bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mediating roles of college teaching self-efficacy in job stress and job satisfaction among Chinese university teachers
Authors: Liu Yanling , Yi Soohyun , Siwatu Kamau O.
Published: January 2023

Colleges and universities have been experiencing high rates of faculty turnover across countries, and hiring and retaining influential faculty members is a constant challenge that higher education institutions have encountered. Job stress and job satisfaction are stable predictors that psychologically determine teachers’ persistence in their institutions. The present study aimed to extend understanding of a mediating effect of college teaching self-efficacy (CTSE) on the relationship between faculty job stress and job satisfaction. Data collected from 455 Chinese university teachers were analyzed using structural equation moderated mediation models. CTSE was an effective mediator in alleviating the negative relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. Our finding from a moderated mediation model suggests that the mediation effect of CTSE did not differ by teaching experience, ranks, gender, and workload. However, the significant covariate effect of teaching experience incorporated in the mediation effect implies that teachers with more teaching experiences may have greater teaching self-efficacy, which may positively change the perceptions of job stress and job satisfaction. By way of discussion, we provided evidence regarding current trends and underlying psychological reasons for university teachers’ dissatisfaction which might be useful for educators, university administrators, and policymakers framing policy and institutional decisions. Some impractical implications are further discussed.
Genetic polymorphisms of Ca2+ transport proteins and molecular chaperones in mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Tang Zongzhe , Ding Yajie , Zhang Ru , Zhang Mengting , Guan Qing , Zhang Liuxin , Wang Hongliang , Chen Yue , Jiang Rong , Zhang Wei , Wang Jie
Published: January 2023

Background

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is recognized to be closely associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, while previous studies have emphasized the important role of calcium homeostasis from the mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane (MAM) in the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. This article will assess the association between genetic polymorphisms of Ca2+ transport proteins and molecular chaperones in MAM and NAFLD risk.

Methods

A case-control study was conducted in a community of Nanjing, China during April to December 2020. 2701 subjects were enrolled and genotyped for 6 genetic variants in HSPA5 and ITPR2 genes. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess impact of these variants on NAFLD risk.

Results

After adjusting for age, gender, total cholesterol and glucose, we identified that HSPA5 rs12009 variant genotypes (recessive model: OR= 0.801, 95% CI= 0.652-0.986, P= 0.036), rs430397 variant genotypes (recessive model: OR= 0.546, 95% CI= 0.314-0.950, P= 0.032), and ITPR2 rs11048570 variant genotypes (recessive model: OR= 0.673, 95% CI= 0.453-0.999, P= 0.049) were associated with a reduced risk of NAFLD. Multivariate stepwise regression analysis indicated that gender, glucose, body mass index, triglycerides and favorable alleles were independent influencers of NAFLD (all P< 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.764 (95% CI= 0.745-0.783, P< 0.001).

Conclusion

The variant genotypes of Ca2+ transport-associated genes HSPA5 (rs12009 and rs430397) and ITPR2 (rs11048570) might contribute to the reduction of the NAFLD risk in Chinese Han population, which can provide new insight into NAFLD pathogenesis.
Case report: Late middle-aged features of FAM111A variant, Kenny–Caffey syndrome type 2-suggestive symptoms during a long follow-up
Authors: Ohmachi Yuka , Urai Shin , Bando Hironori , Yokoi Jun , Yamamoto Masaaki , Kanie Keitaro , Motomura Yuma , Tsujimoto Yasutaka , Sasaki Yuriko , Oi Yuka , Yamamoto Naoki , Suzuki Masaki , Shichi Hiroki , Iguchi Genzo , Uehara Natsumi , Fukuoka Hidenori , Ogawa Wataru
Published: January 2023

Kenny–Caffey syndrome type 2 (KCS2) is an extremely rare skeletal disorder involving hypoparathyroidism and short stature. It has an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance and is caused by variants in the FAM111 trypsin-like peptidase A (FAM111A) gene. This disease is often difficult to diagnose due to a wide range of more common diseases manifesting hypoparathyroidism and short stature. Herein, we present the case of a 56-year-old female patient with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism and a short stature. The patient was treated for these conditions during childhood. Upon re-evaluating the etiology of KCS2, we suspected that the patient had the disorder because of clinical manifestations, such as cortical thickening and medullary stenosis of the bones, and lack of intellectual abnormalities. Genetic testing identified a heterozygous missense variant in the FAM111A gene (p.R569H). Interestingly, the patient also had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction, which have been rarely described in previous reports of pediatric cases. In KCS2, inner ear dysfunction due to Eustachian tube dysfunction may progress in middle age or later. However, this disease is now being reported in younger patients. Nevertheless, our case may be instructive of how such cases emerge chronically after middle age. Herein, we also provide a literature review of KCS2.
Characterization of the microenvironment of diabetic foot ulcers and potential drug identification based on scRNA-seq
Authors: Li Yao , Ju Shuai , Li Xiaoyan , Li Wenqiang , Zhou Siyuan , Wang Guili , Cai Yunmin , Dong Zhihui
Published: January 2023

Background

Diabetes foot ulcers (DFUs) are a type of foot infection, ulcer, and/or deep tissue destruction caused by neuropathy and vascular disease in the distal extremities of diabetic patients. Its pathogenesis and its microenvironment are not entirely understood.

