bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The last of the maculineans: can we save the emblematic Alcon Blue butterfly Phengaris alcon under climate change when its habitat continues to deteriorate?
Authors: Maes Dirk , Pardon Willy , Palmans Ghis , Van Dyck Hans
Published: May 2024

In the NW-European region of Flanders (northern Belgium), wet heathlands harbour several threatened species among which the emblematic Alcon Blue butterfly Phengaris alcon is rapidly declining. Since 1990, the number of occupied grid cells in Flanders has decreased from 61 to only six in 2023, a decline of 90%. Due to the loss of many populations, the mean distance between populations tripled from 9 km in the period 1950–1990 to 27 km now. Site-wide egg counts in one of the strongholds of the Alcon Blue in Flanders revealed a strong increase after some initial intensive care conservation measures in the 2000s, but since 2013 a steep decline of 99% has been observed. The standardised egg counts in the remaining six Flemish populations (i.e., monitoring within the framework of the Natura2000 reporting) showed a yearly decrease of 18% since 2016. Despite increased conservation attention and targeted management since the end of the 1990s, the current situation of P. alcon in Belgium is more precarious than ever. Causes of this rapid decline are manifold and they are likely to be amplified by extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. More efficient intensive care measures and more intense cooperation across national borders are now quickly required to regionally preserve this habitat specialist with a unique eco-evolutionary profile.

Implications for insect conservation By analysing the causes of the decline of the threatened Alcon Blue butterfly in Flanders, we suggest management and policy measures in an attempt to conserve this and other threatened heathland species in a highly anthropogenic region.
Production and applications of lead (II) oxide/poly(aniline-co-thiophene) composite materials for enhanced supercapacitor performance
Authors: Hacinecipoğlu Ayşe V. , Efeoğlu Selen , Kir Burak , Balik Berk , Gencten Metin
Published: May 2024

In this work, a novel approach was employed to prepare and utilize lead (II) oxide and poly(aniline-co-thiophene) (PANI-co-PTh) composite materials as electrode materials for supercapacitors, marking the first instance of such utilization in the literature. PANI-co-PTh was synthesized in bulk through chemical polymerization, and the conducting polymers underwent comprehensive spectroscopic, physical, and microscopic characterization. Subsequently, the material, incorporating lead (II) oxide (PbO) as a composite, was employed as electrode materials in asymmetric-type supercapacitors. The main results indicate a clear relationship between the surface area of conducting polymers and their specific capacitance. Notably, PANI-co-PTh-6, possessing the highest surface area, demonstrated the highest specific capacitance. Particle size distribution and specific surface area for PANI-co-PTh-6 were determined as 130 μm and 64.76 m2g−1, respectively. The PbO@PANI-co-PTh-3 configuration exhibited the highest specific capacitance, reaching 294 Fg−1 at a 10 mVs−1 scan rate. Remarkably, during long-cycle experiments, this system demonstrated a capacity retention of 70.69% after 1000 cycles. The inaugural application of the PbO@PANI-co-PTh-3 supercapacitor showcased notable capacitance values, establishing a substantial foundation for future research endeavors in this field.
Sea ice-melt amount estimated from spring hydrography in the Sea of Okhotsk: spatial and interannual variabilities
Authors: Honda Mariko , Ohshima Kay I. , Mensah Vigan , Nishioka Jun , Sato Masatoshi , Riser Stephen C.
Published: May 2024

This study provides the first estimation of sea ice-melt amount in the Sea of Okhotsk based on spring hydrographic data accumulated for nearly a hundred years. Just after sea ice melts completely, a low-salinity layer appears on the ocean surface, overlying the layer of Winter Water at the freezing point. The integration of the salinity decrease from Winter Water should correspond to the total ice-melt amount. We developed an algorithm to extract the profiles that clearly show the salinity deficit and converted the salinity deficit to the ice-melt amount from all available data. The climatological map shows that ice-melt amount decreases toward the ice edge and exhibits large values around the northern Sakhalin Island, reflecting the ice thickness distribution. In the southern area (south of 48°N), where sea ice is transported from the north, the average ice-melt amount is estimated to be ~ 71 cm in thickness. It is clearly shown that the ice-melt amount has decreased by ~ 30% in the southern area since the 1990s. These changes possibly affect the regional climate through the decreased latent heat of sea ice and potentially affect biological production through weakened stratification caused by decreased ice melt. We also suggested that ice-melt amount did not show a significant trend during the 1930s–1970s, implying that our methodology could extract information on sea ice before the era of satellite observations.
Self-nucleation (SN) and successive self-nucleation and annealing (SSA) as powerful tools to determine the composition of polyolefin post-consumer recycled blends
Authors: Coba-Daza Sebastián , Albrecht Andreas , Cavallo Dario , Tranchida Davide , Müller Alejandro J.
Published: May 2024

