bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Asian Criminology: Its Contribution in Linking Global North and South
Authors: Zhang Jie , Liu Jianhong
Published: August 2023

In recent years, Asian criminology and Southern criminology have drawn scholarly attention to the profound divide between Western and non-Western societies, or the Global North and Global South, in criminological knowledge production. Perspectives from Asian and Southern criminology expose these divides and propose critical ways to correct the hegemony of Western over non-Western, or Northern over Southern, knowledge production. For the contemporary movement of decolonization of knowledge, a particular contribution of Asian criminology is to link Western and non-Western, or Northern and Southern, criminological science. As Sandra Walklate concluded, “Asian criminology … stands at the positive intersection of the north–south and east–west in terms of geography and culture. It is well placed to think differently, both conceptually and methodologically, about the criminological enterprise, and the debates that such different thinking might generate.” This article reviews the divide in criminology between the Global North and South. Based on the framework of the Asian criminological paradigm, Asian criminology has made major contributions to bridging the divide between the North and the South through academic institutionalization and theoretical development strategies.
Women's Activism and Mobilization in Wartime China: Cadre Training, National Economic Production, and Workers’ Literacy (1937–1945)
Authors: Ferlanti Federica
Published: August 2023

The mobilization of women pursued by the Women's Advisory Committee (Funü zhidao weiyuanhui 婦女指導委員會) during the war against Japan (1937–1945) has mainly been associated with the wider war effort in the country and resistance to the enemy. This article takes a different viewpoint and argues that the programs implemented by women activists in this committee looked beyond the immediate wartime necessity and tried to secure also long-term gains for women. The mobilization transcended traditional gender roles of wives and mothers and paid particular attention to the involvement of middle- and lower-class women. This article examines women's activism and mobilization in the context of three main areas: first, the women's cadre training in the wartime capital Chongqing and in provinces and counties across China; second, the national economic production; and third, the literacy campaigns conducted among women factory workers. It concludes that women activists knowingly used the wartime crisis to provide fellow women with the tools for securing economic and social independence while addressing the wartime emergencies.
Typologies of duocentric networks among low-income newlywed couples
Authors: Kennedy David P. , Bradbury Thomas N. , Karney Benjamin R.
Published: August 2023

The social networks surrounding intimate couples provide them with bonding and bridging social capital and have been theorized to be associated with their well-being and relationship quality. These networks are multidimensional, featuring compositional (e.g., the proportion of family members vs. friends) and structural characteristics (e.g., density, degree of overlap between spouses’ networks). Most previous studies of couple networks are based on partners’ global ratings of their network characteristics or network data collected from one member of the dyad. This study presents the analysis of “duocentric networks" or the combined personal networks of both members of a couple, collected from 207 mixed-sex newlywed couples living in low-income neighborhoods of Harris County, TX. We conducted a pattern-centric analysis of compositional and structural features to identify distinct types of couple networks. We identified five qualitatively distinct network types (wife family-focused, husband family-focused, shared friends, wife friend-focused, and extremely disconnected). Couples’ network types were associated with the quality of the relationships between couples and their network contacts (e.g., emotional support) but not with the quality of the couples’ relationship with each other. We argue that duocentric networks provide appropriate data for measuring bonding and bridging capital in couple networks.
The Making of a Mantra: Americans’ Racial Ideologies in the Era of Black, Blue, and All Lives Matter
Authors: Smith Candis Watts
Published: August 2023

In any racialized social system, a dominant racial ideology will emerge to uphold it, but it is always contested by and in dialog with others. This article leverages conversations around Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, and Blue Lives Matter as a site of racetalk. By moving beyond narrow conceptualizations and measures of racial attitudes, this paper pinpoints a myriad of racially based frameworks, or ways of talking and thinking about structural racism, white grievance, state-sanctioned social control, and the matter of Black lives. It analyzes 1,000 Americans’ open-ended responses to a question around these contested mantras with the Fightin’ Words algorithm alongside an inductive analysis to illuminate the use of circulating racial ideologies. In addition to outlining the components of four racial ideologies—colorblind racism, diversity ideology, white protectionism, and anti-racism—the article assesses how they are deployed among Americans to uphold or challenge the racial status quo.
Behavioural strategies to reduce obesity among lower socio-economic adults living in high-income countries: a Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Li Priscilla , Huang Yingxiao , Wong Alvin
Published: August 2023

