bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tax Knowledge and Service Quality to Motor Vehicle Taxpayer Compliance
Authors: Adikur Mario Fransisco , Imran Ahmad Fadhil
Published: March 2023

There are so many people who have vehicles that are not aware of the benefits and importance of taxpayer compliance. This problem is marked by the increasing number of motorized vehicles every year, but not in tandem with the number of taxpayers' vehicles re-registering and paying taxes at the SAMSAT office. After being identified, the reasons were partly because public knowledge about tax regulations and procedures was deemed not optimal and the quality of service seemed unsatisfactory for some people. To ensure that, this research is here with the aim of revealing the public perception of taxpayers. Reviewing the extent of their knowledge of taxation and their level of satisfaction with the quality of services provided. This effort brings us to the question: whether tax knowledge and service quality can affect taxpayer compliance or not. This type of research is a case study with a quantitative approach. The population taken is the taxpayer of two-wheeled motorized vehicles registered in SAMSAT DIY. By using convenience sampling technique, we determine a sample of 102 people who come from two-wheeled motorized vehicle taxpayers as respondents who will fill out the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression, F-test, and coefficient of determination. The results of this study indicate that the variables of tax knowledge and service quality are proven to affect taxpayer compliance in paying for two-wheeled motorized vehicles.
Love Of Money, Organizational Commitment, Leadership Morale, Work Environment and Religious Beliefs on Fraud Intention A Study on Bank Bengkulu Employees
Authors: Surantha Eddy
Published: March 2023

This study aims to examine the effect of Love Of Money, Organizational Commitment, Moral Leadership, Work Environment and Religious Beliefs on Fraud Intention where the object of research used is Bengkulu Bank employees. The employees of Bengkulu Bank who were selected as the research sample used the random sampling method, namely Bengkulu Bank employees who worked at the head office, main branches, main branches and cash offices located in both Bengkulu City and the regencies in Bengkulu Province. The total population is 700 employees of Bank Bengkulu and using the Slovin formula, the number of respondents that should be used in this study is 88 respondents. From the questionnaires sent as many as 88 respondents, the number of questionnaires returned was 70 respondents and the number of questionnaires that could be processed was 64 respondents (respondent rate 79.55%).

Testing all hypotheses using Smart PLS where the hypotheses tested are 5 hypotheses. The test results on all the hypotheses tested show that the work environment has a negative effect on fraud intention, while the influence of Love Of Money, Organizational Commitment, Leadership Morale and Religious Beliefs have no effect on fraud intention.
ANALYSIS IMPLEMENTATION BASED ON PSAK 109 ACCOUNTING ZAKAT, INFAQ, SADAQAH IN LAZ YATIM MANDIRI PONOROGO
Authors: Fitriyani Eva Noor
Published: March 2023

This study aims to analyze the implementation of accounting for zakat, infaq, and sadaqah based on PSAK 109 contained in the Amil Zakat Yatim Mandiri Ponorogo as one of the OPZs in Ponorogo. This research uses data collection methods observation, documentation, and interviews, through a qualitative-descriptive approach. The data collection method in this study was through interviews informant of Yatim Mandiri Ponorogo to obtain information related to analyze implementation of PSAK 109. The validity test of the data using triangulation techniques. As well as documentation to support credibility in conducting the observation process and interviews conducted by researcher. The application of accounting treatment in the variables of presentation of financial statement in LAZ Yatim Mandiri has been carried out separately which means following the rules of PSAK 109. The implementation of accounting treatment in the disclosure variables for the management of ZIS fund is not following PSAK 109 because LAZ Yatim Mandiri has not yet elaborated CaLK. This research is expected to provide development for LAZ Yatim Mandiri Ponorogo and other LAZs to apply accounting ZIS based on PSAK 109 as a whole.
DETERMINANTS OF VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC LISTED ENTITIES IN INDONESIA
Authors: Supriyanto Supriyanto , Resnika Resnika
Published: March 2023

This experimental research explored the association between corporate governance mechanisms and the quality of voluntary corporate disclosure. Corporate governance structures encompass of the ownership structure, the effectiveness of the audit committee, and the quality of external auditors. The used technique of research is a quantitative methodology. The main emphasis of the study are the annual reports of public companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) between 2017 and 2021. In addition, the primary website of the stock market, www.idx.co.id, and issuer websites are reviewed for secondary data. The method of data analysis employed is panel regression analysis. 817 firms from all sectors of the Indonesia Stock Exchange make up the sample population generated by stratified sampling. The findings of this study indicate that the audit committee size and the age of the company incur impact on the voluntary disclosure of Indonesian issuers. On the other hand, it has been established that the structure of foreign ownership in Indonesia degrades the quality of voluntary disclosure. Also, research reveals that the audit quality of external auditors cannot consistently influence the company's information sharing. This report provides an overview of the quality of voluntary disclosures made by issuers in Indonesia. In addition, this study includes information on the drivers of voluntary disclosure that must be improved to increase stakeholders' competitiveness and trust.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE, GREEN INNOVATION AND CORPORATE PROFITABILITY
Authors: Marietza Fenny
Published: March 2023

This study examines the effect of corporate social responsibility disclosure and the application of green innovation on corporate profitability. The population of this study is all companies engaged in energy and mining listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2018-2021.

