bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Associations between the use of insecticide-treated nets in early childhood and educational outcomes, marriage and child-bearing in early adulthood: evidence from a 22-year prospective cohort study in Tanzania
Authors: Mrema Sigilbert , Okumu Fredros , Schellenberg Joanna , Fink Günther
Published: April 2023

Background

The effectiveness of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in preventing malaria in young children is well established. However, the long-term effects of early childhood ITN use on educational outcomes, fertility, and marriage in early adulthood are not well understood.

Methods

This study uses 22 years of longitudinal data from rural Tanzania to investigate the associations between early life ITN use and educational attainment, fertility and marriage in early adulthood. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between early life ITN use and early adult outcomes (education, childbearing, and marriage), controlling for potential confounders, such as parental education, household asset quintiles, and year of birth. Analyses were conducted separately for men and women.

Results

A total of 6706 participants born between 1998 and 2000 were enrolled in the study between 1998 and 2003. By 2019 a total of 604 had died and a further 723 could not be found, leaving 5379 participants who were interviewed, among whom complete data were available for 5216. Among women, sleeping under a treated net at least half of the time during early childhood [“high ITN use”] was associated with a 13% increase in the odds of completing primary school (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.13 [0.85, 1.50]) and with a 40% increase in the odds of completing secondary school (aOR 1.40 [1.11, 1.76]) compared with women sleeping less frequently under ITNs in early life (< age 5 years). Among men, high ITN use was associated with a 50% increase in the odds of completing primary school (aOR 1.50 [1.18, 1.92]) and a 56% increase in the odds of completing secondary school (aOR 1.56 [1.16, 2.08]) compared to men with low ITN use in early life. Weaker associations were found between ITN use in early life and both adolescent childbearing (aOR 0.91 [0.75, 1.10]) and early marriage (aOR 0.86 [0.69, 1.05]).

Conclusion

This study found that early life use of ITNs was strongly associated with increased school completion in both men and women. More marginal associations were found between early-life ITN use and both marriage and child-bearing in early adulthood. ITN use during early childhood may have long-term positive effects on educational attainment in Tanzania. However, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind these associations and to explore the broader impacts of ITN use on other aspects of early adult life.
Biofilm and wound healing: from bench to bedside
Authors: Goswami Aakansha Giri , Basu Somprakas , Banerjee Tuhina , Shukla Vijay Kumar
Published: April 2023

The bubbling community of microorganisms, consisting of diverse colonies encased in a self-produced protective matrix and playing an essential role in the persistence of infection and antimicrobial resistance, is often referred to as a biofilm. Although apparently indolent, the biofilm involves not only inanimate surfaces but also living tissue, making it truly ubiquitous. The mechanism of biofilm formation, its growth, and the development of resistance are ever-intriguing subjects and are yet to be completely deciphered. Although an abundance of studies in recent years has focused on the various ways to create potential anti-biofilm and antimicrobial therapeutics, a dearth of a clear standard of clinical practice remains, and therefore, there is essentially a need for translating laboratory research to novel bedside anti-biofilm strategies that can provide a better clinical outcome. Of significance, biofilm is responsible for faulty wound healing and wound chronicity. The experimental studies report the prevalence of biofilm in chronic wounds anywhere between 20 and 100%, which makes it a topic of significant concern in wound healing. The ongoing scientific endeavor to comprehensively understand the mechanism of biofilm interaction with wounds and generate standardized anti-biofilm measures which are reproducible in the clinical setting is the challenge of the hour. In this context of “more needs to be done”, we aim to explore various effective and clinically meaningful methods currently available for biofilm management and how these tools can be translated into safe clinical practice.
Genome-wide analysis toward the epigenetic aetiology of myelodysplastic syndrome disease progression and pharmacoepigenomic basis of hypomethylating agents drug treatment response
Authors: Siamoglou Stavroula , Boers Ruben , Koromina Maria , Boers Joachim , Tsironi Anna , Chatzilygeroudi Theodora , Lazaris Vasileios , Verigou Evgenia , Kourakli Alexandra , van IJcken Wilfred F. J. , Gribnau Joost , Symeonidis Argiris , Patrinos George P.
Published: April 2023

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) consist of a group of hematological malignancies characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis, cytogenetic abnormalities, and often a high risk of transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). So far, there have been only a very limited number of studies assessing the epigenetics component contributing to the pathophysiology of these disorders, but not a single study assessing this at a genome-wide level. Here, we implemented a generic high throughput epigenomics approach, using methylated DNA sequencing (MeD-seq) of LpnPI digested fragments to identify potential epigenomic targets associated with MDS subtypes. Our results highlighted that PCDHG and ZNF gene families harbor potential epigenomic targets, which have been shown to be differentially methylated in a variety of comparisons between different MDS subtypes. Specifically, CpG islands, transcription start sites and post-transcriptional start sites within ZNF124, ZNF497 and PCDHG family are differentially methylated with fold change above 3,5. Overall, these findings highlight important aspects of the epigenomic component of MDS syndromes pathogenesis and the pharmacoepigenomic basis to the hypomethylating agents drug treatment response, while this generic high throughput whole epigenome sequencing approach could be readily implemented to other genetic diseases with a strong epigenetic component.
The role of emotion-related individual differences in enjoyment and masking smile judgment
Authors: Gallant Adèle , Pelot Annalie , Mazerolle Marie-Pier , Sonier René-Pierre , Roy-Charland Annie
Published: April 2023

