bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tissue‐based absolute quantification using large‐scale TMT and LFQ experiments
Authors: Wang Hong , Dai Chengxin , Pfeuffer Julianus , Sachsenberg Timo , Sanchez Aniel , Bai Mingze , Perez‐Riverol Yasset
Published: July 2023

Relative and absolute intensity‐based protein quantification across cell lines, tissue atlases and tumour datasets is increasingly available in public datasets. These atlases enable researchers to explore fundamental biological questions, such as protein existence, expression location, quantity and correlation with RNA expression. Most studies provide MS1 feature‐based label‐free quantitative (LFQ) datasets; however, growing numbers of isobaric tandem mass tags (TMT) datasets remain unexplored. Here, we compare traditional intensity‐based absolute quantification (iBAQ) proteome abundance ranking to an analogous method using reporter ion proteome abundance ranking with data from an experiment where LFQ and TMT were measured on the same samples. This new TMT method substitutes reporter ion intensities for MS1 feature intensities in the iBAQ framework. Additionally, we compared LFQ‐iBAQ values to TMT‐iBAQ values from two independent large‐scale tissue atlas datasets (one LFQ and one TMT) using robust bottom‐up proteomic identification, normalisation and quantitation workflows.
Anion‐selective macromolecular artificial ionophores with steroid and fatty acid pendants
Authors: Sahoo Subhasish , Dey Asmita , Tecilla Paolo , De Priyadarsi
Published: July 2023

Synthetic anion transporters are potential therapeutics for a plethora of cellular ailments including cystic fibrosis, cancer resistance, epilepsy, etc. In this context, cationic macromolecular amphiphiles are gaining revived interest because of their easy synthesis and ample ion channelization through the membrane barrier. Herein, side chain alanine containing cationic polymer amphiphiles with steroid/fatty acid decoration was established to be an efficient anion‐selective artificial ionophore. The facile amphiphilicity‐assisted assembly makeover of cholic acid containing copolymers channelized the better transmembrane anion transport and efficiency with the maximum selectivity found with NO2− ion.
Unilateral acute eosinophilic pneumonia on the operative side: A case 9 years after lung lobectomy
Authors: Iwabayashi Masaaki , Hashimoto Rika , Takada Mariko , Tomioka Hiromi
Published: July 2023

The typical clinical manifestation of acute eosinophilic pneumonia is acute onset of respiratory symptoms due to smoking or medication use, accompanied by bilateral ground‐glass opacity with consolidations on chest radiography. However, differential diagnosis with acute eosinophilic pneumonia should not be excluded in cases of unilateral pneumonia of postoperative lung.
Modeling the response of a field probe for nondestructive measurements of the magnetic susceptibility of soils
Authors: Zumr David , Li Tailin , Gómez José A. , Guzmán Gema
Published: July 2023

Nondestructive volume magnetic susceptibility measurements (MS) from the surface do not provide information about the depth distribution of a magnetic material or about the amount of magnetic material. We have developed a model that can be used to predict the volume magnetic susceptibility from the surface for a given (known or hypothesized) stratification of the magnetic layers in the soil profile. The measurements were performed with the MS2D Bartington sensor. The antenna signal from the MS2D probe decreases rapidly with depth. We show that the relative decrease in MS depends not only on the concentration of the magnetic tracer, but also on the distribution of the magnetic tracer in the soil profile. The decrease in sensitivity was fitted with a double exponential function. The function was implemented in a newly developed MagHut model. The MagHut model is a tool that can be used for forward modeling of the volume magnetic susceptibility when the tracer distribution in the soil profile is known. The model was successfully calibrated and validated with the measured data and with data from the literature. The Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients for goodness of fit were above 0.99 in all cases. MagHut can help interpret MS mapping results or it can be used to optimize amount and placement of the magnetic tracer for soil erosion experiments. However, the MagHut tool is only limited to the top 10 cm of the soil profile and cannot replace, but only complement, the standard procedure of occasional soil profile sampling and laboratory mass MS measurements.
High‐Efficiency Separator Capacity‐Compensation Strategy Applied to Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Mao Yue , Zhou Chaoyi , Gong Haochen , Zhang Shaojie , Wang Xiaoyi , Liu Xinyi , Xiang Qianxin , Sun Jie
Published: July 2023

Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) are expected to replace partial reliance on lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) in the field of large‐scale energy storage as well as low‐speed electric vehicles due to the abundance, wide distribution, and easy availability of sodium metal. Unfortunately, a certain amount of sodium ions are irreversibly trapped in the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer during the initial charging process, causing the initial capacity loss (ICL) of the SIBs. A separator capacity‐compensation strategy is proposed, where the capacity compensator on the separator oxidizes below the high cut‐off voltage of the cathode to provide additional sodium ions. This strategy shows attractive advantages, including adaptability to current production processes, no impairment of cell long‐cycle life, controlled pre‐sodiation degree, and strategy universality. The separator capacity‐compensation strategy is applied in the NaNi1/3Fe1/3Mn1/3O2 (NMFO)||HC full cell and achieve a compensated capacity ratio of 18.2%. In the Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP)||HC full cell, the initial reversible specific capacity is increased from 61.0 mAh g−1 to 83.1 mAh g−1. The separator capacity‐compensation strategy is proven to be universal and provides a new perspective to enhance the energy density of SIBs.
Elucidating the Mechanism of Freeze‐Thaw Driven Content Mixing between Protocells
Authors: Peter Benedikt , Schwille Petra
Published: July 2023

