bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dual Effects of Democracy Promotion: Evidence from International Election Observation Data of Myanmar’s General Elections
Authors: Wu Xiang
Published: January 2021

Since the 1990s, international election observation, as an important way of election monitoring, has become increasingly active on the international stage. By inviting international election observation missions (IEOMs) to conduct election monitoring, the nascent democracies not only hope to promote democracy and enhance its legitimacy, but also tend to reduce international sanctions and improve relations with the West. The international election observation of Myanmar’s two general elections in 2010 and 2015 is an important sample to observe Myanmar’s democratic process and its interaction with the international community. IEOMs in Myanmar have witnessed diverse situations from being rejected to being invited, from being independently observed to participating and from slamming elections to praising them. In the 2015 general elections, IEOMs had an important impact on Myanmar’s democratic transition, but in essence, their limitations were only surrounding the election-related matters. The work done by many international election observation organizations has been limited to the procedural level of democracy, and could not help Myanmar to further the institution-building. General elections in Myanmar are due in 2020. Currently, many IEOMs have traveled to Myanmar for election observation, but it is yet to be decided whether it will contribute to good governance in Myanmar.
Extending Computational Thinking into Information and Communication Technology Literacy Measurement
Authors: Kim Han Sung , Kim Soohwan , Na Wooyoul , Lee Woon Jee
Published: January 2021

As Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy education has recently shifted to fostering computing thinking ability as well as ICT use, many countries are conducting research on national curriculum and evaluation. In this study, we measured Korean students’ ICT literacy levels by using the national measurement tool that assesses abilities of the IT (Information Technology) area and the CT (Computational Thinking) area. A research team revised an existing ICT literacy assessment tool for the IT test and developed a new CT test environment in which students could perform actual coding through a web-based programming tool such as Scratch. Additionally, after assessing ICT literacy levels, differences in ICT literacy levels by gender and grade were analyzed to provide evidence for national education policies. Approximately 23,000 elementary and middle school students participated in the 2018 national assessment of ICT literacy, accounting for 1% of the national population of students. The findings demonstrated that female students had higher literacy levels in most sub-factors of IT and CT areas. Additionally, in the areas of strengths and weaknesses, the ratio of below-basic achievement among male students was at least two times greater than that of female students. Nonetheless, male students scored higher on CT automation, a coding item that involved problem solving using Scratch. Looking at the difference according to grade level, the level improved as the school year increased in elementary school, but there was no difference in middle school. When analyzing the detailed elements of middle school students, the automation factor of seventh grade students was found to be higher than eighth and ninth grade students. Based on these results, this study discussed some implications for ICT and computing education in elementary and middle schools.
Etched Carbon Fiber/Polyaniline Composite with p–n Heterojunction for High-Energy Electrochemical Supercapacitor
Authors: Li Xiaobo , Zhang Panpan , Huang Hui , Zhai Xinhua , Chen Buming , He Yapeng , Guo Zhongcheng
Published: January 2021

The etched carbon fiber/polyaniline (ECF/PANI) composite material with p–n heterojunction was successfully prepared via in situ chemical oxidation polymerization. The experimental results revealed the growth of uniform orderly PANI coating layer with slight agglomeration and generation of p–n heterojunction in ECF/PANI composite. The specific capacitance of ECF/PANI-3 composite with mass ratio 1:2 reached an optimized maximum of 525.1 F g−1at current density 0.1 A g−1while still maintaining as high as 374.8 F g−1at 5 A g−1, and 75.6% capacitance retention ratio could be achieved on ECF/PANI-3 at 1 A g−1after 5000 cycles. Meantime, the redox reaction kinetics were controlled by the diffusion process and the electron transfer resistance of ECF/PANI-3 exhibited as low as 0.25 Ω cm2. Such excellent performances stem from the synergetic effect of the high conductivity of ECF and loose porous morphology of the PANI layer. Most importantly, the enhancement of electrochemical properties for ECF/PANI is substantially ascribed to the p–n heterojunction with low flat band potential, which is favorable to the electron transition from valence to conduction-band and provides higher carrier concentration and more driving force for the charge transmission, electrons mobility, and conductivity of ECF/PANI composite.
Design and Deep Insights into Sub-10 nm Spacer Engineered Junctionless FinFET for Nanoscale Applications
Authors: V. Bharath Sreenivasulu , Vadthiya Narendar
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we have studied the impact of various dielectric single-k(S-k) and dual-k(D-k) spacers on optimized Junctionless (JL) FinFET at nano-regime by using hetero-dielectric oxide based (HfxTi1−xO2) gate stack to enhance the sub-threshold performance of the device. Performance impact of outer low-kspacer variation on D-kspacer by fixing inner high-kspacer has been reported. In this move, it is noticed that theION/IOFFratio shifted from 8.70 × 105to 1.30 × 106which is about ∼1.5x times improvement. Along with DC characteristics, analog/RF and linearity metrics are extracted and analysed. Due to a better gate electrostatic integrity (EI) at an extremely scaledLG,an optimally designed D-kspacer reveals a better DC and analog performance characteristics. The S-kspacer reveals a better performer in power consumption, dynamic power, RF, and linearity characteristics at nano scale. Furthermore, the scaling possibilities by spacers on DC and Analog performance atLG= 10 nm FinFET with tri-gate geometry atLGof 7 nm, 5 nm, and 3 nm are also examined. It has been noticed that the enhanced performance with the tri-gate structure is best suitable for future technological nodes.
Daily protein supplementation attenuates immobilization-induced blunting of postabsorptive muscle mTORC1 activation in middle-aged men
Authors: Zeng Nina , D’Souza Randall F. , MacRae Caitlin L. , Figueiredo Vandre C. , Pileggi Chantal A. , Markworth James F. , Merry Troy L. , Cameron-Smith David , Mitchell Cameron J.
Published: January 2021

