bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategies for managing fungicide resistance in the Brazilian tropical agroecosystem: Safeguarding food safety, health, and the environmental quality
Authors: Ceresini Paulo Cezar , Silva Tatiane Carla , Vicentini Samara Nunes Campos , Júnior Rui Pereira Leite , Moreira Silvino Intra , Castro-Ríos Katherin , Garcés-Fiallos Felipe Rafael , Krug Loane Dantas , de Moura Suzany Santos , da Silva Abimael Gomes , de Paiva Custódio Adriano Augusto , May De Mio Louise Larissa , de Godoy Gasparoto Maria Cândida , Portalanza Diego , de Jesus Júnior Waldir Cintra
Published: March 2024

Fungicide resistance is an alarming challenge for the Brazilian tropical agricultural systems, with major implications for food safety, human and animal health, as well as for the environment. This review explores strategies to address fungicide resistance within the Brazilian agroecosystem context. We examined historical and current scenarios of fungicide resistance in the Brazilian agroecosystems and the approaches to delay the emergence and mitigate the selection of resistant variants. Our review indicates that the prevalence of resistance in field populations of key plant pathogens in Brazil was due to failures in the implementation of preventive measures. To address this issue, alternative evolutionary-smart strategies against fungicide resistance are proposed, emphasizing institutional actions and public policies. Crucial steps involve strengthening national networks for large-scale foliar and seed fungicide efficacy testing and resistance monitoring, as well as imposing tighter restrictions on the labeling of high-risk single-active formulations. Additionally, the integration of non-chemical disease management strategies and the establishment of a centralized database and information system on fungicide resistance in Brazil are identified as essential for effective resistance monitoring and informed decision-making. To enhance fungicide resistance management, the adoption of a warning system (e.g., based on aerobiology- or on weather-monitoring) for predicting disease epidemics and minimizing fungicide applications is recommended. Increased funding, collaboration, mandatory reporting, and capacity building are required to overcome these challenges. In addition, promoting integrated disease management approaches is vital. By implementing these tailored strategies, Brazil can actively contribute to safeguarding its food safety, protecting human and animal health, and preserving the delicate balance of its unique agroecosystem. The adoption of evolutionary-smart strategies against fungicide resistance will prolong fungicide efficacy, reduce economic costs, and minimize environmental impacts, ensuring sustainable and resilient agriculture in Brazil.
A numerical range approach to Birkhoff–James orthogonality with applications
Authors: Martín Miguel , Merí Javier , Quero Alicia , Roy Saikat , Sain Debmalya
Published: March 2024

The main aim of this paper is to provide characterizations of Birkhoff–James orthogonality (BJ-orthogonality in short) in a number of families of Banach spaces in terms of the elements of significant subsets of the unit ball of their dual spaces, which makes the characterizations more applicable. The tool to do so is a fine study of the abstract numerical range and its relation with the BJ-orthogonality. Among other results, we provide a characterization of BJ-orthogonality for spaces of vector-valued bounded functions in terms of the domain set and the dual of the target space, which is applied to get results for spaces of vector-valued continuous functions, uniform algebras, Lipschitz maps, injective tensor products, bounded linear operators with respect to the operator norm and to the numerical radius, multilinear maps, and polynomials. Next, we study possible extensions of the well-known Bhatia–Šemrl theorem on BJ-orthogonality of matrices, showing results in spaces of vector-valued continuous functions, compact linear operators on reflexive spaces, and finite Blaschke products. Finally, we find applications of our results to the study of spear vectors and spear operators. We show that no smooth point of a Banach space can be BJ-orthogonal to a spear vector of Z. As a consequence, if X is a Banach space containing strongly exposed points and Y is a smooth Banach space with dimension at least two, then there are no spear operators from X to Y. Particularizing this result to the identity operator, we show that a smooth Banach space containing strongly exposed points has numerical index strictly smaller than one. These latter results partially solve some open problems.
The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles: Announcement of the U.S. Outer Limits
Authors: Baumert Kevin A.
Published: March 2024

On December 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of State announced the geographic coordinates defining the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf in areas beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast. For convenience, the United States—and also this Essay—refers to the portion of a country's continental shelf that is beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast as the “extended continental shelf,” or ECS. The announcement states that the United States has ECS in seven different regions which collectively amounts to approximately a million square kilometers (about 380,000 square miles).
Does Empathy Contribute to Intergroup Solidarity? Navigating the Pitfalls of Empathy in the Pursuit of Racial Justice
Authors: Gallegos Lori
Published: March 2024

