bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electromagnetic properties of coal using microstrip and an algorithm based on the Nicolson-Ross-Weir method
Authors: Mancipe-Huérfano David Leonardo , García-Cáceres Rafael Guillermo
Published: July 2024

The work implements an experimental methodology to find the dielectric parameters: electrical permittivity, effective permittivity, magnetic permeability, conductivity, absorption coefficient, impedance, and loss tangent of bituminous coal from the municipality of Morcá and Tópaga belonging to the Sogamoso-Jericó sub-basin of the Guaduas formation, one of the most important coal reserves in Colombia. The methodology, known for its efficiency, includes constructing a microstrip-type circuit, measuring scattering parameters or S-parameters at frequencies between 300 kHz and 1 GHz with a vector network analyzer, and extracting electromagnetic properties using the Nicolson-Ross-Weir algorithm. The implemented algorithm allowed us to see the behavior of the coal in a fraction of the ultra-high frequency band and to find quickly and easily the approximate values of the parameters as a function of frequency, which are very important for investigations in mathematical modeling and computational electromagnetics. The results show that the real and imaginary components of the relative dielectric permittivity decrease with increasing frequency, and the absorption coefficient and the loss tangent of the coal increase as a function of frequency, indicating that the coal behaves as a dissipative dielectric.
Chemical approaches for fabrication of self-healing polymers
Authors: Zafeer Mohd. Khalid , Bhat K. Subrahmanya
Published: July 2024

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the development of polymeric materials, driving rapid expansion in associated industries and a surge in plastic production and usage. Consequently, the substantial generation of plastic waste has raised environmental concerns. One critical issue is the tendency of polymers to degrade over time, leading to disposal. Introducing self-healing systems capable of autonomously repairing damage caused by external factors can extend material lifespan, offering an effective means to mitigate polymer waste. The concept of self-healing draws inspiration from the regenerative abilities of living organisms. Extensive research over the past decade has led to significant advancements in self-healing materials, which can naturally repair and regain functionality using accessible resources. Various approaches, including physical, chemical, and physio-chemical methods, are employed in self-healing polymers. These self-healing mechanisms can be autonomic or triggered by external stimuli such as heat, solvent, or pressure. From thermosets to thermoplastics to elastomers, polymers of all types can exhibit self-healing properties. This review article delves into chemical approaches of fabricating self-healing synthetic polymers, focusing primarily on covalently cross-linked polymers with an emphasis on the Diels–Alder reaction. Additionally, the review offers a comprehensive discussion and compilation of different research works concerning other chemical approaches used in polymer self-healing.
The Daily Report Card and Check-in/Check-out: A Commentary About Two Siloed Interventions
Authors: Owens Julie Sarno , Margherio Samantha , Dillon Cara , Evans Steven W. , Rew Hannah Grace , Hustus Chelsea , Pickel Christie
Published: July 2024

Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) and the Daily Report Card intervention (DRC) are well-researched interventions designed to reduce challenging student behavior and improve academic and behavioral functioning. Yet each intervention has been studied within siloed literatures and their similarities and differences are not well understood by many educators. The goals of this commentary are to (1) highlight the similarities and differences between these interventions; (2) help educators and researchers understand the value of both interventions; and (3) stimulate conversation, innovative thinking, and new research that serves to reduce rather than reinforce the existing silos.
Quinoa and its Co-Products as Ingredients for the Development of Dairy Analogs and Hybrid Dairy Products
Authors: Fernández-López Juana , Ponce-Martínez Angel J. , Rodríguez-Párraga Judith , Lucas-González Raquel , Viuda-Martos Manuel , Pérez-Alvarez José A.
Published: July 2024

Purpose of Review

This review intends to explore the potential of quinoa and its co-products as ingredients to alternative dairy foods (plant-based and hybrids) contributing to a more sustainable food future. Specifically, it aims to discuss their processing technologies to obtain food ingredients, their functional properties and their potential application in the development of plant-based and hybrid dairy products as alternatives to traditional dairy products.

Recent Findings

Dairy analogs (plant-based and hybrids) are flooding the market with soy being the main ingredient. However, the market is likely to gravitate towards alternative plants to fulfill consumers' needs and desires for healthy, flavorful and intriguing products. In this context, aspects such as allergy-free and gluten-free products become increasingly important and quinoa meet these requirements. There are many studies that highlight not only its nutritional value but also the sustainability of its cultivation. In addition, quinoa industrialization generates important co-products that can be suitably processed and reused in the elaboration of these hybrid and dairy analogues.

This concise review highlights the potential of quinoa and its co-products for the development of healthy and taste dairy analogs (plant-based and hybrids). It emphasizes the wide variety of quinoa derived products that can be obtained and their application in the development of quinoa-based dairy analogs.
Dental management of Fanconi anemia: a rare congenital disorder
Authors: Dias Jacqueline Jacinta , Gupta Ankit , Shreehari A. K.
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Fanconi anemia is a rare inherited genetic disorder that is characterized by all three defective blood cell lines such as reduced red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. This makes the individual susceptible to spontaneous oral bleeding and prone to oral infections including periodontal diseases.

