bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pro-Zapatista and Pro-PRI: Resolving the Contradictions of Zapatismo in Rural Oaxaca
Authors: Stephen Lynn
Published: October 2022

Emiliano Zapata could well be named “man of the decade” for the 1990s in Mexico, despite the fact that he has been dead for more than seventy years. His legacy, along with the revolution he represents, has been writ large in Mexican political culture. But whose version of Zapata has been enshrined? Is he the figure inspiring the agrarian reforms introduced by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to end the government's obligation to redistribute land to the rural poor? Or is he the sacred symbol of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional's armed rebellion calling for elimination of those same reforms? How can Zapata be all these things to all these groups simultaneously? Conversely, how can any single person or group endorse both sets of cultural-political meanings that have attached to Zapata when they appear to contradict one another directly?
Sources on the History of Favelas in Rio de Janeiro
Authors: Pino Julio César
Published: October 2022

The favelas of Rio de Janeiro, with their teeming masses trapped in misery, constitute the perfect site for investigating how social inequality is reproduced in Brazil. The latest survey of the shantytowns, conducted by the Instituto de Planejamento in Rio de Janeiro (IPLAN-Rio) reported that as of 1991, the city contained 661 favelas housing 962,793 persons in 239,678 shacks. The squatter settlements recreate in miniature but distorted form the entire history of modern Rio de Janeiro. The first squatter settlement was built in 1898 in Rio by Bahian veterans of the military campaign against mystic rebel Antonio Conselheiro. Yet only when the housing crisis of the 1940s forced the urban poor to erect hundreds of shantytowns in the suburbs did favelas replace tenements as the main type of residence for destitute Cariocas (residents of Rio). The explosive era of favela growth dates from 1940, when Getúlio Vargas's industrialization drive pulled hundreds of thousands of migrants into the Federal District, until 1970, when shantytowns expanded beyond urban Rio and into the metropolitan periphery. Even today, the favelas remain an officially unrecognized and illegal part of city. For this reason, many researchers assume that the shantytowns have no written history and that historians must rely on anecdotal evidence from residents for information on squatter life.
Postmodern Ethnographer in the Backlands: An Imperial Bureaucrat's Perceptions of Post-Independence Brazil
Authors: Bieber Judy
Published: October 2022

In 1819 José Ignacio do Couto Moreno composed this sentimental poem about his adopted hometown, a small river port in the interior of Minas Gerais. He felt compelled to write it after suffering considerable ribbing by his colleagues during a festive occasion in Rio de Janeiro. Couto Moreno was homesick, and his fellow partygoers could not resist teasing him for demonstrating nostalgia for home and hearth. They challenged him incredulously, “What possible attraction could such distant and brutish backlands hold?”
The Political Economy of Agricultural Policy in Brazil: Decision Making and Influence From 1964 to 1992
Authors: Helfand Steven M.
Published: October 2022

Based on primary research and fifty interviews, this article analyzes the history, institutions, and politics of agricultural policy formulation in Brazil from 1964 to 1992. It focuses on how trade, credit, and support-price policy evolved in response to economic crisis and democratization in the 1980s. Although the economic crisis caused policy to be redesigned, the change in political regime and in the institutions of interest-group representation significantly influenced the direction of policy reform. The return to a democratic regime permitted the Congress and the Brazilian judiciary to play more significant roles in shaping agricultural policy. Simultaneously, democratization led to the questioning of corporatist institutions and the emergence of more participatory organizations in the agricultural sector. These changes have caused policy making to become increasingly subject to explicit rules, which should lead to more predictable policies and a long-term reduction in discrimination against Brazilian agriculture.
The Privatization of Social Security and Women's Welfare: Gender Effects of the Chilean Reform
Authors: de Mesa Alberto Arenas , Monteemos Verónica
Published: October 2022

The study shows that the new privately managed pension system in Chile has increased gender inequalities. Women are worse off than they were under the old pay-as-you-go system of social security, in which the calculation of benefits for men and women did not differ and women could obtain pensions with fewer requirements than men. Currently, benefits are calculated according to individuals’ contributions and levels of risk. Such factors as women's longer life expectancy, earlier retirement age, lower rates of labor-force participation, lower salaries, and other disadvantages in the labor market are directly affecting their accumulation of funds in individual retirement accounts, leading to lower pensions, especially for poorer women. Lessons from the Chilean reform should encourage scholars, policy makers, and the general public to engage in debates that more adequately incorporate gender variables in designing and implementing policy changes.
Special issue: Multiple worlds of the Adivasi. An introduction
Authors: Damodaran Vinita , Dasgupta Sangeeta
Published: October 2022