Background

While some research indicates that individuals can accurately judge smile authenticity of enjoyment and masking smile expressions, other research suggest modest judgment rates of masking smiles. The current study explored the role of emotion-related individual differences in the judgment of authenticity and recognition of negative emotions in enjoyment and masking smile expressions as a potential explanation for the differences observed.

Methods

Specifically, Experiment 1 investigated the role of emotion contagion (Doherty in J Nonverbal Behav 21:131–154, 1997), emotion intelligence (Schutte et al. in Personality Individ Differ 25:167–177, 1998), and emotion regulation (Gratz and Roemer in J Psychopathol Behav Assess 26:41–54, 2004) in smile authenticity judgment and recognition of negative emotions in masking smiles. Experiment 2 investigated the role of state and trait anxiety (Spielberger et al. in Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, 1983) in smile authenticity judgment and recognition of negative emotions in the same masking smiles. In both experiments, repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted for judgment of authenticity, probability of producing the expected response, for the detection of another emotion, and for emotion recognition. A series of correlations were also calculated between the proportion of expected responses of smile judgement and the scores on the different subscales.

Results

Results of the smile judgment and recognition tasks were replicated in both studies, and echoed results from prior studies of masking smile judgment: participants rated enjoyment smiles as happier than the masking smiles and, of the masking smiles, participants responded “really happy” more often for the angry-eyes masking smiles and more often categorized fear masking smiles as “not really happy”.

Conclusions

Overall, while the emotion-related individual differences used in our study seem to have an impact on recognition of basic emotions in the literature, our study suggest that these traits, except for emotional awareness, do not predict performances on the judgment of complex expressions such as masking smiles. These results provide further information regarding the factors that do and do not contribute to greater judgment of smile authenticity and recognition of negative emotions in masking smiles.
Resource loss, coping strategies and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in survivors of the 2020 Croatia earthquake
Authors: Löw Ajana , Lotar Rihtarić Martina , Vrselja Ivana
Published: April 2023

Background

Conservation of resources theory (COR) establishes a link between resource loss and the stress response. The aim of this study was to assess the contribution of resource loss in the form of home damage and the choice of active or passive coping strategies to PTSD symptoms in survivors of the 2020 Petrinja (Croatia) earthquake.

Methods

A total of 374 adults (29.9% men) aged 18–64 years living in the counties surrounding the epicenter of the Petrinja (Croatia) earthquake participated in an online cross-sectional survey. The questionnaire included the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), the Coping Inventory, and the binary item assessing whether or not the participants' home was damaged.

Results

Hierarchical regression analysis showed that home damage was a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms. Participants whose homes were damaged by the earthquake were significantly more likely to use passive coping strategies, namely avoidance and emotional venting, and one active coping strategy, action, than those whose homes were spared. Finally, more frequent use of passive coping was associated with a higher risk of PTSD symptoms.

Conclusions

The study corroborates the COR theory link between resource loss and the stress response, as well as the general consensus that passive coping is a less adaptive strategy than active coping. In addition to passive coping, individuals who lacked resources may have been inclined to take some active steps because they either needed to repair or relocate their homes and because most buildings were only moderately to minimally damaged in the Petrinja earthquake.
Mechanisms of trastuzumab induced cardiotoxicity – is exercise a potential treatment?
Authors: Eaton Holden , Timm Kerstin Nina
Published: April 2023

The use of the adjuvant therapeutic antibody trastuzumab in breast cancer is associated with a range of cardiotoxic side effects despite successfully reducing the severity of outcomes cancer patients,. The most common cardiac effect, a reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), is a known precursor to heart failure and often requires interruption of chemotherapy to avoid endangering patients further. An understanding of trastuzumab’s cardiac-specific interactions is therefore critical in devising new methods to not only avoid permanent cardiac damage, but also prolong treatment time, and therefore effectiveness, for breast cancer patients. Increasingly, the use of exercise as a treatment has been indicated across the field of cardio-oncology due to encouraging evidence that it can protect against LVEF reductions and heart failure. This review explores the mechanisms of trastuzumab-mediated cardiotoxicity, as well as the physiological effects of exercise on the heart, in order to assess the suitability of exercise intervention for breast cancer patients on trastuzumab antibody-therapy. We furthermore draw comparison to existing evidence for exercise intervention as a cardioprotective treatment in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Although preclinical evidence seems to support exercise-based approaches also in trastuzumab-cardiotoxicity, current clinical evidence is too limited to confidently recommend it as a treatment, largely owing to issues of adherence. Future studies should therefore examine how the variety and duration of exercise can be adjusted to improve treatment effectiveness at a more personalised level.
Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) isolates against life stages of Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Authors: Hintènou Micheline V. , Omoloye Adebayo A. , Douro Kpindou Ouorou K. , Karlsson Miriam F. , Djouaka Rousseau , Bokonon-Ganta Aimé H. , Tamȯ Manuele
Published: April 2023

