bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Citicoline on liver fat content in mice fed a high-fat diet, an experimental study
Authors: Sharifi Amrollah , Jarvand Zahra , Ghasemi Shima
Published: May 2023

Citicoline may have a beneficial role in the protection of hepatocytes because of its role in reducing oxidative stress and its choline part role in the production of VLDL. Choline deficiency leads to liver fat accumulation, which is treated by supplying choline. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis, of whether the administration of citicoline, the precursor of choline, in mice on a high-fat diet is effective in reducing the amounts of liver fat content.
Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice, after 2 weeks on a high-fat (HF) diet, were randomly assigned to the 4 groups. Control: HF diet mice without intervention, dose 1: HF diet mice with a dose of 10 mg/kg Citicoline, dose 2: HF diet mice with an amount of 20 mg/kg citicoline, and dose 3: HF diet mice with an amount of 30 mg/kg Citicoline.
After 8 weeks, the mice’s body weights, liver weights, liver dry weights, and liver fat percentages were measured. All the aspects of ARRIVE and PREPARE guidelines were considered.
The differences in liver fat % between the control, dose 1, and dose 2 groups were not statistically meaningful (8.37 ± 0.39, 8.08 ± 0.65, 7.63 ± 0.55, and 7.34 ± 0.65 % for control, dose 1, dose 2, and dose 3 groups respectively; p for ANOVA test: 0.0381). A posthoc Tukey test showed that liver fat % was statistically different only between the control and dose 3 groups (mean diff: 1.03, 95%CI: 0.05 to 2.0).
The liver total weight and liver dry weight were not different between the groups (p= 0.94, and p= 0.66 respectively). The intervention did not affect the mice's body weights.
It seems that citicoline can be considered as a dietary supplement in the treatment of fatty liver. RCT studies are suggested to test this hypothesis.
BERT_PLPS: A BERT-based Model for Predicting Lysine Phosphoglycerylation Sites
Authors: Lai Songning , Cao Yankun , Wang Pengwei , Ye Lan , Liu Zhi
Published: May 2023

As one of the most important post-translational modification processes, lysine phosphoglycerylation modifications affect many important biosynthetic processes in the human body. However, traditional experimental methods for the recognization of lysine phosphoglycerylation sites are not only expensive but also time-consuming. Computational techniques may provide an economical and efficient way to predict lysine phosphoglycerylation sites. Therefore, it is extremely necessary and meaningful to study and establish prediction models with high accuracy. In the present study, we propose a BERT-based model, BERT_PLPS, which could predict accurately lysine phosphoglycerylation sites. This model extracts amino acid sequence features with three algorithms: CKSAAP, AAC, and BE. Sample equalization is performed using the ADASYN and KNN algorithms. The data are dimensionalized by the ISOMap algorithm, and the features are encoded into feature sequences by an encoder as the input to a BERT-based prediction model. To learn better the intrinsic biological language of lysine, we replaced the original static mask with a dynamic random mask. Compared to other machine learning or deep learning-based models, BERT_PLPS exhibits up to 99.53% accuracy and outperforms the most advanced model (PLP_FS) with an increase of approximately 0.35% on ACC and approximately 0.93% on MCC.
Relationship between Lip Seal Strength, Tongue Pressure, and Daytime Sleepiness in Japanese Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Minoura Akira , Ihara Yoshiaki , Kato Hirotaka , Murakami Kouzou , Watanabe Yoshio , Hirano Kojiro , Ito Yoshinori , Kokaze Akatsuki
Published: May 2023

Background: This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between lip seal strength, tongue pressure, and daytime sleepiness, among Japanese workers.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire composed of Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was conducted on 496 workers, and excessive daytime sleepiness defined by an ESS score of 11 or over. Lip seal strength and tongue pressure were measured in all participants, and multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the effects of lip seal strength and tongue pressure on daytime sleepiness.
Results: The median ESS score was 5.0 (25th, 75th percentile: 2.0, 8.0), and 60 (12.1%) workers with excessive daytime sleepiness. The median lip-seal strength was 13.5 N (11.4, 16.3) and tongue pressure was 41.7 kPa (35.2, 48.3). Workers with excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly lower lip seal strength than did those without after adjustment for age and body mass index (BMI) (β (95% confidence interval): –0.043 [–0.081, –0.004]). However, tongue pressure was not significantly associated with excessive daytime sleepiness after adjustment for age and/or BMI.
Conclusions: These results suggest that maintaining moderate lip-seal strength may help prevent excessive daytime sleepiness in Japanese workers regardless of age or BMI.
Essentiality, Protein-Protein Interactions and Evolutionary Properties are Key Predictors for Identifying Cancer-Associated Genes Using Machine Learning
Authors: Safadi Amro , Lovell Simon C. , Doig Andrew
Published: May 2023

