bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gain-switched pulse generation of 5.3 ps from 30 GHz-modulation-bandwidth 1270 nm DFB laser diode
Authors: Kobayashi Masataka , Nakamura Takahiro , Nakamae Hidekazu , Kim Changsu , Akiyama Hidefumi
Published: November 2023

We generated gain-switched pulses via electrical pulse excitations in a 1270 nm distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode (LD) with a direct-modulation bandwidth of 30 GHz. The measurements revealed short-pulse widths of 5.3 and 8.8 ps with and without chirp compensation, via a single-mode optical fiber. The 5.3 ps pulses exhibited a spectral width of 0.40 nm (spectral bandwidth of 71 GHz), yielding a time–bandwidth product of 0.38. Although the gain-switched pulses in DFB LDs inherently contain linear and nonlinear chirp, optimized pumping conditions enable generation of nearly transform-limited ps pulses after linear chirp compensation.
Inter-/intra-pulse dual-wavelength-operated mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator
Authors: Chen Tao , Yue Wenjie , Kong Wei , Huang Genghua , He Zhiping , Shu Rong
Published: November 2023

We demonstrate a pulsed mid-infrared (MIR) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with both inter-pulse and intra-pulse dual-wavelength operation capability. A fiber master oscillator power amplifier incorporating an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) was employed as the pump for the OPO. By finely adjusting the drive wave packets for the AOTF, dual-wavelength pump can be realized within each pulse or between two adjacent pulses. These special temporal-spectral behaviors of the pump can be transferred to MIR via an OPO. In the proof-of-principle experiments, two pump wavelengths at ∼1065 and ∼1076 nm were generated and amplified to ∼31.2 W with equivalent spectral intensities for both pulsation modes. At the highest pump power, total idler power of ∼3.5 W was achieved at ∼3.45 and ∼3.55 µm under both pulsation modes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of both inter-pulse and intra-pulse dual-wavelength MIR generation via an OPO with an identical configuration. It is believed that our design may provide a promising solution to many practical applications including differential absorption lidar and tunable terahertz wave generation.
Optical diffraction tomography for assessing single cell models in angular light scattering
Authors: Berger Andrew , Dunn Kaitlin , Matlock Alex , Funkenbusch George , Yaqoob Zahid , So Peter
Published: November 2023

Angularly resolved light scattering (ALS) has become a useful tool for assessing size and refractive index of biological scatterers at cellular and organelle length scales.
Sizing organelle populations with ALS relies on Mie scattering theory models, which require significant assumptions about the object, including spherical scatterers and a homogeneous medium. These assumptions may incur greater error at the single cell level, where there are fewer scatterers to be averaged over. We investigate the validity of these assumptions using 3D refractive index (RI) tomograms measured via optical diffraction tomography (ODT). We compute the angular scattering on digitally manipulated tomograms with increasingly strong model assumptions including RI-matched immersion media, homogeneous cytosol, and spherical organelles. We also compare the tomogram-computed angular scattering to experimental measurements of angular scattering from the same cells to ensure that the ODT-based approach accurately models angular scattering. We show that enforced RI-matching with the immersion medium and a homogeneous cytosol significantly affect the angular scattering intensity shape, suggesting that these assumptions can reduce the accuracy of size distribution estimates.
FUN-PROSE: A deep learning approach to predict condition-specific gene expression in fungi
Authors: Nambiar Ananthan , Dubinkina Veronika , Liu Simon , Maslov Sergei
Published: November 2023

mRNA levels of all genes in a genome is a critical piece of information defining the overall state of the cell in a given environmental condition. Being able to reconstruct such condition-specific expression in fungal genomes is particularly important to metabolically engineer these organisms to produce desired chemicals in industrially scalable conditions. Most previous deep learning approaches focused on predicting the average expression levels of a gene based on its promoter sequence, ignoring its variation across different conditions. Here we present FUN-PROSE—a deep learning model trained to predict differential expression of individual genes across various conditions using their promoter sequences and expression levels of all transcription factors. We train and test our model on three fungal species and get the correlation between predicted and observed condition-specific gene expression as high as 0.85. We then interpret our model to extract promoter sequence motifs responsible for variable expression of individual genes. We also carried out input feature importance analysis to connect individual transcription factors to their gene targets. A sizeable fraction of both sequence motifs and TF-gene interactions learned by our model agree with previously known biological information, while the rest corresponds to either novel biological facts or indirect correlations.
COVID-19 outbreak control strategies and their impact on the provision of essential health services in Ghana: An exploratory-sequential study
Authors: Dwomoh Duah , Yeboah Isaac , Ndejjo Rawlance , Kabwama Steven Ndugwa , Aheto Justice Moses , Liu Anne , Lazenby Siobhan , Ohemeng Fidelia , Takyi Sylvia Akpene , Issah Ibrahim , Bawuah Serwaa Akoto , Wanyenze Rhoda K. , Fobil Julius
Published: November 2023

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to substantial interruptions in critical health services, with 90% of countries reporting interruptions in routine vaccinations, maternal health care and chronic disease management. The use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as lockdowns and self-isolation had implications on the provision of essential health services (EHS). We investigated exemplary COVID-19 outbreak control strategies and explored the extent to which the adoption of these NPIs affected the provision of EHS including immunization coverage and facility-based deliveries. Finally, we document core health system strategies and practices adopted to maintain EHS during the early phase of the pandemic.

