bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting the Synthesizability of Crystalline Inorganic Materials from the Data of Known Material Compositions
Authors: Antoniuk Evan , Cheon Gowoon , Wang George , Bernstein Daniel , Cai William , Reed Evan
Published: March 2023

Reliably identifying synthesizable inorganic crystalline materials is an unsolved challenge required for realizing autonomous materials discovery. In this work, we develop a deep learning synthesizability model (SynthNN) that leverages the entire corpus of synthesized inorganic chemical compositions. By reformulating material discovery as a synthesizability classification task, SynthNN identifies synthesizable materials with 7x higher precision than with DFT-calculated formation energies. In a head-to-head material discovery comparison against 20 expert material scientists, SynthNN outperforms all experts, achieves 3.6x higher precision and completes the task five orders of magnitude faster than the average human expert. Remarkably, without any prior chemical knowledge, our experiments indicate that SynthNN learns the chemical principles of charge-balancing, chemical family relationships and ionicity, and utilizes these principles to generate synthesizability predictions. The development of SynthNN will allow for synthesizability constraints to be seamlessly integrated into computational material screening workflows to increase their reliability for identifying synthetically accessible materials.
Fixed Time Control of Free-Flying Space Robotic Manipulator with Full State Constraints: A Barrier-Lyapunov-Function Term Free Approach
Authors: Xie Zhicheng , Chen Xianliang , Wu Xiaofeng
Published: March 2023

Space robotic manipulator (SRM) should be always performed in the given workspace for safety concern. This requires the system states such as rotation of each joint, attitude of base, and their velocities to be always constrained in the given boundaries. In this article, a new sliding mode control scheme based on a fixed time disturbance observer is proposed to realize the fixed time coordinate motion control of SRM with full-state constraints. Firstly, the tracking error and error velocity at the novel sliding manifold can converge to the equilibrium within a fixed time without violating their state constraints. Then, the control law working with the fixed time disturbance observer is designed to obtain the sliding manifold within a fixed time, which simultaneously guarantees the satisfaction of state constraints during the approaching stage. Unlike the most existing state constraint control schemes, the proposed controller does not include any Barrier Lyapunov Function (BLF) term of system states, and therefore the risk of controller outputting inappropriately high control commands is eliminated. Moreover, the proposed control scheme is compatible to the initial states violating the constraints, which thereby removes the assumption of feasible initial states. Furthermore, the proposed sliding manifold solves the singularity issue by a continuously varying power of tracking error, which thereby does not need an additional switch mechanism of manifold compared to the conventional fixed time controllers. The stability of the proposed control scheme is proven by using the Lyapunov theory, and the effectiveness is verified by numerical simulations.
Biotic and abiotic determinants modulate interactions between standing vegetation and soil seed bank across fine spatial scales
Authors: Rubio Roberto López , Luzuriaga Arantzazu López , Peralta Ana M. López , Pescador David Sánchez , Escudero Adrían , Sánchez Ana M.
Published: March 2023

Background and Aims
Standing vegetation and soil seed banks are tightly related compartments in annual plant communities. However, little is known about how this relationship changes spatially and temporally and their dependence on abiotic and biotic factors. We investigated the similarity between both compartments under contrasting water availability conditions, perennials and biocrusts.
Methods
We established a field experiment in a Mediterranean annual plant community growing on gypsum soils. We evaluated the relationships between aboveground vegetation and soil seed bankover three years and along three spatial scales and tested the effects of water availability (irrigation), perennial vegetation and biocrust on both compartments.
Results
The soil seed bank was more similar to the standing vegetation closer to the third year, when seed bank was collected. The similarity between both compartments was higher at the large spatial scale (20 ´ 20 cm) but the modulatory effects of irrigation, perennial tussocks and biocrust were more evident at medium (10 ´ 10 cm) and fine scale (5 ´ 5 cm). The similarity increased with irrigation and was higher under perennial vegetation. The biocrust acted mainly as a barrier to the incorporation of seeds into the permanent seed bank.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that abiotic and biotic factors had hierarchical effects on the similarity between the standing vegetation and soil seed bank compartments. Interannual shifts such as rainfall amount and frequency, were the main determinants but tussocks, biocrust, and irrigation modulated similarity, thereby showing that annual plant communities are driven by complex processes.
The theory of the surface wettability angle in the formation of an oil film in internal combustion piston engines
Authors: Wróblewski Piotr
Published: March 2023

