bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preface
Authors: DezhiNing
Published: March 2023

Since its inception in 2020, EMETconferences (International Conference on Energy Material and Energy Technology) were successfully held for last three years, online (2020, 2021, 2022), attracted delegates from a lot of countries and regions including China, Australia, Poland, Slovenia andJapan. As an annual international conference, EMET aims at being a fast and efficient platform for researchers and scholars worldwide to discuss recent developments in the area of Energy Material and Energy Technology.

The Third International Conference on Energy Material and Energy Technology (EMET 2022) was scheduled to be held in Sanya, China. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting had to be changed from onsite to online during December 9-10, 2022 for academic exchanges & discussions.

There were about 30 experts and scholars attending the conference. Three sessions were included: keynote speeches, oral presentations and poster presentations, covering a wide range of Energy Material and Energy Technology. There were 3 keynote speakers, 6 oral presenters and 13 poster presenter sharing their latest research results and ideas with the audience. Details about the presentations can be found in the Conference Overview part.

This conference proceeding included 17 accepted articles selected from 33 submissions, all the papers have been through rigorous review and process to meet the requirements of International publication standard. We would like to express our gratitude to the reviewers of these manuscripts, who provided constructive criticism and stimulated comments and suggestions to the authors.We are extremely grateful as organizers, technical program committee and editors and extend our most sincere thanks to all the authors for their excellent contribution and work. Our sincere gratitude also goes to the IOP Publishing editors and managers for their helpful cooperation during the preparation of the proceeding.

On behalf of the Organizing Committees of EMET2022.

List of Technical Program Committee are available in this pdf.
Life cycle assessment of a PEMFC-based distributed energy system for hotel application
Authors: Jiangyi Mu , Yi Xia , Zhenxi Ma
Published: March 2023

Hydrogen fuel cell can not only generate electricity efficiently, but also provide a large amount of thermal energy by recovering the waste heat of the fuel cell stack. This study proposed a PEMFC-based distributed energy systems (PEMFC-DES) containing of input energy, PEMFC-based combined cooling, heating and power (PEMFC-CCHP) system and building loads. The performances of energy, environment, economics of the proposed system are investigated through life cycle assessment (LCA) under different hydrogen-electricity contribution rates (RH
), hydrogen production methods and hydrogen gas prices. The results show that the hydrogen production method has a greater impact on primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. At RH
= 1.0, the greenhouse gas emission of coal-to-hydrogen is 2.1 times higher than that of the baseline system. The life cycle primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of the wind-to-hydrogen are the smallest at RH
= 1, which are 85.14% and 87.64% lower than that of the baseline system respectively. Additionally, when the hydrogen price is lower than 20 CNY/kg, the total life cycle cost is lower than that of the baseline system.
Resolution limit revisited: community detection using generalized modularity density
Authors: Guo Jiahao , Singh Pramesh , Bassler Kevin E
Published: March 2023

Various attempts have been made in recent years to solve the resolution limit (RL) problem in community detection by considering variants of modularity in the detection algorithms. These objective functions purportedly largely mitigate the RL problem and are preferable to modularity in many realistic scenarios. However, they are not generally suitable for analyzing weighted networks or for detecting hierarchical community structure. RL problems can be complicated, though, and in particular it can be unclear when it should be considered as problem. In this paper, we introduce an objective function that we call generalized modularity density Q

g
. Q

g
has a tunable parameter χ that enables structure to be resolved at any desired scale. Rather than being a problem, the scale associated with the RL can be used as a tool for finding hierarchical structure by varying χ. The definition of Q

g
is easily extended to study weighted networks. We also propose a benchmark test to quantify the RL problem, examine various modularity-like objective functions to show that Q

g
performs best, and demonstrate that it can be used to identify modular structure in real-world and artificial networks that is otherwise hidden.
Decomposable Blaschke products of degree 2ⁿ
Authors: Aksoy Asuman , Arici Francesca , Celorrio M. , Gorkin Pamela
Published: March 2023

We study the decomposability of a finite Blaschke product

B
B

of degree

2
n

2^n

into

n
n

degree-

2
2

Blaschke products, examining the connections between Blaschke products, Poncelet’s theorem, and the monodromy group. We show that if the numerical range of the compression of the shift operator,

W
(

S
B

)

W(S_B)

, with

B
B

a Blaschke product of degree

n
n

, is an ellipse, then

B
B

can be written as a composition of lower-degree Blaschke products that correspond to a factorization of the integer

n
n

. We also show that a Blaschke product of degree

2
n

2^n

with an elliptical Blaschke curve has at most

n
n

distinct critical values, and we use this to examine the monodromy group associated with a regularized Blaschke product

B
B

. We prove that if

B
B

can be decomposed into

n
n

degree-

2
2

Blaschke products, then the monodromy group associated with

B
B

is the wreath product of

n
n

cyclic groups of order

2
2

. Lastly, we study the group of invariants of a Blaschke product

B
B

of order

2
n

2^n

when

B
B

is a composition of

n
n

Blaschke products of order

2
2

.
36 Older Surgical Patients Pathway: Improving Care for Frail Older People in General Surgery
Authors: Lockwood R , Skinner P , Grady S , Henderson F , Lander R
Published: March 2023

Background

The Older Surgical Patients Pathway (OSPP) was established in 2014 and aims to improve care for frail older people on General Surgery (GS) wards at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHSFT (STH) by delivering consultant-led Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA). The OSPP team proactively review frail, surgical patients 75 years or older.

