bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of subjective life expectancy on the participation in commercial pension insurance of Chinese elderly
Authors: Zhou Mei , Wang Yingyi , Liang Yunjia , Shi Ruonan , Zhao Shaoyang
Published: August 2022

Objective

This paper studies the impact of the subjective life expectancy of the elderly on their commercial pension insurance participation at micro perspective, providing new evidence to explain the motivation of commercial pension insurance participation in China.

Methods

Using 4 waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2018, a multiple linear regression model is constructed to investigate the effect of subjective life expectancy on commercial pension insurance participation among the Chinese elderly, and IV model estimation shows that the results are robust. Meanwhile, the heterogeneity of the effect of elderly life expectancy on commercial pension insurance participation behavior among different characteristic groups is also studied.

Results

A one standard deviation improvement in our measure of subjective life expectancy predicts a 0.9% point higher participation rate in commercial pension insurance. We also find that there is significant heterogeneity in the effects of subjective life expectancy on the participation of elderly people in commercial pension insurance with respect to gender, education, hukou, and wealth.

Conclusion

This paper provides a new perspective to explain the factors influencing commercial pension insurance participation in China. We suggest that improving residents’ awareness of life expectancy is beneficial to their reasonable retirement planning, in the background of stepping into an aging society in China.
Effect of visual feedback during ultrasound-guided hydrodissection for myofascial pain syndrome: An exploratory, prospective, observational clinical trial on the expectations for treatment
Authors: Hasuo Hideaki , Oomori Hideya , Yoshida Kohei , Fukunaga Mikihiko
Published: August 2022

Expectations for treatment have a favorable effect on the subsequent course of pain and behavior in patients. It is not known whether receiving hydrodissection while patients view their ultrasound image with doctors (visual feedback) is associated with positive treatment expectations. This was an exploratory, prospective, observational clinical trial. We explored the possibility that visual feedback immediately after ultrasound-guided hydrodissection increases the expectations for treatment, which could be one of the related factors for pain reduction. Treatment expectations were set as mediators of pain using path analysis. The primary endpoint was the numerical rating scale to assess expectations for treatment immediately after hydrodissection, between with and without the visual feedback. During 2019 and 2020, 136 outpatients received ultrasound-guided hydrodissection for myofascial pain syndrome. Of these, 65 (47.8%) patients received visual feedback during ultrasound-guided hydrodissection. Compared with the non-visual feedback group, the visual feedback group had higher expectations for treatment immediately after hydrodissection, and their expectations were maintained at day 14 of treatment (p < 0.001). A numerical rating scale (NRS) to assess expectations for treatment was similar before hydrodissection and immediately after hydrodissection was 8.4 (standard deviations, 1.6) in the visual feedback and 5.9 (standard deviations, 2.6) in the visual feedback. The proportion of increased expectations immediately after hydrodissection was 90.8% (95% CI: 83.7–97.9) in visual feedback group and 38.0% (95% CI: 26.7–49.3) in non-visual feedback group (p < 0.001). In the visual feedback group, 67.7% of patients showed improvement in pain numerical rating scale score by 50% or more at day 14, whereas such improvement was observed in only 36.6% of the non-visual feedback group (p < 0.001). Based on path analysis, the visual feedback had the greatest influence on pain numerical rating scale reduction at 14 days, indirectly due to increased expectations for treatment as a mediator (β = 0.434). However, the adjusted R2 values, which is the overall fit of the model, was low at 0.298. Visual feedback during ultrasound-guided hydrodissection increases the expectations for treatment immediately after hydrodissection, which could be one of the related factors for pain reduction in patients with myofascial pain syndrome.
Training of psychotherapists in post-conflict regions: A Community case study in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Authors: Beckmann Julia , Wenzel Thomas , Hautzinger Martin , Kizilhan Jan Ilhan
Published: August 2022

The number of wars in the world is on the rise. A number of studies have documented the devastating impact on the public and especially public mental health. Health care systems in low- and lower-middle income countries that are frequently already challenged by the existing mental health services gap cannot provide the necessary care for those displaced by war with existing services. This is especially the case in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) after the invasion of the terror organization ISIS in 2014. Most projects in post-conflict areas focus on short term basic psychological services and do not contribute to sustainable long-term capacity building of mental health services. An “Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology” was therefore founded in order to train local specialists on a professional level with evidence-based methods adapted to culture and create sustainable long-term structures for psychotherapeutic treatment in the KRI. To achieve this, a number of measures were implemented, including the creation of a “Master of Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology” in collaboration with local communities and the regional University. Two cohorts of students have successfully finished the master’s program and a third cohort are expected to graduate in 2023. Improving the capacity of local health care services to provide low-barrier, professional psychotherapeutic care in post-conflict regions supported by the innovative model presented in this article can be expected to improve the burden of psychological problems and contribute to peacebuilding.
Individualized assessment of risk and overall survival in patients newly diagnosed with primary osseous spinal neoplasms with synchronous distant metastasis
Authors: Tong Yuexin , Huang Zhangheng , Jiang Liming , Pi Yangwei , Gong Yan , Zhao Dongxu
Published: August 2022

Background

The prognosis of patients with primary osseous spinal neoplasms (POSNs) presented with distant metastases (DMs) is still poor. This study aimed to evaluate the independent risk and prognostic factors in this population and then develop two web-based models to predict the probability of DM in patients with POSNs and the overall survival (OS) rate of patients with DM.