On 6 December 1959, the image of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurating the Damodar Valley Corporation dam project in Bihar with a 15-year-old Adivasi girl called Budhini Manjhiyan was flashed across the national newspapers. This was an iconic moment in the national debate around development and change which was to dominate modern India on whether lands, predominately rural and tribal, were to be flooded to benefit the nation. Years later, in 2016, when the newspapers caught up with Budhini, she had returned to Jharkhand and was struggling to make ends meet for herself and her children. Her story resonates with the ways in which, in recent times, Adivasis are becoming increasingly visible as subjects in debates around indigeneity, identity, conversion, development, and climate change. The post-colonial Indian state and its allies, with a developmentalist agenda uppermost in their minds, have made loss of land, displacement, migration, and forced resettlement a part of Adivasi experiences. Forces of globalization, often in tandem with the policies of the Indian state, are engulfing marginal spaces. The increasingly powerful majoritarian narrative of the state subsumes alternate voices with easy nonchalance. The foregrounding of planetary narratives on the fate of humanity in the era of the Anthropocene erases the importance of particular locales and specific communities that could offer an alternative to declensionist narratives. But amid this marginalization, there also lies a story of the assertion of Adivasi agency. Voices of Adivasis—although multiple and fractured—can be heard as they assert their identity, express their politics, and creatively negotiate with the state and its institutions. Scattered across India in geographically differentiated terrains, pursuing different occupations, and speaking different languages, the experiences of Adivasis are varied, as they inhabit many worlds. Their stories point to the multiplicity of cultures and myriad ways of thinking that must be accommodated within the ambit of the nation, and yet offer the possibilities of different ways of living and being on this earth.
Aspects of The Railway Problem II. Motor Competition and Railway Labour Costs
Authors: McDougall J. L.
Published: October 2022

The underlying assumption of Dr. Rollit's paper is that transportation ought to cover its own costs, and I should like to register my general agreement with it. But the main argument is to the effect that the present difficulties of the railways are the result of unequal subsidies, unequal regulation, and unequal labour costs. By inference, one would expect that when public bodies come to their senses and when the abnormally low wages paid to transport operators are brought to a proper level, then railways would be restored to prosperity. It is a much rosier picture than the available facts appear to justify.

A study of table I would suggest that the relative retrogression of the railways is not at all closely connected with the rise of direct motor competition. The peak in per capita use of rail service would appear to have been reached well before such competition became effective and the persistence of the subsequent decline in railway gross revenues as a percentage of the national income would suggest that even the most sudden and devastating access of sanity on the part of the taxing authorities would not restore the railways to that position in the life of the community which they once held. Humpty-dumpty has fallen off his wall for good and the sooner he learns to get along on a footing of equality with common mortals the better it will be for all of us.
Alberta, Economic and Political. II. The Elliott-Walker Report: A Review
Authors: Britnell G. E.
Published: October 2022

When Mr. Aberhart's government took office in August, 1935, it found the provincial treasury empty and a long series of budget deficits. Almost the first act of the new administration was the appointment of Mr. R. J. Magor, a well-known Montreal industrialist, to make a report on the financial position of the province preliminary to an attempt to balance the budget. After a report from Mr. Magor, the Hon. E. C. Manning, acting premier of the province, on December 5, 1935, wrote to the investment houses and chartered banks stating that the government had “been forced to the conclusion that an adjustment in our debt charges seems unavoidable if we are to meet our necessary obligations and balance our Budget”. The co-operation of the investment houses and banks was requested in setting up a medium for negotiation with the holders of Alberta securities with a view to converting the existing indebtedness of the province amounting to about $160 million into new securities bearing “an interest rate of approximately two and three quarters per cent. plus the full Sinking Fund” which the government felt “would approximate the annual capacity of the Province to pay on debt account”. Some compensation for a lower interest rate would be afforded through “alteration of maturities and increased assurance of security”, though it was asserted that the government had “not formulated any cut and dried plan because it desires fully to learn and consider the views of the holders of the securities”. With the Dominion-Provincial Conference about to meet in Ottawa and much current discussion of Loan Council schemes to refund provincial indebtedness under Dominion guarantee, Messrs. Elliott and Walker observe, concerning the attitudes of investment houses to the Alberta government's proposals, that “it was apparently considered unwise to intrude into inter-governmental plans and no complete replies to the Government's suggestions were received” (ch. ii, p. 2).
Alberta, Economic and Political. IV. The Elliott-Walker Report: A Rejoinder
Authors: Elliott Courtland , Walker J. A.
Published: October 2022

The Report to the Alberta Bondholders' Committee is not, and was not intended to be, a report upon the economic and social conditions of that province, and it contains no recommendations for settlement of present-day problems. It is a report upon the fiscal problems of the provincial government, which have their origin in economic and social conditions generally common to the Prairie Provinces, as well as in a cleavage of financial philosophies most apparent in Alberta alone. Had the survey been broadened to require a report on the income, wealth, and indebtedness of the province and its people, we have no doubt that some of the criticisms expressed by Messrs. MacGregor and Britnell would be justified—but the investigators would still be investigating and the Report would not yet be written.

