bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effective fabrication of zinc-oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using Achyranthes aspera leaf extract and their potent biological activities against the bacterial poultry pathogens
Authors: Saeed Shagufta , Nawaz Sadia , Nisar Aneesa , Mehmood Tahir , Tayyab Muhammed , Nawaz Muhammad , Firyal Sehrish , Bilal Muhammad , Mohyuddin Ayesha , Ullah Azmat
Published: February 2021

Nanotechnology is one of the most significant area of research worldwide because of its tremendous applications linked to the high surface area to volume ratio, improved pharmacokinetic profile and targeted drug delivery. In the current study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were synthesized from Achyranthes aspera leaf extract, characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, FTIR, AFM and evaluated for antibacterial efficacy against poultry pathogenic bacterial strains. UV-visible absorption peak was found at 370 nm. XRD showed hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO NPs while SEM results indicated an average size less than 100 nm with a minimum and maximum size of 28.63 and 61.42 nm, respectively. Further analysis of synthesized nanoparticles by FTIR showed stretching frequency at 3393.14 cm−1, 2830.99 cm−1, 2285.23 cm−1, and 2108.78 cm−1. The antibacterial activity of synthesized nanoparticles was investigated against common poultry pathogens Salmonella gallinarum and Salmonella enteritidis by the agar well diffusion method. The zone of inhibition with a diameter of 31 mm was observed against S. enteritidis and 30 mm against S. gallinarum that was greater than the antibiotic (tetracycline) used. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 0.195 and 0.390 mg ml−1 for different bacterial strains. Characterization with different techniques showed a uniform and stable synthesis of ZnO NPs. Furthermore, the findings confirm the higher antibacterial activity of nanoconjugate in comparison to leaf extract and pure drug against pathogenic bacteria.
Progress on effects of alloying elements on bainite formation and strength and toughness of high strength steel weld metal
Authors: Zhang Tianli , Yu Hang , Li Zhuoxin , Kou Sindo , Kim Hee Jin , Tillmann Wolfgang
Published: February 2021

High-strength steel has excellent mechanical properties and develops rapidly, but the toughness of weld metal cannot be well solved, which hinders the large-scale application of high-strength steel to a certain extent. Thus it is urgent to improve the strengthening and toughening mechanism of high-strength steel weld metal and develop the corresponding welding consumables. This paper summarizes current main research methods of the influence of alloying elements on the microstructure transformation and mechanical properties, and the effects of alloying elements on the strength and toughness of high-strength steel weld metals. It briefly analyzes the influence mechanism of alloying elements on microstructure transformation and the relationship between alloy composition, microstructure transformation and mechanical properties. It is found that the multiple phase microstructure composed of bainite and acicular ferrite can make the weld metal obtain good toughness. In addition, the paper also discusses future development trend of high-strength steel welding, providing the guidance on the research and application of high-strength steel welding consumables.
Preparation of in-situ TiB2 reinforced aluminum matrix composites assisted by two steps of ultrasonic vibration
Authors: Liu Zhengcai , Zhu Tao , Jia Yiwang , Song Dongfu , Zhou Nan , Zheng Kaihong
Published: February 2021

The TiB2/Al particle reinforced composites were prepared successfully through metal-salt reaction with different process conditions (mechanical stirring, one-stage and two-stages of ultrasonic vibration). It was usually taken more than 60 min to complete metal-salt reaction under mechanical stirring condition, lots of reinforcement agglomerations and residual intermediate such as Al3Ti was in the matrix. The reaction time was greatly shortened from 60 min to 5 min and particle agglomerations were eliminated successfully by the introduction of ultrasonic vibration at 850 °C. Through the introduction of ultrasonic vibration at 730 °C, not only most of the residual Al3Ti phase was broken or dissolved, but also the size of TiB2 was refined. The composite prepared by two-stage ultrasonic vibration has the optimal improvements of yield strength and ultimate tensile strength, which increased by are 108% and 98% respectively, hardness increased 61.5%. When only introducing the first stage of UVT, the elongation decreased from 34% to 20% owning to lots of rod-like Al3Ti in the matrix, after the second stage of UVT, the elongation restored to 33%. The effects of ultrasonic vibration on phase transformation, microstructure, and mechanical properties were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD). Moreover, the effects of Orowan strengthening, thermal expansion mismatch strengthening, and grain refinement strengthening on mechanical properties were also discussed.
Dynamical evolution of cross phase of edge fluctuations and transport bifurcation
Authors: WANG Xueyun , ZHOU Zhenyu , LI Zhuoyi , LI Bo
Published: February 2021