Method

Dental management of individuals with Fanconi anemia can be a difficult task as these individuals have a tendency for uncontrolled hemorrhage and infections after any simple dental procedure. This case report highlights the oral manifestations and management of the same in such individuals taking into consideration the complications in such rare diseases.

Result

In this case report, the individuals’ oral manifestations and spontaneous oral bleeding were successfully managed by preventive single-donor platelet transfusion, factor VII transfusion, and local tranexamic acid usage during the dental interventions along with parental counseling.

Conclusion

Fanconi anemia being a rare inherited disorder is often difficult to manage due to a lack of knowledge and awareness among the dental clinicians. This case report attempts in highlighting the same and spreading awareness among the clinicians.
Heritage Languages
Authors: Nagy Naomi
Published: July 2024

Heritage language speakers often feel discouraged from using their heritage language because they are told they do not speak it well. This book offsets such views by investigating heritage language variation and change across generations in eight languages spoken in Toronto. It introduces new methodology to help readers understand and apply variationist sociolinguistic approaches to quantitatively analyze spontaneous speech. This approach, based on a corpus of 400+ speakers, shows that variation and change across the grammar of heritage languages resemble the patterns in hegemonic majority languages, contrasting with the simplification/attrition patterns in experimental heritage language studies. Chapters compare patterns across generations, across languages, across ten variables in Cantonese, and between indexical and non-indexical patterns. Heritage language speakers are quoted, showing that this research increases heritage language usage and pride. Providing a tool for language revitalization, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in learning about and/or conducting research on heritage languages.
Detecting Transient Uplift at the Active Volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania With the TZVOLCANO Network
Authors: Daud Ntambila , Stamps D. Sarah , Ji Kang‐Hyeun , Saria Elifuraha , Huang Mong‐Han , Adams Aubreya
Published: July 2024

Over the last 7 years, geodetic data have detected periods of uplift and subsidence of the active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania. Although numerous eruptions of the volcano have occurred historically, a systematic investigation of transient deformation using continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data has not been undertaken. We use the Targeted Projection Operator (TPO) to assess 7 years of continuous GNSS data from the TZVOLCANO network for transient signals and find rapid uplift spanning March 2022–December 2022 and then steady‐state uplift through August 2023. We conduct a nonlinear inversion of the GNSS velocities associated with the transient signal using dMODELS and find consistency with an inflating spheroidal source located 2.3 ± 0.6 km beneath the crater. Prior to March 2022, geodetic data indicated quiescence just below Ol Doinyo Lengai, thus detecting transient deformation with TPO allows for tracking changes in the magmatic system over time in the Natron Rift.
Topography‐Enhanced Ultra‐Cold Trapping at the LCROSS Impact Site
Authors: Hayes C. W. , Minton D. A. , Kloos J. L. , Moores J. E.
Published: July 2024

Small topographic features below the resolution of existing orbital data sets may create “micro ultra‐cold traps” within the larger permanently shadowed regions that are present at the lunar poles. These ultra‐cold traps are protected from the major primary and secondary illumination sources, and thus would create surfaces that are much colder than lower‐resolution temperature maps would indicate. We examine this effect by creating a high resolution (1 m pix−1) terrain map based on upscaled data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter. This map is illuminated by scattered sunlight and infrared emissions from sunlit terrain, which are then run through a thermal model to determine temperatures. We find that while most of the terrain experiences maximum temperatures around 50 K, there are a number of 1–30 m‐scale ultra‐cold traps with maximum temperatures as low as 20–30 K. By comparing our modeled ultra‐cold trapping area to volatile abundances measured by Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), we reveal a diverse environment where the surficial abundances necessary to explain the LCROSS results are strongly dependent on precisely where the impact occurred.
Direct Observations of Magnetic Reconnections at the Magnetopause of the Martian Mini‐Magnetosphere
Authors: Lin R. T. , Huang S. Y. , Yuan Z. G. , Jiang K. , Wu H. H. , Xiong Q. Y.
Published: July 2024

While Mars lacks a global intrinsic magnetic field, it does exhibit crustal magnetic anomalies (mostly in its Southern Hemisphere). These crustal magnetic anomalies directly interact with solar wind, which forms a mini‐magnetosphere and a region denoted the mini‐magnetopause. Using magnetic field and plasma measurements from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, we report a novel case of magnetic reconnection at the Martian mini‐magnetopause. In this process, protons and oxygen ions from the Martian atmosphere were accelerated during reconnection and likely escaped along the outflow direction. Magnetic reconnection may occur between the interplanetary magnetic field and crustal magnetic fields at the Martian mini‐magnetopause, which contributes to planetary ion escape, solar wind entering the mini‐magnetosphere and the evolution of magnetic topology in the dayside Martian mini‐magnetosphere.
Multi‐Frequency SuperDARN Interferometer Calibration
Authors: Thomas E. G. , Shepherd S. G. , Chisham G.
Published: July 2024

