bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What is the role of the studbook in zoo and aquarium research?
Authors: Brereton James E.
Published: August 2023

In zoos and aquariums globally, studbooks provide a format by which threatened or important species populations can be carefully managed. These documents can be used to answer complex questions about animal population demographics, animal husbandry, breeding success and mortality. Given the time‐intensive nature of studbook collation, only a subset of all animal species held in zoological facilities are managed using these programs. The purpose of this project was to identify how studbooks are being used by researchers, the topics being investigated, and the taxa being covered. To achieve this, data were collected on the types of research paper being produced using studbook information. A literature search, covering several zoo and aquarium journals, was utilized. Data on the types of studbook available were additionally collected for three international zoo organizations. A Poisson regression was run to determine the predictive power of taxonomic class, animal threat status and studbook type on a studbook featuring in published research. Overall, the study identified that taxonomic class and threat status were significant predictors of the number of published studbook papers, with threatened species being more likely to appear in papers. Additionally, population demography was the most common use of studbook data, followed by genetics and reproduction. Not all taxonomic groups were featured in the literature, with mammals featuring much more frequently than would be expected based on the types of studbook available.
Transcriptome-wide association study-derived genes as potential visceral adipose tissue-specific targets for type 2 diabetes
Authors: Tang Haibo , Wang Jie , Deng Peizhi , Li Yalan , Cao Yaoquan , Yi Bo , Zhu Liyong , Zhu Shaihong , Lu Yao
Published: August 2023

Aims/hypothesis

This study aimed to assess the causal relationship between visceral obesity and type 2 diabetes and subsequently to screen visceral adipose tissue (VAT)-specific targets for type 2 diabetes.

Methods

We examined the causal relationship between VAT and type 2 diabetes using bidirectional Mendelian randomisation (MR) followed by multivariable MR. We conducted a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) leveraging prediction models and a large-scale type 2 diabetes genome-wide association study (74,124 cases and 824,006 controls) to identify candidate genes in VAT and used summary-data-based MR (SMR) and co-localisation analysis to map causal genes. We performed enrichment and single-cell RNA-seq analyses to determine the cell-specific localisation of the TWAS-identified genes. We also conducted knockdown experiments in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes.

Results

MR analyses showed a causal relationship between genetically increased VAT mass and type 2 diabetes (inverse-variance weighted OR 2.48 [95% CI 2.21, 2.79]). Ten VAT-specific candidate genes were associated with type 2 diabetes after Bonferroni correction, including five causal genes supported by SMR and co-localisation: PABPC4 (1p34.3); CCNE2 (8q22.1); HAUS6 (9p22.1); CWF19L1 (10q24.31); and CCDC92 (12q24.31). Combined with enrichment analyses, clarifying cell-type specificity with single-cell RNA-seq data indicated that most TWAS-identified candidate genes appear more likely to be associated with adipocytes in VAT. Knockdown experiments suggested that Pabpc4 likely contributes to regulating differentiation and energy metabolism in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Conclusions/interpretation

Our findings provide new insights into the genetic basis and biological processes of the association between VAT accumulation and type 2 diabetes and warrant investigation through further functional studies to validate these VAT-specific candidate genes.

Graphical Abstract
Five shades of green: Heterogeneous environmental attitudes in an evolutionary game model
Authors: Antoci Angelo , Borghesi Simone , Galdi Giulio
Published: August 2023

An environmental policy to foster virtuous behaviour does not automatically establish a social norm in a population; that is, the policy might not be socially acceptable or enforceable. Some agents feel compelled to abide by environmental social norms and embrace them, but others do not. Some might want to imitate their peers, while others might prefer not to conform and play the role of a maverick. In this model, we describe the heterogeneity of preferences by proposing a taxonomy of five possible agent types that enrich the traditional triplet presented in the literature. We then employ a random matching model to study how a social norm spreads within a population when its composition changes. Considering three relevant population compositions (scenarios), we show that what is most important for the successful diffusion of social norms is not whether, but why agents abide by it.
Adherence to support pessary in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse: a retrospective study conducted among 1,371 women
Authors: Brandt Cecilie Helstrup , Yamolaei Mahsa , Wu Chunsen , Hansen Ulla D. , Rasch Vibeke
Published: August 2023

Introduction and hypothesis

The objective was to investigate the adherence to pessary treatment in women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) who were found eligible for this treatment by the urogynecologist, at the first visit at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Odense University Hospital.

Methods

Data were extracted from the women’s medical records. Frequency tabulations were performed to describe the women’s reasons for pessary discontinuation by age group. Binominal logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate how women’s age, POP characteristics, urogynecological history, and their pessary experience and management were associated with continued pessary use.

Results

This study included 1,371 women treated with support pessary. Of these, 850 women continued pessary treatment and 521 women underwent surgical treatment. A history of hysterectomy (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.51–0.90, p = 0.008), urinary incontinence (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.56–0.89, p = 0.003), and previous pessary use (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.56–0.99, p = 0.047) were significant factors associated with discontinuation. Further, women aged 81–99 years were significantly more likely to continue pessary treatment (OR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.15–2.74, p = 0.009). “POP surgery,” “prolapse stage,” and “prolapse predominant compartment” were not associated with discontinuation. Approximately 38% of women aged 26–54 years discontinued owing to personal preference.

