bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Individual variation in preference behavior in sailfin fish refines the neurotranscriptomic pathway for mate preference
Authors: Young Rebecca L. , Price Sarah M. , Schumer Molly , Wang Silu , Cummings Molly E.
Published: July 2023

Social interactions can drive distinct gene expression profiles which may vary by social context. Here we use female sailfin molly fish (Poecilia latipinna) to identify genomic profiles associated with preference behavior in distinct social contexts: male interactions (mate choice) versus female interactions (shoaling partner preference). We measured the behavior of 15 females interacting in a non‐contact environment with either two males or two females for 30 min followed by whole‐brain transcriptomic profiling by RNA sequencing. We profiled females that exhibited high levels of social affiliation and great variation in preference behavior to identify an order of magnitude more differentially expressed genes associated with behavioral variation than by differences in social context. Using a linear model (limma), we took advantage of the individual variation in preference behavior to identify unique gene sets that exhibited distinct correlational patterns of expression with preference behavior in each social context. By combining limma and weighted gene co‐expression network analyses (WGCNA) approaches we identified a refined set of 401 genes robustly associated with mate preference that is independent of shoaling partner preference or general social affiliation. While our refined gene set confirmed neural plasticity pathways involvement in moderating female preference behavior, we also identified a significant proportion of discovered that our preference‐associated genes were enriched for ‘immune system’ gene ontology categories. We hypothesize that the association between mate preference and transcriptomic immune function is driven by the less well‐known role of these genes in neural plasticity which is likely involved in higher‐order learning and processing during mate choice decisions.
Year‐round weather alters nest‐provisioning rates in a migratory owl
Authors: Stein Eliza D. , Midway Stephen R. , Linkhart Brian D.
Published: July 2023

As global temperatures and precipitation become more extreme, habitat specialists are at particular risk of being pushed past their environmental tolerance limits. Flammulated Owls (Psiloscops flammeolus) are small migratory owls that breed in temperate conifer forests of western North America. Their highly specialized nesting and foraging requirements make them indicators of ecosystem health. Using 17 years of nest observations, we investigated how annual weather patterns affected Flammulated Owl nesting and foraging behaviors during the breeding season. We used generalized linear models with a changepoint parameter to evaluate nest provisioning and nestling growth rates in years of extreme temperature and precipitation. We also evaluated how adult mass, division of labor, and productivity varied based on precipitation and temperature. Compared to wet and warm years, adults made more frequent prey deliveries to nestlings in dry and cold years, particularly early in the night and early in the season, and they experienced earlier changepoints in these years. We found a significant effect of temperature on the number of fledglings in broods, but weather did not affect other variables including productivity, nestling growth rates, adult masses, and division of labor. Our findings suggest that extreme annual weather patterns influence insect prey availability during the Flammulated Owl breeding season, forcing adults to work harder to provision for nests during dry and cold years. While productivity and nestling growth did not vary between years, these may incur a long‐term tradeoff in adult survival.
Large language models in health care: Development, applications, and challenges
Authors: Yang Rui , Tan Ting Fang , Lu Wei , Thirunavukarasu Arun James , Ting Daniel Shu Wei , Liu Nan
Published: July 2023

Recently, the emergence of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, has attracted significant attention due to its exceptional language comprehension and content generation capabilities, highlighting the immense potential of large language models (LLMs). LLMs have become a burgeoning hotspot across many fields, including health care. Within health care, LLMs may be classified into LLMs for the biomedical domain and LLMs for the clinical domain based on the corpora used for pre‐training. In the last 3 years, these domain‐specific LLMs have demonstrated exceptional performance on multiple natural language processing tasks, surpassing the performance of general LLMs as well. This not only emphasizes the significance of developing dedicated LLMs for the specific domains, but also raises expectations for their applications in health care. We believe that LLMs may be used widely in preconsultation, diagnosis, and management, with appropriate development and supervision. Additionally, LLMs hold tremendous promise in assisting with medical education, medical writing and other related applications. Likewise, health care systems must recognize and address the challenges posed by LLMs.
Speedy activists: How firm response time to sociopolitical events influences consumer behavior
Authors: Nam Jimin , Balakrishnan Maya , De Freitas Julian , Brooks Alison Wood
Published: July 2023

Organizations face growing pressure from their consumers and stakeholders to take public stances on sociopolitical issues. However, many are hesitant to do so lest they make missteps, promises they cannot keep, appear inauthentic, or alienate consumers, employees, or other stakeholders. Here we investigate consumers' impressions of firms that respond quickly or slowly to sociopolitical events. Using data scraped from Instagram and three online experiments (N = 2452), we find that consumers express more positive sentiment and greater purchasing intentions toward firms that react more quickly to sociopolitical issues. Unlike other types of public firm decision making such as product launch, where careful deliberation can be appreciated, consumers treat firm response time to sociopolitical events as an informative cue of the firm's authentic commitment to the issue. We identify an important boundary condition of this main effect: speedy responses bring limited benefits when the issue is highly divisive along political lines. Our findings bridge extant research on brand activism and communication, and offer practical advice for firms.
Association between history of academic failure during dental school and self‐reported depression, anxiety, and stress: A retrospective cohort
Authors: Garcia Francielli Fernandez , Casarin Maísa , Silva Francisco Hecktheuer , Muniz Francisco Wilker Mustafa Gomes
Published: July 2023

Objective

To investigate the association between history of academic failure (HAF) and self‐reported depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate dental students.

