bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of Ferroptosis-Related Genes in Alzheimer’s Disease Based on Bioinformatic Analysis
Authors: Wang Ying , Chen Guohua , Shao Wei
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent cause of dementia, and emerging evidence suggests that ferroptosis is involved in the pathological process of AD.

Materials and Methods

Three microarray datasets (GSE122063, GSE37263, and GSE140829) about AD were collected from the GEO database. AD-related module genes were identified through a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). The ferroptosis-related genes were extracted from FerrDb. The apoptosis-related genes were downloaded from UniProt as a control to show the specificity of ferroptosis. The overlap was performed to obtain the module genes associated with ferroptosis and apoptosis. Then the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) were conducted. Cytoscape with CytoHubba was used to identify the hub genes, and the Logistic regression was performed to distinguish the AD patients from controls.

Results

53 ferroptosis-related module genes were obtained. The GO analysis revealed that response to oxidative stress and starvation, and multicellular organismal homeostasis were the most highly enriched terms. The KEGG analysis showed that these overlapped genes were enriched not only in renal cell carcinoma pathways and central carbon metabolism in cancer, but also in autophagy-related pathways and ferroptosis. Ferroptosis-related hub genes in AD (JUN, SLC2A1, TFRC, ALB, and NFE2L2) were finally identified, which could distinguish AD patients from controls (P < 0.05). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.643. Apoptosis-related hub genes in AD (STAT1, MCL1, and BCL2L11) were also identified and also could distinguish AD patients from controls (P < 0.05). The AUC was 0.608, which was less than the former AUC value, suggesting that ferroptosis was more special than apoptosis in AD.

Conclusion

We identified five hub genes (JUN, SLC2A1, TFRC, ALB, and NFE2L2) that are closely associated with ferroptosis in AD and can differentiate AD patients from controls. Three hub genes of apoptosis-related genes in AD (STAT1, MCL1, and BCL2L11) were also identified as a control to show the specificity of ferroptosis. JUN, SLC2A1, TFRC, ALB, and NFE2L2 are thus potential ferroptosis-related biomarkers for disease diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring.
Brain and Spinal Cord Adaptations Associated With Patellofemoral Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Ho Kai-Yu , Liang Jing Nong , Budge Savanna , Madriaga Austin , Meske Kara , Nguyenton Derrick
Published: February 2022

Objective

To evaluate the evidence for altered cortical and spinal cord functions in individuals with patellofemoral pain (PFP).

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive search of databases to appraise and analyze the studies published prior to December 10, 2021 that examined spinal reflex excitability measured using Hoffmann reflex (H-reflex) amplitudes, corticospinal excitability measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-elicited motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes, motor threshold (MT), or stimulus-response (SR) curves, cortical reorganization assessed using TMS cortical mapping or structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or functional changes of the brain assessed using functional MRI (fMRI) in individuals with PFP.

Results

Eight studies were eligible for analyses. While an earlier study showed that pain had no effect on the H-reflex amplitude of the quadriceps muscle, more recent evidence reported a decrease in vastus medialis (VM) H-reflex amplitude in participants with PFP. VM H-reflex amplitude was correlated with pain, chronicity, physical function, and isometric knee extensor torque production in participants with PFP. Altered corticospinal excitability was reported in participants with PFP, observed as increased MT in the VM and vastus lateralis (VL) muscles. In addition, cortical reorganization has been observed, where decreased number of cortical peaks, shifts and reduced volumes, and increased overlap of motor cortex representations for the VM, VL, and rectus femoris (RF) muscles were reported in participants with PFP.

Conclusion

There is emerging evidence on altered cortical and spinal cord functions in individuals with PFP, however, solid conclusions cannot be drawn due to limited literature available. Further research is needed to better understand the adaptations of the brain and spinal cord in this population.

Systematic Review Registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42020212128.
Understanding the Structure, Thermal, Pasting, and Rheological Properties of Potato and Pea Starches Affected by Annealing Using Plasma-Activated Water
Authors: Yan Yizhe , Peng Baixiang , Niu Bin , Ji Xiaolong , He Yuan , Shi Miaomiao
Published: February 2022

In this research, annealing (ANN) using plasma-activated water (PAW) was first employed to modify potato and pea starches. Compared with the conventional ANN using distilled water (DW), the granular morphology of two starches was not significantly affected by PAW-ANN. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that PAW-ANN could reduce the long and short-range ordered structure of potato starch while improving the long and short-range ordered structure of pea starch. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis indicated that PAW-ANN lowered the gelatinization enthalpy of potato starch and increased the gelatinization enthalpy of pea starch. The analysis of viscosity and dynamic rheological characteristics illustrated that PAW-ANN reduced the peak viscosity and improved the gel strength of starch pastes. PAW-ANN represents a novel modification method for modifying the structure, reducing the viscosity, improving the gel strength of starch, and is very promising for applying in starch-based hydrogels and food additives.
DNA Damage Tolerance Pathways in Human Cells: A Potential Therapeutic Target
Authors: Ler Ashlynn Ai Li , Carty Michael P.
Published: February 2022