Methods

The data of patients with POSNs diagnosed between 2004 and 2017 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate logistics regression analyses were used to study the risk factors of DM. Based on independent DM-related variables, we developed a diagnostic nomogram to estimate the risk of DM in patients with POSNs. Among all patients with POSNs, those who had synchronous DM were included in the prognostic cohort for investigating the prognostic factors by using Cox regression analysis, and then a nomogram incorporating predictors was developed to predict the OS of patients with POSNs with DM. Kaplan–Meier (K-M) survival analysis was conducted to study the survival difference. In addition, validation of these nomograms were performed by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the area under curves (AUCs), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results

A total of 1345 patients with POSNs were included in the study, of which 238 cases (17.70%) had synchronous DM at the initial diagnosis. K-M survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that patients with DM had poorer prognosis. Grade, T stage, N stage, and histological type were found to be significantly associated with DM in patients with POSNs. Age, surgery, and histological type were identified as independent prognostic factors of patients with POSNs with DM. Subsequently, two nomograms and their online versions (https://yxyx.shinyapps.io/RiskofDMin/ and https://yxyx.shinyapps.io/SurvivalPOSNs/) were developed. The results of ROC curves, calibration curves, DCA, and K-M survival analysis together showed the excellent predictive accuracy and clinical utility of these newly proposed nomograms.

Conclusion

We developed two well-validated nomograms to accurately quantify the probability of DM in patients with POSNs and predict the OS rate in patients with DM, which were expected to be useful tools to facilitate individualized clinical management of these patients.
Scarcity-driven monetization of digital content
Authors: Kanuri Vamsi K. , Pattabhiramaiah Adithya
Published: August 2022

In the last two decades, the U.S. news industry has undergone significant disruption, which resulted in nearly a 66% drop in overall revenues. Such a monumental decline in subscription and advertising revenues has led news publishers to experiment with new revenue generation strategies. Some of these strategies, such as instituting a paywall on the newspaper's website and deploying a freemium business model have gained in popularity due to their promise of generating additional subscription and advertising revenue. However, these strategies limit readers' access to news, thereby contributing to news becoming a scarcer commodity. In contrast, alternative strategies such as reader-focused fundraising events aim to increase revenue organically by educating readers about the cost and value of quality journalism, with little implication for news scarcity. In this chapter, we survey several of these contemporary digital news monetization strategies with the goal of assessing the sustainability of scarcity-driven strategies. We offer conjectures about the conditions under which scarcity-driven strategies may be profitable relative to alternative monetization strategies and share some predictions about upcoming trends in the news industry.
Automatic segmentation of ovarian follicles using deep neural network combined with edge information
Authors: Chen Zhong , Zhang Changheng , Li Zhou , Yang Jinkun , Deng He
Published: August 2022

Medical ultrasound imaging plays an important role in computer-aided diagnosis systems. In many cases, it is the preferred method of doctors for diagnosing diseases. Combined with computer vision technology, segmentation of ovarian ultrasound images can help doctors accurately judge diseases, reduce doctors' workload, and improve doctors' work efficiency. However, accurate segmentation of an ovarian ultrasound image is a challenging task. On the one hand, there is a lot of speckle noise in ultrasound images; on the other hand, the edges of objects are blurred in ultrasound images. In order to segment the target accurately, we propose an ovarian follicles segmentation network combined with edge information. By adding an edge detection branch at the end of the network and taking the edge detection results as one of the losses of the network, we can accurately segment the ovarian follicles in an ultrasound image, making the segmentation results finer on the edge. Experiments show that the proposed network improves the segmentation accuracy of ovarian follicles, and that it has advantages over current algorithms.
Are Red and Processed Meats Bad For Our Health?
Authors: Hemeryck Lieselot Y. , Goethals Sophie , Van Meulebroek Lieven , Van Hecke Thomas , Vossen Els , Van Camp John , De Smet Stefaan , Vanhaecke Lynn
Published: August 2022

Metabolites are substances that are formed within our bodies that help us live and grow. Examples include glucose and vitamin D. When changes happen in our bodies, like when we get sick, these metabolites can change. By studying metabolite changes, using a method called metabolomics, we can learn a lot about diseases, what causes them, and how to avoid them. We know that eating foods like fish, fruits, and vegetables is healthy. Eating too much red and processed meat, however, increases our chances of developing certain types of cancer. Unfortunately, we still do not understand why that is. It could be that there are unhealthy, toxic elements or substances in the meat itself or that there are toxic metabolites formed during or after the digestion of red and processed meat. To find out, we must journey into the gut, using metabolomics!
The mediating effect of self-efficacy on career aspiration and organizational support with subjective career success among Malaysian women managers during the Covid-19 pandemic
Authors: Hamzah Siti Raba'ah , Musa Siti Nur Syuhada , Mohamad Norhazlina
Published: August 2022

