bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Uridylation regulates mRNA decay directionality in fission yeast.
Authors: Malecki Michal , Grochowski Maciej , Lipińska-Zubrycka Lidia , Brzyżek Grzegorz , Jurkovic Borna , Swieżewski Szymon , Townsend StJohn , Ralser Markus
Published: July 2023

Cytoplasmic mRNA decay is effected by exonucleolytic degradation in in either the 5' to 3' or 3' to 5' direction. Pervasive terminal uridylation is implicated in mRNA degradation, however, despite its conservation throughout eucaryotes, its functional relevance for bulk mRNA turnover remains poorly understood. In this study, we employed genome-wide 3'-RACE technique to elucidate the role of uridylation in governing mRNA decay directionality. The observed widespread uridylation of shortened poly(A) tails promotes efficient 5' to 3' mRNA decay, ensuring timely and controlled mRNA degradation. Conversely, the inhibition of this uridylation process disrupts the delicate balance, leading to excessive deadenylation and enhanced 3' to 5' mRNA decay accompanied by oligouridylation of de-adenylated mRNAs. Strikingly we found that in fission yeast uridylation of poly(A) tails and oligouridylation of non-polyadenylated substrates are catalysed by different terminal uridyltransferases. Our study sheds new light on the intricate regulatory mechanisms underlying bulk mRNA turnover, emphasizing the role of uridylation in modulating mRNA decay pathways.
The effect of health literacy, depression, and pill burden on medication nonadherence in patients with kidney disease including kidney failure requiring dialysis
Authors: Murali Karumathil M , Mullan Judy , Roodenrys Steven , Hassan Hicham I Cheikh , Lonergan Maureen
Published: July 2023

Aim To identify independent contributors to medication nonadherence in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney failure (KF) patients on dialysis.Background Medication nonadherence is common in chronic diseases, including CKD and KF patients. Identification of independent contributors may enable the development of targeted strategies to improve adherence.Methods Cross-sectional design. We assessed self-reported medication adherence (using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale), demographic factors, comorbidities, pill burden, cognitive function (using Modified mini-mental scale, Trail-making test A & B and Stroop task), health literacy (HL) (using a multi-dimensional instrument, Health Literacy Questionnaire), and depression (using Beck depression inventory 2) in a cohort of CKD and KF patients. Multivariable logistic regression (LR) models with covariates chosen from univariate analyses used to identify independent predictors of treatment nonadherence.Results Compared to CKD (N = 113) patients, KF patients on dialysis (N = 107) were significantly younger (65.3 ± 12.1 vs 68.0 ± 11.0years), had higher vascular disease burden, heavier pill burden (mean 21.8 vs 9.7 pills daily) and lower self-reported adherence. In multivariate LR analysis, nonadherence was significantly associated with younger age (OR 0.65 for older age, p = 0.002), KF status (OR 1.82, p = 0.044), lower HL relevant to patient-health care provider engagement (HLQ6) (OR 2.33, p = 0.023) and depression (OR 2.52, p = 0.008). When pill burden was included in the multivariate model, the significance of association between KF status and nonadherence became marginal (OR1.88, p = 0.084), while age, HLQ6 and depression retained significant independent association.Conclusion Medication nonadherence is significantly worse in KF patients. Strategies to improve nonadherence should target younger patients, implement strategies to enhance patient-provider engagement and address depression.
Plants used by humans have characteristics that exacerbate invasions worldwide
Authors: Guo Wen-Yong , Guo Kun , Pyšek Petr , Kleunen Mark van , Kinlock Nicole , Lučanová Magdalena , Leitch Ilia , Pierce Simon , Dawson Wayne , Essl Franz , Kreft Holger , Lenzner Bernd , Pergl Jan , Weigelt Patrick
Published: July 2023

Human assistance and species’ characteristics are among the key drivers of plant invasions, which profoundly threaten ecosystem integrity, biodiversity and human well-being. However, previous studies have typically focused on one or a few factors or a particular invasion stage (e.g., naturalization) at regional scales. Here, we employed a multilevel framework to investigate the interplay between species’ characteristics (genome size, Grime’s adaptive strategies and native range size) and economic use and how these factors collectively affect plant invasion success. While our findings highlight the substantial contribution of human assistance in driving plant invasions, we also uncover the pivotal role of species’ adaptive strategies within the hierarchical network, and the influence of a specific factor that varied significantly across different invasion stages. We further revealed that the effects of genome size on plant invasions were partially mediated by other variables we tested e.g., plants with large genomes are competitors with small native range sizes but many economic uses, which all affect invasion success. Our study provides a synthesis of the multi-factor and multi-stage process of plant invasions and a deep understanding of the key drivers of plant invasions worldwide.
Comparison of disease burden and major risk factors of early and late-onset neonatal sepsis in China and the USA, 1990-2019
Authors: Zhang Chengyue , Yu Lianfang , Pan Xiaoming , Lu Yuwei , Pan Kaiyu
Published: July 2023

