bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Studies of cell-penetrating peptides by biophysical methods
Authors: Zorko Matjaž , Langel Ülo
Published: April 2022

Biophysical studies have a very high impact on the understanding of internalization, molecular mechanisms, interactions, and localization of CPPs and CPP/cargo conjugates in live cells or in vivo. Biophysical studies are often first carried out in test-tube set-ups or in vitro, leading to the complicated in vivo systems. This review describes recent studies of CPP internalization, mechanisms, and localization. The multiple methods in these studies reveal different novel and important aspects and define the rules for CPP mechanisms, hopefully leading to their improved applicability to novel and safe therapies.
Public Opinion on Geopolitics and Trade
Authors: Carnegie Allison , Gaikwad Nikhar
Published: April 2022

This article provides a systematic examination of the role of security considerations in shaping mass preferences over international economic exchange. The authors employ multiple survey experiments conducted in the United States and India, along with observational and case study evidence, to investigate how geopolitics affects voters’ views of international trade. Their research shows that respondents consistently—and by large margins—prefer trading with allies over adversaries. Negative prior beliefs about adversaries, amplified by concerns that trade will bolster the partner's military, account for this preference. Yet the authors also find that a significant proportion of the public believes that trade can lead to peace and that the peace-inducing aspects of trade can cause voters to overcome their aversion to trade with adversaries. This article helps explain when and why governments constrained by public opinion pursue economic cooperation in the shadow of conflict.
Global Patterns of Contemporary Welfare States
Authors: HASANAJ VALON
Published: April 2022

This study proposes a novel and systematic theoretical framework to explain global welfare state policy differences. The existing scholarship examined ample welfare state variations, reforms, and transitions; however, it is typically limited to specific countries, regions, policies, or risks. In an endeavor to combine these theoretical and empirical insights, the global contemporary welfare state patterns remain vague. This study aims at bridging this gap in the literature by deploying an orderly and comprehensive three-step procedure. First, I formally design a three-stage global yet comparative conceptual framework that ensures consistency, inclusiveness, and compliance. Second, based on this framework, I assemble a unique comparative dataset for one-hundred-fifty countries, some of which appear for the first time in this literature. Third, I validate the framework using an advanced data reduction method named model-based cluster analysis. The results of this study demonstrate that global contemporary welfare states follow systematically divergent paths, revealing Proactive, Reactive, and Dual patterns.
THE SO-CALLED VILLA DIONYSOS AT KNOSSOS
Authors: Paton Sara
Published: April 2022

The excavated part of the building known as the Villa Dionysos consists of a peristyle court with rooms on three sides. The rooms have fine mosaic floors, found in a remarkable state of preservation. The excavator, Michael Gough, believed that the building was an isolated structure intended for the practice of Dionysiac cult, and he interpreted his finds in the light of this conviction. After his last season of work in 1971, his views were expressed in a short report (Catling 1972, 21–2). Gough died in 1973 having published no further details of his four seasons of work on the site and, except for some diaries and photographs, many of the records are lost. The pottery from his excavations was, however, fully published in 1983 by John Hayes, and the mosaics were published by Rebecca Sweetman in 2013. Further study of the site, together with the pottery evidence, indicates that the peristyle and its associated rooms were the public reception area of an elaborately decorated Roman domus of the second century AD, and that adjacent buildings to the south may have been the private quarters of this house. A large cistern, connected to the aqueduct, provided a copious water supply. The Dionysiac imagery of the mosaics, together with the extraordinary range of imported wine amphorae found on the premises, suggest that the owner may have prospered through the wine trade.
Lexical restructuring stimulates phonological awareness among emerging English–French bilingual children’s literacy
Authors: KRENCA Klaudia , SEGERS Eliane , VERHOEVEN Ludo , STEELE Jeffrey , SHAKORY Sharry , CHEN Xi
Published: April 2022

This longitudinal study investigated how lexical restructuring can stimulate emerging bilingual children’s phonological awareness in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages. Sixty-two English (L1) – French (L2) bilingual children (Mage = 75.7 months, SD = 3.2) were taught new English and French word pairs differing minimally in phonological contrast. The results indicated that increasing lexical specificity in English mediated the relationship between English vocabulary and English phonological awareness both concurrently and longitudinally at the end of Grade 1. A longitudinal relationship was established among French vocabulary, French lexical specificity, and French phonological awareness at the end of Grade 1. Notably, cross-language transfer from English lexical specificity was a better predictor of development in French phonological awareness, especially for words that contained phonological contrasts that occurred in both languages. The results from this study highlight the phonological foundations of early literacy and extend the lexical restructuring hypothesis to emerging bilingual children.
Children’s disambiguation of novel words varies by the number and position of phonological contrasts
Authors: STAGER Catanya G. , MORETT Laura M. , STELMACH Audrey , PARENTE Anna Grace , MICKLER Josh , SCOFIELD Jason
Published: April 2022

