bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construction Grammar Meets Language Testing and Evaluation: Redefining & Ensuring Construct Validity
Authors: Gedik Tan Arda
Published: August 2022

Theoretical linguistics and teaching are concurrent, that is, neither can exist without the other. In other words, decisions made in (foreign) language teaching will inevitably affect how language testing and evaluation as a concept is designed and administered. For example, if a curriculum states that the English as a foreign language teachers need to make a distinction between a gerund and an infinitive in the classroom and teach it as such, then, this distinction will be tested or evaluated in one way or another. In this article, language testing and evaluation (LTE), an important component in language teaching, is combined with construction grammar (henceforth CxG), a salient theory of language with ample evidence to support its claims. Specifically, this article discusses how construct validity, test items, and rubrics can be reimagined from the perspective of usage-based construction grammar. 
The Relationship Between Students’ Reading Motivation and the Success to Comprehend the English Texts
Authors: Fauzi Iwan , Saman Tampung N , Zannah Nurul , Octaviani Shellina , Winey Brigita Girlani
Published: August 2022

Reading is one of the main skills that must be possessed by students in order to be successful in learning English as a foreign language. Meanwhile, motivation is very much needed in English learning because motivation is one of the determinant factors of student to succeed. The relationship of reading and motivation is two coin-sides that encourage anyone to read or not to read. The aim of making this study is to determine the relationship between students' reading motivation and reading comprehension. This study takes the setting of students who learn English as a foreign language at a state university in Palangka Raya--Indonesia during one month and half by selecting 36 college students with an age range between 19-21 years covered by 22 females and 14 males. This study used a correlational research design. The result shows that there is a positive correlation between students’ reading motivation and their reading comprehension which means the more motivated students in reading the more increased their comprehension in reading the texts. 
Holocene East Asian Summer Monsoon Variation Recorded by Sensitive Grain Size Component from the Pearl River-Derived Mud in the Northern South China Sea
Authors: Xu Jin , Huang Chao , Huang Xin
Published: August 2022

To better understand the environmental significance of sediment grain size in continental shelf of the South China Sea (SCS), we carried out a detailed grain size study of sediments from the YJ Core, derived from the mud deposits of the northern SCS. Based on the grain size-standard deviation method, two sensitive grain size components were identified, namely, component 1 (8.2 ~ 9.3 μm) and component 2 (106.8 ~ 120.7 μm), respectively. The results indicate that the sensitive component 1 is likely to derive from fine-grained materials of the Pearl River. These fine-grained materials could be transported by the southwestward coastal current during the wet season, with the domination of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). Accordingly, the sensitive component 1 could be sensitive to climate change and has a great potential to reconstruct details of EASM variations. During the period of 7500-6800 cal yr BP, the sensitive component 1 may be controlled by both sea level change and EASM intensity. Besides, the curve of the sensitive component 1 in the YJ Core presents a strong EASM during the interval 6800-3500 cal yr BP and a weak EASM during the period of 3500-2000 cal yr BP, which is synchronous with other paleoclimate records in southern China. In the past 2000 years, the sensitive component 1 may reflect the increasing of human activities. It is essential to carry out more studies with higher resolution in mud areas to clarify a detailed historical evolution of EASM intensity over the whole Holocene.
Pull in Analysis of Nano sized RF switches using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Sethuraman Seetharaman , Chaitanya Pranav , S kanthamani , Percy J.Joslin , Roomi S.Mohamed Mansoor
Published: August 2022

An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for the pull-down voltage analysis of Radio Frequency (RF) NEMS(Nano Electro-Mechanical) switch is presented in this paper. The fixed-fixed beam and cantilever beam structure have been chosen and analyzed in terms of pull-down voltage with the variation of its physical parameter values. An ANN model was trained with several training algorithms to achieve higher performance and computational efficiency.The pull-down voltage predicted from theLevenberg-Marquardt backpropagationANN modelhas been compared with previous results presented in experimental and theoretical studies available in the literature.The proposed ANN model was also used to investigate the geometric and physical influence of the nano-switch on the pull-in voltage, and results were reported.The proposed ANN model performs better, with less Mean Square Error (MSE) of 0.000045 and 0.000092 for cantilever and fixed-fixed beam structures respectively.
Screening of lactic acid bacteria with anti-adipogenic effect and potential probiotic properties from grains
Authors: Seo Min Ju , Won Sung-Min , Kwon Min Ju , Song Ji Hyeon , Lee Eun Bee , Cho Jun Hyeong , Park Kye Won , Yoon Jung-Hoon
Published: August 2022

A total of 187 lactic acid bacteria were isolated from four types of grains collected in South Korea. The bacterial strains were assigned as members of Levilactobacillus brevis, Latilactobacillus curvatus, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lactococcus taiwanesis, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Weissella paramesenteroides based on the closest similarity using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The strains belonging to the same species were analyzed using RAPD-PCR, and one or two among strains showing the same band pattern were selected. Finally, 25 representative strains were selected for further functional study. Inhibitory effects of lipid accumulation were observed in the strains tested. Pediococcus pentosaceus K28, Levilactobacillus brevis RP21 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum RP12 significantly reduced lipid accumulation and decreased expression of six adipogenic marker genes in C3H10T1/2 adipocytes. The three strains survived under strong acidity and bile salt conditions. The three strains showed adhesion to Caco-2 cells similar to a reference strain LGG. The resistance of the three strains to several antibiotics was also assessed. Strains RP12 and K28 were confirmed not to produce harmful enzymes based on API ZYM kit results. Based on these results, strains K28, RP21 and RP12 isolated from grains had the ability to inhibit adipogenesis in adipocytes and potentially be useful as probiotics.
Dielectric Properties of Cellulose and Nanocellulose-Based Materials
Authors: Luo Qiguan , Shen Huimin , Zhou Guofu , Xu Xuezhu
Published: August 2022

