bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Time–Motion and Technical–Tactical Aspects of Glory World Series Matches in the Male Middle-Heavy-Weight Category
Authors: Calabrese Jean C. , Silva Renata G. , Bertuzzi Romulo , Lima-Silva Adriano E.
Published: August 2024

Purpose: To characterize the time structure of K1 kickboxing matches of Glory World Series (Glory) and to determine potential differences between winners and losers. Methods: Seventeen matches of Glory 2019 (17 first rounds, 13 second rounds, and 8 third rounds) were video-analyzed to quantify (1) the time expended in high- and low-intensity activity and pauses, (2) the number and pattern of attacks, and (3) the number of effective attacks. Fighters were professional male athletes (age 27.9 [2.7] y) of the middle-weight category (85 kg). The number and the pattern of attacks and the number of effective attacks were compared between winners and losers. Results: The mean times expended in high- and low-intensity activity and pauses were 234.6 (133.9) seconds, 97.4 (60.1) seconds, and 36.0 (19.9) seconds, respectively, resulting in an effort-to-pause ratio of ∼1.8:1. Compared with losers, winners presented (1) a greater number of attacks in the second round (P = .004) and entire match (P = .009), (2) a greater number of attacks containing 3 attacks in sequence in the second round (P = .001) and attacks containing >3 attacks in the third round (P = .049), and (3) a greater number of effective attacks in the second round (P = .011) and entire match (P = .008). Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicate that K1 kickboxing in Glory matches presents a ∼1.8:1 effort-to-pause ratio and that winners perform more attacks, effective attacks, and attacks in sequence. These data provide useful insights to improve the training specificity of kickboxing athletes.
HSV-1 infection induces phosphorylated tau propagation among neurons via extracellular vesicles
Authors: Protto V. , Miteva M. T. , Iannuzzi F. , Marcocci M. E. , Li Puma D. D. , Piacentini R. , Belli M. , Sansone L. , Pietrantoni A. , Grassi C. , Palamara A. T. , De Chiara G.
Published: August 2024

Extracellular vesicles (EV), key players in cell-to-cell communication, may contribute to disease propagation in several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), by favoring the dissemination of neurotoxic proteins within the brain. Interestingly, growing evidence supports the role of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection in the pathogenesis of AD. Here, we investigated whether HSV-1 infection could promote the spread of phosphorylated tau (ptau) among neurons via EV. We analyzed the ptau species that were secreted via EV following HSV-1 infection in neuroblastoma cells and primary neurons, focusing particularly on T205, T181, and T217, the phosphorylation sites mainly associated with AD. Moreover, by overexpressing human tau tagged with GFP (htau
GFP
), we found that recipient tau knockout (KO) neurons uptook EV that are loaded with HSV-1-induced phtau
GFP
. Finally, we exploited an
in vivo
model of acute infection and assessed that cerebral HSV-1 infection promotes the release of ptau via EV in the brain of infected mice. Overall, our data suggest that, following HSV-1 infection, EV play a role in tau spreading within the brain, thus contributing to neurodegeneration.

IMPORTANCE

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection that reaches the brain has been repeatedly linked with the appearance of the pathognomonic markers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including accumulation of amyloid beta and hyperphosphorylated tau proteins, and cognitive deficits. AD is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease representing the most common form of dementia in the elderly, and no cure is currently available, thus prompting additional investigation on potential risk factors and pathological mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that the virus exploits the extracellular vesicles (EV) to disseminate phosphorylated tau (ptau) among brain cells. Importantly, we provide evidence that the HSV-1-induced EV-bearing ptau can be undertaken by recipient neurons, thus likely contributing to misfolding and aggregation of native tau, as reported for other AD models. Hence, our data highlight a novel mechanism exploited by HSV-1 to propagate tau-related damage in the brain.
Integration of genomic and pharmacokinetic data to predict clinical outcomes in HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis
Authors: Stott Katharine E. , Mohabir Jason T. , Bowers Katharine , Tenor Jennifer L. , Toffaletti Dena L. , Unsworth Jennifer , Jimenez-Valverde Ana , Ahmadu Ajisa , Moyo Melanie , Gondwe Ebbie , Chimang’anga Wezi , Chasweka Madalitso , Lawrence David S. , Jarvis Joseph N. , Harrison Tom , Hope William , Lalloo David G. , Mwandumba Henry C. , Perfect John R. , Cuomo Christina A. ,   The AMBITION Study Group
Published: August 2024

Cryptococcal meningitis causes an estimated 112,000 global deaths per annum. Genomic and phenotypic features of the infecting strain of
Cryptococcus
spp. have been associated with outcomes from cryptococcal meningitis. Additionally, population-level pharmacokinetic variability is well documented in these patient cohorts. The relative contribution of these factors to clinical outcomes is unknown. Based in Malawi, we conducted a sub-study of the phase 3 Ambition-CM trial (ISRCTN72509687), collecting plasma and cerebrospinal fluid at serial time points during the first 14 days of antifungal therapy. We explored the relative contribution of pathogen genotype, drug resistance phenotype, and pharmacokinetics on clinical outcomes including lumbar opening pressure, pharmacodynamic effect, and mortality. We report remarkable genomic homogeneity among infecting strains of
Cryptococcus
spp., within and between patients. There was no evidence of acquisition of antifungal resistance in our isolates. Genotypic features of the infecting strain were not consistently associated with adverse or favorable clinical outcomes. However, baseline fungal burden and early fungicidal activity (EFA) were associated with mortality. The strongest predictor of EFA was the level of exposure to amphotericin B. Our analysis suggests the most effective means of improving clinical outcomes from HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis is to optimize exposure to potent antifungal therapy.

