bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Investigating structural and functional aspects of the brain’s criticality in stroke
Authors: Janarek Jakub , Drogosz Zbigniew , Grela Jacek , Ochab Jeremi K. , Oświęcimka Paweł 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThis paper addresses the question of the brain’s critical dynamics after an injury such as a stroke. It is hypothesized that the healthy brain operates near a phase transition (critical point), which provides optimal conditions for information transmission and responses to inputs. If structural damage could cause the critical point to disappear and thus make self-organized criticality unachievable, it would offer the theoretical explanation for the post-stroke impairment of brain function. In our contribution, however, we demonstrate using network models of the brain, that the dynamics remain critical even after a stroke. In cases where the average size of the second-largest cluster of active nodes, which is one of the commonly used indicators of criticality, shows an anomalous behavior, it results from the loss of integrity of the network, quantifiable within graph theory, and not from genuine non-critical dynamics. We propose a new simple model of an artificial stroke that explains this anomaly. The proposed interpretation of the results is confirmed by an analysis of real connectomes acquired from post-stroke patients and a control group. The results presented refer to neurobiological data; however, the conclusions reached apply to a broad class of complex systems that admit a critical state.
Terahertz sensing of reduced graphene oxide nanosheets using sub-wavelength dipole cavities
Authors: Sajeev Vaishnavi , Rane Shreeya , Ghosh Debal , Acharyya Nityananda , Roy Choudhury Palash , Mukherjee Arnab , Roy Chowdhury Dibakar 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBecause of extraordinary optoelectronic properties, two-dimensional (2D) materials are the subject of intense study in recent times. Hence, we investigate sub-wavelength dipole cavities (hole array) as a sensing platform for the detection of 2D reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The r-GO is obtained by reducing graphene oxide (GO) via Hummer's method. Its structural characteristics are verified using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. We also assessed the morphology and chemistry of r-GO nanosheets by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), and Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Further, we studied the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) characteristics of r-GO nanosheets hybridized dipole cavities using THz-TDS by varying the r-GO thickness on top of the dipole cavities, since these cavities are well known for sustaining strong SPRs. Based on these, we experimentally obtained a sensitivity of 12 GHz/µm for the porous r-GO film. Thus, a modification in SPR characteristics can be employed towards the identification and quantification of r-GO by suitably embedding it on an array of dipole cavities. Moreover, we have adopted a generic approach that can be expanded to sense other 2D materials like Boron Nitride (BN), phosphorene, MoS2, etc., leading to the development of novel THz nanophotonic sensing devices.
Attenuated but immunostimulatory Mycobacterium tuberculosis variant bovis strain Ravenel shows variation in T cell epitopes
Authors: Brenner Evan P. , Sreevatsan Srinand 
Published: July 2023

AbstractTuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) organisms, affects a range of humans and animals globally. Mycobacterial pathogenesis involves manipulation of the host immune system, partially through antigen presentation. Epitope sequences across the MTBC are evolutionarily hyperconserved, suggesting their recognition is advantageous for the bacterium. Mycobacterium tuberculosis var. bovis (MBO) strain Ravenel is an isolate known to provoke a robust immune response in cattle, but typically fails to produce lesions and persist. Unlike attenuated MBO BCG strains that lack the critical RD1 genomic region, Ravenel is classic-type MBO structurally, suggesting genetic variation is responsible for defective pathogenesis. This work explores variation in epitope sequences in MBO Ravenel by whole genome sequencing, and contrasts such variation against a fully virulent clinical isolate, MBO strain 10-7428. Validated MTBC epitopes (n = 4818) from the Immune Epitope Database were compared to their sequences in MBO Ravenel and MBO 10-7428. Ravenel yielded 3 modified T cell epitopes, in genes rpfB, argC, and rpoA. These modifications were predicted to have little effect on protein stability. In contrast, T cells epitopes in 10-7428 were all WT. Considering T cell epitope hyperconservation across MTBC variants, these altered MBO Ravenel epitopes support their potential contribution to overall strain attenuation. The affected genes may provide clues on basic pathogenesis, and if so, be feasible targets for reverse vaccinology.
Optimized conditions for gene transduction into primary immune cells using viral vectors
Authors: Kim Yeongrin , Lee Da Yeon , Choi Ji U , Park Jin Song , Lee So Myoung , Kang Chung Hyo , Park Chi Hoon 
Published: July 2023

AbstractChimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has emerged as a promising modality for anti-cancer treatment. Its efficacy is quite remarkable in hematological tumors. Owing to their excellent clinical results, gene- modified cell therapies, including T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and macrophages, are being actively studied in both academia and industry. However, the protocol to make CAR immune cells is too complicated, so it is still unclear how to efficiently produce the potent CAR immune cells. To manufacture effective CAR immune cells, we need to be aware of not only how to obtain highly infective viral particles, but also how to transduce CAR genes into immune cells. In this paper, we provide detailed information on spinoculation, which is one of the best known protocols to transduce genes into immune cells, in a methodological view. Our data indicate that gene transduction is significantly dependent on speed and duration of centrifugation, concentration and number of viral particles, the concentration of polybrene, and number of infected immune cells. In addition, we investigated on the optimal polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution to concentrate the viral supernatant and the optimized DNA ratios transfected into 293T cells to produce high titer of viral particles. This study provides useful information for practical production of the gene-modified immune cells using viral vectors.
Reduced Southern Ocean warming enhances global skill and signal-to-noise in an eddy-resolving decadal prediction system
Authors: Yeager Stephen G. , Chang Ping , Danabasoglu Gokhan , Rosenbloom Nan , Zhang Qiuying , Castruccio Fred S. , Gopal Abishek , Cameron Rencurrel M. , Simpson Isla R. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe impact of increased model horizontal resolution on climate prediction performance is examined by comparing results from low-resolution (LR) and high-resolution (HR) decadal prediction simulations conducted with the Community Earth System Model (CESM). There is general improvement in global skill and signal-to-noise characteristics, with particularly noteworthy improvements in the eastern tropical Pacific, when resolution is increased from order 1° in all components to order 0.1°/0.25° in the ocean/atmosphere. A key advance in the ocean eddy-resolving HR system is the reduction of unrealistic warming in the Southern Ocean (SO) which we hypothesize has global ramifications through its impacts on tropical Pacific multidecadal variability. The results suggest that accurate representation of SO processes is critical for improving decadal climate predictions globally and for addressing longstanding issues with coupled climate model simulations of recent Earth system change.
A gender specific risk assessment of coronary heart disease based on physical examination data
Authors: Yang Hui , Luo Ya-Mei , Ma Cai-Yi , Zhang Tian-Yu , Zhou Tao , Ren Xiao-Lei , He Xiao-Lin , Deng Ke-Jun , Yan Dan , Tang Hua , Lin Hao 
Published: July 2023

