bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A scoping review of digital fabrication techniques applied to prosthetics and orthotics: Part 1 of 2—Prosthetics
Authors: Oldfrey Ben M. , Morgado Ramirez Dafne Z. , Miodownik Mark , Wassall Matthew , Ramstrand Nerrolyn , Wong Man S. , Danemayer Jamie , Dickinson Alex , Kenney Laurence , Nester Christopher , Lemaire Edward , Gholizadeth Hossein , Diment Laura E. , Donovan-Hall Margaret K. , Holloway Catherine
Published: April 2024

Background:

Traditionally, the manufacture of prostheses is time-consuming and labor-intensive. One possible route to improving access and quality of these devices is the digitalizing of the fabrication process, which may reduce the burden of manual labor and bring the potential for automation that could help unblock access to assistive technologies globally.

Objectives:

To identify where there are gaps in the literature that are creating barriers to decision-making on either appropriate uptake by clinical teams or on the needed next steps in research that mean these technologies can continue on a pathway to maturity.

Study design:

Scoping literature review.

Methods:

A comprehensive search was completed in the following databases: Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health Archive, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Association for Computing Machinery, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Engineering Village, resulting in 3487 articles to be screened.

Results:

After screening, 130 lower limb prosthetic articles and 117 upper limb prosthetic articles were included in this review. Multiple limitations in the literature were identified, particularly a lack of long-term, larger-scale studies; research into the training requirements for these technologies and the necessary rectification processes; and a high range of variance of production workflows and materials which makes drawing conclusions difficult.

Conclusions:

These limitations create a barrier to adequate evidence-based decision-making for clinicians, technology developers, and wider policymakers. Increased collaboration between academia, industry, and clinical teams across more of the pathway to market for new technologies could be a route to addressing these gaps.
Technology Characterization Through Diverse Evaluation Methodologies: Application to Thoracic Imaging in Photon-Counting Computed Tomography
Authors: Rajagopal Jayasai R. , Schwartz Fides R. , McCabe Cindy , Farhadi Faraz , Zarei Mojtaba , Ria Francesco , Abadi Ehsan , Segars Paul , Ramirez-Giraldo Juan Carlos , Jones Elizabeth C. , Henry Travis , Marin Daniele , Samei Ehsan
Published: April 2024

Objective

Different methods can be used to condition imaging systems for clinical use. The purpose of this study was to assess how these methods complement one another in evaluating a system for clinical integration of an emerging technology, photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT), for thoracic imaging.

Methods

Four methods were used to assess a clinical PCCT system (NAEOTOM Alpha; Siemens Healthineers, Forchheim, Germany) across 3 reconstruction kernels (Br40f, Br48f, and Br56f). First, a phantom evaluation was performed using a computed tomography quality control phantom to characterize noise magnitude, spatial resolution, and detectability. Second, clinical images acquired using conventional and PCCT systems were used for a multi-institutional reader study where readers from 2 institutions were asked to rank their preference of images. Third, the clinical images were assessed in terms of in vivo image quality characterization of global noise index and detectability. Fourth, a virtual imaging trial was conducted using a validated simulation platform (DukeSim) that models PCCT and a virtual patient model (XCAT) with embedded lung lesions imaged under differing conditions of respiratory phase and positional displacement. Using known ground truth of the patient model, images were evaluated for quantitative biomarkers of lung intensity histograms and lesion morphology metrics.

Results

For the physical phantom study, the Br56f kernel was shown to have the highest resolution despite having the highest noise and lowest detectability. Readers across both institutions preferred the Br56f kernel (71% first rank) with a high interclass correlation (0.990). In vivo assessments found superior detectability for PCCT compared with conventional computed tomography but higher noise and reduced detectability with increased kernel sharpness. For the virtual imaging trial, Br40f was shown to have the best performance for histogram measures, whereas Br56f was shown to have the most precise and accurate morphology metrics.

Conclusion

The 4 evaluation methods each have their strengths and limitations and bring complementary insight to the evaluation of PCCT. Although no method offers a complete answer, concordant findings between methods offer affirmatory confidence in a decision, whereas discordant ones offer insight for added perspective. Aggregating our findings, we concluded the Br56f kernel best for high-resolution tasks and Br40f for contrast-dependent tasks.
Abnormal Cardiac Magnetic Resonance–Derived Ascending Aortic Area Strain Demonstrates Altered Ventriculo-Vascular Function in Marfan Syndrome
Authors: Jacquemyn Xander , Cordrey Kyla , Van Den Eynde Jef , Guerrerio Anthony L. , MacCarrick Gretchen , Dietz Hal C. , Kutty Shelby
Published: April 2024

Purpose:

There remains a need for improved imaging markers for risk stratification and treatment guidance in Marfan syndrome (MFS). After aortic root replacement (ARR), vascular remodeling and progressive aneurysm formation can occur due to alterations in up- and downstream wall biomechanics and hemodynamics. We aim to compare the ventriculo-vascular properties of patients with MFS with controls, and investigate the correlation between ascending aortic area strain and descending aortic area strain (DAAS) with other clinical variables.