In internal combustion piston engines, the formation of an oil film is completely different than in industrial machines. The molecular adhesion force at the interface between the surface coating of engine parts and the lubricating oil determines the load-carrying capacity and the ability to form a lubricated film. The geometry of the lubricating wedge between the surfaces of the piston rings and the cylinder wall is created by the thickness of the oil film and the height of the ring's coverage with lubricating oil. This condition is affected by many parameters characterizing the engine operation and physical and chemical parameters of the coatings of the cooperating pairs. For lubricant particles reaching high energies higher than the potential energy barrier for adhesive attraction at the interface, slippage occurs. Therefore, the value of the contact angle of the liquid on the surface of the coating depends on the value of the intermolecular force of attraction. According to the author, there is a strong relationship between the contact angle and the lubrication effect. The paper shows that the surface potential energy barrier is a function of the contact angle and contact angle hysteresis (CAH). The innovation of the work consists in examining the contact angle and CAH in the conditions of thin layers of lubricating oil in cooperation with hydrophilic and hydrophobic coatings. The thickness of the lubricant film was measured under various speed and load conditions using optical interferometry. The work shows that CAH is a better interfacial parameter to correlate with the effect of hydrodynamic lubrication. The paper presents mathematical relationships in relation to a piston engine, various coatings and lubricants.
Targeting TLK2 inhibits the progression of gastric cancer by reprogramming amino acid metabolism through mTOR/ASNS axis
Authors: Li Yongxiang , Wang Mingliang , Li Jing , Yang Xiaodong , Yan Qiang , Wang Huizhen , Xu Xin , Lu Yida , Li Deguan , Sun Ruochuan , Wang Yigao , Zhang Shangxin , Zhang Yonghong , Zhang Zhen , Meng Futao
Published: March 2023

Several recent studies suggested that TLKs are related to tumor progression. However, the function and action mechanism of TLK2 in GC remain elusive. We observed that TLK2 was significantly upregulated in GC and acted as an independent prognostic factor in GC patients. In line with these results, TLK2 silencing markedly reduced GC aggressiveness, whereas its overexpression had the opposite effect. IP-MS suggested that the effect of TLK2 expression on GC was mainly associated with metabolism reprogramming. TLK2 knockdown suppressed amino synthesis through downregulating the mTORC1 pathway and ASNS expression in GC. Mechanistically, mTORC1 directly interacted with ASNS and inhibited its protein degradation. Further experiments confirmed that ASNS protein degradation was ubiquitination degradation rather than degradation through autophagy. Inhibiting and activating the mTORC1 pathway can upregulate and downregulate ASNS ubiquitination, respectively. Moreover, the mTORC1 pathway can reverse the protein regulation of ASNS by TLK2. Notably, TLK2 regulated the ASNS mRNA levels. Further evidence confirmed that TLK2 directly interacted with ATF4, a transcription factor of ASNS, and promoted the expression of ATF4. Finally, we found kinase inhibitor Fostamatinib can significantly inhibit the proliferation, invasion, and migration of GC cells by inhibiting TLK2 enzyme activity. Taken together, this study reveals a novel functional link between TLK2, the mTORC1/ASNS axis, and GC. Therefore, TLK2 could be a potential therapeutic approach for GC target therapy.
Nondiffracting Supertoroidal Light Pulses: Optical "Kármán Vortex Streets"
Authors: Shen Yijie , Papasimakis Nikitas , Zheludev Nikolay
Published: March 2023

Supertoroidal light pulses, as space-time nonseparable electromagnetic waves, provided unique super-resolution topological properties including skyrmionic configurations, fractal-like singularities, and energy backflow in free space, which however do not survive upon propagation. Here we introduce the nondiffracting supertoroidal pulses (NDSTPs), propagation-robust skyrmionic and vortex-ring field that endure the singular configurations over arbitrary propagation distances. Intriguingly, the field structure of NDSTPs has a strong similarity with a von Kármán vortex street, a pattern of swirling vortices in fluid and gas dynamics, as the "singing" of suspended telephone lines in wind. NDSTPs allow the study of the propagation dynamics of electromagnetic skyrmionic fields and will be of interest as directed energy channels for information transfer applications.
A new model to estimate duration of survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with BCLC intermediate stage
Authors: Ninomiya Masashi , Tsuruoka Mio , Inoue Jun , Hiraoka Atsushi , Iwata Tomoaki , Sano Akitoshi , Sato Kosuke , Onuki Masazumi , Sawahashi Satoko , Kuroda Hidekatsu , Oikawa Takayoshi , Fujita Masashi , Abe Kazumichi , Katsumi Tomohiro , Sato Wataru , Igarashi Go , Iino Chikara , Endo Tetsu , Tanabe Nobukazu , Numao Hiroshi , Iijima Katsunori , Matsumoto Takayuki , Ohira Hiromasa , Ueno Yoshiyuki , Masamune Atsushi
Published: March 2023

It is difficult to determine whether an individual therapy contributes to the elongation of survival because of the difficulty of organizing clinical research in patients who receive multiple treatments in HCC. We aimed to establish a new model of survival prediction in patients with intermediate stage HCC to establish standards in the recent and coming multi-MTA era. This analysis was prepared using a data set of 753 patients diagnosed HCC prior to 2017. Multiple regression analysis showed age, naïve or recurrence, the size of the largest tumor nodule, the number of nodules, total bilirubin, albumin and a-fetoprotein as independent predictors of survival. A Weibull model had the best fit and, based on these predictors, we established a new predicted survival model. The survival duration can be predicted the proposed model; EXP (4.02580 + (-0.0086253) x age + (-0.34667) x (naïve/recurrence) + (-0.034962) x (number of nodules) + (-0.079447) x (the size of the largest nodule) + (-0.21696) x (total bilirubin) + 0.27912 x (albumin) + (-0.00014741) x (a-fetoprotein)) x (-natural logarithm(0.5))^ 0.67250. This model is useful for the planning and evaluating the efficacy of recent sequential therapies in multi-MTA era.
Hot metacognition: poorer metacognitive efficiency following acute but not traumatic stress
Authors: Smith Alicia , Bisby James , Dercon Quentin , Bevan Anna , Dalgleish Tim , Hitchcock Caitlin , Nord Camilla
Published: March 2023

