bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association between cooking fuels and mild cognitive impairment among older adults from six low- and middle-income countries
Authors: Smith Lee , Pizzol Damiano , López Sánchez Guillermo F. , Kostev Karel , Oh Hans , Jacob Louis , Veronese Nicola , Underwood Benjamin R. , Butler Laurie , Barnett Yvonne , Tully Mark A. , Koyanagi Ai 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThere is a small body of evidence suggesting that unclean cooking fuel use may be associated with cognitive decline. However, to date, no study has investigated the association between unclean cooking fuel and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Thus, we investigated the association between cooking fuel type or ventilation type and MCI among adults aged ≥ 65 years using nationally representative datasets from six low- and middle-income countries. Cross-sectional, community-based data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Study on global Ageing and adult health (SAGE) were analyzed. MCI was defined using the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association criteria. Unclean cooking fuel referred to kerosene/paraffin, coal/charcoal, wood, agriculture/crop, animal dung, and shrubs/grass. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess associations. Data on 13,623 individuals were analyzed [mean (SD) age 72.8 (11.0) years; 45.5% males]. Unclean cooking fuel (vs. clean cooking fuel) was associated with a significant 1.48 (95% CI = 1.08–2.03) times higher odds for MCI. Having no chimney or hood for cooking ventilation was also associated with significantly higher odds for MCI (OR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.25–2.84). Unclean cooking fuel use and lack of chimney or hood for cooking ventilation were associated with higher odds for MCI. Findings support the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Goal 7, which advocates affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, as this may also help reduce MCI and ultimately dementia.
Ultrasound dynamic monitoring of IVCD to guide application of CRRT in patients with renal failure combined with acute heart failure
Authors: Yu Guang , Tao Shaoyu , Jin Yingzhi , Li Wanxia , Hu Zanqun , Fang Xiaowei 
Published: August 2022

AbstractWe explored the application value of bedside ultrasound dynamic monitoring of the inferior vena cava diameter (IVCD) and collapse with sniff (inferior vena cava collapsibility index [IVCCI]) to guide dehydration adjustment in continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in patients with combined renal failure and acute heart failure. We selected 90 patients with combined renal and acute heart failure who required CRRT in the intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2019 to June 2021. According to different blood volume assessment methods, patients were randomly divided into ultrasound, experience, and control groups. We compared serum creatinine, potassium, and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels; time to improved heart failure symptoms; CRRT time; ventilator use; ICU length of stay; vasopressor use; and incidence of adverse events among groups. There were no significant differences in serum creatinine, potassium, and NT-proBNP levels in pairwise comparisons among groups before and after CRRT (P > 0.05). The time to improved heart failure symptoms, CRRT time, and ICU length of stay in the ultrasound and experience groups were lower than those in the control group; the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Ventilator use duration was lower in the ultrasound and experience groups compared with the control group, with a statistically significant difference between the ultrasound and control groups (P < 0.05). The duration of vasopressor use in the ultrasound and control groups was lower than that in the experience group; the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The incidence of adverse events was lower in the ultrasound group compared with the experience and control groups; the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Ultrasound dynamic monitoring of IVCD and collapse with sniff can accurately assess blood volume status, and provide guidance for dehydration adjustments in CRRT and rapid relief of heart failure symptoms in patients with combined renal and acute heart failure.
