bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A fine-tuned defense at the pea root caps: Involvement of border cells and arabinogalactan proteins against soilborne diseases
Authors: Fortier Mélanie , Lemaitre Vincent , Gaudry Alexia , Pawlak Barbara , Driouich Azeddine , Follet-Gueye Marie-Laure , Vicré Maïté
Published: February 2023

Plants have to cope with a myriad of soilborne pathogens that affect crop production and food security. The complex interactions between the root system and microorganisms are determinant for the whole plant health. However, the knowledge regarding root defense responses is limited as compared to the aerial parts of the plant. Immune responses in roots appear to be tissue-specific suggesting a compartmentalization of defense mechanisms in these organs. The root cap releases cells termed root “associated cap-derived cells” (AC-DCs) or “border cells” embedded in a thick mucilage layer forming the root extracellular trap (RET) dedicated to root protection against soilborne pathogens. Pea (Pisum sativum) is the plant model used to characterize the composition of the RET and to unravel its function in root defense. The objective of this paper is to review modes of action of the RET from pea against diverse pathogens with a special focus on root rot disease caused by Aphanomyces euteiches, one of the most widely occurring and large-scale pea crop diseases. The RET, at the interface between the soil and the root, is enriched in antimicrobial compounds including defense-related proteins, secondary metabolites, and glycan-containing molecules. More especially arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), a family of plant extracellular proteoglycans belonging to the hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins were found to be particularly present in pea border cells and mucilage. Herein, we discuss the role of RET and AGPs in the interaction between roots and microorganisms and future potential developments for pea crop protection.
High performance work system and transformational leadership: Revisiting and questioning their implications for health-related wellbeing
Authors: Ehrnrooth Mats , Koveshnikov Alexei , Wechtler Heidi , Hauff Sven
Published: February 2023

Employee wellbeing represents a profound management challenge for both leaders and HR professionals, and both transformational leadership (TL) and high performance work system (HPWS) are assumed to play important roles in tackling this challenge. However, we know little about their unique and relative importance in promoting wellbeing. To shed light on this methodologically, theoretically and practically important issue, we draw mainly on leadership substitutes theory. Based on a comprehensive mediation model we examine whether HPWS substitutes the assumed relationships between TL and employee emotional exhaustion. Our study answers to three important calls for research: to examine the joint effects of leadership and HPWS, to examine their health-related impact, and to pursue more theory contesting research in management studies. Based on data from 308 white collar employees working under 76 middle-managers in five Finnish organizations our study points to the incompleteness of previous siloed research on both TL and HPWS, sheds new light on their relationships with wellbeing, and suggests ways to develop both TL and HPWS theory, thus providing important guidance for future research on their effects.
Understanding transitions in exploration profiles of students opting for higher education
Authors: Demulder Lien , Verschueren Karine , Donche Vincent
Published: February 2023

Introduction

Since previous research on educational career exploration has mainly been cross-sectional and therefore has been unsuccessful in explaining how this process can change during the final year in secondary education before students make the transition to higher education, this study aimed to examine changes over time in the exploration process. A person-centered research perspective was taken to further deepen the understanding of how different exploration tasks jointly combine into meaningful profiles. In this way, this study tried to gain more insight into why some students go through this process successfully and others do not. Four goals guided this study: identifying exploration profiles of students in Fall and Spring of the final year in secondary school based on four decisional tasks (orientation, self-, broad and in-depth exploration), investigating transitions between exploration profiles across these two timepoints, and examining the role which different antecedents (i.e., academic self-efficacy, academic self-concept, motivation, test anxiety, gender, educational track, socio-economic status) play in explaining both profile membership and transitions between profiles.

Methods

Using self-report questionnaires to measure the exploration tasks and the antecedents in final year students, two cross-sectional samples collected in Fall (n = 9,567) and Spring (n = 7,254), and one longitudinal sample (n = 672) were examined.

Results

Latent profile analyses identified three exploration profiles at both timepoints: passive, moderately active, and highly active explorers. Latent transition analysis showed the moderately active explorers profile to be the most stable profile, while the passive profile was the most variable profile. Academic self-concept, motivation, test anxiety, and gender had an effect on the initial states, while motivation and test anxiety affected the transition probabilities. For both academic self-concept and motivation, students scoring higher were found to be less present in the passive or the moderately active than in the highly active profile. Furthermore, compared to students who remained in the passive profile, higher levels of motivation were associated with a higher probability to transition to the moderately active profile. Next to that, compared to students who remained in the highly active profile, higher levels of motivation were associated with a lower probability to transition to the moderately active profile. Results on anxiety were inconsistent.

