bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Alcohol consumption and incident heart failure in men and women
Authors: Qin Hailun , van Essen Bart J. , ter Maaten Jozine M. , Voors Adriaan A. 
Published: January 2025

AbstractAimsRegular heavy alcohol consumption may lead to the development of alcohol‐related cardiomyopathy and symptomatic heart failure (HF) later in life. However, the dose–response relationship between alcohol consumption and risk for incident HF, and whether these associations vary by sex and type of alcoholic beverage remains unclear.Methods and resultsA total of 407 014 participants (52% women, age 56 years) from the UK Biobank who completed alcohol‐related questionnaires and without a history of HF at baseline were included in the study. Competing‐risk model and cubic spline regression analyses were used to calculate hazard ratios of the association between alcohol consumption and incident HF in men and women. The associations were adjusted for an extensive set of potential confounders. During a median follow‐up of 12 years, 11 735 (34% women) cases of incident HF were identified. Total alcohol consumption was higher in men than in women (median consumption: 16 vs. 8 drinks/week, p < 0.001). A J‐shaped association was observed between total alcohol consumption and incident HF in both men and women. Drinking alcohol <28 units/week was associated with a lower risk for developing HF, with a ~20% maximum risk reduction at 14 units/week in men and 7 units/week in women, independent of common confounders. Similar trends were observed in wine consumption. However, the risk of incident HF increases with beer consumption, particularly in women (p for sex interaction = 0.002). Consuming 7–14 units/week of beer was associated with a 29% increased risk of incident HF in women.ConclusionAlcohol consumption was higher among men compared with women. Although low to moderate total alcohol consumption appears to be associated with a reduced risk of developed HF, beer drinkers, particularly women, were at higher risk of developed HF.
Boosting H2O2 Activation for the Efficient Alkene Epoxidation over Polyoxometalate‐based Tetrakaidecahedron‐like Nanodice Assemblies
Authors: Zhao Yali , Wang Ziru , Zhai Jinxiu , Cao Xingjian , He Peilei 
Published: January 2025

AbstractThe activation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a terminal oxidant holds great promise for catalytic oxidation processes. However, developing an efficient catalyst for the epoxidation of bulky organic molecules with H2O2, including cyclic alkenes, remains challenging. In this research, a lacunary polyoxometalate (POM)‐based tetrakaidecahedron nanodices (NDs) are synthesized by [PW11O39]7− (PW11) clusters with tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB). The NDs exhibit significantly enhanced catalytic activity in the epoxidation of cyclooctene, with a yield 55.4 times greater than that of the raw PW11. Conversely, nanospheres (NSs) assembled from non‐lacunary POM clusters of [PW12O40]3− (PW12) under the same conditions achieve only a 2.9 % yield, highlighting the essential role of the lacunary PW11 structure in NDs. Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that the active hydroperoxo species from H2O2 activation serves as the effective epoxidizing agent. The reduced energy barrier for H2O2 activation on PW11, relative to PW12, corroborates the superior activity of the NDs. Furthermore, the intermediate generated post‐H2O2 activation shows stronger adsorption of cyclooctene, increasing oxygen transfer to cyclooctene during the epoxidation process. This study demonstrates the exceptional performance of an assembly structure utilizing lacunary POMs for the activation of H2O2 and subsequent oxidation reactions.
High‐Fidelity High‐Resolution Regional Seismic Risk and Resilience Assessment of Large Building Inventories
Authors: Dahal Laxman , Burton Henry , Zhong Kuanshi 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTHistorically, building design codes have been governed by the life‐safety performance standard with minimal emphasis on other metrics such as economic loss and downtime. However, recent advancements in earthquake engineering have put in motion a national‐level initiative to explicitly codify functional recovery as a target performance objective. While the importance of this effort has been broadly acknowledged by engineers and policymakers, there is a need to develop efficient computational strategies for evaluating the performance and cost‐benefit implications of these resilience‐based standards at the regional scale. It is with this vision in mind that this paper makes two primary contributions. First, an efficient computational framework for performing high‐fidelity high‐resolution seismic risk and resilience assessments of large building inventories is proposed. The framework harnesses automation, optimization, and distributed computing to render high fidelity and resolution‐based seismic risk assessments computationally feasible. Second, a new approach to performing stochastic event set‐based evaluation of building portfolios is proposed, which utilizes building‐specific performance‐based assessments that include site‐specific ground motion selection. A case study is presented on a risk‐based seismic loss and functional recovery evaluation of more than 15,000 residential woodframe buildings in the City of Los Angeles. By leveraging automation, optimization, and high‐performance computing, we are able to reduce the runtime for such an assessment from months to days.