Tanshinone IIA reduces AQP4 expression and astrocyte swelling after OGD/R by inhibiting the HMGB1/RAGE/NF-κB/IL-6 pro-inflammatory axis
Authors: Tang Zhaohua , Yang Gang , Liao Zhengbu , Chen Feilan , Chen Song , Wang Wentao , Huo Gang , Sun Xiaochuan , Wang Xiaoshu 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the role of tanshinone IIA (TSO IIA) in astrocytic swelling caused by ischemia–reperfusion-like injury in an in vitro model and the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect. Primary brain astrocytes were cultured under conditions of glucose and oxygen deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R). The study explored the effects of TSO IIA treatment on cell swelling and injury and the protein levels of aquaporin 4 (AQP4) in the plasma membrane. It then examined the involvement of the high-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1)/receptors for advanced-glycation end products (RAGE)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)/interleukin-6 (IL-6) pro-inflammatory axis in TSO IIA-mediated protection. The treatment with TSO IIA alleviated OGD/R-induced astrocytic swelling and the overclustering of AQP4 protein in the plasma membrane. In addition, TSO IIA significantly reduced the overexpression of HMGB1 and the high levels of the NF-κB protein in the nucleus and of the IL-6 protein in the cytoplasm and extracellular media induced by OGD/R. The combination of TSO IIA and recombinant HMGB1 reversed these effects. The inhibition of the RAGE, the receptor of HMGB1, induced results similar to those of TSO IIA. In addition, exogenous IL-6 reversed TSO IIA-mediated effect on AQP4 overclustering and cell swelling. TSO IIA significantly reduced astrocyte swelling after OGD/R injury in vitro, via blocking the activation of the HMGB1/RAGE/NF-κB/IL-6 pro-inflammatory axis and thereby decreasing the expression of AQP4 in the plasma membrane.
ALF-Score++, a novel approach to transfer knowledge and predict network-based walkability scores across cities
Authors: S. Alfosool Ali M. , Chen Yuanzhu , Fuller Daniel 
Published: August 2022

AbstractWalkability is an important measure with strong ties to our health. However, there are existing gaps in the literature. Our previous work proposed new approaches to address existing limitations. This paper explores new ways of applying transferability using transfer-learning. Road networks, POIs, and road-related characteristics grow/change over time. Moreover, calculating walkability for all locations in all cities is very time-consuming. Transferability enables reuse of already-learned knowledge for continued learning, reduce training time, resource consumption, training labels and improve prediction accuracy. We propose ALF-Score++, that reuses trained models to generate transferable models capable of predicting walkability score for cities not seen in the process. We trained transfer-learned models for St. John’s NL and Montréal QC and used them to predict walkability scores for Kingston ON and Vancouver BC. MAE error of 13.87 units (ranging 0–100) was achieved for transfer-learning using MLP and 4.56 units for direct-training (random forest) on personalized clusters.
Automated diagnosing primary open-angle glaucoma from fundus image by simulating human’s grading with deep learning
Authors: Lin Mingquan , Hou Bojian , Liu Lei , Gordon Mae , Kass Michael , Wang Fei , Van Tassel Sarah H. , Peng Yifan 
Published: August 2022

AbstractPrimary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Although deep learning methods have been proposed to diagnose POAG, it remains challenging to develop a robust and explainable algorithm to automatically facilitate the downstream diagnostic tasks. In this study, we present an automated classification algorithm, GlaucomaNet, to identify POAG using variable fundus photographs from different populations and settings. GlaucomaNet consists of two convolutional neural networks to simulate the human grading process: learning the discriminative features and fusing the features for grading. We evaluated GlaucomaNet on two datasets: Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) participants and the Large-scale Attention-based Glaucoma (LAG) dataset. GlaucomaNet achieved the highest AUC of 0.904 and 0.997 for POAG diagnosis on OHTS and LAG datasets. An ensemble of network architectures further improved diagnostic accuracy. By simulating the human grading process, GlaucomaNet demonstrated high accuracy with increased transparency in POAG diagnosis (comprehensiveness scores of 97% and 36%). These methods also address two well-known challenges in the field: the need for increased image data diversity and relying heavily on perimetry for POAG diagnosis. These results highlight the potential of deep learning to assist and enhance clinical POAG diagnosis. GlaucomaNet is publicly available onhttps://github.com/bionlplab/GlaucomaNet.
Uncovering the roles of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase in fatty-acid induced steatosis using human cellular models
Authors: Sullivan Kelly E. , Kumar Sheetal , Liu Xin , Zhang Ye , de Koning Emily , Li Yanfei , Yuan Jing , Fan Fan 
Published: August 2022

AbstractPyrimidine catabolism is implicated in hepatic steatosis. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) is an enzyme responsible for uracil and thymine catabolism, and DPYD human genetic variability affects clinically observed toxicity following 5-Fluorouracil administration. In an in vitro model of fatty acid-induced steatosis, the pharmacologic inhibition of DPYD resulted in protection from lipid accumulation. Additionally, a gain-of-function mutation of DPYD, created through clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) engineering, led to an increased lipid burden, which was associated with altered mitochondrial functionality in a hepatocarcionma cell line. The studies presented herein describe a novel role for DPYD in hepatocyte metabolic regulation as a modulator of hepatic steatosis.
