bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the Selective, Stochastic, and Complementary Drivers of Institutional Evolution in Online Communities
Authors: Zhong Qiankun , Frey Seth , Hilbert Martin
Published: August 2022

Institutions and cultures usually evolve in response to environmental incentives. However, sometimes institutional change occurs due to stochastic drivers beyond current fitness, including drift, path dependency, blind imitation, and complementary cooperation in fluctuating environments. Disentangling the selective and stochastic components of social system change enables us to identify the key features of long-term organizational development. Evolutionary approaches provide organizational science with abundant theories to demonstrate organizational evolution by tracking beneficial or harmful features. In this study, focusing on 20,000 Minecraft communities, we measure these drivers empirically using two of the most widely applied evolutionary models: the Price equation and the bet-hedging model. As a result, we find strong selection pressure on administrative and information rules, suggesting that their positive correlation with community fitness is the main reason for their frequency change. We also find that stochastic drivers decrease the average frequency of administrative rules. The result makes sense when viewed in the context of evolutionary bet-hedging. We show through the bet-hedging result that institutional diversity contributes to the growth and stability of rules related to information, communication, and economic behaviors.
Feasibility Studies of Charge Exchange Measurements in pp Collisions at the LHC
Authors: Fehérkuti Anna , Veres Gábor I. , Ulrich Ralf , Pierog Tanguy
Published: August 2022

(1) Pions produced in the development of extended atmospheric cosmic ray air showers subsequently decay to muons. The measured yield of those muons is generally underestimated by current phenomenological models and event generators optimized for cosmic ray physics. The importance of those disagreements motivates the feasibility studies for testing these models at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies, at the highest center-of-mass energies achievable in a laboratory. The interaction of a nucleus and a virtual pion created in a charge exchange reaction at the LHC is a similar process to those contributing to the development of air showers in case of cosmic rays. The crucial problem of such an analysis is the selection of charge exchange events with the highest possible efficiency and high purity from proton–proton collisions at the LHC. (2) For this we consider distributions of various measurable quantities given by event generators commonly used in cosmic ray physics. (3) We examine the expected distributions of energy deposited in different calorimeters of an LHC experiment. We consider the geometrical acceptance and energy resolution of the detectors at the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, as an example. We determine a working point cut from the various options for event selection, and compare signal and background predictions using different models for a representative simple observable, such as average transverse momentum or charge particle yield. (4) A set of event selection cuts along these considerations is proposed, with the aim of achieving optimal efficiency and purity.
DE-Algorithm-Optimized Fuzzy-PID Controller for AGC of Integrated Multi Area Power System with HVDC Link
Authors: Feleke Solomon , Satish Raavi , Tatek Workagegn , Abdelaziz Almoataz Y. , El-Shahat Adel
Published: August 2022

A power system’s nonlinearity and complexity increase from time to time due to increases of power demand. Therefore, properly designed power system controlsare required. Without these, system instability will cause equipment failures, and possibly even cascading events and blackouts. To cope with this, intelligent controllers using soft computing are necessary for real time operation. In this paper, the reheat type three-area thermal power system is considered, and the output scaling factors, gain parameters of fuzzy membership functions, and parameters of fuzzy-proportional integral derivative (FPID) controllers are optimized using a differential evolution (DE) optimization techniqueand integral time multiplied absolute error (ITAE) as objective functions. To improve the limitations of the controller and to enhance stability of the system, high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology is advantageous due to its quickresponse capabilities. In this paper, a HVDC is connected in parallel to the system, revealing that a FPID controller with a HVDC provides better and more accurate resultscompared to a system without a controller. The test results presented in this paper show the proposed controller’s suitability for managing random load changes.
Organic Mulching Increases Microbial Activity in Urban Forest Soil
Authors: Sun Xiaodan , Ye Yuqian , Liao Jiahui , Soromotin Andrey V. , Smirnov Pavel V. , Kuzyakov Yakov
Published: August 2022

Interactions between C accumulation, resulting from plant residue mulching, and the accelerated decomposition of litter and soil organic matter due to higher enzyme activities remain poorly understood, particularly in urban forests. Here, the activities of four enzymes associated with carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling after organic mulching were investigated in the rhizosphere and bulk soil of a 15-year-old Ligustrum lucidum urban forest. The enzymatic activities in the rhizosphere were closely correlated to those in bulk soil, however, they were more strongly affected by organic mulching and exhibited faster C and nutrient cycling. Moreover, the activity of urease in the rhizosphere and peroxidase in the bulk soil in autumn, as well as invertase in the rhizosphere in spring, decreased. Microbial C and N were most responsible for the observed increase in invertase activity in spring, during which microorganisms exhibited rapid growth and the highest activities, whereas soil organic C regulated urease activity in winter. Additionally, the activity of dehydrogenase increased by up to 75%; the degree of increase was typically dependent on the mulching amount. Generally, invertase and dehydrogenase activity increased with the abundance of dissolved organic matter and microbial biomass, whereas peroxidase exhibited the opposite trend. Taken together, these findings indicate that organic mulching efficiently increases enzymatic activity, particularly within the rhizosphere, thus accelerating soil C and N cycling. Hence, mulching may represent an effective measure for urban forest management and soil conservation.
A Comprehensive Framework for Forest Restoration after Forest Fires in Theory and Practice: A Systematic Review
Authors: Alayan Rahaf , Rotich Brian , Lakner Zoltán
Published: August 2022

