bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Understanding the inventor team size: A view from “The Rice Theory”
Authors: Zhao Yixin , Zong Qingqing 
Published: July 2022

AbstractThe inventor is a vital input in acquiring new technologies. Collaboration among inventors is an essential topic for scholars. Talhelm et al. proposed The Rice Theory, highlighting the cultural differences between rice and wheat regions. This paper explores the differences in inventor team size under rice and wheat cultures using invention patent data in China. The results of ordinary least square estimation and instrumental variable estimation indicate that the size of inventor teams under rice culture is significantly smaller than that under wheat culture by 0.558–0.721 persons. Using the Chinese Qinling–Huaihe line, this paper constructs a regression discontinuity (RD) design. The local average treatment effect estimation confirms the difference in rice and wheat cultures. Subsequently, we demonstrate the significant existence of this difference through lots of robustness checks. We try to explain the phenomenon from the perspective of “The Rice Theory” by arguing that inventors in rice regions may be more inclined to collaborate but with a smaller inventor team size. This paper demonstrates the cultural differences in the performance of inventor team size, informing our understanding of input in research and development (R&D) activities.
Development of a novel low‐background noise blood loop model for testing blood‐contacting biomaterials and medical devices in fresh human blood
Authors: Cahalan Patrick , Hegy Michael , Cahalan Linda , Curry Ben , Ubl Samantha , Jeffers Hannah , Wolf Michael F. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractA novel low volume blood loop model (Ension Triad System [ETS]) incorporating pulsatile flow and a proprietary low‐activation blood‐contacting surface (Ension bioactive surface [EBS]) enabling high signal‐to‐noise performance is described. The ETS system incorporates a test chamber that allows direct comparison of material samples or finished medical devices such as catheters with varying compositions and/or surface treatments. ETS performance is presented from two independent organizations (Medtronic and MLM Labs) and includes results for hemolysis (pfHgb), platelet count, platelet activation (βTG), coagulation (TAT), inflammation (PMN Elastase, PMN CD112b, and monocyte CD112b) and immune response (SC5b‐9) were made on: (1) the EBS‐treated system itself without a test material (No Material, NM); (2) the EBS‐treated system with an idealized untreated catheter (UC); and (3) the EBS‐treated system with the prototype catheter treated with the EBS surface treatment (CC). The untreated catheter (UC) was associated with significant elevation of all activation marker levels (pfHgb excluded). The EBS‐treated catheter, in direct comparison to the UC and NM catheters, appeared invisible with respect to the activation markers (all markers statistically different than the UC and equivalent to the NM control). Based on these data, we conclude that using a relatively small surface area test sample and a small volume of fresh human blood, the high signal‐to‐noise performance of the ETS system demonstrates comprehensive and statistically significant material differences in the major ISO 10993‐4 categories of blood interaction. These data underscore the important benefit of minimal confounding of test/device responses with non‐test‐material/model‐related responses. ETS offers a practical alternative to the common one‐test‐category‐at‐a‐time approach when assessing blood/medical device interactions.
