bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Splicing factor SRSF1 is essential for homing of precursor spermatogonial stem cells in mice
Authors: Sun Longjie , Lv Zheng , Chen Xuexue , Ye Rong , Tian Shuang , Wang Chaofan , Xie Xiaomei , Yan Lu , Yao Xiaohong , Shao Yujing , Cui Sheng , Chen Juan , Liu Jiali
Published: August 2023

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are essential for continuous spermatogenesis and male fertility. The underlying mechanisms of alternative splicing (AS) in mouse SSCs are still largely unclear. We demonstrated that SRSF1 is essential for gene expression and splicing in mouse SSCs. Crosslinking immunoprecipitation and sequencing data revealed that spermatogonia-related genes (e.g. Plzf, Id4, Setdb1, Stra8, Tial1/Tiar, Bcas2, Ddx5, Srsf10, Uhrf1, and Bud31) were bound by SRSF1 in the mouse testes. Specific deletion of Srsf1 in mouse germ cells impairs homing of precursor SSCs leading to male infertility. Whole-mount staining data showed the absence of germ cells in the testes of adult conditional knockout (cKO) mice, which indicates Sertoli cell-only syndrome in cKO mice. The expression of spermatogonia-related genes (e.g. Gfra1, Pou5f1, Plzf, Dnd1, Stra8, and Taf4b) was significantly reduced in the testes of cKO mice. Moreover, multiomics analysis suggests that SRSF1 may affect survival of spermatogonia by directly binding and regulating Tial1/Tiar expression through AS. In addition, immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry and co-immunoprecipitation data showed that SRSF1 interacts with RNA splicing-related proteins (e.g. SART1, RBM15, and SRSF10). Collectively, our data reveal the critical role of SRSF1 in spermatogonia survival, which may provide a framework to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the posttranscriptional network underlying homing of precursor SSCs.
SRSF1-mediated alternative splicing of Tial1/Tiar is essential for homing and self-renewal in mouse spermatogonial stem cells
Authors: Sun Longjie , Lv Zheng , Chen Xuexue , Ye Rong , Tian Shuang , Wang Chaofan , Xie Xiaomei , Yan Lu , Yao Xiaohong , Shao Yujing , Cui Sheng , Chen Juan , Liu Jiali
Published: August 2023

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are essential for continuous spermatogenesis and male fertility. The underlying mechanisms of alternative splicing (AS) in mouse SSCs are still largely unclear. We demonstrated that SRSF1 is essential for gene expression and splicing in mouse SSCs. Crosslinking immunoprecipitation and sequencing (CLIP-seq) data revealed that spermatogonia-related genes (e.g.,
Plzf
,
Id4
,
Setdb1, Stra8
,
Tial1
/
Tiar
,
Bcas2
,
Ddx5
,
Srsf10
,
Uhrf1
, and
Bud31
) were bound by SRSF1 in the mouse testes. Specific deletion of
Srsf1
in mouse germ cells impairs homing and self-renewal of SSCs leading to male infertility. Whole-mount staining data showed the absence of germ cells in the testes of adult cKO mice, which indicates Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) in cKO mice. The expression of spermatogonia-related genes (
Gfra1
,
Pou5f1
,
Plzf
,
Dnd1
,
Stra8
, and
Taf4b
) was significantly reduced in the testes of conditional knockout (cKO) mice. Moreover, multiomics analysis suggests that SRSF1 directly binds and regulates the expression of
Tial1
/
Tiar
via AS to implement SSC homing and self-renewal. In addition, immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry (IP-MS) data showed that SRSF1 interacts with RNA splicing-related proteins (e.g., SRSF10, SART1, RBM15, SRRM2, SF3B6, and SF3A2). Collectively, our data reveal the critical role of SRSF1-mediated AS in SSC homing and self-renewal, which may provide a framework to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the posttranscriptional network underlying the formation of SSC pools and the establishment of niches.
Allelic strengths of encephalopathy-associated UBA5 variants correlate between in vivo and in vitro assays
Authors: Pan Xueyang , Alvarez Albert N , Ma Mengqi , Lu Shenzhao , Crawford Michael W , Briere Lauren C , Kanca Oguz , Yamamoto Shinya , Sweetser David A , Wilson Jenny L , Napier Ruth J , Pruneda Jonathan N , Bellen Hugo J
Published: August 2023

Protein UFMylation downstream of the E1 enzyme UBA5 plays essential roles in development and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Variants in the UBA5 gene are associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathy 44 (DEE44), an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by early-onset encephalopathy, movement abnormalities, global developmental delay, intellectual disability, and seizures. DEE44 is caused by at least 12 different missense variants described as loss of function (LoF), but the relationships between genotypes and molecular or clinical phenotypes remain to be established. We developed a humanized UBA5 fly model and biochemical activity assays in order to describe in vivo and in vitro genotype–phenotype relationships across the UBA5 allelic series. In vivo, we observed a broad spectrum of phenotypes in viability, developmental timing, lifespan, locomotor activity, and bang sensitivity. A range of functional effects was also observed in vitro across comprehensive biochemical assays for protein stability, ATP binding, UFM1 activation, and UFM1 transthiolation. Importantly, there is a strong correlation between in vivo and in vitro phenotypes, establishing a classification of LoF variants into mild, intermediate, and severe allelic strengths. By systemically evaluating UBA5 variants across in vivo and in vitro platforms, this study provides a foundation for more basic and translational UBA5 research, as well as a basis for evaluating current and future individuals afflicted with this rare disease.
Essential Function of Membrane-Bound Transcription Factor MYRF in Promoting Transcription of miRNA lin-4 during C. elegans Development
Authors: Xu Zhimin , Wang Zhao , Wang Lifang , Qi Yingchuan B.
Published: August 2023

