bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Classification of anemia using Harris hawks optimization method and multivariate adaptive regression spline
Authors: Yagmur Nagihan , Dag İdiris , Temurtas Hasan
Published: January 2024

Data mining methods are important for the diagnosis and prediction of diseases. Early and accurate diagnosis of patients is vital for their treatment. Various methods have been used in the literature to classify anemia. However, due to the different characteristics of patient datasets, changes in dataset sizes, different parameter numbers and features, and different numbers of patient records, algorithm performances vary according to datasets. In this study, the Harris hawks algorithm (HHA) and the multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) were used to classify anemia based on blood data of 1732 patients from the Kaggle database of patients with and without anemia. Six different algorithms were proposed to determine the parameters of the linear anemia approximation, namely multilinear form HHA, multilinear quadratic form HHA, multilinear exponential form HHA, first-order MARS model, second-order MARS model, and the best performing MARS model. The performance of the six proposed algorithms has been analyzed and found to be better than the previous studies in the literature.
Psychometric properties of the Caregiver’s inventory neuropsychological diagnosis dementia (CINDD) in mild cognitive impairment and dementia
Authors: Cuoco Sofia , Blundo Carlo , Ricci Monica , Cappiello Arianna , Bisogno Rossella , Carotenuto Immacolata , Avallone Anna Rosa , Erro Roberto , Pellecchia Maria Teresa , Amboni Marianna , Barone Paolo , Picillo Marina
Published: January 2024

Objectives

The Caregiver’s Inventory Neuropsychological Diagnosis Dementia (CINDD) is an easy tool designed
to quantify cognitive, behavioural and functional deficits of patients with cognitive impairment. Aim of the present
study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the CINDD in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Dementia
(D).

Design, setting and participants

The CINDD, composed by 9 sub-domains, was administered to fifty-six caregivers
of patients with different types of dementia (D) and 44 caregivers of patients with MCI. All patients underwent an
extensive neuropsychological assessment, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and functional autonomy scales.
The reliability, convergent construct validity and possible cut-off of CINND were measured by Cronbach’s alpha (α),
Pearson’s correlation and ROC analysis, respectively.

Results

The D and MCI patients differed only for age (p=0.006). The internal consistency of CINDD was high (α=
0.969). The α-value for each CINDD domain was considered acceptable, except the mood domain (α=0.209). The
CINDD total score correlated with cognitive screening tests; each domain of the CINDD correlated with the
corresponding score from either tests or NPI (p<0.05), except for visuo-spatial perception skills and apathy. A
screening cut-off equal to 59, can be used discriminate D from MCI (Sensitivity=0.70, Specificity=0.57).

Conclusion

The CINDD is a feasible, accurate and reliable tool for the assessment of cognitive and behavioural
difficulties in patients with different degree of cognitive impairment. It may be used to quantify and monitor
caregiver-reported ecological data in both clinical and research settings.
Development of a comprehensive and clinically applicable novel projection classification system for anterior communicating artery aneurysms
Authors: Orakdogen Metin , Mammadkhanli Orkhan , Chousein Baris , Simsek Osman
Published: January 2024

Various surgical and anatomical classifications have been proposed to date related to ACoA aneurysm projection. Nonetheless, a universally accepted classification system is yet to be established. This study is aimed at establishing a standardized classification system for ACoA aneurysms with utilization 3D technology and defining reference lines for their projections. The goal is to create a simple, understandable, surgically beneficial, and reliable classification system based on neurovascular structures in the region, including safe and hazardous zones. The radiologic data of 96 patients with ACoA aneurysm who were treated in our university hospital between 2012 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, and a planned classification scale was developed with the data obtained. The classification aimed to create 9 main projection groups in the sagittal plane: superior, inferior, anterior, and posterior in linear orientation, and anterosuperior, posterosuperior, anteroinferior, posteroinferior, and complex in quadrant orientation. The coronal and axial planes included medial, lateral, and midline classifications, resulting in a 3-dimensional classification system with 25 projections. Among the 96 patients, 32 had linear and 64 had quadrant projections. In the sagittal plane, the linear projection breakdown was as follows: superior (28%), inferior (6.25%), anterior (53%), and posterior (12.5%). For the quadrant projection, the distribution was as follows: anterosuperior (53%), posterosuperior (12.5%), anteroinferior (21.87%), posteroinferior (3.12%), and complex (9.37%). Overall, 35.4% aneurysms were anterosuperior, 17.7% anterior, 14.58% anteroinferior, 9.37% superior, 8.3% posterosuperior, 6.25% complex, 4.16% posterior, 2.08% posteroinferior, and 2.08% inferior projection. Our study proposes a projection classification that utilizes 3D technology for safe surgery based on neurovascular structures in the region and thus better reveals safe and hazardous zones, including three plans, three dimensions, and two orientations. The use of this classification system offers valuable guidance for daily practice in the treatment of ACoA aneurysms.
Towards a critical pedagogy of global citizenship: Breaking the silence as a trained dancer in post-apartheid South Africa
Authors: Esau Omar , Jones Danielle-Marie
Published: January 2024