For the incorporation of post-consumer recycled (PCR) resins in mechanical recycling processes, it is crucial to determine their composition accurately. The blends of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in PCR film resins pose a challenge due to their varying ratios. This study introduces a quantitative method that employs the successive self-nucleation and annealing (SSA) technique to analyze commercial PCR LLDPE/LDPE blend compositions. Our method is an efficient way to assess these blend compositions, offering an improved analysis compared with traditional methods. We established a series of calibration curves based on the SSA final melting trace to validate our approach. The SSA technique's efficacy was compared with the robust NMR method, showing that SSA can predict LLDPE contents in the blends with comparable accuracy. We demonstrate that the SSA methodology is an accurate and reliable technique for assessing complex waste streams, thereby facilitating the optimization of recycling processes and advancing the goals of sustainable materials management.
Thermal behavior of Sicilian clay-based geopolymers
Authors: Pulidori Elena , Pelosi Chiara , Fugazzotto Maura , Pizzimenti Silvia , Carosi Maria Rita , Bernazzani Luca , Stroscio Antonio , Tiné Maria Rosaria , Mazzoleni Paolo , Barone Germana , Duce Celia
Published: May 2024

Geopolymers have been recently proposed for restoration of built heritage to substitute traditional mortars. Local materials and industrial wastes from the Italian region Sicily showed their potential as low-cost aluminosilicate sources for the preparation of geopolymers. Here, a set of Sicilian clays was studied by Thermogravimetry (TG) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and its mineralogical composition was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The raw materials were used to prepare geopolymers by alkaline activation with or without the addition of silicate. The thermal degradation profile of the final materials was studied by TGA and compared with that of the precursors, and the energetics of dehydration were investigated by DSC. Two statistical analyses (made by Principal Component Analysis) were performed on the TG data of raw materials and geopolymers and on the TG data of geopolymers and their mineralogical composition, respectively. The last analysis in particular showed a correlation between the mineralogical composition of the materials and the samples' thermal properties. Additional studies of samples subject to accelerated aging by UV irradiation and exposure to acetic acid vapors highlighted the different effects of these two agents on the samples’ stability.

Graphical abstract
PDE4D and miR-203 are promising biomarkers for canine atopic dermatitis
Authors: Kaur Gagandeep , Xie Chen , Dong Charli , Najera Jonathan , Nguyen Jeffrey T. , Hao Jijun
Published: May 2024

Background

Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is a common genetically predisposed, inflammatory, and pruritic skin disorder that affects dogs globally. To date, there are no specific biomarkers available to diagnose CAD, and the current diagnosis is based on a combination of criteria including patient history, clinical signs, and exclusion of other relevant differential diagnoses.

Methods and results

We examined the gene expression of phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as well as miR-203 and miR-483 in plasma, in three groups: healthy dogs, CAD dogs, and other inflammatory pruritic skin diseases (OIPSD) such as pemphigus foliaceus, scabies, cutaneous lymphoma, and dermatophytosis. Our results showed that PDE4D gene expression in the CAD group is statistically higher compared to those in the healthy and OIPSD groups, suggesting PDE4D may be a specific marker for CAD. Nevertheless, no correlation was found between PDE4D gene expression levels and the lesion severity gauged by CAD severity index-4 (CADESI-4). We also showed that miR-203 is a generic marker for clinical dermatitis and differentiates both CAD and OIPSD inflammatory conditions from healthy controls.

Conclusions

We show that PDE4D is a potential marker to differentiate CAD from non-atopic healthy and OIPSD while miR-203 may be a potential marker for general dermatologic inflammation. Future study of PDE4D and miR-203 on a larger scale is warranted.
A Unified Asymmetric Knowledge Distillation Framework for Image Classification
Authors: Ye Xin , Tian Xiang , Zheng Bolun , Zhou Fan , Chen Yaowu
Published: May 2024

Knowledge distillation is a model compression technique that transfers knowledge learned by teacher networks to student networks. Existing knowledge distillation methods greatly expand the forms of knowledge, but also make the distillation models complex and symmetric. However, few studies have explored the commonalities among these methods. In this study, we propose a concise distillation framework to unify these methods and a method to construct asymmetric knowledge distillation under the framework. Asymmetric distillation aims to enable differentiated knowledge transfers for different distillation objects. We designed a multi-stage shallow-wide branch bifurcation method to distill different knowledge representations and a grouping ensemble strategy to supervise the network to teach and learn selectively. Consequently, we conducted experiments using image classification benchmarks to verify the proposed method. Experimental results show that our implementation can achieve considerable improvements over existing methods, demonstrating the effectiveness of the method and the potential of the framework.
Towards efficient control synthesis for nonlinear wave energy conversion systems: impedance-matching meets the spectral-domain
Authors: Bonfanti Mauro , Faedo Nicolás , Mattiazzo Giuliana
Published: May 2024

