bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical utility of the pan-immune-inflammation value in breast cancer patients
Authors: Qi Xiaoyan , Qiao Boyang , Song Tingting , Huang Dan , Zhang Hui , Liu Yang , Jin Qi , Yang Ming , Liu Delong
Published: August 2023

Background

The newly discovered pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV) has been illustrated to have good prognostic value for cancer patient prognosis. However, the prognostic usefulness of PIV in breast cancer patients is unknown. As a result, to aid the clinic in providing a distinctive and trustworthy biomarker to better assess breast cancer patient’s prognosis, we conducted this meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between PIV and the survival of breast cancer patients.

Methods

We conducted a systematic search of Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and the CNKI databases to screen for eligible studies published up to April 2023. Outcomes included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and pathological complete response (pCR). The hazard ratio (HR) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were used as the indicators. STATA 15.0 software was used to perform meta-analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias analysis.

Results

A total of eight articles, involving 2953 patients, met the inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that patients with higher PIV levels had a significantly shorter OS (HR: 2.045, 95% CI: 1.355-3.086, P = 0.001) and PFS (HR: 1.466, 95% CI: 1.163-1.848, P = 0.001). Besides, the PIV value was negatively correlated with the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Sensitivity analysis showed that the results of this study were reliable and stable.

Conclusions

PIV has a good prognostic value in breast cancer patients and is expected to be a prognostic biomarker for breast cancer.
Cost-effectiveness analysis of zolbetuximab plus mFOLFOX6 as the first-line treatment for CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative advanced gastric or Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Huang Yufan , You Maojin , Wu Qundan , Chen Ruijia
Published: August 2023

Background: The SPOTLIGHT trial demonstrated that zolbetuximab plus mFOLFOX6 (ZOL-FO) as a first-line regimen compared with placebo plus mFOLFOX6 (PLB-FO) conferred clinical benefits to patients with CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma. However, due to the high cost of zolbetuximab, whether ZOL-FO is cost-effective compared with PLB-FO is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ZOL-FO as a first-line treatment option for CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative advanced G/GEJ adenocarcinoma from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system.

Methods: Markov models with three different health states were developed to assess the cost-effectiveness of ZOL-FO as a first-line treatment option for CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative advanced G/GEJ adenocarcinoma. Clinical efficacy data were obtained from the SPOTLIGHT trial; the drug’s cost was calculated at national bid prices, and other costs and utility values were obtained from the published literature. Outcomes included total costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). The model’s robustness was verified using one-way sensitivity and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

Results: The ZOL-FO group gained 1.64 QALYs at $87,746.35, while the PLB-FO group gained 1.23 QALYs at $11,947.81. The ICER for ZOL-FO versus PLB-FO was $185,353.28 per QALY gained. The parameters exerting an important impact on the model results were the price of zolbetuximab, body surface area, and progression-free survival utility. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of $38,201/QALY, ZOL-FO had a 0% probability of cost-effectiveness compared with PLB-FO.

Conclusion: From the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system, ZOL-FO is unlikely to be cost-effective as the first-line treatment option for CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative advanced G/GEJ adenocarcinoma.
Advances in CRISPR/Cas9-based research related to soybean [Glycine max (Linn.) Merr] molecular breeding
Authors: Yao Dan , Zhou Junming , Zhang Aijing , Wang Jiaxin , Liu Yixuan , Wang Lixue , Pi Wenxuan , Li Zihao , Yue Wenjun , Cai Jinliang , Liu Huijing , Hao Wenyuan , Qu Xiangchun
Published: August 2023

Soybean [Glycine max (Linn.) Merr] is a source of plant-based proteins and an essential oilseed crop and industrial raw material. The increase in the demand for soybeans due to societal changes has coincided with the increase in the breeding of soybean varieties with enhanced traits. Earlier gene editing technologies involved zinc finger nucleases and transcription activator-like effector nucleases, but the third-generation gene editing technology uses clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9). The rapid development of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has made it one of the most effective, straightforward, affordable, and user-friendly technologies for targeted gene editing. This review summarizes the application of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in soybean molecular breeding. More specifically, it provides an overview of the genes that have been targeted, the type of editing that occurs, the mechanism of action, and the efficiency of gene editing. Furthermore, suggestions for enhancing and accelerating the molecular breeding of novel soybean varieties with ideal traits (e.g., high yield, high quality, and durable disease resistance) are included.
Light-weights placed right: post-field constituents in heritage German
Authors: Tsehaye Wintai
Published: August 2023

