bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of HCG Level with Ultrasound Visualization of the Gestational Sac in Early Viable Pregnancies
Authors: Park Kristen E. , Latack Kyle R. , Vestal Nicole L. , Ingles Sue A. , Paulson Richard J. , Awadalla Michael S.
Published: August 2023

Our primary objective is to verify or refute a 2013 study by Connolly et al. which showed that in early pregnancy, a gestational sac was visualized 99% of the time on transvaginal ultrasound when the HCG level reached 3510 mIU/mL. Our secondary objective was to make clinical correlations by assessing the relationship between human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) level in early pregnancy when a gestational sac is not seen and pregnancy outcomes of live birth, spontaneous abortion, and ectopic pregnancy. This retrospective study includes 144 pregnancies with an outcome of live birth, 87 pregnancies with an outcome of spontaneous abortion, and 59 ectopic pregnancies. Logistic regression is used to determine the probability of visualizing a gestational sac and/or yolk sac based on the HCG level. A gestational sac is predicted to be visualized 50% of the time at an HCG level of 979 mIU/mL, 90% at 2421 mIU/mL, and 99% of the time at 3994 mIU/mL. A yolk sac was predicted to be visualized 50% of the time at an HCG level of 4626 mIU/mL, 90% at 12,892 mIU/mL, and 99% at 39,454 mIU/mL. A total of 90% of ectopic pregnancies presented with an HCG level below 3994 mIU/mL. These results are in agreement with the study by Connolly et al. Since most early ectopic pregnancies had an HCG value below the discriminatory level for gestational sac visualization, other methods for the evaluation of pregnancy of unknown location such as repeat HCG values are clinically important.
India and ‘European’ evolutionary political economy
Authors: Srinivas Smita
Published: August 2023

Evolutionary political economy (EPE) deals with populations and economic change over time but has not been systematised beyond European industrial history. The world’s largest democracy India, despite challenges from COVID-19, is now the fastest growing and 5th largest economy in the world, transitioning into a distinct period of industrial deepening, with export expansion in engineering products and services, huge outlays on airports, highways and rail systems, new domestic defence initiatives to boost indigenous R&D, yet retains a global diplomatic stance as a responsible nation–state from vaccine sharing to Asian security. This commentary explores the Indian case to argue that EPE’s combinatorial approach to technological capabilities and industrial development can be considerably strengthened from the study of non-European cases.
Survey on Explainable AI: From Approaches, Limitations and Applications Aspects
Authors: Yang Wenli , Wei Yuchen , Wei Hanyu , Chen Yanyu , Huang Guan , Li Xiang , Li Renjie , Yao Naimeng , Wang Xinyi , Gu Xiaotong , Amin Muhammad Bilal , Kang Byeong
Published: August 2023

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been used in most if not all domains and has greatly benefited our lives. While AI can accurately extract critical features and valuable information from large amounts of data to help people complete tasks faster, there are growing concerns about the non-transparency of AI in the decision-making process. The emergence of explainable AI (XAI) has allowed humans to better understand and control AI systems, which is motivated to provide transparent explanations for the decisions made by AI. This article aims to present a comprehensive overview of recent research on XAI approaches from three well-defined taxonomies. We offer an in-depth analysis and summary of the status and prospects of XAI applications in several key areas where reliable explanations are urgently needed to avoid mistakes in decision-making. We conclude by discussing XAI’s limitations and future research directions.
Pocket Guide to Oncologic Emergencies
Authors: Wattana Monica Kathleen
Published: August 2023

This essential book is a comprehensive yet practical handbook on oncologic emergencies containing the important and current information on treating cancer patients in acute care settings such as emergency and urgent care departments and centers. A concise and evidence-based guide, it is the go-to resource for any acute care medical practitioner treating cancer patients, demystifying the processes of evaluating, diagnosing, and managing emergencies that often arise in the cancer patient population. The first part of the book offers an overview of cancer, anti-cancer treatment and pain and palliative care in the emergency department. It then moves on to provide a systems-based approach covering neurologic, cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, respiratory, lymphatic system, and integumentary cancer complications. The book also discusses the side effects of cancer treatments such as pain, delirium, dyspnea, and immunotherapy related adverse events, and importantly helps to bridge the gap between oncologic advancements for emergency medicine specialists.
Computing the Climate
Authors: Easterbrook Steve M.
Published: August 2023

How do we know that climate change is an emergency? How did the scientific community reach this conclusion all but unanimously, and what tools did they use to do it? This book tells the story of climate models, tracing their history from nineteenth-century calculations on the effects of greenhouse gases, to modern Earth system models that integrate the atmosphere, the oceans, and the land using the full resources of today's most powerful supercomputers. Drawing on the author's extensive visits to the world's top climate research labs, this accessible, non-technical book shows how computer models help to build a more complete picture of Earth's climate system. 'Computing the Climate' is ideal for anyone who has wondered where the projections of future climate change come from – and why we should believe them.
The impact of long memory in mortality differentials on index-based longevity hedges
Authors: Zhou Kenneth Q. , Li Johnny Siu-Hang
Published: August 2023

