bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi‐Functional Bio‐HJzyme Engineered Polyetheretherketone Implant with Cascade‐Amplification Therapeutic Capabilities Toward Intractable Implant‐Associated Infections
Authors: Gong Jing , Lai Shuangquan , Zhang Shuting , Liang Kunneng , Deng Yi
Published: December 2024

Intractable implant‐associated infections (IAIs) are the primary cause of prosthetic implant failure, particularly in the context of diabetes mellitus. There is an urgent need to design and construct versatile engineered implants integrated with cascade amplification therapeutic modality to significantly improve the treatment of diabetic IAIs. To address this issue, a multi‐functional MXene/Ag3PO4@glucose oxidase bio‐heterojunction enzyme (M/A@GOx bio‐HJzyme) coating is developed, which is decorated with an inert sulfonated polyetheretherketone implant (SP‐M/A@G) via hydrothermal treatment and layered deposition. The decorated bio‐HJzyme coating promoted cellular adhesion and proliferation of osteoblast cells on the implant. Simultaneously, upon 808 nm near‐infrared (NIR) light irradiation, the decorated coating not only induces localized hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation but also initiates Fenton‐like and laccase‐mimicking reactions and depletes glutathione (GSH) within the diabetes infection microenvironment. The cascade amplification therapeutic effects of phototherapy and biocatalytic therapy confer the engineered implants with robust cyclic antibacterial properties. Furthermore, in vivo, assessment demonstrated that the multi‐functional bio‐HJzyme can effectively eradicate infectious pathogens located on the implant and peri‐implant tissues and promote the regeneration of diabetic infectious skin. Collectively, this study provides a revolutionary approach for constructing multi‐functional implants with cascade amplification therapeutic capabilities for intractable diabetic IAIs.
High Performance KNN‐Based Macro Fiber Composites for Human Motion Monitoring Applications
Authors: Zhu Chong , Huang Xing , Zhou Qin , Xue Haoyue , Jiang Laiming , Wu Jiagang
Published: December 2024

Piezoelectric materials are increasingly used in portable smart electronics and Internet of Things sensors. Among them, piezoelectric macro fiber composites (MFCs) have attracted much attention due to their architectural simplicity, scalability, and high‐power density. However, most MFCs currently use toxic lead‐based piezoelectric materials, hindering their applications for bio‐friendly intelligent electronics. Here, a lightweight, thin, and high‐performance lead‐free MFC for human motion monitoring is developed using multilevel structure engineered (K,Na)NbO3‐based ceramics as eco‐friendly piezoelectric matrix based on delicate simulation analysis. The variation of the effective electric field and piezo‐potential inside the KNN‐based MFC during polarization and under different stress distributions is analyzed by using the finite element analysis method. The electrical output signals of the KNN‐based MFC are tested under different deformation modes, achieving high output voltage (≈25 V), as well as high output current (≈25 µA) and instantaneous output power density of 80.42 µW cm−2. When the MFC is attached to the human body, it can sensitively convert even tiny body motion into a noticeable electrical response, with remarkable motion monitoring capabilities. This research provides a fundamental methodology for the development of lead‐free MFCs, as well as an alternative material for next‐generation smart sensing devices.
Humidity‐Sensing and Moisture‐Steering Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuator
Authors: Xu Long , Zhang Shaoxia , Yin Lu , Zhao Yue
Published: December 2024

A liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) actuator capable of colorimetric humidity sensing is realized. The designed LCE features acid protonated amino azobenzene side groups in its structure, which endow the actuator with the hygroscopicity and act as the humidity reporter via color changes. Given that the protonated and deprotonated chromophore absorb visible light at different wavelengths, when the protonated LCE is under higher humidity, it absorbs more water that deprotonates azobenzene and leads to a change in color. This humidity‐dependent color change is fast, because surface protonation of the actuator is enough. The initial color and the sensitivity to humidity variation are determined by the extent of acid protonation, and the reversible color changes are distinguishable by the naked eye over a wide humidity range. The humidity sensing of LCE actuator in motion is demonstrated using thermally driven rolling rod actuators. Moreover, through spatial‐selective exposure of the rolling rod actuator to water mist, the moisture can act as a stimulus to change or reverse the rolling direction and reduce the rolling speed. The achieved nature‐inspired colorimetric humidity sensing capability represents an intelligent function for LCE actuators and may widen their application scope.
Fluorescent probes for the visualization of membrane microdomain, deformation, and fusion
Authors: Tong Pei‐Hong , Wu Tong‐Yuan , Li Mingle , Wang Hai‐Bin , Zheng Feng , Xu Lin , Dou Wei‐Tao
Published: December 2024

