bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Direct and indirect effects of obesity on progression of carotid arterial injury in youth
Authors: Gao Zhiqian , Khoury Philip R. , Dolan Lawrence M. , Urbina Elaine M. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractObjectiveIncreased carotid intima‐media thickness (cIMT) is associated with cardiovascular (CV) events in adults and with elevated CV risk factors in youth. The aim of this study was to determine whether obesity has an direct or indirect association with cIMT.MethodsStructural equation modeling was used to elucidate pathways for obesity to change cIMT. Complete data were collected twice on 294 participants (mean age 17.5 years, 16% with type 2 diabetes). Latent baseline and follow‐up cIMT, BMI, and CV risk factors were analyzed with SAS 9.4. Model fit was assessed.ResultsThere were increases in BMI, mean arterial pressure (MAP), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, C‐reactive protein, and glucose and a decrease in insulin and glycosylated hemoglobin over 5 years (all p < 0.05). Only bulb (0.031 mm) and internal (0.027 mm) cIMT increased (all p < 0.001). Significant direct effects on cIMT change were baseline MAP (β 0.23), BMI z score (β 0.16), change in glucose (β 0.37), and age (β 0.37; all p < 0.05). Change in MAP showed a trend (β 0.14, p = 0.10). BMI also had a significant indirect effect (β 0.17), whereas non‐HDL demonstrated no significant effect.ConclusionsBaseline adiposity drives increasing blood pressure and glucose in high‐risk youth leading to accelerated accumulation of carotid arterial injury. Prevention of acquisition of obesity in youth is critical in slowing development of CV disease.
Structure‐Activity Relationship Studies of Hydantoin‐Cored Ligands for Smoothened Receptor
Authors: Liu Yang , Zhou Fang , Ding Kang , Xue Dongxiang , Zhu Zhihao , Li Cuixia , Li Fei , Xu Yueming , Xu Fei , Le Zhiping , Zhao Suwen , Tao Houchao 
Published: October 2021

AbstractAn underside binding site was recently identified in the transmembrane domain of smoothened receptor (SMO). Herein, we report efforts in the exploration of new insights into the interactions between the ligand and SMO. The hydantoin core in the middle of the parent compound was found to be highly conservative in chirality, ring size, and substituents. On each benzene at two ends, a plethora of variations, particularly halogen substitutions, were introduced and investigated. Analysis of the structure‐activity relationship revealed miscellaneous halogen effects. The ligands with double halogen substituents exhibit remarkably enhanced potency, providing promising candidates that potentially overcome the common drug resistance and useful heavy‐atom labeled chemical tools for co‐crystallization studies of SMO.
De‐internationalization through the lens of intellectual property rights
Authors: Mandrinos Symeon , Lim Weng Marc , Liew Constance Sat Lin 
Published: October 2021

AbstractMany studies have focused on internationalization, with few shedding light on de‐internationalization. In this article, we contended that de‐internationalization is common in a world of matured globalization, yet it remains underexplored. We sought to build on the seminal articles on de‐internationalization by extending our understanding of the concept from a voluntary to an involuntary perspective. In particular, we used intellectual property rights as an institutional coercive dimension and set theory as a discerning mechanism to enrich our understanding of de‐internationalization. Our article, which demonstrates the multi‐faceted conditions of de‐internationalization, should benefit formal institutions and policy makers in developing a greater understanding of the relationship between public policies and focal firms' decisions to de‐internationalize. We also hope that our article will contribute to greater visibility of de‐internationalization and make the concept more approachable to our international business audience.
Climate change reception studies in anthropology
Authors: de Wit Sara , Haines Sophie 
Published: October 2021

