bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Machine learning based design optimization of centrifugal impellers
Authors: Zhang Ao , Liu Yan , Yang Jinguang , Li Zhi , Zhang Chuang , Li Yiwen
Published: August 2022

Big data and machine learning are developing rapidly, and their applications in the aerodynamic design of centrifugal impellers and other turbomachinery have attracted wide attention. In this paper, centrifugal impellers with large flow coefficient (0.18–0.22) are taken as research objects. Firstly, through one-dimensional design and optimization, main one-dimensional geometric parameters of those centrifugal impellers are obtained. Subsequently, hundreds of samples of centrifugal impellers are obtained by using an in-house parameterization program and Latin hypercube sampling method. The NUMECA software is used for CFD calculations to build a sample library of centrifugal impellers. Then, applying the artificial neural network (ANN) to deal with the data in the sample library, a nonlinear model between the flow coefficients, the geometric parameters of these centrifugal impellers and the aerodynamic performance is constructed, which can replace CFD calculations. Lastly with the help of the multi-objective genetic algorithm, a global optimization is carried out to fulfull a rapid design optimization for centrifugal impellers with flow coefficients in the range of 0.18–0.22. Three examples provided in the paper show that the design and optimization method described above is faster and more reliable compared with the traditional design method. This method provides a new way for the rapid design of centrifugal impellers.
Non-parametric surrogate model method based on machine learning with application on low-pressure steam turbine exhaust system
Authors: Cao Jiajun , Li Qingbiao , Xu Liping , Yang Rui , Dai Yuejin
Published: August 2022

Current surrogate model methods that are widely used in optimization and design processes rely on manual parameterization to describe the geometry of objects. The loss of geometric information in this process limits the prediction accuracy of surrogate model. To tackle this problem, the new method directly picks important geometric features from surface meshes of fluid domain using Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) and predicts contours of fluid variables based on extracted information with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The prediction error of CNNs propagates backwards to train GNNs to select sensitive features from surface meshes. This framework reduces uncertainties introduced by manual parameterization and the loss of geometric information because the input of this new method is from the meshes used in the numerical simulations. With CNN and larger amount of extracted geometric information, this method can also predict higher dimensions distributions of flow variables rather than only several performance metrics. The nature of non-parametric representation of geometry also allows users to access designs defined by other parameterization methods to create a larger database. Additionally, thanks to the generic nature of the new method, it can be used for any other design or optimization processes governed by partial differential equations involving complicated geometries. To demonstrate this new method, a non-parametric surrogate model is built for a low-pressure steam turbine exhaust system (LPES). The new surrogate model uses 10 surfaces meshes of the LPES as input and it is used to predicts the energy flux contours at the exit of the last stage of the turbine. Altogether 582 designs have been generated, which contains two types of geometries defined by different methods. Among them, 550 cases are used for training, and 32 cases for testing. The power output of the last two stages of the turbine predicted by the surrogate model has average 0.86% difference compared with those of numerical simulations over a wide range of power ratings. The structural similarity index measure (SSIM) is used to measure the differences between the simulated and predicted contours at the exit of the last rotor, where the average SSIM of 640 contours is 0.9594 (1.0 being identical).
Entrepreneurship education practices in VET: The roles of the teacher and the local region
Authors: Kolho Piia , Oikkonen Elena , Pihkala Timo
Published: August 2022

This study focuses on entrepreneurship in vocational education and training (VET). Generally, teachers’ operations in entrepreneurship education (EE) have been researched widely from the perspective of teaching and working practices and pedagogy. However, there are only a few studies of EE from the VET teacher’s perspective. As a practice-oriented school, EE in VET is supposed to benefit from the hands-on experience of teachers as well as from the tight relationships with local businesses. The study applies quantitative methodology (n=795) and analyses the versatility of EE practices in VET and the roles that the teacher and the region play in determining EE practices. The findings indicate interesting new results especially on how the regional context influences practices. The research raises important topics for discussion concerning the teacher’s role in regional development.
A novel prognostic 7-methylguanosine signature reflects immune microenvironment and alternative splicing in glioma based on multi-omics analysis
Authors: Wang Zihan , Zhong Zhiwei , Jiang Zehua , Chen Zepeng , Chen Yuequn , Xu Yimin
Published: August 2022

