bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mucositis and dysbiosis of the oral microbiome and fecal microbial flora in pediatric and young adult patients undergoing allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Faraci Maura , Bonaretti Carola , Dell’Orso Gianluca , Pierri Filomena , Giardino Stefano , Angiero Francesca , Blasi Sergio , Farronato Giampietro , Marco Eddi Di , Trevisiol Andrea , Olcese Evelina , Rufino Loris , Squillario Margherita , Biassoni Roberto 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Purpose
The oral and gastrointestinal mucosae represent the main targets of the toxic effect of chemo and/or radiotherapy administered as a conditioning regimen before hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). These harmful consequences and the immunological complications that may occur after the transplant (such as Graft versus Host Disease, GvHD) are responsible for the clinical symptoms associated with mucositis during the aplasia phase, like pain, drooling, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These toxicities might play a critical role in the oral and gastrointestinal microbiomes during the post-transplant phase, and the degree of microbial dysbiosis and dysregulation among different bacterial species may also be crucial in intestinal mucosa homeostasis, altering the host’s innate and adaptive immune responses and favoring abnormal immune responses responsible for the occurrence of GvHD.
Methods
This prospective pediatric study aims to analyze longitudinally oral and gut microbiomes in a cohort of 17 pediatric patients who received allogeneic HSCT for malignant and non-malignant diseases.
Results
The oral mucositis was mainly associated with an increased relative abundance of Fusobacteria, and Prevotella species, while Streptococcus descendants showed a negative correlation. The fecal microbiome of subjects affected by cutaneous aGvHD correlated with Proteobacteria.
Conclusions
Oral mucosal microbiota undergoes changes after HSCT, Fusobacteria, and Prevotella represent bacterial species associated with mucositis and they could be the target for future therapeutic approaches, while fecal microbiome in patients with acute GvHD (aGvHD) revealed an increase of different class of Proteobacteria (Alphaproteobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria) and a negative correlation with the class of Gammaproteobacteria.
Abelmoschus esculentus (Okra) leaf modulates some iron profile and inflammatory parameters in Sprague Dawley rats
Authors: Aruomaren Austin Iroghama , Omonkhua Akhere Akuekegbe , Osime Evarista 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background
Okra is a multipurpose plant which can be consumed freshly or dried. Okra contains iron, β-carotene and other phenolic compounds with important biological properties like flavonol and isoflavonoid derivatives which may possess anti-inflammatory properties. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of okra leaf on some iron regulatory proteins and its anti-inflammatory properties.
Methodology:
Fifty (50) rats were grouped into 10 groups with 5 rats per group and each group were fed with a pre-formulated diet of Abelmoschus esculentus leaf or the standard phytoestrogen diadzein. Hepcidin, ferroportin, ferritin, IL-6, IL-2 and MIP 1β were analysed using sandwich ELISA kits from Elabscience Biotechnology, Wuhan, China. Full blood count was analysed using Sysmex haemotology autoanlyser. Serum iron was also analysed spectrophotometrically.
Results
The results showed that, in male rats, 40% okra leaf-fed group had a significantly higher RBC count (p = 0.0419), haemoglobin concentration (HB) (p = 0.0054), haeamtocrit (HCT) (p = 0.012) and mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) (p = 0.0064) when compared to control rats. Serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation, ferroportin, ferritin were all significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the experimental groups when compared to the controls. However, in female rats fed with 40% okra leaf, there was significantly lower hepcidin concentration (p < 0.001) in control group when compared to 10% Okra leaf fed group. Furthermore, the 10% okra leaf-fed group also had a significantly higher hepicidin concentration when compared to the 40% okra leaf-fed groups. IL-6 levels were significantly lower (p < 0.01) in female rats fed with 40% okra leaf when compared to the 10% okra leaf-fed group. Macrophage inflammatory protein 1 beta (MIP-1β) in male rats showed that the groups fed with 10%, 20% and 40% okra leaf (p < 0.001) had significantly higher levels when compared to control and diadzein administered group.