Introduction

Patients over 75 account for 10% of admissions in GS at STH, occupying 33% of bed-nights (14,000/year, costing approximately £4.2 M). They may present a challenge to surgical staff due to multiple co-morbidities, cognitive or mental capacity concerns, leaving them vulnerable to clinical decompensation, with subsequent increased health and care needs. Geriatrician input prior to 2014 was ad hoc and reactive. OSPP was developed to improve and co-ordinate care in this vulnerable group.

Methods

The project team consisted of surgeon, geriatrician, senior nurse with service improvement expertise and data analyst. Stakeholder events were held to raise awareness and target interventions.

Through regular review of outcomes with iterative testing and service redesign, the main interventions have been:

• Introduction of a frailty screening tool.

• Embed a geriatrician into the colorectal unit, providing clinical review and leadership.

• Establish regular, frequent multidisciplinary team meetings.

• Use of eWhiteboard.

• Training for multiple professions in geriatrics and general surgery.

• Gather objective (see table) and subjective outcome measures (staff survey and Foundation Programme feedback).

• Access to CGA for all over 70 year olds who have undergone emergency laparotomy.

Results

The OSPP team review approximately 200 frail older patients per year in detail. The objective results, compared to baseline data from 2014, are in the table.

The reduction in LoS equates to a saving of 700 bed-nights (at £300/bed-night, a total financial saving of £210 k) over 5 years. Thirty six more patients are returned to usual place of residence per annum. Multiple staff groups on the colorectal unit have greater awareness of frailty and its consequences and more than 150 junior doctors have received extra support and training in this area.

Conclusions

OSPP has improved quality of care for frail older people in general surgery in Sheffield in both objective and subjective measures. This template could be used to replicate this service in other surgical specialities with a large cohort of frail older patients.
An interactive e-learning module on peripheral blood smear analysis is an effective option for teaching pathology trainees
Authors: Moore Margaret E , Courville Elizabeth L , Prakash Sonam , Brown Laura E , Beck Rose C , Qualtieri Julie N , Siddon Alexa J , Wake Laura M
Published: March 2023

Objectives

This study compares the effectiveness of an interactive e-learning module with a traditional text-based method for teaching peripheral blood smear analysis.

Methods

Pathology trainees at Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education residency programs were asked to participate. Participants completed a multiple-choice test on peripheral blood smear findings. Trainees were randomized into completing an e-learning module or a PDF reading exercise with the same educational content. Respondents rated their experience and completed a postintervention test composed of the same questions.

Results

In total, 28 participants completed the study; 21 improved their score in the posttest (mean, 21.6 correct answers) compared with the pretest (19.8; P < .001). This improvement was seen in both the PDF (n = 19) and interactive (n = 9) groups, with no difference in performance between the 2 groups. Trainees with less clinical hematopathology experience showed a trend of having the largest performance improvement. Most participants completed the exercise within 1 hour, rated the exercise as easy to navigate, were engaged, and reported learning new information about peripheral blood smear analysis. All participants indicated that they would likely complete a similar exercise in the future.

Conclusions

This study suggests that e-learning is an effective tool for hematopathology education and equivalent to traditional narrative-based methods. This module could easily be incorporated into a curriculum.
Analysis of the Prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation and the Risk Factors in Hypertensive Population
Authors: Wang Tao , Ye Shen-sheng , Zhou Wei , Zhu Ling-juan , Huang Xiao , Bao Hui-hui , Cheng Xiao-shu
Published: March 2023

Background

To investigate the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the hypertensive population and analyze its related factors to provide relevant scientific basis for the formulation of primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Methods

From March 2018 to August 2018, 14,268 residents were screened for physical examination and hypertension in Wuyuan district, Jiangxi Province, and collected information on demographic characteristics, life behavior patterns, personal disease history, and other information of survey subjects through questionnaire surveys. The central atrial fibrillation was determined by a 12-lead ECG examination and self-reported atrial fibrillation history. Logistic regression analysis model was used to analyze related factors of atrial fibrillation.

Results

Finally, 11,524 hypertensive patients were enrolled, aged (64.1 ± 9.8) years old, of which 5,542 were male. There were 388 patients with atrial fibrillation, aged (69.4 ± 9.6) years old, of which 180 were males. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation among hypertensive populations in Wuyuan district, Jiangxi Province was 3.37%, of which 3.00% were males and 3.75% were females. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation among hypertensive patients <45 years old is 1.70%, the prevalence rate of 45–65 years old is 1.89%, the prevalence rate of 65–75 years old is 4.18%, and the prevalence rate of ≥75 years old is 7.60%. The rate showed an upward trend with age (trend χ2 = 112.83, P < 0.001). The results of multivariate regression analysis showed that age, gender, length of sleep, low-density lipoprotein, blood pressure, and total bilirubin were independent risk factors for atrial fibrillation.

