bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mathematical modeling for developmental processes
Authors: Iwasa Yoh
Published: May 2023

We review several mathematical models and concepts in developmental biology that have been established over the last decade. (1) Feedback vertex set: Ascidian embryos contain cells of seven types, and cell fate is controlled by ~100 interacting genes. The “feedback vertex set” of the directed graph of the gene regulatory network consists of a small number of genes. By experimentally manipulating them, we can differentiate cells into any cell type. (2) Tissue deformation: Describing morphological changes in tissues and relating them to gene expression and other cellular processes is key in understanding morphogenesis. Expansion and anisotropy of the tissue are described by a “deformation tensor” at each location. A study on chick limb bud formation revealed that both the volume growth rate and anisotropy in deformation differed significantly between locations and stages. (3) Mechanobiology: Forces operating on each cell may alter cell shape and gene expression, which may subsequently exert forces on their surroundings. Measurements of force, tissue shape, and gene expression help us understand autonomous tissue deformation. (4) Adaptive design of development: An optimal growth schedule in fluctuating environments explains the growth response to starvation in Drosophila larvae. Adaptive placement of morphogen sources makes development robust to noises.
Effect of the glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist liraglutide, compared to caloric restriction, on appetite, dietary intake, body fat distribution and cardiometabolic biomarkers: A randomized trial in adults with obesity and prediabetes
Authors: Silver Heidi J. , Olson Dianna , Mayfield Dustin , Wright Patricia , Nian Hui , Mashayekhi Mona , Koethe John R. , Niswender Kevin D. , Luther James M. , Brown Nancy J.
Published: May 2023

Aims

To investigate the hypothesis that weight loss with the glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist (GLP‐1RA) liraglutide alone would lead to a greater reduction in the proportion of fat to lean tissue mass when compared to caloric restriction (CR) alone, as well as when compared to treatment with sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 (DPP‐4) inhibitor, that also enhances GLP‐1 activity ‐ to determine the independent effects of each treatment.

Methods

A total of 88 adults with obesity and prediabetes were randomized to 14 weeks of intervention with CR (−390 kcal/d), liraglutide (1.8 mg/d), or the dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor sitagliptin (100 mg/d) as a weight‐neutral comparator. Changes between groups in appetite and hunger ratings measured via visual analogue scales, dietary intakes, body weight, body composition via dual energy x‐ray absorptiometry, and resting energy expenditure via indirect calorimetry were assessed using the Kruskal‐Wallis test or Pearson's chi‐squared test.

Results

Weight loss ≥5% of baseline body weight occurred in 44% of participants in the CR group, 22% of the liraglutide group and 5% of the sitagliptin group (p = 0.02). The ratio of fat to lean mass decreased by 6.5% in the CR group, 2.2% in the liraglutide group, and 0% in the sitagliptin group (p = 0.02). Visceral fat reduced by 9.5% in the CR group, 4.8% in the liraglutide group, and 0% in the sitagliptin group (p = 0.04). A spontaneous reduction in dietary simple carbohydrates in the CR group was associated with improved homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance score (HOMA‐IR).

Conclusions

Although both liraglutide and CR are valuable strategies for cardiometabolic risk reduction, CR was associated with greater weight loss and more favourable improvements in body composition than treatment with liraglutide alone. Differences in the response to each of these interventions enables patients to be stratified to the most optimal intervention for their personal risk factors.
The anatomy of a bubble company: The London Assurance in 1720
Authors: Acheson Graeme , Aldous Michael , Quinn William
Published: May 2023

The London Assurance Company (LA), which incorporated during the bubble of 1720, experienced more dramatic price movements in its shares than the South Sea Company. This paper examines how incorporating during the bubble affected its long run performance. We show that the bubble in the Company's share price was partly attributable to changes in market structure during the share issuance process. As a result of the bubble, the Company's original subscribers, who had been curated for expertise and political connections, overwhelmingly exited during 1720 and were replaced by unsuccessful speculators. Analysis of LA shareholder behaviour up to 1737 suggests that this loss of shareholder expertise had detrimental consequences for the Company's performance. These results demonstrate how a bubble in the shares of a newly created company can lead to an exodus of value‐adding investors, damaging the company's long‐term prospects.
Female great tits (Parus major) reproduce earlier when paired with a male they prefer
Authors: Delaitre Ségolène , van Oers Kees , Visser Marcel E. , Caro Samuel P.
Published: May 2023

Mate choice is a key component of reproductive biology. Females often prefer certain males but do females modulate their reproductive investment depending on whether they are mated with their preferred partner? We investigated this question in great tits (Parus major) where we subjected 36 females to a six‐choice mate preference test. Male morphological traits and the female's own characteristics did not influence the preference females expressed. We however found that females spent more time near more exploratory males. We then paired females with one of the males in indoor aviaries, and subsequently monitored their reproductive investment (through measurement of plasma 17β‐oestradiol concentrations, first egg date, clutch size and egg size). Females that were mated with a male for which they had a strong preference laid their first clutch significantly earlier in the season than females paired with a male they less preferred. Our results show that mate preference influences reproductive investment in great tits, thereby linking mate choice to bird reproductive decisions.
Nocturnal parental care and the role of parents in hatching their eggs in the clown anemonefish
Authors: Pacaro Madison , Barbasch Tina , Rogers Michaela , Chavez Juan , Buston Peter , Majoris John
Published: May 2023

