bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of the ground-electrode temperature on electrical and optical characteristics of a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge in atmospheric pressure air
Authors: Liu Feng , Shi Guihu , Wang Weiwei , Fan Zhihui , Wang Yun , Wang Jingquan , Liang Huimin , Han Haiyan
Published: November 2023

The applied power and electron energy are believed to play important roles in plasma applications, which can be significantly altered by controlling the ground-electrode temperature in a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The effects of the ground-electrode temperature on the electrical and optical characteristics of the DBD were investigated in atmospheric pressure air. The results show that the breakdown voltage decreases, and the number of discharge pulses, the transferred charges, and the applied power increase with the electrode temperature, while the peak current tends to decrease when the electrode temperature is below −35 °C and above 25 °C, respectively. When the electrode temperature remains constant, the breakdown voltage increases and the applied power decreases with the gap distance. The applied power increases with the applied voltage. The dielectric capacitance, the total capacitance, and the gap capacitance at the electrode temperature below −35 °C are generally higher than those at the electrode temperature above 25 °C. Moreover, they change in the same trend when the electrode temperature and the applied voltage increase. The dielectric and total capacitances increase while the gap capacitance decreases. The relative intensities of the spectral lines increase with the electrode temperature. The electron, vibrational, and rotational temperatures increase with the electrode temperature above 25 °C. However, the electron and vibrational temperatures increase and decrease with the electrode temperature below −35 °C. The secondary emission coefficients and electron energy distributions with the electrode temperature were discussed.
The pairwise and cross-pairwise y-type polarised kinetic Sunyaev Zeldovich effect from transverse velocity of galaxy clusters
Authors: Gon Aritra Kumar , Khatri Rishi
Published: November 2023

We develop a new theoretical framework for studying the pairwise and cross-pairwise polarised kinetic Sunyaev Zeldovich (pkSZ) effect arising from the transverse peculiar velocity of galaxy clusters. The pkSZ effect is second order in peculiar velocities and has a spectrum that can be decomposed into y-type and blackbody components, whereas the unpolarised linear kSZ effect has only the blackbody component. Thus, the detectability of the pkSZ effect depends only on the sensitivity and the number of frequency channels of the survey and not on the other primary and secondary CMB anisotropies. We consider pairing of clusters with other clusters as well as cross-pairing of clusters with galaxies from spectroscopic galaxy surveys. The pairwise pkSZ signal is a function of intra-pair spatial separation. We develop and compare estimators of the pairwise pkSZ effect and study the detectability of the pairwise signal with cluster catalogs consisting of a few hundred thousand clusters expected from surveys such as eROSITA and CMB-S4. We find that cross-pairing clusters with galaxies from a large overlapping spectroscopic survey having a few billion galaxies will enable us to detect the pairwise pkSZ effect with CMB-S4. The pairwise pkSZ effect will thus open up a new window into the large-scale structure of the Universe in the coming decades.
Exact learning dynamics of deep linear networks with prior knowledge
*
Authors: J Dominé Clémentine C , Braun Lukas , Fitzgerald James E , Saxe Andrew M
Published: November 2023

Learning in deep neural networks is known to depend critically on the knowledge embedded in the initial network weights. However, few theoretical results have precisely linked prior knowledge to learning dynamics. Here we derive exact solutions to the dynamics of learning with rich prior knowledge in deep linear networks by generalising Fukumizu’s matrix Riccati solution (Fukumizu 1998 Gen
1 1E–03). We obtain explicit expressions for the evolving network function, hidden representational similarity, and neural tangent kernel over training for a broad class of initialisations and tasks. The expressions reveal a class of task-independent initialisations that radically alter learning dynamics from slow non-linear dynamics to fast exponential trajectories while converging to a global optimum with identical representational similarity, dissociating learning trajectories from the structure of initial internal representations. We characterise how network weights dynamically align with task structure, rigorously justifying why previous solutions successfully described learning from small initial weights without incorporating their fine-scale structure. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for continual learning, reversal learning and learning of structured knowledge. Taken together, our results provide a mathematical toolkit for understanding the impact of prior knowledge on deep learning.
Controlling a Nursing Robot Based on sEMG Signal
Authors: Noor Nurul Muthmainnah Mohd , Suhaimi Muhammad Haziq
Published: November 2023

Biopotential signals such as surface electromyography (sEMG) are common signals that can be used to control machines such as medical and nursing robots. The main objective of this paper is to develop a system to control a nursing robot using a sEMG signal. The robot was designed based on the Asian adult hand using CATIA and manufactured using a 3D printing machine. This robot was designated as a care robot to replace and assist physiotherapists in their work, especially in repetitive tasks. The sEMG signal was used as input to control the movement of the care robot. The raw signal from the sEMG was filtered to avoid the noise signal and irrelevant signals were to be rejected. In this project, the MyoWare muscle sensor attached to electrodes on the upper limbs was used to capture the EMG signal. The different readings of the signal are used as an algorithm for the movement of the care robot. As an actuator, the servo motor was operated in two positions: Flexion and extension in 0 degrees (minimum angle) to 100 degrees (maximum angle). The result shows that the robot can only move up and down in one direction with the right hand. This method is similar to the work that therapists do for their patients, especially in rehabilitation.
Drowsiness Detection using Galvanic Skin Response and Electro-occulograph
Authors: Nawawi Nurfathin A , Sudirman Rubita , Sheikh Usman U
Published: November 2023

Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) is widely used in psychological applications, mostly stress detection. Hence, people always put a limitation on GSR for stress detection only. Therefore, the challenge in this study is to expand the usage of GSR in drowsiness detection. Workers, students and drivers face a sleep deprivation problem due to never-ending work. Hence, this drowsiness detection is needed to detect the drowsiness to prevent unforeseen accidents from occurring. However, existing GSR application on sleep deprivation detection needs to improve with data reliability since the recording always took place on the wrist, and an external source like hand movements may influence the reading. Therefore, another drowsiness detection method is needed for reliable data or tasks. Hence, this study aims to detect GSR and EOG from behind the ear. The earpiece has been designed to make data recording of both GSR and EOG easier. By doing so, this study able to detect the skin conductance response (SCR) and skin resistance level (SCL) of GSR also eye activity which reflect the drowsiness seen from behind the ear of the user. The study found that the SCR and SCL levels increase with increasing sleepiness or drowsiness. Moreover, EOG shows a sudden spike in the signal when the user is in a drowsy state.
Multistage Anxiety State Recognition based on EEG Signal using Safe-Level SMOTE
Authors: Shing Tee Wee , Sudirman Rubita , Daud Syarifah Noor Syakiylla Sayed , Razak Mohd Azhar Abdul , Zakaria Nor Aini , Mahmood Nasrul Humaimi
Published: November 2023

Anxiety is a complicated emotional condition that has a detrimental effect on people’s physical and mental health. It is critical to accurately recognize anxiety levels in early stage. The anxiety can be detected by pattern of brain signal using brain imaging tools. However, the common problem with dataset acquired from brain is imbalanced class distribution. Hence, the purpose of this work is to mitigate the imbalanced class distribution issue by removing data outlier and using improved Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) for improving the classification performance. This work used of the freely accessible Database for Anxious States based on Psychological stimulation (DASPS) that comprises of 14 channels electroencephalography (EEG) signal. It acquired from 23 subjects when they were exposed to psychological stimuli that elicited fear. The DASPS need to be processed for removing noises, extracting important features and sampling with Safe-level SMOTE method. Then, the processed DASPS was categorized into three types of model: Model A, Model B, and Model C. The feature Model C from enhanced DASPS class distribution obtained the precision of 89.7% and accuracy of 89.5% using optimizedK-nearest neighbour (K-NN) algorithm. The proposed method showed outstanding classification performance than others existing methods in recognizing multistage anxiety.
Design and Analysis of Electrical Characteristics of 14nm SOI-based Trigate Gaussian Channel Junctionless FinFET
Authors: Ramakrishnan Mathangi , Alias Nurul Ezaila , Hamzah Afiq , Tan Michael Loong Peng , Yusof Yusmeeraz , Natarajamoorthy Mathan
Published: November 2023

Planar MOSFETs are reaching their physical limits. To overcome the limitations and improve channel gate control, FinFET technology, which uses many gate devices, is a superior choice while lowering the size of planar MOSFETs even further. In this paper, 14nm Silicon-On-Insulator-based Trigate Gaussian Channel Junctionless FinFET is presented. The gate length of 14nm is considered along with an Equivalent Oxide Thickness of 1nm, 5nm as fin width, and the work function of the gate metal is 4.75eV. The device architecture has a non-uniform doping profile (Gaussian distribution) across the fin’s thickness. It is devised to address the effects of Random Dopant Fluctuations such as channel mobility degradation in Junctionless FinFET based devices. The impact of fin height (Fh), gate dielectric and spacer dielectric on the Drain Induced Barrier Lowering, Subthreshold Swing, drain current of GC-JLFinFET is analyzed. The results show that the Ion=101.5μA/μm and Ion/Ioff is 3.2×107 are obtained for the proposed device structure compared to the existing structure, which has Ion/Ioff of 1.1x107. Furthermore, the proposed design shows better efficiency in short channel characteristics, namely DIBL=25.3 mV/V, Subthreshold Swing=63.88 mV/dec and Transconductance =3.621×105 S/μm. Thus the Gaussian Channel-based FinFET architecture can provide optimum results for Junctionless-based FinFET devices.
MR-Linac Dosimetry: Current Approaches and Challenges
Authors: Sarfehnia Arman
Published: November 2023

