bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ventilatory response to added dead space in infants exposed to second-hand smoke in pregnancy
Authors: Jenkinson Allan , Bednarczuk Nadja , Kaltsogianni Ourania , Williams Emma E. , Lee Rebecca , Bhat Ravindra , Dassios Theodore , Milner Anthony D. , Greenough Anne 
Published: May 2023

AbstractMaternal cigarette smoking in pregnancy can adversely affect infant respiratory control. In utero nicotine exposure has been shown to blunt the infant ventilatory response to hypercapnia, which could increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. The potential impact of maternal second-hand smoke exposure, however, has not yet been determined. The aim of this study was to assess ventilatory response to added dead-space (inducing hypercapnia) in infants with second-hand smoke exposure during pregnancy, in infants whose mothers smoked and in controls (non-smoke exposed). Infants breathed through a face mask and specialised “tube-breathing” circuit, incorporating a dead space of 4.4 ml/kg body weight. The maximum minute ventilation (MMV) during added dead space breathing was determined and the time taken to achieve 63% of the MMV calculated (the time constant (TC) of the response). Infants were studied on the postnatal ward prior to discharge home. Thirty infants (ten in each group) were studied with a median gestational age of 39 [range 37–41] weeks, birthweight of 3.1 [2.2–4.0] kg, and postnatal age of 33 (21–62) h. The infants whose mothers had second-hand smoke exposure (median TC 42 s, p = 0.001), and the infants of cigarette smoking mothers (median TC 37 s, p = 0.002) had longer time constants than the controls (median TC 29 s). There was no significant difference between the TC of the infants whose mothers had second-hand smoke exposure and those whose mothers smoked (p = 0.112). Conclusion: Second-hand smoke exposure during pregnancy was associated with a delayed newborn ventilatory response.

What is Known:• Maternal cigarette smoking in pregnancy can adversely affect infant respiratory control.• The potential impact of maternal second-hand smoke exposure, however, has not yet been
determined.

What is New:• We have assessed the ventilatory response to added dead-space (inducing hypercapnia) in
newborns with second-hand smoke exposure during pregnancy, in infants whose mothers
smoked, and in controls (non-smoke exposed).• Maternal second-hand smoke exposure, as well as maternal smoking, during pregnancy was
associated with a delayed newborn ventilatory response.
Management of children with febrile seizures: a Greek nationwide survey
Authors: Kopsidas Ioannis , Dasoula Foteini Eleni , Kourkouni Eleni , Krepi Adamantia , Mystakelis Harry Α. , Spyridis Nikos , Vartzelis George 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge, principles, and practices concerning the management of children with febrile seizures among pediatricians in Greece. A cross-sectional study was performed across Greece. Pediatricians completed an anonymous and voluntary 11-item questionnaire about their knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to the management of febrile seizures; the survey also collected demographic data. It was first administered in paper form in October 2017. This was followed by an online survey performed between June and August of 2018 and publicized by medical boards across Greece. Descriptive statistics and comparisons between groups were conducted with the significance level set at p ≤ 0.05. We recorded 457 responses. Pediatricians admitted to modifying their advice to the parents of children with febrile seizures by suggesting more “aggressive” fever management at low temperatures or systematically (63%), referral to a specialist after any episode of febrile seizures (63%), or hospitalization in a subsequent episode (67%), even though 72% admitted these practices were of no efficacy. Almost one in three pediatricians (28%) believed aggressive management of fever could delay the onset of febrile seizures; increasing age was associated with this perception. A minority (28%) would make parents aware of febrile seizures before a first episode regardless of family history; 38% would do so in the event of family history.Conclusions: Several pediatricians in Greece use outdated and ineffective practices for the management of febrile seizures, despite the availability of updated evidence-based guidelines. Further training of practitioners is needed to bridge this gap.

What is Known:•Aggressive management of fever at low temperatures with antipyretics, referral to a neurologist, and hospitalization are not supported by evidence or recent guidelines on childhood febrile seizures.•Febrile seizures are especially disturbing to uninformed parents, who may be inclined to pursue aggressive but ineffective treatments as a result.

What is New:•Pediatricians in Greece use non-evidence-based practices for the management of febrile seizures, even when they are aware that these practices are not effective.•Older age increases the likelihood that a pediatrician will pursue guideline non-compliant practices in Greece. At the same time, physicians with over 20 years of experience are more likely to inform parents in advance about febrile seizures.
Prognostic value of preoperative circulating tumor cells for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis: A propensity score analysis
Authors: Yu Jing-jing , Li Ya-ni , Shu Chang , Yang Hui-yuan , Huang Zhao , Tao Ran , Chen Yue-yue , Chen Xiao-ping , Xiao Wei 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Purpose
The role of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) is not fully understood.

