bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Amount and spatial arrangement of muscle fibers in the human laryngeal Musculus ventricularis
Authors: Gocht Andreas , Lüers Georg , Schumacher Udo
Published: April 2023

Textbooks and atlases of human macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of the larynx generally provide, if at all, only sparse information on the laryngeal Musculus ventricularis. However, several studies indicate that this muscle takes over the function of vestibular (ventricular) fold phonation after denervation of the Musculus vocalis. In the present study, 29 laryngeal specimens were coronally dissected at different levels, i.e. the anterior (L1), middle (L2), and posterior third of the vestibular fold (L3), and they underwent histological analysis. In all specimens the vestibular folds of both hemi‐larynxes contained striated muscle bundles in variable amounts, representing a ventricularis muscle. These muscle bundles obviously originated from the lateral (external) and thyroepiglottic part of the thyroarytenoid muscle and the aryepiglottic part of the oblique arytenoid muscle, as has been described by other authors. The areas of vestibular folds and their amounts of ventricularis muscle bundles were measured using image analysis software (imageJ) by manual tracing. The mean area of the vestibular folds of both hemi‐larynxes was 27.9 mm2 (SD [standard deviation] ± 9.17), and the area occupied by fibers of the ventricularis muscle was 1.5 mm2 (SD ± 1.78). Statistical analysis comparing the areas of both hemi‐larynxes and levels resulted in no significant differences, except for the levels 2 and 3. In level 2, significantly more muscle fibers (2.0 mm2; SD ± 2.21) were detectable within the vestibular fold than in level 3 (0.9 mm2; SD ± 1.43). Level 1 also contained more muscle fibers (1.1 mm2; SD ± 1.06) than level 3, however, without significance. In conclusion, the laryngeal ventricularis muscle is present in the majority of reported cases. Since the muscle is of clinical relevance, it should be included in anatomical textbooks by default.
A real‐world study of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced triple‐negative breast cancer
Authors: Zhang Zheng , Zhang Yadi , Liu Chuanling , Shao Jiakang , Chen Yimeng , Zhu Yimin , Zhang Li , Qin Boyu , Kong Ziqing , Wang Xixi , Wang Yutong , Huang Deqin , Liu Liqun , Zhou Yuxin , Tao Ran , Yang Zengjie , Liu Mei , Zhao Weihong
Published: April 2023

Background

Triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive type of breast cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been widely used to treat various tumors and have changed the landscape of tumor management, but the data from real‐world studies of ICIs for TNBC treatment remain limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ICIs in the treatment of patients with advanced TNBC in a real‐world setting and to explore possible correlates.

Methods

The clinical data of advanced TNBC patients who received ICI treatment in the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital were collected. Treatment responses, outcomes and adverse events (AEs) were assessed.

Results

Eighty‐one patients were included in the study. The confirmed objective response rate (ORR) was 32.1%, and the disease control rate (DCR) was 64.2%. The median progression‐free survival (PFS) was 4.2 months, and the median overall survival (OS) was 11.0 months. PFS and OS were longer in patients who achieved clinical benefit from ICIs and shorter in patients who received later‐line ICIs and higher levels of inflammation; specifically, patients with higher TILs had longer PFS. Overall AEs were tolerable.

Conclusions

ICIs are effective in the treatment of advanced TNBC, and the adverse reactions are tolerable. A panel of biomarkers including LDH, ALP, and bNLR were identified to predict the efficacies of ICIs in TNBC treatment.
A Clickable Photosystem I, Ferredoxin, and Ferredoxin NADP+ Reductase Fusion System for Light‐Driven NADPH Regeneration**
Authors: Medipally Hitesh , Mann Marvin , Kötting Carsten , van Berkel Willem J. H. , Nowaczyk Marc M.
Published: April 2023

Photosynthetic organisms like plants, algae, and cyanobacteria use light for the regeneration of dihydronicotinamide dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). The process starts with the light‐driven oxidation of water by photosystem II (PSII) and the released electrons are transferred via the cytochrome b6f complex towards photosystem I (PSI). This membrane protein complex is responsible for the light‐driven reduction of the soluble electron mediator ferredoxin (Fd), which passes the electrons to ferredoxin NADP+ reductase (FNR). Finally, NADPH is regenerated by FNR at the end of the electron transfer chain. In this study, we established a clickable fusion system for in vitro NADPH regeneration with PSI−Fd and PSI−Fd−FNR, respectively. For this, we fused immunity protein 7 (Im7) to the C‐terminus of the PSI−PsaE subunit in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Furthermore, colicin DNase E7 (E7) fusion chimeras of Fd and FNR with varying linker domains were expressed in Escherichia coli. Isolated Im7−PSI was coupled with the E7−Fd or E7−Fd−FNR fusion proteins through high‐affinity binding of the E7/Im7 protein pair. The corresponding complexes were tested for NADPH regeneration capacity in comparison to the free protein systems demonstrating the general applicability of the strategy.
Racemic Benzenesulfonohydrazide Enantioconvergent Tertiary C(sp3)−H Amination Catalyzed by Copper and Chiral Phosphoric Acid: Mechanistic Insights and Computational Prediction
Authors: Li Rongrong , Yang Xinzheng
Published: April 2023