Existing studies within the literature that focus on designing parametric energy-maximizing controllers for Wave Energy Converter (WEC) systems predominantly rely on the impedance-matching (IM) principle, originally developed for linear time-invariant systems. Alternatively, iterative optimization routines are commonly employed for nonlinear WECs. However, these approaches often face a trade-off between effectiveness in maximizing energy extraction and computational efficiency. To address this limitation, this study proposes a computationally efficient controller tuning method for analogous synthesis in the case of nonlinear WECs. The proposed approach combines a statistical linearization technique known as spectral-domain modeling with the IM principle, to synthesize a Proportional–Integrative (PI) controller for a nonlinear WEC. Furthermore, a comparison is performed with two other synthesis methods: one based on a standard (i.e. linear) frequency-domain representation of the WEC that incorporates the IM principle, and the other employing a gradient-free optimization routine applied to the nonlinear time-domain model of the WEC for PI parameter tuning through exhaustive numerical search. A discussion on the effectiveness of each tuning method in maximizing energy absorption is provided, including an appraisal of their associated computational time requirements. Numerical analyses demonstrate that the proposed method, which integrates spectral-domain modeling and IM, can achieve (almost) optimal PI controller design for a nonlinear WEC. Furthermore, this study addresses the inaccuracies inherent in the frequency-domain approach and significantly reduces the computational time compared to the exhaustive search procedure. The findings of this research represent a significant advancement towards the development of simple, effective, and efficient IM-based techniques for synthesis of controllers in nonlinear WEC systems
Challenges in Evaluating a Community-Level Intervention to Address Root Causes of Youth Violence
Authors: Mehari Krista R. , Smith Phillip N. , Morton Benterah C. , Billingsley Joél L. , Coleman Jasmine N. , Farrell Albert D.
Published: May 2024

Violence disproportionately impacts Black American youth, representing a major health disparity. Addressing the possible root causes of structural inequities to reduce violence may increase the impact of prevention strategies. However, efforts to evaluate the impact of such interventions pose numerous methodological challenges, particularly around selecting an effective evaluation design to detect change at the community level, with adequate power and sampling, and appropriate constructs and measurement strategies. We propose a multiple baseline experimental design to evaluate the impact of a community-level youth violence and suicidality prevention strategy. A multiple baseline experimental design with multiple community units balances the need for scientific rigor with practical and values-based considerations. It includes randomization and plausible counterfactuals without requiring large samples or placing some communities in the position of not receiving the intervention. Considerations related to the conceptualization of the logic model, mechanisms of change, and health disparity outcomes informed the development of the measurement strategy. The strengths and weaknesses of a multiple baseline experimental design are discussed in comparison to versions of randomized clinical trials. Future health disparity intervention evaluation research will benefit from (1) building a shared sense of urgent public need to promote health; (2) respecting the validity of values- and partnership-based decision-making; and (3) promoting community-based and systems-level partnerships in scientific grant funding. The described study has been registered prospectively at clinicaltrials.gov, Protocol Record 21–454.
Optimized Python library for reconstruction of ensemble-based gene co-expression networks using multi-GPU
Authors: López-Fernández Aurelio , Gómez-Vela Francisco A. , del Saz-Navarro María , Delgado-Chaves Fernando M. , Rodríguez-Baena Domingo S.
Published: May 2024

Gene co-expression networks are valuable tools for discovering biologically relevant information within gene expression data. However, analysing large datasets presents challenges due to the identification of nonlinear gene–gene associations and the need to process an ever-growing number of gene pairs and their potential network connections. These challenges mean that some experiments are discarded because the techniques do not support these intense workloads. This paper presents pyEnGNet, a Python library that can generate gene co-expression networks in High-performance computing environments. To do this, pyEnGNet harnesses CPU and multi-GPU parallel computing resources, efficiently handling large datasets. These implementations have optimised memory management and processing, delivering timely results. We have used synthetic datasets to prove the runtime and intensive workload improvements. In addition, pyEnGNet was used in a real-life study of patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation with invasive aspergillosis and was able to detect biological perspectives in the study.
The two ideals shaping the content of modern science
Authors: Kourany Janet A.
Published: May 2024

Much has been written over the years regarding the norms, values, and ideals of modern science—in a word, what is expected of science and scientists. Most frequently, however, attention has focused on the conduct expected of scientists (e.g., Merton’s norms) rather than on the specific content expected of their scientific contributions, and attention has also tended to focus on the current scene rather than on the events that produced it. So. a kind of two-fold gap exists in our understanding of our scientific heritage. Why is this important? Because it turns out that the two general ideals that have shaped the content of modern science right from the start seem to contradict each other. Nonetheless, they both have enjoyed weighty reasons offered in their defense and they both have exerted strong holds through the centuries on scientists and nonscientists alike, and still exert these holds. And the tradition has not offered any satisfying resolution. So, it is high time we deal with this situation. At least, that is what I attempt to do in this paper.
Differences in quality of anticoagulation care delivery according to ethnoracial group in the United States: A scoping review
Authors: Vazquez Sara R. , Yates Naomi Y. , Beavers Craig J. , Triller Darren M. , McFarland Mary M.
Published: May 2024