Methods

Initially, the GSE165816 data set from the GEO database was utilized for single cell analysis to reveal the microenvironment and functional status of DFUs. The GSE199939 RNA-seq data set was utilized for external validation. On the basis of the logistic regression machine learning algorithm (OCLR), pseudo time series analysis, dryness index analysis, and drug target gene analysis were then performed. By constructing drug-gene and gene-gene networks, we can locate the most recent DFUs treatments. Finally, immunofluorescence technology was used to detect the cell-related markers of the DFUs microenvironment, and qPCR was used to detect the expression of drug targets in DFUs.

Results

Firstly, we used the Cell Maker database to obtain information about human cells and related gene markers, and manually reviewed a total of 45 kinds of cells and maker information that may appear in the DFUs microenvironment, which were divided into 17 cell clusters after annotation. Subsequently, we counted the proportions of DM and DFUs in different types of cells, and the results showed that the proportions of macrophages, white blood cells, and monocytes were higher in patients with DFUs, while the proportions of pluripotent stem cells and stromal cells were higher in patients with DM. The Pseudo-time series analysis of cells in DFUs showed that the differentiation pathways of immune cells, mesenchymal cells and stem cells were similar in the three states, while the other cells were distributed in different stages. At the level of a single cell, the scores of both multipotential stem cells and hematopoietic stem cells were significantly lower in DFU healing and non-healing than in DM. Additionally, the highly expressed genes in DFU were chosen as drug targets. We identified seven potential target genes and discovered twenty drugs with high significance. Finally, the colocalization relationship between CD19, ITGAM, and HLA-DR expression in monocytes and macrophages of DFU skin tissue and healthy subjects was analyzed by laser confocal microscopy with the immunofluorescence triple labeling method. The results showed that the expressions of CD19, ITGAM, and HLA-DR in the skin of DFUs were significantly higher than those in the skin of healthy subjects, and the co-localization relationship was significant in DFUs.

Conclusion

This study can serve as a resource for the treatment of DFUs.
Framework for smart grid to implement a price elasticity-based peak time rebate demand response program
Authors: Puppala Rajendhar , Jeyaraj Belwin Edward , Isaac Jacob Raglend , CH Hussaian Basha
Published: January 2023

The smart grid model is developed with some changes to help in implementing a demand response program which was initially developed for a Pecan Street project. Correspondingly, the real-time solar and load data are collected from the data port for the city of Austin. A single day is selected for our analysis of all four seasons of the year. The flat rate, and real-time and day-ahead pricing information are collected from ComEd. The key challenge for addressing business problems is the flexibility of consumption. However, without considering the properties of loss aversion, the system would not be a practical solution. So, in this article, a dynamic demand response program based on price elasticity that integrates loss aversion characteristics is proposed. The proposed system is compared for all pricing schemes and all seasons. Four scenarios are created for peak time rebate with different combinations of loss aversion factor values and all the possible combinations of rebates. This article directs how these combinations could change the demand curve and how the utility can make a decision about the specific importance of the criteria, such as the total demand carrying capacity, peak demand reduction, and in obtaining optimum profit for utility and the consumer.
Early warning of enterprise financial risk based on improved BP neural network model in low-carbon economy
Authors: Wan Jie , Yu Baochun
Published: January 2023

The concept of low-carbon economic development has led to changes in the business environment and financial environment of enterprises, leading to increased financial risks faced by enterprises. How to help enterprises better warn, prevent and control financial risks from the perspective of low-carbon economy has become a hot issue worth studying. Based on this, this paper is based on the perspective of low carbon economy, on the basis of analyzing the financing risk, investment risk, capital operation risk and growth risk faced by enterprises under the requirements of low carbon economy development. A set of financial risk management framework with clear hierarchy and strict vertical logic has been constructed. Ten financial early-warning indicators are constructed from four aspects. The risk prediction model of the indicator system is established using the research method of BPNN (Back Propagation Neural Network). The model is trained and simulated through the MATLAB neural network toolbox. After 10 indicators passed Bartlett’s correlation test, the BPNN financial early warning model was programmed using MATLAB software. The accuracy rate was 84.3%. The neural network training results show that when the layer node is 8, the best correct recognition rate can be obtained. Incorporate “low carbon” into the financial risk early warning indicator system that meets the requirements of low carbon economic development in the design of enterprise financial risk early warning indicators. This paper is expected to provide reference and reference for low-carbon economy enterprises to deal with financial risks under the new situation.
Performance optimization of centrifugal pump based on particle swarm optimization and entropy generation theory
Authors: Qi Handong , Li Wei , Ji Leilei , Liu Mingjiang , Song Rui , Pan Yunxin , Yang Yi
Published: January 2023

