bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sex-Based Differences in the Myogenic Response and Inflammatory Gene Expression Following Eccentric Contractions in Humans
Authors: Fortino Stephen A. , Wageh Mai , Pontello Riley , McGlory Chris , Kumbhare Dinesh , Phillips Stuart M. , Parise Gianni
Published: April 2022

After muscle injury, the interaction between muscle satellite cells (SC) and the immune response is instrumental for the repair and regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue. Studies have reported sex-based differences in the skeletal muscle inflammatory and regenerative response following injury. However, many of these studies investigated such differences by manipulating the concentration of estradiol, in rodents and humans, without directly comparing males to females. We sought to explore differences in the myogenic and inflammatory response following unaccustomed eccentric exercise in males and females. We hypothesized that females would have a blunted myogenic and inflammatory response as compared to males.

Methods: 26 (13 male, 13 female) healthy young adults (22 ± 0.4 years [mean ± SEM]) performed 300 maximal eccentric contractions (180°/s) of the knee extensors. Muscle biopsies were taken before (pre) and 48 h (post) following eccentric damage. SC content and activation were determined by immunohistochemical and real time-polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR) analysis. Inflammatory markers were analyzed using rt-PCR.

Results: Following eccentric damage, males had a greater expansion of type I-associated SC (p < 0.05), and there was a trend for a greater expansion in total SC (type I + II fibers) (p = 0.06) compared to females. There was a trend for a greater increase in Pax7 and CCL2 gene expression in males compared to females (p = 0.09).

Conclusion: We conclude that there are sex-based differences in the myogenic and inflammatory response, where females have a blunted SC and inflammatory response.
Frequency Nesting Interactions in the Subthalamic Nucleus Correlate With the Step Phases for Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Jin Luyao , Shi Wenbin , Zhang Chuting , Yeh Chien-Hung
Published: April 2022

Gait disturbance in Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be ameliorated by sound stimulation. Given that excessive β synchronization in basal ganglia is linked to motor impairment in PD, whether the frequency nesting interactions are associated with the gait problem is far from clear. To this end, the masking phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) method was proposed to overcome the trade-off between intrinsic nonlinearity/non-stationarity and demand for predetermined frequencies, normally extracted by the filter. In this study, we analyzed LFPs recorded from 13 patients (one female) with PD during stepping with bilateral deep brain electrodes implanted in the subthalamic nucleus (STN). We found that not only high-frequency oscillation (100–300 Hz) was modulated by β (13–30 Hz) but also β and γ amplitude were modulated by their low-frequency components in δ/θ/α and δ/θ/α/β bands. These PAC values were suppressed by sound stimulation, along with an improvement in gait. We also showed that gait-related high-β (Hβ) modulation in the STN was sensitive to auditory cues, and Hβ gait-phase modulation increased with a metronome. Meanwhile, phase-locking values (PLVs) across all frequencies were significantly suppressed around contralateral heel strikes, manifesting the contralateral step as a critical gait phase in gait initiation for PD. Only the PLVs around contralateral steps were sensitive to auditory cues. Our results support masking PAC as an effective method in exploring frequency nesting interactions in LFPs and reveal the linkages between sound stimulation and couplings related to gait phases in the STN. These findings raise the possibility that nesting interactions in the STN work as feasible biomarkers in alleviating gait disorders.
A Reproducible Mouse Model of Moderate CKD With Early Manifestations of Osteoblastic Transition of Cardiovascular System
Authors: Machado Sarah E , Spangler Daryll , Black Laurence M. , Traylor Amie M. , Balla József , Zarjou Abolfazl
Published: April 2022

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant public health challenge with a substantial associated risk of mortality, morbidity, and health care expenditure. Culprits that lead to development and progression of CKD are multifaceted and heterogenous in nature. This notion underscores the need for diversification of animal models to investigate its pathophysiology, related complications, and to subsequently enable discovery of novel therapeutics. Importantly, animal models that could recapitulate complications of CKD in both genders are desperately needed. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in CKD patients that may be due in part to high prevalence of vascular calcification (VC). Using DBA/2 mice that are susceptible to development of VC, we sought to investigate the feasibility and reproducibility of a unilateral ischemia-reperfusion model followed by contralateral nephrectomy (UIRI/Nx) to induce CKD and its related complications in female and male mice. Our results demonstrate that irrespective of gender, mice faithfully displayed complications of moderate CKD following UIRI/Nx as evidenced by significant rise in serum creatinine, albuminuria, higher degree of collagen deposition, elevated expression of classic fibrotic markers, higher circulating levels of FGF-23, PTH and hepcidin. Moreover, we corroborate the osteoblastic transition of aortic smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes based on higher levels of osteoblastic markers namely, Cbfa-1, osteopontin, osteocalcin, and osterix. Our data confirms a viable, and consistent model of moderate CKD and its associated complications in both male and female mice. Furthermore, early evidence of osteoblastic transition of cardiovascular system in this model confirms its suitability for studying and implementing potential preventive and/or therapeutic approaches that are urgently needed in this field.
Enhanced Blood Clotting After Rewarming From Experimental Hypothermia in an Intact Porcine Model
Authors: Schanche Torstein , Filseth Ole Magnus , Østerud Bjarne , Kondratiev Timofei V. , Sieck Gary C. , Tveita Torkjel
Published: April 2022

Introduction: Due to functional alterations of blood platelets and coagulation enzymes at low temperatures, excessive bleeding is a well-recognized complication in victims of accidental hypothermia and may present a great clinical challenge. Still, it remains largely unknown if hemostatic function normalizes upon rewarming. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of hypothermia and rewarming on blood coagulation in an intact porcine model.

