bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the spatial clustering characteristics of radiographic emphysema explains variability in pulmonary function
Authors: Vestal Brian E. , Ghosh Debashis , Estépar Raúl San José , Kechris Katerina , Fingerlin Tasha , Carlson Nichole E. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractQuantitative assessment of emphysema in CT scans has mostly focused on calculating the percentage of lung tissue that is deemed abnormal based on a density thresholding strategy. However, this overall measure of disease burden discards virtually all the spatial information encoded in the scan that is implicitly utilized in a visual assessment. This simplification is likely grouping heterogenous disease patterns and is potentially obscuring clinical phenotypes and variable disease outcomes. To overcome this, several methods that attempt to quantify heterogeneity in emphysema distribution have been proposed. Here, we compare three of those: one based on estimating a power law for the size distribution of contiguous emphysema clusters, a second that looks at the number of emphysema-to-emphysema voxel adjacencies, and a third that applies a parametric spatial point process model to the emphysema voxel locations. This was done using data from 587 individuals from Phase 1 of COPDGene that had an inspiratory CT scan and plasma protein abundance measurements. The associations between these imaging metrics and visual assessment with clinical measures (FEV$$_1$$1, FEV$$_1$$1-FVC ratio, etc.) and plasma protein biomarker levels were evaluated using a variety of regression models. Our results showed that a selection of spatial measures had the ability to discern heterogeneous patterns among CTs that had similar emphysema burdens. The most informative quantitative measure, average cluster size from the point process model, showed much stronger associations with nearly every clinical outcome examined than existing CT-derived emphysema metrics and visual assessment. Moreover, approximately 75% more plasma biomarkers were found to be associated with an emphysema heterogeneity phenotype when accounting for spatial clustering measures than when they were excluded.
Consumer-grade UAV imagery facilitates semantic segmentation of species-rich savanna tree layers
Authors: Popp Manuel R. , Kalwij Jesse M. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractConventional forest inventories are labour-intensive. This limits the spatial extent and temporal frequency at which woody vegetation is usually monitored. Remote sensing provides cost-effective solutions that enable extensive spatial coverage and high sampling frequency. Recent studies indicate that convolutional neural networks (CNNs) can classify woody forests, plantations, and urban vegetation at the species level using consumer-grade unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. However, whether such an approach is feasible in species-rich savanna ecosystems remains unclear. Here, we tested whether small data sets of high-resolution RGB orthomosaics suffice to train U-Net, FC-DenseNet, and DeepLabv3 + in semantic segmentation of savanna tree species. We trained these models on an 18-ha training area and explored whether models could be transferred across space and time. These models could recognise trees in adjacent (mean F1-Score = 0.68) and distant areas (mean F1-Score = 0.61) alike. Over time, a change in plant morphology resulted in a decrease of model accuracy. Our results show that CNN-based tree mapping using consumer-grade UAV imagery is possible in savanna ecosystems. Still, larger and more heterogeneous data sets can further improve model robustness to capture variation in plant morphology across time and space.
Development of a new chromatographic method for the determination of bakuchiol in cosmetic products
Authors: Kurpet Katarzyna , Chwatko Grażyna 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe aim of this study was to develop and validate a simple, fast, and universal reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection for the quantitation and evaluation of the stability of bakuchiol in cosmetic products. The analyte was extracted by tetrahydrofuran and separated on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C18 analytical column (100 × 4.6 mm, 3.5 μm particle size) by a gradient elution program with the mobile phase consisting of water and acetonitrile and a flow rate of 1.0 mL min−1. The column temperature was held at 25 °C and fluorescence detection was performed at excitation and emission wavelengths of 264 and 338 nm, respectively. The stability studies of bakuchiol in cosmetic products were conducted under various conditions, including thermal and photolytic degradation, according to International Conference on Harmonization Guidelines. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.5–50.0 μg g−1 with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.9999. The limits of detection and quantification of the method were 0.1 and 0.5 μg g−1, respectively. Recovery values were in the range of 93.37–106.39 μg g−1, with relative standard deviations less than 6%. The method has been successfully applied to analyze different types of cosmetic products and proved to be reliable.