The distinctive nature of cancer as a disease prompts an exploration of the special characteristics the genes implicated in cancer exhibit. The identification of cancer-associated genes and their characteristics is crucial to further our understanding of this disease and enhanced likelihood of therapeutic drug targets success. However, the rate at which cancer genes are being identified experimentally is slow. Applying predictive analysis techniques, through the building of accurate machine learning models, is potentially a useful approach in enhancing the identification rate of these genes and their characteristics. Here, we investigated gene essentiality scores and found that they tend to be higher for cancer-associated genes compared to other protein-coding human genes. We built a dataset of extended gene properties linked to essentiality and used it to train a machine-learning model; this model reached 89% accuracy and > 0.85 for the Area Under Curve (AUC). The model showed that essentiality, evolutionary-related properties, and properties arising from protein-protein interaction networks are particularly effective in predicting cancer-associated genes. We were able to use the model to identify potential candidate genes that have not been previously linked to cancer. Prioritising genes that score highly by our methods could aid scientists in their cancer genes research.
Anatase-Cellulose Acetate for Preparing Antifouling Desalination Membrane
Authors: Abdel-Fatah Ahmed S. , Tohamy Hebat-Allah S. , Ahmed Sayed I. , Youssef Mohamed A. , Mabrouk Mohamed R. , Kamel Samir , Samhan Farag , El–Gendi Ayman
Published: May 2023

This study aimed to prepare antifouling and highly mechanical strengthening membranes for brackish and underground water desalination. It was prepared from cellulose acetate (CA) loaded anatase. Anatase was prepared from tetra-iso-propylorthotitanate and carboxymethyl cellulose. Different concentrations of anatase (0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8) % were loaded onto CA during the inversion phase preparation of the membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM & EDX), mechanical properties, swelling ratio, porosity determination, and ion release. The analysis confirmed the formation of anatase on surface and inside the macro-voids of the membrane. Furthermore, the loading of anatase improved the mechanical properties of the CA membrane and decreased its swelling and porosity rate. Also, CA-loaded anatase membranes displayed a significant antibacterial potential against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It can be concluded that the prepared CA-loaded anatase membranes have high mechanical properties that are safe, economical, available, and can stop membrane biofouling.
Fatty acid composition of different structures in Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C. Agardh from the sub-Antarctic Magellan Ecoregion: nutritional and biomedical potential
Authors: Méndez Fabio , Rivero Ali , Bahamonde Francisco , Gallardo Pablo , Frangopulos Máximo , Zolezzi Juan , Inestrosa Nibaldo C. , Mansilla Andrés
Published: May 2023

The sub-Antarctic Magellan Ecoregion is a unique biogeographic area located in the southern end of South America with notable marine flora and high endemism. Brown macroalgae, particularlyMacrocystis pyrifera, dominate the coastlines and are considered critical ecosystem engineers, providing shelter, food, and reproduction sites for various species. Additionally, they are essential components used in the food industry and biomedicine due to their lipids, amino acids, and fiber content. In this study, we determined the fatty acid content in different thallus structures (holdfast, stipes and fronds) ofMacrocystis pyriferacollected inRinconada Bulnes(53°35ʼ47.76” S; 70°56ʼ08.52” W) in the spring of 2021. The stipes had a highest total lipid content (3.73%) than the fronds (2.74%). The fatty acid profile showed higher values of monounsaturated fatty acids in the stipe (Ʃ 43.0%) and holdfast (Ʃ 41.7%), while fronds displayed higher values of polyunsaturated fatty acids (Ʃ 32.4%). This study provides insights into the nutritional and biomedical potential ofM. pyriferaand highlights the importance of understanding the distribution of fatty acids in different thallus structures.
Prolonged activation of EP3 receptor-expressing preoptic neurons underlies torpor responses
Authors: Machado Natalia , Raffin Francesca , Kaur Satvinder , Banks Alexander , Lynch Nicole , Fanari Oleksandra , Plascencia Oscar , Aten Sydney , Lima Janayna , Bandaru Sathyajit , Palmiter Richard , Arrigoni Elda , Saper Clifford
Published: May 2023

Many species use a temporary drop in body temperature and metabolic rate (torpor) as a strategy to survive food scarcity. A similar profound hypothermia is observed with activation of preoptic neurons that express the neuropeptides Pituitary Adenylate-Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP)1, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)2, or Pyroglutamylated RFamide Peptide (QRFP)3, the vesicular glutamate transporter, Vglut2 4,5 or the leptin receptor6 (LepR), estrogen 1 receptor (Esr1)7 or prostaglandin E receptor 3 (EP3R) in mice8. However, most of these genetic markers are found on multiple populations of preoptic neurons and only partially overlap with one another. We report here that expression of the EP3R marks a unique population of median preoptic (MnPO) neurons that are required both for lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fever9 and for torpor. These MnPOEP3R neurons produce persistent fever responses when inhibited and prolonged hypothermic responses when activated either chemo- or opto-genetically even for brief periods of time. The mechanism for these prolonged responses appears to involve increases in intracellular calcium in individual EP3R-expressing preoptic neurons that persist for many minutes up to hours beyond the termination of a brief stimulus. These properties endow MnPOEP3R neurons with the ability to act as a two-way master switch for thermoregulation.
Association between GGT to HDL-C ratio and NAFLD in the Japanese population: A cross-sectional study based on a public database
Authors: Zhao Yue , Luo Xiao-ping
Published: May 2023

