bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construction and analysis of circular RNA-associated competing endogenous RNA network in the hippocampus of aged mice for the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction
Authors: Zhang Mingzhu , Suo Zizheng , Qu Yinyin , Zheng Yuxiang , Xu Wenjie , Zhang Bowen , Wang Qiang , Wu Linxin , Li Shuai , Cheng Yaozhong , Xiao Ting , Zheng Hui , Ni Cheng
Published: March 2023

Circular RNAs are highly stable single-stranded circular RNAs and enriched in the brain. Previous studies showed that circRNAs, as part of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network, play an important role in neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. However, the mechanism of circRNA-related ceRNA networks in postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) has not been elucidated yet. POCD usually occurs in elderly patients and is characterized by hippocampal dysfunction. Here, aged C57BL/6 mice were subjected to exploratory laparotomy under sevoflurane anesthesia, and this POCD model was verified by Morris water maze test. Whole-transcriptome sequencing was performed on the hippocampus of control group (Con) and surgery group. One hundred and seventy-seven DEcircRNAs, 221 DEmiRNAs and 2,052 DEmRNAs were identified between two groups. A ceRNA network was established with 92 DEcircRNAs having binding sites with 76 DEmiRNAs and 549 target DEmRNAs. In functional enrichment analysis, a pathological pattern of POCD was highlighted in the ceRNA network: Abnormal metabolic process in neural cells, including oxygen metabolism, could promote apoptosis and then affect the synaptic function, which may undermine the neural plasticity and eventually lead to changes in cognitive function and other behavioral patterns. In conclusion, this specific ceRNA network of circRNAs–miRNAs–mRNAs has provided novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms of POCD and revealed potential therapeutic gene targets.
A mathematical model for mechanical activation and compound action potential generation by the utricle in response to sound and vibration
Authors: Pastras Christopher J. , Gholami Nastaran , Jennings Skyler , Zhu Hong , Zhou Wu , Brown Daniel J. , Curthoys Ian S. , Rabbitt Richard D.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Calyx bearing vestibular afferent neurons innervating type I hair cells in the striolar region of the utricle are exquisitely sensitive to auditory-frequency air conducted sound (ACS) and bone conducted vibration (BCV). Here, we present experimental data and a mathematical model of utricular mechanics and vestibular compound action potential generation (vCAP) in response to clinically relevant levels of ACS and BCV. Vibration of the otoconial layer relative to the sensory epithelium was simulated using a Newtonian two-degree-of-freedom spring-mass-damper system, action potential timing was simulated using an empirical model, and vCAPs were simulated by convolving responses of the population of sensitive neurons with an empirical extracellular voltage kernel. The model was validated by comparison to macular vibration and vCAPs recorded in the guinea pig, in vivo.

Results

Transient stimuli evoked short-latency vCAPs that scaled in magnitude and timing with hair bundle mechanical shear rate for both ACS and BCV. For pulse BCV stimuli with durations <0.8 ms, the vCAP magnitude increased in proportion to temporal bone acceleration, but for pulse durations >0.9 ms the magnitude increased in proportion to temporal bone jerk. Once validated using ACS and BCV data, the model was applied to predict blast-induced hair bundle shear, with results predicting acute mechanical damage to bundles immediately upon exposure.

Discussion

Results demonstrate the switch from linear acceleration to linear jerk as the adequate stimulus arises entirely from mechanical factors controlling the dynamics of sensory hair bundle deflection. The model describes the switch in terms of the mechanical natural frequencies of vibration, which vary between species based on morphology and mechanical factors.
Clinical and genetic characteristics in a central-southern Chinese cohort of early-onset Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Liang Zhihou , Wu Yan , Li Chuanzhou , Liu Zhijun
Published: March 2023

Background

Mutations in the presenilin-1 (PSEN1), presenilin-2 (PSEN2), and amyloid precursor protein (APP) genes have been commonly identified in early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD). Some of the mutations in the three causative genes, especially the PSEN1 gene, result in variable phenotypes and exhibit clinical heterogeneity among EOAD families.

Methods

Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), we performed genetic screening in a Chinese cohort of 18 patients with EOAD, consisting of five familial EOAD and 13 sporadic cases.

Results

We identified two likely pathogenic PSEN1 mutations (one novel) and a novel APP mutation in three cases of EOAD, where two are familial and one is sporadic, respectively. In addition, we detected a few variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in several genes, including not only the two known variants in PSEN2 (p.H169N and p.V214L) but also genes causal of other types of dementia or previously identified as risk factors for AD, suggesting the possible involvement of multiple genes in the etiopathology of AD. The patients carrying PSEN1 mutations had an earlier mean age at the onset than those with PSEN2 or APP variants. The initial symptoms varied greatly among patients in the EOAD cohort, from progressive memory impairment and epilepsy to uncommon motor symptoms such as involuntary tremors in the upper extremities.