Incidences of forest fires have increased in recent decades largely as a result of climate change and human factors, resulting in great environmental and socioeconomic losses. Post-fire forest restoration is therefore indispensable for maintaining forest ecological integrity and for the sustainability of the affected forest landscapes. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of the available literature on forest restoration in the past two decades (2002–2022) and propose a comprehensive framework for consideration in forest restoration after the occurrence of forest fires. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model was adopted for this study, where three academic literature databases (Scopus, CAB Direct, Web of Science), the Google Scholar search engine, and specialized websites were used for literature searches. A final list of 36 records from the initial 732 was considered for this study after the screening stage and subsequent inclusion/exclusion of articles as per the stipulated eligibility criteria. The study findings reveal a dearth of information in the field of post-fire forest restoration in an integrated, balanced, and comprehensive manner, as there was no single methodology or unified protocol that guides post-fire forest restoration. There was also a notable bias in the geographical distribution of the relevant studies in restoration as influenced by economic prosperity, political stability, and scientific and technical advancement. This study recommends a 6-criteria comprehensive framework with 29 indicators for post-fire forest restoration based on the reviewed studies. The criteria integrate environmental, economic, social, cultural and aesthetic, management, infrastructure, and education objectives in their design and implementation for better outcomes in achieving the restoration goals.
Surface Cracking and Fractal Characteristics of Cement Paste after Exposure to High Temperatures
Authors: Li Li , Zhang Yang , Shi Yuqiong , Xue Zhigang , Cao Mingli
Published: August 2022

Destruction pattern analysis of building materials subjected to fire provide the basis for strengthening, restoring the bearing capacity, and optimizing the function of the building structure. The surface cracking and fractal characteristics of calcium carbonate whisker-reinforced cement pastes subjected to high temperatures were studied herein. The test results showed that at 400 °C, the surface crack area, length, and fractal dimension of cement pastes specimen increases from 0 to 35 mm2, 100 mm, and 1.0, respectively, due to the increase of vapor pressure. When the temperature is above 900 °C, the calcium carbonate whisker (CW) and other hydration products in the specimen begin to decompose, causing the surface crack area, length, and fractal dimension of the cement paste specimen to increase from 0 to 120 mm2, 310 mm, and 1.2, respectively. Compared with the length and width of cracks, the area, and fractal dimension of cracks are less affected by the size and shape of specimen. This paper uses image processing methods to analyze the cracking patterns and fractal characteristics of specimens after high-temperature treatment. The aim is to elucidate the quantitative relationship between concrete material, temperature, and cracking characteristics, providing theoretical basis for structural evaluation after exposure to high temperature.
Oscillation Results for Solutions of Fractional-Order Differential Equations
Authors: Alzabut Jehad , Agarwal Ravi P. , Grace Said R. , Jonnalagadda Jagan M.
Published: August 2022

This survey paper is devoted to succinctly reviewing the recent progress in the field of oscillation theory for linear and nonlinear fractional differential equations. The paper provides a fundamental background for all interested researchers who would like to contribute to this topic.
Where Do They Belong?—Adoption of Mixed-Race Children in Late 1950s and Early 1960s Britain
Authors: Jur Lena
Published: August 2022

This paper analyses the adoption of mixed-race children in Great Britain from formerly colonised or dominion territories after the Second World War with a focus on the late 1950s and early 1960s. It explores the ways in which mixed-race children and their biological, as well as their adoptive families, were treated in the adoption system in order to explore the tensions that arise between adoption and questions of racial belonging. As adoption and its related processes have the ability to profoundly interfere with the most private realms of human cohabitation—the family, this positions the history of adoption right at the interface of the private and the public sphere, offering an ideal background to look at the public as well as the private perception of the (decolonising) British Empire. By taking this specific group of children into focus, it is possible to illustrate the immediate and deeper effect of the race/colour question in adoptions as if under a magnifying glass. In the context of adoption processes, deeply colonial and inherently racist patterns of thought can be found, particularly in adoption records, but also in advice literature.
Transcriptome Analyses of Prophage in Mediating Persistent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Endovascular Infection
Authors: Li Yi , Chen Liang , Zhu Fengli , Bayer Arnold S. , Xiong Yan Q.
Published: August 2022