Young children often make pragmatic assumptions when learning new words. For example, they assume that a speaker who uses different words intends to refer to different things – the so-called principle of contrast. We used a standard disambiguation task to explore whether children’s assumptions about contrast depend on how much words differ. Three- to 6-year-olds heard pairs of words that differed in terms of the number, position, and types of phonological contrasts. Results indicate that children were less likely to disambiguate words differing by one phoneme than words differing by two or more phonemes, particularly when those one-phoneme differences were located at the beginning or end of the words (as in fim/vim). Overall, the findings suggest that children’s pragmatic assumptions about two contrasting words depend not only on if words differ, but also on how they differ.
Balancing Flexibility and Administrative Burden: Experiences of Family Managers Using Directly Funded Home Care in Manitoba, Canada
Authors: Dansereau Lisette , Kelly Christine , Aubrecht Katie , Grenier Amanda , Williams Allison
Published: April 2022

Directly funded (DF) home care provides funding to home care recipients to coordinate their own care and supports, and is available across all Canadian provinces. Current research on DF home care focuses on the experiences of adults with disabilities self-directing their own care, but less is known about the experiences of family members managing services for adults 55 years of age and older. This article presents findings from a qualitative analysis of 24 semi-structured interviews with older adults and caregivers using the DF program in Manitoba, Canada, focusing on family manager experiences. We identify three themes in the interview data: (1) DF home careenhances choice and flexibilityfor older people and their caregivers, (2) choice and flexibilityreduce caregiver strain, and (3)agency services reduce administrative burden.We discuss the importance of care relationships and the role of family managers. We recommend that traditional home care systems learn from DF, and that increased administrative support would reduce caregiver strain.
Monetary policy and welfare in a currency union
Authors: D’Aguanno Lucio
Published: April 2022

I explore the welfare implications of currency union (CU) membership in a model that generates a trade-off between alternative monetary arrangements. While national currencies support country-specific monetary policies, a CU eliminates some barriers to trade and transitory cross-border price misalignments caused by nominal rigidities. I quantify the welfare gap between these two arrangements and show that it depends crucially on the correlation of shocks across the countries involved. I estimate the model with data from 11 Eurozone members and I seek the minimum trade gains needed to make a single currency worthwhile for them. I find that modest trade gains are likely to be sufficient, given the good business-cycle affiliation of these economies.
Factors Associated with Preventive Care Utilisation among Chinese Older Adults: Evidence from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey
Authors: Lee Yen-Han , Chang Yen-Chang , Shelley Mack , Liu Ching-Ti
Published: April 2022

This research examined the sociodemographic factors associated with preventive care utilisation among Chinese older adults. Using the latest 2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), preventive care utilisation was defined as an annual physical examination. In the final study sample, approximately 69 per cent of the older adults had a physical examination annually. Older adults who had received a high level of formal education (eleven years or above) were more likely to use preventive care (all p < 0.01). Participants with a rural social health scheme and residing in rural areas were also more likely to use preventive care (all p < 0.05). For the interaction effect, rural older adults who could not afford healthcare expenses were less likely to use preventive care (AOR = 0.37, 95 per cent CI: 0.16, 0.84). More reforms should be directed toward reducing social disparities regarding preventive care utilisation.
Care for a Profit?
Authors: Collins Stephanie , Ferracioli Luara
Published: April 2022

We vindicate the widespread intuition that there is something morally problematic with for-profit corporations providing care to young children and elders. But instead of putting forward an empirical argument showing that for-profit corporations score worse than not-for-profits when it comes to meeting the basic needs of these vulnerable groups, we develop a philosophical argument about the nature of the relationship between a care organisation, its role-occupants, and care recipients. We argue that the correlation between profit and lower-quality care is a result of intrinsic features of a for-profit model, combined with conceptual features of meaningful caring relationships, such that non-profits are the most reliable institutional providers of adequate care. Our claim is that care requires a kind of commitment that for-profit institutions are constituted to avoid, and that non-profit institutions are constituted to embrace.
On-farm experiments on cultivation of grain legumes for food – outcomes from a farmer–researcher collaboration
Authors: Carton Nicolas , Swiergiel Weronika , Tidåker Pernilla , Röös Elin , Carlsson Georg
Published: April 2022

There is a growing interest among farmers and consumers in increasing production and consumption of grain legumes in Sweden. This requires better knowledge among farmers and advisors about suitable species, varieties and management practices for different conditions. Since cultivar suitability and management practices are highly site-specific, farmers need to gain their own experience of new crops and practices. This paper describes a farmer–researcher collaboration in which cultivation of grain legumes for food was investigated in on-farm experiments designed, managed and evaluated jointly by a group of farmers and researchers. Farmers tested innovative practices using within-field species diversity, comparative performance of varieties and methods for weed control. Post-harvest steps such as cleaning and selling the crops were considered by farmers to be integral components of the experiments. The process generated different types of knowledge, including practical knowledge on crop management, strategic knowledge on economic sustainability and knowledge about joint learning through collaboration. The on-farm experiments combined advantages of ‘pure’ farmer experiments (i.e., context specificity) and ‘pure’ researcher experiments (i.e., scientific inquiry), facilitating deeper analysis and understanding of outcomes. This enabled efficient knowledge building, adoption of new crops and innovative practices and stimulated further experimentation. The outcomes of this study are that farmer–researcher collaborations using on-farm experiments can stimulate collective learning by stimulating the exchange between participants and combining complementary perspectives throughout the experimentation process. The study also provides recommendations for facilitating on-farm experiments in future work, for instance using collective settings to evaluate the results.
Music and Deafness in the Nineteenth-Century U.S. Imagination
Authors: Maler Anabel
Published: April 2022

