bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Haemoproteus tartakovskyi and Plasmodium relictum (Haemosporida, Apicomplexa) differentially express distinct 18S rRNA gene variants in bird hosts and dipteran vectors
Authors: Harl Josef , Himmel Tanja , Ilgūnas Mikas , Chagas Carolina Romeiro Fernandes , Matt Julia , Nedorost Nora , Iezhova Tatjana A. , Valkiūnas Gediminas , Weissenböck Herbert 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background
Most mammalian Plasmodium species possess distinct 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene copies, which are differentially expressed in vertebrate hosts and mosquito vectors. Although similar sequence patterns were found in avian haemosporidian parasites, expression patterns have not been studied yet. This study aimed to test whether 18S variants of Plasmodium relictum SGS1 and Haemoproteus tartakovskyi SISKIN1 are expressed differentially in bird hosts and dipteran vectors using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH).

Methods
Eurasian siskins (Spinus spinus) experimentally infected with P. relictum SGS1 and naturally infected with H. tartakovskyi SISKIN1 were used. Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes (SGS1) and Culicoides nubeculosus biting midges (SISKIN1) were fed on the blood of infected birds and maintained for several days to allow for the development of oocysts and sporozoites. Total RNA was extracted from bird blood and a subset of the dipteran vectors during each stage of parasite development, followed by qPCRs specifically targeting distinct 18S variants of the two parasites. Organs of the donor birds and whole bodies of the vectors were examined histologically using CISH by targeting different 18S variants of the parasites.

Results

Plasmodium relictum SGS1 expressed two 18S variants in bird blood and mosquitoes, but their expression levels were reversed in birds and vectors, with one variant being preferentially expressed over the other. Using CISH, oocysts were stained with probes targeting both 18S variants, but sporozoites could not be detected, suggesting a suboptimal development of the parasites. Haemoproteus tartakovskyi SISKIN1, which features three distinct 18S variants, expressed one 18S variant in bird blood and two variants in the biting midges, while no signals were detected for the third variant. The results were corroborated by CISH, but surprisingly, some oocysts were also stained by the probe targeting the third variant.

Conclusions
The results indicate that distinct 18S variants of the two parasite species are differentially expressed in bird hosts and vectors. Moreover, for the first time, we provide visualizations of avian haemosporidian oocysts in tissue sections of the vectors, with the discovery of extraintestinal development of oocysts in SISKIN1-infected biting midges.

Graphical Abstract
The causal relationships between gut microbiota and venous thromboembolism: a Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Huang Pin , Xiao Ying , He Ye 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is still one of the most severe health issues, increasing mortality and lengthening hospital stays. Different abundances of gut microbiota have been clinically linked to VTE and coagulopathy. However, whether gut microbiota affected VTE formation remained uncertain.

Methods
The causative links between VTE and 211 gut microbiota at phylum, class, order, family and genus level were separately investigated using two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis. Firstly, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) locus-wide significantly (P < 1.0 × 10− 5) related with gut microbiome abundance were extracted from large genome-wide analysis (GWAS) meta-analysis summary data. Instrumental variables (IVs) without pleiotropy were selected using the PhenoScanner and MR PRESSO test. Then, the MR analysis was implemented using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. Moreover, weighted median method, MR Egger method, simple median method and MR PRESSO were conducted to validate the causal associations. The reliability of the results was also assessed utilizing various sensitivity analyses, reverse MR analysis and multivariate Mendelian Randomization analysis (MVMR).

Results
We found the phylum Firmicutes was robustly protective against VTE with MR analysis. Moreover, five taxa of Actinobacteria phylum (Bifidobacteriales order, Actinomycetales order, Bifidobacteriaceae family, Actinomycetaceae family, Slackia genus) and two taxa of Firmicutes phylum (Bacillales order, Lachnospiraceae UCG-010 genus) were suggestively protective for VTE. While three taxa of Firmicutes phylum (Bacilli class, Lactobacillales order and Lactococcus genus) might suggestively increase the risk of VTE. Sensitivity analyses indicated no significant horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneity, or reverse causal associations. Furthermore, MVMR analysis unveiled independently positive causal association of Firmicutes phylum and Lachnospiraceae UCG-010 genus with risk of VTE.

Conclusion
Two taxa of gut microbes (Firmicutes phylum and Lachnospiraceae UCG-010 genus) were independently protective against VTE, which suggests a potential avenue for developing new cost-effective strategies with minor side effects for VTE prevention and treatment.
A social return on investment analysis of patient-reported outcome measures in value-based healthcare
Authors: Crane Ellie , Noyes Jane , Bianchim Mayara S. , Mclaughlin Leah , Cahill Adele , Roberts Gareth , Stringer Carys 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Objectives
There is growing interest in the use of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) to improve patient and healthcare service outcomes. This study aimed to measure the social and economic value of PROMs implemented within a VBHC framework.