Density functional theory computations reveal mechanistic insights into Cu and chiral phosphoric acid (CPA) catalyzed enantioconvergent amination of racemic benzenesulfonohydrazide. The O−O bond homolysis of tert‐butyl 4‐phenylbutaneperoxoate was found to be the turnover‐limiting step with a total free energy barrier of 19.1 kcal/mol. The enantioconvergent amination is realized to obtain the same intermediate through prochiral carbon atom. The order and mode of hydrogen atom transferred by CPA and tert‐butyloxy have a significant influence on the enantioselectivity and energy barriers. The olefinic side product generated by β‐hydride elimination is 9.9 kcal/mol thermodynamically less favourable. A series of phosphoric acids are predicted as promising co‐catalysts with lower barriers for O−O bond homolysis.
Perceived difference in expertize and individual performance in cross‐functional teams
Authors: Chiang Yun‐Haw , Hsu Chu‐Chun , Hsieh Chang‐Lung
Published: April 2023

Previous studies examining diverse team knowledge resources and individual members' performance largely follow the information perspective and propose that team informational diversity may help individuals perform better. Unlike previous authors, we integrate arguments from subgroup theory and the social categorization perspective to argue that when a person works in a cross‐functional team, perceiving differences in expertize with other teammates may decrease the person's social exchange relationship with colleagues, that is, team‐member exchange/TMX. Thus, perceived differences in expertize with other teammates may reduce TMX and, in turn, weaken individual task performance. Moreover, team members' social exchange relationship with the leader/LMX may offset the individual's deficiency in TMX to complement the person's task performance. We examine dyadic data collected from Taiwanese worker‐supervisor pairs and find support for our hypotheses.
Amino acid profile changes during enrichment of spheroid cells with cancer stem cell properties in MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cell lines
Authors: Ghanbari Movahed Zahra , Matin Maryam M. , Mansouri Kamran , Sisakhtnezhad Sajjad
Published: April 2023

Background

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), subpopulations of cancer cells, are responsible for tumor progression, metastasis, and relapse. Changes in amino acid metabolism are linked to breast cancer recurrence and metastasis.

Aims

This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the amino acid profile in MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cells during spheroid formation to discover the specific metabolic properties in CSCs.

Methods

MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells were cultured as spheroids and evaluated to characterize their CSC properties. The characteristics of CSC were evaluated by examining the expression of CSC markers and conducting drug resistance assays. In addition, amino acid profile change during the enrichment of breast cancer stem cells in the spheroids was investigated by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Results

The results indicated that out of 20 different amino acids analyzed, 19 of them decreased during the spheroid formation process. Alanine, lysine, phenylalanine, threonine, and glycine showed significant reductions in the conditioned media of both cell lines in the spheroid form compared to the monolayer cells. Only one of the amino acids increased in MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 spheroids (histidine and serine, respectively).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that certain amino acids identified in this study can be used for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with breast cancer stem cell formation.
Pathologically confirmed women's breast cancer: A descriptive study of Tunisian and Algerian series
Authors: Sassi Farah , Rekaya Meriem Ben , Belarbi Ayed , Chilla Dalia , Mansouri Nada , Achouri Leila , Saied Essia , Kassa Reda , Kacem Linda Belhaj , Ouezani Manel , Debabeche Nadjiba , Rebhi Fatima , Rammeh Soumaya
Published: April 2023

Background

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent malignancy among women in Tunisia and Algeria. Clinical and pathological characteristics of this cancer among these populations are not widely reported. The aim of the study was to report clinical and pathological characteristics of women's BC in a Tunisian and Algerian series.

Methods

Pathologically confirmed 1089 BCs were gathered in the pathology departments of three Northern Tunisian hospitals: Tunis military, Charles Nicolle and Jendouba and in the pathology department of Alger Douera hospital between January 2015 and December 2020. Clinical and pathological findings of the two series: age, tumor size, histological type, grading according to Scarff‐Bloom Richardson grading system, lymph node status at the time of diagnosis in axillary lymphadenectomy specimens and the immunohistochemical expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER/PR), HER2 and Ki‐67, were collected from the pathological reports.

Results

The median age at diagnosis was 50 and 48 years in Tunisian and Algerian series, respectively (p = 0.016). The diagnosis of BC was made on surgical specimens (lumpectomy or mastectomy) in 373/491 (76%) cases of the Tunisian series and in 225/598 (37.6%) cases of the Algerian one. Median tumor size was 2.8 cm and 2.5 cm in Algerian and Tunisian series, respectively (p = 0.252). Invasive BCs not otherwise specified was observed in 440/481 (91.5%) BCs in Tunisian series and in 519/586 (88.6%) BCs in Algerian series. Axillary lymph node positive tumors were observed in 64.6% and 58.8% of Tunisian and Algerian women, respectively (p = 0.926). BCs were ER positive in 311/385 (80.8%) and 486/571 (85.1%) cases and HER2 positive in 86/283 (30.4%) and 60/385 (15.6%) cases of Tunisian and Algerian series, respectively.

