bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Posterior semicircular canal ossification following acute vestibular loss mimicking inferior vestibular neuritis: A case report
Authors: Comacchio Francesco , Castellucci Andrea
Published: October 2022

Vestibular neuritis (VN) mostly involves the superior vestibular nerve. Isolated inferior vestibular neuritis (IVN) has been more rarely described. The diagnosis of IVN is based on an abnormal head impulse test (HIT) for the posterior semicircular canal (PSC), pathological cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (C-VEMPs), and spontaneous downbeat nystagmus consistent with acute functional loss of inner ear sensors lying within the inferior part of the labyrinth. HIT for both lateral and superior semicircular canals is normal, as are ocular VEMPs and bithermal caloric irrigations. The etiology of IVN is debated since peripheral acute vestibular loss with a similar lesion pattern can often be associated with ipsilesional sudden hearing loss (HL). Viral inflammation of vestibular nerves is considered the most likely cause, although reports suggest that VN usually spares the inferior division. On the other hand, an ischemic lesion involving the terminal branches of the common cochlear artery has been hypothesized in cases with concurrent HL. Debated is also the lesion site in the case of IVN without HL since different instrumental patterns have been documented. Either isolated posterior ampullary nerve involvement presenting with selective PSC functional loss on video-HIT, or only saccular lesion with isolated ipsilesional C-VEMPs impairment, or inferior vestibular nerve damage (including both saccular and posterior ampullary afferents) exhibiting an impairment of both C-VEMPs and PSC-HIT. We report an interesting case of a patient with an acute vestibular loss consistent with IVN without HL who developed a PSC ossification on follow-up, questioning the viral origin of the lesion and rather orienting toward an occlusion of the posterior vestibular artery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of PSC ossification after a clinical picture consistent with IVN.
Case report: PLPHP deficiency, a rare but important cause of B6-responsive disorders: A report of three novel individuals and review of 51 cases
Authors: Alsubhi Sarah , Osterman Bradley , Chrestian Nicolas , Dubeau François , Buhas Daniela , Srour Myriam
Published: October 2022

PLPHP (pyridoxal-phosphate homeostasis protein) deficiency is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in PLPBP and is a rare cause of pyridoxine-responsive disorders. We describe three French-Canadian individuals with PLPHP deficiency, including one with unusual paroxysmal episodes lacking EEG correlation with a suspicious movement disorder, rarely reported in B6RDs. In addition, we review the clinical features and treatment responses of all 51 previously published individuals with PLPHP deficiency. Our case series underlines the importance of considering PLPBP mutations in individuals with partially B6-responsive seizures and highlights the presence of a founder effect in the French-Canadian population.
Usefulness of phase gradients of otoacoustic emissions in auditory health screening: An exploration with swept tones
Authors: Wang Xin , Zhu Mingxing , He Yuchao , Liu Zhenzhen , Huang Xin , Pan Hongguang , Wang Mingjiang , Chen Shixiong , Tao Yuan , Li Guanglin
Published: October 2022

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are low-level sounds generated by the cochlea and widely used as a noninvasive tool to inspect cochlear impairments. However, only the amplitude information of OAE signals is used in current clinical tests, while the OAE phase containing important information about cochlear functions is commonly discarded, due to the insufficient frequency-resolution of existing OAE tests. In this study, swept tones with time-varying frequencies were used to measure stimulus frequency OAEs (SFOAEs) in human subjects, so that high-resolution phase spectra that are not available in existing OAE tests could be obtained and analyzed. The results showed that the phase of swept-tone SFOAEs demonstrated steep gradients as the frequency increased in human subjects with normal hearing. The steep phase gradients were sensitive to auditory functional abnormality caused by cochlear damage and stimulus artifacts introduced by system distortions. At low stimulus levels, the group delays derived from the phase gradients decreased from around 8.5 to 3 ms as the frequency increased from 1 to 10 kHz for subjects with normal hearing, and the pattern of group-delay versus frequency function showed significant difference for subjects with hearing loss. By using the swept-tone technology, the study suggests that the OAE phase gradients could provide highly sensitive information about the cochlear functions and therefore should be integrated into the conventional methods to improve the reliability of auditory health screening.
Case report: Using DNA short tandem repeats to confirm nongestational origin of pulmonary choriocarcinoma
Authors: da Silva Filipa Ferreira , Barata Rita , Rolim Inês , Carvalheiro Catarina , Gil Nuno , Pantarotto Marcos
Published: October 2022