Background The connection between γ-glutamyl transpeptidase to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (GGT/HDL-C) ratio and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been reported in some research. Few studies have discussed their possible nonlinear relationship in the Japanese population. We sought to learn the connection between the GGT/HDL-C and NAFLD in a Japanese population through a cross-sectional study.Methods Participants were from the NAGALA (NAfld in the Gifu Area, Longitudinal Analysis) medical examination program's database. This program aimed to investigate chronic disease risk factors and advance public health. Participants received exams per year. A cross-section study was employed. A total of 14242 subjects (7402 males and 6840 females) were enrolled after screening according to strict exclusion criteria. Fatty liver disease was confirmed by abdominal ultrasonography. The data was stated to have been posted to the DATADRYAD website.Results After adjusting for a series of confounding factors (age, sex, BMI, SBP, DBP, AST, ALT, FPG, HBA1C, TC, TG, smoking status, ethanol consumption, exercise status), GGT/HDL-C ratio quartile was positively related to NAFLD (P for trend < 0.0001). GGT/HDL-C was nonlinearly associated with NAFLD, with an inflexion point of 17.36. The effect sizes and the confidence intervals on the left and right sides of the inflexion point were 1.10 (1.07, 1.12) and 0.99 (0.99, 0.99), respectively. In different groups of ALT, the effect sizes of GGT/HDL-C on NAFLD showed significant differences (P for interaction was < 0.0001). The subsequent subgroup and interaction analysis found no statistical significance for the subgroup of age, sex, BMI, SBP, DBP, smoking and drinking status, and amount of exercise.Conclusion The GGT/HDL-C ratio is nonlinearly connected to NAFLD. Their positive connection can be established when GGT/HDL-C is less than or equal to 17.36.
A Geometry-Driven Neural Topic Model for Trip Purpose Inference
Authors: Zhang Jiaqi , Fan Zipei , Song Xuan , Shibasaki Ryosuke
Published: May 2023

Understanding urban human mobility, particularly trip purposes, is essential for optimizing traffic management, personalized recommendations, and urban planning. However, in real-world scenarios, trip purposes cannot be directly extracted from trajectory data. To address this issue, we propose a geometry-driven neural topic model for trip purpose inference. We integrate trajectory data with nearby points of interest (POI) data using a geometry-driven technique to enhance the interpretability of the results. Furthermore, our model captures the semantics and relationships of the data in a high-dimensional space and identifies latent topics representing distinct trip purposes. These learned topics are analyzed using clustering algorithms to group similar trips, enabling trip purpose inference. And we evaluate our model using the trajectory data of Shenzhen and Chengdu, and compare it with baseline models. The results demonstrate that our model performs well. Furthermore, we analyze trajectory data containing trip purpose information to gain insights into human mobility patterns and the influence of trip purposes, paving the way for potential implications and future research directions.
Research on the evolutionary game of civil aviation dangerous goods transportation training supervision new path
Authors: shen haibin , zhao shengnan , jia xiaonan , wang yueyi
Published: May 2023

This study is carried out to promote the accurate supervision of dangerous goods transportation training and ensure the stable development of dangerous goods transportation training market. First, from the actual situation of civil aviation dangerous goods transportation training supervision, the feasibility of the trainees' subordinate units as the new path of external supervision or trainees as the new path of internal supervision are considered. Then, based on the evolutionary game theory, this study constructs an evolutionary game model of civil aviation dangerous goods transportation training supervision under the participation of the trainees' subordinate units or trainees, and analyzes the influence of new subjects' participation on the behavior strategy selection of dangerous goods transportation training institutions, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The conclusions reveal that in the regulatory relationship of civil aviation dangerous goods transportation training, the participation of the trainees' subordinate units or trainees can improve the supervisory efficiency, curb the non-compliant training behavior, urge the CAAC to carry out the supervision work with due diligence, and further ensure the safety of air transportation. The higher the willingness of the trainees' subordinate units or trainees to participate, the better the effect.
Variation of Atomic Radii as a Function of Pressure: A Theoretical Study
Authors: Kumari Dimple , Tandon Hiteshi , Chakraborty Tanmoy
Published: May 2023

In the presence of pressure, interesting chemical events can happen, including the synthesis of unexpected compounds and the development of abnormal crystal structures. Often, these events have no logical explanation, and there are no chemical laws or models that can predict them. Research is active in the genesis of chemical events under pressure. Significance of the size of an atom and atomic electronegativity in determining the nature of the chemical reactivity of a species is well known. In this work, we have explored the inverse relationship between electronegativity and radius to compute a set of atomic radii as a function of pressure. In terms of computation of internuclear bond distances of some molecules, the reliability of the newly proposed scale is further analyzed. The results corroborate the experimental trend and justify the significance of pressure in reference to chemical phenomena.
Exploring unimolecular reactions in disilanol and ethanol: Insights and challenges
Authors: Vázquez Saulo A , Martínez-Núñez Emilio , Preston Thomas J
Published: May 2023

Unimolecular reactions of small silicon oxyhydrides constitute a subset of the full reaction networks that lead to larger species. Previous methods for mechanism discovery have largely been done by manual exploration using chemical intuition. Those works have established general concepts for silanol, SiOH4. The present work is a first attempt to use the automated mechanism discovery of the program AutoMeKin to elucidate the unimolecular reactions of disilanol, Si2OH6. We find that the semi-empirical surfaces used for preliminary exploration insufficiently describe silicon chemistry. As a workaround, we implement an intermediate optimization step to temper these shortcomings. The method recovers the known mechanisms in SiOH4 and C2OH6, which we use for validation. Key results for Si2OH6 include descriptions of relevant elementary reactions, the reaction network, and comparisons with better-known hydrocarbon and silicon hydride reactions. Although the current method shows promise, some shortcomings arise. We discuss the reliability of the generated reaction network and address approaches for further mechanistic understanding of silicon chemistry for material synthesis.
Dietary risk of donated food at an Australian food bank: an audit protocol
Authors: Mossenson Sharonna , Giglia Roslyn , Pulker Claire E , Chester Miranda , Pollard Christina M
Published: May 2023

