bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Druggable proteins influencing cardiac structure and function: Implications for heart failure therapies and cancer cardiotoxicity
Authors: Schmidt Amand F. , Bourfiss Mimount , Alasiri Abdulrahman , Puyol-Anton Esther , Chopade Sandesh , van Vugt Marion , van der Laan Sander W. , Gross Christian , Clarkson Chris , Henry Albert , Lumbers Tom R. , van der Harst Pim , Franceschini Nora , Bis Joshua C. , Velthuis Birgitta K. , te Riele Anneline S. J. M. , Hingorani Aroon D. , Ruijsink Bram , Asselbergs Folkert W. , van Setten Jessica , Finan Chris
Published: April 2023

Dysfunction of either the right or left ventricle can lead to heart failure (HF) and subsequent morbidity and mortality. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 16 cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging measurements of biventricular function and structure.
Cis-
Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to identify plasma proteins associating with CMR traits as well as with any of the following cardiac outcomes: HF, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), atrial fibrillation, or coronary heart disease. In total, 33 plasma proteins were prioritized, including repurposing candidates for DCM and/or HF: IL18R (providing indirect evidence for IL18), I17RA, GPC5, LAMC2, PA2GA, CD33, and SLAF7. In addition, 13 of the 25 druggable proteins (52%; 95% confidence interval, 0.31 to 0.72) could be mapped to compounds with known oncological indications or side effects. These findings provide leads to facilitate drug development for cardiac disease and suggest that cardiotoxicities of several cancer treatments might represent mechanism-based adverse effects.
Probing correlated states with plasmons
Authors: Papaj Michał , Lewandowski Cyprian
Published: April 2023

Understanding the nature of strongly correlated states in flat-band materials (such as moiré heterostructures) is at the forefront of both experimental and theoretical pursuits. While magnetotransport, scanning probe, and optical techniques are often very successful in investigating the properties of the underlying order, the exact nature of the ground state often remains unknown. Here, we propose to leverage strong light-matter coupling present in the flat-band systems to gain insight through dynamical dielectric response into the structure of the many-body ground state. We argue that because of the enlargement of the effective lattice of the system arising from correlations, conventional long-range plasmon becomes “folded” to yield a multiband plasmon spectrum. We detail several mechanisms through which the structure of the plasmon spectrum and that of the dynamical dielectric response is susceptible to the underlying order, revealing valued insights such as the interaction-driven band gaps, spin-structure, and the order periodicity.
Magnetic guidewire steering at ultrahigh magnetic fields
Authors: Tiryaki Mehmet Efe , Elmacıoğlu Yiğit Günsür , Sitti Metin
Published: April 2023

With remote magnetic steering capabilities, magnetically actuated guidewires have proven their potential in minimally invasive medical procedures. Existing magnetic steering strategies, however, have been limited to low magnetic fields, which prevents the integration into medical systems operating at ultrahigh fields (UHF), such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. Here, we present magnetic guidewire design and steering strategies by elucidating the magnetic actuation principles of permanent magnets at UHF. By modeling the uniaxial magnetization behavior of permanent magnets, we outline the magnetic torque and force and demonstrate unique magnetic actuation opportunities at UHF, such as in situ remagnetization. Last, we illustrate the proposed steering principles using a magnetic guidewire composed of neodymium magnets and a fiber optic rod in a 7-Tesla preclinical MRI scanner. The developed UHF magnetic actuation framework would enable next-generation magnetic robots to operate inside MRI scanners.
Beta-blockade enhances anthracycline control of metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Chang Aeson , Botteri Edoardo , Gillis Ryan D. , Löfling Lukas , Le Caroline P. , Ziegler Alexandra I. , Chung Ni-Chun , Rowe Matthew C. , Fabb Stewart A. , Hartley Brigham J. , Nowell Cameron J. , Kurozumi Sasagu , Gandini Sara , Munzone Elisabetta , Montagna Emilia , Eikelis Nina , Phillips Sarah E. , Honda Chikako , Masuda Kei , Katayama Ayaka , Oyama Tetsunari , Cole Steve W. , Lambert Gavin W. , Walker Adam K. , Sloan Erica K.
Published: April 2023

Beta-adrenergic blockade has been associated with improved cancer survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but the mechanisms of these effects remain unclear. In clinical epidemiological analyses, we identified a relationship between beta-blocker use and anthracycline chemotherapy in protecting against TNBC progression, disease recurrence, and mortality. We recapitulated the effect of beta-blockade on anthracycline efficacy in xenograft mouse models of TNBC. In metastatic 4T1.2 and MDA-MB-231 mouse models of TNBC, beta-blockade improved the efficacy of the anthracycline doxorubicin by reducing metastatic development. We found that anthracycline chemotherapy alone, in the absence of beta-blockade, increased sympathetic nerve fiber activity and norepinephrine concentration in mammary tumors through the induction of nerve growth factor (NGF) by tumor cells. Moreover, using preclinical models and clinical samples, we found that anthracycline chemotherapy up-regulated β2-adrenoceptor expression and amplified receptor signaling in tumor cells. Neurotoxin inhibition of sympathetic neural signaling in mammary tumors using 6-hydroxydopamine or genetic deletion of NGF or β2-adrenoceptor in tumor cells enhanced the therapeutic effect of anthracycline chemotherapy by reducing metastasis in xenograft mouse models. These findings reveal a neuromodulatory effect of anthracycline chemotherapy that undermines its potential therapeutic impact, which can be overcome by inhibiting β2-adrenergic signaling in the tumor microenvironment. Supplementing anthracycline chemotherapy with adjunctive β2-adrenergic antagonists represents a potential therapeutic strategy for enhancing the clinical management of TNBC.
A FadR-Type Regulator Activates the Biodegradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Mediating Quorum Sensing in Croceicoccus naphthovorans Strain PQ-2
Authors: Meng Qiu , Xu Qimiao , Xu Yinming , Ren Huiping , Ge Xuzhe , Yu Jianming , Cao Xueqiang , Yin Jianhua , Yu Zhiliang
Published: April 2023

