bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Heteroanionic synthesis of lanthanum/neodymium-based titanium oxycarbide: a novel approach with multiple objectives for clean energy and pollutant-free environment
Authors: Subramanian Yathavan , Le Minh Thang , Bahruji Hasliza , Sarifuddin Wahid Sidik , Mahadi Abdul Hanif , Gubendiran Ramesh Kumar , S. A. Muhammed Ali , Raj Veena , Yassin Hayati , Irvine John T S , Azad Abul K 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
In this study, a new type of oxycarbide-based compounds, namely lanthanum titanium oxycarbide and neodymium titanium oxycarbide, were synthesized through solid-state reaction to replace titanium oxycarbide due to its rapid charge carrier recombination and limited responsiveness to visible light (VL) in photocatalysis. The structural, morphological, optical absorption, and vibrational properties of the synthesized catalysts were thoroughly characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to assess their suitability for catalytic applications. Subsequently, the photocatalytic behavior of the synthesized materials was evaluated for their ability to degrade the hazardous Congo red (CR) dye in various types of water, including deionized water, domestic utility water used for household purposes, and seawater, under VL illumination. Notably, lanthanum titanium oxycarbide and neodymium titanium oxycarbide exhibited superior degradation efficiencies for CR dye, achieving maximum degradation rates of 87% and 89%, respectively, in domestic water used for routine household purposes within a duration of 90 minutes, when compared to TiOC. However, the degradation efficiency was slightly lower in deionized water and seawater. Additionally, lanthanum titanium oxycarbide and neodymium titanium oxycarbide demonstrated promising hydrogen evolution activity, generating 19.7 and 21.1 µmol/g, respectively, under VL in 180 minutes. The enhanced efficiency in CR removal and hydrogen generation activity of lanthanum titanium oxycarbide and neodymium titanium oxycarbide has been attributed to the synergistic effects of improved VL absorption, higher exciton separation and a supportive pH environment due to the presence of lanthanum, neodymium, and carbon ions in a combined entity.
Practical and veritable threshold multi-factor authentication for mobile devices
Authors: Qin Shihan , Xiao Yuting , Xin Yansen , Gao Birou , Zhang Rui 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is extensively employed in mobile applications to enhance security, including Internet of Vehicles, healthcare systems, smart homes, etc. Traditional MFA requires users to present specific factors, which can be inconvenient if certain factors are unavailable. To address this, $ (t, n) $-threshold MFA (T-MFA) allows users to select any $ t $ out of $ n $ registered factors for authentication. However, existing T-MFA solutions face four key issues: (i) reliance on $ n-1 $ devices, which may be impractical; (ii) susceptibility to denial of service when the mandatory factor fails; (iii) limited factor types, reducing user flexibility; and (iv) increasing client-side computational costs with higher $ t $. In this work, we propose a veritable $ (t, n) $-threshold multi-factor authenticated key exchange protocol that addresses these challenges. Utilizing oblivious programmable pseudorandom functions (OPPRF) as main tools, we eliminate dependence on multiple devices, mandatory factors, and restricted factor types, achieving what we called veritable. We present a new construction of batched OPPRF to reduce client-side costs from $ O(t) $ to $ O(1) $, with 2 exponentiations cost by the client and $ t+1 $ by the server. We implement it with JavaScript to validate its flexibility and efficiency, making it highly suitable for mobile device applications.
Patient and Healthcare Professional Perspectives on Crohn’s Perianal Fistula Treatment: Results From a Discrete Choice Experiment
Authors: Jiang Jeanne , Goodwin Bridgett , Athavale Amod , Cazzetta Susan E , Chen Lily , Edelblut Josiah , Fan Tao , Hadker Nandini , Nazarey Pradeep P 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Background
Crohn’s perianal fistulas (CPF) are difficult to manage and often require multiple interventions. This study aimed to assess the preferences of patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) for attributes of CPF-related procedures/surgeries to better inform CPF management.

Methods
This US cross-sectional, observational study was conducted via a web-enabled questionnaire (October 2021-January 2022) among patients aged 21-89 years with a self-reported physician diagnosis of CPF (with or without CPF-related surgery experience) and HCPs (gastroenterologists and colorectal surgeons who managed ≥3 patients with CPF in the past 12 months). Patient and HCP preferences for CPF-related procedure/surgery attributes were assessed using a discrete choice experiment and stated preference methodology.

