bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors affecting residents’ internal motivation, grit and well-being
Authors: Chuented Pimwipa , Puranitee Pongtong , Pakakasama Samart , Meepanya Suganda
Published: May 2023

Background:
In competency-based medical education for postgraduate training, residents face many challenging situations, which some might compromise their well-being or lead them to exhaustion or burnout. Factors in self-determination theory and grit are important part for residents pursue to learning outcome achievement and good well-being. This study aimed to explore a relationship between internal motivation, grit, well-being, and other factors related to internal motivation, grit, well-being among non-western Asian residents.
Methods
An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study using a survey to explore correlations between satisfaction with psychological needs, grit, and WHO well-being from September to November 2021, among residents in Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. The students who scored the highest and lowest on each part were purposively invited to participate to the second phase. In Phase 2, a semi-structure interviews were applied. A thematic analysis was used by two researchers and the data was collected until saturation point was met.
Results
A total of 245 residents (51% major ward, 65% female) participated in the first phase. There was a strong association between internal motivation, grit, and well-being (r = 0.46–0.90). In comparison, female residents score higher on autonomy and relatedness (p = 0.04, 0.01), while residents with less family responsibility score higher on relatedness than other residents (p = 0.01). Residents who get more sleep also score higher on autonomy, relatedness, and well-being (p < 0.05). Residents who exercise more than five times per week have higher scores for well-being (p < 0.01). In phase II, 30 residents participating thematic analysis revealed that residents' internal motivation, grit, and well-being were promoted by a supportive learning environment, a well-designed curriculum, the actions and personalities of faculty members, and good personal factors.
Conclusion
Internal motivation were significantly correlated with grit, well-being, gender, family burdens, exercise, and sleep hours. Priority should be given on how to promote internal motivation, grit and well-being by enhancing a positive learning environment, creating a well-designed curriculum, fostering good characteristics and actions of faculty members, and supporting residents' personal lives.
Force-regulated chaperone activity of BiP/ERdj3 is opposite to their homologs DnaK/DnaJ: explained by strain energy
Authors: Haldar Shubhasis , Banerjee Souradeep , Chowdhury Debojyoti , Chakraborty Soham
Published: May 2023

Polypeptide chains experiences mechanical tension while translocating through cellular tunnel. In this scenario, interaction of tunnel-associated chaperones with the emerging polypeptide occurs under force; however, this force-regulated chaperone behaviour is not fully understood. We studied the mechanical chaperone activity of two tunnel-associated chaperones BiP and ERdj3 both in the absence and presence of force; and compared to their respective cytoplasmic homologs DnaK and DnaJ. We found that BiP/ERdj3 shows strong foldase activity under force; whereas their cytoplasmic homolog DnaK/DnaJ behave as holdase. Importantly, these tunnel-associated chaperones (BiP/ERdj3) revert to holdase in the absence of force, suggesting that mechanical chaperone activity differs depending on the presence or absence of force. This tunnel-associated chaperone-driven folding event generates additional mechanical energy of up to 54 zJ that could help protein translocation. The mechanical-chaperone behaviour can be explained by strain theory: chaperones with higher intrinsic deformability function as mechanical foldase (BiP, ERdj3), while chaperones with lower intrinsic deformability act as holdase (DnaK and DnaJ). Our study thus unveils the underlying mechanism of mechanically regulated chaperoning activity and provides a novel mechanism of co-translocational protein folding.
Robust Collision-Free Guidance and Control for Fully Actuated Multirotor Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Junior Jorge Antonio Ricardo , Santos Davi Antônio dos
Published: May 2023

This paper is concerned with the robust guidance and control of fully actuated multirotor aerial vehicles in the presence of moving obstacles, linear velocity constraints, and matched model uncertainties and disturbances. We address this problem by adopting a standard hierarchical flight control architecture consisting of a supervisory outer-loop guidance module and an inner-loop stabilizing control one. The position and attitude control laws are designed using a proportional-derivative approach combined with a high-order sliding mode disturbance observer. On the other hand, we propose a robust guidance strategy based on the continuous-control-obstacles method in order to drive the vehicle to a target pose while avoiding collision with moving obstacles and violation of linear velocity constraints. The overall method has been numerically evaluated and shown to be effective in providing satisfactory tracking performance, collision-free guidance, and satisfaction of linear velocity constraints. Furthermore, it outperformed another method that designs the guidance and control strategies using continuous-control-obstacles and a smooth first-order sliding mode control, respectively.
A non-carboxylative route for the efficient synthesis of central metabolite malonyl-CoA and its derived products
Authors: Tan Zaigao , Li Jian , Mu Xin , Dong Wenyue , Chen Yun , Kang Qianjin , Zhao Guang , Hou Jin , Gonzalez Ramon , Bai Linquan , Feng Yan , Yang Chen , Liu Tiangang
Published: May 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Prevalence and factors associated with flares following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis: a national cohort study
Authors: Fong Warren , Woon Ting Hui , Chew Li-Ching , Low Andrea , Law Annie , Poh Yih jia , Yeo Siaw Ing , Leung Ying Ying , Ma Margaret , Santosa Amelia , Kong Kok Ooi , Xu Chuanhui , Teng Gim Gee , Mak Anselm , Tay Sen Hee , Chuah Tyng Yu , Roslan Nur Emillia , Angkodjojo Stanley , Phang Kee Fong , Sriranganat Melonie , Tan Teck Choon , Cheung Peter , Lahiri Manjari
Published: May 2023

