bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DOES REMITTANCE INFLOW PROMOTE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA? AN EMPIRICAL INSIGHT
Authors: SAHOO MALAYARANJAN , SETHI NARAYAN
Published: January 2021

This paper examines the relationship between human development, remittances and other macroeconomic variables like life expectancy, human capital, FDI, inflation, economic growth and financial development by considering 31 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries during the period of 1990–2018. Kao and Fisher residual cointegration tests are applied to check the cointegration among the variables in the long-run. We apply fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and DOLS to show the long-run elasticity of explanatory variables on dependent variable. The result indicates that remittances have a positive and statistically significant effects on human development in SSA region. Similarly, government expenditure, human capital, inflation and economic growth have positive effects on human development in the region. Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel granger causality tests were observed such that there is a unidirectional causality between remittance and human development in SSA countries. However, human development and inflation rate show bi-directional relationship with each other. This paper suggests that public policies can be conceived to promote health, education and income, thereby encouraging and enhancing human development. Policymakers should also rely on other macroeconomic factors, such as government spending and financial development, to stimulate human development in SSA region.
Stable isotope and chemical stratigraphy of the Eocene Tambaba Formation: correlations with the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum event
Authors: Veras José Diego Dias , de Souza Neto João Adauto , Sial Alcides Nóbrega , Ferreira Valderez Pinto , Neumann Virgínio Henrique de Miranda Lopes
Published: January 2021

The Paraíba Basin has a well-defined carbonate depositional sequence from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) to the Eocene. The carbonate sequence consists of the Itamaracá, Gramame, Maria Farinha and Tambaba formations, which mainly contain calcareous sandstones and carbonates with siliciclastics, limestone–marl alternations, limestones and marls, and limestones, respectively. The Tambaba Formation is composed of reef limestones, ranging from fossil- and ichnofossil-rich calcilutite to calcarenite. We investigated rocks of this unit located in a representative geological section at the Tambaba Beach, northeastern Brazil, in order to elucidate the environmental responses recorded in geochemical proxies (C and O isotopic composition, and distribution of major and trace elements). The
δ
13
C and
δ
18
O values ranged from 1.0 to 2.7‰ VPDB and from −1.3 to 1.1‰ VPDB, respectively. The interpretation of this response suggests environmental changes, such as an increase or decrease in bioproductivity of the organisms that make up these reef limestones. These changes are also recorded in the behaviour of the major and trace elements – for example, the relationship between SiO
2
, Al
2
O
3
, MgO and CaO, characterizing two different cycles during the deposition of these limestones: the first one characterized by a predominantly carbonate deposition, and the second one presenting a pulse of siliciclastic content. In addition, palaeotemperature values (9–15°C, from
δ
18
O data) obtained, together with chemostratigraphic profiles of previous studies (e.g.
δ
13
C, CaO, MgO, SiO
2
, Al
2
O
3
), indicate that the reef limestones of the Tambaba Formation were probably deposited about 5 myr after the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum event.
Hypoxic preconditioning attenuates ischemia-reperfusion injury in young healthy adults
Authors: Jarrard Caitlin P. , Nagel Mercedes J. , Stray-Gundersen Sten , Tanaka Hirofumi , Lalande Sophie
Published: January 2021

Ischemia-reperfusion injury induced by restoration of blood flow following occlusion impairs flow-mediated dilation, a marker of endothelium-dependent vasodilation. In young healthy adults, exposure to intermittent hypoxia, consisting of alternating short bouts of breathing hypoxic and normoxic air, before an ischemia-reperfusion injury significantly attenuated the reduction in flow-mediated dilation. Thus, hypoxic preconditioning represents a potential strategy to mitigate the effect of ischemia-reperfusion injury associated with ischemic events.
Face Image Publication Based on Differential Privacy
Authors: Liu Chao , Yang Jing , Zhao Weinan , Zhang Yining , Li Jingyou , Mu Chunmiao
Published: January 2021

As an information carrier, face images contain abundant sensitive information. Due to its natural weak privacy, direct publishing may divulge privacy. Anonymization Technology and Data Encryption Technology are limited by the background knowledge and attack means of attackers, which cannot completely content the needs of face image privacy protection. Therefore, this paper proposes a face image publishing SWP (sliding window publication) algorithm, which satisfies the differential privacy. Firstly, the SWP translates the image gray matrix into a one‐dimensional ordered data stream by using image segmentation technology. The purpose of this step is to transform the image privacy protection problem into the data stream privacy protection problem. Then, the sliding window model is used to model the data flow. By comparing the similarity of data in adjacent sliding windows, the privacy budget is dynamically allocated, and Laplace noise is added. In SWP, the data in the sliding window comes from the image. To present the image features contained in the data more comprehensively and use the privacy budget more reasonably, this paper proposes a fusion similarity measurement EM (exact mechanism) mechanism and a dynamic privacy budget allocation DA (dynamic allocation) mechanism. Also, for further improving the usability of human face images and reducing the impact of noise, a sort‐SWP algorithm based on the SWP method is proposed in the paper. Through the analysis, it can be seen that ordered input can further improve the usability of the SWP algorithm, but direct sorting of data will destroy the ε‐differential privacy. Therefore, this paper proposes a sorting method‐SAS method, which satisfies the ε‐differential privacy; SAS obtain an initial sort by using an exponential mechanism firstly. And then an approximate correct sort is obtained by using the Annealing algorithm to optimize the initial sort. Compared with LAP algorithm and SWP algorithm, the average accuracy rate of sort‐SWP algorithm in ORL, Yale is increased by 56.63% and 21.55%, the recall rate is increased by 6.85% and 3.32%, and F1‐sroce is improved by 55.62% and 16.55%.
Prediction of Power Outage Quantity of Distribution Network Users under Typhoon Disaster Based on Random Forest and Important Variables
Authors: Li Min , Hou Hui , Yu Jufang , Geng Hao , Zhu Ling , Huang Yong , Li Xianqiang
Published: January 2021