The cell membrane, a fluid interface composed of self‐assembled phospholipid molecules, is a vital component of biological systems that maintains cellular stability and prevents the invasion of foreign toxins. Due to its inherent fluidity, the cell membrane can undergo bending, shearing, and stretching, making membrane deformation crucial in processes like cell adhesion, migration, phagocytosis, and signal transduction. Within the plasma membrane are highly ordered dynamic structures formed by lipid molecules, known as “lipid rafts,” whose dynamic dissociation and reorganization are prerequisites for membrane deformation. Fluorescent probes have emerged as vital tools for studying these dynamic processes, offering a non‐destructive, in situ, and real‐time imaging method. By strategically designing these probes, researchers can image not only the microdomains of cell membranes but also explore more complex processes such as membrane fusion and fission. This review systematically summarizes the latest advancements in the application of fluorescent probes for cell membrane imaging. It also discusses the current challenges and provides insights into future research directions. We hope this review inspires further studies on the dynamic processes of complex cell membranes using fluorescent probes, ultimately advancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying membrane dissociation, reorganization, fusion, and separation, and fostering research and therapeutic development for membrane‐associated diseases.
A Robust Kernel‐Based Workflow for Niche Trajectory Analysis
Authors: Wang Wen , Shin Sujung Crystal , Chávez‐Fuentes Joselyn Cristina , Yuan Guo‐Cheng
Published: December 2024

Niche trajectory analysis is a promising framework for modeling spatially continuous variations of the tissue microenvironment. However, the existing approach is limited by its requirement of cell‐type annotation as a necessary input, which can lead to unwanted technical variations. To overcome this limitation, a new kernel‐based strategy is presented that models the structural composition of a niche as a continuous function in the gene expression space, thereby obviating the need for cell‐type annotation. Further integration with cell‐type deconvolution analysis extends its application to datasets with any spatial resolution. Applying this strategy to real datasets indicates enhanced performance in robustness and accuracy and provides new insights into injury or disease‐associated tissue microenvironment changes. As such, a useful tool for spatial transcriptomics data analysis is provided.
Molecular Design of Positively Charged 3D Covalent−Organic Framework Membranes for Li+/Mg2+ Separation
Authors: Lyu Bohui , Jiang Jianwen , Jiang Zhongyi
Published: December 2024

3D covalent−organic framework (3D COF) membranes have unique features such as smaller pore sizes and more interconnected networks compared with 2D COF counterparts. However, the complicated and unmanageable fabrication hinders their rapid development. Molecular simulation, which can efficiently explore the structure‐performance relationship of membranes, holds great promise in accelerating the development of 3D COF membranes. In this study, a series of 3D‐COF membranes (TFPM‐Pa‐X) is designed with different charge densities (fully charged, partially charged, and neutral) and interpenetration numbers (2‐, 3‐, 4‐, and 5‐fold), subsequently investigate their contributions to Li+/Mg2+ separation through molecular simulation. Membrane morphology and pore size are found to strongly depend on the charged density and interpenetration number. The pore size and Cl− ion density play a crucial role in governing membrane separation performance. TFPM‐Pa‐X membrane with a smaller interpenetration number and a higher charge density promotes Li+/Mg2+ separation. The fully charged 2‐fold interpenetrated membrane has superior performance in breaking the trade‐off between the flux of Li+ (JLi+) and the selectivity of Li+ over Mg2+ (SLi+/Mg2+). This study may facilitate the rational design of new 3D COF membranes for high‐performance ion separation.
Analytical Quality by Design–Based Approach for the Assay Method Development of Nusinersen Using Liquid Chromatography–High‐Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Bhalekar Vijay S. , Shah Ravi P.
Published: December 2024

The quality assessment of oligonucleotide possesses challenges due to non‐distinguishable structurally similar impurities. These impurities are difficult to separate from the drug, and the assay method as per regulatory requirements must quantify only the drug to assign the potency of the oligonucleotide therapeutics. In the present study, we have proposed a hyphenated liquid chromatography (LC)–high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) approach for accurate quantification of oligonucleotides with an example of Nusinersen. An analytical quality by design (AQbD) approach has been proposed for “fit‐for‐purpose” LC method development through the Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) screening model and Box–Behnken optimization model. The developed LC method was capable of providing reasonable separation, where the specificity of the assay method was achieved through high resolution MS. The extracted ion chromatogram (EIC) with an accuracy range of 10 ppm from MS output has provided a reasonable symmetric peak for quantification. The method was also successfully employed for the Nusinersen formulation. The method validation was performed according to ICH Q2(R2) regulatory guidelines. A developed method through EIC processing was found to be specific and having linear response for 1.6–3 µg/mL. The percentage relative standard deviation was found to be less than 5 for repeatability and intermediate precision. The standard addition approach was used to determine assay method accuracy, which was found to be well within 97%–103% for triplicate at three concentrations. The current method was found to be robust with respect to LC flow rate, LC injection volume, MS drying/desolvation temperature, MS gas flow, and mass accuracy. The AQbD‐based quick LC separation coupled with HRMS methodology has been identified as a promising solution to assess the quality of oligonucleotide therapeutics.
Building Partnership Through Malaria Research in Thailand
Authors: Spring Michele , Jongsakul Krisada
Published: December 2024

The Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) is a US Department of Defense (DoD) institution under the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. In partnership with the Royal Thai Army, AFRIMS has conducted in-depth malaria research for the past 60 years, with a specific focus on anti-malarial product development as well as monitoring and surveillance of product effectiveness and signs of anti-malarial drug resistance. While the primary mission is DoD-sponsored medical research to protect armed services personnel, developments and accomplishments are shared with the community at large. Conducting malaria research, particularly human clinical studies, requires investments in time, resources, and people, as well as dedicated partnerships. This commitment to medical research by its very nature does not provide rapid responses to epidemics or outbreaks. However, through its long-term collaborations and relationships, AFRIMS has been asked to assist with outbreaks in infectious diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, avian influenza and Zika. As a research lab, AFRIMS cannot readily provide diagnostic testing or clinical care, requiring regulatory and ethical approvals to engage in such. The time it takes to meet all logistical requirements may exceed the time interval for which interventions are urgently needed. In this chapter, the AFRIMS response to a malaria outbreak in Thailand is described, outlining the strengths and hurdles encountered. While steps can be taken to facilitate AFRIMS’ involvement in epidemic responses, ultimately it will need to be better incorporated, and planned for, within the primary “inter-epidemic” research mission.
Gender Equity in Academia Thriving as a Clinician-Scientist, Establishing Partnerships, and Driving Policy for Change in the Kenya Context
Authors: Mutebi Miriam , Kitulu Jacqueline , Ngaruiya Christine
Published: December 2024

In global health, the mantra that men lead while women do the work is one that is not lost on us. As women in global health, who have also been part of many global health partnerships, we are keen to challenge the status quo on how we think about impact of global health—a viewpoint that must account for gender equity at every level of partnership and global health initiatives. Our stories provide a window into the experiences of what that status quo currently looks like, with personal reflections on how that has impacted us and our own potential impact—by and large negatively so. We also describe potential solutions based on these experiences supplemented by literature on this topic; these are samples of the problem, albeit not comprehensive. To be sure, the challenges go beyond our own in breadth and depth. They will need continued purposeful and intentional work at the core of addressing the educational pipeline, advancing female academics equitably to their male counterparts, promotion and sponsoring for leadership positions equitably among others. This mindset and paradigm shift needs to start at the level of developing global health experts, with the students, trainees, and learners who will soon take over in our stead—it needs to start with you.
When Women Lead in Global Health: Alternative Mobilizations
Authors: Alonso Cristina , Torres Irene , Profeta Barbara
Published: December 2024

Ongoing discussions on what is “wrong” with global health or how to decolonialize global health tend to focus exclusively on structural shortcomings, such as effectiveness of global platforms and institutions or lack of truly participatory consultation strategies (downstream perspective). Thereby they fail to capture alternative approaches to global health leadership (upstream perspective) and to recognize the sovereignty of non-Western knowledge and the intrinsic value of community regeneration in all its forms as a key ingredient for effective global health practice. Women’s perspectives have been largely relegated to the gender agenda (balance, parity, equity) or proposed as models on “how to lead better” based on preconceived, male-based notions of what constitutes “effective” leadership, including setting and prioritizing goals. Instead of creating hierarchies of priorities, we must understand the complexity of human experience and the power and inequality patterns it is embedded in, and remain open to or embrace apparent contradictions when designing support mechanisms. This chapter centers on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in the lives of Latin American immigrants in Chelsea, Massachusetts, United States, during the 2020 pandemic. The chapter explores how public health prioritization of basic needs neither captured the relationship between impact and social response nor acknowledged the interplay between the different needs of people. Employing an insider’s look, we describe how the women leaders of the local organization La Colaborativa called upon culturally accepted codes to reverse power roles, questioned scientific definitions of needs and led their community out of potentially irreversible consequences of the crisis in a holistic and sustainable way. Their leadership serves as an example of how self-governed, women-led organizations that are rooted in the community may address the real needs of its members during a global catastrophic event.
Engaging with Heart in Global Health Partnerships
Authors: Luzadis Valerie A.
Published: December 2024

What does it mean to build a more peaceful, equitable and loving world, to solve problems together? Global health partnerships are a perfect place to explore ways to do this because they rely on relationships. However, we are coming out of a dominant paradigm of Western science and colonialism that is often an invisible driver of our thoughts and actions. This frequently invisible yet insidious history still frames much of our understanding and our actions in every facet of life, including in science and global health. Continuing business-as-usual, without deep introspection and intention, leads us to replicate inequities and instabilities within our relationships with each other and between people and nature. These are experienced as traumas by all of us, some more easily seen than others. Many appear as individual and widespread human health concerns, as well as social and environmental disruption and degradation. This chapter explores ways in which we can create opportunities for healing these traumas while working together on solutions to immediate and long-term global health issues.
Risk Identification of Large-Scale Landslides Triggered by Rainfalls and Post-Rainfall Earthquakes in Sri Lanka
Authors: Sassa Kyoji , Doan Loi , Matsunami Koji , Miyagi Toyohiko , Weerasnghe Ranjan , Munasinghe Tania , Thaldena Nilmini , Karunawardena Asiri , Konagai Kazuo
Published: December 2024

Based on the ISDR-ICL Sendai Landslide Partnerships 2015–2025, the ICL and NBRO implemented joint research on the “Development of early warning technology of rain-induced rapid and long-travelling landslides in Sri Lanka” from 2019. This paper reports the achievement of this project from June 2019 to April 2024.