AbstractThe past decade has seen increased anthropological attention to understandings of climate change not only as a biophysical phenomenon but also as a discourse that is traveling from international policy making platforms to the rest of the planet. The analysis of the uptake of climate change discourse falls under the emergent subfield of climate change reception studies. A few anthropological investigations identify themselves explicitly as reception studies; others only mention the term with little explanation. Our review discusses a fuller range of anthropological studies and ethnographies from related disciplines that treat climate change as a discursive reality, which is not independent from how it is intimated through close observations of the environment. The following themes emerged: language and expertise; place and vulnerability; modernity, morality, and temporality; alterity and refusal. The review suggests that the interaction of observation and reception is still not well understood, and that there is scope for more systematic methodological and theoretical synthesis, taking lessons into account from geographies of reading and empirical hermeneutics. By exploring the hermeneutical problem of upholding scientific integrity while being open to other ways of knowing, climate change reception studies' emancipatory potential lie in opening up knowledge spaces for multi‐directional and democratic approaches to living (with) climate change. In closing, we propose an interdisciplinary research agenda highlighting the potential generativity of translation as an idiom for theory and praxis relating to how people come to know climate (change)—through both perceptual engagement with the natural world and interpretations of discursive manifestations.This article is categorized under:
Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Sociology/Anthropology of Climate Knowledge
Riboregulation in bacteria: From general principles to novel mechanisms of the trp attenuator and its sRNA and peptide products
Authors: Evguenieva‐Hackenberg Elena 
Published: October 2021

AbstractGene expression strategies ensuring bacterial survival and competitiveness rely on cis‐ and trans‐acting RNA‐regulators (riboregulators). Among the cis‐acting riboregulators are transcriptional and translational attenuators, and antisense RNAs (asRNAs). The trans‐acting riboregulators are small RNAs (sRNAs) that bind proteins or base pairs with other RNAs. This classification is artificial since some regulatory RNAs act both in cis and in trans, or function in addition as small mRNAs. A prominent example is the archetypical, ribosome‐dependent attenuator of tryptophan (Trp) biosynthesis genes. It responds by transcription attenuation to two signals, Trp availability and inhibition of translation, and gives rise to two trans‐acting products, the attenuator sRNA rnTrpL and the leader peptide peTrpL. In Escherichia coli, rnTrpL links Trp availability to initiation of chromosome replication and in Sinorhizobium meliloti, it coordinates regulation of split tryptophan biosynthesis operons. Furthermore, in S. meliloti, peTrpL is involved in mRNA destabilization in response to antibiotic exposure. It forms two types of asRNA‐containing, antibiotic‐dependent ribonucleoprotein complexes (ARNPs), one of them changing the target specificity of rnTrpL. The posttranscriptional role of peTrpL indicates two emerging paradigms: (1) sRNA reprograming by small molecules and (2) direct involvement of antibiotics in regulatory RNPs. They broaden our view on RNA‐based mechanisms and may inspire new approaches for studying, detecting, and using antibacterial compounds.This article is categorized under:
RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Small Molecule‐RNA Interactions
RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > RNA‐Protein Complexes
Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs
Non‐coding RNAs in malaria infection
Authors: Lodde Valeria , Floris Matteo , Muroni Maria Rosaria , Cucca Francesco , Idda Maria Laura 
Published: October 2021

AbstractMalaria is one of the most severe infectious diseases affecting humans and it is caused by protozoan pathogens of the species Plasmodium (spp.). The malaria parasite Plasmodium is characterized by a complex, multistage life cycle that requires tight gene regulation which allows for host invasion and defense against host immune responses. Unfortunately, the mechanisms regulating gene expression during Plasmodium infection remain largely elusive, though several lines of evidence implicate a major involvement of non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs). The ncRNAs have been found to play a key role in regulating transcriptional and post‐transcriptional events in a broad range of organisms including Plasmodium. In Plasmodium ncRNAs have been shown to regulate key events in the multistage life cycle and virulence ability. Here we review recent progress involving ncRNAs (microRNAs, long non‐coding RNAs, and circular RNAs) and their role as regulators of gene expression during Plasmodium infection in human hosts with focus on the possibility of using these molecules as biomarkers for monitoring disease status. We also discuss the surprising function of ncRNAs in mediating the complex interplay between parasite and human host and future perspectives of the field.This article is categorized under:
RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease
Mean-Field Analysis of Sourlas Codes with Adiabatic Reverse Annealing
Authors: Arai Shunta 
Published: October 2021

