bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patterns of statin adherence in primary cardiovascular disease prevention during the pandemic
Authors: Malo Sara , Maldonado Lina , Rabanaque María José , Gimeno-Miguel Antonio , Castel-Feced Sara , Lallana María Jesús , Aguilar-Palacio Isabel
Published: November 2022

Background: Study of medication adherence patterns can help identify patients who would benefit from effective interventions to improve adherence.

Objectives: To identify and compare groups of statin users based on their adherence patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, to characterize the profile of users in each group, and to analyze predictors of distinct adherence patterns.

Methods: Participants of the CARhES (CArdiovascular Risk factors for HEalth Services research) cohort, comprising individuals aged >16 years, residing in Aragón (Spain), with hypertension, diabetes mellitus and/or dyslipidemia, took part in this observational longitudinal study. Individuals who began statin therapy during January–June 2019 were selected and followed up until June 2021. Those with a cardiovascular event before or during follow-up were excluded. Data were obtained from healthcare system data sources. Statin treatment adherence during the implementation phase was estimated bimonthly using the Continuous Medication Availability (CMA9) function in the AdhereR package. Group-based trajectory models were developed to group statin users according to their adherence pattern during July 2019–June 2021. Group characteristics were compared and predictors of each adherence pattern were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Of 15,332 new statin users, 30.8% had a mean CMA9 ≥80% for the entire study period. Four distinct adherence patterns were identified: high adherence (37.2% of the study population); poor adherence (35.6%); occasional use (14.9%); and gradual decline (12.3%). The latter two groups included users who showed a change in adherence (increase or decrease) during the pandemic emergence. Users with suboptimal adherence were likely to be younger, not pensioners, not institutionalized, with low morbidity burden and a low number of comorbidities. Female sex and switching between statins of different intensity increased the likelihood of belonging to the occasional use group, in which improved adherence coincided with the pandemic.

Conclusion: We identified four distinct adherence patterns in a population of new statin users; two of them modified their adherence during the pandemic. Characterization of these groups could enable more effective distribution of resources in future similar crisis and the routine implementation of patient-centered interventions to improve medication adherence.
Fluid-structure interaction study of bio-magnetic fluid in a wavy bifurcated channel with elastic walls
Authors: Shahzad Hasan , Wang Xinhua , Raizah Zehba , Riaz Arshad , Majeed Afraz Hussain , Anwar Muhammad Adnan , Eldin Sayed M.
Published: November 2022

As a result of its wide range of applications, FSI has grabbed the attention of researchers and scientists. In this study we consider an incompressible, laminar fluid flowing through the bifurcated channel. The wavy walls of the channel are considered elastic. Moreover, a magnetic field is applied towards the axial direction of the flow. Using a two-way fluid-structure interaction, an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation is used for coupling the problem. The problem is discretized using P2 and P1 finite element methods to approximate the displacement, pressure, and velocity. The linearized system of equations is solved using Newton’s iterative scheme. The analysis is carried out for the Reynolds number and Hartman number. The ranges of the studied parameters are Reynolds number 300≤Re≤1000 and Hartmann number 0≤Ha≤10. The hemodynamic effects on the bifurcated channel and elastic walls are calculated using velocity, pressure, wall shear stresses (WSS), and loads at the walls. The study shows there is an increase in boundary load as the values of the Hartman number increase hence WSS increases. On the other hand, an increase in the Reynolds number increases the resistance forces hence velocity and WSS decrease. Also, numerical values of WSS for rigid and elastic walls are calculated. Studies showed that WSS decreases for the FSI case when compare to CFD (computational fluid dynamic) case.
Acute exercise reduces feeding by activating IL-6/Tubby axis in the mouse hypothalamus
Authors: de Oliveira Micheletti Thayana , Cassia dos Santos Andressa , Rocha Guilherme Zweig , Silva Vagner Ramon Rodrigues , Quaresma Paula Gabriele Fernandes , Assalin Heloisa Balan , Junqueira Felipe Silva , Ropelle Eduardo Rochete , Oliveira Alexandre Gabarra , Saad Mario Jose Abdalla , Prada Patricia de Oliveira
Published: November 2022

Background: Acute exercise contributes to decreased feeding through leptin and interleukin/Janus kinase 2/signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (IL-6/JAK2/STAT3) signaling. Considering the pleiotropic use of substrates by JAK2 and that JAK2 can phosphorylate the Tubby protein (TUB) in CHO-IR cells, we speculated that acute exercise can activate the IL-6/JAK2/TUB pathway to decrease food intake.

Aims: We investigated whether acute exercise induced tyrosine phosphorylation and the association of TUB and JAK2 in the hypothalamus and if IL-6 is involved in this response, whether acute exercise increases the IL-6/TUB axis to regulate feeding, and if leptin has an additive effect over this mechanism.

Methods: We applied a combination of genetic, pharmacological, and molecular approaches.

