bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Skeletal Editing of (Hetero)Arenes Using Carbenes
Authors: Liu Zhaohong , Sivaguru Paramasivam , Ning Yongquan , Wu Yong , Bi Xihe 
Published: May 2023

Abstract(Hetero)arenes continue to prove their indispensability in pharmaceuticals, materials science, and synthetic chemistry. As such, the controllable modification of biologically significant (hetero)arenes towards diverse more‐potent complex molecular scaffolds through peripheral and skeletal editing has been considered a challenging goal in synthetic organic chemistry. Despite many excellent reviews on peripheral editing (i. e., C−H functionalization) of (hetero)arenes, their skeletal editings via single atom insertion, deletion, or transmutations have received less attention in the review literature. In this review, we systematically summarize the state‐of‐the‐art skeletal editing reactions of (hetero)arenes using carbenes, with a focus on general mechanistic considerations and their applications in natural product syntheses. The potential opportunities and inherent challenges encountered while developing these strategies are also highlighted.
Why “formal” climate adaptation strategies fail in sub‐Saharan Africa: Ignoring adapters’ agency in the case of smallholding agriculture farming practices in Bono East Region of Ghana
Authors: Quarshie Philip Tetteh , Abdulai Abdul‐Rahim , Abdulai Seidu , Antwi‐Agyei Philip , Fraser Evan D.G. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThis paper reviewed a body of literature on climate adaptation options in sub‐Saharan Africa's (SSA) smallholding agriculture and complemented it with a case study involving experts interviews, focus group discussions, large‐scale household surveys, and farmer practices observation while drawing insight from the concept of “everyday adaptation and interrupted agency” and agency theory to assess farmer perceived limitations with climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) and climate‐wise food systems (CWFS) practices for climate adaptation in the SSA. The study noted that the narrow focus on CSA and/or CWFS as a silver bullet for climate change adaptation suitable for smallholding agriculture ignores food producers’ agency to undermine sustainable and inclusive adaptation solutions. Moreover, smallholder farmers’ everyday climate adaptation practices could be grouped into three categories; on‐farm adaptation, off‐farm adaptation, and Indigenous agroecological adaptation options. The on‐farm adaptation options are usually agriculture intensification and extensification. The off‐farm adaptation options include livelihood diversification activities, petty trading, seasonal labor jobs, and migration. The Indigenous agroecological adaptation strategy uses observing nature and weather elements to predict the onset of the rainy season. The study noted that smallholders’ adaptation options, which is an expression of their agency, are motivated by smallholders’ desire to be resilient to changing climate, increase productivity and income, and social network influence but not necessarily because the strategy is being promoted by the government or Non‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Therefore, we propose a sustainable food agency (SFA)—a multifaceted blended constellation of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, as the best approach to addressing the climate crises in the SSA. The SFA allows individuals or groups to decide what climate change adaptation options best work for them to adapt to changing climate and produce and distribute their food without undermining the economic, social, and environmental bases that generate food security and nutrition for present and future generations.
DPA‐UNet rectal cancer image segmentation based on visual attention
Authors: Wang Yuqian , Ma JianWei , Sergey Axyonov , Zang Shaofei , Zhang Miao 
Published: May 2023

SummaryLow segmentation accuracy and background noise exisit in rectal cancer lesion segmentation. To segment colorectal tumors in CT images accurately, we propose an improved U‐Net network for colorectal tumor image segmentation dilated‐pyramid‐attention U‐Net (DPA‐UNet). In this paper, we use the U‐Net network and combine techniques such as dilated convolution, weighted feature pyramid structure (W‐FPN), and convolutional block attention module (CBAM) mechanism. Firstly, CBAM and W‐FPN are combined to extract dense pixel‐level features for pixel labeling. Secondly, after the third network output layer, three serially dilated depth‐separable dilated convolutional layers with dilation rates of 1, 2, and 4, are added respectively to expand the feature map receptive field. Finally, the DPA‐UNet model is compared and analyzed with other new network structures. The experimental results show that DPA‐UNet achieves automatic segmentation of the colorectal cancer image region of interest (ROI).