This article reveals a reflective journey of a dancer through unpacking two performances experienced over the course of two years. It examines and navigates ways of decolonizing oppressive dominance and investigating the ramifications of indoctrination in dance. It depicts how a trained dancer evolved and became more conscious by breaking the “culture of silence” and changed in becoming a more critical reflective dancer in a post-apartheid South Africa. This project aligns itself with global citizenship education (GCE) as it re/imagines traditional forms of civic and citizenship education in a more critical and decolonial perspective. In writing this paper, we are reminded of “the myriad shifts of thinking, strategies and back-and-forth debating” with each other and can also see our “encounters as a dance” (Waghid in Dancing with doctoral encounters: Democratic education in motion, African Sun Media, 2015). In breaking the silence surrounding dance and its conservative elements, we question the technocratic practices and accepted norms in the performance arts and the dancing arena. How does a classical dancer redress the colonial past in a performance arts classroom? The significance of this paper lies in the argument that decolonization becomes an imperative within GCE if one is striving for social justice and intends to commit oneself to a more equitable society where crossing borders must be a seamless act.
Cell-free ascites from ovarian cancer patients induces Warburg metabolism and cell proliferation through TGFβ-ERK signaling
Authors: Szeőcs Dóra , Vida Beáta , Petővári Gábor , Póliska Szilárd , Janka Eszter , Sipos Adrienn , Uray Karen , Sebestyén Anna , Krasznai Zoárd , Bai Péter
Published: January 2024

Ascites plays a key role in supporting the metastatic potential of ovarian cancer cells. Shear stress and carry-over of cancer cells by ascites flow support carcinogenesis and metastasis formation. In addition, soluble factors may participate in the procarcinogenic effects of ascites in ovarian cancer. This study aimed to determine the biological effects of cell-free ascites on carcinogenesis in ovarian cancer cells. Cell-free ascites from ovarian cancer patients (ASC) non-selectively induced cell proliferation in multiple models of ovarian cancer and untransformed primary human dermal fibroblasts. Furthermore, ASC induced a Warburg-type rearrangement of cellular metabolism in A2780 ovarian cancer cells characterized by increases in cellular oxygen consumption and glycolytic flux; increases in glycolytic flux were dominant. ASC induced mitochondrial uncoupling and fundamentally reduced fatty acid oxidation. Ascites-elicited effects were uniform among ascites specimens. ASC-elicited transcriptomic changes in A2780 ovarian cancer cells included induction of the TGFβ-ERK/MEK pathway, which plays a key role in inducing cell proliferation and oncometabolism. ASC-induced gene expression changes, as well as the overexpression of members of the TGFβ signaling system, were associated with poor survival in ovarian cancer patients. We provided evidence that the activation of the autocrine/paracrine of TGFβ signaling system may be present in bladder urothelial carcinoma and stomach adenocarcinoma. Database analysis suggests that the TGFβ system may feed forward bladder urothelial carcinoma and stomach adenocarcinoma. Soluble components of ASC support the progression of ovarian cancer. These results suggest that reducing ascites production may play an essential role in the treatment of ovarian cancer by inhibiting the progression and reducing the severity of the disease.
ID2 promotes tumor progression and metastasis in thyroid cancer
Authors: Deng Zhongming , Xu Min , Ding Zhenghua , Kong Jianqiao , Liu Juanjuan , Zhang Zelin , Cao Ping
Published: January 2024

Background

Inhibitor of DNA Binding 2 (ID2) plays a crucial role in tumor cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and stemness. Aberrant ID2 expression is associated with poor prognosis in various cancers. However, the specific function of ID2 in thyroid cancer remain unclear.

Method

The TCGA database were utilized to explore the clinical relevance of ID2 in cancer. GO, KEGG, and TIMER were employed to predict the potential roles of ID2 in cancer. Functional analysis, including CCK-8, colony formation, transwell, wound healing, and sphere formation experiments, were conducted to determine the biological functions of ID2 in human cancers. Western blot (WB), RT-qPCR, and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses were used to investigate the relationship between ID2 and downstream targets.

Results

Our study revealed significant overexpression of ID2 in various malignant tumor cells. Knocking ID2 significantly inhibited cancer cell proliferation and invasion, while overexpressing ID2 enhanced these capabilities. Additionally, ID2 mediates resistance of cancer cells to protein kinase B (or Akt) inhibitions. Further WB and IHC experiments indicated that ID2 promotes the phosphorylation activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway, thereby upregulating the expression of downstream proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and stemness-related markers.

Conclusion

We found that ID2 significantly promotes thyroid cancer cell proliferation, migration, EMT, and stemness through the PI3K/Akt pathway. Moreover, ID2 plays a crucial role in regulating cancer immune responses. It may serve as a potential biomarker for enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy against cancer.
What Do Supervisors’ and Supervisees’ Think About Mindfulness-Based Supervision? A Grounded Theory Study
Authors: Evans Alison , Griffith Gemma Maria , Smithson Janet
Published: January 2024

Objectives

Mindfulness-based supervision (MBS) is a vital support for teachers of mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs), and good practice guidance requires mindfulness teachers to have at least 4 hr of MBS a year. Despite this, underpinning theory and research on MBS is sparse. This study explores the perspectives of supervisors and supervisees to identify helpful and unhelpful processes within MBS.