Anticoagulation therapy is standard for conditions like atrial fibrillation, venous thromboembolism, and valvular heart disease, yet it is unclear if there are ethnoracial disparities in its quality and delivery in the United States. For this scoping review, electronic databases were searched for publications between January 1, 2011 – March 30, 2022. Eligible studies included all study designs, any setting within the United States, patients prescribed anticoagulation for any indication, outcomes reported for ≥ 2 distinct ethnoracial groups. The following four research questions were explored: Do ethnoracial differences exist in 1) access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy, 2) quality of anticoagulation therapy management, 3) clinical outcomes related to anticoagulation care, 4) humanistic/educational outcomes related to anticoagulation therapy. A total of 5374 studies were screened, 570 studies received full-text review, and 96 studies were analyzed. The largest mapped focus was patients’ access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy (88/96 articles, 91.7%). Seventy-eight articles made statistical outcomes comparisons among ethnoracial groups. Across all four research questions, 79 articles demonstrated favorable outcomes for White patients compared to non-White patients, 38 articles showed no difference between White and non-White groups, and 8 favored non-White groups (the total exceeds the 78 articles with statistical outcomes as many articles reported multiple outcomes). Disparities disadvantaging non-White patients were most pronounced in access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy (43/66 articles analyzed) and quality of anticoagulation management (19/21 articles analyzed). Although treatment guidelines do not differentiate anticoagulant therapy by ethnoracial group, this scoping review found consistently favorable outcomes for White patients over non-White patients in the domains of access to anticoagulation therapy for guideline-based indications and quality of anticoagulation therapy management. No differences among groups were noted in clinical outcomes, and very few studies assessed humanistic or educational outcomes.

Graphical Abstract

Scoping Review: Differences in quality of United States anticoagulation care delivery by ethnoracial group. AF = atrial fibrillation; AMS = anticoagulation management service; DOACs = direct oral anticoagulants; INR = international normalized ratio; PSM = patient self-management; PST = patient self-testing
Recent progress on heterologous protein production in methylotrophic yeast systems
Authors: Tsuda Masashi , Nonaka Koichi
Published: May 2024

Recombinant protein production technology is widely applied to the manufacture of biologics used as drug substances and industrial proteins such as recombinant enzymes and bioactive proteins. Various heterologous protein production systems have been developed using prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. Especially methylotrophic yeast in eukaryotic hosts is suggested to be particularly valuable because such systems have the following advantages: protein secretion into culture broth, eukaryotic quality control systems, a post-translational modification system, rapid growth, and established recombinant DNA tools and technologies such as strong promoters, effective selection markers, and gene knock-in and -out systems. Many methylotrophic yeasts such as the genera Candida, Ogataea, and Komagataella have been studied since methylotrophic yeast was first isolated in 1969. The methanol-consumption-related genes in methylotrophic yeast are strongly and strictly regulated under methanol-containing conditions. The well-regulated gene expression systems under the methanol-inducible gene promoter lead to the potential application of heterologous protein production in methylotrophic yeast. In this review, we describe the recent progress of heterologous protein production technology in methylotrophic yeast and introduce Ogataea minuta as an alternative production host as a substitute for K. phaffii and O. polymorpha.
GPT-4 Turbo with Vision fails to outperform text-only GPT-4 Turbo in the Japan Diagnostic Radiology Board Examination
Authors: Hirano Yuichiro , Hanaoka Shouhei , Nakao Takahiro , Miki Soichiro , Kikuchi Tomohiro , Nakamura Yuta , Nomura Yukihiro , Yoshikawa Takeharu , Abe Osamu
Published: May 2024

Purpose

To assess the performance of GPT-4 Turbo with Vision (GPT-4TV), OpenAI’s latest multimodal large language model, by comparing its ability to process both text and image inputs with that of the text-only GPT-4 Turbo (GPT-4 T) in the context of the Japan Diagnostic Radiology Board Examination (JDRBE).

Materials and methods

The dataset comprised questions from JDRBE 2021 and 2023. A total of six board-certified diagnostic radiologists discussed the questions and provided ground-truth answers by consulting relevant literature as necessary. The following questions were excluded: those lacking associated images, those with no unanimous agreement on answers, and those including images rejected by the OpenAI application programming interface. The inputs for GPT-4TV included both text and images, whereas those for GPT-4 T were entirely text. Both models were deployed on the dataset, and their performance was compared using McNemar’s exact test. The radiological credibility of the responses was assessed by two diagnostic radiologists through the assignment of legitimacy scores on a five-point Likert scale. These scores were subsequently used to compare model performance using Wilcoxon's signed-rank test.

Results

The dataset comprised 139 questions. GPT-4TV correctly answered 62 questions (45%), whereas GPT-4 T correctly answered 57 questions (41%). A statistical analysis found no significant performance difference between the two models (P = 0.44). The GPT-4TV responses received significantly lower legitimacy scores from both radiologists than the GPT-4 T responses.

Conclusion

No significant enhancement in accuracy was observed when using GPT-4TV with image input compared with that of using text-only GPT-4 T for JDRBE questions.
From Parental Behavior to Sexual Function: Recent Advances in Oxytocin Research
Authors: Dale II Joseph , Harberson Mitchell T. , Hill Jennifer W.
Published: May 2024

Purpose of Review

Oxytocin plays many diverse roles in physiological and behavioral processes, including social activity, parental nurturing, stress responses, and sexual function. In this narrative review, we provide an update on the most noteworthy recent findings in this fascinating field.