Key findings: The in vivo experiments showed that acute exercise increased the tyrosine phosphorylation and association of JAK2/TUB in the hypothalamus, which reduced feeding. This response was dependent on IL-6. Leptin had no additive effect on this mechanism.

Significance: The results of this study suggest a novel hypothalamic pathway by which IL-6 released by exercise regulates feeding and reinforces the beneficial effects of exercise.
Comparing adventitious root-formation and graft-unification abilities in clones of Argania spinosa
Authors: Tzeela Pann , Yechezkel Sela , Serero Ori , Eliyahu Avi , Sherf Sara , Manni Yair , Doron-Faigenboim Adi , Carmelli-Weissberg Mira , Shaya Felix , Dwivedi Vikas , Sadot Einat
Published: November 2022

Argania spinosa trees have attracted attention in recent years due to their high resistance to extreme climate conditions. Initial domestication activities practiced in Morocco. Here we report on selection and vegetative propagation of A. spinosa trees grown in Israel. Trees yielding relatively high amounts of fruit were propagated by rooting of stem cuttings. High variability in rooting ability was found among the 30 clones selected. In-depth comparison of a difficult-to-root (ARS7) and easy-to-root (ARS1) clone revealed that the rooted cuttings of ARS7 have a lower survival rate than those of ARS1. In addition, histological analysis of the adventitious root primordia showed many abnormal fused primordia in ARS7. Hormone profiling revealed that while ARS1 accumulates more cytokinin, ARS7 accumulates more auxin, suggesting different auxin-to-cytokinin ratios underlying the different rooting capabilities. The hypothesized relationship between rooting and grafting abilities was addressed. Reciprocal grafting was performed with ARS1/ARS7 but no significant differences in the success of graft unification between the trees was detected. Accordingly, comparative RNA sequencing of the rooting and grafting zones showed more differentially expressed genes related to rooting than to grafting between the two trees. Clustering, KEGG and Venn analyses confirmed enrichment of genes related to auxin metabolism, transport and signaling, cytokinin metabolism and signaling, cell wall modification and cell division in both regions. In addition, the differential expression of some key genes in ARS1 vs. ARS7 rooting zones was revealed. Taken together, while both adventitious root-formation and graft-unification processes share response to wounding, cell reprogramming, cell division, cell differentiation and reconnection of the vasculature, there are similar, but also many different genes regulating the two processes. Therefore an individual genotype can have low rooting capacity but good graft-unification ability.
Information on disease resistance patterns of grape varieties may improve disease management
Authors: Salotti Irene , Bove Federica , Ji Tao , Rossi Vittorio
Published: November 2022

Resistance to downy mildew (DM) and powdery mildew (PM) contributes to sustainable vineyard management by reducing the diseases and the need for fungicide applications. Resistant varieties vary in their degree of resistance to DM and PM, and in their susceptibility to other diseases. As a consequence, fungicide use may differ among varieties depending on their “resistance patterns” (i.e., the resistance level of a variety toward all of the diseases in the vineyard). The resistance patterns of 16 grapevine varieties to DM, PM, black rot (BR), and gray mold (GM) were evaluated over a 4-year period under field conditions. Disease severity was assessed on leaves and bunches, and the AUDPC (Area Under Disease Progress Curve) was calculated to represent the epidemic progress. GM was found only on bunches and only at very low levels, irrespective of the year or variety, and was therefore excluded from further analyses. The varieties were then grouped into four resistance patterns: i) low resistance to DM and PM, intermediate resistance to BR; ii) high resistance to DM, intermediate resistance to PM, low resistance to BR; iii) intermediate resistance to DM and BR, low resistance to PM; and iv) high resistance to DM, PM, and BR. AUDPC values on leaves were positively correlated with AUDPC values on bunches for susceptible varieties but not for resistant ones, with the exception of PM. Therefore, bioassays with leaves can be used to predict the resistance of bunches to DM and BR for susceptible varieties but not for resistant ones. These results may facilitate both strategic and tactical decisions for the sustainable management of grapevine diseases.
Influence of multiple global change drivers on plant invasion: Additive effects are uncommon
Authors: Yang Bin , Cui MiaoMiao , Du YiZhou , Ren GuangQian , Li Jian , Wang CongYan , Li GuanLin , Dai ZhiCong , Rutherford Susan , Wan Justin S. H. , Du DaoLin
Published: November 2022