The dynamical evolution of edge turbulence during a transport bifurcation is explored using a flux-driven nonlinear fluid model with a geometry relevant to the plasma edge region. The simulations show that the self-generated mean shear flows can dramatically modify the phase angle between turbulent fluctuations. The changes in phase differences and amplitudes of edge fluctuations give rise to the modifications of turbulent edge transport. The statistical properties of flux and fluctuations are also investigated before and after edge shear flow generation.
Modeling of the impurity-induced silicon nanocone growth by low energy helium plasma irradiation
Authors: SHI Quan , KAJITA Shin , DAI Shuyu , FENG Shuangyuan , OHNO Noriyasu
Published: February 2021

The formation mechanism of nanocone structure on silicon (Si) surface irradiated by helium plasma has been investigated by experiments and simulations. Impurity (molybdenum) aggregated as shields on Si was found to be a key factor to form a high density of nanocone in our previous study. Here to concrete this theory, a simulation work has been developed with SURO code based on the impurity concentration measurement of the nanocones by using electron dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The formation process of the nanocone from a flat surface was presented. The modeling structure under an inclining ion incident direction was in good agreement with the experimental result. Moreover, the redeposition effect was proposed as another important process of nanocone formation based on results from the comparison of the cone diameter and sputtering yield between cases with and without the redeposition effect.
Bayesian G-Computation for Estimating Impacts of Interventions on Exposure Mixtures: Demonstration With Metals From Coal-Fired Power Plants and Birth Weight
Authors: Keil Alexander P , Buckley Jessie P , Kalkbrenner Amy E
Published: February 2021

The importance of studying the health impacts of exposure mixtures is increasingly being recognized, but such research presents many methodological and interpretation difficulties. We used Bayesian g-computation to estimate effects of a simulated public health action on exposure mixtures and birth weights in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2011–2013. We linked data from birth records with census-tract–level air toxics data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxics Assessment model. We estimated the difference between observed and expected birth weights that theoretically would have followed a hypothetical intervention to reduce exposure to 6 airborne metals by decommissioning 3 coal-fired power plants in Milwaukee County prior to 2010. Using Bayesian g-computation, we estimated a 68-g (95% credible interval: 25, 135) increase in birth weight following this hypothetical intervention. This example demonstrates the utility of our approach for using observational data to evaluate and contrast possible public health actions. Additionally, Bayesian g-computation offers a flexible strategy for estimating the effects of highly correlated exposures, addressing statistical issues such as variance inflation, and addressing conceptual issues such as the lack of interpretability of independent effects.
DeepS: a web server for image optical sectioning and super resolution microscopy based on a deep learning framework
Authors: Zhu Qingjie , Shao Yi , Wang Zhicheng , Chen Xingjun , Li Chunqiong , Liang Zihan , Jia Mingyue , Guo Qingchun , Zhao Hu , Kong Lei , Zhang Li
Published: February 2021

Motivation

Microscopy technology plays important roles in many biological research fields. Solvent-cleared brain high-resolution (HR) 3D image reconstruction is an important microscopy application. However, 3D microscopy image generation is time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, we have developed a deep learning framework (DeepS) for both image optical sectioning and super resolution microscopy.

Results

Using DeepS to perform super resolution solvent-cleared mouse brain microscopy 3D image yields improved performance in comparison with the standard image processing workflow. We have also developed a web server to allow online usage of DeepS. Users can train their own models with only one pair of training images using the transfer learning function of the web server.

Availabilityand implementation

http://deeps.cibr.ac.cn.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Taking others into account: combining directly experienced and indirect information in schizophrenia
Authors: Simonsen Arndis , Fusaroli Riccardo , Petersen Malte Lau , Vermillet Arnault-Quentin , Bliksted Vibeke , Mors Ole , Roepstorff Andreas , Campbell-Meiklejohn Daniel
Published: February 2021

An abnormality in inference, resulting in distorted internal models of the world, has been argued to be a common mechanism underlying the heterogeneous psychopathology in schizophrenia. However, findings have been mixed as to wherein the abnormality lies and have typically failed to find convincing relations to symptoms. The limited and inconsistent findings may have been due to methodological limitations of the experimental design, such as conflating other factors (e.g. comprehension) with the inferential process of interest, and a failure to adequately assess and model the key aspects of the inferential process. Here, we investigated probabilistic inference based on multiple sources of information using a new digital version of the beads task, framed in a social context. Thirty-five patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder with a wide range of symptoms and 40 matched healthy control subjects performed the task, where they guessed the colour of the next marble drawn from a jar based on a sample from the jar as well as the choices and the expressed confidence of four people, each with their own independent sample (which was hidden from participant view). We relied on theoretically motivated computational models to assess which model best captured the inferential process and investigated whether it could serve as a mechanistic model for both psychotic and negative symptoms. We found that ‘circular inference’ best described the inference process, where patients over-weighed and overcounted direct experience and under-weighed information from others. Crucially, overcounting of direct experience was uniquely associated with most psychotic and negative symptoms. In addition, patients with worse social cognitive function had more difficulties using others’ confidence to inform their choices. This difficulty was related to worse real-world functioning. The findings could not be easily ascribed to differences in working memory, executive function, intelligence or antipsychotic medication. These results suggest hallucinations, delusions and negative symptoms could stem from a common underlying abnormality in inference, where directly experienced information is assigned an unreasonable weight and taken into account multiple times. By this, even unreliable first-hand experiences may gain disproportionate significance. The effect could lead to false perceptions (hallucinations), false beliefs (delusions) and deviant social behaviour (e.g. loss of interest in others, bizarre and inappropriate behaviour). This may be particularly problematic for patients with social cognitive deficits, as they may fail to make use of corrective information from others, ultimately leading to worse social functioning.
Distinct Regionalization Patterns of Cortical Morphology are Associated with Cognitive Performance Across Different Domains
Authors: Palmer C E , Zhao W , Loughnan R , Zou J , Fan C C , Thompson W K , Dale A M , Jernigan T L
Published: February 2021

