bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Natural variation in root suberization is associated with local environment in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Feng Tao , Wu Pan , Gao Huani , Kosma Dylan K. , Jenks Matthew A. , Lü Shiyou
Published: June 2022

Genetic signature of climate adaptation has been widely recognized across the genome of many organisms; however, the eco‐physiological basis for linking genomic polymorphisms with local adaptations remains largely unexplored.

Using a panel of 218 world‐wide Arabidopsis accessions, we characterized the natural variation in root suberization by quantifying 16 suberin monomers. We explored the associations between suberization traits and 126 climate variables. We conducted genome‐wide association analysis and integrated previous genotype–environment association (GEA) to identify the genetic bases underlying suberization variation and their involvements in climate adaptation.

Root suberin content displays extensive variation across Arabidopsis populations and significantly correlates with local moisture gradients and soil characteristics. Specifically, enhanced suberization is associated with drier environments, higher soil cation‐exchange capacity, and lower soil pH; higher proportional levels of very‐long‐chain suberin is negatively correlated with moisture availability, lower soil gravel content, and higher soil silt fraction. We identified 94 putative causal loci and experimentally proved that GPAT6 is involved in C16 suberin biosynthesis. Highly significant associations between the putative genes and environmental variables were observed.

Roots appear highly responsive to environmental heterogeneity via regulation of suberization, especially the suberin composition. The patterns of suberization–environment correlation and the suberin‐related GEA fit the expectations of local adaptation for the polygenic suberization trait.
GmNAC181 promotes symbiotic nodulation and salt tolerance of nodulation by directly regulating GmNINa expression in soybean
Authors: Wang Xiaodi , Chen Kuan , Zhou Miaomiao , Gao Yongkang , Huang Huimei , Liu Chao , Fan Yuanyuan , Fan Zihui , Wang Youning , Li Xia
Published: June 2022

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important crops world‐wide. Under low nitrogen (N) condition, soybean can form a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia to acquire sufficient N for their growth and production.

Nodulation signaling controls soybean symbiosis with rhizobia. The soybean Nodule Inception (GmNINa) gene is a central regulator of soybean nodulation. However, the transcriptional regulation of GmNINa remains largely unknown. Nodulation is sensitive to salt stress, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear.

Here, we identified an NAC transcription factor designated GmNAC181 (also known as GmNAC11) as the interacting protein of GmNSP1a. GmNAC181 overexpression or knockdown in soybean resulted in increased or decreased numbers of nodules, respectively. Accordingly, the expression of GmNINa was greatly up‑ and downregulated, respectively. Furthermore, we showed that GmNAC181 can directly bind to the GmNINa promoter to activate its gene expression. Intriguingly, GmNAC181 was highly induced by salt stress during nodulation and promoted symbiotic nodulation under salt stress.

We identified a new transcriptional activator of GmNINa in the nodulation pathway and revealed a mechanism by which GmNAC181 acts as a network node orchestrating the expression of GmNINa and symbiotic nodulation under salt stress conditions.
Bias towards the future
Authors: Greene Preston , Latham Andrew J. , Miller Kristie , Norton James , Tarsney Christian , Tierney Hannah
Published: June 2022

All else being equal, most of us typically prefer to have positive experiences in the future rather than the past and negative experiences in the past rather than the future. Recent empirical evidence tends not only to support the idea that people have these preferences, but further, that people tend to prefer more painful experiences in their past rather than fewer in their future (and mutatis mutandis for pleasant experiences). Are such preferences rationally permissible, or are they, as time‐neutralists contend, rationally impermissible? And what is it that grounds their having the normative status that they do have? We consider two sorts of arguments regarding the normative status of future‐biased preferences. The first appeals to the supposed arbitrariness of these preferences, and the second appeals to their upshot. We evaluate these arguments in light of the recent empirical research on future‐bias.
Student safety in middle school: Implications for school nurse and teacher collaboration
Authors: Pestaner Mitzi C. , Tyndall Deborah E. , Powell Shannon B.
Published: June 2022

Objective

Adolescent suicide is a public health crisis. School connectedness, a protective factor, may be especially important in low‐income rural schools, with fewer resources and higher rates of suicide as compared to urban schools. The purpose of this study was to explore teacher perceptions of safety and school connectedness in a low‐income, rural middle school, and implications for collaborative practice between school nurses and teachers.

Design and Sample

A qualitative secondary data analysis was used. Data were taken from transcripts from four focus groups comprised of middle school teachers (n = 20).

Measurement

An inductive approach to content analysis was conducted using in vivo Coding and Venn diagrams.

Results

Three themes were identified: (1) defiant and aggressive student behaviors were safety concerns, as teachers perceived they may be obscuring mental health needs; (2) teachers were sometimes placed in a position to assist students with safety management strategies; and (3) managing safety concerns was an obstacle to building connectedness, as reflected in safety and school connectedness.

