bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early administration of postoperative BCAA-enriched PPN may improve lean body mass loss in gastric cancer patients undergoing gastrectomy
Authors: Sakuraya Mikiko , Yamashita Keishi , Honda Michitaka , Niihara Masahiro , Chuman Motohiro , Washio Marie , Hosoda Kei , Naitoh Takeshi , Kumamoto Yusuke , Hiki Naoki
Published: August 2023

Background

It has been reported that weight loss or lean body mass (LBM) loss after gastrectomy for gastric cancer is associated with prognosis and nutritional support alone is insufficient to prevent LBM loss. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) play an important role in muscle catabolism, however their clinical effects on suppression of LBM loss in gastric cancer patients undergoing gastrectomy remains elusive. In this current study, we investigated the effect of our original PPN regimen including BCAA (designated to BCAA-regimen) on LBM loss.

Methods

We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) at a single institution where patients undergoing gastrectomy were assigned to either receive a five-day early postoperative course of the BCAA-regimen (BCAA group) or conventional nutrition. The primary endpoint was the % reduction in LBM at postoperative day 7. The secondary endpoints included the % reduction in LBM at 1 and 3 months postsurgery.

Results

At postoperative day 7, LBM loss in the BCAA group tended to be lower than in the control group (0.16% vs. 1.7%, respectively; P = 0.21), while at 1 month postsurgery, LBM loss in the BCAA group was significantly different to that of the control group (− 0.3% vs. 4.5%, respectively; P = 0.04). At 3 months postgastrectomy, however, LBM loss was similar between the BCAA and the control groups.

Conclusion

Our RCT clinical trial clarified that early administration of the postoperative BCAA regimen improved LBM loss at 1 month after surgery in gastric cancer patients undergoing gastrectomy.
Intra- and inter-session reliability of electrical detection and pain thresholds of cutaneous and muscle primary afferents in the lower back of healthy individuals
Authors: Streuli Daniel , Nyirö Luana , Rosner Jan , Schilder Andreas , Csato Miklos , Schweinhardt Petra
Published: August 2023

To advance evidence-based practice and targeted treatments of low back pain (LBP), a better pathophysiological understanding and reliable outcome measures are required. The processing of nociceptive information from deeper somatic structures (e.g., muscle, fascia) might play an essential role in the pathophysiology of LBP. In this study, we measured the intra- and inter-session reliability of electrical detection and pain thresholds of cutaneous and muscle primary afferents of the lower back. Twenty healthy participants attended two study visits separated by 27.7 ± 1.7 days. To determine the location-specific electrical detection threshold (EDT) and pain threshold (EPT), needle electrodes were inserted in the epidermal layer over, and in the lumbar erector spinae muscle. Additionally, established quantitative sensory testing (QST) parameters were assessed. Reliability was determined by differences between measurements, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1), Bland–Altman plots, and standard error of measurement (SEM). Correspondence between QST parameters and electrical thresholds was assessed using Pearson’s correlation. Except for cutaneous EPT, no significant (p ≤ 0.05) intra- and inter-session differences were observed. Excellent intra-session reliability was shown for cutaneous and intramuscular electrical stimulations and all QST parameters (ICC: 0.76–0.93). Inter-session reliabilities were good (ICC: 0.74–0.75) except for electrical stimulations (ICC: 0.08–0.36). Limits of agreement and SEM were higher for inter-session than intra-session. A medium to strong relationship was found between electrical and mechanical/pressure pain thresholds. In conclusion, cutaneous and intramuscular electrical stimulation will potentially close an important diagnostic gap regarding the selective examination of deep tissue afferents and provide location-specific information for the excitability of non-nociceptive and nociceptive afferents.
Sensitivity of temperature and precipitation characteristics to land use classification over the Taklimakan Desert and surrounding area
Authors: Li Man , Zhang Zaiyong , Ju Chenxiang , Li Huoqing
Published: August 2023

The Taklimakan Desert (TD) is the largest desert in China, which has a great influence on the weather and climate in the surrounding oases. To further study the impact of the unique underlying surface and artificial green space of TD on the weather and climate of the desert and its surrounding oases, we selected the winter and summer months to carry out a continuous simulation experiment using a high-resolution numerical model. The changes of land use in TD (the land use category denoted as “barren or sparsely vegetated” was modified to “shrub land”) have direct impacts on the surface heat flux, which affect the stability of the lower atmosphere and water vapor conditions, thus affected precipitation. Both sensible heat flux and latent heat flux in the desert increased in winter and summer after changing the land use type, while in areas with unchanged land use around the desert have a slight weakening in the net radiation flux. The daily temperatures increased as a whole, especially in the hinterland and south of the desert, and the warming amplitude in winter and summer was basically same. In the Kunlun Mountains, the western desert, and the oasis area to the west of the desert, the lower atmosphere became warmer and wetter, which led to a significant increase in monthly cumulative precipitation in July, with an increase in some areas greater than 36 mm which is significant for a desert area.
Improving the physicochemical and antioxidative properties of fermented goat milk using carob molasses and some probiotic strains
Authors: El-Sayed Mahmoud Ibrahim , Aly Esmat , El-Deeb Amany Mohammed
Published: August 2023