AbstractIn this chapter, we analyze the typical performance of adiabatic reverse annealing (ARA) for Sourlas codes. Sourlas codes are representative error-correcting codes related to p-body spin-glass models and have a first-order phase transition for $$p>2$$

p
>
2

, which degrades the estimation performance. In the ARA formulation, we introduce the initial Hamiltonian which incorporates the prior information of the solution into a vanilla quantum annealing (QA) formulation. The ground state of the initial Hamiltonian represents the initial candidate solution. To avoid the first-order phase transition, we apply ARA to Sourlas codes. We evaluate the typical ARA performance for Sourlas codes using the replica method. We show that ARA can avoid the first-order phase transition if we prepare for the proper initial candidate solution.
Structural and Functional Analysis of Proteins Using Rigidity Theory
Authors: Sljoka Adnan 
Published: October 2021

AbstractOver the past two decades, we have witnessed an unprecedented explosion in available biological data. In the age of big data, large biological datasets have created an urgent need for the development of bioinformatics methods and innovative fast algorithms. Bioinformatics tools can enable data-driven hypothesis and interpretation of complex biological data that can advance biological and medicinal knowledge discovery. Advances in structural biology and computational modelling have led to the characterization of atomistic structures of many biomolecular components of cells. Proteins in particular are the most fundamental biomolecules and the key constituent elements of all living organisms, as they are necessary for cellular functions. Proteins play crucial roles in immunity, catalysis, metabolism and the majority of biological processes, and hence there is significant interest to understand how these macromolecules carry out their complex functions. The mechanical heterogeneity of protein structures and a delicate mix of rigidity and flexibility, which dictates their dynamic nature, is linked to their highly diverse biological functions. Mathematical rigidity theory and related algorithms have opened up many exciting opportunities to accurately analyse protein dynamics and probe various biological enigmas at a molecular level. Importantly, rigidity theoretical algorithms and methods run in almost linear time complexity, which makes it suitable for high-throughput and big-data style analysis. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of protein flexibility and dynamics and review concepts in mathematical rigidity theory for analysing stability and the dynamics of protein structures. We then review some recent breakthrough studies, where we designed rigidity theory methods to understand complex biological events, such as allosteric communication, large-scale analysis of immune system antibody proteins, the highly complex dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins and the validation of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) solved protein structures.
Stream-Based Lossless Data Compression
Authors: Yamagiwa Shinichi 
Published: October 2021

AbstractIn this chapter, we introduce aspects of applying data-compression techniques. First, we study the background of recent communication data paths. The focus of this chapter is a fast lossless data-compression mechanism that handles data streams completely. A data stream comprises continuous data with no termination of the massive data generated by sources such as movies and sensors. In this chapter, we introduce LCA-SLT and LCA-DLT, which accept the data streams, as well as several implementations of these stream-based compression techniques. We also show optimization techniques for optimal implementation in hardware.
Information Processing on Compressed Data
Authors: Takabatake Yoshimasa , I Tomohiro , Sakamoto Hiroshi 
Published: October 2021

AbstractWe survey our recent work related to information processing on compressed strings. Note that a “string” here contains any fixed-length sequence of symbols and therefore includes not only ordinary text but also a wide range of data, such as pixel sequences and time-series data. Over the past two decades, a variety of algorithms and their applications have been proposed for compressed information processing. In this survey, we mainly focus on two problems: recompression and privacy-preserving computation over compressed strings. Recompression is a framework in which algorithms transform a given compressed data into another compressed format without decompression. Recent studies have shown that a higher compression ratio can be achieved at lower cost by using an appropriate recompression algorithm such as preprocessing. Furthermore, various privacy-preserving computation models have been proposed for information retrieval, similarity computation, and pattern mining.
The geometry of billiards in ellipses and their poncelet grids
Authors: Stachel Hellmuth 
Published: October 2021