Conclusion

Collaborative strategies between school nurses and teachers are essential to identify student behaviors that may be masking mental health needs. Strategies have the potential to enhance school connectedness and support student safety.
Join, balk, or jettison? The effect of flexibility and ranking knowledge in systems with batch arrivals
Authors: Bountali Olga , Burnetas Apostolos , Örmeci Lerzan
Published: June 2022

Families that visit theme parks like Disneyland are debating on two aspects when they try to determine whether they prefer to join an activity of interest or would rather balk: (1) Is it better to join or balk as a group or allow the flexibility to get separated and jettison some members? and (2) Will it make any difference if they set a ranking among themselves beforehand as to who will be served first, second, etc.? We tackle the effect of flexibility and ranking knowledge and answer the above questions considering a single server Markovian queue with a generic batch size distribution. We consider two levels of flexibility: an inflexible setting, under which a family makes a common decision, and a flexible setting, under which each member makes her own decision. We pair each level with two sublevels with respect to the ranking knowledge: the case where the members set their ranking beforehand, and the case where they do not and assume they will be served according to a random order. We provide a full analytical characterization of the equilibrium and socially optimal strategies, and a comprehensive analysis of the intricate interplay among flexibility, ranking knowledge, and batch size variability, notions that do not exist in single‐ins arrival systems. We offer insights as to under which circumstances entity jettison is preferable. We investigate the corresponding implications of the above on system throughput and social welfare and determine which setting is preferable for the customers and which for the society, depending on the objective and the system dynamics. Further, we highlight key differences between single versus batch‐arrival models and provide high‐level guidelines for managers and policymakers as to how they can influence customer decisions so that they move toward the preferable setting (e.g., by revealing/concealing the ranking, encouraging flexibility, pricing, etc.).
Effects of selective attention on the C1 ERP component: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Qin Nan , Wiens Stefan , Rauss Karsten , Pourtois Gilles
Published: June 2022

The C1 event‐related potential (ERP) captures the earliest stage of feedforward processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). An ongoing debate is whether top‐down selective attention can modulate the C1. One side of the debate pointed out that null findings appear to outnumber positive findings; thus, selective attention does not seem to influence the C1. However, this suggestion is not based on a valid approach to summarizing evidence across studies. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis investigating the effects of selective attention on the C1, involving 47 experiments and 794 subjects in total. Despite heterogeneity across studies, results suggested that attention has a moderate effect on the C1 (Cohen's  = 0.33, p < .0001); that is, C1 amplitude is larger for visual stimuli that are attended than unattended. These results suggest that C1 is affected by top‐down selective attention.
Hester Pulter's Psalmic Poems
Authors: Hatton Nikolina
Published: June 2022

This essay examines the use of psalm structures, rhetoric, and poetics in the devotional poetry of Hester Pulter, a mid‐seventeenth‐century Royalist manuscript poet. Scholarship has shown the adaptability of the voice of the psalms, how it is amendable to both an ‘I’ and a ‘we’ simultaneously. Pulter takes advantage of this flexibility: although these poems generally express the spiritual woes and longings of a lone speaker, Pulter's use of recognizable psalm patterns and motifs situates her poetry within a broader community that engages with the psalms through corporate worship. Pulter thus melds her own distinctive (Royalist) poetic voice with a psalm framework recognizable to any protestant reader, whatever their political orientation. Writing psalmic poems gives Pulter not only a means of expressing her private devotions in an acceptable religious form, but it also allows her to invoke an audience for her poems, an audience that may in turn blend their own voices with the voice of this lone Royalist woman.
Contraceptive Use in Urban Africa: Examining Trends in Rich–Poor Gaps
Authors: Ezeh Alex , Anyawie Maurice , Cleland John
Published: June 2022

Previous studies have documented significant differences in health and reproductive health outcomes between the poor and nonpoor across various countries in sub‐Saharan Africa. However, a number of these studies is dated, and the past decade has witnessed significant shifts in health and reproductive health outcomes in many African countries. Using recent data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, this paper updates and extends the literature by examining patterns in contraceptive practice among poor and nonpoor married women in urban settings in 19 African countries. First, we analyze changes in the rich–poor gaps in modern contraceptive prevalence (mCP) in urban Africa over time. We then determine the public source of the supply of modern contraceptives to the urban poor and how that supply may have changed over a 10‐year period. The findings show that, in most Eastern and Southern African countries, previous gaps in mCP between the rich and poor married women have disappeared. Countries in Central and Western Africa, however, continue to have significant gaps in mCP between rich and poor women, with urban poor women experiencing only a modest improvement in mCP over the past decade. This paper contributes to our understanding about sub‐regional dynamics in reproductive health outcomes in urban settings in sub‐Saharan Africa.
Identification of the novel HLA‐B*40:01:02:40 and HLA‐B*40:01:02:41 alleles in a Japanese individual
Authors: Khor Seik‐Soon , Omae Yosuke , Tokunaga Katsushi
Published: June 2022

HLA‐B*40:01:02:40 and ‐B*40:01:02:41 differ from B*40:01:02:04 by one and two nucleotides in the 3′UTR, respectively.
Using a scenario approach to assess for the current and future demand of immunoglobulins: An interview and literature study from The Netherlands
Authors: Langi Sasongko Praiseldy , van Kraaij Marian , So‐Osman Cynthia
Published: June 2022

Objectives

To explore the current and future demand of immunoglobulins globally and specifically for the Netherlands by assessing: (I) which specialties contribute to current demand, (II) new areas of medical need, (III) which transformational factors may impact demand and to what effect, by using a scenario approach.