Conclusions

Hysterectomy, incontinence, and previous pessary use are significant predictors of pessary discontinuation. Increasing age is significantly associated with pessary continuation.
Error mitigation enables PET radiomic cancer characterization on quantum computers
Authors: Moradi S. , Spielvogel Clemens , Krajnc Denis , Brandner C. , Hillmich S. , Wille R. , Traub-Weidinger T. , Li X. , Hacker M. , Drexler W. , Papp L.
Published: August 2023

Background

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. While routine diagnosis of cancer is performed mainly with biopsy sampling, it is suboptimal to accurately characterize tumor heterogeneity. Positron emission tomography (PET)-driven radiomic research has demonstrated promising results when predicting clinical endpoints. This study aimed to investigate the added value of quantum machine learning both in simulator and in real quantum computers utilizing error mitigation techniques to predict clinical endpoints in various PET cancer patients.

Methods

Previously published PET radiomics datasets including 11C-MET PET glioma, 68GA-PSMA-11 PET prostate and lung 18F-FDG PET with 3-year survival, low-vs-high Gleason risk and 2-year survival as clinical endpoints respectively were utilized in this study. Redundancy reduction with 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9 Spearman rank thresholds (SRT), followed by selecting 8 and 16 features from all cohorts, was performed, resulting in 18 dataset variants. Quantum advantage was estimated by Geometric Difference (GDQ) score in each dataset variant. Five classic machine learning (CML) and their quantum versions (QML) were trained and tested in simulator environments across the dataset variants. Quantum circuit optimization and error mitigation were performed, followed by training and testing selected QML methods on the 21-qubit IonQ Aria quantum computer. Predictive performances were estimated by test balanced accuracy (BACC) values.

Results

On average, QML outperformed CML in simulator environments with 16-features (BACC 70% and 69%, respectively), while with 8-features, CML outperformed QML with + 1%. The highest average QML advantage was + 4%. The GDQ scores were ≤ 1.0 in all the 8-feature cases, while they were > 1.0 when QML outperformed CML in 9 out of 11 cases. The test BACC of selected QML methods and datasets in the IonQ device without error mitigation (EM) were 69.94% BACC, while EM increased test BACC to 75.66% (76.77% in noiseless simulators).

Conclusions

We demonstrated that with error mitigation, quantum advantage can be achieved in real existing quantum computers when predicting clinical endpoints in clinically relevant PET cancer cohorts. Quantum advantage can already be achieved in simulator environments in these cohorts when relying on QML.
Perioperative Morbidity and Mortality of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LSG) in a Single‐Surgeon Experience on 892 Patients Over 11 Years
Authors: El Masry Mohamed Abdul Moneim Amin , Rahman Islam Abdul
Published: August 2023

Background

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been the most frequently performed bariatric procedure since 2014, with continually growing popularity. This study aimed to present our 30‐day morbidity and mortality following LSG over a period of 11 years.

Patients and methods

This is a retrospective study that was based on prospectively collected data from patients undergoing LSG by the same surgeon from July 2011 to the end of August 2022. The LSG‐associated 30‐day morbidity and mortality and the risk factors for 30‐day morbidity were assessed.

Results

This study included 892 patients who underwent LSG over the course of 11 years. Early postoperative adverse events were encountered in 16 patients (1.79%). Overall, twelve patients (1.35%) required blood transfusions, and two patients (0.22%) required ICU admission. The re‐operation rate was 0.9% (n = 8) and the mortality rate was 0.22% (n = 2). The patient’s BMI, hypertension, and revisional surgery were marginally significant/significant predictors of early postoperative morbidity. The mean EBWL% was 63.8 ± 15.55 at the 6‐month follow‐up.

Conclusion

This study confirms the previously reported LSG's short‐term safety in terms of a low rate of 30‐day postoperative morbidity and mortality. Preoperative BMI, hypertension, and revisional surgery are risk factors for 30‐day morbidity and mortality.
Psychosoziale Versorgung von Menschen mit DDR-Heimerfahrung
Authors: Hoffmann Doreen , Compera Emelie , Böhm Maya , Glaesmer Heide
Published: August 2023

Hintergrund

Menschen, die in Kinderheimen und Jugendwerkhöfen der DDR Vernachlässigung, Missbrauch und Misshandlung erlebt haben, leiden oft Jahre und Jahrzehnte später noch unter den psychosozialen Folgen dieser Erfahrungen. Sie haben deshalb häufig Bedarf an psychosozialer Unterstützung, berichten aber auch über Zugangsschwierigkeiten zum Hilfesystem und Verständigungsprobleme mit den behandelnden Fachkräften.

Fragestellung

Es wurde untersucht, ob psychosoziale Fachkräfte ihrerseits Herausforderungen in der Behandlung/Beratung von Menschen mit DDR-Heimerfahrungen beschreiben und ob sie Zugangshürden zum Hilfesystem für die Betroffenen wahrnehmen. Weiterhin wurde erfragt, welche psychosozialen Unterstützungsangebote es für Betroffene ihrer Meinung nach geben sollte, und ob es ihrerseits Weiterbildungsbedarf zum Thema gibt.

