bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of primary aberration on the spatiotemporal optical vortex focus
Authors: Liu Yong , Kuang Cuifang
Published: June 2024

A spatiotemporal optical vortex (STOV) with transverse orbital angular momentum has several potential applications. However, refractive index mismatch, beam tilt and optical path misalignment are often inevitable during the application of an optical system. To investigate the focusing field of light pulse, the effects of primary aberrations such as the spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism were analyzed. The simulation results indicate that three-dimension spatiotemporal distributions of the focusing light pulse are affected by primary aberration. On the principal coordinate planes, coma can distort the intensity structure and shift the STOV focus perpendicular to the propagation direction, while spherical aberration and astigmatism induce the actual STOV focus to shift along the propagation direction. Astigmatism do not affect the intensity structure of spatiotemporal plane without spiral phase, but stretch the 3D STOV focus along one spatial axis. Coma and astigmatism are necessary to be avoided to obtain a perfect STOV focus. It is helpful to improve the applications of STOV focus, such as optical tweezers, microscopy, and communications.
Perceived need for climate information
Authors: Tamang Tenzin
Published: June 2024

Understanding that human activities primarily cause climate change is fundamental to driving behavioral change. However, a significant gap exists regarding its anthropogenic nature, with public understanding often lagging behind the scientific consensus. This underscores that previous efforts to bridge this gap have not been effective, highlighting that the reception of information is a complex process influenced by individual perspectives, biases, and preconceptions. Therefore, an individual’s information behavior is crucial in the interrelationship between climate science and the public. This study investigated the factors explaining individuals’ perceived need for information to form a firm opinion about climate change. It explored the roles of information gap, climate anxiety, and environmental adversity in shaping these needs. The study’s analysis is based on the 2021 Climate Change Opinion Survey (N = 76,328) from Meta’s Data for Good Program. The survey was conducted on Facebook, inviting active users aged 18 and above to participate through their news feeds. It was administered across 31 countries. For the analysis, multinomial logistic regression was employed. The results showed that a high climate information gap and anxiety are positively associated with information needs. Environmental adversity is also positively correlated with climate information needs, but one’s awareness of climate change moderated the association.
Behavior of polypyrrole-coated cotton fabric undergoing biodegradation in compost-enriched soil
Authors: Piccioni Marta , Varesano Alessio , Tummino Maria Laura
Published: June 2024

This study investigated the biodegradation behavior of cotton fabrics treated with polypyrrole, a polymer with conductive and antibacterial properties. Fabric samples were buried in compost-enriched soil for 10, 30 and 90 days. The biodegradation level was initially estimated by a visual inspection of the fibers and by the determination of the fabric weight loss. Other physical–chemical changes of fibers during the biodegradation process were analyzed by microscopy, thermal analyses and infrared spectroscopy. The surface resistivity of the fabrics was also measured. The results obtained comparing the bare cotton samples and the polypyrrole-added ones suggested that, on the one hand, polypyrrole hindered/delayed the biodegradation of cotton in compost-enriched soil, probably exercising its inherent antimicrobial feature during the first period of burial. On the other hand, over time, polypyrrole seemed to represent the first compound attacked by the microorganisms, preserving the cotton substrate. Despite the absence of dedicated literature regarding polypyrrole biodegradation, the mechanism hypothesized in this paper involves the loss of conjugation, as a consequence of de-doping, oxidized functionalities up to local cycle breaking.
Spatial spillover effects of the digital economy on the green total factor productivity of China’s manufacturing industry
Authors: Huang Yipeng , Chen Zhiguo , Yin Shi
Published: June 2024

The rapid expansion of the digital economy has garnered significant attention because of its potential to drive high-quality advancement in traditional sectors, particularly manufacturing. This study examines the spatial dynamics and potential spatial disparities between the digital economy and green total factor productivity (GTFP) in China’s manufacturing sector. We utilize a novel set of indicators to assess the advancement of the digital economy during Chinese provinces and apply spatial econometric models to investigate its spatial influence on GTFP. The main research content and conclusions of this study are as follows. (1) By employing a novel index system to quantify the digital economy’s advancement level within the manufacturing sector across various provinces in China, and utilizing it as the primary explanatory variable, the index system demonstrates significant efficacy in empirical analysis and is both scientifically robust and methodologically sound. (2) Using the spatial Dubin model, this study analyzes the spatial effects of the digital economy on the GTFP of the manufacturing sector and finds that it has a dominant positive spatial spillover effect on the GTFP of the manufacturing industry nationwide. (3) The results show that the effects of digital economy advancement on GTFP in the manufacturing industry have a positive spatial spillover effect in the eastern and central area, whereas it is negative in the western area. This study extends the applicability of the new economic geography and imperfect competition theories to the digital economy era, thereby contributing to these academic fields. Moreover, it introduces a novel analytical framework for assessing the digital economy’s influence on manufacturing advancement. The findings provide valuable insights and policy recommendations for fostering the development of the digital economy advancement across diverse regions in China.
No reference image quality assessment using gabor convolutional neural networks
Authors: Vadlamudi Jyothisri , Khan Md Sameeulla
Published: June 2024