Fermented goat milk samples, processed by adding 0, 2, and 4% carob molasses, and Bifidobacterium bifidum DSMZ or Lactobacillus helveticus CH5, were evaluated for their physicochemical, antioxidative, and sensory properties along with probiotic viability during storage. pH and viscosity gradually decreased over the storage period whereas their values increased with the increased amount of carob molasses. Bifidobacterium bifidum DSMZ or Lactobacillus helveticus CH5 kept higher viable numbers. Lactobacillus helveticus CH5 strain recorded higher viability. Increasing the added amount of carob molasses increased the total phenolic content, which in turn is reflected in the increase in antioxidant activity. Adding carob molasses participated in the partial masking of the goaty flavor and had no significant effect on the product’s acceptability, which was strongly influenced by the progress of cold storage. Therefore, fermented goat milk described by its enhanced physicochemical and antioxidative properties could be obtained by adding carob molasses and probiotics.
Raman spectroscopy to discriminate laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma from non-cancerous surrounding tissue
Authors: van Lanschot Cornelia , Schut Tom Bakker , Barroso Elisa , Sewnaik Aniel , Hardillo Jose , Monserez Dominiek , Meeuwis Cees , Keereweer Stijn , de Jong Rob Baatenburg , Puppels Gerwin , Koljenović Senada
Published: August 2023

As for many solid cancers, laryngeal cancer is treated surgically, and adequate resection margins are critical for survival. Raman spectroscopy has the capacity to accurately differentiate between cancer and non-cancerous tissue based on their molecular composition, which has been proven in previous work. The aim of this study is to investigate whether Raman spectroscopy can be used to discriminate laryngeal cancer from surrounding non-cancerous tissue. Patients surgically treated for laryngeal cancer were included. Raman mapping experiments were performed ex vivo on resection specimens and correlated to histopathology. Water concentration analysis and CH-stretching region analysis were performed in the high wavenumber range of 2500–4000 cm−1. Thirty-four mapping experiments on 22 resection specimens were used for analysis. Both laryngeal cancer and all non-cancerous tissue structures showed high water concentrations of around 75%. Discriminative information was only found to be present in the CH-stretching region of the Raman spectra of the larynx (discriminative power of 0.87). High wavenumber region Raman spectroscopy can discriminate laryngeal cancer from non-cancerous tissue structures. Contrary to the findings for oral cavity cancer, water concentration is not a discriminating factor for laryngeal cancer.
Preanalytical variables influencing the interpretation and reporting of biological tests on blood samples of living and deceased donors for human body materials
Authors: Padalko Elizaveta , Colenbie Luc , Delforge Alain , Ectors Nadine , Guns Johan , Imbert Romain , Jansens Hilde , Pirnay Jean-Paul , Rodenbach Marie-Pierre , Van Riet Ivan , Vansteenbrugge Anne , Verbeken Gilbert , Baltes Muriel , Beele Hilde
Published: August 2023

With the present paper, the Working Group on Cells, Tissues and Organs and other experts of the Superior Health Council of Belgium aimed to provide stakeholders in material of human origin with advice on critical aspects of serological and nucleic acid test (NAT) testing, to improve virological safety of cell- and tissue and organ donation. The current paper focusses on a number of preanalytical variables which can be critical for any medical biology examination: (1) sampling related variables (type of samples, collection of the samples, volume of the sample, choice of specific tubes, identification of tubes), (2) variables related to transport, storage and processing of blood samples (transport, centrifugation and haemolysis, storage before and after centrifugation, use of serum versus plasma), (3) variables related to dilution (haemodilution, pooling of samples), and (4) test dependent variables (available tests and validation). Depending on the type of donor (deceased donor (heart-beating or non-heart beating) versus living donor (allogeneic, related, autologous), and the type of donated human material (cells, tissue or organs) additional factors can play a role: pre- and post-mortem sampling, conditions of sampling (e.g. morgue), haemodilution, possibility of retesting.
Consequences of gaining an extra chromosome
Authors: Torres Eduardo M.
Published: August 2023