Conclusions

In Tunisia and Algeria, BC has poor prognostic factors with large tumor sizes and high rates of lymph nodes involvement at diagnosis.
New attribute‐based encryption schemes with anonymous authentication and time limitation in fog computing
Authors: Hafizpour Hadis , Shiri Mohammad Ebrahim , Rahmani Amir Masoud
Published: April 2023

Fog computing is a suitable platform for the Internet of Things (IoT). However, it faces threats that pose security and privacy challenges. This article proposes two new, faster, and more secure schemes based on attribute‐based encryption (ABE) address some security concerns. The new schemes are Cipher text‐policy‐ABE‐anonymous authentication (CP‐ABE‐AA) and key‐policy‐ABE‐anonymous authentication (KP‐ABE‐AA), providing more secure communications and anonymous recognition between servers and users employing registration center (RC). Users and servers register with RC and receive time parameter t and aliases to build an access tree. During the valid time, t a more secure transfer is established. After each t has expired, the servers and users obtain new aliases. RC provides anonymous authentication, and t determines the key's validity period. For simulation, a multi‐paradigm programming language, Rust, was installed on Ubuntu 20. Compared to five existing schemes, the simulation results indicated that, on average, CP‐ABE‐AA has a 5.48% reduction time for key generation but an increased time of 11.28% in encryption and a reduction time of 11.33% in decryption. Also, compared to two other schemes, KP‐ABE‐AA produced an average time increase of 17.31% for key generation, but encryption and decryption times were reduced by 17.31% and 9.57%.
Role of heterogeneity in dictating tumorigenesis in epithelial tissues
Authors: Muthukrishnan Sindhu , Vishwakarma Medhavi
Published: April 2023

Biological systems across various length and time scales are noisy, including tissues. Why are biological tissues inherently chaotic? Does heterogeneity play a role in determining the physiology and pathology of tissues? How do physical and biochemical heterogeneity crosstalk to dictate tissue function? In this review, we begin with a brief primer on heterogeneity in biological tissues. Then, we take examples from recent literature indicating functional relevance of biochemical and physical heterogeneity and discuss the impact of heterogeneity on tissue function and pathology. We take specific examples from studies on epithelial tissues to discuss the potential role of inherent tissue heterogeneity in tumorigenesis.
Risk of non‐fatal self‐harm and premature mortality in the three years following hospitalization in adolescents and young adults with an eating disorder: A nationwide population‐based study
Authors: Duriez Philibert , Goueslard Karine , Treasure Janet , Quantin Catherine , Jollant Fabrice
Published: April 2023

Introduction

Eating disorders (ED) are associated with high rates of suicide attempts and premature mortality. However, data in large samples of adolescents and young adults are limited. This study aims to assess the risk of self‐harm and premature mortality in young people hospitalized with an ED.

Methods

Individuals aged 12 to 25 years old hospitalized in 2013–2014 in France with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia nervosa as a primary or associated diagnosis were identified from French national health records. They were compared to two control groups with no mental disorders, and with any other mental disorder than ED. The main outcomes were any hospitalization for deliberate self‐harm and mortality in the 3 years following hospitalization. Logistic regression models were used.

Results

This study included 5, 452 patients hospitalized with an ED, 14,967 controls with no mental disorder, and 14,242 controls with a mental disorder other than an ED. During the three‐year follow‐up, 13.0% were hospitalized for deliberate self‐harm (vs. 0.2 and 22.0%, respectively) and 0.8% died (vs. 0.03 and 0.4%). After adjustment, hospitalization with an ED was associated with more self‐harm hospitalizations (hazard ratio [HR] = 46.0, 95% confidence interval [32.3–65.3]) and higher all‐cause mortality (HR = 12.6 [4.3–37.3]) relative to youths without any mental disorder; less self‐harm hospitalizations (HR = 0.5 [0.5–0.6]) but higher mortality (HR = 1.6 [1.0–2.4]) when compared to youths with any other mental disorder.

Conclusion

Young patients hospitalized with an ED are at high risk of self‐harm and premature mortality. It is urgent to evaluate and implement the best strategies for post‐discharge care and follow‐up.

Public significance

We found that the risk of being hospitalized for a suicide attempt is 46 times higher and mortality 13 times higher than the general population in adolescents and young adults during the 3 years following hospitalization with an eating disorder. Eating disorders are also associated with a 1.5 higher risk of premature mortality relative to other mental disorders. This risk is particularly high in the 6 months following hospitalization. It is therefore crucial to implement careful post‐discharge follow‐up in patients hospitalized for eating disorders.
Rnf144b alleviates the inflammatory responses and cardiac dysfunction in sepsis
Authors: Guo Rennan , Wang Jingjing , Tang Wen , Xiao Dong
Published: April 2023

Aims

Sepsis is an inflammatory disease with high mortality and morbidity. Inflammation plays an essential role in sepsis, and suppressing inflammation has been shown to ameliorate sepsis. Rnf144b is an ubiquitin E3 ligation with anti‐inflammation activities. Its precise roles in sepsis remain unknown. Here, we explored the function of Rnf144b in sepsis.

