bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diterpenoid Caesalmin C Delays Aβ-Induced Paralysis Symptoms via the DAF-16 Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Zhang Zong-Ping , Bai Xue , Cui Wen-Bo , Chen Xiao-Han , Liu Xu , Zhi De-Juan , Zhang Zhan-Xin , Fei Dong-Qing , Wang Dong-Sheng
Published: June 2022

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the world. However, there is no effective drug to cure it. Caesalmin C is a cassane-type diterpenoid abundant in Caesalpinia bonduc (Linn.) Roxb. In this study, we investigated the effect of caesalmin C on Aβ-induced toxicity and possible mechanisms in the transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans AD model. Our results showed that caesalmin C significantly alleviated the Aβ-induced paralysis phenotype in transgenic CL4176 strain C. elegans. Caesalmin C dramatically reduced the content of Aβ monomers, oligomers, and deposited spots in AD C. elegans. In addition, mRNA levels of sod-3, gst-4, and rpt-3 were up-regulated, and mRNA levels of ace-1 were down-regulated in nematodes treated with caesalmin C. The results of the RNAi assay showed that the inhibitory effect of caesalmin C on the nematode paralysis phenotype required the DAF-16 signaling pathway, but not SKN-1 and HSF-1. Further evidence suggested that caesalmin C may also have the effect of inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and upregulating proteasome activity. These findings suggest that caesalmin C delays the progression of AD in C. elegans via the DAF-16 signaling pathway and that it could be developed into a promising medication to treat AD.
Generation and Characterization of a Tumor Stromal Microenvironment and Analysis of Its Interplay with Breast Cancer Cells: An In Vitro Model to Study Breast Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Inactivation
Authors: Romano Veronica , Ruocco Maria Rosaria , Carotenuto Pietro , Barbato Anna , Venuta Alessandro , Acampora Vittoria , De Lella Sabrina , Vigliar Elena , Iaccarino Antonino , Troncone Giancarlo , Calì Gaetano , Insabato Luigi , Russo Daniela , Franco Brunella , Masone Stefania , Velotti Nunzio , Accurso Antonello , Pellegrino Tommaso , Fiume Giuseppe , Belviso Immacolata , Montagnani Stefania , Avagliano Angelica , Arcucci Alessandro
Published: June 2022

Breast cancer-associated fibroblasts (BCAFs), the most abundant non-cancer stromal cells of the breast tumor microenvironment (TME), dramatically sustain breast cancer (BC) progression by interacting with BC cells. BCAFs, as well as myofibroblasts, display an up regulation of activation and inflammation markers represented by α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). BCAF aggregates have been identified in the peripheral blood of metastatic BC patients. We generated an in vitro stromal model consisting of human primary BCAFs grown as monolayers or 3D cell aggregates, namely spheroids and reverted BCAFs, obtained from BCAF spheroids reverted to 2D cell adhesion growth after 216 h of 3D culture. We firstly evaluated the state of activation and inflammation and the mesenchymal status of the BCAF monolayers, BCAF spheroids and reverted BCAFs. Then, we analyzed the MCF-7 cell viability and migration following treatment with conditioned media from the different BCAF cultures. After 216 h of 3D culture, the BCAFs acquired an inactivated phenotype, associated with a significant reduction in α-SMA and COX-2 protein expression. The deactivation of the BCAF spheroids at 216 h was further confirmed by the cytostatic effect exerted by their conditioned medium on MCF-7 cells. Interestingly, the reverted BCAFs also retained a less activated phenotype as indicated by α-SMA protein expression reduction. Furthermore, the reverted BCAFs exhibited a reduced pro-tumor phenotype as indicated by the anti-migratory effect exerted by their conditioned medium on MCF-7 cells. The deactivation of BCAFs without drug treatment is possible and leads to a reduced capability of BCAFs to sustain BC progression in vitro. Consequently, this study could be a starting point to develop new therapeutic strategies targeting BCAFs and their interactions with cancer cells.
Therapeutic Effects of Insulin-Producing Human Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Type 1 Diabetes Mouse Model
Authors: Park Yu Mi , Yang Chang Mo , Cho Hee Yeon
Published: June 2022

In patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), compromised pancreatic β-cell functions are compensated through daily insulin injections or the transplantation of pancreatic tissue or islet cells. However, both approaches are associated with specific challenges. The transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represents a potential alternative, as MSCs have tissue-forming capacity and can be isolated from various tissues. The human umbilical cord (hUC) is a good source of freely available MSCs, which can be collected through pain-free, non-invasive methods subject to minimal ethical concerns. We sought to develop a method for the in vitro generation of insulin-producing cells (IPCs) using MSCs. We examined the potential therapeutic uses and efficacy of IPCs generated from hUC-derived MSCs (hUC-IPCs) and human adipose tissue (hAD)-derived MSCs (hAD-IPCs) through in vitro experiments and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced C57BL/6 T1D mouse models. We discovered that compared to hAD-IPCs, hUC-IPCs exhibited a superior insulin secretion capacity. Therefore, hUC-IPCs were selected as candidates for T1D cell therapy in mice. Fasting glucose and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test levels were lower in hUC-IPC-transplanted mice than in T1D control mice and hAD-IPC-transplanted mice. Our findings support the potential use of MSCs for the treatment of T1D.
The Effectiveness of Robot-Enacted Messages to Reduce the Consumption of High-Sugar Energy Drinks
Authors: Kharub Isha , Lwin Michael , Khan Aila , Mubin Omar , Shahid Suleman
Published: June 2022