Typhoons can have disastrous effects on power systems. They may lead to a large number of power outages for distribution network users. Therefore, this paper establishes a model to predict the power outage quantity of distribution network users under a typhoon disaster. Firstly, twenty-six explanatory variables (called global variables) covering meteorological factors, geographical factors, and power grid factors are considered as the input variables. On this basis, the correlation between each explanatory variable and response variable is analyzed. Secondly, we established a global variable model to predict the power outage quantity of distribution network users based on Random Forest (RF) algorithm. Then the importance of each explanatory variable is mined to extract the most important variables. To reduce the complexity of the model and ease the burden of data collection, eight variables are eventually selected as important variables. Afterward, we predict the power outage quantity of distribution network users again using the eight important variables. Thirdly, we compare the prediction accuracy of a model called the No-model that has been used before, Linear Regression (LR), Support Vector Regression (SVR), Decision Tree Regression (DTR), RF-global variable model, and RF-important variable model. Simulation results show that the RF-important variable model proposed in this paper has a better effect. Since fewer variables can save prediction time and make the model simplified, it is recommended to use the RF-important variable model.
Spectrophotometric Determination of p-Nitrophenol under ENP Interference
Authors: Xia Hui , Zhang Wenjing , Yang Zhijie , Dai Zhenxue , Yang Yuesuo
Published: January 2021

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have been widely developed in various fields in recent years, resulting in an increasing occurrence of nanoparticles in the natural environment. However, the tiny substances have created unexpected confusion in environmental sample testing due to the negative nanoeffect of ENPs. In this paper, a novel technique of spectrophotometric determination of p-nitrophenol (PNP) was developed under the interfering impact of nano-Fe(OH)3, widely distributed in the natural environment as a typical example of ENPs. Because of the strong absorption at the two characteristic peaks of PNP, namely, 317 nm and 400 nm, nano-Fe(OH)3 interfered with the colorimetric determination of PNP. Thus, the developed testing method, with HCl acidification at 60°C and ascorbic acid (AA) masking FeCl3, was proposed and successfully realized the accurate determination of PNP in water samples by ultraviolet spectrophotometry with 317 nm as the absorption wavelength. The final colorimetric system of 5% HCl, 10% CH3OH, and 1% ascorbic acid was confirmed by optimized batch experiments, and the optimum condition of acidification pretreatment was heating at 60°C for 20 min. Further results demonstrated that the proposed novel method had good accuracy and reproducibility even in high-salinity natural water bodies such as groundwater and surface water. The testing technique presented in this paper provided an interesting and useful tool for problem solving of PNP surveys under ENPs’ interference and practically supported water quality assessment for a better environment.
iT3SE-PX: Identification of Bacterial Type III Secreted Effectors Using PSSM Profiles and XGBoost Feature Selection
Authors: Ding Chenchen , Han Haitao , Li Qianyue , Yang Xiaoxia , Liu Taigang
Published: January 2021

Identification of bacterial type III secreted effectors (T3SEs) has become a popular research topic in the field of bioinformatics due to its crucial role in understanding host-pathogen interaction and developing better therapeutic targets against the pathogens. However, the recognition of all effector proteins by using traditional experimental approaches is often time-consuming and laborious. Therefore, development of computational methods to accurately predict putative novel effectors is important in reducing the number of biological experiments for validation. In this study, we proposed a method, called iT3SE-PX, to identify T3SEs solely based on protein sequences. First, three kinds of features were extracted from the position-specific scoring matrix (PSSM) profiles to help train a machine learning (ML) model. Then, the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm was performed to rank these features based on their classification ability. Finally, the optimal features were selected as inputs to a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to predict T3SEs. Based on the two benchmark datasets, we conducted a 100-time randomized 5-fold cross validation (CV) and an independent test, respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method achieved superior performance compared to most of the existing methods and could serve as a useful tool for identifying putative T3SEs, given only the sequence information.
Scleroderma Renal Crisis in a Case of Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Treated Successfully with Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Authors: Madieh Jomana , Khamayseh Iman , Hrizat Alaa , Hamadah Abdurrahman , Gharaibeh Kamel
Published: January 2021

