bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How useful is the concept of transit migration in an intra-Schengen mobility context? Diving into the migrant smuggling and human trafficking nexus in search for answers
Authors: de Massol de Rebetz Roxane
Published: October 2020

When using the concept of transit migration, contemporary scholarly literature and policy documents typically refer to situations located outside or at the outskirts of the European Union. By analyzing the critical and empirical scholarship which uncovers the so-called gray area where it becomes hard to make clear distinctions that can be found at the nexus between migrant smuggling and human trafficking, the article aims to shed new light on the real-life vulnerabilities and dynamics that do not fit prototypical legal categories of either human trafficking or migrant smuggling. In so doing, the article discusses and analyzes legal and empirical scholarship that uncovers these vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities observed are likely to be further enhanced in transit zones where stranded individuals within the EU aim to continue their (increasingly) fragmented/non-linear migration journeys. Therefore, the article proposes to consider the usefulness and the usage of the notion of “transit migration” in the context of Intra-Schengen border mobility and not just when discussingexternalborder mobility. The article argues that the concept of transit migration, if carefully defined, and if particular vulnerabilities found in transit space are recognized, can serve as a helpful lens that can prevent falling into the trap of conceiving migrant smuggling and human trafficking as strictly separate phenomena.
A novel glycosidase plate-based assay for the quantification of galactosylation and sialylation on human IgG
Authors: Rebello Osmond D. , Gardner Richard A. , Urbanowicz Paulina A. , Bolam David N. , Crouch Lucy I. , Falck David , Spencer Daniel I. R.
Published: October 2020

Changes in human IgG galactosylation and sialylation have been associated with several inflammatory diseases which are a major burden on the health care system. A large body of work on well-established glycomic and glycopeptidomic assays has repeatedly demonstrated inflammation-induced changes in IgG glycosylation. However, these assays are usually based on specialized analytical instrumentation which could be considered a technical barrier for uptake by some laboratories. Hence there is a growing demand for simple biochemical assays for analyzing these glycosylation changes. We have addressed this need by introducing a novel glycosidase plate-based assay for the absolute quantification of galactosylation and sialylation on IgG. IgG glycoproteins are treated with specific exoglycosidases to release the galactose and/or sialic acid residues. The released galactose monosaccharides are subsequently used in an enzymatic redox reaction that produces a fluorescence signal that is quantitative for the amount of galactosylation and, in-turn, sialylation on IgG. The glycosidase plate-based assay has the potential to be a simple, initial screening assay or an alternative assay to the usage of high-end analytical platforms such as HILIC-FLD-MSn when considering the analysis of galactosylation and sialylation on IgG. We have demonstrated this by comparing our assay to an industrial established HILIC-FLD-MSn glycomic analysis of 15 patient samples and obtained a Pearson’s r correlation coefficient of 0.8208 between the two methods.
Autism Traits Predict Self-reported Executive Functioning Deficits in Everyday Life and an Aversion to Exercise
Authors: Mason Lauren A. , Zimiga Brandon M. , Anders-Jefferson Regina , Paap Kenneth R.
Published: October 2020

Are Autism Quotient (AQ) scores related to executive functioning (EF)? We sampled 200 students of normal intelligence and examined the relationship between AQ scores and: (a) 5 self-ratings of EF, (b) 5 performance-based measures of EF, and (c) 5 types of activities or experiences that are assumed to recruit EF and sometimes enhance EF. Our findings reveal that as AQ scores increase, self-rated EF ability decreases. AQ scores and self-reported EF measures do not correlate with objective EF task performance. Furthermore, AQ scores were shown to be negatively associated with many specific types of physical activity. As AQ scores increase, individuals report fewer positive reasons for exercise and more rationalizations for not engaging in more exercise.
An Eye Tracking Investigation of Pain Decoding Based on Older and Younger Adults’ Facial Expressions
Authors: Stopyn Rhonda J. N. , Hadjistavropoulos Thomas , Loucks Jeff
Published: October 2020

Nonverbal pain cues such as facial expressions, are useful in the systematic assessment of pain in people with dementia who have severe limitations in their ability to communicate. Nonetheless, the extent to which observers rely on specific pain-related facial responses (e.g., eye movements, frowning) when judging pain remains unclear. Observers viewed three types of videos of patients expressing pain (younger patients, older patients without dementia, older patients with dementia) while wearing an eye tracker device that recorded their viewing behaviors. They provided pain ratings for each patient in the videos. These observers assigned higher pain ratings to older adults compared to younger adults and the highest pain ratings to patients with dementia. Pain ratings assigned to younger adults showed greater correspondence to objectively coded facial reactions compared to older adults. The correspondence of observer ratings was not affected by the cognitive status of target patients as there were no differences between the ratings assigned to older adults with and without dementia. Observers’ percentage of total dwell time (amount of time that an observer glances or fixates within a defined visual area of interest) across specific facial areas did not predict the correspondence of observers’ pain ratings to objective coding of facial responses. Our results demonstrate that patient characteristics such as age and cognitive status impact the pain decoding process by observers when viewing facial expressions of pain in others.
Chiral Surface Characterisation and Reactivity Toward H–D Exchange of a Curved Platinum Crystal
Authors: Roorda Tycho , Auras Sabine V. , Juurlink Ludo B. F.
Published: October 2020