Recent Findings

The development of techniques such as serial two-photon tomography and fiber photometry have provided a window into oxytocin neuroanatomy and real-time neuronal activity during social interactions. fMRI and complementary mapping techniques offer new insights into oxytocin's influence on brain activity and connectivity. Indeed, oxytocin has recently been found to influence the acquisition of maternal care behaviors and to mediate the influence of social touch on brain development and social interaction. Additionally, oxytocin plays a crucial role in male sexual function, affecting erectile activity and ejaculation, while its role in females remains controversial. Recent studies also highlight oxytocin's interaction with other neuropeptides, such as melanin-concentrating hormone, serotonin, and arginine vasopressin, influencing social and affective behaviors. Finally, an update is provided on the status of clinical trials involving oxytocin as a therapeutic intervention.

The exploration of oxytocin's complexities and its interplay with other neuropeptides holds promise for targeted treatment in various health and disease contexts. Overall, these findings contribute to the discovery of new and specific pathways to allow therapeutic targeting of oxytocin to treat disorders.
Specific, nondestructive, and durable adhesion primer for polyolefins
Authors: Morgese Giulia , Siegmann Konstantin , Winkler Martin
Published: May 2024

Gluing polyolefins [e.g., polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP)] results in a very challenging task. The main reason relies on their low surface energy, which reduces the affinity between the polyolefin surface and the chosen adhesive. To tackle this problem, the most commonly used solutions are physical surface treatments, such as plasma, corona, and flame, which introduce hydrophilic moieties on the plastics surface, thus increasing their surface energy. These approaches require special setups, are unspecific, and can induce material degradation. Furthermore, they provide a transient solution, making the storage of pretreated substrates not recommended. In this work, we developed an easy-to-apply primer for durable bonding of adhesives on PE and PP, as robust alternative to physical treatments. Our primer contains a surface-anchoring moiety and an adhesive-binding group to covalently react with the polyolefin substrate and with the glue. As a surface-anchoring moiety, we chose the perfluorophenylazide (PFPA), which is known to undergo a C–H insertion reaction upon UV activation, while as adhesive-binding groups, we selected OH functions, which can covalently react with the most common commercially available glues. When these two features (i.e., PFPA and OH) are combined in a single molecule, the reaction with the substrate does not occur and the molecule is only physisorbed, inducing no adhesion improvement. Chemisorption only occurs with bicomponent formulations, comprising a hydrophobic trifunctional PFPA and a polymer bearing OH and PFPA groups. Those induced improved adhesion on PP compared to the golden standard plasma with polyurethane-based and two-component epoxy adhesives. Storing the coated substrates at room temperature for up to two months did not alter the adhesion performance, thus further ascribing the developed primers as a promising alternative to plasma treatment.
circPDK1 competitively binds miR-4731-5p to mediate GIGYF1 expression and increase paclitaxel sensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Feng YunYin , Zhang TaoLong , Liu Hong
Published: May 2024

Objective

To investigate the action of circPDK1 in paclitaxel (PTX) resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

circPDK1, miR-4731-5p, and GIGYF1 levels were determined by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 and colony formation assay, apoptosis by flow cytometry, invasion by Transwell assay. The targeting relationship between miR-4731-5p and circPDK1 or GIGYF1 was confirmed by dual luciferase reporter gene and RIP assay. A xenograft tumor model was established to determine the role of circPDK1 in PTX resistance.

Results

circPDK1 was overexpressed in PTX-resistant NSCLC, and depleting circPDK1 hampered proliferation and invasion of PTX-resistant cells, activated apoptosis, and improved PTX sensitivity. circPDK1 bound to miR-4731-5p, and increasing miR-4731-5p expression salvaged the effect of circPDK1 depletion on PTX resistance. miR-4731-5p directly targeted GIGYF1, and upregulating GIGYF1 offset the promoting effect of circPDK1 knockdown on PTX sensitivity. NSCLC tumor growth was inhibited and PTX sensitivity improved when circPDK1 was suppressed.

Conclusion

Depleting circPDK1 promotes PTX sensitivity of NSCLC cells via miR-4731-5p/GIGYF1 axis, thereby inhibiting NSCLC pregnancy.
Elevated histone deacetylase 10 expression promotes the progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma by Notch-1-PTEN signaling axis
Authors: Zheng Bin , Jiang Xue , Liu Yaqing , Cheng Fajuan , Zhang Yiming , Niu Chengtao , Cong Zixiang , Niu Zhihong , He Wei
Published: May 2024

Background

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most common pathological subtype of kidney cancer, accounts for approximately 70% to 80% of all cases. Histone deacetylase 10 (HDAC10) belongs to the HDAC class IIb subgroup, one of the histone deacetylases (HDAC) family. Previous studies suggest that HDAC10 may regulate the development of multiple tumor types. The specific molecular mechanisms employed by HDAC10 in the etiology of ccRCC still need to be discovered.