Mistakes in chromosome segregation leading to aneuploidy are the primary cause of miscarriages in humans. Excluding sex chromosomes, viable aneuploidies in humans include trisomies of chromosomes 21, 18, or 13, which cause Down, Edwards, or Patau syndromes, respectively. While individuals with trisomy 18 or 13 die soon after birth, people with Down syndrome live to adulthood but have intellectual disabilities and are prone to multiple diseases. At the cellular level, mistakes in the segregation of a single chromosome leading to a cell losing a chromosome are lethal. In contrast, the cell that gains a chromosome can survive. Several studies support the hypothesis that gaining an extra copy of a chromosome causes gene-specific phenotypes and phenotypes independent of the identity of the genes encoded within that chromosome. The latter, referred to as aneuploidy-associated phenotypes, are the focus of this review. Among the conserved aneuploidy-associated phenotypes observed in yeast and human cells are lower viability, increased gene expression, increased protein synthesis and turnover, abnormal nuclear morphology, and altered metabolism. Notably, abnormal nuclear morphology of aneuploid cells is associated with increased metabolic demand for de novo synthesis of sphingolipids. These findings reveal important insights into the possible pathological role of aneuploidy in Down syndrome. Despite the adverse effects on cell physiology, aneuploidy is a hallmark of cancer cells. Understanding how aneuploidy affects cell physiology can reveal insights into the selective pressure that aneuploid cancer cells must overcome to support unlimited proliferation.
Emergent Phenomena in Nature: A Paradox with Theory?
Authors: van de Ven Christiaan J. F.
Published: August 2023

The existence of various physical phenomena stems from the concept called asymptotic emergence, that is, they seem to be exclusively reserved for certain limiting theories. Important examples are spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) and phase transitions: these would only occur in the classical or thermodynamic limit of underlying finite quantum systems, since for finite quantum systems, due to the uniqueness of the relevant states, such phenomena are excluded by Theory. In Nature, however, finite quantum systems describing real materials clearly exhibit such effects. In this paper we discuss these apparently “paradoxical” phenomena and outline various ideas and mechanisms that encompass both theory and reality, from physical and mathematical points of view.
gmXtal: Cooking Crystals with GROMACS
Authors: Buslaev Pavel , Groenhof Gerrit
Published: August 2023

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are routinely performed of biomolecules in solution, because this is their native environment. However, the structures used in such simulations are often obtained with X-ray crystallography, which provides the atomic coordinates of the biomolecule in a crystal environment. With the advent of free electron lasers and time-resolved techniques, X-ray crystallography can now also access metastable states that are intermediates in a biochemical process. Such experiments provide additional data, which can be used, for example, to optimize MD force fields. Doing so requires that the simulation of the biomolecule is also performed in the crystal environment. However, in contrast to simulations of biomolecules in solution, setting up a crystal is challenging. In particular, because not all solvent molecules are resolved in X-ray crystallography, adding a suitable number of solvent molecules, such that the properties of the crystallographic unit cell are preserved in the simulation, can be difficult and typically is a trial-and-error based procedure requiring manual interventions. Such interventions preclude high throughput applications. To overcome this bottleneck, we introduce gmXtal, a tool for setting up crystal simulations for MD simulations with GROMACS. With the information from the protein data bank (rcsb.org) gmXtal automatically (i) builds the crystallographic unit cell; (ii) sets the protonation of titratable residues; (iii) builds missing residues that were not resolved experimentally; and (iv) adds an appropriate number of solvent molecules to the system. gmXtal is available as a standalone tool https://gitlab.com/pbuslaev/gmxtal.

Graphical Abstract
Activation of Content-Schemata for Scaffolding L2 Writing: Voices from a Turkish Context
Authors: Özgür Küfi Elmaziye
Published: August 2023

It has been observed that Turkish university students suffer in L2 writing when they lack background knowledge about the writing topic. Triggered by this observation, this study intended to explore effectiveness of content-schemata activation for scaffolding Turkish students in their challenging L2 writing practices. Study participants, students studying at an English-medium university in Turkey, were asked to write an essay on a specific topic at the beginning of the week before participating in any activities and then they were asked to write a second essay on the same topic after being engaged in various skills activities designed to activate their content-schemata. The same procedure was repeated for seven weeks with a different topic each week. To gather data, students’ first and second essays were compared and students’ and teachers’ perceptions regarding their experiences in English writing classes were elicited through questionnaires. As study findings reveal that content-schemata activation leads to the production of better essays in terms of content and that both students and teachers are positive about the use of skills activities for idea generation prior to essay writing, integration of activities that would activate students’ content-schemata into the language curriculum in other ESL/EFL educational contexts is highly recommended.
Scaling Family Voices and Engagement to Measure and Improve Systems Performance and Whole Child Health: Progress and Lessons from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative
Authors: Bethell Christina D. , Wells Nora , Bergman David , Reuland Colleen , Stumbo Scott P. , Gombojav Narangerel , Simpson Lisa A.
Published: August 2023

Background:

The 1997 legislation authorizing the United States Child Health Insurance Program sparked progress to measure and publicly report on children’s healthcare services quality and system performance. To meet the moment, the national Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) public-private collaboration was launched to put families at the center of defining, measuring and using healthcare performance information to drive improved services quality and outcomes.

