bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Halitosis in oral lichen planus patients
Authors: Guan Guangzhao , Tjhang Vicky , Sun Sally , Polonowita Ajith , Mei Li
Published: November 2024

To investigate the halitosis level in oral lichen planus (OLP) patients and OLP-free participants. This cross-sectional study recruited 70 participants at the New Zealand’s National Centre for Dentistry. Halitosis was determined using the objective measurements (parts per billion (ppb) volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) in the exhaled air) and subjective measurement (self-reported halitosis questionnaire). The VSCs values of OLP participants (mean ± SD: 144.64 ± 23.85 ppb) were significantly greater than that in the OLP-free participants (105.52 ± 22.31ppb) (mean difference: 39.12 ppb; p < 0.05; 95% CI: 27.95, 50.29). The VSCs value of hyperplastic (mean difference: 34.11; 95% CI: 20.07, 48.15; p < 0.05) and erosive/ulcerative (mean difference: 57.47; 95% CI: 34.19, 80.76; p < 0.05) OLP participants were statistically greater than that of OLP-free participants. No statistical significance was found between hyperplastic and erosive/ulcerative OLP (p > 0.05). ‘Type (OLP-free/OLP)’ has a significant effect on the dependent variable VSCs. 78.6% of OLP and 90.5% of OLP-free brushed their teeth at least twice daily, with a statistically significant observation (Mean square: 1.61; F: 13.13; p < 0.05). The levels of VSCs were greater in participants with hyperplastic and erosive/ulcerative OLP than that in the OLP-free participants.
Effect of bionic shield texture on friction behavior of silicon carbide under water lubrication condition
Authors: Qiao Yan , Long Wei , Wang Pengyang , Li Bin , Yin Yuting , Gui Puteng , Zhang Yusen
Published: November 2024

Reasonable texture parameters can effectively generate local dynamic pressure effects and promote the formation of lubrication film. The synergistic friction reduction mechanism of the shield-shaped texture on the Silicon Carbide (SiC) surface under water-based lubrication conditions between the flow pressure effect and the ‘rolling ball’ effect is investigated by combining simulation analysis and friction experiments. The effects of shield textured surface on the friction and wear characteristics of SiC surface and the characteristics of interfacial polarization electric field under different rotational speeds and different load conditions were analyzed. The results display that synergistic texture lubrication has a beneficial effect on improving tribological properties. The surface with 6% texture area occupancy showed the best tribological characteristics. The surface with a textured area occupancy of 6% displays the optimal tribological properties. Moreover, the friction reduction mechanisms under different working conditions are discussed, with the textured uniformly arranged surfaces being more suitable for high-speed and heavy load (140 N, 2000 rpm) conditions and the textured non-uniformly arranged surfaces being more suitable for low-speed and light load (40 N, 400 rpm) conditions.
Quantitative characterization and mapping relationship between microstructure, composition, orientation, and mechanical properties of nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718
Authors: Ma Yaxin , Gao Yifei , Zhao Lei , Liu Zhanbin , Yang Lixia , Wang Haizhou
Published: November 2024

This study explores the relationship between the microstructure, composition, orientation, and mechanical properties of the nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718. Employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron microprobe (EMP), nano-indentation, and other techniques, the study observes the structure, confirms the composition, determines orientation, and tests mechanical properties in specific micro-zones. Findings reveal a uniform grain distribution in Inconel 718, with a minor δ-phase presence at grain boundaries. There is a notable enrichment of Nb at the grain boundaries, whereas Fe and Cr levels are lower at these boundaries compared to the grain interiors. The indentation hardness and modulus at the grain boundaries are markedly higher than those within the grains. Moreover, grains with different orientations exhibit diverse microscale mechanical properties, such as hardness and elastic modulus. This research establishes a quantitative characterization and mapping relationship between the microstructure, composition, orientation, and mechanical properties of Inconel 718, providing a foundation for future multiscale (micro to macro) mechanical property investigations.
Discharge fault detection of dry air switchgear based on ZnO-MoS2 gas sensor
Authors: Li Peng , Yuan Ye , Zhou Rong , Li Lin , Cui Hao , Pu Ziheng , Yang Xuelin
Published: November 2024

When discharge faults occur in dry air switchgear, the air decomposes to produce diverse gases, with NO2 reaching the highest levels. Detecting the NO2 level can reflect the operation status of the equipment. This paper proposes to combine ZnO cluster with MoS2 to improve the gas-sensitive properties of the monolayer. Based on the Density Functional Theory (DFT), the effect of (ZnO)n size on the behavior of MoS2 is considered. Key parameters such as adsorption energy and band gap of (ZnO)n-MoS2/NO2 system were calculated. The ZnO-MoS2 heterojunction was successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The gas sensor exhibits a remarkable response and a fast response-recovery time to 100 ppm NO2. In addition, it demonstrates excellent selectivity, long-term stability and a low detection limit. This work confirms the potential of the ZnO-MoS2 composite structure as a highly effective gas sensor for NO2 detection, which provides valuable theoretical and experimental insights for fault detection in dry air switchgear.
Performance and scaling analysis of variational quantum simulation
Authors: Ponce Mario , Cope Thomas , de Vega Inés , Leib Martin
Published: November 2024

