bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cell-derived extracellular matrix displays altered glycosaminoglycan structure and impaired functionality in Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Authors: Bains Amanpreet Kaur , Behrens Wu Lena , Rivière Jennifer , Rother Sandra , Magno Valentina , Friedrichs Jens , Werner Carsten , Bornhäuser Martin , Götze Katharina S. , Cross Michael , Platzbecker Uwe , Wobus Manja
Published: September 2022

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) comprise a heterogeneous group of hematologic malignancies characterized by clonal hematopoiesis, one or more cytopenias such as anemia, neutropenia, or thrombocytopenia, abnormal cellular maturation, and a high risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia. The bone marrow microenvironment (BMME) in general and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in particular contribute to both the initiation and progression of MDS. However, little is known about the role of MSC-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) in this context. Therefore, we performed a comparative analysis of in vitro deposited MSC-derived ECM of different MDS subtypes and healthy controls. Atomic force microscopy analyses demonstrated that MDS ECM was significantly thicker and more compliant than those from healthy MSCs. Scanning electron microscopy showed a dense meshwork of fibrillar bundles connected by numerous smaller structures that span the distance between fibers in MDS ECM. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) structures were detectable at high abundance in MDS ECM as white, sponge-like arrays on top of the fibrillar network. Quantification by Blyscan assay confirmed these observations, with higher concentrations of sulfated GAGs in MDS ECM. Fluorescent lectin staining with wheat germ agglutinin and peanut agglutinin demonstrated increased deposition of N-acetyl-glucosamine GAGs (hyaluronan (HA) and heparan sulfate) in low risk (LR) MDS ECM. Differential expression of N-acetyl-galactosamine GAGs (chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate) was observed between LR- and high risk (HR)-MDS. Moreover, increased amounts of HA in the matrix of MSCs from LR-MDS patients were found to correlate with enhanced HA synthase 1 mRNA expression in these cells. Stimulation of mononuclear cells from healthy donors with low molecular weight HA resulted in an increased expression of various pro-inflammatory cytokines suggesting a contribution of the ECM to the inflammatory BMME typical of LR-MDS. CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) displayed an impaired differentiation potential after cultivation on MDS ECM and modified morphology accompanied by decreased integrin expression which mediate cell-matrix interaction. In summary, we provide evidence for structural alterations of the MSC-derived ECM in both LR- and HR-MDS. GAGs may play an important role in this remodeling processes during the malignant transformation which leads to the observed disturbance in the support of normal hematopoiesis.
Analysis of the prognostic, diagnostic and immunological role of HSP90α in malignant tumors
Authors: Yuan Zhimin , Wang Longhao , Chen Cheng
Published: September 2022

Heat shock protein 90α (HSP90α) encoded by the HSP90AA1 gene, is the stress inducible isoform of the molecular chaperone HSP90, and was demonstrated as a promising hallmark to diagnose, prognosis in malignant tumors. This study is to evaluate the value of HSP90α in diagnosis, prognosis and immunotherapy of malignant tumors by investigating the expression of HSP90α in plasma of various tumors and analyzing the expression of HSP90α at gene and protein levels via pan-cancer database. We founded that levels of HSP90α in malignant tumors groups were significantly higher than healthy controls in serum. Pan-cancer analysis showed that HSP90AA1 was highly expressed in 27 of 33 tumors, but low in individual cancers (such as renal malignancies). The plasma HSP90α level was positively correlated with the stage of malignant tumor, but there was no significant difference between HSP90AA1 and the stage of most tumors. Cox regression analysis showed that HSP90AA1 expression was significantly correlated with OS in only 6 of the 32 cancers, including LIHC, KIRC, HNSC, LUAD, BRCA and MESO. Up-regulation of HSP90AA1 in most tumors was positively correlated with PDCD1LG2 and CD274 immune checkpoint genes. T cell CD8+ was positively correlated with HSP90AA1 in COAD, DLBC and UVM, and negatively correlated with HSP90AA1 in ESCA, GBM, HNSC, KIRC, KIRP, UCEC and STAD. The AUC of HSP90α are generally high in different tumor groups, which indicated its diagnostic value in malignant tumors. In conclusion, serum HSP90α in patients with malignant tumor is generally elevated, which is of positive significance as an independent diagnosis and combined diagnosis. However, we found that the expression level of HSP90AA1 gene in most tumors was not completely consistent with the serum level, and even down-regulated in some tumors. Plasma levels can be used as biomarkers of poor prognosis in some tumors, but it cannot be used as a biomarker for poor prognosis of all tumors, and more in-depth studies are needed.
Identification of macrophage correlated biomarkers to predict the prognosis in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Xu Linping , Yan Meimei , Long Jianpeng , liu Mengmeng , Yang Hui , Li Wei
Published: September 2022

Background

It has been shown that tumor-associated immune cells, particularly macrophages, play a fundamental role in the development and treatment response of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). However, little is known about macrophages at the single cellular level of ICC patients.