An Optimized Method of Collecting Murine Peripheral Blood and Dilution Correction for Accurate Blood Cell Enumeration
Authors: Bhoopalan Vijay , Gardiner Elizabeth E. , Kaur Amandeep 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAccurate measurement of whole blood counts from mice is an essential quantitative tool across the fields of vascular cell biology. In particular, the measurement of platelet counts can be challenging as the process relies upon good phlebotomy technique, the inclusion of a sufficient amount of the appropriate anticoagulant, and very often dilution of the sample to meet the sample volume requirements of an automated analyzer. To minimize sample dilution, blood collection tubes pre‐coated with the anticoagulant can be used; however, these are expensive and prone to blood clotting issues. Here, we describe a simple dilution correction method that accurately calculates blood‐to‐anticoagulant dilutions to generate appropriate volumes for automated blood cell analysis while minimizing blood clotting. We also discuss some simple steps that can be incorporated into blood collection methods to avoid artefacts during blood collection. Blood count data analysis involving volume correction and clot exclusion can significantly reduce variable blood cell count values among healthy untreated littermates. It also detects subtle changes in blood cell counts, mainly of platelets and RBCs in experimental settings, which can be masked in the absence of careful and precise volume correction. Blood count analysis with volume correction precisely determines mouse whole blood cell counts for investigators. The decreased variability in cell count values reduces the number of experimental animals required for meaningful analysis. © 2023 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.Basic Protocol: An optimized method of collecting murine peripheral blood and dilution correction for accurate blood cell enumerationThis article was corrected on 19 February 2024. See the end of the full text for details.
A novel method for calculating the mutual inductance between two perpendicular coils in wireless power transfer
Authors: Dehui Wu , Hao Feng 
Published: May 2023

SummaryThe perpendicular coil is increasingly applied in some wireless power transfer (WPT) systems where space position is limited. The existing method of calculating the mutual inductance between perpendicular coils is mainly applied to rectangular and circular coils. However, the practical rectangular coil often has rounded corners, so it unavoidably introduces systematic errors. Concerning this issue, this paper proposed an analytical method to calculate the mutual inductance between mutually perpendicular round‐corner rectangular (RCR) coils. The proposed method is based on a second‐order vector potential (SOVP) model where the mutual inductance between the coils is described as a double integral formula. In this formula, a novel shape and position function is introduced. This shape and position function describes not only RCR coils but also rectangular (including square), circular, and runway ones. A series of experiments were used to validate the proposed method. According to the consistency validation, the proposed method can be more generalized for calculating the mutual inductance of rectangular and circular coils. Through experimental comparison, the proposed method computes the mutual inductance between the perpendicular coil in excellent agreement with the measured ones. Therefore, the proposed method unifies the mutual inductance calculation of mutually perpendicular circular, rectangular (square), runway, and RCR coils and can provide an important basis for designing WPT systems using the above coils.
Prescribed fire is an effective restoration measure for increasing boreal fungal diversity
Authors: Ramberg Ellinor , Berglund Håkan , Penttilä Reijo , Strengbom Joachim , Jönsson Mari 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIntensive forestry practices have had a negative impact on boreal forest biodiversity; as a consequence, the need for restoration is pressing. Polypores (wood‐inhabiting fungi) are key decomposers of dead wood, but, due to a lack of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forest ecosystems, many species are under threat. Here, we study the long‐term effects on polypore diversity of two restoration treatments: creating CWD by felling whole trees and prescribed burning. This large‐scale experiment is located in spruce‐dominated boreal forests in southern Finland. The experiment has a factorial design (n = 3) including three levels of created CWD (5, 30, and 60 m3 ha−1) crossed with burning or no burning. In 2018, 16 years after launching the experiment, we inventoried polypores on 10 experimentally cut logs and 10 naturally fallen logs per stand. We found that overall polypore community composition differed between burned and unburned stands. However, only red‐listed species abundances and richness were positively affected by prescribed burning. We found no effects of CWD levels created mechanically by felling of trees. We show, for the first time, that prescribed burning is an effective measure for restoring polypore diversity in a late‐successional Norway spruce forest. Burning creates CWD with certain characteristics that differ from what is created by CWD restoration by felling trees. Prescribed burning promotes primarily red‐listed species, demonstrating its effectiveness as a restoration measure to promote diversity of threatened polypore species in boreal forests. However, because the CWD that the burning creates will decrease over time, to be functional, prescribed burns need to be applied regularly on the landscape scale. Large‐scale and long‐term experimental studies, such as this one, are invaluable for establishing evidence‐based restoration strategies.