Patients and Methods:

Nineteen patients with MFS (47% males), including 6 with ARR were studied. In 26 studies, aortic area strain was measured using cross-sectional cardiac magnetic resonance images at the ascending and proximal descending aortic levels. Left atrial, left ventricular longitudinal, and left ventricle circumferential strain (left atrial longitudinal strain, left ventricular longitudinal strain, and left ventricular circumferential strain, respectively) were measured using cardiac magnetic resonance–feature tracking.

Results:

Compared with healthy controls, patients with MFS had significantly impaired left ventricular longitudinal strain and left ventricular circumferential strain (−15.8 ± 4.7 vs −19.7 ± 4.8, P = 0.005, and −17.7 ± 4.0 vs −27.0 ± 4.1, P < 0.001). Left atrial longitudinal strain was comparable between patients with MFS and controls. AAAS was significantly reduced (19.0 [11.9, 23.7] vs 46.1 ± 11.3, P < 0.001), whereas DAAS was not significantly decreased. AAAS and DAAS were negatively correlated with age, whereas no significant associations were identified with left ventricle function indices. No significant differences were observed between the ventriculo-vascular properties of patients with MFS who underwent ARR and those who did not.

Conclusion:

Patients with MFS demonstrated impaired ventricular and vascular function compared with healthy controls. Further investigations are warranted to determine clinical utility of aortic stiffness indices for predicting primary and repeat aortic events.
Can We Differentiate Between Primary Sjögren Syndrome and Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease Based on the Characteristics of Pulmonary Cysts?
Authors: Zhou Jiamin , Zhang Lu , Liu Xueqing , Zhang Miaoyan , Liu Ziwei , Jin Ye , Feng Ruie , Shi Juhong , Li Jian , Zhang Weihong
Published: April 2024

Purpose:

To identify radiological characteristics that could help differentiate cystic lung diseases between primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) and idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD).

Patients and Methods:

Patients with pSS or iMCD who had cysts were enrolled. Cyst characteristics (number, size, morphology, and distribution) and other accompanying manifestations (nodules, ground-glass opacities, calcification, and thickening of the bronchovascular bundles and interlobular septa) were compared between them.

Results:

Eleven patients with pSS and 25 patients with iMCD were eligible for our study. Eleven patients with pSS (100.0%) and 23 patients with iMCD (92.0%) had round or oval cysts. None of the patients with pSS had irregular cysts, but 21 (84.0%) patients with iMCD had irregular cysts (P = 0.005). Smooth-walled cysts were present in 11 patients with pSS (100.0%) and 18 patients with iMCD (72.0%). Only 1 patient with pSS (9.1%) exhibited non-smooth-walled cysts, whereas 23 patients with iMCD (92.0%) had non-smooth-walled cysts (P = 0.003). The presence of nodules was common in both groups (P = 1.000). However, the nodules were more likely to be larger and more numerous in patients with iMCD (P < 0.001). Cysts with mural nodules (52.2%) and central nodules (47.8%) were only observed in iMCD (P = 0.007).

Conclusion:

Although regular and smooth-walled cysts were common in the 2 diseases, irregular and non-smooth-walled cysts were more often associated with iMCD than pSS. Nodules in iMCD tended to be larger and more numerous, and a close positional relationship between nodules and cysts was only observed in iMCD.
Erysipelothrix spp. and other Erysipelotrichales detected by 16S rRNA microbial community profiling in samples from healthy conventionally reared chickens and their environment
Authors: Wattrang Eva , Sørensen Dalgaard Tina , Eriksson Helena , Söderlund Robert
Published: April 2024

Outbreaks of erysipelas, a disease caused by infection with Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (ER), is a re-emerging problem in cage-free laying hen flocks. The source of ER infection in hens is usually unknown and serological evidence has indicated the presence of ER or other antigenically related bacteria also in healthy flocks. The aim of the present study was to evaluate sample collection, culture methods and DNA-based methodology to detect ER and other Erysipelotrichales in samples from healthy chickens and their environment.
We used samples from a research facility with conventionally reared chickens with no history of erysipelas outbreaks where hens with high titers of IgY recognising ER previously have been observed. Microbial DNA was extracted from samples either directly or after pre-culture in nonselective or ER-selective medium. Real-time PCR was used for detection of Erysipelothrix spp. and high-throughput amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA sequencing was used for detection of Erysipelotrichales. A pilot serological analysis of some Erysipelotrichales members with IgY from unvaccinated and ER vaccinated high biosecurity-chickens as well as conventionally reared chickens was also performed.
All samples were negative for ER, E. tonsillarum and E. piscisicarius by PCR analysis. However, 16S rRNA community profiling indicated the presence of several Erysipelotrichales genera in both environmental samples and chicken intestinal samples including Erysipelothrix spp. that were detected in environmental samples. Sequences from Erysipelothrix spp. were most frequently detected in samples pre-cultured in ER-selective medium. On species level the presence of E. anatis and/or E. aquatica was indicated. Serological results indicated that IgY raised to ER showed some cross-reactivity with E. anatis.
Hence, environmental samples pre-cultured in selective medium and analysis by 16S rRNA sequencing proved a useful method for detection of Erysipelotrichales including Erysipelothrix spp. in chicken flocks. The observation of such bacteria in environmental samples offers a possible explanation for the observation of high antibody titres to ER in flocks without a history of clinical erysipelas.
Xanthomonas citri pv. eucalyptorum 4866-2_S43 strain (formerly X. axonopodis pv. eucalyptorum): Causal agent of bacterial leaf blight on eucalypt recovered in Argentina
Authors: Tragila German Matias , Poudel Mousami , Miño Samuel , Canteros Blanca Isabel , Minsavage Gerald V. , Sharma Anuj , Goss Erica M. , Jones Jeffrey B. , Gochez Alberto
Published: April 2024