As a biodegradable green dielectric material, cellulose has been used in wearable electronic devices, sensors, film capacitors, and other electronic devices. Cellulose-based dielectric has the advantages of renewable, non-toxic, flexible, and strong mechanical properties, so it of is great significance to study the dielectric properties of cellulose. In this paper, we summarized the factors influencing the dielectric properties of cellulose-based dielectric and the ways to change the dielectric properties, mainly explored the methods to improve the dielectric constant of nanocellulose-based dielectric materials. This review summarizes the current state-of-art progress of new dielectric materials, the application of cellulose in electronic devices, the development of green energy storage materials and etc.
Waterborne diseases as an indicator of health disparities: A nationwide study of WaSH related morbidity and mortality in Ecuador from 2011-2020
Authors: Ortiz-Prado Esteban , Simbaña-Rivera Katherine , Cevallos-Sierra Gabriel , Cevallos Domenica , Lister Alex , Fernandez-Naranjo Raul , Ríos-Touma Blanca , Vasconez Jorge , Izquierdo-Condoy Juan S. , Gomez-Barreno Lenin
Published: August 2022

BackgroundDespite worldwide progress in terms of clean water supply, sanitation, and hygiene knowledge, some middle and most of low-income countries are still experiencing many diseases transmitted using unsafe water and the lack of sanitation.MethodsTo understand the impact of all waterborne diseases (WBD) registered in Ecuador, we performed an analysis of all cases and deaths related to WBD to compute incidence and mortality rates.ResultsWe found that in Ecuador, mestizo people had the greatest morbidity rate (141/100,000) patient followed by indigenous (63/100,000) and self-determined white patients (21/100,000). However, in terms of mortality, indigenous population have a 790% increase in mortality rate (2.6 /100,000) when compared to self-determined white populations (0.29/100,000) or 176% more when compared to mestizos (0.94/100,000). This trend remains the same among children and the elderly who have higher mortality rates when compared to other ethnic groups.ConclusionsIn Ecuador, water borne diseases (WBD) are still a major public health problem. We found that younger children and elderly are more likely to be get sick and die due to water borne diseases. In terms of morbidity, mestizos reported the highest rate, while in terms of mortality, indigenous populations are the most affected, having the highest mortality among different ethnic groups. We hypostatize that reduced health care access is linked to fewer reporting incidence rates among indigenous populations but higher mortality rates.
FKN regulates macrophage activation in lupus nephritis via the Hippo signaling pathway
Authors: Zuo Yao , Pan Xiuhong , Wang Xiaochao , You Yanwu
Published: August 2022

Introduction: Lupus nephritis (LN) is a serious complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and its pathogenesis is not fully understood. There is an imbalance in the polarization of macrophages and an interplay between fractalkine (FKN) and its receptor, CX3CR1, in LN. Previously we showed that the expression levels of FKN were positively correlated with the severity of LN. Here we aimed to study the role of the Hippo signaling pathway (HSP) and its interaction with FKN in LN in an attempt to provide novel strategies for the treatment of this condition. Methods: 91 LN patients and 64 healthy controls were included in this study. In addition, FKN-knockout mice and RAW.267.4 cells were used for in vivo and in vitro experiments. The levels of YAP, TAZ, MST1, IL-6, and IL-10 were measured in LN patients by qRT-PCR and ELISAs. HE, Masson and PASM staining were used to assess the pathological changes in kidney tissues and western blots measured the protein content of FKN, MST1, YAP, p-YAP, p-TAZ, iNOS, TNF-α, IL-10 and Arg-1. IF was used to localize F4/80, F4/80, p-YAP, IL-10 and TNF- α proteins. Results: Up-regulation of FKN was associated with increased macrophage activation and increased YAP expression. When FKN was down-regulated the HSP was activated and the YAP expression was decreased. In addition, macrophages polarization switched to M1-phenotype. Activation of the HSP in vivo was associated with FKN deficiency and increased phosphorylation of YAP and TAZ, leading to reduced activation of macrophages. This could relieve the renal damage associated with LN. Conclusions: Our results confirmed a negative correlation between the FKN gene and the HSP. Down-regulation of FKN could activate the HSP to reduce the activation of macrophages in kidney tissues and attenuate renal damage. The HSP may provide a new molecular target for the treatment of LN patients.
Epidemic Diffusion Network of Spain: a mobility model to characterize transmission routes of disease. A COVID-19 case study.
Authors: Del-Águila-Mejía Javier , García-García David , Rojas-Benedicto Ayelén , Rosillo Nicolás , Guerrero-Vadillo María , Peñuelas Marina , Ramis Rebeca , Gómez-Barroso Diana , Donado-Campos Juan de Mata
Published: August 2022

