bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In Black and White: The Hollow Apology of Racialised State Compensation to Freehold Landowners
Authors: Thipe Thuto
Published: May 2023

The land restitution process in South Africa has moved at a glacial pace over the past quarter century, in large part because of the state’s struggles to determine ‘just and equitable’ compensation to pay white landowners for land for the state to return to black people, whose land was seized by the colonial state. At the same time, the state put forward standard settlement offers to determine financial payment to previous black landowners. This compensation makes no attempt to take into account the actual value of black landowners’ stolen land, but rather offers ‘recognition’ for what was taken: a more symbolic than materially meaningful payment. This chapter examines how the state’s hollow apology to black freehold landowners is rooted in its failure to divest its policy framework from the colonial model that could only imagine black people’s land rights in collective terms, and could not fathom, even when confronted with legally binding evidence, that black people could claim and be entitled to the same rights and protections in land as white people.
The Netherlands and Belgium: The Student Corps and ‘Excess’
Authors: Punch Maurice
Published: May 2023

Elite student societies – the corps in the Netherlands and Belgium, fraternity in the US and club in the UK – were predominantly male, exclusive and indulged in various forms of excess, often cloaked by secrecy. The more elite societies tended to have severe initiations, at times leading to injury or even death. Typically, the societies went into defence mode and the colleges/universities reacted poorly or even malignly.
Prejudice, Discrimination and a False Accusation
Authors: Punch Maurice
Published: May 2023

This chapter looks at: US society and its criminal justice system; campus policing; and control and compliance. Regarding abuse on campus there is an urgency given the ‘epidemic’ of cases. Wealth plays an important role in the US and it influences politics, the media, higher education and criminal justice; hence; money and legal muscle can strongly impact on cases and on institutional responses. In particular, hardline methods are typically employed in the US against female victims regarding sexual offences. Then parents of a male student accused of sexual offences typically resort to expensive lawyers who strongly contest any allegations and use every appeal opportunity to prolong proceedings, while battling to weaken any proposed sanctions. Further, the chapter examines: the treatment of victims; ‘private justice’ in schools; campus scandals and sexual abuse; and the sometimes complicit role of sororities in offences. There is also the contested area of false accusations, drawing on the real ‘Seccuro’ case – at the University of Virginia in 1984– and a student’s false complaint and ensuing turmoil.
Fraternity Abuse: College Athletics, Cynicism, Hypocrisy and Cowardice
Authors: Punch Maurice
Published: May 2023

In recent years there has been a shift to criminal prosecutions, with convictions as well as civil cases sometimes followed by the resignations of senior officials. Fostering this tougher stance was that sexual abuse on the American campus had become a national issue by 2016, with ‘an endless stream’ of disturbing scandals that could no longer be dismissed as incidents. Institutions had failed to investigate, had let down victims and had granted perpetrators immunity. Fostering that move was a string of abuse cases at Wesleyan indicating the unwillingness of some fraternities to change, and the one at Baylor conveying how an ostensibly grave case could nevertheless elicit weak sanctioning. And then there were deeply disturbing abuse cases related to college sports, with some leading to high public concern including the widely publicized one involving Chanel Miller at Stanford. Behind much of this were elements of cynicism, hypocrisy and cowardice.
Conclusion: Reform, Care and Accountability
Authors: Punch Maurice
Published: May 2023

A key issue is whether certain exclusive student clubs can be reformed and be trusted to maintain that reform. The historical evidence across societies raises scepticism as the traditional ones often cannot be relied on to carry out any proposed reforms over time. This remains a grave matter related to risk that can be fatal and to gender-based violence that is serious in its consequences, and both forms can be defined as criminal. This leads to the issue of sanctioning or even abolishing such institutions that enthusiastically seek to ‘go over the edge’. There is also strong evidence of a defensive wall of denial in some self-congratulatory universities, which allowed offenders to get away with forms of abuse over long periods. Of the essence here is accountability, with universities making persistent efforts to provide a safe environment for all students but particularly for women and where such student societies are tightly regulated with sanctions including permanent banishment. For the university cannot allow serious high risk and interpersonal criminal conduct within its domain.
Crime Prevention Outcomes and Implications for Future Investments
Authors: Dandurand Yvon , Heidt Jon
Published: May 2023

This concluding chapter discusses where sports fit in overall crime prevention strategies and whether further investments in sport-based crime prevention programmes are justified. Popular interest in such programmes and limited empirical evidence on their impacts underscore the need for further research. Although useful knowledge exists about what can increase the positive development aspects of a sport-based programme, it remains very difficult to know for whom sport-based crime prevention interventions are most effective, and what they should consist of so as to improve their effectiveness in preventing crime or violence. There is a critical need for substantial and rigorous evaluations. Unfortunately, crime prevention programmes are rarely evaluated, and many existing evaluations are methodologically weak and overly simplistic in their theorizing about the causes of youth crime. Future research should refine existing categorizations of sport-based programmes and attempt to quantify the specific outcomes attributable to sport participation among other related crime prevention outcomes observed in multi-component sport-based programmes.
Understanding UK Military Capability
Authors: Curtis Andrew
Published: May 2023

