bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Range of motion of the mid-cervical spine: human versus goat
Authors: Dong Jun , Zhang Gelin , Sun Yuan , Li Xi , Zhang Xuyan , Liu Min , Liu Ruoxi , Fan Liying 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background
The goat cervical spine represents a promising alternative for human specimen in spinal implant testing, but the range of motion (ROM) of the spine is lacking. We aimed to evaluate and compare the ROMs of fresh goat and human mid-cervical spine specimens.

Methods
Ten fresh adult healthy male goat cervical spine specimens (G group) and ten fresh frozen adult healthy human cervical spine specimens (average age: 49.5 ± 12.1 years; 6 males, 4 females) (H group) were included. The ROMs of each specimen were biomechanically tested at the C2–3, C3–4, C4–5 and C2–5 levels at 1.5 Nm and 2.5 Nm torque and recorded. The ROMs of different levels of goat cervical samples were compared to those of human cervical samples using an independent sample t test. Significance was defined as a P value of less than 0.05.

Results
At the C2–3, C3–4 and C4–5 levels, the ROMs of the goat cervical spine were significantly larger than those of the human cervical spine in all directions except extension under 1.5 Nm torque; under 2.5 Nm torque, the ROMs of the goat cervical spine at the C2–3 and C3–4 levels were significantly larger than those of humans in the pure movement of flexion, lateral bending and axial rotation, and the ROMs for axial rotation of the goat specimens and human specimens were comparable. Under both 1.5 Nm and 2.5 Nm torque, the goat cervical spine displayed a much greater ROM in all directions at the C2–5 level.

Conclusions
Several segmental ROMs of fresh goat and human cervical spine specimens were recorded in this investigation. We recommend using goat cervical specimens as an alternative to fresh human cervical specimens in future studies when focusing only on the ROMs of C2–3, C3–4 and C4–5 in flexion under a torque of 1.5 Nm or the ROMs of C2–3 and C3–4 in flexion and rotation under a torque of 2.5 Nm.
Maternal body mass index and risk of fetal overgrowth in women with gestational diabetes Mellitus in Southeast China: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Lin Lihua , Wu Jianhang , Xu Libo , Fang Jianqi , Lin Juan 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Background
To investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) changes and large for gestational age (LGA) in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods
A retrospective cohort study including 10,486 women with GDM was conducted. A dose‒response analysis of BMI changes and the occurrence of LGA was performed. Binary logistic regressions were performed to assess crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and areas under the curve (AUCs) were used to assess the ability of BMI changes to predict LGA.

Results
The probability of LGA increased with increasing BMI. The risk of LGA increased across the BMI change quartiles. The BMI change remained positively associated with the risk of LGAafter stratification analysis. The AUC was 0.570 (95% CI: 0.557 ~ 0.584)in the entire study population, and the best optimal predictive cut-off value was 4.922, with a sensitivity of 0.622 and a specificity of 0.486. The best optimal predictive cut-off value decreased from the underweight group to the overweight and obese group.