The use of MR-integrated linacs (MR-linac) in clinical radiation oncology applications are becoming more prevalent. However, given the novel and radically different designs of these systems from conventional linacs, current radiation dosimetry protocols for high energy photons are no longer appropriate for use in modern MR-linac systems: First, given the presence of the magnetic field and the linac design, traditional reference conditions defined by previous high energy photon dosimetry protocols cannot be met; Second, the presence of the strong magnetic field can affect the performance of conventional equipment used for dosimetry. In this manuscript, we describe some of the challenges faced in radiation dosimetry in external MR-guided radiotherapy delivery systems, summarize some of the publications in this area, and finally discuss the early work by the American Association of physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 351 which is mandated with producing a protocol for reference dosimetry in MR-linac units.
End-to-End QA in Radiation Therapy Quality Management
Authors: Schreiner L J
Published: November 2023

End-to-End (E2E) testing is a method originating from computer science that is designed to determine whether an application communicates as required with hardware, networks, databases, and other applications. This paper is to advocate that the quality management (QM) of modern radiation therapy (RT) would benefit from more regular use of E2E based quality assurance (QA) in the local clinic. The argument is that modern RT delivery is performed through some process linked by a chain of interdependent stages and actions mediated by complex interchanges during the patient’s treatment. These actions along the chain are often modified due to decisions by clinical staff who are interpreting information acquired along the process. While physics QA can validate that each of these steps are technically achievable (e.g., through machine QA) such conventional QA does not guarantee that the overall process is being carried out as planned even when it has been described by a well-defined protocol and delivered by well-trained staff. The paper briefly reviews the changes in programmatic design as RT has become more complex, the associated changes in RT QM, and some past examples of E2E testing in RT clinics, usually performed during the implementation of some new RT technique or during external audits of the clinic’s practice. The paper then makes the case for increased E2E QA based on the lessons learned from this experience and ends with some suggestions for implementing effective and sustainable E2E testing in a clinic’s QM program.
A review of small animal dosimetry techniques: image-guided and spatially fractionated therapy
Authors: Johnstone Chris D. , Bazalova-Carter Magdalena
Published: November 2023

Research in small animal radiotherapy is a crucial step in clinical translation of novel radiotherapy techniques, either delivered as stand-alone treatment or in combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy. In order to efficiently translate preclinical findings to the clinical setting, preclinical radiotherapy must replicate clinical therapy in terms of mode of delivery as well as dose delivery accuracy as closely as possible. In this review article, we focused on the description of dosimetry tools for radiotherapy of small animals delivered with kilovoltage x-ray beams on image-guided irradiators and in a spatially-fractionated manner by means of microbeam therapy. The specifics of dosimetry of kilovoltage x-ray beam deliveries with small, often sub-millimeter, beams are highlighted, and suitable dosimeters, phantoms, and dose measurement and calculation techniques are reviewed. Future directions for accurate real-time high spatial resolution dosimetry of small animal irradiations are also discussed.
End-to-end quality assurance for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy with Fricke-Xylenol orange-Gelatin gel dosimeters and dual-wavelength cone-beam optical CT scanner
Authors: Rousseau A , Stien C , Dufreneix S , Boissonnat G , Bordy JM , Blideanu V
Published: November 2023

The whole treatment process undergone by patients in clinics with Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) can be tested by implementing 3D end-to-end (E2E) quality assurance with gel dosimetry. In this work, a 3D E2E test was performed in a head phantom for the verification of a VMAT treatment, using FXG (Fricke-Xylenol orange-Gelatin) gel dosimetry and a newly developed dual-wavelength reading method on a cone-beam optical CT scanner. This dosimetric method intends to enable accurate measurements in the out-of-field zone and in the tumor volume, with an effective dose range up to 10 Gy. CT images of the phantom with a gel flask were used to create a treatment plan with a brain tumor of complex shape. A very good agreement between 90 %, 80 %, 60 % and 40 % isodose curves and high 3D γ passing rates (2%/2mm) of 98.6 % and 96.7 % between measured and computed dose maps showed that E2E tests can be successfully implemented with this novel dosimetric method.
3D optically-stimulated-luminescence-based dosimetry using LYSO:Ce scintillators
Authors: Jensen Mads L. , Turtos Rosana M. , Muren Ludvig P. , Julsgaard Brian , Balling Peter
Published: November 2023

The search for a reusable 3D dosimeter is ongoing and motivated by the impact it would have on development and verification of complex modalities in radiotherapy. We present a proof-of-concept 3D measurement of a proton-irradiated LYSO:Ce scintillator, using the resettable photon-emission mechanism known as optically stimulated luminescence and a novel optical readout system. Through this demonstration, we show that LYSO:Ce, in addition to being capable of real-time beam imaging, can be employed as a reusable post-irradiation 3D dosimeter with high spatial resolution.
A 3D printed patient-specific vaginal mould for brachytherapy
Authors: Wilks R. , Crowe S.B. , Chan P. , Cheuk R. , Kairn T.
Published: November 2023