Methods

This study used an explanatory sequential study design. First, we utilized data from routine health management information systems to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the provision of EHS using interrupted time series models. Second, we explored exemplary strategies and health system initiatives that were adopted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections while maintaining the provision of EHS using in-depth interviews with key informants including policymakers and healthcare providers.

Results

The COVID-19 pandemic and the interventions that were implemented disrupted the provision of EHS. In the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oral Polio and pentavalent vaccination coverage reduced by 15.2% [95% CI = -22.61, -7.87, p<0.001] and 12.4% [95% CI = 17.68, -7.13; p<0.001] respectively. The exemplary strategies adopted in maintaining the provision of EHS while also responding to the spread of infections include the development of new policy guidelines that were disseminated with modified service delivery models, new treatment and prevention guidelines, the use of telemedicine and medical drones to provide EHS and facilitate rapid testing of suspected cases.

Conclusion

The implementation of different NPIs during the peak phase of the pandemic disrupted the provision of EHS. However, the Ministry of Health leveraged the resilient health system and deployed efficient, all-inclusive, and integrated infectious disease management and infection prevention control strategies to maintain the provision of EHS while responding to the spread of infections.
Changes in hospital staff’ mental health during the Covid‑19 pandemic: Longitudinal results from the international COPE-CORONA study
Authors: Lanzara Roberta , Conti Chiara , Rosa Ilenia , Pawłowski Tomasz , Malecka Monika , Rymaszewska Joanna , Porcelli Piero , Stein Barbara , Waller Christiane , Müller Markus M. ,   the Cope-Corona Study Group
Published: November 2023

This longitudinal study aimed to explore anxiety and depressive symptoms, individual resources, and job demands in a multi-country sample of 612 healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two online surveys were distributed to HCWs in seven countries (Germany, Andorra, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Romania, Iran) during the first (May-October 2020, T1) and the second (February-April 2021, T2) phase of the pandemic, assessing sociodemographic characteristics, contact with COVID-19 patients, anxiety and depressive symptoms, self-compassion, sense of coherence, social support, risk perception, and health and safety at the workplace. HCWs reported a significant increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms. HCWs with high depressive or anxiety symptoms at T1 and T2 reported a history of mental illness and lower self-compassion and sense of coherence over time. Risk perception, self-compassion, sense of coherence, and social support were strong independent predictors of depressive and anxiety symptoms at T2, even after controlling for baseline depressive or anxiety symptoms and sociodemographic variables. These findings pointed out that HCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak experienced a high burden of psychological distress. The mental health and resilience of HCWs should be supported during disease outbreaks by instituting workplace interventions for psychological support.
2PNS++ point-cloud registration via hash of invariants and local compatibility check
Authors: Liu Hai , Wang Shulin , Zhao Donghong
Published: November 2023

In this research, we use hash match of invariants under fixed pair length and local compatibility check of positions or normal vectors to improve the efficiency of two-point normal set (2PNS) point cloud registration algorithm. On the one hand, we use the key value formed by the invariants of base point pairs of fixed length to construct and retrieve the hash table to realize the matching of base point pairs in the two point clouds to be registered to speed up the extraction of candidate transformation matrices. On the other hand, the time consumed in the verification phase is reduced by checking the compatibility between the positions or normal vectors of the corresponding points in the specific areas of the two point clouds under the transformation from the candidate matrix. Through these two improvements, the algorithm significantly reduces the time spent in the point cloud registration algorithm.
The sudden transition to online learning: Teachers’ experiences of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Goudarzi Elham , Hasanvand Shirin , Raoufi Shahin , Amini Mitra
Published: November 2023

Introduction

The sudden transition from face-to-face teaching to virtual remote education and the need to implement it during COVID-19 initially posed specific challenges to educational institutions. Identifying and understanding teachers’ experiences pave the way for discovering and meeting educational needs. This study explored faculty members’ teaching experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods

The qualitative descriptive design via conventional content analysis was used. It was conducted from January 13, 2020, to May 10, 2022. In-depth interviews (online and in-person) of ten faculty members, three managers, and one staff from Lorestan University of Medical Sciences were conducted. They were purposefully selected with maximum variation. Simultaneously with data collection, analysis was performed using the approach Graneheim and Lundman proposed (2004). Lincoln and Goba’s criteria were used to obtain the study’s rigor.