Aberrations to metacognition— the ability to reflect on and evaluate self-performance— are a feature of poor mental health. Theoretical models suggest that following a stressful event, maladaptive metacognitive evaluations and appraisals of the event drive development of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Yet it is unclear whether disruptions to metacognition causes or contributes to symptom development, or are simply a consequence of ongoing psychopathology. In two studies, using hierarchical Bayesian modelling of metacognition combined with a memory encoding task, we assessed whether distortions to metacognition occur at a state-level after an acute stress induction, or at a trait-level in a sample of individuals experiencing intrusive memories following traumatic stress. Study 1 indicated that heightened perceived stress was associated with impairments in metacognitive efficiency on a memory test after a stress induction (N = 27). Study 2 demonstrated that a transdiagnostic sample of individuals experiencing intrusive memories following a traumatic stressor (N = 39) showed no significant differences in metacognitive efficiency compared to matched controls on the same memory test (N = 45). Our results show that alterations to metacognition do not occur in patients experiencing intrusive memories following traumatic stress, but instead are associated with temporary, heighted levels of acute stress. This suggests that differential sensitivity to acute stress, rather than ongoing psychopathology, induces metacognitive impairments, which could predispose individuals to future mental health problems via downstream changes to other cognitive processes.
Monitoring prestress in plates by sideband peak count-index (SPC-I) and nonlinear higher harmonics techniques
Authors: Wang Meng , Pau Annamaria , Zhang Guangdong , Kundu Tribikram
Published: March 2023

Propagating guided waves in a homogeneous, isotropic, prestressed, hyperelastic plate show nonlinear characteristics that depend on the state of initial prestress. These nonlinear phenomena include higher harmonic generation, occurring when Lamb wave modes of different frequencies (ωa and ωb) are allowed to mix within the material generating secondary waves at frequencies 2ωa, 2ωb, and ωa± ωb. Further, if prescribed internal-resonance conditions are satisfied, the amplitude of secondary waves increases in space, providing a response quantity which is dependent on prestress and easy to be observed. Using the finite element method, in this paper we investigate the time and space evolution of higher harmonics arising in one-way wave mixing. The influence of prestress on the response is elucidated, observing the nonlinear parameter β. It is further shown that the nonlinear ultrasonic technique called Sideband Peak Count-Index (SPC-I) can provide an effective monitoring tool for prestress.
Femoral offset restoration affects the outcome of revision in patients with periprosthetic femoral fractures of Vancouver B2 -a single- center retrospective cohort study
Authors: Sun Lei , Song Wenjing , Zhang Zhongyuan , Xu Ziyao , Sun Mengshuai , Gao Guangling , Jiang Hongjiang , Ju Changjun
Published: March 2023

Background: Femoral offset (FO) restoration plays an important role in improving the prognosis and life quality of patients undergoing hip replacement. However, it is not given enough attention in revisions of patients with periprosthetic femoral fractures (PPFF) while more attention is paid to reduction, fixation of fracture and stabilizing prosthesis. This study aims to evaluate the effect of FO restoration on the function of hip joint in revisions of patients with PPFF of Vancouver B2. What’s more, we study whether there is a difference in FO restoration between modular and nonmodular stems.
Methods: A retrospective review of 20 patients with PPFF of Vancouver B2 revised with a tapered fluted modular titanium stem and 22 patients with PPFF of Vancouver B2 revised with a tapered fluted nonmodular titanium stem from 2016 to 2021 was conducted. According to the difference between FO of affected side and healthy side, 26 patients were divided into Group A(difference≤4mm) and 16 patients were divided into Group B(difference＞4mm). Postoperative Harris Hip Score（HHS）,range of motion of hip joint, length of both lower limbs and dislocation were compared between Group A and Group B. Proportion of patients with FO restoration (difference≤4mm)and stem subsidence were compared between modular and nonmodular groups.
Results: The mean follow-up time was 34.3±17.3 months, and all cases achieved fracture healing at the last visit. Patients of Group A had higher HHS, larger range of abduction, fewer dislocations and less limbs length discrepancy (LLD). Patients of modular group had a higher proportion of FO restoration and less subsidence.
Conclusion: FO restoration improves the postoperative hip joint function，reduces dislocation and LLD in revisions of patients with PPFF of Vancouver B2. Compared with nonmodular prosthesis, modular prosthesis tends to be easier for FO restoration under complex circumstances.
Ambivalence, resource constraints, and non-compliance; the bane of healthcare providers in the screening and management of Gestational Diabetes in Northern Ghana
Authors: Bukari Mohammed , Abubakari Abdulai , Malachi Hawa , Hinneh Thomas , Garti Humphrey , Agbozo Faith
Published: March 2023

