bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Colonization of oak stumps by the oak pinhole borer in temperate forests and the efficacy of pheromone traps: Implications for pest management
Authors: Resnerová Karolina , Šenfeldová Soňa , Horák Jakub , Popelková Daniela , Holuša Jaroslav
Published: March 2023

Introduction

The present changes in climate and land use have led to an increase in pest population densities. The oak pinhole borer, Platypus cylindrus, is one of the ambrosia beetles, which are known to infect wood tissue with fungi from their mycangia. These fungi are responsible for cellulose degradation. This species is now responsible for more frequent timber damage throughout Europe. Therefore, it is assumed that there is a high risk of P. cylindrus outbreaks in the future with possible subsequent oak diebacks. We focused on (1) the influence of stump diameter on P. cylindrus attraction and abundance; (2) the trapping efficacy by a specific pheromone and the impact on nontarget arthropods; and (3) interannual changes in trap catches.

Methods

The research was performed from 2015–2017 with a postharvest survey of stumps. We further analyzed the catches of P. cylindrus and of nontarget arthropods on pheromone traps compared to ethanol-baited traps.

Results and discussion

In total, 12,504 adults were trapped during the 3 years of the study. P. cylindrus abundance was positively correlated with stump diameter and interannual changes. The type of compound used for trapping positively affected the trapping efficacy. However, the pheromone type did not have an impact on nontarget beetles. We consider oak stumps to be a reservoir the oak pinhole borer. Therefore, we recommend their debarking or removal, especially in the case of stumps with a larger diameter (over 61 cm).
A rare and severe complication after minimally invasive esophagectomy: First case of a left-sided tension pneumothorax caused by intrathoracic perforation of the herniated transverse colon. Case report and literature review
Authors: Mostafa Karim , Wolf Carmen , Austrup Johannes , Franke Frederike , Jansen Olav , Both Marcus , Langguth Patrick
Published: March 2023

Nowadays, a minimally invasive surgical approach is increasingly being chosen to treat distal esophageal tumors. Here, postoperative hiatal herniation has been identified as a potentially severe complication. In such cases, it is still not known whether surgical or conservative treatment is preferable. In this report, we elaborate the case of a 62-year-old male patient who presented at our emergency department with severe chest pain. This patient had undergone minimally invasive esophagectomy with gastric pull-up 2 years prior to this event. Emergency computed tomography revealed a left-sided tension pneumothorax based on transhiatal herniation of the transverse colon causing an intrathoracic closed-loop obstruction with subsequent perforation. Immediate surgical treatment was initiated and the transverse colon could be successfully repositioned and resected. Nevertheless, the patient died due to postoperative septic shock in the setting of fecal peritonitis, mediastinitis, and pleuritis within 48 hours after surgery. We provide a detailed description of this rare case and provide a review of the literature concerning intrathoracic colonic herniations.
Family reunion policy for resettled refugees: Governance, challenges and impacts
Authors: Phillimore Jenny , D'Avino Gabriella , Strain-Fajth Veronika , Papoutsi Anna , Ziss Paladia
Published: March 2023

The past decade has seen renewed efforts to establish resettlement as a durable solution for refugees, both as a protection tool and a mechanism to equitably distribute them among countries. Although the right to a family life is widely recognised as a fundamental human right, whether refugees can arrive with their family or be reunited with family once resettled varies across receiving countries. Little is known about family reunion policies in countries leading the resettlement efforts, and about the impact of these policies on the lives and experiences of resettled refugees. This paper addresses this gap though a systematic scoping review of academic and policy literature on family reunion policies for resettlement refugees, and on the impact of such policy on their lives. Based on a review of 42 papers published between 2010 and 2021, we outline the policies implemented in different receiving countries to enable resettled refugees to reunite with family, documenting at the same time the challenges refugees face in the process, as well as the impact of policy on their experiences. The findings evidence a tension between the refugees' own understanding of family and definitions of family in policy in receiving countries, which often results in family separation or reconfiguration. Additionally, high costs and other administrative barriers, as well as long waiting times associated with family reunification, lead to delayed or denied reunion, having detrimental effects on resettled refugees' well-being in the present and on their future prospects.
Malignancies in systemic rheumatic diseases: A mini review
Authors: Geng Zhe , Ye Cong , Zhu Xiaojian
Published: March 2023

There is an increased risk of malignancies in patients with many systemic rheumatic diseases, which negatively impact on their quality of life. The risk and types of malignancies can differ by the type of rheumatic diseases. Possible mechanisms linking them are dynamic and complicated, including chronic inflammation and damage in rheumatic disease, inability to clear oncogenic infections, shared etiology and some anti-rheumatic therapies. Although certain disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have been proved to be potentially carcinogenic, the majority of them were not associated with increased risk of most malignancies in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases.
Cellular T-cell immune response profiling by tetravalent dengue subunit vaccine (DSV4) candidate in mice
Authors: Aggarwal Charu , Ramasamy Viswanathan , Garg Amit , Shukla Rahul , Khanna Navin
Published: March 2023