Patient specific applicators are needed for vaginal brachytherapy treatments in cases where conventional cylindrical applicators are unsuitable or unusable. These applicators are often produced using a time-consuming and comparatively imprecise moulding method. This proof-of-concept study used Monte Carlo calculations to investigate potential dosimetric effects from creating applicators using several common 3D printing materials. A sample mould was then replicated using a fused deposition modelling (FDM) technique, which allowed catheter channels to be precisely placed with reference to treatment goals, before 3D printing from thermoplastic using a consumer-grade 3D printer. The Monte Carlo results indicated that several FDM filaments caused substantial dose depletions (up to 6%) within the model applicators while having a minor effect (less than 1%) on dose in surrounding tissue. Compared to the sample mould, the 3D printed applicator achieved superior dosimetry in terms of target coverage, while also passing manual tests of smoothness and usability. This study demonstrated an overall process by which 3D printing could replace an imprecise and time-consuming manual process and potentially achieve improved dosimetry in brachytherapy treatments of irregular vaginal anatomy.
Fading correction for calibration of a novel 2D OSL-film dosimeter
Authors: Caprioli M. , Delombaerde L. , De Saint-Hubert M. , de Freitas Nascimento L. , Galvez Febles S. S. , Himschoot K. , van der Heyden B. , Vandenbroucke D. , De Roover R. , Leblans  , Crijns W.
Published: November 2023

A new film dosimeter based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) was calibrated for high-resolution 2D dosimetry in the context of radiotherapy patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA). The OSL-film signal is linear with the dose and decays with time, in a process called fading. Two models were proposed to characterize the fading: (1) a linear model independent from the delivery and of practical use thanks to the straightforward signal-to-dose conversion, and (2) a delivery-dependent model, to investigate whether a more simplified model may be sufficient to accurately determine the fading independently from the specific-irradiation conditions. The models were used in a nonlinear regression over an experimental dataset acquired with a 6MV photon beam in standard calibration settings. Both models were accurate and showed an adjusted-R
2 of 0.98 (1) and 0.99 (2). The residual analysis on both models allowed to define the minimum scanning time to have a discrepancies between the models <1%. Under this condition the OSL fading can be assumed independent on the irradiation parameters. As a consequence, within these boundary conditions, the linear model can be used for the OSL-film calibration.
Different aspects of plan complexity in prostate VMAT plans
Authors: Terzidis E. , Nordström F. , Götstedt J. , Bäck A.
Published: November 2023

In this work we evaluated VMAT plan complexity by using different methods and approaches: complexity related to the aperture shape, the nature of the dynamic delivery, the impact of delivery variations as well as complexity analyses based on measurements. Prostate cancer treatment plans with different levels of complexity were created for three different patient cases. The plans intended to be most complex were also scored to be the most complex according to the evaluation methods used. The results for the other plans were more diverse. The methods that included 3D spatial information on complexity gave additional information important for the analysis of clinical relevance. In order to use specific complexity estimation methods for taking clinical decisions it is essential to understand how different aspects of complexity are incorporated in each method.
Iterative Image Reconstruction Methodology in Optical CT Radiochromic Gel Dosimetry
Authors: Collins S , Ogilvy A , Huang D , Hare W , Hilts M , Jirasek A
Published: November 2023

Modern advancements in radiation therapy require paralleled advancements in the dosimetric tools used to verify dose distributions. Optical computed tomography (CT) imaged radiochromic gel dosimeters provide comprehensive, tissue equivalent, 3D dosimetric information with high spatial resolution and low imaging times. Traditional CT image reconstruction methods (filtered backprojection) do not account for light refraction within the optical CT system reducing the image quality. Iterative reconstruction methods make use of a system matrix that describes this light refraction thus, improving the reconstructed image quality. However, use of iterative reconstruction methods is not widespread, largely due to the impractical storage size of the required system matrix. Furthermore, current iterative reconstruction methods do not address the issue of image degradation due to a single detector element collecting light from multiple raypaths. For optical CT radiochromic gel dosimetry to be used effectively as a radiation therapy treatment plan verification tool, the system must be both practical and accurate. Thus, this work has two main objectives: (i) reduce the size of system matrices by means of polar coordinate discretization in lieu of the traditional Cartesian coordinate discretization, and (ii) reduce image degradation due to multiple raypaths by a novel approach to populating the system matrix that accounts for multiple raypaths.
College Students’ Day-to-Day Maladaptive Drinking Responses to Stress Severity and Stressor-Related Guilt and Anger
Authors: Courtney Jimikaye B , West Ashley B , Russell Michael A , Almeida David M , Conroy David E
Published: November 2023

Background

Stress is a common part of college students’ daily lives that may influence their physical activity (PA) and alcohol use. Understanding features of daily stress processes that predict health behaviors could help identify targets for just-in-time interventions.

Purpose

This study used intensive longitudinal data to examine whether prior day stress processes predict current day PA or alcohol use.