Methods: The animals were randomized to cooling and rewarming (n = 10), or to serve as normothermic, time-matched controls (n = 3). Animals in the hypothermic group were immersion cooled in ice water to 25°C, maintained at 25°C for 1 h, and rewarmed to 38°C (normal temperature in pigs) using warm water. Clotting time was assessed indirectly at different temperatures during cooling and rewarming using a whole blood coagulometer, which measures clotting time at 38°C.

Results: Cooling to 25°C led to a significant increase in hemoglobin, hematocrit and red blood cell count, which persisted throughout rewarming. Cooling also caused a transiently decreased white blood cell count that returned to baseline levels upon rewarming. After rewarming from hypothermia, clotting time was significantly shortened compared to pre-hypothermic baseline values. In addition, platelet count was significantly increased.

Discussion/Conclusion: We found that clotting time was significantly reduced after rewarming from hypothermia. This may indicate that rewarming from severe hypothermia induces a hypercoagulable state, in which thrombus formation is more likely to occur.
riceExplorer: Uncovering the Hidden Potential of a National Genomic Resource Against a Global Database
Authors: Darwell Clive T. , Wanchana Samart , Ruanjaichon Vinitchan , Siangliw Meechai , Thunnom Burin , Aesomnuk Wanchana , Toojinda Theerayut
Published: April 2022

Agricultural crop breeding programs, particularly at the national level, typically consist of a core panel of elite breeding cultivars alongside a number of local landrace varieties (or other endemic cultivars) that provide additional sources of phenotypic and genomic variation or contribute as experimental materials (e.g., in GWAS studies). Three issues commonly arise. First, focusing primarily on core development accessions may mean that the potential contributions of landraces or other secondary accessions may be overlooked. Second, elite cultivars may accumulate deleterious alleles away from nontarget loci due to the strong effects of artificial selection. Finally, a tendency to focus solely on SNP-based methods may cause incomplete or erroneous identification of functional variants. In practice, integration of local breeding programs with findings from global database projects may be challenging. First, local GWAS experiments may only indicate useful functional variants according to the diversity of the experimental panel, while other potentially useful loci—identifiable at a global level—may remain undiscovered. Second, large-scale experiments such as GWAS may prove prohibitively costly or logistically challenging for some agencies. Here, we present a fully automated bioinformatics pipeline (riceExplorer) that can easily integrate local breeding program sequence data with international database resources, without relying on any phenotypic experimental procedure. It identifies associated functional haplotypes that may prove more robust in determining the genotypic determinants of desirable crop phenotypes. In brief, riceExplorer evaluates a global crop database (IRRI 3000 Rice Genomes) to identify haplotypes that are associated with extreme phenotypic variation at the global level and recorded in the database. It then examines which potentially useful variants are present in the local crop panel, before distinguishing between those that are already incorporated into the elite breeding accessions and those only found among secondary varieties (e.g., landraces). Results highlight the effectiveness of our pipeline, identifying potentially useful functional haplotypes across the genome that are absent from elite cultivars and found among landraces and other secondary varieties in our breeding program. riceExplorer can automatically conduct a full genome analysis and produces annotated graphical output of chromosomal maps, potential global diversity sources, and summary tables.
A Walk Through the Maze of Secondary Metabolism in Orchids: A Transcriptomic Approach
Authors: Ghai Devina , Kaur Arshpreet , Kahlon Parvinderdeep S. , Pawar Sandip V. , Sembi Jaspreet K.
Published: April 2022

Orchids have a huge reservoir of secondary metabolites making these plants of immense therapeutic importance. Their potential as curatives has been realized since times immemorial and are extensively studied for their medicinal properties. Secondary metabolism is under stringent genetic control in plants and several molecular factors are involved in regulating the production of the metabolites. However, due to the complex molecular networks, a complete understanding of the specific molecular cues is lacking. High-throughput omics technologies have the potential to fill up this lacuna. The present study deals with comparative analysis of high-throughput transcript data involving gene identification, functional annotation, and differential expression in more than 30 orchid transcriptome data sets, with a focus to elucidate the role of various factors in alkaloid and flavonoid biosynthesis. Comprehensive analysis of the mevalonate (MVA) pathway, methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, and phenylpropanoid pathway provide specific insights to the potential gene targets for drug discovery. It is envisaged that a positive stimulation of these pathways through regulation of pivotal genes and alteration of specific gene expression, could facilitate the production of secondary metabolites and enable efficient tapping of the therapeutic potential of orchids. This further would lay the foundation for developing strategies for genetic and epigenetic improvement of these plants for development of therapeutic products.
Plant Hormone Response to Low-Temperature Stress in Cold-Tolerant and Cold-Sensitive Varieties of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim
Authors: Tian Jieyun , Ma Yao , Chen Yabing , Chen Xue , Wei Anzhi
Published: April 2022

