bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inverse design of polymorphic Dirac-like cone dispersion relationship in photonic crystals
Authors: Wang Yixin , Xie Quan , Jiang Chun
Published: November 2023

Dirac-like cone linear dispersion relations in photonic crystals (PhCs) often endow them with unique properties, yet searching for such relations can be challenging. We introduce a generalized inverse design system that, given the dielectric constants and lattice of two-dimensional PhCs, can efficiently determine its structural parameters to obtain its Dirac-like cone dispersion. Employing this inverse design strategy, we design three types of Dirac cone PhCs, including triple degenerate, quadruple degenerate, and triple degenerate under dual polarization with the same frequency. Further investigations reveal a systematic relationship between the radius of the dielectric rods in these PhCs and their corresponding Dirac frequencies across varying dielectric constants. The zero refractive index characteristic is validated in two of the three PhCs studied, as confirmed through numerical simulations. Additionally, by leveraging our proposed inverse design method, we introduce an innovative shell dielectric rod model, which encapsulates a dielectric material, achieving a quadruple degenerate dispersion structure with dual Dirac cones. This research provides a potent tool for the inverse design of PhCs and expands its application in Dirac cone dispersion design.
Ultra-high-Q and ultra-sensitive refractive index sensing in low refractive index dielectric gratings based on bound states in the continuum
Authors: Fang Ze-Zhou , Xu Han-Lei , Su Jin-Yue , Zhou Jin-Yun , Meng Zi-Ming
Published: November 2023

The realization of a high quality factor (Q-factor) and strong local optical fields has long been of great interest in the field of nanophotonics. Unfortunately, it is still challenging to achieve high-Q and strong localized fields in nanostructures made of low refractive index materials. In this study, drawing upon the concept of bound states in the continuum (BICs), an asymmetric dielectric grating composed of low refractive index materials is demonstrated to generate an ultra-high-Q symmetry-protected quasi-BIC in the visible wavelength. Importantly, the design of BIC (quasi-BIC) mode enables the strong localized confinement of light in air. By leveraging this property, we realize ultra-sensitive refractive index sensing with a remarkable sensitivity of 669 nm/RIU and a high figure of merit (FOM) of 45,314RIU−1. This study offers an approach to achieve highly sensitive and high precision refractive index sensing with potential applications in the practical realization of strong light–matter interactions using low index materials.
Lagging propagation phase of spatially structured beams
Authors: Wan Zhenyu , Tang Ziyi , Wang Jian
Published: November 2023

The structured beams especially with spatially varying phase distribution have attracted tremendous attention in both physics and engineering. Recently, studies have shown that the transverse spatial confinement of optical fields or photons leads to a modification of the group velocity but the phase velocity of propagating structured beams is revealed insufficiently in the experiments. In this work, we provide the theoretical model and experimental observation of propagation phase of structured beams. The analysis suggests that the spatially structured beams with a definite axial component of wavevector kr carry a so called “lagging propagation phase”, which can be considered as a generalized Gouy phase that originally appears within a focal region. Taking the higher-order Bessel beam as an example, the propagation phase difference is demonstrated by mapping to the rotating angle of intensity patterns superposed with different radial and angular phase gradients. Physically, the lagging propagation phase may provide an interpretation for the dynamic evolution of complex structured beams or interfering fringes upon propagation such as the vortex knots or braids. From the application aspect, the lagging propagation phase would facilitate a promising way for structured beams in optical sensing and metrology.
Nonlinear post-compression of a hybrid vortex mode in a gas-filled capillary
Authors: Vimal Mekha , Natile Michele , Lupi Jean-François , Guichard Florent , Descamps Dominique , Hanna Marc , Georges Patrick
Published: November 2023

We demonstrate nonlinear temporal compression of a vortex beam by propagation in a gas-filled capillary. Starting from an ytterbium-based laser delivering 700 μJ 640 fs pulses at a 100 kHz repetition rate, the vortex beam is generated using a spiral phase plate and coupled to a capillary where it excites a set of four modes that have an overlap integral of 97% with a Laguerre–Gauss LG10 mode. Nonlinear propagation of this hybrid, orbital angular momentum (OAM)-carrying mode results in temporal compression down to 74 fs at the output. Beam and pulse characterizations are carried out to determine the spatial profile and temporal duration of compressed pulses. This result in multimode nonlinear optics paves the way towards the generation of OAM-carrying few-cycle pulses, isolated attosecond XUV pulses, and tunable UV pulses through resonant dispersive wave emission.
High transparent conductive Ga-doped ZnO-based multilayer thin films with embedded ultrathin TiN layer deposited in oxygen-containing atmosphere
Authors: Liu Yang , Yu Huaqing , Zeng Qingdong , Ruan Qingyu
Published: November 2023

