bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanochemical Treatment in High-Shear Thermokinetic Mixer an Alternative for Tire Recycling
Authors: Bianchi Otávio , Pereira Patrícia Bereta , Ferreira Carlos
Published: October 2022

This publication highlights the effect of mechanochemical treatment in a high-speed thermoki-netic mixer as an alternative for recycling ground tire rubber (GTR). The GTR initially has an 80% gelled fraction and presented up to 50% gel fraction in the most intensive condition (5145 rpm, s2). Processing at the lowest speed (2564 rpm, s1) resulted in greater selectivity concerning the mechanochemical treatment (K~1). In the most intense processing condition (10 min. at s2), more significant degradation was observed via random scission with a reduction of the glass transition temperature, Tg (11ºC), an increase of the soluble polymer fraction, and a more signif-icant reduction in crosslink density. The artificial neural network could describe and correlate the thermal degradation profile and processing conditions with the physicochemical characteris-tics of the GTR. The approach presented here represents an alternative for mechanochemical treatment since it can reduce the crosslink density with selectivity and in short times (1-3 min.).
Are Children and Dogs Best Friends? A Scoping Review to Explore the Positive and Negative Effects of Child-Dog Interactions
Authors: Giraudet Claire S. E. , Liu Kai , McElligott Alan G. , Cobb Mia
Published: October 2022

Our wellbeing is greatly influenced by our childhood and adolescence, and the relationships that we form during those phases of our development. The human-dog bond started thousands of years ago. The higher prevalence of dog ownership around the world, especially in households including children along with the growing number of people studying dogs most likely explain the growing literature focusing on child-dog interactions. We review the potential effects of child-dog interactions on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of both species. A scoping search of the SCOPUS database found several hundred documents meeting selection criteria. It allowed us to define the numerous ways in which children and dogs can interact, be it neutral (e.g., sharing a common area), positive (e.g., petting), or negative (e.g., biting). Then, we found evidence for an association between interacting with dogs during childhood and an array of health and mental benefits like stress relief and the development of empathy. Walking a dog and playing with one are perfect physical activity opportunities. Additionally, interacting with a dog can help lower stress and may have a role in the development of empathy. Nonetheless, a number of detrimental outcomes have also been identified in both humans and dogs. Children are the most at-risk population regarding dog bites and dog-borne zoonoses, which may lead to a subsequent fear of dogs or even death. Moreover, pet bereavement is generally inevitable when living with a canine companion and should not be trivialized. In terms of dogs, children sometimes take part in caretaking behaviors toward them which include going on walks. They are opportunities for dogs to relieve themselves outside, but also to exercise and socialize. In contrast, a lack of physical activity can lead to the onset of obesity. Dogs may present greater levels of stress when in the presence of children. Finally, the welfare of assistance, therapy, and free-roaming dogs remains underexplored. Overall, the study of the effects, positive as well as negative, on both species still requires further development. We call for more longitudinal studies and hope for cross-cultural research in the future in order to better understand the impact child-dog interactions might have.
A New Set-up of Vanishing Antibodies: A Biennial Follow-up of Three Different Clients’ Humoral Responses Against Sars-Cov-2 After Systemic Vaccination in an Oncology Hospital in Poland
Authors: Kosiorek Piotr , Stróż Samuel , Hryniewicz Anna , Milewski Robert , Bartoszewicz Klaudia , Stasiak-Barmuta Anna
Published: October 2022

The humoral response of the COVID-19 vaccine varies from person to person. It largely depends on prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, obtaining an adequate immune response, and leaving a trace of changing antibody concentration over time. We retrospectively analyzed three clinical cases from selected patients and employees of the oncology hospital. All mild COVID-19 convalescents received the BNT162b2-Comirnaty mRNA vaccine three times. The levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgM- and IgG-specific antibodies, as well as S-RBD antibodies, were analyzed for approximately two years. The concentration of antibodies was assessed in the laboratory using the chemiluminescent immunoassay CLIA, MAGLUMI. Results: (1) Active autoimmune disease stabilized the level of IgG-specific antibodies after systemic mRNA vaccination for at least six months. (2) Post-vaccination IgG and S-RBD levels decreased when vaccination was performed within three months of onset. (3) The booster dose (third dose) administered only increased the S-RBD antibody levels. Declining IgG-specific antibodies were observed. (4) The S-RBD IgG levels were not correlated with the SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels in the vaccinated convalescents. (5) Subsequent reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination three times released a more significant specific antibody response. Based on the collected data, we suggest that monitoring S-RBD antibodies is sensitive but not equivalent to a specific humoral response for SARS-CoV-2 IgG. We suggested that administering at least three doses of the mRNA vaccine should serve as the basis for immunization. The three-month interval may be the best alternative to an immunization schedule for non-immunocompromised people.
Detection of Fake Replay Attack Signals on Remote Keyless Controlled Vehicles Using Pre-Trained Deep Neural Network
Authors: Abu Al-Haija Qasem , Alsulami Abdulaziz A.
Published: October 2022