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is a rheumatic disease syndrome with overlapping features of scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, and polymyositis. An extremely rare but serious complication that can occur in MCTD is scleroderma renal crisis (SRC). There have been different approaches to the treatment of SRC associated with MCTD. We present a case of MCTD with chronic features of Raynaud’s phenomenon, dermatomyositis, and thrombocytopenia complicated with acute SRC which showed a great response to ACE inhibitors. Here, we advise the early and aggressive use of ACE inhibitors as soon as SRC is suspected.
An Evaluation Method for Effective Prestress of Simply Supported Prestressed Concrete Beams with Breathing Cracks
Authors: Guo Wenlong , Liang Peng , Liu Hexu , Chen Y. Frank , Zhao Xiaojin
Published: January 2021

Loss of effective prestress and accurate detection of actual stress in existing precast prestressed concrete bridges are two major challenges in the bridge industry. In this respect, this research aims at an improved method for the critical decompression moment (DM) test of cracked sections depending on the stress change rate of tensile rebars. A calculation method for total effective prestress of prestressing strands in the tensile region is derived with the assumption of the plane section and pre‐decompression elastomer. The proposed method is verified by laboratory tests on beams and numerical analysis and by addressing effective prestress issues of existing simply supported beams. The determination results of the critical decompression state show that the proposed method (i.e., the stress change rate of tensile rebars‐load curve) is more sensitive and reasonable than the traditional stress increment, i.e., load curve method. The evaluation results of the total effective prestress are more reasonable than the traditional method based on the steel stress relief hole technique or frequency test results. Compared with the existing methods for estimating the prestress using the mid‐span deflection or crack width, the proposed method is more reasonable in theory and calculation. It provides a guide for the evaluation and reinforcement of aging bridges.
Booms and Busts in the Oil Market: Identifying Speculative Bubbles Using a Continuous‐Time Dynamic System
Authors: Yu Kaizhi , Zhang Yun
Published: January 2021

The sharp changes in oil prices since 2004 featured a nonlinear data‐generating mechanism which displayed bubble‐like behavior. A popular view is that such a salient pattern cannot be explained by shifts in economic fundamentals, but was driven by speculative bubbles as a consequence of the increased financialization of oil future markets. Testing this hypothesis, however, is challenging since the fundamental component of the oil price is unobservable. This paper attempts to isolate the contribution of speculative bubbles and fundamentals to the evolution of oil prices by providing a stylized model of commodity pricing. Motivated by our theoretical model, we adopt a continuous‐time model with a random and time‐varying persistence parameter to empirically investigate the presence of speculative bubbles in daily oil future prices over the period April 1983 to June 2020. We do not find any evidence in favor of speculative bubbles, although we indeed find that oil prices exhibit episodes of unstable behavior after 2004.
Astaxanthin Alleviates Ochratoxin A‐Induced Cecum Injury and Inflammation in Mice by Regulating the Diversity of Cecal Microbiota and TLR4/MyD88/NF‐κB Signaling Pathway
Authors: Chen Yueli , Zhao Shiwei , Jiao Danyang , Yao Beibei , Yang Shuhua , Li Peng , Long Miao
Published: January 2021

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a common environmental pollutant found in a variety of foods and grains, and excessive OTA consumption causes serious global health effects on animals and humans. Astaxanthin (AST) is a natural carotenoid that has anti‐inflammatory, antiapoptotic, immunomodulatory, antitumor, antidiabetes, and other biological activities. The present study is aimed at investigating the effects of AST on OTA‐induced cecum injury and its mechanism of action. Eighty C57 mice were randomly divided into four groups, including the control group, OTA group (5 mg/kg body weight), AST group (100 mg/kg body weight), and AST intervention group (100 mg/kg body weight AST+5 mg/kg body weight OTA). It was found that AST decreased the endotoxin content, effectively prevented the shortening of mouse cecum villi, and increased the expression levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins, consisting of occludin, claudin‐1, and zonula occludens‐1 (ZO‐1). AST increased the number of goblet cells, the contents of mucin‐2 (MUC2), and defensins (Defa5 and β‐pD2) significantly, while the expression of mucin‐1 (MUC1) decreased significantly. The 16S rRNA sequencing showed that AST affected the richness and diversity of cecum flora, decreased the proportion of lactobacillus, and also decreased the contents of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) (acetate and butyrate). In addition, AST significantly decreased the expression of TLR4, MyD88, and p‐p65, while increasing the expression of p65. Meanwhile, the expression of inflammatory factors including TNF‐α and INF‐γ decreased, while the expression of IL‐10 increased. In conclusion, AST reduced OTA‐induced cecum injury by regulating the cecum barrier function and TLR4/MyD88/NF‐κB signaling pathway.
Serine-Threonine Kinase TAO3-Mediated Trafficking of Endosomes Containing the Invadopodia Scaffold TKS5α Promotes Cancer Invasion and Tumor Growth
Authors: Iizuka Shinji , Quintavalle Manuela , Navarro Jose C. , Gribbin Kyle P. , Ardecky Robert J. , Abelman Matthew M. , Ma Chen-Ting , Sergienko Eduard , Zeng Fu-Yue , Pass Ian , Thomas George V. , McWeeney Shannon K. , Hassig Christian A. , Pinkerton Anthony B. , Courtneidge Sara A.
Published: January 2021

