bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of rivaroxaban on biomarkers in blood and plasma: a review of preclinical and clinical evidence
Authors: Schiffer Sonja , Schwers Stephan , Heitmeier Stefan 
Published: February 2023

AbstractRivaroxaban is a direct, oral factor Xa inhibitor that is used for the prevention and treatment of various thromboembolic disorders. Several preclinical and clinical studies have utilized specific molecules as biomarkers to investigate the potential role of rivaroxaban beyond its anticoagulant activity and across a range of biological processes. The aim of this review is to summarize the existing evidence regarding the use of blood-based biomarkers to characterize the effects of rivaroxaban on coagulation and other pathways, including platelet activation, inflammation and endothelial effects. After a literature search using PubMed, almost 100 preclinical and clinical studies were identified that investigated the effects of rivaroxaban using molecular biomarkers. In agreement with the preclinical data, clinical studies reported a trend for reduction in the blood concentrations of D-dimers, thrombin–antithrombin complex and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 following treatment with rivaroxaban in both healthy individuals and those with various chronic conditions. Preclinical and also some clinical studies have also reported a potential impact of rivaroxaban on the concentrations of platelet activation biomarkers (von Willebrand factor, P-selectin and thrombomodulin), endothelial activation biomarkers (matrix metalloproteinase-9, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) and inflammation biomarkers (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1). Based on the results of biomarker studies, molecular biomarkers can be used in addition to traditional coagulation assays to increase the understanding of the anticoagulation effects of rivaroxaban. Moreover, there is preliminary evidence to suggest that rivaroxaban may have an impact on the biological pathways of platelet activation, endothelial activation and inflammation; however, owing to paucity of clinical data to investigate the trends reported in preclinical studies, further investigation is required to clarify these observations.
Development of a simulative approach in order to estimate the impact of smart services on a production system
Authors: Stamer Florian , Fausel Kathrin , Peukert Sina , Lanza Gisela 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe increasing digitalisation and development of the fourth industrial revolution have created new opportunities in the B2B manufacturing industry. These opportunities come in the form of smart services, which are made possible by the interconnectedness of machines and products and the collection and analysis of data. However, there is uncertainty among potential users about the benefits of these smart services for their production systems. This paper aims to address this uncertainty by developing a simulation model that quantifies the impact of a smart service on a production system, using monetary benefit as a key performance indicator. To do so, the influence of a smart service on a production system is analysed and a generic production system model is developed. The generic model can then be used to analyse different smart service configurations and production systems to examine the effect of the smart service. This is demonstrated through the application of the simulation method to a use case studying the benefit of intelligent quality control and predictive maintenance.
The relationship between Invasive Alien Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. characters and impacts in different habitats
Authors: Balah Mohamed Abdelaziz , Hassany Whaby Mohamed 
Published: February 2023

AbstractInvasive alien plants are one of the most serious threats to agriculture. The growth traits of Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. in crops and their demographics in invaded vs non-invaded communities were examined. The majority of S. elaeagnifolium germination was observed in the spring compared to the summer. Five stages were distinguished, which started with a short time of seedling and juvenile stages, extended flowering, and fruiting stages, and seed dispersion in the winter season. An increase in shoots/roots ratio, leaf area ratio and leaf mass fraction during growth with the varied rate was proved. The accumulation coefficient of dry mass exceeded 0.93 and was significant (P > 0.001) with great variability within plant parts, and stage intervals. While the high growth rate is influenced by the stages and habitats. The recipient communities are affected negatively by S. elaeagnifolium invasion which is associated with lower diversity, richness, and evenness vs non-invaded communities. High similarities were found in the invaded area and communities. Finally, high and varied growth and plasticity of S. elaeagnifolium characterized their invasion behavior via different habitats. There were suitable determinants indices of diversity that can be used in the comparison between invaded and non-invaded communities. This knowledge may be useful for use in agro-environment protection and to improve the management methods of invasive alien species.
Conspiracy Theories
Authors: Cassam Quassim 
Published: February 2023

