bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cardiac output estimated from an uncalibrated radial blood pressure waveform: validation in an in-silico-generated population
Authors: Bikia Vasiliki , Rovas Georgios , Stergiopulos Nikolaos 
Published: May 2023

Background: Cardiac output is essential for patient management in critically ill patients. The state-of-the-art for cardiac output monitoring bears limitations that pertain to the invasive nature of the method, high costs, and associated complications. Hence, the determination of cardiac output in a non-invasive, accurate, and reliable way remains an unmet need. The advent of wearable technologies has directed research towards the exploitation of wearable-sensed data to improve hemodynamical monitoring.Methods: We developed an artificial neural networks (ANN)-enabled modelling approach to estimate cardiac output from radial blood pressure waveform. In silico data including a variety of arterial pulse waves and cardiovascular parameters from 3,818 virtual subjects were used for the analysis. Of particular interest was to investigate whether the uncalibrated, namely, normalized between 0 and 1, radial blood pressure waveform contains sufficient information to derive cardiac output accurately in an in silico population. Specifically, a training/testing pipeline was adopted for the development of two artificial neural networks models using as input: the calibrated radial blood pressure waveform (ANNcalradBP), or the uncalibrated radial blood pressure waveform (ANNuncalradBP).Results: Artificial neural networks models provided precise cardiac output estimations across the extensive range of cardiovascular profiles, with accuracy being higher for the ANNcalradBP. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and limits of agreement were found to be equal to [0.98 and (−0.44, 0.53) L/min] and [0.95 and (−0.84, 0.73) L/min] for ANNcalradBP and ANNuncalradBP, respectively. The method’s sensitivity to major cardiovascular parameters, such as heart rate, aortic blood pressure, and total arterial compliance was evaluated.Discussion: The study findings indicate that the uncalibrated radial blood pressure waveform provides sample information for accurately deriving cardiac output in an in silico population of virtual subjects. Validation of our results using in vivo human data will verify the clinical utility of the proposed model, while it will enable research applications for the integration of the model in wearable sensing systems, such as smartwatches or other consumer devices.
Biosynthesis of phyto-functionalized silver nanoparticles using olive fruit extract and evaluation of their antibacterial and antioxidant properties
Authors: Ullah Sami , Khalid Rimsha , Rehman Muhammad F. , Irfan Muhammad I. , Abbas Azhar , Alhoshani Ali , Anwar Farooq , Amin Hatem M. A. 
Published: May 2023

The green synthesis of nanomaterials is of utmost interest as it offers an eco-friendly approach over chemical synthetic routes. However, the reported biosynthesis methods are often time-consuming and require heating or mechanical stirring. The current study reports a facile one-pot biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) mediated by olive fruit extract (OFE) and sunlight irradiation of only 20 s. OFE acts as both a reducing and a capping agent for the formation of OFE-capped AgNPs (AgNPs@OFE). The as-synthesized NPs were systematically characterized by UV-vis spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electrochemical microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and cyclic voltammetry. SEM images confirmed the successful formation of monodispersed spherical AgNPs@OFE of approximately 77 nm. FTIR spectroscopy suggested the involvement of functional groups of phytochemicals from the OFE in the capping and reduction of Ag+to Ag. The particles revealed excellent colloidal stability as evidenced from the high zeta potential (ZP) value (−40 mV). Interestingly, using the disk diffusion method, AgNPs@OFE revealed higher inhibition efficiency against Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli,Klebsiella oxytoca, and extensively drug-resistant (XDR)Salmonella typhi) than Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus), withEscherichia colishowing the highest inhibition zone of 27 mm. In addition, AgNPs@OFE exhibited maximum potent antioxidant scavenging potential against H2O2, followed by DPPH, O2−, and OH−free radicals. Overall, OFE can be considered an effective source for the sustainable production of stable AgNPs with potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities for biomedical applications.