Cognitive performance in children is predictive of academic and social outcomes; therefore, understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying individual differences in cognition during development may be important for improving quality of life. The belief that a single, psychological construct underlies many cognitive processes is pervasive throughout society. However, it is unclear if there is a consistent neural substrate underlying many cognitive processes. Here, we show that a distributed configuration of cortical surface area and apparent thickness, when controlling for global imaging measures, is differentially associated with cognitive performance on different types of tasks in a large sample (N = 10 145) of 9–11-year-old children from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive DevelopmentSM (ABCD) study. The minimal overlap in these regionalization patterns of association has implications for competing theories about developing intellectual functions. Surprisingly, not controlling for sociodemographic factors increased the similarity between these regionalization patterns. This highlights the importance of understanding the shared variance between sociodemographic factors, cognition and brain structure, particularly with a population-based sample such as ABCD.
Supplementary and Premotor Aspects of the Corticospinal Tract Show Links with Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in Middle-Aged Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Hau Janice , S Kohli Jiwandeep , Shryock Ian , Kinnear Mikaela K , Schadler Adam , Müller Ralph-Axel , Carper Ruth A
Published: February 2021

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show motor impairment into adulthood and risk decline during aging, but little is known about brain changes in aging adults with ASD. Few studies of ASD have directly examined the corticospinal tract (CST)—the major descending pathway in the brain responsible for voluntary motor behavior—outside its primary motor (M1) connections. In 26 middle-aged adults with ASD and 26 age-matched typical comparison participants, we used diffusion imaging to examine the microstructure and volume of CST projections from M1, dorsal premotor (PMd), supplementary motor area (SMA), and primary somatosensory (S1) cortices with respect to age. We also examined relationships between each CST sub-tract (-cst), motor skills, and autism symptoms. We detected no significant group or age-related differences in tracts extending from M1 or other areas. However, sub-tracts of the CST extending from secondary (but not primary) motor areas were associated with core autism traits. Increased microstructural integrity of left PMd-cst and SMA-cst were associated with less-severe restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB) in the ASD group. These findings suggest that secondary motor cortical areas, known to be involved in selecting motor programs, may be implicated in cognitive motor processes underlying RRB in ASD.
The evolutionary biology of endometriosis
Authors: Dinsdale Natalie , Nepomnaschy Pablo , Crespi Bernard
Published: February 2021

We provide the first analysis and synthesis of the evolutionary and mechanistic bases for risk of endometriosis in humans, structured around Niko Tinbergen's four questions about phenotypes: phylogenetic history, development, mechanism and adaptive significance. Endometriosis, which is characterized by the proliferation of endometrial tissue outside of the uterus, has its phylogenetic roots in the evolution of three causally linked traits: (1) highly invasive placentation, (2) spontaneous rather than implantation-driven endometrial decidualization and (3) frequent extensive estrogen-driven endometrial proliferation and inflammation, followed by heavy menstrual bleeding. Endometriosis is potentiated by these traits and appears to be driven, proximately, by relatively low levels of prenatal and postnatal testosterone. Testosterone affects the developing hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian (HPO) axis, and at low levels, it can result in an altered trajectory of reproductive and physiological phenotypes that in extreme cases can mediate the symptoms of endometriosis. Polycystic ovary syndrome, by contrast, is known from previous work to be caused primarily by high prenatal and postnatal testosterone, and it demonstrates a set of phenotypes opposite to those found in endometriosis. The hypothesis that endometriosis risk is driven by low prenatal testosterone, and involves extreme expression of some reproductive phenotypes, is supported by a suite of evidence from genetics, development, endocrinology, morphology and life history. The hypothesis also provides insights into why these two diametric, fitness-reducing disorders are maintained at such high frequencies in human populations. Finally, the hypotheses described and evaluated here lead to numerous testable predictions and have direct implications for the treatment and study of endometriosis.

