bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization of N-methyltransferase for catalyzing the terminus of leucinostatins in Purpureocillium lilacinum
Authors: Li Yan , Li Zixin , Jiao Yang , Ling Jian , zhao Jianlong , Yang Yuhong , Mao Zhenchuan , Zhou Kaixiang , Wang Wenzhao , Xie Bingyan
Published: September 2023

N-methyltransferase (NMT)-catalyzed methylations are rarely reported at nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) terminuses. Here, we discovered a fungal NMT LcsG for the iterative terminal N-methyl formation of a family of NRPs, leucinostatins. Gene deletion suggested LcsG is essential to the methylation of leucinostatins. In vitro assay and HRESI-MS-MS analysis proved the methylation sites were the NH2, NHCH3 and N(CH3)2 in the C-terminal unit of various leucinostatins. Based on the protein structure predicted by artificial intelligence (AI), molecular docking, and site-directed mutagenesis, we proposed the catalytic mechanism of the LcsG-catalyzed reaction was an N atom coordinated by two negatively charged residues (Asp368, Asp395 for LcsG) towards the subsequent SN2 methylation. These findings not only provide an approach for enriching the variety of natural bioactivity of NPRs but also deepen the insight into the catalytic mechanism of N-methylation of NRPs.
Mismatch repair, p53, and L1 cell adhesion molecule status influence the response to chemotherapy in advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer
Authors: Kim Jung Chul , Ahn Byungsoo , Lee Yong Jae , Nam Eun Ji , Kim Sang Wun , Kim Sunghoon , Kim Young Tae , Park Eunhyang , Lee Jung-Yun
Published: September 2023

Objective
This study aimed to identify the recurrence and survival rates according to the mismatch repair (MMR), p53, and L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) status in patients with advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer (EC) receiving systemic chemotherapy.
Methods
This single-center retrospective cohort study included chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced-stage (III/IV) or recurrent EC between January 2015 and June 2022 (n = 156), who were administered chemotherapy as adjuvant therapy or first-line palliative treatment. MMR and p53 status were assessed, and L1CAM was tested using immunohistochemistry in the p53-wild and MMR-proficient (p53wt/pMMR) group. The primary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
Results
Of the 156 patients, 62 (39.7%), 53 (34.0%), and 41 (26.3%) had p53wt/pMMR, abnormal p53 (p53abn), and MMR-deficient (dMMR) tumors, respectively. PFS and OS were longest in dMMR, followed by p53wt/pMMR, and were the least in p53abn tumors (PFS: p = 0.0006, OS: p = 0.0013). After p53wt/pMMR was classified according to positive or negative L1CAM status, the L1CAM negative group exhibited significantly shorter survival rates than the L1CAM positive group (PFS: p = 0.0001, OS: p = 0.0027). p53abn tumors were independent prognostic factors for poor PFS (PFS: p = 0.039 on multivariable analysis).
Conclusion
In chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced and recurrent EC, there was a better prognosis in the order of MMR-D, p53wt/pMMR, and p53abn tumors after chemotherapy. L1CAM status is useful as a new marker to stratify p53wt/pMMR in advanced and recurrent groups.
Biomarkers of prothrombotic state and risk assessment of exacerbations in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Jin Yan , Zhu Ke , Wu Shiyu , He Shiyi , Cao Chao
Published: September 2023

Background
Epidemiologic studies have shown that exacerbation of COPD suffered from the morbidity and mortality from venous thromboembolism (VTE) and poor diagnosis. Von Willebrand factor (vWF) and plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) are frequently investigated in COPD as the crucial parameter for coagulation and fibrinolysis. Nevertheless, the role of vWF and PAI-1 in ECOPD needs further exploration.
Objective
We sought to evaluate the hypercoagulability in ECOPD and investigate the association of plasma vWF and PAI-1 with the symptoms and risk of exacerbation of COPD.
Methods
57 ECOPD patients and 34 control subjects were enrolled in our study. The concentration of plasma vWF and PAI-1 were measured by ELISA kit. Independent samples t-test or Wilcoxon rank sum test were applied for group comparison. Spearman correlation analysis, subject work curve (ROC) analysis, and Logistic regression were used to evaluate the plasma vWF and PAI-1 in ECOPD.
Results
Plasma vWF and PAI-1 correlated in total participants and ECOPD subgroups. Compared with control subjects, vWF and PAI-1 in COPD patients are higher. Both vWF and PAI-1 have a high value in predicting the risk of COPD (vWF: AUC = 0.8741, P < 0.001; PAI-1: AUC = 0.8222, P < 0.001). Moreover, elevated vWF could be an independent risk factor for COPD (OR = 1.01, 95%CI:1.00-1.01, P = 0.01). Compared to the COPD “AB” group, the plasma concentrations of vWF and PAI-1 significantly increased in the "E" group. The better predictive effects of vWF and PAI-1 on the exacerbation risk of COPD presented. Plasma vWF positively correlated with patients' CAT scores and SGRQ scores.
Conclusion
The increased risk for COPD occurrence and exacerbation would be reflected in the high level of plasma vWF, and PAI-1 could be a complementary biomarker.
Assessment of the dynamic balance between water supplies and demands in arid environments with policy options using WEAP
Authors: Hadi Khalid , Aliewi Amjad , Sadeqi Dalal , Abdulhadi Ahmed
Published: September 2023