Centrifugal pumps are frequently utilized in general machinery, but they have issues with low efficiency, unstable operation, and high-power consumption in actual engineering, making performance improvements necessary. In this paper, the particle swarm algorithm is utilized to find the optimal solution among the Pareto front solutions and obtain the most suitable impeller for the centrifugal pump with the lowest entropy generation and highest efficiency as the optimization objectives. Based on the entropy generation theory, the energy losses of the original model and the optimized model are compared and analyzed. The results show that the centrifugal pump impeller and volute are the two areas with the largest entropy generation ratio, the optimized centrifugal pump entropy generation decreases by 5.41%, and the efficiency increases by 3.89%. Turbulent entropy generation and wall entropy generation are the important causes of hydraulic losses. Most of the losses within the impeller occur mainly at leading edge and trailing edge of blade. As the flow rate increases, the closer the distribution of the high entropy generation rate at the front cover of the impeller, the more serious the flow losses. This paper can provide a theoretical reference for the performance optimization of centrifugal pumps.
Engaging faith-based communities in pro-environmental behavior using soft regulations: The case of single-use plastics
Authors: Kaufmann Dan , Tikotsky Ariel , Yoreh Tanhum , Tchetchik Anat
Published: January 2023

The consumption of single-use plastics, such as disposable tableware (DTW), conveys a high benefit-cost ratio for consumers while having large environmental externalities. To encourage consumers to reduce their use of DTWs, governments could use small and non-coercive changes in people’s decision-making environments (nudges). This study focuses on the Israeli ultra-Orthodox communities a secluded population group that grows much faster- and consumes much more DTW than the rest of the Israeli population. Employing a quasi-representative sample (N = 450) of this population, this study conducted a discrete-choice experiment that presents the respondent with alternative options to reduce DTW. Two kinds of Nudges–framing and social norms–were utilized. The effectiveness of these Nudges in promoting PEB among faith-based communities has received little attention in previous studies. As another contribution to the literature, this paper also integrates latent constructs such as the respondents’ environmental attitudes and level of conservativeness. 46% of the respondents chose to opt-out whereas 29%, 14%, and 11% chose ‘1-day’, ‘2-days’, and ‘3-days’ per week avoiding DTW, respectively. Social norms, framings, and environmental attitudes had a significant mediating effect, with framing being associated with the highest effect on intentions to reduce DTW, i.e., a willingness to give up 0.31 USD per family member per month, compared to 0.07 USD for an increase in the description of the social norm. The results suggest that Nudges can enhance policies aimed at encouraging pro-environmental behavior among faith-based communities.
The validation case on invasive crustaceans of the LifeWatch ERIC Internal Joint Initiative: State of the art and next steps forward
Authors: Di Muri Cristina , Arvanitidis Christos , Basset Alberto , De Giorgi Raffaele , Rosati Ilaria , Vaira Lucia , Mancinelli Giorgio
Published: January 2023

LifeWatch ERIC, the e-Science European infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research, launched an Internal Joint Initiative on Non-indigenous Species and Invasive Alien Species (NIS-IAS) as they are considered one of the major drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem change. Here, the case study focused on the trophic biogeography of invasive crustaceans is presented, describing the procedures, resources, and analytical web services implemented to investigate the trophic habits of these taxa by using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data. The case study offers a number of analytical tools to determine the variability of the trophic position of invasive crustaceans in a spatially-explicit context and to model it as a function of relevant environmental predictors. Literature-based stable isotope data of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus and of the Louisiana crayfish Procambarus clarkii have been used to evaluate the functionalities and outcomes of the workflow. The Tesseract Virtual Research Environment integrates all the analytical services offered by LifeWatch ERIC, including the ones developed for this case study, by means of a user-friendly interface. The analytical functions implemented for the crustacean workflow provide a proof of concept for future open e-science platforms focusing on NIS-IAS. The workflow conceptual structure can be adapted to a wide range of species, and can be further improved to support researchers in monitoring and predicting trophic-related impacts of NIS-IAS. In addition, it can support policymakers and stakeholders in the implementation of effective management and control measures to limit the negative effects of bioinvaders in recipient environments.
Spatial patterns and drivers of soil total nitrogen in anthropogenic shrub encroachment in desert steppe
Authors: Zhao Yanan , Li Zhili , Cao Zhe , Mi Wenbao , Wang Hongmei
Published: January 2023

