bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ephemeral Boundaries : Toward a Fluidity of Space
Authors: Kadri Sana 
Published: August 2023

<p>The thesis Ephemeral Boundaries is approached at the intersection of substance, energy, and architecture. Boundaries define the distinctive attributes of space through their material, thermal and perceptual qualities. While ephemerality describes the continuous interaction of boundaries through their fleeting nature. Thermodynamic study offers alternate possibilities of enclosure, creating negotiations between architectural elements, atmospheric environments, and the body. The introduction of gradients and heterogeneity in air, defined by movement, temperature, humidity, and density, drive an alternative approach to buildings that are served by mechanical systems. The orientation of the body-environment is used to explore sensations, variability, and evolving understandings of space. The design project of the Garden Gallery explores boundaries as a composition of experiential space, movement of substances, and spaces of attraction. This thesis explores active nature and boundaries of the body-environment relationship as they lead toward a fluidity of space. </p>
Traces of Postmodern Vocabulary in The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Authors: Bafandeh Pour Abolfazl , Golmohammad Gharehdaghi Mahsa 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe Road, written by the American novelist Cormac McCarthy in 2006, offers a decentring representation of a ruined world in which a handful of people are alive. An alienated father with his lost-in-ambiguity son on the road to survival scours the ruins for food and water, for life and meaning, and for hope long faded in a world bereft of all meaning, civilisation, and humanity, and supplanted by haunting traumas, cannibalism, and death. The novel has been subject to numerous critical analyses among which the postmodern facet, albeit a wide window to see through, has received scant critical attention. In terms of periodization and thematic analysis, postmodernism is a late twentieth century movement, which is often deemed as the successor to modernism, what is after the contemporary, it is characterised by fragmentation in style, a general disbelief in social, political, and religious narratives, paranoia, uncertainty, and deconstruction. Thus, McCarthy depicts a paranoia-stricken world, fragmented in style and theme, beleaguered by scepticism and the depthless. However, as mentioned before, the many aspects of postmodernism discernable in the novel have escaped critics’ attention. Drawing on the extracted terms by Bennett and Royle, known as the “postmodern vocabulary”, seeking to present a synopsis of the terms, and see the present work of art through their lenses, the present article not only delineates the traces of postmodern vocabularies at work in the novel but also strives to explore both their possible cause of appearance in and the effect they have wrought on the post-apocalyptic ambience of the novel. It will be concluded that this novel houses almost all the aspects of postmodernism discussed by Bennett and Royle.
Keywords: Cormac McCarthy, The Road, postmodernism, the postmodern, the postmodern vocabulary
Antibacterial activity of the novel oxazolidinone contezolid (MRX-I) against Mycobacterium abscessus
Authors: Gao Shan. , Nie Wenjuan. , Liu Lina. , Su Lei. , You Yingxia. , Geng Ruixue. , Chu Naihui 
Published: August 2023

ObjectiveTo evaluate contezolid (MRX-I) antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium abscessus in vitro and in vivo and to assess whether MRX-I treatment can prolong survival of infected zebrafish.MethodsMRX-I inhibitory activity against M. abscessus in vitro was assessed by injecting MRX-I into zebrafish infected with green fluorescent protein-labelled M. abscessus. Thereafter, infected zebrafish were treated with azithromycin (AZM), linezolid (LZD) or MRX-I then maximum tolerated concentrations (MTCs) of drugs were determined based on M. abscessus growth inhibition using one-way ANOVA. Linear trend analysis of CFU counts and fluorescence intensities (mean ± SE values) was performed to detect linear relationships between MRX-I, AZM and LZD concentrations and these parameters.ResultsMRX-I anti-M. abscessus minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and MTC were 16 μg/mL and 15.6 μg/mL, respectively. MRX-I MTC-treated zebrafish fluorescence intensities were significantly lower than respective LZD group intensities (whole-body: 439040 ± 3647 vs. 509184 ± 23064, p &lt; 0.01); head: 74147 ± 2175 vs. 95996 ± 8054, p &lt; 0.05). As MRX-I concentration was increased from 0.488 μg/mL to 15.6 μg/mL, zebrafish whole-body, head and heart fluorescence intensities decreased. Statistically insignificant differences between the MRX-I MTC group survival rate (78.33%) vs. corresponding rates of the 62.5 μg/mL-treated AZM MTC group (88.33%, p &gt; 0.05) and the 15.6 μg/mL-treated LZD MTC group (76.67%, p &gt; 0.05) were observed.ConclusionMRX-I effectively inhibited M. abscessus growth and prolonged zebrafish survival when administered to M. abscessus-infected zebrafish, thus demonstrating that MRX-I holds promise as a clinical treatment for human M. abscessus infections.