Methods

This study involved 244 dental students from one university. An online questionnaire collected information on the following variables: socioeconomic status, behavior, use of licit/illicit drugs, and the choice of dentistry as an undergraduate field of study. The 21‐item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS‐21) was applied. HAF in at least one subject during a participant's undergraduate tenure was defined as the main outcome. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Poisson regression with robust variance. In addition, a subgroup analysis was performed for the variable “dentistry as the first choice for undergraduate studies.”

Results

The prevalence of HAF was 25.00% (n = 61). Among those students, the mean number of academic failures was 5.41 ± 6.38 (range: 1–33). Higher rates of HAF were observed among older and non‐white dental students. Moreover, those who self‐reported at least severe depression presented a 79% higher HAF prevalence ratio (PR) (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.15–2.80). Similar findings were detected among those who reported (PR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.06–4.46) or did not report (PR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.10–4.46) interest in dentistry as a first undergraduate option. Conversely, among women and students who did not choose dentistry as their first option, HAF was significantly lower (PR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.21–0.80).

Conclusion

Higher HAF rates are observed in students who are older, non‐white, and self‐report at least severe depression. However, dentistry as a first option for undergraduate studies was not associated with HAF.
Age differences in long‐term mortality among male nonveterans, noncombat veterans, and combat veterans
Authors: Landes Scott D. , Piazza Jennifer R.
Published: July 2023

Research documenting differences in mortality risk across the life course between veterans and nonveterans has not accounted for combat status. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined differences in long‐term mortality among midlife and older‐adult male nonveterans, noncombat veterans, and combat veterans. Data were drawn from Wave 2 (2004/2005) of the Midlife Development in the United States survey and linked to 2020 mortality data (N = 2,024). Based on interpretation of a veteran‐combat status by age interaction term, compared to nonveterans, noncombat veterans experienced a mortality advantage at younger ages, ORmain effect = 0.12, 95% CI [0.03, 0.54], p = .006, and a mortality disadvantage at older ages, ORinteraction term = 1.06, 95% CI [1.01, 1.05], p = .004, with the crossover occurring at 73.4 years. A similar pattern was present among combat veterans, with the mortality advantage at younger ages not reaching significance, ORmain effect = 0.16; 95% CI [0.02, 1.18], p = .072; a mortality advantage at older ages, ORinteraction term = 1.03, 95% CI [1.00, 1.05], p = .040; and the crossover occurring 4.2 years earlier at 69.2 years. The findings suggest that combat status may accelerate the age‐related mortality disadvantage among veterans. Studies of health and mortality outcomes among veterans should, therefore, account for combat status. When data allow, future studies should confirm whether this pattern is present in nationally representative samples.
Avoiding Medvedev reductions inside a linear order
Authors: Schweber Noah
Published: July 2023

While every endpointed interval I in a linear order J is, considered as a linear order in its own right, trivially Muchnik‐reducible to J itself, this fails for Medvedev‐reductions. We construct an extreme example of this: a linear order in which no endpointed interval is Medvedev‐reducible to any other, even allowing parameters, except when the two intervals have finite difference. We also construct a scattered linear order which has many endpointed intervals Medvedev‐incomparable to itself; the only other known construction of such a linear order yields an ordinal of extremely high complexity, whereas this construction produces a low‐level‐arithmetic example. Additionally, the constructions here are “coarse” in the sense that they lift to other uniform reducibility notions in place of Medvedev reducibility itself.
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZJ316 Reduces Helicobacter pylori Adhesion and Inflammation by Inhibiting the Expression of Adhesin and Urease Genes
Authors: Wu Shiying , Xu Yang , Chen Ziqi , Chen Yongqiang , Wei Fangtong , Xia Chenlan , Zhou Qingqing , Li Ping , Gu Qing
Published: July 2023

Scope

The present study aims to investigate the anti‐Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZJ316 (L. plantarum ZJ316) both in vitro and in vivo.

Methods and results

This study finds that L. plantarum ZJ316 effectively suppresses H. pylori adhesion in inhibition (Pre‐ZJ316), competition (Co‐ZJ316), and displacement (Post‐ZJ316) assays, and Pre‐ZJ316 displaying the most potent inhibitory effect with an impressive inhibition ratio of 70.14%. Upon anti‐adhesion, L. plantarum ZJ316 significantly downregulates the expression of H. pylori virulence genes, including ureA, ureB, flaA, and sabA, with inhibition ratios of 46.83%, 24.02%, 21.42%, and 62.38% at 2 h, respectively. In addition, L. plantarum ZJ316 is observed to reduce the level of interleukin 8 (IL‐8) and improve cell viability in infected AGS cells. Furthermore, in vivo studies show that supplementation with L. plantarum ZJ316 effectively hinders H. pylori colonization and significantly suppresses the infiltration of immune cells and IL‐8 production with H. pylori infection, protecting host from inflammatory damage.