Methods
In this retrospective analysis, we included 316 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy and preoperative CTC detection. We selected 41 pairs of matched HCC patients with and without PVTT using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. We compared the preoperative CTC counts in patients from both the full cohort and the PSM model. We also analyzed their associations with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

Results
Before and after PSM analysis, the preoperative CTC counts in the HCC with PVTT group were substantially higher than in the HCC without PVTT group. In both the full cohort of patients and the PSM model, patients with CTC ≥ 2 had significantly shorter OS and DFS than patients with CTC < 2. The outcomes of HCC patients with PVTT could be well differentiated by preoperative CTC levels. HCC patients with CTC ≥ 2 had noticeably shorter OS (9.9 months vs. 24.6 months, P = 0.0003) and DFS (6.0 months vs. 12.3 months, P = 0.0041) than those with CTC < 2. Moreover, preoperative CTC ≥ 2 remained an independent predictor in all groups’ multivariate analysis.

Conclusion
We discovered a link between preoperative CTC counts and the occurrence of PVTT and confirmed the prognostic significance of preoperative CTC in HCC patients with PVTT. These findings suggest that preoperative CTC counts have the potential to assist in identifying patients with HCC and PVTT who may benefit from surgery.
Efficient multi-task learning with adaptive temporal structure for progression prediction
Authors: Zhou Menghui , Zhang Yu , Liu Tong , Yang Yun , Yang Po 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a novel efficient multi-task learning formulation for the class of progression problems in which its state will continuously change over time. To use the shared knowledge information between multiple tasks to improve performance, existing multi-task learning methods mainly focus on feature selection or optimizing the task relation structure. The feature selection methods usually fail to explore the complex relationship between tasks and thus have limited performance. The methods centring on optimizing the relation structure of tasks are not capable of selecting meaningful features and have a bi-convex objective function which results in high computation complexity of the associated optimization algorithm. Unlike these multi-task learning methods, motivated by a simple and direct idea that the state of a system at the current time point should be related to all previous time points, we first propose a novel relation structure, termed adaptive global temporal relation structure (AGTS). Then we integrate the widely used sparse group Lasso, fused Lasso with AGTS to propose a novel convex multi-task learning formulation that not only performs feature selection but also adaptively captures the global temporal task relatedness. Since the existence of three non-smooth penalties, the objective function is challenging to solve. We first design an optimization algorithm based on the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Considering that the worst-case convergence rate of ADMM is only sub-linear, we then devise an efficient algorithm based on the accelerated gradient method which has the optimal convergence rate among first-order methods. We show the proximal operator of several non-smooth penalties can be solved efficiently due to the special structure of our formulation. Experimental results on four real-world datasets demonstrate that our approach not only outperforms multiple baseline MTL methods in terms of effectiveness but also has high efficiency.
New insights into irritable bowel syndrome pathophysiological mechanisms: contribution of epigenetics
Authors: Dothel Giovanni , Barbaro Maria Raffaella , Di Vito Aldo , Ravegnini Gloria , Gorini Francesca , Monesmith Sarah , Coschina Emma , Benuzzi Eva , Fuschi Daniele , Palombo Marta , Bonomini Francesca , Morroni Fabiana , Hrelia Patrizia , Barbara Giovanni , Angelini Sabrina 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex multifactorial condition including alterations of the gut–brain axis, intestinal permeability, mucosal neuro-immune interactions, and microbiota imbalance. Recent advances proposed epigenetic factors as possible regulators of several mechanisms involved in IBS pathophysiology. These epigenetic factors include biomolecular mechanisms inducing chromosome-related and heritable changes in gene expression regardless of DNA coding sequence. Accordingly, altered gut microbiota may increase the production of metabolites such as sodium butyrate, a prominent inhibitor of histone deacetylases. Patients with IBS showed an increased amount of butyrate-producing microbial phila as well as an altered profile of methylated genes and micro-RNAs (miRNAs). Importantly, gene acetylation as well as specific miRNA profiles are involved in different IBS mechanisms and may be applied for future diagnostic purposes, especially to detect increased gut permeability and visceromotor dysfunctions. In this review, we summarize current knowledge of the role of epigenetics in IBS pathophysiology.
Integrated microfluidic systems for fluorescence monitoring rapid kinetic reactions in bioanalysis
Authors: Écija-Arenas Ángela , Zafra-Poyato Antonio , Fernández-Romero Juan Manuel 
Published: May 2023

