bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is the female sex associated with an increased risk for long-term cognitive decline after the first-ever lacunar stroke? Prospective study on small vessel disease cohort
Authors: Pavlovic Aleksandra , Pekmezovic Tatjana , Mijajlovic Milija , Tomic Gordana , Zidverc Trajkovic Jasna 
Published: January 2023

BackgroundSex is a significant determinant of survival and functional outcome after stroke. Long-term cognitive outcome after acute lacunar stroke in the context of sex differences has been rarely reported.MethodsA cohort of small vessel disease (SVD) patients presenting with first-ever acute lacunar stroke and normal cognitive status has been evaluated 4 years after the qualifying event for the presence of cognitive impairment (CI) with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Differences in baseline clinical and neuroimaging characteristics were compared between sexes in relation to cognitive status.ResultsA total of 124 female and 150 male patients were analyzed. No difference was detected between the groups regarding age (p = 0.932) or frequency of common vascular risk factors (p &gt; 0.1 for all). At the baseline assessment, women had more disabilities compared to men with a mean modified Rankin scale (mRS) score of 2.5 (1.5 in men, p &lt; 0.0001). Scores of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of presumed vascular origin and a total number of lacunes of presumed vascular origin on brain MRI were higher in women compared to men (p &lt; 0.0001 for all). As many as 64.6% of patients had CI of any severity on follow-up, women more frequently (77.4%) than men (54.0%; p &lt; 0.0001). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that female sex, higher NIHSS and mRS scores, presence of depression, and increasing WMH severity were associated with an increased risk for CI. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that only depression (OR 1.74, 95%CI 1.25–2.44; p = 0.001) and WMH severity (OR 1.10, 95%CI 1.03–1.17; p = 0.004) were independently associated with the CI.ConclusionAt the long-term follow-up, women lacunar stroke survivors, compared to men, more frequently had CI in the presence of more severe vascular brain lesions, but this association was dependent on the occurrence of depression and severity of WMH, and could not be explained by differences in common vascular risk factors.
Benchtop and bedside validation of a low-cost programmable cortical stimulator in a testbed for bi-directional brain-computer-interface research
Authors: Sohn Won Joon , Lim Jeffrey , Wang Po T. , Pu Haoran , Malekzadeh-Arasteh Omid , Shaw Susan J. , Armacost Michelle , Gong Hui , Kellis Spencer , Andersen Richard A. , Liu Charles Y. , Heydari Payam , Nenadic Zoran , Do An H. 
Published: January 2023

IntroductionBi-directional brain-computer interfaces (BD-BCI) to restore movement and sensation must achieve concurrent operation of recording and decoding of motor commands from the brain and stimulating the brain with somatosensory feedback.MethodsA custom programmable direct cortical stimulator (DCS) capable of eliciting artificial sensorimotor response was integrated into an embedded BCI system to form a safe, independent, wireless, and battery powered testbed to explore BD-BCI concepts at a low cost. The BD-BCI stimulator output was tested in phantom brain tissue by assessing its ability to deliver electrical stimulation equivalent to an FDA-approved commercial electrical cortical stimulator. Subsequently, the stimulator was tested in an epilepsy patient with subcortical electrocorticographic (ECoG) implants covering the sensorimotor cortex to assess its ability to elicit equivalent responses as the FDA-approved counterpart. Additional safety features (impedance monitoring, artifact mitigation, and passive and active charge balancing mechanisms) were also implemeneted and tested in phantom brain tissue. Finally, concurrent operation with interleaved stimulation and BCI decoding was tested in a phantom brain as a proof-of-concept operation of BD-BCI system.ResultsThe benchtop prototype BD-BCI stimulator's basic output features (current amplitude, pulse frequency, pulse width, train duration) were validated by demonstrating the output-equivalency to an FDA-approved commercial cortical electrical stimulator (R2 &gt; 0.99). Charge-neutral stimulation was demonstrated with pulse-width modulation-based correction algorithm preventing steady state voltage deviation. Artifact mitigation achieved a 64.5% peak voltage reduction. Highly accurate impedance monitoring was achieved with R2 &gt; 0.99 between measured and actual impedance, which in-turn enabled accurate charge density monitoring. An online BCI decoding accuracy of 93.2% between instructional cues and decoded states was achieved while delivering interleaved stimulation. The brain stimulation mapping via ECoG grids in an epilepsy patient showed that the two stimulators elicit equivalent responses.SignificanceThis study demonstrates clinical validation of a fully-programmable electrical stimulator, integrated into an embedded BCI system. This low-cost BD-BCI system is safe and readily applicable as a testbed for BD-BCI research. In particular, it provides an all-inclusive hardware platform that approximates the limitations in a near-future implantable BD-BCI. This successful benchtop/human validation of the programmable electrical stimulator in a BD-BCI system is a critical milestone toward fully-implantable BD-BCI systems.
Limited evidence for sympathetic neural overactivation in older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Heusser Karsten , Tank Jens , Diedrich André , Fischer Annelie , Heise Tim , Jordan Jens 
Published: January 2023