Precise developmental timing control is essential for organism formation and function, but its mechanisms are unclear. In
C. elegans
, the microRNA
lin-4
plays a critical role in developmental timing. While
lin-4
’s downregulation of LIN-14 is well-established, the mechanisms behind
lin-4
upregulation remain unknown. We demonstrate that the membrane-associated transcription factor MYRF-1 is necessary for
lin-4
upregulation in late L1 stage. MYRF-1 is initially localized on the cell membrane, and its increased cleavage and nuclear accumulation coincide with
lin-4
expression timing. We show that MYRF-1 regulates
lin-4
expression cell-autonomously and that hyperactive MYRF-1 can prematurely drive
lin-4
expression in early L1 and embryos. The tandem
lin-4
promoter DNA recruits MYRF-1
GFP
to form visible loci in the nucleus, suggesting that MYRF-1 directly acts on the
lin-4
promoter. Our findings identify a crucial link in understanding developmental timing regulation and establish MYRF-1 as a key regulator of
lin-4
expression.
Guiding the retraining of convolutional neural networks against adversarial inputs
Authors: Durán Francisco , Martínez-Fernández Silverio , Felderer Michael , Franch Xavier
Published: August 2023

Background

When using deep learning models, one of the most critical vulnerabilities is their exposure to adversarial inputs, which can cause wrong decisions (e.g., incorrect classification of an image) with minor perturbations. To address this vulnerability, it becomes necessary to retrain the affected model against adversarial inputs as part of the software testing process. In order to make this process energy efficient, data scientists need support on which are the best guidance metrics for reducing the adversarial inputs to create and use during testing, as well as optimal dataset configurations.

Aim

We examined six guidance metrics for retraining deep learning models, specifically with convolutional neural network architecture, and three retraining configurations. Our goal is to improve the convolutional neural networks against the attack of adversarial inputs with regard to the accuracy, resource utilization and execution time from the point of view of a data scientist in the context of image classification.

Method

We conducted an empirical study using five datasets for image classification. We explore: (a) the accuracy, resource utilization, and execution time of retraining convolutional neural networks with the guidance of six different guidance metrics (neuron coverage, likelihood-based surprise adequacy, distance-based surprise adequacy, DeepGini, softmax entropy and random), (b) the accuracy and resource utilization of retraining convolutional neural networks with three different configurations (one-step adversarial retraining, adversarial retraining and adversarial fine-tuning).

Results

We reveal that adversarial retraining from original model weights, and by ordering with uncertainty metrics, gives the best model w.r.t. accuracy, resource utilization, and execution time.

Conclusions

Although more studies are necessary, we recommend data scientists use the above configuration and metrics to deal with the vulnerability to adversarial inputs of deep learning models, as they can improve their models against adversarial inputs without using many inputs and without creating numerous adversarial inputs. We also show that dataset size has an important impact on the results.
Impact of cooling on shaping ability of thermally treated files in canal models with double curvature
Authors: Jamleh Ahmed , Albanyan Hajar , Alaqla Ali , Alissa Hamad , Alshetan Nawaf , Alraffa Sulaiman , Alfadley Abdulmohsen
Published: August 2023

Background

This study compared the ability of thermally treated files in shaping simulated canals with double curvature. Fifty-six canals were enlarged to a final size of 25 with ProTaper Next (PTN) or ZenFlex (ZF).

Materials

Half of the samples were shaped with cooled files (n = 14 each). The amount of removed resin was measured and canal deviation was determined at eight levels. Shaping time and maximum shaping torque values were also recorded. Data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance and LSD, Kruskal–Wallis, and chi-square tests at a 0.05 significance level.

Results

Compared to PTN and cooled PTN, ZF and cooled ZF required lesser time to shape the canals. The maximum torques were found comparable between the groups. All the groups generated negligible deviations at every canal level evaluated and maintained the canal geometry. Although not significant, the cooled PTN and ZF files exhibited lesser canal deviations than their counterparts.

