bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genome-Wide Analysis of the Gene Structure, Expression and Protein Interactions of the Peach (Prunus persica) TIFY Gene Family
Authors: Sheng Yu , Yu Hong , Pan Haifa , Qiu Keli , Xie Qingmei , Chen Hongli , Fu Songling , Zhang Jinyun , Zhou Hui
Published: February 2022

The TIFY family is a plant-specific gene family involved in regulating many plant processes, such as development and growth, defense and stress responses, fertility and reproduction, and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The v2.0 peach (Prunus persica) genome, which has an improved chromosome-scale assembly and contiguity, has recently been released, but a genome-wide investigation of the peach TIFY family is lacking. In this study, 16 TIFY family genes from the peach genome were identified according to the peach reference genome sequence information and further validated by cloning sequencing. The synteny, phylogenetics, location, structure, and conserved domains and motifs of these genes were analyzed, and finally, the peach TIFY family was characterized into 9 JAZ, 1 TIFY, 1 PPD and 5 ZML subfamily members. Expression profiles of peach JAZ, PPD, and ZML genes in various organs and fruit developmental stages were analyzed, and they showed limited effects with fruit ripening cues. Four TIFY members were significantly affected at the mRNA level by exogenous treatment with MeJA in the peach epicarp, and among them, PpJAZ1, PpJAZ4 and PpJAZ5 were significantly correlated with fruit epicarp pigmentation. In addition, the TIFY family member protein interaction networks established by the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay not only showed similar JAZ-MYC2 and JAZ homo- and heterodimer patterns as those found in Arabidopsis but also extended the JAZ dimer network to ZML-ZML and JAZ-ZML interactions. The PpJAZ3-PpZML4 interaction found in this study suggests the potential formation of the ZML-JAZ-MYC complex in the JA-signaling pathway, which may extend our knowledge of this gene family’s functions in diverse biological processes.
Genomic Data Reveals Population Genetic and Demographic History of Magnolia fistulosa (Magnoliaceae), a Plant Species With Extremely Small Populations in Yunnan Province, China
Authors: Yang Fengmao , Cai Lei , Dao Zhiling , Sun Weibang
Published: February 2022

Elucidating the genetic background of threatened species is fundamental to their management and conservation, and investigating the demographic history of these species is helpful in the determination of the threats facing them. The woody species of the genus Magnolia (Magnoliaceae) have high economic, scientific and ecological values. Although nearly half of all Magnolia species have been evaluated as threatened, to date there has been no population genetic study employing Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology in this genus. In the present study, we investigate the conservation genomics of Magnolia fistulosa, a threatened species endemic to the limestone area along the Sino-Vietnamese border, using a double digest restriction-site-associated DNA-sequencing (ddRAD-seq) approach. To increase the reliability of our statistical inferences, we employed two approaches, Stacks and ipyrad, for SNP calling. A total of 15,272 and 18,960, respectively, putatively neutral SNPs were generated by Stacks and ipyrad. Relatively high genetic diversity and large population divergence were detected in M. fistulosa. Although higher absolute values were calculated using the ipyrad data set, the two data sets showed the same trends in genetic diversity (π, He), population differentiation (FST) and inbreeding coefficients (FIS). A change in the effective population size of M. fistulosa within the last 1 Ma was detected, including a population decline about 0.5–0.8 Ma ago, a bottleneck event about 0.2–0.3 Ma ago, population fluctuations during the last glacial stage, and the recovery of effective population size after the last glacial maximum. Our findings not only lay the foundation for the future conservation of this species, but also provide new insights into the evolutionary history of the genus Magnolia in southeastern Yunnan, China.
Populus SVL Acts in Leaves to Modulate the Timing of Growth Cessation and Bud Set
Authors: André Domenique , Zambrano José Alfredo , Zhang Bo , Lee Keh Chien , Rühl Mark , Marcon Alice , Nilsson Ove
Published: February 2022

SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) is an important regulator of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in the thermosensory pathway of Arabidopsis. It is a negative regulator of flowering and represses FT transcription. In poplar trees, FT2 is central for the photoperiodic control of growth cessation, which also requires the decrease of bioactive gibberellins (GAs). In angiosperm trees, genes similar to SVP, sometimes named DORMANCY-ASSOCIATED MADS-BOX genes, control temperature-mediated bud dormancy. Here we show that SVL, an SVP ortholog in aspen trees, besides its role in controlling dormancy through its expression in buds, is also contributing to the regulation of short day induced growth cessation and bud set through its expression in leaves. SVL is upregulated during short days in leaves and binds to the FT2 promoter to repress its transcription. It furthermore decreases the amount of active GAs, whose downregulation is essential for growth cessation, by repressing the transcription of GA20 oxidase. Finally, the SVL protein is more stable in colder temperatures, thus integrating the temperature signal into the response. We conclude that the molecular function of SVL in the photoperiodic pathway has been conserved between Arabidopsis and poplar trees, albeit the physiological process it controls has changed. SVL is thus both involved in regulating the photoperiod response in leaves, modulating the timing of growth cessation and bud set, and in the subsequent temperature regulation of dormancy in the buds.
From Raffinose Family Oligosaccharides to Sucrose and Hexoses: Gene Expression Profiles Underlying Host-to-Nematode Carbon Delivery in Cucumis sativus Roots
Authors: Wang Xingyi , Li Shihui , Zhang Xu , Gao Lihong , Ruan Yong-Ling , Tian Yongqiang , Ma Si
Published: February 2022