We present an empirical analysis of the scaling of the minimal quantum circuit depth required for a variational quantum simulation (VQS) method to obtain a solution to the time evolution of a quantum system within a predefined error tolerance. In a comparison against a non-variational method based on Trotterized time evolution, we observe similar scaling behaviours of the depth requirements of VQS and Trotter when the size of the system and the simulated time grow linearly. Results are also put into perspective by discussing the corresponding classical complexity required for VQS. Our results allow us to identify a possible advantage region for VQS over Trotterization.
Exploring phyto- and zooplankton community structure, spatial variation, and driving forces shaping the community from a large-scale freshwater dominated estuary
Authors: Shahadat Hossain Md , Ullah M Akram , Sultana Salma , Hasan Md Monjurul , Pramanik Md Mehedi Hasan , Hasan Md Robiul , Paray Bilal Ahamad , Arai Takaomi , Hossain Mohammad Belal
Published: November 2024

Plankton is essential to estuarine food webs, providing key food for species like fish larvae, and understanding their dynamics helps us comprehend ecological interactions and energy transfer in aquatic ecosystems. This study examined the plankton community structure, diversity, variability and the environmental variables of water that influenced these communities in a freshwater-dominated estuary along the Northern Bay of Bengal during the dry season. A variety of tools were employed, including a dissecting microscope, a Sedgwick-Rafter cell, and a Hanna multi-parameter meter, to obtain detailed and comprehensive data. From the analyses, in total 37 genera of phytoplankton belonging to 11 classes such as Bacillariophyceae (66%), Coscinodiscophyceae (28%), Fragilariophyceae (1%), Euglenophyceae (1%), Cyanophyceae (1%), others (3%) were recorded. Zooplankton, consisting of multicellular organisms, was represented by 11 genera across five classes, with Monogononta (53%) and Insecta (29%) being the most prevalent. Phytoplankton exhibited a mean abundance of 180,000 ± 20,200 cells l−1 whereas zooplankton showed a mean abundance of 3,000 ± 200 cells l−1. The diversity indices (H′), evenness (J′) and dominance (D) ranged from 1.188 ± 0.015 to 0.19 ± 0.006, 0.9377 ± 0.002 to 0.5118 ± 0.006, 0.365 ± 0.001 to 0.143 ± 0.002 respectively, suggested low to moderate plankton diversity with a suppressed community and moderate to high dominance in the river water. Based on the similarity percentage (SIMPER) and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), Phytoplankton and zooplankton varied significantly between stations while non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (nMDS) indicated greater consistency in phytoplankton communities across stations compared to zooplankton. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation coefficient (rs) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) identified transparency, sulfates, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, TDS, pH, and salinity as major influencers of plankton abundance; nitrate had a moderate effect. Spearman’s rank correlations showed significant positive (p < 0.05) correlations between diversity indices and environmental variables. Future research should focus on long-term monitoring and the potential impacts of environmental changes on plankton communities.
Towards highly efficient thin-film solar cells with a graded-bandgap CZ TSSe layer. Part II: Piecewise-homogeneous bandgap grading
Authors: Ahmad Faiz , Monk Peter B , Lakhtakia Akhlesh
Published: November 2024

In Part I, we optoelectronically optimized a thin-film solar cell with a graded-bandgap CZTSSe photon-absorbing layer and a periodically corrugated backreflector, using the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) scheme to solve the drift-diffusion equations. The efficiency increase due to periodic corrugation was minimal, but significant improvement was achieved with a nonlinearly graded bandgap. Due to occasional failures of the HDG scheme from negative carrier densities, we developed a new computational scheme using the finite-difference method, which also reduced the overall computational cost of optimization. Later, a normalization error was discovered in the electrical submodel in Part I, but it did not alter the overall conclusions. We have now re-optimized the solar cells with (i) a homogeneous bandgap, (ii) a linearly graded bandgap, or (iii) a nonlinearly graded bandgap, and (iv) a piecewise-homogeneous bandgap which is easier to implement than a continuously graded bandgap. An efficiency of 13.53% is predicted with a three-layered piecewise-homogeneous CZTSSe layer. Furthermore, concentrating sunlight by a factor of one hundred can boost the efficiency to 16.70% with the piecewise-homogeneous bandgap.
Informatics-based design of polyaniline-carbon nanotube thermoelectric nanocomposite using ANN and GA
Authors: Ebrahimibagha Dariush , Ray Mallar , Datta Shubhabrata
Published: November 2024

Conducting polymer and carbon nanotube (CNT) based nanocomposites have emerged as prospective thermoelectric (TE) materials due to their potential application in flexible electronics. Non-conventional charge and heat transport in these nanocomposites, presents the possibility to enhance the TE conversion efficiency, given by

Z
T

. However, the highly non-linear and complex association of structure and composition with the overall TE properties have hindered the development of any general strategy to develop high

Z
T

nanocomposites. Here, we implement artificial neural network and genetic algorithm to develop data driven models followed by optimization to design high efficiency nanocomposites based on CNT dispersed in polyaniline (PANI) matrix. Our models suggest that CNT concentration plays the most crucial role in determining

Z
T
.

