bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on Medication Rule and the Syndrome Type of Abnormal Sweating in Diabetes Based on Data Mining
Authors: Hu Yanmini , Na Yi
Published: May 2023

Objective: Based on data mining, to explore the regularity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for diabetic sweating dysfunction (DSD). Methods: Searched the clinical literature about treating for DSD in recent 22 years from CNKI, Wan Fang database, VIP database etc. and set up another database. Use the Ancient and Modern Medical Records Cloud Platform to analyze the frequency and correlation of syndrome types, traditional Chinese medicine and other information, and use Gephi to analyze the complex network analysis and visual display, and analyze the main syndrome types, medication frequency, four Qi, five flavors, menstruation, nuclear heart prescription and other medication laws of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of abnormal sweating in diabetes. Results: Identified 101 studies, involving 166 prescriptions and 163 herbs. The common syndrome types of abnormal sweating in diabetes are Qi Yin deficiency syndrome, yin deficiency internal heat syndrome, lung Wei Qi deficiency syndrome, blood stasis blocking collaterals syndrome, Ying Wei Disharmony Syndrome. The prescription of traditional Chinese medicine has many properties, sweet and flat taste, and it is important to return to the lung and heart meridian. The top five drugs with the highest frequency of use are Astragalus membranaceus, Schisandra chinensis, Rehmannia glutinosa, oyster and licorice. Among them, tonic drugs are used most frequently, followed by heat clearing drugs and astringent drugs. The core prescriptions are Astragalus membranaceus, Schisandra chinensis, oyster, keel, floating wheat, licorice, Rehmannia glutinosa, Ophiopogon japonicus, Angelica sinensis and Atractylodes macrocephala.
Liuwei Dihuang Pills in the Treatment of Senile Dementia: A Review
Authors: Jing GUO , Meng FANG , Peng ZENG
Published: May 2023

Objective To elucidate the synergistic mechanism of Liuwei Dihuang Pills (LWDHP), with multi-components, multi-targets and multi-channels in the treatment of senile dementia. Methods We searched Chinese and English databases to obtain the blood components of LWDHP, its clinical and preclinical mechanism research progress in the treatment of senile dementia. Based on the network pharmacology of the key pathophysiological process of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we screened the anti-AD target of LWDHP and its blood components. Results The therapeutic effect of LWDHP on senile dementia is accurate, with few adverse reactions. Its mechanism includes regulation of cholinergic system, autophagy, cerebral microvascular function, neuron apoptosis, insulin signal transduction pathway, etc. In this review, 35 blood components of LWDHP based on HPLC were collected, and their drug toxicity and safety were evaluated. The network pharmacology analysis based on the pathophysiological process of AD shows that the key components of LWDHP in the treatment of AD are Alisol A monoacetate, Linoleic acid, Alisol F, Tumulosic acid, Methyl eugenol, Palmitic acid and Pachymic acid. Conclusion This article summarizes 35 blood components of LWDHP, summarizes the synergistic mechanism of LWDHP in the treatment of senile dementia, uses network pharmacology to provide a series of potential lead compounds for the development of senile dementia’s drugs, and provides a theoretical basis for further expanding the clinical application of LWDHP.
Design of class III intermaxillary traction titanium plate for boneanchorage based on finite element analysis
Authors: Zhang Yuze , Wang Linna , Liu Yang , Wang Jiangcheng , Ma Wensheng , Zhang Linlin
Published: May 2023

The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of different bending angles and traction directions of the traction arm on the stability of the titanium plate for bone-anchored maxillary protraction (BAMP). The titanium plate models with different bending angles of the upper and lower jaws were modelled in three dimensions, where the bending angles were 90°, 120°, 135°, 150°, 180° and recorded as U1-U5 and L1-L5 respectively. Finite element analysis was performed on the titanium plates with different structural parameters to complete the structural design selection study of the titanium plates. The displacement limit was defined and different angular tensile forces were applied to record the equivalent stress and displacement of the titanium plates under each working condition. A total of 120 sets of orthogonal simulation tests were designed, which showed that the stress values at U2, U3 and U4 are smaller at traction angles of 135° (66.152 MPa), 155° (59.015 MPa) and 175° (55.589 MPa) respectively. The displacement is correspondingly smaller at tensile angles of 135° (0.0073 mm), 150° (0.0056 mm) and 160° (0.0058 mm). L2 has the smallest stress value (50.491 MPa) and displacement (0.0062 mm) at a tension angle of 120°. Therefore, it is recommended to design a titanium plate with a mandibular traction arm bending angle of 120° for BAMP, and the traction arm bending angle of the maxillary titanium plate can be flexibly designed according to the clinical traction direction.
ELDTIP: An Ensemble Learning-based method for DTI Prediction
Authors: Zou Xiangyu
Published: May 2023

Exploring drug-target interactions has always been an important step in drug development. However, exploring drug-target interaction is time-consuming and laborious. A large number of studies try to use artificial intelligence methods to predict possible drug-target interactions to reduce the workload of the wet-lab identification experiments. However, the accuracy of existing methods is still limited.