This article describes some of the pitfalls of empathy as a tool for supporting intergroup solidarity and examines how best to navigate these pitfalls. In cases where racial injustice is structural and complex, those who are not directly targeted by an injustice may fail to appropriately recognize and respond to injustice, undermining the political solidarity required to make social change. This deficiency in moral knowledge and motivation raises the question of whether relying on empathy in cases of racial injustice could actually be undermining anti-racism. The article describes two ways in which empathy tends to fail as a moral-epistemic tool for recognizing and responding to racial injustice: centering the privileged perspective and generalized projecting. Nevertheless, we should avoid drawing the conclusion that empathy has no place in coalitional politics. This article draws a distinction between transitory empathy, which is experienced as a passing moment in time, and accretionary empathy, which is developed over an extended period of time. The practices associated with transitory empathy are more susceptible to failure, while the practices associated with accretionary empathy can make vital contributions to intergroup solidarity.
The Foreign State Immunity Law of the People's Republic of China
Authors: Dodge William S.
Published: March 2024

On September 1, 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress promulgated the Foreign State Immunity Law of the People's Republic of China (FSIL), which entered into force on January 1, 2024. The law abandons China's prior adherence to the absolute theory of state immunity and instead adopts the restrictive theory followed by most other countries. Under the restrictive theory, foreign states are immune from suits based on their governmental acts (acta jure imperii) but are subject to suits based on their non-governmental acts (acta jure gestionis).
Angular momentum and energy transport in disc–jet systems: Unravelling the contribution of saturated thermal conduction
Authors: Rezgui Ghassen , Preiner Reinhold
Published: March 2024

This study builds upon our prior work to further explore and unravel the effects of saturated thermal conduction within a viscous resistive MHD framework on the intricate transport mechanisms of angular momentum and energy in disc-jet systems. We conducted a series of 2.5-dimensional non-relativistic time-dependent numerical simulations using the PLUTO code. Employing a saturation parameter spanning [0.002-0.01], our results are consistent with previous investigations that omitted consideration of thermal conduction, affirming the established understanding that kinetic torque plays a predominant role in governing the total accretion angular momentum, surpassing the magnetic contribution within the disc. At the initial time steps of our calculations, we find that thermal conduction enhances this kinetic contribution, while concurrently diminishing the effect of magnetic contribution. In contrast to the prevailing influence of kinetic torque within the disc, we also assert the magnetic torque as the primary contributor to the total ejection angular momentum. We further unveil that doubling the saturation parameter leads to bolstering of approximately

$23.7\%$

in the integral dominance of magnetic torque compared to kinetic torque within the jet. Our findings reveal that doubling the effect of thermal conduction improves the integral total accretion power by approximately 2%, thereby slightly amplifying the energy content within the system and increasing overall energy output. We underscore that as the local energy dissipation within the disc intensifies, the significance of the enthalpy accretion flux increases at the expense of the jet power. We reveal that increasing the saturation parameter mitigates enthalpy accumulation within the disc, and further restricts the jet’s energy extraction from the disc. This limitation is determined in our analysis through the decrease in the integral ratio between the bipolar jet and liberated power of approximately

$13.8\%$

, for twice the strength of the saturation parameter. We identify the Poynting flux as the primary contributor to total jet power, with thermal conduction exerting minimal influence on magnetic contributions. Additionally, we emphasise the integration of jet enthalpy as another significant factor in determining overall jet power, highlighting a distinct correlation between the rise in saturation parameter and heightened enthalpy contribution. Moreover, we observe the promotion of Poynting flux over kinetic flux at advanced time steps of our simulations, a trend supported by the presence of thermal conduction, which demonstrates an integral increase of approximately

$11.2\%$

when considering a doubling of the saturation parameter.
What The Cambridge Economic History of China Teaches Us about China and Tells Us About Economic History
Authors: Wong R. Bin
Published: March 2024

Considering the 1500+ pages making up the 39 chapters of this work on Chinese economic history from ancient times to the present, this review essay suggests ways The Cambridge Economic History of China contributes new perspectives on economic history more generally and on plausible connections between the pathways of Chinese economic change that begin in the distant past and point toward the future. The essay addresses specifically Chinese elements in its economic history and identifies the ways in which nineteenth- and twentieth-century engagement with Westerners contributed to the Chinese economy’s future development but in no comprehensive manner explain how modern Chinese economic change took place. Among the highlighted features of Chinese economic history that chapters of this work make visible are the persistent presence of state efforts to manage and shape economic activity forming a distinct tradition of political economy and the long-standing awareness of many of the relationships between population, agriculture, and the natural environment.
Activities of pumpkin seed oil against Biomphalaria alexandrina snails and the infective stages of Schistosoma mansoni with special emphasis on genotoxic and histopathological alterations
Authors: Mohammed S.E. , Mossalem H.S. , Gad El-Karim R.M. , Morsy A.T. , Ammar A.M.
Published: March 2024