This article argues that deaf musical knowledge became epistemically excluded from systems of musical thought in the United States as the result of a battle between two competing philosophies of deaf education in the nineteenth century: manualism and oralism. It reveals how oralist educators explicitly framed music as exclusively involving “normal hearing”—and thus as outside of deaf knowledge except through technological intervention—by drawing on ideas about eugenics, race, and authenticity. Ideas about morality and technology also colored views of deaf musicality in the United States, shaping the reception of deaf music-making throughout the twentieth century until today. This article tells the story of how deaf music-making came to be forgotten and discovered, again and again, in the U.S. consciousness. By way of conclusion, I suggest that in order to address the epistemic exclusion of deaf musical knowers, we must carefully attend to what deaf epistemologies bring to music studies.
Religious Freedom in the City Pool: Gender Segregation, Partisanship, and the Construction of Symbolic Boundaries
Authors: Argyle Lisa P. , Terman Rochelle , Nelimarkka Matti
Published: April 2022

Low political support for religious minority groups in the United States is often explained as a matter of social distance or unfamiliarity between religious traditions. Observable differences between beliefs and behaviors of religious minority groups and the cultural mainstream are thought to demarcate group boundaries. However, little scholarship has examined why some practices become symbolic boundaries that reduce support for religious accommodation in public policy, while nearly identical practices are tolerated. We hypothesize that politics is an important component of the process by which some religious practices are transformed into demarcations between “us” and “them.” We conduct an original survey experiment in which people are exposed to an identical policy demand—women-only swim times at a local public pool—attributed to three different religious denominations (Muslim, Jewish, and Pentecostal). We find that people are less supportive of women-only swim times when the requesting religion is not a part of their partisan coalition.
The varying logics for supporting populist right-wing welfare politics in West European welfare regimes
Authors: Loxbo Karl
Published: April 2022

Little is known about whether and under which conditions populist radical right parties’ (PRRPs’) nativist welfare politics matters to the voters. I address this gap in the research and test the argument that the electoral appeal of this electoral discourse varies among welfare regimes. The study compares the conservative and social-democratic welfare regimes and focuses on the vote choices of the two core constituencies of PRRPs – economically exposed and immigration-sceptic voters. The results show that these electorates support PRRPs’ nativist welfare positions for very different reasons in the two welfare regimes. First, in the conservative regime, economically exposed citizens vote for PRRPs, the more they stress nativism and welfare expansion. By contrast, in the social-democratic regime this group of voters is more likely to support positions combining nativism and dismantled welfare benefits. Second, immigrant-sceptic voters in the social-democratic regime support PRRPs who pledge to preserve the welfare state, and increased migration considerably boosts the probability that they do so. By contrast, this group of voters in the conservative regime is more likely to support PRRPs who seek to partly dismantle the welfare state, and the inflow of immigrants is unrelated to these choices. These results have important implications and suggest that welfare regimes moderate public opinion differently in the current age of populism compared to previous eras.
Thermal Response to Tropical Cyclones Over the Kuroshio
Authors: He Shunzhi , Cheng Xiaoping , Fei Jianfang , Wei Zexun , Huang Xiaogang , Liu Lei
Published: April 2022

The sea surface temperature (SST) and surface enthalpy flux response to tropical cyclones (TCs) in the Kuroshio are investigated using 18‐year observational datasets. The statistical results show that the maximum TC‐induced SST cooling and its occurrence time, recovery time, spatial patterns of the SST anomaly, and the surface enthalpy flux anomaly between the Kuroshio and the warm core eddies (WCEs) and typical oceanic water (i.e., eddy‐free and Kuroshio‐free, TOW) varies considerably. Specifically, the Kuroshio suppresses TC‐induced SST cooling more so than the WCE. The Kuroshio can make the maximum SST cooling occur approximately half a day sooner than that in the WCE and TOW. The recovery time is also shorter in the presence of the Kuroshio and is more pronounced with increasing SST reduction. Compared to the cold wake in the TOW, the composited SST decrease exhibits a long strip with a width of approximately 2° in the presence of the Kuroshio, rather than having a circular distribution of SST decrease as in the WCE. In the recovery period, the negative SST anomaly propagates leftward slowly under TOW conditions, whereas the negative SST anomaly shifts rightward gradually in the Kuroshio condition. Similarly, the air‐to‐sea flux anomaly propagates rightward slowly in the Kuroshio, which moves leftward in the WCE and TOW. These results emphasize that the impact of the Kuroshio on the tropical cyclone‐induced SST anomaly and the surface enthalpy flux anomaly cannot be ignored.
Deformation Process and Mechanism of the Frontal Megathrust at the Nankai Subduction Zone
Authors: Kimura Gaku , Hamada Yohei , Yabe Suguru , Yamaguchi Asuka , Fukuchi Rina , Kido Yukari , Maeda Lena , Toczko Sean , Okuda Hanaya , Ogawa Nobuhiro , Morioka Hitoshi , Ujiie Kohtaro , Saffer Demian
Published: April 2022