Discussion

Based on substantial cross-sectional as well as longitudinal data, our findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the explanatory base of important differences in the study choice making process of students opting for higher education. This may ultimately lead to more timely and fitting support for students with different exploration profiles.
Developing intercultural competence through a cultural metacognition-featured instructional design in English as a foreign language classrooms
Authors: Huang Lin
Published: February 2023

The soaring demand for intercultural competence (IC) in the globalized world has made it a key concern in foreign language education. Most existing training on IC has often focused on providing immersive intercultural experiences, equipping learners with cultural knowledge, and simulating intercultural situations. However, some of these approaches may not be feasible in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, nor are they effective to prepare learners to cope with the complexities and uncertainties in novel intercultural situations unless there specifically involves higher-order thinking. Thus, this study took a perspective of cultural metacognition and examined whether and how could an instructional design that highlighted cultural metacognition facilitate learners’ IC development in an EFL classroom at the tertiary level in Chinese mainland. Fifty-eight undergraduate students enrolled in an English Listening, Viewing, and Speaking course were involved in the instruction, and questionnaires and focus groups were employed for the data collection. A paired sample t-test revealed that there was a significant enhancement in students’ intercultural competence in terms of affective, metacognitive, and behavioral dimensions, but not in the knowledge dimension. Thematic analysis indicated that the instructional design was effective in supporting students’ intentional knowledge acquiring, developing positive intercultural attitudes, and promoting the translation of cognition into actions. The findings thus confirmed that the instructional design featuring cultural metacognition can be used in domestic EFL contexts, such as College English classrooms at the tertiary level in Chinese mainland, as an effective way of enhancing learners’ IC. This study also offered additional evidence of how students’ IC development was achieved through a range of metacognitive processes, which may provide implications for teachers to design their IC instructions in similar EFL educational settings.
Cross sectional association between cognitive frailty and disability among community-dwelling older adults: Focus on the role of social factors
Authors: Choi Kyungwon , Ko Young
Published: February 2023

Background

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cognitive frailty and the influence of social factors on the association between different levels of cognitive frailty and disability.

Methods

A nationally representative survey of non-institutionalized community-dwelling older adults in Korea was used. A total, 9,894 older adults were included in the analysis. We assessed the effects of social factors using social activities, social contacts, living arrangements, emotional support, and satisfaction with friends and neighbors.

Results

The prevalence of cognitive frailty was 1.6%, which was consistent with other population-based studies. Hierarchical logistic analysis demonstrated that the association between different levels of cognitive frailty and disability was attenuated when social participation, social contact, and satisfaction with friends and community were included in the model, and the magnitude of these effects differed across the levels of cognitive frailty.

Discussion

Considering the influence of social factors, interventions to enhance social relationships can help slow down the progression of cognitive frailty to disability.
Characteristics and occupational risk assessment of occupational silica-dust and noise exposure in ferrous metal foundries in Ningbo, China
Authors: Duan Donghui , Leng Pengbo , Li Xiaohai , Mao Guochuan , Wang Aihong , Zhang Dandan
Published: February 2023

Introduction

To investigate the major existing occupational hazards and to assess the occupational health risks for ferrous metal foundries (FMFs) in Ningbo, China.

Methods

Unified questionnaires were formulated to investigate the information on the basic situations, occupational hazards, and occupational health management for 193 FMFs in Ningbo. Furthermore, we used the semi-quantitative risk assessment model, which was developed by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), to assess occupational health risks for 59 of 193 the FMFs.

Results

The casting process of FMFs in Ningbo was mainly divided into sand casting and investment casting, and silica-dust and noise were the major occupational hazards in both sand casting and investment casting foundries. Silica-dust mainly occurred in industries with such work as sand handling, modeling, falling sand, and sand cleaning, with the median of the permissible concentration-time weighted average (PC-TWA) was 0.80, 1.15, 3.52, 0.83 mg/m3, respectively. The noise mainly existed in industries with such work as sand handling, core making, falling sand, sand cleaning, cutting and grinding, and smelting with median of PC-TWA was 81.72 dB(A), 82.93 dB(A), 90.75 dB(A), 80.18 dB(A), 90.05 dB(A), 82.70 dB(A), respectively. In addition, the results of the ICMM assessment model indicated that 100 and 98.7% of the jobs exposed to silica-dust and noise in 59 FMFs have an “intolerable risk” level of risks of causing pneumoconiosis and noise deaf, respectively.

Discussion

The hazard risk of silica-dust and noise is serious for FMFs in Ningbo. It is necessary to supervise enterprises to improve operating environmental conditions, accelerate the reduction of silica-dust and noise exposure risks, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the foundry industry.
Factors associated with willingness and preferences to attend family services in Hong Kong: A population-based survey
Authors: Zeng Yingpei , Gong Weijie , Lai Agnes Yuen Kwan , Sit Shirley Man Man , Wang Man Ping , Ho Sai Yin , Lam Tai Hing
Published: February 2023

Objective

Family services are open to the community at large as well as vulnerable groups; however, little is known about the willingness of communities to attend such services. We investigated the willingness and preferences to attend family services and their associated factors (including sociodemographic characteristics, family wellbeing, and family communication quality) in Hong Kong.