Background

Entomopathogenic fungi are primary pathogens that naturally affect insect pests by suppressing their populations and considered as an ecofriendly agents. The present study aimed to evaluate in vitro activity of different isolates of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae against the development of larval stages of the Cucurbit fruit fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Results

Larval mortality was significantly high with B. bassiana isolate Bb337 (5.82–21.70%) and with the lowest in M. anisopliae isolate MaD (1.49–6.33%). Pupal mortality rate was comparatively higher with more than 50%. The cadavers of all host instars produced conidia (sporulation). Sporulated dead larvae were significantly higher in Bb337 (61.10%) than at the least in MaD (18.60%) at 105 conidia/ml. At 108 conidia/ml, MaD induced the highest pupal cadavers with mycosis (32.42%). Regardless of applied fungal species, host instars mortality significantly increased with increasing concentration of B. bassiana isolates, suggesting a concentration-dependent response of Z. cucurbitae.

Conclusion

The tested isolates demonstrated their pathogenicity through vertical transmission of mycosis from one instar to another, regardless of the concentrations used.
Microparticles: potential new contributors to the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis?
Authors: de Oliveira Sandra Maximiano , de Azevedo Teixeira Ighor Luiz , França Carolina Nunes , de Oliveira Izar Maria Cristina , Kayser Cristiane
Published: April 2023

Background

Microparticles (MPs) are membrane-derived vesicles released from cells undergoing activation or apoptosis with diverse proinflammatory and prothrombotic activities, that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). We aimed to evaluate the plasma levels of platelet-derived microparticles (PMPs), endothelial cell-derived microparticles (EMPs), and monocyte-derived microparticles (MMPs) in SSc patients, and the association between MPs and the clinical features of SSc.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 70 patients with SSc and 35 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were evaluated. Clinical and nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) data were obtained from all patients. Plasma levels of PMPs (CD42+/31+), EMPs (CD105+), and MMPs (CD14+) were quantified by flow cytometry.

Results

Patients were mainly females (90%), with a mean age of 48.9 years old. PMP, EMP, and MMP levels were significantly increased in SSc patients compared to controls (79.2% ± 17.3% vs. 71.0% ± 19.8%, p = 0.033; 43.5% ± 8.7% vs. 37.8% ± 10.4%, p = 0.004; and 3.5% ± 1.3% vs. 1.1% ± 0.5%, p < 0.0001, respectively). PMP levels were significantly higher in patients with positive anti-topoisomerase-I antibodies (p = 0.030) and in patients with a disease duration > 3 years (p = 0.038). EMP levels were lower in patients with a higher modified Rodnan skin score (p = 0.015), and in those with an avascular score > 1.5 in NFC (p = 0.042).

Conclusion

The increased levels of PMPs, EMPs and MMPs in scleroderma patients might indicate a possible role for these agents in the pathogenesis of this challenging disease.
Impedance drop determines ablation lesion volume at the same level of ablation index
Authors: Oh Seil , Choe Won-Seok , Lee So-Ryoung , Choi Eue-Keun
Published: April 2023

New parameters such as ablation index (AI) have been developed to create reliable ablation lesions. This study was performed to evaluate whether RF energy delivery with the same ablation index creates the similar ablation lesion volume. Ablation lesions were created in 5 pig hearts at ex-vivo state. Ablation was performed using an external-irrigation contact-force sensing catheter on the epicardial side of the left ventricle with 90-degree of angle. RF ablation time was adjusted for targeting AI 600 at 8 different conditions. Lesion volume created with 0–5 g of contact force at 20 W was significantly lower than that of 11–20 g at 40W despite of the same AI (125 ± 76.2 vs. 272 ± 49.5 mm3, P < 0.05). Quality of ablation lesion was variable in the condition of poor contact at low power for the ablation of ex-vivo swine left ventricle, and high-quality lesions could be expected when the impedance drop is satisfactory even though the same level of AI is applied during ablation.
Characterization of features and outcomes of young patients (< 45 years) presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction
Authors: Samir Ahmad , Almahjori Mohammed , Zarif Basem , Elshinawi Mai , Yehia Hesham , Elhafy Mohamed , Shehata Ahmed , Farrag Azza
Published: April 2023

Background

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the commonest cause of death worldwide. ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and its consequences can be devastating particularly at younger age for a bigger impact on the patient’s psychology and ability to work. Little is known about the differential features and outcomes of young STEMI patients in Egypt. This study characterized young STEMI patients (≤ 45 years) compared to patients > 45 years and evaluated 1-year outcomes.