The sample in this study was energy and mining companies that provided annual and sustainability reports consecutively during the research period. The analysis tool used in this study is E-views version 12.

The results of this study show that CSR disclosure does not positively affect profitability proxied using ROA, ROE, and EPS. In contrast, green innovation positively influences the company’s ROE. It does not positively affect the company's ROA and EPS, which means that the disclosure of green innovation What the company does can attract investors to invest and invest in the company.
Downy mildew-associated microbiomes
Authors:   , Goossens Pim
Published: March 2023

In this thesis, I have investigated microbiomes of plants that are under attack by obligate biotrophic pathogens that cause downy mildew disease. In particular, I have studied the phyllosphere bacterial communities of laboratory cultures of the downy mildews Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) and Peronospora effusa (Pe) on their respective hosts Arabidopsis thaliana and Spinacia oleracea (henceforth Arabidopsis and spinach). Within these two pathosystems, we observed consistent enrichment of specific bacteria in distinct cultures (Chapters 2 and 4), and for the Arabidopsis system we demonstrated that the genomes of the specific bacteria enriched in distinct laboratory cultures across Europe were isogenic (Chapter 2). These bacteria were further shown to reach higher abundances in the phyllosphere upon Hpa infection (Chapter 2). Also in the rhizosphere, we observed increased colonization by downy mildew-associated bacteria on plants that were grown on soil that was conditioned by downy mildew-infected plants. This suggests that the downy mildew-associated microbes are part of a soil-borne legacy of disease that can be inherited by future generations of plants grown on the same soil (Chapter 3). Moreover, the microbes that are enriched in downy mildew-associated communities appear to be geared towards plant protection (Chapter 3), suggesting that their assembly is indeed directed by the host plant. Lastly, similarities were observed between Pe-associated microbiomes in laboratory cultures and naturally Pe-infected field-grown plants (Chapter 4), highlighting that these microbiomes are not only a laboratory phenomenon. Together, these findings suggest that phyllosphere bacterial communities of plants that are under downy mildew attack are modulated to benefit the plant, meaning that a plant’s cry for help towards the microbiome upon pathogen attack may be a contributing factor to phyllosphere microbiome assembly. Finally, these findings are discussed in a broader perspective in chapter 5, focusing on the mechanisms that may underly the recruitment/enrichment of specific bacteria in downy mildew-infected leaves.
The Importance of the mTOR Regulatory Network in Chondrocyte Biology and Osteoarthritis
Authors: Tchetina Elena V.
Published: March 2023

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disorder associated mainly with pain, limited range of motion, stiffness, joint inflammation, and articular cartilage (AC) destruction. Recent studies demonstrated the involvement of chondrocyte differentiation (hypertrophy) as one of the mechanisms of cartilage degradation in OA. This indicates the involvement of profound alterations in chondrocyte metabolism in the course of cartilage resorption orchestrated by principal changes in the regulation of cellular function. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) controls critical cellular processes such as growth, proliferation, and protein synthesis, and integrates extracellular signals from growth factors and hormones with amino acid availability and intracellular energy status. The importance of mTOR activity during AC destruction in OA is supported by considerable alterations in the mTOR regulatory network, involving multiple intracellular (availability of growth factors, adenosine triphosphate [ATP], and oxygen as well as autophagy) and extracellular (glucose, amino acid, lipid, and hexosamine) signals. Moreover, variable mTOR gene expression in the peripheral blood of OA patients is associated with increases in pain or synovitis, and indicates a profound metabolic dissimilarity among patients that might require differential approaches to treatment. These issues are discussed in the present review article.
Osteoarthritis: The Challenge of Establishing a Personalised Treatment
Authors: Priddle Tom
Published: March 2023

The symposium, co-chaired by Prof Johanne Martel-Pelletier and Prof Antonello Pietrangelo, opened with a discussion of metabolic syndrome-associated osteoarthritis (OA) and a brief overview of treatment options by Prof Francis Berenbaum. Prof Jean-Pierre Pelletier then discussed the use of symptomatic slow-acting drugs for OA (SYSADOA) for knee OA within the context of the new European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) recommendations. Finally, Dr Burkhard Leeb concluded the session by discussing the indications, contraindications, and side-effect management of diacerein.
Dynamic and balanced regulation of the thrABC operon gene for efficient synthesis of L-threonine
Authors: Hao Ruxin , Wang Sumeng , Jin Xin , Yang Xiaoya , Qi Qingsheng , Liang Quanfeng
Published: March 2023

