bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PALB2-mutated human mammary cells display a broad spectrum of morphological and functional abnormalities induced by increased TGFβ signaling
Authors: Tuppurainen Hanna , Laurila Niina , Nätynki Marjut , Eshraghi Leila , Tervasmäki Anna , Erichsen Louisa , Sørensen Claus Storgaard , Pylkäs Katri , Winqvist Robert , Peltoketo Hellevi
Published: April 2024

Heterozygous mutations in any of three major genes, BRCA1, BRCA2 and PALB2, are associated with high-risk hereditary breast cancer susceptibility frequently seen as familial disease clustering. PALB2 is a key interaction partner and regulator of several vital cellular activities of BRCA1 and BRCA2, and is thus required for DNA damage repair and alleviation of replicative and oxidative stress. Little is however known about how PALB2-deficiency affects cell function beyond that, especially in the three-dimensional setting, and also about its role during early steps of malignancy development. To answer these questions, we have generated biologically relevant MCF10A mammary epithelial cell lines with mutations that are comparable to certain clinically important PALB2 defects. We show in a non-cancerous background how both mono- and biallelically PALB2-mutated cells exhibit gross spontaneous DNA damage and mitotic aberrations. Furthermore, PALB2-deficiency disturbs three-dimensional spheroid morphology, increases the migrational capacity and invasiveness of the cells, and broadly alters their transcriptome profiles. TGFβ signaling and KRT14 expression are enhanced in PALB2-mutated cells and their inhibition and knock down, respectively, lead to partial restoration of cell functions. KRT14-positive cells are also more abundant with DNA damage than KRT14-negative cells. The obtained results indicate comprehensive cellular changes upon PALB2 mutations, even in the presence of half dosage of wild type PALB2 and demonstrate how PALB2 mutations may predispose their carriers to malignancy.
CCDC28A deficiency causes sperm head defects, reduced sperm motility and male infertility in mice
Authors: Zhou Hongbin , Zhang Zhihua , Qu Ronggui , Zhu Hongying , Luo Yuxi , Li Qun , Mu Jian , Yu Ran , Zeng Yang , Chen Biaobang , Sang Qing , Wang Lei
Published: April 2024

Mature spermatozoa with normal morphology and motility are essential for male reproduction. The epididymis has an important role in the proper maturation and function of spermatozoa for fertilization. However, factors related to the processes involved in spermatozoa modifications are still unclear. Here we demonstrated that CCDC28A, a member of the CCDC family proteins, is highly expressed in testes and the CCDC28A deletion leads to male infertility. We found CCDC28A deletion had a mild effect on spermatogenesis. And epididymal sperm collected from Ccdc28a−/− mice showed bent sperm heads, acrosomal defects, reduced motility and decreased in vitro fertilization competence whereas their axoneme, outer dense fibers, and fibrous sheath were all normal. Furthermore, we found that CCDC28A interacted with sperm acrosome membrane-associated protein 1 (SPACA1) and glycogen synthase kinase 3a (GSK3A), and deficiencies in both proteins in mice led to bent heads and abnormal acrosomes, respectively. Altogether, our results reveal the essential role of CCDC28A in regulating sperm morphology and motility and suggesting a potential marker for male infertility.
Classical and Quantised Resolvent Algebras for the Cylinder
Authors: van Nuland T. D. H. , Stienstra R.
Published: April 2024

Buchholz and Grundling (Commun Math Phys 272:699–750, 2007) introduced a

$$\hbox {C}^*$$

C
∗

-algebra called the resolvent algebra as a canonical quantisation of a symplectic vector space and demonstrated that this algebra has several desirable features. We define an analogue of their resolvent algebra on the cotangent bundle

$$T^*\mathbb {T}^n$$

T
∗

T

n

of an n-torus by first generalising the classical analogue of the resolvent algebra defined by the first author of this paper in earlier work (van Nuland in J Funct Anal 277:2815–2838, 2019) and subsequently applying Weyl quantisation. We prove that this quantisation is almost strict in the sense of Rieffel and show that our resolvent algebra shares many features with the original resolvent algebra. We demonstrate that both our classical and quantised algebras are closed under the time evolutions corresponding to large classes of potentials. Finally, we discuss their relevance to lattice gauge theory.
Genotype-by-environment interactions and local adaptation shape selection in the US National Chip Processing Trial
Authors: Agha Husain I. , Endelman Jeffrey B. , Chitwood-Brown Jessica , Clough Mark , Coombs Joseph , De Jong Walter S. , Douches David S. , Higgins Charles R. , Holm David G. , Novy Richard , Resende Marcio F. R. , Sathuvalli Vidyasagar , Thompson Asunta L. , Yencho G. Craig , Zotarelli Lincoln , Shannon Laura M.
Published: April 2024

Key message

We find evidence of selection for local adaptation and extensive genotype-by-environment interaction in the potato National Chip Processing Trial (NCPT).