Results

A total of 492 eligible STEMI patients who presented to the National Heart Institute and Cairo University Hospitals were recruited. Young STEMI patients (< 45 years old) represented 20% of all STEMI comers. Male gender was predominant in both groups, yet with a significantly higher proportion in the younger compared to older patients (87% vs. 73%, p = 0.004). Compared to older patients, young STEMI patients had characteristically higher rates of smoking (72.4% vs. 49.7%, p < 0.001) and family history (13.3% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.002), while significantly lower rate of other conventional CAD risk factors as diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia (20.4% vs. 44.7%, 20.4% vs. 44.9% and 12.7% vs. 21.8%, respectively, p < 0.05 for all). Follow-up was continued for at least 12 months after the index event. Younger STEMI patients had fewer major adverse cardiovascular events and fewer heart failure hospitalizations compared to the older controls (10.2 vs. 23.9% and 18.4% vs. 34.8%, respectively, p < 0.005 for both), however, 1-year mortality was similar (3.1% vs. 4.1%, p = 0.64).

Conclusions

Younger STEMI patients (≤ 45 years) show peculiar characteristics, with significantly higher rates of smoking and family history of premature CAD, while less prevalence of other conventional CAD risk factors. Overall MACE occurred less in younger STEMI patients; however, the mortality rate was similar to the older controls.
Problems associated with implementation of bioengineering in hill road construction in Nepal
Authors: Shah Prashant , Dahal Khetraj
Published: April 2023

The landslide disaster, feeble geology, rapid deforestation, poor drainage system, and increase in mechanical strain have weakened the Krishna Bhir slope, Prithvi Highway, Dhading, Nepal. The objective of this article was to study about the problems associated with bioengineering implementation in hill road construction with the future recommendations. For primary research, map study, field observation, in-depth interview, focus-group discussion, and questionnaire survey were used as an instrument for the field study. Published reports, papers, thesis, database and manuals, and field observation were also reviewed. Landslide caused the loss of property, ill effects on lifestyle, disturbance in movement of goods and services, loss of availability of water due to damage in water supply system, damage in sewage disposal system, etc. During the construction period using bioengineering technique, major problem occurred during installation of the bioengineered system (RII = 0.791), lack of training during construction (RII = 0.839), unavailability of space (RII = 0.817), inadequate supply of appropriate instruments (RII = 0.821), and improper selection of vegetation types (RII = 0.839). The major problems were also seen during site monitoring and evaluation (RII = 0.853). Proper selection of plant species (RII = 0.936) before implementation of bioengineering technique is needed at hill road, but the high installation costs (RII = 0.841) could be the major limitation. Bioengineering application has a bright future if proper actions are taken in time. Solutions need to be formulated and implemented by understanding the major limitations of bioengineering technique.
Roles of host proteases in the entry of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Zabiegala Alexandria , Kim Yunjeong , Chang Kyeong-Ok
Published: April 2023

The spike protein (S) of SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for viral attachment and entry, thus a major factor for host susceptibility, tissue tropism, virulence and pathogenicity. The S is divided with S1 and S2 region, and the S1 contains the receptor-binding domain (RBD), while the S2 contains the hydrophobic fusion domain for the entry into the host cell. Numerous host proteases have been implicated in the activation of SARS-CoV-2 S through various cleavage sites. In this article, we review host proteases including furin, trypsin, transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and cathepsins in the activation of SARS-CoV-2 S. Many betacoronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2 have polybasic residues at the S1/S2 site which is subjected to the cleavage by furin. The S1/S2 cleavage facilitates more assessable RBD to the receptor ACE2, and the binding triggers further conformational changes and exposure of the S2’ site to proteases such as type II transmembrane serine proteases (TTPRs) including TMPRSS2. In the presence of TMPRSS2 on the target cells, SARS-CoV-2 can utilize a direct entry route by fusion of the viral envelope to the cellular membrane. In the absence of TMPRSS2, SARS-CoV-2 enter target cells via endosomes where multiple cathepsins cleave the S for the successful entry. Additional host proteases involved in the cleavage of the S were discussed. This article also includes roles of 3C-like protease inhibitors which have inhibitory activity against cathepsin L in the entry of SARS-CoV-2, and discussed the dual roles of such inhibitors in virus replication.
The New Emperor's Clothes
Authors: Ngan Quincy
Published: April 2023