Conclusions

Age, gender, length of sleep, low-density lipoprotein, blood pressure level, and total bilirubin are related factors for the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in people with hypertension. Regular biochemical indicator monitoring should be conducted for key populations at high risk of atrial fibrillation. And actively carry out health education and intervention for high-risk groups of atrial fibrillation.
When aliens land
Authors: Gulberg Steven , Miller Steve , Argo Megan , Holbrook Jarita , Lopez Alejandro , Mejuto Javier , Lee Annette
Published: March 2023

Lead author Steven Gullberg reports with colleagues on a new joint initiative to acknowledge and respect Indigenous sensitivities where observatories have been built upon sacred grounds
Uman-type neurofilament light antibodies are effective reagents for the imaging of neurodegeneration
Authors: Shaw Gerry , Madorsky Irina , Li Ying , Wang YongSheng , Jorgensen Marda , Rana Sabhya , Fuller David D
Published: March 2023

Recent work shows that certain antibody-based assays for the neurofilament light chain detect informative signals in the CSF and blood of human and animals affected by a variety of CNS injury and disease states. Much of this work has been performed using two mouse monoclonal antibodies to neurofilament light, UD1 and UD2, also known as Clones 2.1 and 47.3, respectively. These are the essential components of the Uman Diagnostics Neurofilament-Light™ ELISA kit, the Quanterix Simoa™ bead-based assay and others. We show that both antibodies bind to neighbouring epitopes in a short, conserved and unusual peptide in the centre of the neurofilament light Coil 2 segment of the ‘rod’ domain. We also describe a surprising and useful feature of Uman and similar reagents. While other well-characterized neurofilament antibodies generally show robust staining of countless cells and processes in CNS sections from healthy rats, both Uman antibodies reveal only a minor subset of profiles, presumably spontaneously degenerating or degenerated neurons and their processes. However, following experimental mid-cervical spinal cord injuries to rats, both Uman antibodies recognize numerous profiles in fibre tracts damaged by the injury administered. These profiles were typically swollen, beaded, discontinuous or sinusoidal as expected for degenerating and degenerated processes. We also found that several antibodies to the C-terminal ‘tail’ region of the neurofilament light protein bind undamaged axonal profiles but fail to recognize the Uman-positive material. The unmasking of the Uman epitopes and the loss of the neurofilament light tail epitopes can be mimicked by treating sections from healthy animals with proteases suggesting that the immunostaining changes we discovered are due to neurodegeneration-induced proteolysis. We have also generated a novel panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies directed against the Uman epitopes that have degeneration-specific staining properties identical to the Uman reagents. Using these, we show that the region to which the Uman reagents bind contains further hidden epitopes distinct from those recognized by the two Uman reagents. We speculate that the Uman-type epitopes are part of a binding region important for higher order neurofilament assembly. The work provides important insights into the properties of the Uman assay, describes novel and useful properties of Uman-type and neurofilament light tail-binding antibodies and provides a hypothesis relevant to further understanding of neurofilament assembly.
Fast forward approximation and multitask inversion of gravity anomaly based on UNet3+
Authors: Lv M , Zhang Y , Liu S
Published: March 2023

Gravity inversion is a process that obtains the spatial structure and physical properties of underground anomalies using surface collected gravity anomaly data. In recent years, the rapid development of deep learning (DL) has enabled the achievement of good results for gravity inversion methods based on DL. These methods aim to learn the mapping between geological models and gravity anomaly data by training a neural network with geological models as labels. However, using DL inversion requires generating a large amount of training data for each geological target and involves the forward calculation of the generated models, which inevitably consumes a large amount of time and storage space. To address this issue, we propose using a neural network to approximate the expensive forward computation with a fast evaluation alternative. After training, the network can reproduce gravity anomalies at any observation point. To evaluate the effectiveness of the forward model, we use the gravity anomalies predicted by the forward network for inversion network training. Additionally, to mitigate the problem of poor generalization of existing DL inversions, we propose using multitask learning. By learning multiple related tasks simultaneously, the generalization ability of the model improves, thus enhancing the performance of the main task. In this paper, a multitask UNet3+ network is proposed to realize anomaly bodies localization and density contrasts reconstruction simultaneously. Test results on the synthetic data set demonstrate that the gravity anomalies predicted by the forward network can be successfully inverted, and the multitask approach can predict subsurface geology more accurately than the single-task. To further illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm, we apply this method to the inversion of the San Nicolas deposit in central Mexico.
Human calmodulin mutations cause arrhythmia and affect neuronal function in C. elegans
Authors: Jensen Helene H , Frantzen Magnus T , Wesseltoft Jonas L , Busuioc Ana-Octavia , Møller Katrine V , Brohus Malene , Duun Palle R , Nyegaard Mette , Overgaard Michael T , Olsen Anders
Published: March 2023