Methods

The analysis included examining HDAC10 expression levels and their clinical importance within a cohort of inpatients and ccRCC patients documented in the Tumor Genome Atlas (TCGA). Moreover, the biological functions and underlying molecular mechanisms of HDAC10 were investigated.

Results

HDAC10 showed increased expression in ccRCC tumor tissues. Subsequent analysis revealed overexpression of HDAC10 was associated with advanced clinical phenotype and unfavorable prognosis. The absence of HDAC10 significantly decreased ccRCC cell proliferation and migration capabilities. Mechanistic research suggests that HDAC10 may promote RCC development by activating the Notch-1 pathway and downregulating PTEN expression levels.

Conclusion

In summary, HDAC10 can modulate critical biological processes in ccRCC, including proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. Notably, the Notch-1 pathway and PTEN serve as crucial signaling pathways and target genes through which HDAC10 regulates the progression of ccRCC. These findings offer a novel outlook for ccRCC treatment.
The effect of foliar application of plant growth regulators on functional and qualitative characteristics of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under salinity and drought stress conditions
Authors: Tajdari Hamid Reza , Soleymani Ali , Montajabi Nosratolah , Naderi Darbaghshahi Mohammad Reza , Javanmard Hamid Reza
Published: May 2024

This study aimed to investigate the effect of salinity and water stress on the physiological and functional characteristics of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under the foliar application of plant growth regulators (PGRs). The experiment was carried out as a split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in two environments. In each environment, water stress at two irrigation levels (after 90 and 120 mm of pan evaporation) and with two EC of 1.5 and 10 dS/m in the main plots and spraying of PGRs including salicylic acid (SA), gibberellic acid (GA3), and cytokinins (CK) (purine) content with a concentration of 100 ppm and the control treatment (spraying solution with normal water) were placed in subplots. Results indicated that all treatments caused significant increases in functional and qualitative characteristics and yield of Triticum aestivum L. The saline environment and irrigation level after 120 mm of pan evaporation caused a reduction in grain yield in all traits except for seed proline, seed nitrogen content, and seed protein content. Also, the combined foliar application of GA3 + CK + SA increased yield in most traits. The highest RWC of flag leaves was observed in the foliar application of GA3 + SA (3.36 kg/ha) and then in the foliar application of GA3 + SA + CK (57.87 kg/ha). GA3 interacts with PGR spraying to balance another development under saline and non-saline conditions.
STAT3 phosphorylation at Tyr705 affects DRP1 (dynamin-related protein 1) controlled-mitochondrial fission during the development of apoptotic-resistance in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells
Authors: Zhang Han , Chen Li , Li Jiachen , Sun Jiashu , Zhao Qixu , Wang Sheng , Li Gang
Published: May 2024

Background

The apoptosis-resistant pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs) are known to be major players in the pulmonary remodeling of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and exhibit an abnormal metabolic profile with mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial fission has been shown to regulate the apoptosis of several cell types, but this is largely unexplored in the PAECs.

Objective

The roles of mitochondrial fission control by Dynamin related protein-1 (DRP1) in the development of PAECs apoptosis suppression were investigated in present study and the potential mechanisms behind this were furtherly explored.

Methods

The mitochondrial morphology was investigated in PAECs from PAH rats with the pulmonary plexiform lesions, and the relations of it with DRP1 expression and apoptosis were furtherly identified in apoptosis-resistant PAECs induced by hypoxia. PAECs were isolated from rats with severe PAH and from normal subjects, the apoptotic-resistant PAECs were induced by hypoxia. DRP1 gene knockdown was achieved via DRP1-siRNA, DRP1 and STAT3 phosphorylation were blocked using its inhibitors, respectively. Apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry, and mitochondrial morphology was investigated by transmission electron microscope and confocal microscopy.

Results

The PAECs isolated from PAH rats with the pulmonary plexiform-like lesions and displayed lower apoptotic rate with increased DRP1 expression and mitochondrial fragmentation. In addition, similar observations were achieved in apoptosis-resistant PAECs induced by hypoxia. Targeting DRP1 using siRNA and pharmacologic blockade prevented the mitochondrial fission and subsequent apoptotic resistance in PAECs under hypoxia. Mechanistically, STAT3 phosphorylation at Tyr705 was shown to be activated in both PAH and hypoxia-treated PAECs, leading to the regulation of DRP1 expression. Of importance, targeting STAT3Tyr705 phosphorylation prevented DRP1 disruption on apoptosis in PAECs under hypoxia.