Conclusion
Our data indicated feed formulated from Abelmoschus esculentus leaf is a rich source of non-haem iron. Abelmoschus esculentus leaf also significantly imparts iron metabolism through its action on ferroportin and hepcidin. Also this study indicates that continuous consumption of Abelmoschus esculentus leaf may help act as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Are tattoos safe in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus? Results from a single-centre study
Authors: Francesco Natalucci , Ceccarelli Fulvia , Picciariello Licia , Olivieri Giulio , Ciancarella Claudia , Alessandri Cristiano , Conti Fabrizio 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Objective
We performed a single-center study to evaluate the development of local and systemic complications after tattooing in a cohort of SLE patients. Furthermore, we tried to identify SLE patients who had expressed the will to be tattooed and why they avoided it.
Patients:
Consecutive SLE patients were asked to complete a questionnaire about tattoos, including their number, features, and side effects. Open questions were proposed to not-tattooed patients to describe why they did not have tattoos.
Results
One-hundred ninety-two SLE patients were enrolled [M/F 21/171; median age 41 years (IQR 18)]. Almost 50% of them had at least one tattoo. Seven patients (7.4%) referred adverse reactions to tattoos: interestingly, only one patient experienced a systemic reaction, specifically the occurrence of self-limiting lymphadenopathy. The main reason for avoiding tattoos was the diagnosis of SLE.
Conclusions
Our results suggest the safety of tattoos in SLE patients, as demonstrated by a low prevalence of mild adverse events.
Pathogenicity of nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa analyzed by pan-genomics
Authors: Hu Zimeng , Zhou Lu , Tao Xingyu , Li Pei , Zheng Xiangkuan , Zhang Wei , Tan Zhongming 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important hospital-acquired pathogen that is usually resistant to multiple antibiotics. In 2016–2021, among the 103 strains of P. aeruginosa isolated, the age distribution of patients ranged from 10 days to 94 years with a mean age of 66.38 years. The strains isolated were from sputum (72 strains, 69.9%) and blood (14 strains, 13.6%). The size of these genomes ranged from 6.2 Mb to 7.4 Mb, with a mean value of 6.5 Mb. Besides, 20 antibiotics were selected for the determination of the drug sensitivity test. The results of antibiotic sensitivity tests showed that the isolates had the highest resistance rate of 100% to amoxicillin-clavulanate, ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, cefazolin, cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. In addition to this, a total of 47 crpP genes that mediate resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics were found distributed on 43 P. aeruginosa strains, and 10 new variants of CrpP were identified, named 1.33, 1.34, 1.35, 1.36, 1.37, 1.38, 1.39, 1.40, 1.41 and 7.1. Whole genome analysis showed that a total of 50 ST types were identified, with ST244 (5/103) and ST1076 (4/103) having a more pronounced distribution advantage. Serotype predictions showed that O6 accounted for 29.13% (30/103), O11 for 23.30% (24/103), O2 for 18.45% (19/103), and O1 for 11.65% (12/103) of the highest proportions. Notably, we found a significantly higher proportion of ExoU in P. aeruginosa strains of serotype O11 than in other Exo-toxins strains. Our study enriches the genomic analysis of other multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa strains, as well as the study of P. aeruginosa carrying CrpP and its variants.
Effects of remittances on income inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: LANKOANDE Lamoussa Seydou 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
This research aimed to analyze the effect of migrant remittances on income inequality in SSA through their effect on different income groups. Thus, the fixed effects method was applied using the standard Driscoll-Kraay errors on a panel of 34 SSA countries over the period from 2005 to 2019. As a main result, this research shows that remittances received in SSA countries contribute to reducing income inequalities in these countries. This reduction in inequality is reflected in a reduction in the income share held by the richest 10% of the population on the one hand, and an increase in the income share of the poorest 90% of the population on the other. The results nevertheless suggest that the observed increase in the income share of the latter is more important for the 40% of the population above the 50% least wealthy. The results are robust to the use of the two-stage system generalized method of moments. In terms of economic policies, these results suggest facilitating remittances reaching this region by encouraging, for example, bi-banking and the development of mobile remittance facilities.