Parental care is a critical component of many breeding systems that enhances both parent and offspring fitness. It is widely recognized that parental care varies in quality and quantity in response to variation in offspring need, parental condition, and ecological context. One context that has been underexplored, however, is the presence of extensive parental care at night, with many parental care studies focused on diurnal care. To fully understand the evolution of parental care, both diurnal and nocturnal care must be accounted for. Here, we show that nocturnal parental care exists in the clownfish Amphiprion percula, with males and females actively caring for offspring at night throughout embryo development and during hatching within a laboratory setting. At night, as during the day, males continue to be the dominant caregiver and both parents increase care as embryos mature. However, females provide substantially more care at night than during the day. We also document three new parental care behaviors at night that are not seen during the day: vigorous fanning, vigorous mouthing, and anemone biting. These behaviors are particularly frequent during hatching, and they may serve to assist the hatching process by helping embryos transition from the benthic to the pelagic environment. This study contributes to our understanding of parental care, demonstrating the importance of considering nocturnal care if we are to gain a complete understanding of the evolution of parental care.
ASYv3: Attention‐enabled pooling embedded Swin transformer‐based YOLOv3 for obscenity detection
Authors: Samal Sonali , Zhang Yu‐Dong , Gadekallu Thippa Reddy , Balabantaray Bunil Kumar
Published: May 2023

The rampant spread of explicit content across social media can leave a damaging mark on our society. Hence, the need to be vigilant in detecting and curtailing sexually explicit content cannot be overstated. As such, it becomes paramount to discern and manage sexually explicit material to curb its dissemination and safeguard our digital communities from its harmful effects. In this article, we propose a unique technique entitled attention‐enabled pooling (ABP) embedded Swin transformer‐based YOLOv3 (ASYv3) for the detection of obscene areas present in the images with a bounding box around the offensive regions. ASYv3 employs a unique two‐step approach for enhanced performance in obscene detection. In the first step, a scalable and efficient Swin transformer block is integrated, utilizing self‐attention and model parallelism to train massive models effectively. In the second phase, the embedding layer of the Swin transformer is replaced with ABP, mitigating disruption of feature context. ABP allows for the projection of raw‐valued features into linear form with proper attention to feature context information at specified locations, resulting in optimized feature extraction. The proposed ABP embedded Swin transformer‐based YOLOv3 (ASYv3) was trained with annotated obscene images (AOI) dataset. The proposed ASYv3 model surpassed the state‐of‐the‐art methods by achieving 97% testing accuracy, 96.62% precision, 97.40% sensitivity, 3.48% FPR rate, 97.37% NPV values, and 95.59% mAP values, respectively.
Tandem and inverted duplications in haemophilia A: Breakpoint characterisation provides insight into possible rearrangement mechanisms
Authors: Li Yang , Ding Biying , Mao Yinqi , Zhang Huayang , Wang Xuefeng , Ding Qiulan
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Approximately half of patients with severe haemophilia A are caused by structural variants in the F8 gene. Unlike inversions or deletions directly impairing the integrity of F8, some duplications do not completely disrupt the open reading frame or even retain an intact F8 copy. Currently, only a few duplication breakpoints were precisely characterized, and the corresponding rearrangement mechanisms and clinical outcomes remain to be further investigated.

Aim

Establishing an effective strategy for breakpoint characterization of duplications and revealing their rearrangement mechanisms.

Methods

AccuCopy is used for the detection of duplications, long‐distance PCR for the characterization of tandem duplications, genome walking technique and whole genome sequencing for the characterization of inverted duplications.

Results

Four F8 duplication rearrangements were successfully characterized at the nucleotide level: one tandem duplication (exons 7–11) and three inverted duplications (exons 7–22, exons 2–26, and exons 15–22). Two shared features of inverted duplication were found after carefully analysing our results and breakpoint information in the literature: 1, an inverted fragment was inserted into the original chromosome via two junctions; 2, one junction is mediated by a pair of inverted repetitive elements, while the other consists of two breakpoints with microhomology.