Background: Neonatal sepsis has high morbidity and mortality, and there are differences between developing and developed countries in terms of its risk factors and disease burden. However, no systematic comparative analysis of this disease burden has been reported in recent years.
Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019 as a data source, we assessed the prevalence, incidence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of early and late-onset neonatal sepsis in China and the United States of America (USA). We also analyzed DALYs rates due to short gestation and low birthweight, and summary exposure value (SEV) for these two risk factors. Joinpoint regression models were applied to analyze the temporal trends in associated epidemiological indicators of neonatal sepsis.
Results: From 1990 to 2019, the incidence and prevalence of neonatal sepsis in China showed a significant upwards trend compared with the largely stable trend in the USA. DALYs due to short gestation and low birthweight for neonatal sepsis in both genders showed a decreasing trend in both countries, while years lived with disability (YLDs) in China showed a fluctuating increasing trend.
Conclusions: DALYs attributed to short gestation and low birth-weight for neonatal sepsis in both countries showed a decreasing trend, while the YLDs and SEVs of these two risks are on the rise in China. Therefore, Chinese public health policy needs to be geared towards controlling these risk factors, learning from the advanced health policy planning and perinatal management experiences of developed countries, and improving neonatal follow-up and rehabilitation interventions.
Proactive Behavior Change Techniques (ProBCTs) in Physical Activity and Healthy Eating
Authors: Schüler Julia , Bieleke Maik
Published: July 2023

Background
Extensive research has aimed to develop effective interventions for physical inactivity and unhealthy diets, but progress in behavior change techniques (BCTs) has been limited. This study introduces proactive behavior change techniques (ProBCTs) as a novel approach to the problem. By examining techniques people use naturally, without external intervention, the study explores associations, potential causes, and success in behavior change.
Methods
We translated Abraham & Michie's (2008) 26-BCT taxonomy into a ProBCT questionnaire and administered it to 504 participants via a web survey. Participants reported self-imposed goals in physical activity (PA) and healthy nutrition (NUT), along with their importance, difficulty, and progress. Physical activity and healthy eating questionnaires served as indicators of successful behavior change.
Results
Using Bayesian statistics, we found variations in the usage intensity of ProBCTs. Similarities and differences emerged between PA and NUT domains. For example, "time management" was commonly used in both, while "information seeking" was more prevalent in NUT. For some ProBCTs, weak evidence emerged for gender differences and age effects. ProBCTs formed clusters similar to BCTs, supported by Bayesian psychometric network analyses. Tests for potential preconditions and consequences of ProBCTs revealed moderate-to-strong support for positive relations with goal importance, and strong support for positive relationships of ProBCTs with behavior change. Moreover, PA was best predicted by a combination of the ProBCTs "time management" plus "detailed plans," whereas for NUT, a complex pattern of six ProBCTs was the best-fitting predictive model.
Discussion
We discuss the potential of ProBCTs for promoting physical activity and healthy eating add what is still needed to make them work efficiently.
Conclusions
The ProBCT approach can contribute to the scalability of health behaviour change strategies.
Fetal QRS Extraction from Single-channel Abdominal ECG Using Adaptive Improved Permutation Entropy
Authors: Azar Farah Torkamani , Mansourian Nastaran , Sarafan Sadaf , Ghirmai Tadesse , Cao Hung
Published: July 2023

The fetal electrocardiogram (fECG), extracted from the abdominal ECG (aECG) signal of an expectant mother, provides vital information about the fetal condition. There is an increased interest in continuous fECG monitoring during pregnancy to ensure the well-being and development of the fetus. The implementation of continuous fECG monitoring devices necessitates robust and efficient signal processing techniques for extracting the fECG from the aECG. However, existing fECG extraction algorithms are not suitable for wearables due to the requirement of multi-channel signals and/or their high computational cost. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for fetal QRS extraction from a single-channel aECG signal, which is robust and computationally less complex. The algorithm is based on a novel Permutation Entropy (PE) method we developed and referred to as the Adaptive Improved Permutation Entropy (AIPE) method. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, we utilized our own clinical data obtained from a pilot study with 10 subjects, each recording lasting 20 minutes, as well as data from the PhysioNet 2013 Challenge bank with labeled QRS complex annotations. The proposed methodology demonstrates an average positive predictive value (PPV) of 91.0227\%, sensitivity (SE) of 90.4726\%, and F1-score of 90.6525\% from the PhysioNet 2013 Challenge bank, outperforming other methods. These results indicate that our proposed algorithm is reliable and effective, making it suitable for deployment in wearable devices for continuous home-based monitoring of unborn babies.
Associations of marital quality and sexual satisfaction in women with early marriage in Iran: a descriptive-correlational study
Authors: Zolfaghary Fatemeh , Adib-Rad Hajar , Agajani-Delavar Mouolud , Bakouei Fatemeh , kazem-aslani Mahboobe
Published: July 2023