This exploratory study examines the effectiveness of social robots’ ability to deliver advertising messages using different “appeals” in a business environment. Specifically, it explores the use of three types of message appeals in a human-robot interaction scenario: guilt, humour and non-emotional. The study extends past research in advertising by exploring whether messages communicated by social robots can impact consumers’ behaviour. Using an experimental research design, the emotional-themed messages focus on the health-related properties of two fictitious energy drink brands. The findings show mixed results for humour and guilt messages. When the robot delivered a promotion message using humour, participants perceived it as being less manipulative. Participants who were exposed to humourous messages also demonstrated a significantly greater intent for future purchase decisions. However, guilt messages were more likely to persuade consumers to change their brand selection. This study contributes to the literature as it provides empirical evidence on the social robots’ ability to deliver different advertising messages. It has practical implications for businesses as a growing number seek to employ humanoids to promote their services.
Principal Component Analysis and Related Methods for Investigating the Dynamics of Biological Macromolecules
Authors: Kitao Akio
Published: June 2022

Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimensionalities of high-dimensional datasets in a variety of research areas. For example, biological macromolecules, such as proteins, exhibit many degrees of freedom, allowing them to adopt intricate structures and exhibit complex functions by undergoing large conformational changes. Therefore, molecular simulations of and experiments on proteins generate a large number of structure variations in high-dimensional space. PCA and many PCA-related methods have been developed to extract key features from such structural data, and these approaches have been widely applied for over 30 years to elucidate macromolecular dynamics. This review mainly focuses on the methodological aspects of PCA and related methods and their applications for investigating protein dynamics.
Torsional Abnormality: The Forgotten Issue in the Diagnosis and Treatment of the Anterior Knee Pain Patient
Authors: Sanchis-Alfonso Vicente , Teitge Robert A.
Published: June 2022

Currently, no one doubts that the vast majority of anterior knee pain (AKP) cases do not need surgery [...]
Serum IgG4 Concentration Is a Potential Predictive Biomarker in Glucocorticoid Treatment for Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis
Authors: Mukai Shoichiro , Sakamoto Naotaka , Kakinoki Hiroaki , Shibuya Tadamasa , Moriya Ryosuke , Nishihara Kiyoaki , Noguchi Mitsuru , Shin Toshitaka , Fujimoto Naohiro , Igawa Tsukasa , Ishii Tatsu , Haga Nobuhiro , Enokida Hideki , Eto Masatoshi , Kamba Tomomi , Sakai Hideki , Saito Seiichi , Terada Naoki , Kamoto Toshiyuki
Published: June 2022

Objectives: To evaluate the management and outcome of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (iRPF) in Japan, and to identify its clinical biomarker. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 129 patients with iRPF treated between January 2008 and May 2018 at 12 university and related hospitals. Patients treated with glucocorticoid were analyzed to identify a predictive biomarker. These patients were classified into three groups according to overall effectiveness (no change: NC, complete response: CR, and partial response groups: PR), and each parameter was compared statistically. Results: Male–female ratio was 5:1, and median age at diagnosis was 69 (33–86) years. Smoking history was reported in 59.6% of the patients. As treatment, 95 patients received glucocorticoid therapy with an overall response rate of 84%. As a result, serum concentration of IgG4 was significantly decreased in NC group compared with the other two groups (56.6 mg/dL vs. 255 mg/dL, 206 mg/dL, p = 0.0059 and 0.0078). ROC analysis was performed between the nonresponder (NC) and responder groups (CR + PR) to identify the cut-off value of serum IgG4 as a predictive marker. As a result, AUC of 0.793 was confirmed. Conclusions: Pre-treatment serum IgG4 concentration may have potential as a predictive biomarker of steroid treatment.
LVAD as a Bridge to Remission from Advanced Heart Failure: Current Data and Opportunities for Improvement
Authors: Kyriakopoulos Christos P. , Kapelios Chris J. , Stauder Elizabeth L. , Taleb Iosif , Hamouche Rana , Sideris Konstantinos , Koliopoulou Antigone G. , Bonios Michael J. , Drakos Stavros G.
Published: June 2022

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are an established treatment modality for advanced heart failure (HF). It has been shown that through volume and pressure unloading they can lead to significant functional and structural cardiac improvement, allowing LVAD support withdrawal in a subset of patients. In the first part of this review, we discuss the historical background, current evidence on the incidence and assessment of LVAD-mediated cardiac recovery, and out-comes including quality of life after LVAD support withdrawal. In the second part, we discuss current and future opportunities to promote LVAD-mediated reverse remodeling and improve our pathophysiological understanding of HF and recovery for the benefit of the greater HF population.
Effectiveness and Safety of High-Dose Dual Therapy: Results of the European Registry on the Management of Helicobacterpylori Infection (Hp-EuReg)
Authors: Fernández-Salazar Luis , Campillo Ana , Rodrigo Luis , Pérez-Aisa Ángeles , González-Santiago Jesús , Segarra Ortega Xavier , Denkovski Maja , Brglez Jurecic Natasa , Bujanda Luis , Gómez Rodríguez Blas , Ortuño Juan , Georgopoulos Sotirios , Jonaitis Laimas , Puig Ignasi , Nyssen Olga P. , Megraud Francis , O’Morain Colm , Gisbert Javier P.
Published: June 2022