The frontal megathrust of the Nankai Trough subduction zone is recognized as a seismogenic fault based on a record of frictional heating, but the underlying micromechanical processes that act on the fault surface are poorly known. Here we present a layer of fault gouge ∼2 mm thick within a core drilled across the megathrust, in which smectite‐rich siltstone has been transformed into a preferentially oriented illite aggregate. The nearly complete breakdown of smectite is consistent with fast frictional heating on this fault; however, the microtextures of the gouge and its surroundings are asserted one produced experimentally by slow slip. We suggest that slow slip with small shear strain has overprinted the textures produced by the previous faster and larger slip. This interpretation based on microtectonic evidence suggests a slow slip around the frontal megathrust took place during slow down, afterslip, or interseismic as observed now going in subduction zone. We suggest that the illite‐dominated gouge is conditionally stable, likely to shift from rapid to slow slip at different times.
Uncertainty Characterization of Ground‐Based, Satellite, and Reanalysis Snow Depth Products Using Extended Triple Collocation
Authors: Qiao Dejing , Li Zhen , Zeng Jiangyuan , Liang Shuang , McColl Kaighin A. , Bi Haiyun , Zhou Jianmin , Zhang Ping
Published: April 2022

The optimal use of hemispheric‐scale snow depth (SD) products for various hydrometeorological applications requires a comprehensive assessment of their quality. Most previous validation studies of SD products adopted in situ observations as the ground truth, which may cause representativeness errors due to spatial scale mismatch between point‐based ground SD measurements and grid‐based SD products. The extended triple collocation (ETC) technique is a powerful tool to estimate the uncertainty of three independent data sets without assuming any one data source is an error‐free “truth” reference. This study first used the ETC to assess the uncertainty of three types of hemispheric‐scale SD products, including the ground‐based analysis Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC), the satellite‐based Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2), and the model‐based Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) SD products. Furthermore, the uncertainties of each SD product were analyzed using ETC metrics, that is, the correlation coefficient (R) and error standard deviations (STDs), with respect to several environmental and perturbing factors. Overall, the CMC outperforms the AMSR2 and GLDAS, with a higher R and a smaller STD. Considering multiple environmental and perturbing factors, the poorest performance of the three SD products is mainly found in densely vegetated regions, and they are strongly related to the forest cover fraction and surface roughness. Despite the above factors, the best performance for all three SD products is found over temperate climate regions. The results demonstrate the usefulness of the ETC approach to quantify the uncertainty of SD products particularly in remote regions with sparse in situ measurements.
Hierarchical Bayesian Inversion of Global Variables and Large‐Scale Spatial Fields
Authors: Wang Lijing , Kitanidis Peter K. , Caers Jef
Published: April 2022

Bayesian inversion is commonly applied to quantify uncertainty of hydrological variables. However, Bayesian inversion is usually focused on spatial hydrological properties instead of hyperparameters or non‐gridded physical global variables. In this paper, we present a hierarchical Bayesian framework to quantify uncertainty of both global and spatial variables. We estimate first the posterior of global variables and then hierarchically estimate the posterior of the spatial field. We propose a machine learning‐based inversion method to estimate the joint distribution of data and global variables directly without introducing a statistical likelihood. We also propose a new local dimension reduction method: local principal component analysis (local PCA) to update large‐scale spatial fields with local data more efficiently. We illustrate the hierarchical Bayesian formulation with three case studies: one with a linear forward model (volume averaging inversion) and two with non‐linear forward models (pumping tests and hydraulic head measurements), including a 3D case. Results show that quantifying global variables uncertainty is critical for assessing uncertainty on predictions. We show how the local PCA approach accelerates the inversion process. Furthermore, we provide an open‐source Python package (https://github.com/lijingwang/hierarchicalBayes.git) on the hierarchical Bayesian framework including three case studies.
Interrogating Subsurface Structures Using Probabilistic Tomography: An Example Assessing the Volume of Irish Sea Basins
Authors: Zhao Xuebin , Curtis Andrew , Zhang Xin
Published: April 2022