Human mobility drives geographical diffusion of airborne infectious diseases at different scales. During the COVID-19 pandemic mobility data was made available and has been widely used, but few studies focus on mobility itself. We used public data from February 14th 2020, to May 9th 2021, in Spain to characterize mobility patterns and study geographical diffusion phenomena using network science methods. With 135 (out of 2.264) connections and the 52 provinces of Spain, a weighted, directed network was built: the Epidemic Diffusion Network (EDN). Centrality measures (degree and strength), community structure and shortest distances were obtained using the EDN. The resulting network was highly clustered (modularity: 63%) with 7 communities. Madrid, Valladolid and Araba/Álaba act as mobility hubs of their communities and the whole network. Shortest distances unveil a geographical wave-like diffusion pattern with occasional distance jumps, a small-world network characteristic, and COVID-19 cumulative incidence curves showed a pattern of proximity within provinces of the same community. These properties remain constant in time despite factors like seasonality or restrictions and could inform public health authorities in preparedness and response plans for diseases and other threads. Further studies are needed to better understand relationship between network measures and epidemiological outcomes in real life.
Body condition variation in a riverine piscivore: have small non-native cyprinids benefited an endangered fish?
Authors: Osmundson Douglas
Published: August 2022

Effects of three introduced fishes on body condition of an endangered piscivore, Colorado pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius, in the upper Colorado River were assessed to aid prioritization of non-native fish control efforts. Relative condition (Kn: mass at a given length) was monitored during spring, 1991–2013. Positive and significant relations were found between annual mean Kn and backwater densities of two common non-native, small-bodied, cyprinid species in downstream reaches of the 293-km study area. High mean Kn in spring followed years when fall densities of fathead minnow Pimephales promelas and red shiner Cyprinella lutrensis were high. No such relation was found with a third species, sand shiner Notropis stramineus. These three species have dominated zero-velocity habitats since their introduction in the 1960s. There was also a significant relation between mean Kn and low antecedent river flow levels, likely because fathead minnows and red shiners flourish under such conditions. No relation was found between mean Kn prior to spawning and subsequent abundance of young-of-the-year 3-months post spawning, suggesting mean Kn was not a driver of annual reproductive success or larval survival. Based on predatory interactions with larval native fishes documented in the literature, red shiners were deemed detrimental to Colorado pikeminnow persistence despite their food value. Sand shiners appeared benign: non-predatory and unimportant as food. Fathead minnows, however, might be beneficial. They appear non-predatory on fish larvae while providing an important food source for various Colorado pikeminnow life stages. Managers need to weigh these benefits when considering control efforts.
Efficient multiple shoot organogenesis in the African bush apple
Authors: Chukwurah Peter Nkachukwu , Osuagwu Aniefiok Ndubuisi , Ekerette Ekerette Emmanuel
Published: August 2022

African bush apple [Heinsia crinita (Afzel.) G. Taylor] is a threatened orphan crop with immense nutritional and medicinal value to many rural African communities. We developed an efficient system for the in vitro induction of direct multiple shoot organogenesis from different explants of the crop using combinations of two cytokinins (benzyl adenine - BA and thidiazuron - TDZ) and the auxin, naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. Multiple shoot induction was most effectively achieved from hypocotyl and stem explants using 1.0 mg/L BA + 0.1 mg/L NAA combination. In vitro-regenerated shoots were successfully rooted on hormone-free 0.5x MS medium and acclimatized to generate H. crinita plantlets, thus providing a strategy for in vitro conservation of this crop as well as a pathway for its genetic improvement via biotechnology.
Effects of Slope Green Infrastructure on Water Quantity-Quality Processes at the Watershed Scale: A Review
Authors: Li Jian , Liu Shanshan , Qin Tianling , Li Xueyao , Zhang Xin , Li Chenhao , Feng Jianming , Dong Biqiong , Xu Lulu
Published: August 2022

Vegetation protection and restoration, protective forest and grass construction, as the typical Slope Green Infrastructures (SGI), significantly effect water hydrological and environmental process on the slope. The change of water production and confluence impact the river discharge, which could determine the environmental condition of waters. This review investigated the relevant literature over the past 20 years via the bibliometric tool, and analyzed the relevant hotspots of SGI and water quantity-quality (WQQ). Findings confirm that urban, runoff, land use, stormwater, climate change had been paid attention. Then the potential response of the water cycle and water environmental process to the SGI construction were explored, including precipitation, evaporation, and dissolved oxygen, nitrate, etc. WQQ joint simulation methods were also listed. At last, we proposed the development trend and future research hotspots of the research on SGI and WQQ. The word of this paper could provide technique support for water problem treatment and natural resource management at the watershed scale.
A Bolt Assembly Robotic System Based on Hybrid Vision: Effect of its Process Parameters on Fastening Performance
Authors: Chen Jianzhou , Liu Zhifeng , Xu Jingjing , Yang Congbin , Li Ying , Cheng Qiang
Published: August 2022