Master transcriptional regulation of carbon catabolites is extremely important for the survival of bacteria that face changes in carbon sources. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be utilized as carbon sources by some bacteria.
The DNA Damage Sensor MRE11 Regulates Efficient Replication of the Autonomous Parvovirus Minute Virus of Mice
Authors: Bunke Lauren E. , Larsen Clairine I. S. , Pita-Aquino Jessica N. , Jones Isabella K. , Majumder Kinjal
Published: April 2023

The cellular DNA damage response (DDR) machinery protects the host genome from the deleterious consequences of DNA breaks and recognizes invading viral pathogens. DNA viruses that replicate in the nucleus have evolved distinct strategies to evade or usurp these DDR proteins.
Erg6 Acts as a Downstream Effector of the Transcription Factor Flo8 To Regulate Biofilm Formation in Candida albicans
Authors: Jin Xueyang , Luan Xiaoyi , Xie Fei , Chang Wenqiang , Lou Hongxiang
Published: April 2023

Biofilm formation by
C. albicans
hinders its eradication by immune cells and antifungal drugs. Flo8 is an important morphogenetic transcription factor that regulates the biofilm formation and
in vivo
virulence of
C. albicans
.
Biogeographical and Biodiversity Patterns of Marine Planktonic Bacteria Spanning from the South China Sea across the Gulf of Bengal to the Northern Arabian Sea
Authors: Ren Lijuan , Song Xingyu , Wu Chuangfeng , Li Gang , Zhang Xiufeng , Xia Xiaomin , Xiang Chenhui , Han Bo-Ping , Jeppesen Erik , Wu Qinglong L.
Published: April 2023

One of the long-standing interests of biogeography is to explore diversity patterns and uncover their underlying mechanisms. Despite intensive studies on the responses of eukaryotic communities to chlorophyll
a
concentrations, we know little about how changes in seawater chlorophyll
a
concentrations affect free-living bacteria (FLB) and particle-associated bacteria (PAB) diversity patterns in natural systems.
Phylogenomics of Globally Spread Clonal Groups 14 and 15 of Klebsiella pneumoniae
Authors: Rodrigues Carla , Lanza Val F. , Peixe Luísa , Coque Teresa M. , Novais Ângela
Published: April 2023

Klebsiella pneumoniae
represents a major threat in the burden of antibiotic resistance (ABR). Available studies to explain the origin, the diversity, and the evolution of certain ABR
K. pneumoniae
populations have mainly been focused on a few clonal groups (CGs) using phylogenetic analysis of the core genome, the accessory genome being overlooked.
What’s in an age? Calculation and interpretation of ages and durations from U-Pb zircon geochronology of igneous rocks
Authors: Klein Benjamin Z. , Eddy Michael P.
Published: April 2023

Accurate assessment of the duration of zircon crystallization within igneous rocks is critical for constraining the time scales of magmatic evolution and storage, which have important implications for our understanding of magmatic fluxes and volcanic hazards. However, estimation of crystallization durations from finite geochronologic data sets is difficult and typically relies on numerous implicit assumptions. In this contribution, we evaluate these assumptions and provide recommendations for better interpretation of crystallization durations from individual samples by developing a simplified theoretical framework to relate zircon growth, nucleation, and armoring rates to zircon ages. We first investigate single zircon analyses and show that ages produced with methods that integrate the entire grain or grain fragments (e.g., chemical abrasion−isotope dilution−thermal ionization mass spectrometry [CA-ID-TIMS]) are inevitably biased toward the second half of the zircon growth interval, while subsampling of grains via microbeam approaches will only capture the majority of the zircon crystallization duration when the microbeam spot size is less than ∼25% of the zircon minor axis, and the analytical uncertainty of the measurement is less than ∼20% of the duration over which the individual zircon grew.