Plant growth and survival in nature, its growth process, will be affected by various factors from the environment, among which temperature has a greater impact. In recent years, extreme weather has frequently appeared, and the growth of crops has been increasingly affected by the environment. As an important flavoring and Chinese herbal medicine crop,Zanthoxylum bungeanumis also facing the harm of low-temperature stress. Plant hormones play a vital role in the response of plants to low temperatures. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to determine the hormone components of cold-tolerant and cold-sensitive varieties ofZ. bungeanum. Combined with chemometric analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), the hormone component differences and hormone response strategies ofZ. bungeanumunder low-temperature stress were comprehensively studied. The results showed that 45 hormones were detected inZ. bungeanum. Among them, there were 7 kinds of components with high content and were detected in both two varieties. At the late stage of low-temperature stress, the contents of abscisic acid (ABA) and ABA-glucosyl ester (ABA-GE) in Fuguhuajiao (FG) were significantly increased, and the latter served as the storage of the former to supplement the active ABA. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) found that indole-3-carboxylic acid (ICA), indole-3-carboxaldehyde (ICAld), meta-Topolin riboside (mTR), cis-Zeatin-O-glucoside riboside (cZROG), and N6-isopentenyladenosine (IPR) in FG were the upregulated important difference components, and IPR and 2-methylthio-cis-zeatin riboside (2MeScZR) in Fengxiandahongpao (FX) were the upregulated important difference components. There were common crossing points and independent response pathways in response to low temperature in two varieties. WGCNA analysis found that the main hormone components were associated with multiple metabolic pathways including carbon, fatty acid, amino acid, and sugar metabolism, indicating that hormone regulation plays an important role in the response ofZ. bungeanumto low temperature. This study clarified the hormone response mechanism ofZ. bungeanumunder low-temperature stress and provided a reference and basis for further improving the cold resistance ofZ. bungeanumand cultivating new varieties.
Integration of Genomic and Cytogenetic Data on Tandem DNAs for Analyzing the Genome Diversity Within the Genus Hedysarum L. (Fabaceae)
Authors: Yurkevich Olga Yu. , Samatadze Tatiana E. , Selyutina Inessa Yu. , Suprun Natalia A. , Suslina Svetlana N. , Zoshchuk Svyatoslav A. , Amosova Alexandra V. , Muravenko Olga V.
Published: April 2022

The section Multicaulia is the largest clade in the genus Hedysarum L. (Fabaceae). Representatives of the sect. Multicaulia are valuable plants used for medicinal and fodder purposes. The taxonomy and phylogeny of the sect. Multicaulia are still ambiguous. To clarify the species relationships within sect. Multicaulia, we, for the first time, explored repeatomes of H. grandiflorum Pall., H. zundukii Peschkova, and H. dahuricum Turcz. using next-generation sequencing technologies and a subsequent bioinformatic analysis by RepeatExplorer/TAREAN pipelines. The comparative repeatome analysis showed that mobile elements made up 20–24% (Class I) and about 2–2.5% (Class II) of their repetitive DNAs. The amount of ribosomal DNA varied from 1 to 2.6%, and the content of satellite DNA ranged from 2.7 to 5.1%. For each species, five high confident putative tandem DNA repeats and 5–10 low confident putative DNA repeats were identified. According to BLAST, these repeats demonstrated high sequence similarity within the studied species. FISH-based mapping of 35S rDNA, 5S rDNA, and satDNAs made it possible to detect new effective molecular chromosome markers for Hedysarum species and construct the species karyograms. Comparison of the patterns of satDNA localization on chromosomes of the studied species allowed us to assess genome diversity within the sect. Multicaulia. In all studied species, we revealed intra- and interspecific variabilities in patterns of the chromosomal distribution of molecular chromosome markers. In H. gmelinii Ledeb. and H. setigerum Turcz. ex Fisch. et Meyer, similar subgenomes were detected, which confirmed the polyploid status of their genomes. Our findings demonstrated a close genomic relationship among six studied species indicating their common origin and confirmed the taxonomic status of H. setigerum as a subspecies of H. gmelinii as well as the validity of combining the sect. Multicaulia and Subacaulia into one sect. Multicaulia.
Research Progress and Trends in Metabolomics of Fruit Trees
Authors: Li Jing , Yan Guohua , Duan Xuwei , Zhang Kaichun , Zhang Xiaoming , Zhou Yu , Wu Chuanbao , Zhang Xin , Tan Shengnan , Hua Xin , Wang Jing
Published: April 2022

