bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The association between social support provision, psychological capital, subjective well-being and sense of indebtedness among undergraduates with low socioeconomic status
Authors: Xin Zhongyi
Published: September 2023

Background

Social support consists of receipt and provision in the interpersonal exchange process. Many studies have explored and verified the effect of received social support. This study focuses on whether and when social support provision can benefit the providers’ positive psychological capital and subjective well-being.

Methods

A sample of 732 Chinese undergraduates with low socioeconomic status completed questionnaires on social support provision, psychological capital, life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and sense of indebtedness.

Results

The correlation and regression analyses showed that impoverished college students’ social support provision was positively associated with life satisfaction, positive affect, and psychological capital and negatively associated with negative affect. The interaction between the sense of indebtedness and social support provision was negatively associated with life satisfaction, positive affect, and psychological capital, not significantly associated with negative affect.

Conclusion

The results demonstrated that giving social support can be as beneficial as receiving social support, and the sense of indebtedness can limit the benefits. Individuals with a lower sense of indebtedness are more likely to benefit from social support provision. The findings have implications for marginalized groups’ subjective well-being and positive psychological capital and show the necessity of guiding individuals to provide social support while maintaining their autonomy.
Population pharmacokinetic analysis of lopinavir in HIV negative individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2: a COPEP (COronavirus Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) sub-study
Authors: Thoueille Paul , Delfraysse Margot , Andre Pascal , Buclin Thierry , Decosterd Laurent A. , Fedeli Chiara , Ustero Pilar , Calmy Alexandra , Guidi Monia ,   the Swiss HIV Cohort Study
Published: September 2023

Background

Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) is a drug traditionally used for the treatment of HIV that has been repurposed as a potential post-exposure prophylaxis agent against COVID-19 in the COronavirus Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (COPEP) study. The present analysis aims to evaluate LPV levels in individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2 versus people living with HIV (PLWH) by developing a population pharmacokinetic (popPK) model, while characterizing external and patient-related factors that might affect LPV exposure along with dose–response association.

Methods

We built a popPK model on 105 LPV concentrations measured in 105 HIV-negative COPEP individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2, complemented with 170 LPV concentrations from 119 PLWH followed in our routine therapeutic drug-monitoring programme. Published LPV popPK models developed in PLWH and in COVID-19 patients were retrieved and validated in our study population by mean prediction error (MPE) and root mean square error (RMSE). The association between LPV model-predicted residual concentrations (Cmin) and the appearance of the COVID-19 infection in the COPEP participants was investigated.

Results

A one-compartment model with linear absorption and elimination best described LPV concentrations in both our analysis and in the majority of the identified studies. Globally, similar PK parameters were found in all PK models, and provided close MPEs (from -19.4% to 8.0%, with a RMSE of 3.4% to 49.5%). No statistically significant association between Cmin and the occurrence of a COVID-19 infection could be detected.

Conclusion

Our analysis indicated that LPV circulating concentrations were similar between COPEP participants and PLWH, and that published popPK models described our data in a comparable way.
In the Name of Sovereignty
Authors: Fung Cherise
Published: September 2023

In a post-9/11 world, the figure of the female suicide bomber has emerged as a contentious figure in global discourse. Through the character of Saraswathi, Nayomi Munaweera’s novel Island of a Thousand Mirrors (2012) foregrounds how the construction of this subaltern figure hinges on her susceptibility to rape. This relationship between rape and suicide bombing is deployed differently by the counterterrorist institutions that target her and the ethnonationalist movements that recruit her to make her speak as both victim and agent while silencing her. This article thus argues that we need to move away from the framework of victimhood and agency, which assumes subjectivity without accounting for how the body of the female subaltern is excluded from inhabiting subjecthood as a construct of bounded national sovereignty. Using Jasbir Puar’s theory of queer assemblage, the author explains how Saraswathi’s suicide bomber in ITM is constructed as a figure of antinormative subjectivity through a discourse of U.S. exceptionalism in opposition to a normative U.S. national identity and sovereignty. The author builds on Puar’s insights, which draw on affect theory, to rethink Saraswathi’s violent protest as a moment that destabilizes these normative identities and their related social scripts. The author further posits alternative visions of antinormative subjectivity in the novel that allow for Saraswathi’s survival after her rape.
“We Are Orlando”
Authors: Torres Julie
Published: September 2023

The 2016 shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was mourned as an unspeakable act of violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community. But what was perhaps less audible was the fact that Latinxs, particularly Puerto Ricans, who represent more than one million of the state’s population, were disproportionally affected. In the wake of the tragedy, a group of Puerto Rican women came together to demand translation and mental health services for survivors and their families. This article details their public refusals to be silenced from the public imaginary of mourning and loss. It also considers how the multiple subject positions of Puerto Ricans shape belonging both locally and across transnational borders. In doing so, the author makes the case for an intersectional analysis of mass violence, mourning, and resistance, in order to generate inclusive spaces and a more just vision for the future.
(Mis)Translations of the Critiques of Anti-Muslim Racism and the Repercussions for Transnational Feminist Solidarities
Authors: Korkman Zeynep K.
Published: September 2023