To avoid metal layer oxidation during the deposition of transparent conductive oxide (TCO)/metal/TCO multilayer films in an oxygen-containing atmosphere, the ultra-thin (<10 nm) titanium nitride (TiN) layer has been proposed to replace metal embedding in gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) film for the development of indium-free transparent electrodes. The effects of TiN thickness on the structure, morphology, electrical, and optical properties of GZO/TiN/GZO multilayer thin films deposited in argon–oxygen mixtures on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering are investigated. The experimental results reveal that multilayers with the 8 nm-thick TiN layer have the optimal performance (figure of merit of 2.75 × 10−1 Ω−1): resistivity of 4.68 × 10−5 Ω cm, and optical transmittance of above 91% in the visible region, which is superior to the sandwich film with the metal embedded layer.
Cross-attention learning enables real-time nonuniform rotational distortion correction in OCT
Authors: Yang Jianlong , Zhang Haoran , Zhang Jingqian , Zhao Shiqing , Zhang Aili
Published: November 2023

Nonuniform rotational distortion (NURD) correction is vital for endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging and its functional extensions, such as angiography and elastography. Current NURD correction methods require time-consuming feature tracking/registration or cross-correlation calculations and thus sacrifice temporal resolution. Here we propose a cross-attention learning method for the NURD correction in OCT. Our method is inspired by the recent success of the self-attention mechanism in natural language processing and computer vision. By leveraging its ability to model long-range dependencies, we can directly obtain the correlation between OCT A-lines at any distance, thus accelerating the NURD correction. We develop an end-to-end stacked cross-attention network and design three types of optimization constraints. We compare our method with two traditional feature-based methods and a CNN-based method on two publicly-available endoscopic OCT datasets. We further verify the NURD correction performance of our method on 3D stent reconstruction using a home-built endoscopic OCT system. Our method achieves a ×3 speedup to real time (26±3 fps), and superior correction performance.
Giant Nonlinear Faraday Rotation in Iron Doped CdMnTe
Authors: Garcia Hernando , Trivedi Sudhir
Published: November 2023

Polarization rotation is an important parameter in the design of passive and active photonic components (optical isolators, magneto-optical valves, and magnetic field sensors). This effect is particularly important in materials with delocalized electrons and large atomic orbital moments like CdMnTe, which is an excellent candidate due to its large Zeeman splitting that gives rise to large Faraday rotation. In this paper we report a giant intensity dependent nonlinear Faraday rotation in iron doped Cd0.85Mn0.15Te:Fe crystal. Rotation on the order of 12o in magnetic field of the order of 0.55 T and intensities of 1.832 GW/cm2 can be achieved in a 1.9 mm thick sample. This is 60 time larger in magnitude than previously reported values. In large magnetic field, this intensity dependent rotation will be able to compete with two photon absorption in large magnetic fields, and enhance the linear faraday rotation.
Item-specific neural representations during human sleep support long-term memory
Authors: Liu Jing , Xia Tao , Chen Danni , Yao Ziqing , Zhu Minrui , Antony James W. , Lee Tatia M. C. , Hu Xiaoqing
Published: November 2023

Understanding how individual memories are reactivated during sleep is essential in theorizing memory consolidation. Here, we employed the targeted memory reactivation (TMR) paradigm to unobtrusively replaying auditory memory cues during human participants’ slow-wave sleep (SWS). Using representational similarity analysis (RSA) on cue-elicited electroencephalogram (EEG), we found temporally segregated and functionally distinct item-specific neural representations: the early post-cue EEG activity (within 0 to 2,000 ms) contained comparable item-specific representations for memory cues and control cues, signifying effective processing of auditory cues. Critically, the later EEG activity (2,500 to 2,960 ms) showed greater item-specific representations for post-sleep remembered items than for forgotten and control cues, indicating memory reprocessing. Moreover, these later item-specific neural representations were supported by concurrently increased spindles, particularly for items that had not been tested prior to sleep. These findings elucidated how external memory cues triggered item-specific neural representations during SWS and how such representations were linked to successful long-term memory. These results will benefit future research aiming to perturb specific memory episodes during sleep.
Addressing erroneous scale assumptions in microbe and gene set enrichment analysis
Authors: McGovern Kyle C. , Nixon Michelle Pistner , Silverman Justin D.
Published: November 2023