In humans, mutations in calmodulin cause cardiac arrhythmia. These mutations disrupt the ability of calmodulin to sense calcium concentrations and correctly regulate two central calcium channels, together obstructing heart rhythm. This correlation is well established, but also surprising since calmodulin is expressed in all tissues and interacts with hundreds of proteins. Until now, most studies have focused on cardiac cell function and regulation of specific cardiac targets, and thus, potential other effects of these mutations have largely been unexplored. Here, we introduce the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as an in vivo model to study effects of three human calmodulin mutations with different impairment on calcium binding. We find that arrhythmic effects of the calmodulin mutations N54I and D96V can be recapitulated in disruption of two rhythmic behaviors, pharynx pumping and defecation motor program. Interestingly, we also find that these mutations affect neuronal function, but in different ways. Whereas D96V sensitizes signaling at the neuromuscular junction, N54I has a protective effect. The mutation N98S did not affect rhythmic behavior, but impaired chemosensing. Therefore, pathogenic calmodulin mutations act through different mechanisms in rhythmic behavior and neuronal function in C. elegans, emphasizing the strength of using live multicellular models. Finally, our results support the hypothesis that human calmodulin mutations could also contribute to neurological diseases.
Explaining machine learning models using entropic variable projection
Authors: Bachoc François , Gamboa Fabrice , Halford Max , Loubes Jean-Michel , Risser Laurent
Published: March 2023

In this paper, we present a new explainability formalism designed to shed light on how each input variable of a test set impacts the predictions of machine learning models. Hence, we propose a group explainability formalism for trained machine learning decision rules, based on their response to the variability of the input variables distribution. In order to emphasize the impact of each input variable, this formalism uses an information theory framework that quantifies the influence of all input–output observations based on entropic projections. This is thus the first unified and model agnostic formalism enabling data scientists to interpret the dependence between the input variables, their impact on the prediction errors and their influence on the output predictions. Convergence rates of the entropic projections are provided in the large sample case. Most importantly, we prove that computing an explanation in our framework has a low algorithmic complexity, making it scalable to real-life large datasets. We illustrate our strategy by explaining complex decision rules learned using XGBoost, Random Forest or Deep Neural Network classifiers on various datasets such as Adult Income, MNIST, CelebA, Boston Housing, Iris, as well as synthetic ones. We finally make clear its differences with the explainability strategies LIME and SHAP, which are based on single observations. Results can be reproduced using the freely distributed Python toolbox https://gems-ai.aniti.fr/.
EvidenceMap: a three-level knowledge representation for medical evidence computation and comprehension
Authors: Kang Tian , Sun Yingcheng , Kim Jae Hyun , Ta Casey , Perotte Adler , Schiffer Kayla , Wu Mutong , Zhao Yang , Moustafa-Fahmy Nour , Peng Yifan , Weng Chunhua
Published: March 2023

Objective

To develop a computable representation for medical evidence and to contribute a gold standard dataset of annotated randomized controlled trial (RCT) abstracts, along with a natural language processing (NLP) pipeline for transforming free-text RCT evidence in PubMed into the structured representation.

Materials and methods

Our representation, EvidenceMap, consists of 3 levels of abstraction: Medical Evidence Entity, Proposition and Map, to represent the hierarchical structure of medical evidence composition. Randomly selected RCT abstracts were annotated following EvidenceMap based on the consensus of 2 independent annotators to train an NLP pipeline. Via a user study, we measured how the EvidenceMap improved evidence comprehension and analyzed its representative capacity by comparing the evidence annotation with EvidenceMap representation and without following any specific guidelines.

Results

Two corpora including 229 disease-agnostic and 80 COVID-19 RCT abstracts were annotated, yielding 12 725 entities and 1602 propositions. EvidenceMap saves users 51.9% of the time compared to reading raw-text abstracts. Most evidence elements identified during the freeform annotation were successfully represented by EvidenceMap, and users gave the enrollment, study design, and study Results sections mean 5-scale Likert ratings of 4.85, 4.70, and 4.20, respectively. The end-to-end evaluations of the pipeline show that the evidence proposition formulation achieves F1 scores of 0.84 and 0.86 in the adjusted random index score.

Conclusions

EvidenceMap extends the participant, intervention, comparator, and outcome framework into 3 levels of abstraction for transforming free-text evidence from the clinical literature into a computable structure. It can be used as an interoperable format for better evidence retrieval and synthesis and an interpretable representation to efficiently comprehend RCT findings.
Matching methods for truncation by death problems
Authors: Zehavi Tamir , Nevo Daniel
Published: March 2023

Even in a carefully designed randomised trial, outcomes for some study participants can be missing, or more precisely, ill defined, because participants had died prior to outcome collection. This problem, known as truncation by death, means that the treated and untreated are no longer balanced with respect to covariates determining survival. Therefore, researchers often utilise principal stratification and focus on the Survivor Average Causal Effect (SACE). We present matching-based methods for SACE identification and estimation. We provide identification results motivating the use of matching and discuss practical issues, including the choice of distance measures, matching with replacement, and post-matching estimators. Because the assumptions needed for SACE identification can be too strong, we also present sensitivity analysis techniques and illustrate their use in real data analysis.
Multiwavelength study of radio galaxy Pictor A: detection of western hotspot in far-UV and possible origin of high energy emissions
Authors: Gulati Sanna , Bhattacharya Debbijoy , Ramadevi M C , Stalin C S , Sreekumar P
Published: March 2023

