bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metabolome-wide association study on physical activity
Authors: Kojouri Maedeh , Pinto Rui , Mustafa Rima , Huang Jian , Gao He , Elliott Paul , Tzoulaki Ioanna , Dehghan Abbas
Published: July 2022

Background - The underlying mechanisms linking physical activity to better health are not fully understood. Here we examined the associations between physical activity and small circulatory molecules, the metabolome, to highlight relevant biological pathways.Methods - We examined plasma metabolites associated with self-reported physical activity among 2,217 participants from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study. Metabolic profiling was conducted by the Metabolon platform using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/GC-MS), measuring 828 known metabolites. We replicated our findings in an independent subset of the study (n=2,971) using untargeted LC-MS. Mendelian randomisation was carried out to investigate potential causal associations between physical activity, body mass index, and metabolites.Results - Higher vigorous physical activity was (P<0.05/828=6.03×10-5) associated with circulatory levels of 28 metabolites adjusted for age, sex and body mass index. The association was inverse for one amino acid (glutamate), and six diacylglycerol lipids and direct for ten amino acids (3-4-hydroxyphenyllactate, phenyl lactate (PLA), alpha-hydroxy isovalerate, tiglylcarnitine, alpha-hydroxyisocaproate, 2-hydroxy-3-methylvalerate, isobutyrylcarnitine, imidazole lactate, methionine sulfone, indole lactate), nine plasmalogen lipids, one fatty acid lipid (pristanate) and one energy tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolite (fumarate). In the replication panel, we found 23 untargeted LC-MS features annotated to the identified metabolites, of which we found nominal associations with the same direction of effect for three features annotated to 1-(1-enyl-palmitoyl)-2-oleoyl-GPC (P-16:0/18:1), 1-(1-enyl-palmitoyl)-2-linoleoyl-GPC (P-16:0/18:2), 1-stearoyl-2-dihomo-linolenoyl-GPC (18:0/20:3n3 or 6). Using Mendelian randomisation, we showed a potential causal relationship between body mass index and three identified metabolites. Conclusions - Circulatory metabolites are associated with physical activity and may play a role in mediating its health effects.
School and community driven dengue vector control and monitoring in Myanmar: Study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
Authors: Overgaard Hans J , Linn Nay Yi Yi , Kyaw Aye Mon Mon , Braack Leo , Tin Myo Win , Bastien Sheri , Velde Fiona Vande , Echaubard Pierre , Zaw Win , Mukaka Mavuto , Maude Richard J
Published: July 2022

BackgroundDengue is the most common and widespread mosquito-borne arboviral disease globally estimated to cause >390 million infections and >20,000 deaths annually. There are no effective vaccines or preventive drugs. Control of dengue transmission relies primarily on mosquito vector control. Although most vector control methods currently used by national dengue control programs may temporarily reduce mosquito populations, there is little evidence that they affect transmission. There is an urgent need for innovative, participatory, effective and locally adapted approaches for sustainable vector control and monitoring in which students can be particularly relevant contributors and to demonstrate a clear link between vector reduction and dengue transmission reduction, using tools that are inexpensive and easy to use by local communities in a sustainable manner.MethodsHere we describe a cluster randomized controlled trial to be conducted in 46 school catchment areas in two townships in Yangon, Myanmar. The outcome measures are dengue cases confirmed by rapid diagnostic test in the townships, dengue incidence in schools, entomological indices, knowledge, attitudes and practice, behavior and engagement.Discussion The trial involves middle school students that positions them to become actors in dengue knowledge transfer to their communities and take a leadership role in the delivery of vector control interventions and monitoring methods. Following this rationale, we believe that students can become change agents of decentralized vector surveillance and agents of sustainable disease control in line with recent new paradigms in integrated and participatory vector surveillance and control. This provides an opportunity to operationalize transdisciplinary research towards sustainable health development.Trial registrationISRCTN78254298, Registered 31 May 2022, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN78254298Sponsor: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Temperature impacts on residential electricity consumption in Anhui, China: Does the electricity price matter?
Authors: Li Lanlan , Song Xinpei , Li Jingjing , Li Ke , Jiao Jianling
Published: July 2022

Global warming leads to the problem of climate adaptability, which makes residents' electricity consumption behavior more sensitive to temperature. Understanding the shape of the temperature–electricity consumption response curve is helpful for planning power investment and production, and to facilitate a green and low-carbon transformation of the power system. Using data regarding electricity consumption in nearly 20,000 households from seven cities in Anhui Province, China, from 2016–2017, this study examined the response of residential electricity consumption to temperature. The results show that although residential electricity consumption was proportional to the average temperature, the variation range of the residential electricity consumption was not the same in each percentile range of temperature. In particular, under the possible influence of the electricity price and weather factor, the residential electricity consumption temperature response curve has a "V"-shape when the average temperature is over 30°C. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the temperature and electricity response curve have strong fluctuations under the change of the time-of-use (TOU) pricing policy. This implies that the price policy helps to regulate the power consumption temperature response curve and thus has an impact on the power load.
The importance of understanding the local community’s attitude toward nature conservation
Authors: Obradović Sanja , Stojanović Vladimir , Milić Dubravka
Published: July 2022