Methods
We conducted a Social-Return on Investment (SROI) analysis in Epilepsy, Heart Failure, and Parkinson’s Disease services, to measure the value generated by PROMs for patients and the healthcare provider.

Results
The SROI analysis revealed substantial variation in the value derived from the PROMs intervention across different services. The highest value was observed in Heart Failure with an SROI ratio of 5.55:1, which represents a substantial return on investment for patients and services. In contrast, the Parkinson’s Disease service had small return on investment from PROMs with an SROI ratio of 1.29:1. In Epilepsy, the social value derived from PROMs was proportionally less than the investment made, with an SROI ratio of 0.85:1.

Conclusion
These findings demonstrate the complexities of implementing PROMs within a clinical context, and careful consideration is likely needed in selecting suitable services and tailoring the implementation of PROMs to effectively meet specific service and patient requirements. Where PROMs yielded low or no value, the lack of return-on-investment prompts a strategic re-evaluation regarding how PROMs are funded, implemented, and utilized. As the first economic evaluation of PROMs in clinical practice, this study is a novel contribution to the emergent VBHC and PROMs evidence base. Furthermore, the findings from this study will inform recommendations to improve PROMs delivery across Wales.
Exploring risk resistant banking strategies: implications for sustainable practices
Authors: Ashik-Uz-Zaman  , Abedin Md.Thasinul , Hossain Md.Sharif 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The subprime mortgage crisis has sharply traumatized the world financial system and subsequently put a question on the resilience. Even the commercial banks from a strong economy like the USA have experienced abrupt collapse. Such a scenario has induced deep concern among the stakeholders of the banking sector globally. Almost all the recent bank failure cases are centered on incapacitated risk governance mechanisms. Credit risk, liquidity risk and capital risks are the fundamental contributors of a risk management framework as per the recent empirical evidence and they are very much intertwined. We have explored the expert justification of the magnitude of these pivotal risks through an open-ended interview approach in order to formulate a sophisticated risk governance framework. We have also explored the determinants of these key risks using both the difference GMM and the System GMM approach on panel data from 2005 to 2020 of listed Bangladeshi banks. We have found that capital adequacy is significantly affected by asset turnover and cash in a positive manner, whereas management efficiency and non-performing loan (NPL) ratio negatively affect it. Asset turnover, experience and cost-to-income ratio negatively affect the credit risk, whereas NPL ratio and liquidity risk ratio influence it in a significant positive manner. Liquidity risk is significantly affected mostly by asset turnover, return on assets, cost-to-income ratio and credit risk. Following the empirical assessment, we have suggested a few policies for the regulatory authority with a view to making the banking practice more risk-resilient and sustainable.
“I Would Advise That It Be Kept from the Schools at All Cost”: The Influenza of 1918–1920 at Nonreservation Indian Boarding Schools
Authors: Adams Mikaëla M. , Dimka Jessica , Mamelund Svenn-Erik , Sattenspiel Lisa 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
In this article, the authors investigate the 1918–20 influenza pandemic in the federal government’s nonreservation Indian boarding schools. Nonreservation boarding schools, which served approximately 6,200 Indigenous youths in 1919, provide a particularly fruitful terrain for analysis due to the detailed records, reports, and correspondence they shared with the Indian Office before, during, and after the pandemic. This rich source base offers a rare opportunity to analyze comparatively how these institutions handled the influenza crisis and how different factors resulted in different outcomes. The authors first describe the Indigenous education system at the time, then document and evaluate patterns of infection, mitigation efforts and medical aid, and responses by the superintendents and Indian Office to the overall experience. Drawing from this discussion, they also use quantitative analysis to investigate the roles of different factors in morbidity and mortality outcomes.
Psychedelic Codes and Close Listening to South Korean Fiction, 1971 – 1989
Authors: Waddell Ethan 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This article draws upon the vernacularized psychedelic rock of Shin Joong Hyun (Sin Chung-hyŏn, b. 1938) and youth culture fiction of Ch’oe In-ho (1945–2013) in order to formulate a method for close listening to literary articulations of a shared artistic pursuit of individual liberation through the undermining of established modes of feeling and consciousness. The article overviews psychedelic aesthetics and coding and explicates their recodification by novelist Yi In-sŏng (b. 1953). It then contextualizes the coeval advent of psychedelic counterculture and youth culture in South Korea vis-à-vis the emergence of a nascent middle class. Next the article illustrates how Ch’oe transposed cosmopolitan musical sensibilities onto stories of alienated urban youth and daydreams of class mobility. It then moves from textual reference to formal homology, interpreting the global countercultural call for self-liberation in two novellas by Ch’oe through psychedelic musical codes of noise and upward movement, respectively. Finally, the conclusion draws upon the work of Kim Ch’ae-wŏn (b. 1946) to reflect upon the legacy of vernacularized psychedelic codes in Korean literature. The article argues that close listening to heterodox and hallucinatory resonances across popular music and understudied works of fiction by well-known authors complicates conventional understandings and cultural histories of subversive art.
Sound, Gender, and the Thing: Earphone and Miss Earphone in Shanghai Cinema, 1939–1949
Authors: Cao Qilin 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This article argues that the earphone is a microcosm of the broader material and societal changes that occurred within the film translation industry in Republican Shanghai. As one of the acoustic devices that shaped the transmission and consumption of sounds in the modern world, the earphone was introduced to Shanghai cinema in 1939 to interpret Western sound films for Chinese audiences. The application of earphones gave rise to a new profession, “Miss Earphone,” whose practitioners were exclusively female, thereby precipitating a counteraction to the male-dominated print translation industry. Such an abrupt transformation brings to the fore the role of the earphone in mediating the entanglement of media, gender, and language. Through the prism of thing theory, this article recognizes the earphone as not only a technical object that assisted the translation enterprise but also a thing through which a rehistoriography could be undertaken concerning media development, the gendering of the labor force, and the remolding of mass entertainment. Correspondingly, within the purview of this essay is not only the human-machine interplay but also the illocutionary force of the earphone in articulating the (re)formation of the human-object relationship within a larger circuit of material development. The thingness of the earphone is, as this article argues, intrinsically inherent in the cross-linguistic endeavors of Shanghai cinema and invariably conditioned by the dynamic interactions between the nonhuman—mediums and techniques—and the human—genders, bodies, senses, and affects.
The combinatorial binding syntax of transcription factors in forebrain-specific enhancers
Authors: Batool Fatima , Shireen Huma , Malik Muhammad Faizan , Abrar Muhammad , Abbasi Amir Ali 
Published: February 2025