IntroductionMechanistic studies suggested that excess sympathetic activity promotes arterial hypertension while worsening insulin sensitivity. Older patients with type 2 diabetes are at particularly high cardiovascular and metabolic risk. However, data on sympathetic activity in this population is scarce.MethodsWe studied 61 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (22 women, 60.9 ± 1.4 years; 39 men, 60.9 ± 1.4 years). They had to have diabetes for at least 2 years, a hemoglobin A1c of 6.5–10%, a body-mass-index of 20–40 kg/m2, and had to be treated with stable doses of metformin only. We recorded ECG, finger and brachial blood pressure, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA).ResultsMSNA was 37.5 ± 2.5 bursts/min in women and 39.0 ± 2.0 bursts/min in men (p = 0.55). MSNA expressed as burst incidence was 52.7 ± 2.0 bursts/100 beats in women and 59.2 ± 3.1 bursts/100 beats in men (p = 0.21). Five out of 39 men (12.8%) and two out of 22 women (9.1%) exhibited resting MSNA measurements above the 95th percentile for sex and age. In the pooled analysis, MSNA was not significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, body composition, or HbA1c (r2 &lt; 0.02, p &gt; 0.26 for all).DiscussionWe conclude that relatively few older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus exhibit increased MSNA. The large interindividual variability in MSNA cannot be explained by gender, blood pressure, body mass index, or glycemic control.
Combination of marine bioactive compounds and extracts for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases
Authors: Ebrahimi Belgheis , Baroutian Saeid , Li Jinyao , Zhang Baohong , Ying Tianlei , Lu Jun 
Published: January 2023

BackgroundIn recent years, marine-based functional foods and combination therapy are receiving greater recognition for their roles in healthy lifestyle applications and are being investigated as viable and effective strategies for disease treatment or prevention.Aim of the reviewThis review article presents and discusses the relevant scientific publications that have studied the synergistic and additive effects of natural marine bioactive compounds and extract combinations with anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and chemopreventive activities in the last two decades. The paper presents the mechanism of action and health benefits of developed combinations and discusses the limitation of the studies. Furthermore, it recommends alternatives and directions for future studies. Finally, it highlights the factors for developing novel combinations of marine bioactive compounds.Key scientific concepts of reviewCombination of marine bioactive compounds or extracts affords synergistic or additive effects by multiple means, such as multi-target effects, enhancing the bioavailability, boosting the bioactivity, and neutralizing adverse effects of compounds in the mixture. For the development of marine-based combinations, there are key points for consideration and issues to address: knowledge of the mechanism of action of individual compounds and their combinations, optimum ratio and dosing of compounds, and experimental models must all be taken into account. Strategies to increase the number and diversity of marine combinations, and further development of marine-based functional foods, are available. However, only a small number of natural marine bioactive combinations have been assessed, and most research has been focused on fish oil and carotenoid synergy. Therefore, more research and resources should be spent on developing novel marine bioactive combinations as functional foods and nutraceuticals.
Healthy plant-based diet index as a determinant of bone mineral density in osteoporotic postmenopausal women: A case-control study
Authors: Ghadiri Marzieh , Cheshmazar Elhameh , Shateri Zainab , Gerami Shirin , Nouri Mehran , Gargari Bahram Pourghassem 
Published: January 2023