IMPORTANCE

HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis is associated with a high burden of mortality. Research into the different strain types causing this disease has yielded inconsistent findings in terms of which strains are associated with worse clinical outcomes. Our study suggests that the exposure of patients to potent anti-cryptococcal drugs has a more significant impact on clinical outcomes than the strain type of the infecting organism. Future research should focus on optimizing drug exposure, particularly in the context of novel anticryptococcal drugs coming into clinical use.
Rational design of a flavoenzyme for aerobic nicotine catabolism
Authors: Hu Haiyang , Xu Zhaoyong , Zhang Zhiyao , Song Peizhi , Stull Frederick , Xu Ping , Tang Hongzhi
Published: August 2024

Enzymatic therapy with nicotine-degrading enzyme is a new strategy in treating nicotine addiction, which can reduce nicotine concentrations and weaken withdrawal in the rat model. However, when O
2
is used as the electron acceptor, no satisfactory performance has been achieved with one of the most commonly studied and efficient nicotine-catabolizing enzymes, NicA2. To obtain more efficient nicotine-degrading enzyme, we rationally designed and engineered a flavoenzyme Pnao, which shares high structural similarity with NicA2 (RMSD = 1.143 Å) and efficiently catalyze pseudooxynicotine into 3-succinoyl-semialdehyde pyridine using O
2
. Through amino acid alterations with NicA2, five Pnao mutants were generated, which can degrade nicotine in Tris-HCl buffer and retain catabolic activity on its natural substrate. Nicotine-1′-
N
-oxide was identified as one of the reaction products. Four of the derivative mutants showed activity in rat serum and Trp220 and Asn224 were found critical for enzyme specificity. Our findings offer a novel avenue for research into aerobic nicotine catabolism and provide a promising method of generating additional nicotine-catalytic enzymes.

IMPORTANCE

Nicotine, the main active substance in tobacco, results in cigarette addiction and various diseases. There have been some attempts at using nicotine oxidoreductase, NicA2, as a therapeutic for nicotine cessation. However, it uses cytochrome c as it is electron acceptor, which is impractical for therapeutic use compared with using O2 as an oxidant. Thus, amino acid alteration was performed on Pnao using NicA2 as model. Five of the mutants generated degraded nicotine at a rate similar to NicA2, and one of the catabolic compounds was identified as nicotine-1′-N-oxide. Our research highlights a new direction in developing enzymes that efficiently catabolize nicotine without co-enzymes and suggests that structure-similar human original MAOA (or B) may assist with nicotine cessation after being engineered.
Signatures of Mollicutes-related endobacteria in publicly available Mucoromycota genomes
Authors: Longley Reid , Robinson Aaron J. , Asher Olivia A. , Middlebrook Earl , Bonito Gregory , Chain Patrick S. G.
Published: August 2024

Mucoromycota fungi and their Mollicutes-related endobacteria (MRE) are an ideal system for studying bacterial–fungal interactions and evolution due to the long-term and intimate nature of their interactions. However, methods for detecting MRE face specific challenges due to the poor representation of MRE in sequencing databases coupled with the high sequence divergence of their genomes, making traditional similarity searches unreliable. This has precluded estimations on the diversity of MRE associated with Mucoromycota. To determine the prevalence of previously undetected MRE in fungal genome sequences, we scanned 389 Mucoromycota genome assemblies available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information for the presence of MRE sequences using publicly available tools to map contigs from fungal assemblies to publicly available MRE genomes. We demonstrate a higher diversity of MRE genomes than previously described in Mucoromycota and a lack of cophylogeny between MRE and the majority of their fungal hosts. This supports the late invasion hypothesis regarding MRE acquisition across most of the examined fungal families. In contrast with other Mucoromycota lineages, MRE from the Gigasporaceae displayed some degree of cophylogeny with their hosts, which may indicate that horizontal transmission is restricted between members of this family or that transmission is strictly vertical. These results underscore the need for a refined process to capture sequencing data from potential fungal endosymbionts to discern their evolution and transmission. Screens of fungal genomes for MRE can help improve the quality of fungal genome assemblies while identifying new MRE lineages to further test hypotheses on their origin and evolution.