Methods and results

We generated conditional knockout mice with Rnf144b deficiency in the myeloid cells. We monitored the Rnf144b expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donor and patients with sepsis, and in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)‐treated bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMDMs). The cytokine expression between wild‐type BMDMs and Rnf144b‐deficient BMDMs after LPS and CpG treatments was compared. The survival rate and cardiac function were monitored. The activation of TANK binding kinase 1 and nuclear factor kappa‐B was examined by Western blot and real‐time PCR. Up‐regulated expression of Rnf144b was observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with sepsis. LPS induced the expression of Rnf144b in BMDMs. Rnf144b‐deficient BMDMs produced more inflammatory cytokines after LPS or CpG stimulation. Septic mice with Rnf144b deficiency in myeloid cells had higher mortality and exacerbated cardiac dysfunction. Rnf144b interacted with TANK binding kinase 1 and Rnf144b deficiency resulted in impaired activation of TBK1 but enhanced activation of nuclear factor kappa‐B.

Conclusions

Rnf144b prevents inflammatory responses and cardiac dysfunction in sepsis.
Encapsulation of Microperoxidase‐8 into MIL‐101(Cr/Fe) Nanoparticles: A New Biocatalyst for the Epoxidation of Styrene
Authors: Kesse Xavier , Sicard Clémence , Steunou Nathalie , Mahy Jean‐Pierre , Ricoux Rémy
Published: April 2023

A new biocatalyst MP8@MIL‐101(Cr/Fe) was prepared by immobilization of a heme octapeptide, Microperoxidase 8 (MP8) within a mixed metal MOF, MIL‐101(Cr/Fe). Both MIL‐101(Cr/Fe) and MP8@MIL‐101(Cr/Fe) were characterized by PXRD, FTIR spectroscopy and TGA. The catalytic activity of MP8@MIL‐101(Cr/Fe) for the oxidation of styrene by H2O2 and tBuOOH was then examined under various reaction conditions (nature of the co‐solvent and of the oxidant, concentration of the oxidant and of the substrate, time, pH) and compared to that of MP8 alone. Under the best conditions used, MP8@MIL‐101(Cr/Fe) was then shown to catalyze the oxidation of styrene about 3 times more efficiently than MP8 alone with approximately 50 % selectivity for styrene oxide.
Lung cancer subtyping from gene expression data using general and enhanced Fuzzy min–max neural networks
Authors: Singh Yashpal , Susan Seba
Published: April 2023

In this article, we address the problem of lung cancer diagnosis from gene expression data, which is now recognized as an effective means for early treatment and prevention of cancer. Specifically, we employ Fuzzy min–max (FMM) classifier for the task which is a well‐known neuro‐fuzzy neural network. The idea is to take advantage of the fuzzy class definitions whose boundaries are set using the min–max hyperbox constructed for each class. We implement two advanced FMM neural network architectures: general Fuzzy min–max (GFMM) and enhanced Fuzzy min–max (EFMM) for the classification of lung cancer subtypes from gene expression data. The advantage of GFMM is that it involves very simple operations for hyperbox manipulation, and can handle both labeled and unlabeled data. On the other hand, EFMM proposes three heuristic rules related to hyperbox expansion, contraction and the overlap test, which enhances the learning algorithm. We perform the classification of gene expression data using these two models, and then we analyze the performance by visualizing the hyperboxes obtained after training, and compare the accuracies of these classifiers with the state of the art. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) is used for selecting the informative genes from the high‐dimensional gene expression data. From the empirical results, we observe that GFMM with LASSO gives the best performance of all, with validation accuracy of 98.04% and cross‐validation accuracy of 94.06%.
Simulation of spatially varying ground motion of urban buildings based on wavelet packet neural network
Authors: Du Zhenyu , Guo Tong , Wang Jishuai , Yu Shuqi
Published: April 2023

Site‐structure cluster interaction (SSCI) has a significant effect on the seismic response of densely distributed buildings, and rationally and effectively quantifying its effect when modelling the urban seismic damage can provide more optimal decisions to mitigate earthquake disasters. This paper focuses on the input motion of the structures, by extracting the main influential parameters of SSCI and adopting the loosely typed wavelet packet neural network to rapidly simulate the spatially varying ground motion in the urban environment. In the proposed framework, the wavelet packet energy ratio is presented to describe the variation of ground motion characteristics and used as the sole output to carry out the multi‐resolution spectral modulation, and the training samples were accumulated by a validated finite element simulation method. The developed surrogate model considers the effects of a series of factors, including the earthquake intensity, site condition, configuration of structure cluster, structural dynamic characteristics and spacing, and is superior to the one using conventional artificial neural network. It is verified by a virtual test that the waveshape and spectral features of the predicted ground motion agree well with the target result with an error of peak acceleration being only 1.23%. The suggested approach has the advantages of better modulation precision and lower sample size requirement. Moreover, it is almost zero cost to use the developed surrogate model to correct the ground motion of urban buildings and to consider the influence of SSCI, and the structural seismic response can be more factually displayed in the time and space domains. These specialties make it a promising technique in the rapid assessment of urban seismic damage.
Numerical analysis of phase change material filled with metal foam inside a cylindrical capsule
Authors: Asker Mustafa , Al‐Rawi Mohammad , Genceli Hadi
Published: April 2023