Usefulness of colestimide for diarrhea in postoperative Crohn's disease
Authors: Hojo Aya , Kobayashi Taku , Matsubayashi Mao , Morikubo Hiromu , Miyatani Yusuke , Fukuda Tomohiro , Asonuma Kunio , Sagami Shintaro , Nakano Masaru , Matsuda Takahisa , Hibi Toshifumi 
Published: July 2022

AbstractBackground and AimCrohn's disease (CD) often causes intractable diarrhea after intestinal resection. Anion exchange resins have been reported to be effective in patients with bile acid diarrhea after distal ileectomy; furthermore, bile acid metabolism has been implicated in the pathogenesis of CD. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effectiveness of colestimide in the management of postoperative CD, and to compare its impact between patients with and those without ileocecal resection.MethodsPostoperative CD patients prescribed colestimide for diarrhea between April 2017 and December 2020 were retrospectively evaluated for changes in the total Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI), each CDAI component including diarrhea frequency/week, albumin, and C‐reactive protein (CRP) was evaluated before and after the administration of colestimide. Furthermore, comprehensive patient and physician assessments were reviewed from medical records during the first outpatient visit as a global clinical judgment after the initiation of colestimide therapy.ResultsA total of 24 patients were included, of whom 17 had a previous history of ileocecal resection. Significant improvement was noted in CDAI and diarrhea frequency only in the ileocecal resection group (CDAI: 114.5 ± 52.7 and 95.4 ± 34.8, P < 0.05; diarrhea frequency/week 23.8 ± 14.1 and 15.4 ± 11.2, P < 0.05, respectively). There was no significant improvement in other CDAI components, albumin level, or CRP level in either group. In the global clinical judgment, 13 and 4 patients in the ileocecal and non‐ileocecal resection groups, respectively, were judged as “effective,” with an overall efficacy rate of 70.8%.ConclusionColestimide is effective for diarrhea in patients with postoperative CD, especially after ileocecal resection.
Overview of Hydroxychloroquine and Remdesivir on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2)
Authors: Kabi Arup K. , Pal Maynak , Gujjarappa Raghuram , Malakar Chandi C. , Roy Mithun 
Published: July 2022

AbstractThe novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) caused the ongoing pandemic named COVID‐19 which causes a serious emergency on public health hazards of international concern. In the face of a critical medical emergency, repositioning of drugs is one of the most authentic options to design an adequate treatment for infected patients immediately. In this strategy, Remdesivir (Veklury), Hydroxychloroquine appears to be the drug of choice and garnered unprecedented attention as potential therapeutic agents against the pandemic realized worldwide due to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. These are the breathtaking instances of possible repositioning of drugs, whose pharmacokinetics and optimal dosage are familiar. In this review, we provide an overview of these medications, their synthesis, and the possible mechanism of action against SARS‐CoV‐2.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of healthcare workers with COVID‐19 pre‐ and postvaccination
Authors: Filho Fábio F. D. , Chaves Eunice B. M. , D'Avila Karen Gomes , Neyeloff Jeruza L. , dos Santos Rodrigo Pires , Silva Denise R. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractVaccines are the most effective strategy to control the spread of coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19). Data on COVID‐19 among healthcare workers (HCW) pre‐ and postvaccination are limited. This study aims to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of HCW with COVID‐19 pre‐ and postvaccination. Retrospective cohort study. All HCWs with suspected COVID‐19 were included. Demographic data, occupation, symptoms, work in COVID‐19 area, and vaccination status were collected. There were 22 267 HCW visits for suspected COVID‐19; 7879 (35.4%) tested positive, and 14 388 (64.6%) tested negative. Fever, cough, fatigue, and dyspnea were positive predictors of COVID‐19, and sore throat, headache, coryza, work in a COVID‐19 area, and COVID‐19 vaccination were negative predictors. Of the total number of visits, 41.2% were from vaccinated HCW and 58.8% were from unvaccinated HCW. Among HCWs with COVID‐19, 84 (1.1%) required hospitalization, 11 (0.1%) in an intensive care unit (ICU), with three (0.04%) deaths. Six hospitalizations occurred in vaccinated HCWs, being of short duration, with no need for ICU admission and no deaths. SARS‐CoV‐2 infection prevalence was high among HCW, and vaccinated HCW had fewer hospitalizations, need for ICU, and deaths. Therefore, vaccines may attenuate COVID‐19 severity, and efforts must be concentrated to ensure adequate vaccination for HCW.