The front cover artwork is provided by the Schwille group from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried. The image shows the dissemination of genetic material in a population of primitive protocells during freeze‐thaw induced periods of membrane permeability. Read the full text of the Research Article at 10.1002/syst.202300008.
Aplastic anaemia treated using eltrombopag in a dog
Authors: Rodriguez‐Cobos Alfredo , Atencia Sabela
Published: July 2023

A 2‐year‐old, neutered, female beagle was presented to a referral hospital for investigation of pancytopenia. The patient had a history of recurrent infections and, on previous blood tests, anaemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia were detected. At the time of presentation, the patient had been treated for 2 weeks with omeprazole, amoxicillin‐clavulanic acid, marbofloxacin and gabapentin, and for 3 months with prednisolone, in decreasing doses. A bone marrow aspirate and core biopsy were performed. Hypoplastic bone marrow was observed. Once underlying infectious diseases and exposure to toxins were ruled out, a diagnosis of aplastic anaemia was made. The patient was treated with eltrombopag, a thrombopoietin receptor agonist that stimulates primitive haematopoietic stem cells, used for the treatment of aplastic anaemia in humans. One week after starting eltrombopag treatment, all the affected cellular lines were recovered. The patient continued in remission 7 months after treatment.
Heavy metal concentrations in Canada geese, snow geese, mallards, and American coots from the northern Rocky Mountains in Montana
Authors: Capoccia Stella , Hailer Katie , Balmer Brian
Published: July 2023

The presence of metals in migratory bird tissues is well established and mining as an anthropogenic source of exposure to metals is well reported in the scientific literature. Determining the difference between what are hypothesized as normal metal levels and those associated with acute mining toxicity is challenging as spatial and temporal overlap of migratory birds with anthropogenic point sources can be highly variable at individual, population, and species levels. We examined the concentrations of 5 geologically prominent metals and metalloids in the region (arsenic, cadmium, copper, manganese, and zinc) in tissues (kidney, n = 64; liver, n = 65; and muscle, n = 65) from 4 species common to the northern Rocky Mountains in western Montana (Canada goose, Branta canadensis, n = 12; snow goose, Anser caerulescens, n = 15; mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, n = 32; and American coot, Fulica americana, n = 6), to identify metal concentrations for comparison to acute mining‐associated mortalities. Metal levels were highly variable across tissue types for all species. For example, the highest concentrations of copper, manganese, and zinc were measured in the liver (18,300, 3,960, and 38,200, respectively; ug/kg), while cadmium levels were highest in the kidney (973 ug/kg). Among species and tissue types, metal levels were also highly variable. For example, copper levels in mallards were highest in the kidney (6,700 ug/kg) and lowest in muscle (2,780 ug/kg). In contrast, copper levels in American coots were highest in muscle (14,400 ug/kg) and lowest in the kidney (5,060 ug/kg). While the wide variation in metal concentrations among species and tissue types measured in our study can make for difficult comparisons, the results are similar to control cases from other peer‐reviewed publications, and several times lower than dose‐response experiments and incidents in which mining‐associated mortality was known. Our results provide metal concentrations in migratory bird species that utilize the northern Rocky Mountains through Montana, which are essential data for assessing exposure, risk, and mortality associated with anthropogenic activities in the region.
Einführung. Zu diesem Band
Authors: Wagner-Egelhaaf Martina
Published: July 2023

Der Einführungstext erläutert die Fragestellung des Bandes und der ihm zugrundeliegenden Tagung, die unter dem Titel „Rhetoriken. Interdisziplinäre und interkulturelle Zugänge“ stattfand. Ausgangspunkt ist die Beobachtung, dass das Stichwort ‚Rhetorik‘ unterschiedliche Reaktionen, negativer und positiver Art, hervorruft. Zur Diskussion steht die Pluralität der Rhetorik insbesondere in Bezug auf die interdisziplinären und interkulturellen Zugriffe auf rhetorisches Wissen und rhetorische Praktiken. Kurze Zusammenfassungen der einzelnen Beiträge geben einen Ausblick auf die Vielfalt rhetorischer Redegestaltung, vor allem im Blick auf Recht und Literatur.
Rhetorische Profile jüdischer Response der Gegenwart
Authors: Grundmann Regina
Published: July 2023