Fire Hazard of Fiber Dust Layers With Different Widths and Inclination Angles Exposed to Simulated Hotspots
Authors: Zhang Jinglin , Du Zhenguo , Yuan Qi , Li Chang , Ding Shixun , Li Gang , Yuan Chunmiao 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTFiber dust's flocculent structure often leads to underestimation of its potential for fire and explosion. In order to compare the fire hazards of fiber dust layers with different widths and inclination angles exposed to simulated hotspots with traditional powdered dust layers. The current research systematically studied the flame spread characteristics of flax, paper scraps, and wood dust with widths of 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 mm at inclination angles of 0°, −10°, −20°, −30° and −40°. Studies have found that at different widths and inclination angles, flax dust has a higher flame spread velocity than wood powder, and even metal powder. Under the coupling effect of the width and inclination angle of the countercurrent flame, the inclination angle has a significant impact on the flame spread velocity of the countercurrent flame. Flax fiber dust has a significantly higher fire hazard than conventional dust. These findings should be taken into account in the industrial processes of handling flax fiber dust.
USD Interest Rate Swaption Strategies During the Unconventional Monetary Policy and Pandemic Eras
Authors: Shirokawa Hiroaki , Yamaguchi Kohei , Obata Takahiro , Sakemoto Ryuta 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the performance of USD interest rate swaption straddle strategies during the unconventional monetary policy and pandemic eras. We construct long–short portfolio swaption straddles using longer tenors and maturities than those in the previous literature. Moreover, we propose an equally weighted strategy that takes risk exposures to both volatility and jump risks. This strategy generates a higher Sharpe ratio than the delta–gamma neutral strategy during the unconventional monetary policy period. This result is weakly associated with spot swap forward rate jumps and robust, including transaction costs. We also observe that adopting longer maturity swaptions in the long position leads to higher values of risk and returns.
Commodity Dependence and Optimal Asset Allocation
Authors: Dequiedt Vianney , Gomes Mathieu , Pukthuanthong Kuntara , Williams‐Rambaud Benjamin 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTWe present a model to explain the diversification benefits of incorporating commodities into a portfolio of traditional assets from the perspective of domestic investors. Utilizing a sample of 38 countries from 2000 to 2020, we show that investors in high‐commodity dependence countries generally do not benefit from adding commodities to their portfolios while investors located in low‐commodity dependence countries usually do. Our results thus show that local contexts matter and that commodities may augment a diversified portfolio if investors are not excessively exposed to commodity risk through their country's economic structure.
Exploring the Impact of Declarative Learning on the Consolidation of Acquired Motor Skills Under Valence Feedback
Authors: Farrokhi Ashkan , Habibi Mina , Daliri Mohammad Reza 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTImplicit motor learning involves the acquisition and consolidation of motor skills without conscious awareness, influenced by various factors. Punishment and reward have been identified as significant modulators during training, impacting skill acquisition differently. Additionally, the role of a second declarative task in offline consolidation has been explored, affecting both stabilization and enhancement processes during wake and sleep periods. However, how valanced feedback and learning a secondary declarative task can influence the learning and consolidation of implicit motor learning has not been explored. This study investigates whether receiving monetary feedback during motor sequence learning influences consolidation when declarative knowledge about the task is disrupted by a second word‐list task. Participants' skill levels were assessed during training, immediately after training, 15 min post‐training (after performing the second task), and 24 h later after night sleep. Concurrently, brain synchrony was measured using electroencephalography (EEG) recording. Results indicate that monetary punishment leads to early enhancement and higher performance after the second task compared to reward and control groups. However, after 24 h, no significant enhancement was observed in any group, with differences between groups diminishing. EEG analysis revealed distinct brain subnetworks across alpha, beta, and unexpectedly delta network which traditionally associated with sleep‐dependent consolidation. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between valanced feedback learning, declarative memory disruption, and offline consolidation in implicit motor learning, highlighting the dynamic nature of skill acquisition and retention, offering potential implications for targeted interventions and future research directions.