The ultimate goal of a scientific investigation is usually to find answers to specific, often low‐dimensional questions: what is the size of a subsurface body? Does a hypothesized subsurface feature exist? Existing information is reviewed, an experiment is designed and performed to acquire new data, and the most likely answer is estimated. Typically the answer is interpreted from geological and geophysical data or models, but is biased because only one particular forward function is considered, one inversion method is applied, and because human interpretation is a biased process. Interrogation theory provides a systematic way to answer specific questions by combining forward, design, inverse, and decision theories. The optimal answer is made more robust since it balances multiple possible forward models, inverse algorithms and model parametrizations, probabilistically. In a synthetic test, we evaluate the area of a low‐velocity anomaly by interrogating Bayesian tomographic results. By combining the effect of four inversion algorithms, the optimal answer is very close to the true answer, even on a coarsely gridded parametrization. In a field data test, we evaluate the volume of the East Irish Sea basins using probabilistic 3D shear wave speed depth inversion results. This example shows that interrogation theory provides a useful way to answer realistic questions about the Earth. A key revelation is that while the majority of computation may be spent solving inverse problems, much of the skill and effort involved in answering questions may be spent defining and calculating target function values in a clear and unbiased manner.
Planetary Aeolian Landforms: An Introduction to the Fifth Planetary Dunes Workshop Special Issue
Authors: Silvestro S. , Titus T. N.
Published: April 2022

Aeolian landforms are widespread in our solar system. Understanding the exact nature and processes of formation of these features are challenging tasks necessitating a strong collaboration between scientists with different skills and scientific backgrounds. This paper describes the special issue for the 5th International Planetary Dunes Workshop, which includes 15 research papers and three commentaries. Among the 18 papers included in this collection, 16 cover Martian aeolian science and two Titan aeolian science. The papers presented focus on bedform morphology and dynamics via remote sensing data, modeling, analogs studies and laboratory experiments. Here we put the main results of the papers in their appropriate scientific context and discuss potential future lines of research.
Experiences of children with central venous access devices: a mixed-methods study
Authors: Ullman Amanda J. , Kleidon Tricia M. , Gibson Victoria , Takashima Mari , Schults Jessica , Cattanach Paula , Paterson Rebecca , Cooke Marie , Byrnes Joshua , Saiyed Masnoon , Chopra Vineet , Rickard Claire
Published: April 2022

Background

Our study aims to explore the experience of having a central venous access device (CVAD) from the perspective of the child and family and how movements within and outside of hospital environments influence this experience.

Methods

A mixed-methods study was conducted across Children’s Health Queensland (Australia), including inpatient and home-care settings. Children less than 18 years with CVADs were eligible and followed for 3 months or CVAD removal. A subgroup of primary caregivers participated in semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative measures of child and family CVAD experiences were explored.

Results

In total, 163 patients with 200 CVADs were recruited and followed for 6993 catheter days (3329 [48%] inpatients; 3147 [45%] outpatients; 517 [7%] home). Seventeen participants were interviewed. Experiences of having a CVAD were complex but predominantly positive primarily related to personalized CVAD care, healthcare quality, and general wellbeing. Their experience was shaped by their movements through hospital and home environments, including care variation and distress with procedures. Device selection and insertion location further influenced experience, including safety, impairments in activities of daily living, school, and recreation.

Conclusions

CVAD experiences were influenced by nonmodifiable (e.g., diagnosis) and modifiable factors (e.g., education; care variation). Clinical approaches and policies that account for family and child considerations should be explored.

Impact

Variation in decision making and management for pediatric CVADs is accepted by many clinicians, but the influence this variation has on the health experience of children and their families is less well explored.

This is the first study to draw from a broad range of children requiring CVADs to determine their experience within and outside of healthcare facilities.

Interdisciplinary clinicians and researchers need to work collaboratively with children and their families to provide resources and support services to ensure they have positive experiences with CVADs, no matter where they are managed, or who they are managed by.
Single nucleotide polymorphism determines constitutive versus inducible type VI secretion in Vibrio cholerae
Authors: Drebes Dörr Natália C , Proutière Alexis , Jaskólska Milena , Stutzmann Sandrine , Bader Loriane , Blokesch Melanie
Published: April 2022

Vibrio cholerae is a well-studied human pathogen that is also a common inhabitant of marine habitats. In both environments, the bacterium is subject to interbacterial competition. A molecular nanomachine that is often involved in such competitive behavior is the type VI secretion system (T6SS). Interestingly and in contrast to non-pandemic or environmental isolates, the T6SS of the O1 El Tor clade of V. cholerae, which is responsible for the ongoing 7th cholera pandemic, is largely silent under standard laboratory culture conditions. Instead, these strains induce their full T6SS capacity only under specific conditions such as growth on chitinous surfaces (signaled through TfoX and QstR) or when the cells encounter low intracellular c-di-GMP levels (TfoY-driven). In this study, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within an intergenic region of the major T6SS gene cluster of V. cholerae that determines the T6SS status of the cell. We show that SNP conversion is sufficient to induce T6SS production in numerous pandemic strains, while the converse approach renders non-pandemic/environmental V. cholerae strains T6SS-silent. We further demonstrate that SNP-dependent T6SS production occurs independently of the known T6SS regulators TfoX, QstR, and TfoY. Finally, we identify a putative promoter region adjacent to the identified SNP that is required for all forms of T6SS regulation in V. cholerae.
SLC25A38 as a novel biomarker for metastasis and clinical outcome in uveal melanoma
Authors: Fan Zhongyi , Duan Jingjing , Luo Pu , Shao Ling , Chen Qiong , Tan Xiaohua , Zhang Lei , Xu Xiaojie
Published: April 2022

