bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Commercial higher education strategies for recruiting international students in China: a catalyst or obstacle for sustainable education and learning?
Authors: Zhou Lei , Alam Gazi Mahabubul
Published: March 2024

In this modern era of commercialized higher education, learning and qualifications have become the essential commodities that drive nations’ economic progress. Free market principles related to consumerism appear to dictate and shape the operational framework of higher education. While a market-driven strategy may yield benefits in promoting the internationalization of higher education, it could potentially come at the expense of sustainable development of universities and proper learning. Employing a qualitative method, this study explores whether the commercialized nature and marketing of internationalized higher education contributes to or hinders its viability. It does this by comparing the practices between a Double First-Class university and a non-Double First-Class university. Findings underscore the need for more attention to be paid to creating a sustainable higher education system. Colleges and universities should strategically rebrand themselves by innovating their management and teaching systems to foster more competent international human resources, leading to sustainable universities and better prepared international students.
Remote sensing insights into ocean fronts: a literature review
Authors: Yang Yuting , Ju Yakun , Gao Ying , Zhang Cong , Lam Kin-Man
Published: March 2024

By providing valuable data that allow scientists to study various oceanographic characteristics on a global scale, remote sensing techniques have considerably advanced our understanding of ocean fronts. Ocean fronts involve the interaction of water masses with specific physical properties such as temperature, sea color, salinity, and density. In particular, ocean fronts can act as barriers, impeding the movement of water masses and leading to the convergence or divergence of nutrients and marine species. Research on ocean fronts and their impact on marine biodiversity and physical environments has recently become popular. This paper introduces ocean front research progress based on remote sensing images, including research material, methods, limitations, and possible future research directions. The latest research on spatiotemporal variation in ocean fronts has substantially enhanced our understanding of the interaction of water masses with specific physical properties in the ocean.
Collaborate Now!
Authors: Levine Adam Seth
Published: March 2024

Those who seek change in civic life have much in common: they each bring valuable expertise to the table and need to strategize with others about what to do. That's why new collaborative relationships between diverse thinkers are essential. Yet they're difficult to form. Collaborate Now! presents a new argument about why that is, along with tools to foster them anew. As with any form of voluntary civic engagement, these relationships require time and motivation. Yet on top of that, collaborators often start off as strangers, and are uncertain about relationality: whether they'll relate to each other in ways that are meaningful and brimming with interaction. Using case studies, field experiments, interviews, and observational data, this book provides a rich understanding of the collaborative relationships needed to tackle civic challenges, how uncertainty about relationality can produce an unmet desire for them, and actionable tools to surface and meet this desire.
The Anarchist Turn in Twenty-First Century Leftwing Activism
Authors: Markoff John , Lazar Hillary , Case Benjamin S. , Burridge Daniel P.
Published: March 2024

Leftwing activism of recent decades exhibits an anarchist turn evident in quantitative indicators like mentions of anarchists in news reports and by activists adopting anarchist modes of organization, tactics, and social goals-whether or not they claim that label. The authors of this Element argue that the very crises that generated radical mobilizations since the turn of the millennium have both led activists to reject other strategies for social transformation and to see anarchist practices as appropriate to the challenges of our time. This turn is clearly apparent in the Americas and Europe, and has reverberations on an even broader transnational, perhaps global, scale. This suggests the need for research on social movements to consider anarchists and other marginalized radical traditions more fully, not just as objects of study, but as important sources of theory.
Ten pillars for the expansion of health system infection prevention capacity
Authors: Sturm Lisa K. , Jacobs Tina R. , Fakih Mohamad G.
Published: March 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated changes in health care across the nation. Particularly, infection prevention programs have been subjected to pressures and increased responsibilities with no expansion in support. In addition, there is a rapid trend for health systems to merge to ensure long term sustainability. Based on our experience leading infection prevention at one of the largest health systems in the United States, we outline how systems can provide and increase capacity to optimize and enhance the hospital level infection prevention programs and outcomes. In this commentary, “Ten Pillars for the Expansion of Health System Infection Prevention Capacity” we offer 10 categories of what we have found to establish a successful and functioning infection prevention program. The pillars to support the infection prevention programs focus on structure, processes, empowerment, and partnerships, and the elements and strategies that comprise them.
Structural, point-free, non-Hausdorff topological realization of Borel groupoid actions
Authors: Chen Ruiyuan
Published: March 2024

We extend the Becker–Kechris topological realization and change-of-topology theorems for Polish group actions in several directions. For Polish group actions, we prove a single result that implies the original Becker–Kechris theorems, as well as Sami’s and Hjorth’s sharpenings adapted levelwise to the Borel hierarchy; automatic continuity of Borel actions via homeomorphisms and the equivalence of ‘potentially open’ versus ‘orbitwise open’ Borel sets. We also characterize ‘potentially open’ n-ary relations, thus yielding a topological realization theorem for invariant Borel first-order structures. We then generalize to groupoid actions and prove a result subsuming Lupini’s Becker–Kechris-type theorems for open Polish groupoids, newly adapted to the Borel hierarchy, as well as topological realizations of actions on fiberwise topological bundles and bundles of first-order structures.