The ground‐based, high‐frequency radars of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) observe backscatter from ionospheric field‐aligned plasma irregularities and features on the Earth's surface out to ranges of several thousand kilometers via over‐the‐horizon propagation of transmitted radio waves. Interferometric techniques can be applied to the received signals at the primary and secondary antenna arrays to measure the vertical angle of arrival, or elevation angle, for more accurate geolocation of SuperDARN observations. However, the calibration of SuperDARN interferometer measurements remains challenging for several reasons, including a 2π phase ambiguity when solving for the time delay correction factor needed to account for differences in the electrical path lengths between signals received at the two antenna arrays. We present a new technique using multi‐frequency ionospheric and ground backscatter observations for the calibration of SuperDARN interferometer data, and demonstrate its application to both historical and recent data.
Non-convex optimization for inverse problem solving in computer-generated holography
Authors: Sui Xiaomeng , He Zehao , Chu Daping , Cao Liangcai
Published: July 2024

Computer-generated holography is a promising technique that modulates user-defined wavefronts with digital holograms. Computing appropriate holograms with faithful reconstructions is not only a problem closely related to the fundamental basis of holography but also a long-standing challenge for researchers in general fields of optics. Finding the exact solution of a desired hologram to reconstruct an accurate target object constitutes an ill-posed inverse problem. The general practice of single-diffraction computation for synthesizing holograms can only provide an approximate answer, which is subject to limitations in numerical implementation. Various non-convex optimization algorithms are thus designed to seek an optimal solution by introducing different constraints, frameworks, and initializations. Herein, we overview the optimization algorithms applied to computer-generated holography, incorporating principles of hologram synthesis based on alternative projections and gradient descent methods. This is aimed to provide an underlying basis for optimized hologram generation, as well as insights into the cutting-edge developments of this rapidly evolving field for potential applications in virtual reality, augmented reality, head-up display, data encryption, laser fabrication, and metasurface design.
Involvement of Kindlin-1 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Carrasco Giovana , Stavrou Ifigeneia , Treanor-Taylor Mairi , Beetham Henry , Lee Martin , Masalmeh Roza , Carreras-Soldevila Artur , Hardman David , Bernabeu Miguel O. , von Kriegsheim Alex , Inman Gareth J. , Byron Adam , Brunton Valerie G.
Published: July 2024

Kindler syndrome (KS) is a rare genodermatosis resulting from loss-of-function mutations in FERMT1, the gene that encodes Kindlin-1. KS patients have a high propensity to develop aggressive and metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Here we show in non-KS-associated patients that elevation of FERMT1 expression is increased in actinic keratoses compared to normal skin, with a further increase in cSCC supporting a pro-tumorigenic role in this population. In contrast, we show that loss of Kindlin-1 leads to increased SCC tumor growth in vivo and in 3D spheroids, which was associated with the development of a hypoxic tumor environment and increased glycolysis. The metalloproteinase Mmp13 was upregulated in Kindlin-1-depleted tumors, and increased expression of MMP13 was responsible for driving increased invasion of the Kindlin-1-depleted SCC cells. These results provide evidence that Kindlin-1 loss in SCC can promote invasion through the upregulation of MMP13, and offer novel insights into how Kindlin-1 loss leads to the development of a hypoxic environment that is permissive for tumor growth.
Serum dysregulation of serine and glycine metabolism as predictive biomarker for cognitive decline in frail elderly subjects
Authors: Imarisio Alberto , Yahyavi Isar , Gasparri Clara , Hassan Amber , Avenali Micol , Di Maio Anna , Buongarzone Gabriele , Galandra Caterina , Picascia Marta , Filosa Asia , Monti Maria Cristina , Pacchetti Claudio , Errico Francesco , Rondanelli Mariangela , Usiello Alessandro , Valente Enza Maria
Published: July 2024