Precocious puberty in patients with Pompe disease
Authors: Tsai Meng-Ju Melody , Chen Mei-Huei , Chien Yin-Hsiu , Tung Yi-Ching 
Published: August 2023

IntroductionThe life expectancy of Pompe disease patients has increased due to improved neonatal screening and enzyme replacement therapy. Nevertheless, the potential effect of frequent medical device exposure on pubertal development in these patients is not well understood, so further investigation is warranted.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we assessed the growth and puberty of nine Pompe disease patients. In addition, to determine the effects of frequent plastic medical device exposure in these patients, we measured urinary phthalate metabolites before and one day after enzyme replacement therapy.ResultsFive out of nine patients (55%) with Pompe disease on enzyme replacement therapy had precocious puberty. Patients with precocious puberty had significantly shorter predicted adult heights compared to those with normal puberty (p = 0.014). The levels of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP) increased after enzyme replacement therapy, but the average levels of phthalate metabolites did not significantly differ between patients with normal and precocious puberty.ConclusionPompe disease patients on enzyme replacement therapy tend to have precocious puberty, which may reduce their adult height. There are no significant differences in urinary phthalate metabolites between normal and precocious puberty patients. Regular follow-up of growth and puberty in Pompe disease patients is important to improve their health outcomes.
Determinants of maternity waiting home utilization among women who gave birth in public health facilities in the Gedeo Zone, southern Ethiopia: an unmatched case–control study
Authors: Tilahun Dawit , Shaka Mohammed Feyisso , Belay Moges Mareg 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundMaternal mortality remains unacceptably high in Ethiopia, although most of its causes are preventable. One way of tackling this problem is by establishing a maternal waiting home (MWH) close to a health facility. Although the benefits of an MWH have been well-documented, the determinants of its use have not been well-studied. This study aims to identify the determinants of utilization of an MWH among women who gave birth in public health facilities in the Gedeo Zone, southern Ethiopia.MethodsA facility-based unmatched case–control study was conducted between January 2020 and February 2020) among 129 patients belonging to the case group and 257 belonging to the control group. The data were entered into the Epi-Data version 3.1 and exported to the SPSS version 20 statistical package for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, means, and standard deviations were computed. The association between variables was checked using logistic regression analysis, and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to determine the strength of this association. A p-value of &lt; 0.05 was used as a cutoff point to measure statistical significance.ResultA total of 378 respondents (126 cases and 252 controls) were included in the study, successfully achieving a response rate of 97.9%. The mean age of the participants was 27.4 (±5.6 SD) years, which was 28.4 (±5.5 SD) years for case group patients and 26.9 (±5.69 SD) years for control group patients. The educational status of women [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 8.49, 95% CI: 2.91–24.7], travel time (AOR: 2.92, 95% CI:1.41–4.67), antenatal care visits (AOR: 3.54, 95% CI: 1.33–9.38), those having more than two children under the age of 5 years (AOR: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.06–0.26), those with a history of complications in previous childbirths (AOR: 4.52 95% CI: 2.41–8.47), previous place of delivery (AOR: 6.30, 95% CI: 2.71–14.78), and a lack of awareness (AOR: 5.8, 95% CI: 2.23–15.2) were all significantly associated with the utilization of an MWH.ConclusionEducational status, antenatal care follow-up, number of children under 5 years old in the household, previous place of delivery, lack of awareness regarding maternal waiting home service, and travel time were all determinants of MWH use. This implies that interventions focusing on promoting antenatal care visits, institutional delivery, and raising awareness of the benefits of MWHs are important for improving their rate of utilization.
Mendelian randomization to evaluate the causal relationship between liver enzymes and the risk of six specific bone and joint-related diseases
Authors: Huang Guiwu , Li Wenchang , Zhong Yonglie , Liao Weiming , Zhang Zhiqi 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundStudies of liver dysfunction in relation to bone and joint-related diseases are scarce, and its causality remains unclear. Our objective was to investigate whether serum liver enzymes are causally associated with bone and joint-related diseases using Mendelian randomization (MR) designs.MethodsGenetic data on serum liver enzymes (alkaline phosphatase (ALP); alanine transaminase (ALT); gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT)) and six common bone and joint-related diseases (rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoporosis, osteoarthritis (OA), ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout) were derived from independent genome-wide association studies of European ancestry. The inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method was applied for the main causal estimate. Complementary sensitivity analyses and reverse causal analyses were utilized to confirm the robustness of the results.ResultsUsing the IVW method, the positive causality between ALP and the risk of osteoporosis diagnosed by bone mineral density (BMD) at different sites was indicated (femoral neck, lumbar spine, and total body BMD, odds ratio (OR) [95% CI], 0.40 [0.23–0.69], 0.35 [0.19–0.67], and 0.33 [0.22–0.51], respectively). ALP was also linked to a higher risk of RA (OR [95% CI], 6.26 [1.69–23.51]). Evidence of potential harmful effects of higher levels of ALT on the risk of hip and knee OA was acquired (OR [95% CI], 2.48 [1.39–4.41] and 3.07 [1.49–6.30], respectively). No causal relationship was observed between GGT and these bone and joint-related diseases. The study also found that BMD were all negatively linked to ALP levels (OR [95% CI] for TBMD, FN-BMD, and LS-BMD: 0.993 [0.991–0.995], 0.993 [0.988–0.998], and 0.993 [0.989, 0.998], respectively) in the reverse causal analysis. The results were replicated via sensitivity analysis in the validation process.ConclusionsOur study revealed a significant association between liver function and bone and joint-related diseases.