AbstractA stopped-flow microfluidic fluorimetric biosensor to monitor alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and evaluate the potential inhibitors has been developed, integrating a magnetically retained enzyme microreactor (MREµR) in the reaction/detection zone of the microfluidic chip. The integration supposed the alignment of the MREµR at the sample compartment of a conventional spectrofluorometer using a 3D-printed device. The analytical signal is based on the fluorescence decrease in the signal obtained in the dephosphorylation reaction of the substrate 4-methylumbelliferone phosphate (4-MUP) by the retained ALP-MNPs in an alkaline medium caused by sulfonamides. The excitation and emission wavelengths to monitor the reaction were 363 and 444 nm, respectively. Three sulfonamides, acetazolamide, furosemide, and sulfasalazine, have been used as model analytes. The front-face operating mode of the spectrofluorometer was used to acquire the instrumental signals. The influence of the rotation angle of the microfluidic device on the efficiency of the signal collection has also been studied, obtaining the signals with greater intensity at 75° from the excitation beam. The dynamic range of the calibration graph was 16.81–1111.22 µg mL−1, expressed as sulfonamide concentration, with a limit of detection of 5.04 µg mL−1 (R2 = 0.9989, n = 10, r = 3) for acetazolamide. The method was applied to determine sulfonamide residues in tap water and milk samples, with 88.9–98.7% recovery values. The results have been compared with those obtained using a commercial device connected to the spectrofluorometer, getting faster reaction kinetics.
Graphical abstract
Artificial intelligence to automate the systematic review of scientific literature
Authors: de la Torre-López José , Ramírez Aurora , Romero José Raúl 
Published: May 2023

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) has acquired notorious relevance in modern computing as it effectively solves complex tasks traditionally done by humans. AI provides methods to represent and infer knowledge, efficiently manipulate texts and learn from vast amount of data. These characteristics are applicable in many activities that human find laborious or repetitive, as is the case of the analysis of scientific literature. Manually preparing and writing a systematic literature review (SLR) takes considerable time and effort, since it requires planning a strategy, conducting the literature search and analysis, and reporting the findings. Depending on the area under study, the number of papers retrieved can be of hundreds or thousands, meaning that filtering those relevant ones and extracting the key information becomes a costly and error-prone process. However, some of the involved tasks are repetitive and, therefore, subject to automation by means of AI. In this paper, we present a survey of AI techniques proposed in the last 15 years to help researchers conduct systematic analyses of scientific literature. We describe the tasks currently supported, the types of algorithms applied, and available tools proposed in 34 primary studies. This survey also provides a historical perspective of the evolution of the field and the role that humans can play in an increasingly automated SLR process.
Decreased Soil Microbial Nitrogen Under Vegetation ‘Shrubification’ in the Subarctic Forest–Tundra Ecotone: The Potential Role of Increasing Nutrient Competition Between Plants and Soil Microorganisms
Authors: Stark Sari , Kumar Manoj , Myrsky Eero , Vuorinen Jere , Kantola Anu M. , Telkki Ville-Veikko , Sjögersten Sofie , Olofsson Johan , Männistö Minna K. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe consequences of warming-induced ‘shrubification’ on Arctic soil carbon storage are receiving increased attention, as the majority of ecosystem carbon in these systems is stored in soils. Soil carbon cycles in these ecosystems are usually tightly coupled with nitrogen availability. Soil microbial responses to ‘shrubification’ may depend on the traits of the shrub species that increase in response to warming. Increase in deciduous shrubs such as Betula nana likely promotes a loss of soil carbon, whereas the opposite may be true if evergreen shrubs such as Empetrum hermaphroditum increase. We analyzed soil organic matter stocks and 13C NMR fractions, microbial CO2 respiration, biomass, extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs), and their association with shrub density in northern Sweden after 20 years of experimental warming using open top chambers (OTCs). Our study sites were located in a tundra heath that stores high soil carbon quantities and where the OTCs had increased deciduous shrubs, and in a mountain birch forest that stores lower soil carbon quantities and where the OTCs had increased evergreen shrubs. We predicted that organic matter stocks should be lower and respiration and EEAs higher inside the OTCs than untreated plots in the tundra, whereas no effect should be detected in the forest. Soil organic matter stocks and 13C NMR fractions remained unaffected at both sites. When expressed as per gram microbial biomass, respiration and EEAs for carbohydrate and chitin degradation were higher inside the OTCs, and contrasting our prediction, this effect was stronger in the forest. Unexpectedly, the OTCs also led to a substantially lower microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen irrespective of habitat. The decline in the microbial biomass counteracted increased activities resulting in no effect of the OTCs on respiration and a lower phenol oxidase activity per gram soil. Microbial biomass nitrogen correlated negatively with evergreen shrub density at both sites, indicating that ‘shrubification’ may have intensified nutrient competition between plants and soil microorganisms. Nutrient limitation could also underlie increased respiration per gram microbial biomass through limiting C assimilation into biomass. We hypothesize that increasing nutrient immobilization into long-lived evergreen shrubs could over time induce microbial nutrient limitation that contributes to a stability of accumulated soil organic matter stocks under climate warming.
Metabolic syndrome and cognitive deficits in the Greek cohort of Epirus Health Study
Authors: Koutsonida Myrto , Koskeridis Fotios , Markozannes Georgios , Kanellopoulou Afroditi , Mousas Abdou , Ntotsikas Evangelos , Ioannidis Panagiotis , Aretouli Eleni , Tsilidis Konstantinos K 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Background
Metabolic syndrome is considered an important risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. However, the evidence in middle-aged individuals is still conflicting. The aim of the study was to explore the association between metabolic syndrome and its individual components with cognitive function and to investigate possible interaction between sex, age and genetic predisposition for metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease in a middle-aged Greek cohort.