Invasive plants threaten biodiversity and cause huge economic losses. It is thought that global change factors (GCFs) associated with climate change (including shifts in temperature, precipitation, nitrogen, and atmospheric CO2) will amplify their impacts. However, only few studies assessed mixed factors on plant invasion. We collated the literature on plant responses to GCFs to explore independent, combined, and interactive effects on performance and competitiveness of native and invasive plants. From 176 plant species, our results showed that: (1) when native and invasive plants are affected by both independent and multiple GCFs, there is an overall positive effect on plant performance, but a negative effect on plant competitiveness; (2) under increased precipitation or in combination with temperature, most invasive plants gain advantages over natives; and (3) interactions between GCFs on plant performance and competitiveness were mostly synergistic or antagonistic. Our results indicate that native and invasive plants may be affected by independent or combined GCFs, and invasive plants likely gain advantages over native plants. The interactive effects of factors on plants were non-additive, but the advantages of invasive plants may not increase indefinitely. Our findings show that inferring the impacts of climate change on plant invasion from factors individually could be misleading. More mixed factor studies are needed to predict plant invasions under global change.
Multi-trait selection for mean performance and stability of maize hybrids in mega-environments delineated using envirotyping techniques
Authors: Yue Haiwang , Olivoto Tiago , Bu Junzhou , Li Jie , Wei Jianwei , Xie Junliang , Chen Shuping , Peng Haicheng , Nardino Maicon , Jiang Xuwen
Published: November 2022

Under global climate changes, understanding climate variables that are most associated with environmental kinships can contribute to improving the success of hybrid selection, mainly in environments with high climate variations. The main goal of this study is to integrate envirotyping techniques and multi-trait selection for mean performance and the stability of maize genotypes growing in the Huanghuaihai plain in China. A panel of 26 maize hybrids growing in 10 locations in two crop seasons was evaluated for 9 traits. Considering 20 years of climate information and 19 environmental covariables, we identified four mega-environments (ME) in the Huanghuaihai plain which grouped locations that share similar long-term weather patterns. All the studied traits were significantly affected by the genotype × mega-environment × year interaction, suggesting that evaluating maize stability using single-year, multi-environment trials may provide misleading recommendations. Counterintuitively, the highest yields were not observed in the locations with higher accumulated rainfall, leading to the hypothesis that lower vapor pressure deficit, minimum temperatures, and high relative humidity are climate variables that –under no water restriction– reduce plant transpiration and consequently the yield. Utilizing the multi-trait mean performance and stability index (MTMPS) prominent hybrids with satisfactory mean performance and stability across cultivation years were identified. G23 and G25 were selected within three out of the four mega-environments, being considered the most stable and widely adapted hybrids from the panel. The G5 showed satisfactory yield and stability across contrasting years in the drier, warmer, and with higher vapor pressure deficit mega-environment, which included locations in the Hubei province. Overall, this study opens the door to a more systematic and dynamic characterization of the environment to better understand the genotype-by-environment interaction in multi-environment trials.
Genome-wide association studies for soybean epicotyl length in two environments using 3VmrMLM
Authors: Hong Huilong , Li Mei , Chen Yijie , Wang Haorang , Wang Jun , Guo Bingfu , Gao Huawei , Ren Honglei , Yuan Ming , Han Yingpeng , Qiu Lijuan
Published: November 2022

Germination of soybean seed is the imminent vital process after sowing. The status of plumular axis and radicle determine whether soybean seed can emerge normally. Epicotyl, an organ between cotyledons and first functional leaves, is essential for soybean seed germination, seedling growth and early morphogenesis. Epicotyl length (EL) is a quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes/QTLs. Here, the present study analyzes the phenotypic diversity and genetic basis of EL using 951 soybean improved cultivars and landraces from Asia, America, Europe and Africa. 3VmrMLM was used to analyze the associations between EL in 2016 and 2020 and 1,639,846 SNPs for the identification of QTNs and QTN-by-environment interactions (QEIs)”.A total of 180 QTNs and QEIs associated with EL were detected. Among them, 74 QTNs (ELS_Q) and 16 QEIs (ELS_QE) were identified to be associated with ELS (epicotyl length of single plant emergence), and 60 QTNs (ELT_Q) and 30 QEIs (ELT_QE) were identified to be associated with ELT (epicotyl length of three seedlings). Based on transcript abundance analysis, GO (Gene Ontology) enrichment and haplotype analysis, ten candidate genes were predicted within nine genic SNPs located in introns, upstream or downstream, which were supposed to be directly or indirectly involved in the process of seed germination and seedling development., Of 10 candidate genes, two of them (Glyma.04G122400 and Glyma.18G183600) could possibly affect epicotyl length elongation. These results indicate the genetic basis of EL and provides a valuable basis for specific functional studies of epicotyl traits.
PIN1 regulates epidermal cells development under drought and salt stress using single-cell analysis
Authors: Bawa George , Liu Zhixin , Wu Rui , Zhou Yaping , Liu Hao , Sun Susu , Liu Yumeng , Qin Aizhi , Yu Xiaole , Zhao Zihao , Yang Jincheng , Hu Mengke , Sun Xuwu
Published: November 2022