Background
Studies on healthcare providers’ experiences on screening and management of GDM are rare in the northern part of Ghana. Hence, this study sought to explore the experiences of healthcare providers on screening and management of GDM.
Materials and methods
This was a qualitative cross-sectional study among five key informants who were involved in screening and management of GDM. Both facilities and key informants were purposively sampled. An interview guide was designed to elicit information on gestational diabetes screening and management experiences. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis.
Results
Two themes emerged for both screening and management experiences; the screening experiences were resource-related experiences which comprised of financial constraints, lack/inadequate tools for screening and insufficient number of dedicated healthcare personnel and experiences with patient emotional feedback which were clients being worried, shocked, confused, uncertain about how they felt or unbothered based on their knowledge of GDM, being fed-up with treatment, and lack of support from family members. The themes for management were diet and exercise, and oral medications. HCPs experience issues of non-compliance which were mainly caused by poverty, they also felt that the most important resources required for the effective screening and management of GDM were the tools for screening and dedicated staff. The first line of action for GDM management was diet and exercise, oral medications was the last line of action.
Conclusion
This study observed that ambivalence of clients, resource constraints namely financial constraints, lack/inadequate tools for screening and inadequate number of healthcare providers were key issues in the screening and management of Gestational Diabetes; diet and exercise, and oral medications were the main approaches for the management of Gestational Diabetes. This study provides insights on healthcare providers’ experiences with screening and management of GDM which could be relevant for health advocacy and social and behavior change communication. It could also be relevant for health planning and policies as it provides insights on the resources needed to effectively screen and management GDM.
Bird's Eye View Feature Selection for High-Dimensional Data
Authors: Belhaouari Samir Brahim , Shakeel Mohammed Bilal , Erbad Aiman , Oflaz Zarina , Kassoul Khelil
Published: March 2023

In machine learning, an informative dataset is crucial for accurate predictions. However, high dimensional data often contains irrelevant features, outliers, and noise, which can negatively impact model performance and consume computational resources. To tackle this challenge, the Bird's Eye View (BEV) feature selection technique is introduced. This approach is inspired by the natural world, where a bird searches for important features in a sparse dataset, similar to how a bird search for sustenance in a sprawling jungle. BEV incorporates elements of Evolutionary Algorithms with a Genetic Algorithm to maintain a population of top-performing agents, Dynamic Markov Chain to steer the movement of agents in the search space, and Reinforcement Learning to reward and penalize agents based on their progress. The proposed strategy in this paper leads to improved classification performance and a reduced number of features compared to conventional methods, as demonstrated by outperforming state-of-the-art feature selection techniques across multiple benchmark datasets.
Efficient protocol for the differentiation of kidney podocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells, involving the inhibition of mTOR
Authors: Yasuda Masahiro , Kato Tadashi , Okano Mai , Yamashita Hiromi , Matsuoka Yoshikazu , Shirouzu Yasumasa , Fujioka Tatsuya , Hattori Fumiyuki , Tsuji Shoji , Kaneko Kazunari , Hitomi Hirofumi
Published: March 2023

The mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is involved in a wide range of cellular processes. However, the role of mTOR in podocytes remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the role of mTOR in podocyte differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and to establish an efficient differentiation protocol for human podocytes. We generated podocytes from hiPSCs by modifying protocol. The expression of the podocyte-specific slit membrane components nephrin and podocin was measured using PCR, western blotting, flow cytometry, and immunostaining; and the role of mTOR was evaluated using inhibitors of the mTOR pathway. Nephrin and podocin were found to be expressed in cells differentiated from hiPSCs, and their expression was increased by mTOR inhibitor treatment. S6, a downstream component of the mTOR pathway, was also found to be involved in podocyte differentiation. we evaluated its permeability to albumin, urea, and electrolytes. The induced podocytes were permeable to the small molecules, but only poorly permeable to albumin. We have shown that the mTOR pathway is involved in podocyte differentiation. Our monolayer podocyte differential protocol, using an mTOR inhibitor, provides a novel in vitro model for studies of kidney physiology and pathology.
Anti-apoptotic effect of resveratrol: regulate of mitochondrial pathway in high tensile stress-induced goat temporomandibular joint disc cells
Authors: Ren Hui , Bao Guangjie , Muhamnad Fahim , Zhao Shuwei , Hu Jingjing , Li Qian , Kang Hong
Published: March 2023