Reconstruction and variability of high daily erythemal ultraviolet doses and relationship with total ozone, cloud cover, and albedo in Novi Sad (Serbia)
Authors: Malinović‐Milićević Slavica , Radovanović Milan M. , Mijatović Zoran , Petrović Marko D. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractIn this paper, a method previously developed for reconstructing daily erythemal ultraviolet (UVery) doses in Novi Sad (Serbia) was improved and used for estimating daily UVery over the period 1971–2018. The proposed new method uses reanalysed total ozone column (TOC) data and snow cover as an input and is based on the empirical relationship between relative sunshine duration and relative UVery doses. Introducing reanalysed TOC data and snow cover data significantly improved the quality and accuracy of the reconstructed UVery time series, particularly in the winter season. The reconstructed time series revealed the statistically significant increase in summer and winter UVery in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s (+8.78% and + 13.14% per decade, respectively), which was linked to the statistically significant decline in TOC (−4.13 and −7.36% per decade, respectively). The study focuses on days with high erythemal UV dose (highUVery), which is defined based on the 90th percentile of the daily UVery for each month. Moreover, the influence of low TOC, low cloud cover conditions, and high surface albedo on highUVery was analysed on a seasonal basis. The results of this study show that highUVery days increased from the 1980s, particularly strongly in the period of TOC depletion. A fraction of highUVery days in the last two decades was large (12.29%), which is higher than in the previous periods (6.97 and 8.68% in the period before and during TOC depletion, respectively). The occurrence of highUVery days was influenced mostly by low cloud cover (89.71% of days), and low TOC (82.23% of days). In the winter season, high surface albedo influenced the appearance of 19.18% of highUVery days. However, overall the interaction of low cloud cover and low TOC in all seasons most often led to the appearance of highUVery days.
Protective effect of surfactant modified phytosterol oleogels on loaded curcumin
Authors: Li Junhua , Zhai Jiali , Chang Cuihua , Yang Yanjun , Drummond Calum J. , Conn Charlotte E. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractBACKGROUNDOleogels represent one of the most important carriers for the delivery of lipophilic nutraceuticals. Phytosterols (PS), plant‐derived natural sterol compounds, are preferred for oleogel preparation due to their self‐assembly properties and health function. However, the relationship between the physical properties of PS‐based oleogels and the chemical stability of loaded bioactive compounds is still unclear.RESULTSThe influence of lecithin (LC) and glycerol monostearate (GMS) on the physical properties of PS‐based oleogels made of liquid coconut oil and the stability of curcumin as a model bioactive loaded in the oleogels was investigated. Results showed that the flow consistency index was much higher for GMS‐containing oleogels than that for LC‐containing oleogels. The optical microscopy and X‐ray scattering analysis showed that the addition of GMS in the PS oleogels promoted the formation of a crystal mixture with different crystal polymorph structures, whereas LC addition promoted the formation of needle‐like crystals of PS. Using curcumin as a model lipophilic nutraceutical, the GMS‐enriched PS oleogels with high crystallinity and flow consistency index exhibited a good retention ratio and scavenging activity of the loaded curcumin when stored at room temperature.CONCLUSIONThis study shows that enhancing the firmness of oleogels made from PS and liquid coconut oil is beneficial to the retention and chemical stability of a loaded bioactive (curcumin). The findings of the study will boost the development of PS‐based oleogel formulations for lipophilic nutraceutical delivery. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Axial hypersensitivity is associated with aberrant nerve sprouting in a novel model of disc degeneration in female Sprague Dawley rats
Authors: Lillyman David J. , Lee Fei San , Barnett Evie C. , Miller Tyler J. , Alvaro Moreno Lozano , Drvol Henry C. , Wachs Rebecca A. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractChronic low back pain is a global socioeconomic crisis and treatments are lacking in part due to inadequate models. Etiological research suggests that the predominant pathology associated with chronic low back pain is intervertebral disc degeneration. Various research teams have created rat models of disc degeneration, but the clinical translatability of these models has been limited by an absence of robust chronic pain‐like behavior. To address this deficit, disc degeneration was induced via an artificial annular tear in female Sprague Dawley rats. The subsequent degeneration, which was allowed to progress for 18‐weeks, caused a drastic reduction in disc volume. Furthermore, from week 10 till study conclusion, injured animals exhibited significant axial hypersensitivity. At study end, intervertebral discs were assessed for important characteristics of human degenerated discs: extracellular matrix breakdown, hypocellularity, inflammation, and nerve sprouting. All these aspects were significantly increased in injured animals compared to sham controls. Also of note, 20 significant correlations were detected between selected outcomes including a moderate and highly significant correlation (R = 0.59, p < 0.0004) between axial hypersensitivity and disc nerve sprouting. These data support this model as a rigorous platform to explore the pathobiology of disc‐associated low back pain and to screen treatments.