This study focuses on the linearization of constituents at the right sentence periphery in German, specifically on non-clausal light-weight constituents (LWCs) in the post-field. Spoken and written productions of German heritage speakers (HSs) with English as their majority language (ML) and of monolingually-raised speakers (MSs) of German are analyzed in different registers. The right sentence periphery is an area comprising a lot of variation and it is therefore intriguing to see how the two speaker groups deal with the options available if faced with the same communicative tasks. The overall goal is to answer the question whether the production of post-field LWCs in German HSs and MSs can provide us with evidence for ongoing internal language change and for the role of language contact with English. The analyses show a similar variational spectrum of LWC types and frequencies across speaker groups but a different distributional variation. The results show effects of register-levelling in the HS group, as they do not differentiate between the formal and informal setting unlike the MS group. Therefore, rather than transfer from the ML, the source of differing distributional variation of LWCs lies in the diverging adherence to register norms due to different exposure conditions across speaker groups.
Spider vs. guns: expectancy and attention biases to phylogenetic threat do not extend to ontogenetic threat
Authors: Abado Elinor , Aue Tatjana , Okon-Singer Hadas
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Attention bias plays an important role in specific fears and phobias. Previous studies revealed that a-priori expectancies affect attention toward neutral stimuli but not threatening stimuli. The aim of the current study was to test whether this selective influence of expectancies on attention is specific to phylogenetic threat (i.e., spiders) or whether it can be generalized to ontogenetic threat (i.e., guns). Correspondingly, we directly compared expectancy effects on attentional allocation to phylogenetically vs. ontogenetically threatening stimuli.

Method

Expectancies were manipulated by presenting a cue indicating the likelihood of the appearance of a deviant picture in a visual search array. The array included eight distractors and one neutral (phone/bird) or threatening (gun/spider) deviant picture. In a comprehensive design, we examined the effects of stimulus type (phylogenetic/ontogenetic) and visual background (white and sterile/complex and ecological). Individual differences such as intolerance of uncertainty and spider fear were also measured.

Results

Results showed that attention bias toward spiders does not extend to threatening ontogenetic stimuli (i.e., guns). Our previous findings on attention bias toward spiders were replicated and a small to medium positive correlation was found between reaction time to bird targets and pre-existing fear of spider levels. Cues were used to detect threatening as well as neutral targets on both background types, except for spider targets on a complex background, replicating previous results. A small to medium positive correlation was also found between fear of spiders and intolerance of uncertainty.

Discussion

Together, these results suggest that expectancy and attentional processes may differ between ontogenetic and phylogenetic threat. Importantly, the effects of expectancy on attentional allocation depend on an interaction between the type of threat (ontogenetic/phylogenetic), visual factors, and individual differences.
Effects of executive functions on consecutive interpreting for Chinese-Japanese unbalanced bilinguals
Authors: Song Qichao , Song Ting , Fei Xiaodong
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Previous research on performance in interpreting has focused primarily on the influence of interpreting experience on executive functions, such as shifting, updating, and inhibition. However, limited research has explored the effects of executive functions on performance. Understanding how different executive functions affect interpreting performance can provide valuable insights for teaching methods. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the effects of executive functions on comprehension and output performance during bidirectional consecutive interpreting between Chinese and Japanese.

Methods

This study involved 48 Chinese advanced Japanese language learners. Self-assessment results indicated that all participants were unbalanced bilingual individuals. All participants took part in consecutive interpreting, completed comprehension tests, and underwent executive function tests. Executive functions were assessed using the color–shape switching task, 1–back task, and Stroop task.

Results

Analysis using Bayesian linear regression revealed the following. (1) Updating exhibited a significant impact on both Japanese-to-Chinese and Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting, indicating that higher updating ability was associated with better interpreting performance. (2) Inhibition showed a significant effect on Japanese-to-Chinese interpreting performance, whereas the effect was not significant in Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting. (3) No significant effects of shifting were observed in either Japanese-to-Chinese or Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting.

Discussion

The results indicate that executive functions have different effects on the interpreting performance of unbalanced bilinguals, while these effects are also influenced by the direction of the source language. Based on these findings, it is recommended that executive function training should be included in interpreter teaching and training programs, with a specific focus on the updating and inhibition functions.
Abnormal temporal variability of rich-club organization in three major psychiatric conditions
Authors: Niu Meng , Guo Hanning , Zhang Zhe , Fu Yu
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Convergent evidence has demonstrated a shared rich-club reorganization across multiple major psychiatric conditions. However, previous studies assessing altered functional couplings between rich-club regions have typically focused on the mean time series from entire functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning session, neglecting their time-varying properties.

Methods

In this study, we aim to explore the common and/or unique alterations in the temporal variability of rich-club organization among schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We employed a temporal rich-club (TRC) approach to quantitatively assess the propensity of well-connected nodes to form simultaneous and stable structures in a temporal network derived from resting-state fMRI data of 156 patients with major psychiatric disorders (SZ/BD/ADHD = 71/45/40) and 172 healthy controls. We executed the TRC workflow at both whole-brain and subnetwork scales across varying network sparsity, sliding window strategies, lengths and steps of sliding windows, and durations of TRC coefficients.