Background: Randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses, primarily from Asian countries, have reported good effectiveness with high-dose dual therapy (HDDT) including a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and amoxicillin when prescribed as H. pylori first-line or rescue treatment. However, combining amoxicillin with PPIs in the 1990s in several European countries yielded suboptimal results. Methods: An international, multicenter, prospective non-interventional Registry (Hp-EuReg) aimed to evaluate the decisions and outcomes of H. pylori management by European gastroenterologists. All infected adult cases treated with HDDT were registered at e-CRF AEG-REDCap platform until June 2021. Sixty patients were prescribed with HDDT (98% compliance), 19 of them received a first-line therapy and 41 a rescue treatment (second- to sixth-line). Results: Overall HDDT effectiveness was 52% (per-protocol) and 51% (modified intention-to-treat). First-line and rescue treatment lines were equally effective, but the effectiveness was worse when patients had previously received metronidazole, tetracycline, or rifabutin. Adding bismuth to HDDT in rescue treatment did not yield better results. The incidence of adverse events was 30%, diarrhea being the most common (20% of patients); no serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion: Although HDDT is safe and has good compliance, it is not a good option in European first-line or rescue H. pylori treatment, even when adding bismuth.
Sjögren’s Syndrome-Related Organs Fibrosis: Hypotheses and Realities
Authors: Sisto Margherita , Ribatti Domenico , Lisi Sabrina
Published: June 2022

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by lymphoplasmacytic infiltration of salivary glands (SGs) and lacrimal glands, causing glandular damage. The disease shows a combination of dryness symptoms found in the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and vagina, representing a systemic disease. Recent advances link chronic inflammation with SG fibrosis, based on a molecular mechanism pointing to the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). The continued activation of inflammatory-dependent fibrosis is highly detrimental and a common final pathway of numerous disease states. The important question of whether and how fibrosis contributes to SS pathogenesis is currently intensely debated. Here, we collect the recent findings on EMT-dependent fibrosis in SS SGs and explore clinical evidence of multi-organ fibrosis in SS to highlight potential avenues for therapeutic investigation.
Non-STEMI vs. STEMI Cardiogenic Shock: Clinical Profile and Long-Term Outcomes
Authors: Martínez María José , Rueda Ferran , Labata Carlos , Oliveras Teresa , Montero Santiago , Ferrer Marc , El Ouaddi Nabil , Serra Jordi , Lupón Josep , Bayés-Genís Antoni , García-García Cosme
Published: June 2022

Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a severe complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In AMI-CS, the ST segment deviation on ECG may be elevated (STEMI-CS) or non-elevated (NSTEMI-CS), which may influence prognosis. Our aim was to analyze the clinical profile, acute-phase prognosis, and long-term outcomes of CS relative to the ST pattern on admission. In a prospective registry of 4647 AMI patients admitted to the intensive cardiac care unit of a university hospital between 2010 and 2019, we compared the clinical characteristics, 30-days case fatality, and long-term outcomes of AMI-CS, based on the presence of ST-segment deviation. AMI-CS developed in 239 (5.1%) patients (26.4% women): 190 (79.5%) STEMI-CS and 49 (20.5%) NSTEMI-CS. The mean age was 69.7 years. The STEMI-CS patients had larger infarcts and more mechanical complications than the NSTEMI-CS patients. The NSTEMI-CS patients had a greater prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, previous cardiovascular comorbidities, three-vessel disease, and left main disease than the STEMI-CS patients. The STEMI-CS patients had higher 30-day mortality than the NSTEMI-CS (59.5% vs. 36.7%; p = 0.004), even after multivariable adjustment (HR 1.91; 95% CI 1.16–3.14), but no differences in mortality were observed at 3 years. In conclusion, the 30-day case-fatality is higher in STEMI-CS, but the long-term outcome is similar in both groups.
Investigation of a Non-Equilibrium Energy Model for Resin Transfer Molding Simulations
Authors: Sherratt Anthony , Straatman Anthony G. , DeGroot Christopher T. , Henning Frank
Published: June 2022

Due to the high design freedom and weight specific properties carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) offer significant potential in light-weighting applications, specifically in the automotive sector. The demand for medium to high production quantities with consistent material properties has paved the way for the use of high-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM). Due to high experimental cost and number of the operational parameters the development of numerical simulations to predict part quality is growing. Despite this, erroneous assumptions and simplifications limit the application of HP-RTM models, specifically with regards to the energy models used to model the heat transfer occurring during infiltration. The current work investigates the operating parameters at which the thermal non-equilibrium energy model’s increased computational cost and complexity is worth added accuracy. It was found that in nearly all cases, using the thermal non-equilibrium is required to obtain an accurate prediction of the temperature development and resulting final properties within the mold after the infiltration process.
Nanostructuration Impact on the Basic Properties of the Materials: Novel Composite Carbon Nanotubes on a Copper Surface
Authors: Kamanina Natalia , Toikka Andrei , Kvashnin Dmitry
Published: June 2022