Our proof method is new even in the classical case of Polish groups and is based entirely on formal algebraic properties of category quantifiers; in particular, we make no use of either metrizability or the strong Choquet game. Consequently, our proofs work equally well in the non-Hausdorff context, for open quasi-Polish groupoids and more generally in the point-free context, for open localic groupoids.
Wake of two tandem square cylinders
Authors: Zhou Yu , Hao Jingcheng , Alam Md. Mahbub
Published: March 2024

The wake of two tandem square cylinders of identical width (d) is experimentally studied, with a view to understanding the dependence of the flow structure, aerodynamics forces and Strouhal number on the centre-to-centre spacing ratio L/d and Reynolds number Re, where L is the distance between the cylinder centres. Extensive measurements are carried out, using hot-wire, particle imaging velocimetry, laser-induced fluorescence flow visualization, surface-oil-flow visualization and surface pressure scanning techniques, for L/d = 1.0 ~ 5.0 and Re ≡ U∞d/ν = 2.8 × (103 ~ 104), where U∞ is the free-stream velocity and ν is the kinematic viscosity of the fluid. The flow is classified into four regimes, i.e. the extended-body (L/d ≤ 1.5–2.0), reattachment (1.5–2.0 < L/d < 2.7–3.2), co-shedding (L/d ≥ 3.0–3.4) and transition (2.7 ≤ L/d ≤ 3.3) where both reattachment and co-shedding phenomena may take place. The mean drag and fluctuating drag and lift exhibit distinct features for different flow regimes, which is fully consistent with the proposed flow classification. Comparison is made between this flow and the wake of two tandem circular cylinders, which provides valuable insight into the profound effect of the flow separation point and the presence of sharp corners on the flow development and classification.
L’udovít Štúr’s Plebeian Ethos of Resistance in the 1840s
Authors: Gluchman Vasil
Published: March 2024

The author examines Ľudovít Štúr (1815–1856), the main representative of the Slovak national movement in the 1840s, and his personal ethos in the struggle for the rights and freedom of the Slovak ethnic group. Štúr paid great attention to the development of the ethnic, social, and political awareness of Slovaks. In this effort, the Slovenskje národňje novini (Slovak National Newspaper) played an important role, through which Štúr and the representatives of the Slovak national movement shaped and spread its social and political program, the aim of which was both the fight against the national oppression of the Slovaks, but also the achievement of equal rights for the Slovak ethnic group in Hungary and the Habsburg Monarchy.
Palestinian Football and the Struggle for Identity
Authors: Naser-Najjab Nadia , Akleh Shireen Abu
Published: March 2024

Although it is customary to end an article with an acknowledgment, I would like instead to begin by recognizing the contribution of my close friend and coauthor, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was known to both Arab and international audiences as “the face of the Second Intifada,” reported on Palestinian suffering and resistance with the utmost professionalism and courage, and was shot dead by an Israeli sniper on May 11, 2022 while reporting from a Jenin refugee camp. This article is a personal and political commemoration of a dear and much-missed friend, and is intended to fulfill her personal wish to publish an academic article that related to her journalistic work.
Ethnography under Authoritarianism: Notes from Medical Anthropological Fieldwork
Authors: Saluk Seda
Published: March 2024

What is perceived today as “living in an unknown moment” with global pandemics and ecological disasters has long become the “new normal” that structures everyday life at the margins of Europe and the Middle East, particularly in places with rising authoritarian regimes. As scholars working in and on Turkey, for instance, we have witnessed or experienced firsthand several moments of crisis over the recent years. We have seen the collapse of peace negotiations between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Worker's Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistane; PKK) in 2015 and the resulting surge in state violence in Turkey's Kurdistan, the 2016 coup attempt against the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi; AKP) government by the Gülen movement, and the long-standing suppression, criminalization, and incarceration of dissent affecting, among others, students, politicians, journalists, and academics. These divergent yet interlinked moments of crisis have reshaped and often complicated, if not completely stopped, our research as ethnographers of Turkey. These moments of crisis have also pushed us to develop creative strategies and analytics to continue our fieldwork and provided opportunities to hone our research questions and methodologies in more nuanced ways.
Navigating the Dynamics of Private Security in Turkey: Reflections from a Field in Flux
Authors: Mülayim Gökhan
Published: March 2024

Any fieldwork is inherently filled with tension arising from two fundamental yet conflicting obligations: first, the need to treat the field as an already constituted research object, and second, the requirement to continuously reframe, remake, or essentially reconstitute this object during the fieldwork. This double bind places the fieldworker in a blurred position, navigating between the certainty of the former and the uncertainty of the latter. My fieldwork on Istanbul's private security market in Turkey was no exception. While approaching the market as an already constituted research object, I also had to cartographically unfold it as I explored it. My research specifically examined how security, as a peculiar good and service, was translated into a market object in Turkey's private security industry. Despite its relatively recent emergence in 2004, the industry has experienced tremendous growth. By 2019, 1.6 million people had completed private security training, 1.1 million had obtained licenses, and around 320,000 were actively employed in the industry. This translates to nearly 3 in every 100 working-age individuals being trained, almost 2 in 100 licensed, and 1 in 200 working as private security guards.
Shariʿa and Governance in Ottoman Egypt: The Waqf Controversy in the Mid-Sixteenth Century
Authors: Atçıl Abdurrahman , Markiewicz Christopher
Published: March 2024