By applying Differential Set Analysis (DSA) to sequence count data, researchers can determine whether groups of microbes or genes are differentially enriched. Yet sequence count data suffer from ascale limitation: these data lack information about the scale (i.e., size) of the biological system under study, leading some authors to call these data compositional (i.e., proportional). In this article, we show that commonly used DSA methods that rely on normalization make strong, implicit assumptions about the unmeasured system scale. We show that even small errors in thesescale assumptionscan lead to positive predictive values as low as 9%. To address this problem, we take three novel approaches. First, we introduce a sensitivity analysis framework to identify when modeling results are robust to such errors and when they are suspect. Unlike standard benchmarking studies, this framework does not require ground-truth knowledge and can therefore be applied to both simulated and real data. Second, we introduce a statistical test that provably controls Type-I error at a nominal rate despite errors in scale assumptions. Finally, we discuss how the impact of scale limitations depends on a researcher’s scientific goals and provide tools that researchers can use to evaluate whether their goals are at risk from erroneous scale assumptions. Overall, the goal of this article is to catalyze future research into the impact of scale limitations in analyses of sequence count data; to illustrate that scale limitations can lead to inferential errors in practice; yet to also show that rigorous and reproducible scale reliant inference is possible if done carefully.
Fairness as an afterthought: An American perspective on fairness in model developer-clinician user collaborations
Authors: Banja John , Gichoya Judy Wawira , Martinez-Martin Nicole , Waller Lance A. , Clifford Gari D.
Published: November 2023

Numerous ethics guidelines have been handed down over the last few years on the ethical applications of machine learning models. Virtually every one of them mentions the importance of “fairness” in the development and use of these models. Unfortunately, though, these ethics documents omit providing a consensually adopted definition or characterization of fairness. As one group of authors observed, these documents treat fairness as an “afterthought” whose importance is undeniable but whose essence seems strikingly elusive. In this essay, which offers a distinctly American treatment of “fairness,” we comment on a number of fairness formulations and on qualitative or statistical methods that have been encouraged to achieve fairness. We argue that none of them, at least from an American moral perspective, provides a one-size-fits-all definition of or methodology for securing fairness that could inform or standardize fairness over the universe of use cases witnessing machine learning applications. Instead, we argue that because fairness comprehensions and applications reflect a vast range of use contexts, model developers and clinician users will need to engage in thoughtful collaborations that examine how fairness should be conceived and operationalized in the use case at issue. Part II of this paper illustrates key moments in these collaborations, especially when inter and intra disagreement occurs among model developer and clinician user groups over whether a model is fair or unfair. We conclude by noting that these collaborations will likely occur over the lifetime of a model if its claim to fairness is to advance beyond “afterthought” status.
Seeking and reaching emergency care: A cross sectional household survey across two Liberian counties
Authors: Ross Madeline E. , Wright Antoinette H. , Luke Mark , Tamba Abraham , Hessou Heounohu Romello , Kanneh Stephen , Da-Tokpah Kumeinu , Bills Corey B.
Published: November 2023

The overwhelming burden of morbidity and mortality from injury and medical conditions requiring acute care are borne by low- and middle-income countries lacking accessible, quality care systems. Current evidence suggests the lack of prehospital care systems likely contributes to this disproportionate burden. As an initial step in a longitudinal, collaborative effort to strengthen the chain of survival for emergency conditions in Liberia, baseline attitudes and behaviors in accessing and utilizing emergency care were characterized. A multistage, proportional, cluster sampling frame was employed to conduct a cross-sectional, community-based survey of 800 households across rural Lofa County and the greater capital (Monrovia) metropolitan area. The primary outcome was facility-based utilization of emergency care within the 12 months prior to survey administration. 43.9% of individuals surveyed reported a visit to an emergency unit in the last year. Multivariable logistic regression revealed increased adjusted odds of facility-based emergency care utilization in households that were low-income, non-English-speaking, lacking electricity, or had a non-durable roof. Among these individuals, 23.6% had sought care from a community health worker, family/friend, clinic, pharmacy, or traditional healer prior. The majority of persons seeking care do so without ambulance services. 34.8% of all households have called a community member for a medical emergency, but 88.9% of survey respondents report no first aid training and cite barriers to rendering aid. This represents the first household survey to assess the perceptions and utilization of emergency care in Liberia. Formal pre-hospital care provision is limited and substantial barriers to emergency care access exist. First aid training and acceptance is lacking, despite frequent reliance on community-based aid during emergencies.
Is there still yaws in Nigeria? Active case search in endemic areas of southern Nigeria
Authors: Ekeke Ngozi , Iyama Francis S. , Chukwu Joseph N. , Asiedu Kingsley , Marks Michael , Omotowo Babatunde , Agwu-Umahi Olanike , Nvene Victor O. , Paul Shiloh , Nwafor Charles C. , Meka Anthony O. , Eze Chinwe C. , Ezeakile Okechukwu E. , Njoku Martin I. , Murphy-Okpala Ngozi N.
Published: November 2023

Background

Yaws is a disease caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, which is most commonly seen among children below 15 years. In the twentieth century yaws was endemic in Nigeria but eradication strategies markedly reduced the disease burden. Currently there is minimal data on the ongoing transmission of yaws in Nigeria, despite reports of confirmed yaws cases in neighbouring West African countries.

Methods

We conducted both community and school-based active yaws case search among school-aged children in southeast Nigeria. Children were screened by trained community volunteers. Suspected yaws cases were clinically reviewed and tested using rapid diagnostic serological tests.

