bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Suaahara, an integrated nutrition programme, on maternal and child nutrition at scale in Nepal
Authors: Frongillo Edward A. , Suresh Shalini , Thapa Deependra K. , Cunningham Kenda , Pandey Rana Pooja , Adhikari Ramesh P. , Kole Subir , Pun Bhim , Kshetri Indra , Adhikari Debendra P. , Klemm Rolf
Published: February 2024

Suaahara was an innovative, complex, multi‐sectoral, large‐scale, nutrition programme in Nepal to increase exposure to nutrition‐related information and services, improve nutrition‐related knowledge and practices among pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children, and improve their nutrition. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Suaahara to improve nutrition and nutrition‐related practices by comparing changes over 10 years between intervention and comparison districts. The samples of households at baseline in 2012 and endline in 2022 were 2040 and 2480, respectively, from 120 old wards. The impact was estimated using intent‐to‐treat regression models in which survey year, arm and their interaction were fixed effects, accounting for district clustering, with the interaction estimating differences between arms in changes over time. The intervention, relative to comparison, reduced maternal underweight by 8.43 percentage points (p < 0.001), consistent with improved maternal and fetal condition that was manifested as the greater length of 0.761 z‐scores (p = 0.004) of infants 0–5.9 months. Complementary feeding practices with children between 6 and 23.9 months of age improved more in the intervention than comparison districts: child dietary diversity by 0.294 food groups (p = 0.072) and minimum dietary diversity by 9.51 percentage points (p = 0.028), feeding sick child more (p = 0.002) and administering oral rehydration solution and zinc for diarrhoea (p = 0.057) by about 17 percentage points each, and minimum meal frequency (p = 0.004) and minimum acceptable diet (p = 0.022) by about 15 percentage points each. Substantial impacts were demonstrated despite political restructuring, earthquakes, and other major challenges that Nepal and Suaahara faced and limitations in statistical power because of the reduced number of districts that then could be included in the study. Registered at clinicaltrials.gov with identifier NCT05448287.
Comparing biomechanics and neurophysiology between different phenotypes of patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia
Authors: Tomsen Noemí , Ortega Omar , Clavé Pere
Published: February 2024

The pathophysiology of oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) across patient phenotypes may differ. The aim of this study was to compare the biomechanics and neurophysiology of swallowing between healthy volunteers (HVs) and patients with dysphagia as a consequence of aging (OOD), post‐stroke (PSOD), Parkinson's disease (POD), or dementia (DOD). A retrospective study including 35 HVs and 109 OOD, 195 PSOD, 78 POD, and 143 DOD patients was performed. Videofluoroscopic data of signs of impaired efficacy and safety, penetration–aspiration scale (PAS) score, and the biomechanics of laryngeal vestibule closure (LVC) and opening (LVO) and of upper esophageal sphincter opening (UESO) were collected. Neurophysiology was assessed with pharyngeal sensory evoked potentials and neurotopography maps. All OD phenotypes showed signs of impaired efficacy and safety of swallowing, increased PAS score (p < 0.001), and delayed time to LVC (p < 0.0001). OOD (p < 0.0001), PSOD (p < 0.0001), and POD (p = 0.0065) patients also had delayed time to LVO, and OOD (p = 0.0062) and DOD (p = 0.0016) patients to UESO. Regarding neurophysiology, all phenotypes presented impaired pharyngeal sensitivity, a significant reduction in cortical activation, and impaired sensory input integration. Additionally, only PSOD was associated with impaired conduction of sensory stimuli. In conclusion, we found common but also specific pathophysiological elements. These results improve our understanding of OD pathophysiology and may help pave the way for phenotype‐specific treatments.
Drivers and facilitators of weight stigma among preconception, pregnant, and postpartum women: A systematic review
Authors: Hailu Haimanot , Skouteris Helen , Incollingo Rodriguez Angela C. , Galvin Emma , Hill Briony
Published: February 2024

Women in the preconception, pregnant, or postpartum period are susceptible to weight stigma, particularly due to the risk of excess weight gain during the reproductive life period and the negative effects of stigma on the health of both the mother and the child. Identifying the drivers and facilitators of weight stigma will help guide focused weight stigma prevention interventions. This systematic review aimed to identify the drivers and facilitators of weight stigma among preconception, pregnant, and postpartum women. In May 2022, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and the Maternity and Infant Care Database were searched for peer‐reviewed articles published since 2010 using search terms weight AND stigma AND preconception, OR pregnant, OR postpartum. Of the 1724 articles identified, 34 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in a narrative synthesis. Women reported facing insensitive language, misconceptions about obesity across all settings, and inappropriate media representation. The unavailability of appropriate equipment at facilities was reported by both women and health professionals. Our findings indicate that a rigorous effort by all stakeholders is necessary to promote regulatory, legal, and educational initiatives designed to reduce weight stigma and discrimination against women in the reproductive period.
COP1‐ERF1‐SCE1 regulatory module fine‐tunes stress response under light‐dark cycle in Arabidopsis
Authors: Lin Wen‐Chi , Chang Hui‐Hsien , Huang Zi‐Bin , Huang Lin‐Chen , Kuo Wen‐Chieh , Cheng Mei‐Chun
Published: February 2024

ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 1 (ERF1) plays an important role in integrating hormone crosstalk and stress responses. Previous studies have shown that ERF1 is unstable in the dark and its degradation is mediated by UBIQUITIN‐CONJUGATING ENZYME 18. However, whether there are other enzymes regulating ERF1's stability remains unclear. Here, we use various in vitro and in vivo biochemical, genetic and stress‐tolerance tests to demonstrate that both CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) and SUMO‐CONJUGATING ENZYME 1 (SCE1) regulate the stability of ERF1. We also performed transcriptomic analyses to understand their common regulatory pathways. We show that COP1 mediates ERF1 ubiquitination in the dark while SCE1 mediates ERF1 sumoylation in the light. ERF1 stability is positively regulated by SCE1 and negatively regulated by COP1. Upon abiotic stress, SCE1 plays a positive role in stress defence by regulating the expression of ERF1's downstream stress‐responsive genes, whereas COP1 plays a negative role in stress response. Moreover, ERF1 also promotes photomorphogenesis and the expression of light‐responsive genes. Our study reveals the molecular mechanism of how COP1 and SCE1 counteract to regulate ERF1's stability and light‐stress signalling crosstalk.
Beyond nonviolent regime change: Anarchist insights
Authors: Sørensen Majken Jul , Martin Brian
Published: February 2024

In recent years, a major focus of research and campaigning on strategic nonviolent action has been on movements to oust authoritarian rulers. However, these “nonviolent revolutions” usually do not transform systems of economic and social domination. To motivate appreciation of what might be involved in a more far‐reaching social transformation, selected anarchist themes offer useful guides. The relevance of four principles of anarchist theory and practice—non‐hierarchy, self‐management, direct action, and prefiguration—is illustrated in the South African struggle against apartheid. Activists should consider how to use nonviolent strategies to move beyond systems of domination based on states and capitalism.
Different metabolic adaptation strategies after overwintering inEutremasp. andArabidopsisaccessions under field conditions in Germany
Authors: Zuther Ellen , Erban Alexander , Kopka Joachim , Pagter Majken
Published: February 2024

Successful overwintering is a prerequisite for high fitness in temperate perennials and winter annuals and is highly dependent on increased freezing tolerance and timely balancing of deacclimation with growth resumption in spring. To assess fitness costs associated with overwintering and elucidate metabolic mechanisms underlying winter survival and the switch from acclimated freezing tolerance to growth resumption, we performed a comparative field study using 14Eutrema salsugineumaccessions,E. halophilum,E. botschantzeviiand 11Arabidopsis thalianaaccessions differing in freezing tolerance. Winter survival and reproductive fitness parameters were recorded and correlated with phenological stage and metabolite status during growth resumption in spring. The results revealed considerable intraspecific variation in winter survival, but survival rates of the extremophyteEutremawere not inherently better. In bothEutremaandA. thaliana, improved winter survival was associated with reduced reproductive fitness. Metabolic analysis by GC–MS revealed intrinsic differences in the primary metabolism of the two genera during deacclimation.Eutremacontained higher levels of several amino and chlorogenic acids, whileArabidopsishad higher levels of several sugars and sugar conjugates. In both genera, increased levels of several soluble sugars were associated with increased winter survival, whereasmyo‐inositol has different roles in overwintering ofEutremaandA. thaliana. In addition, differences in amino acid metabolism and polyhydroxy acids levels after winter survival were found. The results provide strong evidence for a trade‐off between increased winter survival and reproductive fitness in bothEutremaandArabidopsisand document inherent differences in their metabolic strategies to survive winter.
ERP correlates of self‐referential processing moderate the association between pubertal status and disordered eating in preadolescence
Authors: Liu Pan , Tan Jaron X. Y.
Published: February 2024

Preadolescence is a critical period for the onset of puberty and eating‐related psychopathology. More advanced pubertal status is associated with elevated eating pathology. However, it was unclear whether this association was moderated by self‐referential processing, an important, modifiable cognitive risk for various forms of psychopathology, including eating problems. Further, no study has examined the neural correlates of self‐referential processing in relation to eating pathology. To address these gaps, we examined how the association between pubertal status and disordered eating was moderated by self‐referential processing in a community sample of 115 nine‐to‐12‐year‐old preadolescents (66 girls; mean age/SD = 10.98/1.18 years; 87.5% White). Youths reported their pubertal status and disordered eating behaviors and completed an ERP version of the Self‐Referent Encoding Task (SRET) to assess self‐referential processing. A Principal Component Analysis of the ERP data identified an anterior late positive potential (LPP) in both the positive and negative SRET conditions. The LPP in the positive condition moderated the positive association between pubertal status and disordered eating behaviors, such that this association was significant for youths with a smaller LPP toward positive self‐referential cues, but non‐significant for those showing a larger LPP toward positive self‐referential cues. These results suggest that a deeper processing of positive self‐referential information, indicated by a potentiated LPP, may weaken the negative impact of pubertal status on disordered eating. Our findings also suggest that enhancing positive self‐referential processing may be a useful tool in preventing the development of eating pathology in preadolescents, especially for those with more advanced pubertal status.
HLA‐C*05:292N, a novel HLA‐C null allele identified by next‐generation sequencing
Authors: Schmitt Justine , Gothot André
Published: February 2024