Frailty is a common age-related clinical syndrome characterized by a decline in the function of multiple organ systems, increased vulnerability to stressors, and a huge socio-economic burden. Despite recent research efforts, the physiopathological mechanisms underlying frailty remain elusive and biomarkers able to predate its occurrence in the early stages are still lacking. Beyond its physical component, cognitive decline represents a critical domain of frailty associated with higher risk of adverse health outcomes. We measured by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) a pool of serum amino acids including L-glutamate, L-aspartate, glycine, and D-serine, as well as their precursors L-glutamine, L-asparagine, and L-serine in a cohort of elderly subjects encompassing the entire continuum from fitness to frailty. These amino acids are known to orchestrate excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, and in turn, to play a key role as intermediates of energy homeostasis and in liver, kidney, muscle, and immune system metabolism. To comprehensively assess frailty, we employed both the Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS), as a practical tool to capture the multidimensionality of frailty, and the frailty phenotype, as a measure of physical function. We found that D-serine and D-/Total serine ratio were independent predictors of EFS but not of physical frailty. Furthermore, higher levels of glycine, glycine/L-serine and D-/Total serine were associated with worse cognition and depressive symptoms in the frail group. These findings suggest that changes in peripheral glycine and serine enantiomers homeostasis may represent a novel biochemical correlate of frailty.
Occipital-temporal cortical tuning to semantic and affective features of natural images predicts associated behavioral responses
Authors: Abdel-Ghaffar Samy A. , Huth Alexander G. , Lescroart Mark D. , Stansbury Dustin , Gallant Jack L. , Bishop Sonia J.
Published: July 2024

In everyday life, people need to respond appropriately to many types of emotional stimuli. Here, we investigate whether human occipital-temporal cortex (OTC) shows co-representation of the semantic category and affective content of visual stimuli. We also explore whether OTC transformation of semantic and affective features extracts information of value for guiding behavior. Participants viewed 1620 emotional natural images while functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired. Using voxel-wise modeling we show widespread tuning to semantic and affective image features across OTC. The top three principal components underlying OTC voxel-wise responses to image features encoded stimulus animacy, stimulus arousal and interactions of animacy with stimulus valence and arousal. At low to moderate dimensionality, OTC tuning patterns predicted behavioral responses linked to each image better than regressors directly based on image features. This is consistent with OTC representing stimulus semantic category and affective content in a manner suited to guiding behavior.
N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed atroposelective synthesis of N-Aryl phthalimides and maleimides via activation of carboxylic acids
Authors: Barik Soumen , Ranganathappa Sowmya Shree , Biju Akkattu T.
Published: July 2024

Traditionally, N-aryl phthalimides are synthesized by the condensation of phthalic anhydride and aniline derivatives, usually proceeding under harsh conditions. The alternative mild and organocatalytic strategies for their synthesis are underdeveloped. Herein, we demonstrate the organocatalytic atroposelective synthesis of N-aryl phthalimides via the traditional N-CC=O disconnection under mild conditions. The in-situ acid activation of phthalamic acid and subsequent N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed atroposelective amidation allowed the synthesis of well-decorated N-aryl phthalimides in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. Mechanistic studies reveal the addition of NHC to the in situ generated isoimides, thus introducing a unique mode of generating acylazoliums. Interestingly, both enantiomers of the product can be accessed from the same phthalic anhydride and aniline using the same NHC pre-catalyst. Moreover, this strategy has been extended to the atroposelective synthesis of N-aryl maleimides.
Partitioning and aggregating cross-tissue and tissue-specific genetic effects to identify gene-trait associations
Authors: Song Shuang , Wang Lijun , Hou Lin , Liu Jun S.
Published: July 2024

TWAS have shown great promise in extending GWAS loci to a functional understanding of disease mechanisms. In an effort to fully unleash the TWAS and GWAS information, we propose MTWAS, a statistical framework that partitions and aggregates cross-tissue and tissue-specific genetic effects in identifying gene-trait associations. We introduce a non-parametric imputation strategy to augment the inaccessible tissues, accommodating complex interactions and non-linear expression data structures across various tissues. We further classify eQTLs into cross-tissue eQTLs and tissue-specific eQTLs via a stepwise procedure based on the extended Bayesian information criterion, which is consistent under high-dimensional settings. We show that MTWAS significantly improves the prediction accuracy across all 47 tissues of the GTEx dataset, compared with other single-tissue and multi-tissue methods, such as PrediXcan, TIGAR, and UTMOST. Applying MTWAS to the DICE and OneK1K datasets with bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing data on immune cell types showcases consistent improvements in prediction accuracy. MTWAS also identifies more predictable genes, and the improvement can be replicated with independent studies. We apply MTWAS to 84 UK Biobank GWAS studies, which provides insights into disease etiology.
UPF1 plays critical roles in early B cell development
Authors: Iwai Noriki , Akaki Kotaro , Hia Fabian , Li Wei , Yoshinaga Masanori , Mino Takashi , Takeuchi Osamu
Published: July 2024

The ATP-dependent RNA helicase UPF1 plays a crucial role in various mRNA degradation pathways, most importantly in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). Here, we show that UPF1 is upregulated during the early stages of B cell development and is important for early B cell development in the bone marrow. B-cell-specific Upf1 deletion in mice severely impedes the early to late LPre-B cell transition, in which VH-DHJH recombination occurs at the Igh gene. Furthermore, UPF1 is indispensable for VH-DHJH recombination, without affecting DH-JH recombination. Intriguingly, the genetic pre-arrangement of the Igh gene rescues the differentiation defect in early LPre-B cells under Upf1 deficient conditions. However, differentiation is blocked again following Ig light chain recombination, leading to a failure in development into immature B cells. Notably, UPF1 interacts with and regulates the expression of genes involved in immune responses, cell cycle control, NMD, and the unfolded protein response in B cells. Collectively, our findings underscore the critical roles of UPF1 during the early LPre-B cell stage and beyond, thus orchestrating B cell development.
The mycobacterial glycoside hydrolase LamH enables capsular arabinomannan release and stimulates growth
Authors: Franklin Aaron , Salgueiro Vivian C. , Layton Abigail J. , Sullivan Rudi , Mize Todd , Vázquez-Iniesta Lucía , Benedict Samuel T. , Gurcha Sudagar S. , Anso Itxaso , Besra Gurdyal S. , Banzhaf Manuel , Lovering Andrew L. , Williams Spencer J. , Guerin Marcelo E. , Scott Nichollas E. , Prados-Rosales Rafael , Lowe Elisabeth C. , Moynihan Patrick J.
Published: July 2024

Mycobacterial glycolipids are important cell envelope structures that drive host-pathogen interactions. Arguably, the most important are lipoarabinomannan (LAM) and its precursor, lipomannan (LM), which are trafficked from the bacterium to the host via unknown mechanisms. Arabinomannan is thought to be a capsular derivative of these molecules, lacking a lipid anchor. However, the mechanism by which this material is generated has yet to be elucidated. Here, we describe the identification of a glycoside hydrolase family 76 enzyme that we term LamH (Rv0365c in Mycobacterium tuberculosis) which specifically cleaves α−1,6-mannoside linkages within LM and LAM, driving its export to the capsule releasing its phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannoside lipid anchor. Unexpectedly, we found that the catalytic activity of this enzyme is important for efficient exit from stationary phase cultures, potentially implicating arabinomannan as a signal for growth phase transition. Finally, we demonstrate that LamH is important for M. tuberculosis survival in macrophages.
Piezoelectricity in chalcogenide perovskites
Authors: Abir Sk Shamim Hasan , Sharma Shyam , Sharma Prince , Karla Surya , Balasubramanian Ganesh , Samuel Johnson , Koratkar Nikhil
Published: July 2024

Piezoelectric materials show potential to harvest the ubiquitous, abundant, and renewable energy associated with mechanical vibrations. However, the best performing piezoelectric materials typically contain lead which is a carcinogen. Such lead-containing materials are hazardous and are being increasingly curtailed by environmental regulations. In this study, we report that the lead-free chalcogenide perovskite family of materials exhibits piezoelectricity. First-principles calculations indicate that even though these materials are centrosymmetric, they are readily polarizable when deformed. The reason for this is shown to be a loosely packed unit cell, containing a significant volume of vacant space. This allows for an extended displacement of the ions, enabling symmetry reduction, and resulting in an enhanced displacement-mediated dipole moment. Piezoresponse force microscopy performed on BaZrS3 confirmed that the material is piezoelectric. Composites of BaZrS3 particles dispersed in polycaprolactone were developed to harvest energy from human body motion for the purposes of powering electrochemical and electronic devices.
Mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of Gang Huo Qing wen granules in the treatment of influenza based on network pharmacology, molecular docking and molecular dynamics
Authors: Wu Wenyu , Lan Wanning , Jiao Xin , Shao Axue , Wu Peng , Wang Kai , Zhan Shaofeng
Published: July 2024

Influenza (Flu) is a severe health, medical, and economic problem, but no medication that has excellent outcomes and lowers the occurrence of these problems is now available. GanghuoQingwenGranules (GHQWG) is a common Chinese herbal formula for the treatment of influenza (flu). However, its methods of action remain unknown. We used network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation techniques to investigate the pharmacological mechanism of GHQWG in flu. TCMSP and various types of literature were used to obtain active molecules and targets of GHQWG. Flu-related targets were found in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database, the DisFeNET database, the Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), and the DrugBank database. To screen the key targets, a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. DAVID was used to analyze GO and KEGG pathway enrichment. Target tissue and organ distribution was assessed. Molecular docking was used to evaluate interactions between possible targets and active molecules. For the ideal core protein–compound complexes obtained using molecular docking, a molecular dynamics simulation was performed. In total, 90 active molecules and 312 GHQWG targets were discovered. The PPI network's topology highlighted six key targets. GHQWG's effects are mediated via genes involved in inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress, as well as the TNF and IL-17 signaling pathways, according to GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that the active compounds and tested targets had strong binding capabilities. This analysis accurately predicts the effective components, possible targets, and pathways involved in GHQWG flu treatment. We proposed a novel study strategy for future studies on the molecular processes of GHQWG in flu treatment. Furthermore, the possible active components provide a dependable source for flu drug screening.
Speckle statistics as a tool to distinguish collective behaviors of Zebrafish shoals
Authors: de Souza Adauto J. F. , Romaguera Antonio. R. de C. , Vasconcelos João V. A. , Negreiros-Neto Luis G. , de Oliveira Viviane M. , Cadena Pabyton G. , Barbosa Anderson L. R. , Lyra Marcelo L.
Published: July 2024