Conclusion

L. plantarum ZJ316 exhibits excellent adhesion inhibition on H. pylori, and may be used as a probiotic candidate in the prevention or adjuvant therapy of gastric disease caused by H. pylori.
Pterostilbene Enhances Thermogenesis and Mitochondrial Biogenesis by Activating the SIRT1/PGC‐1α/SIRT3 Pathway to Prevent Western Diet‐Induced Obesity
Authors: Koh Yen‐Chun , Lin Shin‐Jhih , Hsu Kai‐Yu , Nagabhushanam Kalyanam , Ho Chi‐Tang , Pan Min‐Hsiung
Published: July 2023

Scope

Sirtuin 1/peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma co‐activator 1 alpha (SIRT1/PGC‐1α) pathway activation is known to promote thermogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis. Pterostilbene (PSB) and pinostilbene (PIN), the methylated analogs of resveratrol, are potential candidates to enhance thermogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis.

Method and results

A model of Western diet‐induced obesity in mice is designed. Either PSB or PIN is supplemented in the diet for 16 weeks. Both samples can significantly reduce body weight gain but only PSB can decrease inguinal adipose tissue weight. Besides, both samples can promote lipolysis but only PSB supplementation activates the SIRT1/PGC‐1α/SIRT3 pathway to enhance mitochondrial biogenesis and thermogenesis in the inguinal adipose tissue. In addition, although both samples exert a modulatory effect on gut microbiota but significant increments in fecal isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid are only observed in the PSB group, functioning as gut microbial metabolites.

Conclusion

Overall, these findings suggest PSB and PIN as potential candidates for the improvement of obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis. With its higher stability, PSB exerts a greater effect than PIN by promoting thermogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis via SIRT1 activation.
Motion‐resolved four‐dimensional abdominal diffusion‐weighted imaging using PROPELLER EPI (4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI)
Authors: Wang Lu , Li Tian , Cai Jing , Chang Hing‐Chiu
Published: July 2023

Purpose

To develop a distortion‐free motion‐resolved four‐dimensional diffusion‐weighted PROPELLER EPI (4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI) technique for benefiting clinical abdominal radiotherapy (RT).

Methods

An improved abdominal 4D‐DWI technique based on 2D diffusion‐weighted PROPELLER‐EPI (2D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI), termed 4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI, was proposed to improve the frame rate of repeated data acquisition and produce distortion‐free 4D‐DWI images. Since the radial or PROPELLER sampling with golden‐angle rotation can achieve an efficient k‐space coverage with a flexible time‐resolved acquisition, the golden‐angle multi‐blade acquisition was used in the proposed 4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI to improve the performance of data sorting. A new k‐space and blade (K‐B) amplitude binning method was developed for the proposed 4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI to optimize the number of blades and the k‐space uniformity before performing conventional PROPELLER‐EPI reconstruction, by using two metrics to evaluate the adequacy of the acquired data. The proposed 4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI was preliminarily evaluated in both simulation experiments and in vivo experiments with varying frame rates and different numbers of repeated acquisition.

Results

The feasibility of achieving distortion‐free 4D‐DWI images by using the proposed 4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI technique was demonstrated in both digital phantom and healthy subjects. Evaluation of the 4D completeness metrics shows that the K‐B amplitude binning method could simultaneously improve the acquisition efficiency and data reconstruction performance for 4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI.

Conclusion

4D‐DW‐PROPELLER‐EPI with K‐B amplitude binning is an advanced technique that can provide distortion‐free 4D‐DWI images for resolving respiratory motion, and may benefit the application of image‐guided abdominal RT.
Access to first contact physiotherapy appointments in primary care: A scoping review
Authors: Lamb Kirsten , Comer Christine , Walsh Nicola , McHugh Gretl
Published: July 2023

Background

First Contact Physiotherapy (FCP) is part of the drive to increase General Practice (GP) capacity by providing access to expert musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapists in GP surgeries. For the FCP model to provide effective MSK care at the start of the patient's journey, it is essential that patients are directed to FCP appointments in a timely manner. It is therefore important to know how patients are accessing FCP appointments.

Objective

To provide an overview of the literature regarding patient access to FCP appointments.

Design

Scoping review.

Methods

We reviewed studies published from January 2016 to May 2023 that focused on FCP and made a mention of patient access to FCP appointments. A search was performed using six databases as well as grey literature sources. Study selection and data extraction were independently conducted by two reviewers. Extracted data were tabulated and analysed according to our research questions.

Results

From 186 records identified, 24 studies and other materials were included in the review. A variety of terms were used to describe access routes to FCP appointments, the most common being ‘signposting’. These studies suggest the importance of the role of GP reception/administrative staff in enabling efficient patient access to FCP appointments.