HLA‐C*05:292N differs from HLA‐C*05:01:01:08 by a frameshift mutation, a deletion at gDNA position 758.
Het laatste labo
Authors: Vanpaemel Geert
Published: February 2024

Doorheen haar geschiedenis heeft de Leuvense universiteit heel wat bekende wetenschappers gehuisvest. De namen van Mercator, Minckelers, Van Mons, Van Beneden en Lemaître leven voort in het lokale straatbeeld. De laboratoria waar ze werkten waren ondergebracht in universitaire colleges, die in de loop der eeuwen herhaaldelijk werden aangepast aan de vereisten van wetenschappelijke onderzoek. Nu het laatste van deze laboratoria binnenkort uit de binnenstad naar de campus in Heverlee verhuist, schetst dit boek de stadsgeschiedenis van de Leuvense wetenschappers en hun laboratoria, en neemt het de lezer mee langs de nog zichtbare sporen van dit opmerkelijke erfgoed. Het laatste labo richt zich op het materieel erfgoed van de wetenschap en biedt een boeiende en toegankelijke introductie tot de stadsgeschiedenis van de universiteit, aantrekkelijk voor een ruim publiek van wetenschappelijk geïnteresseerden als alumni, bezoekers en toeristen.
Role of paraoxonase 3 in regulating ENaC‐mediated Na+ transport in the distal nephron
Authors: Mutchler Stephanie M. , Whelan Sarah Christine M. , Marciszyn Allison , Chen Jingxin , Kleyman Thomas R. , Shi Shujie
Published: February 2024

Paraoxonase 3 (PON3) is expressed in the aldosterone‐sensitive distal nephron, where filtered Na+ is reabsorbed mainly via the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) and Na+‐coupled co‐transporters. We previously showed that PON3 negatively regulates ENaC through a chaperone mechanism. The present study aimed to determine the physiological role of PON3 in renal Na+ and K+ homeostasis. Pon3 knockout (KO) mice had higher amiloride‐induced natriuresis and lower plasma [K+] at baseline. Single channel recordings in split‐open tubules showed that the number of active channels per patch was significantly higher in KO mice, resulting in a higher channel activity in the absence of PON3. Although whole kidney abundance of ENaC subunits was not altered in Pon3 KOs, ENaC gamma subunit was more apically distributed within the connecting tubules and cortical collecting ducts of Pon3 KO kidneys. Additionally, small interfering RNA‐mediated knockdown of PON3 in cultured mouse cortical collecting duct cells led to an increased surface abundance of ENaC gamma subunit. As a result of lower plasma [K+], sodium chloride co‐transporter phosphorylation was enhanced in the KO kidneys, a phenotype that was corrected by a high K+ diet. Finally, PON3 expression was upregulated in mouse kidneys under dietary K+ restriction, potentially providing a mechanism to dampen ENaC activity and associated K+ secretion. Taken together, our results show that PON3 has a role in renal Na+ and K+ homeostasis through regulating ENaC functional expression in the distal nephron.

image

Key points

Paraoxonase 3 (PON3) is expressed in the distal nephron of mouse kidneys and functions as a molecular chaperone to reduce epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) expression and activity in heterologous expression systems.

We examined the physiological role of PON3 in renal Na+ and K+ handling using a Pon3 knockout (KO) mouse model.

At baseline, Pon3 KO mice had lower blood [K+], more functional ENaC in connecting tubules/cortical collecting ducts, higher amiloride‐induced natriuresis, and enhanced sodium chloride co‐transporter (NCC) phosphorylation.

Upon challenge with a high K+ diet, Pon3 KO mice had normalized blood [K+] and ‐NCC phosphorylation but lower circulating aldosterone levels compared to their littermate controls.

Kidney PON3 abundance was altered in mice under dietary K+ loading or K+ restriction, providing a potential mechanism for regulating ENaC functional expression and renal Na+ and K+ homeostasis in the distal nephron.
Role of tissue biomechanics in the formation and function of myocardial trabeculae in zebrafish embryos
Authors: Cairelli Adriana Gaia , Gendernalik Alex , Chan Wei Xuan , Nguyen Phuc , Vermot Julien , Lee Juhyun , Bark David , Yap Choon Hwai
Published: February 2024

Cardiac trabeculae are uneven ventricular muscular structures that develop during early embryonic heart development at the outer curvature of the ventricle. Their biomechanical function is not completely understood, and while their formation is known to be mechanosensitive, it is unclear whether ventricular tissue internal stresses play an important role in their formation. Here, we performed imaging and image‐based cardiac biomechanics simulations on zebrafish embryonic ventricles to investigate these issues. Microscopy‐based ventricular strain measurements show that the appearance of trabeculae coincided with enhanced deformability of the ventricular wall. Image‐based biomechanical simulations reveal that the presence of trabeculae reduces ventricular tissue internal stresses, likely acting as structural support in response to the geometry of the ventricle. Passive ventricular pressure‐loading experiments further reveal that the formation of trabeculae is associated with a spatial homogenization of ventricular tissue stiffnesses in healthy hearts, but gata1 morphants with a disrupted trabeculation process retain a spatial stiffness heterogeneity. Our findings thus suggest that modulating ventricular wall deformability, stresses, and stiffness are among the biomechanical functions of trabeculae. Further, experiments with gata1 morphants reveal that a reduction in fluid pressures and consequently ventricular tissue internal stresses can disrupt trabeculation, but a subsequent restoration of ventricular tissue internal stresses via vasopressin rescues trabeculation, demonstrating that tissue stresses are important to trabeculae formation. Overall, we find that tissue biomechanics is important to the formation and function of embryonic heart trabeculation.

image

Key points

Trabeculations are fascinating and important cardiac structures and their abnormalities are linked to embryonic demise.