Persistent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) endovascular infections represent a significant subset of S. aureus infections and correlate with exceptionally high mortality. We have recently demonstrated that the lysogenization of prophage ϕSA169 from a clinical persistent MRSA bacteremia isolate (300-169) into a clinical resolving bacteremia MRSA isolate (301-188) resulted in the acquisition of well-defined in vitro and in vivo phenotypic and genotypic profiles related to persistent outcome. However, the underlying mechanism(s) of this impact is unknown. In the current study, we explored the genetic mechanism that may contribute to the ϕSA169-correlated persistence using RNA sequencing. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that the most significant impacts of ϕSA169 were: (i) the enhancement of fatty acid biosynthesis and purine and pyrimidine metabolic pathways; (ii) the repression of galactose metabolism and phosphotransferase system (PTS); and (iii) the down-regulation of the mutual prophage genes in both 300-169 and 301-188 strains. In addition, the influence of different genetic backgrounds between 300-169 and 301-188 might also be involved in the persistent outcome. These findings may provide targets for future studies on the persistence of MRSA.
An Examination of Parents’ Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) History and Reported Spanking of Their Child: Informing Child Maltreatment Prevention Efforts
Authors: Afifi Tracie O. , Salmon Samantha , Stewart-Tufescu Ashley , Taillieu Tamara
Published: August 2022

The current evidence indicates that spanking is harmful to children’s health and development and should never be used by parents or other caregivers. However, the critical factors that inform effective spanking prevention strategies are still not well understood. The objective of the current study was to determine if a parent’s own adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) history was associated with increased likelihood of reporting their child being spanked at age 10 or younger. Data were drawn from the Well-Being and Experiences Study (the WE Study), a community survey of parents and adolescents from 2017–2018 (N = 1000) from Canada. The results indicated that a parent’s own history of physical abuse, emotional abuse, spanking, and household mental illness in childhood were associated with an increased likelihood that their child would have been spanked. These findings indicate that a parent’s ACEs history may be related to how their own child is parented and identify families who may be more likely to rely on spanking. Preventing physical punishment is necessary for healthy child development, reducing the risk of further violence, and upholding children’s rights to protection. Parent’s ACEs history may be an important factor to consider when developing and implementing child maltreatment prevention efforts.
Psychopathological Impact in Patients with History of Rheumatic Fever with or without Sydenham’s Chorea: A Multicenter Prospective Study
Authors: Orsini Alessandro , Foiadelli Thomas , Sica Attilio , Santangelo Andrea , Carli Niccolò , Bonuccelli Alice , Consolini Rita , D’Elios Sofia , Loddo Nicolò , Verrotti Alberto , Di Cara Giuseppe , Marra Chiara , Califano Maria , Fetta Anna , Fabi Marianna , Bergamoni Stefania , Vignoli Aglaia , Battini Roberta , Mosca Marta , Baldini Chiara , Assanta Nadia , Marchese Pietro , Simonini Gabriele , Marrani Edoardo , Operto Francesca Felicia , Pastorino Grazia Maria Giovanna , Savasta Salvatore , Santangelo Giuseppe , Pedrinelli Virginia , Massimetti Gabriele , Dell’Osso Liliana , Peroni Diego , Cordelli Duccio Maria , Corsi Martina , Carmassi Claudia
Published: August 2022

Sydenham’s chorea (SC) is a post-streptococcal autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system, and it is a major criterium for the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever (ARF). SC typically improves in 12–15 weeks, but patients can be affected for years by persistence and recurrencies of both neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms. We enrolled 48 patients with a previous diagnosis of ARF, with or without SC, in a national multicenter prospective study, to evaluate the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms several years after SC’s onset. Our population was divided in a SC group (n = 21), consisting of patients who had SC, and a nSC group (n = 27), consisting of patients who had ARF without SC. Both groups were evaluated by the administration of 8 different neuropsychiatric tests. The Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) showed significantly (p = 0.021) higher alterations in the SC group than in the nSC group. Furthermore, 60.4% (n = 29) of the overall population experienced neuropsychiatric symptoms other than choreic movements at diagnosis and this finding was significantly more common (p = 0.00) in SC patients (95.2%) than in nSC patients (33.3%). The other neuropsychiatric tests also produced significant results, indicating that SC can exert a strong psychopathological impact on patients even years after its onset.
Does Poor Mental Health Impair the Effectiveness of Complementary Food Hygiene Behavior Change Intervention in Rural Malawi?
Authors: Slekiene Jurgita , Chidziwisano Kondwani , Morse Tracy
Published: August 2022

Mental disorders have the potential to affect an individual’s capacity to perform household daily activities such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (food hygiene inclusive) that require effort, time, and strong internal motivation. However, there is limited detailed assessment about the influence of mental health on food hygiene behaviors at household level. We conducted a follow-up study to detect the effects of mental health on food hygiene behaviors after food hygiene intervention delivery to child caregivers in rural Malawi. Face-to-face interviews, based on the Risk, Attitude, Norms, Ability, and Self-regulations (RANAS) model, were conducted with 819 participants (control and intervention group) to assess their handwashing and food hygiene-related behaviors. Mental health was assessed using the validated Self-Reporting Questionnaire. Study results showed a significant negative relationship between mental health and handwashing with soap behavior (r = −0.135) and keeping utensils in an elevated place (r = −0.093). Further, a significant difference was found between people with good versus poor mental health on handwashing with soap behavior (p = 0.050) among the intervention group. The results showed that the influence of the intervention on handwashing with soap behavior was mediated by mental health. Thus, integration of mental health in food hygiene interventions can result in improved outcomes for caregivers with poor mental health.
Social Innovation in Home-Based Eldercare: Strengths and Shortcomings of Integrating Migrant Care Workers into Long-Term Care in Tuscany
Authors: Seiffarth Marlene , Aureli Giulia
Published: August 2022

