bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Distribution of light (LHREE) and heavy rare earth elements (HREE) in Kelantan granitoids rock
Authors: Patah M F A , Shafiee N S , Ismail R , Bahar A M A , Khan M M A , Eh Rak A , Awang M
Published: September 2021

Peninsular Malaysia is being distributed into three parallel belts (Western, Central and Eastern). Kelantan is one of the states in Peninsular Malaysia and consider as a unique territory to have all three belts (Western, Central and Eastern). Each belts divided into several formations which are Western Belt (Main Range Granite), Central Belt (Jeli Granite, Kemahang Granite, Noring Granite, Kenerong Leucogranite, Berangkat Tonalite and Senting Granite) and Eastern Belt (Boundary Range Granite). Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are usually concentrated related to the alkaline – peralkaline, carbonalite igneous rocks, as well as sedimentary rocks. Granitoid and some intrusive volcanic rocks are widely exposed in Malaysia, as well as Kelantan state. REEs are relatively abundant in the Earth crust, however these elements are rarely concentrated in the mineable ore deposit. There are a lot of research about granitoids, but very limited studies about the distribution of the REE. The objective of this study is to investigate the distribution of REEs in different type of granitoid rocks in Kelantan. For this purpose, 15 samples were selected and analysed using Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Result shows that, distribution of light REEs in all samples up to 78% and heavy REE up to 22% with total value 5350.69 ppm and 1491.27 ppm respectively. Surprisingly, Jeli Granite formation (LT15) is high potential of REE among the samples tested with total REE 3164.93 ppm and Kemahang Granite (JD18) is least potential with total REE 31.95 ppm. The granitoid distribution can be found widely in Kelantan with special characteristic and detailed study about mineral composition will help identifying the REE potential as well as generate more relatable study about genesis and nature of rocks in Malaysia.
Comparative study of variation of ground level ozone concentrations and total column ozone concentrations over Klang Valley
Authors: Azmi N A , Awang N R , Ya’Acob S H
Published: September 2021

Ozone is a gas that plays important role in balancing the Earth’s atmosphere thermal and chemical. Ozone is capable of absorbing the harmful sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The stratospheric ozone has protecting humans and the ecosystems on Earth from solar radiation. However, ground level ozone (GLO) has been related to secondary pollutants and greenhouse gases that give adverse impacts on human health and crop yield. Hence, determining ozone concentration measurement is important for air quality status for the environmental and public health warnings. Variations of ground level ozone (GLO) and total column ozone (TCO) concentrations over Klang Valley, Malaysia in 2014 and 2015 were determined in this study. The GLO measurement data was acquired from Department of Environment (DOE) Malaysia and is measured using standard method instrument, UV Absorption Ozone Analyzer Model 400A while, TCO measurement using Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The analysis suggests that GLO concentrations in all four stations in Klang Valley exceeded the Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Standard (NMAAQS) 2020 prescribed limit of 90 ppb per hour. In both 2014 and 2015, TCO concentration observed higher from May to August with the highest concentration of 290 DU and lowest from November to February with the lowest concentration of 230 DU, suggesting that there is seasonal fluctuation caused by Northeast Monsoon (NEM) and Southwest Monsoon (SWM). This is due to environmental factors during SWM that favour a rise in TCO concentration, such as low precipitation, low relative humidity, high temperature, and prolonged sunshine hours. On the other hand, NEM results in lower TCO concentration due to high precipitation, high relative humidity, cold temperature, and short sunshine hours. Meanwhile, GLO peaks are usually seen towards the end of March through April and in October, according to GLO trend research (40 to 50 ppb). This is during the transitional monsoon season, where the west part of Peninsular Malaysia received precipitation lower than usual.
Analysis of drainage pattern and its relationship with gold potential in Batu Melintang, Jeli, Kelantan
Authors: Sulaiman M S , Udin W S , Khan M A , Sulaiman N , Ismail R , Bahar A
Published: September 2021

The study is conducted within approximately 42km2 in the northern Kelantan, specifically at Batu Melintang, Jeli. The study aims to analyze drainage and its relationship with gold potential. The lithology of the study area consists of metasedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rock. Sungai Pergau and Sungai Tadoh are the main rivers fed by tributary drainages located in the highly potential gold zones. It is important to understand the relationship of the potential gold zones with the drainage system because if any exploitation of the drainage system occurs, it could disrupt the main river system. This research was conducted using the geological gridded sampling method followed by the fire assay method to detect gold. Drainage analysis is conducted using satellite imagery and ArcGIS software. The result shows that Grid 1, 2 and 3 show the highest gold potential, whereas grid 7, 8 and 9 show the lowest gold potential. The drainage analysis shows the majority of the drainage pattern is trellis type and only grid 2 with rectangular and grid 9 with dendritic type. The study also found that the lowest drainage coverage (8052m) is in grid 2, which has the highest gold intensity. In contrast, the highest drainage coverage (15032m) is in grid 9, with the lowest gold potential.
Petrographie analysis at Lojing, Gua Musang Kelantan
Authors: Sulaiman N , Shafiee N S , Bahar A M A , Sulaiman N
Published: September 2021