Experimental Study and Simulations of Hydrogen Cooling Effectiveness for Aviation PEM Fuel Cells
Authors: Kösters Till Lennart , von Schweinitz Arne Graf , Heere Michael , Friedrichs Jens , Gao Xin 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are seen as of one of many possible future means of driving the change towards a zero-emission society. In a civil aircraft, fuel cell systems can have multiple potential benefits, such as reduced noise, lowered emissions and higher fuel economy. For controlling the fuel cell temperature, thermal management systems are required which can be optimized for aircraft applications regarding their weight and reliability. In this work, a novel, simplified and light-weight thermal management system relying on hydrogen cooling is presented and analysed. To investigate the feasibility, a test rig and a three-dimensional, singular channel model in ANSYS Fluent® were designed. Fuel cell temperature could be maintained within the set threshold in the model and the test rig, thus showing that controlling the fuel cell temperature via hydrogen is a viable alternative thermal management system. Results from the model indicate that both the hydrogen mass flow and hydrogen inlet temperature should be used to control the fuel cell temperature. Furthermore, operating the fuel cell at medium to low current densities is favourable for hydrogen cooling. Future studies will explore the advantages of alternate flow field designs to facilitate thermal management system relying on hydrogen.
Immersion in a relaxing virtual reality environment is associated with similar effects on stress and anxiety as heart rate variability biofeedback
Authors: Pratviel Yvan , Bouny Pierre , Deschodt-Arsac Véronique 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Practicing guided breathing at 0.1 Hz in virtual reality yields psychological and physiological benefits. Nonetheless, it remains uncertain whether these effects surpass those induced in a real-world setting. Indeed, the potential influence of the virtual environment on perceived stress and anxiety is not yet fully understood. In this experiment, we aimed to compare the effects of heart rate variability biofeedback combining both haptic and visual cues in real and virtual reality settings within the same population. Additionally, to decipher whether psychological benefits are caused by viewing an environment in virtual reality or performing guided breathing in this setting, a “control” immersion condition was added. 36 healthy sport students (9 females) participated in this study, performing both the real and virtual reality protocols in a randomized order. At different points in each protocol, modulations of anxiety and stress were measured using the STAI-Y questionnaire and a visual analogic scale, respectively. Physiological effects were assessed with measures of heart rate variability, and the performance of cardiac coherence was compared between both real and virtual implementations of guided breathing. As expected, both real and virtual reality heart rate variability biofeedback resulted in similar physiological changes and cardiac coherence performances. A reduction in stress and anxiety was observed in both protocols, particularly for participants who were already stressed or anxious at the beginning. However, no additional changes in psychological states were observed when performing guided breathing alongside being immersed in the virtual environment.
Smart Data Prefetching Using KNN to Improve Hadoop Performance
Authors: Ghazali Rana , Down Douglas G. 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Hadoop is an open-source framework that enables the parallel processing of large data sets across a cluster of machines. It faces several challenges that can lead to poor performance, such as I/O operations, network data transmission, and high data access time. In recent years, researchers have explored prefetching techniques to reduce the data access time as a potential solution to these problems. Nevertheless, several issues must be considered to optimize the prefetching mechanism. These include launching the prefetch at an appropriate time to avoid conflicts with other operations and minimize waiting time, determining the amount of prefetched data to avoid overload and underload, and placing the prefetched data in a location that can be accessed efficiently when required. In this paper, we propose a smart prefetch mechanism that consists of three phases designed to address these issues. First, we enhance the task progress rate to calculate the optimal time for triggering prefetch operations. Next, we utilize K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) clustering to identify which data blocks should be prefetched in each round, employing the data locality feature to determine the placement of prefetched data. Our experimental results demonstrate that our proposed smart prefetch mechanism improves job execution time by an average of 28.33% by increasing the rate of local tasks.