This research study performs a numerical assessment of the inward solidification of phase change material (PCM) integrated with metal foam (MF) encapsulated in a horizontal cylindrical geometry. The cylinder is not at melting temperature at the beginning, and its outer surface is subjected to convection boundary conditions. The 1D phase change model is resolved by applying the temperature transforming technique using an in‐house computer program written in C++. Four different MF materials, aluminum, copper, nickel, and stainless steel, with various porosities, are used to examine the thermal behavior of the storage system. It is found that the use of copper as a MF with higher effective thermal conductivity remarkably enhances the elapsed time for complete solidification. Additionally, for a porosity value of 0.92, the time for total solidification of copper is diminished by 94%, while the complete solidification time for Stainless Steel is decreased by 65% in comparison to the situation where no MF is used.
To Understand Inequity, Bioethics Needs to Sort Things Out
Authors: Cho Mildred K.
Published: April 2023

Bioethics is reexamining how to implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice concerns into scholarship. However, bioethicists should question the categories used to define diversity. The act of categorization is value laden, and classification systems confer power and benefits and generate harms. For example, what conditions count as disabilities? We should consider the equity implications of offering only “male” and “female” options for self‐identification in health records. However, we should also interrogate all ideas about categorization, including how categories are formed, why they are formed, and who decides. Bioethicists cannot comprehend fully what equity and justice mean for underrepresented, underserved, or marginalized people until there is an understanding of how the boundaries of marginalization are created.
Love Your Patient as Yourself: On Reviving the Broken Heart of American Medical Ethics
Authors: Tate Tyler , Clair Joseph
Published: April 2023

This article presents a radical claim: American medical ethics is broken, and it needs love to be healed. Due to a unique set of cultural and economic pressures, American medical ethics has adopted a mechanistic mode of ethical reasoning epitomized by the doctrine of principlism. This mode of reasoning divorces clinicians from both their patients and themselves. This results in clinicians who can ace ethics questions on multiple‐choice tests but who fail either to recognize a patient's humanity or to navigate the ethical quandaries into which they are frequently thrown. Drawing on personal experience as well as the philosophical work of Augustine of Hippo, Simone Weil, and Iris Murdoch, we propose a novel ethical approach grounded in a conception of neighbor love, specifically, the virtue of love understood as attention to a sufferer's humanity. We conclude with five practical recommendations for reimagining medical ethics education oriented around the virtue of love.
Automated labelling of radiology reports using natural language processing: Comparison of traditional and newer methods
Authors: Chng Seo Yi , Tern Paul J. W. , Kan Matthew R. X. , Cheng Lionel T. E.
Published: April 2023

Automated labelling of radiology reports using natural language processing allows for the labelling of ground truth for large datasets of radiological studies that are required for training of computer vision models. This paper explains the necessary data preprocessing steps, reviews the main methods for automated labelling and compares their performance. There are four main methods of automated labelling, namely: (1) rules‐based text‐matching algorithms, (2) conventional machine learning models, (3) neural network models and (4) Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) models. Rules‐based labellers perform a brute force search against manually curated keywords and are able to achieve high F1 scores. However, they require proper handling of negative words. Machine learning models require preprocessing that involves tokenization and vectorization of text into numerical vectors. Multilabel classification approaches are required in labelling radiology reports and conventional models can achieve good performance if they have large enough training sets. Deep learning models make use of connected neural networks, often a long short‐term memory network, and are similarly able to achieve good performance if trained on a large data set. BERT is a transformer‐based model that utilizes attention. Pretrained BERT models only require fine‐tuning with small data sets. In particular, domain‐specific BERT models can achieve superior performance compared with the other methods for automated labelling.
Is Asian flushing syndrome a disadvantage in the labor market?
Authors: Kawaguchi Daiji , Lee Jungmin , Lin Ming‐Jen , Yokoyama Izumi
Published: April 2023

A large fraction of people in East Asia are incapable of digesting alcohol because of a genetic deficiency. This study examines whether the variation in alcohol tolerance contributes to inequality in the labor market. We conduct our original surveys in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea with the measurement of respondents' degree of alcohol tolerance by a bio‐marker test. We find that alcohol‐tolerant men consume significantly more alcohol, but their earnings and hours worked do not differ from those of alcohol‐intolerant men. Despite a prevalent view that drinking alcohol is indispensable to establish good relationships with colleagues and business partners, our results suggest that there is no systematic impact of alcohol tolerance on labor market outcomes.
Coriolis force impact on the magnetorotating fluid radiating from a moving porous upright plate with viscous dissipation
Authors: Venkateswarlu B. , Satya Narayana P. V.
Published: April 2023