DNA lesions arising from both exogenous and endogenous sources occur frequently in DNA. During DNA replication, the presence of unrepaired DNA damage in the template can arrest replication fork progression, leading to fork collapse, double-strand break formation, and to genome instability. To facilitate completion of replication and prevent the generation of strand breaks, DNA damage tolerance (DDT) pathways play a key role in allowing replication to proceed in the presence of lesions in the template. The two main DDT pathways are translesion synthesis (TLS), which involves the recruitment of specialized TLS polymerases to the site of replication arrest to bypass lesions, and homology-directed damage tolerance, which includes the template switching and fork reversal pathways. With some exceptions, lesion bypass by TLS polymerases is a source of mutagenesis, potentially contributing to the development of cancer. The capacity of TLS polymerases to bypass replication-blocking lesions induced by anti-cancer drugs such as cisplatin can also contribute to tumor chemoresistance. On the other hand, during homology-directed DDT the nascent sister strand is transiently utilised as a template for replication, allowing for error-free lesion bypass. Given the role of DNA damage tolerance pathways in replication, mutagenesis and chemoresistance, a more complete understanding of these pathways can provide avenues for therapeutic exploitation. A number of small molecule inhibitors of TLS polymerase activity have been identified that show synergy with conventional chemotherapeutic agents in killing cancer cells. In this review, we will summarize the major DDT pathways, explore the relationship between damage tolerance and carcinogenesis, and discuss the potential of targeting TLS polymerases as a therapeutic approach.
Prognostic Value of Radiomic Features of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Patients With B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With CD19/CD22 Dual-Targeted Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells
Authors: Zhou Yeye , Li Jihui , Zhang Xiaoyi , Jia Tongtong , Zhang Bin , Dai Na , Sang Shibiao , Deng Shengming
Published: February 2022

Objective

In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of PET/CT-derived radiomic features for patients with B-cell lymphoma (BCL), who were treated with CD19/CD22 dual-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Moreover, we explored the relationship between baseline radiomic features and the occurrence probability of cytokine release syndrome (CRS).

Methods

A total of 24 BCL patients who received 18F-FDG PET/CT before CAR T-cell infusion were enrolled in the present study. Radiomic features from PET and CT images were extracted using LIFEx software, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select the most useful predictive features of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Receiver operating characteristic curves, Cox proportional hazards model, and Kaplan-Meier curves were conducted to assess the potential prognostic value.

Results

Contrast extracted from neighbourhood grey-level different matrix (NGLDM) was an independent predictor of PFS (HR = 15.16, p = 0.023). MYC and BCL2 double-expressor (DE) was of prognostic significance for PFS (HR = 7.02, p = 0.047) and OS (HR = 10.37, p = 0.041). The combination of NGLDM_ContrastPET and DE yielded three risk groups with zero (n = 7), one (n = 11), or two (n = 6) factors (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0004, for PFS and OS), respectively. The PFS was 85.7%, 63.6%, and 0%, respectively, and the OS was 100%, 90.9%, and 16.7%, respectively. Moreover, there was no significant association between PET/CT variables and CRS.

Conclusions

In conclusion, radiomic features extracted from baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT images in combination with genomic factors could predict the survival outcomes of BCL patients receiving CAR T-cell therapy.
Daprodustat Accelerates High Phosphate-Induced Calcification Through the Activation of HIF-1 Signaling
Authors: Tóth Andrea , Csiki Dávid Máté , Nagy Béla , Balogh Enikő , Lente Gréta , Ababneh Haneen , Szöőr Árpád , Jeney Viktória
Published: February 2022

Aims: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is frequently associated with other chronic diseases including anemia. Daprodustat (DPD) is a prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, a member of a family of those new generation drugs that increase erythropoiesis via activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) pathway. Previous studies showed that HIF-1 activation is ultimately linked to acceleration of vascular calcification. We aimed to investigate the effect of DPD on high phosphate-induced calcification.

Methods and Results: We investigated the effect of DPD on calcification in primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), in mouse aorta rings, and an adenine and high phosphate-induced CKD murine model. DPD stabilized HIF-1α and HIF-2α and activated the HIF-1 pathway in VSMCs. Treatment with DPD increased phosphate-induced calcification in cultured VSMCs and murine aorta rings. Oral administration of DPD to adenine and high phosphate-induced CKD mice corrected anemia but increased aortic calcification as assessed by osteosense staining. The inhibition of the transcriptional activity of HIF-1 by chetomin or silencing of HIF-1α attenuated the effect of DPD on VSMC calcification.