Conclusion

There is a clear gap in the literature concerning how patients access FCP appointments. Since the importance of appropriate access is acknowledged as an essential feature of the expansion of FCP in Primary Care, future research is needed to refine and implement optimal FCP access models by identifying the key components needed to ensure timely and appropriate access to FCP.
Review tips for handling pre‐admission requests from students with disabilities
Authors: Lyerly Eric
Published: July 2023

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits postsecondary institutions from denying a student admission on the basis of disability (34 C.F.R. § 104.42). Many institutions understand they cannot make preadmission inquiries into whether an applicant has disabilities. Indeed, at most colleges and universities, the risk of direct discrimination by denying admission to a student with disabilities is minimal.
Rawls in the mangrove: Perceptions of justice in nature‐based solutions projects
Authors: Huxham Mark , Kairu Anne , Lang'at Joseph K. , Kivugo Rahma , Mwafrica Mwanarusi , Huff Amber , Shilland Robyn
Published: July 2023

Adapting to and mitigating against climate change requires the protection and expansion of natural carbon sinks, especially ecosystems with exceptional carbon density such as mangrove forests (an example of ‘blue carbon’). Projects that do this are called ‘nature‐based solutions’ (NbS).

International norms regulating NbS stipulate the importance of justice, in contrast with some of the history and practice in wider conservation. However, what justice means and how it manifests in practice remain contentious.

Selling carbon credits on the voluntary market is a growing source of funding for NbS. A large literature examines the ethics, economics, science and politics of such payments for ecosystem services (PES), including for blue carbon. The interpretations of justice in this context are particularly contentious, but operational blue carbon projects have not been examined from a justice perspective.

Here we report on a case study involving the first blue carbon project, Mikoko Pamoja, and its sister project Vanga Blue Forest, both based in Kenya. We consider how justice is conceived by local participants and beneficiaries, using interviews, focus groups and participant observation to collect data, as well as by international stakeholders and in relevant governing documents and policy. We compare these perceptions with expectations and critiques derived a priori from the literature, including a classic thought experiment that influential justice philosopher John Rawls called the ‘original position’.

In contrast to high‐level policy and much of the literature, but in common with Rawls, local stakeholders emphasised distributional aspects of justice. Locally situated interpretations of contentious issues such as elite capture and commodification differed markedly from common interpretations in the literature.

Our work emphasises the importance of situating abstract concepts in their local contexts when evaluating justice in NbS projects. It shows how narratives advocating technical precision and economic efficiency in NbS can militate against transparency and agency at a local level and emphasises the critical importance of benefit sharing that is perceived to be fair.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Improved organ sparing using auto‐planned Stanford volumetric modulated arc therapy for total body irradiation technique
Authors: Ngo Nicholas , Blomain Erik S. , Simiele Eric , Romero Ignacio , Hoppe Richard T. , Hiniker Susan M. , Kovalchuk Nataliya
Published: July 2023

Purpose/objectives

To evaluate dosimetric differences between auto‐planned volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) total body irradiation (TBI) technique and two‐dimensional radiotherapy using anterior‐posterial/posterio‐anterial beams (2D AP/PA) TBI technique.

Methods

Ten pediatric patients treated with VMAT‐TBI on Varian c‐arm linac were included in this study. VMAT‐TBI plans were generated using our in‐house developed and publicly shared auto‐planning scripts. For each VMAT‐TBI plan, a 2D AP/PA plan was created replicating the institution's clinical setup with the patient positioned at extended source to skin distance (SSD) with a compensator to account for differences in patient thickness, 50% transmission daily lung blocks, and electron chest wall boosts prescribed to 50% of the photon prescription. Clinically relevant metrics were analyzed and compared between the VMAT and 2D plans.

Results

All VMAT‐TBI plans achieved planned target volume (PTV) D90% ≥ 100% of prescription. VMAT‐TBI PTV D90% significantly increased (7.1% ± 2.9%, p < .001) compared to the 2D technique, whereas no differences were observed in global Dmax (p < .2) and PTV V110% (p < .4). Compared to the 2D plans, significant decreases in the Dmean to the lungs (−25.6% ± 11.5%, p < .001) and lungs‐1 cm (−34.1% ± 10.1%, p < .001) were observed with the VMAT plans. The VMAT technique also enabled decrease of dose to other organs: kidneys Dmean (−32.5% ± 5.0%, p < .001) and lenses Dmax (−5.3% ± 8.1%, p = .03); and in addition, for 2 Gy prescription: testes/ovaries Dmean (−41.5% ± 11.5%, p < .001), brain Dmean (−22.6% ± 5.4%, p = .002), and thyroid Dmean (−18.2% ± 16.0%, p = .03).

