bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Surface Orientation in Biodiversity Monitoring Protocols: The Case of Patagonian Rocky Reefs
Authors: Bravo Gonzalo , Livore Juan Pablo , Bigatti Gregorio
Published: December 2020

Temperate rocky reefs in Atlantic Patagonia are productive areas that support a high diversity of invertebrates, algae, and fishes. Complex surface structures on rocky reefs offer a range of microhabitats, which in turn, lead to a broad variety of co-existing species. Despite their ecological importance and the ecosystem services they provide, Patagonian rocky reef habitats have received limited attention. Until now studies have not discerned nor consequently described the assemblages found on each of the different surface orientations, namely horizontal, vertical, overhang and cavefloor. During this study we developed a protocol for sampling different surface orientations on subtidal rocky reefs using georeferenced high-resolution photoquadrats. We described and compared the epibenthic assemblage of surface orientations on 7 rocky reefs within 1–25 m depth in a northern Patagonia gulf. A total of 70 taxa were identified (12 macroalgae, 44 invertebrates, 10 tunicates, and 4 fishes), which doubles the number of species previously reported for the area. Each surface orientation presented a different assemblage structure while species richness was higher on vertical surfaces. The overhang surfaces had the most distinct assemblage conformed by cnidarians, tunicates, sponges and the absence of algae. The average overall species richness increased with depth due to the increase of sponge and tunicate species. Our results highlight the need of including several surface orientations in rocky reef biodiversity monitoring. This study offers a protocol for large-scale programs aimed at monitoring changes in biodiversity, which is broadly accessible and will provide accurate information. With robust yet simple, non-destructive and relatively low-cost practices this protocol can adequately assess changes in marine habitats, which provide important ecosystem services.
Management of Asymptomatic Sporadic Nonfunctioning Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (ASPEN) ≤2 cm: Study Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study
Authors: Partelli Stefano , Ramage John K. , Massironi Sara , Zerbi Alessandro , Kim Hong Beom , Niccoli Patricia , Panzuto Francesco , Landoni Luca , Tomazic Ales , Ibrahim Toni , Kaltsas Gregory , Bertani Emilio , Sauvanet Alain , Segelov Eva , Caplin Martyn , Coppa Jorgelina , Armstrong Thomas , Weickert Martin O. , Butturini Giovanni , Staettner Stefan , Boesch Florian , Cives Mauro , Moulton Carol Anne , He Jin , Selberherr Andreas , Twito Orit , Castaldi Antonio , De Angelis Claudio Giovanni , Gaujoux Sebastien , Almeamar Hussein , Frilling Andrea , Vigia Emanuel , Wilson Colin , Muffatti Francesca , Srirajaskanthan Raj , Invernizzi Pietro , Lania Andrea , Kwon Wooil , Ewald Jacques , Rinzivillo Maria , Nessi Chiara , Smid Lojze M. , Gardini Andrea , Tsoli Marina , Picardi Edgardo E. , Hentic Olivia , Croagh Daniel , Toumpanakis Christos , Citterio Davide , Ramsey Emma , Mosterman Barbara , Regi Paolo , Gasteiger Silvia , Rossi Roberta E. , Smiroldo Valeria , Jang Jin-Young , Falconi Massimo
Published: December 2020

Introduction: The optimal treatment for small, asymptomatic, nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (NF-PanNEN) is still controversial. European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) guidelines recommend a watchful strategy for asymptomatic NF-PanNEN <2 cm of diameter. Several retrospective series demonstrated that a non-operative management is safe and feasible, but no prospective studies are available. Aim of the ASPEN study is to evaluate the optimal management of asymptomatic NF-PanNEN ≤2 cm comparing active surveillance and surgery.

Methods: ASPEN is a prospective international observational multicentric cohort study supported by ENETS. The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with the identification code NCT03084770. Based on the incidence of NF-PanNEN the number of expected patients to be enrolled in the ASPEN study is 1,000 during the study period (2017–2022). Primary endpoint is disease/progression-free survival, defined as the time from study enrolment to the first evidence of progression (active surveillance group) or recurrence of disease (surgery group) or death from disease. Inclusion criteria are: age >18 years, the presence of asymptomatic sporadic NF-PanNEN ≤2 cm proven by a positive fine-needle aspiration (FNA) or by the presence of a measurable nodule on high-quality imaging techniques that is positive at 68Gallium DOTATOC-PET scan.