Background Sufficient, safe and nutritious food is unattainable for many people experiencing severe food insecurity, putting them at dietary risk. Food banks, a growing part of the charitable food system (CFS), are the main source of food relief in developed countries. Donations of surplus, unsalable food from supermarkets, producers and manufacturers is the main source of the food supply, and this can be unpredictable, insufficient and inappropriate. The universal performance indicator of food-banking success is a weight-based measure, complemented by various initiatives to track the nutritional quality of food provided. There is currently no method that assesses the dietary risk of donated food related to nutrition and food safety. This protocol describes a method developed to identify and assess the dietary risk of donated food at an Australian food bank including the type, amount, nutrition quality, and food safety.Methods An audit of all food donated to a food bank servicing one Australian state was conducted over five consecutive days in May 2022. The audit process used a mobile device to take photographs of all incoming deliveries to the food bank. The images were manually annotated to document the type of food, product information (brand and product name, variety), the donor’s name, weight (kilograms), and date-marking details. Data was extracted from the photographs and assessed against pre-determined dietary risk criterion for food safety (date marking, damaged packaging, visible food spoilage) and nutrition quality according to the principles of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, and the NOVA classification of level of processing.Discussion Fifteen hundred images were required to assess the dietary risk of 86,050kg of donated food. There were 1222 food products from 72 separate donations, largely from supermarkets and food manufacturers. Data analysis will enable identification of dietary risk, particularly for nutrition quality and food safety. This is important given the absence of food regulation for CFS donations, and the vulnerability of the client group. This protocol highlights the need for more transparency and accountability from food donors, about the food they donate.
Measurements in a turbulent channel flow bymeans of an LDV profile sensor
Authors: Pasch Saskia , Leister Robin , Gatti Davide , Örlü Ramis , Frohnapfel Bettina , Kriegseis Jochen
Published: May 2023

For the development of flow control techniques in wall-bounded turbulent flows, precise measurements of the flow in the proximity of the wall are essential. A laser Doppler velocity profile-sensor (LDV-PS) allows the combined measurement of tracer particle positions and velocities, which makes it a promising tool for flow measurements with high spatial resolution in flows with high velocity gradients. Therefore, the LDV-PS is employed in measurements of a turbulent channel flow at Reτ = 350. Additionally, LDV-PS measurement and signal-processing accuracies of velocity and location estimations are evaluated for various tracer-object sizes and velocities. On this basis, the turbulent channel flow measurements are evaluated and compared to reference data from direct numerical simulations. Thus, potentials of the LDV-PS are investigated for different regions of the flow, and various data processing routines as well as the experimental practice are discussed from an application perspective.
Complexation of water-soluble phosphorylated calixarenes with uracils. Stability constants and DFT study of the supramolecular complexes
Authors: Kalchenko O. I. , Rozhenko A. B. , Cherenok S. O. , Selikhova A. I. , Suikov S. Yu. , Kyrylchuk A. А. , Kalchenko V. I.
Published: May 2023

Modification of the upper rim of the lipophilic cone-shaped tetrapropoxycalix[4]arene with hydrophilic phosphine oxide groups or phosphinic acid groups yielded nano-sized water-soluble calixarenes that form supramolecular complexes with uracils, including active pharmaceutical ingredients of 5-Fluorouracil and 5-Methyluracil drugs. Stability constants of the formed complexes in an aqueous-organic medium were determined by the HPLC method. The most favored structures of the calixarenes and their uracil complexes were optimized at the DFT level of approximation. In in the most favored structures of all adducts, the uracil molecules coordinate via hydrogen bonding with the phosphorus-containing groups on the upper rim of the calixarene ligands.
Pilot clinical trial and phenotypic analysis in chemotherapy-pretreated, metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients treated with oral TAK-228 and TAK-117 (PIKTOR) to increase DNA damage repair deficiency followed by cisplatin and nab paclitaxel
Authors: Lang Jessica D. , Nguyen Tuong Vi V. , Levin Maren K. , Blas Page E. , Williams Heather L. , Rodriguez Esther San Roman , Briones Natalia , Mueller Claudius , Selleck William , Moore Sarah , Zismann Victoria L. , Hendricks William P. D. , Espina Virginia , O'Shaughnessy Joyce
Published: May 2023

