bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interactive portfolio optimization with cognition-limited human decision making assisted by auxiliary factors
Authors: hu shicheng , Ye Qiang , Li Fang , Hu Yuning
Published: June 2022

The success of an interactive method of portfolio optimization depends on not only the acquisition of a satisfactory solution for a decision maker (DM) but also the amount of cognitive effort the DM affords during interactions. For the purposes of implementing a successful interactive method, however, it is often unrealistic to assume a participating DM with a high cognitive capability. Confronted with the challenge of how a cognition-limited DM is able to remove uncertainties in his/her preference feedback and make more confident judgments during interactions so that a stable, satisfactory solution is found as early as possible, we conduct innovative investigations with respect to DM preference articulation. First, in addition to the objective functions of an optimization model, which are used in the present interactive methods as the only references for DM preference articulation, we aim to define the candidate auxiliary factors involved in the portfolio optimization model and recognize those that are closely correlated with the objective functions (called primary factors) and that can help a DM differentiate solutions if he/she is uncertain in making a judgment according to the primary factors. Next, in order to define an artificial DM to simulate the DM’s decision behaviors being assisted by auxiliary factors in the interactive process, based on a deliberately formulated value function representing the DM’s true preferences on portfolios, we introduce the decision strength (DS) to measure the DM’s capability of making a selection between two solutions. Thus, the DM’s decision behaviors are reflected by his/her DS changing with an increasing number of auxiliary factors incorporated into the primary factors. To verify the proposed interactive method for portfolio optimization, we conduct extensive comparative experiments under the participation of three types of artificial DMs with different levels of cognitive capabilities, comparative experimental results with and without auxiliary factors with respect to four performance measures are presented.
Inhaled Prostacyclin Improves Oxygenation in Patients with COVID-19-induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome – a randomized controlled multicenter trial
Authors: Haeberle Helene A. , Calov Stefanie , Martus Peter , Higuita Lina Maria Serna , Koeppen Michael , Goll Almuth , Zarbock Alexander , Meersch Melanie , Weiss Raphael , Mehrländer Martin , Marx Gernot , Putensen Christian , Bakchoul Tamam , Magunia Harry , Nieswandt Bernhard , Mirakaj Valbona , Rosenberger Peter
Published: June 2022

Background.
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) results in significant hypoxia, and ARDS is the central pathology of COVID-19. Inhaled prostacyclin has been proposed as a therapy for ARDS, but data regarding its role in this syndrome are unavailable. Therefore, we investigated whether inhaled prostacyclin would affect the oxygenation and survival of patients suffering from ARDS.
Methods.
We performed a prospective randomized controlled single-blind multicenter trial across Germany. The trial was conducted from March 2019 with final follow-up on 12th of August 2021. Patients with moderate to severe ARDS were included and randomized to receive either inhaled prostacyclin (3 times/day for 5 days) or sodium chloride. The primary outcome was the oxygenation index in the intervention and control groups on Day 5 of therapy. Secondary outcomes were mortality, secondary organ failure, disease severity and adverse events.
Results.
Of 707 patients approached 150 patients were randomized to receive inhaled prostacyclin (n = 73) or sodium chloride (n = 77). Data from 144 patients were analyzed. The baseline oxygenation index did not differ between groups. The primary analysis of the study was negative, and prostacyclin improved oxygenation by 20 mmHg more than NaCl (p = 0·17). Oxygenation was significantly improved in patients with ARDS who were COVID-19-positive (34 mmHg, p = 0·04). Mortality did not differ between groups. Secondary organ failure and adverse events were similar in the intervention and control groups.
Conclusions.
Although the primary result of our study was negative, our data suggest that inhaled prostacyclin might be a more beneficial treatment than standard care for patients with ARDS.
Trial registration:
The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Tübingen (899/2018AMG1) and the corresponding ethical review boards of all participating centers. The trial was also approved by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM, EudraCT No. 2016-003168-37) and registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03111212) on April 6th 2017.
Contribution of outdoor noise-induced health risk in schools located in urbanized arid country
Authors: Amoatey Patrick , Al-Harthy Issa , Amankona Diawuo , Douban Stella , Izady Azizallah , Chen Mingjie , Al-Jabri Khalifa , Al-Alawi Mubarak
Published: June 2022