Over the course of evolution, plants have developed plasticity to acclimate to environmental stresses such as drought and salt stress. These plant adaptation measures involve the activation of cascades of molecular networks involved in stress perception, signal transduction and the expression of stress related genes. Here, we investigated the role of the plasma membrane-localized transporter of auxin PINFORMED1 (PIN1) in the regulation of pavement cells (PCs) and guard cells (GCs) development under drought and salt stress conditions. The results showed that drought and salt stress treatment affected the development of PCs and GCs. Further analysis identified the different regulation mechanisms of PIN1 in regulating the developmental patterns of PCs and GCs under drought and salt stress conditions. Drought and salt stress also regulated the expression dynamics of PIN1 inpif1/3/4/5quadruple mutants. Collectively, we revealed that PIN1 plays a crucial role in regulating plant epidermal cells development under drought and salt stress conditions, thus contributing to developmental rebustness and plasticity.
Gibberellin delays metabolic shift during tomato ripening by inducing auxin signaling
Authors: Park Me-Hea , Malka Siva Kumar
Published: November 2022

Fruit ripening involves the dynamic interaction of phytohormones. Ethylene (ET) and gibberellin (GA) antagonistically affect fruit ripening. However, the mechanism of GA and its potential interaction with ET during fruit ripening remain unknown. To identify the potential molecular mechanism of ET and GA interplay in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit ripening, transcriptome and metabolomic profiling was carried out in tomato fruit treated with GA, ET or the combination of the two hormones (GA+ET). ET accelerated fruit ripening with the simultaneous repression of auxin signaling. In contrast, gibberellin delayed ripening by the upregulation of auxin signaling. ET signaling and response was inhibited by GA or combined with ET. At the metabolite level, while GA treatment inhibited metabolite shift during ripening, ET treatment promoted. In the combined hormone treatment, ET reduced or recovered GA inhibitory effect on specific metabolites. This study provided insight into ET and GA interaction, highlighting the importance of auxin signaling in metabolic shifts during tomato ripening progression.
Nitrogen addition promotes early-stage and inhibits late-stage decomposition of fine roots in Pinus massoniana plantation
Authors: Wang Lijun , Shen Yafei , Cheng Ruimei , Xiao Wenfa , Zeng Lixiong , Sun Pengfei , Chen Tian , Zhang Meng
Published: November 2022

Increasing atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has a profound impact on the ecosystem functions and processes. Fine root decomposition is an important pathway for the reentry of nutrients into the soil. However, the effect of N addition on root decomposition and its potential mechanism is not well understood with respect to root branch orders. In this study, we conducted a 30-month decomposition experiment of fine roots under different concentrations of N addition treatments (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg N ha-1year-1, respectively) in a typicalPinus massonianaplantation in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China. In the early stage of decomposition (0−18 months), N addition at all concentrations promoted the decomposition of fine roots, and the average decomposition rates of order 1–2, order 3–4, order 5–6 fine roots were increased by 13.54%, 6.15% and 7.96% respectively. In the late stage of decomposition (18−30 months), high N addition inhibited the decomposition of fine root, and the average decomposition rates of order 1–2, order 3–4, order 5–6 fine roots were decreased by 58.35%, 35.43% and 47.56% respectively. At the same time, N addition promoted the release of lignin, carbon (C), N, and phosphorus (P) in the early-stage, whereas high N addition inhibited the release of lignin, C, N, and the activities of lignin-degrading enzyme (peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase) in the late-stage. The decomposition constant (k) was significantly correlated with the initial chemical quality of the fine roots and lignin-degrading enzyme activities. The higher-order (order 3–4 and order 5–6) fine roots decomposed faster than lower-order (order 1–2) fine roots due to higher initial cellulose, starch, sugar, C concentrations and higher C/N, C/P, lignin/N ratios and lower N, P concentrations. In addition, low N (30 kg N ha-1year-1) treatments decreased soil organic matter content, whereas high N (90 kg N ha-1year-1) treatment had the opposite effect. All the N treatments reduced soil pH and total P content, indicating that increased N deposition may led to soil acidification. Our findings indicated that the effect of N addition on decomposition varied with the decomposition stages. The decomposition difference between the lower-order and higher-order fine roots were controlled strongly by the initial chemical quality of the fine roots. This study provides new insights into understanding and predicting possible changes in plant root decomposition and soil properties in the future atmospheric N deposition increase scenarios.
Genome-partitioning strategy, plastid and nuclear phylogenomic discordance, and its evolutionary implications of Clematis (Ranunculaceae)
Authors: Xiao Jiamin , Lyu Rudan , He Jian , Li Mingyang , Ji Jiaxin , Cheng Jin , Xie Lei
Published: November 2022

