bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inside the Deal
Authors: De Rynck Stefaan
Published: February 2024

As a close aide to Michel Barnier, Stefaan De Rynck had a front row seat in the Brexit negotiations. In this frank and uncompromising account, De Rynck tells the EU's side of the story and seeks to dispel some of the myths and spin that have become indelibly linked to the Brexit process. From the mood in the room to the technical discussions, he gives an unvarnished account of the deliberations and obstacles that shaped the final deal.

De Rynck demonstrates how the EU-27's unity held firm throughout, while the UK vacillated, changed negotiators, changed prime ministers and changed their aims and tactics. Attempts by the UK to run down the clock and issue ultimatums to force the EU to acquiesce are shown to have had no effect on the course of events. Instead Barnier's team was successful in protecting EU interests, in fulfilling the mandate defined by 27 national governments while still agreeing different forms of Brexit with two UK prime ministers.

For the EU, Brexit was not, as some UK commentators and politicians liked to portray it, a fight with the UK. It was a fight to get a deal that worked for the EU.
Bridging Quantitative and Qualitative Science for BECCS in Abandoned Croplands
Authors: Næss Jan Sandstad , Henriksen Ida Marie , Skjølsvold Tomas Moe
Published: February 2024

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) plays a vital role in most climate change mitigation scenarios, where a solution for sustainable near‐term bioenergy expansion is to grow energy crops such as perennial grasses on recently abandoned cropland. There is a need to combine model‐based insights into theoretical potential and future biomass supply with more fine‐grained sociotechnical analysis to move toward realistic policies and innovation strategies. We combine natural science insights anchored in quantitative bioenergy modeling with qualitative social science anchored in the multi‐level perspective. Using these mixed methods enables a global‐to‐local‐to‐global level assessment of near‐term bioenergy recultivation opportunities for abandoned cropland. Norway is the local case. There are three main findings. First, the ongoing recultivation trends for food/feed production risks making gains in aboveground carbon stocks from natural regrowth on the mapped abandoned cropland over a 30‐year evaluation period almost negligible. Second, delaying a BECCS recultivation of abandoned cropland will make it impossible to reach high‐end mitigation potentials, and an accelerated BECCS recultivation guided by a policy push is needed to ensure stronger mitigation. Third, we unravel several real‐world challenges associated with bioenergy resource and supply modeling. Remote‐sensing techniques alone cannot capture actual land availability for land‐based climate change mitigation strategies. Local‐level sociotechnical conditions are generally found insufficiently supportive to align with the rapid near‐term bioenergy crop expansion found in 2°C scenarios from integrated assessment. The integration of mixed quantitative and qualitative methods is key to better understand the role of BECCS in climate change mitigation.
States of Mind
Authors: Micalizio Caryl-Sue
Published: February 2024

Regional programs offer models of success in science education and policy.
Development of nationally representative exposure factor database for children’s products in Korea
Authors: Shin Jiyun , Lee Kiyoung , Park Seung Yeol , Lim Miyoung
Published: February 2024

Background

Children may be exposed to harmful chemicals from their products. Accurate exposure factors are critical for exposure assessment of children’s products. Product usage pattern parameters are relatively limited compared with the chemical concentration, children’s physiological and behavioral parameters.

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine nationally representative Korean exposure factors for the usage patterns of children’s products by sex, age, and season.

Methods

Using proportional quota sampling, a survey of 10,000 households with children aged 0–12 years was conducted twice, once in summer and winter. The children’s ages were divided into four groups: infant (0–2 years old), toddler (3–6), lower-grade elementary student (7–9), and higher-grade elementary student (10–12). Data on exposure factors such as use rate, use frequency, and use duration of 57 children’s products were collected.

Results

The 57 products were classified into five categories: baby products (13), toys (12), daily products (10), sporting goods (8), and stationery (14). The use rates of products in the daily products and stationery category were >90% in both seasons. Two of the 57 products showed significant sex differences in all three exposure factors (p < 0.001). Twenty-five of the 44 non-baby products showed significant age differences for all three exposure factors. Twenty-three of the 57 products varied significantly with season for all three exposure factors.

Impact

This study generated a nationally representative exposure factor database for the usage patterns of children’s products in Korea. The exposure factors for 57 children’s products were investigated through twice survey with quota sampling with each 10,000 children nationwide. Sex, age, and seasonal differences for children’s products were identified. These accurate exposure factors by sex, age, and season can be used as input parameters for refined exposure assessment.
Multi-junction cascaded vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with a high power conversion efficiency of 74%
Authors: Xiao Yao , Wang Jun , Liu Heng , Miao Pei , Gou Yudan , Zhang Zhicheng , Deng Guoliang , Zhou Shouhuan
Published: February 2024