Innerhalb der für die jüdische Religion und Kultur bedeutsamen Responsa-Praxis lassen sich bei den drei großen jüdischen Denominationen distinkte rhetorische Profile ausmachen, die durch die jeweiligen institutionellen, gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Rahmenbedingungen der einzelnen Richtungen geprägt sind. Die Respondenten des Orthodoxen Judentums greifen auf eine tradierte, in traditionellen Kontexten vermittelte Rhetorik zurück, während sich in den Responsa des Konservativen Judentums und des Reformjudentums jeweils eigene rhetorische Profile herausgebildet haben, die sich vorrangig der gängigen rhetorisch-kommunikativen Mittel der Mehrheitskultur bedienen. Den Respondent/innen aller drei Denominationen ist gemeinsam, dass sie sich – in unterschiedlicher Weise und unterschiedlichem Ausmaß – der Persuasivität des Responsa-Genres und der Bedeutung der rhetorischen Einfassung ihrer Argumente bewusst sind und sie persuasive Elemente zur Aktivierung ihrer jeweiligencommunity of interpretationdaher auch gezielt einsetzen.
Central Bank Digital Currency Cross-Border Payment Model Based on Blockchain Technology
Authors: Hanyu Mao
Published: July 2023

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the growth of the globalized economy and trade has accelerated, and the cross-border payment system, which is an essential component of the international financial infrastructure, has played a significant role in the global economy and trade. However, traditional cross-border payments present risks and challenges, such as expensive processing fees, limited payment efficiency, information asymmetry in the trade process, and reliance on a highly centralized cross-border payment system. This chapter is based on consortium blockchain technology and utilizes Polkadot’s Parachain, Relay chain, and cross-chain technologies as references; a scalable, high-efficiency, high-security, and privacy-protecting central bank digital currency cross-border payment model is designed. Analyzed the usage of hash digest technology and CoinJoin technology to avoid the tracing of transactions in order to protect privacy. The issuance of multi-country central bank digital currency or stablecoin anchored to a basket of fiat currencies is discussed as the currency in circulation in the model. Finally, the central bank digital currency cross-border payment development trend is summarized and forecasted.
The Application of Time Series Analysis in the Fiscal Budget Variance of China
Authors: Chen Guanhua , Gong Xinqi
Published: July 2023

During the process of budget planning and execution, irregular behaviors will be reflected in the level of the difference between budgeted and actual figures (named budget variance). Considering that these two processes are both led by Government Of China (hereinafter called GOC), the budget variance is widely used to evaluate the fiscal system. This chapter collects State General Public Budget data from 2000 to 2018 and analyzes their influence on budget variance. Then the forecast for budget variance is completed by modeling the budget execution and budget variance rate separately. The descriptive analysis and AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) contributes to decide the candidate model, the RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) on test data is used to select the final optimal model. The forecast shows that the extent of budget variance will be further controlled in 2011 and 2012, this chapter explains the result with fiscal theories to enhance the credibility of it and thereby provides a couple of policy advice on Chinese budget reform.
Robust Identification of Gene-Environment Interactions Under High-Dimensional Accelerated Failure Time Models
Authors: Zhang Qingzhao , Chai Hao , Liang Weijuan , Ma Shuangge
Published: July 2023

For complex diseases, beyond the main effects of genetic (G) and environmental (E) factors, gene-environment (G-E) interactions also play an important role. Many of the existing G-E interaction methods conduct marginal analysis, which may not appropriately describe disease biology. Joint analysis methods have been developed, with most of the existing loss functions constructed based on likelihood. In practice, data contamination is not uncommon. Development of robust methods for interaction analysis that can accommodate data contamination is very limited. In this study, we consider censored survival data and adopt an accelerated failure time (AFT) model. An exponential squared loss is adopted to achieve robustness. A sparse group penalization approach, which respects the “main effects, interactions” hierarchy, is adopted for estimation and identification. Consistency properties are rigorously established. Simulation shows that the proposed method outperforms direct competitors. In data analysis, the proposed method makes biologically sensible findings.
Iterative Learning Control Based on Random Variance Reduction Gradient Method
Authors: Gao Yihua , Shen Dong , Qian Jiaxi
Published: July 2023

Traditional iterative learning control (ILC) algorithms usually assume that full system information and operation data can be utilized. However, due to the uncertainty and complexity of actual systems, it is difficult to access full system information and operation data accurately and completely. In this chapter, a novel ILC scheme based on stochastic variance reduced gradient (SVRG) is proposed. This scheme is not only suitable for resolving the incomplete information problem, but also converges efficiently under both strongly convex and non-strongly convex control objectives. To demonstrate the advantages, this chapter studied two scenarios, i.e., random error data dropout and model-free data-driven approach, and proposed two SVRG-based ILC algorithms for these two scenarios, respectively. It is theoretically demonstrated and experimentally verified that the proposed SVRG-based ILC scheme converges faster than both the full gradient and stochastic gradient methods for the two involved scenarios.
On the High Dimensional RSA Algorithm—A Public Key Cryptosystem Based on Lattice and Algebraic Number Theory
Authors: Zhiyong Zheng , Fengxia Liu , Man Chen
Published: July 2023