We report here a draft genome assembly of strain 4866-2_S43 isolated from a eucalyptus lesion in Argentina and what until recently was caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. eucalyptorum (Xae). The genome size is 5,188,607 bp, with a G+C content of 64.66%. Comparative analysis reveals that the closest relative of strain 4866-2_S43 is Xae LPF 602, isolated in Brazil. Comparison of the whole genome sequences revealed an average nucleotide identity (ANI) of 99.96%. between the two strains. ANIs were determined between the whole genome sequence of strain 4866-2_S43 and the genomes of all currently validated Xanthomonas spp. These results revealed that strain 4866-2_S43 had greater than 95% with X. citri pv. citri,and X. citri pv. phaseoli, and less than 95% with X. euvesicatoria pv. alfalfae, X. perforans, and X. euvesicatoria pathovars euvesicatoria and eucalyptii.
SARS-CoV-2 spike S2 subunit inhibits p53 activation of p21(WAF1), TRAIL Death Receptor DR5 and MDM2 proteins in cancer cells
Authors: Zhang Shengliang , El-Deiry Wafik S.
Published: April 2024

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19 infection has led to worsened outcomes for patients with cancer. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mediates host cell infection and cell-cell fusion that causes stabilization of tumor suppressor p53 protein. In-silico analysis previously suggested that SARS-CoV-2 spike interacts with p53 directly but this putative interaction has not been demonstrated in cells. We examined the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 spike, p53 and MDM2 (E3 ligase, which mediates p53 degradation) in cancer cells using an immunoprecipitation assay. We observed that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interrupts p53-MDM2 protein interaction but did not detect SARS-CoV-2 spike bound with p53 protein in the cancer cells. We further observed that SARS-CoV-2 spike suppresses p53 transcriptional activity in cancer cells including after nutlin exposure of wild-type p53-, spike S2-expressing tumor cells and inhibits chemotherapy-induced p53 gene activation of p21(WAF1), TRAIL Death Receptor DR5 and MDM2. The suppressive effect of SARS-CoV-2 spike on p53-dependent gene activation provides a potential molecular mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 infection may impact tumorigenesis, tumor progression and chemotherapy sensitivity. In fact, cisplatin-treated tumor cells expressing spike S2 were found to have increased cell viability as compared to control cells. Further observations on γ-H2AX expression in spike S2-expressing cells treated with cisplatin may indicate altered DNA damage sensing in the DNA damage response pathway. The preliminary observations reported here warrant further studies to unravel the impact of SARS-CoV-2 and its various encoded proteins including spike on pathways of tumorigenesis and response to cancer therapeutics.
Selective phase separation of transcription factors is driven by orthogonal molecular grammar
Authors: Driver Mark D. , Onck Patrick R.
Published: April 2024

Protein production is critically dependent on gene transcription rates, which are regulated by RNA polymerase and a large collection of transcription factors (TFs). Previous studies identified the formation of super enhancer regions where increased transcriptional activity is observed. This has been linked to phase separation, in which the differential condensation behaviour of separate TF families has been hypothesised to cause the selectivity in gene expression. The underlying molecular forces that are responsible for this selectivity, however, are unknown. Here, we conduct phase separation studies on six TFs (FUS, EWS, TAF15, SP1, SP2, and HNF1A) from three different TF families by carrying out residue-scale coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Our exploration of ternary TF phase diagrams revealed four dominant sticker motifs and two orthogonal driving forces, consisting of hydrophobic (aromatic, aliphatic) interactions and electrostatic/cation-πinteractions. The contribution of these driving forces to the homotypic and heterotypic intermolecular strengths dictate the resultant condensate morphology. These results point to sequence-dependent orthogonal grammar as a generic mechanism responsible for selective transcriptional condensation in gene expression. Interestingly, our results also show how RNA polymerase is able to overcome this orthogonality to coalesce with TF condensate providing a framework in which co-condensation is the primary nuclear organisational principle that controls selective partitioning of RNAP to targeted genes for transcription.
Genetic screen to test microRNA function in peripheral glia morphology
Authors: Paluri Sravya , Auld Vanessa J.
Published: April 2024