Conclusions
BMI changes are related to the risk of LGA and may be a useful predictor of the incidence of LGA in singleton pregnant women with GDM.
Comparative evaluation of clinical and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker characteristics in rapidly and non-rapidly progressive Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Herden Janne Marieke , Hermann Peter , Schmidt Isabel , Dittmar Kathrin , Canaslan Sezgi , Weglage Luise , Nuhn Sabine , Volpers Corinna , Schlung Astrid , Goebel Stefan , Kück Fabian , Villar-Piqué Anna , Schmidt Christian , Wedekind Dirk , Zerr Inga 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundRapidly progressive forms of Alzheimer’s disease (rpAD) are increasingly recognized and may have a prevalence of up to 30% of patients among all patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, insights about risk factors, underlying pathophysiological processes, and clinical characteristics of rpAD remain controversial. This study aimed to gain a comprehensive picture of rpAD and new insights into the clinical manifestation to enable a better interpretation of disease courses in clinical practice as well as in future clinical studies.MethodsPatients (n = 228) from a prospective observational study on AD were selected and categorized into rpAD (n = 67) and non-rpAD (n = 161) disease groups. Patients were recruited through the German Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance center and the memory outpatient clinic of the Göttingen University Medical Center, representing diverse phenotypes of the AD population. Biomarkers and clinical presentation were assessed using standardized protocols. A drop of ≥ MMSE 6 points within 12 months defined rapid progressors.ResultsLower CSF Amyloid beta 1–42 concentrations (p = 0.048), lower Amyloid beta 42/40 ratio (p = 0.038), and higher Tau/Amyloid-beta 1–42 ratio, as well as pTau/Amyloid-beta 1–42 ratio (eachp = 0.004) were associated with rpAD. Analyzes in a subset of the cohort (rpAD:n = 12; non-rpAD:n = 31) showed higher CSF NfL levels in rpAD (p = 0.024). Clinically, rpAD showed earlier impairment of functional abilities (p < 0.001) and higher scores on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale III (p < 0.001), indicating pronounced extrapyramidal motor symptoms. Furthermore, cognitive profiles (adjusted for overall cognitive performance) indicated marked deficits in semantic (p = 0.008) and phonematic (0.023) verbal fluency tests as well as word list learning (p = 0.007) in rpAD compared to non-rpAD. The distribution of APOE genotypes did not differ significantly between groups.ConclusionsOur results suggest that rpAD is associated with distinct cognitive profiles, earlier occurrence of non-cognitive symptoms, extrapyramidal motoric disturbance, and lower Amyloid-beta 1–42 concentrations in the CSF. The findings may help to characterize a distinct phenotype of rpAD and estimate prognosis based on clinical characteristics and biomarker results. However, an important future goal should be a unified definition for rpAD to enable targeted study designs and better comparability of the results.
Blood and CSF chemokines in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhou Futao , Sun Yangyan , Xie Xinhua , Zhao Yushi 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Objective
Chemokines, which are chemotactic inflammatory mediators involved in controlling the migration and residence of all immune cells, are closely associated with brain inflammation, recognized as one of the potential processes/mechanisms associated with cognitive impairment. We aim to determine the chemokines which are significantly altered in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as well as the respective effect sizes, by performing a meta-analysis of chemokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood (plasma or serum).

Methods
We searched three databases (Pubmed, EMBASE and Cochrane library) for studies regarding chemokines. The three pairwise comparisons were as follows: AD vs HC, MCI vs healthy controls (HC), and AD vs MCI. The fold-change was calculated using the ratio of mean (RoM) chemokine concentration for every study. Subgroup analyses were performed for exploring the source of heterogeneity.

Results
Of 2338 records identified from the databases, 61 articles comprising a total of 3937 patients with AD, 1459 with MCI, and 4434 healthy controls were included. The following chemokines were strongly associated with AD compared with HC: blood CXCL10 (RoM, 1.92, p = 0.039), blood CXCL9 (RoM, 1.78, p < 0.001), blood CCL27 (RoM, 1.34, p < 0.001), blood CCL15 (RoM, 1.29, p = 0.003), as well as CSF CCL2 (RoM, 1.19, p < 0.001). In the comparison of AD with MCI, there was significance for blood CXCL9 (RoM, 2.29, p < 0.001), blood CX3CL1 (RoM, 0.77, p = 0.017), and blood CCL1 (RoM, 1.37, p < 0.001). Of the chemokines tested, blood CX3CL1 (RoM, 2.02, p < 0.001) and CSF CCL2 (RoM, 1.16, p = 0.004) were significant for the comparison of MCI with healthy controls.