Protected areas are an important cornerstone in trying to halt habitat and species loss, but it is generally accepted that conservation policies must also favor the local community as an integral part of these areas. This study reveals the importance of understanding local residents' perception of protected areas’ impacts on their livelihoods and development. It analyzes the perceptions of 612 respondents living in 15 settlements surrounding two protected areas in Serbia. The findings reveal that the locals have a very positive attitude about the impact of protected areas through benefits and protection of resources. They have a very strong sense of belonging to the place and are willing to contribute to protection, but they feel excluded, which is worrisome. A different approach of management that would respect the rights and the existence of the local people is required to prevent conflicts and foster mutual respect and benefit-sharing for everyone.
Experimental study on the cytocompatibility of milling surface of Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK)
Authors: Liu Xinrui , Lei Qian
Published: July 2022

Cytocompatibility of implant material is dependent on the processed surface topography. This study aimed to characterize the milling surface topography features and to assess the cytotoxicity of PEEK processed using end milling technology. Based on the Taguchi method, end milling experiments have been conducted on PEEK to characterize surface topographies induced by various milling conditions. Machined surface defects and 3-Dimensional surface topography parameters such as surface average height Sa, the ten-point height of surface Sz, Skewness Ssk, and Kurtosis Sku were characterized. The relationships between the cutting technological parameters and surface topography parameters were established by developing a linear regression model. On the other hand, the effect of the machined surface topography on the viability of fibroblasts was investigated by using cells from a mouse fibroblast L929 and the agar overlay test, MTT test. The experimental result indicated that feed marks, scratch marks, budlike protuberances, the adhered surface particles are the main forms of the surface defect in the end milling of PEEK. The axial and radial depths of cut are the two most critical factors to affect surface topography parameters. Agar overlay tests produced no evidence of cell damage caused by PEEK, and a conclusion can be drawn that PEEK has no cytotoxicity to L929 cell. MTT test results indicated that milling-induced surface topography features exerted specific toxicity on L929 cells, and a statistical difference between the cell’s viability of the test samples is observable. By correlation analysis, the correlations order of the viability of fibroblasts L929 with the machined surface roughness parameters were Ssk, Sa, Sku and Sz in large to small. It is concluded that end milling processing significantly affects surface topography which in turn influences the L929 fibroblast cellular response. A significant decrease of L929 viability started with the surface roughness of Sa = 1.18 μm, and surface roughness characterized by Ssk = 0.011 (namely, Ssk closed to zero) also allowed to achieve the highest possible cells viability.
The Long Shadow of History? The Impact of Colonial Labor Institutions on Economic Development in Peru
Authors: Abad Leticia Arroyo , Maurer Noel
Published: July 2022

How long is the shadow of history in explaining economic outcomes? We examine a canonical case of forced labor: the mita and the encomienda in colonial Peru. The mita was a labor draft designed to provide workers for mines, churches, and public works in colonial Peru and Bolivia. The encomienda granted Spanish conquistadores the right to extract resources from indigenous peoples. We examine the impact of forced labor using a dataset of 500 indigenous settlements scattered across modern-day Peru. We find that forced labor gravely impacted the Peruvian communities subjected to it, but the effects dissipated before the end of the colonial period (1532-1811). We test for a possible "reversal of fortune" in the postcolonial period by looking at education and access to land for the 19th and 20th centuries and find no significant differences. The results hold when we examine the mita and encomienda separately. While forced labor mattered, its effects did not persist. It appears the shadow of history was not that long after all.
Geographic transitions of domestic cats in urban areas through animal adoption centers and the implications for population dynamics
Authors: Flockhart D. T. Tyler , Moore Sophie M. , Decker Samuel T. , Kilgour R. Julia
Published: July 2022

Animal shelters address animal welfare in communities through the intake and outcome of companion animals, but these efforts affect population dynamics of companion animals based on the distance animals are moved and the factors that underlie intake and outcome. Using data from an animal shelter in Washington, D.C., we analyzed cat intakes and outcomes based on geographic and socioeconomic factors. Most intakes were stray cats (59%) and cats relinquished by owners (38%) whereas most outcomes were adoptions (84%). The highest number of intakes were in high development, low-income neighborhoods whereas the lowest number of intakes were in low development, high-income neighborhoods. The highest number of outcomes were to high-income neighborhoods and there was a trend towards more outcomes in neighborhoods further from the shelter. Cats returned to the shelter were more likely to originate nearer the shelter compared to relinquishment. Stray intakes were less common, and return to shelter were more common, in high-income, high development areas. Seized cats originated from low-income neighborhoods. Relative to adoptions, the proportion of returned to owner outcomes was higher in low-income neighborhoods that were closer to the shelter as well as high-income neighborhoods that were distant the shelter. Our results highlight the factors underlying cat intakes and outcomes in shelters that ultimately determine where, when, and how animals are moved across urban areas; these factors must be considered when developing cat population management plans to reach animal welfare and societal goals.
Optimization of Array System Configuration Using the Smoothed-Pad Algorithm
Authors: Batubara Mario , Manik Timbul , Sitompul Peberlin , Lathif Muthofa
Published: July 2022