Methods

ScRNA-seq from Zhang et al. was used in the present study to identify the genes differentially expressed in ICCs. Furthermore, transcriptomic data from TCGA datasets, IHC and flowcytometry from our cohort were used to confirm the findings. Kaplan-Meier and TIDE scores were also used for prognostic analysis and ICB responses.

Results

A significant number of macrophages were found in ICCs as compared to adjacent tissues. We then extracted, processed, and classified the macrophages from the ICCs and adjacent tissues into 12 clusters. Significantly, the macrophages from the ICC exhibited an immunosuppressed state in terms of both signature gene expression and functional enrichment. Furthermore, our results indicate that, of the 10 selective tumor-promoting genes of macrophages, only MMP19 and SIRPα can predict ICB responses in ICCs. Although a higher expression of MMP19 and SIRPα predict a poor prognosis for ICCs without immunotherapy after surgery, patients with high SIRPα expression were more sensitive to immunotherapy, whereas those with high MMP19 expression were not sensitive to immunotherapy. To define the mechanisms, we found that SIRPαhi ICCs exhibited an increased enrichment KEGG pathway of leukocyte transendothelial migration and neutrophil extracellular trap formation. The increased immune cell infiltration will increase sensitivity to immunotherapy.

Conclusion

Collectively, macrophages are critical to the immune status of ICCs, and MMP19 and SIRPα can predict prognosis and ICB responses for ICCs.
A comparison of four technologies for detecting p53 aggregates in ovarian cancer
Authors: Heinzl Nicole , Koziel Katarzyna , Maritschnegg Elisabeth , Berger Astrid , Pechriggl Elisabeth , Fiegl Heidi , Zeimet Alain G. , Marth Christian , Zeillinger Robert , Concin Nicole
Published: September 2022

The tumor suppressor protein p53 is mutated in half of all cancers and has been described to form amyloid-like structures, commonly known from key proteins in neurodegenerative diseases. Still, the clinical relevance of p53 aggregates remains largely unknown, which may be due to the lack of sensitive and specific detection methods. The aim of the present study was to compare the suitability of four different methodologies to specifically detect p53 aggregates: co-immunofluorescence (co-IF), proximity ligation assay (PLA), co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP), and the p53-Seprion-ELISA in cancer cell lines and epithelial ovarian cancer tissue samples. In 7 out of 10 (70%) cell lines, all applied techniques showed concordance. For the analysis of the tissue samples co-IF, co-IP, and p53-Seprion-ELISA were compared, resulting in 100% concordance in 23 out of 30 (76.7%) tissue samples. However, Co-IF lacked specificity as there were samples, which did not show p53 staining but abundant staining of amyloid proteins, highlighting that this method demonstrates that proteins share the same subcellular space, but does not specifically detect p53 aggregates. Overall, the PLA and the p53-Seprion-ELISA are the only two methods that allow the quantitative measurement of p53 aggregates. On the one hand, the PLA represents the ideal method for p53 aggregate detection in FFPE tissue, which is the gold-standard preservation method of clinical samples. On the other hand, when fresh-frozen tissue is available the p53-Seprion-ELISA should be preferred because of the shorter turnaround time and the possibility for high-throughput analysis. These methods may add to the understanding of amyloid-like p53 in cancer and could help stratify patients in future clinical trials targeting p53 aggregation.
Influence of body mobility on attention networks in school-aged prematurely born children: A controlled trial
Authors: Rosenbaum Joëlle , Ceyte Hadrien , Hamon Isabelle , Deforge Hélène , Hascoët Alexandre M. J. , Caudron Sébastien , Hascoët Jean-Michel
Published: September 2022

School-aged prematurely born children (PC) have a higher risk of academic difficulties, which may be partly explained by attention difficulties. It has been suggested that children’s attentional performance might be influenced by their body posture and spontaneous body motion. The aim of this study (ClinicalTrials.gov – NCT 03125447) was to test the influence of three body mobility conditions on the three functions of attention (alertness, orienting, and executive control) among school-aged PC vs. term-born children (TC). Notably, 21 PC and 21 TC performed the Attention Network Test for Children in three body mobility conditions, namely, sitting and standing imposed fixed postures and a free-to-move condition. The children’s median reaction times were compared between trials (1) with and without alerting cues, (2) with valid and invalid orienting cues, and (3) with and without distracting information, to calculate the performance of alertness, orienting, and executive control, respectively. Results showed that with distracting information, PC exhibited significantly slower responses in the standing-still posture than in the sitting-still posture (1,077 ± 240 vs. 1,175 ± 273 ms, p < 0.05), but not TC. No difference was observed with the free-to-move condition. PC and TC did not significantly differ in alertness or orienting, regardless of body mobility condition. These data suggest that PC must use executive resources to stand still and maintain position, which impairs their performance during executive tasks. We speculate that these results may be related to less developed postural control and motor inhibition in PC.
ELA-11 protects the heart against oxidative stress injury induced apoptosis through ERK/MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways
Authors: Wang Xuejun , Zhang Li , Feng Mengwen , Xu Zhongqing , Cheng Zijie , Qian Lingmei
Published: September 2022