While most vaccines aim to develop a solid humoral and neutralizing antibody response against the pathogen, an effective vaccine candidate should be able to stimulate both the B-cell mediated humoral immunity, and T-cell mediated cellular immunity. The focus of vaccinology is rapidly gaining to generate T cell responses, which can mediate pathogen clearance and help B cells leading to protective antibody responses. Here we evaluate the cellular immune response of the pre-clinical tetravalent dengue subunit vaccine candidate, DSV4, in mice. While we have shown previously that DSV4 induces type-specific neutralizing antibody responses in mice, in this study, we show that the vaccine candidate DSV4 well induces dengue-specific T- cell responses evaluated by their ability to produce IFN-γ. In addition to IFN-γ secretion by both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in immunized mice, we observed that DSV4 also induces a higher frequency and cytokine functions of follicular CD4+ helper T-cells (TFH). These cytokines lead to an efficient germinal center reaction and potent B cell antibody response. Apart from TFH response, DSV4 stimulated Type 1 T helper cells (TH1) which is characteristic of a viral infection leading to secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and phagocyte-dependent protective immune responses. Our study highlights that DSV4 can mediate both arms of adaptive immunity-humoral and cell-mediated immunity in mice. By elucidating vaccine-specific T cell response, our work has implications in showing DSV4 as an effective, type-specific and safe dengue vaccine candidate.
Immune response to BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients living with HIV: The COVIH-DAPT study
Authors: Manni Sabrina , Ruetsch Caroline , Fabre Roxane , Ticchioni Michel , Graça Daisy , Pradier Christian , Seitz-Polski Barbara , Lotte Laurene , Brglez Vesna , Vassallo Matteo
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Data on immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients living with HIV (PLWH) over a period longer than 3 months are currently limited. We measured the immune response after BNT162b2 vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in this population.

Methods

We prospectively enrolled PLWH on successful antiretroviral therapy, initiating vaccination with two doses of the BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine administered at six-week interval. SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cellular responses and lymphocyte cell subsets were recorded at inclusion and 6 weeks (W6), 3 months (M3) and 6 months (M6) later. Humoral, humoral strong and cellular responders were defined by IgG titers >10, ≥264BAU/mL and IFN-γ T cell release, respectively.

Results

Nineteen subjects without SARS-CoV-2 infection were included (74% men, mean age 51 years, CD4 nadir 399/mm3). All subjects were humoral responders, their antibody titer peak reached at M3. Strong responders’ rates were 63% and 21% at M3 and M6, respectively. CD19+CD10+ B cells had increased significantly at W6 then decreased at M3, while CD19+CD27+ B cells remained unchanged. Rates of patients with a cellular response increased from 39% at W6 to 69% at M6. Cellular responders had significantly higher CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ Effector Memory cells at inclusion (p=0.048, p=0.024, p=0.012, respectively) and CD4+ Terminally Differentiated Effector Memory cells at M3 (p=0.044).

Discussion

PLWH have a robust immune response after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, but a rapid decline in humoral response from 3 months onwards, due to a blunted memory B cell response. Analysis of lymphocyte subsets may help identify optimal times for vaccine boosters.
Evaluation of a renal risk score for Japanese patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis in a multi-center cohort study
Authors: Uchida Tomohisa , Ichinose Kunihiro , Yamashita Ayuko , Muta Kumiko , Kitamura Mineaki , Sato Shuntaro , Iwamoto Naoki , Nishino Tomoya , Kawakami Atsushi
Published: March 2023

Background

In patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis, prediction of renal survival should guide the choice of therapy, but a prediction of the histological classification has inconsistencies.

Objectives

To evaluate the usefulness of renal risk score (RRS) for Japanese patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis (AAGN) and compare the prediction for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) between RRS and the histological classification.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 96 patients with AAGN who underwent a renal biopsy. Renal survival was categorized by RRS, and the histological classification was assessed separately. We compared the predictive values for RRS and the histological classification.

Results

The median observational period was 37.5 (interquartile range [IQR] 21.5–77.0) months. The median RRS point at the time of renal biopsy was 2 (IQR 0–7.8), and the patients were categorized into low- (n = 29), medium- (n = 43), and high-risk groups (n = 24) using RRS. As expected, the renal prognosis was the worst in the “high-risk” group and the best in the “low-risk” group. In the histological classification, the survival deteriorated progressively from “focal” (best) to “mixed,” “crescentic,” and “sclerotic” (worst) classes, different from the order in the original proposal for this system. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that RRS was independently associated with ESRD. The difference in prediction for renal survival between RRS and the histological classification was not significant using area under receiver-operating-characteristic curves.