Who decides what military capability the UK should procure and, more importantly, why? What is the relationship between the politicians who provide the strategic direction and the military officers who translate it into armed forces, trained and equipped for the challenges of today and tomorrow? This book exposes the myriad factors that influence this relationship, from fluctuating geopolitical tensions and the economic health of the nation to the criticality of defence reviews – including the most recent 2021 integrated review – and the often-unseen interrelations between the Ministry of Defence’s strategic headquarters in Whitehall and the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. Today, the military struggles to maintain a force structure capable of doing everything asked of it. That’s because consistently making good capability choices is difficult and those who make the decisions do not always get it right. Using first-hand accounts from some of the most senior officials who have served in the Ministry of Defence over the last decade, this book exposes the reasons why. In doing so, it answers the question, why does UK Defence have the military capability that it has?
The Affordability of Defence
Authors: Curtis Andrew R.
Published: May 2023

This chapter is divided into two main areas: the impact of the economy on defence reviews and contemporary affordability issues. Chapter 5 confirmed the relevance of defence reviews to the interpretation of the translation of strategic direction to military capability model; therefore, recognizing how finance and the economy have shaped defence reviews, and ultimately the defence budget, is a critical part of understanding why the UK has the military capability that it has. The second part of the analysis in this chapter focuses on the more tactical financial concerns of defence decision makers as they go about their business-as-usual management of military capability. Undoubtedly the biggest concerns expressed by senior officials in this area were the over commitment of the defence budget and the ever-expanding list of efficiencies they were expected to deliver to help keep it in check.
Fabrication of a monolithic 5  m aluminum reflector for millimeter-wavelength observations of the cosmic microwave background
Authors: Natoli Tyler , Benson Bradford , Carlstrom John , Chauvin Eric , Clavel Bruno , Emerson Nick , Gallardo Patricio , Niemack Mike , Padin Steve , Schwab Klaus , Stenvers Lutz , Zivick Jeff
Published: May 2023

We have demonstrated the fabrication of a monolithic, 5 m
diameter, aluminum reflector with 17.4 µm root-mean-square
surface error. The reflector was designed to avoid the problem of
pickup due to scattering from panel gaps in a large,
millimeter-wavelength telescope that will be used for measurements of
the cosmic microwave background.
Deep learning-based adaptive optics for light sheet fluorescence microscopy
Authors: Rai Mani Ratnam , Li Chen , Ghashghaei H. Troy , Greenbaum Alon
Published: May 2023

Light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) is a high-speed imaging technique that is often used to image intact tissue-cleared specimens with cellular or subcellular resolution. Like other optical imaging systems, LSFM suffers from sample-induced optical aberrations that decrement imaging quality. Optical aberrations become more severe when imaging a few millimeters deep into tissue-cleared specimens, complicating subsequent analyses. Adaptive optics are commonly used to correct sample-induced aberrations using a deformable mirror. However, routinely used sensorless adaptive optics techniques are slow, as they require multiple images of the same region of interest to iteratively estimate the aberrations. In addition to the fading of fluorescent signal, this is a major limitation as thousands of images are required to image a single intact organ even without adaptive optics. Thus, a fast and accurate aberration estimation method is needed. Here, we used deep-learning techniques to estimate sample-induced aberrations from only two images of the same region of interest in cleared tissues. We show that the application of correction using a deformable mirror greatly improves image quality. We also introduce a sampling technique that requires a minimum number of images to train the network. Two conceptually different network architectures are compared; one that shares convolutional features and another that estimates each aberration independently. Overall, we have presented an efficient way to correct aberrations in LSFM and to improve image quality.
Compression OCT-elastography combined with speckle-contrast analysis as an approach to the morphological assessment of breast cancer tissue
Authors: Plekhanov Anton A. , Gubarkova Ekaterina V. , Sirotkina Marina A. , Sovetsky Alexander A. , Vorontsov Dmitry A. , Matveev Lev A. , Kuznetsov Sergey S. , Bogomolova Alexandra Y. , Vorontsov Alexey Y. , Matveyev Alexander L. , Gamayunov Sergey V. , Zagaynova Elena V. , Zaitsev Vladimir Y. , Gladkova Natalia D.
Published: May 2023