As critiques of anti-Muslim racism travel transnationally, they get translated in relation to complex histories of imperialism, colonialism, postcolonialism, and nationalism. These (mis)translations produce unexpected uses and abuses of anti-Muslim racism as an academic and political concept, with significant consequences for transnational feminist solidarity. This article explores, as a case in point, the emergence of a “Black Turk” identity in millennial Turkey where pious Muslim identity, once marginalized under a secularist state, has reasserted itself by deploying an analogy of Black to pious Muslim. Obscuring the nuances of local power relations, the pious Muslim/secular fault line was oversimplified and mistranslated into the resonant American idiom of the Black/white binary. This analogy and the progressive critiques of anti-Black and especially anti-Muslim racisms were then instrumentalized by an increasingly authoritarian and gender-conservative Islamist Turkish government to legitimize its repressive agendas, even succeeding to garner unexpected sympathy from some feminist politicians and academics in the United States. Naive confidence that such dichotomous racial/religious categories and familiar political vocabularies can guide feminist analyses and politics risks employing a seemingly transnationalist and anti-imperialist but in truth U.S.-centric understanding of non-U.S. struggles for social justice and thwarting potential transnational feminist solidarities.
Investigation of hepatitis B virus mutations associated with immune escape and drug resistance in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients
Authors: Modise Lorato , Sithebe Nomathamsanqa , Mufhandu Hazel
Published: September 2023

Background: HBV/HIV co-infection impact on high HBV replication, progression to liver cancer and high mortality. Co-infection may lead to cross-resistance of HBV and HIV drugs due to immune therapy pressure or hepatotoxicity. These challenges necessitate continuous monitoring of HBV variants to aid better diagnosis and treatment strategies. We conducted this study to characterise HBV among HIV infected individuals.

Methods: Serum was screened for HBsAg using ELISA, followed by DNA extraction, PCR amplification, Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.

Results: Of the 50 samples in this study 100% (N=50/50) were HBsAg positive; 78% (N=41/50) HBV/HIV co-infection and 92% (N=38/41) of the amplicons were successfully sequenced. Samples nucleotide sequences were identified as genotype A. Mutations prevalence in the HBsAg region was 47% (N=18/38); including mutations associated with diagnostic failure (K122R and T143S) and 7 vaccines escape mutations (P127T, G145R, S207N, Y200T, E164D, Y206H and L209V). Mutations showed resistance to lamivudine 71% (n=5/7), telbivudine 57% (n=4/7), 14% (n=1/7) for entecavir and 43% (n=3/7) for adefovir. Mutations causing resistance to lamivudine and telbivudine were M204V, L180M, V163I, and S202K; with S202K also causing resistance to entecavir and adefovir resistance mutation were I253Y, I223V and M250I. Multiple drug resistance mutations within a single sample contained L180M, M204V, S202K and M250I mutations.  There was no statistical significance between the RT mutations associated with drug resistance at P>0.005. The correlation test exhibited a weak statistical association between SHB and RT mutations (0.877**).

Conclusions: This study shows the predominance of HBV genotype A in HIV-infected patients. We discovered HBV mutations linked to immune evasion and drug resistance. Although there is no statistical significance amongst the mutations associated with drug resistance and vaccine escape. These mutations could have clinical implications that could have therapeutic repercussions by influencing the correct clinical diagnosis and treatment in HBV/ HIV co-infected individuals.
Awareness regarding breast cancer among the female population in Wardha District
Authors: Banmare Shraddha , Mude Gaurav
Published: September 2023

Breast carcinoma is the second-leading cause of cancer mortality in women and the most prevalent carcinoma in female worldwide. It is most often presented as a pain-free lump or thickening in the breast. Modern breast carcinoma screening and medication methods have increased survival rates, with 50% of females now surviving the disease. Breast carcinoma accounts for 10.4% of all instances of carcinoma among females each year, with more than 1.5 million present cases. According to a previous study in the year 2015, approximately 570,000 deaths occur due to breast cancer. Whereas in ​2015 ​​​​​there were 2.3 million females diagnosed with breast carcinoma and 685000 deaths caused worldwide and 7.8 million were viable who were diagnosed with breast carcinoma in the past 5 years. This number continues to increase especially in more advanced countries. A cross sectional study will be performed among Wardha district women to assess the awareness of breast carcinoma. Awareness will be assessed using a questionnaire in the year 2023. The previous data shows 27% awareness among the female population in the year 2020, and we now expect the results of this study to be between 50%-60% in the year 2023 in the Wardha district female population.
Justification of the renoprotective action of the mixture of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate solutions in phenylhydrazine intoxication
Authors: Sirman V. , Nasibullin B. , Gushcha S. , Badyuk N. , Dekhtyar Yu. , Gozhenko A.
Published: September 2023