Sex differences in effect of patients-centered intervention on blood pressure in patients with hypertension
Authors: Kim Hyun-Sun , Kim Hyun-Jin 
Published: August 2023

AbstractHypertension exhibits sex-related differences in its causes, symptoms, and complications. In this study, we aimed to confirm the efficacy of hypertension intervention by applying a patient-centered approach based on sex differences. We enrolled 95 hypertensive patients in this prospective quasi-experimental pretest–posttest study. The patient-centered lifestyle intervention included penalized nutrition and exercise education in 30-min one-on-one sessions. Before the intervention, we conducted a pretest to evaluate physical examination, behavioral status, quality of life (QoL), blood pressure (BP) measurements, and routine blood tests. The same evaluations were conducted again in a posttest after 3 months. After 3 months of patient-centered intervention, all patients showed a decrease in systolic BP by 2.87 mmHg and diastolic BP by 1.04 mmHg. However, there was no significant difference in BP between men and women after the 3-month follow-up. There were differences in lipid profiles based on sex, with total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreasing in men and increasing in women. Behavioral and QoL scores improved after the intervention; however, there was no significant difference based on sex. A patient-centered lifestyle intervention for hypertensive patients can effectively lower BP, and sex-specific risk factors affecting its efficacy have been identified.
Origins of Southern Ocean warm sea surface temperature bias in CMIP6 models
Authors: Luo Fengyun , Ying Jun , Liu Tongya , Chen Dake 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe warm sea surface temperature (SST) bias in the Southern Ocean (SO) has persisted in several generations of Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP) models, yet the origins of such a bias remain controversial. Using the latest CMIP6 models, here we find that the warm SST bias in the SO features a zonally oriented non-uniform pattern mainly located between the northern and southern fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This common bias is not likely to be caused by the biases in the surface heat flux or the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) — the two previously suggested sources of the SO bias based on CMIP5 models. Instead, it is linked to the robust common warm bias in the Northern Atlantic deep ocean through the AMOC transport as an adiabatic process. Our findings indicate that remote oceanic biases that are dynamically connected to the SO should be taken into account to reduce the SO SST bias in climate models.
MArVD2: a machine learning enhanced tool to discriminate between archaeal and bacterial viruses in viral datasets
Authors: Vik Dean , Bolduc Benjamin , Roux Simon , Sun Christine L , Pratama Akbar Adjie , Krupovic Mart , Sullivan Matthew B 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Our knowledge of viral sequence space has exploded with advancing sequencing technologies and large-scale sampling and analytical efforts. Though archaea are important and abundant prokaryotes in many systems, our knowledge of archaeal viruses outside of extreme environments is limited. This largely stems from the lack of a robust, high-throughput, and systematic way to distinguish between bacterial and archaeal viruses in datasets of curated viruses. Here we upgrade our prior text-based tool (MArVD) via training and testing a random forest machine learning algorithm against a newly curated dataset of archaeal viruses. After optimization, MArVD2 presented a significant improvement over its predecessor in terms of scalability, usability, and flexibility, and will allow user-defined custom training datasets as archaeal virus discovery progresses. Benchmarking showed that a model trained with viral sequences from the hypersaline, marine, and hot spring environments correctly classified 85% of the archaeal viruses with a false detection rate below 2% using a random forest prediction threshold of 80% in a separate benchmarking dataset from the same habitats.
The Acoustic and Perceptual Correlates of Gender in Children's Voices
Authors: Funk Riccarda , Simpson Adrian P. 
Published: August 2023

Purpose:
This study investigates the perceptual and acoustic correlates of gender in prepubertal voices. The study is part of a longitudinal project analyzing recordings of circa 60 German primary school children from the first to fourth grades (6- to 10-year-olds).