Methods:

Since 1996 the CAHMI followed an intentional path of collaborative action to (1) articulate shared goals for child health and advance a comprehensive, life-course and outcomes-based healthcare performance measurement and reporting framework; (2) collaborate with families, providers, payers and government agencies to specify, validate and support national, state and local use of dozens of framework aligned measures; (3) create novel public-facing digital data query, collection and reporting tools that liberate data findings for use by families, providers, advocates, policymakers, the media and researchers (Data Resource Center, Well Visit Planner); and (4) generate field building research and systems change agendas and frameworks (Prioritizing Possibilities, Engagement In Action) to catalyze prevention, flourishing and healing centered, trauma-informed, whole child and family engaged approaches, integrated systems and supportive financing and policies.

Conclusions:

Lessons call for a restored, sustainable family and community engaged measurement infrastructure, public activation campaigns, and undeterred federal, state and systems leadership that implement policies to incentivize, resource, measure and remove barriers to integrated systems of care that scale family engagement to equitably promote whole child, youth and family well-being. Population health requires effective family engagement.
Frailty and postoperative outcomes in brain tumor patients: a systematic review subdivided by tumor etiology
Authors: Qureshi Hanya M. , Tabor Joanna K. , Pickens Kiley , Lei Haoyi , Vasandani Sagar , Jalal Muhammad I. , Vetsa Shaurey , Elsamadicy Aladine , Marianayagam Neelan , Theriault Brianna C. , Fulbright Robert K. , Qin Ruihan , Yan Jiarui , Jin Lan , O’Brien Joseph , Morales-Valero Saul F. , Moliterno Jennifer
Published: August 2023

Purpose

Frailty has gained prominence in neurosurgical oncology, with more studies exploring its relationship to postoperative outcomes in brain tumor patients. As this body of literature continues to grow, concisely reviewing recent developments in the field is necessary. Here we provide a systematic review of frailty in brain tumor patients subdivided by tumor type, incorporating both modern frailty indices and traditional Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) metrics.

Methods

Systematic literature review was performed using PRISMA guidelines. PubMed and Google Scholar were queried for articles related to frailty, KPS, and brain tumor outcomes. Only articles describing novel associations between frailty or KPS and primary intracranial tumors were included.

Results

After exclusion criteria, systematic review yielded 52 publications. Amongst malignant lesions, 16 studies focused on glioblastoma. Amongst benign tumors, 13 focused on meningiomas, and 6 focused on vestibular schwannomas. Seventeen studies grouped all brain tumor patients together. Seven studies incorporated both frailty indices and KPS into their analyses. Studies correlated frailty with various postoperative outcomes, including complications and mortality.

Conclusion

Our review identified several patterns of overall postsurgical outcomes reporting for patients with brain tumors and frailty. To date, reviews of frailty in patients with brain tumors have been largely limited to certain frailty indices, analyzing all patients together regardless of lesion etiology. Although this technique is beneficial in providing a general overview of frailty’s use for brain tumor patients, given each tumor pathology has its own unique etiology, this combined approach potentially neglects key nuances governing frailty’s use and prognostic value.
To Empower or Safeguard? How Novice Rape and Domestic Violence Victim Advocates Render Institutional Complexity Visible
Authors: Weiss Benjamin R.
Published: August 2023

Organizational life is patterned by shared meanings and practices known as “institutional logics.” Often, multiple logics exist within the same organization in a potentially tense state of “institutional complexity.” Extensive research examines how organizational elites and professionals (i.e., “experts”) manage this complexity by replacing, combining, or segregating contradictory logics. However, experts sometimes manage complexity tacitly, which obscures tensions between logics. This paper, drawing on an ethnographic study of an anti-gender-based violence organization, theorizes inexperience as a lens through which tensions become visible. Analysis of the data reveals that novice victim advocates noticed conflicts between directives to both empower and safeguard victims, practices originating from professional social work and bureaucratic state logics, respectively. In contrast, expert volunteers and staff members tacitly combined these competing logics by empowering victims to safeguard themselves. For organizational scholars, these data show how novices bring attention to contradictions that experts take for granted.
Early-stage start-up hiring: the interplay between start-ups’ initial resources and innovation orientation
Authors: Rocha Vera , Grilli Luca
Published: August 2023

Start-up firms often operate under high levels of uncertainty and resource constraints, which makes hiring a particularly challenging process. Integrating perspectives from the resource- and competence-based views of the firm and signaling theory, we posit that founders’ start-up experience and the initial presence of corporate or university shareholders can mitigate challenges associated with hiring and facilitate the recruitment of employees in the nascent stages of a firm. Moreover, we propose that early-stage hiring will be more likely in start-ups that combine such a strong set of initial competences and resources with a strategic orientation towards innovation. We find support for our hypotheses with a rich dataset of Italian innovative start-ups.
Penalized model-based clustering of complex functional data
Authors: Pronello Nicola , Ignaccolo Rosaria , Ippoliti Luigi , Fontanella Sara
Published: August 2023