The water situation in arid environments (with Kuwait as a case study) is fragile due to climate change; population growth; economic development; urbanization; irrational behaviors in consumption patterns; and water pollution which in their entirety threaten water security for such environments. The integrated water resources planning software (WEAP) was used to assess the actual water supply sustainability for Kuwait for 2000 to 2023 period. Then WEAP was used with realistic annual growth rates to project water demands over 2024 to 2035 in order to assess a suitable socio-economic future for Kuwait’s water supply sustainability. On average, the actual total water supply was found to 1,375 Mm3/yr disaggregated for domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors as 603 (44%), 75 (5%) and 697 (51%) Mm3/yr respectively. It was also found that each capita consumes for domestic and industrial purposes 214 m3/yr. It was found that annual growth rates of 2%, 2% and 3% are suitable to be used to project water requirements (demands) between 2024 and 2035 for domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors respectively. This will result in water shortage of 332 Mm3/yr during the period 2024 to 2035. Kuwait is called to implement strategic solutions of full reuse of treated wastewater and the virtual water concept for agricultural development purposes. This study demonstrates that when Kuwait implements these solutions, it can reduce CO2 emissions by 1.66 million tons saving $810 million annually. With the proper measures and policies, Kuwait can reduce their bulk water demand by 332 million cubic meters saving $1.627 billion dollars per year.
Acclimatization and Foraging of Native Brazilian Stingless Bees in Arenas with Covering Materials of Different Spectral Properties
Authors: Ramos Davi de Lacerda , Borduchi Luis Carlos Leva , Costa Raíssa , Fontes Eliana Maria Gouveia , Laumman Raul Alberto , Menezes Cristiano , Mota Theo Rolla Paula , Sujii Edison Ryoti , Pires Carmen Sílvia Soares
Published: September 2023

The use of Meliponini for crop pollination in protected environments is practically non-existent. One of the reasons is the difficulty of acclimatizing Meliponini to the temperature and light conditions inside greenhouses. We investigated how materials used in greenhouses, which filter different intensities of ultraviolet (UV) light, affect the foraging behaviors, flight orientation, attraction to walls and ceilings, and mortality of Scaptotrigona cf. postica (Letreille, 1807), Frieseomelitta varia (Lepeletier, 1836), and Melipona quadrifasciata (Lepeletier, 1836). The experiments were conducted in 5.3 m3 arenas covered with four types of plastic films that do not polarize sunlight, with UV transmittance levels ranging from 0.29% to 87.88%, compared to a transparent glass control. The temperature inside the arenas varied between treatments, from 27°C ± 3.21 to 31°C ± 2.21. All three species collected resources and returned to the colony, regardless of the covering material. However, the proportion of this behavior, the number of bees attracted to the ceiling and wall, and mortality varied among treatments and/or throughout the confinement days for each species. Melipona quadrifasciata and F. varia acclimatized better to the confined environments than S. cf. postica and showed consistent resource collection behavior throughout the confinement days in all tested materials, except for the one that filtered more than 90% of UV. In all three species, the mortality gradually decreased throughout the confinement days. The results indicate that the choice of covering material, considering its optical characteristics, can be crucial to ensure greater effectiveness of the pollination services provided by stingless bees in protected systems.
First-in-human clinical trial of personalized neoantigen vaccines as early intervention in untreated patients with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma
Authors: Kwak Larry , Szymura Szymon , Wang Lin , Zhang Tiantian , Cha Soung-chul , Dong Zhenyuan , Anderson Aaron , Oh Elizabeth , Lee Vincent , Wang Zhe , Parshottham Sapna , Rao Sheetal , Olsem Jasper , Crumpton Brandon , Lee Hans , Manasanch Elisabet , Neelapu Sattva , Thomas Sheeba
Published: September 2023

Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is an incurable low-grade B-cell lymphoma of the bone marrow. Despite a cumulative risk of progression, there is no approved therapy for patients in the asymptomatic phase. We conducted a first-in-human clinical trial of a novel therapeutic DNA idiotype neoantigen vaccine in nine patients with asymptomatic LPL. Treatment was well tolerated with no dose limiting toxicities. One patient achieved a minor response, and all remaining patients experienced stable disease, with median time to disease progression of 61+ months. Direct interrogation of the tumor microenvironment by single-cell transcriptome analysis revealed an unexpected dichotomous antitumor response, with significantly reduced numbers of clonal tumor mature B-cells, tracked by their unique BCR, and downregulation of genes involved in signaling pathways critical for B-cell survival post-vaccine, but no change in clonal plasma cell subpopulations. Downregulation of HLA class II molecule expression suggested intrinsic resistance by tumor plasma cell subpopulations and cell-cell interaction analyses predicted paradoxical upregulation of IGF signaling post vaccine by plasma cell, but not mature B-cell subpopulations, suggesting a potential mechanism of acquired resistance. Vaccine therapy induced dynamic changes in bone marrow T-cells, including upregulation of signaling pathways involved in T-cell activation, expansion of T-cell clonotypes, increased T-cell clonal diversity, and functional tumor antigen-specific cytokine production, with little change in co-inhibitory pathways or Treg. Vaccine therapy also globally altered cell-cell communication networks across various bone marrow cell types and was associated with reduction of protumoral signaling by myeloid cells, principally non-classical monocytes. These results suggest that this prototype neoantigen vaccine favorably perturbed the tumor immune microenvironment, resulting in reduction of clonal tumor mature B-cell, but not plasma cell subpopulations. Future strategies to improve clinical efficacy may require combinations of neoantigen vaccines with agents which specifically target LPL plasma cell subpopulations, or enable blockade of IGF-1 signaling or myeloid cell checkpoints.
Shared decision-making underutilisation at an outpatient clinic during BMI monitoring in rural Uganda
Authors: Banturaki Amon , Kajoba Dickson , Pius Theophilus
Published: September 2023

Introduction:
Recall of medical instructions is associated with improved adherence to treatment. The recall of the Body Mass Index (BMI) is important for the improvement of adherence to treatments related to obesity. The burden of obesity all over the world has increased, including in many sub-Saharan African countries.
Objective
This study measured the recall of BMI, shared decision-making (SDM), and patients’ demographics to determine if they were associated.
Methods
The study was conducted at a rural hospital outpatient clinic in South Western Uganda. Data were collected using a questionnaire and collaboRate-5 tool for measuring shared decision-making. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20. The chi-square test and Pearson coefficient test were done.
Results
Out of the 92 participants in this study, the median age was 36 years, in an age range of 18 to 87 years, the majority were male 54 (58.7%), most had a background of attending formal education 75 (81.5%), 79 (85.9%) were not able to recall their BMI; 13 (14.1%) were able to recall their BMI. Only gender among demographic factors studied was associated with recall of BMI (p = 0.027). Shared decision-making was associated with the recall of BMI (P < 0.001).
Interpretation:
The prevalence of patients who are not able to recall their BMI after the outpatient clinic visit was high. Gender and the use of SDM were associated with recall of BMI. Measured items describing the use of SDM were only reported among 21(22.8%) participants. SDM was underutilised during the study period at the outpatient clinic. There is a need to have continuous medical education on SDM.
Effect of video consultation for non-acute headache by neurologist on consultation rate in general practice during one-year follow-up. Randomized controlled trial
Authors: Bekkelund Svein Ivar
Published: September 2023

Background
Patient´s access to headache specialists varies in the population. Video consultations may help, but the effect of using communication technology on headache management in the population is incompletely understood. This study determined whether use of video consultations for non-acute headache patients at specialist were noninferior to face-to-face consultations in the need for subsequent headache visits in general practice at follow-up.
Methods
Four hundred and two non-acute headache patients consecutively referred to neurologist from general practitioners in North Norway were included in a randomized controlled noninferiority trial. Frequency of patients consulting general practitioner for headache and median number of headache consultations 0–12 months after specialist consultation were compared between groups initially consulted by video or face-to-face consultations.
Results
Ninety-two (60.9%) of the patients in the video group and 93 (66.4%) in the face-to-face group consulted general practitioners for headache problems during the follow-up period, p = 0.274. The median (IQR range) number of consultations were 1 (IQR: 0–14) (video) and 1 (IQR: 0–15) (face-to-face), p = 0.154. Clinical characteristics including, headache impact, pain score and patients satisfied with headache information, communication, headache advice, diagnostic information, and headache medication at GP during follow-up were similar between the two groups.
Conclusion
Treating headache patients by using video consultations at neurologist did not result in higher consultation rate at follow-up in general practice. These data support use of video as a useful method in the treatment of headache at specialist in terms of organization of headache management in the population.
Trial registration:
Trial registration number NCT02270177. Registration date: October 2, 2014
The contribution of organic-rich mudstones to the Mesoproterozoic silicon cycle: criticality of microbial life
Authors: Piane Claudio Delle , Milliken Kitty , Crombez Vincent , Verrall Michael , Martin Laure , Rickard William , MacRae Colin , Wilson Nicholas , Aleshin Matvei
Published: September 2023