The keyless systems have replaced the old fashion methods of inserting physical keys in the keyhole to, i.e., unlock the door, because they are inconvenient and easy to be exploited by the threat actors. Keyless systems use the technology of radio frequency (RF) as an interface to transmit signals from the key fob to the vehicle. However, Keyless systems are susceptible to being compromised by a thread actor who intercepts the transmitted signal and performs a reply attack. In this paper, we propose a transfer learning-based model to identify the replay attacks launched against remote keyless controlled vehicles. Specifically, the system makes use of a pre-trained ResNet50 deep neural network to predict the wireless remote signals used to lock or unlock doors of a remote-controlled vehicle system remotely. The signals are finally classified into three classes: real signal, fake signal high gain, and fake signal low gain. We have trained our model with 100 epochs (3800 iterations) on a KeFRA 2022 dataset, a modern dataset. The model has recorded a final validation accuracy of 99.71% and a final validation loss of 0.29% at a low inferencing time of 50 ms for the model-based SGD solver. The experimental evaluation revealed the supremacy of the proposed model.
Optimized Power Pads for Charging ElectricVehicles Based on a New Rectangular Spiral Shape Design
Authors: Nadir Benalia , Laroussi Kouider , Idriss Benlaloui , Kouzou Abdellah , Bensalah Abed-Djebar , Kennel Ralph , Abdelrahem Mohamed
Published: October 2022

Optimizing the magnetic coupling of two coils of a dynamic wireless charging power supply for electric vehicles (EVs) is a challenging and crucial task. This article examines three situations of the magnetic coupling between two identical rectangular spiral coils with the same number of turns as a function of both the horizontal (X axis) and vertical (Z axis) alignment. In the first one, the analysis of the magnetic coupling between two copper air coils is presented. However, the obtained coupling coefficient was very low with a high leakage flux which affected the performance of the charging system. In the second case, a straightforward shielding method that involves inserting a magnetic material of the ferrite type is proposed to circumvent the aforementioned problems. Unfortunately, the obtained results show that simple shielding is still only a partial and insufficient solution. In the third situation, an aluminum sheet was consequently placed on the top of the ferrite to provide an adequate shielding structure. Additionally, a 3D analysis of the proper and mutual induction parameters separating the two coils as well as a magnetic field or induction distribution is also performed using the ANSYS Maxwell software. The results highlight the significance of the enhanced structure.
Development and validation of a balanced mix design approach for CIR mixtures using full-scale testing
Authors: Ali Ayman , Saidi Ahmed , Mehta Yusef , DeCarlo Christopher , Elshear Mohamed , Cox Benjamin , Lein Wade
Published: October 2022

The main goal of this study was to improve the performance of cold in-place recycling (CIR) mixtures by using a balanced mix design (BMD) approach. This study involved preparing and testing CIR mixtures in the lab at varying contents of bituminous additives and constant content of 1% ce-ment and 3% water. Eight combinations of CIR mixtures were produced for this study using two binders (emulsion and foamed asphalt), compaction efforts (30 and 70 gyrations), and curing processes (72 hours at 140°F and 50°F). Results showed that asphalt pavement analyzer, semicircular bend, and indirect tensile strength tests presented the highest correlation with the change of binder contents. The study successfully used the developed BMD for designing CIR mixtures and selecting their optimum binder contents. It then used three balanced CIR mixtures to construct full-scale pavement sections to validate the BMD approach in the field. A heavy vehicle simulator was used to apply different accelerated loadings on each section. Results showed that the CIR section with 2% binder presented the best rutting performance under truck loading and the highest rutting susceptibility under aircraft loading. Conversely, the CIR section with 3% binder presented the highest cracking resistance under both truck and aircraft loading.
Primary Heat Network Temperature Control of Two-degree-of-freedom PID based on PSO Algorithm
Authors: He Lixin , Fan Yifei , Lei Xiaohui , Li Zhihui , Zhang Zheng
Published: October 2022

Central heating system is a nolinear system with the features of thermal inertia and hysteretic nature, etc. In order to solve the temperature control problem of heat network uniform heating, this paper designs a flow controller using two-degree-of-freedom PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control algorithm, which can adjust the two parameters of external disturbance inhibition property and target tracking feature independently and respectively to the best simultaneously so that the effects of thermal inertia, hysteretic nature and external disturbance on the system are reduced. Pipeline heat media flow is controlled by two-degree-of-freedom PID through the control of valve opening to change the heating capacity. All PID control parameters of the controller were set through particle swarm optimization. Several groups of simulation experiments were conducted by the designed two-degree-of-freedom PID controller and the traditional PID controller. According to the experimental results, compared with traditional PID controllers, two-degree-of-freedom PID controller has better control effect with faster response, shorter adjustment time, better robustness and stronger inhibition of disturbance.
Oplismenopsis najada new host of Pyricularia spp.
Authors: Bastida Lisandro Martín , Gutiérrez Susana Alejandra , Quiroga Joaquín , Carmona Marcelo
Published: October 2022