High dimensional data, large-scale data, imaging and manifold data are all fostering new frontiers of statistics. These type of data are commonly considered in Functional Data Analysis where they are viewed as infinite-dimensional random vectors in a functional space. The rapid development of new technologies has generated a flow of complex data that have led to the development of new modeling strategies by scientists. In this paper, we basically deal with the problem of clustering a set of complex functional data into homogeneous groups. Working in a mixture model-based framework, we develop a flexible clustering technique achieving dimensionality reduction schemes through an$$L_1$$L1penalization. The proposed procedure results in an integrated modelling approach where shrinkage techniques are applied to enable sparse solutions in both the means and the covariance matrices of the mixture components, while preserving the underlying clustering structure. This leads to an entirely data-driven methodology suitable for simultaneous dimensionality reduction and clustering. The proposed methodology is evaluated through a Monte Carlo simulation study and an empirical analysis of real-world datasets showing different degrees of complexity.
The autumn low milk yield syndrome in Brown Swiss cows in continental climates: hypotheses and facts
Authors: Mylostyvyi Roman , Lacetera Nicola , Amadori Massimo , Sejian Veerasamy , Souza-Junior João Batista Freire , Hoffmann Gundula
Published: August 2023

Extensive research has been conducted globally on the impact of heat stress (HS) on animal health and milk production in dairy cows. In this article, we examine the possible reasons for the decrease in milk production in Brown Swiss (BS) cows during the autumn season, known as the autumn low milk yield syndrome (ALMYS). This condition has been extensively studied in high-yielding Holstein Friesian (HF) cattle and has also been observed in BS cows with a daily milk yield of around 30 kg. Our hypothesis is that the drop in milk yield and the increased prevalence of mastitis in autumn, as found in our recent studies, may be a long-term consequence of summer HS. We re-evaluate our previous findings in light of the possible manifestation of an HS-related form of ALMYS in BS cows. As milk yield, mastitis spread, and reproductive function of cows are interrelated and have seasonal dependence, we examine the consistency of our hypothesis with existing data. The significant drop in milk yield in BS cows in autumn (by 2.0–3.2 kg), as well as the threshold of milk yield decrease (temperature-humidity index of 70.7), may point in favour of the manifestation of ALMYS in BS cows, similar to HF cows. Only the percentage effect of seasonal factor (59.4%; p < 0.05) on milk yield of BS cows was significant. HS-related ALMYS provides a robust conceptual framework for diverse sets of productive and animal health data in BS cows, similar to observations in high-yielding HF cattle. However, the limitations associated with the lack of additional data (e.g. immunological indicators) suggest the need for further research to confirm ALMYS in BS breed.
Evolutionary genomics of white spot syndrome virus
Authors: Kawato Satoshi , Omine Risako , Teruya Shinnosuke , Kubo Hirofumi , Yasumoto Shinya , Kondo Masakazu , Takahashi Yukinori , Nozaki Reiko , Kondo Hidehiro , Hirono Ikuo
Published: August 2023

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has been one of the most devastating pathogens affecting the global shrimp industry since its initial outbreaks in Asia in the early 1990s. In this study, we recovered 13 complete metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of Japanese WSSV isolates and 30 draft WSSV MAGs recovered from publicly available sequencing data, to investigate the genomic evolution of WSSV. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two major phylotypes, designated phylotypes I and II. Bayesian divergence time estimates placed the divergence time of the two phylotypes between 1970 and the early 1980s, with an estimated substitution rate of 1.1 × 10–5 substitutions per site per year, implying the existence of pre-pandemic genetic diversity of WSSV in Asia. Based on this scenario, phylotype I was responsible for the 1990s pandemic and spread worldwide, whereas phylotype II was localized in Asia and infiltrated Australia. Two cross-phylotype recombinant lineages were identified, which demonstrate the role of genomic recombination in generating the genetic diversity of WSSV. These results provide important insights into the evolution of WSSV and may help uncover the ultimate origins of this devastating pathogen.
Comprehensive analysis of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic genes’ expression in human NAFLD
Authors: Herranz Jose M. , López-Pascual Amaya , Clavería-Cabello Alex , Uriarte Iker , Latasa M. Ujúe , Irigaray-Miramon Ainara , Adán-Villaescusa Elena , Castelló-Uribe Borja , Sangro Bruno , Arechederra María , Berasain Carmen , Avila Matías A. , Fernández-Barrena Maite G
Published: August 2023