BACKGROUND A subset of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) have homologous recombination deficiency with upregulation of compensatory DNA repair pathways. PIKTOR, a combination of TAK-228 (TORC1/2 inhibitor) and TAK-117 (PI3Kα inhibitor), is hypothesized to increase genomic instability and increase DNA damage repair (DDR) deficiency, leading to increased sensitivity to DNA-damaging chemotherapy and to immune checkpoint blockade inhibitors.METHODS 10 metastatic TNBC patients received 4mg TAK-228 and 200mg TAK-117 (PIKTOR) orally each day for 3 days followed by 4 days off, weekly, until disease progression (PD), followed by intravenous cisplatin 75 mg/m2 plus nab paclitaxel 220 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for up to 6 cycles. Patients received subsequent treatment with pembrolizumab and/or chemotherapy. Primary endpoints were objective response rate with cisplatin/nab paclitaxel and safety. Biopsies of a metastatic lesion were collected prior to and at PD on PIKTOR. Whole exome and RNA-sequencing and reverse phase protein arrays (RPPA) were used to phenotype tumors pre- and post-PIKTOR for alterations in DDR, proliferation, and immune response.RESULTS With cisplatin/nab paclitaxel (cis/nab pac) therapy post PIKTOR, 3 patients had clinical benefit (1 partial response (PR) and 2 stable disease (SD) ≥ 6 months) and continued to have durable benefit in progression-free survival with pembrolizumab post-cis/nab pac for 1.2, 2, and 3.6 years. Their post-PIKTOR metastatic tissue displayed decreased mismatch repair (MMR), increased tumor mutation burden, and significantly lower levels of 53BP1, DAG Lipase β, GCN2, AKT Ser473, and PKCzeta Thr410/403 compared to pre-PIKTOR tumor tissue.CONCLUSIONS Priming patients’ chemotherapy-pretreated metastatic TNBC with PIKTOR led to very prolonged response/disease control with subsequent cis/nab pac, followed by pembrolizumab, in 3 of 10 treated patients. Our multi-omics approach revealed a higher number of genomic alterations, reductions in MMR, and alterations in immune and stress response pathways post-PIKTOR in patients who had durable responses.TRIAL REGISTRATION This clinical trial was registered on June 21, 2017, at ClinicalTrials.gov using identifier NCT03193853.
Fixed point theorems on B4 - metric space
Authors: Srinivasa Ch. , Kumar S. Ravi , Sarma K. K.M.
Published: May 2023

Recently, B4-metric spaces are introduced as a generalization of metric spaces. In this paper, we introduce new contractive mappings on B4-metric spaces and investigate relationships among them. Examples and counterexamples are provided as and when necessary. In addition, we obtain fixed point theorems for self-maps on B4-metric spaces.
AMS(2010) Mathematics Subject Classification: 47H10, 54H25.
Dissolved organic carbon fluxes to oceans under climate change
Authors: Fabre Clément , Sauvage Sabine , Vliet Michelle T.H. van , Pastor Amandine V. , Sánchez-Pérez José-Miguel
Published: May 2023

Climate change is a primary concern in the coming decades and affects temporal and spatial patterns in temperature and hydrology worldwide. These variations will undoubtedly affect the global carbon balance. The export of riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to oceans is crucial in the carbon balance and oceanic food web maintenance. Recent modelling quantified current daily DOC exports and future daily discharges delivered to the oceans. We intend to quantify future daily DOC deliveries from large rivers with a generic model integrating future temperature and hydrological dynamics under changing climate. On a set of 308 large rivers, we found significant increases in global DOC exports to the oceans of + 5.9% ± 0.1% for RCP 2.6 and + 14.6% ± 0.1% for RCP 8.5. Among all watersheds, Arctic catchments returned the largest rises of + 19.1% ± 0.4% for RCP 2.6 and of + 38.0% ± 0.1% for RCP 8.5. It highlights the high variability in future DOC deliveries, affecting future carbon transport to the oceans, especially in Arctic areas. These increases might affect the local and global sustainability of aquatic ecosystems.
Has retail competition reduced residential electricity prices in Texas?
Authors: Zarnikau J. , Cao K. H. , Qi H. S. , Woo C. K.
Published: May 2023

A review of 19 extant studies reveals mixed effects of retail competition effect on retail electricity prices in various jurisdictions in the United States. This conflicting evidence is largely due to the differences in these studies’ market locations, pre-competition conditions, data types, estimation methods and features of the restructuring plan. Contributing to the debate on the impacts of electricity market reform on retail prices, we estimate the impact from the introduction of retail competition on retail electricity prices paid by residential consumers in Texas in two cities opened to retail competition. We find that retail competition raised average prices by $0.0112/kWh ($11.2/MWh) in the transition period from 2001 to 2006 and by $0.0134/kWh ($13.4/MWh) during the period of unfettered competition from 2007 to 2020. However, when the US wholesale natural gas prices are relatively low, actual retail electricity prices in areas opened to retail competition are close to the prices that would have prevailed had retail competition not been introduced, as measured by the counterfactual prices estimated using the synthetic control method.JEL Codes: L51, L94, Z18, Q48
Association between heavy metal uptake and growth and reproduction in the anecic earthworm, Alma nilotica
Authors: Fai Patricia Bi Asanga , Ngogang Josephine Ngoune , Djeukam Mariette Kouemo , Nfor Brian , Fobil Julius N. , Basu Niladri
Published: May 2023