Results

Six categories emerged from the data: education in the shadow of the crisis, Challenges related to the teaching-learning process, Blurred boundaries between personal and professional lives, Positive consequences of e-learning, Trying to deal with the crisis, And dealing with the crisis.

Conclusions

Initially, teachers faced several challenges in the teaching-learning process and even in their personal life. However, with time, the actions of the teachers and the managers caused an increase in the quality of education. However, planning and foresight are needed in developing countries, including Iran, to appropriately face and optimally manage similar crises and move towards blended learning.
Dataset of single nucleotide polymorphisms of immune-associated genes in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Katsaouni Nikoletta , Llavona Pablo , Khodamoradi Yascha , Otto Ann-Kathrin , Körber Stephanie , Geisen Christof , Seidl Christian , Vehreschild Maria J. G. T. , Ciesek Sandra , Ackermann Jörg , Koch Ina , Schulz Marcel H. , Krause Daniela S.
Published: November 2023

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected nations globally leading to illness, death, and economic downturn. Why disease severity, ranging from no symptoms to the requirement for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, varies between patients is still incompletely understood. Consequently, we aimed at understanding the impact of genetic factors on disease severity in infection with SARS-CoV-2. Here, we provide data on demographics, ABO blood group, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type, as well as next-generation sequencing data of genes in the natural killer cell receptor family, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone and kallikrein-kinin systems and others in 159 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, stratified into seven categories of disease severity. We provide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data on the patients and a protein structural analysis as a case study on a SNP in theSIGLEC7gene, which was significantly associated with the clinical score. Our data represent a resource for correlation analyses involving genetic factors and disease severity and may help predict outcomes in infections with future SARS-CoV-2 variants and aid vaccine adaptation.
On the price dynamics of non-fungible tokens: The ‘Bored Apes’ case
Authors: Cellini Roberto , Cuccia Tiziana , Lyrvall Johan
Published: November 2023

We analyse the pattern of daily price of a collection of artistic non-fungible tokens, namely, the “Bored Ape Yacht Club” (BAYC) collectibles, over the first year of their life, from May 2021 to May 2022. Taking a time-series analysis approach, we consider the daily average price, and other variants of daily price index, derived from hedonic regression model. Aesthetic features of the collectibles do matter. At the same time, the price series emerge to be non-stationary, integrated of order 1, with their first difference exhibiting heteroscedasticity and autoregressive variance. Models of ARCH/GARCH class are appropriate to describe the dynamics. Though the price series of BAYC collectibles and their daily movements share many characteristics with the series of financial assets, they do not appear to be related to financial variables from both the crypto- and the real (i.e., not crypto) world.
Robust small area estimation for unit level model with density power divergence
Authors: Niu Xijuan , Pang Zhiqiang , Wang Zhaoxu
Published: November 2023

Unit level model is one of the classical models in small area estimation, which plays an important role with unit information data. Empirical Bayesian(EB) estimation, as the optimal estimation under normal assumption, is the most commonly used parameter estimation method in unit level model. However, this kind of method is sensitive to outliers, and EB estimation will lead to considerable inflation of the mean square error(MSE) when there are outliers in the responses yij. In this study, we propose a robust estimation method for the unit-level model with outliers based on the minimum density power divergence. Firstly, by introducing the minimum density power divergence function, we give the estimation equation of the parameters of the unit level model, and obtain the asymptotic distribution of the robust parameters. Considering the existence of tuning parameters in the robust estimator, an optimal parameter selection algorithm is proposed. Secondly, empirical Bayesian predictors of unit and area mean in finite populations are given, and the MSE of the proposed robust estimators of small area means is given by bootstrap method. Finally, we verify the superior performance of our proposed method through simulation data and real data. Through comparison, our proposed method can can solve the outlier situation better.
Seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) time-series model for milk production forecasting in pasture-based dairy cows in the Andean highlands
Authors: Perez-Guerra Uri H. , Macedo Rassiel , Manrique Yan P. , Condori Eloy A. , Gonzáles Henry I. , Fernández Eliseo , Luque Natalio , Pérez-Durand Manuel G. , García-Herreros Manuel
Published: November 2023