Background

As immunoglobulin demand continues to increase globally, there is concern of increasing shortages and questions of whether and how future demand will continue based on medical need.

Methods/Materials

In line with scenario principles, a scoping review of Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane and grey literature was conducted. Semi‐structured interviews with subject matter experts were held. The results of the review and interviews were analysed for major themes.

Results

The scoping review resulted in 97 articles, 74 regarding clinical uses, and 23 regarding organisational and other themes. Fifteen clinical and non‐clinical experts were interviewed. I) Neurology, immunology, and haematology were specialties that contribute most to current demand. II) Regarding potential new areas of medical need, the literature review resulted in more indications than the interviews, for example, post‐renal transplants. III) Four groups of key transformational factors were found: factors that could increase immunoglobulin demand (e.g., EMA revisions), decrease demand (e.g., replacement products, Dutch Transfer Act 2021), factors that remain to be seen how it impacts demand (e.g., further evidence), and miscellaneous factors (e.g., supply‐related).

Conclusion

Having identified the specialties and relevant transformational factors that affect immunoglobulin demand, more research is needed on what clinical or organisational strategies would be effective in controlling demand in general for the Netherlands and abroad. Other blood establishments may also use a scenario approach to increase preparedness for future (un)expected developments.
U.S.‐South America trade and the J‐Curve: An asymmetric analysis
Authors: Bahmani‐Oskooee Mohsen , Arize Augustine C. , Kalu Ebere Ume
Published: June 2022

We estimate the bilateral trade balance model of the United States with each of its 12 largest trading partners from South America in order to test both the symmetric and asymmetric J‐curve effect. When a linear ARDL model was estimated, we found support for the symmetric J‐curve in the U.S. trade balance with Argentina, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. However, when a nonlinear ARDL model was estimated, asymmetric J‐curve hypothesis was supported in the U.S. trade balance with Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay. Thus, these countries can reduce their trade deficit with the United States by devaluation or depreciation.
Enterococcus faecalis Antagonizes Pseudomonas aeruginosa Growth in Mixed-Species Interactions
Authors: Tan Casandra Ai Zhu , Lam Ling Ning , Biukovic Goran , Soh Eliza Ye-Chen , Toh Xiao Wei , Lemos José A. , Kline Kimberly A.
Published: June 2022

Many infections are polymicrobial and biofilm-associated in nature. Iron is essential for many metabolic processes and plays an important role in controlling infections, where the host restricts iron as a defense mechanism against invading pathogens.
Draft Genome Sequence of
Streptomyces
sp. Strain PSAA01, Isolated from the Soil of Eastern Himalayan Foothills
Authors: Das Prasenjit , Sarkar Biraj , Ghati Amit , Mondal Rittick , Dam Paulami , Franco Octávio L. , Cardoso Marlon H. , Sharma Ashwani , Swarnakar Shambhu , Miere (Groza) Florina , Gangopadhyay Debnirmalya , Mandal Sukhendu , Kati Ahmet , Mandal Amit Kumar
Published: June 2022

Streptomyces
strains are powerhouses for a diverse range of secondary metabolites, including antibiotics, anticancer and immunosuppressive agents, and enzymes. Here, we report the genome sequence of
Streptomyces
sp. strain PSAA01, which was isolated from a soil sample taken in Manas National Park, Assam, India, in the eastern Himalayan foothills of India.
Supplemental Material: Latitudinal diversity gradient dynamics during Carboniferous to Triassic icehouse and greenhouse climates
Authors: Zhang Shu-Han , al. et
Published: June 2022

Supplemental information about methods, results, raw data, and r scripts. 
Supplemental Material: Long-runout pyroclastic density currents: Analysis and implications
Authors: Roche Olivier , al. et
Published: June 2022

Supplemental figures, detailed information on the Great Basin ignimbrites and the paleovalleys, a summary of the database and the characteristics of the pyroclastic density currents, and the statistical model used. 
Cultural Geography in Russia in the Early 21st Century: Current State and Key Research Areas
Authors: Streletsky V. N. , Gorokhov S. A.
Published: June 2022

Abstract—

The article reviews and analyzes trends in the development of Russian cultural geography at the beginning of the 21st century, its specific features, and the latest scientific achievements with respect to the evolution of cultural geography in Western countries. Similarities and differences in the transformation of the main theoretical approaches, scientific methods, and subject areas of specific cultural and geographical studies in foreign countries and Russia are revealed. The most important thematic sections of the article cover the most significant segments of cultural and geographical research in Russia in the 2000s–early 2020s. It is shown that the main focus in the formation of Russian cultural geography (after several decades of neglecting anthropocultural approaches in the Soviet period) was cultural landscape science. The latest advances of Russian cultural geographers in the field of cultural landscape for the first decades of the 21st century are characterized. Domestic ethnic geography, which developed during the Soviet period as part of population geography, is gradually transforming to ethnocultural. Much attention is paid to the correlation of ethnic and regional identity in polyethnic regions, ethnocultural aspects of the geography of nature management, cultural geography of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East. Religious geography is a new direction of cultural geography for Russia, which has gained great relevance in the post-Soviet period in the revival of religious life in a country characterized by exceptional complexity and the diverse religious composition of the population. The article discusses and analyzes the experience of Russian developments in humanitarian geography—a set of research areas focused on studying systems of ideas about the geographic space in different sociocultural contexts. The great practical significance of cultural and geographical research and the possibility of their use for regional development and optimization of the spatial organization of society are emphasized.
Nationwide trends in emergency department utilisation for acute retinal ischaemia in the USA, 2011–2018
Authors: Hamedani Ali G , De Lott Lindsey B , Willis Allison W
Published: June 2022