Conclusion: Clinical studies with a long follow-up period are needed to evaluate the possible risk of sustained activation of HIF-1 by DPD in accelerating medial calcification in CKD patients with hyperphosphatemia.
Aldosterone-Regulated Sodium Transport and Blood Pressure
Authors: Tsilosani Akaki , Gao Chao , Zhang Wenzheng
Published: February 2022

Aldosterone is a major mineralocorticoid steroid hormone secreted by glomerulosa cells in the adrenal cortex. It regulates a variety of physiological responses including those to oxidative stress, inflammation, fluid disruption, and abnormal blood pressure through its actions on various tissues including the kidney, heart, and the central nervous system. Aldosterone synthesis is primarily regulated by angiotensin II, K+ concentration, and adrenocorticotrophic hormone. Elevated serum aldosterone levels increase blood pressure largely by increasing Na+ re-absorption in the kidney through regulating transcription and activity of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). This review focuses on the signaling pathways involved in aldosterone synthesis and its effects on Na+ reabsorption through ENaC.
Patterns of Remating Behaviour in Ceratitis (Diptera: Tephritidae) Species of Varying Lifespan
Authors: Pogue Tania , Malod Kevin , Weldon Christopher W.
Published: February 2022

Trade-offs between life-history traits offset the energetic costs of maintaining fitness in complex environments. Ceratitis species have been recorded to have long lifespans, which may have evolved in response to seasonal resource fluctuation. It is thus likely that reproductive patterns have evolved concomitantly as part of the trade-off between lifespan and reproduction. In this study, we investigated how reproductive patterns differ between Ceratitis cosyra (Walker) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann; Diptera: Tephritidae), two species with different average and maximum lifespans. Females of both species were mated and patterns of female survival, fecundity, remating and sperm storage were tested. Ceratitis cosyra had a higher rate of survival and a lower fecundity when compared with the shorter-lived C. capitata, suggesting that both species exhibit a trade-off between lifespan and reproduction. Both species showed a similar and consistent willingness to remate, despite declines in sperm storage, suggesting that sperm alone does not fully inhibit remating. As expected, C. cosyra transferred high numbers of sperm during the first mating. However, sperm stores declined unexpectedly by 14 days. This indicates that males might transfer large ejaculates as a nuptial gift, that females then later degrade as a source of nutrients. Large declines in sperm storage may also indicate that females discard excess sperm stores due to the toxicity involved with storing sperm. These results do not suggest that patterns of sperm storage and remating align with lifespan and resource seasonality in these species, but a wider range of species needs to be assessed to better understand variation in Ceratitis mating systems.
Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry–Novel Insights From an Old Technology Into Stressed Red Blood Cell Physiology
Authors: Stephenson Daniel , Nemkov Travis , Qadri Syed M. , Sheffield William P. , D’Alessandro Angelo
Published: February 2022

Background

Ion and metal homeostasis are critical to red blood cell physiology and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) is a decades old approach to pursue elemental analysis. Recent evolution of ICP has resulted in its coupling to mass spectrometry (MS) instead of atomic absorption/emission.

Methods

Here we performed Inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurements of intra- and extra-cellular Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Cu in red blood cells undergoing ionic, heat, or starvation stress. Results were correlated with Ca measurements from other common platforms (e.g., fluorescence-based approaches) and extensive measurements of red blood cell metabolism.

Results

All stresses induced significant intra- and extracellular alterations of all measured elements. In particular, ionomycin treatment or hypertonic stress significantly impacted intracellular sodium and extracellular potassium and magnesium levels. Iron efflux was observed as a function of temperatures, with ionic and heat stress at 40°C causing the maximum decrease in intracellular iron pools and increases in the supernatants. Strong positive correlation was observed between calcium measurements via ICP-MS and fluorescence-based approaches. Correlation analyses with metabolomics data showed a strong positive association between extracellular calcium and intracellular sodium or magnesium levels and intracellular glycolysis. Extracellular potassium or iron were positively correlated with free fatty acids (especially mono-, poly-, and highly-unsaturated or odd-chain fatty acid products of lipid peroxidation). Intracellular iron was instead positively correlated with saturated fatty acids (palmitate, stearate) and negatively with methionine metabolism (methionine, S-adenosylmethionine), phosphatidylserine exposure and glycolysis.

Conclusion

In the era of omics approaches, ICP-MS affords a comprehensive characterization of intracellular elements that provide direct insights on red blood cell physiology and represent meaningful covariates for data generated via other omics platforms such as metabolomics.
Germplasm, Breeding, and Genomics in Potato Improvement of Biotic and Abiotic Stresses Tolerance
Authors: Tiwari Jagesh Kumar , Buckseth Tanuja , Zinta Rasna , Bhatia Nisha , Dalamu Dalamu , Naik Sharmistha , Poonia Anuj K. , Kardile Hemant B. , Challam Clarissa , Singh Rajesh K. , Luthra Satish K. , Kumar Vinod , Kumar Manoj
Published: February 2022