Conclusion

Similar breakpoint features motivated us to propose a DNA replication‐based model to explain the formation of duplication rearrangements. Based on our model, we further divide the inverted duplications into three basic types: type I with a DEL‐NOR/INV‐DUP pattern, type II with a DUP‐NOR/INV‐DUP pattern and type III with a DUP‐TRP/INV‐DUP pattern.
BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO
Authors: Gordon N
Published: May 2023

SUMMARY Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo should be considered when a patient complains of attacks of dizziness of brief duration, that seem to occur under particular circumstances related to the positon of the head. The true nature of the disorder may be missed unless examination is carried out in a certain way: the head must be positioned below the rest of the body and turned to one or other side. Diagnosis then depends on the occurrence of vertigo and on noting the transient nystagmus. There are a number of causes of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo — head injury is a relatively frequent one. It has been suggested that this disorder is due to deposits on the cupula of the precipitating posterior semicircular canal. Indeed, exercises designed to dislodge such deposits can be successful. If not, and the vertigo lasts for more than a few months, surgery can be considered.
BILATERAL TUBAL ECTOPIC PREGNANCY: DIAGNOSTIC PITFALLS
Authors: de Graaf FL , Demetroulis C
Published: May 2023

SUMMARY A rare case of simultaneous bilateral tubal pregnancy after natural conception is presented, together with a review of the literature on this topic. Diagnostic aspects and treatment options are discussed.
META‐ANALYSIS OF STUDIES USING SELECTIVE α1‐BLOCKERS IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION AND TYPE 2 DIABETES
Authors: Glanz M , Garber AJ , Mancia G , Levenstein M
Published: May 2023

This meta‐analysis of published studies evaluated the effect of selective α1‐blockers on lipid and carbohydrate profiles and blood pressure (BP) as well as tolerability in patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Publications identified via MEDLINE were used. Text and bibliographies of retrieved articles were examined for additional references. Clinical trials with a randomised comparative structure (placebo and active treatment arms) and controlled studies with other structures were included. Of the 27 citations identified, 22 studies were selected for inclusion, and five were rejected. Efficacy and safety data, lipid and carbohydrate profiles, and study and patient characteristics were extracted by two investigators independently. The mean pooled results showed beneficial effects of selective α1‐blockers on total serum cholesterol (TC), high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic BP. The results also showed doxazosin had beneficial effects on fasting glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, TC, HDL cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, HDL/TC ratio, and systolic and diastolic BP. The risk difference was equivalent between the α1‐blocker group and the control group for postural hypotension or syncope. This meta‐analysis demonstrates a number of favourable effects of therapy with selective α1‐blockers in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes. These agents provide an effective modality for reducing BR with favourable effects on lipid, no deterioration in glycaemic control, and little risk of orthostatic hypotension.
INFLAMMATORY PSEUDOTUMOUR OF THE LIVER ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETES MELLITUS
Authors: Younis N , Khaleeli AA , Soran H , Monteith PG
Published: May 2023

Inflammatory pseudotumours of the liver are rare benign tumours of unknown origin, usually mistaken for malignant lesions. Two patients with Type 2 diabetes presented separately, unwell with fever, weight loss and hepatomegaly. Ultrasonography revealed 3–4 cm multiple lesions in the liver of the first case and a solitary 5 cm mass in the right lobe of the liver in the second. Biopsies revealed inflammatory pseudotumours in both cases. Both patients were treated with intravenous antibiotics and fluids. The clinical outcome was good and both patients had an uneventful recovery. We believe these to be the first two cases of inflammatory liver pseudotumours to be described in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Caregivers' perspectives on future planning for their adult children with intellectual disabilities in Romania
Authors: Ion Sandica , Lightfoot Elizabeth
Published: May 2023

Background

Much of the research and program innovation regarding future planning for adults with intellectual disabilities has occurred in countries with well‐developed disability service systems. This study explored how family caregivers planned for their adult children's future caregiving needs in Romania, a country with a limited array of disability services.

Method

In this exploratory qualitative study, we conducted 30 face‐to‐face interviews with caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities in Romania. We used thematic analysis to analyse the transcribed and translated interview data.

Results

The majority of participants, while believing that future planning was necessary, had not engaged in planning and had no supports for planning. As there were few disability services, the majority of the participants reported that they could not engage in planning, and many avoided thinking about the future.

Conclusion

Romania and other countries with fewer disability services likely need alternative models of future planning than those that have been developed and tested previously.
Bolsonaro's government and the dismantling of the participative institutions in environmental policy
Authors: Seifert Carlos Alberto , de Queiroz‐Stein Guilherme , Gugliano Alfredo Alejandro
Published: May 2023

In 2018, Jair Bolsonaro won the Brazilian presidential election with the political support of conservative groups and large business groups that aimed to intensify a neo‐extractivist model of economic growth, leading to severe environmental damage. This article analyzes the first years of this government to understand how conservative neo‐populism associates economic growth strategies with brusque changes regarding the environment. We have identified the main measures adopted in the environmental arena, observing changes in the legislation, management bodies, and spaces available for civil society participation. This analysis demonstrates how Bolsonaro's government destroyed the institutional bases established during Brazilian redemocratization to intensify the neo‐extractivism model and gratify its supporters. Furthermore, we discuss how this dismantling of environmental governance implies grave consequences for the ecosystems, indigenous people, and other traditional populations.
Asymptotic subadditivity/superadditivity of Value‐at‐Risk under tail dependence
Authors: Zhu Wenhao , Li Lujun , Yang Jingping , Xie Jiehua , Sun Liulei
Published: May 2023