Schistosomiasis is a serious health issue in tropical regions, and natural compounds have gained popularity in medical science. This study investigated the potential effects of pumpkin seed oil (PSO) on Biomphalaria [B.] alexandrina snails (Ehrenberg, 1831), Schistosoma [S.] mansoni (Sambon, 1907) miracidium, and cercariae. The chemical composition of PSO was determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A bioassay was performed to evaluate the effects of PSO on snails, miracidia, and cercariae. The results showed no significant mortality of B. alexandrina snails after exposure to PSO, but it caused morphological changes in their hemocytes at 1.0 mg/ml for 24 hours. PSO exhibited larvicidal activity against miracidia after 2 hours of exposure at a LC50 of 618.4 ppm. A significant increase in the mortality rate of miracidia was observed in a dose- and time-dependent manner, reaching a 100% death rate after 10 minutes at LC90 and 15 minutes at LC50 concentration. PSO also showed effective cercaricidal activity after 2 hours of exposure at a LC50 of 290.5 ppm. Histological examination revealed multiple pathological changes in the digestive and hermaphrodite glands. The PSO had genotoxic effects on snails, which exhibited a significant increase [p≤0.05] in comet parameters compared to the control. The findings suggest that PSO has potential as a molluscicide, miracidicide, and cercaricide, making it a possible alternative to traditional molluscicides in controlling schistosomiasis.
The gyrokinetic dispersion relation of microtearing modes in collisionless toroidal plasmas
Authors: Chandran B.D.G. , Schekochihin A.A.
Published: March 2024

We solve the linearized gyrokinetic equation, quasineutrality condition and Ampere's law to obtain the dispersion relation of microtearing modes (MTMs) in collisionless low-

$\beta$

toroidal plasmas. Consistent with past studies, we find that MTMs are driven unstable by the electron temperature gradient and that this instability drive is mediated by magnetic drifts. The dispersion relation that we derive can be evaluated numerically very quickly and may prove useful for devising strategies to mitigate MTM instability in fusion devices.
Institutions' quality and environmental pollution in Africa
Authors: Mignamissi Dieudonné , Mougnol A. Ekoula Hervé William , Thioune Thierno
Published: March 2024

This paper tests the pollution emissions and institutional quality nexus in Africa. Specifically, we analyze the effect of the political regime and the quality of political governance on CO2 emissions. To control for endogeneity, we apply the system generalized method of moments on a dynamic panel of African countries over the period 1996–2020. The key finding suggests that better institutions have a negative and significant effect on pollution in Africa. The findings also validate the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Moreover, the results support the pollution haven hypothesis. Finally, if digitalization significantly curbs pollution, then industrialization, natural resources, as well as the intensive use of energy, are considered as positive predictors. All the sensitivity and robustness tests globally validate the strength of the negative association between the good quality of institutions and the level of polluting emissions in Africa. The results call for some policy recommendations in environmental regulation for African economies.
Harnessing the Power of Graph Representation in Climate Forecasting: Predicting Global Monthly Mean Sea Surface Temperatures and Anomalies
Authors: Ning Ding , Vetrova Varvara , Bryan Karin R. , Koh Yun Sing
Published: March 2024

The variability of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) is crucial in climate dynamics, influencing marine ecosystems and human activities. This study leverages graph neural networks (GNNs), specifically a GraphSAGE model, to forecast SSTs and their anomalies (SSTAs), focusing on the global scale structure of climatological data. We introduce an improved graph construction technique for SST teleconnection representation. Our results highlight the GraphSAGE model's capability in 1‐month‐ahead global SST and SSTA forecasting, with SST predictions spanning up to 2 years with a recursive approach. Notably, regions with persistent currents exhibited enhanced SSTA predictability, contrasting with equatorial and Antarctic areas. Our GNN outperformed both the persistence model and traditional methods. Additionally, we offer an SST and SSTA graph data set based on ERA5 and a graph generation tool. This GNN case study has shown how the GraphSAGE can be used in SST and SSTA forecasting, and will provide a foundation for further refinements such as adjusting graph construction, optimizing imbalanced regression techniques for extreme SSTAs, and integrating GNNs with other temporal pattern learning methods to improve long‐term predictions.
Effective Deep Learning Seasonal Prediction Model for Summer Drought Over China
Authors: Liu Wenbo , Huang Yanyan , Wang Huijun
Published: March 2024

Drought is an important meteorological event in China and can cause severe damage to both livelihoods and socio‐ecological systems, but current seasonal prediction skill for drought is far from successful. This study used convolutional neural network (CNN) to build an effective seasonal forecast model for the summer consecutive dry days (CDD) over China. The principal components (PC) of the six leading empirical orthogonal function modes of CDD anomaly were predicted by CNN, using the previous winter precipitation, 2‐m temperature and 500 hPa geopotential height as predictors. These predicted PCs were then projected onto the observed spatial patterns to obtain the final predicted summer CDD anomaly over China. In the independent hindcast period of 2007–2018, the interannual variabilities of first six PCs were significantly predicted by CNN. The spatial patterns of CDD were then skillfully predicted with anomaly correlation coefficient skills generally higher than 0.2. The interannual variability of summer CDD over the middle and lower Yangtze River valley, northwestern China and northern China were significant predicted by our CNN model three months in advance. CNN identified that the previous winter precipitation was the important predictor for PC1–PC3, whereas the previous winter 2‐m temperature and 500 hPa geopotential height were important for the prediction of PC4–PC6. This research provides a new and effective method for the seasonal prediction of summer drought.
Pore Fluid Pressure in St. Gallen Geothermal Field (Switzerland) Based on Earthquake Focal Mechanisms
Authors: De Matteis Raffaella , Massa Bruno , Adinolfi Guido Maria , Amoroso Ortensia , Terakawa Toshiko , Convertito Vincenzo
Published: March 2024