Currently, optical biopsy technologies are being developed for rapid and label-free visualization of biological tissue with micrometer-level resolution. They can play an important role in breast-conserving surgery guidance, detection of residual cancer cells, and targeted histological analysis. For solving these problems, compression optical coherence elastography (C-OCE) demonstrated impressive results based on differences in the elasticity of different tissue constituents. However, sometimes straightforward C-OCE-based differentiation is insufficient because of the similar stiffness of certain tissue components. We present a new automated approach to the rapid morphological assessment of human breast cancer based on the combined usage of C-OCE and speckle-contrast (SC) analysis. Using the SC analysis of structural OCT images, the threshold value of the SC coefficient was established to enable the separation of areas of adipose cells from necrotic cancer cells, even if they are highly similar in elastic properties. Consequently, the boundaries of the tumor bed can be reliably identified. The joint analysis of structural and elastographic images enables automated morphological segmentation based on the characteristic ranges of stiffness (Young's modulus) and SC coefficient established for four morphological structures of breast-cancer samples from patients post neoadjuvant chemotherapy (residual cancer cells, cancer stroma, necrotic cancer cells, and mammary adipose cells). This enabled precise automated detection of residual cancer-cell zones within the tumor bed for grading cancer response to chemotherapy. The results of C-OCE/SC morphometry highly correlated with the histology-based results (r =0.96-0.98). The combined C-OCE/SC approach has the potential to be used intraoperatively for achieving clean resection margins in breast cancer surgery and for performing targeted histological analysis of samples, including the evaluation of the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy.
CGAN-rIRN: a data-augmented deep learning approach to accurate classification of mental tasks for a fNIRS-based brain-computer interface
Authors: Zhang Yao , Liu Dongyuan , Li Tieni , Zhang Pengrui , Li Zhiyong , Gao Feng
Published: May 2023

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is increasingly used to investigate different mental tasks for brain-computer interface (BCI) control due to its excellent environmental and motion robustness. Feature extraction and classification strategy for fNIRS signal are essential to enhance the classification accuracy of voluntarily controlled BCI systems. The limitation of traditional machine learning classifiers (MLCs) lies in manual feature engineering, which is considered as one of the drawbacks that reduce accuracy. Since the fNIRS signal is a typical multivariate time series with multi-dimensionality and complexity, it makes the deep learning classifier (DLC) ideal for classifying neural activation patterns. However, the inherent bottleneck of DLCs is the requirement of substantial-scale, high-quality labeled training data and expensive computational resources to train deep networks. The existing DLCs for classifying mental tasks do not fully consider the temporal and spatial properties of fNIRS signals. Therefore, a specifically-designed DLC is desired to classify multi-tasks with high accuracy in fNIRS-BCI. To this end, we herein propose a novel data-augmented DLC to accurately classify mental tasks, which employs a convolution-based conditional generative adversarial network (CGAN) for data augmentation and a revised Inception-ResNet (rIRN) based DLC. The CGAN is utilized to generate class-specific synthetic fNIRS signals to augment the training dataset. The network architecture of rIRN is elaborately designed in accordance with the characteristics of the fNIRS signal, with serial multiple spatial and temporal feature extraction modules (FEMs), where each FEM performs deep and multi-scale feature extraction and fusion. The results of the paradigm experiments show that the proposed CGAN-rIRN approach improves the single-trial accuracy for mental arithmetic and mental singing tasks in both the data augmentation and classifier, as compared to the traditional MLCs and the commonly used DLCs. The proposed fully data-driven hybrid deep learning approach paves a promising way to improve the classification performance of volitional control fNIRS-BCI.
Optical coherence tomography of human fetal membrane sub-layers during loading
Authors: Samimi Kayvan , Contreras Guzman Emmanuel , Wu May , Carlson Lindsey , Feltovich Helen , Hall Timothy J. , Myers Kristin M. , Oyen Michelle L. , Skala Melissa C.
Published: May 2023

Fetal membranes have important mechanical and antimicrobial roles in maintaining pregnancy. However, the small thickness (<800 µm) of fetal membranes places them outside the resolution limits of most ultrasound and magnetic resonance systems. Optical imaging methods like optical coherence tomography (OCT) have the potential to fill this resolution gap. Here, OCT and machine learning methods were developed to characterize the ex vivo properties of human fetal membranes under dynamic loading. A saline inflation test was incorporated into an OCT system, and tests were performed on n = 33 and n = 32 human samples obtained from labored and C-section donors, respectively. Fetal membranes were collected in near-cervical and near-placental locations. Histology, endogenous two photon fluorescence microscopy, and second harmonic generation microscopy were used to identify sources of contrast in OCT images of fetal membranes. A convolutional neural network was trained to automatically segment fetal membrane sub-layers with high accuracy (Dice coefficients >0.8). Intact amniochorion bilayer and separated amnion and chorion were individually loaded, and the amnion layer was identified as the load-bearing layer within intact fetal membranes for both labored and C-section samples, consistent with prior work. Additionally, the rupture pressure and thickness of the amniochorion bilayer from the near-placental region were greater than those of the near-cervical region for labored samples. This location-dependent change in fetal membrane thickness was not attributable to the load-bearing amnion layer. Finally, the initial phase of the loading curve indicates that amniochorion bilayer from the near-cervical region is strain-hardened compared to the near-placental region in labored samples. Overall, these studies fill a gap in our understanding of the structural and mechanical properties of human fetal membranes at high resolution under dynamic loading events.
Double slot micro ring resonators with inner wall angular gratings as ultra-sensitive biochemical sensors
Authors: Cheng Weiqing , Sun Xiao , Ye Shengwei , Yuan Bocheng , Xiong Jichuan , Liu Xuefeng , Sun Yiming , Marsh John H. , Hou Lianping
Published: May 2023