Background
Child marriage occurs partly in most regions of the world and has long been a public health concern all over the world. The current study has been designed to investigate the associations of sexual satisfaction and marital quality in women with early marriage
Methods
This descriptive-correlational study was done on 70 married women under 18–20 years. Sampling was non-random, and the sampling method was stratified multistage. The data collection tools included questionnaires on women's demographic-fertility characteristics, marital quality, sexual satisfaction, sexual self-efficacy and social support. A significance level of P < 0.05 was set for the analysis.
Results
The results of the study showed that individuals with very good sexual satisfaction and high sexual self-efficacy had a non-distress marital quality (p = < 0.001). Based on Pearson’s correlation coefficient, sexual self-efficacy, and social support were significantly and positively correlated with marital quality (r = 0.73, p < 0.001 and r = 0.55, p < 0.001, respectively), and sexual satisfaction was significantly and negatively correlated with marital quality (r=-0.65, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The findings of the present study showed that women with early marriage, high marital quality does not always ensure their favorable sexual satisfaction. Moreover, high sexual self-efficacy and social support cause favorable marital quality.
An adolescent case of ASXL3-related disorder with delayed onset of feeding difficulty
Authors: Arai Yuto , Okanishi Tohru , Okazaki Tetsuya , Awano Hiroyuki , Seyama Rie , Uchiyama Yuri , Matsumoto Naomichi , Tamasaki Akiko , Maegaki Yoshihiro
Published: July 2023

Background: ASXL3-related disorder, first described in 2013, is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant inheritance that is caused by a heterozygous loss-of-function variant in ASXL3. The most characteristic feature is neurodevelopmental delay with consistently limited speech. Feeding difficulty is a main symptom observed in infancy. However, no adolescent case has been reported.
Case presentation: A 14-year-old girl with ASXL3-related syndrome was referred to our hospital with subacute onset of emotional liability. Limbic encephalitis was ruled out by examination; however, the patient gradually showed a lack of interest in eating, with decreased diet volume. Consequently, she experienced significant weight loss. She experienced no symptoms of bulimia, or food allergy; therefore, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) was clinically suspected.
Conclusions: We reported the first case of ASXL3-related disorder with adolescent onset of feeding difficulty. ARFID was considered a cause of the feeding difficulty.
Neural network assisted high-spatial-resolution polarimetry with non-interleaved chiral metasurfaces
Authors: Li Tao , Chen Chen , Xiao Xingjian , Ye Xin , Sun Jiacheng , Ji Jitao , Yu Rongtao , Song Wange , Zhu Shining
Published: July 2023

Polarimetry plays an indispensable role in modern optics. Nevertheless, the current strategies generally suffer from bulky system volume or spatial multiplexing scheme, resulting in limited performances when dealing with inhomogeneous polarizations. Here, we propose a non-interleaved, interferometric method to analyze the polarizations based on a tri-channel chiral metasurface. A deep convolutional neural network is also incorporated to enable fast, robust and accurate polarimetry. Spatially uniform and non-uniform polarizations are both measured through the metasurface experimentally. Distinction between two semblable glasses are also demonstrated. Our strategy features the merits of compactness and high spatial resolution, and would inspire more intriguing design for detecting and sensing.
Modeling the population dynamics of Rift Valley fever virus mosquito vectors in the western Mediterranean Basin
Authors: Drouin Alex , Balenghien Thomas , Durand Benoit , Aranda Carles , Bennouna Amal , Bouattour Ali , Boubidi Said C , Conte Annamaria , Delacour Sarah , Goffredo Maria , Himmi Oumnia , L’Ambert Grégory , Schaffner Francis , Chevalier Véronique
Published: July 2023

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic vector-borne disease mainly transmitted by mosquitoes, and present in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian Ocean. The endemic situation in Mauritania, and the recent outbreaks in Libya have raised concerns about the potential spread of the virus in the Mediterranean Basin, where competent mosquitoes are present. Because vector abundance is one of the drivers of RVF virus (RVFV) transmission, knowledge on species distributions and population dynamics is needed to implement entomological surveillance and to assess the risk of viral circulation. Here, we adapted a modeling framework of mosquito population dynamics to five species considered as possible RVFV vectors in the western Mediterranean Basin (Aedes caspius, Aedes detritus, Aedes vexans, Culex pipiens and Culex theileri). The mechanistic model used a daily time step and a 0.1° x 0.1° spatial resolution and was based on meteorological data along with published vector distribution maps. We gathered mosquito trapping data from Spain, France, Italy and Morocco to calibrate the model and to evaluate its predictions. The temporal correlation between predicted abundance and observational data was satisfactory. Goodness-of-fit was better for Aedes species, thus offering the means to target the area of interest for the surveillance of Ae. caspius, a highly competent mosquito species.
Experimental Study on Failure Characteristics and Rheological Properties of Pillar-like Rock Samples with Different Shapes
Authors: GUO Wen-bing , WANG Bi-bi , TAN Yi , ZHAO Gao-bo , BAI Er-hu , GUO Ming-jie , WEN Peng , MA Zhi-bao , YANG Wei-qiang , Wu Dong-tao
Published: July 2023