The lives and jobs of many people have been negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdowns to curb the pandemic have resulted in many people having to work from home. The question that arises is whether women's jobs are more vulnerable to the crisis. In this regard, it would be useful to understand the factors that affect career success, specifically that of Malaysian women managers. The present study sought to examine the impact of career aspiration and organizational support on subjective career success, as well the mediating role of self-efficacy in these relationships. The participants comprised 146 Malaysian women managers who had completed an occupational self-efficacy scale, career aspiration scale, as well as perceived organizational support and subjective career success inventory. The results of multiple linear regression indicated that those with high levels of career aspiration and perceived organizational support were positively associated with subjective career success. In this connection, self-efficacy mediated both relationships. The findings provided a better understanding of women managers' perception of career success in the service sector.
The Tian Ma 65-m Telescope Automatic Early Warning System
Authors: Wei-Hua Shang-Guan , Rong-Bing Zhao , Dong Zhang , Chu Yuan Zhang
Published: August 2022

The Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT), which is mainly used for deep space exploration and radio astronomy observations, is the largest fully steerable radio telescope in Asia. For promoting the automation of the telescope, an automatic early warning system is designed and implemented. The system can conveniently aggregate heterogeneous sensor data, make use of established strategies to implement an alert system, and send real-time alarms through multiple channels, which is helpful to promote unmanned operation. In addition, we adopt DevOps (a compound of development (Dev) and operations (Ops) which means end-to-end automation in software development and delivery) to simplify the development, upgrading, and maintenance of the telescope automatic early warning system.
Dynamic Mass Balance Modeling for Chemical Distribution Over Time in In Vitro Systems With Repeated Dosing
Authors: Bloch Sherri , Arnot Jon A. , Kramer Nynke I. , Armitage James M. , Verner Marc-André
Published: August 2022

As toxicologists and risk assessors move away from animal testing and more toward using in vitro models and biological modeling, it is necessary to produce tools to quantify the chemical distribution within the in vitro environment prior to extrapolating in vitro concentrations to human equivalent doses. Although models predicting chemical distribution in vitro have been developed, very little has been done for repeated dosing scenarios, which are common in prolonged experiments where the medium needs to be refreshed. Failure to account for repeated dosing may lead to inaccurate estimations of exposure and introduce bias into subsequent in vitro to in vivo extrapolations. Our objectives were to develop a dynamic mass balance model for repeated dosing in in vitro systems; to evaluate model accuracy against experimental data; and to perform illustrative simulations to assess the impact of repeated doses on predicted cellular concentrations. A novel dynamic in vitro partitioning mass balance model (IV-MBM DP v1.0) was created based on the well-established fugacity approach. We parameterized and applied the dynamic mass balance model to single dose and repeat dosing scenarios, and evaluated the predicted medium and cellular concentrations against available empirical data. We also simulated repeated dosing scenarios for organic chemicals with a range of partitioning properties and compared the in vitro distributions over time. In single dose scenarios, for which only medium concentrations were available, simulated concentrations predicted measured concentrations with coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.85–0.89, mean absolute error within a factor of two and model bias of nearly one. Repeat dose scenario simulations displayed model bias <2 within the cell lysate, and ∼1.5-3 in the medium. The concordance between simulated and available experimental data supports the predictive capacity of the IV-MBM DP v1.0 tool, but further evaluation as empirical data becomes available is warranted, especially for cellular concentrations.
In vivo assessment of simultaneous G1 cyclins silencing by a tumor-specific bidirectional promoter on the mammary tumor in nude mice
Authors: Mesbah Gholamreza , Namazi Fatemeh , T. Shamsabadi Fatemeh , Maleki Zahra , Nasirikenari Mehrab , Shahbazi Majid
Published: August 2022

Dysregulation of G1 cyclins (cyclins D1 A and E) expression contributes to the loss of standard cell cycle control during tumorigenesis. This study aims to evaluate the inhibitory effect of G1 cyclins in nude mice. The human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells were subcutaneously transplanted into the supra-femoral right side of female Balb/c-nude mice. The dual shRNA vector harboring G1 cyclins shRNAs (bipSUR) was intratumorally injected by the in vivo jetPEI transfection reagent for 2 weeks. We have evaluated tumor growth and tumor weight as parameters of tumor progression. Finally, necropsy, histopathological analysis, and immunodetection of G1 cyclins were assessed. Also, apoptosis induction in tumor tissues was evaluated by TUNEL assay. No toxicity and metastasis was observed in the tumor-bearing mice treated by the bipSUR. Tumor weight and volume were significantly lower in the bipSUR treated mice than untreated tumor-bearing mice and control. Histopathological observations revealed more apoptotic foci and lower mitotic cells in tumor sections in the treated mice than in control groups. A significant reduction of G1 cyclins at the protein level was indicated in the bipSUR treated mice than in other groups. Apoptosis in tumor tissues was remarkably induced in response to the bipSUR (42.53%). The bipSUR reduced the protein expression of G1 cyclins and exhibited an inhibitory effect on MDA-MB-231 xenograft mice through apoptosis induction. Further research is demanded to identify the protein partners of G1 cyclins involved in the cancer pathways. These may offer new insight into the biomedical function of G1 cyclins in breast cancer progression.
Molecular diversity of Paenibacillus larvae strains isolated from Lithuanian apiaries
Authors: Amšiejute Paulina , Jurgelevičius Vaclovas , Mačiulskis Petras , Butrimaite-Ambrozevičiene Ceslova , Pilevičiene Simona , Janeliunas Zygimantas , Kutyriova Tatjana , Jacevičiene Ingrida , Paulauskas Algimantas
Published: August 2022