In multi-population mortality modeling, autoregressive moving average (ARMA) processes are typically used to model the evolution of mortality differentials between different populations over time. While such processes capture only short-term serial dependence, it is found in our empirical work that mortality differentials often exhibit statistically significant long-term serial dependence, suggesting the necessity for using long memory processes instead. In this paper, we model mortality differentials between different populations with long memory processes, while preserving coherence in the resulting mortality forecasts. Our results indicate that if the dynamics of mortality differentials are modeled by long memory processes, mean reversion would be much slower, and forecast uncertainty over the long run would be higher. These results imply that the true level of population basis risk in index-based longevity hedges may be larger than what we would expect when ARMA processes are assumed. We also study how index-based longevity hedges should be calibrated if mortality differentials follow long memory processes. It is found that delta hedges are more robust than variance-minimizing hedges, in the sense that the former remains effective even if the true processes for mortality differentials are long memory ones.
Matched or moved? Asymmetry in high- and low-level visual processing of motion events
Authors: Fu Xingyi , Vanek Norbert , Roberts Leah
Published: August 2023

Consensus on the extent to which cross-linguistic differences affect event cognition is currently absent. This is partly because cognitive influences of language have rarely been examined within speakers of different languages in tasks that manipulate the level of visual processing. This study presents a novel combination of a high-level approach upregulating the involvement of language, namely self-paced sentence-video verification, and a low-level visual detection method without language use, namely breaking continuous flash suppression (b-CFS) (Yang et al., 2014). The results point to cross-linguistic effects on event cognition by revealing variations in visual processing patterns of manner and path by English versus Mandarin Chinese speakers. Language specificity was found on both levels of processing. An asymmetry in response speed across tasks highlights an important difference between facilitation of detecting contrasts when recruitment of verbal labels is automatic, versus facilitation of verifying correspondences when labels are overt.
Federalization, Land-for-Peace or a War Once More: Secession Conflicts in Post-Soviet Countries
Authors: Matsuzato Kimitaka
Published: August 2023

This essay conceptualizes five recipes to solve secession conflicts that have taken place in postcommunist territories—federalization, land-for-peace, protectorate policy, reconquest, and the destruction of the parent state by the patron state—and investigates their merits and demerits. This essay provides case studies of the South Ossetian War in 2008 and its aftermath (as an example of the protectorate policy), the Second Karabakh War in 2020 (reconquest), and the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022 (destruction of the parent state by the patron state). We observe the tendency that the ineffectiveness of federalization and land-for-peace induces parties of conflict to move on to unilateral or even coercive recipes.
Encountering Others’ Empathy Toward Oneself in Marlene van Niekerk’sAgaat
Authors: Lal Saumya
Published: August 2023

This article examines how Milla, the Afrikaner protagonist of Marlene van Niekerk’s post-apartheid novelAgaat, engages with others’ empathy toward herself. Theorizing empathy as a multivalent engagement with others’ experiences, I argue that Milla attempts to variously invite, avoid, and manipulate others’ empathy as she negotiates the anxiety of being misunderstood, the sense of vulnerability in being understood, and the dependence of her self-image on others’ opinions. Illustrating the fraught experience of encountering empathy toward oneself—a neglected topic in studies of empathy—the novel shows that empathy is neither always welcomed nor received passively by potential empathizees. Further, I suggest, the contrast between Milla’s approaches to empathy as empathizer and empathizee ironizes her struggles by indicating her proclivity for controlling empathic interactions. Demonstrating how power relations inform empathy,Agaatcomplicates the popular notion of empathy as a straightforward gateway to reconciliation by highlighting its characters’ ambivalences about receiving empathy.
Supplementation with (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid appears as effective as folic acid in maintaining maternal folate status while reducing unmetabolised folic acid in maternal plasma: a randomised trial of pregnant women in Canada
Authors: Cochrane Kelsey M. , Elango Rajavel , Devlin Angela M. , Mayer Chantal , Hutcheon Jennifer A. , Karakochuk Crystal D.
Published: August 2023

Folic acid supplementation is recommended during pregnancy to support healthy fetal development; (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid ((6S)-5-MTHF) is available in some commercial prenatal vitamins as an alternative to folic acid, but its effect on blood folate status during pregnancy is unknown. To address this, we randomised sixty pregnant individuals at 8–21 weeks’ gestation to 0·6 mg/d folic acid or (6S)-5-MTHF × 16 weeks. Fasting blood specimens were collected at baseline and after 16 weeks (endline). Erythrocyte and serum folate were quantified via microbiological assay (as globally recommended) and plasma unmetabolised folic acid (UMFA) via LC-MS/MS. Differences in biochemical folate markers between groups were explored using multivariable linear/quantile regression, adjusting for baseline concentrations, dietary folate intake and gestational weeks. At endline (n 54), the mean values and standard deviations (or median, inter-quartile range) of erythrocyte folate, serum folate and plasma UMFA (nmol/l) in those supplemented with (6S)-5-MTHF v. folic acid, respectively, were 1826 (sd 471) and 1998 (sd 421); 70 (sd 13) and 78 (sd 17); 0·5 (0·4, 0·8) and 1·3 (0·9, 2·1). In regression analyses, erythrocyte and serum folate did not differ by treatment group; however, concentrations of plasma UMFA in pregnancy were 0·6 nmol/l higher (95 % CI 0·2, 1·1) in those supplementing with folic acid as compared with (6S)-5-MTHF. In conclusion, supplementation with (6S)-5-MTHF may reduce plasma UMFA by ∼50 % as compared with supplementation with folic acid, the biological relevance of which is unclear. As folate is currently available for purchase in both forms, the impact of circulating maternal UMFA on perinatal outcomes needs to be determined.
Comparison of test performance of two commonly used multiplex assays to measure micronutrient and inflammatory markers in serum: results from a survey among pregnant women in South Africa
Authors: Chimhashu Tsitsi Letwin , Verhoef Hans , Symington Elizabeth A. , Zandberg Lizelle , Baumgartner Jeannine , Malan Linda , Smuts Cornelius Marius , Feskens Edith J. M. , Melse-Boonstra Alida
Published: August 2023