With the emergence of image capturing devices and increase in usage of internet, massive volume of network data was occupied with digital images. For efficient data transmission, the image may undergo several processing units in from the point it captures to the display/storage device. It may result in loss of the perceptual image quality. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the image quality to measure the quality of experience. It was found that the convolutional neural networks serve as potential tool for effective feature extraction in many image processing applications. Particularly, with the first layer as Gabor filters, the robustness of the network can be reinforced with learnable Gabor parameters. This paper proposes Gabor Convolutional Neural Network method for No-Reference Image Quality Assessment. Their well-defined spatial structured filters are promising in extracting quality features from the local patches and maps them to perceptual quality scores. Our proposed architecture was tested over synthetic and authentic databases such as LIVE, TID2013, CSIQ, LIVE-MD, MDID2016, LIVE Wild and KoNiQ-10k. The proposed approach was also tested on the Waterloo 3D phase-II database, which contains high-resolution images of both the eyes individually with their respective DMOS scores. The proposed approach out performs over LIVE-MD and LIVE Wild and competes with existing algorithm over other databases.
A novel AgNFs/MOF/CFC substrate-based flexible SERS sensor for high-sensitive detection of dye molecules
Authors: Deng Wenlong , Mei Linyu , Niu Yue , Zhang Zicheng , Shao Yunpeng
Published: June 2024

Metal–organic framework (MOF) materials have been increasingly used owing to their high porosity, chemical stability, and semiconducting properties. With the help of MOF materials, MOF-based SERS substrates can exhibit high sensitivity. Herein, we proposed a flower-like Ag nanoparticles (AgNFs)/metal–organic framework (MOF)/ carbon fiber cloth (CFC) substrate-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor for the high-sensitive detection of dye molecules. MOF is used as a signal amplifier to accelerate the approach of dye molecules near AgNFs on the MOF surface and anchor AgNFs on the substrate surface. The detection occurred on the AgNFs/MOF/CFC SERS substrate, providing an enhancement factor (EF) of 5.53 × 107. Benefitting from the signal amplification function of AgNFs/MOF/CFC and the superiority of SERS, this sensor represented high sensitivity performance and a wide detection range. Importantly, the combination of Co elements with silver in the AgNFs/MOF/CFC composite substrate enhances the resistance of Ag to oxidation by atmospheric moisture resulting in excellent stability (the substrate maintained good SERS activity after 45 days of exposure to air) of the SERS substrate. The basic performance of the substrate was evaluated using rhodamine 6 G (R6G). (Detection limit reached 10−12 M) The detection limit of TC was 0.1 ppm. This method provides a potential and cost-effective strategy to develop advanced SERS sensing devices to effectively monitor pollutants in environmental waters.
Dynamic ant colony optimization algorithm for parameter estimation of PEM fuel cell
Authors: Ghosh Sankhadeep , Routh Avijit , Hembrem Pintu , Rahaman Mehabub , Ghosh Avijit
Published: June 2024

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) provide a reliable, pollution-free, sustainable, and stable power generating alternative to non-renewable resources, and they do not self-discharge. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) necessitate correct parameter estimates for effective investigation, modelling and designing effective fuel cells, highlighting the importance of exact modelling for successful use in many industries. The present research aims to determine the approximate parameters estimation of PEMFC using a modified algorithm derived from the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) meta-heuristic algorithm. In order to provide justification for the algorithm, it is initially benchmarked against 10 functions. The study compares the outcomes of PEMFC parameter estimation through the Dynamic Ant Colony Optimisation (DACO) algorithm including some additional metaheuristic algorithms such as Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO), Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm, and an algorithm known as Grey Wolf Optimisation - Cuckoo Search (GWOCS) which is hybrid in nature. The suggested algorithm’s performance evaluation is based on minimising the Square Error (SSE). The modified proposed optimization algorithm exhibits superior performance compared to other alternative meta-heuristic algorithms due to its minimal SSE value. The effectiveness and efficiency of the modified method based on the Ballard Mark V datasheet were evaluated using statistical error analysis and non-parametric testing. The convergence curves of DACO demonstrate a faster convergence compared to the other optimization algorithms.
Missed Callings: The Road Not Taken
Authors: Miller-McLemore Bonnie J
Published: June 2024

This chapter explores the pang of living forward with vocational decisions about which one can never be entirely sure. No one enters adulthood without facing life-changing choices and making decisions that matter not just for today or tomorrow but for the rest of one’s life. Nor without some regret. This kind of aching hindsight, so fresh and vivid for young adults, arises again and again throughout life when trying to follow callings. Drawing on Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” and studies of bereavement, liminality, and family systems, this chapter probes the sorrows and looks for ways to navigate the losses as an essential step in grappling with the hardships of callings often ignored by popular uses of the term.
Fractured Callings: I Do Not Do the Good I Want
Authors: Miller-McLemore Bonnie J
Published: June 2024