The secular evolution of marine silicon, carbon and phosphorous cycles influences interpretation of Earth’s life and climate histories. In today’s ocean, planktic siliceous skeletons are deposited in sediments as particulate biogenic opal that transforms to authigenic quartz. Si biomineralizing organisms only radiated in the early Phanerozic and in the absence of biosiliceous skeletal grains, the pathway for Si transfer from seawater into Pre-Cambrian sediments remains enigmatic.
Here we determine the abundance and stratigraphic distribution of authigenic quartz in the c. 1.38 Ga Velkerri Formation (Australia), a key archive of Mesoproterozoic ocean chemistry. Petrographic, geochemical and isotopic analyses demonstrate that a major fraction of quartz (up to 45 % of the rock volume) is not of extrabasinal, detrital origin but instead authigenic and concentrated in subunits rich in organic carbon and phosphorus, indicative of high primary productivity. We argue that this authigenic quartz results from recrystallization of amorphous silica sequestered from sea water due to the presence of cyanobacteria.
We probabilistically estimate that the Velkerri Formation contains several thousands cubic kilometres of authigenic quartz representing an important and previously unrecognised mineral record of silicification in Mesoproterozoic sedimentary basins, critically linked to bacterial blooms and organic carbon burial.
Physiological characteristics and transcriptomic analysis of response patterns of Gynura divaricata under NaCl stress
Authors: Zeng Yujie , Xiong Yuping , Liu Junyu , Chen Xiaohong , Li Jianrong , Jian Shuguang , Ren Hai , Zhang Xinhua , Li Yuan , Bian Zhan , Wu Kunlin , Zeng Songjun , Silva Jaime A. Teixeira , Ma Guohua
Published: September 2023

Soil salinity is a major environmental stress that restricts agricultural production worldwide. Gynura divaricata is widely cultivated on tropical islands in China and has both edible and medicinal value. NaCl stress and growth indicators, antioxidant enzyme activity, as well as MDA, proline, and soluble sugar content, were determined. Based on the transcriptomic data of G. divaricata tissue-cultured plantlets grown in control (0 mM NaCl) and (50 and 200 mM) NaCl stress conditions, the expression patterns of responsive genes were explored. KEGG enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes indicated that plant hormone signaling, the MAPK signaling pathway, and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways, were significantly enriched, allowing the main biological pathways and salt stress-responsive genes of G. divaricata to be identified, and providing a molecular basis for breeding salt-tolerant varieties.
RETRACTED: Vibration and Noise Reduction Method of 750kV Shunt Reactor Based on Optimization of Air Gap Structure
Authors: Huo Yichen , Min Yongzhi , Wan Baoquan , Wang Guo , Wu Jianming , Chen Xin
Published: September 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Prediction of Debris Flow Initiation Points using High Resolution DEM and GIS Analysis in South Korea
Authors: KIM Tae-yun , Yun Hong-Sik , Kwak Sang-Woo
Published: September 2023

This study presents a GIS analysis model that utilizes high-resolution Digital Elevation Map data to predict the initiation points of debris flow through the overlap of slope stability analysis techniques and rainfall flow analysis. The debris flow that occurred on Mount Woomyun in Seoul, South Korea in 2011 was selected as the case study for comparing and analyzing the prediction model against the actual case. In South Korea, occurrences of debris flow mostly happen during the summer monsoon season. When a substantial amount of rainfall accumulates and heavy rainfall events occur, the pore water pressure within slopes reaches saturation. Consequently, flow is initiated along "temporary streams." In this study, areas with a combination of low slope stability and abrupt changes in velocity vectors were assumed to have the highest probability of debris flow occurrence due to the overlapping of these factors. The research model was conducted under this assumption. To evaluate the performance of the model, 3D coordinates of the model's result point, and actual occurrence points were obtained, and a Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to compare them. With these results, R2 values of X = 0.9147, Y = 0.8625, and H = 0.8942 were obtained. These high R2 indicate a strong correlation between the model's predictions and actual occurrences.
Development and Performance Evaluation of Multi-Objective Approach-Based Spectrum Allocation in Cognitive Radio Network
Authors: Brahma Debashree , Swayamsiddha Swati , Panda Ganapati
Published: September 2023

For effective utilization of radio frequency, Spectrum Sensing (SS), Spectrum Decision (SD), Spectrum Allocation (SA), and Spectrum Management(SM) are some recent research directions in Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs). Out of these sub-areas, the SA is an important task in CRN. In the past, researchers have addressed SA as a Single Objective Optimization (SOO) problem and have solved it by using bio-inspired techniques. But in reality, the SA has a multi-objective optimization problem. In the recent past, the SA problem has been addressed as a two objectives optimization problem and has been solved by Multi–Objective Bio-inspired Approach (MOBA). In the present paper, we have also considered spectral and energy efficiencies of the SA task as two independent objectives and then solved this problem using two different Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) techniques. These two are the Multi-Objective Ant Lion Optimization Algorithm (MOALO) and the Multi-Objective Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (MOGOA). The spectrum utilization performances achieved by the two approaches have been compared. In addition, the results obtained by the already reported Superior Population Genetic Algorithm (SPGA) based technique have also been compared. The analysis of simulation-based experimental results obtained from the three methods reveals that the proposed MOALO algorithm provides superior performance in terms of Pareto front and network capacity compared to the other two approaches. The proposed multi-objective methods can also be applied when the SA task is viewed as a three-objective optimization problem.
A Decision Support System Based on Recurrent Neural Networks to Predict Medication Dosage for Patients with Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Riasi Atiye , Delrobaei Mehdi , Salari Mehri
Published: September 2023