Results

The SZ and BD groups displayed significantly decreased TRC coefficients compared to corresponding HC groups at the whole-brain scale and in most subnetworks. In contrast, the ADHD group exhibited reduced TRC coefficients in longer durations, as opposed to shorter durations, which markedly differs from the SZ and BD groups. These findings reveal both transdiagnostic and illness-specific patterns in temporal variability of rich-club organization across SZ, BD, and ADHD.

Discussion

TRC may serve as an effective metric for detecting brain network disruptions in particular states, offering novel insights and potential biomarkers into the neurobiological basis underpinning the behavioral and cognitive deficits observed in these disorders.
Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders—importance of communication between physician and patient assessed in a cross-sectional cohort study
Authors: Goebel-Stengel Miriam , Paulsen Ute , Bennerscheidt Petra , Zipfel Stephan , Stengel Andreas
Published: August 2023

Functional gastrointestinal disorders are frequent diseases often associated with a pronounced burden reflected in a greatly reduced quality of life. Patients are seeking medical help but may be perceived as demanding and challenging. For successful diagnosis and treatment of these patients, a good doctor-patient communication is key. However, so far, only few studies focus on the physicians’ perspective of the doctor-patient communication. The present study cross-sectionally investigated 520 physicians using the validated difficult doctor-patient relationship questionnaire and the treatment satisfaction questionnaire from the physician’s perspective along with several ad hoc questions. Data from 5,354 physician-patient conversations (one conversation per patient) was included. Physicians participating in this study mostly suspected stress-related burdens as the cause of functional gastrointestinal disorders (65.4%), while patients rather suspected food (55.4%) or other somatic causes (43.6%). The physician-patient relationship was rated just below the threshold for difficult interactions (cut-off ≥30, mean ± SD in the current sample: 28.6 ± 9.6) with 49.1% of physicians reaching a score of ≥30. Although physicians overall felt confident in the doctor-patient communication even in difficult conversations (61.9%), only 33.1% reported to have enough time for these patients and only 5.6% felt sufficiently compensated for discussions with patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, education of physicians on functional gastrointestinal disorders, training of physicians in physician-patient communication as well as an improved reimbursement of speaking medicine should help to further improve care for these patients and also treatment satisfaction on both the side of the patients as well as the physicians.
Influence of medical humanization on patients’ attribution in negative medical situations with communication as the mediator: a questionnaire study
Authors: Wang Peijuan , Wang Yao , Wu Qing , Su Fan , Chang Xin
Published: August 2023

Background

Patients’ attribution in negative medical situations plays a vital role in reducing medical conflicts and developing high-quality healthcare. The purpose of this study was to investigate the triadic relations among patients’ attribution, medical humanization and communication. Furthermore, the mediating effect of communication was tested.

Methods

A cross-sectional study on the relationship between patients’ attribution in negative medical situations and medical staff’s humanization and communication was conducted, with 3,000 participants totally from 103 hospitals of three different levels in different regions.

Results

There were significant positive correlations among medical staff’s humanization, communication and patients’ attributional styles (r = 0.112–0.236, p < 0.001 for all). Medical humanization had direct predictive effects on patients’ attributional style in negative medical situations (β = 0.14, p < 0.01). Mediation analysis also indicated the indirect predictive effect of medical humanization on patients’ attributions through communication (β = 0.02, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Patients’ attribution in negative medical situations is predicted by patients’ perception of medical staff’s humanization in healthcare and physicians’ communication skills. Medical humanization not only affects patients’ attributions in negative situations directly, but also influences patients’ attributions via communication indirectly. The humanistic care should be included in medical education for healthcare professionals, and professional training on medical staff’s humanization and communication skills is strongly needed to establish healthy and harmonious doctor–patient relationship.
Cost-effectiveness analysis of first-line serplulimab combined with chemotherapy for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer
Authors: Liang Xueyan , Chen Xiaoyu , Li Huijuan , Li Yan
Published: August 2023

Background

For patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), serplulimab plus chemotherapy is beneficial as the first-line treatment. It is uncertain whether serplulimab plus chemotherapy will be more cost-effective. The aim of this study was to evaluate from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system to assess the cost-effectiveness of serplulimab plus chemotherapy for patients with ES-SCLC.

Materials and methods

This study employed a partitioned survival model. Patients in the model were selected from ASTRUM-005 for their clinical characteristics and outcomes. In order to assess the robustness of the model, we conducted deterministic one-way sensitivity analyzes as well as probabilistic sensitivity analyzes. Subgroup analyzes were also conducted. Costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), life-years, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), incremental net health benefits (INHB), and incremental net monetary benefits (INMB) were analyzed.