Increasing evidence revealed that apoptosis and oxidative stress injury were associated with the pathophysiology of doxorubicin (DOX)-induced myocardial injury. ELABELA (ELA) is a newly identified peptide with 32 amino acids, can reduce hypertension with exogenous infusion. However, the effect of 11-residue furn-cleaved fragment (ELA-11) is still unclear. We first administrated ELA-11 in DOX-injured mice and measured the cardiac function and investigated the effect of ELA-11 in vivo. We found that ELA-11 alleviated heart injury induced by DOX and inhibited cardiac tissues from apoptosis. In vitro, ELA-11 regulated the sensitivity towards apoptosis induced by oxidative stress with DOX treatment through PI3K/AKT and ERK/MAPK signaling pathway. Similarly, ELA-11 inhibited oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in cobalt chloride (CoCl2)-injured cardiomyocytes. Moreover, ELA-11 protected cardiomyocyte by interacting with Apelin receptor (APJ) by using 4-oxo-6-((pyrimidin-2-ylthio) methyl)-4H-pyran-3-yl 4-nitrobenzoate (ML221). Hence, our results indicated a protective role of ELA-11 in oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in DOX-induced myocardial injury.
Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of hypertension and hyperlipidemia collaborative management between pharmacies and primary care in portugal alongside a trial compared with usual care (USFarmácia®)
Authors: Costa Suzete , Guerreiro José , Teixeira Inês , Helling Dennis K. , Pereira João , Mateus Céu
Published: September 2022

Background:There is little experience in the economic evaluation of pharmacy/primary care collaborative health interventions using interprofessional technology-driven communication under real-world conditions. This study aimed to conduct cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses of a collaborative care intervention in hypertension and hyperlipidemia management between pharmacies and primary care versus usual (fragmented) care alongside a trial.

Methods:An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a 6-month pragmatic quasi-experimental controlled trial. Data sources included primary care clinical software; pharmacy dispensing software; patient telephone surveys; and published literature. The target population was adult patients on hypertension and/or lipid-lowering medication. The perspective was societal. We collected patient-level data on resource use to estimate trial costs. Effect outcomes included blood pressure (BP) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Bootstrapping was used to estimate uncertainty around the incremental cost-effectiveness and cost-utility ratios. Cost-effectiveness planes and acceptability curves were estimated.

Results:The intervention was not shown to have reasonable levels of cost-effectiveness or cost-utility when compared to usual care as denoted by the levels of uncertainty expressed in wide confidence intervals. The probability of the intervention being cost-effective is 28% at the threshold of €20,000 per QALY gained and 57% at the threshold of €500 per mmHg systolic BP decrease.

Conclusion:Considering the limitations of the trial which affected effectiveness and economic outcomes, our results are not generalizable for community pharmacy and primary care in Portugal. This research offers, however, valuable lessons on methods and strategies that can be used in future economic evaluations of collaborative public health interventions with the potential for reimbursement.

Clinical trial registration:https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN13410498, identifier ISRCTN13410498
Tailored therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Ma Qin , Li Hancong , Liao Jing , Cai Zhaolun , Zhang Bo
Published: September 2022

Background: Due to an increase in drug resistance, the eradication rate of H. pylori with empirical therapy has declined. Tailored therapy has been proposed as an alternative to standard empirical treatments. The necessity of personalized eradication therapy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether tailored therapy is superior to empirical therapy for H. pylori infection.

Methods: We searched for eligible randomized controlled trials in the PubMed, Embase (Ovid), Wanfang, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases up to 10 December 2021. A random effects model comparing pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was applied in the meta-analysis.

Results: Twenty-one studies were included in the meta-analysis. In the first-line treatment, tailored therapy was more effective than empirical therapy (RR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.08–1.21], I2 = 72.2%). In the second-line therapy setting, the results did not reveal significant differences between the two treatments (RR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.84–1.30], I2 = 80.6%). A similar result was observed in mixed second- and third-line treatments (RR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.96–1.11], I2 = 0.0%). Regarding adverse events, no significant differences were found between the two treatments (RR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.80–1.01], I2 = 35.7%). Most of the results were highly heterogeneous.