Ambient noise pollution is deemed as one of the major growing public health issues, especially in developing countries. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the impact of noise pollution on public health. The aim of this study is to investigate the health risk of noise exposure levels in three schools: Kaab Bin Zeyd of Basic Education (School A), Hail Al-Awamour Girls school (School B), and Al-Fikr School (School C) in Muscat, Oman. The study employed a survey of 300 students, dose-response models, and regression models to quantify health risk and to determine the relationship between noise levels and perceived noise annoyance sources. The study found average noise levels (LAeq) of school A (70.03 ± 8.21 dBA), school B (69.54 ± 7.75 dBA), and school C (55.95 ± 5.67 dBA) to be higher than WHO's outdoor schools environment standard of 55 dBA and European (EN16798-1) classroom’s critical limits of 30–34 dBA. Most of the students from schools A (30.9%), B (33.3%), and C (63%) have reported noise produced from traffic as extremely annoyed compared to aircraft of 15.4%, 11.5%, and 27.2%, respectively. Regression analysis results showed that LAeq explained most of the changes in variations of perceived traffic annoyance by 48.1%, 12.1%, and 13.2% for schools A (R2 = 0.481), B (R2 = 0.121), and C ( R2 = 0.132), respectively. The health risk assessment results show that the percentage of highly annoyed (%HA) was higher in school A (15.2%), and school B (14.95%), than in school C (8.18%). The estimated highly sleep disturbed (%HSD) based on mean noise levels were almost the same in schools A (15.62%) and B (15.19%) but far higher compared to school C (6.01%). However, there was an association between the mean noise exposure levels and the risk of developing ischaemic heart diseases (IHD) in school A (RR = 1.172, 95% CI: 1.020–1.334), school B (RR = 1.167, 95% CI: 1.020–1.325) and school C (RR = 1.051, 95% CI: 1.006–1.095). Moreover, attributable risk percentage (AR%) for school A (AR% =14.675, 95% CI: 2.028–25.037), school B (AR% =14.310, 95% CI: 1.960-24.528), and school C (AR% = 4.852, 95% CI:0.596–8.742) have shown that a substantial portion of the population could be prevented from developing IHD. It is expected that findings of the study can be applied in other arid regions with sprawl urbanized built environments.
A taxonomic study on pollen morphology characteristics, chromosome karyotype characteristics, floral and fruit pigment compositions of 13 species and hybrids of Lonicera L
Authors: Li Dalong , Zhai Xiaoou , Fang Li , Sun Liwei , Ji Xing , Zhang Sijia , Zhang Yujiao , Huimin Liu
Published: June 2022

In this paper, the pollen morphology characteristics, chromosome karyotype characteristics, floral and fruity pigment compositions of 13 species and hybrids of Lonicera L. were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy, root tip squash method, HPLC-MS and GC-MS, and then they were classified separately to discuss their genetic relationship and taxonomic relationship. According to the morphological taxonomy, Lonicera L. distributed in northern are divided into two categories by whether the branchlets are hollow or not. In this experiment, Lonicera chrysanthaTurcz. ex Ledeb., Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim., Lonicera ruprechtiana Regel., Lonicera tatarica Linn. and Lonicera korolkowi ‘Zabelii’. belongsto the category of hollow branchlets; and Lonicera edulisTurcz. and Lonicera tatarinowiiMaxim. belongs to the category of branchlets with solid white pith. Through the analysis of pollen morphology characteristics, chromosome karyotype characteristics, floral and fruit pigment compositions, and using the above four indexes for clustering, Lonicera ruprechtiana Regel. and Lonicera tatarica Linn. can always be clustered together. Five hybrids such as Lonicera korolkow‘Zabelii’.×Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim., Lonicera korolkow‘Zabelii’.×Lonicera tatarica Linn.No.8 etal. can basically clustered with their parents, which is conform to the morphological taxonomy. These results indicate that the analysis of pollen morphology characteristics, chromosome karyotype characteristics, floral and fruit pigment compositions, has certain value and significance for the study of system classification and genetic relationship of Lonicera L., and the conclusions of this study partially support morphological taxonomy. Among the four clusters, the clustering result of pollen morphology characteristics was in the highest agreement with morphological taxonomy.
Utilization study on red brick waste as novel reinforcing and economic filler for acrylonitrile butadiene rubber composite
Authors: Shafik Emad S. , Tharwat C. , Abd-El-Messieh Salwa L.
Published: June 2022

Red brick waste (Rbw) powder was employed to be used as reinforcing filler for acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) for preparing eco-friendly composites. The main constituent of this waste is silica which is one of the traditional filler used in rubber industry so, it was worthily to get (Rbw) with suitable manner through using this waste as filler for NBR. Physico-mechanical properties including tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness shore A, and change in mechanical properties after thermal oxidative aging for 7 days at 90°C were evaluated. In addition to, equilibrium swelling in toluene for prepared composites was also included. Moreover, crosslinking density was measured according to Flory Rehner equation. From physico-mechanical measurements, it is observed that the tensile strength and hardness (shore A) increased with increasing the waste filler content and this is because of stiffness of the red brick waste filler. While, the elongation at break and equilibrium swelling degree decreased with increasing the waste filler content. The morphology of the polymeric composites was monitored using scanning electron microscope which reflect uniform distribution of the filler inside the NBR matrix. The electrical and magnetic properties for NBR/Rbw composites were evaluated. The electrical measurements revealed that the values of ε′ are found to increase by increasing red brick waste while ε'' decrease with increasing filler content. The dc conductivity σdc values are lie in the order of 10− 11 S/cm this finding recommend such composites to be used in insulation purposes and or antistatic applications. In addition to, the magnetic measurements shows superparamagnetic behavior NBR/Rbw composites. Based on the electrical and magnetic measurements one can see that the obtained composites could be used as electromagnetic composites.
Prediction model for reference crop evapotranspiration based on the back-propagation algorithm with limited factors
Authors: Zhao Long , Xing Liwen , Wang Yuhang , Cui Ningbo , Zhou Hanmi , Shi Yi , Chen Sudan , Zhao Xinbo , Li Zhe
Published: June 2022