Glial cells perform many functions in the nervous system, including maintaining the blood-brain/nerve barriers and structurally supporting axons. While their functions are well-characterized, the complex molecular mechanisms important for their development are less known. Here, we investigated whether microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation is involved during glial development, ensheathment and blood-nerve-barrier formation inDrosophila. In this study, we systematically knocked down 120 different microRNAs by competitive inhibition using microRNA-sponges and analyzed peripheral glial morphology. Knockdown of miRNA-125 in the blood-nerve barrier-forming glia (subperineurial glia) resulted in the most penetrant morphological defects. Since microRNA-125 is co-transcribed with miRNAs-let7 and −100 in a genetic cluster, our further verification for subperineurial glia function included miRNA-125 plus all other members of this cluster. However, the loss of each individual gene and the entire cluster did not lead to any morphological defects in the subperineurial glia. To test the efficiency of the microRNA sponge approach in subperineurial glia, we expressed a sponge targeting a microRNA established to be vital for blood-brain barrier formation (microRNA-285) and found no defects in brain lobes and peripheral nerves. Given that a scrambled-sponge control also generated morphological defects, this suggests that using miRNA sponge lines may not be an effective approach to study miRNA function in Drosophila peripheral glia.
An Efficient and Principled Model to Jointly Learn the Agnostic and Multifactorial Effect in Large-Scale Biological Data
Authors: Cheng Zuolin , Wei Songtao , Wang Yinxue , Wang Yizhi , Lu Q Richard , Wang Yue , Yu Guoqiang
Published: April 2024

The rich information contained in biological data is often distorted by multiple interacting intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Modeling the effects of these factors is necessary to uncover the underlying true signals. However, this is challenging in real applications, because biological data usually consist of tens of thousands or millions of factors, and no reliable prior knowledge is available on how these factors exert the effect, to what degree the effect is, as well as how they interact with each other. Thus, the existing approaches rely on excessive simplification or unrealistic assumptions such as the probabilistic independence among factors. In this paper, we report the finding that after reformulating the data as a contingency tensor the problem can be well addressed by a fundamental machine learning principle, Maximum Entropy, with an extra effort of designing an efficient algorithm to solve the large-scale optimization problem. Based on the principle of maximum entropy, and by constraining the marginals of the contingency tensor using the observed values, our Conditional Multifactorial Contingency (CMC) model imposes minimum but essential assumptions about the multifactorial joint effects and leads to a conceptually simple distribution, which informs how these factors exert the effects and interact with each other. By replacing hard constraints with expected values, CMC avoids the NP-hard problem and results in a theoretically solvable convex problem. However, due to the large scale of variables and constraints, the standard convex solvers do not work. Exploring the special properties of the CMC model we developed an efficient iterative optimizer, which reduces the running time from infeasible to minutes or from days to seconds. We applied CMC to quite a few cutting-edge biological applications, including the detection of driving transcription factor, scRNA-seq normalization, cancer-associated gene identification, GO-term activity transformation, and quantification of single-cell-level similarity. CMC gained much better performance than other methods with respect to various evaluation criteria. Our source code of CMC as well as its example applications can be found athttps://github.com/yu-lab-vt/CMC.

One-Sentence Summary

CMC jointly learns intertwined effects of numerous factors in biologival data and outperform existing methods in multiple cutting-edge biological applications.
Super-resolution Left Ventricular Flow and Pressure Mapping by Navier-Stokes-Informed Neural Networks
Authors: Maidu Bahetihazi , Martinez-Legazpi Pablo , Guerrero-Hurtado Manuel , Nguyen Cathleen M. , Gonzalo Alejandro , Kahn Andrew M. , Bermejo Javier , Flores Oscar , del Alamo Juan C.
Published: April 2024

Intraventricular vector flow mapping (VFM) is a growingly adopted echocardiographic modality that derives time-resolved two-dimensional flow maps in the left ventricle (LV) from color-Doppler sequences. Current VFM models rely on kinematic constraints arising from planar flow incompressibility. However, these models are not informed by crucial information about flow physics; most notably the pressure and shear forces within the fluid and the resulting accelerations. This limitation has rendered VFM unable to combine information from different time frames in an acquisition sequence or derive fluctuating pressure maps. In this study, we leveraged recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) to develop AI-VFM, a vector flow mapping modality that uses physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) encoding mass conservation and momentum balance inside the LV, and no-slip boundary conditions at the LV endocardium. AI-VFM recovers the flow and pressure fields in the LV from standard echocardiographic scans. It performs phase unwrapping and recovers flow data in areas without input color-Doppler data. AI-VFM also recovers complete flow maps at time points without color-Doppler input data, producing super-resolution flow maps. We show that informing the PINNs with momentum balance is essential to achieving temporal super-resolution and significantly increases the accuracy of AI-VFM compared to informing the PINNs only with mass conservation. AI-VFM is solely informed by each patient’s flow physics; it does not utilize explicit smoothness constraints or incorporate data from other patients or flow models. AI-VFM takes 15 minutes to run in off-the-shelf graphics processing units and its underlying PINN framework could be extended to map other flow-associated metrics like blood residence time or the concentration of coagulation species.
Characterization of spike processing and entry mechanisms of seasonal human coronaviruses NL63, 229E and HKU1
Authors: Neerukonda Sabari Nath , Vassell Russell , Lusvarghi Sabrina , Liu Shufeng , Akue Adovi , KuKuruga Mark , Wang Tony T. , Weiss Carol D , Wang Wei
Published: April 2024

