bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physical activity and risk of chronic kidney disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 cohort studies involving 1,281,727 participants
Authors: Seidu Samuel , Abdool Mohammad , Almaqhawi Abdullah , Wilkinson Thomas J , Kunutsor Setor K , Khunti Kamlesh , Yates Tom 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
Background
The role of regular physical activity in preventing vascular and non-vascular disease are well established. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major cause of global morbidity and mortality and largely preventable, but it is uncertain if regular physical activity can reduce the risk of CKD. Using a systematic review and meta-analysis of published observational cohort studies in the general population, we sought to assess the association between physical activity and CKD risk.
Methods
Relevant studies with at least one-year of follow-up were sought from inception until 02 May 2022 in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and manual search of relevant articles. Relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the maximum versus the minimal amount of physical activity groups were pooled using random effects meta-analysis. The quality of the evidence was evaluated using the GRADE tool.
Results
A total of 12 observational cohort studies comprising 1,281,727 participants and 66,217 CKD events were eligible for the analysis. The pooled multivariable-adjusted RR (95% CI) of CKD comparing the most versus the least physically active groups was 0.91 (0.85–0.97). The association was consistent across several study level subgroups. Exclusion of any single study at a time from the meta-analysis did not change the direction or significance of the association. There was no evidence of small study effects among contributing studies. The GRADE quality of the evidence was low.
Conclusion
Habitual physical activity may be associated a lowered risk of CKD compared to those who are not or least physically active in the general population.
Systematic review registration:
CRD42022327640
Reliability assessment with uncertain thresholds considering degradation-shock
Authors: Wei Chun , Shi Haiyan , Zhang Zhiqiang , Liu Baoliang , Wei Lei 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
There are often many reasons for equipment failure. When the performance of a certain aspect drops to a certain threshold, the equipment will fail. Affected by other factors, the threshold is uncertain. A reliability model of uncertain thresholds where degradation and external shocks compete with each other is established, and the reliability of the model are evaluated according to uncertainty theory. Under three different shock types, the reliability of the equipment is obtained. The reliability with uncertain thresholds and the reliability with constants thresholds are compared. The results show that in different periods of equipment operation, the reliability of the uncertain thresholds is different with the reliability of the constants thresholds. If the threshold is simply regarded as a known constant, it will cause inaccuracies in the reliability assessment of the system, and miss the best maintenance time, causing unnecessary losses. Taking the microelectronic mechanical system as an example, the superiority of the proposed model is illustrated.
Towards Sensory Assessment Classification using Short-Wave NIR Spectroscopy for Orange Cultivars
Authors: Zeb Ayesha , Qureshi Waqar Shahid , Ghafoor Abdul , Malik Amanullah , Imran Muhammad , Mirza Alina , Tiwana Mohsin , Alanazi Eisa 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
The global orange industry constantly faces new technical challenges to meet consumer demands for quality fruits. Instead of traditional subjective fruit quality assessment methods, the interest in the horticulture industry has increased in an objective, quantitative, and non-destructive assessment methods. Oranges have a thick peel which makes their non-destructive quality assessment challenging. This paper evaluates the potential of short-wave NIR spectroscopy and direct sweetness classification for Pakistani cultivars of orange i.e., Blood red, Mosambi, and Succari. The correlation between quality indices i.e., Brix, titratable acidity (TA), Brix: TA and BrimA (Brix minus acids), sensory assessment of the fruit, and short-wave NIR spectra is analyzed. Mix cultivar oranges are then classified as sweet, mixed, and acidic based on short-wave NIR spectra. Short-wave NIR spectral data were obtained using the industry standard F-750 fruit quality meter (310–1100 nm). Reference Brix and TA measurements were taken using standard destructive testing methods. Reference taste labels i.e., sweet, mix, and acidic, were acquired by sensory evaluation of samples. For indirect fruit classification, partial least squares regression models were developed for Brix, TA, Brix: TA, and BrimA estimation with a correlation coefficient of 0.57, 0.73, 0.66, and 0.55 respectively, on independent test data. For direct fruit classification, the ensemble classifier achieved 81.03% accuracy for 3 class (sweet, mix, and acidic) classification on independent test data. We observed a good correlation between NIR spectra and sensory assessment instead of quality indices. Hence, direct classification is more suitable for orange sweetness classification using NIR spectroscopy than the estimation of quality indices.