IntroductionThe association between plant-based diet indices and bone mineral density (BMD) of women with osteoporosis have not been studied in Iranian women. This study aimed to evaluate the association between plant-based diet indices and BMD in postmenopausal women with osteopenia/osteoporosis.Materials and methodsThe present research was a case-control study conducted on 131 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis/osteopenia and 131 healthy women. The BMD of the femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae was measured by the Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXEA) method. Participants were asked to complete a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). We used three versions of plant-based diet indices, including plant-based diet index (PDI), healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI), and unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI). Two different multivariable logistic regression was used for the crude and adjusted model to assess the relationship between PDI, hPDI, and uPDI with odds of femoral and lumbar BMD.ResultsThere was a reverse association between last tertile of hPDI with femoral BMD abnormality in the both adjusted model [Model 1: odds ratio (OR): 0.33; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.19–0.63 and Model 2: OR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.15–0.58, respectively]. Furthermore, we found a reverse relationship between hPDI with lumbar BMD abnormality in the first adjusted model (OR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.19–0.67). On the other hand, a negative association was observed in the second and last tertile of hPDI with lumbar BMD abnormality (OR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.24–0.90 and OR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.17–0.64, respectively). According to the results, the association of femoral BMD abnormality in the last tertile of uPDI compared to the first tertile in the both adjusted models (Model 1: OR: 2.85; 95% CI: 1.52–5.36 and Model 2: OR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.37–5.06) were significant. Also, we observed a positive relationship between the last tertile of uPDI with lumbar BMD abnormality compared to the lowest tertile in the both adjusted models (Model 1; OR: 4.16; 95% CI: 2.20–7.85, Model 2; OR: 4.23; 95% CI: 2.19–8.19).ConclusionOverall, the findings indicated that in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, a healthy plant-based diet could prevent bone loss, and an unhealthy plant-based diet might have detrimental effects on BMD.
Differential value of diffusion kurtosis imaging and intravoxel incoherent motion in benign and malignant solitary pulmonary lesions
Authors: Xiang Lu , Yang Hong , Qin Yu , Wen Yun , Liu Xue , Zeng Wen-Bing 
Published: January 2023

ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) whole-lesion histogram parameters in differentiating benign and malignant solitary pulmonary lesions (SPLs).Materials and MethodsPatients with SPLs detected by chest CT examination and with further routine MRI, DKI and IVIM-DWI functional sequence scanning data were recruited. According to the pathological results, SPLs were divided into a benign group and a malignant group. Independent samples t tests (normal distribution) or Mann‒Whitney U tests (nonnormal distribution) were used to compare the differences in DKI (Dk, K), IVIM (D, D*, f) and ADC whole-lesion histogram parameters between the benign and malignant SPL groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the histogram parameters and determine the optimal threshold. The area under the curve (AUC) of each histogram parameter was compared by the DeLong method. Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the correlation between histogram parameters and malignant SPLs.ResultsMost of the histogram parameters for diffusion-related values (Dk, D, ADC) of malignant SPLs were significantly lower than those of benign SPLs, while most of the histogram parameters for the K value of malignant SPLs were significantly higher than those of benign SPLs. DKI (Dk, K), IVIM (D) and ADC were effective in differentiating benign and malignant SPLs and combined with multiple parameters of the whole-lesion histogram for the D value, had the highest diagnostic efficiency, with an AUC of 0.967, a sensitivity of 90.00% and a specificity of 94.03%. Most of the histogram parameters for the Dk, D and ADC values were negatively correlated with malignant SPLs, while most of the histogram parameters for the K value were positively correlated with malignant SPLs.ConclusionsDKI (Dk, K) and IVIM (D) whole-lesion histogram parameters can noninvasively distinguish benign and malignant SPLs, and the diagnostic performance is better than that of DWI. Moreover, they can provide additional information on SPL microstructure, which has important significance for guiding clinical individualized precision diagnosis and treatment and has potential clinical application value.
Green synthesis of hyaluronic acid coated, thiolated chitosan nanoparticles for CD44 targeted delivery and sustained release of Cisplatin in cervical carcinoma
Authors: Kousar Kousain , Naseer Faiza , Abduh Maisa S. , Kakar Salik , Gul Rabia , Anjum Sadia , Ahmad Tahir 
Published: January 2023