The stability of coal pillar is extremely important to the control of rock strata movement and surface subsidence. It is of great significance for mining design to analyze the stability and failure characteristics of coal and rock pillars left after mining and to study the failure characteristics and rheological properties of coal and rock with different shapes. In this paper, based on uniaxial compression and rheological tests on rock samples, the rheological properties of rock samples with different shapes were discussed by using the nonlinear theoretical mechanics and damage theory, and the rheological mechanical characteristics of coarse yellow sandstone samples under the action of different free surface areas and the same loading contact area were investigated by means of experimental research, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The following conclusions were drawn: The failure characteristics and dynamic change process of rock samples with different shapes under the same loading contact area are obtained by uniaxial compression test and multi-stage rheological loading. The uniaxial compressive strengths of rock samples with the same loading contact surface area and different free surface areas are inversely proportional to their free surface areas. For the round sample, the stress level in the rheological test is obviously lower than the instantaneous peak uniaxial compression strength, while for the other samples, the stress level in the rheological test is close to the instantaneous peak uniaxial compression strength. For rock all these samples, both the ratio of steady-state rheological time to final failure time and the deformation degree decrease with the increase of free surface area.
Field Information Modeling (FIM)®: Beyond point cloud processing - The case of generative decision support for skeletal spatial structure systems
Authors: Maalek Reza , Maalek Shahrokh
Published: July 2023

This study investigated the application of point cloud processing using the Field Information Modeling (FIM)® framework for the generative redesign of existing skeletal space structure systems (SkS). Three new algorithms were proposed to (i) expand FIM® to include generative decision-support; (ii) generate as-built BIM for SkS; and (iii) modularize SkS designs with repeating patterns for optimal production and supply chain management. These algorithms incorporated a host of new AI-inspired methods, including support vector machine (SVM) for decision support; Bayesian optimization for neighborhood definition; Bayesian Gaussian mixture clustering for modularization; and Monte Carlo stochastic multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) for selection of the top Pareto front solutions obtained by the non-dominant sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA II). The algorithms were tested and validated on four real-world point cloud datasets to solve two generative modeling problems, namely, engineering design optimization and facility location optimization. It was observed that the proposed Bayesian neighborhood definition outperformed particle swarm and uniform sampling by 34% and 27%, respectively. The proposed SVM-based linear feature detection outperformed k-means and spectral clustering by 56% and 9%, respectively. Finally, the NSGA II algorithm combined with the stochastic MCDM produced diverse “top four” solutions based on project-specific criteria. The results indicate promise for future utilization of the framework to produce training datasets for generative adversarial networks that generate new designs based only on stakeholder requirements.
Clinicopathological and molecular features of non-small cell lung cancer that transform to small-cell lung cancer
Authors: Gao Qiqi , Xia Mengling , Chen Zhen , Zhang Lixin , Zhou Jie , Wu Shengjun , Chen Xinhua , Zheng Yulong
Published: July 2023

The resistance of epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been confirmed to be partially mediated by histological transformation to small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). NSCLC in patients treated with immunotherapy and chemotherapy can also transform into SCLC. However, clinicopathological features and the molecular pathogenesis of patients with transformation from NSCLC to SCLC remains unclear. Here, we analysed 14 patients in whom NSCLC transformed to SCLC after treatment in our centre, reviewed the relevant literature, and further elaborated on its features. It is suggested that C > T decreased and C > A increased after transformation and transformed SCLC originate from the major clones of the initial NSCLC. The mutation rate of p53 and RB1 in transformed small cell carcinoma was lower than that in de novo SCLC.
Research on Topology Optimization Mechanism of Cloud Native Full Link Protocol in Metaverse Scenario
Authors: Sheng Shuo
Published: July 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Approach for determining micro-strength parameters of rock based on Particle Flow Code
Authors: Miao Luli , Liu Xinrong , Fu Yan
Published: July 2023

Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been successfully utilized to model rock behavior based on Particle Flow Code (PFC), which is extensively employed in solving various problems related to rock engineering and geomechanics. Therefore, a convenient method for selecting appropriate microparameters of PFC for model generation is necessary. The present study aims to develop a novel approach that calculates proper micro-strength parameters for the Contact Bond Model (CBM). Firstly, based on Plackett–Burman (PB) design, qualitative research is conducted and it is found that the main factors that influence the Brazilian tensile strength is microscopic tensile strength. We analyzed the stress conditions of a Brazilian disc's vertical diameter using both continuum models and DEM. From this analysis, we establish a theoretical relationship between rock tensile strength and micro-strength parameters. Subsequently, a large number of numerical Brazilian tests were conducted to obtain the statistical relationship between the geometric parameters of balls, micro-strength parameters and the Brazilian tension strength. The results of the numerical simulation were then used to refine the theoretical equation mentioned above, resulting in a modified equation for rock tensile strength and micro-strength parameters. Finally, after verification, we confirm the feasibility of the method in this paper.
From the detection of monitoring anomalies to the probabilistic forecast of the evolution of volcanic unrest: an entropy-based approach
Authors: Marzocchi Warner , Sandri Laura , Ferrara Salvatore , Selva Jacopo
Published: July 2023