Induced seismicity represents a negative drawback during subsurface exploitation for geothermal energy production. Understanding the triggering mechanisms of induced earthquakes can help implement effective seismic hazard mitigation actions. Among the triggering mechanisms, the pore fluid pressure is of primary importance. Here we provide a static picture of the excess pore fluid pressure at the hypocenters of a seismic sequence induced at the deep geothermal field in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in July 2013. We find that in addition to the Coulomb static stress change, fluids play a key role in promoting the sequence. The estimated excess pore fluid pressure for approximately half of the earthquakes is higher than the injection pressure necessary during the well control phase to fight the unexpected gas kick, that accidently occurred during field operations when a trap of overpressured gas was broken.
Temporal Evolution of Solute Dispersion in Three‐Dimensional Porous Rocks
Authors: Puyguiraud Alexandre , Gouze Philippe , Dentz Marco
Published: March 2024

We study the temporal evolution of solute dispersion in three‐dimensional porous rocks of different heterogeneity and pore structure. To this end, we perform direct numerical simulations of pore‐scale flow and transport in a sand pack, which exhibits mild heterogeneity, and a Berea sandstone, which is characterized by strong heterogeneity as measured by the variance of the logarithm of the flow velocity. The impact of medium structure and pore‐scale mass transfer mechanisms is probed by effective and ensemble dispersion coefficients. The former is a measure for the typical width of a plume, while the latter for the deformation, that is, the spread of a mixing front. Both dispersion coefficients evolve from the molecular diffusion coefficients toward a common finite asymptotic value. Their behavior is governed by the interplay between diffusion, pore‐scale velocity fluctuations and medium structure, which determine the characteristic mass transfer time scales. We find distinctly different dispersion behaviors in the two media, which can be traced back to how particles sample pore‐scale velocity variability and how this depends on the medium structure. These are key elements for the upscaling of transport, mixing and reaction from the pore to the continuum scale.
On the Identifiability of Relative Permeability and Foam Displacement Parameters in Porous Media Flow
Authors: Ribeiro L. S. , Miranda G. B. , Rocha B. M. , Chapiro G. , Santos R. Weber dos
Published: March 2024

This study focuses on analyzing parameter identifiability in foam displacement models during two‐phase flow in porous media, with a particular emphasis on calibrating relative permeability and foam parameters. We employ the profile likelihood technique and Bayesian inference for identifiability analysis. Successful parameter estimation is demonstrated through steady‐state experiments for relative permeability and foam quality scan experiments when both types of experimental data are available and obtained from the same core sample. However, non‐identifiability issues arise when only foam quality scan data is accessible. Additionally, we investigated a standard practice that fits foam parameters using foam quality scan data obtained from one core sample and permeability values obtained from another core sample, but from the same reservoir. Our results show that this practice is ineffective in correctly estimating foam parameters, leading to misestimation of crucial foam model parameters. These findings underscore the importance of a mandatory relative permeability experiment on a representative core sample from the reservoir for accurate characterization of foam parameters. Without it, misestimation of foam model parameters hinders the proper understanding of foam effects on sweeping porous media.
Depressive symptoms and antidepressant use in relation to white blood cell count among postmenopausal women from the Women’s Health Initiative
Authors: Beydoun Hind A. , Beydoun May A. , Wassertheil-Smoller Sylvia , Saquib Nazmus , Manson JoAnn E. , Snetselaar Linda , Weiss Jordan , Zonderman Alan B. , Brunner Robert
Published: March 2024

Inflammation can play a role in the pathophysiology of depression, and specific types of antidepressants may have inflammatory or anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, depression and antidepressant use has been linked to white blood cell (WBC) count, a routinely measured inflammatory marker. We examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships of depressive symptoms and/or antidepressant use with WBC count among postmenopausal women. Analyses of cross-sectional data at enrollment were performed on 125,307 participants, 50–79 years of age, from the Women’s Health Initiative Clinical Trials and Observational Studies who met eligibility criteria, and a subset of those with 3-year follow-up data were examined for longitudinal relationships. Depressive symptoms were defined using the Burnam Algorithm whereas antidepressant use was defined using therapeutic class codes. WBC count (Kcell/ml) was obtained through laboratory evaluations of fasting blood samples. Multivariable regression modeling was performed taking sociodemographic, lifestyle and health characteristics into consideration. At enrollment, nearly 85% were non-users of antidepressants with no depressive symptoms, 5% were antidepressant users with no depressive symptoms, 9% were non-users of antidepressants with depressive symptoms, and 2% were users of antidepressants with depressive symptoms. In fully-adjusted models, cross-sectional relationships were observed whereby women in the 2nd (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.13), 3rd (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.12) or 4th (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.17) quartiles of WBC count were more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms, and women in the 4th quartile were more likely to be users of antidepressants (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.15), compared to women in the 1st quartile. Compared to women who exhibited no depressive symptoms at either visit, those with consistent depressive symptoms at enrollment and at 3-year follow-up had faster decline in WBC count (β = −0.73, 95% CI: −1.33, −0.14) over time. No significant bidirectional relationships were observed between changes in depressive symptoms score and WBC count over time. In conclusion, depressive symptoms and/or antidepressant use were cross-sectionally related to higher WBC counts among postmenopausal women. Further evaluation of observed relationships is needed in the context of prospective cohort studies involving older adult men and women, with repeated measures of depression, antidepressant use, and WBC count.
Extracellular vesicles from vaginal Gardnerella vaginalis and Mobiluncus mulieris contain distinct proteomic cargo and induce inflammatory pathways
Authors: Joseph Andrea , Anton Lauren , Guan Yuxia , Ferguson Briana , Mirro Isabella , Meng Nova , France Michael , Ravel Jacques , Elovitz Michal A.
Published: March 2024