In the mid-16th century, the Ottoman government sought to expand its tax revenue from Egypt through a controversial initiative to levy taxes on endowments (waqf). The controversy produced a diverse range of responses from Ottoman scholar-bureaucrats, such as Ebussuud Efendi, who supported the initiative; Egyptian scholars, including Ibn Nujaym and al-Ghayti, who opposed it; and the Ottoman governor, who worked to resolve it. Despite the opposing positions of the diverse actors, shariʿa served as the common medium for the articulation and negotiation of their opinions and helped produce a compromise that became foundational for the Ottoman tax regime in Egypt. In this episode, shariʿa constituted an instrument of governance. Such a role for shariʿa differs from its conception as an autonomous field of scholarly interpretation, or the understanding of it as an inclusive normative system encompassing rules emerging from both the interpretative activities of scholars and the definitive edicts and orders of rulers. Shariʿa did not constitute the endpoint of rulemaking; rather, it provided the shared language of terms and concepts through which different actors participated in the process of formulating rules.
The Resort to Emergency Policing to Control Gang Violence in Jamaica: Making the Exception the Rule
Authors: Campbell Yonique , Harriott Anthony
Published: March 2024

This article critically examines reasons for the persistent use of states of emergency (SOEs) as a tool of crime control in Jamaica and risks associated with normalising these measures in small, low-capacity, competitive democracies in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). We attend to the question of permanent SOEs as an issue of law and certain policing methods becoming normalised. This differs from scholars who think about the use of permanent SOEs as suspension of law or executive rule and make a clear distinction between law and violence and normalcy and emergency. Our findings show that persistent usage of SOEs in Jamaica reflects the incapacity of the state to control violent crime as well as its effort to strengthen its coercive capabilities and compensate for the ineffectiveness of the police. It is also a response to public demand for SOE policing. State strengthening is a necessary condition for a more peaceful and law-abiding society but is also a carrier of risks of democratic degeneration via rights-disregarding policing. Nonetheless, we have seen authoritarian management of crime without descent into authoritarianism, in general, and strong boundary-marking and patrolling by some state-oversight institutions that enjoy the support of civil society.
Combining models to generate a consensus effective reproduction numberRfor the COVID-19 epidemic status in England
Authors: Manley Harrison , Park Josie , Bevan Luke , Sanchez-Marroquin Alberto , Danelian Gabriel , Bayley Thomas , Bowman Veronica , Maishman Thomas , Finnie Thomas , Charlett André , Watkins Nicholas A , Hutchinson Johanna , Medley Graham , Riley Steven ,   Nowcasts Model Contributing Group, Panovska-Griffiths Jasmina
Published: March 2024

The effective reproduction number$ R $was widely accepted as a key indicator during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK, the$ R $value published on the UK Government Dashboard has been generated as a combined value from an ensemble of epidemiological models via a collaborative initiative between academia and government. In this paper, we outline this collaborative modelling approach and illustrate how, by using an established combination method, a combined$ R $estimate can be generated from an ensemble of epidemiological models. We analyse the$ R $values calculated for the period between April 2021 and December 2021, to show that this$ R $is robust to different model weighting methods and ensemble sizes and that using heterogeneous data sources for validation increases its robustness and reduces the biases and limitations associated with a single source of data. We discuss how$ R $can be generated from different data sources and show that it is a good summary indicator of the current dynamics in an epidemic.
Programming the next generation of prenatal programming of stress research: A review and suggestions for the future of the field
Authors: Bush Nicole R.
Published: March 2024

In this article, I highlight core ideas, empirical findings, and advances in the study of how stress during pregnancy may prenatally program child neurodevelopmental, psychopathological, and health outcomes, emphasizing reviews, metanalyses, and recent contributions of conceptual and empirical work. The article offers a perspective on the history of this area of science, the underrecognized contributions of influential scholars from diverse fields of study, what we know from the evidence to date, the persistent challenges in sorting through what is left to learn, and suggestions for future research. I include sections focused on promoting resilience, pregnancy interventions that demonstrate positive effects across two generations, and the translational implications of the accruing data for practice and policy, highlighting opportunities for integrating across a range of fields and sectors. In the concluding sections, I discuss lessons learned from conducting this work and provide a closing summary of progress and future directions. The goal of this writing was to provide a viewpoint on some ways that emerging intergenerational transmission scholars might responsibly contribute to the future of the field of developmental psychopathology.
Liberation, Re-Education, Democratisation: The Politics of Gratitude in German-American Relations after 1945
Authors: Gerund Katharina
Published: March 2024