Metabolomics is an indispensable part of modern systems biotechnology, applied in the diseases’ diagnosis, pharmacological mechanism, and quality monitoring of crops, vegetables, fruits, etc. Metabolomics of fruit trees has developed rapidly in recent years, and many important research results have been achieved in combination with transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, quantitative trait locus (QTL), and genome-wide association study (GWAS). These research results mainly focus on the mechanism of fruit quality formation, metabolite markers of special quality or physiological period, the mechanism of fruit tree’s response to biotic/abiotic stress and environment, and the genetics mechanism of fruit trait. According to different experimental purposes, different metabolomic strategies could be selected, such as targeted metabolomics, non-targeted metabolomics, pseudo-targeted metabolomics, and widely targeted metabolomics. This article presents metabolomics strategies, key techniques in metabolomics, main applications in fruit trees, and prospects for the future. With the improvement of instruments, analysis platforms, and metabolite databases and decrease in the cost of the experiment, metabolomics will prompt the fruit tree research to achieve more breakthrough results.
The CaALAD Gene From Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Confers Chilling Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants
Authors: Wang Huiping , Liu Zeci , Xie Jianming , Li Jing , Zhang Jing , Yu Jihua , Hu Linli , Zhang Guobin
Published: April 2022

The ALAD gene encodes an enzyme that is essential for chlorophyll biosynthesis and is involved in many other physiological processes in plants. In this study, the CaALAD gene was cloned from pepper and sequenced. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of ALAD proteins from nine plant species showed that ALAD is highly conserved, and that CaALAD shows the highest homology with the ALAD protein from eggplant. Subcellular localization indicated that the CaALAD protein is mainly localized to the chloroplasts. After transferring CaALAD into the Arabidopsis thaliana genome, cold tolerance of the transgenic lines improved. Overexpression of CaALAD increased the relative transcription of the AtCBF2, AtICE1, and AtCOR15b genes in transgenic Arabidopsis plants exposed to low temperature (4°C) stress, and the contents of reactive oxygen species decreased due to increased activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase. Moreover, chlorophyll biosynthesis, as determined by the contents of porphobilinogen, protoporphyrin IX, Mg-protoporphyrin IX, prochlorophyllate, and chlorophyll in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants, increased in response to low temperature stress. In addition, the transgenic lines were more sensitive to exogenous ALA and NaHS, and the H2S content of transgenic line plants increased more rapidly than in the wild-type, suggesting that CaALAD may respond to low temperatures by influencing the content of H2S, a signaling molecule. Our study gives a preliminary indication of the function of CaALAD and will provide a theoretical basis for future molecular breeding of cold tolerance in pepper.
Candidate Genes Modulating Reproductive Timing in Elite US Soybean Lines Identified in Soybean Alleles of Arabidopsis Flowering Orthologs With Divergent Latitude Distribution
Authors: Dietz Nicholas , Chan Yen On , Scaboo Andrew , Graef George , Hyten David , Happ Mary , Diers Brian , Lorenz Aaron , Wang Dechun , Joshi Trupti , Bilyeu Kristin
Published: April 2022

Adaptation of soybean cultivars to the photoperiod in which they are grown is critical for optimizing plant yield. However, despite its importance, only the major loci conferring variation in flowering time and maturity of US soybean have been isolated. By contrast, over 200 genes contributing to floral induction in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana have been described. In this work, putative alleles of a library of soybean orthologs of these Arabidopsis flowering genes were tested for their latitudinal distribution among elite US soybean lines developed in the United States. Furthermore, variants comprising the alleles of genes with significant differences in latitudinal distribution were assessed for amino acid conservation across disparate genera to infer their impact on gene function. From these efforts, several candidate genes from various biological pathways were identified that are likely being exploited toward adaptation of US soybean to various maturity groups.
Transcriptional Response of Two Brassica napus Cultivars to Short-Term Hypoxia in the Root Zone
Authors: Ambros Stefanie , Kotewitsch Mona , Wittig Philipp R. , Bammer Bettina , Mustroph Angelika
Published: April 2022

Waterlogging is one major stress for crops and causes multiple problems for plants, for example low gas diffusion, changes in redox potential and accumulation of toxic metabolites. Brassica napus is an important oil crop with high waterlogging sensitivity, which may cause severe yield losses. Its reactions to the stress are not fully understood. In this work the transcriptional response of rapeseed to one aspect of waterlogging, hypoxia in the root zone, was analyzed by RNAseq, including two rapeseed cultivars from different origin, Avatar from Europe and Zhongshuang 9 from Asia. Both cultivars showed a high number of differentially expressed genes in roots after 4 and 24 h of hypoxia. The response included many well-known hypoxia-induced genes such as genes coding for glycolytic and fermentative enzymes, and strongly resembled the hypoxia response of the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. The carbohydrate status of roots, however, was minimally affected by root hypoxia, with a tendency of carbohydrate accumulation rather than a carbon starvation. Leaves did not respond to the root stress after a 24-h treatment. In agreement with the gene expression data, subsequent experiments with soil waterlogging for up to 14 days revealed no differences in response or tolerance to waterlogging between the two genotypes used in this study. Interestingly, using a 0.1% starch solution for waterlogging, which caused a lowered soil redox potential, resulted in much stronger effects of the stress treatment than using pure water suggesting a new screening method for rapeseed cultivars in future experiments.
Diversity and Inclusion: Impacts on Psychological Wellbeing Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Communities
Authors: Chan Alex Siu Wing , Wu Dan , Lo Iris Po Yee , Ho Jacqueline Mei Chi , Yan Elsie
Published: April 2022