Disuse-induced muscle atrophy is accompanied by a blunted postprandial response of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway. Conflicting observations exist as to whether postabsorptive mTORC1 pathway activation is also blunted by disuse and plays a role in atrophy. It is unknown whether changes in habitual protein intake alter mTORC1 regulatory proteins and how they may contribute to the development of anabolic resistance. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the downstream responsiveness of skeletal muscle mTORC1 activation and its upstream regulatory factors, following 14 days of lower limb disuse in middle-aged men (45–60 yr). The participants were further randomized to receive daily supplementation of 20 g/d of protein ( n = 12; milk protein concentrate) or isocaloric carbohydrate placebo ( n = 13). Immobilization reduced postabsorptive skeletal muscle phosphorylation of the mTORC1 downstream targets, 4E-BP1, P70S6K, and ribosomal protein S6 (RPS6), with phosphorylation of the latter two decreasing to a greater extent in the placebo, compared with the protein supplementation groups (37% ± 13% vs. 14% ± 11% and 38% ± 20% vs. 25% ± 8%, respectively). Sestrin2 protein was also downregulated following immobilization irrespective of supplement group, despite a corresponding increase in its mRNA content. This decrease in Sestrin2 protein was negatively correlated with the immobilization-induced change in the in silico-predicted regulator miR-23b-3p. No other measured upstream proteins were altered by immobilization or supplementation. Immobilization downregulated postabsorptive mTORC1 pathway activation, and 20 g/day of protein supplementation attenuated the decrease in phosphorylation of targets regulating muscle protein synthesis.
Overlapping and distinct biological effects of IL-6 classic and trans-signaling in vascular endothelial cells
Authors: Montgomery Ashani , Tam Franklin , Gursche Chris , Cheneval Catherine , Besler Katrina , Enns Winnie , Manku Sukhkbir , Rey Kevin , Hanson Paul J. , Rose-John Stefan , McManus Bruce M. , Choy Jonathan C.
Published: January 2021

IL-6 affects tissue protective/reparative and inflammatory properties of vascular endothelial cells (ECs). This cytokine can signal to cells through classic and trans-signaling mechanisms, which are differentiated based on the expression of IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) on the surface of target cells. The biological effects of these IL-6-signaling mechanisms are distinct and have implications for vascular pathologies. We have directly compared IL-6 classic and trans-signaling in ECs. Human ECs expressed IL-6R in culture and in situ in coronary arteries from heart transplants. Stimulation of human ECs with IL-6, to model classic signaling, triggered the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt and ERK1/2 signaling pathways, whereas stimulation with IL-6 + sIL-6R, to model trans-signaling, triggered activation of STAT3, PI3K-Akt, and ERK1/2 pathways. IL-6 classic signaling reduced persistent injury of ECs in an allograft model of vascular rejection and inhibited cell death induced by growth factor withdrawal. When inflammatory effects were examined, IL-6 classic signaling did not induce ICAM or CCL2 expression but was sufficient to induce secretion of CXCL8 and support transmigration of neutrophil-like cells. IL-6 trans-signaling induced all inflammatory effects studied. Our findings show that IL-6 classic and trans-signaling have overlapping but distinct properties in controlling EC survival and inflammatory activation. This has implications for understanding the effects of IL-6 receptor-blocking therapies as well as for vascular responses in inflammatory and immune conditions.
Pharmacological HIF-1 stabilization promotes intestinal epithelial healing through regulation of α-integrin expression and function
Authors: Goggins Bridie J. , Minahan Kyra , Sherwin Simonne , Soh Wai S. , Pryor Jennifer , Bruce Jessica , Liu Gang , Mathe Andrea , Knight Darryl , Horvat Jay C. , Walker Marjorie M. , Keely Simon
Published: January 2021

HIF-1 plays an important role in epithelial restitution, selectively inducing integrins α6 and α2 to promote migration and proliferation, respectively. HIF-stabilizing prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitors accelerate intestinal mucosal healing by inducing epithelial integrin expression.
CF monocyte-derived macrophages have an attenuated response to extracellular vesicles secreted by airway epithelial cells
Authors: Koeppen Katja , Nymon Amanda , Barnaby Roxanna , Li Zhongyou , Hampton Thomas H. , Ashare Alix , Stanton Bruce A.
Published: January 2021