Elevated heavy metal concentrations in soils is a cause for concern as they are hazardous to soil organisms including earthworms which are considered as ecosystem engineers. Current ecotoxicity tests predominantly use temperate earthworm species, and thus there is the need to include a broader genera of native species to improve ecological risk assessment. Alma nilotica, is a tropical anecic earthworm species that survives well under laboratory conditions and has potential for use in ecotoxicology testing but lacks published toxicity data for important pollutants. Growth and reproduction bioassays were carried out with Alma nilotica to determine the relationship between the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cr in spiked soils and their bioaccumulation and toxic effects. Positive linear relationships were found between soil-metal and internal earthworm-metal concentrations. Cu did not inhibit growth up to 35 days of exposure but became toxic with longer exposure duration. Zn was not regulated by Alma nilotica although it is an essential metal that is well regulated by Eisenia sp. commonly used in standard ecotoxicity tests, showing differences in metal regulation by earthworms of different ecological functional groups. Based on bioaccumulation factors (BAFs), growth inhibition and reproduction effects the metals were ranked in decreasing toxicity as Pb > Cr > Zn > Cu. The mean 20% Internal Effects Concentrations (IEC20s) for reproduction were 1.03. 1.77, 10.2 and 218 mg metal/kg earthworm for Pb, Cr, Zn and Cu respectively. These data can contribute to the improvement of metal risk assessment particularly in tropical contexts.
Adequate iodine nutrition and higher salt intake in Chinese adults compared with WHO recommendations
Authors: Qun Diqun Di , Ye Ying , Lan Ying , He Meng , Wu Jiani , Wang Lijin , Chen Zhihui
Published: May 2023

Objective: Iodine deficiency and excessive salt intake have adverse health effects. This study evaluated the iodine level and salt intake in Chinese adults after implementing the salt reduction program and compared both with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
Methods：Adults aged 18–59 years were randomly selected using multi-stage stratified random sampling in Fujian Province, China. Iodine, sodium, and creatinine concentrations in spot urine samples were measured. Knudsen equation was used to determine 24-h urinary iodine and sodium excretion.
Results: The median urinary iodine concentration (mUIC) among adults (n = 3513) was 132.0 μg/L. No significant differences were observed in mUIC between sexes and age groups (P > 0.05). The median daily salt intake (DSI) among Chinese adults was 10.2 g/d, and only <13.6% of the population met the recommended WHO upper DSI level of 5 g/d. The DSI of residents was higher in the noncoastal rural areas than in the other three areas (P < 0.05). The adults aged 45–59 years consumed more salt compared with those aged 18–49 years (P < 0.05). The logistic regression demonstrated that the people living in coastal and noncoastal urban areas consumed less salt compared with those in noncoastal rural areas. Except for noncoastal urban areas, the daily iodine intake was lower (<150 μg/d) among women of childbearing age in the low–salt intake group (<5 g/d) (P < 0.05) compared with the high–salt intake group (≥5 g/d).
Conclusions：Iodine nutrition in Chinese adults was sufficient, but the salt intake was substantially higher than the WHO recommendations. Further policy implementation is needed to reduce salt intake and improve the monitoring of iodine levels in Chinese adults, especially in women of childbearing age.
Multi-dimensional insight into the coexistence of pathogenic genes for ADAR1 and TSC2: careful consideration is essential for interpretation of ADAR1 variants
Authors: Liu Xiangyu , Lei Meifang , Xue Yan , Li Hong , Yin Jing , Li Dong , Shu Jianbo , Cai Chunquan
Published: May 2023

Background
Aicardi-Goutières syndrome 6 (AGS6) is a serious auto immunization-associated acute neurologic decompensation. AGS6 manifests as acute onset of severe generalized dystonia of limbs and developmental regression secondary to febrile illness mostly. Dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria (DSH), as pigmentary genodermatosis, is characterized mixture of hyperpigmented and hypopigmented macules. Both AGS6 and DSH are associated with ADAR1 pathogenic variants.
Methods
To explore the etiology of a proband with developmental regression with mixture of hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation macules, we used the trio-WES. Later, to clarify the association between variants and diseases, we used guidelines of ACMG for variants interpretation and quantitative Real-time PCR for verifying elevated expression levels of interferon-stimulated genes, separately.
Results
By WES, we detected 2 variants in ADAR1 and a variant in TSC2, respectively were NM_001111.5: c.1096_1097del, NM_001111.5: c.518A>G, and NM_000548.5: c.1864C>T. Variants interpretation suggested that these 3 variants were both pathogenic. Expression levels of interferon-stimulated genes also elevated as expected.
Conclusion
We verified the co-occurrence of pathogenic variants of ADAR1 and TSC2 in AGS6 patients with DSH. Our works contributed to the elucidation of ADAR1 pathogenic mechanism, given the specific pathogenic mechanism of ADAR1, it is necessary to consider with caution when variants were found in ADAR1.
On intrinsic susceptibility of healthy organs to primary cancer or metastasis
Authors: Trajkovic Katarina , Gelemanovic Andrea , Vidovic Tinka , Radman Miroslav
Published: May 2023