Methoden

In einer Online-Studie wurden mithilfe des Mixed-Methods-Ansatz 441 Fachkräfte der psychosozialen Versorgung nach ihren Erfahrungen mit der Behandlung/Beratung von Menschen mit DDR-Heimerfahrung befragt.

Ergebnisse und Schlussfolgerungen

Schädigungsfolgen, bedingt durch das Aufwachsen im DDR-Heimsystem, tiefverwurzeltes Misstrauen, Angst vor Stigmatisierung sowie subjektive Scham- und Schuldgefühle der Betroffenen stellen die befragten Fachkräfte vor besondere Herausforderungen in der Behandlung/Beratung von Menschen mit DDR-Heimerfahrung und die Betroffenen gleichzeitig vor Zugangshürden in die psychosoziale Versorgung.
Anaesthetic effect of clove basil (Ocimum gratissimum L.) essential oil on the giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii, De Man 1879) exposed to different water pHs
Authors: de Souza Valente Cecília , dos Santos Geovane , Becker Alexssandro Geferson , Heinzmann Berta Maria , Caron Braulio Otomar , Baldisserotto Bernardo , Ballester Eduardo Luis Cupertino
Published: August 2023

The increasing concern for invertebrate welfare has led to improvements in management procedures and protective legislation; under discussion is the use of anaesthetic agents to improve the welfare of farmed prawns. In parallel, the aquatic environments present changes in their physical and chemical characteristics, like the acidification of waters. With this perspective, our study analysed the effectiveness of Ocimum gratissimum essential oil (EO-OG) as a natural anaesthetic for Macrobrachium rosenbergii at different concentrations and water pHs. Juvenile M. rosenbergii were exposed to five different EO-OG concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 μL L−1) and vehicle control (ethanol), at two water pHs (8.08 ± 0.10 and 6.42 ± 0.15). Induction time was EO-OG concentration-dependent regardless of water pH; i.e. the time required for sedation and anaesthesia decreased with the increase of EO-OG concentration. No correlation was found between recovery time and EO-OG concentration. The most effective EO-OG concentration was 400 μL L−1, with prawn sedation in 2.0–2.5 min, anaesthesia in 3.5–4.1 min, and full recovery in 16 min, regardless of water pH. The different tested water pHs influenced sedation time; i.e. sedation time was higher in mild acidic water than in mild alkaline water. Anaesthesia induction and recovery times were similar at both water pHs. Survival rates were 100% in all experimental groups. In summary, EO-OG is effective as a sedative and anaesthetic for juvenile M. rosenbergii in routine procedures, at the recommended concentration of 400 μL L−1, with mild alkaline water.
Shifting Perspectives on the Challenges of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Care
Authors: Verwijmeren Doris , Grootens Koen P.
Published: August 2023

Although shared decision making (SDM) has become the most preferable way in doctor–patient communication, it is not fully implemented in mental health care likely due to the complex nature of psychiatric syndromes and treatments. In this review we provide a systematic overview of all perceived and reported barriers to SDM in the literature, acknowledging field-specific challenges, and offering perspectives to promote its wider use. We conducted a systematic search of the wider literature in different databases and included all publications mentioning specified barriers to SDM in psychiatric care. Relevant data and opinions were categorised into micro-, meso- and macro-level themes and put into clinical perspective. We derived 20 barriers to SDM from 100 studies and reports. Eight were on micro-level care delivery, seven involved meso-level issues, five concerned macro-level themes. The multitude of perceived and actual barriers to SDM underline the challenges its implementation poses in mental health care, some of which can be resolved while others are inherent to the nature of the care, with its long-term relationships, complex dynamics, and social consequences, all requiring a flexible approach. We present four perspectives to help change views on the potential of SDM in mental health care.
Governing Immobility in the COVID-19 Crisis in Italy: Non-conforming Behaviors of Migrants Confronting the New Old Processes of Othering
Authors: Fabini Giulia , Firouzi Tabar Omid
Published: August 2023

In this article, we critically analyze how different confinement sites for migrants in Italy, such as reception centers, pre-removal detention facilities, hotspots, and quarantine ships, have functioned as tools for controlling migration during the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically focus on the nonconforming behaviors exhibited by migrants within these sites. Our analysis aims to shed light on the mechanisms of control by examining acts of resistance undertaken by individuals, both consciously and unconsciously, and carried out either individually or collectively. We investigate how these specific government practices, as evidenced by these acts of nonconformity, have materialized a sense of "sacrificability" and institutional abandonment. By analyzing protests, their content, and dynamics, we delve into how the concept of necropolitical sacrificability applies to both reception facilities and detention facilities and we argue that this concept extends beyond the COVID-19 crisis, prompting an examination of how power dynamics and people's lives, once deemed sacrificable, continue to be influenced and vulnerable at a social and political level.
Symmetry properties and asymmetry evaluation of Bayesian Confirmation Measures
Authors: Celotto Emilio , Ellero Andrea , Ferretti Paola
Published: August 2023

Bayesian Confirmation Measures (BCMs) are used to assess the degree to which an evidence (or premise) E supports or contradicts an hypothesis (or conclusion) H, making use of prior probability $$Pr(H)$$