The most known public key cryptosystem was introduced in 1978 by Rivest et al. (1978) and is now called the RSA public key cryptosystem in their honor. Later, a few authors gave a simple extension of RSA over algebraic numbers field (see Takagi and Naito (2015), Uematsu et al. (1985, 1986)), but they require that the ring of algebraic integers is Euclidean ring, and this requirement is much more stronger than the class number one condition. In this chapter, we introduce a high dimensional form of RSA by making use of the ring of algebraic integers of an algebraic number field and the lattice theory. We give an attainable algorithm (see Algorithm 1) which is significant both from the theoretical and practical point of view. Our main purpose in this chapter is to show that the high dimensional RSA is a lattice based on public key cryptosystem indeed, of which would be considered as a new number in the family of post-quantum cryptography (see Peikert (2014), Pradhanet al. (2019)). On the other hand, we give a matrix expression for any algebraic number fields (see Theorem 2), which is a new result even in the sense of classical algebraic number theory.
ETS1 Ameliorates Hyperoxia-Induced Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Mice by Activating Nrf2/HO-1 Mediated Ferroptosis
Authors: Yang Min , Chen Yanping , Huang Xueshan , Shen Fang , Meng Yanni
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is associated with hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress-associated ferroptosis. This study examined the effect of E26 oncogene homolog 1 (ETS1) on oxidative stress-associated ferroptosis in BPD.

Methods

Hyperoxia-induced A549 cells and neonatal mice were used to establish BPD models. The effects of ETS1 on hyperoxia-induced ferroptosis-like changes in A549 cells were investigated by overexpression of ETS1 plasmid transfection and erastin treatment. Glucose consumption, lactate production, and NADPH levels were assessed by the glucose, lactate, and NADP+/NADPH assay kits, respectively. The potential regulatory relationship between ETS1 and Nrf2/HO-1 was examined by treating hyperoxia-induced A549 cells with the Nrf2 inhibitor ML385. ETS1 effect on the Nrf2 promoter was explored by dual-luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. The effect of ETS1 on the symptoms of BPD mice was examined by injecting an adenovirus overexpressing ETS1.

Results

ETS1 overexpression increased hyperoxia-induced cell viability, glucose consumption, lactate production, and NADPH levels and reduced inflammation and apoptosis in A549 cells. In animal experiments, ETS1 overexpression prevented weight loss, airway enlargement, and reductions in radial alveolar counts in BPD mice, while reducing the mean linear intercept, mean alveolar diameter and inflammation. ETS1 overexpression suppressed PTGS2 and CHAC1 expression, reduced ROS, MDA and ferrous iron (Fe2+) production and increased GSH levels in hyperoxia-induced A549 cells and BPD mice. In addition, ETS1 can bind to the Nrf2 promoter region and thus promote Nrf2 transcription. ETS1 overexpression increased the mRNA and protein levels of Nrf2, HO-1, xCT, and GPX4 in hyperoxia-induced A549 cells and BPD mice. In hyperoxia-induced A549 cells, erastin and ML385 treatment abolished the effect of ETS1 overexpression.

Conclusion

ETS1 is important in oxidative stress-related ferroptosis in a hyperoxia-induced BPD model, and the effect is partially mediated by the Nrf2/HO-1 axis.
Exploring factors associated with higher education students’ learning outcomes in emergency remote teaching environments during the COVID-19 pandemic: General patterns and individual differences
Authors: Zou Yuqing , Zou Chunrui
Published: July 2023

In this study, we aimed to explore the factors associated with higher education students’ learning outcomes in emergency remote teaching environments (ERTEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic at both the population and individual levels, given the limited understanding in previous research. 9418 students from 41 countries were selected for analysis from a survey-based dataset that was collected with the aim of understanding the self-perceived impacts of the first-wave COVID-19 pandemic on higher education students. We conducted structural equation modeling to explore associated factors and latent profile analysis to identify student profiles based on these factors. Utilizing the identified profiles, we developed a random forest-based classifier to identify the membership of students’ profiles. The results showed that six environmental and individual factors—partially mediated by academic emotions—were significantly associated with learning outcomes. The positively associated factors, ranked by path coefficient, were satisfaction with synchronous course organization (SCO), computer skills (CS), satisfaction with asynchronous course organization (ACO), satisfaction with administration support (AS), and perceived teacher support (TS). The negatively associated factor was worry about life. Based on these factors, eight profiles were identified with varying learning outcomes and student characteristics. The classifier achieved a testing accuracy of 0.904. By integrating variable-centered and person-centered approaches, this study bridges the gap in understandings of general patterns and individual differences regarding key factors associated with higher education students’ learning outcomes. The findings have implications for designing individualized interventions and support strategies to enhance student learning outcomes and mitigate educational disparities in ERTEs during crisis situations.
Incidence, prevalence and mortality of chronic liver diseases in Sweden between 2005 and 2019
Authors: Nasr Patrik , von Seth Erik , Mayerhofer Raphaela , Ndegwa Nelson , Ludvigsson Jonas F. , Hagström Hannes
Published: July 2023

Background

Updated data on the incidence, prevalence, and regional differences of chronic liver disease are missing from many countries. In this study, we aimed to describe time trends, incidence, prevalence, and mortality of a wide range of chronic liver diseases in Sweden.