Variance in offspring sex ratio and maternal allocation in a highly invasive mammal
Authors: Chinn Sarah M. , Smyser Timothy , Beasley James C. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractSkewed sex ratios at birth are widely reported in wild populations, however, the extent to which parents are able to modulate the sex ratio of offspring to maximize their own fitness remains unclear. This is particularly true for highly polytocous species as maximizing fitness may include trade‐offs between sex ratio and the size and number of offspring in litters. In such cases, it may be adaptive for mothers to adjust both the number of offspring per litter and offspring sex to maximize individual fitness. Investigating maternal sex allocation in wild pigs (Sus scrofa) under stochastic environmental conditions, we predicted that under favorable conditions, high‐quality mothers (larger and older) would produce male‐biased litters and invest more in producing larger litters with more males. We also predicted sex ratio would vary relative to litter size, with a male‐bias among smaller litters. We found evidence that increasing wild boar ancestry, maternal age and condition, and resource availability may weakly contribute to male‐biased sex ratio, however, unknown factors not measured in this study are assumed to be more influential. High‐quality mothers allocated more resources to litter production, but this relationship was driven by adjustment of litter size, not sex ratio. There was no relationship between sex ratio and litter size. Collectively, our results emphasized that adjustment of litter size appeared to be the primary reproductive characteristic manipulated in wild pigs to increase fitness rather than adjustment of offspring sex ratio.
Is now the time? Review of genetic rescue as a conservation tool for brook trout
Authors: White Shannon L. , Rash Jacob M. , Kazyak David C. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBrook trout populations have been declining throughout their native range in the east coast of the United States. Many populations are now distributed in small, isolated habitat patches where low genetic diversity and high rates of inbreeding reduce contemporary viability and long‐term adaptive potential. Although human‐assisted gene flow could theoretically improve conservation outcomes through genetic rescue, there is widespread hesitancy to use this tool to support brook trout conservation. Here, we review the major uncertainties that have limited genetic rescue from being considered as a viable conservation tool for isolated brook trout populations and compare the risks of genetic rescue with other management alternatives. Drawing on theoretical and empirical studies, we discuss methods for implementing genetic rescue in brook trout that could yield long‐term evolutionary benefits while avoiding negative fitness effects associated with outbreeding depression and the spread of maladapted alleles. We also highlight the potential for future collaborative efforts to accelerate our understanding of genetic rescue as a viable tool for conservation. Ultimately, while we acknowledge that genetic rescue is not without risk, we emphasize the merits that this tool offers for protecting and propagating adaptive potential and improving species' resilience to rapid environmental change.
Assessing the impacts of smoking cessation and resumption on back pain risk in later life
Authors: Ikeda Takaaki , Cooray Upul , Murakami Masayasu , Osaka Ken 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBackgroundThis study aimed to assess the impacts of smoking cessation and resumption over 4 years on the risk of back pain at the 6‐year follow‐up among older adults in England.MethodsWe analysed 6467 men and women aged ≥50 years in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging. Self‐reported smoking status, assessed in waves 4 (2008–2009) and 6 (2012–2013), was used as exposure for the study, whereas self‐reported back pain of moderate or severe intensity, assessed in wave 7 (2014–2015), was used as the outcome. A targeted minimum loss‐based estimator was used with longitudinal modified treatment policies to adjust for baseline and time‐varying covariates.ResultsRegarding the estimation of the effects of changes in smoking status on the risk of back pain, during the follow‐up, individuals who resumed smoking within 4 years had a higher risk of back pain than those who avoided smoking for over 4 years, and the relative risk (RR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 1.536 (1.214–1.942). Regarding the estimation of effects of smoking cessation on the risk of back pain, smoking cessation over 4 years was associated with a significantly lower risk of back pain, as indicated by the originally observed data, and the RR (95% CI) was 0.955 (0.912–0.999).ConclusionsOlder adults who avoided smoking for over 4 years had a lower risk of back pain. However, those who resumed smoking within 4 years had a higher risk of back pain.SignificanceOlder adults who avoided smoking for over 4 years had a lower risk of back pain. However, those who resumed smoking within 4 years had a higher risk of back pain. Our study data suggest the importance of maintaining smoking cessation to reduce the risk of back pain in the older population.
