bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improvement of solubility and pharmacokinetic profile of hepatoprotector icariin through complexation with HP-γ-cyclodextrin
Authors: Ding Yili , Yu Bo , Zhou Shuzhen , Ding Charles , Zhang Zhiyuan , Xu Shufeng , Xu Zhe 
Published: March 2023

Icariin as a hepatoprotector from Herba epimedii can expand the cardiovascular and cerebral blood vessels, promote hematopoietic functions, enhance the immune system and show anti-liver tumor activities. However, its low solubility (0.02 mg/mL) limits its clinical applications as food and medical supplements. Through complexation with HP-γ-cyclodextrin by using a trace amount of water-soluble polymer, the water solubility of icariin was increased by 654 times, which is the best result to date for the water solubility study of icariin. In an in vitro pharmacokinetic study, the complexation increased the dissolution rate of icariin by 80 times, and the icariin complex can be 100% released in the first few minutes. Through complexation, in an in vivo dog pharmacokinetic study, the Cmax of icariin was increased about 5 times, the AUC0-120 was increased about 20 times and the clearance of icariin was changed from 11.17 L/h/kg to 0.65 L/h/kg. The half-life time was changed from 0.68 h to 6.38 h and the relative bioavailability was increased by nearly 20 times, indicating that less drug is needed for the same therapeutic effect by using the icariin complex, and the complex can be used as a potential potent hepatoprotector or anti-liver cancer drug.
Hematologic side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitor with or without chemotherapy in patients with advanced and metastatic gastrointestinal cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of phase 3 trials
Authors: Hou Jingyi , Xie Ruiyang , Zhang Zhuo , Liu Qianxin , Xiang Qian , Cui Yimin 
Published: March 2023

Background: The regimens of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) alone or with chemotherapy are emerging as systemic therapy for patients with advanced and metastatic gastrointestinal cancers. However, the risk of treatment-related hematologic toxicity stays unclear.Methods: We enrolled in phase 3 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 inhibitors in advanced and metastatic gastrointestinal cancers. The incidences of overall treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), discontinuation, leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia were extracted for the Bayesian network meta-analysis. Analyses with poor convergence or low incidence were reported as incidences with 95% CIs instead.Results: Sixteen phase 3 RCTs with 9732 patients who received systemic therapy were included. A total of 150 (1.54% [95% CI 1.31–1.80]) treatment-related death events were recorded, whereas 13 (0.13% [95% CI 0.08–0.22]) of them were hematologic. 0.24% (95% CI 0.12–0.48) patients received ICI plus chemotherapy were recorded for hematological deaths, 0.09% (95% CI 0.01–0.23) were for chemotherapy alone, and 0.05% were for ICI alone (95% CI 0.01–0.29). Febrile neutropenia was the most frequent cause of death in ICI with chemotherapy. For grade ≥3 TRAEs, we found nivolumab plus chemotherapy (OR 1.63 [95% CI 0.84–3.17]) had a higher risk than other treatments. Overall, ICI monotherapy led to fewer AEs than chemotherapy-based regimens in the analyses of leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia. Among the 11 treatments, toripalimab plus chemotherapy possessed the highest risk in any-grade leukopenia (OR 1.84 [95% CI 0.48, 6.82]) and neutropenia (OR 1.71 [95% CI 0.17, 17.40]) respectively. For grade ≥3 hematologic AEs, neutropenia (20.08% [95% CI 18.67–21.56]) related to ICI plus chemotherapy was the most dominant. ICI plus chemotherapy was likely to increase the incidence than dosing these drugs alone.Conclusion: Using ICI alone had a low incidence of causing hematologic mortality and AEs, while the combination with chemotherapy might magnify the side effects. Comprehensively, pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy and sintilimab plus chemotherapy were the safest regimens in terms of leukopenia and neutropenia respectively. This study will guide clinical practice for ICI-based chemotherapy.Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier CRD42022380150
PlotCam: A handheld proximal phenomics platform
Authors: Morrison Malcolm J. , Gahagan A. Claire , Hotte T. , Lefebvre M. B. , Kenny M. , Saumure A. 
Published: March 2023