Conclusion

We evaluated the usefulness of RRS in Japanese patients with AAGN and found it a stable predictor of renal survival in such patients.
Chemically reactive hybrid nanofluid flow past a Riga plate with nonlinear thermal radiation and a variable heat source/sink
Authors: Algehyne Ebrahem A. , Lone Showkat Ahmad , Raizah Zehba , Eldin Sayed M. , Saeed Anwar , Galal Ahmed M.
Published: March 2023

The suspension of nanoparticles in base liquids has found extensive applications in various industrial processes like nanomedicines, microsystem cooling, and energy conversion. Owing to its important applications, this article investigates the hybrid nanofluid flow over a three-dimensional stretching surface. The fluid is influenced by thermal radiation, chemical reaction, and a variable thermal source/sink. The set of equations that administer the fluid behavior has been transformed to dimensionless form by a suitable set of similarity transformations that are further solved by the homotopy analysis method. It was found that as the ratio parameter increased, the velocity of hybrid nanofluid velocity decreased along the primary direction and increased along the secondary direction. The temperature characteristic was augmented with greater values of nonlinear thermal radiation and source/sink factors. Growth in the chemically reactive factor and Schmidt number has an adverse effect on the concentration profile of the hybrid nanofluid flow. A comparative analysis of the current results and those established in the literature was conducted. A close agreement with those published results was found. It was noted that temperature and concentration increase more quickly for theMoS2+MgO/H2Ohybrid nanofluid than theMoS2/H2O,MgO/H2Onanofluids.
The biological applications of exosomal-based materials in bone/cartilage tissue engineering
Authors: Chen Ruiqin , Cheng Yanan , Zhang Wentao , Zhang Hongbiao , Yuan Xiaoli
Published: March 2023

Exosomes are secreted by various cells including stem cells, dendritic cells, and tumor cells, also known as the cell-derived extracellular vesicles. Exosomes, can carry informative cargos from host cells, thus have been employed as potential nanomaterials for their multifarious biological functions in biomedical fields, such as drug and genes delivery, tumor targeting, and disease treatment. Recently, the biological applications of exosomes in bone tissue engineering have gained increasing attention. Some important progress has been made while the tissue regeneration and functional recovery of boneremain as the key challenges to be addressed. In this article, we first made a summary of exosomes and their applications in the regeneration of bone and cartilage tissue. Then, modification approaches used for exosomes to equip them with excellent capacities are summarized. Finally, current concerns and future outlooks of exosomes in bone/cartilage tissue engineering and regeneration are discussed.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and biomarkers: A new paradigm in colorectal cancer
Authors: Rashid Gowhar , Khan Nihad Ashraf , Elsori Deena , Rehman Andleeb , Tanzeelah  , Ahmad Haleema , Maryam Humaira , Rais Amaan , Usmani Mohd Salik , Babker Asaad Ma , Kamal Mohammad Azhar , Hafez Wael
Published: March 2023

Colorectal cancer is a sporadic, hereditary, or familial based disease in its origin, caused due to diverse set of mutations in large intestinal epithelial cells. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and deadly disease that accounts for the 4th worldwide highly variable malignancy. For the early detection of CRC, the most common predictive biomarker found endogenously are KRAS and ctDNA/cfDNA along with SEPT9 methylated DNA. Early detection and screening for CRC are necessary and multiple methods can be employed to screen and perform early diagnosis of CRC. Colonoscopy, an invasive method is most prevalent for diagnosing CRC or confirming the positive result as compared to other screening methods whereas several non-invasive techniques such as molecular analysis of breath, urine, blood, and stool can also be performed for early detection. Interestingly, widely used medicines known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce pain and inflammation have reported chemopreventive impact on gastrointestinal malignancies, especially CRC in several epidemiological and preclinical types of research. NSAID acts by inhibiting two cyclooxygenase enzymes, thereby preventing the synthesis of prostaglandins (PGs) and causing NSAID-induced apoptosis and growth inhibition in CRC cells. This review paper majorly focuses on the diversity of natural and synthetic biomarkers and various techniques for the early detection of CRC. An approach toward current advancement in CRC detection techniques and the role of NSAIDs in CRC chemoprevention has been explored systematically. Several prominent governing mechanisms of the anti-cancer effects of NSAIDs and their synergistic effect with statins for an effective chemopreventive measure have also been discussed in this review paper.
Metabolomic and cultivation insights into the tolerance of the spacecraft-associated Acinetobacter toward Kleenol 30, a cleanroom floor detergent
Authors: Mogul Rakesh , Miller Daniel R. , Ramos Brian , Lalla Sidharth J.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Stringent cleaning procedures during spacecraft assembly are critical to maintaining the integrity of life-detection missions. To ensure cleanliness, NASA spacecraft are assembled in cleanroom facilities, where floors are routinely cleansed with Kleenol 30 (K30), an alkaline detergent.

Methods

Through metabolomic and cultivation approaches, we show that cultures of spacecraft-associated Acinetobacter tolerate up to 1% v/v K30 and are fully inhibited at ≥2%; in comparison, NASA cleanrooms are cleansed with ~0.8-1.6% K30.

Results

For A. johnsonii 2P08AA (isolated from a cleanroom floor), cultivations with 0.1% v/v K30 yield (1) no changes in cell density at late-log phase, (2) modest decreases in growth rate (~17%), (3) negligible lag phase times, (4) limited changes in the intracellular metabolome, and (5) increases in extracellular sugar acids, monosaccharides, organic acids, and fatty acids. For A. radioresistens 50v1 (isolated from a spacecraft surface), cultivations yield (1) ~50% survivals, (2) no changes in growth rate, (3) ~70% decreases in the lag phase time, (4) differential changes in intracellular amino acids, compatible solutes, nucleotide-related metabolites, dicarboxylic acids, and saturated fatty acids, and (5) substantial yet differential impacts to extracellular sugar acids, monosaccharides, and organic acids.