Methods

In this register-based, nationwide observational study, patients with a register-based diagnosis of chronic liver disease, during 2005–2019, were retrieved from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. Annual age-standardized incidence and mortality rates, and prevalence per 100,000 inhabitants was calculated and stratified on age, sex, and geographical region.

Results

The incidence of alcohol-related cirrhosis increased by 47% (2.6% annually), reaching an incidence rate of 13.1/100,000 inhabitants. The incidence rate of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and unspecified liver cirrhosis increased by 217% and 87% (8.0 and 4.3% annually), respectively, reaching an incidence rate of 15.2 and 18.7/100,000 inhabitants, and a prevalence of 24.7 and 44.8/100,000 inhabitants. Furthermore, incidence rates of chronic hepatitis C declined steeply, but liver malignancies have become more common. The most common causes of liver-related mortality were alcohol-related liver disease and unspecified liver disease.

Conclusion

The incidence rates of diagnosed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcohol-related cirrhosis, unspecified liver cirrhosis, and liver malignancies have increased during the last 15 years. Worryingly, mortality in several liver diseases increased, likely reflecting increasing incidences of cirrhosis in spite of a decreasing rate of hepatitis C. Significant disparities exist across sex and geographical regions, which need to be considered when allocating healthcare resources.
Highlighting Water-Bearing Zones in Tunnel by Inverse Wavefield Transform of TEM Data
Authors: Wang Gang , Wang Neng , zheng Xin , Fan Kerui
Published: July 2023

Transient electromagnetic method (TEM) is an effective tool to map the groundwater distribution in tunnel construction. To highlight the structural information of the water-bearing zones, inverse wavefield transform is used to extract pseudo-wavefield from TEM data. To provide accurate and reliable pseudo-wavefield, pseudo-wavefield extraction should tackle the large dynamic range of the kernel function, ill-posed inverse transform function, and self-adaptive solving. In this paper, a series of works had been done to solve the above problems. Based on the property of the wavefield transform and its kernel function, we provided an empirical formula to shorten the integral interval of the inverse wavefield transform. A self-adaptive method combined with the precise integral method (PIM) was conducted to provide accurate equation solving. The data misfit between the modeling data and the fitted data is less than 2.5% in our numerical models. The traces of the pseudo-wavefield highlight the boundary of the low-resistivity layers of different depths and thicknesses. For the field data measured in a constructing tunnel, the reflection in our pseudo-wavefield traces provided massive subsurface electrical interfaces with a data misfit of less than 5%. Combined with the low-resistivity zones in the apparent resistivity results, three water-bearing zones were highlighted and then verified by a drilling test, which confirms the reliability and practicality of our method.
Also for k-means: more data does not imply better performance
Authors: Loog Marco , Krijthe Jesse H. , Bicego Manuele
Published: July 2023

Arguably, a desirable feature of a learner is that its performance gets better with an increasing amount of training data, at least in expectation. This issue has received renewed attention in recent years and some curious and surprising findings have been reported on. In essence, these results show that more data does actually not necessarily lead to improved performance—worse even, performance can deteriorate. Clustering, however, has not been subjected to such kind of study up to now. This paper shows that k-means clustering, a ubiquitous technique in machine learning and data mining, suffers from the same lack of so-called monotonicity and can display deterioration in expected performance with increasing training set sizes. Our main, theoretical contributions prove that 1-means clustering is monotonic, while 2-means is not even weakly monotonic, i.e., the occurrence of nonmonotonic behavior persists indefinitely, beyond any training sample size. For larger k, the question remains open.
No longer able to or no longer wanting to? Are intention violations failures to exert or decisions not to exert self-control?
Authors: Kilger Helena , Reis Dorota , Friese Malte
Published: July 2023

Several theoretical models describe two pathways linking self-control demands with subsequent goal violations. The volitional pathway suggests that these goal violations should be interpreted as failures, while the motivational pathway suggests an interpretation as decisions. In this article, we examined (a) which psychological processes may explain the relationship between self-control demands and subsequent intention violations and (b) to what extent these violations reflect self-control failures rather than deliberate decisions. Results of two experience sampling studies showed that facing demands can trigger two opposing processes: fatigue, which leads to more subsequent violations of intentions, and the feeling that one deserves a reward, which leads to fewer subsequent violations of intentions due to boosts in self-efficacy. The actor may attribute intention violations to either an inability to act otherwise (indicating an actual failure) or a deliberate decision (indicating no failure). The different attributions have marked implications for the cognitive and affective downstream consequences of violating one’s goals, pointing to the importance of distinguishing between actual and apparent failures in self-control.
The Utility of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 Variants to Guide Pharmacological Treatment in Complex Unipolar Major Depression: A Pilot Longitudinal Study
Authors: Ramaraj Reshma , Al-Mahayri Zeina N. , Saleous Reema , Abdel Aziz Karim , Al-Mugaddam Fadwa , Al-Sabousi Mouza , Alhassani Aysha , Ahbabi Noura Ali Al , Stip Emmanuel , Patrinos George P. , Ali Bassam R. , Arnone Danilo
Published: July 2023