The authors conducted a study on 35 white Wistar outbred rats to investigate the possibility of correcting acute kidney damage induced by the administration of phenylhydrazine at a dose of 100 mg/kg by introducing a mixture of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate solutions into the body.
The research results identified changes in the kidneys upon phenylhydrazine administration, including the loss of some capillary glomeruli, eosinophilic deposits in Bowman's spaces and tubular lumens, and lymphoid infiltration in the interstitium. Rats receiving a mixture of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate solutions in their drinking water showed positive changes in their kidneys: no loss of capillary glomeruli was observed, and eosinophilic deposits were absent in most tubules. Lymphocyte aggregation was only observed around some renal vessels. The authors suggest that the intake of additional sodium and bicarbonate into the body, along with alkalinization of the primary urine, promotes the excretion of hemolysis products caused by phenylhydrazine, which contributes to renoprotection and preservation of renal parenchyma.
An Exact Method for a First-Mile Ridesharing Problem
Authors: Wang Sihan , Baldacci Roberto , Yu Yang , Zhang Yu , Tang Jiafu , Luo Xinggang , Sun Wei
Published: September 2023

Motivated by the worldwide development of shared mobility, we investigate a vehicle routing problem with time windows and deadlines called the first-mile ridesharing problem (FMRSP). The FMRSP involves routing a fleet of vehicles, each servicing customers within specific time windows. The FMRSP generalizes the well-known vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW), additionally imposing that each vehicle route arrives at the destination before the earliest deadline associated with the set of customers served by the route. The FMRSP is also related to the VRPTW and release dates, where in addition to time window constraints, a release date is associated with each customer defining the earliest time that the order is available to leave the depot for delivery. For the FMRSP, we present an exact method based on a branch-price-and-cut (BPC) algorithm combining state-of-the-art techniques and an innovative pricing algorithm. The pricing algorithm is based on a bidirectional bucket graph-based labeling algorithm, in which the backward extension of a label is computed in a constant time. Effective dominance rules used to speed up the computation are also described. Extensive computational studies demonstrate that our proposed BPC algorithm can solve optimality-modified Solomon benchmark instances involving up to 100 customers and real-world instances involving up to 290 customers.

Funding: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 71831003, 72171043, 71831006, and 71901180].

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2022.0139 .
Reasons to be cheerful
Authors: Symons Anne
Published: September 2023

Anne Symons tells us just why smiling is good for oral health!
Assessment and initial management of the collapsed endurance athlete
Authors: Ramage John Samuel
Published: September 2023

Participation in endurance events such as marathons is increasingly popular. Those taking part in these events may collapse and require medical attention for a range of reasons, some of which are well known and recognised by prehospital providers. However, there are conditions that are specific to endurance exercise which may be less well known so potentially less likely to be recognised and managed appropriately. The most common cause of collapse in the endurance athlete is exercise-associated collapse. However, practitioners should be vigilant regarding life-threatening differentials such as exertional heatstroke and exercise-associated hyponatraemia, which are not uncommon. Identifying the cause of collapse in the endurance athlete is difficult as clinical presentations are often similar. The causes, symptoms and management of these conditions are discussed and a management algorithm proposed.
¿Puede escribir una planta? La crítica vegetal en la época de la extinción de la teoría
Authors: Alvarez Solís Angel Octavio
Published: September 2023

El artículo problematiza el tono vegetalista adoptado recientemente en la crítica literaria y en algunos debates del pensamiento filosófico contemporáneo. Al asumir la consigna epistemológica de pensar formas de vida no humanas, la escritura con sensibilidad vegetal cuestiona la correlación entre pensamiento y crisis climática, ya que pregunta cómo seguir pensando críticamente en un contexto de devastación ecológica. La hipótesis del artículo es que la escritura con sensibilidad vegetal es un intento por escapar del concepto moderno de naturaleza anclado al marco general de la literatura moderna y, por extensión, de la afirmación de un tipo de escritura de la extinción en un contexto de extinción de la teoría. Por consiguiente, el artículo está dividido en dos partes. La primera parte discute el rendimiento teórico de la escritura con sensibilidad vegetal y analiza las condiciones críticas para suscribir una fitoestética americana. La segunda parte postula la noción de crítica vegetal como una forma de práctica teórica encargada de describir formas de vida menores para la metafísica occidental y, por consiguiente, la revitalización de la dimensión vegetal y sensitiva del pensamiento. La conclusión del artículo es que la escritura con sensibilidad vegetal conduce al arcano de la racionalidad humana —la aisthesis—y, por lo tanto, constituye la primera expresión sensible del habitar humano.
Transformaciones de la ribera de Buenos Aires de cuando los barrios de origen informal se integran a los procesos de gentrificación en marcha
Authors: Brikman Denise , Di Virgilio María Mercedes , Najman Mercedes
Published: September 2023