Method

A total of 12 supervisors and supervisees participated. Two phases of semi-structured interviews took place, the first with all 12 and the second phase with a selected six participants. A conceptual model of how MBS affects the teaching of MBPs was developed using a constructivist grounded theory approach.

Results

All participants spoke of how MBS is a highly experiential way of developing skills to competently teach MBPs, supported through the relationship between supervisor and supervisee. MBS uses a mindfulness-based relational inquiry process characterised by specific ways of speaking, listening, and pausing. This inquiry supports the supervisee to cultivate an embodied way of knowing, a deliberate stance of “not knowing”, and to take an approach mode rather than avoidance mode towards vulnerability. During the interviews, participants emphasised the collaborative approach within MBS, but showed little acknowledgement or recognition of the inherent power with the role. Potential tensions in the holding of professional and ethical frameworks within MBS were identified.

Conclusions

Recommendations are made about how the key findings can be brought into the ongoing good practice within MBS. Future changes within MBS should address issues of bias, diversity, and inclusivity.
The importance of factors early in life for development of eating disorders in young people, with some focus on type 1 diabetes
Authors: Ludvigsson J. , Olsen Faresjö Å.
Published: January 2024

Aim

Eating disorders have a serious impact on quality of life, especially when combined with Type 1 diabetes. We investigated eating disorders in relation to factors early in life with some focus on Type 1 diabetes.

Methods

Out of 21,700 children born 1st of Oct 1997–1st of Oct 1999 17,055 (78.6%) were included in ABIS (All Babies in southeast Sweden) and 16,415 had adequate questionnaires. ICD-10 diagnosis from The National Patient Register was merged with the ABIS data.

Results

In total 247 individuals, 19 boys (7.7%) and 219 girls (92.3%) out of 16,415 (1.5%) developed eating disorders (EDs), 167 (1.0%) Type 1 diabetes of whom 7 (4.2%) also got eating disorders (ED) (OR 3.25 (1.47–7.28); p = 0.04), all of them years after diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. EDs was associated with high parental education especially in fathers (OR 1.65 (1.09–2.50); p = 0.02) and to at birth anxiety, and depression among mothers. There was no association with the duration of breastfeeding.

Conclusions

Eating disorders are common in girls, with increased risk in high-educated but psychologically vulnerable families. Prevalence is increased in type 1 diabetes. Even modern diabetes treatment needs to be completed with psychological support.

Level of evidence

Level III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.
American politics in 3D: measuring multidimensional issue alignment in social media using social graphs and text data
Authors: Ramaciotti Pedro , Cassells Duncan , Vagena Zografoula , Cointet Jean-Philippe , Bailey Michael
Published: January 2024

A growing number of social media studies in the U.S. rely on the characterization of the opinion of individual users, for example, as Democrat- or Republican-leaning, or in continuous scales ranging from most liberal to most conservative. Recent works have shown, however, that additional opinion dimensions, for instance measuring attitudes towards elites, institutions, or cultural change, are also relevant for understanding socio-informational phenomena on social platforms and in politics in general. The study of social networks in high-dimensional opinion spaces remains challenging in the US, both because of the relative dominance of a principal liberal-conservative dimension in observed phenomena, and because two-party political systems structure both the preferences of users and the tools to measure them. This article leverages graph embedding in multi-dimensional latent opinion spaces and text analysis to propose a method to identify additional opinion dimensions linked to cultural, policy, social, and ideological groups and preferences. Using Twitter social graph data we infer the political stance of nearly 2 million users connected to the political debate in the U.S. for several issue dimensions of public debate. We show that it is possible to identify several new dimensions structuring social graphs, non-aligned with the classic liberal-conservative dimension. We also show how the social graph is polarized to different degrees along these newfound dimensions, leveraging multi-modality measures in opinion space. These results shed a new light on ideal point estimation methods gaining attention in social media studies, showing that they cannot always assume to capture liberal-conservative divides in single-dimensional models.
Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
Authors: Chambers Katherine
Published: January 2024

Augustine of Hippo is a key figure in the history of Christianity and has had a profound impact on the course of western moral and political thought. Katherine Chambers here explores a neglected topic in Augustinian studies by offering a systematic account of the meaning that Augustine gave to the notions of virtue, vice and sin. Countering the view that he broke with classical eudaimonism, she demonstrates that Augustine's moral thought builds on the dominant approach to ethics in classical 'pagan' antiquity.  A critical appraisal of this tradition reveals that Augustine remained faithful to the eudaimonist approach to ethics. Chambers also refutes the view that Augustine was a political pessimist or realist, showing that it is based upon a misunderstanding of Augustine's ideas about the virtue of justice.  Providing a coherent account of key features in Augustine's ethics, her study invites a new and fresh evaluation of his influence on western moral and political thought.
The Theology of the Book of Proverbs
Authors: Dell Katharine J.
Published: January 2024