Major depression is a frequent condition which variably responds to treatment. In view of its high prevalence, the presence of treatment resistance in major depression significantly impacts on quality of life. Tailoring pharmacological treatment based on genetic polymorphisms is a current trend to personalizing pharmacological treatment in patients with major depressive disorders. Current guidelines for the use of genetic tests in major depression issued by the Clinical Pharmacogenomics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) are based on CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 polymorphisms which constitute the strongest evidence for pharmacogenomic guided treatment. There is evidence of increased clinical response to pharmacological treatment in major depression although largely in non-treatment resistant patients from Western countries. In this study, well characterised participants (N = 15) with complex, largely treatment resistant unipolar major depression were investigated, and clinical improvement was measured at baseline and at week-8 after the pharmacogenomics-guided treatment with the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MÅDRS). Results suggested a statistically significant improvement (p = 0.01) of 16% at endpoint in the whole group and a larger effect in case of changes in medication regime (28%, p = 0.004). This small but appreciable effect can be understood in the context of the level of treatment resistance in the group. To our knowledge, this is the first study from the Middle East demonstrating the feasibility of this approach in the treatment of complex major depressive disorders.
Effect of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2) deletion on intestinal colonization and systemic dissemination in chickens
Authors: Pico-Rodríguez Jwerlly Tatiana , Martínez-Jarquín Hugo , Gómez-Chávez José de Jesús , Juárez-Ramírez Mireya , Martínez-Chavarría Luary Carolina
Published: July 2023

Salmonella’s virulence genes are located in two regions known as Salmonella pathogenicity islands 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2). SPI-1 allows the bacteria to invade the intestine, while SPI-2 is important for intracellular survival and replication, although it is also necessary for intestinal disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the deletion of SPI-1 or SPI-2 genes on the intestinal and systemic salmonellosis using the avian model. Groups of chickens were orally infected with 1010 Colony-Forming Units (CFU) of S. Typhimurium SL1344 WT strain, as well as mutants ∆SPI-1 or ∆SPI-2. At different times post-infection, 5 chickens from each group were euthanized and examined postmortem. Cecum and liver were taken from each chicken for determination of CFU’s, histopathological analysis and immunochemistry. Bacterial colonies were recovered from the liver and cecum samples infected with WT strain, while in the cultures from the organs infected with the mutant strains no colonies were recovered or were drastically affected in the ability to survive. In histopathological analysis, the WT strain produced lesions in liver and ceca, and it was detected by immunohistochemistry throughout the course of the infection. On the other hand, organs of chickens infected with ∆SPI-1 or ∆SPI-2 showed attenuated lesions and the immunohistochemistry revealed less bacteria compared to the WT strain. Taken together, our results show the importance of SPI-1 and SPI-2 genes for the complete intestinal and systemic disease in an in vivo avian model.
Obstructive sleep apnea treatment improves temporomandibular disorder pain
Authors: Alessandri-Bonetti Anna , Lobbezoo Frank , Mangino Gilda , Aarab Ghizlane , Gallenzi Patrizia
Published: July 2023

Purpose

The existence of a bidirectional relationship between poor sleep and pain intensity has been studied, and good sleep quality has been found to be a key factor underlying pain control. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to observe if OSA treatment provides a reduction in temporo-mandibular disorder (TMD) pain and headache attributed to TMD in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) after 18 months of OSA treatment.

Methods

A prospective cohort study was conducted on consecutive patients suffering from OSA. Patients underwent polysomnography and TMD examination according to the DC/TMD protocol at baseline and after 18 months. Intensity of TMD pain and headache attributed to TMD were analyzed.

Results

Of 40 patients (31 men, mean age 51.3 ± 10.3 years), 33 underwent OSA treatment. At the follow-up examination after 18 months, significant improvements in the intensity of pain-related TMD and headache attributed to TMD were observed (p < 0.05). Seven patients did not start treatment for OSA or discontinued treatment. These patients did not show any significant difference in intensity of TMD-pain or headache attributed to TMD after 18 months (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Significant reductions in intensity of pain-related TMD and headache attributed to TMD were observed in patients with OSA after 18 months of OSA treatment onset, while no difference was observed in subjects not undergoing or discontinuing OSA treatment.