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multifactorial condition with a complex etiology. Its incidence is increasing globally in parallel with the obesity epidemic, and it is now considered the most common liver disease in Western countries. The precise mechanisms underlying the development and progression of NAFLD are complex and still poorly understood. The dysregulation of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic mechanisms is increasingly recognized to play pathogenic roles in multiple conditions, including chronic liver diseases. Here, we have performed a comprehensive analysis of the expression of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic genes in a total of 903 liver tissue samples corresponding to patients with normal liver, obese patients, and patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), advancing stages in NAFLD progression. We integrated ten transcriptomic datasets in an unbiased manner, enabling their robust analysis and comparison. We describe the complete landscape of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic genes’ expression along the course of the disease. We identify signatures of genes significantly dysregulated in association with disease progression, particularly with liver fibrosis development. Most of these epigenetic and epitranscriptomic effectors have not been previously described in human NAFLD, and their altered expression may have pathogenic implications. We also performed a comprehensive analysis of the expression of enzymes involved in the metabolism of the substrates and cofactors of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic effectors. This study provides novel information on NAFLD pathogenesis and may also guide the identification of drug targets to treat this condition and its progression towards hepatocellular carcinoma.
An enviro-economic RAM-based optimization of biomass-driven combined heat and power generation
Authors: Rezaei Masoud , Sameti Mohammad , Nasiri Fuzhan
Published: August 2023

Inherent uncertainties of biomass-driven systems including seasonality, supply chain problems, and energy conversion limitations put reliability and availability of such systems under question. The optimization of the energy systems taken into account the reliability, availability and maintainability (denoted by RAM), parameters, and constraints can dramatically change the system design, configuration, and operation. An enviro-economic optimization of biomass-powered energy systems, considering the impact of the reliability and maintainability parameters in the final optimal cost of the energy generation and after-commissioning operation, is pinpointed in this study. The objective function was developed as an explicit function to provide the system performance parameters such as rated capacities and utilization times and reliability elements such as maintenance intervals and mean time to failure (denoted by MTTF) as independent parameters for the multivariable nonlinear optimization problem. Such parameters are then used for deriving maintainability and availability parameters such as mean time to repair (denoted by MTTR) to assure the required availability levels. Developing a methodology to be used for performing the same analysis for other configurations using distinguished energy systems, storage or biomass fuel is another problem that was considered in this research. The results showed that integrating RAM parameters to optimization analysis still keeps the biomass-fueled systems competitive economically with other energy systems. The study showed that a biomass-powered system is more sensitive to electrical module performance parameters than to thermal module and biomass types. Furthermore, thermal module requires more frequent maintenance activities in comparison with electrical module in order to retain a system reliability level above the thresholds. Moreover, reliability can be integrated as a nonlinear constraint into the above-mentioned optimization problem, resulting in optimal rated capacities closer to maximum nominal capacities in case of electrical module. RAM integration to optimization changes the performance parameters of an enviro-economic optimization analysis. The sensitivity to parameters and approaches could be high, and other fuels, technologies, or system configurations shall be considered to deliver more confident results.
Risk Assessment of Debris Flows Along the Karakoram Highway (Kashgar-Khunjerab Section) in the Context of Climate Change
Authors: Li Yamei , Zou Qiang , Hao Jiansheng , Su Lijun
Published: August 2023

The Karakoram highway (KKH) is renowned for its complex natural environment and geological conditions. The climate changes drastically and directly influences the frequency and magnitude of debris flows in this region, resulting in significant casualties and economic losses. However, the risk assessment of debris flows along the KKH in the context of climate change has been rarely explored. Therefore, in this study we used the debris flow data, historical meteorological data and future climate prediction data to assess the debris flow risk of the study region during the baseline period (2009–2018), 2025s (2021–2030), 2035s (2031–2040) and 2045s (2041–2050) under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 scenario. The results show that the risk of debris flows increases with climate change, with the highest risk level in the 2025s. Among different parts of this highway, the upper reaches of the Ghez River and the second half of Tashkorgan-Khunjerab are the sections with the highest risk. These findings are helpful for debris flow prevention and can offer coping strategies for the existing line of the KKH. They also provide some reference for the renovation, improvement, operation, and maintenance of the KKH.
Improving the Odds—COVID-Omics and Predicting Patient Outcomes
Authors: Shi Audrey A. , Mansour Sherry G.
Published: August 2023

Purpose of Review

The global COVID-19 pandemic has claimed millions of lives and harmed hundreds of millions more. Amidst this crisis, scientists have used multi-omics to understand and combat the virus. The purpose of this review is to provide the latest and most impactful work in COVID-omics.

Recent Findings

Multi-omics has identified risk-stratification criteria to predict viral severity among COVID-19 patients. Omic methods have also unlocked targetable biomarkers in viral pathways and enabled public health agencies to curb transmission by genomic tracing. Transplant researchers have used multi-omics to assess the safety of transplanting organs from COVID-positive donors, and whether patient immunosuppression regimens should be maintained. Lastly, maximizing multi-omic impact by nurturing future collaborations between mutli-omic labs and public health agencies and pharmaceutical companies will be critical in successfully facing the next pandemic.