ABSTRACT
Tissue-specific gene regulation in mammals involves the coordinated binding of multiple transcription factors (TFs). Using the forebrain as a model, we investigated the syntax of TF occupancy to determine tissue-specific enhancer regions. We analyzed forebrain-exclusive enhancers from the VISTA Enhancer Browser and a curated set of 23 TFs relevant to forebrain development and disease. Our findings revealed multiple distinct patterns of combinatorial TF binding, with the HES5-FOXP2-GATA3 triad being the most frequent in forebrain-specific enhancers. This syntactic structure was detected in 2614 enhancers from a genome-wide catalog of 25,000 predicted human forebrain enhancers. Notably, this catalog represents a computationally predicted dataset, distinct from the in vivo validated set of enhancers obtained from the VISTA Enhancer Browser. The shortlisted 2614 enhancers were further analyzed using genome-wide epigenetic data and evaluated for evolutionary conservation and disease relevance. Our findings highlight the value of these 2614 enhancers in forebrain-specific gene regulation and provide a framework for discovering tissue-specific enhancers, enhancing the understanding of enhancer function.
Swimming smarter, not harder: fishes exploit habitat heterogeneity to increase locomotor performance
Authors: Di Santo Valentina , Goerig Elsa 
Published: February 2025

ABSTRACT
Quantifying the intricate relationship between locomotion, energy expenditure and environmental heterogeneity is pivotal for elucidating the ecological and evolutionary changes in locomotor performance in fishes. This Commentary synthesizes existing research to offer a perspective on how fishes actively exploit complex environments to enhance their locomotor efficiency. Contrary to conventional portrayals of fishes as passive responders to environmental stressors, empirical evidence supports the idea that fishes employ sophisticated strategies to navigate diverse hydrodynamic landscapes. Here, we show clever ways fishes bend the rules of a non-linear speed–energetics curve to save energy below and above optimal cruising speeds. The findings from these behavioral adjustments hold broader implications for understanding fish performance under dynamic environments and conserving fish populations.
Comparative analysis of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and Drug-induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in Children
Authors: Wu Xiaoyuan , Kang Lei , Jia Yanhong , Jia Li , Guo Fang 
Published: February 2025