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasias (GTN) are malignant neoplasms that occur in pregnant or recently pregnant women. Choriocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly aggressive and rare GTN, and cases outside the female genital tract are commonly seen as secondary manifestations of gynecologic disease. In this paper, we describe the case of a 40 years-old female patient with a primary pulmonary CCA who was surgically treated and for whom the confirmation of the primary origin of the tumor was possible using a DNA short tandem repeat genotyping. Distinction between gestational and non-gestational trophoblastic neoplasia is crucial as they require different therapeutic approach and have different prognoses.
Effective prediction of potential ferroptosis critical genes in clinical colorectal cancer
Authors: Huang Hongliang , Dai Yuexiang , Duan Yingying , Yuan Zhongwen , Li Yanxuan , Zhang Maomao , Zhu Wenting , Yu Hang , Zhong Wenfei , Feng Senling
Published: October 2022

Background

Colon cancer is common worldwide, with high morbidity and poor prognosis. Ferroptosis is a novel form of cell death driven by the accumulation of iron-dependent lipid peroxides, which differs from other programmed cell death mechanisms. Programmed cell death is a cancer hallmark, and ferroptosis is known to participate in various cancers, including colon cancer. Novel ferroptosis markers and targeted colon cancer therapies are urgently needed. To this end, we performed a preliminary exploration of ferroptosis-related genes in colon cancer to enable new treatment strategies.

Methods

Ferroptosis-related genes in colon cancer were obtained by data mining and screening for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using bioinformatics analysis tools. We normalized the data across four independent datasets and a ferroptosis-specific database. Identified genes were validated by immunohistochemical analysis of pathological and healthy clinical samples.

Results

We identified DEGs in colon cancer that are involved in ferroptosis. Among these, five core genes were found: ELAVL1, GPX2, EPAS1, SLC7A5, and HMGB1. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that the expression of all five genes, except for EPAS1, was higher in tumor tissues than in healthy tissues.

Conclusions

The preliminary exploration of the five core genes revealed that they are differentially expressed in colon cancer, playing an essential role in ferroptosis. This study provides a foundation for subsequent research on ferroptosis in colon cancer.
Late health effects and changes in lifestyle factors after cancer in childhood with and without subsequent second primary cancers – the KiKme case-control study
Authors: Brackmann Lara Kim , Foraita Ronja , Schwarz Heike , Galetzka Danuta , Zahnreich Sebastian , Hankeln Thomas , Löbrich Markus , Poplawski Alicia , Grabow Desiree , Blettner Maria , Schmidberger Heinz , Marron Manuela
Published: October 2022

Background

Improved treatments for childhood cancer result in a growing number of long-term childhood cancer survivors (CCS). The diagnosis and the prevalence of comorbidities may, however, influence their lifestyle later in life. Nonetheless, little is known about differences in late effects between CCS of a first primary neoplasm (FPN) in childhood and subsequent second primary neoplasms (SPN) and their impact on lifestyle. Therefore, we aim to investigate associations between the occurrence of FPN or SPN and various diseases and lifestyle in the later life of CCS.

Methods

CCS of SPN (n=101) or FPN (n=340) and cancer-free controls (n=150) were matched by age and sex, and CCS additionally by year and entity of FPN. All participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on anthropometric and socio-economic factors, medical history, health status, and lifestyle. Mean time between FPN diagnosis and interview was 27.3 years for SPN and 26.2 years for FPN CCS. To confirm results from others and to generate new hypotheses on late effects of childhood cancer as well as CCS´ lifestyles, generalized linear mixed models were applied.

Results

CCS were found to suffer more likely from diseases compared to cancer-free controls. In detail, associations with cancer status were observed for hypercholesterinemia and thyroid diseases. Moreover, CCS were more likely to take regular medication compared to controls. A similar association was observed for CCS of SPN compared to CCS of FPN. In contrast to controls, CCS rarely exercise more than 5 hours per week, consumed fewer soft and alcoholic drinks, and were less likely to be current, former, or passive smokers. Additionally, they were less likely overweight or obese. All other exploratory analyses performed on cardiovascular, chronic lung, inflammatory bone, allergic, and infectious diseases, as well as on a calculated health-score revealed no association with tumor status.

Conclusion

CCS were more affected by pathologic conditions and may consequently take more medication, particularly among CCS of SPN. The observed higher disease burden is likely related to the received cancer therapy. To reduce the burden of long-term adverse health effects in CCS, improving cancer therapies should therefore be in focus of research in this area.
Perioperative and short-term outcomes of laparoscopic liver resection for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: A retrospective study comparing open hepatectomy
Authors: Bao Dandan , Hu Yiren , Zhang Chenghao , Jin Yibang , Wang Pengwei , Lin Yinfeng , Wang Wei , Shan Yunfeng
Published: October 2022

Background

To compare the perioperative and short-term outcomes of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) and open liver resection (OLR) in recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC) based on propensity score matching (PSM) to investigate therapeutic safety, efficacy, and value for clinical application.

Methods

Forty-nine patients with rHCC who underwent surgery at Wenzhou People’s Hospital between January 2017 and March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed and classified into LLR (n=30) and OLR (n=22) cases based on the surgical method. Thirty-eight patients were screened using PSM for data analysis to compare basic clinical characteristics, perioperative outcomes, and postoperative recurrence in both groups.