TP53mutation–associated and copy number–dependent KDM7A-DT expression affects DNA repair and promotes invasive breast cancer progression
Authors: Giannakakis Antonis , Tsifintaris Margaritis , Triantafyllou Charisios , Gouzouasis Vasileios , Ow Ghim Siong , Aau Mei Yee , Papp Csaba , Ivshina Anna V. , Kuznetsov Vladimir A. 
Published: September 2022

Abstract

Background: Recent characterization of stress-induced promoter-associated antisense lncRNAs (si-paancRNAs) suggests that they modulate transcription and cellular responses to oxidative, metabolic and genotoxic stress and may participate in critical cancer pathways. KDM7A divergent transcript (KDM7A-DT) is one of such stress-induced lncRNAs, whose expression is found deregulated in breast cancer (BC). The mechanisms leading to aberrantKDM7A-DTtranscription, biogenesis, and downstream functions in BC types and subtypes have not been studied. Methods: Cell lines, biochemical methods, and profiling experiments were used forKDM7A-DToverexpression and knockdown. Integration of experimental models, bioinformatics, and massive BRCA patient metadata analyses were performed to investigate the mechanisms and functions ofKDM7A-DT. Results: StableKDM7A-DToverexpression in nonmalignant cells upregulates p53, CDKN1A, and γH2AX signaling, resulting in a prolonged cell growth retardation phenotype. Importantly,KDM7A-DTinduction by acute oxidative stress in semi-transformed fibroblasts is p53-dependent. According to BC clinical metadata,KDM7A-DTgene alterations are preferentially associated with TP53 missense mutations and highly aggressive, invasive, basal-like (BL) subtype BC poor outcomes. Overall, KDM7A-DT affects DNA repair via the nonhomologous end-joining pathway, inhibits tumor suppressors involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, induces oncogenic metabolic changes and G2/M checkpoint arrest, and correlates with histology, aneuploidy, hypoxia and BC-associated proteins. Conclusion: KDM7A-DT is a TP53 mutation–associated and copy number–dependent pro-oncogene si-paancRNA that contributes to genome instability and modulates BC initiation, progression, invasiveness and outcomes.
Bioinformatics and Metabolic flux analysis highlight a new mechanism involved in lactate oxidation in Clostridium tyrobutyricum
Authors: Munier Edouard , Licandro Hélène , Beuvier Eric , Cachon Rémy 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
Background
One of todays’ scientific challenge due to climate change and environmental issues is to find alternatives to the production of molecules of interest from petrochemistry. This study focuses on the understanding of the production of butyrate, hydrogen and CO2 from the oxidation of lactate with acetate in C. tyrobutyricum and thus propose an alternative carbon source to glucose. This species is known to produce more butyrate than the other butyrate-producing Clostridium species due to a lack of solventgenesis phase. The recent discoveries of flavin-based electron bifurcation mechanism as a mode of energy conservation have allowed us to propose a new metabolic scheme for the formation of butyrate from lactate-acetate co-metabolism.
Results
The search for genes encoding for EtfAB complexes and neighboring genes in the genome of C. tyrobutyricum identified a cluster of genes involved in butyrate formation and another cluster involved in lactate oxidation homologous to Acetobacterium woodii. A phylogenetic approach with other butyrate-producing and/or lactate-oxidizing species based on EtfAB complexes confirms these results with A. woodii and Clostridium kluyveri as references. A metabolic scheme on the production of butyrate, hydrogens and CO2 from the lactate-acetate co-metabolism in C. tyrobutyricum has been constructed. From data of steady-state continuous culture, an in silico metabolic carbon flux analysis model was built and made it possible to show the coherence of the scheme from the carbon recovery, the cofactor ratio and the ATP yield.