We subsequently investigate the distribution of zircon mean ages produced through various combinations of zircon growth rate, nucleation rate, and the probability of zircon being armored by major phases. We show that zircon age distributions cannot be directly predicted from the rate of zircon mass crystallized, as many combinations of growth, nucleation, and armoring rates result in distinct age distributions, yet they produce nearly identical mass crystallization rates. Finally, we develop two equations that can be used to constrain the duration of crystallization observed within individual samples. In scenarios where the observed age dispersion is consistent with the reported analytical uncertainties, the first equation can be used to estimate the maximum duration. Otherwise, when the measured zircon population is overdispersed, a second equation constrains the minimum duration of zircon crystallization.
Supplemental Material: In-situ carbon storage potential in a buried volcano
Authors: Pereira Ricardo , Gamboa Davide
Published: April 2023

Data and Methods and Table S1. 
Erratum to: A Unit of Shock-Ionized Dynistors with a High-Voltage Pulse Sharpener in the Control Circuit
Authors: Korotkov S. V. , Aristov Yu. V.
Published: April 2023

An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S002044122301030X
Goiter and Abdominal Mass: A Rare Presentation of Riedel’s Thyroiditis
Authors: Nguyen Thao , Stewart Brian , Patel Jaymin , Dass Bhagwan
Published: April 2023

Riedel’s thyroiditis (RT) is a rare inflammatory autoimmune disease, often associated with various forms of systemic fibrosis such as sclerosing mesenteritis (SM). A woman in her late 30s presented with a diffusely enlarged firm goiter and a mesenteric mass complicated by biliary obstruction and hydronephrosis. Labs and thyroid ultrasound were consistent with autoimmune thyroiditis. Abdominal imaging demonstrated a mesenteric mass that encased mesenteric vessels and ureter. Flow cytometry and infectious workup were negative. Both thyroid and mesenteric biopsies revealed dense fibrosis with patchy lymphoplasmacytic aggregates, no evidence of carcinoma, lymphoma, or IgG4-related disease, which confirmed diagnoses of RT and SM. She improved clinically with steroids. The coincidental timing of thyroid enlargement and the mesenteric mass, and the similarity in histology suggest an association between RT and SM. Overall, the case highlights the challenges in diagnosing RT given its rarity and emphasises the importance of early treatment to prevent systemic involvement.
Impact of urinary sodium excretion on the prevalence and incidence of metabolic syndrome: a population-based study
Authors: Yin Lu , Li Sidong , He Yongmei , Yang Lin , Wang Li , Li Chao , Wang Yaqin , Wang Jing , Yang Pingting , Wang Jiangang , Chen Zhiheng , Li Ying
Published: April 2023

Objective

To evaluate the association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk with 24-hour urinary sodium excretion (24hUNaE) estimated from spot urine samples.

Design

Serial cross-sectional studies were conducted, and those with multiple repeated examinations were used to assess the MetS incidence risk.

Setting and Participants

A health check-up programme was conducted between 2018 and 2021 and enrolled 59 292 participants to evaluate the relationship between MetS risk and 24hUNaE in the Third Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, China. Among these participants, 9550 had at least two physical examinations during this period, which were used to evaluate the association of a new occurrence of MetS with 24hUNaE.

Outcomes

Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of dyslipidaemia in Chinese adults (revised in 2016) were used to define prevalent and incident MetS.

Results

The prevalence of MetS was 19.3% at the first check-up; among individuals aged ≤55 years, the risk was higher in men than women, while among older individuals, a similar prevalence was observed in both sexes. A significant increase in MetS prevalence was observed per unit increase in 24hUNaE (adjusted OR (AOR) 1.11; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.13), especially for the prevalence of central obesity and elevated blood pressure. Additionally, 27.4% of the participants among the 7842 participants without MetS at the first check-up (male vs female: 37.3% vs 12.9%) were found to have a new occurrence of MetS at the second, third and/or fourth check-ups. A 25% increase in MetS incidence was observed per unit increase in 24hUNaE (95% CI 1.19 to 1.32), which was more prominent in the participants with a new occurrence of central obesity and elevated fasting blood glucose.

Conclusions

Although the prevalence of MetS seemed stable, new occurrences of MetS remained high, which might result in MetS recurrence. The influence of sodium intake on MetS development is probably attributed to the increase in blood pressure and central obesity, but a new occurrence of MetS may develop through elevated blood glucose and central obesity.
A predictive modelling approach to illustrate factors correlating with stunting among children aged 12–23 months: a cluster randomised pre-post study
Authors: Haque Md Ahshanul , Choudhury Nuzhat , Wahid Barbie Zaman , Ahmed SM Tanvir , Farzana Fahmida Dil , Ali Mohammad , Naz Farina , Siddiqua Towfida Jahan , Rahman Sheikh Shahed , Faruque ASG , Ahmed Tahmeed
Published: April 2023

Objective

The aim of this study was to construct a predictive model in order to develop an intervention study to reduce the prevalence of stunting among children aged 12–23 months.

Design

The study followed a cluster randomised pre-post design and measured the impacts on various indicators of livelihood, health and nutrition. The study was based on a large dataset collected from two cross-sectional studies (baseline and endline).

Setting

The study was conducted in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh under the Sylhet division, which is vulnerable to both natural disasters and poverty. The study specifically targeted children between the ages of 12 and 23 months.

Main outcome measures

Childhood stunting, defined as a length-for-age z-score <−2, was the outcome variable in this study. Logistic and probit regression models and a decision tree were constructed to predict the factors associated with childhood stunting. The predictive performance of the models was evaluated by computing the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results

The baseline survey showed a prevalence of 52.7% stunting, while 50.0% were stunted at endline. Several factors were found to be associated with childhood stunting. The model’s sensitivity was 61% and specificity was 56%, with a correctly classified rate of 59% and an area under the ROC curve of 0.615.

