bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Correlations of anterior and posterior corneal parameters in Chinese myopic patients
Authors: Hu Yijun , Wang Yanfang , Du Zijing , Zhu Shanqing , Xiong Lu , Fang Xuejun , Zhou Jin , Zhang Qingsong , Lei Xiaohua , Li Yanbin , Zeng Jin , Wang Zheng 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background Whether the correlations between anterior and posterior corneal parameters vary according to different conditions is unknown.Methods A total of 8365 myopic eyes having refractive surgery between 2017 and 2019 from multiple ophthalmic centers were consecutively included in the study. All the eyes underwent routine ocular examinations including corneal Scheimpflug imaging. Pentacam data of the eyes were retrieved from the machine and only results with image quality labelled with ‘OK’ were included. The anterior-posterior correlations of corneal curvature, astigmatism, eccentricity and asphericity were assessed using Spearman’s correlation test by grouping the eyes via different myopic groups and different quantile levels of six corneal and anterior chamber parameters (Sim Km, pachy apex, corneal volume and diameter, anterior chamber height and volume).Results Strongly negative anterior-posterior correlations of the mean corneal curvature were observed, with similar correlation coefficients in all the myopic groups (R: -0.85 to -0.88). The anterior-posterior correlations of corneal astigmatism (R: 0.65 to 0.75), eccentricity (R: 0.27 to 0.38) and asphericity (R: 0.29 to 0.41) were all positive, with the correlation coefficients slightly different between the myopic groups. The anterior-posterior correlations of mean corneal curvature were strongly negative with similar correlation coefficients in all the quantile groups of six corneal and anterior chamber parameters (R: -0.84 to -0.91), except Sim Km (R: -0.36 to -0.64). The anterior-posterior correlations of corneal astigmatism were all positive with the correlation coefficients slightly different between the quantile groups of SimKm (R: 0.66 to 0.74). The anterior-posterior correlations of corneal eccentricity (R: 0.30 to 0.44) and asphericity (R: 0.33 to 0.45) were positive and slightly different between the quantile groups of SimKm, pachy apex and corneal volume.Conclusion The anterior-posterior correlations of corneal curvature, astigmatism, eccentricity and asphericity are affected by the severity of myopia and some other corneal parameters.
A Transformer-based Algorithm for Automatically Diagnosing Malaria Parasite in Thin Blood Smear Images Using MobileViT
Authors: Marefat Abdolreza , Joloudari Javad Hassannataj , Rastgarpour Maryam 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Based on the report provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria has proved to be a life-threatening disease whose cases reached 241 million in 2020 globally. However, diagnosing malaria in the early stages of infection can be very fruitful for ameliorating this disease. The standard way of diagnosing malaria is by examining the blood cell images by professionals. Despite medical technology development, this is not feasible in many underdeveloped areas due to the lack of such experts. Thus, researchers interested in computer-aided decision-making, specifically deep learning, have focused on atomizing the diagnosis of malaria recently. The performance of transformer-based models combined with convolutional neural networks motivated us to propose an approach based on MobileViT for atomizing the process of diagnosing malaria. To achieve this, the model was trained on blood cell images collected from a publicly available dataset. Evaluated on 27,560 samples, the proposed classifier achieves an accuracy of 98.37% on average using 10-fold cross-validation. Among 2756 test samples, the model achieves 34 false negatives at least and 48 ones at most. Due to the medical nature of our problem, this is significant because the model’s miss-cases of actual positive malaria-infected samples are low, making the accuracy and recall of the model 98.37% and 98.38%, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first study that applies a transformer-based model to a problem with superior performance. In addition, it is a lightweight and mobile-friendly neural network which can be utilized in mobile applications.