Methods

A population-based survey was conducted on residents aged over 18 years from February to March 2021. Data included sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, education, housing type, monthly household income, and the number of cohabitants), willingness to attend family services to promote family relationships (yes/no), family service preferences (healthy living, emotion management, family communication promotion, stress management, parent-child activities, family relationship fostering, family life education, and social network building; each yes/no), family wellbeing, and family communication quality (both scores 0–10). Family wellbeing was assessed using the average scores of perceived family harmony, happiness and health (each score 0–10). Higher scores indicate better family wellbeing or family communication quality. Prevalence estimates were weighted by sex, age and educational level of the general population. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) for the willingness and preferences to attend family services were calculated in relation to sociodemographic characteristics, family wellbeing, and family communication quality.

Results

Overall, 22.1% (1,355/6,134) and 51.6% (996/1,930) of respondents were willing to attend family services to promote relationships or when facing problems, respectively. Older age (aPR = 1.37–2.30, P < 0.001–0.034) and having four or more cohabitants (aPR = 1.44–1.53, P = 0.002–0.003) were associated with increased aPR of willingness for both situations. Lower family wellbeing and communication quality were associated with lower aPR for such willingness (aPR = 0.43–0.86, P = 0.018–<0.001). Lower family wellbeing and communication quality were associated with preferences for emotion and stress management, family communication promotion, and social network building (aPR = 1.23–1.63, P = 0.017–<0.001).

Conclusions

Lower levels of family wellbeing and communication quality were associated with unwillingness to attend family services and preferences for emotion and stress management, family communication promotion, and social network building.
How much do we care about teacher job insecurity during the pandemic? A bibliometric review
Authors: Gómez-Domínguez Valentina , Navarro-Mateu Diego , Gómez-Domínguez Teresa , Giménez-Espert María del Carmen
Published: February 2023

In this study, a descriptive bibliometric analysis of the scientific production in the Web of Science on job insecurity perceived by teachers in pandemic situations was carried out. The result shows the growing interest in the topic with an upward trend with an annual growth of 41.52%. Forty-seven papers from 41 journals with 2,182 cited references were considered, with 149 researchers from 30 countries publishing at least one article. The country with the most publications was the United States, followed by Germany and Spain. The United States was the country with the most collaborations. A total of 95 institutions published papers, and the universities with the most registrations were Miami University and the University of the Basque Country, although York University and the University of the Basque Country had a higher overall citation coefficient (102 and 40, respectively). Of the 41 journals that have published on the topic, Frontiers in Education and the British Journal of Educational Psychology stood out in terms of their article numbers. However, this last one was superior in terms of the overall number of citations per year, followed by Frontiers of Psychology.
Maternal factors and child health conditions at birth associated with preterm deaths in a tertiary health facility in Ghana: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Afagbedzi Seth Kwaku , Alhassan Yakubu , Alangea Deda Ogum , Taylor Henrietta
Published: February 2023

Background

Preterm birth continues to be a leading cause of death for children under the age of 5 globally. This issue carries significant economic, psychological, and social costs for the families affected. Therefore, it is important to utilize available data to further research and understand the risk factors for preterm death.

Objective

The objective of this study was to determine maternal and infant complications that influence preterm deaths in a tertiary health facility in Ghana.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of data on preterm newborns was conducted at the neonatal intensive care unit of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH NICU) in Ghana, covering the period January 2017 to May 2019. Pearson's Chi-square test of association was used to identify factors that were significantly associated with preterm death after admission at the NICU. The Poisson regression model was used to determine the risk factors of preterm death before discharge after admission to the NICU.

Results

Of the 1,203 preterm newborns admitted to the NICU in about two and half years, 355 (29.5%) died before discharge, 7.0% (n = 84) had normal birth weight (>2.5 kg), 3.3% (n = 40) had congenital anomalies and 30.5% (n = 367) were born between 34 and 37 gestational week. All 29 preterm newborns between the 18–25 gestational week died. None of the maternal conditions were significant risk factors of preterm death in the multivariable analysis. The risk of death at discharge was higher among preterm newborns with complications including hemorrhagic/hematological disorders of fetus (aRRR: 4.20, 95% CI: [1.70–10.35], p = 0.002), fetus/newborn infections (aRRR: 3.04, 95% CI: [1.02–9.04], p = 0.046), respiratory disorders (aRRR: 13.08, 95% CI: [5.50–31.10], p < 0.001), fetal growth disorders/restrictons (aRRR: 8.62, 95% CI: [3.64–20.43], p < 0.001) and other complications (aRRR: 14.57, 95% CI: [5.93–35.77], p < 0.001).