Este artículo describe el curso de los procesos de gentrificación en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (Argentina) durante los últimos 40 años. Actualmente, en el marco de procesos más amplios de gentrificación, se produce un fenómeno reciente que nunca antes se había observado en la ciudad: el impulso de la gentrificación en algunos barrios marginales (villas) ubicados en zonas céntricas. Está claro que este tipo de iniciativas no son nuevas en América Latina. Sin embargo, en el caso de Buenos Aires, el despojo de los residentes en las villas había sido un mecanismo fundacional de la gentrificación. Comenzó a funcionar en los albores de la década de 1980 y aún hoy sigue cambiando la fisonomía de Buenos Aires. La diferencia entre procesos iniciales y actuales radica en los mecanismos de desposesión. En el contexto de la dictadura, la erradicación de las villas fue uno de los elementos que dio lugar a las condiciones para el desarrollo del proceso de gentrificación, por ejemplo, en el barrio de Palermo, el primero de los barrios de Buenos Aires en gentrificarse. Hoy en día, este fenómeno descansa fundamentalmente a la urbanización de los barrios marginales.
Gentrificaciones financiarizadas, gentrificaciones de quinta oleada. Relaciones desahucios-clase en Palma (Mallorca-Islas Baleares)
Authors: Vives Miró Sònia , Rulan Onofre , Artigues Antoni , Navarro Zurriaga Victor
Published: September 2023

En el contexto de financiarización de entornos construidos, se pretende contribuir al análisis y caracterización de los actuales procesos de gentrificación y sus derivadas de desplazamientos y desigualdades. El objetivo del trabajo es aproximarse al análisis de las relaciones clase-desalojos en las gentrificaciones de quinta oleada en Palma, una de las ciudades más turistizadas y relevantes de los mercados inmobiliario-financieros del Sur de Europa. Se presenta un análisis cuantitativo y cartográfico de la evolución de la desposesión de vivienda en Palma (2003-2020) y se correlacionan las distribuciones de los desahucios con las clases sociales de los habitantes de los barrios donde se producen. Se concluye que los procesos de desposesión de vivienda varían en función de la clase social, tipología y evolución temporal. Los desalojos se concentran especialmente en espacios de clase muy baja y, en el caso de las ejecuciones hipotecarias, con presencia notable de inmigración del sur global.
The Enduring Significance of the 1930s for Chile's Long Cold War
Authors: Bawden John R.
Published: September 2023

Abstract: Chile was no exception to the reorientation of Latin American politics during the 1930s. Radical politics, mass mobilizations, and defeated coups established major reference points for the memory and behaviour of political actors during the Cold War. Salvador Allende's template for how to deal with a military coup in 1973, for instance, came from his experience as health minister in 1939. That year he witnessed the Popular Front government defeat an insurrection. Events earlier in the decade profoundly shaped the Pinochet regime (1973–1990)'s view of democratic political transitions and their potential for anti-military backlash. Overseas, the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) tore the Iberian country apart and deeply impacted its former colonies. In Chile, the Spanish Civil War contributed to the establishing of ideological fault lines and political speech that framed the nation's electoral choices as one between fascism and communism, slavery or liberation. This article examines the significance of events in the 1930s for the subsequent politics of revolution and counterrevolution that gripped Chile in the second half of the twentieth century. It concurs with the concept of a 'long Cold War' in Latin America and argues that Chile entered a distinctly new phase in that struggle after 1931.
Surface absorption channels in light absorption by a 2D-material-coated particle
Authors: Zhang Shangyu , Dong Jian , Zhang Wenjie , Ma Lanxin , Liu Linhua
Published: September 2023

Light absorption enhancement in micro- and nanoparticles has garnered considerable attention through coated 2D materials, which are physically homogenized by surface conductivities and surface currents within the electromagnetic boundary conditions. However, the electromagnetic absorption through the surface channel remains unexamined, hindering a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms of light absorption. In this work, we analytically derive the effective cross sections of surface absorption for a 2D-material-coated sphere, based on the framework of Mie theory amended by the surface conductivity. Our theoretical analysis confirms the absorption unitarity in wrapped particles, whereby the total absorption is equivalent to the sum of surface and volume absorptions. Considering optical dispersion of a polar interior, we identify a blue shift in the resonance wavelength induced by the 2D coating, which leads to a decrease in material dissipation and thus volume absorption within the particle itself in spite of a large field enhancement inside the particle. Finally, through a realistic case of small graphene-wrapped MgO spheres, we illustrate the dominant role of the surface absorption channel on the mechanism of absorption enhancements.
Tensor completion algorithm-aided structural color design
Authors: Wei Xueling , Zhao Fen , Zhang Yiyi , Nong Jie , Huang Jie , Zhang Zhaojian , Chen Huan , Zhang Zhenfu , He Xin , Yu Yang , Zhang Zhenrong , Yang Junbo
Published: September 2023