Methods

Participants (N=58, Mage=20.5, 59% women, 70% White) were 18-to-25-year-old students who engaged in binge drinking at least twice monthly and used cannabis or tobacco in the past year. They wore activity (activPAL4) and alcohol (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) monitors for 11 days to assess daily PA (e.g., step counts) and alcohol use (e.g., drinking day), and completed daily surveys about yesterday’s stress, including number of stressors (i.e., frequency), stressor intensity (i.e., severity), and frequency of affective states (e.g., guilt). Multilevel models examined prior day stress predicting current day PA or alcohol use.

Results

Participants had higher odds of current day drinking (odds ratio=1.21) and greater area under the curve (B=0.08) when they experienced greater than usual stress severity the prior day. Participants had higher current day peak transdermal alcohol concentration (B=0.12) and area under the curve (B=0.11) when they more frequently experienced guilt due to stressors the prior day.

Conclusions

College students’ unhealthy response of increasing alcohol use due to stress could adversely impact health outcomes. There is a critical need for interventions addressing students’ ability to effectively manage and respond to the stress-inducing, daily demands of student life.
Diagnostic and Predictive Value of Brachial–Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity and Pulse Pressure Index for Coronary Heart Disease in Elderly Patients With Hypertension
Authors: Liu Yue , An Yajuan , Li Jiao , Yuan Peng , Qi Xin , Wei Liping , Yang Hua
Published: November 2023

OBJECTIVE

To explore the diagnostic and predictive value of pulse pressure index (PPI) and brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) for coronary heart disease (CHD) in elderly patients with hypertension.

METHODS

A total of 307 elderly patients who had chest pain or chest distress and coronary angiography were enrolled. According to the Gensini score, patients with CHD (n = 260) were divided into low-risk group (<20 points, n = 96), moderate-risk group (20–40 points, n = 80), and high-risk group (>40 points, n = 84). baPWV was measured using an ankle–brachial index and pulse wave measuring device. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of CHD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of baPWV and PPI for CHD.

RESULTS

PPI and baPWV of elderly hypertensive patients with CHD at low, moderate, and high risk were higher than those without CHD [PPI: 0.43 ± 0.04, 0.45 ± 0.04, 0.45 ± 0.05 vs. 0.41 ± 0.05, F = 31.768, P < 0.001; baWV: 1,671 (1,587–1,755), 1,717 (1,597–1,843), 1,780 (1,661–1,960) vs. 1,570 (1,477–1,699) cm/s, X2 = 60.918, P < 0.001]. With the increase in CHD severity, the PPI and baPWV were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Spearman/Pearson correlation analysis showed that the Gensini score was positively correlated with baPWV and PPI, respectively (both P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that baPWV, PPI, and systolic blood pressure were the influencing factors of CHD in hypertensive patients. The areas under the ROC curve (95% CI) of baPWV, PPI, and their combination for diagnosing CHD were 0.792 (0.723–0.861), 0.708 (0.625–0.792), and 0.837 (0.779–0.895), respectively, and was significantly different between baPWV or PPI alone and the combination of the 2 (Z = −2.178, P = 0.029; Z = −3.330, P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Elevations of baPWV and PPI are positively correlated with the severity of CHD. Both baPWV and PPI have a diagnostic and predictive value for CHD in elderly hypertensive patients, and the combination of baPWV and PPI is more accurate.
PhaGenus: genus-level classification of bacteriophages using a Transformer model
Authors: Guan Jiaojiao , Peng Cheng , Shang Jiayu , Tang Xubo , Sun Yanni
Published: November 2023

Motivation

Bacteriophages (phages for short), which prey on and replicate within bacterial cells, have a significant role in modulating microbial communities and hold potential applications in treating antibiotic resistance. The advancement of high-throughput sequencing technology contributes to the discovery of phages tremendously. However, the taxonomic classification of assembled phage contigs still faces several challenges, including high genetic diversity, lack of a stable taxonomy system and limited knowledge of phage annotations. Despite extensive efforts, existing tools have not yet achieved an optimal balance between prediction rate and accuracy.

Results

In this work, we develop a learning-based model named PhaGenus, which conducts genus-level taxonomic classification for phage contigs. PhaGenus utilizes a powerful Transformer model to learn the association between protein clusters and support the classification of up to 508 genera. We tested PhaGenus on four datasets in different scenarios. The experimental results show that PhaGenus outperforms state-of-the-art methods in predicting low-similarity datasets, achieving an improvement of at least 13.7%. Additionally, PhaGenus is highly effective at identifying previously uncharacterized genera that are not represented in reference databases, with an improvement of 8.52%. The analysis of the infants’ gut and GOV2.0 dataset demonstrates that PhaGenus can be used to classify more contigs with higher accuracy.
Psychosocial impact of severe autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis
Authors: Raj Christina , Singh Shrishti , Gupta Aayush
Published: November 2023