This paper proposes an ensemble learning-based drug-target interaction prediction method (ELDTIP in short). First, the multiple similarity matrices of drugs or proteins are integrated by singular value decomposition (SVD) to obtain their low-dimensional feature vectors. After that, by concatenating the low-dimensional feature vectors of specific drugs and targets, the feature vector of a drug-target pair are obtained. An ensemble learning model based on gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) was constructed to predict whether this pair of drug-target can interact with each other. The main contributions of ELDTIP are as follows: (1): ELDTIP uses SVD to integrate multiple similarity matrices, which can retain more valuable information of the original feature. (2): ELDTIP uses the ensemble learning-based model, GBDT, which can make full use of the unknown DTIs in the dataset and mitigate the influence of class imbalance. Experimental results show that the performance of ELDTIP is higher than that of several state-of-the-art DTI prediction methods.
The effects of the electric-magnetic barrier on the spin transmission in the multibarrier semiconductor heterostructures
Authors: Bahadivand Chegini Samira , Shahri Naseri Mahboobeh
Published: May 2023

In the present paper, we study spin transmission in the multibarrier semiconductor heterostructures based on single particle effective mass approximation. These structures are double-barrier and triple-barrier semiconductor hetero-structures that a metallic ferromagnetic is deposited on them. Using Airy function and magnetic barriers approximated by delta function, we calculate transmission coefficient of tunneling electrons and spin polarization. Our results have shown that the parameters as the height and width of the electrical potential barrier, wave vector parallel to the barrier, applied bias voltage and magnetic field are effective parameters in determination of the transmission coefficient.
Implementing Convolutional Neural Networks on FPGA: A Survey and Research
Authors: Haijoub Abdelilah , Hatim Anas , Arioua Mounir , Hammia Slama , Eloualkadi Ahmed , Guerrero-González Antonio
Published: May 2023

The implementation of CNN FPGA is of increasing importance due to the growing demand for low-power and high-performance edge AI applications. This paper presents a comprehensive survey and research on the topic, with a focus on comparing and evaluating the performance of two main FPGA architectures, streaming and single unit computing. The study includes a detailed evaluation of the state-of-the-art CNNs, LeNet-5 and YOLOv2, on both FPGA architectures. The results provide useful insights into the trade-offs involved, limitations, challenges, and the complexity of implementing CNNs on FPGAs. The paper highlights the difficulties and intricacies involved in implementing CNNs on FPGAs and provides potential solutions for improving performance and efficiency.
Confidentiality-preserving, blockchain-based, and data sharing: A survey
Authors: Znaki Rania , Maizate Abderrahim , Ettaoufik Abdelaziz
Published: May 2023

Data sharing has gained tremendous attention in the past few years. Information being the driving power of all strategic decision-making changes as organizations aim to improve their efficiency by sharing insights within departments and collaborating with partners. However, protecting the confidentiality of sensitive information is still one of the biggest challenges when sharing these valuable assets between differ partakers. Blockchain has been one of the technologies that are being explored to solve this problem. Blockchain technology had been renowned as a means of secure asset tracking, provide immutable transaction sharing and had been proven to limit the amount of trust collaborating parties needed to exchange sensitive data. In this paper, we hover the up-to-date, relevant techniques and propositions with regards to confidential data sharing using blockchain related approaches. We will provide a comprehensive comparison between different techniques based on the widely used frameworks and technical schemes summoned and cite the challenges blockchain based applications face in the realm of confidentiality preserving data sharing.
A miniaturized rectangular microstrip patch antenna with negative permeability unit cell metamaterial for the band 2.45 GHz
Authors: Laabadli Abdel-Ali , Mejdoub Youssef , El Amri Abdelkebir , Tarbouch Mohamed
Published: May 2023

This work presents a miniaturized rectangular patch Antenna with negative permeability metamaterial unit cell etched on the ground plane of a conventional patch antenna operating at 3.3 GHz. The new compact metamaterial (MTM) antenna is resonating at 2.45 GHz. It is 44,82% smaller than a conventional rectangular patch antenna resonating at 2.45 GHz and has a bandwidth of 183.3 MHz, a reflection coefficient of -45,36 dB and a gain of 1.37dB, the materials used for the conception are FR-4 dielectric as a substrate, its permittivity is 4.4 and cooper annulled as metal for radiating element and the ground plan, the simulation of the antenna was done with CST solver.
Study and design of a patch antenna for biomedical applications
Authors: Siraj Younes , Alaoui Kaoutar S. , Foshi Jaouad
Published: May 2023

This work presents the performance of a Dual-band patch antenna with L-shaped slot for biomedical applications. The antenna works at 2.4 GHz and 3.33 GHz. A semi-flexible substrate material which is “Taconic TLX (tm)” with a relative dielectric constant, ℇr of 2.55, loss tangent, tan δ of 0.0019 and thickness, h of 0.7 mm has been proposed to be the isolant element of the antenna. The size of the antenna is 60 x 55 mm². The slots in the rectangular radiating patch were introduced to produce the resonant frequencies of 2.4GHz and 3.33GHz. The simulations of the microstrip patch antenna shows the reflection coefficient, S11 of -31.67 dB and -20.25 dB at 2.4 GHz and 3.27 GHz respectively. The proposed antenna shows a peak gain of 5.01 dB at 2.4 GHz. The results were obtained using HFSS (high frequency structured simulator) software.
Numerical investigation and physical modeling for optimisation hydrodynamic processes in continuous casting tundish
Authors: Smirnov Aleksey , Verzilov Aleksey , Semenko Anastasiia , Skorobagatko Yuliia , Hoida Danyil
Published: May 2023