Results
In total, 100 patients and 137 HCPs were recruited. Benefits of therapy (symptom control and/or fistula closure) were rated as the most important CPF treatment attribute by both patients and HCPs influencing treatment decisions (mean relative importance 23.9 and 36.3, respectively). The mean relative importance of procedure invasiveness and postoperative discomfort was higher for patients (19.3 and 20.2, respectively) than for HCPs (14.3 and 11.0, respectively), whereas the mean relative importance of fecal incontinence was greater for HCPs than patients (25.0 vs. 19.3, respectively).

Conclusions
Patients and HCPs have different perspectives on the importance of specific CPF-related procedure/surgery attributes. The attributes identified as important to patients and HCPs in this study should be considered when managing patients with CPF and making treatment decisions.
Machine learning-based scoring system to predict cardiogenic shock in acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Böhm Allan , Segev Amitai , Jajcay Nikola , Krychtiuk Konstantin A , Tavazzi Guido , Spartalis Michael , Kollarova Marta , Berta Imrich , Jankova Jana , Guerra Frederico , Pogran Edita , Remak Andrej , Jarakovic Milana , Sebenova Jerigova Viera , Petrikova Katarina , Matetzky Shlomi , Skurk Carsten , Huber Kurt , Bezak Branislav 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Aims
Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a severe complication of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with mortality rates approaching 50%. The ability to identify high-risk patients prior to the development of CS may allow for pre-emptive measures to prevent the development of CS. The objective was to derive and externally validate a simple, machine learning (ML)-based scoring system using variables readily available at first medical contact to predict the risk of developing CS during hospitalization in patients with ACS.

Methods and results
Observational multicentre study on ACS patients hospitalized at intensive care units. Derivation cohort included over 40 000 patients from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA. Validation cohort included 5123 patients from the Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel. The final derivation cohort consisted of 3228 and the final validation cohort of 4904 ACS patients without CS at hospital admission. Development of CS was adjudicated manually based on the patients’ reports. From nine ML models based on 13 variables (heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, blood glucose level, systolic blood pressure, age, sex, shock index, heart rhythm, type of ACS, history of hypertension, congestive heart failure, and hypercholesterolaemia), logistic regression with elastic net regularization had the highest externally validated predictive performance (c-statistics: 0.844, 95% CI, 0.841–0.847).

Conclusion
STOP SHOCK score is a simple ML-based tool available at first medical contact showing high performance for prediction of developing CS during hospitalization in ACS patients. The web application is available at https://stopshock.org/#calculator.
The determination of wide-range pharmaceuticals class in Erzurum biological wastewater treatment plant using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry: occurrence, treatment efficiency, and environmental risk assessment
Authors: Eren Zeynep 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Pharmaceuticals as an important group of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are unintentionally discharged into the aquatic environment due to lack of advanced treatment of classical wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Therefore, the detection and monitoring studies of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in an aquatic environment are getting more important as well as the definition of their ecological risks to the aquatic ecosystem. To conduct these studies successfully, it is necessary to develop sensitive, robust, selective, and reliable methods to be able to analyze PPCPs. This study was carried out in the biological WWTP (BWWTP) of Erzurum City, Türkiye, to investigate the treatment efficiency of pharmaceuticals in the plant and to assess the ecological risks for the Karasu River where treated wastewater is discharged into it. For this purpose, a wide range of pharmaceutical classes in influent wastewater (IWW) and effluent wastewater samples taken from Erzurum BBWWTP, Türkiye was simultaneously identified and quantified with liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry following liquid phase extraction for sample preparation. A total of 55 active pharmaceutical groups in 25 general drug groups (29 subgroups) were detected, with the highest average ratios being 82.459%, 7.306%, 4.949%, and 2.145% for analgesic-anti-inflammatory, antiepileptic, diabetic, and antipyretic pharmaceuticals groups, respectively, in IWW. Although flurbiprofen from the analgesic-anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals group was treated with the average efficiency of 66.13% during the 12-month treatment period, it had a high risk quotient due to the very high initial concentration in WWT in the range of 809.01–22,901.10 µg/L.
Enhanced tolerance to narcosis in starved Daphnia magna neonates
Authors: Steigerwald Sophie , Saladin Yves , Alurralde Gastón , Abel Sebastian , Sobek Anna , Eriksson Wiklund Ann-Kristin , Gorokhova Elena 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Guidelines for ecotoxicity testing with Daphnia magna specify particular feeding protocols during the exposure, yet standardization for preexposure feeding remains ambiguous despite its recognized significance in affecting organismal metabolic capacity and tolerance. This ambiguity may contribute to disparate responses and heightened uncertainty in determining the effect concentrations of test chemicals, particularly those inducing metabolic effects through narcosis. Here, we address this gap through a three-step dose-response experiment with neonates of D. magna subjected to two alternative feeding regimes in the preexposure phase: starved and moderately fed during the first 24 hr after birth. Following this treatment, the daphnids were exposed to narcosis-inducing substances (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; PAHs) for 72 hr before being transferred to clean media with algal food ad libitum for a 48 hr recovery phase. Daphnid survivorship, individual protein content, and body size at the end of each experiment phase—pre-exposure, postexposure and postrecovery—were compared between the treatments. Significant treatment effects were observed, including lower and less variable protein content in the starved daphnids entering the PAH exposure phase, yet higher survivorship and greater recovery potential in these daphnids compared with the fed individuals. Our findings underscore the importance of early-life food access and advocate for mandatory reporting of pre-exposure feeding regimes, particularly when testing substances acting via nonpolar narcosis.