As it is, the Report was completed in thirty days. Not a figure (except one table relating to the domicile of Canadian bonds) has any other source than the published data of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics or of the provinces. No statement of fact relating to the present fiscal position of Alberta has any other origin than the published documents or the transcribed words of officials of that province. Only on such a basis could an impartial yet sympathetic study of this important Canadian problem proceed.
Clarifying the “People Like Me”: Racial Efficacy and Political Behavior
Authors: Phoenix Davin L. , Chan Nathan K.
Published: October 2022

Political efficacy, or a sense of confidence that “people like me” can understand politics and receive responsiveness from government, is central to the study of political behavior. However, the reference group that respondents view as “people like me” is not always immediately clear. This limits our ability to infer how efficacy informs political participation. We propose a specific concept and operationalization of racial group efficacy, and we distinguish this concept from racial identity, group consciousness, and conventional efficacy measures. Analyses of data from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey reveal that for white, Black, Asian, and Latina/o Americans, racial efficacy is a more consistent and robust predictor of political participation than standard internal and external efficacy measures. Further, we show that racial efficacy exhibits associations with conventional and unconventional forms of participation that distinguish whites from people of color. We conclude by discussing how people’s racial efficacy informs their engagement in politics, from voting to protests.
An Experimental Study of Cultural Identity Goal Striving in German–Turkish Biculturals
Authors: Doerflinger Johannes T. , Poyraz Erkan , Özen Rabia , Byrka Katarzyna , Gollwitzer Peter M.
Published: October 2022

Abstract. We explore motivational processes stemming from bicultural identity goals of being Turkish and being German by investigating the effect of identity goal incompleteness versus completeness in the two identity goals on the use of multifinal means to self-symbolize German–Turkish cultural identity goals. Individuals incomplete in either or both identity goals were more likely than individuals complete in both identity goals to engage in multifinal self-symbolizing via social media activity (Experiment 1) and helping (Experiment 2). Incompleteness regarding the two identity goals had an additive effect on effort and elicited distinct patterns of subjectively experienced incompleteness for German and Turkish cultural identity goals (Experiment 2). These findings offer new insights relevant for symbolic self-completion theory and goal systems theory.
Sequential Bayesian Update to Detect the Most Likely Tsunami Scenario Using Observational Wave Sequences
Authors: Nomura Reika , Fujita Saneiki , Galbreath Joseph M. , Otake Yu , Moriguchi Shuji , Koshimura Shunichi , LeVeque Randall J. , Terada Kenjiro
Published: October 2022

This study presents a method for the detection of the most likely tsunami scenario among a set of possible scenarios using an observational wave sequence based on a sequential Bayesian update scheme. The proposed method consists of two phases: an offline preliminary learning phase and an online real‐time detection update phase. The innovation of this study is that proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and Bayesian update are used together with an established tsunami simulation technique. In the offline reinforcement learning process, a series of tsunami simulations are carried out based on geophysically feasible scenarios, and the spatial modes of wave data calculated at predefined synthetic gauge locations are extracted through the application of POD. When a real tsunami event occurs and observational ocean data are obtained, the online process can then be performed as follows: using the stored spatial modes along with their component coefficients, pseudocoefficients are repeatedly estimated from the obtained wave data and used to sequentially update the most likely tsunami scenario according to the posterior probability through Bayesian update. A verification analysis is carried out to illustrate the procedure of the proposed method, and a validation analysis is conducted to demonstrate both the capabilities and applicability of the process with reasonable accuracy. A comprehensive discussion details the characteristic features of the proposed method in terms of the real‐time prediction of tsunami hazards and risks.
Alongshore Variable Accretional and Erosional Coastal Foredune Dynamics at Event to Interannual Timescales
Authors: Cohn Nicholas , Brodie Katherine , Conery Ian , Spore Nicholas
Published: October 2022

Natural and constructed dunes are increasingly being utilized to buffer flooding impacts from storms and rising sea levels along sandy coastlines. However, a lack of data at the appropriate spatial and temporal resolution often precludes isolating the total magnitude, specific timing, and alongshore variability of volumetric coastal dune changes resulting from both wave and wind‐driven processes. Here mobile terrestrial lidar data from 46 collections along a 6.5 km stretch of sandy beach and dunes in Duck, NC, USA are used to assess the magnitude and drivers of alongshore variable dune responses between 2012 and 2020. Despite numerous major storm events which impacted the dunes over this time period, the dunes grew volumetrically both in nourished and un‐nourished sections of the study site. Growth of the dunes was seasonally and spatially variable with the largest total growth recorded in the Fall, coinciding with a period of frequent windy storms but also the highest total water levels, and along the regions with the lowest gradientβbeach. The vertical accretion patterns of these wind‐blown sediments are shown to vary depending on the dune management style, specifically, if dunes were not managed, sand fenced, or artificially constructed. Dune erosion also occurred episodically within the study period, with the steepest sloped beach sections likely to be the most impacted during individual storm events.
Rain Makes Skulls Bigger—in Mice
Authors: Cartier Kimberly
Published: October 2022