Mutations in CFTR alter macrophage responses, for example, by reducing their ability to phagocytose and kill bacteria. Altered macrophage responses may facilitate bacterial infection and inflammation in the lungs, contributing to morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF). Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by multiple cell types in the lungs and participate in the host immune response to bacterial infection, but the effect of EVs secreted by CF airway epithelial cells (AEC) on CF macrophages is unknown. This report examines the effect of EVs secreted by primary AEC on monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and contrasts responses of CF and wild type (WT) MDM. We found that EVs generally increase pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion and expression of innate immune genes in MDM, especially when EVs are derived from AEC exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and that this effect is attenuated in CF MDM. Specifically, EVs secreted by P. aeruginosa exposed AEC (EV-PA) induced immune response genes and increased secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, chemoattractants, and chemokines involved in tissue repair by WT MDM, but these effects were less robust in CF MDM. We attribute attenuated responses by CF MDM to differences between CF and WT macrophages because EVs secreted by CF AEC or WT AEC elicited similar responses in CF MDM. Our findings demonstrate the importance of AEC EVs in macrophage responses and show that the Phe508del mutation in CFTR attenuates the innate immune response of MDM to EVs.
Chronic hindbrain administration of oxytocin elicits weight loss in male diet-induced obese mice
Authors: Edwards Melise M. , Nguyen Ha K. , Herbertson Adam J. , Dodson Andrew D. , Wietecha Tomasz , Wolden-Hanson Tami , Graham James L. , O’Brien Kevin D. , Havel Peter J. , Blevins James E.
Published: January 2021

Previous studies indicate that oxytocin (OT) administration reduces body weight in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese (DIO) rodents through both reductions in food intake and increases in energy expenditure. We recently demonstrated that chronic hindbrain [fourth ventricular (4V)] infusions of OT evoke weight loss in DIO rats. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that chronic 4V OT would elicit weight loss in DIO mice. We assessed the effects of 4V infusions of OT (16 nmol/day) or vehicle over 28 days on body weight, food intake, and body composition. OT reduced body weight by approximately 4.5% ± 1.4% in DIO mice relative to OT pretreatment body weight ( P < 0.05). These effects were associated with reduced adiposity and adipocyte size [inguinal white adipose tissue (IWAT)] ( P < 0.05) and attributed, in part, to reduced energy intake ( P < 0.05) at a dose that did not increase kaolin intake ( P = NS). OT tended to increase uncoupling protein-1 expression in IWAT (0.05 < P < 0.1) suggesting that OT stimulates browning of WAT. To assess OT-elicited changes in brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis, we examined the effects of 4V OT on interscapular BAT temperature ( TIBAT). 4V OT (1 µg) elevated TIBAT at 0.75 ( P = 0.08), 1, and 1.25 h ( P < 0.05) postinjection; a higher dose (5 µg) elevated TIBAT at 0.75-, 1-, 1.25-, 1.5-, 1.75- ( P < 0.05), and 2-h (0.05 < P < 0.1) postinjection. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that chronic hindbrain OT treatment evokes sustained weight loss in DIO mice by reducing energy intake and increasing BAT thermogenesis at a dose that is not associated with evidence of visceral illness.
Protective Effects of Iridoid Glycoside from Corni Fructus on Type 2 Diabetes with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver in Mice
Authors: Niu Dou , Chen Xue , Wang Ting , Wang Fuxing , Zhang Qiusheng , Xue Xiaochang , Kang Jiefang
Published: January 2021

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic metabolic disease. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) shares common typical features with T2DM, and they affect each other extensively. Thus, NAFLD has emerged as a novel target for T2DM prevention and care. Although Corni Fructus (CF) and its extracts have a therapeutic effect on T2DM, its effects and mechanisms on T2DM with NAFLD are far from elucidated. In this study, a mouse model of T2DM with NAFLD complication was established in ICR mice by feeding a high‐fat, high‐sugar (HFHS) diet and intraperitoneally injecting with a low dose of streptozotocin (STZ). Then, the effects of iridoid glycosides (IG) extracted from CF on this mouse model were investigated. We found that 4‐week IG administration remarkably alleviated hyperglycemia and insulin resistance and significantly reduced inflammation, oxidative stress, and fat accumulation in the liver of T2DM with NAFLD mice. Further studies showed that IG inhibited the NF‐κB but enhanced the PI3K‐AKT signaling pathway. In summary, these results indicated that the IG from CF has potential therapeutic effects on T2DM with NAFLD.
Toric Intraocular Lens Implantation in the Correction of Moderate-To-High Corneal Astigmatism in Cataract Patients: Clinical Efficacy and Safety
Authors: Qiu Xiaodi , Shi Yumeng , Han Xiaoyan , Hua Zhixiang , Lu Yi , Yang Jin
Published: January 2021