ZnO Nano-swirlings for Azo Dye AR183 photocatalytic degradation and antimycotic activity
Authors: Umar Khalid , Mfarrej Manar Fawzi Bani , Rahman Qazi Inamur , Zuhaib Mohammad , Khan Amir , Zia Qamar , Banawas Saeed , Nadeem Hera , Khan Mohd. Farhan , Ahmad Faheem 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe sol-gel technique was used to fabricate ZnO Nano-swirlings (ZNsw) at a predetermined agitation rate (of >> 1900 rpm), with around 21.94 gm of zinc acetate dihydrate and 0.2 g cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) and a cationic surfactant (drop-wise). The impact of the predetermined agitation condition on the molecular size and morphology of ZNsw is examined, and the outcomes are dissected by useful characterization tools and techniques viz. XRD, SEM embedded with EDS, TEM, FT-IR and UV–visible. The SEM and TEM results suggest that the product formed into a big cluster of adequate ZNsw, containing a significant quantity of folded long thread-lengths. Each group indicated a fair amount of the volume of these lengths. The photocatalytic process of ZNsw was carried out as a result of the irradiation time due to the deterioration of Azo Dye AR183, resulting in approximately 79 percent dye discoloration following an 80-min UV light irradiation in the presence of ZNsw. Additionally, the synthesized ZNsw was tested for antagonistic activity, and the growth hindrance of two plant pathogenic fungal strains found. Per cent inhibition in growth of Rhizoctonia solani and Alternaria alternata were observed in response to ZNsw.
Novel mechanisms underlying inhibition of inflammation-induced angiogenesis by dexamethasone and gentamicin via PI3K/AKT/NF-κB/VEGF pathways in acute radiation proctitis
Authors: Li Yousong , Ding Qin , Gao Jinsheng , Li Chunxia , Hou Pengxiao , Xu Jie , Cao Kaiqi , Hu Min , Cheng Lin , Wang Xixing , Yang Xiaoling 
Published: August 2022

AbstractAcute radiation proctitis (ARP) is one of the most common complications of pelvic radiotherapy attributed to radiation exposure. The mechanisms of ARP are related to inflammation, angiogenesis, and so on. In this study we evaluated the effect of dexamethasone (DXM) combined with gentamicin (GM) enema on ARP mice, and explored its possible mechanisms by transcriptome sequencing, western blot and immunohistochemistry. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups: healthy control group, ARP model group, and DXM + GM enema treatment group. ARP mice were established by using a single 6 MV X-ray dose of 27 Gy pelvic local irradiation. Transcriptome sequencing results showed that 979 genes were co-upregulated and 445 genes were co-downregulated in ARP mice compared to healthy mice. According to gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, we firstly found that PI3K/AKT/NF-κB/VEGF pathways were mostly correlated with the inflammation-induced angiogenesis in ARP mice. PI3K/AKT pathway leads to the activation of NF-κB, which promotes the transcription of VEGF and Bcl-2. Interestingly, symptoms and pathological changes of ARP mice were ameliorated by DXM + GM enema treatment. DXM + GM enema inhibited inflammation by downregulating NF-κB and upregulating AQP3, as well as inhibited angiogenesis by downregulating VEGF and AQP1 in ARP mice. Moreover, DXM + GM enema induced apoptosis by increasing Bax and suppressing Bcl-2. The novel mechanisms may be related to the downregulation of PI3K/AKT/NF-κB/VEGF pathways.