Bolt assembly is very common in modern manufacturing. With the improvement of industrial automation levels, the demand for automatic assembly increases. However, the robotic automation still suffers from various impracticalities. In this work, to improve the environment adaptability and reduce the system cost, a robotic system based on hybrid vision is presented for the bolt assembly, which is composed of a 6-DOF robot, a hybrid vision and an electric fastening tool. In the hybrid vision, a scene monocular vision and a hand-eye monocular vision are combined to obtain the accurate pose of the hole. Besides, motion parameters of the robotic system, including the end-effector linear speed of the manipulator, the rotation speed of the tool, have the major impact on the assembly efficiency and quality. For this problem, the effect of the combined changes in robotic motion parameters on the bolt fastening efficiency and quality was studied based on experimental data. The efficiency and quality were evaluated by the speed of the bolt screwed in and the combination of standard deviation and average value of the torque variation, respectively. Results can provide proper values for motion parameters of the robotic system through considering requirements of the actual bolt assembly.
Galectin-3 as an important prognostic marker for COVID-19 severity
Authors: Gajovic Nevena , Markovic Sofija Sekulic , Jurisevic Milena , Jovanovic Marina , Arsenijevic Nebojsa , Mijailovic Zeljko , Jovanovic Marina , Jovanovic Ivan
Published: August 2022

Galectin-3 (Gal-3), multifunctional protein plays important roles in inflammatory response, infection and fibrosis. The goal of study was to determine the association of Gal-3, immune response, clinical, biochemical, and radiographic findings with COVID-19 severity. Study included 280 COVID-19 patients classified according to disease severity into mild, moderate, severe and critical group. Cytokines, clinical, biochemical, radiographic data and peripheral blood immune cell make up were analyzed. Patients in critical group had significantly higher serum level of Gal-3, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-12, IL-10 compared to the patients in less severe stages of disease. Strong positive correlation was detected between Gal-3 and IL-1β, moderate positive correlation between Gal-3, TNF-α and IL-12, moderate negative correlation between Gal-3, IL-10/IL-1β and IL-10/TNF-α. Moderate positive correlation noted between Gal-3 and urea, D dimer, CXR findings. Strong negative correlation detected between Gal-3 and p02, Sa02, and moderate negative correlation between Gal-3, lymphocyte and monocyte percentage. In the peripheral blood of patients with more severe stages of COVID-19 we detected significantly increased percentages of CD56− CD3+TNF-α+T cells and CD56− CD3+Gal-3+T cells and increased expression of CCR5 in PBMCs. Our results predict Gal-3 as an important marker for critical stage of COVID-19. Higher expression of Gal-3, TNF-α and CCR5 on T cells implicate on promoting inflammation and more severe form of disease.
Pyogenic spondylitis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae: Should the possibility of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae be considered?
Authors: Hwang Joo-Hee , Lee Seung Yeob , Lee Jaehyeon , Hwang Jeong-Hwan
Published: August 2022

Background
Klebsiella pneumoniae is rare but the second most common causative agent among gram-negative bacteria that cause pyogenic spondylitis. However, there are no available studies on the serotype, virulence factors, and clinical characteristics associated with K. pneumoniae-caused pyogenic spondylitis. Accordingly, we investigated the clinical characteristics of pyogenic spondylitis, K1 and K2 serotypes, and virulence factors of K. pneumoniae.
Methods
We reviewed the microbiological reports of specimens collected between January 2014 and December 2019 as well as the medical records of patients with pyogenic spondylitis caused by K. pneumoniae. We also evaluated K1 and K2 serotypes and the virulent genes rmpA, iutA, mrkD, ybtS, entB, and kfu. Strains that possessed rmpA and iutA were defined as hypervirulent K. pneumoniae.
Results
Six patients with pyogenic spondylitis caused by K. pneumoniae were enrolled in the study. The capsular serotypes K1 and K2 were present in 66.7% (4/6) of cases, and the hypervirulent strains were present in 88.3% (5/6) of cases. All patients had community-acquired infections, and all strains isolated were susceptible to antimicrobial agents. Intravenous antibiotic treatment continued for 2–7 weeks, and no patient underwent decompressive operation or surgical debridement. There was no recurrence. One patient died from pneumonia with a septic lung.
Conclusion
Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae is a rare but important pathogen associated with pyogenic spondylitis.
Leader-follower consensus of uncertain variable-order fractional multi-agent systems
Authors: Chen Liping , Li Xiaomin , Lopes Antonio M. , Chu Zhaobi , Chen YangQuan
Published: August 2022

The leader-follower consensus of a class of variable-order fractional (VOF) uncertain linear multi-agent systems is studied in this paper. According to the stability theorem of VOF systems, by using the singular value decomposition of matrices and some related lemmas, a sufficient condition to obtain leader-follower consensus of uncertain VOF linear systems is proposed in the form of a linear matrix inequality. A control protocol is designed, which is dependent on the order of the VOF multi-agent system, reducing the conservatism of existing methods and being applicable to fixed-order and nonlinear VOF multi-agent systems. The feasibility and effectiveness of the approach are verified by using some numerical simulations.
Mining Minds: Implementing a Concussion Registry in a Tertiary Care Clinic
Authors: Dosaj Anil , Murty David , Aswani Shweta , Michalak Alicja , Baker Andrew , Hunt Cindy
Published: August 2022