Invadopodia are actin-based proteolytic membrane protrusions required for invasive behavior and tumor growth. In this study, we used our high-content screening assay to identify kinases whose activity affects invadopodia formation. Among the top hits selected for further analysis was TAO3, an STE20-like kinase of the GCK subfamily. TAO3 was overexpressed in many human cancers and regulated invadopodia formation in melanoma, breast, and bladder cancers. Furthermore, TAO3 catalytic activity facilitated melanoma growth in three-dimensional matrices and in vivo. A novel, potent catalytic inhibitor of TAO3 was developed that inhibited invadopodia formation and function as well as tumor cell extravasation and growth. Treatment with this inhibitor demonstrated that TAO3 activity is required for endosomal trafficking of TKS5α, an obligate invadopodia scaffold protein. A phosphoproteomics screen for TAO3 substrates revealed the dynein subunit protein LIC2 as a relevant substrate. Knockdown of LIC2 or expression of a phosphomimetic form promoted invadopodia formation. Thus, TAO3 is a new therapeutic target with a distinct mechanism of action.

Significance:

An unbiased screening approach identifies TAO3 as a regulator of invadopodia formation and function, supporting clinical development of this class of target.
Double-hit Signature with TP53 Abnormalities Predicts Poor Survival in Patients with Germinal Center Type Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Treated with R-CHOP
Authors: Song Joo Y. , Perry Anamarija M. , Herrera Alex F. , Chen Lu , Skrabek Pamela , Nasr Michel R. , Ottesen Rebecca A. , Nikowitz Janet , Bedell Victoria , Murata-Collins Joyce , Li Yuping , McCarthy Christine , Pillai Raju , Wang Jinhui , Wu Xiwei , Zain Jasmine , Popplewell Leslie , Kwak Larry W. , Nademanee Auayporn P. , Niland Joyce C. , Scott David W. , Gong Qiang , Chan Wing C. , Weisenburger Dennis D.
Published: January 2021

Purpose:

We performed detailed genomic analysis on 87 cases of de novo diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of germinal center type (GCB DLBCL) to identify characteristics that are associated with survival in those treated with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone).

Experimental Design:

The cases were extensively characterized by combining the results of IHC, cell-of-origin gene expression profiling (GEP; NanoString), double-hit GEP (DLBCL90), FISH cytogenetic analysis for double/triple-hit lymphoma, copy-number analysis, and targeted deep sequencing using a custom mutation panel of 334 genes.

Results:

We identified four distinct biologic subgroups with different survivals, and with similarities to the genomic classifications from two large retrospective studies of DLBCL. Patients with the double-hit signature, but no abnormalities of TP53, and those lacking EZH2 mutation and/or BCL2 translocation, had an excellent prognosis. However, patients with an EZB-like profile had an intermediate prognosis, whereas those with TP53 inactivation combined with the double-hit signature had an extremely poor prognosis. This latter finding was validated using two independent cohorts.

Conclusions:

We propose a practical schema to use genomic variables to risk-stratify patients with GCB DLBCL. This schema provides a promising new approach to identify high-risk patients for new and innovative therapies.
ARID1A Mutation May Define an Immunologically Active Subgroup in Patients with Microsatellite Stable Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Mehrvarz Sarshekeh Amir , Alshenaifi Jumanah , Roszik Jason , Manyam Ganiraju C. , Advani Shailesh M. , Katkhuda Riham , Verma Anuj , Lam Michael , Willis Jason , Shen John Paul , Morris Jeffrey , Davis Jennifer S. , Loree Jonathan M. , Lee Hey Min , Ajani Jaffer A. , Maru Dipen M. , Overman Michael J. , Kopetz Scott
Published: January 2021

Purpose:

AT-rich interactive domain 1A (ARID1A) is commonly mutated in colorectal cancer, frequently resulting in truncation and loss of protein expression. ARID1A recruits MSH2 for mismatch repair during DNA replication. ARID1A deficiency promotes hypermutability and immune activation in preclinical models, but its role in patients with colorectal cancer is being explored.

Experimental Design:

The DNA sequencing and gene expression profiling of patients with colorectal cancer were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas and MD Anderson Cancer Center databases, with validation utilizing external databases, and correlation between ARID1A and immunologic features. IHC for T-cell markers was performed on a separate cohort of patients.

Results:

Twenty-eight of 417 patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer (6.7%) had ARID1A mutation. Among 58 genes most commonly mutated in colorectal cancer, ARID1A mutation had the highest increase with frameshift mutation rates in MSS cases (8-fold, P < 0.001). In MSS, ARID1A mutation was enriched in immune subtype (CMS1) and had a strong correlation with IFNγ expression (Δz score +1.91, P < 0.001). Compared with ARID1A wild-type, statistically significant higher expression for key checkpoint genes (e.g., PD-L1, CTLA4, and PDCD1) and gene sets (e.g., antigen presentation, cytotoxic T-cell function, and immune checkpoints) was observed in mutant cases. This was validated by unsupervised differential expression of genes related to immune response and further confirmed by higher infiltration of T cells in IHC of tumors with ARID1A mutation (P = 0.01).