Based on studies of previous large-scale landslides, most large-scale landslides occurred in/around previous large-scale landslides. Then, we identified around 200 previous large-scale landslides in the Aranayake area (20 km × 20 km). Within 50 landslides, we conducted the LS-RAPID analysis, measured the critical pore pressure ratio and identified and recorded the resulted landslide moving area (landslide hazard map). Using MSSG (Multi-Scale Simulator for the Geoenvironment), we obtained the spatial rainfall data and calculated the pore water pressure for each landslide. When the pore water pressure in a potential landslide site exceeds the critical pore water pressure, a landslide moving area (hazard map) is identified. The rainfall and landslide hazard areas are forecasted and presented on an AR (Augmented reality) view for early warning.

The latter part of this paper was devoted to earthquake and microearthquake monitoring in Sri Lanka using the developed ICL type seismographs, which include one velocity type of seismometer and one acceleration type seismometer in one unit. We installed this type of 15 seismographs in Sri Lanka in 2023–2024.

Many nearby earthquakes (P-S time less than 5 s) were monitored throughout the year. The monitoring results are surprising. Nearby earthquakes are small in the magnitude. However, the distance between the landslide and its hypocenters are close. Therefore, the acceleration loading on the landslide is not small. Shaking by the nearby earthquakes in Aranayake and Atwelthota landslides can be the order of 0.01 kine (cm/s), which corresponds to the order of 1 gal (cm/s2) acceleration. The shaking by the Hambantota earthquake (Mg = 4.4) was 2–5 gal at the Aranayake landslide. The effects of nearby earthquakes after the rainfall were examined in a test slope near the Aranayake.

In February 2024, two seismographs were installed in the Kotmale dam reservoir slope, where a series of past rockslide topography can be identified. Subsequently, many nearby earthquakes were monitored in March and April in 2024. This paper presents and discusses two seismic record examples (P-S time = 3.4 s on 2 March 2024 and P-S time = 0.1 s on 1 April 2024). Distance to the seismic source were 25–30 km and less than 1 km and maximum accelerations were 0.8 and 0.6 gal.
Viral Poetics as Performative Philosophy of Language
Authors: Mills Philip
Published: December 2024

In Chap. 3, we operated a shift from the parasite to the virus metaphor that overturns Austin’s evaluation of poetic utterances and gives them a space within OLP. This shift shows how poetry can provide insights towards a performative philosophy of language and exchange a conservative picture of language for a creative and inventive one. In one of her poems, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick says: ‘Always, I wanted marriage inside out’ (Sedgwick 1993, 34). Insofar as marriage is exemplary of the performativity of language for Austin, I want the performative inside out. To want the performative inside out means to uncover an alternative that lies dormant behind the normative performative that excludes, silences, oppresses those who do not conform, to activate a virus to create an alternative space. We have seen how connecting the poetic to perlocution offers an alternative to Austin’s conception of language, and it remains to be seen how this alternative affects literary theory.
Poetic Documents: Transforming Forms of Language, Transforming Forms of Life
Authors: Mills Philip
Published: December 2024

This chapter focuses on a special kind of poetic dispositif that transforms forms of language and forms of life, namely poetic documents. A poetic document follows the move that I have described from the poem as a fixed object (and of poetry as a genre with well-defined properties) to a performative conception of a poetic dispositif (operating between word and world, author and reader, etc.). It operates by rearranging pre-existing texts and thus breaks down the traditional distinction between the poetic and the ordinary. One of the reasons that might explain this turn to document in contemporary French poetry is the multiplication of information. In The Poetics of Information Overload, Paul Stephens shows how poetry evolved with and adapted to new technologies throughout the twentieth century. He argues that ‘the poetics of information overload show that there are many possible forms, as well as frames of reference, available to contemporary poetry’ (Stephens 2015, 36). Poetic documents are one form of adaptation to technological changes and the transformative process at play in these poetic practices in turn affects the readers who can change their perception of the world, who can now see aspects that were hidden by the normativity of language and perception. Poetic documents reveal a transformative force of poetry that affects the uses of language and ways of being in the world, forms of language and forms of life. I will show in this chapter that even a minimal intervention in the original text can lead to radical change, understood more specifically through the philosophical notions of linguistic oppression and epistemic injustice.
Prototypen von Hürden im Beweisprozess
Authors: Abels Nele
Published: December 2024

Im Beweisprozess gibt es viele Schwierigkeiten. Es ist nicht einfach, einen Beweis zu finden, gute von nicht so guten Beweisideen zu unterscheiden und bis zum Ende durchzuhalten. In diesem Kapitel wird daher die metakognitive Aktivität des Monitorings untersucht und ihre Interaktion mit Fachwissen in sechs verschiedenen Prototypen von Hürden im Beweisprozess verdeutlicht. Dabei wird auch das Niveau von Monitoringaktivitäten miteinbezogen.
Argumentieren und Beweisen
Authors: Abels Nele
Published: December 2024

In diesem Kapitel werden die Begriffe Argumentieren und Beweisen aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln betrachtet, miteinander in Beziehung gebracht und der Ablauf des Argumentierens und Beweisens beschrieben. Darauf aufbauend wird das Argumentations- und Beweisverständnis für die vorliegende Arbeit herausgearbeitet. Des Weiteren wird auf die Rekonstruktion von Argumentationen eingegangen und der Forschungsstand zum Argumentieren und Beweisen in Bezug auf Schülerinnen und Schüler sowie (angehende) Lehrkräfte dargestellt.
Zum Kontext Geometrie
Authors: Abels Nele
Published: December 2024