Future crop varieties must be higher yielding, stress resilient and climate agile to feed a larger population, and overcome the effects of climate change. This will only be achieved by a fusion of plant breeding with multiple “omic” sciences. Field-based, proximal phenomics assesses plant growth and responses to stress and agronomic treatments, in a given environment, over time and requires instruments capable of capturing data, quickly and reliably. We designed the PlotCam following the concepts of cost effective phenomics, being low-cost, light-weight (6.8 kg in total) and portable with rapid and repeatable data collection at high spatial resolution. The platform consisted of a telescoping, square carbon fiber unipod, which allowed for data collection from many heights. A folding arm held the sensor head at the nadir position over the plot, and an accelerometer in the arm ensured the sensor head was level at the time of data acquisition. A computer mounted on the unipod ran custom software for data collection. RGB images were taken with an 18 MP, WiFi controlled camera, infrared thermography data was captured with a 0.3 MP infrared camera, and canopy height measured with a 0.3 MP stereo depth camera. Incoming light and air temperature were logged with every image. New operators were quickly trained to gather reliable and repeatable data and an experienced operator could image up to 300 plots per hour. The PlotCam platform was not limited by field design or topography. Multiple identical PlotCams permitted the study of larger populations generating phenomic information useful in variety improvement. We present examples of data collected with the PlotCam over field soybean experiments to show the effectiveness of the platform.
Associations between dysbiosis gut microbiota and changes of neurotransmitters and short-chain fatty acids in valproic acid model rats
Authors: Zhong Jiu-Gen , Lan Wan-Ting , Feng Yan-Qing , Li Yin-Hua , Shen Ying-Ying , Gong Jia-Heng , Zou Zhi , Hou Xiaohui 
Published: March 2023

Introduction: The microbiota–gut–brain axis plays an important role in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder, but its specific mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the associations of changes in neurotransmitters and short-chain fatty acids with alterations in gut microbiota in valproic acid model rats.Methods: The autism model rats were established by prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA). The Morris water maze test, open field test, and three-chamber test were conducted to assess the behaviors of rats. 16S rRNA gene sequences extracted from fecal samples were used to assess the gut microbial composition. Gas and liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy was used to identify short-chain fatty acids in fecal samples and neurotransmitters in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).Results: The results showed that 28 bacterial taxa between valproic acid model rats and control rats were identified, and the most differential bacterial taxa in valproic acid model rats and control rats belonged to metagenomic species and Lactobacillus intestinalis. Acetic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, isobutyric acid, and isovaleric acid were significantly decreased in the valproic acid model rats compared to those in control rats. Five neurotransmitters (threonine, kynurenine, tryptophan, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, denoted as 5-HIAA, and betaine aldehyde chloride, denoted as BAC) were significantly decreased, whereas betaine was increased in the prefrontal cortex of valproic acid model rats compared to control rats. A variety of neurotransmitters (≥4) were correlated with Pseudomonas, Collisella, and Streptococcus at the genus level, and they were also related to the decrease of short-chain fatty acids.Discussion: According to this study, we can preliminarily infer that gut microbiota or their metabolic productions (such as SCFAs) may influence central neurotransmitter metabolism through related pathways of the gut-brain axis. These results provide microbial and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) frameworks for understanding the role of the microbiota–gut–brain axis in autism spectrum disorder and shed new light on autism spectrum disorder treatment.
Does correlation heuristic dependence reduce due to classroom teaching? A case study from India
Authors: Choudhary Gitanshu , Rao Akash K. , Dutt Varun 
Published: March 2023