Results

Before PSM, the tumour diameter was larger, tumor staging (BCLC staging system), intraoperative blood loss, units of blood transfused, constituent ratio of liver cirrhosis, incidence of MVI and intravascular tumour thrombus and postoperative complication were higher, and duration of hospital stay was significantly longer in the OLR group compared to those in the LLR group (p < 0.05). After PSM, there were no significant differences regarding tumour diameter, MVI incidence, blood transfusion amount or postoperative complication rate in the LLR and OLR groups. The tumor staging, incidence of vascular cancer thrombus, intraoperative blood loss and postoperative duration of hospitalisation were significantly higher in the OLR group than in the LLR group (p<0.05). The difference in recurrence-free survival (RFS) between the two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.383).

Conclusion

LLR for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma can reduce intraoperative blood loss and postoperative complication rate, shorten the duration of hospitalisation, and is superior to OLR regarding perioperative and short-term efficacy, demonstrating good safety and feasibility.
Mitochondria and sensory processing in inflammatory and neuropathic pain
Authors: Silva Santos Ribeiro P. , Willemen Hanneke L. D. M. , Eijkelkamp Niels
Published: October 2022

Rheumatic diseases, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, affect over 750 million people worldwide and contribute to approximately 40% of chronic pain cases. Inflammation and tissue damage contribute to pain in rheumatic diseases, but pain often persists even when inflammation/damage is resolved. Mechanisms that cause this persistent pain are still unclear. Mitochondria are essential for a myriad of cellular processes and regulate neuronal functions. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in multiple neurological disorders, but its role in sensory processing and pain in rheumatic diseases is relatively unexplored. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of how mitochondrial dysfunction connects inflammation and damage-associated pathways to neuronal sensitization and persistent pain. To provide an overall framework on how mitochondria control pain, we explored recent evidence in inflammatory and neuropathic pain conditions. Mitochondria have intrinsic quality control mechanisms to prevent functional deficits and cellular damage. We will discuss the link between neuronal activity, mitochondrial dysfunction and chronic pain. Lastly, pharmacological strategies aimed at reestablishing mitochondrial functions or boosting mitochondrial dynamics as therapeutic interventions for chronic pain are discussed. The evidence presented in this review shows that mitochondria dysfunction may play a role in rheumatic pain. The dysfunction is not restricted to neuronal cells in the peripheral and central nervous system, but also includes blood cells and cells at the joint level that may affect pain pathways indirectly. Pre-clinical and clinical data suggest that modulation of mitochondrial functions can be used to attenuate or eliminate pain, which could be beneficial for multiple rheumatic diseases.
Comprehensive assessments of pulmonary circulation in children with pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease
Authors: Muneuchi Jun , Ezaki Hiroki , Sugitani Yuichiro , Watanabe Mamie
Published: October 2022

Pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease (CHD-PH) encompasses different conditions confounded by the left-to-right shunt, left heart obstruction, ventricular dysfunction, hypoxia due to airway obstruction, dysplasia/hypoplasia of the pulmonary vasculature, pulmonary vascular obstructive disease, and genetic variations of vasoactive mediators. Pulmonary input impedance consists of the pulmonary vascular resistance (Rp) and capacitance (Cp). Rp is calculated as the transpulmonary pressure divided by the pulmonary cardiac output, whereas Cp is calculated as the pulmonary stroke volume divided by the pulmonary arterial pulse pressure. The plots of Rp and Cp demonstrate a unique hyperbolic relationship, namely, the resistor–capacitor coupling curve, which represents the pulmonary vascular condition. The product of Rp and Cp is the exponential pressure decay, which refers to the time constant. Alterations in Cp are more considerable in CHD patients at an early stage of developing pulmonary hypertension or with excessive pulmonary blood flow due to a left-to-right shunt. The importance of Cp has gained attention because recent reports have shown that low Cp potentially reflects poor prognosis in patients with CHD-PH and idiopathic pulmonary hypertension. It is also known that Cp levels decrease in specific populations, such as preterm infants and trisomy 21. Therefore, both Rp and Cp should be individually evaluated in the management of children with CHD-PH who have different disease conditions.
Association of citrulline concentration at birth with lower respiratory tract infection in infancy: Findings from a multi-site birth cohort study
Authors: Snyder Brittney M. , Gebretsadik Tebeb , Turi Kedir N. , McKennan Christopher , Havstad Suzanne , Jackson Daniel J. , Ober Carole , Lynch Susan , McCauley Kathryn , Seroogy Christine M. , Zoratti Edward M. , Khurana Hershey Gurjit K. , Berdnikovs Sergejs , Cunningham Gary , Summar Marshall L. , Gern James E. , Hartert Tina V. ,   on behalf of the ECHO-CREW investigators
Published: October 2022