Conclusions:

The immunogenicity of ARID1A-mutant cases is likely due to an increased level of neoantigens resulting from increased tumor mutational burden and frameshift mutations. Tumors with ARID1A mutation may be more susceptible to immune therapy–based treatment strategies and should be recognized as a unique molecular subgroup in future immune therapy trials.
Desferrioxamine-Related Pseudo-Vitelliform Dystrophy and the Effect of Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
Authors: Grinton Michael E. , Chen Yanmei , Kotagiri Ajay
Published: January 2021

We report a case of a 72-year-old female who developed bilateral pseudo-vitelliform dystrophy after taking desferrioxamine for the treatment of chronic iron overload. The patient then developed a right superior hemiretinal vein occlusion associated with intraretinal fluid in the right eye and was treated with monthly intravitreal aflibercept injections for 3 months followed by as required treatment. In addition to the intraretinal fluid responding to anti-VEGF treatment, there was a reduction in the size of the pseudo-vitelliform subfoveal deposit height, which was not seen in the untreated eye. Our case of an uncommon presentation of desferrioxamine-related maculopathy associated with a vein occlusion and the changes associated with intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment may help with the potential hypotheses of the pathophysiology of desferrioxamine-related pseudo-vitelliform retinal lesions and help with the potential future treatments of the condition.
Prevalence of Mimics and Severe Comorbidity in Patients with Clinically Suspected Transient Global Amnesia
Authors: Werner Ralph , Woehrle Johannes C.
Published: January 2021

Background: Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a syndrome featuring acute anterograde amnesia as the most striking clinical symptom. Its etiology is still a matter of debate. Most neurological guidelines allow the diagnosis on the basis of clinical criteria only; a more extensive evaluation is recommended only for patients with “red flags” like severe headache, nausea or vomiting, or metabolic abnormalities. The aim of our study was to assess the frequency of a severe underlying disease or alternative diagnoses (mimics) in patients fulfilling the clinical criteria. Methods: We evaluated the medical records and the imaging data of an unselected consecutive cohort of patients with suspected TGA over a 7-year period. All patients were hospitalized and received a neurological workup including brain imaging, color-coded duplex sonography of the brain supplying arteries, electroencephalography, and laboratory studies of blood and (in selected cases) cerebrospinal fluid. Results: 163 patients with 166 episodes of suspected TGA were hospitalized (3 patients twice). After the workup, the diagnosis of TGA was confirmed in 148/166 (89.2%) episodes (“simple TGA”). Eighteen patients (10.8%) either had an alternative diagnosis or a severe comorbidity that was assumed to have had an impact on the occurrence of the amnestic episode (“complicated TGA/mimic”). The most important differential diagnosis was stroke (11 patients, 6.6% of all TGA suspects and 61.1% of the complicated TGA/mimic group). Other mimics were transient epileptic amnesia (2 patients) and steroid-induced delirium (1 patient). Important comorbidities that had not been obvious at the time of presentation were severe sleep apnea (2 patients), triptan overuse (1 patient), and an involuntary amlodipine intoxication during TGA. Conclusion: As approximately every tenth patient with suspected TGA either had an alternative diagnosis or a severe comorbidity, which had not been obvious at the time of admission, we consider in-patient treatment of all suspected TGA cases as appropriate, preferably in the setting of a stroke unit, as ischemic stroke was the by far most important diagnosis mimicking TGA.
O desafio de ensinar História em cursos de Relações Internacionais
Authors: Mros Günther Richter
Published: January 2021

O presente artigo aborda o desafio que existe no ensino de História para cursos de Relações Internacionais.  Trata-se de uma breve reflexão sobre conceitos-chave da disciplina de História das Relações Internacionais e de sua aplicabilidade em uma disciplina oferecida no curso de graduação da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. As reflexões aqui contidas foram inspiradas na carreira exemplar do Professor Emérito da Universidade de Brasília, Amado Luiz Cervo, a quem o autor deve muito de sua formação e escolhas profissionais.
Heterogeneity of Cerebral White Matter Lesions and Clinical Correlates in Older Adults
Authors: Jung Keun-Hwa , Stephens Kimberly A. , Yochim Kathryn M. , Riphagen Joost M. , Kim Chan Mi , Buckner Randy L. , Salat David H.
Published: January 2021

Background and Purpose:

Cerebral white matter signal abnormalities (WMSAs) are a significant radiological marker associated with brain and vascular aging. However, understanding their clinical impact is limited because of their pathobiological heterogeneity. We determined whether use of robust reliable automated procedures can distinguish WMSA classes with different clinical consequences.

Methods:

Data from generally healthy participants aged >50 years with moderate or greater WMSA were selected from the Human Connectome Project-Aging (n=130). WMSAs were segmented on T1 imaging. Features extracted from WMSA included total and regional volume, number of discontinuous clusters, size of noncontiguous lesion, contrast of lesion intensity relative to surrounding normal appearing tissue using a fully automated procedure. Hierarchical clustering was used to classify individuals into distinct classes of WMSA. Radiological and clinical variability was evaluated across the individual WMSA classes.

Results:

Class I was characterized by multiple, small, lower-contrast lesions predominantly in the deep WM; class II by large, confluent lesions in the periventricular WM; and class III by higher-contrast lesions restricted to the juxtaventricular WM. Class II was associated with lower myelin content than the other 2 classes. Class II was more prevalent in older subjects and was associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension and lower physical activity levels. Poor sleep quality was associated with a greater risk of class I.