Dieses Kapitel beinhaltet eine kurze Geschichte der Geometrie und des Geometrieunterrichts und fokussiert das geometrische Beweisen, die Bedeutung von Veranschaulichungen und den Einfluss von dynamischer Geometriesoftware.
Aphra Behns Oroonoko. Or the Royal Slave. A true History (1688) und die deutsche Rezeption im 18. Jahrhundert: Subversives Übersetzen am Übergang zur Frühaufklärung
Authors: Axtner-Borsutzky Anna
Published: December 2024

Aphra Behn is regarded as England’s first professional writer. Her 1688 novel Oroonoko. Or the Royal Slave. A true History deals with the English overseas territories decades before Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719). It was translated into German in Hamburg in 1709 and was subsequently widely read. The translation, made by a certain Magister Vischer, remains close to the original text, but semantically changes some nuances that should be emphasised. These include the conspicuous use of the terms „Europeans“ and „European women“, which Aphra Behn does not use with such clarity. Based on this and other examples, the article suggests how the German translation of the English source text, which was still published in the seventeenth century, could be considered an indicator of the early German Enlightenment at the beginning of the eighteenth century through subversive translation.
The impact of short-term rental activity on house prices: evidence from coastal Virginia
Authors: Safari Navid , Zhang Lei , Komarek Timothy M.
Published: December 2024

Short-term rentals such as Airbnb have grown substantially in recent years. In this study, we investigated the effect of Airbnb rentals on neighboring house prices in Hampton Roads, Virginia. We focus on three different measures of Airbnb activity to obtain more robust results. Our measures include active Airbnb listings, active listings with at least one reservation, and the sum of reservations over three different periods. Consistent with previous literature, our main results show that prior Airbnb rental activity has a positive impact on the surrounding housing sales prices. Furthermore, the localized impact diminishes over geographic space (i.e., distances greater than 500 m). We also examine how Airbnb rental activity impacts house prices across the price distribution of home sales, using quantile regression. We find that the effect is strongest for higher-priced homes, while lower-priced houses are less impacted by Airbnb rentals.
An improved calibration methodology and uncertainty assessment in measurements of microbubble size and concentration
Authors: Stigter R. , Fiscaletti D. , Elsinga G. E. , van Terwisga T. , Westerweel J.
Published: December 2024

Interferometric particle imaging (IPI) is used to measure both the size distribution and concentration of microbubbles (with a diameter less than 100 micron) in water. Using a new method for calibration makes it possible to obtain quantitative results for the concentration of microbubbles. The results are validated using imaging with a long-range microscope shadowgraph (LMS). Estimates of the size distribution and concentration from both IPI and LMS agree within uncertainty limits. The relative uncertainty in the IPI concentration estimation is about 10% and is mostly due to the finite number of detected bubbles. It is shown that the performance of the bubble-image detection algorithm needs to be quantified to obtain a reliable estimate of the concentration obtained with IPI.
Intravenous and oral administration of the synthetic RNA drug, TY1, reverses heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in mice
Authors: Miyamoto Kazutaka , Jones Xaviar M. , Yamaguchi Shukuro , Ciullo Alessandra , Li Chang , Coto Joshua Godoy , Tsi Kara , Anderson Jessica , Morris Ashley , Marbán Eduardo , Ibrahim Ahmed Gamal-Eldin
Published: December 2024

TY1, a synthetic non-coding RNA (ncRNA) bioinspired by small Y RNAs abundant in extracellular vesicles (EVs), decreases cGAS/STING activation in myocardial infarction and thereby attenuates inflammation. Motivated by the concept that heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a systemic inflammatory disease, we tested TY1 in a murine model of HFpEF. Intravenous TY1, packaged in a transfection reagent, reversed the cardiac and systemic manifestations of HFpEF in two-hit obese-hypertensive mice, without inducing weight loss. The effects of TY1 were specific, insofar as they were not reproduced by a control RNA of the same nucleotide content but in scrambled order. TY1 consistently suppressed myocardial stress-induced MAP kinase signaling, as well as downstream inflammatory, fibrotic, and hypertrophic gene pathways in heart tissue. TY1 not only prevented but actually reversed key pathological processes underlying HFpEF, with no evidence of toxicity. Most noteworthy from a practical perspective, the effects of intravenous TY1 were reproduced by feeding HFpEF mice an oral micellar formulation of TY1. As the prototype for a novel class of ncRNA drugs which target cell stress, TY1 exhibits exceptional disease-modifying bioactivity in HFpEF.
Zugangswege zum minimalinvasiven Aortenklappenersatz
Authors: Krapf Christoph , Semsroth Severin , Gollmann-Tepeköylü Can , Stastny Lukas , Ruttmann-Ulmer Elfriede , Grimm Michael , Bonaros Nikolaos
Published: December 2024