Perceptions of HIV and Mental Illness as “Western” or “Traditional” Illnesses: A Cross-Sectional Study from Limpopo Province, South Africa
Authors: Galvin Michael , Coetzee Lezanie , Leshabana Patricia , Masebe Nthabiseng , Lebepe Shitshembiso , Moolla Aneesa , Tarullo Amanda R. , Rockers Peter C. , Evans Denise 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Although Western biomedical treatment has dramatically increased across sub-Saharan African health systems, traditional medicine as a form of healing and beliefs in supernatural powers as explanations for disease remain prevalent. Research in this region has identified HIV in particular as a disease located within both the traditional African and Western medical paradigms, whilst mental illness is ascribed to primarily supernatural causes. Within this context, this study sought to understand and explore the perceptions of HIV and mental illness among a population of rural women in Limpopo, South Africa. 82 in-depth interviews were conducted between January and December, 2022. Interviews were transcribed and translated into English. Data were managed using NVivo 11 software and thematically analyzed. The majority of participants identified HIV as a Western illness requiring biomedical treatment with causation largely attributed to biological mechanisms. A traditional form of HIV only cured using traditional treatments was also denoted. Unlike for HIV, the majority of respondents felt that there was no biological or behavioral cause for mental illness but rather the illness was conceptualized supernaturally thus likely impacting patient care pathways. Further research to study HIV and mental health perceptions among a larger sample in different regions of sub-Saharan Africa is warranted.
Prediction of Bengali Newspaper Headline Polarity Using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Barua Apu , Raza Dewan Mamun , Islam Mohammad Monirul , Majumder Anup , Habib Md. Tarek 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Automated detection of the sentiment of newspaper headlines can save time and effort in reading and help to create a positive environment by reducing the prevalence of negative news and promoting positive news. Negative news can have a variety of effects on society, including Increased fear and anxiety, Desensitization to violence and tragedy, Decreased trust in institutions, Polarization, and division, and Decreased well-being. In this study, we propose a system for detecting the positivity or negativity of newspaper headlines in Bangla. While there has been a significant amount of research on detecting the sentiment of English newspaper headlines, there has been none in Bangla. To build our dataset, we used a large number of Bangla newspaper headlines. To categorize these Bangla newspaper headlines, three classic machine learning models, e.g. support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression, and random forest, and one deep learning model, e.g. sequential model are utilized. We then applied these three classical machine learning models as well as a deep learning model to the dataset following a machine learning approach. The obtained results are quantified in terms of four inquisitive performance metrics – accuracy, F1-score, precision, and recall. The results showed that the sequential deep learning model surpassed all other classical machine learning models achieving an accuracy of 80% F1-Score of 79% Precision of 87% and Recall of 76%.
Metagenome-assembled genome reveals species and functional composition of Jianghan chicken gut microbiota and isolation of Pediococcus acidilactic with probiotic properties
Authors: Shen Hongye , Wang Tinghui , Dong Weiwei , Sun Guoping , Liu Jun , Peng Nan , Zhao Shumiao 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background
Chickens are one of the most widely farmed animals in the world, playing a crucial role in meat and egg production. Gut microbiota is essential for chickens' health, disease, growth, and egg production. However, native chickens such as Jianghan chickens have better meat and egg production quality than centralized chickens, their intestinal microbial diversity is richer, and the potential gut microbial resources may bring health benefits to the host.
Methods
This study used metagenomic sequencing to analyze the species composition and functional gut microbiota genes from Jianghan chickens in four regions. We isolated gut bacteria using the culturing method and identified them by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Functional evaluation was conducted to screen potential probiotic strains.
Results
Here, we used approximately 400 Gb of metagenomic sequencing data from cecal samples of 34 free-range chickens from four different locations to study the species composition and functional profile of the gut microbiota. The study showed that bacterial species were dominant in the gut microbiota of free-range chickens, with Phocaeicola and Bacteroides being the most abundant bacterial genera. Functional annotation of the metagenome using multiple databases (KEGG, COG, and GO) indicated that the gut microbiota of free-range chickens was dominated by metabolic genes, with the highest number of genes related to carbohydrate metabolism, followed by amino acid metabolism. Several antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were found in the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), and the composition of ARGs was similar to that of factory-farmed chickens, suggesting that antibiotics were widely present in the gut microbiota of free-range chickens. In order to analyze the differences of samples from the four regions (YiChang, JingZhou, HuangGang. HuangShi), lefse analysis revealed significant differences in species composition and functional profiles between samples from JingZhou and the other three groups. In the experiment of isolation of probiotics, more than 829 isolates were selected from the free-range chicken microbiota and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. After conducting experiments on bile salt tolerance and acid production, six strains of Pediococcus acidilactici from JingZhou were found to have stable tolerance. And three strains of them (B9, A4, C2) have been verified to have great potential for probiotics through experiments. Subsequent experiments on intestinal and gastric fluids showed that B2 had potential as a gut probiotic strain.