Objective: To compare the differences between clinical characteristics, therapeutic management, and prognosis of mycoplasma pneumonia (MP) and drug-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) in children.
Methods: This was a retrospective study. The clinical data of SJS and TEN patients admitted to Hebei Children’s Hospital from 2014–2024 were retrospectively analyzed and divided into the MP group and the drug group based on laboratory findings and the ALDEN algorithm for comparative study.
Results: A total of 42 cases were included in the study. Among them, 20 cases were in the MP group and 22 cases were in the drug group. The median age of MP group was 108.0 (54.0, 129.0) months, which was greater than drug group with 42.0 (22.5, 75.0) months, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Ten cases (50.0%) in the MP group had chest CT suggestive of consolidation of lung/pleural effusion, which was higher than the two cases (9.1%) in the drug group, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Both groups were given systemic corticosteroids (Cs) treatment, and the proportion of children receiving Cs shock therapy combined with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in the MP group was significantly lower than that in the drug group, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). When SCORTEN score ≧3, the proportion of the MP group receiving Cs shock therapy and IVIG application increased. The median SCORTEN score in both groups was two, corresponding to a predicted mortality rate of 12.2%, whereas all children in the MP group survived and three died in the drug group, with an actual mortality rate of 13.6%.
Conclusion: MP infection and drugs constitute the predominant triggers of SJS/TEN in children, with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) as the main sensitizing drugs. For those with SCORTEN ≦2 points, macrolides combined with conventional dose Cs may be the first-line treatment option for them.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.3.10286
How to cite this: Wu X, Kang L, Jia Y, Jia L, Guo F. Comparative analysis of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and Drug-induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in Children. Pak J Med Sci. 2025;41(3):687-692. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.3.10286
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Assessment of nerve conduction velocity slowing and its association with the severity of diabetic polyneuropathy, duration of diabetes and glycemic control in diabetic patients
Authors: Zaidi Saba , Abdul Samad Ayesha 
Published: February 2025

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the nerve conduction velocity in diabetic patients and its association with diabetes duration, control and severity of diabetic polyneuropathy.
Methods: This prospective, observational study involved a hundred and thirty-nine patients who underwent nerve conduction studies in the Neurology Department at Liaquat National Hospital during the years June 2023 till May 2024. In all patients, the medical history was taken by direct interview regarding demographics, diabetes duration and recent HbA1c. For the assessment of diabetic polyneuropathy, the NDS-neuropathy disability score was used. The acquired data was entered into SPSS Statistics software for analysis of significant associations between these variables. Statistical significance was defined as a P-value below 0.05.
Results: In this study, we investigated 139 patients with a mean age of 62.20±12.03 years, comprising 60.4% males. The mean HbA1c was 7.46±1.09%, and the mean duration of diabetes was 10.78±7.75 years. Most patients (75.5%) had poor glycemic control, with 92.8% having Type-II diabetes. The mean neuropathy disability score was 5.63±2.39, with 80.6% of patients experiencing neuropathy. Nerve conduction velocity slowing was detected in 54.7% of the patients. Notably, significant associations were found between nerve conduction velocity slowing and diabetes duration (p=0.019), and neuropathy disability score (p=0.000).
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that male gender, poor glycemic control, and a longer duration of diabetes are associated with slowing of nerve conduction velocity. Additionally, the severity of neuropathy, as measured by the Neuropathy disability score, further strengthens these associations, highlighting its significance in assessing diabetic neuropathy progression.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.3.10397
How to cite this: Zaidi S, Samad AA. Assessment of nerve conduction velocity slowing and its association with the severity of diabetic polyneuropathy, duration of diabetes and glycemic control in diabetic patients. Pak J Med Sci. 2025;41(3):699-705. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.3.10397
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Iterated Inside Out: A New Exact Algorithm for the Transportation Problem
Authors: Bargetto Roberto , Della Croce Federico , Scatamacchia Rosario 
Published: February 2025

We propose a novel exact algorithm for the transportation problem, one of the paradigmatic network optimization problems. The algorithm, called Iterated Inside Out, requires as input a basic feasible solution and is composed of two main phases that are iteratively repeated until an optimal basic feasible solution is computed. In the first “inside” phase, the algorithm progressively improves upon a given basic solution by increasing the value of several nonbasic variables with negative reduced cost. This phase typically outputs a nonbasic feasible solution interior to the constraint set polytope. The second “out” phase moves in the opposite direction by iteratively setting to zero several variables until a new improved basic feasible solution is reached. Extensive computational tests show that the proposed approach strongly outperforms all versions of network and linear programming algorithms available in the commercial solvers CPLEX and Gurobi and other exact algorithms available in the literature. History: Accepted by Andrea Lodi, Area Editor for Design and Analysis of Algorithms—Discrete. Supplemental Material: The software that supports the findings of this study is available within the paper and its Supplemental Information ( https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/suppl/10.1287/ijoc.2024.0642 ) as well as from the IJOC GitHub software repository ( https://github.com/INFORMSJoC/2024.0642 ). The complete IJOC Software and Data Repository is available at https://informsjoc.github.io/ .