bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The making of Homo Honoratus: From omission to commission
Authors: Hallsworth Michael , List John A. , Metcalfe Robert D. , Rotaru Kristian , Vlaev Ivo
Published: October 2023

This study investigates how people's tendency to avoid action, known as “omission bias,” influences their financial decisions, specifically in the context of debt repayment to the UK government. Using a randomized controlled trial, we communicated with individuals who owed money, employing two distinct message framings. The omission‐framed message suggested that nonresponse was seen as inadvertent, while the commission‐framed message treated nonresponse as a deliberate choice. Analyses of nearly 40,000 responses revealed that repayment rates almost doubled with commission framing, reaching 23.2%, as opposed to 12% under omission framing. This reframing strategy generated over $1.4 million in additional revenue, underscoring the considerable real‐world impact of understanding and leveraging the omission bias in shaping financial behaviors.
Longitudinal Evaluation of Bronchial Changes in Cystic Fibrosis Patients Undergoing Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor Therapy Using Lung MRI With Ultrashort Echo‐Times
Authors: David Mathieu , Benlala Ilyes , Bui Stephanie , Benkert Thomas , Berger Patrick , Laurent François , Macey Julie , Dournes Gael
Published: October 2023

Background

Lung magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrashort echo‐times (UTE‐MRI) allows high‐resolution and radiation‐free imaging of the lung structure in cystic fibrosis (CF). In addition, the combination of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) has improved CF clinical outcomes such as need for hospitalization. However, the effect on structural disease still needs longitudinal evaluation at high resolution.

Purpose

To analyze the effects of ETI on lung structural alterations using UTE‐MRI, with a focus on bronchiectasis reversibility.

Study Type

Retrospective.

Population

Fifty CF patients (mean age 24.3 ± 9.2; 23 males).

Field Strength/Sequence

1.5 T, UTE‐MRI.

Assessment

All subjects completed both UTE‐MRI and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) during two annual visits (M0 and M12), and 30 of them completed a CT scan. They initiated ETI treatment after M0 within a maximum of 3 months from the annual examinations. Three observers scored a clinical MRI Bhalla score on UTE‐MRI. Bronchiectasis reversibility was defined as a reduction in both outer and inner bronchial dimensions. Correlations were searched between the Bhalla score and PFT such as the forced expiratory volume in 1 second percentage predicted (FEV1%p).

Statistical Tests

Comparison was assessed using the paired t‐test, correlation using the Spearman correlation test with a significance level of 0.05. Concordance and reproducibility were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results

There was a significant improvement in MRI Bhalla score after ETI treatment. UTE‐MRI demonstrated bronchiectasis reversibility in a subgroup of 18 out of 50 CF patients (36%). These patients with bronchiectasis reversibility were significantly younger, with lower severity of wall thickening but no difference in mucus plugging extent (P = 0.39) was found. The reproducibility of UTE‐MRI evaluations was excellent (ICC ≥ 0.95), was concordant with CT scan (N = 30; ICC ≥ 0.90) and significantly correlated to FEV1% at PFT at M0 (N = 50; r = 0.71) and M12 (N = 50; r = 0.72).

Data Conclusion

UTE‐MRI is a reproducible tool for the longitudinal follow‐up of CF patients, allowing to quantify the response to ETI and demonstrating the reversibility of some structural alterations such as bronchiectasis in a substantial fraction of this study population.

Level of Evidence

4

Technical Efficacy

Stage 2
Integrated analysis of viral blips, residual viremia, and associated factors in people with HIV: Results from a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Oomen Patrick G. A. , Dijkstra Suzan , Hofstra L. Marije , Nijhuis Monique M. , Verbon Annelies , Mudrikova Tania , Wensing Annemarie M. J. , Hoepelman Andy I. M. , Van Welzen Berend J.
Published: October 2023

The etiology of viral blips is not yet fully elucidated. One of the hypotheses is that blips reflect variations in residual viremia (RV) near the detectability threshold. In this study, we evaluated whether RV is associated with viral blips and which factors are associated with RV. All treatment regimens in 2010–2020 consisting of two nucleos(‐t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors and one anchor (integrase strand transfer inhibitor [INSTI], non‐nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI], or protease inhibitor [PI]) in people with HIV (PWH) were evaluated for RV (detectable viremia <50 cp/mL) and blips (isolated viral loads [VLs] 50–499 cp/mL between measurements <50 cp/mL). All medical records were reviewed and regimens in which a VL ≥ 50 cp/mL was deemed to result from non‐adherence (based on the documented conclusion by the treating physician) were excluded. Factors associated with blips and RV were identified using generalized linear mixed models. In total, 24 518 VLs from 1658 PWH were analyzed. VLs were measured during INSTI‐ (n = 5119; 20.9%), PI‐ (n = 8935; 36.4%), and NNRTI‐use (n = 10 464; 42.7%). VLs were categorized as blips in 1.4% (n = 332). The 24,186 non‐blip VLs were RNAneg (no RV) (n = 15 326; 63.4%), 1–19 cp/mL (n = 6318; 26.1%), 20–49 cp/mL (n = 1620; 6.7%), or <50 cp/mL with an unknown RV level (n = 922; 3.8%). In 193/1658 PWH (11.6%), the RV level was RNAneg in all VLs assessed. RV 1–19 cp/mL and 20–49 cp/mL (vs. RNAneg) were significantly associated with subsequent viral blips (respective odds ratio 2.66 and 4.90 [95% confidence intervals: 1.98–3.58 and 3.41–7.04]). Zenith VL and use of PIs (vs. INSTIs/NNRTIs) were associated with higher RV and blip odds. This large cohort study showed that blips were associated with higher preceding RV. Both the anchor type and factors previously linked to the latent viral reservoir were associated with RV, suggesting blips having a multifactorial origin.
Viral codon optimization on SARS‐CoV‐2 Spike boosts immunity in the development of COVID‐19 mRNA vaccines
Authors: Lai Chih‐Jen , Kim Dokyun , Kang Seokmin , Li Kun , Cha Inho , Sasaki Akimi , Porras Jose , Xia Tian , Jung Jae U.
Published: October 2023