The article presents the results of comprehensive studies of hydrodynamic processes and features of single-strand tundish ladles, which can be used for continuous or semicontinuous casting of steel at small metallurgical plants. The results of physical and mathematical modelling of the movement of the melt flows in the tundish using various designs of metal receivers are shown in this article. In addition to this, the article shows how the presence of a stagnant zone between the metal receiver and the right narrow wall of the Tundish increases in time of metal flow into the dispenser zone by an average of 35–60%. It has been established that the position and height of the walls of the metal receiver relative to the axis of the incident jet are very significant for providing a rational picture of the movement of convective flows. When the height of the wall of the metal receiver (from the side of the dispenser) is reduced by 40–60 mm, the zones of increased turbulence may appear in the liquid bath of the tundish in the areas between the metal receiver and the dispenser. The results of evaluating the efficiency of floating non-metallic inclusions in the tundish volume and optimizing the hydrodynamic pattern flows in the central part of the tundish to increase the refining effect by installing a special recess.
Sterbeort Intensivstation
Authors: Schäfer P. Klaus
Published: May 2023

„Die letzte Aufgabe, die ein Arzt gegenüber Patienten zu erfüllen hat, ist, dessen Tod festzustellen“, so lautet ein vor allem unter Ärzten kursierender Spruch. Doch vor dem Tod kommt das Sterben. Hierzu stellt sich die Frage, wo und wie sich dieses ereignet.
Stresserfassung bei Eltern Frühgeborener mittels Parental Stressor Scale
Authors: Luise Schulz Lena , Oltersdorf-Steffan Sabine
Published: May 2023

Eine Frühgeburt ist Stress für Eltern. Pflegende übernehmen auf der Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – NICU – die Versorgung dieser Kinder. Unter Verwendung der „PSS:NICU_German/2-scales“ können Pflegende elterlichen Stress erfassen und beurteilen. Was elternberatende Pflegende dazu meinen, zeigen die Ergebnisse leitfadengestützter Experteninterviews, die transkribiert und angelehnt an die Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring ausgewertet wurden.
Sieben Jahre Innovationsfonds – Zwischenfazit und
Reformbedarfe aus Sicht der Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung
Authors: Stoff-Ahnis Stefanie , Nölke Laura , Dick Anna
Published: May 2023

Zielsetzung: Durch den Innovationsfonds werden seit sieben Jahren neue
Versorgungsformen und Versorgungsforschung aus Mitteln der Gesetzlichen
Krankenversicherung gefördert. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist eine Bewertung
des Innovationsfonds aus Sicht der Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung.

Methodik: Der aktuelle Stand des Innovationsfonds und die gesetzliche
Gesamtevaluation werden skizziert und bewertet. Schließlich werden
Reformbedarfe dargestellt.

Ergebnisse: Trotz wichtiger Impulse für die Gesundheitsversorgung
ist der Erfolg des Innovationsfonds noch nicht abschließend
bewertbar.

Schlussfolgerungen: Aus Sicht des GKV-Spitzenverbandes wäre eine
Entfristung des Innovationsfonds verfrüht. Vielmehr sollte die
Fördersumme von jährlich 200 Millionen Euro deutlich gesenkt
werden. Darüber hinaus bestehen weitere Reformbedarfe.
Is Faster Better? Relationships of Cesarean Acuity with Risk of Low Apgar Scores and Fetal Acidemia
Authors: Diaz-Rodriguez Gian , Braverman Alexis , Elam Gloria G. , Norris-Stojak Doreen , Harmon Kathleen , Hartwig Julie , Dunlap Tiana , Nixon Heather , Rasamimari Phornphat , Buhimschi Irina A. , Buhimschi Catalin S.
Published: May 2023

Objective Timely response to obstetrical emergencies is highly desired. The recommendation for decision-to-incision (DTI) time in cesarean delivery (CD) of not more than 30 minutes was issued to prevent neonatal hypoxic–ischemic morbidities. We analyzed the efficiency with which an institutional-specific CD acuity classification system (emergent case: target DTI ≤ 15 minutes; urgent case: target DTI ≤ 30 minutes) reflected in the actual DTI time, Apgar scores, and newborn acid–base status.

Study Design Data on all 610 cesarean sections (CSs) performed over a 14-month period at a tertiary medical center were retrospectively extracted. Cases grouped by target DTI time categories were compared for proportions in low Agar scores and fetal acidosis. Multivariable regression was used to identify clinical variables associated with the need for neonatal resuscitation.

Results During the study period, 60 (10%) of CSs were emergent, 296 (49%) urgent, and 254 (41%) elective. The target DTI ≤ 15 minutes was achieved in 68% of emergent CSs with 93% having a DTI ≤ 30 minutes. Among urgent surgeries, the target DTI ≤ 30 minutes was reached in 48% of cases with 83% having DTI ≤ 45 minutes. Compared with both urgent and scheduled procedures the incidence of newborn acidosis and Apgar scores ≤4 and ≤7 was the highest among emergent CSs. The proportion of moderate and severe acidosis for deliveries with DTI ≤ 15 minutes was significantly higher compared with procedures with DTI 16 to 30 and >30 minutes. The need for neonatal resuscitation, including intubation, was independently associated with fetal acidosis, low gestational age, surgery acuity level, general anesthesia, but not with the actual DTI time.

Conclusion Adherence to tight DTI time targets is pragmatically difficult. The need for neonatal resuscitation varies with the acuity of the procedure but not with the actual DTI interval, implying that within certain time limits, the indication for surgery plays a greater role in the status of the newborn than the speed of the CS.