The effects of wall velocity and radiating Coriolis force (CF) on convective flow over a moving porous vertical plate in a rotating fluid due to a magnetic field and viscous dissipation have been investigated. Assume that the resiliency impact emerges from a combination of concentration and temperature. Utilizing the convenient affinity renovations, the nonlinear partial differential equations are renewed into ordinary differential equations, which are solved numerically by a resourceful shooting technique using the Range–Kutta–Fehlberg scheme. The results are inspected and illustrated graphically for a choice of stream factors on the speed, warmth, and concentration profiles, as well as the shear and couple pressures and the rates of heat and mass exchange at the plate. It can be noted that the reading of the CF reveals that the temperature and concentration fields show opposing tendencies to the velocity profiles. The heat and concentration fields decrease with increasing wall velocity, but the velocity profiles react in the opposite direction. The goal of this review is to determine the impacts of Coriolis and wall velocity causes in terms of geography, which are the deflection of airplanes, winds, missiles, and currents in the ocean. Moreover, the effects of Coriolis power are given more attention in practical designs and applications of rotating systems imposed through flow.
Influence of thermophoretic deposition and viscous dissipation on magnetohydrodynamic flow with variable viscosity and thermal conductivity
Authors: Das Utpal Jyoti , Majumdar Nayan Mani , Patgiri Indushri
Published: April 2023

In this study, we numerically explore the impact of varying viscosity and thermal conductivity on a magnetohydrodynamic flow problem over a moving nonisothermal vertical plate with thermophoretic effect and viscous dissipation. The boundary conditions and flow‐regulating equations are converted into ordinary differential equations with the aid of similarity substitution. The MATLAB bvp4c solver is used to evaluate the numerical solution of the problem and it is validated by executing the numerical solution with previously published studies. The impacts of several factors, including the magnetic parameter, Eckert number, heat source parameter, thermal conductivity parameter, stratification parameter, Soret, Dufour, Prandtl number, and Schmidt number are calculated and shown graphically. Also, the skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, and Sherwood number are calculated. Fluid velocity, temperature, and concentration significantly drop as the thermophoretic parameter and thermal stratification parameter increases. As thermal conductivity rises, it is seen that the velocity of the fluid and temperature inside the boundary layer rise as well. Also, the Soret effect drops temperature and concentration profile. The applications of this type of problem are found in the processes of nuclear reactors, corrosion of heat exchangers, lubrication theory, and so forth.
The predictive power of commodity prices for future economic growth: Evaluating the role of economic development
Authors: Enilov Martin
Published: April 2023

This paper investigates the extent to which commodity prices can predict economic growth, the growth exposure of the countries to specific commodity group, and whether the country stage of development matters for growth dependency on commodities. We use a novel time‐varying mixed‐frequency vector autoregressive model to jointly estimate causality between monthly commodity prices and quarterly economic growth for the period from January 1980 to March 2020. Our findings suggest that growth dependency on commodities varies over time and across different synthetic measures, but in general solid evidence of predictability is determined. The overall commodity index shows better performance in predicting economic growth than the segregated proxies of either fuel or non‐fuel commodities in developed economies. However, the overall commodity index is as effective as the fuel index in predicting economic growth for their developing counterparts. We develop a new index of global commodity growth connectivity (GCGCI) to determine the economic growth dependency on commodities over time. Our results show that economic growth dependency on commodities has increased at least three times with financialization of commodity markets. The GCGCI for all commodities reveals a higher growth dependency on commodities in developing countries than developed ones in the post‐financialization period. Interestingly, we find that growth decreases its reliance on fuel commodities in both developed and developing countries after financialization of commodity markets. Our findings bear implications for policymakers to design stabilization policies in an attempt to protect economies vulnerable to commodity price shocks and lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
Regression discontinuity design with multivalued treatments
Authors: Caetano Carolina , Caetano Gregorio , Carlos Escanciano Juan
Published: April 2023

We study identification and estimation in the regression discontinuity design with a multivalued treatment. We show that heterogeneity in the first stage discontinuities can be used for the identification of the marginal treatment effects under an alternative assumption, namely, the homogeneity of the LATEs along some covariates. This assumption can often be tested and relaxed. Our estimator can be programmed as a simple two‐stage least squares regression, and packaged standard errors and tests can also be used. We apply our method to estimate the effect of Medicare insurance coverage on health care utilization.
Revaluation of overselected stimuli: Emergence of control by underselected stimuli depends on degree of overselectivity
Authors: Gomes‐Ng Stephanie , Kim Peter B. C. , Cowie Sarah , Elliffe Douglas
Published: April 2023

Stimulus overselectivity describes strong control by one stimulus element at the expense of other equally relevant elements. Research suggests that control by underselected stimuli emerges following extinction of the overselected stimulus (“revaluation”) and the emergence is larger when overselectivity is greater. We compared such revaluation effects with a control compound or condition in two experiments. Human participants chose between compound S+ and S‐ stimuli. Then, to assess control by compound‐stimulus elements, participants chose between individual elements in a testing phase without feedback. The S+ element chosen most often (the overselected element) underwent revaluation, during which choice of that element was extinguished and choice of a novel element reinforced. Thereafter, participants completed a retesting phase. Revaluation reduced choice of the overselected element. Choice of the underselected element decreased for participants with low overselectivity but increased for participants with high overselectivity. This was not the case for a control compound that did not undergo revaluation (Experiments 1 and 2) or in a control condition in which the overselected element continued to be reinforced during revaluation (Experiment 2). These findings suggest that overselectivity levels may modulate revaluation effects, and they also highlight the importance of the contingency change in postrevaluation changes in stimulus control.
Blood biochemistry parameters of Broad snouted caiman, Caiman latirostris subjected to stress conditions, appliying micro‐volume techniques
Authors: Moleón María Soledad , Santiago Gonzalo , Hilevski Samuel , Siroski Pablo Ariel
Published: April 2023