Although much has been learned about the entry mechanism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the details of entry mechanisms of seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoVs) remain less well understood. In the present study, we established that 293T cell lines that stably express angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2), aminopeptidase N (APN), or transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) support high level transduction of lentiviral pseudoviruses bearing spike proteins of seasonal HCoVs, HCoV-NL63, -229E, or -HKU1, respectively. Our results showed that entry of HCoV-NL63, -229E and -HKU1 pseudoviruses is sensitive to endosomal acidification inhibitors (chloroquine and NH4Cl), indicating virus entry via the endocytosis route. Although HCoV-HKU1 pseudovirus infection requires TMPRSS2 expression on cell surface, endocytosis-mediated HCoV-HKU1 entry requires the serine protease domain but not the serine protease activity of TMPRSS2. We also show that amino acids in the predicted S1/S2 junctions of spike proteins of HCoV-NL63, and - 229E are essential for optimal entry but non-essential for spike-mediated entry of HCoV-HKU1. Our findings provide insights into entry mechanism of seasonal HCoVs that may support the development of novel treatment strategies.

Importance

Details of the entry mechanisms of seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoVs) remain to be fully explored. To investigate the entry of HCoV-NL63, -229E and -HKU1 CoVs, we employed 293T cells that stably express angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2) aminopeptidase N (APN), or transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) to study entry mechanisms of pseudoviruses bearing spike proteins of HCoV-NL63, -229E and - HKU1 respectively. Our results provide new insights into the predicted S1/S2 subunit junctions, cellular receptor, and protease requirements for seasonal HCoV pseudovirus entry via endocytic route and may support the development of novel treatment strategies.
Antimicrobial blue light-bathing therapy for wound infection control
Authors: Hui Jie , Moon Wonjoon , Dong Pu-Ting , Anjos Carolina dos , Negri Laisa , Yan Hao , Wang Ying , Tam Joshua , Dai Tianhong , Anderson R. Rox , Goverman Jeremy , Gelfand Jeffrey , Yun Seok-Hyun
Published: April 2024

The prevalence of antibiotic resistance and tolerance in wound infection management poses a serious and growing health threat, necessitating the exploration of alternative approaches. Antimicrobial blue light therapy offers an appealing, non-pharmacological solution. However, its practical application has been hindered by the requirement for high irradiance levels, which particularly raises safety concerns. Here, we introduce a light-bathing strategy that employs prolonged, continuous exposure to blue light at an irradiance range lower by more than an order of magnitude (5 mW/cm2). This method consistently applies bacteriostatic pressure, keeping wound bioburden low, all while minimizing photothermal risks. Leveraging tailor-made, wearable light-emitting patches, we conducted preclinical trials on rat models of wound infection, demonstrating its safety and efficacy for suppressing infections induced by methicillin- resistantS. aureusand multidrug-resistantP. aeruginosa. Our results pave a new way for the application of blue light therapy in wound care.
Competition for resources can reshape the evolutionary properties of spatial structure
Authors: Devadhasan Anush , Kolodny Oren , Carja Oana
Published: April 2024

Many evolving ecosystems have spatial structures that can be conceptualized as networks, with nodes representing individuals or homogeneous subpopulations and links the patterns of interaction and replacement between them. Prior models of evolution on networks do not take ecological niche differences and eco-evolutionary interplay into account. Here, we combine a resource competition model with evolutionary graph theory to study how heterogeneous topological structure shapes evolutionary dynamics under global frequency-dependent ecological interactions. We find that the addition of ecological competition for resources can produce a reversal of roles between amplifier and suppressor networks for deleterious mutants entering the population. Moreover, we show that this effect is a non-linear function of ecological niche overlap and discuss intuition for the observed dynamics using simulations and analytical approximations.
Wearable Gait Analysis is Highly Sensitive in Detection of Fatigue-Induced Exercise in Low Intensity Training Among University Football Players
Authors: Shin Seungmin , Tomar Rakesh , Son Minji , Kim Seoungeun , Lee Yongho
Published: April 2024