This paper presents a new method for discussing the asymptotic subadditivity/superadditivity of Value‐at‐Risk (VaR) for multiple risks. We consider the asymptotic subadditivity and superadditivity properties of VaR for multiple risks whose copula admits a stable tail dependence function (STDF). For the purpose, a marginal region is defined by the marginal distributions of the multiple risks, and a stochastic order named tail concave order is presented for comparing individual tail risks. We prove that asymptotic subadditivity of VaR holds when individual risks are smaller than regularly varying (RV) random variables with index −1 under the tail concave order. We also provide sufficient conditions for VaR being asymptotically superadditive. For two multiple risks sharing the same copula function and satisfying the tail concave order, a comparison result on the asymptotic subadditivity/superadditivity of VaR is given. Asymptotic diversification ratios for RV and log regularly varying (LRV) margins with specific copula structures are obtained. Empirical analysis on financial data is provided for highlighting our results.
Elevation provenance affects photosynthesis and its acclimation to temperature in the high‐Andes alpine herb Phacelia secunda
Authors: Hernández‐Fuentes C. , Galmés J. , Bravo L. A. , Cavieres L. A.
Published: May 2023

We analysed whether Phacelia secunda populations from different elevations exhibit intrinsic traits associated with diffusive and biochemical components of photosynthesis, and if they differ in acclimation of photosynthesis to warmer temperatures. We hypothesized that P. secunda will have similar photosynthetic performance regardless of altitudinal provenance and that plants from high elevations will have a lower photosynthetic acclimation capacity to higher temperature than plants from low elevations.

Plants from 1600, 2800 and 3600 m a.s.l. in the central Chilean Andes were collected and grown under two temperature regimes (20/16 °C and 30/26 °C day/night). The following photosynthetic traits were measured in each plant for the two temperature regimes: AN, gs, gm, Jmax, Vcmax, Rubisco carboxylation kcatc.

Under a common growth environment, plants from the highest elevation had slightly lower CO2 assimilation rates compared to lower elevation plants. While diffusive components of photosynthesis increased with elevation provenance, the biochemical component decreased, suggesting compensation that explains the similar rates of photosynthesis among elevation provenances. Plants from high elevations had lower photosynthetic acclimation to warmer temperatures compared to plants from lower elevations, and these responses were related to elevational changes in diffusional and biochemical components of photosynthesis.

Plants of P. secunda from different elevations maintain photosynthetic traits when grown in a common environment, suggesting low plasticity to respond to future climate changes. The fact that high elevation plants had lower photosynthetic acclimation to warmer temperature suggests higher susceptibility to increases in temperature associated with global warming.
Contribution of nucleation techniques to plant establishment in restoration projects: an integrative review and meta‐analysis
Authors: de Oliveira Bahia Thaise , Martins Cristiane , Antonini Yasmine , Cornelissen Tatiana
Published: May 2023

Nucleation practices combine several techniques that use small nuclei of vegetation as starting points of vegetation regeneration and serve as an integrated approach to improve environmental conditions and promote the establishment of species in degraded lands. We performed an integrative review and a meta‐analysis to test which nucleation techniques better improve plant establishment in restoration projects. We compared the efficiency of single and combined nucleation techniques including topsoil or litter transposition, bird perches, island planting (nuclei), and brushwood. A total of 374 studies published between 1993 and 2021 were evaluated; 73 studies were included in the integrative review and 35 studies enabled effect size calculation. The most common metrics used to measure restoration outcomes were the evaluation of seedling richness, density and abundance, topsoil transposition techniques, transposition of litter or seed bank (41% of the studies), and bird perches (35% of the studies). Among the sources of disturbance, agriculture for food production was the most frequent activity reported. Overall, we detected strong and positive effects of nucleation techniques on seedling parameters, with increased seedling richness and seedling survivorship compared to control areas. Stronger effects on plant richness were found for tropical compared to temperate forests. Restoration techniques differed in their ability to improve seedling richness, but the combination of topsoil transposition and bird perches enhanced seedling richness the most. Our results suggest that the use of nucleation techniques in ecosystem restoration is an efficient tool to increase the richness and establishment of plants (seedlings) in areas under restoration.
Orthogonal contrasts for both balanced and unbalanced designs and both ordered and unordered treatments
Authors: Rayner J. C. W. , Livingston G. C.
Published: May 2023

We consider designs with t treatments, the ith level of which has ni observations. Four cases are examined: treatment levels both ordered and not, and the design balanced, with all ni equal, and not. A general construction is given that takes observations, typically treatment sums or treatment rank sums, constructs a simple quadratic form and expresses it as a sum of squares of orthogonal contrasts. For the case of ordered treatment levels, the Kruskal–Wallis, Friedman and Durbin tests are recovered by this construction. A dataset where the design is the supplemented balanced, which is an unbalanced design in our terminology, is analyzed. When treatment levels are not ordered the construction also applies. We then focus on Helmert contrasts.
Characterization of the conserved features of the NSE6 subunit of the Physcomitrium patens SMC5/6 complex
Authors: Lelkes Edit , Jemelková Jitka , Holá Marcela , Štefanovie Barbora , Kolesár Peter , Vágnerová Radka , Dvořák Tomaštíková Eva , Pecinka Ales , Angelis Karel J. , Paleček Jan J.
Published: May 2023

Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complexes are molecular machines ensuring chromatin organization at higher levels. They play direct roles in cohesion, condensation, replication, transcription, and DNA repair. Their cores are composed of long‐armed SMC, kleisin, and kleisin‐associated subunits. Additional factors, like NSE6 within SMC5/6, bind to SMC core complexes and regulate their activities. In the human HsNSE6/SLF2, we recently identified a new CANIN domain. Here we tracked down its sequence homology to lower plants, selected the bryophyte Physcomitrium patens, and analyzed PpNSE6 protein–protein interactions to explore its conservation in detail. We identified a previously unrecognized core sequence motif conserved from yeasts to humans within the NSE6 CANIN domain. This motif mediates the interaction between NSE6 and its NSE5 partner in yeasts and plants. In addition, the CANIN domain and its preceding PpNSE6 sequences bind both PpSMC5 and PpSMC6 arms. Interestingly, we mapped the PpNSE6‐binding site at the PpSMC5 arm right next to the PpNSE2‐binding surface. The position of NSE6 at SMC arms suggests its role in the regulation of SMC5/6 dynamics. Consistent with the regulatory role of NSE6 subunits, Ppnse6 mutant lines were viable and sensitive to the DNA‐damaging drug bleomycin and lost a large portion of rDNA copies. These moss mutants also exhibited reduced growth and developmental aberrations. Altogether, our data showed the conserved function of the NSE6 subunit and architecture of the SMC5/6 complex across species.
Impedance Sensitivity Analysis Based on Discontinuous Isogeometric Boundary Element Method in Automotive Acoustics
Authors: Sun Yi , Liping Xie , Lu Chihua , Liu Zhien , Chen Wan , Li Xiaolong
Published: May 2023

Acoustic sensitivity analysis is an essential technique to determine the direction of structural-acoustic optimization by evaluating the gradient of the objective functions with respect to the design variables. However, acoustic sensitivity analysis with respect to acoustic impedance, which is an important parameter representing the interior absorbent material in automotive acoustics, is lacking in the study. Moreover, acoustic sensitivity analysis implemented with conventional numerical methods is time and effort-consuming in automotive acoustics, due to the large-scale mesh generation. In this work, the impedance sensitivity analysis for automotive acoustics based on the discontinuous isogeometric boundary element method is presented. The regularized boundary integral equation with impedance boundary conditions is established, then the sensitivity is derived by differentiating the boundary integral equation. The efficiency of the proposed method is improved by employing the parallel technique and generalized minimal residual solver. A long duct example with an analytical solution validates the accuracy of the proposed method, and an automotive passenger compartment subjecting to impedance boundary conditions illustrates that the computing time of the proposed method is one order of magnitude less than the conventional method. This work presents an easily implementable and efficient tool to investigate acoustic sensitivity with respect to impedance, showing great potential in the application of automotive acoustics.
Performance Optimization of Finned Surfaces Based on the Experimental and Numerical Study
Authors: Kocak Eyup , Turkoglu Hasmet , Aylı Ece
Published: May 2023

This paper presents the findings of numerical and experimental investigations into the forced convection heat transfer from horizontal surfaces with straight rectangular fins at Reynolds numbers ranging from 23,600 to 150,000. A test setup was constructed to measure the heat transfer rate from a horizontal surface with a constant number of fins, fin width, and fin length under different flow conditions. Two-dimensional numerical analyses were performed to observe the heat transfer and flow behavior using a computer program developed based on the openfoam platform. The code developed was verified by comparing the numerical results with the experimental results. The effect of geometrical parameters on heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number was investigated for different fin height and width ratios. Results showed that heat transfer can be increased by modifying the fin structure geometrical parameters. A correlation for Nusselt number was developed and presented for steady-state, turbulent flows over rectangular fin arrays, taking into account varying Prandtl number of fluids such as water liquid, water vapor, CO2, CH4, and air. The correlation developed predicts the Nusselt number with a relative root mean square error of 0.36%. This research provides valuable insights into the effects of varying Prandtl numbers on the efficiency of forced convection cooling and will help in the design and operation of cooling systems. This study is novel in its approach as it takes into account the effect of varying Prandtl numbers on the heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number and provides a correlation for the same. It will serve as a valuable reference for engineers and designers while designing and operating cooling systems.
Neuronal-glioma cross-talk
Authors: Baek Amy E.
Published: May 2023

Remodeling of neural circuits by glioma cells decreases patient survival.
PcaR, a GntR/FadR Family Transcriptional Repressor Controls the Transcription of Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid 1,2-Dioxygenase Gene Cluster in Sphingomonas histidinilytica DS-9
Authors: Zhu Qian , Bai Xuekun , Li Qian , Zhang Mingliang , Hu Gang , Pan Kaihua , Liu Hongfei , Ke Zhijian , Hong Qing , Qiu Jiguo
Published: May 2023