AbstractLarge-scale screening for the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) is crucial for its prevention and management. Physical examination data has the advantages of wide coverage, large capacity, and easy collection. Therefore, here we report a gender-specific cascading system for risk assessment of CHD based on physical examination data. The dataset consists of 39,538 CHD patients and 640,465 healthy individuals from the Luzhou Health Commission in Sichuan, China. Fifty physical examination characteristics were considered, and after feature screening, ten risk factors were identified. To facilitate large-scale CHD risk screening, a CHD risk model was developed using a fully connected network (FCN). For males, the model achieves AUCs of 0.8671 and 0.8659, respectively on the independent test set and the external validation set. For females, the AUCs of the model are 0.8991 and 0.9006, respectively on the independent test set and the external validation set. Furthermore, to enhance the convenience and flexibility of the model in clinical and real-life scenarios, we established a CHD risk scorecard base on logistic regression (LR). The results show that, for both males and females, the AUCs of the scorecard on the independent test set and the external verification set are only slightly lower (<0.05) than those of the corresponding prediction model, indicating that the scorecard construction does not result in a significant loss of information. To promote CHD personal lifestyle management, an online CHD risk assessment system has been established, which can be freely accessed at http://lin-group.cn/server/CHD/index.html.
Quantifying timber illegality risk in the Brazilian forest frontier
Authors: Franca Caroline S. S. , Persson U. Martin , Carvalho Tomás , Lentini Marco 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIllegal logging remains widespread across the tropics, leading to extensive forest degradation and trade in illegal timber products. By adapting environmentally extended input–output modelling to timber originating from Brazilian native forests, we demonstrate how distinct illegality risks can be mapped and quantified at species-level across the supply chain. We focus on high-value ipê hardwood from the Amazon state of Pará, a leading producer of timber and contested forest frontier. Data on logging permits and state- and national-level Document of Forest Origin licences are used to estimate illegality risks due to missing or invalid logging permits, overstated ipê yields or discrepancies resulting from missing inflows of legal timber. We find that less than a quarter of all ipê entering supply chains between 2009 and 2019 is risk-free and highlight diversified strategies for the laundering of illegal timber across geographies. While legality does not ensure sustainability, this information can be leveraged to this end by supporting improved implementation and enforcement of forest regulations.
Algorithmic fairness and bias mitigation for clinical machine learning with deep reinforcement learning
Authors: Yang Jenny , Soltan Andrew A. S. , Eyre David W. , Clifton David A. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAs models based on machine learning continue to be developed for healthcare applications, greater effort is needed to ensure that these technologies do not reflect or exacerbate any unwanted or discriminatory biases that may be present in the data. Here we introduce a reinforcement learning framework capable of mitigating biases that may have been acquired during data collection. In particular, we evaluated our model for the task of rapidly predicting COVID-19 for patients presenting to hospital emergency departments and aimed to mitigate any site (hospital)-specific and ethnicity-based biases present in the data. Using a specialized reward function and training procedure, we show that our method achieves clinically effective screening performances, while significantly improving outcome fairness compared with current benchmarks and state-of-the-art machine learning methods. We performed external validation across three independent hospitals, and additionally tested our method on a patient intensive care unit discharge status task, demonstrating model generalizability.
Interleukin 17 signaling supports clinical benefit of dual CTLA-4 and PD-1 checkpoint inhibition in melanoma
Authors: Váraljai Renáta , Zimmer Lisa , Al-Matary Yahya , Kaptein Paulien , Albrecht Lea J. , Shannan Batool , Brase Jan C. , Gusenleitner Daniel , Amaral Teresa , Wyss Nina , Utikal Jochen , Flatz Lukas , Rambow Florian , Reinhardt Hans Christian , Dick Jenny , Engel Daniel R. , Horn Susanne , Ugurel Selma , Sondermann Wiebke , Livingstone Elisabeth , Sucker Antje , Paschen Annette , Zhao Fang , Placke Jan M. , Klose Jasmin M. , Fendler Wolfgang P. , Thommen Daniela S. , Helfrich Iris , Schadendorf Dirk , Roesch Alexander 
Published: July 2023

AbstractRecent studies suggest that BRAFV600-mutated melanomas in particular respond to dual anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). Here we identified an over-representation of interleukin (IL)-17–type 17 helper T (TH17) gene expression signatures (GES) in BRAFV600-mutated tumors. Moreover, high baseline IL-17 GES consistently predicted clinical responses in dual-ICI-treated patient cohorts but not in mono anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1 ICI cohorts. High IL-17 GES corresponded to tumor infiltration with T cells and neutrophils. Accordingly, high neutrophil infiltration correlated with clinical response specifically to dual ICI, and tumor-associated neutrophils also showed strong IL-17–TH17 pathway activity and T cell activation capacity. Both the blockade of IL-17A and the depletion of neutrophils impaired dual-ICI response and decreased T cell activation. Finally, high IL-17A levels in the blood of patients with melanoma indicated a higher global TH17 cytokine profile preceding clinical response to dual ICI but not to anti-PD-1 monotherapy, suggesting a future role as a biomarker for patient stratification.
Association of birth and childhood weight with risk of chronic diseases and multimorbidity in adulthood
Authors: Zhang Yue , Zhou Yaguan , Cheng Yangyang , Carrillo-Larco Rodrigo M. , Fawad Muhammad , Chen Shu , Xu Xiaolin 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
Little is known about the relationship between early life body size and occurrence of life-course multiple chronic diseases (multimorbidity). We aim to evaluate associations of birth weight, childhood body size, and their changes with the risks of chronic diseases and multimorbidity.