We simulate and demonstrate experimentally an inner-wall grating double slot micro ring resonator (IG-DSMRR) with a center slot ring radius of only 6.72 µm based on the silicon-on-insulator platform. This novel photonic-integrated sensor for optical label-free biochemical analysis boosts the measured refractive index (RI) sensitivity in glucose solutions to 563 nm/RIU with the limit of detection value being 3.7 × 10−6 RIU (refractive index units). The concentration sensitivity for sodium chloride solutions can reach 981 pm/%, with a minimum concentration detection limit of 0.02%. Using the combination of DSMRR and IG, the detection range is enlarged significantly to 72.62 nm, three times the free spectral range of conventional slot micro ring resonators. The measured Q-factor is 1.6 × 104, and the straight strip and double slot waveguide transmission losses are 0.9 dB/cm and 20.2 dB/cm, respectively. This IG-DSMRR combines the advantages of a micro ring resonator, slot waveguide, and angular grating and is highly desirable for biochemical sensing in liquids and gases offering an ultra-high sensitivity and ultra-large measurement range. This is the first report of a fabricated and measured double-slot micro ring resonator with an inner sidewall grating structure.
High-resolution mid-infrared spectroscopy based on ultrafast Cr:ZnSe laser
Authors: Vicentini Edoardo , Gambetta Alessio , Canella Francesco , Coluccelli Nicola , Laporta Paolo , Galzerano Gianluca
Published: May 2023

High-resolution broadband direct frequency comb spectroscopy in the mid-infrared spectral region is an extremely powerful and versatile experimental technique that allows study of the molecular structure of gaseous compounds with multiple applicative and scientific implications. Here we present the first implementation of an ultrafast Cr:ZnSe mode-locked laser covering more than 7 THz at around the emission wavelength of 2.4 μm, for direct frequency comb molecular spectroscopy with a frequency sampling of 220 MHz and a frequency resolution of ∼100 kHz. This technique is based on a scanning micro-cavity resonator with a Finesse of ∼12,000 and a diffraction reflecting grating. We demonstrate its application in high-precision spectroscopy of the acetylene molecule by retrieving line center frequencies of more than 68 roto-vibrational lines. Our technique paves the way for real time spectroscopic studies as well as for hyperspectral imaging techniques.
Uniform design and deep learning based liquid lens optimization strategy toward improving dynamic optical performance and lowering driving force
Authors: Zhang Xinyue , Li Haitao , Yu Hongbin
Published: May 2023

An efficient optimization strategy for liquid lens combining the uniform design and the deep learning is proposed to achieve improved dynamic optical performance and lowering driving force simultaneously. The membrane of the liquid lens is designed into a plano-convex cross-section, in which the contour function of the convex surface as well as the central membrane thickness is especially optimized. The uniform design method is initially utilized to select a part of uniformly distributed and representative parameter combinations from all possible parameter range, and their performance data is then obtained through simulation using MATLAB to control COMSOL and ZEMAX. After that, a deep learning framework is employed to build a four-layer neural network with its input and output layer representing the parameter combinations and the performance data, respectively. After 5 × 103 epochs, the deep neural network has undergone sufficient training, demonstrating effective performance prediction capability for all parameter combinations. Finally, a “globally” optimized design can be obtained by setting appropriate evaluation criteria which take the spherical aberration, the coma and the driving force into consideration. Compared with the conventional design using uniform membrane thickness of 100 µm and 150 µm as well as the previously reported “locally” optimized design, distinct improvements in the spherical and the coma aberrations across the entire focal length tuning range have been achieved, whilst the required driving force is largely reduced. In addition, the “globally” optimized design exhibits the best modulation transfer function (MTF) curves and provides the best image quality.
Visual findings in children exposed to Zika in utero in Nicaragua
Authors: Martinez Evelin , Max Ryan , Bucardo Filemón , Stringer Elizabeth M. , Becker-Dreps Sylvia , Toval-Ruíz Christian , Chavarria Meylin , Meléndez-Balmaceda María J. , Nuñez Carlos , Collins Matthew H. , Boivin Michael , Ortiz-Pujols Shiara , Zepeda Omar , Cross Kaitlyn , Gower Emily W. , Bowman Natalie M. , Grace Sara F.
Published: May 2023