Background: Attenuating of temporomandibular joint disc (TMJ disc) cells apoptosis may be an effective strategy to reduce abnormal stress-induced disc degeneration. However, a potential target to regulate the apoptosis of TMJ disc cells under abnormal stress is still inconclusive. Resveratrol (RSV) is a polyphenol with multiple effects such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptosis. In this study, an appropriate periodic tensile stress was selected to induce apoptosis in goat TMJ disc cells. To examine the effect and mechanism of RSV on cells via apoptosis under high tensile stress.
Results: An experimental model of high tensile stress-induced cells were successfully constructed with 8% stretching stimulus. CCK-8 and Flow cytometry assay showed that 8% tensile stress significantly promoted the apoptosis of TMJ disc cells. However, RSV (7.5μM) attenuated cell apoptosisunder high tensile stress, reflected by the increased ability of cell proliferation and decreased apoptosis rate. Furthermore, the gene expression of pro-apoptotic molecules (Bax and Caspase-3) was down-regulated, whereas that of anti-apoptotic molecule (Bcl-2) was up-regulated. It can be concluded that the mitochondrial pathway exerted an essential role in the regulation of apoptosis by RSV.
Conclusion:High-intensity stress effectively promotes the apoptosis of goat TMJ disc cells, while RSV is able to reverse cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. This work provides a new reference for the clinical treatment of abnormal stress-induced TMJ disc degeneration.
Factors perceived by health professionals to be barriers or facilitators to caries prevention in children: a systematic review
Authors: Lienhart Guillemette , Masson Elsa , Farge Pierre , Schott-Pethelaz Anne-Marie , Thivichon-Prince Béatrice , Chanelière Marc
Published: March 2023

Background: Considered the most prevalent noncommunicable disease in childhood, dental caries is both an individual and a collective burden. While international guidelines highlight prevention as a major strategy for caries management in children, health professionals still struggle to implement prevention into their clinical practice. Further research is needed to understand the gap between the theoretical significance of dental prevention and its lack of implementation in the clinical setting. This systematic review aims to identify and classify factors perceived by health professionals to be barriers or facilitators to caries prevention in children.
Method: A systematic literature search was conducted in three electronic databases (Medline, Web of Science and Cairn). Two researchers independently screened titles, abstracts and texts. To be selected, studies had to focus on barriers or facilitators to caries prevention in children and include health professionals as study participants. Qualitative and quantitative studies were selected. The factors influencing caries prevention in children were sorted into 3 main categories (clinician-related factors, patient-related factors, and organizational-related factors) and then classified according to the 14 domains of the theoretical domains framework (TDF).
Results: A total of 1771 references were found by combining manual and database searches. Among them, 26 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which half were qualitative and half were quantitative studies. Dentists (n=12), pediatricians (n= 11), nurses (n=9), and physicians (n=5) were the most frequently interviewed health professionals in our analysis. Barriers and facilitators to caries prevention in children were categorized into 12 TDF domains. The most frequently reported domains were Environmental Context and Resources, Knowledge and Professional Role and Identity.
Conclusion: This systematic review found that a wide range of factors influence caries prevention in children. Our analysis showed that barriers to pediatric oral health promotion affect all stages of the health care system.
By highlighting the incompatibility between the health care system’s organization and the implementation of caries prevention, this study aims to help researchers and policy-makers design new interventions to improve children’s access to caries prevention.
Registration: PROSPERO CRD42022304545
Remodeling of the Ribosomal Quality Control and Integrated Stress Response by Viral Ubiquitin Deconjugases
Authors: Liu Jiangnan , Nagy Noemi , Aguilar-Alonso Francisco , Esteves Frncisco , Ayala-Torres Carlos , Xu Shanshan , Masucci Maria
Published: March 2023

The strategies adopted by viruses to reprogram the translation and protein quality control machinery to promote infection are poorly understood. Here, we discovered that the viral ubiquitin deconjugase (vDUB) encoded in the large tegument protein of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) regulates ribosomal and integrated stress responses. The vDUB participates in protein complexes that include the Ribosome Quality Control (RQC) ubiquitin ligases ZNF598 and LTN1. Upon ribosomal stalling, the vDUB counteracts the ubiquitination of the 40S particle and inhibits the degradation of translation-stalled polypeptides by the proteasome. The impairment of the RQC correlates with the activation of a GCN2-dependent integrated stress response that decreases global translation and promotes the readthrough of stall-inducing mRNAs. Physiological levels of active BPLF1 promoted the translation of the stall-inducing EBNA1 mRNA in productively EBV-infected cells, and enhanced the release of progeny virus, pointing to a pivotal role of the vDUB in the ribosomal reprogramming that enables efficient virus production.
Multivalent next generation influenza virus vaccines protect against seasonal and pre-pandemic viruses
Authors: Uno Naoko , Ross Ted M
Published: March 2023

Each year, new influenza virus vaccine formulations are generated to keep up with continuously circulating and mutating viral variants. A next-generation influenza virus vaccine would provide long-lasting, broadly-reactive immune protection against current and future influenza virus strains for both seasonal and pre-pandemic viruses. Next generation immunogens were designed using computationally optimized broadly reactive antigen (COBRA) methodology to protect against a broad range of strains over numerous seasons. Novel HA and NA amino acid sequences were derived from multilayered consensus sequence alignment for multiple subtypes of influenza. This multivalent formulation was hypothesized to elicit broadly protective immune responses against both seasonal and pre-pandemic influenza viruses. Mice were vaccinated with multivalent mixtures of HA and NA (H1, H2, H3, H5, H7, N1, N2) proteins. Multivalent COBRA vaccinations elicited antibodies that recognized a broad panel of strains and vaccinated mice were protected against viruses representing multiple subtypes. This is a promising candidate for a universal influenza vaccine that elicits protective immune responses against seasonal and pre-pandemic strains over multiple seasons.
An adaptive differential evolution algorithm based on data preprocessing method to solve global optimization problem
Authors: Zhao Ruxin , Wang Wei , Zhang Tingting , Fu Lixiang
Published: March 2023