IntroductionPeople worldwide have problems understanding the basic stock-flow principles (e.g., correlation heuristic), which govern many everyday tasks. Perhaps, teaching system dynamic concepts in classroom settings might reduce people’s dependence on the correlation heuristic. However, limited literature exists on the effectiveness of classroom curricula in reducing reliance on the correlation heuristic. The present research aims to bridge this gap and empirically understand the effects of classroom teaching programs on reducing people’s reliance on correlation heuristic and improving people’s ability to understand stock-flow concepts. By taking a case from a reputed technology Institute in India, the present research examines how classroom teaching of system dynamics concepts might help students reduce their dependence on the correlation heuristic.MethodsThe experiment consisted of two between-subjects conditions: the experimental and the control (N = 45 in each condition). The experimental condition consisted of randomly registered students that were taught system dynamics principles over 5-months of classroom training. Though, no teaching took place in the control condition. Participants in both conditions were evaluated on their ability to solve stock-flow problems.ResultsParticipants in the experimental condition were found to perform better in solving stock-flow problems than subjects in the control condition, and they also relied less on the correlation heuristic.DiscussionWe emphasize the relevance of system dynamics education in graduate curricula in alleviating reliance on the correlation heuristic.
Effect of physical exercise on social adaptability of college students: Chain intermediary effect of social-emotional competency and self-esteem
Authors: Liu Yanying , Feng Qingkun , Tong Yao , Guo Kelei 
Published: March 2023

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between physical exercise and college students’ social adaptability, as well as the mediating role of social-emotional competency and self-esteem.MethodsOne thousand two hundred thirty college students were investigated by physical exercise questionnaire, social-emotional competency scale, self-esteem scale, and social adaptability scale. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation model test and deviation-corrected percentile Bootstrap method.Results(1) Physical exercise was positively correlated with social adaptability (r = 0.397, p &lt; 0.01), and the direct path of physical exercise on social adaptability was significant (β = 0.397, t = 15.174, p &lt; 0.01). (2) Physical exercise positively predicted social-emotional competency (β = 0.399, t = 15.235, p &lt; 0.01) and self-esteem (β = 0.305, t = 10.570, p &lt; 0.01). Social-emotional competency positively predicted self-esteem (β = 0.130, t = 4.507, p &lt; 0.01) and social adaptability (β = 0.169, t = 6.104, p &lt; 0.01). Self-esteem positively predicted social adaptability (β = 0.189, t = 6.957, p &lt; 0.01). (3) Social-emotional competency and self-esteem play a significant mediating role between physical exercise and social adaptability. The mediating effect includes three paths: physical exercise→social-emotional competency→social adaptability (the mediating effect value: 0.068); physical exercise→self-esteem→social adaptability (the mediating effect value: 0.059). Physical exercise→social-emotional competency→self-esteem→social adaptability (the mediating effect value: 0.010).ConclusionPhysical exercise can not only directly affect social adaptability of college students, but also indirectly affect social adaptability through the independent intermediary role of social-emotional competency and self-esteem. Furthermore, physical exercise also affect social adaptability through the chain mediation of social-emotional competency and self-esteem.
Analysis of metatranscriptomic methods to enable wastewater-based biosurveillance of all infectious diseases
Authors: Spurbeck Rachel R. , Catlin Lindsay A. , Mukherjee Chiranjit , Smith Anthony K. , Minard-Smith Angela 
Published: March 2023

IntroductionWastewater-based surveillance emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as an efficient way to quickly screen large populations, monitor infectious disease transmission over time, and identify whether more virulent strains are becoming more prevalent in the region without burdening the health care system with individualized testing. Ohio was one of the first states to implement wastewater monitoring through its Ohio Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network (OCWMN), originally tracking the prevalence of COVID-19 by quantitative qPCR from over 67 sites across the state. The OCWMN evolved along with the pandemic to include sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome to assess variants of concern circulating within the population. As the pandemic wanes, networks such as OCWMN can be expanded to monitor other infectious diseases and outbreaks of interest to the health department to reduce the burden of communicable diseases. However, most surveillance still utilizes qPCR based diagnostic tests for individual pathogens, which is hard to scale for surveillance of multiple pathogens.MethodsHere we have tested several genomic methods, both targeted and untargeted, for wastewater-based biosurveillance to find the most efficient procedure to detect and track trends in reportable infectious diseases and outbreaks of known pathogens as well as potentially novel pathogens or variants on the rise in our communities. RNA extracts from the OCWMN were provided weekly from 10 sites for 6 weeks. Total RNA was sequenced from the samples on the Illumina NextSeq and on the MinION to identify pathogens present. The MinION long read platform was also used to sequence SARS-CoV-2 with the goal of reducing the complexity of variant calling in mixed populations as occurs with short Illumina reads. Finally, a targeted hybridization approach was tested for compatibility with wastewater RNA samples.Results and discussionThe data analyzed here provides a baseline assessment that demonstrates that wastewater is a rich resource for infectious disease epidemiology and identifies technology gaps and potential solutions to enable this resource to be used by public health laboratories to monitor the infectious disease landscape of the regions they serve.
Bibliometric analysis of the scientific production on inguinal hernia surgery in the web of science
Authors: Carhuallanqui-Ciocca Eros Ignacio , Echevarría-Quispe Johssy Yelma , Hernández-Vásquez Akram , Díaz-Ruiz Renato , Azañedo Diego 
Published: March 2023