P
r
(
H
)

, posterior probability $$Pr(H|E)$$

P
r
(
H
|
E
)

and of probability of evidence $$Pr(E)$$

P
r
(
E
)

. In the literature many BCMs have been defined with the consequent need for their comparison. For this purpose, various criteria have been proposed and some of these refer to symmetry properties. We relate the set of possible symmetries of BCMs, via an isomorphism, to the dihedral group of symmetries of the square. In this way it is possible to identify 10 subsets of symmetries that can coexist, for each subset we suggest a representative BCM, defining at this aim two new BCMs. The structure of the subgroups of the dihedral group allows also to provide an algorithm that simplifies the verification of the symmetry properties. Addressing the debate on which symmetry properties should be considered as desirable and which should not, we define asymmetry measures for BCMs. In fact, different BCMs that do not satisfy a specific symmetry property may exhibit different levels of asymmetry, this way resulting more (less) desirable. The evidence for the practical use of the approach is given through the numerical evaluation of the asymmetry degrees of some BCMs, showing this way how it is possible to discover some of their characteristics, similarities and differences.
Niche differentiation in rotifer cryptic species complexes: a review of environmental effects
Authors: Walczyńska Aleksandra , Fontaneto Diego , Kordbacheh Azar , Hamil Somia , Jimenez-Santos Marco Antonio , Paraskevopoulou Sofia , Pociecha Agnieszka , Zhang Wei
Published: August 2023

Adaptation to different ecological niches is considered one of the main drivers of species diversification, also in cryptic species complexes, notwithstanding their morphological stasis. We here review all the published information on ecological differentiation within cryptic species complexes within the phylum Rotifera. We found 177 instances of cryptic species identified genetically, published in 101 papers. Only a subset of the papers contained available information on ecological differences and only for two of the 54 known complexes, namely Brachionus calyciflorus s.l. and Brachionus plicatilis s.l., sufficient data were available for analyses of ecological differences. For the B. calyciflorus complex, B. fernandoi consistently occurred at a significantly lower temperature than the other species in the complex; no differences were found for other environmental variables. For the B. plicatilis complex, B. paranguensis occurred in waters with higher pH than the other species; no differences were found for other environmental variables. These results, even if preliminary and based on scattered information, reveal that adaptation to different ecological niches exists also between closely related species. Our aim is to showcase this interesting field of research spurring further detailed studies to focus on the mechanisms of ecological speciation using rotifer cryptic species as a model system.
Local Well-Posedness of the Periodic Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation with a Quadratic Nonlinearity $$\overline{u}^2$$ in Negative Sobolev Spaces
Authors: Liu Ruoyuan
Published: August 2023

We study low regularity local well-posedness of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) with the quadratic nonlinearity 

$$\overline{u}^2$$

u
¯

2

, posed on one-dimensional and two-dimensional tori. While the relevant bilinear estimate with respect to the

$$X^{s, b}$$

X

s
,
b

-space is known to fail when the regularity s is below some threshold value, we establish local well-posedness for such low regularity by introducing modifications on the

$$X^{s, b}$$

X

s
,
b

-space.
Betting on Australian Rules Football: Can Expert Tipsters beat Randomness?
Authors: Riley Ben J. , Li Lee , Plevin David , Baigent Michael
Published: August 2023

Betting on the various codes of football in Australia accounts for the majority of sports betting, with Australian rules football (AFL) by far the most popular sport in Australia. Several studies have revealed the heavy presence of gambling advertising during AFL broadcasts, and a frequently used advertising strategy involves the use of well-known AFL commentators outlining their tips and betting suggestions. To date, no research has examined the hypotheses that skill may help in predicting AFL matches and monetary outcomes from AFL betting. Rather than merely discounting such ideas, it is important to test them empirically. The aims of this study were therefore, to examine if (1) expert AFL tipsters made better predictions than random picks, (2) expert AFL tipsters gained greater monetary reward than random selection, and (3) expert tipsters’ prediction accuracy improved with betting experience. To this end, six seasons of AFL matches, odds data, and expert tipster data were analysed retrospectively, totalling 1141 matches. Random selections were calculated for each match using an inbuilt random number generator within Microsoft Excel and a $2 simulated wager was applied for each AFL match. The results of mixed-effects modelling showed that experts picked more correct outcomes than random selection; experts’ correct predictions were partially mediated by home-game selections; no difference in monetary outcome was observed for experts compared to random selection; experts’ predictions did not improve over time. The results of this study may be used to inform both psychological interventions that target gamblers’ illusions of control, and public health gambling harm prevention messaging.
Thermal properties investigation of paraffin wax/titania nanocomposites as phase change materials
Authors: Mansour Shehab A. , Atwa Ahmed A. , Farag Elsayed M. , Elsad Ragab A.
Published: August 2023