Pyricularia spp is a fungal complex whose best known representative is Pyricularia oryzae. It also affects other weeds that grow alongside the rice culture, posing greater risk of contribute as primary inoculum for development, survival and dissemination of pathogen. During monitoring of species weeds near of rice culture in Corrientes (Argentina), were observed symptoms of blast on leaf blades of Oplismenopsis najada, known as “canutillo” (Poaceae). It is a perennial species that inhabits flooded and rice-growing areas of argentinian NE. Koch's postulates were applied to determine the etiology confirming O. najada as a new host of Pyricularia spp, but incapable of causing disease in rice. This is the first report of Oplismenopsis najada as new host of Pyricularia spp in Argentina.
Assessment of accuracy in identifying structural variants using third-generation sequencing for breast cancer in the absence of gold standard
Authors: Song Qianqian , Hu Taobo , Liang Baosheng , Zhang Zhen , Yang Liu , Wu Jinbo , Zhao Jin , Long Mengping , Lian Sheng , Fan Xiaodan , Wang Depeng , Wang Yang , Xie Fei , Yu Weichuan , Wang Shu , Zhou Xiaohua
Published: October 2022

Background: Detection of genomic structural variants (SVs) in breast cancer was of great clinical interest. Numerous methods were developed to call SVs from third-generation sequencing data, but the results and accuracy of various calling methods differ greatly. Thus, assessing the accuracy of these calling methods became important and challenging especially in the absence of gold standards. This study aimed to compare the performance of two SVs calling methods, denoted by T1 and T2 respectively, without gold standards of SVs.
Methods: A total of 155,566 structural variants detected by the two calling methods with third-generation sequencing were collected based on 20 breast cancer patients from Peking University People's Hospital. Utilizing a Bayesian approach that could take account of the dependency between calling results, we assessed the accuracy of T1 and T2 in detecting insertion, deletion, duplication, inversion, translocation, and copy number variant, respectively, in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the robustness of the comparison results.
Results: The estimated sensitivity and specificity of T2 were higher than that of T1 in detecting different SVs. The estimated sensitivity of T2 in detecting insertion, deletion, and duplication were 0.9438, 0.9440, and 0.9441, respectively, while the sensitivity of T1 were 0.8750, 0.8743, and 0.8843, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that the prior information is critical but the comparison results were robust in a certain range.
Conclusions: Results showed that T2 significantly outperforms T1 in a general comparison. The proposed model and obtained results are helpful to evaluate and select better SVs calling methods in the absence of gold standards, which in turn will be conducive to identifying new SVs associated with breast cancer or other diseases.
SurvExtrap: A tool to obtain precise parametric survival extrapolations
Authors: Gallacher Daniel
Published: October 2022

Background
Economic evaluation of emerging health technologies is mandated by agencies such as the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to ensure their cost is proportional to their benefit. To avoid bias, NICE stipulate that the benefit of a treatment is assessed across the lifetime of the patient population, which can be many decades. Unfortunately, follow-up from a clinical trial will not usually cover the required period and the observed follow-up will require extrapolation. For survival data this is typically done by selecting a preferred model from a set of candidate parametric models. This approach is limited in that the choice of model is restricted to those originally fitted. What if none of the models are consistent with clinical prediction or external data?
Results
This paper introduces SurvExtrap, a tool that estimates the parameters of common parametric survival models which interpolate key survival time co-ordinates specified by the user, which could come from external trials, real world data or expert clinical opinion. This is achieved by solving simultaneous equations which are rearranged from the survival functions of the parametric models. The application of SurvExtrap is shown through two examples where traditional parametric modelling did not produce models that were consistent with external data or clinical opinion.
Conclusions
SurvExtrap allows precise parametric survival models to be estimated and carried forward into economic models. It provides access to extrapolations that are consistent with multiple data sources such as observed data and clinical predictions, opening the door to exploration of regions of uncertainty/disagreement. SurvExtrap could avoid the need for post-hoc adjustments such as applying background mortality or treatment switching often applied to obtain a plausible survival model. Phase III clinical trials are not designed with extrapolation in mind, and so it is sensible to consider alternative approaches that incorporate external information.
BACE1 in PV interneuron tunes hippocampal CA1 local circuits and resets priming of fear memory extinction
Authors: Zheng Yan , Xiao Xuansheng , Wang Xiaotong , Zhu Ke , Li Lijuan , He Ying , Zhang Jinglan , Hu Hanning , Cui Yanqiu , Zhang Jianliang
Published: October 2022