Life‐long persistent herpesviruses carry “trans‐inducers” to overcome the unusual codon usage of their glycoproteins for efficient expression. Strikingly, this “trans‐inducibility” can be achieved by simply changing the codon‐usage of acute virus glycoproteins to that of persistent herpesvirus glycoproteins with herpesviral trans‐inducer. Here, we apply the “persistent viral codon‐usage‐trans‐inducer” principle to SARS‐CoV‐2 Spike mRNA vaccine platform, in which the codon‐usage of Spike is changed to that of Herpes Simplex Virus‐1 (HSV‐1) glycoprotein B (gB) with its “trans‐inducer” ICP27. The HSVgB‐ICP27‐codon‐optimized Spike mRNA vaccine induced markedly high antigen expression and stability, total IgG, neutralizing antibody, and T cell response, ultimately enhancing protection against lethal SARS‐CoV‐2 challenge. Moreover, the HSVgB‐ codon‐optimized Delta (B.1.617.2) strain Spike mRNA vaccine provided significant enhancements in antigen expression and long‐term protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 challenge. Thus, we report a novel persistent viral codon‐usage‐trans‐inducer mRNA vaccine platform for enhanced antigen expression and long‐term protection against lethal viral infection.
The fluorescence imaging for laparoscopic and laparotomic endometrial sentinel lymph node biopsy (FILLES) trial: Siriraj gynecologic sentinel node of endometrial cancer (SiGN‐En) study
Authors: Khemworapong Khemanat , Jaishuen Atthapon , Srichaikul Pisutt , Inthasorn Perapong , Viriyapak Boonlert , Achariyapota Vuthinun , Jareemit Nida , Warnnissorn Malee , Hanamornroongruang Suchanan , Sukmee Jumnanja
Published: October 2023

Background and Objectives

The objective of this study is to establish the detection rate of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies and to determine the sensitivity and false‐negative rate of SLN biopsies compared with those of systematic pelvic and para‐aortic lymphadenectomies in endometrial cancer.

Methods

This prospective cohort study enrolled patients with endometrial cancer who were scheduled for surgical staging. Patients with a history of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, an abnormal liver function test, or an allergy to indocyanine green (ICG) were excluded. All patients underwent surgical staging with an ICG injection at the cervix. SLNs were identified by a near‐infrared fluorescent camera. All SLNs were sent to a pathologist for ultrastaging.

Results

From November 2019 to June 2023, 142 patients underwent SLN mapping and surgical staging. SLNs were not detected bilaterally in 8 patients. The detection rate of the SLN biopsies in this study was 91.2%. Thus, the accuracy of the SLN biopsies was 97.6%. The sensitivity for finding metastatic SLNs was 84.2%, with a negative predictive value of 97.22%.

Conclusions

A SLN biopsy in endometrial cancer has a high detection rate and high accuracy. However, surgical expertise and a learning curve are required.
Sex‐specific differences and long‐term trends in habitat selection of American woodcock
Authors: Slezak Colby R. , Masse Roger J. , McWilliams Scott R.
Published: October 2023

Effective wildlife management requires an understanding of how individuals select environmental factors, although few studies assess how habitat selection may differ over time or between sexes. During the post‐breeding period (15 May to 1 Sep), we tracked 146 male American woodcock (Scolopax minor) in Rhode Island, USA, from 2010–2021 to assess how habitat selection varied over time, and 17 females and 51 males during the final 2 years of the study to document sex‐specific differences in habitat selection. Males generally had smaller home ranges (35.0 ± 10.7 [margin of error] ha) and preferred habitat mosaics that consisted of forested wetlands, young forest patches, areas of deciduous forest, moist soils with gentle slopes, and riparian corridors. We detected subtle differences between sexes in selection for wetland young forest, upland young forest, percent slope, distance to upland young forest, distance to streams, and distance to moist soils. During 2020–2021, females tended to have larger home ranges (78.7 ± 46.4 ha) than males (35.0 ± 10.7 ha) and more strongly selected sites closer to riparian corridors, while males selected areas that were closer to upland young forest with flatter slopes than the available surrounding landscape. Such sex‐specific differences in habitat selection may be related to males and females prospecting for potential breeding sites during this post‐breeding period for the following spring. We used the top‐ranked habitat selection models for males and females to produce a spatially explicit state‐wide map that identifies low‐to‐high likelihood of use areas that can be used to guide forest management decisions in southern New England to maximize benefits for American woodcock.
Combined effects of climate change and agricultural intensification on soil erosion in uphill shifting cultivation in Northeast India
Authors: Schröder Lea S. , Rasche Livia , Jantke Kerstin , Mishra Gaurav , Lange Stefan , Eschenbach Annette , Schneider Uwe A.
Published: October 2023