The use of phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal storage, thermal management, and thermal insulation has been widespread for many years. Thermal storage systems (TES) based on PCMs can be improved and optimized by adding nanoparticles (NPs) to them. Throughout this study, PCM nanocomposites (NCs) based on paraffin wax (PW) loaded by anatase titania (TiO2) NPs were fabricated and characterized to examine their thermal performance as phase change materials. The as-synthesized TiO2 NPs were obtained by hydrolysis technique and showed a well-defined spherical shape with a diameter in the nanoscale range and a crystallite size ~ 22.75 nm. Throughout the used concentrations of TiO2 NPs, 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, and 0.5%, the morphological feature for the PW/TiO2 NCs revealed a good dispersion of NPs in PW. The non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements at a constant heating rate of 10 °C min−1 were used in order to get the melting point (Tm), latent heat of fusion (LH), and latent heat rate (LHR) as a function of TiO2 NP concentrations for the investigated PW/TiO2 NCs. Both LH and LHR values for PW/TiO2 NCs are higher than those obtained for a pure PW sample. The significant enhancement in LH and LHR values for PW/TiO2 NCs was found to be 21.2% and 134.3% in comparison with the pure PW sample, respectively. The thermal stability of the investigated PW/TiO2 NCs was examined using thermal gravimetric (TG) scans. It is found that the thermal stability varies with TiO2 NP concentrations with a non-monotonic trend. At concentrations up to 0.25 mass%, the thermal stability improved. For concentrations over 0.25 mass%, the degradation process became rapid.
Unpacking Occupational Health Data in the Service Sector: From Bayesian Networking and Spatial Clustering to Policy-Making
Authors: Pazo María , Boente Carlos , Albuquerque Teresa , Gerassis Saki , Roque Natália , Taboada Javier
Published: August 2023

The health status of the service sector workforce is a significant unknown in the field of medical geography. While spatial epidemiology has made progress in predicting the relationship between human health and the environment, there are still important challenges that remain unsolved. The main issue lies in the inability to statistically determine and visually represent all spatial concepts, as there is a need to cover a wide range of service activities while also considering the impact of numerous traditional medical variables and emerging risk factors, such as those related to socioeconomic and bioclimatic factors. This study aims to address the needs of health professionals by defining, prioritizing, and visualizing multiple occupational health risk factors that contribute to the well-being of workers. To achieve this, a methodological approach based on the synergy of Bayesian machine learning and geostatistics is proposed. Extensive data from occupational health surveillance tests were collected in Spain, along with socioeconomic and bioclimatic covariates, to assess potential social and climate impacts on health. This integrated approach enabled the identification of relevant patterns related to risk factors. A three-step geostatistical modeling process, including variography, ordinary kriging, and G clustering, was used to generate national distribution maps for various factors such as annual mean temperature, annual rainfall, spine health, limb health, cholesterol, age, and sleep quality. These maps considered four target activities—administration, finances, education, and hospitality. Remarkably, bioclimatic variables were found to contribute approximately 9% to the overall health status of workers.
Deep cross-domain transfer for emotion recognition via joint learning
Authors: Nguyen Dung , Nguyen Duc Thanh , Sridharan Sridha , Abdelrazek Mohamed , Denman Simon , Tran Son N. , Zeng Rui , Fookes Clinton
Published: August 2023

Deep learning has been applied to achieve significant progress in emotion recognition from multimedia data. Despite such substantial progress, existing approaches are hindered by insufficient training data, leading to weak generalisation under mismatched conditions. To address these challenges, we propose a learning strategy which jointly transfers emotional knowledge learnt from rich datasets to source-poor datasets. Our method is also able to learn cross-domain features, leading to improved recognition performance. To demonstrate the robustness of the proposed learning strategy, we conducted extensive experiments on several benchmark datasets including eNTERFACE, SAVEE, EMODB, and RAVDESS. Experimental results show that the proposed method surpassed existing transfer learning schemes by a significant margin.
Phaseolus vulgaris and Pisum sativum, representing ureide and amide legumes respectively, exploit ureides differentially to mitigate the deleterious effects of cadmium toxicity
Authors: Zdunek-Zastocka Edyta , Grabowska Agnieszka , Michniewska Beata , Orzechowski Sławomir , Compart Julia , Fettke Joerg , Sagi Moshe
Published: August 2023

Purpose

Ureides, allantoin and allantoate, are N-rich compounds used for N transport in nodulated ureide legumes. Here, we investigated their role in response of Phaseolus vulgaris and Pisum sativum, representing ureide and amide legumes, respectively, to Cd toxicity.

Methods

First, ureide content and ureide metabolism in P. vulgaris and P. sativum grown under control conditions and treated with 50 μM CdCl2 for 48 hours was investigated. Then, the effect of exogenous allantoin and its precursor, uric acid, on Cd-related oxidative lesion was examined in both legumes.

Results

Cd increased the content of both ureides only in the leaves of P. vulgaris, which was consistent with transcript levels and activity of ureide metabolic enzymes, and was accompanied by an increase in uric acid content. In P. sativum leaves, Cd increased the activity of ureide biosynthesis enzymes and decreased the activity of ureide degradation enzymes, although the uric acid content did not change, while the allantoin and allantoate contents were significantly reduced. Exogenous uric acid and allantoin suppressed Cd-induced H2O2 and O2 accumulation and alleviated the effects of oxidative damage measured by RNA degradation, chlorophyll and malondialdehyde content in both legumes.