First-principles study of optical aspects of Penta-graphene and T- Carbon nanostructures
Authors: Alborznia Hamidreza 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
In this study, after the introduction of two new carbon allotropes nanostructures named Penta-graphene and T- Carbon, based on the first-principles calculations using the Density Functional Theory (DFT), and using Wien2k computing codes, the optical properties of these nanostructures such as the joint density of states, the real and imaginary part of the complex dielectric function, absorption, and reflectivity spectrum under special conditions such as applying the hydrostatic pressure, and buckling effects, are studied and changing the behavior of the optical aspects of these nanostructures are analyzed. It can be concluded that these nanostructures are suitable for use in designing optoelectronic devices, especially as sensors under the proposed conditions.
A Novel risk score to predict first attack of esophageal variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients
Authors: Mousa Nasser , Abdel-Razik Ahmed , Abdelaziz Mohammed , Salah Mohamed , Elbaz Sherif , Hammady Amr El , Abdelsalam Mostafa , Deiab Ahmed , Habib Alaa , Gadallah Abdel-Naser , El-wakeel Niveen , Eldars Waleed , El-Emam Ola , Elbeltagy Ahmed , Elmahdy Reem , Mousa Eman , Elmetwalli Alaa , Elderiny Wesam , Elgamal Ayman . 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background: Variceal bleeding (VB) is lethal complication of liver cirrhosis requisite rapid identification to apply prevention strategies. The objective of this study is to identify predictors of the first VB attack and establish a score to estimate the probability of this attack.
Methods.
The study comprised 236 cirrhotic individuals who had been admitted with first attack of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). Based on index hospitalisation data, a multivariable logistic regression model was utilized to determine predictors of the first VB attack. The Mousa score was created as a consequence to predict first VB attack.
Results.
Out of the 236 patients hospitalized with UGIB, 154 had esophageal varices as the culprit bleeding lesion, whereas the remaining 82 had different culprit bleeding lesions. Age 60 years, presence of diabetes mellitus, lack of ischemic heart disease, platelets 130 (103/dL), albumin >2.9 g/dl, bilirubin >1.4 mg/dl, and Child score B were shown to be predictors of first VB attack. Using these predictors, the Mousa score was calculated to forecast first VB attack. ROC analysis demonstrated that at a cut-off ≥4, Mousa score had discriminative power for predicting VH with sensitivity 77.3 and specificity 75.6%. Quartiles classification of score revealed that, when the score was < 3 points (low risk) the sensitivity was 95.5% and specificity was 40.2%, however, when score was ≥ 5 points (high risk) the sensitivity was 93.9 % and specificity was 50.7 %.
Conclusions: Mousa score can be useful and easily applied for prediction of first VB attack in cirrhotic patients which can help with proper treatments.
Unveiling the Trigger Mechanism of an Explosive Plasma Eruption in a Toroidal Magnetic Fusion Device
Authors: Kamiya Kensaku , Itoh Kimitaka , Matsunaga Go , Isayama Akihiko , Oyama Naoyuki , Aiba Nobuyuki 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Explosive phenomena, such as edge-localized modes (ELMs) in controlled-nuclear-fusion-devices and solar flares on the sun, have eluded scientists for a long time. Despite extensive investigation in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, the trigger mechanism has remained elusive. Herein, we present the dynamics of tearing parity mode during an explosive eruption in magnetized plasmas and identified a critical threshold for mode amplitude. When the amplitude exceeds this threshold, an ELM-event is triggered, inducing the collapse of the plasma. The result also demonstrates rapid magnetic reconnection and the formation of stochasticity in magnetic field lines. The observed timescale between trigger events and the subsequent large-scale collapse provides a semiquantitative support for the hypothesis that magnetic braiding causes nonlinear instability and explosive growth. As a corollary, the mechanism of ELM-control using external magnetic-coils is also elucidated. These results have significant implications for laboratory and astrophysical understanding of magnetized plasma dynamics.