A petrographic analysis was conducted to identify the mineral contents containing in the rock samples collected at study area located in Lojing, Gua Musang. The geology of the study area consists of metasedimentary rocks. There are six hand specimens collected and analysed using petrographic microscope. The limestone and carbonate rock is found at the study area. It has been subjected to some stress to such an extent that some of the grain boundaries have been modified by pervasive pressure solution of stylolites. Pressure solution is the process whereby this limestone has undergone selective dissolution to the extent that the grain boundaries were modified into thin dark n sutured seams. The rocks contain also microcrystalline to cryptocrystalline silica clasts which occur dispersed throughout the matrix. The petrographic analysis results show that the minerals contain in the six rock samples are micrite, bioclast, microspars, deformed quartz, K-feldspar, lithic and clayey carbonate lithic. The major minerals contained in the rocks are micrite and bioclast.
Conserving living heritage site in Portuguese settlement, Melaka world heritage site: issues and conservation elements
Authors: Jamaludin I S , Seow T W , Mat Radzuan I S , Mohamed S , Abas M A
Published: September 2021

A living heritage site symbolizes the integration between tangible and intangible cultural heritage. It has a traditional community, or a specific area in the environment of a traditional settlement. Rapid urban development poses significant threats to heritage sites, with deterioration and destruction of heritage by introducing pollution, political wars, growing tourism activities, and natural disasters. Conservation of living heritage is by accenting the role of the core community staying in traditional settlements within the heritage area. The city of Melaka was declared as World Heritage Site in 2008 and the government engaged in significant urban development to accommodate the increasing number of tourists landing, and it has threatened its heritage site. Such act jeopardised the core community of Portuguese Settlement with the risk of obliteration of its cultural heritage in the future and this is due to insufficient conservation of community’s cultural heritage from soft infrastructure approaches. Hence, the purpose of this article is to highlight the issues faced by the Portuguese community and discuss elements of community participation, awareness, and stakeholder’s involvement to conserve the community’s cultural heritage. It is done by qualitative methods of interviews, and document analysis of relevant literature, reports and standards. The result reveals the main issues faced by the community are authenticity, vulnerability of modernisation and development hazard, and losing its community. The output of the paper would be beneficial to stakeholders, practitioners, and researchers to develop a sustainable community within the heritage site while maintaining its heritage value.
Household preferences for improved municipal solid waste management services in Penang and Terengganu
Authors: Idris M A M , Moe S S , Yusoh M P , Abas M A
Published: September 2021

It is important to acknowledge the interdependent relationships between the economic and the environment system in achieving sustainable development. The environmental system provides typically four classes of services to the economic system: the natural capital for production, amenity services, basic life support services, and waste sink services. High investment in technology, programmes, projects, or any measures related to the recycling concept in the circular flow of production and consumption relationships should be given more concentration in the future waste management plan and policies. This is because the mass of waste generated from the production and consumption relationships is continually increasing as the population grows, leading to a more polluted environmental system. This study examined the households’ perspectives on the potential improved municipal solid waste management system in their residential area. Two study sites were compared to their households’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the waste management system. By using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) approach, the study concluded that the economic value of the improved municipal solid waste management services in the study sites ranged from MYR 15.42 to MYR 29.67 per month, which on aggregate, ranged from MYR 13.3 million to MYR 117.7 million per year. These economic values indirectly indicated the amount the population preferred to pay as the cost to reduce the impacts of improper management of municipal solid waste.
Developing a Sustainable Solid Waste Management System Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method at Pondok Institutions in Kelantan
Authors: Azahari S N S S , Abas M A , Hussin H , Nor A N M , Wee S T , Fitriani N , Yusoof M R M
Published: September 2021