Conclusion: A tailored approach might provide a better eradication rate than empirical methods in first-line treatment. There might be no obvious advantage in second-line or mixed second- and third-line treatments third-line treatment. Due to the high heterogeneity, the results should be interpreted with caution. Further clinical studies are needed and justified.
Pharmacological effects of Chinese medicine modulating NLRP3 inflammasomes in fatty liver treatment
Authors: Liu Tingting , Xu Guang , Liang Longxin , Xiao Xiaohe , Zhao Yanling , Bai Zhaofang
Published: September 2022

Inflammation is a key contributing factor in the pathogenesis of fatty liver diseases (FLD), such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcohol-associated liver diseases (ALDs). The NLRP3 inflammasome is widely present in the hepatic parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells, which are assembled and activated by sensing intracellular and extracellular danger signals resulting in the matures of IL-1β/IL-18 and pyroptosis. Moreover, the aberrant activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is considered the main factor to drives immune outbreaks in relation to hepatic injury, inflammation, steatosis, and fibrosis. Therefore, inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome may be a promising therapeutic target for FLD. Currently, accumulating evidence has revealed that a number of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) exert beneficial effects on liver injury via inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Here, we summarized the mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasomes in the progression of FLD, and TCM exerts beneficial effects on FLD via positive modulation of inflammation. We describe that TCM is a promising valuable resource for the prevention and treatment agents against FLD and has the potential to be developed into clinical drugs.
Comparing the collective behavior of banking industry in emerging markets versus mature ones by random matrix approach
Authors: Vahabi H. , Namaki A. , Raei R.
Published: September 2022

One of the essential features of capital markets as an adaptive complex network is their collective behavior. In this paper, we have analyzed the collective behavior of banking sectors of four stock markets, which are composed of emerging and mature ones. By plotting the dendrograms and heat maps of the correlation matrices, it is found that the mature markets are more similar to each other. By applying the method of Random matrix theory(RMT), one of the important complexity notions, and its tools: participation ratio(PR) and relative participation ratio(RPR), it is obvious that mature markets have a lower degree of collective behavior than the emerging ones. By perturbing the correlation matrix of these markets, it is found that the mature markets are more vulnerable. It means that emerging markets that have lower cross-correlations are less vulnerable to perturbations. The findings of this paper are useful for policymakers of these countries to concentrate on the market structures and their behaviors.
Advances on aerodynamic actuation induced by surface dielectric barrier discharges
Authors: Portugal Sherlie , Choudhury Bhaswati , Cardenas Dorindo
Published: September 2022

Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (SDBD) is a well-known technology for active aerodynamic flow control with low power consumption. It is a type of plasma actuation for flow control with no moving parts and very fast response times. Research on SDBD flow control over the years has shown great potential for flow separation, boundary layer transition, drag reductions and suppression of local heating. A major area of research on SDBD flow control lies in increasing the effectiveness of SDBD actuators with new electrode configurations, surface materials, and plasma array designs. This review aims to provide a comprehensive report of research performed on SDBD flow control over the last 2 decades with a focus on SDBD reactor designs. Aspects of SDBD flow control including discharge morphology and actuation mechanism through momentum and energy transfer have been discussed in depth. Additionally, the future of research in SDBD actuated flow control has been explored. This review can serve as the baseline to develop new SDBD reactor designs for specific applications with improved effectiveness and advanced systems.
Over-barrier ionization of hydrogen atom in intense circular and elliptical laser fields
Authors: Wang Jiguo , Guo Zhenning , Fang Yiqi , Yu Xiaoyang , Liu Yunquan
Published: September 2022

We investigate the over-barrier ionization of hydrogen atoms in intense circularly and elliptically polarized laser fields. By solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we simulate the photoelectron momentum distributions with the peak laser field intensity ranging from tunneling ionization to over-barrier ionization regime. It is shown that the photoelectron momentum distributions reveal a spiral distribution in the over-barrier ionization regime, which is in contrast with the typical donut distribution sculpted by above-threshold ionization peaks in the tunneling ionization regime. To analyze the intriguing photoelectron behavior, we further develop a semi-classical model by considering the non-adiabatic effect and the depletion effect of the ground state. The photoelectron momentum distributions calculated by the semi-classical model agree well with the results of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Based on these results, we further explore the relationship between the instantaneous ionization rate and initial transverse momentum in over-barrier ionization. It is worth noting that such a relationship is not easy to be clearly revealed in tunneling ionization regime as the final electron momentum is significantly modified by the inter-cycle interference. Moreover, we also show that the non-adiabatic effect and long-range Coulomb interaction play important roles in the over-barrier ionization.
WRKY41/WRKY46-miR396b-5p-TPR module mediates abscisic acid-induced cold tolerance of grafted cucumber seedlings
Authors: Sun Jin , Chen Jiaqi , Si Xinyu , Liu Weikang , Yuan Mingzhu , Guo Shirong , Wang Yu
Published: September 2022

