bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Isolating the effect of biomass burning aerosol emissions on 20th century hydroclimate in South America and Southeast Asia
Authors: Magahey Shay , Kooperman Gabriel J 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Biomass burning is a significant source of aerosol emissions in some regions and has a considerable impact on regional climate. Earth system model simulations indicate that increased biomass burning aerosol emissions contributed to statistically significant decreases in tropical precipitation over the 20th century. In this study, we use the Community Earth System Model version 1 Large Ensemble (CESM1-LENS) experiment to evaluate the mechanisms by which biomass burning aerosol contributed to decreased tropical precipitation, with a focus on South America and Southeast Asia. We analyze the all-but-one forcing simulations in which biomass burning aerosol emissions are held constant while other forcings (e.g., greenhouse gas concentrations) vary throughout the 20th century. This allows us to isolate the influence of biomass burning aerosol on processes that contribute to decreasing precipitation, including cloud microphysics, the radiative effects of absorbing aerosol particles, and alterations in regional circulation. We also show that the 20th century reduction in precipitation identified in the CESM1-LENS historical and biomass burning experiments is consistent across Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models with interactive aerosol schemes and the CESM2 single-forcing experiment. Our results demonstrate that higher concentrations of biomass burning aerosol increases the quantity of cloud condensation nuclei and cloud droplets, limiting cloud droplet size and precipitation formation. Additionally, absorbing aerosols (e.g., black carbon) contribute to a warmer cloud layer, which promotes cloud evaporation, increases atmospheric stability, and alters regional circulation patterns. Corresponding convectively coupled circulation responses, particularly over the tropical Andes, contribute to further reducing the flow of moisture and moisture convergence over tropical land. These results elucidate the processes that affect the water cycle in regions prone to biomass burning and inform our understanding of how future changes in aerosol emissions may impact tropical precipitation over the 21st century.
Impacts of large-scale Saharan solar farms on the global terrestrial carbon cycle
Authors: Power Katherine , Lu Zhengyao , Zhang Qiong 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Amassing the available solar energy over the Sahara desert, through the installation of a large-scale solar farm, would satisfy the world’s current electricity needs. However, such land use changes may affect the global carbon cycle, possibly offsetting mitigation efforts. Here a fully coupled Earth System model EC-Earth was used to investigate the impact of a Saharan solar farm on the terrestrial carbon cycle, simulated with prescribed reduced surface albedo approximating the albedo effect of photovoltaic solar panels over the Sahara desert. The resulting changes to the carbon cycle were an enhancement of the carbon sink across Northern Africa, particularly around the Sahel but a simultaneous weakening of the carbon sink in the Amazon basin. This is observed through spatial pattern changes to the values of net biome production (NBP), more evident during Northern Hemisphere summer season. NBP changes are contributed by competing responses in the net primary production and heterotrophic respiration rates. These changes to carbon exchange correspond to a wetter and warmer climate occurring in Northern Africa and a drier and warmer climate in the Amazon, with stronger driving effects of precipitation. Due to these coupled responses and complex teleconnections, thorough investigation of remote impacts of solar farms are needed to avoid unintended consequences on the terrestrial carbon cycle.
Determining the clinical utility of a breath test for screening an asbestos-exposed population for pleural mesothelioma: baseline results
Authors: Zwijsen Kathleen , Schillebeeckx Eline , Janssens Eline , Cleemput Joris Van , Richart Tom , Surmont Veerle F , Nackaerts Kristiaan , Marcq Elly , van Meerbeeck Jan P , Lamote Kevin 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is an aggressive cancer of the serosal lining of the thoracic cavity, predominantly caused by asbestos exposure. Due to nonspecific symptoms, PM is characterized by an advanced-stage diagnosis, resulting in a dismal prognosis. However, early diagnosis improves patient outcome. Currently, no diagnostic biomarkers or screening tools are available. Therefore, exhaled breath was explored as this can easily be obtained and contains volatile organic compounds, which are considered biomarkers for multiple (patho)physiological processes. A breath test, which differentiates asbestos-exposed (AEx) individuals from PM patients with 87% accuracy, was developed. However, before being implemented as a screening tool, the clinical utility of the test must be determined. Occupational AEx individuals underwent annual breath tests using multicapillary column/ion mobility spectrometry. A baseline breath test was taken and their individual risk of PM was estimated. PM patients were included as controls. In total, 112 AEx individuals and six PM patients were included in the first of four screening rounds. All six PM patients were correctly classified as having mesothelioma (100% sensitivity) and out of 112 AEx individuals 78 were classified by the breath-based model as PM patients (30% specificity). Given the large false positive outcome, the breath test will be repeated annually for three more consecutive years to adhere to the ‘test, re-test’ principle and improve the false positivity rate. A low-dose computed tomography scan in those with two consecutive positive tests will correlate test positives with radiological findings and the possible growth of a pleural tumor. Finally, the evaluation of the clinical value of a breath-based prediction model may lead to the initiation of a screening program for early detection of PM in Aex individuals, which is currently lacking. This clinical study received approval from the Antwerp University Hospital Ethics Committee (B300201837007).
Herbal bioactive encapsulated nano-formulations for the treatment of gastric cancer: a concise review
Authors: Rai Arya , Kaur Simrandeep , Rawat Shristhi Sohan , Singh Inderbir 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Gastric cancer is a prominent cause of death globally. The major risk factors responsible for its development include age, H. pylori infection, excessive salt intake, and lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet. It is diagnosed using ultrasound, CT scan, endoscopic biopsy, and by detection of certain biomarkers. The conventional therapies for treatment of gastric cancer include the use of radiations, surgical resection, and chemotherapy. However, there are certain major issues associated with these treatments, like high risk of tumour reoccurrence, drug resistance development, less bioavailability of the drug at target site, rapid drug metabolism and high systemic toxicity due to drug doses. All such limitations of conventional treatments can be overcome with the use of herbal bio-actives as they exhibit less toxicity to normal healthy cells and reduce the risk of tumour recurrence and resistance development. Nano-formulations are developed to aid in targeted drug delivery, and to enhance the solubility, stability, bioavailability, and therapeutic efficacy of phytoconstituents. With the emergence of nanomaterials, different imaging modalities have been integrated into one single platform, and combined therapies with synergetic effects against gastric cancer were established. Moreover, the development of theragnostic strategies with simultaneous diagnostic and therapeutic ability was boosted by multifunctional nanoparticles. The present review discusses about the gastric cancer including its mortality rate, secular trends, pathophysiology, etiology, risk factors, diagnosis, and different treatment approaches with major emphasis on herbal bioactives (quercetin, paclitaxel, resveratrol, curcumin and ginsenosides) and different herbal constituent encapsulated nano-formulations (such as nanoparticles, niosomes, liposomes, nano-emulsion, and micelles). Challenges and future prospects of herbal bioactive encapsulated nano-formulations for the treatment/management of gastric cancers has been included in the later part of the manuscript.
Normative Data for a Neuropsychological Test Battery in the French Aging Population: 20-Year Follow-Up From the “PROgnostic OF Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events” Study
Authors: Ceresetti Romain , Celle Sébastien , Roche Frédéric , Barthélémy Jean-Claude , Michael George A , Borg Céline 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Objective
The study aimed to present relevant norms for the evaluation of pathological aging in the French population over a 20-year period, utilizing the “PROgnostic OF cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events” test and questionnaire.