Colonization of the vaginal space with bacteria such as Gardnerella vaginalis and Mobiluncus mulieris is associated with increased risk for STIs, bacterial vaginosis, and preterm birth, while Lactobacillus crispatus is associated with optimal reproductive health. Although host-microbe interactions are hypothesized to contribute to reproductive health and disease, the bacterial mediators that are critical to this response remain unclear. Bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) are proposed to participate in host-microbe communication by providing protection of bacterial cargo, delivery to intracellular targets, and ultimately induction of immune responses from the host. We evaluated the proteome of bEVs produced in vitro from G. vaginalis, M. mulieris, and L. crispatus, identifying specific proteins of immunologic interest. We found that bEVs from each bacterial species internalize within cervical and vaginal epithelial cells, and that epithelial and immune cells express a multi-cytokine response when exposed to bEVs from G. vaginalis and M. mulieris but not L. crispatus. Further, we demonstrate that the inflammatory response induced by G. vaginalis and M. mulieris bEVs is TLR2-specific. Our results provide evidence that vaginal bacteria communicate with host cells through secreted bEVs, revealing a mechanism by which bacteria lead to adverse reproductive outcomes associated with inflammation. Elucidating host-microbe interactions in the cervicovaginal space will provide further insight into the mechanisms contributing to microbiome-mediated adverse outcomes and may reveal new therapeutic targets.
Single-hole spectra of Kitaev spin liquids: from dynamical Nagaoka ferromagnetism to spin-hole fractionalization
Authors: Kadow Wilhelm , Jin Hui-Ke , Knolle Johannes , Knap Michael
Published: March 2024

The dynamical response of a quantum spin liquid upon injecting a hole is a pertinent open question. In experiments, the hole spectral function, measured momentum-resolved in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) or locally in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), can be used to identify spin liquid materials. In this study, we employ tensor network methods to simulate the time evolution of a single hole doped into the Kitaev spin-liquid ground state. Focusing on the gapped spin liquid phase, we reveal two fundamentally different scenarios. For ferromagnetic spin couplings, the spin liquid is highly susceptible to hole doping: a Nagaoka ferromagnet forms dynamically around the doped hole, even at weak coupling. By contrast, in the case of antiferromagnetic spin couplings, the hole spectrum demonstrates an intricate interplay between charge, spin, and flux degrees of freedom, best described by a parton mean-field ansatz of fractionalized holons and spinons. Moreover, we find a good agreement of our numerical results to the analytically solvable case of slow holes. Our results demonstrate that dynamical hole spectral functions provide rich information on the structure of fractionalized quantum spin liquids.
Action video games normalise the phonemic awareness in pre-readers at risk for developmental dyslexia
Authors: Bertoni Sara , Andreola Chiara , Mascheretti Sara , Franceschini Sandro , Ruffino Milena , Trezzi Vittoria , Molteni Massimo , Sali Maria Enrica , Salandi Antonio , Gaggi Ombretta , Palazzi Claudio , Gori Simone , Facoetti Andrea
Published: March 2024

Action video-games (AVGs) could improve reading efficiency, enhancing not only visual attention but also phonological processing. Here we tested the AVG effects upon three consolidated language-based predictors of reading development in a sample of 79 pre-readers at-risk and 41 non-at-risk for developmental dyslexia. At-risk children were impaired in either phonemic awareness (i.e., phoneme discrimination task), phonological working memory (i.e., pseudoword repetition task) or rapid automatized naming (i.e., RAN of colours task). At-risk children were assigned to different groups by using an unequal allocation randomization: (1) AVG (n = 43), (2) Serious Non-Action Video Game (n = 11), (3) treatment-as-usual (i.e., speech therapy, n = 11), and (4) waiting list (n = 14). Pre- and post-training comparisons show that only phonemic awareness has a significantly higher improvement in the AVG group compared to the waiting list, the non-AVG, and the treatment-as-usual groups, as well as the combined active groups (n = 22). This cross-modal plastic change: (i) leads to a recovery in phonemic awareness when compared to the not-at-risk pre-readers; (ii) is present in more than 80% of AVG at-risk pre-readers, and; (iii) is maintained at a 6-months follow-up. The present findings indicate that this specific multisensory attentional training positively affects how phonemic awareness develops in pre-readers at risk for developmental dyslexia, paving the way for innovative prevention programs.
Long-term risk of psychiatric disorder and psychotropic prescription after SARS-CoV-2 infection among UK general population
Authors: Wang Yunhe , Su Binbin , Xie Junqing , Garcia-Rizo Clemente , Prieto-Alhambra Daniel
Published: March 2024