IMPORTANCE

Mollicutes-related endobacteria (MRE) are obligate intracellular bacteria found within Mucoromycota fungi. Despite their frequent detection, MRE roles in host functioning are still unknown. Comparative genomic investigations can improve our understanding of the impact of MRE on their fungal hosts by identifying similarities and differences in MRE genome evolution. However, MRE genomes have only been assembled from a small fraction of Mucoromycota hosts. Here, we demonstrate that MRE can be present yet undetected in publicly available Mucoromycota genome assemblies. We use these newfound sequences to assess the broader diversity of MRE and their phylogenetic relationships with respect to their hosts. We demonstrate that publicly available tools can be used to extract novel MRE sequences from assembled fungal genomes leading to insights on MRE evolution. This work contributes to a greater understanding of the fungal microbiome, which is crucial to improving knowledge on the dynamics and impacts of fungi in microbial ecosystems.
Enzymatically enhanced ultrastructure expansion microscopy unlocks expansion of
in vitro Toxoplasma gondii
cysts
Authors: Bondarenko Kseniia , Limoge Floriane , Pedram Kayvon , Gissot Mathieu , Young Joanna C.
Published: August 2024

Expansion microscopy (ExM) is an innovative approach to achieve super-resolution images without using super-resolution microscopes, based on the physical expansion of the sample. The advent of ExM has unlocked the detail of super-resolution images for a broader scientific circle, lowering the cost and entry skill requirements for the field. One of its branches, ultrastructure expansion microscopy (U-ExM), has become popular among research groups studying apicomplexan parasites, including the acute stage of
Toxoplasma gondii
infection. Here, we show that the chronic cyst-forming stage of
Toxoplasma
, however, resists U-ExM expansion, impeding precise protein localization. We then solve the
in vitro
cyst’s resistance to denaturation required for successful U-ExM. As the cyst’s main structural protein CST1 contains a mucin domain, we added an enzymatic digestion step using the pan-mucinase StcE prior to the expansion protocol. This allowed full expansion of the cysts in fibroblasts and primary neuronal cell culture without disrupting immunofluorescence analysis of parasite proteins. Using StcE-enhanced U-ExM, we clarified the localization of the GRA2 protein, which is important for establishing a normal cyst, observing GRA2 granules spanning across the CST1 cyst wall. The StcE–U-ExM protocol allows accurate pinpointing of proteins in the bradyzoite cyst, which will greatly facilitate investigation of the underlying biology of cyst formation and its vulnerabilities.

IMPORTANCE

Toxoplasma gondii
is an intracellular parasite capable of establishing long-term chronic infection in nearly all warm-blooded animals. During the chronic stage, parasites encapsulate to form cysts predominantly in neurons and skeletal muscle. Current anti-
Toxoplasma
drugs do not eradicate chronic parasites, leaving a reservoir of infection. The cyst is critical for disease transmission and pathology, yet it is harder to study, with the function of many chronic-stage proteins still unknown. Ultrastructure expansion microscopy, a new method to overcome the light microscopy’s diffraction limit by physically expanding the sample, allowed in-depth studies of acute
Toxoplasma
infection. We show that
Toxoplasma
cysts resist expansion using standard protocol, but an additional enzymatic digestion with the mucinase StcE allows full expansion. This protocol offers new avenues for examining the chronic stage, including precise spatial organization of cyst-specific proteins, linking these locations to morphological structures, and detailed investigations of components of the durable cyst wall.
High prevalence of the recently identified clonal lineage ST1299/CT3109
vanA
among vancomycin-resistant
Enterococcus faecium
strains isolated from municipal wastewater
Authors: Valenza Giuseppe , Eisenberger David , Esse Jan , Held Jürgen , Lehner-Reindl Verena , Plaumann Peter-Louis , Ziegler Tobias , Knauer Max , Bogdan Christian , Dudler Patrick
Published: August 2024

Previously, we demonstrated that the majority of vancomycin-resistant
Enterococcus faecium
(VREfm) strains from in-patients of the University Hospital Erlangen, Germany, belonged to only three clonal lineages, namely ST117/CT71
vanB
and two novel ST1299
vanA
lineages classified as CT3109 and CT1903. The goal of the current study was (i) to investigate whether VREfm is also detectable in wastewater of the city of Erlangen, (ii) to identify their molecular features, and (iii) to clarify whether VREfm could arise from the community of the city of Erlangen or can be (directly) connected to nosocomial infections in the hospital setting. From April to May 2023, a total of 244 VREfm strains from raw wastewater of the city of Erlangen were analyzed by core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST). Moreover, 20 of them were further investigated for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The molecular characterization of the wastewater VREfm strains revealed a high prevalence (27.9%) of the recently identified clonal lineage ST1299/CT3109
vanA,
which is mainly characterized by the presence of the tetracycline-resistance determinant
tet(M
) and the virulence genes
pilA
and
prpA
. The SNPs analysis revealed the presence of two major clusters, namely cluster I (≤65 SNPs), which included well-known hospital-adapted
vanB
clonal lineages such as ST117/CT71 and ST80/CT1065 and cluster II (≤70 SNPs), which were mainly characterized by the lineage ST1299/CT3109
vanA
. Based on the concomitant resistance to vancomycin and tetracycline, we propose that ST1299/CT3109
vanA
primarily originated and spread outside of hospital settings.