Non-dominated Pareto optimal solutions consisting of different combinations of design variables are obtained by multi-objective optimization. Although a range of optimal solutions span over different regions of the search space, in general we note that longer CNTs boost Seebeck coefficient (

S
)

and electrical conductivity

(
σ
)

,

and smaller length lowers thermal conductivity (

k

), while higher diameter of CNTs increase

S

and lowers

σ

and

k
.

The results provide a general guideline for developing CNT-PANI nanocomposites with enhanced TE figure of merit.
Thepoeta–amatorpersists
Authors: Franklinos T E
Published: November 2024

This chapter considers the opening run of poems (3.1–5) as a cohesive programmatic group that establishes Propertius’ continued treatment of his amatory discourse through close intratextual engagement with his own earlier elegies. The elegist’s positioning of his verse in relation to the poems of Callimachus and Philitas is also explored, as well as his poetry’s engagement with the contemporary works of Horace (Odes) and Vergil (Georgics, Aeneid). A close reading of 2.34 is followed by a detailed discussion of the Hellenistic background to 3.1 and 3.3 that also considers the rôle of these poems in defining Propertius’ oeuvre against those of his contemporaries. The treatment of 3.2 continues the discussion of Propertius’ interaction with Horace’s lyric poetry and the elegist’s interest in his place in posterity. Discussion of 3.4, 3.5, and 3.7 explore Propertius’ poetological use of the militia amoris and his treatment of the Gallus fragment.
Association of night shift work and biological ageing: the mediating role of body mass index
Authors: Shen Wenqi , Cai Lingli , Li Jiang , Sun Ying , Wang Bin , Wang Ningjian , Lu Yingli
Published: November 2024

Background

We aimed to examine whether current and lifetime night shift work is associated with accelerated biological ageing and the potential role of body mass index (BMI) in mediating the association.

Methods

Data were sourced from the UK Biobank cohort. This study included participants who reported detailed information on their current work schedule and had complete data to calculate PhenoAge. The outcome of interest was biological ageing, measured by PhenoAge acceleration. Multivariable linear regression models were conducted to test the relationship between night shift work and biological ageing. Mediation analyses were performed.

Results

Of the 182 064 participants included, the mean age was 52.6 years, and 51.1% were male. After adjustment for chronological age and sex, compared with day workers, shift workers without night shift, irregular night shift workers and permanent night shift workers were associated with 0.59-, 0.87- and 1.30-year increase in biological ageing, respectively (P for trend <.001). Considering the lifetime work schedule, participants who worked night shifts >10 years and participants who worked >8 night shifts each month showed increased biological age acceleration [>10 years: β = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.29–0.79; >8 times/month: β = 0.29, 95% CI 0.07–0.50]. The mediation analysis showed that BMI mediated the associations between night shift work and biological age acceleration by 36%–53%.

Conclusions

We showed that night shift work was associated with accelerated biological ageing. Our findings highlight the interventions on appropriate shift work schedules and weight management in night shift workers, which may slow the biological ageing process and ultimately reduce the burden of age-related diseases.
SpecGMM: Integrating Spectral analysis and Gaussian Mixture Models for taxonomic classification and identification of discriminative DNA regions
Authors: Jaiswal Saish , Murthy Hema A , Narayanan Manikandan
Published: November 2024

Motivation

Genomic signal processing (GSP), which transforms biomolecular sequences into discrete signals for spectral analysis, has provided valuable insights into DNA sequence, structure, and evolution. However, challenges persist with spectral representations of variable-length sequences for tasks like species classification and in interpreting these spectra to identify discriminative DNA regions.

Results

We introduce SpecGMM, a novel framework that integrates sliding window-based Spectral analysis with a Gaussian Mixture Model to transform variable-length DNA sequences into fixed-dimensional spectral representations for taxonomic classification. SpecGMM’s hyperparameters were selected using a dataset of plant sequences, and applied unchanged across diverse datasets, including mitochondrial DNA, viral and bacterial genome, and 16S rRNA sequences. Across these datasets, SpecGMM outperformed a baseline method, with 9.45% average and 35.55% maximum improvement in test accuracies for a Linear Discriminant classifier. Regarding interpretability, SpecGMM revealed discriminative hypervariable regions in 16S rRNA sequences—particularly V3/V4 for discriminating higher taxa and V2/V3 for lower taxa—corroborating their known classification relevance. SpecGMM’s spectrogram video analysis helped visualize species-specific DNA signatures. SpecGMM thus provides a robust and interpretable method for spectral DNA analysis, opening new avenues in GSP research.

Availability and implementation

SpecGMM’s source code is available at https://github.com/BIRDSgroup/SpecGMM.
MitoMAMMAL: a genome scale model of mammalian mitochondria predicts cardiac and BAT metabolism
Authors: Chapman Stephen , Brunet Theo , Mourier Arnaud , Habermann Bianca H
Published: November 2024

Motivation

Mitochondria are essential for cellular metabolism and are inherently flexible to allow correct function in a wide range of tissues. Consequently, dysregulated mitochondrial metabolism affects different tissues in different ways leading to challenges in understanding the pathology of mitochondrial diseases. System-level metabolic modelling is useful in studying tissue-specific mitochondrial metabolism, yet despite the mouse being a common model organism in research, no mouse specific mitochondrial metabolic model is currently available.