Background

Guidelines recommend urgent evaluation for transient monocular vision loss (TMVL) and retinal artery occlusion (RAO), but emergency department (ED) utilisation for these conditions is unknown.

Methods

We performed a retrospective longitudinal cross-sectional analysis of the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (2011–2018), a database of all ED visits from a representative 20% sample of US hospital-based EDs. We identified patients aged 40 and older with a primary diagnosis of TMVL or RAO and calculated the weighted number of total visits and admission rate by year. We used joinpoint regression to analyse time trends and logistic regression to measure differences according to demographic characteristics and comorbidities.

Results

There were an estimated 2451 ED visits for TMVL and 2472 for RAO annually in the USA from 2011 to 2018. Approximately 36% of TMVL and 51% of RAO patients were admitted. The admission rate decreased by an average of 4.9% per year for TMVL (95% CI −7.5% to −2.3%) and 2.2% per year for RAO (95% CI −4.1% to −0.4%), but the total number of ED visits did not change significantly over time. Elixhauser Comorbidity Index and hyperlipidaemia were associated with increased odds of hospital admission for both TMVL and RAO. There were also differences in admission rate by insurance payer and hospital region.

Conclusion

Of the estimated 48 000 patients with TMVL or RAO annually in the USA, few are evaluated in the ED, and admission rates are less than for transient ischaemic attack or ischaemic stroke and are decreasing over time.
Novel ophthalmic findings and deep phenotyping in Williams-Beuren syndrome
Authors: Huryn Laryssa A , Flaherty Taylor , Nolen Rosalie , Prasov Lev , Zein Wadih M , Cukras Catherine A , Osgood Sharon , Raja Neelam , Levin Mark D , Vitale Susan , Brooks Brian P , Hufnagel Robert B , Kozel Beth A
Published: June 2022

Background/Aims

To characterise the ocular manifestations of Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) and compare these to patients with isolated elastin mediated supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS).

Methods

Fifty-seven patients with a diagnosis of WBS and five with SVAS underwent comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation at the National Institutes of Health from 2017 to 2020, including best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, optical biometry, dilated fundus examination, optical coherence tomography and colour fundus imaging.

Results

Mean age of the 57 WBS patients was 20.3 years (range 3–60 years). Best-corrected visual acuity ranged from 20/20 to 20/400 with mean spherical equivalent near plano OU. Twenty-four eyes (21.8%) had an axial length (AL) less than 20.5 mm and 38 eyes (34.5%) had an AL measuring 20.5–22.0 mm. Stellate iris and retinal arteriolar tortuosity were noted in 30 (52.6%) and 51 (89.5%) WBS patients, respectively. Novel retinal findings in WBS included small hypopigmented retinal deposits (OD 29/57, OS 27/57) and broad foveal pit contour (OD 44/55, OS 42/51). Of the five patients with SVAS, none had stellate iris or broad foveal pit contour while 2/5 had retinal arteriolar tortuosity.

Conclusion

WBS is a complex multisystem genetic disorder with diverse ophthalmic findings that differ from those seen in isolated elastin mediated SVAS. These results suggest other genes within the WBS critical region, aside fromELN, may be involved in observed ocular phenotypes and perhaps broader ocular development. Furthermore, retinal arteriolar tortuosity may provide future insight into systemic vascular findings in WBS.
Temporality of body mass index, blood tests, comorbidities and medication use as early markers for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC): a nested case–control study
Authors: Tan Pui San , Garriga Cesar , Clift Ashley , Liao Weiqi , Patone Martina , Coupland Carol , Bashford-Rogers Rachael , Sivakumar Shivan , Hippisley-Cox Julia
Published: June 2022

Objective

Prior studies identified clinical factors associated with increased risk of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, little is known regarding their time-varying nature, which could inform earlier diagnosis. This study assessed temporality of body mass index (BMI), blood-based markers, comorbidities and medication use with PDAC risk .

Design

We performed a population-based nested case–control study of 28 137 PDAC cases and 261 219 matched-controls in England. We described the associations of biomarkers with risk of PDAC using fractional polynomials and 5-year time trends using joinpoint regression. Associations with comorbidities and medication use were evaluated using conditional logistic regression.

