bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of long-term repeated use of rituximab in pediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome
Authors: CHOI NAYE , Min Jeesu , Kim Ji Hyun , Kang Hee Gyung , Ahn Yo Han 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of long-term repeated use of Rituximab (RTX) in pediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS).
Methods
Retrospective review of medical records for 50 patients with steroid-dependent NS (SDNS) who had received more than three cycles of RTX was conducted; each consisted of one to four infusions of RTX until B lymphocytes were depleted.
Results
The median age of starting the first RTX cycle was 12.4 years (interquartile ranges (IQR) 10.2–14.6). During a median follow-up period of 6.3 (IQR 3.6–8.6) years, patients received a median of 5.0 RTX cycles (IQR 4.0–7.3). The number of relapses decreased from a median of 2.0 relapses per year (IQR 1.0–3.0) to 0.2 relapses per year (IQR 0.0–0.5) after long-term RTX treatments (P < 0.001). Longer relapse-free periods were associated with more than four RTX cycles, longer B cell depletion, older age at each RTX treatment, and lower cholesterol levels. B lymphocytes recovered to 1% at a median of 5.9 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.7–6.1) after RTX administration. Factors related to a longer period of B-cell depletion included more than five RTX cycles, a higher dose of RTX, older age at treatment, and concurrent use of antimetabolites. During repeated RTX treatments, 11%, 6%, and 2% of patients developed hypogammaglobulinemia, severe infection, and severe neutropenia, respectively.
Conclusions
Long-term repeated use of RTX was effective and safe in pediatric NS patients. Furthermore, the redosing of RTX could be chosen by considering predictive factors for relapse-free and B-cell depletion periods.
An ACO-based approach for Software Statistical Structural Testing
Authors: Shi Yang , Song Xiaoyu , Perkowski Marek 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

Statistical structural testing(SST) has been proved to be more effective than random testing and deterministic coverage-driven testing in fault-detecting ability. Automated search is able to automate the input distribution construction process for SST. However, due to the impact of the noisy environment, the existing search algorithm is still ineffective. This article presents a novel statistical search algorithm called constrained ant colony optimization on the real domain (CACOR) for deriving effective input distributions. The input distribution model harnesses a set of weighted uniform distributions over the input domain space, which is enumerated effectively by the constrained ant colony optimization strategies. Experimental studies demonstrate the excellent search performance of the CACOR algorithm and the high-grade fault-detecting ability of the input distributions produced by the CACOR algorithm.
The Association Between Plasma Free Amino Acids and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus complicated with infection in Chinese Patients
Authors: Zhang Jing-Xi , Luo Wei-Ming , Wang Bo-Wen , Li Ru-Tao , Zhang Qian , Zhang Xiang-Yu , Fang Zhong-Ze 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), one of the most common public diseases threatening human health, is always accompanied by infection. Though there are still a variety of flaws in the treatment of some infectious diseases, metabolomics provides a fresh perspective to explore the relationship between T2DM and infection. Our research aimed to investigate the association between plasma free amino acids (PFAAs) and the risk of T2DM complicated with infection in Chinese patients.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2015 to August 2016.We retrieved the medical records of 1032 inpatients with T2DM from Liaoning Medical University First Affiliated Hospital and we used mass spectrometry to quantify 23 PFAAs. Infectious contained 15 individual categories that could be retrieved from the database. Principal component analysis was used to extract factors of PFAAs. Multi-variable binary logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results
Among 1032 inpatients,109 (10.6%) had infectious diseases. Six factors, accounting for 68.6% of the total variance, were extracted. Factor 4 consisted of Glu, Asp and Orn. Factor 5 consisted of Hcy and Pip. After adjusting for potential confounders, factor 4 was positively correlated with increased risk of T2DM complicated with infection in T2DM (OR: 1.26, 95%CI: 1.05–1.52). Individual Hcy in factor 5 was positively associated with T2DM complicated with infection (OR: 1.32, 95%CI: 1.07–1.64). Furthermore, factor 4 (OR: 1.45, 95%CI: 1.12–1.88), Orn (OR: 1.01, 95%CI: 1.00-1.02) and Hcy (OR: 1.57, 95%CI: 1.14–2.15) were positively associated with bacterial infection in Chinese T2DM patients, while factor 5 (OR: 0.69, 95%CI: 0.49–0.99) was negatively associated with bacterial infection.