Adult obesity disproportionately affects lower socio-economic groups in high-income countries and perpetuates health inequalities, imposing health and socio-economic burden. This review evaluates the effectiveness of behavioural strategies in reducing weight and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks among low-income groups based in high-income countries. We searched major databases for randomised controlled trials published between 1 November 2011 and 1 May 2023. Meta-analyses and subgroup analyses were undertaken to analyse the pooled and individual effects of behavioural strategies. Cochrane Risk of bias (RoB 2·0) tool and Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria were used to assess the quality and certainty of evidence. Fourteen trials (3618 adults, aged 40·2 ± 9·7 years with BMI 33·6 ± 2·8 kg/m2) and nine unique interventions were identified. Three trials with high RoB were omitted. Meta-analysis favoured interventions, demonstrating significant reductions in body weight (MD: −1·56 kg, (95 % CI –2·09, −1·03)) and HbA1c (MD: −0·05 %, (95 % CI − 0·10, −0·001)) at intervention end. Sub-group analysis showed no differences in waist circumference, blood pressure or serum lipids. Financial incentives and interactive feedback produced greatest amounts of weight losses ≥ 2 kg (GRADE: moderate). Behavioural strategies are effective weight loss interventions among lower socio-economic groups living in high-income nations. However, the impact on CVD risk remains unclear.
African Forest elephants persist in Guinea-Bissau but require an emergency conservation plan
Authors: Palma Luís , Godinho Raquel , Quecuta Quebá , Mereck Tomé , Mandeck João , Uri Só Teli , Cancela Juan Pablo , Beja Pedro
Published: August 2023

The status of the forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis in Guinea-Bissau has been in doubt since the last assessment in 2006. In 2020–2022 we carried out field surveys to update the species' status. We found elephant signs within an area of c. 1,000 km2. Microsatellite genotyping of faeces identified four males. Females could not be individually identified but their presence was confirmed by molecular sex determination. Camera trapping (2,075 camera-trap days) recorded 824 photos in 24 independent sequences, involving three males and two presumed females. The continued presence of elephants in Guinea-Bissau raises hope for the species in the region, but urgent efforts are needed to refine population range and size estimates, increase protected area coverage, and reduce ongoing and impending habitat loss. An emergency conservation action plan is a priority.
Improvised bespoke technique for atrial septostomy in the shortage of atrioseptostomy balloon catheters
Authors: Haddad Raymond N. , Alawadhi Zainab , Al Soufi Mahmoud , Kasem Mohamed
Published: August 2023

Atrioseptostomy balloon catheter is an essential item to have on our shelves. However, the recall and shortage in production of the commonly used balloon atrioseptostomy catheters posed an imminent threat to our patients. Herein, we present the case of a newborn with a post-natal diagnosis of simple transposition of great arteries and restrictive atrial communication where repeated static balloon atrial septostomy using a 9 mm x 20 mm Sterling balloon failed to improve his status. We had to improvise per-operatively a new bespoke technique to perform a vital pull-through balloon atrial septostomy. The distal third of a 10 mm x 20 mm semi-compliant Cristal balloon was exteriorised out the tip of a 6-Fr 55 cm Cook Flexor sheath in the left atrium, and both were simultaneously pulled back to the right atrium to create an 8 mm septal defect. The procedure was successful without any complications. The baby was weaned off prostaglandin on day 3 and surgically repaired on day 5 with excellent results.
Improving short text classification with augmented data using GPT-3
Authors: Balkus Salvador V. , Yan Donghui
Published: August 2023

GPT-3 is a large-scale natural language model developed by OpenAI that can perform many different tasks, including topic classification. Although researchers claim that it requires only a small number of in-context examples to learn a task, in practice GPT-3 requires these training examples to be either of exceptional quality or a higher quantity than easily created by hand. To address this issue, this study teaches GPT-3 to classify whether a question is related to data science by augmenting a small training set with additional examples generated by GPT-3 itself. This study compares two augmented classifiers: the Classification Endpoint with an increased training set size and the Completion Endpoint with an augmented prompt optimized using a genetic algorithm. We find that data augmentation significantly increases the accuracy of both classifiers, and that the embedding-based Classification Endpoint achieves the best accuracy of about 76%, compared to human accuracy of 85%. In this way, giving large language models like GPT-3 the ability to propose their own training examples can improve short text classification performance.
How effective were government food box schemes for those who were shielding during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom? Local and national stakeholder perspectives
Authors: Lambie-Mumford Hannah , Loopstra Rachel , Gordon Katy
Published: August 2023

Objective:

In spring 2020, governments across the UK put in place food box schemes to protect access to food for the population told to ‘shield’ from COVID-19 (i.e. not leave their house for any reason). This article explores the design, implementation and impact of food box schemes intended to regularly provide a week’s worth of food for individuals who were shielding.

Design:

Interviews and workshops with national and local stakeholders over summer 2020 to autumn 2021.

Setting:

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Participants:

National and local government and NGO stakeholders involved in food response during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results:

Local authorities played a crucial role, implementing and supplementing the national provision of food box schemes. Three key shortcomings of the schemes were identified: coverage, contents and accessibility. In England and Wales, the scheme only provided food for shielding individuals, not their household members. Across the schemes, box contents were criticised for not containing sufficient amounts of fresh or healthy food and for not being able to meet individual dietary requirements. They were also inaccessible for people who required support with lifting or preparing food.

Conclusions:

The inadequacy of shielding food box schemes may have undermined people’s ability to shield during the first UK lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic required rapidly implemented policy responses, but these findings underscore the importance of universal provision and nutrition, physical accessibility and cultural food needs when formulating public health nutrition interventions.
The effects of illness perception on death anxiety and satisfaction with life in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer
Authors: Bahçecioğlu Turan Gülcan , Türkben Polat Hilal
Published: August 2023

Objectives

This study was conducted to determine the effects of illness perception on death anxiety and satisfaction with life in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer.