Discussion

These combined results suggest that (1) K30 manifests strain-dependent impacts on the intracellular metabolomes, cultivation kinetics, and survivals, (2) K30 influences extracellular trace element acquisition in both strains, and (3) K30 is better tolerated by the floor-associated strain. Hence, this work lends support towards the hypothesis that repeated cleansing during spacecraft assembly serve as selective pressures that promote tolerances towards the cleaning conditions.
Predictors of cognitive impairment in newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease with normal cognition at baseline: A 5-year cohort study
Authors: Chen Jing , Zhao Danhua , Wang Qi , Chen Junyi , Bai Chaobo , Li Yuan , Guo Xintong , Chen Baoyu , Zhang Lin , Yuan Junliang
Published: March 2023

Background and objective

Cognitive impairment (CI) is a substantial contributor to the disability associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We aimed to assess the clinical features and explore the underlying biomarkers as predictors of CI in patients with newly diagnosed PD (NDPD; less than 2 years).

Methods

We evaluated the cognitive function status using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and a battery of neuropsychological tests at baseline and subsequent annual follow-up for 5 years from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) database. We assessed the baseline clinical features, apolipoprotein (APO) E status, β-glucocerebrosidase (GBA) mutation status, cerebrospinal fluid findings, and dopamine transporter imaging results. Using a diagnosis of CI (combined mild cognitive impairment and dementia) developed during the 5-year follow-up as outcome measures, we assessed the predictive values of baseline clinical variables and biomarkers. We also constructed a predictive model for the diagnosis of CI using logistic regression analysis.

Results

A total of 409 patients with NDPD with 5-year follow-up were enrolled, 232 with normal cognitive function at baseline, and 94 patients developed CI during the 5-year follow-up. In multivariate analyses, age, current diagnosis of hypertension, baseline MoCA scores, Movement disorder society Unified PD Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRS III) scores, and APOE status were associated with the development of CI. Predictive accuracy of CI using age alone improved by the addition of clinical variables and biomarkers (current diagnosis of hypertension, baseline MoCA scores, and MDS-UPDRS III scores, APOE status; AUC 0.80 [95% CI 0.74–0.86] vs. 0.71 [0.64–0.77], p = 0.008). Cognitive domains that had higher frequencies of impairment were found in verbal memory (12.6 vs. 16.8%) and attention/processing speed (12.7 vs. 16.9%), however, no significant difference in the prevalence of CI at annual follow-up was found during the 5-year follow-up in NDPD patients.

Conclusion

In NDPD, the development of CI during the 5-year follow-up can be predicted with good accuracy using a model combining age, current diagnosis of hypertension, baseline MoCA scores, MDS-UPDRS III scores, and APOE status. Our study underscores the need for the earlier identification of CI in NDPD patients in our clinical practice.
Morphology control of volatile resistive switching in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films on LaAlO3 (001)
Authors: Jaman A. , Goossens A. S. , van Rijn J. J. L. , van der Zee L. , Banerjee T.
Published: March 2023

The development of in-memory computing hardware components based on different types of resistive materials is an active research area. These materials usually exhibit analog memory states originating from a wide range of physical mechanisms and offer rich prospects for their integration in artificial neural networks. The resistive states are classified as either non-volatile or volatile, and switching occurs when the material properties are triggered by an external stimulus such as temperature, current, voltage, or electric field. The non-volatile resistance state change is typically achieved by the switching layer’s local redox reaction that involves both electronic and ionic movement. In contrast, a volatile change in the resistance state arises due to the transition of the switching layer from an insulator to a metal. Here, we demonstrate volatile resistive switching in twinned LaAlO3 onto which strained thin films of La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) are deposited. An electric current induces phase transition that triggers resistive switching, close to the competing phase transition temperature in LSMO, enabled by the strong correlation between the electronic and magnetic ground states, intrinsic to such materials. This phase transition, characterized by an abrupt resistance change, is typical of a metallic to insulating behavior, due to Joule heating, and manifested as a sharp increase in the voltage with accompanying hysteresis. Our results show that such Joule heating-induced hysteretic resistive switching exhibits different profiles that depend on the substrate texture along the current path, providing an interesting direction toward new multifunctional in-memory computing devices.
Infrared thermography for non-invasive measurement of social inequality aversion in rodents and potential usefulness for future animal-friendly studies
Authors: Watanabe Shigeru
Published: March 2023