Conclusion

This study demonstrate that maternal factors are not significant risk factors of preterm deaths. Gestational age, birth weight, presence of complications and congenital anomalies at birth are significantly associated with preterm deaths. Interventions should focus more on child health conditions at birth to reduce the death of preterm newborns.
Sustainable future: A systematic review of city-region development in bay areas
Authors: Tian Zhen , Zhou Bowen
Published: February 2023

Introduction

Bay Areas are viewed as a complex region with integrated objectives and numerous functions. Despite the increasing interaction between bay area development and urban landscape transformation, the fragmented literature did not address the question: how to achieve sustainable development in the bay area? The objective of this study was to review the literature on four representative bay areas from both the West and the East, including the San Francisco Bay Area, New York Bay Area, Tokyo Bay Area, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This study aimed to address the following two questions: What are the ongoing research trends in the field of bay areas? What are the most critical urban issues for future bay area development?

Methods

This study used a systematic review to examine publications from the Scopus database. Both descriptive and evaluative approaches were employed to analyze the publications on the four representative bay areas. The bibliometric analysis was performed using the VOS viewer to visualize research results and outcomes.

Results

The results revealed that the majority of the bay area related studies emphasized environmental issues, focused on decentralization and policy interactions, and the field of education received limited attention.

Discussion

This study contributes to the comprehensive understanding of the city-region development and provides policy suggestions for future sustainable bay area development. The findings of the keyword-based bibliometric analysis can be applied to other realms of city studies.
An ethnography of urban collective gardens in Haute-Garonne: Contribution to the sociology of sensory experiences
Authors: Jules Wilkens , Chateauraynaud Francis , Dumat Camille
Published: February 2023

Sensitive experiences made in the interaction between gardeners and their gardens have been studied in Occitania, as part of a research thesis in environmental sociology. Entering through situated experiences, we put into perspective a pragmatic reading making it possible to make visible in the gardens sensitive, ordinary, affective and emotional elements; which are discussed with the gardeners to clarify their beliefs, feelings, representations, values, and thus understand their intentions, knowledge, practices and techniques developed in the gardens. More broadly, our research explores how sensory experiences in the garden contribute to the reconfiguration of relationships with the environment on the one hand and with other humans on the other. The research hypothesis tested is as follows: “Through the grips they generate both in the body and the mind, through gestures, the mobilization of the senses, techniques, objects, sensitive experiences into garden strengthen the freedom and creativity of gardeners in their relationship with the environment.” An embedded ethnology in contact with experiences in the gardens is mobilized as a survey device to shed light on the sensitive aspects. The observations and exchanges with the gardeners immersed in the gardens, allow the integral restitution of in situ experiences in connection with things, beings, places and atmospheres.
A novel strategy for precise prognosis management and treatment option in colon adenocarcinoma with TP53 mutations
Authors: Niu Lei , Liu Langbiao , Cai Jun
Published: February 2023

Background

TP53 is one of the most frequent mutated genes in colon cancer. Although colon cancer with TP53 mutations has a high risk of metastasis and worse prognosis generally, it showed high heterogeneity clinically.

Methods

A total of 1,412 colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) samples were obtained from two RNA-seq cohorts and three microarray cohorts, including the TCGA-COAD (N = 408), the CPTAC-COAD (N = 106), GSE39582 (N = 541), GSE17536 (N = 171) and GSE41258 (N = 186). The LASSO-Cox method was used to establish the prognostic signature based on the expression data. The patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the median risk score. The efficiency of the prognostic signature was validated in various cohorts, including TP53-mutant and TP53 wild-type. The exploration of potential therapeutic targets and agents was performed by using the expression data of TP53-mutant COAD cell lines obtained from the CCLE database and the corresponding drug sensitivity data obtained from the GDSC database.

Results

A 16-gene prognostic signature was established in TP53-mutant COAD. The high-risk group had significantly inferior survival time compared to the low-risk group in all TP53-mutant datasets, while the prognostic signature failed to classify the prognosis of COAD with TP53 wild-type properly. Besides, the risk score was the independent poor factor for the prognosis in TP53-mutant COAD and the nomogram based on the risk score was also shown good predictive efficiency in TP53-mutant COAD. Moreover, we identified SGPP1, RHOQ, and PDGFRB as potential targets for TP53-mutant COAD, and illuminated that the high-risk patients might benefit from IGFR-3801, Staurosporine, and Sabutoclax.