Copper is important material that is widely applicable in the electric and electronic industries. Nevertheless, in some circumstances, it is highly desirable to improve its properties. Therefore, combination of materials of various composition and properties attracts scientific and industrial society. Here, the composite based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a Cu surface was fabricated using laser-oriented deposition (LOD) technique and studied. Examination of the novel composite showed that its reflectance was decreased, the microhardness was increased, and wetting of the surface exhibited higher hydrophobicity. A molecular dynamic simulation showed that the penetration depth increases with nanotube diameter decrease and growth of the acceleration rate. Topography observations made via AFM images revealed a dense thin film with an almost-homogeneous distribution of CNTs, with several locations with irregular thickness addressing the different lengths of CNTs.
Promoting the Growth of Haematococcus lacustris under High Light Intensity through the Combination of Light/Dark Cycle and Light Color
Authors: Liu Lu , Ying Kezhen , Wu Kebi , Tang Si , Zhou Jin , Cai Zhonghua
Published: June 2022

The unicellular microalgae Haematococcus lacustris is an astaxanthin-rich organism that is widely used for commercial cultivation, but its main limitation is its relatively low biomass yield. It is widely accepted that the use of appropriate high light intensity could promote algal growth; however, H. lacustris is very sensitive to high-intensity light, and its growth can be readily arrested by inappropriate illumination. To exploit the growth-promoting benefit of higher light intensities while avoiding growth arrestment, we examined the growth of H. lacustris under high light intensities using various light profiles, including different light colors and light/dark cycles. The results show that light color treatments could not alleviate cellular stress under high light intensities; however, it was interesting to find that red light was favored the most by cells out of all the colors. In terms of the light/dark cycle, the 2/2 h light/dark cycle treatment was shown to lead to the highest specific growth rate, which was 46% higher than that achieved in the control treatment (18 μmol/m2·s light intensity, white light). Therefore, in further experiments, the 2/2 h light/dark cycle with red-light treatment was examined. The results show that this combination enabled a significantly higher specific growth rate, which was 66.5% higher than that achieved in the control treatment (18 μmol/m2·s light intensity, white light). These findings offer new strategies for the optimization of illumination for the growth of H. lacustris and lay the foundations for more reasonable lighting utilization for the cultivation of commercially valuable algal species.
Ship Pitch Prediction Based on Bi-ConvLSTM-CA Model
Authors: Fu Huixuan , Gu Zhiqiang , Wang Yuchao
Published: June 2022

When a ship is sailing at sea, its pitch angle will be affected by ship motions such as turning angle, relative wind speed, relative wind direction, velocity in surge and velocity in sway of the ship. Due to the randomness of ship motion attitude and the difficulty of capturing the motion rules, traditional machine learning models, statistical learning models and single deep learning models cannot accurately capture the correlation information between multiple variables, which results in poor prediction accuracy. To solve this problem, the bidirectional convolutional long short-term memory neural network (Bi-ConvLSTM) and channel attention (CA) for ship pitch prediction are used to build a Bi-ConvLSTM-CA model in this paper. The Bi-ConvLSTM-CA prediction model can simultaneously extract the time information and spatial information of the ship motion data, and use the channel attention mechanism to process the output of different time steps to obtain the corresponding weight of each channel. Using the weights to do dot product with the output of Bi-ConvLSTM, the resulting attention mechanism output is processed to produce predicted value by the fully connected layer. Compared with other models, the RMSE index of Bi-ConvLSTM-CA model decreased by at least 28.20%; the MAPE index decreased by at least 29.39%; the MAE index decreased by at least 22.68%. The experimental results of real ship data show that the proposed Bi-ConvLSTM-CA model has a significant reduction in mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean square error (MSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) compared with other advanced models, which verifies the effectiveness of the Bi-ConvLSTM-CA model in predicting ship pitch angle.
A Double-Blind Randomized Trial to Investigate Mechanisms of Antidepressant-Related Dysfunctional Arousal in Depressed or Anxious Youth at Familial Risk for Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Honeycutt Duncan , DelBello Melissa , Strawn Jeffrey , Ramsey Laura , Patino Luis , Hinman Kyle , Welge Jeffrey , Miklowitz David , Jo Booil , Blom Thomas , Bruns Kaitlyn , Hamill Skoch Sarah , Starace Nicole , Tallman Maxwell , Singh Manpreet
Published: June 2022