Neben dem klassischen herzchirurgischen Zugang über eine volle Sternotomie haben sich in den letzten Jahren reduzierte und minimalinvasive chirurgische Zugänge etabliert, die in einigen Zentren den konventionellen Zugang zur Aortenklappenchirurgie fast vollständig verdrängt haben. Während sich bei der partiellen Sternotomie zeigt, dass dieser Zugang der klassischen Sternotomie auch mit konventionellen Techniken nicht nachsteht, haben v. a. bei den thorakalen Zugängen technische Entwicklungen bei Aortenklappenprothesen, automatisierten Näh- und Fixationssystemen sowie peripheren Kanülierungstechniken für die Herz-Lungen-Maschine einen beträchtlichen Einfluss auf die Durchführbarkeit des Zugangsweges. Im direkten Vergleich der oberen Hemisternotomie mit dem anterolateralen Zugang zeigt sich an unserem Zentrum, dass Erstere eine geringere Mortalität, eine geringere Komplikationsrate und kürzere Perfusionszeiten aufweist. Auch sind die Durchdringung und Akzeptanz dieses Verfahrens größer. Am ehesten scheint die Weiterentwicklung des Thorakotomiezugangs im Sinne einer endoskopischen Port-Access-Operation wesentliche Vorteile für die dafür geeigneten PatientInnen zu bieten. Die PatientInnen profitieren durch minimalinvasive Verfahren v. a. von der geringeren Invasivität am knöchernen Thorax und Weichteilmantel sowie durch kleinere Narben. Dies führt nicht nur zu kosmetischen Vorteilen, sondern auch zu einer verbesserten Stabilität des Thorax und somit zu einer schnelleren Mobilisation und Rehabilitation.
In silico identification and ex vivo evaluation of Toxoplasma gondii peptides restricted to HLA-A*02, HLA-A*24 and HLA-B*35 alleles in human PBMC from a Colombian population
Authors: Vargas-Montes Mónica , Valencia-Jaramillo María Camila , Valencia-Hernández Juan David , Gómez-Marín Jorge Enrique , Arenas Ailan Farid , Cardona Néstor
Published: December 2024

Toxoplasma gondii infects approximately 30% of the population, and there is currently no approved vaccine. Identifying immunogenic peptides with high affinity to different HLA molecules is a promising vaccine strategy. This study used an in silico approach using artificial neural networks to identify T. gondii peptides restricted to HLA-A*02, HLA-A*24, and HLA-B*35 alleles. Proteomes from seven T. gondii strains and transcriptomic data of overexpressed genes from T. gondii-RH in human PBMC were also used. Parasite protein sequences were analyzed with R ‘Epitope Prediction’ library. Peptide candidates were evaluated in the artificial neural networks based on the probabilities of output neurons (p > 0.5). The IFN-γ responses in PBMC from T. gondii seronegative and seropositive individuals were evaluated by ELISpot. Peptides with higher IFN-γ induction were evaluated to identify cytotoxic response in CD8+ T cells (CD107a). In silico analysis identified 36 peptides from T. gondii proteins with predicted affinity to HLA-A*02, A*24, and B*35 alleles. Experiments with PBMCs revealed that a peptide restricted to HLA-A02 (P1: FLFAWITYV) induced a significant increase in IFN-γ-producing cells (p = 0.004). For HLA-A24, a peptide (P8: VFAFAFAFFLI) also induced a significant IFN-γ response (p = 0.004), while for the HLA-B*35 allele, the P6 peptide (YPIAPSFAM) induced a response that differed significantly from the control (p = 0.05). These peptides induced also a significant percentage of central memory CD8 + T cells expressing the degranulation marker CD107a (p < 0.05). Finally, we identified three T. gondii peptides that induced IFN-γ response, and a cytotoxic response measured by CD107a expression on CD45RAneg-CD8 cells. These peptides could be considered part of a multi-epitope vaccine against toxoplasmosis in humans.
Sustained Vascular Inflammatory Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein on Human Endothelial Cells
Authors: Gultom Mitra , Lin Lin , Brandt Camilla Blunk , Milusev Anastasia , Despont Alain , Shaw Jane , Döring Yvonne , Luo Yonglun , Rieben Robert
Published: December 2024

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been associated with systemic inflammation and vascular injury, which contribute to the development of acute respiratory syndrome (ARDS) and the mortality of COVID-19 infection. Moreover, multiorgan complications due to persistent endothelial dysfunction have been suspected as the cause of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, elucidation of the vascular inflammatory effect of SARS-CoV-2 will increase our understanding of how endothelial cells (ECs) contribute to the short- and long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we investigated the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with human ECs from aortic (HAoEC) and pulmonary microvascular (HPMC) origins, cultured under physiological flow conditions. We showed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein triggers prolonged expression of cell adhesion markers in both ECs, similar to the effect of TNF-α. SARS-CoV-2 spike treatment also led to the release of various cytokines and chemokines observed in severe COVID-19 patients. Moreover, increased binding of leucocytes to the endothelial surface and a procoagulant state of the endothelium were observed. Transcriptomic profiles of SARS-CoV-2 spike-activated HPMC and HAoEC showed prolonged upregulation of genes and pathways associated with responses to virus, cytokine-mediated signaling, pattern recognition, as well as complement and coagulation pathways. Our findings support experimental and clinical observations of the vascular consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection and highlight the importance of EC protection as one of the strategies to mitigate the severe effects as well as the possible post-acute complications of COVID-19 disease.
The Design and Implementation of an Educational Chatbot with Personalized Adaptive Learning Features for Project Management Training
Authors: Chen Da-Lun , Aaltonen Kirsi , Lampela Hannele , Kujala Jaakko
Published: December 2024

