bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Fokas Method for the Broer-Kaup System on the Half-Line
Authors: Hwang Guenbo
Published: February 2022

We analyze the Broer-Kaup system posed on the half-line by using the unified transform method, also known as the Fokas method. We derive the formal representation of the solution for the Broer-Kaup system in terms of the solution of the matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem formulated in the complex plane of the spectral parameter. The jump matrix is uniquely defined by the spectral functions that satisfy a certain relation, called the global relation involving the initial and boundary values. Furthermore, the spectral functions constructed from the initial values and the boundary values are investigated, plus their associated Riemann-Hilbert problems as the inverse problems.
Infinitesimal Time Reparametrisation and Its Applications
Authors: Cariñena José F. , Martínez Eduardo , Muñoz-Lecanda Miguel C.
Published: February 2022

A geometric approach to Sundman infinitesimal time-reparametrisation is given and some of its applications are used to illustrate the general theory. Special emphasis is put on geodesic motions and systems described by mechanical type Lagrangians. The Jacobi metric appears as a particular case of a Sundman transformation.
Relationship between the double burden of malnutrition and mental health in overweight and obese adult women
Authors: Gholizadeh Mohammad , Setayesh Leila , Yarizadeh Habib , Mirzababaei Atieh , Clark Cain C. T. , Mirzaei Khadijeh
Published: February 2022

The co-existence of overweight or obesity with concurrent deficiency of one or more nutrients is referred to as double burden of malnutrition (DBM), and numerous mental health impairments have been associated with a variety of nutrient deficiencies. Although DBM is relevant for several health outcomes, the ubiquitous involvement of vitamin D across multiple systems and tissues suggests D insufficiency as a viable target for nutritional modification. The present study aimed to evaluate the contribution of DBM and mental health among adult women. Study participants included 300 women, aged 18–59 years, who presented to one of the 25 health centres in Tehran. Participants with a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 25 kg/m2 and a plasma concentration of 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] of >20 ng/ml were considered to have DBM. The 147-item food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate their dietary intake. Mental health status was assessed using the depression, anxiety and stress scales-21 (DASS-21). The mean ± standard deviation age, weight and BMI of the participants were 36⋅49 ± 8⋅38, 80⋅89 ± 12⋅45 kg and 31⋅04 ± 4⋅31 kg/m2, respectively. DBM was significantly associated with stress, after adjusting for potential confounders, including age, energy and marital status in model 1 (OR = 1⋅28, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1⋅00, 1⋅65, P < 0⋅04) v. the crude model (OR = 1⋅22; 95 % CI 0⋅96, 1⋅55, P = 0⋅09). No significant association was seen among DBM and DASS-21 outcomes. In this cross-sectional study, stress and DBM were significantly associated. While vitamin D insufficiency was associated with mental health and obesity in opposing directions. Elucidation of whether vitamin D supplementation can improve mental health impairments requires further evaluation.
The tort of malicious prosecution of civil proceedings: a critique and a proposal
Authors: Mulheron Rachael
Published: February 2022

Litigation is a tactical business. The recognition of the tort of malicious prosecution of civil proceedings in Willers v Joyce in 2016, by the barest of majorities, adds to the tactical intrigue, for it is now feasible that failed civil proceedings could be swiftly followed by a counter-suit for malicious prosecution against the original unsuccessful claimant. The tort requires proof of ‘malice’. As a concept, malice may have a 400-year history, but insofar as the new tort is concerned, it has proven to be opaque. In this paper, a critical evaluation of the tort since the Supreme Court gave it the ‘green light’ in Willers is undertaken. As a cause of action, it has been sparsely used, and beset with difficulties and unforeseen consequences. Whilst tort law, as the rubric of civil wrongs, must remain ‘on the move’, it is important that judicial reform achieves desirable and useful outcomes. It is argued in the paper that the tort recognised by Willers has not met that objective to date. However, a detailed law reform study of this and other related torts, leading to a statutory tort of ‘abuse of litigious processes’, would serve to bring order to the present disarray.
Comments on “The New Jewish Question”
Authors: Devji Faisal
Published: February 2022

If the “old” Jewish Question had asked how a Jew could be a citizen, the “new” one posed by Daniel Boyarin’s remarkable and courageous article asks how nationality can exist without a state. Striking about this formulation is the distance it marks from the European debates about emancipation and assimilation that had defined its predecessor. Boyarin’s context is not continental but imperial, taking into account Jews in colonized lands as much as the historical relationship between Europe and empire. As Hannah Arendt was the first to argue in The Origins of Totalitarianism, this relationship possessed an outward trajectory that went through anti-Semitism and an inward return by way of genocide.1
Nation and Sovereignty: A Response to Boyarin
Authors: Chatterjee Partha
Published: February 2022

In his provocative article “The New Jewish Question,” Daniel Boyarin has offered a view of the Jewish nation as a collective identity that is not only diasporic but also “counter-sovereign.” I found his reappraisal of the history of Zionism very informative. Unfortunately, I do not have the competence to engage with it. But I do have a few things to say about his more general claim regarding the possibility of nationalism being dissociated from sovereignty.
The New Jewish Question
Authors: Boyarin Daniel
Published: February 2022