This chapter considers one of the more difficult “undersides” of callings—when they fall apart and people are partly to blame. Fractured callings are morally ambiguous matters whose causes are multiple and whose consequences are ambiguous. Talking about human culpability is a delicate matter, touching on questions of evil, sin, and human responsibility that people have debated for centuries. The chapter searches for ways to broach the common experience of brokenness, moving from fractured callings in work to the even more painful fractures in callings to love. It concludes by exploring how people have mended the fissures, touching on subjects such as truth-telling, humility, confession, forgiveness, self-forgiveness, affirmation, the need to refrain from judgment, and even the complicated good that can emerge out of failure.
Introduction
Authors: Sbisà Marina
Published: June 2024

This introduction situates John L. Austin within Ordinary Language Philosophy as one of its main representatives, entertaining a personal view of how philosophy relates to ordinary language, and reports on his philosophical and cultural formation. It considers what receptions Austin’s work has received, pointing out that it survived various sorts of criticism and misunderstanding and contributed to various trends of studies within and outside philosophy, among which the interdisciplinary field of pragmatics. It explains that this volume is not about Austin’s temperament, behaviour in philosophical discussion, and teaching but about the contents, implications, and significance of his writings. It comments on Austin’s style of writing, explaining why he is a more difficult author than one would think at first sight.
The Discovery of Illocution
Authors: Sbisà Marina
Published: June 2024

This chapter argues that, while Austin is renowned for putting forward the notion of performative utterance, his real discovery is that of illocution. It provides an account of Austin’s view of performative utterances and argues (on the basis of manuscript notes of his) that he passed from the characterization of performative utterances to the outline of speech act theory in order to avoid the notion of performative utterance being used to reduce the meaning of philosophically relevant words to their performative function. It claims that How to Do Things with Words is structured as a proof by contradiction of the claim that all of our utterances perform actions of the same kind as those performed by performative utterances (i.e., illocutionary acts). Finally, it provides an account of Austin’s conception of illocution, from his invention of that word to the rules for the illocutionary act’s felicity, the role of the securing of uptake, and the bringing about of an illocutionary effect. It also clarifies that for Austin, even though the assessment of an utterance as felicitous or infelicitous is prior to its assessment as true or false (or otherwise correct or incorrect with respect to the world), the distinction of felicity vs truth holds.
Context
Authors: Sbisà Marina
Published: June 2024

This chapter deals with the role of context in Austin’s philosophy of language. It examines Austin’s discussion of some examples of assertion which show how the context of an assertive utterance affects its truth–falsity assessment. It compares Austin’s view of the role of context as regards the significance and the assessment of utterances with semantic contextualism and truth-relativism and proposes to call Austin’s stance ‘non-propositional contextualism’. It clarifies the relationship between Austin’s views on truth and meaning and the mainstream framework of truth-conditional semantics. It concludes that Austin focuses on the dynamics of speech acts and on sense, reference, and truth–falsity assessments as belonging to it but is nevertheless to be seen as closer to Frege and Grice, as a heretic member of that lineage, than to James, Derrida, or Nietzsche.
Philosophy and the Ordinary
Authors: Sbisà Marina
Published: June 2024

This chapter explores the conception of the Ordinary that can be attributed to Austin and so why and in what sense the language upon which Austin’s method focuses must be ordinary. It argues that using language ordinarily does not necessarily coincide with expressing common-sense beliefs and that philosophy conducted according to the Linguistic Turn is not always sensitive to ordinariness. It characterizes ordinariness in three ways: as the by-default assumption that there are other people with whom we may interact, which lies at the foundations of the social bond; as the by-default assumption that linguistic exchanges are conducted in the framework of conversational cooperation, which enables utterances to convey implicit meaning; and eventually, as one way to fulfil the fidelity requirement mandating consistency between philosophical claims and actual behaviour in ordinary life. It further comments on Austin’s conception of philosophy examining his remarks about the place of philosophy among human cognitive activities and particularly, its relation with science.
South Africa
Authors: Krotoszynski, Jr. Ronald J
Published: June 2024

South African judges, using a process of common law reasoning, seek to reconcile the 1996 Constitution’s mandate for the respect of dignity, equality, and human freedom, which constitute South Africa’s apex constitutional rights, as well as its foundational constitutional values, with a free and open marketplace of political ideas. Despite clear textual signals that seem to elevate these apex rights over freedom of expression, the Constitutional Court of South Africa has embarked on a program of harmonization that seeks to integrate speech and expressive freedom more generally with equality, dignity, and freedom. It is not possible to conduct free and fair elections without the possibility of an open and wide-ranging debate about the policies that the government should pursue (and those it should abjure). A government empowered to censor core political speech, even if doing so in the name of equality and dignity, presents an existential risk to the process of democratic deliberation. South African judges, cognizant of South Africa’s fraught history with official government censorship during the apartheid era, deploy a process of common law constitutionalism to ensure that citizens remain free to speak their version of truth to power. Were political speech in South Africa subject to blanket government censorship whenever the elected branches deem such censorship necessary to promote dignity, equality, and human freedom, the government’s power to distort the operation of the marketplace of political ideas would fatally undermine the use of elections as a means of conferring legitimacy on the government.
Australia
Authors: Krotoszynski, Jr. Ronald J
Published: June 2024