The accurate estimation of reference crop evapotranspiration (ETO) is vital for regional water and irrigation water resource management and is beneficial to the rational allocation of regional water resources, and alleviates the disparity between water supply and demand. This study accurately estimates the ETO of 14 meteorological stations in southern China. Five neural network models (back-propagation neural network [BP], extreme learning machine [ELM], ant colony optimization [ACO]-BP, bird swarm algorithm [BSA]-BP, cat swarm optimization [CSO]-BP) were introduced to predict ETO with limited factors using different methods. The results demonstrated that models inputting T (maximum, minimum and average air temperature), sunshine duration (n) and relative humidity (RH) exhibited the highest accuracy of all studied combinations; the role of T, n, RH, wind speed (U2) and average atmospheric pressure (AP) in relation to ETO gradually decreased. All the three biological heuristic algorithms effectively improved the performance of the BP model. The accuracy and computational cost of the CSO-BP model are better than those built by other algorithms. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to use the CSO-BP model for ETO prediction in southern China. This result provided a reference for the more accurate prediction of ETO for future irrigation decision-making and water resource management in southern China.
The impact of the establishment of carbon emissions trade exchange on carbon emissions efficiency
Authors: Chen Jing , Gui Wenlin , Huang Yunying
Published: June 2022

The China government focuses on changes in carbon emissions efficiency with establishing carbon emissions trade exchange (CETE). It is meaningful to study whether the pilot CETEs can facilitate the betterment of carbon emissions efficiency. Using the data of 30 provinces in China within 2000–2017, this article gauges the carbon emissions efficiency with the SBM-DEA model. This paper analyzes the impact of China's pilot CETEs, which was gradually launched from 2013 to 2014, on carbon emissions efficiency through the Time-Varying difference-in-difference (DID) model. Finally, the mediating effect model is further used to analyze the impact mechanism of the pilot CETEs on carbon emission efficiency from the perspectives of innovation investment and pollution control investment. The results reveal that the carbon emissions efficiency of each province from 2000 to 2017 is not very ideal. All provinces have some room to facilitate the carbon emissions efficiency. The pilot CETEs have increased the carbon emissions efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The policy affects the innovation investment and pollution control investment, further influences the carbon emissions efficiency.
Bayes t and Bayes DE: robust Bayesian models for genomic selection
Authors: Oliveira Max Brandão , Sena Luciano Silva , Sarmento José Lindenberg Rocha
Published: June 2022

Background: The inclusion of genomic data in selection schemes has contributed substantially to increase livestock production. The robustness we are treating is related to the conflict of information, the thread initiated by Dawid [1]. This achievement is due to the development of several statistical models for the application in different scenarios. In this sense, the use of simulated data has been essential, as these data allow the researchers to explore important aspects that would be impossible using real data. The objective of this study was to develop Bayesian genome-wide selection models using the Student’s t (Bayes t) and double exponential (Bayes DE) probability density functions for the response variable. For this, a Bayesian model was developed in the R software and different criteria were used (e.g., DIC, residual analysis, and accuracy) to quantify the difference between fitting the proposed models and the well-known Bayesian Ridge Regression Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (RRBLUP) model. The models were fitted to simulated data generated by the QMSim software, with different phenotypic variance levels for the response variable (5, 10, and 15) and different sample sizes (300, 1000, 2000, and 4000), quantities commonly used in GWS studies. Results: In the presence of outliers, identified by the interquartile distance in the boxplot, the Bayes t and Bayes DE models were more robust than RRBLUP. That is, even with more dispersed data, they presented good measures of goodness of fit. Despite the three models evaluated were centered at zero, the residual dispersion of the proposed models was the best. In all scenarios, the Bayes t and Bayes DE models were more accurate than RRBLUP. The Bayes t model was the most accurate and presented lower residual variability than Bayes DE, especially for smaller sample sizes, where Bayes t was 57.33% more accurate than RRBLUP for n = 300 and σ2p=10.Conclusion: The proposed models were more attractive for data sets with greater presence of outliers, larger dispersion and smaller sample sizes, conferring more robustness in comparison to the RRBLUP model.
LC-MS/MS analysis of carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines in Spodoptera litura using the QuEChERS method
Authors: Somala Karthik , Gummudala Yashaswini , Morthala Shankara Sai Reddy , Thakur Himanshu , A Keerthana , P Shireesh Kumar M , Battu Jabez Raju
Published: June 2022