Objective
To determine prevalence and factors associated with flares post Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccination in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA).
Methods
A retrospective multi-centre study was conducted (January 2021 to February 2022). Data were collected during index visit, defined as first post-vaccine visit in which the patient had a physician-defined flare, or if at least three months had elapsed since first vaccine dose, whichever came first. Factors associated with flares were identified using mixed effects Cox regression and expressed as hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).
Results
Total of 2377 patients were included (1563 RA, 415 PsA and 399 SpA). Among patients with RA, PsA and SpA, 21.3%, 24.1% and 21.8% experienced a flare respectively. Of those who experienced a flare, only 10.2%, 11.0% and 14.9% were severe in patients with RA, PsA and SpA respectively. Patients with low or moderate/ high disease were more likely to flare compared to those in remission in patients with RA only (HR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.22 – 2.31; HR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.50 – 3.48, respectively). Receiving the Moderna vaccine was associated with a higher HR of flare compared to the Pfizer vaccine in patients with PsA only (HR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.20 – 4.08). Patients who had two vaccine doses were found to be less likely to flare (HR: 0.08, 95% CI: 0.06 – 0.10). HRs of flares were not significantly different among RA, PsA and SpA.
Conclusion
About one-fifth of patients experienced a disease flare post COVID-19 mRNA vaccination, but most flares were non-severe. Patients with active disease prior to vaccination should be monitored closely for disease flares, especially in patients with RA.
Atomically-precise engineering of spin-orbit polarons in a kagome magnetic Weyl semimetal
Authors: Gao Hong-Jun , Chen Hui , Xing Yuqing , Tan Hengxin , Huang Li , Zheng Qi , Huang Zihao , Han Xianghe , Hu Bin , Ye Yuhan , Li Yan , Xiao Yao , Lei Hechang , Qiu Xianggang , Liu Enke , Yang Haitao , Wang Ziqiang , Yan Binghai
Published: May 2023

Atomically-precise engineering of defects in topological quantum materials, which is essential for constructing new artificial quantum materials with exotic properties and appealing for practical quantum applications, remains challenging due to the hindrances in modifying complex lattice with atomic precision. Here, we report the atomically-precise engineering of the vacancy-localized spin-orbital polarons (SOP) in a kagome magnetic Weyl semimetal Co3Sn2S2, using scanning tunneling microscope. We achieve the repairing of the selected single vacancy and create atomically-precise sulfur quantum antidots with elaborate geometry through vacancy-by-vacancy repairing. We find that that the bound states of SOP experience a symmetry-dependent energy shift towards Fermi level with increasing vacancy size driven by the anti-bond interactions. Strikingly, as vacancy size increases, the localized magnetic moments of SOPs are tunable and ultimately extended to the negative magnetic moments resulting from spin-orbit coupling in the kagome flat band. These findings establish a new platform for engineering atomic quantum states in topological quantum materials, offering potential for kagome-lattice-based spintronics and quantum technologies.
Disruption to Schooling Impedes the Development of Abstract Reasoning and Theory of Mind in Children
Authors: Alan Sule , Turkum Betul
Published: May 2023

We show that the development of abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy (theory of mind) is severely hindered when children are deprived of the stimulation of a school environment. We document significantly lower abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy scores in elementary school children who returned from an extended school closure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic relative to proximate pre-pandemic cohorts. This developmental delay has a significant socioeconomic gradient, with underprivileged children experiencing more substantial delays. We also document a significant disruption in the development of socioemotional skills: 0.24 sd lower grit, 0.43 sd lower emotional empathy, 0.06 sd lower epistemic curiosity, and 0.24 sd higher impulsivity. About eight months of school exposure results in a remarkable recovery in abstract reasoning and theory of mind for all socioeconomic groups. However, the measured levels still indicate significant delays relative to the expected developmental trajectories. No notable improvements are observed in socioemotional skills except for curiosity. These findings reveal that the damage school closures inflicted on children goes beyond well-documented academic losses and highlight the crucial role of the school environment in fostering fundamental cognition and socioemotional development in children.
Does stringent environmental regulations influence export performance in a low technical capacity economy? A quasi-natural experiment based on Kenya’s new environmental protection law
Authors: Akama Erick Maiko
Published: May 2023