We present a novel method for dissecting the interplay between selection, local adaptation and environmental response in plant breeding schemes. Balancing local adaptation and the desire for widely adapted cultivars is challenging for plant breeders and makes genotype-by-environment interactions (GxE) an important target of selection. Selecting for GxE requires plant breeders to evaluate plants across multiple environments. One way breeders have accomplished this is to test advanced materials across many locations. Public potato breeders test advanced breeding material in the National Chip Processing Trial (NCPT), a public–private partnership where breeders from ten institutions submit advanced chip lines to be evaluated in up to ten locations across the country. These clones are genotyped and phenotyped for important agronomic traits. We used these data to interrogate the NCPT for GxE. Further, because breeders submitting clones to the NCPT select in a relatively small geographic range for the first 3 years of selection, we examined these data for evidence of incidental selection for local adaptation, and the alleles underlying it, using an environmental genome-wide association study (envGWAS). We found genomic regions associated with continuous environmental variables and discrete breeding programs, as well as regions of the genome potentially underlying GxE for yield.
The open texture of ‘algorithm’ in legal language
Authors: Baldini Davide , De Benedetto Matteo
Published: April 2024

In this paper, we will survey the different uses of the term algorithm in contemporary legal practice. We will argue that the concept of algorithm currently exhibits a substantial degree of open texture, co-determined by the open texture of the concept of algorithm itself and by the open texture inherent to legal discourse. We will substantiate our argument by virtue of a case study, in which we analyze a recent jurisprudential case where the first and second-degree judges have carved-out contrasting notions of algorithm. We will see that, thanks to our analysis of the open texture of the notion of algorithm in legal language, we can make sense of the different decisions taken by the judges as different contextually-determined sharpenings of the concept of algorithm. Finally, we will draw some general conclusions concerning the use of technical terms in legal instruments that address new technologies, such as the EU AI Act.
5-HT 2A and 5-HT 2C receptor antagonism differentially modulate reinforcement learning and cognitive flexibility: behavioural and computational evidence
Authors: Hervig Mona El- Sayed , Zühlsdorff Katharina , Olesen Sarah F. , Phillips Benjamin , Božič Tadej , Dalley Jeffrey W. , Cardinal Rudolf N. , Alsiö Johan , Robbins Trevor W.
Published: April 2024

Rationale

Cognitive flexibility, the ability to adapt behaviour in response to a changing environment, is disrupted in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including obsessive–compulsive disorder and major depressive disorder. Evidence suggests that flexibility, which can be operationalised using reversal learning tasks, is modulated by serotonergic transmission. However, how exactly flexible behaviour and associated reinforcement learning (RL) processes are modulated by 5-HT action on specific receptors is unknown.

Objectives

We investigated the effects of 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) and 5-HT2C receptor (5-HT2CR) antagonism on flexibility and underlying RL mechanisms.

Methods

Thirty-six male Lister hooded rats were trained on a touchscreen visual discrimination and reversal task. We evaluated the effects of systemic treatments with the 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR antagonists M100907 and SB-242084, respectively, on reversal learning and performance on probe trials where correct and incorrect stimuli were presented with a third, probabilistically rewarded, stimulus. Computational models were fitted to task choice data to extract RL parameters, including a novel model designed specifically for this task.

Results

5-HT2AR antagonism impaired reversal learning only after an initial perseverative phase, during a period of random choice and then new learning. 5-HT2CR antagonism, on the other hand, impaired learning from positive feedback. RL models further differentiated these effects. 5-HT2AR antagonism decreased punishment learning rate (i.e. negative feedback) at high and low doses. The low dose also decreased reinforcement sensitivity (beta) and increased stimulus and side stickiness (i.e., the tendency to repeat a choice regardless of outcome). 5-HT2CR antagonism also decreased beta, but reduced side stickiness.

Conclusions

These data indicate that 5-HT2A and 5-HT2CRs both modulate different aspects of flexibility, with 5-HT2ARs modulating learning from negative feedback as measured using RL parameters and 5-HT2CRs for learning from positive feedback assessed through conventional measures.
What constitutes breast-related quality of life? A comparison of normative scores of two BREAST-Q modules
Authors: Paganini Anna , Jensen Emmelie Widmark , Jepsen Christian , Hansson Emma
Published: April 2024

Background

BREAST-Q, with modules for augmentation, reduction/mastopexy, and breast cancer is the most frequently used instrument for assessing breast-disease specific quality of life which, according to the BREAST-Q-manual, also can be used to compare different patient groups. The primary aim of the present study was to compare scores from the pre-operative breast cancer module and the reduction/mastopexy module from healthy women. The secondary aim was to compare version 1 and 2 of the two modules.

Methods

This study extends on previously published data and compares the result of the two studies creating Swedish normative scores for BREAST-Q. All participants answered the two BREAST-Q modules at the same time.

Results

There was a difference between average and range of scores for some domains, especially for the physical well-being domain. Moreover, there was a difference in scores between version 1.0 and 2.0 of the domains.

Conclusions

The results suggest that different modules cannot be used to compare different patient groups. This begs the question if the time has come for a comprehensive pre-operative BREAST-Q domains that measure breast-related quality of life irrespective of any specific breast-conditions. The difference between version 1.0 and 2.0 of BREAST-Q, might lead to difficulty when results from different studies are compared.

