bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultrafiltration separation of Am(VI)-polyoxometalate from lanthanides
Authors: Zhang Hailong , Li Ao , Li Kai , Wang Zhipeng , Xu Xiaocheng , Wang Yaxing , Sheridan Matthew V. , Hu Han-Shi , Xu Chao , Alekseev Evgeny V. , Zhang Zhenyi , Yan Pu , Cao Kecheng , Chai Zhifang , Albrecht-Schönzart Thomas E. , Wang Shuao
Published: April 2023

Partitioning of americium from lanthanides (Ln) present in used nuclear fuel plays a key role in the sustainable development of nuclear energy1–3. This task is extremely challenging because thermodynamically stable Am(III) and Ln(III) ions have nearly identical ionic radii and coordination chemistry. Oxidization of Am(III) to Am(VI) produces AmO22+ ions distinct with Ln(III) ions, which has the potential to facilitate separations in principle. However, the rapid reduction of Am(VI) back to Am(III) by radiolysis products and organic reagents required for the traditional separation protocols including solvent and solid extractions hampers practical redox-based separations. Herein, we report a nanoscale polyoxometalate (POM) cluster with a vacancy site compatible with the selective coordination of hexavalent actinides (238U, 237Np, 242Pu and 243Am) over trivalent lanthanides in nitric acid media. To our knowledge, this cluster is the most stable Am(VI) species in aqueous media observed so far. Ultrafiltration-based separation of nanoscale Am(VI)-POM clusters from hydrated lanthanide ions by commercially available, fine-pored membranes enables the development of a once-through americium/lanthanide separation strategy that is highly efficient and rapid, does not involve any organic components and requires minimal energy input.
Dedifferentiation maintains melanocyte stem cells in a dynamic niche
Authors: Sun Qi , Lee Wendy , Hu Hai , Ogawa Tatsuya , De Leon Sophie , Katehis Ioanna , Lim Chae Ho , Takeo Makoto , Cammer Michael , Taketo M. Mark , Gay Denise L. , Millar Sarah E. , Ito Mayumi
Published: April 2023

For unknow reasons, the melanocyte stem cell (McSC) system fails earlier than other adult stem cell populations1, which leads to hair greying in most humans and mice2,3. Current dogma states that McSCs are reserved in an undifferentiated state in the hair follicle niche, physically segregated from differentiated progeny that migrate away following cues of regenerative stimuli4–8. Here we show that most McSCs toggle between transit-amplifying and stem cell states for both self-renewal and generation of mature progeny, a mechanism fundamentally distinct from those of other self-renewing systems. Live imaging and single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that McSCs are mobile, translocating between hair follicle stem cell and transit-amplifying compartments where they reversibly enter distinct differentiation states governed by local microenvironmental cues (for example, WNT). Long-term lineage tracing demonstrated that the McSC system is maintained by reverted McSCs rather than by reserved stem cells inherently exempt from reversible changes. During ageing, there is accumulation of stranded McSCs that do not contribute to the regeneration of melanocyte progeny. These results identify a new model whereby dedifferentiation is integral to homeostatic stem cell maintenance and suggest that modulating McSC mobility may represent a new approach for the prevention of hair greying.
The BlueBio project’s database: web-mapping cooperation to create value for the Blue Bioeconomy
Authors: Tassetti Anna Nora , Ferrà Carmen , Manarini Tania , Moro Fabrizio , Pinat Massimiliano , Pulcinella Jacopo , Punzo Elisa , Salvalaggio Vera , Scarpini Paolo , Spagnolo Alessandra , Thorud Kristin Elisabeth , Fabi Gianna
Published: April 2023

Funding innovation requires knowledge on previous/on-going research and identification of gaps and synergies among actors, networks and projects, but targeted databases remain scattered, incomplete and scarcely searchable. Here we present the BlueBio database: a first comprehensive and robust compilation of internationally and nationally funded research projects active in the years 2003–2019 in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Seafood Processing and Marine Biotechnology. Based on the previous research projects’ database realized in the framework of the COFASP ERA-NET, it was implemented within the ERA-NET Cofund BlueBio project through a 4-years data collection including 4 surveys and a wide data retrieval. After being integrated, data were harmonised, shared as open and disseminated through a WebGIS that was key for data entry, update and validation. The database consists of 3,254 “georeferenced” projects, described by 22 parameters that are clustered into textual and spatial, some directly collected while others deduced. The database is a living archive to inform actors of the Blue Bioeconomy sector in a period of rapid transformations and research needs and is freely available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21507837.v3.
Shared cross-cultural principles underlie human prosocial behavior at the smallest scale
Authors: Rossi Giovanni , Dingemanse Mark , Floyd Simeon , Baranova Julija , Blythe Joe , Kendrick Kobin H. , Zinken Jörg , Enfield N. J.
Published: April 2023