In recent years, structural color has developed rapidly due to its distinct advantages, such as low loss, high spatial resolution and environmental friendliness. Various inverse design methods have been extensively investigated to efficiently design optical structures. However, the optimization method for the inverse design of structural color remains a formidable challenge. Traditional optimization approaches, such as genetic algorithms require time-consuming repetitions of structural simulations. Deep learning-assisted design necessitates prior simulations and large amounts of data, making it less efficient for systems with a small number of features. This study proposes a tensor completion algorithm capable of swiftly and accurately predicting missing datasets based on partially obtained datasets to assist in structural color design. Transforming the complex physical problem of structural color design into a spatial structure relationship problem linking geometric parameters and spectral data. The method utilizes tensor multilinear data analysis to effectively capture the complex relationships associated with geometric parameters and spectral data in higher-order data. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm exhibits high reliability in terms of speed and accuracy for diverse structures, datasets of varying sizes, and different materials, significantly enhancing design efficiency. The proposed algorithm offers a viable solution for inverse design problems involving complex physical systems, thereby introducing a novel approach to the design of photonic devices. Additionally, numerical experiments illustrate that the structural color of cruciform resonators with diamond can overcome the high loss issues observed in traditional dielectric materials within the blue wavelength region and enhance the corrosion resistance of the structure. We achieve a wide color gamut and a high-narrow reflection spectrum nearing 1 by this structure, and the theoretical analysis further verifies that diamond holds great promise in the realm of optics.
Binding dynamics of cavity solitons in a Kerr resonator with high order dispersion
Authors: Pan Jianxing , Huang Tianye , Xu Chaoyu , Xu Gang , Wu Zhichao , Zhang Jing , Li Xiang , Cheng Zhuo , Zhang Nan , Yu Huang , Yin Zuowei , Yin Jie , Huang Bao
Published: September 2023

Cavity solitons are persistent light pulses arising from the externally driven Kerr resonators. Thanks to the passive parametric gain, cavity soliton has been endowed with the natural advantage of the chip-scaled integration since it was first experimentally generated in the fiber-based platform. Deterministic single soliton with smooth spectrum is a preferred state for numerous applications. However, multiple solitons are more common in the resonators with anomalous dispersion. In this condition, adjacent solitons are easily perturbed to attract and collide with each other. Some experimental observations deviated from the aforementioned description have recorded the stable soliton intervals that can last for a long time scale. This phenomenon is known as soliton binding and is attributed to the presence of narrow resonant sidebands in the spectrum. While the stationary configuration of two binding solitons has been investigated, the dynamical evolution remains an area for further exploration. In this paper, we discuss the binding dynamics of the cavity solitons in the presence of high-order dispersion. The proposed theoretical predictions match well with the numerical results, encompassing both the stationary stable intervals and dynamic trajectories. Our research will provide a comprehensive insight into the soliton motion induced by the internal perturbations.
Curvature dependent onset of quantum tunneling in subnanometer gaps
Authors: Jalali Mandana , Taro Svejda Jan , Jose Jesil , Schlücker Sebastian , Erni Daniel
Published: September 2023

The quantum tunneling in subnanometer gap sizes in gold dimers is studied in order to account for the dependency of the onset of quantum tunneling on the dimer’s radius and accordingly the gap wall’s curvature, realized in experiments. Several nanodimers both nanowires and nanospheres with various radii and gap sizes are modelled and simulated based on the quantum corrected model, determining the onset of the quantum tunneling. Results show that the onset of quantum tunneling is both dependent on the gap size as well as on the dimer’s radius. As larger dimers result in larger effective conductivity volumes, the influence of the quantum tunneling begins in larger gap sizes in larger dimers.
Dual-comb generation with counter-propagating self-injection-locked solitons
Authors: Li Xinghong , Wang Zhaoyi , Li Shangyuan , Zheng Xiaoping , Xue Xiaoxiao
Published: September 2023

Microresonator-based optical frequency combs have been greatly developed in the last decade and have shown great potential for many applications. A dual-comb scheme is usually required for lidar ranging, spectroscopy, spectrometer and microwave photonic channelizer. However, dual-comb generation with microresonators would require doubled hardware resources and more complex feedback control. Here we propose a novel scheme for dual-comb generation with a single laser diode self-injection locked to a single microresonator. The output of the laser diode is split and pumps the microresonator in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. The scheme is investigated intensely through numerical simulations based on a set of coupled Lugiato-Lefever equations. Turnkey counter-propagating single soliton generation and repetition rate tuning are demonstrated.
RBMX involves in telomere stability maintenance by regulating TERRA expression
Authors: Liu Jingfan , Zheng Tian , Chen Dandan , Huang Junjiu , Zhao Yong , Ma Wenbin , Liu Haiying
Published: September 2023

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) is a class of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are transcribed from subtelomeric to telomeric region of chromosome ends. TERRA is prone to form R-loop structures at telomeres by invading into telomeric DNA. Excessive telomere R-loops result in telomere instability, so the TERRA level needs to be delicately modulated. However, the molecular mechanisms and factors controlling TERRA level are still largely unknown. In this study, we report that the RNA binding protein RBMX is a novel regulator of TERRA level and telomere integrity. The expression level of TERRA is significantly elevated in RBMX depleted cells, leading to enhanced telomere R-loop formation, replication stress, and telomere instability. We also found that RBMX binds to TERRA and the nuclear exosome targeting protein ZCCHC8 simultaneously, and that TERRA degradation slows down upon RBMX depletion, implying that RBMX promotes TERRA degradation by regulating its transportation to the nuclear exosome, which decays nuclear RNAs. Altogether, these findings uncover a new role of RBMX in TERRA expression regulation and telomere integrity maintenance, and raising RBMX as a potential target of cancer therapy.
Coping with climate change: The role of climate related stressors in affecting the mental health of young people in Mexico
Authors: Pinchoff Jessie , Regules Ricardo , Gomez-Ugarte Ana C. , Abularrage Tara F. , Bojorquez-Chapela Ietza
Published: September 2023