High electro-optical conversion efficiency is one of the most distinctive features of semiconductor lasers as compared to other types of lasers. Its further increase remains a significant objective. Further enhancing the efficiency of edge-emitting lasers (EEL), which represent the highest efficiency among semiconductor lasers at present, is challenging. The efficiency of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) has always been relatively low compared to EEL. This paper, combining modeling with experiments, demonstrates the potential of multi-junction cascaded VCSELs to achieve high efficiency beyond that of EELs, our simulations show, that a 20-junction VCSEL can achieve an efficiency of more than 88% at room temperature. We fabricated VCSEL devices with different numbers of junctions and compared their energy efficiency. 15-junction VCSELs achieved a maximum efficiency of 74% at room temperature under nanosecond driving current, the corresponding differential quantum efficiency exceeds 1100%, being the largest electro-optical conversion efficiency and differential quantum efficiency reported until now for VCSELs.
Research on correlation between dynamic resilient modulus and CBR of coarse-grained chlorine saline soil
Authors: Deng Miaoyi , Wang Jinshan , Wang Xiangyang , Xie Xiangbing , Wang Kaiwei , He Yahui
Published: February 2024

A large area of coarse-grained saline soil is distributed in saline soil areas, and chlorine saline soil with a high salt content is a typical representative. The dynamic resilient modulus was accurately predicted using the California-bearing ratio (CBR) value to determine the relationship between the dynamic resilient modulus of coarse-grained chloride saline soil and its CBR value. Indoor dynamic triaxial tests and CBR tests were conducted to investigate the evolution of the dynamic resilient modulus (MR) and CBR of coarse-grained chlorine saline soil under the influence of the stress level, water content, and salt content. The test results showed that the dynamic resilient modulus increased with an increase in the confining pressure and bulk stress and decreased as the deviator stress increased; however, the CBR increased with an increase in the corresponding unit pressure. The higher the salt and water contents, the more obvious the influence of stress on the dynamic resilient modulus and CBR value. Under the same stress level, the decrease in the dynamic resilient modulus and CBR gradually increased with increasing salt and moisture content, and the effect of salt tended to be more significant than that of water. Based on the correlation between the dynamic resilient modulus and CBR revealed by the experiment, a more widely applicable model was selected from the existing theoretical models related to CBR for the regression analysis of the test data, and a prediction model of the dynamic resilient modulus based on the CBR value was proposed (MR = 21.06CBR0.52). This prediction model had a high correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.893) and could effectively predict the dynamic resilient modulus of coarse-grained chlorine saline soil using CBR values. The results provide a simple and reliable method for determining the design parameters of a coarse-grained saline soil subgrade.
Glypican-4 serum levels are associated with cognitive dysfunction and vascular risk factors in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Tatenhorst Lars , Maass Fabian , Paul Hannah , Dambeck Vivian , Bähr Mathias , Dono Rosanna , Lingor Paul
Published: February 2024

Glypicans are biomarkers for various pathologies, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. Increasing evidence suggests that glypicans also play a role in the context of neurodegenerative disorders. Initially described as supporting functionality of synapses via glutamate receptors during CNS development, Glypican 4 (GPC-4) also plays a role in the context of dementia via tau hyperphosphorylation in Alzheimer’s disease, which is also a co-pathology in Parkinson’s disease dementia. However, clinical evidence of circulating GPC-4 in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is missing so far. We therefore investigated GPC-4 in biofluids of PD patients. We analyzed GPC-4 levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, n = 140), serum (n = 80), and tear fluid samples (n = 70) of PD patients and control subjects in a similar age range by ELISA (serum, CSF) and western blot (tear fluid). Expression of circulating GPC-4 was confirmed in all three biofluids, with highest levels in serum. Interestingly, GPC-4 levels were age-dependent, and multiple regression analysis revealed a significant association between GPC-4 serum levels and MoCA score, suggesting an involvement of GPC-4 in PD-associated cognitive decline. Furthermore, stratification of PD patients for vascular risk factors revealed a significant increase of GPC-4 serum levels in PD patients with vascular risk factors. Our results suggest GPC-4 as a clinical biomarker for vascular risk stratification in order to identify PD patients with increased risk of developing dementia.
Automatic detection method for tobacco beetles combining multi-scale global residual feature pyramid network and dual-path deformable attention
Authors: Chen Yuling , Li Xiaoxia , Lv Nianzu , He Zhenxiang , Wu Bin
Published: February 2024

Aiming at the problems of identifying storage pest tobacco pest beetles from images that have few object pixels and considerable image noise, and therefore suffer from lack of information and identifiable features, this paper proposes an automatic monitoring method of tobacco beetle based on Multi-scale Global residual Feature Pyramid Network and Dual-path Deformable Attention (MGrFPN-DDrGAM). Firstly, a Multi-scale Global residual Feature Pyramid Network (MGrFPN) is constructed to obtain rich high-level semantic features and more complete information on low-level features to reduce missed detection; Then, a Dual-path Deformable receptive field Guided Attention Module (DDrGAM) is designed to establish long-range channel dependence, guide the effective fusion of features and improve the localization accuracy of tobacco beetles by fitting the spatial geometric deformation features of and capturing the spatial information of feature maps with different scales to enrich the feature information in the channel and spatial. Finally, to simulate a real scene, a multi-scene tobacco beetle dataset is created. The dataset includes 28,080 images and manually labeled tobacco beetle objects. The experimental results show that under the framework of the Faster R-CNN algorithm, the detection precision and recall rate of this method can reach 91.4% and 98.4% when the intersection ratio (IoU) is 0.5. Compared with Faster R-CNN and FPN, when the intersection ratio (IoU) is 0.7, the detection precision is improved by 32.9% and 6.9%, respectively. The proposed method is superior to the current mainstream methods.
Association between serum anion gap and risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with acute heart failure
Authors: Huang Zilun , Wang Shanjie , Yang Shuang
Published: February 2024