Australia provides a compelling example of how the presence or absence of constitutional text need not prefigure whether the domestic courts will exercise a power of judicial review to safeguard expressive freedom. Even though Australia lacks a constitutional free speech guarantee, in 1992, Australia’s highest judicial tribunal and the institutional equivalent of the Supreme Court of the United States, the High Court of Australia (HCA) has recognized an “implied freedom” of political and governmental communication as a structural necessity in a polity that practices democratic self-government. This jurisprudential innovation demonstrates with convincing clarity that the absence of a constitutional text safeguarding the freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition, and association need not be an insurmountable obstacle to the exercise of judicial review to protect these expressive freedoms. Going forward, the HCA must decide if it actually means what is has been saying since handing down its landmark decision in ATV, in 1992, about the necessary relationship between the freedom of speech (and presumably other expressive freedoms) and the practice of democratic self-government. If expressive freedoms are, in fact, essential to maintaining free and fair elections, then Australia’s implied freedom of political and governmental communication should be expanded and extended to reach any and all communications that help facilitate informed and engaged citizenship by voters and expressly reach any and all forms of expressive activity (including speech, but also including assembly, association, petition, and a free press) that voters seek to utilize. Even if the freedom of speech in Australia is not a personal right, as it is in the United States, Israel, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, a commitment to democracy and democratic discourse requires judicial recognition and protection of all modalities of expressive freedom.
Israel
Authors: Krotoszynski, Jr. Ronald J
Published: June 2024

Although Israel does not have a formal, comprehensive, and entrenched written constitution, it nevertheless recognizes and respects fundamental human rights, notably including freedom of expression and expressive freedom more generally. The constitutional commitment to human rights in general, and to the freedom of speech in particular, constitute cornerstone features of Israel’s existing constitutional order. These commitments do not disrupt or impede democratic self-government and democracy in Israel; on the contrary, they enable and legitimate Israel’s experiment in democratic self-governance. Despite the absence of any written text, constitutional or statutory, that directly conveys legal protection on speech and other expressive freedoms, or any specific authorization of judicial review to safeguard it, residents of Israel have enjoyed these fundamental rights since 1953 and the Supreme Court of Israel’s landmark decision in Kol Ha’am. Using a process of common law constitutionalism, over seven decades, Justices of the Supreme Court of Israel have built a thoughtful, nuanced, and largely successful jurisprudential bulwark that protects freedom of expression from efforts at government censorship—and that vindicates the citizenry’s long-standing expectation that they are free to speak their version of truth of power. Indeed, as events associated with the Netanyahu government’s proposed “judicial reforms” demonstrate with convincing clarity, public protest and civic engagement are very much alive and well in contemporary Israel, and this is, in substantial measure, the direct result of the judges’ sustained efforts to use a common law process to define and protect expressive freedom in Israel.
Conclusion
Authors: Krotoszynski, Jr. Ronald J
Published: June 2024

The scope and meaning of expressive freedom within a particular legal system will, like Proteus, change shape and form, evolving over time, as the felt necessities of democratic self-government require. Judges, across domestic legal systems, will shape and reshape the doctrines associated with the protection of expressive freedom as necessary to enable them to craft judicial opinions that they believe will be credible—reasonably persuasive—to the general political community. In the context of expressive freedom, judges undertake this work as the guardians of democracy and the democratic process. This task is, and probably must be, an exercise in common law judging. At the end of the day, some constitutional rights cannot be effectively circumscribed by textual limitations; these rights can and will change their form and shape over time. The question for those drafting constitutional language then becomes identifying which rights can be more successfully codified—and which rights, because of their deeply seated sociolegal salience, are relatively impervious to efforts to limit or constrain them through particular verbal formulae. Efforts to cabin expressive freedom through constitutional or statutory text—through inclusion but also through exclusion—will inevitably and invariably fail because judges, not legislators, are its principal guardians. The First Amendment, and its foreign cousins as well, are protean—and our understanding of how constitutions work would be significantly improved if we invested more time and energy in trying to understand precisely why this is so.
Ethnicity and Ideology: A Theory
Authors: Rovny Jan
Published: June 2024