A comprehensive study of the nucleus and western hotspot of Pictor A is carried out using AstroSat observations, 13 yr of Fermi, and archival Swift observations along with other published data. We report the first detection of the western hotspot of Pictor A in the far-UV band using observations from AstroSat-UVIT. The broad-band SED of the western hotspot is explained by a multizone emission scenario, where X-ray emission is caused by synchrotron emission process in the substructures embedded in the diffuse region, while the emission in radio to optical is caused by synchrotron emission process in the diffuse region. We do not notice any excess in the IR band and an additional zone (beyond 2-zone) is not required to account for the X-ray emission. Our broad-band spectro-temporal study and associated modelling of the core and hotspot of Pictor A suggests that (a) γ-rays originate in the nuclear jet and not from the hotspot (b) X-ray emission from the core of Pictor A has nuclear jet-origin instead of previously reported disc-origin.
Orbital stability of two circumbinary planets around misaligned eccentric binaries
Authors: Chen Cheng , Lubow Stephen H , Martin Rebecca G , Nixon C J
Published: March 2023

With n-body simulations, we investigate the stability of tilted circumbinary planetary systems consisting of two non-zero mass planets. The planets are initially in circular orbits that are coplanar to each other, as would be expected if they form in a flat but tilted circumbinary gas disc and decouple from the disc within a time difference that is much less than the disc nodal precession period. We constrain the parameters of stable multiple planet circumbinary systems. Both planet–planet and planet–binary interactions can cause complex planet tilt oscillations that can destabilize the orbits of one or both planets. The system is considerably more unstable than the effects of these individual interactions would suggest, due to the interplay between these two interactions. The stability of the system is sensitive to the binary eccentricity, the orbital tilt, and the semimajor axes of the two circumbinary planets. With an inner planet semimajor axis of $5\, a_{\rm b}$, where ab is the semimajor axis of the binary, the system is generally stable if the outer planet is located at $\gtrsim 8\, a_{\rm b}$, beyond the 2:1 mean motion resonance with the inner planet. For larger inner planet semimajor axis, the system is less stable because the von-Zeipel–Kozai–Lidov mechanism plays a significant role, particularly for low binary-eccentricity cases. For the unstable cases, the most likely outcome is that one planet is ejected and the other remains bound on a highly eccentric orbit. Therefore, we suggest that this instability is an efficient mechanism for producing free-floating planets.
The mass distribution of quasars in optical time-domain surveys
Authors: Sun Mouyuan
Published: March 2023

The determination of supermassive black hole (SMBH) masses is the key to understanding the host galaxy build-up and the SMBH mass assembly histories. The SMBH masses of non-local quasars are frequently estimated via the single-epoch virial black-hole mass estimators, which may suffer from significant biases. Here we demonstrate a new approach to infer the mass distribution of SMBHs in quasars by modelling quasar ultraviolet /optical variability. Our inferred black hole masses are systematically smaller than the virial ones by 0.3–0.6 dex; the ∼0.3 dex offsets are roughly consistent with the expected biases of the virial black-hole mass estimators. In the upcoming time-domain astronomy era, our methodology can be used to constrain the cosmic evolution of quasar mass distributions.
The strong effect of electron thermal conduction on the global structure of the heliosphere
Authors: Izmodenov V V , Alexashov D B
Published: March 2023

Voyager 1 and 2 crossed the heliopause at ∼122 au in 2012 and ∼119 au in 2018, respectively. It was quite a surprise because the thickness of the inner heliosheath obtained at that time by the existing time models of the global heliosphere was significantly larger (by 20–40 au). Until now, the problem of the heliosheath thickness has not been fully resolved. Earlier, in the frame of an oversimplified toy model of nearly isothermal solar wind plasma, it has been shown that the effect of electron thermal conduction may significantly reduce the thickness of the inner heliosheath. In this paper, we present the first results of our 3D kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the global heliosphere, where the effect of thermal electron conduction has been considered rigorously. The thermal conduction acts mainly along the magnetic field lines. Classical and saturated thermal fluxes are employed when appropriate. It is shown that the effects of thermal conduction are significant. The thickness of the inner heliospheric is reduced. It is a desired effect since it helps to reconcile the thickness obtained in the model with Voyager data. The other effects are the strong depletion of the heliosheath plasma temperature towards the heliopause and the increase of the plasma temperature in the supersonic solar wind upstream of the termination shock.
Chasing the impact of the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger on the formation of the Milky Way thick disc
Authors: Ciucă Ioana , Kawata Daisuke , Ting Yuan-Sen , Grand Robert J J , Miglio Andrea , Hayden Michael , Baba Junichi , Fragkoudi Francesca , Monty Stephanie , Buder Sven , Freeman Ken
Published: March 2023