Nicotine is a highly addictive alkaloid and a neurostimulator found in tobacco that causes addiction in humans and makes tobacco a high-demand commercial product. It is popularly used for recreational purposes and is not a harmful substance except for the addiction it causes. The metabolites of nicotine such as the Tobacco-specific Nitrosamines (TSNAs) are hazardous substances whose metabolites are highly electrophilic and form DNA adducts, which will initiate the process of carcinogenesis. TSNAs are formed during curing, storage and fermentation due to the nitrosation of nicotine and other tobacco alkaloids. TSNAs are used as biomarkers for cancer risk assessment in humans exposed to tobacco and its products. To determine the occasional formation of TSNAs in tobacco-feeding insects, 5th instar larvae of Spodoptera litura and their faeces were analyzed for the presence of NNN, NNK, and NNAL along with the stored tobacco leaves (PT-76) using an Agilent 6470B LC-MS/MS system following ISO/DIS 19290:2015 protocol. The LOD and LOQ were 0.001 mg/kg and 0.005 mg/kg for all the tested nitrosamines. NNN was found to be 0.365 mg/kg, 0.344 mg/kg, and 5.71 mg/kg in insect whole-body samples, faeces, and tobacco leaves, respectively. NNK was found to be 0.062 mg/kg, 0.036 mg/kg and 0.97 mg/kg in insect whole body samples, faeces and tobacco leaves, respectively. However, NNAL was not detected in both the insect’s whole body and faeces. Recoveries ranged between 95-98% for all compounds when spiked at LOD and LOQ. The presence of TSNAs is a biomarker for cancer risk and their presence in insects would point to cancer risk assessment in tobacco feeding insects and any possible TSNA-detoxifying pathways in insects that might prevent mutagenesis caused these compounds.
BnaC01.BIN2, a GSK3-like kinase, modulates plant height and yield by regulating cell elongation in Brassica napus
Authors: Li Bao , Liu Xinhong , Guo Yiming , Deng Lichao , Qu Liang , Yan Mingli , Mei Li , Wang Tonghua
Published: June 2022

The modification of plant height is one of the most important goals in rapeseed breeding. Although several genes that regulate rapeseed plant height have been cloned, the genetics mechanisms underlying rapeseed plant height remain poorly understood, and the desirable genetic resource for rapeseed ideotype breeding is scarcity. In present, we show that a rapeseed semi-dominant gene, Df4, profoundly impacts rapeseed plant height. Df4 encodes brassinosteroid-insensitive 2 (BIN2), a glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3), controls the elongation of stem cell. Transcriptome data show that several cell expansion-related genes that involves auxin and brassinosteroids pathways were significantly downregulated in Df4. We demonstrated that a point mutation in BnaC01.BIN2 leads to a semi-dwarf phenotype, and heterozygosity in the Df4 allele results in small stature with no marked differences in other agronomic traits. Furthermore, a kompetitive allele specific PCR marker was developed based on the point mutation. Our results provide a desirable genetic resource for producing small stature rapeseed and support a new scenario for breeding rapeseed varieties with enhanced yield.
Demonstration of widely tunable electron bunch trains for high-power narrow-band 1-10 THz radiation generation
Authors: Liang Yi , Liu Zhuoyuan , Tian Qi , Li Tong , Lin Xiancai , Yan Lixin , Du Yingchao , Li Renkai , Shi Jiaru , Cheng Cheng , Huang Wenhui , Tang Chuanxiang
Published: June 2022

Terahertz radiation enables coherent excitation of many fundamental modes, such as molecular rotation, lattice vibration and spin precession. To excite the transient state of matter far out of equilibrium, high-power and tunable narrow-band THz radiation source has been in great demand for years. However, with such fertile spectrum resources waiting for exploitation, the currently available THz sources cannot satisfy the demands on the tunability and the power level, leaving a large scientific gap scarcely explored. Here, we convert the energy modulation exerted by the nonlinear longitudinal space charge force to density modulation, and for the first time experimentally demonstrate the generation of widely tunable electron bunch trains with modulation frequency adjustable between 1-10 THz. The electron bunch trains can be directly used to produce tunable high-power narrow-band THz radiation fully covering the long-standing ‘THz gap’, which will open up much more possibilities in THz science.
A Gene Based Optimally Weighted Combination Test Using GWAS Summary Data
Authors: Zhang Jianjun , Liang Xiaoyu , Gonzales Samantha , Liu Jianguo , Gao Xiaoyi Raymond , Wang Xuexia
Published: June 2022

Background: Gene-based association tests provide a useful alternative and complement to the usual single marker association tests, especially in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The way of weighting for variants in a gene plays an important role in boosting the power of a gene-based association test. Appropriate weights can boost statistical power, especially when detecting genetic variants with weak effects on a trait. However, the effect sizes or directions of causal genetic variants in real data are usually unknown, driving a need for a flexible yet robust methodology. Furthermore, access to individual-level data is often limited, while thousands of GWAS summary data are publicly and freely available. Results: To resolve these limitations, we propose an optimally weighted combination (OWC) test based on summary statistics from GWAS data. Several traditional methods including burden test, weighted sum of squared score test [SSU], weighted sum statistic [WSS], SNP-set Kernel Association Test [SKAT], and the score test are special cases of OWC. To evaluate the performance of OWC, we perform extensive simulation studies. Results of simulation studies demonstrate that OWC outperforms several existing popular methods. We further show that OWC outperforms comparison methods in real-world data analyses using schizophrenia GWAS summary data and a fasting glucose GWAS meta-analysis data. The proposed method is implemented in an R package available at https://github.com/Jianjun-CN/R-package-for-OWC. Conclusions: We propose a novel gene-based association test that incorporates four different weighting schemes (two constant weights and two weights proportional to normal statistic Z) and includes several popular methods as its special cases. Results of the simulation studies and real data analyses illustrate that the proposed test, OWC, outperforms comparable methods in most scenarios. These demonstrate that OWC is a useful tool that adapts to the underlying biological model for a disease by optimally weighting variants.
Continuum of size from microplastics to nanoplastics: effects on the estuarine bivalve Scrobicularia plana at different levels of biological organization.
Authors: METAIS Isabelle , Latchere Oihana , Roman Coraline , Perrein-Ettajani Hanane , Mouloud Mohammed , Georges Didier , Audroin Thybaud , Catrouillet Charlotte , Gigault Julien , Baudrimont Magalie , Châtel Amélie
Published: June 2022