Grafting is one of the key agronomic measures to enhance the tolerance to environmental stresses in horticultural plants, but the specific molecular regulation mechanism in this tolerance largely remains unclear. Here, we found that cucumber grafted onto figleaf gourd rootstock increased cold tolerance through abscisic acid (ABA) activating WRKY41/WRKY46-miR396b-5p-TPR (tetratricopeptide repeat-like superfamily protein) module. Cucumber seedlings grafted onto figleaf gourd increased cold tolerance and induced the expression of miR396b-5p. Furthermore, overexpression of cucumber miR396b-5p in Arabidopsis improved cold tolerance. 5’ RNA ligase-mediated rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5’ RLM-RACE) and transient transformation experiments demonstrated that TPR was the target gene of miR396b-5p, while TPR overexpression plants were hypersensitive to cold stress. The yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assays showed that both WRKY41 and WRKY46 bound to MIR396b-5p promoter to induce its expression. Furthermore, cold stress enhanced the content of ABA in the roots and leaves of figleaf gourd grafted cucumber seedlings. Exogenous application of ABA induced the expression of WRKY41 and WRKY46, and cold tolerance of grafted cucumber seedlings. However, figleaf gourd rootstock-induced cold tolerance was compromised when plants were pretreated with ABA biosynthesis inhibitor. Thus, ABA mediated figleaf gourd grafting-induced cold tolerance of cucumber seedlings through activating the WRKY41/WRKY46-miR396b-5p-TPR module.
Effect of aerial application of adjuvants on pepper defoliant droplet deposition and efficacy of defoliation sprayed by unmanned aerial vehicles
Authors: Liu Yapeng , Xiao Qinggang , Han Xiaoqiang , Zeeshan Muhammad , Fang Zhihao , Dou Zechen
Published: September 2022

Defoliant spraying is an important aspect of the mechanized processing of pepper harvesting. Complete and uniform spraying of defoliant could improve the quality of defoliation and reduce the impurity content in processing pepper. In this study, we assessed the effect of aerial spraying of adjuvants on physicochemical properties of defoliant solution and droplet deposition when using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for defoliation spraying. The results showed that Puliwang was a better aerial spray adjuvant suitable for spraying defoliants for processing pepper using UAVs, with a higher defoliation rate and better droplet deposition. Although the YS-20 adjuvant had a higher droplet deposition amount (0.72 μg/cm2) in the middle layer, its performance was poor in droplet size, density, and coverage. The size and density of the droplets added with the Manniu were basically the same as the Puliwang, even the distribution uniformity was better (the CV of the upper canopy layer was only 33.6%), but the coverage rate was poor. In the treatment with AS-901N, there was no marked increase in droplet size, so evaporation and drift were not improved, eventually resulting in a lower defoliation rate. Puliwang had the highest comprehensive score, followed by AS-910N, YS-20, and Manniu.
The divergent vertical pattern and assembly of soil bacterial and fungal communities in response to short-term warming in an alpine peatland
Authors: Wang Xiaodong , Li Yong , Yan Zhongqing , Hao Yanbin , Kang Enze , Zhang Xiaodong , Li Meng , Zhang Kerou , Yan Liang , Yang Ao , Niu Yuechuan , Kang Xiaoming
Published: September 2022

Soil microbial communities are crucial in ecosystem-level decomposition and nutrient cycling processes and are sensitive to climate change in peatlands. However, the response of the vertical distribution of microbial communities to warming remains unclear in the alpine peatland. In this study, we examined the effects of warming on the vertical pattern and assembly of soil bacterial and fungal communities across three soil layers (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm) in the Zoige alpine peatland under a warming treatment. Our results showed that short-term warming had no significant effects on the alpha diversity of either the bacterial or the fungal community. Although the bacterial community in the lower layers became more similar as soil temperature increased, the difference in the vertical structure of the bacterial community among different treatments was not significant. In contrast, the vertical structure of the fungal community was significantly affected by warming. The main ecological process driving the vertical assembly of the bacterial community was the niche-based process in all treatments, while soil carbon and nutrients were the main driving factors. The vertical structure of the fungal community was driven by a dispersal-based process in control plots, while the niche and dispersal processes jointly regulated the fungal communities in the warming plots. Plant biomass was significantly related to the vertical structure of the fungal community under the warming treatments. The variation in pH was significantly correlated with the assembly of the bacterial community, while soil water content, microbial biomass carbon/microbial biomass phosphorous (MBC/MBP), and microbial biomass nitrogen/ microbial biomass phosphorous (MBN/MBP) were significantly correlated with the assembly of the fungal community. These results indicate that the vertical structure and assembly of the soil bacterial and fungal communities responded differently to warming and could provide a potential mechanism of microbial community assembly in the alpine peatland in response to warming.
Identification of genetic loci for flag-leaf-related traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and their effects on grain yield
Authors: Wang Ying , Qiao Ling , Yang Chenkang , Li Xiaohua , Zhao Jiajia , Wu Bangbang , Zheng Xingwei , Li Pengbo , Zheng Jun
Published: September 2022