Italy is one of the main receiving countries of migrant care workers in Europe. Its migrant-in-the-family model has developed since the 1990s, and, today, home-based eldercare is unimaginable without the work of the almost one million care workers employed in private households, of whom over 75% are migrants. Despite forming one of the most important pillars of eldercare provision in the country, the employment of migrant care workers is not addressed in national policy. However, regional policymaking is far from inactive in the face of growing gaps in care as regions and municipalities play a crucial role in regulating, organising, and providing eldercare. With a focus on comprehensive solutions, cross-sector collaborations, and interactive learning processes, social innovation becomes an important element in reforming eldercare in the context of institutional inertia, fragmentation, and permanent austerity. In what ways are regions using social innovation to respond to challenges in eldercare provision and integrate migrant care workers? This study is based on interviews with experts from the region of Tuscany, which is running the project Pronto Badante (emergency care worker). The results suggest several advantages of local interventions breaking with the institutional silo mentality, as well as ongoing challenges regarding the impact and sustainability of these interventions.
Construction and Evaluation of a Safe Community Evaluation Index System—A Study of Urban China
Authors: Feng Chao , Wu Jingjie , Du Juan
Published: August 2022

A community is the basic unit of a city. Scientific and effective evaluations of the construction effect of safe communities can improve the construction capacity of community disaster prevention and mitigation; it is also the basis for improving urban public safety and realizing stable and sustainable urban operation. First, following the development framework of a safe community and taking two typical communities in Xi’an, China, as examples, based on the literature and expert opinions, the initial indicators of a safe community are determined. Second, based on existing data, the literature and expert opinions, a questionnaire is designed, and the reliability and validity of the questionnaire are tested by exploratory factor analysis. Third, the indicators for evaluating the construction ability of a safe community are selected. Finally, an evaluation model of the construction ability of safe communities is constructed by using the comprehensive weighting technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS), which is applied to the actual evaluation of eighteen representative communities in Xi’an. The main findings are as follows. (1) The sense of community security is the collective consciousness of community residents. It includes not only the security and feelings of community residents themselves, but also the cognition of the impact of social policies at the macro and micro-levels on community residents, their families, and even the whole community. (2) From the three levels of consciousness, technology, and policy as the starting points for the construction of the theoretical model of a safe community, organizational resilience, accessibility resilience, social environmental resilience, and capital resilience are found to be the main influencing factors in the construction of a safe community. (3) Using questionnaires and expert interviews to preliminarily screen evaluation indicators and using the comprehensive weighting TOPSIS method to build an evaluation model can effectively avoid the defects of traditional empirical research on the validity and reliability of methods. (4) The ranking of the eighteen representative communities in the empirical analysis is basically consistent with the selection results of the national comprehensive disaster reduction demonstration community, which indicates the effectiveness and accuracy of the indicators and algorithms.
Synthesis of Functionalized Carboxylated Graphene Oxide for the Remediation of Pb and Cr Contaminated Water
Authors: Farooq Sana , Aziz Humera , Ali Shafaqat , Murtaza Ghulam , Rizwan Muhammad , Saleem Muhammad Hamzah , Mahboob Shahid , Al-Ghanim Khalid A. , Riaz Mian N. , Murtaza Behzad
Published: August 2022

With the growing scarcity of water, the remediation of water polluted with heavy metals is the need of hour. The present research work is aimed to address this problem by adsorbing heavy metals ions (Pb (II) and Cr (VI)) on modified graphene oxide having an excess of carboxylic acid groups. For this, graphene oxide (GO) was modified with chloroacetic acid to produce carboxylated graphene oxide (GO-COOH). The successful synthesis of graphene oxide and its modification has been confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The increase in surface area of graphene oxide after treatment with chloroacetic acid characterized by BET indicated its successful modification. A batch experiment was conducted to optimize the different factors affecting adsorption of both heavy metals on GO-COOH. After functionalization, we achieved maximum adsorption capacities of 588.23 mg g−1 and 370.37 mg g−1 for Pb and Cr, respectively, by GO-COOH which were high compared to the previously reported adsorbents of this kind. The Langmuir model (R2 = 0.998) and Pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.999) confirmed the monolayer adsorption of Pb and Cr on GO-COOH and the chemisorption as the dominant process governing adsorption mechanism. The present work shows that the carboxylation of GO can enhance its adsorption capacity efficiently and may be applicable for the treatment of wastewater.
Building a New Framework for Evaluating the Livability of Living Space on the Basis of the Daily Activities of Rural Residents: A Case Study of Jianghan Plain
Authors: Li Xiaoyue , Yu Bin , Cui Jiaxing , Zhu Yuanyuan
Published: August 2022