Gait analysis is crucial for understanding human movement patterns and detecting changes induced by factors such as fatigue. Fatigue can significantly impact gait dynamics, especially in athletes engaged in low-intensity training sessions like university football players. This study aimed to investigate the sensitivity of wearable sensors in detecting fatigue induced by low-intensity football training among university players. Twenty healthy male university football players participated in the study, undergoing gait analysis using wearable sensors before and after a 90-minute football training session. Data were collected using shoe-type IMU sensors for gait analysis, GPS trackers for exercise monitoring, and heart rate monitors for heart rate assessment. Participants also reported their perceived exertion using the Borg RPE scale. Results showed significant changes in various gait parameters post-exercise, including decreased cadence, increased percentage of double support, decreased percentage of single support, and increased time of toe-off. However, parameters like stride length remained unchanged. Center of gravity parameters did not show significant differences except for an increase in the ML(Y) acceleration post-exercise. The study suggests that even low to moderate-intensity exercise can induce fatigue, impacting walking dynamics. Wearable IMU sensors proved highly sensitive in detecting accumulated fatigue, even in low-intensity exercises, providing valuable insights into athletes’ physical deterioration during daily activities. This method could be crucial for monitoring fatigue and preventing injuries among athletes engaged in various sports activities. Further research is recommended to explore the impact of fatigue on other gait features and to evaluate gender differences. Additionally, examining muscle phosphocreatine readings could provide further insights into fatigue-related changes in gait. Nonetheless, the study highlights the effectiveness of wearable IMU sensor gait tests in detecting fatigue induced by low to moderate-intensity exercises, emphasizing the importance of monitoring fatigue for injury prevention and performance optimization in athletes.
AUTS2, a causative gene for microcephaly, regulates division of intermediate progenitor cells and production of upper-layer neurons
Authors: Shimaoka Kazumi , Hori Kei , Miyashita Satoshi , Inoue Yukiko U. , Sakamoto Asami , Hasegawa Ikuko , Yamashiro Kunihiko , Egusa Saki F. , Tatsumoto Shoji , Go Yasuhiro , Abe Manabu , Sakimura Kenji , Inoue Takayoshi , Imamura Takuya , Hoshino Mikio
Published: April 2024

AUTS2mutations often exhibit neurodevelopmental disorders and microcephaly. However, how AUTS2 regulates neuron production and affects brain size remains unclear. Here, we show that AUTS2 cooperates with the Polycomb complex PRC2 to regulate gene expression and cortical neurogenesis.Auts2mutant mice exhibit reduced division of intermediate progenitor cells (IPCs), leading to decreased neurons and thickness in the upper-layer cortex. Expression ofRobo1is increased in the mutants, which in turn suppresses IPC division. Transcriptome and chromatin profiling experiments show that, in IPCs, AUTS2 primarily represses transcription of genes, includingRobo1. Promoter region of AUTS2 target genes is enriched with H3K27me3, a repressive histone modification, but its levels are reduced inAuts2mutants. AUTS2 interacts with PRC2, and together, they promote IPC division. These suggest that AUTS2 collaborates with PRC2 to repress gene transcription through H3K27 trimethylation, promoting neuron production. This sheds light on AUTS2 pathophysiological mechanisms in neurogenesis and microcephaly.
The absence of superinfection exclusion of Borna disease virus 2 maintains genomic polymorphisms in persistently infected cells
Authors: Kanda Takehiro , Santos Pauline Dianne , Höper Dirk , Beer Martin , Rubbenstroth Dennis , Tomonaga Keizo
Published: April 2024

Viruses belonging to the genusOrthobornaviruswithin the familyBornaviridaeare known to infect various vertebrate species, including mammals and birds. Within the genus, the speciesOrthobornavirus bornaenseincludes two mammalian viruses: Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1), the prototype of the family, and its closely related virus, BoDV-2. BoDV-1 was identified as the causative agent of Borna disease (BD) in horses, sheep, humans, and other mammals. BoDV-2 was first detected in a pony in eastern Austria in 1999 that exhibited severe and incurable neurological symptoms. Although BoDV-2 shares approximately 80% nucleotide identity with BoDV-1, its virological properties, including host range, replication ability, and pathogenicity, remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the virological properties of BoDV-2 by re-evaluating its whole-genome sequence using RNA sequencing. Compared to the published reference sequence, we identified two nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions in the large (L) gene. One of these substitutions was found to be critical for the restoration of polymerase activity, enabling the successful recovery of recombinant BoDV-2 (rBoDV-2) through reverse genetics. We also identified two nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the L gene and one in the phosphoprotein (P) gene. Substitution of these SNPs significantly enhanced the growth ability of rBoDV-2. In addition, our studies showed that BoDV-2 does not induce superinfection exclusion in cells, allowing persistence of low-fitness genome variants for an extended period of time. These findings help to characterize the virological properties of BoDV-2 and shed light on how bornaviruses maintain genetic diversity in infected cells.