Assessing the association of the newborn metabolic state with severity of subsequent respiratory tract infection may provide important insights on infection pathogenesis. In this multi-site birth cohort study, we identified newborn metabolites associated with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in the first year of life in a discovery cohort and assessed for replication in two independent cohorts. Increased citrulline concentration was associated with decreased odds of LRTI (discovery cohort: aOR 0.83 [95% CI 0.70–0.99], p = 0.04; replication cohorts: aOR 0.58 [95% CI 0.28–1.22], p = 0.15). While our findings require further replication and investigation of mechanisms of action, they identify a novel target for LRTI prevention and treatment.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors in osteosarcoma: A hopeful and challenging future
Authors: Zhang Zeng , Tan Xin , Jiang Zengxin , Wang Hao , Yuan Hengfeng
Published: October 2022

Osteosarcoma (OS), the most common malignant tumor in the musculoskeletal system, mainly occurs in adolescents. OS results in high mortality and disability rates due to a fatal metastatic tendency and subsequent iatrogenic damage caused by surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Recently, immunotherapies have resulted in promising prognoses with reduced side effects compared with traditional therapies. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which are a representative immunotherapy for OS, enhance the antitumor effects of immune cells. ICIs have shown satisfactory outcomes in other kinds of malignant tumors, especially hemopoietic tumors. However, there is still a high percentage of failures or severe side effects associated with the use of ICIs to treat OS, leading to far worse outcomes. To reveal the underlying mechanisms of drug resistance and side effects, recent studies elucidated several possible reasons, including the activation of other inhibitory immune cells, low immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment, different immune properties of OS subtypes, and the involvement of osteogenesis and osteolysis. According to these mechanisms, researchers have developed new methods to overcome the shortcomings of ICIs. This review summarizes the recent breakthroughs in the use of ICIs to treat OS. Although numerous issues have not been solved yet, ICIs are still the most promising treatment options to cure OS in the long run.
Stimuli-responsive platinum and ruthenium complexes for lung cancer therapy
Authors: Zhang Cheng , Kang Tong , Wang Xinyi , Song Jiaqi , Zhang Jia , Li Guanying
Published: October 2022

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. More efficient treatments are desperately needed. For decades, the success of platinum-based anticancer drugs has promoted the exploration of metal-based agents. Four ruthenium-based complexes have also entered clinical trials as candidates of anticancer metallodrugs. However, systemic toxicity, severe side effects and drug-resistance impeded their applications and efficacy. Stimuli-responsiveness of Pt- and Ru-based complexes provide a great chance to weaken the side effects and strengthen the clinical efficacy in drug design. This review provides an overview on the stimuli-responsive Pt- and Ru-based metallic anticancer drugs for lung cancer. They are categorized as endo-stimuli-responsive, exo-stimuli-responsive, and dual-stimuli-responsive prodrugs based on the nature of stimuli. We describe various representative examples of structure, response mechanism, and potential medical applications in lung cancer. In the end, we discuss the future opportunities and challenges in this field.
An individualized medication model of sodium valproate for patients with bipolar disorder based on machine learning and deep learning techniques
Authors: Zheng Ping , Yu Ze , Mo Liqian , Zhang Yuqing , Lyu Chunming , Yu Yongsheng , Zhang Jinyuan , Hao Xin , Wei Hai , Gao Fei , Li Yilei
Published: October 2022

Valproic acid/sodium valproate (VPA) is a widely used anticonvulsant drug for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders. In order to balance the efficacy and adverse events of VPA treatment, an individualized dose regimen is necessary. This study aimed to establish an individualized medication model of VPA for patients with bipolar disorder based on machine learning and deep learning techniques. The sequential forward selection (SFS) algorithm was applied for selecting a feature subset, and random forest was used for interpolating missing values. Then, we compared nine models using XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost, random forest, GBDT, SVM, logistic regression, ANN, and TabNet, and CatBoost was chosen to establish the individualized medication model with the best performance (accuracy = 0.85, AUC = 0.91, sensitivity = 0.85, and specificity = 0.83). Three important variables that correlated with VPA daily dose included VPA TDM value, antipsychotics, and indirect bilirubin. SHapley Additive exPlanations was applied to visually interpret their impacts on VPA daily dose. Last, the confusion matrix presented that predicting a daily dose of 0.5 g VPA had a precision of 55.56% and recall rate of 83.33%, and predicting a daily dose of 1 g VPA had a precision of 95.83% and a recall rate of 85.19%. In conclusion, the individualized medication model of VPA for patients with bipolar disorder based on CatBoost had a good prediction ability, which provides guidance for clinicians to propose the optimal medication regimen.
Alterations in bone fracture healing associated with TNFRSF signaling pathways
Authors: Dong Yanzhao , Zhou Haiying , Alhaskawi Ahmad , Wang Zewei , Lai Jingtian , Abdullah Ezzi Sohaib Hasan , Kota Vishnu Goutham , Abdulla Hasan Abdulla Mohamed Hasan , Sun Zhenyu , Lu Hui
Published: October 2022