Trial registration

The protocol was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov database with number NCT04948541.
Integrative Analysis of Inflammatory Response-Related Gene for Predicting Prognosis and Immunotherapy in Glioma
Authors: Zhao Zhen , Zheng Baoping , Zheng Jianglin , Zhang Yi , Jiang Cheng , Nie Chuansheng , Jiang Xiaobing , Yao Dongxiao , Zhao Hongyang
Published: July 2023

Inflammatory response plays a crucial role in the development and progression of gliomas. Whereas the prognostic esteem of inflammatory response-related genes has never been comprehensively explored in glioma, the RNA-seq information and clinical data of patients with glioma were extracted from TCGA, CGGA, and Rembrandt databases. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were picked out between glioma tissue and non-tumor brain tissue (NBT). Then, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was performed to construct the prognostic signature in the TCGA cohort and verified in other cohorts. Kaplan–Meier survival analyses were conducted to compare the overall survival (OS) between the high and low-risk groups. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were subsequently used to confirm the independent prognostic factors of OS, and then, the nomogram was established based them. Furthermore, immune infiltration, immune checkpoints, and immunotherapy were also probed and compared between high and low-risk groups. The four genes were also analyzed by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blot trials between glioma tissue and NBT. The 39 DEGs were identified between glioma tissue and NBT, of which 31 genes are associated to the prognosis of glioma. The 8 optimal inflammatory response-related genes were selected to construct the prognostic inflammatory response-related signature (IRRS) through the LASSO regression. The effectiveness of the IRRS was verified in the TCGA, CGGA, and Rembrandt cohorts. Meanwhile, a nomogram with better accuracy was established to predict OS based on the independent prognostic factors. The IRRS was highly correlated with clinicopathological features, immune infiltration, and genomic alterations in glioma patients. In addition, four selective genes also verified the difference between glioma tissue and NBT. A novel prognostic signature was associated with the prognosis, immune infiltration, and immunotherapy effect in patients with gliomas. Thus, this study could provide a perspective for glioma prognosis and treatment.
The Rule of Law in Cities of the Medieval Low Countries: Community-Building in Context
Authors: De ruysscher D.
Published: July 2023

Urban communities were established in the twelfth and thirteenth century with the aid of legal concepts that comprised early notions of the rule of law. Cities were envisaged as “communes”, which referred to popular sovereignty. In a first period, urban citizenship was flexible and closely related to place of residence. From around 1220 this model came under increasing pressure. In order to safeguard the interests of the most affluent citizens, large guilds were established. Status determined rights, and there were significant inequalities even among citizens. Ideas of democratic democracy and the civic virtues of citizenship were fostering reforms after 1250. Existing urban governments were expanded to include councils and burgomasters. A framework of checks and balances developed because the commune, now considered as the body of citizens and residents, was seen as a force coexisting with metropolitan institutions. The medieval examples show that, in response to economic and even global conditions, community-building and rule-of-law thinking were solutions offering a “unity-in-diversity”.
Service quality and business performance: the mediating role of innovation
Authors: Kankam George
Published: July 2023

Literature is replete with studies indicating how innovation influences service quality and business performance. In addition to highlighting the research trends in the service sector under investigation, this paper explores the impact factor of innovation on service quality leading to business performance. The cross-sectional survey was the research approach used, while confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was used to analyze the data. In order to study the mediation effect of innovation on service quality and business performance among restaurants bootstrap was used to conduct mediation analysis. The study highlighted that innovation fully mediates service quality and business performance among restaurants in Ghana. Moreover, a business model that highlighted the effectiveness of innovation to service quality leading to business performance among restaurants in Ghana is being advocated. This study will encourage restaurant owners to use innovation in their daily routine to improve service to improve their company’s success.
Philosophy of Particle Physics
Authors: Williams Porter
Published: July 2023

This Element offers an introduction to selected philosophical issues that arise in contemporary particle physics, aimed at philosophers who have limited prior exposure to quantum field theory. One the one hand, it critically surveys philosophical work on the representation of particles in quantum field theory, the formal machinery and conceptual implications of renormalization and renormalization group methods, and ontological and methodological questions raised by the use of effective field theory techniques in particle physics. On the other, it identifies topics in particle physics that have not yet received philosophical attention and sketches avenues for philosophical analysis of those topics. The primary aim of the Element is to provide philosophers of physics with an entry point into the literature on the philosophy of particle physics and identify interesting directions for future research for students and researchers alike.
Establishing best practices in the use of an upgraded airborne teaching laboratory
Authors: Daniels S. , Braithwaite G. , Gratton G.
Published: July 2023

Since the 1980s National Flying Laboratory Centre has used the Jetstream family of aircraft as a flying classroom, providing university students and developing professionals with real-world exposure to theoretical concepts in the form of practical flight test instruction. Recently the Jetstream was replaced with a newer Saab-340B. The work in this paper presents an experimental analysis of instruction using the Jetstream, compared with known best practices, to inform its replacement process. Flight activities were observed, and participating students (n = 60) were surveyed at four set intervals to establish their mood and interest towards the module. A pen and paper test, comparing what participants learned compared to a controlled group was also administered. While the module was still able to excite, motivate and re-contextualise previously taught information to students, upgrades to the aging technology suite, specifically to support data analysis and briefing was one of the greatest needs from the newer aircraft.
Hindsight2020: Characterizing Uncertainty in the COVID-19 Scientific Literature
Authors: Dobolyi Kinga , Sieniawski George P. , Dobolyi David , Goldfrank Joseph , Hampel-Arias Zigfried
Published: July 2023