Conclusions

In conclusion, our study provides further evidence of the genetic profile of patients with EOAD from China and expands the mutation spectrum of both PSEN1 and APP. In addition, our results highlight the clinical heterogeneity in patients with EOAD and mutations in PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP and suggest strong effects of genetic variants on clinical phenotypes. Future functional studies are needed to clarify the interaction between AD-causative gene mutations and phenotypic heterogeneity.
Using support vector machine to explore the difference of function connection between deficit and non-deficit schizophrenia based on gray matter volume
Authors: Zhu Wenjing , Wang Zan , Yu Miao , Zhang Xiangrong , Zhang Zhijun
Published: March 2023

Objective

Schizophrenia can be divided into deficient schizophrenia (DS) and non-deficient schizophrenia (NDS) according to the presence of primary and persistent negative symptoms. So far, there are few studies that have explored the differences in functional connectivity (FC) between the different subtypes based on the region of interest (ROI) from GMV (Gray matter volume), especially since the characteristics of brain networks are still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the alterations of functional connectivity between DS and NDS based on the ROI obtained by machine learning algorithms and differential GMV. Then, the relationships between the alterations and the clinical symptoms were analyzed. In addition, the thalamic functional connection imbalance in the two groups was further explored.

Methods

A total of 16 DS, 31 NDS, and 38 health controls (HC) underwent resting-state fMRI scans, patient group will further be evaluated by clinical scales including the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS). Based on GMV image data, a support vector machine (SVM) is used to classify DS and NDS. Brain regions with high weight in the classification were used as seed points in whole-brain FC analysis and thalamic FC imbalance analysis. Finally, partial correlation analysis explored the relationships between altered FC and clinical scale in the two subtypes.

Results

The relatively high classification accuracy is obtained based on the SVM. Compared to HC, the FC increased between the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL.R) bilateral thalamus, and lingual gyrus, and between the right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.R) and the Salience Network (SN) in NDS. The FC between the right thalamus (THA.R) and Visual network (VN), between ITG.R and right superior occipital gyrus in the DS group was higher than that in HC. Furthermore, compared with NDS, the FC between the ITG.R and the left superior and middle frontal gyrus decreased in the DS group. The thalamic FC imbalance, which is characterized by frontotemporal-THA.R hypoconnectivity and sensory motor network (SMN)-THA.R hyperconnectivity was found in both subtypes. The FC value of THA.R and SMN was negatively correlated with the SANS score in the DS group but positively correlated with the SAPS score in the NDS group.

Conclusion

Using an SVM classification method and based on an ROI from GMV, we highlighted the difference in functional connectivity between DS and NDS from the local to the brain network, which provides new information for exploring the neural physiopathology of the two subtypes of schizophrenic.
Decreased phase information transfer from the mPFC to the BLA: During exploratory behavior in CUMS rats
Authors: Cao Qingying , Wang Zihe , Bai Wenwen , Liu Tiaotiao , Zheng Xuyuan
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Depression is a mental disorder characterized by aberrant exploratory behavior. Environmental factors, such as chronic stress, are commonly used to induce depression-like behavior in rodent models. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) are crucial sites in subjects with chronic stress-induced depression. The transmission of amplitude information from the mPFC to the BLA was abated during exploratory behavior in depressive rats; however, the nature of the phase interaction between these two sites remains unknown.

Methods

We used chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) to model depression in rats and acquired local field potentials (LFPs) via multiple electrodes implanted in the mPFC and the BLA while rats (both the control and CUMS groups, respectively) were allowed to explore freely in an open field. The weighted phase lag index (WPLI) within the mPFC and the BLA and phase transfer entropy (PTE) from the mPFC to BLA were computed for two groups of rats (control and CUMS rats) to quantify the phase information transmission.

Results

Rats subjected to CUMS showed a decrease in exploratory behavior. The WPLI within the mPFC and the BLA showed strikingly higher phase synchrony at theta frequencies (4–12 Hz) than other frequency bands during exploratory behavior in both the control and CUMS groups. The results of theta PTE from the mPFC to BLA showed that PTE was significantly decreased in the CUMS group compared with the control group.

Discussions

These findings demonstrated that attenuated phase information transfer might restrain exploratory behavior in CUMS rats.
Acupuncture therapies for cancer-related fatigue: A Bayesian network meta-analysis and systematic review
Authors: Tian Hao , Chen Yunhui , Sun Mingsheng , Huang Liuyang , Xu Guixing , Yang Chunyang , Luo Qin , Zhao Ling , Wei Zheng , Liang Fanrong
Published: March 2023

Background

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most commonly reported symptoms impacting cancer survivors. This study evaluated and compared the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatments for CRF.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and WanFang Database from inception to November 2022 to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing acupuncture treatments with sham interventions, waitlist (WL), or usual care (UC) for CRF treatment. The outcomes included the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and pair-wise and Bayesian network meta-analyses were performed using STATA v17.0.