The source of astronomical objects, in general, is a very far distance from the observation instrument so that the transmitted signal is received very small and is at risk of being disturbed by other sources around the receiving system. Therefore, the concept of multiple receivers with array interferometry configuration arrays is used to improve the quality of the source signal detected by the receiving system. The position of each receiving system, known as the antenna pad, determines the quality performance of the received signal output. The antenna positions are arranged in a discrete grid system so that there is a vacancy between antenna pads. In this paper, a computational technique is present to overcome the region’s emptiness between one antenna to its neighbor. As an initial result, the integrating of each position with its neighboring pads with some of its smoothing functions is optimal in filling the void region and maximizing the u-v coverage.
Single-Cell RNA-seq Uncovers Dynamic Processes Orchestrated by RNA-Binding Protein DDX43 in Chromatin Remodeling during Spermiogenesis
Authors: Zheng Ke , Tan Huanhuan , Wang Weixu , Zhou Chongjin , Wang Yanfeng , Zhang Shu , Yang Pinglan , Guo Rui , Chen Wei , Ye Lan , Cui Yiqiang , Ni Ting
Published: July 2022

Mammalian spermatogenesis shows prominent chromatin and transcriptomic switches with delicate morphological and functional alterations in germ cells, but it is unclear how such dynamics are controlled. Here we identify RNA helicase DDX43 as an essential regulator of the chromatin remodeling process during spermiogenesis. Testis-specific Ddx43 knockout mice show male infertility with defective histone-to-protamine replacement and post-meiotic chromatin condensation defects. In addition, the loss of its ATP hydrolysis activity by a missense mutation in the ATPase motif replicates the infertility phenotype in global Ddx43 knockout mice. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analyses of germ cells depleted of Ddx43 or expressing the Ddx43 ATPase-dead mutant reveals that DDX43 regulates dynamic RNA regulatory processes that underlie spermatid chromatin remodeling and differentiation. Transcriptomic profiling focusing on early-stage spermatids combined with enhanced crosslinking immunoprecipitation and sequencing (eCLIP-seq) further identify Elfn2 as DDX43-targeted hub gene. Elfn2 knockdown in testis leads to a phenotype similar to Ddx43 knockout or Ddx43 ATPase-dead knock-in. These findings illustrate an essential role for DDX43 in post-meiotic chromatin remodeling and highlight the single-cell-based strategy for a refined dissection of cell-state-specific regulation of germline development.
Synthesis and Application of Fe3O4@Graphene Oxide-Thiobarbituric Acid Based Binary Composite for Selective Removal of Cd(II) from Industrial Wastewater
Authors: Islam Aminul , JAVED HINA
Published: July 2022

In this work, graphene oxide was functionalized with 2-thiobarbituric acid to form a binary composite (Fe3O4@GO-Th) and employed for the selective removal of potentially toxic Cd(II) via batch method. The synthesized composite was well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. The maximum capacity obtained at pH 5.6, contact time 12 min and successfully eluted by 1 M HCl. The R2 value and six statistical error analysis including residual root-mean-square error, sum of the absolute errors, composite-functional error, average-relative error, etc. defined Freundlich as the best fit isotherm model for Cd(II) adsorption. Moreover, kinetics studies demonstrated pseudo second-order as the best fit model favouring chemisorption behaviour while thermodynamic witnessed the process as endothermic and thermodynamically favourable with spontaneous behaviour. Additionally, Fe3O4@GO-Th showed preferential affinity for Cd(II) in a binary mixture of Cd(II) with other concomitant ions. The practical utility of the synthesized Fe3O4@GO-Th was explored in industrial effluents resulting > 96% removal efficiency for Cd(II) from battery, electroplating, tannery wastewater and tap water.
Transgenic construction and functional miRNA analysis identify the role of miR-7 in prostate cancer suppression
Authors: Xu Bin , Wang Can , Li Wenchao , Hu Qiang , Feng Ninghan , Liu Chun hui , Shi Naipeng , Chen Shuqiu , Chen Ming , Guan Han , You Zonghao
Published: July 2022

Although miR-7 suppresses the initiation and metastasis in cancers, including prostate cancer (PCa), little is known about its efficacy in the treatment of malignancy in vivo, especially in transgenic mouse models. Herein, to demonstrate the safety of in vivo miR-7 gene editing and its suppressive efficacy on p53-negative tumors, for the first time, a miR-7+ transgenic mouse model was constructed and hybridized with the TRAMP mice, whereby p53 was inhibited. miR-7 downregulated the glycolysis of PCa through the HIF pathway, thereby remodeling the acidic tumor macroenvironment, affecting histone lactylation and increasing T cell infiltration. miR-7 suppressed the PCa malignant behavior in LNCaP cells, prostatic primary tumor cells, and mice xenograft models. Moreover, in vivo miR-7 treatment prolonged the survival of mice with PCa and generated synergistic protective effects with PD-1 blockade due to the re-inflamed immune microenvironment. Furthermore, p53 acted as a transcriptional factor upregulating miR-7 expression, and therefore, the sensitization effects of exogenous miR-7 expression on PCa chemotherapeutic efficacy were independent of the p53 status. In summary, our findings highlighted a novel role of miR-7 in PCa. We describe herein, a promising target for the development of miRNA-based therapeutics, especially for PCa patients carrying p53 mutations.
Tailoring polymer electrolyte for high-voltage solid-state Li metal batteries working at ultra-low temperatures
Authors: Li Zhuo , Yu Rui , Weng Suting , Zhang Qinghua , Wang Xuefeng , Guo Xin
Published: July 2022