A clinician’s and a patient’s perspective on living with lamellar ichthyosis for over half a century.
Acute heart failure: mechanisms and pre-clinical models—a Scientific Statement of the ESC Working Group on Myocardial Function
Authors: Ciccarelli Michele , Pires Inês Falcão , Bauersachs Johann , Bertrand Luc , Beauloye Christophe , Dawson Dana , Hamdani Nazha , Hilfiker-Kleiner Denise , van Laake Linda W , Lezoualc’h Frank , Linke Wolfgang A , Lunde Ida G , Rainer Peter P , Rispoli Antonella , Visco Valeria , Carrizzo Albino , Ferro Matteo Dal , Stolfo Davide , van der Velden Jolanda , Zacchigna Serena , Heymans Stephane , Thum Thomas , Tocchetti Carlo Gabriele
Published: November 2023

While chronic heart failure (CHF) treatment has considerably improved patient prognosis and survival, the therapeutic management of acute heart failure (AHF) has remained virtually unchanged in the last decades. This is partly due to the scarcity of pre-clinical models for the pathophysiological assessment and, consequently, the limited knowledge of molecular mechanisms involved in the different AHF phenotypes. This scientific statement outlines the different trajectories from acute to CHF originating from the interaction between aetiology, genetic and environmental factors, and comorbidities. Furthermore, we discuss the potential molecular targets capable of unveiling new therapeutic perspectives to improve the outcome of the acute phase and counteracting the evolution towards CHF.
The Impacts of Spirituality and Religious Participation on the Emotional Well-Being of Widowed Older Adults in Southeast Nigeria
Authors: Ukeachusim Chidinma P , Okwor Christopher O , Eze Ekenedirichukwu , Okoli Anuli B , Ugwu Collins I , Ebimgbo Samuel O
Published: November 2023

Background and Objectives

The population of older individuals in Africa is increasing, and at a rapid rate. Although the numbers of these individuals increase, many African countries, including Nigeria, are devoid of state-sponsored welfare systems that address their well-being. This situation has placed the bulk of support on the family members including spouses. Studies have shown that spouses are considered to be veritable sources of support in later life. However, spousal death tends to reduce the perceived support including emotional support, which usually occasions lower well-being, life dissatisfaction, and higher mortality rates. This study ascertains the impact of spirituality/religious participation on the emotional well-being of widowed older adults.

Research Design and Methods

The study was conducted in Enugu State, southeast Nigeria. The study implemented a qualitative approach to collect data from 71 widowed older adults, aged 60 and older. The thematic analytical method was used to analyze the generated data.

Results

Participating in spiritual/religious activities like prayers, church programs/activities reading, studying, and meditating on the word of God have enabled the widowed older adults to buffer some of the emotional challenges.

Discussion and Implications

Older adults should be encouraged to participate in spiritual and religious activities. Religious leaders should also make every effort to organize activities that will address the emotional needs of these individuals.
Gene editing of authentic Brassica rapa flavonol synthase 1 generates dihydroflavonol-accumulating Chinese cabbage
Authors: Park Sangkyu , Lee Hyo , Song Jaeeun , Lim Chan Ju , Oh Jinpyo , Lee Sang Hoon , Lee Saet Buyl , Lee Jong-Yeol , Lim Sunhyung , Kim Jin A. , Kim Beom-Gi
Published: November 2023

Flavonols are the major class of flavonoids of green Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis). The B. rapa genome harbors seven flavonol synthase genes (BrFLSs), but they have not been functionally characterized. Here, transcriptome analysis showed four BrFLSs mainly expressed in Chinese cabbage. Among them, only BrFLS1 showed major FLS activity and additional flavanone 3β-hydroxylase (F3H) activity, while BrFLS2 and BrFLS3.1 exhibited only marginal F3H activities. We generated BrFLS1-knockout (BrFLS1-KO) Chinese cabbages using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing and obtained transgene-free homozygous plants without off-target mutation in the T1 generation, which were further advanced to the T2 generation showing normal phenotype. UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS analysis revealed that flavonol glycosides were dramatically decreased in the T2 plants, while dihydroflavonol glycosides accumulated concomitantly to levels corresponding to the reduced levels of flavonols. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that the early steps of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthetic pathway were upregulated in the BrFLS1-KO plants. In accordance, total phenolic contents were slightly enhanced in the BrFLS1-KO plants, which suggests a negative role of flavonols in phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis in Chinese cabbage. Phenotypic surveys revealed that the BrFLS1-KO Chinese cabbages showed normal head formation and reproductive phenotypes, but subtle morphological changes in their heads were observed. In addition, their seedlings were susceptible to osmotic stress compared to the controls, suggesting that flavonols play a positive role for osmotic stress tolerance in B.rapa seedling. In this study, we showed that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated BrFLS1-KO successfully generated a valuable breeding resource of Chinese cabbage with distinctive metabolic traits and that CRISPR/Cas9 can be efficiently applied in functional Chinese cabbage breeding.
Shift in Public Opinion Formations on Defense, Energy, and Migration: The Case of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
Authors: Masch Lena , Demel Ronja , Schieferdecker David , Schwander Hanna , Hutter Swen , Specht Jule
Published: November 2023