In this article I attempt to lay out at least the bones of an argument for a shift in the terms of world Jewish life. Against the Hobson’s choice of “religion” or “state,” I offer an older paradigm of diaspora nation, the Yiddishe Folk. Because I am opposed to both the mononational state and cosmopolitanism (of the classic Appiah-like variety), I work out a description (not fully defined) of diaspora that comprises dual loyalties, to the place where I am and especially its oppressed people and to others of my nation scattered in many places (ideally!). This statement constitutes a vade mecum to a longer manifesto to be published by Yale University Press, late in 2022.
On a Double Decker Omnibus to Golders Green
Authors: Cheyette Bryan
Published: February 2022

My abiding memory of Daniel Boyarin is sitting with him on the top deck of one of London’s famous red buses. We were traveling to Golders Green to eat a kosher meal after a conference in central London. It was the summer of 1994, at the height of Western optimism that the Oslo Accords would bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end. This optimism, however naive, resulted in an extraordinary phenomenon. Closeted Jews in the British academy attended the conference by the hundreds. The late Laura Marcus and I, who organized “Modernity, Culture, and ‘the Jew,’” were expecting a handful of specialists along with the invited speakers, such as Daniel Boyarin. Instead, the audience was made up of a rainbow alliance of out-Jews and other others who could no longer fit on a single red bus but needed a fleet of double-deckers. This was a time when a new iteration of Jewish studies—feminist, fluidly gendered, postcolonial, antiracist, anti-Eurocentric—came into being and has, thankfully, influenced future generations of scholars.2 No less important, it was a time of a momentary and unspoken hope that the world could be healed and that tikkun olam (the “repair of the world”) might at long last be on the horizon.
Communities Are Complicated; Indeed, They May Not Even Be Communal
Authors: Gilman Sander L.
Published: February 2022

My old friend Daniel Boyarin has raised, not for the first time, the problem of whether one can imagine what he calls “an ethical form of Jewish collective continuity.” He strikes out against the notion of such a “Jewish” ethical continuity seeing it having been negated in the present discussion, the negation driven by two arguments, “[Christian] supersessionism” on the right and “territorial nationalism” on the left. Whether it is possible “to inform prejudice against collective Jewish continuity is perhaps mitigated when Jews per se are obviously the objects of collective discrimination, and correspondingly exacerbated when Jews as a collective appear to be ‘powerful’ or ‘secure.’” Anti-Semitism or the “model minority.”
Global prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis in dogs: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Gorgani-Firouzjaee Tahmineh , Kalantari Narges , Chehrazi Mohammad , Ghaffari Salman , Shahdin Shaysteh
Published: February 2022

Strongyloides stercoralis is an intestinal parasitic helminth that mainly affects humans and dogs throughout the world. Canine strongyloidosis is generally characterized by asymptomatic infection, with fatal disease in cases of immunodeficiency. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the global prevalence of S. stercoralis in dogs. Six electronic databases were searched for this purpose. The random effects model and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were applied to determine the overall and subgroup pooled prevalence. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran's Q test and I2 statistic. In total, 56 datasets from 50 studies from 1,202 peer-reviewed papers were included in the current meta-analysis. 20,627 dogs were assessed in 27 countries across six World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The global prevalence of S. stercoralis infection among dogs was 6% (95% CI 4–8%; 868/20,627). According to WHO regions, the estimated prevalence ranges 2% to 11% as follows: Western Pacific (11%, 0–31%); Africa (9%, 2–19%); America (6%, 3–11%); South-East Asia (5%, 1–13%)’ Europe (3%, 2–5%); and Eastern Mediterranean (2%, 0–6%). The pooled prevalence of S. stercoralis infection in dog owners was 7% (1–18%). The prevalence of S. stercoralis infection in studies based on serological assays was significantly higher than other techniques (29%, 20–39%). Younger female dogs, less than one year old, from rural areas had higher prevalence rates than their male counterparts, with no statistically significant differences. From this review, it is concluded that the low global prevalence of S. stercoralis in dogs may be strongly associated with low sensitivity diagnostic methods applied in most studies leading to the underestimation of infection rates. Therefore, the improvement of diagnostic techniques is recommended for precise evaluation of the disease.
Current status of experimental models for the study of malaria
Authors: Simwela Nelson V. , Waters Andrew P.
Published: February 2022

Infection by malaria parasites (Plasmodiumspp.) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in tropical regions of the world. Despite the availability of malaria control tools such as integrated vector management and effective therapeutics, these measures have been continuously undermined by the emergence of vector resistance to insecticides or parasite resistance to frontline antimalarial drugs. Whilst the recent pilot implementation of the RTS,S malaria vaccine is indeed a remarkable feat, highly effective vaccines against malaria remain elusive. The barriers to effective vaccines result from the complexity of both the malaria parasite lifecycle and the parasite as an organism itself with consequent major gaps in our understanding of their biology. Historically and due to the practical and ethical difficulties of working with human malaria infections, research into malaria parasite biology has been extensively facilitated by animal models. Animals have been used to study disease pathogenesis, host immune responses and their (dys)regulation and further disease processes such as transmission. Moreover, animal models remain at the forefront of pre-clinical evaluations of antimalarial drugs (drug efficacy, mode of action, mode of resistance) and vaccines. In this review, we discuss commonly used animal models of malaria, the parasite species used and their advantages and limitations which hinder their extrapolation to actual human disease. We also place into this context the most recent developments such as organoid technologies and humanized mice.
Creating a Common Law of Slavery for England and its New World Empire
Authors: Brewer Holly
Published: February 2022