As the environment continues to become increasingly constrained, the relationship between environmental protection and economic growth is becoming a crucial subject. This study considered Kenya’s new environmental regulation laws on emission control as a "quasi-natural experiment" to assess the impact of stringent environmental regulations of emission control on industrial’ export performance using a difference-in-differences (DID) framework. The study uses a panel data of 137 firms from the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and Pooled OLS analysis with agricultural food industry as the control group. The heterogeneous impacts of firms with different size level is investigated. The study reveals that stringent environmental regulations of emission control enhances export intensity among the EPZ firms. Micro firm’s export intensity gains the highest (18.21 %,) from stringent environmental regulations on emission control than both small (11.09%) and large firms (9.50%). The study also found a significant association between export performance and firm ownership status, location and experience in exporting. The study thus recommends applicability of stringent environmental regulation in achieving both export performance and environmental improvement in Kenya.
Pilot-scale genome-wide association mapping in diverse sorghum germplasms identified novel genetic loci linked to major agronomic, root and stomatal traits
Authors: Ramalingam Ajay Prasanth , Mohanavel Williams , Kambale Rohit , Rajagopalan Veera Ranjani , Elangovan Allimuthu , Karnatam Krishna Sai , Marla Sandeep R , Prasad P. V. Vara , Muthurajan Raveendran , Perumal Ramasamy
Published: May 2023

This genome-wide association studies (GWAS) used a subset of 96 diverse sorghum accessions, constructed from a large collection of 219 accessions for mining novel genetic loci linked to major agronomic and physiological traits including root. The subset yielded 43,452 high quality single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers exhibiting high allelic diversity. Population stratification showed distinct separation between caudatum and durra races. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay was rapidly declining with increasing physical distance across all chromosomes. The initial 50% LD decay was ~ 5Kb and background level was within or below ~ 80Kb. Plant height and grain color identified significant SNPs co-localized with dwarfing dw2 locus and chalcone synthase, respectively, indicating the representativeness of the population and reliability of methods. AP2-like ethylene-responsive transcription factor and gibberellin receptor GID1L2 affecting single plant yield and biomass respectively were identified. The study detected novel genetic loci linked to drought avoidance traits viz., Leucine rich repeat family protein (root biomass and root architecture), AP2 domain containing protein (intrinsic water use efficiency) and serine/threonine protein kinase (abaxial stomatal complex total area). This study justified that the constructed subset of diverse sorghums can be used as a panel for mapping other key traits to accelerate molecular breeding in sorghum.
The SIR epidemic model with diffusion and nonlinear incidence: a symmetry approach
Authors: Naz R , Johnpillai A , Mahomed F
Published: May 2023

We use Lie point symmetries to obtain reductions and group-invariantsolutions for the diffusive SIR epidemic model with diffusion andnonlinear incidence. We determine that the Lie algebra for thismodel is three-dimensional. We invoke these to establish group-invariantsolutions of the diffusive SIR model. The conservation laws are determined via the multiplier approach.
Predictive value of preoperative platelet count and D-dimer levels for spinal cord injury following acute type A aortic dissection
Authors: Pei Fengbo , wei jinhua , yao yao , wu hui , Chen zujun
Published: May 2023

Background This study aims to identify the risk factors contributing to spinal cord injury (SCI) following a type A acute aortic dissection (TA-AAD).Methods This retrospective study was conducted at a single center and involved 481 patients who received frozen elephant trunk stent implantation for TA-AAD and underwent total arch replacement with the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest at Fuwai Hospital between September 2016 and April 2020.Results The resulting data of the multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that preoperative platelet count (odds ratio [OR] 0.774) and D-dimer levels (OR 2.247) held potential as independent predictors for postoperative SCI in patients diagnosed with TA-AAD.Conclusion The study results indicated that preoperative platelet count and D-dimer levels are independent risk factors for postoperative SCI in individuals with TA-AAD. This finding holds significance regarding clinical implications for prognosis and therapeutic responses in TA-AAD.
Integrated transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals the regulation of phlorizin synthesis in Lithocarpus polystachyus under nitrogen fertilization
Authors: Zeng Suping , Yu Longhua , He Ping , Li Yueqiao , Feng Hui , Wang Jia , Zhang Huacong , Song Yunxia , Liu Ren
Published: May 2023

BackgroundNitrogen (N) is very important for plant development, growth, and secondary metabolism.Lithocarpus polystachyusRehd, also called sweet tea, is known for its medicinal and food value. It contains several bioactive components, including phlorizin, with various pharmacological activities. Research has indicated a positive correlation between phlorizin and nitrogen (N) content inL. polystachyus.However, no reports have analyzed the effect of N treatment on phlorizin content and and reveal the molecular mechanisms of phlorizin synthesis.ResultsWe grewL. polystachyuswithout and with N fertilization at six levels (0, 25, 75, 125, 175, 225, and 275 mg per plant) and analyzed the plant growth status and leaf phlorizin content. These initial experiments revealed that 75 mg N/plant resulted in the best seedling height, ground diameter, crown width, and total phlorizin content inL. polystachyus. Subsequent comparison ofL. polystachyusplants grown without and with 75 mg/plant N fertilization identified 150 differentially accumulated metabolites in the leaves, including 42 flavonoids, using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Transcriptomic analysis by RNA sequencing detected 162 genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, among which 53 were significantly different between N-treated and untreated materials. Fertilization (75 mg N/plant) upregulated the expression levels of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL), and phlorizin synthase (PGT1) but downregulated those of trans-cinnamate 4-monooxygenase (C4H) and chalcone isomerase (CHI), were related to the phlorizin synthesis. Integrated analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome found that the increase in phlorizin via the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway after N fertilization was consistent with the the expression levels upregulation of phlorizin biosynthetic genes. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis validated the RNA-sequencing data. Thus, these observations indicated that the expression levels ofPAL,PGT1, 5-O-(4-coumaroyl)-D-quinate 3'-monooxygenase (C3'H),C4H, and shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT) genes were related to phlorizin metabolism inL. polystachyusunder N fertilization.ConclusionsOverall, understanding the molecular mechanism of phlorizin synthesis will help improve plant quality and serve as a reference for further pharmacological studies.
Reference-free and cost-effective automated cell type annotation with GPT-4 in single-cell RNA-seq analysis
Authors: Ji Zhicheng , Hou Wenpin
Published: May 2023