The combined sandwich-ELISA (s-ELISA; VitMin Lab, Germany) and the Quansys Q-Plex™ Human Micronutrient Array (7-Plex) are multiplex serum assays that are used to assess population micronutrient status in low-income countries. We aimed to compare the agreement of five analytes, α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) as measured by the 7-Plex and the s-ELISA. Serum samples were collected between March 2016 and December 2017. Pregnant women (n 249) were recruited at primary healthcare clinics in Johannesburg, and serum samples were collected between March 2016 and December 2017. Agreement between continuous measurements was assessed by Bland–Altman plots and concordance measures. Agreement in classifications of deficiency or inflammation was assessed by Cohen’s kappa. Strong correlations (r > 0·80) were observed between the 7-Plex and s-ELISA for CRP and ferritin. Except for CRP, the 7-Plex assay gave consistently higher measurements than the s-ELISA. With the exception of CRP (Lin’s ρ = 0·92), there was poor agreement between the two assays, with Lin’s ρ < 0·90. Discrepancies of test results difference between methods increased as the serum concentrations rose. Cohen’s kappa for all the five analytes was < 0·81 and ranged from slight agreement (vitamin A deficiency) to substantial (inflammation and Fe deficiency) agreement. The 7-Plex 1.0 is a research and or surveillance tool with potential for use in low-resource laboratories but cannot be used interchangeably with the s-ELISA. Further optimising and validation is required to establish its interchangeability with other validated methods.
Political party ideology in Zambia: comparing the PF and the UPND on social welfare policies
Authors: Hallink Courtney , Siachiwena Hangala
Published: August 2023

This paper challenges existing analyses of party cleavages in Sub-Saharan Africa which over-emphasise the centrality of ethnicity. Parties express ideological positions that reflect the socio-economic interests of specific regions, which, especially in Zambia, coincide with particular ethnic groups. We demonstrate this through an examination of party manifestos, policy documents and semi-structured interviews with members of two political parties in Zambia – the Patriotic Front and the United Party for National Development. These parties express clear normative ideas about social welfare, especially the role of the state in providing social assistance to the poorest. These ideological positions reflect the socio-economic interests of the ethnic groups and regions where support for each party is dominant. These are shaped by the ways in which these regions were historically incorporated into the colonial economy. In order to gain a better understanding of African politics, ethnicity must be conceptualised as a socio-cultural construct and situated historically.
Status of the snow leopardPanthera unciain the Qilian Mountains, Gansu Province, China
Authors: Zhang Changzhi , Ma Teng , Ma Duifang
Published: August 2023

Population density estimation is integral to the effective conservation and management of wildlife. The snow leopardPanthera unciais categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and reliable information on its density is a prerequisite for its conservation and management. Little is known about the status of the snow leopard in the central and eastern Qilian Mountains, China. To address this, we estimated the population density of the snow leopard using a spatially explicit capture–recapture model based on camera trapping in Machang in the central and eastern Qilian Mountains during January–March 2019. We set up 40 camera traps and recorded 84 separate snow leopard captures over 3,024 trap-days. We identified 18 individual snow leopards and estimated their density to be 2.26/100 km2. Our study provides baseline information on the snow leopard and the first population estimate for the species in the central and eastern Qilian Mountains.
Crystal structure of danofloxacin mesylate (C19H21FN3O3)(CH3O3S)
Authors: Ens Tawnee M. , Kaduk James A. , Dosen Anja , Blanton Thomas N.
Published: August 2023

The crystal structure of danofloxacin mesylate has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional theory techniques. Danofloxacin mesylate crystallizes in space groupP1(#1) witha= 6.77474(8),b= 12.4973(4),c= 12.82826(28) Å,α= 84.8709(29),β= 87.7501(10),γ= 74.9916(4)°,V= 1044.723(11) Å3, andZ= 2. The protonation of the danofloxacin cations was established by the analysis of potential intermolecular interactions and differs from that expected from isolated-cation calculations. The crystal structure consists of alternating layers of cations and anions parallel to theac-plane. There is parallel stacking of the oxoquinoline rings along thea-axis. The expected N–H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the cations and anions are not present. Each cation makes an N–H⋯O hydrogen bond with the other cation, resulting in zig-zag chains along thea-axis. Both cations have strong intramolecular O–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. There are several C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the danofloxacin cations and mesylate anions. The powder pattern has been submitted to ICDD® for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).
Disaster Preparedness and Hospital Safety in State Hospitals in Lima (Peru)
Authors: Obando Zegarra Roxana , Arévalo-Ipanaqué Janet Mercedes , Aliaga Sánchez Ruth América , Cernuda Martínez José Antonio , Delgado Echevarría Juan Carlos , Arcos González Pedro
Published: August 2023