Methods
Three neuropsychological evaluations were administered over 20 years with 929 participants at the first cognitive evaluation (62–69 years old), 631 at the second (71–78 years old), and 293 at the third (81–88 years old). The tests and questionnaires were administered in the following order: McNair’s Cognitive Complaints Questionnaire, Depression Questionnaire of Pichot, Mini Mental State Examination, Free and Cued Selective Reminding test, Benton Visual Retention Test, Digit-Symbol Substitution Test of the WAIS-III, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test, Verbal Fluency, and the Similarities subtest of the WAIS-III.

Results
Normative data were presented at three time points of the repeated evaluation over 20 years (62–69 years, 71–78 years, and 81–88 years) and four educational levels (no diploma, primary school certificate, certificate of professional aptitude, and baccalaureate and above). The data showed a significant effect of educational level in all neuropsychological tests regardless of age. Gender primarily affected memory, Stroop scores, and Similarities scores.

Conclusion
This study highlights the importance of educational level and gender in the evaluation of the memory and executive function of elderly persons. Furthermore, the presented norms consider the self-report cognitive complaints and depression symptoms over a long period of life.
How Priority Ordering of Offence Codes Undercounts Gendered Violence: An Analysis of the Crime Survey for England and Wales
Authors: Pullerits Merili , Phoenix Jessica 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The Offence Classification System (OCS) of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) applies a priority order of offences that undercounts violence. By prioritizing burglary and criminal damage above some types of assault, physical violence that co-occurs with property crimes is discounted from official counts of incidents and victims of violence. Analyzing CSEW data from 2010/11 to 2019/20, we find the OCS omits approximately 210,000 incidents of violence every year. Out of these incidents, 51 per cent are domestic violence against women, contributing further evidence to the CSEW’s gendered data gap. Socioeconomically disadvantaged victims are also disproportionately undercounted. Whilst prior research has highlighted the undercounting of violence prevalence and repetition in the CSEW, the OCS undercounts the concurrency of violence.
The future of clinical trials—is it virtual?
Authors: Ng Cho Ee , Bowman Sarah , Ling Jonathan , Bagshaw Rachael , Birt Angela , Yiannakou Yan 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Introduction
Participant recruitment to clinical trials is often sub-optimal. Decentralized clinical trials have the potential to address challenges in traditional site-based clinical trial recruitment.