ObjectivesTo describe the bibliometric characteristics of the world scientific production in inguinal hernia surgery using the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) database.Materials and methodsA search for original articles published in the WoS up to December 2021 was carried out. Bibliometric analysis was performed using the Bibliometrix data package in R and VOSviewer, version 1.6.17.ResultsA total of 3,795 articles were identified in the database, with an annual average of 81 published articles and sustained growth with the highest number of publications in 2021. The article “Wide Variation and Excessive Dosage of Opioid Prescriptions for Common General Surgical Procedures” published in 2017 was the most cited (517 citations). The United States was the country of the corresponding author with the highest number of published articles (725 articles). The author with the highest number of published articles was Rosenberg J., affiliated with the University of Copenhagen, with 52 articles and 765 citations. The journal “Hernia” had the highest number of articles published on inguinal hernias in the WoS, representing 18% of the total number of articles. Finally, the keywords most used were “herniorrhaphy” and “hernioplasty” in 2008, and more recently: “single incision” “society guidelines” and “single port”.ConclusionsThe scientific production of original articles on inguinal hernia surgery has increased. There is currently great interest in research on minimally invasive surgical methods and standardization of procedures based on clinical practice guidelines.
Individual-Level Socioeconomic Position and Long-Term Prognosis in Danish Heart-Transplant Recipients
Authors: Mols Rikke E. , Løgstrup Brian B. , Bakos István , Horváth-Puhó Erzsébet , Christensen Bo , Witt Christoffer T. , Schmidt Morten , Gustafsson Finn , Eiskjær Hans 
Published: March 2023

Socioeconomic deprivation can limit access to healthcare. Important gaps persist in the understanding of how individual indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage may affect clinical outcomes after heart transplantation. We sought to examine the impact of individual-level socioeconomic position (SEP) on prognosis of heart-transplant recipients. A population-based study including all Danish first-time heart-transplant recipients (n = 649) was conducted. Data were linked across complete national health registers. Associations were evaluated between SEP and all-cause mortality and first-time major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) during follow-up periods. The half-time survival was 15.6 years (20-year period). In total, 330 (51%) of recipients experienced a first-time cardiovascular event and the most frequent was graft failure (42%). Both acute myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest occurred in ≤5 of recipients. Low educational level was associated with increased all-cause mortality 10–20 years post-transplant (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19–3.19). During 1–10 years post-transplant, low educational level (adjusted HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.14–2.43) and low income (adjusted HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.02–3.22) were associated with a first-time MACE. In a country with free access to multidisciplinary team management, low levels of education and income were associated with a poorer prognosis after heart transplantation.
Sensitivity Improvement of an Optical Fiber Sensor Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance with Pure Higher-Order Modes
Authors: Yang Chuanhao , Yan Bing , Wang Qi , Zhao Jing , Zhang Hongxia , Yu Hui , Fan Haojun , Jia Dagong 
Published: March 2023