AbstractThe goal of this paper is an analysis of the geometry of billiards in ellipses, based on properties of confocal central conics. The extended sides of the billiards meet at points which are located on confocal ellipses and hyperbolas. They define the associated Poncelet grid. If a billiard is periodic then it closes for any choice of the initial vertex on the ellipse. This gives rise to a continuous variation of billiards which is called billiard motion though it is neither a Euclidean nor a projective motion. The extension of this motion to the associated Poncelet grid leads to new insights and invariants.
Sexualverhalten und Prävention sexuell übertragbarer Infektionen unter Berücksichtigung der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie. Daten aus einem Versorgungszentrum für sexuelle Gesundheit und Medizin – WIR
Authors: Brockmeyer Norbert H. , Potthoff Anja , Knebel-Brockmeyer Wiltrud , Köhler Britta , Nambiar Sandeep , Wach Janet , Rodrigues Martins Tobias , Uhrmacher Mona , Schuppe Ann-Kathrin , Tiemann Carsten , Kasper Andre , Basilowski Miriam , Kayser Arne , Skaletz-Rorowski Adriane 
Published: October 2021

ZusammenfassungHintergrundAnwendungsbezogene Daten zu sexueller Gesundheit und sexuellem Verhalten in unterschiedlich sexuell aktiven Populationen stehen nur begrenzt zur Verfügung, sind aber für Präventions- und Versorgungsstrategien sehr relevant. Das multisektorale Versorgungszentrum WIR – Walk In Ruhr hat aufgrund seiner Besucher*innenstruktur Zugang zu Daten aus diversen Lebenswelten.Ziel der ArbeitAus verschiedenen WIR-internen Datenquellen sollen populationsbezogene Erkenntnisse zu Alter, Geschlecht, sexueller Orientierung, Sexual- und Risikoverhalten gewonnen und Bedarfe für Prävention abgeleitet werden. Einflüsse der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie auf das Sexualverhalten sollen durch den Vergleich verschiedener Zeiträume untersucht werden.MethodenAusgewertete Datenquellen sind der Onlinerisikotest für HIV und STI, die COWIR- und PrEP-Studie sowie die Immunologische Ambulanz und das Gesundheitsamt im WIR.ErgebnisSexuell übertragbare Infektionen (STI) sind von 2019 auf 2020 trotz Kontaktbeschränkungen gestiegen. Generell haben junge Menschen, Männer, die Sex mit Männern, und Frauen, die Sex mit Frauen haben, ein erhöhtes STI-Risiko aufgrund der gewählten Sexualpraktiken und der Anzahl sexueller Kontakte. Eine hohe Zahl bi- und transsexueller Kontakte ist festzustellen. SARS-CoV‑2 führte zu einer Reduzierung der Sexualkontakte. Sexualpraktiken wurden weiter gelebt. Die STI-Testquote und die Behandlungsrate stiegen an.DiskussionDie Daten aus dem WIR belegen, dass eine junge Klientel mit aktivem Sexualleben erreicht wird. Die Ergebnisse aus Fragebögen und dem Onlinerisikotest zeigen den Zusammenhang von erhöhten positiven STI-Tests mit Sexualverhalten und sexuellen Präferenzen, weshalb spezifische Strategien zu Sexualaufklärung, Prävention, Tests und Therapien erforderlich sind.
The AI gambit: leveraging artificial intelligence to combat climate change—opportunities, challenges, and recommendations
Authors: Cowls Josh , Tsamados Andreas , Taddeo Mariarosaria , Floridi Luciano 
Published: October 2021

AbstractIn this article, we analyse the role that artificial intelligence (AI) could play, and is playing, to combat global climate change. We identify two crucial opportunities that AI offers in this domain: it can help improve and expand current understanding of climate change, and it can contribute to combatting the climate crisis effectively. However, the development of AI also raises two sets of problems when considering climate change: the possible exacerbation of social and ethical challenges already associated with AI, and the contribution to climate change of the greenhouse gases emitted by training data and computation-intensive AI systems. We assess the carbon footprint of AI research, and the factors that influence AI’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in this domain. We find that the carbon footprint of AI research may be significant and highlight the need for more evidence concerning the trade-off between the GHG emissions generated by AI research and the energy and resource efficiency gains that AI can offer. In light of our analysis, we argue that leveraging the opportunities offered by AI for global climate change whilst limiting its risks is a gambit which requires responsive, evidence-based, and effective governance to become a winning strategy. We conclude by identifying the European Union as being especially well-placed to play a leading role in this policy response and provide 13 recommendations that are designed to identify and harness the opportunities of AI for combatting climate change, while reducing its impact on the environment.
Post-mortem computed tomography is a useful tool for determining the pulmonary ventilation status in newborns
Authors: Fischer Florian T. , Schwerer Michael , Lochner Stefanie , Maxien Daniel , Mück Fabian , Bechstein Laura , Wirth Stefan , Grimm Jochen 
Published: October 2021