IMPORTANCE

This study provides a detailed genomic analysis of vancomycin-resistant
Enterococcus faecium
(VREfm) strains isolated from municipal wastewater with a particular focus on clonal lineages, antimicrobial resistance, and the presence of virulence genes. The high wastewater prevalence of the recently identified clonal lineage ST1299/CT3109
vanA
, which has been previously detected in hospitals, suggests an enormous potential for future spread in Germany.
Rapid and sensitive determination of residual prion infectivity from prion-decontaminated surfaces
Authors: Simmons Sara M. , Payne Vivianne L. , Hrdlicka Jay G. , Taylor Jack , Larsen Peter A. , Wolf Tiffany M. , Schwabenlander Marc D. , Yuan Qi , Bartz Jason C.
Published: August 2024

Prion diseases are untreatable fatal transmissible neurodegenerative diseases that affect a wide range of mammals, including humans, and are caused by PrP
Sc
, the infectious self-templating conformation of the host-encoded protein, PrP
C
. Prion diseases can be transmitted via surfaces (e.g., forceps, EEG electrodes) in laboratory and clinical settings. Here, we use a combination of surface swabbing and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) to test for residual surface-associated prions following prion disinfection. We found that treatment of several prion-contaminated laboratory and clinically relevant surfaces with either water or 70% EtOH resulted in robust detection of surface-associated prions. In contrast, treatment of surfaces with sodium hypochlorite resulted in a failure to detect surface-associated prions. RT-QuIC analysis of prion-contaminated stainless steel wires paralleled the findings of the surface swab studies. Importantly, animal bioassay and RT-QuIC analysis of the same swab extracts are in agreement. We report on conditions that may interfere with the assay that need to be taken into consideration before using this technique. Overall, this method can be used to survey laboratory and clinical surfaces for prion infectivity following prion decontamination protocols.

IMPORTANCE

Prion diseases can be accidentally transmitted in clinical and occupational settings. While effective means of prion decontamination exist, methods for determining the effectiveness are only beginning to be described. Here, we analyze surface swab extracts using real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) to test for residual prions following prion disinfection of relevant clinical and laboratory surfaces. We found that this method can rapidly determine the efficacy of surface prion decontamination. Importantly, examination of surface extracts with RT-QuIC and animal bioassay produced similar findings, suggesting that this method can accurately assess the reduction in prion titer. We identified surface contaminants that interfere with the assay, which may be found in clinical and laboratory settings. Overall, this method can enhance clinical and laboratory prion safety measures.
Diverse non-canonical electron bifurcating [FeFe]-hydrogenases of separate evolutionary origins in
Hydrogenedentota
Authors: Zheng Xiaowei , Huang Li
Published: August 2024

Hydrogenedentota
, a globally distributed bacterial phylum-level lineage, is poorly understood. Here, we established a comprehensive genomic catalog of
Hydrogenedentota
, including a total of seven clades (or families) with 179 genomes, and explored the metabolic potential and evolutionary history of these organisms. We show that a single genome, especially those belonging to Clade 6, often encodes multiple hydrogenases with genomes in Clade 2, which rarely encode hydrogenases being the exception. Notably, most members of
Hydrogenedentota
contain a group A3 [FeFe]-hydrogenase (BfuABC) with a non-canonical electron bifurcation mechanism, in addition to substrate-level phosphorylation and electron transport-linked phosphorylation pathways, in energy conservation. Furthermore, we show that BfuABC from
Hydrogenedentota
fall into five sub-types. Phylogenetic analysis reveals five independent routes for the evolution of BfuABC homologs in
Hydrogenedentota
. We speculate that the five sub-types of BfuABC might be acquired from
Bacillota
(synonym
Firmicutes
) through separate horizontal gene transfer events. These data shed light on the diversity and evolution of bifurcating [FeFe]-hydrogenases and provide insight into the strategy of
Hydrogenedentota
to adapt to survival in various habitats.

IMPORTANCE

The phylum
Hydrogenedentota
is widely distributed in various environments. However, their physiology, ecology, and evolutionary history remain unknown, primarily due to the limited availability of the genomes and the lack of cultured representatives of the phylum. Our results have increased the knowledge of the genetic and metabolic diversity of these organisms and shed light on their diverse energy conservation strategies, especially those involving electron bifurcation with a non-canonical mechanism, which are likely responsible for their wide distribution. Besides, the organization and phylogenetic relationships of gene clusters coding for BfuABC in
Hydrogenedentota
provide valuable clues to the evolutionary history of group A3 electron bifurcating [FeFe]-hydrogenases.
Physiological assessment of the effects of experimental capture and transport in Pacific spiny dogfish
Authors: Bouyoucos Ian A. , Weinrauch Alyssa M. , Eastham Tao M. , Eori Liam , MacPherson Jess , Porter Dave , Schoen Alexandra N. , Wahl Ryan C. , Anderson W. Gary
Published: August 2024