Conclusion

The study found that childhood stunting in the study area was correlated with several factors, including maternal nutrition and education, food insecurity and hygiene practices. Despite efforts to address these factors, they remain largely unchanged. The study suggests that a more effective approach may be developed in future to target adolescent mothers, as maternal nutrition and education are age-dependent variables. Policy makers and programme planners need to consider incorporating both nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific activities and enhancing collaboration in their efforts to improve the health of vulnerable rural populations.

Trial registration number

RIDIE-STUDY-ID-5d5678361809b.
How did the use of ED change during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the UK? An observational study
Authors: Calastri Chiara , Hess Stephane , Wilson Brad
Published: April 2023

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to a sharp drop in ED attendance, but the exact reasons for this are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate differences between individuals attending the ED before and during the pandemic and the reasons for their choices.

Methods

Two population-based online surveys were conducted before (2019) and during (2020) the pandemic. Participants were recruited by a survey panel to be representative of the UK population aged 18–45 years. Both surveys asked about the circumstances and reasons for the last ED attendance, with specific pandemic-related questions in the second one. Comparisons of characteristics and symptoms of individuals attending during the pandemic were compared with those attending in prior years using χ2tests. We determined the proportion of patients who had symptoms during the pandemic but did not attend, and the reasons for that choice.

Results

Young and high-income people, those with chronic illnesses and those with influenza-like symptoms were more likely to attend the ED during lockdown than before. 18% of respondents had experienced urgent symptoms during the pandemic; 60% of these individuals chose not to go to the ED. While about 30% of this group stated they believed their symptoms were not serious enough, 85% of these individuals mentioned fear of infection or worry about overburdening the system as a reason for not attending. Individuals attending during the pandemic were more likely to consider their visit unnecessary compared with those attending previously.

Conclusions

The study suggests that the decision to use the ED has a discretionary component. This could potentially contribute to unnecessary visits, and raises concerns that some patients who should present at the ED do not go. More effective communication about who should visit EDs during a pandemic, and the safety of doing so, is needed.
Life cycle assessment of routinely used endoscopic instruments and simple intervention to reduce our environmental impact
Authors: López-Muñoz Pedro , Martín-Cabezuelo Rubén , Lorenzo-Zúñiga Vicente , Vilariño-Feltrer Guillermo , Tort-Ausina Isabel , Vidaurre Ana , Pons Beltran Vicente
Published: April 2023

Objectives

GI endoscopy units represent the third largest producers of medical waste. We aimed to determine endoscopic instrument composition and life cycle assessment (LCA) and to assess a sustainability proposal based on a mark on the instruments that identifies parts can be safely recycled or ‘green mark’.

Design

Material composition analysis and LCA of forceps, snares and clips from four different manufacturers (A–D) were performed with four different methods. Carbon footprint from production, transportation and end of life of these instruments was calculated. In 30 consecutive procedures, we marked the contact point with the working channel. 5 cm away from that point was considered asgreen mark. One-week prospective study was conducted with 184 procedures evaluating 143 instruments (75 forceps, 49 snares and 19 haemoclips) to assess the efficacy of this recyclable mark.

Results

Composition from different manufacturers varied widely. Most common materials were high global warming potential (GWP) waste (polyethylene, polypropylene and acrylonitrile) and low GWP waste (stainless steel). Significant differences were found for the forceps (0.31–0.47 kg of CO2equivalent (CO2-eq)) and haemoclips (0.41–0.57 kg CO2-eq) between the manufacturers.Green markwas established 131.26 cm for gastroscope and 195.32 cm for colonoscope. One-week activity produced 67.74 kg CO2-eq. Applying our sustainability intervention, we could reduce up to 27.44% (18.26 kg CO2-eq). This allows the recycling of 61.7% of the instrument total weight (4.69 kg).

Conclusion

Knowledge of carbon footprint is crucial to select the most sustainable alternatives because there are large variations between brands. A mark to identify recyclable parts could reduce our environmental impact significantly.
Reversals in past long-term trends in educational inequalities in life expectancy for selected European countries
Authors: Zazueta-Borboa Jesus Daniel , Martikainen Pekka , Aburto Jose Manuel , Costa Giuseppe , Peltonen Riina , Zengarini Nicolas , Sizer Alison , Kunst Anton E , Janssen Fanny
Published: April 2023

Background

Across Europe, socioeconomic inequalities in mortality are large and persistent. To better understand the drivers of past trends in socioeconomic mortality inequalities, we identified phases and potential reversals in long-term trends in educational inequalities in remaining life expectancy at age 30 (e30), and assessed the contributions of mortality changes among the low-educated and the high-educated at different ages.

Methods

We used individually linked annual mortality data by educational level (low, middle and high), sex and single age (30+) from 1971/1972 onwards for England and Wales, Finland and Italy (Turin). We applied segmented regression to trends in educational inequalities in e30 (e30 high-educated minus e30 low-educated) and employed a novel demographic decomposition technique.