Conclusion: The ASPEN study is designed to investigate if an active surveillance of asymptomatic NF-PanNEN ≤2 cm is safe as compared to surgical approach.
Case Report: Famotidine for Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in COVID-19
Authors: Alper Kenneth
Published: December 2020

Famotidine is of interest as a possible treatment for COVID-19, with effects on disease-related symptoms and survival reported in observational and retrospective studies, as well as in silico predictions of binding to potential SARS-CoV-2 drug targets. Published studies of famotidine for COVID-19 have focused on acute illness, and none have reported on neuropsychiatric symptoms. This case study reports on an 18-year-old man who sought psychiatric treatment for depression and anxiety, disruptive interpersonal conflicts, and impairments in attention and motivation following mildly symptomatic illness with COVID-19. The neuropsychiatric symptoms, which had been present for 16 weeks at the time of the initial evaluation represented a significant departure from the patient's previous behavioral baseline. The patient had no prior psychiatric history preceding his illness with COVID-19, and no history of any prior treatment with psychopharmacological medications. Famotidine 20 mg twice daily administered orally was begun without any additional medications. At 1-week follow-up the patient was much improved. Improvement was sustained through 12 weeks of follow-up during which the patient continued to take famotidine without apparent side effects. With progression of the COVID-19 pandemic it has become evident that persistent disease-related symptoms may follow acute COVID-19 and may include neuropsychiatric symptoms. Controlled clinical research on famotidine for COVID-19 should follow, as well as the development of valid and reliable research diagnostic criteria to define and operationalize the features of a putative COVID-19 neuropsychiatric residual.
Genetic Diversity, Community Assembly, and Shaping Factors of Benthic Microbial Eukaryotes in Dongshan Bay, Southeast China
Authors: Gu Rong , Sun Ping , Wang Ying , Yu Fengling , Jiao Nianzhi , Xu Dapeng
Published: December 2020

Microbial eukaryotes are pivotal components of marine ecosystems. However, compared with the pelagic environments, the diversity distribution and the driving mechanisms of microbial eukaryotes in the marine sediments have rarely been explored. In this study, sediment cores were collected along a transect from inner to outer Dongshan Bay, Southeast China. By combining high throughput sequencing of small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene with measurements on multiple environmental variables, the genetic diversity, community structure and assembly processes, and environmental shaping factors were investigated. Alveolata (mainly Ciliophora and Dinophyceae), Rhizaria (mainly Cercozoa), and Stramenopiles (mainly Bacillariophyta) were the most dominant groups in terms of both relative sequence abundance and operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness. Grain size composition of the sediment was the primary factor determining the alpha diversity of microbial eukaryotes followed by sediment depth and heavy metal, including chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), and plumbum (Pb). Geographic distance and water depth surpassed other environmental factors to be the primary factors shaping the microbial eukaryotic communities. Dispersal limitation was the primary driver of the microbial eukaryotic communities, followed by drift and homogeneous selection. Overall, our study shed new light on the spatial distribution patterns and controlling factors of benthic microbial eukaryotes in a subtropical bay which is subjected to increasing anthropogenic pressure.
Zika Virus-Induced Neuronal Apoptosis via Increased Mitochondrial Fragmentation
Authors: Yang Shu , Gorshkov Kirill , Lee Emily M. , Xu Miao , Cheng Yu-Shan , Sun Nuo , Soheilian Ferri , de Val Natalia , Ming Guoli , Song Hongjun , Tang Hengli , Zheng Wei
Published: December 2020

The 2015 to 2016 outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in the Americas coincided with a dramatic increase in neurodevelopmental abnormalities, including fetal microcephaly, in newborns born to infected women. In this study, we observed mitochondrial fragmentation and disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential after 24 h of ZIKV infection in human neural stem cells and the SNB-19 glioblastoma cell line. The severity of these changes correlated with the amount of ZIKV proteins expressed in infected cells. ZIKV infection also decreased the levels of mitofusin 2, which modulates mitochondria fusion. Mitochondrial division inhibitor 1 (Mdivi-1), a small molecule inhibiting mitochondria fission, ameliorated mitochondria disruptions and reduced cell death in ZIKV-infected cells. Collectively, this study suggests that abnormal mitochondrial fragmentation contributes to ZIKV-induced neuronal cell death; rebalancing mitochondrial dynamics of fission-fusion could be a therapeutic strategy for drug development to treat ZIKV-mediated neuronal apoptosis.
The Impact of Inflow Angle on Aneurysm Hemodynamics: A Simulation Study Based on Patient-Specific Intracranial Aneurysm Models
Authors: Mo Xiao , Meng Qianqian , Yang Xinjian , Li Haiyun
Published: December 2020

The inflow angle of intracranial aneurysms (IAs) can impact the hemodynamics of IAs, therefore it is likely to contribute to IA clinical rupture risk stratification. This study aimed to assess the effect of inflow angle on the hemodynamics of IAs, as well as its potential ability to predict IA rupture risk. A novel algorithm was developed to build a series of inflow angle models on patient-specific IA models, which were reconstructed from IA 3DRA image data of eleven clinical patients. Fully coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations were performed to quantify hemodynamic characteristics of the established IA models with various inflow angles. Hemodynamic parameters including wall shear stress (WSS), flow velocity, flow pattern, inflow zone, impingement region, pressure, and energy loss (EL) were calculated and analyzed. It was demonstrated from the analysis that a rise in the IA inflow angle is associated with the following hemodynamic changes: more direct blood flowed into the aneurysm sac, higher velocity at the upside of the aneurysm, upregulated flow velocity and WSS in the aneurysm, more complicated flow patterns, extended inflow zone, the impingement region moving upward from the neck to the apex of the aneurysm, and higher WSS and larger flow velocity at the inflow zone of the IAs. Therefore, the proposed method may be helpful in exploring the hemodynamic variations of IAs with inflow angles. The findings could be conducive to hemodynamic studies on the association between IA inflow angle and its rupture risk.
A New Insight on the Role of the Cerebellum for Executive Functions and Emotion Processing in Adults
Authors: Beuriat Pierre-Aurélien , Cohen-Zimerman Shira , Smith Gretchen N. L. , Krueger Frank , Gordon Barry , Grafman Jordan
Published: December 2020