Flag-leaf-related traits including length (FLL), width (FLW), area (FLA), thickness (FLT), and volume (FLV) of flag leaves are the most important determinants of plant architecture and yield in wheat. Understanding the genetic basis of these traits could accelerate the breeding of high yield wheat varieties. In this study, we constructed a doubled haploid (DH) population and analyzed flag-leaf-related traits in five experimental locations/years using the wheat 90K single-nucleotide polymorphism array. It’s worth noting that a novel method was used to measure FLT and FLV easily. Leaf thickness at two-thirds of the leaf length from tip to collar represented the average leaf thickness as measured with freehand sections and was used to calculate the leaf volume. In addition, flag-leaf-related traits showed positive correlations with yield related traits under two different water regimes. A total of 79 quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling the five traits were detected among all chromosomes except 4D and 5A, explaining 3.09–14.52% of the phenotypic variation. Among them, 15 stable QTL were identified in more than three environments, including two major QTL for FLT, six for FLW, three for FLA, two for FLT and two for FLV. DH lines with positive alleles at both QTL regions had an average FLL (9.90%), FLW (32.87%), FLT (6.62%), FLA (18.47%), and FLV (20.87%) greater than lines with contrasting alleles. QFLT-2B, QFLV-2A, and QFLV-7D were co-located with yield-related traits. The 15 QTL were validated by tightly linked kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) markers in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a different cross. QFLL-4A, QFLW-4B, QFLA-5D.1, QFLA-7A, QFLA-7D.1, QFLT-2B, QFLT-6A, QFLV-2A, and QFLV-7D are likely novel loci. These results provide a better understanding of the genetic basis underlying flag-leaf-related traits. Also, target regions for fine mapping and marker-assisted selection were identified and these will be valuable for breeding high yielding bread wheat.
Alleviation of postharvest chilling injury in sweet pepper using Salicylic acid foliar spraying incorporated with caraway oil coating under cold storage
Authors: Hanaei Saeed , Bodaghi Hojatollah , Ghasimi Hagh Ziba
Published: September 2022

The decrease in the postharvest quality of sweet peppers in terms of the physiological disorders resulting from cold storage (<7–10°C) results in the significant economic losses. The ability of pre-harvest foliar spraying of Salicylic acid (SA) (1.5 and 3 mM) and the postharvest caraway (Carum carvi) oil coating (0.3% and 0.6%) on chilling injury (CI) and the quality of stored sweet pepper at 4 ± 2°C for 60 d followed by an additional 2 d at 20°C were investigated. The antifungal activity of caraway oil (0.15%, 0.3%, and 0.6%) on Botrytis cinerea mycelia in in vitro showed that the maximum percentage of inhibition was equal to 95% in the medium with 0.6% of this oil. The CI of sweet pepper was significantly reduced by increasing SA, and caraway oil concentrations compared to the control, especially the lowest CI (14.36%), were obtained at 3 mM SA and 0.6% caraway oil treatment. The results showed a significant delay in the changes of weight loss (79.43%), firmness (30%), pH (6%), total soluble solids (TSS) (17%), titratable acidity (TA) (32%), and color surface characteristics and capsaicin content (5%) compared to control fruits at 3 mM SA and 0.6% caraway oil concentrations. Results indicated that the decrease in CI was related to a decrease in electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, total phenolic production, decay incidence, and an increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD). Thus, the incorporation of SA (3 mM) and caraway oil (0.6%) to reduce the CI of stored sweet pepper at low temperature can be considered a practical solution to improve the quality and marketability of this product.
Exploring psychological resilience of entrepreneurial college students for post-pandemic pedagogy: The mediating role of self-efficacy
Authors: Guo Hui , Zhang Yu , Tian Yaqi , Zheng Wenxiu , Ying Limeng
Published: September 2022

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students is an important topic. With the entry of the post-epidemic era, how universities can better improve students’ psychological resilience in teaching is the research topic of this article. In the form of a questionnaire survey, some entrepreneurial college students investigated the loneliness and psychological resilience of college students after the outbreak of the epidemic and explored the role of self-efficacy in it. The data is collected online through cooperation with an entrepreneurial event, and the participating students are asked for background information such as colleges, grade, and majors. After collecting this information, they answered a series of simplified scale questions about loneliness, self-efficacy, and psychological resilience. In the end, a total of 200 questionnaires from different universities were collected, and the structural equation model was used to explore the role of self-efficacy. The results show that: loneliness has a significant negative effect on Self-efficacy, β = -0.292, p < 0.001; Self-efficacy has a significant positive effect on psychological resilience, β = 0.556, p < 0.0 01; loneliness has a significant negative effect on psychological resilience, β = -0.244, p < 0.01. Self-Efficacy has a significant intermediate effect in loneliness and psychological resilience, with an effective value of -0.111 and p < 0.01. The results show that this exploratory survey finds it important to provide targeted personal self-efficacy improvement activities for college students with a strong sense of loneliness and to combine school and family education organically to help college students form a healthy and upward mentality to better cope with the unknown and troubles caused by the epidemic, which will help improve the psychological resilience of college students in the epidemic.
Visual Attention to Novel Products – Cross-Cultural Insights From Physiological Data
Authors: Rinklin Isabella , Hubert Marco , Koller Monika , Kenning Peter
Published: September 2022