Knowledge regarding the frequency of ocular abnormalities and abnormal visual function in children exposed to Zika virus (ZIKV)in uterobut born without congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) is limited. We hypothesized that children exposed to ZIKVin uteroborn without CZS may have visual impairments in early childhood. We performed ophthalmic examination between 16 and 21 months of age and neurodevelopment assessment at 24 months of age with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning test (MSEL) on children enrolled in a cohort born to women pregnant during and shortly after the ZIKV epidemic in Nicaragua (2016–2017). ZIKV exposure status was defined based on maternal and infant serological testing. Visual impairment was defined as abnormal if the child had an abnormal ophthalmic exam and/or low visual reception score in the MSEL assessment. Of 124 children included in the analysis, 24 (19.4%) were classified as ZIKV-exposed and 100 (80.6%) unexposed according to maternal or cord blood serology. Ophthalmic examination showed that visual acuity did not differ significantly between groups, thus, 17.4% of ZIKV-exposed and 5.2% of unexposed had abnormal visual function (p= 0.07) and 12.5% of the ZIKV-exposed and 2% of the unexposed had abnormal contrast testing (p= 0.05). Low MSEL visual reception score was 3.2-fold higher in ZIKV-exposed than unexposed children, but not statistically significant (OR 3.2, CI: 0.8–14.0;p= 0.10). Visual impairment (a composite measure of visual function or low MESL visual reception score) was present in more ZIKV-exposed than in unexposed children (OR 3.7, CI: 1.2, 11.0;p= 0.02). However, the limited sample size warrants future investigations to fully assess the impact ofin uteroZIKV exposure on ocular structures and visual function in early childhood, even in apparently healthy children.
Combined impacts of environmental and socioeconomic covariates on HFMD risk in China: A spatiotemporal heterogeneous perspective
Authors: Li Chun-Hu , Mao Jun-Jie , Wu You-Jia , Zhang Bin , Zhuang Xun , Qin Gang , Liu Hong-Mei
Published: May 2023

Background

Understanding geospatial impacts of multi-sourced influencing factors on the epidemic of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is of great significance for formulating disease control policies tailored to regional-specific needs, yet the knowledge is very limited. We aim to identify and further quantify the spatiotemporal heterogeneous effects of environmental and socioeconomic factors on HFMD dynamics.

Methods

We collected monthly province-level HFMD incidence and related environmental and socioeconomic data in China during 2009–2018. Hierarchical Bayesian models were constructed to investigate the spatiotemporal relationships between regional HFMD and various covariates: linear and nonlinear effects for environmental covariates, and linear effects for socioeconomic covariates.

Results

The spatiotemporal distribution of HFMD cases was highly heterogeneous, indicated by the Lorenz curves and the corresponding Gini indices. The peak time (R2 = 0.65, P = 0.009), annual amplitude (R2 = 0.94, P<0.001), and semi-annual periodicity contribution (R2 = 0.88, P<0.001) displayed marked latitudinal gradients in Central China region. The most likely cluster areas for HFMD were located in south China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hainan) from April 2013 to October 2017. The Bayesian models achieved the best predictive performance (R2 = 0.87, P<0.001). We found significant nonlinear associations between monthly average temperature, relative humidity, normalized difference vegetation index and HFMD transmission. Besides, population density (RR = 1.261; 95%CI, 1.169–1.353), birth rate (RR = 1.058; 95%CI, 1.025–1.090), real GDP per capita (RR = 1.163; 95%CI, 1.033–1.310) and school vacation (RR = 0.507; 95%CI, 0.459–0.559) were identified to have positive or negative effects on HFMD respectively. Our model could successfully predict months with HFMD outbreaks versus non-outbreaks in provinces of China from Jan 2009 to Dec 2018.

Conclusions

Our study highlights the importance of refined spatial and temporal data, as well as environmental and socioeconomic information, on HFMD transmission dynamics. The spatiotemporal analysis framework may provide insights into adjusting regional interventions to local conditions and temporal variations in broader natural and social sciences.
Genetic variation in promoter region of the bovine LAP3 gene associated with estimated breeding values of milk production traits and clinical mastitis in dairy cattle
Authors: Worku Destaw , Gowane Gopal , Verma Archana
Published: May 2023

The purpose of this study was to identify genetic variants in the promoter and 5’UTR regions of bovine leucine amino peptidase three (LAP3) gene and analysed their associations with estimated breeding values (EBVs) of milk production traits and clinical mastitis in Sahiwal and Karan Fries cattle. Eleven SNPs were identified within the region under study of the LAP3 gene, including seven promoter variants (rs717156555: C>G, rs720373055: T>C, rs715189731: A>G, rs516876447: A>G, rs461857269: C>T, rs136548163: C>T, and rs720349928: G>A) and four 5’UTR variants (rs717884982: C>T, rs722359733: C>T, rs481631804: C>T and rs462932574: T>G). Out of them, 10 SNPs variants were found in both Sahiwal and Karan Fries cattle, with one SNP variant (rs481631804: C>T) being unique to Karan Fries cattle. Seven of these identified SNPs were chosen for association analyses. Individual SNP based association analysis revealed that two SNPs (rs720373055: T>C and rs720349928: G>A) were significantly associated with EBVs of lactation milk yield (LMY), 305-day milk yield (305dMY), and one significant association of SNP rs722359733: C>T with lactation length (LL) was observed. Haplotype based association analysis indicated that diplotypes are significantly associated with EBVs of LMY, 305dMY, and LL, individuals with H1H3 (CTACGCT/GCGTACG) being linked to higher lactation performance than other diplotypes. Further logistic regression analysis revealed that, animals with diplotype H1H3 was less susceptible to the incidence of clinical mastitis than other cows, as the odds ratio for the non-incidence of clinical mastitis was found to be low. Altogether, variations in the LAP3 gene promoter could be used as a genetic marker, most notably diplotype H1H3, may greatly benefit the simultaneous improvement of mastitis resistance and milk yield traits in dairy cattle. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis predicted that the SNPs rs720373055: T>C, rs715189731:A>G and rs720349928: G>A is located in the core promoter region and in TFBs, play key role in regulation of studied phenotypes.
HIV infection and cardiovascular disease have both shared and distinct monocyte gene expression features: Women’s Interagency HIV study
Authors: Lin Juan , Ehinger Erik , Hanna David B. , Qi Qibin , Wang Tao , Ghosheh Yanal , Mueller Karin , Anastos Kathryn , Lazar Jason M. , Mack Wendy J. , Tien Phyllis C. , Berman Joan W. , Cohen Mardge H. , Ofotokun Igho , Gange Stephen , Liu Chenglong , Heath Sonya L. , Tracy Russell P. , Hodis Howard N. , Landay Alan L. , Ley Klaus , Kaplan Robert C.
Published: May 2023