The evaluation of the livability of rural living spaces is an important aspect of rural sustainable development, which is related to the well-being of rural residents. This study proposes a new evaluation framework for assessing the livability pattern of rural living spaces from the major components of the daily activities of rural residents. It fully considers whether the living space within a certain geographical area can meet the needs of rural residents in terms of residence, employment, consumption, leisure, and other types of daily activities. This study also establishes a comprehensive index system that includes 36 indicators and develops a comprehensive assessment method for evaluating the livability pattern of rural living spaces. Moreover, this research conducts a case study on the spatial pattern of rural living spaces in China’s Jianghan Plain in 2018. We determine that the livability of rural living spaces in Jianghan Plain exhibits an evident “grade difference” characteristic. The overall livability level is not high. Seven problem counties from three categories are delineated on the basis of the score status. The new framework and conclusions of this study are conducive to the future targeted construction of livable rural living spaces.
Dual Mediating Effect of Electronic Device Utilization and Life Satisfaction on the Relationship between Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Depression in Older Adults
Authors: Koong Hwa-Soo , Lim Mihye , Seo Kawoun
Published: August 2022

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), depression, electronic device utilization (EDU) and life satisfaction in older adults and to evaluate the dual mediating effect of EDU and life satisfaction on the relationship between IADL and depression. A secondary data analysis of the 2020 Korean Elderly Survey was carried out with 9906 older adults. The dual mediating effect was analyzed using model 6 of PROCESS Macro for SPSS v. 4.1 (New York, NY, USA). EDU (B = −0.010, 95% CI [0.007, 0.013]) and life satisfaction (B = 0.071, 95% CI [0.064, 0.079]) each had a mediating effect on the relationship between IADL and depression in older adults, and in particular, these two variables were shown to dual mediate (B = 0.017, 95% CI [0.015, 0.019]). This study confirmed that life satisfaction can be increased and depression decreased by improving the ability to use electronic devices to combat the limitations in daily functioning due to aging. It is necessary to establish a strategy to increase EDU as a part of the intervention methods for managing depression in older adults.
Psychological Factors That Suppress Help-Seeking among Middle-Aged and Older Adults Living Alone
Authors: Murayama Yoh , Yamazaki Sachiko , Hasebe Masami , Takahashi Tomoya , Yamaguchi Jun , Kobayashi Erika
Published: August 2022

Help-seeking among destitute adults has not been adequately investigated. Therefore, this study clarifies the mechanisms that suppress help-seeking in middle-aged and older adults living alone. Data were collected from 1274 individuals (aged 50–79 years) who were living alone, using a survey that measured future time perspective, barriers to help-seeking, help-seeking intentions, and current and childhood economic statuses. Men living alone experienced lower help-seeking intention than women, were more likely to try to solve problems by themselves, and experienced greater distrust in others. No sex differences were observed in “future anxiety” and “resignation to the future.” Poor economic status was associated with high “resignation to the future,” “future anxiety,” and “distrust of others” for both sexes. “Resignation to the future” was particularly higher among men with a poorer current economic status, which suppressed help-seeking. Abandoning hope for the future, which is characteristic of middle-aged and older men living alone, may inhibit help-seeking behavior.
The Postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Scale: Psychometric, Operative and Epidemiologic Study in a Portuguese Sample
Authors: Pereira Ana Telma , Araújo Ana , Azevedo Julieta , Marques Cristiana C. , Soares Maria João , Cabaços Carolina , Marques Mariana , Pereira Daniela , Pato Michele , Macedo António
Published: August 2022

Background: Although obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are common in the perinatal period, measures to comprehensively assess their presence, frequency, interference and severity are lacking. The Perinatal Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (POCS) is the only self-report questionnaire with context-specific items. It includes items to assess perinatal-specific obsessions and compulsions, a severity scale and an interference scale. Objectives: (1) to analyze the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the POCS; (2) to find Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) prevalence in postpartum and determine the POCS cut-off scores and its accuracy (sensitivity, specificity and predictive values) in screening for OCD according to DSM-5 criteria; (3) to describe the prevalence, content, severity, interference and onset of OC symptoms in the postpartum. Methods: 212 women in postpartum filled in a booklet, including the POCS Portuguese preliminary version, the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale and the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale; they were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview for Psychological Distress—Postpartum. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed that POCS presented acceptable fit indexes (χ2/df = 2.2971; CFI= 0.9319; GFI = 0.8574; TLI = 0.9127; RMSEA = 0.860, p < 0.001). The Cronbach’s alphas were all > 0.800. The POCS cut-off point that maximized the Youden Index (J = 0.86, 95% CI [0.94–0.99]) was 20, corresponding to an Area Under the Curve of 0.970 (p < 0.001; Standard Error = 0.031; 95% CI: 0.937 to 0.988). The prevalence of postpartum OCD was 3.30%. The severity of thoughts and behaviors was moderate to severe for approximately 15% of women. For thirty-five percent of women, the onset of symptoms was in the first three months postpartum. Conclusions: The Portuguese version of POCS has good validity, reliability and accuracy and may be considered ready for use in both clinic and research fields. POCS provides specific information regarding symptoms and individual patterns experienced by each woman, which allows normalization, destigmatization and personalized intervention.
Health and Safety in Temporary Work Zone Road Construction Project in Saudi Arabia: Risks and Solutions
Authors: Alsultan Saleh M. , Alqahtani Fahad K. , Alkahtani Khalid F.
Published: August 2022