Results

Based on the base-case analysis, serplulimab plus chemotherapy contributed to an increase in 0.826 life-years and 0.436 QALYs; an incremental cost of $52,331, yielded ICER of $120,149/QALY. Based on the willingness to pay (WTP) threshold of $37,669/QALY and $86,569/QALY, the INHB was −0.954 QALYs and − 0.169 QALYs and the INMB was -$35,924 and -$14,626, respectively. Based on the probabilistic sensitivity analysis results, serplulimab plus chemotherapy was unlikely to be cost-effective at a WTP threshold of $37,669/QALY and $86,569/QALY. One-way sensitivity analysis indicated that cost of serplulimab and body weight had the greatest impact on the model. Serplulimab plus chemotherapy could be cost-effective at a WTP threshold of $86,569/QALY when the cost of serplulimab was less than $5.24/mg or when the weight of the patient was less than 40.96 kg. Regardless of the WTP threshold at $37,669/QALY or $86,569. Serplulimab plus chemotherapy was not cost-effective in all subgroups.

Conclusion

Serplulimab plus chemotherapy was not cost-effective, despite having a prior clinical benefical and a relative safety profile compared with chemotherapy. With the reduction in the price of serplulimab, ES-SCLC patients treated with serplulimab plus chemotherapy may be able to achieve a favorable cost-effectiveness rate.
High mortality rates among COVID-19 intensive care patients in Iraq: insights from a retrospective cohort study at Médecins Sans Frontières supported hospital in Baghdad
Authors: Malaeb Rami , Haider Amna , Abdulateef Mustafa , Hameed Mustafa , Daniel Uche , Kabilwa Gabriel , Seyni Ibrahim , Ahmadana Khalid E. , Zelikova Evgenia , Porten Klaudia , Godard Aurelie
Published: August 2023

Background

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the challenges of the healthcare system in Iraq, which has limited intensive care unit beds, medical personnel, and equipment, contributing to high infection rates and mortality. The main purpose of the study was to describe the clinical characteristics, the length of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay, and the mortality outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU during the first wave and two subsequent surges, spanning from September 2020 to October 2021, in addition to identify potential risk factors for ICU mortality.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from COVID-19 patients admitted to the COVID-19 ICU at Al-Kindi Ministry of Health hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, between September 2020 and October 2021.

Results

The study included 936 COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU at Al-Kindi Hospital. Results showed a high mortality rate throughout all waves, with 60% of deaths due to respiratory failure. Older age, male gender, pre-existing medical conditions, ICU procedures, and complications were associated with increased odds of ICU mortality. The study also found a decrease in the number of complications and ICU procedures between the first and subsequent waves. There was no significant difference in the length of hospital stay between patients admitted during different waves.

Conclusion

Despite improvements in critical care practices, the mortality rate did not significantly decrease during the second and third waves of the pandemic. The study highlights the challenges of high mortality rates among critical COVID-19 patients in low-resource settings and the importance of effective data collection to monitor clinical presentations and identify opportunities for improvement in ICU care.
Understanding professional development challenges of Chinese public health professionals: association and prediction analyses with data validity screening
Authors: Wang Yingchen , Kong Xiangran , Li Fang , Zhao Hongyan
Published: August 2023

Background

Little is known about the public health professionals engaged in educating and training new or future researchers in public health. Research in this direction identifies their issues, concerns, challenges, and needs. This study focused on the professional development challenges of Chinese public health professionals.

Methods

Snowball sampling was utilized. A total of 265 public health professionals participated. An instrument of 6 dimensions (burnout, sleep issue, mood issue, friends’ support, exercise, and challenges) was developed, revised, and administered online. Two different approaches, the conventional and data screening approaches, were applied. The former started with item quality analyses, whereas the latter began with data quality checks. The chi-square tests of associations and logistic regressions were performed on both approaches.

Results and discussion

19.25% of the participants were detected and deleted as careless respondents. Using both approaches, six professional development challenges except one (“Multidisciplinary learning”) were significantly associated with various demographic features. The two approaches produced different models though they converged sometimes. The latent variables of exercise predicted professional development challenges more frequently than other latent variables. Regarding correct classification rates, results from the data screening approach were comparable to those from the conventional approach.