Glioma is the most common type of central nervous system tumor with increasing incidence. 7-methylguanosine (m7G) is one of the diverse RNA modifications that is known to regulate RNA metabolism and its dysregulation was associated with various cancers. However, the expression pattern of m7G regulators and their roles in regulating tumor immune microenvironments (TIMEs) as well as alternative splicing events (ASEs) in glioma has not been reported. In this study, we showed that m7G regulators displayed a close correlation with each other and most of them were differentially expressed between normal and glioma tissues. Two m7G signatures were then constructed to predict the overall survival of both GBM and LGG patients with moderate predictive performance. The risk score calculated from the regression coefficient and expression level of signature genes was proved to be an independent prognostic factor for patients with LGG, thus, a nomogram was established on the risk score and other independent clinical parameters to predict the survival probability of LGG patients. We also investigated the correlation of m7G signatures with TIMEs in terms of immune scores, expression levels of HLA and immune checkpoint genes, immune cell composition, and immune-related functions. While exploring the correlation between signature genes and the ASEs in glioma, we found that EIF4E1B was a key regulator and might play dual roles depending on glioma grade. By incorporating spatial transcriptomic data, we found a cluster of cells featured by high expression of PTN exhibited the highest m7G score and may communicate with adjacent cancer cells via SPP1 and PTN signaling pathways. In conclusion, our work brought novel insights into the roles of m7G modification in TIMEs and ASEs in glioma, suggesting that evaluation of m7G in glioma could predict prognosis. Moreover, our data suggested that blocking SPP1 and PTN pathways might be a strategy for combating glioma.
Advances in the study of HSP70 inhibitors to enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to radiotherapy
Authors: Du Sihan , Liu Ying , Yuan Yuan , Wang Yuran , Chen Yanfang , Wang Shuai , Chi Yuhua
Published: August 2022

The 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) is one of the most conserved proteins and a ubiquitous molecular chaperone that plays a role in the folding, remodeling, and degradation of various proteins to maintain proteostasis. It has been shown that HSP70 is abundantly expressed in cancer and enhances tumor resistance to radiotherapy by inhibiting multiple apoptotic pathways, such as interfering with the cellular senescence program, promoting angiogenesis, and supporting metastasis. Thus, HSP70 provides an effective target for enhancing the effects of radiation therapy in the clinical management of cancer patients. Inhibition of HSP70 enhances the radiation-induced tumor-killing effect and thus improves the efficacy of radiotherapy. This article reviews the sensitivity of Hsp70 and its related inhibitors to radiotherapy of tumor cells.
Enhancing Our Understanding of Ladybirds in Ireland – A Case Study of the Use of Citizen Science
Authors: Weyman Gill , Butler Fidelma , McKeown Sean
Published: August 2022

Citizen science is increasingly recognised as a useful approach to contribute to biodiversity awareness while generating data and creating meaningful interactions among citizens and professional scientists. In a number of countries, academic institutions have led the way in developing ladybird projects, incorporating citizen science, to increase distributional data on the species, as well as a greater understanding of ladybird ecology. The current research evaluates the role of citizen science campaigns in collecting biological distributional data in Ireland, using ladybirds as a case example, examining if citizen science records and the use of photographs can provide a valuable insight into our understanding of ladybird ecology. From April 2020 to June 2021, a citizen science programme engaged with the wider public, via social media networks to increase the number of ladybird records and assist in establishing national data baselines, since ladybird rcording is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland. This case study finds that citizen science projects using social media can increase the number of records of ladybirds and provide useful information on species distribution patterns. There were a disproportionate number of records from areas of high human population, resulting in a bias towards urban centres. Photographs submitted by members of the public provided a limited amount of information on food plants but indicated that ladybirds are valued as a species of interest to the public. These images can also help to increase records of the less common species, especially as members of the public may not be able to easily distinguish between different species of ladybirds.
Deep learning for quality control of receiver functions
Authors: Gong Chang , Chen Ling , Xiao Zhuowei , Wang Xu
Published: August 2022

Receiver function has been routinely used for studying the discontinuity structure in the crust and upper mantle. The manual quality control of receiver functions, which plays a key role in high-quality data selection and accurate structural imaging, has been challenged by today’s booming data volumes. Traditional automatic quality control methods usually require tuning hyperparameters and fail to generalize to low signal-to-noise ratio data. Deep learning has been increasingly used to deal with extensive seismic data. However, it generally requires a manually labeled dataset, and its performance is highly related to the network design. In this study, we develop and compare four different deep learning network designs with manual and traditional quality control methods using 53293 receiver functions from three broadband seismic stations. Our results show that a combination of convolutional and long-short memory layers achieves the best performance of ∼91% accuracy. We also propose a fully automatic training schema that requires zero manually labeled receiver function yet achieves similar performance to that using carefully labeled ones. Compared with the traditional automatic method, our model retrieves ∼5 times more reliable receiver functions from relatively small earthquakes with magnitudes between 5.0 and 5.5. The average waveforms and H-κ stacking results of these receiver functions are comparable to those obtained by manual quality control from earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 5.5, which further demonstrates the validity of our method and indicates its potential for making use of smaller earthquakes in the receiver function analysis.
Strain rate effects on characteristic stresses and acoustic emission properties of granite under quasi-static compression
Authors: Liu Lu , Wang Sijing , Yang Wencheng
Published: August 2022