Results

In total, 34 randomized controlled trials featuring 2632 participants were included. In the network meta-analysis, the primary analysis using CFS illustrated that point application (PA) + UC (standardized mean difference [SMD] = −1.33, 95% CI = −2.02, −0.63) had the highest probability of improving CFS, followed by manual acupuncture (MA) + PA (SMD = −1.21, 95% CI = −2.05, −0.38) and MA + UC (SMD = −0.80, 95% CI = −1.50, −0.09). Moreover, the adverse events of these interventions were acceptable.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that acupuncture was effective and safe on CRF treatment. However, further studies are still warranted by incorporating more large-scale and high-quality RCTs.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, identifier CRD42022339769.
Comprehensive characterization of ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma revealing the association with prognosis and tumor immune microenvironment
Authors: Zhu Jingjuan , Xu Xiao , Jiang Man , Yang Fangfang , Mei Yingying , Zhang Xiaochun
Published: March 2023

Background

Ferroptosis is a type of regulatory cell death (RCD) mode that depends on iron-mediated oxidative damage. It has the potential to improve the efficacy of tumor immunotherapy by modulating the tumor microenvironment (TME). Currently, immunotherapy has significantly improved the overall treatment strategy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the distinct immune microenvironment and high tolerance to the immune make massive differences in the immunotherapy effect of HCC patients. As a result, it is imperative to classify HCC patients who may benefit from immune checkpoint therapy. Simultaneously, the predictive value of ferroptosis in HCC and its potential role in TME immune cell infiltration also need to be further clarified.

Methods

Three ferroptosis molecular models were built on the basis of mRNA expression profiles of ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs), with notable variations in immunocyte infiltration, biological function, and survival prediction. In order to further investigate the predictive impact of immunotherapy response in HCC patients, the ferroptosis score was constructed using the principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm to quantify the ferroptosis molecular models of individual tumors.

Results

In HCC, there were three totally different ferroptosis molecular models. The ferroptosis score can be used to assess genetic variation, immunotherapy response, TME characteristics, and prognosis. Notably, tumors with low ferroptosis scores have extensive tumor mutations and immune exhaustion, which are associated with a poor prognosis and enhanced immunotherapy response.

Conclusions

Our study indicates that ferroptosis plays an indispensable role in the regulation of the tumor immune microenvironment. For HCC, the ferroptosis score is an independent prognostic indicator. Assessing the molecular model of ferroptosis in individual tumors will assist us in better understanding the characteristics of TME, predicting the effect of immunotherapy in HCC patients, and thus guiding a more reasonable immunotherapy program.
Acetaminophen-induced liver injury: Molecular mechanism and treatments from natural products
Authors: Liao Jiaqing , Lu Qiuxia , Li Zhiqi , Li Jintao , Zhao Qi , Li Jian
Published: March 2023

Acetaminophen (APAP) is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic over-the-counter medicine worldwide. Hepatotoxicity caused by APAP overdose is one of the leading causes of acute liver failure (ALF) in the US and in some parts of Europe, limiting its clinical application. Excessive APAP metabolism depletes glutathione and increases N-acetyl-p-benzoquinoneimide (NAPQI) levels, leading to oxidative stress, DNA damage, and cell necrosis in the liver, which in turn leads to liver damage. Studies have shown that natural products such as polyphenols, terpenes, anthraquinones, and sulforaphane can activate the hepatocyte antioxidant defense system with Nrf2 as the core player, reduce oxidative stress damage, and protect the liver. As the key enzyme metabolizing APAP into NAPQI, cytochrome P450 enzymes are also considered to be intriguing target for the treatment of APAP-induced liver injury. Here, we systematically review the hepatoprotective activity and molecular mechanisms of the natural products that are found to counteract the hepatotoxicity caused by APAP, providing reference information for future preclinical and clinical trials of such natural products.
Sigmar1 ablation leads to lung pathological changes associated with pulmonary fibrosis, inflammation, and altered surfactant proteins levels
Authors: Remex Naznin Sultana , Abdullah Chowdhury S. , Aishwarya Richa , Nitu Sadia S. , Traylor James , Hartman Brandon , King Judy , Bhuiyan Mohammad Alfrad Nobel , Kevil Christopher G. , Orr A. Wayne , Bhuiyan Md. Shenuarin
Published: March 2023