We employ our Bayesian Machine Learning framework BINGO (Bayesian INference for Galactic archaeOlogy) to obtain high-quality stellar age estimates for 68 360 red giant and red clump stars present in the 17th data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the APOGEE-2 high-resolution spectroscopic survey. By examining the denoised age-metallicity relationship of the Galactic disc stars, we identify a drop in metallicity with an increase in [Mg/Fe] at an early epoch, followed by a chemical enrichment episode with increasing [Fe/H] and decreasing [Mg/Fe]. This result is congruent with the chemical evolution induced by an early-epoch gas-rich merger identified in the Milky Way-like zoom-in cosmological simulation Auriga. In the initial phase of the merger of Auriga 18 there is a drop in metallicity due to the merger diluting the metal content and an increase in the [Mg/Fe] of the primary galaxy. Our findings suggest that the last massive merger of our Galaxy, the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, was likely a significant gas-rich merger and induced a starburst, contributing to the chemical enrichment and building of the metal-rich part of the thick disc at an early epoch.
New Insights into the Evolution and Gene Structure of the Mitochondrial Carrier Family Unveiled by Analyzing the Frequent and Conserved Intron Positions
Authors: Monné Magnus , Cianciulli Antonia , Panaro Maria A , Calvello Rosa , De Grassi Anna , Palmieri Luigi , Mitolo Vincenzo , Palmieri Ferdinando
Published: March 2023

Mitochondrial carriers (MCs) belong to a eukaryotic protein family of transporters that in higher organisms is called the solute carrier family 25 (SLC25). All MCs have characteristic triplicated sequence repeats forming a 3-fold symmetrical structure of a six-transmembrane α-helix bundle with a centrally located substrate-binding site. Biochemical characterization has shown that MCs altogether transport a wide variety of substrates but can be divided into subfamilies, each transporting a few specific substrates. We have investigated the intron positions in the human MC genes and their orthologs of highly diversified organisms. The results demonstrate that several intron positions are present in numerous MC sequences at the same specific points, of which some are 3-fold symmetry related. Many of these frequent intron positions are also conserved in subfamilies or in groups of subfamilies transporting similar substrates. The analyses of the frequent and conserved intron positions in MCs suggest phylogenetic relationships not only between close but also distant homologs as well as a possible involvement of the intron positions in the evolution of the substrate specificity diversification of the MC family members.
Cisplatin reacts with the RING finger domain of RNF11 and interferes with the protein functions
Authors: Wang Yu , Yuan Siming , Cao Kaiming , Liu Yangzhong
Published: March 2023

Protein reactions play important roles in the mechanism of action of cisplatin. In this work, we found that cisplatin is highly reactive to the RING finger domain of RNF11, a key protein involved in tumorigenesis and metastasis. The results show that cisplatin binds to RNF11 at the zinc coordination site and leads to zinc ejection from the protein. The formation of S-Pt(II) coordination and Zn(II) ions release have been confirmed by UV–vis spectrometry using zinc dye and thiol agent, showing reducing the contents of thiol groups while forming S-Pt bonds and releasing zinc ions. Electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry measurement indicates that each RNF11 can bind up to three platinum atoms. Kinetical analysis shows a reasonable platination rate of RNF11 with t1/2 ∼ 3 h. CD, nuclear magnetic resonance, and gel electrophoresis measurements indicate that the cisplatin reaction causes protein unfolding and oligomerization of RNF11. Pull-down assay confirms that the platination of RNF11 interferes with the protein interaction of RNF11 with UBE2N, a key step of the functionalization of RNF11. Furthermore, Cu(I) was found to promote the platination of RNF11, which could lead to increased protein reactivity to cisplatin in tumor cells with high copper levels. These results indicate that the platination-induced zinc release of RNF11 disrupts the protein structure and interferes with its functions.
Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–18
Authors: Liang Xiaopeng , Or Benjamin , Tsoi Man F , Cheung Ching L , Cheung Bernard M Y
Published: March 2023

Purpose

To estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–18.

Methods

This study included 8183 eligible nonpregnant participants aged ≥20 years from the NHANES 2011–18. MetS was defined as the presence of at least three of the following components: central obesity, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting blood glucose. The prevalence of MetS was estimated taking into account the complex sampling. The time trend was evaluated using logistic regression.

Results

The total prevalence of MetS increased from 37.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 34.0%–41.4%] in 2011–12 to 41.8% (95% CI: 38.1%–45.7%) in 2017–18 (P for trend = .028). Among the MetS components, the prevalence of elevated glucose increased from 48.9% (95% CI: 45.7%–52.5%) in 2011–12 to 64.7% (95% CI: 61.4%–67.9%) in 2017–18 (P for trend <.001). The prevalence of MetS in participants with low educational attainment increased from 44.4% (95% CI: 38.8%–50.1%) in 2011–12 to 55.0% (95% CI: 50.8%–59.1%) in 2017–18 (P for trend = .01).

