bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Machine learning analysis of complex late gadolinium enhancement patterns to improve risk prediction of major arrhythmic events
Authors: Zaidi Hassan A. , Jones Richard E. , Hammersley Daniel J. , Hatipoglu Suzan , Balaban Gabriel , Mach Lukas , Halliday Brian P. , Lamata Pablo , Prasad Sanjay K. , Bishop Martin J. 
Published: February 2023

BackgroundMachine learning analysis of complex myocardial scar patterns affords the potential to enhance risk prediction of life-threatening arrhythmia in stable coronary artery disease (CAD).ObjectiveTo assess the utility of computational image analysis, alongside a machine learning (ML) approach, to identify scar microstructure features on late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) that predict major arrhythmic events in patients with CAD.MethodsPatients with stable CAD were prospectively recruited into a CMR registry. Shape-based scar microstructure features characterizing heterogeneous (‘peri-infarct’) and homogeneous (‘core’) fibrosis were extracted. An ensemble of machine learning approaches were used for risk stratification, in addition to conventional analysis using Cox modeling.ResultsOf 397 patients (mean LVEF 45.4 ± 16.0) followed for a median of 6 years, 55 patients (14%) experienced a major arrhythmic event. When applied within an ML model for binary classification, peri-infarct zone (PIZ) entropy, peri-infarct components and core interface area outperformed a model representative of the current standard of care (LVEF&lt;35% and NYHA&gt;Class I): AUROC (95%CI) 0.81 (0.81–0.82) vs. 0.64 (0.63–0.65), p = 0.002. In multivariate cox regression analysis, these features again remained significant after adjusting for LVEF&lt;35% and NYHA&gt;Class I: PIZ entropy hazard ratio (HR) 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38–2.56, p &lt; 0.001; number of PIZ components HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.08–1.67, p = 0.009; core interface area HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.29–1.99, p = &lt;0.001.ConclusionMachine learning models using LGE-CMR scar microstructure improved arrhythmic risk stratification as compared to guideline-based clinical parameters; highlighting a potential novel approach to identifying candidates for implantable cardioverter defibrillators in stable CAD.
Prognostic significance of the triglyceride-glucose index for patients with ischemic heart failure after percutaneous coronary intervention
Authors: Sun Tienan , Huang Xin , Zhang Biyang , Ma Meishi , Chen Zheng , Zhao Zehao , Zhou Yujie 
Published: February 2023

BackgroundIn previous studies, the TyG index (triglyceride-glucose index) has been proven to be closely associated with the prognosis of cardiovascular disease. However, the impact of TyG index on the prognosis of patients with ischemic HF (heart failure) undergoing PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) is still unclear.MethodIn this study, 2055 patients with ischemic HF were retrospectively enrolled and classified into four groups based on quartiles of the TyG index. The primary endpoint was MACE (major adverse cardiovascular events) consisting of all-cause mortality, non-fatal MI (myocardial infarction), and any revascularization. The incidence of the endpoints among the four groups was assessed through Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The independent correlation between TyG index and endpoints was analyzed with multivariate Cox regression models. Besides, the RCS (restricted cubic spline) analysis was performed to examine the nonlinear relationship between TyG index and MACE.ResultThe incidence of MACE was significantly higher in participants with a higher TyG index. The positive association between the TyG index and MACE was also confirmed in the Kaplan–Meier survival analyses. Multivariate cox proportional hazards analysis indicated that the TyG index was independently associated with the increased risk of MACE, regardless of whether TyG was a continuous [TyG, per 1−unit increase, HR (hazard ratio) 1.41, 95% CI (confidence interval) 1.22-1.62, P &lt; 0.001] or categorical variable [quartile of TyG, the HR (95% CI) values for quartile 4 was 1.92 (1.48-2.49), with quartile 1 as a reference]. In addition, the nonlinear association of TyG index with MACE was shown through RCS model and the risk of MACE increased as the TyG index increased in general (Nonlinear p=0.0215). Besides, no obvious interaction was found in the association of TyG with MACE between the DM (diabetes mellitus) group and the no-DM group.ConclusionAmong patients with ischemic HF undergoing PCI, the TyG index was correlated with MACE independently and positively.
Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists versus orchiectomy in the treatment of prostate cancer: A systematic review
Authors: Zhang Xianlu , Zhang Gejun , Wang Jianfeng , Wang Yanli 
Published: February 2023