Conclusions
Bioinformatics analyzes have highlighted the use of flavin-based electron bifurcation. A metabolic scheme on the conversion of lactate and acetate has been proposed in C. tyrobutyricum, involving electron-transferring flavoprotein (Etf) complexes specific to the butyrate production and the lactate oxidation. The carbon metabolic fluxes analysis has validated this scheme involving the EtfAB complex at the origin of the oxidation of lactate in C. tyrobutyricum. This study contributes significantly to our understanding of the lactate oxidation metabolic pathways, the utility of the presence of acetate and the role of intracellular redox balance, and opens new perspectives for the production of molecules of interest as butyrate and hydrogen with C. tyrobutyricum.
Challenges of Online Medical Education in Khartoum Sudan during COVID-19 Pandemic 2021
Authors: Sabir Mustafa , Kunna Ezzan 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
Introduction: Education and teaching has been adversely affected since the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of students have been affected by the closure of educational institutions, including medical colleges and universities.To help students and save time, several institutes have turned to online education. Objectives: To investigate the challenges of online medical education during covid19 pandemic in Khartoum state. Methods: Descriptive Cross-Sectional study of six medical faculties which were selected by convenient sampling, an online questionnaire was used. Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences were used for data analysis, frequency tables and figures for analysis of data. Results: 328 medical students across six faculties responded 132 (40.2%) are males and 196 (59.8%) are females. 209 (63.7%) of them between 18–22 years old, 116 (35.4%) between 23–26 years old and only 3 (0.9%) exceeded 26. The study found that students encountered difficulties concerning poor internet connection, which encountered 242 (73%). Also the major challenges encountered by the students were not only technical issues but also teachers related issues as 234 (71.3%) stated that the incompetence of teachers while dealing with online platforms was a major issue for them. Conclusions and Recommendations: Within the scope of this study, students had a primarily unfavorable view of the implementation of online education. It is recommended that further research should be undertaken to understand the teachers’ views and experiences towards online education during the pandemic, to widen the view and knowing the whole scale of the challenges.
A prognostic model for bladder cancer based on cytoskeleton-related genes
Authors: Peng Chunting , Guo Sufan , Yang Zheng , Li Xiaohong , Su Qisheng , Mo Wuning 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
A typical cancerous growth in the urinary tract, bladder cancer (BLCA) has a dismal survival rate and a poor chance of being cured. The main cause of tumor death is tumor metastasis, cell migration is crucial in tumor metastasis, and cell-directed movement requires the involvement of the cytoskeleton, so it is said that the cytoskeleton is tightly related to tumor invasion and metastasis. Nevertheless, the expression of genes associated with the cytoskeleton and their prognostic significance in BLCA remain unknown. Differential expression of 546 genes involved in the cytoskeleton was analyzed in BLCA versus normal bladder tissues. According to the outcomes of this analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), all BLCA cases doing NMF clustering analysis could be classified into two molecular subtypes and were subjected to survival analysis. Using the TCGA dataset to screen out genes with drastically differing expression levels, a cytoskeleton-associated gene prediction model for bladder cancer was constructed, and 11 genes were assigned risk formulae using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression approach. We divided all TCGA cohort patients with BLCA into low-risk groups and high-risk groups categories based on the average risk score in the middle, then analyzed survival data and ROC curves separately for each risk category. An external validation dataset (GSM340668) was used to verify the accuracy of the model. Columnar line plots were created to predict the prognostic outcome of bladder cancer cases. Significant enrichment pathways for cytoskeleton-associated genes in bladder cancer samples were explored by GSEA enrichment analysis. In addition, immune infiltration studies were conducted to help us better understand and observe the degree of bladder cancer immune cell infiltration. An independent prognostic analysis of risk score (RS) was done and proven to be a significant predictor of outcome for bladder cancer. Following this, we looked at the connection between risk score, clinical characteristics, and immune cells, and found that they are all interconnected. In conclusion, cytoskeleton-related genes have an important predictive value for bladder cancer, and the prognostic model we constructed may enable personalized treatment of bladder cancer.