Level of Evidence

Not ratable
Voiding cystourethrography in patients undergoing endoscopic decompression of duplex system ureteroceles: to do or not to do?
Authors: Contini Giorgia , Mele Ermelinda , Barneschi Andrea Celeste , Esposito Ciro , Castagnetti Marco
Published: April 2024

Objective

To assess the role of voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) in patients with duplex system ureterocele (DSU) undergoing endoscopic decompression (ED).

Materials and methods

This is a retrospective study of 75 consecutive patients with DSU undergoing ED [median (range) age, 6 (1–148) months]. Patients were divided into 3 groups, 33 with a VCUG showing vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) before ED (VUR-group), 22 with a VCUG negative for VUR (No-VUR-group), and 20 who did not undergo a VCUG (No-VCUG-group). Secondary surgery (SS) rate was compared among groups.

Results

Groups were comparable for baseline characteristics. SS rate was 82% (27/33) in VUR-group vs. 32% (7/22) in the No-VUR-group (p = 0.0001), and 25% (5/20) in the No-VCUG-group (p = 0.001 vs. VUR-group, and 1 vs. No-VUR-group). In the VUR-group, 9 patients underwent preemptive endoscopic treatment of VUR during ED and SS rate was 44% (4/9) vs. 96% (23/24) in the remainder, p= 0.003. In the No-VCUG-group, a VCUG was performed during follow-up in 9/15 patients and showed reflux in all, although only 2 of these developed a (single) urinary tract infections.

Conclusions

SS rate was significantly higher in patients with preoperative VUR. Instead, it was not significantly different between patients without VUR and those who did not undergo a VCUG before ED, despite all the latter who underwent a VCUG during follow-up had evidence of VUR generally in the absence of symptoms. In our opinion, a VCUG could be limited to patients developing symptoms after ED. If a VCUG is performed before ED, a preemptive treatment of VUR should be taken into consideration.
High-risk coronary plaque of sudden cardiac death victims: postmortem CT angiographic features and histopathologic findings
Authors: Michaud Katarzyna , Rotzinger David C , Faouzi Mohamed , Grabherr Silke , Qanadli Salah D , van der Wal Allard C , Magnin Virginie
Published: April 2024

High-risk coronary plaques (HRP) are characterized in clinical radiological imaging by the presence of low plaque attenuation, a napkin-ring sign (NRS), spotty calcifications (SC) and a positive remodeling index (RI). To evaluate if these signs are detectable in postmortem imaging by a multi-phase postmortem CT angiography (MPMCTA), a retrospective study of a series of autopsy well-documented coronary plaques related to sudden cardiac death (SCD) was performed. Then correlations between histological and radiological findings were described. Fourty SCD cases due to acute coronary syndrome based on clinical history and confirmed at autopsy were selected (28 men and 12 women, age 53.3 ± 10.9). The culprit lesion was mainly situated in the proximal segments of coronary arteries, in the right coronary artery in 23 cases (57.5%), the left anterior descending artery in 13 cases (32.5%), the circumflex artery in 3 cases (7.5%) and in one case in the left main stem. MPMCTA showed a positive RI (≥ 1.1) in 75% of cases with a mean RI 1.39 ± 0.71. RI values were lower in cases with fibrotic plaques. NRS was observed in 40% of cases, low attenuation plaque in 46.3%, and SC in 48.7% of cases. There were significant correlations of the radiological presence of NRS for fibrolipid composition of the plaque (p-value 0.007), severe intraplaque inflammation (p-value 0.017), severe adventitial inflammation (p-value 0.021) and an increased vasa vasorum (p-value 0.012). A significant correlation (p-value 0.002) was observed between the presence of SC at radiological examination and the presence of punctuate/fragmented calcification at histology. In addition, in 58.3% of cases, plaque enhancement was observed, which correlated with plaque inflammation and the fibrolipid composition of the plaque. The coronary artery calcium score was 314 (± 455). There was a poor agreement between stenosis of the lumen at histology versus radiology. Our study shows that the various radiological signs of HRP can be detected in all plaques by MPMCTA, but individually only to a variable extent; plaque enhancement appeared as a new sign of vulnerability. In the postmortem approach, these radiological markers of HRP, should always be applied in combination, which can be useful for developing a predictive model for diagnosing coronary SCD.
Optical power profiles and aberrations of a non-diffractive wavefront-shaping extended depth of focus intraocular lens
Authors: Garzón Nuria , Gómez-Pedrero José Antonio , Albarrán-Diego César , Fernández-Núñez Sara , Villanueva Gómez-Chacón Sara , García-Montero María
Published: April 2024

Purpose

This study is to evaluate the optical characteristics of a non-diffractive wavefront-shaping intraocular lens which incorporates surface refractive modifications for shaping the wavefront in order to achieve extended depth of focus (EDoF) and to assess whether the nominal power of this IOL influences the attainable add power.