Soil microbial‐mediated sulfur cycle and ecological network under typical desert halophyte shrubs
Authors: Li Wenjing , Lv Guanghui , Hu Dong 
Published: July 2022

AbstractThe sulfur (S) cycle is one of the geochemical element cycles in which microorganisms play a key driving role. The microbial function of soil S cycling in response to desert degradation, however, remains largely unknown. We used metagenomics to analyze the characteristics of microbial communities and their functional genes involved in the S cycles under natural water gradients with three typical halophytes shrubs in the Ebinur Lake basin Desert, China. Our results showed that the rhizosphere effect, water gradient, and halophyte type played a major role in shaping the S cycle. On the whole, in the rhizosphere type and low water environment, the functional genes involved in the S cycle had high abundance, and the sulfur oxidizing protein (SOX) system in Alhagi sparsifolia had a high expression level. In the S cycle network structure, as the soil water content decreased, the complexity in S gene networks increased, showing the characteristics of clustering and high connectivity. Indicates the strengthening mode in microbial interactions with the water content. Interestingly, the negative correlation of the network changed with the water content, and there was more competition among communities under the low water gradient and more cooperation under the high water gradient. Through the correlation between environmental factors and the network, nitrate (NO3−) and soil available S (AS) constrained most S gene ecology networks. The key species involved in the S cycle were halophilic microorganisms. These results can enhance the understanding of soil S biogeochemical processes and contribute to the mitigation of desertification by improving soil conservation.
Prairie stream metabolism recovery varies based on antecedent hydrology across a stream network after a bank‐full flood
Authors: Ruffing Claire M. , Veach Allison M. , Schechner Anne , Rüegg Janine , Trentman Matt T. , Dodds Walter K. 
Published: July 2022

ABSTRACTIntermittent streams are characterized by significant periods of low to no flow, yet are also frequently subjected to flashy, high floods. Floods alter ecosystem function and result in variable successional patterns across the stream network. Yet, the timing of restored function after floods in intermittent stream networks is relatively unexplored. We measured recovery of stream ecosystem function using rates of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), net ecosystem production (NEP), and the primary production to respiration ratio (P/R) across eight locations in the Kings Creek drainage basin with differing preflood conditions (previously dry [intermittent] or flowing [perennial]) over a 30‐d period following a 2‐yr return interval flood. We found that all metabolic rates (GPP, ER, NEP, P/R) varied primarily by time (days since flood) and antecedent flow, but not spatial network position (i.e., drainage area). Intermittent sites exhibited high rates of ER (0.17–3.33 g dissolved oxygen [DO] m−2d−1) following rewetting compared to perennial sites (0.03–1.17 g DO m−2d−1), while GPP, NEP, and P/R were slower to recover and varied less between sites of differing preflood conditions. Metabolic rates were not strongly influenced by other environmental conditions. A large proportion of variation was explained by the random effect of location. Our results suggest that metabolism is temporally asynchronous and highly heterogenous across intermittent watersheds and that antecedent hydrology (drying prior to rewetting) stimulates heterotrophic activity, likely dependent on terrestrially derived organic matter and nutrient subsidies.