Conclusion

A novel prognostic signature with great efficiency was established especially for COAD patients with TP53 mutations. Besides, we identified novel therapeutic targets and potential sensitive agents for TP53-mutant COAD with high risk. Our findings provided not only a new strategy for prognosis management but also new clues for drug application and precision treatment in COAD with TP53 mutations.
Emotional Intelligence, Depression, Stress and Anxiety Amongst Undergraduate Dental Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Dasor Maryati Md. , Jafridin Anis Aqilah , Azhar Aliatul Afiqah , Asma Alhusna Abang Abdullah , Manivannan Prathap Chandar , Bilal Sobia , Yusof Norashikin , Sabri Budi Aslinie Md.
Published: February 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to measure depression, anxiety and stress (DAS) among undergraduate dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic, identify key contributing factors of stress and explore the association of emotional intelligence to DAS.

Methods: A multi-centre, cross-sectional study was conducted across four universities in Malaysia. The study administered a questionnaire consisting of the validated Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), Dental Environment Stress (DES), Emotional Intelligence Scale (EI) and 10 statements assessing COVID-19 specific potential stressor factors.

Results: Participants included 791 students across four universities. Abnormal levels of DAS were identified in 60.6%, 66.8% and 42.6% of the study participants, respectively. “Pressure of performance,” “Faculty administration” and “Self-efficacy belief” were the highest rated stressors. On-time graduation was the main COVID-19 specific stressor factor. EI was negatively correlated with DAS scores (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The levels of DAS during COVID-19 pandemic in this population is high. However, participants with higher EI presented with lower DAS suggesting that EI may be a form of coping resource and should be enhanced in this population.
Detecting Multi-Density Urban Hotspots in a Smart City: Approaches, Challenges and Applications
Authors: Cesario Eugenio , Lindia Paolo , Vinci Andrea
Published: February 2023

Leveraged by a large-scale diffusion of sensing networks and scanning devices in modern cities, huge volumes of geo-referenced urban data are collected every day. Such an amount of information is analyzed to discover data-driven models, which can be exploited to tackle the major issues that cities face, including air pollution, virus diffusion, human mobility, crime forecasting, traffic flows, etc. In particular, the detection of city hotspots is de facto a valuable organization technique for framing detailed knowledge of a metropolitan area, providing high-level summaries for spatial datasets, which are a valuable support for planners, scientists, and policymakers. However, while classic density-based clustering algorithms show to be suitable for discovering hotspots characterized by homogeneous density, their application on multi-density data can produce inaccurate results. In fact, a proper threshold setting is very difficult when clusters in different regions have considerably different densities, or clusters with different density levels are nested. For such a reason, since metropolitan cities are heavily characterized by variable densities, multi-density clustering seems to be more appropriate for discovering city hotspots. Indeed, such algorithms rely on multiple minimum threshold values and are able to detect multiple pattern distributions of different densities, aiming at distinguishing between several density regions, which may or may not be nested and are generally of a non-convex shape. This paper discusses the research issues and challenges for analyzing urban data, aimed at discovering multi-density hotspots in urban areas. In particular, the study compares the four approaches (DBSCAN, OPTICS-xi, HDBSCAN, and CHD) proposed in the literature for clustering urban data and analyzes their performance on both state-of-the-art and real-world datasets. Experimental results show that multi-density clustering algorithms generally achieve better results on urban data than classic density-based algorithms.
A Reasonable Effectiveness of Features in Modeling Visual Perception of User Interfaces
Authors: Bakaev Maxim , Heil Sebastian , Gaedke Martin
Published: February 2023

Training data for user behavior models that predict subjective dimensions of visual perception are often too scarce for deep learning methods to be applicable. With the typical datasets in HCI limited to thousands or even hundreds of records, feature-based approaches are still widely used in visual analysis of graphical user interfaces (UIs). In our paper, we benchmarked the predictive accuracy of the two types of neural network (NN) models, and explored the effects of the number of features, and the dataset volume. To this end, we used two datasets that comprised over 4000 webpage screenshots, assessed by 233 subjects per the subjective dimensions of Complexity, Aesthetics and Orderliness. With the experimental data, we constructed and trained 1908 models. The feature-based NNs demonstrated 16.2%-better mean squared error (MSE) than the convolutional NNs (a modified GoogLeNet architecture); however, the CNNs’ accuracy improved with the larger dataset volume, whereas the ANNs’ did not: therefore, provided that the effect of more data on the models’ error improvement is linear, the CNNs should become superior at dataset sizes over 3000 UIs. Unexpectedly, adding more features to the NN models caused the MSE to somehow increase by 1.23%: although the difference was not significant, this confirmed the importance of careful feature engineering.
The Aerodynamic Effects of a 3D Streamlined Tail on the Windsor Body
Authors: Howell Jeff , Varney Max , Passmore Martin , Butcher Daniel
Published: February 2023