Stable operation of batteries at low temperatures is critical for applications in cold-climates; however, low-temperature operations are plagued by low ionic conductivity of electrolytes, slow interfacial kinetics and unstable solid–electrolyte interphases (SEIs). We report a polymer electrolyte with an ionic conductivity of 2.2⋅10− 4 S cm− 1 and an ionic transference number of 0.8 at − 20 °C; the electrolyte is synthesized by in-situ polymerizing 1,3,5-trioxane (TXE), 2-2-2-trifluoro-N, N-dimethylacetamide (FDMA), fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) and lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate (LiDFOB). The polymer electrolyte enables a dual-layered SEI on the Li metal anode and strongly stabilizes the LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode, thus defining fast interfacial charge-transfer at low temperatures. Consequently, the galvanic Li corrosion and the dendritic growth are suppressed, stable Li metal anode and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode are achieved, and the operation temperatures of polymer-based batteries are decreased to below − 30°C. From − 30°C to room temperature, the Li||LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 battery achieves long cycle lifetime and high capabilities. Even at − 20°C, the Li||LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 battery realizes > 75% (~ 151 mAh g− 1) of its room-temperature capacity, and presents stable cycling over 200 cycles. Outstandingly, the Li||LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 pouch cell successfully powers an electric fan at − 58.3°C.
LncRNA LNCGM1082-mediated NLRC4 activation resists against infection by intracellular bacteria
Authors: Yang Rongcun , Gao Yunhuan , Yang Yazheng , Wei Jianmei , Yue Jianmei , Wang Ya , Zhang Qianjing , Jin Mengli , Wang Rong , Yang Xiaorong , Zhang Junqi , Liu Xinqi , Zhang Yuan
Published: July 2022

The activation of NLRC4 is a major host response against the infection by intracellular bacteria. However, there still remain challenges in understanding the activation upon sensing of diverse stimuli. We here found that lncRNA LNCGM1082 plays a critical role in the activation of NLRC4. LNCGM1082 in macrophages could affect maturation of interleukin (IL)-1β and pyroptotic cell death only after exposed to NLRC4 ligand. Similar to NLRC4-/- mice, LNCGM1082-/- mice were high sensitive to Salmonella typhimurium infection. LNCGM1082 deficiency in mouse or human macrophages had reduced IL-1β maturation and pyroptosis. Mechanistically, LNCGM1082 could induce the combination of PKCδ with NLRC4 in both mice and human. There was absence of binding of NLRC4 with PKCδ in LNCGM1082-/- macrophages. This lncRNA could be induced by Salmonella typhimurium through TLR5 in the macrophages of both mice and human. Thus, our data indicate that LNCGM1082 induced by TLR5 can mediate the binding of PKCδ with NLRC4 to cause the activation of NLRC4.
FFR-SSD: Feature Fusion and Reconstruction Single Shot Detector for Multi-scale Object Detection
Authors: Cheng Xu , Song Chen , Wang Zhixiang , Yu Zitong
Published: July 2022

Object detection is one of the most fundamental tasks toward image content understanding due to their wide applications in the real world. Although numerous algorithms have been proposed, implementing effective and efficient object detection is still very challenging for now, especially for the challenges in restricted situations of multi-size objects and limited semantic information. To solve these challenges, we propose a hierarchical feature fusion and reconstruction method called feature fusion and reconstruction single shot detector (FFR-SSD) for multi-scale object detection, which consists of a multi-branch feature enhancement module, a hierarchical feature weighting strategy and a feature map reconstruction module. First, we present a multi-scale visual attention model, which incorporates the channel-wise and space-wise information into the multi-branch feature enhancement module to improve the feature representation capacities. Second, a hierarchical feature map weighting mechanism is developed to fuse multi-layer feature maps, which contributes to describing the intact objects for the subsequent module. Third, to remove redundant feature information of the fused feature map, we present an effective feature map reconstruction module to encourage the model to focus on pivotal information of the fused feature map. Therefore, the overall contour information of the object is preserved for the shallow enhanced response map and the semantic feature information is enriched for the deep enhanced feature map. Numerous experiments on two public benchmark datasets show that the proposed method achieves significant improvements over the state of the arts.
FAM83H mutation analysis and its expression in rat tooth germs and human dental cells
Authors: Lu Xi , Yu Fang , Ju Yanqin , Yang Jun , Wei Xiaoling , zhao Shouliang , Chen Shuang , Liu Shangfeng
Published: July 2022

Background: Amelogenesis Imperfecta (AI) is a hereditary condition that affect the structure and appearance of dental enamel. It is of three main types, namely hypoplastic, hypomatured, and hypocalcified. Hypocalcified AI, the most severe of all, is generally caused by the mutation of FAM83H (family with sequence similarity 83 member H) gene. Here we aimed to identify the genetic mutations underlying hypocalcified AI in a Chinese family, and to detect the expression of FAM83H in rat tooth germs and human adult dental cells. Methods: A family with hypoplastic AI was recruited and mutational analysis on the candidate gene was performed by Sanger sequencing. Rat tooth germs and human dental cells were distracted and the expression of FAM83H was detected by RNA-seq.Results: Mutational analysis revealed one previously reported mutation (c. 1387C > T) in exon 5 of FAM83H. Clinical study revealed a slightly different phenotype from that previously reported. RNA-sequencing was demonstrated the expression of FAM83H in rat tooth germs and human adult dental cells. Conclusion: The present study identified a reported mutation of FAM83H with a slightly different phenotype, and revealed the FAM83H expression of various development stages of rat tooth germs and human adult dental cells.
Histologic tumor type as a determinant of survival in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, pT1-3 invasive ductal and lobular breast cancer
Authors: Göker Menekse , Denys Hannelore , Hendrix An , de Wever Olivier , de Vijver Koen Van , Braems Geert
Published: July 2022