Owing to the current lack of plausible and exhaustive physical pre-eruptive models, often volcanologists rely on the observation of monitoring anomalies to track the evolution of volcanic unrest episodes. Taking advantage from the work made in the development of Bayesian Event Trees (BET), here we formalize an entropy-based model to translate the observation of anomalies into probability of a specific volcanic event of interest. The model is quite general and it could be used as a stand-alone eruption forecasting tool, or to set up conditional probabilities for methodologies like the BET and of the Bayesian Belief Network (BBN). The proposed model has some important features worth being remarked: i) it is rooted in a coherent logic, which gives a physical sense to the heuristic information of volcanologists in terms of entropy; ii) it is fully transparent and can be established in advance of a crisis, making the results reproducible and revisable, providing a transparent audit trail that reduces the overall degree of subjectivity in communication with civil authorities; iii) it can be embedded in a unified probabilistic framework, which provides an univocal taxonomy of different kinds of uncertainty affecting the forecast and handles these uncertainties in a formal way. Finally, for the sake of example, we apply the procedure to track the evolution of the 1982-1984 phase of unrest at Campi Flegrei.
A Lightweight Hybrid Vision Transformer Network for Radar-based Human Activity Recognition
Authors: Huan Sha , Wang Zhaoyue , Wang Xiaoqiang , Wu Limei , Yang Xiaoxuan , Huang Hongming , Dai GanE.
Published: July 2023

Radar-based human activity recognition (HAR) offers a non-contact technique with privacy protection and lighting robustness for many advanced applications. The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technology encouraged the effort to develop deep learning (DL) for radar-based HAR. These methods employ the micro-Doppler signal because of its unique correspondence with human activity characteristics. Traditional methods give insufficient consideration of the HAR network's lightweight while focusing on recognition accuracy. In this paper, an efficient network based on a lightweight hybrid Vision Transformer (LH-ViT) is proposed to address the HAR accuracy and network lightweight simultaneously. Feature Pyramid architecture is applied for the multi-scale feature extraction for the micro-Doppler map. Feature enhancement is executed by the stacked Radar-ViT subsequently, in which the fold and unfold operations are added to lower the computational load of the attention mechanism. The convolution operator in the LH-ViT is replaced by the RES-SE block, an efficient structure that combines the residual learning framework with the Squeeze-and-Excitation network. Experiments based on two human activity datasets indicate our method's advantages in terms of expressiveness and computing efficiency over traditional methods.
Effects of physical exercise interventions on cognitive function in Parkinson’s disease: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Kim Ryul , Kang Nyeonju , Lee Tae Lee , Lee Hanall , Ko Do Kyung , Lee Joon Ho , Shin Heehyun , Lim Dabin , Jun Jin-Sun , Byun Kyeongho , Park Kiwon , Jeon Beom
Published: July 2023

It remains unclear whether and how physical exercise affects cognitive function in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here, we aimed to determine whether physical exercise interventions can improve cognitive function, including overall performance and specific domains, in these patients and to provide potential evidence on how cognitive benefits can be optimized by exercise prescriptions. This systematic review and meta-analysis included 761 patients from 21 randomized controlled trials. Physical exercise interventions showed positive effects on global cognitive function (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.31 to 1.06; P < 0.001) and, to a lesser extent, executive function (SMD = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.05 to 1.83; P = 0.039). Combined exercise type, exercise interventions of light-to-moderate intensity with at least 60 min in duration, and of any frequency or period, were beneficial to the global cognitive function. These findings suggest clear cognitive benefits of physical exercise in patients with PD. At least 60 min a day of combined exercise programs on as many days of the week as feasible may be recommended as the non-pharmacological therapeutic option to improve cognitive function.
Spatial distribution, risk assessment and sources of heavy metals in roadside soils exposed to the Zhengzhou-Kaifeng intercity railway in Huanghuai Plain, China
Authors: Duan Haijing , Peng Chaoyue , Liu Yanhong , Guo Chen , Wang Yangyang , Wang Yulong
Published: July 2023

Heavy metal accumulation in soil can seriously harm human health, and it is necessary to identify the accumulation status and access the potential risks for local pollution control and sustainable economic development. This study evaluated the pollution level, spatial distribution, potential risk and sources of soil heavy metals including As, Co, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, and Cd along the Zhengzhou-Kaifeng intercity railway and compared pollution characteristics in north side soils with south side soils of the railway. A total of 260 soil samples were collected from a section along the railway, and the average concentrations of As, Co, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, and Cd were 5.54, 10.58, 63.38, 24.40, 97.85, 60.63, 26.01, and 0.36 mg∙kg−1, respectively. In practice, only the average Zn and Pb contents in soils were slightly higher than their corresponding risk screening values. The heavy metal enrichment in the north side soils was marginally lower than that in the south side soils. The spatial distribution of soil heavy metals except Pb could be mainly influenced by the different land use types. The geoaccumulation index and potential ecological risk of a single heavy metal indicated that Cd was the major contaminant with moderate pollution and high ecological risks in the south side soils and none to moderate pollution and moderate ecological risks in the north side soils. However, the mean multimetal potential ecological risk values suggested that the north side soils were at low ecological risks and the south side soils were at moderate ecological risks. The comprehensive non-carcinogenic risks and total carcinogenic risks for adults were low and acceptable, respectively. Combined Pearson correlation analysis, PCA, and APCS-MLR analyses identified that the contributions of natural sources, mixed sources of industrial and traffic activities, agricultural activities, and other sources were 57.49%, 21.44%, 12.67% and 8.40%, respectively, and the major soil pollution Cd was mainly related to mixed sources of industrial and traffic activities. Therefore, continuous soil heavy metal monitoring is essential to elucidate the long-term railway operation effect on soil heavy metal accumulation.
Encapsulated Papillary Carcinoma of the Breast Clinicopathological Features and Management: Could Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Be Exempted?
Authors: Ozcan Cumhur , Dag Ahmet , Benli Sami , Tuncel Ferah
Published: July 2023