However, their function in the heart and their mechanobiological formation processes are not completely understood.

Our imaging and modelling show that tissue biomechanics is the key here. We find that trabeculations enhance cardiac wall deformability, reduce fluid pressure stresses, homogenize wall stiffness, and have alignments that are optimal for providing load‐bearing structural support for the heart.

We further discover that high ventricular tissue internal stresses consequent to high fluid pressures are needed for trabeculation formation through a rescue experiment, demonstrating that myocardial tissue stresses are as important as fluid flow wall shear stresses for trabeculation formation.
Óscar Romero: una teología del símbolo
Authors: Chong Vicente
Published: February 2024

Este artículo explora el concepto de símbolo desde la perspectiva de la liberación. Aplica la noción de símbolo a las personas que participan en los procesos de liberación de los pobres y excluidos de la sociedad. Ellas son símbolos del Dios liberador. En este sentido, el presente estudio comprende la persona de Óscar Romero como representante de un pueblo que lucha por su liberación y, por tanto, como símbolo del Dios liberador. Metodológicamente, como primer paso, este artículo define qué es un símbolo, especialmente desde la perspectiva de Karl Rahner. De ahí que el estudio entienda al símbolo como realidad que representa o hace presente otra realidad. Como segundo paso, aplica ese concepto de símbolo a la figura de Romero de tres maneras. Primero, Romero es un símbolo del pueblo crucificado, que incluye –por un lado– a los que son víctimas pasivas e inocentes de la injusticia social y, por otro, a los que dan su vida y son asesinados por defender los derechos de los pobres. Segundo, Romero simboliza la espiritualidad de la liberación. Al tener la opción por los pobres como principio básico, esta espiritualidad incluye el amor a los pobres, la integración entre oración y praxis, el discernimiento de los signos de los tiempos y el trabajo por la justicia y la reconciliación. Finalmente, Romero es un símbolo de la gracia de la comunicación de Dios mismo. Dios se revela por medio de símbolos. Por tanto, Romero es un símbolo del Dios liberador, es decir, el Dios que ama y cuida a los pobres. Sin embargo, Romero es un símbolo de su pueblo. Por consiguiente, el pueblo crucificado representado por él también es símbolo de Dios. Este análisis concluye que el Dios liberador, por medio de la figura simbólica de Romero, invita a hombres y mujeres a ser símbolos de la gracia liberadora.
Using Control Barrier Functions to Incorporate Observability: Application to Range-Based Target Tracking
Authors: Coleman Demetris , Bopardikar Shaunak D. , Tan Xiaobo
Published: February 2024

In many nonlinear systems, the observability of the system is dependent on its state and control input. Thus, incorporating observability into a control scheme can enhance an observer's ability to recover accurate estimates of unmeasured states, minimize estimation error, and ultimately, allow the original control objective to be achieved. The accommodation of observability, however, may conflict with the original control goal at times. In this paper, we propose the use of control barrier functions (CBFs) to enforce observability and thereby facilitate the convergence of the state estimate to the true state while accommodating the original control objectives. Motivated by practical applications for autonomous robots operating in global positioning system-denied environments, we focus on the problem of target tracking for a unicycle model when only the distance to the target is measured. The proposed approach is compared in simulation with a model predictive control (MPC) approach that treats an observability-related metric as part of the cost function, where several different options for the observability metric are explored. It is found that the CBF-based approach achieves control and estimation performance that is comparable to that of the MPC approach, but with significantly less computational complexity. These findings are further experimentally verified in range-based target tracking with a swimming robotic fish.
Hybrid Bonding for Ultra-High-Density Interconnect
Authors: Lu Mei-Chien
Published: February 2024

Hybrid bonding is the technology for interchip ultrahigh-density interconnect at pitch smaller than 10 μm. The feasibility at wafer-to-wafer level bonding with bond pad pitch of sub-0.5 μm has been demonstrated with scaling limitations under exploration beyond sub-0.4 μm. The heterogeneous integration of chiplets often requires die-to-wafer hybrid bonding for diverse chip stacking architectures. This overview emphasis on some main issues associated with hybrid bonding extending to die-to-wafer level. The hybrid bond pad structure design is a critical factor affecting sensitivity to overlay accuracy, copper recess or protrusion requirements, and performances. Cases of hybrid bonding schemes and pad structure designs are summarized and analyzed. Performance assessment and characterization methods are briefly overviewed. The scalability of pad pitch is addressed by analyzing the recent literature reports. Challenges of managing singulated dies for die-to-wafer bonding with direct placement or collective die-to-wafer bonding schemes under exploration are addressed. Nonetheless, industry collaboration for manufacturing equipment development and industry standards on handling chiplets from different technology nodes and different factories are highlighted.
In-house synthesized poly(ether ether ketone) ionenes. II. ToF-SIMS spectra in the negative ion mode
Authors: Strange Lyndi , Ravula Sudhir , Zhu Zihua , Bara Jason E. , Chen Ping , Heldebrant David J. , Yao Jennifer
Published: February 2024