A high serum anion gap (AG) at the time of patient admission can lead to the deterioration or even death; data are lacking for patients who suffer acute heart failure (AHF). The present study aimed at exploring the impact of serum AG (SAG) levels on the in-hospital mortality in AHF patients. The study conducted retrospective analysis on the data from the medical information mart for intensive care (MIMIC-IV) database in severe AHF cases. Serum AG, age, sex, concomitant diseases and laboratory tests were collected from patients at admission. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model together with Kaplan Meier (K–M) survival curve served for analyzing the relationship of serum AG with the hospital all-cause mortality (ACM). In addition, subgroup analysis assisted in assessing the concordance. Data from 2774 AHF patients were collected in the study. The hospital ACM rate was 9.2% (254/2774). After correcting potential confounders, multivariate analysis compared the high serum AG level (≥ 16 mmol/L) and the low serum AG level (< 16 mmol/L) (hazard ratio (HR): 1.89 [95% CI 1.42–2.51]). In a similar way, K–M survival curve indicated that hospital survival was lower in patients with high serum, suggesting that high serum AG level could lead to poor AHF prognosis. In patients with AHF, high serum AG level could increase the hospital ACM.
CKAP5 stabilizes CENP-E at kinetochores by regulating microtubule-chromosome attachments
Authors: Lakshmi R Bhagya , Nayak Pinaki , Raz Linoy , Sarkar Apurba , Saroha Akshay , Kumari Pratibha , Nair Vishnu M , Kombarakkaran Delvin P , Sajana S , M G Sanusha , Agasti Sarit S , Paul Raja , Ben-David Uri , Manna Tapas K
Published: February 2024

Stabilization of microtubule plus end-directed kinesin CENP-E at the metaphase kinetochores is important for chromosome alignment, but its mechanism remains unclear. Here, we show that CKAP5, a conserved microtubule plus tip protein, regulates CENP-E at kinetochores in human cells. Depletion of CKAP5 impairs CENP-E localization at kinetochores at the metaphase plate and results in increased kinetochore–microtubule stability and attachment errors. Erroneous attachments are also supported by computational modeling. Analysis of CKAP5 knockout cancer cells of multiple tissue origins shows that CKAP5 is preferentially essential in aneuploid, chromosomally unstable cells, and the sensitivity to CKAP5 depletion is correlated to that of CENP-E depletion. CKAP5 depletion leads to reduction in CENP-E-BubR1 interaction and the interaction is rescued by TOG4-TOG5 domain of CKAP5. The same domain can rescue CKAP5 depletion-induced CENP-E removal from the kinetochores. Interestingly, CKAP5 depletion facilitates recruitment of PP1 to the kinetochores and furthermore, a PP1 target site-specific CENP-E phospho-mimicking mutant gets stabilized at kinetochores in the CKAP5-depleted cells. Together, the results support a model in which CKAP5 controls mitotic chromosome attachment errors by stabilizing CENP-E at kinetochores and by regulating stability of the kinetochore-attached microtubules.
Racial Differences in Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke: An Ecological Epidemiological Study
Authors: Kang Dong-Seon , Yang Pil-Sung , Kim Daehoon , Jang Eunsun , Yu Hee Tae , Kim Tae-Hoon , Sung Jung-Hoon , Pak Hui-Nam , Lee Moon-Hyoung , Lip Gregory Y. H. , Joung Boyoung
Published: February 2024

Background This study aimed to evaluate racial differences in the incidence of stroke by conducting an ecological epidemiological study using UK Biobank and Korean nationwide data.

Methods This study used individual data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening and UK Biobank, which included participants who underwent health examinations between 2006 and 2010. We included 112,750 East Asians (50.7% men, mean age: 52.6 years) and 210,995 Caucasians (44.7% men, mean age: 55.0 years) who were not diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cancer. The primary outcome was defined as a composite of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

Results East Asians tended to have a lower body mass index (23.7 vs. 26.4 kg/m2, p < 0.001) and a higher proportion of participants who did not engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (49.6% vs. 10.7%, p < 0.001) than Caucasians. During the follow-up, East Asians had higher 5-year incidence rates (presented as per 1,000 person-years) for primary outcome (1.73 vs. 0.50; IR ratio [IRR]: 3.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.13–3.88), ischemic stroke (1.23 vs. 0.33; IRR: 3.70, 95% CI: 3.25–4.21), hemorrhagic stroke (0.56 vs. 0.18; IRR: 3.20, 95% CI: 2.67–3.84), and atrial fibrillation-related stroke (0.19 vs. 0.09; IRR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.55–2.68).