Plastic has been largely detected in estuarine environments and represent major concern towards aquatic living organisms. Whereas the majority of previous studies analyze the effects of standard particles, mainly polystyrene (PS), not representative to what is found in natural environments, the present study evaluates the impact of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) under realistic exposure conditions. Scrobicularia plana individuals were exposed to low concentrations (0.008, 10 and 100 µg L− 1) of environmental MPs and NPs as well as to standard PS NPs, as a comparison condition. The aim of this study was to understand the ecotoxicological effects of environmental plastic particles on S. plana gills and digestive glands but also to compare the effects of plastic polymers size in order to highlight if the size could induce different toxicity profiles within this model organism, at different levels of biological organization. Results showed a differential induction of detoxification enzymes (CAT, GST), immunity (AcP), DNA damage processes as well as differential effect on behavior and condition index of animals depending upon the type of plastic, the size, the concentration tested and the type of organ. This study underlines the necessity of testing i) plastics collected from the environment as compared to standard ones and ii) the effect of size using plastics coming from the same batch of macrosized plastics. This study concludes on the future need directions that plastic-based studies must take in order to be able to generate large quantity of relevant data that could be used for future regulatory needs on the use of plastic.
The study of the impact of COVID-19 and related public health policies on taxi drivers' income: a data mining approach
Authors: Qin Zixi , Zhang Mengyan
Published: June 2022

Background: The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on economic activity and taxi drivers are representative of groups that suffer substantial financial loss. This study aims to examine the impact of this pandemic and related public health policies on taxi drivers’ income.Methods: 350 million records of taxi trip data in New York City (NYC) in 2020 from February to December were used in this study. The taxi trip data was summarised based on the unit of day and combined with the NYC pandemic data and the related policies details. Then we built two-way ANOVA models to assess the significance with relevant factors.Result: Based on the model comparison, effects from both 7-day averages of count on the total payment per day and case count on the average tip per day are significant, with p < 2e-16, and their corresponding p-value of public health policy is p < 2e-16. Moreover, both total payment per day and average tips per day demonstrate a similar tendency: a significant reduction after the “New York State Pause” followed by a gradual growth after the Phase 1 reopening. The study also discovers that the shrinkage in demand for taxis between 2019 and 2020 is larger during night-time and weekends, compared with daytime on weekdays. Conclusion: The Covid-19 will lead to a decline in taxi drivers’ income, while influence of related public health policies is noteworthy. We recommend that governments should build a database of the impact of public health policies and pandemics on various industries to provide an adequate basis for future decisions under similar circumstances.
Resequencing of 558 Chinese mungbean landraces identifies genetic loci associated with key agronomic traits
Authors: Han Xuesong , Li Li , Chen Hongwei , Liu Liangjun , Sun Longqin , Wang Xingmin , Xiang Yantao , Wan Zhenghuang , Liu Changyan
Published: June 2022

Mungbean is a warm-season annual food legume and plays important role in supplying food and nutritional security in many tropical countries. However, the genetic basis of its agronomic traits remains poorly understood. Therefore, we resequenced 558 Chinese mungbean landraces and produced a comprehensive map of mungbean genomic variation. We classified the 558 landraces into two distinct subpopulations, which exhibited strong geographic distribution patterns, and then phenotyped all landraces in six different environments. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) produced 110 signals significantly associated with nine agronomic traits, for which several candidate genes were identified. Overall, this study provides new insight into the genetic architecture of mungbean agronomic traits. Moreover, the genome-wide variations identified here should be valuable resources for future breeding studies of this important food legume.
Moxidectin induces lethal autophagy arrest via CFTR
Authors: Mao Yushan , Xie Hanhan , Shu Dan , Cheng Lin , Lan Jingbin , Pan Kejian
Published: June 2022

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a cancer with a high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Hence， developing new therapeutic drugs for CRC is very important. Moxidectin (MOX) has shown good anti-glioblastoma effect both in vitro and in vivo, This study aimed to elucidate the anti-CRC effect of MOX and its potential mechanism. By investigating the influence of MOX on the viability, apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy of colorectal cancer cells (HCT15 and SW620) and its underlying mechanisms. It was found that MOX can induce autophagy arrest, promote autophagy initiation, inhibit autophagic flux and cell proliferation, simultaneously PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway and microtubule acetylation. Furthermore, MOX suppressed the growth of xenograft tumors, which was consistent with the in vitro results.
The Association of Trastuzumab with Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure in Breast Cancer Patients in Routine Clinical Practice: A Population Based Propensity Score Matching and Competing Risk Model Analysis
Authors: Wu Wen-Chi , Huang Chi-Cheng , Tsai Yi-Fang , Lin Yen-Shu , Feng Chin-Jung , Chen Yen-Jen , Lai Jin-I , Chao Ta-Chung , Liu Chun-Yu , Tseng Ling-Ming
Published: June 2022