Young people today are predicted to experience more climate change related stressors and harms than the previous generation, yet they are often excluded from climate research, policy, and advocacy. Increasingly, this exposure is associated with experience of common mental health disorders (CMD). The VoCes-19 study collected surveys from 168,407 young people across Mexico (ages 15–24 years) through an innovative online platform, collecting information on various characteristics including CMD and experience of recent climate harms. Logistic regression models were fit to explore characteristics associated with CMD. Structural equation models were fit to explore pathways between exposure, feeling of concern about climate change, and a sense of agency (meaning the respondent felt they could help address the climate crisis) and how these relate to CMD. Of the respondents, 42% (n = 50,682) were categorized as experiencing CMD, higher among those who experienced a climate stressor (51%, n = 4,808) vs those not experiencing climate stressors (41%, n = 43,872). Adjusting for key demographic characteristics, exposure to any climate event increased the odds of CMD by 50% (Odd Ratio = 1.57; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.49, 1.64), highest for heatwaves. Specific climate impacts such as housing damage, loss of or inability to work, damage to family business, leaving school and physical health affected were adversely related to CMD, though for different climate hazards. More concern and less agency were related to CMD through different pathways, particularly for those exposed to recent events. Future research regarding the cumulative exposures to climate change, not just acute events but as an ongoing crisis, and various pathways that influence the mental health and well-being of young people must be clearly understood to develop programs and policies to protect the next generation.
Smart city pilots, marketization processes, and substantive green innovation: A quasi-natural experiment from China
Authors: Zhang Zhi , Zheng Chengting , Lan Longyao
Published: September 2023

The world’s major economies are striving to control carbon emissions and avoid irreversible impacts on the natural environment. Therefore, innovative green technologies are crucial for both government departments and the private sector as an important way to address carbon emissions. This study aims to investigate the link between the government’s smart city construction and corporate green innovation and optimize the policy guidelines that drive green innovation in enterprises. This study analyzes 6,104 panels of Chinese listed companies from 2007–2019. An approach called the Differences-in-Differences model was applied to evaluate hypotheses. The empirical results suggest that smart city pilots drove substantial green innovation in businesses. The marketization process has a moderating effect on the impact of smart city pilots on substantive green innovation in enterprises. Moreover, marketization process has a threshold effect in smart city pilots influencing the substantive green innovation of enterprises, and the effect of smart city drivers influencing the substantive green innovation of enterprises increases significantly when regional marketization process reaches a certain level. The findings of this study provide valuable guidance for policy designers to promote corporate green innovation at both the hardware facility level and the market system level of cities when developing policies related to green innovation.
A lack of financial planning predicts increased mortality risk: Evidence from cohort studies in the United Kingdom and United States
Authors: Gladstone Joe J. , Hundtofte C. Sean
Published: September 2023

We investigate whether a lack of planning and future-orientation in financial behavior is associated with a higher mortality risk. Our evidence is based on two nationally representative cohorts of older people living in the United States (n = 11,478) and England (n = 11,298), where we compared individuals’ self-reported planning horizons on spending and saving with government mortality records. Controlling for demographics, participants with a 1 SD shorter planning horizon had a 9% greater hazard of dying in the English sample (evaluated over 10 years), and a 7% greater hazard in the US sample (over 22 years). These differences in mortality risk could not be explained by variation in respondent’s life expectancy, their financial circumstances or a range of other observable covariates. Similar results are found for self-reported health, with the positive association between longer planning horizons and health strongest for those with fewest financial resources.
Archean (3.3 Ga) paleosols and paleoenvironments of Western Australia
Authors: Retallack Gregory J. , Schmitz Mark D.
Published: September 2023