New research shows how regional weather, shaped by towering mountain ranges, might influence the size and shape of local rodents.
The Importance of Spatial and Temporal Scales in Understanding Chlorophyll Variability in the Southern Ocean
Authors: Joy‐Warren Hannah L.
Published: October 2022

Polar regions are undergoing dramatic, rapid, and possibly irreversible changes. Substantial shifts in patterns of sea ice extent and thickness have cascading effects on polar ecosystems (including phytoplankton), with implications for carbon cycling and global climate. Phytoplankton growth is closely tied to environmental variables such as light and nutrient availability, which are sensitive to climate‐induced changes in upper ocean circulation, stratification, and sea ice cover. Recently, Prend et al. (2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GB007329) investigated temporal and spatial scales of chlorophyll (a proxy for phytoplankton biomass) variability in the Southern Ocean. They demonstrated that the dominant temporal scale of variability is sub‐seasonal (∼0.5–3 months). The implications of this are two‐fold: first, climate oscillations (such as the Southern Annular Mode) are not major drivers of year‐to‐year variation in chlorophyll; second, intermittent bursts of chlorophyll, generated by small‐scale processes such as storms and eddies, dictate the annual mean chlorophyll concentration. Additionally, spatial autocorrelation for chlorophyll concentration varied by time scale: seasonal chlorophyll variability was correlated over much larger areas than were variations in year‐to‐year chlorophyll concentration. Based on Prend et al. (2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GB007329), future work should be cognizant of (a) the spatio‐temporal scales over which chlorophyll is averaged and (b) the need to focus on small‐scale, sub‐seasonal events (rather than large‐scale climate oscillations) to mechanistically explain chlorophyll variability.
Turbulence Structures in the Very Stable Boundary Layer Under the Influence of Wind Profile Distortion
Authors: Lan Changxing , Liu Heping , Katul Gabriel G. , Li Dan , Finn Dennis
Published: October 2022

In very stable boundary layers (VSBL), a “cocktail” of submeso motions routinely result in elevated mean wind speed maxima above the ground, acting as a new source of turbulence generation. This new source of turbulent kinetic energy enhances turbulent mixing and causes mean wind profile distortion (WPD). As a results, this transient distortion in the wind profile adjusts the classical log‐law. Addressing how WPD‐induced turbulence regulates flow structures, turbulent fluxes, and transitions in stability regimes across layers remains a challenge. Eddy covariance data measured at four levels on a 62‐m tower are employed to address these questions. It is shown that the WPD initiates large turbulent eddies that penetrate downward, leading to enhanced vertical mixing and comparable turbulent transport efficiencies across layers. As a consequence, turbulence intensity and fluxes are increased. As the WPD is intensified, turbulent fluxes and turbulent flux transport caused by large eddies are also enhanced, leading to a transition from very stable to weakly stable regimes. Due to the influence of WPD‐induced large eddies, the large‐eddy turbulent Prandtl number does not deviate appreciably from unity and the partitioning between turbulent kinetic and potential energies is linearly related to the gradient Richardson number.
Single-cell transcriptomic profiling reveals the tumor heterogeneity of small-cell lung cancer
Authors: Tian Yanhua , Li Qingqing , Yang Zhenlin , Zhang Shu , Xu Jiachen , Wang Zhijie , Bai Hua , Duan Jianchun , Zheng Bo , Li Wen , Cui Yueli , Wang Xin , Wan Rui , Fei Kailun , Zhong Jia , Gao Shugeng , He Jie , Gay Carl M. , Zhang Jianjun , Wang Jie , Tang Fuchou
Published: October 2022

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is the most aggressive and lethal subtype of lung cancer, for which, better understandings of its biology are urgently needed. Single-cell sequencing technologies provide an opportunity to profile individual cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) and investigate their roles in tumorigenic processes. Here, we performed high-precision single-cell transcriptomic analysis of ~5000 individual cells from primary tumors (PTs) and matched normal adjacent tissues (NATs) from 11 SCLC patients, including one patient with both PT and relapsed tumor (RT). The comparison revealed an immunosuppressive landscape of human SCLC. Malignant cells in SCLC tumors exhibited diverse states mainly related to the cell cycle, immune, and hypoxic properties. Our data also revealed the intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) of key transcription factors (TFs) in SCLC and related gene expression patterns and functions. The non-neuroendocrine (non-NE) tumors were correlated with increased inflammatory gene signatures and immune cell infiltrates in SCLC, which contributed to better responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors. These findings indicate a significant heterogeneity of human SCLC, and intensive crosstalk between cancer cells and the TME at single-cell resolution, and thus, set the stage for a better understanding of the biology of SCLC as well as for developing new therapeutics for SCLC.
The clinical management of testosterone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder: a review
Authors: Uloko Maria , Rahman Farah , Puri Leah Ibrahim , Rubin Rachel S.
Published: October 2022