Key Points
Rhodium-Catalyzed Intramolecular Acylation of 2-(Indol-1-yl)-benzoic Acids under Redox-Neutral Conditions
Authors: Suzuki Hirotsugu , Matsuda Takanori , Takemura Yosuke
Published: May 2023

We developed a novel access to indoloindolone by a rhodium-catalyzed intramolecular acylation of 2-(indol-1-yl)benzoic acids. This reaction proceeds via the in situ formation of a mixed anhydride under redox-neutral reaction conditions. Preliminary mechanistic investigations revealed that the in situ formed mixed anhydride participates in the C–H activation step, which is facilitated by a RhI catalyst. The utility of this reaction was demonstrated by a large-scale reaction.
Enantioselective Bromination of Silyl Enol Ethers with Chiral Pentacarboxycyclopentadienyl Bromide
Authors: Li Pingfan , Liu Guo
Published: May 2023

Chiral pentacarboxycyclopentadienyl bromide reagents were synthesized to accomplish enantioselective bromination of silyl enol ethers to give corresponding α-bromoketone products in good yields and up to 77% ee. A catalytic version of this reaction was also demonstrated through the combination of Lewis acid activators and diethyl 2,2-dibromomalonate as stoichiometric achiral bromine source.
Synthesis of (2-Nitro-1-AfAlemphenylethyl)malononitriles by Michael Addition of Masked Acyl Cyanides to Nitroalkenes
Authors: Sun Haoyi , Guo Yongcheng , Zhi Ying , Zhao Kun , Yao Qingqiang , Li Huajie , Wang Meiling , Ding Tiandi
Published: May 2023

A highly efficient method has been developed for the synthesis of (2-nitro-1-phenylethyl)malononitriles through a Michael addition reaction between substituted nitroolefins and masked acyl cyanide reagents, serving as carbon monoxide equivalents. Under mild conditions, the reaction took place with excellent yields (90–98%), providing a short entry into a series of the title compounds in a scalable fashion. An asymmetric version of this reaction has also been briefly explored.
Finite Element Modeling of the Human Wrist: A Review
Authors: Mena Andres , Wollstein Ronit , Baus Juan , Yang James
Published: May 2023

Background Understanding wrist biomechanics is important to appreciate and treat the wrist joint. Numerical methods, specifically, finite element method (FEM), have been used to overcome experimental methods' limitations. Due to the complexity of the wrist and difficulty in modeling, there is heterogeneity and lack of consistent methodology in the published studies, challenging our ability to incorporate information gleaned from the various studies.

Questions/Purposes This study summarizes the use of FEM to study the wrist in the last decade.

Methods We included studies published from 2012 to 2022 from databases: EBSCO, Research4Life, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. Twenty-two studies were included.

Results FEM used to study wrist in general, pathology, and treatment include diverse topics and are difficult to compare directly. Most studies evaluate normal wrist mechanics, all modeling the bones, with fewer studies including cartilage and ligamentous structures in the model. The dynamic effect of the tendons on wrist mechanics is rarely accounted for.

Conclusion Due to the complexity of wrist mechanics, the current literature remains incomplete. Considering published strategies and modeling techniques may aid in the development of more comprehensive and improved wrist model fidelity.
Layer thickness characterization of Faraday cup fast ion loss detectors
Authors: Kulla David , Lazerson Samuel A. , Hunger Katja , Gerdes Holger , Bandorf Ralf
Published: May 2023

Faraday cup fast ion loss detectors have attractive properties for fusion applications, as they can measure wide ranges of energy, are intrinsically neutron-hardened, and can be packaged in very small form factors. The latter allows them to be installed as arrays, offering opportunities to decouple fast ion loss location and magnitude in fully three-dimensional magnetic fields. In this work, we characterize the layer thicknesses of detector prototypes using spectral reflectance measurements, confocal laser scanning microscopy, as well as raster electron microscopy with a focused ion beam. We find that the measured layer thicknesses agree well enough with the specification to allow for accurate measurements. The as-manufactured heights are on the high side, increasing reliability. The data presented here further sets the basis for future optimizations in manufacturing.
Spectral current density and responsivity scaling for Fourier transform photocurrent spectroscopy
Authors: Kunc J. , Morzhuk B. , Shestopalov M. , Fridrišek T. , Dědič V.
Published: May 2023

We propose and experimentally verify a methodology to scale arbitrary units to photocurrent spectral density (A/eV) in Fourier transform Photocurrent (FTPC) spectroscopy. We also propose the FTPC scaling to responsivity (A/W), provided a narrow-band optical power measurement is available. The methodology is based on an interferogram waveform consisting of a constant background and interference contribution. We also formulate conditions that have to be met for correct scaling. We experimentally demonstrate the technique on a calibrated InGaAs diode and weak responsivity, long response time SiC interdigital detector. We identify a series of impurity-band and interband transitions in the SiC detector and slow mid-gap to conduction band transitions.
Fluid–structure model for disks vibrating at ultra-high frequency in a compressible viscous fluid
Authors: Neshasteh H. , Ravaro M. , Favero I.
Published: May 2023