Purpose
Trastuzumab, a potent anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) monoclonal antibody, is conditionally reimbursed by the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) for HER2-positive breast cancer. Trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity studies have well characterized heart failure but fewer addressed arrhythmia, particularly the association of potential life threatening atrial fibrillation (Af) is poorly characterized. We aimed to study the trastuzumab-related risk of Af and HF by using the claimed data of Taiwan NHI.
Methods
A nationwide retrospective cohort of patients with BC from the Taiwan NHI reimbursement database from January 2007 to December 2016 was analyzed. Propensity score matching and competing risk model analysis were used for adjusting confounding concurrent medication or comorbidities and competing events. The HF study was used to validate the method used.
Results
For Af, 12,472 trastuzumab users were matched with 12,472 non-trastuzumab users. For HF, 12,241 trastuzumab users and 12,241 non-users were enrolled. We found that trastuzumab users had significantly worse HF-free survival but not Af-free survival than non-trastuzumab users. In the competing risk analysis, the use of trastuzumab did not increase the risk of Af (hazard ratio [HR] 0.76, P = 0.0006) but was associated with HF (HR 1.19, P = 0.0052). The risk trends among stratifications by comorbidities and concurrent medication remained in similar directions for both Af and HF.
Conclusion
Trastuzumab in real-world practice was not associated with an increased risk of Af in BC patients. However, its arrhythmogenic effects may be masked by more prominent roles of comorbidities or concurrent medications. Further studies are required.
In the mind of Narcissus: The Mediating Role of Emotional Regulation in the Emergence of Distorted Cognitions
Authors: Vida Dorian , Láng András , Áfra Eszter , Kemény Viktor , Czibor Andrea , Csapó Gyöngyvér , Putz Ádám , Bandi Szabolcs
Published: June 2022

Currently narcissism is considered one of the most widespread modern "diseases". As a consequence, its different types (grandiose and vulnerable narcissism) have been approached from several different perspectives. The present research attempts to investigate the differences between the two types of narcissism and their links with different cognitive components that are connected to these personality traits. The primary aim of our study is to investigate the maladaptive schemas (entitlement, vulnerability, emotional deprivation) and cognitive evaluation systems (self-esteem, systemizing-empathizing) associated with narcissism. In order to ensure the associations of the observed constructs, we used correlational and a specific form of structural equation modelling (SEM), pathway analysis.The results show that the early maladaptive schemas have a large impact on the development of narcissism and on the empathizing system. The different subtypes of narcissism have different effects on self-esteem, while gender and age have a minor effect on self-esteem and the empathizing system too. Hopefully, these empirical results can be applied in counselling as well as in clinical practice.
Diversity of viroids infecting grapevines in South Africa
Authors: Morgan Seamus W. , Read David A. , Burger Johan T. , Pietersen Gerhard
Published: June 2022

Seven viroid species have been reported to infect grapevine namely, hop stunt viroid (HSVd), grapevine yellow speckle viroid 1 (GYSVd-1), grapevine yellow speckle viroid 2 (GYSVd-2), Australian grapevine viroid (AGVd), Japanese grapevine viroid (JGVd), grapevine latent viroid (GLVd), and citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd). In this study, RNA sequence (RNA-Seq) data, from 229 Vitis accessions from the field maintained South African Vitis germplasm collection vineyard, were analysed to determine the diversity of the viroids present. Five of the seven known grapevine infecting viroids were very commonly found, with 214 of the 229 samples containing at least one viroid species. HSVd, GYSVd-1, GYSVd-2, AGVd, and JGVd were identified in the RNA-Seq data of the samples and confirmed with RT-PCR detection and Sanger sequencing. The HSVd sequences indicated the presence of two variants, with one showing multiple nucleotide insertions. AGVd and GYSVd-2 did not display significant sequence diversity, confirming past international studies. GYSVd-1 occurred as four major variants worldwide and representatives of all four were identified in this vineyard. This is first report on the diversity of viroids infecting grapevine in South Africa and the first report of JGVd outside of Japan. Further studies are needed to fully assess the population and to identify potentially new viroid species.
Phylogenomic investigation of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) and related species using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS)
Authors: Sardouei-Nasab Somayeh , Nemati Zahra , Mohammadi-Nejad Ghasem , Haghi Reza , Blattner Frank R.
Published: June 2022