Shifting cultivation will face increasing pressure from erosion‐related land degradation caused by rising cultivation intensities and climate change. However, empirical knowledge about future trends of soil erosion and thus land degradation in shifting cultivation systems is limited. We use the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model to first explore the combined effects of climate change and agricultural intensification on soil erosion of uphill shifting cultivation systems, using six surveyed soil profiles. We assess interactions between climate change, the length of the fallow period, and slope inclinations for a near (2021–2050) and far (2071–2100) future period, considering three climate scenarios, five climate models, fallow periods between one and 20 years, and slopes between five and 70% steepness. Our results show a significant nonlinear relationship between global warming and erosion. Until the end of the century, erosion is estimated to increase by a factor of 1.2, 2.2, and 3.1 under the SSP126, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios, respectively, compared with the historical baseline (1985–2014). Combined effects from climate change, fallow length, and slope inclination indicate that steep slopes require longer fallow periods, with an increase of slope from 5% to 10% multiplying the required fallow length by a mean factor of 2.5, and that fallow periods will need to be extended under higher global warming if erosion rates are to remain at current levels. These findings are novel as they link climate change effects on shifting cultivation systems to different slopes and fallow regimes, making an important contribution to understanding future erosion dynamics of traditional smallholder production systems in mountainous terrain, with relevant implications for policies on agricultural intensification.
Properties and Soil Degradation Characteristics of Chitin‐Reinforced Poly(butylene succinate)/Hydroxyapatite Composites
Authors: Motloung Mpho Phillip , Mofokeng Tladi Gideon , Bandyopadhyay Jayita , Ray Suprakas Sinha
Published: October 2023

Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) is a biodegradable polymer; however, a prolonged soil degradation rate of PBS limits its wide range of applications. Here, the impact of incorporating chitin in mechanical and thermal properties and soil degradation characteristics of PBS/hydroxyapatite (HAP) composites is investigated. Chitin is one of the most abundant natural polymers extensively used for various applications and has a fast soil degradation characteristic. Therefore, ternary PBS composites are melt‐processed in a twin‐screw extruder with a fixed amount of HAP (1.5 wt%) and two different loadings of chitin (1.5 and 3 wt%). Morphological characterization using transmission electron microscopy shows a homogeneous distribution of both fillers in a PBS composite containing 1.5 wt% chitin. In contrast, an optical microscopy study of the same composite at the melt state shows defibrillation and breakage of the chitin fibers during the extrusion. Incorporation of chitin decreases the elongation at break of the PBS/HAP composite, which is likely a consequence of chitin fiber morphology. However, the soil degradation characteristics and melt strength of PBS/HAP composites are improved in the presence of chitin fibers. In summary, chitin is shown to have the potential as an additive to obtain environmentally benign PBS composites for a wide range of applications.
Resilient and Tough Conductive Polymer Hydrogel for a Low‐Hysteresis Strain Sensor
Authors: Cao Chunyan , Huang Tao , Li Yunming
Published: October 2023

Conductive polymer hydrogels are vital in strain sensors, yet achieving high resilience and toughness is a challenge. This study employs a prestretch method to engineer a tough conductive polymer hydrogel with sufficient resilience. Initially, a blend film of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) and ethylene‐vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) is prepared through solution casting, followed by a swelling process to form a PVA‐EVOH hydrogel. This hydrogel, with PVA crystallites as crosslinking points, exhibits high toughness. The hydrogel is then immersed in pyrrole and ferric chloride solutions for in‐situ polymerization of polypyrrole (PPy), creating a conductive PPy/PVA‐EVOH hydrogel. Finally, a 200% prestretch is applied, breaking short chains within the network, eliminating energy dissipation at low strains. This results in a hydrogel with a 100% elastic deformation range, while maintaining high fracture toughness (1700 J m‐2). The prestretched PPy/PVA‐EVOH hydrogel functions as a strain sensor with low hysteresis, providing consistent strain measurements during loading and unloading. This outperforms the non‐prestretched sample, which shows inconsistent responses between stretching and releasing.
Inhibition of the RBMS1/PRNP axis improves ferroptosis resistance‐mediated oxaliplatin chemoresistance in colorectal cancer
Authors: Xu Yini , Hao Jingpeng , Chen Qiang , Qin Yafei , Qin Hong , Ren Shaohua , Sun Chenglu , Zhu Yanglin , Shao Bo , Zhang Jingyi , Wang Hao
Published: October 2023

The majority of patients with advanced colorectal cancer have chemoresistance to oxaliplatin, and studies on oxaliplatin resistance are limited. Our research showed that RNA‐binding motif single‐stranded interacting protein 1 (RBMS1) caused ferroptosis resistance in tumor cells, leading to oxaliplatin resistance. We employed bioinformatics to evaluate publically accessible data sets and discovered that RBMS1 was significantly upregulated in oxaliplatin‐resistant colorectal cancer cells, in tandem with ferroptosis suppression. In vivo and in vitro studies revealed that inhibiting RBMS1 expression caused ferroptosis in colorectal cancer cells, restoring tumor cell sensitivity to oxaliplatin. Mechanistically, this is due to RBMS1 inducing prion protein translation, resulting in ferroptosis resistance in tumor cells. Validation of clinical specimens revealed that RBMS1 is similarly linked to tumor development and a poor prognosis. Overall, RBMS1 is a potential therapeutic target with clinical translational potential, particularly for oxaliplatin chemoresistance in colorectal cancer.
Partially dielectric loaded planar Vivaldi array antenna for forward‐looking GPR applications
Authors: Caliskan Alper , Hoşgör Yasin , Turk Ahmet Serdar , Kizilay Ahmet
Published: October 2023