Radial mechanical modes of miniature disk-shaped resonators are promising candidates for probing the ultra-high-frequency rheological properties of liquids. However, the lack of an analytical fluid–structure model hinders the inference of liquid properties from the experimental measurement of such radial vibrations. Here, we develop analytical models for the case of a disk vibrating in a compressible viscous liquid. Closed-form expressions for the mechanical quality factor and resonant frequency shift upon immersion are obtained and compared with the results of numerical modeling for a few significant cases. At frequencies above 1 GHz, our model points out the significance of compressibility effects.
Surface engineered MXene with multi-electroactive sites for developing durable and efficient water-splitting electrolyzer
Authors: Sharma Vaishali , Sardana Sagar , Dhiman Rajnish , Mahajan Aman
Published: May 2023

Combining multilayered structure, tunable physicochemical, and surficial properties, two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene has been extensively investigated for their potential in field of noble-metal free electrocatalysis. However, easy aggregation of MXene nanosheets and their thermodynamic instability drastically reduce active sites and, hence, decline overall water-splitting efficiency. In this regard, approaches of surface engineering of MXene by introducing large-sized dopants have been acknowledged to overcome aforementioned issues. Considering this, herein, we have proposed a strategy for tuning MXene surface by substitutional vanadium doping, which induced additional accessible electrochemically active surface sites (V0+, V1+/2+, V3+, V4+, and V5+), along with inherent MXene sites (Ti2+, Ti3+, and Ti4+). This also inhibited inevitable self-restacking with minimal inherent aqueous oxidation. Vanadium doping has created abundant intimate heterointerface networks favoring electronic redistribution on conducting surface of MXene, thereby resulting in highly active sites, predominantly with low-valence (V0+ and Ti2+) and high-valence (V5+ and Ti4+) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively. Benefitting from surficial synergistic features, optimized sample revealed superior bifunctionality along with long-term durability to drive both HER and OER with overpotentials of 78 and 175 mV. Also, an assembled water-splitting system revealed a low cell voltage of 1.48 V. Thus, this work provides significant insight to significantly and synchronously enhance surface utilization of MXene with abundant electrochemical active sites, crucial for designing high-performance water-splitting electrolyzer.
Two-dimensional α-In2Se3-based ferroelectric semiconductor junction for reconfigurable photodetectors
Authors: Liu Xinling , Wu Guangjian , Zeng Jinhua , Bai Chongyang , Li Wenwu , Wang Jianlu , Chu Junhao
Published: May 2023

The proliferation of visual information promoted in part by the Internet of Things is increasing demand for high-quality imaging, which in turn imposes more stringent physical requirements on photodetectors. Given that dark current is a significant figure of merit for photodetectors, we report herein a vertical ferroelectric semiconductor junction based on two-dimensional α-In2Se3 that suppresses the dark current and, thereby, enhances photodetection sensitivity. By utilizing the tight coupling between the ferroelectric and semiconductor properties of α-In2Se3, the two-terminal graphene-ferroelectric semiconductor–graphene crossbar structure demonstrates typical memristive behavior. The conductance, reflecting the dark current, is effectively regulated by modulating the height of the out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization-induced Schottky barrier height modulation between α-In2Se3 and graphene. As a result, the dark current is suppressed to 14 nA when α-In2Se3 is polarized down, which is a 50-fold decrease from 660 nA of dark current when α-In2Se3 is polarized up. Furthermore, α-In2Se3 exhibits excellent optoelectronic properties, demonstrating a high responsivity of 4.3 × 104 A/W, a fast response speed of 43 μs, and a broadband response spectrum from the visible to 980 nm. The combination of semiconductor and ferroelectric properties means that such devices may be used in self-powered, broadband, and highly integrated optoelectronic platforms.
Dissociation dynamics of anionic carbon monoxide in dark states
Authors: Xie Jingchen , Fan Mengyuan , Gao Xiao-Fei , Wu Bin , Wang Kedong , Tian Shan Xi
Published: May 2023

A resonant system consisting of an excess electron and a closed-shell atom or molecule, as a temporary negative ion, is usually in doublet-spin states that are analogous to bright states of photoexcitation of the neutral. However, anionic higher-spin states, noted as dark states, are scarcely accessed. Here, we report the dissociation dynamics of CO− in dark quartet resonant states that are formed by electron attachments to electronically excited CO (a3Π). Among the dissociations to O−(2P) + C(3P), O−(2P) + C(1D), and O−(2P) + C(1S), the latter two are spin-forbidden in the quartet-spin resonant states of CO−, while the first process is preferred in 4Σ− and 4Π states. The present finding sheds new light on anionic dark states.
Quantifying faecal cortisol metabolites in rescued orphaned koala joeys undergoing rehabilitation†
Authors: Pahuja Harsh Gaurav , Narayan Edward Jitik
Published: May 2023