Methods

This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted with 125 patients with cancer who were admitted to the oncology clinic of a university hospital in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey between March and December 2022 and who met the research criteria and accepted to participate in the study. The data were collected with “Patient descriptive information form,” “Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ),” “Scale of Death Anxiety (SDA),” and “Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS).”

Results

It was found that mean BIPQ score of the patients was 39.54 ± 12.82, the mean SDA score was 8.02 ± 3.16, and the mean SWLS score was 14.74 ± 5.19. BIPQ total score was found to affect SDA total score positively (β = .751) and SWLS total score negatively (β = − .591). SDA total score was found to affect SWLS total score negatively (β = −.216) (p < .05).

Significance of results

It was found that patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer had moderate level of illness perception and life satisfaction, and high death anxiety. It was found that as illness perception of the patients increased, their death anxiety increased and satisfaction with life decreased. In addition, it was found that as the death anxiety of patients increased, their satisfaction with life decreased.
Rethinking colonialism through early modern global diplomacy: A tale of Pampangan mobility
Authors: Tremml-Werner Birgit
Published: August 2023

This study is an intervention in early modern global diplomacy. Integrating an indigenous community of the Philippines into foreign relations and maritime connections, the article reevaluates the complex story of the Pampangans of Luzon, allegedly long-term allies of the Spanish conquerors, and the narrative of indigenous collaboration. Foregrounding the Pampangans’ involvement in military campaigns, as well as territorial and maritime expansion in the early decades of the 1600s, the article introduces three scenarios of Pampangan power bargaining with global consequences. The focus on Pampangan foreign relations opens new analytical perspectives on the role of language and knowledge for internal coloniality on the one hand, foreign and diplomatic negotiations on the other. Methodologically, it proposes a deep (re-)reading of the polyvocal archive of the colonial-indigenous encounter and integrates insights with the largely separated scholarship of diplomatic and indigenous history as a new avenue in global history.
Dieu dans la commune: religion and voting in the 2017 French election
Authors: Overos Henry David , Sauer Jeffery
Published: August 2023

European political parties, particularly radical right parties (RRPs), increasingly use religious symbols during elections. Despite the prevalence of these symbols, evidence on the association between religion and far-right vote share is mixed. We compare two leading arguments explaining the relationship between religion and RRPs. We hypothesize that the number of religious buildings, identifiable as Islamic or Catholic, will be associated with higher RRP support. We test this as a most likely crucial case using results from the French 2017 presidential election. Controlling for other demographic factors, more Catholic buildings in a commune are associated with a decrease in votes for the Front Nationale (FN). An increase in the number of mosques in non-urban communes is associated with increased support for FN. We argue these findings are evidence that RRPs use religious symbolism to draw on nativist or anti-Islamic support rather than traditional religious support.
Social rights scapegoating
Authors: Chilton Adam , Eyzaguirre Cristián , Versteeg Mila
Published: August 2023

In Chile, many commentators, academics and political leaders have spent years arguing that the limited nature of the social rights in the national constitution is partially responsible for the country’s economic and social inequality. It is thus unsurprising that changing the scope of the country’s social rights was a major focus of the recently failed constitutional reform effort. However, we argue that the long-running claim that Chile’s social problems were due to the limited nature of social rights can be thought of as social rights scapegoating, by which we mean that commentators blamed outcomes on constitutional rights, even though there is little evidence that countries’ socio-economic outcomes are a product of their social rights.
How Relative Is Stress?
Authors: Greulich Berit , König Cornelius J. , Fischer Nancy
Published: August 2023

Abstract: In self-reports, employees frequently use self-selected social comparisons to assess workplace stressors and resources, but these comparisons vary within and between individuals. This study investigates how standardizing social comparison processes by adding a prescribed comparison to each item affects the reliability and validity of self-report scales measuring work-related stressors and resources and how the standardized comparison affects scale means. A total of 208 employees were randomly assigned to one of two groups, comparing their perceptions to either their direct colleagues or without instructed comparison. The results indicate no effect on reliability, improvement in validity for one scale, and differences in means between groups for stressors and a resource scale. These findings suggest potential benefits and drawbacks of standardized social comparisons in self-report measures.
Yesterday's High Tide Is Today's New Normal
Authors: Piecuch Christopher G. , Hamlington Benjamin D.
Published: August 2023

The daily rise and fall of the tides are intimately familiar to those living on the coast. However, due to sea‐level rise, what communities in the United States now experience as the highest, lowest, and average water levels on a typical day no longer corresponds to the official definitions of high tide, low tide, and mean sea level, respectively. Water levels now regularly exceed official high tide along parts of the Chesapeake Bay, Gulf Coast, and Puerto Rico. In other words, yesterday's high tide is becoming today's new normal. This demonstrates how sea‐level rise is radically redefining the American shore.
Renewed Epicentral Distribution of Low Frequency Marsquakes by Varying‐Parameter Polarization Analysis of InSight Data
Authors: Wang Xu , Chen Ling , Wang Xin
Published: August 2023