Despite evidence indicating increased risk of psychiatric issues among COVID-19 survivors, questions persist about long-term mental health outcomes and the protective effect of vaccination. Using UK Biobank data, three cohorts were constructed: SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 26,101), contemporary control with no evidence of infection (n = 380,337) and historical control predating the pandemic (n = 390,621). Compared with contemporary controls, infected participants had higher subsequent risks of incident mental health at 1 year (hazard ratio (HR): 1.54, 95% CI 1.42–1.67; P = 1.70 × 10−24; difference in incidence rate: 27.36, 95% CI 21.16–34.10 per 1,000 person-years), including psychotic, mood, anxiety, alcohol use and sleep disorders, and prescriptions for antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers and opioids. Risks were higher for hospitalized individuals (2.17, 1.70–2.78; P = 5.80 × 10−10) than those not hospitalized (1.41, 1.30–1.53; P = 1.46 × 10−16), and were reduced in fully vaccinated people (0.97, 0.80–1.19; P = 0.799) compared with non-vaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals (1.64, 1.49–1.79; P = 4.95 × 10−26). Breakthrough infections showed similar risk of psychiatric diagnosis (0.91, 0.78–1.07; P = 0.278) but increased prescription risk (1.42, 1.00–2.02; P = 0.053) compared with uninfected controls. Early identification and treatment of psychiatric disorders in COVID-19 survivors, especially those severely affected or unvaccinated, should be a priority in the management of long COVID. With the accumulation of breakthrough infections in the post-pandemic era, the findings highlight the need for continued optimization of strategies to foster resilience and prevent escalation of subclinical mental health symptoms to severe disorders.
Factors associated with sedentary behavior among community-dwelling breast cancer survivors aged 50 years or older
Authors: Park Jae Hyeon , Lee Jung Soo , Nam Hyung Seok , Kim Yeo Hyung
Published: March 2024

Although increased sedentary behavior is associated with poor health outcomes among breast cancer survivors, the factors associated with high sedentary time in community-dwelling breast cancer survivors are unknown. This study aimed to identify factors associated with sedentary behavior in Korean community-dwelling breast cancer survivors aged ≥ 50 years. We included 205 breast cancer survivors from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Total daily sedentary time was evaluated using questions from the Korean version of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. We used complex-sample multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses to analyze the associations between sociodemographic factors, medical factors, and health-related quality of life and high sedentary time (≥ 420 min/day). Among the Korean community-dwelling breast cancer survivors, 48.2% had a high daily sedentary time. Insufficient aerobic exercise (OR 2.29; 95% CI 1.12–4.69), diabetes (OR 3.37; 95% CI 1.22–9.33), and unemployed status (OR 2.29; 95% CI 1.05–5.02) were independently associated with high sedentary time after the adjustment for multiple sociodemographic and medical confounders. Participants with a low sedentary time (< 420 min/day) showed a significantly higher mean European Quality of Life 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) index than those with a high sedentary time after adjusting for multiple confounders (0.89 ± 0.03 vs. 0.82 ± 0.04; P = 0.001). Among the EQ-5D dimensions, problems in mobility (OR 3.37; 95% CI 1.42–7.98) and pain/discomfort (OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.24–5.63) dimensions showed positive associations with high sedentary time. Middle- or older-aged breast cancer survivors with insufficient aerobic exercise, diabetes, unemployed status, and impaired quality of life are more likely to have a high sedentary time. Reducing sedentary behavior in this population requires a tailored approach that considers diverse sociodemographic, medical, and quality-of-life factors.
Enhancing 5G propagation into vehicles and buildings using optically transparent and polarisation insensitive metasurfaces over wide-incidence angles
Authors: Bagheri Amirmasood , Danesh Shadi , Wang Fan , Hosseininejad Seyed Ehsan , Khalily Mohsen , Tafazolli Rahim
Published: March 2024