Mortality is prevalent in koala joeys being hand reared/rehabilitated, with little knowledge about the causes of such high rates of mortality. Wildlife hospitals/rehabilitation expose koala joeys to novel husbandry environments that create stressful stimulus for these animals. Furthermore, loss of the mother and/or being raised by a human can be threatening and/or stressful. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis plays a vital role in mediating the stress endocrine response of vertebrate species including marsupials (by adrenocortical release of glucocorticoids such as cortisol), however, there are no studies that quantify cortisol metabolites in koala joeys. To contribute to this dearth of knowledge, the primary aim of this study was to quantify the levels of faecal cortisol metabolites (as an index of physiological stress) in koala joeys undergoing rehabilitation. A total of 39 faecal samples were collected from four koala joeys admitted at a wildlife hospital in New South Wales, Australia. The samples were processed and analysed for faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) using a polyclonal R4866 cortisol enzyme-immunoassay which has been previously biologically validated in adult koalas. The results indicated that there was significant inter-individual variation in FCM concentrations among the joeys, however, these differences were not based on the sex of the joeys. The average FCM concentration among joeys varied from 18.34 to 44.18 ng/g. Our study provides the first record of physiological stress in male and female rescued koala joeys by indexing FCM concentrations during rehabilitation.
Croquemort elicits activation of the immune deficiency pathway in ticks
Authors: O’Neal Anya J. , Singh Nisha , Rolandelli Agustin , Laukaitis Hanna J. , Wang Xiaowei , Shaw Dana K. , Young Brianna D. , Narasimhan Sukanya , Dutta Shraboni , Snyder Greg A. , Samaddar Sourabh , Marnin Liron , Butler L. Rainer , Mendes M. Tays , Cabrera Paz Francy E. , Valencia Luisa M. , Sundberg Eric J. , Fikrig Erol , Pal Utpal , Weber David J. , Pedra Joao H. F.
Published: May 2023

The immune deficiency (IMD) pathway directs host defense in arthropods upon bacterial infection. In Pancrustacea, peptidoglycan recognition proteins sense microbial moieties and initiate nuclear factor-κB-driven immune responses. Proteins that elicit the IMD pathway in non-insect arthropods remain elusive. Here, we show that an
Ixodes scapularis
homolog of croquemort (Crq), a CD36-like protein, promotes activation of the tick IMD pathway. Crq exhibits plasma membrane localization and binds the lipid agonist 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-
sn
-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol. Crq regulates the IMD and jun N-terminal kinase signaling cascades and limits the acquisition of the Lyme disease spirochete
B. burgdorferi
. Additionally, nymphs silenced for
crq
display impaired feeding and delayed molting to adulthood due to a deficiency in ecdysteroid synthesis. Collectively, we establish a distinct mechanism for arthropod immunity outside of insects and crustaceans.
Hematopoietic Jagged1 is a fetal liver niche factor required for functional maturation and engraftment of fetal hematopoietic stem cells
Authors: Shao Lijian , Paik Na Yoon , Sanborn Mark A. , Bandara Thilinie , Vijaykumar Anjali , Sottoriva Kilian , Rehman Jalees , Nombela-Arrieta Cesar , Pajcini Kostandin V.
Published: May 2023

Notch signaling is essential for the emergence of definitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the embryo and their development in the fetal liver niche. However, how Notch signaling is activated and which fetal liver cell type provides the ligand for receptor activation in HSCs is unknown. Here we provide evidence that endothelial Jagged1 (Jag1) has a critical early role in fetal liver vascular development but is not required for hematopoietic function during fetal HSC expansion. We demonstrate that Jag1 is expressed in many hematopoietic cells in the fetal liver, including HSCs, and that its expression is lost in adult bone marrow HSCs. Deletion of hematopoietic Jag1 does not affect fetal liver development; however, Jag1-deficient fetal liver HSCs exhibit a significant transplantation defect. Bulk and single-cell transcriptomic analysis of HSCs during peak expansion in the fetal liver indicates that loss of hematopoietic Jag1 leads to the downregulation of critical hematopoietic factors such as GATA2, Mllt3, and HoxA7, but does not perturb Notch receptor expression. Ex vivo activation of Notch signaling in Jag1-deficient fetal HSCs partially rescues the functional defect in a transplant setting. These findings indicate a new fetal-specific niche that is based on juxtracrine hematopoietic Notch signaling and reveal Jag1 as a fetal-specific niche factor essential for HSC function.
Validity of forensic cartridge-case comparisons
Authors: Guyll Max , Madon Stephanie , Yang Yueran , Burd Kayla A. , Wells Gary
Published: May 2023

This article presents key findings from a research project that evaluated the validity and probative value of cartridge-case comparisons under field-based conditions. Decisions provided by 228 trained firearm examiners across the US showed that forensic cartridge-case comparison is characterized by low error rates. However, inconclusive decisions constituted over one-fifth of all decisions rendered, complicating evaluation of the technique’s ability to yield unambiguously correct decisions. Specifically, restricting evaluation to only the conclusive decisions of identification and elimination yielded true-positive and true-negative rates exceeding 99%, but incorporating inconclusives caused these values to drop to 93.4% and 63.5%, respectively. The asymmetric effect on the two rates occurred because inconclusive decisions were rendered six times more frequently for different-source than same-source comparisons. Considering probative value, which is a decision’s usefulness for determining a comparison’s ground-truth state, conclusive decisions predicted their corresponding ground-truth states with near perfection. Likelihood ratios (LRs) further showed that conclusive decisions greatly increase the odds of a comparison’s ground-truth state matching the ground-truth state asserted by the decision. Inconclusive decisions also possessed probative value, predicting different-source status and having a LR indicating that they increase the odds of different-source status. The study also manipulated comparison difficulty by using two firearm models that produce dissimilar cartridge-case markings. The model chosen for being more difficult received more inconclusive decisions for same-source comparisons, resulting in a lower true-positive rate compared to the less difficult model. Relatedly, inconclusive decisions for the less difficult model exhibited more probative value, being more strongly predictive of different-source status.
Mapping human brain charts cross-sectionally and longitudinally
Authors: Di Biase Maria A. , Tian Ye Ella , Bethlehem Richard A. I. , Seidlitz Jakob , Alexander-Bloch Aaron. F. , Yeo B.T. Thomas , Zalesky Andrew
Published: May 2023