The study aims to investigate visual attention and perceived attractiveness to known versus unknown (novel) products above and beyond self-report applying physiological methods. A cross-cultural exploratory approach allows for comparing results gathered in the United States and China. We collected field data on physiological parameters accompanied by behavioral data. Mobile eye-tracking was employed to capture attention by measuring gaze parameters and electrodermal activity serves as indicator for arousal at an unconscious level. A traditional scale approach measuring perceived attractiveness of known versus novel products provide insights at a conscious level. US-American and Chinese consumers in our sample indeed process novel products differently. This can be observed at an unconscious and conscious level. Different gaze movements and arousal levels are observed at an unconscious level. Regarding behavioral data, the level of vertical orientation shapes the perceived attractiveness of novel products at a conscious level. The study showcases how physiological methods complement behavioral ones when investigating visual attention to products. It underlines varying conscious as well as unconscious visual attention and attractiveness ratings comparing known versus novel products, driven by cultural differences. Data from a field setting further enrich the implications derived for new product development and applied marketing.
Enhancing free choice masked priming via switch trials during repeated practice
Authors: Dai Qi , Yao Lichang , Wu Qiong , Yu Yiyang , Li Wen , Yang Jiajia , Takahashi Satoshi , Ejima Yoshimichi , Wu Jinglong
Published: September 2022

The masked priming paradigm has been extensively used to investigate the indirect impacts of unconscious stimuli on conscious behaviors, and the congruency effect of priming on free choices has gained increasing attention. Free choices allow participants to voluntarily choose a response from multiple options during each trial. While repeated practice is known to increase priming effects in subliminal visual tasks, whether practice increases the priming effect of free choices in the masked priming paradigm is unclear. And it is also not clear how the proportions of free choice and forced choice trials in one block will affect the free choice masked priming effect. The present study applied repeated practice in the masked priming paradigm and found that after training, the participants were more likely to be influenced by masked primes during free choice, but this training process did not alter the visibility of masked stimuli. In addition, this study revealed that when the proportions of free choice and forced choice trials were equal during the training stage, this enhanced effect by practice was the strongest. These results indicated that practice could enhance masked stimulus processing in free-choice, and that the learning effect may mainly be derived from the early selection and integrated processing of masked stimuli.
Adolescence between biology and culture a perspective on the crisis of symbolization
Authors: Carta Stefano , Cataudella Stefania
Published: September 2022

One way to conceptualize human life is to describe it as a process through which the biological body is progressively transformed into a psychological one through its mentalization and symbolization. This process occurs through the relational field, which begins with caregiver-infant proto-conversations and develops through adolescence into the ongoing complex interpersonal relational network we call society and culture. The essence and the problems of adolescents are intricately tied to the social and cultural contexts in which they experience life. Therefore, adolescence cannot be understood if all the levels that it expresses (biological, psychological cultural/social) are not taken into consideration. We identify three psycho-historical phases through which adolescence has changed in the past century: (1) Oedipal; (2) Narcissistic; and (3) Post-narcissistic. In this last phase due to the psychological and historical failure of the narcissistic ideals, the ideal is mingling with the real in a wholly new way. This process has overturned Erikson's paradigm: identity, opposed and defined by a dichotomic otherness, must be transformed into a fluid integration of similarities and differences negotiated and developed through empirical interpersonal intersubjective experiences. This, in our perspective, is a possible key to understand the rapid change in the nature of consciousness, selfhood, and gendering in today's western world, together with some important psychopathological disorders which describe the new creative challenges of today's adolescents.
Criminal law-based copyright protection with entrepreneurial spirit
Authors: Wang Wenjing
Published: September 2022