Understanding heterogeneous catalysis at the atomic level requires detailed knowledge of the reactivity of different surface sites toward specific bond breaking and bond making events. We illustrate a new method in such investigations. We use a macroscopically curved Pt single crystal containing a large variation in density of highly kinked steps of two different chiralities. Scanning tunneling microscopy maps the entire range of surface structures present on the 31° section surrounding the Pt(111) apex. Whereas most of the surface shows the expected characteristic arrays of parallel steps, hexagonally-shaped, single-atom deep pits remain after cleaning procedures near the apex. Their orientation is indicative of the different chiralities present on the two sides of the crystal’s apex. These unintended defects locally raise the surface defect concentration, but are of little consequence to subsequent reactivity measurements for $$\text {D}_2$$

D
2

dissociation and H–D exchange as probed by supersonic molecular beam techniques. We quantify absolute elementary dissociation and relative isotopic exchange rates across the surface with high spatial resolution. At low incident energies, elementary dissociation of the homonuclear isotoplogues is dominated by the kinked steps. H–D exchange kinetics depend also mostly linearly on step density. The changing ratio of D2 dissociation to H–D formation, however, suggests that anisotropic diffusion of H(D) atoms is of influence to the measured HD production rate.
Retrospective in silico evaluation of optimized preoperative planning for temporal bone surgery
Authors: Fauser Johannes , Bohlender Simon , Stenin Igor , Kristin Julia , Klenzner Thomas , Schipper Jörg , Mukhopadhyay Anirban
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Robot-assisted surgery at the temporal bone utilizing a flexible drilling unit would allow safer access to clinical targets such as the cochlea or the internal auditory canal by navigating along nonlinear trajectories. One key sub-step for clinical realization of such a procedure is automated preoperative surgical planning that incorporates both segmentation of risk structures and optimized trajectory planning.

Methods

We automatically segment risk structures using 3D U-Nets with probabilistic active shape models. For nonlinear trajectory planning, we adapt bidirectional rapidly exploring random trees on Bézier Splines followed by sequential convex optimization. Functional evaluation, assessing segmentation quality based on the subsequent trajectory planning step, shows the suitability of our novel segmentation approach for this two-step preoperative pipeline.

Results

Based on 24 data sets of the temporal bone, we perform a functional evaluation of preoperative surgical planning. Our experiments show that the automated segmentation provides safe and coherent surface models that can be used in collision detection during motion planning. The source code of the algorithms will be made publicly available.

Conclusion

Optimized trajectory planning based on shape regularized segmentation leads to safe access canals for temporal bone surgery. Functional evaluation shows the promising results for both 3D U-Net and Bézier Spline trajectories.
Approximation properties of mixed sampling-Kantorovich operators
Authors: Angeloni Laura , Costarelli Danilo , Vinti Gianluca
Published: October 2020

In the present paper we study the pointwise and uniform convergence properties of a family of multidimensional sampling Kantorovich type operators. Moreover, besides convergence, quantitative estimates and a Voronovskaja type theorem have been established.
Buffering Academic Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic Related Social Isolation: Grit and Growth Mindset as Protective Factors against the Impact of Loneliness
Authors: Mosanya Magdalena
Published: October 2020

The pandemic of the SARS CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19 sickness, constitutes a global challenge to well-being. Positive psychology constructs of grit and growth mindset may offer a solution to this challenge as both are associated with psychological resilience. A growth mindset describes the underlying beliefs people have about the malleability of intelligence, and grit refers to dedication to long-term goals. The present study explored whether such constructs could constitute protective factors against the academic stress associated with loneliness and perceived lack of control among international students (n = 170) during social isolation, induced by COVID-19 restrictions. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression model explained 36% of the variance in academic stress with a perceived lack of control (ß = .53, p < .001) and growth mindset (ß = −.22, p < .001) being significant direct predictors. Moderation analysis explained 17% of the variance and confirmed that a level of dispositional grit moderated the detrimental influence loneliness had on academic stress. Simple slopes analysis revealed a significant effect for moderate (β = .07, p = .01) and high (β = .16, p = .001) levels of grit. Our findings suggest that grit and growth mindset, as dynamic variables, could be taught to students as resilience-building prevention of academic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, our results have shown that parents (37%) and friends (32%) were most frequently identified by students as supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic with minimal reported support from universities (2.5%).
Evaluation of a Concept Mapping Task Using Named Entity Recognition and Normalization in Unstructured Clinical Text
Authors: Trivedi Sapna , Gildersleeve Roger , Franco Sandra , Kanter Andrew S. , Chaudhry Afzal
Published: October 2020

In this pilot study, we explore the feasibility and accuracy of using a query in a commercial natural language processing engine in a named entity recognition and normalization task to extract a wide spectrum of clinical concepts from free text clinical letters. Editorial guidance developed by two independent clinicians was used to annotate sixty anonymized clinic letters to create the gold standard. Concepts were categorized by semantic type, and labels were applied to indicate contextual attributes such as negation. The natural language processing (NLP) engine was Linguamatics I2E version 5.3.1, equipped with an algorithm for contextualizing words and phrases and an ontology of terms from Intelligent Medical Objects to which those tokens were mapped. Performance of the engine was assessed on a training set of the documents using precision, recall, and the F1 score, with subset analysis for semantic type, accurate negation, exact versus partial conceptual matching, and discontinuous text. The engine underwent tuning, and the final performance was determined for a test set. The test set showed an F1 score of 0.81 and 0.84 using strict and relaxed criteria respectively when appropriate negation was not required and 0.75 and 0.77 when it was. F1 scores were higher when concepts were derived from continuous text only. This pilot study showed that a commercially available NLP engine delivered good overall results for identifying a wide spectrum of structured clinical concepts. Such a system holds promise for extracting concepts from free text to populate problem lists or for data mining projects.
Quantitative analysis of optimum corrective fuel tax for road vehicles in Bangladesh: achieving the greenhouse gas reduction goal
Authors: Kamruzzaman Mohammad Haider , Mizunoya Takeshi
Published: October 2020