Objective: We investigated whether the cerebellum plays a critical or supportive role in in executive and emotion processes in adults. Many investigators now espouse the hypothesis that participants with cerebellar lesions experience executive functions and emotions (EE) disorders. But we hypothesized that these disorders would be milder if the damage is relatively limited to the cerebellum compared to damage involving the cerebellum plus additional cortical areas.

Methods: We studied veterans with penetrating Traumatic Brain Injury (pTBI) participating in the Vietnam Head Injury Study (VHIS). We selected veterans with a cerebellar lesion (n = 24), a prefrontal cortex lesion (n = 20), along with healthy controls (HC) (n = 55). Tests of executive functions and emotions were analyzed as well as caregiver burden. We performed between-group null hypothesis significance testing, Bayesian hypothesis tests and correlational analyses.

Results: Performance of participants with cerebellar lesions which extended to the cerebral cortex was similar to the HC on the Executive Function tests but they were significantly impaired on the Working Memory Index. No differences were found on the emotional processing tasks with one exception—the Facial Expression of Emotion-Test (FEEST). We then examined a sub-group of participants with large cerebellar lesions (>15%) but minimal lesions in the cerebral cortex (<15%). This sub-group of participants performed similarly to the HC on the Working Memory Index and on the FEEST.

Conclusions: We suggest that the cerebellar cortex may not be critical for executive functions or processing emotional stimuli in adults as suggested. Instead, we find that the cerebellum has a supportive role characterized by its computing of the motor requirements when EE processing is required.
Working Memory in Aphasia: The Role of Temporal Information Processing
Authors: Choinski Mateusz , Szelag Elzbieta , Wolak Tomasz , Szymaszek Aneta
Published: December 2020

Aphasia is an acquired impairment of language functions resulting from a brain lesion. It is usually accompanied by deficits in non-linguistic cognitive processes. This study aimed to investigate in patients with aphasia the complex interrelationships between selected cognitive functions: auditory speech comprehension, working memory (WM), and temporal information processing (TIP) in the millisecond time range. Thirty right-handed subjects (20 males) aged from 27 to 82 years suffering from post-stroke aphasia participated in the study. Verbal working memory (VWM) and spatial working memory (SWM) were assessed with: (1) a receptive verbal test and (2) the Corsi Block-Tapping Test, respectively. Both these WM tests used the forward tasks (mainly engaging maintenance processes, i.e., storing, monitoring, and matching information) and backward tasks (engaging both maintenance and manipulation processes, i.e., reordering and updating information). Auditory comprehension was assessed by receptive language tests, and TIP efficiency was assessed by auditory perception of temporal order in the millisecond time range. We observed better performance of forward WM tasks than backward ones, independently of the type of material used. Furthermore, the severity of auditory comprehension impairment correlated with the efficiency on both forward and backward VWM tasks and the backward SWM task. Further analysis revealed that TIP plays a crucial role only in the latter task. These results indicate the divergent pattern of interactions between WM and TIP depending on the type of WM tasks. Level of verbal competency appeared to play an important role in both VWM tasks, whereas TIP (which is associated with manipulation processes) appeared to be important for SWM, but only on the backward task.
An Investigation of Deep Learning Models for EEG-Based Emotion Recognition
Authors: Zhang Yaqing , Chen Jinling , Tan Jen Hong , Chen Yuxuan , Chen Yunyi , Li Dihan , Yang Lei , Su Jian , Huang Xin , Che Wenliang
Published: December 2020

Emotion is the human brain reacting to objective things. In real life, human emotions are complex and changeable, so research into emotion recognition is of great significance in real life applications. Recently, many deep learning and machine learning methods have been widely applied in emotion recognition based on EEG signals. However, the traditional machine learning method has a major disadvantage in that the feature extraction process is usually cumbersome, which relies heavily on human experts. Then, end-to-end deep learning methods emerged as an effective method to address this disadvantage with the help of raw signal features and time-frequency spectrums. Here, we investigated the application of several deep learning models to the research field of EEG-based emotion recognition, including deep neural networks (DNN), convolutional neural networks (CNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), and a hybrid model of CNN and LSTM (CNN-LSTM). The experiments were carried on the well-known DEAP dataset. Experimental results show that the CNN and CNN-LSTM models had high classification performance in EEG-based emotion recognition, and their accurate extraction rate of RAW data reached 90.12 and 94.17%, respectively. The performance of the DNN model was not as accurate as other models, but the training speed was fast. The LSTM model was not as stable as the CNN and CNN-LSTM models. Moreover, with the same number of parameters, the training speed of the LSTM was much slower and it was difficult to achieve convergence. Additional parameter comparison experiments with other models, including epoch, learning rate, and dropout probability, were also conducted in the paper. Comparison results prove that the DNN model converged to optimal with fewer epochs and a higher learning rate. In contrast, the CNN model needed more epochs to learn. As for dropout probability, reducing the parameters by ~50% each time was appropriate.
Endocannabinoid-Like Lipid Neuromodulators in the Regulation of Dopamine Signaling: Relevance for Drug Addiction
Authors: Sagheddu Claudia , Torres Larissa Helena , Marcourakis Tania , Pistis Marco
Published: December 2020