Cell type annotation is an essential step in single-cell RNA-seq analysis. However, it is a time-consuming process that often requires expertise in collecting canonical marker genes and manually annotating cell types. Automated cell type annotation methods typically require the acquisition of high-quality reference datasets and the development of additional pipelines. We demonstrate that GPT-4, a highly potent large language model, can automatically and accurately annotate cell types by utilizing marker gene information generated from standard single-cell RNA-seq analysis pipelines. Evaluated across hundreds of tissue types and cell types, GPT-4 generates cell type annotations exhibiting strong concordance with manual annotations, and has the potential to considerably reduce the effort and expertise needed in cell type annotation.
Feeling Uncertain During Lockdown: Exploring Emotional Experience among Adolescents amidst Covid-19
Authors: Amran Muhammad Syawal , Sahuri Sarifah Nurhanum Syed , Marzuki Maziah Ahmad
Published: May 2023

An outbreak of global pandemic influences adolescents’ emotional well-being and contributes to psychosocial conflict. Detecting adolescents’ emotion when they stay at home during Pandemic COVID-19 may be helpful to better understand their well-being. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore adolescents' emotional well-being in the midst of the outbreak. This study employs a qualitative method for participants’ interview (n=30) among adolescents from low -income households. This study was conducted for six weeks during the midst of the outbreak. The qualitative data were collected via online based on focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. The results reveal that boredom, anxiety and hope were the main emotions faced by the adolescents’ in the midst of the outbreak. This finding explains that they were extremely bored repeating the same routines and not being able to interact with their friends physically. Alongside, they felt anxious about learning progress that may affect their academic performance, uncertain pandemic COVID-19 situation and family’s economic crisis. The adolescents also illustrated a green shoot of hope to return to school and that the number of pandemic cases will be rapidly reduced. Overall study emphasizes that emotions are important factors that can be addressed in order to prevent emotional fatigue and mental health problems that affect adolescents’ social well-being. This study hints at a novel research area for psychologists to develop emotional preparedness strategies for adolescents to help parents and teachers in order to improve emotional management skills at home. Future research should comprehensively measure the impact of emotion and its relation to behavioral problem during outbreaks.
Experimental study on characterization of lime-based mineral carbonation reaction and CO2 sequestration
Authors: Karaca Zeki
Published: May 2023

This paper reports for the first time the use and application of a novel technique in the characterization of mineral carbonation reaction and CO2 sequestration in soil stabilization using flow meters. Soils based on SiO2 with two different sizes were tested. Lime (Ca(OH)2) was used as the reactant. Instant CO2 flow rate (L/min), total CO2 volume (L), temperature (°C), and absolute pressure (kPa) were monitored and recorded for 1 hour by flow meters connected to the mold inlet and outlet. It was determined that the mineral carbonation reaction started in the first seconds and ended before the 5th minute. The mineral carbonation is a short-term and potential reaction, and it is not a time-dependent reaction. It is separated from other carbonation reactions with these characteristics. The highest CO2 captured value was obtained in the soil mixed with 5% lime, where fines were not used. The second highest CO2 captured value was obtained in soil mixed with 1% lime, where fines were not used. CO2 captured with 1% lime is more than CO2 captured with 5% lime in the soil containing fines. Accordingly, 1-5% lime can be used in soil carbonation studies. According to the soil properties, the highest CO2 captured and the CO2 efficiency was achieved with the use of 6-7% water by weight.
Life cycle energy, climate, and economic assessment of technologies for bioresource production from wastewater
Authors: Hoek Eric , Clack Kevin , Rajagopal Deepak
Published: May 2023

Thermochemical conversion technologies present an opportunity to flip the paradigm of wastewater biosolids management operations from energy-intense and expensive waste management processes into energy-positive and economical resource extraction centers. Herein, we present a uniform “grading framework” to consistently evaluate the environmental and commercial benefits of established and emerging wastewater biosolids management processes from a life cycle and techno-economic perspective. Application of this approach reveals that established wastewater biosolids management practices such as landfilling, land application, incineration and anaerobic digestion, while commercially viable, offer little environmental benefit. On the other hand, emerging thermochemical bioresource recovery technologies such as hydrothermal liquefaction, gasification, pyrolysis, and torrefaction show potential to provide substantial economic and environmental benefit through the recovery of carbon and nutrients from wastewater biosolids in the form of biofuels, fertilizers, and other high-value products. Some emerging thermochemical technologies have developed beyond pilot scale although their commercial viability remains to be seen.
Mental Health Related Stigma in Romania: Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis
Authors: Manescu Elena Andreea , Henderson Claire , Paroiu Ciprian R. , Mihai Adriana
Published: May 2023