Zebrafish have become an important model animal for studying the emergence of collective behavior in nature. Here, we show how to properly analyze the polarization statistics to distinguish shoal regimes. In analogy with the statistical properties of optical speckles, we show that exponential and Rayleigh distributions emerge in shoals with many fish with uncorrelated velocity directions. In the opposite limit of just two fish, the polarization distribution peaks at high polarity, with the average value being a decreasing function of the shoal’s size, even in the absence of correlations. We also perform a set of experiments unveiling two shoaling regimes. Large shoals behave as small domains with strong intra-domain and weak inter-domain correlations. A strongly correlated regime develops for small shoals. The reported polarization statistical features shall guide future automated neuroscience, pharmacological, toxicological, and embryogenesis-motivated experiments aiming to explore the collective behavior of fish shoals.
Osteoporosis, spinal degenerative disorders, and their association with low back pain, activities of daily living, and physical performance in a general population
Authors: Iwata Shoei , Hashizume Hiroshi , Yoshimura Noriko , Oka Hiroyuki , Iwahashi Hiroki , Ishimoto Yuyu , Nagata Keiji , Teraguchi Masatoshi , Kagotani Ryohei , Sasaki Takahide , Tanaka Sakae , Yoshida Munehito , Yamada Hiroshi
Published: July 2024

Osteoporosis, vertebral fractures, and spinal degenerative diseases are common conditions that often coexist in older adults. This study aimed to determine the factors influencing low back pain and its impact on activities of daily living (ADL) and physical performance in older individuals with multiple comorbidities. This cross-sectional study was part of a large-scale population-based cohort study in Japan, involving 1009 participants who underwent spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess cervical cord compression, radiographic lumbar spinal stenosis, and lumbar disc degeneration. Vertebral fractures in the thoracolumbar spine were evaluated using sagittal MRI with a semi-quantitative method. Bone mineral density was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Low back pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and physical performance tests, such as one-leg standing time, five times chair-stand time, maximum walking speed, and maximum step length, were assessed. Using clinical conditions as objective variables and image evaluation parameters as explanatory variables, multiple regression analysis showed that vertebral fractures were significantly associated with low back pain and ODI. Vertebral fractures and osteoporosis significantly impacted physical performance, whereas osteoporosis alone did not affect low back pain or ODI. Our findings contribute to new insights into low back pain and its impact on ADL and physical performance.
Co-regulatory network analysis of the main secondary metabolite (SM) biosynthesis in Crocus sativus L.
Authors: Eshaghi Mahsa , Rashidi-Monfared Sajad
Published: July 2024

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is being embraced as the most important medicinal plant and the commercial source of saffron spice. Despite the beneficial economic and medicinal properties of saffron, the regulatory mechanism of the correlation of TFs and genes related to the biosynthesis of the apocarotenoids pathway is less obvious. Realizing these regulatory hierarchies of gene expression networks related to secondary metabolites production events is the main challenge owing to the complex and extensive interactions between the genetic behaviors. Recently, high throughput expression data have been highly feasible for constructing co-regulation networks to reveal the regulated processes and identifying novel candidate hub genes in response to complex processes of the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Herein, we performed Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), a systems biology method, to identify 11 regulated modules and hub TFs related to secondary metabolites. Three specialized modules were found in the apocarotenoids pathway. Several hub TFs were identified in notable modules, including MADS, C2H2, ERF, bZIP, HD-ZIP, and zinc finger protein MYB and HB, which were potentially associated with apocarotenoid biosynthesis. Furthermore, the expression levels of six hub TFs and six co-regulated genes of apocarotenoids were validated with RT-qPCR. The results confirmed that hub TFs specially MADS, C2H2, and ERF had a high correlation (P < 0.05) and a positive effect on genes under their control in apocarotenoid biosynthesis (CCD2, GLT2, and ADH) among different C. sativus ecotypes in which the metabolite contents were assayed. Promoter analysis of the co-expressed genes of the modules involved in apocarotenoids biosynthesis pathway suggested that not only are the genes co-expressed, but also share common regulatory motifs specially related to hub TFs of each module and that they may describe their common regulation. The result can be used to engineer valuable secondary metabolites of C. sativus by manipulating the hub regulatory TFs.
High-gain far-detuned nonlinear frequency conversion in a few-mode graded-index optical fiber
Authors: Stefańska Karolina , Béjot Pierre , Fatome Julien , Millot Guy , Tarnowski Karol Lech , Kibler Bertrand
Published: July 2024