L-threonine is an essential amino acid used widely in food, cosmetics, animal feed and medicine. The thrABC operon plays an important role in regulating the biosynthesis of L-theronine. In this work, we systematically analyzed the effects of separating thrAB and thrC in different proportions on strain growth and L-threonine production in Escherichia coli firstly. The results showed that higher expression of thrC than thrAB enhanced cell growth and L-threonine production; however, L-threonine production decreased when the thrC proportion was too high. The highest L-threonine production was achieved when the expression intensity ratio of thrAB to thrC was 3:5. Secondly, a stationary phase promoter was also used to dynamically regulate the expression of engineered thrABC. This strategy improved cell growth and shortened the fermentation period from 36 h to 24 h. Finally, the acetate metabolic overflow was reduced by deleting the ptsG gene, leading to a further increase in L-threonine production. With these efforts, the final strain P2.1-2901ΔptsG reached 40.06 g/L at 60 h fermentation, which was 96.85% higher than the initial control strain TH and the highest reported titer in shake flasks. The maximum L-threonine yield and productivity was obtained in reported fed-batch fermentation, and L-threonine production is close to the highest titer (127.30 g/L). In this work, the expression ratio of genes in the thrABC operon in E. coli was studied systematically, which provided a new approach to improve L-threonine production and its downstream products.
Aggrecan governs intervertebral discs development by providing critical mechanical cues of the extracellular matrix
Authors: Empere Marta , Wang Xujia , Prein Carina , Aspberg Anders , Moser Markus , Oohashi Toshitaka , Clausen-Schaumann Hauke , Aszodi Attila , Alberton Paolo
Published: March 2023

Aggrecan (ACAN) is localized in the intervertebral disc (IVD) in unique compartment-specific patterns where it contributes to the tissue structure and mechanical function together with collagens. The extracellular matrix (ECM) of the IVD undergoes degenerative changes during aging, misuse or trauma, which inevitably alter the biochemical and biomechanical properties of the tissue. A deeper understanding of these processes can be achieved in genetically engineered mouse models, taking into account the multifaceted aspects of IVD development. In this study, we generated aggrecan insertion mutant mice (AcaniE5/iE5) by interrupting exon 5 coding for the G1 domain of ACAN, and analyzed the morphological and mechanical properties of the different IVD compartments during embryonic development. Western blotting using an antibody against the total core protein failed to detect ACAN in cartilage extracts, whereas immunohistochemistry by a G1-specific antibody showed weak signals in vertebral tissues of AcaniE5/iE5 mice. Homozygous mutant mice are perinatally lethal and characterized by short snout, cleft palate and disproportionate dwarfism. Whole-mount skeletal staining and µ-CT analysis of AcaniE5/iE5 mice at embryonic day 18.5 revealed compressed vertebral bodies with accelerated mineralization compared to wild type controls. In AcaniE5/iE5 mice, histochemical staining revealed collapsed extracellular matrix with negligible sulfated glycosaminoglycan content accompanied by a high cellular density. Collagen type II deposition was not impaired in the IVD of AcaniE5/iE5 mice, as shown by immunohistochemistry. Mutant mice developed a severe IVD phenotype with deformed nucleus pulposus and thinned cartilaginous endplates accompanied by a disrupted growth plate structure in the vertebral body. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging demonstrated a denser collagen network with thinner fibrils in the mutant IVD zones compared to wild type. Nanoscale AFM indentation revealed bimodal stiffness distribution attributable to the softer proteoglycan moiety and harder collagenous fibrils of the wild type IVD ECM. In AcaniE5/iE5 mice, loss of aggrecan resulted in a marked shift of the Young’s modulus to higher values in all IVD zones. In conclusion, we demonstrated that aggrecan is pivotal for the determination and maintenance of the proper stiffness of IVD and vertebral tissues, which in turn could play an essential role in providing developmental biomechanical cues.
In vitro characterization of a pAgo nuclease TtdAgo from Thermococcus thioreducens and evaluation of its effect in vivo
Authors: Tang Ying , Wang Fei , Wang Yi , Wang Yuwei , Liu Yang , Chen Zhizhao , Li Wenqiang , Yang Shihui , Ma Lixin
Published: March 2023

In spite of the development of genome-editing tools using CRISPR–Cas systems, highly efficient and effective genome-editing tools are still needed that use novel programmable nucleases such as Argonaute (Ago) proteins to accelerate the construction of microbial cell factories. In this study, a prokaryotic Ago (pAgo) from a hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus thioreducens (TtdAgo) was characterized in vitro. Our results showed that TtdAgo has a typical DNA-guided DNA endonuclease activity, and the efficiency and accuracy of cleavage are modulated by temperature, divalent ions, and the phosphorylation and length of gDNAs and their complementarity to the DNA targets. TtdAgo can utilize 5′-phosphorylated (5′-P) or 5′- hydroxylated (5′-OH) DNA guides to cleave single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) at temperatures ranging from 30°C to 95°C in the presence of Mn2+ or Mg2+ and displayed no obvious preference for the 5′-end-nucleotide of the guide. In addition, single-nucleotide mismatches had little effects on cleavage efficiency, except for mismatches at position 4 or 8 that dramatically reduced target cleavage. Moreover, TtdAgo performed programmable cleavage of double-stranded DNA at 75°C. We further introduced TtdAgo into an industrial ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis to evaluate its effect in vivo. Our preliminary results indicated that TtdAgo showed cell toxicity toward Z. mobilis, resulting in a reduced growth rate and final biomass. In conclusion, we characterized TtdAgo in vitro and investigated its effect on Z. mobilis in this study, which lays a foundation to develop Ago-based genome-editing tools for recalcitrant industrial microorganisms in the future.
Preterm birth leads to a decreased number of differentiated podocytes and accelerated podocyte differentiation
Authors: Zhang Lulu , Chen Zhihui , Gao Qi , Liu Ge , Zheng Jun , Ding Fangrui
Published: March 2023