Multiscale unsupervised domain adaptation for automatic pancreas segmentation in CT volumes using adversarial learning
Authors: Zhu Yan , Hu Peijun , Li Xiang , Tian Yu , Bai Xueli , Liang Tingbo , Li Jingsong 
Published: July 2022

AbstractPurposeComputer‐aided automatic pancreas segmentation is essential for early diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic diseases. However, the annotation of pancreas images requires professional doctors and considerable expenditure. Due to imaging differences among various institution population, scanning devices, imaging protocols, and so on, significant degradation in the performance of model inference results is prone to occur when models trained with domain‐specific (usually institution‐specific) datasets are directly applied to new (other centers/institutions) domain data. In this paper, we propose a novel unsupervised domain adaptation method based on adversarial learning to address pancreas segmentation challenges with the lack of annotations and domain shift interference.MethodsA 3D semantic segmentation model with attention module and residual module is designed as the backbone pancreas segmentation model. In both segmentation model and domain adaptation discriminator network, a multiscale progressively weighted structure is introduced to acquire different field of views. Features of labeled data and unlabeled data are fed in pairs into the proposed multiscale discriminator to learn domain‐specific characteristics. Then the unlabeled data features with pseudodomain label are fed to the discriminator to acquire domain‐ambiguous information. With this adversarial learning strategy, the performance of the segmentation network is enhanced to segment unseen unlabeled data.ResultsExperiments were conducted on two public annotated datasets as source datasets, respectively, and one private dataset as target dataset, where annotations were not used for the training process but only for evaluation. The 3D segmentation model achieves comparative performance with state‐of‐the‐art pancreas segmentation methods on source domain. After implementing our domain adaptation architecture, the average dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of the segmentation model trained on the NIH‐TCIA source dataset increases from 58.79% to 72.73% on the local hospital dataset, while the performance of the target domain segmentation model transferred from the medical segmentation decathlon (MSD) source dataset rises from 62.34% to 71.17%.ConclusionsCorrelations of features across data domains are utilized to train the pancreas segmentation model on unlabeled data domain, improving the generalization of the model. Our results demonstrate that the proposed method enables the segmentation model to make meaningful segmentation for unseen data of the training set. In the future, the proposed method has the potential to apply segmentation model trained on public dataset to clinical unannotated CT images from local hospital, effectively assisting radiologists in clinical practice.
Intrarater and interrater reliability of the first metatarsophalangeal joint dorsiflexion resistance test
Authors: Moisan Gabriel , McBride Sean , Isabelle Pier‐Luc , Chicoine Dominic , Walha Roua 
Published: July 2022

AbstractBackgroundThe first metatarsophalangeal joint plays a fundamental role during the gait cycle. The Hubscher manoeuvre, which consists of passively dorsiflexing the first metatarsophalangeal joint of an individual in relaxed stance and observing the raising of the medial longitudinal arch, is a clinical test thought to examine the function of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. However, the hallux dorsiflexion achieved during this test is not related to hallux dorsiflexion during gait. On the other hand, unlike kinematic tests, results from kinetic tests have been shown to be strongly correlated with dynamic joint biomechanics. Thus, given the need for valid and reliable tests to evaluate the function of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, this study aimed to assess the reliability of a new kinetic test, namely, the first metatarsophalangeal joint dorsiflexion resistance test.MethodThirty young adults completed two data collection sessions 1 week apart, during which the first metatarsophalangeal joint dorsiflexion resistance test was performed. Intrarater and interrater reliability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), minimal detectable difference (MDD), standard error of the mean (SEM) and limits of agreements (LoA).ResultsFor the intrarater reliability, the ICC was 0.77 (p < 0.001), the SEM was 6.5 N, the MDD was 18.1 N and the LoA were −7.9 to 26.9 N. For the interrater reliability, the ICC was 0.86 (p < 0.001), the SEM was 6.9 N, the MDD was 19.0 N and the LoA were −6.4 to 21.8 N.ConclusionThe results of this study demonstrate good intra and interrater reliability of the first metatarsophalangeal joint dorsiflexion resistance test, which provides evidence to support its use in clinical and research contexts. Further work is required to establish the test results' relationship with joint kinetics during gait and to provide normative values in individuals with and without musculoskeletal disorders as well as among different age groups and genders to optimise its utilization in clinical and research settings.