Neural Correlates of Social Touch Processing: An fMRI Study on Brain Functional Connectivity by Vladimir Khorev, Semen Kurkin, Larisa Mayorova, Galina Portnova, Anastasia Kushnir, Alexander Hramov

“…A functional connectivity network analysis was conducted to examine the alterations in connections between different brain regions following massage. …”
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Large Language Models in Dental Licensing Examinations: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Mingxin Liu, Tsuyoshi Okuhara, Wenbo Huang, Atsushi Ogihara, Hikari Sophia Nagao, Hiroko Okada, Takahiro Kiuchi

“…GPT-4’s performance, however, remained consistent across different regions. Conclusion: LLMs, particularly GPT-4, show potential in dental education and diagnostics, yet their accuracy remains below the threshold required for clinical application. …”
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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Atmospheric PM2.5 during Winter Haze in Huang-gang, Central China: Characteristics, Sources and Health Risk Assessment by Mingming Shi, Tianpeng Hu, Yao Mao, Cheng Cheng, Weijie Liu, Qian Tian, Zhanle Chen, Xinli Xing, Shihua Qi

“…Abstract Levels, compositions, sources and health risk of PM2.5-bound PAHs were measured at a regional monitoring site of Huang-gang in the winter of 2018. …”
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Nasal microbial diversity is associated with survival in piglets infected by a highly virulent PRRSV-1 strain by Pau Obregon-Gutierrez, Martí Cortey, Gerard E. Martín-Valls, Hepzibar Clilverd, Florencia Correa-Fiz, Virginia Aragón, Enric Mateu

“…The microbiota composition was inferred by V3–V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. …”
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Heat-related mortality in Mexico: A multi-scale spatial analysis of extreme heat effects and municipality-level vulnerability by Lara Schwarz, Chen Chen, Javier Emmanuel Castillo Quiñones, L.C. Aguilar-Dodier, Kristen Hansen, Jaime Reyes Sanchez, David J.X. González, Gordon McCord, Tarik Benmarhnia

“…The municipality-level spatial analysis showed substantial differences across regions with highest effects observed along the eastern, southwestern and Sonora coasts. …”
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Childhood BMI trajectories and sociodemographic factors in an Italian pediatric population by Erich Batzella, Joaquin Gutierrez de Rubalcava Doblas, Gloria Porcu, Silvia Bressan, Elisa Barbieri, Carlo Giaquinto, Anna Cantarutti, Cristina Canova

“…Females, children residing in Southern and Island regions, and those from more deprived socioeconomic areas had a higher probability of following the “overweight-to-obese” group compared to the “normal-weight” trajectory. …”
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Explore the evolution of winter wheat production and its response to climate change under varying precipitation years in the Loess Plateau of China by Donglin Wang, Yanbin Li, Binbin Zhang, Tengcong Jiang, Siyu Wu, Wenjie Wu, Yi Li, Jianqiang He, Deli Liu, Qinge Dong, Hao Feng

“…In addition, climate change could marginally enhance yield stability, albeit with observed regional variations. Notably, potential yield in the water-restricted areas such as Qinghai are significantly influenced by precipitation. …”
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A post-pandemic snapshot of the magnitude of COVID-19 in Brazil: A countrywide study by Eduardo Ribes Kohn, Maristela Bohlke, Antônia Almeida, Leandro Janelli, Luciana Monteiro Vasconcelos Sardinha, Fernando C. Wehrmeister, Pedro Curi Hallal

“…Methods: Data from the Telephone Survey of Risk Factors for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases During the Pandemic (Covitel), a telephone survey of individuals aged 18 years or older from all macro-regions of Brazil, were used. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and outcomes related to COVID-19 infection, severity, vaccination, and use of masks. …”
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Climate response to stratospheric aerosol injection during the Harmattan season in West Africa by Francis Nkrumah, Gandome Mayeul Leger Davy Quenum, Kwesi A Quagraine, Simone Tilmes, Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Atanas Dommo, Hubert A Koffi, Patrick Essien, Rebecca Bediako

“…It could also have negative implications, such as increased aridity compared to a future without SAI in the northern and central regions of WA. These findings also highlight the potential for SAI to improve air quality in certain areas but also underscore the need for careful consideration of implementation strategies and possible trade-offs. …”
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Elucidating genetic variability between randomly bred domestic cats and Persian domestic cats from different geographical locations using microsatellite markers by Shirin Mahmoodi, Ali Hojabr Rajeoni, Mehrshad Zeinolabedini, Arash Javanmard, Mohammad Hossein Banabazi

“…Objectives To conduct this research, 128 individuals from 8 populations, including Azerbaijan, Persian, Ahar, Uermia, Tehran, Karaj, Turkish and Shop cat (both genders), were randomly selected from different geographical regions. We selected eight STR markers with different chromosomal locations based on polymorphism and observed allele numbers in the next step. …”
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The concentration of selected organophosphorus pesticides associated with PM10 in agricultural ambient air in Iran: Health risk assessment using Monte Carlo simulation by Asma Tabanasl, Amin Mohammadpour, Aboozar Soltani, Mohammad Hoseini, Mohammadali Baghapour

“…Although no significant overall difference was observed in organophosphate pesticide levels in PM10 between urban and suburban areas, suburban regions generally exhibited higher concentrations, with the exceptions of Parathion and Butachlor. …”
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Coinfections between Persistent Parasitic Neglected Tropical Diseases and Viral Infections among Prisoners from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America by Lilian Da Silva Santos, Hans Wolff, François Chappuis, Pedro Albajar-Viñas, Marco Vitoria, Nguyen-Toan Tran, Stéphanie Baggio, Giuseppe Togni, Nicolas Vuilleumier, François Girardin, Francesco Negro, Laurent Gétaz