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is a source of high-quality edible oil growing in moisture-limited environments. Despite its economic importance, the relationships to close wild species in Carthamus and the presence and relationships of ecotypes within safflower are still not fully clarified. Here we use genotyping-by-sequencing to identify the wild progenitor of C. tinctorius, infer phylogenetic relationship within series Carthamus and identify groups of closely related lineages within cultivated safflower. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses found C. palaestinus to be the closest relative and single progenitor of C. tinctorius, which confirms the Levant as the area of domestication of the crop. Flow cytometry showed all analyzed samples of C. oxyacantha, C. palaestinus and C. tinctorius to be diploid (2n = 2x = 24) with 2C genome sizes of 2.4 to 2.7 pg. Analyses of a set of 114 worldwide distributed safflower accessions arrived at two to five genetic groups, which showed, however, no correlation with the geographic origins of these accessions. From this, we conclude that the trade of safflower seeds resulted in multiple introductions of genotypes from the Levant to other areas with suitable climate conditions for the plant, as well as exchange of genotypes among these areas.
Correlation between Computed Tomography Imaging Features and Clinical Characteristics of Thymic Epithelial Tumors
Authors: Li Shihao , Li Zihao , Dong BO , Wu Chunli , Wu Bin , Sheng YinLiang , Qi Yu
Published: June 2022

Objective: To explore the correlation between computed tomography (CT) imaging features and clinical characteristics, Masaoka-Koga stage, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and World Health Organization (WHO) histological classification of patients with thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). Methods: A total of 209 patients with TETs who underwent preoperative contrast-enhanced CT from October 2013 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical information, CT imaging features and pathological findings were assessed for each patient. A total of 164 patients were followed up from the date of surgery until January 2022, and information on survival and postoperative recurrence were obtained. The relationship between CT imaging features and clinical features, Masaoka-Koga stage, TNM stage and WHO histological classification of TETs was evaluated. Risk factors related to Masaoka-Koga stage, TNM stage and WHO histological classification were determined.Results: Among all radiographic and clinical features, tumor shape, contour, calcification, internal density, fat plane separating tumor from vessels, infiltration of surrounding fat, adjacent lung changes, degree of abutment of vessel circumference, presence of effusion, lymphadenopathy, CA125 and CA724 differed significantly between TNM stage I/II and III/IV TETs. Infiltration of surrounding fat (odds ratio [OR] = 4.296, P = 0.015) and lymphadenopathy (OR = 3.753, P = 0.041) were independent risk factors. Tumor shape, contour, calcification, internal density, fat plane separating tumor from vessels, infiltration of surrounding fat, adjacent lung changes, degree of abutment of vessel circumference, presence of effusion, lymphadenopathy and pleural nodularity differed significantly between Masaoka-Koga stage I/II and III/IV thymomas and thymic carcinomas. Infiltration of surrounding fat (OR = 11.855, P<0.0001) was an independent risk factor. Tumor shape, fat plane separating tumor from vessels, infiltration of surrounding fat, lymphadenopathy and myasthenia gravis differed significantly between WHO classification high-risk and low-risk group. Gender (OR = 2.27, P = 0.044), tumor shape (OR = 4.044, P = 0.001), infiltration of surrounding fat (OR = 3.617, P = 0.005), lymphadenopathy (OR = 4.565, P = 0.015) and myasthenia gravis (OR = 4.309, P<0.0001) were independent risk factors.Conclusions: Some CT imaging and clinical features were significantly correlated with Masaoka-Koga stage, TNM stage and WHO histological classification in TET patients. Therefore, knowledge of CT features considered independent risk factors can aid in preoperative evaluation, decision-making and postoperative management of TET patients.
Masked Molecule Modeling: A New Paradigm of Molecular Representation Learning for Chemistry Understanding
Authors: He Jiyan , Tian Keyu , Luo Shengjie , Min Yaosen , Zheng Shuxin , Shi Yu , He Di , Liu Haiguang , Yu Nenghai , Wang Liwei , Wu Ji , Liu Tie-Yan
Published: June 2022

Molecular representation learning is essential to deep learning for chemistry, where the molecules are embedded into continuous real-valued vectors as better representations in the large chemical space.
Traditional molecular representation learning requires high-quality labels for molecules. However, the precise physicochemical or pharmacological properties of the molecules are expensive to measure and collect. Therefore, self-supervised training of deep learning models on large-scale cheap available chemical data is becoming an increasingly popular choice in research and practice. Masked auto-encoder is one of the most common self-supervised pretext tasks used in molecular representation learning. However, previous masked auto-encoder based methods focus on learning the existence of compounds, which may not be sufficient for chemical understanding. In this paper, we present the Masked Molecule Modeling (MMM), an emerging self-supervised paradigm of molecular representation learning, which is a simple yet mighty pretext task by exploiting the contextualized chemical semantics in more than two million reactions. As a result, the molecular representations learned by MMM shows promising performance on a wide range of real-world tasks and significantly outperform existing methods, including biocatalysed synthesis planning, retrosynthesis planning, binding affinity, and molecular pharmacological property prediction for drug discovery.
Plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease: associations with β-amyloid-PET, neurodegeneration and cognition
Authors: Chatterjee Pratishtha , Vermunt Lisa , Gordon Brian , Pedrini Steve , Boonkamp Lynn , Armstrong Nicola , Xiong Chengjie , Singh Abhay , Li Yan , Sohrabi Hamid , Taddei Kevin , Molloy Mark , Benzinger Tammie , Morris John , Karch Celeste , Berman Sarah , Chhatwal Jasmeer , Graff-Radford Neill , Day Gregory , Farlow Martin , Fox Nick , Goate Alison , Hassenstab Jason , Lee Jae-Hong , Levin Johannes , McDade Eric , Mori Hiroshi , Perrin Richard , Sánchez-Valle Raquel , Schofield Peter , Jucker Mathias , Masters Colin , Fagan Anne , Bateman Randall , Martins Ralph , Teunissen Charlotte
Published: June 2022