AbstractCurrent thinking about conspiracy theories is dominated by epistemological and psychological approaches. The former see the study of conspiracy theories as a branch of epistemology and insist that each theory should be judged on its evidential merits. On this account, a conspiracy theory is an explanation of an event which cites a conspiracy as a salient cause. Psychological approaches explain belief in conspiracy theories by reference to individual personality traits and generic cognitive biases. Despite their popularity, both epistemological and psychological approaches are flawed. After identifying their flaws, a case is made for a different perspective which focuses on the political function of conspiracy theories. A conspiracy theory is not just an explanation of an event which cites a conspiracy as a salient cause. Conspiracy theories have a range of additional features which distinguish them from ordinary theories about conspiracies and make them unlikely to be true. The political approach sees many conspiracy theories as forms of political propaganda and is especially mindful of the role of conspiracy theories in promoting extremist ideologies.
Navigating the dual dilemma between lives, rights and livelihoods: COVID-19 responses in China, Singapore, and South Korea
Authors: Holbig Heike 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has created a dual dilemma for governments worldwide: between the protection of lives and of individual rights, and more long-term between safeguarding lives and preserving livelihoods. Taking a dynamic approach, this paper asks how different regime types have navigated this dual dilemma by adjusting their pandemic-response strategies over the course of time. Three case studies from East Asia are selected to represent different regime types—autocratic China, hybrid Singapore, and democratic South Korea—that share experience with previous coronavirus episodes. Comparing the three cases between late 2019 to mid-2022, remarkable differences are found in the adaptability of response strategies. China’s authoritarian regime appeared to be at a clear strategic advantage due to its indifference toward individual rights during the first COVID-19 wave. In the longer run, however, the picture has changed substantially. While China has exclusively prioritized the protection of lives, fixating on its “Zero-COVID” strategy, Singapore has attached at least equal weight to sustaining livelihoods, experiencing a drawn-out zigzagging before pivoting to a “Living with COVID” strategy. Among the three cases, only South Korea has made consistent efforts to protecting individual rights while gradually recalibrating lives and livelihoods. Over time, the high degree of responsiveness of South Korea’s democratic regime has allowed for a relatively smooth transition to coexisting with the virus. The paper concludes with some lessons that European democracies might learn from pandemic responses in East Asia in a longitudinal perspective.
My remembrances of H.G. Khorana: exploring the mechanism of bacteriorhodopsin with site-directed mutagenesis and FTIR difference spectroscopy
Authors: Rothschild Kenneth J. 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
H.G. Khorana’s seminal contributions to molecular biology are well-known. He also had a lesser known but still major influence on current application of advanced vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR difference spectroscopy to explore the mechanism of bacteriorhodopsin and other integral membrane proteins. In this review, I provide a personal perspective of my collaborative research and interactions with Gobind, from 1982 to 1995 when our groups published over 25 papers together which resulted in an early picture of key features of the bacteriorhodopsin proton pump mechanism. Much of this early work served as a blueprint for subsequent advances based on combining protein bioengineering and vibrational spectroscopic techniques to study integral membrane proteins.
CT Radiomic Features and Clinical Biomarkers for Predicting Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Militello Carmelo , Prinzi Francesco , Sollami Giulia , Rundo Leonardo , La Grutta Ludovico , Vitabile Salvatore 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThis study was aimed to investigate the predictive value of the radiomics features extracted from pericoronaric adipose tissue — around the anterior interventricular artery (IVA) — to assess the condition of coronary arteries compared with the use of clinical characteristics alone (i.e., risk factors). Clinical and radiomic data of 118 patients were retrospectively analyzed. In total, 93 radiomics features were extracted for each ROI around the IVA, and 13 clinical features were used to build different machine learning models finalized to predict the impairment (or otherwise) of coronary arteries. Pericoronaric radiomic features improved prediction above the use of risk factors alone. In fact, with the best model (Random Forest + Mutual Information) the AUROC reached $$0.820 \pm 0.076$$

0.820
±
0.076

. As a matter of fact, the combined use of both types of features (i.e., radiomic and clinical) allows for improved performance regardless of the feature selection method used. Experimental findings demonstrated that the use of radiomic features alone achieves better performance than the use of clinical features alone, while the combined use of both clinical and radiomic biomarkers further improves the predictive ability of the models. The main contribution of this work concerns: (i) the implementation of multimodal predictive models, based on both clinical and radiomic features, and (ii) a trusted system to support clinical decision-making processes by means of explainable classifiers and interpretable features.
Upcycling of black currant pomace for the production of a fermented beverage with Wolfiporia cocos
Authors: Sommer Svenja , Hoffmann Janine Laura , Fraatz Marco Alexander , Zorn Holger 
Published: February 2023