This article contextualizes the visual intrigue that was created by the fifteenth-century Chinese poet and painter Sun Ai (ca. 1452–1536) when he broke from convention by using indigo blue to color the leaves of a cotton plant and a mulberry branch in a pair of paintings now in the Palace Museum, Beijing. The key to the meaning of this unique coloration lies in the poems inscribed by Shen Zhou (1427–1509) and Qian Renfu (1446–1526), as well as the socioeconomic connotations of silk, cotton, and indigo in those scholars' regions. It is argued that these paintings were made shortly after the Hongzhi emperor (r. 1487–1505) banned the submission of multicolored cotton and silk textiles. Considered in that context, the monochromatic use of indigo not only alluded to what cotton fibers and silkworms would ultimately produce—cloth and silk to be dyed indigo—but also stood in stark contrast to the kaleidoscopic appearance of the clothing banned by Hongzhi. The collaboration between Shen Zhou and Qian Renfu makes the paintings prominent examples of the layered nuance achieved in traditional Chinese painting through the interplay of color and poetry.
The Visual Anatomy of Falconer's The Shipwreck, 1762–1818
Authors: Jung Sandro
Published: April 2023

This article offers an account of all illustrated editions of William Falconer's The Shipwreck (1762), including anthologies such as John Roach's Beauties, that were produced up to the end of the handpress period. It examines both the illustrations of specific scenes or moments from the poem and other visual paratext. In addition to providing a detailed study of the editions, including their marketing and pricing, it focuses on interpretive shifts in the illustrations—from exclusively ship- and shipwreck-related iconography, to the expression of human concerns, especially in terms of the tragic-sentimental mode that characterizes a large number of these illustrations. The illustrations will not be discussed in isolation but will be related to how artists at various exhibitions in that period engaged with Falconer's work and made present various aspects of it. In its comprehensive coverage of how publishers catered to different groups of buyers, the essay recovers a hitherto uncharted visual archive stemming from Falconer's poem. Questions related to readership, visual literacy, the commodification of the visual images accompanying The Shipwreck, and the role illustrations played in the mediation of the work will underpin my account of how the visual apparatuses added to editions affected the marketing and reception of Falconer's poem.
William Falconer and the Rhetoric of the Sea
Authors: Bolker Jamie M.
Published: April 2023

This essay explores how William Falconer's A Universal Dictionary of the Marine exemplifies the “rhetoric of the sea,” which operates according to an inclusive approach to maritime knowledge, which maritime authors adopted in an effort to translate into writing a unique, physical practice at sea. Since maritime practice involved diverse processes in an environment that could not be controlled, maritime and navigation books thereby contained diverse styles and forms, from poetry, to criticism, to illustrations, to definitions, in an effort to reflect the diversity, and experience, of the sea itself. This essay places Falconer's Dictionary (1769) into a longer history of maritime and navigation books, especially dictionaries, including John Smith's Seaman's Grammar and Dictionary (1626), and the development of specialized dictionaries in English. Building on developments in “blue ecocriticism,” this essay concludes by suggesting that the eighteenth-century rhetoric of the sea provides us an understanding of the semantic and physical power of the world's oceans.
Britannia's “Gallant Crew”: Sailor Poets and the Legacy of William Falconer
Authors: Keegan Bridget
Published: April 2023

The essay examines the history of poetry written by sailors from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. William Falconer's The Shipwreck (1762, 1764 and 1769) inspired many seamen to turn poet and to write about their experiences at sea. Falconer's influence is seen in how sailor poets write about maritime labor and practices such as impressment and how they represent the beauties and threats of the ocean environment. They also share stylistic features, notably an emphasis on “terms of art” specific to shipboard life. Sailor poets provide key insights into important sociocultural developments related to the expansion of the British empire, including significant insights into the horrors of the slave trade and the cause of abolition. Falconer's legacy is one that is deeper than previously recognized.
Monacha (Monacha) liebegottae Hausdorf, 2000 (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) in Bulgaria
Authors: Irikov Atanas , Gerdzhikov Georgy
Published: April 2023

We report a new locality of Monacha liebegottae Hausdorf, 2000. This species has been known until now only on two islands in the north-eastern part of the Aegean Sea. The first establishment of the species outside the Aegean region and its first finding on the European mainland suggests its relict character and probably much broader dispersion in past historical times. We suppose that it is very likely that other continental populations will be found, for example in the European part of Turkey.
The stock market reaction to COVID-19 vaccination in ASEAN
Authors: Herlina Marizsa , Mafruhat Ade Yunita , Kurniati Eti , Wildan Wildan , Salsabila Hilwa Gifty
Published: April 2023

