bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development and Validation of Assessments of Adolescent Health Literacy: A Rasch Measurement Model Approach
Authors: Fleary Sasha A. , Freund Karen M. , Nigg Claudio 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
BackgroundHealth literacy (HL) is implicated in improved health decision-making and health promotion, and reduced racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities. Three major areas of HL include functional, interactive, and critical HL. HL skills develop throughout the lifespan as individuals’ psychosocial and cognitive capacities develop and as they accumulate experiences with navigating health systems. Though adolescence is marked by increased involvement in health decision-making, most HL studies and measures of HL have focused on adults. Both the adult and adolescent HL literature are also limited by the paucity of validated test-based measures for assessing HL. The existing test-based validated HL measures for adolescents were originally designed for adults. However, adolescents are at an earlier phase of developing their HL skills (e.g., fewer experiences navigating the health system) compared to adults and measures originally designed for adults may assume prior knowledge that adolescents may lack therein underestimating adolescents’ HL. This study developed and validated test-based assessments of adolescents’ functional, interactive, and critical HL.MethodsItems were generated in an iterative process: focus groups with adolescents to inform item content, cognitive interviews with adolescents and expert consultation established content and face validity of the initial items, items were revised or removed where indicated. High school students (n=355) completed a measurement battery including the revised HL items. The items were evaluated and validated using Rasch measurement models. ResultsThe final 6-item functional, 10-item interactive, and 7-item critical HL assessments and their composite (23 items) fit their respective Rasch models. Item-level invariance was established for gender (male vs. female), age (12-15-year-olds vs. 16-18-year-olds), and ethnicity in all assessments. The assessments had good convergent validity with an established measure of functional HL and scores on the assessments were positively related to reading instructions before taking medicine and questioning the truthfulness of information found online. ConclusionsThese assessments are the first test-based measures of adolescents’ interactive and critical HL, the first test-based measure of functional HL designed for adolescents, and first composite test-based assessment of all three major areas of HL. These assessments should be used to inform strategies for improving adolescents’ HL, decision-making, and behaviors.
Population-Based Tract-To-Region Connectome of the Human Brain and Its Hierarchical Topology
Authors: Yeh Fang-Cheng 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Connectome maps region-to-region connectivities but does not inform which white matter pathways form the connections. Here we constructed the first population-based tract-to-region connectome to fill this information gap. The constructed connectome quantifies the population probability of a white matter tract innervating a cortical region. The results show that ~85% of the tract-to-region connectome entries are consistent across individuals, whereas the remaining (~15%) have substantial individual differences requiring individualized mapping. Further hierarchical clustering on cortical regions revealed their parcellations into dorsal, ventral, and limbic networks based on the tract-to-region connective patterns. The clustering results on white matter bundles revealed the connectome-based categorization of fiber bundle systems in the association pathways. This new tract-to-region connectome provides insights into the connective topology between cortical regions and white matter bundles. The derived hierarchical relation further offers a connectome-based categorization of gray matter and white matter structures.
Stable Single-mode 20-channel Uniform Buried Grating DFB QCL Array Emitting at ~8.3 μm
Authors: Ye Fan , Cheng Fengmin , Jia Zhiwei , Zhang JinChuan , Zhuo Ning , Liu Fengqi , Shi Yi 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
A 20-channel distributed feedback (DFB) quantum cascade laser (QCL) arrays based on uniform buried grating have been demonstrated. In pulsed mode, peak power reaches 80 mW and slope efficiency reaches 167 mW/A for 2.5-mm-long laser in the arrays at room temperature. The loss difference of two band-edge mode increases when reflectivity of the front facet becomes small, which prevents the mode hopping. The device shows linear tuning after the anti-reflectivity coating is deposited in the front facet, maintaining peak power of 64 mW. The whole chip covers a tuning range of 64 cm-1, centering at 8.3 μm, with side-mode-suppression-ratio over 20 dB at room temperature.
CircKIF4A Enhances Osteosarcoma Proliferation And Metastasis By Sponging MiR-515-5p And Upregulating SLC7A11
Authors: He Pan , Liu Feng , Wang Zhijun , Gong Haoli , Zhang Meilan , Jia Zhen , Zhai Xiaohui 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are forms of non-coding RNAs that have crucial roles in regulation of various biological processes of several malignant tumors. circKIF4A is closely associated with malignant progression of a variety of cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms as well as roles of circKIF4A in osteosarcoma (OS) have not yet been clearly elucidated.
Methods