Risk of metastasis is increased by the presence of chromosome 3 monosomy in uveal melanoma (UM). This study aimed to identify more accurate biomarker for risk of metastasis in UM. A total of 80 patients with UM from TCGA were assigned to two groups based on the metastatic status, and bioinformatic analyses were performed to search for critical genes for risk of metastasis. SLC25A38, located on chromosome 3, was the dominant downregulated gene in metastatic UM patients. Low expression of SLC25A38 was an independent predictive and prognostic factor in UM. The predictive potential of SLC25A38 expression was superior to that of pervious reported biomarkers in both TCGA cohort and GSE22138 cohort. Subsequently, its role in promoting metastasis was explored in vitro and in vivo. Knock-out of SLC25A38 could enhance the migration ability of UM cells, and promote distant metastasis in mice models. Through the inhibition of CBP/HIF-mediated pathway followed by the suppression of pro-angiogenic factors, SLC25A38 was situated upstream of metastasis-related pathways, especially angiogenesis. Low expression of SLC25A38 promotes angiogenesis and metastasis, and identifies increased metastatic risk and worse survival in UM patients. This finding may further improve the accuracy of prognostic prediction for UM.
Loss of RNA binding protein HuD facilitates the production of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype
Authors: Ryu Seungyeon , Jung Myeongwoo , Kim Chongtae , Kang Hoin , Han Sukyoung , Cha Seongho , Jeong Seung Min , Lee Eun Kyung
Published: April 2022

HuD, an RNA binding protein, plays a role in the regulation of gene expression in certain types of cells, including neuronal cells and pancreatic β-cells, via RNA metabolism. Its aberrant expression is associated with the pathogenesis of several human diseases. To explore HuD-mediated gene regulation, stable cells expressing short hairpin RNA against HuD were established using mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a (N2a) cells, which displayed enhanced phenotypic characteristics of cellular senescence. Two approaches, RNA immunoprecipitation (RNA IP)-NanoString profiling and cytokine array, were used to subsequently identify a subset of putative HuD targets that act as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), including C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), CCL20, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CXCL2), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Here, we further demonstrated that HuD regulates the expression of CCL2, a SASP candidate upregulated in cells following HuD knockdown, by binding to the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) ofCcl2mRNA. Downregulation of HuD increased the level of CCL2 in N2a cells and the brain tissues of HuD knockout (KO) mice. Exposure to γ-irradiation induced cellular senescence in N2a cells and HuD knockdown facilitated stress-induced cellular senescence. Our results reveal that HuD acts as a novel regulator of CCL2 expression, and its aberrant expression may contribute to cellular senescence by regulating SASP production.
Long noncoding RNA SH3PXD2A-AS1 promotes NSCLC proliferation and accelerates cell cycle progression by interacting with DHX9
Authors: Zhou Yeqing , Yong Hongmei , Cui WenJie , Chu Sufang , Li Minle , Li Zhongwei , Bai Jin , Zhang Hao
Published: April 2022

As the most commonly diagnosed lung cancer, non–small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is regulated by many long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). In the present study, we found that SH3PXD2A-AS1 expression in NSCLC tissues was upregulated compared with that in normal lung tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database by using the GEPIA website. K-M analysis was performed to explore the effects of this molecule on the survival rate in NSCLC. The results demonstrated that SH3PXD2A-AS1 expression was increased in human NSCLC, and high SH3PXD2A-AS1 expression was correlated with poor overall survival. SH3PXD2A-AS1 promotes lung cancer cell proliferation and accelerates cell cycle progression in vitro. Animal studies validated that knockdown of SH3PXD2A-AS1 inhibits NSCLC cell proliferation in vivo. Mechanically, SH3PXD2A-AS1 interacted with DHX9 to enhance FOXM1 expression, promote tumour cell proliferation and accelerate cell cycle progression. Altogether, SH3PXD2A-AS1 promoted NSCLC growth by interacting with DHX9 to enhance FOXM1 expression. SH3PXD2A-AS1 may serve as a promising predictive biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with NSCLC.
Recent and current low food intake – prevalence and associated factors in hospital patients from different medical specialities
Authors: Böhne Sarah Elisabeth Jasmin , Hiesmayr Michael , Sulz Isabella , Tarantino Silvia , Wirth Rainer , Volkert Dorothee
Published: April 2022

Background/Objectives

Poor food intake is a major etiological factor of malnutrition. This research aims to describe the prevalence of recent and current low food intake (LIRC) and to identify factors associated with LIRC in adult hospital patients from different medical specialities.

Subject/Methods

1865 patients participating in the nutritionDay survey 2016–2020 in Germany were included. LIRC was defined by decreased eating both on nutritionDay and in the week before hospitalisation. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with LIRC overall and in different specialities.