In this volume, Katharine Dell offers a guide to the nature and character of the Book of Proverbs. She explores its key messages and major theological themes, notably God as creator and Wisdom as mediator, standing at the center of a profound theological relationship between God and humanity. Dell provides an overview of scholarly evaluations of these writings, which explore its literary forms, subdivisions, content, purpose, and social contexts. Summarizing important modern debates, she also examines the intertextual and canonical relationship of Proverbs to other biblical books, the afterlife of Proverbs in wisdom material from the Apocrypha, Qumran, and the New Testament, and the place of Proverbs in the history of interpretation. Her book will help readers to understand the nature and character of the book of Proverbs. It also enables them to assess its key messages and to see its wider context within the canon of scripture and its relevance within the history of interpretation.
The Critical Reception of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Authors: Mazzeno Laurence W.
Published: January 2024

Examines both academic and popular assessments of Conan Doyle's work, giving pride of place to the Holmes stories and their adaptations, and also attending to the wide range of his published work.
Individualism and the Rise of Democracy in Poland
Authors: Grabowski Tomek
Published: January 2024

A fascinating story of the rise of individualism in the formerly German Western Territories of Poland after World War II and how this new culture powered Poland's democratic-capitalist development.
Women in American Operas of the 1950s
Authors: Hershberger Monica A.
Published: January 2024

The first feminist analysis of some of the most performed works in the American-opera canon, emphasizing the voices and perspectives of the sopranos who brought these operas to life.
A Political Ecology of Kenya's Mau Forest
Authors: Fuchs Lisa Elena
Published: January 2024

A timely and important examination of the environmental crises, investigating their biophysical, political, economic, and socio-cultural aspects, that reveals why previous conservation efforts failed.
German-Jewish Life Writing in the Aftermath of the Holocaust
Authors: Finch Helen
Published: January 2024

Shows how Adler, Wander, Hilsenrath, and Klüger intertwine transgressive political criticism with the shadow of trauma, revealing new perspectives on canon formation and exclusion in postwar German literature.
Paper waste grown as a biocalcified foam: perspectives from a bacterial and design viewpoint
Authors: Mosse Aurélie , Rennie Vincent , Poudoulec Quentin , Suárez Zamora Daniel
Published: January 2024

Biocalcification is a naturally occurring mineralisation phenomenon resulting from the urease produced by microorganisms inhabiting soil environments. This process, often referred to as microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP), is primarily exploited in an engineering context for soil stabilisation and the repair of concrete structures. MICP represents an emerging area of research in architecture and design. In this paper, we discuss the appropriation of MICP on Papier Plume, a foam made of paper waste used in the context of ImpressioVivo: a design-led research project exploring the conception and fabrication of 3D-printed and bacterially induced bio-sourced materials for a circular design framework. In the light of a previous study based on two strategies of calcification: (1) direct inoculation (2) spraying, we – a team of two designers and a microbiologist – discuss the relevance of an immersion strategy applied to the dry paper foam substrate. By doing so, we reflect on the relevance of MICP as a material design process underpinned by sustainable and circularity concerns, from a design perspective, but also into an attempt to embrace the perspective of the bacteria supporting these experiments; namely Sporosarcina pasteurii.
Physics-informed artificial intelligence models for the seismic response prediction of rocking structures
Authors: Shen Shirley , Málaga-Chuquitaype Christian
Published: January 2024

The seismic response of a wide variety of structures, from small but irreplaceable museum exhibits to large bridge systems, is characterized by rocking. In addition, rocking motion is increasingly being used as a seismic protective strategy to limit the amount of seismic actions (moments) developed at the base of structures. However, rocking is a highly nonlinear phenomenon governed by non-smooth dynamic phases that make its prediction difficult. This study presents an alternative approach to rocking estimation based on a physics-informed convolutional neural network (PICNN). By training a group of PICNNs using limited datasets obtained from numerical simulations and encoding the known physics into the PICNNs, important predictive benefits are obtained relieving difficulties associated with over-fitting and minimizing the requirement for a large training database. Two models are created depending on the validation of the deep PICNN: the first model assumes that state variables including rotations and angular velocities are available, while the second model is useful when only acceleration measurements are known. The analysis is initiated by implementing K-means clustering. This is followed by a detailed statistical assessment and a comparative analysis of the response-histories of a rocking block. It is observed that the deep PICNN is capable of effectively estimating the seismic rocking response history when the rigid block does not overturn.
Ilmenau’s contributions to Design Science
Authors: Höhne Günter , Weber Christian , Husung Stephan
Published: January 2024

Ilmenau is a relatively small town in a beautiful landscape, close to the centre of Germany. Since 1894 it has been the home of a Technical College which after World War II and through some permutations became today’s Technische Universität Ilmenau. For 70 years the university has contributed to Design Science. It is interesting to note that the fundamentals were developed in practice, at the Carl Zeiss company in Jena; it was only later that the new ideas were further developed for academic research and teaching in Ilmenau. The origins at Zeiss Jena still account for the main application area at Technische Universität Ilmenau today: Precision Engineering which, in addition to mechanical, has always included electric, electronic, control, software, and even optical components (“mechatronics” before the term was coined). This article – written by three (out of four in total) of the professors who were and are, respectively, in charge over almost 50 out of the 70 years – tells the story of Design Science in Ilmenau: background, beginnings, development, contributions to research, teaching, and transfer to industry. As Ilmenau was situated in the German Democratic Republic (“East Germany”) between 1949 and 1990, the story is not free of political and societal implications, some of them quite surprising.
The limits of currency politics
Authors: Lapavitsas Costas
Published: January 2024

In Locke’s philosophy money is ‘naturalised’ and thus ostensibly removed from political contestation. Locke has been criticised for marginalising monetary politics, and thus downplaying the conventional character of money that could potentially allow for democratic monetary reform. Drawing on Marx’s writings, this paper shows that money is indeed a social convention, but its inherent economic functioning restricts its susceptibility to political contestation. There are limits to the democratic reform of money in a capitalist economy that spring from money’s own nature.