Antibodies against Porphyromonas gingivalis in serum and saliva and their association with rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis. Data from two rheumatoid arthritis cohorts in Sweden
Authors: Svärd Anna , Kastbom Alf , Ljungberg Karin Roos , Potempa Barbara , Potempa Jan , Persson G. Rutger , Renvert Stefan , Berglund Johan Sanmartin , Söderlin Maria K. 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundPeriodontitis and oral pathogenic bacteria can contribute to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A connection between serum antibodies to Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and RA has been established, but data on saliva antibodies to P. gingivalis in RA are lacking. We evaluated antibodies to P. gingivalis in serum and saliva in two Swedish RA studies as well as their association with RA, periodontitis, antibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPA), and RA disease activity.MethodsThe SARA (secretory antibodies in RA) study includes 196 patients with RA and 101 healthy controls. The Karlskrona RA study includes 132 patients with RA ≥ 61 years of age, who underwent dental examination. Serum Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies and saliva IgA antibodies to the P. gingivalis–specific Arg-specific gingipain B (RgpB) were measured in patients with RA and controls.ResultsThe level of saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies was significantly higher among patients with RA than among healthy controls in multivariate analysis adjusted for age, gender, smoking, and IgG ACPA (p = 0.022). Saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies were associated with RA disease activity in multivariate analysis (p = 0.036). Anti-RgpB antibodies were not associated with periodontitis or serum IgG ACPA.ConclusionPatients with RA had higher levels of saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies than healthy controls. Saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies may be associated with RA disease activity but were not associated with periodontitis or serum IgG ACPA. Our results indicate a local production of IgA anti-RgpB in the salivary glands that is not accompanied by systemic antibody production.
A multifactorial analysis of FAP to regulate gastrointestinal cancers progression
Authors: Cai Jialing , Yang Depeng , Sun Handi , Xiao Lixing , Han Fang , Zhang Mengmeng , Zhou Lu , Jiang Meiyi , Jiang Qinghua , Li Yu , Nie Huan 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundFibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a cell-surface serine protease that has both dipeptidyl peptidase as well as endopeptidase activities and could cleave substrates at post-proline bond. Previous findings showed that FAP was hard to be detected in normal tissues but significantly up-regulated in remodeling sites like fibrosis, atherosclerosis, arthritis and embryonic tissues. Though increasing evidence has demonstrated the importance of FAP in cancer progression, no multifactorial analysis has been developed to investigate its function in gastrointestinal cancers until now.MethodsBy comprehensive use of datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), scTIME Portal and Human Protein Atlas (HPA), we evaluated the carcinogenesis potential of FAP in gastrointestinal cancers, analyzing the correlation between FAP and poor outcomes, immunology in liver, colon, pancreas as well as stomach cancers. Then liver cancer was selected as example to experimentally validate the pro-tumor and immune regulative role of FAP in gastrointestinal cancers.ResultsFAP was abundantly expressed in gastrointestinal cancers, such as LIHC, COAD, PAAD and STAD. Functional analysis indicated that the highly-expressed FAP in these cancers could affect extracellular matrix organization process and interacted with genes like COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1 and POSTN. In addition, it was also observed that FAP was positively correlated to M2 macrophages infiltration across these cancers. To verify these findings in vitro, we used LIHC as example and over-expressed FAP in human hepatic stellate LX2 cells, a main cell type that produce FAP in tumor tissues, and then investigate its role on LIHC cells as well as macrophages. Results showed that the medium from FAP-over-expressed LX2 cells could significantly promote the motility of MHCC97H and SK-Hep1 LIHC cells, increase the invasion of THP-1 macrophages and induce them into pro-tumor M2 phenotype.ConclusionIn summary, we employed bioinformatic tools and experiments to perform a comprehensive analysis about FAP. Up-regulation of FAP in gastrointestinal cancers was primarily expressed in fibroblasts and contributes to tumor cells motility, macrophages infiltration and M2 polarization, revealing the multifactorial role of FAP in gastrointestinal cancers progression.