Abstract
Introduction
Lung ventilation is a standard sign of life in newborns. Post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) is highly sensitive to the presence of gas in the body including the lungs. Current standard examinations to determine the pulmonary ventilation status in newborns are the flotation test and histology. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of PMCT with the flotation test for determining the lung ventilation status with histological control as reference standard. A cut-off value as CT number in Hounsfield Units (HU) determining lung ventilation of newborns in PMCT should be established.

Methods
A total of 38 infant lungs were examined of which 21 lungs were from infants deceased shortly after live birth (control group) and 17 lungs belonged to infants where live birth was in question (study group). All lungs were examined using PMCT, flotation test, and histological examination.

Results
The control group showed an overall mean attenuation ± standard deviation of −219 HU ± 135; the study group of 45 ± 15 HU in histologically nonventilated lungs versus −192 ± 207 HU; (p < 0.001) in ventilated lungs. The best cut-off value for optimal discrimination of ventilated and nonventilated lungs in newborns was −35 mean HU.

Conclusion
PMCT is equally well suited to determine lung ventilation as the flotation test. It provides additional information regarding pulmonary infiltration, degree of putrefaction, or signs of trauma (fractures, pneumothorax). Histology remains mandatory in ambiguous cases.
Inhibitors of class I HDACs and of FLT3 combine synergistically against leukemia cells with mutant FLT3
Authors: Wachholz Vanessa , Mustafa Al-Hassan M. , Zeyn Yanira , Henninger Sven J. , Beyer Mandy , Dzulko Melanie , Piée-Staffa Andrea , Brachetti Christina , Haehnel Patricia S. , Sellmer Andreas , Mahboobi Siavosh , Kindler Thomas , Brenner Walburgis , Nikolova Teodora , Krämer Oliver H. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) with mutations in the FMS-like tyrosine kinase (FLT3) is a clinically unresolved problem. AML cells frequently have a dysregulated expression and activity of epigenetic modulators of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) family. Therefore, we tested whether a combined inhibition of mutant FLT3 and class I HDACs is effective against AML cells. Low nanomolar doses of the FLT3 inhibitor (FLT3i) AC220 and an inhibition of class I HDACs with nanomolar concentrations of FK228 or micromolar doses of the HDAC3 specific agent RGFP966 synergistically induce apoptosis of AML cells that carry hyperactive FLT3 with an internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD). This does not occur in leukemic cells with wild-type FLT3 and without FLT3, suggesting a preferential toxicity of this combination against cells with mutant FLT3. Moreover, nanomolar doses of the new FLT3i marbotinib combine favorably with FK228 against leukemic cells with FLT3-ITD. The combinatorial treatments potentiated their suppressive effects on the tyrosine phosphorylation and stability of FLT3-ITD and its downstream signaling to the kinases ERK1/ERK2 and the inducible transcription factor STAT5. The beneficial pro-apoptotic effects of FLT3i and HDACi against leukemic cells with mutant FLT3 are associated with dose- and drug-dependent alterations of cell cycle distribution and DNA damage. This is linked to a modulation of the tumor-suppressive transcription factor p53 and its target cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. While HDACi induce p21, AC220 suppresses the expression of p53 and p21. Furthermore, we show that both FLT3-ITD and class I HDAC activity promote the expression of the checkpoint kinases CHK1 and WEE1, thymidylate synthase, and the DNA repair protein RAD51 in leukemic cells. A genetic depletion of HDAC3 attenuates the expression of such proteins. Thus, class I HDACs and hyperactive FLT3 appear to be valid targets in AML cells with mutant FLT3.