Purpose
The aim of the study was to compare the difference in survival between invasive ductal (IDC) and lobular carcinoma (ILC).
Methods
Data of patients (n = 1843) with a hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, pT1-3 IDC or ILC cancer without distant metastasis, treated at the Ghent University Hospital over the time period 2001–2015, were analyzed.
Results
ILC represented 13.9% of the tumors, had a higher percentage of pT3 and pN3 stages than IDC, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) was less present and Ki-67 was mostly low. 73.9% of ILCs were grade 2, whereas IDC had more grade 1 and grade 3 tumors. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank testing showed a significant worse DFS for ILC with pN ≥ 1 than for their IDC counterpart. In a multivariable Cox regression analysis the histologic tumor type, ductal or lobular, was a determinant of DFS over 120 months (IDC as reference; hazard ratio for ILC 1.77, 95% CI 1.08–2.90) just as the ER Allred score (hazard ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.78–0.91), LVSI (hazard ratio 1.75, 95% CI 1.12–2.74) and pN3 (hazard ratio 2.29, 95% CI 1.03–5.09). Determinants of OS over ten years were age (hazard ratio 1.05, 95% CI 1.02–1.07), LVSI (hazard ratio 3.62, 95% CI 1.92–6.82) and the ER Allred score (hazard ratio 0.80, 95% CI 0.73–0.89).
Conclusion
The histologic tumor type, ductal or lobular, determines DFS in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, pT1-3 breast cancer besides the ER Allred score, LVSI and pN3.
Rethinking Regularization with Random Label Smoothing
Authors: Santos Claudio Filipi Goncalves dos , Papa Joao Paulo
Published: July 2022

Regularization helps to improve machine learning techniques by penalizing the models during training. Such approaches act in either the input, internal, or output layers. Regarding the latter, label smoothing is widely used to introduce noise in the label vector, making learning more challenging. This work proposes a new label regularization method, Random Label Smoothing, that attributes random values to the labels while preserving their semantics during training. The idea is to change the entire label into fixed arbitrary values. Results show improvements in image classification and super-resolution tasks, outperforming state-of-the-art techniques for such purposes.
Association between depressive symptoms and all- cause mortality in Chilean adult population: prospective results from the National Health Survey
Authors: Luna Eliazar , Pikhart Hynek , Peasey Anne
Published: July 2022

Purpose
Depression is a prevalent disorder with effects beyond mental health. An association with mortality has been reported, however, evidence is mixed and limited to a few high-income countries. This study aims to assess the association between depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality in the Chilean population.
Methods
This prospective study used data from the Chilean National Health Survey (ENS). Data from 3,151 and 3,749 participants from the 2003 and 2010 ENS respectively were linked to mortality register data. Cox survival analysis was performed using days from interview as time-to-event. The main exposure was depressive symptoms, measured with CIDI-SF (cut-off ≥ 5), and the outcome was all-cause mortality. The study period was limited to 8.5 years to allow for the same length of follow-up in both cohorts.
Results
10% and 8.5% of participants from the 2003 and 2010 cohort died during the follow-up. Adjusting for age and sex, those with depressive symptoms were 1.50 (95% CI 1.11–2.02) and 1.51 (95% CI 1.11–2.04) times more likely to die than those without symptoms in the 2003 and 2010 cohort, respectively. In fully adjusted models, participants with depressive symptoms were 1.38 (95% CI 1.02–1.86) and 1.38 (95% CI 1.02–1.88) times more likely to die compared to those without symptoms in the 2003 and 2010 cohort.
Conclusion
Addressing mental health in the Chilean population could contribute not only to healthier but longer lives as well. Future research should collect data on more points in time to assess the effect of trajectories of depressive symptoms on mortality.
Impaired Robotic Surgical Visualization: Archaic Issues in a Modern Operating Room
Authors: Venkatayogi Nethra , Uecker John , Laviana Aaron A , Cohen Alexander , Belbina Safiya-Hana , Gereta Sofia , Idelson Christopher , Alambeigi Farshid
Published: July 2022