Sharks are collected from the wild as live specimens for display in aquariums and use in research. The methods by which live sharks are captured and transported can be associated with sub-lethal physiological outcomes or even mortality, which requires evaluation to determine optimal collection and transport methods for a given species. The present study evaluated the primary (i.e., endocrine) and secondary (i.e., biochemical) stress responses and mortality in Pacific spiny dogfish ( Squalus suckleyi) following capture and subsequent transport between experimental rod-and-reel angling and longline fishing. Dogfish were resilient to transport following capture by either method, exhibiting no at-vessel mortality and 0.03% delayed mortality. Longline captured dogfish exhibited signs of primary (i.e., elevated corticosterone) and secondary (i.e., elevated plasma potassium, osmolality, glucose, and lactate; decreased blood pH) stress responses, whereas dogfish that experienced rod-and-reel capture and transport only exhibited a secondary stress response (i.e., elevated plasma potassium, osmolality, and lactate; decreased blood pH). Together, these data demonstrate that Pacific spiny dogfish are robust to capture and transport using experimental hook-and-line fishing techniques.
Using fin ray elemental signatures and growth zone width to estimate onset of sexual maturity in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
Authors: Taylor Alaina A. , Larson Douglas L. , Scribner Kim T. , Baker Edward A. , Halden Norman M. , Anderson W. Gary
Published: August 2024

Characterizing inter- and intra-population levels of variability in age at sexual maturation for long-lived fishes provides insight into year-class strength and recruitment dynamics, allowing for more effective management practices. Here we analyzed the ontogenetic chronology of pectoral fin ray annuli trace elemental concentration profiles as well as changes in annuli growth in lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens) to determine onset of sexual maturity (OSM). Elemental concentrations and growth-zone width were used to build a random forest classification model to discriminate year-specific signatures to before or after OSM from 98 individual fin rays from both sexes across multiple populations and watersheds. The model demonstrated an overall accuracy of 98.8%. Ba was the most important variable related to OSM discrimination success followed by zone width, Pb, Mn, Mg, Zn, Cu, and Sr. Fin ray elemental concentrations began to increase at approximately age 24 (±4.7 years) in females and 15 (±3.1 years) in males while zone width decreased. This study implies that new applications for fin ray microchemistry are possible and could benefit future fisheries management strategies specifically by adding nonlethal or less invasive sampling techniques for evaluating OSM in sturgeon.
Escaping the hot seat: consuming decomposing Cannabis sativa slows weight gain and heat escape behaviour in the earthworm, Eisenia fetida
Authors: Williams Andrew M. , Sbrizzi Serena , Campbell Lesley G. , Koprivnikar Janet
Published: August 2024

Given the rise in cannabis ( Cannabis sativa L .) cultivation, and the absence of disposal guidelines in Canada and other countries, the toxicological impacts of its secondary metabolites on non-target organisms via ingestion are important to understand. Due to the unique chemicals found in C. sativa, sublethal effects, such as those on behaviours and growth, must also be considered. We fed a generalist detritivore, the red wiggler earthworm ( Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826)), diets composed of hemp or two other crop plants (lettuce or basil), or combinations thereof, over 28 days to measure effects on earthworm survival, growth, and behavioural responses to stressful stimuli (high heat and light). Earthworms fed only hemp gained weight, albeit less than those on other diets, with no effects on their survival or response to light. However, hemp consumption led to slower escape times and speeds from a heat stimulus, indicating potential sublethal effects. By using hemp genotypes with low cannabinoid concentrations, our results offer a conservative estimate of the potential impact of hemp cultivation or disposal of C. sativa on invertebrates such as earthworms. This research underscores the importance of developing accurate risk models for exposure to crop phytochemicals in non-target species.
Algorithm 1048: A
C++
Class for Robust Linear Barycentric Rational Interpolation
Authors: Fuda Chiara , Hormann Kai
Published: August 2024

Barycentric rational interpolation is a recent interpolation method with several favourable properties. In this article, we present the BRI class, which features a new
C++
class template that contains all variables and functions related to linear barycentric rational interpolation. While several methods exist to evaluate a barycentric rational interpolant, the class is designed to autonomously select the best method to use on a case-by-case basis, as it takes into account the latest results regarding the efficiency and numerical stability of barycentric rational interpolation [
15
]. Moreover, we describe a new technique that makes the code robust and less prone to overflow and underflow errors. In addition to the standard
C++
data types, the BRI template variables can also be defined with arbitrary precision because the BRI class is compatible with the Multiple Precision Floating-Point Reliable (MPFR) library [
14
].
TCGC: Temporal Collaboration-Aware Graph Co-Evolution Learning for Dynamic Recommendation
Authors: Tang Haoran , Wu Shiqing , Sun Xueyao , Zeng Jun , Xu Guandong , Li Qing
Published: August 2024