Accurate information about marsquake locations is crucial for understanding the tectonic activity, subsurface structures, and dynamics of Mars. We designed a varying‐parameter scheme for polarization analysis to determine the back‐azimuths of marsquakes. For two Martian meteorite impact events with ground‐truth locations known from orbital images, our scheme yields back‐azimuths that are ∼5° and ∼14° closer to the true values than those reported previously, demonstrating our method's advantages in constraining back‐azimuths. We applied this method to determine the back‐azimuths of 44 Low Frequency marsquakes and 39 were reliably relocated. Nearly half of these marsquakes occur in Cerberus Fossae, while the rest are broadly distributed, including along the dichotomy boundary and within the northern lowlands and southern highlands. Although further studies are required to understand the mechanisms of these marsquakes, the widespread seismicity implies that present‐day Mars, especially the ancient southern highlands, is more tectonically active than previously thought.
A New GRACE Filtering Approach Based on Iterative Image Convolution
Authors: Zhou Hao , Wang Penghui , Tang Lu , Luo Zhicai
Published: August 2023

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission and its successor GRACE Follow‐On (GRACE‐FO) mission provide humans with a unique perspective on mass distribution through accurate temporal gravity field models. However, these models suffer from unavoidable stripe errors in the spatial domain. A new approach based on image processing has been developed for filtering GRACE and GRACE‐FO spherical harmonic solutions. In this approach, the gravity fields are treated as noise‐contaminated images, and the stripe errors are expected to be suppressed by convolving the input with an appropriate kernel. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a closed‐loop simulation environment over the nominal mission lifetime of 5 years is designed. Image processing indicators and geophysical information evaluation results demonstrate the superior performance of the new approach in suppressing stripe errors. In the context of real GRACE data processing, our new approach still yields better results as follows: (a) The comprehensive ability of de‐striping and retaining details has slight advantages over some commonly used filters, as demonstrated through spatial distributions, amplitude spectra, and coefficient spectra. (b) The equivalent water height time series at the basin scale is comparable to the results derived from other filters or Level‐3 products. (c) The estimated signal amplitude of the Mw9.1 2004 Sumatra earthquake co‐seismic gravity change is 52.7% larger than that derived from the Gaussian 300 km filter, which is much closer to the theoretical value derived from the dislocation theory.
Estuarine Hypoxia—Identifying High Risk Catchments Now and Under Future Climate Scenarios
Authors: Waddington K. , Harrison A. , Rayner D. , Tucker T. , Glamore W.
Published: August 2023

Hypoxic blackwater events occur worldwide, affecting inland and coastal waters. These events have been exacerbated by man‐made floodplain drainage, leading to large‐scale fish kills and ecological degradation. This paper presents a new method to identify estuarine catchment areas that are most likely to generate hypoxic conditions. The method uses established risk factors, including vegetation type, inundation extent and duration, ground‐truthed in eastern Australia. A catchment is at higher risk of hypoxic blackwater generation if (a) it is located where floodwaters are high and/or drainage is impeded, (b) the site topography includes an extensive, low‐lying floodplain; and/or (c) the land‐use and environmental characteristics have a high deoxygenation potential. Consequent impacts to an estuary are determined by the floodplain connectivity with the estuary, and the discharge characteristics of the catchment drainage system. Where multiple, proximate catchments have similar drainage conditions, compounding plumes of hypoxic blackwater can overwhelm the assimilation capacity of the estuary. Climate change may significantly increase the volume and frequency of blackwater events in estuarine environments as a result of reduced drainage due to sea level rise, higher temperatures, and more intense and sporadic rainfall events. It is recommended that management measures be introduced to mitigate the effects of climate change and avoid further widespread hypoxic blackwater events.
Divergent chondro/osteogenic transduction laws of fibrocartilage stem cell drive temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis in growing mice
Authors: Bi Ruiye , Li Qianli , Li Haohan , Wang Peng , Fang Han , Yang Xianni , Wang Yiru , Hou Yi , Ying Binbin , Zhu Songsong
Published: August 2023