This study focuses on developing a sustainable solid waste management system at Pondok institution using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Besides that, the types of solid waste generated were determined. Three alternatives were underlined, which are composting, recycling, and both composting and recycling. This research utilised the convenience sampling method, where a constructive questionnaire was used as a research instrument. An online questionnaire with detailed descriptions was distributed to two (2) Pondok institutions in Kelantan. After that, empirical research using the AHP method was carried out to find the priority weights of alternatives to develop a sustainable solid waste management system in Pondok institution. There are two significant findings in this research. This research revealed the types of solid waste generated by Pondok institutions that are food waste/farm waste, plastics, papers, metal and aluminium tin, and glass. The highest types of solid waste generated are organic waste, and the least is glass. Besides that, this research discovered the most appropriate sustainable solid waste management system alternative to be implemented in Pondok institutions, which is composting and recycling. Developing a sustainable solid waste management system will reduce excessive solid waste generation, reduce space for dumping sites, and overcome environmental problems.
Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of Rafflesia kerri Meijer, Lojing Highlands, Peninsular Malaysia
Authors: Norhazlini M Z , Mailina J , Shalini M , Nor-Azah M A , Onrizal  , Zulhazman H
Published: September 2021

Rafflesia kerriMeijer belongs to genus Rafflesia, recognized as the biggest flower in the world. This species found distributed in tropical rainforest of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. The flower believed to have medicinal values and used as traditional herbs by aborigine ethnic group and locals. Herein, this study was conducted to evaluate the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity of the flower by using several antioxidant assays, which includes 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The extract of female ethanolic extract exhibited highest antioxidant activity in all of the assays (FRAP = 4642.844 ± 10.777 mM/mg) and median inhibition concentration (IC50= 49.850 ± 2.179). The same extract showed the presence of phenolic and flavonoid content with respective value of (Gallic acid equivalent, GAE) of 1634.731 ± 20.465 mg/100g and Quercetin equivalent (QE = 817.000 ± 69.282 mg/g) respectively with significantly differences (p < 0.05) compared to male ethanolic extract. Thus, the flower is highly valuable not only for ecotourism industry but also has potent medicinal value for human health improvement.
Developing spatial map of landscape trees at UMK Jeli campus using GIS
Authors: Daliman S , Tan R , Amaludin N A
Published: September 2021

Landscape trees are wood’s trees that had been planted artificially within the urban areas. For affection management and preservation purposes, a spatial map of these tree have been developed for landscape trees at UMK Jeli Campus using GIS. The scope of this study is focusing on conducting tree inventory for landscape trees planted surrounding the main infrastructure and building at UMK Jeli Campus. Due to the limitation of published existing data and recording about landscape inventories of UMK Jeli Campus and the existing data are incomplete, the objective of the study is to create a database and spatial tree map of those landscape trees of the campus using GPS and GIS software through tree inventory. The database and spatial tree map are significantly importance as it can be used for future management and planning of the landscape and landscape trees of the campus. The process of this study began by performing tree inventory to collect the spatial ground information of the landscape trees inside the campus. Plants identification Apps of Pl@ntNet Identify will be used to identify the scientific species name of the landscape trees, then combining both information to create a database. The database shall be displayed into ArcGIS software by overlapping with the digital image of UMK Jeli Campus to develop a spatial tree map. As a result, the total of 22 areas that marked for tree inventory had been established with the collected total number of 1466 sites of landscape trees and 83 different types of species been sampled and collected their data during the tree inventory.
Effect of Organic Amendments on the Growth of Gaharu (Aquilaria malaccensis)
Authors: Mohamad Amir Hamzah A S , Abdul Karim M F , Wong H L , Hambali K A , Mohd Yusoff M N , Amaludin N A , Leong M C , Abas M A , Hassin N H , Ismail L , Amir A
Published: September 2021

Aqularia malaccensis or commonly known as ‘Gaharu’ is famous for its heartwood that is fragrant and highly valuable. Since 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has reported a decline in the A. malaccensis population caused by agricultural and heartwood activities. Reforestation and transplanting of the A. malaccensis is essential to preserve the genetic diversity at the species level. Previous studies on the production growth of A. malaccensis have been focussing on using different types and fertilizer regimes to enhance its growth for conservation and restoration effort. However, knowledge on the potential of enhancing the growth of A. malaccensis using soil amendments derived from organic sources is limited. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effect of organic soil amendments derived from four different sources on the growth of A. malaccensis. Saplings of A. malaccensis were employed in a glasshouse experiment following a complete randomized block design with 5 treatments × 4 replicates to ensure validity and minimise variability within treatments. The five treatments were saplings grown with no addition of organic amendments serving as control (C), forest litter (FL), chicken manure (CM), insect frass (IF) and empty fruit bunch mixed with Azolla sp. (EFBA). The saplings grown in polybags were placed randomly on a 9 x 9 grid within the nursery, 0.2 m apart and watered daily using an automatic sprinkler system. Physical characteristics of the saplings and other environmental parameters were measured. The saplings of A. malaccensis increased in mean height when grown in soil amended with CM, IF and EFBA. In contrast, there were no significant effect of organic amendments of plant stem diameter, number of shoots and leaves. In addition, the stem diameter for saplings grown in soil with organic amendments were weakly and negatively correlated to soil temperature. This study indicated that that the organic soil amendments derived from different sources had a significant role in the plant’s resource allocation during the saplings stage. Further studies on the plant, organic amendments and soil physicochemical traits are needed to explain the interaction between these components for the better conservation effort.
Bioengineering of a scaffold-less three-dimensional tissue using net mould
Authors: Sakaguchi Katsuhisa , Tobe Yusuke , Yang Jiayue , Tanaka Ryu-ichiro , Yamanaka Kumiko , Ono Jiro , Shimizu Tatsuya
Published: September 2021