The chapter introduces the prevailing notion that ethnicity poses challenges to stable democratic politics, leads to particularistic extremism, conflict, and deviates from policy-based, ideological politics. It examines the existing literature on ethnic politics, demonstrating the general view of ethnicity as a source of political particularism that corrupts the democratic process. The chapter develops a theory that challenges this perception by proposing a theoretical framework of “ethnic liberalism.” It argues that ethnic minorities primarily aim to secure their survival as distinct groups. Under specific conditions, these minorities seek to protect individual and collective rights, restrain majority nationalism, and promote democratic outcomes through liberal constitutional arrangements. Ethnic minority representatives collaborate with favorable political forces to achieve these goals, framing domestic political competition, and shaping democratic institutions. Yet, ethnic liberalism is circumstantial; it can be undermined under certain conditions, such as in the context of potential secession, religious identification, or influence of illiberal ethnic kin states. The chapter outlines the conditions favoring ethnic liberalism and those that might undermine it, elucidating the impact of ethnic minority status on political preferences, party systems, and democracy in general.
Eastern Europe: Politics and Ethnicity
Authors: Rovny Jan
Published: June 2024

The chapter introduces the literature on eastern European politics which sees the region as ideologically amorphous and democratically fragile, which it attributes to the legacies of communism and ethnic heterogeneity. Contrary to this understanding, the chapter argues for important structural foundations of eastern European politics, significantly influenced by ethnic minorities. It asserts that ethnic interests, mobilized during the democratic transition of the 1990s, have fundamentally shaped the region’s ideological preferences and the structure of political competition. This initial mobilization continues to influence the political landscape, even as new issues, such as immigration and European integration, emerge. The chapter begins by discussing the ethnic composition of eastern European countries, then delves into the scholarly focus on the communist experience and its impact on society and politics. It emphasizes the pivotal role of ethnic politics in defining the contours of eastern European political space, particularly through associations between ethnic minority and other political representatives. Finally, the chapter examines the significance of politically mobilized ethnic minorities for democratic development and democratic backsliding.
Conclusion
Authors: Rovny Jan
Published: June 2024

The concluding chapter summarizes the arguments and findings of the book. It underscores how ethnic minority status shapes political preferences and how its mobilization and representation influence the trajectories of liberal democracies. It restates how mobilized ethnic minorities mold constitutional liberal poles of politics, leading organized ethnic minorities, faced with the constant exposure to the dominance of the majority, to seek constitutional liberalism in order to ensure group survival and mitigate the potential for majority abuse. The chapter restates how eastern Europe is a useful testing ground to demonstrate how ethnicity informs programmatic political competition, shapes party systems, and reinforces liberal democracy. The chapter reemphasizes how ethnic liberalism, while contingent on specific conditions and circumstances, fortifies the liberal pole of politics, structures party competition, and invigorates democratic resilience. The chapter highlights how this argument advances knowledge about the role of ethnicity in politics, about the social bases of political competition in eastern Europe, as well as about the role of identity as a source of programmatic political preferences and party competition. To assess how the argument of ethnic liberalism might travel beyond eastern Europe, the chapter provides three vignettes, demonstrating some aspect of ethnic liberalism among minorities in France, the United States, and Malaysia.
Evolutionary allometry of the canid baculum (Carnivora: Mammalia)
Authors: de Latorre Daniel Varajão , Marshall Charles R
Published: June 2024

While the mammalian baculum shows enormous morphological variability, the baculum of canids is highly conserved, with most variation restricted to size. Here, we explore the allometric relationship between baculum length and body size in extant and extinct canids. Examination of 26 species in the extant subfamily Caninae using standard linear regression revealed isometry. Phylogenetic regression also revealed an allometric slope indistinguishable from isometry. This pattern differs from the substantially negative slopes seen in other mammalian clades. The strength of the canid allometric relationship (r2) is also greater than in other clades, suggesting functional constraints on their baculum size. The constraints may be related to the copulatory tie that is characteristic of canids, and/or their monogamous mating system. Complete bacula are known from just four extinct species. The two complete bacula from the extinct subfamily Borophaginae (Aelurodon ferox and Aelurodon stirtoni) fall on the same allometric relationship as the living canids. However, the baculum of the extinct dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus, from the extant subfamily Caninae) and from the extinct subfamily Herperocyoninae, Hesperocyon gregarius, are significantly longer than expected based on their body sizes, suggesting that they may have had a different reproductive biology from that of extant canines.
The role of OX40 ligand/OX40 axis signalling in atopic dermatitis
Authors: Guttman-Yassky Emma , Croft Michael , Geng Bob , Rynkiewicz Natalie , Lucchesi Davide , Peakman Mark , van Krinks Cassandra , Valdecantos Wendell , Xing Heming , Weidinger Stephan
Published: June 2024

Lay Summary

Atopic dermatitis (AD) (also known as atopic eczema) is a common skin disease caused by inflammation, and affects 2–3 of every 10 people worldwide. AD affects people of all ages and can cause a range of symptoms, including dry thickened skin, itchiness, rashes and pain. Despite the recent addition of new targeted treatment options, there is still a need for new treatments for people with moderate-to-severe AD.

New drugs are being studied that target two important signalling molecules in the immune system, called OX40 ligand (OX40L) and OX40. OX40L and OX40 bind together to continue the cycle of immune system activation, leading to increasing symptoms of AD. Blocking the OX40L and OX40 interaction may ease or stop symptoms of AD.