Systematic Mendelian randomization study of the effect of gut microbiome and plasma metabolome on severe COVID-19
Authors: Yan Han , Zhao Si , Huang Han-Xue , Xie Pan , Cai Xin-He , Qu Yun-Dan , Zhang Wei , Luo Jian-Quan , Zhang Longbo , Li Xi 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundCOVID-19 could develop severe respiratory symptoms in certain infected patients, especially in the patients with immune disorders. Gut microbiome and plasma metabolome act important immunological modulators in the human body and could contribute to the immune responses impacting the progression of COVID-19. However, the causal relationship between specific intestinal bacteria, metabolites and severe COVID-19 remains not clear.MethodsBased on two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) framework, the causal effects of 131 intestinal taxa and 452 plasma metabolites on severe COVID-19 were evaluated. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly associated with the abundance of intestinal taxa and the concentration of plasma metabolites had been utilized as the instrument variables to infer whether they were causal factors of severe COVID-19. In addition, mediation analysis was conducted to find the potential association between the taxon and metabolite, and further colocalization analysis had been performed to validate the causal relationships.ResultsMR analysis identified 13 taxa and 53 metabolites, which were significantly associated with severe COVID-19 as causal factors. Mediation analysis revealed 11 mediated relationships. Myo-inositol, 2-stearoylglycerophosphocholine, and alpha-glutamyltyrosine, potentially contributed to the association of Howardella and Ruminiclostridium 6 with severe COVID-19, respectively. Butyrivibrio and Ruminococcus gnavus could mediate the association of myo-inositol and N-acetylalanine, respectively. In addition, Ruminococcus torques abundance was colocalized with severe COVID-19 (PP.H4 = 0.77) and the colon expression of permeability related protein RASIP1 (PP.H4 = 0.95).ConclusionsOur study highlights the potential causal relationships between gut microbiome, plasma metabolome and severe COVID-19, which potentially serve as clinical biomarkers for risk stratification and prognostication and benefit the mechanism mechanistic investigation of severe COVID-19.
Endophytic Beauveria bassiana promotes plant biomass growth and suppresses pathogen damage by directional recruitment
Authors: Sui Li , Lu Yang , Zhou Linyan , Li Nannan , Li Qiyun , Zhang Zhengkun 
Published: August 2023

IntroductionEntomopathogenic fungi (EPF) can colonize and establish symbiotic relationships with plants as endophytes. Recently, EPF have been reported to suppress plant pathogens and induce plant resistance to diseases. However, the potential mechanisms via which EPF as endophytes control major plant diseases in situ remain largely unknown.MethodsPot and field experiments were conducted to investigate the mechanisms via which an EPF, Beauveria bassiana, colonizes tomato, under Botrytis cinerea infection stress. B. bassiana blastospores were inoculated into tomato plants by root irrigation. Tomato resistance to tomato gray mold caused by B. cinerea was evaluated by artificial inoculation, and B. bassiana colonization in plants and rhizosphere soil under B. cinerea infection stress was evaluated by colony counting and quantitative PCR. Furthermore, the expression levels of three disease resistance-related genes (OXO, CHI, and atpA) in tomato leaves were determined to explore the effect of B. bassiana colonization on plant disease resistance performance in pot experiments.ResultsB. bassiana colonization could improve resistance of tomato plants to gray mold caused by B. cinerea. The incidence rate, lesion diameter, and disease index of gray mold decreased in both the pot and field experiments following B. bassiana colonization. B. bassiana was more likely to accumulate in the pathogen infected leaves, while decreasing in the rhizosphere soil, and induced the expression of plant resistance genes, which were up-regulated in leaves.DiscussionThe results indicated that plants could “recruit” B. bassiana from rhizosphere soil to diseased plants as directional effects, which then enhanced plant growth and resistance against pathogens, consequently inhibiting pathogen infection and multiplication in plants. Our findings provide novel insights that enhance our understanding of the roles of EPF during pathogen challenge.