Tissue engineering has attracted attention worldwide because of its application in regenerative medicine, drug screening, and cultured meat. Numerous biofabrication techniques for producing tissues have been developed, including various scaffold and printing methods. Here, we have proposed a novel tissue engineering method using a net metal mould without the use of a scaffold. Briefly, normal human dermal fibroblasts seeded on a dimple plate were subjected to static culture technique for several days to form spheroids. Spheroids of diameter ⩾200 μm were poured into a net-shaped mould of gap ⩽100 μm and subjected to shake-cultivation for several weeks, facilitating their fusion to form a three-dimensional (3D) tissue. Through this study, we successfully constructed a scaffold-free 3D tissue having strength that can be easily manipulated, which was difficult to construct using conventional tissue engineering methods. We also investigated the viability of the 3D tissue and found that the condition of the tissues was completely different depending on the culture media used. Collectively, this method allows scaffold-free culture of 3D tissues of unprecedented thickness, and may contribute largely to next-generation tissue engineering products.
Forcespinning fabrication of CdTe-quantum dot/polylactic acid microfibers for novel surface-engineered application
Authors: Gutiérrez H M Leija , Solís-Pomar F , Gutiérrez-Lazos C D , Ruíz-Robles M A , Buitimea-Cantúa G V , del Angel- Sánchez K , Elías-Zúñiga A , Meléndrez M F , Pérez-Tijerina E
Published: September 2021

The aim of this work was to prepare and characterize color-tunable luminescent nanocomposite fibers composed of CdTe quantum dots (CdTe-QDs) and polylactic acid (PLA) via nanoprecipitation. This method provides a simple procedure to incorporate QDs with various emission wavelengths onto nanofibers’ surfaces. A one-pot microwave irradiation method was employed to prepare green- to red-emitting 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-capped CdTe-QDs with high luminescence. Microfiber PLA membranes were produced via forcespinning. These nanofibers can integrate the luminescent properties of CdTe-QDs and extend their advantages to fiber-based structures. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the CdTe-QDs. TEM images revealed that the CdTe-QDs were 4 nm in size. The CdTe-QDs’ effect on the microfibers were characterized morphologically via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which showed that the average diameter of the CdTe-QDs/PLA nanofibers was 3.5 μm. They were optically analyzed by photoluminescence (PL), absorption spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and confocal fluorescence microscopy. FTIR revealed strong interactions between the MAP stabilizing agents and PLA fibers. These preliminary results demonstrate that these microfibers have potential for biological labeling and diagnostics based on their properties.
Roadblocks and successes in preparing COVID-19 vaccination clinics: Perspectives from pharmacy residents
Authors: Ezeude Ginikannwa I , Glover Kristen R , Nieves Santiago Alejandro A , Repella Emily , Tang Emily
Published: September 2021

Purpose

To outline logistics challenges, barriers, and successes in the development of separate programs for mass COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration to healthcare employees and community members.

In the face of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution became a worldwide priority. AdventHealth Orlando was selected as the central hub for vaccination efforts for central Florida. There was a need to quickly evaluate literature, patient safety, and institutional resources and logistics to coordinate the development of employee and community vaccination clinics. These efforts were driven by postgraduate year 2 residents in health-system pharmacy administration and leadership, medication-use safety and policy, and informatics. Clinic development focused on 4 key areas: vaccine quality control, secure inventory movement, safe preparation and administration, and consolidation of inventory. Healthcare worker vaccinations were administered on the health system’s main campus, and community vaccination events were carried out at temporary clinic facilities set up in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport.