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used to analyze poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) based membranes. PEEK membranes have been shown to be effective in the separation of CO2 from flue gases (post-combustion technique). The PEEK membranes were synthesized using novel aromatic ether-ketone linkages inspired by PEEK with polymeric backbone bistriflimide [Tf2N]− counterions. One of the keys to advancing this technology is developing membranes that are selective and permeable toward CO2, in which PEEK based membranes have been shown to be. Furthermore, the compatibility between various water lean solvents also needs to be investigated. Surface analytical techniques such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ToF-SIMS are useful for investigating chemical changes between membranes. Herein, we present ToF-SIMS data obtained in the negative ion mode for four different PEEK membranes designed for use in CO2 capture systems. Positive ion mode spectra are reported in Paper I.
An awareness survey on childcare facilities and acoustic environment in Japan's residential areas
Authors: Kataoka Hiroko , Yoshitomi Yuki , Hirai Haruto , Takada Masayuki
Published: February 2024

A study conducted in Japan aimed to understand how childcare facilities should coexist with the local community. The researchers used a sound survey, demographic survey, and logistic regression analysis to study residents' noise awareness in various areas. They found that higher land prices led to lower approval of new childcare facilities. The study also revealed that those more sensitive to noise and less willing to participate in public events at childcare facilities were more significantly opposed to the establishment of new facilities.
The pH-responsive SmrR-SmrT system modulates
C. difficile
antimicrobial resistance, spore formation, and toxin production
Authors: Wetzel Daniela , Carter Zavier A. , Monteiro Marcos P. , Edwards Adrianne N. , Scharer Christopher D. , McBride Shonna M.
Published: February 2024

Clostridioides difficile
is an anaerobic gastrointestinal pathogen that spreads through the environment as dormant spores. To survive, replicate, and sporulate in the host intestine,
C. difficile
must adapt to a variety of conditions in its environment, including changes in pH, the availability of metabolites, host immune factors, and a diverse array of other species. Prior studies showed that changes in intestinal conditions, such as pH, can affect
C. difficile
toxin production, spore formation, and cell survival. However, little is understood about the specific genes and pathways that facilitate environmental adaptation and lead to changes in
C. difficile
cell outcomes. In this study, we investigated two genes,
CD2505
and
CD2506,
that are differentially regulated by pH to determine if they impact
C. difficile
growth and sporulation. Using deletion mutants, we examined the effects of both genes (herein
smrR
and
smrT
) on sporulation frequency, toxin production, and antimicrobial resistance. We determined that SmrR is a repressor of
smrRT
that responds to pH and suppresses sporulation and toxin production through regulation of the SmrT transporter. Further, we showed that SmrT confers resistance to erythromycin and lincomycin, establishing a connection between the regulation of sporulation and antimicrobial resistance.

IMPORTANCE

Clostridioides difficile
is a mammalian pathogen that colonizes the large intestine and produces toxins that lead to severe diarrheal disease.
C. difficile
is a major threat to public health due to its intrinsic resistance to antimicrobials and its ability to form dormant spores that are easily spread from host to host. In this study, we examined the contribution of two genes,
smrR
and
smrT
, on sporulation, toxin production, and antimicrobial resistance. Our results indicate that SmrR represses
smrT
expression, while production of SmrT increases spore and toxin production, as well as resistance to antibiotics.
Antigenic commonality and divergence of hemagglutinin-esterase-fusion protein among influenza D virus lineages revealed using epitope mapping
Authors: Katayama Misa , Murakami Shin , Ishida Hiroho , Matsugo Hiromichi , Sekine Wataru , Ohira Kosuke , Takenaka-Uema Akiko , Horimoto Taisuke
Published: February 2024

Influenza D virus (IDV) is one of the causative agents of bovine respiratory disease complex, which is the most common and economically burdensome disease affecting the cattle industry, and the need for an IDV vaccine has been proposed to enhance disease control. IDVs are classified into five genetic lineages based on the coding sequences of the hemagglutinin-esterase-fusion (HEF) protein, an envelope glycoprotein, which is the main target of protective antibodies against IDV infection. Herein, we prepared a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the HEF protein of viruses of various lineages to investigate the antigenic characteristics of IDVs and found that the mAbs could be largely separated into three groups. The first, second, and third groups demonstrated lineage-specific reactivity, cross-reactivity to viruses of multiple but not all lineages, and cross-reactivity to viruses of all lineages, respectively. Analyzing the escape mutant viruses from virus-neutralizing mAbs revealed that the receptor-binding region of the HEF molecule harbors virus-neutralizing epitopes that are conserved across multiple lineage viruses. In contrast, the apex region of the molecule possessed epitopes unique to each lineage virus. Furthermore, reverse genetics-generated recombinant viruses with point mutations revealed that amino acids within positions 210–214 of the HEF protein determined the antigenic specificity of each lineage virus. Taken together, this study reveals considerable antigenic variation among IDV lineages, although they are presumed to form a single serotype in terms of HEF antigenicity. Characterization of the antigenic epitope structure of HEF may contribute to selecting and creating effective vaccine viruses against IDV.