Conclusions

These data indicated that STAT3 phosphorylation at Tyr705 impacted DRP1-controlled mitochondrial fission during the development of apoptosis-resistance in PAECs, suggesting mitochondrial dynamics may represent a therapeutic target for PAH.
Three-layered location recommendation algorithm using spectral clustering
Authors: Moayedikia Alireza , Jahani Hamed , Rahman Md Anisur , Ong Kok Leong
Published: May 2024

Users utilize Location-Based Social Networks (LBSNs) to check into diverse venues and share their experiences through ratings and comments. However, these platforms typically feature a considerably larger number of locations than users, resulting in a challenge known as insufficient historical data or user-location matrix sparsity. This sparsity arises because not all users can check into all available locations on a given LBSN, such as Yelp. To address this challenge, this paper proposes combining Spectral Clustering with a three-layered location recommendation model to develop a recommender system named LSC, applied to Yelp datasets. LSC leverages various information, including users’ check-in data, demographics, location demographics, and users’ friendship network data, to train the recommender system and generate recommendations. Evaluation of LSC’s performance utilizes the Yelp dataset and several comparison metrics, such as accuracy, RMSE, and F1-score. The results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm delivers reliable and significant performance improvements across various evaluation metrics compared to competing algorithms.
Autistic Women’s Experiences of the Perinatal Period: A Systematic Mixed Methods Review
Authors: Westgate Verity , Sewell Olivia , Caramaschi Doretta , O’Mahen Heather
Published: May 2024

The perinatal period has challenges for autistic women. This review synthesises evidence on the experiences of autistic women during the perinatal period. This mixed methods evidence synthesis followed JBI guidance for mixed methods systematic reviews. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool assessed study quality. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise findings. Thirteen studies were included. Themes identified included sensory demands of the perinatal period are frequently overwhelming; experiencing healthcare as an autistic person is challenging; parenting as an autistic mother has difficulties but also rewards; predictability and control are important in labour and birth. Individualised care with reasonable adjustments can make a difference to the perinatal experiences of autistic women. Despite challenges, autistic women also have many strengths as mothers.
Validation and assessment of psychometric properties of the Greek Eating Behaviors Assessment for Obesity (GR-EBA-O)
Authors: Mavrandrea Panagiota , Aloi Matteo , Geraci Matteo , Savva Androula , Gonidakis Fragiskos , Segura-Garcia Cristina
Published: May 2024

Introduction

With increasing morbidity and risk of death, obesity has become a serious health problem largely attributable to difficulties in finding proper treatments for related diseases. Many studies show how detecting abnormal eating behaviors could be useful in developing effective clinical treatments. This study aims at validating the Greek version of the Eating Behaviors Assessment for Obesity (EBA-O).

Method

After a double English/Greek forward/backward translation of the EBA-O, 294 participants completed the Greek version (GR-EBA-O), the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, the Binge Eating Scale, and the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and construct validity were calculated, and Two-way MANOVA was computed with the factors of GR-EBA-O controlling for sex and BMI categories.

Results

CFA confirmed the second-order five factors (i.e., food addiction, night eating, binge eating, sweet eating, and prandial hyperphagia) structure of the original EBA-O with excellent fit indices. GR-EBA-O factors were highly correlated. The GR-EBA-O subscales were also significantly correlated with the remaining measures, demonstrating good concurrent validity.

Conclusion

The Greek version of the EBA-O has demonstrated sound psychometric properties and appears a reliable and user-friendly tool to identify pathological eating behaviors in obesity.

Level of evidence: V, descriptive research.
Rock fines breakage by flow-induced stresses against drag: geo-energy applications
Authors: Borazjani Sara , Hashemi Abolfazl , Nguyen Cuong , Loi Grace , Russell Thomas , Khazali Nastaran , Yang Yutong , Dang-Le Bryant , Bedrikovetsky Pavel
Published: May 2024

The paper presents a strength-failure mechanism for colloidal detachment by breakage and permeability decline in reservoir rocks. The current theory for permeability decline due to colloidal detachment, including microscale mobilisation mechanisms, mathematical and laboratory modelling, and upscaling to natural reservoirs, is developed only for detrital particles with detachment that occurs against electrostatic attraction. We establish a theory for detachment of widely spread authigenic particles due to breakage of the particle-rock bonds, by integrating beam theory of particle deformation, failure criteria, and creeping flow. Explicit expressions for stress maxima in the beam yield a graphical technique to determine the failure regime. The core-scale model for fines detachment by breakage has a form of maximum retention concentration of the fines, expressing rock capacity to produce breakable fines. This closes the governing system for authigenic fines transport in rocks. Matching of the lab coreflood data by the analytical model for 1D flow exhibits two-population particle behaviour, attributed to simultaneous detachment and migration of authigenic and detrital fines. High agreement between the laboratory and modelling data for 16 corefloods validates the theory. The work is concluded by geo-energy applications to (i) clay breakage in geological faults, (ii) typical reservoir conditions for kaolinite breakage, (iii) well productivity damage due to authigenic fines migration, and (iv) feasibility of fines breakage in various geo-energy extraction technologies.
Cross-jurisdictional Data Transfer in Health Research: Stakeholder Perceptions on the Role of Law
Authors: Chan Hui Yun , Toh Hui Jin , Lysaght Tamra
Published: May 2024