Preterm birth was previously identified as a high-risk factor for the long-term development of chronic kidney disease. However, the detailed pattern of podocyte (PD) changes caused by preterm birth and the potential mechanism underlying this process have not been well clarified. In present study, a rat model of preterm birth was established by delivery of pups 2 days early and podometric methods were applied to identify the changes in PDs number caused by preterm birth. In addition, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and subsequent bioinformatic analysis were performed in the preterm rat kidney to explore the possible mechanism caused by preterm birth. As results, when the kidney completely finished nephrogenesis at the age of 3 weeks, a reduction in the total number of differentiated PDs in kidney sections was detected. In addition, 20 distinct clusters and 12 different cell types were identified after scRNA-seq in preterm rats (postnatal day 2) and full-term rats (postnatal day 0). The numbers of PDs and most types of inherent kidney cells were decreased in the preterm birth model. In addition, 177 genes were upregulated while 82 genes were downregulated in the PDs of full-term rats compared with those of preterm rats. Further functional GO analysis revealed that ribosome-related genes were enriched in PDs from full-term rats, and kidney development-related genes were enriched in PDs from preterm rats. Moreover, known PD-specific and PD precursor genes were highly expressed in PDs from preterm rats, and pseudotemporal analysis showed that PDs were present earlier in preterm rats than in full-term rats. In conclusion, the present study showed that preterm birth could cause a reduction in the number of differentiated PDs and accelerate the differentiation of PDs.
Mesenchymal “stem” cells, or facilitators for the development of regenerative macrophages? Pericytes at the interface of wound healing
Authors: Marson Renan Fava , Regner Andrea Pereira , da Silva Meirelles Lindolfo
Published: March 2023

Cultured mesenchymal stromal cells are among the most used cells in clinical trials. Currently, their potential benefits include provision of mature cell types through differentiation, and secretion of various types of paracrine signaling molecules. Even though research on these cells has spanned some decades now, surprisingly, their therapeutic potential has not been fully translated into clinical practice yet, which calls for further understanding of their intrinsic nature and modes of action. In this review, after discussing pieces of evidence that suggest that some perivascular cells may exhibit mesenchymal stem cell characteristics in vivo, we examine the possibility that subpopulations of perivascular and/or adventitial cells activated after tissue injury behave as MSCs and contribute to the resolution of tissue injury by providing cues for the development of regenerative macrophages at injured sites. Under this perspective, an important contribution of cultured MSCs (or their acellular products, such as extracellular vesicles) used in cell therapies would be to instigate the development of M2-like macrophages that support the tissue repair process.
Prevalence, multiple antibiotic resistance and virulence profile of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in retail poultry meat from Edo, Nigeria
Authors: Igbinosa Etinosa O. , Beshiru Abeni , Igbinosa Isoken H. , Ogofure Abraham G. , Ekundayo Temitope C. , Okoh Anthony I.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Staphylococcus aureus causes staphylococcal food poisoning and several difficult-to-treat infections. The occurrence and dissemination of methicillin-resistance S. aureus (MRSA) in Nigeria is crucial and well documented in hospitals. However, findings on MRSA from meat in the country are yet to be adequately reported. The current study determined the prevalence, virulence profile and antibiogram characteristics of MRSA from a raw chicken product from retail outlets within Edo.

Methods

A total of 368 poultry meat samples were assessed for MRSA using a standard culture-based approach and characterized further using a molecular method. The antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the isolates was determined using the disc diffusion method. The biofilm profile of the isolates was assayed via the crystal violet microtitre-plate method. Virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes were screened using polymerase chain reaction via specific primers.

Results

Of the samples tested, 110 (29.9%) were positive for MRSA. All the isolates were positive for deoxyribonuclease (DNase), coagulase and beta-hemolysis production. Biofilm profile revealed 27 (24.55%) weak biofilm formers, 18 (16.36%) moderate biofilm formers, and 39 (35.45%) strong biofilm formers. The isolates harboured 2 and ≤17 virulence genes. Enterotoxin gene profiling revealed that 100 (90.9%) isolates harboured one or more genes. Resistance against the tested antibiotics followed the order: tetracycline 64(58.2%), ciprofloxacin 71(64.6%), trimethoprim 71(64.6%) and rifampin 103(93.6%). A total of 89 isolates were multidrug-resistant, while 3 isolates were resistant to all 22 antibiotics tested. The isolates harboured antimicrobial-resistant determinants such as methicillin-resistant gene (mecA), tetracycline resistance genes (tetK, tetL), erythromycin resistance genes (ermA, ermC), trimethoprim resistance gene (dfrK). All the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) IVa and SCCmec V positive isolates harboured the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Gene (PVL).