Sigma1 receptor protein (Sigmar1) is a small, multifunctional molecular chaperone protein ubiquitously expressed in almost all body tissues. This protein has previously shown its cardioprotective roles in rodent models of cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Extensive literature also suggested its protective functions in several central nervous system disorders. Sigmar1’s molecular functions in the pulmonary system remained unknown. Therefore, we aimed to determine the expression of Sigmar1 in the lungs. We also examined whether Sigmar1 ablation results in histological, ultrastructural, and biochemical changes associated with lung pathology over aging in mice. In the current study, we first confirmed the presence of Sigmar1 protein in human and mouse lungs using immunohistochemistry and immunostaining. We used the Sigmar1 global knockout mouse (Sigmar1−/−) to determine the pathophysiological role of Sigmar1 in lungs over aging. The histological staining of lung sections showed altered alveolar structures, higher immune cells infiltration, and upregulation of inflammatory markers (such as pNFκB) in Sigmar1−/− mice compared to wildtype (Wt) littermate control mice (Wt). This indicates higher pulmonary inflammation resulting from Sigmar1 deficiency in mice, which was associated with increased pulmonary fibrosis. The protein levels of some fibrotic markers, fibronectin, and pSMAD2 Ser 245/250/255 and Ser 465/467, were also elevated in mice lungs in the absence of Sigmar1 compared to Wt. The ultrastructural analysis of lungs in Wt mice showed numerous multilamellar bodies of different sizes with densely packed lipid lamellae and mitochondria with a dark matrix and dense cristae. In contrast, the Sigmar1−/− mice lung tissues showed altered multilamellar body structures in alveolar epithelial type-II pneumocytes with partial loss of lipid lamellae structures in the lamellar bodies. This was further associated with higher protein levels of all four surfactant proteins, SFTP-A, SFTP-B, SFTP-C, and SFTP-D, in the Sigmar1−/− mice lungs. This is the first study showing Sigmar1’s expression pattern in human and mouse lungs and its association with lung pathophysiology. Our findings suggest that Sigmar1 deficiency leads to increased pulmonary inflammation, higher pulmonary fibrosis, alterations of the multilamellar body stuructures, and elevated levels of lung surfactant proteins.
Relationship between motor performance and cortical activity of older neurological disorder patients with dyskinesia using fNIRS: A systematic review
Authors: Wu Yunzhi , Dong Yuqi , Tang Yunqi , Wang Weiran , Bo Yulong , Zhang Cui
Published: March 2023

Background: Neurological disorders with dyskinesia would seriously affect older people’s daily activities, which is not only associated with the degeneration or injury of the musculoskeletal or the nervous system but also associated with complex linkage between them. This study aims to review the relationship between motor performance and cortical activity of typical older neurological disorder patients with dyskinesia during walking and balance tasks.

Methods: Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were searched. Articles that described gait or balance performance and cortical activity of older Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple sclerosis, and stroke patients using functional near-infrared spectroscopy were screened by the reviewers. A total of 23 full-text articles were included for review, following an initial yield of 377 studies.

Results: Participants were mostly PD patients, the prefrontal cortex was the favorite region of interest, and walking was the most popular test motor task, interventional studies were four. Seven studies used statistical methods to interpret the relationship between motor performance and cortical activation. The motor performance and cortical activation were simultaneously affected under difficult walking and balance task conditions. The concurrent changes of motor performance and cortical activation in reviewed studies contained the same direction change and different direction change.

Conclusion: Most of the reviewed studies reported poor motor performance and increased cortical activation of PD, stroke and multiple sclerosis older patients. The external motor performance such as step speed were analyzed only. The design and results were not comprehensive and profound. More than 5 weeks walking training or physiotherapy can contribute to motor function promotion as well as cortices activation of PD and stroke patients. Thus, further study is needed for more statistical analysis on the relationship between motor performance and activation of the motor-related cortex. More different type and program sports training intervention studies are needed to perform.
Effects of source-sink regulation and nodal position of the main crop on the sprouting of regenerated buds and grain yield of ratoon rice
Authors: He Aibin , Jiang Min , Nie Lixiao , Man Jianguo , Peng Shaobing
Published: March 2023

Ratoon rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the production of a second season rice that utilizes the dormant buds surviving on the stubble left behind after the harvest of the main crop. However, the sprouting mechanism of regenerated buds at separate nodes is rarely reported. Field experiments were conducted to examine the effects of leaf-cutting and spikelet thinning on the sprouting of regenerated buds at the separate node, the contributions of regenerated panicles at the separate node to the total grain yield in the ratoon crop, and the associated mechanism. The results showed that the contribution of separate node yields to the total grain yield in the ratoon crop was D2 (panicles regenerated from the 2nd node from the top) >D3 (panicles regenerated from the 3rd node from the top) >D4 (panicles regenerated from the lower nodes below the 3rd node), and the contribution of D2 and D3 made up approximately 80% of the total yield in the ratoon crop. In addition, the effect of leaf-cutting treatment and spikelet-thinning treatment on the grain yield of ratoon season was mainly realized by regulating the relative contribution rate of D2 and D4 grain yield to the total yield of ratoon season. Further analysis indicated that the sprouting of regenerated buds at the D2 node was mainly affected by the content of CTK, while D3 was mainly regulated by GAs and CTK, and D4 was mainly regulated by ABA and CTK. However, only the CTK content in stems and buds was positively correlated with single bud length and bud number at each nodes. These results indicated that CTK might be the main signal regulating the sprouting of regenerated buds and the grain yield at separate nodes, which might change the transport of assimilates to stems and buds.
A real-time smart sensing system for automatic localization and recognition of vegetable plants for weed control
Authors: Li Jia-Le , Su Wen-Hao , Zhang He-Yi , Peng Yankun
Published: March 2023