Radiomic markers of intracerebral hemorrhage expansion on non-contrast CT: independent validation and comparison with visual markers
Authors: Haider Stefan P. , Qureshi Adnan I. , Jain Abhi , Tharmaseelan Hishan , Berson Elisa R. , Zeevi Tal , Werring David J. , Gross Moritz , Mak Adrian , Malhotra Ajay , Sansing Lauren H. , Falcone Guido J. , Sheth Kevin N. , Payabvash Seyedmehdi 
Published: August 2023

ObjectiveTo devise and validate radiomic signatures of impending hematoma expansion (HE) based on admission non-contrast head computed tomography (CT) of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).MethodsUtilizing a large multicentric clinical trial dataset of hypertensive patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH, we developed signatures predictive of HE in a discovery cohort (n = 449) and confirmed their performance in an independent validation cohort (n = 448). In addition to n = 1,130 radiomic features, n = 6 clinical variables associated with HE, n = 8 previously defined visual markers of HE, the BAT score, and combinations thereof served as candidate variable sets for signatures. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) quantified signatures’ performance.ResultsA signature combining select radiomic features and clinical variables attained the highest AUC (95% confidence interval) of 0.67 (0.61–0.72) and 0.64 (0.59–0.70) in the discovery and independent validation cohort, respectively, significantly outperforming the clinical (pdiscovery = 0.02, pvalidation = 0.01) and visual signature (pdiscovery = 0.03, pvalidation = 0.01) as well as the BAT score (pdiscovery &lt; 0.001, pvalidation &lt; 0.001). Adding visual markers to radiomic features failed to improve prediction performance. All signatures were significantly (p &lt; 0.001) correlated with functional outcome at 3-months, underlining their prognostic relevance.ConclusionRadiomic features of ICH on admission non-contrast head CT can predict impending HE with stable generalizability; and combining radiomic with clinical predictors yielded the highest predictive value. By enabling selective anti-expansion treatment of patients at elevated risk of HE in future clinical trials, the proposed markers may increase therapeutic efficacy, and ultimately improve outcomes.
Task-based functional neuroimaging in infants: a systematic review
Authors: Agyeman Kofi , McCarty Tristan , Multani Harpreet , Mattingly Kamryn , Koziar Katherine , Chu Jason , Liu Charles , Kokkoni Elena , Christopoulos Vassilios 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundInfancy is characterized by rapid neurological transformations leading to consolidation of lifelong function capabilities. Studying the infant brain is crucial for understanding how these mechanisms develop during this sensitive period. We review the neuroimaging modalities used with infants in stimulus-induced activity paradigms specifically, for the unique opportunity the latter provide for assessment of brain function.MethodsConducted a systematic review of literature published between 1977–2021, via a comprehensive search of four major databases. Standardized appraisal tools and inclusion/exclusion criteria were set according to the PRISMA guidelines.ResultsTwo-hundred and thirteen papers met the criteria of the review process. The results show clear evidence of overall cumulative growth in the number of infant functional neuroimaging studies, with electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to be the most utilized and fastest growing modalities with behaving infants. However, there is a high level of exclusion rates associated with technical limitations, leading to limited motor control studies (about 6%) in this population.ConclusionAlthough the use of functional neuroimaging modalities with infants increases, there are impediments to effective adoption of existing technologies with this population. Developing new imaging modalities and experimental designs to monitor brain activity in awake and behaving infants is vital.
Associations between dietary diversity score and migraine headaches: the results from a cross-sectional study
Authors: Amani Tirani Shahnaz , Askari Gholamreza , Khorvash Fariborz , As’habi Atefeh , Arab Arman 
Published: August 2023

AimsThere is limited evidence on the link between diet quality and migraine headaches. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between dietary diversity score (DDS), as a good representative of overall diet quality, and clinical features of migraine headaches.MethodsIn total, 262 subjects (224 females and 34 males), aged 20 to 50  years old were included in the present cross-sectional study. The migraine headache was diagnosed according to the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3). Clinical features of migraine headaches including frequency, severity, and duration of migraine headaches, headache impact test-6 (HIT-6), and serum levels of nitric oxide (NO) were assessed by standard procedures. The dietary intake of participants has been assessed by a validated 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and used to calculate DDS. The association between DDS and clinical variables of migraine headaches was investigated using multiple linear regression analysis, and the beta (β) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported.ResultsA significant inverse association was found between DDS and headache frequency (β = −2.19, 95% CI: −4.25, −0.14) and serum levels of NO (β = −6.60, 95% CI: −12.58, −0.34), when comparing patients in the third tertile of DDS to those in the first tertile. The association remained significant and became stronger after adjustment for confounders for both outcomes of headache frequency (β = −3.36, 95% CI: −5.88, −0.84) and serum levels of NO (β = −9.86, 95% CI: −18.17, −1.55). However, no significant association was found between DDS with HIT-6 score, migraine headache duration, and severity.ConclusionThe present study demonstrates that higher dietary diversity is correlated with lower migraine frequency and serum levels of NO.