Background
Any papillary lesion in the breast presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Encapsulated papillary carcinoma (ECP) is one of the rare types of breast cancer. Evidence-based guidelines are sparse. For this reason, there is no complete clarity in the diagnosis and treatment management, and there are not enough studies in the literature. This study aims to examine the necessity of sentinel lymph node sampling in the management of ECP in line with the patients' clinicopathological data.
Methods
We retrospectively screened with EPC in our clinic between January 2012 and March 2022. We recorded and statistically evaluated the patients' demographic, clinical, radiological, pathological, and treatment management.
Results
Sixty four EPC patients were identified. The final pathologic evaluation revealed that 19 patients (18.7%) had pure EPC, 27 patients (43.7%) had EPC with associated DCIS, and 18 patients (37.5%) had EPC associated with invasion. The mean age was 61, and 2 patients were male. Breast-conserving surgery was performed in 62 patients, and simple mastectomy was performed in 2. SLNB was found to be positive in only 1 of the patients. Sixty-three patients with EPC were hormone receptor-positive, one patient was triple negative, and they were associated with invasion. No death was in any patient; one had local recurrence, and a mastectomy was performed.
Conclusions
The overall prognosis and long-term survival of EPC is excellent. Our study and current literature indicate routine SLNB is overtreatment since surgical excision with negative margins is sufficient in EPC cases, and lymph node metastasis is rare, even with an invasive component.
Magnetically-dressed CrSBr exciton-polaritons in ultrastrong coupling regime
Authors: Ye Yu , Wang Tingting , Zhang Dingyang , Yang Shiqi , Lin Zhongchong , Chen Quan , Yang Jinbo , Gong Qihuang , Chen Zuxin , Liu Wenjing
Published: July 2023

Over the past few decades, exciton-polaritons have attracted substantial research interest due to their half-light-half-matter bosonic nature. Coupling exciton-polaritons with magnetic orders grants access to rich many-body phenomena, but has been limited by the availability of material systems that exhibit simultaneous exciton resonances and magnetic ordering. Here we report magnetically-dressed microcavity exciton-polaritons in the van der Waals antiferromagnetic (AFM) semiconductor CrSBr coupled to a Tamm plasmon microcavity. Angle-resolved spectroscopy reveals an exceptionally high exciton-photon coupling strength attaining 169 meV, demonstrating ultrastrong coupling that persists up to room temperature. Temperature-dependent exciton-polariton spectroscopy senses the magnetic order change from AFM to paramagnetic in CrSBr, confirming its magnetic nature. By applying an out-of-plane magnetic field, an effective tuning of the polariton energy is further achieved while maintaining the ultrastrong exciton-photon coupling strength, which is attributed to the spin canting process that modulates the interlayer exciton interaction. Our work proposes a hybrid quantum platform enabled by robust opto-electronic-magnetic coupling, promising for quantum interconnects and transducers.
Towards identifying key features in the classification of knee osteoarthritis – An enhanced feature fusion based deep network model
Authors: Chaugule Sushma V. , Malemath V. S.
Published: July 2023

Osteoarthritis is a gradual loss and destruction of articular cartilage, whose symptoms can be managed but not reversed. Early and accurate severity detection of Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA), from digital X-ray images is an essential need. A Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN) hinged on feature extraction and fusion, to classify is presented to grade the severity according to Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grading system. This work is taken through 4 stages; i) Autoencoder based de-noising of the X-ray images. ii) Segmentation to split the image into exhausted regions. iii) Feature extraction processes are employed to extract four types of features: region, Zernike, wavelet, and Haralick, which are further fused to enhance feature representation. iv) The outcome of the feature fusion is passed to a DCNN model that is used to cognize the knee area and classify it into appropriate severity grades. This model is trained using an Adam optimization algorithm, tested, validated experimentally concerning different evaluation metrics, and achieved testing and validation accuracies of 96.31% and 95.70% respectively. This model is based on feature extraction, enhancing feature representation, and identifying key features in the classification of KOA that outperforms all other models in detecting the severity of KOA.
Broadband polarization-sensitive metamaterial absorber based on ladder network construction in the infrared region
Authors: Liang Zhongzhu , Yu Haihong , Shi Xiaoyan , Yang Fuming , Xu Haiyang , Wu Zhe , Dai Rui , Smith David R , Liu Yichun
Published: July 2023