Plasma biochemistry values represent a crucial and minimally invasive tool for evaluating nutritional and physiological condition of the animal. Biochemical data provides valuable information in those species exposed to environmental stressors. In this study, we aimed to apply for the first time micro‐volume plasma tests to measured total plasma protein, albumin, and glucose in juvenile Caiman latirostris and to compare our results with other studies reporting crocodilian biochemistry values. We found that caimans from heat treatment were heavier, longer and had higher levels of glucose than those from the control group. Conversely, food restricted caimans had less growth, body condition and had 32.1% lower albumin concentrations than those from the control group. While no significant differences were observed in any parameters measured from water restricted caimans compared with control group. The values obtained for each of the biochemical determinations were lower than those previously reported for adult of C. latirostris, but similar finding for protein concentration compared with Alligator mississippiensis. Micro technique offers the advantage of increasing information and at the same time a greater physiological understanding of the crocodilians species.
Outcomes and performance of risk scores in acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding
Authors: Saleepol Aniwat , Kaosombatwattana Uayporn
Published: April 2023

Background and Aim

Treatment of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) remains problematic, and clinical data is limited compared to that of upper GIB. This study aimed to describe the clinical outcomes and predictors of rebleeding and validate the performance of proposed scoring systems in patients with acute overt LGIB.

Methods

Patients with LGIB who underwent colonoscopies between 2013 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Overt LGIB patients who presented within 72 h after bleeding onset were included. Demographics, comorbidities, initial management, endoscopic finding, and treatment outcomes were collected. Factors associated with rebleeding were explored, and the performance of Oakland, NOBLAD, and Strate scores regarding mortality and rebleeding were validated.

Results

A total of 537 patients from 3402 (age 72 years, 63–80) were included. Of this, 53% took antithrombotic agents and 59% required red cell transfusion, with a median of 4 red cell units. The most common diagnoses were diverticular bleeding (31.3%) and colorectal polyp/cancer (28.9%). The median time to colonoscopy was 2.3 days, and 80.3% of patients did not receive any hemostatic intervention. The 30‐day mortality and rebleeding were 2.6% and 18.3%, respectively. Patients with radiation proctitis, angioectasia, diverticulosis and using dual antiplatelet drugs were associated with recurrent bleeding. The risk scores showed low performance in predicting recurrent bleeding and mortality.

Conclusion

Acute, overt LGIB was common among elders with comorbidities. The rebleeding risk was mostly linked to underlying lesions and the use of antiplatelet drugs. The performance of current risk stratification scores remains unsatisfactory and requires further development.
Automated testing and interactive construction of unavoidable sets for graph classes of small path‐width
Authors: Bachtler Oliver , Heinrich Irene
Published: April 2023

Let be a class of graphs with a membership test, , and let be the class of graphs in of path‐width at most . We present an interactive framework that finds an unavoidable set for , which is a set of graphs such that any graph in contains an isomorphic copy of a graph in . At the core of our framework is an algorithm that verifies whether a set of graphs is, indeed, unavoidable for . While obstruction sets are well‐studied, so far there is no general theory or algorithm for finding unavoidable sets. In general, it is undecidable whether a finite set of graphs is unavoidable for a given graph class. However, we give a criterion for termination: our algorithm terminates whenever is locally checkable of bounded maximum degree and is a finite set of connected graphs. For example, ‐regular graphs, ‐colourable graphs, and ‐free graphs are locally checkable classes. We put special emphasis on the case that is the class of cubic graphs and tailor the algorithm to this case. In particular, we introduce the new concept of high‐degree‐first path‐decompositions, which enables highly efficient pruning techniques. We exploit our framework to prove a new lower bound on the path‐width of cubic graphs. Moreover, we determine the extremal girth values of cubic graphs of path‐width for all and all smallest graphs which take on these extremal girth values. Further, we present a new constructive characterisation of the extremal cubic graphs of path‐width 3 and girth 4.
Oxidative cross dehydrogenative coupling directed carbamates synthesis using Cu(II) pincer complex as active catalyst under mild reaction condition
Authors: Das Krishna Mohan , Thakur Arunabha
Published: April 2023