Conclusion Based on this ecological epidemiological study, racial differences in stroke incidence were robust to a variety of statistical analyses, regardless of the subtype. This suggests the need for region-specific approaches to stroke prevention.
Promotive and prohibitive ethical voice in groups: the effect of faultlines and role ambiguity
Authors: Qi Meng , Liu Fei
Published: February 2024

Despite the role of ethical voice in promoting ethics in working units, scant attention has been devoted to the emergence and boundary conditions of collective ethical voice. In accordance with the integration between regulatory focus theory and social identity theory, this research explores the antecedents and moderators of promotive ethical voice and prohibitive ethical voice in working units. Hierarchical regression analysis of field data on 632 employees and 62 leaders at three Chinese organizations supports the hypotheses. Faultlines negatively relate to promotive ethical voice and prohibitive ethical voice in groups. Role ambiguity moderates the effect of two forms of ethical voice on citizenship behaviors and task performance in groups. Based on regulatory focus and social identity theory, this study contributes to existing research by revealing faultlines to be barriers of collective promotive and prohibitive ethical voice. Additionally, this research provides a novel lens to understand the underlying interaction mechanisms through which role ambiguity regulates the effect of ethical voice on performance in groups.
Temporal changes in cumulative mortality risks of cancer, by occupation, in the working population of Japan from 1995 to 2020: a benchmark for radiation risk comparison
Authors: Takada Momo , Hirouchi Jun , Kujiraoka Ikuo , Takahara Shogo , Schneider Thierry , Kai Michiaki
Published: February 2024

The purpose of this study was to provide benchmark data for discussing the tolerability of cancer risk associated with occupational radiation exposure. It focused on differences in cancer mortality risk by occupation among Japan’s working population and examined baseline cancer mortality risks and its variations from 1995 through 2020. Data were collected every five years from national vital statistics sources. By focusing on the same types of cancer among radiation induced effects, cumulative mortality risks were calculated for colorectal, lung, and breast cancer (females only) for those aged 15–74. The average cumulative mortality risk for the working population in Japan has decreased by 30%–60% over the past 25 years. Service workers and male managers were at an average risk, among all workers, while clerical workers and transportation and manufacturing workers had about half the average risk. The risks were higher for professionals and female managers, about 1.5–2 times the average for professionals and up to 5 times the average for female managers. The decrease in the average cancer mortality risk in the working population as a baseline suggests that risk tolerance in society might have changed over time. Since differences in mortality by occupation were confirmed, the usefulness of occupational data as a benchmark needs further investigation, as high-risk/low-risk occupations vary by country and region. The results of this study contribute to put radiation risks into perspective with the background risk of cancer.
Exact solutions of steady Euler equations in two dimension by functional separation
Authors: Kim Sun-Chul
Published: February 2024

Exact solutions of two dimensional Euler equations for incompressible fluid flows are found by the functional separation of variables. More specifically, two independent variables are considered in the Cartesian coordinates, polar coordinates and also general orthogonal curvilinear coordinates which include elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic systems. Several new solutions are obtained and other classical solutions are rediscovered.
Communication between healthcare professionals and patients with hearing loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Weerapol Neeranun , Leelakanok Nattawut
Published: February 2024

Purpose

We aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze published evidence on modes of communication between healthcare professionals and patients with hearing loss.

Methods

MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, and Thai Journals Online Complete databases were searched. A meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model. Data on the prevalence and types of communication between healthcare professionals and patients with any extent of hearing loss were extracted.

Results

Twenty studies were included. Using a hearing aid (pooled prevalence, 57.4%; 95% CI, 11.4%-103.4%, N = 3, I2 = 99.33) and gestures (pooled prevalence = 54.8%, 95%CI: 17.4% to 92.1%, N = 7, I2 = 99.68) were the most commonly reported modes of communication. Few healthcare professionals could use sign language, and limited access to qualified interpreters was common.

Conclusion

Communication barriers exist. Qualified sign language interpreters and assistive technology should be used to improve communication.
Towards Clarification of the Second Language Learner Engagement Construct: Taking Stock of its Conceptual Overlap and Hierarchical Structure
Authors: Vo Hoi
Published: February 2024

L2 learner engagement is an emerging but critical construct in the field of psychology of language learning and teaching. However, research on L2 learner engagement has suffered from the inconsistent operationalization of the multidimensional structure of the construct and the conceptual overlap among its different components, making research synthesis and comparison across studies and contexts challenging. This study tested the utility of the bi-factor exploratory structural equation modelling framework (B-ESEM)—an overarching psychometric framework that can address the two critical concerns associated with the operationalization and measurement of L2 learner engagement. Data were collected from 413 Vietnamese EFL students. Through two stages of rigorous and strategic data analysis, the results suggested that participants’ responses to the L2 learner engagement scale could be best represented by a B-ESEM model that simultaneously assessed the global L2 engagement factor along with the specific components of behavioural, cognitive, affective, and social engagement while, at the same time, controlling for the cross-loadings of items onto non-target factors. Results of the study were discussed from both psychometric and substantive perspectives and implications were provided to capitalize on the utility of the B-ESEM approach in the assessment of L2 learner engagement.
Benefits of a ‘Psy-Curriculum’ for Theorising Interprofessional Practice Provision of School Support Services
Authors: Hoang Andrew Pau
Published: February 2024