Conclusion

The latent variables of exercise, such as “Exercise effects,” “Expectations of exercise,” and “Belief in exercise,” might be understudied. More research is necessary for professional development challenges using exercise as a multidimensional construct. Based on the current study, screening and deleting careless responses in survey research is necessary.
Viewpoint diversity in public health
Authors: VanderWeele Tyler J.
Published: August 2023

Schools of public health are often situated within universities but not infrequently also function as public health advocacy organizations. Viewpoint diversity on many issues is often limited within schools of public health and does not reflect the diversity one finds in society more generally. It is argued that welcoming, and even seeking out, viewpoint diversity within public health would contribute to understanding and knowledge, to the training public health leaders and academics who can serve the whole of society, and to working together across ideological lines to better contribute to population health.
Mobile robotics in smart farming: current trends and applications
Authors: Yépez-Ponce Darío Fernando , Salcedo José Vicente , Rosero-Montalvo Paúl D. , Sanchis Javier
Published: August 2023

In recent years, precision agriculture and smart farming have been deployed by leaps and bounds as arable land has become increasingly scarce. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), by the year 2050, farming in the world should grow by about one-third above current levels. Therefore, farmers have intensively used fertilizers to promote crop growth and yields, which has adversely affected the nutritional improvement of foodstuffs. To address challenges related to productivity, environmental impact, food safety, crop losses, and sustainability, mobile robots in agriculture have proliferated, integrating mainly path planning and crop information gathering processes. Current agricultural robotic systems are large in size and cost because they use a computer as a server and mobile robots as clients. This article reviews the use of mobile robotics in farming to reduce costs, reduce environmental impact, and optimize harvests. The current status of mobile robotics, the technologies employed, the algorithms applied, and the relevant results obtained in smart farming are established. Finally, challenges to be faced in new smart farming techniques are also presented: environmental conditions, implementation costs, technical requirements, process automation, connectivity, and processing potential. As part of the contributions of this article, it was possible to conclude that the leading technologies for the implementation of smart farming are as follows: the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile robotics, artificial intelligence, artificial vision, multi-objective control, and big data. One technological solution that could be implemented is developing a fully autonomous, low-cost agricultural mobile robotic system that does not depend on a server.
User elicited gesture-based locomotion techniques for immersive VEs in a seated position: a comparative evaluation
Authors: Ganapathi Priya , Sorathia Keyur
Published: August 2023

Locomotion is a fundamental task for exploring and interacting in virtual environments (VEs), and numerous locomotion techniques have been developed to improve the perceived realism and efficiency of movement in VEs. Gesture-based locomotion techniques have emerged as a more natural and intuitive mode of interaction than controller-based methods of travel in VEs. In this paper, we investigate the intuitiveness, comfort, ease of use, performance, presence, simulation sickness, and user preference of three user-elicited body-based gestures: the Calling gesture, Deictic Pointing gesture, and Mirror Leaning gesture. These gestures are intended to be used in three different seated multitasking scenarios involving virtual travel and various levels of hand engagement in selection. In the first study, participants compared the Calling gesture with the Tapping and Teleportation gestures for Scenario 1, which involved virtual travel only. The Calling gesture was found to be the most intuitive, with increased presence, while the Teleportation gesture was the preferred travel technique. The second study involved participants comparing the Deictic Pointing gesture with the Tapping and Teleportation gestures for Scenario 2, which involved virtual travel and one hand engaged in selection. The Deictic Pointing gesture was found to be more intuitive than the other gestures in terms of performance, comfort, ease of use, and presence. The third study introduced a new group of participants who compared the Mirror Leaning gesture with the Tapping and Teleportation gestures for Scenario 3, which involved virtual travel and both hands engaged in selection. The Mirror Leaning gesture was found to be the most intuitive, with increased presence and performance compared to the other gestures. We compared the gestures of the scenarios in three complementary search tasks: traveling in a straight-line path, moving in a directed path, and moving in an undirected path. We believe that the qualitative and quantitative measures obtained from our studies will help researchers and interaction design experts to design efficient and effective gesture-based locomotion techniques for traveling in a seated position in multitasking VEs.
Review and outlook of solar energetic particle measurements on multispacecraft missions
Authors: Reames Donald V.
Published: August 2023

The earliest evidence of spatial distributions of solar energetic particles (SEPs) compared events from many different source longitudes on the Sun, but the early Pioneers provided the first evidence of the large areas of equal SEP intensities across the magnetically confined “reservoirs” late in the events. More detailed measurements of the importance of self-generated waves and trapping structures around the shock waves that accelerate SEPs were obtained from the Helios mission plus IMP 8, especially during the year when the two Voyager spacecraft also happened by. The extent of the dozen widest SEP events in a solar cycle, which effectively wrap around the Sun, was revealed by the widely separated STEREO spacecraft with three-point intensities fit to Gaussians. Element abundances of the broadest SEP events favor average coronal element abundances with little evidence of heavy-element-enhanced “impulsive suprathermal” ions that often dominate the seed population of the shocks, even in extremely energetic local events. However, it is hard to define a distribution with two or three points. Advancing the physics of SEPs may require a return to the closer spacing of the Helios era with coverage mapped by a half-dozen spacecraft to help disentangle the distribution of the SEPs from the underlying structure of the magnetic field and the accelerating shock.
Impact of contrasting tillage, residue mulch and nitrogen management on soil quality and system productivity under maize-wheat rotation in the north-western Indo-Gangetic Plains
Authors: Adak Sujan , Bandyopadhyay Kalikinkar , Purakayastha Tapan Jyoti , Sen Suman , Sahoo Rabi Narayan , Shrivastava Manoj , Krishnan Prameela
Published: August 2023