BACE1 is the rate-limiting enzyme for β-amyloid (Aβ) production and therefore is considered a prime drug target for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Nevertheless, the BACE1 inhibitors failed in clinical trials, even exhibiting cognitive worsening, implying that BACE1 may function in regulating cognition-relevant neural circuits. Here, we found that parvalbumin-positive inhibitory interneurons (PV INs) in hippocampal CA1 express BACE1 at a high level. We designed and developed a mouse strain with conditional knockout of BACE1 in PV neurons. The CA1 fast-spiking PV INs with BACE1 deletion exhibited an enhanced response of postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors to local stimulation on CA1 oriens, with average intrinsic electrical properties and fidelity in synaptic integration. Intriguingly, the BACE1 deletion reorganized the CA1 recurrent inhibitory motif assembled by the heterogeneous pyramidal neurons (PNs) and the adjacent fast-spiking PV INs from the superficial to the deep layer. Moreover, the conditional BACE1 deletion impaired the AMPARs-mediated excitatory transmission of deep CA1 PNs. Further rescue experiments confirmed that these phenotypes require the enzymatic activity of BACE1. Above all, the BACE1 deletion resets the priming of the fear memory extinction. Our findings suggest a neuron-specific working model of BACE1 in regulating learning and memory circuits. The study may provide a potential path of targeting BACE1 and NMDAR together to circumvent cognitive worsening due to a single application of BACE1 inhibitor in AD patients.
Retinopathy of prematurity risk predictors in peripheral avascular areas after intravitreal ranibizumab treatment: Vascular outgrowth speed analysis
Authors: Chen Jinguo , Xiong Lichun , Ruan Guanyu , Hu Jianzhang
Published: October 2022

Objective
To explore the predictors of risk for peripheral avascular areas (PAR) in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) after intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) monotherapy
Methods
This retrospective study included 64 infants (118 eyes) who developed type 1 ROP and received IVR between July 2019 and March 2021. Retinal vascular outgrowth speed (RVOS) was assessed by measuring the disc diameter (DD) 2 months post-IVR. Potential risk factors were examined and recorded. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine risk factors and predict PAR values.
Results
Mean RVOS was 0.9 ± 0.6 DD/month in all eyes 2 months post-IVR; RVOS in treated eyes was higher than in non-treated eyes. Completed retinal vascularization was detected in 69 (58.5%) eyes, persistent PAR in 49 eyes (41.5%). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that gestational age at birth, postnatal age (PNA) at surgery, cumulative clock hours (CCH) of the ROP lesion, RVOS after IVR, and ROP severity were individually associated with PAR. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that RVOS, CCH of the ROP lesion, and PNA at the time of surgery were independent risk factors for PAR. The ROC curve showed that the cutoff value for RVOS was 0.672 DD/month (area under the curve, 0.8184).
Conclusions
IVR treatment accelerates RVOS; RVOS is inversely related to PAR. RVOS < 0.672 DD/month was a potential predictor of PAR. CCH of the ROP lesion and PNA during surgery were independent risk factors for PAR.
Evaluation of toxicity and genotoxicity of concrete cast with steel slags using higher terrestrial plants
Authors: Alias Carlotta , Piovani Giovanna , Benassi Laura , Abbà Alessandro , Sorlini Sabrina , Gelatti Umberto , Zerbini Ilaria , Feretti Donatella
Published: October 2022

Steel slags (SS), by-products of the steel industry, may be used as recycled materials. However, their reuse may generate the potential release of harmful compounds into the environment. The aim of this study was to assess the potential impact of concrete mixtures cast with SS as partial replacement of natural aggregate on the terrestrial ecosystem, in terms of toxicity and genotoxicity, by using a battery of bioassays composed of higher plants. Four concrete mixtures, each one cast with the replacement of natural aggregates by 30% of four different SS and a mixture with natural aggregates only (reference concrete) were submitted to the monolithic leaching test (UNI EN 15863). The leachates were assayed for phytotoxicity by using seeds of Lepidium sativum, Cucumis sativus, and Allium cepa. The emerged seedlings of L. sativum and A. cepa were used for the evaluation of the DNA damage through the Comet test. The genotoxicity of the leachates was also analysed by means of bulbs of A. cepa applied through the Comet and the chromosomal aberrations tests. None of the samples caused phytotoxic effects towards the tested seeds. Rather, almost all the samples support the seedlings emergence, demonstrated by germination indexes (GI%) between 90% and 120%. Moreover, two leachates from concrete cast with SS and the one from the reference concrete were able to promote the germination and root elongation of C. sativus and A. cepa. DNA damage in L. sativum and A. cepa seedlings was significantly increased only by the sample from reference concrete, while the four leachates from concrete cast with SS did not differ by the controls. Conversely, the DNA damage on A. cepa bulbs was significantly improved by leachate from reference concrete, but also by that from a sample of concrete with SS. Moreover, all the leachates caused the rise of chromosomal aberrations in bulbs of A. cepa. Despite some genotoxic effects of concrete on plant cells, the partial replacement of SS does not seem to make concrete any more hazardous than the reference one in terms of global toxicological assessment, suggesting the potential use of SS as reliable recycled material, leading to a reduction of the impact of the anthropic activities on the environment.
Does Family Functioning contribute to the Life Satisfaction among Female University Students during COVID-19 Outbreak?
Authors: Zarei Salman , Fooladvand Khadijeh
Published: October 2022