Background/Aims. To investigate the long-term efficacy and rotational stability of toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) implanted for the correction of moderate-to-high corneal astigmatism. Methods. A total of 57 cataract patients (57 eyes) with regular corneal astigmatism (≥2.57 D) were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Phacoemulsification with toric IOL implantation was performed for all patients. The uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were recorded before and one year after surgery, and statistical analysis of preoperative corneal astigmatism, postoperative residual astigmatism, aberrations, IOL rotation, and related factors was performed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and stability of toric IOLs in correcting moderate-to-high corneal astigmatism. Results. One year after surgery, visual acuity was significantly improved compared with that before surgery (preoperative log MAR 0.87 ± 0.34 vs. postoperative log MAR 0.31 ± 0.26,

p
<
0.001

), and the self-reported spectacle independence rate was 68.42%. The total residual astigmatism was 1.18 ± 0.85 D, which was significantly less than the preoperative value (3.41 ± 0.99 D) (

p
<
0.001

). The degree of toric IOL rotation was 4.93 ± 3.02°, and 54.39% of patients had a lens rotation of less than 5°. The IOLs of 5.26% (3 eyes) of patients rotated more than 10°, and these patients received glasses instead of undergoing IOL repositioning. Conclusions. Toric IOL implantation provided optimal vision outcomes and low spectacle dependence during a one-year follow-up period. The results from our study show that toric IOL implantation is a safe and effective option for cataract patients with moderate-to-high corneal astigmatism.
Forecasting Different Types of Droughts Simultaneously Using Multivariate Standardized Precipitation Index (MSPI), MLP Neural Network, and Imperialistic Competitive Algorithm (ICA)
Authors: Aghelpour Pouya , Varshavian Vahid
Published: January 2021

Precipitation deficit causes meteorological drought, and its continuation appears as other different types of droughts including hydrological, agricultural, economic, and social droughts. Multivariate Standardized Precipitation Index (MSPI) can show the drought status from the perspective of different drought types simultaneously. Forecasting multivariate droughts can provide good information about the future status of a region and will be applicable for the planners of different water divisions. In this study, the MLP model and its hybrid form with the Imperialistic Competitive Algorithm (MLP‐ICA) have been investigated for the first time in multivariate drought studies. For this purpose, two semi‐arid stations of western Iran were selected, and their precipitation data were provided from the Iranian Meteorological Organization (IRIMO), during the period of 1988–2017. MSPI was calculated in 5‐time windows of the multivariate drought, including MSPI3–6 (drought in perspectives of soil moisture and surface hydrology simultaneously), MSPI6–12 (hydrological and agricultural droughts simultaneously), MSPI3–12 (soil moisture, surface hydrology, and agricultural droughts simultaneously), MSPI12–24 (drought in perspectives of agriculture and groundwater simultaneously), and MSPI24–48 (socio‐economical droughts). The results showed acceptable performances in forecasting multivariate droughts. In both stations, the larger time windows (MSPI12–24 and MSPI24–48) had better predictions than the smaller ones (MSPI3–6, MSPI6–12, and MSPI3–12). Generally, it can be reported that, by decreasing the size of the time window, the gradual changes of the index give way to sudden jumps. This causes weaker autocorrelation and consequently weaker predictions, e.g., forecasting droughts from the perspective of soil moisture and surface hydrology simultaneously (MSPI3–6). The hybrid MLP‐ICA shows stronger prediction results than the simple MLP model in all comparisons. The ICA optimizer could averagely improve MLP’s accuracy by 28.5%, which is a significant improvement. According to the evaluations (RMSE = 0.20; MAE = 0.15; R = 0.95), the results are hopeful for simultaneous forecasting of different drought types and can be tested for other similar areas.
A Novel Chinese Entity Relationship Extraction Method Based on the Bidirectional Maximum Entropy Markov Model
Authors: Lv Chengyao , Pan Deng , Li Yaxiong , Li Jianxin , Wang Zong
Published: January 2021

To identify relationships among entities in natural language texts, extraction of entity relationships technically provides a fundamental support for knowledge graph, intelligent information retrieval, and semantic analysis, promotes the construction of knowledge bases, and improves efficiency of searching and semantic analysis. Traditional methods of relationship extraction, either those proposed at the earlier times or those based on traditional machine learning and deep learning, have focused on keeping relationships and entities in their own silos: extracting relationships and entities are conducted in steps before obtaining the mappings. To address this problem, a novel Chinese relationship extraction method is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the triple is treated as an entity relation chain and can identify the entity before the relationship and predict its corresponding relationship and the entity after the relationship. Secondly, the Joint Extraction of Entity Mentions and Relations model is based on the Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory and Maximum Entropy Markov Model (Bi‐MEMM). Experimental results indicate that the proposed model can achieve a precision of 79.2% which is much higher than that of traditional models.
Identification of Self‐Organized Critical State on Twitter Based on the Retweets’ Time Series Analysis
Authors: Dmitriev Andrey , Dmitriev Victor
Published: January 2021