Milk production in the Andean highlands is variable over space and time. This variability is related to fluctuating environmental factors such as rainfall season which directly influence the availability of livestock feeding resources. The main aim of this study was to develop a time-series model to forecast milk production in a mountainous geographical area by analysing the dynamics of milk records thorough the year. The study was carried out in the Andean highlands, using time–series models of monthly milk records collected routinely from dairy cows maintained in a controlled experimental farm over a 9-year period (2008–2016). Several statistical forecasting models were compared. The Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) were used as selection criteria to compare models. A relation between monthly milk records and the season of the year was modelled using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) methods to explore temporal redundancy (trends and periodicity). According to white noise residual test (Q = 13.951 and p = 0.052), Akaike Information Criterion and MAE, MAPE, and RMSE values, the SARIMA (1, 0, 0) x (2, 0, 0)12 time-series model resulted slightly better forecasting model compared to others. In conclusion, time-series models were promising, simple and useful tools for producing reasonably reliable forecasts of milk production thorough the year in the Andean highlands. The forecasting potential of the different models were similar and they could be used indistinctly to forecast the milk production seasonal fluctuations. However, the SARIMA model performed the best good predictive capacity minimizing the prediction interval error. Thus, a useful effective strategy has been developed by using time-series models to monitor milk production and alleviate production drops due to seasonal factors in the Andean highlands.
Competitive integrated employment for youth with disabilities: Aligning measurement with conceptualization using latent growth curve modeling
Authors: Mostafa Sayed , Wang Yudan Chen
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Although existing research has generated a wealth of information related to employment for individuals with disabilities, a major limitation is that common measurements of employment do not fully capture the scope of the optimal outcome specified in public policies, namely, competitive integrated employment. Therefore, we aimed to describe the change and stability in multiple aspects of employment for youth with disabilities from high school age to mid-30s under the structural equation modeling framework.

Methods

We identified a sample of 1,921 youth with disabilities who were at least 18 years old in 2003 from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth– 1997. We estimated a series of latent growth curve models to assess trajectories of job quality, indicated by hourly pay, and stability, indicated by weekly work hours, over a period of 15 years.

Results

Trajectories of job quality and stability did not covary or load on a common factor, but there was substantial variability within the sample in both the intercept and slope of these two constructs, which were best captured by a cubic growth curve, and partially explained by health condition and several demographic variables.

Conclusions

Competitive integrated employment comprises of multiple components which should ideally be considered along a time dimension. Future studies need to assess validity of the measurement model with a different sample and incorporate another important component of competitive integrated employment, that is, whether work is carried out at an integrated setting.
Demographic and socioeconomic determinants of access to care: A subgroup disparity analysis using new equity-focused measurements
Authors: Qi Miao , Santos Henrique , Pinheiro Paulo , McGuinness Deborah L. , Bennett Kristin P.
Published: November 2023

Disparities in healthcare access and utilization associated with demographic and socioeconomic status hinder advancement of health equity. Thus, we designed a novel equity-focused approach to quantify variations of healthcare access/utilization from the expectation in national target populations. We additionally applied survey-weighted logistic regression models, to identify factors associated with usage of a particular type of health care. To facilitate generation of analysis datasets, we built an National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) knowledge graph to help automate source-level dynamic analyses across different survey years and subjects’ characteristics. We performed a cross-sectional subgroup disparity analysis of 2013-2018 NHANES on U.S. adults for receipt of diabetes treatments and vaccines against Hepatitis A (HAV), Hepatitis B (HBV), and Human Papilloma (HPV). Results show that in populations with hemoglobin A1c level ≥6%, patients with non-private insurance were less likely to receive newer and more beneficial antidiabetic medications; being Asian further exacerbated these disparities. For widely used drugs such as insulin, Asians experienced insignificant disparities in odds of prescription compared to White patients but received highly inadequate treatments with regard to their distribution in U.S. diabetic population. Vaccination rates were associated with some demographic/socioeconomic factors but not the others at different degrees for different diseases. For instance, while equity scores increase with rising education levels for HBV, they decrease with rising wealth levels for HPV. Among women vaccinated against HPV, minorities and poor communities usually received Cervarix while non-Hispanic White and higher-income groups received the more comprehensive Gardasil vaccine. Our study identified and quantified the impact of determinants of healthcare utilization for antidiabetic medications and vaccinations. Our new methods for semantics-aware disparity analysis of NHANES data could be readily generalized to other public health goals to support more rapid identification of disparities and development of policies, thus advancing health equity.
The unit ratio-extended Weibull family and the dropout rate in Brazilian undergraduate courses
Authors: Peña-Ramírez Fernando A. , Guerra Renata R. , Mafalda Charles Peixoto
Published: November 2023

We propose a new family of distributions, so-called the unit ratio-extended Weibull family (U R E W). It is derived from ratio transformation in an extended Weibull random variable. The use of this transformation is a novelty of the work since it has been less explored than the exponential and has not yet been studied within the extended Weibull class. Moreover, we offer a valuable alternative to model double-bounded variables on the unit interval. Five U R E W special models are studied in detail, namely the: i) unit ratio-Gompertz; ii) unit ratio-Burr XII; iii) unit ratio-Lomax; v) unit ratio-Rayleigh, and vi) unit ratio-Weibull distributions. We propose a quantile-parameterization for the new family. The maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) are presented. A Monte Carlo study is performed to evaluate the behavior of the MLEs of unit ratio-Gompertz and unit ratio-Rayleigh distributions. This last model has closed-form and approximately unbiased MLE for small sample sizes. Further, the U R E W submodels are adjusted to the dropout rate in Brazilian undergraduate courses. We focus on the areas of civil engineering, economics, computer sciences, and control engineering. The applications show that the new family is suitable for modeling educational data and may provide effective alternatives compared to other usual unit models, such as the Beta, Kumaraswamy, and unit gamma distributions. They can also outperform some recent contributions in the unit distribution literature. Thus, the U R E W family can provide competitive alternatives when those models are unsuitable.
Multi-region minutiae depth value-based efficient forged finger print analysis
Authors: Baskar M. , Rajagopal Renuka Devi , B. V. V. S. PRASAD , Babu J. Chinna , Bartáková Gabriela Pajtinková , Arulananth T. S.
Published: November 2023