This article introduces two transmissive metasurfaces applied to normal windows, aiming to improve the 5G outdoor-to-indoor (O2I) coverage. These windows can be utilized in various settings, such as vehicles or buildings. The proposed unit cells, designed to be wide-incident angle and polarization insensitive, are implemented in both single-glazing and double-glazing glasses, arranged in a periodic structure to form the transmission surfaces. Both metasurfaces maintain optical transparency by incorporating Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) as the conductive element in each unit cell. These engineered transmission surfaces enhance the 5G signal indoor coverage at the 3.5 GHz band across a broad range of incident angles. While multi-layer structures typically exhibit heightened sensitivity to the angle of incidence, the proposed two-layered transmissive surfaces demonstrate substantial angular stability, reaching up to 65 and 75 degrees for double- and single-glazed glass, respectively. To achieve this wide and stable angular response, evolutionary optimization techniques were employed to fine-tune the proposed unit cells. Both designs exhibit a high transmission coefficient across the operating frequency for a variety of incident angles, surpassing those reported in the existing literature. Experimental evaluations of the fabricated prototypes indicate that both metasurfaces hold significant potential for enhancing signal propagation into buildings and vehicles.
Lipids productivity of cyanobacterium Anabaena vaginicola in an internally illuminated photobioreactor using LED bar lights
Authors: Goldoost Hootan , Vahabzadeh Farzaneh , Fallah Narges
Published: March 2024

Concerns over environmental issues exists and desire to decrease of their extent, have directed efforts toward green energy production. Growth behavior of Anabaena vaginicola was determined in a photobioreator which illuminated internally (IIPBR) using LED bar light. Excessive heat generated in the IIPBR was taken care of by applying a novel air-cooled system. Further note in experimentation was to find favorable cultivation conditions in the IIPBR for A. vaginicola growth and its lipids production capacity. The following results are expressed: 80 µmol photons m−2 s−1 as light intensity, 0.5 g/l as NaNO3, and 120 ml/min as CO2 amount being expressed in terms of aeration rate. The findings were interpreted in terms of a two-component system where the genes encoded to the relevant proteins are present in cyanobacteria and their expressiveness depends on environmental stress. By determining growth rate constant as 0.11 d−1, the productivity in terms of biomass formation was calculated as 202.6 mg L−1 d−1. While rate of lipids production by the test cyanobacterium is 15.65 mg L−1 d−1. Based on total energy used for IIPBR performance, biomass productivity per unit power input equals to 0.74 g W−1 d−1 and this is in favorable position compared with other photobioreactors.
Properties of sandcrete blocks stabilized with cashew apple ash as a partial replacement for cement
Authors: Korankye Peter , Danso Humphrey
Published: March 2024

The use of by-products from agricultural production as stabilizers in concrete and mortar in developing countries could result in numerous benefits. These by-products are readily available, cheap, and have a lesser carbon footprint. As Portland cement prices keep rising, the search for alternatives to sustainable construction materials is necessary. Cashew apples are left on cashew farms as waste material after the nuts have been removed due to lack of utilization. In this study, the properties of sandcrete blocks produced with cashew apple ash (CAA) as a partial replacement for cement were investigated. A total of 180 block specimens of size 100 × 100 × 130 mm were prepared from six different mortar mixes of control, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% CAA replacement of cement by weight were prepared. Results revealed that the highest compressive and tensile strengths after 28 days of curing CAA blocks were 11.45 and 1.08 N/mm2 respectively. The best water absorption resistance obtained was 2.66%. The study recommends the use of 5% CAA replacement of cement to block manufacturers for use in manufacturing sandcrete blocks. This study is useful because the cashew apple waste ash used as an alternative material to cement in sandcrete block production will be beneficial to the environment and may also save the cost of production of sandcrete blocks.
Lysine demethylase LSD1 is associated with stemness in EBV-positive B cell lymphoma
Authors: Kim Joo Hyun , Park Chaehwa , Kim Won Seog
Published: March 2024

EBV-infected lymphoma has a poor prognosis and various treatment strategies are being explored. Reports suggesting that B cell lymphoma can be induced by epigenetic regulation have piqued interest in studying mechanisms targeting epigenetic regulation. Here, we set out to identify an epigenetic regulator drug that acts synergistically with doxorubicin in EBV-positive lymphoma. We expressed the major EBV protein, LMP1, in B-cell lymphoma cell lines and used them to screen 100 epigenetic modifiers in combination with doxorubicin. The screening results identified TCP, which is an inhibitor of LSD1. Further analyses revealed that LMP1 increased the activity of LSD1 to enhance stemness ability under doxorubicin treatment, as evidenced by colony-forming and ALDEFLUOR activity assays. Quantseq 3′ mRNA sequencing analysis of potential targets regulated by LSD1 in modulating stemness revealed that the LMP1-induced upregulation of CHAC2 was decreased when LSD1 was inhibited by TCP or downregulated by siRNA. We further observed that SOX2 expression was altered in response to CHAC2 expression, suggesting that stemness is regulated. Collectively, these findings suggest that LSD1 inhibitors could serve as promising therapeutic candidates for EBV-positive lymphoma, potentially reducing stemness activity when combined with conventional drugs to offer an effective treatment approach.
Targeting human progesterone receptor (PR), through pharmacophore-based screening and molecular simulation revealed potent inhibitors against breast cancer
Authors: Shahab Muhammad , Ziyu Peng , Waqas Muhammad , Zheng Guojun , Bin Jardan Yousef A. , Fentahun Wondmie Gezahign , Bouhrhia Mohammed
Published: March 2024