Clematis is one of the largest genera of Ranunculaceae with many phylogenetic problems left to be resolved. Clematis species have considerable genome size of more than 7 Gbp, and there was no whole-genome reference sequence published in this genus. This raises difficulties in acquiring nuclear genome data for its phylogenetic analysis. Previous studies based on Sanger sequencing data, plastid genome data, and nrDNA sequences did not well resolve the phylogeny of Clematis. In this study, we used genome skimming and transcriptome data to assemble the plastid genome sequences, nuclear single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) datasets, and single-copy nuclear orthologous genes (SCOGs) to reconstruct the phylogenetic backbone of Clematis, and test effectiveness of these genome partitioning methods. We also further analyzed the discordance among nuclear gene trees and between plastid and nuclear phylogenies. The results showed that the SCOGs datasets, assembled from transcriptome method, well resolved the phylogenetic backbone of Clematis. The nuclear SNPs datasets from genome skimming method can also produce similar results with the SCOGs data. In contrast to the plastid phylogeny, the phylogeny resolved by nuclear genome data is more robust and better corresponds to morphological characters. Our results suggested that rapid species radiation may have generated high level of incomplete lineage sorting, which was the major cause of nuclear gene discordance. Our simulation also showed that there may have been frequent interspecific hybridization events, which led to some of the cyto-nuclear discordances in Clematis. This study not only provides the first robust phylogenetic backbone of Clematis based on nuclear genome data, but also provides suggestions of genome partitioning strategies for the phylogenomic study of other plant taxa.
Adaptive divergence for a drought resistance related trait among invasive Saltcedar (Tamarix L.) populations in southwestern US: Inferences from QCT - FCT
Authors: Lee Soo-Rang
Published: November 2022

Biological invasion poses several biotic and abiotic challenges due to abrupt distribution shifts. Invasive species may benefit from local adaptation responding to environmental stresses during colonization. Saltcedar (Tamarix), a notorious invasive shrub in the western US introduced from Eurasia may have adapted to low rainfall as the species widely occupies the arid land throughout the southwestern US. We investigated variation of quantitative traits in saltcedar between two regions exhibiting opposing average annual precipitations under experimentally manipulated water treatments to test local adaptation. We measured eight quantitative traits, proxies for fitness and genotyped 64 individual samples using genotype by sequencing technique. To test local adaptation, we applied QCT - FCT test based on null distribution of FCT estimated from 2,697 genome-wide SNPs and QCT estimated for the eight phenotypic traits measured. Saltcedar in the southwestern US exhibited a significant interaction between the degree of leaf loss (biomass loss by senesced leaves to total biomass) under simulated drought conditions and the origins from which the genotypes were collected, either relatively high or low rainfall regimes. The divergence found in leaf loss was significantly greater among regions than the expected given the genetic divergence on neutral loci suggesting signature of local adaptation responding to drought. The results demonstrate adaptive potential of saltcedar populations to extreme drought. As extreme aridity is often predicted in climate models across the southwestern US, the western saltcedar genotypes locally adapted to drought may further expand their ranges in this region.
Precipitation predictability affects intra- and trans-generational plasticity and causes differential selection on root traits of Papaver rhoeas
Authors: March-Salas Martí , Scheepens J. F. , van Kleunen Mark , Fitze Patrick S.
Published: November 2022

Climate forecasts show that in many regions the temporal distribution of precipitation events will become less predictable. Root traits may play key roles in dealing with changes in precipitation predictability, but their functional plastic responses, including transgenerational processes, are scarcely known. We investigated root trait plasticity of Papaver rhoeas with respect to higher versus lower intra-seasonal and inter-seasonal precipitation predictability (i.e., the degree of temporal autocorrelation among precipitation events) during a four-year outdoor multi-generation experiment. We first tested how the simulated predictability regimes affected intra-generational plasticity of root traits and allocation strategies of the ancestors, and investigated the selective forces acting on them. Second, we exposed three descendant generations to the same predictability regime experienced by their mothers or to a different one. We then investigated whether high inter-generational predictability causes root trait differentiation, whether transgenerational root plasticity existed and whether it was affected by the different predictability treatments. We found that the number of secondary roots, root biomass and root allocation strategies of ancestors were affected by changes in precipitation predictability, in line with intra-generational plasticity. Lower predictability induced a root response, possibly reflecting a fast-acquisitive strategy that increases water absorbance from shallow soil layers. Ancestors’ root traits were generally under selection, and the predictability treatments did neither affect the strength nor the direction of selection. Transgenerational effects were detected in root biomass and root weight ratio (RWR). In presence of lower predictability, descendants significantly reduced RWR compared to ancestors, leading to an increase in performance. This points to a change in root allocation in order to maintain or increase the descendants’ fitness. Moreover, transgenerational plasticity existed in maximum rooting depth and root biomass, and the less predictable treatment promoted the lowest coefficient of variation among descendants’ treatments in five out of six root traits. This shows that the level of maternal predictability determines the variation in the descendants’ responses, and suggests that lower phenotypic plasticity evolves in less predictable environments. Overall, our findings show that roots are functional plastic traits that rapidly respond to differences in precipitation predictability, and that the plasticity and adaptation of root traits may crucially determine how climate change will affect plants.
Educating the whole person: Broad extracurricular involvement and prevalence of purpose and thriving among college students in China
Authors: Zhang Wenling , Mariano Jenni Menon , Zhu Mo , Jiang Fei
Published: November 2022