Persistent inflammation contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as an HIV-associated comorbidity. Innate immune cells such as monocytes are major drivers of inflammation in men and women with HIV. The study objectives are to examine the contribution of circulating non-classical monocytes (NCM, CD14dimCD16+) and intermediate monocytes (IM, CD14+CD16+) to the host response to long-term HIV infection and HIV-associated CVD. Women with and without chronic HIV infection (H) were studied. Subclinical CVD (C) was detected as plaques imaged by B-mode carotid artery ultrasound. The study included H-C-, H+C-, H-C+, and H+C+ participants (23 of each, matched on race/ethnicity, age and smoking status), selected from among enrollees in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study. We assessed transcriptomic features associated with HIV or CVD alone or comorbid HIV/CVD comparing to healthy (H-C-) participants in IM and NCM isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. IM gene expression was little affected by HIV alone or CVD alone. In IM, coexisting HIV and CVD produced a measurable gene transcription signature, which was abolished by lipid-lowering treatment. In NCM, versus non-HIV controls, women with HIV had altered gene expression, irrespective of whether or not they had comorbid CVD. The largest set of differentially expressed genes was found in NCM among women with both HIV and CVD. Genes upregulated in association with HIV included several potential targets of drug therapies, including LAG3 (CD223). In conclusion, circulating monocytes from patients with well controlled HIV infection demonstrate an extensive gene expression signature which may be consistent with the ability of these cells to serve as potential viral reservoirs. Gene transcriptional changes in HIV patients were further magnified in the presence of subclinical CVD.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ukrainian mortality, 2020–2021
Authors: Mehta Neil K. , Honchar Ihor , Doroshenko Olena , Pak Khrystyna , Daniuk Mariia , Polikarchuk Pavlo
Published: May 2023

The mortality impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine has remained incomplete. We estimated excess deaths associated with the pandemic in Ukraine during 2020 and 2021. Excess deaths may be attributed directly to SARS-CoV-2 infection or indirectly to deaths associated with social and economic upheavals resulting from the pandemic. Data on all deaths registered in government-controlled Ukraine from 2016–2021 (N = 3,657,475) were utilized. Using a model-based approach, we predicted monthly excess deaths in 2020 and 2021. We estimated 47,578 excess deaths in 2020 as a whole (7.71% of all recorded deaths). This figure reflects both positive (higher than expected) excess deaths from June-December and negative (lower than expected) deaths in January and March-May. From June-December 2020, we estimated 59,363 excess deaths (15.75% of all recorded deaths in those months). In 2021, we estimated 150,049 excess deaths (21.01% of all recorded deaths). Positive excess deaths were detected across age groups even groups younger than 40 years. The number of excess deaths exceeded that of deaths with COVID-19 coded on the death certificate by more than two-fold in 2020, but that difference narrowed in 2021. We furthermore provide provisional estimates of the effect of low vaccine coverage on excess deaths in 2021 drawing from European cross-national evidence and provisional estimates of the hypothetical evolution of the pandemic in 2022 to serve as a rough basis for future studies analyzing the joint impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion on Ukrainian demography.
Ginsenoside 24-OH-PD from red ginseng inhibits acute T-lymphocytic leukaemia by activating the mitochondrial pathway
Authors: Li Qingmiao , Chen Yongfu , Zhao Xiaolin , Lu Bocheng , Qu Tingli , Tang Li , Zheng Qian
Published: May 2023