Conclusions:

We classified heterogeneous subsets of cerebral white matter lesions into distinct classes that have different clinical risk factors. This new method for identifying classes of WMSA will be important in understanding the underlying pathophysiology and in determining the impact on clinical outcomes.
De and Virtue in Early Confucian Texts: Introduction
Authors: Yao Xinzhong
Published: January 2021

The introduction to this special issue describes the emergence of the virtue ethics approach within the study of Confucian virtues in recent decades. It will first examine scholarly contributions to the discussion of Confucian virtue ethics and then raises questions concerning whether or not de 德 in early Confucian texts is identical with arête or virtue. It will then investigate the meaning and implication of de in Confucian contexts and make an argument for a new type of Confucian de ethics. It will finally come to the project on de and virtue ethics in early Confucian texts and define its purpose and boundaries.
Three new needle-shaped Fragilaria species from Central America and the Tibetan Plateau

Authors: KRAHN KIM J. , SCHWARZ ANJA , WETZEL CARLOS E. , COHUO-DURÁN SERGIO , DAUT GERHARD , Macario-González LAURA , PÉREZ LISETH , WANG JUNBO , SCHWALB ANTJE
Published: January 2021

Three new needle-shaped Fragilaria species from freshwater lake Apastepeque in El Salvador (Fragilaria salvadoriana sp. nov., F. maarensis sp. nov.) and subsaline lake Nam Co on the Tibetan Plateau (F. huebeneri sp. nov.) are described and compared based on light and scanning electron microscopy observations and morphometric analyses. Fragilaria salvadoriana sp. nov. is characterized by narrowly linear-lanceolate, sometimes centrally constricted valves, subcapitate to rarely capitate apices, and a distinct, dented appearing central area. Striae are composed of 2−5 occluded areolae. It can be differentiated from similar needle-shaped species by the valve outline, relatively low striae density, and shark fin-shaped spines. Characteristic of F. maarensis sp. nov. are a very narrowly lanceolate valve outline and subcapitate apices. The apical pore field is composed of 2–3 rows of poroids and acute, irregularly oriented spines are present at the junction between valve face and mantle. This taxon is clearly different from other Fragilaria species, displaying a high length-to-width ratio and a low number of areolae per stria. The Tibetan species, F. huebeneri sp. nov., forms long ribbon-like colonies linked together by spatula-shaped spines. Valves have subcapitate apices, a spindle- to needle-shaped outline and an indistinct central area. Striae are alternate and composed of 3–5 areolae per stria. Teratological forms of F. huebeneri sp. nov. were commonly observed in the sediment trap samples. Fragilaria salvadoriana sp. nov. and F. maarensis sp. nov. were found in a warm, tropical crater lake characterized by low conductivity and dissolved oxygen content, medium alkaline pH, and magnesium-calcium-bicarbonate-rich waters. Fragilaria huebeneri sp. nov. was frequent in a large, high elevation lake with increased specific conductivity, alkaline pH and sodium-bicarbonate-rich waters. The new species are compared to morphologically similar species from the genus Fragilaria Lyngbye and ecological preferences are discussed.
Pseudoaliinostoc sejongens gen. & sp. nov. (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria) from floodplain soil of the Geum River in Korea based on polyphasic approach

Authors: LEE NAM-JU , BANG SUNG-DO , KIM TAEHEE , KI JANG-SEU , LEE OK-MIN
Published: January 2021

Three strains of Nostoc-related morphotypes isolated from Geum River, Korea. They were studied based on a polyphasic approach using morphology, ecological and molecular data. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene revealed that the selected eight genera were clearly separated into each taxonomic group, and in them, Korean strains formed a clade with Aliinostoc spp. The Aliinostoc sensu lato were monophyletic but divided two distinct lineages with high genetic distance between them (4.2% p-distance between clades vs. 1.8% within clades). In accordance with the statistical analysis, the Korean strain-belonging clade was significantly divergent to segregate from other Aliinostoc clades compared to those of the relative genera (2.8% p-distance between sister-genera vs. 0.9% within the same genus). In addition, the ITS rDNA sequence of the Korean strains showed unique characteristics in terms of nucleotide compositions and length in comparison to that of the Aliinostoc, including their secondary structures of D1–D1ʹ and Box-B. These results supported the establishment of a new genus, proposing Pseudoaliinostoc gen. nov. with a description of P. sejongens sp. nov. for the Korean strains. Likewise, three previously described Aliinostoc species were proposed to be transferred to P. soli comb. nov., P. tiwarii comb. nov., and P. constrictum comb. nov.
Taxonomy of the fern genus Didymochlaena (Didymochlaenaceae) from Asia and Pacific islands based on morphological and molecular evidence with the description of four new species and one new status