Background
While Robotic-Assisted Surgery (RAS) has been revolutionizing surgical procedures, it has various areas needing improvement, specifically in the visualization sector. Suboptimal vision due to lens occlusions has been a topic of concern in laparoscopic surgery but has not received much attention in robotic surgery. This study is the first to explore and quantify the degree of disruption encountered due to poor robotic visualization at a major academic center.
Methods
In case observations across 21 RAS procedures in various specialties, any lens occlusions or “debris” events that appeared on the monitor displays and clinicians’ reactions, the cause, and the location across the monitor for these events were recorded. Data was then assessed for any trends using analysis as described below.
Results
From around 32 hours of RAS observation time, 124 debris events were recorded. 58.7% of case observation time was spent under a compromised visual field (p = 0.037). In a subset of 8 cases, about 1.4% of the average observation time was spent cleaning the lens. Additionally, cautery was found to be the primary cause of lens occlusions and little variation was found within the spread of the debris across the monitor display.
Conclusions
This study illustrates that in 6 (29%) of the cases, 90% of the observation time was spent under compromised visualization while only 9.5% of the cases had no debris or cleaning events. Additionally, cleaning the lens can be troublesome during the procedure, interrupting the operating room flow. This paper suggests areas for research and technological development.
WITHDRAWN: Hybrid Approach Based Power Quality Improvement In Smart Grid Connected Renewable Energy System Using Dstatcom: A Gbdt-Poa Technique
Authors: Rajam Yesuraj Zacharias , Retnamony Rajesh
Published: July 2022

A hybrid approach for distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) based grid connected photovoltaic (PV) is proposed in this paper. The proposed approach is the hybrid combination of gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) and Pelican Optimization Algorithm (POA) hence it is known as GBDT-POA approach. The major objective of the proposed approach is to reduce the fluctuation of the DC voltage and compensate the reactive power improves the power quality and extract the maximum power of the system. The peak power of the PV is extracted by using the GBDT approach. The DSTATCOM based Voltage Source Converter (VSC) control signal is provided by using the POA approach. The proposed system is effectively reduces the harmonics and increase the power of the system. By then the performance of the proposed approach is performed on the MATLAB platform and compared with existing approaches. The proposed approach is analyzed under two cases like constant irradiance with grid fault and variant irradiation. From the simulation, it is conclude that the proposed approach delivers the THD as 2.03% and increase the power quality.
Estimating the Seismic Pounding Force between Adjacent Buildings and Study the Effect of Gap Distance on Seismic Pounding
Authors: Tamer Kamel
Published: July 2022

Insufficient separation distance between adjacent buildings may lead to their pounding during strong earthquakes causing damage or local failure. Accordingly, most of the design codes specify a minimum separation or gap distance between adjacent buildings to prevent their seismic pounding. Main objectives of this study are study the seismic pounding between adjacent reinforced concrete buildings under various ground motions and study the effect of gap distance on seismic pounding. The studied buildings are modeled as two-dimensional frames to idealize the adjacent buildings. This study considers adjacent frame buildings having the same number of floors as well as frames having a different number of floors. Nonlinear finite element time history analysis is performed using ETABS commercial software. Three different real earthquake records with different characteristics are scaled and used to simulate ground motion. Nonlinear gap element is used to model pounding between buildings at their interface points. The results of the study indicate that, the maximum pounding force was investigated for each of the studied cases. Pounding does not occur between buildings having equal height. Increasing separation distance between buildings reduces the pounding force between them. Separation distance which estimated by the Egyptian code is conservative.
Theoretical study of CO adsorption on FexCuy(x+y=3) clusters and reactive activity of their carbonyl complexes
Authors: Zhang Jianhui , Leng Yanli , Liu Jing , Wang Huanjiang , Mu Hongmei
Published: July 2022

In this paper, the adsorption of CO on FexCuy (x + y = 3) clusters were studied by BPW91 method, all conceivable geometries and electronic states of carbonyl complexes were explored. The results show that bimetallic clusters tend to have higher stepwise CO adsorption energy than corresponding pure clusters, and the adsorption capacity of FeCu2(CO)3 with CO is substantially larger than that of other carbonyl complexes. Moreover, the frontier molecular orbital theory was used to analyze the effect of the second element in the ligand reactions, which also confirmed that the reactions of CO with bimetallic clusters are easier than that of pure cluster systems. Finally, the energy gaps of HOMO and LUMO were use to explore the reactive activity of carbonyl complexes, it was found that the bimetallic clusters are lower than that of the Fe3 or Cu3, and the Fe2Cu(CO)1 has lower energy gap than that of other carbonyl complexes. This suggests that it may be possible to tune bimetallic cluster to get higher activity carbonyl complexes in the reactions.
An End-to-End Deep Learning Proportional Hazard Regression Model for Prognosis in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Multi- modal and Multi-center Study
Authors: Pan Xiang , Cong He , Wang Xiaolei , Zhang Heng , Sun Heng , Ge Yuxi , Hu Shudong
Published: July 2022