The breakthrough in generative artificial intelligence (AI) has unlocked new possibilities for higher education. There are many studies on educational chatbots in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; however, studies on designing and leveraging chatbots in a multidisciplinary field like project management have been scarce. Although some studies have incorporated elements to facilitate personalized or adaptive learning experience, more research on the design and evaluation of personalized adaptive learning chatbots is needed to offer learners more engaging learning experiences and help them achieve better outcomes. This study applies the concept of personalized adaptive learning, investigating how to design a personalized chatbot for training project management skills in higher education. By leveraging chatbot technology and generative AI, we built PMTutor, with personalized adaptive learning features, integrating it into a project management course. The results suggest that this type of chatbot can complement learning and engage learners by providing customized feedback during an exercise. This study provides insights into the design and usability of personalized adaptive learning chatbots for project management training.
Using Learning Analytics to Support Self-Regulated Learning in Primary Education – A Learning Design Perspective
Authors: Paavilainen Teija , López-Pernas Sonsoles , Väisänen Sanna , Kontkanen Sini , Hirsto Laura
Published: December 2024

In digitalized learning processes, learning analytics (LA) can help teachers make pedagogically sound decisions and support pupils’ self-regulated learning (SRL). However, research on the role of the pedagogical dimensions of learning design (LD) in influencing the possibilities of LA remains scarce. Primary school presents a unique LA context characterized by blended learning environments and pupils’ various abilities to regulate their learning, underscoring teachers’ vital importance. This study explores how pedagogically diverse LDs influence pupils’ SRL behaviors and learning management system (LMS) usage, as well as how this is reflected in LA visualizations. Two LDs were designed and implemented in two primary school classes of fifth (n = 30) and sixth (n = 22) graders within authentic pedagogical and technological contexts. We used sequence analysis to examine the pupils’ SRL actions during LDs, using LMS log data and observation data to contextualize these actions. The results show that LA offers less accurate feedback in more open, collaborative LDs as pupils tend to rely less on the LMS to regulate their learning. Furthermore, the teacher powerfully influences LMS usage in blended primary school classrooms. To maximize the potential of using LA to support SRL, its design needs to be grounded in the LD through an understanding of how the regulation of learning is promoted in diverse learning processes.
Assessing the Power of the HEXACO to Predict Professional Burnout Among Catholic Priests in Italy
Authors: Crea Giuseppe , Francis Leslie J. , McKenna Ursula
Published: December 2024

This study tests the application of the HEXACO among Catholic priests and the power of this six factor model of personality to predict scores on the Francis Burnout Inventory among priests. Data provided by 264 priests serving in Italy lead to two conclusions. In this population three of the six scales of the HEXACO failed to display adequate levels of internal consistency reliability (emotionality, agreeableness, openness to experience). High scores of extraversion and conscientiousness predicted higher scores of satisfaction in ministry. Low scores of extraversion, conscientiousness, and honesty and humility predicted higher scores of emotional exhaustion in ministry. The role of the honesty and humility factor in predicting negative affect but not positive affect supports the balanced affect model of professional burnout that views positive and negative affect as partly independent systems.
A review of structural and functional connectivity studies in European forests
Authors: Martínez-Richart Ana Isabel , Zolles Anita , Oettel Janine , Petermann Jana S. , Essl Franz , Lapin Katharina
Published: December 2024

Context

Ecological connectivity is key to mitigating global change impacts such as isolation and climate change effects on populations, especially in historically modified biomes such as European forests. The term connectivity is widely used in conservation, but the multiple methods for measuring it, as well as the scales and objects of study to which it can be applied, make it difficult to understand and compare research results.

Objectives

Our aim was to enhance the understanding of connectivity studies in European forests to inform conservation efforts, guide future research, and identify potential knowledge gaps, through a systematic review of connectivity studies in European forests.

Methods

We did a systematic review on the literature of connectivity studies in European forests. We classified the studies according to the methods used. Then, we extracted information on study characteristics and context relevant for our purpose.

Results

Our literature search identified 142 relevant articles, more than half of these studied connectivity through structural measures (based only on landscape attributes). The three most used measures were area-based methods, Euclidean distances, and spatial indices (structural), followed by species and graph theory-based models (functional measures, including species data). Most studies focused on large Western European countries, and birds and mammals as focal taxa. Generally, functional measures were more frequent in publications that had the study of connectivity as a primary objective.