This study estimates optimum corrective fuel taxes for Bangladesh and correlates them with climate change policy. First, we use the European road transport emission model (COPERT IV) to precisely estimate the externalities. Second, using the same model, we also estimate the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the fuel tax. Finally, we develop a correlation between the fuel tax rate and emissions reduction. Our benchmark calculation of the optimum corrective tax is US$0.94 per gallon for gasoline and US$1.46 per gallon for diesel (in 2016 prices). We find that congestion and accident externalities are the two main fuel tax components for Bangladesh. We also find that the net social welfare gain per year is US$302.11 million and the net revenue gain per year is 3.59% of GDP. The corrective diesel tax reduces fuel consumption by 18.10% and increases fuel efficiency by 12.53%. In the benchmark case, corrective fuel taxes reduce GHG emissions by 5.77%. With the combination of the existing gasoline tax and a diesel tax of US$1.20 per gallon, the country’s greenhouse gas reduction goal can be achieved. Policymakers can use fuel taxes to support climate change policy.
Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Ontario Testing and Follow-up Recommendations
Authors: McMillan Hugh J. , Kernohan Kristin D. , Yeh Ed , Amburgey Kim , Boyd Jennifer , Campbell Craig , Dowling James J. , Gonorazky Hernan , Marcadier Janet , Tarnopolsky Mark A. , Vajsar Jiri , MacKenzie Alex , Chakraborty Pranesh
Published: October 2020

Background:

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is characterized by the progressive loss of motor neurons causing muscle atrophy and weakness. Nusinersen, the first effective SMA therapy was approved by Health Canada in June 2017 and has been added to the provincial formulary of all but one Canadian province. Access to this effective therapy has triggered the inclusion of SMA in an increasing number of Newborn Screening (NBS) programs. However, the range of disease-modifying SMN2 gene copy numbers encountered in survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1)-null individuals means that neither screen-positive definition nor resulting treatment decisions can be determined by SMN1 genotype alone. We outline an approach to this challenge, one that specifically addresses the case of SMA newborns with four copies of SMN2.

Objectives:

To develop a standardized post-referral evaluation pathway for babies with a positive SMA NBS screen result.

Methods:

An SMA NBS pilot trial in Ontario using first-tier MassARRAY and second-tier multi-ligand probe amplification (MLPA) was launched in January 2020. Prior to this, Ontario pediatric neuromuscular disease and NBS experts met to review the evidence regarding the diagnosis and treatment of children with SMA as it pertained to NBS. A post-referral evaluation algorithm was developed, outlining timelines for patient retrieval and management.

Conclusions:

Ontario’s pilot NBS program has created a standardized path to facilitate early diagnosis of SMA and initiation of treatment. The goal is to provide timely access to those SMA infants in need of therapy to optimize motor function and prolong survival.
Enhancing industrial X-ray tomography by data-centric statistical methods
Authors: Suuronen Jarkko , Emzir Muhammad , Lasanen Sari , Särkkä Simo , Roininen Lassi
Published: October 2020

X-ray tomography has applications in various industrial fields such as sawmill industry, oil and gas industry, as well as chemical, biomedical, and geotechnical engineering. In this article, we study Bayesian methods for the X-ray tomography reconstruction. In Bayesian methods, the inverse problem of tomographic reconstruction is solved with the help of a statistical prior distribution which encodes the possible internal structures by assigning probabilities for smoothness and edge distribution of the object. We compare Gaussian random field priors, that favor smoothness, to non-Gaussian total variation (TV), Besov, and Cauchy priors which promote sharp edges and high- and low-contrast areas in the object. We also present computational schemes for solving the resulting high-dimensional Bayesian inverse problem with 100,000–1,000,000 unknowns. We study the applicability of a no-U-turn variant of Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) methods and of a more classical adaptive Metropolis-within-Gibbs (MwG) algorithm to enable full uncertainty quantification of the reconstructions. We use maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimates with limited-memory BFGS (Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno) optimization algorithm. As the first industrial application, we consider sawmill industry X-ray log tomography. The logs have knots, rotten parts, and even possibly metallic pieces, making them good examples for non-Gaussian priors. Secondly, we study drill-core rock sample tomography, an example from oil and gas industry. In that case, we compare the priors without uncertainty quantification. We show that Cauchy priors produce smaller number of artefacts than other choices, especially with sparse high-noise measurements, and choosing HMC enables systematic uncertainty quantification, provided that the posterior is not pathologically multimodal or heavy-tailed.
Towards identifying malnutrition among infants under 6 months: a mixed-methods study of South-Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia
Authors: Moore Laura , O’Mahony Sinead , Shevlin Mark , Hyland Philip , Barthorp Hatty , Vallières Frédérique
Published: October 2020

Objectives:

To determine (i) whether distinct groups of infants under 6 months old (U6M) were identifiable as malnourished based on anthropometric measures and if so to determine the probability of admittance to GOAL Ethiopia’s Management of At Risk Mothers and Infants (MAMI) programme based on group membership; (ii) whether there were discrepancies in admission using recognised anthropometric criteria, compared with group membership and (iii) the barriers and potential solutions to identifying malnutrition within U6M.