Using deep learning has demonstrated significant potential in making informed decisions based on clinical evidence. In this study, we deal with optimizing medication and quantitatively present the role of deep learning in predicting the medication dosage for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The proposed method is based on recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and tries to predict the dosage of five critical medication types for PD, including levodopa, dopamine agonists, monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors, catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors, and amantadine. Recurrent neural networks have memory blocks that retain crucial information from previous patient visits. This feature is helpful for patients with PD, as the neurologist can refer to the patient's previous state and the prescribed medication to make informed decisions. We employed data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative. The dataset included information on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Activities of Daily Living, Hoehn and Yahr scale, demographic details, and medication use logs for each patient. We evaluated several models, such as multi-layer perceptron (MLP), Simple-RNN, long short-term memory (LSTM), and gated recurrent units (GRU). Our analysis found that recurrent neural networks (LSTM and GRU) performed the best. More specifically, when using LSTM, we were able to predict levodopa and dopamine agonist dosage with a mean squared error of 0.009 and 0.003, mean absolute error of 0.062 and 0.030, root mean square error of 0.099 and 0.053, and R-squared of 0.514 and 0.711, respectively.
The effects of cooling rate and water replenishment conditions on the freezing characteristics of silty clay in seasonal frozen area
Authors: Sun Chao , Song Tao , Guo Haotian , Wang Peijin
Published: September 2023

This study aims to investigate the influence of cooling rate and water replenishment on soil frost heave characteristics. A freezing test device was employed to examine the internal temperature variation, freezing deformation, and water migration in silty clay soil samples from the Changchun region. The findings suggest that: The temperature change trend remains consistent across various sampling points in the sample, irrespective of variations in cooling rates and water replenishment. The process can be categorized into four distinct stages: abrupt decline, stable recovery, gradual cooling, and equilibrium. The duration of the three stages, namely sudden drop, stable recovery, and continuous reduction of sample temperature, decreases with an increase in cooling rate under identical water supply conditions, the continuous cooling stage stands out among them. The cooling rate remains consistent, while the duration of temperature decrease, and continuous cooling phase is comparatively prolonged during open water refill conditions. The final temperature inside the sample collected at the same freezing time and temperature point is higher under conditions of open water replenishment compared to closed conditions. The structure of the samples in both open-water supplementation and closed conditions represents a network. Under identical water replenishment conditions, the apparent cold structure width of the samples increases with higher cooling rates. Despite identical water replenishment conditions, the sample exhibits slight variations in vertical frost heave displacement. The magnitude of vertical frost heave displacement increases with a decrease in cooling rate under different water replenishment conditions. The samples experienced moisture migration under both open and closed water replenishment conditions. The moisture content of the soil in the vicinity of the cooling roof exhibits an increase, whereas there is a decrease in the moisture content of the adjacent region. The moisture content at the positive temperature base plate of the sample remains relatively constant under conditions of closed water replenishment.
Thermal Decomposition Characteristics of BHT and its Peroxide (BHTOOH)
Authors: Dai Suyi , Liang Min , Cheng Haijun , Yu Chang , Li Weiguang , Lai Fang , Ma Li , Liu Xiongmin
Published: September 2023

2,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT) is an excellent antioxidant that is easily oxidized to 2, 6-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroperoxyl-4-methyl-2, 5-cyclohexadienone (BHTOOH). For the safety of BHT production and usage, it is meaningful to study the thermal stability and decomposition properties of BHT and BHTOOH. In this paper, the thermal decomposition properties of BHT and BHTOOH were compared by the mini closed pressure vessel test (MCPVT) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and their kinetics of thermal decomposition were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The thermal decomposition products of BHT and BHTOOH were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results show that there was no significant change in temperature pressure when BHT was warmed up under a nitrogen atmosphere, indicating that BHT was stable within 400 K. The thermal decomposition reaction of BHTOOH was rapid with an initial reaction temperature of 375.2 K. The initial exothermic temperature (Ton) and heat release (QDSC) of DSC were 384.9 K and 865.0 J·g− 1, respectively. The average apparent activation energies (Ea) for the thermal decomposition reactions of BHT and BHTOOH calculated by the Kissinger and FWO methods were 152.0 kJ·mol− 1 and 68.24 kJ·mol− 1, respectively. The main products of BHT were decomposition products, which produce isobutene and 2-tert-Butyl-4-methylphenol.The main products of BHTOOH include BHT, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-ethylphenol, 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4, 4′-(1,2-ethanediyl) bis [2,6-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl) phenol, etc. Based on the thermal decomposition behavior and products, the reaction pathway has been described.
Young people's experiences of being involved in quality improvement of youth mental health services
Authors: Bjønness Stig , Leidland Charlotte , Ellis Louise A. , Ree Eline
Published: September 2023