Conclusions

Superior lung sparing with improved target coverage and similar global Dmax were observed with the VMAT plans as compared to 2D plans. In addition, VMAT‐TBI plans provided greater dose reductions in gonads, kidneys, brain, thyroid, and lenses.
Experimental investigation of impact resistance and compression behavior of CF/PEEK laminates after hot‐press fusion repair with different stacking sequences
Authors: Liu Ankang , Zou Yajun , Chen Yunlong , Hu Jiqiang , Wang Bing
Published: July 2023

Unidirectional fiber‐reinforced composite laminates have limited resistance to out‐of‐plane impact and are prone to structural integrity damage during service due to low‐velocity impact (LVI). In this study, the hot‐press fusion method was employed to repair the impact‐damaged unidirectional carbon fiber‐reinforced poly‐ether‐ether‐ketone (CF/PEEK) thermoplastic composites. No delamination or matrix cracking induced by impact was observed in the repaired specimens, as confirmed by ultrasonic scanning and digital microscope. In addition, the hot pressing treatment enables the fibers to be covered again by the resin matrix, which eliminates fiber pull‐out and fiber/matrix debonding. Afterward, typical responses of CF/PEEK composite laminates to re‐impact and post‐repair compression are presented in a comprehensive and detailed manner, and compared with the initial impact response and compression after impact (CAI) behavior. The effects of three impact energies and two stacking sequences are considered. The results indicate that quasi‐isotropic laminates are more susceptible to localized fracture damage upon re‐impact as the impact energy increases, due to initial fiber breakage, compared to orthotropic laminates. The hot‐press treatment enhances the compression residual strength of the specimen by 20%–30% compared to its state before repair. These studies offer technical insights into the application of the hot‐press fusion method to enhance the mechanical properties of composite laminates post impact damage.
Glycogen storage disease type I: Genetic etiology, clinical manifestations, and conventional and gene therapies
Authors: Zhong Jiamin , Gou Yannian , Zhao Piao , Dong Xiangyu , Guo Meichun , Li Aohua , Hao Ailing , Luu Hue H. , He Tong‐Chuan , Reid Russell R. , Fan Jiaming
Published: July 2023

Glycogen storage disease type I (GSDI) is an inherited metabolic disorder characterized by a deficiency of enzymes or proteins involved in glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, resulting in excessive intracellular glycogen accumulation. While GSDI is classified into four different subtypes based on molecular genetic variants, GSDIa accounts for approximately 80%. GSDIa and GSDIb are autosomal recessive disorders caused by deficiencies in glucose‐6‐phosphatase (G6Pase‐α) and glucose‐6‐phosphate‐transporter (G6PT), respectively. For the past 50 years, the care of patients with GSDI has been improved following elaborate dietary managements. GSDI patients currently receive dietary therapies that enable patients to improve hypoglycemia and alleviate early symptomatic signs of the disease. However, dietary therapies have many limitations with a risk of calcium, vitamin D, and iron deficiency and cannot prevent long‐term complications, such as progressive liver and renal failure. With the deepening understanding of the pathogenesis of GSDI and the development of gene therapy technology, there is great progress in the treatment of GSDI. Here, we review the underlying molecular genetics and the current clinical management strategies of GSDI patients with an emphasis on promising experimental gene therapies.
Microwave heating and devolatilization characteristics of polyethylene particles in a fixed‐bed devolatilizer
Authors: Wu Dan , Huang Zhengliang , Yang Yao , Shuai Yun , Ren Congjing , Sun Jingyuan , Wang Jingdai , Yang Yongrong
Published: July 2023

A new method of microwave‐enhanced devolatilization has been proposed to solve the problem that volatiles of polyethylene particles are difficult to remove. Using water as microwave susceptor in a fixed‐bed devolatilizer, microwave heating characteristics were studied by optical fiber thermometry and infrared thermal imaging, and particle devolatilization characteristics were investigated by headspace gas chromatography. The results showed that bed temperature rose and particle devolatilization efficiency increased with heating time, moisture content, and input microwave power. The non‐uniform devolatilization at different positions existed due to the non‐uniform distribution of bed temperature in both radial and axial directions. The effective diffusion coefficient of volatiles under microwave irradiation increased with moisture content and input microwave power, and the microwave‐enhanced coefficient of water also increased with input microwave power. Microwave heating and devolatilization mechanism of moist polyethylene particles were proposed, in which the modes of mass and energy transfer were clarified. In view of the above, the feasibility of microwave‐enhanced polyethylene devolatilization has been confirmed.
The applications of cold atmospheric plasma in dentistry
Authors: Silva Neusa , Marques Joana , da Cruz Mariana B. , Luís Henrique , Sério Susana , Mata António
Published: July 2023

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), as a noninvasive technology, has shown promise in dentistry as it might successfully treat various oral conditions. The antimicrobial capacity of CAP has been proven and it is effective in reducing the main microorganisms responsible for oral infections. Furthermore, CAP has also been explored in the field of tissue regeneration with a great response from both soft and hard tissue. The surface modification ability of CAP is another area of interest, revealing a potential improvement in the osseointegration of dental implants. Additionally, there are other areas within dentistry that have studied the use of CAP, such as surface disinfection, bleaching, and cavity preparation.
Improving protein structure prediction with extended sequence similarity searches and deep‐learning‐based refinement in CASP15
Authors: Oda Toshiyuki
Published: July 2023