Design:

Mixed-methods approaches were used, whereby data collected by GOAL Ethiopia underwent: factor mixture modelling,χ2analysis and logistic regression analysis. Qualitative analysis was performed through coding of key informant interviews.

Setting:

Data were collected in two refugee camps in Ethiopia. Key informant interviews were conducted remotely with international MAMI programmers and nutrition experts.

Participants:

Participants were 3444 South-Sudanese U6M and eleven key informants experienced in MAMI programming.

Results:

Well-nourished and malnourished groups were identified, with notable discrepancies between group membership and MAMI programme admittance. Despite weight for agez-scores (WAZ) emerging as the most discriminant measure to identify malnutrition, admittance was most strongly associated with mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Misconceptions surrounding malnutrition, a dearth of evidence and issues with the current identification protocol emerged as barriers to identifying malnutrition among U6M.

Conclusions:

Our model suggests that WAZ is the most discriminating anthropometric measure for malnutrition in this population. However, the challenges of using WAZ should be weighed up against the more scalable, but potentially overly sensitive and less accurate use of MUAC among U6M.
The Apparent Motion of STEVE and the Picket Fence Phenomena
Authors: Gillies D. M. , Liang J. , Donovan E. , Spanswick E.
Published: October 2020

In this study, we present the first data obtained from the new Transition Region Explorer (TREx) RGB Imager and analyze the apparent motion of STEVE and the Picket Fence structures in an event on 31 August 2019. The structures associated with STEVE are found to feature a fast westward motion (~5–10 km/s). This is consistent with the notions that STEVE is colocated with a fast subauroral ion drift (SAID) channel and that SAIDs play a key role in the production of STEVE. The apparent motion of the Picket Fence structures is much slower (~400–600 m/s) and can be both westward and eastward. This implies that either the Picket Fence is located at different magnetic flux tubes from that of STEVE, with much slower plasma convection speed, or that the motion of the Picket Fence does not follow the plasma convection.
Evidence of Phytoplankton Light Acclimation to Periodic Turbulent Mixing Along a Tidally Dominated Tropical Coastline
Authors: McLaughlin M. J. , Greenwood J. , Branson P. , Lourey M. J. , Hanson C. E.
Published: October 2020

One of the largest tropical tidal ranges in the world occurs in King Sound, a semienclosed embayment in the tropical Kimberley region of Western Australia. Incubations of phytoplankton within King Sound displayed reduced photosynthetic efficiency, elevated maximum photosynthetic rates, and no measurable photoinhibition. A response typical of high light adapted phytoplankton despite decreased water clarity and low ambient nutrient concentrations in the estuary. This is in contrast with the adjacent shelf where phytoplankton, associated with a deep chlorophyll maximum, display high photosynthetic efficiency and strong light inhibition typical of low light adaptation. Remote sensing and numerical modeling suggest that spatial and temporal variations in tidal mixing drive changes in light variability and in photoacclimation. In King Sound phytoplankton experience the largest variations in light over short time scales where diatoms dominate since they can rapidly acclimate to water column light conditions by adjusting pigment within the cell. The photophysiological response of the phytoplankton in the Sound suggests that acclimation to alternate weak and strong mixing exposes them to cyclical changes in light intensity delaying the onset of photoinhibition, allowing higher maximum photosynthetic rates to be attained. These findings highlight the importance of a multifaceted approach to understanding the links between physics and photoacclimation strategies employed by phytoplankton to more accurately determine rates of depth‐integrated productivity in complex coastal areas.
Inhibition of Chk1 by miR-320c increases oxaliplatin responsiveness in triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Lim Sera , Kim Yesol , Lee Soo-Been , Kang Hyeok-Gu , Kim Da-Hyun , Park Jee Won , Chung Daeun , Kong Hyunkyung , Yoo Kyung Hyun , Kim Yonghwan , Han Wonshik , Chun Kyung-Hee , Park Jong Hoon
Published: October 2020

Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) expression is enhanced in most cancers owing to oncogenic activation and constant replicative stress. Chk1 inactivation is a promising cancer therapy, as its inactivation leads to genomic instability, chromosomal catastrophe, and cancer cell death. Herein, we observed that miR-320c, downregulated in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, can target Chk1. In addition, downregulated miR-320c expression was associated with poor overall survival in TNBC patients. As Chk1 was associated with the DNA damage response (DDR), we investigated the effect of miR-320c on DDR in TNBC cells. To induce DNA damage, we used platinum-based drugs, especially oxaliplatin, which is most effective with miR-320c. We observed that overexpression of miR-320c in TNBC regulated the oxaliplatin responsiveness by mediating DNA damage repair through the negative regulation of Chk1 in vitro. Furthermore, using a xenograft model, a combination of miR-320c mimic and oxaliplatin effectively inhibited tumor progression. These investigations indicate the potential of miR-320c as a marker of oxaliplatin responsiveness and a therapeutic target to increase the efficacy of chemotherapy in TNBC.
Space and patchiness affects diversity–function relationships in fungal decay communities
Authors: O’Leary Jade , Journeaux Katie L , Houthuijs Kas , Engel Jasper , Sommer Ulf , Viant Mark R , Eastwood Daniel C , Müller Carsten , Boddy Lynne
Published: October 2020