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) induce specific feeding sites in cucumber roots where they absorb carbon nutrients from the host, thereby turning the feeding sites into a strong sink for assimilates. Nematode infection may alter host sugar metabolism in the roots of sucrose-transporting species. However, much less is known about the species translocating raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs), such as cucumber. To address this knowledge gap, the dynamics of RFOs and sucrose metabolisms, two major sugar-metabolism processes, in cucumber roots during nematode infection at transcription and protein levels were analyzed. In the nematode-infected root, the expressions of RFO-synthesis genes, CsRS (Raffinose Synthase) and CsGolS1 (Galactinol Synthase 1), were upregulated at early stage, but were significantly decreased, along with CsSTS (Stachyose Synthase), at the late stage during nematode infection. By contrast, α-galactosidase hydrolyzed RFOs into sucrose and galactose, whose encoding genes was suppressed (CsaGA2) at early stage and then elevated (CsaGA2, 4, and CsAGA1) at the late stage of nematode infection. Consistently, stachyose level was significantly increased by ∼2.5 times at the early stage but reduced at the late stage of infection in comparison with the uninfected roots, with a similar trend found for raffinose and galactinol. Moreover, the genes encoding sucrose synthase and cell wall invertase, which are responsible for sucrose degrading, were differentially expressed. In addition, sugar transporter, CsSUT4, was enhanced significantly after nematode infection at early stage but was suppressed at the late stage. Based on the observation and in connection with the information from literature, the RFOs play a role in the protection of roots during the initial stage of infection but could be used by nematode as C nutrients at the late stage.
Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiling of CONSTANS-Like Genes in Pepper (Capsicum annuum): Gaining an Insight to Their Phylogenetic Evolution and Stress-Specific Roles
Authors: Huang Zhinan , Bai Xueying , Duan Weike , Chen Boqing , Chen Guodong , Xu Binghua , Cheng Rui , Wang Jizhong
Published: February 2022

CONSTANS-like (COL) genes play important regulatory roles in multiple growth and development processes of plants but have rarely been studied in Capsicum annuum. This study explored the evolutionary relationship and expression patterns of COL genes from C. annuum. A total of 10 COL genes were identified in the genome of the cultivated pepper Zunla-1 and were named CaCOL01–10. These genes were unequally distributed among five chromosomes and could be divided into three groups based on differences in gene structure characteristics. During evolutionary history, duplications and retentions were divergent among different groups of COL genes. Tandem duplication caused amplification of group I genes. Genetic distance among COL genes was the largest in group III, suggesting that group III genes undergo more relaxed selection pressure compared with the other groups. Expression patterns of CaCOLs in tissues were significantly different, with CaCOL08 exhibiting the highest expression in stem and leaf. Some COL orthologous genes showed markedly different expression patterns in pepper compared with tomato, such as COL_1 orthologs, which may be involved in fruit development in pepper. In addition, CaCOLs participated in the regulation of abiotic stresses to varying degrees. Five CaCOL genes were induced by cold, and CaCOL02 and CaCOL03 were specifically upregulated by cold and downregulated by heat. This study provides a theoretical basis for the in-depth understanding of the functions of COL genes in pepper and their molecular mechanisms involved in growth and development and responses to abiotic stresses.
The Fucoxanthin Chlorophyll a/c-Binding Protein in Tisochrysis lutea: Influence of Nitrogen and Light on Fucoxanthin and Chlorophyll a/c-Binding Protein Gene Expression and Fucoxanthin Synthesis
Authors: Pajot Anne , Lavaud Johann , Carrier Gregory , Garnier Matthieu , Saint-Jean Bruno , Rabilloud Noémie , Baroukh Caroline , Bérard Jean-Baptiste , Bernard Olivier , Marchal Luc , Nicolau Elodie
Published: February 2022