BackgroundOrchiectomy has been replaced by medication represented by luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist as the first-line therapy for androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). After the wide application of LHRH agonist, the side-effects of long-term ADT were noticed. It is time to reconsider the role of medication and surgeries in the treatment of prostate cancer.MethodsEmbase, Pubmed, Web of science and Cochrane library were searched for relevant trials. Quality of the studies and risk of bias were assessed by using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Therapeutic and adverse effects, as well as long-term metabolic adverse effects were extracted from the selected studies. The data synthesized in meta-analyses were performed with R software (4.2.1). Risk ratio (RR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated by combining outcome data including complete and partial response rate, progression rate, death rate and adverse effects such as hot flash and increase in pain. Descriptive analysis was performed among the prostate specific antigen (PSA), testosterone and metabolic adverse effects due to a lack of homogeneity of frailty measures.Results1,711 participants from 11 studies were included in our systematic review. 1,258 patients from six studies were included in the meta-analysis. Based on the meta-analysis, the therapeutic and adverse outcomes included overall response rate, complete response rate, partial response rate, stable rate, progression rate, death rate and hot flashes. No statistical significance was observed between LHRH agonists and orchiectomy. Compared with surgery, LHRH agonist elevated the risk of the increase in pain. In descriptive analysis, it was shown that the therapeutic effects between PSA and testosterone also showed no significant difference. Both groups had lipid and glucose metabolic disorders, and a few studies reported worse lipid metabolic performance in orchiectomy group and worse insulin resistance in LHRH agonist group.ConclusionWe found that the therapeutic outcomes were similar between the two options. The results of lipid and glucose metabolic abnormality were controversial in existing studies. The direct comparison studies on metabolic adverse effects should be performed in the future. The therapeutic, metabolic, psychological and economical effects should be considered before applying ADT methods.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022365891.
Employee associations with R&D investment, firm performance, disruption risk, and supply chain performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multiple mediational model
Authors: Sulehri Numair Ahmed , Ullah Naeem , Maroof Zaib , Uzair Ali , Murtaza Abroo , Irfan Muhammad 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To timely manage supply chain disruptions, experts have focused their attention on the impact of COVID-19 on industries worldwide. Epidemic outbursts are a specific supply chain risk with long disruption propagation, disruption persistence, and high uncertainty. This study aimed to investigate the role of R&amp;D investment and firm performance in mediating the relationship between disruption risk and supply chain performance in Pakistani manufacturing industries and supply chain employees during the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic via the application of the dynamic capability theory.Methodology: From 21 July 2020 to 23 August 2020, 318 employees from supply chains of manufacturing industries in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan, participated in this cross-sectional online web-based survey. The four standard research scales were used to examine the research and development, disruption risk, firm, and supply chain performance. The response link was distributed to respondents via Facebook, WhatsApp, and email. The study analyzed the data using structural equation modeling and a partial least squares technique.Results: The study’s findings suggest that disruption risk, research and development investment, and firm performance all improve supply chain performance, but the mediation effect is unsupported by the data. These measures help plan a better supply chain in the face of disruption risk. They provide one of the timely empirical conclusions on the role of R&amp;D investment in mitigating risk disruptions and improving supply chain performance.
Application of black soldier fly larvae in decentralized treatment of faecal sludge from pit latrines in informal settlements in Kampala city
Authors: Tokwaro Richard , Semiyaga Swaib , Niwagaba Charles B. , Nakagiri Anne , Sempewo Jotham Ivan , Muoghalu Chimdi C. , Manga Musa 
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Faecal sludge management (FSM) in urban areas of low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not properly implemented due to inaccessibility of sanitation facilities and high faecal sludge (FS) emptying costs, amongst others. Unlike in solid waste and fresh human excreta, use of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) in treatment of FS from pit latrines - which are the most common sanitation facilities in urban areas of LMICs - has not yet been explored. Moreover, the optimal conditions for efficient FS degradation, such as moisture content, feeding rate and larval density are not yet well known. Against this backdrop, the overarching aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of BSFL in treating FS under different conditions of moisture content, feeding rate and larval density. Also, the quality of residue left after treatment was assessed.Methods: FS samples were collected from lined and unlined pit latrines in Bwaise I parish in Kampala, Uganda and experiments were set up to feed 10-day old larvae.Results and Discussion: The optimum feeding rate, larval density and moisture content were found to be 50 mg/larvae/day, 1.33 larvae/cm2 and 60%, respectively. The reduction efficiency at optimum conditions were 72% and 66% for FS from lined and unlined pit latrines, respectively. It was further noted that BSFL can feed on FS from pit latrines without dewatering it, hence there is no need for a dewatering unit. The properties of the residue left after treatment were within the allowable limit for use as compost except for helminth egg concentration. Thus, in informal urban settlements, BSFL can be applied for effective treatment of FS from pit latrines while generating good quality residue thereby providing an additional value chain in FSM.
Quantitative evaluation of urban resilience in underdeveloped regions: a study of six cities in Sichuan & Tibet, China
Authors: Zhou Rui , Yu Yang , Wu Bingxia , Luo Xunrui 
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Urban resilience construction can aid in the management of urban crises and enhance the quality of the human living environment. Compared to metropolises in developed regions, cities in underdeveloped regions with unsatisfactory natural environments, insufficient economic and social development, and inadequate infrastructure construction are highly vulnerable to challenges posed by natural disasters, epidemics, and climate change. Comprehensive quantitative evaluations are needed to identify avenues for enhancing urban resilience.Methods: This study employs the TOPSIS entropy weight method and coupled coordination model to evaluate the economic, social, environmental, and infrastructure resilience of six cities and states along the Sichuan-Tibet Railway in China from 2015 to 2020. Furthermore, correlation and gray correlation analysis are used to identify the primary factors influencing the urban resilience of underdeveloped regions.Results: Firstly, during 2015-2020, the overall urban resilience of each city and state maintained an increasing trend, with different trends in the evolution of the four resilience indices and differences among cities, and the highest overall resilience is in Lhasa. Secondly, the coupling coordination between the overall resilience and each resilience aspect maintained an increasing trend and differed significantly from each other. Finally, the social and economic resilience of each city and state maintained an increasing trend and differed significantly from each other.Discussion: Economic, social, environmental, and infrastructure factors each have their own characteristics in influencing urban resilience. Based on the results, we present a three-dimensional evaluation model for analyzing the evolutionary trajectories and resilience patterns of cities. This work intends to present new concepts for assessing and optimizing urban resilience in underdeveloped regions using quantitative methodologies, as well as providing references for urban resilience construction in these places.
Multiple Sclerosis and the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Yang Fangkun , Hu Teng , He Kewan , Ying Jiajun , Cui Hanbin 
Published: February 2023