Results

Building upon the similarity between human and mouse mitochondrial metabolism, we present mitoMammal, a genome-scale metabolic model that contains human and mouse specific gene-product reaction rules. MitoMammal is able to model mouse and human mitochondrial metabolism. To demonstrate this, using an adapted E-Flux algorithm, we integrated proteomic data from mitochondria of isolated mouse cardiomyocytes and mouse brown adipocyte tissue, as well as transcriptomic data from in vitro differentiated human brown adipocytes and modelled the context specific metabolism using flux balance analysis. In all three simulations, mitoMammal made mostly accurate, and some novel predictions relating to energy metabolism in the context of cardiomyocytes and brown adipocytes. This demonstrates its usefulness in research in cardiac disease and diabetes in both mouse and human contexts.

Availability and implementation

The MitoMammal Jupyter Notebook is available at: https://gitlab.com/habermann_lab/mitomammal.
Afpdb: an efficient structure manipulation package for AI protein design
Authors: Zhou Yingyao , Cox Jiayi , Zhou Bin , Zhu Steven , Zhong Yang , Spraggon Glen
Published: November 2024

Motivation

The advent of AlphaFold and other protein Artificial Intelligence (AI) models has transformed protein design, necessitating efficient handling of large-scale data and complex workflows. Using existing programming packages that predate recent AI advancements often leads to inefficiencies in human coding and slow code execution. To address this gap, we developed the Afpdb package.

Results

Afpdb, built on AlphaFold’s NumPy architecture, offers a high-performance core. It uses RFDiffusion's contig syntax to streamline residue and atom selection, making coding simpler and more readable. Integrating PyMOL’s visualization capabilities, Afpdb allows automatic visual quality control. With over 180 methods commonly used in protein AI design, which are otherwise hard to find, Afpdb enhances productivity in structural biology by supporting the development of concise, high-performance code.

Availability and implementation

Code and documentation are available on GitHub (https://github.com/data2code/afpdb) and PyPI (https://pypi.org/project/afpdb). An interactive tutorial is accessible through Google Colab.
InterLabelGO+: unraveling label correlations in protein function prediction
Authors: Liu Quancheng , Zhang Chengxin , Freddolino Lydia
Published: November 2024

Motivation

Accurate protein function prediction is crucial for understanding biological processes and advancing biomedical research. However, the rapid growth of protein sequences far outpaces the experimental characterization of their functions, necessitating the development of automated computational methods.

Results

We present InterLabelGO+, a hybrid approach that integrates a deep learning-based method with an alignment-based method for improved protein function prediction. InterLabelGO+ incorporates a novel loss function that addresses label dependency and imbalance and further enhances performance through dynamic weighting of the alignment-based component. A preliminary version of InterLabelGO+ achieved a strong performance in the CAFA5 challenge, ranking sixth out of 1625 participating teams. Comprehensive evaluations on large-scale protein function prediction tasks demonstrate InterLabelGO+’s ability to accurately predict Gene Ontology terms across various functional categories and evaluation metrics.

Availability and implementation

The source code and datasets for InterLabelGO+ are freely available on GitHub at https://github.com/QuanEvans/InterLabelGO. A web-server is available at https://seq2fun.dcmb.med.umich.edu/InterLabelGO/. The software is implemented in Python and PyTorch, and is supported on Linux and macOS.
Evolutionary history written in tandem arrays – satellite repeats in the Lagoseris lineage of Crepis sensu lato (Asteraceae)
Authors: Yücel Gülru , Borowska-Zuchowska Natalia , Bisaga Maciej , Nowak Teresa , Kolano Bozena
Published: November 2024

Satellite DNA families are excellent markers in evolutionary studies of plant karyotypes. Together with phylogenetic background, they can provide additonal information on different scenarios accompanying the speciation and diversification of related species. The Lagoseris lineage of Crepis sensu lato constitutes an interesting model in such studies, mainly due to: (i) the presence of large chromosomes; (ii) several base chromosome numbers; and (iii) variation in genome sizes. We aimed to characterize the satellite families and compare their genomic and chromosomal organization to better understand the evolutionary pathways that shaped the genomes of the Lagoseris lineage. Eight different families of satellite repeats were identified in Crepis palaestina based on RepeatExplorer raw Illumina read analyses. Most of these satellites were present in five species studied from the Lagoseris lineage and organized in tandem arrays. If the particular repeat was present in the genome of the related species, its genomic organization showed similarity to the one observed in C. palaestina. This similar genomic organization was not often reflected at the chromosomal level, where many distinct distribution patterns were shown, from several major loci to numerous minor ones spread throughout the chromosomal arms. The evolution of satellite repeats is discussed in phylogenetic context.
Smaller cingulate grey matter mediates the association between dual-task gait and incident dementia
Authors: Ali Pauline , Pieruccini-Faria Frederico , Annweiler Cédric , Dinomais Mickaël , Son Surim , Wilson Scott K , Camicioli Richard , Muir-Hunter Susan , Bartha Robert , Montero-Odasso Manuel
Published: November 2024

Individuals with mild cognitive impairment that have high dual-task gait cost (≥20% slowing in gait speed while performing a cognitive brain demanding task), are three-fold more likely to progress to dementia. However, the cortical regions that may explain this association are unknown, which may identify potentially treatable areas.