In this paper, we propose an approach to improve the sensitivity of an optical fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor with a pure higher-order mode excited by a designed mode selective coupler (MSC). We calculate the proportion of the power of the higher-order mode in the cladding. Compared to the LP01 mode, the power proportion of the LP11 mode (LP21 mode) in the cladding theoretically improves by 100% (150%). To generate a relatively pure LP11 mode or LP21 mode, a mode selective coupler (MSC, 430–580 nm) is designed. The coupling efficiency of the LP01–LP11 mode coupler is over 80%, and that of the LP01–LP21 mode coupler is over 50%. The simulation results show that the sensitivity of the LP11 mode and the LP21 mode increases by approximately 330% and 360%, respectively, using the intensity modulation (n = 1.33–1.38, 430–580 nm); the resolution of the refractive indices of our sensor, using the LP11 mode (LP21 mode), is 2.6×10−4 RIU (2.4×10−4 RIU). The higher sensitivity and resolution of our presented fiber SPR sensor containing a visible MSC make it a promising candidate for the measurement of refractive indices.
Efficient Reallocation of BESS in Monopolar DC Networks for Annual Operating Costs Minimization: A Combinatorial-Convex Approach
Authors: Grisales-Noreña Luis Fernando , Montoya Oscar Danilo , Hernández Jesús C. 
Published: March 2023

This article deals with the solution of a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem related to the efficient reallocation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in monopolar direct current (DC) grids through a master–slave optimization approach. The master stage solves the integer nature of the MINLP model, which is related to the nodes where the BESS will be located. In this stage, the discrete version of the vortex search algorithm is implemented. To determine the objective function value, a recursive convex approximation is implemented to solve the nonlinear component of the MINLP model (multi-period optimal power flow problem) in the slave stage. Two objective functions are considered performance indicators regarding the efficient reallocation of BESS in monopolar DC systems. The first objective function corresponds to the expected costs of the annual energy losses, and the second is associated with the annual expected energy generation costs. Numerical results for the DC version of the IEEE 33 bus grid confirm the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed master–slave optimization approach in comparison with the solution of the exact MINLP model in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) software. The proposed master–slave optimizer was programmed in the MATLAB software. The recursive convex solution of the multi-period optimal power flow problem was implemented in the convex discipline tool (CVX) with the SDPT3 and SEDUMI solvers. The numerical reductions achieved with respect to the benchmark case in terms of energy loss costs and energy purchasing costs were 7.2091% and 3.2105%, which surpassed the results reached by the GAMS software, with reductions of about 6.0316% and 1.5736%.
Pluronic-123 Assisted Synthesis of Cobalt Vanadate Microparticles (µ-CoV MPs) for Durable Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Seawater and Connate Water
Authors: Khan Ibrahim 
Published: March 2023

Exploring different catalytic material paradigms could drive the search for the best oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst to achieve industrially-feasible hydrogen fuel from water. Cobalt-based materials are considered good choices in this regard. Herein, we synthesized Pluronic-123 (P-123)-stabilized, unique, rough, globular-shaped cobalt vanadate microparticles (µ-CoV MPs) using an ultrasonic-assisted solvothermal method. The as-synthesized µ-CoV MPs were subjected to high-temperature annealing to improve the crystallinity and the surface polymer moieties were pyrolyzed. Conventional SEM, XRD, FTIR, and BET analyses evaluated the morphological and structural features. The temperature-controlled crystalline phase led to extensive OER performance in SW electrolytes. The OER onset potential (VOER) was observed at 1.557 V@10 mA/cm2 in seawater (SW) for µ-CoV MPs annealed at 400 °C compared to the VOER of 1.632 V of non-annealed µ-CoV MPs. The current density showed a steep increase beyond 1.557 V, confirming the excellent electrokinetics OER behavior of the µ-CoV MPs-deposited electrode. The chronoamperometric (I–t) OER stability comparison in SW and connate water (CW) electrolytes indicated only a <20% initial current density decrease after 8 h in the case of the SW electrolyte. However, the CW electrolyte posed serious challenges to the electrode and activity was completely lost after <2 h. The electrolytic comparison indicated that SW is highly suitable for µ-CoV MPs electrodes.