Russia’s war on Ukraine came as a shock to the Western world. In this context, the study of public opinion change is crucial for understanding the dynamics of political attitudes and societal polarization. Using Germany as an exemplary case study, we investigate how public opinion changed regarding defense, energy supply, and migration as three crucial policy domains in the first year of the war. Using a representative eight-wave online panel survey study, we map attitudes in the general population and among supporters of different parties, tracing their development over time. Our analyses lead to two key insights: First, attitudes toward defense, energy supply, and migration remained remarkably stable over time. Second, we found a high degree of consensus across the partisan spectrum. Only the supporters of the far-right populist party systematically diverged from the general population, and this discrepancy grew larger over time. Our findings contribute significantly to the understanding of political attitude formation and processes of social polarization along cleavages in times of abrupt societal change.
Heritability and variance component estimation for feed and water intake behaviors of feedlot cattle
Authors: Dressler Elizabeth A , Shaffer William , Bruno Kelsey , Krehbiel Clint R , Calvo-Lorenzo Michelle , Richards Chris J , Place Sara E , DeSilva Udaya , Kuehn Larry A , Weaber Robert L , Bormann Jennifer M , Rolf Megan M
Published: November 2023

Feed and water intake are two important aspects of cattle production that greatly impact the profitability, efficiency, and sustainability of producers. Feed and, to a lesser degree, water intake have been studied previously; however, there is little research on their associated animal behaviors and there is a lack of standardized phenotypes for these behaviors. Feed and water intakes obtained with an Insentec system (Hokofarm Group, The Netherlands) from 830 crossbred steers were used to compute five intake behaviors for both feed and water: daily sessions (DS), intake rate (IR), session size (SS), time per session (TS), and session interval (SI). Variance components and heritabilities were estimated for each trait. Heritabilities for feed intake behaviors were 0.50 ± 0.12, 0.63 ± 0.12, 0.40 ± 0.13, 0.35 ± 0.12, and 0.60 ± 0.12 for DS, IR, SS, TS, and SI, respectively. Heritabilities for water intake behaviors were 0.56 ± 0.11, 0.88 ± 0.07, 0.70 ± 0.11, 0.54 ± 0.12, and 0.80 ± 0.10 for NS, IR, SS, TS, and SI, respectively. Daily dry matter intake (DDMI) and daily water intake (DWI) had heritabilities of 0.57 ± 0.11 and 0.44 ± 0.11. Phenotypic correlations varied between pairs of traits (−0.83 to 0.82). Genetic correlations between DDMI and feed intake behaviors were moderate to high, while genetic correlations between DWI and water intake behaviors were low to moderate. Several significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were identified for the feed and water intake behaviors. Genes and previously reported quantitative trait loci near significant SNPs were evaluated. The results indicated that feed and water intake behaviors are influenced by genetic factors and are heritable, providing one additional route to evaluate or manipulate feed and water intake.
The role of iliopsoas fractional lengthening in hip arthroscopy: a systematic review
Authors: Baur Alexander , Lemons Wesley , Satalich James , Vap Alexander , O’Connell Robert
Published: November 2023

Arthroscopic iliopsoas fractional lengthening (IFL) is a surgical option for the treatment of internal snapping hip syndrome (ISHS) after failing conservative management. Systematic review. A search of PubMed central, National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE) and Scopus databases were performed by two individuals from the date of inception to April 2023. Inclusion criteria were ISHS treated with arthroscopy. Sample size, patient-reported outcomes and complications were recorded for 24 selected papers. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed and registered on PROSPERO database for systematic reviews (CRD42023427466). Thirteen retrospective case series, ten retrospective comparative studies, and one randomized control trial from 2005 to 2022 were reported on 1021 patients who received an iliopsoas fractional lengthening. The extracted data included patient satisfaction, visual analogue scale, the modified Harris hip score and additional outcome measures. All 24 papers reported statistically significant improvements in post-operative patient-reported outcome measures after primary hip arthroscopy and iliopsoas fractional lengthening. However, none of the comparative studies found a statistical benefit in performing IFL. Existing studies lack conclusive evidence on the benefits of Iliopsoas Fractional Lengthening (IFL), especially for competitive athletes, individuals with Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI), and borderline hip dysplasia. Some research suggests IFL may be a safe addition to hip arthroscopy for Internal Snapping Hip Syndrome, but more comprehensive investigations are needed. Future studies should distinguish between concurrent procedures and develop methods to determine if the psoas muscle is the source of pain, instead of solely attributing it to the joint.
Genomic, phenotypic, and clinical safety of Limosilactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 4659
Authors: Sendelius Malin , Axelsson Jakob , Liu Peidi , Roos Stefan
Published: November 2023