Methods
This prospective cohort study included 246,495 UK Biobank participants (aged 40–69 years) who reported birth weight and childhood body size at 10 years old. Birth weight was categorized into low, normal, and high; childhood body size was reported as being thinner, average, or plumper. Multimorbidity was defined as having two or more of 38 chronic conditions retrieved from inpatient hospital data until 31 December, 2020. The Cox regression and quasi-Poisson mixed effects models were used to estimate the associations.

Results
We show that 57,071 (23.2%) participants develop multimorbidity. Low birth weight (hazard ratio [HR] 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26–1.33), high birth weight (HR 1.02, 95% CI > 1.00–1.05), thinner (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.18–1.23) and plumper body size (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04–1.09) are associated with higher risks of multimorbidity. A U-shaped relationship between birth weight and multimorbidity is observed. Changing to be thinner or plumper is associated with multimorbidity and many conditions, compared to changing to be average.

Conclusions
Low birth weight, being thinner and changing to have a thinner body size in childhood are associated with higher risks of developing multimorbidity and many chronic conditions in adulthood. Early monitoring and maintaining a normal body size in childhood could have life-course benefits for preventing multimorbidity above and beyond individual conditions.
How complex–surface interactions modulate the spin transition of Fe(ii) SCO complexes supported on metallic surfaces?
Authors: Sánchez-de-Armas Rocío , Jaber El lala Iman , Calzado Carmen J. 
Published: July 2023

The deposition of the [Fe(phen)2(NCS)2] spin-crossover complex on Au(111), Cu(111) and Ag(111) has been investigated using periodic DFT+U calculations, with the aim of evaluating how different metallic surfaces affect the spin state switching.
Examination of an Automated Procedure for Calculating Morphological Complexity
Authors: Wood Carla , Garcia-Salas Miguel , Schatschneider Christopher 
Published: July 2023

Purpose:
The aim of this study was to advance the analysis of written language transcripts by validating an automated scoring procedure using an automated open-access tool for calculating morphological complexity (MC) from written transcripts.

Method:
The MC of words in 146 written responses of students in fifth grade was assessed using two procedures: (a) hand-coding of words containing derivational morphemes by trained scorers and (b) an automated analysis of MC using Morpholex, a newly developed web-based tool. Correlational analysis between the different MC calculations was examined to consider the relation between hand-coded derivational morpheme counts and the automated measures. Additionally, all MC measures were compared to a previously gathered rating of writing quality to consider predictive validity between the automated Morpholex score and teachers' ratings of writing quality.

Results:

Automated measures of MC had a strong relation (
r =
.63) with hand-coding of the number of words with derivational morphemes. Additionally, the number of derivational and inflectional and derivational morphemes accounted for a significant amount of the variation in teachers' overall ratings of writing quality.

Conclusion:
Automated scoring of MC has potential utility as a valid alternative to hand-coding language samples, which may be valuable for progress monitoring of growth in complexity across repeated samples and measuring components that influence perceived quality of academic writing.
Improving object detection by enhancing the effect of localisation quality evaluation on detection confidence
Authors: Wang Zuyi , Zhao Wei , Xu Li 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe one‐stage object detector has been widely applied in many computer vision applications due to its high detection efficiency and simple framework. However, one‐stage detectors heavily rely on Non‐maximum Suppression to remove the duplicated predictions for the same objects, and the detectors produce detection confidence to measure the quality of those predictions. The localisation quality is an important factor to evaluate the predicted bounding boxes, but its role has not been fully utilised in previous works. To alleviate the problem, the Quality Prediction Block (QPB), a lightweight sub‐network, is designed by the authors, which strengthens the effect of localisation quality evaluation on detection confidence by leveraging the features of predicted bounding boxes. The QPB is simple in structure and applies to different forms of detection confidence. Extensive experiments are conducted on the public benchmarks, MS COCO, PASCAL VOC and Berkeley DeepDrive. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in the detectors with various forms of detection confidence. The proposed approach also achieves better performance in the stronger one‐stage detectors.
Klinische Anwendungsbeispiele einer Next-Generation-Sequencing-basierten Multi-Genpanel-Analyse
Authors: Enko Dietmar , Schaflinger Erich , Müller Daniel J. 
Published: July 2023