IMPORTANCE

Influenza D viruses (IDVs) are suggested to create cross-reactive single serotypes in hemagglutinin-esterase-fusion (HEF) antigenicity, as indicated by serological analyses among distinct HEF lineage viruses. This is supported by the high identities of HEF gene sequences among strains, unlike the hemagglutinin (HA) genes of the influenza A virus that exhibit HA subtypes. Herein, we analyzed HEF antigenicity using a monoclonal antibody panel prepared from several virus lineages and found the existence of lineage-conserved and lineage-specific epitopes in HEF molecules. These findings confirm the HEF commonality and divergence among IDVs and provide useful information for constructing a vaccine containing a recombinant IDV virus with an engineered HEF gene, thereby leading to broad immunogenicity.
Slicing through the challenge of maintaining
Pneumocystis
in the laboratory
Authors: Nev Olga A. , Duvenage Lucian , Brown Alistair J. P. , Dangarembizi Rachael , Hoving Jennifer Claire
Published: February 2024

Pneumocystis jirovecii
is a major fungal pathogen of humans that causes life-threatening lung infections in immunocompromised individuals. Despite its huge global impact upon human health, our understanding of the pathobiology of this deadly fungus remains extremely limited, largely because it is not yet possible to cultivate
Pneumocystis in vitro,
independently of the host. However, a recent paper by Munyonho et al. offers a major step forward (F. T. Munyonho, R. D. Clark, D. Lin, M. S. Khatun, et al., 2023, mBio 15:e01464-23,
https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01464-23
). They show that it is possible to maintain both the trophozoite and cyst forms of the mouse pathogen,
Pneumocystis murina,
in precision-cut lung slices for several weeks. Furthermore, they demonstrate that this offers the exciting opportunity to examine potential virulence factors such as possible biofilm formation as well as antifungal drug responses in the lung.
Supplemental Material: Cenozoic Pb–Zn–Ag mineralization in the Western Alps
Authors: Bertauts Maxime , al. et
Published: February 2024

 Analytical methods and monazite U–Th–Pb, allanite Th–Pb and phengite Rb–Sr data analysis for the Pb–Zn–Ag deposits in the French Northern Alps; chemical map with summary table of the phengite and albite compositions; Tables S1–S8; and Figures S1 and S2.  
Disambiguation of Isolated Manipuri Tonal Contrast Word Pairs Using Acoustic Features
Authors: Devi Thiyam Susma , Das Pradip K.
Published: February 2024

Manipuri is a low-resource, Tibeto-Burman tonal language spoken mainly in Manipur, a northeastern state of India. Tone identification is crucial to speech comprehension for tonal languages, where tone defines the word’s meaning. Automatic Speech Recognition for those languages can perform better by including tonal information from a powerful tone detection system. While significant research has been conducted on tonal languages like Mandarin, Thai, Cantonese, and Vietnamese, a notable gap exists in exploring Manipuri within this context. To address this gap, this work expands our previously developed handcrafted speech corpus, ManiTo, which comprises isolated Manipuri tonal contrast word pairs to study the tones of Manipuri. This extension includes contributions from 20 native speakers. Preliminary findings have confirmed that Manipuri has two unique tones, Falling and Level. The study then conducts a comprehensive acoustic feature analysis. Two sets of features based on Pitch contours, Jitter, and Shimmer measurements are investigated to distinguish the two tones of Manipuri. Support Vector Machine, Long Short-term Memory, Random Forest, and k-Nearest Neighbors are the classifiers adopted to validate the selected feature sets. The results indicate that the second set of features consistently outperformed the first set, demonstrating higher accuracy, particularly when utilizing the Random Forest classifier, which provides valuable insights for further advancements in speech recognition technology for low-resource tonal language Manipuri.
Triangular Trade-off between Robustness, Accuracy, and Fairness in Deep Neural Networks: A Survey
Authors: Li Jingyang , Li Guoqiang
Published: February 2024

With the rapid development of deep learning, AI systems are being used more in complex and important domains and necessitates the simultaneous fulfillment of multiple constraints: accurate, robust, and fair. Accuracy measures how well a DNN can generalize to new data. Robustness demonstrates how well the network can withstand minor perturbations without changing the results. Fairness focuses on treating different groups equally. This survey provides an overview of the triangular trade-off among robustness, accuracy, and fairness in neural networks. This trade-off makes it difficult for AI systems to achieve true intelligence and is connected to generalization, robustness, and fairness in deep learning. The survey explores these trade-offs and their relationships to adversarial examples, adversarial training, and fair machine learning. The trade-offs between accuracy and robustness, accuracy and fairness, and robustness and fairness have been studied to different extents. However, there is a lack of taxonomy and analysis of these trade-offs. The accuracy-robustness trade-off is inherent in Gaussian models, but it varies when classes are not closely distributed. The accuracy-fairness and robustness-fairness trade-offs have been assessed empirically, but their theoretical nature needs more investigation. This survey aims to explore the origins, evolution, influencing factors, and future research directions of these trade-offs.
Conflict Avoidance in Social Navigation—a Survey
Authors: Mirsky Reuth , Xiao Xuesu , Hart Justin , Stone Peter
Published: February 2024