Verification of a mathematical model of mitral chordae length in echocardiography as a function of their manual measurement
Authors: GUN Mesut , BARRY Misbaou 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Aim
In this study, we sought to verify a mathematical model, ME = 0.87 * MM + 4, by performing tests on a sample of individuals with known chordae length by echographic measurement.
Patients & methods
This report presents a retrospective analysis of 191 patients who underwent mitral valve repair.
This validation analysis was carried out with the same sample of participants that we previously published in the "Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery" under the name "Modeling of mitral chordae's length in echocardiography as a function of their manual measurement in the operating room".
The entire sample (N = 191) was randomly divided into two subsamples:
→ Learning data: 70% (134) of the total sample and was used to train and develop the mathematical model.
→ Test data: 30% (57) of the total sample and was used to evaluate the performance of the predictive mathematical model.
Results
In our analysis, we obtained an RMSE of 1.108, indicating good model performance and validity.
We demonstrated by Student's t-test that the model accurately predicts echographic mitral chordae length, and that there is no statistically significant difference between predicted and actual echographic values.
We also visually demonstrated a linear relationship with no significant outliers, indicating good alignment between predicted and actual values of echographically measured mitral chordae length.
Conclusions
The results of this validation not only improve the applicability of the model, but also provide clinicians with a valuable tool for making informed decisions about patients' cardiac health.
A Systematic Investigation on Elaeocarpus Sylvestris Leaf Extract Capped CuO Nanoparticles as Reducing agent and their Antioxidant activity
Authors: G Tejaswini , J Laxmi Mangamma , V Durga Praveena , I Manga Raju , G Meher Baba , K Bhagya Lakshmi 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Recently, the role of plant-based nanoparticles as sustainable catalysts has emerged as a new field in material science. As a result of their wide applicability, bio-designed nanocatalysts have dominated the present study. At this juncture, this study gives the rapid and systematic procedure for the formation of an aqueous Elaeocarpus Sylvestris plant leaf extract capped Copper Oxide nanoparticles (ESCuO NPs). A benign method has been established for the fabrication of ESCuO nanoparticles that which serves as an innocuous, renewable, and mild reducing agent. Vivid spectrochemical and optical experimental investigation supported the formation of the ESCuO particles. Based on TEM investigation, the produced ESCuO NPs had spherical shape and an average size of 53 nm. The phytochemicals were used as a reducing agent internally without the use of harmful chemicals or extremely high temperatures. The derived ESCuO NPs have been employed as a powerful catalyst to reduce 4-nitrophenol. Further, rate constants for different doses were calculated. The antioxidant efficiency of synthesised ESCuO NPs was determined. This study illustrates the way for cutting-edge synthesis of CuO NPs with numerous applications.
Novel bioactive peptides from red seaweed (Pyropia vietnamensis) proteins
Authors: Basri Nur Iliana , Amin Amiza Mat , Ahmad Fisal 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Pyropia vietnamensis is one of the most important and abundant seaweed in Indo-Pacific region. However, no study has been reported on the biotechnological utilization of this species. This study aimed to carry out in silico evaluation of P. vietnamensis proteins as potential precursors of bioactive peptides and to determine the most efficient proteolytic enzymes to release the bioactive peptides. In the present study, five main proteins from P. vietnamensis were chosen and analysed via in silico approach using the BIOPEP-UWM database. It was found that dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors and angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were the most potential bioactive peptides released from P. vietnamensis proteins. Seven enzymes (pancreatic elastaste, papain, ficin, leukocyte elastaste, stem bromelain, calpain 2, and pepsin (pH>2)) were then employed for in silico proteolysis to release both dominant bioactivities. Pepsin (pH>2) and calpain 2 were found to be efficient in releasing a high number of fragments for both ACE and DPP-IV inhibitors. Two tripeptides (CFA, ACF) and five tetrapeptides (RFPS, DEWG, NYCL, CVPR, DACF) were screened as novel and promising bioactive peptides. PeptideRanker, PepCalc, Peptide Cutter, ToxinPred, AllerTop, and AHTpin were used to characterize the novel peptides. This study proposed that novel tetrapeptide of CVPR was the most potent bioactive peptides. This study proved that P. vietnamensis protein could serve as a precursor of bioactive peptides for further in vitro study.