Background:Hundreds of thousands of Canadians experience a concussion each year. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates the associated costs at over $150 million a year. This paper examines how a registry for concussions serves as a proactive measure to reduce the burden of concussion research and improve patient flow through an outpatient clinic.Methods:The Traumatic Brain Injury Registry Database (TBIRD) collects data at the initial clinic visit and enters consenting patients’ information into a secure database. The data collected are internationally accepted Common Data Elements (CDEs). Enabling systematic standardized characterizations of the concussion injury history, social determinants of health and current symptoms. Results:Over 350 participants to date, 58.5% are female, 41.4% male. The most common mechanism of injury is transportation-related at 57.1%. The mean age of participants was 44 (SD15).Conclusions:This registry is an effective method of recruiting participants for future research within the hospital and broader studies. It provides researchers with a set of patients willing to help further understand concussions and reduces patient burden caused by multiple research teams approaching individuals. The lessons learned are applicable to other clinics to help develop a standardized and patient-friendly approach to concussion research to improve care.
Bioactive Constituents of Safflower plant as potential inhibitors of mutant Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2): Docking, Pharmacokinetics properties and Molecular Dynamics studies
Authors: Omena-Okpowe Bukola , Khaled Marwan Khaled , Akinseye Sefunmi Peace , Hammouda Mostafa Ahmed , Bora Anusuiya , Abayomi Modinat Aina , Delgado Luisa Maria Criollo , Emmanuel Adewale Oluwatosin , Sivanandan Pravitha Kasu , Olaitan Kawthar Olatunde , Solima Malak Mohamed , Mohamed Nour Hany , Adebisi Aderinsola Racheal , Isong Josiah Ayoola , Ropón-Palacios Georcki , Vilca-Quispe Julissa , Vega-Chozo Karolyn , ATTAH EMMANUEL IFEANYI
Published: August 2022

Background
Parkinson’s disease has posed a global health threat with no disease-modifying treatment and prolonged use of available drugs such as Levodopa (L-dopa) causes debilitating side effects. This study focused on adopting in-silico approach to investigate the drug likeliness and pharmacokinetics of some Safflower plant phytochemicals as potential therapeutics. A manually curated library of 120 phytochemicals (from different parts of Safflower plant) was first screened virtually for adherence to the Lipinski’s rule of 5 using the SwissADME server. Binding interactions were studied using Discovery Studio Visualizer. Site-specific docking was performed using AutoDock Vina and the docking parameters were set based on the score of Standard drug. The docking scores were validated by Mcule server. ADMET (Adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) properties were predicted using swissadme while carcinogenicity and toxicity were predicted using CarcinoPred-EL and PkCSM tools respectively. MD (Molecular dynamics) simulations were performed in GROMACS for 200ns to estimate the stability of the receptor and the protein – ligand complexes.
Results
Eight compounds; Serotobenine, Kaempferol, Nb-PCoumaroyltryptamine, N-Coumaroyl Serotonin, N-Feruloylserotonin, Scutellarein, Acacetin and Trans-Chalcone were identified as potential inhibitors of LRRK2 with no or mild toxicity. Molecular dynamics show more stability in molecular recognition to C1B (N-Coumaroyl-Serotonin) compound than C4B (Serotobenine).
Conclusion
Some of the compounds identified in the Safflower have the potential to be drug candidates for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease caused by mutant LRRK2 (Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2), owing to their recorded low binding energy and stability in the target.
Electron Beam Weld Penetration Depth Prediction Improved by Beam Characterization
Authors: YIN YI , Kennedy Andrew , Mitchell Tim , Sieczkiewicz Norbert , Jefimovs Vitalijs , Tian Yingtao
Published: August 2022

The influence of beam characterization on methods to predict the penetration depth during electron beam welding (EBW) is studied, including an empirical equation, a second-order regression and an artificial neural network (ANN). A 4-slits beam probing method is introduced and applied to calibrate beam radius and focal position during EBW. Where possible the input types were varied and their effect on the accuracy of the model prediction was compared. In addition to accelerating voltage, beam current and welding speed, detailed measurement of beam radius and focal position greatly improves the accuracy of the model predictions. The data of detected beam radius and focal position can reduce the mean absolute deviations to as low as 4.5% and close to the estimated 4% inherent variability in the process. Beam characterization also enabled the ANN to provide accurate and reliable depth prediction with a minimum of 36 data points, which avoids redundant trial and error tests before EBW processes.
Identifying species likely threatened by international trade on the IUCN Red List can inform CITES trade measures
Authors: Challender Daniel , Cremona Patricia , Malsch Kelly , Robinson Janine , Pavitt Alyson , Scott Janet , Hoffmann Rachel , Joolia Ackbar , Oldfield Thomasina , Jenkins Richard , Conde Dalia , Hilton-Taylor Craig , Hoffmann Michael
Published: August 2022

Overexploitation is a major threat to biodiversity and international trade in many species is regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, there is no established method to systematically determine which species are most at risk from international trade to inform potential trade measures under CITES. Here we develop a mechanism using the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species to identify species that are likely threatened by international trade. Of 2,211 such species CITES includes 59% (1,307 species) leaving two-fifths overlooked and in potential need of international trade regulation. Our results can inform deliberations on potential proposals to revise trade measures for species at CITES Conference of the Parties meetings. We also show that for taxa with biological resource use documented as a threat, the number of species threatened by local and national use is four times greater than species likely threatened by international trade. To effectively address the overexploitation of species, interventions focused on achieving sustainability in international trade need to be complemented by commensurate measures to ensure that local and national use and trade of wildlife is well-regulated and sustainable.
Subjective socioeconomic status: an alternative to objective socioeconomic status
Authors: Zhao Maryann , Huang Chuan-Chin , Mendoza Milagros , Tovar Ximena , Lecca Leonid , Murray Megan
Published: August 2022

Background
Subjective “ladder” measurements of socio-economic status (SES) are easy-to-administer tools that ask respondents to rate their own SES, allowing them to evaluate where they believe their material resources place them relative to their community. Here, we sought to compare a ladder score to a measure of SES that includes data on water and sanitation, asset ownership, education, and income (WAMI).
Methods
Leveraging an ongoing study of adult patients with tuberculosis in Lima, Peru, we compared results of the WAMI survey to the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. We assessed the relationship between WAMI and the ladder scores using Kappa scores and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. We used Akaike information criterion (AIC) to compare the predictability of logistic regression models that evaluated the association between SES and history of asthma.
Results
Among 595 participants who completed both questionnaires, the MacArthur ladder and WAMI scores were within two or less points (on a scale of 10 points) of each other for 84% of participants. The correlation coefficient was 0.34 (p < 0.001). Among 36 participants with a repeated ladder test, the 18 individuals who were selected for initially having dissimilar ladder and WAMI scores had a greater median decrease in their retested ladder scores (median 5, IQR: 1.25 to 6) compared to the 18 individuals who had similar scores (median 2, IQR: 0 to 3). When initial ladder scores were replaced with the repeated responses, the overall correlation coefficient increased to 0.40 (p < 0.001) and the variability in the difference between the ladder scores and WAMI decreased. Both SES scores were associated with history of asthma.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrate that the MacArthur SES ladder is positively correlated to WAMI and performs similarly to WAMI in predicting a socio-economically sensitive health outcome. Researchers should consider subjective SES tools as an alternative method for measuring SES, particularly in large health studies where data collection is a burden.
UAV hovering pose detection via binocular vision system based on improved SAC-IA+ICP point cloud registration
Authors: Xu Lianyin , Qu Xinghua , Zhang Fumin , Zhang Yuanjun , Liang Xiaobo
Published: August 2022

In this paper, to solve the problem of quantitative evaluation of the stability of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while hovering, a binocular vision relative pose measurement system that can be used for remote control is developed and a characteristic target adapted to the system is designed. Moreover, a feature point extraction algorithm based on known feature constraints and a fast feature point matching algorithm based on projection shape invariant constraints are proposed for fast and accurate extraction and reconstruction of feature point sets. The point cloud registration method of SAC-IA + ICP is used to solve the pose and orientation of the characteristic target. It is verified by simulation that the orientation and angle of the target have registration accuracies of 1.1078mm and 0.0463°, respectively. The binocular system is experimentally analyzed using the laser tracker and T-Mac measurement as the true value. Compared with the optical flow method, the former time is shortened by 60%, the Euclidean displacement measurement error is reduced by 83%, and the attitude angle deflection measurement error is reduced by 87%. Then, the hovering state of the UAV is measured using the binocular system; and the obtained experimental measurement results of the system are true and reliable.
High Dynamic Range Agile Radio over Fiber Transmitter’s Architectures for 5G/NR Applications
Authors: Noweir Mahmood , Ghannouchi Fadhel. M. , Helaoui Mohamed , Oblak Daniel
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we proposed a novel radio over fiber (RoF) transmitter architecture to achieve high dynamic range (DR) suitable for millimeter wave (mm-wave) applications, supported by simulation and experimental validations. The designed test benches achieved more than-41 dBc adjacent carrier leakage ratio (ACLR) for a fifth generation/new radio (5G/NR) signal of 100 MHz bandwidth, transmitted in the upper frequency range (FR2) at 28 GHz. The key for this achievement is the utilization of the electrical mixing with proper phase shift before optical modulation. The mixing of the local oscillator (LO) and the intermediate frequency (IF) signals in the electrical domain, reduces the unwanted beating between optical bands prior to the photo-detection stage, hence preventing photodetector saturation, which leads to higher optical-to-electrical conversion.
Clinical Value of 18F-FAPI PET/CT in assessing early-stage fibrosis of liver after liver transplantation: preliminary experience
Authors: Fang Xiaohan , Xie Man , Zhao Youwei , Wang Ye , Zhang Qun , Tian Qiuju , Zhao Liu , Zhang Bei , Wei Zhimin , Kong Xinjuan , Yang Guangjie , Cai Jinzhen , Rao Wei
Published: August 2022