School-based support services (SSS) professionals include social workers, counsellors and pastoral care teachers who assess and intervene upon issues affecting students’ well-being and academic success. However, SSS are seldom foregrounded in the psycho-socialisation processes of schooling, particularly as a site of interprofessional practice. Drawing on observational fieldwork in three Hong Kong schools, this study illustrates how SSS professionals assess and intervene upon an assemblage of risk concerns: students’ behaviours, afflictions and academic performance. By advancing the concept of psy-curriculum, this study examines the historical and structural conditions that shape contemporary SSS provision. Crucially, the psy-curriculum bridges the clinical practices of SSS with issues that concern inequity and anti-oppressive practice. This has implications for theorising the provision of interprofessional practice in schools, and the intersectoral policies (education, social welfare and health/mental health) that shape how SSS enact particular psychosocial interventions to support students.
Asymmetric cyclization catalyzed by a chiral phosphoric acid–gold(I) hybrid complex as a multifunctional catalyst
Authors: Taniguchi Naoya , Ueda Mitsuhiro , Michigami Kenichi , Mori Seiji , Ohashi Masato
Published: February 2024

We herein report the development of a novel hybrid complex containing gold(I) and a chiral phosphoric acid moiety to generate a multifunctional catalyst. While the use of chiral phosphoric acid as a bifunctional catalyst is a common strategy in asymmetric organic synthesis, chiral phosphoric acid–transition metal hybrid complexes as multifunctional catalysts have not been investigated. Thus, we designed and synthesized a novel gold(I) hybrid complex as a multifunctional catalyst that promotes asymmetric catalytic reactions through multipoint nonclassical noncovalent interactions in substrates that lack classical hydrogen-bond donors. In addition, we demonstrate its usefulness as a multifunctional catalyst by successfully developing the first catalytic asymmetric synthesis of dihydrocyclohepta[b]indoles. Experimental and theoretical studies revealed that this asymmetric catalytic reaction involves the kinetic resolution of the reaction intermediate, and that the favored diastereomeric transition state for yielding enantiomeric products is formed through multipoint nonclassical noncovalent interactions originating from the acid–base nature of the chiral phosphoric acid moiety.
The Legal Classification of Human Capital in ‘Markets, Hybrids and Hierarchies’
Authors: Ang Lance
Published: February 2024

The growth in platform work in the digital economy has challenged the legal classification of human capital across ‘markets, hybrids, and hierarchies’ in the labour market. In comparing the trinary approach in English law with Singapore’s binary approach in determining worker status, the aim of this article is to consider how Singapore’s labour law should be restructured and hybrid workers should be accorded appropriate recognition in order to recalibrate the coordination-risk bargain between capital and labour. The coordination-risk bargain – as the key function of labour law in the regulation of hybrid workers – refers to the capacity of the firm to coordinate the allocation of labour inputs under non-standard employment arrangements in exchange for absorbing the social and economic risks of the worker’s subordination and dependence. On this basis, this article proposes a reformulation of the ‘limb (b) worker’ category under the UK Employment Rights Act 1996, which should form the basis of labour law reforms in Singapore towards a more sustainable form of capitalism.
Substrate and Functional Diversity of Protein Lysine Post-translational Modifications
Authors: Hao Bingbing , Chen Kaifeng , Zhai Linhui , Liu Muyin , Liu Bin , Tan Minjia
Published: February 2024

Lysine post-translational modifications (PTMs) are widespread and versatile protein PTMs that are involved in diverse biological processes by regulating the fundamental functions of histone and non-histone proteins. Dysregulation of lysine PTMs is implicated in many diseases, and targeting lysine PTM regulatory factors, including writers, erasers, and readers, has become an effective strategy for disease therapy. The continuing development of mass spectrometry (MS) technologies coupled with antibody-based affinity enrichment technologies greatly promotes the discovery and decoding of PTMs. The global characterization of lysine PTMs is crucial for deciphering the regulatory networks, molecular functions, and mechanisms of action of lysine PTMs. In this review, we focus on lysine PTMs, and provide a summary of the regulatory enzymes of diverse lysine PTMs and the proteomics advances in lysine PTMs by MS technologies. We also discuss the types and biological functions of lysine PTM crosstalks on histone and non-histone proteins and current druggable targets of lysine PTM regulatory factors for disease therapy.
When Is Old Too Old? The Problem of Leaning on Outdated Historical Work and a Simple Distinction between Two Kinds of Evidence to Address This
Authors: Møller Jørgen
Published: February 2024