Paenibacillus larvae bacterium is known to be the causative agent of American foulbrood (AFB), a widespread, highly contagious and fatal disease in honey bees (Apis mellifera). There are four genotypes of Paenibacillus larvae that are named after their enterobacterial repetitive consensus (ERIC), and a fifth ERIC genotype has recently been found. In this study, a total of 108 independent P. larvae isolates from different geographical regions in Lithuania collected between 2011 and 2021 were investigated by molecular methods. The aims of this study were to detect which enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) genotype is the most common in Lithuania apiaries, identify and differentiate subtypes of the defined genotype by using multiple-locus variable number of tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA), and review how bacterial molecular diversity has changed over time in different parts of Lithuania. The obtained molecular analysis results showed that 100% of P. larvae bacterial isolates from Lithuania belong to the ERIC I genotype and can be differentiated to nine different subtypes by using the MLVA and capillary electrophoresis methods.
Molecular characterization of multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in mastitis bovine milk from a dairy farm in Anhui, China
Authors: Liu Junjun , Wang Xin , Bi Chongliang , Mehmood Khalid , Ali Farah , Qin Jianhua , Han Zhaoqing
Published: August 2022

Mastitis is an economically important disease in the dairy industry, which is caused by various infectious pathogens. There is limited information known about the situation of drug resistance and virulence factors of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in mastitis bovine milk in Anhui. Therefore, a total of 125 fresh milk samples from clinically mastitis-positive bovine animals were collected. The bacteria pathogens were identified via bacterial culture, Gram staining, biochemical analysis, DNA extraction, 16s rRNA amplification, and phylogenetic analysis. Drug resistance analyses were performed through drug-resistant genes and virulence genes amplification. Results showed that a total of 24.8% (31/125) bacterial isolates were isolated and identified as S. aureus by Gram straining, biochemical reactions, and 16 s rRNA genes blasting. Multiple sequence alignment analysis found that the current isolates were highly similar (96.9–100.0%) to previous isolates. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that S. aureus was similar with MK809241.1 isolated from food in China and wCP030426.1 isolated from a person in the United States. The bacterial isolates were detected resistant to 11 antibiotics, such as Penicillin G, SXT, Ciprofloxacin, Norfloxacin, Polymyxin B, Levofloxacin, Chloramphenicol, Clindamycin, Clarithromycin, Erythromycin, and Spectinomycin. Drug-resistant genes of blaZ, ermC, rpoB, and ant (4')-la were successfully amplified. Virulence genes of hla, nuc, clfa, and eta were found in S. aureus bacteria. The current study isolated S. aureus from milk samples and revealed its drug-resistant situation, drug-resistant genes, and virulence genes. Hence, regular monitoring of S. aureus in milk samples from dairy cows may contribute to the prevention and treatment of public health concerns causing bacteria in this region.
Integrated Power and Propulsion System Optimization for a Planetary-Hopping Robot
Authors: Kalita Himangshu , Diaz-Flores Alvaro , Thangavelautham Jekan
Published: August 2022

Missions targeting the extreme and rugged environments on the moon and Mars have rich potential for a high science return, although several risks exist in performing these exploration missions. The current generation of robots is unable to access these high-priority targets. We propose using teams of small hopping and rolling robots called SphereX that are several kilograms in mass and can be carried by a large rover or lander and tactically deployed for exploring these extreme environments. Considering that the importance of minimizing the mass and volume of these robot platforms translates into significant mission-cost savings, we focus on the optimization of an integrated power and propulsion system for SphereX. Hydrogen is used as fuel for its high energy, and it is stored in the form of lithium hydride and oxygen in the form of lithium perchlorate. The system design undergoes optimization using Genetic Algorithms integrated with gradient-based search techniques to find optimal solutions for a mission. Our power and propulsion system, as we show in this paper, is enabling, because the robots can travel long distances to perform science exploration by accessing targets not possible with conventional systems. Our work includes finding the optimal mass and volume of SphereX, such that it can meet end-to-end mission requirements.
Linear Pseudospectral Method with Chebyshev Collocation for Optimal Control Problems with Unspecified Terminal Time
Authors: Li Yang , Chen Wanchun , Yang Liang
Published: August 2022