Cervical carcinoma is one of the most prevalent gynecological cancers throughout the world. Cisplatin is used as first line chemotherapy for treatment of cervical cancer, but it comes with plethora of side effects. The aim of this study was to develop hyaluronic acid coated, thiolated chitosan nanocarriers using green synthesis approach, for CD44 targeted delivery and sustained release of Cisplatin in cervical cancer cells. After synthesis through ionic gelation method, Zeta analysis showed that the nanoparticle size was 265.9 nm with a zeta potential of +22.3 mV and .226 PDI. SEM and TEM analysis confirmed the spherical shape and smooth surface of nanoparticles. FTIR and XRD showed the presence of characteristic functional groups, successful encapsulation of drug, and crystalline nature of nanoparticles respectively. Drug loading and entrapment efficiency were calculated to be 70.1% ± 1.2% and 45% ± .28% respectively. Analysis of in vitro drug release kinetics showed that drug release followed the Higuchi model at pH 6.8 and 7.4 and Cisplatin release for up to 72 h confirmed sustained release. In vitro analysis on cervical cancer cells HeLa and normal cervical epithelial cells HCK1T was done through cell morphology analysis, trypan blue assay (concentration range of 10–80 μg/ml), and MTT cytotoxic assay (concentration range of 10–90 μg/ml). The results showed a higher cytotoxic potential of HA coated, thiolated chitosan encapsulated Cisplatin (HA-ThCs-Cis NP) nanoformulation as compared to pure Cisplatin in HeLa while in HCK1T, pure Cisplatin showed much higher toxicity as compared to HA-ThCs-Cis nanoformulation. These findings suggest that CD44 targeted delivery system can be a useful approach to minimize offtarget toxicities, give sustained release and better cellular uptake in cancer cells.
Case Report: Auricular vagus nerve stimulation possibly alleviates COVID-19 disease on a high-risk patient
Authors: Széles József Constantin , Lucny Felix , Tyercha Alexander , Kaniusas Eugenijus , Neumayer Christoph 
Published: January 2023

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus that was identified as the cause of COVID-19 disease in early 2020. The infection is clinically similar to interstitial pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and often shows cardiovascular damage. Patients with cardiovascular risk factors are more prone to COVID-19 disease and their sequelae. Due to the anti-inflammatory effect and the improvement in pulmonary function, auricular vagus nerve stimulation (aVNS) therapy might alleviate a COVID-19 infection.Patient and Methods: A high-risk patient with cardiovascular diseases and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), type 2 diabetes and peripheral arterial disease IV, according to Rutherford`s classification, became infected with COVID-19. The patient underwent wound surgery because of an infected necrosis with a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) of his small toe and was already on aVNS therapy to relieve his leg pain and improve microcirculation. AVNS was performed with the AuriStim device (Multisana GmbH, Austria), which stimulates vagally innervated regions of the auricle by administering electrical stimulation via percutaneous electrodes for 6 weeks.Results: The multimorbid high-risk patient, who was expected to go through a severe course of the COVID-19 disease, showed hardly any symptoms during ongoing aVNS therapy, while other family members, being much younger and healthy suffered from a more serious course with headache, pneumonia and general weakness.Conclusion: The auricular vagus nerve stimulation is a clinically tested and safe procedure and might represent an alternative and effective way of treating COVID-19 disease. Nevertheless, due to several limitations of this case report, randomized controlled studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of aVNS therapy on COVID-19 disease.
Increasing basal nitrogen fertilizer rate improves grain yield, quality and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline in rice under wheat straw returning
Authors: Wang Jun , Qiu Yuanyuan , Zhang Xingyu , Zhou Zhou , Han Xian , Zhou Yang , Qin Li , Liu Kun , Li Siyu , Wang Weilu , Chen Yun , Yang Jianchang , Liu Lijun 
Published: January 2023