There is a number of studies, in which it is established that the observed flows of microposts generated by microblogging social networks (e.g., Twitter) are characterized by avalanche‐like behavior. Time series of microposts depicting such streams are the time series with a power‐law distribution, with 1/f noise and long memory. Despite this, there are no studies devoted to the detection and analysis of self‐organized critical state, subcritical phase, and supercritical phase. The presented paper is devoted to the detection and investigation of such critical states and phases. An algorithm is proposed that allowed to detect of critical phases and critical conditions on Twitter, based on the analysis of retweets time series corresponding to the three debates of the 2016 United States Presidential Election, as the most popular debate in the history of America, collecting 84 million live views.
Claim Amount Forecasting and Pricing of Automobile Insurance Based on the BP Neural Network
Authors: Yu Wenguang , Guan Guofeng , Li Jingchao , Wang Qi , Xie Xiaohan , Zhang Yu , Huang Yujuan , Yu Xinliang , Cui Chaoran
Published: January 2021

The BP neural network model is a hot issue in recent academic research, and it has been successfully applied to many other fields, but few researchers apply the BP neural network model to the field of automobile insurance. The main method that has been used in the prediction of the total claim amount in automobile insurance is the generalized linear model, where the BP neural network model could provide a different approach to estimate the total claim loss. This paper uses a genetic algorithm to optimize the structure of the BP neural network at first, and the calculation speed is significantly improved. At the same time, by considering the overfitting problem, an early stop method is introduced to avoid the overfitting problem. In the model, a three‐layer BP neural network model, which includes the input layer, hidden layer, and output layer, is trained. With consideration of various factors, a total claim amount prediction model is established, and the trained BP neural network model is used to predict the total claim amount of automobile insurance based on the data of the training set. The results show that the accuracy of the prediction by using the BP neural network model to both the data of Shandong Province and to the data of six cities is over 95%. Then, the predicted total claim amount is used to calculate premiums for five cities in Shandong Province according to credibility theory. The results show that the average premium of the five cities is slightly higher than the actual claim amount of the city. The combination of BP neural network and credibility theory can perform accurate claim amount estimation and pricing for automobile insurance, which can effectively improve the current situation of the automobile insurance business and promote the development of insurance industry.
Active Realization of Fractional‐Order Integrators and Their Application in Multiscroll Chaotic Systems
Authors: Munoz-Pacheco Jesus M. , Lujano-Hernández Luis Carlos , Muñiz-Montero Carlos , Akgül Akif , Sánchez-Gaspariano Luis A. , Li Chun-Biao , Çaǧri Kutlu Mustafa
Published: January 2021

This paper presents the design, simulation, and experimental verification of the fractional‐order multiscroll Lü chaotic system. We base them on op‐amp‐based approximations of fractional‐order integrators and saturated series of nonlinear functions. The integrators are first‐order active realizations tuned to reduce the inaccuracy of the frequency response. By an exponential curve fitting, we got a convenient design equation for realizing fractional‐order integrators of orders from 0.1 to 0.95. The results include simulations in SPICE of the mathematical description and the electronic implementation and experimental measurements that confirm them. Monte Carlo and sensitivity tests revealed a robust realization. Contrary to its passive counterparts, the suggested realizations significantly reduce design and implementation efforts by favoring resistors and capacitors with commercial values and reducing hardware requirements.
Vibration Characteristics of Rolling Mill System under Constraints of the Nonlinear Spring Force and Friction Force from Hydraulic Cylinder
Authors: Liu Zhaolun , Pan Guixiang , Jiang Jiahao , Liu Bin
Published: January 2021

Considering the two kinds of nonlinear constraints of rolling mill hydraulic cylinder, spring force and friction force, the vibration model of rolling mill system is established. The amplitude frequency response equations are obtained by using the average method. Comparing the time history curves of vertical vibration displacement of rolling mill system under the nonlinear spring force and friction force, the amplitude frequency characteristic curves are simulated. The external excitation amplitude is viewed as the bifurcation parameter, and the system bifurcation response changing with the external excitation amplitude is analyzed. The influence of the external excitation amplitude on the system stability is studied. The results indicate that the increase of the nonlinear spring force makes the rolling mill system’s unstable area to become wider, and the influence on the rolling mill system of nonlinear friction force behaves as the damping characteristics; the vibration of rolling mill system is alternating between the periodic, period‐doubling, and the chaotic motion. The research results provide a theoretical support for restraining the vibration of the rolling mill system in the actual production process.
Epigenetic Mechanisms of Paternal Stress in Offspring Development and Diseases
Authors: Xu Xingyun , Miao Zhigang , Sun Miao , Wan Bo
Published: January 2021

The major biological function of the sperm cell is to transmit the paternal genetic and epigenetic information to the embryo as well as the following offspring. Sperm has a unique epigenome. An increasing body of epidemiological study supports that paternal stress induced by environmental exposures and lifestyle can modulate the sperm epigenome (including histone modification, DNA methylation, and noncoding RNA expression), sperm-egg fusion, embryo development, and offspring health. Based on the existing literature, we have summarized the paternal exposure on sperm epigenome along with the representative phenotypes of offspring and the possible mechanism involved.
Policy and Law Assessment of COVID‐19 Based on Smooth Transition Autoregressive Model
Authors: Lei Jieqi , Wang Xuyuan , Zhang Yiming , Zhu Lian , Zhang Lin
Published: January 2021