This paper presents a novel two‐element partially dielectric loaded planar Vivaldi antenna array for ultra‐wideband applications. This array is capable of operating between 380 MHz and 3 GHz and is designed on a 1.6‐mm thick low‐cost FR4 substrate with total size of 25 × 330 × 430 mm3. Innovative approaches to various gain enhancement techniques such as partial dielectric loading, corrugations, and U‐shaped back reflector used for planar Vivaldi antennas, are collectively employed in this design. Various elements of the array are interconnected. The two‐element Vivaldi array is fed by using a power divider. The array is designed by using a full‐wave three‐dimensional EM simulation tool. The designed antenna is manufactured and then measured. The simulation and measurement results are found to be consistent with each other.
Compact wide‐stopband bandpass filter using FSIW‐patch triple‐mode resonator
Authors: Liu Bao‐Guang , Cheng Chonghu
Published: October 2023

In this study, the compact third‐order filter with wide stopband is proposed, and it is based on the folded substrate integrated waveguide (FSIW)‐patch resonator. The embedded semicircular patch with two etched slots is integrated into the closed dual‐mode FSIW, so the miniaturized single‐cavity triple‐mode resonator with electromagnetic (EM) shielding and high quality can be achieved. In addition, the slots can reduce transverse electricity (TE)101 and TE201 on FSIW, while the other higher‐order modes of FSIW remain unchanged, then the wide stopband can be realized, and the stopband can be further widened by designing the feeding position to suppress higher‐order modes. Then, this filter based on hybrid FSIW modes has compact size, wide stopband, and good EM shielding. Finally, a prototype with 3‐dB fractional bandwidth of 8.4% is designed at 5.87 GHz (f0), and its insertion loss is only 1.16 dB. The upper‐stopband attenuation is better than 23 dB extended to 3.08f0. It occupies only 0.18λg2, where λg is the guided wavelength at f0.
Uncertainty‐aware refinement framework for ovarian tumor segmentation in CECT volume
Authors: Hu Jiaqi , Cui Zhiming , Zhang Xiao , Zhang Jiadong , Ge Yuyan , Zhang Honghe , Lu Yan , Shen Dinggang
Published: October 2023

Background

Ovarian cancer is a highly lethal gynecological disease. Accurate and automated segmentation of ovarian tumors in contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images is crucial in the radiotherapy treatment of ovarian cancer, enabling radiologists to evaluate cancer progression and develop timely therapeutic plans. However, automatic ovarian tumor segmentation is challenging due to factors such as inhomogeneous background, ambiguous tumor boundaries, and imbalanced foreground‐background, all of which contribute to high predictive uncertainty for a segmentation model.

Purpose

To tackle these challenges, we propose an uncertainty‐aware refinement framework that aims to estimate and refine regions with high predictive uncertainty for accurate ovarian tumor segmentation in CECT images.

Methods

To this end, we first employ an approximate Bayesian network to detect coarse regions of interest (ROIs) of both ovarian tumors and uncertain regions. These ROIs allow a subsequent segmentation network to narrow down the search area for tumors and prioritize uncertain regions, resulting in precise segmentation of ovarian tumors. Meanwhile, the framework integrates two guidance modules that learn two implicit functions capable of mapping query features sampled according to their uncertainty to organ or boundary manifolds, guiding the segmentation network to facilitate information encoding of uncertain regions.

Results

Firstly, 367 CECT images are collected from the same hospital for experiments. Dice score, Jaccard, Recall, Positive predictive value (PPV), 95% Hausdorff distance (HD95) and Average symmetric surface distance (ASSD) for the testing group of 77 cases are 86.31%, 73.93%, 83.95%, 86.03%, 15.17  mm and 2.57  mm, all of which are significantly better than that of the other state‐of‐the‐art models. And results of visual comparison shows that the compared methods have more mis‐segmentation than our method. Furthermore, our method achieves a Dice score that is at least 20% higher than the Dice scores of other compared methods when tumor volumes are less than 20 cm, indicating better recognition ability to small regions by our method. And then, 38 CECT images are collected from another hospital to form an external testing group. Our approach consistently outperform the compared methods significantly, with the external testing group exhibiting substantial improvements across key evaluation metrics: Dice score (83.74%), Jaccard (69.55%), Recall (82.12%), PPV (81.61%), HD95 (12.31 mm), and ASSD (2.32 mm), robustly establishing its superior performance.