The space in which organisms live determines health and physicality, shaping the way in which they interact with their peers. Space, therefore, is critically important for species diversity and the function performed by individuals within mixed communities. The biotic and abiotic factors defined by the space that organisms occupy are ecologically significant and the difficulty in quantifying space-defined parameters within complex systems limits the study of ecological processes. Here, we overcome this problem using a tractable system whereby spatial heterogeneity in interacting fungal wood decay communities demonstrates that scale and patchiness of territory directly influence coexistence dynamics. Spatial arrangement in 2- and 3-dimensions resulted in measurable metabolic differences that provide evidence of a clear biological response to changing landscape architecture. This is of vital importance to microbial systems in all ecosystems globally, as our results demonstrate that community function is driven by the effects of spatial dynamics.
International Myeloma Working Group risk stratification model for smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM)
Authors: Mateos María-Victoria , Kumar Shaji , Dimopoulos Meletios A. , González-Calle Verónica , Kastritis Efstathios , Hajek Roman , De Larrea Carlos Fernández , Morgan Gareth J. , Merlini Giampaolo , Goldschmidt Hartmut , Geraldes Catarina , Gozzetti Alessandro , Kyriakou Charalampia , Garderet Laurent , Hansson Markus , Zamagni Elena , Fantl Dorotea , Leleu Xavier , Kim Byung-Su , Esteves Graça , Ludwig Heinz , Usmani Saad , Min Chang-Ki , Qi Ming , Ukropec Jon , Weiss Brendan M. , Rajkumar S. Vincent , Durie Brian G. M. , San-Miguel Jesús
Published: October 2020

Smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) is an asymptomatic precursor state of multiple myeloma (MM). Recently, MM was redefined to include biomarkers predicting a high risk of progression from SMM, thus necessitating a redefinition of SMM and its risk stratification. We assembled a large cohort of SMM patients meeting the revised IMWG criteria to develop a new risk stratification system. We included 1996 patients, and using stepwise selection and multivariable analysis, we identified three independent factors predicting progression risk at 2 years: serum M-protein >2 g/dL (HR: 2.1), involved to uninvolved free light-chain ratio >20 (HR: 2.7), and marrow plasma cell infiltration >20% (HR: 2.4). This translates into 3 categories with increasing 2-year progression risk: 6% for low risk (38%; no risk factors, HR: 1); 18% for intermediate risk (33%; 1 factor; HR: 3.0), and 44% for high risk (29%; 2–3 factors). Addition of cytogenetic abnormalities (t(4;14), t(14;16), +1q, and/or del13q) allowed separation into 4 groups (low risk with 0, low intermediate risk with 1, intermediate risk with 2, and high risk with ≥3 risk factors) with 6, 23, 46, and 63% risk of progression in 2 years, respectively. The 2/20/20 risk stratification model can be easily implemented to identify high-risk SMM for clinical research and routine practice and will be widely applicable.
Alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and cancer incidence in an Australian cohort of 226,162 participants aged 45 years and over
Authors: Sarich Peter , Canfell Karen , Egger Sam , Banks Emily , Joshy Grace , Grogan Paul , Weber Marianne F.
Published: October 2020

Background

Although overall alcohol consumption is known to increase the risk of a number of cancers internationally, evidence for Australia and evidence regarding the pattern of drinking and cancer risk is limited.

Methods

Adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for cancer risk in relation to overall alcohol consumption (drinks/week) and pattern of drinking were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regressions for 226,162 participants aged ≥45 years (2006–2009) in the 45 and Up Study, an Australian prospective cohort study. Incident primary cancer cases were ascertained by linkage to the New South Wales Cancer Registry to 2013 by the Centre for Health Record Linkage.

Results

Over a median of 5.4 years, 17,332 cancers were diagnosed. Increasing levels of alcohol intake were associated with increased risk of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (1.19; 1.10–1.29), mouth and pharynx (1.18; 1.08–1.29), oesophagus (1.22; 1.04–1.43), colorectum (1.09; 1.04–1.15), colon (1.13; 1.06–1.20), liver (1.22; 1.04–1.44) and breast (1.11; 1.02–1.21). Breast cancer risk was marginally associated with drinking pattern, with higher risk when intake was concentrated on 1–3 days/week compared to the same amount spread over 4–7 days (Pinteraction = 0.049).

Conclusions

Alcohol consumption confers a significant risk of cancer, and drinking pattern may be independently related to breast cancer risk.
NoPv1: a synthetic antimicrobial peptide aptamer targeting the causal agents of grapevine downy mildew and potato late blight
Authors: Colombo Monica , Masiero Simona , Rosa Stefano , Caporali Elisabetta , Toffolatti Silvia Laura , Mizzotti Chiara , Tadini Luca , Rossi Fabio , Pellegrino Sara , Musetti Rita , Velasco Riccardo , Perazzolli Michele , Vezzulli Silvia , Pesaresi Paolo
Published: October 2020