Infrared thermography is a method that detects thermal radiation energy and can measure the body surface temperature of animals from a distance. While rectal temperature has traditionally been used to measure animals’ core temperature, thermal imaging can avoid the stress and potential rise of body temperature deriving from handling of the animals. Additionally, being non-invasive and contactless, thermal imaging allows free movement of the animals. The validity of this technique as a psychophysiological method has been proven in a series of stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) studies of mice under social inequality conditions. Restraint in a holder elicits SIH in mice. A restrained mouse surrounded by freely moving cage mates displays increased SIH suggesting that social inequality enhances the stress. Social inequality can be examined also in unrestrained mice, in particular through unequal distribution of food. In this protocol, a food-deprived mouse is given a small piece of cheese, while its cage mate is given a large piece of cheese. This inequity causes SIH, suggesting social inequality aversion in mice. Thus, social inequality in different situations similarly increased SIH. Importantly, in future studies infrared thermography could also be used to evaluate emotional arousal states different from stress (for example to assess reactivity to rewards or in social and sexual preference tests). Moreover, the technique could be used to investigate also cognitive arousal induced by novelty. Indeed, infrared thermography could be a particularly useful tool for animal-friendly studies of cognition and emotion in rodents.
A computational passage-of-time model of the cerebellar Purkinje cell in eyeblink conditioning
Authors: Ricci Matthew , Kim Junkyung , Johansson Fredrik
Published: March 2023

The cerebellar Purkinje cell controlling eyeblinks can learn, remember, and reproduce the interstimulus interval in a classical conditioning paradigm. Given temporally separated inputs, the cerebellar Purkinje cell learns to pause its tonic inhibition of a motor pathway with high temporal precision so that an overt blink occurs at the right time. Most models place the passage-of-time representation in upstream network effects. Yet, bypassing the upstream network and directly stimulating the Purkinje cell's pre-synaptic fibers during conditioning still causes acquisition of a well-timed response. Additionally, while network models are sensitive to variance in the temporal structure of probe stimulation, in vivo findings suggest that the acquired Purkinje cell response is not. Such findings motivate alternative approaches to modeling neural function. Here, we present a proof-of-principle model of the passage-of-time which is internal to the Purkinje cell and is invariant to probe structure. The model is consistent with puzzling findings, accurately recapitulates Purkinje cell firing during classical conditioning and makes testable electrophysiological predictions.1
Case report: Dysphagia after COVID-19 infection in a stroke patient—Is neurostimulation a potential management?
Authors: Lin Ting-Yu , Shen Peng-Chieh , Lee Shao-An , Yeh Shu-Ming , Chang Ke-Vin , Wang Tyng-Guey
Published: March 2023

A 90-year-old man with stroke was weaned from tube feeding 4 months after stroke onset. However, he had a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection after 2 months and suffered from drastically worsened oropharyngeal dysphagia that required a reinsertion of the nasogastric tube. A videofluoroscopic swallowing study revealed poor bolus oral transit, significantly delayed swallowing reflex, reduced pharyngeal movements, and insufficient cough response. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and neuromuscular electrical stimulation were applied, in addition to conventional swallowing training. The feeding tube was removed after 20 treatment sessions. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of dysphagia after COVID-19 infection in patients with underlying neurological diseases. The management of post-COVID-19 dysphagia has not yet been fully established. Repetitive transcranial electrical stimulation combined with neuromuscular electrical stimulation may be used as an auxiliary intervention in specific cases.
Pathophysiology of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease
Authors: Corbali Osman , Chitnis Tanuja
Published: March 2023

Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disease (MOGAD) is a spectrum of diseases, including optic neuritis, transverse myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and cerebral cortical encephalitis. In addition to distinct clinical, radiological, and immunological features, the infectious prodrome is more commonly reported in MOGAD (37–70%) than NMOSD (15–35%). Interestingly, pediatric MOGAD is not more aggressive than adult-onset MOGAD, unlike in multiple sclerosis (MS), where annualized relapse rates are three times higher in pediatric-onset MS. MOGAD pathophysiology is driven by acute attacks during which T cells and MOG antibodies cross blood brain barrier (BBB). MOGAD lesions show a perivenous confluent pattern around the small veins, lacking the radiological central vein sign. Initial activation of T cells in the periphery is followed by reactivation in the subarachnoid/perivascular spaces by MOG-laden antigen-presenting cells and inflammatory CSF milieu, which enables T cells to infiltrate CNS parenchyma. CD4+ T cells, unlike CD8+ T cells in MS, are the dominant T cell type found in lesion histology. Granulocytes, macrophages/microglia, and activated complement are also found in the lesions, which could contribute to demyelination during acute relapses. MOG antibodies potentially contribute to pathology by opsonizing MOG, complement activation, and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Stimulation of peripheral MOG-specific B cells through TLR stimulation or T follicular helper cells might help differentiate MOG antibody-producing plasma cells in the peripheral blood. Neuroinflammatory biomarkers (such as MBP, sNFL, GFAP, Tau) in MOGAD support that most axonal damage happens in the initial attack, whereas relapses are associated with increased myelin damage.
Adjuvant chemotherapy compared with observation in patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Lee Po-Hsin , Chiang Chun-Ju , Tseng Jeng-Sen , Zheng Zhe-Rong , Chen Kun-Chieh , Chu Cheng-Hsiang , Huang Yen-Hsiang , Hsu Kuo-Hsuan , Lee Wen-Chung , Yang Tsung-Ying , Liu Tsang-Wu , Hsia Jiun-Yi , Chang Gee-Chen
Published: March 2023

Introduction

For patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma, benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy remain controversial. Here, we aimed to evaluate such benefits.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study was conducted on the database of the National Taiwan Cancer Registry. We analyzed patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma (re-classified by AJCC 8th edition) diagnosed during the period from January 2011 to December 2017. They were divided into two groups: (1) group 1: tumor <=3 cm with visceral pleural invasion (VPI); (2) group 2: tumor >3 cm, but <=4 cm. Overall survival (OS) and cancer specific survival (CSS) were evaluated. Risk factors for survival were determined.