Potato is one of the most important food crops in the world. Late blight, viruses, soil and tuber-borne diseases, insect-pests mainly aphids, whiteflies, and potato tuber moths are the major biotic stresses affecting potato production. Potato is an irrigated and highly fertilizer-responsive crop, and therefore, heat, drought, and nutrient stresses are the key abiotic stresses. The genus Solanum is a reservoir of genetic diversity, however, a little fraction of total diversity has been utilized in potato breeding. The conventional breeding has contributed significantly to the development of potato varieties. In recent years, a tremendous progress has been achieved in the sequencing technologies from short-reads to long-reads sequence data, genomes of Solanum species (i.e., pan-genomics), bioinformatics and multi-omics platforms such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, ionomics, and phenomics. As such, genome editing has been extensively explored as a next-generation breeding tool. With the available high-throughput genotyping facilities and tetraploid allele calling softwares, genomic selection would be a reality in potato in the near future. This mini-review covers an update on germplasm, breeding, and genomics in potato improvement for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.
Physiological Characteristics of Cotton Subtending Leaf Are Associated With Yield in Contrasting Nitrogen-Efficient Cotton Genotypes
Authors: Iqbal Asif , Jing Niu , Qiang Dong , Xiangru Wang , Huiping Gui , Hengheng Zhang , Nianchang Pang , Xiling Zhang , Meizhen Song
Published: February 2022

Nitrogen (N) plays an important role in various plant physiological processes, but studies on the photosynthetic efficiency and enzymatic activities in the cotton subtending leaves and their contribution to yield are still lacking. This study explored the influence of low, moderate, and high N levels on the growth, photosynthesis, carbon (C) and N metabolizing enzymes, and their contribution to yield in CCRI-69 (N-efficient) and XLZ-30 (N-inefficient). The results showed that moderate to high N levels had significantly improved growth, photosynthesis, and sucrose content of CCRI-69 as compared to XLZ-30. The seed cotton yield and lint yield of CCRI-69 were similar under moderate and high N levels but higher than XLZ-30. Similarly, moderate to high N levels improved the C/N metabolizing enzymatic activities in the subtending leaf of CCRI-69 than XLZ-30. A strong correlation was found between subtending leaf N concentration with C/N metabolizing enzymes, photosynthesis, sucrose contents, boll weight, and seed cotton yield of N-efficient cotton genotype. These findings suggest that subtending leaf N concentration regulates the enzymatic activities and has a key role in improving the yield. These parameters may be considered for breeding N-efficient cotton genotypes, which might help to reduce fertilizer loss and improve crop productivity.
Influence of Turn-Taking in Musical and Spoken Activities on Empathy and Self-Esteem of Socially Vulnerable Young Teenagers
Authors: Hawkins Sarah , Farrant Camilla
Published: February 2022

This study describes a preliminary test of the hypothesis that, when people engage in musical and linguistic activities designed to enhance the interactive, turn-taking properties of typical conversation, they benefit in ways that enhance empathy and self-esteem, relative to people who experience activities that are similar except that synchronous action is emphasized, with no interactional turn-taking. Twenty-two 12–14 year olds identified as socially vulnerable (e.g., for anxiety) received six enjoyable 1-h sessions of musical improvisation, language games that developed sensitivity to linguistic rhythm and melody, and cross-over activities like rap. The Turn-taking group (n = 11), practiced characteristics of conversation in language games, and these were also introduced into musical activities. This involved much turn-taking and predicting what others would do. A matched control group, the Synchrony group, did similar activities but in synchrony, with less prediction and no turn-taking. Task complexity increased over the six sessions. Psychometric testing before and after the series showed that the Turn-taking group increased in empathy on self-report (Toronto Empathy Questionnaire) and behavioral (‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’) measures, and in the General subtest of the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory. While more work is needed to confirm the conclusions for relevant demographic groups, the current results point to the social value of musical and linguistic activities that mimic entrained, tightly coordinated parameters of everyday conversational interaction, in which, at any one time, individuals act as equal participants who have different roles.
EFL Teachers’ Immediacy and Professional Commitment on Students’ Boredom: A Review of Literature
Authors: Qin Wen
Published: February 2022

Boredom is a psychological phenomenon that is defined as a state of hatred or incompatibility with any kind of repetitive experience in situations where liberation from instability is not possible and has several consequences. Boredom is one of the important causes of decreased motivation in EFL learners, and it is necessary to identify the factors affecting it. Therefore, this literature review addresses the state of boredom in relationship with teachers’ immediacy and professional commitment. Reviewing the literature has revealed that while teachers’ immediacy and professional commitments affect EFL learners’ boredom, other factors such as individual differences and environmental factors are in action. However, many studies confirmed that teachers play the most important role in decreasing or increasing learners’ state of boredom. The findings are significant for teacher educators to design more appropriate teacher education programs.
CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Innovation Outcomes: Evidence From China
Authors: Li Zhongze , Zhang Yi
Published: February 2022

This study examines how chief executive officer (CEO) overconfidence can influence the quantity, quality and direction of corporate innovation using Chinese firms for the period 2009–2016. Our results suggest that overall, CEO overconfidence has a positive impact on firm innovation productivity. Furthermore, this effect is significant for Chinese non-SOEs but not for Chinese SOEs. Specifically, an overconfident CEO can facilitate firm innovation in new technological areas but not in the firm’s existing areas. Additionally, we find that internal controls can regulate the relationship between CEO overconfidence and innovation. Interestingly, when the internal control level is too high or too low, the correlation between CEO overconfidence and innovation productivity is not significant.
Scaling Up Patient-Centered Psychological Treatments for Perinatal Depression in the Wake of a Global Pandemic
Authors: Singla Daisy R. , Meltzer-Brody Samantha , Savel Katarina , Silver Richard K.
Published: February 2022