Results

Risk of PDAC increased with raised HbA1c, liver markers, white blood cell and platelets, while following a U-shaped relationship for BMI and haemoglobin. Five-year trends showed biphasic BMI decrease and HbA1c increase prior to PDAC; early-gradual changes 2–3 years prior, followed by late-rapid changes 1–2 years prior. Liver markers and blood counts (white blood cell, platelets) showed monophasic rapid-increase approximately 1 year prior. Recent diagnosis of pancreatic cyst, pancreatitis, type 2 diabetes and initiation of certain glucose-lowering and acid-regulating therapies were associated with highest risk of PDAC.

Conclusion

Risk of PDAC increased with raised HbA1c, liver markers, white blood cell and platelets, while followed a U-shaped relationship for BMI and haemoglobin. BMI and HbA1c derange biphasically approximately 3 years prior while liver markers and blood counts (white blood cell, platelets) derange monophasically approximately 1 year prior to PDAC. Profiling these in combination with their temporality could inform earlier PDAC diagnosis.
Management of deep neck infections in adults and importance of clinical and laboratory findings
Authors: Arslan Hande , Bayır Ömer , Aksoy Şevket , Keseroğlu Kemal , Saka Cem , Tatar Emel Çadallı , Saylam Güleser , Korkmaz Mehmet Hakan
Published: June 2022

This study aimed to analyze laboratory and radiological imaging results in the prediction of treatment strategy in patients with deep neck infections. Eighty-three patients (55 (66.3%) men, mean age: 38.2±14.5 years) were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups according to the treatment strategy: group 1 received only antibiotic treatment, group 2 underwent abscess drainage with needle puncture in addition to antibiotic treatment, and group 3 underwent surgical drainage with antibiotic treatment. Laboratory outcomes, imaging methods, duration of hospital stay, treatment strategy, and clinical outcomes were analyzed.According to the laboratory results, complete blood count values did not vary among the three groups, but C reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) values were higher in group 3 (p<0.01). Based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the cut-off levels for CRP and ESR associated with the need for surgical drainage were 133 mg/L and 42.5, respectively. According to radiological imaging results, the number of involved neck spaces was significantly different among the three groups (p=0.03), and group 3 had more spaces involved when compared with groups 1 and 2 (p=0.04). Gas formation in the neck tissues was noted in 10 patients in group 3 and 5 patients in groups 1 and 2 (p=0.02). ESR and CRP levels were higher in patients who underwent surgical drainage. In patients with deep neck space infections, the involvement of two or more neck spaces and gas formation on radiological images might indicate surgical drainage as a treatment strategy.
Bicyclists injured by automobiles: helmet use and the burden of injury
Authors: de Roulet Amory , Torres Omar Font , Torices-Dardon Arturo , Zimmerman Eric , Khariton Konstantin , Saldinger Pierre
Published: June 2022

Background

Given the widespread use of bicycles on public roadways, bicyclists injured in automobile collisions present a familiar problem to trauma centers worldwide. The aims of this study are to characterize the current injury patterns and to quantify independent risk factors for preventable injury and death, with a focus on helmet utilization and traumatic brain injuries.

Methods

This is a retrospective study using the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program database for the period 2010 to 2016. Data were abstracted for bicyclists ≥16 years of age injured by an automobile. The primary outcome of interest was mortality. The secondary outcomes included intracranial, facial, and cervical spine injuries, as well as polytrauma. We used multivariate logistic regression to identify risk factors associated with outcomes.

Results

Of the 980 955 cases in the database, 7159 (0.73%) were bicyclists involved in a collision with an automobile. The median age was 45 years and 85% of patients were male. Polytraumatic occurrences accounted for 58% of injuries. Helmet use was reported in 25.4% of cases, a rate that did not change significantly during the study period. Helmet utilization was higher in those aged >65 years and in patients located in the West and Northeast regions of the USA. Helmet use was associated with an overall lower incidence of all reported forms of intracranial injuries. Overall mortality was 7.4%. Independent risk factors associated with mortality included age >65, lack of helmet use, head injury, and abdominal injury.

Discussion

Bicyclists injured in collisions with an automobile are at high risk of severe injury and mortality. Preventive strategies should target older bicyclists, helmet utilization, and increasing helmet accessibility for all bicyclists using roadways.

Level of evidence

Level IV.
Multi-stability of multi-clustered chimera states in a ring of nonlocally coupled Brusselators
Authors: Yang Mingxue , Chen Yirui , Han Wenchen , Yang Junzhong
Published: June 2022

Chimera states have drawn great attention during the last several years. Multi-clustered chimera states with several coherent domains are one important type of chimera dynamics due to their relations with pattern formation. In this work, we study a ring of nonlocally coupled Brusselators. We find that the multi-stability of multi-clustered chimera states prevails in the model and that the phenomenon is insensitive to the coupling radius. The mechanisms behind the multi-stability of multi-clustered chimera states are explored. We find that there are two types of multi-clustered chimera states, one occurring at the coupling radius close to 0.5 and the other occurring at the coupling radius away from 0.5. The multi-stability of the former one originates from the periodic two-cluster dynamics in globally coupled Brusselators. The multi-stability of the latter one may be explained by linear growth rates of the perturbation, which are related but insensitive to different wave numbers to homogeneous states.
Entanglement and mechanical squeezing in dissipative atom-photomechanical hybrid systems
Authors: Wang Xin , Li Ang , Yang Song-Lin , Zhang Jian-Song
Published: June 2022