Dynamic recommendation systems, where users interact with items continuously over time, have been widely deployed in real-world online streaming applications. The burst of interaction stream causes a rapid evolution of both users and items. To update representations dynamically, existing studies have investigated event-level and history-level dynamics by modeling the newly arrived interactions and aggregating historical interactions, respectively. However, most of them directly learn the representation evolution as new interactions occur, without exploring the collaboration between the newly arrived and historical interactions, thus failing to scrutinize whether those new interactions would benefit the evolution learning process when generating dynamic representations. Moreover, most of them model the two levels of dynamics independently, explicitly ignoring the inherent co-evolving correlation between them. In this work, we propose the
Temporal Collaboration-Aware Graph Co-Evolution Learning (TCGC)
for the dynamic recommendation scenario. First, we explore the effectiveness of collaborative information and devise the collaboration-aware indicator to guide the evolution learning process. Second, we design a temporal co-evolving graph network, enabling our framework to capture the correlation between event and history dynamics. Third, we leverage the evolution task and recommendation task together for joint training. Extensive experiments on four public datasets demonstrate the superiority and effectiveness of our proposed TCGC.
SwinShadow: Shifted Window for Ambiguous Adjacent Shadow Detection
Authors: Wang Yonghui , Liu Shaokai , Li Li , Zhou Wengang , Li Houqiang
Published: August 2024

Shadow detection is a fundamental and challenging task in many computer vision applications. Intuitively, most shadows come from the occlusion of light by the object itself, resulting in the object and its shadow being contiguous (referred to as the adjacent shadow in this article). In this case, when the color of the object is similar to that of the shadow, existing methods struggle to achieve accurate detection. To address this problem, we present SwinShadow, a transformer-based architecture that fully utilizes the powerful shifted window mechanism for detecting adjacent shadows. The mechanism operates in two steps. Initially, it applies local self-attention within a single window, enabling the network to focus on local details. Subsequently, it shifts the attention windows to facilitate inter-window attention, enabling the capture of a broader range of adjacent information. These combined steps significantly improve the network’s capacity to distinguish shadows from nearby objects. And the whole process can be divided into three parts: encoder, decoder, and feature integration. During encoding, we adopt Swin Transformer to acquire hierarchical features. Then during decoding, for shallow layers, we propose a deep supervision (DS) module to suppress the false positives and boost the representation capability of shadow features for subsequent processing, while for deep layers, we leverage a double attention (DA) module to integrate local and shifted window in one stage to achieve a larger receptive field and enhance the continuity of information. Ultimately, a new multi-level aggregation (MLA) mechanism is applied to fuse the decoded features for mask prediction. Extensive experiments on three shadow detection benchmark datasets, SBU, UCF, and ISTD, demonstrate that our network achieves good performance in terms of balance error rate (BER). The source code and results are now publicly available at
https://github.com/harrytea/SwinShadow
.
Graph Representation Learning Enhanced Semi-Supervised Feature Selection
Authors: Tan Jun , Qiu Zhifeng , Gui Ning
Published: August 2024

Feature selection is a key step in machine learning by eliminating features that are not related to the modeling target to create reliable and interpretable models. By exploring the potential complex correlations among features of unlabeled data, recently introduced self-supervision-enhanced feature selection greatly reduces the reliance on the labeled samples. However, they are generally based on the autoencoder with sample-wise self-supervision, which can hardly exploit the relations among samples. To address this limitation, this article proposes graph representation learning enhanced semi-supervised feature selection (G-FS) which performs feature selection based on the discovery and exploitation of the non-Euclidean relations among features and samples by translating unlabeled “plain” tabular data into a bipartite graph. A self-supervised edge prediction task is designed to distill rich information on the graph into low-dimensional embeddings, which remove redundant features and noise. Guided by the condensed graph representation, we propose a batch attention feature weight generation mechanism that generates more robust weights according to batch-based selection patterns rather than individual samples. The results show that G-FS achieves significant performance edges in 14 datasets compared to twelve state-of-the-art baselines, including two recent self-supervised baselines. The source code is public available at
https://github.com/Icannotnamemyselff/G-FS_Graph_enhacned_feature_selection
.
An Unsupervised Domain-Adaptive Framework for Chinese Spelling Checking
Authors: Wang Xi , Zhao Ruoqing , Li Jing , Li Piji
Published: August 2024

Chinese Spelling Check (CSC) is a meaningful task in the area of natural language processing, which aims at detecting spelling errors in Chinese texts and then correcting these errors. Current typical CSC models have shown impressive performance in general datasets with the help of pretrained language models such as BERT, but they suffer great performance loss in downstream tasks with domain-specific terms because they are primarily trained on general corpora. To verify the cross-domain adaptation ability of these models, we build three new datasets with abundant domain-specific terms on financial, medical, and legal domains and conduct empirical investigations on them in the corresponding domain-specific test datasets to verify the cross-domain adaptation ability. In response to the poor performance of the existing models, we propose a framework named
uChecker,
which utilizes an unsupervised method in spelling error detection and correction. Experimental results prove that uChecker can perform well in domain-specific test datasets while not losing its performance in the general domain.
Toward Cross-Lingual Social Event Detection with Hybrid Knowledge Distillation
Authors: Ren Jiaqian , Peng Hao , Jiang Lei , Hao Zhifeng , Wu Jia , Gao Shengxiang , Yu Zhengtao , Yang Qiang
Published: August 2024