Intravenous immunoglobulin prophylaxis is associated with decreased rate of infection‐related hospitalizations in multiple myeloma patients
Authors: Sheu Michael , Molina Garcia Sofia , Patel Meera , Granat Lauren , Williams Louis , Khouri Jack , Mossad Sherif , Anwer Faiz , Majeed Aneela 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThis study explored the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) prophylaxis in reducing infection‐related hospitalizations (IRHs) in MM patients. This was a retrospective study of MM patients who received IVIG at Taussig Cancer Center between July 2009 and July 2021. The primary endpoint was rate of IRHs per patient‐year on‐IVIG versus off‐IVIG. 108 patients were included. There was a significant difference in the primary endpoint of rate of IRHs per patient‐year on‐IVIG versus off‐IVIG in the overall study population (0.81 vs. 1.08; Mean Difference [MD], −0.27; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], −0.57 to 0.03; p value [P] = 0.04). The subgroup of patients with a 1‐year period of continuous IVIG (49, 45.3%), the subgroup with standard‐risk cytogenetics (54, 50.0%) and the subgroup with 2 or more IRHs (67, 62.0%) all showed a significant reduction in IRHs while on‐IVIG versus off‐IVIG (0.48 vs. 0.78; MD, −0.30; 95% CI, −0.59 to 0.002; p = 0.03) and (0.65 vs. 1.01; MD, −0.36; 95% CI, −0.71 to −0.01; p = 0.02) and (1.04 vs. 1.43; MD, −0.39; 95% CI, −0.82 to 0.05; p = 0.04) respectively. IVIG showed significant benefit in reducing IRHs in the overall population and in multiple subgroups.
Inhibition of TMUB1 blocks apoptosis and NF‐κB pathway‐mediated inflammation in recurrent spontaneous abortion
Authors: Zhang Xiuping , Hu Yuanjing , Zhang Zhiping , Zhang Xueluo , Liang Lixia , Cui Xiangrong , Wu Yuanxia , Hu Fen , Wu Xueqing 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIntroductionApproximately 50% of cases with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) have unexplained etiology. Aberrant expression of transmembrane and ubiquitin‐like domain containing 1 (TMUB1) is closely related to a series of diseases, including RSA. However, the function and underlying mechanism of TMUB1 in the occurrence of RSA has not been described.MethodsTMUB1 expression was detected in the placental villous tissues of 30 women with normal miscarriages and 12 women with RSA. The pregnant mice were injected intraperitoneally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce abortion. Human chorionic trophoblast cells were treated with LPS. Pathological analysis of placental tissues was performed by hematoxylin and eosin staining.ResultsTMUB1 was highly expressed in the placental villous tissues of RSA patients compared to the patients who underwent induced abortions. After LPS administration, the mice exhibited high embryo absorption and pathological alterations, as well as presented an increase in inflammation and apoptosis (the etiology of RSA induction) in placental tissues. Moreover, the upregulated expression of TMUB1 was also found in placental tissues of LPS‐induced mice, and further investigation showed that TMUB1 deficiency blocked embryo loss as well as inhibited apoptotic rate and inflammation after LPS activation. Furthermore, we found that the loss of TMUB1 suppressed the phosphorylation of IkappaB kinase (IKK) α/β and attenuated cytoplasmic‐nuclear translocation of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) p65 in LPS‐induced cells.ConclusionOur results indicate that TMUB1 may involve in the modulation of apoptosis and NF‐κB pathway‐mediated inflammation in RSA. Therefore, TMUB1 may develop as a potential biomarker for RSA treatment.