Specifically, the politics of money is rooted in the tension between money as measure of value and money as unit of account. The state draws political power from setting the unit of account, but the measurement of value occurs spontaneously among commodity producers, thereby generating tension that curbs monetary politics. In contemporary conditions, this is typified by central banks having the freedom to manage the unit of account but subject to heavy economic constraints rooted in value measurement. In this light, democratic monetary reform requires restricting the spontaneous measurement of value, thus intervening at the heart of the capitalist economy. For money to be democratic it needs to have a much narrower range of economic functioning.
Eastward across the Western Sea: The Indian Oceanic Trafficking of Africans into China
Authors: Wyatt Don J.
Published: January 2024

Despite its greater extensiveness in comparison to the ferrying of their West African counterparts across the Atlantic Ocean into bondage in the New World, the history of the extraction of East Africans to serve as slaves in the various lands that ring the Indian Ocean is barely known to most of us. Particularly as Westerners, our knowledge of even the sketchiest outlines of the latter phenomenon pales before what we know intimately about the intricacies of the former. Furthermore, unknown altogether to too many is the fact that—from at least as early as the eighth century of the Common Era—these East African slaves were exported as distantly as China. Based principally on the pertinent Chinese sources, this study raises and investigates three fundamental questions concerning this conveyance of East Africans into China. First, who were the original enslavers of these East Africans and thus the prime purveyors of their entrance over the centuries into bondage in China? Second, how—that is, by land or by sea—and under what auspices were these East Africans typically transported from their homelands mainly along the eastern African coastline to a locale as far away as China? Third and finally, what was the probable fate of these East Africans once they had arrived in China? The essay concludes with a consideration of the consequentiality of this largely overlooked and therefore unheralded saga amidst the history of Chinese institutionalised servitude overall.
Neural correlates of compound head position in language control: Evidence from simultaneous production and comprehension
Authors: Liu Shuang , Huang Junjun , Xing Zehui , Schwieter John W. , Liu Huanhuan
Published: January 2024

Compound words consist of two or more words which combine to form a single word or phrase that acts as one. In English, the head of compound words is usually, but not always, the right-most root (e.g., “paycheck” is a noun because the head, “check,” is a noun). The current study explores the effects of head position on language control by examining language switching performance through electroencephalography (EEG). Twenty-one pairs of Chinese (L1)–English (L2) bilinguals performed cued language switching in a simultaneous production and comprehension task. The results showed that bilinguals recognized the head position earlier both in production and comprehension. However, the language control of the head position during production occurred in the middle stage (N2), but in the late stage (LPC) during comprehension. These findings indicate that the head position in compound words exerts differential influences on language control.
Deep Mantle Component and Continental Crust Remobilization in the Source of Vesteris Seamount, East Greenland Margin
Authors: Beloša L. , Callegaro S. , Meyzen C. M. , Gaina C. , Polteau S. , Bizimis M. , Mazzini A.
Published: January 2024

Vesteris Seamount is a large Quaternary intraplate submarine volcano in the SW Greenland Sea, about 1,000 km NE of Iceland and 300 km NW of the Mohn's spreading ridge, whose mode of formation remains unsolved. We present geochemical data for new samples dredged from the Vesteris edifice, including major, trace elements and Sr‐Nd‐Pb‐Hf isotopes. The isotopic characteristics of the alkaline lavas, covering the basanite/tephrite to benmoreite range, indicate the involvement of depleted and enriched mantle components. The source is dominated by the depleted mantle (85%–90%) and a deep enriched component possibly supplied by the Iceland Plume (IP) (10%–15%). Additional source enrichment was due to recycled crust and sub‐continental lithospheric mantle, as suggested by Hf isotopes (0.283147 ± 0.000005) measured for the first time in Vesteris lavas and by a decoupling in Pb isotopes evidenced by relatively low‐radiogenic 207Pb/204Pb (15.510) and high‐radiogenic 208Pb/204Pb (38.554) with respect to the Northern Hemisphere Reference Line. We interpret the geochemical results using existing knowledge about the regional lithospheric and upper mantle structure. Our findings suggest that a deep (ca. 420–320 km) mantle anomaly, with seismological characteristics of the Iceland mantle plume, extends from East Greenland to the north of Jan Mayen Fracture Zone. The regional lithospheric thinning toward the Greenland Basin enabled the melting events that produced the Vesteris seamount. This lateral NNE‐directed flow lobe of the Iceland plume may have carved and transferred enriched components from the continental lithospheric margin of Greenland north of Scoresby Sund toward the Vesteris source.
Crustal and Uppermost Mantle Azimuthal Seismic Anisotropy of Antarctica From Ambient Noise Tomography
Authors: Zhou Zhengyang , Wiens Douglas A. , Nyblade Andrew A. , Aster Richard C. , Wilson Terry , Shen Weisen
Published: January 2024