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is a crop of major economic importance. However, grapevine yield is guaranteed by the massive use of pesticides to counteract pathogen infections. Under temperate-humid climate conditions, downy mildew is a primary threat for viticulture. Downy mildew is caused by the biotrophic oomycete Plasmopara viticola Berl. & de Toni, which can attack grapevine green tissues. In lack of treatments and with favourable weather conditions, downy mildew can devastate up to 75% of grape cultivation in one season and weaken newly born shoots, causing serious economic losses. Nevertheless, the repeated and massive use of some fungicides can lead to environmental pollution, negative impact on non-targeted organisms, development of resistance, residual toxicity and can foster human health concerns. In this manuscript, we provide an innovative approach to obtain specific pathogen protection for plants. By using the yeast two-hybrid approach and the P. viticola cellulose synthase 2 (PvCesA2), as target enzyme, we screened a combinatorial 8 amino acid peptide library with the aim to identify interacting peptides, potentially able to inhibit PvCesa2. Here, we demonstrate that the NoPv1 peptide aptamer prevents P. viticola germ tube formation and grapevine leaf infection without affecting the growth of non-target organisms and without being toxic for human cells. Furthermore, NoPv1 is also able to counteract Phytophthora infestans growth, the causal agent of late blight in potato and tomato, possibly as a consequence of the high amino acid sequence similarity between P. viticola and P. infestans cellulose synthase enzymes.
Prebiotic oligomerization and self-assembly of structurally diverse xenobiological monomers
Authors: Chandru Kuhan , Jia Tony Z. , Mamajanov Irena , Bapat Niraja , Cleaves H. James
Published: October 2020

Prebiotic chemists often study how modern biopolymers, e.g., peptides and nucleic acids, could have originated in the primitive environment, though most contemporary biomonomers don’t spontaneously oligomerize under mild conditions without activation or catalysis. However, life may not have originated using the same monomeric components that it does presently. There may be numerous non-biological (or “xenobiological”) monomer types that were prebiotically abundant and capable of facile oligomerization and self-assembly. Many modern biopolymers degrade abiotically preferentially via processes which produce thermodynamically stable ring structures, e.g. diketopiperazines in the case of proteins and 2′, 3′-cyclic nucleotide monophosphates in the case of RNA. This weakness is overcome in modern biological systems by kinetic control, but this need not have been the case for primitive systems. We explored here the oligomerization of a structurally diverse set of prebiotically plausible xenobiological monomers, which can hydrolytically interconvert between cyclic and acyclic forms, alone or in the presence of glycine under moderate temperature drying conditions. These monomers included various lactones, lactams and a thiolactone, which varied markedly in their stability, propensity to oligomerize and apparent modes of initiation, and the oligomeric products of some of these formed self-organized microscopic structures which may be relevant to protocell formation.
Author Correction: Character-based DNA barcoding for authentication and conservation of IUCN Red listed threatened species of genus Decalepis (Apocynaceae)
Authors: Mishra Priyanka , Kumar Amit , Sivaraman Gokul , Shukla Ashutosh K. , Kaliamoorthy Ravikumar , Slater Adrian , Velusamy Sundaresan
Published: October 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
The “completely randomised” and the “randomised block” are the only experimental designs suitable for widespread use in pre-clinical research
Authors: Festing Michael F. W.
Published: October 2020

Too many pre-clinical experiments are giving results which cannot be reproduced. This may be because the experiments are incorrectly designed. In “Completely randomized” (CR) and “Randomised block” (RB) experimental designs, both the assignment of treatments to experimental subjects and the order in which the experiment is done, are randomly determined. These designs have been used successfully in agricultural and industrial research and in clinical trials for nearly a century without excessive levels of irreproducibility. They must also be used in pre-clinical research if the excessive level of irreproducibility is to be eliminated. A survey of 100 papers involving mice and rats was used to determine whether scientists had used the CR or RB designs. The papers were assigned to three categories “Design acceptable”, “Randomised to treatment groups”, so of doubtful validity, or “Room for improvement”. Only 32 ± 4.7% of the papers fell into the first group, although none of them actually named either the CR or RB design. If the current high level of irreproducibility is to be eliminated, it is essential that scientists engaged in pre-clinical research use “Completely randomised” (CR), “Randomised block” (RB), or one of the more specialised named experimental designs described in textbooks on the subject.
Automatic classification between COVID-19 pneumonia, non-COVID-19 pneumonia, and the healthy on chest X-ray image: combination of data augmentation methods
Authors: Nishio Mizuho , Noguchi Shunjiro , Matsuo Hidetoshi , Murakami Takamichi
Published: October 2020

This study aimed to develop and validate computer-aided diagnosis (CXDx) system for classification between COVID-19 pneumonia, non-COVID-19 pneumonia, and the healthy on chest X-ray (CXR) images. From two public datasets, 1248 CXR images were obtained, which included 215, 533, and 500 CXR images of COVID-19 pneumonia patients, non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients, and the healthy samples, respectively. The proposed CADx system utilized VGG16 as a pre-trained model and combination of conventional method and mixup as data augmentation methods. Other types of pre-trained models were compared with the VGG16-based model. Single type or no data augmentation methods were also evaluated. Splitting of training/validation/test sets was used when building and evaluating the CADx system. Three-category accuracy was evaluated for test set with 125 CXR images. The three-category accuracy of the CAD system was 83.6% between COVID-19 pneumonia, non-COVID-19 pneumonia, and the healthy. Sensitivity for COVID-19 pneumonia was more than 90%. The combination of conventional method and mixup was more useful than single type or no data augmentation method. In conclusion, this study was able to create an accurate CADx system for the 3-category classification. Source code of our CADx system is available as open source for COVID-19 research.
Prenatal intrauterine growth restriction and risk of retinopathy of prematurity
Authors: Chu Alison , Dhindsa Yasmeen , Sim Myung Shin , Altendahl Marie , Tsui Irena
Published: October 2020