Nitrogen is the most important driving factor in primary production and decomposition in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The effects of shrub encroachment on nitrogen cycling have been investigated at the site scale but seldomly conducted at the landscape scale. Here, we selected 43 shrubland sites distributing across 3000 km2 area in temperate desert grassland in eastern Yanchi County of Ningxia Hui Autonomous. We investigated the spatial heterogeneity and driving factors of soil total nitrogen (STN) at the landscape scale by using geostatistical analysis and the geographical detector method. Our results showed that the average soil total nitrogen decreased in the order of 0–5 cm (0.21 g kg−1) > 5–15 cm (0.19 g kg−1) > 15–40 cm (0.18 g kg−1). Geostatistical analysis showed that soil total nitrogen exhibited the strong spatial autocorrelation in the 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil layers and the moderate spatial autocorrelation in the 15–40 cm soil layer. Furthermore, the geographic detector method indicated that soil physicochemical properties exhibited the stronger effects than these of topographic and vegetation biomass in determining the spatial distribution of soil total nitrogen. Specifically, soil water content in the 0–20 cm soil layer explained 35% of variation in soil total nitrogen spatial pattern in the 0–5 cm soil layer, while soil organic carbon content in the 15–40 cm soil layer explained 64% and 45% of variation in soil total nitrogen spatial patterns in the 5–15 cm and 15–40 cm soil layers, respectively. It was concluded that soil water content and organic carbon content primarily drove the formation of soil total nitrogen spatial heterogeneity in shrubland at the landscape scale, indicating that anthropogenic shrub encroachment evidently affected soil water content and redistribution in dryland.
Public environmental supervision, environmental non-governmental organizations, and industrial green and low-carbon transformation
Authors: Zhang Haitao , Dong Jingrong , Zhang Wenqing , Luo Jiahui
Published: January 2023

The existing literature on China’s industrial green and low-carbon transformation primarily concerns the government’s top-down formal environmental regulation. A few studies have systematically investigated the role of informal environmental regulation represented by public environmental supervision and environmental non-governmental organizations The impact of public environmental supervision and ENGOs on industrial green and low-carbon transformation and its mechanism is empirically examined in this paper using a system GMM model and provincial panel data from 2005 to 2018. According to the findings, both Public environmental supervision and ENGOs can achieve green and low-carbon industrial transformation by promoting green technology progress; Public environmental supervision cannot collaborate with ENGOs to promote green and low-carbon industrial transformation based on national data. Further analysis indicates that the effect of public environmental supervision and ENGOs on industrial green and low-carbon transformation has significant regional heterogeneity. Public environmental supervision has a positive impact on industrial green and low-carbon transformation in the eastern and central regions. It has a negative impact on industrial green and low-carbon transformation in the western region. ENGOs promote green and low-carbon industrial transformation in the eastern and western regions. Only the eastern region has a synergistic effect on industrial greening and low-carbon transformation.
Climate change adaptation exertions on the use of alternative water resources in Antalya, Türkiye
Authors: Kilinc Elif Ayyuce , Tanik Aysegul , Hanedar Asude , Gorgun Erdem
Published: January 2023

This study presents the payback periods of applying rainwater harvesting (RWH) and/or graywater reuse (GWR) systems as alternative water resources in different building typologies, such as a hospital, shopping mall, and hotel. These buildings are under operation in the Antalya Province of Türkiye, which is a large city having the densest tourism activities. The significance of the work performed through the cost-benefit analyses for the selected case studies basically lies on the water savings while serving to four of the sustainable development goals, namely, clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. These efforts may be considered valuable urban-based solutions toward climate change effects. Thorough surveys on the existing selected typologies are conducted regarding their water consumption and probable water savings via reuse activities. As-built plumbing projects and plans are also investigated during the accomplishment of the comprehensive design work leading to the calculation of the total investment and operation costs of the rainwater harvesting and graywater reuse practices. The up-to-date prices are used in monetary terms, and euro currency is used to make the results more meaningful by the interested parties. All the selected typologies undergo cost-benefit analysis for both of the alternative water reuse systems. The payback periods are calculated as 6, 2, and 9 years for RWH and as 5, 6, and 9 years for GWR for the hospital, shopping mall, and the hotel, respectively. The water savings for RWH varied between 20% and 50% whereas for GWR, the range was 48%–99%. Both of the systems are performed for the shopping mall simultaneously, and the resulting payback period is found to be 5 years, and water saving reached 72%. Recent information on the amortization periods in the literature states that less than a decade demonstrates achievable and highly acceptable applications. As such, the design attempts in this study also correlated with these findings. However, feasibility of these practices may be increased by encouraging the public on their utility and benefit of water savings. As is the case in many of the developed countries, incentives like tax reductions and even exemptions may be realized to achieve better applicability of these alternative technologies.
Review of rural settlement research based on bibliometric analysis
Authors: Li Junfang , Song Wei
Published: January 2023