Purpose
Survival analysis models of prognosis are extremely useful for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients as they can guide personalized precision medicine. Current survival models require extensive feature engineering depending on heuristic expertise and are not suitable for multi-modal and multi-center cases. We developed an end-to-end deep learning proportional hazards regression model (Deep-Surv) based on 3D convolution neural networks (CNN) and attention for predicting the prognosis of CRC patients.
Method
This study consisted of 564 exams of 282 patients with stage II-III CRC from two independent centers that were divided into a training dataset (Center1, 294) and a validation dataset (Center 2, 270), who underwent non-enhanced and enhanced CT before total resection from November 2011 to February 2019. We also developed clinical and radiomics models for comparison (composite model: CS; radiomics model: Radiomics-Surv). Furthermore, we compared the value of non-enhanced and/or enhanced CT as inputs for disease-free survival (DFS) prediction, respectively.
Results
The concordance index (C-index) of the Deep-Surv outperformed the CS, and the Radiomics-Surv (training, 0.84 vs 0.7 vs 0.63; validation, 0.76 vs 0.67 vs 0.62). In the training dataset, the Deep-Surv has best risk partitioning ability than the CS and Radiomics-Surv, which is further validated in the validation dataset (training: Hazard ratio [HR], 5.83 [95% Confidence intervals {CI}, 3.532–9.692], P < 0.0001; validation: HR, 3.63 [95% CI, 2.302–5.709], P < 0.0001).
Conclusions
Our study demonstrated that Deep-Surv is a powerful model of prognosis assessment and satisfies the need for a multi-modal, multi-center, standardized risk stratification system that advances the development of noninvasive precision medicine.
Depolymerization of robust polyetheretherketone to regenerate monomer units using sulfur reagents
Authors: Minami Yasunori , Matsuyama Nao , Takeichi Yasuo , Watanabe Ryota , Mathew Siby , Nakajima Yumiko
Published: July 2022

Super engineering plastics, high-performance thermoplastic resins such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) have been utilized in industries, owing to their high thermal stability and mechanical strength. However, their robustness hinders their depolymerization to produce monomers and low-weight molecules. Presently, chemical recycling for most super engineering plastics remains relatively unexplored.
Herein, we report the depolymerization of insoluble PEEK using sulfur nucleophiles via carbon–oxygen bond cleavages to form benzophenone dithiolate and hydroquinone. Treatment with organic halides converted only the former products to afford various dithiofunctionalized benzophenones. The depolymerization proceeded as a solid–liquid reaction in the initial phase. Therefore, this method was not affected by the shape of PEEK, e.g., pellets or films. Moreover, this depolymerization method was applicable to carbon- or glass fiber-enforced PEEK material. The depolymerized product, dithiofunctionalized benzophenones, could be converted into diiodobenzophenone which is an active form of aromatic substitution reactions.
ERAP2 as a potential biomarker for predicting gemcitabine response in patients with pancreatic cancer
Authors: Yu Pian , Luo Shifu , Cai Jiaxin , Li Jie , Peng Cong
Published: July 2022

Background
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most malignant tumors, with rapid metastasis, high mortality rate, and difficult early screening. Currently, gemcitabine is a first-line drug for pancreatic cancer patients, but its clinical effect is limited due to drug resistance. It is particularly important to further identify biomarkers associated with gemcitabine resistance to improve the sensitivity of gemcitabine treatment.
Methods
Drug sensitivity data and the corresponding transcript data derived from the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database for correlation analysis was adopted to obtain genes related to gemcitabine sensitivity. Moreover, the survival model of pancreatic cancer patients treated with gemcitabine in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was utilized to obtain key genes. Multiple in vitro assays were performed to verify the function of the key biomarker.
Results
Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidase 2 (ERAP2) was identified as a biomarker promoting gemcitabine resistance, and its high expression resulted in a worse prognosis. Besides, gemcitabine significantly increased the mRNA and protein levels of ERAP2 in pancreatic cancer cells. Additionally, ERAP2 knockdown suppressed tumorigenesis and potentiated gemcitabine-induced growth, migration and invasion inhibition in human pancreatic cancer cells.
Conclusions
ERAP2 may be a novel key biomarker for gemcitabine sensitivity and diagnosis, thus providing an effective therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer treatment.
ROS generation and p-38 activation contribute to montmorillonite-induced corneal toxicity in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Liu Jia , Yang Shubin , Zhao Laien , Jiang Feng , Peng Shengjun , Zhao Ruikang , Huang Yanmei , Fu Xiaoxuan , Luo Rongrui , Jiang Yu , Li Zelin , Wang Nan , Fang Tengzheng , Zhang Zhuhong
Published: July 2022

Background
Montmorillonite (Mt) and its derivatives are now widely used in industrial and biomedical fields. Therefore, safety assessments of these materials are critical to protect human health after exposure; however, studies on the ocular toxicity of Mt are lacking. In particular, varying physicochemical characteristics of Mt may greatly alter their toxicological potential. To explore the effects of such characteristics on the eyes, five types of Mt were investigated in vitro and in vivo for the first time, and their underlying mechanisms studied.
Results
The different types of Mt caused cytotoxicity in human HCEC-B4G12 corneal cells based on analyses of ATP content, lactate dehydrogenase leakage, cell morphology, and the distribution of Mt in cells. Among the five Mt types, Na-Mt exhibited the highest cytotoxicity. Notably, Na-Mt and chitosan-modified acidic Na-Mt (C-H-Na-Mt) induced ocular toxicity in vivo, as demonstrated by increases corneal injury area and the number of apoptotic cells. Na-Mt and C-H-Na-Mt also induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in vitro and in vivo, as indicated by 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate and dihydroethidium staining. In addition, Na-Mt activated the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. The pretreatment of HCEC-B4G12 cells with N-acetylcysteine, an ROS scavenger, attenuated the Na-Mt-induced cytotoxicity and suppressed p38 activation, while inhibiting p38 activation with a p38-specific inhibitor decreased Na-Mt-induced cytotoxicity.
Conclusions
The results indicate that Mt induces corneal toxicity in vitro and in vivo. The physicochemical properties of Mt greatly affect its toxicological potential. Furthermore, ROS generation and p38 activation contribute at least in part to Na-Mt-induced toxicity.
Modeling vaccine allocation and equity implications of COVID-19 containment strategies
Authors: Nakamoto Ichiro , Zhang Jilin
Published: July 2022