Methods

A commercially available optical bench NIMO TR1504 device (LAMBDA-X, Nivelles, Belgium) was employed to obtain full optical characterization of three non-diffractive EDoF intraocular lenses with + 10 D, + 20 D, and + 30 D powers. After NIMO measurements, data were computed using a custom-made MATLAB program (Mathworks, Inc., Natick, MA, USA) to evaluate the optical quality functions, such as the point spread function (PSF), wavefront profiles, and modulation transfer function (MTF) for two pupil sizes: 3 mm and 4.0 mm.

Results

The non-diffractive EDoF intraocular lens showed a central serrated power profile behavior with additions of + 2.00 to + 2.50 D over the nominal power. Higher order aberrations were found to be driven mainly by the spherical aberration, with almost null comatic influence. Optical quality metrics showed good values, better for a 3 mm pupil compared to a 4.5 mm one, as expected. The three IOL powers tested showed a very similar behavior in terms of power and aberrometric profiles, with minimal to null differences related to the nominal power.

Conclusion

The non-diffractive wavefront-shaping EDoF intraocular lens achieves a near addition up to + 2.50 D aiming for an extended range of vision, almost independently of the base power.
Empirical modeling and prediction of neuronal dynamics
Authors: Fisco-Compte Pau , Aquilué-Llorens David , Roqueiro Nestor , Fossas Enric , Guillamon Antoni
Published: April 2024

Mathematical modeling of neuronal dynamics has experienced a fast growth in the last decades thanks to the biophysical formalism introduced by Hodgkin and Huxley in the 1950s. Other types of models (for instance, integrate and fire models), although less realistic, have also contributed to understand neuronal dynamics. However, there is still a vast volume of data that have not been associated with a mathematical model, mainly because data are acquired more rapidly than they can be analyzed or because it is difficult to analyze (for instance, if the number of ionic channels involved is huge). Therefore, developing new methodologies to obtain mathematical or computational models associated with data (even without previous knowledge of the source) can be helpful to make future predictions. Here, we explore the capability of a wavelet neural network to identify neuronal (single-cell) dynamics. We present an optimized computational scheme that trains the ANN with biologically plausible input currents. We obtain successful identification for data generated from four different neuron models when using all variables as inputs of the network. We also show that the empiric model obtained is able to generalize and predict the neuronal dynamics generated by variable input currents different from those used to train the artificial network. In the more realistic situation of using only the voltage and the injected current as input data to train the network, we lose predictive ability but, for low-dimensional models, the results are still satisfactory. We understand our contribution as a first step toward obtaining empiric models from experimental voltage traces.
Beam narrowing test: a motor index of post-stroke motor evaluation in an aged rat model of cerebral ischemia
Authors: Pinosanu Leonard Radu , Boboc Ianis Kevyn Stefan , Balseanu Tudor Adrian , Gresita Andrei , Hermann Dirk M. , Popa‐Wagner Aurel , Catalin Bogdan
Published: April 2024

Each year, 15 million people worldwide suffer from strokes. Consequently, researchers face increasing pressure to develop reliable behavioural tests for assessing functional recovery after a stroke. Our aim was to establish a new motor performance index that can be used to evaluate post-stroke recovery in both young and aged animals. Furthermore, we validate the proposed procedure and recommend the necessary number of animals for experimental stroke studies. Young (n = 20) and aged (n = 27) Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive either sham or stroke surgery. The newly proposed performance index was calculated for the post-stroke acute, subacute and chronic phases. The advantage of using our test over current tests lies in the fact that the newly proposed motor index test evaluates not only the performance of the unaffected side in comparison to the affected one but also assesses overall performance by taking into account speed and coordination. Moreover, it reduces the number of animals needed to achieve a statistical power of 80%. This aspect is particularly crucial when studying aged rodents. Our approach can be used to monitor and assess the effectiveness of stroke therapies in experimental models using aged animals.
Hydrologic interpretation of machine learning models for 10-daily streamflow simulation in climate sensitive upper Indus catchments
Authors: Mushtaq Haris , Akhtar Taimoor , Hashmi Muhammad Zia ur Rahman , Masood Amjad , Saeed Fahad
Published: April 2024

Machine learning for hydrologic modeling has seen significant recent development and has been suggested as a valuable augmentation to physical hydrological modeling, especially in data-scarce catchments. In Pakistan, surface water flows predominantly originate from the transboundary Upper Indus sub-catchments of Chenab, Jhelum, Indus, and Kabul rivers. These catchments have large drainage areas, climate-driven streamflows, high variations in elevation, and limited streamflow gauge coverage. Hence, using machine learning models for data-driven river flow modeling may be well-suited for these catchments. However, hydrologic interpretability of machine learning models is important for the practical use of such models for these catchments. Thus, the current study besides evaluating the potential of three machine learning models (XGBOOST, Classification and Regression Trees(CART), and RandomForest) for streamflow simulation also focused on the hydrologic interpretation of machine learning models using SHapley Additive exPlananations (SHAP). All of these models performed well and the range of $$\textrm{R}^2$$