Prosociality and cooperation are key to what makes us human. But different cultural norms can shape our evolved capacities for interaction, leading to differences in social relations. How people share resources has been found to vary across cultures, particularly when stakes are high and when interactions are anonymous. Here we examine prosocial behavior among familiars (both kin and non-kin) in eight cultures on five continents, using video recordings of spontaneous requests for immediate, low-cost assistance (e.g., to pass a utensil). We find that, at the smallest scale of human interaction, prosocial behavior follows cross-culturally shared principles: requests for assistance are very frequent and mostly successful; and when people decline to give help, they normally give a reason. Although there are differences in the rates at which such requests are ignored, or require verbal acceptance, cultural variation is limited, pointing to a common foundation for everyday cooperation around the world.
Fronto-central resting-state 15-29 Hz transient beta events change with therapeutic transcranial magnetic stimulation for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder
Authors: Morris Alexander T. , Temereanca Simona , Zandvakili Amin , Thorpe Ryan , Sliva Danielle D. , Greenberg Benjamin D. , Carpenter Linda L. , Philip Noah S. , Jones Stephanie R.
Published: April 2023

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an established treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) and shows promise for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet effectiveness varies. Electroencephalography (EEG) can identify rTMS-associated brain changes. EEG oscillations are often examined using averaging approaches that mask finer time-scale dynamics. Recent advances show some brain oscillations emerge as transient increases in power, a phenomenon termed “Spectral Events,” and that event characteristics correspond with cognitive functions. We applied Spectral Event analyses to identify potential EEG biomarkers of effective rTMS treatment. Resting 8-electrode EEG was collected from 23 patients with MDD and PTSD before and after 5 Hz rTMS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Using an open-source toolbox (https://github.com/jonescompneurolab/SpectralEvents), we quantified event features and tested for treatment associated changes. Spectral Events in delta/theta (1–6 Hz), alpha (7–14 Hz), and beta (15–29 Hz) bands occurred in all patients. rTMS-induced improvement in comorbid MDD PTSD were associated with pre- to post-treatment changes in fronto-central electrode beta event features, including frontal beta event frequency spans and durations, and central beta event maxima power. Furthermore, frontal pre-treatment beta event duration correlated negatively with MDD symptom improvement. Beta events may provide new biomarkers of clinical response and advance the understanding of rTMS.
Adaptive data-driven selection of sequences of biological and cognitive markers in pre-clinical diagnosis of dementia
Authors: Wyss Patric , Ginsbourger David , Shou Haochang , Davatzikos Christos , Klöppel Stefan , Abdulkadir Ahmed
Published: April 2023

Effective clinical decision procedures must balance multiple competing objectives such as time-to-decision, acquisition costs, and accuracy. We describe and evaluate POSEIDON, a data-driven method for PrOspective SEquentIal DiagnOsis with Neutral zones to individualize clinical classifications. We evaluated the framework with an application in which the algorithm sequentially proposes to include cognitive, imaging, or molecular markers if a sufficiently more accurate prognosis of clinical decline to manifest Alzheimer’s disease is expected. Over a wide range of cost parameter data-driven tuning lead to quantitatively lower total cost compared to ad hoc fixed sets of measurements. The classification accuracy based on all longitudinal data from participants that was acquired over 4.8 years on average was 0.89. The sequential algorithm selected 14 percent of available measurements and concluded after an average follow-up time of 0.74 years at the expense of 0.05 lower accuracy. Sequential classifiers were competitive from a multi-objective perspective since they could dominate fixed sets of measurements by making fewer errors using less resources. Nevertheless, the trade-off of competing objectives depends on inherently subjective prescribed cost parameters. Thus, despite the effectiveness of the method, the implementation into consequential clinical applications will remain controversial and evolve around the choice of cost parameters.
Cognitive impairment in young adults with post COVID-19 syndrome
Authors: Herrera Elena , Pérez-Sánchez María del Carmen , San Miguel-Abella Romina , Barrenechea Arrate , Blanco Claudia , Solares Lucía , González Lucía , Iza Clara , Castro Isabel , Nicolás Elena , Sierra Damián , Suárez Paula , González-Nosti María
Published: April 2023

In this study, we aimed to examine different cognitive domains in a large sample of patients with post COVID-19 syndrome. Two hundred and fourteen patients, 85.04% women, ranged 26 to 64 years (mean = 47.48 years) took part in this investigation. Patients’ processing speed, attention, executive functions and various language modalities were examined online using a comprehensive task protocol designed for this research. Alteration in some of the tasks was observed in 85% of the participants, being the attention and executive functions tests the ones that show the highest percentage of patients with severe impairment. Positive correlations were observed between the age of the participants in almost all the tasks assessed, implying better performance and milder impairment with increasing age. In the comparisons of patients according to age, the oldest patients were found to maintain their cognitive functions relatively preserved, with only a mild impairment in attention and speed processing, while the youngest showed the most marked and heterogeneous cognitive impairment. These results confirm the subjective complaints in patients with post COVID-19 syndrome and, thanks to the large sample size, allow us to observe the effect of patient age on performance, an effect never reported before in patients with these characteristics.
Application of various machine learning techniques to predict obstructive sleep apnea syndrome severity
Authors: Han Hyewon , Oh Junhyoung
Published: April 2023