AbstractPomace as a side stream from black currant juice production is mostly discarded, even though it is rich in nutrients like protein, fiber, sugars, anthocyanins, polyphenols, and other secondary metabolites. Fungi from the division of Basidiomycota have a great enzymatic toolbox to recycle these complex mixtures of nutrients. In particular, the edible medicinal fungus Wolfiporia cocos has been described as a suitable biocatalyst to form pleasant aroma compounds in fermentation processes. Therefore, medium optimization, upscaling, and filtration were performed to produce a beverage based on black currant pomace fermented with W. cocos. A trained panel described the beverage as highly pleasant, reminiscent of honey, flowers and berries with a well-balanced sour and sweet taste. The flavor compounds linalool (citrus), geraniol (flowery), phenylacetic acid (honey), methyl phenylacetate (honey), eugenol (clove), and 2-phenylethanol (rose) were produced during fermentation and the concentrations exceeded their respective odor thresholds. The produced beverage was evaluated with 8.0 ± 1.4 from 10 for the question of whether panelists would buy the product. Fungal fermentation with the edible fungus W. cocos enabled the production of a highly pleasant beverage and additionally may reduce waste by using pomace and table sugar as sole ingredients.
Filling holes under non-linear constraints
Authors: Custódio A. L. , Fortes M. A. , Sajo-Castelli A. M. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIn this paper we handle the problem of filling the hole in the graphic of a surface by means of a patch that joins the original surface with $$\mathcal {C}^{1}$$

C

1

-smoothness and fulfills an additional non-linear geometrical constraint regarding its area or its mean curvature at some points. Furthermore, we develop a technique to estimate the optimum area that the filling patch is expected to have that will allow us to determine optimum filling patches by means of a system of linear and quadratic equations. We present several numerical and graphical examples showing the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Do we all coordinate in the long run?
Authors: Gärtner Manja , Östling Robert , Tebbe Sebastian 
Published: February 2023

AbstractPlayers often fail to coordinate on the efficient equilibrium in laboratory weak-link coordination games. In this paper, we investigate whether such coordination failures can be mitigated by increasing the number of rounds or altering per-period stakes. We find that neither time horizon nor stakes affect equilibrium selection. In contrast to previous findings, players are not more likely to play above the previous period’s minimum choice when the horizon is longer or per-period stakes lower. We also investigate which socio-demographic factors and behavioral traits correlate most strongly with play both in the first round and in subsequent rounds. Cognitive ability as measured by a cognitive reflection test stands out as the characteristic that is most strongly associated with efficient coordination.
Analytical approach for modeling and simulation of photonic crystal fiber based on low effective material loss
Authors: Rahman Md. Habibur , Rana Md. Masud , Hossain Md. Selim , Sen Shuvo , Al-Amin Md. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractCOMSOL Multiphysics simulation software has been used to create a hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (H-PCF) with hexagonal cladding and a rotating hexa elliptical shape core. The hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (H-PCF) fiber is built on five layers of circular air holes, and it is suitable for telecommunication applications especially optical fiber communication in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. The hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (H-PCF) is designed to have an ultra-low effective material loss (EML), a higher core power fraction, a bigger effective area, and reduced confinement loss. The smallest effective material loss from the proposed hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (H-PCF) is 0.00689 cm−1, with a better core power fraction of 82%, less confinement loss of 3.45 × 10–14 cm−1 and a better effective area of 3.65 × 10–4 m2 is achieved at one terahertz (THz) waveguide region. Furthermore, using the features of the V-Parameter, our developed hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (H-PCF) fiber reveals an optical waveguide with one mode throughout a frequency range of terahertz (THz) wave area. So, it has been said that our hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (H-PCF) structure will be highly beneficial for optical fiber communications applications in the THz frequency range.
Identification of marine natural product Pretrichodermamide B as a STAT3 inhibitor for efficient anticancer therapy
Authors: Li Rui , Zhou Yue , Zhang Xinxin , Yang Lujia , Liu Jieyu , Wightman Samantha M. , Lv Ling , Liu Zhiqing , Wang Chang-Yun , Zhao Chenyang 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) regulates the expression of various critical mediators of cancer and is considered as one of the central communication nodes in cell growth and survival. Marine natural products (MNP) represent great resources for discovery of bioactive lead compounds, especially anti-cancer agents. Through the medium-throughput screening of our in-house MNP library, Pretrichodermamide B, an epidithiodiketopiperazine, was identified as a JAK/STAT3 signaling inhibitor. Further studies identified that Pretrichodermamide B directly binds to STAT3, preventing phosphorylation and thus inhibiting JAK/STAT3 signaling. Moreover, it suppressed cancer cell growth, in vitro, at low micromolar concentrations and demonstrated efficacy in vivo by decreasing tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. In addition, it was shown that Pretrichodermamide B was able to induce cell cycle arrest and promote cell apoptosis. This study demonstrated that Pretrichodermamide B is a novel STAT3 inhibitor, which should be considered for further exploration as a promising anti-cancer therapy.
Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous pollutants on nanostructured TiO2 films of various thickness and surface area
Authors: Baudys Michal , Berthet Eleonore , Macak Jan M. , Lhotka Miloslav , Krýsa Josef 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThis work deals with the preparation of TiO2 nanoparticulate layers of various mass (0.05 mg/cm2 to 2 mg/cm2) from three commercial nanopowder materials, P90, P25 and CG 300, their characterisation (profilometry, BET and SEM) and evaluation of their photocatalytic activity in the gaseous phase in a flow-through photoreactor according to the ISO standard (ISO 22197-2). Hexane was chosen as a single model pollutant and a mixture of four compounds, namely acetaldehyde, acetone, heptane and toluene was used for the evaluation of the efficiency of simultaneous removal of several pollutants. A linear dependence between the layer mass and the layer thickness for all materials was found. Up to a layer mass 0.5 mg/cm2, the immobilisation P90 and P25 powder did not result in a decrease in BET surface area, whereas with an increase in layer mass to 1 mg/cm2, a decrease of the BET surface was observed, being more significant in the case of P90. The photocatalytic conversion of hexane was comparable for all immobilised powders up to a layer mass of 0.5 mg/cm2. For higher layer mass, the photocatalytic conversion of hexane on P25 and P90 differ; the latter achieved about 30% higher conversion. In the case of the simultaneous degradation of four compounds, acetaldehyde was degraded best, followed by acetone and toluene; the least degraded compound was heptane. The measurement of released CO2 revealed that 90% of degraded hexane was mineralised to CO2 and water while for a mixture of 4 VOCs, the level of mineralisation was 83%.
Graphical abstract
Bionic Design Model for Co-creative Product Innovation Based on Deep Generative and BID
Authors: Deng ZhengGen , Lv Jian , Liu Xiang , Hou YuKang 
Published: February 2023