XU-NetI: Simple U-Shaped Encoder-Decoder Network for Accurate Imputation of Multivariate Missing Data
Authors: Firdaus Firdaus , Nurmaini Siti , Tutuko Bambang , Rachmatullah Muhammad Naufal , Islami Anggun , Darmawahyuni Annisa , Sapitri Ade Iriani , Ais’sy Widya Rohadatul , Karim Muhammad Irfan 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Intensive care unit (ICU) patients often have multiple vital signs monitored continuously. However, missing data is common in ICU settings, negatively impacting clinical decision-making and patient outcomes. In this study, we propose a multivariate data imputation method based on simple U-Shaped encoder-decoder network imputation (XU-NetI) method to learn the underlying patterns in the data and generate imputations for missing values of vital signs data with ICU patients. To evaluate the performance of our imputation methods, we employed a publicly available database such the medical information mart for intensive care III (MIMIC III) v1.4. Our proposed model has been developed to analyze 219.281 vital sign worth of data, focusing on eight essential vital sign features: body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and glucose. The evaluation results demonstrates the effectiveness of the imputation techniques in improving the accuracy of predictive models. We compared our approach to other state-of-the-art imputation methods including Autoencoder and Convolutional Neural Networks. As a result found, our technique with XU-NetI architecture outperformed them, in terms of root mean square error (RSME) by approximately 0.01, mean absolute error (MAE) by approximately 0.009, and R square (R2) by approximately 0.99. Our method has the potential to enhance clinical decision-making and improve patient outcomes.
Study on deformation and seepage characteristics of preheated freeze-thaw coal rocks
Authors: Wang Yingwei , Qi Xiaohan , Liu Yang , Wang Xiaoqi , Ma Heng , Wang Pin , Hou Shuangrong 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
This experimental study probes into the evolution patterns of fine damage and mechanical and seepage characteristics of coal rocks using the coal rock triaxial servo experiment system by employing three types of pretreatment methods, namely heating, freeze-thawing with liquid nitrogen and freeze-thawing with water, with an aim to investigate the effect of temperature on freeze-thaw damage and seepage characteristics of coal rocks.The study results indicate that with an increase in preheating temperature, the degree of damage to the coal sample's end face escalates while the wave speed progressively decreases.As the temperature gradually rises, the structural stability of the coal sample diminishes, leading to increased body strain, shear strain, fragmentation, crack formation, and improved cracking effects.Freeze-thawing with liquid nitrogen causes damage to the coal sample and induces an increase in internal flow. Among the different freeze-thawing methods, the most severe damage and the highest amount of gas seepage are observed when using water-filled liquid nitrogen. This process leads to a gradual increase in gas seepage due to a decrease in perimeter pressure until a breakthrough surge occurs.Hence, engineering practitioners can explore the application of preheating-water injection-liquid nitrogen injection freeze-thaw technology to achieve efficient coal seam penetration and enhance gas extraction efficiency.
A Fast and Robust MUSIC Algorithm for Estimating Multiple Coherent Signals
Authors: Zhang Mingyang , Ji Lihai 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The conventional MUSIC algorithm demonstrates subpar estimation performance and unreliable results when confronted with the task of estimating coherent signals from multiple targets. Moreover, it suffers from high computational complexity and sluggish processing speed when applied to extensive datasets involving multiple sensors. In order to tackle these challenges, this paper presents an enhanced and expedient MUSIC algorithm for the estimation of multiple coherent signals. Drawing upon the ROOT-MUSIC algorithm based on the propagation operator, this algorithm introduces a spatial smoothing technique by substituting the original covariance matrix with the average of subarray covariance matrices. Through simulation results, it is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm not only resolves the issue of estimating multiple coherent signals but also achieves exceptional performance in terms of robustness and computational speed, even under low signal-to-noise ratio conditions.