Background: There is a worldwide concern regarding young people’s mental health and the complexities of designing mental health services to meet these challenges. By integrating user knowledge in the design of mental health services, the services will be better suited to meet the distinctive requirements of youth, as well as uphold their entitlement to participate and influence. Yet, a dearth of knowledge exists concerning the experiences of young people engaged in organizational-level user involvement within mental health services. This study delves into the viewpoints of young people with experience from mental health services, exploring their perceived advantages and challenges related to their involvement in the enhancement of mental health services’ quality.
Methods: A qualitative study with in-depth interviews and thematic analysis were conducted. Ten young, experienced users participated in the study.
Results: Youth user involvement in quality improvement of mental health services yielded notable benefits experienced as fostering personal recovery. Simultaneously, this involvement entailed challenging responsibilities. The participants experienced challenges associated with navigating their personal memories and expressing concern for their peers. The success of user involvement was closely associated with open-minded cooperative healthcare professionals, facilitation within the services, and provision of support for the young participants.
Conclusions: This study elucidates perceived benefits and challenges related to user involvement at an organizational level. It identifies pivotal conditions to success and underscores the value of incorporating user experience in the improvement of services, not only to create services tailored to the needs of youth but also to instill a positive self-identity and empower those participating. Recognizing the value of experienced users in quality improvement of the services will promote development of youth-friendly services. As young people engaged as experienced users also encounter challenges, it holds significant importance that healthcare services aiming to adhere to directives and recommendations for user involvement recognize the attendant responsibilities this endeavor entails.
The factors affecting psychological health and life satisfaction of patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia
Authors: Gu Xiaoya , Hao Jiatao , Wang Weihong , Zhao Haoyi , An Ruifang
Published: September 2023

Background:Patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) have significant anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction, and fertility problems according to pieces of previous studies. This study aims to explore the factors influencing the psychological health and life satisfaction of patients with GTN.
Methods: In a single-center, cross-sectional study, 79 cases of GTN patients treated and followed up in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University were invested to complete the general information questionnaire, mainly including age, marriage, career, household income and fertility pressures, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Life Satisfaction Scale (SWLS) in addition to the collection of clinical information such as diagnosis and treatment. Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney test, chi-square and Fisher's exact test, binary logistic regression, and linear regression were used in this study based on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
Results: A total of 79 GTN patients were enrolled, 44.3% and 20.3% of them were anxious and depressed, respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed that only the interval from index pregnancy (months) (ρ = 0.04) and surgical treatment (ρ< 0.001) were the key features related to anxiety status. While the place of residence (especially in the foreign province) (ρ= 0.02) exhibited vita consequences when it comes to depression status in GTN patients. Furthermore, a positive correlation had been found in the scores between HADS-A and HADS-D (r = 0.77, ρ< 0.001), while the analogous relationship didn’t exist in HADS-A (r= 0.09, ρ= 0.45) and HADS-D (r = 0.06, ρ= 0.61) with SWLS.
Conclusions: Our work herein suggests that various characteristics, especially the status of treatment, surgical treatment, and place of residence were central to psychological complaints such as anxiety, depression as well as satisfaction in GTN patients.
Bounds for the atom-bond sum-connectivity index of graphs
Authors: Hussain Zaryab , Liu Hechao , Zhang Shenggui , Hua Hongbo
Published: September 2023

The atom-bond sum-connectivity (ABSC) index of a graph G is defined as ABSC(G) = uv∈E(G) du+dv−2 du+dv , where d u and d v represent the degrees of u and v in G, respectively. In this paper, we give some sharp bounds for the ABSC index in term of the first Zagreb index, the harmonic index, the sum-connectivity index, the minimum and maximum degrees, the clique number, and the chromatic number. In particular, we find lower bounds of the ABSC index for trees with given number of vertices and maximum degree ∆.
2020 Mathematics Subject Classification: 05C05, 05C09, 05C92.
Investigating School Absenteeism and Refusal among Australian Children and Adolescents using Apriori Association Rule Mining
Authors: Haque Umme Marzia , Kabir Enamul , Khanam Rasheda
Published: September 2023

Understanding the elusive reasons behind school refusal and absenteeism, which often vary, poses a challenge. This study aimed to uncover the hidden reasons for school absence in children and adolescents, aware of the negative consequences. A national survey of 2967 Australian children and adolescents aged 11 to 17 was conducted. The Apriori association rule generator of machine learning techniques and binary logistic regression were utilized to identify the factors linked to these behaviours and determine the most reliable predictors. Out of 2484, 83.7% (n = 2079) aged (11–17) years children and adolescents missed school for various reasons, 42.28% (n = 879) were (11–15) years old, 24.52% (n = 609) and 16.9% (n = 420) were 16- and 17-years old adolescents respectively. A considerable proportion of adolescents, specifically 16.4% (n = 407) and 23.4% (n = 486) of 16 and 17 years old, respectively, selected for the 'refused to say' alternative as their reason for not attending school. The lack of transparency in Australian children and adolescents' behaviour motives is associated with negative outcomes, including bullying, excessive internet/gaming, reduced family involvement, suicide attempts, and existential hopelessness. The widespread occurrence of school absence in Australia, including school refusal behaviour, emphasizes the need for interventions addressing root causes and promoting school engagement and meaningful pursuits.
Exploring casual association of the inflammatory cytokines and osteoporosis: a Mendelian randomization analysis.
Authors: WEN MoShan , GAO Shihua , AN Xifeng , ZHAO JingTao , LV Yang
Published: September 2023