There is a call to action to reduce the public health burden of perinatal depression worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted significant gaps in perinatal mental health care, especially among women who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). While psychotherapeutic (cognitive, behavioral and interpersonal) interventions are endorsed for perinatal mood disorders, barriers to access and uptake contribute to inequitable access to treatment at the population level. To effectively address these barriers and increase the scalability of psychotherapy among perinatal women, we suggest four pragmatic questions to be answered from a patient-centered lens; namely, “who,” “what,” “how,” and “when.” Promising avenues include task-sharing among mental health non-specialists, an emphasis on culturally sensitive care, web-based delivery of psychotherapy with some caveats, and a lifespan approach to perinatal mental health. Innovative research efforts are seeking to validate these approaches in diverse contexts across North America and the UK, lending optimism toward scalable and long-term solutions for equitable perinatal mental health care.
Community-Institutional Partnerships to Strengthen Maternal Health Care: Case Study of the First Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialty Training Program in Liberia
Authors: Beddoe Ann Marie , Reis Maureen , Benson Angela , Rehwaldt Lise , Mullbah John , Johnson Janetta , Lieber Molly , Dottino Andrew , Maund Corrine , Campbell Sara , Kerry Vanessa , Solomon Julie , Lieb Whitney , Brodman Michael , Gharoro Etedafe , Sayeed Sadath , Nuthulaganti Tej , Johnson Billy C. , Brown Jerry , Marshall Roseda , Dahn Bernice
Published: February 2022

Despite major setbacks to its health infrastructure and health workforce capacity, Liberia began its first post-graduate training program for physicians in 2013. Specialty training in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, General Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynecology were the four inaugural Residency programs that recruited graduates from the country's only medical school, A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine. The Obstetrics and Gynecology residency program was designed to combat the rising maternal mortality and strengthen health systems to improve maternal care. The program adapted in the face of challenges posed by limited financial support, lack of specialist-faculty and general physician shortages and the Ebola virus outbreak. The manuscript discusses the challenges and successes of the program and demonstrates how the shortage of teaching faculty was addressed by developing a collaboration between local government and educational communities, a United States (US) academic institution and volunteers from the Global Health Service Partnership.
Impact of Safety Nets on Household Coping Mechanisms for COVID-19 Pandemic in Malawi
Authors: Mnyanga Martha , Chirwa Gowokani Chijere , Munthali Spy
Published: February 2022

Background

Covid-19 pandemic induced various shocks to households in Malawi, many of which were failing to cope. Household coping mechanisms to shocks have an implication on household poverty status and that of a nation as a whole. In order to assist households to respond to the pandemic-induced shocks positively, the government of Malawi, with support from non-governmental organizations introduced Covid-19 Urban Cash Intervention (CUCI) and other safety nets to complement the existing social protection programs in cushioning the impact of the shocks during the pandemic. With these programmes in place, there is a need for evidence regarding how the safety nets are affecting coping. Therefore, this paper investigated the impact that safety nets during Covid-19 pandemic had on the following household coping mechanisms: engaging in additional income-generating activities, receiving assistance from friends and family; reducing food consumption; relying on savings; and failure to cope.

Methods

The study used a nationally representative panel data from the Malawi High Frequency Phone Survey on Covid-19 (HFPS Covid-19) and complemented it with the fifth Integrated Household Panel Survey (IHPS), also known as living standards measurement survey. Five Random Effects Probit Models were estimated, one for each coping mechanism.

Results

Findings from this study indicated that beneficiaries of safety net programs were more likely to rely on remittances from friends and family than the people who had no safety nets. Furthermore, the safety net recipients were less likely to reduce food consumption or rely on savings than the non-recipients. Despite the interesting findings, we also noticed that safety nets had no significant impact on household engagement in other income-generating activities in response to shocks.

Conclusion

The results imply that safety nets in Malawi during the Covid-19 pandemic had a positive impact on consumption and prevented the dissolving of savings. Therefore, these programs have to be scaled up, and the volumes be revised upwards.
AI-Based Publicity Strategies for Medical Colleges: A Case Study of Healthcare Analysis
Authors: Wang Cong , Zheng Lu
Published: February 2022