Plasmonic resonant and metamaterial structures allow for manipulating the polarization properties of electromagnetic waves to achieve polarization beamsplitting. Broadband polarization-sensitive metamaterial absorber based on surface plasmon polaritons has the advantages of high-energy utilization and excellent stability, which may replace traditional polarizing devices. Here, an absorber based on a ladder network construction is designed theoretically and investigated experimentally. The absorber can possess almost 92% average absorptivity for TM polarization light in 8 µm-12 µm range (experiment result: 83% from 7 µm-11 µm). It is especially sensitive to the polarization angle of incident light, and with the increase of polarization angle, the broadband absorption response can present analogously monotonous reduction. The theoretical and experiment results for TE polarization light are 12% and 25%, respectively. The broadband absorption response performs angle insensitive property under oblique incidence. The proposed metamaterial absorber open a path to realize broadband polarization-sensitive absorption based on simple nanostructure. It will possess great potential applications in high performance thermal detection and imaging fields.
Utility of a Statistical Information Separation Technique from Real World Images
Authors: Banerjee Shataneek , Ghosh Amardip , Pal Prasanta
Published: July 2023

Use cases and nuances of a recently developed information preserving, feature revealing image curation algorithm called SOCKS (Statistical Outlier Curation Kernel Software) is presented in this paper. The algorithm makes use of two robust statistical parameters: Median and Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) which are relatively insensitive to extreme fluctuations. Till date the algorithms which are used to remove unwanted information (noise) from images cause irreversible information loss. This algorithm produces two different images upon its application to any input image: the filtered (inlier) image and the outlier image which prevents irreversible loss of information on filtering an image. The algorithm demonstrated in this paper is customizable to remove outlier values up to a user defined limit from either end of the spectrum, a feature that is missing in other image filtering algorithms. The algorithm replaces only the problematic data points in the matrix which is decided based on some user defined threshold. This is contrary to traditional algorithms which replaces all data points. The algorithm causes an iterative revelation of otherwise hidden information in an image, a feature which is very unique to all image filtering techniques. It is shown that the algorithm is capable of separation of information in a given image based on scale. It is demonstrated that the algorithm aids AI algorithms like k-means clustering by making feature extraction more convenient for the algorithm. It is demonstrated that the algorithm does a good job of noise removal in an image by improving its SNR and CNR. It is clearly shown that the algorithm causes revelation of otherwise obscured features by running it on the James Webb Telescope selfie image of NASA.
Evolution of Mg transporters may explain biological effects on coral skeletal proxies in geochemistry
Authors: Bell Tomoko , Iguchi Akira , Ohno Yoshikazu , Sakai Kazuhiko , Yokoyama Yusuke
Published: July 2023

Corals have been used as geochemical proxies since the 1970's and they play prominent roles in paleoclimatology. However, it has not been well elucidated how minerals in seawater are transported and precipitated in aragonite coral skeleton. There are no foundational methods to differentiate and quantify biogenic and abiogenic effects during skeletal formation, thus it hampers corals from being fully reliable environmental proxies. In this study, we evaluated biological complexity by investigating how genes evolved over geologic time scales. Mg transporter of Acropora digitifera, Acropora hyacinthus and Acropora millepora showed high similarity to Mg transporter of vertebrates. On the other hand, Acropora palmata and Acropora tenuis did not show such a trend. The three types of corals that showed high similarity to vertebrates appeared on the earth less than one million years ago while the other two species showed ages older than three million years ago. This difference could be possibly triggered by an environmental change such as the availability of Mg ion in seawater (seawater [Mg]). Our result indicated a strong biogenic response (Mg transporter) to abiotic factors (seawater [Mg]). We suggest our approach to investigate gene evolution may guide us to identify the geochemical proxies with strong biological effects.
From Variant of Uncertain Significance to Likely Pathogenic: Report of Two Siblings with Atypical RAG2 Deficiency
Authors: Taghizadeh Nima , Mohammadi Soha , Abolhassani Hassan , Shokri Sima , Nabavi Mohammad , Fallahpour Morteza , Bemanian Mohammad Hassan
Published: July 2023

Background: Severe combined immunodeficiencies (SCIDs) are hereditary disorders characterized by impaired T and B cell function, resulting in significant immune system dysfunction. Recombination-activating gene (RAG) mutations account for a substantial proportion of SCID cases. Here, we present two sibling cases of SCID caused by a novel RAG2 gene mutation.
Case Presentation: The first case engaged a 1-year-old boy who had a history of recurring infections. Initial diagnosis of Bruton's agammaglobulinemia was revised to combined immunodeficiency (CID) after a comprehensive immunological workup. The patient underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) but succumbed to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Case 2, a four-month-old boy, presented with CMV chorioretinitis and a family history of primary immunodeficiency. Leaky SCID was diagnosed based on genetic tests and immunological findings. The patient received appropriate treatment and was considered for HSCT. Both siblings had a homozygous RAG2 gene variant, with the first case classified as a variant of uncertain significance (VUS). The presence of the same mutation in the second brother, along with the clinical phenotype, supports considering the mutation as likely pathogenic.
Conclusions: This case report highlights a novel RAG2 gene mutation associated with SCID in siblings. The classification of a VUS may evolve with accumulating evidence, and additional studies are warranted to establish its pathogenicity. Proper communication between genetic counselors and immunologists, accurate documentation of patient information, increased public awareness, and precise utilization of genetic techniques are essential for optimal patient management.
The effect of Logarithmic and power law of wind speed on ground level concentration in area sources
Authors: Essa Khaled S. M. , Mosallem Ahmed M.
Published: July 2023