Lay summary: Endometriosis is caused by endometrial tissue outside of the uterus. We explain why and how humans are vulnerable to this disease, and new perspectives on understanding and treating it. Endometriosis shows evidence of being caused in part by relatively low testosterone during fetal development, that ‘programs’ female reproductive development. By contrast, polycystic ovary syndrome is associated with relatively high testosterone in prenatal development. These two disorders can thus be seen as ‘opposite’ to one another in their major causes and correlates. Important new insights regarding diagnosis, study and treatment of endometriosis follow from these considerations.
Detecting moonquakes using convolutional neural networks, a non-local training set, and transfer learning
Authors: Civilini F , Weber R C , Jiang Z , Phillips D , Pan W David
Published: February 2021

The costly power requirements of delivering seismic data back to Earth from planetary missions requires the development of algorithms for lander-side signal analysis for telemetry prioritization. This is difficult to explicitly program, especially if no prior seismic data are available from the planetary body. Deep learning computer vision has been used to generalize seismic signals on Earth for earthquake early warning problems but such techniques have not yet been expanded to planetary science. We demonstrate that Convolutional Neural Networks can be used to accurately catalogue planetary seismicity without local training data by building binary noise/signal classifiers from a single Earth seismic station and applying the models to moonquakes from the Apollo Passive Seismic Experiment (PSE) and the Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment (LSPE). In order to promote generality and reduce the amount of training data, the algorithms use spectral images instead of time-series. Two- to five-layer convolution models are tested against a subset of 200 Grade-A events from the PSE and obtained station accuracy averages of 89–96 per cent. As the model was applied to an hour trace of data (30 min before and after the Grade-A event), additional detections besides the Grade-A event are unavoidable. In order to comprehensively address algorithm accuracy, additional seismic detections corresponding to valid signals such as other moonquakes or multiples within a particularly long event needed to be compared with those caused by algorithm error or instrument glitches. We developed an ‘extra-arrival accuracy’ metric to quantify how many of the additional detections were due to valid seismic events and used it to select the three-layer model as the best fit. The three-layer model was applied to the entire LSPE record and matched the lunar day–night cycle driving thermal moonquake generation with fewer false detections than a recent study using Hidden Markov Models. We anticipate that these methods for lander-side signal detection can be easily expanded to non-seismological data and may provide even stronger results when supplemented with synthetic training data.
Information, control and health promotion in the Brazilian context of the pandemic
Authors: Franceschini Maria Cristina Trousdell , Agrela de Andrade Elisabete , Mendes Rosilda , Akerman Marco , Roque Andrade Douglas , Madalena de Campos Lico Fatima
Published: February 2021

This article discusses how preventive and promotional discourses have been incorporated by the Brazilian population in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. It analyzes materials posted on the internet and social after the first case of COVID 19-related death in Brazil that are related health promotion and COVID-19 aimed at orienting society’s response to the pandemic. The analysis considers two key factors: the mismanagement of the pandemic by the Brazilian government and infodemic. There is complex use of scientific information with recommendations that focus on what people should do (intervention) and in transforming individuals’ behaviors, based on an ideal model of healthy behaviors. Narratives aimed to delegate to the population and specific groups the task of taking care of themselves have been reinforced, removing from the State the responsibility to offer conditions for the population to address the situation. There is a sophistication of strategies that blame individual practices, personal organization and that are disconnected from the collective, especially for those who live in situation of extreme vulnerability. Concomitantly, there are also discourses based on notions of solidarity and renewed social connections, which are empowering and consistent with the practice of health promotion as it attributes meanings to the subjects and their ways of life. We conclude that greatest advocacy in the field of health promotion at this moment is political and could be directed toward reaffirming health promotion principles, supporting permanent mobilization against setbacks in the public sphere and defending a new, democratic, inclusive and collective vision of society.
Human Rights Protections in Drawing Inferences from Criminal Suspects’ Silence
Authors: Daly Yvonne , Pivaty Anna , Marchesi Diletta , ter Vrugt Peggy
Published: February 2021

This article sheds comparative and contextual light on European and international human rights debates around the privilege against self-incrimination and the right to silence. It does so through an examination of adverse inferences from criminal suspect’s silence in three European jurisdictions with differing procedural traditions: Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. The article highlights the manner in which adverse inferences have come to be drawn at trial in the three jurisdictions, despite the existence of both European and domestic legal protections for the right to silence. It also explores differing approaches to the practical operation of inference-drawing procedures, including threshold requirements, varying evidential uses of silence and procedural safeguards. The authors argue that human rights’ standard-setting institutions ought to provide clarity on the conditions under which adverse inferences may be tolerated, including the purpose(s) for which inferences may be used, and the necessary surrounding safeguards.
Community spread and acquisition of clinically relevant Escherichia coli harbouring blaNDM among healthy Japanese residents of Yangon, Myanmar
Authors: Sugawara Yo , Hagiya Hideharu , Akeda Yukihiro , Takeuchi Dan , Sakamoto Noriko , Matsumoto Yuki , Motooka Daisuke , Nishi Isao , Tomono Kazunori , Hamada Shigeyuki
Published: February 2021

Background

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are spreading in hospitals, environment and retail foods in Yangon, Myanmar.