In order to further investigate the strain rate effects on characteristic stresses and acoustic emission parameters of rock under quasi-static compression, uniaxial compressive tests were conducted on cylindrical specimens measuring 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height using a rock material testing machine and a multi-channel acoustic emission monitoring system at strain rates ranging from 10–6 s−1 to 10–2 s−1. The stress-strain curves of rock samples, characteristic stresses, energy data, and temporal and spatial distribution of acoustic emission signals were obtained and analyzed. The experimental results certified a linearly positive correlation between characteristic stresses and the logarithm of strain rates, despite the fact that the linear correlation varies for different characteristic stresses, whereas the ratios of characteristic stresses essentially do not change with increasing strain rates. The input energy and elastic strain energy at the damage point, UCS point and failure stress point exhibit a linearly positive correlation with the logarithm of strain rates when the strain rate exceeds 10–5 s−1. Meanwhile, the characteristics of energy conversion between input energy and elastic strain energy or the dissipated energy at different characteristic stresses points were explored. Based on this, the energy conversion process of rock under quasi-static compression can be divided into three stages: energy accumulation, energy dissipation, and energy release, respectively. Besides, it is noted that the total number of the located AE events decreases as strain rates increase when the strain rate exceeds 10–5 s−1, and the majority of located AE events occur during the crack closure stage and unstable crack growth stage. Finally, based on the perspective of energy conversion and the structural properties of multi-scale defects in rock, the mechanism of the increase of characteristic stresses with the increase of strain rates was proposed: that is, when rock is subjected to quasi-static compression, the higher strain rates can activate the small-scale defects, which necessitates more input energy from the external load via continuous work and causes an increase in the associated characteristic stresses.
Depression, anxiety, and psychosocial stressors across BMI classes: A Norwegian population study - The HUNT Study
Authors: Eik-Nes Trine Tetlie , Tokatlian Audrey , Raman Jayanthi , Spirou Dean , Kvaløy Kirsti
Published: August 2022

Background

Obesity is a global issue with detrimental health impacts. Recent research has highlighted the complexity of obesity due to its psychological correlates. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and depression, anxiety, and psychosocial stress.

Methods

Data, including demographic, height, and weight information from 23 557 adult participants was obtained from the fourth survey of the Norwegian population based Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4, 2017-2019). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure self-reported depression and anxiety. We also collected data on 10 domains of psychosocial stress (violence, mental violence, unwanted sex, cyber bullying, school bullying, history of own life-threatening disease, life-threatening disease in family, relationship problems, divorce, and sudden family death), which were aggregated into a cumulative measure of psychosocial stress.

Results

Multinomial logistic regression was utilized for statistical analysis. In the full model, the relationship between depression, anxiety, and psychosocial stress were explored controlling for age, sex, income, marital status, and educational attainment. After adjustments, a significant relationship was found between depression and obesity I (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.06, p <.001) and II and III (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.06-1.14, p <.001). After the same adjustments, significant relationship between anxiety and overweight and obesity class I was found among elderly participants (≥65 years old). Psychosocial stress significantly and positively related to all levels of BMI, with or without considering anxiety and depression, after controlling for sex, age, educational attainment, marital status, and income in all age groups.

Conclusions

Obesity is a multifaceted health problem, significantly related to psychological factors including depression and psychosocial stress, which supports the need for a multifaceted, targeted approach to obesity treatment.
Identification of a pyroptosis-related lncRNA signature in the regulation of prognosis, metabolism signals and immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Zhou Shuyi , Cai Yuan , Xu Zhijie , Peng Bi , Liang Qiuju , Peng Jinwu , Yan Yuanliang
Published: August 2022

Pyroptosis is a cell death pathway that plays a significant role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Also, studies regarding the correlation between the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the mechanism of LUAD has aroused concern around the world. The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying relationship of differentially expressed lncRNAs and pyroptosis-related genes. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm and Cox regression were applied to construct a prognostic risk score model from the TCGA database. A pyroptosis-related five-lncRNA signature (CRNDE, HHLA3, MIR193BHG, LINC00941, LINC01843) was considered to be correlated to the prognosis and immune response of LUAD patients. In addition, the cytological experiments revealed that aberrantly expressed HHLA3 displayed a proliferation promotion role in LUAD cells A549 and H460. Next, the forest and nomogram plots have shown this lncRNA signature could be served as an independent prognostic factor for LUAD. The ROC curves further identified the prognostic value of the five-lncRNA signature. The infiltration of immune cells, such as T cells CD8, T cells CD4 memory resting, T cells CD4 memory activated and M0 macrophages were greatly different between the high-risk group and the low-risk group. It implicated that the signature is significantly effective in immunotherapy of LUAD patients. This study has supplied a novel pyroptosis-related lncRNA signature and provided a predictive model for prognosis and immune response of LUAD patients.
Cognitive Edge Computing–Based Fault Detection and Location Strategy for Active Distribution Networks
Authors: Netsanet Solomon , Zheng Dehua , Wei Zhang , Teshager Girmaw
Published: August 2022