Introduction:

Peru’s health infrastructures, particularly hospitals, are exposed to disaster threats of different natures. Traditionally, earthquakes have been the main disaster in terms of physical and structural vulnerability, but the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has also shown their functional vulnerability. Public hospitals in Lima are very different in terms of year constructed, type of construction, and number of floors, making them highly vulnerable to earthquakes. In addition, they are subject to a high demand for care daily. Therefore, if a major earthquake were to occur in Lima, the hospitals would not have the capacity to respond to the high demand.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to analyze the Hospital Safety Index (HSI) in hospitals in Lima (Peru).

Materials and Methods:

This was a cross-sectional observational study of 18 state-run hospitals that met the inclusion criteria; open access data were collected for the indicators proposed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Version 1. Associations between variables were calculated using the chi-square test, considering a confidence level of 95%. A P value less than .05 was considered to determine statistical significance.

Results:

The average bed occupancy rate was 90%, the average age was 70 years, on average had one bed per 25,126 inhabitants, and HSI average score was 0.36 with a vulnerability of 0.63. No association was found between HSI and hospital characteristics.

Conclusion:

Most of the hospitals were considered Category C in earthquake and disaster safety, and only one hospital was Category A. The hospital situation needs to be clarified, and the specific deficiencies of each institution need to be identified and addressed according to their own characteristics and context.
Brexit as an Identity: Political Identities and Policy Norms
Authors: Tilley James , Hobolt Sara B.
Published: August 2023

The decision by a narrow majority of British voters to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016 was a political earthquake that few had seen coming. It produced new political divisions, not only between the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe but also within the United Kingdom. In particular, the referendum campaign and the outcome generated two new political identities: “Leavers” and “Remainers.” These Brexit identities crosscut partisan identities and voters formed deep emotional attachments to them (Curtice 2018; Evans and Schaffner 2019). Moreover, this Brexit divide led to affective polarization in the form of out-group animosity and discrimination (Hobolt, Leeper, and Tilley 2021). It also shaped perceptions of the economy (Sorace and Hobolt 2021), attitudes toward immigration (Pickup et al. 2021), vote choices (Hobolt and Rodon 2020), and losers’ consent (Schaffner 2021; Tilley and Hobolt 2023a). Brexit identities have been shown to be salient and politically consequential. Yet, we know much less about whether these new identities are rooted in policy norms that go beyond preferences about the desirability of leaving the EU. In this article, we thus explore the nature of Brexit identities and how they relate to policy norms.
Emojis as anchors to detect Arabic offensive language and hate speech
Authors: Mubarak Hamdy , Hassan Sabit , Chowdhury Shammur Absar
Published: August 2023

We introduce a generic, language-independent method to collect a large percentage of offensive and hate tweets regardless of their topics or genres. We harness the extralinguistic information embedded in the emojis to collect a large number of offensive tweets. We apply the proposed method on Arabic tweets and compare it with English tweets—analyzing key cultural differences. We observed a constant usage of these emojis to represent offensiveness throughout different timespans on Twitter. We manually annotate and publicly release the largest Arabic dataset for offensive, fine-grained hate speech, vulgar, and violence content. Furthermore, we benchmark the dataset for detecting offensiveness and hate speech using different transformer architectures and perform in-depth linguistic analysis. We evaluate our models on external datasets—a Twitter dataset collected using a completely different method, and a multi-platform dataset containing comments from Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, for assessing generalization capability. Competitive results on these datasets suggest that the data collected using our method capture universal characteristics of offensive language. Our findings also highlight the common words used in offensive communications, common targets for hate speech, specific patterns in violence tweets, and pinpoint common classification errors that can be attributed to limitations of NLP models. We observe that even state-of-the-art transformer models may fail to take into account culture, background, and context or understand nuances present in real-world data such as sarcasm.
Disgusting, obscene and aggravating language: speech descriptors and the sociopragmatic evaluation of speech in theOld Bailey Corpus
Authors: GRUND PETER J.
Published: August 2023

This article deals with the mechanisms that language users employ in historical periods to represent spoken language in writing. I focus on a set of features known asspeech descriptors, which allow users to combine representation and evaluation of thespeech(and, possibly, of thespeaker), such asmost disgustingin ‘he used most disgusting language’. The study shows that such speech descriptors in combination with the lemmalanguageare used for a number of sociopragmatic purposes in theOld Bailey Corpuswhich includes legal materials, especially testimony, from 1720 to 1913. The descriptors can be used to avoid having to repeat a more specific, and possibly offensive and socially or morally inappropriate utterance; they can be used to put the spotlight on the evaluation and impact of the wording rather than the original speech itself; and they can help users mitigate, deflect, or disprove an accusation or guilt. Overall, the article demonstrates that studying the speech of the past must necessarily involve investigating the complex choices made by language users in terms of what to represent, what means to use to represent the speech, and how they evaluate the speech (and speaker).
BURSTING SOLUTIONS OF THE RÖSSLER EQUATIONS
Authors: FOWLER A. C. , MCGUINNESS M. J.
Published: August 2023