Results

Between February and May 2021, up to 28 trained community volunteers screened a total of 105,015 school children for yaws. Overall, 7,706 children with various skin lesions were identified. Eight (8) suspected cases of yaws were reported, reviewed and screened, but none was confirmed using rapid diagnostic tests. The four most common skin conditions identified were scabies (39%), papular urticaria (29%), tinea corporis (14%) and tinea capitis (12%).

Conclusions

No case of yaws was confirmed in this large population of children in south-east Nigeria. Continuous community awareness and yaws case finding activities have been recommended across Nigeria.
Epidemiology of giardiasis and assemblages A and B and effects on diarrhea and growth trajectories during the first 8 years of life: Analysis of a birth cohort in a rural district in tropical Ecuador
Authors: Sandoval-Ramírez Tannya , Seco-Hidalgo Victor , Calderon-Espinosa Evelyn , Garcia-Ramon Diana , Lopez Andrea , Calvopiña Manuel , Guadalupe Irene , Chico Martha , Mejia Rojelio , Chis Ster Irina , Cooper Philip J.
Published: November 2023

Background

There are limited longitudinal data on the acquisition of Giardia lamblia infections in childhood using molecular assays to detect and type assemblages, and measure effects of infections on diarrhea risk and childhood growth.

Methods

We analysed stool samples from a surveillance sample within a birth cohort in a rural district in tropical Ecuador. The cohort was followed to 8 years of age for the presence of G. lamblia in stools by quantitative PCR and A and B assemblages by Taqman assay or Sanger sequencing. We explored risk factors associated with infection using generalized estimating equations applied to longitudinal binary outcomes, and longitudinal panel data analysis to estimate effects of infection on diarrhea and growth trajectories.

Results

2,812 stool samples collected between 1 month and 8 years of age from 498 children were analyzed and showed high rates of infection: 79.7% were infected at least once with peak prevalence (53.9%) at 5 years. Assemblage B was accounted for 56.8% of genotyped infections. Risk factors for infection included male sex (P = 0.001), daycare attendance (P<0.001), having a household latrine (P = 0.04), childhood (P<0.001) and maternal soil-transmitted helminth (P = 0.029) infections, and exposures to donkeys (age interaction P = 0.034). G. lamblia was associated with increased risk of diarrhea (per episode, RR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.06, P = 0.011) during the first 3 years of life and a transient impairment of weight (age interaction P = 0.017) and height-for-age (age interaction P = 0.025) trajectories between 1 and 4 years of age. There was no increased risk of either assemblage being associated with outcomes.

Conclusion

Our data show a relatively high edemicity of G. lamblia transmission during childhood in coastal Ecuador, and evidence that infection is associated with a transiently increased risk of diarrhea during the first 3 years of life and impairment of weight and height between 1 and 4 years.
Impaired functions of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and induction of regulatory T cells by pathogenic Leptospira
Authors: Krangvichian Pratomporn , Techawiwattanaboon Teerasit , Palaga Tanapat , Ritprajak Patcharee , Kueanjinda Patipark , Kaewraemruaen Chamraj , Patarakul Kanitha
Published: November 2023

Leptospirosis is a global zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira. The disease outcome is influenced by the interplay between innate and adaptive immune responses. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a crucial role in shaping the adaptive immune response. A recent study revealed that pathogenic Leptospira limited the activation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs) compared to non-pathogenic Leptospira, but their impact on T-cell responses has not been investigated. Our study is the first to explore how viable pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leptospira affect the interaction between human MoDCs and T cells. We found that MoDCs infected with pathogenic leptospires (L. interrogans serovar Pomona and a clinical isolate, MoDCs-P) exhibited lower levels of CD80 and CD83 expression, suggesting partially impaired MoDC maturation, induced regulatory T cells (Tregs) while failing to induce CD4+ T cell proliferation, compared to MoDCs infected with non-pathogenic leptospires (L. biflexa serovar Patoc and L. meyeri serovar Ranarum, MoDCs-NP). In contrast, non-pathogenic leptospires enhanced MoDC maturation and induced higher T cell proliferation including IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells, indicative of a Th1-type response. Furthermore, pathogenic leptospires induced higher MoDC apoptosis through a cysteine aspartic acid-specific protease-3 (caspase-3)-dependent pathway and upregulated expression of the prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) gene. Notably, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a product of the PTGS2 pathway, was found at higher levels in the sera of patients with acute leptospirosis and in the supernatant of MoDCs-P, possibly contributing to Treg induction, compared to those of healthy donors and MoDCs-NP, respectively. In conclusion, this study reveals a novel immunosuppressive strategy employed by pathogenic Leptospira to evade host immunity by partially impairing MoDC maturation and inducing Tregs. These findings deepen our understanding of leptospirosis pathogenesis in humans and may provide a novel strategy to modulate DCs for the prevention and treatment of the disease.
Social interactions and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: Evidence from a full population study in Sweden
Authors: Klaesson Johan , Lobo José , Mellander Charlotta
Published: November 2023