Conclusion

All groups demonstrated similar shaping ability whilst maintaining the original curvature of the canal in simulated canals with double curvature. However, ZF groups were able to shape the canals faster than PTN groups. There was a trend that cooled files made lesser canal deviations compared to their counterparts.
A implantação do acervo acadêmico digital como forma de incremento a responsabilidade social nas universidades públicas
Authors: De Andrade Emmanuel Paiva , De Oliveira Juliana Leonicio Sales , Seixas Maria Augusta de Castro , Da Motta Elisabeth Flávia Roberta Oliveira , Viana Rodrigo Cardoso , Monforte Tamires Morcelli , Batista Lavynia Soares
Published: August 2023

O presente estudo tem por objetivo trazer reflexões acerca de como as universidades públicas federais podem estar inseridas no contexto da responsabilidade social, através de uma gestão socialmente responsável, além de analisar como a obrigação legal de implantar o acervo acadêmico digital nas Instituições de Ensino Superior pode colaborar para tal, principalmente quando se leva em consideração as mudanças que esta iniciativa provocará no desempenho do papel social e das atividades administrativas destas instituições. Ademais, abordar-se-á sobre um estudo de caso realizado em uma universidade federal, de forma a destacar empiricamente como a implantação do acervo acadêmico poderá colaborar com as práticas de responsabilidade social desta Instituição. O ineditismo deste trabalho está na associação entre as temáticas acervo acadêmico digital e responsabilidade social, sobre a qual ainda não foi abordada no ambiente acadêmico, cujos resultados poderão servir como material efetivo para reflexão sobre as práticas de gestão e de apoio para outras pesquisas
Responsabilidade social do município de Maricá sob a ótica das dimensões do ecodesenvolvimento propostas por Ignacy Sachs
Authors: Monforte Tamires Morcelli , Reis Augusto da Cunha , Viana Rodrigo Cardoso , De Oliveira Juliana Leonicio Sales , Batista Lavynia Soares
Published: August 2023

A sociedade civil demanda cada vez mais a responsabilidade socioambiental dos entes públicos. Neste contexto, este artigo apresenta um estudo de caso realizado no município de Maricá-RJ ao qual aborda a responsabilidade social na gestão pública. A pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar as ações do poder público na cidade de Maricá e discutir como elas estão correlacionadas com as cinco dimensões de ecodesenvolvimento propostas por Sachs. Dessa forma, foi evidenciado que a organização estudada vem adotando práticas de gestão associadas à responsabilidade social, principalmente nos pilares econômicos e sociais. Contudo, ela ainda possui diversos pontos de oportunidade no que diz respeito às dimensões ambientais, geográficas e culturais quando considerados os elementos centrais da obra de Sachs para se atingir um desenvolvimento sustentável.
Efectos del cambio climático en la biodiversidad subterránea ibérica: estado del conocimiento y perspectivas
Authors: Colado Raquel , Sánchez-Fernández David , Pallarés Susana
Published: August 2023

Los ecosistemas subterráneos son sistemáticamente olvidados en las estrategias globales de cambio climático y conservación de la biodiversidad, pese a que brindan servicios ecosistémicos clave y albergan una proporción considerable de la biodiversidad global, amenazada por la actividad humana y el calentamiento global. En este artículo realizamos una revisión sistemática de los estudios sobre los efectos del cambio climático en la biodiversidad subterránea ibérica, describiendo la variabilidad de enfoques experimentales aplicados, ambientes, taxones y respuestas estudiadas, niveles de organización biológica, grado de especificidad por el medio subterráneo y factores que pueden interactuar con un aumento de la temperatura. Se revisaron 15 artículos que comprenden 135 taxones terrestres (11 quirópteros y 124 invertebrados, principalmente coleópteros). Se han estudiado dos tipos de respuestas: tolerancia térmica (mediante experimentos fisiológicos) en invertebrados y cambios en el rango de distribución en distintos escenarios de cambio climático (mediante modelos de nicho ecológico), principalmente en quirópteros. En general, los estudios de fisiología térmica indican que las especies con mayor grado de especificidad por el medio subterráneo tienen menor tolerancia al calor, y los modelos de distribución predicen una contracción del rango de distribución ibérico para la mayoría de especies estudiadas. Ningún artículo ha analizado respuestas comportamentales, reproductivas, del ciclo de vida o fenológicas ni a nivel de comunidad, ni interacciones biológicas. Esta revisión permite localizar las principales carencias de conocimiento sobre los efectos del cambio climático en la biodiversidad subterránea ibérica y proponer unas líneas prioritarias en las que centrar los esfuerzos de investigación en el futuro.
Prevalence of Coronary Artery Anomalies and Associated Complications during Catheter-guided Angiography: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Panda Sibaram , Sharma Sunil Kumar , Panda Mayadhar
Published: August 2023