Two-dimensional diffusion equation is solved analytically and numerical solutions by separation and finite difference methods respectively. Using the logarithmic and power law of wind speed to get the analytical and numerical concentrations. The results of this concentration are compared with observed concentrations of Sulphur dioxide concentration distribution over two hours period in Nashville, Tennessee USA and also, the previous work which was made before. Our predicted concentrations are found to over well agree with the observations than previous methods of integral and numerical methods using statistical method.
Sonar image segmentation framework based on semi-supervised learning
Authors: Yang Chao , Xi Wang , Jiang Longyu , Huang Jianxing
Published: July 2023

Sonar image object detection, as a special image processing task, has been facing the two problems of severe noise impact and scarce data resources. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised learning based sonar image object segmentation network (SISN). We use Mask RCNN as the base network and design a side flap noise generation module to make the model more robust to noise. In order to reduce the labeling of training samples, we introduce the concept of semi-supervised learning during the training process. We train the teacher model using a small amount of labeled data, thus generating pseudo-labels for the unlabeled samples. This is then supplemented with new data augmentation to improve the model’s resistance to sample perturbation and the prediction confidence of the pseudo-labeled data, thus optimizing the entire SISN training process. We conducted exhaustive experiments on the collected dataset, and the experimental results show that we can achieve high localization accuracy using less data for training, and show strong noise robustness on noisy samples.
The Correlation of Obesity Status with Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in US Asian Adults：NHANES 2011-2018
Authors: Qiu Linjie , Ren Yan , Ning Chunhui , Qin Lingli , Li Jixin , Li Meijie , Li Wenjie , Zhang Jin
Published: July 2023

Background: There is a correlation between obesity and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) that tends to be negative. However, this relationship varies among different races. In this study, Asian adults with and without obesity were compared in terms of their levels of 25OHD.
Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional analysis on 2664 non-Hispanic Asian adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2011 and 2018. To examine the connection between obese status, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and weight, and 25OHD, we ran multivariate linear regression models.
Results: In all three models, a negative association was observed between obesity status and 25OHD (model 1: β=-4.535, 95% CI: -6.987, -2.083; model 2 β=-4.249, 95% CI: -6.549, -2.039; model 3 β=-1.734, 95% CI: -7.285, 3.816). After controlling for covariates, there was a significant negative correlation between WC and 25OHD when stratified by gender and obesity status in both males with and without obesity (males with obesity: β=-1.461, 95% CI: -2.485, -0.436; males without obesity: β=-0.855. 95% CI: -1.499, -0.210). In males with obesity, there was a very strong positive connection between body weight and 25OHD (β=0.912, 95% CI: 0.227, 1.597). In addition, neither gender's obese individuals showed a significant link between BMI and 25OHD.
Conclusion:This study found a weak correlation between obesity and 25OHD in non-Hispanic Asian individuals. Additionally, among male obese individuals, there was a significant negative correlation between WC and 25OHD, an observation that needs to be validated in further prospective studies.
BRF1 triggers autophagy in pulp stem cells and inflamed pulp tissues
Authors: Zhou Caixia , Wu Yan , Teng Yizhen , Zhang Jian , Liu Jiarong
Published: July 2023

Objective
Nowadays post-transcriptional modifications play a key role in autophagy regulation. There is a lack of studies on dental pulp disease however. In this study we explored the effect of BRF1 on autophagy in inflamed pulp tissue and human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs).
Methods
The expressions of BRF1, autophagy and dentinogenic markers in normal and inflamed pulp were examined by immunohistochemical analysis. The presence of autophagosomes was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Then primary hDPSCs were incubated with 1 µg/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for different time periods. The expression of BRF1 and autophagy makers were evaluated by western blotting. BRF1 knockdown and 3MA treatment was applied to detect the level changes of autophagy and dentinogenic differentiation. Double immunofluorescence assessment was performed to co-localize BRF1 with LC3B in pulp tissue.
Results
The expressions of BRF1, LC3, DMP1 and DSP were remarkably increased in inflamed pulp. LPS enhanced the protein productions of IL-6, BRF1, LC3 and Beclin-1 from 6h to 24h. BRF1 knockdown reduced the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I and differentiation ability of hDPSCs, while 3MA attenuated LPS-mediated dentinogenic differentiation. Double-labeling analysis revealed co-localization of BRF1 with LC3B in inflamed pulp.
Conclusion
Our data indicated that BRF1 played a positive role in autophagy activation and might facilitate repair function during pulpitis.