BackgroundObservational studies suggested that multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the causal association has not been fully elucidated. Thus, we aim to assess the causality of the associations of MS with risk of CVDs.MethodsA two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to explore the causality. Genetic instruments were identified for MS from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 115,803 individuals. Summary-level data for CVDs were obtained from different GWAS meta-analysis studies. MR analysis was conducted mainly using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method. Sensitivity analyses were further performed to ensure the robustness of the results.ResultsThis MR study found suggestive evidence that genetic liability to MS was associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) [odds ratio (OR), 1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–1.04; p = 0.03], myocardial infarction (MI) (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00–1.06; p = 0.01), heart failure (HF) (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00–1.04; p = 0.02), all-cause stroke (AS) (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00–1.05; p = 0.02), and any ischemic stroke (AIS) (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00–1.05; p = 0.04). The null-association was observed between MS and the other CVDs. Further analyses found little evidence of pleiotropy.ConclusionsWe provided suggestive genetic evidence for the causal associations of MS with increased risk of CAD, MI, HF, AS, and AIS, which highlighted the significance of active monitoring and prevention of cardiovascular risk to combat cardiovascular comorbidities in MS patients.
Diagnosis of T-cell-mediated kidney rejection by biopsy-based proteomic biomarkers and machine learning
Authors: Fang Fei , Liu Peng , Song Lei , Wagner Patrick , Bartlett David , Ma Liane , Li Xue , Rahimian M. Amin , Tseng George , Randhawa Parmjeet , Xiao Kunhong 
Published: February 2023