Conclusions

Research priorities and recommendations to guide future studies were identified such as the inclusion of structural and functional measures to bridge the gap between approaches, retaining the benefits of both and helping to uncover relationships between them; and as the need to address temporal connectivity, especially for less mobile species.
SeqMatcher: efficient genome sequence matching with AVX-512 extensions
Authors: Espinosa Elena , Quislant Ricardo , Larrosa Rafael , Plata Oscar
Published: December 2024

The recent emergence of long-read sequencing technologies has enabled substantial improvements in accuracy and reduced computational costs. Nonetheless, pairwise sequence alignment remains a time-consuming step in common bioinformatics pipelines, becoming a bottleneck in de novo whole-genome assembly. Speeding up this step requires heuristics and the development of memory-frugal and efficient implementations. A promising candidate for all of the above is Myers’ algorithm. However, the state-of-the-art implementations face scalability challenges when dealing with longer reads and large datasets. To address these challenges, we propose SeqMatcher, a fast and memory-frugal genomics sequence aligner. By leveraging the long registers of AVX-512, SeqMatcher reduces the data movement and memory footprint. In a comprehensive performance evaluation, SeqMatcher achieves speedups of up to 12.32x for the unbanded version and 26.70x for the banded version compared to the non-vectorized implementation, along with energy footprint reductions of up to 2.59x. It also outperforms state-of-the-art implementations by factors of up to 29.21x, 17.56x, 13.47x, 9.12x, and 8.81x compared to Edlib, WFA2-lib, SeqAn, BSAlign, and QuickEd, while improving energy consumption with reductions of up to 6.78x.
A fixed-point approach to control problems for Kolmogorov type second-order equations and systems
Authors: Hofman Alexandru , Precup Radu
Published: December 2024

In this paper, the second-order differential equations and systems of Kolmogorov type are defined. With reference to population dynamics models, unlike the first-order equations which give the expression of the per capita rate, in the case of the second-order equations, the law of change of the per capita rate is given. Several control problems with fixed final time and fixed final state, with additive and multiplicative control, are studied. Their controllability is proved with fixed-point methods, the theorems of Banach, Schauder, Krasnoselskii, Avramescu and Perov.
Morphometric and taxonomic studies of Senna ser. Coriaceae (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, Cassieae), including a new species from Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil
Authors: de Lima Alexandre Gibau , de Freitas Mansano Vidal , Trovó Marcelo , Bacon Christine D.
Published: December 2024

Senna sect. Chamaefistula ser. Coriaceae is restricted to Brazil and is predominantly distributed in savanna habitat. The species are morphologically characterized by their shrub or treelet habit, usually reniform stipules, extrafloral nectaries usually positioned on the middle or distal part of the petiole, zygomorphic corolla and laterally compressed fruits with the seeds parallel to the fruit valves. Previous taxonomic studies have recognized only three species and one variety, nevertheless, they provided the groundwork for a more comprehensive treatment, presented here. Based on fieldwork and on the analysis of herbarium specimens, we recognize five species belonging to Senna ser. Coriaceae including one new species from the seasonally dry areas in the Chapada Diamantina, Senna diamantinensis. We carried out a morphometric analyses and here recognize S. caesia as a distinct species rather than a variety of S. corifolia. We propose a new combination for Cassia kuhlmannii and recognize it under the genus Senna. In addition, we propose two first-step lectotypifications and one second-step lectotypification. The taxonomic treatment provided here includes an identification key, morphological descriptions, taxonomic notes, illustrations, preliminary conservation assessments, and habitat and phenology data for each species.
Apothecia trump setae: Paratricharia belongs in the Aulaxina clade and is distant from Tricharia (lichenized Ascomycota: Gomphillaceae)
Authors: Lücking Robert , Chaves-Chaves José Luis , Moncada Bibiana
Published: December 2024

The phylogenetic relationships of the monospecific genus Paratricharia, with the single species P. paradoxa, within the family Gomphillaceae are resolved using newly generated sequences of the mtSSU and nuLSU markers for three specimens collected in Costa Rica. The results support placement as sister to the genus Caleniopsis, the two genera sister to a clade containing the genera Aulaxina and Aulaxinella. This placement confirms earlier studies based on cladistic analysis of phenotype characters and phenotype-based phylogenetic binning, suggesting that apothecial features are more informative for the phylogenetic placement of taxa within Gomphillaceae than thallus characteristics.
Liquid Structure of Iron and Iron–Nitrogen–Carbon Alloys Within the Cores of Small Terrestrial Bodies
Authors: Pease Allison , Liu Jiachao , Lv Mingda , Piper Jack , Kono Yoshio , Dorfman Susannah M.
Published: December 2024

Nitrogen has been proposed to be stored within planetary cores, but its effects on the structure and density of molten Fe–alloys have not been explored experimentally. Using energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction, we determined the structure of Fe–N(–C) liquids at core conditions (1–7 GPa and 1700–1900°C) within a Paris‐Edinburgh press. Variation of N up to 7 wt.% and C up to 1.5 wt.% results in near‐linear changes in Fe–Fe atom distances and structure factor with increasing light element content. We did not observe a significant pressure‐driven structural transition in Fe–N(–C) liquids. We model the expansion of the Fe–Fe bonds using a modified Birch‐Murnaghan equation of state. With this model, we demonstrate that N or C contamination could lead to an overestimation of the Fe–Fe distances of pure Fe. We observe that the incorporation of 1 wt.% N or C into Fe results in a change in Fe–Fe distances that is twice as significant as the effect of 1 GPa. By approximating the change in volume, we infer that N and C incorporated in liquid iron could contribute to the density deficit observed in the cores of terrestrial bodies.