The US-American presence in postwar Germany and its role in West Germany's re-education and democratisation have fuelled a discourse of gratitude that has lastingly shaped the transatlantic alliance. German politicians and other policy actors continue to rely on proclamations of ‘thankfulness’ as a means of what Todd Hall has termed ‘emotional diplomacy’. In the process, they affirm a collective memory of the postwar years that emphasises friendship and contains social conflicts, political tensions, and ambivalent affects. They draw on iconic tropes and powerful narratives – ranging from the GI handing out chewing gum to CARE packages and the ‘gift’ of democracy – which have cast German-American relations in terms of generosity, gift-giving, and gratitude. This article traces the roots of this discourse to (the popular memory of) the postwar moment and situates it vis-à-vis the multifaceted affective landscape of early postwar Germany with a specific focus on its gender logics and with an eye to its benefits and the risks it entails.
Rain and the colonial streetscape: reading for water in Freetown’s newspaper archive
Authors: Gough Milo
Published: March 2024

Situated on the tip of a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa, the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone, receives an extraordinarily high rainfall, heavily concentrated in the few months of the rainy season. Working from this extreme wetness and inspired by recent work in the oceanic humanities, this article reads Freetown’s colonial era newspaper archive for water. It argues that the heavy rain of the West African Monsoon was an important agent in shaping the decaying streetscape of the city, and a broader imaginary of decline, at the turn of the twentieth century. Using vivid descriptions of wetness, nature and disease, African editors, correspondents and letter-writers evoked a sodden modernity to push the colonial government to maintain and improve the city’s street infrastructure and at once to forge an elite urban public in opposition to migrants from the urban hinterland.
Mind or Machine?
Authors: Hamilton Kristy A. , Ward Adrian F. , Yao Mike Z.
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Searching for and accessing online information through search engines causes digital media users to become overconfident in their own knowledge – in a sense, to attribute online knowledge to themselves. If searching the internet via search engine leads people to conflate digital information as self-produced, what happens when features of our devices turn information search into an interpersonal situation? The proliferation of anthropomorphic technology underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI) may challenge the current view of search-induced cognitive overconfidence. In two experiments, we investigate how using digital agents to search for information moderates the misattribution of online information to one’s own memory. We find that, in contrast to using a search engine, using a digital agent to access online information does not lead to higher estimations of cognitive self-esteem (Experiment 1). Moreover, using a humanized digital agent may lead to lower cognitive self-esteem than using a non-humanized digital agent or thinking alone (Experiment 2). Whereas internet searches can make people overconfident in their cognitive abilities, accessing information through a conversational digital agent appears to clarify boundaries between internal and external knowledge.
Data Linkages for Wildfire Exposures and Human Health Studies: A Scoping Review
Authors: Barkoski J. , Van Fleet E. , Liu A. , Ramsey S. , Kwok R. K. , Miller A. K.
Published: March 2024

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity, with significant consequences that impact human health. A scoping review was conducted to: (a) understand wildfire‐related health effects, (b) identify and describe environmental exposure and health outcome data sources used to research the impacts of wildfire exposures on health, and (c) identify gaps and opportunities to leverage exposure and health data to advance research. A literature search was conducted in PubMed and a sample of 83 articles met inclusion criteria. A majority of studies focused on respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes. Hospital administrative data was the most common health data source, followed by government data sources and health surveys. Wildfire smoke, specifically fine particulate matter (PM2.5), was the most common exposure measure and was predominantly estimated from monitoring networks and satellite data. Health data were not available in real‐time, and they lacked spatial and temporal coverage to study health outcomes with longer latency periods. Exposure data were often available in real‐time and provided better temporal and spatial coverage but did not capture the complex mixture of hazardous wildfire smoke pollutants nor exposures associated with non‐air pathways such as soil, household dust, food, and water. This scoping review of the specific health and exposure data sources used to underpin these studies provides a framework for the research community to understand: (a) the use and value of various environmental and health data sources, and (b) the opportunities for improving data collection, integration, and accessibility to help inform our understanding of wildfires and other environmental exposures.
Influence of Subsurface Critical Zone Structure on Hydrological Partitioning in Mountainous Headwater Catchments
Authors: Chen Hang , Niu Qifei , McNamara James P. , Flores Alejandro N.
Published: March 2024

Headwater catchments play a vital role in regional water supply and ecohydrology, and a quantitative understanding of the hydrological partitioning in these catchments is critically needed, particularly under a changing climate. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of subsurface critical zone (CZ) structure in modulating the partitioning of precipitation in mountainous catchments; however, few existing studies have explicitly taken into account the 3D subsurface CZ structure. In this study, we designed realistic synthetic catchment models based on seismic velocity‐estimated 3D subsurface CZ structures. Integrated hydrologic modeling is then used to study the effects of the shape of the weathered bedrock and the associated storage capacity on various hydrologic fluxes and storages in mountainous headwater catchments. Numerical results show that the weathered bedrock affects not only the magnitude but also the peak time of both streamflow and subsurface dynamic storage.
Characteristics of Station‐Derived Convective Cold Pools Over Equatorial Africa
Authors: Hoeller Jannik , Haerter Jan O. , Da Silva Nicolas A.
Published: March 2024