Rural settlements are important rural land use types, and rural transformation and reconstruction are global issues in the process of urbanization. Research on rural settlements has been performed form different perspectives. In this paper, we took articles on rural settlements published in the core collection of Web of Science from 1973 to 2021 as the object of measurement analysis. Literature induction was used to determine the research progress, using the Bibliometrix measurement software. We also summarized the number of published papers, authors, research institutions and cooperative relationships, and keywords and investigated the theme evolution in the field of rural settlements. The following main results were obtained: 1) the number of articles related to rural settlements published was 1,703; the time from 1973 to 2021 can be roughly divided into three evolutionary stages: the initial stage (1973–1990), the development stage (1991–2010), and the high-yield stage (2011–2021). The number of articles published increased sharply after 2011, indicating that this research field received increased attention. 2) China and the United States published the largest number of articles in this field, followed by Australia. 3) In recent years, “Immigration,” urbanization,” “Land use,” and “Floating population” were the most frequent keywords. Clustering analysis revealed four research. 4) Research in rural settlement areas changed largely over time; currently, in the context of urbanization, scientists focus on the renovation of rural settlements.
Hail climatology and its possible attributions in Beijing, China: 1980-2021
Authors: Bian Yuxuan , Hu Yaqiong , Li Mingxin , Li Jianying , Huang Mengyu , Ma Xincheng
Published: January 2023

Hail hazards have caused severe losses and threatened the safety of residents in Beijing, the Chinese capital city. A refined analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of hailstorms in Beijing can help to evaluate the risk of hail and guide the operations of hail prevention. The distribution of weather stations is relatively sparse to figure out the fine distribution of hail events. Therefore, a quality-controlled dataset of disaster information data reported from information reporters is used to analyze the fine temporal and spatial distributions of hail days and events in Beijing from 1980 to 2021 in this study. Hail events and hail days show an obvious downward trend with years from 1981 to 2010, while hail events show a strong upward trend from 2011 to 2021. The seasonal pattern of hail events shows a unimodal distribution from March to October, and the peak appears in June. Most of the hail events occurred from 14:00 to 21:00, while the highest counts appeared from 15:00 to 17:00. More and larger hails occurred in the northwestern mountains rather than southeastern plains in Beijing, highly correlated with the topography. Both total and severe hails hit the mountain area statistically earlier than the plain area. The most frequent hours of hails in the northwestern area and southeastern area were concentrated in the range of 13:00—17:00 and 16:00—20:00 CST, respectively. This time delay is due to the initiation location and movement direction of the convective storms. The influence of ENSO on warm season hails is positive in Beijing, which has a lag of 3 months or longer. The arctic oscillation has a negative correlation with hail days in each month from May to September.
Why are predator cues in the field not more evocative? A ‘real world’ assay elicits subtle, but meaningful, responses by wild rodents to predator scents
Authors: Parsons Michael H. , Stryjek Rafal , Bebas Piotr , Fendt Markus , Blumstein Daniel T. , Kiyokawa Yasushi , Chrzanowski Marcin M. , Munshi-South Jason
Published: January 2023

Mismatches between highly-standardized laboratory predatory assays and more realistic environmental conditions may lead to different outcomes. Understanding rodents’ natural responses to predator scents is important. Thus, field studies on the same and related species are essential to corroborate laboratory findings to better understand the contexts and motivational drives that affect laboratory responses to predator scents. However, there are too few field assays to enable researchers to study factors that influence these responses in genetically variable populations of wild rodents. Therefore, we placed laboratory-style chambers and remote-sensing devices near multiple colonies of two species of wild mice (Apodemus agrarius and Apodemus flavicollis) to test dual-motivational drives (appetitive and aversive) in a ‘familiar’, yet natural environment. A highly-palatable food reward was offered daily alongside scents from coyotes, lions, rabbits, and both wet and dry controls. In all but two instances (n = 264), animals entered chambers and remained inside for several minutes. Animals initiated flight twice, but they never froze. Rather, they visited chambers more often and stayed inside longer when predatory scents were deployed. The total time spent inside was highest for lion urine (380% longer than the dry control), followed by coyote scent (75% longer), dry control and lastly, herbivore scents (no difference). Once inside the chamber, animals spent more time physically interacting with predatory scents than the herbivore scent or controls. Our findings support the common assumption that rodents fail to respond as overtly to predatory scents in the field compared to what has been observed in the laboratory, possibly due to their varying motivational levels to obtain food. More time spent interacting with scents in the field was likely a function of ‘predator inspection’ (risk assessment) once subjects were in a presumed safe enclosure. We conclude this sort of chamber assay can be useful in understanding the contexts and motivational drives inherent to field studies, and may help interpret laboratory results. Our results also suggest more attention should be given to subtle behaviors such as scent inspection in order to better understand how, and when, environmental stimuli evoke fear in rodents.
Resilience to unusual flooding after 2021 tropical storms in part of mainland Southeast Asia
Authors: Wattanachareekul Pawat , Choowong Nutcha , Pailoplee Santi , Choowong Montri
Published: January 2023