Importance

Mammalian bornaviruses are a general term for viruses belonging to the genusOrthobornavirusthat infect mammalian species, e.g., Borna disease virus 1 and 2 (BoDV-1 and -2) and variegated squirrel bornavirus 1 (VSBV-1). Although BoDV-1 and VSBV-1 are reported to be associated with fatal encephalitis in humans, the infectivity and pathogenicity of BoDV-2 in humans remain unclear. To determine the virological properties of BoDV-2, we developed a reverse genetics system for BoDV-2. By using recombinant BoDV-2s, we identified several nucleotides that affect the growth ability of BoDV-2 and revealed the molecular mechanisms through which BoDV-2 maintains genetic heterogeneity in persistently infected cells. This reverse genetics system will accelerate the biological studies of BoDV-2 and contribute to the development of countermeasures against mammalian bornaviruses.
EF-P and its paralog EfpL (YeiP) differentially control translation of proline-containing sequences
Authors: Sieber Alina , Parr Marina , von Ehr Julian , Dhamotharan Karthikeyan , Kielkowski Pavel , Brewer Tess , Schäpers Anna , Krafczyk Ralph , Qi Fei , Schlundt Andreas , Frishman Dmitrij , Lassak Jürgen
Published: April 2024

Polyproline sequences (XPPX) stall ribosomes, thus being deleterious for all living organisms. In bacteria, translation elongation factor P (EF-P) plays a crucial role in overcoming such arrests. 12% of eubacteria possess an EF-P paralog – YeiP (EfpL) of unknown function. Here, we functionally and structurally characterize EfpL from Escherichia coli and demonstrate its yet unrecognized role in the translational stress response. Through ribosome profiling, we analyzed the EfpL arrest motif spectrum and discovered additional stalls beyond the canonical XPPX motifs at single-proline sequences (XPX), that both EF-P and EfpL can resolve. Notably, the two factors can also induce pauses. We further report that, contrary to the housekeeping EF-P, EfpL can sense the metabolic state of the cell, via lysine acylation. Together, our work uncovers a new player in ribosome rescue at proline-containing sequences, and provides evidence that co-occurrence of EF-P and EfpL is an evolutionary driver for higher bacterial growth rates.
Conservation of neuron-astrocyte coordinated activity among sensory processing centers of the developing brain
Authors: Kellner Vered , Parker Patrick , Mi Xuelong , Yu Guoqiang , Saher Gesine , Bergles Dwight E.
Published: April 2024

Afferent neurons in developing sensory organs exhibit a prolonged period of burst firing prior to the onset of sensory experience. This intrinsically generated activity propagates from the periphery through central processing centers to promote the survival and physiological maturation of neurons and refine their synaptic connectivity. Recent studies in the auditory system indicate that these bursts of action potentials also trigger metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated calcium increases within astrocytes that are spatially and temporally correlated with neuronal events; however, it is not known if this phenomenon occurs in other sensory modalities. Here we show usingin vivosimultaneous imaging of neuronal and astrocyte calcium activity in awake mouse pups that waves of retinal ganglion cell activity induce spatially and temporally correlated waves of astrocyte activity in the superior colliculus that depend on metabotropic glutamate receptors mGluR5 and mGluR3. Astrocyte calcium transients reliably occurred with each neuronal wave, but peaked more than one second after neuronal events. Despite differences in the temporal features of spontaneous activity in auditory and visual processing regions, individual astrocytes exhibited similar overall calcium activity patterns, providing a conserved mechanism to synchronize neuronal and astrocyte maturation within discrete sensory domains.
Mapping of attention mechanisms to a generalized Potts model
Authors: Rende Riccardo , Gerace Federica , Laio Alessandro , Goldt Sebastian
Published: April 2024

Transformers are neural networks that revolutionized natural language processing and machine learning. They process sequences of inputs, like words, using a mechanism called self-attention, which is trained via masked language modeling (MLM). In MLM, a word is randomly masked in an input sequence, and the network is trained to predict the missing word. Despite the practical success of transformers, it remains unclear what type of data distribution self-attention can learn efficiently. Here, we show analytically that if one decouples the treatment of word positions and embeddings, a single layer of self-attention learns the conditionals of a generalized Potts model with interactions between sites and Potts colors. Moreover, we show that training this neural network is exactly equivalent to solving the inverse Potts problem by the so-called pseudolikelihood method, well known in statistical physics. Using this mapping, we compute the generalization error of self-attention in a model scenario analytically using the replica method.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Material flow cost accounting in Vietnam: a multi-level exploration
Authors: Tran Thuy Thanh , Burritt Roger Leonard , Herzig Christian , Christ Katherine Leanne
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Of critical concern to the world is the need to reduce consumption and waste of natural resources. This study provides a multi-level exploration of the ways situational and transformational links between levels and challenges are related to the adoption and utilization of material flow cost accounting in Vietnam, to encourage green productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on triangulation of public documents at different institutional levels and a set of semi-structured interviews, situational and transformational links and challenges for material flow cost accounting in Vietnam are examined using purposive and snowball sampling of key actors.