We investigate whether an individual’s information milieu―an individual’s residential neighborhood and co-workers―affects the decision to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The decision to accept or refuse a vaccine is intensely personal and involves the processing of information about phenomena likely to be unfamiliar to most individuals. One can thus expect an interplay between an individual’s level of education and skills and the information processing of others whom with whom she can interact and whose decision she can probe and observe. Using individual-level data for adults in Sweden, we can identify the proportion of an individual’s neighborhood and workplace who are unvaccinated as indicators of possible peer effects. We find that individuals with low levels of educational attainment and occupational skills are more likely to be unvaccinated when exposed to other unvaccinated individuals at work and in the residential neighborhood. The peer effects in each of these information milieus further increases the likelihood of not getting vaccinated—with the two acting as information channels that reinforce one another.
Dense neural network outperforms other machine learning models for scaling-up lichen cover maps in Eastern Canada
Authors: Richardson Galen , Knudby Anders , Chen Wenjun , Sawada Michael , Lovitt Julie , He Liming , Naeni Leila Yousefizadeh
Published: November 2023

Lichen mapping is vital for caribou management plans and sustainable land conservation. Previous studies have used random forest, dense neural network, and convolutional neural network models for mapping lichen coverage. However, to date, it is not clear how these models rank in this task. In this study, these machine learning models were evaluated on their ability to predict lichen percent coverage in Sentinel-2 imagery in Québec and Labrador, Canada. The models were trained on 10-m resolution lichen coverage (%) maps created from 20 drone surveys collected in July 2019 and 2022. The dense neural network achieved a higher accuracy than the other two, with a reported mean absolute error of 5.2% and an R2 of 0.76. By comparison, the random forest model returned a mean absolute error of 5.5% (R2: 0.74) and the convolutional neural network had a mean absolute error of 5.3% (R2: 0.74). A regional lichen map was created using the trained dense neural network and a Sentinel-2 imagery mosaic. There was greater uncertainty on land covers that the model was not exposed to in training, such as mines and deep lakes. While the dense neural network requires more computational effort to train than a random forest model, the 5.9% performance gain in the test pixel comparison renders it the most suitable for lichen mapping. This study represents progress toward determining the appropriate methodology for generating accurate lichen maps from satellite imagery for caribou conservation and sustainable land management.
Does microfluidic sperm selection improve clinical pregnancy and miscarriage outcomes in assisted reproductive treatments? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Ferreira Aderaldo Janaina , da Silva Maranhão Karina , Ferreira Lanza Daniel Carlos
Published: November 2023

Background

The microfluidic sperm selection (MFSS) device has emerged as a promising adjunct in assisted reproduction treatments (ART). It employs mechanisms of biomimicry based on the microanatomy of the female reproductive tract through strategies like chemotaxis and rheotaxis. Numerous studies assert improvements in ART outcomes with the use of MFSS, often attributed to the theoretical reduction in sperm DNA damage compared to other techniques. However, these attributed benefits lack validation through large-scale clinical trials, and there is no significant evidence of enhanced assisted reproductive treatments (ART) outcomes.

Objective

To evaluate whether the utilization of MFSS enhances clinical pregnancy results and abortion outcomes in couples undergoing ART compared to standard sperm selection techniques for Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). We also assessed laboratory outcomes as a supplementary analysis.

Search methods

We conducted searches across databases including PubMed, NIH, LILACS, CENTRAL, Crossref, Scopus, and OpenAlex. A total of 1,255 records were identified. From these, 284 duplicate records were eliminated, and an additional 895 records were excluded due to their association with patent applications, diagnostic tests, forensic analyses, or irrelevance to the research focus. Among the initially eligible 76 studies, 63 were excluded, encompassing abstracts, studies lacking adequate control groups, and ongoing clinical trials. Ultimately, 13 studies were selected for inclusion in the ensuing meta-analysis.

Results

Regarding clinical pregnancy, we assessed a total of 868 instances of clinical pregnancies out of 1,646 embryo transfers. Regarding miscarriage, we examined 95 cases of pregnancy loss among the 598 confirmed clinical pregnancies in these studies.

Conclusion

The utilization of MFSS demonstrates marginal positive outcomes compared to standard sperm selection techniques, without statistical significance in any of the analyses.