The application of biometrics has expanded the wings to many domains of application. However, various biometric features are being used in different security systems; the fingerprints have their own merits as it is more distinct. A different algorithm has been discussed earlier to improve the security and analysis of fingerprints to find forged ones, but it has a deficiency in expected performance. A multi-region minutiae depth value (MRMDV) based finger analysis algorithm has been presented to solve this issue. The image that is considered as input has been can be converted into noisy free with the help of median and Gabor filters. Further, the quality of the image is improved by sharpening the image. Second, the preprocessed image has been divided into many tiny images representing various regions. From the regional images, the features of ridge ends, ridge bifurcation, ridge enclosure, ridge dot, and ridge island. The multi-region minutiae depth value (MRMDV) has been computed based on the features which are extracted. The test image which has a similarity to the test image is estimated around MRMDV value towards forgery detection. The MRMDV approach produced noticeable results on forged fingerprint detection accuracy up to 98% with the least time complexity of 12 seconds.
Construction and validation of the area level deprivation index for health research: A methodological study based on Nepal Demographic and Health Survey
Authors: Sharma Ishor , Campbell M. Karen , Heisel Marnin J. , Choi Yun-Hee , Luginaah Isaac N. , Were Jason Mulimba , Gonzalez Juan Camilo Vargas , Stranges Saverio
Published: November 2023

Area-level factors may partly explain the heterogeneity in risk factors and disease distribution. Yet, there are a limited number of studies that focus on the development and validation of the area level construct and are primarily from high-income countries. The main objective of the study is to provide a methodological approach to construct and validate the area level construct, the Area Level Deprivation Index in low resource setting. A total of 14652 individuals from 11,203 households within 383 clusters (or areas) were selected from 2016-Nepal Demographic and Health survey. The index development involved sequential steps that included identification and screening of variables, variable reduction and extraction of the factors, and assessment of reliability and validity. Variables that could explain the underlying latent structure of area-level deprivation were selected from the dataset. These variables included: housing structure, household assets, and availability and accessibility of physical infrastructures such as roads, health care facilities, nearby towns, and geographic terrain. Initially, 26-variables were selected for the index development. A unifactorial model with 15-variables had the best fit to represent the underlying structure for area-level deprivation evidencing strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.93). Standardized scores for index ranged from 58.0 to 140.0, with higher scores signifying greater area-level deprivation. The newly constructed index showed relatively strong criterion validity with multi-dimensional poverty index (Pearson’s correlation coefficient = 0.77) and relatively strong construct validity (Comparative Fit Index = 0.96; Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.94; standardized root mean square residual = 0.05; Root mean square error of approximation = 0.079). The factor structure was relatively consistent across different administrative regions. Area level deprivation index was constructed, and its validity and reliability was assessed. The index provides an opportunity to explore the area-level influence on disease outcome and health disparity.
Female sex protects against renal edema, but not lung edema, in mice with partial deletion of the endothelial barrier regulator Tie2 compared to male sex
Authors: van Leeuwen Anoek L. I. , Beijer Elise , Ibelings Roselique , Dekker Nicole A. M. , van der Steen Marjolein R. A. , Roelofs Joris J. T. H. , van Meurs Matijs , Molema Grietje , van den Brom Charissa E.
Published: November 2023

Background

The endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system is an important regulator of endothelial permeability and targeting Tie2 reduces hemorrhagic shock-induced organ edema in males. However, sexual dimorphism of the endothelium has not been taken into account. This study investigated whether there are sex-related differences in the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system and edema formation.

Methods

Adult male and female heterozygous Tie2 knockout mice (Tie2+/−) and wild-type controls (Tie2+/+) were included (n = 9 per group). Renal and pulmonary injury were determined by wet/dry weight ratio and H&E staining of tissue sections. Protein levels were studied in plasma by ELISA and pulmonary and renal mRNA expression levels by RT-qPCR.

Results

In Tie2+/+ mice, females had higher circulating angiopoietin-2 (138%, p<0.05) compared to males. Gene expression of angiopoietin-1 (204%, p<0.01), angiopoietin-2 (542%, p<0.001) were higher in females compared to males in kidneys, but not in lungs. Gene expression of Tie2, Tie1 and VE-PTP were similar between males and females in both organs. Renal and pulmonary wet/dry weight ratio did not differ between Tie2+/+ females and males. Tie2+/+ females had lower circulating NGAL (41%, p<0.01) compared to males, whereas renal NGAL and KIM1 gene expression was unaffected.