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a promising candidate blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis and prognostication. The timing of its disease-associated changes, its clinical correlates, and biofluid-type dependency will influence its clinical utility. We evaluated plasma, serum, and CSF GFAP in families with autosomal dominant AD (ADAD), leveraging the predictable age at symptom onset to determine changes by stage of disease. Plasma GFAP elevations appear a decade before expected symptom onset, after β-amyloid accumulation and prior to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Plasma GFAP distinguished β-amyloid-positive from β-amyloid-negative ADAD participants and showed a stronger relationship with β-amyloid load in asymptomatic than symptomatic ADAD. Higher plasma GFAP was associated with the degree and rate of neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment. Serum GFAP showed similar relationships, but these were less pronounced for CSF GFAP. Our findings support a role for plasma GFAP as a clinical biomarker for β-amyloid-associated cognitive deterioration in AD.
Prevalence & risk factors analysis of bovine mastitis in dairy herds of Rawalpindi district, Pakistan; a study to estimate severity & farmers’ awareness about the disease
Authors: Jalil Amna , Abbasi Asim Zahoor , Ain Quratul , Hussain Zamir , Usmani Muhammad Tahir , Adnan Fazal
Published: June 2022

BackgroundBovine mastitis is inflammation of the mammary glands due to physical injury or microbial infection. The disease results in a significant reduction in milk production, hence affecting the dairy industry. The current study is designed to analyze the prevalence of mastitis, detect herd and cow-level potential risk factors, and estimate awareness level of farmers about mastitis. Total 432 cows were selected, by simple random method, from 40 herds of Rawalpindi District (Pakistan) and screened for mastitis. ResultsBased on surf field mastitis test (SFMT) result and clinical examination, 45% prevalence of mastitis was reported at herd-level. The cow-level prevalence was 18.52%, of which 1.85% and 16.66% were clinical and sub-clinical mastitis cases, respectively. The corresponding quarter-level prevalence was 7.58% and the right hind-quarter was most affected. After inoculation of 130 milk samples for bacterial isolation, S. aureus (76.9%) was the predominant etiological agent of mastitis followed by Streptococcus (61.5%). In the multivariable logistic regression model, the herd and cow-level factors significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the presence of mastitis were udder washing before milking, frequency of manure removal, floor type, lactation stage, udder condition, teat end lesion, presence of ticks, use of hormones, milking method and udder and leg hygiene. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test suggested that the model fit the data (χ2 = 4.3; p = 0.83) and the final model showed 53.75% sensitivity, 94.9% specificity, 87.27% accuracy, and 70.49% precision. The questionnaire-based survey of the farm handlers regarding the awareness of mastitis and other related factors showed some serious gaps in the perception and awareness of farmers about sub-clinical mastitis and its influence on the economy. ConclusionThe very high prevalence of mastitis, more importantly the sub-clinical one, in the examined herds revealed the huge potential economic loss the sector suffers. Awareness and training of the farmers is essential to enhance the quantity and quality of milk. Alongside awareness, government and International agencies should also help farmers in improving their technical facilities.
Experiences of family caregivers of patients with post-traumatic hydrocephalus from hospital to home: a qualitative study
Authors: Wang Jia-nan , Liu La-mei , Rosa Ronnell Dela , Sun Meng-jie , Qian Yu-meng , Zhuansun Mengyao , Xu Tong-yao
Published: June 2022

Background
Post-traumatic hydrocephalus (PTH) is a complication of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that requires treatment and postoperative care. The shunt is one of the main treatments for PTH, which presents with dysfunction and infection. Considering brain injury, hydrocephalus shunt malfunction and infection, family caregivers need to be responsible for caring for PTH patients, recognizing shunt malfunction and infection, and managing those patients accordingly from hospital to home. Understanding the experiences and needs of caregivers is beneficial for knowing their competency and quality of health care, ameliorating and ensuring future transition care. The study aimed to explore the feelings, experiences, and needs of family caregivers when caring for patients with PTH and shunts.
Methods
This was a descriptive qualitative study using a semi-structured interview method with a purposive sample of 12 family caregivers of patients with PTH and shunts from hospital to home. Data were collected from October 2021 to March 2022 before being analyzed by content analysis methods.
Results
Based on the available data, we found caregivers were experienced and often had ‘complex emotional reaction’, ‘inadequate confidence in caregiving’, and ‘unmet needs’. As caregivers, they required professional and social knowledge and support in the areas of PTH and shunts, caregiving interventions, psychological care needs, and health insurance, just as other caregivers do, but also unlike other caregivers.
Conclusions
Family caregivers faced complex emotional burdens when caring for PTH and shunt patients, and they had trouble caring for PTH patients, recognizing common symptoms, shunt malfunction or complications, and they expected to manage their patients' conditions in collaboration with health professionals. There is a need for research on intervention support for the care of patients with PTH and shunts, particularly with regard to confidence and expertise in care.