Aims: To investigate the clinical usefulness and performance of 18F-FAPI PET/CT in assessing early-stage liver fibrosis in liver transplantation (LT) recipients.Methods: A prospective study including 17 LT recipients and 12 chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) patients was performed. All patients received liver biopsy, transient elastography (TE), and 18F-FAPI PET/CT. The maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of the liver parenchyma were recorded on 18F-FAPI PET/CT images. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to determine the diagnostic efficacy of 18F-FAPI PET/CT in early-stage liver fibrosis (S1 ~ S2) compared with the diagnostic performance of TE.Results: Of 29 patients, 15(51.7%) had fibrosis stage 0 (S0), 10(34.5%) had stage 1 (S1), and 4(13.8%) had stage 2 (S2) respectively. The SUVmax of patients with early-stage liver fibrosis were significantly higher than those without liver fibrosis in LT recipients and CHB patients (p=0.004, p=0.02). In LT recipients, a SUVmax cut-off value of 2.0 detected early-stage liver fibrosis with an AUROC of 0.92 (P=0.006) and a Liver Stiffness measurements (LSM) score cut-off value of 8.2 kPa detected early-stage liver fibrosis with an AUROC of 0.80 (P=0.012). In CHB patients, a SUVmax cut-off value of 2.7 detected early-stage liver fibrosis with an AUROC of 0.94 (P<0.001) and a LSM scores cut-off value of 8.4 kPa detected early-stage liver fibrosis with an AUROC of 0.91 (P<0.001).Conclusions: 18F-FAPI PET/CT could be applied to evaluate early-stage liver fibrosis in LT recipients and CHB patients accurately. Compared with TE, 18F-FAPI PET/CT was comparable in detecting early-stage liver fibrosis with the additional advantages in whole-liver evaluation.
Medication adherence and associated factors among hypertensive patients in Northeast China: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Wang Li , Zhang Boqiang , Yu Xiaochen , Liu Yunfei , tian yuanmeng , jing li , Sun Qun , shi lei , Sun Jixu , Li Guangxiao , liu shuang , Yang Zuosen , Xing Liying
Published: August 2022

This study aimed to assess the level of medication adherence and its associated factors among hypertensive patients. From 26 May 2019 to 24 March 2021, a multistage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to randomly select 8 communities and 7 villages from 7 cities in Northeast China. A questionnaire survey was performed on 2,835 eligible hypertensive patients aged ≥ 40 years. The 4-Item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale was used to evaluate the level of medication adherence. The overall rate of medication adherence in hypertensive patients was 42.4%, male and female were 44.3% and 41.2% respectively. The rate in urban was higher in rural (68.2% vs 22.3%, P < 0.001). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that patients with age 70 and above (OR: 1.78), urban (OR: 3.65), family history of hypertension (OR: 1.26), over 15 years duration of hypertension (OR: 1.36), good knowledge (OR: 1.67), good attitude (OR: 2.08) and good practice (OR: 2.12) had good adherence in hypertensive patients. The mean SBP and DBP of hypertensive patients with good adherence were lower than poor adherence (151.4 mmHg vs 154.8 mmHg, P < 0.001; 89.0 mmHg vs 90.5 mmHg, P = 0.001). The rate of BP control was 20.6%, patients with good adherence was higher than those of patients with poor adherence (23.8% vs 18.3%, P < 0.001). The level of medication adherence is lower among hypertensive patients in Northeast China. It is urgent to strengthen the management of medication adherence and improve the control in hypertensive patients.
Clinicopathological, Morphological and Molecular study on Grade 2 and 3 Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma
Authors: Zhang Hui , Ma Xiao-Jing , Xiang Xue-Ping , Wang Qi-Yuan , Tang Jin-Long , Yu Xiao-Yan , Xu Jing-Hong
Published: August 2022

Purpose: Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) is an uncommon astrocytoma that tends to occur in children and young adults and has a relatively favorable prognosis, which is rated Central Nervous System (CNS) World Health Organization (WHO) grade 2 and grade 3. The histological grading was based on mitotic activity (﻿>=2.5mitoses/mm2). The present study specifically evaluates the clinicopathological, morphological, and especially molecular characteristics of grade 2 and 3 PXA respectively. Methods: We analyzed characterized 57 tumors with histologically defined grade 2 PXA (n=37, 65%) and grade 3 PXA (n=20, 35%) at our department between 2003 and 2021. Results: Compared with grade 2, the grade 3 PXA has a deeper location and no superiority of temporal lobe, which is more likely to be accompanied by peritumoral edema, but the epilepsy symptoms are reduced. Epitheloid cells and necrosis were more likely occur in grade 3 PXA in histomorphology. Molecular analysis found that TERT promoter mutation more occurred in grade 3 than that in grade 2 PXA (35% VS 3%, P=0.0005), and all mutation sites were C228T. Conclusion: These data define PXA as a heterogeneous astrocytoma. Grade 2 and grade 3 PXA have their respective clinicopathological and histological characteristics, also confirm a distinct molecular profile. And TERT promoter mutations may be a significant genetic event associated with anaplastic progression.
Design of a high-efficiency temporal engine for real-time satellite image classification using augmented incremental transfer learning for crop analysis
Authors: Dhande Akshay , Malik Rahul
Published: August 2022