Authors: SHANG HUI , LIANG ZHEN-LONG , ZHANG LI-BING
Published: January 2021

A taxonomic revision of Didymochlaena (Didymochlaenaceae) from Asia and the Pacific region is conducted based on morphological and molecular evidence. Seven species are recognized, of which four are described as new and a new status is raised to a species from a variety. These four new species include D. fijiensis from Fiji, D. philippensis from the Philippines, D. punctata from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, and D. solomonensis from the Solomon Islands. The new status is D. oceanica from Papua New Guinea. Six of the seven species have all been erroneously treated as D. truncatula by earlier pteridologists. A key to the species is provided and descriptions of all species are given.
Seek and you shall find: rediscovery of the Brazilian Euphorbia burchellii (Euphorbiaceae) after nearly a century and a half, with a conspectus of Euphorbia sect. Anisophyllum species in the state of Goiás, Brazil

Authors: SILVA MARCOS JOSÉ DA , FEITOSA GABRIEL LUCAS , RIINA RICARDA
Published: January 2021

During a taxonomic study of Euphorbia from Goiás state, Brazil, we came across some small populations of an unfamiliar species of the genus in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region. After detailed analyses of these specimens we concluded that they correspond to E. burchellii (E. section Anisophyllum), a species hitherto known only from its type locality. We present an amended description of E. burchellii, provide the first information about its fruits and seeds, as well as its lectotipification. We also include illustrations and field photographs, comments on its geographical range along with a distribution map, a recommendation for conservation status, phenology, morphological relationships, and systematic position. Finally, we also provide a key to the 14 species of E. section Anisophyllum occurring in Goiás State.
Polystichum dongchuanense and P. menglaense (subg. Haplopolystichum; Dryopteridaceae), two new ferns from Yunnan, China

Authors: LIANG ZHEN-LONG , HE ZHAO-RONG , ZHANG LI-BING
Published: January 2021

Two new fern species, Polystichum dongchuanense and P. menglaense (Dryopteridaceae), are described and illustrated from Yunnan, China. Both are members of P. subg. Haplopolystichum sect. Haplopolystichum. Polystichum dongchuanense is most similar to P. acutidens in plant size and pinna size, but the two can be distinguished from each other by pinna serration and soral number on pinnae. Polystichum menglaense is most similar to P. deltodon in plant size, but the two are different in pinna shape and soral distribution. Both new species have extremely narrow distributions and are classified as Critically Endangered (CR) following IUCN Red List Criteria.
Long known, brand new, and possibly threatened: a new species of watersnake of the genus Helicops Wagler, 1828 (Serpentes; Xenodontinae) from the Tocantins-Araguaia River Basin, Brazil
Authors: MORAES-DA-SILVA ANTONIO , AMARO RENATA CECÍLIA , NUNES PEDRO M. SALES , RODRIGUES MIGUEL TREFAUT , CURCIO FELIPE FRANCO
Published: January 2021

We describe a new species of watersnake of the genus Helicops from the Tocantins-Araguaia River Basin based on characters of coloration and hemipenial morphology, also corroborated by a molecular phylogenetic analysis including 18 terminals of 10 additional congeners. The new species superficially resembles the spotted-patterned He. leopardinus, but differs from it in exhibiting dorsal spots fused into irregular bands, and a unique hemipenial structure with two pairs of distinctly enlarged basal spines. In addition, despite the superficial resemblance of color pattern, our genetic evidence indicates that the new species does not belong to the He. leopardinus radiation, representing the sister group of a component including terminals of this species, He. modestus, and He. infrataeniatus. Finally, we discuss the apparent restriction of the new species to the Tocantins-Araguaia Basin with focus on vicariant processes that may have promoted its differentiation, as well as on the conservation challenges in an area severely affected by anthropic impacts associated with the rapid expansion of hydroelectric and agricultural sectors in the Brazilian Cerrado.
Identifying the sequence specificities of circRNA-binding proteins based on a capsule network architecture
Authors: Wang Zhengfeng , Lei Xiujuan
Published: January 2021

Background

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are widely expressed in cells and tissues and are involved in biological processes and human diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that circRNAs can interact with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), which is considered an important aspect for investigating the function of circRNAs.

Results

In this study, we design a slight variant of the capsule network, called circRB, to identify the sequence specificities of circRNAs binding to RBPs. In this model, the sequence features of circRNAs are extracted by convolution operations, and then, two dynamic routing algorithms in a capsule network are employed to discriminate between different binding sites by analysing the convolution features of binding sites. The experimental results show that the circRB method outperforms the existing computational methods. Afterwards, the trained models are applied to detect the sequence motifs on the seven circRNA-RBP bound sequence datasets and matched to known human RNA motifs. Some motifs on circular RNAs overlap with those on linear RNAs. Finally, we also predict binding sites on the reported full-length sequences of circRNAs interacting with RBPs, attempting to assist current studies. We hope that our model will contribute to better understanding the mechanisms of the interactions between RBPs and circRNAs.

Conclusion

In view of the poor studies about the sequence specificities of circRNA-binding proteins, we designed a classification framework called circRB based on the capsule network. The results show that the circRB method is an effective method, and it achieves higher prediction accuracy than other methods.
Predicting chemosensitivity using drug perturbed gene dynamics
Authors: Mannheimer Joshua D. , Prasad Ashok , Gustafson Daniel L.
Published: January 2021

Background

One of the current directions of precision medicine is the use of computational methods to aid in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease based on data driven approaches. For instance, in oncology, there has been a particular focus on development of algorithms and biomarkers that can be used for pre-clinical and clinical applications. In particular large-scale omics-based models to predict drug sensitivity in in vitro cancer cell line panels have been used to explore the utility and aid in the development of these models as clinical tools. Additionally, a number of web-based interfaces have been constructed for researchers to explore the potential of drug perturbed gene expression as biomarkers including the NCI Transcriptional Pharmacodynamic Workbench. In this paper we explore the influence of drug perturbed gene dynamics of the NCI Transcriptional Pharmacodynamics Workbench in computational models to predict in vitro drug sensitivity for 15 drugs on the NCI60 cell line panel.