Background: Stigma related to mental illness is increasingly and more effectively addressed. Although more research is being conducted, there is relatively little from low and middle-income countries, with former Soviet bloc countries identified as a particular contributor to this evidence gap. Romania struggles with mental health stigma at many levels. The aim of this review was to bring together all relevant data regarding stigma and discrimination related to mental illness as well as actions to address these problems in Romania in order to prioritise further stigma research and identify priority targets for stigma reduction.
Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in three online databases and grey literature. After the analysis of full manuscripts, four were excluded based on lack of relevance or incomplete data reporting. Quality assessment was performed for included studies using STROBE guidelines and the narrative was synthesized based on the research questions.
Results: The review included fifteen studies, the majority having a cross-sectional design. Stigma related to mental illness in Romania, has an impact on help-seeking attitudes and behaviours, workplace environment and social relationships of people with mental health problems. Negative stereotypes are maintained and validated by mass media reports. Significant stigma in healthcare and mental care settings has also been observed. Self-stigma was less frequently reported than public stigma. Despite a few stigma reduction actions, no rigorous evaluation of content, delivery and effectiveness has been conducted and no empirical evidence has been published.
Conclusions: Based on this review, three lines of action are recommended in Romania. Increase research concerning stigma in healthcare and mental care settings and use behavioural outcomes. Develop and deliver evidence-based tailored interventions to reduce stigma in identified priority subgroups of the population and ensure rigorous evaluation and scientific dissemination. Elaborate guidelines for working with community stigma and advocate for structural changes.
Cell-Based, Cell-Cultured, Cell-Cultivated, Cultured, or Cultivated. What is the best name for meat, poultry, and seafood made directly from the cells of animals?
Authors: Hallman William , II William Hallman , Hallman Eileen
Published: May 2023

The terms “Cultured,” “Cultivated,” “Cell-Cultured,” “Cell-Cultivated,” “Cell-Based” and a control were tested using five criteria to determine the best common or usual name for meat, poultry, and seafood products made directly from the cells of animals. A nationally representative sample of 4385 American consumers (18+) participated in an online experiment. The names were shown on labels of packages of frozen Beef Filets, Beef Burgers, Chicken Breasts, Chicken Burgers, Atlantic Salmon Fillets, and Salmon Burgers. The terms were assessed on two key regulatory and three consumer acceptance criteria. “Cultured” and “Cultivated” failed to adequately differentiate the novel products from conventional “Wild-Caught and Farm-Raised” salmon products. “Cultivated” also failed to differentiate the novel Beef Filet product from “Grass-Fed” Beef Filets. “Cultured” and “Cultivated” also performed more poorly than the control (with no common or usual name tested) in signaling that the Chicken Burgers were “Neither Free-Range nor Raised Indoors.” “Cell-Cultured,” “Cell-Cultivated,” and “Cell-Based” each signaled to consumers that the products were different from their conventional counterparts, and signaled allergenicity, meeting the two key regulatory criteria. These three names were not significantly different on most of the measures of consumer perceptions. However, the overall pattern of results suggests that the term “Cell-Cultured” may have slightly better consumer acceptance across the novel beef, chicken, and salmon products. Overall, the participants were as interested in tasting and purchasing “Cell-Cultured” products, ordering them in a restaurant, and as likely to serve them to guests as they were the conventional products used as controls.
Assessment of MYC and TERT copy number variations in lung cancer using digital PCR
Authors: Brik Alexander , Wichert Katharina , Weber Daniel G , Szafranski Katja , Rozynek Peter , Meier Swetlana , Ko Yon-Dschun , Büttner Reinhard , Gerwert Klaus , Behrens Thomas , Brüning Thomas , Johnen Georg
Published: May 2023

Objective: Lung cancer is the second most frequent cancer type and the most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Alteration of gene copy numbers are associated with lung cancer and the determination of copy number variations (CNV) is appropriate for the discrimination between tumor and non-tumor tissue in lung cancer. As telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and v-myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (MYC) play a role in lung cancer the aims of this study were the verification of our recent results analyzingMYC CNV in tumor and non-tumor tissue of lung cancer patients using an independent study group and the assessment of TERT CNV as an additional marker.
Results: TERT and MYC status was analyzed using digital PCR (dPCR) in tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissue samples of 114 lung cancer patients. The difference between tumor and non-tumor samples were statistically significant (p<0.0001) for TERT and MYC. Using a predefined specificity of 99% a sensitivity of 41% and 51% was observed for TERT and MYC, respectively. For the combination of TERT and MYC the overall sensitivity increased to 60% at 99% specificity. We demonstrated that a combination of markers increases the performance in comparison to individual markers. Additionally, the determination of CNV using dPCR remains a reliable method for clinical practice.
Adaptive Ecological Knowledge among the Ndjuka maroons of French Guiana; A case study of two ‘invasive species’: Melaleuca quinquenervia and Acacia mangium
Authors: THEYS Johanna , Tareau Marc-Alexandre , ANSOE-TAREAU Clarisse , GREENE Alexander , PALISSE Marianne , RICARDOU Alizée , ODONNE Guillaume
Published: May 2023