We present theoretical and experimental evidence of high-gain far-detuned nonlinear frequency conversion, extending towards both the visible and the mid-infrared, in a few-mode graded-index silica fiber pumped at 1.064 $$\upmu \hbox {m}$$

μ
m

, and more specifically achieving gains of hundreds of dB per meter below 0.65 $$\upmu \hbox {m}$$

μ
m

and beyond 3.5 $$\upmu \hbox {m}$$

μ
m

. Interestingly, our findings highlight the potential of graded-index fibers for enabling high-gain wavelength conversion into the strong-loss spectral region of silica. Such advancements require an accurate interpretation of intramodal and intermodal four-wave mixing processes.
The mediation role of hope in the relationship of resilience with depression, anxiety, and stress in caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer
Authors: Rambod Masoume , Nassabeh Fatemeh , Salmanpour Mahdi , Pasyar Nilofar
Published: July 2024

This study aimed to determine the mediation role of hope in the relationship of resilience with depression, anxiety, and stress in caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer. Adult Hope Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DAS) scales were used for data collection. The mediator and moderator model was tested using the SPSS macro PROCESS (Model 4, and 5). The mediator model (model 4) indicated that DAS significantly correlated with resilience (β = − 0.54, t-value = − 5.01, p < 0.001), and hope (β = − 0.84, t-value = − 3.45, p = 0.0007). Hope mediated the relationship between resilience and DAS among caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer (Effect = − 0.18, SE = 0.06, 95% CI − 0.33 to − 0.06). The mediator and moderator model (model 5) showed that female caregivers had a stronger correlation between resilience and DAS when compared to their male counterparts (β = − 0.56, t-value = − 3.90, p-value = 0.0001); also, hope mediated the relationship between resilience and DAS among caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer (Effect = − 0.20, SE = 0.08, 95% CI − 0.37 to − 0.04). In conclusion, hope was a mediator, and female caregivers were a moderator in the relationship of resilience with depression, anxiety, and stress, and its promotion might be effective among caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer. It seems that resilience, female caregivers, and hope may provide good protection against depression, anxiety, and stress in caregivers of cancer patients.
Antidepressant drug use after intensive care: a nationwide cohort study
Authors: von Oelreich Erik , Eriksson Jesper , Eriksson Mikael , Larsson Emma , Oldner Anders
Published: July 2024

Modern intensive care has improved survival rates, but emerging evidence suggests a high prevalence of post-intensive care unit (ICU) health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. These symptoms may have a detrimental effect on quality of life and increase mortality. The primary objective of this study is to examine the extent of initiation of antidepressant medication among ICU survivors and identify the factors associated with its usage. The secondary objective is to investigate whether the use of these medications is linked to an increased mortality. The nationwide study cohort included 125,130 ICU survivors admitted between 2010 and 2017. Within the first 3 months after ICU discharge, 7% of patients initiated antidepressant medication, by 1 year 15.5% had started medication. We found no tendency to a decrease during the 2-year follow-up period. Factors associated with antidepressant use included middle age, female sex, psychiatric and somatic comorbid conditions, substance dependence, higher illness severity, and longer ICU stay. Antidepressant users had a higher mortality rate, and deaths due to external causes and suicide were more frequent in this group. This study emphasizes the importance of detecting and addressing depression in ICU survivors to improve their quality of life and reduce mortality rates.
The association between acute myocardial infarction and subsequent diagnosis of breast cancer: a nationwide, population-based cohort study
Authors: Lin Chia-Pin , Chou Shing-Hsien , Lin Yu-Sheng , Chiang Hou-Yu , Yang Chan-Keng , Lin Yu-Sheng , Chu Pao-Hsien
Published: July 2024

Coronary artery disease (CAD) such as acute myocardial infarction (MI) share several common risk factors with cancers, and each disease may influence the prognosis of the other. Recently, acute MI was demonstrated to accelerate the outgrowth of preexisting breast cancer cells but the risk of breast cancer after MI remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between acute MI and a subsequent diagnosis of breast cancer. Female patients with and without a history of acute MI were identified from nationwide databases in Taiwan. Patients with a diagnosis of cancer, MI or CAD prior to the study period were excluded. After reducing confounding through inverse probability of treatment weighting, we compared the incidence of newly diagnosed breast cancer between patients with a history of acute MI and those without. As a result, a total of 66,445 female patients were obtained, including 15,263 patients with a history of acute MI and 51,182 patients without. The incidences of breast cancer during follow-up were 1.93 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.78–2.09) and 1.80 (95% CI 1.67–1.93) per 1,000 person-years for patients with and without a history of acute MI, respectively. The hazard ratio (HR) was 1.05 (95% CI 0.78–1.41, P = 0.756). In subgroup analysis, breast cancer risk was significantly associated with acute MI in patients using antidiabetic drugs (HR 1.27; 95% CI 1.02–1.58) and in low to moderate urbanization levels (HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.06–1.53). In conclusion, the risk of newly diagnosed breast cancer was not increased in patients with acute MI when compared to general population without MI or CAD.
Shared neural codes of recognition memory
Authors: Ambrus Géza Gergely
Published: July 2024