The aerodynamic drag reduction of road vehicles is of continuing interest. The drag arising from the rear surfaces is usually the dominant component, but this can be alleviated by the tapering of the rear body. The effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of a simple body from adding an elongated tapered tail have been investigated in a wind tunnel experiment. The streamlined tail consists of a constant rear body side taper added to a constant upper body taper. The results have been compared with an earlier study of the same body with upper body tapering only. The effects of truncating the long tail are explored. Adding the planform tapering reduces the impact of the slant edge vortices, and drag and lift are substantially reduced. The lateral aerodynamic characteristics are largely unaffected.
The Role of the γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) in Plant Salt Stress Tolerance
Authors: Dabravolski Siarhei A. , Isayenkov Stanislav V.
Published: February 2023

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid that accumulates in many plant species in response to environmental stress. A number of reverse-genetic experiments and omics analyses have revealed positive relationships between GABA levels and tolerance to stresses. Furthermore, the application of exogenous GABA has been demonstrated to effectively reduce ROS levels, enhance membrane stability and modulate phytohormones cross-talk, thus improving tolerance against multiple stresses. However, molecular mechanisms regulating GABA homeostasis and physiological functions in plants remain largely unclear. In this review, we focus on the recent achievements in deciphering the role of genetic manipulations to modulate endogenous GABA levels and the exogenous application of GABA and associated metabolites to improve tolerance to salt stress. Finally, we discuss the role of GABA in the regulation of ion homeostasis in high-salinity conditions. These findings have laid the groundwork for future studies to explore the genetic, physiological, and molecular mechanisms of GABA-mediated improvements in plant productivity under high-salt environmental conditions.
Pandemic-Related Stress and Other Emotional Difficulties in a Sample of Men and Women Living in Romantic Relationships during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Kozakiewicz Alicja , Izdebski Zbigniew , Białorudzki Maciej , Mazur Joanna
Published: February 2023

This study examined the extent to which relationship quality affects variability in perceived stress and other emotional difficulties associated with the pandemic. The study was conducted 2–17 March 2022 using a self-administered online survey. The sample size consisted of 1405 individuals who were in a romantic relationship. The scales used in the study included the PSS-4, ECR-RS, SLS-12 and the standardized Pandemic-ED scale (RMSEA = 0.032). Increased stress levels (U = −5.741), pandemic-related emotional difficulties (U = −8.720), worse romantic relationship quality (U = −2.564) and more frequent anxiety-related attachment (U = −3.371) were characteristic of women. A hierarchical regression model for stress showed that age (b = −0.143), financial situation (b = 0.024), the ECR-RS scores (b = 0.219) and pandemic-related emotional difficulties (b = 0.358) proved to be statistically significant predictors of stress. The hierarchical regression model for pandemic-related emotional difficulties indicated five predictors: gender (b = 0.166), education (b = 0.071), financial situation (b = 0.203), scores on the ECR-RS scale (b = 0.048) and stress (b = 0.367). The SEM model used has satisfactory fit indices (RMSEA = 0.051), romantic relationship quality scores and attachment styles interact with the variability of perceived pandemic-related stress and burdens. The determined model offers conclusions relevant to clinicians working with individuals and couples during periods of intense stress.
Feasibility of Bio–Coagulation Dewatering Followed by Bio–Oxidation Process for Treating Swine Wastewater
Authors: Zhang Dejin , Han Weicheng , Zhou Yujun , Yan Cheng , Wang Dianzhan , Liang Jianru , Zhou Lixiang
Published: February 2023

The unsatisfactory performance of the conventional swine wastewater treatment is drawing increasing attention due to the large amount of refractory chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, and phosphorus attached to the suspended solids (SS). In this study, for the first time, a novel process based on bio–coagulation dewatering followed by a bio–oxidation (BDBO) system was developed to treat swine wastewater containing high–strength SS, COD, TN, and TP. Firstly, after the bio–coagulation process, the removal efficiencies of SS, COD, NH3–N, and TP reached as high as 99.94%, 98.09%, 61.19%, and 99.92%, respectively. Secondly, the filtrate of the bio–coagulation dewatering process was introduced into the subsequent bio–oxidation process, in which the residual COD and NH3–N were further biodegraded in a sequence batch reactor. In addition, the dewatering performance of the concentrated swine slurry was substantially improved, with the specific resistance to filtration decreasing from 17.0 × 1012 to 0.3 × 1012 m/kg. Moreover, the concentrated swine slurry was pressed and filtered into a semi–dry cake after pilot–scale bio–coagulation dewatering treatment. Finally, the concentrations of COD and NH3–N in the effluent after the BDBO process, ranging between 150–170 mg/L and 75–90 mg/L, met the relevant discharge standard. Compared to traditional treatments, the BDBO system has excellent large–scale potential for improving the treatment efficiency, shortening the operation period, and reducing the processing costs, and is emerging as a cost–effective alternative for the treatment of wastewater containing high concentrations of SS, COD, TN, and TP.
Hand Eczema in Apprentice Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic after a Skin Prevention Program
Authors: Piapan Linda , Di Taranto Davide , Patriarca Emilia , Rui Francesca , Larese Filon Francesca
Published: February 2023