Method:
Spontaneous and content-controlled audio recordings were made of 62 first-grade children (29 girls, 33 boys; age: 6- to 7-year-olds) from two German primary schools. Information on gender conformity was also recorded. A total of 167 listeners judged the gender of the voices on a 7-point scale. The results of the listening experiments and gender conformity ratings were related to a range of typical acoustic parameters.

Results:
Measures of self-reported gender conformity differ significantly between the boys and the girls. Sixteen of the 62 children show unambiguous gender attributions in the listening experiment. A hierarchical cluster analysis including gender perception, gender conformity, and acoustic parameters shows four different types of speakers. Two multiple regression models revealed a significant main effect of fundamental frequency on the gender perception ratings of the listening experiment across and within gender. Significant correlations were found between the center of gravity and skewness of the sibilants and gender conformity, especially for the male speakers.

Conclusions:
Fundamental frequency plays an important role in influencing perceptual judgments, whereas sibilant spectra are correlated with gender conformity. In further listening experiments, we will examine in more detail the role of individual acoustic parameters and analyze how the vocal expression of gender and gender conformity in individual children develops before reaching puberty.
Smoking Status and Outcomes following Lung Resection
Authors: Ahmed-Issap Amber , Mantio Kim , Jain Shubham , Habib Akolade , Brazier Andrew , Raseta Marko , Abah Udo 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background Surgical resection is the gold standard treatment for the management of early-stage lung cancer. Several modifiable factors may significantly influence postoperative morbidity and mortality. We examined the outcomes of patients following lung resection based upon preoperative smoking status to quantify the impact on postoperative outcomes.
Methods Data from consecutive lung resections from January 1, 2012 to June 11, 2021 were included. Biopsies for interstitial lung disease and resections for emphysematous lung or bullae were excluded. Patients were divided into three cohorts: current smokers (those who smoked within 4 weeks of surgery), ex-smokers (those who stopped smoking prior to 4 weeks leading up to surgery), and nonsmokers (those who have never smoked). Patient's preoperative variables, postoperative complications, length of stay, and mortality were examined.
Results A total of 2,426 patients were included in the study. A total of 502 patients (20.7%) were current smokers, 1,445 (59.6%) were ex-smokers and 479 patients (19.7%) nonsmokers. Of those smoking immediately prior to surgery 36.9% developed postoperative complications. Lower respiratory tract infections (18.1%) and prolonged air leak (17.1%), in particular, were significant higher in smokers. 90-day mortality (5.8%) was higher in the current smokers when compared with ex- and nonsmokers (5.3 and 1%, respectively). Median length of hospital stay, readmissions, and cost of hospital stay was also higher in the current smoker cohort.
Conclusion Smoking immediately prior to surgery is associated with an increase in morbidity, mortality, and length of stay. Not only does this have a significant individual impact, but it is also associated with a significant financial burden to the National Health Service.
Construction of Vicinal Stereocenters via Asymmetric Cyanosilylation
Authors: Huang Zhongxing 
Published: August 2023

AbstractAsymmetric cyanosilylation serves as an important tool to convert easily available ketones into cyanohydrins of diverse reactivity. Whereas a large library of organocatalysts and transition-metal catalysts have been identified for monoketones, cyanosilylation of more-complex substrates, particularly those giving enantioenriched vicinal stereocenters, is underexplored in comparison. Here, a pair of recently published kinetic resolution and desymmetrization methods are highlighted for their success in constructing complex vicinal stereocenters by cyanosilylation using tailored aluminum and magnesium catalysts, respectively.1	Introduction2	Kinetic Resolution of α-Branched Ketones3	Desymmetrization of 1,3-Diketones4	Conclusion
Role of the Gastrocnemius Musculocutaneous with a Propeller Style Skin Flap in Knee Region Reconstruction: Indications and Pitfalls
Authors: Sapino Gianluca , Osinga Rik , Maruccia Michele , Guiotto Martino , Clauss Martin , Borens Olivier , Guillier David , di Summa Pietro Giovanni 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background Soft tissue reconstruction around the knee area is still an open question, particularly in persistent infections and multiple reoperations scenario. Flap coverage should guarantee joint mobility and protection, even when foreign materials are implanted. The chimeric harvesting of the musculocutaneous gastrocnemius flap, based on the sural artery perforators, can extend its applicability in soft tissue reconstruction of the upper leg, overcoming the drawbacks of the alternative pedicled flaps.