Results

LIRC was observed in 21.1% of all patients, with the highest prevalence in Gastroenterology (26.6%) and the lowest in Neurology (11.2%). Weight loss within three months before nutritionDay (OR 2.62 [95% CI 1.93–3.56]), (very) poor self-rated health (2.17 [1.62–2.91]), female sex (1.98 [1.50–2.61]), uncertain weight loss (1.90 [1.03–3.51]), digestive disease (1.90 [1.40–2.56]), inability to walk without assistance (1.55 [1.14–2.12]) and emergency admission (1.38 [1.02–1.86]) were associated with increased risk, cardiac insufficiency (0.55 [0.37–0.83]) and being in a neurological ward (0.51 [0.28–0.92]) with decreased risk in the total sample. In Gastroenterology and Oncology, estimates were higher than in the entire sample; no significant associations were found in Neurology and Geriatrics, presumably due to the low prevalence of LIRC in Neurology and limited data quality in Geriatrics.

Conclusion

LIRC is common in German hospital patients and associated with female sex, poor health and decreased functional status. Interdisciplinary differences suggest a discipline-specific approach to dealing with malnutrition.
Single-cell characterization of leukemic and non-leukemic immune repertoires in CD8+ T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Huuhtanen Jani , Bhattacharya Dipabarna , Lönnberg Tapio , Kankainen Matti , Kerr Cassandra , Theodoropoulos Jason , Rajala Hanna , Gurnari Carmelo , Kasanen Tiina , Braun Till , Teramo Antonella , Zambello Renato , Herling Marco , Ishida Fumihiro , Kawakami Toru , Salmi Marko , Loughran Thomas , Maciejewski Jaroslaw P. , Lähdesmäki Harri , Kelkka Tiina , Mustjoki Satu
Published: April 2022

T cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia (T-LGLL) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder of mature, clonally expanded T cells, where somatic-activating STAT3 mutations are common. Although T-LGLL has been described as a chronic T cell response to an antigen, the function of the non-leukemic immune system in this response is largely uncharacterized. Here, by utilizing single-cell RNA and T cell receptor profiling (scRNA+TCRαβ-seq), we show that irrespective of STAT3 mutation status, T-LGLL clonotypes are more cytotoxic and exhausted than healthy reactive clonotypes. In addition, T-LGLL clonotypes show more active cell communication than reactive clones with non-leukemic immune cells via costimulatory cell–cell interactions, monocyte-secreted proinflammatory cytokines, and T-LGLL-clone-secreted IFNγ. Besides the leukemic repertoire, the non-leukemic T cell repertoire in T-LGLL is also more mature, cytotoxic, and clonally restricted than in other cancers and autoimmune disorders. Finally, 72% of the leukemic T-LGLL clonotypes share T cell receptor similarities with their non-leukemic repertoire, linking the leukemic and non-leukemic repertoires together via possible common target antigens. Our results provide a rationale to prioritize therapies that target the entire immune repertoire and not only the T-LGLL clonotype.
Improving qubit coherence using closed-loop feedback
Authors: Vepsäläinen Antti , Winik Roni , Karamlou Amir H. , Braumüller Jochen , Paolo Agustin Di , Sung Youngkyu , Kannan Bharath , Kjaergaard Morten , Kim David K. , Melville Alexander J. , Niedzielski Bethany M. , Yoder Jonilyn L. , Gustavsson Simon , Oliver William D.
Published: April 2022

Superconducting qubits are a promising platform for building a larger-scale quantum processor capable of solving otherwise intractable problems. In order for the processor to reach practical viability, the gate errors need to be further suppressed and remain stable for extended periods of time. With recent advances in qubit control, both single- and two-qubit gate fidelities are now in many cases limited by the coherence times of the qubits. Here we experimentally employ closed-loop feedback to stabilize the frequency fluctuations of a superconducting transmon qubit, thereby increasing its coherence time by 26% and reducing the single-qubit error rate from (8.5 ± 2.1) × 10−4 to (5.9 ± 0.7) × 10−4. Importantly, the resulting high-fidelity operation remains effective even away from the qubit flux-noise insensitive point, significantly increasing the frequency bandwidth over which the qubit can be operated with high fidelity. This approach is helpful in large qubit grids, where frequency crowding and parasitic interactions between the qubits limit their performance.
Organocatalytic atroposelective construction of axially chiral N, N- and N, S-1,2-azoles through novel ring formation approach
Authors: Chang Yu , Xie Chuandong , Liu Hong , Huang Shengli , Wang Pengfei , Qin Wenling , Yan Hailong
Published: April 2022

1,2-Azoles are privileged structures in ligand/catalyst design and widely exist in many important natural products and drugs. In this report, two types of axially chiral 1,2-azoles (naphthyl-isothiazole S-oxides with a stereogenic sulfur center and atropoisomeric naphthyl pyrazoles) are synthesized via modified vinylidene ortho-quinone methide intermediates. Diverse products are acquired in satisfying yields and good to excellent enantioselectivities. The vinylidene ortho-quinone methide intermediates bearing two hetero atoms at 5-position have been demonstrated as a platform molecule for the atroposelective synthesis of axially chiral 1,2-azoles. This finding not only enrich our knowledge of vinylidene ortho-quinone methide chemistry but also provide the easy preparation method for diverse atropisomeric heterobiaryls that were inaccessible by existing methodologies. The obtained chiral naphthyl-isothiazole S-oxides and naphthyl-pyrazoles have demonstrated their potential application in further synthetic transformations and therapeutic agents.
Modifying electron injection kinetics for selective photoreduction of nitroarenes into cyclic and asymmetric azo compounds
Authors: Yang Yang , Jing Xu , Zhang Jing , Yang Fengyu , Duan Chunying
Published: April 2022