Satellite image processing is a multidomain task which involves design of image capturing, denoising, segmentation, feature extraction, feature reduction, classification, and post-processing tasks. A wide variety of satellite image processing models are proposed by researchers, and each of them have different data & process requirements. For instance, image capturing module Might obtain Images in layered form, while feature extraction module might require data in 2D or 3D forms. Moreover, performance of these models also varies due to changes in internal process parameters & dataset parameters, which limits their accuracy and scalability when applied to real-time scenarios. To reduce the probability of these limitations, a novel high-efficiency temporal engine for real-time satellite image classification using augmented incremental transfer learning is proposed & discussed in this text. The model initially captures real-time satellite data using Google’s Earth Engine and processes it using a transfer learning-based convolutional neural network (CNN) via backscatter coefficient analysis. These coefficients indicate average intensity value of Precision Image (PRI) when evaluated over a distributed target. Due to extraction of backscattering coefficients, the model is capable of representing crop images in VV (vertical transmit, vertical receive), and HV (horizontal transmit vertical receive) modes. Thereby assisting the CNN model to extract a wide variety of features from input satellite image, which classifies these datasets (original, VV, and VH) into different crop categories. The classified images are further processed via an incremental learning layer, which assists in visual identification of affected regions. Due to use of incremental learning and CNN for classification, the proposed TRSAITL model is capable of achieving an average accuracy of 97.8% for crop type & severity of damage detection, with an average PSNR of 29.6 dB for different image types. The model was tested on different regions around our local geographical area, and consistent performance was observed. This performance was also compared with various state-of-the-art approaches, and it was observed that the proposed TRSATL model has 5% better accuracy, 4.6% better precision, and 7.9% better recall when compared with them, which makes it highly useful for real-time satellite-based crop classification applications.
Polygenic risk score analysis identifies deleterious protein-coding variants in novel immune pathway genes ATP8B4, FCGR1A, and LILRB1 that associate with Alzheimer’s disease.
Authors: Reddy Joseph S. , Wang Xue , Allen Mariet , Carrasquillo Minerva M. , Biernacka Joanna M. , Jenkins Gregory D. , Coombes Brandon J. , Belbin Olivia , Golde Todd E. , Ertekin-Taner Nilüfer , Younkin Steven G.
Published: August 2022

Background: Alterations in innate immunity are pathologically associated with and genetically implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the whole exome sequence (WES) dataset generated by the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP), only the previously identified p.R47H variant in the innate immunity gene, TREM2, shows study-wide association with risk of AD. Using a novel approach, we searched the ADSP WES data to identify additional immune pathway genes with deleterious variants that, like TREM2.pR47H, show strong association with AD. Methods: Using polygenic risk scores (PRS) to analyze association with AD, we evaluated deleterious variants (CADD Phred-scaled score > 20) with a minor allele count of 20 or more in 228 genes comprising an immune co-expression network containing TREM2 (CENTREM2). A significant polygenic component composed of deleterious stop-gain and non-synonymous variants was identified, and false discovery rates were determined for the variants in this component. In genes harboring a significant variant, PRS for all variants in the genes were then analyzed. Results: The PRS for the 182 deleterious variants in CENTREM2 showed significant association with AD that was driven by 142 deleterious variants (136 non-synonymous, 6 stop-gain). In the 142 variant polygenic component, four variants had significant AD risk association: TREM2.pR47H, two deleterious stop-gain variants (FCGR1A.pR92X, and LILRB1.pY331X) in novel AD genes and 1 non-synonymous variant (ATP8B4.pG395S). Remarkably, PRS for the 36 additional variants in these four genes also showed significant association with AD. The PRS for all 40 variants in the 4 genes, showed significant, replicable association with AD and 3 additional variants in this polygenic component had significant false discovery rates: ATP8B4.pR1059Q, LILRB1.pP7P, and LILRB1.pY327Y. Conclusions: Here, we identify 3 immune pathway genes (ATP8B4, LILRB1, and FCGR1A) with a variant that associates with AD. Like TREM2.pR47H, each of the variants has a minor allele frequency less than 1% and is a deleterious, protein altering variant with a strong effect that increases or decreases (LILRB1.pY331X) risk of AD. Additional variants in these genes also alter risk of AD. The variants identified here are ideally suited for studies aimed at understanding how the innate immune system may be modulated to alter risk of AD.
Light-independent regulation of algal photoprotection by CO2 availability
Authors: Ruiz-Sola M. Águila , Flori Serena , Yuan Yizhong , Villain Gaelle , Sanz-Luque Emanuel , Redekop Petra , Tokutsu Ryutaro , Kueken Anika , Tsichla Angeliki , Kepesidis Georgios , Allorent Guillaume , Arend Marius , Iacono Fabrizio , Finazzi Giovanni , Hippler Michael , Nikoloski Zoran , Minagawa Jun , Grossman Arthur , Petroutsos Dimitris
Published: August 2022

Photosynthetic algae have evolved mechanisms to cope with suboptimal light and CO2 conditions. When light energy exceeds CO2 fixation capacity, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii activates photoprotection, mediated by LHCSR1/3 and PSBS, and the CO2 Concentrating Mechanism (CCM). How light and CO2 signals converge to regulate these processes remains unclear. Here, we show that excess light activates photoprotection- and CCM-related genes by altering intracellular CO2 concentrations and that depletion of CO2 drives these responses, even in total darkness. High CO2 levels, derived from respiration or impaired photosynthetic fixation, repress LHCSR3/CCM genes while stabilizing the LHCSR1 protein. Finally, we show that the CCM regulator CIA5 also regulates photoprotection, controlling LHCSR3 and PSBS transcript accumulation while inhibiting LHCSR1 protein accumulation. This work has allowed us to dissect the effect of CO2 and light on CCM and photoprotection, demonstrating that light often indirectly affects these processes by impacting intracellular CO2 levels.