Conclusions

P. sativum use allantoin and uric acid as antioxidant agents to mitigate Cd-related oxidative tissue damage. In P. vulgaris, the involvement of the ureide pathway in Cd-induced N salvage and recycling is rather a priority.
Differences in need-supportive teaching toward students from different socioeconomic backgrounds and the role of teachers’ attitudes
Authors: Bloem Jonne , Flunger Barbara , Stroet Kim , Hornstra Lisette
Published: August 2023

According to Self-Determination Theory, teachers can enhance their students’ motivation, engagement, and learning through need-supportive teaching, which involves providing autonomy support, structure, and involvement. However, within classes, there appears to be great variation in the degree to which teachers support students’ psychological needs. The current studies aimed to investigate to what extent this differentiation in need support was associated with students’ socioeconomic background. Additionally, we examined whether teachers differentiated their need support more strongly when they had more biased Explicitly or Implicitly measured attitudes toward students from a low socioeconomic background. We conducted two studies: Study 1 was a vignette study representing a fictional student from a high or low socioeconomic background, and Study 2 was a field study where teachers reported on the need support provided to real students from a high and low socioeconomic background from their own class. Findings of both studies indicated that teachers reported lower levels of involvement for students from a low compared to a high socioeconomic background. Moreover, in Study 2, teachers reported to provide students from a low socioeconomic background with less autonomy support and more structure compared to students from a high socioeconomic background. However, these differences in autonomy support and structure seemed to be related to other student characteristics, namely students’ gender, and teachers’ perceptions of students’ academic ability and classroom behavior. Furthermore, we revealed that teachers differentiated their need support more strongly when they had more biased attitudes toward low socioeconomic backgrounds.
JQ1 attenuates contrast-induced acute kidney injury through the upregulation of autophagy and inhibition of inflammation
Authors: Ge Linghong , Chen Juntao , Ren Xueying , Huang Chunqi , Dong Danqing , Yin Zhou
Published: August 2023

Purpose

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is the third most common cause of hospital-acquired AKI. However, there is a paucity of efficacious interventions for the management of CI-AKI. Here, we aim to investigate the effects of JQ1 in CI-AKI and provide theoretical data and a  foundation for  novel ideas for the clinical treatment of CI-AKI.

Methods

In this study, we performed in vivo and in vitro experiments with mice and HK2 cells injury models respectively. The levels of serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were determined by an automatic analyzer for the measurements of renal function. The viability of HK-2 cells was analyzed using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) kit. Additionally, the kidney changes in the mice were detected using histopathology (H&E) and immunofluorescent staining. The mRNA and protein expressions were assessed using Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot, respectively. Autophagy and apoptosis was analyzed by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and TUNEL assay respectively.

Results

The results demonstrated that JQ1 exhibited potency of attenuating CI-AKI in mouse and HK2 cells. JQ1 increased the expression levels of Atg5, Atg7 and LC3B-II, and decreased the protein levels of p62 in the kidney and HK-2 cells. However, the combined use of JQ1 with chloroquine reversed the effects of JQ1. JQ1 also inhibited the inflammatory cells and downregulated the expression of some inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IFN-γ).

Conclusion

JQ1 protects against CI-AKI by promoting autophagy and inhibiting inflammation and JQ1 may be a promising therapeutic strategy for CI-AKI.
Non-target ROIMCR LC–MS analysis of the disruptive effects of TBT over time on the lipidomics of Daphnia magna
Authors: Jafari Jamile Mohammad , Casas Josefina , Barata Carlos , Abdollahi Hamid , Tauler Romà
Published: August 2023

Introduction

This study has investigated the temporal disruptive effects of tributyltin (TBT) on lipid homeostasis in Daphnia magna. To achieve this, the study used Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis to analyze biological samples of Daphnia magna treated with TBT over time. The resulting data sets were multivariate and three-way, and were modeled using bilinear and trilinear non-negative factor decomposition chemometric methods. These methods allowed for the identification of specific patterns in the data and provided insight into the effects of TBT on lipid homeostasis in Daphnia magna.

Objectives

Investigation of how are the changes in the lipid concentrations of Daphnia magna pools when they were exposed with TBT and over time using non-targeted LC–MS and advanced chemometric analysis.

Methods

The simultaneous analysis of LC–MS data sets of Daphnia magna samples under different experimental conditions (TBT dose and time) were analyzed using the ROIMCR method, which allows the resolution of the elution and mass spectra profiles of a large number of endogenous lipids. Changes obtained in the peak areas of the elution profiles of these lipids caused by the dose of TBT treatment and the time after its exposure are analyzed by principal component analysis, multivariate curve resolution-alternative least square, two-way ANOVA and ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis.

Results

87 lipids were identified. Some of these lipids are proposed as Daphnia magna lipidomic biomarkers of the effects produced by the two considered factors (time and dose) and by their interaction. A reproducible multiplicative effect between these two factors is confirmed and the optimal approach to model this dataset resulted to be the application of the trilinear factor decomposition model.