Conclusion

The prevalence of MetS increased during 2011–18, notably in participants with low educational attainment. Lifestyle modification is needed to prevent MetS and the associated risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Key messages What is already known on this topic: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome is an index of the cardiometabolic health of a population. What this study adds: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in US adults increased during 2011–18, notably in participants with low educational attainment. How this study might affect research, practice, or policy: Lifestyle modification is needed to prevent metabolic syndrome and the associated risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
CEBPB upregulates P4HA2 to promote the malignant biological behavior in IDH1 wildtype glioma
Authors: Wang Shuai , Wu Jingheng , Zhao Wujun , Li Miaomiao , Li Shaoyi
Published: March 2023

Temozolomide (TMZ), the primary drug for glioma treatment, has limited treatment efficacy. Additionally, considerable evidence shows that isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 mutation‐type (IDH1 mut) gliomas have a better response to TMZ than isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 wildtype (IDH1 wt) gliomas. Here, we aimed to identify potential mechanisms underlying this phenotype. Herein, the Cancer Genome Atlas bioinformatic data and 30 clinical samples from patients were analyzed to reveal the expression level of cytosine‐cytosine‐adenosine‐adenosine‐thymidine (CCAAT) Enhancer Binding Protein Beta (CEBPB) and prolyl 4‐hydroxylase subunit alpha 2 (P4HA2) in gliomas. Next, cellular and animal experiments, including cell proliferation, colony formation, transwell, CCK‐8, and xenograft assays, were performed to explore the tumor‐promoting effects of P4HA2 and CEBPB. Then, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were used to confirm the regulatory relationships between them. Finally, a co‐immunoprecipitation (Co‐IP) assay was performed to confirm the effect of IDH1‐132H to CEBPB proteins. We found that CEBPB and P4HA2 expression was significantly upregulated in IDH1 wt gliomas and associated with poor prognosis. CEBPB knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and temozolomide resistance of glioma cells and hindered the growth of glioma xenograft tumors. CEBPE, as a transcription factor, exerted its function by transcriptionally upregulating P4HA2 expression in glioma cells. Importantly, CEBPB is prone to ubiquitin‐proteasomal degradation in IDH1 R132H glioma cells. We also demonstrated that both genes are related to collagen synthesis, as confirmed by in vivo experiments. Thus, CEBPE promotes proliferation and TMZ resistance by inducing P4HA2 expression in glioma cells and offers a potential therapeutic target for glioma treatment.
The STING inhibitor C‐176 attenuates osteoclast‐related osteolytic diseases by inhibiting osteoclast differentiation
Authors: Yu Zhen‐cheng , Fu Rao , Li Yun , Zhao Dan‐yang , Jiang Hao , Han Dong
Published: March 2023

Inflammatory osteolysis occurs primarily in the context of osteoarthritis, aseptic inflammation, prosthesis loosening, and other conditions. An excessive immune inflammatory response causes excessive activation of osteoclasts, leading to bone loss and bone destruction. The signaling protein stimulator of interferon gene (STING) can regulate the immune response of osteoclasts. C‐176 is a furan derivative that can inhibit activation of the STING pathway and exert anti‐inflammatory effects. The effect of C‐176 on osteoclast differentiation is not yet clear. In this study, we found that C‐176 could inhibit STING activation in osteoclast precursor cells and inhibit osteoclast activation induced by nuclear factor κB ligand receptor activator in a dose‐dependent manner. After treatment with C‐176, the expression of the osteoclast differentiation marker genes nuclear factor of activated T‐cells c1(NFATc1), cathepsin K, calcitonin receptor, and V‐ATPase a3 decreased. In addition, C‐176 reduced actin loop formation and bone resorption capacity. The WB results showed that C‐176 downregulated the expression of the osteoclast marker protein NFATc1 and inhibited activation of the STING‐mediated NF‐κB pathway. We also found that C‐176 could inhibit the phosphorylation of mitogen‐activated protein kinase signaling pathway factors induced by RANKL. Moreover, we verified that C‐176 could reduce LPS‐induced bone absorption in mice, reduce joint destruction in knee arthritis induced by meniscal instability, and protect against cartilage matrix loss in ankle arthritis induced by collagen immunity. In summary, our findings demonstrated that C‐176 could inhibit the formation and activation of osteoclasts and could be used as a potential therapeutic agent for inflammatory osteolytic diseases.
Noninvasive quantitative evaluation of viable islet grafts using 111In‐exendin‐4 SPECT/CT
Authors: Botagarova Ainur , Murakami Takaaki , Fujimoto Hiroyuki , Fauzi Muhammad , Kiyobayashi Sakura , Otani Daisuke , Fujimoto Nanae , Inagaki Nobuya
Published: March 2023