Sources of Data
This review is based on recently published literature and the experience of running a large industry-sponsored interventional trial using both traditional and decentralized methods.

Areas of Agreement
Efficient delivery of clinical trials is essential to continue to provide therapeutic improvements in a timely and cost-efficient way. Clinical trial designs are constantly evolving to achieve effective trial delivery, manage the complexity of new therapeutic algorithms and conform to cultural developments.

Areas of Controversy
Digitally innovative decentralized clinical trials may be a solution to improve recruitment and retention. Although many trials incorporate digital innovations to reduce patient burden, decentralized clinical trials allow remote access to clinical research, potentially enhancing geographical diversity as well as reducing participant burden.

Growing Points
Areas for development currently being discussed are developing a ‘recruitment platform’ that exploits the reach of digital connectivity, automated identification of eligible participants from volunteers, employing technology for remote interaction and exploring the logistic process of delivering the interventions.

Areas timely for relevant research
The focus of development must ensure that the overall impact will widen participation and reduce inequalities in healthcare.
Serotonergic dysfunction impairs locomotor coordination in spinal muscular atrophy
Authors: Delestrée Nicolas , Semizoglou Evangelia , Pagiazitis John G , Vukojicic Aleksandra , Drobac Estelle , Paushkin Vasilissa , Mentis George Z 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Neuromodulation by serotonin regulates the activity of neuronal networks responsible for a wide variety of essential behaviours. Serotonin (or 5-HT) typically activates metabotropic G protein-coupled receptors, which in turn initiate second messenger signalling cascades and induce short and long-lasting behavioural effects. Serotonin is intricately involved in the production of locomotor activity and gait control for different motor behaviours. Although dysfunction of serotonergic neurotransmission has been associated with mood disorders and spasticity after spinal cord injury, whether and to what extent such dysregulation is implicated in movement disorders has not been firmly established.
Here, we investigated whether serotonergic neuromodulation is affected in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neurodegenerative disease caused by ubiquitous deficiency of the SMN protein. The hallmarks of SMA are death of spinal motor neurons, muscle atrophy and impaired motor control, both in human patients and mouse models of disease. We used a severe mouse model of SMA, that closely recapitulates the severe symptoms exhibited by type I SMA patients, the most common and most severe form of the disease. Together, with mouse genetics, optogenetics, physiology, morphology and behavioural analysis, we report severe dysfunction of serotonergic neurotransmission in the spinal cord of SMA mice, both at early and late stages of the disease. This dysfunction is followed by reduction of 5-HT synapses on vulnerable motor neurons.
We demonstrate that motor neurons innervating axial and trunk musculature are preferentially affected, suggesting a possible cause for the proximo-distal progression of disease, and raising the possibility that it may underlie scoliosis in SMA patients. We also demonstrate that the 5-HT dysfunction is caused by SMN deficiency in serotonergic neurons in the raphe nuclei of the brainstem. The behavioural significance of the dysfunction in serotonergic neuromodulation is underlined by inter-limb discoordination in SMA mice, which is ameliorated when selective restoration of SMN in 5-HT neurons is achieved by genetic means.
Our study uncovers an unexpected dysfunction of serotonergic neuromodulation in SMA and indicates that, if normal function is to be restored under disease conditions, 5-HT neuromodulation should be a key target for therapeutic approaches.
Fast ripples reflect increased excitability that primes epileptiform spikes
Authors: Weiss Shennan A , Fried Itzhak , Engel Jerome , Sperling Michael R , Wong Robert K S , Nir Yuval , Staba Richard J 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The neuronal circuit disturbances that drive inter-ictal and ictal epileptiform discharges remain elusive. Using a combination of extra-operative macro-electrode and micro-electrode inter-ictal recordings in six pre-surgical patients during non-rapid eye movement sleep, we found that, exclusively in the seizure onset zone, fast ripples (200–600 Hz), but not ripples (80–200 Hz), frequently occur &lt;300 ms before an inter-ictal intra-cranial EEG spike with a probability exceeding chance (bootstrapping, P &lt; 1e−5). Such fast ripple events are associated with higher spectral power (P &lt; 1e−10) and correlated with more vigorous neuronal firing than solitary fast ripple (generalized linear mixed-effects model, P &lt; 1e−9). During the intra-cranial EEG spike that follows a fast ripple, action potential firing is lower than during an intra-cranial EEG spike alone (generalized linear mixed-effects model, P &lt; 0.05), reflecting an inhibitory restraint of intra-cranial EEG spike initiation. In contrast, ripples do not appear to prime epileptiform spikes. We next investigated the clinical significance of pre-spike fast ripple in a separate cohort of 23 patients implanted with stereo EEG electrodes, who underwent resections. In non-rapid eye movement sleep recordings, sites containing a high proportion of fast ripple preceding intra-cranial EEG spikes correlate with brain areas where seizures begin more than solitary fast ripple (P &lt; 1e−5). Despite this correlation, removal of these sites does not guarantee seizure freedom. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that fast ripple preceding EEG spikes reflect an increase in local excitability that primes EEG spike discharges preferentially in the seizure onset zone and that epileptogenic brain regions are necessary, but not sufficient, for initiating inter-ictal epileptiform discharges.
Neutrophil extracellular traps are involved in the occurrence of interstitial lung disease in a murine experimental autoimmune myositis model
Authors: Bai Ling , Zhu Jiarui , Ma Wenlan , Li Feifei , Zhao Peipei , Zhang Sigong 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The excessive formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) has been demonstrated to be a pathogenic mechanism of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD). This study aimed to answer whether an experimental autoimmune myositis (EAM) model can be used to study IIM-ILD and whether NETs participate in the development of EAM-ILD. An EAM mouse model was established using skeletal muscle homogenate and pertussis toxin (PTX). The relationship between NETs and the ILD phenotype was determined via histopathological analysis. As NETs markers, serum cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and serum citrullinated histone 3 (Cit-H3)-DNA were tested. The healthy mouse was injected with PTX intraperitoneally to determine whether PTX intervention could induce NETs formation in vivo. Neutrophils isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy individuals were given different interventions to determine whether PTX and skeletal muscle homogenate can induce neutrophils to form NETs in vitro. EAM-ILD had three pathological phenotypes similar to IIM-ILD. Cit-H3, neutrophil myeloperoxidase, and neutrophil elastase were overexpressed in the lungs of EAM model mice. The serum cfDNA level and Cit-H3-DNA complex level were significantly increased in EAM model mice. Serum cfDNA levels were increased significantly in vivo intervention with PTX in mice. Both PTX and skeletal muscle homogenate-induced neutrophils to form NETs in vitro. EAM-ILD pathological phenotypes are similar to IIM-ILD, and NETs are involved in the development of ILD in a murine model of EAM. Thus, the EAM mouse model can be used as an ideal model targeting NETs to prevent and treat IIM-ILD.
Bailout clipping of a leaflet perforation during mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair using a larger clip size: a case report
Authors: Nishiura Naoki , Kubo Shunsuke , Maruo Takeshi , Kadota Kazushige 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Background
Leaflet tear and perforation are serious complications of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) using the MitraClip system for severe mitral regurgitation (MR). However, no optimal bailout strategy has been established.