As of the end of October 2020, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID‐19 has exceeded 45 million and the cumulative number of deaths has exceeded 1.1 million all over the world. Faced with the fatal pandemic, countries around the world have taken various prevention and control measures. One of the important issues in epidemic prevention and control is the assessment of the prevention and control effectiveness. Changes in the time series of daily new confirmed cases can reflect the impact of policies in certain regions. In this paper, a smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) model is applied to investigate the intrinsic changes during the epidemic in certain countries and regions. In order to quantitatively evaluate the influence of the epidemic control measures, the sequence is fitted to the STAR model; then, comparisons between the dates of transition points and those of releasing certain policies are applied. Our model well fits the data. Moreover, the nonlinear smooth function within the STAR model reveals that the implementation of prevention and control policies is effective in some regions with different speeds. However, the ineffectiveness is also revealed and the threat of a second wave had already emerged.
Gamma Oscillations Facilitate Effective Learning in Excitatory-Inhibitory Balanced Neural Circuits
Authors: Li Kwan Tung , Liang Junhao , Zhou Changsong
Published: January 2021

Gamma oscillation in neural circuits is believed to associate with effective learning in the brain, while the underlying mechanism is unclear. This paper aims to study how spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), a typical mechanism of learning, with its interaction with gamma oscillation in neural circuits, shapes the network dynamics properties and the network structure formation. We study an excitatory-inhibitory (E-I) integrate-and-fire neuronal network with triplet STDP, heterosynaptic plasticity, and a transmitter-induced plasticity. Our results show that the performance of plasticity is diverse in different synchronization levels. We find that gamma oscillation is beneficial to synaptic potentiation among stimulated neurons by forming a special network structure where the sum of excitatory input synaptic strength is correlated with the sum of inhibitory input synaptic strength. The circuit can maintain E-I balanced input on average, whereas the balance is temporal broken during the learning-induced oscillations. Our study reveals a potential mechanism about the benefits of gamma oscillation on learning in biological neural circuits.
Deformation Law of the Diaphragm Wall during Deep Foundation Pit Construction on Lake and Sea Soft Soil in the Yangtze River Delta
Authors: Mei Yuan , Zhou Dongbo , Wang Xueyan , Zhao Liangjie , Shen Jinxin , Zhang Shumin , Liu Yuanying
Published: January 2021

So far, there have been a large number of diaphragm walls in the Yangtze River Delta as engineering examples of deep foundation pit maintenance structures in subway stations, but there is a lack of systematic research and summary on the deformation characteristics of ground connecting walls. This study aimed to clarify the deformation law of the diaphragm wall during the excavation of a deep foundation pit in a soft soil region. Based on the monitoring data of the diaphragm wall of the deep foundation pit of the Hangzhou metro station, the monitoring data of the deep foundation pits of 15 subway stations in Shanghai and Ningbo cities around Hangzhou were considered. Grouping and classification methods were used to analyze the similarities and differences in the deformation characteristics of the diaphragm wall in the three regions. The results indicate the following: the maximum lateral deformation of the diaphragm wall in Hangzhou increases linearly with the relative depth of the maximum lateral deformation. The maximum lateral deformation of the foundation pit in Hangzhou is 0.072% H∼0.459% H, with a mean of 0.173% H. The wall deformation in Hangzhou varies significantly with the depth of the foundation pit, but the influence of the depth of the foundation pit on the wall deformation is considerably less than that in Shanghai and Ningbo. The corresponding position of the maximum lateral deformation in the excavation depth increases linearly with the excavation depth of the foundation pit, and the corresponding position of the lateral deformation of the diaphragm wall in Shanghai is more affected by the excavation depth of the foundation pit. The lateral deformation of the diaphragm wall increases rapidly in the range of 0 H–0.5 H, and the maximum lateral deformation occurs at 0.5 H–1.1 H.
Histomorphology and Immunohistochemistry of a Congenital Nephromegaly Demonstrate Concurrent Features of Heritable and Acquired Cystic Nephropathies in a Girgentana Goat (Capra falconeri)
Authors: Mayer Christian , Ormanns Steffen , Majzoub-Altweck Monir
Published: January 2021

Polycystic kidney diseases (PKD) represent frequent congenital and adult nephropathies in humans and domestic animals. This report illustrates an uncommon state of congenital PKD in a girgentana goat (Capra falconeri). A stillborn female goat kid was submitted for postmortem examination and underwent macroscopic and microscopic examination. The kidneys showed a bilateral nephromegaly and a perpendicular polycystic altered texture of the renal parenchyma. Renal tissue sections were comprehensively investigated by histopathology (overview and special stains), immunohistochemistry (CD10, CD117, pan-cytokeratin, cytokeratin 7, E-cadherin, Pax2, Pax8, and vimentin), and electron microscopy (SEM, TEM). Histopathology of renal tissue sections revealed polycystic alterations of the renal parenchyma as well as conspicuous polypoid proliferates/projections of the renal tubular epithelium, which showed clear cell characteristics. Furthermore, epithelial projections were indicative for epithelio-mesenchymal-transition, cellular depolarization, and strong expression of differentiation markers Pax2, Pax8, and CD10. Ultrastructural morphology of the projections was characterized by numerous diffusely distributed, demarked round cytoplasmic structures and several apico-lateral differentiations. Additionally, hepatic malformations comprising biliary duct proliferation with saccular dilation and bridging fibrosis were observed. Notably, this report describes the first case of a congenital cystic nephropathy with overlapping features of heritable and acquired nephropathies in any species. Epithelio-mesenchymal-transition and altered cadherin expression seem to be crucial components of a suspected pathomechanism during cystogenesis.
Towards a Scalable and Adaptive Learning Approach for Network Intrusion Detection
Authors: Chiche Alebachew , Meshesha Million
Published: January 2021

