bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Theoretical considerations regarding the functional anatomical traits of primary and secondary xylem in dragon tree trunk using the example of Dracaena draco
Authors: Tulik Mirela , Wojtan Rafał , Jura-Morawiec Joanna 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
Main conclusion
In Dracaena draco trunks, the primary and secondary xylem conduits co-function. Both are resistant to embolism; however, secondary conduits are mainly involved in mechanical support.

Abstract
Monocotyledonous dragon trees (Dracaena spp., Asparagaceae) possess in their trunks both primary and secondary xylem elements, organized into vascular bundles, that for dozens of years co-function and enable the plant to transport water efficiently as well as provide mechanical support. Here, based on the modified Hagen-Poiseuille’s formula, we examined the functional anatomical xylem traits of the trunk in two young D. draco individuals to compare their function in both primary and secondary growth. We provided analyses of the: (i) conduits surface sculpture and their cell walls thickness, (ii) conduit diameter and frequency, (iii) hydraulically weighted diameter, (iv) theoretical hydraulic conductivity, (v) area-weighted mean conduit diameter, as well as (vi) vulnerability index. The conduits in primary growth, located in the central part of the trunk, were loosely arranged, had thinner cell walls, larger mean hydraulically weighted diameter, and significantly larger value of the theoretical hydraulic conductivity than conduits in secondary growth, which form a rigid cylinder near the trunk surface. Based on the vulnerability index, both primary and secondary conduits are resistant to embolism. Taking into account the distribution within a trunk, the secondary growth conduits seems to be mainly involved in mechanical support as they are twisted, form structures similar to sailing ropes and have thick cell walls, and a peripheral localization. D. draco has been adapted to an environment with water deficit by distinctive, spatial separation of the xylem elements fulfilling supportive and conductive functions.
Geometric effects of volume-to-surface mapping of fMRI data
Authors: Ciantar Keith George , Farrugia Christine , Galdi Paola , Scerri Kenneth , Xu Ting , Bajada Claude J. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractIn this work, we identify a problem with the process of volume-to-surface mapping of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data that emerges in local connectivity analysis. We show that neighborhood correlations on the surface of the brain vary spatially with the gyral structure, even when the underlying volumetric data are uncorrelated noise. This could potentially have impacted studies focusing upon local neighborhood connectivity. We explore the effects of this anomaly across varying data resolutions and surface mesh densities, and propose several measures to mitigate these unwanted effects.
Ranking the effect of chronodisruption-based biomarkers in reproductive health
Authors: Rúa Ana G. , Rico Noelia , Alonso Ana , Díaz Elena , Díaz Irene 
Published: July 2022

AbstractChronodisruption alters circadian rhythms, which has negative consequences on different pathologies and mental disorders. This work studies whether factors related to chronodisruption of circadian rhythms motivated by shift works influence on reproductive health or not. In particular, this influence is studied on four particular aspects related to reproductive health: reproductive health disease, first pregnancy attempt, problems during pregnancy and gestation period. Some explainable machine learning models based on trees have been employed. These methods provided information about the importance of each predictor. The most important variables provided by each method were aggregated using a ranking aggregation function in order to reach a consensus ranking of variables that made possible to understand whether the chronodisruption factors had an effect on each of the aspects studied. The data have been obtained from 697 health professionals. Information about classical biomarkers, sleep quality indices and also other new variables related to eating jet lag, sleep hygiene and how the sleep is affected by shift works were considered as input data. Experiments have shown how some of these novel biomarkers are ranked in the top positions of the issues studied in relation to reproductive health. In particular, the light level and the use of electronic devices, which are features related to chronodisruption, are highlighted as biomarkers.
Antibiotic profiling of wild-type bacilli led to the discovery of new lanthipeptide subtilin-producing Bacillus spizizenii strains whose 16S rDNA sequences differ from the B. spizizenii typing strain
Authors: Helfrich Markus , Entian Karl-Dieter , Stein Torsten 
Published: July 2022