Bone fracture healing is a complex process involving various signaling pathways. It remains an unsolved issue the fast and optimal management of complex or multiple fractures in the field of orthopedics and rehabilitation. Bone fracture healing is largely a four-stage process, including initial hematoma formation, intramembrane ossification, chondrogenesis, and endochondral ossification followed by further bone remodeling. Many studies have reported the involvement of immune cells and cytokines in fracture healing. On the other hand, the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) family and TNF receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) play a pivotal role in many physiological processes. The functions of the TNF family and TNFRSF in immune processes, tissue homeostasis, and cell differentiation have been extensively studied by many groups, and treatments targeting specific TNFRSF members are in progress. In terms of bone fracture management, it has been discovered that several members of TNFRSF have very distinct functions in different stages of fracture healing, including TNFR1, TNFR2, and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK) pathways. More specifically, TNFR1 is associated with osteoclastogenesis and TNFR2 is associated with osteogenic differentiation, while RANK is in association with bone remodeling. In this review, we will discuss and summarize the involvement of members of TNFRSF including TNFR1, TNFR2, and Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK) pathways in different stages of fracture healing and bone remodeling and the current treatment trend involving TNFRSF agonists and antagonists.
An analysis of the essential medicines policy in primary care: Findings from MedMinas project
Authors: Luz Tatiana Chama Borges , Tavares Noemia Urruth Leão , Marques Isabela Cristina , de Castro Ana Karine Sarvel , Cota Betania Barros
Published: October 2022

Background: Essential Medicines Policy (EMP) has been adopted in Brazil to improve the provision and use of pharmaceuticals. This mixed methods study aims to bring evidence of the EMP implemented in municipalities in the context of primary care in Minas Gerais (20,997,560 inhabitants), Southeast Brazil.

Methods: We analysed the core output of the EMP, i.e., the municipal essential medicines lists (MEML) and the effects of the policy on the procurement and availability of medicines. Data sources included a sample of 1,019 individuals (patients, health managers and health professionals), 995 prescriptions, 2,365 dispensed medicines and policy documents from 26 municipalities. Data were collected between April and October 2019. Document analysis and thematic content analysis were performed, and four availability indexes were estimated.

Results: The findings suggest an overall lack of standardised and methodologically sound procedures to elaborate the MEML. Funding and public purchasing processes were found to be the major obstacles to medicine procurement. Only 63% of medicines were available at public community pharmacies and just 46.2% of patients had full access to their pharmaceutical treatment.

Conclusion: This study reveals weaknesses in the implementation of EMP and a clear disconnection between medicines selection, procurement, and availability, the three core elements of the supply system. These findings contribute to informing future policy improvement actions to strengthen this system. Other countries aiming to advance towards universal health coverage may learn from the challenges that primary care in Brazil still needs to address.
Tetramethylpyrazine nitrone activates hypoxia-inducible factor and regulates iron homeostasis to improve renal anemia
Authors: Cen Yun , Wang Peile , Gao Fangfang , Jing Mei , Zhang Zaijun , Yi Peng , Zhang Gaoxiao , Sun Yewei , Wang Yuqiang
Published: October 2022

Renal anemia is one of the most common complications of chronic kidney disease and diabetic kidney disease. Despite the progress made in recent years, there is still an urgent unmet clinical need for renal anemia treatment. In this research, we investigated the efficacy and mechanism of action of the novel tetramethylpyrazine nitrone (TBN). Animal models of anemia including the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and the cisplatin (CDDP)-induced C57BL/6J mice are established to study the TBN’s effects on expression of hypoxia-inducible factor and erythropoietin. To explore the mechanism of TBN’s therapeutic effect on renal anemia, cobalt chloride (CoCl2) is used in Hep3B/HepG2 cells to simulate a hypoxic environment. TBN is found to increase the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor HIF-1α and HIF-2α under hypoxic conditions and reverse the reduction of HIFs expression caused by saccharate ferric oxide (SFO). TBN also positively regulates the AMPK pathway. TBN stimulates nuclear transcription and translation of erythropoietin by enhancing the stability of HIF-1α expression. TBN has a significant regulatory effect on several major biomarkers of iron homeostasis, including ferritin, ferroportin (FPN), and divalent metal transporter-1 (DMT1). In conclusion, TBN regulates the AMPK/mTOR/4E-BP1/HIFs pathway, and activates the hypoxia-inducible factor and regulates iron homeostasis to improve renal anemia.
Structural centrality of networks can improve the diffusion-based recommendation algorithm
Authors: Kong Yixiu , Hu Yizhong , Zhang Xinyu , Wang Cheng
Published: October 2022