Assessing perfluoroalkyl substance pollution in Central Mediterranean breeding shearwaters
Authors: Michel Lucie , Zhang Junjie , Asimakopoulos Alexandros , Austad Martin , Bustamante Paco , Cecere Jacopo G , Cianchetti-Benedetti Marco , Colominas-Ciuró Roger , Dell’Omo Giacomo , De Pascalis Federico , Jaspers Veerle L B , Quillfeldt Petra 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic organofluorine compounds used in various products, which are highly durable in the environment and may pose risks to wildlife health. We investigated the blood cell concentrations of PFAS in breeding Scopoli's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from three different colonies in the central and southern Mediterranean (Linosa, Malta, and La Maddalena). Shearwaters are flexible, high trophic level foragers, and foraging areas may differ according to sex and breeding stage. We examined inter- and intracolony differences in PFAS blood concentrations and compared them with exploited foraging areas and dietary tracers. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances were detected in all samples, with the major congeners detected in descending order being perfluoroctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFuNA), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA), and perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTriDA). The mean sum of PFAS during the chick-rearing phase was highest in the birds from Malta (145.1 ng/g dry wt, 95% confidence interval [CI] of the mean 106.8, 183.5) compared with Linosa (91.5 ng/g dry wt, 95% CI 72.9, 110.1) and La Maddalena (84.5 ng/g dry wt, 95% CI 61.7, 107.3), and the PFAS blood composition of shearwaters from La Maddalena and Malta differed. The PFAS concentrations in shearwaters from Linosa were higher during incubation than during chick-rearing, and males had higher PFAS concentrations than females during incubation. Some PFAS were associated with carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values. After baseline adjustment of stable isotope values, no differences were observed for adjusted δ15N and δ13C between the three colonies, suggesting that differences in PFAS levels attributed to diet were minor compared with regional differences. Our study highlights that shearwaters are useful biomonitors of PFAS exposure in remote marine areas.
Predicting the toxicity of physically and chemically dispersed oil: a modelling case study with American lobster larvae (Homarus americanus)
Authors: de Jourdan Benjamin , Philibert Danielle , McGrath Joy 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Determining the impact of an oil spill on aquatic ecosystems is a challenge. Because of the chemical complexity of crude oil, risk assessments rely on quantitative structure associated relationships to group chemical classes of compounds based on similar modes of toxicity. Quantitative structure associated relationships like the target lipid model can be used to determine species sensitivity by determining the critical target lipid body burden (CTLBB) and can be used to calculate the toxic units (TU) of a mixture. In this study we used the CTLBB generated from single polycyclic aromatic compound toxicity data and the analytical chemistry of whole oil to predicted and validate toxicity of both water-accommodated fraction (WAF) of crude oil and chemically dispersed WAF (CEWAF) to American lobster (Homarus americanus) larvae. A two-step procedure for modelling whole oil partitioning was utilized to compute the dissolved components in each of the WAF and CEWAF dilutions. Then, a species and life stage specific CTLBB derived for lobster larvae was applied in PetroTox to compute the TUs of exposure solution. The approach used in this study was able to effectively predict the effects observed in the exposures and can be integrated into oil spill fate and effects models to improve the oil spill assessment and response.