Results

A total of 2,100 patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma (1,265 in group 1 and 835 in group 2) were enrolled for study. The proportions of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy in group 1 and 2 were 39.1% and 68.6%, respectively. Amongst group 1 patients, adjuvant chemotherapy was not an independent risk factor for OS and CSS. Amongst group 2 patients, high-grade histologic findings and receiving sublobar resection were two risk factors for poorer survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy was also associated with an OS (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 0.52; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.38-0.72; P<0.001) and CSS (aHR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.37-0.78; p=0.001) benefit regardless of the presence or absence of risk factors.

Conclusion

For patients with T2aN0 stage IB lung adenocarcinoma, adjuvant chemotherapy improved OS and CSS in those with tumors >3 cm, but <=4 cm.For patients with tumors <=3 cm with VPI, adjuvant chemotherapy had no survival benefit.
Real-world low-light image enhancement via domain-gap aware framework and reverse domain-distance guided strategy
Authors: Chen Yong , Huang Meiyong , Liu Huanlin , Shao Kaixin , Zhang Jinliang
Published: March 2023

Low-light image enhancement (LLIE) has high practical value and development potential in real scenarios. However, the current LLIE methods reveal inferior generalization competence to real-world low-light (LL) conditions of poor visibility. We can attribute this phenomenon to the severe domain bias between the synthetic LL domain and the real-world LL domain. In this article, we put forward the Domain-Gap Aware Framework, a novel two-stage framework for real-world LLIE, which is the pioneering work to introduce domain adaptation into the LLIE. To be more specific, in the first stage, to eliminate the domain bias lying between the existing synthetic LL domain and the real-world LL domain, this work leverages the source domain images via adversarial training. By doing so, we can align the distribution of the synthetic LL domain to the real-world LL domain. In the second stage, we put forward the Reverse Domain-Distance Guided (RDDG) strategy, which takes full advantage of the domain-distance map obtained in the first stage and guides the network to be more attentive to the regions that are not compliance with the distribution of the real world. This strategy makes the network robust for input LL images, some areas of which may have large relative domain distances to the real world. Numerous experiments have demonstrated the efficacy and generalization capacity of the proposed method. We sincerely hope this analysis can boost the development of low-light domain research in different fields.
Evaluation of aerial spraying application of multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle for Areca catechu protection
Authors: Wang Juan , Ma Chao , Chen Pengchao , Yao Weixiang , Yan Yingbin , Zeng Tiwei , Chen Shengde , Lan Yubin
Published: March 2023

Multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a new chemical application tool for tall stalk tropical crop Areca catechu, which could improve deposit performance, reduce operator healthy risk, and increase spraying efficiency. In this work, a spraying experiment was carried out in two A. catechu fields with two leaf area index (LAI) values, and different operational parameters were set. Spray deposit quality, spray drift, and ground loss were studied and evaluated. The results showed that the larger the LAI of A. catechu, the lesser the coverage of the chemical deposition. The maximum coverage could reach 4.28% and the minimum 0.33%. At a flight speed of 1.5 m/s, sprayed droplets had the best penetration and worst ground loss. The overall deposition effect was poor when the flight altitudes were greater than 11.09 m and the flight speed was over 2.5 m/s. Comparing flight speed of 2.5 to 1.5 m/s, the overall distance of 90% of the total drift increased to double under the same operating parameters. This study presents reference data for UAV chemical application in A. catechu protection.
Leisure and meaning in life
Authors: Iso-Ahola Seppo E. , Baumeister Roy F.
Published: March 2023

How people engage in leisure is an important but frequently underappreciated aspect of meaning in life. Leisure activities range from highly engaging and meaningful to subjectively trivial. Leisure itself is largely defined by meaning: The essence of leisure lies less in the specific activity than in the subjective perception of freedom, choice, and intrinsic motivation. People desire their lives to be meaningful, and leisure activities offer varying degrees of satisfying the basic needs for meaning (here covered as purpose, value, efficacy, and self-worth). Leisure activities vary along multiple conceptual dimensions, such as active vs. passive, seeking vs. escaping, solitary vs. interpersonal, and we consider the implications of these for meaningfulness. The most common leisure activity in modern society, watching television, encapsulates some of the paradoxes of leisure and meaningfulness. The study of how leisure enhances meaning in life is rich and ripe for future research.
Promises on the go: A field study on keeping one's word
Authors: Kanngiesser Patricia , Serko Daniil , Woike Jan K.
Published: March 2023