As women age, there is an overall decrease in androgen production due to decline of ovarian and adrenal function during menopause. Androgens have been demonstrated to play an important role in sexual motivation in women. As a result, many postmenopausal women experience Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) which are a group of disorders that pertain to sexual arousal, desire, orgasm, and pain. A prevalent manifestation of FSD is Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) or the absence of sexual fantasies, thoughts, and/or desire for or receptivity to sexual activity. There is gaining interest in the use of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) for the treatment of HSDD in postmenopausal women. This article reviews the literature on the relationship of androgen decline and HSDD, describes our methodology for evaluation, diagnosis of HSDD, and the use of TRT in treating postmenopausal women with HSDD. Our results conclude that testosterone is a vital hormone in women in maintaining sexual health and function. TRT is an effective treatment option for postmenopausal people with HSDD. There is still limited data on the effectiveness in premenopausal people with HSDD. Further research in the strengths and weaknesses for the long-term effect of TRT in women of all ages is needed.
Deletion of skeletal muscle Akt1/2 causes osteosarcopenia and reduces lifespan in mice
Authors: Sasako Takayoshi , Umehara Toshihiro , Soeda Kotaro , Kaneko Kazuma , Suzuki Miho , Kobayashi Naoki , Okazaki Yukiko , Tamura-Nakano Miwa , Chiba Tomoki , Accili Domenico , Kahn C. Ronald , Noda Tetsuo , Asahara Hiroshi , Yamauchi Toshimasa , Kadowaki Takashi , Ueki Kohjiro
Published: October 2022

Aging is considered to be accelerated by insulin signaling in lower organisms, but it remained unclear whether this could hold true for mammals. Here we show that mice with skeletal muscle-specific double knockout of Akt1/2, key downstream molecules of insulin signaling, serve as a model of premature sarcopenia with insulin resistance. The knockout mice exhibit a progressive reduction in skeletal muscle mass, impairment of motor function and systemic insulin sensitivity. They also show osteopenia, and reduced lifespan largely due to death from debilitation on normal chow and death from tumor on high-fat diet. These phenotypes are almost reversed by additional knocking out of Foxo1/4, but only partially by additional knocking out of Tsc2 to activate the mTOR pathway. Overall, our data suggest that, unlike in lower organisms, suppression of Akt activity in skeletal muscle of mammals associated with insulin resistance and aging could accelerate osteosarcopenia and consequently reduce lifespan.
Helicobacter pylori shows tropism to gastric differentiated pit cells dependent on urea chemotaxis
Authors: Aguilar Carmen , Pauzuolis Mindaugas , Pompaiah Malvika , Vafadarnejad Ehsan , Arampatzi Panagiota , Fischer Mara , Narres Dominik , Neyazi Mastura , Kayisoglu Özge , Sell Thomas , Blüthgen Nils , Morkel Markus , Wiegering Armin , Germer Christoph-Thomas , Kircher Stefan , Rosenwald Andreas , Saliba Antoine-Emmanuel , Bartfeld Sina
Published: October 2022

The human gastric epithelium forms highly organized gland structures with different subtypes of cells. The carcinogenic bacterium Helicobacter pylori can attach to gastric cells and subsequently translocate its virulence factor CagA, but the possible host cell tropism of H. pylori is currently unknown. Here, we report that H. pylori preferentially attaches to differentiated cells in the pit region of gastric units. Single-cell RNA-seq shows that organoid-derived monolayers recapitulate the pit region, while organoids capture the gland region of the gastric units. Using these models, we show that H. pylori preferentially attaches to highly differentiated pit cells, marked by high levels of GKN1, GKN2 and PSCA. Directed differentiation of host cells enable enrichment of the target cell population and confirm H. pylori preferential attachment and CagA translocation into these cells. Attachment is independent of MUC5AC or PSCA expression, and instead relies on bacterial TlpB-dependent chemotaxis towards host cell-released urea, which scales with host cell size.
Thermosensation in Caenorhabditis elegans is linked to ubiquitin-dependent protein turnover via insulin and calcineurin signalling
Authors: Segref Alexandra , Vakkayil Kavya L. , Padvitski Tsimafei , Li Qiaochu , Kroef Virginia , Lormann Jakob , Körner Lioba , Finger Fabian , Hoppe Thorsten
Published: October 2022

Organismal physiology and survival are influenced by environmental conditions and linked to protein quality control. Proteome integrity is achieved by maintaining an intricate balance between protein folding and degradation. In Caenorhabditis elegans, acute heat stress determines cell non-autonomous regulation of chaperone levels. However, how the perception of environmental changes, including physiological temperature, affects protein degradation remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that loss-of-function of dyf-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans associated with dysfunctional sensory neurons leads to defects in both temperature perception and thermal adaptation of the ubiquitin/proteasome system centered on thermosensory AFD neurons. Impaired perception of moderate temperature changes worsens ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis in intestinal cells. Brain-gut communication regulating protein turnover is mediated by upregulation of the insulin-like peptide INS-5 and inhibition of the calcineurin-regulated forkhead-box transcription factor DAF-16/FOXO. Our data indicate that perception of ambient temperature and its neuronal integration is important for the control of proteome integrity in complex organisms.
Computational studies on defect chemistry and Li-ion conductivity of spinel-type LiAl5O8 as coating material for Li-metal electrode
Authors: Miyakawa Shuntaro , Matsuda Shogo , Tanibata Naoto , Takeda Hayami , Nakayama Masanobu , Saito Takaya , Fukuchi Svetlana
Published: October 2022