Background: Literature review has showed that family functioning is positively associated with satisfaction with life. However, the internal mechanisms of this relationship are still unclear, especially during the COVID-19. This study examined the mediating role of hope and resilience in the association between family functioning and life satisfaction of female university students in COVID-19 pandemics.
Methods: A cross-sectional online study was done throughout the fifth wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. A total of 480 female students were recruited from Lorestan University. Data was collected by the State Hope Scale (SHS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Family APGAR Index, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Data analysis were based on structural equation modeling.
Results: Family functioning exerted a significant direct effect on hope, on resilience and on life satisfaction. Also, according to the findings, hope and resilience pose a significant mediating effect in the association between family functioning and life satisfaction.
Conclusion: This study provides a better perspective regarding the protective role of hope, family functioning, and resilience on life satisfaction among female university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Training of such skills is needed to increase life satisfaction in female university students.
Use of mouse primary epidermal organoids for USA300 infection modeling and drug screening
Authors: xie xiaorui , Tong Xuebo , Li Zhihong , Cheng Quan , Wang Xiaowei , Long Yin , Liu Fangbo , Wang Yonghui , Wang Juan , Liu Li
Published: October 2022

Skin infections caused by drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus occur at high rates nationwide. Mouse primary epidermal organoids (mPEOs) possess stratified histological and morphological characteristics of epidermis and are highly similar to their derived tissue at the transcriptomic and proteomic levels. Herein, the susceptibility of mPEOs to methicillin-resistant S. aureus USA300 infectionwas investigated. The results show that mPEOs support USA300 colonization and invasion, exhibiting swollen epithelial squamous cells with nuclear necrosisand secreting inflammatory factors such as IL-1β. Meanwhile mPEOs beneficial to observe the process of USA300 colonization with increasing infection time, and USA300 induces mPEOs to undergo pyroptosis and autophagy. In addition, we performed a drug screen for the mPEOinfection model and showed that vancomycin restores cell viability and inhibits bacterial internalization in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, we establish an in vitro skin infection model that contributes to the examination of drug screening strategies and antimicrobial drug mechanisms.
Kruppel-like factor 4 promotes autophagy in human monocytes leukemia cells under high glucose conditions by inhibiting AKT/mTOR signaling pathway
Authors: Zhang Rui , Chen Sisi , Wang Tongdan , Yu Pei
Published: October 2022

Background
Diabetic atherosclerosis (AS) is the main cause of disability and death in diabetes. In the progression of AS, autophagic activity plays an important role. Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is a member of zinc finger protein transcription factor family and is believed to play a protective role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to explore the role of KLF4 in diabetic atherosclerosis and the autophagic mechanism.
Methods
After the diabetic mouse model induced by streptozotocin (STZ), we gave mice a high-fat and sugar diet. Aortic arches were dissected from the iliac bifurcation to remove external fatty deposits and detected the level of KLF4 protein expression in diabetic group compared to the non-diabetic group. On the other hand, KLF4 lentiviral vector and small interfering RNA (siRNA) were constructed for in vitro experiments. Oil red staining and cholesterol content assay was used to determinate the cholesterol content in human monocytes leukemia cells (THP-1). Cell apoptosis was determined using TUNEL assay. Immunofluorescence staining, western blotting and reverse transcription-PCR analysis were utilized to evaluate the expressions of autophagy-related proteins as well as AKT/mTOR signaling pathway-related proteins after the transfection of KLF4 siRNA or lentiviral vector.
Results
The expression level of KLF4 protein was decreased in the aorta of diabetic mice, while KLF4 overexpression in THP-1 cells under high glucose can significantly decrease cellular cholesterol accumulation, increase beclin-1 expression and decrease P62/SQSTM1 expression, respectively. Meanwhile, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) fluorescence intensity in KLF4 lentiviral vector group is significantly enhanced with increased cell apoptosis. Phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) and phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) expression was decreased in KLF4 overexpressed group. On the contrary, after transfection of KLF4 siRNA, the expression levels of p-mTOR and p-AKT were increased in THP-1 cells.
Conclusion
KLF4 can decrease cellular cholesterol accumulation and induce autophagy in THP-1 cells under high glucose conditions by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR pathway, which may slow the progression of diabetic atherosclerosis.
Hippocampal organotypic cultures as ex vivo model for tissue response to upconverting nanoparticles
Authors: Zajdel Karolina , Janowska Justyna , Frontczak-Baniewicz Małgorzata , Sypecka Joanna , Sikora Bozena
Published: October 2022

In the last few years, rare-earth-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been widely used in different life sciences due to their unique properties. Nanoparticles have become a multifunctional and promising new approach to neurobiological disorders and have shown extraordinary application potential to overcome problems related to conventional treatment strategies. This study evaluated the internalization mechanisms, bio-distribution, and neurotoxicity of NaYF4:20%Yb3+,2%Er3+ UCNPs in rat organotypic hippocampal slices. TEM results showed that UCNPs were easily internalized by hippocampal cells and co-localized with selected organelles inside neurons and astrocytes. Moreover, we found that UCNPs were taken into the neurons via clathrin- and caveolae-mediated endocytosis. Propidium iodide staining and TEM analysis did not confirm the adverse effects of UCNPs on hippocampal slice viability and morphology. Therefore, UCNPs may be a potent tool for bio-imaging and testing new therapeutic strategies for brain diseases in the future.
General nonlinear Hall current in magnetic insulators beyond the quantum anomalous Hall effect
Authors: Kaplan Daniel , Holder Tobias , Yan Binghai
Published: October 2022