We provide an analytic solution of the Rössler equations based on the asymptotic limit
$c\to \infty $
and we show in this limit that the solution takes the form of multiple pulses, similar to “burst” firing of neurons. We are able to derive an approximate Poincaré map for the solutions, which compares reasonably with a numerically derived map.
“The Magic of Numbers is Strong”:Hobson v Hansenand Contested Social Science in Judicial Decision Making
Authors: McNamara Keith
Published: August 2023

Hobson v. Hansen(1967) is best known as the first federal court case to rule against discriminatory use of standardized tests in the context of educational tracking. It was also significant as one of the first desegregation cases afterBrown v Board of Education(1954) to use psychological evidence in its ruling. This essay briefly examines the debates over ability testing beforeHobson,the contexts of post-desegregation D.C. educational politics that shaped the case, the social scientific evidence presented in the case, and its application to the court’s ruling. It argues that while scholars have correctly acknowledged the court’s mistaken assumptions about testing, the evidence presented of testing bias nevertheless cogently illustrated a broader constellation of discriminatory District practices. A review of the testimony suggests that while the psychological evidence was central to the court’s ruling, the opinion rested less on the resolution of social scientific debates over testing bias than it did on the need to determine the justification of ability testing in the context of District tracking practices. Although sweeping in scope, the decision did little to resolve long running disputes over ability testing. Instead, it only helped inaugurate a more heated and contentious legal environment for educational testing in the coming decades.
Climate Education That Builds Hope and Agency, Not Fear
Authors: Corbin Jeffrey , Duffy Meghan , Gill Jacquelyn , Ziter Carly
Published: August 2023

Reframing climate change education around a message of “hopeful alarm” not only will underscore the threats we face but will also show students how they can act to shape the future.
Misinterpreted Seismic Evidence for Localized Rapid Changes of the Inner Core Boundary Surface
Authors: Yang Yi , Song Xiaodong
Published: August 2023

The nature of the inner core (IC) temporal changes is of great importance in understanding the deep earth dynamics. The comment by Tian and Wen (2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103173) on our previous paper (Yang & Song, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl098393) provided a new observation as evidence against the IC rotation and proposed that our observations are instead from localized rapid changes at the IC surface. Here we argue the opposite to its conclusions. The comment misinterpreted our logic and many of our observations and arguments. Its one new waveform does not contradict with the “rotation” model. The original evidence for the “surface” model is demonstrated to be an artifact from station clock errors and instrument changes. Additionally, the surface model lacks a solid physical and quantitative basis to explain existing seismic evidence. We conclude that the rotation model is currently the best interpretation and the surface model is not a viable alternative.
Estimation of the Error in the Calculation of the Pressure‐Strain Term: Application in the Terrestrial Magnetosphere
Authors: Roberts O. W. , Vörös Z. , Torkar K. , Stawarz J. , Bandyopadhyay R. , Gershman D. J. , Narita Y. , Kieokaew R. , Lavraud B. , Klein K. , Yang Y. , Nakamura R. , Chasapis A. , Matthaeus W. H.
Published: August 2023

Calculating the pressure‐strain terms has recently been performed to quantify energy conversion between the bulk flow energy and the internal energy of plasmas. It has been applied to numerical simulations and satellite data from the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission. The method requires spatial gradients of the velocity and the use of the full pressure tensor. Here we present a derivation of the errors associated with calculating the pressure‐strain terms from multi‐spacecraft measurements and apply it to previously studied examples of magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause and the magnetotail. The errors are small in a dense magnetosheath event but much larger in the more tenuous magnetotail. This is likely due to larger counting statistics in the dense plasma at the magnetopause than in the magnetotail. The propagated errors analyzed in this work are important to understand uncertainties of energy conversion measurements in space plasmas and have applications to current and future multi‐spacecraft missions.
Spatial and Seasonal Variations in Dissolved Methane Across a Large Lake
Authors: Peacock Mike , Davidson Scott J. , Kothawala Dolly N. , Segersten Joel , Futter Martyn N.
Published: August 2023

Lakes process large volumes of organic carbon (OC), are important sources of methane (CH4), and contribute to climatic warming. However, there is a lack of data from large lakes >500 km2, which creates uncertainty in global budgets. In this data article, we present dissolved CH4, OC bioreactivity measurements, water chemistry, and algal biovolumes at 11 stations across Lake Mälaren, the third largest (1,074 km2) Swedish lake. Total phosphorus concentrations show that during the study period the lake was classed as mesotrophic/eutrophic. Overall mean CH4 concentration from all stations, sampled five times to cover seasonal variation, was 2.51 μg l−1 (0.98–5.39 μg l−1). There was no significant seasonal variation although ranges were greatest during summer. Concentrations of CH4 were greatest in shallow waters close to anthropogenic nutrient sources, whilst deeper, central basins had lower concentrations. Methane correlated positively with measures of lake productivity (chlorophyll a, total phosphorus), and negatively to water depth and oxygen concentration, with oxygen emerging as the sole significant driver in a linear mixed effects model. We collated data from other lakes >500 km2 (n = 21) and found a significant negative relationship between surface area and average CH4 concentration. Large lakes remain an understudied contributor to the global CH4 cycle and future research efforts should aim to quantify the spatial and temporal variation in their diffusive and ebullitive emissions, and associated drivers.
miR-30e-5p-mediated FOXD1 promotes cell proliferation by blocking cellular senescence and apoptosis through p21/CDK2/Rb signaling in head and neck carcinoma
Authors: Wu Tong , Yang Zhongyuan , Chen Weichao , Jiang Mingjie , Xiao Zhichao , Su Xuan , Jiao Zan , Yu Yongchao , Chen Shuwei , Song Ming , Yang Ankui
Published: August 2023