The sustainability of dominant rice-wheat rotation is under threat due to numerous water-, nutrients-, weeds- and environment-related problems, mainly, due to rice cultivation in north-western Indo-Gangetic Plains (NWIGP) of India. It needs crop- and soil- appropriate management techniques with a focus on conservation agriculture (CA) that can maintain soil health which in turn is essential for long-term sustainability of intensive cereal-based systems. Thus, rice-wheat rotation may be diversified with maize as feasible substitute for rice. But, there is a dearth of comprehensive investigation on the impact of short-term CA in maize-wheat rotation, on soil quality. Hence, an attempt has been made to assess the system productivity (SP) and soil quality in a four-year-old CA-based maize-wheat rotation. Contrasting tillage as the main plot [Conventional tillage (CT), No–tillage (NT)], crop residue mulch as subplot [residue mulch (M+), no residue (M0)], and nitrogen [50 (N1), 100 (N2), 150% (N3) of recommended nitrogen dose] as sub-sub plot was laid out in split-split plot design. Soils sampled from 0–0.05, 0.05– 0.15, and 0.15–0.30 m soil layers were examined to develop a unified soil quality index (SQI) through principal component analysis (PCA) and expert opinion. The available K, P, total organic carbon (TOC), EC, bulk density (BD), dehydrogenase activity (DHA), and soil microbial biomass C (SMBC) were identified as the crucial minimum data set for SQI using PCA. Results showed that, NT and M+ plots had 10.52 and 17.39% higher mean weight diameter (MWD) than CT and M0, respectively at 0–0.05 m soil depth. NT and M+ plots increased TOC by 5.26 and 8% than CT and M0 plots, respectively in 0–0.05 m soil layer. Available K and P were found to be significantly higher in M+ plots than that of M0. NTM+ treatments improved SMBC and DHA than CTM0 treatments. The highest and lowest SQI was registered with NTM + N3 and CTM0N1, respectively. SP was significantly and positively correlated with SQI. Diversification of rice-wheat system with maize-wheat rotation following CA practices appears to have a positive impact on soil health. Therefore, CA-based maize-wheat rotation may be recommended to improve soil quality and system productivity in NWIGP region.
Socio-economic futures for cellular agriculture: the development of a novel framework
Authors: Glaros Alesandros , Newell Robert , Fraser Evan , Newman Lenore Lauri
Published: August 2023

Novel agri-food technologies such as cellular agriculture present strong economic opportunities, with potential to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture, improve animal welfare, and feed the world. A rich body of literature has emerged in the past five years that evaluates those claims, and illuminates the diverse food system futures framed by novel agri-food technology actors across the food system. To date, those characterizations of food system futures rely mainly on public data, such as technology advertisements and press releases, and have yet to engage deeply with a broader suite of social, economic, and material pathways for their emergence. The need for a robust social scientific framework through which to describe and evaluate concrete futures for novel food technologies such as cellular agriculture is needed. In this paper, we draw from a set of fifty-two interviews and 3 focus groups with key cellular agriculture stakeholders from industry, academia, investment, and research institutions. We found three key considerations for cellular agriculture futures: to understand the places and scales across which cellular agriculture ‘happens’, to balance competitive industry interests with public-private collaboration, and to navigate the extent to which cellular agriculture interfaces with traditional agriculture. From these considerations, we draw from the literature to deduce three dimensions across which to describe and evaluate concrete futures for novel agri-food technologies, broadly: centralization, access, and integration. Plotting food system futures across these three variables illuminates assumptions, preconceptions, and enabling conditions that may engender more or less desirable futures.
Ownership of dogs and cats leads to higher levels of well-being and general trust through family involvement in late adolescence
Authors: Koyasu Hikari , Ogasawara Sakura , Kikusui Takefumi , Nagasawa Miho
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Late adolescence is a crucial period during which individuals connect with new communities. Furthermore, their mental health has lasting effects on their overall well-being. Involvement with family and the local community plays a significant role in shaping adolescents’ personalities and well-being. Additionally, pets, such as dogs and cats, function as social catalysts and increase interactions with family and the local community. We hypothesized that pet ownership would increase involvement with family and the local community and thereby impact adolescents’ personalities and well-being.