Introduction: Coronary Artery Anomalies (CAA) refer to very uncommon and unusual morphological features of the epicardial coronary artery that account for 1/5th of deaths in athletes. Patients with CAA are also prone to developing significant Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Identifying such arteries during catheter-guided angiography is very challenging and is associated with many devastating complications, such as arrhythmia, heart failure, Contrast-Induced Nephropathy (CIN), bleeding, cardio-embolic events, and mechanical injury to the coronary artery, among others. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of various types of coronary anomalies and the complications that arise during catheter-guided angiography. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted between February 2022 and October 2022, enrolling a total of 2849 patients who underwent angiography for angina or angina equivalents at the catheterisation laboratory, VIMSAR, Burla, Odisha, India. Angiographic records and videos of patients were noted. Coronary anomalies were detected based on quantitative and qualitative criteria provided by the American Heart Association in 2007. The anomalous coronary arteries were classified into three groups: Group A- anomalies of origin and course, Group B- anomalies of intrinsic coronary arterial anatomy, and Group C- anomalies of coronary termination. Data regarding baseline characteristics and procedurerelated complications were collected, compiled, and tabulated to determine the prevalence of different types of coronary anomalies and the arising complications during catheterguided angiography. Results: Among the 2849 enrolled patients, CAA was identified in 64 (2.24%) patients. Of these, CAA with abnormal origin and course (Group A), abnormal termination (Group B), and intrinsic coronary arterial anatomy (Group C) were detected in 36 (1.26%), 4 (0.14%), and 24 (0.84%) patients, respectively. Out of the 64 cases, a total of 13 (20.3%) patients developed different types of complications, including mechanical 2 (3.125%), embolic 1 (1.56%), and arrhythmic 3 (4.68%) complications, bleeding 2 (3.12%), angiographic 3 (4.68%), and left ventricular failure 2 (3.12%), among others. In Group A, complications were more commonly observed in 10 (15.6%) of the cases. Conclusion: CAA with an abnormal origin and course is the most common type of coronary anomaly. Engaging such an artery and detecting its abnormal course are more commonly associated with life-threatening complications. The use of appropriate maneuvers, types and sizes of catheters, and CIN views can help avoid disastrous complications.
Conjunctival Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia with Spheroidal Degeneration: A Rare Case of UV-B Associated Ocular Neoplasia and Keratopathy
Authors: Rathod Gunvanti , Janti Siddharam S , Pradeep Immunuel , Chowdhury Anwesha , Morya Arvind Kumar
Published: August 2023

Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia (OSSN) is an umbrella term that includes a broad spectrum of conjunctival and corneal malignancies, ranging from mild epithelial dysplasia to invasive squamous cell carcinoma. These are uncommon ocular surface lesions but harbour the potential to cause significant ocular morbidity and rarely mortality. Human Papilloma Viruses (HPV) and Ultraviolet-B light (UV) have been identified as important risk factors in aetiopathogenesis. The present OSSN patient is a 48- year-old male with redness, growth, and a foreign body sensation in his left eye over the past four months. Examination of the left eye revealed a growth in the nasal limbus with a feeder vessel measuring 0.9x0.3x0.1 cm in size. Diagnosis was confirmed by anterior segment Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). The patient was admitted for an excision biopsy accompanied by intraoperative Mitomycin-C. The lesion’s histopathology revealed grade 2 in situ carcinoma with spheroidal formation. This case is considered rare due to the infrequent association between Conjunctival Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) and spheroidal degeneration.
Obstetric Complications and Adverse Birth Outcomes among Adolescent and Adult Pregnant Women in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Authors: Jahan Israt , Rashid Rumana , Bari Farzana Sultana , Sadiq Md. Zafar As , Islam Tasmia , Ahmed Eyad
Published: August 2023

Background and Objective: The current study aimed to determine the association of maternal age and obstetric complications and adverse birth outcomes among the adolescent and adult pregnant women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving about 150 pregnant women (75 adolescent and 75 adult) who were purposively selected from three maternity centers of Dhaka city. All of them were primigravida experiencing their third trimester of pregnancy. They were interviewed twice (first visit during third trimester and second visit after delivery) with a semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done by IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.0. Adjusted odds ratios were achieved by conducting binomial logistic regression analysis.

Results: The mean age of the adolescent pregnant girls and adult pregnant women were 16.54±2.38 and 25.23±5.67 years of age, respectively. It was explored that adolescent pregnant girls had higher risks for anemia, preeclampsia, eclampsia, severe fever, jaundice, abnormal position of the baby and urinary problems during gestation. On the contrary, they were observed with lower risks for gestational diabetes, excessive bleeding and leakage of amniotic fluid during pregnancy. During delivery, adolescent group had higher risks for excessive bleeding and placental abruption. Findings of the study also showed that pregnant adolescents had higher risks of various adverse birth outcomes like preterm delivery, still birth, small for gestational age (SGA), very low birth weight (LBW), and low birth weight (LBW).

Conclusion: Adolescent pregnancy in Dhaka city had augmented the risk of obstetric complications during pregnancy, during delivery as well as adverse birth outcomes.
Analytical Study of Small Scale Beekeeping Farming in Eswatini: A Case Study in Manzini Region, Eswatini
Authors: Singh Ajay S. , Kibirige Douglas , Malaza Phumlani S.
Published: August 2023

Aims: Smallholder beekeepers play an important role especially livelihood of the rural and semi-urban communities of Eswatini yet the enterprise attracts less beekeeping farmers. This study aims at contributing to the existing literature related to socio-economics analysis of beekeeping farmers and their impact on production, and highlights the opinion on challenges and opportunities of small scale beekeeping farmers.

Study Design & Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was employed in the study across the region with the main objective of determining the socio-demographic factors and output of beekeeping farmers. The study engaged 47 randomly selected beekeepers and random sampling technique was used. The study employed the multiple regression models to analyse the factors affecting honey production among small-scale beekeeping farmers.