This study aims to optimize the enterprise criminal law-based copyright protection. This exploration discusses the role of the entrepreneurial spirit (ES) in criminal law-based copyright protection. To study the relationship between ES and criminal law-based copyright protection, the concepts of ES, criminal law-based copyright protection, and enterprise innovation are given. Next, by collecting literature, hypotheses are put forward. They include the relationship between ES and enterprise innovation, ES and the criminal law-based copyright protection, and the intermediary role of ES in the criminal law-based copyright protection and economic growth. Then, relevant models are established. Finally, the hypotheses are tested through experiments and empirical analysis, and the model is regressed to test the experimental data’s robustness and the scale’s reliability and validity. The empirical analysis shows that: (1) the significance of ES under the 1% index is greater than 0. It indicates that the higher the managers’ ES is, the greater the enterprise innovation is. (2) The significance of criminal law-based copyright protection on ES under the 1% index is greater than 0 and the regression coefficient is 0.59. This shows that criminal law-based copyright protection has a significant positive impact on ES. (3) Under the l% index, the significance of ES on economic growth is greater than 0 and the regression coefficient is 0.63. It shows that ES mediates the relationship between criminal law-based copyright protection and economic growth. Therefore, strengthening criminal law-based copyright protection improves the ES and leads to faster enterprise and regional economic development. Therefore, the state should pay attention to criminal law-based copyright protection to encourage innovation to promote enterprise development. This exploration studies the relationship among ES, economic growth, enterprise innovation, and criminal law-based copyright protection. The finding provides a theoretical reference for criminal law-based copyright protection.
Destination image, nostalgic feeling, flow experience and agritourism: An empirical study of Yunling Tea Estate in Anxi, China
Authors: Zhang Sunbowen , Liang Jingxuan , Ma Yongqiang , Chen Youcheng , He Qiaohua
Published: September 2022

This study introduces destination image, nostalgic feeling, and flow experience into tea estate tourism and constructs a theoretical model that includes destination image, nostalgic feeling, flow experience, cultural identity, and tourists’ behavioral intention. Then, an empirical study is conducted with tourists at Yunling Tea Estate in Anxi, China. The results show that all hypotheses are supported except the hypothesis pertaining to the significance of the influence of flow experience on behavioral intention, which is not supported. The model includes eight mediating effects and one moderating effect that is influenced by cultural memory.
Evaluating behavior change factors over time for a simple vs. complex health behavior
Authors: Phillips L. Alison , More Kimberly R.
Published: September 2022

Background

Researchers are working to identify dynamic factors involved in the shift from behavioral initiation to maintenance—factors which may depend on behavioral complexity. We test hypotheses regarding changes in factors involved in behavioral initiation and maintenance and their relationships to behavioral frequency over time, for a simple (taking a supplement) vs. complex (exercise) behavior.

Methods

Data are secondary analyses from a larger RCT, in which young adult women, new to both behaviors, were randomly assigned to take daily calcium (N = 161) or to go for a daily, brisk walk (N = 171), for 4-weeks. Factors (intentions, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, self-identity, habit strength) were measured weekly. Multi-level modeling evaluated their change over time. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression determined the relationships between factors and the subsequent-week behavioral frequency (self-report and objective).

Finding

Results were partly in-line with expectations, in that individuals’ intentions and self-efficacy predicted initial behavioral engagement for both behaviors, and habit strength increased for both behaviors, becoming a significant predictor of behavioral frequency in later weeks of the study in some analyses. However, results depended on whether the outcome was self-reported or objectively measured and whether analyses were bivariate or multivariate (regression).

Discussion

The factors theorized to play a role in behavioral maintenance (intrinsic motivation, self-identity, and habit strength) started to develop, but only habit strength predicted behavioral frequency by study-end, for both behaviors. Differences in initiation and maintenance between behaviors of differing complexity may not be as stark as theorized, but longer follow-up times are required to evaluate maintenance factors.
Coping with adverse childhood experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perceptions of mental health service providers
Authors: Choudhury Sumaita , Yeh Paul G. , Markham Christine M.
Published: September 2022

Background

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been associated with long-term physical and mental health conditions, toxic stress levels, developing unstable interpersonal relationships, and substance use disorders due to unresolved childhood adversities.

Aims

This study assessed the perspectives of mental health providers (MHPs) regarding their adult patients’ coping with ACEs during COVID-19 in Houston, Texas. Specifically, we explored how individuals with ACEs are coping with the increased stresses of the pandemic, how MHPs may provide therapeutic support for individuals with ACEs during this pandemic, pandemic-related challenges of accessing and utilizing mental health services for individuals with ACEs, and the awareness and treatment of ACEs among MHPs.

Methods

Ten in-depth semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted with licensed MHPs from November 2021 to April 2022 in Houston, Texas. Interviews were coded and analyzed for emerging themes through an inductive open coding approach to discover insights regarding coping with ACEs during COVID-19.

Results

Four key themes experienced by individuals with ACEs emerged from the MHP interviews: (1) Maladaptive emotional dissonance and coping outlets during the pandemic, (2) Difficulties with social connectedness and significance of social support, (3) Heightened daily life stressors and coping with the ongoing disruption of the pandemic, and (4) Changing interactions with the mental health system. Themes from this study highlighted that resilience, seeking treatment, and strong social support can help develop healthy coping strategies among individuals with ACEs.

Conclusion

This study may help inform best clinical practices to develop interventions and policies regarding ACEs such as a resilience-promotion approach that targets all the socio-ecological levels. In addition, findings highlight the synergy of psychotherapeutic and pharmacological management via tele-health modalities, in helping individuals with ACEs continue receiving the care they deserve and need during a persistent pandemic and an uncertain future.