We observed differences in lhc classification in Chromista. We proposed a classification of the lhcf family with two groups specific to haptophytes, one specific to diatoms, and one specific to seaweeds. Identification and characterization of the Fucoxanthin and Chlorophyll a/c-binding Protein (FCP) of the haptophyte microalgae Tisochrysis lutea were performed by similarity analysis. The FCP family contains 52 lhc genes in T. lutea. FCP pigment binding site candidates were characterized on Lhcf protein monomers of T. lutea, which possesses at least nine chlorophylls and five fucoxanthin molecules, on average, per monomer. The expression of T. lutea lhc genes was assessed during turbidostat and chemostat experiments, one with constant light (CL) and changing nitrogen phases, the second with a 12 h:12 h sinusoidal photoperiod and changing nitrogen phases. RNA-seq analysis revealed a dynamic decrease in the expression of lhc genes with nitrogen depletion. We observed that T. lutea lhcx2 was only expressed at night, suggesting that its role is to protect \cells from return of light after prolonged darkness exposure.
In Loving Hands: How Founders’ Affective Commitment Strengthens the Effect of Organizational Flexibility on Firms’ Opportunity Exploitation and Performance
Authors: Pryor Christopher , Li Chang , Sergeeva Anastasia V. , Pryor Iana S.
Published: February 2022

Is flexibility or formality more useful for organizations that are pursuing improved performance? Organizational structure scholars offer opposing answers to this question, and empirical results have been mixed. Our study contributes to this research by describing a mediational model that links organizational flexibility to performance via opportunity exploitation. Specifically, we argue that flexible firms are able to exploit a greater number of opportunities, which, in turn, can improve performance. We also argue that the indirect effect of flexibility on performance via opportunity exploitation is stronger when top executives display higher affective commitment for their firms, meaning that they have a positive emotional attachment to their firms. Top executives with higher affective commitment can mitigate the downsides experienced by the staff of flexible firms, such as uncertainty and negative affect, which improves the outcomes of flexibility. Drawing on a sample of 211 firms and their founders, we find support for our hypotheses.
The Relationship Between Work Engagement and Job Performance: Psychological Capital as a Moderating Factor
Authors: Yao Jin , Qiu Xiangbin , Yang Liping , Han Xiaoxia , Li Yiying
Published: February 2022

Based on the job demands-resources model, this study explored the relationships of work engagement, job performance and psychological capital in industry employees. A total of 399 IT programmers were recruited and completed the work engagement scale, knowledge employee job performance scale and psychological capital questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) There is a relationship between work engagement and job performance, which may not be linear but inverted U-shaped, and (2) psychological capital plays a moderating role in the inverted U-shaped relationship between work engagement and job performance.
How Chinese Employees’ Voice Behavior Is Motivated: The Role of Perceived Overqualification
Authors: Wu Xiaoyu , Ma Fang
Published: February 2022

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory (COR), we examined the effect of leader-member exchange (LMX) on the voice behavior via role breadth self-efficacy, and how the perceived overqualification moderates the relationship between LMX and voice behavior. We tested the theoretical model with data gathered from 407 individuals in China. The results revealed that LMX had an indirect effect on voice behavior through role breadth self-efficacy, and perceived overqualification moderated the positive association between LMX and role breadth self-efficacy. In addition, the mediating effect of LMX on voice behavior through role breadth self-efficacy was stronger when the level of perceived overqualification was low and weaker when it was high. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for increasing employees’ voice behavior in organizations.
The Impact of Visual and Cognitive Dual-Task Demands on Traffic Perception During Road Crossing of Older and Younger Pedestrians
Authors: Wiczorek Rebecca , Protzak Janna
Published: February 2022

With the help of the current experiment, we wanted to learn more about the impact of visually demanding vs. cognitively demanding secondary tasks on the attention allocation of older pedestrians during the phase of traffic perception within the process of road crossing. For this purpose, we used two different road crossing tasks as well as two different secondary tasks. The road crossing “stop task” was a signal detection task, where an approaching car had to be detected. The road crossing “go task” was a dynamic visual search task, where the resolution of a busy road situation had to be identified. The visual secondary task was a static visual search task and the cognitive secondary task was a 1-back (memory) task. One younger group (≤ 30 years) and one older group (≥ 65 years) of participants completed the tasks as single vs. dual-tasks in all possible combinations. Performance was measured through errors and response time; in addition, the subjective workload was assessed via NASA-TLX. Analyses show that the visual secondary task reduces performance in the road crossing more strongly than the cognitive task, while the visual task itself is less impaired by the road crossing tasks than is the cognitive task. Overall, performance diminishes from single to dual-task completion. Results further indicate age effects in terms of increased errors and response time for older compared to younger participants. In addition to these age effects, age-specific dual-task effects emerge for response time in the go task along with the visual task as well as for response time in the cognitive task along with the go task. Subjective workload is higher in the dual-task conditions than in the single tasks. Findings are discussed with regard to theoretical and practical implications.
Therapeutic Alliance as Active Inference: The Role of Therapeutic Touch and Synchrony
Authors: McParlin Zoe , Cerritelli Francesco , Friston Karl J. , Esteves Jorge E.
Published: February 2022