Interestingly, male Tie2+/- mice had 28% higher renal wet/dry weight ratio (p<0.05) compared to Tie2+/+ males, which was not observed in females nor in lungs. Partial deletion of Tie2 did not affect circulating angiopoietin-1 or angiopoietin-2, but soluble Tie2 was 44% and 53% lower in males and females, respectively, compared to Tie2+/+ mice of the same sex. Renal and pulmonary gene expression of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, estrogen receptors and other endothelial barrier regulators was comparable between Tie2+/- and Tie2+/+ mice in both sexes.

Conclusion

Female sex seems to protect against renal, but not pulmonary edema in heterozygous Tie2 knock-out mice. This could not be explained by sex dimorphism in the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system.
Factors associated with maternal health services utilization in Pakistan: Evidence from Pakistan maternal mortality survey, 2019
Authors: Midhet Farid , Hanif Mubashir , Khalid Samina Naeem , Khan Raheel Shahab , Ahmad Ikhlaq , Khan Shahzad Ali
Published: November 2023

Background

This study investigates the factors associated with maternal health services utilization in Pakistan using two outcome indicators, ideal antenatal care (IANC), defined as the pregnant woman receiving all the essential services included in standard antenatal care, and skilled birth attendance (SBA).

Methods

This study used the Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey 2019 data. The study utilized binary logistic regression models to investigate the adjusted association between the outcome variables, separately for IANC and SBA, and the independent variables, education, wealth, parity, and residence.

Results

Wealth showed a positive association with utilization of IANC (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 11.48, 95% CI = 7.76, 16.99) and SBA (AOR = 4.37, 95% CI = 3.30,5. 80). Maternal age was associated only with IANC for women aged 35 or more years (AOR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.06, 1.62). Increased likelihood of utilization of IANC and SBA services was also observed for women with formal education. Women who had 3–5 previous live births had higher odds of using IANC and SBA than women who had 1–2 or more than five previous live births. Urban residency was not correlated with either IANC or SBA.

Conclusion

When compared to the wealthy and educated quintile, women in the lower wealth quintile and those without any formal education were less likely to utilize ANC and SBA services. A comprehensive and multipronged approach from the health and education sectors is needed to improve maternal health in Pakistan.
Is there a relationship between isometric hamstrings-to-quadriceps torque ratio and athletes’ plyometric performance?
Authors: Babakhani Farideh , Hatefi Mohamadreza , Balochi Ramin
Published: November 2023

Background

The application of the modified reactive strength index (RSImod) and isometric hamstrings to quadriceps (H:Q) torque ratio to monitoring the athletes’ performance is well established, but their relationship to each other still remains unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to clarify whether there is a relationship between RSImodand the isometric H:Q torque ratio.

Methods

Twenty-one male recreational athletes (age, 24.89 ± 4.46 years; weight, 74.11 ± 8.66 kg; height, 179.78 ± 6.76 cm) volunteered to participate in this research. Their isometric H:Q torque ratio via hand-held dynamometer and jumping performance variables during the stop jump (STJ), double leg-drop vertical jump (DL-DVJ), and single leg-drop vertical jump (SL-DVJ) tasks were measured. Also, the RSImodwas calculated by dividing the vertical jump height by the time to take-off. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between the RSImodand jumping performance variables.

Results

The result showed a significant strong positive relationship between the H:Q torque ratio and STJ performance based on the RSImod(p= .027, r = .724). Although, there was a moderate positive relationship between the H:Q torque ratio and jumping height of the STJ task, but it wasn’t statistically significant (p= .096, r = .588). Also, no significant relationship was found between the H:Q torque ratio and all jumping performance variables of the DL-DVJ and SL-DVJ tasks (p≥ .05).

Conclusion

The current study exhibited that the isometric H:Q torque ratio correlates to STJ performance based on RSImodbut not to SL-DVJ and DL-DVJ. Notably, the difference in results between jumping tasks can be attributed to the complexity of the movement, which means that the RSImodis probably related to other factors. Therefore, the isometric H:Q torque ratio used to monitor the athletes’ performance couldn’t independently represent the jumping performance that is determined by RSImod.
Impact of opioid law on prescriptions and satisfaction of pediatric burn and orthopedic patients: An epidemiologic study
Authors: Armstrong Megan , Groner Jonathan I. , Samora Julie , Olbrecht Vanessa A. , Tram Nguyen K. , Noffsinger Dana , Boyer Edward W. , Xiang Henry
Published: November 2023

Objectives

The objective of this study was to determine the reduction in prescribed opioid pain dosage units to pediatric patients experiencing acute pain and to assess patient satisfaction with pain control 90-day post discharge following the 2017 Ohio opioid prescribing cap law.