The human predictor team PEZYFoldings got first place with the assessor's formulae (3rd place with Global Distance Test Total Score [GDT‐TS]) in the single‐domain category and 10th place in the multimer category in Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction 15. In this paper, I describe the exact method used by PEZYFoldings in the competition. As AlphaFold2 and AlphaFold‐Multimer, developed by DeepMind, were state‐of‐the‐art structure prediction tools, it was assumed that enhancing the input and output of the tools was an effective strategy to obtain the highest accuracy for structure prediction. Therefore, I used additional tools and databases to collect evolutionarily related sequences and introduced a deep‐learning‐based model in the refinement step. In addition to these modifications, manual interventions were performed to address various tasks. Detailed analyses were performed after the competition to identify the main contributors to performance. Comparing the number of evolutionarily related sequences I used with those of the other teams that provided AlphaFold2's baseline predictions revealed that an extensive sequence similarity search was one of the main contributors. Nonetheless, there were specific targets for which I could not identify any evolutionarily related sequences, resulting in my inability to construct accurate structures for these targets. Notably, I noticed that I had gained large Z‐scores with the subunits of H1137, for which I performed manual domain parsing considering the interfaces between the subunits. This finding implies that the manual intervention contributed to my performance. The influence of the refinement model on the accuracy of structure prediction was minimal. I could have predicted structures with a similar level of accuracy without employing the refinement model. However, from the perspective of accuracy self‐estimate, many structures demonstrated improvement after refinement. This improvement likely had a substantial influence on improving my position in the assessor's formulae rankings. These results highlight the opportunities for improvement in (1) multimer prediction, (2) building of larger and more diverse databases, and (3) developing tools to predict structures from primary sequences alone. In addition, transferring the manual intervention process to automation is a future concern.
Women's experience and long‐term perspectives: A qualitative substudy of a randomised controlled trial on weight reduction prior to in vitro fertilisation
Authors: Kluge Linda , Holter Herborg , Bergh Christina , Thurin‐Kjellberg Ann
Published: July 2023

Introduction

Obesity is associated with impaired results after in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Consequently, several fertility clinics have set limits of body mass index (BMI) and obese infertile women are thus obliged to lose weight before treatment. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have not been able to show an increase in live birth rate after weight reduction before fertility treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the patients' experiences and views of participating in a RCT on weight reduction for obese women before IVF, in a long‐term perspective.

Methods

A qualitative follow‐up interview study including 17 women was performed between September and December 2020. The interviewed women had all been included in an RCT around 6 years earlier. Semistructured interviews were conducted, the interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using thematic content analysis.

Results

During the analysis two main themes emerged; ‘Pros and cons related to trial participation’ and ‘Message to health care’. Several women were excited about the prospect of possibly receiving weight reduction before IVF. The women appreciated the support during the intervention but expressed that the diet was tough, and it was hard to maintain the weight loss. Their views regarding BMI limits differed. They advocated an individual assessment regardless of the woman's BMI and expressed that it could be of value to offer weight reduction treatment before IVF.

Conclusions

Even though the RCT and a 2‐year follow‐up could not show an increase in live birth rate in the intervention group most women had a positive attitude to weight reduction treatment before IVF. The importance of this study is that the views of the women have been highlighted and their opinions can add valuable information for fertility clinics in their care of obese infertile women.
Learn how to apply the art of negotiation in your daily work
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: July 2023

BOSTON — In your daily interactions with students, staff, and others, the art of negotiation can come in handy and can make you and others feel empowered. Some common scenarios might include negotiating salaries for you or your staff, a personal or departmental purchase, or sanctions for students. For example, if you ask students what their consequences should be or how long they think their suspension should last, they can leave feeling like they got what they wanted and they will be more invested in the outcome while you also achieve your intended goal.
University president successfully manages change
Authors: D’Orio Wayne
Published: July 2023

Southern New Hampshire University is known for excelling at online education, attracting students, and managing change even as it's grown to 180,000 students with an annual revenue of $1.3 billion and 10,000 employees. I caught up with President Paul LeBlanc to discuss how he successfully leads through change.
Suppressing Interfacial Side Reactions of Anode‐Free Lithium Batteries by an Organic Salt Monolayer
Authors: Wu Ningyu , Wang Min , Shadike Zulipiya , Hu Zhe , Hu Yanhong , Gao Yue
Published: July 2023