The current historical consensus is that English common law was somewhat confused, but that coerced servitude was legal in England before 1772, and certainly in its empire, where English law on slavery did not reach, because it was “beyond the line” of English justice. The common law is characterized by an effort to see continuity and consistency, and historians (despite our natural desire to track change) often look for those patterns too. Such efforts to provide a consistent overview of an England that was free and colonies that created slavery on their own—have obscured the vibrant struggle over slavery within the English judicial system—the common law—over more than a century. Not only did the common law on slavery change profoundly during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: the common law became an instrument of crown policy. It did so within a federal empire, wherein colonial legal norms had to adhere, in crucial ways, to that common law. English high court judges thus provided the legal foundation for an imperial common law of slavery that allowed people to be deemed absolute property. That definition of people as property was closely connected to absolutism, both in theory and practice. In theory the absolute power of kings over subjects was connected to that of masters over slaves. In practice, the crown's use of the courts to create laws without parliamentary consent (to bypass parliament) also increased crown revenue and thus their independence from parliamentary control. These powerful legal mechanisms made it possible to “recover” enslaved people as assets for debts, a legal definition that was essential for a market in people to function sucessfully. This history reveals the absolutist character of early capitalism, and the extent to which the character of capitalist development depends on the legal rules that define markets and justice.
Risk factors for sporadic listeriosis in Beijing, China: a matched case–control study
Authors: Niu Yan-Lin , Wang Tong-Yu , Zhang Xiao-Ai , Guo Yun-Chang , Zhang Ye-Wu , Wang Chao , Wu Yang-Bo , Jiang Jin-Ru , Ma Xiao-Chen
Published: February 2022

Listeriosis is a rare but serious foodborne disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes. This matched case–control study (1:1 ratio) aimed to identify the risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits for the occurrence of sporadic listeriosis in Beijing, China. Cases were defined as patients from whom Listeria was isolated, in addition to the presence of symptoms, including fever, bacteraemia, sepsis and other clinical manifestations corresponding to listeriosis, which were reported via the Beijing Foodborne Disease Surveillance System. Basic patient information and possible risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits were collected through face-to-face interviews. One hundred and six cases were enrolled from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020, including 52 perinatal cases and 54 non-perinatal cases. In the non-perinatal group, the consumption of Chinese cold dishes increased the risk of infection by 3.43-fold (95% confidence interval 1.27–9.25, χ2 = 5.92, P = 0.02). In the perinatal group, the risk of infection reduced by 95.2% when raw and cooked foods were well-separated (χ2 = 5.11, P = 0.02). These findings provide important scientific evidence for preventing infection by L. monocytogenes and improving the dissemination of advice regarding food safety for vulnerable populations.
Intervocalic lenition is not phonological: evidence from Campidanese Sardinian
Authors: Katz Jonah
Published: February 2022

This paper develops a model of lenition in Campidanese Sardinian. The model treats lenition (and its inverse, fortition) as a predictable consequence of gradient changes in duration associated with prosodic structure. A more typical approach to lenition processes in Campidanese and other languages is to treat them as changes in phonological features. I show here that a phonetic model operating on the output of phonological computations avoids some of the analytical problems associated with such phonological analyses, unifies the phonetic and phonological description of lenition, and captures the relationship between prosody, lenition and duration. While the detailed simulations here are specific to Campidanese, I suggest that the model is broadly applicable to languages with intervocalic lenition processes such as voicing, spirantisation and tapping.
Optimality Theory implements complex functions with simple constraints
Authors: Lamont Andrew
Published: February 2022

While attested phonological mappings appear to be regular, Optimality Theory is known to implement more complex functions. This squib contributes to the computational characterisation of Optimality Theory by constructing a grammar that implements a non-pushdown function. By using only simple, familiar constraints, the result suggests that a large proportion of optimality-theoretic grammars are more powerful than necessary as models of phonology.
Alzheimer’s Disease Polygenic Scores Predict Changes in Episodic Memory and Executive Function Across 12 Years in Late Middle Age
Authors: Gustavson Daniel E. , Reynolds Chandra A. , Hohman Timothy J. , Jefferson Angela L. , Elman Jeremy A. , Panizzon Matthew S. , Neale Michael C. , Logue Mark W. , Lyons Michael J. , Franz Carol E. , Kremen William S.
Published: February 2022

Objective:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is highly heritable, and AD polygenic risk scores (AD-PRSs) have been derived from genome-wide association studies. However, the nature of genetic influences very early in the disease process is still not well known. Here we tested the hypothesis that an AD-PRSs would be associated with changes in episodic memory and executive function across late midlife in men who were cognitively unimpaired at their baseline midlife assessment..

Method:

We examined 1168 men in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) who were cognitively normal (CN) at their first of up to three assessments across 12 years (mean ages 56, 62, and 68). Latent growth models of episodic memory and executive function were based on 6–7 tests/subtests. AD-PRSs were based on Kunkle et al. (Nature Genetics, 51, 414–430, 2019), p < 5×10−8 threshold.

Results:

AD-PRSs were correlated with linear slopes of change for both cognitive abilities. Men with higher AD-PRSs had steeper declines in both memory (r = −.19, 95% CI [−.35, −.03]) and executive functioning (r = −.27, 95% CI [−.49, −.05]). Associations appeared driven by a combination of APOE and non-APOE genetic influences.