Methods

The retrospective chart review included 960 pediatric (age 0–18 years) burn injury and knee arthroscopy patients treated between August 1, 2015-August 31, 2019. Prospectively, legal guardians completed a survey for a convenience sample of 50 patients. Opioid medications (days and morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs)/kg) prescribed at discharge before and after the Ohio law implementation were collected. Guardians reported experience and satisfaction with their child’s opioid prescription at 90-days post discharge.

Results

From pre-law to post-law, there was a significant decrease (p<0.001) within the burn and knee cohorts in the median days (1.7 to 1.0 and 5.0 to 3.8, respectively) and median total MMEs prescribed (15.0 to 2.5 and 150.0 to 90.0, respectively). An interrupted time series analysis revealed a statistically significant decrease in MMEs/kg and days prescribed at discharge when the 2017 Ohio opioid prescription law went into effect, with an abrupt level change. Prospectively, more than half of participants were satisfied (72% burn and 68% knee) with their pain control and felt they received the right amount of medication (84% burn and 56% knee). Inpatient opioid use was not changed pre- and post-law.

Conclusions

Discharge opioids prescribed for pediatric burn and knee arthroscopy procedures has decreased from 2015–2019. Caregivers varied greatly in their satisfaction with pain control and the amount of opioid prescribed.
Synergistic effect of two antimicrobial peptides, BP203 and MAP-0403 J-2 with conventional antibiotics against colistin-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates
Authors: Chatupheeraphat Chawalit , Peamchai Jiratchaya , Luk-in Sirirat , Yainoy Sakda , Eiamphungporn Warawan
Published: November 2023

Drug-resistant Enterobacterales infections are a great health concern due to the lack of effective treatments. Consequently, finding novel antimicrobials or combining therapies becomes a crucial approach in addressing this problem. BP203 and MAP-0403 J-2, novel antimicrobial peptides, have exhibited effectiveness against Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, we assessed the in vitro antibacterial activity of BP203 and MAP-0403 J-2, along with their synergistic interaction with conventional antibiotics including colistin, rifampicin, chloramphenicol, ceftazidime, meropenem, and ciprofloxacin against colistin-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of BP203 and MAP-0403 J-2 against tested E. coli isolates were 2–16 and 8–32 μg/mL, respectively. However, for the majority of K. pneumoniae isolates, the MIC of BP203 and MAP-0403 J-2 were >128 μg/mL. Notably, our results demonstrated a synergistic effect when combining BP203 with rifampicin, meropenem, or chloramphenicol, primarily observed in most K. pneumoniae isolates. In contrast, no synergism was evident between BP203 and colistin, chloramphenicol, ceftazidime, rifampicin, or ciprofloxacin when tested against all E. coli isolates. Furthermore, synergistic effects between MAP-0403 J-2 and rifampicin, ceftazidime or colistin were observed against the majority of E. coli isolates. Similarly, the combined effect of MAP-0403 J-2 with rifampicin or chloramphenicol was synergistic in the majority of K. pneumoniae isolates. Importantly, these peptides displayed the stability at high temperatures, across a wide range of pH values, in specific serum concentrations and under physiological salt conditions. Both peptides also showed no significant hemolysis and cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. Our findings suggested that BP203 and MAP-0403 J-2 are promising candidates against colistin-resistant E. coli. Meanwhile, the synergism of these peptides and certain antibiotics could be of great therapeutic value as antimicrobial drugs against infections caused by colistin-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae.
Narrow genetic diversity in germplasm from the Guinean and Sudano-Guinean zones in Benin indicates the need to broaden the genetic base of sweet fig banana (Musa acuminata cv Sotoumon)
Authors: Capo-Chichi Dènoumi B. E. , Tchokponhoué Dèdéou A. , Sogbohossou Dêêdi E. O. , Achigan-Dako Enoch G.
Published: November 2023

Sweet fig (M.acuminatacv. Sotoumon) is an economically important dessert banana in Benin, with high nutritional, medicinal, and cultural values. Nevertheless, its productivity and yield are threatened by biotic and abiotic stresses. Relevant knowledge of the genetic diversity of this economically important crop is essential for germplasm conservation and the development of breeding programs. However, very little is known about the genetic makeup of this cultivar in Benin. To advance the understanding of genetic diversity in sweet fig banana germplasm, a Genotype-By-Sequencing (GBS) was performed on a panel of 273 accessions collected in different phytogeographical zones of Benin. GBS generated 8,457 quality SNPs, of which 1992 were used for analysis after filtering. The results revealed a low diversity in the studied germplasm (He = 0.0162). Genetic differentiation was overall very low in the collection as suggested by the negative differentiation index (Fstg = -0.003). The Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) indicated that the variation between accessions within populations accounted for 83.8% of the total variation observed (P < 0.001). The analysis of population structure and neighbor-joining tree partitioned the germplasm into three clusters out of which a predominant major one contained 98.1% of all accessions. These findings demonstrate that current sweet fig banana genotypes shared a common genetic background, which made them vulnerable to biotic and abiotic stress. Therefore, broadening the genetic base of the crop while maintaining its quality attributes and improving yield performance is of paramount importance. Moreover, the large genetic group constitutes an asset for future genomic selection studies in the crop and can guide the profiling of its conservation strategies.
Exploration of the B3 transcription factor superfamily in Aquilaria sinensis reveal their involvement in seed recalcitrance and agarwood formation
Authors: Jin Yue , Zeng Lin , Xiao Mengjun , Feng Yanan , Gao Zhihui , Wei Jianhe
Published: November 2023