As the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) increases worldwide, the need for a new screening method that can compensate for the shortcomings of the traditional diagnostic method, polysomnography (PSG), is emerging. In this study, data from 4014 patients were used, and both supervised and unsupervised learning methods were used. Clustering was conducted with hierarchical agglomerative clustering, K-means, bisecting K-means algorithm, Gaussian mixture model, and feature engineering was carried out using both medically researched methods and machine learning techniques. For classification, we used gradient boost-based models such as XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost, and Random Forest to predict the severity of OSAS. The developed model showed high performance with 88%, 88%, and 91% of classification accuracy for three thresholds for the severity of OSAS: Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) $$\ge $$
≥
5, AHI $$\ge $$
≥
15, and AHI $$\ge $$
≥
30, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate significant evidence of sufficient potential to utilize machine learning in predicting OSAS severity.
Excessive flexed position of the femoral component causes abnormal kinematics and joint contact/ ligament forces in total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Nishitani Kohei , Kuriyama Shinichi , Nakamura Shinichiro , Song Young Dong , Morita Yugo , Ito Hiromu , Matsuda Shuichi
Published: April 2023

Poor clinical outcomes are reported in excessive flexion of the femoral component in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but their mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the biomechanical effect of flexion of the femoral component. Cruciate-substituting (CS) and posterior-stabilised (PS) TKA were reproduced in a computer simulation. The femoral component was then flexed from 0° to 10° with anterior reference, keeping the implant size and the extension gap. Knee kinematics, joint contact, and ligament forces were evaluated in deep-knee-bend activity. When the femoral component was flexed 10° in CS TKA, paradoxical anterior translation of the medial compartment was observed at mid-flexion. The PS implant was best stabilised with a 4° flexion model in mid-flexion range. The medial compartment contact force and the medial collateral ligament (MCL) force increased with the flexion of the implant. There were no remarkable changes in the patellofemoral contact force or quadriceps in either implant. In conclusions, excessive flexion of the femoral component yielded abnormal kinematics and contact/ligament forces. Avoiding excessive flexion and maintaining mild flexion of the femoral component would provide better kinematics and biomechanical effects in CS and PS TKA.
The first description of dermal armour in snakes
Authors: Frýdlová Petra , Janovská Veronika , Mrzílková Jana , Halašková Milada , Riegerová Markéta , Dudák Jan , Tymlová Veronika , Žemlička Jan , Zach Petr , Frynta Daniel
Published: April 2023

Osteoderms, also called dermal armour, often play a role in predator defence. The presence of osteoderms is highly irregularly distributed across the squamate phylogeny and they have not been found in snakes. In this study, we searched for candidate snake species that would benefit from such armour to protect their body, focusing primarily on fossorial species with defensive tail displays. We examined the tail morphology of 27 snake species from different families using micro-computed tomography (µCT) and micro- radiography. We discovered dermal armour in four species of sand boas (Erycidae) that also feature enlarged and highly modified caudal vertebrae. This is the first description of dermal armour in snakes. Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that osteoderms likely evolved once or multiple times in Erycidae. We have not found osteoderms in any other examined snake species. Nevertheless, similar structures are known from unrelated squamate clades, such as gerrhosaurids and geckos. This supports the idea of underlying deep developmental homology. We propose the hypothesis that osteoderms protect sand boas like the “brigandine armour” of medieval warriors. We interpret it as another component of the sand boas' rich defence strategy.
Prediction of respiratory complications by quantifying lung contusion volume using chest computed tomography in patients with chest trauma
Authors: Lee Na Hyeon , Kim Seon Hee , Seo Sang-hyup , Kim Byeong-Jun , Lee Chi-Seung , Kim Gil Hwan , Park Sung Jin , Kim Seon Hyun , Ryu Dong Yeon , Kim Ho Hyun , Lee Sang Bong , Park Chan Ik , Kim Jae Hun
Published: April 2023

Pulmonary contusion is an important risk factor for respiratory complications in trauma patients. Hence, we aimed to determine the relationship between the ratio of pulmonary contusion volume to the total lung volume and patient outcomes and the predictability of respiratory complications. We retrospectively included 73 patients with a pulmonary contusion on chest computed tomography (CT) from 800 patients with chest trauma admitted to our facility between January 2019 and January 2020. Chest injury severity was expressed as the ratio of pulmonary contusion volume to total lung volume by quantifying pulmonary contusion volume on chest CT. The cut-off value was 80%. Among the 73 patients with pulmonary contusion (77% males, mean age: 45.3 years), 28 patients had pneumonia, and five had acute respiratory distress syndrome. The number of patients in the severe risk group with > 20% of pulmonary contusion volume was 38, among whom 23 had pneumonia. For predicting pneumonia, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the ratio of pulmonary contusion volume was 0.85 (95% confidence interval 0.76–0.95, p = 0.008); the optimal threshold was 70.4%. Quantifying pulmonary contusion volume using initial CT enables identifying patients with chest trauma at high risk of delayed respiratory complications.
Low-cost biosorption of Fe(II) and Fe(III) from single and binary solutions using Ulva lactuca-derived cellulose nanocrystals-graphene oxide composite film
Authors: Al-Badaani Arwa A. , Hifney Awatief F. , Adam Mahmoud S. , Gomaa Mohamed
Published: April 2023