Sphingomonas histidinilytica
DS-9 is a phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA)-degrading strain. The 1,2-dioxygenase gene cluster (
pcaA1A2A3A4
cluster, encoding dioxygenase PcaA1A2, reductase PcaA3, and ferredoxin PcaA4) is responsible for the initial degradation step of PCA and widely distributed in Sphingomonads, but its regulatory mechanism has not been investigated yet.
Acinetobacter Metabolism in Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance
Authors: Ren Xiaomei , Palmer Lauren D.
Published: May 2023

Acinetobacter
infections have high rates of mortality due to an increasing incidence of infections by multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively-drug-resistant (XDR) strains. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of
Acinetobacter
infections are urgently needed.
Acinetobacter
spp. are Gram-negative coccobacilli that are obligate aerobes and can utilize a wide variety of carbon sources.
Acinetobacter baumannii
is the main cause of
Acinetobacter
infections, and recent work has identified multiple strategies
A. baumannii
uses to acquire nutrients and replicate in the face of host nutrient restriction.
Macrolides Decrease the Proinflammatory Activity of Macrolide-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Domon Hisanori , Hirayama Satoru , Isono Toshihito , Sasagawa Karin , Takizawa Fumio , Maekawa Tomoki , Yanagihara Katsunori , Terao Yutaka
Published: May 2023

To date, the clinical efficacy of macrolides in pneumococcal disease is assumed to be linked to their ability to inhibit the release of pneumolysin. However, our previous study demonstrated that oral administration of macrolides to mice intratracheally infected with macrolide-resistant
Streptococcus pneumoniae
resulted in decreased levels of pneumolysin and proinflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples compared to the levels in samples from untreated infected control mice, without affecting the bacterial load in the fluid.
Phytic Acid Demonstrates Rapid Antibiofilm Activity and Inhibits Biofilm Formation When Used as a Surface Conditioning Agent
Authors: Nassar Rania , Nassar Mohannad , Senok Abiola , Williams David
Published: May 2023

Root canal infections are biofilm associated, and despite mechanical and chemical treatment procedures, infection recurrence occurs, and this is likely due to the high tolerance of associated biofilms to antimicrobials. The currently used treatment agents have several disadvantages, which necessitates the search for new improved agents.
Serodominant SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Peptides Map to Unstructured Protein Regions
Authors: Vandervaart Jacob P. , Inniss Nicole L. , Ling-Hu Ted , Minasov George , Wiersum Grant , Rosas-Lemus Monica , Shuvalova Ludmilla , Achenbach Chad J. , Hultquist Judd F. , Satchell Karla J. F. , Bachta Kelly E. R.
Published: May 2023

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, a structural and genetic understanding of key viral epitopes will be essential to the development of next-generation diagnostics and vaccines. This study uses structural biology and epitope mapping to define the antigenic regions of the viral nucleocapsid protein in sera from a cohort of COVID-19 patients with diverse clinical outcomes.
Clinical usefulness of reintubation criteria in extremely preterm infants: a cohort study
Authors: Alarcon-Martinez Tugba , Latremouille Samantha , Kovacs Lajos , Kearney Robert E , Sant’Anna Guilherme M , Shalish Wissam
Published: May 2023

Objective

To describe the thresholds of instability used by clinicians at reintubation and evaluate the accuracy of different combinations of criteria in predicting reintubation decisions.

Design

Secondary analysis using data obtained from the prospective observational Automated Prediction of Extubation Readiness study (NCT01909947) between 2013 and 2018.

Setting

Multicentre (three neonatal intensive care units).

Patients

Infants with birth weight ≤1250 g, mechanically ventilated and undergoing their first planned extubation were included.

Interventions

After extubation, hourly O2requirements, blood gas values and occurrence of cardiorespiratory events requiring intervention were recorded for 14 days or until reintubation, whichever came first.

Main outcome measures

Thresholds at reintubation were described and grouped into four categories: increased O2, respiratory acidosis, frequent cardiorespiratory events and severe cardiorespiratory events (requiring positive pressure ventilation). An automated algorithm was used to generate multiple combinations of criteria from the four categories and compute their accuracies in capturing reintubated infants (sensitivity) without including non-reintubated infants (specificity).

Results

55 infants were reintubated (median gestational age 25.2 weeks (IQR 24.5–26.1 weeks), birth weight 750 g (IQR 640–880 g)), with highly variable thresholds at reintubation. After extubation, reintubated infants had significantly greater O2needs, lower pH, higher pCO2and more frequent and severe cardiorespiratory events compared with non-reintubated infants. After evaluating 123 374 combinations of reintubation criteria, Youden indices ranged from 0 to 0.46, suggesting low accuracy. This was primarily attributable to the poor agreement between clinicians on the number of cardiorespiratory events at which to reintubate.