Investigating the Spatio‐Temporal Signatures of Language Control–Related Brain Synchronization Processes
Authors: Dumitrescu Alexandru Mihai , Coolen Tim , Wens Vincent , Rovai Antonin , Trotta Nicola , Goldman Serge , De Tiège Xavier , Urbain Charline 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTLanguage control processes allow for the flexible manipulation and access to context‐appropriate verbal representations. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have localized the brain regions involved in language control processes usually by comparing high vs. low lexical–semantic control conditions during verbal tasks. Yet, the spectro‐temporal dynamics of associated brain processes remain unexplored, preventing a proper understanding of the neural bases of language control mechanisms. To do so, we recorded functional brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and fMRI, while 30 healthy participants performed a silent verb generation (VGEN) and a picture naming (PN) task upon confrontation with pictures requiring low or high lexical–semantic control processes. fMRI confirmed the association between stronger language control processes and increased left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) perfusion, while MEG revealed these controlled mechanisms to be associated with a specific sequence of early (< 500 ms) and late (> 500 ms) beta‐band (de)synchronization processes within fronto‐temporo‐parietal areas. Particularly, beta‐band modulations of event‐related (de)synchronization mechanisms were first observed in the right IFG, followed by bilateral IFG and temporo‐parietal brain regions. Altogether, these results suggest that beyond a specific recruitment of inferior frontal brain regions, language control mechanisms rely on a complex temporal sequence of beta‐band oscillatory mechanisms over antero‐posterior areas.
Mapping Activity and Functional Organisation of the Motor and Visual Pathways Using ADC‐fMRI in the Human Brain
Authors: Nguyen‐Duc Jasmine , de Riedmatten Ines , Spencer Arthur P. C. , Perot Jean‐Baptiste , Olszowy Wiktor , Jelescu Ileana 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTIn contrast to blood‐oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI), which relies on changes in blood flow and oxygenation levels to infer brain activity, diffusion fMRI (DfMRI) investigates brain dynamics by monitoring alterations in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of water. These ADC changes may arise from fluctuations in neuronal morphology, providing a distinctive perspective on neural activity. The potential of ADC as an fMRI contrast (ADC‐fMRI) lies in its capacity to reveal neural activity independently of neurovascular coupling, thus yielding complementary insights into brain function.To demonstrate the specificity and value of ADC‐fMRI, both ADC‐ and BOLD‐fMRI data were collected at 3 T in human subjects during visual stimulation and motor tasks. The first aim of this study was to identify an acquisition design for ADC that minimises BOLD contributions. By examining the timings in responses, we report that ADC 0/1 timeseries (acquired with b values of 0 and 1 ms/) exhibit residual vascular contamination, while ADC 0.2/1 timeseries (with b values of 0.2 and 1 ms/) show minimal BOLD influence and higher sensitivity to neuromorphological coupling. Second, a general linear model was employed to identify activation clusters for ADC 0.2/1 and BOLD, from which the average ADC and BOLD responses were calculated. The negative ADC response exhibited a significantly reduced delay relative to the task onset and offset as compared to BOLD. This early onset further supports the notion that ADC is sensitive to neuromorphological rather than neurovascular coupling. Remarkably, in the group‐level analysis, positive BOLD activation clusters were detected in the visual and motor cortices, while the negative ADC clusters mainly highlighted pathways in white matter connected to the motor cortex. In the averaged individual level analysis, negative ADC activation clusters were also present in the visual cortex. This finding confirmed the reliability of negative ADC as an indicator of brain function, even in regions with lower vascularisation such as white matter. Finally, we established that ADC‐fMRI time courses yield the expected functional organisation of the visual system, including both grey and white matter regions of interest. Functional connectivity matrices were used to perform hierarchical clustering of brain regions, where ADC‐fMRI successfully reproduced the expected structure of the dorsal and ventral visual pathways. This organisation was not replicated with the b = 0.2 ms/ diffusion‐weighted time courses, which can be seen as a proxy for BOLD (via T2‐weighting). These findings underscore the robustness of ADC time courses in functional MRI studies, offering complementary insights into BOLD‐fMRI regarding brain function and connectivity patterns.