Methods A multicenter retrospective study was conducted enrolling patients who underwent to a pedicled, chimeric gastrocnemius musculocutaneous–medial sural artery perforator (GM-MSAP) or lateral sural artery perforator (GM-LSAP) flap for knee coverage in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) recurrent infections and oncological or traumatic defects of the upper leg from 2018 to 2021. Outcomes evaluated were the successful soft tissue reconstruction and flap complications. Surgical timing, reconstruction planning, technique, and rehabilitation protocols were discussed.
Results Twenty-one patients were included in the study. Nineteen GM-MSAPs and 2 GM-LSAPs were performed (soft tissue reconstruction in infected TKA [12], in infected hardware [4], and in oncological patients [5]). Donor site was closed primarily in 9 cases, whereas a skin graft was required in 12. Flap wound dehiscence (1), distal flap necrosis (1), distal necrosis of the skin paddle (1), and donor site infection (1) were the encountered complications. Flap reraise associated to implant exchange or extensive debridement was successful without requiring any further flap surgery.
Conclusion The propeller–perforator GM-MSAP offers qualitative defect coverage and easiness of multiple flap reraise due to skin availability and its laxity.
Prognostic Factors and Resectability Predictors in Insular Gliomas: A Systematic Review
Authors: Papadopoulou Ariadni , Kumar Niraj S. 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background Insular gliomas (INGs) remain a surgically intimidating glioma subgroup encased by eloquent cortical parcels and white matter language tracts, and traversed by multiple middle cerebral artery branches. The predictive power of prognostic factors affecting overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and resectability of INGs remain disputed. This comprehensive systematic review analyses prognostic factors and resectability predictors of INGs substantiating pragmatic management options.
Materials and Methods A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) and the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions guidelines. The PubMed, MEDLINE, and Embase databases were searched in April 2022. All clinical studies with ≥10 patients harboring INGs with any intervention and reporting predictors of OS, PFS, and tumor resectability in INGs were included. Molecular ING prognosticators were also included. Studies combining insular and other gliomas analysis, case studies, experimental and animal studies, conference abstracts, letters to the editor, and articles in other languages were excluded.
Results Of the 2,384 articles returned, 27 fulfilled the inclusion criteria totaling 1,985 patients. The review yielded 18 OS and 17 PFS prognosticators. These were classified as preoperative (radiologic; clinical), intraoperative, and postoperative (molecular; histopathologic; clinical) prognosticators. In addition, 21 resectability predictors were categorized as preoperative (radiologic; clinical), intraoperative (surgical approach and assistive technology), and postoperative (histopathologic; clinical). The quality assessment revealed 24/27 studies had low risk of bias. One study with moderate and two studies with high risk of bias were included.
Conclusion Negative prognosticators reported in ≥2 studies included putaminal or paralimbic involvement and higher tumor grade, while seizures at presentation, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation, increased extent of resection, and higher Karnofsky Performance Status preoperatively and at 3 months postoperation were positive prognosticators. Resectability predictors reported in ≥2 studies included the positive predictors of zone I/zone IV tumor location and intraoperative imaging use and the negative predictor of encased lenticulostriate arteries. Paralimbic INGs are not a single entity with homogeneous prognosis. Integration of identified prognosticators in a prospective trial to devise a grading system for INGs can improve clinical decision-making.
Prophage and Plasmid-Mediated Beta-Lactamases in Multidrug-Resistant Extraintestinal Escherichia coli
Authors: Raj Juliet Roshini Mohan , Dinesh Akshatha , Vittal Rajeshwari , Rohit Anusha 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Objectives Antibiotic resistance can arise as a mutation to adapt to stress or be mediated by horizontal gene transfer. This study aimed at identifying the resistance determinants present in the mobile genetic elements of prophages and plasmids within multidrug-resistant (MDR) extraintestinal Escherichia coli.