Conclusions

Criteria used for reintubation in clinical practice are highly variable, with no combination accurately predicting the decision to reintubate.
Generalised joint hypermobility leads to increased odds of sustaining a second ACL injury within 12 months of return to sport after ACL reconstruction
Authors: Zsidai Bálint , Piussi Ramana , Thomeé Roland , Sundemo David , Musahl Volker , Samuelsson Kristian , Hamrin Senorski Eric
Published: May 2023

Objectives

To determine the 12-month risk of a second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in a population of patients with and without generalised joint hypermobility (GJH) who return to sports (RTS) at competition level after ACL reconstruction (ACL-R).

Methods

Data were extracted from a rehabilitation-specific registry for 16–50-year-old patients treated with ACL-R between 2014 and 2019. Demographics, outcome data and the incidence of a second ACL injury within 12 months of RTS, defined as a new ipsilateral or contralateral ACL, were compared between patients with and without GJH. Univariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were performed to determine the influence of GJH and time of RTS on the odds of a second ACL injury, and ACL-R survival without a second ACL injury after RTS.

Results

A total of 153 patients, 50 (22.2%) with GJH and 175 (77.8%) without GJH, were included. Within 12 months of RTS, 7 (14.0%) patients with GJH and 5 (2.9%) without GJH had a second ACL injury (p=0.012). The odds of sustaining a second ipsilateral or contralateral ACL injury were 5.53 (95% CI 1.67 to 18.29) higher in patients with GJH compared with patients without GJH (p=0.014). The lifetime HR of a second ACL injury after RTS was 4.24 (95% CI 2.05 to 8.80; p=0.0001) in patients with GJH. No between-group differences were observed in patient-reported outcome measures.

Conclusion

Patients with GJH undergoing ACL-R have over five times greater odds of sustaining a second ACL injury after RTS. The importance of joint laxity assessment should be emphasised in patients who aim to return to high-intensity sports following ACL-R.
Deep learning-based cerebral aneurysm segmentation and morphological analysis with three-dimensional rotational angiography
Authors: Nishi Hidehisa , Cancelliere Nicole M , Rustici Ariana , Charbonnier Guillaume , Chan Vanessa , Spears Julian , Marotta Thomas R , Mendes Pereira Vitor
Published: May 2023

Background

The morphological assessment of cerebral aneurysms based on cerebral angiography is an essential step when planning strategy and device selection in endovascular treatment, but manual evaluation by human raters only has moderate interrater/intrarater reliability.

Methods

We collected data for 889 cerebral angiograms from consecutive patients with suspected cerebral aneurysms at our institution from January 2017 to October 2021. The automatic morphological analysis model was developed on the derivation cohort dataset consisting of 388 scans with 437 aneurysms, and the performance of the model was tested on the validation cohort dataset consisting of 96 scans with 124 aneurysms. Five clinically important parameters were automatically calculated by the model: aneurysm volume, maximum aneurysm size, neck size, aneurysm height, and aspect ratio.

Results

On the validation cohort dataset the average aneurysm size was 7.9±4.6 mm. The proposed model displayed high segmentation accuracy with a mean Dice similarity index of 0.87 (median 0.93). All the morphological parameters were significantly correlated with the reference standard (all P<0.0001; Pearson correlation analysis). The difference in the maximum aneurysm size between the model prediction and reference standard was 0.5±0.7 mm (mean±SD). The difference in neck size between the model prediction and reference standard was 0.8±1.7 mm (mean±SD).

Conclusion

The automatic aneurysm analysis model based on angiography data exhibited high accuracy for evaluating the morphological characteristics of cerebral aneurysms.
Transvenous retrograde pressure cooker technique for embolization of an ethmoidal dural arteriovenous fistula
Authors: Cheng How-Chung , Bodani Vivek P , Chung Emily , Mosimann Pascal John
Published: May 2023

Ethmoidal dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) are rare lesions, accounting for approximately 10% of intracranial DAVFs.1 2 As ethmoidal DAVFs commonly demonstrate cortical venous drainage, treatment is always warranted.2–6 Endovascular transvenous embolization has been increasingly reported as an effective and safe treatment for ethmoidal DAVFs, and since occlusion of the central retinal artery and resulting blindness are not a concern, it has an advantage over transarterial embolization.3–6 To ensure curative embolization, we adopted the transvenous retrograde pressure cooker technique (RPCT), creating a plug with n-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) in the draining vein to allow a more comprehensive and efficient injection of Onyx (Medtronic, MN) while avoiding excessive reflux.7 8 In this technical video (video 1), we report the first case using the transvenous RPCT for successful Onyx embolization of an ethmoidal DAVF, with emphasis on the technical nuances of the RPCT and important tips to avoid periprocedural complications.