This paper introduces a new integrated learning approach towards developing a new network intrusion detection model that is scalable and adaptive nature of learning. The approach can improve the existing trends and difficulties in intrusion detection. An integrated approach of machine learning with knowledge-based system is proposed for intrusion detection. While machine learning algorithm is used to construct a classifier model, knowledge-based system makes the model scalable and adaptive. It is empirically tested with NSL-KDD dataset of 40,558 total instances, by using ten-fold cross validation. Experimental result shows that 99.91% performance is registered after connection. Interestingly, significant knowledge rich learning for intrusion detection differs as a fundamental feature of intrusion detection and prevention techniques. Therefore, security experts are recommended to integrate intrusion detection in their network and computer systems, not only for well-being of their computer systems but also for the sake of improving their working process.
[Retracted] Free Triiodothyronine Is Independently Associated with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Hospitalized Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients
Authors: Shi Rou , Lin Chunwen , Hong Yaping , Xia Xiaoying , Chen Yingjian , Li Shu , Xiu Liangchang
Published: January 2021

Objective. Free triiodothyronine (FT3) is an independent risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with euthyroid. However, whether FT3 has an independent effect on NAFLD in a population of type 2 diabetes remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify the potential role of FT3 in NAFLD with T2DM. Design. A cross‐sectional study. Patient. A total of 859 T2DM patients who met the inclusion criteria were included. There were 506 T2DM patients without NAFLD and 353 T2DM patients with NAFLD. Methods. The independent samples t‐test or Wilcoxon rank sum test were used for continuous variables of different distribution types, while the chi‐square test was used for categorical variables. Pearson correlation analysis and linear regression were used to analyze the correlation between FT3 and clinical measurements and biochemical indicators. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent predictors. Results. Patients with NAFLD had higher BMI, SBP, and DBP, longer duration of T2DM, and higher islet function index, blood glucose index, liver function index, renal function index, blood lipid index, and FT3. We also found that FT3 was affected by other five indicators, including ALT, CR, GGT, TC, and LDL‐C only in the NAFLD group but not in the non‐NAFLD group. FT3 was significantly associated with NAFLD in T2DM patients, and the prevalence of NAFLD increased gradually from the lowest FT3 tertile to the highest FT3 tertile (P for trend < 0.001). Conclusion. FT3 is independently associated with NAFLD in hospitalized T2DM patients after rigorous adjustment for various metabolic parameters.
Closed-Loop Equilibrium Reinsurance-Investment Strategy with Insider Information and Default Risk
Authors: Yang Peng
Published: January 2021

This paper studies the closed-loop equilibrium reinsurance-investment problem with insider information and default risk. The financial market consists of one risky asset, one defaultable bond, and one risk-free asset. The surplus process is governed by a jump-diffusion process. Two kinds of dependencies between the insurance market and the financial market are considered. In addition, the insurer has some extra claims information available from the beginning of the trading interval. The objective of the insurer is to choose a time-consistent reinsurance-investment strategy so as to maximize the expected terminal wealth while minimizing the variance of the terminal wealth. Since this problem is time-inconsistent, using closed-loop control approach from the perspective of game theory, we establish the extended Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equations for the postdefault case and the predefault case, respectively. Closed-form solutions for the closed-loop equilibrium reinsurance-investment strategy and the corresponding value function are obtained. Finally, we provide a series of numerical examples to illustrate the effects of insider information and other some important model parameters on the closed-loop equilibrium reinsurance and investment strategies. The result analyses reveal some interesting phenomena and provide useful guidances for reinsurance and investment in reality.
Effects of Early Transplantation of the Faecal Microbiota from Tibetan Pigs on the Gut Development of DSS‐Challenged Piglets
Authors: Diao H. , Xiao Y. , Yan H. L. , Yu B. , He J. , Zheng P. , Yu J. , Mao X. B. , Chen D. W.
Published: January 2021