The endangered tree species of the Aquilaria genus produce agarwood, a high value material produced only after wounding; however, conservation of Aquilaria seeds is difficult. The B3 transcription factor family has diverse important functions in plant development, especially in seed development, although their functions in other areas, such as stress responses, remain to be revealed. Here germination tests proved that the seeds of A. sinensis were recalcitrant seeds. To provide insights into the B3 superfamily, the members were identified and characterized by bioinformatic approaches and classified by phylogenetic analysis and domain structure. In total, 71 members were identified and classified into four subfamilies. Each subfamily not only had similar domains, but also had conserved motifs in their B3 domains. For the seed-related LAV subfamily, the B3 domain of AsLAV3 was identical to that of AsVALs but lacked a typical zf-CW domain such as VALs. AsLAV5 lacks a typical PHD-L domain present in Arabidopsis VALs. qRT-PCR expression analysis showed that the LEC2 ortholog AsLAV4 was not expressed in seeds. RAVs and REMs induced after wound treatment were also identified. These findings provide insights into the functions of B3 genes and seed recalcitrance of A. sinensis and indicate the role of B3 genes in wound response and agarwood formation.This is the first work to investigate the B3 family in A. sinensis and to provide insights of the molecular mechanism of seed recalcitrance.This will be a valuable guidance for studies of B3 genes in stress responses, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and seed development.
Probiotics attenuate valproate-induced liver steatosis and oxidative stress in mice
Authors: Song Wenfang , Yan Xinrui , Zhai Yu , Ren Jing , Wu Ting , Guo Han , Song Yu , Li Xiaojiao , Guo Yingjie
Published: November 2023

Valproate (valproic acid, VPA), a drug for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder, causes liver steatosis with enhanced oxidative stress. Accumulating evidences exhibite that gut microbiota plays an important role in progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, whether gut microbiota contributes to VPA-caused hepatic steatosis needs to be elucidated. A mixture of five probiotics was selected to investigate their effects on liver steatosis and oxidative stress in mice orally administered VPA for 30 days. Probiotics treatment significantly attenuated the hepatic lipid accumulation in VPA-treated mice via inhibiting the expression of cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) and distinct diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2). Meanwhile, probiotics exerted a protective effect against VPA-induced oxidative stress by decreasing the pro-oxidant cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) level and activating the Nrf2/antioxidant enzyme pathway. Moreover, VPA treatment altered the relative abundance of gut microbiota at the phylum, family and genera levels, while probiotics partially restored these changes. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that several specific genera and family were significantly correlated with liver steatosis and oxidative stress-related indicators. These results suggest that probiotics exert their health benefits in the abrogation of liver steatosis and oxidative stress in VPA-treated mice by manipulating the microbial homeostasis.
The response of ecological security to land use change in east and west subtropical China
Authors: Luo Mengjia , Wang Jinliang , Li Jie , Sha Jinming , He Suling , Liu Lanfang , Kurbanov Eldar , Cole Janie , Jiao Yuanmei , Zhou Jingchun
Published: November 2023

Regional land use change and ecological security have received considerable attention in recent years. The rapid economic development of Kunming and Fuzhou has resulted in environmental damage such as water pollution and urban heat island effect. It is thus important to conduct a comparative analysis of the ecological security response to land use/land cover change (LUCC) in different natural zones. Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, random forest and support vector machine methods were used to classify land cover types in the study area, after which the ArcGIS platform was used to analyze LUCC. The driving force-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) model and entropy weight method were used to construct an ecological security evaluation system, and gray correlation was used to compare the ecological security responses to LUCC in Kunming and Fuzhou. The findings revealed that: (1) The average dynamic degrees of comprehensive land use in Kunming and Fuzhou from 1995 to 2020 were 1.05% and 0.55%, respectively; (2) From 1995 to 2020, the ecological security index values for Kunming and Fuzhou increased from 0.42 to 0.52 and from 0.36 to 0.68, respectively, indicating that Fuzhou’s index is rising more rapidly; and (3)There is a strong correlation between LUCC and ecological security, the correlation between the woodland and the ecological security index is very strong in both places. The expansion of construction land may be an important reason for the reduced ecological security level in Fuzhou City, while water resources have a significant impact on the ecological security level of Kunming City.