Antidepressants are standardly used to treat moderate to severe symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in youth but may also be associated with rare but serious psychiatric adverse events such as irritability, agitation, aggression, or suicidal ideation. Adverse events are especially common in youth with a family history of bipolar disorder (BD) who are at heightened risk for dysfunction in neurobiological systems that regulate emotion and arousal. To further understand this phenomenon, this study will examine (a) baseline risk factors associated with dysfunctional arousal in a sample of youth at high-risk for BD treated with or without an antidepressant, (b) whether antidepressant-related changes in arousal are mediated by changes in prefrontal-limbic circuitry, and (c) whether pharmacogenetic factors influence antidepressant-related changes in arousal. High-risk youth (aged 12–17 years with moderate to severe depressive and/or anxiety symptoms and at least one first-degree relative with bipolar I disorder) will be randomized to receive psychotherapy plus escitalopram or psychotherapy plus placebo. Neuroimaging and behavioral measures of arousal will be collected prior to randomization and at 4 weeks. Samples for pharmacogenetic analysis (serum escitalopram concentration, CYP2C19 metabolizer phenotype, and HTR2A and SLC6A4 genotypes) will be collected at 8 weeks. Youth will be followed for up to 16 weeks to assess change in arousal measures.
Researching Mitigation of Alcohol Binge Drinking in Polydrug Abuse: KCNK13 and RASGRF2 Gene(s) Risk Polymorphisms Coupled with Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (GARS) Guiding Precision Pro-Dopamine Regulation
Authors: Blum Kenneth , Brodie Mark , Pandey Subhash , Cadet Jean , Gupta Ashim , Elman Igor , Thanos Panayotis , Gondre-Lewis Marjorie , Baron David , Kazmi Shan , Bowirrat Abdalla , Febo Marcelo , Badgaiyan Rajendra , Braverman Eric , Dennen Catherine , Gold Mark
Published: June 2022

Excessive alcohol intake, e.g., binge drinking, is a serious and mounting public health problem in the United States and throughout the world. Hence the need for novel insights into the underlying neurobiology that may help improve prevention and therapeutic strategies. Therefore, our group employed a darkness-induced alcohol intake protocol to define the reward deficiency domains of alcohol and other substance use disorders in terms of reward pathways’ reduced dopamine signaling and its restoration via specifically-designed therapeutic compounds. It has been determined that KCNK13 and RASGRF2 genes, respectively, code for potassium two pore domain channel subfamily K member 13 and Ras-specific guanine nucleotide-releasing factor 2, and both genes have important dopamine-related functions pertaining to alcohol binge drinking. We present a hypothesis that identification of KCNK13 and RASGRF2 genes’ risk polymorphism, coupled with genetic addiction risk score (GARS)-guided precision pro-dopamine regulation, will mitigate binge alcohol drinking. Accordingly, we review published reports on the benefits of this unique approach and provide data on favorable outcomes for both binge-drinking animals and drunk drivers, including reductions in alcohol intake and prevention of relapse to drinking behavior. Since driving under the influence of alcohol often leads to incarceration rather than rehabilitation, there is converging evidence to support the utilization of GARS with or without KCNK13 and RASGRF2 risk polymorphism in the legal arena, whereby the argument that “determinism” overrides the “free will” account may be a plausible defense strategy. Obviously, this type of research is tantamount to helping resolve a major problem related to polydrug abuse.
Preface: Arable Land Quality: Observation, Estimation, Optimization, and Application
Authors: Ye Sijing , Song Changqing , Kuzyakov Yakov , Cheng Feng , Kong Xiangbin , Feng Zhe , Gao Peichao
Published: June 2022

Food security is a worldwide challenge that is related to the basic human needs of sustainable development [...]
What Was the President’s Standpoint and When Did He Take It? A Normative Pragmatic Study of Standpoint Emergence in a Presidential Press Conference
Authors: Jacobs Scott , Jackson Sally , Zhang Xiaoqi
Published: June 2022

In contrast to views that treat positions and standpoints as defining the scope of argumentation, our normative pragmatic approach sees positions and standpoints as interactionally emergent products of argumentative work. Here, this is shown in a detailed case study of a question-answer session in which former US President Donald J. Trump was pressed by journalists to express and defend his standpoint on the Charlottesville protests by neo-Nazis and White nationalists. Trump repeatedly evaded efforts to pin down his standpoint; however, with each of his answers to the questions, his built-up position circumscribed the range of possible standpoints he could take. To the end, he avoided backing down from any prior statement expressing his standpoint, while also preserving a degree of maneuverability regarding what his standpoint amounted to.
Differences between Russian and Czech in the Use of Aspect in Narrative Discourse and Factual Contexts
Authors: Gehrke Berit
Published: June 2022

The aims of the paper are twofold. First, it provides a systematic qualitative corpus study into differences between Russian and Czech in the use of aspect in chains of single, episodic events, as well as in habitual contexts, which takes into account the role of verb class, aspectual affixes, discourse relations, and other factors contributing to the overall aspectual interpretation in a given sentence. The findings suggest that while Russian makes narrative progression and habituality visible already on the verb forms, by employing exclusively perfective and imperfective verb forms, respectively, Czech relies more heavily on the context itself and uses (im)perfective verb forms mostly to signal duration vs. change of state. The second part of the paper addresses differences in aspect use between the two languages in so-called general-factual contexts (presuppositional and existential). Against the background of the empirical findings of the corpus study, I argue against the received view that Czech makes use of imperfective verb forms to mark existential readings. The presuppositional reading of imperfective forms, which I assume to be related to the process/durative reading of imperfectives, is argued to exist in both languages.
Conventionalization of Iconic Handshape Preferences in Family Homesign Systems
Authors: Quam Madeline , Brentari Diane , Coppola Marie
Published: June 2022