Background: Healthcare workers, particularly nurses and apprentice nurses, are at high risk of the development of hand eczema due to daily exposure to wet work. This study aimed to assess the occurrence of hand eczema in a group of first-, second-, and third-year apprentice nurses at the University Hospitals of Trieste (northeastern Italy) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Two hundred forty-two Nursing School students were recruited. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire based on the Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire, and all patients underwent a medical examination to evaluate their skin condition based on standard scores. Transepidermal water loss was also measured. The factors associated with hand eczema were investigated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of hand eczema was low in students both before and after the traineeship (17.9 and 21.5%, respectively), but clinical signs of mild skin damage, mainly skin dryness, were present in 52.3 and 47.2%, respectively. The factor associated with hand eczema was a personal history of atopic eczema (odd ratios 2.61, 95% confidence intervals 1.18–5.80), while exposure to irritants and glove use did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Our findings might be explained by the preventive measures adopted for skin protection among healthcare workers in Trieste since the apprenticeship.
Identifying Persons with Special Healthcare Needs in Dentistry—Development and Validation of the French Case Mix Tool
Authors: Faulks Denise , Bogner Marie-Sophie , Hamon Solenn , Eschevins Caroline , Pereira Bruno
Published: February 2023

Providing dental care for certain patient groups is complicated due to difficulties with cooperation, communication, health conditions, and social context, amongst others. The majority of dentists in France work within a public fee-per-item system. A new measure has been introduced providing a financial supplement to dentists for each episode of care for a patient with a severe disability. This supplement is justified by completion of the French Case Mix tool (FCM), a new measure designed to retrospectively identify episodes of dental care that have required adaptation and additional time or expertise. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and psychometric properties of the FCM. The content validity of the tool was improved at each round of pilot development, involving 392 patient encounters. Test–retest data at 2 weeks for 12 fictional patient treatment episodes were collected from 51 dentists. This phase confirmed inter- and intra-dentist reproducibility, criterion validity, and interpretability. Retrospective analysis of 4814 treatment episodes nationally demonstrated high reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity. Overall, the FCM showed high validity and good psychometric properties. However, the impact of providing a financial supplement on improving access to care for persons with special needs has yet to be evaluated.
Correlates of Health-Related Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Guadeloupe (French West Indies): Results from the KASADS Study
Authors: Simo Nadine , Boucaud-Maitre Denis , Gebhard Pierre , Villeneuve Roxane , Rinaldo Leila , Dartigues Jean-François , Drame Moustapha , Tabue-Teguo Maturin
Published: February 2023

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the correlates of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in community-dwelling older adults in Guadeloupe. Methods: We used the Karukera Study of Aging-Drugs Storage (KASADS), an observational, cross-sectional study on community-dwelling older people living in Guadeloupe. A visual analogue scale ranging from 0 to 100 was used to assess HRQoL. Results: The study sample consisted of 115 patients aged 65 years or older; 67.8% were women. Participants were 76 (±7.8) years old with a mean HRQoL of 66.2 (±20.3). The correlates of HRQoL were complaints of pain (p < 0.001) and IADL dependency (p = 0.030) after adjustment. We found no significant interactions between HRQoL and other variables such as marital status, socio-educational level and cognitive decline. Conclusions: Pain and IADL dependency were independently associated with lower HRQoL in community-dwelling older people in Guadeloupe.
Psychopathological Profile Associated with Food Addiction Symptoms in Adolescents with Eating Disorders
Authors: Criscuolo Michela , Cinelli Giulia , Croci Ileana , Chianello Ilenia , Caramadre Anna Maria , Tozzi Alberto Eugenio , Zanna Valeria
Published: February 2023

Eating disorders are considered one of the psychiatric disorders with a higher risk of death. Food addiction, related to some food addictive-like behaviours, is often in comorbidity with eating disorders and is associated with worse psychopathology. The present study aims to outline the food addiction profile, investigated using the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0), in 122 adolescents (median age: 15.6 years) suffering from eating disorders and to investigate its association with psychopathology. Patients filled out the Youth Self Report, the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children 2, The Children Depression Inventory 2, and the Eating Disorder Inventory 3 (EDI-3). Pearson’s chi-square test and multiple correspondence analysis were used to identify profiles. The mean symptom count was 2.8 ± 2.7. The “withdrawal” symptom was the most frequent (51%) and the most associated with clinical scores. The diagnosis of bulimia nervosa and the EDI-3 bulimia scale resulted to be the only variables to be associated with positive YFAS 2.0 symptoms. Conversely, anorexia nervosa, restrictive and atypical, was not associated with YFAS 2.0 symptoms. In conclusion, outlining the food addiction profile of eating disorders may give information about a patient’s phenotype and could help to identify specific treatment models.
Examining the Nonlinear Impacts of Origin-Destination Built Environment on Metro Ridership at Station-to-Station Level
Authors: Liu Ben , Xu Yunfei , Guo Sizhen , Yu Mingming , Lin Ziyue , Yang Hong
Published: February 2023