Ginsenoside 24-hydroxy-ginsengdiol (24-OH-PD), extracted from red ginseng, is a novel diol-type ginsenoside, strongly inhibits the growth of human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) CCRF-CEM cells. Our research aimed at investigating the mechanism underlying this inhibition. Cell viability was determined using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, and NOD/SCID mice bearing CCRF-CEM cells were used to verify the therapeutic effect of 24-OH-PD on T-ALLin vivo. We equally analysed pathways related to 24-OH-PD in CCRF-CEM cells using RNA-Seq analysis. Cell apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) levels were detected by flow cytometry. The activity of caspase3 and caspase9 was detected by enzyme activity detection kits. The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins and mRNA were determined through western blotting and quantitative reverse-transcription PCR assays (qRT-PCR). CCK-8 assay and animal xenograft experiments confirmed that 24-OH-PD significantly inhibited T-ALL in a dose-dependent manner, bothin vivoandin vitro. RNA-Seq results suggest that mitochondria-mediated apoptosis pathway plays an important role in this process. Furthermore, intracellular ROS levels increased, mPTP opened, and ΔΨm decreased following 24-OH-PD treatment. Pretreatment with the antioxidant, NAC, reversed the effects of 24-OH-PD on apoptosis and ROS generation. Moreover, 24-OH-PD treatment increased the expression of Bax and caspase family members, thereby releasing cytochrome c (Cytc) and inducing apoptosis. Our findings showed that, 24-OH-PD induces apoptosis in CCRF-CEM cells by activating the mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis pathway through ROS accumulation. This inhibitory effect implies that 24-OH-PD could be further developed as treatment of T-ALL.
Spiny mice (Acomys) cells fail to engraft in NOD scid gamma
Authors: Gaire Janak , Supper Valentina , Montgomery Darrice , Simmons Chelsey S.
Published: May 2023

Immune cells and stromal cells regulate wound healing and regeneration through complex activation patterns with spatiotemporal variation. The scarless regeneration of Spiny mice (Acomys species) is no exception; differential activation of immune and stromal cell populations seems to play a role in its remarkable regenerative capacity. To elucidate the role and interplay of Acomys immune cells in mammalian regeneration, we sought to create Acomys-Mus chimeras by transplanting bone marrow (BM) from Acomys into NOD Scid Gamma (NSG), a severely immunodeficient mouse line often used in creating humanized mice. Here, we report that Acomys BM cells fail to reconstitute and differentiate when transferred to irradiated NSG adults and neonates. In addition, we did not detect the presence of donor cells nor observe the onset of Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD)-like pathology, even after transplanting Acomys splenocytes in Acomys-Mus chimeras suggesting early graft failure. Overall, these results demonstrate the adoptive transfer of Acomys BM alone is not sufficient to establish Acomys hematopoietic system in NSG mouse.
Charitable donations and the theory of planned behaviour: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: White Katherine M. , Starfelt Sutton Louise C. , Zhao Xiang
Published: May 2023

Given the predominance of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to represent the psychological determinants underlying people’s charitable decisions, the present study synthesised the model’s key relationships, using meta-analysis, and tested the predictive utility of the model for charitable giving encompassing donations of blood, organs, time, and money. Given its relevance to altruistic decisions, the impact of moral norm was assessed also. A systematic literature review identified 117 samples (from 104 studies) examining donation intentions and/or prospective behaviour using TPB measures. The sample-weighted average effects for all associations were moderate-to-strong with perceived behavioural control (PBC) most strongly associated with intention (r+ = 0.562), followed by moral norm (r+ = 0.537), attitude (r+ = 0.507), and subjective norm (r+ = 0.472). Intention (r+ = 0.424) showed stronger associations with prospective behaviour than PBC (r+ = 0.301). The standard TPB predictors explained 44% of variance in intention (52% including moral norm). Intention and PBC explained 19% of variance in behaviour. A number of TPB associations showed differences when analysed for moderator variables such as length of follow-up for prospective behaviour and type of target behaviour. Stronger associations were found for the (subjective and moral) norm-intention associations among some of the different types of giving behaviours, especially for donating organs and time. Overall, the large proportion of variance explained by the TPB predictors especially for intention highlights those cognitions associated with people’s plans to give, informative for charities reliant on people’s propensity to give.
Factors associated with long-term gastrointestinal symptoms in colorectal cancer survivors in the women’s health initiatives (WHI study)
Authors: Han Claire J. , Reding Kerryn W. , Kalady Matthew F. , Yung Rachel , Greenlee Heather , Paskett Electra D.
Published: May 2023

Purpose

Colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors often experience long-term symptoms after cancer treatments. But gastrointestinal (GI) symptom experiences are under-investigated in CRC survivors. We described persistent GI symptoms after cancer treatments in female CRC survivors and assessed GI symptoms’ risk and life-impact factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional study utilized data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Life and Longevity After Cancer (LILAC) study that recruited postmenopausal women. Correlation analyses and multivariable linear regression models were used.

Results

CRC survivors after cancer treatments were included (N = 413, mean age 71.2 years old, mean time since diagnosis = 8.1 years). 81% of CRC survivors experienced persistent GI symptoms. Bloating/gas was the most prevalent (54.2%± 0.88) and severe GI symptom, followed by constipation (44.1%±1.06), diarrhea (33.4%±0.76), and abdominal/pelvic pain (28.6%±0.62). Significant risk factors for GI symptoms include time since cancer diagnosis (<5 years), advanced cancer stage, high psychological distress, poor dietary habits, and low physical activity. Fatigue and sleep disturbance were the most significant risk factors for long-term GI symptoms (β = 0.21, t = 3.557; β = 0.20, t = 3.336, respectively, Ps < .001). High severity of GI symptoms was positively associated with poor quality of life (QOL), increased daily life interferences (social and physical functions), and low body image satisfaction (Ps < .001).