The aim of the current study is to investigate whether brain grey matter volume loss and motor cortex metabolite levels explain the association between dual-task cost and incident dementia in individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

We included participants with mild cognitive impairment from the Gait&Brain Study Cohort, who had a baseline MRI and were followed-up for 9 years with cognitive and gait assessments every 6 months. Gait performance was investigated under four conditions: usual gait, counting backwards by ones, naming animals and subtracting serial sevens. Dual-task cost was calculated as the percentage change in gait speed under dual-task conditions relative to usual gait speed. Data were collected from July 2007 to June 2023.

From the 139 individuals with mild cognitive impairment included at baseline (mean [SD] age, 73[6] years, 62 (44%) women), and 33 (24%) progressed to dementia. Baseline high dual-task cost (≥20%) under counting backwards by ones and naming animals conditions were associated with smaller grey matter volume in several brain structures. A higher ratio of choline to creatine in the primary motor cortex was associated with higher serial sevens DTC. High dual-task cost while counting backwards by ones and naming animals was associated with a three-fold risk of incident dementia (P=0.02). Mediation analyses revealed that grey matter volume clusters localized in the right anterior and middle cingulate cortices mediated the association between counting backwards by ones dual-task cost and incident dementia (effect: 48%, P=0.045) with no mediation observed in grey matter loss in other brain regions or through motor cortex metabolite levels.

Smaller grey matter volume of the right anterior and middle cingulate cortices explained the association between high dual-task cost and incident dementia in mild cognitive impairment. This result sheds light on the neural mechanisms of cognitive-motor interaction linked with cognitive decline and dementia in mild cognitive impairment and support the use of gait under dual-tasking as a motor biomarker of dementia.
The CSF lipid profile in patients with probable idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus differs from control but does not differ between shunt responders and non-responders
Authors: Toft-Bertelsen Trine L , Andreassen Søren Norge , Simonsen Anja Hviid , Hasselbalch Steen Gregers , MacAulay Nanna
Published: November 2024

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus is a common form of hydrocephalus in the elderly, characterized by enlarged ventricles combined with clinical symptoms presenting as gait impairment, urinary incontinence, and dementia. Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus may be difficult to differentiate clinically from other neurodegenerative disorders, and up to 80% of cases may remain unrecognized and thus untreated. Consequently, there is a pressing demand for biomarkers that can confirm the diagnosis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus. In this exploratory study, CSF was sampled from the lumbar compartment of 21 control individuals and 19 probable idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients and analyzed by an untargeted mass spectroscopy-based platform to reveal a complete CSF lipid profile in these samples. Two hundred forty-four lipids from 17 lipid classes were detected in CSF. Various lipid classes, and select individual lipids, were reduced in the CSF obtained from patients with probable idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, whereas a range of lipids belonging to the class of triacylglycerols was elevated. We detected no difference in the CSF lipid profile between probable idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients with and without clinical improvement following CSF shunting. In conclusion, the lipidomic profile of the CSF in patients with probable idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, therefore, may serve as a sought after biomarker of the pathology, which may be employed to complement the clinical diagnosis.
Rapid Characterization and Identification of the Chemical Constituents in San-Huang-Xie-Xin-Tang, a Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula, by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Electrospray Ionization and Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Liu Lei , Hu Pei , Chen Mengmo , Huang Jiasi , Zhang Qing , Ling Yun
Published: November 2024

San-Huang-Xie-Xin-Tang (SHXXT), a traditional Chinese medicine formula composed of Coptidis rhizome (CR), Scutellariae radix (SR) and Rhei rhizome (RR), is widely used to treat hypertension, gastritis and peptic ulcer clinically. However, the chemical constituent of SHXXT is still unclear due to its complexity, which hindered the discovery of effective compounds and quality control. Thus, an in-depth understanding of its chemical constituents is very essential. To address this problem, comprehensive analysis of chemical constituents of SHXXT was performed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS). As a result, 45 compounds were identified, including 8 phenolic acids, 15 flavonoids, 13 alkaloids, 8 anthraquinones and 1 lignan. Among them, 17 compounds were from CR, 17 compounds were from SR and 11 compounds were from RR. This established method can systematically and rapidly analyze the chemical constituents in SHXXT, which provides chemical foundation for further research on effective substances and action mechanism of SHXXT.
Fatal Borealpox in an Immunosuppressed Patient Treated With Antivirals and Vaccinia Immunoglobulin—Alaska, 2023
Authors: Rogers Julia H , Westley Benjamin , Mego Thomas , Newell Katherine G , Laurance John , Smith Lisa , Parker Jayme , Park Sarah Y , Venkatasubrahmanyam Shivkumar , Noll Nicholas , Bercovici Sivan , Rao Agam K , McCollum Andrea M , Davidson Whitni , Carson William C , Townsend Michael B , Doty Jeffrey B , Hutson Christina , Li Yu , Wilkins Kimberly , Deng Jiusheng , Gigante Crystal M , Satheshkumar Panayampalli S , Tuttle Alexandra , Villalba Julian A , Bhatnagar Julu , Reagan-Steiner Sarah , Castrodale Louisa J , McLaughlin Joseph B
Published: November 2024

Background

Borealpox virus (BRPV, formerly known as Alaskapox virus) is a zoonotic member of the Orthopoxvirus genus first identified in a person in 2015. In the 6 patients with infection previously observed, BRPV involved mild and self-limiting illness. We report the first fatal BRPV infection in an immunosuppressed patient.