The family of lipid neuromodulators has been rapidly growing, as the use of different -omics techniques led to the discovery of a large number of naturally occurring N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) and N-acyl amino acids belonging to the complex lipid signaling system termed endocannabinoidome. These molecules exert a variety of biological activities in the central nervous system, as they modulate physiological processes in neurons and glial cells and are involved in the pathophysiology of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Their effects on dopamine cells have attracted attention, as dysfunctions of dopamine systems characterize a range of psychiatric disorders, i.e., schizophrenia and substance use disorders (SUD). While canonical endocannabinoids are known to regulate excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs impinging on dopamine cells and modulate several dopamine-mediated behaviors, such as reward and addiction, the effects of other lipid neuromodulators are far less clear. Here, we review the emerging role of endocannabinoid-like neuromodulators in dopamine signaling, with a focus on non-cannabinoid N-acylethanolamines and their receptors. Mounting evidence suggests that these neuromodulators contribute to modulate synaptic transmission in dopamine regions and might represent a target for novel medications in alcohol and nicotine use disorder.
Intraoperative Assessment of the Resection Specimen Facilitates Achievement of Adequate Margins in Oral Carcinoma
Authors: Smits Roeland W. H. , van Lanschot Cornelia G. F. , Aaboubout Yassine , de Ridder Maria , Hegt Vincent Noordhoek , Barroso Elisa M. , Meeuwis Cees A. , Sewnaik Aniel , Hardillo Jose A. , Monserez Dominiek , Keereweer Stijn , Mast Hetty , Hove Ivo Ten , Bakker Schut Tom C. , Baatenburg de Jong Robert J. , Puppels Gerwin J. , Koljenović Senada
Published: December 2020

Background

Inadequate resection margins in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma have an adverse effect on patient outcome. Intraoperative assessment provides immediate feedback enabling the surgeon to achieve adequate resection margins. The goal of this study was to evaluate the value of specimen-driven intraoperative assessment by comparing the margin status in the period before and the period after the introduction of specimen-driven assessment as a standard of care (period 2010–2012 vs period 2013–2017).

Methods

A cohort of patients surgically treated for oral squamous cell carcinoma at the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, between 2010–2012 was studied retrospectively and compared to results of a prospectively collected cohort between 2013–2017. The frequency, type and results of intraoperative assessment of resection margins were analyzed.

Results

One hundred seventy-four patients were included from 2010–2012, 241 patients were included from 2013–2017. An increase in the frequency of specimen-driven assessment was seen between the two periods, from 5% in 2010–2012 to 34% in 2013–2017. When performing specimen-driven assessment, 16% tumor-positive resection margins were found in 2013–2017, compared to 43% tumor-positive resection margins overall in 2010–2012. We found a significant reduction of inadequate resection margins for specimen-driven intraoperative assessment (p < 0.001). Also, tumor recurrence significantly decreased, and disease-specific survival improved when performing specimen-driven intraoperative assessment.

Conclusions

Specimen-driven intraoperative assessment improves resection margins and consequently, the outcome of oral cancer patients. We advocate this method as standard of care.
A Proteomics Signature of Mild Hypospadias: A Pilot Study
Authors: Piñeyro-Ruiz Coriness , Serrano Horacio , Jorge Inmaculada , Miranda-Valentin Eric , Pérez-Brayfield Marcos R. , Camafeita Emilio , Mesa Raquel , Vázquez Jesús , Jorge Juan Carlos
Published: December 2020

Background and Objective:Mild hypospadias is a birth congenital condition characterized by the relocation of the male urethral meatus from its typical anatomical position near the tip of the glans penis, to a lower ventral position up to the brim of the glans corona, which can also be accompanied by foreskin ventral deficiency. For the most part, a limited number of cases have known etiology. We have followed a high-throughput proteomics approach to study the proteome in mild hypospadias patients.

Methods:Foreskin samples from patients with mild hypospadias were collected during urethroplasty, while control samples were collected during elective circumcision (n= 5/group). A high-throughput, quantitative proteomics approach based on multiplexed peptide stable isotope labeling (SIL) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis was used to ascertain protein abundance changes in hypospadias patients when compared to control samples.

Results:A total of 4,815 proteins were quantitated (2,522 with at least two unique peptides). One hundred and thirty-three proteins from patients with mild hypospadias showed significant abundance changes with respect to control samples, where 38 proteins were increased, and 95 proteins were decreased. Unbiased functional biological analysis revealed that both mitochondrial energy production and apoptotic signaling pathways were enriched in mild hypospadias.