Anode‐free lithium (Li) batteries are attractive owing to their high energy density. However, Li loss by forming solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) during cell activation leads to a ≈25% capacity decrease, and the capacity constantly fades upon cycling due to the side reactions on the copper (Cu) current collector. This paper reports high‐initial‐efficiency, long‐cycle‐life, and long‐calendar‐life anode‐free Li batteries by using an organic Li salt monolayer bonded on Cu. The functional salt, namely lithium ((4‐carbamoylphenyl)sulfonyl)(fluorosulfonyl)imide, electrochemically decomposes and passivates the Cu surface, which reduces Li sacrifice by SEI formation and suppresses galvanic Li corrosion and Li‐electrolyte reactions during cycling. This work records a LiF‐rich interphase on Cu and guided Li nucleation and growth. A 93.6% initial Li deposition efficiency is realized in a regular carbonate electrolyte, and the galvanic current is decreased to ≈40 nA cm−2, merely one‐tenth of bare Cu. After cell activation, 95.2% capacity is retained for a Cu|LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1 pouch cell with a theoretical capacity of 200 mAh, and the cell is operated over 600 cycles. Calendar aging showed no damage to cell performance.
Metal‐Organic Framework Derived Multidimensional Carbon/Multifluorination Epoxy Nanocomposite with Electromagnetic Wave Absorption, Environmentally Adaptive, and Blue Energy Harvesting
Authors: Li Kun , Han Liuwenlin , Zhang Junying , Cheng Jue
Published: July 2023

Bimetallic metal−organic framework (MOF)‐derived multidimensional composites have garnered tremendous attention in electromagnetic wave absorption owing to their remarkable attenuation capacity. And the diversified application scenarios require microwaves absorption materials (MAMs) with robust environmentally adaptive, but efficiently integrating multifunctionality within single MAMs is extremely challenging. Herein, a multifunctional CoC@FeNiG‐F nanocomposite is fabricated by synergistic strategy of in situ growth, C–F···π interaction and microwave irradiation. The MAMs exhibit a strong reflection loss of −75.18 dB with 3.95 GHz effective absorption bandwidth benefited from magnetic–dielectric attenuation, impedance matching, and multiple‐reflection loss. Remarkably, it is first time to obtain the efficient MAMs accompanied with excellent mechanical (80.3 MPa), superamphiphobicity (153° and 151°), anticorrosion (45 d), and flame retardancy (V‐0 rating), which illustrate that the combination of CoC@FeNiG 3D‐skeleton and long‐chain perfluorinated epoxy remarkably improve robust multifunctionality and environmentally adaptive. In particular, the MAMs are assembled into liquid–solid triboelectric nanogenerator, and the output performance (19.7 V, 1.68 μA) and durability (10 000s) are obviously improved benefiting from the trap effect of carbonized MOF. Therefore, this work provides an efficient guideline for designing advanced MAMs with robust environmentally adaptive and sustainable energy harvesting performance in extreme environment application.
Phylogeny and revised classification of New World Ruellia
Authors: Manzitto‐Tripp Erin A. , Daniel Thomas F.
Published: July 2023

With ca. 375 species worldwide, Ruellia is a morphologically diverse and geographically widespread lineage of flowering plants. The majority of these species (ca. 275 of 375) occur in the New World (NW), with most of these occurring in the tropics and only about 65 occurring in temperate regions. In the NW, the genus spans some 77° of latitude, ranging from the northern United States (Wisconsin) to northeastern Argentina (Córdoba) and southern Uruguay (Canelones). In this study, we generated ddRAD molecular sequence data for 187 of 275 species of NW Ruellia (ca. 68% of NW species) to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within this lineage. Coupled with morphological and ecological information, we used this well‐resolved and strongly supported molecular phylogeny to delimit 15 sections of NW Ruellia. Representing the first comprehensive attempt in ca. 125 years, we present a revised classification for NW Ruellia, which places a total of 205 species in the following sections: Ruellia sect. Aphragmia, sect. Blechum, sect. Boreosilva, sect. Brasilia, sect. Cerradicola, sect. Chiropterophilae, sect. Chromatoruellia, sect. Eurychanes, sect. Gymnacanthus, sect. Mexicanae, sect. Physiruellia, sect. Ruellia, sect. Siphonacanthus, sect. Stephanophysum, and sect. Strobiliformes. Nomenclatural innovations in this study include the description of several new sections, new combinations, and new names proposed. Our study complements an earlier reclassification of Old World species to provide a globally unique perspective on the taxonomy and phylogeny of a geographically widespread lineage of flowering plants.
Circuit Optimization Using a Generalized Modification of the Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Zemliak Alexander
Published: July 2023

The solution to the problem of circuit optimization is obtained on the basis of a combination of a genetic algorithm (GA) and the idea of generalized optimization, developed earlier for the deterministic case. It is shown that such a GA modification allows one to overcome premature convergence to local minima and to increase the minimization accuracy by several orders of magnitude. In this case, GA forms a set of populations determined by the fitness function, given in different way, depending on the strategy chosen within the framework of the idea of generalized optimization. The way of setting fitness functions as well as the length and structure of chromosomes, are determined by a control vector artificially introduced within the framework of generalized optimization. This vector determines the number of independent variables of the optimization problem and the method for calculating the fitness function. It allows you to build compound strategies that significantly increase the accuracy of the resulting solution. This, in turn, makes it possible to reduce the number of generations required during the operation of the GA and minimize the processor time for solving the problem of circuit optimization. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Disclosures 4: Proving dependency through the IRS
Authors: Rainsberger Richard
Published: July 2023