Conclusions
Urea cycle-related metabolites (Orn, Asp, Glu) and Hcy were positively associated with T2DM complicated with infection in China. Orn and Hcy were positively associated with bacterial infection in T2DM patients in China.
Clinical characteristics of 1124 children with epiphyseal fractures
Authors: deng hansheng , zhao zhenhui , xiong zhu , gao futang , tang shengping , li yuanheng , li weiqing , huang jihuang , cui shuting , chen xiaodi , zeng shuaidan , tang gen , Antonio Sechi Leonardo , Gianfilippo Caggiari , Carlo Doria , qiu xin 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background: In this study, to provide a theoretical basis for understanding the clinical characteristics of epiphyseal fractures in children and improving their management, we explored and analyzed the proportions of different types of epiphyseal fractures in children and evaluated the causes of injury and epidemiological characteristics.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed children younger than 18 years with fresh epiphyseal fractures who were admitted to our hospital from July 2015 to February 2020. Demographic information, injury mechanisms, fracture characteristics, fracture classification, and surgical information were collected.
Results: A total of 1124 pediatric patients (1147 epiphyseal fractures), including 789 boys and 335 girls, were included in this study. Most fractures were classified as Salter-Harris type II (1002 cases), type IV (105 cases), and type III (25 cases). The number of fractures peaked in the adolescent group (428 cases). The most common sites of epiphyseal fractures were the distal radius (460 cases), phalanges of fingers (233 cases), and distal humerus (146 cases). The most important causes of fractures were falls (720 patients), car accident injuries (68 patients), and basketball falls (43 patients). Among the 1124 children with epiphyseal fractures, 1058 were treated mainly by surgery, and the ratio of open and closed reduction was 1:5.3. Eighty-eight patients showed an interval > 72 h between the injury and the hospital visit. Among these 88 patients, the most common fracture type was distal radial epiphyseal fracture (32 cases), and all fractures were of Salter-Harris type II.
Conclusions: The epidemiological characteristics of epiphyseal fractures in children indicate the need to strengthen health and safety education and protective measures to prevent the occurrence of these fractures in children. In addition, emergency surgeons and orthopedic surgeons in general hospitals should strengthen their basic knowledge of diagnosing and treating epiphyseal injuries in children to reduce missed diagnoses, misdiagnoses, or malpractice.
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of the Pre-Diabetic Elderly regarding Pre-diabetes
Authors: Pakpour Vahid , Molayi Fatemeh , Nemati Hossein 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
One of the risk factors of diabetes is the pre-diabetes stage which is significantly prevalent in the elderly. Knowledge, attitude, and practice of the pre-diabetic stage are of great importance and can decrease complications. The present study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the pre-diabetic elderly.
Methods
: This cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2022 to August 2022 on 219 pre-diabetic elderly people referring to Sina Hospital in Tabriz, one of the most populated cities in the northwest of Iran. Data were collected using questionnaires of Knowledge, Attitude, Practice-Prediabetes Assessment Questionnaire (KAP-PAQ). The data were analyzed by SPSS 21.
Results
The mean scores of knowledge (in the range of 0–17), attitude (in the range of -10, + 10), and practice (in the range of 0–26) were 1.72 ± 1.0, 2.24 ± 1.92, and 5.76 ± 2.61, respectively. The elderly's knowledge and practice levels in the pre-diabetes stage were low and about 50% of them had negative views. According to the Spearman correlation test, there was a positive significant relationship between the elderly's knowledge and practice (p < 0.001, r = 0.234).