Seismic anisotropy provides essential information for characterizing the orientation of deformation and flow in the crust and mantle. The isotropic structure of the Antarctic crust and upper mantle has been determined by previous studies, but the azimuthal anisotropy structure has only been constrained by mantle core phase (SKS) splitting observations. This study determines the azimuthal anisotropic structure of the crust and mantle beneath the central and West Antarctica based on 8—55 s Rayleigh wave phase velocities from ambient noise cross‐correlation. An anisotropic Rayleigh wave phase velocity map was created using a ray—based tomography method. These data are inverted using a Bayesian Monte Carlo method to obtain an azimuthal anisotropy model with uncertainties. The azimuthal anisotropy structure in most of the study region can be fit by a two‐layer structure, with one layer at depths of 0–15 km in the shallow crust and the other layer in the uppermost mantle. The azimuthal anisotropic layer in the shallow crust of West Antarctica, where it coincides with strong positive radial anisotropy quantified by the previous study, shows a fast direction that is subparallel to the inferred extension direction of the West Antarctic Rift System. Fast directions of upper mantle azimuthal anisotropy generally align with teleseismic shear wave splitting fast directions, suggesting a thin lithosphere or similar lithosphere‐asthenosphere deformation. However, inconsistencies in this exist in Marie Byrd Land, indicating differing ancient deformation patterns in the shallow mantle lithosphere sampled by the surface waves and deformation in the deeper mantle and asthenosphere sampled more strongly by splitting measurements.
Uncertainty Abounds in Seeding the Sky to Fight Climate Change
Authors: Derouin Sarah
Published: January 2024

Some scientists have suggested injecting solid particles such as alumina, calcite, or even diamonds into the atmosphere to temporarily limit climate warming. But new research shows there are still big unknowns.
Circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA levels and glucocorticoid sensitivity in a cohort of male veterans with and without combat-related PTSD
Authors: Blalock Zachary N. , Wu Gwyneth W. Y , Lindqvist Daniel , Trumpff Caroline , Flory Janine D. , Lin Jue , Reus Victor I. , Rampersaud Ryan , Hammamieh Rasha , Gautam Aarti ,   SBPBC, Ressler Kerry J. , Yang Ruoting , Muhie Seid , Daigle Bernie J. , Bierer Linda M. , Hood Leroy , Wang Kai , Lee Inyoul , Dean Kelsey R. , Somvanshi Pramod R. , Doyle Francis J. , Marmar Charles R. , Jett Marti , Yehuda Rachel , Wolkowitz Owen M. , Mellon Synthia H.
Published: January 2024

Circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) is a biomarker of cellular injury or cellular stress and is a potential novel biomarker of psychological stress and of various brain, somatic, and psychiatric disorders. No studies have yet analyzed ccf-mtDNA levels in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), despite evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction in this condition. In the current study, we compared plasma ccf-mtDNA levels in combat trauma-exposed male veterans with PTSD (n = 111) with those who did not develop PTSD (n = 121) and also investigated the relationship between ccf mt-DNA levels and glucocorticoid sensitivity. In unadjusted analyses, ccf-mtDNA levels did not differ significantly between the PTSD and non-PTSD groups (t = 1.312, p = 0.191, Cohen’s d = 0.172). In a sensitivity analysis excluding participants with diabetes and those using antidepressant medication and controlling for age, the PTSD group had lower ccf-mtDNA levels than did the non-PTSD group (F(1, 179) = 5.971, p = 0.016, partial η2 = 0.033). Across the entire sample, ccf-mtDNA levels were negatively correlated with post-dexamethasone adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) decline (r = −0.171, p = 0.020) and cortisol decline (r = −0.149, p = 0.034) (viz., greater ACTH and cortisol suppression was associated with lower ccf-mtDNA levels) both with and without controlling for age, antidepressant status and diabetes status. Ccf-mtDNA levels were also significantly positively associated with IC50-DEX (the concentration of dexamethasone at which 50% of lysozyme activity is inhibited), a measure of lymphocyte glucocorticoid sensitivity, after controlling for age, antidepressant status, and diabetes status (β = 0.142, p = 0.038), suggesting that increased lymphocyte glucocorticoid sensitivity is associated with lower ccf-mtDNA levels. Although no overall group differences were found in unadjusted analyses, excluding subjects with diabetes and those taking antidepressants, which may affect ccf-mtDNA levels, as well as controlling for age, revealed decreased ccf-mtDNA levels in PTSD. In both adjusted and unadjusted analyses, low ccf-mtDNA levels were associated with relatively increased glucocorticoid sensitivity, often reported in PTSD, suggesting a link between mitochondrial and glucocorticoid-related abnormalities in PTSD.
Mapping the planet’s critical areas for biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people
Authors: Neugarten Rachel A. , Chaplin-Kramer Rebecca , Sharp Richard P. , Schuster Richard , Strimas-Mackey Matthew , Roehrdanz Patrick R. , Mulligan Mark , van Soesbergen Arnout , Hole David , Kennedy Christina M. , Oakleaf James R. , Johnson Justin A. , Kiesecker Joseph , Polasky Stephen , Hanson Jeffrey O. , Rodewald Amanda D.
Published: January 2024