Objectives

To investigate whether CPE colonize healthy individuals living in Yangon and whether clinical-related strains are spreading in the community.

Methods

CPE was isolated from faecal samples obtained from healthy Japanese residents of Yangon with no history of hospitalization. Isolates were subjected to WGS using short- and long-read sequencers and compared with those previously isolated in Yangon.

Results

Six Escherichia coli strains harbouring blaNDM-1 or blaNDM-5 belonging to five different STs—ST10, ST38, ST48, ST410 and ST8453—were isolated from 69 volunteers. The ST38 isolates were related to those previously isolated from retail food in Yangon. The ST410 and ST8453 isolates were highly related to previous Yangon isolates including those of clinical and food origins.

Conclusions

The analysis suggested the acquisition of blaNDM-positive E. coli, which are disseminating in a clinical setting and through retail foods, by healthy residents in Yangon.
Employees balance and stability as key points in organizational performance
Authors: Neves José , Maia Nuno , Marreiros Goreti , Neves Mariana , Fernandes Ana , Ribeiro Jorge , Araújo Isabel , Araújo Nuno , Ávidos Liliana , Ferraz Filipa , Capita António , Lori Nicolás , Alves Victor , Vicente Henrique
Published: February 2021

System analyses deal with interrelationships between different variables that keep the system in balance. In many analysis of complex thinking, a system is viewed as a complex unit in which the ‘whole’ is not reduced to the ‘sum’ of its parts; the system becomes an ambiguous item because it consists of several entities that interact with unforeseen results or, in other words, it is situated at a transdisciplinary level, it is impossible for an area to have a complete reading of its complexity. It was also mentioned that the concept of the open system best describes complexity by stating that ‘the laws of the organization are not equilibrium, but an imbalance that is restored or compensated for by stabilized dynamics’. This idea originated from the field of thermodynamics and the second law, in which the imbalance that it maintains allows the system for an apparent balance. This fragile steady state has something of a paradox, since the structures remain the same, but their constituents are changeable. The concept of open system undoes the door to a theory of evolution that can only derive from the interactions between a system and its ecosystem. Within this systemic approach, the focus of the analysis takes into account the ambiguity, multidisciplinary and complexity associated with system adjustment, i.e. it is intended to qualify an employee job based on their experience and knowledge as a measure of their impact on the organization performance.
Activation modes in biocatalytic radical cyclization reactions
Authors: Ye Yuxuan , Fu Haigen , Hyster Todd K
Published: February 2021

Radical cyclizations are essential reactions in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and the chemical synthesis of societally valuable molecules. In this review, we highlight the general mechanisms utilized in biocatalytic radical cyclizations. We specifically highlight cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) involved in the biosynthesis of mycocyclosin and vancomycin, nonheme iron- and α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases (Fe/αKGDs) used in the biosynthesis of kainic acid, scopolamine, and isopenicillin N, and radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes that facilitate the biosynthesis of oxetanocin A, menaquinone, and F420. Beyond natural mechanisms, we also examine repurposed flavin-dependent “ene”-reductases (ERED) for non-natural radical cyclization. Overall, these general mechanisms underscore the opportunity for enzymes to augment and enhance the synthesis of complex molecules using radical mechanisms.
PenA, a penicillin-binding protein-type thioesterase specialized for small peptide cyclization
Authors: Matsuda Kenichi , Fujita Kei , Wakimoto Toshiyuki
Published: February 2021

Penicillin-binding protein-type thioesterases (PBP-type TEs) are a recently identified group of peptide cyclases that catalyze head-to-tail macrolactamization of nonribosomal peptides. PenA, a new member of this group, is involved in the biosyntheses of cyclic pentapeptides. In this study, we demonstrated the enzymatic activity of PenA in vitro, and analyzed its substrate scope with a series of synthetic substrates. A comparison of the reaction profiles between PenA and SurE, a representative PBP-type TE, showed that PenA is more specialized for small peptide cyclization. A computational model provided a possible structural rationale for the altered specificity for substrate chain lengths.
Large-scale reconstruction of chromatin structures of maize temperate and tropical inbred lines
Authors: Tian Lei , Ku Lixia , Yuan Zan , Wang Cuiling , Su Huihui , Wang Shunxi , Song Xiaoheng , Dou Dandan , Ren Zhenzhen , Lai Jinsheng , Liu Tao , Du Chunguang , Chen Yanhui
Published: February 2021