For scholars, practitioners, and legislators concerned about sexual minority adolescents, one of the main goals is to create more positive and inclusive learning environments for this minority group. Numerous factors, such as repeated patterns of homophobic bullying by classmates and others in school, have been a significant barrier to achieving this goal. In addition, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents encounter substantial inequality across a broad spectrum of wellbeing and education consequences. Compared with their heterosexual counterparts, LGBTQ adolescents experience more anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, antisocial behavior, poorer academic performance, less school attachment and protection, and a weaker desire to finish their studies. Such discrepancies based on gender and sexuality were linked to more maltreatment encountered by LGBTQ adolescents. It is crucial to recognize the backgrounds and expectations of LGBTQ adolescents to offer them the best resources. To overcome the inequality and obstacles faced by these LGBTQ adolescents, it is essential to examine tools and techniques that can be utilized. This study examined the literature that explains why society fails to provide enough support to LGBTQ students. Specifically, mechanisms explaining how LGBTQ adolescents interact with others in the learning environment and how such discrepancies arise will be examined. Following that, violence and prejudice, which are fundamental causes of psychological problems among LGBTQ adolescents, will be explored. This review paper thus provides supportive strategies for schools to develop more inclusive learning environments for LGBTQ adolescents.
Attitudes Toward Entrepreneurship Education, Post-pandemic Entrepreneurial Environment, and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Among University Students
Authors: Zhang Jiping , Huang Jianhao , Hong Yao
Published: April 2022

Currently, little is known about the mechanism of how university students’ attitudes toward entrepreneurship education (ATEE) affect entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) in the post-pandemic entrepreneurial environment. Based on the existing research, this study explores the relationship between ATEE, the post-pandemic entrepreneurship environment, and ESE through a questionnaire survey. A total of 910 university students from three universities in Zhejiang Province, China participated, with an effective rate of 92.9%. The data collection focused on the period from August to December 2020. In this study, Stepwise Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze university students' ATEE and its impact on ESE, as well as the moderating effect of the post-pandemic entrepreneurial environment. The results show that the gender of university students and the entrepreneurial experience of their family members exist significant differences in their ATEE and also on their ESE. Furthermore, ATEE exert a significant and positive impact on their entrepreneurial self-efficacy, while the post-pandemic entrepreneurial environment plays a positively moderating role in this influential process.
Influence of Supervisors’ Fairness on Work Climate, Job Satisfaction, Task Performance, and Helping Behavior of Health Workers During COVID-19 Outbreak
Authors: Wang WenXin , Ahoto Ahotovi T.
Published: April 2022

The need for supervisors to exhibit fairness was a key motivating tool for effective health service delivery during the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. Nonetheless, the number of deaths and hospitalization was alarming health workers were actively working throughout the time. This study explores the role of supervisors’ fairness in creating a work climate and job satisfaction that promote workers’ task performance and helping behaviors. The researchers adopted a quantitative method with a questionnaire used for data collection. SPSS and AMOS were used for data analysis, and statistical models of correlation and hierarchical regression were used to examine relationships among the variables. The study established that supervisors’ fairness has a positive effect on work climate, job satisfaction, task performance, and helping behavior of health workers. Work climate has positive effects of task performance and helping behaviors, whereas job satisfaction also has positive effects on employees’ task performance and helping behavior. The researchers recommended the need for supervisors to exhibit fairness to workers at all times and create room for the workers to appeal their decision to avoid the feeling of supervisors’ biasness.
To Be Ethical and Responsible Digital Citizens or Not: A Linguistic Analysis of Cyberbullying on Social Media
Authors: Zhong Jinping , Qiu Jing , Sun Min , Jin Xiunan , Zhang Junyi , Guo Yidong , Qiu Xinxin , Xu Yujie , Huang Jingxiu , Zheng Yunxiang
Published: April 2022

As a worldwide epidemic in the digital age, cyberbullying is a pertinent but understudied concern—especially from the perspective of language. Elucidating the linguistic features of cyberbullying is critical both to preventing it and to cultivating ethical and responsible digital citizens. In this study, a mixed-method approach integrating lexical feature analysis, sentiment polarity analysis, and semantic network analysis was adopted to develop a deeper understanding of cyberbullying language. Five cyberbullying cases on Chinese social media were analyzed to uncover explicit and implicit linguistic features. Results indicated that cyberbullying comments had significantly different linguistic profiles than non-bullying comments and that explicit and implicit bullying were distinct. The content of cases further suggested that cyberbullying language varied in the use of words, types of cyberbullying, and sentiment polarity. These findings offer useful insight for designing automatic cyberbullying detection tools for Chinese social networking platforms. Implications also offer guidance for regulating cyberbullying and fostering ethical and responsible digital citizens.
Predictors of Learning Engagement in the Context of Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Stan Maria Magdalena , Topală Ioana Roxana , Necşoi Daniela Veronica , Cazan Ana-Maria
Published: April 2022