Comparison of Ca2+, F4/80, and PARP-1/NF-κB Pathway Expression in Atrial Myocardium of Patients with Sinus Rhythm and Atrial Fibrillation in Rheumatic Heart Valve Disease
Authors: Xu Lingping , Meng Tianyu , Wang Yidan , Yan Yang , Sun Chaofeng 
Published: June 2023

Abstract

Background：Atrial fibrillation (AF) is more likely in those with rheumatic valvular heart fisease (RHD). The role of atrial remodeling in the onset and progression of AF is critical.
Objective: In this work, we examined the morphological changes and molecular biological variations in atrial tissue in rheumatic valvular heart disease patients with sinus rhythm, paroxysmal AF, and persistent AF respectively.
Methods: Twelve patients with RHD who had prosthetic heart valve replacement were included in this study, with four in the sinus rhythm (SR) group, four in the paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (par-AF) group, and four in the persistent AF(per-AF) group. Before surgery, all of the patients had a transthoracic echocardiogram and the appropriate clinical data was obtained. The contents of Ca2+ and macrophage marker F4/80 in atrial myocardial tissue were measured by flow cytometry, and PARP-1/NF-κB was determined by PCR and Western blot, respectively. The morphological changes of atrial tissue were observed by HE and Masson staining, and the contents of Ca2+ and macrophage marker F4/80 in atrial myocardial tissue were measured by flow cytometry, and PARP-1/ PCR and Western blot were used to assess the expression of PARP-1/NF-κB pathway mRNA and protein in atrial myocardial tissues.
Results: Compared with the SR patients, the left atrial internal diameter was not significantly enlarged in the AF patients (P > 0.05), but combined with more comorbidities and a higher degree of fibrosis; In the AF patients, there was a substantial rise in Ca2+ and F4/80-positive macrophage concentration in the left atrial tissue(P < 0.05); The expression of PARP-1/NF-κB pathway mRNA was considerably higher in the AF patients' left atrial tissue. In the AF groups, much more PARP-1/NF-B pathway protein was expressed than in the SR group; Furthermore, these variables differed significantly in both the paroxysmal and persistent AF groups (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Increased expression of the PARP-1/NF-κB pathway as well as elevated Ca2+ and F4/80-positive macrophage content in atrial myocardial tissue of RHD suggest that Ca2+-handling abnormalities, macrophage infiltration, and inflammatory activation may be involved in and mediate the atrial remodeling process in AF.
A novel multi-level hybrid load balancing and tasks scheduling algorithm for cloud computing environment
Authors: ELSAKAAN Nadim , AMROUN Kamal 
Published: June 2023

Abstract

Today cloud computing is at the heart of all information technologies. This prodigious technological paradigm relies on a very simple concept defined as the ability to deliver hardware and software resources as service directly over internet. A set of mechanisms cooperate to maintain the cloud reliability and to allow continuous delivery of these services while guaranteeing the same quality of service (QoS) and respecting the service-level agreement (SLA) for each client. Load balancing is one of those mechanisms and it ensures a crucial service, it can be defined as the ability of the system to ensure fairness in the distribution of workload over all servers. The most recent load balancing techniques are hybrid methods involving in major cases the combination between static and dynamic approaches, in other cases it can go further by integrating other mechanisms in order to improve the overall efficiency of the systems. The performance can be evaluated by parameters which generally refers to the degree of compliance with SLA and QoS. In order to enhance load balancing and tasks scheduling in cloud environment we propose in this paper a different hybrid approach which allows the decomposition of the problem and to operate on two levels by going through two stages : (i) first clusters are built for each datacenter grouping together sub-sets of servers that have close utilization rates, (ii) then tasks scheduling and load balancing operate at the datacenter level to deal with distribution over clusters and at the cluster level to ensure fairness between servers of the same cluster. Our method allows hot-deployment in already operating cloud environments and an excellent scalability. It also offers decoupling of missions and strong interoperability between the different mechanisms. To prove its validity, we implemented it on the standard cloudSim plus simulator, before carrying out a comparative study which shows better results than existing approaches in terms of makespan, reduces reaction time, number of migrations required and SLA violations.