Comparative analysis of CAR T-cell therapy access for DLBCL patients: associated challenges and solutions in the four largest EU countries
Authors: Canales Albendea Miguel Á. , Canonico Pier Luigi , Cartron Guillaume , Deiters Barthold , Jommi Claudio , Marks Reinhard , Rioufol Catherine , Sancho Cia Juan M. , Santoro Armando , Wagner-Drouet Eva M. 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionCAR T-cell therapy has emerged as a promising new immuno-oncology treatment that engages the patient’s immune system to fight certain hematological malignancies, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In the European Union (EU), CAR T-cell therapies have been approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) DLBCL patients since 2018, but patient access is often still limited or delayed. This paper is aimed at discussing challenges to access and possible solutions in the largest four EU countries.MethodsThe analysis relied on literature review, market data collection, since homogeneous data coming from registries were not available, and discussion with experts coming from all four countries.ResultsWe calculated that in 2020, between 58% and 83% of R/R DLBCL patients (EMA approved label population) or between 29% and 71% of the estimated medically eligible R/R DLBCL patients, were not treated with a licensed CAR T-cell therapy. Common challenges along the patient journey that may result in limited access or delays to CAR T-cell therapy were identified. These include timely identification and referral of eligible patients, pre-treatment funding approval by authorities and payers, and resource needs at CAR T-cell centers.DiscussionThese challenges, existing best practices and recommended focus areas for health systems are discussed here, with the aim to inform necessary actions for overcoming patient access challenges for current CAR T-cell therapies as well as for future cell and gene therapies.
Unraveling the Metabolic Requirements of the Gut Commensal Bacteroides ovatus
Authors: Fultz Robert , Ticer Taylor , Ihekweazu Faith D. , Horvath Thomas D. , Haidacher Sigmund J. , Hoch Kathleen M. , Bajaj Meghna , Spinler Jennifer K. , Haag Anthony M. , Buffington Shelly A. , Engevik Melinda A. 
Published: May 2023

Background: Bacteroidetes are the most common bacterial phylum in the mammalian intestine and the effects of several Bacteroides spp. on multiple facets of host physiology have been previously described. Of the Bacteroides spp., Bacteroides ovatus has recently garnered attention due to its beneficial effects in the context of intestinal inflammation. In this study, we aimed to examine model host intestinal physiological conditions and dietary modifications to characterize their effects on B. ovatus growth.Methods and Results: Using Biolog phenotypic microarrays, we evaluated 62 primary carbon sources and determined that B. ovatus ATCC 8384 can use the following carbohydrates as primary carbon sources: 10 disaccharides, 4 trisaccharides, 4 polysaccharides, 4 polymers, 3 L-linked sugars, 6 D-linked sugars, 5 amino-sugars, 6 alcohol sugars, and 15 organic acids. Proteomic profiling of B. ovatus bacteria revealed that a significant portion of the B. ovatus proteome contains proteins important for metabolism. Among the proteins, we found glycosyl hydrolase (GH) familes GH2, GH5, GH20, GH 43, GH88, GH92, and GH95. We also identified multiple proteins with antioxidant properties and reasoned that these proteins may support B. ovatus growth in the GI tract. Upon further testing, we showed that B. ovatus grew robustly in various pH, osmolarity, bile, ethanol, and H2O2 concentrations; indicating that B. ovatus is a well-adapted gut microbe.Conclusion: Taken together, we have demonstrated that key host and diet-derived changes in the intestinal environment influence B. ovatus growth. These data provide the framework for future work toward understanding how diet and lifestyle interventions may promote a beneficial environment for B. ovatus growth.