Differential evolution (DE) algorithm is a classical natural-inspired optimization algorithm, which has good optimization performance. However, with the deepening of research, some researchers found that the quality of the candidate solution of the population in the differential evolution algorithm is poor and its global search ability is not enough when solving the global optimization problem. Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, we propose an adaptive differential evolution algorithm based on data processing method (ADEDPM). In this paper, the data preprocessing method is implemented by k-means clustering algorithm, which is used to divide the initial population into multiple clusters according to the average value of fitness, and select candidate solutions in each cluster according to different proportions. This method improves the quality of candidate solutions of the population to a certain extent. In addition, in order to solve the problem of insufficient global search ability in differential evolution algorithm, we also proposed a new mutation strategy, which is called “DE/current-to-𝑝1 best&𝑝2 best”. This strategy guides the search direction of the differential evolution algorithm by selecting individuals with good fitness, so that its search range in the most promising candidate solution region, and indirectly increases the population diversity of the algorithm. Finally, we propose an adaptive parameter control method, which can effectively balance the relationship between the exploration process and the exploitation process to achieve better performance of the algorithm. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, the ADEDPM is compared with five optimization algorithms of the same type in the past three years, which are AAGSA, DFPSO, HGASSO, HHO and VAGWO, respectively. In the simulation experiment, 21 benchmark test functions and 4 engineering example problems are used, and the convergence accuracy, convergence speed, stability and rank sum test of the algorithm are fully compared. The experimental results show that compared with the five latest optimization algorithms of the same type, the proposed algorithm has strong competitiveness in each test index.
Nutrient deprivation alters the rate of COPII coat assembly to tune secretory protein transport
Authors: Kasberg William , Luong Peter , Swift Kevin , Audhya Anjon
Published: March 2023

Co-assembly of the multilayered coat protein complex II (COPII) with the Sar1 GTPase at subdomains of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) enables secretory cargoes to be concentrated efficiently within nascent transport intermediates, which subsequently deliver their contents to ER-Golgi intermediate compartments. Here, we define the spatiotemporal accumulation of native COPII subunits and secretory cargoes at ER subdomains under differing nutrient availability conditions using a combination of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing and live cell imaging. Our findings demonstrate that the rate of inner COPII coat assembly serves as a determinant for the pace of cargo export, irrespective of COPII subunit expression levels. Moreover, increasing inner COPII coat assembly kinetics is sufficient to rescue cargo trafficking deficits caused by acute nutrient limitation in a manner dependent on Sar1 GTPase activity. Our findings are consistent with a model in which the rate of inner COPII coat formation acts as an important control point to regulate cargo export from the ER.
Proteomic profiling of retina and retinal pigment epithelium combined embryonic tissue to facilitate ocular disease gene discovery
Authors: Aryal Sandeep , Anand Deepti , Huang Hongzhan , Reddy Ashok P , Wilmarth Phillip A , David Larry L , Lachke Salil A
Published: March 2023

To expedite gene discovery in eye development and its associated defects, we previously developed a bioinformatics resource-tool iSyTE (integrated Systems Tool for Eye gene discovery). However, iSyTE is presently limited to lens tissue and is predominantly based on transcriptomics datasets. Therefore, to extend iSyTE to other eye tissues on the proteome level, we performed high-throughput tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) on mouse embryonic day (E)14.5 retina and retinal pigment epithelium combined tissue and identified an average of 3,300 proteins per sample (n=5). High-throughput expression profiling-based gene discovery approaches–involving either transcriptomics or proteomics–pose a key challenge of prioritizing candidates from thousands of RNA/proteins expressed. To address this, we used MS/MS proteome data from mouse whole embryonic body (WB) as a reference dataset and performed comparative analysis–termed “in silico WB-subtraction”–with the retina proteome dataset. In silico WB-subtraction identified 90 high-priority proteins with retina-enriched expression at stringency criteria of ³2.5 average spectral counts, ³2.0 fold-enrichment, False Discovery Rate <0.01. These top candidates represent a pool of retina-enriched proteins, several of which are associated with retinal biology and/or defects (e.g., Aldh1a1, Ank2, Ank3, Dcn, Dync2h1, Egfr, Ephb2, Fbln5, Fbn2, Hras, Igf2bp1, Msi1, Rbp1, Rlbp1, Tenm3, Yap1, etc.), indicating the effectiveness of this approach. Importantly, in silico WB-subtraction also identified several new high-priority candidates with potential regulatory function in retina development. Finally, proteins exhibiting expression or enriched-expression in the retina are made accessible in a user-friendly manner at iSyTE (https://research.bioinformatics.udel.edu/iSyTE/), to allow effective visualization of this information and facilitate eye gene discovery.
Comparative effect of five compost types on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) on a Ferric Acrisol in Ghana
Authors: Boakye Acheampong , Miezah Kodwo , Tuffour Henry , Bessah Enoch , Kemausour Francis
Published: March 2023