College students in China can choose from a wide variety of university organized extra-curricular activities (EAs), which are intended to enrich and deepen the learning experience, and reflect an educational policy goal to cultivate the whole and well-rounded person. These activities are also consistent with another policy goal, which is to foster optimal student outcomes like life purpose development. This study examined associations between EA involvement and life purpose and associations between EA involvement and thriving attributes of resourcefulness/resilience and life satisfaction among 332 undergraduate students enrolled at 20 universities across China. Measures of EA involvement, purpose resourcefulness/resilience, and life satisfaction were adapted to the Chinese culture, language, and student population. Four clusters of students emerged, representing varying degrees of well-roundedness according to their EA involvement. Patterns of associations examined between and within clusters supported the general hypothesis that more frequent and well-rounded EA involvement is positively associated with purpose and life-satisfaction, but not with resilience/resourcefulness. The significance of the findings for future research and practice are discussed.
Does financial transparency substitute corporate governance to improve stock liquidity? Evidence from emerging market of Pakistan
Authors: Ali Shuaib , Zhongxin Wu , Ali Zahid , Usman Muhammad , Zhuoping Yu
Published: November 2022

The aim of this study is to empirically analyze the impact of corporate governance on stock liquidity and the moderating role of financial transparency, through the lens of information asymmetry and agency theory. The sample consists of non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan stock exchange during the 2009–2019 period. The study used an instrumental variable approach and new corporate governance index, developed with principal component analysis, to demonstrate a relationship between corporate governance and stock liquidity. The results show a significant, positive relationship between the corporate governance index and stock liquidity, suggesting that well governed firms have high liquidity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first finance study to investigate the moderating impact of financial transparency on the relation between corporate governance and stock liquidity. The results show that financial transparency, as measured by multiple proxies, has a negative moderating impact on the relationship between corporate governance and stock liquidity, suggesting that corporate governance in Pakistan is weak. Together, the results suggest that Pakistani firms use financial transparency as a substitute for corporate governance to improve stock liquidity. The results are robust to a series of endogeneity checks using alternative proxies of stock liquidity.
Exercise motives among university students – A Brazil-Portugal transnational study
Authors: Campos Lucas Arrais , dos Santos Adrielly , Sampaio Mafalda Margarida Basto , Marôco João , Campos Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini
Published: November 2022

Background

Identifying the motives why people exercise is interesting for the planning of effective health promoting strategies.

Objectives

To estimate the psychometric properties of the exercise motivations inventory (EMI-2) in Brazilian and Portuguese university students, and to compare motive-related factors for exercise among students.

Methods

One thousand Brazilian (randomly splitted into “Test sample” [n = 498] and “Validation sample” [n = 502]) and 319 Portuguese students participated in this cross-sectional study. Motives for exercise were evaluated using EMI-2. Exploratory factor analysis was performed in the test sample. Then, confirmatory factor analysis was performed in the validation and Portuguese samples. The EMI-2 scores were compared according to sex, exercise, and weight status (ANOVA, α = 5%).

Results

EMI-2 factor model was explained by 5 factors and presented adequate fit (χ2/df ≤ 3.2; CFI ≥ 0.9; TLI ≥ 0.9; RMSEA ≤ 0.07; and α ≥ 0.83). The motives for exercising were mainly related to psychological and interpersonal factors for men, health-related factors for women, and body-related factors for overweight and obese individuals. People who practice exercise had higher EMI-2 scores.

Conclusion

The 5-factor model is suggested for a comprehensive assessment of motives for exercise. Individual characteristics should be considered for development of tailored protocols.
Exploring the relationships between team leader’s conflict management styles and team passion: From the emotional perspective
Authors: Yin Jielin , Qu Meng , Liao Ganli , Jia Muxiao , Li Miaomiao
Published: November 2022

From the emotional perspective, this study explores how team leader’s conflict management styles affect team passion. A theoretical model is constructed which describes the mediating role of positive team emotional climate and the moderating impact of team emotional intelligence. We collect 101 teams paired data including 101 team leaders and 383 team members to test theoretical model. It is shown that leader’s cooperative conflict management style has a significant positive effect on both positive team emotional climate and team passion. Meanwhile, positive team emotional climate plays a mediating role between leader’s cooperative conflict management style and team passion. In addition, team emotional intelligence has a moderating effect between leader’s cooperative style and positive team emotional climate. This study not only provides a new perspective for follow-up research but also expands the research scope of impacts of conflict management styles. In addition, this study forms the underlying mechanism of team leader’s conflict management styles on team passion from the emotional perspective and investigates the mediating effect and moderating effect of emotional variable, which broadens the research on the mechanisms of conflict management styles on team outcomes to a certain extent.
Agricultural production structure and inequality of educational development in China
Authors: Wei Jingzhou , Yu Yawen
Published: November 2022