Meeting global commitments to conservation, climate, and sustainable development requires consideration of synergies and tradeoffs among targets. We evaluate the spatial congruence of ecosystems providing globally high levels of nature’s contributions to people, biodiversity, and areas with high development potential across several sectors. We find that conserving approximately half of global land area through protection or sustainable management could provide 90% of the current levels of ten of nature’s contributions to people and meet minimum representation targets for 26,709 terrestrial vertebrate species. This finding supports recent commitments by national governments under the Global Biodiversity Framework to conserve at least 30% of global lands and waters, and proposals to conserve half of the Earth. More than one-third of areas required for conserving nature’s contributions to people and species are also highly suitable for agriculture, renewable energy, oil and gas, mining, or urban expansion. This indicates potential conflicts among conservation, climate and development goals.
Levels of complement factor H-related 4 protein do not influence susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration or its course of progression
Authors: Zouache M. A. , Richards B. T. , Pappas C. M. , Anstadt R. A. , Liu J. , Corsetti T. , Matthews S. , Seager N. A. , Schmitz-Valckenberg S. , Fleckenstein M. , Hubbard W. C. , Thomas J. , Hageman J. L. , Williams B. L. , Hageman G. S.
Published: January 2024

Dysregulation of the alternative pathway (AP) of the complement system is a significant contributor to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a primary cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide. Here, we assess the contribution of the liver-produced complement factor H-related 4 protein (FHR-4) to AMD initiation and course of progression. We show that FHR-4 variation in plasma and at the primary location of AMD-associated pathology, the retinal pigment epithelium/Bruch’s membrane/choroid interface, is entirely explained by three independent quantitative trait loci (QTL). Using two distinct cohorts composed of a combined 14,965 controls and 20,741 cases, we ascertain that independent QTLs for FHR-4 are distinct from variants causally associated with AMD, and that FHR-4 variation is not independently associated with disease. Additionally, FHR-4 does not appear to influence AMD progression course among patients with disease driven predominantly by AP dysregulation. Modulation of FHR-4 is therefore unlikely to be an effective therapeutic strategy for AMD.
Ligand coupling mechanism of the human serotonin transporter differentiates substrates from inhibitors
Authors: Gradisch Ralph , Schlögl Katharina , Lazzarin Erika , Niello Marco , Maier Julian , Mayer Felix P. , Alves da Silva Leticia , Skopec Sophie M. C. , Blakely Randy D. , Sitte Harald H. , Mihovilovic Marko D. , Stockner Thomas
Published: January 2024

The presynaptic serotonin transporter (SERT) clears extracellular serotonin following vesicular release to ensure temporal and spatial regulation of serotonergic signalling and neurotransmitter homeostasis. Prescription drugs used to treat neurobehavioral disorders, including depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, trap SERT by blocking the transport cycle. In contrast, illicit drugs of abuse like amphetamines reverse SERT directionality, causing serotonin efflux. Both processes result in increased extracellular serotonin levels. By combining molecular dynamics simulations with biochemical experiments and using a homologous series of serotonin analogues, we uncovered the coupling mechanism between the substrate and the transporter, which triggers the uptake of serotonin. Free energy analysis showed that only scaffold-bound substrates could initiate SERT occlusion through attractive long-range electrostatic interactions acting on the bundle domain. The associated spatial requirements define substrate and inhibitor properties, enabling additional possibilities for rational drug design approaches.
Photogenerated outer electric field induced electrophoresis of organic nanocrystals for effective solid-solid photocatalysis
Authors: Guo Yan , Zhu Bowen , Tang Chuyang Y. , Zhou Qixin , Zhu Yongfa
Published: January 2024

Rapid mass transfer in solid-solid reactions is crucial for catalysis. Although phoretic nanoparticles offer potential for increased collision efficiency between solids, their implementation is hindered by limited interaction ranges. Here, we present a self-driven long-range electrophoresis of organic nanocrystals facilitated by a rationally designed photogenerated outer electric field (OEF) on their surface. Employing perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) molecular nanocrystals as a model, we demonstrate that a directional OEF with an intensity of 13.6-0.4 kV m−1 across a range of 25–200 μm. This OEF-driven targeted electrophoresis of PTCDA nanocrystals onto the microplastic surface enhances the activity for subsequent decomposition of microplastics (196.8 mg h−1) into CO2 by solid-solid catalysis. As supported by operando characterizations and theoretical calculations, the OEF surrounds PTCDA nanocrystals initially, directing from the electron-rich (0 1 1) to the hole-rich $$(11\bar{2})$$