Although many studies have explored the relationship between the built environment and metro ridership, the literature offers limited evidence on the nonlinear effect of origin and destination built environments on station-to-station ridership. Using data from Chongqing, this study uses the gradient boosting decision trees (GBDT) model to explore the nonlinear impact of origin and destination built environments on metro ridership. The research results show that the built environment at the origin has a greater impact on metro ridership than the built environment at the destination. All the independent variables examined have complex nonlinear effects and threshold effects on metro ridership. The distance to the city center, the number of companies, and the building volume rate have a greater positive effect on metro ridership, both at the origin and at the destination. The research results provide suggestions for optimizing the built environment around metro stations.
Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer Dynamics of Derivatives of the Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore
Authors: Lee Junghwa , Shin Pyoungsik , Chou Pi-Tai , Joo Taiha
Published: February 2023

Excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) dynamics of the o-hydroxy analogs of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore have been investigated by time-resolved spectroscopies and theoretical calculations. These molecules comprise an excellent system to investigate the effect of electronic properties on the energetics and dynamics of ESIPT and to realize applications in photonics. Time-resolved fluorescence with high enough resolution was employed to record the dynamics and the nuclear wave packets in the excited product state exclusively in conjunction with quantum chemical methods. The ESIPT are ultrafast occurring in 30 fs for the compounds employed in this work. Although the ESIPT rates are not affected by the electronic properties of the substituents suggesting barrierless reaction, the energetics, their structures, subsequent dynamics following ESIPT, and possibly the product species are distinct. The results attest that fine tuning of the electronic properties of the compounds may modify the molecular dynamics of ESIPT and subsequent structural relaxation to achieve brighter emitters with broad tuning capabilities.
Reconstructing Floorplans from Point Clouds Using GAN
Authors: Jin Tianxing , Zhuang Jiayan , Xiao Jiangjian , Xu Ningyuan , Qin Shihao
Published: February 2023

This paper proposed a method for reconstructing floorplans from indoor point clouds. Unlike existing corner and line primitive detection algorithms, this method uses a generative adversarial network to learn the complex distribution of indoor layout graphics, and repairs incomplete room masks into more regular segmentation areas. Automatic learning of the structure information of layout graphics can reduce the dependence on geometric priors, and replacing complex optimization algorithms with Deep Neural Networks (DNN) can improve the efficiency of data processing. The proposed method can retain more shape information from the original data and improve the accuracy of the overall structure details. On this basis, the method further used an edge optimization algorithm to eliminate pixel-level edge artifacts that neural networks cannot perceive. Finally, combined with the constraint information of the overall layout, the method can generate compact floorplans with rich semantic information. Experimental results indicated that the algorithm has robustness and accuracy in complex 3D indoor datasets; its performance is competitive with those of existing methods.
Neutron-Absorption Properties of B/Cu Composites
Authors: Wang Haoran , Zhao Shuo , Han Junqing , Wu Yuying , Liu Xiangfa , Wei Zuoshan
Published: February 2023

Copper has high electrical and thermal conductivity, which is frequently employed in structural and functional materials. In this research, powder metallurgy was used to incorporate boron nanosheets into metal matrix composites to create boron dispersion-enhanced copper matrix composites. The neutron-absorption characteristics of composite materials were investigated, as well as the link between neutron-absorption cross-section and neutron energy. The results told us that the morphology of the second phase on the particle surface is closely related to the size of Cu-B particles, copper and boron correspond atomically to each other on the interface without dislocation or lattice distortion, forming a completely coherent interface, and that the neutron absorption cross-section decreases exponentially as neutron energy increases. In low-energy neutrons with energies less than 0.1 eV, the increase of boron content and 10B abundance in Cu-B alloy will enhance the neutron-absorption capacity of the alloy. Boron dispersion-strengthened copper matrix composites have good neutron-absorption capacity, and the microstructure and size of boron do not affect the neutron-absorption performance of composites with the same content of boron. The hardness of the B-dispersion-strengthened Cu matrix composite obtained by nanoindentation test is about 3.04 GPa. Copper matrix composites with boron dispersion reinforcement exhibit high hardness and neutron-absorption characteristics.