This article proposes a fault detection and location strategy based on cognitive edge computing to harvest the benefits of cognitive edge computing and address the special needs of active distribution networks (ADNs). In the proposed strategy, an ADN smart gateway is used to compile data in a central repository where it will be processed and analyzed. The intermediary smart gateway includes a protection unit where the fault detection, location, and isolation are accomplished through a combination of virtual mode decomposition (VMD), support vector machine (SVM,) and long short-term memory (LSTM)–type deep machine learning tools. The local measurements of branch currents and bus voltages are processed through VMD, and the informative decomposed components are provided as inputs to the SVM-based fault detection unit and LSTM-based fault location unit. The smart digital relay passes trip commands to the respective circuit breaker/s and submits compiled data regarding the history of faults and protection actions to the upper-level units. The findings from simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy to provide fast and accurate fault detection and protection against all types of faults and locations in the ADN.
Metagenomic survey of agricultural water using long read sequencing: Considerations for a successful analysis
Authors: Maguire Meghan , Kase Julie A. , Brown Eric W. , Allard Marc W. , Musser Steven M. , González-Escalona Narjol
Published: August 2022

Leafy greens are responsible for nearly half of the produce-related Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) outbreaks in the United States and recent investigations have implicated agricultural water as a potential source. Current FDA detection protocols require extensive analysis time. We aimed to use Oxford Nanopore rapid sequencing kits for an in-field determination of agricultural water microbiome and possible detection and characterization of STECs strain(s) in these samples. We tested the performance of the nanopore rapid sequencing kit (RAD004) for fast microbiome determination using the well characterized ZymoBIOMICS mock microbial community and the number of reads for each identified species was present in the expected proportion. Rapid sequencing kit (LRK001 and RAD004) library preparation of DNA extracted from agricultural water resulted in poor nanopore sequencing reactions, with low output (0.3–1.7 M reads), a high proportion of failed reads (50–60%), and highly sheared DNA before and after a magnetic bead clean up. To improve performance, we prepared a DNA library with the ligation kit (LSK109), which includes multiple cleaning steps, reducing inherent inhibitors and producing a better outcome (2.2 M reads, 15% failed reads). No definitive presence of STEC could be confirmed in any of the sites. Approximately 100 reads from each site (0.02% of total reads) were identified as Escherichia coli, but the specific strain or their virulence genes could not be detected. Sites 9, 10, and 12 were found to be positive for STEC presence by microbiological techniques after enrichment. The rapid sequencing kits can be appropriate for genus or species level microbial identification, but we recommend the use of the ligation kit for increased sequencing depth and removal of contaminants in agricultural water. However, we were not able to identify any STEC strains in these nanopore microbiome samples, due to low initial concentrations. The results from this pilot study provide preliminary evidence that MinION sequencing of agricultural water using the ligation kit has the potential to be used for rapid microbiome determination in the field with optimal results for water quality surveillance.
Spatial and temporal characteristics of surface solar radiation in China and its influencing factors
Authors: Jin Hongmei , Wang Suichan , Yan Pengcheng , Qiao Liang , Sun Linhua , Zhang Ling
Published: August 2022

The total-sky direct solar radiation at Earth’s surface (SRS) not only has an important impact on the earth’s climate and ecology, but also is a crucial parameter for solar photovoltaic power. SRS determines whether photovoltaic power plants can be built in the region and directly affects the efficiency of photovoltaic power generation. Therefore, the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of SRS have a very important guiding significance for the construction of photovoltaic power stations. This study discusses the temporal and spatial characteristics of SRS and its influencing factors in China during 1961–2020 using ERA5 data and the empirical orthogonal function (EOF), rotated empirical orthogonal function (REOF), and ensemble empirical model decomposition (EEMD) methods. Our investigation reveals that the high-value SRS center is located on the southwestern Tibetan Plateau, while the low-value center occurs on the northeastern Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau and in the Sichuan Basin. Seasonal variability in SRS means that maximum values occur uniformly in summer, followed sequentially by spring, autumn, and winter. The spatial distribution of the leading SRS EOF mode exhibits a dipole pattern between the southern Tibetan Plateau and other regions. Combined with the time series, SRS in China underwent an interdecadal transition around the year 2000. The regression analysis shows that this pattern is mainly affected by surface air temperature, total precipitation, relative humidity and cloud cover. The time series evolution of SRS primarily reflects the interannual variability in annual-mean and four seasons; the variance contributions of decadal variability and secular trend are minor through the EEMD. The REOF separates Chinese SRS into 11 central regions, the top 5 being the western Tibetan Plateau, western Northwest China, the eastern Tibetan Plateau, northern Xinjiang, and North China. The relationship between SRS and meteorological parameters shows that SRS is positively correlated with surface air temperature and wind speed but negatively correlated with total precipitation, relative humidity, low and total cloud cover, and aerosol concentrations.
Studies on the ecology of Bulinus globosus snails: Evidence against burrowing into the soil during the dry season
Authors: Hang De-Rong , Feng Yun , Zhang Jian-Feng , Wang Yun-Hua , Zhang Biao , Juma Seleh , Sleiman Mchanga Mohd , Yang Kun
Published: August 2022