Straw returning plays an essential role in crop yields and the sustainable development of agriculture. However, the effects and mechanisms of nitrogen (N) fertilizer management on grain yield, quality and aroma substance 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) content under wheat straw returning are still unclear. In this field experiment, two japonica rice cultivars were used as materials, wheat straw non-returning (NS) and wheat straw full returning (WS) were designed coupled with two N application ratios, namely basal fertilizer: tiller fertilizer: panicle fertilizer =5:1:4 (local farmers’ fertilizer practice, LFP) and 7:1:2 (increasing basal fertilizer rate, IBF) under the total N application rate of 270 kg ha-1. The effects of the four treatment combinations (NS-LFP, NS-IBF, WS-LFP, WS-IBF) on yield, cooking and eating quality, and 2-AP content in rice were investigated. The two-year (2020, 2021) results showed that: 1) WS-IBF significantly increased the number of panicles and grains per panicle, leading to the increase in grain yield by 6.67%–12.21%, when compared with NS-LFP, NS-IBF and WS-LFP. 2) WS-IBF enhanced the taste value, peak viscosity, breakdown value, the ratio of amylopectin to amylose, and the ratio of glutelin to prolamin while reducing the setback value and amylose content of rice flour. 3) Compared with NS, WS increased the activities of proline dehydrogenase and ornithine transaminase, the synthetic precursors of 2-AP, and finally increased 2-AP content in rice grains. WS-IBF slightly decreased 2-AP content, but there was no significant difference with WS-LFP. The above results indicated that adjusting the N regime and increasing basal N fertilizer rate under wheat straw returning is conducive to improving grain yield, cooking and eating quality, and 2-AP content in rice.
Assessing the association between subjective evaluation of space qualities and physiological responses through cinematic environments’ emotion-eliciting stimuli
Authors: Sakhaei Hamidreza , Gu Ning , Looha Mehdi Azizmohammad 
Published: January 2023

ObjectivesHuman perception of the built environment affects emotional and physiological states. This research focused on the association between evaluating a space’s visual qualities and physiological responses by mediating film contents to indicate the association between physiological indicators and assessing the quality of space in the presence of environmental stimuli.MethodData collection was conducted using a psychological questionnaire and physiological indicators of heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), skin resistance level (SRL), and body temperature (BT) during the film screening. The ANOVA was conducted to compare different variables in the three films alongside linear regression to analyze the impact of variables on space quality. Spearman correlation coefficient analyses were performed to find the association between variables.ResultsThe descriptive statistics showed significant changes in psychological and physiological variables in films. Associations between the NAQ factor and physiological changes in HR, SBP, and DBP factors were significant. The results derived from the simple and multiple linear regressions depicted the significant impact of physiological factors on HR and BP on perceiving the quality of space.ConclusionIt was concluded that physiological changes caused by emotional arousal could be strongly associated with psychological assessments. Stimuli-affected video contents illustrating architectural spaces could efficiently extract the impact of physiological states and human cognitive responses to the space quality. Physiological characteristics related to the space appraisal could help realize the human-environment interaction in a multi-layered approach to the built environment and spatial cognition.