Conclusion

The proposed non-targeted LC–MS lipidomics approach resulted to be a powerful tool to investigate the effects of the two factors on the Daphnia magna lipidome using chemometric methods based on bilinear and trilinear factor decomposition models, according to the type of interaction between the design factors.
Undisturbed Posidonia oceanica meadows maintain the epiphytic bacterial community in different environments
Authors: Rotini Alice , Conte Chiara , Winters Gidon , Vasquez Marlen I. , Migliore Luciana
Published: August 2023

Seagrasses harbour different and rich epiphytic bacterial communities. These microbes may establish intimate and symbiotic relationships with the seagrass plants and change according to host species, environmental conditions, and/or ecophysiological status of their seagrass host. Although Posidonia oceanica is one of the most studied seagrasses in the world, and bacteria associated with seagrasses have been studied for over a decade, P. oceanica’s microbiome remains hitherto little explored. Here, we applied 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to explore the microbiome associated with the leaves of P. oceanica growing in two geomorphologically different meadows (e.g. depth, substrate, and turbidity) within the Limassol Bay (Cyprus). The morphometric (leaf area, meadow density) and biochemical (pigments, total phenols) descriptors highlighted the healthy conditions of both meadows. The leaf-associated bacterial communities showed similar structure and composition in the two sites; core microbiota members were dominated by bacteria belonging to the Thalassospiraceae, Microtrichaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Saprospiraceae, and Hyphomonadaceae families. This analogy, even under different geomorphological conditions, suggest that in the absence of disturbances, P. oceanica maintains characteristic-associated bacterial communities. This study provides a baseline for the knowledge of the P. oceanica microbiome and further supports its use as a putative seagrass descriptor.
Association of growth and differentiation factor-15 with coronary artery calcium score and ankle-brachial index in a middle-aged and elderly Caucasian population sample free of manifest cardiovascular disease
Authors: Kiss Loretta Zsuzsa , Nyárády Balázs Bence , Pállinger Éva , Lux Árpád , Jermendy Ádám Levente , Csobay-Novák Csaba , Soós Pál , Szelid Zsolt , Láng Orsolya , Kőhidai László , Dinya Elek , Dósa Edit , Merkely Béla , Bagyura Zsolt
Published: August 2023

Growth and differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a stress-associated cytokine of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily. The inflammatory and angiogenic effects of GDF-15 in atherosclerosis are controversial, and its correlation with the long asymptomatic phase of the disease is not well understood. Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) are sensitive markers of subclinical atherosclerosis. To date, only a few studies have examined the impact of GDF-15 on coronary artery calcification, and the association between GDF-15 and ABI has not been evaluated. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the possible relationship between serum GDF-15 concentrations and CACS and ABI in a Caucasian population sample of middle-aged (35–65 years) and elderly (> 65 years) people. In addition to recording demographic and anthropometric characteristics, atherosclerotic risk factors, and laboratory tests including serum HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP); GDF-15 level, cardiac computed tomography, and ABI measurements were also performed. A total of 269 asymptomatic individuals (men, n = 125; median age, 61.5 [IQR, 12.7] years) formed the basis of this study. Participants were divided into two groups according to their age (middle-aged, n = 175 and elderly, n = 94). Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were significantly more prevalent and CACS values and HbA1c, NT-proBNP, and GDF-15 levels were significantly higher (all p < 0.001) in the elderly group compared to the middle-aged group. Multivariate ridge regression analysis revealed a significant positive association between GDF-15 and CACS (middle-aged group: β = 0.072, p = 0.333; elderly group: β = 0.148, p = 0.003), and between GDF-15 and ABI (middle-aged group: β = 0.062, p = 0.393; elderly group: β = 0.088, p = 0.041) only in the elderly group. Our results show that GDF-15 is not only a useful biomarker of inflammation but can also predict early signs of asymptomatic atherosclerosis, especially in elderly people with chronic systemic inflammation associated with aging (inflammaging).
LCA to evaluate the environmental opportunity cost of biological performances in finfish farming
Authors: Jouannais Pierre , Gibertoni Pier Paolo , Bartoli Marco , Pizzol Massimo
Published: August 2023

Purpose

Mortality and suboptimal biological performance are a widespread problem in finfish farming. The associated losses constitute an environmental opportunity cost that needs to be thoroughly assessed to prioritize actions aiming at reducing the environmental impacts of finfish aquaculture. We here propose and demonstrate the use of a new parameterized and consequential LCA model of sea-trout production designed to assess the environmental opportunity costs of suboptimal biological performances, considering distinct mortalities and biological feed conversion ratios (FCRs) along the rearing process.

Methods

Primary data was collected in Danish and Italian farms to reconstitute the whole production process for sea-reared trouts. The level of detail allowed us to divide this production into seven different growth stages for which mortality and biological FCR can be assessed and modified. Excretion and valorization of fish sludge were modeled with a calibrated mass-balance model. Together with fish sludge, dead fish was modeled as valorized by anaerobic digestion. The foreground system was linked to the consequential version of ecoinvent 3.8 for which the embedded uncertainty was considered in Monte Carlo simulations. The model was used to assess the current environmental opportunity costs and evaluate the effect of losses happening at different timings along the rearing process.