Conclusions
The elderly in the pre-diabetes stage had low knowledge and attitude and a negative viewpoint towards correcting lifestyle on diet, exercising and physical activity, weight control, diagnostic and screening methods. Increased knowledge about pre-diabetes and strengthened positive attitude towards correcting lifestyle through counseling as well as empowering the pre-diabetic elderly can increase the efficiency of pre-diabetes prevention and control programs and prevent its progression to the diabetes stage.
A combined top-down and bottom-up search method for determining all maximal efficient faces in multiple objective linear programming
Authors: Tu Ta Van 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Most of the known methods for finding all maximal efficient faces of a multiple objective linear programming problem are top-down search (TDS) or bottom-up search (BUS) methods. These methods have many valuable computational advantages but still have large computational efforts for finding all maximal efficient faces. To hold the advantages and improve the drawbacks of them, in this paper, we propose a combined top-down and bottom-up search method for determining all maximal efficient faces of a multiple objective linear programming problem. This method is mainly based on a new efficiency test of faces and some results given in our previous papers. The new efficiency test is used to construct an efficient combination of TDS and BUS methods for finding all maximal efficient faces. By using the idea that the combination is generated to find all maximal efficient faces emanating from every efficient extreme point, the proposed method has all advantages and can improve the drawbacks of known BUS and TDS methods. In addition, based on the advantageous methods chosen to combine, the proposed method still has many advantages over known methods for finding all maximal efficient faces. The method is illustrated by a numerical example.
Mathematics Subject Classification (2010) 90C29 · 90C90
More susceptible psychological status of front-line medical staff than temporary workers in China during a public health emergency: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Leng Kunkun , Chen Xu , Jin Binbin , Xu Yongjie , Jin Hui 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
Our study aimed to investigate the psychological status of medical staff and temporary workers during a public health emergency in China and analyze the relevant factors affecting the psychological symptoms.
Methods
A total of 380 participants were included in a cross-sectional online survey in a fangcang shelter hospital in Hangzhou, China, during a wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Psychological Questionnaires for Emergent Events of Public Health (PQEEPH) was applied to investigate psychological status of medical staff and temporary workers. Multiple linear regression models were built to analyze the relevant factors affecting the psychological symptoms.
Results
Of 380 participants, women accounted for a high proportion of medical staff, and the majority of temporary workers were men. Medical staff had higher psychological symptom scores in depression, fear, neurasthenia and hypochondria than temporary workers. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that higher risk perception and occupational exposure of medical staff were significantly related to worse psychological symptoms, and emergency management capacity was negatively correlated with psychological symptoms of medical staff.
Conclusion
Our findings indicated that medical staff experienced more serious psychological symptoms than temporary workers during public health emergency, and protecting medical staff from psychological disturbance would be of great importance to the development of medical system. Our study suggest that risk perception and protective actions should be actively improved to reduce information avoidance and develop positive psychological status, which provide scientific basis for developing psychological intervention measures when there is emergent event of public health in the future.
The bacterial skin microbiome of the Endangered South African endemic Pickersgill’s Reed Frog (Hyperolius pickersgilli)
Authors: Mnisi Mafanela Clearance , Taioe Moeti Oriel , Mokgokong Prudent , Dalton Desire Lee , Plessis Ian , Armstrong Adrian , Tarrant Jeanne , Kotze Antoinette , du Plessis Morne 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

Pickersgill’s Reed Frog (Hyperolius pickersgilli) is an Endangered (IUCN, 2016) species, endemic to South Africa and restricted to the KwaZulu-Natal coastal region. The species occurs in fragmented patches of Indian Ocean Coastalbelt Wetland, a Critically Endangered habitat type threatened by urbanisation, agriculture, mining, and forestry. We used a 16S rRNA Next Generation Sequencing approach to characterize the bacterial skin microbiome of 20 adult Pickersgill’s Reed Frog from three localities, and to determine the prevalence of anti-Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) associated bacteria. Results from three different populations were found to harbour similar skin microbial communities, dominated by a common core set of bacterial taxa that included Proteobacteria (39.67% of total amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), Actinobacteria (14.83%) and Firmicutes (11.21%). Anti-Bd associated bacterial communities were identified at all three localities (4.12-15.47%) of total ASVs), that may be contributing to the reported low frequency of occurrence of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and the resultant lack of known morbidity or mortality from chytridiomycosis. A higher ratio of Firmicutes suggests that sampled frogs were undergoing a dietary shift from metamorphosis to maturity. The identification of a high prevalence of Chlamydiae in the Mount Moreland population warrants further monitoring and investigation.