Time‐Varying Spatial Propagation of Brain Networks in fMRI Data
Authors: Bostami Biozid , Lewis Noah , Agcaoglu Oktay , Turner Jessica A. , van Erp Theo , Ford Judith M. , Fouladivanda Mahshid , Calhoun Vince , Iraji Armin 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTSpontaneous neural activity coherently relays information across the brain. Several efforts have been made to understand how spontaneous neural activity evolves at the macro‐scale level as measured by resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). Previous studies observe the global patterns and flow of information in rsfMRI using methods such as sliding window or temporal lags. However, to our knowledge, no studies have examined spatial propagation patterns evolving with time across multiple overlapping 4D networks. Here, we propose a novel approach to study how dynamic states of the brain networks spatially propagate and evaluate whether these propagating states contain information relevant to mental illness. We implement a lagged windowed correlation approach to capture voxel‐wise network‐specific spatial propagation patterns in dynamic states. Results show systematic spatial state changes over time, which we confirmed are replicable across multiple scan sessions using human connectome project data. We observe networks varying in propagation speed; for example, the default mode network (DMN) propagates slowly and remains positively correlated with blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) signal for 6–8 s, whereas the visual network propagates much quicker. We also show that summaries of network‐specific propagative patterns are linked to schizophrenia. More specifically, we find significant group differences in multiple dynamic parameters between patients with schizophrenia and controls within four large‐scale networks: default mode, temporal lobe, subcortical, and visual network. Individuals with schizophrenia spend more time in certain propagating states. In summary, this study introduces a promising general approach to exploring the spatial propagation in dynamic states of brain networks and their associated complexity and reveals novel insights into the neurobiology of schizophrenia.
Psychometric Validation of the German Version of the Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA): A Secondary Analysis of Cross‐Sectional Survey Data
Authors: McGowan Hannah , Crutzen Rik , Topolski Tari , Kulnik Stefan Tino 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackground and AimsRegular physical activity holds numerous health benefits for older people, yet the majority of older people do not meet the World Health Organization's physical activity recommendations. Brief physical activity screening tools can support healthcare professionals in identifying patients who would benefit from physical activity promotion and counselling. The Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA) questionnaire is a validated brief physical activity screening tool designed for clinical practice.MethodsWe conducted a psychometric validation of a new German translation of the RAPA by performing a secondary analysis of survey data from 234 former cardiac rehabilitation patients (mean [SD] age 69 ± 11 years, 23% female) in Austria. For psychometric validation, we used the following survey measures: the new German version of the RAPA, two customized questions about physical activity behavior, one customized question about perceived health self‐management, and the German version of the EuroQol health‐related quality of life questionnaire. We performed Spearman's correlations to assess the relationship between the German RAPA and the other measures (i.e., physical activity behavior, self‐management of health and health‐related quality of life).ResultsAerobic physical activity level according to the RAPA correlated significantly with weekly frequency (Spearman's rho = 0.31, 95% CI [0.18, 0.43], p < .001) and volume of PA (rho = 0.34, 95% CI [0.21, 0.45], p < .001), as well as perceived health self‐management and five out of six dimensions of the EuroQol questionnaire.ConclusionOur data demonstrate convergent validity and contribute to the psychometric validation of the new German version of the RAPA. These initial findings lend themselves to future dedicated psychometric validation studies of the German RAPA (against gold‐standard physical activity questionnaires or direct physical activity measures) to further explore the potential of this tool for use in German‐speaking geriatrics healthcare.