The health status and cognition of undergraduates, especially the scientific concept of healthcare, are particularly important for the overall development of society and themselves. The survey shows that there is a significant lack of knowledge about healthcare among undergraduates in medical college, even among medical undergraduates, not to mention non-medical undergraduates. Therefore, it is a good way to publicize healthcare lectures or electives for undergraduates in medical college, which can strengthen undergraduates' cognition of healthcare and strengthen the concept of healthcare. In addition, undergraduates' emotional and mental state in healthcare lectures or electives can be analyzed to determine whether undergraduates have hidden illnesses and how well they understand the healthcare content. In this study, at first, a mental state recognition method of undergraduates in medical college based on data mining technology is proposed. Then, the vision-based expression and posture are used for expanding the channels of emotion recognition, and a dual-channel emotion recognition model based on artificial intelligence (AI) during healthcare lectures or electives in a medical college is proposed. Finally, the simulation is driven by TensorFlow with respect to mental state recognition of undergraduates in medical college and emotion recognition. The simulation results show that the recognition accuracy of mental state recognition of undergraduates in a medical college is more than 92%, and the rejection rate and misrecognition rate are very low, and false match rate and false non-match rate of mental state recognition is significantly better than the other three benchmarks. The emotion recognition of the dual-channel emotion recognition method is over 96%, which effectively integrates the emotional information expressed by facial expressions and postures.
Aerosols and Bacteria From Hand Washing and Drying in Indoor Air
Authors: Gião Maria Salomé , Vardoulakis Sotiris
Published: February 2022

Effective hand drying is an important part of hand hygiene that can reduce the risk of infectious disease transmission through cross-contamination of surfaces by wet hands. However, hand drying methods may also cause aerosolisation of pathogenic microorganisms if they are present in washed hands. This study investigated experimentally the impact of washing hands and different hand drying methods on the concentration and size distribution of aerosols and bacteria in indoor air. In this experiment, aerosol and bacteria concentrations were measured in indoor air while volunteers rinsed their hands with water or washed with soap and water prior to drying them with paper towels or jet air dryers. Results showed that the concentration of aerosols and bacteria in air increased with people walking in the room and washing hands, with a further increase during the hand drying process. The concentration of aerosols decreased with particle size, with maximum concentrations after drying hands of 6.63 × 106 ± 6.49 × 105 and 2.28 × 104 ± 9.72 × 103 particles m−3 for sizes 0.3 to <0.5 and ≥5.0 μm, respectively. The concentration of bacteria in indoor air after drying hands increased to a maximum of 3.81 × 102 ± 1.48 × 102 CFU m−3 (jet air dryers) and 4.50 × 102 ± 4.35 × 101 CFU m−3 (paper towels). This study indicates that the increase of aerosols and bacteria in air after drying hands with jet air dryers or paper towels are comparable and not statistically different from concentrations associated with walking and washing hands in the same environment. This work can support the development of hand hygiene practices and guidelines for public washrooms.
Characterizing Recharge in Southern Mali Using a Combination of Modeling and Stable Isotopes
Authors: Henry Chris , Allen Diana M. , Kirste Dirk
Published: February 2022

Groundwater recharge in southern Mali is investigated using interpretive recharge models and stable isotopes to identify the dominant recharge mechanism and explore how local variations in geological materials influence the recharge characteristics. At a regional scale, the groundwater level hydrographs from across southern Mali (1998–2002) are relatively consistent, showing seasonal variations, suggesting diffuse recharge is the dominant mechanism. Groundwater samples plot within the range of the weighted mean monthly δ18O and δ2H concentrations for July-August-September rainfall, and below the weighted mean annual δ18O and δ2H concentrations for rainfall, suggesting a dominantly rainy season source of recharge. Recharge is simulated for four representative unsaturated zone environments, each with varying soil, laterite and sedimentary bedrock layers, and three ranges of water table depths, for a total of 12 combinations. The simulated recharge response starts in July, 1 month after the arrival of the rainy season, and recharge is greatly accelerated through August to its peak in September. On an annual basis, ~72% of annual rainfall occurs between July and September, and nearly 60% of simulated recharge occurs between August and October. The simulated regional average annual recharge is 519 mm/year (479–560 mm/year range among models). By comparison, recharge estimated from the observed storage anomaly hydrographs using the water table fluctuation method is 384 mm/year (189–619 mm/year) using a specific yield of 0.05, although the range could be as high as 83–772 mm/year given the uncertainty in specific yield values (0.02–0.07). The simulated recharge also agrees with the timing of regional observed storage anomalies for all observation wells, but somewhat less so for the regional GRACE storage anomaly (2002–2008), which has a slower rate of rise in storage and a faster rate of recession compared to the observed storage anomalies and simulated recharge response.
Difficulty of Severe Post-liposuction Infragluteal Deformity Correction With Autologous Fat Transplantation: A Case Report
Authors: Yang Mingzi , Gu Yunpeng , Sun Jingjing , Lv Qianwen , Qi Yue , Jin Ji , Liu Zhenjun , Ma Guie
Published: February 2022

Overaggressive liposuction of the infragluteal region can lead to iatrogenic infragluteal fold deformity and result in esthetic defects in the gluteal contour. We report a case of using autologous fat transplantation to correct severe post-liposuction infragluteal fold deformity. In the process of reconstruction, the patient experienced fat graft overabsorption, fat graft translocation, and gluteal ptosis aggravation. Despite multiple operations, the effect of fat transplantation was limited. In conclusion, severe post-liposuction infragluteal deformity is very difficult to correct. The infragluteal region should be preserved during liposuction to avoid deformity.
Foraging Behavior Shows Individual-Consistency Over Time, and Predicts Range Use in Slow-Growing Free-Range Male Broiler Chickens
Authors: Ferreira Vitor Hugo Bessa , Simoni Arthur , Germain Karine , Leterrier Christine , Lansade Léa , Collin Anne , Mignon-Grasteau Sandrine , Le Bihan-Duval Elisabeth , Guettier Elodie , Leruste Hélène , Løvlie Hanne , Calandreau Ludovic , Guesdon Vanessa
Published: February 2022