Low birthweight and decreased postnatal weight gain are known predictors of worse retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) but the role of prenatal growth patterns in ROP remains inconclusive. To distinguish small for gestational age (SGA) from intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) as independent predictors of ROP, we performed a retrospective cohort study of patients who received ROP screening examinations at a level IV neonatal intensive care unit over a 7-year period. Data on IUGR and SGA status, worst stage of and need for treatment for ROP, and postnatal growth was obtained. 343 infants were included for analysis (mean gestational age = 28.6 weeks and birth weight = 1138.2 g). IUGR infants were more likely to have a worse stage of ROP and treatment-requiring ROP (both p < 0.0001) compared to non-IUGR infants. IUGR infants were more likely to be older at worst stage of ROP (p < 0.0001) and to develop postnatal growth failure (p = 0.01) than non-IUGR infants. Independent of postnatal growth failure status, IUGR infants had a 4–5 × increased risk of needing ROP treatment (p < 0.001) compared to non-IUGR infants. SGA versus appropriate for gestational age infants did not demonstrate differences in retinopathy outcomes, age at worst ROP stage, or postnatal growth failure. These findings emphasize the importance of prenatal growth on ROP development.
HFD-induced hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammation are decreased in Factor D deficient mouse
Authors: Tsuru Hiromi , Osaka Mizuko , Hiraoka Yuichi , Yoshida Masayuki
Published: October 2020

Excessive intake of fat causes accumulation of fat in liver, leading to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). High-fat diet (HFD) upregulates the expression of Factor D, a complement pathway component, in the liver of mice. However, the functions of Factor D in liver are not well known. Therefore, the current study investigated the relationship between Factor D and hepatic lipid accumulation using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Factor D knockout (FD-KO) mice. Factor D deficiency downregulated expression of genes related to fatty acid uptake and de novo lipogenesis in the liver. Furthermore, Factor D deficiency reduced the expression of inflammatory factors (Tnf and Ccl2) and fibrosis markers and decreased accumulation of F4/80-positive macrophages. These data suggest that the Factor D deficiency improved hepatic lipid accumulation and hepatic inflammation in HFD-fed mice.
First detection and full genomic analysis of Canine Circovirus in CPV-2 infected dogs in Colombia, South America
Authors: Giraldo-Ramirez Sebastian , Rendon-Marin Santiago , Vargas-Bermudez Diana S. , Jaime Jairo , Ruiz-Saenz Julian
Published: October 2020

Canine Circovirus (CanineCV) is an emerging virus which since its first report in USA in 2012, it has been described worldwide. It was the second mammalian circovirus species identified in dogs and its role in canine enteritis is still being uncertain as much as its association in disease with the Canine Parvovirus-2 (CPV-2). Here, we aim to confirm for the first time the presence of CanineCV in Colombia and to develop phylogenetic evolutive analyses of CanineCV in CPV-2 positive animals. DNA from samples were extracted and PCR, full genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was performed to detect and characterize CanineCV. From a total of 30 CPV-2 positive samples, 16.6% (n = 5) were positives for CanineCV. Sequencing analysis of Colombian CanineCV wild-type strains displayed high identity to each other (99.5–99.7% nt; 99.7% aa). The full genome phylogenetic analysis confirmed that worldwide reported CanineCV strains were separated into four distinct genotypes in addition to a European origin of the South American CanineCV strains. This study demonstrated the importance of continue surveillance of emerging viruses in canine populations and confirm for the first time the circulation and origin of CanineCV in Colombia.
Initial red cell distribution width as a predictor of poor neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors in a prospective, multicenter observational study (the KoCARC study)
Authors: Woo Seon Hee , Lee Woon Jeong , Kim Dae Hee , Cho Youngsuk , Cho Gyu Chong
Published: October 2020

This study aimed to investigate whether the initial red cell distribution width (RDW) at the emergency department (ED) is associated with poor neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors. We performed a prospective observational analysis of patients admitted to the ED between October 2015 and June 2018 from the Korean Cardiac Arrest Research Consortium registry. We included OHCA patients who visited the ED and achieved return of spontaneous circulation. Initial RDW values were measured at the time of the ED visit. The primary outcome was a poor neurological (Cerebral Performance Category, or CPC) score of 3–5. A total of 1008 patients were ultimately included in this study, of whom 712 (70.6%) had poor CPC scores with unfavorable outcomes. Higher RDW quartiles (RDW 13.6–14.9%, RDW ≥ 15.0%), older age, female sex, nonshockable initial rhythm at the scene, unwitnessed cardiac arrest, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), medical history, low white blood cell counts and high glucose levels were associated with poor neurological outcomes in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, the highest RDW quartile was independently associated with poor neurological outcomes (odds ratio 2.04; 95% confidence interval 1.12–3.69; p = 0.019) at hospital discharge after adjusting for other confounding factors. Other independent factors including age, initial rhythm, bystander CPR and high glucose were also associated with poor neurological outcomes. These results show that an initial RDW in the highest quartile as of the ED visit is associated with poor neurological outcomes at hospital discharge among OHCA survivors.
A low-intensity focused ultrasound-assisted nanocomposite for advanced triple cancer therapy: local chemotherapy, therapeutic extracellular vesicles and combined immunotherapy
Authors: Tan Mixiao , Chen Yuli , Guo Yuan , Yang Chao , Liu Mingzhu , Guo Dan , Wang Zhigang , Cao Yang , Ran Haitao
Published: October 2020