In this paper, a linear Chebyshev pseudospectral method (LCPM) is proposed to solve the nonlinear optimal control problems (OCPs) with hard terminal constraints and unspecified final time, which uses Chebyshev collocation scheme and quasi-linearization. First, Taylor expansion around the nonlinear differential equations of the system is used to obtain a set of linear perturbation equations. Second, the first-order necessary conditions for OCPs with these linear equations and unspecified terminal time are derived, which provide the successive correction formulas of control and terminal time. Traditionally, these formulas are linear time varying and cannot be solved in an analytical manner. Third, Lagrange interpolation, whose supporting points are orthogonal Chebyshev–Gauss–Lobatto (CGL), is employed to discretize the resulting problem. Therefore, a series of analytical correction formulas are successfully derived in approximating polynomial space. It should be noted that Chebyshev approximation is close to the best polynomial approximation, and CGL points can be solved in closed form. Finally, LCPM is applied to the air-to-ground missile guidance problem. The simulation results show that it has high computational efficiency and convergence rate. A comparison with the other typical OCP solvers is provided to verify the optimality of the proposed algorithm. In addition, the results of Monte Carlo simulations are presented, which show that the proposed algorithm has strong robustness and stability. Therefore, the proposed method has potential to be onboard application.
A Thermo-Mechanical Properties Evaluation of Multi-Directional Carbon/Carbon Composite Materials in Aerospace Applications
Authors: Kim Myungjun , Kim Yongha
Published: August 2022

Carbon/carbon (C/C) composite materials are widely used in aerospace structures operating in high temperature environments based on their high performance thermal and mechanical properties. The C/C composite material has a yarn architecture in which fiber bundles in different directions cross each other, and it is also divided into architecture types, such as 3-D orthogonal, 4-D in-plane, and 4-D diagonal, according to the arrangement of the fiber bundles. The thermo-mechanical performance of the carbon/carbon composite material may vary depending on the yarn architecture, and the material properties are also tailored according to constituent materials, such as fiber and matrix, and manufacturing parameters, such as yarn size, yarn spacing, and fiber volume fraction. In this paper, three types of geometric models are defined for repeating unit cells (RUCs), according to the yarn architecture of the C/C composite material, and the effective stiffness was predicted by applying the iso-strain assumption and stress averaging technique. In addition, the thermo-mechanical characteristics according to the yarn architecture and fiber volume fraction of RUC were compared and evaluated.
Predicting the Remaining Useful Life of Landing Gear with Prognostics and Health Management (PHM)
Authors: Hsu Tzu-Hsuan , Chang Yuan-Jen , Hsu He-Kai , Chen Tsung-Ti , Hwang Po-Wen
Published: August 2022

Landing gear is an essential part of an aircraft. However, the components of landing gear are susceptible to degradation over the life of their operation, which can result in the shimmy effect occurring during take-off and landing. In order to reduce unplanned flight disruptions and increase the availability of aircraft, the predictive maintenance (PdM) technique is investigated in this study. This paper presents a case study on the implementation of a health assessment and prediction workflow for remaining useful life (RUL) based on the prognostics and health management (PHM) framework of currently in-service aircraft, which could significantly benefit fleet operators and aircraft maintenance. Machine learning is utilized to develop a health indicator (HI) for landing gear using a data-driven approach, whereas a time-series analysis (TSA) is used to predict its degradation. The degradation models are evaluated using large volumes of real sensor data from in-service aircraft. Finally, the challenges of implementing a built-in PHM system for next-generation aircraft are outlined.
Optimizable Image Segmentation Method with Superpixels and Feature Migration for Aerospace Structures
Authors: Fei Chengwei , Wen Jiongran , Han Lei , Huang Bo , Yan Cheng
Published: August 2022

The lack of high-quality, highly specialized labeled images, and the expensive annotation cost are always critical issues in the image segmentation field. However, most of the present methods, such as deep learning, generally require plenty of train cost and high-quality datasets. Therefore, an optimizable image segmentation method (OISM) based on the simple linear iterative cluster (SLIC), feature migration model, and random forest (RF) classifier, is proposed for solving the small sample image segmentation problem. In the approach, the SLIC is used for extracting the image boundary by clustering, the Unet feature migration model is used to obtain multidimensional superpixels features, and the RF classifier is used for predicting and updating the image segmentation results. It is demonstrated that the proposed OISM has acceptable accuracy, and it retains better target boundary than improved Unet model. Furthermore, the OISM shows the potential for dealing with the fatigue image identification of turbine blades, which can also be a promising method for the effective image segmentation to reveal the microscopic damages and crack propagations of high-performance structures for aeroengine components.
Existence and Control of Special Orbits around Asteroid 4 Vesta
Authors: Ren Bo , Jiang Yu , Li Hengnian , Jiang Chunsheng
Published: August 2022