R
2

and Nasche-Efficiency for all three models lies between 0.61 to 0.90. Moreover, SHAP correctly identified minimum temperature as the most critical feature in glacier-fed Indus and Chenab catchments. It also provides logical insights into interactions between minimum temperature and precipitation for the indus and Chenab catchment. The findings of this study strongly illustrate the usefulness of SHAP analysis in interpreting the behavior of data-scarce high-elevation climate-sensitive catchments using tree-based machine learning models.
Correction of the spring-dashpot-slider model
Authors: Führer Florian , Brendel Lothar , Wolf Dietrich E.
Published: April 2024

The spring-dashpot-slider is a common way to include solid friction for discrete element method simulations of granular matter. However, the most popular model that is currently in use has a number of problems, including the spontaneous creation of energy. The main cause for these problems is the discontinuous evolution of the spring displacement. In this paper, we derive a differential equation for the displacement that yields a continuous time evolution, that fixes the problems of the discontinuous model and is simpler to implement.
Differential DNA methylation associated with delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a systematic review
Authors: Klepinowski Tomasz , Pala Bartłomiej , Pettersson Samuel D. , Łątka Kajetan , Taterra Dominik , Ogilvy Christopher S. , Sagan Leszek
Published: April 2024

Recent studies suggest that differential DNA methylation could play a role in the mechanism of cerebral vasospasm (CVS) and delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Considering the significance of this matter and a lack of effective prophylaxis against DCI, we aim to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding their associations with DNA methylation and identify the gaps for a future trial. PubMed MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched by two authors in three waves for relevant DNA methylation association studies in DCI after aSAH. PRISMA checklist was followed for a systematic structure. STROBE statement was used to assess the quality and risk of bias within studies. This research was funded by the National Science Centre, Poland (grant number 2021/41/N/NZ2/00844). Of 70 records, 7 peer-reviewed articles met the eligibility criteria. Five studies used a candidate gene approach, three were epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), one utilized bioinformatics of the previous EWAS, with two studies using more than one approach. Methylation status of four cytosine-guanine dinucleotides (CpGs) related to four distinct genes (ITPR3, HAMP, INSR, CDHR5) have been found significantly or suggestively associated with DCI after aSAH. Analysis of epigenetic clocks yielded significant association of lower age acceleration with radiological CVS but not with DCI. Hub genes for hypermethylation (VHL, KIF3A, KIFAP3, RACGAP1, OPRM1) and hypomethylation (ALB, IL5) in DCI have been indicated through bioinformatics analysis. As none of the CpGs overlapped across the studies, meta-analysis was not applicable. The identified methylation sites might potentially serve as a biomarker for early diagnosis of DCI after aSAH in future. However, a lack of overlapping results prompts the need for large-scale multicenter studies. Challenges and prospects are discussed.
Interleukin-6 drives endothelial glycocalyx damage in COVID-19 and bacterial sepsis
Authors: Drost Carolin Christina , Rovas Alexandros , Osiaevi Irina , Schughart Klaus , Lukasz Alexander , Linke Wolfgang A. , Pavenstädt Hermann , Kümpers Philipp
Published: April 2024

Damage of the endothelial glycocalyx (eGC) plays a central role in the development of vascular hyperpermeability and organ damage during systemic inflammation. However, the specific signalling pathways for eGC damage remain poorly defined. Aim of this study was to combine sublingual video-microscopy, plasma proteomics and live cell imaging to uncover further pathways of eGC damage in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or bacterial sepsis. This secondary analysis of the prospective multicenter MICROCODE study included 22 patients with COVID-19 and 43 patients with bacterial sepsis admitted to intermediate or intensive care units and 10 healthy controls. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was strongly associated with damaged eGC and correlated both with eGC dimensions (rs=0.36, p = 0.0015) and circulating eGC biomarkers. In vitro, IL-6 reduced eGC height and coverage, which was inhibited by blocking IL-6 signalling with the anti-IL-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab or the Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib. Exposure of endothelial cells to 5% serum from COVID-19 or sepsis patients resulted in a significant decrease in eGC height, which was attenuated by co-incubation with tocilizumab. In an external COVID-19 cohort of 219 patients from Massachusetts General Hospital, a previously identified proteomic eGC signature correlated with IL-6 (rs=-0.58, p < 0.0001) and predicted the combined endpoint of 28-day mortality and/or intubation (ROC-AUC: 0.86 [95% CI: 0.81–0.91], p < 0.001). The data suggest that IL-6 may significantly drive eGC damage in COVID-19 and bacterial sepsis. Our findings provide valuable insights into pathomechanisms of vascular dysfunction during systemic inflammation and highlight the need for further in vivo studies.
Comparisons of songbirds on sale across online and physical markets in Indonesia
Authors: Grimwood Emily I. , Menner Jochen K. , Marsden Stuart J.
Published: April 2024