Results: The results indicate that majority (70.2%) of respondents were male apiculture farmers, averagely aged 32 years old, attained secondary education (51.0%), majority of interviewed farmers had less than 5 years of experience in apiculture, and about 31% of the small scale beekeeping farmers used traditional and Swazi top bar hives. The results also revealed that a large percentage of farmers obtained only between E1,001 and E2,500 in income from the beekeeping farming. The regression model results indicated that experiences in beekeeping and number of hives were significantly related to honey produced by the beekeeping farmers.  The results also revealed that apiculture farmers interviewed indicated that they had poor access to technical support, limited access government support, poor access to financial credit, use of ICT in marketing their produce and limited access to extension services related to beekeeping.

Recommendations: This study recommends that in addition to improved access to beekeeping financial support and number of bee hives, the government, private sector and other organisations promoting improved livelihoods of smallholder beekeeping farmers should formulated and implement strategies aimed at increased access to extension services mostly related to technical support and use of digital technology to enable increased production and marketing of farmers’ output.
Stock Returns and State-Dependent Effects of Changes in Exchange Rate and Money Supply from Central Banks
Authors: Effiong Solomon Edem , Benson Odion Jonah , Umoru David
Published: August 2023

This study investigates the state-dependent effects of exchange rate movements and money supply shocks on stock market returns using daily stock returns, exchange rate, and variations in money supply data obtained from the databank.worldbank.org website from 1990 to 2022. The stock markets of ten emerging and developed countries were used in the study. The Markov-Switching regression methodology was utilized for this study. The results suggest that for the developed stock markets, in Regime 1, a positive shock to the money supply stimulated a significant rise in the stock returns while in Regime 2, a positive shock to the money supply induced a drop in returns. This suggests that for the developed stock markets, the effect of money supply shock on returns is state-dependent. In the developing stock markets, the coefficient for exchange rate was negative and significant in Regime 1, while it was insignificant in Regime 2. Therefore, the effect of exchange rate on returns is state-dependent in developing countries. Also, the coefficient for volatility in the exchange rate was negative and sizable in both regimes, indicating that the returns effect of volatility is not state-dependent. Basically, each day the exchange rate appreciates, stock returns rises in the developed stock markets while a devaluation policy executed in developing countries stimulated some decline in returns of emerging markets. In both regimes, a rise in money supply shock had positive and significant returns. The effect of money supply on stock returns is not state-dependent. Consequently, developing countries need flexible approaches to managing the variations in the exchange rates and money in circulation. While policymakers in developed markets may need to focus more on reducing volatility rather than adjusting exchange rates to influence stockpiling, those of emerging countries could benefit more from policies that stabilize exchange rates.
The Socio-emotional Classroom Management and Student Engagement of Tertiary Teachers in Davao City
Authors: Palarisan Novie John B. , Domag Concepcion M.
Published: August 2023

Student engagement is a vital component of effective teaching and learning in tertiary education, hence identifying factors that contribute to this is crucial for tertiary education students. This study employed a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design to examine the relationship between the dependent variable (student engagement) and the independent variable (socio-emotional classroom management). Using purposive sampling the researchers collected data from college students in Davao City. The study found that there is a positive and significant relationship between the socio-emotional classroom management of teachers and student engagement of college students (r=.34). Further, the regression analysis revealed that the socio-emotional classroom management of tertiary teachers influenced the engagement of students. In singular capacity, socio-emotional classroom management had a positive standardized beta value of .22 and a p-value of .01.
Syndrome of Orthostatic Hypotension with Supine Hypertension: A Therapeutic Dilemma for Cardiologists
Authors: Naaim M. , Malhabi N. , Ztati , M. , Eljamili M. , Karimi S. El , Hattaoui M. El
Published: August 2023

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) and supine hypertension (SH) are two cardiovascular symptoms of autonomic failure that frequently coexist in the same patient.

Clinicians are faced with a dilemma because aggressive orthostatic intolerance treatment can exacerbate supine hypertension, and vice versa for supine hypertension management.

The objective of our article is to provide a better framework for the clinical evaluation, the right choice of therapeutic options and the improvement of the quality of life of patients with OH-SH syndrome. For these reasons, we report three observations, whose etiologies, clinical presentation, and treatment are different, namely diabetes, multiple system atrophy type C (MSA) and Parkinson's disease.
From Laggards to Innovators: A Review of the Financial Services Industry
Authors: Owusu-Antwi Kwasi , Amenuvor Fortune Edem
Published: August 2023

This review paper delves into the topics of innovation adoption, marketing strategies, and consumer behavior within the context of the financial services industry. The focus is on converting laggards into innovators, recognizing the pivotal role of embracing innovation and cultivating a culture of change for sustainable growth. Drawing insights from Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory, the dynamics of early adopters, and the characteristics of laggards are explored. A comprehensive search is conducted across academic databases, research repositories, and reputable journals. Keywords such as “laggards”, “innovators”, “financial services”, “innovation adoption,” and related terms are used to identify relevant studies. The inclusion criteria encompassed papers published within the past two decades, focusing on innovation adoption in the financial sector. The papers are thoroughly reviewed, and key information are extracted. This includes insights on the characteristics of laggards and innovators, innovation adoption theories, marketing strategies, consumer behavior, and case studies within the financial services industry. Data synthesis is carried out to identify common themes and trends across the literature. Environmental factors, changing consumer needs, and marketing tools like personal selling, promotion, direct marketing, and public relations are also analyzed. The significance of positive word of mouth from friends and family as a powerful influencer in consumer decision-making is highlighted. Overall, this paper underscores the importance of customer-centricity, innovation, and relationship marketing principles in fostering long-term success for businesses in an ever-evolving market landscape. By actively engaging consumers, businesses can drive product-market fit, build trust, and achieve enduring prosperity, especially within the financial services space.
Doubling Farmer Income through Cultivating Headed Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Itilica) under Different Irrigation Regimes and Water Saving Techniques
Authors: Jaybhaye Pralhad , Mukherjee Asis , Rede G. D.
Published: August 2023