Forkhead box D1 (FOXD1) belongs to the FOX protein family, which has been found to function as a oncogene in multiple cancer types, but its role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) requires further investigation. Our research aimed to investigate the function of FOXD1 in HNSCC. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that mRNA level of FOXD1 was highly expressed in HNSCC tissues, and over-expressed FOXD1 was related to poor prognosis. Moreover, FOXD1 knockdown increased the ratio of senescent cells but decreased the proliferation ability, while FOXD1 overexpression obtained the opposite results. In vitro experiments revealed that FOXD1 bound to the p21 promoter and inhibited its transcription, which blocked the cyclin dependent kinase 2 (CDK2)/retinoblastoma (Rb) signaling pathway, thus preventing senescence and accelerating proliferation of tumor cells. CDK2 inhibitor could reverse the process to some extent. Further research has shown that miR-3oe-5p serves as a tumor suppressant by repressing the translation of FOXD1 through combining with the 3’-untranslated region (UTR). Thus, FOXD1 resists cellular senescence and facilitates HNSCC cell proliferation by affecting the expression of p21/CDK2/Rb signaling, suggesting that FOXD1 may be a potential curative target for HNSCC.
How does diabetes mellitus impact on the prognosis of dental implants?
Authors: Baniulyte Gabriele , Ali Kamran
Published: August 2023

Data sources

Web of Science, Embase, PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were searched for publications up to August 2021.

Study selection

The study noted clear inclusion and exclusion criteria. Search terms were provided; only observational studies were considered.

Data extraction and synthesis

A total of 122 studies were identified through the search strategy. Following deduplication, two reviewers conducted the screening.

Results

A total of 21 observational studies were included, involving cohort, case–control, and cross-sectional study designs. A meta-analysis identified increased risk of peri-implantitis in patients with diabetes mellitus and in smokers when compared to non-diabetic subjects and non-smokers. No significant association was found between poor plaque control or periodontal history and peri-implantitis.

Conclusions

Patients with diabetes mellitus appear to have a higher risk of peri-implantitis.
Optical control of ultrafast structural dynamics in a fluorescent protein
Authors: Hutchison Christopher D. M. , Baxter James M. , Fitzpatrick Ann , Dorlhiac Gabriel , Fadini Alisia , Perrett Samuel , Maghlaoui Karim , Lefèvre Salomé Bodet , Cordon-Preciado Violeta , Ferreira Josie L. , Chukhutsina Volha U. , Garratt Douglas , Barnard Jonathan , Galinis Gediminas , Glencross Flo , Morgan Rhodri M. , Stockton Sian , Taylor Ben , Yuan Letong , Romei Matthew G. , Lin Chi-Yun , Marangos Jon P. , Schmidt Marius , Chatrchyan Viktoria , Buckup Tiago , Morozov Dmitry , Park Jaehyun , Park Sehan , Eom Intae , Kim Minseok , Jang Dogeun , Choi Hyeongi , Hyun HyoJung , Park Gisu , Nango Eriko , Tanaka Rie , Owada Shigeki , Tono Kensuke , DePonte Daniel P. , Carbajo Sergio , Seaberg Matt , Aquila Andrew , Boutet Sebastien , Barty Anton , Iwata So , Boxer Steven G. , Groenhof Gerrit , van Thor Jasper J.
Published: August 2023

The photoisomerization reaction of a fluorescent protein chromophore occurs on the ultrafast timescale. The structural dynamics that result from femtosecond optical excitation have contributions from vibrational and electronic processes and from reaction dynamics that involve the crossing through a conical intersection. The creation and progression of the ultrafast structural dynamics strongly depends on optical and molecular parameters. When using X-ray crystallography as a probe of ultrafast dynamics, the origin of the observed nuclear motions is not known. Now, high-resolution pump–probe X-ray crystallography reveals complex sub-ångström, ultrafast motions and hydrogen-bonding rearrangements in the active site of a fluorescent protein. However, we demonstrate that the measured motions are not part of the photoisomerization reaction but instead arise from impulsively driven coherent vibrational processes in the electronic ground state. A coherent-control experiment using a two-colour and two-pulse optical excitation strongly amplifies the X-ray crystallographic difference density, while it fully depletes the photoisomerization process. A coherent control mechanism was tested and confirmed the wave packets assignment.
Bacterial amylases enable glycogen degradation by the vaginal microbiome
Authors: Jenkins Dominick J. , Woolston Benjamin M. , Hood-Pishchany M. Indriati , Pelayo Paula , Konopaski Alyssa N. , Quinn Peters M. , France Michael T. , Ravel Jacques , Mitchell Caroline M. , Rakoff-Nahoum Seth , Whidbey Christopher , Balskus Emily P.
Published: August 2023