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of early transplantation of the faecal microbiota from Tibetan pigs on the gut development of dextran sulphate sodium‐ (DSS‐) challenged piglets. In total, 24 3‐day‐old DLY piglets were divided into four groups (n = 6 per group); a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement was used, which included faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) (from Tibetan pigs) and DSS challenge. The whole trial lasted for 55 days. DSS infusion increased the intestinal density, serum diamine oxidase (DAO) activity, and colonic Escherichia coli count (P < 0.05), and decreased the Lactobacillus spp. count and mRNA abundances of epidermal growth factor (EGF), glucagon‐like peptide‐2 (GLP‐2), insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1), occludin, mucin 2 (MUC2), regeneration protein IIIγ (RegIIIγ), and interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) in the colon (P < 0.05). FMT increased the Lactobacillus spp. count and mRNA abundances of GLP‐2, RegIIIγ, and IL‐10 in the colon (P < 0.05), and decreased the intestinal density, serum DAO activity, and colonic E. coli number (P < 0.05). In addition, in DSS‐challenged piglets, FMT decreased the disease activity index (P < 0.05) and attenuated the effect of DSS challenge on the intestinal density, serum DAO activity, and colonic E. coli number (P < 0.05). These data indicated that the faecal microbiota from Tibetan pigs could attenuate the negative effect of DSS challenge on the gut development of piglets.
CKAP2L Promotes Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Progression through Regulation of Transcription Elongation
Authors: Monteverde Tiziana , Sahoo Sudhakar , La Montagna Manuela , Magee Peter , Shi Lei , Lee Dave , Sellers Robert , Baker Alexander R. , Leong Hui Sun , Fassan Matteo , Garofalo Michela
Published: January 2021

Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a driver of clonal diversification and intratumor heterogeneity, providing genetic diversity that contributes to tumor progression. It is estimated that approximately 80% of solid cancers, including non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), exhibit features of CIN, which affects tumor growth and response to therapy. However, the molecular mechanisms connecting CIN to tumor progression are still poorly understood. Through an RNAi screen performed on genes involved in CIN and overexpressed in human lung adenocarcinoma samples, we identified the cytoskeleton-associated protein 2-like (CKAP2L) as a potential oncogene that promotes lung cancer proliferation and growth in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, CKAP2L directly interacted with RNA Pol II and regulated transcription elongation of key genes involved in spindle assembly checkpoint, chromosome segregation, cell cycle, and E2F signaling. Furthermore, depletion of CKAP2L increased the sensitivity of NSCLC cells to alvocidib, a pan-CDK inhibitor, leading to a significant reduction of cell proliferation and an increase in cell death. Altogether, these findings shed light on the molecular mechanisms through which CKAP2L, a protein involved in CIN, promotes cancer progression and suggest that its inhibition represents a novel therapeutic strategy in NSCLC.

Significance:

These findings demonstrate the oncogenic function of CKAP2L through regulation of transcription elongation and suggest that targeting CKAP2L could enhance therapeutic response in patients with NSCLC.
Survivin Expression Is Differentially Regulated by a Selective Cross-talk between RBM38 and miRNAs let-7b or miR-203a
Authors: Lucchesi Christopher A. , Zhang Jin , Ma Buyong , Nussinov Ruth , Chen Xinbin
Published: January 2021

RNA-binding motif 38 (RBM38) is a member of a protein family with a highly conserved RNA-binding motif and has been shown to regulate mRNA processing, stability, and translation. Survivin is an essential modulator of apoptotic and nonapoptotic cell death as well as a stress responder. Survivin mRNA is the fourth most frequently overexpressed transcript in the human cancer transcriptome, and its aberrant expression is associated with chemo-/radioresistance and poor prognosis. In this study, we examined whether survivin expression is regulated by RBM38. RBM38 bound to survivin 3′-untranslated region and suppressed miRNA let-7b from binding to and degrading survivin mRNA, leading to increased survivin expression. RBM38 interacted with argonaute-2 (AGO2) and facilitated miR-203a–mediated degradation of survivin mRNA, leading to decreased survivin expression. Due to the abundance of let-7b over miR-203a, RBM38 ultimately increased survivin expression in HCT116 and MCF7 cells. In addition, Ser-195 in RBM38 interacted with Glu-73/-76 in AGO2, and Pep8, an eight-amino acid peptide spanning the region of Ser-195 in RBM38, blocked the RBM38–AGO2 interaction and inhibited miR-203a–mediated mRNA degradation, leading to enhanced survivin expression. Furthermore, Pep8 cooperated with YM155, an inhibitor of survivin, to suppress tumor spheroid growth and viability. Pep8 sensitized tumor cells to YM155-induced DNA damage in an RBM38-dependent manner. Together, our data indicate that RBM38 is a dual regulator of survivin and that Pep8/YM155 may be therapeutically explored for tumor suppression.

Significance:

These findings show that RBM38 exerts opposing effects on survivin expression via two miRNAs, and disruption of the RBM38–AGO2 complex by an eight-amino acid peptide sensitizes tumor spheroids to survivin inhibitor YM155.
Atezolizumab plus Bevacizumab: A Novel Breakthrough in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Castet Florian , Willoughby Catherine E. , Haber Philipp K. , Llovet Josep M.
Published: January 2021

The combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab increases overall survival compared with sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its approval by the FDA has launched a new era of combination therapies in advanced and earlier settings that are likely to reshape the management of HCC across all disease stages.

See related article by Casak et al., p. 1836