Introduction
The published studies have proved a few of inflammatory cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of Osteoporosis (OP). However, the results from previous observational studies are controversial. Here, we performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to explore the causal link between inflammatory cytokines and OP.
Methods
We obtained the genetic variables for inflammatory cytokines from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with 8293 healthy participants and genetic variances of OP from another GWAS (3203 cases and 209,575 controls of European ancestry). Inverse variance weighted (IVW) method were adopted as the primary results. Meanwhile, weighted-median method, MR-Egger regression, simple-mode method, weighted-mode method were included to strengthen the results. Then performed the MR-Egger intercept test, Cochran’s Q test, “leave-one-out” sensitivity analysis and MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier test (MR-PRESSO) to access the horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneities.
Results
The results of this two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis indicated that higher level of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and monocyte-specific chemokine 3 (MCP-3) may be suggestively associated with increased risk of OP (IVW-OR = 1.033 95%CI = 1.004-1.206 P = 0.04, IVW-OR = 1.217 95% CI = 1.054-1.405 P= 0.007). While higher level of interleukin 8 (IL-8) was suggestively associated with lower risk of OP (IVW-OR = 0.784 95%CI = 0.629-0.977 P = 0.03). Sensitivity analyses showed that the results remained consistent.
Conclusion
The current study suggested that TRAIL, MCP-3 and IL-8 may be the inflammatory cytokines correlated with the development of OP, but further studies are needed to examine our findings.
Clustering on hierarchical heterogeneous data with prior pairwise relationships
Authors: Han Wei , Zhang Sanguo , Gao Hailong , Bu Deliang
Published: September 2023

Background: Clustering is a fundamental problem in statistics and has broad applications in various areas. Traditional clustering methods treat features equally and ignore the potential structure brought by the characteristic difference of features. Especially in cancer diagnosis and treatment, several types of biological features are collected and analyzed together. Treating these features equally fails to identify the heterogeneity of both data structure and cancer itself, which leads to incompleteness and inefficacy of current anti-cancer therapies.
Results: In this paper, we propose a clustering framework based on hierarchical heterogeneous data with prior pairwise relationships. The proposed clustering method fully characterizes the difference of features and identifies potential hierarchical structure by rough and refined clusters. The refined clustering further divides the clusters obtained by the rough clustering into different subtypes. Thus it provides a deeper insight of cancer that can not be detected by existing clustering methods. The proposed method is also flexible with prior information, additional pairwise relationships of samples can be incorporated to help to improve clustering performance. Finally, well-grounded statistical consistency properties of our proposed method are rigorously established, including the accurate estimation of parameters and determination of clustering structures.
Conclusions: Our proposed method achieves better clustering performance than other methods in simulation studies, and the clustering accuracy increases with prior information incorporated. Meaningful biological findings are obtained in the analysis of lung adenocarcinoma with clinical imaging data and omics data, showing that hierarchical structure produced by rough and refined clustering is necessary and reasonable.
Gateway selection and placement for Multi-radio multi-channel Wireless Mesh Networks with Garter Snake Optimization algorithm
Authors: Naghdiani Maryam , Jahanshahi Mohsen , Matin Reza Kazemi
Published: September 2023

Wireless mesh networks facilitate the provision of Intranet and Internet connectivity across diverse environments, catering to a wide range of applications. It is anticipated that there will be a significant volume of traffic on these networks. The selection and placement of gateway nodes is a significant research concern due to their responsibility for transmitting traffic load. This issue holds importance as it has the potential to optimize network capacity utilization and mitigate congestion effects. Furthermore, the implementation of a multi-radio multi-channel architecture is regarded as a highly promising approach to enhance performance and mitigate interference. Channel assignment is the process of determining the optimal associations between channels and radios for the purpose of transmitting and receiving data concurrently across multiple channels. In order to maximize throughput in multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks, this research investigates the problem of gateway selection and location. Our solution is distinct from the many others described in the literature because it explicitly models the delay overhead associated with channel switching. In addition, we factor in the latency problem while developing our processes. In our research, a Garter Snake Optimization Algorithm (GSO) is used to strategically place gateways. Based on our research, we know that the suggested scheme performs within a constant factor of the best solution as measured by the achieved throughput. The simulation results show that compared to random deployment, fixed deployment, and grid-based techniques, our suggested mechanism makes better use of available resources and delivers much higher network performance.
Seasonal changes in the viability of bacterial cells in the snowpack ecosystem of a High Arctic ice cap
Authors: Dayal Archana , Hodson Andy , Šabacká Marie , Smalley Alan
Published: September 2023