Modifying the reactivity of substrates by encapsulation is essential for microenvironment catalysts. Herein, we report an alternative strategy that modifies the entry behaviour of reactants into the microenvironment and substrate inclusion thermodynamics related to the capsule to control the electron injection kinetics and the selectivity of products from the nitroarenes photoreduction. The strategy includes the orchestration of capsule openings to control the electron injection kinetics of electron donors, and the capsule’s pocket to encapsulate more than one nitroarene molecules, facilitating a condensation reaction between the in situ formed azanol and nitroso species to produce azo product. The conceptual microenvironment catalyst endows selective conversion of asymmetric azo products from different nitroarenes, wherein, the estimated diameter and inclusion Gibbs free energy of substrates are used to control and predict the selectivity of products. Inhibition experiments confirm a typical enzymatic conversion, paving a new avenue for rational design of photocatalysts toward green chemistry.
Sensory lexicon and aroma volatiles analysis of brewing malt
Authors: Su Xiaoxia , Yu Miao , Wu Simin , Ma Mingjuan , Su Hongxu , Guo Fei , Bian Qi , Du Tianyi
Published: April 2022

Malt is an important raw material in brewing beer. With the increasing development of craft beer, brewing malt has contributed diverse colours and abundant flavours to beer. While “malty” and “worty” were commonly used to describe the malt flavour of beer, they are still inadequate. This study focused on developing of a sensory lexicon and a sensory wheel for brewing malt. Here, a total of 22 samples were used for sensory evaluation. The panels identified 53 attributes to form the lexicon of brewing malt, including appearance, flavour, taste, and mouthfeel. After consulting with the experts from the brewing industry, 46 attributes were selected from the lexicon list to construct the sensory wheel. Based on the lexicon, rate-all-that-apply analysis was used to discriminate between six samples of different malt types. The principal component analysis results showed that malt types were significantly correlated with sensory features. To further understand the chemical origin of sensory attributes, partial least squares regression analysis was used to determine the association between the aroma compounds and sensory attributes. According to the colour range and malt types, 18 samples were used for sensory descriptive analysis and volatile compounds identification. Seven main flavours were selected from the brewing malt sensory wheel. 34 aroma compounds were identified by headspace solid phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry. According to the partial least squares regression results, the aroma compounds were highly correlated with the sensory attributes of the brewing malt. This approach may have practical applications in the sensory studies of other products.
Vortex laser arrays with topological charge control and self-healing of defects
Authors: Piccardo Marco , de Oliveira Michael , Toma Andrea , Aglieri Vincenzo , Forbes Andrew , Ambrosio Antonio
Published: April 2022

Geometric arrays of vortices found in various systems owe their regular structure to mutual interactions within a confined system. In optics, such vortex crystals may form spontaneously within a resonator. Their crystallization is relevant in many areas of physics, although their usefulness is limited by the lack of control over their topology. On the other hand, programmable devices like spatial light modulators allow the design of nearly arbitrary vortex distributions but without any intrinsic evolution. By combining non-Hermitian optics with on-demand topological transformations enabled by metasurfaces, we report a solid-state laser that generates 10 × 10 vortex laser arrays with actively tunable topologies and non-local coupling dictated by the array’s topology. The vortex arrays exhibit sharp Bragg diffraction peaks, witnessing their coherence and topological charge purity, which we spatially resolve over the whole lattice by introducing a parallelized analysis technique. By structuring light at the source, we enable complex transformations that allow to arbitrarily partition orbital angular momentum within the cavity and to heal topological charge defects, thus realizing robust and versatile resonators for applications in topological optics.
Laboratory modelling of urban flooding
Authors: Li Xuefang , Erpicum Sébastien , Mignot Emmanuel , Archambeau Pierre , Pirotton Michel , Dewals Benjamin
Published: April 2022

This paper presents two datasets obtained from laboratory experiments of urban flooding in a street network performed at the University of Liège. The experimental model represents a part of a synthetic urban district that consists of three inlets, three outlets and several three- and four- branches crossroads. The following experimental data was produced: (i) dataset 1: time-series of flow depths at model inlets and time-series of discharges at model outlets for a two-branch junction model, a two-branch bifurcation model and a district model. The datasets were generated by varying the upstream and downstream boundary conditions, i.e. flooding conditions; (ii) dataset 2 includes the same data type as dataset 1 complemented by 2D surface velocity measured using the non-intrusive LSPIV technique for eight urban form configurations in the district model. The collected data enable improving the understanding of the effect of urban forms on the urban flood processes. These two datasets are valuable for validating and improving numerical or analytical models of urban flooding and may contribute to flood risk management and flood-resilient urban design.