While international relations and comparative politics scholars are often hesitant to lean on old empirical findings in their own discipline, they have no similar qualms when it comes to the work of historians. This is sometimes problematic and sometimes not. To help political scientists who are going historical address this issue, I revisit prior methodological work by Cameron Thies, published in these pages, to introduce a distinction between two kinds of historical evidence: (i) “factual evidence,” which is relatively specific descriptive evidence that ages well and where there is often no alternative to enlisting older work, and (ii) “inferential evidence,” which is broader historical interpretations that tend to become outdated much more quickly. This distinction provides a shortcut for political scientists going historical who do not have the resources to systematically review historiography to document whether a certain piece of historical evidence has stood the test of time or not.
Taiyi: a bilingual fine-tuned large language model for diverse biomedical tasks
Authors: Luo Ling , Ning Jinzhong , Zhao Yingwen , Wang Zhijun , Ding Zeyuan , Chen Peng , Fu Weiru , Han Qinyu , Xu Guangtao , Qiu Yunzhi , Pan Dinghao , Li Jiru , Li Hao , Feng Wenduo , Tu Senbo , Liu Yuqi , Yang Zhihao , Wang Jian , Sun Yuanyuan , Lin Hongfei
Published: February 2024

Objective

Most existing fine-tuned biomedical large language models (LLMs) focus on enhancing performance in monolingual biomedical question answering and conversation tasks. To investigate the effectiveness of the fine-tuned LLMs on diverse biomedical natural language processing (NLP) tasks in different languages, we present Taiyi, a bilingual fine-tuned LLM for diverse biomedical NLP tasks.

Materials and Methods

We first curated a comprehensive collection of 140 existing biomedical text mining datasets (102 English and 38 Chinese datasets) across over 10 task types. Subsequently, these corpora were converted to the instruction data used to fine-tune the general LLM. During the supervised fine-tuning phase, a 2-stage strategy is proposed to optimize the model performance across various tasks.

Results

Experimental results on 13 test sets, which include named entity recognition, relation extraction, text classification, and question answering tasks, demonstrate that Taiyi achieves superior performance compared to general LLMs. The case study involving additional biomedical NLP tasks further shows Taiyi’s considerable potential for bilingual biomedical multitasking.

Conclusion

Leveraging rich high-quality biomedical corpora and developing effective fine-tuning strategies can significantly improve the performance of LLMs within the biomedical domain. Taiyi shows the bilingual multitasking capability through supervised fine-tuning. However, those tasks such as information extraction that are not generation tasks in nature remain challenging for LLM-based generative approaches, and they still underperform the conventional discriminative approaches using smaller language models.
Round-up of European Union trade marks in 2023
Authors: Folliard-Monguiral Arnaud , Rogers David
Published: February 2024

The purpose of this article is to provide a quick overview of the most significant European Union trade mark (EUTM) cases decided in 2023 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the General Court (GC). This article has a practical bias and is aimed at readers who rapidly wish to find the key decisions of 2023.
Health-care organization characteristics in cancer care delivery: an integrated conceptual framework with content validation
Authors: Weaver Sallie J , Breslau Erica S , Russell Lauren E , Zhang Allen , Sharma Ritu , Bass Eric B , Marsteller Jill A , Snyder Claire
Published: February 2024

Context can influence cancer-related outcomes. For example, health-care organization characteristics, including ownership, leadership, and culture, can affect care access, communication, and patient outcomes. Health-care organization characteristics and other contextual factors can also influence whether and how clinical discoveries reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality. Importantly, policy, market, and technology changes are transforming health-care organization design, culture, and operations across the cancer continuum. Consequently, research is essential to examine when, for whom, and how organizational characteristics influence person-level, organization-level, and population-level cancer outcomes. Understanding organizational characteristics—the structures, processes, and other features of entities involved in health care delivery—and their dynamics is an important yet understudied area of care delivery research across the cancer continuum. Research incorporating organizational characteristics is critical to address health inequities, test care delivery models, adapt interventions, and strengthen implementation. The field lacks conceptual grounding, however, to help researchers identify germane organizational characteristics. We propose a framework identifying organizational characteristics relevant for cancer care delivery research based on conceptual work in health services, organizational behavior, and management science and refined using a systematic review and key informant input. The proposed framework is a tool for organizing existing research and enhancing future cancer care delivery research. Following a 2012 Journal of the National Cancer Institute monograph, this work complements National Cancer Institute efforts to stimulate research addressing the relationship between cancer outcomes and contextual factors at the patient, provider, team, delivery organization, community, and health policy levels.
Prediagnostic evaluation of multicancer detection tests: design and analysis considerations
Authors: Baker Stuart G , Etzioni Ruth
Published: February 2024

There is growing interest in multicancer detection tests, which identify molecular signals in the blood that indicate a potential preclinical cancer. A key stage in evaluating these tests is a prediagnostic performance study, in which investigators store specimens from asymptomatic individuals and later test stored specimens from patients with cancer and a random sample of controls to determine predictive performance. Performance metrics include rates of cancer-specific true-positive and false-positive findings and a cancer-specific positive predictive value, with the latter compared with a decision-analytic threshold. The sample size trade-off method, which trades imprecise targeting of the true-positive rate for precise targeting of a zero-false-positive rate can substantially reduce sample size while increasing the lower bound of the positive predictive value. For a 1-year follow-up, with ovarian cancer as the rarest cancer considered, the sample size trade-off method yields a sample size of 163 000 compared with a sample size of 720 000, based on standard calculations. These design and analysis recommendations should be considered in planning a specimen repository and in the prediagnostic evaluation of multicancer detection tests.
Breast adenomyoepithelioma diagnosed on core needle biopsy: a diagnostic challenge
Authors: Samia Sassi , Mouna Khmou , Rihane El M , Leila Benbella , Zebbakh Hajar , Essaber Hatim , Omor Youssef , Latib Rachida , Youssef Mehdi , Bassma El K
Published: February 2024