Methods

A man aged 69 years from Alaska's Kenai Peninsula was receiving anti-CD20 therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He presented to care for a tender, red papule in his right axilla with increasing induration and pain. The patient failed to respond to multiple prescribed antibiotic regimens and was hospitalized 65 days after symptom onset for progression of presumed infectious cellulitis. BRPV was eventually detected through orthopoxvirus real-time polymerase chain reaction testing of mucosal swabs. He received combination antiviral therapy, including 21 days of intravenous tecovirimat, intravenous vaccinia immunoglobulin, and oral brincidofovir. Serial serology was conducted on specimens obtained posttreatment initiation.

Findings

The patient's condition initially improved with plaque recession, reduced erythema, and epithelization around the axillary lesion beginning 1 week posttherapy. He later exhibited delayed wound healing, malnutrition, acute renal failure, and respiratory failure. He died 138 days after symptom onset. Serologic testing revealed no evidence the patient generated a humoral immune response. No secondary cases were detected.

Conclusions

This report demonstrates that BRPV can cause overwhelming disseminated infection in certain immunocompromised patients. Based on the patient's initial response, early BRPV identification and antiviral therapies might have been beneficial. These therapies, in combination with optimized immune function, should be considered for patients at risk for manifestations of BRPV.
A novel approach to detecting epileptic patients: complex network-based EEG classification
Authors: Olgun Nevzat , Özkaynak Emrah
Published: November 2024

Detection of epileptic seizures is important for early diagnosis and treatment. It is known that the behavioral patterns of the brain in electroencephalogram (EEG) signals have huge and complex fluctuations. Diagnosing epilepsy by analyzing signals are costly process. Various methods are used to classify epileptic seizures. However, the inadequacy of these approaches in classifying signals makes it difficult to diagnose epilepsy. Complex network science produces effective solutions for analyzing interrelated structures. Using methods based on complex network analysis, it is possible to EEG signals analyze the relationship between signals and perform a classification process. In this study proposes a novel approach for classifying epileptic seizures by utilizing complex network science. In addition, unlike the studies in the literature, classification processes were carried out with lower dimensional signals by using 1-s EEG signals instead of 23.6-s full-size EEG signals. Using the topological properties of the EEG signal converted into a complex network, the classification process has been performed with the Jaccard Index method. The success of the classification process with the Jaccard Index was evaluated using Accuracy, F1 Score, Recall, and K-Fold metrics. In the results obtained, the signals of individuals with epileptic seizures were separated with an accuracy rate of 98.15%.
Incremental prognostic value of left ventricular and left atrial strains in moderate aortic stenosis
Authors: Lee Hyun-Jung , Kim Kyu , Gwak Seo-Yeon , Cho Iksung , Hong Geu-Ru , Ha Jong-Won , Shim Chi Young
Published: November 2024

Aims

Patients with moderate aortic stenosis (AS) show a poor prognosis if they have high-risk features. We investigated herein the incremental prognostic value of left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) strain in patients with moderate AS.

Methods and results

In a cohort of 923 patients with moderate AS (median age 74 years, men 55%, aortic valve area 1.18 [interquartile range (IQR) 1.08–1.30] cm2, mean pressure gradient 25 [IQR 23–30] mmHg), the LV global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) and LA reservoir strain (LARS) were measured using speckle-tracking echocardiography. Absolute values of myocardial strain were used. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality and heart failure hospitalization. During a median of 5.9 years, the primary endpoint occurred in 186 patients (20.2%). The median LV-GLS and LARS were 17.7% (IQR 14.8–19.7%) and 24.5% (IQR 18.7–29.3%), respectively. LV-GLS [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.87–0.97] and LARS (adjusted HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95–0.99) were significant predictors of the primary outcome, independent of clinical and echocardiographic variables, including LV ejection fraction. Notably, the prognostic value of LV-GLS was stronger than that of LARS, remaining significant after further adjustment for LARS. LV-GLS < 17% and LARS < 22% were identified as optimal cut-offs for the primary outcome. Patients with both reduced LV-GLS and LARS had the worst outcomes (log-rank P < 0.001). LV-GLS < 17% and LARS < 22% had incremental prognostic values on top of other clinical and echocardiographic variables.

Conclusion

In moderate AS, reduced LV-GLS and LARS have incremental prognostic values and can refine risk stratification to identify high-risk patients.
Dendritic cell mineralocorticoid receptor controls blood pressure by regulating T helper 17 differentiation: role of the Plcβ1/4–Stat5–NF-κB pathway
Authors: Wang Yong-Li , Zhu Hong , Pan Yi-Tong , Shang Da , Du Lin-Juan , Bai Lan , Zhu Shi-Wei , Lin Wen-Zhen , Zhang Xing-Yu , Lu Hai-Xia , Bi Chao , Liu Yuan , Liu Yan , Xiao Hui , Qian You-Cun , Zhou Bin , Li Ruo-Gu , Duan Sheng-Zhong
Published: November 2024

Background and Aims

Dendritic cells (DCs) are closely related to blood pressure (BP) regulation. Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is an important drug target for antihypertensive treatment. However, the role of DC MR in the pathogenesis of hypertension has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to determine the role of DC MR in BP regulation and to explore the mechanism.