Development of an air‐stable and cheap transition metal‐based catalyst for the formation of carbamates via the cross‐coupling reaction of various 2‐carbonyl substituted phenolic derivatives or 1,3‐diketo derivatives with N,N‐disubstituted formamides (C(sp2)O bond formation) under mild conditions is the key focus of synthetic chemists. In this context, we have developed a novel benzothiazole appended 2,6‐di picolinamide‐based Cu(II) complex for the facile generation of carbamates at a slightly elevated temperature (50°C) with a short reaction time and low catalyst loading (0.5 mol%) for the first time. The synthesized complex was well characterized by ultraviolet–visible, infrared, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), as well as by single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. A wide range of aromatic carbamates was synthesized using complex 1 in good/excellent yield with decent functional group tolerance under mild conditions. Control experiments suggest that the reaction proceeds via the radical mechanism, and the formation of radical‐mediated intermediates was confirmed by the gas chromatography (GC), GCMS and HRMS. The use of low cost and environmentally benign catalysts in mild conditions along with the tolerance of a wide range of functional groups makes this an easy synthetic approach for the development of carbamates.
Light, metal‐free regioselectiveC6‐Halkylation of purines and purine nucleosides with alcohols
Authors: Liu Xiguang , Sun Xiangbin , Wang Weili , Tian Miao , Chen Yiwen , Zou Chunhui , Yu Mingwu
Published: April 2023

A metal‐, light‐free radical alkylation reaction of purines and nucleosides has been achieved with readily available alcohols (1°, 2°, 3°) as the alkyl radical sources enabled by oxalates, which does not need any catalysts, N2protection, and protecting groups. Although there are three potential active C(sp2)H bonds and four interferential nitrogen atoms in the purine motif, the reaction still shows excellent regioselectivity at C6H position and does not face multialkylation problem. Besides, this approach shows broad functional groups tolerance and is scalable to the gram level, which can be applied to late‐stage CH alkylation of purine to synthesize 6‐cyclopentyl nebularine with anti‐CEM activity, thus demonstrating its utility.
Global value chains, neoliberalism and development practice: Reflections on Kenya's experience
Authors: Singh Surendar
Published: April 2023

Global value chain (GVC)‐led development discourse has gained considerable traction in the international development policy debate. Multilateral institutions and donor agencies shape value chain discourse and practice. Through the scholarly literature, this study critically reviews the conceptual underpinnings of value chain theory and its discourse. The study reviews the thematic programmatic application of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and analyses the application of value chain from a critical social theory perspective in Kenya. Findings demonstrate that the application of value chain theory to Kenya's development practice is unclear with regard to crucial elements of GVC configuration such as the state's role in facilitating development strategies, asymmetrical power relations within value chains and world historical processes affecting upgrading trajectories. This aspect is evident in the value chain‐led development interventions of the USAID in Kenya and supports neoliberal development agenda that caters to the business interests of multinational corporations.
Venous Blood Oxygenation Measurements Using TRUST and T2‐TRIR MRI During Hypoxic and Hypercapnic Gas Challenges
Authors: Baas Koen P. A. , Vu Chau , Shen Jian , Coolen Bram F. , Biemond Bart J. , Strijkers Gustav J. , Wood John C. , Nederveen Aart J.
Published: April 2023

Background

Oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) may serve as biomarkers in several diseases. OEF and CMRO2 can be estimated from venous blood oxygenation (Yv) levels, which in turn can be calculated from venous blood T2 values (T2b). T2b can be measured using different MRI sequences, including T2‐relaxation‐under‐spin‐tagging (TRUST) and T2‐prepared‐blood‐relaxation‐imaging‐with‐inversion‐recovery (T2‐TRIR). The latter measures both T2b and T1 (T1b) but was found previously to overestimate T2b compared to TRUST. It remained unclear, however, if this bias is constant across higher and lower oxygen saturations.

Purpose

To compare TRUST and T2‐TRIR across a range of O2 saturations using hypoxic and hypercapnic gas challenges.

Study Type

Prospective.

Population

Twelve healthy volunteers (four female, age 36 ± 10 years).

Field Strength/Sequence

A 3T; turbo‐field echo‐planar‐imaging (TFEPI), echo‐planar‐imaging (EPI), and fast‐field‐echo (FFE).

Assessment

TRUST‐ and T2‐TRIR‐derived T2b, Yv, OEF, and CMRO2 were compared across different respiratory challenges. T1b from T2‐TRIR was used to estimate Hct (HctTRIR) and compared with venipuncture (HctVP).

Statistical Tests

Shapiro–Wilk, one‐sample and paired‐sample t‐test, repeated measures ANOVA, Friedman test, Bland–Altman, and correlation analysis. Bonferroni multiple‐comparison correction was performed. Significance level was 0.05.

Results

A significant bias was observed between TRUST‐ and T2‐TRIR‐derived T2b, Yv, and OEF values (−13 ± 11 msec, −5.3% ± 3.5% and 5.9 ± 4.1%, respectively). For Yv and OEF, this bias was constant across the range of measured values. T1b was significantly lower during severe hypoxia and hypercapnia compared to baseline (1712 ± 86 msec and 1634 ± 79 msec compared to 1757 ± 90 msec). While no significant bias was found between HctVP and HctTRIR (0.02% ± 0.06%, P = 0.20), the correlation between these Hct values was significant but weak (r = 0.19).

Data Conclusion

Given the constant bias, TRUST‐ and T2‐TRIR‐derived venous T2b values can be used interchangeably to estimate Yv, OEF, and CMRO2 across a broad range of oxygen saturations. Hct from T2‐TRIR‐derived T1‐values only weakly correlated with Hct from venipuncture.

Evidence Level

2

Technical Efficacy

Stage 2.