The main aim of the present research is to analyze the predictive value of individual characteristics such as online self-efficacy, adaptability to uncertainty, and sources of stress during online learning on learning engagement. We also aimed to highlight if these relationships could be mediated by the online self-regulated learning strategies, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 529 university students and the design was cross-sectional. The results showed significant associations of the sources of stress in online learning with self-efficacy, leaning engagement and self-regulated learning strategies. Self-regulated strategies—task strategies and goal setting represent mediators of stressors perceived by the students under the conditions of the sudden shift to online activity and online learning engagement. The most relevant self-regulation strategies seemed to be goal setting and task strategies, which confirm the need for a clear structure of learning in the context of online activities. The implications of this study reside in the increased awareness regarding how learning engagement in online learning can be predicted by individual characteristics.
Consumers’ Intention to Adopt m-payment/m-banking: The Role of Their Financial Skills and Digital Literacy
Authors: Ullah Saif , Kiani Umar Safdar , Raza Basharat , Mustafa Abdullah
Published: April 2022

The adoption of mobile payment (m-payment) and mobile banking (m-banking) is low in several countries, despite its associated benefits. The present study examines the impact of Pakistani consumers’ financial skills and digital literacy on their intention to adopt m-payment/m-banking using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The data were collected from 454 individual smartphone users residing in Punjab province via an online and offline questionnaire survey. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the consumers’ data. The results endorse that (1) their financial skills have no association with intention to adopt but through perceived usefulness; (2) their digital literacy bridges a strong association with intention and through perceived ease of use. Furthermore, this study discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, as well as limitations and future directions.
Accelerated Epigenetic Age Among Women with Invasive Cervical Cancer and HIV-Infection in Nigeria
Authors: Musa Jonah , Kim Kyeezu , Zheng Yinan , Qu Yishu , Joyce Brian T. , Wang Jun , Nannini Drew R. , Gursel Demirkan B. , Silas Olugbenga , Abdulkareem Fatimah B. , Imade Godwin , Akanmu Alani S. , Wei Jian-Jun , Kocherginsky Masha , Kim Kwang-Youn A. , Wehbe Firas , Achenbach Chad J. , Anorlu Rose , Simon Melissa A. , Sagay Atiene , Ogunsola Folasade T. , Murphy Robert L. , Hou Lifang
Published: April 2022

Background

Invasive cervical cancer (ICC) is a serious public health burden in Nigeria, where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains highly prevalent. Previous research suggested that epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) could play a role in detection of HIV-associated ICC. However, little research has been conducted on this topic in Africa where the population is most severely affected by HIV-associated ICC. Here, we investigated the association between ICC and EAA using cervical tissues of ICC-diagnosed Nigerian women living with HIV.

Methods

We included 116 cervical tissue samples from three groups of Nigerian women in this study: (1) HIV+/ICC+ (n = 39); (2) HIV+/ICC- (n = 53); and (3) HIV-/ICC + (n = 24). We utilized four DNA methylation-based EAA estimators; IEAA, EEAA, GrimAA, and PhenoAA. We compared EAA measurements across the 3 HIV/ICC groups using multiple linear regression models. We also compared EAA between 26 tumor tissues and their surrounding normal tissues using paired t-tests. We additionally performed a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis to illustrate the area under the curve (AUC) of EAA in ICC.

Results

We found the most striking associations between HIV/ICC status and PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAA). Among HIV-positive women, PhenoAA was on average 13.4 years higher in women with ICC compared to cancer-free women (P = 0.005). PhenoAA was 20.7 and 7.1 years higher in tumor tissues compared to surrounding normal tissues among HIV-positive women (P = 0.009) and HIV-negative women (P = 0.284), respectively. We did not find substantial differences in PhenoAA between HIV-positive and HIV-negative women with ICC.