Comparative Analysis of CXCR5 Circulating DNA Methylation Levels in Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases
Authors: Shi Yiming , Qin Yingying , Li Yunshen , Jiang Ping , Wei Kai , Zhao Jianan , Shan Yu , Zheng Yixin , Zhao Fuyu , Zhou Mi , Li Li , Shen Yu , Lv Xinliang , Zheng Yuejuan , Guo Shicheng , Ding Qin , Chang Cen , He Dongyi 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo assess CXC chemokine receptor 5 (CXCR5) circulating DNA methylation differences in autoimmune rheumatic diseases and their relation with clinical features.MethodsTargeted methylation sequencing was performed using peripheral blood from 164 rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 30 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 30 ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 30 psoriatic arthritis (PsA), 24 Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients, and 30 healthy controls (HC).ResultsSignificant differences in CXCR5 cg19599951 methylation were found between RA and HC, as well as AS and SLE. RA patients exhibited higher methylation than HC and AS (p < 0.01) but lower than SLE (p < 0.05). SLE patients showed higher methylation compared to HC, AS, and PsA (p < 0.001, 0.01, and 0.05, respectively). No significant differences were found in patients with SS compared to other autoimmune diseases and HC. Methylation at cg19599951_103 (r = 0.17, p < 0.05) and cg19599951_209 (r = 0.22, p < 0.01), along with the CC haplotype (r = 0.21, p < 0.01), showed significant positive correlations with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), while the CT (r = −0.27, p < 0.001) and TT haplotypes (r = −0.19, p < 0.05) were negatively correlated. For C‐reactive protein (CRP), methylation at cg19599951_103 (r = 0.29, p < 0.001) and cg19599951_209 (r = 0.33, p < 0.0001), and the CC haplotype (r = 0.34, p < 0.0001) was positively correlated, whereas the CT (r = −0.36, p < 0.0001) and TT (r = −0.30, p < 0.0001) haplotypes were negatively correlated. Significant negative correlations were observed between the CT haplotype and rheumatoid factor (r = −0.25, p < 0.01), and anti‐citrullinated protein antibody (r = −0.20, p < 0.05). No significant correlations were found in patients with SLE, AS, and SS. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed CXCR5 methylation could classify patients with RA versus those with AS (AUC: 0.624−0.967).ConclusionDifferential circulating CXCR5 methylation levels were observed in autoimmune rheumatic diseases, which correlated with inflammatory mediators in RA and may serve as potential biomarkers for RA diagnosis.
Serum Alkaline Phosphatase Levels in Pediatric Kikuchi‐Fujimoto Disease: A Retrospective Observational Analysis
Authors: Fujiwara Shintaro , Higuchi Yousuke , Shimizu Junya 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACTAimKikuchi‐Fujimoto disease (KFD) rarely affects pediatric patients and is characterized by prolonged fever and cervical lymphadenopathy. The diagnosis of KFD remains challenging and often requires an invasive biopsy. Low serum alkaline phosphatase levels have frequently been observed in patients with KFD; however, the clinical significance of low serum alkaline phosphatase levels remains unclear.MethodsThis retrospective study included pediatric patients aged < 16 years who were pathologically or clinically diagnosed with KFD and infectious mononucleosis between April 2016 and March 2023. Serum alkaline phosphatase levels were analyzed employing age‐ and sex‐specific reference intervals. Clinical and laboratory data were evaluated to determine their association with serum alkaline phosphatase levels.ResultsThirty patients with KFD and 23 patients with infectious mononucleosis were included in the study. Seventeen patients with KFD (56.7%) had serum alkaline phosphatase levels below the 2.5th percentile of the age‐ and sex‐specific reference intervals. Serum alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly lower in patients with KFD than in those with infectious mononucleosis. Clinical and other laboratory findings were not significantly different between patients with KFD with or without a decline in serum alkaline phosphatase levels.ConclusionA decrease in serum alkaline phosphatase levels, particularly when assessed as a percentage of age‐ and sex‐specific reference intervals, may be a valuable and noninvasive supportive feature of KFD in pediatric patients.