This review outlines what is currently known about the causes of AD, including the role played by the immune system and specifically the role of OX40L and OX40. We also highlight the development of new treatments that target the OX40L and OX40 interaction to treat AD, and suggest what the future may hold for managing AD.
Nociceptors are functionally male or female: from mouse to monkey to man
Authors: Stratton Harrison , Lee Grace , Dolatyari Mahdi , Ghetti Andre , Cotta Tamara , Mitchell Stefanie , Yue Xu , Ibrahim Mohab , Dumaire Nicolas , Salih Lyuba , Moutal Aubin , François-Moutal Liberty , Martin Laurent , Navratilova Edita , Porreca Frank
Published: June 2024

The prevalence of many pain conditions often differs between sexes. In addition to such quantitative distinctions, sexual dimorphism may also be qualitative reflecting differences in mechanisms that promote pain in men and women. A major factor that influences the likelihood of pain perception is the threshold for activation of nociceptors. Peripheral nociceptor sensitization has been demonstrated to be clinically relevant in many pain conditions. Whether peripheral nociceptor sensitization can occur in a sexually dimorphic fashion, however, has not been extensively studied. To address this fundamental knowledge gap, we used patch clamp electrophysiology to evaluate the excitability of dorsal root ganglion neurons from male or female rodents, non-human primates, and humans following exposure to putative sensitizing agents.

Previous studies from our laboratory, and others, have shown that prolactin promotes female-selective pain responses in rodents. Consistent with these observations, dorsal root ganglion neurons from female, but not male, mice were selectively sensitized by exposure to prolactin. The sensitizing action of prolactin was also confirmed in dorsal root ganglion neurons from a female macaque monkey. Critically, neurons recovered from female, but not male, human donors were also selectively sensitized by prolactin. In the course of studies of sleep and pain, we unexpectedly observed that an orexin antagonist could normalize pain responses in male animals. We found that orexin B produced sensitization of male, but not female, mouse, macaque, and human dorsal root ganglion neurons. Consistent with functional responses, increased prolactin receptor and orexin receptor 2 expression was observed in female and male mouse dorsal root ganglia, respectively. Immunohistochemical interrogation of cultured human sensory neurons and whole dorsal root ganglia also suggested increased prolactin receptor expression in females and orexin receptor 2 expression in males.

These data reveal a functional double dissociation of nociceptor sensitization by sex, which is conserved across species and is likely directly relevant to human pain conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of functional sexual dimorphism in human sensory neurons. Patient sex is currently not a common consideration for the choice of pain therapy. Precision medicine, based on patient sex could improve therapeutic outcomes by selectively targeting mechanisms promoting pain in women or men. Additional implications of these findings are that the design of clinical trials for pain therapies should consider the proportions of male or female patients enrolled. Lastly, re-examination of selected past failed clinical trials with subgroup analysis by sex may be warranted.
Colorectal cancer cells with high metastatic potential drive metastasis by transmitting exosomal miR-20a-3p through modulating NF1/MAPK pathway
Authors: Liang Yahang , Li Junyu , Li Tao , Li Mingming , Liao Hualin , Liu Yang , Yao Yao , Yang Lingling , Lei Xiong
Published: June 2024

Cancer cells exhibit heterogeneous metastatic potential, and high metastatic (HM) subclones can enhance the metastatic potential of low metastatic subclones by transmitting some factors. Exosomal miRNAs play a pivotal role in the crosstalk of heterogeneous metastatic subclones. This study discovered that miR-20a-3p was upregulated in colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRA), correlated with metastasis, and potentially served as a prognostic indicator for CRA. miR-20a-3p could promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRA cells. Interestingly, HM CRA cells could promote malignant phenotypes of low metastatic CRA cells by transmitting exosomal miR-20a-3p. Mechanically, miR-20a-3p could inhibit neurofibromin 1(NF1), thereby activate the rat sarcoma viral oncogene (RAS)-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling pathway to drive the metastasis of CRA. In summary, our study provided evidence that colorectal cancer cells with HM potential drive metastasis by transmitting exosomal miR-20a-3p through modulating the NF1/MAPK pathway.
Visible-light-catalyzed synthesis of amino alcohols from N,N-dimethylaniline and aryl aldehyde
Authors: Jin Jia-Hui , Ma Yi-Jian , Yin Yu-Yun , Zhao Fu-Gang , Shen Cheng-Shuo , Xu Cheng-Miao , Shen Yong-Miao
Published: June 2024

Herein, we describe a direct radical addition reaction of aryl aldehyde and N, N-dimethylaniline using iridium complex as photocatalyst to form amino alcohols under mild conditions, offering a convenient and sustainable methodology. The reaction could be easily scaled up through continuous flow reaction with high yield. A series of amino alcohol compounds were synthesized with iridium complex as photocatalyst. The reaction could be scaled up with continuous flow reaction. The reaction mechanism has been investigated with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations.
The impact of dialysate flow rate on haemodialysis adequacy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Iman Yasmin , Bamforth Ryan , Ewhrudjakpor Ruth , Komenda Paul , Gorbe Kelley , Whitlock Reid , Bohm Clara , Tangri Navdeep , Collister David
Published: June 2024

Background

Patients with kidney failure treated with maintenance haemodialysis (HD) require appropriate small molecule clearance. Historically, a component of measuring ‘dialysis adequacy’ has been quantified using urea kinetic modelling that is dependent on the HD prescription. However, the impact of dialysate flow rate on urea clearance remains poorly described in vivo and its influence on other patient-important outcomes of adequacy is uncertain.