A Co-simulation Model for the Hydraulic Operating Mechanism of High-Voltage Circuit Breaker
Authors: li xiaofeng , Zhao Deng , Wu Zhou , Zhang Tao , Yu Li 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
The dynamic characteristics of hydraulic operating mechanism is of great significance to the reliability of high-voltage circuit breaker (HVCB). Due to the lack of co-simulation models considering the coupling links of different physics, previous research works were limited to the analysis of some discrete parts. The purpose of this study is to propose a novel technique for the co-simulation of hydraulic operating mechanism (OM). For that aim, lumped parameter method is adopted for the modeling of hydraulic system and finite element analysis method is employed for that of transmission mechanism. Then, distributed parallel type co-simulation framework is applied, and the coupling links between different subsystems are achieved by input-output variables exchange with shared memory. Simulation and experimental validations are implemented in a 550KV HVCB. It proves that co-simulation model can accurately capture the dynamic responses of hydraulic OM, including predicting the dynamic responses under different operation parameters and quantifying important features like stress distribution and dynamic responses evolution.
Evolutionary Multi-objective Optimization for RIS-Aided MU-MISO Communication Systems
Authors: Li Mengke , Yan Bai , Zhang Jin 
Published: September 2022

Abstract

We study a multi-user multiple-input single-output downlink system aided by a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). Users' sum rate and transmit power are two important performance indicators in such systems. However, most existing works only optimize one of them, resulting in severe performance degradation of the other. Motivated by this, in this paper, we formulate a multi-objective optimization problem to maximize the sum rate of users and minimize the transmit power simultaneously. According to our early work on fitness landscape analysis of sum rate maximization problems, the proposed problem is inferred to be multi-modal. To solve this non-convex and multi-modal problem, we propose a novel multi-objective evolutionary hybrid beamforming (MEHB) framework to find different trade-off solutions between the two conflicting objectives. In particular, we employ different kinds of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms and multi-modal multi-objective evolutionary algorithms as the baseline of MEHB framework, so as to design the passive beamforming. And the active beamforming at the base station is optimized by the classical zero-forcing method. The simulation results have verified the effectiveness of the dominance-based evolutionary algorithms in handling hybrid beamforming problems.
Spatial effects of air pollutants reduction on CO2 emissions
Authors: Zhou Hao , Jiang Mingdong , Huang Yumeng , Bai Yang , Wang Qi 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
The sources of air pollutants and CO2 are basically the same, hence the reduction of air pollutants will affect CO2 emissions. Considering the regional integration of economic development as well as air pollution control, it is necessary to analyze the impact of air pollutants reduction in a region on CO2 emissions in its surrounding regions. Furthermore, as different stages of air pollutants reduction have different effects on CO2emissions, it is also important to study the heterogeneity of this impact. In this article, we took China as the research case and built a spatial panel model based on the data of 240 cities above the prefecture level from 2005 to 2016 to study the impact of two different stages of air pollutants reduction—front reduction of air pollutants (FRAP) and end-of-pipe treatment of air pollutants (EPAP) on CO2 emissions—and their spatial spillover effects. On this basis, we further modified traditional spatial weight matrix and constructed the matrices of cities in the same and different provinces to discuss the influence of provincial administrative boundaries on the spillover effect between cities. The results show that FRAP affects CO2emissions mainly through the local synergistic effect, and its spatial spillover effect is not significant. The local effect of EPAP on CO2emissions is antergic, and the spatial spillover effect is significant. The increase of a city’s EPAP will increase the CO2 emissions in surrounding regions. Besides, provincial boundaries weaken the spatial spillover effects of FRAP and EPAP on CO2 emissions in prefecture-level cities. There is a significant spatial spillover effect between cities in the same province, but the spillover effect does not exist for cities in different provinces nearby.