Unsustainable wildlife trade is a leading threat to biodiversity, not least in Southeast Asia where serious overexploitation of songbirds has precipitated the ‘Asian Songbird Crisis’. While the nature of bird trade in physical markets is fairly well studied, the growing online trade in birds is far less understood, in terms of diversity and traits of birds on offer. Here, online trade, monitored across twelve broad spectrum Indonesian bird-selling Facebook groups over a period of six months in 2022, is compared to published data from physical markets, and from a machine learning web-scrape. Nearly 2,000 individuals of 190 Indonesian species were recorded from Facebook, with 9.5% of species being categorised as Threatened (IUCN 2022), 15.8% protected under Indonesian law, and 17.4% regarded as priority taxa according to the Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group. These represent similar proportions of species to those from physical market surveys, although physical markets had more individuals of protected species than did Facebook groups. Bird family composition did not correlate between online and physical platforms, with the former dominated by Muscicapidae and the latter by Estrildidae. Controlling for trade volume, online groups had higher species richness than physical markets, although the difference was not significant. Bird ‘communities’ on offer in the individual Facebook groups were both similar to each other, and distinct from those in physical markets, although there was a geographical signature especially in the latter. Results highlight the importance of monitoring online trade as, while there are substantial differences in types of birds sold, it contains a similarly high number of species of conservation concern to physical markets.
Sphagnan in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands: bioavailability and effects on organic matter stabilization
Authors: Bryan Lauren , Shaw Rachel , Schoonover Erik , Koehl Alexis , DeVries-Zimmerman Suzanne , Philben Michael
Published: April 2024

The unique pectin-like carbohydrate “sphagnan” has been shown to protect organic matter from microbial decomposition in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands. However, the bioavailability of sphagnan has not been evaluated, and it is not known if it persists or continues to affect decomposition processes over the long timescales of peat formation. To address this, we assessed the connection between sphagnan content and organic matter decomposition rates in a temperate peatland near Fennville, MI, USA. We compared the effects of sphagnan over two timescales: (1) a short-term litter incubation assay using mosses from different peatland microtopographies; and (2) oxic and anoxic incubation assays of peat collected from multiple depths within the peat profile, reflecting a natural long-term decomposition continuum. On both timescales, we hypothesized that higher sphagnan content would be associated with lower decomposition rates, and that sphagnan would be selectively preserved compared to bulk C and other carbohydrates. The litter decomposition experiment supported both hypotheses, as higher sphagnan content was associated with lower mass loss, and sphagnan content increased due to selective preservation. In the peat, we observed weak but significant correlations between the relative abundance of sphagnan (as a fraction of total non-cellulosic sugars) and both aerobic and anaerobic respiration rates. This relationship was stronger in cores collected from hollow microtopographies than those from hummocks. However, there was not a significant relationship between respiration rates and the total (C-normalized) sphagnan content. Sphagnan content increased with depth in the peat profile, indicating selective preservation compared to bulk C. Additionally, we observed the accumulation of non-cellulosic glucose in the deep peat, likely derived from microbial exopolysaccharides. Together, these results indicate that sphagnan persists in the catotelm and continues to contribute to the long-term stabilization of organic matter in Sphagnum-rich peatlands, although the weak relationship with respiration indicates that its influence is relatively minor.
Lost in the Forest: Encoding categorical variables and the absent levels problem
Authors: Smith Helen L. , Biggs Patrick J. , French Nigel P. , Smith Adam N. H. , Marshall Jonathan C.
Published: April 2024

Levels of a predictor variable that are absent when a classification tree is grown can not be subject to an explicit splitting rule. This is an issue if these absent levels are present in a new observation for prediction. To date, there remains no satisfactory solution for absent levels in random forest models. Unlike missing data, absent levels are fully observed and known. Ordinal encoding of predictors allows absent levels to be integrated and used for prediction. Using a case study on source attribution of Campylobacter species using whole genome sequencing (WGS) data as predictors, we examine how target-agnostic versus target-based encoding of predictor variables with absent levels affects the accuracy of random forest models. We show that a target-based encoding approach using class probabilities, with absent levels designated the highest rank, is systematically biased, and that this bias is resolved by encoding absent levels according to the a priori hypothesis of equal class probability. We present a novel method of ordinal encoding predictors via principal coordinates analysis (PCO) which capitalizes on the similarity between pairs of predictor levels. Absent levels are encoded according to their similarity to each of the other levels in the training data. We show that the PCO-encoding method performs at least as well as the target-based approach and is not biased.
The challenge of change: understanding the role of habits in university students’ self-regulated learning
Authors: David Louise , Biwer Felicitas , Crutzen Rik , de Bruin Anique
Published: April 2024

Study habits drive a large portion of how university students study. Some of these habits are not effective in fostering academic achievement. To support students in breaking old, ineffective habits and forming new, effective study habits, an in-depth understanding of what students’ study habits look like and how they are both formed and broken is needed. Therefore, in this study, we explored these aspects among first-year university students in six focus group discussions (N = 29). Using a thematic analysis approach, we clustered the data in five themes: Goals Matter, Balancing Perceived Efficiency and Effectiveness when Studying, Navigating Student Life: from Structured Routines to Self-Regulation Challenges, the Quest for Effective Habits with Trying to Break Free From the Screen as subtheme, and the Motivation Roller Coaster. Findings suggest that students had different study habits depending on their goals. Students had quite accurate metacognitive knowledge about effective learning strategies for long-term learning, but often used other learning strategies they deemed most efficient in reaching their goals. Students indicated intentions to change, but did not prioritize change as their current habits enabled them to pass exams and change was not perceived as adding value. Fluctuations in motivation and transitioning to a self-regulated life hampered students’ intentions to form new and break old habits. Next to insights into factors affecting students’ behavioral change intentions, the findings suggest the importance of aligning assessment methods with life-long learning and supporting students in their long-term academic goal setting to prioritize study habits which target lasting learning to optimally foster their self-regulated learning.
Vision-state Fusion: Improving Deep Neural Networks for Autonomous Robotics
Authors: Cereda Elia , Bonato Stefano , Nava Mirko , Giusti Alessandro , Palossi Daniele
Published: April 2024