Background:To understand how local ecological knowledge changes and adapts, here in the case of the recent introduction of plant species, we report the knowledge and perceptions of the Ndjuka (Maroon) of French Guiana concerning two tree species,Acacia mangiumandniaouli(Melaleuca quinquenervia), which are categorized as “invasive alien plants” in the savannas of their territory.Methods:To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and July 2022, using a pre-designed questionnaire, plant samples and photographs. The uses, local ecological knowledge, and representations of these species were surveyed among populations of Maroon origin in western French Guiana. All responses to closed questions collected during the field survey were compiled into an Excel spreadsheet in order to perform quantitative analyses, including the calculation of use reports (URs).Results:It appears that the local populations have integrated these two plant species, which are named, used and even traded, into their knowledge systems. On the other hand, neither foreignness nor invasiveness seem to be relevant concepts in the perspective of the informants. The usefulness of these plants is the determining factor of their integration into the Ndjuka medicinal flora, thus resulting in the adaptation of their local ecological knowledge.Conclusion:In addition to highlighting the need for the integration of the discourse of local stakeholders into the management of "invasive alien species”, this study also allows us to observe the forms of adaptation that are set in motion by the arrival of a new species, particularly within populations that are themselves the result of recent migrations. Our results furthermore indicate that such adaptations of local ecological knowledge can occur very quickly.
Cash for COVID-19 Vaccines in Africa: A Financial Incentives Trial in Rural Ghana
Authors: Duch Raymond , Asiedu Edward , Nakamura Ryota , Rouyard Thomas , Mayol Alberto , Barnett Adrian , Roope Laurence , Violato Mara , Kotlarz Piotr , Sowah Dorcas , Clarke Philip
Published: May 2023

We implemented a clustered randomized controlled trial with 7,227 residents in six rural Ghana Districts to determine whether financial incentives produce substantial increases in COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Villages were randomly assigned to receive one of four video treatment arms: a placebo, a standard health message, a high cash incentive ($10) and a low cash incentive ($3). Non-vaccinated subjects, assigned to the Cash incentive treatments had an average COVID-19 vaccine intention rate of 81% compared to the 71% for those in the Placebo treatment arm. Two months after the initial intervention the average self-reported vaccination rates for subjects in the Cash treatment were 3.5% higher than those for subjects in the Placebo treatment (95% CI: 0.001, 6.9; P < 0.03) - 40% versus 36.5%. We verified the vaccination status of subjects: in the Cash treatment arm, 36.6% of verified subjects had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine compared to 30.3% for those in Placebo - a difference of 6.3% (95% CI: 2.4, 10.2; P < 0.0001). For all three outcomes, the low cash incentive ($3.00) had a larger positive effect on COVID-19 vaccine uptake than the high cash incentive ($10.00). There is no evidence of spillover effects of the financial incentives that depress the vaccine uptake of subjects in non-financial treatment arms nor of non-treated proximate residents.
Ultraposet, Distributive Lattice, and Coherent Locale
Authors: Ye Lingyuan
Published: May 2023

In this paper, we provide an alternative description of the duality result for distributive lattices and coherent locales using ultraposet. In particular, we show that there are fully faithful embeddings from the opposite of the category of distributive lattices into the category of ultraposets with ultrafunctors, and from the category of coherent locales into the category of ultraposets with left ultrafunctors. We also define the notion of zero-dimensional ultraposets, which characterises the essential image of these embeddings.
GUM-S1 to evaluate rotational inertia uncertainty obtained by Acceleration-Deceleration tests
Authors: Santana Raphael Ugolini , Reis Sergio Fernandes da Silva , de Morais Marcus Vinicius Girão , Diniz Alberto Carlos Guimarães de Castro
Published: May 2023

This work has the goal of experimentally determining the rotational moment of inertia of a wind turbine rotor blade and quantifying the uncertainty of this inertia measurement. Rotational inertia is an important parameter for modelling wind turbine power capacity due to its great influence on powertrain performance. There is a directly proportional relationship between the inertia and rotational power machines. Among commonly used experimental methods, the acceleration-deceleration method was conducted for rotational moment of inertia measurement of a commercial HAWT (Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines) iSTA Breeze® i-500 model. As recommended by GUM Supplement 1, the Monte Carlo method was used to estimate the measurement uncertainty related to wind turbine rotational inertia. Experimental acceleration-deceleration tests were performed using the motion capture software Tracker to collect angular position data by video capturing the rotational motion of a wind turbine attached to a falling mass, which is rolled to the rotor axis. After appropriate data processing, the experimental uncertainty measure was obtained by the Monte Carlo method. A statistical analysis was implemented to validate the measurement model via comparisons with other methods.
Down-regulated ATF3 Promotes Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma Progression Through PAXIP1-AS2 and OIP5-AS1/ hsa-miR-221-3p/ATF3 Axis Regulation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress
Authors: Yang Zhicong , Hou Yongwang , Li Jingqi , Xu Dandan , Yang Zhichao , Wang Xinsheng
Published: May 2023