Although primary cancer can affect any part of the body, there is a striking variability in cancer prevalence across different organs. Moreover, metastases are non-randomly distributed among organs, with lung, liver, lymph nodes and bone acting as metastatic hotspots. The reasons for such inter-organ variability in the prevalence of primary cancers and metastases are insufficiently understood. In this in silico study we show that susceptibility of organs to a primary cancer or a metastasis is linked with their distinctive intrinsic features in the healthy state. In particular, while susceptibility of an organ to primary cancer is associated with the abundance of arterial endothelial cells and atypical gene expression, susceptibility to metastases correlates with high content of immune cells and high expression of immune genes. These data shed light on some fundamental aspects of cancer biology and pave new avenues for mitigation of cancer.
On the magnetotransport properties and Griffith phase in (La,Gd)1.4 (Ca,Sr)1.6 Mn2 O7 the double layered manganites
Authors: BELGUET Radjia , MAHAMDIOUA Nabil , MERICHE Faiza , DENBRI Fatih , ALONSO Jose A. , MARTINEZ Jose L. , Polat-ALTINTAS Sevgi , TERZIOGLU Cabir
Published: May 2023

The bilayered manganite with formula \({ \text{L}\text{a}}_{1.2}{\text{G}\text{d}}_{0.2}{\text{C}\text{a}}_{1.2}{\text{S}\text{r}}_{0.4}{\text{M}\text{n}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{7}\)has been synthesized by the solid state reaction route with the aim of studying its structural, microstructural, magnetic, electrical and magnetotransport properties. The X-ray diffraction patterns have been analyzed by Rietveld refinement. It revealed that the sample crystallized in a tetragonal structure with the space group I4/mmm and that, as an impurity phase, there were traces of an orthorhombic structure corresponding to a simple perovskite with the space group Pnma. The morphology was examined by using scanning electron microscopy, which revealed that it was porous and granular. The presence and purity of all the constituent elements were confirmed by the Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy investigation. Based on magnetization, the inverse of susceptibility, and hysteresis loop, the magnetic behavior of the compound is discussed in detail. The sample displays a phase transition from ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) at \({\text{T}}_{\text{C}}\), which was determined to be 290.13 K. Between 305 and 360 K, a Griffith phase (GP) was discovered, indicating the existence ofFM clusters in the paramagnetic domains, and the Griffithtemperature was found to be\(\)339 K. The sample can be thought of as spin-glass-like manganite since a significant divergence wasobserved at low temperatures between the magnetization curves M (T) in the zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) modes. The spin-glass transition temperature was found to be 261 K. The electrical resistivity under both 0 and 1 T magnetic field exhibits metal-to-insulator transition at \({\text{T}}_{\text{M}\text{I}}\) = 152.98 K. The magnetoresistance was observed to decrease with increasing temperature, peaking at 23% at 11 K under 1 T. Total resistivity in magnetic applied fields of 0T and 1T is composed of residual resistivity, weak localization, and electron-electron combinations below \({\text{T}}_{\text{M}\text{I}}\). Above\({\text{T}}_{\text{M}\text{I}}\) and\({{\theta }}_{\text{D}}/2\) (\({{\theta }}_{\text{D}}\)is Debye temperature), the Mott’s 3D variable range hopping mechanism (3D-VRH) governed the electrical conduction, whereas, the adiabatic small polaron hopping model governed it in the range\({{\theta }}_{\text{D}}/2>\text{T}>300\text{K}\). The density of states, mean hopping energy, and mean hopping distance have all been estimated and thoroughly discussed.
A scoping review to explore the materialisation of health system resilience across three Caribbean countries, Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Haiti: A protocol
Authors: St Louis Patricia , Wautié Alice , Makali Samuel Lwamushi , Radix Carlene , Paul Elisabeth
Published: May 2023

Background The COVID-19 pandemic offers a window of opportunity for building resilient health systems. As such, it is important to use this opportunity to redesign, strengthen, and adapt health systems to meet current population needs. Health systems resilience (HSR) is even more critical in Caribbean countries which face health, environmental, economic shocks and in certain cases political and social upheavals. This study aims to explore the extent to which Haiti, Dominica, and Saint Lucia have developed HSR into their respective contexts.Methods It will consist of a scoping review of available literature on HSR and/or health systems strengthening (HSS) covering Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Haiti, from 2010 to 2023. It will follow the five-point methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and will answer the following question. What approaches, strategies or interventions contribute to building or strengthening HSR in dealing with shocks across these three countries? The perspectives, concepts, dimensions, and definitions from relevant scientific literature will be combined to generate the research equations. The papers identified via PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar and OpenGrey will then be processed on EndNote and independently filtered by two researchers, reinforced by a third researcher in case of disagreement, according to the PRISMA method adjusted to scoping reviews. Following a deductive-inductive method, the material will be analysed thematically to identify the key approaches, strategies and interventions outlined in the retained materials.Results This scoping review intends to produce a preliminary assessment of how HSR is implemented in the three participating countries. It holds the potential to shed new light on the experiences of these three countries in their efforts to attain resilience in their health systemsConclusions This study might offer insight into the role of stakeholders and processes activated for the achievement of HSR in the Caribbean. In addition, it provides the starting point for the development of a tool to understand and realise HSR, tailored to the three countries.
Multi-Scale Friction Simulation and Experimental Verification of Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced PTFE Composites
Authors: Liang Ce , Shuai Changgeng , Yang Xue , Wang Xin
Published: May 2023