Broader implications

This study conducted the first meta-analysis to evaluate clinical pregnancy rates, miscarriage rates, and laboratory results associated with the use of MFSS compared to standard sperm selection techniques. We have also listed potentially eligible studies for future inclusion. It’s important to emphasize the need for multicenter studies with standardized parameters to attain a more robust clarification of this issue.
Assessment of soil property in the Guyuan region from Ningxia Province of China and prediction of pepper blight
Authors: Hou Yi , Ma Yu-Long , Wang Xiao-Min , Cheng Guo-Xin
Published: November 2023

Soil quality is an important determinant of soil-use efficiency in the Loess Plateau. However, there is no in-depth study on the soil quality of the Loess Plateau. The present study compared the quality of the 0–20 cm soil layer (T0-20) and the 20–40 cm soil layer (T20-40) from the Guyuan region located in the Loess Plateau. The analysis revealed that T0-20 had a higher content of total N, total P, available P, and organic matter, and the activities of microbial enzymes, especially β-grape-glycosidase (β-GC) and sucrase (SC), than T20-40, indicating that soil quality in T0-20 was better than T20-40. Amplicon sequencing found that Pseudombrophila from Ascomycota was the most abundant microbial species and significantly differed between T0-20 (34.2%) and T20-40 (48.7%). This species and another 19 microbial species, such as Ceratobasidiaceae and Mortierellaceae, determined the diversity of soil microorganism. Further analysis of the phenotype and other parameters of pepper seedlings subjected to P. capsici infection isolated from test soil revealed that decreased organic matter content in deep soil layer is related to happening of pepper blight, and 3 h after infection was the critical time point for infection. The peroxidase (POD) activity increased after P. capsici infection and was positively correlated with infection time, suggesting this enzyme may be an indicator of pepper blight occurrence. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for planning pepper blight management and crop cultivation strategies in the Guyuan region.
Spatio-temporal evolution law of gas-temperature coupling field in “110 method” goaf and prevention of spontaneous combustion
Authors: Wei Song , Fang Zhenqing , Li Zongxiang , Liu Yu , Hu Dongjie , Miao Chuntong , Wang Haiwen
Published: November 2023

To investigate the distribution characteristics of spontaneous combustion disaster (SCD) zones in the goaf of "110" mining method with U + L ventilation system and formulate corresponding fire prevention measures, enclosed coal oxidation experiments were carried out to measure the oxidation characteristics of Dongrong Coal Mine bituminous coal sample. A coupled 3DEC-CFD (3 dimensional Distinct Element Code) model was established. The 3D transient distribution characteristics of SCD zones in the “110” mining goaf under U+L ventilation condition were analyzed. Nitrogen injection in the tailgate was proposed for coal spontaneous combustion prevention. The results show that air leakage changed the distribution of oxygen and temperature fields in the “110” goaf, causing the region 20~60 m parallel to the retained roadway to remain in the oxidation zone for spontaneous combustion. As the working face advanced, the area change curve of SCD zones in the “110” goaf exhibited a “double inflection point” pattern. Eliminating the “retained roadway oxidation zone” can effectively reduce the spontaneous combustion risks in the “110” goaf and ensure mining safety. This study enriches the mechanisms of coal spontaneous combustion.
Longitudinal multi-functional analysis identified responses of T cells, B cells, and monocytes as hallmarks of immunotherapy tolerance in patients with merkel cell carcinoma
Authors: Tao Quyuan , Du Jia-xin , Zhang Shijing , Lin Wenjia , Luo Yongxin , Liu Ying , Zeng Jingyan , Chen Xin-lin
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a neuroendocrine carcinoma originating in the skin. Studies are needed to determine the mechanisms of immune escape in patients with MCC, and malignant cell conditions that promote immune evasion.

Methods

We used Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to determine cellular features associated with MCC disease trajectory. A longitudinal multi-omics study was performed using scRNA-seq data of peripheral blood harvested from four-time points. Six major cell types and fifteen cell subgroups were identified and confirmed their presence by expression of characteristic markers. The expression patterns and specific changes of different cells at different time points were investigated. Subsequently, bulk RNA data was used to validate key findings.

Results

The dynamic characteristics of the cells were identified during the critical period between benign improvement and acquisition of resistance. Combined with the results of the validation cohort, the resistance program expressed in the relapse stage is mainly associated with T cell exhaustion and immune cell crosstalk disorder. Coinciding with immune escape, we also identified a decrease non-classical monocytes and an expansion of classical monocytes with features of high inflammation and immune deficiency.

Conclusion

Changes in cellular status, such as depletion of T cells and dysregulation of B cell proliferation and differentiation, may lead to drug resistance in MCC patients. Meanwhile, the widespread decreased antigen presentation ability and immune disorders caused by deletion of MHC class II gene expression should not be ignored.
High prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from chickens, humans and the environment: An emerging one health issue
Authors: Das Tridip , Nath Chandan , Das Pallabi , Ghosh Keya , Logno Tahia Ahmed , Debnath Pankqj , Dash Shuvo , Devnath Himadri Shankar , Das Shubhagata , Islam Md Zohorul
Published: November 2023