Conclusions:

Memory is most characteristically impaired in AD, but executive functions are one of the first cognitive abilities to decline in midlife in normal aging. This study is among the first to demonstrate that this early decline also relates to AD genetic influences, even in men CN at baseline.
The language of power: the politics of translation between English and Chinese in early colonial Hong Kong
Authors: Wong Man Kong
Published: February 2022

Although Chinese was not an official language in early colonial Hong Kong, translation between English and Chinese played a crucial role in daily life and politics. The first part of this article discusses the making of some important translated terms for government units and departments as well as foreign consulates in Hong Kong. In doing so, it accounts for different approaches in translation and lexical innovation, and their historical significance behind the making of newly translated terms. The second part of this article investigates salient features of the translation experiment initiated by Governor John Pope Hennessy (1834–1891; term of office: 1877–1882). The experiment aimed at strengthening the political legitimacy and colonial governability in Hong Kong. In return, the social standing of Chinese community leaders was duly recognised through their association with translation projects between English and Chinese, and the presentation of translated messages at important occasions hosted by Government House.
Reform and/or Revolution? Comments on Karin de Boer, Kant’s Reform of Metaphysics
Authors: Franks Paul
Published: February 2022

Karin de Boer has given the best account so far of the reform of Wolffian metaphysics that Kant promised. But does such a reform cohere with the revolutionary goal that Kant also affirmed? Standpoint is singled out as the central meta-concept of Kant’s revolutionary goal, and it is argued that, in the second and third critiques, Kant himself developed his revolutionary insight into the perspectival character of both concept and judgement in ways that he did not anticipate at the time of the first critique, when his promise to reform metaphysics was made. The question is raised what room Kant’s revolution leaves for doctrinal and not merely disciplinary judgements in both general and special metaphysics, and also whether the opening of new vistas may have drained metaphysical reform of its interest.
Would violent tactics cost a democratic movement its international support? A critical examination of Hong Kong's anti-ELAB movement using sentiment analysis and topic modelling
Authors: Lui Elizabeth
Published: February 2022

This paper aims to address an important yet under-studied issue – how does violence from the side of the protestors affect overseas support for a democratic movement? The importance of this question is twofold. First, while violence and radicalization are not exactly unfamiliar territories for scholars of contentious politics, they do not receive as much attention when their effects spill beyond the domestic arenas. Second, this study seeks to examine international solidarity with democratic movements at the civil society level, which differs substantially from the conventional elite-centric approach when it comes to the intersection between democratization and international relations. Against this backdrop, this paper considers the relationship between violent tactics employed by the protestors during the anti-extradition movement and the sentiment expressed by people elsewhere towards the protests. To this end, a total of 9,659,770 tweets were extracted using Twitter Application Programming Interface during the period of 1 June 2019–31 January 2020. Leveraging computational methods such as topic modelling and sentiment analysis, findings in this paper demonstrate that a majority of foreign Twitter users were supportive of the protestors while held relatively negative sentiments against the government as well as the police. In addition, this study reveals that, broadly speaking, violence might cost a democratic movement by its international support, but could also garner more attention at times. Despite its restricted scope, this paper hopefully will shed some useful light on the dynamics underlying international solidarity for a democratic movement abroad as well as the complex mechanisms of interactions between people who protest at home and those who observe from overseas.
EULER CHARACTERISTIC AND SIGNATURE OF REAL SEMI-STABLE DEGENERATIONS
Authors: Brugallé Erwan
Published: February 2022

We give a motivic proof of the fact that for nonsingular real tropical complete intersections, the Euler characteristic of the real part is equal to the signature of the complex part. This was originally proved by Itenberg in the case of surfaces in
$\mathbb {C}P^{3}$
, and has been successively generalized by Bertrand and by Bihan and Bertrand. Our proof, different from previous approaches, is an application of the motivic nearby fiber of semistable degenerations. In particular, it extends the original result by Itenberg, Bertrand, and Bihan to real analytic families admitting a
$\mathbb {Q}$
-nonsingular tropical limit.
Design and analysis of UWB antenna with quintuple band-notched and wide-band rejection characteristics
Authors: Yang Hailong , Zhang Jinsheng , Li Xuping , Li Yapeng , Yang Junhua , Shi Xiaomin
Published: February 2022

In this study, a compact ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna with quintuple band-notched and wide-band rejection characteristics is studied. The proposed antenna mainly consists of a rectangular radiating patch, a microstrip feeding line, and a modified rectangular ground plane. The quintuple band-notched functions with narrow stop bands are achieved at WiMAX (3.3–3.7 GHz), WLAN (5.15–5.35 GHz and 5.725–5.825 GHz), C-band IEEE INSAT/super-extended (6.7–7.1 GHz) by using three modified inverted U-shaped slots and two symmetrical rectangular slots on the radiating path. Each stop band formed in the UWB antenna can be adjusted independently, and deep reflection zeros are formed between the adjacent stop bands. The formation of reflection zeros improves the band-edge selectivity of the stop band, and the notch characteristics are more prominent. To further study the wide stop band (C-band and X-band) with good selectivity characteristics, a pair of L-shaped open slot is added to the edges of two rectangular slots. Additionally, a pair of modified Rho-shaped resonators is located near the feeding line to realize band-notched characteristic at ITU service bands (8.025–8.4 GHz), thus a quintuple band-notched UWB antenna is achieved. The shape factor (ratio of the −3 dB bandwidth to the −10 dB bandwidth) of the wide stop band is 0.56, which indicates that the antenna has excellent band-edge selectivity. To verify the performance of the proposed design, both the time-domain and the frequency-domain characteristics of the antenna have been studied and analyzed. The simulated and measured results verify the design as a good candidate for various portable UWB applications.
Komplexität in der Psychotherapie
Authors: Sachse Rainer
Published: February 2022