Video 1

 Video demonstrating Onyx embolization of an ethmoidal dural arteriovenous fistula using the transvenous retrograde pressure cooker technique.
CD38 deficiency promotes skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue energy expenditure through activating NAD+-Sirt1-PGC1α signaling pathway
Authors: Ding Qi , Wen Ke , Li Qian , Zhao Qi-Hang , Zhao Jia-Le , Xiao Yun-Fei , Guan Xiao-Hui , Jiang Mei-Xiu , Zhang Feng , Wang Ling-Fang
Published: May 2023

Obesity is a metabolic syndrome characterized by abnormal lipid deposition and energy imbalance. CD38 is a single-chain transmembrane glycoprotein widely expressed in a variety of cell types. The roles of skeletal muscle and brown fat in CD38 deficiency under HFD-induced obesity remain unknown. In this study, we established obesity model with HFD and examined the changes in metabolites with metabonomics. Our results showed that CD38 expression was increased in muscle and brown fat after HFD treatment. Moreover, the results of metabonomics showed that CD38 deficiency significantly altered the metabolites in energy metabolism, cofactor generation, and redox homeostasis. Furthermore, CD38 deficiency reduced the expressions of NADPH oxidase 2 and FASN in mRNA level. We found that the expressions of Sirt1, Sirt3, and PGC1α were upregulated in CD38-deficient muscle tissue. In brown fat, the Sirt1-3, cell death inducing DFFA-like effector A, ELOVL3, and Dio2 expressions were increased in CD38-deficient mice. Our results showed the uncoupling protein 1 expression was upregulated. And NAD+ supplementation increased the expression of Sirt1 and PGC1α after palmitic acid treatment. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the protection of CD38 deficiency on HFD-induced obesity was related to the inhibition of oxidative stress and increasing energy expenditure via activating NAD+/Sirtuins signaling pathways in muscle and brown fat.
Conceptual optimization of remotely piloted amphibious aircraft for wildfire air attack
Authors: Ward Ryan , Readman Brett , O’Yeung Brennan , Hinman W. Schuyler
Published: May 2023

In this study, a methodology for the high-level conceptual design, optimization, and evaluation of amphibious remotely piloted and autonomous fixed-wing aircraft to support wildfire air attack strategies is presented. Of particular interest are questions of scale, water source utilization, and optimization of high-level aircraft parameters in a regional context. The Canadian province of British Columbia is used as a case study due to the relevance of wildfire control in that region. The present strategy incorporates a detailed analysis of available water bodies, tanker base locations, and their distance from historical wildfire locations and explores how these regionally specific details impact optimal aircraft design parameters. Results are obtained for optimal lake size as well as the primary design characteristics of the corresponding optimal aircraft. Two filling strategies are evaluated, namely, a “stop-and-go” strategy and a traditional skimming strategy. The results indicate the potential of fleets of optimized aircraft to supply high flow rates while capitalizing on the established benefits of using remotely piloted and autonomous systems. It is hoped this work will encourage future study into improved models and the further development of drone technology for this application, including necessary beyond visual line-of-sight technology and infrastructure.
Research and application of nodal stress correction at stiffness mutation position for fatigue life evaluation
Authors: Liu Wenfei , Zhang Li , He Liwen , Gao Zhixiong
Published: May 2023

This paper proposes a two-level stress correction method to overcome the limitations of the element stress average method that is typically used to calculate the nodal stress in finite element analyses and increase the fatigue life evaluation accuracy at the stiffness mutation positions of large-scale structure. In the first stage, a standard-deviation-weighted stress smoothing method is used to address the high element stress dispersion at the stiffness mutation point. The second stage involves a stress gradient correction method established based on the theory that the nodal stress is affected by other nodal stresses on the stress gradient path. The nodal stresses of the key points of an 80-ton gondola car body are extracted using the two-level stress correction method, and the fatigue life of the key points is evaluated considering the load spectrum of the Daqin coal line. The fatigue lives corresponding to the measured stress spectrum at the key points are compared with the simulated values. Compared with that obtained by the traditional method, the fatigue life of the key joints obtained by the proposed method is closer to the actual fatigue life. Additionally, the nodal stress at the stiffness mutation position obtained by the proposed method is more accurate. Therefore, the two-level stress correction method is a promising platform for the fatigue life evaluation of large-scale structures.
Is it possible to distinguish between different black hole solutions using the Shapiro time delay?
Authors: Junior Ednaldo L. B. , Rodrigues Manuel E. , Vieira Henrique A.
Published: May 2023

In this paper we propose to use the Shapiro time delay as a tool to distinguish between different black hole solutions. We calculate the analytic Shapiro time using first order expansions for four solutions. These are Schwarzschild, Reissner–Nordström, Bardeen, and Ayón-Beato and García. We created a numerical experiment based on measurements in the solar system consisting of the outward and return paths of light traversing a black hole at the center. We obtained different delay times on the order of $$10^{-4}~\hbox {s}$$

10

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4

s

and $$10^{-6}~\hbox {s}$$

10

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6

s

for a stellar black hole; and variations on the order of hours for a supermassive hole. Considering that the accuracies currently achieved in solar system measurements are on the order of $$10^{-12}~\hbox {s}$$

10

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12

s

, we believe that this mechanism could be used in the determination of black hole models in the near future.