Previous studies have shown that the confirmed cases drive investor sentiment, reflecting the stock's return. Based on this, the vaccination growth is also expected to drive the investor’s sentiment, which can be reflected in the return of the stock market in ASEAN.  Therefore, this study explores the vaccination impact on stock returns in ASEAN countries. This study contributes to the gap of taking the COVID-19 vaccination impact to the stock return into account by using the panel regression model with HC and Driscoll and Kraay robust covariance matrix estimator, which addresses the cross-dependency and heterogeneity problems. This study is one of the early studies of the topic, especially in ASEAN. The panel regression model with HC and Driscoll and Kraay robust covariance matrix estimator uses three variables: the daily stocks return, vaccine growth, and cases growth. It is a balanced panel data that includes six countries and 117 daily series data, making 702 observations used in the study.  The results show conflicting results where daily vaccination growth negatively affects the stock return. This problem can arise for several reasons, such as the uncertainty in the financial market and cross-dependency and heterogeneity detected in the model. We can see that the investors still have a negative sentiment because COVID-19 has resulted in uncertainty on the financial market in ASEAN. This gives us practical implications that the ASEAN country members’ government needs to push vaccination policy more aggressively.
Chinese culture became more individualistic: Evidence from family structure, 1953-2017
Authors: Ogihara Yuji
Published: April 2023

Previous research has indicated that some aspects of Chinese culture became more individualistic. However, prior studies have suggested a decrease in individualism in other aspects of China. Thus, it was unclear whether China became more individualistic. Therefore, the current research investigated whether Chinese culture became more individualistic by examining historical changes in family structure. Specifically, I analyzed temporal shifts in the divorce rate and household size, which have been confirmed as valid representative indicators of individualism. Results showed that the divorce rate increased between 1978 and 2017 and household size decreased between 1953 and 2017, indicating a rise in individualism. Moreover, analyses suggested that the one-child policy was unlikely the sole and major factor in the decrease in household size. Additionally, the aggregated score of divorce rate and household size demonstrated a clear increase in individualism. Therefore, the present research provided further evidence of the rise in individualism in China.
Lateral flow immunoassay-based laboratory algorithm for rapid diagnosis of diphtheria
Authors: Melnikov Vyacheslav G. , Berger Anja , Dangel Alexandra , Sing Andreas
Published: April 2023

Background: In industrialised countries diphtheria is a rare but still life-threatening disease with a recent increase in cases due to migration and zoonotic aspects. Due to the rarity of the disease, laboratory diagnosis of diphtheria is often carried out in central reference laboratories and involves the use of sophisticated equipment and specially trained personnel. The result of the diphtheria agent detection can usually be obtained after 5-6 days or more. Authors suggest a Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA)-based laboratory algorithm for the diagnosis of diphtheria, which may render less time in issuing a result and could promote the testing be performed in laboratories closer to the patient.

Methods: LFIA for diphtheria toxin (DT) detection was designed using a pair of monoclonal antibodies to receptor-binding subunit B of the DT, and validated with 322 corynebacterial cultures as well as 360 simulated diphtheria specimens. Simulated diphtheria specimens were obtained by spiking of human pharyngeal samples with test strains of corynebacteria. The simulated specimens were plated on selective tellurite agar and after 18-24 hours of incubation, grey/black colonies characteristic of the diphtheria corynebacteria were examined for the DT using LFIA.

Results: The diagnostic sensitivity of the LFIA for DT detection on bacterial cultures was 99.35%, and the specificity was 100%. Also, the LFIA was positive for all pharyngeal samples with toxigenic strains and negative for all samples with non-toxigenic strains. For setting LFIA, a 6-hour culture on Elek broth was used; thus, under routine conditions, the causative agent of diphtheria could be detected within two working days after plating of the clinical specimen on the tellurite medium of primary inoculation.

Conclusions: The availability of such a simple and reliable methodology will speed up and increase the accuracy of diphtheria diagnosis globally
Geothermal Energy Impact Estimator: A software application for estimating the life-cycle environmental impacts of geothermal energy
Authors: Paulillo Andrea , Cui Xiaofei , Brown Paul , Striolo Alberto , Lettieri Paola
Published: April 2023

Geothermal energy is a renewable source of base-load power that is expected to play an important role in the transition to a low-carbon economy. In this article, we introduce a novel software application – named Geothermal Energy Impact Estimator – which computes the environmental impacts, including carbon emissions, of existing or future geothermal plants, using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The software application is user-friendly and was designed to be used by geothermal companies and policy makers. We provide two specific use cases of the software application that represent existing plants in Iceland and in the UK.
The genome sequence of the Phoenix, Eulithis prunata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Authors: Boyes Douglas , Holland Peter W.H. ,   University of Oxford and Wytham Woods Genome Acquisition Lab,   Darwin Tree of Life Barcoding collective,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life programme,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Scientific Operations: DNA Pipelines collective,   Tree of Life Core Informatics collective,   Darwin Tree of Life Consortium
Published: April 2023

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Eulithis prunata (the Phoenix; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Geometridae). The genome sequence is 263.1 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 30 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.9 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 16,023 protein coding genes.
The Production of Human Reproduction: Impacts of Transhumanism’s Inconsistent Reproductive Policy on Classical Ethical Principles
Authors: KARTAL SOYSAL Esra
Published: April 2023