Psychotherapie ist ein komplexer Prozess. Klientinnen und Klienten kommen mit unterschiedlichsten Symptomen und Störungen in die Therapie, ihre Anliegen und Ziele sind ebenso heterogen wie ihre Persönlichkeiten. Aber auch auf Therapeutenseite fließen viele Variablen mit ein, wie z.B. die gewählte Therapieform und die Persönlichkeit der Therapierenden. Wie kann angesichts dieser Komplexität eine Psychotherapie den Klientinnen und Klienten gerecht werden und nachhaltige Veränderungen erzielen?
Der erfahrene Psychotherapeut Rainer Sachse diskutiert in diesem Buch Ansätze aus Wissenschafts-, Chaos- und Systemtheorie und integriert wichtige psychologische und psychotherapeutische Forschungsergebnisse, um daraus konstruktive Vorschläge abzuleiten, wie Psychotherapie weiterentwickelt werden kann: zu einer komplexen Psychotherapie, in der nicht nur störungsspezifische Aspekte betrachtet werden, sondern auch die Funktionsspezifität bei der Konzeptualisierung des Therapieprozesses eine entscheidende Rolle spielt.
The Impact of Springtime‐Transported Air Pollutants on Local Air Quality With Satellite‐Constrained NOx Emission Adjustments Over East Asia
Authors: Jung Jia , Choi Yunsoo , Souri Amir H. , Mousavinezhad Seyedali , Sayeed Alqamah , Lee Kyunghwa
Published: February 2022

To quantify the impact of transported air pollutants on local air quality, this study applies an inverse modeling technique with tropospheric nitrogen dioxide column retrievals from TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument, and the CMAQ‐ISAM model, which computes source attribution over six regions of interest in spring 2019 over East Asia. Satellite‐constrained nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions successfully improve model performance by significantly reducing the normalized mean bias of concentrations of NOx, Ozone (O3), and PM2.5 from most regions in China and South Korea. Anticyclones over the Yellow Sea transport air pollutants and increase the contribution of emissions from adjacent regions to local air quality. Fluxes of air pollutants with posterior emissions showed notable enhancements in their magnitude by 3%–24% for NOy, O3, and PM2.5. The contributions of emissions from neighboring regions on local NOx and O3 budgets in the planetary boundary layer were 22.96%–35.24% and 24.23%–42.26%. The contribution of emissions from North Korea was notable despite its comparably lower emission rates. Regarding the impact of external influences on local air quality, the enhanced chemical loss of NOx compensated for increases by transport. Also, the increased vertical gradient of maximum daily 8‐hr average O3 amplified vertical transport and dry deposition processes in the opposite direction along with slight changes in the chemical net O3 production rate. This study shows the nonlinear response of local air quality to changes in the transport of air pollutants, which could be further investigated concerning changes in emissions and climatological factors that would modify the inflow of air pollutants.
Mitochondrial Fus1/Tusc2 and cellular Ca2+ homeostasis: tumor suppressor, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging implications
Authors: Uzhachenko Roman , Shimamoto Akiko , Chirwa Sanika S. , Ivanov Sergey V. , Ivanova Alla V. , Shanker Anil
Published: February 2022

FUS1/TUSC2(FUSion1/TUmorSuppressorCandidate2) is a tumor suppressor gene (TSG) originally described as a member of the TSG cluster from human 3p21.3 chromosomal region frequently deleted in lung cancer. Its role as a TSG in lung, breast, bone, and other cancers was demonstrated by several groups, but molecular mechanisms of its activities are starting to unveil lately. They suggest that Fus1-dependent mechanisms are relevant in etiologies of diseases beyond cancer, such as chronic inflammation, bacterial and viral infections, premature aging, and geriatric diseases. Here, we revisit the discovery ofFUS1gene in the context of tumor initiation and progression, and review 20 years of research into FUS1 functions and its molecular, structural, and biological aspects that have led to its use in clinical trials and gene therapy. We present a data-driven view on how interactions of Fus1 with the mitochondrial Ca2+(mitoCa2+) transport machinery maintain cellular Ca2+homeostasis and control cell apoptosis and senescence. This Fus1-mediated cellular homeostasis is at the crux of tumor suppressor, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging activities.
CircNEIL3 mediates pyroptosis to influence lung adenocarcinoma radiotherapy by upregulating PIF1 through miR-1184 inhibition
Authors: Zhang Ting , Wu Dong-Ming , Luo Peng-Wei , Liu Teng , Han Rong , Deng Shi-Hua , He Miao , Zhao Yang-Yang , Xu Ying
Published: February 2022