ZusammenfassungDieser Übersichtsartikel bietet einen Überblick über klinisch sinnvolle Anwendungsgebiete einer Next-Generation-Sequencing-basierten (NGS) Multi-Genpanel-Teststrategie in den Bereichen Onkologie, hereditärer Tumorsyndrome und Hämatologie. Bei soliden Tumoren (z.B. Lungenkarzinom, Kolonrektalkarzinom) trägt die Detektion somatischer Mutationen nicht nur zu einer besseren diagnostischen, sondern auch therapeutischen Stratifizierung der Betroffenen bei. Die zunehmende genetische Komplexität hereditärer Tumorsyndrome (z.B. Brust- und Ovarialkarzinom, Lynchsyndrom/Polypose) erfordert in betroffenen Familien eine Multi-Genpanel-Analyse von Keimbahnmutationen. Ein weiteres sinnvolles Indikationsgebiet einer Multi-Genpanel-Diagnostik und Prognoseabschätzung sind akute und chronische myeloische Erkrankungen. Die Kriterien der WHO-Klassifikation und des „European LeukemiaNet“-Prognosesystems der akuten myeloischen Leukämie können nur durch eine Multi-Genpanel-Teststrategie erfüllt werden.
Efficient Syntheses of (S)- and (R)-β-Proline
Authors: Chandra Shambhu Deo , Fung Ethan W. F. , Perrin David M. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractA facile, efficient, and economical synthesis of both β-proline enantiomers starting from trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline is reported. Light-promoted radical Barton decarboxylation and nitrile introduction at C4 followed by hydrolysis gives the desired products in high optical purity. These routes should be of interest to those seeking economical access to β-proline for multiple applications.
Bio-Banding in Handball: Academy Players’ Perceptions Based
on Maturity Status and Gender
Authors: de la Rubia Alfonso , Lorenzo-Calvo Jorge , Rojas-Valverde Daniel , Mon-López Daniel , Radnor John , Kelly Adam L. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate young male and female handball
players’ perceptions of the bio-banding concept. The estimated
biological maturity status was assessed in a sample of 46 male and 40 female
handball players (aged 14.06±1.40 years), who competed in both an annual
age-group and bio-banded tournament. To test the players’ perception of
bio-banding, a post-competition questionnaire was conducted. A series of ANOVA
and one-sample t-tests were used in order to examine the differences in
perception between the different maturity groups. An inductive thematic analysis
of the qualitative data recorded in the open-ended questions was also carried
out. The results showed that early-maturing boys enjoyed the bio-banding
tournament more than late-maturing boys (p<0.05). Conversely, no
differences were found in girls (p>0.05). Furthermore,
discussions were conducted based on the qualitative analysis of the
players’ written comments regarding their overall experience, finding
individual variance in biological maturity may be less relevant in female sports
contexts due to gender-related differences. Thus, a greater influence on play
and leadership in late maturing boys and early maturing girls, a greater
physical challenge in early maturing boys and an opportunity to express
themselves technically and tactically in late maturing boys and on-time maturing
girls were observed. Therefore, stakeholders must consider the different
consequences of bio-banding in order to maximize the athlete’s sport
development process.
Uma causa atípica de claudicação infantil: Síndrome de Gorham-Stout com quadril fantasma
Authors: Ferjani Hanene Lassoued , Makhlouf Yasmin , Ben Nessib Dorra , Maatallah Kaouther , Kaffel Dhia , Hamdi Wafa 
Published: July 2023

ResumoA síndrome de Gorham-Stout (SGS) é uma doença óssea rara caracterizada pela proliferação anormal de vasos endoteliais e destruição do osso acometido. Por ser comum em crianças e adultos jovens, causa morbidade e mortalidade significativas. Até o momento, não há estratégia terapêutica estabelecida para a SGS.Relatamos um caso raro de SGS no quadril e na crista ilíaca de uma criança.