Does Eating Fish Cause Cancer? A Case Study Metal Accumulation in Mackerel and Sardine Tissues from Iskenderun Bay, Türkiye
Authors: Ergen Şeyda Fikirdeşici , Altındağ Ahmet , Baş Yavuz Selim 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Metals are one of the most significant environmental problems of today. It is important to examine the cumulative presence of metals in nature, their interactions with each other, and the risks posed by fish consumption in terms of human health. Total concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in sardine and horse mackerel muscle and gill tissues were determined. The concentrations of Fe and Zn were found to be highest, and the concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Pb were found to be lowest. Estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient, total target hazard quotient, target cancer risk, and hazard index were calculated to assess the potential health risk associated with fish consumption. The hazard index and total target hazard quotient values calculated for each fish have exceeded the value of 1 but are very close to 1. The target cancer risk values of As and Ni were found to be 10−6, and Pb was found to be 10−4. These limit values indicate the necessity of regular monitoring of the region. Also, interactions between accumulated metals in the tissues were examined, and a high correlation was found between As-Ni, which poses a risk to public health.
Improved Dynamic Event-Triggered Consensus Control for Multi-Agent Systems with Designable Inter-Event Time
Authors: Wang Zeyuan , Chadli Mohammed 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

This paper considers the leader-following consensus control for linear multi-agent systems. Two improved
dynamic event-triggered control frameworks are proposed. The first one is based on a moving average approach, whereas the second is a fully-distributed control scheme based on a wellchosen Lyapunov function with rigorous proof of adjustable inter-event time. The proposed methods involve model-based estimation and clock-like auxiliary dynamic variables to increase the inter-event time as long as possible eventually. Compared to the static event-triggered strategy and the existing state-of-theart dynamic event-triggered mechanism, the proposed approach significantly reduces the communication frequency while still guaranteeing asymptotic convergence. Numerical simulations demonstrate the validity of the proposed theoretical results.
YAP1 controls the N-cadherin-mediated tumor-stroma interaction in melanoma progression
Authors: Zhang Yuhang , Xiao Yao , Zhou Lilni , Andl Thomas 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is crucial for melanoma cells to escape keratinocyte control, invade underlying dermal tissues, and metastasize to distant organs. The hallmark of EMT is the switch from epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) to neural cadherin (N-cadherin), allowing melanoma cells to form a homotypic N-cadherin-mediated adhesion with stromal fibroblasts. However, how “cadherin switching” is initiated, maintained, and regulated in melanoma remains unknown. Here, we show that upon Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) ablation in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the progression of a BRAF-mutant mouse melanoma was significantly suppressed in vivo, and overexpressing YAP1 in CAFs accelerated melanoma growth. CAFs require YAP1 function to proliferate, migrate, remodel the cytoskeletal machinery and matrix, and promote cancer cell invasion. By RNA-Seq, N-cadherin was identified as a major downstream effector of YAP1 signaling in CAFs. YAP1 silencing led to N-cadherin downregulation in CAFs, which subsequently induced the downregulation of N-cadherin in neighboring melanoma cells. N-cadherin downregulation inhibited the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway in melanoma cells and suppressed melanoma growth in vivo, supporting the role of N-cadherin as an adhesive and signaling molecule in melanoma cells. This finding suggests that YAP1 depletion in CAFs induces the downregulation of p-AKT signaling in melanoma cells through the N-cadherin-mediated interaction between melanoma cells and CAFs. Importantly, our data underscore that CAFs can regulate N-cadherin-mediated interactions with melanoma cells. Thus, disentangling cadherin-mediated cell‒cell interactions can potentially disrupt tumor-stroma interactions and reverse the tumor cell invasive phenotype.