The human vaginal microbiota is frequently dominated by lactobacilli and transition to a more diverse community of anaerobic microbes is associated with health risks. Glycogen released by lysed epithelial cells is believed to be an important nutrient source in the vagina. However, the mechanism by which vaginal bacteria metabolize glycogen is unclear, with evidence implicating both bacterial and human enzymes. Here we biochemically characterize six glycogen-degrading enzymes (GDEs), all of which are pullanases (PulA homologues), from vaginal bacteria that support the growth of amylase-deficient Lactobacillus crispatus on glycogen. We reveal variations in their pH tolerance, substrate preferences, breakdown products and susceptibility to inhibition. Analysis of vaginal microbiome datasets shows that these enzymes are expressed in all community state types. Finally, we confirm the presence and activity of bacterial and human GDEs in cervicovaginal fluid. This work establishes that bacterial GDEs can participate in the breakdown of glycogen, providing insight into metabolism that may shape the vaginal microbiota.
Factors associated with healthy aging in Latin American populations
Authors: Santamaria-Garcia Hernando , Sainz-Ballesteros Agustín , Hernandez Hernán , Moguilner Sebastian , Maito Marcelo , Ochoa-Rosales Carolina , Corley Michael , Valcour Victor , Miranda J. Jaime , Lawlor Brian , Ibanez Agustin
Published: August 2023

Latin American populations may present patterns of sociodemographic, ethnic and cultural diversity that can defy current universal models of healthy aging. The potential combination of risk factors that influence aging across populations in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries is unknown. Compared to other regions where classical factors such as age and sex drive healthy aging, higher disparity-related factors and between-country variability could influence healthy aging in LAC countries. We investigated the combined impact of social determinants of health (SDH), lifestyle factors, cardiometabolic factors, mental health symptoms and demographics (age, sex) on healthy aging (cognition and functional ability) across LAC countries with different levels of socioeconomic development using cross-sectional and longitudinal machine learning models (n = 44,394 participants). Risk factors associated with social and health disparities, including SDH (β > 0.3), mental health (β > 0.6) and cardiometabolic risks (β > 0.22), significantly influenced healthy aging more than age and sex (with null or smaller effects: β < 0.2). These heterogeneous patterns were more pronounced in low-income to middle-income LAC countries compared to high-income LAC countries (cross-sectional comparisons), and in an upper-income to middle-income LAC country, Costa Rica, compared to China, a non-upper-income to middle-income LAC country (longitudinal comparisons). These inequity-associated and region-specific patterns inform national risk assessments of healthy aging in LAC countries and regionally tailored public health interventions.
Replication dynamics identifies the folding principles of the inactive X chromosome
Authors: Poonperm Rawin , Ichihara Saya , Miura Hisashi , Tanigawa Akie , Nagao Koji , Obuse Chikashi , Sado Takashi , Hiratani Ichiro
Published: August 2023

Chromosome-wide late replication is an enigmatic hallmark of the inactive X chromosome (Xi). How it is established and what it represents remains obscure. By single-cell DNA replication sequencing, here we show that the entire Xi is reorganized to replicate rapidly and uniformly in late S-phase during X-chromosome inactivation (XCI), reflecting its relatively uniform structure revealed by 4C-seq. Despite this uniformity, only a subset of the Xi became earlier replicating in SmcHD1-mutant cells. In the mutant, these domains protruded out of the Xi core, contacted each other and became transcriptionally reactivated. 4C-seq suggested that they constituted the outermost layer of the Xi even before XCI and were rich in escape genes. We propose that this default positioning forms the basis for their inherent heterochromatin instability in cells lacking the Xi-binding protein SmcHD1 or exhibiting XCI escape. These observations underscore the importance of 3D genome organization for heterochromatin stability and gene regulation.
Droplet-based single-cell joint profiling of histone modifications and transcriptomes
Authors: Xie Yang , Zhu Chenxu , Wang Zhaoning , Tastemel Melodi , Chang Lei , Li Yang Eric , Ren Bing
Published: August 2023

We previously reported Paired-Tag, a combinatorial indexing-based method that can simultaneously map histone modifications and gene expression at single-cell resolution at scale. However, the lengthy procedure of Paired-Tag has hindered its general adoption in the community. To address this bottleneck, we developed a droplet-based Paired-Tag protocol that is faster and more accessible than the previous method. Using cultured mammalian cells and primary brain tissues, we demonstrate its superior performance at identifying candidate cis-regulatory elements and associating their dynamic chromatin state to target gene expression in each constituent cell type in a complex tissue.
Profile observations of the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer with the BELUGA tethered balloon during MOSAiC
Authors: Pilz Christian , Lonardi Michael , Egerer Ulrike , Siebert Holger , Ehrlich André , Heymsfield Andrew J. , Schmitt Carl G. , Shupe Matthew D. , Wehner Birgit , Wendisch Manfred
Published: August 2023