The marine algal biomass of Ulva lactuca was utilized for the extraction of cellulose and the development of cellulose nanocrystals/graphene oxide film. Cellulose nanocrystals with 50–150 nm were produced by H2SO4 hydrolysis of the algal cellulose. The adsorption efficiency of the nanocomposite film for Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions was successfully evaluated using Box-Behnken design. The maximum removal for Fe(II) (64.15%) could be attained at pH 5.13, adsorbent dosage 7.93 g L−1 and Fe(II) concentration 15.39 mg L−1, while the biosorption of Fe(III) was 69.92% at pH 5.0, adsorbent dosage 2 g L−1, and Fe(III) concentration 15.0 mg L−1. However, in the binary system, the removal efficiency of Fe(II) was enhanced to 95.48% at Fe(II):Fe(III) ratio of 1:1, while the Fe(III) removal was increased to 79.17% at ratio 1:2. The pseudo-second-order kinetics exhibited better fitting to the experimental results of Fe(II) and Fe(III) adsorption in both single and binary systems. The intra-particle diffusion was prominent during the biosorption, but the effect of the external mass transfer was significant. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Langmuir–Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms showed satisfactory fitting to the experimental data, but they differ in priority based on iron state and pH. The adsorption of Fe(II) in the presence of Fe(III) in a mixture was best represented by the extended Langmuir model, while the extended Langmuir–Freundlich model best fitted the adsorption of Fe(III). The FT-IR analysis indicated that physisorption through electrostatic interaction/complexation is the predominant mechanism for the adsorption of iron using the nanocomposite film.
Dual-branch hybrid network for lesion segmentation in gastric cancer images
Authors: He Dongzhi , Zhang Yuanyu , Huang Hui , Si Yuhang , Wang Zhiqiang , Li Yunqi
Published: April 2023

The effective segmentation of the lesion region in gastric cancer images can assist physicians in diagnosing and reducing the probability of misdiagnosis. The U-Net has been proven to provide segmentation results comparable to specialists in medical image segmentation because of its ability to extract high-level semantic information. However, it has limitations in obtaining global contextual information. On the other hand, the Transformer excels at modeling explicit long-range relations but cannot capture low-level detail information. Hence, this paper proposes a Dual-Branch Hybrid Network based on the fusion Transformer and U-Net to overcome both limitations. We propose the Deep Feature Aggregation Decoder (DFA) by aggregating only the in-depth features to obtain salient lesion features for both branches and reduce the complexity of the model. Besides, we design a Feature Fusion (FF) module utilizing the multi-modal fusion mechanisms to interact with independent features of various modalities and the linear Hadamard product to fuse the feature information extracted from both branches. Finally, the Transformer loss, the U-Net loss, and the fused loss are compared to the ground truth label for joint training. Experimental results show that our proposed method has an IOU of 81.3%, a Dice coefficient of 89.5%, and an Accuracy of 94.0%. These metrics demonstrate that our model outperforms the existing models in obtaining high-quality segmentation results, which has excellent potential for clinical analysis and diagnosis. The code and implementation details are available at Github, https://github.com/ZYY01/DBH-Net/.
Economic and racial disparities of the weather impact on air quality in Brazil
Authors: Requia Weeberb J. , Castelhano Francisco Jablinski
Published: April 2023

Several studies have quantified the air pollution exposure disparities across racial and income groups. However, there is still a lack of investigations assessing disparities related to the impacts of weather on air pollution, which could indicate target air pollution reduction strategies under different climate scenarios. Our study aims to address this gap by estimating the economic and racial disparities of the weather impact on air quality in Brazil between 2003 and 2018. First, we used a generalized additive approach to estimate the weather-related changes in PM2.5. This framework derived “weather penalty”, which a positive penalty suggests that an increase in PM2.5 was associated with long-term weather changes in the study period. Then, we estimated the population-weighted weather penalty for racial and income groups. Average penalty for the White population (the most-exposed group) was 31% higher than that of the Pardo population (the least-exposed group, mainly people of light brown skin color) in Brazil. In the stratification analysis by region, the Midwest and South were the regions where the black population was the most-exposed group. For the income group, our results indicate that the high-income population group was the most-exposed group in all analyses, including the national and the regional analyses. These findings are somewhat surprising, as previous studies have shown that minority and low-income populations tend to be more exposed to air pollution, than white and higher-income populations. However, our study suggests that disparities in exposure to air pollution may be more complex and nuanced than previously thought. Further research is needed to better understand the underlying drivers of these environmental disparities, and to develop targeted interventions to reduce exposures.
The neuropsychology of healthy aging: the positive context of the University of the Third Age during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Amanzio Martina , Cipriani Giuseppina Elena , Bartoli Massimo , Canessa Nicola , Borghesi Francesca , Chirico Alice , Cipresso Pietro
Published: April 2023