Road project sites are dangerous and crash-prone, with many hazards that can cause injuries and can result in the deaths of road users or site-workers. Work zones for road construction or maintenance can potentially contribute to increasing these crashes. Many studies have addressed this issue; however, there is a lack of similar studies in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study contributes to developing safety practices for road work zones in Saudi Arabia by identifying, analyzing, and controlling the main risk factors. A survey approach was used to identify risk factors and potential countermeasures from road users’ and civil engineering experts’ perceptions. The main findings showed that most participants believed that the presence of work zones on the road might increase the probability of crash occurrence and that the highest risk factor that could cause a crash in a work zone is related to driver behavior. Both groups agreed that strict action against contractors or consultants who have safety violations would enhance road safety in work zones. Considering the findings of this study, decision-makers should take strong action to implement and improve road safety practices.
Thrombocytopenia-Absent Radius Syndrome: Descriptions of Three New Cases and a Novel Splicing Variant in RBM8A That Expands the Spectrum of Null Alleles
Authors: Monteiro Catarina , Gonçalves Ana , Oliveira Jorge , Salvado Ramon , Tomaz Jorge , Morais Sara , Lima Margarida , Santos Rosário
Published: August 2022

Thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome is a rare congenital disorder characterized by the bilateral absence of the radius and thrombocytopenia, and sometimes by other skeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiac, and renal abnormalities. The underlying genetic defect is usually the compound inheritance of a microdeletion in 1q21.1 (null allele) and a low-frequency, non-coding single nucleotide variant (SNV) in the RBM8A gene (hypomorphic allele). We report three new cases from two unrelated families. The two siblings presented the common genotype, namely the compound heterozygosity for a 1q21.1 microdeletion and the hypomorphic SNV c.-21G>A in RBM8A, whereas the third, unrelated patient presented a rare genotype comprised by two RBM8A variants: c.-21G>A (hypomorphic allele) and a novel pathogenic variant, c.343-2A>G (null allele). Of the eight documented RBM8A variants identified in TAR syndrome patients, four have hypomorphic expression and four behave as null alleles. The present report expands the RBM8A null allele spectrum and corroborates the particularities of RBM8A involvement in TAR syndrome pathogenesis.
Current Status and Future Perspectives of Genomics Research in the Rust Fungi
Authors: Xia Chongjing , Qiu Age , Wang Meinan , Liu Taiguo , Chen Wanquan , Chen Xianming
Published: August 2022

Rust fungi in Pucciniales have caused destructive plant epidemics, have become more aggressive with new virulence, rapidly adapt to new environments, and continually threaten global agriculture. With the rapid advancement of genome sequencing technologies and data analysis tools, genomics research on many of the devastating rust fungi has generated unprecedented insights into various aspects of rust biology. In this review, we first present a summary of the main findings in the genomics of rust fungi related to variations in genome size and gene composition between and within species. Then we show how the genomics of rust fungi has promoted our understanding of the pathogen virulence and population dynamics. Even with great progress, many questions still need to be answered. Therefore, we introduce important perspectives with emphasis on the genome evolution and host adaptation of rust fungi. We believe that the comparative genomics and population genomics of rust fungi will provide a further understanding of the rapid evolution of virulence and will contribute to monitoring the population dynamics for disease management.
Hcp of the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) in Acidovorax citrulli Group II Strain Aac5 Has a Dual Role as a Core Structural Protein and an Effector Protein in Colonization, Growth Ability, Competition, Biofilm Formation, and Ferric Iron Absorption
Authors: Fei Nuoya , Ji Weiqin , Yang Linlin , Yu Chunyan , Qiao Pei , Yan Jianpei , Guan Wei , Yang Yuwen , Zhao Tingchang
Published: August 2022