Conclusions:This first comprehensive proteomics characterization of mild hypospadias shows molecular changes associated with essential cellular processes related to energy production and apoptosis. Further evaluation of the proteome may expand the search of novel candidates in the etiology of mild hypospadias and could also lead to the identification of biomarkers for this congenital urogenital condition.
The Performance of Olfactory Receptor Neurons: The Rate of Concentration Change Indicates Functional Specializations in the Cockroach Peripheral Olfactory System
Authors: Tichy Harald , Linhart Marlene , Martzok Alexander , Hellwig Maria
Published: December 2020

Slow and continuous changes in odor concentration were used as a possible easy method for measuring the effect of the instantaneous concentration and the rate of concentration change on the activity of the olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) of basiconic sensilla on the cockroach antennae. During oscillating concentration changes, impulse frequency increased with rising instantaneous concentration and this increase was stronger the faster concentration rose through the higher concentration values. The effect of the concentration rate on the ORNs responses to the instantaneous concentration was invariant to the duration of the oscillation period: shallow concentration waves provided by long periods elicited the same response to the instantaneous concentration as steep concentration waves at brief periods. Thus, the double dependence remained unchanged when the range of concentration rates varied. This distinguishes the ORNs of basiconic sensilla from those of trichoid sensilla (Tichy and Hellwig, 2018) which adjust their gain of response according to the duration of the oscillating period. The precision of the ORNs to discriminate increments of slowly rising odor concentration was studied by applying gradual ramp-like concentration changes at different rates. While the ORNs of the trichoid sensilla perform better the slower the concentration rate, those of the basiconic sensilla show no preference for a specific rate of concentration increase. This suggests that the two types of sensilla have different functions. The ORNs of the trichoid sensilla may predominately analyze temporal features of the odor signal and the ORNs of the basiconic sensilla may be involved in extracting information on the identity of the odor source instead of mediating the spatial-temporal concentration pattern in an odor plume.
Influence of Autocorrelated Rhythmic Auditory Stimulations on Parkinson’s Disease Gait Variability: Comparison With Other Auditory Rhythm Variabilities and Perspectives
Authors: Lheureux Alexis , Warlop Thibault , Cambier Charline , Chemin Baptiste , Stoquart Gaëtan , Detrembleur Christine , Lejeune Thierry
Published: December 2020

Parkinson’s Disease patients suffer from gait impairments such as reduced gait speed, shortened step length, and deterioration of the temporal organization of stride duration variability (i.e., breakdown in Long-Range Autocorrelations). The aim of this study was to compare the effects on Parkinson’s Disease patients’ gait of three Rhythmic Auditory Stimulations (RAS), each structured with a different rhythm variability (isochronous, random, and autocorrelated). Nine Parkinson’s Disease patients performed four walking conditions of 10–15 min each: Control Condition (CC), Isochronous RAS (IRAS), Random RAS (RRAS), and Autocorrelated RAS (ARAS). Accelerometers were used to assess gait speed, cadence, step length, temporal organization (i.e., Long-Range Autocorrelations computation), and magnitude (i.e., coefficient of variation) of stride duration variability on 512 gait cycles. Long-Range Autocorrelations were assessed using the evenly spaced averaged Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (α-DFA exponent). Spatiotemporal gait parameters and coefficient of variation were not modified by the RAS. Long-Range Autocorrelations were present in all patients during CC and ARAS although all RAS conditions altered them. The α-DFA exponents were significantly lower during IRAS and RRAS than during CC, exhibiting anti-correlations during IRAS in seven patients. α-DFA during ARAS was the closest to the α-DFA during CC and within normative data of healthy subjects. In conclusion, Isochronous RAS modify patients’ Long-Range Autocorrelations and the use of Autocorrelated RAS allows to maintain an acceptable level of Long-Range Autocorrelations for Parkinson’s Disease patients’ gait.
Pure Organic Active Compounds Against Abiotic Stress: A Biostimulant Overview
Authors: García-García Ana L. , García-Machado Francisco J. , Borges Andrés A. , Morales-Sierra Sarai , Boto Alicia , Jiménez-Arias David
Published: December 2020

Biostimulants (BSs) are probably one of the most promising alternatives nowadays to cope with yield losses caused by plant stress, which are intensified by climate change. Biostimulants comprise many different compounds with positive effects on plants, excluding pesticides and chemical fertilisers. Usually mixtures such as lixiviates from proteins or algal extracts have been used, but currently companies are interested in more specific compounds that are capable of increasing tolerance against abiotic stress. Individual application of a pure active compound offers researchers the opportunity to better standarise formulations, learn more about the plant defence process itself and assist the agrochemical industry in the development of new products. This review attempts to summarise the state of the art regarding various families of organic compounds and their mode/mechanism of action as BSs, and how they can help maximise agricultural yields under stress conditions aggravated by climate change.
Regulation of Early Plant Development by Red and Blue Light: A Comparative Analysis Between Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum
Authors: Spaninks Kiki , van Lieshout Jelmer , van Ieperen Wim , Offringa Remko
Published: December 2020