Conclusion

In a mass COVID-19 vaccination initiative directed by the pharmacy enterprise leadership of a large Florida health system, postgraduate year 2 pharmacy residents played a key role in developing and implementing vaccination clinics targeting healthcare worker and community populations. During multiple vaccination events, a total of more than 50,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, with minimal to no vaccine wastage.
Joint eQTL mapping and inference of gene regulatory network improves power of detecting bothcis- andtrans-eQTLs
Authors: Zhou Xin , Cai Xiaodong
Published: September 2021

Motivation

Genetic variations of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) play a critical role in influencing complex traits and diseases development. Two main factors that affect the statistical power of detecting eQTLs are: (i) relatively small size of samples available, and (ii) heavy burden of multiple testing due to a very large number of variants to be tested. The later issue is particularly severe when one tries to identify trans-eQTLs that are far away from the genes they influence. If one can exploit co-expressed genes jointly in eQTL-mapping, effective sample size can be increased. Furthermore, using the structure of the gene regulatory network (GRN) may help to identify trans-eQTLs without increasing multiple testing burden.

Results

In this article, we use the structure equation model (SEM) to model both GRN and effect of eQTLs on gene expression, and then develop a novel algorithm, named sparse SEM for eQTL mapping (SSEMQ), to conduct joint eQTL mapping and GRN inference. The SEM can exploit co-expressed genes jointly in eQTL mapping and also use GRN to determine trans-eQTLs. Computer simulations demonstrate that our SSEMQ significantly outperforms nine existing eQTL mapping methods. SSEMQ is further used to analyze two real datasets of human breast and whole blood tissues, yielding a number of cis- and trans-eQTLs.

Availability and implementation

R package ssemQr is available at https://github.com/Ivis4ml/ssemQr.git.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate DNA methylation conservation in colorectal tumors
Authors: Murgas Kevin A , Ma Yanlin , Shahidi Lidea K , Mukherjee Sayan , Allen Andrew S , Shibata Darryl , Ryser Marc D
Published: September 2021

Motivation

Conservation is broadly used to identify biologically important (epi)genomic regions. In the case of tumor growth, preferential conservation of DNA methylation can be used to identify areas of particular functional importance to the tumor. However, reliable assessment of methylation conservation based on multiple tissue samples per patient requires the decomposition of methylation variation at multiple levels.

Results

We developed a Bayesian hierarchical model that allows for variance decomposition of methylation on three levels: between-patient normal tissue variation, between-patient tumor-effect variation and within-patient tumor variation. We then defined a model-based conservation score to identify loci of reduced within-tumor methylation variation relative to between-patient variation. We fit the model to multi-sample methylation array data from 21 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients using a Monte Carlo Markov Chain algorithm (Stan). Sets of genes implicated in CRC tumorigenesis exhibited preferential conservation, demonstrating the model’s ability to identify functionally relevant genes based on methylation conservation. A pathway analysis of preferentially conserved genes implicated several CRC relevant pathways and pathways related to neoantigen presentation and immune evasion. Our findings suggest that preferential methylation conservation may be used to identify novel gene targets that are not consistently mutated in CRC. The flexible structure makes the model amenable to the analysis of more complex multi-sample data structures.

Availability and implementation

The data underlying this article are available in the NCBI GEO Database, under accession code GSE166212. The R analysis code is available at https://github.com/kevin-murgas/DNAmethylation-hierarchicalmodel.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Impact of the admitting ward on care quality and outcomes in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: insights from a national registry
Authors: Moledina Saadiq M , Shoaib Ahmad , Sun Louise Y , Myint Phyo K , Kotronias Rafail A , Shah Benoy N , Gale Chris P , Quan Hude , Bagur Rodrigo , Mamas Mamas A
Published: September 2021

Aims

Little is known about the association between the type of admission ward and quality of care and outcomes for non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

Methods and results

We analysed data from 337 155 NSTEMI admissions between 2010 and 2017 in the UK Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) database. The cohort was dichotomised according to receipt of care either on a medical (n = 142,876) or cardiac ward, inclusive of acute cardiac wards and cardiac care unit (n = 194,279) on admission to hospital. Patients admitted to a cardiac ward were younger (median age 70 y vs. 75 y, P < 0.001), and less likely to be female (33% vs. 40%, P < 0.001). Independent factors associated with admission to a cardiac ward included ischaemic ECG changes (OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.18–1.23) and prior percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.16–1.22). Patients admitted to a cardiac ward were more likely to receive optimal pharmacotherapy with statin (85% vs. 81%, P < 0.001) and dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) (91% vs. 88%, P < 0.001) on discharge, undergo invasive coronary angiography (78% vs. 59%, P < 0.001), and receive revascularisation in the form of PCI (52% vs. 36%, P < 0.001). Following multivariable logistic regression, the odds of inhospital all-cause mortality (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.70–0.81) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.78–0.91) were lower in patients admitted to a cardiac ward.