This review focuses on contributions within the field of COVID-omics, including patient risk stratification and viral pathway analysis, genomic public health surveillance, and transplant clinician recommendations.
A mapping property of the heat volume potential
Authors: Luzzini Paolo
Published: August 2023

We consider the volume potential associated with the heat operator and we prove a mapping property in the space of distributions which are the time derivative of Hölder continuous functions. As an application we solve the Dirichlet and Neumann problems for the heat equation with a non-homogeneous term in such space of distributions.
Impact of cavitation and inflow perturbation on the performance of a horizontal-axis tidal turbine
Authors: Capone Alessandro , DiFelice Fabio , Salvatore Francesco , Maddukkari Harish , Kaufmann Nicholas , Starzmann Ralf
Published: August 2023

The impact of cavitation and inflow perturbation by an upstream support structure on the performance of a horizontal-axis tidal turbine has been studied by experiments at model scale in a depressurized water channel at CNR-INM. Measurements of turbine generated power and thrust have been carried out at varying channel flow speed, tip-speed ratio, and cavitation number. The visualization of cavitation patterns has been associated with the performance measurements to identify the role played by different cavitation types on turbine behavior. Radiated noise measurement were also performed to assess the impact of cavitation phenomena on turbine induced acoustic signature.
Integration of Multiple Heterointerfaces in a Hierarchical 0D@2D@1D Structure for Lightweight, Flexible, and Hydrophobic Multifunctional Electromagnetic Protective Fabrics
Authors: Zhang Shuo , Liu Xuehua , Jia Chenyu , Sun Zhengshuo , Jiang Haowen , Jia Zirui , Wu Guanglei
Published: August 2023

The development of wearable multifunctional electromagnetic protective fabrics with multifunctional, low cost, and high efficiency remains a challenge. Here, inspired by the unique flower branch shape of “Thunberg’s meadowsweet” in nature, a nanofibrous composite membrane with hierarchical structure was constructed. Integrating sophisticated 0D@2D@1D hierarchical structures with multiple heterointerfaces can fully unleash the multifunctional application potential of composite membrane. The targeted induction method was used to precisely regulate the formation site and morphology of the metal–organic framework precursor, and intelligently integrate multiple heterostructures to enhance dielectric polarization, which improves the impedance matching and loss mechanisms of the electromagnetic wave absorbing materials. Due to the synergistic enhancement of electrospinning-derived carbon nanofiber “stems”, MOF-derived carbon nanosheet “petals” and transition metal selenide nano-particle “stamens”, the CoxSey/NiSe@CNSs@CNFs (CNCC) composite membrane obtains a minimum reflection loss value (RLmin) of -68.40 dB at 2.6 mm and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.88 GHz at a thin thickness of 2.0 mm with a filling amount of only 5 wt%. In addition, the multi-component and hierarchical heterostructure endow the fibrous membrane with excellent flexibility, water resistance, thermal management, and other multifunctional properties. This work provides unique perspectives for the precise design and rational application of multifunctional fabrics.
Environmentally Responsible Lightweight Passenger Vehicle Design and Manufacturing
Authors: Daehn Glenn S. , Daehn Katrin E. , Kuttner Oliver
Published: August 2023

The mass reduction of passenger vehicles has been a great focus of academic research and federal policy initiatives of the United States with coordinated funding efforts and even a focus of a Manufacturing USA Institute. The potential benefit of these programs can be described as modest from a societal point of view, for example reducing vehicle mass by up to 25% with modest cost implications (under $5 per pound saved) and the ability to implement with existing manufacturing methods. Much more aggressive reductions in greenhouse gas production are necessary and possible, while delivering the same service. This is demonstrated with a higher-level design thinking exercise on an environmentally responsible lightweight vehicle, leading to the following criteria: lightweight, low aerodynamic drag, long-lived (over 30 years and 2 million miles), adaptable, electric, and used in a shared manner on average over 8 h per day. With these specifications, passenger-mile demand may be met with around 1/10 of the current fleet. Such vehicles would likely have significantly different designs and construction than incumbent automobiles. It is likely future automotive production will be more analogous to current aircraft production with higher costs per pound and lower volumes, but with dramatically reduced financial and environmental cost per passenger mile, with less material per vehicle, and far less material required in the national or worldwide fleets. Subsidiary benefits of this vision include far fewer parking lots, greater accessibility to personal transportation, and improved pedestrian safety, while maintaining a vibrant and engaging economy. The systemic changes to the business models and research and development directions (including lightweight design and manufacturing) are discussed, which could bring forth far more sustainable personal transportation.
Use of Real-World Evidence for Drug Regulatory Decisions in China: Current Status and Future Directions
Authors: Li Pei , Wang Su , Chen Yuwen
Published: August 2023

Real-world data (RWD) and real-world evidence (RWE) have garnered great interest for supporting drug research and development (R&D) by medical researchers and regulators in recent years. The application and development of RWD/E in drug regulatory decision-making have been vigorously promoted in China. This study seeks to provide a broad overview of how RWE has been contributing to drug regulatory decisions in China. In this paper, we review the development of RWD and RWE, summarize key elements that promote application of RWE, introduce relevant methods and guidelines, elaborate on the opportunities and challenges of RWE in regulatory decision-making in China, and put forward suggestions to promote the application of RWE in China’s regulatory decision-making and to further facilitate innovative drug evaluation and regulation.
A Chinese Bureaucracy for Innovation-Driven Development?
Authors: Gomes Alexandre de Podestá , ten Brink Tobias
Published: August 2023