Recognizing and aligning individuals’ unique adaptive beliefs or “priors” through cooperative communication is critical to establishing a therapeutic relationship and alliance. Using active inference, we present an empirical integrative account of the biobehavioral mechanisms that underwrite therapeutic relationships. A significant mode of establishing cooperative alliances—and potential synchrony relationships—is through ostensive cues generated by repetitive coupling during dynamic touch. Established models speak to the unique role of affectionate touch in developing communication, interpersonal interactions, and a wide variety of therapeutic benefits for patients of all ages; both neurophysiologically and behaviorally. The purpose of this article is to argue for the importance of therapeutic touch in establishing a therapeutic alliance and, ultimately, synchrony between practitioner and patient. We briefly overview the importance and role of therapeutic alliance in prosocial and clinical interactions. We then discuss how cooperative communication and mental state alignment—in intentional communication—are accomplished using active inference. We argue that alignment through active inference facilitates synchrony and communication. The ensuing account is extended to include the role of (C-) tactile afferents in realizing the beneficial effect of therapeutic synchrony. We conclude by proposing a method for synchronizing the effects of touch using the concept of active inference.
An Embodied Sonification Model for Sit-to-Stand Transfers
Authors: Kantan Prithvi , Spaich Erika G. , Dahl Sofia
Published: February 2022

Interactive sonification of biomechanical quantities is gaining relevance as a motor learning aid in movement rehabilitation, as well as a monitoring tool. However, existing gaps in sonification research (issues related to meaning, aesthetics, and clinical effects) have prevented its widespread recognition and adoption in such applications. The incorporation of embodied principles and musical structures in sonification design has gradually become popular, particularly in applications related to human movement. In this study, we propose a general sonification model for the sit-to-stand (STS) transfer, an important activity of daily living. The model contains a fixed component independent of the use-case, which represents the rising motion of the body as an ascending melody using the physical model of a flute. In addition, a flexible component concurrently sonifies STS features of clinical interest in a particular rehabilitative/monitoring situation. Here, we chose to represent shank angular jerk and movement stoppages (freezes), through perceptually salient pitch modulations and bell sounds. We outline the details of our technical implementation of the model. We evaluated the model by means of a listening test experiment with 25 healthy participants, who were asked to identify six normal and simulated impaired STS patterns from sonified versions containing various combinations of the constituent mappings of the model. Overall, we found that the participants were able to classify the patterns accurately (86.67 ± 14.69% correct responses with the full model, 71.56% overall), confidently (64.95 ± 16.52% self-reported rating), and in a timely manner (response time: 4.28 ± 1.52 s). The amount of sonified kinematic information significantly impacted classification accuracy. The six STS patterns were also classified with significantly different accuracy depending on their kinematic characteristics. Learning effects were seen in the form of increased accuracy and confidence with repeated exposure to the sound sequences. We found no significant accuracy differences based on the participants' level of music training. Overall, we see our model as a concrete conceptual and technical starting point for STS sonification design catering to rehabilitative and clinical monitoring applications.
Compassion, Discrimination, and Prosocial Behaviors: Young Diasporic Chinese During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Chen Youli , Wang Zicong , Zhang Qi , Dong Weizhen , Xu Jia Huei Chen , Wu Sizhe Ji , Zhang Xiangyang , Chen Chun
Published: February 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fueled anti-Asian, especially anti-Chinese sentiments worldwide, which may negatively impact diasporic Chinese youths’ adjustment and prosocial development. This study examined the association between compassion, discrimination and prosocial behaviors in diasporic Chinese youths during the COVID-19 pandemic. 360 participants participated and completed the multi-country, cross-sectional, web-based survey between April 22 and May 9, 2020, the escalating stage of the pandemic. This study found compassion as prosocial behaviors’ proximal predictor, while discrimination independently predicted participation in volunteering, and could potentially enhance the association between compassion and charitable giving. These findings suggest that prosociality among young people is sensitive to social context, and that racial discrimination should be considered in future prosocial studies involving young members of ethnic and racial minorities.
Chinese Versus United States Workplace Ageism as GATE-ism: Generation, Age, Tenure, Experience
Authors: North Michael S.
Published: February 2022