AbstractTwo dozen field-collected Bacillus and a dozen Bacillus spizizenii wild-type strains from strain collections were selected on the basis of their antagonistic properties against the Gram-positive strain Micrococcus luteus. Based on their genetic and antibiotic profiles, they were characterized (subtilin encoding spaS gene sequences, mass spectrometric, and quantitative-reversed phase liquid chromatographic analyses, as well as the presence of the lanthionine cyclase protein SpaC by western blotting), seven novel producers of the lanthipeptide subtilin. Phylogenetic analyses of the subtilin-producing wild-type strains based on their 16S rRNA sequences showed that all seven strains could be classified as B. spizizenii: The field-collected strains HS and N5, as well as strains DSM 618, 1087, 6395, 6405, and 8439 from the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures. To the best of our knowledge, all B. spizizenii strains described so far are characterized by the fact that they can produce a lanthipeptide of the subtilin family. Both the lanthipeptide structures and the organization and sequences of the 16S rRNA-encoding genes suggest a subdivision of B. spizizenii into subspecies: The subtilin-producing B. spizizenii strains are distinctly different from the entianin-producing B. spizizenii typing strain TU-B-10 T (DSM 15029 T).
Highly private blockchain-based management system for digital COVID-19 certificates
Authors: Pericàs-Gornals Rosa , Mut-Puigserver Macià , Payeras-Capellà M. Magdalena 
Published: July 2022

AbstractAs a result of the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, several proposals of blockchain-based solutions for digital COVID-19 certificates have been presented. Considering that health data have high privacy requirements, a health data management system must fulfil several strict privacy and security requirements. On the one hand, confidentiality of the medical data must be assured, being the data owner (the patient) the actor that maintain control over the privacy of their certificates. On the other hand, the entities involved in the generation and validation of certificates must be supervised by a regulatory authority. This set of requirements are generally not achieved together in previous proposals. Moreover, it is required that a digital COVID-19 certificate management protocol provides an easy verification process and also strongly avoid the risk of forgery. In this paper we present the design and implementation of a protocol to manage digital COVID-19 certificates where individual users decide how to share their private data in a hierarchical system. In order to achieve this, we put together two different technologies: the use of a proxy re-encryption (PRE) service in conjunction with a blockchain-based protocol. Additionally, our protocol introduces an authority to control and regulate the centers that can generate digital COVID-19 certificates and offers two kinds of validation of certificates for registered and non-registered verification entities. Therefore, the paper achieves all the requirements, that is, data sovereignty, high privacy, forgery avoidance, regulation of entities, security and easy verification.
Intelligent and behavioral-based detection of malware in IoT spectrum sensors
Authors: Celdrán Alberto Huertas , Sánchez Pedro Miguel Sánchez , Castillo Miguel Azorín , Bovet Gérôme , Pérez Gregorio Martínez , Stiller Burkhard 
Published: July 2022

AbstractThe number of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) available in industrial environments is growing mainly due to the evolution of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) paradigm. In such a context, radio frequency spectrum sensing in industrial scenarios is one of the most interesting applications of CPS due to the scarcity of the spectrum. Despite the benefits of operational platforms, IoT spectrum sensors are vulnerable to heterogeneous malware. The usage of behavioral fingerprinting and machine learning has shown merit in detecting cyberattacks. Still, there exist challenges in terms of (i) designing, deploying, and evaluating ML-based fingerprinting solutions able to detect malware attacks affecting real IoT spectrum sensors, (ii) analyzing the suitability of kernel events to create stable and precise fingerprints of spectrum sensors, and (iii) detecting recent malware samples affecting real IoT spectrum sensors of crowdsensing platforms. Thus, this work presents a detection framework that applies device behavioral fingerprinting and machine learning to detect anomalies and classify different botnets, rootkits, backdoors, ransomware and cryptojackers affecting real IoT spectrum sensors. Kernel events from CPU, memory, network, file system, scheduler, drivers, and random number generation have been analyzed, selected, and monitored to create device behavioral fingerprints. During testing, an IoT spectrum sensor of the ElectroSense platform has been infected with ten recent malware samples (two botnets, three rootkits, three backdoors, one ransomware, and one cryptojacker) to measure the detection performance of the framework in two different network configurations. Both supervised and semi-supervised approaches provided promising results when detecting and classifying malicious behaviors from the eight previous malware and seven normal behaviors. In particular, the framework obtained 0.88–0.90 true positive rate when detecting the previous malicious behaviors as unseen or zero-day attacks and 0.94–0.96 F1-score when classifying them.
Anatomically informed multi-level fiber tractography for targeted virtual dissection
Authors: Zhylka Andrey , Leemans Alexander , Pluim Josien P. W. , De Luca Alberto 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
Objectives
Diffusion-weighted MRI can assist preoperative planning by reconstructing the trajectory of eloquent fiber pathways, such as the corticospinal tract (CST). However, accurate reconstruction of the full extent of the CST remains challenging with existing tractography methods. We suggest a novel tractography algorithm exploiting unused fiber orientations to produce more complete and reliable results.

Methods
Our novel approach, referred to as multi-level fiber tractography (MLFT), reconstructs fiber pathways by progressively considering previously unused fiber orientations at multiple levels of tract propagation. Anatomical priors are used to minimize the number of false-positive pathways. The MLFT method was evaluated on synthetic data and in vivo data by reconstructing the CST while compared to conventional tractography approaches.

Results
The radial extent of MLFT reconstructions is comparable to that of probabilistic reconstruction: $$p=0.21$$

p
=
0.21

for the left and $$p=0.53$$

p
=
0.53

for the right hemisphere according to Wilcoxon test, while achieving significantly higher topography preservation compared to probabilistic tractography: $$p<0.01$$

p
<
0.01

.

Discussion
MLFT provides a novel way to reconstruct fiber pathways by adding the capability of including branching pathways in fiber tractography. Thanks to its robustness, feasible reconstruction extent and topography preservation, our approach may assist in clinical practice as well as in virtual dissection studies.
Tunability of Band Gaps of Programmable Hard-Magnetic Soft Material Phononic Crystals
Authors: Li Bo , Yan Wei , Gao Yuanwen 
Published: July 2022

AbstractIn this paper, the elastic wave band gap characteristics of two-dimensional hard-magnetic soft material phononic crystals (HmSM-PnCs) under the applied magnetic field are studied. Firstly, the relevant material parameters of hard-magnetic soft materials (HmSMs) are obtained by the experimental measurement. Then the finite element model of the programmable HmSM-PnCs is established to calculate its band structure under the applied magnetic field. The effects of some factors such as magnetic field, structure thickness, structure porosity, and magnetic anisotropy encoding mode on the band gap are given. The results show that the start and stop frequencies and band gap width can be tunable by changing the magnetic field. The magnetic anisotropy encoding mode has a remarkable effect on the number of band gaps and the critical magnetic field of band gaps. In addition, the effect of geometric size on PnC structure is also discussed. With the increase of the structure thickness, the start and stop frequencies of the band gap increase.
Predictors of stockpiling behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
Authors: Sadus Kathrin , Göttmann Jan , Schubert Anna-Lena 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
Aim
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed an increase in purchases of certain products, such as toilet paper, disinfectants, or groceries. In the present study, we examined the individual and socio-psychological determinants of stockpiling behavior. For this purpose, we defined an explanatory model based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), which includes threat perceptions, barriers and benefits, and self-efficacy beliefs as main predictors of health-related behaviors, and extended the model to include social norms.

Subject and methods
Participants were recruited via social media platforms and data collection was conducted via an online survey. The final sample included 861 German respondents (male = 199, female = 642, mean age = 36.76, SD = 12.38).

Results
Perceived barriers of stockpiling, such as financial constraints or regulations in supermarkets, turned out to be the strongest predictors of stockpiling. Regarding the role of threat perception, the perceived severity of the disease in particular was positively related to stockpiling behavior. Finally, our results suggest a significant impact of social cues, showing that descriptive normative beliefs are associated with stockpiling behavior.

Conclusion
Based on these findings, we propose targeted interventions to a) reduce perceived benefits of stockpiling and severity beliefs related to COVID-19, b) emphasize disadvantages of stockpiling, and c) reduce media exposure of stockpiling behavior to prevent panic buying.
Gender differences in access to community-based care: a longitudinal analysis of widowhood and living arrangements
Authors: Ilinca Stefania , Rodrigues Ricardo , Fors Stefan , Zólyomi Eszter , Jull Janet , Rehnberg Johan , Vafaei Afshin , Phillips Susan 
Published: July 2022

AbstractPersistent inequalities in access to community-based support limit opportunities for independent living for older people with care needs in Europe. Our study focuses on investigating how gender, widowhood and living arrangement associate with the probability of receiving home and community-based care, while accounting for the shorter-term associations of transitions into widowhood (bereavement) and living alone, as well as the longer–term associations of being widowed and living alone. We use comparative, longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (collected between 2004 and 2015 in 15 countries) specifying sex-disaggregated random-effects within-between models, which allow us to examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among widowhood, living arrangements and community-based care use. We find widowhood and living alone are independently associated with care use for both older women and men, while bereavement is associated with higher probability of care use only for women. Socio-economic status was associated with care use for older women, but not for men in our sample. The gender-specific associations we identify have important implications for fairness in European long-term care systems. They can inform improved care targeting towards individuals with limited informal care resources (e.g. bereaved older men) and lower socio-economic status, who are particularly vulnerable to experiencing unmet care needs. Gender differences are attenuated in countries that support formal care provision, suggesting gender equity can be promoted by decoupling access to care from household and family circumstances.
Somatic GJA4 gain-of-function mutation in orbital cavernous venous malformations
Authors: Hongo Hiroki , Miyawaki Satoru , Teranishi Yu , Mitsui Jun , Katoh Hiroto , Komura Daisuke , Tsubota Kinya , Matsukawa Takashi , Watanabe Masakatsu , Kurita Masakazu , Yoshimura Jun , Dofuku Shogo , Ohara Kenta , Ishigami Daiichiro , Okano Atsushi , Kato Motoi , Hakuno Fumihiko , Takahashi Ayaka , Kunita Akiko , Ishiura Hiroyuki , Shin Masahiro , Nakatomi Hirofumi , Nagao Toshitaka , Goto Hiroshi , Takahashi Shin-Ichiro , Ushiku Tetsuo , Ishikawa Shumpei , Okazaki Mutsumi , Morishita Shinichi , Tsuji Shoji , Saito Nobuhito 
Published: July 2022

AbstractOrbital cavernous venous malformation (OCVM) is a sporadic vascular anomaly of uncertain etiology characterized by abnormally dilated vascular channels. Here, we identify a somatic missense mutation, c.121G > T (p.Gly41Cys) in GJA4, which encodes a transmembrane protein that is a component of gap junctions and hemichannels in the vascular system, in OCVM tissues from 25/26 (96.2%) individuals with OCVM. GJA4 expression was detected in OCVM tissue including endothelial cells and the stroma, through immunohistochemistry. Within OCVM tissue, the mutation allele frequency was higher in endothelial cell-enriched fractions obtained using magnetic-activated cell sorting. Whole-cell voltage clamp analysis in Xenopus oocytes revealed that GJA4 c.121G > T (p.Gly41Cys) is a gain-of-function mutation that leads to the formation of a hyperactive hemichannel. Overexpression of the mutant protein in human umbilical vein endothelial cells led to a loss of cellular integrity, which was rescued by carbenoxolone, a non-specific gap junction/hemichannel inhibitor. Our data suggest that GJA4 c.121G > T (p.Gly41Cys) is a potential driver gene mutation for OCVM. We propose that hyperactive hemichannel plays a role in the development of this vascular phenotype.
A Systematic Review of Risk Factors and Consequences of Nyaope Usage: The Illicit Street Drug Containing HIV Antiretrovirals
Authors: Varshney Karan , Browning Samuel D. , Debnath Sujit K. , Shet Pavan , Shet Darshan 
Published: July 2022

AbstractSouth Africa currently has the highest number of cases of HIV in the world. HIV antiretrovirals (ARVs) are publicly available across the country to address this crisis. However, a consequence of widely available ARVs has been the diversion of these drugs for recreational usage in a drug cocktail commonly known as “nyaope” or “whoonga,” which poses a significant public health concern. To better understand nyaope, we conducted a systematic review investigating the risks and consequences associated with its usage. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, searches were conducted in eight different databases and screened thereafter. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they included analysis of least one nyaope user and considered either demographics, risk factors, or consequences of usage. Data extracted included study characteristics and limitations, as well as demographic factors, risk factors for usage in the general population, and consequences. Quality assessments were performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s tools. Searches produced a total of 228 articles and, after screening, a total of 19 articles were eligible for inclusion. There was a pooled total of 807 nyaope users, all in South Africa. Major risk factors for usage were being male, unemployed, not completing secondary education, pressure from peer groups, having HIV, prior use of cannabis, and to a lesser extent, usage of other substances such as alcohol and tobacco. While young adults tend to be at high-risk, evidence indicates that adolescents are also at-risk. Consequences of usage include high rates of infection, cortical atrophy, depression, and addiction. Addiction was shown to lead to individuals stealing from friends and family to pay for the drugs. HIV-positive nyaope users were more likely to partake in risk behaviours and tended to have high viral loads. Nyaope’s rise has been linked to many health and social issues. Considering that this may also disrupt HIV control efforts in South Africa, there is an urgent need to address the rise of nyaope.
Calibration method for a breast intervention robot based on four-dimensional ultrasound image guidance
Authors: Yanjun Guo , Xingguang Duan , Chengyi Wang , Haicheng Zhang , Huiqin Guo 
Published: July 2022

AbstractIn breast interventional ultrasound therapy, it is difficult to directly diagnose the location of a tumor in 2-D ultrasound images. To assist surgeons in treatment more intuitively, a four-dimensional ultrasound image-guided breast intervention robot is proposed. The calibration approach of the ultrasonic image for the robot is one of the main contents of the research. This method is based on the establishment of a complete coordinate system conversion model, and it uses the ORB (oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF) feature extraction method to obtain and record the real-time image marker pixel positions, calculate the unknown parameters of the coordinate system conversion matrix, and establish a complete calibration system. This article demonstrates the feasibility of the calibration approach through experiments in our developed US-guided robotic system. Additional experimental and parametrical comparisons of the proposed method with state-of-the-art methods were conducted to thoroughly evaluate the outperformance of the proposed method.
Impact of invasive little fire ants Wasmannia auropunctata on rainforest soil fauna: implications for conservation of the endangered flightless kagu of New Caledonia
Authors: Jourdan Hervé , Bourguet Edouard , Mille Christian , Gula Roman , Theuerkauf Jörn 
Published: July 2022

AbstractThe little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, is an invasive species known to negatively affect many native species in its introduced range. Here, we studied the effect of little fire ant presence on the biomass of soil fauna in rainforest of New Caledonia to assess if little fire ants have an impact on an endangered endemic flightless bird, the kagu, Rhynochetos jubatus. The average biomass of soil fauna (except for millipedes) was lower in 53 sample plots with little fire ants than in 597 sample plots without little fire ants and the biomass decreased with increasing density of little fire ant nests. Millipedes on the contrary seemed to be positively impacted as their average biomass was higher in areas with fire ants than in areas without, but even millipede biomass decreased with increasing nest density of fire ants. Kagu density decreased with increasing area of rainforest invaded by little fire ants, suggesting, given their observed negative impact on soil fauna biomass, that they may limit food resources for kagu. Little fire ants might therefore transform rainforest into a less suitable habitat for the kagu by reducing the biomass of their prey and thus have a negative impact for kagu conservation.