The recommendation system has become an indispensable information technology in the real world. The recommendation system based on the diffusion model has been widely used because of its simplicity, scalability, interpretability, and many other advantages. However, the traditional diffusion-based recommendation model only uses the nearest neighbor information, which limits its efficiency and performance. Therefore, in this article, we introduce the centralities of complex networks into the diffusion-based recommendation system and test its performance. The results show that the overall performance of heat conduction algorithm can be improved by 184%–280%, using the centrality of complex networks, reaching almost the same accuracy level as the mass diffusion algorithm. Therefore, the recommendation system combining the high-order network structure information is a potentially promising research direction in the future.
Membrane-mediated interactions between disk-like inclusions adsorbed on vesicles
Authors: Alizadeh-Haghighi Elnaz , Karaei Shiraz Arash , Bahrami Amir H.
Published: October 2022

Self-assembly of membrane inclusions plays a key role in biological processes such as cellular signalling and trafficking and has potential applications for designing interfacial devices such as sensors and actuators. Despite intensive studies of curvature-mediated interactions, how membrane curvature modulates interactions between flat disk-like inclusions, adsorbed on vesicles, remains unknown. We use Monte Carlo simulations of a triangulated vesicle with simulated annealing to explore curvature-mediated interactions between disk-like rigid inclusions, induced by membrane elastic energy. We distinguish two distinct short and long-range curvature-mediated interactions for disk distances below and above the vesicle diameter. We observe short-range neutral interactions in the limit of small disks, where the vesicle appears as a flat bilayer to the disks. Beyond a certain size of disk-like inclusions, we find a transition from neutral to attractive short-range forces. Consistent with experiments, we also show that upon deflating vesicles, previously-attracted disks experience repulsive interactions. Our findings show how the vesicle curvature and the relative size between the disks and the vesicle determine the character of membrane-mediated interactions between adsorbed disk-like inclusions.
Optimized CT-TDLAS reconstruction performance evaluation of least squares with the polynomial-fitting method
Authors: Zhou Wangzheng , Xu Zhekai , Cui Wei , Wang Zhenzhen , Chong Daotong , Yan Junjie
Published: October 2022

Computed tomography-tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (CT-TDLAS) has been widely used in the diagnosis of the combustion flow field. Several optimized CT reconstruction algorithms such as iteration methods, transformation methods, and nonlinear least squares were applied. Considering the industrial application background, the performances of algebraic iteration reconstruction with the simultaneous algebra reconstruction technique (SART), Tikhonov regularization, and least squares with the polynomial fitting method were discussed in this study. For the mentioned algorithm, identical simulated reconstruction parameters that contained 32-path laser structures, assumed temperature distribution, and absorption databases were adopted to evaluate the reconstruction performance including accuracy, efficiency, and measurement of environment applicability. In this study, different CT reconstruction algorithms were also used to calculate the temperature distribution of the Bunsen burner flame. The different reconstruction results were compared with thermocouple detection data. With the theoretically simulated and experimental analysis, the least squares with the polynomial fitting technique has advantages in reconstruction accuracy, calculation efficiency, and laser path applicability for the measurement condition. It will be helpful in enhancing CT-TDLAS technique development.
Avoidant/resistant rather than tolerant olive rootstocks are more effective in controlling Verticillium wilt
Authors: Díaz-Rueda Pablo , Peinado-Torrubia Procopio , Durán-Gutiérrez Francisco J. , Alcántara-Romano Pilar , Aguado Ana , Capote Nieves , Colmenero-Flores José M.
Published: October 2022

The identification of rootstocks of low susceptibility to Verticillium dahliae can become a valuable procedure to achieve effective control of Verticillium wilt in the olive grove. This not only involves the identification of suitable genotypes, but also the study of the interaction between the rootstock and the grafted scion. Thus, a rootstock that prevents or minimizes V. dahliae proliferation (avoidance/resistance strategy) can have very different effects on a susceptible scion compared to a rootstock that shows few or no symptoms despite being infected (tolerance strategy). Both resistance and tolerance mechanisms have been recently identified in wild olive genotypes with low susceptibility to V. dahliae. When used as rootstocks of the highly susceptible variety ‘Picual’, we found that resistant genotypes, including the cultivar ‘Frantoio’, were more effective than tolerant genotypes in controlling Verticillium wilt. Furthermore, tolerant genotypes were as ineffective as susceptible or extremely susceptible genotypes in controlling Verticillium wilt. We also identified rootstock-scion combinations with behaviours that were not expected according to the degree of susceptibility previously observed in the non-grafted rootstock. Although the rootstocks were able to control Verticillium wilt according to its degree of susceptibility to V. dahliae, the ability to control the infection was not adequately transferred to the grafted scion. Our results confirmed that: the degree of susceptibility to Verticillium wilt of an olive variety does not predict its performance as a rootstock; to use a very low susceptible genotype as rootstock of a susceptible scion increases the susceptibility of the genotype used as rootstock; in any case, avoidant/resistant rootstocks are more effective than tolerant rootstocks in reducing the susceptibility of the grafted plant to V. dahliae.
Integrative quantitative and qualitative analysis for the quality evaluation and monitoring of Danshen medicines from different sources using HPLC-DAD and NIR combined with chemometrics
Authors: Li Qing , Qi Luming , Zhao Kui , Ke Wang , Li Tingting , Xia Lina
Published: October 2022