BackgroundBiopsy-based diagnosis is essential for maintaining kidney allograft longevity by ensuring prompt treatment for graft complications. Although histologic assessment remains the gold standard, it carries significant limitations such as subjective interpretation, suboptimal reproducibility, and imprecise quantitation of disease burden. It is hoped that molecular diagnostics could enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and reproducibility of traditional histologic methods.MethodsQuantitative label-free mass spectrometry analysis was performed on a set of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsies from kidney transplant patients, including five samples each with diagnosis of T-cell-mediated rejection (TCMR), polyomavirus BK nephropathy (BKPyVN), and stable (STA) kidney function control tissue. Using the differential protein expression result as a classifier, three different machine learning algorithms were tested to build a molecular diagnostic model for TCMR.ResultsThe label-free proteomics method yielded 800-1350 proteins that could be quantified with high confidence per sample by single-shot measurements. Among these candidate proteins, 329 and 467 proteins were defined as differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) for TCMR in comparison with STA and BKPyVN, respectively. Comparing the FFPE quantitative proteomics data set obtained in this study using label-free method with a data set we previously reported using isobaric labeling technology, a classifier pool comprised of features from DEPs commonly quantified in both data sets, was generated for TCMR prediction. Leave-one-out cross-validation result demonstrated that the random forest (RF)-based model achieved the best predictive power. In a follow-up blind test using an independent sample set, the RF-based model yields 80% accuracy for TCMR and 100% for STA. When applying the established RF-based model to two public transcriptome datasets, 78.1%-82.9% sensitivity and 58.7%-64.4% specificity was achieved respectively.ConclusionsThis proof-of-principle study demonstrates the clinical feasibility of proteomics profiling for FFPE biopsies using an accurate, efficient, and cost-effective platform integrated of quantitative label-free mass spectrometry analysis with a machine learning-based diagnostic model. It costs less than 10 dollars per test.
Chitinase and indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase are prognostic biomarkers for unfavorable treatment outcomes in pulmonary tuberculosis
Authors: Kumar Nathella Pavan , Nancy Arul , Viswanathan Vijay , Sivakumar Shanmugam , Thiruvengadam Kannan , Ahamed Shaik Fayaz , Hissar Syed , Kornfeld Hardy , Babu Subash 
Published: February 2023

IntroductionChitinase, Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenesae-1 (IDO-1) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) are candidate diagnostic biomarkers for tuberculosis (TB). Whether these immune markers could also serve as predictive biomarkers of unfavorable treatment outcomes in pulmonary TB (PTB) is not known.MethodsA cohort of newly diagnosed, sputum culture-positive adults with drug-sensitive PTB were recruited. Plasma chitinase protein, IDO protein and HO-1 levels measured before treatment initiation were compared between 68 cases with unfavorable outcomes (treatment failure, death, or recurrence) and 108 control individuals who had recurrence-free cure.ResultsPlasma chitinase and IDO protein levels but not HO-1 levels were lower in cases compared to controls. The low chitinase and IDO protein levels were associated with increased risk of unfavourable outcomes in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that chitinase and IDO proteins exhibited high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating cases vs controls as well as in differentiating treatment failure vs controls and recurrence vs controls, respectively. Classification and regression trees (CART) were used to determine threshold values for these two immune markers.DiscussionOur study revealed a plasma chitinase and IDO protein signature that may be used as a tool for predicting adverse treatment outcomes in PTB.
Inflammation produced by senescent osteocytes mediates age-related bone loss
Authors: Wang Zixuan , Zhang Xiaofei , Cheng Xing , Ren Tianxing , Xu Weihua , Li Jin , Wang Hui , Zhang Jinxiang 
Published: February 2023

PurposeThe molecular mechanisms of age-related bone loss are unclear and without valid drugs yet. The aims of this study were to explore the molecular changes that occur in bone tissue during age-related bone loss, to further clarify the changes in function, and to predict potential therapeutic drugs.MethodsWe collected bone tissues from children, middle-aged individuals, and elderly people for protein sequencing and compared the three groups of proteins pairwise, and the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in each group were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). K-means cluster analysis was then used to screen out proteins that continuously increased/decreased with age. Canonical signaling pathways that were activated or inhibited in bone tissue along with increasing age were identified by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Prediction of potential drugs was performed using the Connectivity Map (CMap). Finally, DEPs from sequencing were verified by Western blot, and the drug treatment effect was verified by quantitative real-time PCR.ResultsThe GO and KEGG analyses show that the DEPs were associated with inflammation and bone formation with aging, and the IPA analysis shows that pathways such as IL-8 signaling and acute-phase response signaling were activated, while glycolysis I and EIF2 signaling were inhibited. A total of nine potential drugs were predicted, with rapamycin ranking the highest. In cellular experiments, rapamycin reduced the senescence phenotype produced by the H2O2-stimulated osteocyte-like cell MLO-Y4.ConclusionWith age, inflammatory pathways are activated in bone tissue, and signals that promote bone formation are inhibited. This study contributes to the understanding of the molecular changes that occur in bone tissue during age-related bone loss and provides evidence that rapamycin is a drug of potential clinical value for this disease. The therapeutic effects of the drug are to be further studied in animals.