(

11

2

¯

)

surface. Upon surface charge modulation, the direction of OEF changes toward the solid substrate. The OEF-driven electrophoretic effect in organic nanocrystals with anisotropic charge enrichment characteristics indicates potential advancements in realizing effective solid-solid photocatalysis.
ROCK1/2 signaling contributes to corticosteroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease
Authors: Maas-Bauer Kristina , Stell Anna-Verena , Yan Kai-Li , de Vega Enrique , Vinnakota Janaki Manoja , Unger Susanne , Núñez Nicolas , Norona Johana , Talvard-Balland Nana , Koßmann Stefanie , Schwan Carsten , Miething Cornelius , Martens Uta S. , Shoumariyeh Khalid , Nestor Rosa P. , Duquesne Sandra , Hanke Kathrin , Rackiewicz Michal , Hu Zehan , El Khawanky Nadia , Taromi Sanaz , Andrlova Hana , Faraidun Hemin , Walter Stefanie , Pfeifer Dietmar , Follo Marie , Waldschmidt Johannes , Melchinger Wolfgang , Rassner Michael , Wehr Claudia , Schmitt-Graeff Annette , Halbach Sebastian , Liao James , Häcker Georg , Brummer Tilman , Dengjel Joern , Andrieux Geoffroy , Grosse Robert , Tugues Sonia , Blazar Bruce R. , Becher Burkhard , Boerries Melanie , Zeiser Robert
Published: January 2024

Patients with corticosteroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) have a low one-year survival rate. Identification and validation of novel targetable kinases in patients who experience corticosteroid-refractory-aGVHD may help improve outcomes. Kinase-specific proteomics of leukocytes from patients with corticosteroid-refractory-GVHD identified rho kinase type 1 (ROCK1) as the most significantly upregulated kinase. ROCK1/2 inhibition improved survival and histological GVHD severity in mice and was synergistic with JAK1/2 inhibition, without compromising graft-versus-leukemia-effects. ROCK1/2-inhibition in macrophages or dendritic cells prior to transfer reduced GVHD severity. Mechanistically, ROCK1/2 inhibition or ROCK1 knockdown interfered with CD80, CD86, MHC-II expression and IL-6, IL-1β, iNOS and TNF production in myeloid cells. This was accompanied by impaired T cell activation by dendritic cells and inhibition of cytoskeletal rearrangements, thereby reducing macrophage and DC migration. NF-κB signaling was reduced in myeloid cells following ROCK1/2 inhibition. In conclusion, ROCK1/2 inhibition interferes with immune activation at multiple levels and reduces acute GVHD while maintaining GVL-effects, including in corticosteroid-refractory settings.
Synthesis of core@shell catalysts guided by Tammann temperature
Authors: Xiong Pei , Xu Zhihang , Wu Tai-Sing , Yang Tong , Lei Qiong , Li Jiangtong , Li Guangchao , Yang Ming , Soo Yun-Liang , Bennett Robert David , Lau Shu Ping , Tsang Shik Chi Edman , Zhu Ye , Li Molly Meng-Jung
Published: January 2024

Designing high-performance thermal catalysts with stable catalytic sites is an important challenge. Conventional wisdom holds that strong metal-support interactions can benefit the catalyst performance, but there is a knowledge gap in generalizing this effect across different metals. Here, we have successfully developed a generalizable strong metal-support interaction strategy guided by Tammann temperatures of materials, enabling functional oxide encapsulation of transition metal nanocatalysts. As an illustrative example, Co@BaAl2O4 core@shell is synthesized and tracked in real-time through in-situ microscopy and spectroscopy, revealing an unconventional strong metal-support interaction encapsulation mechanism. Notably, Co@BaAl2O4 exhibits exceptional activity relative to previously reported core@shell catalysts, displaying excellent long-term stability during high-temperature chemical reactions and overcoming the durability and reusability limitations of conventional supported catalysts. This pioneering design and widely applicable approach has been validated to guide the encapsulation of various transition metal nanoparticles for environmental tolerance functionalities, offering great potential to advance energy, catalysis, and environmental fields.
Hydrogen evolution with hot electrons on a plasmonic-molecular catalyst hybrid system
Authors: Dey Ananta , Mendalz Amal , Wach Anna , Vadell Robert Bericat , Silveira Vitor R. , Leidinger Paul Maurice , Huthwelker Thomas , Shtender Vitalii , Novotny Zbynek , Artiglia Luca , Sá Jacinto
Published: January 2024

Plasmonic systems convert light into electrical charges and heat, mediating catalytic transformations. However, there is ongoing controversy regarding the involvement of hot carriers in the catalytic process. In this study, we demonstrate the direct utilisation of plasmon hot electrons in the hydrogen evolution reaction with visible light. We intentionally assemble a plasmonic nanohybrid system comprising NiO/Au/[Co(1,10-Phenanthrolin-5-amine)2(H2O)2], which is unstable at water thermolysis temperatures. This assembly limits the plasmon thermal contribution while ensuring that hot carriers are the primary contributors to the catalytic process. By combining photoelectrocatalysis with advanced in situ spectroscopies, we can substantiate a reaction mechanism in which plasmon-induced hot electrons play a crucial role. These plasmonic hot electrons are directed into phenanthroline ligands, facilitating the rapid, concerted proton-electron transfer steps essential for hydrogen generation. The catalytic response to light modulation aligns with the distinctive profile of a hot carrier-mediated process, featuring a positive, though non-essential, heat contribution.