Background:Bulinus globosus snail was the intermediate host of schistosome hematobium and hard to be found during the dry season. This study aimed to understand the vertical distribution of B. globosus in desiccated and re-hydrated soils and provide evidence on whether snails can drill into the soil for summer.

Methods: Four laboratory/field experiments were designed to study the downward movement of the snails in desiccated soils or upward movement in re-watered soils. In Experiment 1, aquaria containing snails on the soil surface were placed in an outdoor environment to desiccate naturally. Then, snails were retrieved from different soil layers. In Experiment 2, snails on the soil surface were covered with an extra 5 cm layer of soil and 4 cm layer of water. The snail positions and survival rates were checked on the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth day. In Experiment 3, a seasonal ditch was selected in the field. After the soil in the ditch was naturally desiccated, 1cm, 1–3cm, 3–5cm, and 5–10 cm depth of soil layers were screened to retrieve snails. In Experiment 4, after the above ditch was naturally re-watered, snails were checked in the surface water once a week for 5 weeks.

Results: At the end of Experiment 1, all the snails were only found at the soil surface. At the end of Experiment 2, snails were found neither within nor on top of the 4 cm layer of extra mud. At the end of Experiment 3, 96.92% of snails remained on the soil surface. Next, 2.77% of living snails were found in the mud crack within 1–5 cm depth. In Experiment 4, after the experimental field was naturally re-watered, no snails were found above the soil surface.

Conclusion:B. globosus snails do not initially move downward into the soil during the dry season or upward to the soil surface after being re-watered.
The spatial pattern and influence mechanism of urban vitality: A case study of Changsha, China
Authors: Xia Xiaojiang , Zhang Yang , Zhang Yue , Rao Tiechuan
Published: August 2022

In the new era, the vitality of urban space is an important engine of urban development, and the improvement of urban space vitality is the core component of urban spatial structure optimization and space renewal. However, the availability of data is an important issue in the evaluation of urban space vitality, and continuous vitality monitoring of the entire city is difficult to achieve through traditional methods of field research and questionnaire interviews. Due to this challenge, the traditional vitality assessment methods have serious limitations in the analysis of vitality causes and the guidance of urban space development. Using mobile phone signaling data, this study takes Changsha City as an example to measure the urban spatial vitality and uses the SEM model to analyze how market intervention, traffic accessibility, and spatial characteristics affect the density and stability of urban spatial populations. The results show that the overall urban space vitality density and vitality stability demonstrates an obvious “center–periphery” pattern, and the vitality of the urban center area is in a “high density–low stability” state. The overall urban vitality density on rest days is slightly lower than that on weekdays, and the stability of vitality on rest days is significantly higher than that on weekdays. Market intervention and transportation accessibility support vitality density, but not vitality stability, and spatial characteristics are the opposite. The findings can provide insights relevant to urban spatial planning and design.
Does environmental regulation develop a greener energy efficiency for environmental sustainability in the post-COVID-19 era: Role of technological innovation
Authors: Zhang Mingxia , Du Mingyue
Published: August 2022

Improving green energy efficiency (GEE) and promoting green economic transformation are important goals for China to achieve sustainable economic development in the post-COVID-19 era. Based on panel data of 27 manufacturing industries in China, this paper uses GMM model and threshold model to study the impact of environmental regulation and technological innovation on green energy efficiency. Our findings show that technological innovation promotes green energy efficiency in both pollution-intensive and clean industries, and its promotion effect is more pronounced in pollution-intensive industries. Environmental regulation not only directly improves the green energy efficiency of polluting industries and clean industries, but also plays a positive intermediary role between technology and green energy efficiency. The impact of technological innovation on GEE has a threshold effect of environmental regulation. When environmental regulation did not cross the threshold, technological innovation does not significantly promote GEE. The promotion effect of technological innovation on GEE will increase with the strengthening of environmental supervision. Therefore, the government should formulate reasonable environmental regulations according to the industry heterogeneity to vigorously promote the green energy efficiency of the manufacturing industry.
Dissection of the epoxyjanthitrem pathway in Epichloë sp. LpTG-3 strain AR37 by CRISPR gene editing
Authors: Miller Taryn A. , Hudson Debbie A. , Johnson Richard D. , Singh Jaspreet S. , Mace Wade J. , Forester Natasha T. , Maclean Paul H. , Voisey Christine R. , Johnson Linda J.
Published: August 2022