Recent research on free-range chickens shows that individual behavioral differences may link to range use. However, most of these studies explored individual behavioral differences only at one time point or during a short time window, assessed differences when animals were out of their social group and home environment (barn and range), and in specific tests or situations. Therefore, it is yet unclear how different behaviors relate to range use and how consistent these behaviors are at the individual level. To fill this gap, we here aimed to describe the behavioral budget of slow-growing male broiler chickens (S757N) when in their social group and home environment during the whole rearing period (from the second week of life to the twelfth week, before slaughter), and to relate observed behavioral differences to range use. For this, we followed a sample of individuals in two flocks (n = 60 focal chickens out of 200 chickens per flock), over two seasons, during three periods: before range access (from 14 to 25 days old), during early range access (first weeks of range access, from 37 to 53 days old), and during late range access (last weeks of range access, from 63 to 87 days old). By the end of each period, individual tests of exploration and social motivation were also performed, measuring exploration/activity and sociability propensities. Our results show that foraging (i.e., pecking and scratching at the ground) was the only behavior that correlated to range use for all three rearing periods, independent of the season. Foraging was also the only behavior that showed within-individual consistency from an early age and across the three rearing periods. Foraging may, therefore, serve as a useful behavioral predictor of range use in free-range broiler chickens. Our study increases the knowledge of how behaviors develop and relate to each other in a domesticated and intensely selected species, and improves our understanding of the biology of free-range broiler chickens. These findings can, ultimately, serve as a foundation to increase range use and improve chicken welfare.
Optimization Design for the Planetary Gear Train of an Electric Vehicle under Uncertainties
Authors: Xu Xiang , Chen Jiawei , Lin Zhongyan , Qiao Yiran , Chen Xinbo , Zhang Yong , Xu Yanan , Li Yan
Published: February 2022

The planetary gear train is often used as the main device for decelerating and increasing the torque of the drive motor of electric vehicles. Considering the lightweight requirement and existing uncertainty in structural design, a multi-objective uncertainty optimization design (MUOD) framework is developed for the planetary gear train of the electric vehicle in this study. The volume and transmission efficiency of the planetary gear train are taken into consideration as optimization objectives. The manufacturing size, material, and load input of the planetary gear train are considered as uncertainties. An approximate direct decoupling model, based on subinterval Taylor expansion, is applied to evaluate the propagation of uncertainties. To improve the convergence ability of the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, the improved non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is designed by using chaotic and adaptive strategies. The improved NSGA-II has better convergence efficiency than classical NSGA-II and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO). In addition, the multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method is applied to choose the most satisfactory solution in Pareto sets from the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. Compared with the multi-objective deterministic optimization design (MDOD), the proposed MUOD framework has better reliability than MDOD under different uncertainty cases. This MUOD method enables further guidance pertaining to the uncertainty optimization design of transportation equipment, containing gear reduction mechanisms, in order to reduce the failure risk.
Peas and Barley Grown in the Strip-Till One Pass Technology as Row Intercropping Components in Sustainable Crop Production
Authors: Jaskulska Iwona , Jaskulski Dariusz , Gałęzewski Lech
Published: February 2022

Simplified, ploughless tillage and multi-species, multifunctional crop production are important components of sustainable agriculture. Technologies that combine these components can play an even greater pro-ecological role in modern agriculture. The claim is made that row intercropping of spring barley and peas, along with strip tillage, is an alternative to traditional methods of sowing cereals and legumes. This hypothesis was verified in a three-year field experiment in which row intercropping of barley and peas (alternating every row) was compared with traditional mixed-crop, within-row cropping (plants of each species in each row) and pure sowing of each species. Row intercropping of barley and peas using strip-till, one-pass technology, as compared with mixed-crop, within-row, improved the uniformity of plant emergence and plant density of peas before harvesting and reduced weed infestation. The productivity of barley and peas was higher than with pure sowing by 8.5% and 10.2%, respectively, and the productivity of peas was also higher by 38.9% than when sowing in mixed-crop, within-row. The yield of barley grain/seeds and peas under row-intercropping was 1.75 t ha−1 higher than the yield of pea seeds with pure sowing, and 0.79 t ha−1 lower than the yield of barley in pure sowing. On the other hand, the yield of grain/seed protein under this mixture was similar to the pea protein yield with pure sowing and 109 kg ha−1 higher than the barley protein yield with pure sowing. The positive results should inspire further research to obtain a better understanding of the conditions and effects of growing grains with legumes with strip-till one-pass technology.
Farming Practices and Disease Prevalence among Urban Lowland Farmers in Cameroon, Central Africa
Authors: Nana Annie Stephanie , Falkenberg Timo , Rechenburg Andrea , Adong Annet , Ayo Anne , Nbendah Pierre , Borgemeister Christian
Published: February 2022