Vision-based deep learning perception fulfills a paramount role in robotics, facilitating solutions to many challenging scenarios, such as acrobatic maneuvers of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and robot-assisted high-precision surgery. Control-oriented end-to-end perception approaches, which directly output control variables for the robot, commonly take advantage of the robot’s state estimation as an auxiliary input. When intermediate outputs are estimated and fed to a lower-level controller, i.e., mediated approaches, the robot’s state is commonly used as an input only for egocentric tasks, which estimate physical properties of the robot itself. In this work, we propose to apply a similar approach for the first time – to the best of our knowledge – to non-egocentric mediated tasks, where the estimated outputs refer to an external subject. We prove how our general methodology improves the regression performance of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) on a broad class of non-egocentric 3D pose estimation problems, with minimal computational cost. By analyzing three highly-different use cases, spanning from grasping with a robotic arm to following a human subject with a pocket-sized UAV, our results consistently improve the R$$^{2}$$

2

regression metric, up to +0.51, compared to their stateless baselines. Finally, we validate the in-field performance of a closed-loop autonomous cm-scale UAV on the human pose estimation task. Our results show a significant reduction, i.e., 24% on average, on the mean absolute error of our stateful CNN, compared to a State-of-the-Art stateless counterpart.
Patient Engagement with Conversational Agents in Health Applications 2016–2022: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Cevasco Kevin E. , Morrison Brown Rachel E. , Woldeselassie Rediet , Kaplan Seth
Published: April 2024

Clinicians and patients seeking electronic health applications face challenges in selecting effective solutions due to a high market failure rate. Conversational agent applications (“chatbots”) show promise in increasing healthcare user engagement by creating bonds between the applications and users. It is unclear if chatbots improve patient adherence or if past trends to include chatbots in electronic health applications were due to technology hype dynamics and competitive pressure to innovate. We conducted a systematic literature review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses methodology on health chatbot randomized control trials. The goal of this review was to identify if user engagement indicators are published in eHealth chatbot studies. A meta-analysis examined patient clinical trial retention of chatbot apps. The results showed no chatbot arm patient retention effect. The small number of studies suggests a need for ongoing eHealth chatbot research, especially given the claims regarding their effectiveness made outside the scientific literatures.
Exposing and explaining fake news on-the-fly
Authors: de Arriba-Pérez Francisco , García-Méndez Silvia , Leal Fátima , Malheiro Benedita , Burguillo Juan Carlos
Published: April 2024

Social media platforms enable the rapid dissemination and consumption of information. However, users instantly consume such content regardless of the reliability of the shared data. Consequently, the latter crowdsourcing model is exposed to manipulation. This work contributes with an explainable and online classification method to recognize fake news in real-time. The proposed method combines both unsupervised and supervised Machine Learning approaches with online created lexica. The profiling is built using creator-, content- and context-based features using Natural Language Processing techniques. The explainable classification mechanism displays in a dashboard the features selected for classification and the prediction confidence. The performance of the proposed solution has been validated with real data sets from Twitter and the results attain 80% accuracy and macro F-measure. This proposal is the first to jointly provide data stream processing, profiling, classification and explainability. Ultimately, the proposed early detection, isolation and explanation of fake news contribute to increase the quality and trustworthiness of social media contents.
Synthesis of lead-free Cu/CuFeO2/CZTS thin film as a novel photocatalytic hydrogen generator from wastewater and solar cell applications
Authors: Ali Amira H. , Ahmed Ashour M. , Abdelhamied M. M. , Abdel-Khaliek Ahmed A. , Abd El Khalik S. , Abass Safaa M. , Shaban Mohamed , Hasan Fuead , Rabia Mohamed
Published: April 2024