Case summary
An 80-year-old woman developed heart failure due to acute ischaemic severe MR after primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Given the requirement for inotropic drugs and an intra-aortic balloon pump to stabilize her heart failure, we decided to perform TEER using the MitraClip G4 system. The NTW clip was selected considering the limited posterior leaflet, wide central MR, and delivery to the central A2/P2. The leaflet was successfully grasped, and the MR jet dramatically decreased while the clip was closed. However, the MR jet suddenly appeared after completely closing the clip arm. A new eccentric jet was detected coming from the mid-portion of the posterior leaflet, indicating leaflet perforation. We decided to manage the leaflet perforation by covering the perforated portion with a longer type of clip. An XTW clip was then carefully delivered to the previously grasped portion, after which we confirmed that the tip of the clip arm was positioned more posteriorly to the leaflet perforation. After slowly closing the clip, MR decreased to mild, with transoesophageal echocardiography showing no eccentric MR. After her haemodynamics stabilized, she was discharged 28 days after the procedure.

Discussion
This case details a successful bailout clipping of a leaflet perforation using an XTW clip. Leaflet anatomy evaluation is important to ensure that the injured portion is covered by the longer clip arm.
Can’t Buy Me Love (with Foreign Aid)
Authors: Constantelos John , Diven Polly J , Kilburn H Whitt 
Published: September 2023

AbstractDoes foreign aid improve the image of donors in recipient countries? Studies have found weak overall effects, but also positive correlations that are highly conditional on donor and recipient factors, like program characteristics and regime type. Our statistical and case study analysis of US foreign aid leads to a more skeptical perspective. We assess the impact of foreign aid on public opinion of the United States in twenty recipient countries during the Obama and Trump presidencies, using Pew Research Center survey data. A multi-level longitudinal analysis of individual and country-level variables finds that correlations between aid disbursements and foreign public opinion disappear when controlling for attitudes about the US president. These results are corroborated in crucial case studies of Kenya and Turkey. The findings are important for governments that use aid to influence foreign opinion and for scholarship that considers aid to be a source of soft power.