Conclusion

In conclusion, S. aureus was resistant to commonly used antibiotics; a concern to public health concerning the transmission of these pathogens after consuming these highlight the significance of antimicrobial and enterotoxigenic monitoring of S. aureus in food chains.
Insights into dendritic cell maturation during infection with application of advanced imaging techniques
Authors: Xiao Qi , Xia Yuxian
Published: March 2023

Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial for the initiation and regulation of adaptive immune responses. When encountering immune stimulus such as bacterial and viral infection, parasite invasion and dead cell debris, DCs capture antigens, mature, acquire immunostimulatory activity and transmit the immune information to naïve T cells. Then activated cytotoxic CD8+ T cells directly kill the infected cells, while CD4+ T helper cells release cytokines to aid the activity of other immune cells, and help B cells produce antibodies. Thus, detailed insights into the DC maturation process are necessary for us to understand the working principle of immune system, and develop new medical treatments for infection, cancer and autoimmune disease. This review summarizes the DC maturation process, including environment sensing and antigen sampling by resting DCs, antigen processing and presentation on the cell surface, DC migration, DC-T cell interaction and T cell activation. Application of advanced imaging modalities allows visualization of subcellular and molecular processes in a super-high resolution. The spatiotemporal tracking of DCs position and migration reveals dynamics of DC behavior during infection, shedding novel lights on DC biology.
Developing literature review writing and citation practices through an online writing tutorial series: Corpus-based evidence
Authors: Li Zhi , Makarova Veronika , Wang Zhengxiang
Published: March 2023

Writing a literature review (LR) in English can be a daunting task for non-native English-speaking graduate students due to the complexities of this academic genre. To help graduate students raise genre awareness and develop LR writing skills, a five-unit online tutorial series was designed and implemented at a large university in Canada. The tutorial focuses on the following features of the LR genre: logical structure, academic vocabulary, syntax, as well as citation practices. Each tutorial unit includes an interactive e-book with explanations, examples, quizzes, and an individual or collaborative LR writing assignment. Twenty-nine non-native English-speaking graduate students from various institutions participated in the tutorials and completed five writing tasks. This study reports on their developmental trajectories in writing performance in terms of cohesion, lexical features, syntactic features, and citation practices as shown in three individual writing tasks. Corpus-based analyses indicate that noticeable, often non-linear, changes are observed in several features (e.g., use of connectives, range and frequency of academic vocabulary) across the participants' writing samples. Meanwhile, citation analysis shows a steady increase in the use of integral citations in the participants' writing samples, as measured with occurrence by the number of sentences, along with a more diverse use of reporting verbs and hedges in their final writing samples. Pedagogical implications are discussed.
Impact of exercise on pulmonary artery pressure in patients with heart failure using an ambulatory pulmonary artery pressure monitor
Authors: Khedraki Rola , Abraham Jacob , Jonsson Orvar , Bhatt Kunjan , Omar Hesham R. , Bennett Mosi , Bhimaraj Arvind , Guha Ashrith , McCann Patrick , Muse Evan D. , Robinson Monique , Sauer Andrew J. , Cheng Andrew , Bagsic Samantha , Fudim Marat , Heywood J. Thomas , Guglin Maya
Published: March 2023

Background

In this multicenter prospective study, we explored the relationship between pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) at rest and in response to a 6-min walk test (6MWT) in ambulatory patients with heart failure (HF) with an implantable PAP sensor (CardioMEMS, Abbott).

Methods

Between 5/2019 and 2/2021, HF patients with a CardioMEMS sensor were recruited from seven sites. PAP was recorded in the supine and seated position at rest and in the seated position immediately post-exercise.

Results

In our cohort of 66 patients, mean age was 70 ± 12 years, 67% male, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50% in 53%, mean 6MWT distance was 277 ± 95 meters. Resting seated PAPs were 31 ± 15 mmHg (systolic), 13 ± 8 mmHg (diastolic), and 20 ± 11 mmHg (mean). The pressures were lower in the seated rather than the supine position. After 6MWT, the pressures increased to PAP systolic 37 ± 19 mmHg (p < 0.0001), diastolic 15 ± 10 mmHg (p = 0.006), and mean 24 ± 13 mmHg (p < 0.0001). Patients with elevated PAP diastolic at rest (>15 mmHg) demonstrated a greater increase in post-exercise PAP.

Conclusion

The measurement of PAP with CardioMEMS is feasible immediately post-exercise. Despite being well-managed, patients had severely limited functional capacity. We observed a significant increase in PAP with ambulation which was greater in patients with higher baseline pressures.
Emerging role of exosomes in vascular diseases
Authors: Ren Yi , Zhang Honggang
Published: March 2023