Differential ERK activity shapes the epiblast methylome influencing cell-context response to germ-layer differentiation signals.
Authors: Ferretti Elisabetta , Menezes Niels , Peterson Kathryn , Guo Xiaogang , Castiglioni Veronica , Kalvisa Adrija , Filimonow Katarzyna , Schachter Karen , Mariani Luca 
Published: June 2023

Abstract

Stem cells hold promise in regenerative medicine as they have the potency to differentiate into a variety of specialized cell types. However, mechanisms underlying stem cell plasticity and lineage acquisition remain elusive. Epigenetic modifications and genome accessibility prime cellular feedback to signalling cues affecting differentiation plasticity and cell fate acquisition. Deciphering how this epigenetic code influences the context-dependent response of pluripotent cells to differentiation cues will elucidate how mammalian tissue diversity is established. Using ERK-deficient in vitro and in vivo models, we show that ERK-driven lineage-specific epigenetic signatures precede transcriptional activation of germ layer differentiation programs. We provide evidence that while distinct chromatin accessibility and methylome states prime BMP-dependent fate decisions, DNA methylation but not chromatin accessibility safeguards WNT response in the epiblast. This study establishes that ERK-driven epigenetic machinery balances epiblast plasticity and canalization, allowing context-specific spatiotemporal responses to promiscuously used signalling cues controlling organogenesis and cancers.
SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein hotspots for RNA recombination provide insight into the probable human origin of the PRRA polybasic furin insert
Authors: Romeu Antonio R. 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 origin is linked to the acquisition by its closest progenitor of a positive insert in the spike glycoprotein. Itwas the PRRA polybasic motif atthe furin cleavage site. This furin recognition motif has no analogy with other B-lineage beta-coronaviruses, nor with the known Laos bat closest relatives. An hypothesis for probable PRRA human origin includes recombination between a SARS-CoV-2 progenitor genome and mRNA transcripts within human infected cells (previous study). However, whether during the pandemic PRRA-like insertions had occurred in the spike glycoprotein is unknown. Here I show a computational analysis of many large multiple sequence alignments involving 2,315,308SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein sequences downloaded from NCBI Virus database (collection date January 2020 - April 2023). I found theN-terminal domain SRWM insert in 331 sequences from SARS-CoV-2clinical isolates with15 different submitters and organizations, lineages BE.1.1, BQ.1, BQ.1.28, FD.4; USA, 26 states, andcollection date November 2022 up to the analysis period. Both the SRWM S gene 12-nt coding insertand its reverse complement 100% matchedto several human mRNA RefSeq transcripts. The related genes were ubiquitous and highly expressed or specific of virustarget organs or tissues. I have also identified other 50 inserts of four amino acids or more in different structural domains of the protein fromdifferent SARS-CoV-2 clinical isolates. All with the similarcharacteristics. Inconclusion, these SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein inserts seem not to be of viral origin. SARS-CoV-2 is a human virus. Human isthe host. The origin cannot be from another virus. It can be stated that a recombination between SARS-CoV-2 genome and human mRNA transcripts within infected cells would bethe origin of the inserts. The PRRA insert has the same features as those described here. This strongly support the hypothesis that the 12 nucleotides insert imprinted in the S gene encoding PRRA does not have a viral origin either, ratherhuman mRNA transcripts. In this case, SARS-CoV-2 must be changed by its closest ancestor. Viruses swap chunks of RNA through recombination: thus SARS-CoV-2 emerged - thus it also evolves.