Methods

We searched Embase, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library from inception until April 2022 for randomized controlled trials and observational trials comparing a higher dialysate flow rate (800 ml/min) and lower dialysate flow rate (300 ml/min) with a standard dialysis flow rate (500 ml/min) in adults (age ≥18 years) treated with maintenance HD (>90 consecutive days). We conducted a random effects meta-analysis to estimate the pooled mean difference in dialysis adequacy as measured by Kt/V or urea reduction ratio (URR).

Results

A total of 3118 studies were identified. Of those, nine met eligibility criteria and four were included in the meta-analysis. A higher dialysate flow rate (800 ml/min) increased single-pool Kt/V by 0.08 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.05–0.10, P < .00001] and URR by 3.38 (95% CI 1.97–4.78, P < .00001) compared with a dialysate flow rate of 500 ml/min. Clinically relevant outcomes including symptoms, cognition, physical function and mortality were lacking and studies were generally at a moderate risk of bias due to issues with randomization sequence generation, allocation concealment and blinding.

Conclusion

A higher dialysate flow increased urea-based markers of dialysis adequacy. Additional high-quality research is needed to determine the clinical, economic and environmental impacts of higher dialysate flow rates.
Sex inequalities in cardiovascular risk prediction
Authors: Elliott Joshua , Bodinier Barbara , Whitaker Matthew , Wada Rin , Cooke Graham , Ward Helen , Tzoulaki Ioanna , Elliott Paul , Chadeau-Hyam Marc
Published: June 2024

Aims

Evaluate sex differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction, including use of (i) optimal sex-specific risk predictors and (ii) sex-specific risk thresholds.

Methods and results

Prospective cohort study using UK Biobank, including 121 724 and 182 632 healthy men and women, respectively, aged 38–73 years at baseline. There were 11 899 (men) and 9110 (women) incident CVD cases (hospitalization or mortality) with a median of 12.1 years of follow-up. We used recalibrated pooled cohort equations (PCEs; 7.5% 10-year risk threshold as per US guidelines), QRISK3 (10% 10-year risk threshold as per UK guidelines), and Cox survival models using sparse sex-specific variable sets (via LASSO stability selection) to predict CVD risk separately in men and women. LASSO stability selection included 12 variables in common between men and women, with 3 additional variables selected for men and 1 for women. C-statistics were slightly lower for PCE than QRISK3 and models using stably selected variables, but were similar between men and women: 0.67 (0.66–0.68), 0.70 (0.69–0.71), and 0.71 (0.70–0.72) in men and 0.69 (0.68–0.70), 0.72 (0.71–0.73), and 0.72 (0.71–0.73) in women for PCE, QRISK3, and models using stably selected variables, respectively. At current clinically implemented risk thresholds, test sensitivity was markedly lower in women than men for all models: at 7.5% 10-year risk, sensitivity was 65.1 and 68.2% in men and 24.0 and 33.4% in women for PCE and models using stably selected variables, respectively; at 10% 10-year risk, sensitivity was 53.7 and 52.3% in men and 16.8 and 20.2% in women for QRISK3 and models using stably selected variables, respectively. Specificity was correspondingly higher in women than men. However, the sensitivity in women at 5% 10-year risk threshold increased to 50.1, 58.5, and 55.7% for PCE, QRISK3, and models using stably selected variables, respectively.

Conclusion

Use of sparse sex-specific variables improved CVD risk prediction compared with PCE but not QRISK3. At current risk thresholds, PCE and QRISK3 work less well for women than men, but sensitivity was improved in women using a 5% 10-year risk threshold. Use of sex-specific risk thresholds should be considered in any re-evaluation of CVD risk calculators.
Host plant selection is linked to performance in Phthorimaea absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
Authors: Aparna Shivanna , Kumar Amritha R V , Sotelo-Cardona Paola , Srinivasan Ramasamy
Published: June 2024