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most invasive type with high metastasis risk and high recurrence rate in renal cell carcinoma and there is a pressing need to explore novel prognostic predictors and therapeutic targets for ccRCC. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), an oncogene or a suppressor for tumor, has been poorly reported in ccRCC. Here, we comprehensively clarified the prognostic value and potential function of ATF3 in ccRCC. By analyzing ATF3 in ccRCC several TCGA-based online databases, we found that ATF3 expression is decreased in ccRCC and indicate that ATF3 is significantly associated with the prognosis of ccRCC patients. hsa-miR-221-3p might be the most potential regulatory miRNA of ATF3 in ccRCC. Prediction and analysis of upstream lncRNAs showed PAXIP1-AS2 and OIP5-AS1 might be the most potential upstream lncRNAs of hsa-miR-221-3p/ATF3 axis in ccRCC. GO and KEGG results implied that ATF3 is involved in the regulation of apoptotic signaling pathway in response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in ccRCC. Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between ATF3 and ER stress. According to present study, down-regulated ATF3 promotes renal clear cell carcinoma progression through PAXIP1-AS2 and OIP5-AS1/ hsa-miR-221-3p/ATF3 axis regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress.
SLf-UNet: Improved UNet for Brain MRI Segmentation by Combining Spatial and Low-Frequency Domain Features
Authors: Ding Hui , Lu JiaCheng , Cai JunWei , Zhang YaWei
Published: May 2023

Deep learning-based methods have shown remarkable performance in brain tumor image segmentation. However, there is a lack of research on segmenting brain tumor lesions using frequency domain features of images. To address this gap, an improved network SLf-UNet has been proposed in this paper, which is a two-dimensional encoder-decoder architecture combining spatial and low-frequency domain features based on U-Net. The proposed model effectively learns information from spatial and frequency domains. Herein, we present a novel upsample approach by using zero padding in the high-frequency region and replacing the part of the convolution operation with a convolution block combining spatial frequency domain features. Our experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms current mainstream approaches on BraTS 2019 and BraTS2020 datasets.
Investigating the Association Between Serum ADAM/ADAMTS levels and Bone Mineral Density by Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Lv Xin , Lin Yuhong , Zhang Zhilei , Li Bo , Zeng Ziliang , Jiang Xu , Zhao Qiancheng , Li Wenpeng , Wang Zheyu , Yang Canchun , Yan Haolin , Wang Qiwei , Huang Renyuan , Hu Xumin , Gao Liangbin
Published: May 2023

Purpose A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase (ADAM) and A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin Motif (ADAMTS) have been reported potentially involved in bone metabolism and related to bone mineral density. This Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis was performed to determine whether there are causal associations of serum ADAM/ADAMTS with BMD in rid of confounders.Methods The genome-wide summary statistics of four site-specific BMD measurements were obtained from studies in individuals of European ancestry, including forearm (n = 8,143), femoral neck (n = 32,735), lumbar spine (n = 28,498) and heel (n = 426,824). The genetic instrumental variables for circulating levels of ADAM12, ADAM19, ADAM23, ADAMTS5 and ADAMTS6 were retrieved from the latest genome-wide association study of European ancestry (n = 5336 ~ 5367). The estimated causal effect was given by the Wald ratio for each variant, the inverse-variance weighted model was used as the primary approach to combine estimates from multiple instruments, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of MR results. The Bonferroni-corrected significance was set at P < 0.0025 to account for multiple testing, and a lenient threshold P < 0.05 was considered to suggest a causal relationship.Results The causal effects of genetically predicted serum ADAM/ADAMTS levels on BMD measurements at forearm, femoral neck and lumbar spine were not statistically supported by MR analyses. Although causal effect of ADAMTS5 on heel BMD given by the primary MR analysis (β = -0.006, -0.010 to 0.002, P = 0.004) failed to reach Bonferroni-corrected significance, additional MR approaches and sensitivity analyses indicated a robust causal relationship.Conclusion Our study provided a suggestive evidence for the causal effect of higher serum levels of ADAMTS5 on decreased heel BMD, while there was no supportive evidence for the associations of ADAM12, ADAM19, ADAM23, and ADAMTS6 with BMD at forearm, femoral neck and lumbar spine in Europeans.
Genetic association of risk behaviours and educational attainment
Authors: Spano Michelle Arellano , Morris Tim , Davies Neil , Hughes Amanda
Published: May 2023