The effect of compost application on maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yields was studied on a Ferric Acrisol in the semi-deciduous rainforest zone of Ghana. Five different composting formulations were done to assess their effect on growth and yields of maize. The compost materials consisting of municipal solid waste (MSW), Pig dung and Goat dung (feedstock-amendment ratios) were composted over a 12-weeks period under mesophilic (< 50 ℃) and thermophilic (> 50 ℃) stages using windrow composting approach. The compost treatments were; T1 (100% mesophilic stage), T2 (100% thermophilic stage), T3 (50% mesophilic and 50% thermophilic stage), T4 (80% thermophilic stage) and T5 (80% mesophilic stage). Plot size measuring 3 m x 4 m were demarcated. Improved maize (Obatanpa) was planted in April and September, 2020 at spacing of 80 cm x 40 cm. Compost recommended application rates of 5 t/ha of each compost treatment were applied to the experimental plots two weeks after planting with three replications in a randomized complete block design. Compost treatment two (T2) significantly (p ≤ 0.05) recorded the highest N, at the end of the composting period. Results showed that compost treatment two (T2) treated plots significantly (p ≤ 0.05) recorded the highest grain yields of 4.4 t/ha and 3.62 t/ha during the major and minor cropping season. These findings suggest that, compost treatment two (T2: 100% thermophilic stage) composting approach had short-term effects on nutrient supply, can be used by smallholder farmers to address soil fertility decline, improve nutrient availability and enhanced growth and yields of maize.
Late Cretaceous marine incursion into Central African continent
Authors: Xiao Hong , Li Meijun , Cheng Dingsheng
Published: March 2023

The Late Cretaceous global transgression is one of the best well-documented episodes of continental submergence events. Conventional perspective holds that the transgression scope of the New Tethys Ocean into the African continent is limited to the North African continent. Here, we found some transgression traces in the Muglad Basin of the Central African continent. A series of special molecular markers were detected in the Upper Cretaceous Santonian-Maastrichtian sediments of the Muglad Basin, which are completely different from those in the typical lacustrine sediments of the Lower Cretaceous Barremian-Aptian. Combining the geological-geochemical implications of these markers with the paleogeographic, paleontological and lithological records, we propose that the Muglad Basin received intermittent marine inundations during the Santonian-Maastrichian stages (86.3‒66.0 Ma) and these special molecular markers are therefore the products of seawater incursion. Consequently, this study firstly proposes that the transgression scope of the Neo-Tethys Ocean into the African continent southern extended to the Central Africa continent during the Late Cretaceous.
Assessment Risk of Evolution Process of Disaster Chain Induced by Potential Landslide in Woda
Authors: Yao Shunyu , Yu Lei , Dingzhu Liu , Cheng Deqiang
Published: March 2023

The Jinsha River basin in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China has strong geological activities, and there are many large-scale landslides around the two banks, which can easily lead to a flood hazard chain. The recent Wenchuan and Luding earthquakes have increased the probability of landslide collapse on the slopes of the Jinsha River and increased the risk of a large landslide-dam-break-flood hazard chain. The Woda landslide is ancient and in a slow deformation stage, and if the landslide revives, it may block rivers and cause outburst floods. This study simulated the dynamic process of large-scale landslide failure and landslide dam formation by the deep integration continuum method. The outburst flood due to the dam breach is calculated by combining the dammed lake flow model and the shallow water equation, which can simulate the evolution of the downstream flood process. The results show that after the Woda landslide blocks the river, a dam of about 68.1m can be formed, the water storage capacity of the dammed lake is about 7.10*108 m3, the peak flow of the burst can reach 4.4*104 m3/s, and the impact range after the burst can reach 140km. Downstream, submerged several downstream villages and towns and the Sichuan-Tibet Railway. The study found that the resistance coefficient of landslides can significantly affect the evolution process of the entire hazard chain. Reducing the resistance coefficient of landslides can largely increase the height of the landslide dam, amplifying the peak flow of the outburst flood and increasing the risk of downstream elements at risk at far.
Estimation of disability-free life expectancy and loss of disability-free life expectancy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Lin Shin-Mao , Yang Szu-Chun , Wu Tzu-I , Wang Jung-Der , Liu Li-Fan
Published: March 2023