Variation in the linguistic use of handshapes exists across sign languages, but it is unclear how these iconic handshape preferences arise and become conventionalized. In order to understand the factors that shape such handshape preferences in the earliest stages of language emergence, we examined communication within family homesign systems. Homesigners are deaf individuals who have not acquired a signed or spoken language and who innovate unique gesture systems to communicate with hearing friends and family (“communication partners”). We analyzed how characteristics of participants and stimulus items influence handshape preferences and conventionalization. Participants included 11 deaf homesigners, 24 hearing communication partners (CPs), and 8 hearing non-signing adults from Nicaragua. Participants were asked to label items using gestures or signs. The handshape type (Handling, Object, or combined Handling + Object) was then coded. The participants and groups showed variability in iconic handshape preferences. Adult homesigners’ families demonstrated more conventionalization than did child homesigners’ families. Adult homesigners also used a combined Handling+Object form more than other participants. Younger CPs and those with fewer years of experience using a homesign system showed greater conventionalization. Items that elicited a reliable handshape preference were more likely to elicit Handling rather than Object handshapes. These findings suggest that similarity in terms of handshape type varies even within families, including hearing gesturers in the same culture. Although adult homesigners’ families were more conventionalized than child homesigners’ families, full conventionalization of these handshape preferences do not seem to appear reliably within two to three decades of use in a family when only one deaf homesigner uses it as a primary system.
Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis of Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) Seed Pretreatment with MgSO4 in Response to Salinity Stress
Authors: Ren Wei , Chen Li , Wang Qian , Ren Yanping
Published: June 2022

Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is a salt-tolerant crop that can withstand high salinity levels without showing signs of harm to the plant. However, the plant is more prone to salinity stress at the germination stage and a poor germination as well as poor crop stand lead to a weak productivity. It is possible to obtain a comprehensive picture of the cotton seedling germination and establishment against salt stress by examining dynamic changes in the transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles. The reported study employed a pretreatment of cotton seeds by soaking them in 0.2% Magnesium Sulphate (MgSO4) solution at room temperature for 4, 8, and 12 h. The analysis of variance based on the studied traits emergence rate, above and underground plant parts’ fresh weight measured, displayed significant differences of the three treatments compared with the control. A total of 28,801 and 264 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were discovered to code for biological processes such as response to salt stress, cellular response to salt stress, abscisic acid receptor PYR/PYL, regulation of seed growth and germination, and auxin-activated signaling pathways. A large amount of ethylene-responsive transcription factors (ERF) was identified (1235) as differentially expressed, followed by bHLH (252), WRKY (96), MYB (202), GATA (81), RABA (64), DIVARICATA (28), and MADs-box (26) in treated seedling samples. Functional enrichment analysis revealed the significant roles in the hormones and signal transduction, carbohydrates metabolism, and biosynthesis of amino acids, promoting salt stress tolerance. Our results indicated positive effects of MgSO4 at 4 h treatment on seedling germination and growth, seemingly by activating certain growth-regulating enzymes (auxins, gibberellins, jasmonates, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid) and metabolites (phenolic acids, flavonoids, and akaloids). Such pretreatment of MgSO4 on seeds would be beneficial in future cotton management under saline conditions to enhance good crop stand and productivity.
Comparison of the C-Reactive Protein Level and Visual Analog Scale Scores between Piezosurgery and Rotatory Osteotomy in Mandibular Impacted Third Molar Extraction
Authors: Shetty Lakshmi , Gangwani Khushal , Londhe Uday , Bharadwaj Swati , Bakri Mohammed Mousa H. , Alamoudi Ahmed , Reda Rodolfo , Bhandi Shilpa , Raj A. Thirumal , Patil Shankargouda , Testarelli Luca
Published: June 2022

This study aimed to compare the C-reactive protein level and visual analog scale scores of piezo- and rotatory-based surgical extraction of the third molar. As a split-mouth study, the comparative groups consisted of 25 patients, each of whom underwent surgical removal of the third molar by piezo on one side and rotatory bur on the other side. C-reactive protein levels were quantitatively assessed (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) before and immediately post-extraction. The immediate postoperative blood sample (baseline) C-reactive protein levels were compared with 24 h and 72 h post-op samples, both within and between the groups. Pain was assessed using the visual analog scale at 24 h and 72 h post-operatively. The C-reactive protein levels were lower in the piezo group than in the rotatory group, although the difference was not significant (p > 0.05). The visual analog scale score was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in the piezo group than in the rotatory group. The C-reactive protein levels increased in both the rotary and piezo groups from the pre-op to the immediate post-op value, but in the piezo group, the levels dropped back after 24 h. On the contrary, in the rotatory group, the C-reactive level kept increasing until 24 h; the visual analog scale score dropped significantly from 24 to 72 h for both the rotatory and piezo groups. Surgical techniques that could spare the surrounding soft tissues, such as the piezo, could aid in reducing overall postoperative morbidity.
Aliphatic Aldehydes in the Earth’s Crust—Remains of Prebiotic Chemistry?
Authors: Großmann Yildiz , Schreiber Ulrich , Mayer Christian , Schmitz Oliver J.
Published: June 2022