Materials and Methods Thirty-five anonymized MDR E. coli isolates of nonintestinal infections were confirmed for their antimicrobial resistance to six categories of antimicrobials by the disk diffusion test. Genes coding for beta-lactamases and carbapenemases in bacterial genome, plasmid, and prophage fractions were separately determined by polymerase chain reaction. Transducing ability of prophages carrying resistance genes was determined.
Results Twenty-six isolates were positive for the gene bla
CTX-M, nine for bla
TEM, one each for bla
KPC and bla
VIM, thirteen for bla
NDM, and seven for bla
OXA. A majority of these isolates carried these determinants in plasmids and prophage fractions. Twenty-one percent of the prophage fractions (4 of 19) were able to successfully transfer resistance to sensitive isolates.
Conclusion This study indicates bla
CTX-M, bla
TEM, and bla
NDM genes that are reported most frequently in MDR isolates are more frequent in the plasmid and prophage fractions thus supporting for increased mobility.
Hypereosinophilia Syndrome: Myriad Presentation—A Case Report
Authors: Patel Mansi , Shah Divit , Patel Sujal , Acharya Sourya , Kumar Sunil , Shukla Samarth 
Published: August 2023

AbstractHypereosinophilic syndrome is a myeloproliferative disorder that is distinguished with the presence of eosinophilia, which is an absolute eosinophil level of more than 1500/µL for no less than 6 months, no recognized cause for eosinophilia, and clear organ involvement characteristics. But, in some cases where patients require therapy to decrease eosinophil counts due to severe symptoms, a lower time period of hypereosinophilic is also admissible. In this case series, we have included three cases in which first case presented with the features of diarrhea, nausea, and decreased appetite who underwent colonoscopy and was diagnosed as a case of eosinophilic colitis. The second patient was a female came with abdominal pain and burning micturition, who was having eosinophilia on blood count examination and was diagnosed as a case of eosinophilic cystitis. Third case was young female who was diagnosed as eosinophilic endocarditis on two-dimensional echocardiography having dyspnea and rash and high eosinophil count on blood smear. All the three patients were started on steroids, who recovered well with medication and were discharged for follow-up after 7 days with complete blood count.
Supply chain challenges and recommendations for international development agriculture projects: an application of the FGD-fuzzy Delphi approach
Authors: Khan Md. Raquibuzzaman , Alam Mohammad Jahangir , Tabassum Nazia , Khan Niaz Ahmed , McKenzie Andrew M. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractInternational development (ID) agriculture projects play a crucial role in ensuring the long-term viability of agriculture-based economies in developing countries. While, unlike other development projects, these projects face unique supply chain challenges that agriculture development projects focus primarily on increasing crop production to ensure food security in a country, which is affected not only by social or national context issues but also by natural environments. Since no previous research has investigated the supply chain issues of ID agriculture projects, this study makes a significant contribution to the literature by identifying the key supply chain challenges of ID agriculture projects in a developing country context and proposing specific solutions to these challenges. Initially, the study conducted a literature review to generate a primary list of project supply chain challenges. To identify more significant and relevant challenges, the study conducted focus group discussions and consulted with an expert panel; it identified seventeen critical challenges and provided specific recommendations to address each challenge. The recommendations were then ranked using the fuzzy Delphi method based on their importance. Certain critical challenges, such as political influence, are exacerbated by the unique project and context environments. While others are the result of donors’ incompatible strategies and influences (e.g., donor-incompatible regulations). Some of them are created by both the host nation and the donors (delayed project launch, for example). Moreover, the projects face specific challenges posed by natural environments (such as natural disasters). To ensure value for money within the project’s scope, it is recommended that the professionals adopt the most important strategies to address the challenges. Not only are the findings impressive for industry professionals, but also policymakers, development partners, academics, and future researchers.