AbstractBio-inspired design (BID) is an abstract process, if we can visualize the process of fusing abstract biological inspiration with figurative product shapes, and combine it with artificial intelligence technology to express the designer’s creativity, it will greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of product shape bionic design. To address this problem, we combine BID with deep generative (DG) model to build a co-creative deep generative bio-inspired design (DGBID) model. Firstly, the designers used perceptual engineering and eye-movement experiments to select the bionic creature that best fits the bionic product and the suitable bionic product and bionic image, respectively. Then, the images are embedded into the potential space of StyleGAN, and the potential relationship between the two is visualized using StyleGAN’s image morphing technique, which generates a new bionic fusion scheme. Finally, the contour lines of the solution are extracted as a reference, the designer is involved in the optimization of the scheme as a sketch, and the hand-drawn sketch is transformed into a real product solution using style migration techniques. The entire bionic design experiment process is a co-creative approach with artificial intelligence technology as the lead and designer participation. The feasibility of the method is verified using the side view of a car as a bionic product. The results show that the integration of bionic technology with deep generative model technology can accelerate the innovation and development of bionic products and provide designers with design references and rapid-generation tools.
Carbothermal reduction synthesis of sulfide-modified biochar for heavy metal removal
Authors: Lu Yilin , Wang Qi , Yu Fengbo , Zhang Shicheng , Zhu Xiangdong 
Published: February 2023

AbstractAlthough sulfide is effective for heavy metal immobilization, it rarely exists in pristine pyrogenic biochar and easily undergoes intensive hydrolysis. In this work, carbothermal reduction of sulfate for on-site sulfide formation and simultaneous carbon layer encapsulation was developed to synthesize sulfide (CaS) modified biochar for enhancing heavy metal immobilization capacity. The initial reaction temperature for this carbothermal reduction was 700 °C. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature, modifier electron accepting ability and loading content could facilitate carbothermal reduction as further partly confirmed by on-site MS of pyrolysis gas and S 2p XPS of biochar analysis. The formed CaS on biochar could be greatly inhibited from hydrolysis due to the encapsulation effect of carbon layer and reached nearly 100% utilization efficiency in Cd2+ fast immobilization. TEM line scan and XRD of post-adsorbed biochar indicated that high heavy metal immobilization capacity was mainly attributed to the coprecipitation reaction governed by the formation of metal-sulfur bond. Compared with reported absorbents, CaS-modified biochar via carbothermal reduction with on-site encapsulation exhibited an excellent stability and outstanding immobilization capacity for various heavy metal ions (such as Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Ag+).
Graphical Abstract