Large data-intensive health research programmes benefit from collaboration amongst researchers who may be located in different institutions and international contexts. However, complexities in navigating privacy frameworks and data protection laws across various jurisdictions pose significant challenges to researchers seeking to share or transfer data outside of institutional boundaries. Research on the awareness of data protection and privacy laws amongst stakeholders is limited. Our qualitative study, drawn from a larger project in Singapore, revealed insights into stakeholders’ perceptions of the role of law in cross-national health data research. Stakeholders in our study demonstrated a range of perceptions regarding the role of data protection law in governing the collection and transfer of health data for research. The main criticisms included inadequate legal protection to data and lack of uniformed data protection standards. Despite these criticisms, participants recognised the importance of data protection law in supporting cross-border data transfers and proposed measures to improve perceived limitations of existing laws. These measures include strengthening existing legal framework, establishing contractual agreements and imposing severe punishments for data misuse.
Improving faster R-CNN generalization for intestinal parasite detection using cycle-GAN based data augmentation
Authors: Kumar Satish , Arif Tasleem , Ahamad Gulfam , Chaudhary Anis Ahmad , Ali Mohamed A. M. , Islam Asimul
Published: May 2024

Intestinal parasites pose a widespread challenge in underdeveloped and developing countries, afflicting millions of individuals. Traditional, manual light microscopes have been golden method for detecting these parasites, but they are not only expensive but also time-consuming and require specialized expertise. Recent advances in deep learning, however, have shown promise for overcoming these obstacles. The condition is that deep learning models require labeled medical imaging data, which is both scarce and costly to generate. This makes it difficult to establish universal deep learning models that required extensive amounts of data. To improve the performance of deep learning, we employed a generative adversarial network to fabricate a synthetic dataset. Our framework exploits the potential of Generative Adversarial Networks (CycleGANs) and Faster RCNN to generate new datasets and detect intestinal parasites, respectively, on images of varying quality, leading to improved model generalizability and diversity. In this experiment, we evaluated the effectiveness of Cycle Generative Adversarial Network (CycleGAN) + Faster RCNN. We employed widely-used evaluation metrics such as precision, recall, and F1-score. We demonstrated that the proposed framework effectively augmented the image dataset and improved the detection performance, with an F1-Score of 0.95 and mIoU of 0.97 are achieved, which is better than without data augmentation. We show that this state-of-the-art approach sets the stage for further advancements in the field of medical image analysis. Additionally, we have built a new dataset, which is now publicly accessible, offering a broader range of classes and variability for future research and development.
Bioactive compounds from micro-algae and its application in foods: a review
Authors: Siddhnath  , Surasani Vijay Kumar Reddy , Singh Arashdeep , Singh Shiv Mohan , Hauzoukim  , Murthy L. Narasimha , Baraiya Kirankumar Gopalbhai
Published: May 2024

The marine ecosystem is a vast source of diversified biota that includes more than half of the world’s biota including marine microorganisms; algae, invertebrates, and fish. Most of these organisms constitute complex biomolecules, allowing, them to thrive under extreme environmental conditions. These biomolecules are proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, phenolics, peptides, etc. perform various biological functions depending on the source. In addition to the basic functions, they also exhibit diverse functional properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, antidiabetic and antihypertensive properties etc., which make them potential candidates for application in the food and pharmaceutical industry. The marine microalgae and cyanobacteria are a very rich source of these functional molecules with several biological applications related with health benefits and food applications. The viewpoint details the potential and bioactive compound profile of marine micro algae, extraction and characterization of bioactive compounds from marine micro algae and its application in the food industry.
The Medieval Pig
Authors: Jørgensen Dolly
Published: May 2024

Examines the role of the pig in medieval society in material and textual sources.
Statistical Properties of Exohiss Waves and Associated Scattering Losses of Radiation Belt Electrons
Authors: Zou Wenqian , Li Haimeng , Hu Peng , Wang Dedong , Tang Rongxin , Ouyang Zhihai , Yuan An , Feng Bopu , Deng Xiaohua
Published: May 2024

Exohiss waves are a type of structureless whistler‐mode waves that exist in the low density plasmatrough outside the plasmapause and may potentially perturb the motions of electrons in the radiation belt and ring current. Using data from Van Allen Probe A, we analyze the distribution of magnetic power spectral density (PSD) of exohiss waves in different magnetic local time (MLT) and L‐shell regions near the geomagnetic equator. The results reveal that the peak magnetic PSD of exohiss waves is the weakest at MLT = 0–6 and the strongest at MLT = 12–18. The magnetic PSDs of exohiss waves are much lower than those of chorus and hiss waves except for the MLT = 12–18 sector. In addition, we calculated the quasi‐linear bounce‐averaged pitch angle and momentum diffusion coefficients (〈Dαα〉 and 〈Dpp〉) of electrons caused by exohiss waves. The diffusion coefficients are then compared with those caused by chorus and hiss waves. The peak 〈Dαα〉 of electrons driven by exohiss waves becomes stronger as L‐shell increases at all MLTs and is the greatest on the dayside, especially in the sector of MLT = 12–18. Exohiss waves have more significant effect on the loss of radiation belt electrons with specific energy levels related to MLT and L‐shell region compared to chorus and hiss waves. On the other hand, 〈Dpp〉 of electrons caused by exohiss waves is very small, which illustrates that exohiss waves have almost no acceleration effect on electrons.