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in commensal bacteria poses a serious public health burden worldwide. Commensals can disseminate the resistance genes to pathogenic bacteria causing life-threatening infections. This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance pattern and molecular mechanism(s) of ciprofloxacin resistance in commensal E. coli from three major one health components (humans, animals and the environment) in Bangladesh. Samples were randomly collected from broiler chickens, broiler farm environments and hospitalized human patients from the same geographical area. Isolation and identification of E. coli were performed following standard bacteriological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was performed by disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods. Mutation at the quinolone-resistance determining region (QRDR) was analyzed by sequencing. Of 450 samples, a total of 287 (63.8%; 95% CI 59.2–68.1%) E. coli strains was isolated, where 240 (83.6%; 95% CI 78.9–87.5%) strains were phenotypically resistant to ciprofloxacin. The prevalence of ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli in broiler chicken, broiler farm environments and hospitalized human patients are 77.6%, 88.8% and 89% respectively. In AST against nine antimicrobials, all the isolates were found to be multidrug-resistant (MDR). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ciprofloxacin was ranged from 4 to >128mg/L. Point mutations were detected in several sites of QRDR, specifically at 83 and 87 amino acid positions in gyrA gene, and 56, 57, 78, 80 and 84 amino acid positions in parC gene. Mutations resulted in amino acid substitutions. Phylogenetic analysis of gyrA and parC gene sequences showed a close relationship between the strains isolated from different sources. This study demonstrates a high prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance in commensal E. coli in humans, animals and environment interface and their genealogically similarity poses an alarming public health consequence.
Burden of elevated lipoprotein(a) among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: Evidence from a systematic literature review and feasibility assessment of meta-analysis
Authors: Orfanos Panagiotis , Fonseca Ana Filipa , Hu Xingdi , Gautam Raju , Montgomery Glenn , Studer Rachel , Kaur Japinder , Saxena Nehul , Kaushik Nitin
Published: November 2023

Background

Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] level is an independent genetic risk factor that increases the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) by 2–4 fold. We aimed to report the burden of clinically relevant elevated Lp(a) in secondary prevention ASCVD population as the evaluation of such evidence is lacking.

Methods

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted using Embase®, MEDLINE®, and MEDLINE®In-Process databases to identify studies reporting burden of elevated Lp(a) levels from January 1, 2010, to March 28, 2022. Full-text, English-language studies including ≥500 participants with ≥1 Lp(a) assessment were included.

Results

Sixty-one studies reported clinical burden of elevated Lp(a). Of these, 25 observational studies and one clinical trial reported clinical burden of clinically relevant elevated Lp(a) levels. Major clinical outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE; n = 20), myocardial infarction (MI; n = 11), revascularization (n = 10), stroke (n = 10), cardiovascular (CV) mortality (n = 9), and all-cause mortality (n = 10). Elevated Lp(a) levels significantly increased the risk of MACE (n = 15) and revascularization (n = 8), while they demonstrated a trend for positive association with remaining CV outcomes. Meta-analysis was not feasible for included studies due to heterogeneity in Lp(a) thresholds, outcome definitions, and patient characteristics.

Three studies reported humanistic burden. Patients with elevated Lp(a) levels had higher odds of manifesting cognitive impairment (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval; CI]: 1.62 [1.11–2.37]) and disability related to stroke (OR [95% CI]:1.46 [1.23–1.72)]) (n = 2). Elevated Lp(a) levels negatively correlated with health-related quality of life (R = −0.166, p = 0.014) (n = 1). A single study reported no association between elevated Lp(a) levels and economic burden.

Conclusions

This SLR demonstrated a significant association of elevated Lp(a) levels with major CV outcomes and increased humanistic burden in secondary prevention ASCVD population. These results reinforce the need to quantify and manage Lp(a) for CV risk reduction and to perform further studies to characterize the economic burden.
Differential vascular endothelial cell toxicity of established and novel BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors
Authors: Wang Yihua , Travers Richard J. , Farrell Alanna , Lu Qing , Bays Jennifer L. , Stepanian Alec , Chen Christopher , Jaffe Iris Z.
Published: November 2023

BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have dramatically improved survival in Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemias. Newer BCR-ABL TKIs provide superior cancer outcomes but with increased risk of acute arterial thrombosis, which further increases in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities and mitigates survival benefits compared to imatinib. Recent studies implicate endothelial cell (EC) damage in this toxicity by unknown mechanisms with few side-by-side comparisons of multiple TKIs and with no available data on endothelial impact of recently approved TKIs or novels TKIs being tested in clinical trials. To characterize BCR-ABL TKI induced EC dysfunction we exposed primary human umbilical vein ECs in 2D and 3D culture to clinically relevant concentrations of seven BCR-ABL TKIs and quantified their impact on EC scratch-wound healing, viability, inflammation, and permeability mechanisms. Dasatinib, ponatinib, and nilotinib, the TKIs associated with thrombosis in patients, all significantly impaired EC wound healing, survival, and proliferation compared to imatinib, but only dasatinib and ponatinib impaired cell migration and only nilotinib enhanced EC necrosis. Dasatinib and ponatinib increased leukocyte adhesion to ECs with upregulation of adhesion molecule expression in ECs (ICAM1, VCAM1, and P-selectin) and leukocytes (PSGL1). Dasatinib increased permeability and impaired cell junctional integrity in human engineered microvessels, consistent with its unique association with pleural effusions. Of the new agents, bafetinib decreased EC viability and increased microvessel permeability while asciminib and radotinib did not impact any EC function tested. In summary, the vasculotoxic TKIs (dasatinib, ponatinib, nilotinib) cause EC toxicity but with mechanistic differences, supporting the potential need for drug-specific vasculoprotective strategies. Asciminib and radotinib do not induce EC toxicity at clinically relevant concentrations suggesting a better safety profile.
Do residential patterns affect women’s labor market performance? An empirical study based on CHFS data
Authors: Zhou Siyan , Wang Qing
Published: November 2023