This paper focuses on the existence and control of particular types of orbits around asteroid 4 Vesta, including Sun-synchronous orbits, orbits at the critical inclination, repeating ground-track orbits, and stationary orbits. J2, J3, and J4 terms are considered in the gravity model of Vesta. First, the inclination perturbation caused by solar gravitation is studied, and preset and multiple inclination bias methods are proposed to dampen the local time drift at the ascending node. Compared with Vesta, the control periods of the Sun-synchronous orbits of 21 Lutetia and 433 Eros are much longer. Second, Vesta’s orbits with a critical inclination depend on the semi-major axis and eccentricity. If the eccentricity is not greater than 0.2, inclination decreases slowly and monotonically concerning the semi-major axis. If the eccentricity is not smaller than 0.4, inclination increases rapidly and monotonically. Third, Sun-synchronous repeating ground-track circular orbits of Vesta, which do not exist for Lutetia and Eros, are investigated. Finally, the perturbations of stationary orbits caused by solar gravitation and solar radiation pressure are analyzed.
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia, Multidrug-Resistant Bacteremia and Infection Control Interventions in an Intensive Care Unit: Analysis of Six-Year Time-Series Data
Authors: Papanikolopoulou Amalia , Maltezou Helena C. , Stoupis Athina , Pangalis Anastasia , Kouroumpetsis Christos , Chronopoulou Genovefa , Kalofissoudis Yannis , Kostares Evangelos , Boufidou Fotini , Karalexi Maria , Koumaki Vasiliki , Pantazis Nikos , Tsakris Athanasios , Kantzanou Maria
Published: August 2022

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) occurs more than 48h after mechanical ventilation and is associated with a high mortality rate. The current hospital-based study aims to investigate the association between VAP rate, incidence of bacteremia from multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, and infection control interventions in a single case mix ICU from 2013 to 2018. Methods: The following monthly indices were analyzed: (1) VAP rate; (2) use of hand hygiene disinfectants; (3) isolation rate of patients with MDR bacteria; and (4) incidence of bacteremia/1000 patient-days (total cases, total carbapenem-resistant cases, and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae cases separately). Results: Time trends of infection control interventions showed increased rates in isolation of patients with MDR pathogens (p <0.001) and consumption of hand disinfectant solutions (p =0.001). The last four years of the study an annual decrease of VAP rate by 35.12% (95% CI: −53.52 to −9.41; p =0.01) was recorded, which significantly correlated not only with reduced trauma and cardiothoracic surgery patients (IRR:2.49; 95% CI: 2.09–2.96; p <0.001), but also with increased isolation rate of patients with MDR pathogens (IRR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.27–0.99; p = 0.048), and hand disinfectants use (IRR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.18–0.89; p =0.024). Conclusions: Infection control interventions significantly contributed to the decrease of VAP rate. Constant infection control stewardship has a stable time-effect and guides evidence-based decisions.
Analysis of a Library of Escherichia coli Transporter Knockout Strains to Identify Transport Pathways of Antibiotics
Authors: Munro Lachlan Jake , Kell Douglas B.
Published: August 2022

Antibiotic resistance is a major global healthcare issue. Antibiotic compounds cross the bacterial cell membrane via membrane transporters, and a major mechanism of antibiotic resistance is through modification of the membrane transporters to increase the efflux or reduce the influx of antibiotics. Targeting these transporters is a potential avenue to combat antibiotic resistance. In this study, we used an automated screening pipeline to evaluate the growth of a library of 447 Escherichia coli transporter knockout strains exposed to sub-inhibitory concentrations of 18 diverse antimicrobials. We found numerous knockout strains that showed more resistant or sensitive phenotypes to specific antimicrobials, suggestive of transport pathways. We highlight several specific drug-transporter interactions that we identified and provide the full dataset, which will be a useful resource in further research on antimicrobial transport pathways. Overall, we determined that transporters are involved in modulating the efficacy of almost all the antimicrobial compounds tested and can, thus, play a major role in the development of antimicrobial resistance.
Biochemical Characterizations of the Putative Endolysin Ecd09610 Catalytic Domain from Clostridioides difficile
Authors: Sekiya Hiroshi , Yamaji Hina , Yoshida Ayumi , Matsunami Risa , Kamitori Shigehiro , Tamai Eiji
Published: August 2022

Clostridioides difficile is the major pathogen of pseudomembranous colitis, and novel antimicrobial agents are sought after for its treatment. Phage-derived endolysins with species-specific lytic activity have potential as novel antimicrobial agents. We surveyed the genome of C. difficile strain 630 and identified an endolysin gene, Ecd09610, which has an uncharacterized domain at the N-terminus and two catalytic domains that are homologous to glucosaminidase and endopeptidase at the C-terminus. Genes containing the two catalytic domains, the glucosaminidase domain and the endopeptidase domain, were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli as N-terminal histidine-tagged proteins. The purified domain variants showed lytic activity almost specifically for C. difficile, which has a unique peptide bridge in its peptidoglycan. This species specificity is thought to depend on substrate cleavage activity rather than binding. The domain variants were thermostable, and, notably, the glucosaminidase domain remained active up to 100 °C. In addition, we determined the optimal pH and salt concentrations of these domain variants. Their properties are suitable for formulating a bacteriolytic enzyme as an antimicrobial agent. This lytic enzyme can serve as a scaffold for the construction of high lytic activity mutants with enhanced properties.
Both Manuka and Non-Manuka Honey Types Inhibit Antibiotic Resistant Wound-Infecting Bacteria
Authors: Hewett Samantha R. , Crabtrey Stephany D. , Dodson Esther E. , Rieth C. Alexander , Tarkka Richard M. , Naylor Kari
Published: August 2022