Promises are voluntary commitments to perform a future action and are often thought to be powerful levers for behavioral change. Here we studied the effectiveness of promises in two preregistered, incentivized field experiments with German students (N = 406) on the premises of a cafeteria. In Experiment 1, the majority of participants (63%) kept their promise to pay back at least half of a € 4-endowment, even though there was no foreseeable cost of breaking the promise, reputational or otherwise. Significantly fewer participants (22%) paid back money in a control group that faced a simple decision to return money or not. In Experiment 2, the majority of participants (54%) kept their promise to add a provided stamp to a postcard and mail it back (anonymously) within a week. We found similar return rates (52%) for a second group for which the word “promise” was omitted from the commitment. Our findings show that participants kept their word outside the laboratory while pursuing everyday activities even when there were no foreseeable negative consequences for breaking them, demonstrating that promises are effective levers for behavioral change.
Awe promotes moral expansiveness via the small-self
Authors: Song Ji Young , Klebl Christoph , Bastian Brock
Published: March 2023

The experience of awe has been shown to challenge how people think about themselves and the world around them, linking them to something greater than themselves. We investigated whether this emotional experience of awe may also challenge the boundaries of our moral consideration, leading to a generalized expansion in our moral worlds. Across five studies (N = 990), we examined whether awe might promote moral expansiveness; that is, increased moral concern across a broad range of entities (e.g., out-groups, animals, plants, environments). Cross-sectional Studies 1a and 1b, found dispositional awe was related to greater moral expansiveness. Experimental Studies 2 and 3, using video-induced awe, found consistent indirect effects on moral expansiveness, via self-reported awe and the small-self sense of vastness. Experimental Study 4, using Virtual Reality induced awe, found those in the awe condition (vs. control) reported greater moral expansiveness, and this was fully mediated by the small-self sense of vastness. Our findings show awe expands our sense of connectedness to the broader world, and through this, increases the breath of our moral concern.
Inferring influence of people's emotions at court on defendant's emotions using a prediction model
Authors: Song Yun , Zhao Tianyi
Published: March 2023

People's emotions may be affected by the sound environment in court. A courtroom's sound environment usually consists of the people's voices, such as the judge's voice, the plaintiff's voice, and the defendant's voice. The judge, plaintiff, and defendant usually express their emotions through their voices. Human communication is heavily reliant on emotions. Emotions may also reflect a person's condition. Therefore, People's emotions at the Court must be recognized, especially for vulnerable groups, and the impact of the sound on the defendant's motions and judgment must be inferred. However, people's emotions are difficult to recognize in a courtroom. In addition, as far as we know, no existing study deals with the impact of sound on people in court. Based on sound perception, we develop a deep neural network-based model to infer people's emotions in our previous work. In the proposed model, we use the convolutional neural network and long short-term memory network to obtain features from speech signals and apply a dense neural network to infer people's emotions. Applying the model for emotion prediction based on sound at court, we explore the impact of sound at court on the defendant. Using the voice data collected from fifty trail records, we demonstrate that the voice of the judge can affect the defendant's emotions. Angry, neutrality and fear are the top three emotions of the defendant in court. In particular, the judge's voice expressing anger usually induces fear in the defendant. The plaintiff's angry voice may not have a substantial impact on the defendant's emotions.
Impact of inclusive leadership on employees’ innovative behavior: A relational silence approach
Authors: Wu Guo-feng , Li Mei
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Although employees’ silence is a common phenomenon in organizations, the mediating role of relational silence has not been studied in inclusive leadership and innovative behavior. In this study, based on the theory of social exchange, relational silence is used as a mediating variable to explore the internal mechanisms of inclusive leadership on employees’ innovative behavior.

Methods

Data from 263 in-service leaders and employees were collected using convenience sampling and analyzed using Amos and SPSS statistical software package via questionnaires distributed to companies in six cities in the Guangdong province of China.

Results

The results showed that inclusive leadership has a significant positive predictive effect on employees’ innovative behavior (β = 0.590, p < 0.01), while inclusive leadership is negative and significantly correlated with relational silence (β = −0.469, p < 0.01). More so, relational silence has a significant negative correlation with employees’ innovative behavior (β = −0.408, p < 0.01), and relational silence partially mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee innovation behavior.

Discussion

The mediating role of relational silence between inclusive leadership and employees’ innovative behavior is revealed for the first time, theoretically broadening and enriching the connotation of inclusive leadership’s influence mechanism on employees’ innovative behavior and providing new ideas in practice for constructing inclusive leadership styles, reducing the incidence of relational silence, and evoking employees’ innovative behavior.
Physical performance and muscle strength rather than muscle mass are predictor of all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients
Authors: Chen Xiaoyu , Han Peipei , Zhang Kun , Liang Zhenwen , Yu Chen , Lu Ningtao , Shen Zhouyue , Chang Fengyan , Fang Xin , Guo Qi
Published: March 2023

Objectives

Patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis usually suffer a high burden of poor functional status. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between muscle mass, muscle strength as well as physical performance with all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Methods

923 hemodialysis patients (565 men, mean aged 61.3 ± 12.7 years) were included from eight facilities in Tianjin and Shanghai of China from 2019 to 2021. Muscle mass was evaluated by skeletal muscle index (SMI) and muscle strength was assessed by handgrip strength. Different measures of physical performance were measured via gait speed, Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) and short physical performance battery (SPPB). Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to determine the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for baseline muscle mass, muscle strength and different measures of physical performance. Additionally, the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to determine which index is a better predictor of mortality.