A type VI secretion system (T6SS) gene cluster has been reported in Acidovorax citrulli. Research on the activation conditions, functions, and the interactions between key elements in A. citrulli T6SS is lacking. Hcp (Hemolysin co-regulated protein) is both a structural protein and a secretion protein of T6SS, which makes it a special element. The aims of this study were to determine the role of Hcp and its activated conditions to reveal the functions of T6SS. In virulence and colonization assays of hcp deletion mutant strain Δhcp, tssm (type VI secretion system membrane subunit) deletion mutant strain Δtssm and double mutant ΔhcpΔtssm, population growth was affected but not virulence after injection of cotyledons and seed-to-seedling transmission on watermelon. The population growth of Δhcp and Δtssm were lower than A. citrulli wild type strain Aac5 of A. citrulli group II at early stage but higher at a later stage. Deletion of hcp also affected growth ability in different culture media, and the decline stage of Δhcp was delayed in KB medium. Biofilm formation ability of Δhcp, Δtssm and ΔhcpΔtssm was lower than Aac5 with competition by prey bacteria but higher in KB and M9-Fe3+ medium. Deletion of hcp reduced the competition and survival ability of Aac5. Based on the results of Western blotting and qRT-PCR analyses, Hcp is activated by cell density, competition, ferric irons, and the host plant. The expression levels of genes related to bacterial secretion systems, protein export, and several other pathways, were significantly changed in the Δhcp mutant compared to Aac5 when T6SS was activated at high cell density. Based on transcriptome data, we found that a few candidate effectors need further identification. The phenotypes, activated conditions and transcriptome data all supported the conclusion that although there is only one T6SS gene cluster present in the A. citrulli group II strain Aac5, it related to multiple biological processes, including colonization, growth ability, competition and biofilm formation.
Neuroprotective Effect of Gold Nanoparticles and Alpha-Lipoic Acid Mixture against Radiation-Induced Brain Damage in Rats
Authors: Abdelkader Noha F. , El-Batal Ahmed I. , Amin Yara M. , Hawas Asrar M. , Hassan Seham H. M. , Eid Nihad I.
Published: August 2022

The current study aims to evaluate the possible neuroprotective impact of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and an alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) mixture against brain damage in irradiated rats. AuNPs were synthesized and characterized using different techniques. Then, a preliminary investigation was carried out to determine the neuroprotective dose of AuNPs, where three single doses (500, 1000, and 1500 µg/kg) were orally administrated to male Wistar rats, one hour before being exposed to a single dose of 7Gy gamma radiation. One day following irradiation, the estimation of oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde, MDA; glutathione peroxidase, GPX), DNA fragmentation, and histopathological alterations were performed in brain cortical and hippocampal tissues in both normal and irradiated rats. The chosen neuroprotective dose of AuNPs (1000 µg/kg) was processed with ALA (100 mg/kg) to prepare the AuNPs-ALA mixture. The acute neuroprotective effect of AuNPs-ALA in irradiated rats was determined against valproic acid as a neuroprotective centrally acting reference drug. All drugs were orally administered one hour before the 7Gy-gamma irradiation. One day following irradiation, animals were sacrificed and exposed to examinations such as those of the preliminary experiment. Administration of AuNPs, ALA, and AuNPs-ALA mixture before irradiation significantly attenuated the radiation-induced oxidative stress through amelioration of MDA content and GPX activity along with alleviating DNA fragmentation and histopathological changes in both cortical and hippocampal tissues. Notably, the AuNPs-ALA mixture showed superior effect compared to that of AuNPs or ALA alone, as it mitigated oxidative stress, DNA damage, and histopathological injury collectively. Administration of AuNPs-ALA resulted in normalized MDA content, increased GPX activity, restored DNA content in the cortex and hippocampus besides only mild histopathological changes. The present data suggest that the AuNPs-ALA mixture may be considered a potential candidate for alleviating radiation-associated brain toxicity.
Downstream Effects of Mutations in SOD1 and TARDBP Converge on Gene Expression Impairment in Patient-Derived Motor Neurons
Authors: Dash Banaja P. , Freischmidt Axel , Weishaupt Jochen H. , Hermann Andreas
Published: August 2022

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease marked by death of motor neurons (MNs) present in the spinal cord, brain stem and motor cortex. Despite extensive research, the reason for neurodegeneration is still not understood. To generate novel hypotheses of putative underlying molecular mechanisms, we used human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSCs)-derived motor neurons (MNs) from SOD1- and TARDBP (TDP-43 protein)-mutant-ALS patients and healthy controls to perform high-throughput RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq). An integrated bioinformatics approach was employed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and key pathways underlying these familial forms of the disease (fALS). In TDP43-ALS, we found dysregulation of transcripts encoding components of the transcriptional machinery and transcripts involved in splicing regulation were particularly affected. In contrast, less is known about the role of SOD1 in RNA metabolism in motor neurons. Here, we found that many transcripts relevant for mitochondrial function were specifically altered in SOD1-ALS, indicating that transcriptional signatures and expression patterns can vary significantly depending on the causal gene that is mutated. Surprisingly, however, we identified a clear downregulation of genes involved in protein translation in SOD1-ALS suggesting that ALS-causing SOD1 mutations shift cellular RNA abundance profiles to cause neural dysfunction. Altogether, we provided here an extensive profiling of mRNA expression in two ALS models at the cellular level, corroborating the major role of RNA metabolism and gene expression as a common pathomechanism in ALS.
Enhancing the Catalytic Activity of Type II L-Asparaginase from Bacillus licheniformis through Semi-Rational Design
Authors: Zhou Yawen , Jiao Linshu , Shen Juan , Chi Huibing , Lu Zhaoxin , Liu Huawei , Lu Fengxia , Zhu Ping
Published: August 2022