Due to their potential role in organizing tropical mesoscale convective systems, a better understanding of cold pool (CP) dynamics in such regions is critical, particularly over land where the diurnal cycle further concentrates convective activity. Numerical models help disentangle the processes involved but often lack observational benchmarks. To close this gap, we analyze nearly 43 years of five‐minute resolution near‐surface timeseries, recorded from 12 automatic weather stations across equatorial Africa during 2019–2023. We identify 4,218 CPs based on criteria for temperature and wind. The identified CP gust fronts, which exhibit respective median temperature and specific humidity decreases of 5.3 K and 2.8 g kg−1, closely correlate with satellite‐observed brightness temperature discontinuities. Despite weak diurnal variation in precipitation, observed CP occurrence shows a pronounced diurnal cycle with an afternoon peak — a feature we attribute to low‐level moisture conditions. Our findings can serve as observational benchmark to improve simulations of CP organization.
Machine Learning Predictions of Vertical Accretion in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain
Authors: Chenevert Etienne , Edmonds Douglas A.
Published: March 2024

Deltaic landscapes consist of vast wetland systems that rely on sedimentation to maintain their elevation and ecological communities against relative sea‐level rise. In the Mississippi River Deltaic plain, rising relative sea level and anthropogenic activities are causing land loss that will continue unless vertical accretion of sediment on the wetland surface is enough to fill the accommodation space. Even though the fate of the Mississippi Deltaic plain is tied directly to vertical accretion, there is not yet a clear understanding of the system‐wide controls on this process. Here, we investigate vertical accretion in coastal Louisiana using a data set of 266 stations from the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS). Using linear regression models, we analyze vertical accretion in freshwater‐intermediate, brackish, and saline marsh communities. Integrating results from these models into a Gaussian Process regression model, we predict controls on vertical accretion rates across the deltaic plain. Consistent with previous studies, our results suggest that tidal amplitude and flood depth are critical controls on vertical accretion. These effects are additive and marshes with high tidal amplitudes and flood depths experience the most vertical accretion. Interestingly, the normalized difference vegetation index is found to be important for predicting vertical accretion, but not because of an increase in biomass production, but because it records unique marsh communities and flooding regimes. This study emphasizes the importance of incorporating marsh specific information into predictive models for the vertical accretion of coastal wetlands and that better predictions of wetland accretion probably require denser observational data.
Neuron type-specific proteomics reveals distinct Shank3 proteoforms in iSPNs and dSPNs lead to striatal synaptopathy in Shank3B–/– mice
Authors: Wang Yi-Zhi , Perez-Rosello Tamara , Smukowski Samuel N. , Surmeier D. James , Savas Jeffrey N.
Published: March 2024

Combinatorial expression of postsynaptic proteins underlies synapse diversity within and between neuron types. Thus, characterization of neuron-type-specific postsynaptic proteomes is key to obtaining a deeper understanding of discrete synaptic properties and how selective dysfunction manifests in synaptopathies. To overcome the limitations associated with bulk measures of synaptic protein abundance, we developed a biotin proximity protein tagging probe to characterize neuron-type-specific postsynaptic proteomes in vivo. We found Shank3 protein isoforms are differentially expressed by direct and indirect pathway spiny projection neurons (dSPNs and iSPNs). Investigation of Shank3B–/– mice lacking exons 13–16 within the Shank3 gene, reveal distinct Shank3 protein isoform expression in iSPNs and dSPNs. In Shank3B-/- striatum, Shank3E and Shank3NT are expressed by dSPNs but are undetectable in iSPNs. Proteomic analysis indicates significant and selective alterations in the postsynaptic proteome of Shank3B–/– iSPNs. Correspondingly, the deletion of exons 13–16 diminishes dendritic spine density, reduces spine head diameter, and hampers corticostriatal synaptic transmission in iSPNs. Remarkably, reintroducing Shank3E in adult Shank3B–/– iSPNs significantly rectifies the observed dendritic spine morphological and corticostriatal synaptic transmission deficits. We report unexpected cell-type specific synaptic protein isoform expression which could play a key causal role in specifying synapse diversity and selective synapse dysfunction in synaptopathies.
Structure-activity relationships of serotonergic 5-MeO-DMT derivatives: insights into psychoactive and thermoregulatory properties
Authors: Puigseslloses Pol , Nadal-Gratacós Núria , Ketsela Gabriel , Weiss Nicola , Berzosa Xavier , Estrada-Tejedor Roger , Islam Mohammad Nazmul , Holy Marion , Niello Marco , Pubill David , Camarasa Jordi , Escubedo Elena , Sitte Harald H. , López-Arnau Raúl
Published: March 2024