“…In Swiss prisons, more than 70% of detained people are foreigners and over one-third originate from sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America. These two regions are endemic for various tropical diseases and viral infections, which persist after migration to nonendemic countries. …”
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Topographical mapping of metabolic abnormalities in multiple sclerosis using rapid echo-less 3D-MR spectroscopic imaging at 7T by Eva Niess, Assunta Dal-Bianco, Bernhard Strasser, Fabian Niess, Lukas Hingerl, Beata Bachrata, Stanislav Motyka, Paulus Rommer, Siegfried Trattnig, Wolfgang Bogner

“…Conclusions: This study highlights the ability of 3D-MRSI at 7T to map widespread metabolic abnormalities in MS, with NAA reductions in prefrontal, motor, and sensory areas, linked to neuroaxonal damage and disability progression, and elevated mI in periventricular regions, reflecting gliosis.…”
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Seed Protein Content Estimation with Bench-Top Hyperspectral Imaging and Attentive Convolutional Neural Network Models by Imran Said, Vasit Sagan, Kyle T. Peterson, Haireti Alifu, Abuduwanli Maiwulanjiang, Abby Stylianou, Omar Al Akkad, Supria Sarkar, Noor Al Shakarji

“…This research aimed to develop robust methods for predicting seed protein concentration in wheat seeds using bench-top hyperspectral imaging in the visible, near-infrared (VNIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR) regions. To fully utilize the spectral and texture features of the full VNIR and SWIR spectral domains, a computer-vision-aided image co-registration methodology was implemented to seamlessly align the VNIR and SWIR bands. …”
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Using Passive BCI for Personalization of Assistive Wearable Devices: A Proof-of-Concept Study by Asghar Mahmoudi, Morteza Khosrotabar, Klaus Gramann, Stephan Rinderknecht, Maziar A. Sharbafi

“…EEG spectral bands from several brain regions were compared between the conditions with the lowest and highest exoskeleton forces to identify statistically significant changes. …”
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Investigating the potential immunomodulatory effects of commercial oral probiotic supplements on equine gastrointestinal tract barrier function by Agnieszka Żak-Bochenek, Paulina Żebrowska-Różańska, Joanna Bajzert, Łukasz Łaczmański, Bogumiła Szponar, Natalia Siwińska, Klaudia Gładysz, Katarzyna Sikorska, Anna Chełmońska-Soyta

“…The samples were subjected to microbiome analysis via next-generation sequencing of hypervariable regions V3-V4 and V7-V9 of the 16S rRNA gene for analysis of short-chain fatty acids via HPLC analysis and fecal secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) quantification via ELISA.ResultsMicrobiome analysis revealed no significant differences in either alpha or beta diversity parameters between the groups. …”
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Pulmonary Densitovolumetry Using Computed Tomography in Patients with Nontuberculous Mycobacteria: Correlation with Pulmonary Function Tests by Patricia Gomes Cytrangulo De Marca, Telma Goldenberg, Fernanda Carvalho Queiroz Mello, Alysson Roncally Silva Carvalho, Alan Ranieri Medeiros Guimarães, Roberto Mogami, Agnaldo José Lopes

“…Patients with NTM-PD show reduced lung mass and increased lung mass in the apical and basal regions of the lungs, respectively. Furthermore, there is a relationship between lung mass measurements and pulmonary function parameters.…”
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Challenges and barriers to physician decision-making for prescribing and deprescribing among patients with multimorbidity in eastern China’s primary care settings: a qualitative st... by Ming Yan, Zhijie Xu, Andrew Farmer, Yu Xia, Mi Yao, Lingyan Wu, Xinmei Zhou, Liyan Han

“…Themes were developed using a conventional content analysis approach.Setting 12 community health centers and 8 township health centers across four regions in eastern China were included.Participants 26 PCPs from 20 primary care institutions in eastern China were interviewed through purposive sampling, representing a mix of urban and rural healthcare settings.Results Of the 26 participants in this study, 14 (53.8%) were women, and the mean age was 36.3 years old. …”
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Comparative assessment of empirical and hybrid machine learning models for estimating daily reference evapotranspiration in sub-humid and semi-arid climates by Siham Acharki, Ali Raza, Dinesh Kumar Vishwakarma, Mina Amharref, Abdes Samed Bernoussi, Sudhir Kumar Singh, Nadhir Al-Ansari, Ahmed Z. Dewidar, Ahmed A. Al-Othman, Mohamed A. Mattar

“…The XGBoost-LightGBM and RF-LightGBM hybrid models exhibited the highest accuracy (average RMSE of 0.015–0.097 mm/day), underscoring the potential of hybrid ML models for RET estimation in subhumid and semi-arid regions, thereby enhancing water resource management and irrigation scheduling.…”
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Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM_2.5 in Liaocheng, the North China Plain by Yanhui Wang, Zhanfang Hou, Jiangkai Ma, Xiaoting Zhang, Xuan Liu, Qizong Wang, Chen Chen, Kaiyue Yang, Jingjing Meng

“…Potential source function analysis showed that elements in Liaocheng originated from local and neighboring regions. The carcinogenic risk from the selected elements was notably stronger for adult males than for adult females and children, while the non-carcinogenic risk was stronger for children than for adults. …”
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