In Southeast Asian countries, flooding is common and occurs a few weeks after tropical storms. In Thailand, the government’s approach to dealing with flooding is focused on the construction of anthropogenic megastructures. The loss of life, property, and ecosystem from flooding still occurs and will likely become increasingly more severe soon due to global climate variation. Here, in this brief report, we show a case study analyzing the cause of unusual flooding that occurred from September to November 2021 during the tropical depression “Dianmu” and the tropical cyclone “Kompasu” that hit the Khorat Plateau, northeastern Thailand. These two tropical storms left behind vast flooded urban and agricultural areas in the upstream part of the Chi River on this, the largest plateau in mainland Southeast Asia. The flood water stagnated for a month and unusually drained downslope in the upstream zone. In this work, a series of free online access satellite images taken by the Sentinel-1 C band GRD and Sentinel-2 available in the Google Earth engine platform was analyzed. As a result, we confirmed that the normal nature of water flow was problematic due to the presence of anthropogenic structures, especially roads. The installation of different design and dimensions of culverts are urgently recommended, particularly in the floodplain zone. The quick responsible idea provided in this paper highlights and simplifies the resilience to future extreme weather events of the rural community and ecosystem.
Plant trait-based life strategies of overlapping species vary in different succession stages of subtropical forests, Eastern China
Authors: Liu Libin , Xia Haojun , Quan Xinghua , Wang Yunquan
Published: January 2023

Plants growing in forests at different succession stages in diverse habitats may adopt various life strategies from the perspective of plant functional traits. However, species composition differs with forest succession, and the effects of forest succession on traits have often been explored without considering the effects of species identity. We comprehensively investigated intraspecific variations in 12 traits of six overlapping species (two tree species and four understory shrub species) in three typical subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests at different succession stages in eastern China. We found that intraspecific variations differed among traits. Fine root specific length presented large intraspecific variation, leaf area, specific leaf area and fine root tissue density showed medium intraspecific variations, and other traits displayed small intraspecific variations. Trees and understory shrubs in the early-stage forest exhibited higher leaf thickness, dry matter contents and tissue densities of leaves, roots, twigs, and stems and lower leaf area and specific leaf area. Those in the medium- and late-stage forests displayed contrasting trait characteristics. From the perspective of plant functional traits, plants in the early-stage forest formed a series of trait combinations for a resource conservative strategy with a low growth rate to adapt to fragile habitats with poor soil nutrients and changeable soil temperature and humidity, and those in the medium- and late-stage forests (especially the former) formed converse trait combinations for a resource acquisitive strategy with a high growth rate to adapt to low light availability and strongly competitive habitats. Our study reveals that plants in forests at different succession stages adopt various life strategies and provides data to the TRY and China plant trait databases.
Physiological strategies for handling summer water stress differ among co-existing species and between juvenile and mature trees
Authors: Bryant Kelsey , Fredericksen Brett , Hudiburg Tara , Rosenthal David
Published: January 2023

Determining tree response to climate stress is critical for predicting changes in forest carbon dynamics as well as tree mortality. In temperate deciduous forests, describing this response is complicated by the complex diversity of leaf and wood characteristics among co-existing species. Furthermore, because of the inherent logistical limitations of measuring mature forest trees, many carbon models and stress-response studies are informed by physiological data collected from juvenile trees (seedlings or saplings). However, the extent to which juvenile and mature trees differ in their physiological responses to water stress is not well documented under natural conditions. The majority of carbon sequestered in a forest is in mature trees; therefore, direct canopy measurements comparing responses to climate in juvenile and mature trees would allow us to more accurately predict changes in ecosystem carbon uptake. Here, we present data describing the physiological responses to summer water stress in juvenile trees of six temperate deciduous species. Our results indicate that species exhibited variation and plasticity in stress hydraulic parameters yet maintained similar rates of carbon uptake. We demonstrate how integrative photosynthetic parameters, such as photosynthetic capacity and quantum efficiency of photosystem II, are beneficial for wholistically displaying physiological responses at the leaf level. We further compared seasonal patterns of leaf water potential during decreasing soil water availability between the juvenile trees and co-existing mature trees of the same species. Our data reveal that while some species remain static in their hydraulic behavior from the juvenile to adult stage, other species are dynamic between life stages. Models, as well as experimental studies examining tree response to stressors, should plan for plasticity in physiological parameters among co-existing species, and should further allow variability between life stages for particular species. The capacity to effectively inform models from data collected in mature trees will inevitably lead to improved predictions of tree mortality and forest carbon trajectories.
The first case report of CODAS syndrome in Chinese population caused by two LONP1 pathogenic mutations
Authors: Tang Yi , Liu Yu-Xing , Sheng Yue , Fan Liang-Liang , Zhang Ai-Qian , Zheng Zhao-Fen
Published: January 2023

Background: CODAS syndrome (MIM 600373) is a multi-system developmental disorder characterized by cerebral, ocular, dental, auricular, and skeletal anomalies. CODAS syndrome is rare in the world and no cases have been reported in Chinese population so far. Mutations in the LONP1 gene can contribute to CODAS syndrome, while the underlying molecular mechanisms requires further investigation.