Purpose: To quantify the societal impact of disability in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), this study estimated the disability-free life expectancy (DFLE), loss-of-DFLE and explored their associations with quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and loss-of-QALE.
Methods: We interlinked national databases and applied a rolling-over algorithm to estimate the lifetime survival function for patients with NSCLC. Using the EuroQOL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and Barthel index (BI), we repeatedly measured the quality-of-life and disability functions of NSCLC patients who visited our hospital from 2011 to 2020. Age-, sex-matched referents were simulated from lifetables of the same calendar year of diagnosis. We categorized BI scores ≤70 as in need of long-term care and constructed linear mixed models to estimate the utility values and disability scores.
Results: We collected 960 cases and 3088 measurements. The proportions of measurements without disability at age <65 and in stage I-IIIa, age <65 and stage IIIb-IV, age ≥65 and stage I-IIIa and age ≥65 and stage IIIb-IV were 97.3%, 89.3%, 94.8%,78.3%, corresponding to DFLEs of 15.3, 2.4, 6.8, 1.2 years and losses-of-DFLE of 8.1, 20.7, 4.0, 8.6 years, respectively, indicating that advanced stage had a stronger effect than old age. Survivors in advanced stages showed increased demands for assistance in almost all subitems. The DFLEs seemed to be approximate to the QALEs and the latter were shorter than the former due to discomfort and depression.
Conclusion: From a societal perspective, future health technology assessment should consider the impact of lifetime duration of functional disability. Early diagnosis of NSCLC may decrease the burden of long-term care.
Security Optimization Algorithm for Public Information Platform of Internet of Things Based on Open Architecture
Authors: Wang Zhe
Published: March 2023

At present, with the rapid growth of electronic information and the continuous improvement of computing power, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become more and more widely used in practical development. In the field of Public Information (PI), the IoT public information platform has made good progress and promoted the scientific growth of public information and resource management. However, affected by its sharing and openness, its information and data security also faces huge challenges. Maintaining the platform’s information security and improving its reliability have become the primary task in the current public utilities construction. In order to solve this dilemma, based on the research of the platform characteristics, information security issues and the development status of the platform, combined with the open architecture, this paper conducted an in-depth study of the security optimization algorithm of the IoT public information platform. In order to verify the security optimization algorithm effect of the IoT public information platform based on the open architecture, this paper took an IoT public information platform as the test environment, and carried out simulation tests on its usability, execution efficiency and protection. The test results showed that in terms of protection, the average security protection degree of the security optimization algorithm based on open architecture under 80 security risk processing requests was about 86.70%. From the test results, the security optimization algorithm of IoT public information platform based on open architecture had stronger operability.
Hybrid Approach for Solving Real-World Bin Packing Problem Instances Using Quantum Annealers
Authors: Romero Sebastián V. , Osaba Eneko , Villar-Rodriguez Esther , Oregi Izaskun , Ban Yue
Published: March 2023

Efficient packing of items into bins is a common daily task. Known as Bin Packing Problem, it has been intensively studied in the field of artificial intelligence, thanks to the wide interest from industry and logistics. Since decades, many variants have been proposed, with the three-dimensional Bin Packing Problem as the closest one to real-world use cases. We introduce a hybrid quantum-classical framework for solving real-world three-dimensional Bin Packing Problems (Q4RealBPP), considering different realistic characteristics, such as: i) package and bin dimensions, ii) overweight restrictions, iii) affinities among item categories and iv) preferences for item ordering. Q4RealBPP permits the solving of real-world oriented instances of 3dBPP, contemplating restrictions well appreciated by industrial and logistics sectors.
Spontaneous intramuscular hemorrhage in cancer-associated dermatomyositis: a case and literature review
Authors: Xing Rui , Shen Guifen , Xiang Fenfen , Dong Lingli
Published: March 2023

Background: Dermatomyositis (DM) is a systemic autoimmune disease with characteristic cutaneous manifestations and muscle weakness of the trunk, symmetrical proximal muscles of the limbs. Spontaneous intramuscular hemorrhage (SIH) is a rare but life-threatening complication of DM. The pathogenetic mechanism and management of intramuscular hematoma in these patients remains unclear. Here we discuss a case of recurrent hemorrhage in a patient with DM, and reviews the relevant literature in order to make timely diagnosis and treatment.
Case presentation:The patient is a 53-year-old male who presented with rashes, muscle weakness and dysphagia and was diagnosed with DM. During treatment, he developed SIH of the arm and right psoas major muscle, MRI showed extensive edema of the right shoulder girdle muscle and muscle groups of the upper arm, CT scan showed new-onset hematoma formation in the right psoas major muscle. The detection of D-dimer, TAT, PIC and t-PAIC indicated that he has thrombosis and hyperfibrinolysis. Blood transfusion and supportive treatment was immediately performed, the hematoma did not expand. Abdominal distension has not been relieved after active treatment. Electronic gastroscopy found gastric sinus ulcer, histopathology of biopsy showed signet-ring cell carcinoma.
Conclusions: Patients with cancer-associated DM have an increased risk of thrombosis, conventional anticoagulation therapy is not recommended. If the patient has a high risk of thrombosis and needs drug intervention, it is important to dynamic monitor the coagulation parameters during anticoagulation therapy. Especially when the D-dimer is high, it is uncertain whether the patient is in the state of thrombosis or hyperfibrinolysis, the detection of TAT, PIC, t-PAIC can help to determine whether to initiate anticoagulation therapy.