In vertical farming, plants are grown in multi-layered growth chambers supplied with energy-efficient LEDs that produce less heat and can thus be placed in close proximity to the plants. The spectral quality control allowed by LED lighting potentially enables steering plant development toward desired phenotypes. However, this requires detailed knowledge on how light quality affects different developmental processes per plant species or even cultivar, and how well information from model plants translates to horticultural crops. Here we have grown the model dicotArabidopsis thaliana(Arabidopsis) and the crop plantSolanum lycopersicum(tomato) under white or monochromatic red or blue LED conditions. In addition, seedlings were grownin vitroin either light-grown roots (LGR) or dark-grown roots (DGR) LED conditions. Our results present an overview of phenotypic traits that are sensitive to red or blue light, which may be used as a basis for application by tomato nurseries. Our comparative analysis showed that young tomato plants were remarkably indifferent to the LED conditions, with red and blue light effects on primary growth, but not on organ formation or flowering. In contrast, Arabidopsis appeared to be highly sensitive to light quality, as dramatic differences in shoot and root elongation, organ formation, and developmental phase transitions were observed between red, blue, and white LED conditions. Our results highlight once more that growth responses to environmental conditions can differ significantly between model and crop species. Understanding the molecular basis for this difference will be important for designing lighting systems tailored for specific crops.
Appropriate Activity Assays Are Crucial for the Specific Determination of Proline Dehydrogenase and Pyrroline-5-Carboxylate Reductase Activities
Authors: Lebreton Sandrine , Cabassa-Hourton Cécile , Savouré Arnould , Funck Dietmar , Forlani Giuseppe
Published: December 2020

Accumulation of proline is a widespread plant response to a broad range of environmental stress conditions including salt and osmotic stress. Proline accumulation is achieved mainly by upregulation of proline biosynthesis in the cytosol and by inhibition of proline degradation in mitochondria. Changes in gene expression or activity levels of the two enzymes catalyzing the first reactions in these two pathways, namely pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) synthetase and proline dehydrogenase (ProDH), are often used to assess the stress response of plants. The difficulty to isolate ProDH in active form has led several researchers to erroneously report proline-dependent NAD+reduction at pH 10 as ProDH activity. We demonstrate that this activity is due to P5C reductase (P5CR), the second and last enzyme in proline biosynthesis, which works in the reverse direction at unphysiologically high pH. ProDH does not use NAD+as electron acceptor but can be assayed with the artificial electron acceptor 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) after detergent-mediated solubilization or enrichment of mitochondria. Seemingly counter-intuitive results from previous publications can be explained in this way and our data highlight the importance of appropriate and specific assays for the detection of ProDH and P5CR activities in crude plant extracts.
Genome-Wide Analysis of the GRAS Gene Family and Functional Identification of GmGRAS37 in Drought and Salt Tolerance
Authors: Wang Ting-Ting , Yu Tai-Fei , Fu Jin-Dong , Su Hong-Gang , Chen Jun , Zhou Yong-Bin , Chen Ming , Guo Jun , Ma You-Zhi , Wei Wen-Liang , Xu Zhao-Shi
Published: December 2020

GRAS genes, which form a plant-specific transcription factor family, play an important role in plant growth and development and stress responses. However, the functions of GRAS genes in soybean (Glycine max) remain largely unknown. Here, 117 GRAS genes distributed on 20 chromosomes were identified in the soybean genome and were classified into 11 subfamilies. Of the soybean GRAS genes, 80.34% did not have intron insertions, and 54 pairs of genes accounted for 88.52% of duplication events (61 pairs). RNA-seq analysis demonstrated that most GmGRASs were expressed in 14 different soybean tissues examined and responded to multiple abiotic stresses. Results from quantitative real-time PCR analysis of six selected GmGRASs suggested that GmGRAS37 was significantly upregulated under drought and salt stress conditions and abscisic acid and brassinosteroid treatment; therefore, this gene was selected for further study. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that the GmGRAS37 protein was located in the plasma membrane, nucleus, and cytosol. Soybean hairy roots overexpressing GmGRAS37 had improved resistance to drought and salt stresses. In addition, these roots showed increased transcript levels of several drought‐ and salt-related genes. The results of this study provide the basis for comprehensive analysis of GRAS genes and insight into the abiotic stress response mechanism in soybean.
Character Strengths Profiles in Medical Professionals and Their Impact on Well-Being
Authors: Huber Alexandra , Strecker Cornelia , Kachel Timo , Höge Thomas , Höfer Stefan
Published: December 2020