Following emerging, re-emerging, and endemic pathogen outbreaks, the rush to publish and the risk of data misrepresentation, misinterpretation, and even misinformation puts an even greater onus on methodological rigor, which includes revisiting initial assumptions as new evidence becomes available. This study sought to understand how and when early evidence emerges and evolves when addressing different types of recurring pathogen-related questions. By applying claim-matching by means of deep learning Natural Language Processing (NLP) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) scientific literature against a set of expert-curated evidence, patterns in timing across different COVID-19 questions-and-answers were identified, to build a framework for characterizing uncertainty in emerging infectious disease (EID) research over time. COVID-19 was chosen as a use case for this framework given the large and accessible datasets curated for scientists during the beginning of the pandemic. Timing patterns in reliably answering broad COVID-19 questions often do not align with general publication patterns, but early expert-curated evidence was generally stable. Because instability in answers often occurred within the first 2 to 6 mo for specific COVID-19 topics, public health officials could apply more conservative policies at the start of future pandemics, to be revised as evidence stabilizes.
“An Exercise in the Art of the Possible”: Waging a Battle Against Apartheid in the South African Workplace
Authors: Webb Mattie C.
Published: July 2023

The Wiehahn Commission, a government body that proposed a multipronged 1979 South African labor reform, accelerated the corporate recognition of Black trade unions in apartheid era South Africa. Gradually implemented over the course of two years, the reforms complemented international workplace codes and the burgeoning reformist push for ethically sound business practices in the workplace. Although U.S. multinational firms in South Africa did not initially voice support for Black trade unions, in the aftermath of Soweto, many were faced with cascading internal and external pressures to negotiate with these emerging unions. By incorporating the Sullivan Principles, a U.S. code for ethical business conduct, into the broader scholarship on the South African trade union movement and the late apartheid era Wiehahn Commission reforms, this article examines how corporate reforms landed in South Africa, probing the business response to worker demands. South African workers were not merely passive recipients of workplace reform, but rather active participants, shaping the form and direction of U.S. and South African policy.
Plunging breakers. Part 2. Droplet generation
Authors: Erinin M.A. , Liu C. , Wang S.D. , Liu X. , Duncan J.H.
Published: July 2023

An experimental study of the dynamics and droplet production in three mechanically generated plunging breaking waves is presented in this two-part paper. In the present paper (Part 2), in-line cinematic holography is used to measure the positions, diameters ($d\geq 100\ \mathrm {\mu }{\rm m}$), times and velocities of droplets generated by the three plunging breaking waves studied in Part 1 (Erininet al.,J. Fluid Mech., vol. 967, 2023, A35) as the droplets move up across a horizontal measurement plane located just above the wave crests. It is found that there are four major mechanisms for droplet production: closure of the indentation between the top surface of the plunging jet and the splash that it creates, the bursting of large bubbles that were entrapped under the plunging jet at impact, splashing and bubble bursting in the turbulent zone on the front face of the wave and the bursting of small bubbles that reach the water surface at the crest of the non-breaking wave following the breaker. The droplet diameter distributions for the entire droplet set for each breaker are fitted with power-law functions in separate small- and large-diameter regions. The droplet diameter where these power-law functions cross increases monotonically from 820 to 1480$\mathrm {\mu }{\rm m}$from the weak to the strong breaker, respectively. The droplet diameter and velocity characteristics and the number of the droplets generated by the four mechanisms are found to vary significantly and the processes that create these differences are discussed.
FRACTAL DIMENSIONS OF k-AUTOMATIC SETS
Authors: BLOCK GORMAN ALEXI , SCHULZ CHRIS
Published: July 2023

This paper seeks to build on the extensive connections that have arisen between automata theory, combinatorics on words, fractal geometry, and model theory. Results in this paper establish a characterization for the behavior of the fractal geometry of “k-automatic” sets, subsets of
$[0,1]^d$
that are recognized by Büchi automata. The primary tools for building this characterization include the entropy of a regular language and the digraph structure of an automaton. Via an analysis of the strongly connected components of such a structure, we give an algorithmic description of the box-counting dimension, Hausdorff dimension, and Hausdorff measure of the corresponding subset of the unit box. Applications to definability in model-theoretic expansions of the real additive group are laid out as well.
See You at the Pole: Evangelicals, Public Schools, and “Student-Initiated” School Prayer in 1990s America
Authors: Young Benjamin J.
Published: July 2023

Histories of school prayer have typically concluded in the late 1980s, when court rulings and stalled legislation conclusively barred the door on the return of state-sponsored prayer to public schools. Through an analysis of See You at the Pole, a nationwide initiative formed in 1990 that mobilized millions of American students to gather annually to pray at their school flagpoles, this article argues that the 1990s witnessed not the waning of religion in public schools, but rather its revival in “student-initiated” forms. By tracing the pivot from debates over state sponsorship of religion to debates over students’ rights of free expression, this article establishes the 1990s as a major turning point in legal, political, and religious histories of school prayer. Further, this study of See You at the Pole illuminates how bipartisan, pluralist legitimating logics that crystallized in the 1990s underlie the phenomenon that scholars have recently termed “Christian nationalism.”