Eliciting brain waves of people with cognitive impairment during meditation exercises using portable electroencephalography in a smart-home environment: a pilot study
Authors: Lazarou Ioulietta , Oikonomou Vangelis P. , Mpaltadoros Lampros , Grammatikopoulou Margarita , Alepopoulos Vasilis , Stavropoulos Thanos G. , Bezerianos Anastasios , Nikolopoulos Spiros , Kompatsiaris Ioannis , Tsolaki Magda ,   RADAR-AD Consortium
Published: May 2023

ObjectivesMeditation imparts relaxation and constitutes an important non-pharmacological intervention for people with cognitive impairment. Moreover, EEG has been widely used as a tool for detecting brain changes even at the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The current study investigates the effect of meditation practices on the human brain across the AD spectrum by using a novel portable EEG headband in a smart-home environment.MethodsForty (40) people (13 Healthy Controls—HC, 14 with Subjective Cognitive Decline—SCD and 13 with Mild Cognitive Impairment—MCI) participated practicing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (Session 2-MBSR) and a novel adaptation of the Kirtan Kriya meditation to the Greek culture setting (Session 3-KK), while a Resting State (RS) condition was undertaken at baseline and follow-up (Session 1—RS Baseline and Session 4—RS Follow-Up). The signals were recorded by using the Muse EEG device and brain waves were computed (alpha, theta, gamma, and beta).ResultsAnalysis was conducted on four-electrodes (AF7, AF8, TP9, and TP10). Statistical analysis included the Kruskal–Wallis (KW) nonparametric analysis of variance. The results revealed that both states of MBSR and KK lead to a marked difference in the brain’s activation patterns across people at different cognitive states. Wilcoxon Signed-ranks test indicated for HC that theta waves at TP9, TP10 and AF7, AF8 in Session 3-KK were statistically significantly reduced compared to Session 1-RS Z = –2.271, p = 0.023, Z = −3.110, p = 0.002 and Z = −2.341, p = 0.019, Z = −2.132, p = 0.033, respectively.ConclusionThe results showed the potential of the parameters used between the various groups (HC, SCD, and MCI) as well as between the two meditation sessions (MBSR and KK) in discriminating early cognitive decline and brain alterations in a smart-home environment without medical support.
Control of center of mass motion during walking correlates with gait and balance in people with incomplete spinal cord injury
Authors: Dusane Shamali , Shafer Anna , Ochs Wendy L. , Cornwell Tara , Henderson Heather , Kim Kwang-Youn A. , Gordon Keith E. 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundThere is evidence that ambulatory people with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) have an impaired ability to control lateral motion of their whole-body center of mass (COM) during walking. This impairment is believed to contribute to functional deficits in gait and balance, however that relationship is unclear. Thus, this cross-sectional study examines the relationship between the ability to control lateral COM motion during walking and functional measures of gait and balance in people with iSCI.MethodsWe assessed the ability to control lateral COM motion during walking and conducted clinical gait and balance outcome measures on 20 ambulatory adults with chronic iSCI (C1-T10 injury, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale C or D). To assess their ability to control lateral COM motion, participants performed three treadmill walking trials. During each trial, real-time lateral COM position and a target lane were projected on the treadmill. Participants were instructed to keep their lateral COM position within the lane. If successful, an automated control algorithm progressively reduced the lane width, making the task more challenging. If unsuccessful, the lane width increased. The adaptive lane width was designed to challenge each participant’s maximum capacity to control lateral COM motion during walking. To quantify control of lateral COM motion, we calculated lateral COM excursion during each gait cycle and then identified the minimum lateral COM excursion occurring during five consecutive gait cycles. Our clinical outcome measures were Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go test (TUG), 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT) and Functional Gait Assessment (FGA). We used a Spearman correlation analysis (ρ) to examine the relationship between minimum lateral COM excursion and clinical measures.ResultsMinimum lateral COM excursion had significant moderate correlations with BBS (ρ = −0.54, p = 0.014), TUG (ρ = 0.59, p = 0.007), FGA (ρ = −0.59, p = 0.007), 10MWT-preferred (ρ = −0.59, p = 0.006) and 10MWT-fast (ρ = −0.68, p = 0.001).ConclusionControl of lateral COM motion during walking is associated with a wide range of clinical gait and balance measures in people with iSCI. This finding suggests the ability to control lateral COM motion during walking could be a contributing factor to gait and balance in people with iSCI.