Recently published graph neural networks (GNNs) show promising performance at social event detection tasks. However, most studies are oriented toward monolingual data in languages with abundant training samples. This has left the common lesser-spoken languages relatively unexplored. Thus, in this work, we present a GNN-based framework that integrates cross-lingual word embeddings into the process of graph knowledge distillation for detecting events in low-resource language data streams. To achieve this, a novel cross-lingual knowledge distillation framework, called CLKD, exploits prior knowledge learned from similar threads in English to make up for the paucity of annotated data. Specifically, to extract sufficient useful knowledge, we propose a hybrid distillation method that consists of both feature-wise and relation-wise information. To transfer both kinds of knowledge in an effective way, we add a cross-lingual module in the feature-wise distillation to eliminate the language gap and selectively choose beneficial relations in the relation-wise distillation to avoid distraction caused by teachers’ misjudgments. Our proposed CLKD framework also adopts different configurations to suit both offline and online situations. Experiments on real-world datasets show that the framework is highly effective at detection in languages where training samples are scarce.
Decarbonizing the US Energy System
Authors: Hendrickson Thomas P. , Abhyankar Nikit , Mohanty Priyanka , Mayfield Kimberley K. , Kirkendall Whitney , Stanley Alexander J. , Stack Stephen , Yang Hung-Chia , Satchwell Andrew J.
Published: August 2024

Recent rapid and unexpected cost reductions in decarbonization technologies have accelerated the cost-effective decarbonization of the US economy, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions falling by 20% from 2005 to 2020. The literature on US economy-wide decarbonization focuses on maximizing long-term GHG emissions reduction strategies that rely mostly on renewable energy expansion, electrification, and efficiency improvements to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. While these studies provide a valuable foundation, further research is needed to properly support decarbonization policy development and implementation. In this review, we identify key decarbonization analysis gaps and opportunities, including issues related to cross-sectoral linkages, spatial and temporal granularity, consumer behavior, emerging technologies, equity and environmental justice, and political economy. We conclude by discussing the implications of these analysis gaps for US decarbonization pathways and how they relate to challenges facing major global emitters.
Margin Rules and Margin Trading: Past, Present, and Implications
Authors: Chen Zhuo , He Zhiguo , Wei Wei
Published: August 2024

Margin—collateral or funds that investors deposit with their counterparties—is a crucial component of the practice of borrowing money to fund investment. While margin offers the potential for enhanced returns, it also exposes investors to the risk of escalated losses, thereby necessitating stringent regulatory oversight. Delving into the regulatory framework governing margin trading, we provide historical insights into the origins and dynamics of various margin requirements, and we review academic studies that illuminate the implications of these regulations for asset pricing, financial stability, and the design of margin rules. With an eye to the future, we also outline recent advancements in the evolving landscape of margin rules, such as portfolio margin and central clearing.
A Lexicon for First-Trimester US: Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound Consensus Conference Recommendations
Authors: Rodgers Shuchi K. , Horrow Mindy M. , Doubilet Peter M. , Frates Mary C. , Kennedy Anne , Andreotti Rochelle , Brandi Kristyn , Detti Laura , Horvath Sarah K. , Kamaya Aya , Koyama Atsuko , Lema Penelope Chun , Maturen Katherine E. , Morgan Tara , Običan Sarah G. , Olinger Kristen , Sohaey Roya , Senapati Suneeta , Strachowski Lori M.
Published: August 2024

The Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound First-Trimester US Lexicon recommends well-defined, scientific, and specific terminology to communicate clearly across disciplines, minimize bias and harm, and respect patient preferences.
Towards ZnO-Based Near-Infra-Red Radiation Detectors: Performance Improvement via Si Nanoclusters Embedment
Authors: Rangel-Kuoppa Victor-Tapio , Alfaro-Flores Dante Rodrigo , Guillen-Cervantes Angel , de Moure-Flores Francisco , Meléndez-Lira Miguel Ángel
Published: August 2024

Si nanoparticles embedded in a ZnO matrix were produced by a sequential deposition of ZnO/Si/ZnO layers, by radio frequency sputtering. Sample growth temperatures of 25 °C, 300 °C, and 500 °C were used to deposit ZnO/Si/ZnO layers on soda lime glass and p-type silicon substrates; ZnO layers were deposited by reactive radio-frequency sputtering employing a mixture of Ar/O2, with a ratio of 66/33, as working atmosphere. The type of substrate and the growth temperature affect the first ZnO layer roughness, promoting the formation of silicon nanoparticles, matrix characteristics, and as consequence, spectral response. The roughness of the initial ZnO layer is transferred to the top layer of ZnO, and it can be tailored between 65 and 370 Å, depending on the sample growth temperature. Transmission electron microscopy show that substrate temperature mainly affects the density of silicon nanoparticles rather than their size. ZnO/Si/ZnO films deposited on p-type silicon substrate were processed and photosensors were obtained, showing a selective response in the 950 to 1150 nm wavelength range, making them suitable candidates for near infrared detectors.
Amniotic fluid modifies esophageal epithelium differentiation and inflammatory responses
Authors: Rochman Mark , Klinger Andrea M. , Caldwell Julie M. , Sadovsky Yoel , Rothenberg Marc E.
Published: August 2024