Maize is a model plant species often used for genetics and genomics research because of its genetic diversity. There are prominent morphological, genetic, and epigenetic variations between tropical and temperate maize lines. However, the genome-wide chromatin conformations of these two maize types remain unexplored. We applied a Hi-C approach to compare the genome-wide chromatin interactions between temperate inbred line D132 and tropical line CML288. A reconstructed maize three-dimensional genome model revealed the spatial segregation of the global A and B compartments. The A compartments contain enriched genes and active epigenome marks, whereas the B compartments are gene-poor, transcriptionally silent chromatin regions. Whole-genome analyses indicated that the global A compartment content of CML288 was 3.12% lower than that of D132. Additionally, global and A/B sub-compartments were associated with differential gene expression and epigenetic changes between two inbred lines. About 25.3% of topologically associating domains (TADs) were determined to be associated with complex domain-level modifications that induced transcriptional changes, indicative of a large-scale reorganization of chromatin structures between the inbred maize lines. Furthermore, differences in chromatin interactions between the two lines correlated with epigenetic changes. These findings provide a solid foundation for the wider plant community to further investigate the genome-wide chromatin structures in other plant species.
Spatiotemporal and Kinematic Comparisons Between Anthropometrically Paired Male and Female Soldiers While Walking With Heavy Loads
Authors: Bode Victoria G , Frykman Peter N , Smith Nathaniel I , Fellin Rebecca E , Seay Joseph F
Published: February 2021

Introduction

Limited work comparing the effect of heavier carried loads (greater than 30 kg) between men and women has attributed observed differences to sex with the possibility that anthropometric differences may have contributed to those discrepancies. With the recent decision permitting women to enter Combat Arms roles, knowledge of sex-based differences in gait response to load carriage is more operationally relevant, as military loads are absolute and not relative to body weight. The purpose of this study was to describe differences in gait parameters at light to heavy loads between anthropometrically similar male and female soldiers.

Materials and Methods

Eight female and 8 male soldiers, frequency-matched (1-to-1) on height (±0.54 cm) and mass (±0.52 kg), walked at 1.34 m∙s−1 for 10-min bouts on a level treadmill while unloaded (BM) and then carrying randomized vest-borne loads of 15, 35, and 55 kg. Spatiotemporal and kinematic data were collected for 30 s after 5 min. Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted to compare the gait parameter variables between sexes at each load.

Results

As load increased, overall, the percent double support increased, step frequency increased, stride length decreased, hip and ankle range of motion (ROM) increased, and vertical center of mass (COM) displacement increased. Sex-based significant differences were observed in knee ROM and mediolateral COM displacement. Among the male participants, knee ROM increased significantly for all loads greater than BM. For mediolateral COM displacement, male remained constant as load increased, whereas female values decreased between BM and 35 kg.

Conclusions

Spatiotemporal and kinematic differences in gait parameters were primarily because of increases in load magnitude. The observed sex-related differences with increasing loads suggest that women may require a more stable gait to support the additional load carried.
Radiation hydrodynamical self-similar funnel jets
Authors: Fukue J
Published: February 2021

Two-dimensional funnel flows driven by radiation pressure in the conical funnel formed by the critical accretion disc are examined using the self-similar treatment. The flow is assumed to be steady and axisymmetric, and other forces such as viscosity and magnetic fields are ignored. For various boundary conditions on the funnel wall at the disc surface, the self-similar solutions are found to be classified into three types: funnel-filled solutions, where the flow gas fills the whole region of the funnel; polar-hollow ones, where there appears a cavity around the polar axis, and unphysical ones in a sense that, e.g. the radiation energy density becomes negative. For the physically reasonable solutions, the flow gas generally concentrates to the funnel wall, and the flow density and the radiation energy density monotonically decrease from the funnel wall towards the polar axis, while the radial flux becomes negative near the polar axis. The vertical velocity increases towards the polar axis, while the vertical flux has often the maximum between the polar axis and the funnel wall. As a result, the present self-similar funnel jets are such a flow with a slow dense outer part and a fast rarefied inner part.
A new ionization network and radiation transport module in pluto
Authors: Sarkar Kartick C , Sternberg Amiel , Gnat Orly
Published: February 2021

We introduce a new general-purpose time-dependent ionization network (IN) and a radiation transport (RT) module for the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code pluto. Our IN is reliable for temperatures ranging from 5 × 103 to 3 × 108 K and includes all ionization states of H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Fe, making it suitable for studying a variety of astrophysical scenarios. Radiation loss for each ion–electron pair is calculated using cloudy-17 data on the fly. Photoionization and charge exchange are the main processes contributing to chemical heating. The IN is fully coupled to the RT module over a large range of opacities at different frequencies. The RT module employs a method of short characteristics assuming spherical symmetry. The radiation module requires the assumption of spherical symmetry, while the IN is compatible with full 3D. We also include a simple prescription for dust opacity, grain destruction, and the dust contribution to radiation pressure. We present numerical tests to show the reliability and limitations of the new modules. We also present a post-processing tool to calculate projected column densities and emission spectra.
Estimation of the modulation level of cosmic rays at high energies
Authors: Bobik Pavol , Putis M , Kolesnyk Y L , Shakhov B A
Published: February 2021