The transhumanist movement is characterized by a shift from the traditional understanding of the “created” and “born” human to a “produced” and potentially “immortal” human. This article argues that the reproductive policy of transhumanism is inconsistent. Firstly, it underestimates the implications of reproduction, especially those related to women, such as pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing, which is considered a source of pain at every stage. Additionally, it prioritizes adult enhancement in pursuit of immortality, which is why it discards producing a new life. On the other hand, the movement utilizes new reproductive technologies to enhance human beings, thereby promising and providing unlimited individual reproductive freedom in a wide range of contexts. Furthermore, this article argues that transhumanism, which moves away from the concept of sexual human nature, not only excludes femininity and its associated nature but also converges towards a sexless human nature biologically. It also discharges sexuality from the purpose of reproduction and reduces it to the purpose of pleasure substantially. The overall attitude of the transhumanist context raises significant ethical problems, undermining traditional medical ethics and bioethics principles such as nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, justice, and human dignity. Moreover, it forces ethical principles to be redefined on a new basis with its indifferent attitude that ignores the threat of authoritarian eugenics, neglects reproductive responsibility while emphasizing reproductive freedom, and fails to consider the nature of the contrast-dependency of human values. As a result, new ethical principles must be developed to address the implications of this attitude.
Financial Reporting As a Factor in the Formation of Public Consciousness
Authors: Mislavskaya N.
Published: April 2023

This article reveals the relationship between accounting (financial) reporting and the generation of public consciousness. By analyzing the results of scientific research in the field of sociology and philosophy, it has been established that in the process of forming mass consciousness, economic information plays an important role, which determines the vector of public sentiment. Accordingly, it is proposed to use the mechanism of the impact of the accounting system at the national level, providing an opportunity for state authorities to carry out the management function of the economy. For this purpose, the directions of a possible process of reforming accounting have been determined.
Skin cancer’s prevention in the light of current medical knowledge
Authors: Milanowska Małgorzata , Grudzińska Aleksandra , Jarosz Dominika , Tsitko Hanna , Dudzińska Paulina
Published: April 2023

Among all diagnosed malignancies, skin cancers account for more than 30-50%. Caucasian patients have a lifetime risk of more than 20%. The incidence increases with the age of patients. In 2017, there were over 14,000 new cases in Poland. It can be expected that these results are underestimated due to incomplete registration of new cases in the National Cancer Registry.(1,2)The most common skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma - over 80% of cases. In second place is squamous cell carcinoma - 15-20%. Other types are less common.(1)The appearance of a new mole or a change in the appearance of an existing one is often missed at the beginning, and even if it is noticed, it is underestimated by the patient. Therefore, detection rate of skin cancer, including melanoma at an early stage, is unfortunately relatively low.The incidence of skin cancer is constantly increasing, which is an important epidemiological problem of modern medicine.(2)Patient education should focus on behaviors that the patient can influence and modify, including: regular visits to a dermatologist and undergoing a dermatoscopic examination, the use of sunscreen with a high UV factor, the use of special protective clothing, sunglasses, covering head when under sun’s exposure, moderate overall sun exposure, avoiding sunburn, not using a tanning bed.The purpose of this review was to assess the current literature on the impact of educating the public and promoting sun protection as a necessary method to directly reduce the incidence of skin cancer.The literature was searched in Pubmed and Google Scholar databases.
The Electric Dial-a-Ride Problem on a Fixed Circuit
Authors: Molenbruch Yves , Braekers Kris , Eisenhandler Ohad , Kaspi Mor
Published: April 2023

Shared mobility services involving electric autonomous shuttles have increasingly been implemented in recent years. Because of various restrictions, these services are currently offered on fixed circuits and operated with fixed schedules. This study introduces a service variant with flexible stopping patterns and schedules. Specifically, in the electric dial-a-ride problem on a fixed circuit (eDARP-FC), a fleet of capacitated electric shuttles operates on a given circuit consisting of a recharging depot and a sequence of stations where passengers can be picked up and dropped off. The shuttles may perform multiple laps, between which they may need to recharge. The goal of the problem is to determine the vehicles’ stopping sequences and schedules, including recharging plans, so as to minimize a weighted sum of the total passenger excess time and the total number of laps. The eDARP-FC is formulated as a nonstandard lap-based mixed integer linear programming and is shown to be NP-Hard. Efficient polynomial time algorithms are devised for two special scheduling subproblems. These algorithms and several heuristics are then applied as subroutines within a large neighborhood search metaheuristic. Experiments on instances derived from a real-life system demonstrate that the flexible service results in a 32%–75% decrease in the excess time at the same operational costs.

Funding: This work was supported by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [Project Data-Driven Logistics: Grant S007318N; Project Optimizing the Design of a Hybrid Urban Mobility System: Grant G020222N; and Grant OR4Logistics]. Y. Molenbruch is partially funded by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [Grant 1202719N]. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the Flemish Supercomputer Center funded by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek and the Flemish Government.