Methods

Renal biopsy and peripheral blood samples were collected from hypertensive patients (HTN) for immunostaining and flow cytometry. Dendritic cell MR knockout (DCMRKO) mice, DC MR overexpressing (DCMROV) mice, DCMROV/IL-17A knockout (DCMROV/IL-17AKO) mice and finerenone-treated C57BL/6 mice were infused with angiotensin II (Ang II) to establish hypertensive models. Western blotting, chromatin immunoprecipitation, co-immunoprecipitation, and in vivo DC depletion or adoptive transfer were used to delineate the functional importance of DC MR in hypertension development.

Results

Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (spironolactone and finerenone) suppressed DC aggregation and activation, as well as hypertension in HTN and mice. Compared with littermate control (LC) mice, dendritic cell MR knockout mice had strikingly decreased BPs and attenuated target organ damage after Ang II infusion. Flow cytometry showed that DC MR deficiency mitigated Ang II-induced DC activation and T helper 17 (Th17) cell differentiation. RNA sequencing revealed that MR-deficient DCs had elevated expression of Plcβ1 and Plcβ4, knockdown of which reversed the inhibitory effect of MR deficiency on DC activation and Th17 differentiation. Adoptive transfer of MR-deficient DCs protected Ang II-induced hypertension, whereas knockdown of Plcβ1/4 eliminated the protective effects. At the molecular level, MR negatively regulated Plcβ1/4, which recruited SHP-1 to inactivate of Stat5 activity, resulting in enhanced NF-κB activation and Th17 polarization. Furthermore, DCMROV mice manifested more elevated BPs and target organ damage than control mice after Ang II infusion, and these differences were abolished in DCMROV/IL-17AKO mice. Finally, MR antagonists decreased the aggregation of Th17 in HTN and mice.

Conclusions

Dendritic cell MR plays important roles in the pathogenesis of hypertension by regulating Th17 through Plcβ1/4–Stat5–NF-κB signalling, and blockade of DC MR is beneficial for treating hypertension.
Chromosome-scale genome assembly of Apocynum pictum, a drought-tolerant medicinal plant from the Tarim Basin
Authors: Xie Wenlong , Bai Baowei , Wang Yanqin
Published: November 2024

Apocynum pictum Schrenk is a semishrub of the Apocynaceae family with a wide distribution throughout the Tarim Basin that holds significant ecological, medicinal, and economic values. Here, we report the assembly of its chromosome-level reference genome using Nanopore long-read, Illumina HiSeq paired-end, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture sequencing. The final assembly is 225.32 Mb in length with a scaffold N50 of 19.64 Mb. It contains 23,147 protein-coding genes across 11 chromosomes, 21,148 of which (91.36%) have protein functional annotations. Comparative genomics analysis revealed that A. pictum diverged from the closely related species Apocynum venetum approximately 2.2 million years ago and has not undergone additional polyploidizations after the core eudicot WGT-γ event. Karyotype evolution analysis was used to characterize interchromosomal rearrangements in representative Apocynaceae species and revealed that several A. pictum chromosomes were derived entirely from single chromosomes of the ancestral eudicot karyotype. Finally, we identified 50 members of the well-known stress-responsive WRKY transcription factor family and used transcriptomic data to document changes in their expression at 2 stages of drought stress, identifying a number of promising candidate genes. Overall, this study provides high-quality genomic resources for evolutionary and comparative genomics of the Apocynaceae, as well as initial molecular insights into the drought adaptation of this valuable desert plant.
The Association between Psychotropic Medication Use and Gait and Mobility Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older People. Data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)
Authors: O’ Donnell Desmond , Moriarty Frank , Lavan Amanda , Kenny Rose Anne , Briggs Robert
Published: November 2024

Background

Little work to date has quantified the effect of psychotropic medications (antidepressants, benzodiazepines, ‘Z’ drugs, antipsychotics, anticholinergics) on mobility and gait in later life. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between these medications and mobility/gait parameters in a large cohort of community-dwelling older people.

Methods

Participants were included if they were ≥60 years at TILDA Wave 1 and underwent gait and mobility assessment (Gaitrite system), with follow-up at Wave 3 (4 years). Medication lists were examined for psychotropic medications. Regression models assessed the relationship between psychotropic medications and mobility, using the following parameters: Timed Up and Go (TUG), gait speed, step length / width, double support phase. Multilevel modelling assessed trajectories of mobility/gait variables over time by psychotropic use.

Results

Of 2620 patients, 12% were prescribed ≥1 psychotropic medication, 3% prescribed ≥2 psychotropics. Cross-sectionally, psychotropic medication was independently associated with prolonged TUG (β=0.50 (95% CI 0.27–0.73); p<0.001), slower gait speed (β=-5.65 (95% CI -7.92 - -3.38); p<0.001), shorter step length (β=-2.03 (95% CI -2.93 - -1.42); p<0.001) and increased double support phase (β=0.47 (95% CI 0.19-0.75); p=0.001).

Longitudinally, psychotropic use was independently associated with transition to abnormal TUG (OR 2.68 (95% CI 1.55–4.64), p<0.001), while using ≥2 psychotropics was associated with transition to slower gait speed (OR 2.59 (95% CI 1.01–6.68); p=0.048).