Conclusions
Chemokines CCL1, CCL2, CCL15, CCL27, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CX3CL1 might be most promising to serve as key molecular markers of cognitive impairment, although more cohort studies with larger populations are needed.
Adaptive language model training for molecular design
Authors: Blanchard Andrew E. , Bhowmik Debsindhu , Fox Zachary , Gounley John , Glaser Jens , Akpa Belinda S. , Irle Stephan 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThe vast size of chemical space necessitates computational approaches to automate and accelerate the design of molecular sequences to guide experimental efforts for drug discovery. Genetic algorithms provide a useful framework to incrementally generate molecules by applying mutations to known chemical structures. Recently, masked language models have been applied to automate the mutation process by leveraging large compound libraries to learn commonly occurring chemical sequences (i.e., using tokenization) and predict rearrangements (i.e., using mask prediction). Here, we consider how language models can be adapted to improve molecule generation for different optimization tasks. We use two different generation strategies for comparison, fixed and adaptive. The fixed strategy uses a pre-trained model to generate mutations; the adaptive strategy trains the language model on each new generation of molecules selected for target properties during optimization. Our results show that the adaptive strategy allows the language model to more closely fit the distribution of molecules in the population. Therefore, for enhanced fitness optimization, we suggest the use of the fixed strategy during an initial phase followed by the use of the adaptive strategy. We demonstrate the impact of adaptive training by searching for molecules that optimize both heuristic metrics, drug-likeness and synthesizability, as well as predicted protein binding affinity from a surrogate model. Our results show that the adaptive strategy provides a significant improvement in fitness optimization compared to the fixed pre-trained model, empowering the application of language models to molecular design tasks.
Analysis of a free boundary problem modeling spherically symmetric tumor growth with angiogenesis and a periodic supply of nutrients
Authors: Xu Shihe , Bai Meng 
Published: June 2023

AbstractIn this paper, we study a free boundary problem modeling spherically symmetric tumor growth with angiogenesis and a periodic supply of nutrients. The mathematical model is a free boundary problem since the external radius of the tumor denoted by $R(t)$
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changes with time. The characteristic of this model is the consideration of both angiogenesis and periodic external nutrient supply. The cells inside the tumor absorb nutrient $u(r,t)$
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(
r
,
t
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through blood vessels and attracts blood vessels at a rate proportional to α. Thus on the boundary, we have $$\begin{aligned} u_{r}(r,t)+\alpha \bigl(u(r,t)-\psi (t)\bigr)=0,\quad r=R(t),t>0, \end{aligned}$$

u
r

(
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=
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=
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,
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where $\psi (t)$
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(
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is the nutrient concentration provided externally. Considering that the nutrient provided externally to the tumor are generally provided periodically, in this paper, we assume that $\psi (t)$
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(
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is a periodic function. Sufficient conditions for a tumor to disappear are given. We investigate the existence, uniqueness, and stability of solutions. The results show that when the nutrient concentration exceeds a certain value and c is sufficiently small, the solutions of the model can be arbitrarily close to the unique periodic function as $t\rightarrow\infty$
t
→
∞
.
Combined Use of Sewage Sludge Ash and Silica Fume in Concrete
Authors: Azarhomayun Fazel , Haji Mohammad , Kioumarsi Mahdi , Kheyroddin Ali 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThe lack of adequate space for sewage sludge disposal has become a significant challenge in many countries. Landfilling and using sewage sludge as fertilizer in agricultural lands are the main methods for disposal. However, these methods can result in soil and groundwater contamination as well as heavy metal and microbial pollution in soil. An alternative disposal method is using sewage sludge ash (SSA) in concrete production. If the sludge ash is reactive, it can replace a portion of cement in concrete; otherwise, it can be used as a filler. In the present study, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) experiments were conducted to determine the elemental composition of sewage sludge. Then, the sewage sludge was incinerated, and XRF and X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests were performed on the resulting sewage sludge ash. The ash was utilized in different proportions in the mortar and concrete specimens, and compressive strength tests were conducted on the resulting specimens. The results indicate that using 20% SSA instead of cement resulted in a 25% reduction in compressive strength in concrete specimens. However, the combination of 10% silica fume and 10% SSA was the optimal combination to compensate for the reduction in compressive strength caused using SSA.
Challenges and advances in materials and fabrication technologies of small-diameter vascular grafts
Authors: Li Mei-Xian , Wei Qian-Qi , Mo Hui-Lin , Ren Yu , Zhang Wei , Lu Huan-Jun , Joung Yoon Ki 
Published: June 2023

Highlights• The commonly used synthetic polymers for vascular grafts are reviewed.• Various methods for surface modification of artificial vascular grafts are summarized.• Latest fabrication techniques for small-diameter vascular grafts and their mechanical and biological properties are systematically summarized.• Current state and future perspective of small-diameter vascular grafts are suggested.
“Take a walk in someone else’s shoes”: the role of participatory arts for health research development and training
Authors: Gillibrand Stephanie , Hine Paul , Conyers Rob , Gravestock Jason , Walsh Cole , McAvoy Aneela , Sanders Caroline 
Published: June 2023