Postoperative infections are a major concern in United States hospitals, accounting for roughly 20% of all hospital-acquired infections yearly. Wound-infecting bacteria, in particular, have a high rate of drug resistance (up to 65%), creating life-threatening complications. Manuka honey, native to New Zealand, has been FDA-approved for wound treatment in the United States after studies demonstrated its ability to inhibit a variety of bacterial species and facilitate wound healing. The aim of this study was to identify alternative (non-manuka) honey types that can be specifically used against antibiotic resistance bacteria in wound infections. We utilized a honey-plate method to measure the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of honey to avoid the limitations of agar diffusion, where large, nonpolar polyphenols (which will not diffuse efficiently) play an important role in bioactivity. This study demonstrated that there are several alternative (non-manuka) honey types, particularly fresh raw Arkansas wildflower honeys, that comparably inhibit the growth of the antibiotic-resistant bacterial species specifically implicated in wound infections. Concentrations of 10–30% honey inhibited the growth of the highly antibiotic-resistant organisms colloquially referred to as “superbugs”, which the WHO declared in 2017 to be in critical need of new antibiotics. There was no statistical difference between manuka honey and fresh summer Arkansas wildflower honey in overall bacterial inhibition. These results could transform wound care in the United States, where manuka honey can be expensive and difficult to obtain and where antibiotic resistance remains a troubling concern for wound treatment.
Investigation of the Hydrogen Sulfide Signaling Pathway in Schwann Cells during Peripheral Nerve Degeneration: Multi-Omics Approaches
Authors: Chun Yoo Lim , Eom Won-Joon , Lee Jun Hyung , Nguyen Thy N. C. , Park Ki-Hoon , Chung Hyung-Joo , Seo Han , Huh Youngbuhm , Kim Sang Hoon , Yeo Seung Geun , Park Wonseok , Bang Geul , Kim Jin Young , Kim Min-Sik , Jeong Na Young , Jung Junyang
Published: August 2022

N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) inhibits peripheral nerve degeneration (PND) by targeting Schwann cells in a hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-pathway-dependent manner, but the underlying molecular and pharmacological mechanisms are unclear. We investigated the effect of NEM, an α,β-unsaturated carboxyl compound, on H2S signaling in in vitro- and ex vivo-dedifferentiated Schwann cells using global proteomics (LC-MS) and transcriptomics (whole-genome and small RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq)) methods. The multi-omics analyses identified several genes and proteins related to oxidative stress, such as Sod1, Gnao1, Stx4, Hmox2, Srxn1, and Edn1. The responses to oxidative stress were transcriptionally regulated by several transcription factors, such as Atf3, Fos, Rela, and Smad2. In a functional enrichment analysis, cell cycle, oxidative stress, and lipid/cholesterol metabolism were enriched, implicating H2S signaling in Schwann cell dedifferentiation, proliferation, and myelination. NEM-induced changes in the H2S signaling pathway affect oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, and the cell cycle in Schwann cells. Therefore, regulation of the H2S signaling pathway by NEM during PND could prevent Schwann cell demyelination, dedifferentiation, and proliferation.
Climate and the Radial Growth of Conifers in Borderland Natural Areas of Texas and Northern Mexico
Authors: Villanueva-Díaz José , Stahle David W. , Poulos Helen Mills , Therrell Matthew D. , Howard Ian , Martínez-Sifuentes Aldo Rafael , Hermosillo-Rojas David , Cerano-Paredes Julián , Estrada-Ávalos Juan
Published: August 2022

The forests of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States have been subjected to warmer temperatures, persistent drought, and more intense and widespread wildfire. Tree-ring data from four conifer species native to these borderlands forests are compared with regional and large-scale precipitation and temperature data. These species include Abies durangensis, Pinus arizonica, Pinus cembroides, and Pseudotsuga menziesii. Twelve detrended and standardized ring-width chronologies are derived for these four species, all are cross-correlated during their common interval of 1903–2000 (r = 0.567 to 0.738, p < 0.01), and all load positively on the first principal component of radial growth, which alone represents 56% of the variance in the correlation matrix. Correlation with monthly precipitation and temperature data for the study area indicates that all four species respond primarily to precipitation during the cool season of autumn and winter, October–May (r = 0.71, p < 0.01, 1931–2000), and to temperature primarily during the late spring and early summer, January–July (r 0 −0.67, p < 0.01, 1931–2000), in spite of differences in phylogeny and microsite conditions. The instrumental climate data for the region indicate that warmer conditions during the January–July season most relevant to radial growth are beginning to exceed the warmest episode of the 20th century in both intensity and duration. The strong negative correlation between temperature and tree growth indicates that these four conifer species may be challenged by the warmer temperatures forecast in the coming decades for the borderlands region due to anthropogenic forcing. This information could constitute a baseline to analyze the impact of climate change in other regions of Mexico and the USA, where conifer species are of great ecological and socioeconomical importance.
Early Night Fog Prediction Using Liquid Water Content Measurement in the Monterey Bay Area
Authors: Kim Steven , Rickard Conor , Hernandez-Vazquez Julio , Fernandez Daniel
Published: August 2022