Doubling Farmer Income through application of precious irrigation and water saving techniques in vegetable crops may be possible under change in climatic and water scarcity conditions by proper inclusive adaptation of the results of present field experiment investigation. Significantly higher, net returns and benefit cost ratio Was observed in IR treatment I1.00. Total cost of cultivation and benefit cost ratio were significantly higher in IR treatment I0.75. The net returns and benefit cost ratio were significantly higher in WST treatment MK and benefit cost ratio were in MC. The treatment combination I1.00 x MK had given higher returns followed by followed by the treatment I0.75 x MBP among all the treatments. However, based on the IWM aspect to overcome the problem of irrigation water scarcity, adaptation and mitigation of changed climate as well as projected future climate change through precision farming, increasing leaf area, decreasing ambient temperature and economic profitability factor i.e. net returns from the cultivation of headed broccoli, the treatment combination I0.75 x MBP and I0.50 x MBP were observed significantly superior amongst all the treatments.
Varietal Evaluation of Anthurium (Anthurium andraenum) under Prayagraj Agro–climatic Conditions
Authors: Verma Rishabh , Singh Devi , Wesley C. John , Verma Vinod Kumar
Published: August 2023

An investigation was conducted at Horticulture Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with six treatments and four replication. The variety under test was Tropical Red, Flame, Tropical Night, Esmeralda, Acropolis and Condor. The variety Tropical Red recorded maximum plant height(cm), days to first flowering, stalk length(cm), length of spathe(cm), spathe width(cm), diameter of spandix(cm), number of flower per plant and vase life, followed the variety of Condor. The variety of Esmaralda was found least flowers and the highest number of leaves. It was evident from the investigation the Cv. ‘Tropical Red’ had superior performance over all other varieties. The finding of the present investigation can be concluded that different varieties of under-test were significantly varied in their vegetative, floral, yield and post-harvest characters. Variety V1 Tropical Red variety was performed best under this treatment and variety V6 Condor performed best under this treatment. The Tropical Red was also found in the best treatment in Economics Such as Cost of cultivation of Rs 51707, gross return Rs. 115093, Net return of Rs. 63386 and BCR ratio were 2.23.
Wastewater Problems Analysis and Their Treatment Using Eco-friendly Techniques: An Overview
Authors: Singh Jay , Singh Ajay Pratap , Gupta Ajeet Kumar , Gupta Rishabh , Singh Yogendra Pratap
Published: August 2023

In the current changing environment where almost all activities involve the use of clean water, waste water is discharged in a huge amount, which not only pollutes the environment but also causes many diseases in human as well as in animal. The scarcity of the most limited natural resource, "clean water" for daily use is decreasing day by day. So, the present study was done to assess various harmful effects of wastewater and techniques to overcome these effects through different plant-based wastewater treatment methods. There are few researches conducted to overcome the problem of wastewater biologically, the researchers used different plans to treat wastewater which absorb toxic substances up to a greater extent and clean the water efficiently. In the current study, some environmentally friendly wastewater treatment techniques—such as seaweed-based flocculants, mangrove plants, phyto-accumulation, Phyto remediation etc.—are discussed in order to better understand how they work and to advocate for their widespread use.
Assessment of Sanitation Practices among the Students in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Authors: Attah J. S. , Stanley H. O. , Immanuel O. M.
Published: August 2023

Poor sanitation in the learning environments puts children of school age under threat of contracting infectious diseases as well impact on their overall development. This problem threatens the right to education for children in developing countries. Thus, this study aimed at assessing sanitation practices among selected secondary schools in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used in this study. Students from government-owned schools were randomly selected for this exercise. The study showed that many of the students were knowledgeable about hand washing and practiced hand hygiene, particularly after visiting the toilet. The majority of the schools had storage containers for waste, toilets, potable water supply, and soap for hand washing, but no hand towel or tissue for cleaning hands after washing. The students were also knowledgeable about waste management, which was taught to them by their schools. The solid waste management practice of the school was generally satisfactory as wastebaskets were available and placed close to the classrooms, and disposed of daily. It is strongly recommended that water used in schools should be compulsorily treated periodically to eradicate waterborne diseases.
Plant Growth and Post-harvest Life of Cut Gladiolus as Influenced by Zinc Level and Corm Grade
Authors: Singh A. K. , Vyas Sakshi Santosh , Sisodia Anjana , Barman Kalyan
Published: August 2023