Results

This work presents three main findings. First, our models show that gene expression profiles that capture changes in gene expression after 24 h of exposure to a high concentration of drug generates the most accurate predictive models compared to the expression profiles under different dosing conditions. Second, signatures of 100 genes are developed for different gene expression profiles; furthermore, when the gene signatures are applied across gene expression profiles model performance is substantially decreased when gene signatures developed using changes in gene expression are applied to non-drugged gene expression. Lastly, we show that the gene interaction networks developed on these signatures show different network topologies and can be used to inform selection of cancer relevant genes.

Conclusion

Our models suggest that perturbed gene signatures are predictive of drug response, but cannot be applied to predict drug response using unperturbed gene expression. Furthermore, additional drug perturbed gene expression measurements in in vitro cell lines could generate more predictive models; but, more importantly be used in conjunction with computational methods to discover important drug disease relationships.
Gene expression patterns of red sea urchins (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) exposed to different combinations of temperature and pCO2 during early development
Authors: Wong Juliet M. , Hofmann Gretchen E.
Published: January 2021

Background

The red sea urchinMesocentrotus franciscanusis an ecologically important kelp forest herbivore and an economically valuable wild fishery species. To examine howM. franciscanusresponds to its environment on a molecular level, differences in gene expression patterns were observed in embryos raised under combinations of two temperatures (13 °C or 17 °C) and twopCO2levels (475 μatm or 1050 μatm). These combinations mimic various present-day conditions measured during and between upwelling events in the highly dynamic California Current System with the exception of the 17 °C and 1050 μatm combination, which does not currently occur. However, as ocean warming and acidification continues, warmer temperatures and higherpCO2conditions are expected to increase in frequency and to occur simultaneously. The transcriptomic responses of the embryos were assessed at two developmental stages (gastrula and prism) in light of previously described plasticity in body size and thermotolerance under these temperature andpCO2treatments.

Results

Although transcriptomic patterns primarily varied by developmental stage, there were pronounced differences in gene expression as a result of the treatment conditions. Temperature andpCO2treatments led to the differential expression of genes related to the cellular stress response, transmembrane transport, metabolic processes, and the regulation of gene expression. At each developmental stage, temperature contributed significantly to the observed variance in gene expression, which was also correlated to the phenotypic attributes of the embryos. On the other hand, the transcriptomic response topCO2was relatively muted, particularly at the prism stage.

Conclusions

M. franciscanusexhibited transcriptomic plasticity under different temperatures, indicating their capacity for a molecular-level response that may facilitate red sea urchins facing ocean warming as climate change continues. In contrast, the lack of a robust transcriptomic response, in combination with observations of decreased body size, under elevatedpCO2levels suggest that this species may be negatively affected by ocean acidification. High present-daypCO2conditions that occur due to coastal upwelling may already be influencing populations ofM. franciscanus.
Hypoglycaemia in older home-dwelling people with diabetes- a scoping review
Authors: Hermann Monica , Heimro Lovise S. , Haugstvedt Anne , Hernar Ingvild , Sigurdardottir Arun K. , Graue Marit
Published: January 2021

Background

Hypoglycaemia is associated with cognitive and functional decline in older people with diabetes. Identification of individuals at risk and prevention of hypoglycaemia is therefore an important task in the management of diabetes in older home-dwelling individuals. The purpose of this scoping review was to map the literature on hypoglycaemia in home-dwelling older people with diabetes.

Methods

This scoping review included original research articles on hypoglycaemia in older (≥ 65 years) individuals with diabetes from developed countries. A broad search of the databases Cinahl, Embase and Medline was performed in July 2018. The report of the scoping review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews.

Results

Our database search identified 577 articles of which 23 were eligible for inclusion. The identified literature was within four areas: 1) incidence of hypoglycaemia in older home-dwelling people with diabetes (11/23 articles), 2) risk factors of hypoglycaemia (9/23), 3) diabetes knowledge and self-management (6/23) and 4) consequences of hypoglycaemia for health care use (6/23). The majority of the literature focused on severe hypoglycaemia and the emergency situation. The literature on diabetes knowledge and management related to preventing adverse events relevant to older home-dwellers, was limited. We found no literature on long-term consequences of hypoglycaemia for the use of home health care services and the older persons’ ability to remain home-dwelling.

Conclusions

We identified a lack of studies on prevention and management of hypoglycaemia in the older individuals’ homes. Such knowledge is of utmost importance in the current situation where most western countries’ governmental policies aim to treat and manage complex health conditions in the patient’s home. Future studies addressing hypoglycaemia in older individuals with diabetes are needed in order to tailor interventions aiming to enable them to remain home-dwelling as long as possible.