We investigate the entanglement and mechanical squeezing of a hybrid system formed by two two-level atomic ensembles and a dissipative optomechanical system driven by two lasers. We find the entanglement of two atomic ensembles can be adjusted by the dissipative and dispersive couplings of the system. If the dispersive coupling is taken into account, the maximal entanglement between atomic ensembles could be larger than that of the purely dissipative case. Then, we show that there is steady-state entanglement in the present dissipative optomechanics systems and it increases with the mechanical oscillator decay rate and driving laser power. Finally, a strong mechanical squeezing of more than 3[Formula: see text]dB is generated in the dissipative atom-photomechanical hybrid systems.
Answering (Unions of) Conjunctive Queries using Random Access and Random-Order Enumeration
Authors: Carmeli Nofar , Zeevi Shai , Berkholz Christoph , Conte Alessio , Kimelfeld Benny , Schweikardt Nicole
Published: June 2022

As data analytics becomes more crucial to digital systems, so grows the importance of characterizing the database queries that admit a more efficient evaluation. We consider the tractability yardstick of answer enumeration with a polylogarithmic delay after a linear-time preprocessing phase. Such an evaluation is obtained by constructing, in the preprocessing phase, a data structure that supports polylogarithmic-delay enumeration. In this article, we seek a structure that supports the more demanding task of a “random permutation”: polylogarithmic-delay enumeration in truly random order. Enumeration of this kind is required if downstream applications assume that the intermediate results are representative of the whole result set in a statistically meaningful manner. An even more demanding task is that of “random access”: polylogarithmic-time retrieval of an answer whose position is given.

We establish that the free-connex acyclic CQs are tractable in all three senses: enumeration, random-order enumeration, and random access; and in the absence of self-joins, it follows from past results that every other CQ is intractable by each of the three (under some fine-grained complexity assumptions). However, the three yardsticks are separated in the case of aunion of CQs (UCQ): while a union of free-connex acyclic CQs has a tractable enumeration, it may (provably) admit no random access. We identify a fragment of such UCQs where we can guarantee random access with polylogarithmic access time (and linear-time preprocessing) and a more general fragment where we can guarantee tractable random permutation. For general unions of free-connex acyclic CQs, we devise two algorithms with relaxed guarantees: one has logarithmic delay in expectation, and the other provides a permutation that is almost uniformly distributed. Finally, we present an implementation and an empirical study that show a considerable practical superiority of our random-order enumeration approach over state-of-the-art alternatives.
Nudge: Accelerating Overdue Pull Requests toward Completion
Authors: Maddila Chandra , Upadrasta Sai Surya , Bansal Chetan , Nagappan Nachiappan , Gousios Georgios , van Deursen Arie
Published: June 2022

Pull requests are a key part of the collaborative software development and code review process today. However, pull requests can also slow down the software development process when the reviewer(s) or the author do not actively engage with the pull request. In this work, we design an end-to-end service, Nudge, for accelerating overdue pull requests toward completion by reminding the author or the reviewer(s) to engage with their overdue pull requests. First, we use models based on effort estimation and machine learning to predict the completion time for a given pull request. Second, we use activity detection to filter out pull requests that may be overdue but for which sufficient action is taking place nonetheless. Last, we use actor identification to understand who the blocker of the pull request is and
nudge
the appropriate actor (author or reviewer(s)). The key novelty of Nudge is that it succeeds in reducing pull request resolution time, while ensuring that developers perceive the notifications sent as useful, at the scale of thousands of repositories. In a randomized trial on 147 repositories in use at Microsoft, Nudge was able to reduce pull request resolution time by 60% for 8,500 pull requests, when compared to overdue pull requests for which Nudge did not send a notification. Furthermore, developers receiving Nudge notifications resolved 73% of these notifications as positive. We observed similar results when scaling up the deployment of Nudge to 8,000 repositories at Microsoft, for which Nudge sent 210,000 notifications during a full year. This demonstrates Nudge’s ability to scale to thousands of repositories. Last, our qualitative analysis of a selection of Nudge notifications indicates areas for future research, such as taking dependencies among pull requests and developer availability into account.
A Revisiting Study of Appropriate Offline Evaluation for Top-
N
Recommendation Algorithms
Authors: Zhao Wayne Xin , Lin Zihan , Feng Zhichao , Wang Pengfei , Wen Ji-Rong
Published: June 2022

In recommender systems, top-
N
recommendation is an important task with implicit feedback data. Although the recent success of deep learning largely pushes forward the research on top-
N
recommendation, there are increasing concerns on appropriate evaluation of recommendation algorithms. It therefore is important to study how recommendation algorithms can be reliably evaluated and thoroughly verified. This work presents a large-scale, systematic study on six important factors from three aspects for evaluating recommender systems. We carefully select 12 top-
N
recommendation algorithms and eight recommendation datasets. Our experiments are carefully designed and extensively conducted with these algorithms and datasets. In particular, all the experiments in our work are implemented based on an open sourced recommendation library, Recbole [
139
], which ensures the reproducibility and reliability of our results. Based on the large-scale experiments and detailed analysis, we derive several key findings on the experimental settings for evaluating recommender systems. Our findings show that some settings can lead to substantial or significant differences in performance ranking of the compared algorithms. In response to recent evaluation concerns, we also provide several suggested settings that are specially important for performance comparison.
Sequence-aware Knowledge Distillation for a Lightweight Event Representation
Authors: Zheng Jianming , Cai Fei , Ling Yanxiang , Chen Honghui
Published: June 2022