Tomato is a globally grown vegetable crop with high economic and nutritional values. Tomato production is being threatened by weeds. This effect is more pronounced in the early stages of tomato plant growth. Thus weed management in the early stages of tomato plant growth is very critical. The increasing labor cost of manual weeding and the negative impact on human health and the environment caused by the overuse of herbicides are driving the development of smart weeders. The core task that needs to be addressed in developing a smart weeder is to accurately distinguish vegetable crops from weeds in real time. In this study, a new approach is proposed to locate tomato and pakchoi plants in real time based on an integrated sensing system consisting of camera and color mark sensors. The selection scheme of reference, color, area, and category of plant labels for sensor identification was examined. The impact of the number of sensors and the size of the signal tolerance region on the system recognition accuracy was also evaluated. The experimental results demonstrated that the color mark sensor using the main stem of tomato as the reference exhibited higher performance than that of pakchoi in identifying the plant labels. The scheme of applying white topical markers on the lower main stem of the tomato plant is optimal. The effectiveness of the six sensors used by the system to detect plant labels was demonstrated. The computer vision algorithm proposed in this study was specially developed for the sensing system, yielding the highest overall accuracy of 95.19% for tomato and pakchoi localization. The proposed sensor-based system is highly accurate and reliable for automatic localization of vegetable plants for weed control in real time.
The root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches secretes modular proteases in pea apoplast during host infection
Authors: Kiselev Andrei , Camborde Laurent , Carballo Laura Ossorio , Kaschani Farnusch , Kaiser Markus , van der Hoorn Renier A. L. , Gaulin Elodie
Published: March 2023

To successfully colonize the host, phytopathogens have developed a large repertoire of components to both combat the host plant defense mechanisms and to survive in adverse environmental conditions. Microbial proteases are predicted to be crucial components of these systems. In the present work, we aimed to identify active secreted proteases from the oomycete Aphanomyces euteiches, which causes root rot diseases on legumes. Genome mining and expression analysis highlighted an overrepresentation of microbial tandemly repeated proteases, which are upregulated during host infection. Activity Based Protein Profiling and mass spectrometry (ABPP-MS) on apoplastic fluids isolated from pea roots infected by the pathogen led to the identification of 35 active extracellular microbial proteases, which represents around 30% of the genes expressed encoding serine and cysteine proteases during infection. Notably, eight of the detected active secreted proteases carry an additional C-terminal domain. This study reveals novel active modular extracellular eukaryotic proteases as potential pathogenicity factors in Aphanomyces genus.
Asparagus breeding: Future research needs for sustainable production
Authors: Drost Daniel
Published: March 2023

Productivity in asparagus (Asparagus officinalisL.) is determined in part by (1) the selection of superior, adaptive genetics, (2) matching the selected genetics to the production environment, and (3) managing the crop production system in ways to maximize harvest potential that are sustainable, profitable, and efficient. Over the last 100 years, a considerable effort by asparagus researchers has gone into breeding superior genetic lines, testing those in numerous locations, and studying how asparagus responds to a multitude of inputs (fertilizers, irrigation, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides). Farmers worldwide have benefited from all of these improvements. However, as we look to the future, we need to change our research approaches to deal with widely accepted limitations to asparagus growth that if left unanswered will further erode the long-term sustainability and profitability of the crop. In addition, there is a growing need for increased mechanization to offset labor needs. To effectively harvest asparagus, new plant types with more predictable spear emergence patterns need to be bred. This paper will briefly review the historic content of asparagus research and open a discussion on how to refocus international research efforts to breed superior plant materials to meet the challenges of the future.
Plants changed the response of bacterial community to the nitrogen and phosphorus addition ratio
Authors: Zhang Zehao , Sun Jingkuan , Li Tian , Shao Pengshuai , Ma Jinzhao , Dong Kaikai
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Human activities have increased the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) supply ratio of the natural ecosystem, which affects the growth of plants and the circulation of soil nutrients. However, the effect of the N and P supply ratio and the effect of plant on the soil microbial community are still unclear.