Enhancement in heat transfer due to hybrid nanoparticles in MHD flow of Brinkman-type fluids using Caputo fractional derivatives
Authors: Sheikh Nadeem Ahmad , Ching Dennis Ling Chuan , Khan Ilyas , Sakidin Hamzah bin 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe flow of fluid through porous media is of great importance in industry and other physical situations, Darcy’s law is one of the most useful laws to describe such situation, however, the flows through a dense swarm of particles or through a very high porous media cannot be elaborated by this law. To overcome this difficulty, Brinkman proposed a new idea of Brinkman-type fluid in highly porous media. In this study, the Brinkman-type fluid flow is analyzed with hybrid nanoparticles (a hybridized mixture of clay and alumina), suspended in water taken as a base fluid under the effect of an applied magnetic field. The fluid motion is taken inside a vertical channel with heated walls. Free convection is induced due to buoyancy. The momentum and energy equations are written in dimensionless form using the non-dimensional variables. The energy equation is modified to fractional differential equations using the generalized Fourier’s law and the Caputo fractional derivatives. The fractional model is solved using the Laplace and Fourier transformation. Variations in velocity and temperature are shown for various fractional parameter values, as well as charts for the classical model. For the volume fractions of nanoparticles, the temperature distribution increases, with maximum values of hybrid nanoparticles with the highest specified volume fractions. Moreover, due to hybrid nanoparticles, the rate of heat transfer is intensified.
Computational simulation of liver fibrosis dynamics
Authors: Yoshizawa Misa , Sugimoto Masahiro , Tanaka Minoru , Sakai Yusuyuki , Nishikawa Masaki 
Published: August 2022

AbstractLiver fibrosis is a result of homeostasis breakdown caused by repetitive injury. The accumulation of collagens disrupts liver structure and function, which causes serious consequences such as cirrhosis. Various mathematical simulation models have been developed to understand these complex processes. We employed the agent-based modelling (ABM) approach and implemented inflammatory processes in central venous regions. Collagens were individually modelled and visualised depending on their origin: myofibroblast and portal fibroblast. Our simulation showed that the administration of toxic compounds induced accumulation of myofibroblast-derived collagens in central venous regions and portal fibroblast-derived collagens in portal areas. Subsequently, these collagens were bridged between central-central areas and spread all over areas. We confirmed the consistent dynamic behaviour of collagen formulation in our simulation and from histological sections obtained via in vivo experiments. Sensitivity analyses identified dead hepatocytes caused by inflammation and the ratio of residential liver cells functioned as a cornerstone for the initiation and progression of liver fibrosis. The validated mathematical model demonstrated here shows virtual experiments that are complementary to biological experiments, which contribute to understanding a new mechanism of liver fibrosis.
Demonstration of speckle resistance using space–time light sheets
Authors: Diouf Mbaye , Lin Zixi , Harling Mitchell , Toussaint, Kimani C. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe capacity of self-healing fields to reconstruct after passing through scattering media may prove useful in reducing speckle formation. Here, we study the speckle response of the space–time (ST) light sheet compared to a Gaussian wave packet, Airy beam, and Bessel Gauss beam. We find that the Pearson’s correlation coefficient for the ST light sheet is 50%, 48% and 40% larger than that of the Gaussian, Airy beam and Bessel Gauss beams, respectively, demonstrating a strong correlation to an input beam that has not been speckled. These results suggest that the ST light sheet exhibits considerable resistance to speckle generation. We also investigate the speckle response of the ST light sheet at its second-harmonic frequency and observe a mean Pearson’s correlation coefficient close to 0.6, comparable to the second-harmonic Bessel Gauss beam, and 2.8 × the value obtained for the second-harmonic Gaussian beam. Our results lend themselves to a variety of applications including bioimaging, communications, and optical tweezers.
Demand characteristics challenge effects in embodiment and presence
Authors: Forster Pierre-Pascal , Karimpur Harun , Fiehler Katja 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe sensations to own and control a body as well as being located in a body describe the relation between ourselves and our body, termed embodiment. Embodiment plays a central role in our everyday actions. However, its assessment is challenging. Recent findings suggest that measures on embodiment are confounded by demand characteristics and suggestibility. To investigate the impact of demand characteristics on embodiment and presence, we compared results from an online experiment measuring participants’ expectations, to the same experiment in virtual reality (VR). In the online experiment, participants watched a video of a participant performing the VR experiment. In the VR experiment, participants performed a soap-bubble-kicking task, which allowed the feelings of embodiment and presence to arise. We manipulated temporo-spatial movement synchrony (Movement: synchronous, asynchronous) and avatar visibility (Visibility: visible, invisible). In addition, we assessed participants’ suggestibility with exercises. The introduced manipulations influenced the ratings in both experiments similarly. Embodiment ratings were additionally affected by suggestibility. Altogether, our results show that participants were aware of the research hypotheses, which indicates that demand characteristics confound embodiment and presence research alike. Overcoming challenges of demand characteristics is crucial to correctly interpret scientific results and to translate these results into applied settings.