Adenomyoepithelioma represents a rare tumor of the breast characterized by biphasic proliferation of epithelial and myoepithelial cells. Owing to its nonspecific clinical presentation, the rarity, and the morphological pitfalls in differential diagnosis, the diagnosis may be extremely difficult especially on limited samples such as core needle biopsy; thus, the diagnosis is histological, which is confirmed by the specificities of the immunohistochemical analyses. Here we report a case of a 64-year-old female who presented a benign adenomyoepithelioma diagnosed on core needle biopsy, review the clinicopathological features of breast adenomyoepithelioma diagnosed on core needle biopsy, and discuss the useful clues to prompt accurate diagnosis.
Hydrocele stone: a rare case report
Authors: Youssef Bencherki , Abdelkrim Nedjim , Anas Tmiri , Amine Moataz , Mohamed Dakir , Adil Debbagh , Rachid Aboutaieb
Published: February 2024

Hydrocele, characterized by fluid accumulation in the tunica vaginalis, is a common benign scrotal condition. While unusual, hydrocele can lead to rare complications such as infection or lithiasis. A 60-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of left-sided scrotal swelling and discomfort. Physical examination and ultrasound revealed a large, nontransilluminant swelling with hyperechoic images. A provisional diagnosis of scrotal hydrocele with secondary lithiasis was made, and surgical exploration was performed. Intraoperatively, a fluid collection with small, hard stones was found. Cholesterol crystals were identified in the stone. Scrotal lithiasis in hydrocele is rare and is believed to result from stagnant fluid creating an ideal environment for cholesterol crystal formation. Ultrasound is crucial for diagnosis, revealing hyperechoic stones within the fluid collection. Surgical exploration, aspiration of fluid, and stone removal are standard treatments, usually conducted through a small scrotal incision, with a high success rate.
HBO1 determines SMAD action in pluripotency and mesendoderm specification
Authors: Zhang Cong , Shan Yongli , Lin Huaisong , Zhang Yanqi , Xing Qi , Zhu Jinmin , Zhou Tiancheng , Lin Aiping , Chen Qianyu , Wang Junwei , Pan Guangjin
Published: February 2024

TGF-β signaling family plays an essential role to regulate fate decisions in pluripotency and lineage specification. How the action of TGF-β family signaling is intrinsically executed remains not fully elucidated. Here, we show that HBO1, a MYST histone acetyltransferase (HAT) is an essential cell intrinsic determinant for TGF-β signaling in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). HBO1−/− hESCs fail to response to TGF-β signaling to maintain pluripotency and spontaneously differentiate into neuroectoderm. Moreover, HBO1 deficient hESCs show complete defect in mesendoderm specification in BMP4-triggered gastruloids or teratomas. Molecularly, HBO1 interacts with SMAD4 and co-binds the open chromatin labeled by H3K14ac and H3K4me3 in undifferentiated hESCs. Upon differentiation, HBO1/SMAD4 co-bind and maintain the mesoderm genes in BMP4-triggered mesoderm cells while lose chromatin occupancy in neural cells induced by dual-SMAD inhibition. Our data reveal an essential role of HBO1, a chromatin factor to determine the action of SMAD in both human pluripotency and mesendoderm specification.
Cold atmospheric plasma for chronic kidney disease–related skin disorders
Authors: Zhai Siyue , Liu Dingxin , Liu Hua , Li Wanchun , Wang Zifeng , Wang Meng , Chen Lei , Jiang Hongli
Published: February 2024

Background

An estimated 80% of individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience concomitant skin disorders, yet experimental research that elucidates the pathological changes in CKD-affected skin is limited. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has shown promise in regulating keratinocyte proliferation, skin barrier function and anti-inflammatory activity. We hypothesize that CAP will emerge as a promising therapeutic avenue for CKD-related skin diseases.

Methods

Male and female C57BL/6 mice were administered a 0.2% adenine diet to generate a CKD mouse model. Skin samples from dialysis patients were also collected. These models were used to investigate the pathological alterations in the renal glomeruli, tubules and epidermis. Subsequently, the potential impact of CAP on the stratum corneum, keratinocytes, skin hydration and inflammation in mice with CKD was examined.