Conclusion

Patients with NSTEMI admitted to a cardiac ward on admission were more likely to receive guideline directed management and had better clinical outcomes.
Gravity and Heterogeneous Trade Cost Elasticities
Authors: Chen Natalie , Novy Dennis
Published: September 2021

How do trade costs affect international trade? This paper offers a new approach. We rely on a flexible gravity equation that predicts variable trade cost elasticities, both across and within country pairs. We apply this framework to popular trade cost variables such as currency unions, trade agreements and World Trade Organization membership. While we estimate that these variables are associated with increased bilateral trade on average, we find substantial heterogeneity. Consistent with the predictions of our framework, trade cost effects are strong for ‘thin’ bilateral relationships characterised by small import shares, and weak or even zero for ‘thick’ relationships.
Normative cardiopulmonary exercise data for endurance athletes: the Cardiopulmonary Health and Endurance Exercise Registry (CHEER)
Authors: Petek Bradley J , Tso Jason V , Churchill Timothy W , Guseh J Sawalla , Loomer Garrett , DiCarli Milena , Lewis Gregory D , Weiner Rory B , Kim Jonathan H , Wasfy Meagan M , Baggish Aaron L
Published: September 2021

Aims

Accurate interpretation of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) relies on age, gender, and exercise modality-specific reference values. To date, clinically applicable CPET reference values derived from a source population of endurance athletes (EAs) have been lacking. The purpose of this study was to generate CPET reference values for use in the clinical assessment of EA.

Methods and Results

Prospective data accrued during the clinical care of healthy EA were used to derive CPET reference values and to develop novel equations for V˙O2peak. The performance of these equations was compared to the contemporary standard of care equations and assessed in a discrete EA validation cohort. A total of 272 EA (age = 42 ± 15 years, female = 31%, V˙O2peak = 3.6 ± 0.83 L/min) met inclusion criteria and comprised the derivation cohort. V˙O2peak prediction equations derived from general population cohorts described a modest amount of V˙O2peak variability [R2 = 0.58–0.70, root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.46–0.54 L/min] but were mis-calibrated (calibration-in-the-large = 0.45–1.18 L/min) among EA leading to significant V˙O2peak underestimation. Newly derived, externally validated V˙O2peak prediction equations for EA that included age, sex, and height for both treadmill (R2 = 0.74, RMSE = 0.42 L/min) and cycle ergometer CPET (Cycle: R2 = 0.69, RMSE = 0.42 L/min) demonstrated improved accuracy.

Conclusion

Commonly used V˙O2peak prediction equations derived from general population cohorts perform poorly among competitive EA. Newly derived CPET reference values including novel V˙O2peak prediction equations may improve the clinical utility of CPET in this rapidly growing patient population.
RNA polymerase mapping in plants identifies intergenic regulatory elements enriched in causal variants
Authors: Lozano Roberto , Booth Gregory T , Omar Bilan Yonis , Li Bo , Buckler Edward S , Lis John T , del Carpio Dunia Pino , Jannink Jean-Luc
Published: September 2021

Control of gene expression is fundamental at every level of cell function. Promoter-proximal pausing and divergent transcription at promoters and enhancers, which are prominent features in animals, have only been studied in a handful of research experiments in plants. PRO-Seq analysis in cassava (Manihot esculenta) identified peaks of transcriptionally engaged RNA polymerase at both the 5′ and 3′ end of genes, consistent with paused or slowly moving Polymerase. In addition, we identified divergent transcription at intergenic sites. A full genome search for bi-directional transcription using an algorithm for enhancer detection developed in mammals (dREG) identified many intergenic regulatory element (IRE) candidates. These sites showed distinct patterns of methylation and nucleotide conservation based on genomic evolutionary rate profiling (GERP). SNPs within these IRE candidates explained significantly more variation in fitness and root composition than SNPs in chromosomal segments randomly ascertained from the same intergenic distribution, strongly suggesting a functional importance of these sites. Maize GRO-Seq data showed RNA polymerase occupancy at IREs consistent with patterns in cassava. Furthermore, these IREs in maize significantly overlapped with sites previously identified on the basis of open chromatin, histone marks, and methylation, and were enriched for reported eQTL. Our results suggest that bidirectional transcription can identify intergenic genomic regions in plants that play an important role in transcription regulation and whose identification has the potential to aid crop improvement.
Widespread retention of ohnologs in key developmental gene families following whole-genome duplication in arachnopulmonates
Authors: Harper Amber , Baudouin Gonzalez Luis , Schönauer Anna , Janssen Ralf , Seiter Michael , Holzem Michaela , Arif Saad , McGregor Alistair P , Sumner-Rooney Lauren
Published: September 2021