Supplemental Material: The electronic companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2023.1208 .
PROCESSO METONÍMICO DE CATEGORIZAÇÃO BÁSICA REALIZADO POR CRIANÇAS E JOVENS COM TRANSTORNO DO ESPECTRO AUTISTA (TEA) NA CIDADE DE PIRIPIRI-PI
Authors: Da Silva Santos Francisca Mônica , Souza Alan Lôbo de
Published: April 2023

O Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) é uma condição neurobiológica genética que tende a afetar as naturezas cognitivas, comportamentais, sócio-interacionais, sensitivas, dentre outras. É por isso que indivíduos com essa condição são propensos a desenvolver transtornos de aprendizagem. Cientes disso, temos por objetivo investigar os processos metonímicos de categorização básica em casos de Transtorno do Espectro Autista, articulando-os com os princípios semânticos cognitivos. De modo específico, averiguamos: (i) a capacidade semântica cognitiva que indivíduos com essa predisposição dispõem diante de questionários com categorias básicas; (ii) como esses indivíduos, no processo metonímico de categorização básica, conseguem identificar os exemplos da categoria. (iii) a presença de distinções de resultados quanto ao desempenho nos questionários verbal e não-verbal. Metodologicamente, foram realizadas gravações audiovisuais autorizadas de acordo com o comitê de ética da Universidade Estadual do Piauí (CEP UESPI), sob o CAAE 07453519.8.0000.5209. Para tanto, elencou-se como fundamentação teórica e analítica os pressupostos da Semântica Cognitiva, da Linguística Cognitiva, do TEA e dos transtornos de aprendizagem. Ao fim da pesquisa, observamos que o processo de categorização metonímico se deu de forma satisfatória, tendo em mente que apresentou mínimas falhas, seja por causa dos níveis de manifestação do espectro seja por interferências externas. Percebemos também que o nível de manifestação do espectro interferiu nesse processo, haja vista que o processamento da memória de trabalho dos participantes variou de lento a rápido.
The role of probiotics as wound healers: an overall view
Authors: Meenakshi Shanmugaraja , Santhanakumar Ramadevi
Published: April 2023

A wound is an injury to the skin or damage to the body tissue. The healing process differs between various kinds of wounds. Treatment of hard-to-heal (chronic) wounds becomes challenging for healthcare practitioners, especially if patients have underlying health complications such as diabetes. Infection of wounds is another factor that interferes with the healing process and extends its duration. Active research is being conducted into the development of advanced wound dressing technologies. These wound dressings are intended to manage the exudate, reduce bacterial infection and speed up the healing process. Probiotics have been receiving much attention because of their potential application in the clinical field, especially in diagnostics and treatment strategies of various infectious and non-infectious diseases. The host immune-modulatory response and antimicrobial activity of probiotics are expanding their role in the development of improved wound dressing technology.
Relation Extraction for Knowledge Graph Generation in the Agriculture Domain: A Case Study on Soybean Pests and Disease
Authors: Wang Pengxiang , Zhang Cong , Wang Dingqian , Zhang Shaohua , Wang Jun , Wang Xianzhi , Huang Lan
Published: April 2023

Highlights

With the aim to reduce the burden of acquiring expert knowledge and strengthen the connection between written knowledge and the fields, this article investigated the problem of automatically extracting and organizing soybean pests and disease knowledge from text.

Entities and relations were extracted using multiple models with deep neural network structures. Performance of these models were compared and evaluated in detail.

A knowledge graph was automatically constructed using the extracted information, and made publicly available.

ABSTRACT. Precision agriculture is an emerging type of agriculture that intensively uses information technology to automate agricultural production. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merri.), is an important crop in China, with an annual demand of approximately 110 million tons. However, in China, soybean production is threatened by more than 30 kinds of disease and 100 kinds of pests. With the rapidly increasing specialized information in the literature, it is difficult for farmers to keep up. Relation extraction automatically identifies and extracts structured knowledge from natural language text and thus can help to alleviate the problem. In this study, we propose to employ relation extraction to systematically extract information from expert-written text, and generate a knowledge graph from the extracted information. This case study was planned in China, therefore we mainly used Chinese texts. Firstly, we carefully chose expert-written text on soybean pests and disease, labeled the entities, and classified their thematic relations into five categories. Then, we built and trained three relation extraction models using state-of-the-art deep learning architectures and evaluated their performance on our task. Finally, we constructed an example knowledge graph from the extracted information and demonstrated their potential usage for automatic reasoning and solution recommendation for pests and disease prevention. In total, this study sampled 1038 entities and 1569 relation instances. Experimental results showed that our best model achieved an F1 score of 98.49% on identifying relations from text. Experimental results also showed the effectiveness of the example knowledge graph. Keywords: Bidirectional encoder representation from transformers, Knowledge graph, Relation extraction, Soybean pests and disease.