Can a generic magnetic insulator exhibit a Hall current? The quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) is one example of an insulating bulk carrying a quantized Hall conductivity and other insulators (with zero Chern number) present zero Hall conductance in the linear response regime. Here, we find that a general magnetic insulator possesses a nonlinear Hall conductivity quadratic to the electric field if the system breaks inversion symmetry. This conductivity originates from an induced orbital magnetization due to virtual interband transitions. We identify three contributions to the wavepacket motion, a velocity shift, a positional shift, and a Berry curvature renormalization. In contrast to the crystalline solid, we find that this nonlinear Hall conductivity vanishes for Landau levels of a 2D electron gas, indicating a fundamental difference between the QAHE and the Integer quantum Hall effect.
MRCP and microincision of the cystic duct can prevent residual gallstones: A single-center experience
Authors: Huang Yonghong , Peng Fei , Zhou Binxian , Duo A
Published: October 2022

Background: Residual gallstones are an infrequent but troublesome complication after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). This study aimed to explore the feasibility of routine preoperative magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) examination and intraoperative microincision of the cystic duct in preventing residual gallstones after LC surgery.
Methods: This report presents a summary and analysis of 1217 cases of gallbladder stones treated by LC in the People's Hospital of Nyingchi from January 2016 to August 2021. According to the different measures taken to prevent residual gallstones, it is divided into 3 phases. In phase 1, there is no preoperative MRC examination P and intraoperative microincision. In phase 2, preoperative MRCP examination was performed without intraoperative microincision. In phase 3, both preoperative MRCP examination and intraoperative microincision were performed. Then the differences in residual gallstones at different phases were analyzed. And further analysis of preoperative MRCP and intraoperative microincision case data was performed to assess feasibility in phase 3, including the extra cost posed by the MRCP examination, operation time, volume of blood loss, and presence of residual gallstones after surgery.
Results: In phase 1, 0.63% (3/473) of patients had residual gallstones after LC surgery; in phase 2, 0.24% (1/418) of patients had residual gallstones; in phase 3, no patients residual gallstones were present (0/326). Feasibility analysis for Phase 3 showed that 7.98% of cases of silent choledocholithiasis that were not detected by abdominal ultrasound were detected by MRCP, and MRCP examination only accounted for 9.45% of the total hospitalization expenses, which could effectively reduce the missed diagnosis of cholecystolithiasis combined with choledocholithiasis. The average time of microincision and squeezing of the cystic duct during the operation was 3 to 5 minutes, and the bleeding volume was 1 to 3 ml, indicating that microincision of the cystic duct was safe and easy to perform. Sedimentary stones or flocs could be squeezed out by this technique in 21% of LC cases, which could effectively reduce the risk of secondary choledocholithiasis stones after surgery.
Conclusion: These data show that routine preoperative MRCP examination and intraoperative microincision of the cystic duct can effectively prevent residual gallstones after LC.
Controlling THz generation in nonlinear metasurfaces through coupling: amplitude-tuning, handedness-selectivity and holography
Authors: Han Jiaguang , Wang Qingwei , Zhang Xueqian , Xu Quan , Feng Xi , Lu Yongchang , Niu Li , Plum Eric , Gu Jianqiang , Yang Quanlong , Fang Ming , Huang Zhixiang , Zhang Shuang , Zhang Weili
Published: October 2022

Generation and manipulation of THz waves are of vital importance to advance THz technology. Nonlinear metasurfaces allow effective integration of both processes into a single compact device. However, the existing THz generator-manipulators offer limited control over the generated field. Here, we demonstrate that coupling between meta-atoms provides additional degrees of freedom: achiral coupling can provide full control over the amplitude of the generated THz field, while chiral coupling makes the THz generation sensitive to the handedness of the pump polarization. Based on chiral coupling, we realize meta-molecules that only generate THz waves when pumped with circularly polarized light of one handedness. This enables independent generation of different holograms with left-handed and right-handed pump light. As an example, we generate THz beams with different orbital angular momenta with a handedness-selective metasurface.
Parents’ experience of delivering pediatric tuina to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: qualitative findings from focus group interviews
Authors: Chen Shu-Cheng , Cheng Hui-Lin , Wang Dong-Dong , Wang Shan-Shan , Yin Yue-Heng , Suen Lorna Kwai-Ping , Yeung Wing-Fai
Published: October 2022