Epichloë festucae var. lolii and Epichloë sp. LpTG-3 are filamentous fungal endophytes of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) that have a substantial impact on New Zealand’s agricultural economy by conferring biotic advantages to the host grass. Overall, Epichloë endophytes contribute NZ$200 million to the economy annually, with strain AR37 estimated to contribute NZ$3.6 billion to the New Zealand economy over a 20-year period. This strain produces secondary metabolites, including epoxyjanthitrems, which are a class of indole diterpenes, associated with the observed effects of AR37 on livestock and insect pests. Until very recently, AR37 was intractable to genetic modification but this has changed with the application of CRISPR-Cas9 based gene editing techniques. In this paper, gene inactivation by CRISPR-Cas9 was used to deconvolute the genetic basis for epoxyjanthitrem biosynthesis, including creating an AR37 strain that has been edited to remove the biosynthesis of all indole diterpenes. We show that gene editing of Epichloë can be achieved without off-target events or introduction of foreign DNA (footprint-less) through an AMA1-based plasmid that simultaneously expresses the CRISPR-Cas9 system and selectable marker. Genetic modification events in these transformants were investigated through genome sequencing and in planta chemistry.
HIV-1 induction of tolerogenic dendritic cells is mediated by cellular interaction with suppressive T cells
Authors: Svanberg Cecilia , Nyström Sofia , Govender Melissa , Bhattacharya Pradyot , Che Karlhans F. , Ellegård Rada , Shankar Esaki M. , Larsson Marie
Published: August 2022

HIV-1 infection gives rise to a multi-layered immune impairment in most infected individuals. The chronic presence of HIV-1 during the priming and activation of T cells by dendritic cells (DCs) promotes the expansion of suppressive T cells in a contact-dependent manner. The mechanism behind the T cell side of this HIV-induced impairment is well studied, whereas little is known about the reverse effects exerted on the DCs. Herein we assessed the phenotype and transcriptome profile of mature DCs that have been in contact with suppressive T cells. The HIV exposed DCs from cocultures between DCs and T cells resulted in a more tolerogenic phenotype with increased expression of e.g., PDL1, Gal-9, HVEM, and B7H3, mediated by interaction with T cells. Transcriptomic analysis of the DCs separated from the DC-T cell coculture revealed a type I IFN response profile as well as an activation of pathways involved in T cell exhaustion. Taken together, our data indicate that the prolonged and strong type I IFN signaling in DCs, induced by the presence of HIV during DC-T cell cross talk, could play an important role in the induction of tolerogenic DCs and suppressed immune responses seen in HIV-1 infected individuals.
Myeloid cells in alcoholic liver diseases: Mechanism and prospect
Authors: Xu Wentao , Wu Miaomiao , Chen Bangjie , Wang Hua
Published: August 2022

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a leading chronic liver disease in which immune cells play a vital role. Myeloid cells have been extensively studied in ALD, including granulocytes, macrophages, monocytes, and dendritic cells, which are involved in the occurrence and progression of steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis, and eventual cirrhosis. These cells can be popularly targeted and regulated by factors from different sources, including cytokines secreted by other cells, extracellular vesicles, and substances in serum—for example, infiltration of monocytes or neutrophils, activation of Kupffer cells, and polarization of macrophages. These processes can affect and change the function and phenotype of myeloid cells. Here we mainly review the key mediators that affect the infiltration and function of mainly myeloid cells in ALD as well as their regulatory mechanisms on target cells, which may provide novel immunotherapeutic approaches. The single-cell multimodal omics of myeloid cells is also discussed to help transform them into basic research or therapeutic strategy of ALD clinically.
The Alboran Sea circulation and its biological response: A review
Authors: Sánchez-Garrido José C. , Nadal Irene
Published: August 2022

The oceanography of the Alboran Sea (AS) has been the subject of intensive research for decades. Chief among the reasons for this interest is the variety of physical processes taking place in the basin, spanning from coastal upwelling, dynamic of density fronts, internal waves, and strong meso- and submesoscale turbulence. Historical fieldwork and an increasing number of numerical studies in recent years have led to a more complete—although more dispersed—description and knowledge of process dynamics in the AS and their role in shaping primary productivity and regional fisheries resources. In this review, we summarize and put together old and new research to get an updated picture of the AS circulation and its variability at different time scales, with an emphasis on physical–biological interactions. As part of the review, we identify gaps in our understanding regarding the physical drivers for seasonal and for rapid transitions between the most recurrent one-gyre and two-gyre modes of circulation of the AS. We also point at possible research strategies based on end-to-end regional biophysical modeling to gain new insights into past and present physical control on fisheries resources and for assessing plausible climate change impacts on the AS ecosystem.
The effect of etched 3D printed Cu-bearing titanium alloy on the polarization of macrophage
Authors: Yan Jinge , Huang Wanyi , Kuang Hai , Wang Qiang , Li Bo
Published: August 2022