Exosomes are biological small spherical lipid bilayer vesicles secreted by most cells in the body. Their contents include nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Exosomes can transfer material molecules between cells and consequently have a variety of biological functions, participating in disease development while exhibiting potential value as biomarkers and therapeutics. Growing evidence suggests that exosomes are vital mediators of vascular remodeling. Endothelial cells (ECs), vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), inflammatory cells, and adventitial fibroblasts (AFs) can communicate through exosomes; such communication is associated with inflammatory responses, cell migration and proliferation, and cell metabolism, leading to changes in vascular function and structure. Essential hypertension (EH), atherosclerosis (AS), and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are the most common vascular diseases and are associated with significant vascular remodeling. This paper reviews the latest research progress on the involvement of exosomes in vascular remodeling through intercellular information exchange and provides new ideas for understanding related diseases.
Preoperative optimization of cardiac valve patients’ expectations: Study protocol of the randomized controlled ValvEx-trial
Authors: Horn Nicole , Gärtner Laura , Rastan Ardawan J. , Andrási Térezia B. , Lenz Juliane , Böning Andreas , Salzmann-Djufri Miriam , Puvogel Ulrike , Genovese Maria , Kus Sibel , Rief Winfried , Salzmann Stefan
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Complete recovery after surgery depends on psychological factors such as preoperative information, expectations, and surgery-associated anxiety. Prior studies have shown that even a short preoperative psychological intervention aiming at optimized expectations (EXPECT) can improve postoperative outcomes in coronary artery bypass patients. However, this intervention may benefit only a small subgroup of heart surgery patients since implementing preoperative psychological interventions into the daily clinical routine is difficult due to the additional time and appointments. It is unclear whether the EXPECT intervention can be shortened and whether heart valve patients would also benefit from interventions that optimize patients’ expectations. The multicenter ValvEx trial aims (i) to adapt an effective preoperative psychological intervention (EXPECT) to make it brief enough to be easily integrated into the preoperative routine of heart valve patients and (ii) to examine if the adapted preoperative psychological intervention improves the subjectively perceived illness-related disability (PDI) up to 3 months after surgery.

Materials and analysis

In two German university hospitals, N = 88 heart valve patients who undergo heart surgery are randomized into two groups [standard of care (SOC) vs. standard of care plus interventional expectation manipulation (SOC and EXPECT)] after baseline assessment. Patients in the EXPECT group additionally to standard of care participate in the preoperative psychological intervention (30–40 min), focusing on optimizing expectations and have two booster-telephone calls (4 and 8 weeks after the surgery, approx. 15 min). Both groups have assessments again on the evening before the surgery, 4 to 6 days, and 3 months after the surgery.

Discussion

The trial demonstrates excellent feasibility in the clinical routine and a high interest by the patients.

Ethics and dissemination

The Ethics Committees of the Department of Medicine of the Philipps University of Marburg and the Department of Medicine of the University of Giessen approved the study protocol. Study results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at congresses.

Clinical trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT04502121.
Adversarial-based latent space alignment network for left atrial appendage segmentation in transesophageal echocardiography images
Authors: Zhu Xueli , Zhang Shengmin , Hao Huaying , Zhao Yitian
Published: March 2023

Left atrial appendage (LAA) is a leading cause of atrial fibrillation and thrombosis in cardiovascular disease. Clinicians can rely on LAA occlusion (LAAO) to effectively prevent and treat ischaemic strokes attributed to the LAA. The correct selection of the LAAO is one of the most critical stages in the successful surgical process, which relies on the quantification of the anatomical structure of the LAA for successful intervention in LAAO. In this paper, we propose an adversarial-based latent space alignment framework for LAA segmentation in transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) images by introducing prior knowledge from the label. The proposed method consists of an LAA segmentation network, a label reconstruction network, and a latent space alignment loss. To be specific, we first employ ConvNeXt as the backbone of the segmentation and reconstruction network to enhance the feature extraction capability of the encoder. The label reconstruction network then encodes the prior shape features from the LAA labels to the latent space. The latent space alignment loss consists of the adversarial-based alignment and the contrast learning losses. It can motivate the segmentation network to learn the prior shape features of the labels, thus improving the accuracy of LAA edge segmentation. The proposed method was evaluated on a TEE dataset including 1,783 images and the experimental results showed that the proposed method outperformed other state-of-the-art LAA segmentation methods with Dice coefficient, AUC, ACC, G-mean, and Kappa of 0.831, 0.917, 0.989, 0.911, and 0.825, respectively.
Numerical simulation study on the influence of air leakage on oxygen concentration in goafs of fully mechanized caving mining with shallow buried and large mining height
Authors: Zhu Xingpan , Wen Hu
Published: March 2023

In order to reveal the influence of air leakage on oxygen concentration in goafs of fully mechanized caving mining with a shallow buried and high mining height, the air leakage of No.122108 working face in Caojiatan coal mine in different seasons was tested by the SF6 tracer gas test method. Based on the result of the air leakage test, the “three zones” of spontaneous combustion in the goaf were simulated using Ansys Fluent fluid dynamics software, and the simulated result was compared with that of the field test. The result shows that the vertical air leakage of the working face is serious, the wind speed is high, and the air leakage rate is up to 86.96%. The air leakage rate is higher in winter and lower in summer. The air leakage intensity decreases from the air inlet side to the air return side through the middle of the goaf. The range of the oxidation heating zone of the goaf is 98–245 m on the air inlet side and 33–96 m on the air return side. The numerical simulation result is well consistent with the field test data. The research conclusion can guide fire prevention and the extinguishing of No.122108 working face and lay a foundation for the prevention and control of spontaneous fire in goafs of fully mechanized caving mining with a shallow buried and high mining height.
Cognition and BDNF levels in prediabetes and diabetes: A mediation analysis of a cross-sectional study
Authors: Sumbul-Sekerci Betul , Sekerci Abdusselam , Pasin Ozge , Durmus Ezgi , Yuksel-Salduz Zeynep Irem
Published: March 2023

Aim

Clinical and epidemiological studies suggest links between dementias and Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The underlying mechanisms of diabetes-related cognitive impairment are largely unknown. This study aims to investigate the role of BDNF in cognitive impairment in prediabetes and T2DM.