Conclusion

PhenoAA is associated with ICC in HIV-infected women in our study. Our findings suggest that PhenoAA may serve as a potential biomarker for further risk stratification of HIV-associated ICC in Nigeria and similar resource-constrained settings.
Analyzing Russian Media Policy on Promoting Vaccination and Other COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Measures
Authors: Stepanov Ivan , Komendantova Nadejda
Published: April 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in many tangible and intangible losses. To manage the risk of the pandemic and to mitigate its further spread, governments of many countries applied various pandemic risk mitigation measures. Media campaigns played a particularly large role during the pandemic, too. In addition, social media grew in importance because of the spread of technologies and as a result of the increased attention to information about COVID-19. Media information strongly influenced both the public perception of COVID-19 risk and decision-making processes and choices, which people made regarding risk reduction measures during the pandemic. Moreover, media information has had a major impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of various countries' risk management actions. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to investigate the influence of the Russian media on the population's perception of risk, and to address the question about which linguistic and psychological methods they used to shape different media discourses about the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, we analyzed media discourses as a part of the case study of COVID-19 risk management in the Russian Federation. The theoretical basis of the study includes mass communication theories. The methodological basis consists of linguo-cognitive analysis of empirical materials for specific political-philosophical, linguistic-publicistic, and sociopsychological functioning.
The Design Challenges for Dog Ownership and Dog Walking in Dense Urban Areas: The Case of Japan
Authors: Koohsari Mohammad Javad , Yasunaga Akitomo , McCormack Gavin R. , Nakaya Tomoki , Nagai Yukari , Oka Koichiro
Published: April 2022

There has been growing interest in the role of pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, in managing noncommunicable diseases. The built environment can act as a facilitator or barrier to owning a dog or dog walking. Nevertheless, limited studies conducted in different geographical contexts have examined how the built environment can influence dog ownership and dog walking. In this interdisciplinary article, using Japan as a case study, we identify key design challenges to owning and walking dogs in dense urban areas as a means of promoting health and wellbeing.
Metformin Attenuates Inflammatory Responses and Enhances Antibody Production in an Acute Pneumonia Model of Streptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Lee Grace C. , Moreira Alvaro G. , Hinojosa Cecilia , Benavides Raymond , Winter Caitlyn , Anderson Audrey C. , Chen Chang-Jui , Borsa Noemi , Hastings Gabrielyd , Black Cody A. , Bandy Sarah M. , Shaffer Alexander , Restrepo Marcos I. , Ahuja Sunil K.
Published: April 2022

Metformin may potentially reverse various age-related conditions; however, it is unclear whether metformin can also mitigate or delay the deterioration of immunological resilience that occurs in the context of infections that are commonly observed in older persons. We examined whether metformin promotes the preservation of immunological resilience in an acute S. pneumoniae (SPN) infection challenge in young adult mice. Mice were fed metformin (MET-alone) or standard chow (controls-alone) for 10 weeks prior to receiving intratracheal inoculation of SPN. A subset of each diet group received pneumococcal conjugate vaccine at week 6 (MET + PCV and control + PCV). Compared to controls-alone, MET-alone had significantly less infection-associated morbidity and attenuated inflammatory responses during acute SPN infection. Metformin lowered the expression of genes in the lungs related to inflammation as well as shorter lifespan in humans. This was accompanied by significantly lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL6). MET + PCV vs. control + PCV manifested enhanced SPN anticapsular IgM and IgG levels. The levels of SPN IgM production negatively correlated with expression levels of genes linked to intestinal epithelial structure among MET + PCV vs. control + PCV groups. Correspondingly, the gut microbial composition of metformin-fed mice had a significantly higher abundance in the Verrucomicrobia, Akkermansia muciniphila, a species previously associated with beneficial effects on intestinal integrity and longevity. Together, these findings indicate metformin’s immunoprotective potential to protect against infection-associated declines in immunologic resilience.
Predicting Universal Healthcare Through Health Financial Management for Sustainable Development in BRICS, GCC, and AUKUS Economic Blocks
Authors: M. V. Manoj Kumar , Sastry Nanda Kumar Bidare , Moonesar Immanuel Azaad , Rao Ananth
Published: April 2022

The majority of the world's population is still facing difficulties in getting access to primary healthcare facilities. Universal health coverage (UHC) proposes access to high-quality, affordable primary healthcare for all. The 17 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) are expected to be executed and achieved by all the 193 countries through national sustainable development strategies and multi-stakeholder partnerships. This article addresses SDG 3.8—access to good quality and affordable healthcare and two subindicators related to societal impact (SDG 3.8.1 and 3.8.2) through two objectives. The first objective is to determine whether health expenditure indicators (HEIs) drive UHC, and the second objective is to analyze the importance of key determinants and their interactions with UHC in three economic blocks: emerging Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); developing Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) vis-à-vis the developed Australia, UK, and USA (AUKUS). We use the WHO Global Health Indicator database and UHC periodical surveys to evaluate the hypotheses. We apply state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) models and ordinary least square (traditional—OLS regression) methods to see the superiority of artificial intelligence (AI) over traditional ones. The ML Random Forest Tree method is found to be superior to the OLS model in terms of lower root mean square error (RMSE). The ML results indicate that domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D), out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPS) per Capita in US dollars, and voluntary health insurance (VHI) as a percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) are the key factors influencing UHC across the three economic blocks. Our findings have implications for drafting health and finance sector public policies, such as providing affordable social health insurance to the weaker sections of the population, making insurance premiums less expensive and affordable for the masses, and designing healthcare financing policies that are beneficial to the masses. UHC is an important determinant of health for all and requires an in-depth analysis of related factors. Policymakers are often faced with the challenge of prioritizing the economic needs of sectors such as education and food safety, making it difficult for healthcare to receive its due share. In this context, this article attempts to identify the key components that may influence the attainment of UHC and enable policy changes to address them more effectively and efficiently.
Small Object Detection and Tracking in Satellite Videos With Motion Informed-CNN and GM-PHD Filter
Authors: Aguilar Camilo , Ortner Mathias , Zerubia Josiane
Published: April 2022