Fog is challenging to predict, and the accuracy of fog prediction may depend on location and time of day. Furthermore, accurate detection of fog is difficult, since, historically, it is often carried out based on visual observations which can be biased and are often not very frequent. Furthermore, visual observations are more challenging to make during the night. To overcome these limitations, we detected fog using FM-120 instruments, which continuously measured liquid water content in the air in the Monterey, California (USA), area. We used and compared the prediction performance of logistic regression (LR) and random forest (RF) models each evening between 5 pm and 9 pm, which is often the time when advection fog is generated in this coastal region. The relative performances of the models depended on the hours between 5 pm and 9 pm, and the two models often generated different predictions. In such cases, a consensus approach was considered by revisiting the past performance of each model and weighting more heavily the more trustworthy model for a given hour. The LR resulted in a higher sensitivity (hit rate) than the RF model early in the evening, but the overall performance of the RF was usually better than that of the LR. The consensus approach provided more robust prediction performance (closer to a better accuracy level between the two methods). It was difficult to conclude which of the LR and RF models was superior consistently, and the consensus approach provided robustness in 3 and 2 h forecasts.
The Effect of Electrode Thickness on the High-Current Discharge and Long-Term Cycle Performance of a Lithium-Ion Battery
Authors: Li Dongjian , Lv Qiqi , Zhang Chunmei , Zhou Wei , Guo Hongtao , Jiang Shaohua , Li Zhuan
Published: August 2022

Six groups of electrodes with different thickness are prepared in the current study by using Li[Ni1/3Co1/3MN1/3]O2 as the active substance; the electrode thicknesses are 71.8, 65.4, 52.6, 39.3, 32.9, and 26.2 μm, respectively, with similar internal microstructures. The effect of electrode thickness on the discharge rate, pulse discharge, internal resistance, and long-term cycle life of a pouch cell are investigated. The results show that, with the decrease in the electrode thickness from 71.8 μm to 26.2 μm, the high-current-discharge performance of the cell gradually improves, the pulse-discharge power density under 50% SOC increases from 1561 W/Kg to 2691 W/Kg, the Rdis decreases from 8.70 mΩ to 3.34 mΩ, and the internal resistance decreases from 3.36 mΩ to 1.21 mΩ. In the long-term cycle-life test, the thinner the electrode thickness, the less the capacity fading of the cell; the internal resistance of the cell is observed with the increase in the cycle index.
Influence of the Ni Catalyst on the Properties of the Si-C Composite Material for LIB Anodes
Authors: Lozhkina Darina A. , Ulin Vladimir P. , Kompan Mikhail E. , Rumyantsev Aleksander M. , Kondrashkova Irina S. , Krasilin Andrei A. , Astrova Ekaterina V.
Published: August 2022

The subject of this study was Si-C composites for lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes obtained by carbonization of nanodispersed silicon with carbon monofluoride. To determine the possibility of increasing the degree of graphitization of nanodispersed carbon forming shells around the silicon particles at lower temperatures, nickel in the form of an alcoholic solution of Ni(NO3)2 was introduced as a catalyst into the pellets of the resulting composite. The XRD, Raman scattering and EDS methods were used to investigate changes both in the phase and elemental composition of materials resulting from the annealing of the Ni-containing Si-C composite over the temperature range of 500–1100 °C. It was found for the first time that nickel silicides that emerged during the annealing became catalysts and, at the same time, intermediate products, of cubic silicon carbide (β-SiC) synthesis, which reduced its temperature formation from ~1100 °C to ~800 °C. The same compounds had a catalytic effect on the carbon atom association, leading to an increase in the degree of its graphitization. The influence of changing the composition of the investigated material on the electrochemical characteristics of the obtained negative LIB electrodes was traced.
Assessment of Spontaneous Fermentation and Non-Saccharomyces Sequential Fermentation in Verdicchio Wine at Winery Scale
Authors: Canonico Laura , Agarbati Alice , Comitini Francesca , Ciani Maurizio
Published: August 2022

The use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in sequential fermentation is a suitable biotechnological process to provide specific oenological characteristics and to increase the complexity of wines. In this work, selected strains of Lachancea thermotolerans and Starmerella bombicola were used in sequential fermentations with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and compared with spontaneous and pure S. cerevisiae fermentation trials in Verdicchio grape juice. Torulaspora delbrueckii together with the other two non-Saccharomyces strains (L. thermotolerans, S. bombicola) in multi-sequential fermentations was also evaluated. Wines, obtained under winery vinification conditions, were evaluated for their analytical and sensorial profile. The results indicated that each fermentation gave peculiar analytical and aromatic features of the final wine. L. thermotolerans trials are characterized by an increase of total acidity, higher alcohols and monoterpenes as well as citric and herbal notes. S. bombicola trials showed a general significantly high concentration of phenylethyl acetate and hexyl acetate and a softness sensation while multi-sequential fermentations showed a balanced profile. Spontaneous fermentation was characterized by the production of acetate esters (ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate), citrus and herbal notes, and tannicity. The overall results indicate that multi-starter fermentations could be a promising tool tailored to the desired features of different Verdicchio wine styles.