Conclusions

Experimental results demonstrate that the framework significantly outperforms the compared state‐of‐the‐art methods, with decreased under‐ or over‐segmentation and better small tumor identification. It has the potential for clinical application.
Psychological well‐being as a motive for and result of post‐bariatric body contouring procedures
Authors: Pehlke Britta , Oliveira Filipa , Varnava Charalampos , Nehls Fabian , Wiebringhaus Philipp , Kueckelhaus Maximilian , Hirsch Tobias , Dermietzel Alexander Frederik
Published: October 2023

Objective

This study investigates whether psychological well‐being in post‐bariatric patients seeking body contouring procedures differs from those who do not seek body contouring procedures, those who have already undergone body contouring procedures, and those who are unsure about body contouring procedures.

Methods

An anonymous, nonrandomized, cross‐sectional survey study was designed. Psychological well‐being of four groups of post‐bariatric‐patients (undergone body contouring procedures, seeking body contouring procedures, not seeking body contouring procedures, unsure about body contouring procedures) were compared.

Results

A total of 345 patients were included in this study. No significant difference between patients seeking body contouring procedures and those not seeking body contouring procedures was found with regard to depressive symptoms, self‐esteem, and body image. Patients who had already undergone body contouring procedures scored lower on depressive symptoms (p = 0.035) and reported feeling more attractive (p < 0.001) and less insecure (p = 0.030) than patients who had not yet undergone body contouring procedures but sought it. Satisfaction with the result of the body contouring procedures was associated with lower depression levels (p < 0.001), higher self‐esteem (p < 0.001) and a more positive body‐image (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Depressive symptoms or low self‐esteem are not motivational factors for post‐bariatric patients to seek body contouring procedures. Body contouring procedures are associated with improvement in psychological well‐being in post‐bariatric patients. Patients' satisfaction with the result of the body contouring procedures is significantly associated with positive psychological well‐being.
The effect of psychotic proneness and psychopathy on theory of mind
Authors: Atakan Begüm , Yildirim Elif
Published: October 2023

This study aimed to investigate the interaction between positive psychotic experiences and psychopathic traits on the theory of mind in a non‐clinical sample. The results showed that distinct constructs of psychopathy can lead to distinct theory of mind profiles when interacting with psychotic proneness.
Dynamics and recognition of homeodomain containing protein‐DNA complex of IRX4
Authors: Malik Adil , Jayarathna Dulari K. , Fisher Mark , Barbhuiya Tabassum Khair , Gandhi Neha S. , Batra Jyotsna
Published: October 2023

Iroquois Homeobox 4 (IRX4) belongs to a family of homeobox TFs having roles in embryogenesis, cell specification, and organ development. Recently, large scale genome‐wide association studies and epigenetic studies have highlighted the role of IRX4 and its associated variants in prostate cancer. No studies have investigated and characterized the structural aspect of the IRX4 homeodomain and its potential to bind to DNA. The current study uses sequence analysis, homology modeling, and molecular dynamics simulations to explore IRX4 homeodomain‐DNA recognition mechanisms and the role of somatic mutations affecting these interactions. Using publicly available databases, gene expression of IRX4 was found in different tissues, including prostate, heart, skin, vagina, and the protein expression was found in cancer cell lines (HCT166, HEK293), B cells, ascitic fluid, and brain. Sequence conservation of the homeodomain shed light on the importance of N‐ and C‐terminal residues involved in DNA binding. The specificity of IRX4 homodimer bound to consensus human DNA sequence was confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations, representing the role of conserved amino acids including R145, A194, N195, S190, R198, and R199 in binding to DNA. Additional N‐terminal residues like T144 and G143 were also found to have specific interactions highlighting the importance of N‐terminus of the homeodomain in DNA recognition. Additionally, the effects of somatic mutations, including the conserved Arginine (R145, R198, and R199) residues on DNA binding elucidated the importance of these residues in stabilizing the protein‐DNA complex. Secondary structure and hydrogen bonding analysis showed the roles of specific residues (R145, T191, A194, N195, R198, and R199) in maintaining the homogeneity of the structure and its interaction with DNA. The differences in relative binding free energies of all the mutants shed light on the structural modularity of this protein and the dynamics behind protein‐DNA interaction. We also have predicted that the C‐terminal sequence of the IRX4 homeodomain could act as a potential cell‐penetrating peptide, emphasizing the role these small peptides could play in targeting homeobox TFs.
Tyrosine phosphorylation of recombinant hirudin increases affinity to thrombin and antithrombotic activity
Authors: Volkova Alina , Semenyuk Pavel
Published: October 2023

Thrombin is one of the key enzymes of the blood coagulation system and a promising target for the development of anticoagulants. One of the most specific natural thrombin inhibitors is hirudin, contained in the salivary glands of medicinal leeches. The medicinal use of recombinant hirudin is limited because of the lack of sulfation on Tyr63, resulting in a 10‐fold decrease in activity compared to native (sulfated) hirudin. In the present work, a set of hirudin derivatives was tested for affinity to thrombin: phospho‐Tyr63, Tyr63(carboxymethyl)Phe, and Tyr63Glu mutants, which mimic Tyr63 sulfation and Gln65Glu mutant and lysine‐succinylated hirudin, which enhance the overall negative charge of hirudin, as well as sulfo‐hirudin and desulfo‐hirudin as references. Using steered molecular dynamics simulations with subsequent umbrella sampling, phospho‐hirudin was shown to exhibit the highest affinity to thrombin among all hirudin analogs, including native sulfo‐hirudin; succinylated hirudin was also prospective. Phospho‐hirudin exhibited the highest antithrombotic activity in in vitro assay in human plasma. Taking into account the modern methods for obtaining phospho‐hirudin and succinylated hirudin, they are prospective as anticoagulants in clinical practice.
Spatial mixing and the random‐cluster dynamics on lattices
Authors: Gheissari Reza , Sinclair Alistair
Published: October 2023