Blind color image watermarking incorporating a residual network for watermark denoising and super-resolution reconstruction
Authors: Hu Hwai-Tsu , Hsu Ling-Yuan 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
Watermarking is a technique for hiding secret information in various types of multimedia data to protect intellectual property rights. Currently, the integration of deep learning technology with image watermarking is reshaping the application and promotion of relevant techniques developed so far. This paper presents a novel type of blind color image watermarking method that embeds a downsized color image into a host color image. Watermarking implementation involves partitioning the host image into non-overlapping blocks of 8 × 8 pixels, performing discrete cosine transform (DCT) for each block of every channel, and then manipulating the magnitudes of three designated DCT coefficients subject to a minimization constraint. The experimental results confirmed that the proposed image watermarking method outperformed four other methods in terms of zero-normalized cross-correlation (ZNCC). Moreover, watermark imperceptibility, as reflected by the measured peak signal-to-noise ratio and mean structural similarity metrics, remained at a satisfactory level. In addition to this new style of color image watermarking, we employed a deep residual network to reduce noise and increase the resolution of the retrieved watermarks. Overall, the residual network achieved a satisfactory ZNCC level (> 0.88) when the watermark images were super-resolved by a factor of sixteen.
Relationship Between Blood Calcium Level and Post-milking Teat Canal Closure in Dairy Cows
Authors: DOGAN HALEF , Yenilmez Kudret 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
The teat canal–one of the primary defense mechanisms of the udder–ensures the milk flow during milking in bovines and prevents pathogens from entering the udder by forming a barrier through the elastic muscle and keratin layers tightly closing the surrounding area. The current study investigated the effects of blood calcium status on teat closure in cows after milking. The study covered 200 healthy teats, of which 100 were from normocalcemic (NC) cows and 100 were from subclinical hypocalcemic (SCH) cows. Teat canal length (TCL) and width (TCW) were measured with ultrasonography at 0-min pre-milking and 15- and 30-mins post-milking. Cylindrically shaped teat canal volume (TCV) was calculated by deriving from TCL and TCW. Time-dependent changes in teat canal closure and their relationships with blood calcium levels were analyzed. The results showed that the calcium level did not affect TCL, TCW, and TCV (P > 0.05) during the 15 minutes post-milking period. However, TCL (P < 0.001), TCW (P < 0.05), and TCV (P < 0.001) were higher in NC cows than in SCH cows at 30 minutes post-milking. At 15 minutes post-milking, no correlation existed between the teat canal closure (ΔTCL, ΔTCW, and ΔTCV) and the blood calcium level, while significant correlations were available between the teat canal closure and the blood calcium level {ΔTCL (r:-0.288, P < 0.001), ΔTCW (r:-0.260, P < 0.001), ΔTCV (r:-0.150, P < 0.05)} at 30 minutes post-milking. The current study concluded that the blood calcium status significantly impacts the teat canal closure in bovines, and calcium status should be meticulously monitored with the mastitis control program to apply necessary strategic steps.
The Impact of Rainfall Variability and Crop Production on Vertisols in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia
Authors: Regassa Hailu , Ture Kassahun , Elias Eyasu , legesse Gudina , Abiko Fikru 
Published: September 2022

Abstract
Understanding the yearly, seasonal, monthly, and weekly rainfall variability is crucial for improved agricultural practice in a country like Ethiopia, where agriculture depends on rainfall. In particular, knowledge of rainfall onset, withdrawal, amount, distribution, and the length of the crop growing period would protect farmers from crop damage due to climatic anomalies. This study collected and described thirty-nine years of rainfall data using the Markov chain model. Based on the rainfall probability levels at different threshold levels, the length of the dry and wet spells and the length of the growing period were determined. The study shows dependable rainfall at a 75% probability level commences in June. The chance of receiving greater than 10 mm at a 50% probability level starts in week 10 (5 March–11 March), with much discontinuity up to week 21st (21 May–27 May). The dependable weekly rainfall begins the week of 22 May (28th May-3rd June) with a probability of greater than 20 mm. The study revealed that the short rainy season rainfall (February to May) is unreliable for growing crops at Ghinchi as opposed to other highland areas of Ethiopia. The length of the growing season is therefore confined to periods of the long rainy season (weeks 22nd to 39th, or 28th May-30th September). The water balance for the study area indicates that the moisture availability index is greater than 0.5,and potential evapotranspiration is lower than precipitation during these months.