Gladiolus is one of the most beautiful, attractive, widely cultivated and economically important flowering plants worldwide including India. The research work was carried out to investigate the effect of corm grade and soil application of zinc sulphate on growth and post-harvest parameters of gladiolus cv. Malaviya Kundan at the Horticulture Research Farm and Post-Harvest Laboratory of Department of Horticulture, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. In an experiment seven different grades of mother corm (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 cm) and zinc sulphate at three levels (15 and 30 kg/ha) along with control were used. Zinc was applied in soil at the time of field preparation. Experiment was replicated four times in Randomized Block Design. Application of ZnSO4 at 15 kg/ha was found beneficial for various growth parameters, whereas, 30 kg/ha was found beneficial for most of the post-harvest parameters. Maximum plant height and duration of flowering was achieved with ZnSO4 at 15 kg/ha, whereas, application of ZnSO4 at 30 kg/ha resulted in maximum length of the spike, total number of florets opened and total uptake of water in vase. Among the various grades, the largest corm grade, i.e. 4.0 cm was found to be the best for growth parameters. Whereas, corm grade 3.0 cm was found to be the best in respect of various post-harvest parameters. Lowest corm grade i.e. 1.0 cm failed to exhibit flower due to small size of propagule.
Exploring DSSAT Model Genetic Coefficient Estimation Methodologies for Chickpea in Bundelkhand Region of Uttar Pradesh, India
Authors: Kancheti Mrunalini , Pazhanivelan Sellaperumal , Kumar Narendra , Geethalakshmi Vellingiri , Kaliaperumal Ragunath , Ramanathan S. P. , Sritharan N. , Kumar Yogesh , Dixit Girish Prasad
Published: August 2023

In modern crop production, essential factors that contribute to narrowing yield gaps and minimizing production costs include making informed decisions about the selection of plant varieties, determining optimal sowing dates, determining appropriate plant populations, selecting suitable fertilizer rates, and implementing effective pest control methods. Two field experiments were conducted during the Rabi seasons of 2021 and 2022 at ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur using split-plot experimental design, where the main plots were three different sowing dates (20-25th October, November 10-15th, and 25th November-5th December), and the sub-plots were four chickpea cultivars (JG 16, RVG 202, IPC-07-66, and IPC-05-62), each with three replications. The genetic coefficients of the cultivars were estimated using both the iterative process (IP) and Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methods in DSSAT v 4.7 to simulate the yields. Upon model validation, it was found that the average relative error (ARE) in predicting grain yield across the different sowing windows was between -25.7% to 29.1% when using the iterative process, while ARE was between -23.4% to 19% when using GLUE. The findings report more accurate simulations of chickpea growth and phenological development stages were recorded in normal sowings. And the model calibration suggest that GLUE provided superior estimates of genetic coefficients compared to the IP method. Therefore, it can be inferred that Glue is a more user-friendly and precise method.
What Is Acute Myocarditis?
Authors: Walter Kristin
Published: August 2023

This JAMA Patient Page describes acute myocarditis and its symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment.
Radiation Facility Volume and Survival for Men With Very High-Risk Prostate Cancer Treated with Radiation and Androgen Deprivation Therapy
Authors: Sebastian Nikhil , Goyal Subir , Liu Yuan , Janopaul-Naylor James R. , Patel Pretesh R. , Dhere Vishal R. , Hanasoge Sheela , Shelton Jay W. , Godette Karen D. , Jani Ashesh B. , Hershatter Bruce , Fischer-Valuck Benjamin , Patel Sagar A.
Published: August 2023

Importance

Very high-risk (VHR) prostate cancer is an aggressive substratum of high-risk prostate cancer, characterized by high prostate-specific antigen levels, high Gleason score, and/or advanced T category. Contemporary management paradigms involve advanced molecular imaging and multimodal treatment with intensified prostate-directed or systemic treatment—resources more readily available at high-volume centers.

Objective

To examine radiation facility case volume and overall survival (OS) in men with VHR prostate cancer.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A retrospective cohort study was performed from November 11, 2022, to March 4, 2023, analyzing data from US facilities reporting to the National Cancer Database. Patients included men diagnosed with nonmetastatic VHR prostate cancer by National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria (clinical T3b-T4 category, primary Gleason pattern 5, >4 cores with grade group 4-5, and/or 2-3 high-risk features) and treated with curative-intent radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy between January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2016.

Exposures

Treatment at high- vs low-average cumulative facility volume (ACFV), defined as the total number of prostate radiotherapy cases at an individual patient’s treatment facility from 2004 until the year of their diagnosis. The nonlinear association between a continuous ACFV and OS was examined through a Martingale residual plot; an optimal ACFV cutoff was identified that maximized the separation between high vs low ACFV via a bias-adjusted log rank test.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Overall survival was assessed between high vs low ACFV using Kaplan-Meier analysis with and without inverse probability score weighted adjustment and multivariable Cox proportional hazards.