Brain scans acquired across large, age-diverse cohorts have facilitated recent progress in establishing normative brain aging charts. Here, we ask the critical question of whether cross-sectional estimates of age-related brain trajectories resemble those directly measured from longitudinal data. We show that age-related brain changes inferred from cross-sectionally mapped brain charts can substantially underestimate actual changes measured longitudinally. We further find that brain aging trajectories vary markedly between individuals and are difficult to predict with population-level age trends estimated cross-sectionally. Prediction errors relate modestly to neuroimaging confounds and lifestyle factors. Our findings provide explicit evidence for the importance of longitudinal measurements in ascertaining brain development and aging trajectories.
Epstein–Barr virus LMP1 protein promotes proliferation and inhibits differentiation of epithelial cells via activation of YAP and TAZ
Authors: Singh Deo R. , Nelson Scott E. , Pawelski Abigail S. , Kansra Alisha S. , Fogarty Stuart A. , Bristol Jillian A. , Ohashi Makoto , Johannsen Eric C. , Kenney Shannon C.
Published: May 2023

Latent Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection promotes undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPCs) in humans, but the mechanism(s) for this effect has been difficult to study because EBV cannot transform normal epithelial cells in vitro and the EBV genome is often lost when NPC cells are grown in culture. Here we show that the latent EBV protein, LMP1 (Latent membrane protein 1), induces cellular proliferation and inhibits spontaneous differentiation of telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocytes (NOKs) in growth factor-deficient conditions by increasing the activity of the Hippo pathway effectors, YAP (Yes-associated protein) and TAZ (Transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif). We demonstrate that LMP1 enhances YAP and TAZ activity in NOKs both by decreasing Hippo pathway-mediated serine phosphorylation of YAP and TAZ and increasing Src kinase-mediated Y357 phosphorylation of YAP. Furthermore, knockdown of YAP and TAZ is sufficient to reduce proliferation and promote differentiation in EBV-infected NOKs. We find that YAP and TAZ are also required for LMP1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Importantly, we demonstrate that ibrutinib (an FDA-approved BTK inhibitor that blocks YAP and TAZ activity through an off-target effect) restores spontaneous differentiation and inhibits proliferation of EBV-infected NOKs at clinically relevant doses. These results suggest that LMP1-induced YAP and TAZ activity contributes to the development of NPC.
Circadian clock protein BMAL1 broadly influences autophagy and endolysosomal function in astrocytes
Authors: McKee Celia A. , Polino Alexander J. , King Melvin W. , Musiek Erik S.
Published: May 2023

An emerging role for the circadian clock in autophagy and lysosome function has opened new avenues for exploration in the field of neurodegeneration. The daily rhythms of circadian clock proteins may coordinate gene expression programs involved not only in daily rhythms but in many cellular processes. In the brain, astrocytes are critical for sensing and responding to extracellular cues to support neurons. The core clock protein BMAL1 serves as the primary positive circadian transcriptional regulator and its depletion in astrocytes not only disrupts circadian function but also leads to a unique cell-autonomous activation phenotype. We report here that astrocyte-specific deletion of
Bmal1
influences endolysosome function, autophagy, and protein degradation dynamics. In vitro,
Bmal1
-deficient astrocytes exhibit increased endocytosis, lysosome-dependent protein cleavage, and accumulation of LAMP1- and RAB7-positive organelles. In vivo, astrocyte-specific
Bmal1
knockout (aKO) brains show accumulation of autophagosome-like structures within astrocytes by electron microscopy. Transcriptional analysis of isolated astrocytes from young and aged
Bmal1
aKO mice indicates broad dysregulation of pathways involved in lysosome function which occur independently of TFEB activation. Since a clear link has been established between neurodegeneration and endolysosome dysfunction over the course of aging, this work implicates BMAL1 as a key regulator of these crucial astrocyte functions in health and disease.
Generation of zero-valent sulfur from dissimilatory sulfate reduction in sulfate-reducing microorganisms
Authors: Wang Shanquan , Lu Qihong , Liang Zhiwei , Yu Xiaoxiao , Lin Mang , Mai Bixian , Qiu Rongliang , Shu Wensheng , He Zhili , Wall Judy D.
Published: May 2023

Dissimilatory sulfate reduction (DSR) mediated by sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) plays a pivotal role in global sulfur, carbon, oxygen, and iron cycles since at least 3.5 billion y ago. The canonical DSR pathway is believed to be sulfate reduction to sulfide. Herein, we report a DSR pathway in phylogenetically diverse SRMs through which zero-valent sulfur (ZVS) is directly generated. We identified that approximately 9% of sulfate reduction was directed toward ZVS with S
8
as a predominant product, and the ratio of sulfate-to-ZVS could be changed with SRMs’ growth conditions, particularly the medium salinity. Further coculturing experiments and metadata analyses revealed that DSR-derived ZVS supported the growth of various ZVS-metabolizing microorganisms, highlighting this pathway as an essential component of the sulfur biogeochemical cycle.
Machine learning of spectra-property relationship for imperfect and small chemistry data
Authors: Chong Yuanyuan , Huo Yaoyuan , Jiang Shuang , Wang Xijun , Zhang Baichen , Liu Tianfu , Chen Xin , Han TianTian , Smith Pieter Ernst Scholtz , Wang Song , Jiang Jun
Published: May 2023