Li-metal rechargeable batteries are an attractive option for devices that require an extremely high specific energy density, high robustness, and long-term durability, such as high-altitude platform stations. However, Li dendrite growth during charge–discharge cycling causes short-circuit problems. One technical solution is to form an intermediate layer between the Li metal and electrolyte. This interfacial layer should possess mechanical strength, electrochemical stability in the presence of Li, and Li-ion conductivity. In this study, the Li-ion conductivity of spinel-type LiAl5O8 was investigated using first-principles density functional theory and force field molecular dynamics calculations. The calculation results confirmed that stoichiometric LiAl5O8 compounds do not exhibit Li-ion conductivity, whereas off-stoichiometric compounds with excess Li show long-range Li-ion diffusion. The evaluated activation energy was 0.28 eV, which is as low as that of well-known fast Li-ion conductors, such as garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12. However, the extrapolated Li-ion conductivity at 298 K was relatively low (~ 10−6 S/cm) owing to the limited formation of migration pathways.
Human synovial mesenchymal stem cells show time-dependent morphological changes and increased adhesion to degenerated porcine cartilage
Authors: Tanimoto Takahiro , Endo Kentaro , Sakamaki Yuriko , Ozeki Nobutake , Katano Hisako , Mizuno Mitsuru , Koga Hideyuki , Sekiya Ichiro
Published: October 2022

The possibility that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can adhere to partial defects or degenerative areas in cartilage remains to be established. The purposes of the present study were to verify the adhesion of synovial MSCs to degenerated cartilage, the time course of that adhesion, and the morphological changes that MSCs might undergo during the adhesion process. The surface of pig cartilage was abraded, and a human synovial MSC suspension was placed on the abraded surface. The proportion/number of MSCs that adhered to the cartilage was quantified by counting non-adhered MSCs, measuring the fluorescence intensity of DiI-labeled MSCs, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations. The presence of microspikes or pseudopodia on the MSCs that adhered to the cartilage was also evaluated. SEM confirmed the adhesion of synovial MSCs to degenerated cartilage. The three independent quantification methods confirmed increases in the proportion/number of adhered MSCs within 10 s of placement and over time up to 24 h. The MSCs that adhered at 10 s had a high proportion of microspikes, whereas those that adhered after 1 h had that of pseudopodia. MSCs showed time-dependent morphological changes and increased adhesion to degenerated cartilage after placement of the human synovial MSC suspension.
AHR is a master regulator of diverse pathways in endogenous metabolism
Authors: Granados Jeffry C. , Falah Kian , Koo Imhoi , Morgan Ethan W. , Perdew Gary H. , Patterson Andrew D. , Jamshidi Neema , Nigam Sanjay K.
Published: October 2022

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a transcription factor with roles in detoxification, development, immune response, chronic kidney disease and other syndromes. It regulates the expression of drug transporters and drug metabolizing enzymes in a proposed Remote Sensing and Signaling Network involved in inter-organ communication via metabolites and signaling molecules. Here, we use integrated omics approaches to analyze its contributions to metabolism across multiple scales from the organ to the organelle. Global metabolomics analysis of Ahr−/− mice revealed the role of AHR in the regulation of 290 metabolites involved in many biochemical pathways affecting fatty acids, bile acids, gut microbiome products, antioxidants, choline derivatives, and uremic toxins. Chemoinformatics analysis suggest that AHR plays a role in determining the hydrophobicity of metabolites and perhaps their transporter-mediated movement into and out of tissues. Of known AHR ligands, indolepropionate was the only significantly altered molecule, and it activated AHR in both human and murine cells. To gain a deeper biological understanding of AHR, we employed genome scale metabolic reconstruction to integrate knockout transcriptomics and metabolomics data, which indicated a role for AHR in regulation of organic acids and redox state. Together, the results indicate a central role of AHR in metabolism and signaling between multiple organs and across multiple scales.
The impact of cell culture media on the interaction of biopolymer-functionalized gold nanoparticles with cells: mechanical and toxicological properties
Authors: Meesaragandla Brahmaiah , Komaragiri Yesaswini , Schlüter Rabea , Otto Oliver , Delcea Mihaela
Published: October 2022