Risk behaviours such as alcohol use, smoking, and physical inactivity are common in adolescence and persist into adulthood. People who engage in more risk behaviour are more likely to have lower educational attainment. Genome-wide association studies show that participation in risk behaviours and level of education are both heritable and have a highly polygenic architecture, suggesting an important role of many variants across the genome. The extent to which risk behaviours and educational attainment have shared genetic overlap is unknown, yet knowledge of this could help understand how these traits co-occur and influence each other. In the ALSPAC cohort, we used genome-based restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) to estimate the genetic covariance between risk behaviours and educational achievement. We found a strong genetic component of educational achievement and a modest genetic component of the risk behaviours. Whereby children who have a higher genetic liability for education also have a lower genetic liability for risky behaviours.
Large language models improve annotation of viral proteins
Authors: Kelly Libusha , Flamholz Zachary , Biller Steven
Published: May 2023

Viral sequences are poorly annotated in environmental samples, a major roadblock to understanding how viruses influence microbial community structure. Current annotation approaches rely on alignment-based sequence homology methods, which are limited by available viral sequences and sequence divergence in viral proteins. Here, we show that protein language model representations capture viral protein function beyond the limits of remote sequence homology by targeting two axes of viral sequence annotation: systematic labeling of protein families and function identification for biologic discovery. Protein language model representations capture protein functional properties specific to viruses and expand the annotated fraction of ocean virome viral protein sequences by 37%. Among unannotated viral protein families, we identify a novel DNA editing protein family that defines a new mobile element in marine picocyanobacteria. Protein language models thus significantly enhance remote homology detection of viral proteins and can be utilized to enable new biological discovery across diverse functional categories.
Two-Stages Poly Urethane Column for the Removal of Lead from Industrial Rejection Water
Authors: Zareh Mohsen , Abdel-Tawwab Mohsen , Metwally Nancy
Published: May 2023

Two-stages poly urethane foam (PU) was applied for removal of lead from industrial rejection water. The foam was packed into a column for easier use. The effect of different factors such as the weight of the foam, the contact time, the pH factor and the presence of other salts were studied. Results clear that the lead removal percent (LRP) was the best at pH 5, 105 minutes, for 4g PU/0.01 moles lead. The highest lead removal percentage (LRP) value reached 88% after the first stage and 98.6% after the second stage. The foam was used for Pb removal from real sample of industrial waste water. The LRP range was 62.1- 88.2% for the tested samples after the first stage and 85.6-98.6% after the second stage.
Novel agonists of benzodiazepine receptors: Design, synthesis, binding assay and pharmacological evaluation of diphenyl-1,2,4-triazole derivatives
Authors: Fasihi Hossein , Rezaee Elham , Mehranfar Mahsa , Safari Mojdeh , Bajestani Motahareh Sabbagh , Shahhosseini Soraya , Khoramjouy Mona , Faizi Mehrdad , Tabatabai Sayyed Abbas
Published: May 2023

Benzodiazepines (BZD) are widely used in neurological disorders. The use of classical benzodiazepines is limited due to side effects. In this study, based on the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of Benzodiazepine receptors, new derivatives of 4-amino-3,5-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazole as benzodiazepine agonists with selective effects were designed and synthesized. Docking studies showed that pharmacophore groups of the designed structures and zolpidem, a benzodiazepine receptor agonist, are properly matched and are located well in the GABA receptor. The triazole group of the compound 4j, N N-(3,5-diphenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-2-((4-fluorobenzyl)amino)acetamide, was near the nitrogen moiety of the imidazole ring of zolpidem providing the hydrogen bond acceptor in the suitable direction in the BDZ-binding site of GABAA receptor model (α1β2ϒ2). The compounds were synthesized with acceptable yield and in-vitro affinity for the BZD receptor was determined. Compound 4j had the best affinity for the BZD site of action on GABAA receptor complex (Ki = 2.56 nM and IC50 = 6.10 nM). In addition, the sedative-hypnotic effect, the locomotor activity, and evaluated memory of the novel compounds were assessed by pentobarbital-induced sleeping, open field, and passive avoidance tests respectively. Most of the novel compounds showed significant hypnotic activity with no impairment on learning and memory performance in the mouse. The pharmacological effects of the compounds were antagonized by flumazenil, a BZD antagonist, which confirms the involvement of BZD receptors in the biological effects.
Model-free Motion Planning of Autonomous Agents for Complex Tasks in Partially Observable Environments
Authors: Li Junchao , Cai Mingyu , Kan Zhen , Xiao Shaoping
Published: May 2023

Motion planning of autonomous agents in partially known environments with incomplete information is a challenging problem, particularly for complex tasks. This paper proposes a model-free reinforcement learning approach to address this problem. We formulate motion planning as a probabilistic-labeled partially observable Markov decision process (PL-POMDP) problem and use linear temporal logic (LTL) to express the complex task. The LTL formula is then converted to a limit-deterministic generalized Büchi automaton (LDGBA). The problem is redefined as finding an optimal policy on the product of PL-POMDP with LDGBA based on model-checking techniques to satisfy the complex task. We implement deep Q learning with long short-term memory (LSTM) to process the observation history and task recognition. Our contributions include the proposed method, the utilization of LTL and LDGBA, and the LSTM-enhanced deep Q learning. We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method by conducting simulations in various environments, including grid worlds, a virtual office, and a multi-agent warehouse. The simulation results demonstrate that our proposed method effectively addresses environment, action, and observation uncertainties. This indicates its potential for real-world applications, including the control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).