Ageism is a pan-cultural problem, and correspondingly, increased research attention worldwide has focused on how a person’s age drives prejudice against them. Nevertheless, recent work argues that chronological age alone is a limited predictor of prejudice—particularly in the workplace, where age conflates intertwined elements (e.g., life stage and work experience), and across cultures, in which the nature of ageism can substantially differ. A recent organizational behavior (GATE) framework advocates for extending beyond numerical age alone, focusing instead on prejudice arising from workers’ perceivedGeneration(birth cohort),Age(life stage),Tenure(time with organization), andExperience(accumulated skillset over time). In addition to clarifying the multifaceted nature of workplace ageism, GATE helps uncover potential cultural ageism differences. Using the United States and China as focal Western and Eastern prototypes, the current paper compares Eastern and Western cultures through a GATE Lens. Eastern and Western cultures adopt different perceptions of generations (e.g., United States “Boomers,” versus Chinese “Cultural Revolution” generation), elder life stages (United States warm-but-incompetent older adults, versus Eastern pragmatic elder resource concerns), organizational tenure expectations (Western job-hopping, versus Eastern filial-piety-based loyalty), and desired experience levels (shaped different by higher Eastern frequency of mandatory retirement practices and family business ventures). Moreover, existing research offers clues for how workplace GATE-ism likely differs between cultures, but more research is needed. Future research should adopt a nuanced GATE conception of “age”-ism, toward enhanced ageism understanding and the ability to utilize a globally aging workforce.
Exploration of Leisure Constraints Perception in the Context of a Pandemic: An Empirical Study of the Macau Light Festival
Authors: Li Xi , Liu Jiamin , Su Xinwei , Xiao Yinan , Xu Changbin
Published: February 2022

Individuals' capacity to participate in leisure activities is contingent upon their ability to overcome obstacles. It is worthwhile to investigate how individuals perceive constraints on their leisure activities participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study demonstrates that the connotation of leisure constraints during pandemic includes personal health concerns, shock on economic revenue, reduced freedom of travel, and inconvenience associated with epidemic prevention. Reduced travel freedom is the most influential factor on participation intentions, followed by personal health concerns. Significant differences in perceptions of constraints are observed between groups with different characteristics.
Self-Regulation of Learning and EFL Learners’ Hope and Joy: A Review of Literature
Authors: Huang Chenhan
Published: February 2022

One of the new structures of positive psychology that has received special attention is academic self-regulation. It involves controlling one’s behavior, emotions, and thoughts to reach a long-term purpose. Learning how to self-regulate is an important skill that language learners learn both for emotional maturity and later social connections. There are various emotional factors that might be associated with the notion of self-regulation. Hope and joy are among the emotional factors that might influence language learners’ self-regulation; therefore, this literature review addresses the state of academic self-regulation in relationship with hope and joy. Reviewing the literature demonstrated that hope and joy affect language learners’ self-regulation. Hope and joy increase vitality, health, life satisfaction, and promote psychological wellbeing in EFL learners. They influence mental and physical health that is positively correlated with various scales, such as mental health, positive mood, avoidance of stressful life events, vitality and happiness in life, and problem-solving skill. The findings revealed that self-regulation in language learners depends on various demographic and educational factors that can improve learner’ language performance, mental health, and vitality of language learners. Curriculum designers and language teachers need to focus the findings of the current study on creating a more adequate and efficient language teaching environment.
Prosocial Behavior in Preschoolers: Effects of Early Socialization Experiences With Peers
Authors: Salerni Nicoletta , Caprin Claudia
Published: February 2022

Over the last decades, many studies had focused on the psychological outcomes of children who have received early socialization outside of the family context, highlighting that the daycare experience can both positively and negatively influence the child’s social-emotional development. Despite the number of studies conducted, there is a lack of observational research on this topic. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the early daycare experience can influence the prosocial behaviors that children exhibit during free-play social interactions with peers, focusing on their quantity and quality. In addition, the associations between the enactment of prosocial behaviors and social-emotional and behavioral competence were investigated. 160 preschoolers, 77 of whom had previously attended daycare, participated in the study and were focally observed during two free play sessions with peers. Each prosocial behavior was identified and subsequently classified using a coding scheme designed to consider the self-initiated or required origin of prosocial actions and their underlying motive. Emotion comprehension was measured using a standardized test, while social-emotional and behavioral competence was assessed using a questionnaire filled out by teachers. The main findings showed that children who had attended daycare had higher anger and aggression scores than those who had not, who, in turn, were rated by their teachers as having more internalizing behaviors. These characteristics seemed to account for the differences found in the tendency to act prosocial acts in response to a peer’s request, which was lower in children who had a previous daycare experience. Moreover, early socialization outside of the family context appeared to foster the comprehension of others’ intent to achieve emotional or instrumental personal goals and, at the same time, to reduce conventional/affiliative prosocial acts. Overall, this study suggested that the incidental effects of daycare on prosocial behavior might be canceled due to the peculiar social-emotional and behavioral characteristics of the two groups of children.
From Sound Perception to Automatic Detection of Schizophrenia: An EEG-Based Deep Learning Approach
Authors: Barros Carla , Roach Brian , Ford Judith M. , Pinheiro Ana P. , Silva Carlos A.
Published: February 2022