Understanding the nanoparticle-cell interactions in physiological media is vital in determining the biological fate of the nanoparticles (NPs). These interactions depend on the physicochemical properties of the NPs and their colloidal behavior in cell culture media (CCM). Furthermore, the impact of the bioconjugates made by nanoparticle with proteins from CCM on the mechanical properties of cells upon interaction is unknown. Here, we analyzed the time dependent stability of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with citrate, dextran-10, dextrin and chitosan polymers in protein poor- and protein rich CCM. Further, we implemented the high-throughput technology real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) to investigate the impact of AuNP-bioconjugates on the cell mechanics of HL60 suspension cells. We found that dextrin-AuNPs form stable bioconjugates in both CCM and have a little impact on cell mechanics, ROS production and cell viability. In contrast, positively charged chitosan-AuNPs were observed to form spherical and non-spherical aggregated conjugates in both CCM and to induce increased cytotoxicity. Citrate- and dextran-10-AuNPs formed spherical and non-spherical aggregated conjugates in protein rich- and protein poor CCM and induced at short incubation times cell stiffening. We anticipate based on our results that dextrin-AuNPs can be used for therapeutic purposes as they show lower cytotoxicity and insignificant changes in cell physiology.
Optimized parameters for effective SARS-CoV-2 inactivation using UVC-LED at 275 nm
Authors: Lee Cheulkyu , Park Ki Hoon , Kim Minjee , Kim Young Bong
Published: October 2022

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections and the severity of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have resulted in the rapid development of medications, vaccines, and countermeasures to reduce viral transmission. Although new treatment strategies for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection are available, viral mutations remain a serious threat to the healthcare community. Hence, medical devices equipped with virus-eradication features are needed to prevent viral transmission. UV-LEDs are gaining popularity in the medical field, utilizing the most germicidal UVC spectrum, which acts through photoproduct formation. Herein, we developed a portable and rechargeable medical device that can disinfect SARS-CoV-2 in less than 10 s by 99.9%, lasting 6 h. Using this device, we investigated the antiviral effect of UVC-LED (275 nm) against SARS-CoV-2 as a function of irradiation distance and exposure time. Irradiation distance of 10–20 cm, < 10 s exposure time, and UV doses of > 10 mJ/cm2 were determined optimal for SARS-CoV-2 elimination (≥ 99.99% viral reduction). The UVC-LED systems have advantages such as fast-stabilizing intensity and insensitivity to temperature, and may contribute to developing medical devices capable of containing SARS-CoV-2 infection. By demonstrating SARS-CoV-2 inactivation with very short-term UVC-LED irradiation, our study may suggest guidelines for securing a safer medical environment.
Effect of electronic reminders on patients’ compliance during clear aligner treatment: an interrupted time series study
Authors: Timm Lan Huong , Farrag Gasser , Wolf Daniel , Baxmann Martin , Schwendicke Falk
Published: October 2022

Patient compliance is relevant to achieving therapeutic goals during clear aligner therapy (CAT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of remote electronic (e-)reminders and e-feedback on compliance during CAT using an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis. We used routinely collected mobile application data from a German healthtech company (PlusDental, Berlin). Our primary outcome was self-reported compliance (aligner wear time min. 22 h on 75% of their aligners were classified as fully compliant, min. 22 h on 50–74.9% of their aligners: fairly compliant; min. 22 h on < 50% of their aligners: poorly compliant). E-reminders and e-feedback were introduced in the 1st quarter of 2020. Compliance was assessed at semi-monthly intervals from June-December 2019 (n = 1899) and June-December 2020 (n = 5486), resulting in a pre- and post-intervention group. ITS and segmented regression modelling were used to estimate the effect on the change in levels and trends of poor compliance. Pre-intervention, poor compliance was at 24.47% (95% CI: 22.59% to 26.46%). After the introduction of e-reminders and e-feedback (i.e., post-intervention), the percentage of poorly compliant patients decreased substantially, levelling off at 9.32% (95% CI: 8.31% to 10.45%). E-reminders and e-feedback were effective for increasing compliance in CAT patients.

Clinical Significance: Orthodontists and dentists may consider digital monitoring and e-reminders to improve compliance and increase treatment success.
Efficacy of ultrasound endoscopy with artificial intelligence for the differential diagnosis of non-gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors
Authors: Minoda Yosuke , Ihara Eikichi , Fujimori Nao , Nagatomo Shuzaburo , Esaki Mitsuru , Hata Yoshitaka , Bai Xiaopeng , Tanaka Yoshimasa , Ogino Haruei , Chinen Takatoshi , Hu Qingjiang , Oki Eiji , Yamamoto Hidetaka , Ogawa Yoshihiro
Published: October 2022

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are common subepithelial lesions (SELs) and require treatment considering their malignant potential. We recently developed an endoscopic ultrasound-based artificial intelligence (EUS-AI) system to differentiate GISTs from non-GISTs in gastric SELs, which were used to train the system. We assessed whether the EUS-AI system designed for diagnosing gastric GISTs could be applied to non-gastric GISTs. Between January 2015 and January 2021, 52 patients with non-gastric SELs (esophagus, n = 15; duodenum, n = 26; colon, n = 11) were enrolled. The ability of EUS-AI to differentiate GISTs from non-GISTs in non-gastric SELs was examined. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of EUS-AI for discriminating GISTs from non-GISTs in non-gastric SELs were 94.4%, 100%, and 86.1%, respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.98 based on the cutoff value set using the Youden index. In the subanalysis, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of EUS-AI were highest in the esophagus (100%, 100%, 100%; duodenum, 96.2%, 100%, 0%; colon, 90.9%, 100%, 0%); the cutoff values were determined using the Youden index or the value determined using stomach cases. The diagnostic accuracy of EUS-AI increased as lesion size increased, regardless of lesion location. EUS-AI based on gastric SELs had good diagnostic ability for non-gastric GISTs.
Rotating magnetocaloric effect in highly anisotropic TbIII and DyIII single molecular magnets
Authors: Konieczny Piotr , Czernia Dominik , Kajiwara Takashi
Published: October 2022