Conclusions

Psychotropic use was associated with significantly poorer mobility and gait performance, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. It is imperative that psychotropic medication use is reviewed as part of comprehensive geriatric assessment.
A mathematical model for potash supply chain management with a strategic logistics perspective
Authors: Shbool Mohammad A , Al-Bazi Ammar , Albashabsheh Nibal T
Published: November 2024

Accepted by: M. Zied Babai

This paper introduces a novel Integer Linear Programming model designed to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the potash supply chain, a crucial element supporting global agriculture. The developed mathematical optimization model focuses on fleet selection (private/outsource) and incorporates the concept of ‘inter-warehouse collaboration’, which addresses key logistics considerations. Integrating mining, processing, storage and transportation, the model encompasses decision variables like extracted carnallite amount, production, storage levels and shipped potash amount. Illustrated through a case study on the Arab Potash Company in Jordan, the results showcase the model’s proficiency in meeting local and international market demands. The model ensures resilient and sustainable supply chain performance by emphasizing logistics optimization, particularly in fleet selection. The study attains the highest ‘warehouse-to-warehouse’ support for Standard and Granular potash types in the international demand scenario, contributing to efficient production planning and fleet management. In conclusion, the presented mathematical model is a valuable tool for potash industry stakeholders, offering insights for strategic decision-makers involved in production planning and fleet management.
DHH and L2 college students’ knowledge of English resultatives and depictives
Authors: Kelly Ronald R , Berent Gerald P , Finton Erin , Schueler-Choukairi Tanya , Van Horn Stanley , Chen Zhong , Persky Kimberly , Rizzo Susan Post , Schmitz Kathryn L
Published: November 2024

College-level deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students and hearing students of English as a Second Language (L2) along with hearing native speakers (NS) of English were assessed in their knowledge of English resultative and depictive sentences. In “Kevin wiped the table clean,” the resultative phrase “clean” indicates that the table became clean as a result of Kevin wiping it. In “Megan drove the car drunk,” the depictive phrase “drunk” describes Megan’s state throughout the entire event of driving. Findings of a sentence-acceptability rating scale task revealed higher performance by the NS group compared to the DHH and L2 groups, whose near-equivalent performance improved with increasing overall English proficiency. Participants exhibited higher performance on active, passive, and unaccusative resultative sentences than on ungrammatical unergative resultatives and higher performance on grammatical than ungrammatical depictive sentence types. These findings contribute new insights into the comparative study of English acquisition by DHH and L2 learners.
Clinical and surgical factors influencing screw breakage during hardware removal following periacetabular osteotomy
Authors: Crowley Brian P , Helm James M , Stocks Omar G , Aboulafia Alexis H , Siahaan Jacob J , Mansour Alfred A
Published: November 2024

Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is a procedure used to treat patients with hip dysplasia. Current literature reports symptomatic hardware removal (HWR) rates of 13.6% following PAO. No reports have examined the incidence of or factors relating to screw breakage during HWR. This study reports the incidence of screw breakage in patients undergoing HWR following PAO and examines the associated clinical and surgical factors. Patients who underwent PAO by a single surgeon from 2012 to 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic, surgical, and implant information was collected. Constructs were stratified by number (three-screw and four-screw) and type (3.5 mm only, 4.5 mm only, and mixed). Incidence rates of HWR and screw breakage were calculated. Three hundred and two hips from 254 patients undergoing PAO were included. Seventy-one hips from 58 patients underwent HWR (23.5%). Eighteen of 259 screws (6.9%) were broken upon removal in 10/71 hips (14.1%). Significantly more 3.5-mm screws were removed (24.7% vs 21.2%; P = .05) and broken than 4.5-mm screws (10.5% vs 3.8%; P = .04). Time to removal was significantly longer in broken screws (16.8 ± 12.7 months vs 33 ± 18.2 months, P < .001). The use of 3.5-mm screws and increased time from implantation to removal are associated with higher rates of screw breakage during HWR following PAO. The use of 4.5-mm screws and earlier time to removal (less than 12 months) both decrease the probability of breakage.
The Ongwen Judgments
Authors: Taku Charles A , Lyons Beth S
Published: November 2024

The Ongwen trial and appeal judgments are an affront to child soldiers everywhere and to international criminal justice. The judgments fail to treat Mr Dominic Ongwen as an individual within his own social context, in which culture and race are significant factors. The Chambers invisibilized the victimization of Mr Ongwen within the cruel and ruthless conditions of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) as a child and young adult. Seeking justice for Mr Ongwen and ensuring he had a fair trial has been a Sisyphean struggle for the defence counsel, who have tried to humanize the lived experience of our client within the courtroom of the Hague. The Chambers acknowledged the brutality and bestiality of the LRA, led by Joseph Kony, yet created an ‘Ongwen Exception’ that dehumanized him as detached from the Court’s previous rulings on the long-term social and psychological effects of being forcibly recruited as a child soldier. In these observations, the Defence discusses Mr Ongwen’s social context, emphasizing the importance of culture and race within it, and the dangers of the Chambers’ rote and narrow interpretation of Article 26 ICC Statute, which underlies Mr Ongwen’s convictions.