Results

Renal biopsies revealed glomerular and tubular atrophy, epithelial degeneration and necrosis in uriniferous tubules and significant renal interstitial fibrosis. Skin biopsies from patients with CKD and mice showed stratum corneum thickening, epidermis atrophy, skin hydration dysfunction and excessive inflammation. CAP attenuated skin atrophy, hydration dysfunction and inflammation in mice with CKD, as evidenced by the activated level of YAP1/β-catenin and Nrf-2/OH-1; enhanced expression of K5 and Ki67; increased levels of AQP3, collagen I and GLUT1; reduced infiltration of CD3+ T cells and diminished levels of IL-6 and TNF-α.

Conclusions

This study provides valuable insights into the pathological changes in skin associated with CKD in both patients and animal models. It also establishes that CAP has the potential to effectively mitigate skin atrophy, hydration dysfunction and inflammation, suggesting a novel therapeutic avenue for the treatment of CKD-related skin disorders.
Tradition, Transformation, and Democratic Education
Authors: Susan McWilliams Barndt
Published: February 2024

As Tocqueville saw almost 200 years ago, rituals sit uncomfortably with democratic people, who tend to see them as inegalitarian or unjust impositions of authority. Molly Farneth's new book, The Politics of Ritual, encourages American progressives to see ritual differently. Rituals, she says, can be enacted in novel ways to serve democratic ends in the service of political and cultural transformation. But in emphasizing the transformative potential of rituals, Farneth may undersell the traditional value of rituals—a value that I think should be just as important to contemporary progressives. Against the serious antidemocratic forces arrayed in the United States today, most of which speak in terms of “transformation” and “disruption,” progressives would do well to think of themselves as the conservators and protectors of democracy—not just as radical innovators. In making this argument, I give special attention to the state of U.S. higher education.
Christianity, Enlightenment, and the American Experiment: A Review Essay
Authors: Thomas George
Published: February 2024

In the Classical and Christian Origins of American Politics: Political Theology, Natural Law, and the American Founding, Kody Cooper and Justin Dyer argue that the classical Christian Natural Law tradition is the central tradition shaping the American political order. Rejecting the scholarly consensus that the American founding was shaped by multiple traditions, Cooper and Dyer see continuity from Aristotle to Aquinas to the founding generation. This argument far exceeds the evidence: It is unpersuasive at the level of ideas, but it is even less compelling considering the epic political conflicts that surrounded these ideas—conflicts that were responsible for the genesis of Enlightenment ideas about religious liberty. Both liberalism and civic republicanism, to take the two leading schools of thought, emerged in response to conflicts over theology among the different sects of Christianity. Yet Cooper and Dyer's analysis obscures the political conflicts that were an essential feature of creating the American political order. To argue that Christianity and political theology had an important influence on thinking during the founding era, we must wrestle with what type of Christianity and political theology? How did understandings of Christianity and political theology change in their encounter with Enlightenment thinking? Cooper and Dyer do not attend to these questions. Yet such questions are all the more important given the rise of Christian nationalism and Catholic integralism, which would return us to pre-Enlightenment understandings of religious liberty that are profoundly at odds with the American experiment and the religious pluralism that stems from it.
“It is controlling, but you don’t really care.” Researchers’ perceptions of legitimation of research policy
Authors: Carlsson Vanja , Johansson Wilén Evelina
Published: February 2024

Starting from the tension between scientific autonomy and state governing in research policy, the aim of this article is to examine how researchers who apply for funding in Sweden perceive the legitimate grounds for a new research policy in which sex and gender perspectives are integrated as criteria in assessing scientific quality. Our results show that researcher’s perception of themselves, and of the purpose of research, is compatible with dominant ideals in contemporary academic landscape, where knowledge is treated as a deliverable to external stakeholders or to meet politically formulated goals. However, according to researchers, the legitimate sources of policy influence originate from their own profession or the common interest of the people, explicitly expressed by citizens. Researchers are questioning, and find strategies to avoid, top-down state governing.
Association of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience With Depression and Anxiety During Pregnancy
Authors: Watson Carey R. , Eaton Abigail , Campbell Cynthia I. , Alexeeff Stacey E. , Avalos Lyndsay A. , Ridout Kathryn K. , Young-Wolff Kelly C.
Published: February 2024

This was a retrospective cohort study of pregnant individuals in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California system who were screened for adverse childhood experiences and resilience as part of standard prenatal care at about 16 weeks of gestation. Overall, 14,625 pregnancies were included; 17.0% had newly identified depression; 9.8% had newly identified depression symptoms; and 8.9% had newly identified anxiety during the pregnancy with no known preexisting diagnosis. We found that adverse childhood experiences and low resilience were independently associated with newly identified depressive disorders, depression symptoms, and anxiety disorders during pregnancy. When adverse childhood experiences and resilience were modeled in combination, the greatest odds of each outcome occurred in individuals with a combination of four or more adverse childhood experiences and low resilience (vs no adverse childhood experiences and high resilience): depression adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 6.43 (95% CI, 5.23–7.90), depression symptoms aOR 9.49 (95% CI, 7.50–12.0), and anxiety disorder aOR 4.79 (95% CI, 3.81–6.02). Routine screening for adverse childhood experiences and resilience may identify individuals at risk of developing prenatal depression and anxiety, allowing faster resource linkage and potentially improved maternal and child outcomes.