Methods

Therefore, this study investigated whether owning dogs or cats was related to well-being through increased involvement with family and local community members in late adolescence. Data were collected via a questionnaire administered to high school and university students. The questionnaire included questions on basic information about adolescents and their families, pet ownership experience, family and local community involvement, well-being, cultural estrangement inventory, and general trust.

Results

Structural equation modeling revealed that adolescent women who owned dogs or cats had higher well-being and general trust through their involvement with their families. Although previous research reported that men who had experienced pet ownership in childhood were more sociable in old age, the effect of pet ownership on men was not observed in this study.

Discussion

During late adolescence, when individuals experience many connections with new communities, the effects of pets may temporarily decrease. Therefore, future cohort studies should examine the effects of pets on each age group.
Approach to the canine coxofemoral joint using an osteotomy of the deep gluteal muscle insertion for total hip replacements
Authors: Tardiani Lauren , Goldsmid Sarah , Lanz Otto
Published: August 2023

Canine total hip replacements (THR) are commonly performed using a craniolateral approach to the craniodorsal aspect of the hip which traditionally involves a partial deep gluteal tendon tenotomy (DGT). Performing an osteotomy of the insertion of the deep gluteal tendon has been utilized by some surgeons. Utilizing bone healing over tendon healing aims to improve post operative hip stability. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first published description of the novel deep gluteal osteotomy (DGO) approach. It differs from a greater trochanteric osteotomy as the latter involves an osteotomy of both the deep and middle gluteal insertions. DGT and the novel DGO approach were performed in ten medium to large breed cadavers on contralateral limbs. The surface area of acetabular exposure was measured in contralateral limbs following the approaches and the iatrogenic damage to the deep gluteal, middle gluteal and vastus lateralis muscles following femoral reaming was visually graded (none, mild, moderate or severe) based on muscle proportion damaged. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.8223) between the surface area of acetabular cartilage exposed by each approach with the mean surface area for the DGO approach being 2.99 cm2, whilst the mean surface area for the DGT was 2.97 cm2. In 80% of cadavers, the DGO approach achieved lower muscle damage following retraction and femoral reaming compared to the DGT approach for the middle gluteal and deep gluteal muscles (p = 0.0073). In all cadavers, overall muscle damage was lower for the DGO approach compared to the DGT approach (p = <0.001). There was no difference in vastus lateralis damage between procedures. The DGO approach may be a reasonable alternative to the DGT for approaching the hip joint and femur for Zurich THR as it provides similar exposure to the acetabulum with less muscle damage. It relies on more reliable osseous healing compared to tendon healing. Reduced muscle damage may be important for postoperative hip stability following THR. Further studies are required to biomechanically assess the strength of DGO repair compared to DGT repair as well as a case series documenting clinical outcomes.
First detection and molecular characterization of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) in Algeria
Authors: Sahraoui Lynda , Lahouassa Hichem , Maziz-Bettahar Samia , Lopes Ana M. , Almeida Tereza , Ainbaziz Hacina , Abrantes Joana
Published: August 2023

Since the first detection of rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD), the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) has been responsible for high morbidity and mortality worldwide, both in domestic and in wild rabbits. Despite the apparent control of RHD in rabbitries through vaccination, several studies highlighted the rapid evolution of RHDV by recombination, which may facilitate the emergence of new pathogenic strains. The aim of this study was to confirm the presence and characterize RHDV in Algeria. For this, rabbit samples were collected in the north of Algeria, between 2018 and 2021, from small farms where the virus was suspected after the sudden death of a high number of rabbits, and from healthy hunted wild rabbits. The domestic rabbits revealed clinical signs and lesions that were suggestive of RHD. RT-PCR showed that 79.31% of the domestic rabbit samples were positive for RHDV, while in 20.69%, including the hunted rabbits, the virus was not detected. Phylogenetic analysis of the Algerian strains allowed the confirmation and identification as GI.2 (RHDV2), and showed a close relation to GI.3P-GI.2 recombinant strains, suggesting a potential introduction from other countries, with an older strain potentially originated from neighboring Tunisia, while more recent isolates grouped with strains from North America. Our study reports for the first time the presence of GI.2 (RHDV2) in Algeria with multiple routes of introduction. Consequently, we propose that RHDV control in Algeria should be based on epidemiological surveys in association with an adequate prophylactic program.
Panobinostat-loaded folate targeted liposomes as a promising drug delivery system for treatment of canine B-cell lymphoma
Authors: André Ana S. , Dias Joana N. R. , Aguiar Sandra I. , Leonardo Ana , Nogueira Sara , Amaral Joana D. , Fernandes Célia , Gano Lurdes , Correia João D. G. , Cavaco Marco , Neves Vera , Correia Jorge , Castanho Miguel , Rodrigues Cecília M. P. , Gaspar Maria Manuela , Tavares Luís , Aires-da-Silva Frederico
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Cancer is a major public health problem with over 19 million cases reported in 2020. Similarly to humans, dogs are also largely affected by cancer, with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) among the most common cancers in both species. Comparative medicine has the potential to accelerate the development of new therapeutic options in oncology by leveraging commonalities between diseases affecting both humans and animals. Within this context, in the present study, we investigated the potential of panobinostat (Pan)-loaded folate-targeted PEGylated liposomes (FA-PEG-Pan-Lip) for the treatment of canine B-cell lymphoma, while contributing to new perspectives in comparative oncology.