We present an in-depth analysis of the proportions of potentially “viable” and “non-viable” bacterial cell populations within the different layers of a melting snowpack on a High Arctic ice cap, Foxfonna in Svalbard. To do so, we employed the SYBR-PI dual cell stain to both flow cytometry and epifluorescence microscopy for enumeration. Non-viable cells soon dominated on Foxfonna (2.5 ± 0.36 x 107 cells m− 2) during the June to early July period, when biological production is expected to be greatest. Moreover, non-viable cells also dominated total cell abundance within superimposed ice (223 ± 242 cells mL− 1) and glacial ice (695 ± 717 cells mL− 1) beneath the snow. As a result, bacterial production on the ice cap caused the proliferation of ‘potentially non-viable cells’ as early as mid-July. We propose that the rapid, early loss of cell viability was caused by abiotic and biotic factors, with UV damage and viral lysis being most plausible. Dead cell residue (necromass) therefore contributes to organic matter export, although in late July we also found a far more significant input from other detrital sources, most likely dust. The export of organic matter from ice caps as their snow cover is transformed into meltwater runoff is therefore derived from both autochthonous and allochthonous sources, but with limited viable bacteria.
China's urban green growth from 2000 to 2020 is influenced by legacy effects
Authors: Zhang Hai-Li , Xiu Hao , Sun Qinghui , Nizamani Mir Muhammad , Zhou Qing , Long Kaijun , Quan Yunfan , Fu Tingting
Published: September 2023

With rapid urbanization, urban green spaces (UGS) are critical to maintaining urban ecosystems and the health and well-being of residents. Improving UGS is included in UN Sustainable Development Goal 11.7 (SDG 11.7), which aims to achieve universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces by 2030, especially for women and children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. However, the growth rate of urban green space (GRUGS) is affected by factors such as urban built-up (UBA) area expansion, population growth, and air pollution. Therefore, in this study, 291 cities in China are divided into 15 urban agglomerations (UA), and the factors affecting the growth rate of urban green spaces (GRUGS) in China over 20 years are explored using 2000 to 2020 Chinese Urban built-up area, population, and PM2.5 data. The results show that (1) the fastest growing area of green space in urban clusters in China is Greater Bay Area (2) Urban built-up area (UBA) is found to be the main factor influencing the GRUGS in urban agglomerations in China, i.e., the heritage effect is the main reason for the growth of urban green space in China. This study is of great significance and reference value for improving the green development of Chinese urban agglomerations by analyzing the factors that have influenced the growth of GRUGS in Chinese urban agglomerations over the past 20 years.
Diversity of waterbirds and their spatial and temporal distribution in different habitat types of Bohai Sea coastal wetlands (Shandong section)
Authors: He Miaomiao , Su Xiaoqi , Xin Huifeng , Wang Mao , Zhao Qian , Zhang Yuexia , Lyu Yan
Published: September 2023

Context
The coastal wetlands of the Bohai Sea are an important stopover site for migratory birds along the East Asia-Australasian flyway. Changes in land use and landscape structure of the coastal zone affect waterbird diversity and ecological conservation.
Objectives
We studied the community diversity and functional diversity of waterbirds in different habitats and seasons along the entire Shandong section of the Bohai Sea, explored the relationship between waterbird abundance and habitat area, and determined the relationship between bird functional eigenvalues and habitat types.
Methods
From June 2019 to April 2020, the Shandong section of the Bohai Sea was divided into 10 km × 10 km grids; a total of 87 grids were investigated, and four field surveys of waterbird communities were conducted using line transects and sampling points. We calculated the community and functional diversity of waterbirds in different habitats and seasons and analyzed the relationships of waterbird abundances with habitat area, functional traits, and habitat types using canonical correspondence analysis.
Results
The community diversity and functional diversity of waterbirds were highest in marsh wetlands, and waterbird richness and abundance were higher in natural wetlands than in artificial wetlands. There were significant differences in the diversity index of waterbirds among habitats and seasons. Habitat area was an extrinsic driver of the spatial distribution of different waterbird guilds, and foraging habits and feeding preferences were key intrinsic drivers.
Conclusions
Protecting waterbirds in this region requires prioritizing the protection of natural wetlands, reducing their exploitation, decreasing habitat fragmentation, and enhancing habitat connectivity.
A Search Cost Reduction in Particle Swarm Optimizers Using a Blindness Factor
Authors: Santos Reginaldo
Published: September 2023

Many algorithmic procedures are available in the literature able to face optimization problems. Competent deterministic approaches deal efficiently with convex objective functions where the practitioner bounds the search spaces. However, the objective functions of real-world optimization problems are seldom convex. They can be multi-modal, non-convex, non-separable, non-symmetric, and several fitness surfaces have many local optima far from the global optimum (deceptive problems), making them even more challenging to find acceptable solutions with fewer objective function calls throughout the search process. With this in mind, this study aims to propose a new feature for non-deterministic approaches, such as the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, that can reduce the number of objective function calls and still find at least a suitable solution in the context of the problem. This paper introduces the \textit{blindness factor}, an integer parameter that allows a particle to consecutively move through the search space knowing nothing about its quality, i.e., this factor controls the total number of function queries a particle can do and when the function is consulted. Computational experiments showed the effectiveness of the blindness factor in the PSO algorithm on different benchmark optimization problems.