Background
Evidence suggests that pediatric tuina, which is a modality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), might have beneficial effects on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Therefore, we designed and conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) on parent-administered pediatric tuina for ADHD in preschool children. This paper reported focus group interview data as a part of a process evaluation embedded with the outcome evaluation of the RCT. To understand the parents’ facilitators and barriers of delivering pediatric tuina to their children with ADHD symptoms.
Methods
Purposive sampling were employed to invite 15 parents who attended our pediatric tuina training program to voluntarily participate in three focus group interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data was analyzed with template analysis.
Results
Two themes were identified. Under the theme of the facilitators to the intervention implementation, subthemes included (a) perceived benefits on children and parents, (b) acceptability of children and parents, (c) professional supports, and (d) parents’ expectations on long-term effects of the intervention. Under the theme of the intervention implementation barriers, subthemes included (a) limited benefits on children’s inattention symptoms, (b) manipulation management difficulties, and (c) limitations of TCM pattern identification.
Conclusion
Parents mainly focused on the health effects and safety of pediatric tuina intervention, especially the effects on children’s sleep quality and appetite. Parents could master and conduct the manipulations well if appropriate support and guidance are provided. Besides, parents need long-term support for persisting this intervention.
Uncovering Gatsby Curves
Authors: St-Amant Pier-André Bouchard , Marceau Nicolas , Garon Jean-Denis
Published: October 2022

Empirical findings suggest a positive correlation between inequality and social immobility, a phenomenon coined the (Great) Gatsby curve. However, complete explanations of the phenomenon have not yet been proposed. This paper answers two questions: What are Gatsby curves? When do they exist? We build a theoretical environment in which parental investment and education improve the economic prospects of children. Gatsbian economies and Gatsby curves are formally defined, and we characterize the conditions under which they arise. We show that an economy may go from being Gatsbian to non-Gatsbian, and vice versa.
JEL Codes: D31, H52, J31, J62
Listen to the story of disappearing ice: Japanese local media not reporting climate risks to intangible culture and the journalistic norms
Authors: Fukumura Yoshimi
Published: October 2022

Climate systems have experienced irreversible changes, including ice loss. It threatens the continuity of ice tradition. Journalistic norms determine people's awareness of climate risks posed on local intangible cultural heritage. Nevertheless, little has been studied about local media coverage of climate change in line with the culture in Japan. By comparing with foreign articles, this paper investigates what hampers Japanese local journalists from reporting climate risks on local intangible cultural heritage. A case selected is a winter tradition in Nagano; ritual for ice ridges on Lake Suwa, which local people have considered the god's crossing (omiwatari) and have worshiped for five centuries. This research utilizes quantitative analysis of text mining with word clouds to highlight the different viewpoints of articles written in Japan and abroad. Qualitative analysis scrutinizes the focal points of the local journalists who report the tradition. The results showed the different characteristics of the one-shot articles in foreign media and a series of news in the Japanese local newspapers. Foreign media emphasized the climate risk of continuity of the omiwatari practice in the future, while Japanese local media focused on the daily practice of the seasonal event. Interviews in this research revealed that the Japanese journalists focused on ongoing challenges the practitioners face rather than future climate risks. It also recognized the difficulty of reporting invisible climate change impacts in daily news articles. Finally, the article discusses journalistic norms that hamper or encourage journalists to frame climate change and intangible cultural heritage.
Butein, a potential drug for the treatment of Bone Cancer Pain through bioinformatic and network pharmacology
Authors: Xin Liu , Zhao Shangfeng , Zhao Qianqian , Chen Yiwei , Jia Shubing , Xiang Rongwu , Zhang Jinghai , Xu Yijia , Zhao Mingyi
Published: October 2022

Bone cancer pain (BCP) is a difficult-to-treat pathologic condition that impairs the patient's quality of life. The effective therapy options for BCP are restricted due to the unknown pathophysiology. Transcriptome data were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and differentially expressed gene (DEGs) extraction was performed. Differentially expressed genes analysis (DEGs) integrated with pathological targets found 68 genes in the study. Butein was discovered as a possible medication for BCP after the 68 genes were submitted to the Connectivity Map (CMap) 2.0 database for drug prediction. To collect the butein targets, we used the CTD, SEA, TargetNet, and Super-PRED databases. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses revealed butein's pharmacological effects, indicating that butein may aid in treating BCP by altering the hypoxia-inducible factor, NF-kappa B, angiogenesis, and sphingolipid signaling pathways. Moreover, the pathological targets integrated with drug targets were obtained as the shared gene set A (GSA), which was analyzed by ClueGO and MCODE. Biological process analysis and MCODE algorithm further analyzed that BCP related targets were mainly involved in signal transduction process and ion channel-related pathways. Next, we integrated targets related to network topology parameters and targets of core pathways, identified PTGS2, EGFR, JUN, ESR1, TRPV1, AKT1 and VEGFA as butein regulated hub genes by molecular docking, which play a critical role in its analgesic effect. This study lays the scientific groundwork for elucidating the mechanism underlying butein's success in the treatment of BCP.
Preventing medical service provider from launching known emergency attack in real-time healthcare
Authors: Pattanayak Anupam , Dhal Subhasish
Published: October 2022