The anterior disc displacement (ADD) leads to temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJOA) and mandibular growth retardation in adolescents. To investigate the potential functional role of fibrocartilage stem cells (FCSCs) during the process, a surgical ADD-TMJOA mouse model was established. From 1 week after model generation, ADD mice exhibited aggravated mandibular growth retardation with osteoarthritis (OA)-like joint cartilage degeneration, manifesting with impaired chondrogenic differentiation and loss of subchondral bone homeostasis. Lineage tracing using Gli1-CreER+;Tmfl/-mice and Sox9-CreER+;Tmfl/-mice showed that ADD interfered with the chondrogenic capacity of Gli1+ FCSCs as well as osteogenic differentiation of Sox9+ lineage, mainly in the middle zone of TMJ cartilage. Then, a surgically induced disc reposition (DR) mouse model was generated. The inhibited FCSCs capacity was significantly alleviated by DR treatment in ADD mice. And both the ADD mice and adolescent ADD patients had significantly relieved OA phenotype and improved condylar growth after DR treatment. In conclusion, ADD-TMJOA leads to impaired chondrogenic progenitor capacity and osteogenesis differentiation of FCSCs lineage, resulting in cartilage degeneration and loss of subchondral bone homeostasis, finally causing TMJ growth retardation. DR at an early stage could significantly alleviate cartilage degeneration and restore TMJ cartilage growth potential.
Novel scoring tool of hypoxemic respiratory failure and pulmonary hypertension for defining severity of persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborn
Authors: Timberline Sage , Bhatt Avni , Sunderji Sherzana , Tancredi Daniel J. , Lakshminrusimha Satyan , Siefkes Heather
Published: August 2023

Objective

To obtain preliminary validity data for a hypoxemic respiratory failure/pulmonary hypertension (HRF/PH) score for classifying persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN).

Study design

Retrospective chart review of 100 consecutive neonates admitted to a Children’s hospital from 2016–2021 with PPHN, gestational age ≥34 weeks, and echocardiograms in the first week. We assessed the correlation between HRF/PH score and short-term outcomes using linear and logistic regressions.

Results

HRF/PH scores ranged 2–12 (mean 8.5), and were classified mild (0–5), moderate (6–10), and severe (11–15), with 6%, 77% and 17% infants in respective categories. HRF/PH score category correlated with invasive ventilation, nitric oxide, high frequency ventilation, vasoactive infusions, extracorporeal life support and death. HRF/PH score category did not correlate with duration of support or length of stay.

Conclusion

The HRF/PH score offers a promising representation of disease severity for PPHN. The tool requires further validation in prospective studies and evaluation for long-term outcomes.
Ferroptosis contributes to ethanol-induced hepatic cell death via labile iron accumulation and GPx4 inactivation
Authors: Luo Jiao , Song Ge , Chen Ningning , Xie Mengyue , Niu Xuan , Zhou Shuyue , Ji Yanan , Zhu Xiaoxiao , Ma Wanli , Zhang Qianqian , Yu Dianke
Published: August 2023

Alcohol abuse is a significant cause of global morbidity and mortality, with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) being a common consequence. The pathogenesis of ALD involves various cellular processes, including oxidative stress, inflammation, and hepatic cell death. Recently, ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of programmed cell death, has emerged as a potential mechanism in many diseases. However, the specific involvement and regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis in ALD remain poorly understood. Here we aimed to investigate the presence and mechanism of alcohol-induced ferroptosis and the involvement of miRNAs in regulating ferroptosis sensitivity. Our findings revealed that long-term ethanol feeding induced ferroptosis in male mice, as evidenced by increased expression of ferroptosis-related genes, lipid peroxidation, and labile iron accumulation in the liver. Furthermore, we identified dysregulation of the methionine cycle and transsulfuration pathway, leading to severe glutathione (GSH) exhaustion and indirect deactivation of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4), a critical enzyme in preventing ferroptosis. Additionally, we identified miR-214 as a ferroptosis regulator in ALD, enhancing hepatocyte ferroptosis by transcriptionally activating the expression of ferroptosis-driver genes. Our study provides novel insights into the involvement and regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis in ALD, highlighting the potential therapeutic implications of targeting ferroptosis and miRNAs in ALD management.
BRD7 suppresses tumor chemosensitivity to CHK1 inhibitors by inhibiting USP1-mediated deubiquitination of CHK1
Authors: Li Lemin , Wang Linchen , Liu Dian , Zhao Yongchao
Published: August 2023

Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1), a key effector in the cellular response to DNA lesions, is a crucial component of all cell cycle checkpoints. Recent reports have revealed that CHK1 is highly expressed in numerous cancer types in the clinical settings. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of CHK1 expression in tumor cells remain unclear. Here, we report that CHK1 is negatively regulated by the bromodomain-containing protein 7 (BRD7). Specifically, BRD7 silencing increased CHK1 (but not CHK2) expression at both mRNA and protein levels, in a p53-independent manner in multiple tumor cell lines. Furthermore, BRD7 silencing stabilized CHK1 via reducing its ubiquitination. Mechanistically, BRD7 knockdown not only increased the levels of USP1, a deubiquitinase for CHK1, but also promoted the interaction between CHK1 and USP1, subsequently enhancing the de-ubiquitination of CHK1. USP1 knockdown abrogated BRD7 silencing-induced CHK1 induction. Biologically, the increased expression of CHK1 in tumor cells caused by BRD7 silencing significantly increased cell sensitivity to CHK1 inhibitors by enhancing tumor cell apoptosis, and this effect was reversed by the simultaneous knockdown of CHK1 or USP1. Taken together, our findings suggest that BRD7 is a potential genetic or drug target that may help to improve the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs targeting CHK1 in combinatorial therapy.
Suppressed Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling contributes to excessive adipogenesis of fibro-adipogenic progenitors after rotator cuff tears
Authors: Lin Xingzuan , Wang Peng , Wang Wei , Zhou Hao , Zhu Siyuan , Feng Shujing , Chen Yuzhou , Zhou Han , Wang Qichao , Xin Hanlong , Shao Xiexiang , Wang Jianhua
Published: August 2023