Results

We identified several phases and breakpoints in the trends in educational inequalities in e30. The long-term increases (Finnish men, 1982–2008; Finnish women, 1985–2017; and Italian men, 1976–1999) were driven by faster mortality declines among the high-educated aged 65–84, and by mortality increases among the low-educated aged 30–59. The long-term decreases (British men, 1976–2008, and Italian women, 1972–2003) were driven by faster mortality improvements among the low-educated than among the high-educated at age 65+. The recent stagnation of increasing inequality (Italian men, 1999) and reversals from increasing to decreasing inequality (Finnish men, 2008) and from decreasing to increasing inequality (British men, 2008) were driven by mortality trend changes among the low-educated aged 30–54.

Conclusion

Educational inequalities are plastic. Mortality improvements among the low-educated at young ages are imperative for achieving long-term decreases in educational inequalities in e30.
Whose models? Which representations? A response to Wagner
Authors: Hardman Doug , Hutchinson Phil
Published: April 2023

InWhere the Ethical Action Is,we argued that medical and ethical modes of thought are not different in kind but different aspects of a situation. One of the consequences of this argument is that the requirement for or benefits of normative moral theorising in bioethics is undercut. In response, Wagner has argued that normative moral theories should be reconceived as models. Wagner’s argument seems to be that once reconceived as models, the rationale for moral theorising, undercut by our arguments inWhere the Ethical Action Is,will be re-established because we will see those moral-theories-now-rebranded-as-models as serving a role akin to the role models serve in some of the natural sciences. In this response to Wagner, we provide two arguments against Wagner’s proposal. We call these arguments the Turner-Cicourel Challenge and the Question Begging Challenge.
Direct additive genetics and maternal effect contribute to the risk of Tourette disorder
Authors: Mahjani Behrang , Klei Lambertus , Buxbaum Grice Ariela S , Larsson Henrik , Hultman Christina M , Sandin Sven , Devlin Bernie , Buxbaum Joseph D , Grice Dorothy E
Published: April 2023

Background

Risk for Tourette disorder, and chronic motor or vocal tic disorders (referenced here inclusively as CTD), arise from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While multiple studies have demonstrated the importance of direct additive genetic variation for CTD risk, little is known about the role of cross-generational transmission of genetic risk, such as maternal effect, which is not transmitted via the inherited parental genomes. Here, we partition sources of variation on CTD risk into direct additive genetic effect (narrow-sense heritability) and maternal effect.

Methods

The study population consists of 2 522 677 individuals from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, who were born in Sweden between 1 January 1973 and 31 December 2000, and followed for a diagnosis of CTD through 31 December, 2013. We used generalised linear mixed models to partition the liability of CTD into: direct additive genetic effect, genetic maternal effect and environmental maternal effect.

Results

We identified 6227 (0.2%) individuals in the birth cohort with a CTD diagnosis. A study of half-siblings showed that maternal half-siblings had twice higher risk of developing a CTD compared with paternal ones. We estimated 60.7% direct additive genetic effect (95% credible interval, 58.5% to 62.4%), 4.8% genetic maternal effect (95% credible interval, 4.4% to 5.1%) and 0.5% environmental maternal effect (95% credible interval, 0.2% to 7%).

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate genetic maternal effect contributes to the risk of CTD. Failure to account for maternal effect results in an incomplete understanding of the genetic risk architecture of CTD, as the risk for CTD is impacted by maternal effect which is above and beyond the risk from transmitted genetic effect.
Response of legal and illegal cigarette prices to a tax increase in Ethiopia
Authors: Mengesha Sisay Derso , Ross Hana
Published: April 2023

Background

In 2020, Ethiopia passed a landmark tax proclamation implementing an evidence-based mixed excise system aimed at curbing tobacco use. This study evaluates the impact of the tax increase of more than 600% on both legal and illegal cigarette prices in order to gauge the impact of the tax reform in the presence of a sizeable illicit cigarette market.

Methods

Data on 1774 cigarette prices were obtained from retailers during Empty Cigarette Pack Surveys in the capital and major regional cities conducted in 2018 and 2022. Packs were categorised as ‘legal’ or ‘illicit’ using criteria from the tobacco control directives. Descriptive and regression analyses were used to study the cigarette price changes during the period of 2018–2022, capturing the impact of the 2020 tax increase.

Result

Prices of both legal and illegal cigarettes increased in response to the tax increase. In 2018, the stick prices ranged from ETB0.88 (Ethiopian birr) to ETB5.00 for legal cigarettes while they ranged from ETB0.75 to ETB3.25 for illegal ones. In 2022, a legal stick sold for ETB01.50–ETB2.73 and an illegal stick for ETB1.92–ETB8.00. The average real price of legal and illegal brands increased by 18% and 37%, respectively. The multivariate analysis confirms that prices of illicit cigarettes grew faster compared with the legal ones. By 2022, illicit brands were on average more expensive compared with their legal counterparts. This result is statistically significant at p<0.01.