Character strengths profiles in the specific setting of medical professionals are widely unchartered territory. This paper focused on an overview of character strengths profiles of medical professionals (medical students and physicians) based on literature research and available empirical data illustrating their impact on well-being and work engagement. A literature research was conducted and the majority of peer-reviewed considered articles dealt with theoretical or conceptually driven ‘virtues’ associated with medical specialties or questions of ethics in patient care (e.g., professionalism, or what makes a good physician). The virtues of compassion, courage, altruism, and benevolence were described most often. Only a limited number of papers addressed character strengths of medical students or physicians according to the VIA-classification. Those articles showed that the VIA-character strengthsfairness, honesty,kindness, andteamworkwere considered most often by respondents to be particularly important for the medical profession. Available cross-sectional (time span: six years) and longitudinal (time span: three years) data regarding VIA-character strengths profiles of medical professionals were analyzed (N= 584 medical students, 274 physicians). These profiles were quite homogenous among both groups. The character strengthsfairness,honesty,judgment,kindness, andlovehad the highest means in both samples. Noteworthy differences appeared when comparing medical specialties, in particular concerning general surgeons and psychiatrists, with the former reporting clearly higher levels of e.g.,honesty(d= 1.02) orprudence(d= 1.19). Long-term results revealed significant positive effects of character strengths on well-being and work engagement (e.g.,perseveranceon physicians’ work engagement) but also significant negative effects (e.g.,appreciation of beauty and excellenceon students’ well-being). Further,hopewas significantly associated both positively with physicians’ well-being and negatively with students’ work engagement, possibly indicating specific issues concerning medical education or hospital working conditions. According to the modern-day physician’s pledge, medical professionals should pay attention to their own well-being and health. Therefore, promoting self-awareness and character building among medical professionals could be a beneficial strategy.
Role of Online Retailers’ Post-sale Services in Building Relationships and Developing Repurchases: A Comparison-Based Analysis Among Male and Female Customers
Authors: Javed Muhammad Kashif , Wu Min , Qadeer Talat , Manzoor Aqsa , Nadeem Abid Hussain , Shouse Roger C.
Published: December 2020

Customers are skeptical about shopping online because e-commerce environments are typically considered impersonal. To assure product quality and to enhance customer proclivity in such environments, post-sale services (i.e., product returns, exchange, and maintenance) may be considered to alleviate customers’ skepticism. Therefore, this study’s objective is to investigate the role of an online retailer’s post-sale services (i.e., product return, exchange, and maintenance) on customers’ attitudinal (building relationships) and behavioral aspects (developing customers’ repurchase intentions). Structural equation modeling is applied to data collected through an online survey answered by 409 online customers of jd.com (after missing data were removed). Research findings show that product return, exchange, and maintenance services are strongly predictive of online customer satisfaction, and satisfaction significantly impacts customer trust. Both customer satisfaction and trust, as indicators of relationship quality, further mediate the links between product return, exchange, and maintenance services and online customer repurchase intention. In addition, differences between male and female customers were found in various aspects of online retailers’ product return, exchange, and maintenance services. This is the first empirical study that not only examines the influence of all three dimensions of online retailers’ post-sale services on customers’ online shopping perceptions and decisions, but also considers differences between male and female customers. Finally, this research provides theoretical and managerial implications based on conceptual and empirical evidence.
Occupational Stress and Mental Health: A Comparison Between Frontline Medical Staff and Non-frontline Medical Staff During the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease Outbreak
Authors: Zhang Xie , Zhao Ke , Zhang Guohua , Feng Ruihua , Chen Jianjun , Xu Dongwu , Liu Xiaodong , Ngoubene-Atioky Arlette J. , Huang Hong , Liu Yanlong , Chen Li , Wang Wei
Published: December 2020

Background: During an epidemic, both frontline and non-frontline medical staff endure stressful work circumstances that render their mental health a major public health concern. This study aims at investigating and comparing the prevalence and severity of mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression and insomnia) between frontline medical staff and non-frontline medical staff during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. It also seeks to evaluate the association of their mental health with occupational stress.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wenzhou, China from 2020 February 16th to 2020 March 2th. A total of 524 medical staff responded to the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Occupational stress Questionnaire, and a demographic data form. Data were principally analyzed with logistic regression.

Results: Of the 524 participants, 31.3% reported depression, 41.2% reported anxiety, and 39.3% reported insomnia. Compared with the citizens during the COVID-19 epidemic, medical staff experienced higher level of anxiety, depression and insomnia, especially the frontline medical staff. Furthermore, male, married medical staff with poorer physical health reported lower mental health. Frontline medical staff endorsed higher self-reported occupational stress, especially higher occupational hazards, than non-frontline medical staff. In addition, four indicators on occupational stress (working intensity, working time, working difficulty and working risk) were correlated positively with mental health symptoms. Regression analyses found a significant association between occupational stress and mental health symptoms in both frontline and non-frontline medical staff during COVID-19 outbreak.

Conclusion: The results indicated that during the COVID-19 epidemic, medical staff experienced higher levels of anxiety, depression and insomnia than citizens, and their occupational stress had positive effects on their psychological distress. These findings emphasize the importance of occupational stress management interventions to decrease the risk of developing mental health problems among the medical staff during a biological disaster.
Association Analysis of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase 1 Gene Polymorphism With Psychopathological Symptoms in Chronic Ketamine Users
Authors: Chen Jiansong , Zhang Minling , Zhou Chao , Ding Yi , Fan Ni , He Hongbo
Published: December 2020

Objective: We previously found that chronic ketamine usages were associated with various psychotic and cognitive symptoms mimicking schizophrenia. The blockade of the NMDA receptor and subsequent nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOS1) dysfunction were found to be closely correlated with schizophrenia including NOS1 gene polymorphisms. We examined the allelic variants of the gene coding neuronal nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOS1) in chronic ketamine users in the Chinese population and analyzed the association between NOS1 gene polymorphism and psychopathological symptoms in chronic ketamine users. The association between the NOS1 polymorphism and ketamine use characteristics was also examined.