Methods

In this study, 16s rRNA sequencing was used to characterize the response of bacterial communities in Phragmites communis (P.communis) rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil to N and P addition ratio.

Results

The results showed that the a-diversity of the P.communis rhizosphere soil bacterial community increased with increasing N and P addition ratio, which was caused by the increased salt and microbially available C content by the N and P ratio. N and P addition ratio decreased the pH of non-rhizosphere soil, which consequently decreased the a-diversity of the bacterial community. With increasing N and P addition ratio, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes increased, while that of Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria decreased, which reflected the trophic strategy of the bacterial community. The bacterial community composition of the non-rhizosphere soil was significantly affected by salt, pH and total carbon (TC) content. Salt limited the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, and increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes. The symbiotic network of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community had lower robustness. This is attributed to the greater selective effect of plants on the bacterial community influenced by nutrient addition.

Discussion

Plants played a regulatory role in the process of N and P addition affecting the bacterial community, and nutrient uptake by the root system reduced the negative impact of N and P addition on the bacterial community. The variations in the rhizosphere soil bacterial community were mainly caused by the response of the plant to the N and P addition ratio.
The effects of different surgical approaches on the psychological status, medical coping mode and quality of life of patients with lung cancer
Authors: Chen Yi-ping , Zhang Yi , Chen Xing , Luo Jiang , Chen Zhangqun , Zhao Liping , Xia Guili , Sui Xueqi , Li Yunchen
Published: March 2023

Objective

This study aimed to compare the effects of robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS), video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), and thoracotomy on the psychological status, medical coping mode, and quality of life of patients with lung cancer.

Methods

A total of 158 patients with lung cancer were selected from the thoracic surgery center of a third-grade hospital in Hunan Province, China, from September to November 2020. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire (MCMQ), and Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were used to assess the effects of the surgical approaches on the study parameters before and 48–96 h after surgery. The t-test and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.

Results

The results revealed that the patients’ depression increased, their short-term quality of life decreased, and they tended to adopt a positive coping mode after surgery (p < 0.05). The RATS and VATS groups differed in avoidance dimension of medical coping modes (p < 0.05). The VATS and thoracotomy groups differed in the body pain dimension of quality of life (p < 0.05). Different surgical approaches had no effect on the psychological status, medical coping modes except the avoidance dimension, and quality of life except the body pain dimension.

Conclusion

Surgical approaches have little effect on the psychological status, medical coping modes, and quality of life of patients with lung cancer; however, their depression increased and quality of life decreased after the surgery.
Psychopathic personality traits stress immunity and social potency moderate the relationship between emotional competence and cognitive functions in depression
Authors: Schönthaler Elena M. D. , Dalkner Nina , Schwalsberger Karin , Reininghaus Eva Z. , Reininghaus Bernd
Published: March 2023

Background

Psychopathic personality traits (PPT) and depression have both been shown to worsen emotional and cognitive functions. Moreover, PPT and depression share similar underlying neuronal circuits tapping into the emotional and cognitive domains. However, little is known about the influence of PPT on emotion and cognition in individuals with depression.

Objectives

This study aimed to examine the correlative relationships and moderating role of PPT in the association between emotional competence and cognitive functions in individuals with depression.

Methods

Data from 373 individuals diagnosed with depression (158 males, 215 females) were examined within a cohort study. Subjects filled out validated questionnaires surveying PPT and emotional competences. Furthermore, a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered.

Results

Correlation analyses revealed a significant positive association between emotional competence and cognitive functions. Further, negative associations between emotional competence and the PPT “Blame Externalisation” and “Careless Nonplanfulness,” as well as positive associations with psychopathic “Social Potency” and “Stress Immunity” were found. Moderation analyses indicated a significant positive influence of psychopathic “Stress Immunity” and “Social Influence” on the relationship between emotional competence and cognitive functions.

Conclusion

The findings highlight the importance of integrating PPT in depression research. Considering PPT in depression treatment could also facilitate the therapeutic process by identifying individual traits as resilience-strengthening or potentially harmful factors for depressive symptomatology. This study represents a stepping stone for further research regarding the role of personality traits in psychiatric disorders and their treatment.
Sustainable consumption and the Global South: A conceptual exposition
Authors: Bhar Soumyajit
Published: March 2023