This Element scrutinizes the attempts by the Chinese party-state bureaucracy since the 2000s to advance innovation and technological upgrading. It examines insights from the developmental state debate – the need for a bureaucracy to achieve internal coherence and the capacity of that bureaucracy both to forge coalitions between bureaucrats, businessmen, and scientists and to discipline domestic companies. Moreover, it assesses efforts to foster technological upgrading in the semiconductor and electric vehicle industries. While there are significant differences between China and earlier successful developmental states, with the former facing problems such as the legacies of short-termism, limited monitoring capabilities, and flawed discipline over business, the authors find that, compared with other emerging capitalist economies, the Chinese bureaucracy has developed strong capabilities to advance 'innovation-driven development.' This Element seeks to provide avenues for comparing China with other late developers.
Three decades of machine learning with neural networks in computer-aided architectural design (1990–2021)
Authors: Rhee Jinmo , Veloso Pedro , Krishnamurti Ramesh
Published: August 2023

Over the past years, computational methods based on deep learning—that is, machine learning with multilayered neural networks—have become state-of-the-art in main research areas in computer-aided architectural design (CAAD). To understand current trends of CAAD with deep learning, to situate them in a broader historical context, and to identify future research challenges, this article presents a systematic review of publications that apply neural networks to CAAD problems. Research papers employing neural networks were collected, in particular, from CumInCad a major open-access repository of the CAAD community and categorized into different types of research problems. Upon analyzing the distribution of the papers in these categories, namely, the composition of research subjects, data types, and neural network models, this article suggests and discusses several historical and technical trends. Moreover, it identifies that the publications analyzed typically provide limited access to important research components used as part of their deep learning methods. The article points out the importance of sharing training experiments and data, of describing the dataset, dataset parameters, dataset samples, model, learning parameters, and learning results to support reproducibility. It proposes a guideline that aims at increasing the quality and availability of CAAD research with machine learning.
Pathways to cultural adaptation: the coevolution of cumulative culture and social networks
Authors: Smolla Marco , Akçay Erol
Published: August 2023

Humans have adapted to an immense array of environments by accumulating culturally transmitted knowledge and skills. Adaptive culture can accumulate either via more distinct cultural traits or via improvements of existing cultural traits. The kind of culture that accumulates depends on, and coevolves with, the social structure of societies. Here, we show that the coevolution of learning networks and cumulative culture results in two distinct pathways to cultural adaptation: highly connected populations with high proficiency but low trait diversity vs. sparsely connected populations with low proficiency but higher trait diversity. Importantly, we show there is a conflict between group-level payoffs, which are maximised in highly connected groups that attain high proficiency, and individual level selection, which favours disconnection. This conflict emerges from the interaction of social learning with population structure and causes populations to cycle between the two cultural and network states. The same conflict creates a paradox where increasing innovation rate lowers group payoffs. Finally, we explore how populations navigate these two pathways in environments where payoffs differ among traits and can change over time, showing that high proficiency is favoured when payoffs are stable and vary strongly between traits, while frequent changes in trait payoffs favour more trait diversity. Our results illustrate the complex interplay between networks, learning and the environment, and so inform our understanding of human social evolution.
Iodine and plant-based diets: a narrative review and calculation of iodine content
Authors: Nicol Katie , Nugent Anne P. , Woodside Jayne V. , Hart Kathryn H. , Bath Sarah C.
Published: August 2023

An increasing number of food-based recommendations promote a plant-based diet to address health concerns and environmental sustainability in global food systems. As the main sources of iodine in many countries are fish, eggs and dairy products, it is unclear whether plant-based diets, such as the EAT-Lancet reference diet, would provide sufficient iodine. This is important as iodine, through the thyroid hormones, is required for growth and brain development; adequate iodine intake is especially important before, and during, pregnancy. In this narrative review, we evaluated the current literature and estimated iodine provision from the EAT-Lancet reference diet. There is evidence that those following a strict plant-based diet, such as vegans, cannot reach the recommended iodine intake from food alone and are reliant on iodine supplements. Using the EAT-Lancet reference diet intake recommendations in combination with iodine values from UK food tables, we calculated that the diet would provide 128 μg/d (85 % of the adult recommendation of 150 μg/d and 51–64 % of the pregnancy recommendation of 200–250 μg/d). However, if milk is replaced with unfortified plant-based alternatives, total iodine provision would be just 54 μg/d (34 % and 22–27 % of the recommendations for adults and pregnancy, respectively). Plant-based dietary recommendations might place consumers at risk of iodine deficiency in countries without a fortification programme and where animal products provide the majority of iodine intake, such as the UK and Norway. It is essential that those following a predominantly plant-based diet are given appropriate dietary advice to ensure adequate iodine intake.