An important paradigm in the understanding of mixing times of Glauber dynamics for spin systems is the correspondence between spatial mixing properties of the models and bounds on the mixing time of the dynamics. This includes, in particular, the classical notions of weak and strong spatial mixing, which have been used to show the best known mixing time bounds in the high‐temperature regime for the Glauber dynamics for the Ising and Potts models. Glauber dynamics for the random‐cluster model does not naturally fit into this spin systems framework because its transition rules are not local. In this article, we present various implications between weak spatial mixing, strong spatial mixing, and the newer notion of spatial mixing within a phase, and mixing time bounds for the random‐cluster dynamics in finite subsets of for general . These imply a host of new results, including optimal mixing for the random cluster dynamics on torii and boxes on vertices in at all high temperatures and at sufficiently low temperatures, and for large values of quasi‐polynomial (or quasi‐linear when ) mixing time bounds from random phase initializations on torii at the critical point (where by contrast the mixing time from worst‐case initializations is exponentially large). In the same parameter regimes, these results translate to fast sampling algorithms for the Potts model on for general .
BEATS: Bayesian hybrid design with flexible sample size adaptation for time‐to‐event endpoints
Authors: Bi Dehua , Liu Meizi , Lin Jianchang , Liu Rachael
Published: October 2023

As the roles of historical trials and real‐world evidence in drug development have substantially increased, several approaches have been proposed to leverage external data and improve the design of clinical trials. While most of these approaches focus on methodology development for borrowing information during the analysis stage, there is a risk of inadequate or absent enrollment of concurrent control due to misspecification of heterogeneity from external data, which can result in unreliable estimates of treatment effect. In this study, we introduce a Bayesian hybrid design with flexible sample size adaptation (BEATS) that allows for adaptive borrowing of external data based on the level of heterogeneity to augment the control arm during both the design and interim analysis stages. Moreover, BEATS extends the Bayesian semiparametric meta‐analytic predictive prior (BaSe‐MAP) to incorporate time‐to‐event endpoints, enabling optimal borrowing performance. Initially, BEATS calibrates the expected sample size and initial randomization ratio based on heterogeneity among the external data. During the interim analysis, flexible sample size adaptation is performed to address conflicts between the concurrent and historical control, while also conducting futility analysis. At the final analysis, estimation is provided by incorporating the calibrated amount of external data. Therefore, our proposed design allows for an approximation of an ideal randomized controlled trial with an equal randomization ratio while controlling the size of the concurrent control to benefit patients and accelerate drug development. BEATS also offers optimal power and robust estimation through flexible sample size adaptation when conflicts arise between the concurrent control and external data.
Probing and Evaluating the Anion Binding Effects in One‐Walled meso‐Phenylboronic Acid Appended Calix[4]pyrrole (C4P) Based Supramolecular Receptors
Authors: Rather Ishfaq Ahmad , Alam Manawwer , Ali Rashid
Published: October 2023

Herein, binding affinities of one‐walled meso‐phenylboronic acid functionalized calix[4]pyrroles (C4Ps, 3 a & 3 b) with diverse anions including spherical, linear, trigonal, and tetrahedral through UV‐Vis spectroscopy have successfully been revealed in acetonitrile solvent. The C4P derivative 3 b was newly synthesized from an easily accessible 3‐acetylphenylboronic acid via both conventional as well as green protocols. Structure of the final compound 3 b and the dipyrromethane (DPM) 2 b, were unambiguously established by means of 1H‐NMR, 13C‐NMR, and HRMS spectral data. From the outcomes of the UV‐Vis titrations of 3 a/3 b with different anions (e. g., F−, Cl−, Br−, I−, NO3−, HSO4−, H2PO4−, CH3COO−, & SCN−), used as their tetrabutylammonium (TBA) salts in CH3CN, 1 : 1 stoichiometric binding mode were observed from the BindFit v0.5 and Job plots. Overall, the binding affinity of receptor (3 b) with different anions were found higher in comparison to the receptor (3 a), presumably due to more cooperative NH and/or OH hydrogen bonding interactions. On the basis of varied size of halide ions, typical trend of anion binding affinity i. e., F−>Cl−>Br−>I−, was detected with increase in size of halide ions from F− to I−. Hopefully, these anion binding investigations with C4P‐based meso‐functionalized architectures will open new possibilities to the researchers to generate even more interesting artificial anion receptors based on vital boronic acid functionality, as biological and chemical importance of the anions is continuously motivating the synthetic chemists worldwide.
Bifunctional Ni Foam Supported TiO2@Ni3S2 core@shell Nanorod Arrays for Boosting Electrocatalytic Biomass Upgrading and H2 Production Reactions
Authors: Wei Meng , Li Mingli , Gao Qiongzhi , Cai Xin , Zhang Shengsen , Fang Yueping , Peng Feng , Yang Siyuan
Published: October 2023