Islet transplantation (IT) is an effective β‐cell replacement therapy for patients with type 1 diabetes; however, the lack of methods to detect islet grafts and evaluate their β‐cell mass (BCM) has limited the further optimization of IT protocols. Therefore, the development of noninvasive β‐cell imaging is required. In this study, we investigated the utility of the 111Indium‐labeled exendin‐4 probe {[Lys12(111In‐BnDTPA‐Ahx)] exendin‐4} (111In exendin‐4) to evaluate islet graft BCM after intraportal IT. The probe was cultured with various numbers of isolated islets. Streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mice were intraportally transplanted with 150 or 400 syngeneic islets. After a 6‐week observation following IT, the ex‐vivo liver graft uptake of 111In‐exendin‐4 was compared with the liver insulin content. In addition, the in‐vivo liver graft uptake of 111In exendin‐4 using SPECT/CT was compared with that of liver graft BCM measured by a histological method. As a result, probe accumulation was significantly correlated with islet numbers. The ex‐vivo liver graft uptake in the 400‐islet‐transplanted group was significantly higher than that in the control and the 150‐islet‐transplanted groups, consistent with glycemic control and liver insulin content. In conclusion, in‐vivo SPECT/CT displayed liver islet grafts, and uptakes were corroborated by histological liver BCM. 111In‐exendin‐4 SPECT/CT can be used to visualize and evaluate liver islet grafts noninvasively after intraportal IT.
Heavy migration of flood affectees in Pakistan and increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in children: a call to action
Authors: Rehan Syeda T. , Ahmed Mariam , Bukhsh Arooba N. , Bari Kinza , Hussain Hassan ul , Ullah Irfan , Asghar Muhammad Sohaib
Published: March 2023

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to various neurodevelopmental disabilities generally seen in kids. Pakistan, being vulnerable to natural disasters, faced one of the most devastating floods in July 2022 due to which many individuals were displaced. This not only affected the mental health of growing children but also the developing fetus of migrant mothers. This report establishes the link between the aftereffects of migration due to floods on children particularly associated with ASD in Pakistan. Flood affected families are devoid of basic necessities and are under a lot of psychological stress. On the other hand, Extensive treatment for autism is complicated, expensive, and provided in proper settings only which is not easily accessible to migrants. Considering all these factors, there are chances that ASD will be more prevalent in future generations of these migrants. Our study calls on respective authorities to take timely action for this growing concern.
Pediatric Cranioplasty Patients With Hostile Reconstructive Environments
Authors: Burge Kaitlin G. , Soto Edgar , Derise Natalie , Rocque Brandon G. , Grant John H. , Myers René P.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Pediatric cranial defects can be preceded by prior infection, radiation therapy, failed prior cranioplasty, or cerebrospinal fluid leak, leading to a complex reconstructive environment. The primary aim of this study was to investigate differences in outcomes between pediatric patients with hostile reconstructive environments who received split-calvarial autologous grafts as opposed to prosthetic grafts in cranioplasty.

Methods

We performed an institutional review board–approved retrospective chart review of 51 patients younger than 18 years who underwent cranioplasty with a hostile setting between 1998 and 2020. Patients were then stratified into prosthetic (45%) and autologous groups (54%). The primary outcome measured was postoperative complication, defined as requirement of a subsequent surgery or revision.

Results

Overall, there were no significant differences in age, sex, type of hostile setting, etiology of cranial defect, or side of the cranial defect between the 2 groups. Complication rate among the 2 graft groups was 18%. However, there were no significant differences in complications, defined as infection, failure or resorption of the graft, wound breakdown or necrosis, resulting bone defect, or hematoma, between the 2 populations. There was a significant difference in etiology between patients with complications, with patients who required a cranioplasty due to previous hemicraniectomy being nearly 5 times as likely to face a complication (P = 0.045).

Conclusions

In our study, there was no significant difference observed in complications between prosthetic and split-thickness autologous grafts in pediatric patients with hostile settings. It does, however, seem that patients who had a previous hemicraniectomy are more likely to face complications as a result of cranioplasty.
Spontaneous Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea in a Patient With Breast Cancer
Authors: Wang Min , Ye Huiping
Published: March 2023

Despite the well documented increased risk of osteopenia in patients with breast cancer during chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea (CSFR) is still rare. The authors present a case of spontaneous CSFR that occurred during chemotherapy and endocrine therapy for breast cancer. The patient underwent a repair using myofascia and adipose tissue and was started on mannitol. There was no recurrence at 1-year follow-up. Therefore, clinicians should pay attention to the possibility of CSFR in patients with breast cancer, to avoid misdiagnosis.
Automated acoustic detection of Geoffroy's spider monkey highlights tipping points of human disturbance
Authors: Lawson Jenna , Rizos George , Jasinghe Dui , Whitworth Andrew , Schuller Björn , Banks-Leite Cristina
Published: March 2023

As more land is altered by human activity and more species become at risk of extinction, it is essential that we understand the requirements for conserving threatened species across human-modified landscapes. Owing to their rarity and often sparse distributions, threatened species can be difficult to study and efficient methods to sample them across wide temporal and spatial scales have been lacking. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is increasingly recognized as an efficient method for collecting data on vocal species; however, the development of automated species detectors required to analyse large amounts of acoustic data is not keeping pace. Here, we collected 35 805 h of acoustic data across 341 sites in a region over 1000 km2to show that PAM, together with a newly developed automated detector, is able to successfully detect the endangered Geoffroy's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), allowing us to show that Geoffroy's spider monkey was absent below a threshold of 80% forest cover and within 1 km of primary paved roads and occurred equally in old growth and secondary forests. We discuss how this methodology circumvents many of the existing issues in traditional sampling methods and can be highly successful in the study of vocally rare or threatened species. Our results provide tools and knowledge for setting targets and developing conservation strategies for the protection of Geoffroy's spider monkey.