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) belong to an abundant category of non-coding RNAs that are stable and specific, and thus have great potential in cancer treatment. However, little is known about the role of circRNAs during radiotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Here, we established the expression profiles of 1,875 dysregulated circRNAs in non-irradiated and irradiated A549 cells and identified circNEIL3 as a significantly downregulated circRNA in A549 cells treated with 0, 2, or 4 Gy of radiation, respectively. Functional assays demonstrated that circNEIL3 knockdown promoted radiation-induced cell pyroptosis, whereas circNEIL3 overexpression had the opposite effects. Importantly, the effects of circNEIL3 overexpression on inhibiting pyroptosis were reversed by PIF1 knockdown. Mechanistically, circNEIL3-mediated pyroptosis was achieved through directly binding to miR-1184 as a sponge, thereby releasing the inhibition of miR-1184 on PIF1, which ultimately induces DNA damage and triggers AIM2 inflammasome activation. In vivo, circNEIL3 knockdown significantly enhanced the efficacy of radiotherapy as evidenced by decreases in tumor volume and weight. Collectively, the circNEIL3/miR-1184/PIF1 axis that mediate pyroptosis induction may be a novel, promising therapeutic strategy for the clinical treatment of lung cancer.
LncRNA SND1-IT1 facilitates TGF-β1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition via miR-124/COL4A1 axis in gastric cancer
Authors: Hu Yang-Zhi , Hu Zhi-Li , Liao Tian-You , Li Yuan , Pan Yun-Long
Published: February 2022

The transformation of tumor cells from an epithelial to a mesenchymal-like phenotype, designated as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), represents a key hallmark of human cancer metastasis, including gastric cancer (GC). However, a large set of non-coding RNAs have been studied for their functions that initiate or inhibit this phenotypic switch in GC cells by regulating oncogenes or tumor suppressors. In this paper, we aimed to identify lncRNA SND1-IT1, miR-124, and COL4A1 gene in the context of GC with a specific focus on their effects on transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-induced EMT. The study included 52 paired samples of lesion tissues and adjacent lesion-free tissues surgically resected from patients diagnosed with GC. HGC-27 cells were stimulated with exogenous TGF-β1 (2 ng/mL). Expression of lncRNA SND1-IT1, miR-124, and COL4A1 was determined by RT-qPCR. CCK-8 assays, Transwell assays, immunoblotting analysis of EMT-specific markers, and tumor invasion markers were performed to evaluate cell viability, migration, and invasion of cultured HGC-27 cells. Luciferase activity assay was employed to examine miR-124 binding with lncRNA SND1-IT1 and COL4A1, respectively. LncRNA SND1-IT1 was upregulated in GC tissues and cells. TGF-β1-stimulated EMT and regulated lncRNA SND1-IT1, miR-124, and COL4A1 expressions in HGC-27 cells. LncRNA SND1-IT1 knockdown tempered HGC-27 cell viability, migration and invasion. LncRNA SND1-IT1 participated in TGF-β1-stimulated EMT in GC by sponging miR-124. MiR-124 attenuated TGF-β1-stimulated EMT in GC by targeting COL4A1. These results primarily demonstrated TGF-β1 can regulate cancer cell migration, invasion and stimulate EMT through the SND1-IT1/miR-124/COL4A1 axis in GC.
Disentangling the recognition complexity of a protein hub using a nanopore
Authors: Mayse Lauren Ashley , Imran Ali , Larimi Motahareh Ghahari , Cosgrove Michael S. , Wolfe Aaron James , Movileanu Liviu
Published: February 2022

WD40 repeat proteins are frequently involved in processing cell signaling and scaffolding large multi-subunit machineries. Despite their significance in physiological and disease-like conditions, their reversible interactions with other proteins remain modestly examined. Here, we show the development and validation of a protein nanopore for the detection and quantification of WD40 repeat protein 5 (WDR5), a chromatin-associated hub involved in epigenetic regulation of histone methylation. Our nanopore sensor is equipped with a 14-residue Win motif of mixed lineage leukemia 4 methyltransferase (MLL4Win), a WDR5 ligand. Our approach reveals a broad dynamic range of MLL4Win-WDR5 interactions and three distant subpopulations of binding events, representing three modes of protein recognition. The three binding events are confirmed as specific interactions using a weakly binding WDR5 derivative and various environmental contexts. These outcomes demonstrate the substantial sensitivity of our nanopore sensor, which can be utilized in protein analytics.
Inverse design of 3d molecular structures with conditional generative neural networks
Authors: Gebauer Niklas W. A. , Gastegger Michael , Hessmann Stefaan S. P. , Müller Klaus-Robert , Schütt Kristof T.
Published: February 2022