Results

A total of 25 219 men (median age, 71 [IQR, 64-76] years; 78.7% White) with VHR prostate cancer were identified, 6438 (25.5%) of whom were treated at high ACFV facilities. Median follow-up was 57.4 (95% CI, 56.7-58.1) months. Median OS for patients treated at high ACFV centers was 123.4 (95% CI, 116.6-127.4) months vs 109.0 (95% CI, 106.5-111.2) months at low ACFV centers (P < .001). On multivariable analysis, treatment at a high ACFV center was associated with lower risk of death (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.95; P < .001). These results were also significant after inverse probability score weighted–based adjustment.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cohort study of patients with VHR prostate cancer who underwent definitive radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy, facility case volume was independently associated with longer OS. Further studies are needed to identify which factors unique to high-volume centers may be responsible for this benefit.
Accuracy of Chatbots in Citing Journal Articles
Authors: Chen Anjun , Chen Drake O.
Published: August 2023

This cross-sectional study quantifies the journal article citation error rate of an artificial intelligence chatbot.
The glycosylation defect in solute carrier SLC35A2/SLC35A3 double knockout cells is rescued by SLC35A2–SLC35A3 and SLC35A3–SLC35A2 hybrids
Authors: Wiertelak Wojciech , Pavlovskyi Artem , Maszczak‐Seneczko Dorota , Szulc Bożena , Olczak Mariusz
Published: August 2023

SLC35A2 and SLC35A3 are homologous proteins with postulated nucleotide sugar transporting activities. Unlike SLC35A2, whose specificity for UDP‐Gal is well‐established, the UDP‐GlcNAc transporting activity initially attributed to SLC35A3 has recently been put into question. In this study, we constructed two hybrid proteins (SLC35A2–SLC35A3 and SLC35A3–SLC35A2) and expressed them in a previously generated SLC35A2/SLC35A3 double knockout HEK293T cell line. Our idea was to force equivalent stoichiometry of the two proteins in the cells in order to reproduce the behavior of the SLC35A2/SLC35A3 complexes in the Golgi membrane. The hybrid proteins were able to fully restore glycosylation in the double knockout. In contrast, the expression of SLC35A3 alone in these cells improved galactosylation only to a limited extent. Our study shows that the proper glycosylation requires a balanced cooperation between SLC35A2 and SLC35A3.
Impact of Hanroku Yamaguchi's Plan for Ōsaka, 1899 on the urbanization of the Ōsaka Port Reclaimed Area
Authors: Kikata Junne , Yoshimoto Kouki
Published: August 2023

This study examined the impact of the Plan for Ōsaka, 1899 by Hanroku Yamaguchi on the urbanization of the Ōsaka Port Reclaimed Area. We confirmed certain influences of the design standards shown in Yamaguchi's Explanation on the development plan of the Reclaimed Area, especially with regard to the sizing and numbering of city blocks and plots. Yamaguchi's standards for backstreets and alleys have also affected the urbanization process. Such standards allowed for adaptation in specific conditions, and variations in application. The Plan for Ōsaka, 1899 had an impact on urbanization in that design details from the plan were applied in the actual urban design of the area.
Contrast‐enhanced MRI synthesis using dense‐dilated residual convolutions based 3D network toward elimination of gadolinium in neuro‐oncology
Authors: Osman Alexander F. I. , Tamam Nissren M.
Published: August 2023

Recent studies have raised broad safety and health concerns about using of gadolinium contrast agents during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to enhance identification of active tumors. In this paper, we developed a deep learning‐based method for three‐dimensional (3D) contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted (T1) image synthesis from contrast‐free image(s). The MR images of 1251 patients with glioma from the RSNA‐ASNR‐MICCAI BraTS Challenge 2021 dataset were used in this study. A 3D dense‐dilated residual U‐Net (DD‐Res U‐Net) was developed for contrast‐enhanced T1 image synthesis from contrast‐free image(s). The model was trained on a randomly split training set (n = 800) using a customized loss function and validated on a validation set (n = 200) to improve its generalizability. The generated images were quantitatively assessed against the ground‐truth on a test set (n = 251) using the mean absolute error (MAE), mean‐squared error (MSE), peak signal‐to‐noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM), normalized mutual information (NMI), and Hausdorff distance (HDD) metrics. We also performed a qualitative visual similarity assessment between the synthetic and ground‐truth images. The effectiveness of the proposed model was compared with a 3D U‐Net baseline model and existing deep learning‐based methods in the literature. Our proposed DD‐Res U‐Net model achieved promising performance for contrast‐enhanced T1 synthesis in both quantitative metrics and perceptual evaluation on the test set (n = 251). Analysis of results on the whole brain region showed a PSNR (in dB) of 29.882 ± 5.924, a SSIM of 0.901 ± 0.071, a MAE of 0.018 ± 0.013, a MSE of 0.002 ± 0.002, a HDD of 2.329 ± 9.623, and a NMI of 1.352 ± 0.091 when using only T1 as input; and a PSNR (in dB) of 30.284 ± 4.934, a SSIM of 0.915 ± 0.063, a MAE of 0.017 ± 0.013, a MSE of 0.001 ± 0.002, a HDD of 1.323 ± 3.551, and a NMI of 1.364 ± 0.089 when combining T1 with other MRI sequences. Compared to the U‐Net baseline model, our model revealed superior performance. Our model demonstrated excellent capability in generating synthetic contrast‐enhanced T1 images from contrast‐free MR image(s) of the whole brain region when using multiple contrast‐free images as input. Without incorporating tumor mask information during network training, its performance was inferior in the tumor regions compared to the whole brain which requires further improvements to replace the gadolinium administration in neuro‐oncology.