Older adults have been reported to have increased susceptibility to the adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as fatal outcomes, cognitive decline, and changes in physical and/or mental health. However, few studies have examined neuropsychological changes by comparing measurements before and during the pandemic in healthy older people. In addition, no longitudinal studies have examined whether older adults may have responded positively to the pandemic. We examined these issues through a 2-year neuropsychological study before and during the pandemic period. Results showed that scores before and during the pandemic were the same in memory and attention, whereas global cognitive, executive, and language functions improved. Participants also showed no longitudinal changes in depression, hypomania, and disinhibition, while apathy and, to a lesser extent, anxiety increased significantly. To examine possible signs of pandemic-related emotional (dys)regulation, subjects were shown images at follow-up that recalled the most dramatic lockdown phase while heart rate variability was recorded. Higher apathy was predicted by poorer global cognitive performance, increased anxiety, and emotional dysregulation as measured by a higher ratio of low-to-high frequency heart rate variability. Thus, preserved global cognition appears to play a protective role against the effects of pandemic-related anxiety and emotional dysregulation on apathy.
Vibrio cholerae in rural and urban Bangladesh, findings from hospital-based surveillance, 2000–2021
Authors: Das Rina , Nasrin Sabiha , Palit Parag , Sobi Rukaeya Amin , Sultana Al-Afroza , Khan Soroar Hossain , Haque Md. Ahshanul , Nuzhat Sharika , Ahmed Tahmeed , Faruque A. S. G. , Chisti Mohammod Jobayer
Published: April 2023

With more than 100,000 cases estimated each year, Bangladesh is one of the countries with the highest number of people at risk for cholera. Moreover, Bangladesh is formulating a countrywide cholera-control plan to satisfy the GTFCC (The Global Task Force on Cholera Control) Roadmap's goals. With a particular focus on cholera trends, variance in baseline and clinical characteristics of cholera cases, and trends in antibiotic susceptibility among clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae, we used data from facility-based surveillance systems from icddr,b’s Dhaka, and Matlab Hospitals from years 2000 to 2021. Female patients comprised 3,553 (43%) in urban and 1,099 (51.6%) in rural sites. Of the cases and most patients 5,236 (63.7%) in urban and 1,208 (56.7%) in the rural site were aged 15 years and more. More than 50% of the families belonged to the poor and lower-middle-class; in 2009 (24.4%) were in urban and in 1,791 (84.2%) were in rural sites. In the urban site, 2,446 (30%) of households used untreated drinking water, and 702 (9%) of families disposed of waste in their courtyard. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, the risk of cholera has significantly increased due to waste disposal in the courtyard and the boiling of water has a protective effect against cholera. Rotavirus (9.7%) was the most prevalent co-pathogen among the under-5 children in both sites. In urban sites, the percentage of V. cholerae along with co-existing ETEC and Campylobacter is changing in the last 20 years; Campylobacter (8.36%) and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) (7.15%) were the second and third most prevalent co-pathogens. Shigella (1.64%) was the second most common co-pathogen in the rural site. Azithromycin susceptibility increased slowly from 265 (8%) in 2006–2010 to 1485 (47.8%) in 2016–2021, and erythromycin susceptibility dropped substantially over 20 years period from 2,155 (98.4%) to 21 (0.9%). Tetracycline susceptibility decreased in the urban site from 2051 (45.9%) to 186 (4.2%) and ciprofloxacin susceptibility decreased from 2,581 (31.6%) to 1,360 (16.6%) until 2015, then increased 1,009 (22.6%) and 1,490 (18.2%) in 2016–2021, respectively. Since 2016, doxycycline showed 902 (100%) susceptibility. Clinicians need access to up-to-date information on antimicrobial susceptibility for treating hospitalized patients. To achieve the WHO-backed objective of eliminating cholera by 2030, the health systems need to be put under a proper surveillance system that may help to improve water and sanitation practices and deploy oral cholera vaccines strategically.
Unusual late-fall wildfire in a pre-Alpine Fagus sylvatica forest reduced fine roots in the shallower soil layer and shifted very fine-root growth to deeper soil depth
Authors: Montagnoli Antonio , Terzaghi Mattia , Miali Alessio , Chiatante Donato , Dumroese R. Kasten
Published: April 2023

After an unusual, late-fall wildfire in a European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest in the pre-Alps of northern Italy, the finest roots (0‒0.3 mm diameter) were generally the most responsive to fire, with the effect more pronounced at the shallowest soil depth. While roots 0.3‒1 mm in diameter had their length and biomass at the shallowest soil depth reduced by fire, fire stimulated more length and biomass at the deepest soil depth compared to the control. Fire elevated the total length of dead roots and their biomass immediately and this result persisted through the first spring, after which control and fire-impacted trees had similar fine root turnover. Our results unveiled the fine-root response to fire when subdivided by diameter size and soil depth, adding to the paucity of data concerning fire impacts on beech roots in a natural condition and providing the basis for understanding unusual fire occurrence on root traits. This study suggests that F. sylvatica trees can adapt to wildfire by plastically changing the distribution of fine-root growth, indicating a resilience mechanism to disturbance.
Parallel Multi-Deque Partition Dual-Deque Merge sorting algorithm using OpenMP
Authors: Ketchaya Sirilak , Rattanatranurak Apisit
Published: April 2023