Methods

The study included 68 patients with prediabetes (preDM), 96 patients with T2DM, and 65 healthy controls. The cognitive function of the patients was evaluated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test and serum BDNF levels were measured by Elisa. The MoCA scores and BDNF levels were compared between diabetes groups after adjusting for age, gender, and education using ANCOVA. The role of BDNF in the diabetes-related cognitive impairment was investigated through mediation analysis.

Results

Patients with T2DM had significantly lower cognitive performance, particularly in memory. Diabetes was found to be a predictor of both cognitive impairment and BDNF levels. A significant increase in serum BDNF levels was observed in patients with T2DM. However, the mediator role of BDNF in the pathology of cognitive impairment in diabetes was not determined.

Conclusion

Cognitive impairment is prevalent in patients with T2DM and should be included in routine screening for complications. The results of the mediation analysis suggest that although BDNF is a biomarker affected by T2DM and cognition, it does not play a mediator role between cognitive impairment and diabetes.
Robotic-assisted laparoscopic adrenalectomy (RARLA): What advantages and disadvantages compared to retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy (RLA)?
Authors: Li Xuwen , Xiao Song , Yu Yue , Liu Wei , Xi Haibo , Wang Gongxian , Zhou Xiaochen
Published: March 2023

Objective

To explore the advantages and disadvantages of robot-assisted laparoscopic adrenalectomy compared with retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy.

Methods

A total of 101 patients with adrenal tumors who received retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy (RLA) (n=75) or robot-assisted laparoscopic adrenalectomy (RARLA) (n=26) in our hospital from January 2021 to December 2021 were retrospectively collected. Patients’ demographics, tumor characteristics, and perioperative indicators were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using t-test for continuous variables and Pearson chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables.

Results

We found that blood loss in the RARLA group was significantly less than that in the RLA group (66.9 ± 35.5 ml vs 91.5 ± 66.1 ml, p = 0.020). Gastrointestinal function recovery time in RARLA group was significantly less than that in RLA group (19.9 ± 6.9 hours vs 32.0 ± 9.0 hours, p < 0.001). However, the operation time, drainage tube placement time, post-operative hospital stay in the RARLA group were significantly longer compared with the RLA group (149.6 ± 53.4 mins vs 118.7 ± 41.2 mins, p = 0.003; 4.9 ± 2.0 days vs 3.6 ± 1.1 days, p = 0.004; 6.4 ± 1.8 days vs 4.6 ± 1.6 days, p < 0.001). The hospitalization expense in the RARLA group is significantly higher than that in the RLA group (59284 ± 8724 RMB¥ vs 39785 ± 10126 RMB¥, p < 0.001). We found that there was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups. However, the pathological types of the two groups were significantly different. Patients in the RLA group had a higher proportion of adrenocortical adenoma, while patients in the RARLA group had a higher proportion of pheochromocytoma.

Conclusion

Compared with traditional laparoscopic adrenalectomy, robot-assisted laparoscopic adrenalectomy can significantly reduce intraoperative blood loss and accelerate postoperative gastrointestinal recovery. It is committed to studying how to reduce the hospitalization time and hospitalization cost of RARLA, which can make RARLA more widely used.
Spatial and temporal changes in land and water resources on the northern slopes of the Tianshan mountains from the perspective of “production-living-ecological space”
Authors: Xu Xingang , Tian Hao , Yang Guang , Li Xiaolong , He Xinlin , Li Yi , Gao Yongli , Li Fadong , Li Pengfei , Liu Bing , Xue Lianqing
Published: March 2023

The rapidly growing social demand for water and land, along with increasingly constraining economic and social development, have intensified the conflicts between regional production, living, and ecological spaces (PLES). Water and land resources have become major obstacles to long-term growth in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, we propose a scenario-based framework for a production, living, and ecological spaces water resource assessment, integrating patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS), Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), and multiple regression equations to analye the spatial and temporal variability of these resources on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains (NSTM) and assess the future development of water resources. The results show: 1) from 2000 to 2020, land use types on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains were dominated by ecological land, which decreased to 11,793 km2; production and domestic land use increased. Water for production and ecological use accounted for approximately 93% and a minor proportion of the total water use, respectively. 2) Production land is mainly influenced by population density and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), living land by population density, and ecological land by precipitation and topographic factors. 3) The PLUS model had good applicability, with a kappa coefficient, overall accuracy, and FoM of 0.81, 0.88, and 0.28, respectively. 4) The total water use in the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains will increase under all three scenarios between 2030 and 2050, but by varying degrees. Production water use accounts for the most significant proportion (93%), with its use decreasing by 305 million m3 under the SSP3 scenario. Domestic water use shows a slow increase under all three scenarios. Further development of the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains should take account of regional ecological vulnerability, and water use for production should be controlled based on existing water resources and ecological capacity to reduce pressure on the environment and provide essential ecological protection and sustainable development.
Literacy rate impact on innovations and environmental pollution in China
Authors: Jiang Na , Nuţă Alina Cristina , Zamfir Cristina Gabriela
Published: March 2023