Event representation targets to model the event-reasoning process as a machine-readable format. Previous studies on event representation mostly concentrate on a sole modeling perspective and have not well investigated the scenario-level knowledge, which can cause information loss. To cope with this dilemma, we propose a unified fine-tuning architecture-based approach (
UniFA-S
) that integrates all levels of trainings, including the scenario-level knowledge. However, another challenge for existing models is the ever-increasing computation overheads, restricting the deployment ability on limited resources devices. Hence, in this article, we aim to compress the cumbersome model
UniFA-S
into a lighter and easy-to-deploy one without much performance damage. To this end, we propose a sequence-aware knowledge distillation model (SaKD) that employs a dynamic self-distillation on the
decouple-compress-couple
framework for compressing
UniFA-S
, which cannot only realize the model compression, but also retain the integrity of individual components. We also design two fitting strategies to address the less-supervised issue at the distillation stage. Comprehensive experiments on representation-and-inference ability-based tasks validate the effectiveness of SaKD. Compared to
UniFA-S
, SaKD realizes a more portable event representation model at the cost of only 1.0% performance drop in terms of accuracy or Spearman’s correlation, which is far less than other knowledge distillation models.
A Comparative Study of Copper-doped and Copper, Nitrogen Co-doped DLC Film Electrode and Its Electrochemical Properties
Authors: Wang Huan , Qiu Zhaoguo , Lin Songsheng , Xu Wei , Dai Mingjiang , Su Yifan
Published: June 2022

Copper (Cu), Nitrogen (N) Co-doped diamond-like carbon ((Cu:N)-DLC) films and Cu doped DLC (Cu-DLC) films were fabricated by high power impulse magnetron sputtering technique (HiPIMS). The influence of copper and nitrogen incorporation on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of Cu-DLC and (Cu:N)-DLC films were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, raman spectra and electrochemical workstation. The surface of all the films is cauliflower-like clusters, no obvious large particle Cu clusters can be observed. XRD patterns of theses films have only diffraction peak of copper and no other compounds. Raman spectra illustrate that Id/Ig varies from 2.79 to 3.01 as the N contents changes. XPS results identify that Cu does not form compounds or solid solution into DLC films. Electrochemical tests show that the electrode activity gradually increases with increasing the N contents of (Cu:N)-DLC electrode. Compared with (Cu:N)-DLC electrode, Cu-DLC electrode has a faster electron transfer rate (K0 is 1.88 × 10−2 cms−1), low transfer resistance (227.0 Ωcm2), and a higher electrochemical activity (ΔEp is 93 mV). Consequently, the electrochemical properties of Cu doped DLC films are better than that of Cu, N co-doped DLC films.
Application of the Logistics Management System Based on Cloud Computing Technology
Authors: Zhang Shuai
Published: June 2022

In order to solve the vehicle routing optimization problem of cold chain logistics distribution, this paper proposes a vehicle routing optimization method of cold chain logistics distribution based on cloud computing technology. This paper analyzes the advantages of processing the real-time routing of distribution vehicles under the cloud computing mode and establishes the application service architecture of vehicle routing optimization in cold chain logistics; under this architecture, multisource real-time traffic information is obtained, the vehicle distribution time and comprehensive cost are analyzed, the vehicle routing optimization model of cold chain logistics distribution is constructed, and the coarse-grained parallel genetic algorithm is used to solve the model in the cloud computing environment. The experimental results show that if

W

1

=
0
,

W

2

=
1

, the optimal path is 0-6-7-3-1-4-2-8-5, the total cost is 1620 yuan, the total mileage is 72 km, the vehicle driving time is 2.17 hours, and the calculation time is 10.79 s; let

W

1

=
1
,

W

2

=
0

, the optimal path is 0-5-6-7-2-4-3-1-8, the vehicle travel time is 1.84 hours, the total cost is 1736 yuan, the total mileage is 76 km, and the calculation time is 11.56 s. The optimal path is obtained in the effective time range. Conclusion. The real-time route optimization method of refrigerated vehicles in the cloud computing environment is effective. This method has practical significance to realize fine control of cold chain logistics distribution cost and improve distribution service efficiency.
Design of Mobile Intelligent Navigation System for Xi’an Qinling Wildlife Park
Authors: Zhang Ruixue
Published: June 2022