The origin of life is a mystery that has not yet been solved in the natural sciences. Some promising interpretative approaches are related to hydrothermal activities. Hydrothermal environments contain all necessary elements for the development of precursor molecules. There are surfaces with possible catalytic activity, and wide ranges of pressure and temperature conditions. The chemical composition of hydrothermal fluids together with periodically fluctuating physical conditions should open up multiple pathways towards prebiotic molecules. In 2017, we detected potentially prebiotic organic substances, including a homologous series of aldehydes in Archean quartz crystals from Western Australia, more than 3 billion years old. In order to approach the question of whether the transformation of inorganic into organic substances is an ongoing process, we investigated a drill core from the geologically young Wehr caldera in Germany at a depth of 1000 m. Here, we show the existence of a similar homologous series of aldehydes (C8 to C16) in the fluid inclusions of the drill core calcites, a finding that supports the thesis that hydrothermal environments could possibly be the material source for the origin of life.
Preparation of Wax-Based Warm Mixture Additives from Waste Polypropylene (PP) Plastic and Their Effects on the Properties of Modified Asphalt
Authors: Zhou Gang , Li Chuanqiang , Wang Haobo , Zeng Wei , Ling Tianqing , Jiang Lin , Li Rukai , Liu Qizheng , Cheng Ying , Zhou Dan
Published: June 2022

The production of high-performance, low-cost warm mix additives (WMa) for matrix asphalt remains a challenge. The pyrolysis method was employed to prepare wax-based WMa using waste polypropylene plastic (WPP) as the raw material in this study. Penetration, softening point, ductility, rotational viscosity, and dynamic shear rheological tests were performed to determine the physical and rheological properties of the modified asphalt. The adhesion properties were characterized using the surface free energy (SFE) method. We proved that the pyrolysis temperature and pressure play a synergistic role in the production of wax-based WMa from WPPs. The product prepared at 380 °C and 1.0 MPa (380-1.0) can improve the penetration of matrix asphalt by 61% and reduce the viscosity (135 °C) of matrix asphalt by 48.6%. Furthermore, the modified asphalt shows favorable elasticity, rutting resistance, and adhesion properties; thus, it serves as a promising WMa for asphalt binders.
Methodology of Leakage Prediction in Gasketed Flange Joints at Pipeline Deformations
Authors: Jaszak Przemysław , Skrzypacz Janusz , Borawski Andrzej , Grzejda Rafał
Published: June 2022

The paper presents the proposal of a leakage prediction method in flange joints, after pipeline deformation, based on FEM (Finite Element Methods). The stages of developing the design are discussed, and a complex, multi-stage method of applying the loads is presented in detail. Moreover, the gasket material data obtained in experiments were used. The paper also presents the results of calculations on a non-uniform stress distribution in the radial direction of the gasket. In addition, it has been shown that the deflection of the pipeline with a minor displacement causes an increase in the diversification of the circumferential pressure of the gasket, and also has a significant influence on the determination of the actual state of stress to which the gasket is subject. Moreover, it was found that the distribution of contact pressure on the deflection of the pipeline has a significant influence on the level of leakage. The results of tests are compared to the results of the numerical calculations of the stress in bolts. By comparing the bolt tension changes obtained by numerical and experiment analyses, it has been shown that the assumptions made in developing the numerical model are correct.
Enhanced Energy Storage Properties of La-Doped Sr0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 Relaxor Ferroelectric Ceramics Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering
Authors: Zhao Yingying , Liu Xiao , Zhang Xiaoyu , Du Huiling
Published: June 2022

In this work, La-doped Sr0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 ferroelectric ceramics were fabricated by the conventional solid state reaction method (CS) and spark plasma sintering (SPS), respectively. The microstructure, phase structure, dielectric properties, relaxor behavior, ferroelectric and energy storage properties were investigated and compared to indicate the effects of spark plasma sintering on their performances. The results show that the grain shape changes from columnar to isometric crystal and the grain size decreases obviously after spark plasma sintering. The dielectric constant of the CS sample and the SPS sample both show a typical relaxor behavior with obvious frequency dispersion. The diffusion parameters (γ) of both CS sample and SPS sample are close to 2 and all the samples present slim polarization–electric (P-E) loops, which verify the relaxor behavior. Moreover, the breakdown strength, Eb, and discharge energy storage density, Wrec, of La-doped Sr0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 ferroelectric ceramics prepared by SPS are improved significantly. This work provides guidance for improving the energy storage performance of ferroelectric ceramics with tungsten bronze structures by decreasing the grain size through adopting a different sintering method.
Dielectric, AC Conductivity, and DC Conductivity Behaviours of Sr2CaTeO6 Double Perovskite
Authors: Halizan Muhammad Zharfan , Mohamed Zakiah
Published: June 2022