This study examines the impact of literacy rate and innovations on environmental pollution in China from 1990 to 2021. We applied the Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag method for the analysis, and our findings suggest that an increase in literacy rate leads to short- and long-term innovations. At the same time, literacy has a positive effect in 1st to 4th quantile in the long run. Furthermore, innovation has a positive effect on environmental pollution. However, in the short run, the literacy rate has negative implications for environmental pollution. These findings imply that education is essential to increase innovation in the economy. Besides, the literacy rate increases the standard of living, and thus, it is recommended that government should adopt environmental protection laws to reduce environmental pollution along with literacy increase. Additionally, China has achieved significant economic growth in the last few decades. To ensure sustainable economic growth government should introduce a carbon tax to minimize production externalities such as environmental pollution.
Increased whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) growth and defense under a warmer and regionally drier climate
Authors: Kichas Nickolas E. , Pederson Gregory T. , Hood Sharon M. , Everett Richard G. , McWethy David B.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Tree defense characteristics play a crucial role in modulating conifer bark beetle interactions, and there is a growing body of literature investigating factors mediating tree growth and resin-based defenses in conifers. A subset of studies have looked at relationships between tree growth, resin duct morphology and climate; however, these studies are almost exclusively from lower-elevation, moisture-limited systems. The relationship between resin ducts and climate in higher-elevation, energy-limited ecosystems is currently poorly understood.

Methods

In this study, we: (1) evaluated the relationship between biological trends in tree growth, resin duct anatomy, and climatic variability and (2) determined if tree growth and resin duct morphology of whitebark pine, a high-elevation conifer of management concern, is constrained by climate and/or regional drought conditions.

Results

We found that high-elevation whitebark pine trees growing in an energy-limited system experienced increased growth and defense under warmer and regionally drier conditions, with climate variables explaining a substantive proportion of variation (∼20–31%) in tree diameter growth and resin duct anatomy.

Discussion

Our results suggest that whitebark pine growth and defense was historically limited by short growing seasons in high-elevation environments; however, this relationship may change in the future with prolonged warming conditions.
Continuous planting Eucalyptus plantations in subtropical China: Soil phenolic acid accumulation and adsorption physiognomies
Authors: Ullah Saif , Xu Yuanyuan , Liao Chengrui , Li Wannian , Cheng Fei , Ye Shaoming , Yang Mei
Published: March 2023

As phenolic acids accumulated in monocropping plantations, their allelopathic effects caused the soil’s fertility to decline and productivity to decrease. The effects of stand age and generational turnover of phenolic acids in soil remain unclear. Therefore, we conducted an experiment to examine the changes in phenolic acid content and accumulation characteristics in soils from Eucalyptus plantations in terms of planting years and generations. Soils were collected from three Eucalyptus plantations: a 6-year-old first-generation plantation (6a1g), 9-year-old first-generation plantation (9a1g) and 6-year-old second-generation plantation (6a2g). Seven phenolic acids were identified from different soil samples by high-performance liquid chromatography. In addition, exogenous phenolic acids were added to the soil samples to study the kinetics as well as the adsorption and desorption characteristics of soils. The total of seven phenolic compounds in 6a1g (38.451 μg g–1) was higher than that of the 9a1g and 6a2g soils, and the total of 6a2g (27.257 μg g–1) was higher than that of the 9a1g (15.536 μg g–1). In the tested soil, the p-hydroxybenzoic acid accounted for 51.6% (for 6a1g), 51.1% (for 9a1g) and 33.5% (for 6a2g) of the total amount of the seven phenolic acids, the p-hydroxybenzoic may have had a higher allelopathic capacity in these Eucalyptus plantation soils. Soil bulk density showed a strong positive correlation with vanillic and ferulic acids, and SOM also had an extremely positive correlation with p-hydroxybenzoic and coumalic acids. The findings demonstrated that the adsorption and desorption rates and amounts of each phenolic acid in the soil of 6a1g were higher than those in the soil of 9a2g and 6a2g using both a kinetic adsorption experiment and isothermal adsorption and desorption experiments. But among the three soils, 9a1g soil had the lowest adsorption rate, which resulted in the lowest accumulation capacity. It is noticed that the Pseudo-second-order kinetic model can be used to describe the kinetic adsorption better than the Pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the Elovich model, and the Freundlich model could fit the desorption isotherms better than the adsorption isotherms. However, more study of this phenomenon is essential to better understanding its mechanisms and how they function in order to address issues with soil degradation in future intergenerational Eucalyptus plantings.