Machine learning (ML) is causing profound changes to chemical research through its powerful statistical and mathematical methodological capabilities. However, the nature of chemistry experiments often sets very high hurdles to collect high-quality data that are deficiency free, contradicting the need of ML to learn from big data. Even worse, the black-box nature of most ML methods requires more abundant data to ensure good transferability. Herein, we combine physics-based spectral descriptors with a symbolic regression method to establish interpretable spectra–property relationship. Using the machine-learned mathematical formulas, we have predicted the adsorption energy and charge transfer of the CO-adsorbed Cu-based MOF systems from their infrared and Raman spectra. The explicit prediction models are robust, allowing them to be transferrable to small and low-quality dataset containing partial errors. Surprisingly, they can be used to identify and clean error data, which are common data scenarios in real experiments. Such robust learning protocol will significantly enhance the applicability of machine-learned spectroscopy for chemical science.
A tale of two copies: Evolutionary trajectories of moth pheromone receptors
Authors: Li Zibo , Capoduro Rémi , Bastin–Héline Lucie , Zhang Sai , Sun Dongdong , Lucas Philippe , Dabir-Moghaddam Diane , François Marie-Christine , Liu Yang , Wang Guirong , Jacquin-Joly Emmanuelle , Montagné Nicolas , Meslin Camille
Published: May 2023

Pheromone communication is an essential component of reproductive isolation in animals. As such, evolution of pheromone signaling can be linked to speciation. For example, the evolution of sex pheromones is thought to have played a major role in the diversification of moths. In the crop pests
Spodoptera littoralis
and
S. litura
, the major component of the sex pheromone blend is (
Z
,
E
)-9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate, which is lacking in other
Spodoptera
species. It indicates that a major shift occurred in their common ancestor. It has been shown recently in
S. littoralis
that this compound is detected with high specificity by an atypical pheromone receptor, named SlitOR5. Here, we studied its evolutionary history through functional characterization of receptors from different
Spodoptera
species. SlitOR5 orthologs in
S. exigua
and
S. frugiperda
exhibited a broad tuning to several pheromone compounds. We evidenced a duplication of OR5 in a common ancestor of
S. littoralis
and
S. litura
and found that in these two species, one duplicate is also broadly tuned while the other is specific to (
Z
,
E
)-9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate. By using ancestral gene resurrection, we confirmed that this narrow tuning evolved only in one of the two copies issued from the OR5 duplication. Finally, we identified eight amino acid positions in the binding pocket of these receptors whose evolution has been responsible for narrowing the response spectrum to a single ligand. The evolution of OR5 is a clear case of subfunctionalization that could have had a determinant impact in the speciation process in
Spodoptera
species.
Evolution of coronavirus frameshifting elements: Competing stem networks explain conservation and variability
Authors: Yan Shuting , Zhu Qiyao , Hohl Jenna , Dong Alex , Schlick Tamar
Published: May 2023

The frameshifting RNA element (FSE) in coronaviruses (CoVs) regulates the programmed −1 ribosomal frameshift (−1 PRF) mechanism common to many viruses. The FSE is of particular interest as a promising drug candidate. Its associated pseudoknot or stem loop structure is thought to play a large role in frameshifting and thus viral protein production. To investigate the FSE structural evolution, we use our graph theory-based methods for representing RNA secondary structures in the RNA-As-Graphs (RAG) framework to calculate conformational landscapes of viral FSEs with increasing sequence lengths for representative 10 Alpha and 13 Beta-CoVs. By following length-dependent conformational changes, we show that FSE sequences encode many possible competing stems which in turn favor certain FSE topologies, including a variety of pseudoknots, stem loops, and junctions. We explain alternative competing stems and topological FSE changes by recurring patterns of mutations. At the same time, FSE topology robustness can be understood by shifted stems within different sequence contexts and base pair coevolution. We further propose that the topology changes reflected by length-dependent conformations contribute to tuning the frameshifting efficiency. Our work provides tools to analyze virus sequence/structure correlations, explains how sequence and FSE structure have evolved for CoVs, and provides insights into potential mutations for therapeutic applications against a broad spectrum of CoV FSEs by targeting key sequence/structural transitions.
Evolutionary stability of cooperation in indirect reciprocity under noisy and private assessment
Authors: Fujimoto Yuma , Ohtsuki Hisashi
Published: May 2023

Indirect reciprocity is a mechanism that explains large-scale cooperation in humans. In indirect reciprocity, individuals use reputations to choose whether or not to cooperate with a partner and update others’ reputations. A major question is how the rules to choose their actions and the rules to update reputations evolve. In the public reputation case where all individuals share the evaluation of others, social norms called Simple Standing (SS) and Stern Judging (SJ) have been known to maintain cooperation. However, in the case of private assessment where individuals independently evaluate others, the mechanism of maintenance of cooperation is still largely unknown. This study theoretically shows for the first time that cooperation by indirect reciprocity can be evolutionarily stable under private assessment. Specifically, we find that SS can be stable, but SJ can never be. This is intuitive because SS can correct interpersonal discrepancies in reputations through its simplicity. On the other hand, SJ is too complicated to avoid an accumulation of errors, which leads to the collapse of cooperation. We conclude that moderate simplicity is a key to stable cooperation under the private assessment. Our result provides a theoretical basis for the evolution of human cooperation.