Method: We described a Chinese boy who has suffered from cognition impairment, cataracts, caries, abnormal auricle and skeletal anomalies since birth. The patient’s parents are non-consanguineous and healthy. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was employed to explore the genetic entity of this family.

Results: A compound heterozygous missense mutation (NM_004793: c.2009C>T/p.A670V and c.2014C>T/p.R672C) of LONP1 was identified in the patient. Considering the clinical phenotypes and genetic results, the patient was diagnosed as CODAS syndrome.

Conclusion: Here we reported the first case with CODAS syndrome in Chinese population. WES identified a compound heterozygous missense mutation of LONP1 gene in the patients. Our study not only provided data for genetic counseling and clinical diagnosis to this family, but also expanded the clinical spectrum of LONP1-related CODAS syndrome.
A novel pyroptosis scoring model was associated with the prognosis and immune microenvironment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Zhang Zhan-Fei
Published: January 2023

The phenotype of pyroptosis has been extensively studied in a variety of tumors, but the relationship between pyroptosis and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. Here, 22 pyroptosis genes were downloaded from the website of Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), 79 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma samples and GSE53625 containing 179 pairs of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma samples were collected from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), respectively. Then, pyroptosis subtypes of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were obtained by cluster analysis according to the expression difference of pyroptosis genes, and a pyroptosis scoring model was constructed by the pyroptosis-related genes screened from different pyroptosis subtypes. Time-dependent receiver operator characteristic (timeROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) values were used to evaluate the prognostic predictive accuracy of the pyroptosis scoring model. Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test were conducted to analyze the impact of the pyroptosis scoring model on overall survival (OS) of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Nomogram models and calibration curves were used to further confirm the effect of the pyroptosis scoring model on prognosis. Meanwhile, CIBERSORTx and ESTIMATE algorithm were applied to calculate the influence of the pyroptosis scoring model on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma immune microenvironment. Our findings revealed that the pyroptosis scoring model established by the pyroptosis-related genes was associated with the prognosis and immune microenvironment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, which can be used as a biomarker to predict the prognosis and act as a potential target for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
An integrative analysis of an lncRNA–mRNA competing endogenous RNA network to identify functional lncRNAs in uterine leiomyomas with RNA sequencing
Authors: Meng Fanfei , Ji Yijing , Chen Xinyu , Wang Yuan , Hua Maofang
Published: January 2023

Objective: To explore the functions of mRNAs and lncRNAs in the occurrence of uterine leiomyomas (ULs) and further clarify the pathogenesis of UL by detecting the differential expression of mRNAs and lncRNAs in 10 cases of UL tissues and surrounding normal myometrial tissues by high-throughput RNA sequencing.

Methods: The tissue samples of 10 patients who underwent hysterectomy for UL in Lianyungang Maternal and Child Health Hospital from January 2016 to December 2021 were collected. The differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) and lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were identified and further analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The protein–protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed in Cytoscape software. Functional annotation of the nearby target cis‐DEmRNAs of DElncRNAs was performed with the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) (https://david.ncifcrf.gov/). Meanwhile, the co-expression network of DElncRNA–DEmRNA was constructed in Cytoscape software.

Results: A total of 553 DElncRNAs (283 upregulated DElncRNAs and 270 downregulated DElncRNAs) and 3,293 DEmRNAs (1,632 upregulated DEmRNAs and 1,661 downregulated DEmRNAs) were obtained. GO pathway enrichment analysis revealed that several important pathways were significantly enriched in UL such as blood vessel development, regulation of ion transport, and external encapsulating structure organization. In addition, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction, and complement and coagulation cascades were significantly enriched in KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. A total of 409 DElncRNAs–nearby-targeted DEmRNA pairs were detected, which included 118 DElncRNAs and 136 DEmRNAs. Finally, we found that the top two DElncRNAs with the most nearby DEmRNAs were BISPR and AC012531.1.