In this article, we focus on the modulation of cosmic rays at high energies. The aim is to determine the limits of the ability of the heliosphere to modulate the intensities of cosmic rays in the inner heliosphere. We address the following questions: how large is the variation in cosmic rays intensities at high energies, i.e. close to 50, 100, and 200 GeV and above? What is the maximum energy at which modulation effects can be measured near the Earth? Specifically, we look at the magnitudes of the variation in cosmic rays intensity at 1 au over the period 1990–2012, at high energies. Attention is paid to energies of around 50, 100, and 150 GeV, where we can expect experimental results within the next decade.
Regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress and trophectoderm lineage specification by the mevalonate pathway in the mouse preimplantation embryo
Authors: Marikawa Yusuke , Menor Mark , Deng Youping , Alarcon Vernadeth B
Published: February 2021

Early embryos are vulnerable to environmental insults, such as medications taken by the mother. Due to increasing prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, more women of childbearing potential are taking cholesterol-lowering medications called statins. Previously, we showed that inhibition of the mevalonate pathway by statins impaired mouse preimplantation development, by modulating HIPPO signaling, a key regulator for trophectoderm (TE) lineage specification. Here, we further evaluated molecular events that are altered by mevalonate pathway inhibition during the timeframe of morphogenesis and cell lineage specification. Whole transcriptome analysis revealed that statin treatment dysregulated gene expression underlying multiple processes, including cholesterol biosynthesis, HIPPO signaling, cell lineage specification and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. We explored mechanisms that link the mevalonate pathway to ER stress, because of its potential impact on embryonic health and development. Upregulation of ER stress-responsive genes was inhibited when statin-treated embryos were supplemented with the mevalonate pathway product, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP). Inhibition of geranylgeranylation was sufficient to upregulate ER stress-responsive genes. However, ER stress-responsive genes were not upregulated by inhibition of ras homolog family member A (RHOA), a geranylgeranylation target, although it interfered with TE specification and blastocyst cavity formation. In contrast, inhibition of Rac family small GTPase 1 (RAC1), another geranylgeranylation target, upregulated ER stress-responsive genes, while it did not impair TE specification or cavity formation. Thus, our study suggests that the mevalonate pathway regulates cellular homeostasis (ER stress repression) and differentiation (TE lineage specification) in preimplantation embryos through GGPP-dependent activation of two distinct small GTPases, RAC1 and RHOA, respectively. Translation of the findings to human embryos and clinical settings requires further investigations.
Methylation-directed acetylation of histone H3 regulates developmental sensitivity to histone deacetylase inhibition
Authors: Huang Li-Yao , Hsu Duen-Wei , Pears Catherine J
Published: February 2021

Hydroxamate-based lysine deacetylase inhibitors (KDACis) are approved for clinical use against certain cancers. However, intrinsic and acquired resistance presents a major problem. Treatment of cells with hydroxamates such as trichostatin A (TSA) leads to rapid preferential acetylation of histone H3 already trimethylated on lysine 4 (H3K4me3), although the importance of this H3K4me3-directed acetylation in the biological consequences of KDACi treatment is not known. We address this utilizing Dictyostelium discoideum strains lacking H3K4me3 due to disruption of the gene encoding the Set1 methyltransferase or mutations in endogenous H3 genes. Loss of H3K4me3 confers resistance to TSA-induced developmental inhibition and delays accumulation of H3K9Ac and H3K14Ac. H3K4me3-directed H3Ac is mediated by Sgf29, a subunit of the SAGA acetyltransferase complex that interacts with H3K4me3 via a tandem tudor domain (TTD). We identify an Sgf29 orthologue in Dictyostelium with a TTD that specifically recognizes the H3K4me3 modification. Disruption of the gene encoding Sgf29 delays accumulation of H3K9Ac and abrogates H3K4me3-directed H3Ac. Either loss or overexpression of Sgf29 confers developmental resistance to TSA. Our results demonstrate that rapid acetylation of H3K4me3 histones regulates developmental sensitivity to TSA. Levels of H3K4me3 or Sgf29 will provide useful biomarkers for sensitivity to this class of chemotherapeutic drug.
MKRN3-mediated ubiquitination of Poly(A)-binding proteins modulates the stability and translation of GNRH1 mRNA in mammalian puberty
Authors: Li Chuanyin , Han Tianting , Li Qingrun , Zhang Menghuan , Guo Rong , Yang Yun , Lu Wenli , Li Zhengwei , Peng Chao , Wu Ping , Tian Xiaoxu , Wang Qinqin , Wang Yuexiang , Zhou Vincent , Han Ziyan , Li Hecheng , Wang Feng , Hu Ronggui
Published: February 2021