AbstractParticipatory arts are increasingly recognised as a valuable and accessible mechanism for giving a voice to the experiences of individuals’ health and healthcare. In recent years, there has been a move towards embedding participatory arts-based models into public engagement processes. Here, we contribute to the existing literature on the use of participatory arts-based approaches and their role in health research and healthcare practise, focusing on two interlinked approaches, the creation of personas and storytelling. We draw on two recent projects which have utilised these approaches to inform subsequent healthcare research and as a professional training tool to improve patient experience in a healthcare setting. We add to emerging literature to outline the benefits of these approaches in supporting research and training in healthcare settings, with a focus towards the co-produced foundations of these approaches. We demonstrate how such approaches can be utilised to capture different forms of voices, experiences and perspectives to help inform healthcare research and training, rooted in the lived experience of individuals who are directly involved in the creative process of developing personas via storytelling. These approaches challenge the listener to “walk in someone else’s shoes”, using their own homes and lives as a theatrical set in which to envisage someone else’s story, involving the listener in the creative process through (re)imagining the stories and experiences of the characters. Greater use of immersive, co-produced participatory art-based approaches should be used in PPIE to inform research and training in healthcare settings as a means of centring those with lived experience through co-production. Involving those with lived experience, particularly from groups who are traditionally excluded from research, via a process which is based on co-creation and co-production, reorientates the researcher-participant dynamic to fully centre those involved in the research at the heart of the tools used to guide health and healthcare research. In this way, it may also aid in trust and relationship building between institutions and communities in a way which is focused around positive, creative methods to aid health research and healthcare processes. Such approaches may help to break down barriers between academic institutions, healthcare sites and communities.
Anti-tumor activity of sunvozertinib in NSCLC with EGFR sensitizing mutations after failure of EGFR TKI treatment.
Authors: Yang James Chih-Hsin , Xu Yan , Huang Wen-Tsung , Su Wu-Chou , Gao Bo , Lee Chee Khoon , Fang Jian , Yu Wenlei , Wang Mengzhao , Janne Pasi A. 
Published: June 2023