Conclusion: These results suggested that 3,293 DEmRNAs and 553 DElncRNAs were differentially expressed in UL tissue and normal myometrium tissue, which might be candidate-identified therapeutic and prognostic targets for UL and be considered as offering several possible mechanisms and pathogenesis of UL in the future.
A pan-cancer analysis reveals role of clusterin (CLU) in carcinogenesis and prognosis of human tumors
Authors: Fu Yizhe , Du Qiao , Cui Tiehan , Lu Yuying , Niu Guangliang
Published: January 2023

Clusterin (CLU) is a chaperone-like protein that has been demonstrated to have a direct relationship with cancer occurrence, progression, or metastasis. Clusterin was downregulated in tumor tissues using three datasets of tongue squamous carcinoma from the Gene Expression Omnibus. We further retrieved datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus to thoroughly investigate the carcinogenic consequences of Clusterin. Our findings revealed that decreased Clusterin expression in malignancies was associated with a worse overall survival prognosis in individuals with multiple tumors; Clusterin gene deep deletions were found in almost all malignancies and were connected to most cancer patient’s prognosis, Clusterin DNA methylation level was dependent on tumor type, Clusterin expression was also linked to the invasion of cancer-associated CD8+ T-cells and fibroblasts in numerous cancer forms. Moreover, pathway enrichment analysis revealed that Clusterin primarily regulates biological processes such as cholesterol metabolism, phospholipid binding, and protein-lipid complex formation. Overall, our pan-cancer research suggests that Clusterin expression levels are linked to tumor carcinogenesis and prognosis, which contributes to understanding the probable mechanism of Clusterin in tumorigenesis as well as its clinical prognostic significance.
Up-regulated PIF1 predicts poor clinical outcomes and correlates with low immune infiltrates in clear cell renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Cai Tong , Wang Ning , Meng Peng , Sun Weigui , Cui Yuanshan
Published: January 2023

Background: Petite Integration Factor 1 (PIF1) is a multifunctional helicase and DNA processing enzyme that plays an important role in the process of several cancer types. However, the relationship between clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and PIF1 remains unclear. This study aims to explore the role of PIF1 in ccRCC tumorigenesis and prognosis.

Methods: Based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, we retrieved and verified the expression of PIF1 in ccRCC tissues as well as normal tissues. To assess the protein expression of PIF1 by using the Human Protein Atlas and the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC). We also performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to differentiate the effectiveness of PIF1 in ccRCC and adjacent normal tissues. To evaluate the value of PIF1 on clinical outcomes in ccRCC patients by using multivariate methods and Kaplan‒Meier survival curves. Protein‒protein interaction (PPI) networks were made with STRING. We determined the relationship between the expression of PIF1 and immune cell infiltration with single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA).

Results: Compared with normal tissues, the expression of PIF1 was significantly elevated in ccRCC. The mRNA expression of PIF1 is correlated with high TNM stage and high pathologic stage. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that PIF1 was related to an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.928 to distinguish between ccRCC tissues and normal tissues. Kaplan‒Meier survival analysis showed that the overall survival (OS) of ccRCC patients with a high level of PIF1 was significantly shorter than that of those with a low level of PIF1. PIF1 may play an important role in the occurrence of tumors. Correlation analysis showed that PIF1-mediated carcinogenesis may participate in the process of tumor immune escape in ccRCC.

Conclusion: PIF1 could be a reference biomarker to identify ccRCC patients with poor prognosis. PIF1 may play a distinct role in the microenvironment of ccRCC by regulating tumor infiltration of immune cells, which is a new therapeutic target to affect the growth of the tumor.
Genetic marker identification of SEC13 gene for milk production traits in Chinese holstein
Authors: Jia Ruike , Xu Lingna , Sun Dongxiao , Han Bo
Published: January 2023

SEC13 homolog, nuclear pore and COPII coat complex component (SEC13) is the core component of the cytoplasmic COPII complex, which mediates material transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex. Our preliminary work found that SEC13 gene was differentially expressed in dairy cows during different stages of lactation, and involved in metabolic pathways of milk synthesis such as citric acid cycle, fatty acid, starch and sucrose metabolisms, so we considered that the SEC13 might be a candidate gene affecting milk production traits. In this study, we detected the polymorphisms of SEC13 gene and verified their genetic effects on milk yield and composition traits in a Chinese Holstein cow population. By sequencing the whole coding and partial flanking regions of SEC13, we found four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Subsequent association analysis showed that these four SNPs were significantly associated with milk yield, fat yield, protein yield or protein percentage in the first and second lactations (p ≤.0351). We also found that two SNPs in SEC13 formed one haplotype block by Haploview4.2, and the block was significantly associated with milk yield, fat yield, fat percentage, protein yield or protein percentage (p ≤ .0373). In addition, we predicted the effect of SNP on 5′region on transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs), and found that the allele A of 22:g.54362761A>G could bind transcription factors (TFs) GATA5, GATA3, HOXD9, HOXA10, CDX1 and Hoxd13; and further dual-luciferase reporter assay verified that the allele A of this SNP inhibited the fluorescence activity. We speculate that the A allele of 22:g.54362761A>G might inhibit the transcriptional activity of SEC13 gene by binding the TFs, which may be a cause mutation affecting the formation of milk production traits in dairy cows. In summary, we proved that SEC13 has a significant genetic effect on milk production traits and the identified significant SNPs could be used as candidate genetic markers for GS SNP chips development; on the other hand, we verified the transcriptional regulation of 22:g.54362761A>G on SEC13 gene, providing research direction for further function validation tests.