The synergistic analysis of friction properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced polymers at the nanoscale and macroscale can help to obtain the intrinsic mechanism of carbon nanotubes to reduce the friction coefficient of polymers, which is important to guide the modification of polymer friction properties. However, the huge gap in spatial scales makes it difficult for molecular dynamics simulations at the nanoscale to predict the friction coefficient of virtual contact interfaces, and conducting a large number of macroscopic experiments to obtain natural frictional laws could be more efficient. This study proposes a multi-scale model to investigate the frictional behavior of copper (Cu)-CNT/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). By using the micromechanics Mori-Tanaka homogenization method as a bridge, the nanoscale simulations of the CNT/PTFE elasticity and frictional behaviour and the macroscopic finite element simulation of the Cu ring-CNT/PTFE block contact are coupled, thus integrating the nanoscale frictional laws of Cu-CNT/PTFE obtained from molecular dynamics simulations into the actual contact interface. The results of multi-scale friction simulations show that the filling of CNTs can effectively improve the elastic and frictional properties of the PTFE matrix, and the degree of improvement is related to the orientation and mass fraction of the CNTs. Under a normal load of 0.5 MPa and a rotating speed of 30 rpm, the friction coefficient continuously decreases (from 0.198 to 0.156) with increasing CNTs mass fraction (0%, 1.25%, 2.5%, 5%). The simulation results were verified by copper ring-CNT/PTFE block friction experiments.
Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Grade 5 Bangladeshi Children Sample: A Latent Class Tree (LCT) Approach
Authors: Rahman Azizur , Akter Mariam
Published: May 2023

Background
Internalizing and externalizing problems are frequent during middle aged children and are often comorbid. The current study aimed to explore subgroup of children at grade 5 in Bangladesh.
Methods
The well-known Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire was administered to 912 children (48% girls), aged 9–13 years (M = 11.54; SD = 1.12). Latent class analysis (LCA) and Latent Class Tree (LCT) was carried out to make a comparison in identifying risk profiles in children according to their symptoms and explore association between latent classes and gender and having siblings.
Results
Four latent classes were found under behavioral internalizing and externalizing subscales. We have: “no difficulties” (37.51%), “some difficulties” (25.96%), “challenging” (19.73%) and “very challenging” (16.80%) based on traditional LCA. Whereas for LTA, we have: “no difficulties” (35.45%), “some difficulties” (27.64%), “challenging” (15.26%) and “very challenging” (21.65%). Children belonging to “very challenging” group for externalizing problem showed highest scores for hyperactivity/inattention compared to conduct problems. Whereas children belonging to “very challenging” group for internalizing problem showed highest risk on emotional symptoms.
Conclusion
This finding emphasizes the necessity of improving population-level knowledge of Bangladeshi child and youth mental health in the middle years, between early childhood and high school, to avoid future comorbidity and more severe symptoms. In addition, LCT ensures that the output of the LC tree model is compatible with the output of the LCA model suggests Latent Class Tree (LCT) as an alternative approach of LCA.
Post-hospitalisation asthma management in primary care: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Punyadasa Dhanusha , Simms-Williams Nikita , Adderley Nicola J , Thayakaran Rasiah , Mansur Adel H , Nirantharakumar Krishnarajah , Nagakumar Prasad , Haroon Shamil
Published: May 2023

Background
Clinical guidelines recommend that patients admitted to hospital for asthma attacks are reviewed in primary care following hospital discharge.
Aim
We evaluated post-hospitalisation asthma management in primary care and its associations with patient characteristics.
Design and setting
A retrospective cohort study was performed using English primary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum database and linked Hospital Episode Statistics Admitted Patient Care data.
Method
Patients with asthma aged ≥5 years who had at least one asthma-related hospitalisation from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2019 were included. Primary outcome was a composite of any of the following delivered in primary care within 28 days from hospital discharge: asthma review, asthma management plan, asthma medication prescriptions, demonstration of inhaler technique, or smoking cessation counselling. The association between patient characteristics and delivery of clinical care was assessed using logistic regression.
Results
The study included 17,457 patients. 60% had received the primary outcome within 28 days of hospital discharge. 13% received an asthma review, 8% an asthma management plan, 57% an asthma medication, 8% a demonstration of inhaler technique, and 1.2% (of smokers) smoking cessation counselling. This care was less likely to be received by patients from black ethnic minority groups (27-54% relative reduction, depending on age group). By contrast, previous prescriptions of short-acting bronchodilators were associated with an increased likelihood of the primary outcome.
Conclusion
A significant proportion of patients do not receive timely follow-up in primary care following asthma-related hospital admissions, particularly among patients from black ethnic groups.
An Improve Fuzzy Proportional Integral and Derivative Controller for Torque Ripple Reduction in Six-Phase Induction Motor in HEV
Authors: Kumar Vikram , Mishra Ambarisha
Published: May 2023

In this paper, for the reduction of torque ripples in six-phase induction motors, a hybrid controller is proposed that combines a well-defined control strategy for the motor operation. The direct and field-oriented control are hybrids that use a stationary and synchronous reference frame with the stator and rotor as control variables. The control variables concerning both the stator and the rotor are controlled using a novel controller named fractional order fuzzy proportional integral and derivative controller. Due to the high-level inverter, more complex voltage vectors are generated for the control along with the optimized selection of the switching sequence for the inverter an artificial neural network is utilized. From the analysis, only 0.8% of torque ripple and harmonics of 2.45% is seen.