A major goal in robotics is to enable intelligent mobile robots to operate smoothly in shared human-robot environments. One of the most fundamental capabilities in service of this goal is competent navigation in this “social” context. As a result, there has been a recent surge of research on social navigation; and especially as it relates to the handling of conflicts between agents during social navigation. These developments introduce a variety of models and algorithms, however as this research area is inherently interdisciplinary, many of the relevant papers are not comparable and there is no shared standard vocabulary. This survey aims at bridging this gap by introducing such a common language, using it to survey existing work, and highlighting open problems. It starts by defining the boundaries of this survey to a limited, yet highly common type of social navigation—conflict avoidance. Within this proposed scope, this survey introduces a detailed taxonomy of the conflict avoidance components. This survey then maps existing work into this taxonomy, while discussing papers using its framing. Finally, this article proposes some future research directions and open problems that are currently on the frontier of social navigation to aid ongoing and future research.
Passive Haptics and Conversational Avatars for Interacting with Ancient Egypt Remains in High-Fidelity Virtual Reality Experiences
Authors: Cannavò Alberto , Pacchiotti Simona , Retta Nicola , Terzoli Martina , Spallone Roberta , Lamberti Fabrizio
Published: February 2024

As extended reality continues to grow, new possibilities arise to provide users with novel ways to experience cultural heritage (CH). In particular, applications based on virtual reality (VR), such as virtual museums, have gained increasing popularity, since they can offer new ways for preserving and presenting CH content that are not feasible in physical museums. Despite the numerous benefits, the level of immersion and presence provided by VR experiences still present challenges that could hinder the effectiveness of this technology in the CH context. In this perspective, it is crucial to provide the users with high-fidelity experiences, in which also the interaction with the objects and the characters populating virtual environments are realistic and natural. This article focuses on this challenge and specifically investigates how the combined use of tangible and speech interfaces can help improve the overall experience. To this aim, a immersive VR experience is proposed, which allows the users to manipulate virtual objects belonging to a museum collection (in the specific case, Ancient Egypt remains) by physically operating on 3D printed replicas and to talk with a curator’s avatar to get explanations by using their voice. A user study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the considered interfaces on immersion, presence, user experience, usability, and intention to visit, comparing the richest configuration against simpler setups obtained by either removing the tangible interface, the speech interface, or both (and using only handheld controllers). The results show that the combined use of the two interfaces can effectively contribute at making the CH experience in VR more engaging.
The Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor and Its Pentameric Homologs: Toward an Allosteric Mechanism of Signal Transduction at the Atomic Level
Authors: Cecchini Marco , Corringer Pierre-Jean , Changeux Jean-Pierre
Published: February 2024

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor has served, since its biochemical identification in the 1970s, as a model of an allosteric ligand-gated ion channel mediating signal transition at the synapse. In recent years, the application of X-ray crystallography and high-resolution cryo–electron microscopy, together with molecular dynamic simulations of nicotinic receptors and homologs, have opened a new era in the understanding of channel gating by the neurotransmitter. They reveal, at atomic resolution, the diversity and flexibility of the multiple ligand-binding sites, including recently discovered allosteric modulatory sites distinct from the neurotransmitter orthosteric site, and the conformational dynamics of the activation process as a molecular switch linking these multiple sites. The model emerging from these studies paves the way for a new pharmacology based, first, upon the occurrence of an original mode of indirect allosteric modulation, distinct from a steric competition for a single and rigid binding site, and second, the design of drugs that specifically interact with privileged conformations of the receptor such as agonists, antagonists, and desensitizers. Research on nicotinic receptors is still at the forefront of understanding the mode of action of drugs on the nervous system.
Insertable Biosensors: Combining Implanted Sensing Materials with Wearable Monitors
Authors: Chimene David , Queener Kirstie M.K. , Ko Brian S. , McShane Mike , Daniele Michael
Published: February 2024

Insertable biosensor systems are medical diagnostic devices with two primary components: an implantable biosensor within the body and a wearable monitor that can remotely interrogate the biosensor from outside the body. Because the biosensor does not require a physical connection to the electronic monitor, insertable biosensor systems promise improved patient comfort, reduced inflammation and infection risk, and extended operational lifetimes relative to established percutaneous biosensor systems. However, the lack of physical connection also presents technical challenges that have necessitated new innovations in developing sensing chemistries, transduction methods, and communication modalities. In this review, we discuss the key developments that have made insertables a promising option for longitudinal biometric monitoring and highlight the essential needs and existing development challenges to realizing the next generation of insertables for extended-use diagnostic and prognostic devices.
Liquid Biopsy Based on Cell-Free DNA and RNA
Authors: Loy Conor , Ahmann Lauren , De Vlaminck Iwijn , Gu Wei
Published: February 2024

This review delves into the rapidly evolving landscape of liquid biopsy technologies based on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and cell-free RNA (cfRNA) and their increasingly prominent role in precision medicine. With the advent of high-throughput DNA sequencing, the use of cfDNA and cfRNA has revolutionized noninvasive clinical testing. Here, we explore the physical characteristics of cfDNA and cfRNA, present an overview of the essential engineering tools used by the field, and highlight clinical applications, including noninvasive prenatal testing, cancer testing, organ transplantation surveillance, and infectious disease testing. Finally, we discuss emerging technologies and the broadening scope of liquid biopsies to new areas of diagnostic medicine.
Orchestration of the Adipose Tissue Immune Landscape by Adipocytes
Authors: Bradley David , Deng Tuo , Shantaram Dharti , Hsueh Willa A.
Published: February 2024