The Pilbara craton of northwestern Australia is known for what were, when reported, the oldest known microfossils and paleosols on Earth. Both interpretations are mired in controversy, and neither remain the oldest known. Both the microfossils and the paleosols have been considered hydrothermal artefacts: carbon films of vents and a large hydrothermal cupola, respectively. This study resampled and analyzed putative paleosols within and below the Strelley Pool Formation (3.3 Ga), at four classic locations: Strelley Pool, Steer Ridge, Trendall Ridge, and Streckfuss, and also at newly discovered outcrops near Marble Bar. The same sequence of sedimentary facies and paleosols was newly recognized unconformably above the locality for microfossils in chert of the Apex Basalt (3.5 Ga) near Marble Bar. The fossiliferous Apex chert was not a hydrothermal vein but a thick (15 m) sedimentary interbed within a sequence of pillow basalts, which form an angular unconformity capped by the same pre-Strelley paleosol and Strelley Pool Formation facies found elsewhere in the Pilbara region. Baritic alluvial paleosols within the Strelley Pool Formation include common microfossil spindles (cf. Eopoikilofusa) distinct from marine microfossil communities with septate filaments (Primaevifilum) of cherts in the Apex and Mt Ada Basalts. Phosphorus and iron depletion in paleosols within and below the Strelley Pool Formation are evidence of soil communities of stable landscapes living under an atmosphere of high CO2 (2473 ± 134 ppmv or 8.8 ± 0.5 times preindustrial atmospheric level of 280 ppm) and low O2 (2181 ± 3018 ppmv or 0.01 ± 0.014 times modern).
Genetic variation in environmental enteropathy and stunting in Zambian children: A pilot genome wide association study using the H3Africa chip
Authors: Mweetwa Monica N. , Haritunians Talin , Dube Shishir , Chandwe Kanta , Amadi Beatrice , Zyambo Kanekwa , Liu Ta-Chiang , McGovern Dermot , Kelly Paul
Published: September 2023

Purpose

Stunting is known to be heavily influenced by environmental factors, so the genetic contribution has received little attention. Here we report an exploration of genetic influences in stunted Zambian children with environmental enteropathy.

Method

Children with stunting (LAZ < -2) were enrolled and given nutritional therapy. Those that were non-responsive to therapy were designated as cases, and children with good growth (LAZ > -1) from the same community as controls. Blood and stool samples were taken to measure biomarkers of intestinal inflammation, epithelial damage, and microbial translocation. Single nucleotide polymorphism array genotyping was carried out on saliva samples using the H3Africa consortium array.

Results

Genome wide associations were analysed in 117 cases and 41 controls. While no significant associations with stunting were observed at P<5x10-8, likely due to the small sample size, interesting associations were observed at lower thresholds. SNPs associated with stunting were in genomic regions known to modulate neuronal differentiation and fatty acid biosynthesis. SNPs associated with increased microbial translocation were associated with non-integrin membrane ECM interactions, tight junctions, hemostasis, and G-alpha signalling events. SNPs associated with increased inflammation were associated with, ECM interactions, purine metabolism, axon guidance, and cell motility. SNPs negatively associated with inflammation overlapped genes involved in semaphoring interactions. We explored the existing coeliac disease risk HLA genotypes and found present: DQ2.5 (7.5%), DQ8 (3.5%) and DQ2.2 (3.8%); however, no children were positive for coeliac antibodies. We detected HLA-DRB:1301 and HLA-C:1802 with high odds ratios and P<0.05 in stunted children compared to controls.

Conclusion

Genetic variations associated with stunting and the enteropathy underlying it, include variants associated with multiple pathways relating to gene expression, glycosylation, nerve signalling, and sensing of the nutritional and microbiological milieu.
The distribution of myeloid-derived suppressor cells subsets and up-regulation of programmed death-1/PD-L1 axis in peripheral blood of adult CAP patients
Authors: Gong Haihong , Zhao Jingquan , Xu Wenshuai , Wan Yinghua , Mu Xiangdong , Zhang Mingqiang
Published: September 2023

Background

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have been reported to expand and have a potent ability in the expansion of regulatory T cells in malignant and infectious disease. The current study was performed to investigate the role of MDSCs and possible immune mechanisms in dampening immune responses of community acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Methods

This was a single-center cross-sectional study. The distribution of MDSCs subsets, the PD-1/PD-L1(L2) level of MDSCs subsets and Tregs in the peripheral blood of adult CAP patients and healthy control were measured by flow cytometry analysis.

Results

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 63 adult CAP patients contained an elevated frequency of both G-MDSC (4.92±0.30 vs 2.25±0.21,p<0.0001) and M-MDSC (19.40±1.30 vs 9.64±0.57,p<0.001) compared to healthy controls. Treg in the peripheral blood of CAP patients exhibited increased expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4, accompanied by no difference of their frequency. Moreover, up-regulated expression of PD-L1 on MDSC subsets in the peripheral blood of CAP patients was also revealed. Of note, the frequency of circulating MDSCs subset displayed a positive correlation with neutrophil count percentage in blood in CAP patients.

Conclusions

In summary, the significant expansion of circulating MDSCs subsets and the up-regulated expression of PD-1/PD-L1 level in CAP patients may suggest the possible involvement of PD-1/PD-L1axis in MDSCs mediated immune regulation on Treg at least partially in CAP patients.
A quasi-experimental effectiveness evaluation of the ’Incredible Years Toddler’ parenting programme on children’s development aged 5: A study protocol
Authors: Mooney Kate E. , Bywater Tracey , Hinde Sebastian , Richardson Gerry , Wright John , Dickerson Josie , Blower Sarah L.
Published: September 2023