3D printed titanium alloys have been widely used as implants in orthopedic surgery and dentistry. In recent years, Cu-bearing titanium alloys have shown great advantages in tissue engineering due to their excellent antibacterial activity and biological effect. In the current study, three alloys, namely, TC4 alloy, TC4-5Cu alloy, and TC4-6Cu alloy were fabricated by the use of selective laser melting (SLM) technology. Acid etching treatment was used to remove the metal powders on the samples and modify the surface of the manufactured alloys. The effect of different etched alloys on the biological behavior of macrophages (RAW 264.7) was studied comprehensively. Results showed that acid etching had no effect on the hydrophilicity, while contributing to the adhesion and polarization of macrophages with a lower ROS level. Moreover, Cu-bearing titanium exhibited better cell adhesion, macrophage polarization potential, and a lower ROS level. In summary, acid etching treatment provided a promising strategy to improve the biological properties of the Cu-bearing titanium alloys by SLM.
Research trends and progress in the field of metal materials and bone repair: Comprehensive bibliometric and visual analysis (2012–2021)
Authors: Xu Zhuoran
Published: August 2022

Purpose: The treatment of bone repair has always been a focus of research. In recent years, new metals have been increasingly used for bone repair, and many related studies have been published. However, until now, there has been no bibliometric analysis of these publications. This study uses bibliometrics to evaluate the current research status in this field to predict future research hotspots and development trends and promote the development and progress of this field.

Methods: Global publications on metal materials and bone repair from January 2012 to December 2021 were extracted from the Web of Science database. Microsoft Excel 2016, GraphPad Prism 8, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace were employed to perform the bibliometric study and data visualization.

Results: China contributed the most publications and had the most citations and H-index, especially in the last five years. The journal Materials Science and Engineering C-Materials for Biological Applications published the most papers. The Chinese Academy of Sciences had the most publications among all institutions. The top 10 articles by citations mainly focused on porous polymer scaffolds and the metals zinc and magnesium.

Conclusion: We predict that the total number of global publications will grow in the future according to the relative research interest. Importantly, the current research focus has shifted from metal materials to osteogenic mechanisms. Porous scaffolds, degradation rate, tissue engineering, angiogenesis, and stem cells could be research hotspots in the future.
Two-dimensional irregular packing problems: A review
Authors: Guo Baosu , Zhang Yu , Hu Jingwen , Li Jinrui , Wu Fenghe , Peng Qingjin , Zhang Quan
Published: August 2022

Two-dimensional (2D) irregular packing problems are widespread in manufacturing industries such as shipbuilding, metalworking, automotive production, aerospace, clothing and furniture manufacturing. Research on 2D irregular packing problems is essential for improving material utilization and industrial automation. Much research has been conducted on this problem with significant research results and certain algorithms. The work has made important contributions to solving practical problems. This paper reviews recent advances in the domain of 2D irregular packing problems based on a variety of research papers. We first introduce the basic concept and research background of 2D irregular packing problems and then summarize algorithms and strategies that have been proposed for the problems in recent years. Conclusion summarize development trends and research hotspots of typical 2D irregular shape packing problems. We hope that this review could provide guidance for researchers in the field of 2D irregular packing.
Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a cohort of Chinese never smokers goes along with decreased risks of recurrent acute exacerbation, emphysema and comorbidity of lung cancer as well as decreased levels of circulating eosinophils and basophils
Authors: Wang Guangdong , Ma Aiping , Zhang Liang , Guo Jiaxi , Liu Qun , Petersen Frank , Wang Zhanxiang , Yu Xinhua
Published: August 2022