Methods and results

Two formulations were developed, namely: PEG-Pan-Lip and FA-PEG-Pan-Lip. Firstly, folate receptor expression in the CLBL-1 canine B-cell lymphoma cell line was assessed. After confirming receptor expression, both Pan-loaded formulations (PEG-Pan-Lip, FA-PEG-Pan-Lip) demonstrated dose-dependent inhibitory effects on CLBL-1 cell proliferation. The FA-PEG-Pan-Lip formulation (IC50 = 10.9 ± 0.03 nM) showed higher cytotoxicity than the non-targeted PEG-Pan-Lip formulation (IC50 = 12.9 ± 0.03 nM) and the free panobinostat (Pan) compound (IC50 = 18.32±0.03 nM). Moreover, mechanistically, both Pan-containing formulations induced acetylation of H3 histone and apoptosis. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence analysis of intracellular uptake of rhodamine-labeled liposome formulations in CLBL-1 cells confirmed cellular internalization of PEG-Lip and FA-PEG-Lip formulations and higher uptake profile for the latter. Biodistribution studies of both radiolabeled formulations in CD1 and SCID mice revealed a rapid clearance from the major organs and a 1.6-fold enhancement of tumor uptake at 24 h for 111In-FA-PEG-Pan-Lip (2.2 ± 0.1 %ID/g of tumor) compared to 111In-PEG-Pan-Lip formulation (1.2±0.2 %ID/g of tumor).

Discussion

In summary, our results provide new data validating Pan-loaded folate liposomes as a promising targeted drug delivery system for the treatment of canine B-cell lymphoma and open innovative perspectives for comparative oncology.
A Novel Low-Complexity Cascaded Model Predictive Control Method for PMSM
Authors: Meng Qingcheng , Bao Guangqing
Published: August 2023

A novel low-complexity cascaded model predictive control method for permanent magnet synchronous motors is proposed to achieve a fast dynamic response to ensure the system’s steady-state performance. Firstly, a predictive speed controller based on an extended state observer is designed in the outer speed loop to improve the anti-interference ability of the system; then, a low-complexity three-vector predictive control algorithm is adopted in the current inner loop, taking into account the steady-state performance of the system and lower computational burden. Finally, a comparative analysis is conducted between the proposed method and traditional methods through simulation and experiments, proving that the proposed method performs well in dynamic and static performance. On this basis, the computational complexity of the current inner loop three-vector prediction algorithm is effectively reduced, indicating the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Examining the Potential of Generative Language Models for Aviation Safety Analysis: Case Study and Insights Using the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS)
Authors: Tikayat Ray Archana , Bhat Anirudh Prabhakara , White Ryan T. , Nguyen Van Minh , Pinon Fischer Olivia J. , Mavris Dimitri N.
Published: August 2023

This research investigates the potential application of generative language models, especially ChatGPT, in aviation safety analysis as a means to enhance the efficiency of safety analyses and accelerate the time it takes to process incident reports. In particular, ChatGPT was leveraged to generate incident synopses from narratives, which were subsequently compared with ground-truth synopses from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) dataset. The comparison was facilitated by using embeddings from Large Language Models (LLMs), with aeroBERT demonstrating the highest similarity due to its aerospace-specific fine-tuning. A positive correlation was observed between the synopsis length and its cosine similarity. In a subsequent phase, human factors issues involved in incidents, as identified by ChatGPT, were compared to human factors issues identified by safety analysts. The precision was found to be 0.61, with ChatGPT demonstrating a cautious approach toward attributing human factors issues. Finally, the model was utilized to execute an evaluation of accountability. As no dedicated ground-truth column existed for this task, a manual evaluation was conducted to compare the quality of outputs provided by ChatGPT to the ground truths provided by safety analysts. This study discusses the advantages and pitfalls of generative language models in the context of aviation safety analysis and proposes a human-in-the-loop system to ensure responsible and effective utilization of such models, leading to continuous improvement and fostering a collaborative approach in the aviation safety domain.