With the continuous development of China’s economy and the improvement of people’s living standards, the tourism industry is getting stronger and stronger that it integrates food, living, transportation, entertainment, shopping, and other aspects. Among them, the core competitiveness is tourism resources, which are the foundation for the survival of the tourism industry. Sustainable development of the tourism industry makes higher requirements for the advancement and management of tourism resources. How to better meet customers’ needs and continuously improve service quality has become the key to development. In this study, Xi’an Qinling Wildlife Park is taken as an example, and PHP + MYSQL and other technologies are used to construct a mobile intelligent navigation system with rich functions, simplicity, practicality, and stable performance. The whole system uses B/S mode, and the main development of the system has been completed from the perspectives of practical interface and rapid development.
Identification of FABP7 as a Potential Biomarker for Predicting Prognosis and Antiangiogenic Drug Efficacy of Glioma
Authors: Hou Liubing , Zhou Huandi , Wang Yanqiang , Liu Junling , Zhang Dongdong , Li Yuehong , Xue Xiaoying
Published: June 2022

Objective. Glioma is a common malignant tumor of the central nervous system with extremely poor prognosis. An efficient molecular marker for diagnosis and treatment is urgently needed. Fatty acid binding protein 7(FABP7), which regulates intracellular lipid metabolism, is highly expressed in nervous system tumors, but its prognostic value remains undetermined. The present study investigated the relationship between FABP7 expression and prognosis in glioma patients by bioinformatics analysis, as well as immunohistochemically evaluating the effect of FABP7 expression on the efficacy of antiangiogenic drugs. Methods. Gene expression and clinical data on patients with glioma were collected from the China Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) database, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Levels of FABP7 expression and their association with the clinicopathologic characteristics of glioma patients were analyzed in the CGGA database. The relationships between FABP7 expression and clinical findings, such as survival and prognostic, were determined and used for nomogram construction. Mechanisms of action of FABP7 were assessed using GSEA software. FABP7 expression in the tissues of glioma patients treated with apatinib was evaluated immunohistochemically. Results. FABP7 was highly expressed in glioma samples, with higher FABP7 expression associated with poorer patient prognosis and more advanced clinicopathological features. Bioinformatics analysis, including survival, receiver operating characteristic curve, and univariate and multivariate Cox analyses, showed that FABP7 was independently prognostic of outcomes in glioma patients. GSEA analysis showed that FABP7 was associated with angiogenesis, with FABP7 having correlation

coefficients
>
0.4

with seven factors in the angiogenic pathway, POSTN, TIMP1, PDGFA, FGFR1, S100A4, COL5A2, and STC1, and the expression of these factors related to patient prognosis. Immunohistochemistry showed that FABP7 expression was higher in glioma patients with poor survival after apatinib treatment. Conclusions. High FABP7 expression is associated with poor prognosis in glioma patients. FABP7, which is important for glioma angiogenesis, may serve as an independent prognostic predictor in glioma patients.
Mobile Virtual Reality Rail Traffic Congestion Prediction Algorithm Based on Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Li Yaxiang , Wang Yuanqing
Published: June 2022

In order to explore a mobile virtual reality railway traffic congestion prediction algorithm based on convolutional neural network, an expanded causal convolution neural network (DCFCN) was proposed, which introduced the expanded convolution to increase the size of the receptive field and obtain the long-term memory of the sequence. At the same time, causal convolution is introduced to solve the problem of information leakage. DCFCN is made up of 6 convolutional layers, each layer achieves causal convolution through padding, and the expansion coefficient increases exponentially layer by layer. Experimental results show that LSTM and GRU can obtain the time sequence relationship of mobile virtual reality traffic flow sequence, and the prediction effect is better than simple method and traditional ARIMA model, but still inferior to DCFCN. The RMSE of DCFCN decreased by 0.38 compared with single-layer LSTM, 0.52 compared with double-layer LSTM, and 0.38 compared with single-layer and double-layer GRU. It shows that TCN model can indeed do better than RNN in sequence modeling. It is proved that the proposed DCFCN is superior to other comparison models in mobile virtual reality traffic flow prediction, and the computational efficiency on GPU is significantly improved.
CKS2 and S100A12: Two Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Wang Zhi-wen , Zhang Li-jun , Zhuang Yu , Lv Zhi-fen , Tan Zhi-ming
Published: June 2022

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systematicness autoimmunity disease with joint inflammation. RA etiology is still unknown. Early and exact diagnosing is still hard to reach. In the paper, we purposed to discover novel diagnosis biological marker for RA. Two open, usable gene expression profiles of human RA as well as controlled specimens (dataset GSE17755 as well as GSE93272) were downloaded from the GEO database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened between 331 RA and 88 control samples. Functional enrichment analysis was applied to explore the possible function of DEGs. Expression levels as well as diagnosis values of biological marker in RA were further verified in our cohort by the use of RT-PCR and ROC assays. We identified 13 DEGs between RA samples and control samples. 13 DEGs were remarkably abundant in NF-kappa B signal pathway. Among the 13 DEGs, CKS2, S100A12, LY96, and ANXA3 exhibited a strong diagnostic ability in screening RA specimens from normal specimens using all

AUC
>
0.8

. Moreover, we confirmed that the expression of CKS2 and S100A12 was distinctly upregulated in RA specimens contrasted to normal specimens. Overall, serum CKS2 and S100A12 could be used as novel diagnosis biological markers for RA patients.