Conclusion

The prices of both legal and illegal cigarettes increased following the 2020 tax increase, with the average real cigarette price increasing by 24%. As a result, the tax increase likely had a positive impact on public health despite a sizeable illicit cigarette market.
Extending the predictive power of perturbative QCD using the principle of maximum conformality and the Bayesian analysis
Authors: Shen Jian-Ming , Zhou Zhi-Jian , Wang Sheng-Quan , Yan Jiang , Wu Zhi-Fei , Wu Xing-Gang , Brodsky Stanley J.
Published: April 2023

In addition to the evaluation of high-order loop contributions, the precision and predictive power of perturbative QCD (pQCD) predictions depends on two important issues: (1) how to achieve a reliable, convergent fixed-order series, and (2) how to reliably estimate the contributions of unknown higher-order terms. The recursive use of renormalization group equation, together with the Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC), eliminates the renormalization scheme-and-scale ambiguities of the conventional pQCD series. The result is a conformal, scale-invariant series of finite order which also satisfies all of the principles of the renormalization group. In this paper we propose a novel Bayesian-based approach to estimate the size of the unknown higher order contributions based on an optimized analysis of probability distributions. We show that by using the PMC conformal series, in combination with the Bayesian analysis, one can consistently achieve high degree of reliability estimates for the unknown high order terms. Thus the predictive power of pQCD can be greatly improved. We illustrate this procedure for two pQCD observables: $$R_{e^+e^-}$$

R

e
+

e
-

and $$R_\tau $$

R
τ

, which are each known up to four loops in pQCD. Numerical analyses confirm that by using the scale-independent and more convergent PMC conformal series, one can achieve reliable Bayesian probability estimates for the unknown higher-order contributions.
Modeling and forecasting age-specific drug overdose mortality in the United States
Authors: Böttcher Lucas , Chou Tom , D’Orsogna Maria R.
Published: April 2023

Drug overdose deaths continue to increase in the United States for all major drug categories. Over the past two decades the total number of overdose fatalities has increased more than fivefold; since 2013 the surge in overdose rates is primarily driven by fentanyl and methamphetamines. Different drug categories and factors such as age, gender, and ethnicity are associated with different overdose mortality characteristics that may also change in time. For example, the average age at death from a drug overdose has decreased from 1940 to 1990 while the overall mortality rate has steadily increased. To provide insight into the population-level dynamics of drug overdose mortality, we develop an age-structured model for drug addiction. Using an augmented ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), we show through a simple example how our model can be combined with synthetic observation data to estimate mortality rate and an age-distribution parameter. Finally, we use an EnKF to combine our model with observation data on overdose fatalities in the United States from 1999 to 2020 to forecast the evolution of overdose trends and estimate model parameters.
Comparison results for solutions of Poisson equations with Robin boundary on complete Riemannian manifolds
Authors: Chen Daguang , Li Haizhong , Wei Yilun
Published: April 2023

In this paper, by using Schwarz rearrangement and isoperimetric inequalities, we prove comparison results for the solutions of Poisson equations on complete Riemannian manifolds with [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text], which extends the results in [A. Alvino, C. Nitsch and C. Trombetti, A Talenti comparison result for solutions to elliptic problems with Robin boundary conditions, Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 76(3) (2023) 585–603]. Furthermore, as applications of our comparison results, we obtain the Saint-Venant inequality and Bossel–Daners inequality for Robin Laplacian.
Biquandle arrow weight enhancements
Authors: Nelson Sam , Sakurai Migiwa
Published: April 2023

We introduce a new infinite family of enhancements of the biquandle homset invariant called biquandle arrow weights. These invariants assign weights in an abelian group to intersections of arrows in a Gauss diagram representing a classical or virtual knot depending on the biquandle colors associated to the arrows. We provide examples to show that the enhancements are nontrivial and proper, i.e. not determined by the homset cardinality.
Analysis of the Tcs̄(2900) and related tetraquark states with the QCD sum rules
Authors: Yang Xiao-Song , Xin Qi , Wang Zhi-Gang
Published: April 2023

In this research, we tentatively assign the [Formula: see text] as the [Formula: see text]-type tetraquark state, and study the mass spectrum of the tetraquark states with strange and doubly strange, which have the spin-parity [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], in the framework of the QCD sum rules in details, where the [Formula: see text] denotes the axialvector-diquark state. The predicted mass [Formula: see text] is consistent with the experimental values [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] from the LHCb collaboration and supports assigning the [Formula: see text] to be the [Formula: see text]-type scalar [Formula: see text] tetraquark state. The predictions for other tetraquark states can be confronted to the experimental data in the future to diagnose the nature of the fully open flavor exotic states.
Symplectic Method-Based Analytical Solutions of Thermal Buckling for Shear Deformable Circular Functionally Graded Plates
Authors: Zhang Jinghua , Cao Chenxi , Liu Xingna
Published: April 2023