Muscular fatty infiltration is a common and troublesome pathology after rotator cuff tears (RCT), which mainly derives from fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs). Compared to the RCT, fatty infiltration is not so severe in Achilles tendon tears (ATT). The knowledge of why fatty infiltration is more likely to occur after RCT is limited. In this study, more severe fatty infiltration was verified in supraspinatus than gastrocnemius muscles after tendon injury. Additionally, we revealed higher adipogenic differentiation ability of RCT-FAPs in vitro. Activation of Akt significantly stimulated GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling and thus decreased PPARγ expression and adipogenesis of RCT-FAPs, while the inhibition effect was attenuated by β-catenin inhibitor. Furthermore, Wnt signaling activator BML-284 limited adipogenesis of RCT-FAPs, alleviated muscular fatty infiltration, and improved parameters in gait analysis and treadmill test for RCT model. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that suppressed Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling increased PPARγ expression and thus contributed to excessive adipogenesis in RCT-FAPs. Modulation of Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling ameliorated excessive fatty infiltration of rotator cuff muscles and improved shoulder function after RCT.
Combination human umbilical cord perivascular and endothelial colony forming cell therapy for ischemic cardiac injury
Authors: Iqbal Farwah , Johnston Alexander , Wyse Brandon , Rabani Razieh , Mander Poonam , Hoseini Banafshe , Wu Jun , Li Ren-Ke , Gauthier-Fisher Andrée , Szaraz Peter , Librach Clifford
Published: August 2023

Cell-based therapeutics are promising interventions to repair ischemic cardiac tissue. However, no single cell type has yet been found to be both specialized and versatile enough to heal the heart. The synergistic effects of two regenerative cell types including endothelial colony forming cells (ECFC) and first-trimester human umbilical cord perivascular cells (FTM HUCPVC) with endothelial cell and pericyte properties respectively, on angiogenic and regenerative properties were tested in a rat model of myocardial infarction (MI), in vitro tube formation and Matrigel plug assay. The combination of FTM HUCPVCs and ECFCs synergistically reduced fibrosis and cardiomyocyte apoptosis, while promoting favorable cardiac remodeling and contractility. These effects were in part mediated by ANGPT2, PDGF-β, and VEGF-C. PDGF-β signaling-dependent synergistic effects on angiogenesis were also observed in vitro and in vivo. FTM HUCPVCs and ECFCs represent a cell combination therapy for promoting and sustaining vascularization following ischemic cardiac injury.
A database with frailty, functional and inertial gait metrics for the research of fall causes in older adults
Authors: García-de-Villa Sara , Neira Guillermo García-Villamil , Álvarez Marta Neira , Huertas-Hoyas Elisabet , Ruiz Luisa Ruiz , del-Ama Antonio J. , Sánchez María Cristina Rodríguez , Jiménez Antonio R.
Published: August 2023

The GSTRIDE database contains information of the health status assessment of 163 elderly adults. We provide socio-demographic data, functional and frailty variables, and the outcomes from tests commonly performed for the evaluation of elder people. The database contains gait parameters estimated from the measurements of an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) placed on the foot of volunteers. These parameters include the total walking distance, the number of strides and multiple spatio-temporal gait parameters, such as stride length, stride time, speed, foot angles and clearance, among others. The main processed database is stored, apart from MS Excel, in CSV format to ensure their usability. The database is complemented with the raw IMU recordings in TXT format, in order to let researchers test other algorithms of gait analysis. We include the Python programming codes as a base to reproduce or modify them. The database stores data to study the frailty-related parameters that distinguish faller and non-faller populations, and analyze the gait-related parameters in the frail subjects, which are essential topics for the elderly.
A Dementia mortality rates dataset in Italy (2012–2019)
Authors: Fania Alessandro , Monaco Alfonso , Amoroso Nicola , Bellantuono Loredana , Cazzolla Gatti Roberto , Firza Najada , Lacalamita Antonio , Pantaleo Ester , Tangaro Sabina , Velichevskaya Alena , Bellotti Roberto
Published: August 2023

Dementia is on the rise in the world population and has been defined by the World Health Organization as a global public health priority. In Italy, according to demographic projections, in 2051 there will be 280 elderly people for every 100 young people, with an increase in all age-related chronic diseases, including dementia. Currently the total number of patients with dementia is estimated to be over 1 million (mainly with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD)). In-depth studies of the etiology and physiology of dementia are complicated due to the complexity of these diseases and their long duration. In this work we present a dataset on mortality rates (in the form of Standardized Mortality Ratios, SMR) for AD e PD in Italy at provincial level over a period of 8 years (2012–2019). Access to long-term, spatially detailed and ready-to-use data could favor both health monitoring and the research of new treatments and new drugs as well as innovative methodologies for early diagnosis of dementia.
Correlates of estimated lifetime cruciate ligament survival inform potential rupture risk reduction strategies: findings from the Exceptional Aging in Rottweilers Study
Authors: Waters David J. , Fu Rong , Carrillo Andres E. , Chiang Emily C. , Maras Aimee H. , Kengeri Seema S. , Suckow Cheri L.
Published: August 2023

Cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture is one of the most commonly diagnosed orthopedic conditions of pet dogs, making estimated lifetime cruciate ligament survival an attractive endpoint for studies attempting to define clinical and genetic correlates of rupture risk reduction. Early life experiences contribute significantly to the origins of adult health outcomes, yet our current understanding of modifiable susceptibility factors that drive the high frequency of CCL rupture remains limited. We reasoned that combining lifetime medical history with standardized late-life assessment of lifetime cruciate ligament survival and detailed phenotyping of each dog for selected risk variables would provide a sensitive approach to identify factors that would differentiate between lifelong avoidance versus susceptibility to ligament rupture. Here, we report results of Kaplan–Meier analysis of estimated lifetime cruciate ligament survival and Cox proportional hazards modeling to assess risk variables in a lifetime cohort study of 123 purebred Rottweilers, a breed at high risk for veterinarian-diagnosed CCL rupture. We show that gonad removal during the 24-month developmental period is adversely associated with three measures of susceptibility—increased incidence of CCL rupture, multiplicity (bilateral rupture), and accelerated time to initial CCL failure. Our analysis reveals two other phenotypes—short adult height and the production of offspring (in females)—are associated with significant CCL rupture risk reduction. Together, the results provide clues to an early endocrine influence on lifetime cruciate ligament survival. Further, we identify two distinct clinical syndromes of CCL failure, providing a disease subtyping framework to advance future progress in genetic epidemiology, pathogenesis, and prediction. By conducting an evaluation of estimated lifetime CCL survival in dogs, we show that cruciate ligament survival may be jeopardized by gonad removal during the developmental period. Avoidance of such early environmental adversity may represent an actionable method for the control of canine CCL disease in certain breeds.
The anoikis-related gene signature predicts survival accurately in colon adenocarcinoma
Authors: Hu Gunchu , Li Jian , Zeng Yi , Liu Lixin , Yu Zhuowen , Qi Xiaoyan , Liu Kuijie , Yao Hongliang
Published: August 2023

Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is a serious public health problem, the third most common cancer and the second most deadly cancer in the world. About 9.4% of cancer-related deaths in 2020 were due to COAD. Anoikis is a specialized form of programmed cell death that plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. The presence of anti-anoikis factors is associated with tumor aggressiveness and drug resistance. Various bioinformatic methods, such as differential expression analysis, and functional annotation analysis, machine learning, were used in this study. RNA-sequencing and clinical data from COAD patients were obtained from the Gene expression omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. Construction of a prognostic nomogram for predicting overall survival (OS) using multivariate analysis and Lasso-Cox regression. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was our method of validating the expression of seven genes that are linked to anoikis in COAD. We identified seven anoikis-related genes as predictors of COAD survival and prognosis, and confirmed their accuracy in predicting colon adenocarcinoma prognosis by KM survival curves and ROC curves. A seven-gene risk score consisting of NAT1, CDC25C, ATP2A3, MMP3, EEF1A2, PBK, and TIMP1 showed strong prognostic value. Meanwhile, we made a nomogram to predict the survival rate of COAD patients. The immune infiltration assay showed T cells. CD4 memory. Rest and macrophages. M0 has a higher proportion in COAD, and 11 genes related to tumor immunity are important. GDSC2-based drug susceptibility analysis showed that 6 out of 198 drugs were significant in COAD. Anoikis-related genes have potential value in predicting the prognosis of COAD and provide clues for developing new therapeutic strategies for COAD. Immune infiltration and drug susceptibility results provide important clues for finding new personalized treatment options for COAD. These findings also suggest possible mechanisms that may affect prognosis. These results are the starting point for planning individualized treatment and managing patient outcomes.
A pan-cancer analysis of potassium channel tetramerization domain containing 12 in human cancer
Authors: Liu Pan , Liu Zhilan , Luo Qiankun , Fu Qiang , Zhang Xu , Yu Pengfei , Zhou Shuai , Wang Yingying , Zhang Jiali , Chen Song , Zhang Hongwei , Zhu Qinghai , Qin Tao
Published: August 2023