Unbalanced regional development in China has always been the focus of the government's attention. Agricultural development in China's main agricultural regions is characterized by relatively obvious features, which are mainly manifested in the excessive concentration of agricultural production on one crop or a few agricultural products. Whether this trend of concentration will help to improve the inequalities in China's educational development is an important question for this study. Based on China's population, education and agricultural data over the past 20 years, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of educational inequalities in five typical agricultural-producing provinces by calculating indicators such as the rationalization index of agricultural production structures, the average number of years of schooling of residents and the Gini coefficient of education, in order to analyze the essential reasons for the development of education inequality in major agricultural producing areas. The results show that the urban-rural gap is an important factor affecting the equality of educational development in the main agricultural production areas; the reduction of the rationalization index of agricultural production structure can promote the improvement of inequality in educational development and narrow the urban-rural educational development gap; it also shows that the improvement of specialization in major agricultural producing areas is conducive to reducing educational inequality in major agricultural producing provinces; these conclusions provide a useful reference for narrowing the urban-rural education gap in the main agricultural production areas.
Serotonin modifies the impact of sleep disturbance on suicidality in patients with acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Kim Jae-Min , Kim Ju-Wan , Kang Hee-Ju , Choi Wonsuk , Ryu Seunghyong , Lee Ju-Yeon , Kim Sung-Wan , Kim Jung-Chul , Chun Byung Jo , Shin Il-Seon , Ahn Youngkeun , Jeong Myung Ho
Published: November 2022

Background

This study investigated the associations of sleep disturbance and serum serotonin levels with suicidal ideation, and evaluated the potential modifying effects of serotonin on these associations in patients with the acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods

In total, 969 ACS patients were recruited from a tertiary university hospital in Korea within 2 weeks of disease onset and evaluated in terms of sleep disturbance (using the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire), serum serotonin levels, and suicidal ideation (using the “suicidal thoughts” item of the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale). Covariates included sociodemographics, depression, vascular risk factors, and disease severity. After 1 year, 711 patients were re-evaluated in terms of suicidal ideation. Logistic regression analysis was performed with adjustment for covariates.

Results

Sleep disturbance was significantly associated with suicidal ideation at baseline and follow-up. Serum serotonin showed no such association but modified the association of sleep disturbance with suicidal ideation such that it was significant only in the lower serum serotonin group, with significant interaction terms obtained after adjustment for relevant covariates.

Conclusion

Evaluating sleep disturbance and serum serotonin levels could improve the accuracy of clinical predictions of suicidal ideation in the acute and chronic phases of ACS.
Rumination and “hot” executive function of middle school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated mediation model of depression and mindfulness
Authors: Li Ying , Qu Guiping , Kong Huiyan , Ma Xiaobo , Cao Lei , Li Tiantian , Wang Yue
Published: November 2022

Background

The outbreak of COVID-19 had a widely negative effect on adolescents’ academics, stress, and mental health. At a critical period of cortical development, adolescents’ cognition levels are highly developed, while the ability of emotion control is not developed at the same pace. Faced with negative emotions such as stress and social loneliness caused by COVID-19, adolescents’ “hot” executive function encounters severer emotional regulation challenges than ever before.

Objective

The present study established a moderated mediation model to investigate the impact of rumination on “hot” execution function among Chinese middle school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the specific role of depression and mindfulness in the association.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 650 students recruited from a province in central China. The participants completed questionnaires and experiment between July 2021 and August 2021. Rumination Responses Scales, Self-rating Depression Scale, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were used to measure the level of rumination, depression, and mindfulness. The reaction time and accuracy of the emotional conflict experiment were recorded to reflect the “hot” executive function.

Results

The results of the moderated mediation model indicated that rumination of middle school students significantly and positively predicted depression in adolescents (β = 0.26, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, the indirect effect of depression on the relationship between rumination and “hot” executive function was significant; depression partially mediated this relationship (word-face congruent condition: β = −0.09, p < 0.01; word-face incongruent condition: β = −0.07, p < 0.05). Furthermore, mindfulness buffered the association between rumination and depression, according to moderated mediation analysis (β = −0.11, p < 0.001). For adolescents with low levels of mindfulness, the relationship was substantially stronger.

Conclusion

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, middle school students’ rumination would lead to depression, which can negatively impact their “hot” executive function. Besides, mindfulness could resist the adverse effect of rumination on depression. The educators should pay more attention to students’ mental health, provide targeted strategies that boost mindfulness to promote their cognitive flexibility, and thus protect the normal development of their executive function during crisis events.
Psychological care needs for frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study
Authors: Ding Chuanqi , Wang Limin , Guo Zhiting , Chen Yun , Jin Jingfen
Published: November 2022

Background

In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have played vital roles in clinical treatment. Their success in providing adequate care services depends on their psychological state, which determines their physical health, work status, therapeutic outcomes, and response to public health emergencies. However, a limited number of studies have evaluated psychological care needs from the perspective of nurses. This study aimed to describe the psychological care needs for frontline nurses in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This was a qualitative descriptive study. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 frontline nurses who had been involved in the care of COVID-19 positive patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and received psychological care. The conventional content analysis was used to identify themes from the interview transcripts.