The impact of director blockholders on abnormal accruals and inventory
Authors: Valenzuela Eric , Chen Ying 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThis paper empirically analyzes the impact that director blockholders have on earnings management. We argue that having a blockholder serve on the board of directors will improve a firm's corporate governance due to having both the ability and incentive to correct problems in a firm. We provide evidence that the presence of blockholders on the board of directors lowers the amount of abnormal working capital accruals caused by CEO incentives. We show that this is primarily done by reducing abnormal increases in inventory. This finding is most robust among busy boards, providing evidence that director blockholders can provide strong corporate governance in the absence of an attentive board of directors. Our findings suggest that director blockholders can provide an important role for firms and may prevent managers from taking value‐destroying actions.
Enhanced magnetic performance and in‐vitro apatite‐forming ability of theCoFe2O4doped nano‐hydroxyapatite porous bioceramics
Authors: Jaita Pharatree , Jarupoom Parkpoom 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIn this research, the bioceramics system of nano‐hydroxyapatite‐cobalt ferrite or Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2/xCoFe2O4(HAP/xCF), wherex = 0–3 vol%, were studied. The effect of CF concentration on phase evolution, physical, microstructure, mechanical, and magnetic properties as well as the in‐vitro apatite‐forming ability and cell culture analysis of the HAP ceramic was investigated. XRD revealed that all HAP/xCF ceramics showed high purity of hydroxyapatite with calcium and phosphate. However, the peak of the CF phase is noted for the HAP + 3 vol% CF ceramic. The densification and mechanical properties (HV,HK,σc, andσf) decreased with increasing the CF additive, which correlated to all HAP/xCF ceramics exhibited porous structure with increasing the percentage of porosity. The average grain size also increased with increasing the CF content. An improvement of magnetic behavior, which increasing of theMr,Hc, andμBvalues, was obtained for the higher CF ceramics. In‐vitro apatite‐forming ability test suggested that the HAP + 3 vol% CF porous ceramic has a good apatite‐forming ability. The cell culture analysis indicated that the proliferation of cells was above 97% for the HAP + 3 vol% CF porous ceramic, which means that the prepared ceramic is biocompatible. Based on the obtained results indicated that these ceramics are promising biomedical application candidates.Research HighlightsWe fabricated the HAP/xCF ceramics by a simple solid‐state reaction method. The addition of CF into HAP exhibited magnetic improvement and produced the porous ceramic, which caused good apatite‐forming ability. The cell culture analysis indicated that the HAP + 3 vol% CF ceramic is biocompatible.
The prevalence and treatment outcomes of Helicobacter pylori infection in a tertiary hospital in Thailand, 2018–2021
Authors: Rattanachaisit Pakkapon , Burana Chuti , Jaroenlapnopparat Aunchalee , Vongseenin Sirikorn , Chaithongrat Supakarn , Rerknimitr Rungsun , Werawatganon Duangporn 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBackground and AimHelicobacter pylori (HP) infection remains a significant global public health problem. This study aimed to study the prevalence of HP infection and treatment outcomes in Thailand.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the results of the urea breath test (UBT) performed at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital between 2018 and 2021. The prevalence of HP infection was evaluated in dyspeptic patients undergoing UBT screening. In patients with known HP infection, the treatment regimen and the success rate in each patient were recorded.ResultsOne‐thousand nine‐hundred and two patients were included in this study. The prevalence of HP infection in dyspeptic patients was 20.77% (UBT was positive in 65 out of 313 patients). Of the 1589 patients who received the first treatment regimen, 1352 (85.08%) had a negative UBT result. Patients who failed in each treatment regimen were treated with subsequent regimens. The overall success rates for the second, third, and fourth regimens were 69.87% (109 of 156 patients), 53.85% (14 of 26 patients), and 50% (3 of 6 patients), respectively. Univariate logistic regression analysis found that using lansoprazole was associated with failure of treatment with OR = 2.11 (95% CI: 1.14–3.92, P = 0.018).ConclusionCurrent primary HP treatment regimens have an eradication rate of >80%. Even though the previous regimens failed, without available antibiotic sensitivity results, the subsequent regimens were successful by at least 50%. In cases of multiple‐treatment failure and where antibiotic sensitivity tests were unavailable, continuing to change regimens could provide satisfactory results.