Whole-genome duplications (WGDs) have occurred multiple times during animal evolution, including in lineages leading to vertebrates, teleosts, horseshoe crabs, and arachnopulmonates. These dramatic events initially produce a wealth of new genetic material, generally followed by extensive gene loss. It appears, however, that developmental genes such as homeobox genes, signaling pathway components and microRNAs are frequently retained as duplicates (so-called ohnologs) following WGD. These not only provide the best evidence for WGD, but an opportunity to study its evolutionary consequences. Although these genes are well studied in the context of vertebrate WGD, similar comparisons across the extant arachnopulmonate orders are patchy. We sequenced embryonic transcriptomes from two spider species and two amblypygid species and surveyed three important gene families, Hox, Wnt, and frizzled, across these and 12 existing transcriptomic and genomic resources for chelicerates. We report extensive retention of putative ohnologs, further supporting the ancestral arachnopulmonate WGD. We also found evidence of consistent evolutionary trajectories in Hox and Wnt gene repertoires across three of the six arachnopulmonate orders, with interorder variation in the retention of specific paralogs. We identified variation between major clades in spiders and are better able to reconstruct the chronology of gene duplications and losses in spiders, amblypygids, and scorpions. These insights shed light on the evolution of the developmental toolkit in arachnopulmonates, highlight the importance of the comparative approach within lineages, and provide substantial new transcriptomic data for future study.
Grape Seed Flour Extends Longevity by Improving Multi-Organ Dysfunction and Age-Associated Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Healthy Rat
Authors: Jebari Khawla , Charradi Kamel , Mahmoudi Mohamed , Kadri Safwen , Ben-Attia Mossadok , Mousslim Mohamed , El May Michèle Véronique , Limam Ferid , Aouani Ezzedine
Published: September 2021

According to the free-radical theory of aging, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within mitochondria throughout life span leads to impairment of the main biological macromolecules as DNA, lipids, and proteins, which might be at the basis of premature aging. One way to test experimentally such a hypothesis consists in intervention studies using antioxidant nutrients aimed at limiting or inhibiting ROS production that should be able to reduce the aging rate and disease pathogenesis. Grape seed flour (GSF) contains a high level of phytochemicals among which bioactive polyphenols exhibit numerous biological properties and beneficial health effects as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, multi-organ (heart, liver, kidney, and brain among others) protective. The present study aimed at testing the ability of high dosing GSF (4 g/kg bw) used as a nutritional supplement to slow down aging and prolong life span of Wistar rats when administered from early life (1-month-old animals) till their natural death. Data clearly show that high-dose GSF extends organism longevity and health span by improving multi-organ damages, systemic fueling metabolism declines, and alleviated oxidative stress and inflammation in aging rats. Our data support the extending longevity effect of grape polyphenols especially when used as high dosing nutritional supplement or as natural medicine whose appropriate galenic form as solid lipid nanoformulation is currently under investigation.
Prevalence of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Difficulties and Associated Cognitive Predictors Across Racial/Ethnic Groups: Findings From the KHANDLE Study
Authors: Chan Michelle L , Eng Chloe W , Gilsanz Paola , Whitmer Rachel A , Mungas Dan , Meyer Oanh , Farias Sarah Tomaszewski
Published: September 2021

Objective

Cognitive functioning is associated with instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) performance among older adults. The present study examines potential differences in the prevalence of IADL difficulty and association with cognition across diverse groups.

Method

Participants included 455 non-Hispanic Whites, 395 Blacks, 370 Asians, and 296 Latinos aged 65 years and older without a current dementia diagnosis from the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experience cohort. Participants’ self-reported IADL functioning and cognition was measured across episodic memory and executive functioning.

Results

Older age, male gender, and being Black were associated with more IADL difficulties. Executive functioning showed a stronger association with IADLs than memory, and it was independent of health status, whereas memory was not. In joint models including both cognitive domains, executive functioning remained a significant predictor of IADL difficulty, but memory did not. Results for both cognitive domains were attenuated with self-rated health added to the joint model. These relationships did not significantly differ across racial/ethnic groups

Conclusions

Our study supports previous work suggesting that Black older adults are at increased risk for IADL disability. This is the first study we are aware of that examined the association between specific cognitive domains and IADL performance across multiple racial/ethnic groups. Findings indicate that cognitive functioning has similar associations with self-reported IADL disability across diverse groups, and that executive functioning plays a particularly important role in IADL disability among older adults without dementia; however, health status largely attenuates the relationship between IADL difficulty and cognition.
Behavior Change Factors and Retention in Dietary Interventions for Older Adults: A Scoping Review
Authors: Zaslavsky Oleg , Su Yan , Kim Boeun , Roopsawang Inthira , Wu Kuan-Ching , Renn Brenna N
Published: September 2021

Background and Objectives

Although poor diet is a major driver of morbidity and mortality in people aged 60 and older, few dietary interventions are widely implemented for this population. We mapped behavior change theories, agents, and techniques in dietary interventions for adults aged 60 and older and explored relationships between these factors and ability to retain at least 80% of the study participants.