Quicksort is an important algorithm that uses the divide and conquer concept, and it can be run to solve any problem. The performance of the algorithm can be improved by implementing this algorithm in parallel. In this paper, the parallel sorting algorithm named the Multi-Deque Partition Dual-Deque Merge Sorting algorithm (MPDMSort) is proposed and run on a shared memory system. This algorithm contains the Multi-Deque Partitioning phase, which is a block-based parallel partitioning algorithm, and the Dual-Deque Merging phase, which is a merging algorithm without compare-and-swap operations and sorts the small data with the sorting function of the standard template library. The OpenMP library, which is an application programming interface used to develop the parallel implementation of this algorithm, is implemented in MPDMSort. Two computers (one with an Intel Xeon Gold 6142 CPU and the other with an Intel Core i7-11700 CPU) running Ubuntu Linux are used in this experiment. The results show that MPDMSort is faster than parallel balanced quicksort and multiway merge sort on the large random distribution data. A speedup of 13.81$$\times$$
×
and speedup per thread of 0.86 can be obtained. Thus, developers can use these parallel partitioning and merging algorithms to improve the performance of related algorithms.
Outdoor THz fading modeling by means of gaussian and gamma mixture distributions
Authors: Papasotiriou Evangelos N. , Boulogeorgos Alexandros-Apostolos A. , Alexiou Angeliki
Published: April 2023

Terahertz (THz) band offers a vast amount of bandwidth and is envisioned to become a key enabler for a number of next generation wireless applications. In this direction, appropriate channel models, encapsulating the large and small-scale fading phenomena, need to be developed for both indoor and outdoor communications environments. The THz large-scale fading characteristics have been extensively investigated for both indoor and outdoor scenarios. The study of indoor THz small-scale fading has recently gained the momentum, while the small-scale fading of outdoor THz wireless channels has not yet been investigated. Motivated by this, this contribution introduces Gaussian mixture (GM) distribution as a suitable small-scale fading model for outdoor THz wireless links. In more detail, multiple outdoor THz wireless measurements recorded at different transceiver separation distance are fed to an expectation-maximization fitting algorithm, which returns the parameters of the GM probability density function. The fitting accuracy of the analytical GMs is evaluated in terms of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kullback-Leibler (KL) and root-mean-square-error (RMSE) tests. The results reveal that as the number of mixtures increases the resulting analytical GMs perform a better fit to the empirical distributions. In addition, the KL and RMSE metrics indicate that the increase of mixtures beyond a particular number result to no significant improvement of the fitting accuracy. Finally, following the same approach as in the case of GM, we examine the suitability of mixture Gamma to capture the small-scale fading characteristics of the outdoor THz channels.
Minimizing the makespan and carbon emissions in the green flexible job shop scheduling problem with learning effects
Authors: Li Zhi , Chen Yingjian
Published: April 2023

One of the most difficult challenges for modern manufacturing is reducing carbon emissions. This paper focuses on the green scheduling problem in a flexible job shop system, taking into account energy consumption and worker learning effects. With the objective of simultaneously minimizing the makespan and total carbon emissions, the green flexible job shop scheduling problem (GFJSP) is formulated as a mixed integer linear multiobjective optimization model. Then, the improved multiobjective sparrow search algorithm (IMOSSA) is developed to find the optimal solution. Finally, we conduct computational experiments, including a comparison between IMOSSA and the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II), Jaya and the mixed integer linear programming (MILP) solver of CPLEX. The results demonstrate that IMOSSA has high precision, good convergence and excellent performance in solving the GFJSP in low-carbon manufacturing systems.
Identification of disease propagation paths in two-layer networks
Authors: Li Guangjun , Liu Gang , Wu Xiaoqun , Pan Lei
Published: April 2023

To determine the path of disease in different types of networks, a new method based on compressive sensing is proposed for identifying the disease propagation paths in two-layer networks. If a limited amount of data from network nodes is collected, according to the principle of compressive sensing, it is feasible to accurately identify the path of disease propagation in a multilayer network. Experimental results show that the method can be applied to various networks, such as scale-free networks, small-world networks, and random networks. The impact of network density on identification accuracy is explored. The method could be used to aid in the prevention of disease spread.
Deciphering the mechanisms of Yinlan Tiaozhi capsule in treating hyperlipidemia by combining network pharmacology, molecular docking and experimental verification
Authors: Xiao Guanlin , Hu Zixuan , Jia Canchao , Yang Minjuan , Li Dongmei , Xu Aili , Jiang Jieyi , Chen Zhao , Li Yangxue , Li Sumei , Chen Weitao , Zhang Jingnian , Bi Xiaoli
Published: April 2023

Yinlan Tiaozhi capsule (YLTZC) has been widely used to treat hyperlipidemia (HLP). However, its material basis and underlying pharmacological effects remain unclean. The current study aimed to explore the mechanisms involved in the treatment of YLTZC on HLP based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental verification. Firstly, UPLC-Q-TOF–MS/MS was used to comprehensively analyze and identify the chemical constituents in YLTZC. A total of 66 compounds, mainly including flavonoids, saponins, coumarins, lactones, organic acids, and limonin were characterized and classified. Simultaneously, the mass fragmentation pattern of different types of representative compounds was further explored. By network pharmacology analysis, naringenin and ferulic acid may be the core constituents. The 52 potential targets of YLTZC, including ALB, IL-6, TNF, and VEGFA, were considered potential therapeutic targets. Molecular docking results showed that the core active constituents of YLTZC (naringenin and ferulic acid) have a strong affinity with the core targets of HLP. Lastly, animal experiments confirmed that naringenin and ferulic acid significantly upregulated the mRNA expression of ALB and downregulated the mRNA expression of IL-6, TNF, and VEGFA. In sum, the constituents of YLTZC, such as naringenin and ferulic acid, might treat HLP by regulating the mechanism of angiogenesis and inhibiting inflammatory responses. Furthermore, our data fills the gap in the material basis of YLTZC.
Loss of Dead end1 induces testicular teratomas from primordial germ cells that failed to undergo sexual differentiation in embryonic testes
Authors: Imai Atsuki , Matsuda Kazuya , Niimi Yuki , Suzuki Atsushi
Published: April 2023