9103 Background: Sunvozertinib is a rationally designed, irreversible EGFR inhibitor targeting various EGFR mutations with wild-type EGFR selectivity. Clinical studies have showed its superior efficacy than current available therapies and favorable safety profile for treating NSCLC patients with EGFR exon20 mutations. Here we reported its anti-tumor activity in patients with EGFR sensitizing mutations (EGFRm) who failed from standard EGFR TKI treatment. Methods: This is a pooled analysis of three clinical studies in patients with EGFRm or HER2m NSCLC: WU-KONG1 (multinational phase I/II study, NCT03974022), WU-KONG2 (phase I study in China, CTR20192097), and WU-KONG15 (phase II study in China, NCT05559645). Patients were enrolled to receive sunvozertinib once daily at defined doses until discontinuation criteria were met. Patients who had EGFRm NSCLC, at least one measurable lesion at baseline, received at least one dose of sunvozertinib, and underwent at least one post-treatment RECIST assessment were evaluable for efficacy analysis. Patients with EGFRm or HER2m NSCLC who failed from standard systemic therapies and received at least one dose of sunvoertinib were included in the safety analysis. Results: As of October 17, 2022, a total of 32 patients who met efficacy evaluable criteria were included in the analysis. The doses of sunvozertinib ranged from 50 mg - 400 mg. Baseline characteristics: median age was 64.5 years old; 68.8% (22/32) were female; 75.0% (24/32) ECOG PS was 1; 34.4% (11/32) had more than three metastatic sites; 43.8% (14/32) had baseline brain metastases. Patients were heavily pretreated, with a median of 5 lines (range 1 - 16) of prior therapies. All patients had been treated with at least one type of EGFR TKI, including 68.8% (22/32) had been treated with a 3rd generation EGFR TKI. The majority of patients (29/32, 90.6%) had also been treated with chemotherapy. Anti-tumor activity was observed starting from 50 mg. Per investigators’ assessment, the best objective response rate (BoR) was 21.9% (7/32). Anti-tumor activity was observed regardless of T790M mutation status. At the data cutoff date, the median duration of response and progression-free survival were 4.0 months and 5.9 months, respectively. Sunvozertinib was well-tolerated across all dose levels. The safety profile was similar to what has been previously reported. The longest treatment duration was more than 35 months (still ongoing). Conclusions: Sunvozertinib monotherapy demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity in heavily pretreated EGFRm NSCLC patients. Further clinical evaluation of sunvozertinib in this patient population is warranted. The updated data will be presented at the conference. Clinical trial information: NCT05559645 NCT03974022 and CTR20192097 .
Aging through Precarious Time: Maintenance and Milling in The Cost of Living and Weather
Authors: Kruger Katherine 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Changes to working life and retirement are reshaping temporalities of aging. This essay identifies a growing interest by women writers in the narrative possibilities these changes present. Examining the relation between narrative form, aging, and precarious work in Deborah Levy's The Cost of Living (2018) and Jenny Offill's Weather (2020), this essay argues that contemporary narratives of midlife aging offer evidence of new and different conceptions and representations of time, whereby time is shaped by the elongated precarity of care and work. The argument builds on work by Lauren Berlant (2011), Elizabeth Povinelli (2011), and Lisa Baraitser (2017) that claims that the challenges of the twenty-first century demand that we reimagine future time through the lens of endurance and finds a model for endurance in the time frames of maintenance and milling proposed in The Cost of Living and Weather.
Contradictory Late Styles in Djuna Barnes's Poetic Cycles, 1969–82
Authors: French Jade Elizabeth 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Focusing on examples of Djuna Barnes's late published poetry—“Quarry” (1969), “Rite of Spring” (1982), and Creatures in an Alphabet (1982)—this article considers the contradictory ways these poems engage with theories of late style. Barnes's late output offers a unique and somewhat ambivalent case study for examining how the privileging of difficulty and discordance are met and informed by the lived realities of aging and longevity. Paying attention to the publication history of each poem, this article first examines Barnes's redrafting process for “Rite of Spring,” which has been recently reassessed as a conscious, avant-garde experiment, one this article suggests embraced lateness and continuation as a method. Second, the article considers “Quarry” and Barnes's correspondence with publishers Faber and Faber to examine her attitude toward a seemingly finalized poem. Third, this article turns to Creatures in an Alphabet as an example of a supposedly completed project that was left unendorsed by Barnes and the tensions inherent in trying to read a late style into its material. Overall, I suggest that the revisionary nature of Barnes's poetry and its unfinishing state is a late style process, which represents a formal experiment, a creative experience informed by aging, and an example of the cultural investment critics have made in her late works.
The Aesthetics of Aging: Visual Strategies and Narrative Form in Tanizaki'sDiary of a Mad Old Man
Authors: Crossley Alice 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThis essay reads Tanizaki Jun'ichirō’s controversial novel Diary of a Mad Old Man (1961) for its contribution to discourses about aging masculinity and male sexuality in later life. The Diary meditates on the mental and physical vicissitudes of aging masculinity, arousal, control, and impotence, focused through the fictional diarist Utsugi's physical ailments and expression of libidinal intensities. The article argues for Tanizaki's depiction of male aging as an exercise in both disenfranchisement and agentive potential. First, it reads the aging process through aesthetic and visual strategies, which magnify the protagonist's cultivation of masochistic pleasure as a specific correlative of aging. The article demonstrates that the narrative uses the rhetoric of cinema and photography—central terms of reference in Tanizaki's work—to frame Utsugi's experiences of old age, and inform his erotic fantasies as stylized, staged performances. In conjunction with these visual modes, the novel draws on traditional Japanese aesthetics to conceptualize the potential affect and perverse empowerment of the aging experience. Second, it addresses the implications of narrative form, as the self-reflexive, first-person diary prioritizes the subjectivity of Utsugi's male old age, while the novel's final pages interrupt and thus alter the diary's significance as a private account of self-expression.