Deep learning techniques have been applied to electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, with promising applications in the field of psychiatry. Schizophrenia is one of the most disabling neuropsychiatric disorders, often characterized by the presence of auditory hallucinations. Auditory processing impairments have been studied using EEG-derived event-related potentials and have been associated with clinical symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Due to consistent changes in the amplitude of ERP components, such as the auditory N100, some have been proposed as biomarkers of schizophrenia. In this paper, we examine altered patterns in electrical brain activity during auditory processing and their potential to discriminate schizophrenia and healthy subjects. Using deep convolutional neural networks, we propose an architecture to perform the classification based on multi-channels auditory-related EEG single-trials, recorded during a passive listening task. We analyzed the effect of the number of electrodes used, as well as the laterality and distribution of the electrical activity over the scalp. Results show that the proposed model is able to classify schizophrenia and healthy subjects with an average accuracy of 78% using only 5 midline channels (Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, and Pz). The present study shows the potential of deep learning methods in the study of impaired auditory processing in schizophrenia with implications for diagnosis. The proposed design can provide a base model for future developments in schizophrenia research.
“On-Time Autism Intervention”: A Diagnostic Practice Framework to Accelerate Access
Authors: Penney Ashley M. , Greenson Jessica , Schwartz Ilene S. , Estes Annette Mercer
Published: February 2022

It is well-documented that autism can be reliably diagnosed by age two and that early signs emerge most often between 18 and 24 months. However, despite the increased awareness and focus on early diagnosis, the average age of diagnosis is over 4 years old; even later for Black children and those who are Medicaid-eligible. In this paper, we will propose a framework for accurate and accelerated autism diagnosis for children before age three. The proposed framework emphasizes a collaborative diagnostic process, which relies heavily on Birth to Three provider knowledge and expertise. Considerations for next steps are presented. This approach could increase access to diagnosis of young children soon after first signs of autism emerge.
Maternal Immune Activation and Interleukin 17A in the Pathogenesis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Why It Matters in the COVID-19 Era
Authors: Carter Michael , Casey Sophie , O'Keeffe Gerard W. , Gibson Louise , Gallagher Louise , Murray Deirdre M.
Published: February 2022

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the commonest neurodevelopmental disability. It is a highly complex disorder with an increasing prevalence and an unclear etiology. Consensus indicates that ASD arises as a genetically modulated, and environmentally influenced condition. Although pathogenic rare genetic variants are detected in around 20% of cases of ASD, no single factor is responsible for the vast majority of ASD cases or that explains their characteristic clinical heterogeneity. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that ASD susceptibility involves an interplay between genetic factors and environmental exposures. One such environmental exposure which has received significant attention in this regard is maternal immune activation (MIA) resulting from bacterial or viral infection during pregnancy. Reproducible rodent models of ASD are well-established whereby induction of MIA in pregnant dams, leads to offspring displaying neuroanatomical, functional, and behavioral changes analogous to those seen in ASD. Blockade of specific inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-17A during gestation remediates many of these observed behavioral effects, suggesting a causative or contributory role. Here, we review the growing body of animal and human-based evidence indicating that interleukin-17A may mediate the observed effects of MIA on neurodevelopmental outcomes in the offspring. This is particularly important given the current corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during pregnancy is a potent stimulator of the maternal immune response, however the long-term effects of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on neurodevelopmental outcomes is unclear. This underscores the importance of monitoring neurodevelopmental outcomes in children exposed to SARS-CoV-2-induced MIA during gestation.
Application of the RE-AIM Framework for the Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Evaluation and Management Intervention: A Study Protocol for Program Evaluation
Authors: Tucker Paula W. , Bull Rachel , Hall Alex , Moran Tim P. , Jain Shabnam , Sathian Usha , Simon Harold K. , Gioia Gerard A. , Ratcliff Jonathan J. , Wright David W.
Published: February 2022

Background

Children who experience a mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) may encounter cognitive and behavioral changes that often negatively impact school performance. Communication linkages between the various healthcare systems and school systems are rarely well-coordinated, placing children with an mTBI at risk for prolonged recovery, adverse impact on learning, and mTBI re-exposure. The objective of this study is to rigorously appraise the pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Evaluation and Management (TEaM) Intervention that was designed to enhance diagnosis and management of pediatric mTBI through enhanced patient discharge instructions and communication linkages between school and primary care providers.

Methods

This is a combined randomized and 2 × 2 quasi-experimental study design with educational and technology interventions occurring at the clinician level with patient and school outcomes as key endpoints. The RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework will be utilized as a mix methods approach to appraise a multi-disciplinary, multi-setting intervention with the intent of improving outcomes for children who have experienced mTBI.