Replacing traditional oxygen evoltion reaction (OER) with biomass oxidation reaction (BOR) is an advantageous alternative choice to obtain green hydrogen energy from electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, a novel of extremely homogeneous Ni3S2 nanosheets covered TiO2 nanorod arrays are in situ growth on conductive Ni foam (Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2). The Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2 electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity and long‐term stability for both BOR and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Especially, taking glucose as a typical biomass, the average hydrogen production rate of the HER‐glucose oxidation reaction (GOR) two‐electrode system reached 984.74 µmol h−1, about 2.7 times higher than that of in a common HER//OER two‐electrode water splitting system (365.50 µmol h−1). The calculated power energy saving efficiency of the GOR//HER system is about 13% less than that of the OER//HER system. Meanwhile, the corresponding selectivity of the value‐added formic acid produced by GOR reaches about 80%. Moreover, the Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2 electrode also exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity on a diverse range of typical biomass intermediates, such as urea, sucrose, fructose, furfuryl alcohol (FFA), 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and alcohol (EtOH). These results show that Ni/TiO2@Ni3S2 has great potential in electrocatalysis, especially in replacing OER reaction with BOR reaction and promoting the sustainable development of hydrogen production.
Overcoming Downscaling Limitations in Organic Semiconductors: Strategies and Progress
Authors: Park Taehyun , Kim Minseo , Lee Eun Kwang , Hur Jaehyun , Yoo Hocheon
Published: October 2023

Organic semiconductors have great potential to revolutionize electronics by enabling flexible and eco‐friendly manufacturing of electronic devices on plastic film substrates. Recent research and development led to the creation of printed displays, radio‐frequency identification tags, smart labels, and sensors based on organic electronics. Over the last 3 decades, significant progress has been made in realizing electronic devices with unprecedented features, such as wearable sensors, disposable electronics, and foldable displays, through the exploitation of desirable characteristics in organic electronics. Neverthless, the down‐scalability of organic electronic devices remains a crucial consideration. To address this, efforts are extensively explored. It is of utmost importance to further develop these alternative patterning methods to overcome the downscaling challenge. This review comprehensively discusses the efforts and strategies aimed at overcoming the limitations of downscaling in organic semiconductors, with a particular focus on four main areas: 1) lithography‐compatible organic semiconductors, 2) fine patterning of printing methods, 3) organic material deposition on pre‐fabricated devices, and 4) vertical‐channeled organic electronics. By discussing these areas, the full potential of organic semiconductors can be unlocked, and the field of flexible and sustainable electronics can be advanced.
Regulating Oxygen Redox Chemistry through the Synergistic Effect of Transition‐Metal Vacancy and Substitution Element for Layered Oxide Cathodes
Authors: Cheng Chen , Yan Tianran , Yuan Cheng , Hu Haolv , Xia Xiao , Shen Yihao , Zhou Xi , Zeng Pan , Zhang Liang
Published: October 2023

Reversible oxygen redox (OR) is considered as a paradigmatic avenue to boost the energy densities of layered oxide cathodes. However, its activation is largely coupled with the local coordination environment around oxygen, which is usually accompanied with irreversible oxygen release and unfavorable structure distortion. Herein, it is revealed that the synergistic effect of transition‐metal (TM) vacancy and substitution element for modulating the OR activity and reversibility of layered Na0.67MnO2 through multimodal operando synchrotron characterizations and electrochemical investigations. It is disclosed that TM vacancy can not only suppress the complicated phase transition but also stimulate the OR activity by creating nonbonding O 2p states via the Na─O─vacancy configurations. Notably, the substitution element plays a decisive role for regulating the reversibility of vacancy‐boosted OR activity: the presence of strong Al─O bonds stabilizes the Mn‐O motifs by sharing O with Al in the rigid Mn─O─Al frameworks, which mitigates TM migration and oxygen release induced by TM vacancy, leading to enhanced OR reversibility; while the introduction of weak Zn─O bonds exacerbates TM migration and irreversible oxygen release. This work clarifies the critical role of both TM vacancy and substitution element for regulating the OR chemistry, providing an effective avenue for designing high‐performance cathodes employing anionic redox.
Pd “Kills Two Birds with One Stone” for the Synthesis of Catalyst: Dual Active Sites of Pd Triggers the Kinetics of O2 Electrocatalysis
Authors: Kumar Greesh , Das Sabuj Kanti , Nayak Chandrani , Dey Ramendra Sundar
Published: October 2023

Noble metal‐based catalyst, despite their exorbitant cost, are the only successful catalyst for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis owing to their capability to drive forward the reaction rate kinetically. Therefore, it is desirable to diminish the noble metal loading without any compromise in the catalyst performance. In this study, the aim to achieve two goals with one action via a single‐step route to have ultra‐low loading of Pd in the catalyst. The Pd is used as a catalyst for C─C bond formation followed by complexation reactions or vice versa, in conventional Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling (SMCC) reaction, which yields a Pd‐based porous organic polymer. Interestingly, it is found that dispersed Pd nanocluster (PdNC) is present together with Pd single atom doped into nanocarbon (Pd‐NC) matrix in the catalyst (PdNC/Pd‐NC800) that obtained after pyrolysis of the porous polymer. The catalyst exhibits remarkable bifunctional activity and durability towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Further, it is studied that the in situ attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR‐IR) spectroscopy at different electrochemical potentials during ORR and OER to observe the reaction intermediates. The homemade zinc‐air battery with the catalyst displayed great performance, establishing the significance of PdNC/Pd‐NC800 as a bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst.
A Comprehensive Review on the Recent Strategy of Cation Substitution in CZTS(Se) Thin Films to Achieve Highly Efficient Kesterite Solar Cells
Authors: Kangsabanik Manoj , Gayen Rabindra Nath
Published: October 2023

Kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and selenized CZTS (CZTSSe) are the most potential replacements of Cu(InxGa1−x)Se2 as absorber layers in thin‐film solar cells, aligning with modern green energy policies. In spite of a reported power conversion efficiency (η) of nearly 14.9%, their efficiency still lags much behind their predecessors like cadmium telluride and CIGS. Major obstacles hindering the performance of CZTS‐based thin‐film solar cells pertain to the formation of CuZn and ZnCu antisite defects, along with high density of 2CuZn + SnZn donor defects, which adversely affects open‐circuit voltage and η. To combat these challenges, researchers have explored cation substitution by incorporating alternative isovalent atoms, such as substituting Ag/Li for Cu, Mn/Cd for Zn, and Ge/Ti for Sn, as a potent strategy to inhibit severe potential fluctuations and undesirable tail states caused by Cu–Zn disorder and Sn‐related defects. Recently single‐cation substitution in CZTS (or CZTSSe) has garnered considerable attention, while dual‐cation incorporation has emerged as an intriguing avenue to enhance device performance, although in its nascent stage of research and development. This review discusses recent progress on cation substitution to suppress antisite defects in CZTS (or CZTSSe), leading to high‐efficiency thin‐film solar cells.
Managing asynchronous workloads in a multi‐tenant microservice enterprise environment
Authors: Batista Cesar , Morais Felipe , Cavalcante Everton , Batista Thais , Proença Bruno , Rodrigues Cavalcante William Breno
Published: October 2023

A multi‐tenant microservice architecture involving components with asynchronous interactions and batch jobs requires efficient strategies for managing asynchronous workloads. This article addresses this issue in the context of a leading company developing tax software solutions for many national and multi‐national corporations in Brazil. A critical process provided by the company's cloud‐based solutions encompasses tax integration, which includes coordinating complex tax calculation tasks and needs to be supported by asynchronous operations using a message broker to guarantee order correctness. We explored and implemented two approaches for managing asynchronous workloads related to tax integration within a multi‐tenant microservice architecture in the company's context: (i) a polling‐based approach that employs a queue as a distributed lock (DL) and (ii) a push‐based approach named single active consumer (SAC) that relies on the message broker's logic to deliver messages. These approaches aim to achieve efficient resource allocation when dealing with a growing number of container replicas and tenants. In this article, we evaluate the correctness and performance of the DL and SAC approaches to shed light on how asynchronous workloads impact the management of multi‐tenant microservice architectures from delivery and deployment perspectives.
Contextualizing student affairs and services in global higher education
Authors: Jamieson Ian , Coggo Cristofoletti Evandro , Oanda Ibrahim , Saarinen Taina
Published: October 2023

This article outlines major developments in higher education policies in terms of massification, diversification and stratification, marketization, and globalization. Although these developments are global, their local instantiations create a diverse backdrop for student affairs and services. By giving examples from different contexts, we illustrate the various effects that the enlargement of higher education systems, their diversification, pressures to marketize, and increased global mobility have on the provision of student services and access to them. Through these windows, we demonstrate how student services have developed in different contexts and what implications this has on student access to those services. We conclude the article by presenting future topics for student services research and policy.
Perspectives from the Asia region
Authors: Songco Evelyn , Bonnet Ma. Paquita , Loyola Leandro , Loong Teresa W. K. , So Joseph C. H.
Published: October 2023

The authors in this article share how the Asia Pacific Student Services Association was the impetus in the birth of student affairs and services and talent and development in the region. In Hong Kong, the Philippines, and most recently, in Macao, associations are creating communities of practices to assist in the work of the ever‐changing university environments and the necessity of life‐long learning and progress.
Perspectives from the Middle East Region
Authors: Stryker Courtney , Kruse Theodore , Perozzi Brett , ElKaleh Eman S.
Published: October 2023

Higher Education offerings have expanded over the last two decades in the Middle East and North Africa region. As a result, the authors share the beginnings of a regional association tied back to the United States that has created culturally relevant professional development programs and opportunities that enhance how the staff is supporting students.
Menthol‐Based (Deep) Eutectic Solvents: A Review on Properties and Application in Extraction
Authors: Cherniakova Marharyta , Varchenko Victoria , Belikov Konstantin
Published: October 2023

In the last 10 years the interest in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as a new class of green solvents has considerably increased. The emergence of numerous of hydrophobic DESs has stimulated intensive research into their application in extraction technologies, including sample preparation. As the properties of such systems are highly dependent on the properties of their components (hydrogen bond donors and acceptors) and can be finely tuned, DESs can be successfully used for the extraction of both metal ions and organic substances, including biomolecules. Despite the rapidly increasing number of publications on the use of DESs as an extraction medium, including review articles, information on the extraction properties of DESs in terms of their chemical composition has not yet been summarized. This review covers available literature data on the physicochemical properties of menthol‐based eutectic solvents and the results of their practical application as an extraction medium. Also, the appropriateness of using the term “DES” for all mixtures with melting points lower than the melting points of their components is discussed.