The rational design of molecules with desired properties is a long-standing challenge in chemistry. Generative neural networks have emerged as a powerful approach to sample novel molecules from a learned distribution. Here, we propose a conditional generative neural network for 3d molecular structures with specified chemical and structural properties. This approach is agnostic to chemical bonding and enables targeted sampling of novel molecules from conditional distributions, even in domains where reference calculations are sparse. We demonstrate the utility of our method for inverse design by generating molecules with specified motifs or composition, discovering particularly stable molecules, and jointly targeting multiple electronic properties beyond the training regime.
X-ray multiphoton-induced Coulomb explosion images complex single molecules
Authors: Boll Rebecca , Schäfer Julia M. , Richard Benoît , Fehre Kilian , Kastirke Gregor , Jurek Zoltan , Schöffler Markus S. , Abdullah Malik M. , Anders Nils , Baumann Thomas M. , Eckart Sebastian , Erk Benjamin , De Fanis Alberto , Dörner Reinhard , Grundmann Sven , Grychtol Patrik , Hartung Alexander , Hofmann Max , Ilchen Markus , Inhester Ludger , Janke Christian , Jin Rui , Kircher Max , Kubicek Katharina , Kunitski Maksim , Li Xiang , Mazza Tommaso , Meister Severin , Melzer Niklas , Montano Jacobo , Music Valerija , Nalin Giammarco , Ovcharenko Yevheniy , Passow Christopher , Pier Andreas , Rennhack Nils , Rist Jonas , Rivas Daniel E. , Rolles Daniel , Schlichting Ilme , Schmidt Lothar Ph. H. , Schmidt Philipp , Siebert Juliane , Strenger Nico , Trabert Daniel , Trinter Florian , Vela-Perez Isabel , Wagner Rene , Walter Peter , Weller Miriam , Ziolkowski Pawel , Son Sang-Kil , Rudenko Artem , Meyer Michael , Santra Robin , Jahnke Till
Published: February 2022

Following structural dynamics in real time is a fundamental goal towards a better understanding of chemical reactions. Recording snapshots of individual molecules with ultrashort exposure times is a key ingredient towards this goal, as atoms move on femtosecond (10−15 s) timescales. For condensed-phase samples, ultrafast, atomically resolved structure determination has been demonstrated using X-ray and electron diffraction. Pioneering experiments have also started addressing gaseous samples. However, they face the problem of low target densities, low scattering cross sections and random spatial orientation of the molecules. Therefore, obtaining images of entire, isolated molecules capturing all constituents, including hydrogen atoms, remains challenging. Here we demonstrate that intense femtosecond pulses from an X-ray free-electron laser trigger rapid and complete Coulomb explosions of 2-iodopyridine and 2-iodopyrazine molecules. We obtain intriguingly clear momentum images depicting ten or eleven atoms, including all the hydrogens, and thus overcome a so-far impregnable barrier for complete Coulomb explosion imaging—its limitation on molecules consisting of three to five atoms. In combination with state-of-the-art multi-coincidence techniques and elaborate theoretical modelling, this allows tracing ultrafast hydrogen emission and obtaining information on the result of intramolecular electron rearrangement. Our work represents an important step towards imaging femtosecond chemistry via Coulomb explosion.
Sequence determinants of human gene regulatory elements
Authors: Sahu Biswajyoti , Hartonen Tuomo , Pihlajamaa Päivi , Wei Bei , Dave Kashyap , Zhu Fangjie , Kaasinen Eevi , Lidschreiber Katja , Lidschreiber Michael , Daub Carsten O. , Cramer Patrick , Kivioja Teemu , Taipale Jussi
Published: February 2022

DNA can determine where and when genes are expressed, but the full set of sequence determinants that control gene expression is unknown. Here, we measured the transcriptional activity of DNA sequences that represent an ~100 times larger sequence space than the human genome using massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs). Machine learning models revealed that transcription factors (TFs) generally act in an additive manner with weak grammar and that most enhancers increase expression from a promoter by a mechanism that does not appear to involve specific TF–TF interactions. The enhancers themselves can be classified into three types: classical, closed chromatin and chromatin dependent. We also show that few TFs are strongly active in a cell, with most activities being similar between cell types. Individual TFs can have multiple gene regulatory activities, including chromatin opening and enhancing, promoting and determining transcription start site (TSS) activity, consistent with the view that the TF binding motif is the key atomic unit of gene expression.
Application of 3-dimensional printing guide template and pointed lotus-style regulator in percutaneous pedicle screw fixation for thoracolumbar fractures
Authors: Zhang Ming , Li Jiayi , Fang Tao , Yan Jing , Wu Lungang , Zhou Quan
Published: February 2022

This study aims to analysis the efficacy of the 3D printing percutaneous guide template in combination with the pointed lotus-style regulator in percutaneous pedicle screw fixation. 60 thoracolumbar fractures patients receiving percutaneous pedicle screw fixation (PPSF) were enrolled and randomly divided into 3 groups. Patients in Group A received traditional PPSF, while patients in Group B received PPSF with flat end lotus-style regulator and patients in Group C received PPSF with pointed lotus-style regulator. The experimental results showed that the highest number of pedicle screw successfully inserted by the first time was in group C, while lowest in group A (P < 0.05). The total time of fluoroscopy and operation were lower in group C, and higher in group A (P < 0.05). VAS and ODI scores were all lower after surgery than before surgery in 3groups. VAS and ODI scores were lower in group B and C, compared with group A at day 1, 7 after surgery (P < 0.05). KA decreased significantly in 3 groups after surgery and no difference in KA change between 3 groups (P > 0.05). Taken together, Application of the 3D printing guide template in combination with pointed lotus-style regulator improved the accuracy of pedicle insertion.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04980131. Registered 18/07/2021.
Idiosyncratic selection of active touch for shape perception
Authors: Mizrachi Neomi , Nelinger Guy , Ahissar Ehud , Arieli Amos
Published: February 2022