The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) was investigated in highly anisotropic single crystals of two single molecule magnets (SMMs): [LnIII(ZnIIL)2]CF3SO3, where Ln = Tb, Dy and L = tripodal hexadentate Schiff base ligand. The structure of these paramagnetic compounds consists of identically oriented linear trinuclear clusters in a trigonal system with an easy direction c∥Zn–Ln–Zn array and a hard plane ab⊥Zn–Ln–Zn array. The magnitude of MCE measured for c∥H was significantly greater than MCE for ab∥H at a wide temperature range regardless of the studied SMM. Therefore, the rotating magnetocaloric effect (RMCE) was evaluated. The maxima of the magnetic entropy change for RMCE were obtained at 2.0 K and moderate fields: 3.9 J K−1 kg−1 at µ0H = 1.3 T for Ln = Tb and 3.3 J K−1 kg−1 at µ0H = 1.1 T for Ln = Dy. The relative efficiency of RMCE compared to the MCE measured in c∥H was as high as 99% at low magnetic fields.
Evaluation of the relative potential for contact and doffing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by a range of personal protective equipment materials
Authors: Xue Xuan , Coleman Christopher M. , Duncan Joshua D. , Hook Andrew L. , Ball Jonathan K. , Alexander Cameron , Alexander Morgan R.
Published: October 2022

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)—the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)—has caused a global public health emergency. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the primary defence against viral exposure in healthcare and community settings. However, the surfaces of PPE materials may trap virus for contact transmission or through laden aerosols generated during removal of PPE, through cleaning or during movement. In this study, the relative efficacy of current PPE materials in terms of virion adsorption to materials and their antiviral potency, has been evaluated on a wide range of PPE for the first time, including four polymer glove types, two types of scrubs, apron material, a mask, visor and a selection of other commercial polymers and products. Although differences in virion adsorption to the test materials were observed, none of the existing polymer-based PPE resulted in more than tenfold reduction in the SARS-CoV-2 titre within either 10 min or 30 min contact period. The wettability and surface chemistry of the test materials were analysed to investigate any correlations with their surface physicochemical properties. While no correlation was found between wettability and viral retention under air flow challenge, one secondary ion of m/z 101.03 (+) and three secondary ions of m/z 31.98 (−), 196.93 (−) and 394.33 (+) in ToF–SIMS data of the test materials showed positive and negative correlations with the viral retention, respectively, which was identified by PLS regression model, suggesting that the surface chemistry plays a role in determining the extent of virion adsorption. Our findings outline the material aspects that influence the efficacy of current PPE against SARS-CoV-2 transmission and give suggestions on the development of novel simple polymer-based PPE for better infection protection.
Green extraction of bioactive components from carrot industry waste and evaluation of spent residue as an energy source
Authors: Kaur Prabhjot , Subramanian Jayasankar , Singh Ashutosh
Published: October 2022

Carrot processing industries produce 25–30% of waste in the form of carrot rejects, peels, and pomace which contain a large amount of high-value bioactive components. Green extraction of the bioactive components from carrot rejects with green solvents using closed-vessel energy-intensive microwave-assisted extraction was the objective of this work. In this work, three experimental studies were implemented. One uses 8 different green solvents for maximum yield of bioactive using green technology, and the other for the optimization of Microwave-assisted Extraction (MAE) parameters to enhance the bioactive components yield. Response Surface Methodology was employed to optimize the processing parameters including temperature, time, solid to solvent ratio, and solvent type. The optimized extraction conditions: treatment temperature of 50 °C for 5 min gave a significantly higher yield of total carotenoids (192.81 ± 0.32 mg carotenoids/100 g DW), total phenolic (78.12 ± 0.35 g GAE/100 g DW), and antioxidants by FRAP (5889.63 ± 0.47 mM TE/100 g DW), ABTS (1143.65 ± 0.81 mM TE/100 g DW), and DPPH (823.14 ± 0.54 mM TE/100 g DW) using a solvent combination of hexane and ethanol (1:3) with solid to solvent ratio of 1:40 (w/v). This green technology in combination with GRAS solvents promoted the best recovery of bioactive from carrot rejects. Moreover, the solid residue remained after the extraction of bioactive components exhibited higher carbon content (46.5%) and calorific value (16.32 MJ/kg), showcasing its potential to be used as an energy source.