Pet’s influence on humans’ daily physical activity and mental health: a meta-analysis
Authors: Martins Catarina F. , Soares Jorge P. , Cortinhas António , Silva Luís , Cardoso Luís , Pires Maria A. , Mota Maria P. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe benefits of the human-animal bond on owners’ health and quality of life have been the focus of research in recent decades. However, the results are still inconsistent. Thus, this study aims to investigate whether the presence of a pet, compared to a control group, influences daily physical activity levels and mental health using a meta-analytic method.MethodsThe PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched for all research articles that included pets as an object of study and related mental health and quality of life variables between pet owners and non-owners until April 2022. The PRISMA 2020 checklist was used, and the Downs and Back checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies. Standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the difference between a group of pet owners and non-pet owners.ResultsAn initial search located 11,389 studies, but only 49 studies fulfilled all requirements. Our results indicate that pets have a moderately significant positive effect on the physical activity of owners compared to non-pet owners. Among the moderating variables, the frequency of physical activity showed a highly significant effect, indicating that owners had a higher frequency of physical activity than non-owners. Moreover, our results indicate a significant impact but with a low effect size of pets on owners’ mental health when compared to non-pet owners.ConclusionPet ownership does not seem to influence owners’ mental health, but it does influence their physical activity. Specifically, owners show a higher frequency of physical activity than non-owners.
Sensing Deformation in Vacuum Driven Foam-Based Actuator via Inductive Method
Authors: Joe Seonggun , Wang Hongbo , Totaro Massimo , Beccai Lucia 
Published: May 2023

Perception in soft robotics is crucial to allow a safe interaction to effectively explore the environment. Despite the inherent capabilities of soft materials, embedding reliable sensing in soft actuators or robots could introduce constraints in the overall design (e.g., loss of deformability, undesired trajectories, etc.) or reduce their compliant characteristics. Consequently, an adequate stiffness for both sensor and actuator becomes a crucial design parameter. In particular, for sensing the deformation related to actuation motion, sensing and actuating strategies must work in full mechanical synergy. In this view, an inductive sensing solution is presented, exploiting open-cell foam and a copper (Cu) wire in an Inductive Foam Sensor (IFS). Due to entangled air cells high deformability is enabled upon vacuum pressure, and proprioceptive information is provided. The IFS is then successfully integrated into the earlier developed Ultralight Hybrid Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (UH-PAM), which encases an elastomeric bellow skin and plastic rings. Such sensorized UH-PAM (SUH-PAM) is capable of a high contraction ratio (54% upon −80 kPa), while the inductive sensing shows a high sensitivity of 0.01031/1% and a hysteresis of 5.35%, with an average error of 1.85%, respectively. In order to implement a robust feedback control system, an adaptable proportional sliding mode control is presented. As a result, the SUH-PAM motion can be controlled to the mm-scale, with an RMSE of 0.925 mm, and high robustness against disturbances is demonstrated.
Two Sides of the Same Coin: Sensation Seeking Fosters Both Resiliency and Tobacco and Alcohol Use Among 16-Year-Olds
Authors: Jochimek Magdalena , Lipowski Mariusz , Lipowska Małgorzata , Łada-Maśko Ariadna Beata 
Published: May 2023

Objectives: Sensation seeking (SS) is associated with engaging in risk behaviors and it is also positively correlated with engaging in physical activity and building beneficial personality resources for coping processes. This study investigates the role of SS in building resiliency and the risk of tobacco and alcohol use.Methods: A total of 649 adolescents, who either practice or do not practice sports, took part in this study. Participants completed a set of questionnaires which verify level of: SS, resiliency, tobacco and alcohol use.Results: No statistically significant gender- or sports-related differences were observed on the tobacco and alcohol use, as well as for SS according to the ANOVA results. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that the effect of SS on tobacco and alcohol use through resiliency was significant for the female PE and the male athlete group.Conclusion: Higher influence of SS on resiliency was noted in the male athlete group, and in this case resiliency was a factor protecting against tobacco use. Engaging in sports fosters resiliency, the mechanisms underlying the development of resiliency seem to be aided by SS.