Methods: One hundred ninety seven male chronic ketamine users and 82 controls were recruited. Four common SNPs of the NOS1 gene, rs6490121, rs41279104, rs3782206, and rs3782219, were examined by real-time PCR with the TaqMan® assay system. Psychopathological symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).

Results: The genotype distribution of rs6490121 and rs41279104 in chronic ketamine users was significantly different from that in the control (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.002). The G allele frequency of rs6490121 in ketamine users was higher than that in the control (p = 2.23 * 10−6, OR = 3.07, 95% CI = 1.93–4.90). The T allele frequency of rs41279104 in chronic ketamine users was higher than that in the control (p = 0.01, OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.14–2.72). The BAI score was significantly different among the three genotypic groups of rs6490121 (F = 6.21, p = 0.002) in ketamine users; subjects of genotype AG and GG had a lower score than subjects of genotype AA. The score of the negative symptom subscale of PANSS was significantly different among the three genotypic groups of rs41279104 (F = 5.39, p = 0.005); in ketamine users, subjects of genotype CT and TT had a higher score than subjects of genotype CC. There was no difference in drug use characteristics in different genotypes of the four NOS1 gene polymorphisms tested in ketamine users (p > 0.05).
Combining Self-Organizing and Graph Neural Networks for Modeling Deformable Objects in Robotic Manipulation
Authors: Valencia Angel J. , Payeur Pierre
Published: December 2020

Modeling deformable objects is an important preliminary step for performing robotic manipulation tasks with more autonomy and dexterity. Currently, generalization capabilities in unstructured environments using analytical approaches are limited, mainly due to the lack of adaptation to changes in the object shape and properties. Therefore, this paper proposes the design and implementation of a data-driven approach, which combines machine learning techniques on graphs to estimate and predict the state and transition dynamics of deformable objects with initially undefined shape and material characteristics. The learned object model is trained using RGB-D sensor data and evaluated in terms of its ability to estimate the current state of the object shape, in addition to predicting future states with the goal to plan and support the manipulation actions of a robotic hand.
COVID-19 in New Mexico Tribal Lands: Understanding the Role of Social Vulnerabilities and Historical Racisms
Authors: Yellow Horse Aggie J. , Deschine Parkhurst Nicholet A. , Huyser Kimberly R.
Published: December 2020

The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionally affected Indigenous Peoples. Unfortunately, there is no accurate understanding of COVID-19's impacts on Indigenous Peoples and communities due to systematic erasure of Indigenous representation in data. Early evidence suggests that COVID-19 has been able to spread through pre-pandemic mechanisms ranging from disproportionate chronic health conditions, inadequate access to healthcare, and poor living conditions stemming from structural inequalities. Using innovative data, we comprehensively investigate the impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples in New Mexico at the zip code level. Specifically, we expand the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to include the measures of structural vulnerabilities from historical racisms against Indigenous Peoples. We found that historically-embedded structural vulnerabilities (e.g., Tribal land status and higher percentages of house units without telephone and complete plumbing) are critical in understanding the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 that American Indian and Alaska Native populations are experiencing. We found that historically-embedded vulnerability variables that emerged epistemologically from Indigenous knowledge had the largest explanatory power compared to other social vulnerability factors from SVI and COVID-19, especially Tribal land status. The findings demonstrate the critical need in public health to center Indigenous knowledge and methodologies in mitigating the deleterious impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples and communities, specifically designing place-based mitigating strategies.
Sliding Mode Control Algorithms for Anti-Lock Braking Systems with Performance Comparisons
Authors: Chereji Emanuel , Radac Mircea-Bogdan , Szedlak-Stinean Alexandra-Iulia
Published: December 2020

This paper presents the performance of two sliding mode control algorithms, based on the Lyapunov-based sliding mode controller (LSMC) and reaching-law-based sliding mode controller (RSMC), with their novel variants designed and applied to the anti-lock braking system (ABS), which is known to be a strongly nonlinear system. The goal is to prove their superior performance over existing control approaches, in the sense that the LSMC and RSMC do not bring additional computational complexity, as they rely on a reduced number of tuning parameters. The performance of LSMC and RSMC solves the uncertainty in the process model which comes from unmodeled dynamics and a simplification of the actuator dynamics, leading to a reduced second order process. The contribution adds complete design details and stability analysis is provided. Additionally, performance comparisons with several adaptive, neural networks-based and model-free sliding mode control algorithms reveal the robustness of the proposed LSMC and RSMC controllers, in spite of the reduced number of tuning parameters. The robustness and reduced computational burden of the controllers validated on the real-world complex ABS make it an attractive solution for practical industrial implementations.