Comparison of visual assessment and quantitative goodness-of-fit metrics on GUTS model fits
Authors: Bauer Barbara , Singer Alexander , Jakoby Oliver , Nickisch Dirk , Preuss Thomas , Witt Johannes , Wittwer Torben , Gergs André 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
For the application of toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic (TKTD) models in the European environmental risk assessment (ERA) of plant protection products, it is recommended to evaluate model predictions of the calibration as well as the independent validation data set based on qualitative criteria (visual assessment) and quantitative goodness-of-fit (GoF) metrics. The aims of this study were to identify whether quantitative criteria coincide with human visual perception of model performance and which evaluator characteristics influence their perception. In an anonymous online survey, &gt; 70 calibration and validation general unified threshold models of survival (GUTS) fits were ranked by 64 volunteers with a professional interest in ecotoxicology and TKTD modeling. Participants were asked to score model fits to the time resolved survival data from toxicity experiments and to an aggregated dose-response curve representation. Dose-response curve plots tended to be scored better than time series, although both representations were based on the same toxicity test data and model results. For the time series, quantitative indices and visual assessments generally agreed on model performance. However, rankings varied with individual perceptions of the participants. Visual assessment scores were best predicted using a combination of GoF metrics. From the survey participants’ majority agreement on fit acceptance, GoF cut-off criteria could be derived that indicated sufficient fit performance. The most conservative GoF criterion well resembled current suggestions by the European Food Safety Authority. Hence, the survey results provide evidence that current quantitative GUTS assessment practice in ERA is consistent with perceptions of fit quality based on visual judgements of the dynamic model behavior by a large number of practitioners. Thus, our study fosters trust in model performance assessment.
Buff-tailed bumblebee, an underrated indicator of air pollution: a comparison of particulate matter accumulation by Bombus terrestris L. and Apis mellifera L.
Authors: Moniuszko Hanna , Przybysz Arkadiusz , Borański Mikołaj , Splitt Aleksandra , Jachuła Jacek , Popek Robert 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Anthropogenic and natural particulate matter (PM) affects urban and agricultural areas and contaminates the bodies of Apis mellifera (honeybee) and Bombus terrestris (buff-tailed bumblebee). Although both species accumulate PM, scientific interest has primarily focused on A. mellifera as a pollution indicator. This study directly compared the efficacy of honeybees and bumblebees as indicators of PM and its associated trace elements (TEs). Insects were collected from ecological and conventional apple orchards and underwent quantitative analysis of total PM, PM size fractions, and TEs. To establish an environmental context, plant samples and bee products were obtained from both plantations, and screened for PM and/or TEs. Bombus terrestris accumulated 191.3 μg total PM per individual, whereas A. mellifera accumulated 64 μg. Particular PM size fractions were also significantly more abundant on bumblebees. Accumulation patterns of total and large PM on bumblebees differed between the ecological and conventional orchards. Total PM accumulated by both species combined correlated strongly with the total PM covering apple tree foliage in the ecological orchard (r = 0.836) and with grass in the conventional orchard (r = 0.851). The amount of total PM accumulated by B. terrestris strongly correlated with the concentrations of Fe (r = 0.927) and Mn (r = 0.91) in this species. Accumulation of Fe by A. mellifera correlated with the content of this metal in pollen (r = 0.912) and bee bread (r = 0.91), whereas the reverse trend was found for Mo in bee bread (r = –0.912). The results indicate that B. terrestris is a more accurate pollution indicator, with potentially greater efficacy in more polluted areas. The observed differences are most likely attributed to the distinct morphology and behavior of the species.
Individual and combined toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics and clothianidin toward Daphnia magna, Lemna minor, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Microcystis aeruginosa
Authors: Bandeira Felipe Ogliari , Alves Paulo Roger Lopes , Hennig Thuanne Braúlio , Vaz Vitor Pereira , Vicentini Denice Schulz , Juneau Philippe , Dewez David , Matias William Gerson 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Nanoplastics (NPs) and neonicotinoids are common pollutants in aquatic ecosystems. Although their co-occurrence is expected in multiple environments, studies assessing their combined effects are still limited. This toxicological assessment investigated the potential effects of polystyrene NPs (PSNPs), clothianidin (CLO), and their mixtures on four aquatic species: the freshwater cladoceran Daphnia magna, the duckweed Lemna minor, the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. Toxicological tests were performed following International Organization for Standardization and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development protocols. Acute, chronic (multigenerational) and swimming behavior tests were performed with D. magna, and growth inhibition tests were run with L. minor, C. reinhardtii, and M. aeruginosa. Abbott's model was used to predict the toxicological interactions of the mixtures for each one of the tested species. The D. magna immobility and swimming behavior tests revealed that the combined toxicities of PSNPs and CLO are decreased when the compounds are present as a mixture. Antagonistic interactions were also observed for C. reinhardtii growth, whereas for L. minor and M. aeruginosa, interactions ranged from antagonism to additivity. Chronic multigenerational tests with D. magna revealed that neonates obtained from the exposed parental generation showed a delay in the first brood during the recovery (nonexposure) phase, but this effect disappeared at the next generation, which indicates that microcrustaceans will probably be able to recover on a long-term scale if contamination is stopped. Our results provide new insights into the combined toxicity and ecological risk of NPs and neonicotinoids toward aquatic organisms.