Thermal buckling of a shear deformable circular plate made of functionally graded materials (FGM) is studied using an exact analytical method in the Hamiltonian system. Fundamental equations for the thermal buckling of the plate under transversely nonuniform temperature rising are established based on the first-order shear deformation theory. Subsequently, by introducing the symplectic method, the differential equations are converted into canonical equations in the Hamiltonian system. Buckling loads and buckling modes correspond to symplectic eigenvalues and eigen solutions, respectively. The expressions of complete buckling modes in the form of special functions are achieved by solving canonical equations and boundary conditions analytically and exactly. The symplectic eigenvalues are obtained simultaneously and the buckling temperature increments are calculated using the inverse solution. Finally, the influences of the gradient characteristics, geometric parameters, boundary conditions, and type of thermal loading on the buckling temperature increments are discussed through parameter research.
Inter-Storey Isolation Versus Base Isolation Using Friction Pendulum Systems
Authors: Zhang Chunwei , Duan Cunkun , Sun Li
Published: April 2023

This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing the friction pendulum system based inter-storey isolation (FPS-I) strategy to replace the friction pendulum system base isolation (FPS-B) for high-rise structures’ vibration control against earthquakes. Both experimental verifications and computational analysis are carried out. A scaled nine-storey experimental model structure is constructed in accordance with the third generation Benchmark problem, and three aspects variant FPS with different slideway radius configurations are designed and manufactured based on the geometric similarity criterion. To assess the dynamic characteristics of FPS-B structure and FPS-I structure, four typical ground motions and four different intensities of peak ground acceleration (PGA) are considered. The findings show that FPS-I can effectively suppress the superstructure’s acceleration as well as affecting the lower substructure’s response. When the same earthquakes occur, the vibration reduction effect of FPS-I strategy is achievable between 50 and 60%, which is obviously superior to FPS-B scheme. The FPS-I technology is observed to have an even greater effectiveness on the entire structure’s vibration reduction during strong earthquakes than the traditional FPS-B technology. The basic mode as well as the higher-order mode responses of the high-rise structure can be controlled, resulting in the seismic response of the entire FPS-I structure at lower levels. The first-order mode contributes the most to the superstructure’s floor acceleration response. The location of the isolation layer changes the dynamic characteristics of the structure substantially. Finally, the finite element models for FPS-B structure and FPS-I structure are developed. It is demonstrated through the mutual comparison of experimental and numerical results that the finite element model is sufficient accurate for parametric studies. The numerical model can reproduce the dynamic characteristics of both isolation strategies with high fidelity. This research emerges the benefits of FPS with inter-storey isolation to address the issue of high-rise structures being prone to be over turned in the case of base isolation.
Dual Graph Convolution Architecture Search for Travel Time Estimation
Authors: Jin Guangyin , Yan Huan , Li Fuxian , Li Yong , Huang Jincai
Published: April 2023

Travel time estimation (TTE) is a crucial task in intelligent transportation systems, which has been widely used in navigation and route planning. In recent years, several deep learning frameworks have been proposed to capture the dynamic features of road segments or intersections for travel time estimation. However, most existing works do not consider the joint features of the intersections and road segments. Moreover, most deep neural networks for TTE are designed based on empirical knowledge. Since the independent and joint features of intersections and road segments commonly vary with different datasets, the empirical deterministic neural architectures have limited adaptability to different scenarios. To tackle the above problems, we propose a novel automated deep learning framework, namely Automated Spatio-Temporal Dual Graph Convolutional Networks (Auto-STDGCN), for travel time estimation. Specifically, we propose to construct the node-wise graph and edge-wise graph to characterize the spatio-temporal features of intersections and road segments, respectively. In order to capture the joint spatio-temporal correlations of the dual graphs, a hierarchical neural architecture search approach is introduced, whose search space is composed of internal and external search space. In the internal search space, spatial graph convolution and temporal convolution operations are adopted to capture the respective spatio-temporal correlations of the dual graphs. Further, we design the external search space including the node-wise and edge-wise graph convolution operations from the internal architecture search to capture the interaction patterns between the intersections and road segments. We evaluate our proposed model Auto-STDGCN on three real-world datasets, which demonstrates that our model is significantly superior to the state-of-the-art methods. In addition, we also conduct case studies to visualize and explain the neural architectures learned by our model.
RapidStream 2.0: Automated Parallel Implementation of Latency–Insensitive FPGA Designs Through Partial Reconfiguration
Authors: Guo Licheng , Maidee Pongstorn , Zhou Yun , Lavin Chris , Hung Eddie , Li Wuxi , Lau Jason , Qiao Weikang , Chi Yuze , Song Linghao , Xiao Yuanlong , Kaviani Alireza , Zhang Zhiru , Cong Jason
Published: April 2023

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) require a much longer compilation cycle than conventional computing platforms such as CPUs. In this article, we shorten the overall compilation time by co-optimizing the HLS compilation (C-to-RTL) and the back-end physical implementation (RTL-to-bitstream). We propose a split compilation approach based on the pipelining flexibility at the HLS level, which allows us to partition designs for parallel placement and routing. We outline a number of technical challenges and address them by breaking the conventional boundaries between different stages of the traditional FPGA tool flow and reorganizing them to achieve a fast end-to-end compilation.