Discussion

Utilization of the RE-AIM framework complemented with qualitative inquiry is suitable for evaluating effectiveness of the TEaM Intervention with the aim of emphasizing priorities regarding pediatric mTBI. This program evaluation has the potential to support the knowledge needed to critically appraise the impact of mTBI recovery interventions across multiple settings, enabling uptake of the best-available evidence within clinical practice.
Determinants and Variations of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Responses Among Minority Ethnic Groups in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Authors: Antwi-Berko Daniel , Bakuri Amisah Zenabu , Otabil Kenneth Bentum , Kwarteng Alexander
Published: February 2022

The outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted life worldwide in an unprecedented manner. Over the period, scientific breakthroughs have resulted in the rollout of many vaccination programmes to protect against the disease, reduce the fear and ease public health restrictions for lives to return to some normalcy. The aim of this study was to identify the factors responsible for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance or vaccine hesitancy and to develop a framework to improve vaccine uptake in the Ghanaian-Dutch, Afro and Hindustani Surinamese-Dutch communities in Amsterdam. Using a mixed method approach, this community-based cross-sectional survey recruited 160 respondents consisting of 57 Ghanaian-Dutch, 54 Afro Surinamese-Dutch and 49 Hindustani-Dutch residents in Amsterdam. Our findings showed that the choice of a vaccine as well as the likelihood of self-reported willingness to receive a vaccine is highly dependent on vaccine efficacy and safety. Available evidence of high vaccine effectiveness and safety could encourage about 41.3% of the respondents to accept the vaccine. Additionally, 69.6% of the respondents indicated their willingness to accept the vaccine when vaccine passports are made mandatory by the government. Other major factors that could drive the likelihood of accepting the COVID-19 vaccine include travel requirement for vaccination (28.3%), the safety/probability of only minor side effects (26.1%) and recommendation by family and friends (15.2%). The study therefore provides systematic evidence of factors associated with individual preferences toward COVID-19 vaccination. It demonstrates that the needs of each community are unique and specific interventional efforts are urgently needed to address concerns likely to be associated with vaccine hesitancy.
Estimation of the Radon Risk Under Different European Climates and Soil Textures
Authors: Gil-Oncina Sara , Valdes-Abellan Javier , Pla Concepcion , Benavente David
Published: February 2022

Radon is a radioactive gas produced from the natural radioactive decay of uranium and is found in almost all rocks and soils. In confined places (e.g., dwellings, workplaces, caves, and underground mines), radon may accumulate and become a substantial health risk since it is considered the second most important cause of lung cancer in many developed countries. Radon risk assessment commonly considers either field or estimate values of the radon concentration and the gas permeability of soils. However, radon risk assessment from single measurement surveys to radon potential largescale mapping is strongly sensitive to the soil texture variability and climate changes, and particularly, to the soil water content dynamic and its effect on soil gas permeability. In this paper, the gas permeability of soils, and thus, the estimation of radon risk, is studied considering the effect of three different climates following the Köppen classification and four soil textures on soil water content dynamics. This investigation considers the CLIGEN weather simulator to elaborate 100-year length climatic series; Rosseta 3 pedotransfer function to calculate soil hydraulics parameters, and the HYDRUS-1D software to model the dynamics of water content in the soil. Results reveal that climate strongly affects gas permeability of soils and they must be considered as an additional factor during the evaluation of radon exposure risk. The impact of climate and texture defines the soil water content dynamic. Coarse soils show smaller gas permeability variations and then radon risk, in this case, is less affected by the climate type. However, in clay soils, the effect of climate and the differences in soil water content derive in gas permeability variations between 100 and 1,000 times through an annual cycle. As a result, it may cross the boundary between two radon risk categories. Results deeply confirm that both climate and texture should be compulsory considered when calculating the radon exposure risk and in the definition of new strategies for the elaboration of more reliable geogenic radon potential largescale maps.
Microplastic Pollution in Surface Waters of Urban Watersheds in Central Texas, United States: A Comparison of Sites With and Without Treated Wastewater Effluent
Authors: Stovall Jasmine K. , Bratton Susan Power
Published: February 2022