Recent studies have sparked renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for treating depression and other mental health conditions. Simultaneously, the novel psychoactive substances (NPS) phenomenon, with a huge number of NPS emerging constantly, has changed remarkably the illicit drug market, being their scientific evaluation an urgent need. Thus, this study aims to elucidate the impact of amino-terminal modifications to the 5-MeO-DMT molecule on its interactions with serotonin receptors and transporters, as well as its psychoactive and thermoregulatory properties. Our findings demonstrated, using radioligand binding methodologies, that all examined 5-MeO-tryptamines exhibited selectivity for 5-HT1AR over 5-HT2AR. In fact, computational docking analyses predicted a better interaction in the 5-HT1AR binding pocket compared to 5-HT2AR. Our investigation also proved the interaction of these compounds with SERT, revealing that the molecular size of the amino group significantly influenced their affinity. Subsequent experiments involving serotonin uptake, electrophysiology, and superfusion release assays confirmed 5-MeO-pyr-T as the most potent partial 5-HT releaser tested. All tested tryptamines elicited, to some degree, the head twitch response (HTR) in mice, indicative of a potential hallucinogenic effect and mainly mediated by 5-HT2AR activation. However, 5-HT1AR was also shown to be implicated in the hallucinogenic effect, and its activation attenuated the HTR. In fact, tryptamines that produced a higher hypothermic response, mediated by 5-HT1AR, tended to exhibit a lower hallucinogenic effect, highlighting the opposite role of both 5-HT receptors. Moreover, although some 5-MeO-tryptamines elicited very low HTR, they still act as potent 5-HT2AR agonists. In summary, this research offers a comprehensive understanding of the psychopharmacological profile of various amino-substituted 5-MeO-tryptamines, keeping structural aspects in focus and accumulating valuable data in the frame of NPS. Moreover, the unique characteristics of some 5-MeO-tryptamines render them intriguing molecules as mixed-action drugs and provide insight within the search of non-hallucinogenic but 5-HT2AR ligands as therapeutical agents.
Role of protein degradation systems in colorectal cancer
Authors: Cui Zihan , Cong Mingqi , Yin Shengjie , Li Yuqi , Ye Yuguang , Liu Xi , Tang Jing
Published: March 2024

Protein degradation is essential for maintaining protein homeostasis. The ubiquitin‒proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy–lysosome system are the two primary pathways responsible for protein degradation and directly related to cell survival. In malignant tumors, the UPS plays a critical role in managing the excessive protein load caused by cancer cells hyperproliferation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the dual roles played by the UPS and autolysosome system in colorectal cancer (CRC), elucidating their impact on the initiation and progression of this disease while also highlighting their compensatory relationship. Simultaneously targeting both protein degradation pathways offers new promise for enhancing treatment efficacy against CRC. Additionally, apoptosis is closely linked to ubiquitination and autophagy, and caspases degrade proteins. A thorough comprehension of the interplay between various protein degradation pathways is highly important for clarifying the mechanism underlying the onset and progression of CRC.
MCL1 inhibition: a promising approach to augment the efficacy of sorafenib in NSCLC through ferroptosis induction
Authors: Huang Chao-Yuan , Chen Li-Ju , Chen Chi-Shuo , Wang Cheng-Yi , Hong Shiao-Ya
Published: March 2024

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death, plays a crucial role in modulating the therapeutic response in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Studies have identified the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL1) as potential targets for sorafenib, which exhibits activities in inducing ferroptosis. However, the role of STAT3-MCL1 axis in sorafenib-induced ferroptosis in NSCLC is still unclear. This study provided evidence that ferroptosis is a critical driver of sorafenib-induced cell death in NSCLC, supported by the accumulation of lipid peroxidation products, indicative of oxidative stress-induced cell death. Additionally, both in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that ferroptosis contributed to a significant portion of the anti-cancer effects elicited by sorafenib in NSCLC. The noticeable accumulation of lipid peroxidation products in sorafenib-treated mice underscored the significance of ferroptosis as a contributing factor to the therapeutic response of sorafenib in NSCLC. Furthermore, we identified the involvement of the STAT3/MCL1 axis in sorafenib-induced antitumor activity in NSCLC. Mechanistically, sorafenib inhibited endogenous STAT3 activation and downregulated MCL1 protein expression, consequently unleashing the ferroptosis driver BECN1 from the BECN1-MCL1 complex. Conversely, there is an augmented association of BECN1 with the catalytic subunit of system Xc−, SLC7A11, whose activity to import cystine and alleviate lipid peroxidation is hindered upon its binding with BECN1. Notably, we found that MCL1 upregulation correlated with ferroptosis resistance in NSCLC upon sorafenib treatment. Our findings highlight the importance of sorafenib-triggered ferroptosis in NSCLC and offer a novel strategy to treat advanced NSCLC patients: by downregulating MCL1 and, in turn, predispose NSCLC cells to ferroptosis.
MCT4-driven CAF-mediated metabolic reprogramming in breast cancer microenvironment is a vulnerability targetable by miR-425-5p
Authors: Affinito Alessandra , Quintavalle Cristina , Chianese Rosario Vincenzo , Roscigno Giuseppina , Fiore Danilo , D’Argenio Valeria , Thomas Guglielmo , Savarese Alessia , Ingenito Francesco , Cocca Lorenza , Nuzzo Silvia , Berezovski Maxim V. , Stoppelli Maria Patrizia , Condorelli Gerolama
Published: March 2024