Methods
A total of 2,077 healthy adults (mean age: 46.7 years) were included in the primary cross-sectional analysis and 305 of them in secondary prospective analyses. Metabolic syndrome was defined by the revised National Cholesterol Education-Adult Treatment Panel III and the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Cognitive function was measured primarily with the Trail Making, Verbal fluency and Logical Memory test, and in secondary prospective analyses with online versions of Posner cueing task, an emotional recognition task, Corsi block-tapping task and Stroop task.

Results
Multivariable linear regressions showed an association of metabolic syndrome with lower performance in attention (β=1.62 seconds, 95% CI=0.20, 3.04) and memory (β=-0.62 words, 95% CI=-1.19, -0.05) that could be driven by associations with elevated fasting glucose and abdominal obesity. Similar associations were observed in the secondary prospective analyses.

Conclusion
In summary, metabolic syndrome was associated with cognitive deficits in domains related with the cognitive profile of vascular cognitive impairment.
Confessions of a baboon watcher: from inside to outside the paradigm
Authors: Strum Shirley C. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIn this “tale” I summarize the major landmarks of my 50-year career watching wild olive baboons (Papio anubis). I review some major discoveries, like baboon hunting and baboon social strategies of competition and defense, that only a creature with a “mind” could manage. My efforts expanded beyond science to include community-based conservation because quite early on these baboons experienced many of the threats of the Anthropocene. My research expanded to include studying crop-raiding by naïve groups of baboons, the first scientific translocation of a primate species, and a detour to study the invasion of a non-indigenous cactus, Opuntia stricta. Throughout I worked with local communities to find solutions to problems that the baboons created, and also to develop new options for their livelihoods. As the baboon research became a long-term project, it depended on a team of Kenyan research assistants who made possible the simultaneous monitoring of up to six baboon troops as well as extensive ecological monitoring. Knowing the ecology, including the impact of the sedentarization of pastoralists in the area, meant we could interpret the process of invasion by a non-indigenous cactus for the first time. Ecological periods allowed comparisons of the same troop over time and different baboon groups during the same ecological phase. Although I began my work before hypothesis testing was the preferred approach, once the paradigm changed, I continued to study and learn what matters to baboons from their perspective. As a result of observing them for 50 years, the baboons showed me that evolution often does not work the way that I had been taught, and it took all my detours and studies to convince me that anecdotes, when they are systematic and comparative, are not stories to be discounted, but evidence, much like Darwin’s natural history. Natural history can reassemble the pieces that quantitative hypothesis testing has teased apart to provide its larger meaning. Today, the lone scientist, like me, is an anachronism because no one person has expertise in the many fields needed to understand and save the primates we care about.
Civic engagement among foreign-born and native-born older adults living in Europe: a SHARE-based analysis
Authors: Serrat Rodrigo , Nyqvist Fredrica , Torres Sandra , Dury Sarah , Näsman Marina 
Published: May 2023

AbstractCivic engagement is one of the cornerstones of participatory democracy and fundamental to preventing old-age social exclusion. Even though civic engagement late-in-life has received considerable attention, there is a lacuna of research on older migrants’ civic engagement. This study aims therefore to examine potential predictors of civic engagement in terms of formal volunteering and participation in political organisations among foreign-born and native-born older adults in Europe. Attention is hereby given to how socio-structural resources and social capital are associated with civic engagement, and whether these associations differ between foreign-born and native-born. Data from wave 7 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe [n = 74,150; 5710 of them are foreign-born] were used in multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results show that socio-structural and social capital variables are positively associated with volunteering and participation in political organisations, both in native-born and foreign-born older adults. The study also suggests that place of birth (in Europe vs. outside Europe) and age-upon-migration play a role in predicting civic engagement among foreign-born older adults, and are therefore features worth considering when studying older migrants’ civic engagement.