The root and rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen in short) is a well-known herbal medicine used to treat cardiovascular diseases in the world. In China, the roots and rhizomes of several other Salvia species (Non-Danshen in short) are also used as this medicine in traditional folk medicine by local herbalists. Differences have been reported in these medicines originating from different sources, and their quality variation needs to be clearly investigated for effective clinical application. This study presented a comprehensive quality evaluation and monitoring for Danshen from 27 sampling sites and Non-Danshen from other 5 Salvia species based on a high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) and near-infrared (NIR), with the combination of chemometric models. The results showed that cryptotanshinone, tanshinone IIA, tanshinone I, salvianolic acid B, salvianic acid A sodium, dihydrotanshinone I, and rosmarinic acid in these medicines from different sources exhibited great variations. Referring to the standards in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (CP), European Pharmacopeia (EP), and United States Pharmacopeia (USP), Non-Danshen from S. brachyloma, S. castanea, S. trijuga, S. bowleyana, and S. przewalskii were assessed as unqualified, and Danshen in the Shandong Province had the best quality due to the high qualified rate. Based on random forest (RF) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), NIR technique could successfully monitor the quality of these medicines by discriminating the species and regions with the accuracies of 100.00 and 99.60%, respectively. Additionally, modified partial least-squares regression (MPLSR) models were successfully constructed to investigate the feasibility of NIR fingerprints for the prediction of the quality indicators in these medicines. The optimized models obtained the best results for the total of tanshinone IIA, tanshinone I, and cryptotanshinone (TTC), tanshinone IIA, and salvianolic acid B, with the relative prediction deviation (RPD) of 4.08, 3.92, and 2.46, respectively. In summary, this study demonstrated that HPLC-DAD and NIR techniques can complement each other and could be simultaneously applied for evaluating and monitoring the quality of Danshen medicines.
Regional analysis of planting date and cultivar maturity recommendations that improve soybean oil yield and meal protein concentration
Authors: Salmerón Montserrat , Bourland Fred M. , Buehring Normie W. , Earnest Larry , Fritschi Felix B. , Gbur Edward E. , Golden Bobby R. , Hathcoat Daniel , Lofton Josh , McClure Angela Thompson , Miller Travis D. , Neely Clark , Shannon Grover , Udeigwe Theophilus K. , Verbree David A. , Vories Earl D. , Wiebold William J. , Purcell Larry C.
Published: October 2022

Planting date and cultivar maturity group (MG) are major management factors affecting soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield, but their effect on seed oil and protein concentration, and in particular meal protein concentration, is less understood. We quantified changes in seed oil and protein, and estimated meal protein concentration, and total oil and protein yield in response to planting date and cultivar MG ranging from 3 to 6 and across locations comprising a 8.3° range in latitude in the U.S. Midsouth. Our results show that delayed planting date and later cultivar maturity reduced oil concentration, and this was partially associated with a decrease in temperature during the seed fill phase. Thus, optimum cultivar MG recommendations to maximize total oil yield (in kg ha–1) for planting dates in May and June required relatively earlier cultivar MGs than those recommended to maximize seed yield. For planting dates in April, short-season MG 3 cultivars did not increase oil yield compared to full-season MG 4 or 5 cultivars due to a quadratic yield response to planting date at most locations. Planting date and cultivar maturity effects on seed protein concentration were not always consistent with the effects on estimated meal protein concentration after oil extraction. Meal protein concentration decreased with lower temperatures during seed fill, and when the start of seed fill occurred after August 15, but relatively short-season cultivar MGs reduced the risk of low meal protein concentration. Meal protein concentration is a trait of interest for the feed industry that would be beneficial to report in future studies evaluating genetic, management, and environmental effects on seed protein concentration.
Intraspecific and sex-dependent variation of leaf traits along altitude gradient in the endangered dioecious tree Taxus fuana Nan Li & R.R. Mill
Authors: Li Tian-Xiang , Shen-Tu Xiao-Lu , Xu Li , Zhang Wei-Jun , Duan Jun-Peng , Song Yao-Bin , Dong Ming
Published: October 2022