Hand movements are essential for tactile perception of objects. However, the specific functions served by active touch strategies, and their dependence on physiological parameters, are unclear and understudied. Focusing on planar shape perception, we tracked at high resolution the hands of 11 participants during shape recognition task. Two dominant hand movement strategies were identified: contour following and scanning. Contour following movements were either tangential to the contour or oscillating perpendicular to it. Scanning movements crossed between distant parts of the shapes’ contour. Both strategies exhibited non-uniform coverage of the shapes’ contours. Idiosyncratic movement patterns were specific to the sensed object. In a second experiment, we have measured the participants’ spatial and temporal tactile thresholds. Significant portions of the variations in hand speed and in oscillation patterns could be explained by the idiosyncratic thresholds. Using data-driven simulations, we show how specific strategy choices may affect receptors activation. These results suggest that motion strategies of active touch adapt to both the sensed object and to the perceiver’s physiological parameters.
Belowground mechanism reveals climate change impacts on invasive clonal plant establishment
Authors: Bam Surendra , Ott Jacqueline P. , Butler Jack L. , Xu Lan
Published: February 2022

Climate change and disturbance can alter invasion success of clonal plants by differentially affecting the clonal traits influencing their establishment as young plants. Clonal traits related to the vegetative reproduction of native Pascopyrum smithii and non-native Bromus inermis grass seedlings were evaluated under altered precipitation frequencies and a single grazing event. Pascopyrum smithii maintained similar vegetative reproduction under three simulated precipitation frequencies whereas B. inermis vegetative reproduction declined as precipitation became more intermittent. Vegetative reproduction of the non-native B. inermis was greater than the native P. smithii under all simulated precipitation frequencies except the most intermittent scenario. A single grazing event did not affect either species’ response to intra-annual precipitation variability but did slightly reduce their clonal growth and increase their bud dormancy. In young plants, clonal traits of the invasive grass favored its superior expansion and population growth compared to the native grass except under the most severe climate change scenario. Grassland restoration using native P. smithii seeds would be successful in most years due to its resilient clonal growth in a changing climate. Clonal infrastructure development in young plants is critical to clonal plant establishment and persistence in a changing climate and under disturbed conditions.
Propensity score analysis of psychological intimate partner violence and preterm birth
Authors: Martín-de-las-Heras Stella , Khan Khalid Saeed , Velasco Casilda , Caño Africa , Luna Juan de Dios , Rubio Leticia
Published: February 2022

Psychological intimate partner violence (IPV), a global public health problem, affects mothers during pregnancy. We evaluated its relationship with preterm birth. We established a cohort of 779 consecutive mothers receiving antenatal care and giving birth in 15 public hospitals in Spain. Trained midwives collected IPV data using the Index of Spouse Abuse validated in the Spanish language. Preterm was defined as birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation. Gestational age was estimated by early ultrasound. With multivariate logistic regression we estimated the relative association of IPV with preterm birth as adjusted odds ratios (AOR), with 95% confidence intervals (CI). In propensity score analysis, using weighting by inverse probability of exposure to IPV, the whole sample was used for estimating the absolute difference in probability of preterm amongst offspring born to mothers with and without IPV. Socio-demographic and other pregnancy characteristics served as covariates in both analyses. Preterm occurred in 57 (7.3%) pregnancies. Psychological IPV, experienced by 151 (21%) mothers, was associated with preterm birth (11.9% vs 6.5%; AOR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.1–5.0;p = 0.01). The absolute preterm difference in psychological IPV compared to normal was 0.08 (95% CI = 0.01–0.16;p = 0.04). The probability of preterm birth was 8% higher on average in women with psychological IPV during pregnancy. As our analysis controlled for selection bias, our findings give credence to a causal inference. Screening and management for psychological IPV during pregnancy is an important step in antenatal care to prevent preterm birth.
Nanoclay-based sensor composites for the facile detection of molecular antioxidants
Authors: Szerlauth Adél , Szalma Lilla , Muráth Szabolcs , Sáringer Szilárd , Varga Gábor , Li Li , Szilágyi István
Published: February 2022

A paper-based sensor containing nanoclay particles, a polyelectrolyte and a metal complex as sensing elements was developed for the facile detection of molecular antioxidants.
Sensitive detection of the okadaic acid marine toxin in shellfish by Au@Pt NPs/horseradish peroxidase dual catalysis immunoassay
Authors: Tian Yinqi , Yuan Lin , Zhang Min , He Youfen , Lin Xucong
Published: February 2022

A sensitive immunoassay for the trace OA marine toxin was established based on the dual catalysis enhancement strategy of Au@Pt NPs/horseradish peroxidase composites.
Reactivities of allenic and olefinic Michael acceptors towards phosphines
Authors: An Feng , Jangra Harish , Wei Yin , Shi Min , Zipse Hendrik , Ofial Armin R.
Published: February 2022

Insights into the first step of R3P-catalysed Lu cycloadditions are given by the kinetics of phosphine additions to alkyl allenoates.
Bi/trinuclear Pt1,2Cu cluster assembly from isolated metal atoms
Authors: Li Huixiang , Liang Changhui , Liu Kairui , Hou Guangjin , Bai Shi , Zhang Z. Conrad
Published: February 2022

We report a facile atom assembly of heterometallic bi-/tri-atom clusters (Pt1,2Cu1) starting from mono-metallic atoms (Pt1) in a protective PDMS-PEG layer.