Small object tracking in low-resolution remote sensing images presents numerous challenges. Targets are relatively small compared to the field of view, do not present distinct features, and are often lost in cluttered environments. In this paper, we propose a track-by-detection approach to detect and track small moving targets by using a convolutional neural network and a Bayesian tracker. Our object detection consists of a two-step process based on motion and a patch-based convolutional neural network (CNN). The first stage performs a lightweight motion detection operator to obtain rough target locations. The second stage uses this information combined with a CNN to refine the detection results. In addition, we adopt an online track-by-detection approach by using the Probability Hypothesis Density (PHD) filter to convert detections into tracks. The PHD filter offers a robust multi-object Bayesian data-association framework that performs well in cluttered environments, keeps track of missed detections, and presents remarkable computational advantages over different Bayesian filters. We test our method across various cases of a challenging dataset: a low-resolution satellite video comprising numerous small moving objects. We demonstrate the proposed method outperforms competing approaches across different scenarios with both object detection and object tracking metrics.
How Sports Can Prepare You for Life
Authors: Bean Corliss , Kramers Sara
Published: April 2022

Sports are fun activities that help kids learn skills, like how to shoot a free throw or skate backwards. But what if sports could teach us more than physical skills and prepare us for life? If the environment is safe and welcoming, sports can also teach us skills that we can use in our lives—life skills! Participating in sports can teach us about teamwork, being a leader, how to relax if we are upset, and much more! In this article, we discuss different ways that life skills can be developed through sports. We also talk about what you and your coaches can do to help you develop life skills. As you learn these skills in sports, you can use them anywhere, like at school or home. Life skills learned in sports can help you become a good person on whatever path you choose in life.
Factors Associated With the Health and Economic Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Textile Sector, 2020–2021
Authors: Arroyo-Laguna Juan , Timaná-Ruíz Raúl
Published: April 2022

The article identifies the factors associated with the health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people working in the textile industry of Lima, Peru, during 2021. The study was conducted in Peru's largest textile emporium, so-called Gamarra. The study design is observational and cross-sectional, with two models with two temporal samples for the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first model measures the chance of getting sick from COVID-19. The second model measures the economic impact by the variations in incomes. Inferential statistics are employed, using the chi-square test. The p-value (p < 0.05) is evaluated to decide the statistical significance of the variables. Of 820 workers included, 48% work in street trading, 45% are ≤ 35 years of age and 15% are foreign migrants. Logistic regression analysis for the first model reveals an association between infection by a family member, people breaking quarantine, foreign nationality, not having hygienic services and having a chronic disease, with the highest probability of COVID-19 infection. Regarding economic impact, an association is found between educational level, being ≥45 years of age and infection of a family member, with a greater probability of variation in income.
Estimating the Coronal Supra-Arcade Downflow Radio Emission: From Centimeter Through Submillimeter Wavelengths
Authors: Zurbriggen Ernesto , Giménez De Castro C. Guillermo , Costa Andrea , Cécere Mariana , Selhorst Caius L.
Published: April 2022

Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are infrequent, wiggly, and low-emission structures observed to descend through the solar corona, mostly in EUV and soft X-ray frequencies. Based on their physical characteristics, SADs have been interpreted as low-density bubbles and are related to magnetic reconnection processes during long-term erupting flares. In this work, we use numerical MHD simulations to compute flux density maps, which are convolved with telescope beams to synthesize images with the aim to assess the expected SAD emission in radio wavelengths. We assume that the emission is thermal bremsstrahlung from a fully ionized plasma and without any appreciable gyroresonance contribution since magnetic fields are of the order of 10 G. We find that SAD emission should be optically thin in the frequency range of [10–1,000] GHz, and the spatially integrated flux should be larger than 1 Jy. We conclude, therefore, that SADs consistently are less bright than the surrounding fan and that observing SADs in radio frequencies between [0.5–1,000] GHz is feasible with present instrumentation. The observing strategies are proposed, including the instruments that can be used. Moreover, since the emission is, for the most part, optically thin, the flux density is proportional to temperature, density, and line-of-sight depth and when combined with EUV and soft X-ray images may allow a better density and temperature determination of SADs.
Understanding Large-Scale Structure in Global Ionospheric Maps With Visual and Statistical Analyses
Authors: Verkhoglyadova Olga , Meng Xing , Kosberg Jacob
Published: April 2022

We applied two different techniques to identify high-density structures in global maps of height-integrated electron density of the Earth’s ionosphere. We discuss benefits and limitations of these approaches to structure identification. We suggest that they are complementary and can aid our understanding of the properties of the global ionosphere. We stress out importance of a consistent definition of large-scale ionospheric structures.