Results and discussion

Results showed a low environmental opportunity cost for the current mortality rate of 5% as suppressing this mortality decreased impacts by 3.5 to 5% across impact categories. Decreasing the biological FCR decreased the environmental impacts proportionally. The timing of the losses was shown to greatly influence the environmental opportunity cost, and the same mortality rate happening in the late stages had substantially more impact than in the first stages. The valorization of the dead fish showed a negligible contribution to the reduction of impacts in the current system but showed a substantial contribution in the case of higher mortalities, such as observed for other farms and foreseen in the future.

Conclusion

The model demonstrated that assessing an opportunity cost by multiplying the lost biomass by a unique impact factor constitutes an oversimplification neglecting the losses timing and the fact that fish biomass is not a marketable product. Even though the current environmental opportunity cost for losses appeared neglectable, suboptimal biological FCR should be tackled. The model and approach can be used to project trout farming within future disease regimes and assess the trade-offs regarding fish health issues and new treatments and practices.
Getting on to the Same Page: War, Moral Fundamentalism, and Convention
Authors: Lang Gerald
Published: August 2023

Uwe Steinhoff’s The Ethics of War and the Force of Law contains an extended critique of ‘moral fundamentalism’, or the project of uncovering an individualist ‘deep morality’ of war governed by the same moral principles and rules that govern ordinary moral life, as well as a more positive account of war that depicts it as a social practice. Much of Steinhoff’s account is indebted to a series of claims involving the standing to blame, reciprocity, and the necessity and proportionality conditions on self-defence. On all these claims, Steinhoff is open to challenge. First, he is arguably over-dependent on ‘standing to blame’ considerations. Second, his commitment to reciprocity is under-explained. Third, the necessity condition does not clearly explain how conventional elements explain the formation of defensive standards. Fourth, there are problems in explaining how the distinct defensive conventions adopted by distinct communities can actually be made to get on to the same page when these communities go to war with each other.
Basic Properties of Solutions of Boundary Value Problem for the Dirac-Wave Operator
Authors: Marmolejo-Olea Emilio
Published: August 2023

We study local and global properties of solutions of the boundary value problem for the Dirac wave operator. This includes explicit formulas, domain of dependence, range of influence, finite propagation speed and energy estimates. We also introduce the space of Dirac wave homogeneous polynomials and the corresponding Dirac-wave conjugate functions.
Electronic Cigarette Vaping with Nicotine Causes Increased Thrombogenicity and Impaired Microvascular Function in Healthy Volunteers: A Randomised Clinical Trial
Authors: Lyytinen Gustaf , Brynedal Amelie , Anesäter Erik , Antoniewicz Lukasz , Blomberg Anders , Wallén Håkan , Bosson Jenny A. , Hedman Linnea , Mobarrez Fariborz , Tehrani Sara , Lundbäck Magnus
Published: August 2023

Electronic cigarette (EC) vaping is increasingly popular, despite growing evidence of adverse health effects. To further evaluate the impact of EC use on vascular health, we investigated the effects of brief EC inhalation on flow-dependent thrombus formation and microcirculation in healthy volunteers. The study was performed with a randomised double-blind crossover design. Twenty-two healthy subjects aged between 18 and 45 years with occasional tobacco use were recruited. Subjects inhaled 30 puffs of EC aerosol with and without nicotine on two occasions separated by a wash-out period of at least 1 week. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 15 and 60 min following exposure and analysed with the Total-Thrombus-formation analysis system evaluating fibrin-rich thrombus formation and platelet thrombus formation in whole blood under flow. Microvascular function was assessed at baseline and 30 min after exposure by laser speckle contrast imaging and iontophoresis of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) to evaluate the endothelium-dependent and independent pathways of vasodilation. Compared with nicotine free EC aerosol, exposure to EC aerosol with nicotine significantly increased platelet thrombus formation and fibrin-rich thrombus formation at 15 min (p = 0.017 and p = 0.037, respectively) with normalisation after 60 min. Peak SNP-mediated microvascular perfusion, i.e. endothelium-independent vasodilation, was reduced following EC vaping with nicotine compared with baseline (p = 0.006). Thirty puffs of EC aerosol with nicotine increased platelet and fibrin-dependent thrombus formation and reduced microvascular dilatation capacity. No compelling effects of EC vaping without nicotine were observed, indicating nicotine as the main effector.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04175457 URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04175457
The influence of firefighters’ perceived stress on job burnout: a moderated mediation model
Authors: Lv Guoqing , Li Jie , Xu Qinghong , Zhang Hong , Wu Wenhui , Fan Xinrong , Wang Zhuo , Liu Haoyu
Published: August 2023

To find the repercussion of firefighters’ perceived stress on job burnout and its psychological mechanism, 488 firefighters were tested with the perceived stress scale, the self-compassion scale, the simplified coping style questionnaire, and the Maslach burnout inventory general survey. The conclusions demonstrated that perceived stress was significantly pertinent to job burnout; both self-compassion and negative coping style acted as intermediaries; the intermediary role of perceived stress in job burnout via self-compassion and negative coping style was moderated by positive coping style. The main findings suggest that firefighters’ perceived stress explicitly predicts job burnout and implicitly influences job burnout via self-compassion and negative coping style. Positive coping style moderated the link involving perceived stress and job burnout and the link encompassing perceived stress and negative coping style.