Relatively new double perovskite material, Sr2CaTeO6, has been prepared through conventional solid-state procedures. Structural, dielectric, and optical characteristics of this exquisite solid-state material were analysed in this study. The single-phase monoclinic P21/n structure of this prepared compound was well correlated with the literature review. Good distribution of grain sizes and shapes was observed in the morphological study of this compound. The discussions on its optical and dielectric properties are included in this manuscript. High dielectric real permittivity, low dielectric loss, and good capacitance over a range of temperatures possessed by this compound, as shown in dielectric and electrical modulus studies, indicated good potential values for capacitor applications. The Ro(RgQg)(RgbQgb) circuit fitted well with the impedance and electrical modulus plot of the compound. Its relatively high electrical DC conductivity in grain at high frequencies and its increasing value with the temperature are typical of a semiconductor behaviour. This behaviour might be attributed to the presence of minor oxygen vacancies within its lattice structure and provides a long-range conduction mechanism. A small difference between activation energy and Ea of DC conductivity indicates that the same charge carriers were involved in both grains and the grain boundaries’ long-range conduction. The electrical AC conductivity of this compound was found to contribute to the dielectric loss in grain structure and can be related to Jonscher’s power law. The presence of polarons in this compound was exhibited by non-overlapping small polaron tunnelling (NSPT) and overlapping large polaron tunnelling (OLPT) conduction mechanisms over a range of temperatures. Wide optical band gap and Eopt in the range of 2.6 eV to 3.6 eV were determined by using an indirect and direct allowed mechanism of electrons transitions. These values supported the efficient semiconducting behaviour of the grain in this material and are suitable for applications in the semiconductor industry.
Advanced Autonomous Machines and Design Developments
Authors: Karimi Hamid Reza , Cheng Kai , Zou Yanhua
Published: June 2022

With the rapid technological development of machines in different applications such as vehicles, robotics, and manufacturing, concerns may arise with regard to complexity, safety, performance, and maintenance costs associated with the machine operation [...]
A Study on Early Warnings of Financial Crisis of Chinese Listed Companies Based on DEA–SVM Model
Authors: Zhang Zhishuo , Xiao Yao , Fu Zitian , Zhong Kaiyang , Niu Huayong
Published: June 2022

In the era of big data, investor sentiment will have an impact on personal decision making and asset pricing in the securities market. This paper uses the Easteconomy stock forum and Sina stock forum as the carrier of investor sentiment to measure the positive sentiment index based on stockholders’ comments and to construct an evaluation index system for the public opinion dimension. In addition, the evaluation index system is constructed from four dimensions, which include operation, innovation, finance and financing, to evaluate the overall condition of listed companies from multiple perspectives. In this paper, the SBM model in the data envelopment analysis method is used to measure the efficiency values of each dimension of the multidimensional efficiency evaluation index system, and the efficiency values of each dimension are the multidimensional efficiency indicators. Subsequently, two sets of input feature indicators of the SVM model were established: one set contains traditional financial indicators and multidimensional efficiency indicators, and another set has only traditional financial indicators. The early warning accuracy of the two sets of input feature indicators was empirically analyzed based on the support vector machine early warning model. The results show that the early warning model incorporating multidimensional efficiency indicators has improved the accuracy compared with the early warning model based on traditional financial indicators. Then, the model was optimized by the particle swarm intelligent optimization algorithm, and the robustness of the results was tested. Moreover, six mainstream machine learning methods, including Logistic Regression, GBDT, CatBoost, AdaBoost, Random Forest and Bagging, were used to compare with the early warning effect of the DEA–SVM model, and the empirical results show that DEA–SVM has high early warning accuracy, which proves the superiority of the proposed model. The findings of this study have a positive effect on further preventing and controlling the financial crisis risk of Chinese-listed companies and promoting as well as facilitating the healthy growth of Chinese-listed companies.
Short- and Medium-Term Power Demand Forecasting with Multiple Factors Based on Multi-Model Fusion
Authors: Ji Qingqing , Zhang Shiyu , Duan Qiao , Gong Yuhan , Li Yaowei , Xie Xintong , Bai Jikang , Huang Chunli , Zhao Xu
Published: June 2022

With the continuous development of economy and society, power demand forecasting has become an important task of the power industry. Accurate power demand forecasting can promote the operation and development of the power supply industry. However, since power consumption is affected by a number of factors, it is difficult to accurately predict the power demand data. With the accumulation of data in the power industry, machine learning technology has shown great potential in power demand forecasting. In this study, gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM) are integrated by stacking to build an XLG-LR fusion model to predict power demand. Firstly, preprocessing was carried out on 13 months of electricity and meteorological data. Next, the hyperparameters of each model were adjusted and optimized. Secondly, based on the optimal hyperparameter configuration, a prediction model was built using the training set (70% of the data). Finally, the test set (30% of the data) was used to evaluate the performance of each model. Mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and goodness-of-fit coefficient (R^2) were utilized to analyze each model at different lengths of time, including their seasonal, weekly, and monthly forecast effect. Furthermore, the proposed fusion model was compared with other neural network models such as the GRU, LSTM and TCN models. The results showed that the XLG-LR model achieved the best prediction results at different time lengths, and at the same time consumed the least time compared to the neural network model. This method can provide a more reliable reference for the operation and dispatch of power enterprises and future power construction and planning.