The interaction between amniotic fluid and the esophageal epithelium during pregnancy modifies esophageal epithelial differentiation and subsequent responsiveness to inflammatory stimuli, including interleukin 13 (IL-13). This interaction may predispose individuals to inflammatory conditions of the esophagus, such as eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), in later stages of life.
Acute Coronary Syndrome as an Unusual Initial Presentation of T‐Prolymphocytic Leukemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Klein Christian R. , Jansen Felix , Brossart Peter , Herling Marco , Feldmann Georg
Published: August 2024

T‐prolymphocytic leukaemia (T‐PLL) is the most common mature T‐cell leukaemia in Central Europe and is often manifested by rapidly increasing lymphocytosis, marked bone marrow infiltration and splenomegaly. In 10–15% of cases, the diagnosis is made by incidental findings in otherwise asymptomatic patients. Here we report a case of T‐PLL that initially became symptomatic due to the presence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Initially, emergency coronary angiography with consecutive emergency 5‐coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed. Leukocytosis was found perioperatively and T‐PLL (with TCL1 rearrangement) was subsequently diagnosed. Despite known potential cardiotoxicity, the patient was treated with the anti‐CD52 antibody alemtuzumab with a gradual dose increase from 3 mg to 30 mg per day. Systemic alemtuzumab therapy resulted in the complete remission of T‐PLL in the bone marrow without any impairment to cardiac function. The patient was then eligible to undergo a consolidating allogeneic stem cell transplant (alloSCT). The reported case shows that T‐PLL can also become initially symptomatic through an acute coronary syndrome on the basis of complex coronary heart disease. Targeted antileukaemic therapy with the monoclonal antibody alemzutumab can lead to effective systemic cytoreduction without cardiac dysfunction even in patients with severe cardiac disease, although cases of cardiotoxicity have been reported.
A Modified Climate‐Smart Push‐Pull Technology for the Management of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in the Semiarid Lands of Kenya
Authors: Mumo Catherine K. , Muturi Phyllis W. , Gichimu Bernard M.
Published: August 2024

Successful use of push‐pull technology in the control of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda Smith) in maize has been limited to areas that receive optimal rainfall as opposed to the semiarid areas. This study sought to determine the viability of a modified push‐pull technology designed for drier areas. The technology involved the use of the drought‐tolerant Brachiaria grass as a potential replacer of Napier grass as a pull crop, alongside drought‐tolerant green‐leaf Desmodium (Desmodium intortum) and edible legumes as push crops. The study was conducted in Mbeere South Subcounty in Embu County, Kenya. The experiments were laid out in split plots arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plots contained Napier and Brachiaria grasses as comparative pull crops while the subplots tested the performance of the drought‐tolerant green‐leaf Desmodium and edible legumes (cowpea, pigeon pea, and green gram) as push crops. A maize monocrop was used as the negative control. The pest dynamics were determined using the area under damage/pest curve (AUDPC). The highest pest incidence was observed in the maize monocrop treatments with AUDPC range of 64–65.5 as compared to the intercrop treatments with AUDPC range of 45–56. The AUDPC for damage severity ranged from 24 to 24.5 in the maize monocrop treatments and 15.5 to 18.7 in the intercrop treatments. These findings implied that the drought‐tolerant green‐leaf Desmodium and the edible legumes can be adopted as effective push crops in the modified push‐pull technology. Brachiaria and Napier grasses portrayed similar suitability as pull crops implying that the two can be used interchangeably as pull crops based on farmers’ preference. This study confirmed the viability of the modified climate‐smart push‐pull technology in the management of fall armyworm in dryland areas.
Multiobjective Binary Differential Approach with Parameter Tuning for Discovering Business Process Models: MoD‐ProM
Authors: Deshmukh A. Sonia , Gupta B. Shikha , Kumar C. Naveen
Published: August 2024

Process discovery approaches analyze the business data to automatically uncover structured information, known as a process model. The quality of a process model is measured using quality dimensions, completeness (replay fitness), preciseness, simplicity, and generalization. Traditional process discovery algorithms usually output a single process model. A single model may not accurately capture the observed behavior and overfit the training data. We have formed the process discovery problem in a multiobjective framework that yields several candidate solutions for the end user who can pick a suitable model based on the local environmental constraints (possibly varying). We consider the Binary Differential Evolution approach in a multiobjective framework for the task of process discovery. The proposed method employs dichotomous crossover/mutation operators. The parameters are tuned using grey relational analysis combined with the Taguchi approach. We have compared the proposed approach with the well‐known single‐objective algorithms and state‐of‐the‐art multiobjective evolutionary algorithm—Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA‐II). Additional comparison via computing a weighted average of the quality dimensions is also undertaken. Results show that the proposed algorithm is computationally efficient and produces diversified candidate solutions that score high on the fitness functions. It is shown that the process models generated by the proposed approach are superior to or at least as good as those generated by the state‐of‐the‐art algorithms.