Although deliberations around the idea of sustainable consumption have triggered pro-environmental consumption behaviors, empirical works show such consumption choices hardly manage to lower the overall environmental impacts of their total consumption baskets. Driven by corporate-led globalization, most developing countries have adopted the prevailing neoliberal economic model centered on growthism and developmentalism. What complicates the situation further is that this capitalistic economic model fetishizes the wealthy and valorizes aspirations that shape socio-culturally held notions of good life toward overconsumption, especially in the Global South. The discussion on sustainable consumption needs to expand its scope from the post-materialistic discourses in the Global North to realign itself better with the developmental discourse in the GS. Expanding this scope is easier said than done because of the fundamental dependency of the neo-liberal economic policy-driven developmentalism on consumerism. Once these macro-economic priorities percolate into socio-cultural priorities, further driving individuals' sense of the good life, it becomes even more challenging to decouple materialistically-oriented need-satisfiers from wellbeing. Therefore, it is to theorize how the act of consumption happens at the complex intersections of political-economic priorities, socio-cultural conventions, and individual aspirations for a better life, which is even more so relevant in the context of the GS. It is critical to understand, especially for the Global South, how these structural factors percolate into socio-cultural and individual priorities through the changing notions of the good life and eventually act as the fundamental sustaining factors that keep the prevailing political-economic arrangements running.
Clinical evaluation of the Immulite® 1000 chemiluminescent immunoassay for measurement of equine serum insulin
Authors: Go Yun Young , Hazard Nicole W. , Balasuriya Udeni B. R. , Chapman Anna M. , Fitton Nanette S. , Kenéz Ákos , Andrews Frank M.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Accurate quantitative analysis of equine insulin in blood samples is critical for assessing hyperinsulinemia in horses. Although there are various laboratory methods for evaluating equine serum insulin, different immunoassays show significant discrepancies between the determined insulin concentrations and are often not comparable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Immulite® 1000 chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) to establish independent laboratory and assay-specific cut values to provide an accurate diagnosis of hyperinsulinemia in horses. Thus, the analytical and clinical performance of Immulite® 1000 CLIA in terms of precision (intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variance, CV) and recovery upon dilution were evaluated and compared with radioimmunoassay (RIA), which has been previously validated for use in horses.

Material and methods

Archived serum samples (n = 106) from six Quarter horse mares enrolled in the glucose phase of a Frequently Sampled Insulin and Glucose Test (FSIGT) study were used to measure blood insulin.

Results

The Immulite® 1000 CLIA had good precision with acceptable intra- and inter-assay CVs, adequate recovery on dilution, and a strong correlation with the RIA (r = 0.974, P < 0.0001), with constant bias resulting in consistently lower values.

Discussion

On this basis, the Immulite® 1000 Insulin Assay is valid for measuring equine serum insulin for diagnostic and monitoring purposes when cut values are appropriately adjusted.
Evolutionary System Design with Answer Set Programming
Authors: Haubelt Christian , Müller Luise , Neubauer Kai , Schaub Torsten , Wanko Philipp
Published: March 2023

We address the problem of evolutionary system design (ESD) by means of answer set programming modulo difference constraints (AMT). The goal of this design approach is to synthesize new product variants or generations from existing products. We start by formalizing the underlying system synthesis problem and design space exploration process, which consists of finding the Pareto front with respect to latency, cost, energy, and similarity measures between the two designs. We then present AMT-based encodings to capture all of these aspects. The idea is to use plain ASP for conflict detection and resolution and for routing and to use difference constraints for scheduling. Moreover, we propose a new approach for expressing the similarity that we use at three alternative levels of AMT-based design space exploration, namely, at the strategic, heuristic, and objective levels, which is performed to guide the exploration towards designs of high interest. Last but not least, we systematically evaluate the emerging techniques empirically and identify the most promising AMT techniques.
How to Open a Black Box Classifier for Tabular Data
Authors: Walters Bradley , Ortega-Martorell Sandra , Olier Ivan , Lisboa Paulo J. G.
Published: March 2023

A lack of transparency in machine learning models can limit their application. We show that analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods extract interpretable predictive models from them. This is possible because ANOVA decompositions represent multivariate functions as sums of functions of fewer variables. Retaining the terms in the ANOVA summation involving functions of only one or two variables provides an efficient method to open black box classifiers. The proposed method builds generalised additive models (GAMs) by application of L1 regularised logistic regression to the component terms retained from the ANOVA decomposition of the logit function. The resulting GAMs are derived using two alternative measures, Dirac and Lebesgue. Both measures produce functions that are smooth and consistent. The term partial responses in structured models (PRiSM) describes the family of models that are derived from black box classifiers by application of ANOVA decompositions. We demonstrate their interpretability and performance for the multilayer perceptron, support vector machines and gradient-boosting machines applied to synthetic data and several real-world data sets, namely Pima Diabetes, German Credit Card, and Statlog Shuttle from the UCI repository. The GAMs are shown to be compliant with the basic principles of a formal framework for interpretability.
Addressing the Cold-Start Problem in Recommender Systems Based on Frequent Patterns
Authors: Panteli Antiopi , Boutsinas Basilis
Published: March 2023