Based on China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data from 2019, this paper explores the impact of the residential pattern of coresidence with parents on the labor market performance of women in married families with minor children. The study finds that coresidence with parents significantly increases the possibility of female labor market participation and positively impacts women’s employment income. To overcome the potential endogeneity problem of residential patterns, this paper uses the Heckman two-step method and the conditional mixed process estimation method (CMP method) for regression, and the conclusions remain robust. The mechanism analysis shows that coresidence with parents has both grandchild care and elderly care factors, which have a spillover effect and a crowding-out effect on female labor market performance, respectively. Since the spillover effect is more significant than the crowding-out effect, coresidence with parents positively impacts women’s labor market performance. The heterogeneity analysis shows that in terms of labor force participation rate, coresidence with parents has a more significant impact on women in families with children aged 0–6, women in families without boys, and women in families with employed husbands. In terms of income, coresidence with parents has a more significant impact on women in families with employed husbands. This study provides a new perspective for promoting female labor market performance and can serve as a reference for future policy formulation.
Determinants of academic achievement among higher education student found in low resource setting, A systematic review
Authors: Kassaw Chalachew , Demareva Valeriia
Published: November 2023

Background

Academic success is a measure of students’ ability to attain their educational objectives, often assessed through regular evaluations or examinations. To establish effective policies and programs that align with academic accomplishments, conducting comprehensive data analysis is pivotal. Hence, this systematic review aimed to synthesize the factors impeding the academic achievements of Ethiopian students in higher education.

Methods

A comprehensive review was conducted on studies involving Ethiopian university students from 2013 to 2022. The review encompassed 24 papers that were gathered from different databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journals Online, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Results

The findings of this research revealed that inadequate classroom environments, experiencing dysmenorrhea, and engaging in excessive social media usage were all linked to a decline in academic performance. Conversely, adopting healthy sleep habits, achieving high scores in entrance exams, and avoiding recent substance abuse were all factors positively influencing academic success. In addition, there was a positive correlation between academic excellence and being a health science college student and age range of 20 to 24 years old.

Conclusion

To enhance academic performance, it is crucial to address the negative factors identified, such as inadequate classroom environments, dysmenorrhea, and excessive social media usage, while promoting positive factors like healthy sleep habits, high scores in exams, and avoiding substance abuse. Additionally, being a health science college student and belonging to the age range of 20 to 24 were found to be associated with academic excellence.
Arabidopsis eIF4E1 protects the translational machinery during TuMV infection and restricts virus accumulation
Authors: Zafirov Delyan , Giovinazzo Nathalie , Lecampion Cécile , Field Ben , Ducassou Julia Novion , Couté Yohann , Browning Karen S. , Robaglia Christophe , Gallois Jean-Luc
Published: November 2023

Successful subversion of translation initiation factors eIF4E determines the infection success of potyviruses, the largest group of viruses affecting plants. In the natural variability of many plant species, resistance to potyvirus infection is provided by polymorphisms at eIF4E that renders them inadequate for virus hijacking but still functional in translation initiation. In crops where such natural resistance alleles are limited, the genetic inactivation of eIF4E has been proposed for the engineering of potyvirus resistance. However, recent findings indicate that knockout eIF4E alleles may be deleterious for plant health and could jeopardize resistance efficiency in comparison to functional resistance proteins. Here, we explored the cause of these adverse effects by studying the role of the Arabidopsis eIF4E1, whose inactivation was previously reported as conferring resistance to the potyvirus clover yellow vein virus (ClYVV) while also promoting susceptibility to another potyvirus turnip mosaic virus (TuMV). We report that eIF4E1 is required to maintain global plant translation and to restrict TuMV accumulation during infection, and its absence is associated with a favoured virus multiplication over host translation. Furthermore, our findings show that, in the absence of eIF4E1, infection with TuMV results in the production of a truncated eIFiso4G1 protein. Finally, we demonstrate a role for eIFiso4G1 in TuMV accumulation and in supporting plant fitness during infection. These findings suggest that eIF4E1 counteracts the hijacking of the plant translational apparatus during TuMV infection and underscore the importance of preserving the functionality of translation initiation factors eIF4E when implementing potyvirus resistance strategies.