Research Design and Methods

We conducted a scoping review using MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Web of Science through April 2021 for dietary interventions in adults aged 60 and older. We collated, summarized, and calculated frequency distributions of behavior change theories, behavior change agents, and behavior change techniques (BCTs) using BCTv1 taxonomy with regard to participant retention across 43 studies.

Results

Only 49% and 30% of the studies reported behavior theory and change agents, respectively. Of the studies reporting on theory and agents, the most common were social cognitive theory and the related mechanism of self-efficacy. The most common BCTv1 clusters were “shaping knowledge” and “goals and planning.” Several BCTv1 clusters such as “antecedents” and “reward and threat” and evidence for concordance between BCTs and change agents were more common in interventions with higher retention rates.

Discussion and Implications

Mechanistically concordant studies with BCTs that involve resource allocation and positive reinforcement through rewards may be advantageous for retention in dietary intervention for older adults. Future studies should continue developing theory and mechanism-oriented research. Furthermore, future studies should consider diversifying the portfolio of currently deployed BCTs and strengthening a concordance between BCTs and mechanisms of change.
Globalization, deglobalization and reglobalization: adapting liberal international order
Authors: Paul T V
Published: September 2021

Liberalism has been the most successful political ideology during the past two centuries in withstanding challenges and adapting to new environments. The liberal international order, set up after the Second World War and strengthened at the end of the Cold War, is going through a series of crises, propelled by deglobalization pressures, and the rise of illiberal and populist leaders, all challenging the three pillars of the liberal order: democracy, economic interdependence and international institutions. Two critical reasons for the decline of the liberal order are internal in terms of income distribution and institutional malaise. The article argues that the demise of the liberal order is not inevitable provided liberal states take remedial measures and adapt to the new environment as they did in 1919, 1930s, the second half of the 1940s, 1960s and 1991. Reformed globalization, or re-globalization is essential for facing the geopolitical challenges emanating from China and other illiberal states. The inability of other systems to offer both prosperity and freedom that the liberal order can provide is its main attractiveness. The connection between internal reforms in liberal states to address deepening inequalities and wealth distribution, a by-product of intensified globalization, and the prospects of liberal order's success is highlighted. The need for a refined welfare state taking into account the new realities to tackle the internal challenges is proposed.
Global health: an order struggling to keep up with globalization
Authors: Kornprobst Markus , Strobl Stephanie
Published: September 2021

Do global health institutions keep up with globalization forces? We contend that they seriously lag behind. While medical knowledge becomes more and more refined in showing how diseases spread globally, the political order meant to address this problem is barely global. It is global in terms of the promises it makes in declarations and even legally binding instruments (institutional foreground). But many entrenched political practices of interaction do not keep these promises (institutional background). We explain this with the dominance of a traditional diplomatic ‘feel of the game’ in which often narrowly defined national interests, positioning battles among states, and a subordination of global health under considerations of international security and economics prevail. Based on this diagnosis, we discuss three scenarios for the further evolution of the global health order: (1) the persistence of current institutions, (2) revisions of the institutional foreground and persistence of the background, and (3) a qualitative break that makes amendments to both. While the COVID-19 crisis provides openings for the third and, even more so, the second one, the current upheavals in the liberal constellation of orders makes the first scenario the most likely one.
States, interstitial organizations and the prospects for liberal international order
Authors: Bátora Jozef
Published: September 2021

This article proposes a complementary approach to analysing destabilization of the liberal international order (LIO) and argues that such challenges are related to endogenous institutional processes within the LIO. Faced with constraints of the core norms, rules and institutions of the LIO, states use interstitial organizations (INTOs)—new organizational forms recombining resources, rules, practices and structures from multiple institutional domains—allowing for innovative ways of delivering foreign policies. Using organization theory and new institutionalist approaches, the article outlines a three-dimensional analytical framework to the study of emergence of interstitial organizational forms and interstitial institutional change of international institutions. It applies this framework to the study of two types of INTOs—the European External Action Service (EEAS) and private military companies (PMCs)—both of which are shown to have transformational impacts on two core primary institutions of the modern state order, namely diplomacy and war. The article argues that reliance on INTOs can both enhance and constrain states' ability to promote the core principles of the LIO and concludes with a discussion of two possible paths of adaptation of this order.