Recommender systems aim to forecast users’ rank, interests, and preferences in specific products and recommend them to a user for purchase. Collaborative filtering is the most popular approach, where the user’s past purchase behavior consists of the user’s feedback. One of the most challenging problems in collaborative filtering is handling users whose previous item purchase behavior is unknown, (e.g., new users) or products for which user interactions are not available, (e.g., new products). In this work, we address the cold-start problem in recommender systems based on frequent patterns which are highly frequent in one set of users, but less frequent or infrequent in other sets of users. Such discriminant frequent patterns can distinguish one target set of users from all other sets. The proposed methodology, first forms different clusters of old users and then discovers discriminant frequent patterns for each different such cluster of users and finally exploits the latter to hallucinate the purchase behavior of new users. We also present empirical results to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed methodology.
Diagnosis of Noise Inside Neonatal Incubators under Free-Field Conditions
Authors: Fernández-Zacarías Francisco , Beira-Jiménez Juan Luis , Puyana-Romero Virginia , Hernández-Molina Ricardo
Published: March 2023

The study aims to diagnose the sound pressure levels inside incubators in a controlled environment under free-field conditions. The tests were carried out in a semi-anechoic room under the standard UNE-EN ISO 3745:2012/A1:2018 in three different operating states: off, on, and on with a temperature alarm triggered. Sound pressure levels were analyzed in three different models of incubators, both inside and outside. The main noise indices analyzed were the corrected equivalent continuous level (LKeq) and the equivalent continuous level (Leq) in third-octave bands. The results obtained under normal operating conditions showed variations among the different incubators, with overall values between 48.8 and 56.3 dBA. The influence of the alarm considerably worsened these data. The values obtained showed that premature newborns are exposed to noise levels above international recommendations. All incubators tested showed the presence of tonal components, both outside and inside the incubator cabin, and, in some cases, low-frequency components, but no impulsivity components were observed in any case.
Trajectory Tracking and Adaptive Fuzzy Vibration Control of Multilink Space Manipulators with Experimental Validation
Authors: Feng Chenlu , Chen Weidong , Shao Minqiang , Ni Shihao
Published: March 2023

This paper investigates the problem of modeling and controlling a space manipulator system with flexible joints and links. The dynamic model of the flexible manipulator system is derived by using the Lagrange equation and the floating frame of reference formulation, where the assumed mode method is adopted to discretize flexible links, while the flexible joints are regarded as linear torsion springs. The natural characteristics of a single flexible link manipulator, under three different boundary conditions, are compared to reveal the effect of the flexibility of joints on the manipulator system and to choose suitable assumed modes. Furthermore, singular perturbation theory is introduced to decompose the system into a slow subsystem that describes the rigid-body motion, and a fast subsystem that describes the elastic vibration. Since the system is underactuated, a compound control strategy, which consists of the underactuated computed torque controller and the adaptive fuzzy controller, is presented to improve the accuracy of the trajectory tracking of the flexible joints and to suppress the elastic vibration of the flexible links, in the meantime. Both numerical simulation and experimentation are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed compound controller, and a comparison with the proportional-derivative (PD) controller is provided to highlight its superiority in suppressing the residual vibration of the tip.
An Explorative Factor Analysis of Competency Mapping for IT Professionals
Authors: Kaur Jaskiran , Madaan Geetika , Qazi Sayeeduzzafar , Bhalla Pretty
Published: March 2023

Purpose: The current research aimed to evaluate IT personnel proficiency levels at various management levels. This study aimed to learn how competency mapping is used to analyse the blend of skills among various people to create the most cohesive team and deliver higher-quality work. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 548 IT workers participated in the research, which looked at how competence mapping influences various HR processes, including talent acquisition, induction, training and development, assessment, etc. This research used reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, linear regression, and the t-test to reach its results. Findings: This research made use of reliability statistics, regression analysis, correlation analysis, ANOVA analysis, the t-test, and descriptive statistics to reach its results. The research discovered that medium-level managers’ talents were greater than anticipated when comparing lower and higher levels of management. Additionally, there were significant differences among employees at different levels of management. Communication and training may help reduce competence gaps. Practical implications: In comparing other levels of management, this article may help HR practitioners identify which abilities are more relevant to a certain management level. It can provide more insight into using a competence mapping approach to improve performance. Originality/value: The outputs of the competency mapping approach are essential because they can help individuals and businesses gain a better comprehension of the knowledge, abilities, and skills required to accomplish a job.
Agricultural Food Marketing, Economics and Policies
Authors: Timpanaro Giuseppe
Published: March 2023

Agriculture and food production have long been called upon to become more sustainable in order to contribute positively to the transformations taking place in this historic era, such as the increase in world population and living standards in certain areas of the planet that poses problems in terms of safeguarding food and nutrition security, mitigating the effects of climate change and environmental degradation that are particularly intense in certain territories and achieving wealth and well-being equality for all players in the food chain [...]