Conclusions

Women CRC survivors experience a high GI symptom burden, highlighting the need to inform policy and improve the QOL of cancer survivors. Our findings will aid in identifying those more vulnerable to symptoms, and inform future survivorship care interventions (i.e., community-based cancer symptom management) by considering multiple risk factors (e.g., psychological distress).
Summation of activation at the branch-stem transition of Mimosa pudica; a comparison with summation in cardiac tissue
Authors: de Bakker Jacques M. T. , Coronel Ruben
Published: May 2023

In Mimosa pudica plants, local and global responses to environmental stimuli are associated with different types of electrical activity. Non-damaging stimuli (e.g. cooling) generate action potentials (APs), whereas damaging stimuli (e.g. heating) are associated with variation potentials (VPs). Local cooling of Mimosa branches resulted in APs that propagated up to the branch-stem interface and caused drooping of the branch (local response). This electrical activation did not pass the interface. If the branch was triggered by heat, however, a VP was transferred to the stem and caused activation of the entire plant (global response). VPs caused by heat were always preceded by APs and summation of the two types of activation appeared to be necessary for the activation to pass the branch-stem interface. Mechanical cutting of leaves also resulted in VPs preceded by APs, but in those cases a time delay was present between the two activations, which prevented adequate summation and transmission of activation. Simultaneous cold-induced activation of a branch and the stem below the interface occasionally resulted in summation sufficient to activate the stem beyond the interface. To investigate the effect of activation delay on summation, a similar structure of excitable converging pathways, consisting of a star-shaped pattern of neonatal rat heart cells, was used. In this model, summation of activation was not hindered by a small degree of asynchrony. The observations indicate that summation occurs in excitable branching structures and suggest that summation of activation plays a role in the propagation of nocuous stimuli in Mimosa.
Manuel Atienza y Elías Díaz. Imagen de una iusfilosofía en español
Authors: Bañuls Soto Fernando
Published: May 2023

Examen de la iusfilosofía de Manuel Atienza señalando especialmente su relación con Elías Díaz, y con referencias al proyecto Imaginación Ética (Ética en Imágenes), en el que se realiza una aproximación a la reflexión ética a partir de imágenes seleccionadas.
La dimensión política de «El Derecho como argumentación» de Manuel Atienza
Authors: Ibarra Cárdenas José de Jesús
Published: May 2023

La propuesta teórica de Manuel Atienza, expresada en El Derecho como argumentación, contiene un factor potencial de transformación social de la práctica jurídica. Mediante categorías y conceptos de Hannah Arendt, el autor analiza la incidencia de las corrientes postpositivistas en el cambio político, específicamente la argumentación como forma de acción política en favor del Estado constitucional de Derecho.
Incidence and Predictors of Gastric Neoplastic Lesions in Corpus-Restricted Atrophic Gastritis: A Single-Center Cohort Study
Authors: Dilaghi Emanuele , Dottori Ludovica , Pivetta Giulia , Dalla Bella Martina , Esposito Gianluca , Ligato Irene , Pilozzi Emanuela , Annibale Bruno , Lahner Edith
Published: May 2023

INTRODUCTION:

Corpus-restricted atrophic gastritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder leading to possible development of type 1 neuroendocrine tumors (T1gNET), intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN), and gastric cancer (GC). We aimed to assess occurrence and predictors of gastric neoplastic lesions in patients with corpus-restricted atrophic gastritis at long-term follow-up.

METHODS:

A prospective single-center cohort of patients with corpus-restricted atrophic gastritis adhering to endoscopic-histological surveillance was considered. Follow-up gastroscopies were scheduled according to the management of epithelial precancerous conditions and lesions of the stomach guidelines. In case of new/worsening of known symptoms, gastroscopy was anticipated. Cox regression analyses and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were obtained.

RESULTS:

Two hundred seventy-five patients with corpus-restricted atrophic gastritis (72.0% female, median age 61 [23–84] years) were included. At a median follow-up of 5 (1–17) years, the annual incidence rate person-year was 0.5%, 0.6%, 2.8%, and 3.9% for GC/high-grade IEN, low-grade IEN, T1gNET, and all gastric neoplastic lesions, respectively. All patients showed at baseline operative link for gastritis assessment (OLGA)-2, except 2 low-grade (LG) IEN patients and 1 T1gNET patient with OLGA-1. Age older than 60 years (hazard ratio [HR] 4.7), intestinal metaplasia without pseudopyloric metaplasia (HR 4.3), and pernicious anemia (HR 4.3) were associated with higher risk for GC/HG-IEN or LG-IEN development and shorter mean survival time for progression (13.4, 13.2, and 11.1, respectively, vs 14.7 years, P = 0.01). Pernicious anemia was an independent risk factor for T1gNET (HR 2.2) and associated with a shorter mean survival time for progression (11.7 vs 13.6 years, P = 0.04) as well as severe corpus atrophy (12.8 vs 13.6 years, P = 0.03).

DISCUSSION:

Patients with corpus-restricted atrophic gastritis are at increased risk for GC and T1gNET despite low-risk OLGA scores, and those aged older than 60 years with corpus intestinal metaplasia or pernicious anemia seem to display a high-risk scenario.