Plant intraspecific trait variation (ITV) including sex-dependent differences are matters of many ecological consequences, from individual to ecosystem, especially in endangered and rare species. Taxus fuana is an endangered dioecious species with small and isolated populations endemic to the Himalayas region. Little is known about its trait variation between sexes, and among populations. In this study, 18 leaf traits from 179 reproductive trees (males and females) along the altitude (2600-3200m a.s.l.) of the T. fuana populations distributed in Gyirong County, Tibet, China, were measured. ITV and sources of variation in leaf traits were assessed. The relationship between leaf traits of males and females and altitude was analyzed separately. Variations in leaf traits of T. fuana ranged from 3.1% to 24.2%, with the smallest in leaf carbon content and the largest in leaf thickness to area ratio. On average 78.13% of the variation in leaf traits was from within populations and 21.87% among populations. The trends in leaf width, leaf nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio, leaf carbon isotope ratio, and leaf nitrogen isotope ratio in relation to altitude were the same for males and females. Leaf length to width ratio varied significantly with altitude only in males, while leaf phosphorus content, leaf nitrogen content, and leaf carbon to phosphorus ratio varied significantly with altitude only in females. The correlation coefficients of most leaf traits of females with altitude were larger than that of males. In the relationship between leaf traits, there was a high similarity among males and females, but the altitude accounted for more explanation in females than in males. Our results suggested that the variation in leaf traits of T. fuana was small and did not dominate the interspecific competition in the local communities. Adaptation to the altitude gradient of T. fuana might be through altering nutrient storage processes and water use efficiency. Adaptation of male and female T. fuana to environmental changes showed differences, where the males were more tolerant and the females responded greatly to altitude. The differences in adaptation strategies between male and female T. fuana may be detrimental to the maintenance of their populations.
The representation of bullying in Italian primary school children: A mixed-method study comparing drawing and interview data and their association with self-report involvement in bullying events
Authors: Marengo Davide , Settanni Michele , Longobardi Claudio , Fabris Matteo Angelo
Published: October 2022

Bullying continues to be a social issue affecting millions of students of all ages worldwide. Research on bullying seems to be dominated by quantitative research approaches employed standardized categories and measures, ultimately limiting our knowledge about children’s own view on bullying. Our research follows another direction, aiming to explore the representation of bullying in a sample of Italian primary school children by using and comparing the functioning of two qualitative research instruments: interviews, and children’s drawings. In addition, aided by quantitative analyses, we aimed to investigate whether students’ involvement in different bullying roles (as bullies, victims, or defenders), as measured by self-assessment, correlated with different characteristics of the representation of bullying emerging from children’s drawings and interviews. We recruited a convenient sample of 640 primary school students (mean age = 9.44; SD = 0.67), 53.3% of whom were male. The results showed that all forms of bullying, i.e., physical, verbal, and social bullying, could be identified in interview and drawing data, although references to all types of bullying were more frequent in interview data. In terms of bullying criteria, the presence of a power imbalance between the bully and the victim was most frequently detected in both the interview data and the drawing data, while repetition was more easily detected in the interview data. The interview data showed that sadness was the most frequently reported victim emotions, followed by fear, anger, and lack of emotion. The drawing data showed a similar pattern, although victims were more frequently described as lacking emotions compared to the interview data. In both interview and drawing data, age and female gender were positively associated with references to verbal bullying, and negatively associated with references to physical bullying. Additionally, bully/victim children were more likely than uninvolved children to depict physical bullying in the drawings, while this association was not detected in interview data. In summary, our study shows that, compared with drawings, interviews tend to provide a more comprehensive view of children’s own representation of bullying, while drawing data tend to show stronger connections with children’s current personal experiences of bullying.
The mediating roles of buoyancy and boredom in the relationship between autonomous motivation and engagement among Chinese senior high school EFL learners
Authors: Wang Ying , Liu Honggang
Published: October 2022

For several decades, there has been an increase in studies on second language motivation, one of the most salient topics in individual difference research in second language acquisition, guided by theories and methods from related fields. Self-determination theory (SDT) is one of the most influential theories to provide a comprehensive framework for investigating language learning motivation. To date, numerous SDT-related studies have been performed to explore ways to develop more self-determined types of motivation. However, research on the relationship between self-determined types of motivation and other psychological variables has been limited. To address this gap, the present study investigated the complex relationships between autonomous motivation, buoyancy, boredom, and engagement in a sample of 561 Chinese senior high school English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Data were collected through a composite questionnaire measuring students’ autonomous motivation, buoyancy, boredom, and engagement in EFL learning. Chain mediation analysis was used to test the complex relationships among these variables. The results show that autonomous motivation directly affected student engagement in EFL learning and autonomous motivation also indirectly affected student engagement in EFL learning through the separate mediation of buoyancy and boredom in EFL learning as well as the chain mediation of both mediators. The results support SDT and offer some pedagogical implications for teachers and educators.