Child behavioural and mental health problems have become a public health crisis. The consequences of poor mental health in childhood have large economic costs and consequences for the individual, their families, and for society. Early intervention through parenting programmes can reduce the onset of poor mental health in childhood, hence evaluating the effectiveness of parenting programmes is critical. The ‘Incredible Years Toddler’ parent programme is an education and training intervention designed to enhance the social and emotional wellbeing of children aged 1–3 years. Whilst previous studies show Incredible Years Toddler to provide promising effects on child outcomes in the short term, the research samples have lacked ethnic diversity and representation from socioeconomically deprived families. This quasi-experimental study is registered on ISRCTN (ISRCTN49991769). We will investigate the effectiveness of Incredible Years Toddler being delivered in three neighbourhoods in inner city Bradford, England. These neighbourhoods contain a socially and ethnically diverse population with 84% living in the poorest decile for England and Wales. Parents with a child aged 1–3 years old who are enrolled in Born in Bradford’s Better Start interventional family cohort study are eligible for this study. Intervention participants will be matched to a demographically comparable control group using propensity score matching. This study will use retrospective and prospective data from participants who attended Incredible Years groups between September 2018 and April 2024. The required minimum sample is n = 1336 (ratio 1:3) to detect a small effect (odds = 1.5, d = .20) on the Early Years Foundation Stage profile total score at age 5; a measure of early child development that is routinely collected by teachers. We will also establish whether these effects are moderated by child age at entry to intervention, programme delivery mode, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. We will also estimate the cost of the intervention and conduct a cost-consequence analysis.
Attitudes and current practice in alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral for treatment among staff working in urgent and emergency settings: An open, cross-sectional international survey
Authors: Blake Holly , Yildirim Mehmet , Premakumar Vinishaa , Morris Lucy , Miller Philip , Coffey Frank
Published: September 2023

Background

The aim of the study was to ascertain the views and experiences of those working in urgent and emergency care (UEC) settings towards screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol, to inform future practice.

Objectives

To explore i) views towards health promotion, ii) views towards and practice of SBIRT, iii) facilitators and barriers to delivering SBIRT, iv) training needs to support future SBIRT practice, and v) comparisons in views and attitudes between demographic characteristics, geographical regions, setting and occupational groups.

Methods

This was an open cross-sectional international survey, using an online self-administered questionnaire with closed and open-ended responses. Participants were ≥18 years of age, from any occupational group, working in urgent and emergency care (UEC) settings in any country or region.

Results

There were 362 respondents (aged 21–65 years, 87.8% shift workers) from 7 occupational groups including physicians (48.6%), nurses (22.4%) and advanced clinical practitioners (18.5%). Most believed that health promotion is part of their role, and that SBIRT for alcohol prevention is needed and appropriate in UEC settings. SBIRT was seen to be acceptable to patients. 66% currently provide brief alcohol advice, but fewer screen for alcohol problems or make alcohol-related referrals. The most common barriers were high workload and lack of funding for prevention, lack of knowledge and training on SBIRT, lack of access to high-quality resources, lack of timely referral pathways, and concerns about patient resistance to advice. Some views and attitudes varied according to demographic characteristics, occupation, setting or region.

Conclusions

UEC workers are willing to engage in SBIRT for alcohol prevention but there are challenges to implementation in UEC environments and concerns about workload impacts on already-burdened staff, particularly in the context of global workforce shortages. UEC workers advocate for clear guidelines and policies, increased staff capacity and/or dedicated health promotion teams onsite, SBIRT education/training/resources, appropriate physical spaces for SBIRT conversations and improved alcohol referral pathways to better funded services. Implementation of SBIRT could contribute to improving population health and reducing service demand, but it requires significant and sustained commitment of time and resources for prevention across healthcare organisations.
Assessing the utility of a novel cortical marker of delay discounting (C-DD) in two independent samples of early adolescents: Links with externalizing pathology
Authors: Bounoua Nadia , Church Leah D. , Matyi Melanie A. , Rudoler Jeremy , Wieand Kaleigh , Spielberg Jeffrey M.
Published: September 2023

Delay discounting is a well-established risk factor for risky behaviors and the development of externalizing spectrum disorders. Building upon recent work that developed a novel cortical marker of delay discounting (C-DD) in adult samples, the objective of this study was to test whether the C-DD relates to delay discounting and subsequently externalizing pathology in adolescent samples. The current study used two samples: 9992 early adolescents participating in the ABCD study (Mage = 9.93 years old, 48.7% female), and 56 early adolescents recruited from the community (Mage = 12.27 years old, 55.4% female). Cortical thickness was estimated using the FreeSurfer standard pipeline, and the cortical marker of delay discounting (C-DD) was calculated based on procedures outlined by the initial validation study. All data are cross-sectional in nature. As expected, C-DD was positively related to delay discounting in the ABCD sample, even after accounting for age, biological sex, collection site and data quality indicators. Moreover, results showed that C-DD was discriminately associated with externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms in both samples of young adolescents. Findings replicate those found in adult samples, suggestive that C-DD may be a useful neuroanatomical marker of youth delay discounting. Replication of findings in other samples will be needed to determine whether C-DD has translational relevance to understanding externalizing psychopathology in adolescent samples.