The sewage water is tested as a source of hydrogen production with a high efficiency value of 25.44% using Cu/CuFeO2 (delafossite)/CZTS (Cu2ZnSnS4, kesterite) as an investigated photocatalyst. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the investigated photocatalyst (Cu/CuFeO2/CZTS) revealed a compact crystalline material, as witnessed by the diffraction peaks with high intensities. From the optical characterization, the recorded band gap values of Cu/CuFeO2/CZTS, Cu/CuFeO2, and CZTS are 1.15, 1.97, and 1.43 eV, respectively, inferring an obvious enhancement in the optical properties of the investigated photocatalyst, Cu/CuFeO2/CZTS. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of the investigated photocatalyst for hydrogen (H2) generation was examined in wastewater. The current–time characteristic and the PEC behavior of Cu/CuFeO2/CZTS in dark and under light illumination using various power densities, monochromatic wavelengths, and different temperatures were studied. The current densities (JPh) under light illumination and (Jo) in the dark were − 8.0 and − 0.7 mA cm−2, respectively. The H2 generation rate for the Cu/CuFeO2/CZTS electrode was 0.049 mA/h. The thermodynamic parameters, respectively, ΔS*, ΔE, and ΔH* were 28.76 kJ mol−1 K−1, 21.0, and 18.28 kJ mol−1 at 390 nm. The findings of the work hold great promise for addressing energy production and the hindrances of sewage treatment at the same time.
Hidden costs of entering self-employment: the spouse’s psychological well-being
Authors: Alshibani Safiya Mukhtar , Kristoffersen Ingebjørg , Volery Thierry
Published: April 2024

Spouses are known to play a critical supportive role for the self-employed, yet very little evidence is available concerning how entrepreneurial pursuits affect the spouse. The present analysis offers a contribution by evaluating short-term psychological well-being dynamics among spouses of individuals entering self-employment, using panel survey data from Australia. We construct matched control samples based on a range of relevant characteristics to mitigate selection bias and find that spouses of self-employed individuals report substantially higher levels of well-being before entry into self-employment and experience a modest but statistically significant decrease in well-being following entry. This is consistent with the hypothesis that self-employment demands substantial psychological capital from spouses. These patterns hold for both genders, with only moderate gender differences identified. In contrast, spouses of those entering self-employment from unemployment report improvements in well-being.
(Self-)Envy, Digital Technology, and Me
Authors: Osler Lucy
Published: April 2024

Using digital technology, in particular social media, is often associated with envy. Online, where there is a tendency for people to present themselves in their best light at their best moments, it can feel like we are unable to turn without being exposed to people living out their perfect lives, with their fancy achievements, their beautiful faces and families, their easy wit, and wide social circles. In this paper, I dive into the relationship between envy and digital technology. I offer an enriched account of envy that aims to establish both the situated nature of envy, as well as (more controversially) the possibility of self-envy. I explore how features of digital technology not only increase the frequency with which we might experience envy directed at others, but also envy directed at other versions of one’s self. For online, we not only encounter idealized versions of others but digitally idealized versions of our selves. Moreover, I argue that digital technology does not only increase the likelihood of experiencing self-envy but makes the experience less cognitively onerous. I conclude by considering how current digital technology shapes what we envy.
ENSO dataset & comparison of deep learning models for ENSO forecasting
Authors: Mir Shabana , Arbab Masood Ahmad , Rehman Sadaqat ur
Published: April 2024

Forecasting the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a challenging task in climatology. It is one of the main factors responsible for the Earth’s interannual climatic fluctuation and can result in many climatic anomalies. The impacts include natural disasters (floods, droughts), low & high agriculture yields, price fluctuation, energy demand, availability of water resources, animal movement, and many more. This study presents a comprehensive ENSO dataset containing standard indicators and other relevant data to facilitate ENSO analysis and forecasting. To ensure the dataset's validity and reliability, we performed extensive data analysis and trained four basic deep models for time series forecasting (i.e. CNN, RNN, LSTM, and hybrids). The data analysis confirmed the accuracy and suitability of the dataset for ENSO forecasting. The LSTM model achieved the best fit to the data, leading to superior performance in forecasting ENSO events.
A phase 2, open-label study of ibrutinib plus rituximab in Japanese patients with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia
Authors: Izutsu Koji , Kato Hisashi , Sekiguchi Naohiro , Fujisaki Tomoaki , Kawakita Toshiro , Obara Naoshi , Matsue Kosei , Nishimoto Mitsutaka , Hatayama Tomoyoshi , Inagaki Mitsuo , Fujikawa Ei
Published: April 2024

Ibrutinib is a first-in-class Bruton kinase inhibitor against B-cell neoplasms including Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of ibrutinib-rituximab in Japanese patients with WM. Patients received ibrutinib 420 mg orally once daily plus weekly rituximab 375 mg/m2 IV (8 infusions total). The primary end point was major response rate (MRR; PR or better) by Independent Review Committee assessment. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), safety, pharmacokinetics, and biomarkers. Primary analysis was conducted in 16 patients [baseline, treatment naïve: 8 (50.0%); relapsed/refractory WM: 8 (50.0%)] who received ibrutinib-rituximab, after all patients completed Week 57 or end of treatment. At primary analysis, MRR was 87.5% [14/16 patients; 95% CI: 61.7, 98.4%; p < 0.0001 (null hypothesis: 32% response rate)]. At final analysis (median study intervention duration: 34.4 months, median follow-up: 35.0 months), MRR was unchanged at 87.5%, but VGPR [6/16 (37.5%)] and PR [8/16 (50.0%)] improved. Prior treatment status did not affect response. At final analysis, median PFS was not reached [36-month PFS rate: 86% (95% CI: 55, 96%)]. No critical safety signals were reported. This study demonstrated a positive benefit/risk profile of ibrutinib-rituximab in Japanese patients with WM, consistent with the iNNOVATE study.