The family of Poly(A)-binding proteins (PABPs) regulates the stability and translation of messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Here we reported that the three members of PABPs, including PABPC1, PABPC3 and PABPC4, were identified as novel substrates for MKRN3, whose deletion or loss-of-function mutations were genetically associated with human central precocious puberty (CPP). MKRN3-mediated ubiquitination was found to attenuate the binding of PABPs to the poly(A) tails of mRNA, which led to shortened poly(A) tail-length of GNRH1 mRNA and compromised the formation of translation initiation complex (TIC). Recently, we have shown that MKRN3 epigenetically regulates the transcription of GNRH1 through conjugating poly-Ub chains onto methyl-DNA bind protein 3 (MBD3). Therefore, MKRN3-mediated ubiquitin signalling could control both transcriptional and post-transcriptional switches of mammalian puberty initiation. While identifying MKRN3 as a novel tissue-specific translational regulator, our work also provided new mechanistic insights into the etiology of MKRN3 dysfunction-associated human CPP.
Gender interactions on Twitter and medical education: how is nephrology doing?
Authors: Madariaga Hector M , Sieberg Christine B , Vela Xavier , Kwon Katherine , Lerma Edgar V , Desai Tejas
Published: February 2021

Gender inequities negatively impact productivity and career advancement for women. Social media platforms like Twitter can be used to achieve greater parity and address underrepresentation by providing a medium for education, research and mentorship, however, it is unknown how it may contribute to gender inequity. Our aim was to examine gender interactions during a nephrology medical conference.
After the Pandemic: New Responsibilities
Authors: Levy Neil , Savulescu Julian
Published: February 2021

Seasonal influenza kills many hundreds of thousands of people every year. We argue that the current pandemic has lessons we should learn concerning how we should respond to it. Our response to the COVID-19 not only provides us with tools for confronting influenza; it also changes our sense of what is possible. The recognition of how dramatic policy responses to COVID-19 were and how widespread their general acceptance has been allowed us to imagine new and more sweeping responses to influenza. In fact, we not only can grasp how we can reduce its toll; this new knowledge entails new responsibilities to do so. We outline a range of potential interventions to alter social norms and to change structures to reduce influenza transmission, and consider ethical objections to our proposals.
Sensitive Questions in Surveys
Authors: Ehler Ingmar , Wolter Felix , Junkermann Justus
Published: February 2021

In research on sensitive questions in surveys, the item count technique (ICT) has gained increased attention in recent years as a means of counteracting the problem of misreporting, that is, the under- and over-reporting of socially undesirable and socially desirable behaviors or attitudes. The performance of ICT compared with conventional direct questioning (DQ) has been investigated in numerous experimental studies, yielding mixed evidence. This calls for a systematic review.

For this purpose, the present article reports results from a comprehensive meta-analysis of experimental studies comparing ICT estimates of sensitive items to those obtained via DQ. In total, 89 research articles with 124 distinct samples and 303 effect estimates are analyzed. All studies rely on the “more (less) is better” assumption, meaning that higher (lower) estimates of negatively (positively) connoted traits or behaviors are considered more valid.

The results show (1) a significantly positive pooled effect of ICT on the validity of survey responses compared with DQ; (2) a pronounced heterogeneity in study results, indicating uncertainty that ICT would work as intended in future studies; and (3) as meta-regression models indicate, the design and characteristics of studies, items, and ICT procedures affect the success of ICT. There is no evidence for an overestimation of the effect due to publication bias.

Our conclusions are that ICT is generally a viable method for measuring sensitive topics in survey studies, but its reliability has to be improved to ensure a more stable performance.
Predictors of attitudes and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines in Western countries: a rapid review of the emerging literature
Authors: Moran Chelsea , Campbell David J T , Campbell Tavis S , Roach Pamela , Bourassa Lyne , Collins Zoe , Stasiewicz Marysia , McLane Patrick
Published: February 2021

Background

Physical distancing, wearing face masks and hand hygiene are evidence-based methods to protect the public from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. There has been a proliferation of research examining characteristics that can be targeted by public health interventions. This rapid review sought to identify predictors of attitudes toward and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines, and identify interventions aiming to improve adherence.

Methods

Articles were retrieved from multiple databases (e.g. MEDLINE, CINAHL and medRxiv) on 6 August 2020. Studies were limited to samples collected from Western countries. Studies were classified according to the types of factor (s) examined as independent variables. The consistency of evidence for each factor was scored by two reviewers.

Results

In total, 1323 unique articles were identified in the initial search, resulting in 29 studies in the final synthesis. The available evidence suggests individuals who are older, identify as women, trust governments, perceive COVID-19 as threatening and access information through traditional news media are more likely to adhere with COVID-19 public health guidelines. Interventions for improving adherence have not yet been investigated thoroughly, and this review identified only three experimental studies.

Conclusions

This review has identified several characteristics that impact attitudes and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines.