bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and Safety of Pre-Gastroscopy Commercial Carbohydrate Beverage (Resource®) vs. Plain Water: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Authors: Lua Bee Chen , Has Mohd Nizam Md , Wong Mung Seong , Lee Yeong Yeh , Zakaria Andee Dzulkarnaen , Zakaria Zaidi , Zain Wan Zainira Wan , Aziz Syed Hassan Syed Abd , Yahya Maya Mazuwin , Wong Michael Pak-Kai 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background & AimsClinical benefits and safety of carbohydrate loading pre-gastroscopy remain unclear. We aimed to determine the effects of a commercial carbohydrate beverage versus plain water given pre-gastroscopy on gastric residual volume and well-being, and to determine adverse events.MethodologyThis was a single centre, single-blinded, parallel-group, sex-stratified randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomized either to carbohydrate beverage group (Resource®, Nestle Health Science) or control group (250mls plain water) given pre-gastroscopy. Gastric contents were aspirated into a suction reservoir bottle to determine the gastric residual volume (GRV). Visual analogue scale (VAS) of well-being (anxiety, hunger, thirst, tiredness, and weakness) was compared before and after the intervention. Adverse events were also evaluated post-intervention.ResultsOf 369 screened, 78 participants (36 males, mean age 49 ± 14.3 years) were randomized. Compared with the control group, carbohydrate beverage was associated with significantly higher GRV (p < 0.001). Anxiety was less after intervention with carbohydrate beverage (p = 0.016), and after adjustment for confounders, fewer participants also experienced hunger (p = 0.043) and thirst (p = 0.021). No serious adverse events were reported with both interventions.ConclusionCommercial carbohydrate beverage is associated with higher gastric residual volume, better well-being and safe.Trial registrationClinicaltrial.gov. Identifier: NCT03948594Date of registration: 14/05/2019
Characterization of mixing by CFD simulation and optimization of mixing frequency to break scum and enhance methane yield in Chinese dome digester
Authors: Agbor-ambang Mfor Ebot , Fujiwara Masaaki , Bhatia Pranshu , Kishi Masatoshi , Sekine Mutsumi , Salangsang Maria Cecilia , Matsuyama Tatsushi , Toda Tatsuki 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
The Chinese dome digester (CDD) is a self-mixed, low-cost, and most popular digester that faces the challenge of scum formation due to insufficient mixing. Mixing intensity in CDD is controlled by gas valve operation during gas production and usage. This study explores computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to characterize mixing in CDD and the effect of mixing frequency on the performance of semicontinuous anaerobic digestion (AD) to improve mixing intensity, break scum and enhance methane yield. ANSYS software was applied to simulate the flow fields of a lab-scale CDD and four CDDs were operated at different mixing frequencies (0, 4, 6, and 8 times per day) to investigate the optimum mixing frequency that could break scum. 45% of CDD working volume was dead zones at the top of CDD which nurtured scum. In the AD experiments, scum thickness increased progressively in the non-mixed digester (2.2 ± 0.12 cm), compared to the mixed digesters, 4, 6, and 8 times per day (0.23 ± 0.05, 0.83 ± 0.11, and 1.31 ± 0.16 cm, respectively). The optimum mixing frequency was 4 times per day and the energy required to break scum was 6.12 ± 0.25 Joules per mixing cycle. The average methane yields for 0, 4, 6, and 8 times per day were 206.39 ± 192.09, 601.45 ± 88.80, 555.83 ± 59.92 and 493.11 ± 109.76 mL g-VS− 1, respectively. This study proves that scum can be broken in CDD by an optimum mixing frequency of 4 times per day without additional investment cost.
Hyaluronic acid-coated Bi:Cu2O: an H2S-responsive agent for colon cancer with targeted delivery and enhanced photothermal performance
Authors: Cheng Yuying , Bo Haiji , Qin Ruomeng , Chen Fulai , Xue Fengfeng , An Lu , Huang Gang , Tian Qiwei 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background
Endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-responsive theranostic agents have attracted extensive attention due to their specificity for colon cancer. However, the development of such agents with high enrichment in tumors and excellent photothermal performance remains challenging.
Results
We prepared hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated Bi-doped cuprous oxide (Bi:Cu2O@HA) via a one-pot method. The HA specifically targets colon cancer tumor cells to improve the enrichment of Bi:Cu2O@HA at tumor sites, while the doped Bi both enhances the photothermal performance of the H2S-triggered Cu2O and serves as an agent for tumor imaging. The results in this work demonstrated that the Bi:Cu2O@HA nanoparticles exhibit good biocompatibility, target colon cancer tumor cells, facilitate computed tomography imaging, and enhanced H2S-responsive photothermal therapy performance, resulting in an excellent therapeutic effect in colon cancer.
Conclusions
The novel Bi:Cu2O@HA nanoparticles exhibit excellent tumor targeting and photothermal therapeutic effects, which provide new strategies and insights for colon cancer therapy.
Bending modulus of the rippled graphene: the role of thickness
Authors: Wang Mingjian , Zhu Ranran , Tan Zhenquan , Dai Shuyu , Liu Lizhao 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Bending modulus is a key parameter to characterize the stiffness of materials. Commonly, it is believed that the bending modulus is closely related to the thickness as described by the thin plate theory. However, the thin plate theory fails in multilayer van der Waals materials like multilayer graphene, suggesting a more complex relationship between the bending modulus and thickness. Here rippled graphene structures containing non-hexagonal carbon rings with different thicknesses are constructed to study the thickness dependent bending modulus by the first-principles calculations. It is found that the bending modulus of rippled graphene depends on several factors, such as geometry, bending curvature and thickness. Particularly, for the egg-tray graphene structures with similar structural pattern and bending curvature, i.e., eliminating the effects of structural pattern and bending curvature, the bending modulus could show a linear relationship to the thickness. Moreover, this linear relationship is very robust even in the case of changing the thickness through heteroatom doping.
Groundwater quality delineation based on AHP method and GIS: a case study in Regueb basin, Central-Tunisia
Authors: missaoui rim , NCIBI Kaouther , Abdelkarim bilel , Bouagila Abedlhakim , Choura Abedjabbar , HAMDI Mongi , HAMED Younes 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
The Regueb basin constitutes an important agricultural area in Sidi Bouzid region (central Tunisia). Water scarcity and quality degradation propose an adequate management strategy. This strategy influenced by several parameters. In this context, the combining AHP approach with GIS tools was used as a method to study the water irrigation quality according to six parameters (EC, TDS, Na+, SO42−, Cl− and SAR). The finality result was shown as a map present the lateral variation of equality index in Regueb basin. The most parameter that influent the water quality are EC and TDS, with mean concentrations of 2200 mgL− 1 and 15400 mgL− 1, respectively. Water quality map show a variation throws out the basin indicate that the most affected zone is located near the Sebkhat mechiguigue. The dissolving of evaporate sediments (halite and gypsum) in groundwater explains the relevance of the Na+, Cl− and SO42− where the quality degradation condition was conserved. This work also prove that the systematic control of wells is essential for a good evaluation resource. This study can have used as a foundation of a new management strategy help to minimise the degradation of groundwater quality in Regueb basin.
Racial and Gender Disparities in different regions of the United States in patients with metastatic lung and bronchial cancer
Authors: Desai Devashish , Singhal Sachi , Khosla Akshita , Potdar Rashmika 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, making up almost a quarter of all cancer deaths. Disparities exist upon closer examination: African American (AA) males were found to have a higher incidence of developing lung cancer compared to their Caucasian counterparts. Some plausible reasons for higher incidence rates in AA patients may be due to differences in smoking habits, socioeconomic variables, and metabolism of tobacco carcinogens. Along with these factors, societal differences and lack of resources are postulated to play a significant role. These differences were also observed in clinical trials with an underrepresentation of minorities. A niche deficit exists in outcomes of racial minorities with metastatic lung and bronchial cancer.Methods: Data for this study was obtained from the 2016-18 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). This is maintained as part of the Health Care Utilization Project (HCUP) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). It is the largest all-payer inpatient care database in the US and comprises a 20% stratified random sample of all US hospital discharges. Further details: https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/Results: We identified 238,516 patients with Metastatic Lung and bronchial cancer, of which 77.45% were Caucasians, 12.48% AAs, 4.74% Hispanics, and 2.81 % Asians and Pacific Islanders (API). Almost 40% of the study population is from the Southern region, followed by 24.25% in Midwest, 20.56% in the Northeast, and 14.81% in the West. Other race populations had the most reported deaths (10.42%), followed by APIs (10.30%), Native Americans (8.67%), Hispanics (8.75%), AAs (8.66%), and Caucasians (8.34%) (p <0.000). AAs had significantly higher deaths in the South (17.24%) and APIs had significantly higher deaths in the West (12.21%) compared to other regions (p <0.0001). With and without adjusting all the other variables, AAs (OR = 1.069 (1.046 - 1.091)), APIs (OR = 1.230 (1.184 - 1.278)), Native Americans (OR = 1.207 (1.091 - 1.336)), and Others (OR = 1.300 (1.250 - 1.351)) have significantly higher odds of dying when compared to Caucasians.The odds of all-cause mortality for African Americans and Asians and Pacific Islanders remain higher in comparison in all the regions.Conclusions: Racial minorities remain at higher odds of all-cause mortality in all regions, and focused programs to improve their access to healthcare, insurance and resources should help alleviate these disparities.
New austalide derivative from the marine-derived Aspergillus sp. and evaluation of its biological activity
Authors: Elnaggar Mohamed S. , Elissawy Ahmed M. , Youssef Fadia S. , Singab Abdel Nasser B. 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of Aspergillus sp. isolated from the soft coral Sinularia species resulted in the isolation of one new meroterpenoid austalide X (1), one known austalide W (2), six known prenylated indole diketopiperazine alkaloids (3-8) and phthalic acid and its ethyl derivative (9-10). The structures were established using 1D and 2D NMR experiments supported by UV analysis and ESI-MS (Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry). The effect of changing the fermentation media was also investigated using LC-PDA-MS (Liquid chromatography-photodiode-array-mass spectrometry) employing rice and beans media. It showed significant quantitative and qualitative variations particularly in the diketopiperazine content. In vitro cytotoxic evaluation was performed using MTT assay. Results showed that the examined compounds revealed weak to moderate activities where the new meroterpenoid, austalide X (1) displayed IC50 value of 51.6 µg/mL. In silico molecular docking was done to evaluate COVID-19 inhibitory potential of isolated compounds on 2019-nCoV main protease, spike glycoprotein and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). Compound (10) followed by compound (9) exerted a potent inhibition on all the examined proteins with high fitting scores. ADME/TOPKAT (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) predication performed in silico showed that most of the isolated compounds revealed reasonable pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicity properties.
Neuroprotective effect of betanin in mice with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury
Authors: Thong-asa Wachiryah , Puenpha Kanthaporn , Lairaksa Thannaporn , Saengjinda Siriwipha 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Cerebral ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury as found in stroke is a complex and heterogeneous disorder and closely related to disability and death. Transient ischemia causes energy deprivation and leads to failure of neuronal function. Recirculation complications also facilitate acute and delayed neuronal death as well as white matter injury. Today, nutraceuticals and protective therapy to increase neuronal integrity and prevent pathological complication are common. We investigated the neuroprotective effect of betanin against cerebral IR injury in mice. We randomly divided forty male ICR mice into Sham-veh, IR-veh, IR-Bet50 and IR-Bet100 groups. After 2 weeks of oral administration of normal saline (veh) or 50 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg of betanin, we subjected the mice to IR induction using 30-min bilateral common carotid artery occlusion, followed by 24 hrs. of reperfusion. We sacrificed the mice to evaluate brain infarction, brain oxidative status, cortical and hippocampal neurons and white matter pathologies. The results showed that IR significantly increases brain infarction, CA1 hippocampal degeneration and corpus callosum (CC) and internal capsule (IC) white matter loss (p < 0.05). Evaluation of brain oxidative status revealed significant elevation of malondialdehyde (MDA) together with a significant decrease in catalase (CAT) activity, induced by IR (p < 0.05). Pretreatment with betanin, especially a dose of 100 mg/kg, led to a significant reduction in brain infarction and MDA, CA1 hippocampus, CC and IC white matter degeneration. Betanin also led to a significant increase in CAT activity (p < 0.05), with enhancing effect on reduced glutathione levels (GSH, p < 0.05). Corroborating this finding, the present study revealed the neuroprotective efficacy of betanin against IR injury in mice’s brains. These effects were associated with betanin’s potent antioxidative properties, including its inhibition of lipid peroxidation, indicated by MDA attenuation, and boosting of GSH and CAT activity.
Chrysophanol post-conditioning attenuated cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury induced NLRP3-related pyroptosis in a TRAF6-dependent manner
Authors: Xia Pingping , Marjan Murat , Liu Zhuoyi , Zhou Wanqing , Zhang Qian , Cheng Chen , Zhao Minxi , Tao Yuanyuan , Wang Zhihua , Ye Zhi 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: Pyroptosis induces neuronal death by triggering an excessive inflammatory injury. Chrysophanol possesses robust anti-inflammatory features, and it is protective against CIRI. The purpose of this research was to assess the effect of Chrysophanol post-treatment on CIRI-induced pyroptotic cell death, and to explore its underlying mechanisms. Methods: CIRI was induced in rats by CA and subsequent cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and PC12 cells were exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) to imitate CIRI in vitro. The survival rate, neurological outcomes, histopathological changes and cognitive functions were examined to explore the neuroprotection mediated by Chrysophanol post-conditioning. Pyroptosis-associated proteins were quantified by qRT-PCR and western blot both in vivo and in vitro model. Meanwhile, gain- and loss-of-function analyses of NLRP3 or TRAF6 were also performed to evaluate their effects on Chrysophanol-mediated anti-pyroptotic signaling pathway. Finally, the interaction between NLRP3 and TRAF6 was detected in Chrysophanol-treated PC12 cells.Results: It was found that post-CA brain injury led to a notable cerebral damage by examining histopathological changes and neurological outcomes. The existence of pyroptosis was also confirmed in in vivo and in vitro CIRI models. Moreover, we further confirmed that post-treatment with Chrysophanol, the main bioactive ingredient of Rhubarb, significantly suppressed expressions of pyroptosis-associated proteins, e.g., NLRP3, ASC, cleaved-caspase-1 and N-terminal GSDMD, and inhibited the expression level of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6). Furthermore, NLRP3 overexpression neutralized the neuroprotection of Chrysophanol post-treatment, suggesting that pyroptosis was the major neuronal death pathway modulated by Chrysophanol post-treatment in OGD/R. Additionally, the neuroprotection of Chrysophanol post-treatment was also abolished by gain-of-function analyses of TRAF6. Finally, the results demonstrated that Chrysophanol post-treatment suppressed the interaction between TRAF6 and NLRP3. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings revealed that Chrysophanol post-treatment could be protective against CIRI by inhibiting NLRP3-related pyroptosis via a TRAF6-dependent manner.
Experimental investigations of underwater laser propulsion microspheres based on a tapered fiber propulsion system
Authors: Li Hanyang , He Yichen , Zhou Gaoqian , Ge Yang 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
An underwater propulsion microsystem is proposed in this work, which employing a nanosecond laser pulse out from the tapered fiber tip. Noteworthily, the system can generate a directional shock wave (or plasma) to propel the polystyrene (PS) microsphere. Through simulation, the shock wave propagation characteristics and the bubble dynamic are investigated. Experimentally, high-speed photography method is employed to obtain the motion image of microsphere. The results show that the propulsion efficiency is dependent on the laser energy. Meanwhile, we explain the role of the bubble dynamic process in propelling microsphere, and find that the bubble diameter increases with the laser energy. In addition, an experiment is performed to separating and removing the PS microsphere clusters in water at fixed point. Our findings make the tapered fiber propulsion system promising for applications in the underwater directional manipulation of microstructures and the removal of the contaminate microsphere in water environment.
Short-term nutrient removal efficiency by Ulva pseudorotundata (Chlorophyta): potential use for Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)
Authors: Massocato Thaís , Robles-Carnero Victor , Vega Julia , Bastos Eduardo , Avilés Antonio , Bonomi-Barufi José , Rörig Leonardo , Figueroa Félix 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Short-term N-NH4+ and N-NO3- removal by U. pseudorotundata under different initial nutrient concentrations and biomass stocking densities, monitoring in parallel photosynthetic parameters obtained by Pulse-Amplitude-Modulation (PAM) Fluorometry of chlorophyll-a and evaluating biomass characteristics (CHN, proteins, carbohydrates) was investigated. The results showed that U. pseudorotundata cultivated under solar radiation in a land-based out-door pilot scale was efficient in removing N-NH4+ and N-NO3- even in concentrations as high as 500 µmol L⁻¹ ensuring complete water remediation in a period of 24 h and in all experimental conditions tested, although differences were observed depending on the stocking density and type of N-source. Treatments with N-NH4+ showed faster N removal than those with N-NO3-, however, treatments with N-NO3- demanded more photosynthetic energy. Part of the ammonium removed in the respective treatments may have been volatilized as a combined effect of the pH increase related to photosynthesis and aeration in the tanks. The results presented here establish the fundamental parameters for the use of U. pseudorotundata as a biofiltering organism for effluents with high concentrations of N-NH4+ and N-NO3-.
GPA-TUNet: Transformer and GPA Attention Co-Encoder for Medical Image Segmentation
Authors: Li Chaoqun , Wang Liejun , Li Yongming 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
U-Net has become baseline standard in the medical image segmentation tasks, but it has limitations in explicitly modeling long-term dependencies. Transformer has the ability to capture long-term relevance through its internal self-attention. However, Transformer is committed to modeling the correlation of all elements, but its awareness of local foreground information is not significant. Since medical images are often presented as regional blocks, local information is equally important. In this paper, we propose the GPA-TUNet by considering local and global information synthetically. Specifically, we propose a new attention mechanism to highlight local foreground information, called group parallel axial attention (GPA). Furthermore, we effectively combine GPA with Transformer in encoder part of model. It can not only highlight the foreground information of sample, but also reduce the negative influence of background information on the segmentation results. Meanwhile, we introduce the sMLP block to improve the global modeling capability of network. Sparse connectivity and weight sharing are well achieved by applying it. Extensive experiments on public datasets confirm the excellent performance of our proposed GPA-TUNet. In particular, on Synapse and ACDC datasets, mean DSC reached 80.37% and 90.37% respectively, mean HD95 reached 20.55% and 1.23% respectively.
In mice and humans, brain microvascular contractility matures postnatally Brain microvessel post-natal maturation
Authors: Slaoui Leila , Gilbert Alice , Rancillac Armelle , Chagnot Audrey , Federici Laetitia , Gerard Quentin , Gelot Antoinette , Becmeur-Lefebvre Mathilde , Favier Maryline , Robil Noémie , Letort Gaëlle , Dias Karine , Jourdren Laurent , Mailly Philippe , Auvity Sylvain , Cisternino Salvatore , Vivien Denis , Cohen-Salmon Martine , Boulay Anne-Cécile 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Although great efforts to characterize the embryonic phase of brain microvascular system development have been made, its postnatal maturation has barely been described. Here, we compared the molecular and functional properties of brain vascular cells on postnatal day (P)5 vs. P15, via a transcriptomic analysis of purified mouse cortical microvessels (MVs) and the identification of vascular-cell-type-specific or -preferentially expressed transcripts. We found that endothelial cells (EC), vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and fibroblasts (FB) follow specific molecular maturation programs over this time period. Focusing on VSMCs, we showed that arteriolar VSMC network expands and becomes contractile resulting in a greater cerebral blood flow (CBF). Samples of human brain cortex showed the same postnatal maturation process. Thus, the postnatal phase is a critical period during which arteriolar VSMC contractility required for vessel tone and brain perfusion is acquired and mature.