Findings

Using a multi-level framework the research identifies six situational and transformational barriers to implementation of material flow cost accounting and suggests opportunities to overcome these. The weakest links identified involve macro-to meso-situational and micro-to macro-transformational links. The paper highlights the dominance of meso-level institutions and lack of focus on micro transformation to cut waste and enable improvements in green productivity.

Practical implications

The paper identifies ways for companies in Vietnam to reduce unsustainability and enable transformation towards sustainable management and waste reduction.

Originality/value

The paper is the first to develop and use a multi-level/multi-time period framework to examine the take-up of material flow cost accounting to encourage transformation towards green productivity. Consideration of the Vietnamese case builds understanding of the challenges for achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 12, to help enable sustainable production and consumption patterns.
Resilience of agricultural banks during economic downturns
Authors: Regmi Madhav , Miller Noah
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Agricultural banks likely respond differently to economic downturns compared to nonagricultural banks. Limited previous research has examined the performance of agricultural banks under economic crisis and in the presence of banking regulations. This study aims to explore agricultural banks' responses to economic and regulation shocks relative to nonagricultural banks.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses bank-quarter level data from 2002 to 2022 for virtually all commercial banks in the U.S. In this research, the Z-score measures the bank’s default risk, the return on assets measures bank profitability and changes in amount of farm loans indicate the wider impact on the agricultural sector. Effects of the financial crisis, Basel III reforms to banking regulation and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on these banking measures are assessed using distinct empirical frameworks. The empirical estimations use various subsamples based on bank types, bank sizes and time periods.

Findings

Economic downturns are associated with fluctuations in returns and the risk of default of commercial banks. Agricultural banks appeared to be more resilient to economic downturns than nonagricultural banks. However, Basel III regulated agricultural banks were more likely to fail amidst the pandemic-related economic shocks than the regulated non-agricultural banks.

Originality/value

This study examines the resiliency of agricultural banks during economic downturns and under postfinancial crisis regulation. This is one of the first empirical works to analyze the effectiveness of Basel III regulation across bank types and sizes considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The key finding suggests that banking regulation should consider not only size heterogeneity but also the heterogeneity in lending portfolios.
STOMP during COVID-19: use of psychotropic medication in intellectual disabilities community services – pilot QI project
Authors: Zahid Sadia , Rauf Bushra , Lee Rachel , Sheikh Hafsa , Roy Ashok , Pathania Rani
Published: April 2024

Purpose

A quantitative observational study was conducted. The purpose of this study is to examine the continuing adherence to the stopping over-medication of people with intellectual disability and/or autism guidelines for a cohort of outpatients seen in the outpatients’ clinics in the two teams who participated in this study to review the trend of psychotropic prescribing with a prescription indication along with the utilisation of non-pharmacological interventions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was retrospectively collected over a period of one year for patients sampled conveniently in the outpatient’s clinic. The data was collected from two sites from psychiatric letters to the general practitioners (GPs), with the focus being psychotropic prescription indication and their adherence to British National Formulary limits, inclusion of a wider multi-disciplinary team or MDT (including nurses, psychologists and health support workers), use of Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale for assessing medication side effects and response to treatment.

Findings

Most of the patients had at least one review in the previous six months. Antipsychotics were the highest prescribed medications without an indication for their use (13.3%) followed by anxiolytics and other medications. CGI recording was suboptimal, with 26% of the patient population did not have medication side effects and effectiveness monitored through this method. In total, 41% of patients were open to community nurses followed by other disciplines.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an original article following the pilot study completed by the authors.
Fear and travel: extending our understanding of pandemic (non-) travel
Authors: Litvin Stephen W. , Guttentag Daniel , Smith Wayne W. , Pitts Robert E.
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Travel decreased dramatically during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to return rapidly to prepandemic levels once the degree of fear toward the virus began to diminish among potential travelers. This USA-based 16-month repeated-measure cross-sectional survey study aims to explore the degree to which fear of COVID affected people’s decisions to stay home rather than to travel during the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The research used survey data. An extensive data set, composed of over 9,500 respondents, collected through Mechanical Turk over a 16-month time period, was used to compare respondent fear of the pandemic both with their attitudes toward future travel and with Smith Travel Research data reflecting actual pandemic travel patterns.

Findings

The results demonstrate how fear of COVID was closely and negatively linked to both travel intentions and travel behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected from US respondents only.

Practical implications

The findings significantly extend earlier studies and provide guidance for those studying travel consumer behavior regarding trends that should be monitored in the case of a future pandemic or other fear-inducing crisis. For hospitality and tourism managers and marketers, understanding fear as a leading indicator of future travel behavior can result in more timely promotional efforts and staffing and training decisions.

Social implications

Measuring and understanding consumer fear levels as this relates to travel decisions can help in the future to adjust the message that is sent to the public, perhaps reducing the amount of travel taken during periods when this is unwise and or unsafe.

Originality/value

This paper extends previous work that had been based upon cross-sectional reviews, providing a broader and more valuable study of an important and timely consumer behavior travel topic.