Evidence of a genetically driven metabolomic signature in actively inflamed Crohn’s disease
Authors: Mossotto Enrico , Boberska Joanna , Ashton James J. , Stafford Imogen S. , Cheng Guo , Baker Jonathan , Borca Florina , Phan Hang T. T. , Coelho Tracy F. , Beattie R. Mark , Claus Sandrine P. , Ennis Sarah 
Published: August 2022

AbstractCrohn’s disease (CD) is characterised by chronic inflammation. We aimed to identify a relationship between plasma inflammatory metabolomic signature and genomic data in CD using blood plasma metabolic profiles. Proton NMR spectroscopy were achieved for 228 paediatric CD patients. Regression (OPLS) modelling and machine learning (ML) approaches were independently applied to establish the metabolic inflammatory signature, which was correlated against gene-level pathogenicity scores generated for all patients and functional enrichment was analysed. OPLS modelling of metabolomic spectra from unfasted patients revealed distinctive shifts in plasma metabolites corresponding to regions of the spectrum assigned to N-acetyl glycoprotein, glycerol and phenylalanine that were highly correlated (R2 = 0.62) with C-reactive protein levels. The same metabolomic signature was independently identified using ML to predict patient inflammation status. Correlation of the individual peaks comprising this metabolomic signature of inflammation with pathogenic burden across 15,854 unselected genes identified significant enrichment for genes functioning within ‘intrinsic component of membrane’ (p = 0.003) and ‘inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)’ (p = 0.003). The seven genes contributing IBD enrichment are critical regulators of pro-inflammatory signaling. Overall, a metabolomic signature of inflammation can be detected from blood plasma in CD. This signal is correlated with pathogenic mutation in pro-inflammatory immune response genes.
A weighted energy consumption minimization-based multi-hop uneven clustering routing protocol for cognitive radio sensor networks
Authors: Wang Jihong , Li Conghui 
Published: August 2022

AbstractAiming at solving the effective data delivery and energy hole problem in multi-hop cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSNs), a weighted energy consumption minimization-based uneven clustering (ECMUC) routing protocol is proposed in this paper. For the first time, the impact of control overhead on the network performance is taken into consideration, to be specific, the energy consumption of control overhead is integrated with that of data communication to model the network energy consumption. Through effective transformation and theoretical analysis, cluster radius of each ring is derived by minimizing the network energy consumption and balancing the residual energy among nodes in different rings. Distributed cluster heads (CHs) selection and cluster formation are carried out within this range to control the cluster size and the corresponding energy cost. Expected times for being CHs metric is defined to measure nodes’ energy and spectral potential and help select powerful CHs. Simulation results show that ECMUC protocol is superior to most clustering protocols designed for CRSNs in terms of network surveillance capability and network lifetime, and it is also demonstrated that taking control overhead into consideration is beneficial for improving the network performance.
DFT insights into the electronic structure, mechanical behaviour, lattice dynamics and defect processes in the first Sc-based MAX phase Sc2SnC
Authors: Hadi M. A. , Christopoulos S.-R. G. , Chroneos A. , Naqib S. H. , Islam A. K. M. A. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractHere we employed the density functional theory calculations to investigate some physical properties of first Sc-based MAX phase Sc2SnC including defect processes to compare with those of existing M2SnC phases. The calculated structural properties are in good agreement with the experimental values. The new phase Sc2SnC is structurally, mechanically and dynamically stable. Sc2SnC is metallic with a mixture of covalent and ionic character. The covalency of Sc2SnC including M2SnC is mostly controlled by the effective valence. Sc2SnC in M2SnC family ranks second in the scale of deformability and softness. The elastic anisotropy level in Sc2SnC is moderate compared to the other M2SnC phases. The hardness and melting point of Sc2SnC, including M2SnC, follows the trend of bulk modulus. Like other members of the M2SnC family, Sc2SnC has the potential to be etched into 2D MXenes and has the potential to be a thermal barrier coating material.