Multiple oncogenic alterations contribute to breast cancer development. Metabolic reprogramming, deeply contributing to tumor microenvironment (TME) education, is now widely recognized as a hallmark of cancer. The reverse Warburg effect induces cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to produce and secrete L-lactate, enhancing malignant characteristics such as neoangiogenesis, metastatic dissemination, and treatment resistance. Monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) 4 is involved in lactate efflux from CAFs into stromal and epithelial cells. Here, we first assess the expression of miR-425-5p and its target MCT4 in breast cancer CAFs and normal fibroblasts. We analyzed the metabolic changes induced by miR-425-5p in CAFs and its role in the education of breast cancer epithelial cells. We show that miR-425-5p-induced MCT4 knockdown decreased lactate extrusion from CAFs and its availability in the TME. miR-425-5p overexpression induced profound metabolic transformation in CAFs, ultimately influencing breast cancer metabolism. Furthermore, miR-425-5p impaired the capacity of CAFs to sustain vessel formation and breast cancer cell migration, viability, and proliferation. These findings emphasize the key role of miR-425-5p in breast cancer metabolism and aggressiveness, and its possible importance for breast cancer therapy and monitoring.
Formation and evolution of secondary phases and surface altered layers during borosilicate glass corrosion in pore water
Authors: Wang Kaifeng , Chen Yang , Findling Nathaniel , Charlot Frederic , Charlet Laurent , Liu Jiliang , Zhang Zhentao
Published: March 2024

The emergent secondary phases and surface altered layer (SAL) during the aqueous corrosion of borosilicate glass have a great impact on its chemical durability. However, the formation and evolution of these structures are still unclear. Here, by studying the borosilicate glass altered at 90 °C in pore water, the water in pore space between glass powders, the formation of secondary phases could follow two ways: 1. the consumption of aqueous ions forms analcime, zeolite, calcium silicate and barite at the surface of glass; 2. the reorganization of silica aggregates leads to smectite within the SAL. Small-angle X-ray scattering and cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy results show that the release of soluble elements and the formation of smectite within the SAL significantly increase the porosity of SAL. Furthermore, the layer containing smectite reorganizes inwardly and the crystallinity of smectite is gradually increased over time. The observations of transmission electron microscopy reveal that the dissolution of glass potentially goes through an interface-coupled dissolution-reprecipitation process.
Effect of different exercise modalities on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Authors: Xue Yaqi , Peng Yang , Zhang Litian , Ba Yi , Jin Gang , Liu Ge
Published: March 2024

Physical exercise intervention can significantly improve the liver of patients with Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but it is unknown which exercise mode has the best effect on liver improvement in NAFLD patients. Therefore, we systematically evaluated the effect of exercise therapy on liver and blood index function of NAFLD patients through network meta-analysis (NMA). Through systematic retrieval of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EBSCO, and CNKI (National Knowledge Infrastructure), two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies by means of databases from inception to January 2023. The NMA was performed using the inconsistency model. A total of 43 studies, 2070 NAFLD patients were included: aerobic training (n = 779), resistance training (n = 159), high-intensity interval training (n = 160), aerobic training + resistance training (n = 96). The results indicate that aerobic training + resistance training could significantly improve serum total cholesterol (TC) (Surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) = 71.7), triglyceride (TG) (SUCRA = 96.8), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (SUCRA = 86.1) in patients with NAFLD including triglycerides. Aerobic training is the best mode to improve ALT (SUCRA = 83.9) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (SUCRA = 72.3). Resistance training is the best mode to improve aspartate transaminase (AST) (SUCRA = 81.7). Taking various benefits into account, we believe that the best modality of exercise for NAFLD patients is aerobic training + resistance training. In our current network meta-analysis, these exercise methods have different effects on the six indicators of NAFLD, which provides some reference for further formulating exercise prescription for NAFLD patients.
Mapping the spatial disparities of HIV prevalence in Ethiopian zones using the generalized additive model
Authors: Yilema Seyifemickael Amare , Shiferaw Yegnanew A. , Belay Alebachew Taye , Belay Denekew Bitew
Published: March 2024