Low catalytic activity is a key factor limiting the widespread application of type II L-asparaginase (ASNase) in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, smart libraries were constructed by semi-rational design to improve the catalytic activity of type II ASNase from Bacillus licheniformis. Mutants with greatly enhanced catalytic efficiency were screened by saturation mutations and combinatorial mutations. A quintuple mutant ILRAC was ultimately obtained with specific activity of 841.62 IU/mg and kcat/Km of 537.15 min−1·mM−1, which were 4.24-fold and 6.32-fold more than those of wild-type ASNase. The highest specific activity and kcat/Km were firstly reported in type II ASNase from Bacillus licheniformis. Additionally, enhanced pH stability and superior thermostability were both achieved in mutant ILRAC. Meanwhile, structural alignment and molecular dynamic simulation demonstrated that high structure stability and strong substrate binding were beneficial for the improved thermal stability and enzymatic activity of mutant ILRAC. This is the first time that enzymatic activity of type II ASNase from Bacillus licheniformis has been enhanced by the semi-rational approach, and results provide new insights into enzymatic modification of L-asparaginase for industrial applications.
SMS-I: Intelligent Security for Cyber–Physical Systems
Authors: Maia Eva , Sousa Norberto , Oliveira Nuno , Wannous Sinan , Sousa Orlando , Praça Isabel
Published: August 2022

Critical infrastructures are an attractive target for attackers, mainly due to the catastrophic impact of these attacks on society. In addition, the cyber–physical nature of these infrastructures makes them more vulnerable to cyber–physical threats and makes the detection, investigation, and remediation of security attacks more difficult. Therefore, improving cyber–physical correlations, forensics investigations, and Incident response tasks is of paramount importance. This work describes the SMS-I tool that allows the improvement of these security aspects in critical infrastructures. Data from heterogeneous systems, over different time frames, are received and correlated. Both physical and logical security are unified and additional security details are analysed to find attack evidence. Different Artificial Intelligence (AI) methodologies are used to process and analyse the multi-dimensional data exploring the temporal correlation between cyber and physical Alerts and going beyond traditional techniques to detect unusual Events, and then find evidence of attacks. SMS-I’s Intelligent Dashboard supports decision makers in a deep analysis of how the breaches and the assets were explored and compromised. It assists and facilitates the security analysts using graphical dashboards and Alert classification suggestions. Therefore, they can more easily identify anomalous situations that can be related to possible Incident occurrences. Users can also explore information, with different levels of detail, including logical information and technical specifications. SMS-I also integrates with a scalable and open Security Incident Response Platform (TheHive) that enables the sharing of information about security Incidents and helps different organizations better understand threats and proactively defend their systems and networks.
A New Genus of Spittlebugs (Hemiptera, Cercopidae) from the Eocene of Central Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Xu Xiao-Ting , Szwedo Jacek , Huang Di-Ying , Deng Wei-Yu-Dong , Obroślak Martyna , Wu Fei-Xiang , Su Tao
Published: August 2022

The superfamily Cercopoidea is commonly named as “spittlebugs”, as its nymphs produce a spittle mass to protect themselves. Cosmoscartini (Cercopoidea: Cercopidae) is a large and brightly colored Old World tropical tribe, including 11 genera. A new genus Nangamostethos gen. nov. (type species: Nangamostethostibetense sp. nov.) of Cosmoscartini is described from Niubao Formation, the late Eocene of central Tibetan Plateau (TP), China. Its placement is ensured by comparison with all the extant genera of the tribe Cosmoscartini. The new fossil represents one of few fossil Cercopidae species described from Asia. It is likely that Nangamostethos was extinct from the TP due to the regional aridification and an overturn of plant taxa in the late Paleogene.
Exclusion and Repulsion of Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Using Selected Coverings on High Tunnel Structures for Primocane Red Raspberry
Authors: Burkness Eric C. , Ebbenga Dominique N. , Toninato Adam G. , Hutchison William D.
Published: August 2022

In temperate climates, there has been an increasing interest by fruit growers to implement the use of high tunnels, using a variety of coverings, to extend the season for fruit production. High tunnels also provide an opportunity to enhance insect pest management, via physical exclusion, and thus support reductions in insecticide use. Due to increasing pest pressure by the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, in Midwest U.S. raspberry, a 3-year study (2017–2019) was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of selected high tunnel coverings to suppress adult beetle populations and minimize adult feeding injury. During each year of the study, P. japonica adult beetles were significantly reduced under poly-based coverings, with the ends open, and when a fine, nylon-mesh was used to cover the ends (p < 0.05). The poly-based covering also resulted in moderately higher ambient temperatures, which may have influenced beetle movement, including a “repellency effect” that encouraged beetles to exit the high tunnel structures. Although P. japonica adults are known to feed on raspberry flower clusters, including fruit, the majority (73–92%) of beetle feeding in this study was observed on the foliage. The impact of high tunnels on P. japonica are discussed within the context of developing sustainable Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs for raspberry production.