Recognition memory research has identified several electrophysiological indicators of successful memory retrieval, known as old-new effects. These effects have been observed in different sensory domains using various stimulus types, but little attention has been given to their similarity or distinctiveness and the underlying processes they may share. Here, a data-driven approach was taken to investigate the temporal evolution of shared information content between different memory conditions using openly available EEG data from healthy human participants of both sexes, taken from six experiments. A test dataset involving personally highly familiar and unfamiliar faces was used. The results show that neural signals of recognition memory for face stimuli were highly generalized starting from around 200 ms following stimulus onset. When training was performed on non-face datasets, an early (around 200–300 ms) to late (post-400 ms) differentiation was observed over most regions of interest. Successful cross-classification for non-face stimuli (music and object/scene associations) was most pronounced in late period. Additionally, a striking dissociation was observed between familiar and remembered objects, with shared signals present only in the late window for correctly remembered objects, while cross-classification for familiar objects was successful in the early period as well. These findings suggest that late neural signals of memory retrieval generalize across sensory modalities and stimulus types, and the dissociation between familiar and remembered objects may provide insight into the underlying processes.
Prediction of influential nodes in social networks based on local communities and users’ reaction information
Authors: Rashidi Rohollah , Boroujeni Farsad Zamani , Soltanaghaei MohammadReza , Farhadi Hadi
Published: July 2024

Identifying influential nodes is one of the basic issues in managing large social networks. Identifying influence nodes in social networks and other networks, including transportation, can be effective in applications such as identifying the sources of spreading rumors, making advertisements more effective, predicting traffic, predicting diseases, etc. Therefore, it will be important to identify these people and nodes in social networks from different aspects. In this article, a new method is presented to identify influential nodes in the social network. The proposed method utilizes the combination of users’ social characteristics and their reaction information to identify influential users. Since the identification of these users in the large social network is a complex process and requires high processing power and time, clustering and identifying communities have been used in the proposed method to reduce the complexity of the problem. In the proposed method, the structure of the social network is divided into its constituent communities and thus the problem of identifying influential nodes (in the entire network) turns into several problems of identifying an influential node (in each community). The suggested method for predicting the nodes first predicts the links that may be created in the future and then identifies the influential nodes based on an iterative strategy. The proposed algorithm uses the criteria of centrality and influence domain to identify this category of users and performs the identification process both at the community and network levels. The efficiency of the method has been evaluated using real databases and the results have been compared with previous works. The results demonstrate that the proposed method provides a more suitable performance in detecting the influential nodes and is superior in terms of accuracy, recall and processing time.
Nonlinear similarity characterisation and validation of dynamic response of ship stiffened plate structure under explosion load impacts
Authors: Shi Dongyan , Wang Jiuqiang , Wang Zhikai , Wasim M. K. Helal
Published: July 2024

The similarity test of ship stiffened plate structures under underwater explosions is a cost-effective and efficient method to evaluate the vitality of ships and guide the design of their shock resistance. This study focuses on the nonlinear impact response model tests of ship stiffened plate structures and their similarity laws with actual ships. The vertical motion of the ship stiffened plate structure is characterized by the Hurst index, and an equivalent relationship between the Hurst index of the model and the prototype is derived from classical similarity law. Based on the Hurst index, a similarity transformation relationship between the strain signals of the model and prototype is established. To verify the conclusions, similarity experiments of underwater explosions were conducted on both the model and the prototype. The original signals were grouped by the natural vibration period to determine the variation of the Hurst index over time. The model experiment strain signals for each natural vibration period were converted and compared with the prototype experiment results to verify the method's effectiveness. Simultaneously, the Hurst index of the stiffened plate structure under explosive shock load and its similarity transformation relationship with the prototype were simulated and analyzed. This provides theoretical and technical support for conducting analogous nonlinear response experiments for ship underwater explosions.
Passive imaging through inhomogeneous scattering media
Authors: Bian Yaoming , Wang Fei , Liu Haishan , Yuan Haiming , Li Siteng , Huang Wenxin , Situ Guohai
Published: July 2024

According to the atmospheric scattering model (ASM), the object signal’s attenuation diminishes exponentially as the imaging distance increases. This imposes limitations on ASM-based methods in situations where the scattering medium one wish to look through is inhomogeneous. Here, we extend ASM by taking into account the spatial variation of the medium density, and propose a two-step method for imaging through inhomogeneous scattering media. In the first step, the proposed method eliminates the direct current component of the scattered pattern by subscribing to the estimated global distribution (background). In the second step, it eliminates the randomized components of the scattered light by using threshold truncation, followed by the histogram equalization to further enhance the contrast. Outdoor experiments were carried out to demonstrate the proposed method.