Obesity is epidemic and of great concern because of its comorbid and costly inflammatory-driven complications. Extensive investigations in mice have elucidated highly coordinated, well-balanced interactions between adipocytes and immune cells in adipose tissue that maintain normal systemic metabolism in the lean state, while in obesity, proinflammatory changes occur in nearly all adipose tissue immune cells. Many of these changes are instigated by adipocytes. However, less is known about obesity-induced adipose-tissue immune cell alterations in humans. Upon high-fat diet feeding, the adipocyte changes its well-known function as a metabolic cell to assume the role of an immune cell, orchestrating proinflammatory changes that escalate inflammation and progress during obesity. This transformation is particularly prominent in humans. In this review, we ( a) highlight a leading and early role for adipocytes in promulgating inflammation, ( b) discuss immune cell changes and the time course of these changes (comparing humans and mice when possible), and ( c) note how reversing proinflammatory changes in most types of immune cells, including adipocytes, rescues adipose tissue from inflammation and obese mice from insulin resistance.
Unraveling the Pseudocapacitive Charge Storage Mechanism of NiCo2O4 Nanoflakes for Advanced Quasi Solid-State Hybrid Supercapacitor
Authors: Jhankal Deependra , Yadav Bhanu , Shakya Preeti , Khan Mohammad Saquib , Shrivastav Monika , Jhankal K. K. , Sachdev Kanupriya
Published: February 2024

Design and development of battery-type electrode materials with high capacitance, wide potential window, and desirable cycle stability are essential to enhance the performance of hybrid supercapacitors (HSC). In this study, a simple sol-gel synthesis strategy has been adopted to fabricate spinel NiCo2O4 nanoflakes. The morphological and structural analysis shows that the NiCo2O4 is formed with nanoflakes morphology having high phase purity and good stoichiometry. The electrochemical study of the NiCo2O4 electrode in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte reveals that the electrode has a maximum specific capacitance of 488 F g−1 at 2 A g−1. Detailed electrochemical examinations of cyclic voltammogram (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) profiles reveal the pseudocapacitive charge storage kinetics of NiCo2O4 electrode. Furthermore, a hybrid supercapacitor device is constructed by employing molybdenum-disulfide (MoS2) & reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite and NiCo2O4 as the negative and positive electrodes, respectively. PVA-Na2SO4 is utilized as the polymer gel electrolyte. The HSC device delivered the highest specific capacitance of 106 F g−1 at a current density of 0.8 A g−1 with superior cyclic stability. Thus, exploring strategies for superior performance through material modification and selection of suitable electrolyte has been useful and makes this study significant among the reported related works.
Unveiling the connection between gut microbiome and metabolic health in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury
Authors: Li Jia , Barnes Stephen , Lefkowitz Elliot , Yarar-Fisher Ceren
Published: February 2024

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is accompanied by gut dysbiosis and the impact of this on the development of metabolic syndrome in this population remains to be investigated. Our study used next-generation sequencing and multivariate statistical analyses to explore the correlations between gut microbiome composition, function, and metabolic health indices in individuals with chronic SCI. Our results point to potential gut microbial species and functional pathways that may be implicated in the development of metabolic syndrome.
The Use of Local Anesthesia in Pediatric Dentistry: A Survey of Specialists’ Current Practices in Children and Attitudes in Relation to Articaine
Authors: Bani-Hani Thikrayat , Al-Fodeh Rami , Tabnjh Abedelmalek , Leith Rona
Published: February 2024

Aims. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical practices of local anesthesia in children. The study also sought to investigate pediatric dentists’ views on articaine infiltration anesthesia and their willingness to use it to replace the inferior dental nerve block in primary molars. Materials and Methods. A cross‐sectional survey was emailed to 183 registered specialists. Descriptive statistics along with chi‐square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for data analysis. Results. A total of 72 responses were received. The sample consisted of 62 (86.1%) females and 10 (13.8%) males with varying levels of experience. The vast majority of respondents (98.6%) used topical anesthesia in their practice with children. The most frequently used anesthetic agent was 2% lidocaine (72.2%) followed by 4% articaine (54.2%). The entire sample indicated that they frequently find difficulties in dose calculation for their child patient. Gender and level of experience did not significantly influence specialists’ practice or their knowledge of local anesthesia. More than a third (31.9%) of participants were not happy to replace the block anesthesia with articaine infiltration for the treatment of lower primary molars. The most indicated reasons for this unwillingness were lack of effectiveness (11%) and inadequate scientific evidence (11%). Conclusion. Most pediatric dentists used topical anesthesia with children. Lidocaine was the most commonly used injectable local anesthesia. Specialists’ current practices of local anesthesia in children generally conformed well to good standards. However, inadequate knowledge regarding dose calculation was revealed. In addition, specialists’ reluctance to use articaine infiltration instead of the block anesthesia was evident in the current population. Further studies, with larger sample size are encouraged.