HIV is a worldwide social and health pandemic that poses a significant problem. This study contributes to the 2030 global agenda of reducing HIV prevalence. The study analyzed HIV prevalence using the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data. The study included men aged 15–54 years and women aged 15–49 years who responded to questions about HIV tests. A generalized geo-additive model (GAM) was fitted to HIV data using nonparametric smooth terms for geolocations. Two smoothing techniques were used in GAMs to evaluate spatial disparities and the probable effects of variables on HIV risk. There were certain areas in Ethiopia that were identified as hot spot zones for HIV, including Nuer and Agnuak in Gambella, West Wollega and Illubabor in Oromia, Benchi Maji and Shaka in SNNPR, Awsi, Fantana, Kilbet, and Gabi in the Afar region, Shinilie of the Somalia region, North and South Wollo, Oromia special zones of the Amhara region, Central Ethiopia, and Addis Ababa city. On the other hand, the eastern parts of Ethiopia, particularly most zones in the Somalia region, were identified as cold spot zones with the lowest HIV odds ratio. The odds of HIV+ were higher for those who reside in rural areas than in urban areas. Furthermore, people who have STIs, who used contraceptive methods, and who learned at the secondary level of education were more likely to be infected with HIV. After adjusting for confounding variables, the results indicated that there are substantially significant spatial variations in HIV prevalence across Ethiopian zones. These results provide essential information to strategically target geographic areas to allocate resources and policy interventions at zonal level administrations.
METTL3 and METTL14-mediated N6-methyladenosine modification of SREBF2-AS1 facilitates hepatocellular carcinoma progression and sorafenib resistance through DNA demethylation of SREBF2
Authors: Wu Xianjian , Zeng Min , Wei Yunyu , Lu Rongzhou , Huang Zheng , Huang Lizheng , Huang Yanyan , Lu Yuan , Li Wenchuan , Wei Huamei , Pu Jian
Published: March 2024

As the most prevalent epitranscriptomic modification, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) shows important roles in a variety of diseases through regulating the processing, stability and translation of target RNAs. However, the potential contributions of m6A to RNA functions are unclear. Here, we identified a functional and prognosis-related m6A-modified RNA SREBF2-AS1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expression of SREBF2-AS1 and SREBF2 in HCC tissues and cells was measured by RT-qPCR. m6A modification level of SREBF2-AS1 was measured by methylated RNA immunoprecipitation assay. The roles of SREBF2-AS1 in HCC progression and sorafenib resistance were investigated by proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and cell viability assays. The regulatory mechanisms of SREBF2-AS1 on SREBF2 were investigated by Chromatin isolation by RNA purification, RNA immunoprecipitation, CUT&RUN, and bisulfite DNA sequencing assays. Our findings showed that the expression of SREBF2-AS1 was increased in HCC tissues and cells, and positively correlated with poor survival of HCC patients. m6A modification level of SREBF2-AS1 was also increased in HCC and positively correlated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. METTL3 and METTL14-induced m6A modification upregulated SREBF2-AS1 expression through increasing SREBF2-AS1 transcript stability. Functional assays showed that only m6A-modified, but not non-modified SREBF2-AS1 promoted HCC progression and sorafenib resistance. Mechanistic investigations revealed that m6A-modified SREBF2-AS1 bound and recruited m6A reader FXR1 and DNA 5-methylcytosine dioxygenase TET1 to SREBF2 promoter, leading to DNA demethylation at SREBF2 promoter and the upregulation of SREBF2 transcription. Functional rescue assays showed that SREBF2 was the critical mediator of the oncogenic roles of SREBF2-AS1 in HCC. Together, this study showed that m6A-modified SREBF2-AS1 exerted oncogenic roles in HCC through inducing DNA demethylation and transcriptional activation of SREBF2, and suggested m6A-modified SREBF2-AS1 as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.
Follicular challenge test to predict suboptimal response to gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist trigger in elective oocyte cryopreservation cycles
Authors: Avraham Sarit , Youngster Michal , Yerushalmi Gil , Belov Yekaterina , Gat Itai , Kedem Alon , Yaakov Odelia , Gidoni Yariv , Barkat Jonathan , Baruchin Ohad , Hourvitz Ariel
Published: March 2024

This prospective study aimed to test the ability of follicular GnRH agonist challenge test (FACT) to predict suboptimal response to GnRH agonist trigger, assessed by LH levels post ovulation trigger in non-medical oocyte cryopreservation program. The study included 91 women that underwent non-medical fertility preservation. On day two to menstrual cycle, blood tests were drawn (basal Estradiol, basal FSH, basal LH, Progesterone) and ultrasound (US) was performed. On that evening, the women were instructed to inject 0.2 mg GnRH agonist (FACT) and arrive for repeated blood workup 10–12 h later in the next morning, followed by a flexible antagonist protocol. LH levels on the morning after ovulation trigger were compared to FACT LH levels. The results demonstrated that LH levels following agonist ovulation trigger below 15IU/L occurred in 1.09% of cycles and were predicted by FACT, r = 0.57, p < 0.001. ROC analysis demonstrated that FACT LH > 42.70 IU/L would predict LH post trigger of more than 30 IU/L with 75% sensitivity and 70% specificity, AUC = 0.81. LH levels post trigger also displayed significant positive correlation to basal FSH (r = 0.35, p = 0.002) and basal LH (r = 0.54, p < 0.001). LH levels post ovulation trigger were not associated with total oocytes number or maturity rate. The strongest correlation to the number of frozen oocytes was progesterone levels post agonist trigger (r = 0.746, p < 0.001). We concluded that suboptimal response to agonist trigger, as assessed by post trigger LH levels was a rare event. FACT could serve as an adjunct pre-trigger, intracycle tool to predict adequate LH levels elevation after agonist ovulation trigger. Future studies should focus on optimization of agonist trigger efficacy assessment and prediction, especially in high responders.