Results

During a median follow-up of 14 (12–17 months), 79 (8.6%) patients died. Using the Cox regression analysis, we founded that muscle strength and physical performance rather than muscle mass were significantly negatively associated with mortality. The C-index for different measures of physical performance in predicting mortality were 0.709 for SPPB, 0.7 for TUGT and 0.678 for gait speed, respectively. The C-index for muscle strength was 0.635, and the ability of prediction was significantly lower than the physical performance.

Conclusions

Physical performance seems to a better indicator of mortality than muscle mass and strength in hemodialysis patients. Simple measures of physical performance may be appropriately used as a screening tool targeting high-risk hemodialysis patients for the prevention of mortality.
The role of immunosuppression in long-term graft hepatitis and fibrosis after paediatric liver transplant – comparison of two treatment protocols
Authors: Haller Wolfram , Hodson James , Brown Rachel , Lloyd Carla , Hubscher Stefan , McKiernan Patrick , Kelly Deirdre
Published: March 2023

Background and aims

We have previously demonstrated high rates of chronic allograft hepatitis and fibrosis in liver transplant patients on long-term cyclosporine monotherapy. We subsequently changed practice to add low-dose prednisolone to maintenance treatment with tacrolimus post-transplant. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the immunosuppression change on graft histopathology.

Methods

Patients treated in this era (Tac + Pred, 2000–2009, N = 128) were compared to a historical cohort, who had been maintained on a steroid-free, cyclosporine-based regime (CSA-Only, 1985–1996, N = 129). Protocol liver biopsies and laboratory tests were performed five- and ten-years post-transplant in both groups.

Results

Compared to CSA-Only, the Tac + Pred cohort had significantly lower rates of chronic hepatitis (CH) at five (20% vs. 44%, p < 0.001) and ten (15% vs. 67%, p < 0.001) years post-transplant, with similar trends observed in inflammation and fibrosis at five years. The Tac + Pred cohort also had significantly lower hepatic transaminases and IgG levels and was less likely to be autoantibody positive at both time points. However, the degree of graft fibrosis at ten years did not differ significantly between eras (p = 0.356).

Conclusion

Increased immunosuppression effectively reduced chronic allograft hepatitis and fibrosis at five years, suggesting it is an immunologically driven variant of rejection. However, there was no significant reduction in the degree of fibrosis at ten years, indicating a multifactorial origin for long term graft fibrosis.
Brain-Cell Cultures: The Future of Computers and More?
Authors: Smirnova Lena , Morales Pantoja Itzy Erin , Hartung Thomas
Published: March 2023

Recently, the field of bioengineering, which uses biomedical knowledge to solve problems and create products, has made great progress creating tiny, functioning models of human organs, called organoids. The brain is the most complex organ of the human body. Although brain organoids have been created, they still cannot perform calculations, learn, memorize, or make decisions—“thinking” functions only seen in humans and animals. But a new field of science is emerging that could create brain organoids with some cognitive functions. The necessary technologies are now available, and scientists are starting to combine them. Thinking brain-cell cultures create a lot of ethical questions that must be addressed as research proceeds. This article describes the technologies that form the basis of the science called organoid intelligence (OI). In the future, OI could help us study brain functions, understand brain diseases, find new cures, and could possibly even lead to new supercomputers that are more brain-like than today’s computers.
MORPHOFIT: An automated galaxy structural parameters fitting package
Authors: Tortorelli Luca , Mercurio Amata
Published: March 2023

In today’s modern wide-field galaxy surveys, there is the necessity for parametric surface brightness decomposition codes characterised by accuracy, small degree of user intervention, and high degree of parallelisation. We try to address this necessity by introducing MORPHOFIT, a highly parallelisable python package for the estimate of galaxy structural parameters. The package makes use of wide-spread and reliable codes, namely, SEXTRACTOR and GALFIT. It has been optimised and tested in both low-density and crowded environments, where blending and diffuse light makes the structural parameters estimate particularly challenging. MORPHOFIT allows the user to fit multiple surface brightness components to each individual galaxy, among those currently implemented in the code. Using simulated images of single Sérsic and bulge plus disk galaxy light profiles with different bulge-to-total luminosity (B/T) ratios, we show that MORPHOFIT is able to recover the input structural parameters of the simulated galaxies with good accuracy. We also compare its estimates against existing literature studies, finding consistency within the errors. We use the package in a companion paper to measure the structural parameters of cluster galaxies in order to study the wavelength dependence of the Kormendy relation of early-type galaxies. The package is available on github1 and on the Pypi server2.