The evolution of oviposition preference in insects is considered a key evolutionary strategy in the context of host–plant interaction. It is hypothesized that insects maximize the survival and fitness of the subsequent generations by preferring specific host plant(s), known as the “preference-performance hypothesis.” In this study, we tested whether adult host preference reflects the immature performance in an oligophagous insect, Phthorimaea absoluta Meyrick, a rapidly emerging invasive pest in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Based on a preliminary survey of the potential host plants of P. absoluta, we selected 6 Solanaceae species, namely, tomato, potato, eggplant, black nightshade, sweet pepper, and tobacco, for the oviposition preference studies. The results indicated that the tomato was the most preferred host in no-, dual- and multiple-choice assays, followed by potato, eggplant, and black nightshade. Subsequently, the insect life-table parameters were found to be superior on tomato compared to other hosts. The order of oviposition preference on the host plants was strongly correlated with the life-table parameters of P. absoluta. Thus, we provide clear evidence for the preference–performance hypothesis in the host selection behavior of P. absoluta. We also emphasize the necessity of conducting oviposition behavior research at various geographic locations to develop tailor-made integrated pest management programs.
Ten-year prognosis of acute atrial fibrillation in ST-elevation myocardial infarction: recurrence and risk stroke
Authors: Martínez Membrive María José , Subirana Isaac , Fadeuilhe Edgar , Rueda Ferran , Carreras-Mora José , Oliveras Teresa , Giralt Teresa , Labata Carlos , Ferrer Marc , El Ouaddi Nabil , Montero Santiago , Elosúa Roberto , Ribas Núria , Bayés-Genís Antoni , García-García Cosme
Published: June 2024

Aims

Atrial fibrillation (AF) often complicates ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI), with associated risks including stroke and mortality. Anticoagulation therapy for these patients and AF prognosis remain controversial. The aim was to evaluate long-term prognosis of STEMI patients complicated with AF in the acute phase.

Methods and results

We performed a retrospective analysis on a prospective register involving 4184 patients admitted for STEMI to the intensive cardiac care unit of two tertiary centres from 2007 to 2015. Patients with pre-existing permanent AF were excluded. Out of these, 269 (6.4%) patients developed AF within the first 48 h after STEMI and were matched with a control group based on age and left ventricular ejection fraction. After matching, a total of 470 patients were included (n = 235, AF-STEMI; n = 235, control group). Mean age was 69.0 years, and 31.7% were women. No differences were found in gender, cardiovascular risk factors, or ischaemic heart disease. AF-STEMI patients experienced more sustained ventricular tachycardia, advanced atrioventricular block, heart failure, and cardiogenic shock. In-hospital mortality was also higher in AF-STEMI patients (11.9% vs. 7.2%, P = 0.008). After a 10-year follow-up, the AF-STEMI group had remained with higher mortality (50.5% vs. 36.2%; P = 0.003) and a greater recurrence of AF (44.2% vs. 14.7%; P < 0.001), without differences in stroke incidence (10.1% vs. 9.3%).

Conclusion

As a conclusion, patients with AF complicating STEMI have higher rates of heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and in-hospital mortality. After a 10-year follow-up, they exhibit a high risk of AF recurrence and mortality, with no significant differences in stroke incidence.
Association between overweight and obesity with coronary artery bypass graft failure: an individual patient data analysis of clinical trials
Authors: An Kevin R , Sandner Sigrid , Redfors Björn , Alexander John H , Alzghari Talal , Caldonazo Tulio , Cancelli Gianmarco , Dell’Aquila Michele , Dimagli Arnaldo , Gibson C Michael , Harik Lamia , Heise Rachel , Kulik Alexander , Lamy Andre , Leith Jordan , Peper Joyce , Perezgrovas-Olaria Roberto , Rossi Camilla S , Ruel Marc , Soletti Giovanni Jr , Ten Berg Jurrien M , Willemsen Laura M , Wojdyla Daniel M , Zhao Qiang , Zhu Yunpeng , Verma Subodh , Gaudino Mario F L
Published: June 2024

OBJECTIVES

The association between obesity and graft failure after coronary artery bypass grafting has not been previously investigated.

METHODS

We pooled individual patient data from randomized clinical trials with systematic postoperative coronary imaging to evaluate the association between obesity and graft failure at the individual graft and patient levels. Penalized cubic regression splines and mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression models were performed.

RESULTS

Six trials comprising 3928 patients and 12 048 grafts were included. The median time to imaging was 1.03 (interquartile range 1.00–1.09) years. By body mass index (BMI) category, 800 (20.4%) patients were normal weight (BMI 18.5–24.9), 1668 (42.5%) were overweight (BMI 25–29.9), 983 (25.0%) were obesity class 1 (BMI 30–34.9), 344 (8.8%) were obesity class 2 (BMI 35–39.9) and 116 (2.9%) were obesity class 3 (BMI 40+). As a continuous variable, BMI was associated with reduced graft failure [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.98 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.97–0.99)] at the individual graft level. Compared to normal weight patients, graft failure at the individual graft level was reduced in overweight [aOR 0.79 (95% CI 0.64–0.96)], obesity class 1 [aOR 0.81 (95% CI 0.64–1.01)] and obesity class 2 [aOR 0.61 (95% CI 0.45–0.83)] patients, but not different compared to obesity class 3 [aOR 0.94 (95% CI 0.62–1.42)] patients. Findings were similar, but did not reach significance, at the patient level.

CONCLUSIONS

In a pooled individual patient data analysis of randomized clinical trials, BMI and obesity appear to be associated with reduced graft failure at 1 year after coronary artery bypass grafting.