Abnormal expression of the potassium channel tetramerization domain containing 12 (KCTD12) is closely related to the occurrence and development of various tumors, but a pan-cancer analysis of KCTD12 has not yet been conducted. We explored the association between KCTD12 and more than 30 human malignancies using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. First, the mRNA and protein levels of KCTD12 were examined and their correlations with tumor stage and survival were explored. Second, we analyzed the infiltration of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts in tumors and explored the correlation between KCTD12 expression and tumor cell stemness, genomic heterogeneity, and diagnostic specificity. Finally, we explored the molecular mechanisms associated with KCTD12 using KEGG/GO analysis. The results showed that KCTD12 mRNA and protein expression levels decreased in most tumors was significantly associated with the prognosis of tumor patients, and the phosphorylation level of KCTD12 decreased in several tumors, such as S200 and T196, pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and breast invasive cancer (BRCA). The expression of KCTD12 was positively correlated with the degree of cancer-associated fibroblasts infiltration in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC), PAAD, and stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD). The relationship between KCTD12 expression and CD8+ and CD4+ T cell infiltration was also clarified. KCTD12 showed high diagnostic sensitivity for various types of tumors and may be involved in tumor cell biology by affecting tumor cell stemness, tumor burden, and other characteristics. Finally, we analyzed the molecular functions of KCTD12 and possible KEGG/GO signaling pathways. In this study, we developed a biological marker for diagnosis, prognosis, and immune infiltration of the pan-cancers.
Long-term agro-management strategies shape soil bacterial community structure in dryland wheat systems
Authors: Singh Shikha , Singh Surendra , Lukas Scott B. , Machado Stephen , Nouri Amin , Calderon Francisco , Rieke Elizabeth R. , Cappellazzi Shannon B.
Published: August 2023

Soil microbes play a crucial role in soil organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling and are influenced by management practices. Therefore, quantifying the impacts of various agricultural management practices on soil microbiomes and their activity is crucial for making informed management decisions. This study aimed to assess the impact of various management systems on soil bacterial abundance and diversity, soil enzyme activities and carbon mineralization potential in wheat-based systems. To accomplish this, soil samples from 0 to 15 cm depth were collected from ongoing long-term field trials in eastern Oregon region under wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow (WF), WF with different tillage (WT), wheat-pea (Pisum sativum L.) (WP), WF under different crop residue management (CR) and natural undisturbed/unmanaged grassland pasture (GP). These trials consisted of an array of treatments like tillage intensities, nitrogen rates, organic amendments, and seasonal residue burning. This study was a part of the Soil Health Institute’s North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health measurements (NAPESHM). Bacterial community structure was determined using amplicon sequencing of the V4 region of 16SrRNA genes and followed the protocols of the Earth Microbiome Project. In addition, extracellular enzyme activities, and carbon mineralization potential (1d-CO2) were measured. Among different trials, 1d-CO2 in WT, WP, and CR studies averaged 53%, 51% and 87% lower than GP systems, respectively. Enzyme activities were significantly greater in GP compared to the other managements and followed similar trend as respiration. We observed higher evenness in GP and higher richness in spring residue burning treatment of CR study. Our results indicated that species evenness is perhaps a better indicator of soil health in comparison to other indices in dryland wheat systems.
How AI can learn from the law: putting humans in the loop only on appeal
Authors: Cohen I. Glenn , Babic Boris , Gerke Sara , Xia Qiong , Evgeniou Theodoros , Wertenbroch Klaus
Published: August 2023

While the literature on putting a “human in the loop” in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has grown significantly, limited attention has been paid to how human expertise ought to be combined with AI/ML judgments. This design question arises because of the ubiquity and quantity of algorithmic decisions being made today in the face of widespread public reluctance to forgo human expert judgment. To resolve this conflict, we propose that human expert judges be included via appeals processes for review of algorithmic decisions. Thus, the human intervenes only in a limited number of cases and only after an initial AI/ML judgment has been made. Based on an analogy with appellate processes in judiciary decision-making, we argue that this is, in many respects, a more efficient way to divide the labor between a human and a machine. Human reviewers can add more nuanced clinical, moral, or legal reasoning, and they can consider case-specific information that is not easily quantified and, as such, not available to the AI/ML at an initial stage. In doing so, the human can serve as a crucial error correction check on the AI/ML, while retaining much of the efficiency of AI/ML’s use in the decision-making process. In this paper, we develop these widely applicable arguments while focusing primarily on examples from the use of AI/ML in medicine, including organ allocation, fertility care, and hospital readmission.
Integration of pre-trained protein language models into geometric deep learning networks
Authors: Wu Fang , Wu Lirong , Radev Dragomir , Xu Jinbo , Li Stan Z.
Published: August 2023

Geometric deep learning has recently achieved great success in non-Euclidean domains, and learning on 3D structures of large biomolecules is emerging as a distinct research area. However, its efficacy is largely constrained due to the limited quantity of structural data. Meanwhile, protein language models trained on substantial 1D sequences have shown burgeoning capabilities with scale in a broad range of applications. Several preceding studies consider combining these different protein modalities to promote the representation power of geometric neural networks but fail to present a comprehensive understanding of their benefits. In this work, we integrate the knowledge learned by well-trained protein language models into several state-of-the-art geometric networks and evaluate a variety of protein representation learning benchmarks, including protein-protein interface prediction, model quality assessment, protein-protein rigid-body docking, and binding affinity prediction. Our findings show an overall improvement of 20% over baselines. Strong evidence indicates that the incorporation of protein language models’ knowledge enhances geometric networks’ capacity by a significant margin and can be generalized to complex tasks.