In cloud-assisted body area network (BAN), medical user (MU) is equipped with sensor nodes to measure different physiological health information (PHI). Whenever the PHI reading is found to be abnormal, BAN notifies this medical emergency event to cloud. Cloud broadcasts this medical emergency event to all medical service providers (MSPs) attached to cloud while preserving privacy of MU. There can be multiple MSPs competing for admitting the MU in need of medical treatment. For this, MSP uploads its infrastructural parameters to cloud. However, some MSPs can upload false data to cloud for attracting MU. This is
possible when malicious MSP is aware of some medical emergency event and ready to exploit the system to get more business. We classify this attack as Known Emergency Attack. This attack can severely deteriorate the appropriate MSP selection process during emergency. However, as per our knowledge, there is no prior work addressing this problem. We propose a
blockchain based framework, whcih can prevent an MSP from uploading false data and thereby protect from known emergency attack. In response to MU emergency, MSPs send its encrypted attributes to miners in the blockchain network. Miners compute encrypted difference between registered MSP attribute and currently received MSP attribute. If the difference is within a threshold, only then this MSP is considered as a candidate for MSP selection. Security and privacy of proposed framework is verified using Random Oracle Model and AVISPA tool. Computational requirement of proposed framework has also been evaluated.
Nudging policymakers on gendered impacts of policy
Authors: Bochon Lindsay , Dean Janet , Rosteck Tanja , Zhao Jiaying
Published: October 2022

Despite the proliferation of nudge research in the last few decades, very little published work aims to nudge the behavior of policymakers. Here we explore the impact of a well-established nudge on policymakers in the Northwest Territories of Canada. In a pre-registered randomized controlled trial, we emailed an invitation to policymakers (N = 263) to attend an online briefing on gendered impacts of policy. In the treatment condition (N = 133), the invitation contained personal stories of two women whose lives were disproportionally impacted by public policies more than men. In the control condition (N = 130), the invitation did not contain such stories. After the briefing, we sent all participants in both conditions a link to a public pledge that they could sign. The pledge was to lead and advocate for equity-oriented policymaking. Contrary to our prediction, there was a small backfiring effect where policymakers in the treatment condition (3%) were less likely to attend the briefing than the control condition (8%). However, two policymakers (1.5%) in the treatment condition signed the public pledge compared to one (0.8%) in the control condition. The current findings reveal the limits of using personal stories as a nudge to influence policymakers. We discuss insights gained from this experiment and follow-up debriefings with policymakers on how to improve future behavioral interventions designed to nudge policymakers.
Identification of a Novel Mutation in CTCF in a Family with MRD21
Authors: Qiao Yimeng , Chen Baiyun , Han Yanqiang , Wang Yangong , Zhang Jin , Su Yu , Cheng Ye , Wang Ting , Ding Jian , Ye Simin , Lv Nan , Li Jinjin , Shang Qing , Xing Qinghe
Published: October 2022

Background Developmental delay (DD) and intellectual disability (ID) represent one of the biggest medical and social challenges in our society with a prevalence of 1 ~ 3% worldwide. Currently, at least 50% of DD/ID cases remained unexplained. Mental retardation, autosomal dominant 21 (MRD21), caused by mutations inCTCF, is a rare DD/ID-related disease. The clinical phenotypes of MRD21 are highly variable but are not considered sufficiently distinct to be clinically recognizable. To date, only 37 pathogenic/likely pathogenic mutations inCTCFassociated with MRD21 have been identified, and the pathogenesis ofCTCFremains largely unknown. Methods Whole exon sequencing (WES) and bioinformatics analysis were used to identify the mutation as being responsible for an 18-month-old girl with unexplained DD, abnormality of the face and congenital heart disease. The origin of the mutation was analyzed by Sanger sequencing. The pathogenicity of the missense mutation was mainly analyzed by western blot (WB) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Results We identified a novel missense mutation inCTCF(c.1115C > T, p. Ser372Phe) using WES, and Sanger sequencing indicated that the mutation wasde novo. The expression levels of CTCF in 293T cells were unaltered by the missense mutation. However, MD simulations supported the pathogenicity of the p. Ser372Phe mutation, which resulted a decrease in the binding affinity of CTCF with DNA. Conclusions Our study broadens the mutational spectrum ofCTCFand provides a better understanding of the pathogenicity of missense mutations inCTCF. This is the first time that MD simulations have been applied to evaluate the pathogenicity of missense mutations inCTCF.
Effect of combined treatments for the Extraction of tropical hardwood polymeric hemicelluloses
Authors: Brosse Nicolas , Besserer Arnaud , Moukagni Errol Mougnala , Ziegler-Devin Isabelle
Published: October 2022

Five cumulative pretreatments involving bleaching and/or steam explosion and/or alkaline extraction processes have been studied for polymeric hemicelluloses extraction from Okoumé sapwood. Morphological analysis of the cell wall of untreated and steam exploded wood was performed by optical and fluorescence microscopy after staining. Hemicelluloses extracts were characterized by HPEAC/PAD ion chromatography, steric exclusion chromatography (SEC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Near infrared spectroscopy, FTIR and HSQC - NMR spectroscopy analyses were also performed on the hemicelluloses extracts. Alkali extraction of bleached wood led to high yields (≈ 19%) of high molecular mass hemicelluloses (Mw ≈ 65 KDa) while neutral SE pretreatment allowed the recovery of highly acetylated polymers with a low degree of branching. A bleaching step prior to SE increased accessibility to hemicelluloses extraction but weakened the pulp and led to the removal of micro-particles of wood during the SE.