Teilhabe an digital-inklusiven Bildungsprozessen - Das Universal Design for Learning diklusiv als methodisch-didaktischer Unterrichtsrahmen
Authors: Böttinger Traugott , Schulz Lea 
Published: May 2023

Bildungsbenachteiligungen werden nicht zwingend durch digitale Medien selbst verursacht, können durch diese aber intensiviert werden (Niesyto, 2007). Andererseits bieten digitale Medien vielfältige Potenziale, Exklusionsrisiken im Unterricht zu verringern (Bosse, Schluchter & Zorn, 2019) und Lern-Zugänge zu eröffnen. Der Artikel beschäftigt sich vor diesem Hintergrund mit der Frage nach Teilhabe an digitalen Bildungsprozessen in inklusiven Unterrichtssettings. Zunächst werden Chancen und Risiken des Einsatzes digitaler Medien im Unterricht beleuchtet und vor dem Hintergrund des Konstrukts der Diklusion betrachtet. Anschließend wird mit dem Universal Design for Learning diklusiv ein Rahmenkonstrukt zur methodisch-didaktischen Planung von Unterricht sowie eine damit zusammenhängende universitäre Ausbildungsmaßnahme zu diklusivem Unterricht vorgestellt. Abschließend erfolgt eine kritische Einordnung und Diskussion für die Lehrer:innenbildung.

Abstract
Educational disadvantages are not necessarily caused by digital media themselves, but digital media can intensify these disadvantages (Niesyto, 2007). On the other hand, digital media offers a variety of potentials to reduce risks of exclusion in the classroom (Bosse, Schluchter & Zorn, 2019) and to open up access to learning. Against this background, this article addresses the question of participation in digital educational processes in inclusive classroom settings. First, the opportunities and risks of using digital media in the classroom are highlighted and considered against the backdrop of the construct of diclusion. Then, the Universal Design for Learning diclusive, a framework for the methodological-didactical planning of lessons as well as a related university training measure on diclusive lessons, is presented. Finally, a critical classification and discussion for teacher education follows.
Economic analysis based on saline water treatment using renewable energy system and microgrid architecture
Authors: Bhavani N. P. G. , Harne Kailash , Singh Satendar , Abdukarimovich Ostonokulov Azamat , Balaji V. , Singh Bharat , Vengatesan K. , Mohanty Sachi Nandan 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

Reverse osmosis desalination facilities operating on microgrids (MGs) powered by renewable energy are becoming more significant. A leader-follower structured optimization method underlies the suggested algorithm. The desalination plant is divided into components, each of which can be operated separately as needed. MGs are becoming an important part of smart grids, which incorporate distributed renewable energy sources (RESs), energy storage devices, and load control strategies. This research proposes novel techniques in economic saline water treatment based on MG architecture integrated with a renewable energy systems. This study offers an optimization framework to simultaneously optimize saline as well as freshwater water sources, decentralized renewable and conventional energy sources to operate water-energy systems economically and efficiently. The radial Boltzmann basis machine is used to analyse the salinity of water. Data on water salinity were used to conduct the experimental analysis, which was evaluated for accuracy, precision, recall, and specificity as well as computational cost and kappa coefficient. The proposed method achieved 88% accuracy, 65% precision, 59% recall, 65% specificity, 59% computational cost, and 51% kappa coefficient.