During the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition, the Balloon-bornE moduLar Utility for profilinG the lower Atmosphere (BELUGA) was deployed from an ice floe drifting in the Fram Strait from 29 June to 27 July 2020. The BELUGA observations aimed to characterize the cloudy Arctic atmospheric boundary layer above the sea ice using a modular setup of five instrument packages. The in situ measurements included atmospheric thermodynamic and dynamic state parameters (air temperature, humidity, pressure, and three-dimensional wind), broadband solar and terrestrial irradiance, aerosol particle microphysical properties, and cloud particle images. In total, 66 profile observations were collected during 33 balloon flights from the surface to maximum altitudes of 0.3 to 1.5 km. The profiles feature a high vertical resolution of 0.01 m to 1 m, including measurements below, inside, and above frequently occurring low-level clouds. This publication describes the balloon operations, instruments, and the obtained data set. We invite the scientific community for joint analysis and model application of the freely available data on PANGAEA.
Metagenome sequencing and 103 microbial genomes from ballast water and sediments
Authors: Xue Zhaozhao , Han Yangchun , Tian Wen , Zhang Wei
Published: August 2023

The great threat of microbes carried by ballast water calls for figuring out the species composition of the ballast-tank microbial community, where the dark, cold, and anoxic tank environment might select special taxa. In this study, we reconstructed 103 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), including 102 bacteria and one archaea, from four vessels on international voyages. Of these MAGs, 60 were ‘near complete’ (completeness >90%), 34 were >80% complete, and nine were >75% complete. Phylogenomic analysis revealed that over 70% (n = 74) of these MAGs represented new taxa at different taxonomical levels, including one order, three families, 12 genera, and 58 species. The species composition of these MAGs was most consistent with the previous reports, with the most abundant phyla being Proteobacteria (n = 69), Bacteroidota (n = 17), and Actinobacteriota (n = 7). These draft genomes provided novel data on species diversity and function in the ballast-tank microbial community, which will facilitate ballast water and sediments management.
Investigation of the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-osteoarthritis, and wound healing activities of selected vegetable waste
Authors: Salem Mohamed A. , Mohamed Osama G. , Mosalam Esraa M. , Elberri Aya Ibrahim , Abdel-Bar Hend Mohamed , Hassan Mariam , Al-Karmalawy Ahmed A. , Tripathi Ashootosh , Ezzat Shahira M. , Abo Mansour Hend E.
Published: August 2023

Agri-food wastes, produced following industrial food processing, are mostly discarded, leading to environmental hazards and losing the nutritional and medicinal values associated with their bioactive constituents. In this study, we performed a comprehensive analytical and biological evaluation of selected vegetable by-products (potato, onion, and garlic peels). The phytochemical analysis included UHPLC-ESI-qTOF-MS/MS in combination with molecular networking and determination of the total flavonoid and phenolic contents. Further, the antimicrobial, anti-osteoarthritis and wound healing potentials were also evaluated. In total, 47 compounds were identified, belonging to phenolic acids, flavonoids, saponins, and alkaloids as representative chemical classes. Onion peel extract (OPE) showed the higher polyphenolic contents, the promising antioxidant activity, the potential anti-osteoarthritis activity, and promising antimicrobial activity, especially against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Furthermore, OPE revealed to have promising in vivo wound healing activity, restoring tissue physiology and integrity, mainly through the activation of AP-1 signaling pathway. Lastly, when OPE was loaded with nanocapsule based hydrogel, the nano-formulation revealed enhanced cellular viability. The affinities of the OPE major metabolites were evaluated against both p65 and ATF-2 targets using two different molecular docking processes revealing quercetin-3,4′-O-diglucoside, alliospiroside C, and alliospiroside D as the most promising entities with superior binding scores. These results demonstrate that vegetable by-products, particularly, those derived from onion peels can be incorporated as natural by-product for future evaluation against wounds and osteoarthritis.
A novel organic semiconductor 4-phenylthiazol-2-yl-(phenylhydrazono) acetonitrile (PTPA) thin films: synthesis, optical and electrical properties
Authors: Abuelwafa Amr Attia , Elnobi Sahar , Santos M. Amélia , Alsoghier Hesham M.
Published: August 2023

In this study, 4-phenylthiazol-2-yl-(phenylhydrazono) acetonitrile (PTPA) azo dye was synthesized and studied from optical and electrical point of view. The tautomerization phenomenon of the PTPA dye was clarified using one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR and 13C NMR), absorbance (UV-Vis), emission, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). X-ray diffraction (XRD) evaluations were indicated that PTPA in powder and thin films crystallizes in a monoclinic system structure with nonstructural characteristics. Spectrophotometric measurements of absorbance A (λ), transmittance T (λ) and reflectance R (λ) at normal incidence light in the wavelength range 200–2500 nm were used to determine the optical band gap, extinction coefficient, k and refractive index, n. Also, non-linear optical parameters such as the third order non-linear susceptibility, χ(3) and nonlinear refractive index, n(2) of PTPA have revealed an awe-inspiring switching behavior, implying the possibility of using PTPA in optical switching systems. Finally, the electrical conductivity of the PTPA was shown to increase with rising temperature, indicating that it is a typical organic semiconductor. Mott’s parameters were determined and discussed at low temperatures. Thus, PTPA is a promising organic semiconductor with broad utility potential in organic electronics such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).