Acute exacerbations show a significant impact on disease morbidity and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In contrast to stable COPD, the association of smoking status with clinical and laboratory characteristics in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) has not been well studied. In this retrospective study, we compared never smokers and ever smokers on their demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics in a Chinese clinical cohort of AECOPD. In this cohort comprising 1,034 consecutive patients with AECOPD, never smokers were older (75 vs 70.5 years, padjusted < 0.001) and had a higher body mass index than smokers (21.1 ± 4.0 vs 20.3 ± 3.4, padjusted = 0.028). Furthermore, never smokers showed a decreased risk of recurrent acute exacerbation (13.0 vs 21.8%, padjusted = 0.029), a lower risk of development of emphysema (77.8 vs 89.1%, padjusted < 0.001), a lower prevalence of the co-morbidity of lung cancer (0.5 vs 6.6%, padjusted < 0.001), lower levels of circulating eosinophils (EO; 0.04 × 109/L vs 0.10 × 109/L, padjusted = 0.007) and basophils (BA; 0.02 × 109/L vs 0.03 × 109/L, padjusted = 0.019), and a higher plasma levels of D-dimer (0.62 μg/ml vs 0.51 μg/ml, padjusted = 0.02). Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis identified several risk factor for the recurrent acute exacerbation, such as smoking [odds ratio (OR) = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.03–3.40, p = 0.044], urban residential area (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.01–2.05, p = 0.045), and the presence of emphysema (OR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.25–4.69, p = 0.012). In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the smoking status of patients is associated with recurrent acute exacerbations, emphysema, lung cancer, and levels of circulating EO and BA in AECOPD. Identification of cigarette smoking as a risk factor for recurrent acute exacerbation supports behavioral intervention of smoking cessation in the management of patients with AECOPD.
Improving Transcriptome Fidelity Following Synovial Tissue Disaggregation
Authors: Boyle David L. , Prideaux Edward B. , Hillman Joshua , Wang Wei , Firestein Gary S.
Published: August 2022

Objective

To improve the fidelity of the cellular transcriptome of disaggregated synovial tissue for applications such as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) by modifying the disaggregation technique.

Methods

Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovia were collected at arthroplasty. RNA was extracted from intact or disaggregated replicate pools of tissue fragments. Disaggregation was performed with either a proprietary protease, Liberase TL (Lib) as a reference method, Liberase TL with an RNA polymerase inhibitor flavopyridol (Flavo), or a cold digestion with subtilisin A (SubA). qPCR on selected markers and RNAseq were used to compare disaggregation methods using the original intact tissue as reference.

Results

Disaggregated cell yield and viability were similar for all three methods with some viability improved (SubA). Candidate gene analysis showed that Lib alone dramatically increased expression of several genes involved in inflammation and immunity compared with intact tissue and was unable to differentiate RA from OA. Both alternative methods reduced the disaggregation induced changes. Unbiased analysis using bulk RNAseq and the 3 protocols confirmed the candidate gene studies and showed that disaggregation-induced changes were largely prevented. The resultant data improved the ability to distinguish RA from OA synovial transcriptomes.

Conclusions

Disaggregation of connective tissues such as synovia has complex and selective effects on the transcriptome. We found that disaggregation with an RNA polymerase inhibitor or using a cold enzyme tended to limit induction of some relevant transcripts during tissue processing. The resultant data in the disaggregated transcriptome better represented the in situ transcriptome. The specific method chosen can be tailored to the genes of interest and the hypotheses being tested in order to optimize the fidelity of technique for applications based on cell suspensions such as sorted populations or scRNAseq.
Dry eye disease and tear film assessment through a novel non-invasive ocular surface analyzer: The OSA protocol
Authors: Sánchez-González María Carmen , Capote-Puente Raúl , García-Romera Marta-C , De-Hita-Cantalejo Concepción , Bautista-Llamas María-José , Silva-Viguera Carmen , Sánchez-González José-María
Published: August 2022

We describe the role of OSA as a new instrument in the study of dry eye, and we recommend a protocol for conducting the tests as well as describe the advantages and disadvantages compared with other instruments. A comparison with other ocular surface devices (Tearscope Plus, Keratograph 5M, anterior-segment ocular coherence tomography, Easy Tear View-Plus, LipiView, IDRA, and LacryDiag) were presented due to manual or automatic procedure and objective or subjective measurements. The purpose of this study was to describe the OSA as new non-invasive dry eye disease diagnostic device. The OSA is a device that can provide accurate, non-invasive and easy-to-use parameters to specifically interpret distinct functions of the tear film. This OSA protocol proposed a lesser to higher non-invasive ocular surface dry eye disease tear film diagnostic methodology. A complete and exhaustive OSA and OSA Plus examination protocol was presented within the subjective questionnaire (Dry Eye Questionnaire 5, DEQ5), limbal and bulbar redness classification (within the Efron grade Scale, interferometry lipid layer thickness (LLT) (according to Guillon pattern), tear meniscus height (manually or automatic), first and mean non-invasive break up time (objective and automatic) and meibomian gland (MG) dysfunction grade and percentage (objective and automatic). The OSA and OSA Plus devices are novel and relevant dry eye disease diagnostic tools; however, the automatization and objectivity of the measurements can be increased in future software or device updates. The new non-invasive devices supposed represent a renewal in the dry eye disease diagnosis and introduce a tendency to replace the classic invasive techniques that supposed less reliability and reproducibility.