CCs-SF/DOX nanocomposite based triple therapies of “local chemotherapy-therapeutic EVs-synergistic immunotherapy” irradiated by LIFU.
Unravelling the cellular emission fingerprint of the benchmark G-quadruplex-interactive compound Phen-DC3
Authors: Deiana Marco , Jamroskovic Jan , Obi Ikenna , Sabouri Nasim
Published: October 2020

The G4-interactive binding interactions enable one to tune the optical properties of Phen-DC3, allowing the detection of G4 structures in cancer cells.
Enhanced electrocatalytic N2-to-NH3 fixation by ZrS2 nanofibers with a sulfur vacancy
Authors: Xu Tong , Ma Dongwei , Li Tingshuai , Yue Luchao , Luo Yongsong , Lu Siyu , Shi Xifeng , Asiri Abdullah M. , Yang Chun , Sun Xuping
Published: October 2020

ZrS2 nanofibers with a sulfur vacancy are an efficient electrocatalyst for ambient N2-to-NH3 fixation with a large NH3 yield of 30.72 μg h−1 mgcat.−1 and a high faradaic efficiency of 10.33% at −0.35 V and −0.30 V vs. RHE, respectively.
Multiple crystal phases of intermetallic tungsten borides and phase-dependent electrocatalytic property for hydrogen evolution
Authors: Li Qiuju , Wang Lina , Ai Xuan , Chen Hui , Zou Jiayun , Li Guo-Dong , Zou Xiaoxin
Published: October 2020

Four crystal phases of intermetallic tungsten borides, including W2B, WB, WB2and WB3, were selectively synthesized, and their crystal and electronic structures, as well as activity trend to HER, were studied.
Triazole formation of phosphinyl alkynes with azides through transient protection of phosphine by copper
Authors: Terashima Norikazu , Sakata Yuki , Meguro Tomohiro , Hosoya Takamitsu , Yoshida Suguru
Published: October 2020

An efficient preparation of functionalized phosphines by triazole formation through the transient protection of phosphine from the Staudinger reaction is disclosed. Double- and triple-click assemblies of azides were accomplished.
Structures and internal dynamics of diphenylether and its aggregates with water
Authors: Fatima M. , Maué D. , Pérez C. , Tikhonov D. S. , Bernhard D. , Stamm A. , Medcraft C. , Gerhards M. , Schnell M.
Published: October 2020

We report on a detailed multi-spectroscopic analysis of the structures and internal dynamics of diphenylether and its aggregates with up to three water molecules by employing molecular beam experiments.
Equipment-free photothermal effect promoted self-healing and self-recovery of hydrogels
Authors: Zhang Xinjie , Liang Xuechen , Huang Qichen , Zhang Han , Liu Changkun , Liu Yizhen
Published: October 2020

The self-repair of hydrogel materials can be promoted under sunlight by adding a light-to-heat conversion substance during the synthetic process, which will greatly extend the service life of soft materials in the off-grid areas.
Effects of lipid heterogeneity on model human brain lipid membranes
Authors: Yee Sze May , Gillams Richard J. , McLain Sylvia E. , Lorenz Christian D.
Published: October 2020

Cell membranes naturally contain a heterogeneous lipid distribution.
In operando synchrotron X-ray studies of a novel spinel (Ni0.2Co0.2Mn0.2Fe0.2Ti0.2)3O4 high-entropy oxide for energy storage applications
Authors: Chen Tsung-Yi , Wang Syuan-Yu , Kuo Chun-Han , Huang Shao-Chu , Lin Ming-Hsien , Li Chih-Heng , Chen Hsin-Yi Tiffany , Wang Chun-Chieh , Liao Yen-Fa , Lin Chia-Ching , Chang Yu-Ming , Yeh Jien-Wei , Lin Su-Jien , Chen Tsan-Yao , Chen Han-Yi
Published: October 2020

This work provides various methods for understanding the mechanism of a novel spinel high-entropy oxide (Ni0.2Co0.2Mn0.2Fe0.2Ti0.2)3O4 in energy storage applications.
Preparation of sulfur-doped carbon quantum dots from lignin as a sensor to detect Sudan I in an acidic environment
Authors: Yang Xiaoxu , Guo Yanzhu , Liang Shuang , Hou Shiyao , Chu Tingting , Ma Jiliang , Chen Xiaohong , Zhou Jinghui , Sun Runcang
Published: October 2020

To achieve a rapid and facile quantitative evaluation of Sudan I illegally added in ketchup, fluorescent carbon quantum dots with excellent stability in acidic environments are required as the actual pH value of ketchup is close to 4.0.
Bioreactivity of decellularized animal, plant, and fungal scaffolds: perspectives for medical applications
Authors: Predeina Aleksandra L. , Dukhinova Marina S. , Vinogradov Vladimir V.
Published: October 2020

With the integrated evaluation of the scaffold profile in the living systems, the decellularized animal, plant, and fungal scaffolds will become essential instruments for safe and controllable biomedical applications.