Results

Four major themes about the psychological care needs of frontline nurses were identified: (1) psychological service providers (categories: professional service team, trustworthy person or group, ability to empathize with nurses); (2) problems with psychological care (categories: lack of universal screening and focused attention, online group counseling lacks targeting, psychological interventions lack individualization); (3) psychological care content (categories: mental health-related education, recognition of nurses' contributions, problem-solving therapy, psychological counseling and venting); (4) organization and management of psychological services (categories: focus on the psychological care needs of frontline nurses, build a standardized psychological service process system).

Conclusion

It is important to understand individual psychological care needs of frontline nurses and to provide them with tailor-made psychological care that meet their needs. This will improve their mental health, promote clinical care and quality responses to public health emergencies.
Immunophenotypic transformation in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma treated with human anti-CD5 chimeric antigen receptor T cells: A Case Report
Authors: He Sha , Mao Xia , Cheng Zhaoting , Zhu Xiaojian , Xiao Min , Zhou Jianfeng
Published: November 2022

Relapsed/refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) with primary drug resistance to Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor and mutated TP53 responds poorly to conventional treatments. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has emerged as one of the most effective treatments for R/R B cell lymphoma. However, no reports of CD5 CAR T cell treatment for MCL have been reported. In this paper, we report a R/R MCL patient with primary drug resistance to BTK inhibitors and TP53 mutation enrolled in a human CD5 CAR T cell trial. Remission of the primary disease was observed half a month after CAR T cell infusion. However, ascites was observed 2 weeks later. Flow cytometry suggested disease progression and immunophenotypic transformation. CD5 in CAR T cells turned negative and the expression of CD38 was enhanced. The patient was treated with a combination of daratumumab and Gemox (gemcitabine + oxaliplatin), abdominal distension and pain were markedly reduced, and ascites disappeared. We report the first case of human CD5 CAR T cell treatment for a patient with R/R MCL, providing insight on treatment strategies for such patients.
State-transfer modeling collective behavior of multi-ball Bernoulli system based on local interaction forces
Authors: Ye Fan , Abdulali Arsen , Iida Fumiya
Published: November 2022

Collective behavior observed in nature has been actively employed in swarm robotics. In order to better respond to external cues, the agents in such systems organize themselves in an ordered structure based on simple local rules. The central assumption, in swarm robotics, is that all agents in the system collaborate to fulfill a common goal. In nature, however, many multi-agent systems exhibit a more complex collective behavior involving a certain level of competition. One representative example of complex collective behavior is a multi-ball Bernoulli-ball system. In this paper, by extracting local force among the Bernoulli balls, we approximated the state-transfer model mapping interaction forces to observed behaviors. The results show that the collective Bernoulli-ball system spent 41% of its time on competitive behaviors, in which up to 84% of the interaction state is unorganized. The rest 59% of the time is spent on collaborative behavior. We believe that the novel proposed model opens new avenues in swarm robotics research.
Effects of deforestation on dissolved organic carbon and nitrate in catchment stream water revealed by wavelet analysis
Authors: Robinson Kerri-Leigh , Bogena Heye R. , Wang Qiqi , Cammeraat Erik , Bol Roland
Published: November 2022

Deforestation can lead to an increase in the availability of nutrients in the soil and, in turn, have an impact on the quality of water in receiving water bodies. This study assesses the impact of deforestation by evaluating the in-stream concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate, their internal relationship, and those with stream discharge in the Wüstebach headwater catchment (Germany). This catchment has monitored stream water and associated environmental parameters for over a decade as part of the TERENO initiative. Additionally, there is a paired undisturbed forested catchment that serves as a reference stream. Our approach included a more advanced correlation analysis, namely wavelet analysis, that assists in determining changes in the correlation and lag time between the variables of interest over different time scales. This study found that after deforestation, there was an immediate increase in in-stream DOC concentrations, followed by an increase in nitrate ~1 year later. Overall, the mean DOC concentration increased, and mean nitrate concentration decreased across the catchment post-deforestation. Elevated stream water nutrient levels peaked around 2 to 3 years after the clear-cutting, and returned to pre-deforestation levels after ~5 years. The deforestation had no influence on the anti-correlation between DOC and nitrate. However, the correlation between both compounds and discharge was likely altered due to the increased soil nutrients availability as a result of deforestation. Wavelet coherence analysis revealed the “underlying” changing strengths and directions of the main correlations between DOC, nitrate and discharge on different time scales resulting from severe forest management interventions (here deforestation). This information provides new valuable impact insights for decision making into such forest management interventions.