Breast cancer, the prevailing malignant tumor among women, is linked to progesterone and its receptor (PR) in both tumorigenesis and treatment responsiveness. Despite thorough investigation, the precise molecular mechanisms of progesterone in breast cancer remain unclear. The human progesterone receptor (PR) serves as an essential therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment, warranting the rapid design of small molecule therapeutics that can effectively inhibit HPR. By employing cutting-edge computational techniques like molecular screening, simulation, and free energy calculation, the process of identifying potential lead molecules from natural products has been significantly expedited. In this study, we employed pharmacophore-based virtual screening and molecular simulations to identify natural product-based inhibitors of human progesterone receptor (PR) in breast cancer treatment. High-throughput molecular screening of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and zinc databases was performed, leading to the identification of potential lead compounds. The analysis of binding modes for the top five compounds from both database provides valuable structural insights into the inhibition of HPR for breast cancer treatment. The top five hits exhibited enhanced stability and compactness compared to the reference compound. In conclusion, our study provides valuable insights for identifying and refining lead compounds as HPR inhibitors.
Spread of awareness of COVID-19 between December 2019 and March 2020 in France
Authors: Blanc Horace , Rothier Bautzer Eliane , Vellut Natacha , Tran Viet-Thi
Published: March 2024

During the early phase of outbreaks, awareness of the presence of the disease plays an important role in transmission dynamics. To investigate the processes of how people become aware of a disease, we conducted two complementary investigations. First, we surveyed 868 academic researchers in France, on the time and circumstances when they became aware of COVID-19 as an important event. We found that 25% did so before February 18th (first death in France), 50% did so before March 10th (first presidential allocution) and 75% did so before March 16th (announcement of the lockdown). Awareness came from nine categories of circumstances: (1) decisions taken by the government (elicited by 35.7% participants); (2) information from media or social media (24.7%); (3) conversation with friends (22.4%); (4) observed changes in their personal lives (14.0%); (5) decisions taken by the employer (9.2%); (6) observed changes at work (9.9%); (7) suspected case of COVID-19 in their entourage (3.1%); (8) fear for oneself or their entourage (2.8%) and (9) self-appraisal of scientific reports (2.8%). Second, we appraised three general media in France (a television news show, a radio news show, and a newspaper) and showed that COVID-19 became a preeminent topic only after March 1st 2020 when the epidemic is present on national soil. Our results show that multiple intricated factors prompt the awareness of an emerging infectious disease. Awareness is not solely driven by general media as they begin to focus on the topic late.
A comparison of human and GPT-4 use of probabilistic phrases in a coordination game
Authors: Maloney Laurence T. , Dal Martello Maria F. , Fei Vivian , Ma Valerie
Published: March 2024

English speakers use probabilistic phrases such as likely to communicate information about the probability or likelihood of events. Communication is successful to the extent that the listener grasps what the speaker means to convey and, if communication is successful, individuals can potentially coordinate their actions based on shared knowledge about uncertainty. We first assessed human ability to estimate the probability and the ambiguity (imprecision) of twenty-three probabilistic phrases in a coordination game in two different contexts, investment advice and medical advice. We then had GPT-4 (OpenAI), a Large Language Model, complete the same tasks as the human participants. We found that GPT-4’s estimates of probability both in the Investment and Medical Contexts were as close or closer to that of the human participants as the human participants’ estimates were to one another. However, further analyses of residuals disclosed small but significant differences between human and GPT-4 performance. Human probability estimates were compressed relative to those of GPT-4. Estimates of probability for both the human participants and GPT-4 were little affected by context. We propose that evaluation methods based on coordination games provide a systematic way to assess what GPT-4 and similar programs can and cannot do.
PV to reduce evaporative losses in the channels of the São Francisco’s River water transposition project
Authors: Stiubiener Uri , de Freitas Adriano Gomes , Heilala Janne , Fuser Igor
Published: March 2024

Open water transposition channels in hot and arid regions, like those in the São Francisco River Integration Project (PISF) in Brazil, suffer significant water losses through evaporation. This paper proposes covering these channels with photovoltaic (PV) panels to reduce evaporation while simultaneously generating clean energy. The research aims to quantify water savings and energy generation potential across all channel lengths and assess whether the generated solar power can substitute grid electricity for powering the transposition pumps during peak hours, thereby enhancing energy efficiency. This study analyzed the state-of-the-art of PV generation and calculated their solar potential. Identified the specific characteristics of PISF channels and watercourses considering the regional geography, meteorology, irradiation, and social peculiarities. And, finally, assessed the feasibility of covering the watercourses with solar panels. The results reveal that covering all current PISF channels with PV panels could save up to 25,000 cubic meters of water per day, significantly contributing to water security and improving the quality of life for the local population. Additionally, the project could generate 1200 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, meeting the energy demands of the transposition pumps during peak hours and promoting energy efficiency within the project. This research paves the way for utilizing PV technology to address water scarcity challenges and enhance the sustainability of water infrastructure projects in arid regions worldwide.