was associated with a 39% (IRRs 0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.37–0.99, p = 0.047) lower rate of admissions in the intervention compared with the control group. There were higher number of DRPs (144 vs. 2) found in the intervention arm compared with control arm, respectively. The most prevalent types of DRPs were “Nonadherence” (80.1%), “Drug omission” (5.6%), and “Inappropriate dose” (2.8%). The most common potential risks avoided were increased cardiovascular risk, n = 29 (22.1%), increased fall risk, n = 18 (13.7%), and increased fracture risk, n = 17 (13.0%).ConclusionThe study suggests that pharmacist‐provided MTM service decreased unplanned admission. It has improved medication safety and quality of care by identifying and resolving more DRPs.