Most studies of microplastics in freshwater have investigated presence in creeks and rivers below sewage effluents and storm drains. This study examines microplastic distribution in surface waters, including springs and primary streams, located within small, urban Karst watersheds, with and without sources of wastewater treatment discharge. Study locales were in Texas, United States, either in Waco on the Brazos River or in or downstream from San Marcos on the San Marcos River. Research teams collected 800 ml surface water from four different small watersheds and an urban pond (n = 779) and filtered them through 53 μm Nitex mesh. Teams collected samples from springs or primary streams to the lower end of creeks and across stream transects based on distance from the bank and the presence of vegetation and debris. Teams also replicated samples seasonally. Stereo microscopy examined each filter for microplastic particles and subsequently color and type (i.e., fragment, fiber, or sphere). Additionally, we analyzed the influence of urbanization and land use on the origin and transport of the microplastics. Overall, the filters recovered 1,198 microplastic fibers and fragments. On average, 56.7% of all samples at each study locale contained microplastics. Particle abundance was the highest at Proctor Springs (x¯=3.38) and lowest at the pond (x¯=0.98), both headwaters. Local human use and runoff were thus potentially important factors in microplastic presence, while sewage discharge was not unilaterally the primary determinant of microplastic abundance. Peak pollution events occurred in June, September, and October, indicating seasonality of rainfall and recreation affected microplastic frequency and type.
Agree to Disagree: Subjective Fairness in Privacy-Restricted Decentralised Conflict Resolution
Authors: Raymond Alex , Malencia Matthew , Paulino-Passos Guilherme , Prorok Amanda
Published: February 2022

Fairness is commonly seen as a property of the global outcome of a system and assumes centralisation and complete knowledge. However, in real decentralised applications, agents only have partial observation capabilities. Under limited information, agents rely on communication to divulge some of their private (and unobservable) information to others. When an agent deliberates to resolve conflicts, limited knowledge may cause its perspective of a correct outcome to differ from the actual outcome of the conflict resolution. This is subjective unfairness. As human systems and societies are organised by rules and norms, hybrid human-agent and multi-agent environments of the future will require agents to resolve conflicts in a decentralised and rule-aware way. Prior work achieves such decentralised, rule-aware conflict resolution through cultures: explainable architectures that embed human regulations and norms via argumentation frameworks with verification mechanisms. However, this prior work requires agents to have full state knowledge of each other, whereas many distributed applications in practice admit partial observation capabilities, which may require agents to communicate and carefully opt to release information if privacy constraints apply. To enable decentralised, fairness-aware conflict resolution under privacy constraints, we have two contributions: 1) a novel interaction approach and 2) a formalism of the relationship between privacy and fairness. Our proposed interaction approach is an architecture for privacy-aware explainable conflict resolution where agents engage in a dialogue of hypotheses and facts. To measure the privacy-fairness relationship, we define subjective and objective fairness on both the local and global scope and formalise the impact of partial observability due to privacy in these different notions of fairness. We first study our proposed architecture and the privacy-fairness relationship in the abstract, testing different argumentation strategies on a large number of randomised cultures. We empirically demonstrate the trade-off between privacy, objective fairness, and subjective fairness and show that better strategies can mitigate the effects of privacy in distributed systems. In addition to this analysis across a broad set of randomised abstract cultures, we analyse a case study for a specific scenario: we instantiate our architecture in a multi-agent simulation of prioritised rule-aware collision avoidance with limited information disclosure.
Serious Games Strategies With Cable-Driven Robots for Bimanual Rehabilitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Post-Stroke Patients
Authors: Alves Thiago , Gonçalves Rogério Sales , Carbone Giuseppe
Published: February 2022

Cable-driven robots can be an ideal fit for performing post-stroke rehabilitation due to their specific features. For example, they have small and lightweight moving parts and a relatively large workspace. They also allow safe human-robot interactions and can be easily adapted to different patients and training protocols. However, the existing cable-driven robots are mostly unilateral devices that can allow only the rehabilitation of the most affected limb. This leaves unaddressed the rehabilitation of bimanual activities, which are predominant within the common Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Serious games can be integrated with cable-driven robots to further enhance their features by providing an interactive experience and by generating a high level of engagement in patients, while they can turn monotonous and repetitive therapy exercises into entertainment tasks. Additionally, serious game interfaces can collect detailed quantitative treatment information such as exercise time, velocities, and force, which can be very useful to monitor a patient’s progress and adjust the treatment protocols. Given the above-mentioned strong advantages of both cable driven robots, bimanual rehabilitation and serious games, this paper proposes and discusses a combination of them, in particular, for performing bilateral/bimanual rehabilitation tasks. The main design characteristics are analyzed for implementing the design of both the hardware and software components. The hardware design consists of a specifically developed cable-driven robot. The software design consists of a specifically developed serious game for performing bimanual rehabilitation exercises. The developed software also includes BiEval. This specific software allows to quantitatively measure and assess the rehabilitation therapy effects. An experimental validation is reported with 15 healthy subjects and a RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial) has been performed with 10 post-stroke patients at the Physiotherapy’s Clinic of the Federal University of Uberlândia (Minas Gerais, Brazil). The RCT results demonstrate the engineering feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed cable-driven robot in combination with the proposed BiEval software as a valuable tool to augment the conventional physiotherapy protocols and for providing reliable measurements of the patient’s rehabilitation performance and progress. The clinical trial was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the UFU (Brazil) under the CAAE N° 00914818.5.0000.5152 on plataformabrasil@saude.gov.br.