Our research produces RapidStream, a parallelized and physical-integrated compilation framework that takes in a latency-insensitive program in C/C++ and generates a fully placed and routed implementation. We present two approaches. The first approach (RapidStream 1.0) resolves inter-partition routing conflicts at the end when separate partitions are stitched together. When tested on the Xilinx U250 FPGA with a set of realistic HLS designs, RapidStream achieves a 5 to 7× reduction in compile time and up to 1.3× increase in frequency when compared with a commercial off-the-shelf toolchain. In addition, we provide preliminary results using a customized open-source router to reduce the compile time up to an order of magnitude in cases with lower performance requirements. The second approach (RapidStream 2.0) prevents routing conflicts using virtual pins. Testing on Xilinx U280 FPGA, we observed 5 to 7× compile time reduction and 1.3× frequency increase.
IRGA: An Intelligent Implicit Real-time Gait Authentication System in Heterogeneous Complex Scenarios
Authors: Yang Li , Li Xi , Ma Zhuoru , Li Lu , Xiong Neal , Ma Jianfeng
Published: April 2023

Gait authentication as a technique that can continuously provide identity recognition on mobile devices for security has been investigated by academics in the community for decades. However, most of the existing work achieves insufficient generalization to complex real-world environments due to the complexity of the noisy real-world gait data. To address this limitation, we propose an intelligent Implicit Real-time Gait Authentication (IRGA) system based on Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) for enhancing the adaptability of gait authentication in practice. In the proposed system, the gait data (whether with complex interference signals) will first be processed sequentially by the imperceptible collection module and data preprocessing module for improving data quality. In order to illustrate and verify the suitability of our proposal, we provide analysis of the impact of individual gait changes on data feature distribution. Finally, a fusion neural network composed of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) is designed to perform feature extraction and user authentication. We evaluate the proposed IRGA system in heterogeneous complex scenarios and present start-of-the-art comparisons on three datasets. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the IRGA system achieves improved performance simultaneously in several different metrics.
Strategies for the Genomic Analysis of Admixed Populations
Authors: Tan Taotao , Atkinson Elizabeth G.
Published: April 2023

Admixed populations constitute a large portion of global human genetic diversity, yet they are often left out of genomics analyses. This exclusion is problematic, as it leads to disparities in the understanding of the genetic structure and history of diverse cohorts and the performance of genomic medicine across populations. Admixed populations have particular statistical challenges, as they inherit genomic segments from multiple source populations—the primary reason they have historically been excluded from genetic studies. In recent years, however, an increasing number of statistical methods and software tools have been developed to account for and leverage admixture in the context of genomics analyses. Here, we provide a survey of such computational strategies for the informed consideration of admixture to allow for the well-calibrated inclusion of mixed ancestry populations in large-scale genomics studies, and we detail persisting gaps in existing tools.
Influence of A-Site Modifications on the Properties of La0.21Sr0.74−xCaxTi0.95Fe0.05O3−δ
Based Fuel Electrode for Solid Oxide Cell
Authors: Paydar S. , Kooser K. , Möller P. , Volobujeva O. , Granroth S. , Lust E. , Nurk G.
Published: April 2023

To make solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems commercially attractive it’s essential to reduce manufacturing cost and improve the stability of membrane electrode assembly (MEA). In this research, the influence of A-site modification on electrical and electrochemical performance of 5% A-site deficient La0.21Sr0.74−xCaxTi0.95Fe0.05O3−δ
(x = 0.26 − 0.69) (LSCTF5-x) hydrogen electrode has been studied. Results indicate that the magnitude of A-site deficiency and Ca concentration in A-site influence the conductivity, catalytic activity and stability of the electrodes considerably. The highest stability was observed in the case of La0.21Sr0.26Ca0.48Ti0.95Fe0.05O3−δ
anode composition. The maximal total electrical conductivity of porous electrode layer made of LSCFT5-x was 3.5 S cm−1 at 850 °C characteristic of the La0.211Sr0.26Ca0.48Ti0.95Fe0.05O3−δ
material in 97% H2 + 3% H2O atmosphere. The best electrochemical performance was observed in the case of La0.21Sr0.37Ca0.37Ti0.95Fe0.05O3−δ
, which showed polarization resistance value equal to 0.44 Ω cm2 after 100 h of stabilization at 800 °C in humidified (1.7% H2O) H2 atmosphere. During the stability test the fuel cell with optimal anode composition 50 wt% La0.21Sr0.26Ca0.48Ti0.95Fe0.05O3−δ
+ 50 wt% Ce0.9Gd0.1O2-δ showed power density of 437 mW cm−2 at 850 °C in 98.3% H2 + 1.7% H2O atmosphere.
Low-Temperature Electrowinning of Iron from Mixed Hematite-Magnetite Alkaline Suspensions
Authors: Boehme Clara , Starykevich Maksim , Constantinescu Gabriel , Kovalevsky Andrei V. , Lopes Daniela V.
Published: April 2023

Iron ore represents a potential feedstock for the alkaline electrowinning of iron from suspensions. However, several difficulties can be imposed during the electrowinning due to the presence of several iron oxide types with different iron valences (e.g. hematite with magnetite), requiring further studies for establishing electrowinning as an alternative technology for iron production. In fact, an adverse effect on the Faradaic efficiency was previously reported when using magnetite as feedstock. The present study demonstrates, for the first time, the possibility of obtaining relatively high Faradaic efficiencies (66%) with hematite-magnetite mixtures at low temperature (80 °C).