Proving dependency of a student, if done right, can be a somewhat complicated process. However, this topic does not come into play if the student gives written or digital consent to disclose their education records to a parent. That would be the easiest of all worlds.
Current status of nano‐vaccinology in veterinary medicine science
Authors: Sadr Soheil , Poorjafari Jafroodi Parian , Haratizadeh Mohammad Javad , Ghasemi Zahra , Borji Hassan , Hajjafari Ashkan
Published: July 2023

Vaccination programmes provide a safe, effective and cost‐efficient strategy for maintaining population health. In veterinary medicine, vaccination not only reduces disease within animal populations but also serves to enhance public health by targeting zoonoses. Nevertheless, for many pathogens, an effective vaccine remains elusive. Recently, nanovaccines have proved to be successful for various infectious and non‐infectious diseases of animals. These novel technologies, such as virus‐like particles, self‐assembling proteins, polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes and virosomes, offer great potential for solving many of the vaccine production challenges. Their benefits include low immunotoxicity, antigen stability, enhanced immunogenicity, flexibility sustained release and the ability to evoke both humoral and cellular immune responses. Nanovaccines are more efficient than traditional vaccines due to ease of control and plasticity in their physio‐chemical properties. They use a highly targeted immunological approach which can provide strong and long‐lasting immunity. This article reviews the currently available nanovaccine technology and considers its utility for both infectious diseases and non‐infectious diseases such as auto‐immunity and cancer. Future research opportunities and application challenges from bench to clinical usage are also discussed.
Working with Omics Data: An Interdisciplinary Challenge at the Crossroads of Biology and Computer Science
Authors: Poinsignon Thibault , Poulain Pierre , Gallopin Mélina , Lelandais Gaëlle
Published: July 2023

Nowadays, generating omics data is a common activity for laboratories in biology. Experimental protocols to prepare biological samples are well described, and technical platforms to generate omics data from these samples are available in most research institutes. Furthermore, manufacturers constantly propose technical improvements, simultaneously decreasing the cost of experiments and increasing the amount of omics data obtained in a single experiment. In this context, biologists are facing the challenge of dealing with large omics datasets, also called “big data” or “data deluge.” Working with omics data raises issues usually handled by computer scientists, and thus cooperation between biologists and computer scientists has become essential to efficiently study cellular mechanisms in their entirety, as omics data promise. In this chapter, we define omics data, explain how they are produced, and, finally, present some of their applications in fundamental and medical research.
Medical Image Segmentation Using Deep Learning
Authors: Liu Han , Hu Dewei , Li Hao , Oguz Ipek
Published: July 2023

Image segmentation plays an essential role in medical image analysis as it provides automated delineation of specific anatomical structures of interest and further enables many downstream tasks such as shape analysis and volume measurement. In particular, the rapid development of deep learning techniques in recent years has had a substantial impact in boosting the performance of segmentation algorithms by efficiently leveraging large amounts of labeled data to optimize complex models (supervised learning). However, the difficulty of obtaining manual labels for training can be a major obstacle for the implementation of learning-based methods for medical images. To address this problem, researchers have investigated many semi-supervised and unsupervised learning techniques to relax the labeling requirements. In this chapter, we present the basic ideas for deep learning-based segmentation as well as some current state-of-the-art approaches, organized by supervision type. Our goal is to provide the reader with some possible solutions for model selection, training strategies, and data manipulation given a specific segmentation task and dataset.
Data-Driven Disease Progression Modeling
Authors: Oxtoby Neil P.
Published: July 2023

Intense debate in the neurology community before 2010 culminated in hypothetical models of Alzheimer’s disease progression: a pathophysiological cascade of biomarkers, each dynamic for only a segment of the full disease timeline. Inspired by this, data-driven disease progression modeling emerged from the computer science community with the aim to reconstruct neurodegenerative disease timelines using data from large cohorts of patients, healthy controls, and prodromal/at-risk individuals. This chapter describes selected highlights from the field, with a focus on utility for understanding and forecasting of disease progression.
Computational Pathology for Brain Disorders
Authors: Jiménez Gabriel , Racoceanu Daniel
Published: July 2023

Noninvasive brain imaging techniques allow understanding the behavior and macro changes in the brain to determine the progress of a disease. However, computational pathology provides a deeper understanding of brain disorders at cellular level, able to consolidate a diagnosis and make the bridge between the medical image and the omics analysis. In traditional histopathology, histology slides are visually inspected, under the microscope, by trained pathologists. This process is time-consuming and labor-intensive; therefore, the emergence of computational pathology has triggered great hope to ease this tedious task and make it more robust. This chapter focuses on understanding the state-of-the-art machine learning techniques used to analyze whole slide images within the context of brain disorders. We present a selective set of remarkable machine learning algorithms providing discriminative approaches and quality results on brain disorders. These methodologies are applied to different tasks, such as monitoring mechanisms contributing to disease progression and patient survival rates, analyzing morphological phenotypes for classification and quantitative assessment of disease, improving clinical care, diagnosing tumor specimens, and intraoperative interpretation. Thanks to the recent progress in machine learning algorithms for high-content image processing, computational pathology marks the rise of a new generation of medical discoveries and clinical protocols, including in brain disorders.