Spontaneous testicular teratomas (STTs) are tumours comprising a diverse array of cell and tissue types, which are derived from pluripotent stem-like cells called embryonal carcinoma cells (ECCs). Although mouse ECCs originate from primordial germ cells (PGCs) in embryonic testes, the molecular basis underlying ECC development remains unclear. This study shows that the conditional deletion of mouse Dead end1 (Dnd1) from migrating PGCs leads to STT development. In Dnd1-conditional knockout (Dnd1-cKO) embryos, PGCs colonise the embryonic testes but fail to undergo sexual differentiation; subsequently, ECCs develop from a portion of the PGCs. Transcriptomic analyses reveal that PGCs not only fail to undergo sexual differentiation but are also prone to transformation into ECCs by upregulating the expression of marker genes for primed pluripotency in the testes of Dnd1-cKO embryos. Thus, our results clarify the role of Dnd1 in developing STTs and developmental process of ECC from PGC, providing novel insights into pathogenic mechanisms of STTs.
A framework for focal and connectomic mapping of transiently disrupted brain function
Authors: Elmalem Michael S. , Moody Hanna , Ruffle James K. , de Schotten Michel Thiebaut , Haggard Patrick , Diehl Beate , Nachev Parashkev , Jha Ashwani
Published: April 2023

The distributed nature of the neural substrate, and the difficulty of establishing necessity from correlative data, combine to render the mapping of brain function a far harder task than it seems. Methods capable of combining connective anatomical information with focal disruption of function are needed to disambiguate local from global neural dependence, and critical from merely coincidental activity. Here we present a comprehensive framework for focal and connective spatial inference based on sparse disruptive data, and demonstrate its application in the context of transient direct electrical stimulation of the human medial frontal wall during the pre-surgical evaluation of patients with focal epilepsy. Our framework formalizes voxel-wise mass-univariate inference on sparsely sampled data within the statistical parametric mapping framework, encompassing the analysis of distributed maps defined by any criterion of connectivity. Applied to the medial frontal wall, this transient dysconnectome approach reveals marked discrepancies between local and distributed associations of major categories of motor and sensory behaviour, revealing differentiation by remote connectivity to which purely local analysis is blind. Our framework enables disruptive mapping of the human brain based on sparsely sampled data with minimal spatial assumptions, good statistical efficiency, flexible model formulation, and explicit comparison of local and distributed effects.
Poly(ADP-ribose)-binding protein RCD1 is a plant PARylation reader regulated by Photoregulatory Protein Kinases
Authors: Vainonen Julia P. , Gossens Richard , Krasensky-Wrzaczek Julia , De Masi Raffaella , Danciu Iulia , Puukko Tuomas , Battchikova Natalia , Jonak Claudia , Wirthmueller Lennart , Wrzaczek Michael , Shapiguzov Alexey , Kangasjärvi Jaakko
Published: April 2023

Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) is a reversible post-translational protein modification that has profound regulatory functions in metabolism, development and immunity, and is conserved throughout the eukaryotic lineage. Contrary to metazoa, many components and mechanistic details of PARylation have remained unidentified in plants. Here we present the transcriptional co-regulator RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1) as a plant PAR-reader. RCD1 is a multidomain protein with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) separating its domains. We have reported earlier that RCD1 regulates plant development and stress-tolerance by interacting with numerous transcription factors (TFs) through its C-terminal RST domain. This study suggests that the N-terminal WWE and PARP-like domains, as well as the connecting IDR play an important regulatory role for RCD1 function. We show that RCD1 binds PAR in vitro via its WWE domain and that PAR-binding determines RCD1 localization to nuclear bodies (NBs) in vivo. Additionally, we found that RCD1 function and stability is controlled by Photoregulatory Protein Kinases (PPKs). PPKs localize with RCD1 in NBs and phosphorylate RCD1 at multiple sites affecting its stability. This work proposes a mechanism for negative transcriptional regulation in plants, in which RCD1 localizes to NBs, binds TFs with its RST domain and is degraded after phosphorylation by PPKs.
CryoEM and stability analysis of virus-like particles of potyvirus and ipomovirus infecting a common host
Authors: Chase Ornela , Javed Abid , Byrne Matthew J. , Thuenemann Eva C. , Lomonossoff George P. , Ranson Neil A. , López-Moya Juan José
Published: April 2023

Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and Sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV) are members of the genera Potyvirus and Ipomovirus, family Potyviridae, sharing Ipomoea batatas as common host, but transmitted, respectively, by aphids and whiteflies. Virions of family members consist of flexuous rods with multiple copies of a single coat protein (CP) surrounding the RNA genome. Here we report the generation of virus-like particles (VLPs) by transient expression of the CPs of SPFMV and SPMMV in the presence of a replicating RNA in Nicotiana benthamiana. Analysis of the purified VLPs by cryo-electron microscopy, gave structures with resolutions of 2.6 and 3.0 Å, respectively, showing a similar left-handed helical arrangement of 8.8 CP subunits per turn with the C-terminus at the inner surface and a binding pocket for the encapsidated ssRNA. Despite their similar architecture, thermal stability studies reveal that SPMMV VLPs are more stable than those of SPFMV.
Principal neuron diversity in the murine lateral superior olive supports multiple sound localization strategies and segregation of information in higher processing centers
Authors: Haragopal Hariprakash , Winters Bradley D.
Published: April 2023

Principal neurons (PNs) of the lateral superior olive nucleus (LSO) in the brainstem of mammals compare information between the two ears and enable sound localization on the horizontal plane. The classical view of the LSO is that it extracts ongoing interaural level differences (ILDs). Although it has been known for some time that LSO PNs have intrinsic relative timing sensitivity, recent reports further challenge conventional thinking, suggesting the major function of the LSO is detection of interaural time differences (ITDs). LSO PNs include inhibitory (glycinergic) and excitatory (glutamatergic) neurons which differ in their projection patterns to higher processing centers. Despite these distinctions, intrinsic property differences between LSO PN types have not been explored. The intrinsic cellular properties of LSO PNs are fundamental to how they process and encode information, and ILD/ITD extraction places disparate demands on neuronal properties. Here we examine the ex vivo electrophysiology and cell morphology of inhibitory and excitatory LSO PNs in mice. Although overlapping, properties of inhibitory LSO PNs favor time coding functions while those of excitatory LSO PNs favor integrative level coding. Inhibitory and excitatory LSO PNs exhibit different activation thresholds, potentially providing further means to segregate information in higher processing centers. Near activation threshold, which may be physiologically similar to the sensitive transition point in sound source location for LSO, all LSO PNs exhibit single-spike onset responses that can provide optimal time encoding ability. As stimulus intensity increases, LSO PN firing patterns diverge into onset-burst cells, which can continue to encode timing effectively regardless of stimulus duration, and multi-spiking cells, which can provide robust individually integrable level information. This bimodal response pattern may produce a multi-functional LSO which can encode timing with maximum sensitivity and respond effectively to a wide range of sound durations and relative levels.
Neuronopathic Gaucher disease models reveal defects in cell growth promoted by Hippo pathway activation
Authors: Messelodi Daria , Strocchi Silvia , Bertuccio Salvatore Nicola , Baden Pascale , Indio Valentina , Giorgi Federico M. , Taddia Alberto , Serravalle Salvatore , Valente Sabrina , di Fonzo Alessio , Frattini Emanuele , Bernardoni Roberto , Pession Annalisa , Grifoni Daniela , Deleidi Michela , Astolfi Annalisa , Pession Andrea
Published: April 2023

Gaucher Disease (GD), the most common lysosomal disorder, arises from mutations in the GBA1 gene and is characterized by a wide spectrum of phenotypes, ranging from mild hematological and visceral involvement to severe neurological disease. Neuronopathic patients display dramatic neuronal loss and increased neuroinflammation, whose molecular basis are still unclear. Using a combination of Drosophila dGBA1b loss-of-function models and GD patient-derived iPSCs differentiated towards neuronal precursors and mature neurons we showed that different GD- tissues and neuronal cells display an impairment of growth mechanisms with an increased cell death and reduced proliferation. These phenotypes are coupled with the downregulation of several Hippo transcriptional targets, mainly involved in cells and tissue growth, and YAP exclusion from nuclei. Interestingly, Hippo knock-down in the GBA-KO flies rescues the proliferative defect, suggesting that targeting the Hippo pathway can be a promising therapeutic approach to neuronopathic GD.
Atmospheric trends explained by changes in frequency of short-term circulation patterns
Authors: Rudeva Irina , Boschat Ghyslaine , Lucas Chris , Ashcroft Linden , Pepler Acacia , Hope Pandora
Published: April 2023

The circulation of the atmosphere is subject to natural and anthropogenic forcings that alter the energy balance of the climate system. In each hemisphere the zonally averaged atmospheric circulation can be represented by a single overturning cell if viewed in isentropic coordinates, highlighting the connections between tropics and extratropics. Here we present clusters of the meridional atmospheric circulation based on reanalysis data. Our results reveal preferred global circulation regimes with two clusters in each solstice season. These clusters show strong trends in their occurrence in the last two decades of the 20th century coincident with the depletion of the low-stratospheric ozone over Antarctica. We hypothesize that a change in the occurrence of short-term circulation regimes may lead to some long-term atmospheric trends. Finally, we show a strong coupling between the atmospheric circulation in boreal and austral winters and propose a mechanism linking anomalies in both seasons to the stratospheric ozone that requires confirmation with modelling experiments.