Urban growth, coupled with increasing vegetable demand, has led to the utilization of lowlands in Cameroon for agricultural production. This study investigates the factors influencing the farming practices and the prevalence of diseases in vegetable producers through a cross-sectional survey of 130 farmers. Using logistic regression models, we found a positive association between education level and farm size with the overall quantity of fertilizer, both organic and mineral, used. Pesticide usage was positively associated with the number of years a farm had been cultivated, but it was negatively associated with land ownership. However, the number of years that farms had been cultivated was negatively associated with mineral fertilizer applications. In general, the prevalence of waterborne diseases was linked to the education level, while malaria prevalence was linked to the gender of the farmers. The location of cultivated areas significantly influenced the likelihood of reporting malaria and headaches. Despite the associated health risks, vegetable production is necessary for farmers’ livelihoods in the lowlands of Yaoundé. Therefore, policymakers should provide measures to optimize the benefits of urban agriculture, including training in safe farming techniques to minimize the associated health risks.
Management Zones Delineation through Clustering Techniques Based on Soils Traits, NDVI Data, and Multiple Year Crop Yields
Authors: Ali Abid , Rondelli Valda , Martelli Roberta , Falsone Gloria , Lupia Flavio , Barbanti Lorenzo
Published: February 2022

Availability of georeferenced yield data involving different crops over years, and their use in future crop management, are a subject of growing debate. In a 9 hectare field in Northern Italy, seven years of yield data, including wheat (3 years), maize for biomass (2 years), sunflower, and sorghum, and comprising remote (Landsat) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data during central crop stages, and soil analysis (grid sampling), were subjected to geostatistical analysis (semi-variogram fitting), spatial mapping (simple kriging), and Pearson’s correlation of interpolated data at the same resolution (30 m) as actual NDVI values. Management Zone Analyst software indicated two management zones as the optimum zone number in multiple (7 years) standardized yield data. Three soil traits (clay content, total limestone, total nitrogen) and five dates within the NDVI dataset (acquired in different years) were shown to be best correlated with multiple- and single-year yield data, respectively. These eight parameters were normalized and combined into a two-zone multiple soil and NDVI map to be compared with the two-zone multiple yield map. This resulted in 83% pixel agreement in the high and low zone (89 and 10 respective pixels in the soil and NDVI map; 73 and 26 respective pixels in the yield map) between the two maps. The good agreement, which is due to data buffering across different years and crop types, is a good premise for differential management of the soil- and NDVI-based two zones in future cropping seasons.
Gas Exchanges in the Leaves of Silage Maize Depending on the Forecrop and Maize Development Stage
Authors: Orzech Krzysztof , Wanic Maria , Załuski Dariusz
Published: February 2022

Crop rotation is an important factor limiting maize productivity in a sustainable farming system. A field trial was conducted to investigate: (i) whether the cultivation of silage maize in a short (2-year) crop rotation in succession after a grassland (grassland-maize), winter triticale (winter triticale-maize), or after maize (maize-maize) will affect the course of the photosynthetic process; (ii) whether these processes will be determined by the stage of maize development; and (iii) whether there is a relationship between gas exchange parameters, foliage characteristics, and silage maize yield. The study was carried out in the years 2017–2018 at the stages (BBCH): stem elongation (36) and flowering (65). Gas exchange parameters, features of foliage development, and the maize yield were evaluated. It was demonstrated that photosynthesis of maize grown after grassland was more efficient than after triticale and maize (higher stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, intercellular CO2 concentration, and lower temperature). This result obtained by growing maize after grassland resulted in more favourable foliage characteristics (leaf area, leaf area index, chlorophyll content) and translated into a higher yield volume than after triticale and maize. The obtained results confirmed the positive role of grassland as a forecrop for maize compared to growing maize after winter triticale and after maize.
The Recent Occurrence of Biotic Postharvest Diseases of Apples in Poland
Authors: Głos Hubert , Bryk Hanna , Michalecka Monika , Puławska Joanna
Published: February 2022

For the years 2012–2018, we investigated the occurrence of storage diseases caused by fungi on four cultivars of apples grown in the central part of Poland. The fruits were picked in orchards managed with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices and stored in a cold room for 5–7 months. Depending on the season, apple cultivar and localization of orchard, the incidence of diseases was different. On apple cvs “Gala”, “Ligol” and “Golden Delicious”, bull’s eye rot (Neofabraea spp.) was the most frequently observed disease, whereas on apple cv. “Gloster”, gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) predominated. The blue mold (Penicillium expansum), brown rot (Monilinia spp.) and fungi of Alternaria spp. occurred at significantly lower intensity. We detected the occurrence of the new storage diseases of apples caused by Colletotrichum spp., Neonectria ditissima and Diaporthe eres.