Given the shortage of global COVID-19 vaccines, a critical public concern is whether the strategy of allocation exerts a heterogeneous effect on settings that have imbalanced accessibility. Exacerbated by the mutational characteristics of the pathogen, traits of immunity protection of vaccines, and diversification of human behaviors, the pathway to the full eradication of the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming increasingly complicated and indeterminate. Population-wide evaluation of public interventions remains crucial to evaluate the performance of epidemiology policies. This study employ a mathematical compartmental model to examine the potential effect of vaccine allocation on the trajectory of COVID-19 transmission and the elicited equity implications. The outcomes imply that allocation strategies substantially impact the cumulative equilibrium size of a pandemic controlling for confounding factors. Under a framework of a two-dose primary vaccination strategy aiming to curb the total infections for high-accessibility settings (HAS) and low-accessibility settings(LAS), the traits of vaccination, pathogen, and human effort integrally affect the equilibrium of the COVID-19 pandemic in the medium perspective (i.e., up to 5 years). Vaccine allocation increases the healthcare and cost burden for HAS temporarily, in contrast, it reduces the risk of COVID-19 transmission for the LAS. The effects are consistent across a variety of profiles. By enhancing the administration rates of primary doses (i.e., mainly through dose 1 and dose 2), the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic decreases contingent on confounding factors. To minimize the magnitude of infection, it is of importance to dynamically monitor the immunity protection of vaccines, the dynamics of virus transmission, and the gap in the human effort.
Earl Grey: a fully automated user-friendly transposable element annotation and analysis pipeline
Authors: Baril Tobias , Imrie Ryan M. , Hayward Alex
Published: July 2022

Background
Transposable elements (TEs) are found in nearly all eukaryotic genomes and are implicated in a range of evolutionary processes. Despite considerable research attention on TEs, their annotation and characterisation remain challenging, particularly for non-specialists. Current methods of automated TE annotation are subject to several issues that can reduce their overall quality: (i) fragmented and overlapping TE annotations may lead to erroneous estimates of TE count and coverage; (ii) repeat models may represent small proportions of their total length, where 5’ and 3’ regions are poorly captured; (iii) resultant libraries may contain redundancy, with the same TE family represented more than once. Existing pipelines can also be challenging to install, run, and extract data from. To address these issues, we present Earl Grey: a fully automated transposable element annotation pipeline designed for the user-friendly curation and annotation of TEs in eukaryotic genome assemblies.
Results
Using a simulated genome, three model genome assemblies, and three non-model genome assemblies, Earl Grey outperforms current widely used TE annotation methodologies in ameliorating the issues mentioned above by producing longer TE consensus sequences in non-redundant TE libraries, which are then used to produce less fragmented TE annotations without the presence of overlaps. Earl Grey scores highly in benchmarking for TE annotation (MCC: 0.99) and classification (97% correctly classified) in comparison to existing software.
Conclusions
Earl Grey provides a comprehensive and fully automated TE annotation toolkit that provides researchers with paper-ready summary figures and outputs in standard formats compatible with other bioinformatics tools. Earl Grey has a modular format, with great scope for the inclusion of additional modules focussed on further quality control aspects and tailored analyses in future releases.
The efficacy of percutaneous cholecystostomy in patients with acute cholecystitis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is the percutaneous cholecystostomy procedure safe for patients and healthcare professionals in pandemic conditions?
Authors: Topal Ümmihan , Sönmez Süleyman , Dağistanlı Sevinç
Published: July 2022

Purposes: The purpose of the present paper was to prove the efficacy of Percutaneous Cholecystostomy (PC) in the treatment of patients with Acute Cholecystitis (AC) before the COVID-19 pandemic and especially during the pandemic, and to show that it is a safe procedure for patients and healthcare professionals.Materials and Methods: The demographic data of the patients with AC who applied to our hospital, who underwent PC procedure in the 24-month and 12-month period before and during the pandemic, clinical and laboratory data, technical success of PC, clinical response to treatment, length of hospital stay, one-month postprocedural observation, and complications were compared.Results: PC was applied to a total of 124 patients in the pre-pandemic period (52) and pandemic period (72) examined in the study. The median age was 73.5 (25–93) in the pre-pandemic period, and 64 (23–90) in the pandemic period, and the difference between these was found to be significant (p = 0.004). Clinical improvement due to PC was detected in 43 (86%) patients in the pre-pandemic period, and in 61 (84.7%) patients in the pandemic period, no significant differences were detected between the two groups (p = 1.000). The day of hospitalization median value was 3 (1–18) days in pandemic period, and 3 (1–30) days in the pandemic period, and no significant differences were detected between the groups (p = 0.794).ConclusionPC treatment in patients with AC during the pandemic andpre-pandemicc period is effective and safe for both the patient and the healthcare professionals who perform the procedure.The efficacy of percutaneous cholecystostomy in patients with acute cholecystitis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is the percutaneous cholecystostomy procedure safe for patients and healthcare professionals in pandemic conditions?