Evaluating the safety of probiotic microorganisms is an important part of the development of probiotic products. In this study, we have performed a systematic safety assessment of Limosilactobacillus reuteri American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) PTA 4659 based on genome analysis, antibiotic susceptibility testing, phenotypic characterization, and a human clinical safety study. Genome sequence analysis showed that the strain is free from virulence and antibiotic resistance genes. Connected to this, phenotypic characterization showed that the strain is susceptible to the main classes of antibiotics. Limosilactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 4659 was shown to produce histamine, which has previously been described as an anti-inflammatory mediator produced by certain L. reuteri strains. However, the amount of histamine, a biogenic amine, poses no safety concern of a potential product. The strain was investigated in a human clinical safety study and was shown to survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract, both when administered at high [1 × 1011 colony-forming units (CFU)/day] and low doses (1 × 109 CFU/day). The clinical safety evaluation showed that the doses administered are safe for human consumption. Furthermore, carbohydrate utilization, mucus adhesion, and tolerance to acid and bile were studied. It was shown that L. reuteri ATCC PTA 4659 has a very high adhesion to mucus and tolerance to both gastric pH and bile, all potentially important properties for a probiotic strain. Altogether, this study has demonstrated that Limosilactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 4659 is safe for human consumption and along with its phenotypic characteristics and previously described anti-inflammatory effects, makes it a promising strain for future probiotic development. NCT01033539
The effects of insect repellent on initial Dipteran colonization of decomposing pig remains
Authors: Torres Cecilia G , Pollock Darren A , Mitchell Zachary A , Cradock Kenwyn R
Published: November 2023

Numerous factors influence insect colonization and development on decomposing remains and can influence postmortem interval (PMI) estimations when insects are used in investigations of suspicious deaths. This study aimed to determine whether insect repellent influences insect colonization of decomposing remains. Pig feet were divided into 4 groups: a control not sprayed with repellent, 40% DEET repellent, 98% DEET repellent, and lemon eucalyptus repellent. The feet were placed in containers, and insect visitation was observed over the course of 3 days, then insects were collected at the end of the third day. This was repeated twice a month from April through November 2022. The analysis focused on the order Diptera. Pairwise comparison determined that there was a significant delay in visitation time for remains with 98% DEET compared to remains with no repellent and 40% DEET. There were significantly fewer adult Diptera collected and more remains with no larvae or eggs present among remains treated with 98% DEET. It was concluded that low concentrations of DEET and lemon eucalyptus repellent did not delay colonization, but that high concentrations of DEET delayed visitation, reduced the number of adult flies collected from the remains, and reduced the likelihood of collecting eggs or larvae from the remains. This contributes to the understanding of factors that can influence insect colonization and development that allow for more accurate PMI estimations by suggesting that insect repellent does not need to be accounted for in PMI estimation, but a high concentration of DEET can deter insects in the short term.
A Bayesian approach to estimate annual bilateral migration flows for South America using census data
Authors: Aparicio Castro Andrea , Wiśniowski Arkadiusz , Rowe Francisco
Published: November 2023

Censuses are an important source of international migration flow data. However, their use is limited since they indirectly reflect migration, capturing migrant transitions over long intervals rather than migration events, whilst also underestimating the number of infants and deaths. Censuses also neglect migration of those who are native-born when they only include questions on country of birth, and have sparse temporal availability. We propose a Bayesian hierarchical model to overcome these limitations and produce a set of robust annual migration flow estimates for South American countries. Our model translates five-year transition data from censuses into annual series, corrects biases that arise due to differences in measurement and census data quality across countries, and is grounded in migration theory to impute missing migration data between censuses.
SIRT3 Regulates Levels of Deacetylated SOD2 to Prevent Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction During Oocyte Maturation in Pigs
Authors: Jiao Le , Hu Chen-Xi , Zhang Yue , Zhang Ying-Xin , Cai Wen-Wu , Pan Wen-Lin , Sun Shao-Chen , Zhang Yu
Published: November 2023

Mammalian oocyte maturation relies on mitochondrial ATP production, but this can lead to damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS). SIRT3, a mitochondrial sirtuin, plays a critical role in regulating mitochondrial redox balance in mouse oocytes under stress; however, its specific roles in porcine oocytes remain unclear. In this study, we utilized the SIRT3 inhibitor 3-TYP to investigate SIRT3's importance in porcine oocyte maturation. Our findings revealed that SIRT3 is expressed in porcine oocytes and its inhibition leads to maturation failure. This was evident through reduced polar body extrusion, arrested cell cycle, as well as disrupted spindle organization and actin distribution. Furthermore, SIRT3 inhibition resulted in a decrease in mitochondrial DNA copy numbers, disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, and reduced ATP levels, all indicating impaired mitochondrial function in porcine oocytes. Additionally, the primary source of damaged mitochondria was associated with decreased levels of deacetylated superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) after SIRT3 inhibition, which led to ROS accumulation and oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. Taken together, our results suggest that SIRT3 regulates the levels of deacetylated SOD2 to maintain redox balance and preserve mitochondrial function during porcine oocyte maturation, with potential implications for improving pig reproduction.