We evaluated the expression of circKIF4A in OS. Colony-formation, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell and mice metastasis model assays were done to explore the roles of circKIF4A in vitro and in vivo. TargetScan database, double luciferase, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis (RT-qPCR), and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were done to investigate the associated molecular mechanisms.
Results

In both OS cells and tissues, circKIF4A (hsa_circ_0007255) was found to be upregulated. In vitro and in vivo, circKIF4A knockdown markedly suppressed OS proliferation as well as metastasis. circKIF4A enhanced OS growth as well as metastasis by sponging miR-515-5p and by upregulating SLC7A11.
Conclusions

We identified the biological significance of the circKIF4A-miR-515-5p-SLC7A11 axis in OS cell proliferation and metastasis, which is important in OS monitoring and treatment. More studies on circKIF4A will inform on the diagnostic markers for early OS screening.
Quantitative Study of Alpha-Synuclein Prion-Like Spreading in Fully Oriented Reconstructed Neural Networks Reveals Non-synaptic Dissemination of Seeding Aggregates
Authors: COURTE Josquin , LE Ngoc Anh , BOUSSET Luc , MELKI Ronald , VILLARD Catherine , Peyrin Jean-Michel 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background: The trans-neuronal spread of protein aggregation in a prion-like manner underlies the progression of neuronal lesions in the brain of patients with synucleinopathies such as Parkinson’s disease. Despite being studied actively, the mechanisms of alpha-synuclein (aSyn) aggregates propagation remain poorly understood. Indeed, in vivo models of aSyn prion-like propagation yield results whose interpretation is hindered by the complexity of brain networks, and in vitro models have for now failed to properly model trans-neuronal propagation in synaptically connected neural networks.Results: To assess the role of synaptic structures and neuron characteristics in the transfer efficiency of aggregates with seeding propensity, we developed a novel microfluidic neuronal culture system. This system is the first to guide in vitro the development of fully oriented, synaptically connected and fluidically isolated neural networks. It thus uniquely permitted us to model the trans-neuronal propagation of aggregation: we selectively exposed the presynaptic compartment of reconstructed networks to well characterized human aSyn aggregates differing in size (Fibrils and Oligomers), and quantitatively followed their dissemination to postsynaptic neurons. Both aggregates were anterogradely transferred to through active axonal transport, albeit with poor efficiency. By manipulating network maturity, we compared the transfer rate of aggregates in networks with distinct levels of synaptic connectivity. Surprisingly, we found that transfer efficiency was lower in mature networks with higher synaptic connectivity. We then investigated the seeding efficiency of endogenous aSyn in the postsynaptic population. We found that exposure to Fibrils, and not Oligomers, resulted in low efficiency trans-neuronal seeding which was restricted to postsynaptic axons. Finally, we assessed the impact of neuron characteristics and aSyn expression on the propagation of aSyn aggregates, and found that while endogenous aSyn expression level controlled the seeding of aSyn aggregation, it did not affect the transfer rate of exogenous aggregates. Conclusion: Overall, we describe here the first culture system for reconstructing in vitro fully oriented and synaptically connected neural networks, and demonstrate it is uniquely suitable to quantitatively interrogate original aspects of the trans-neuronal propagation of prion-like aggregates.
Direct and Indirect Effects on Soil Nematode Communities Differ Between Facilitative and Allelopathic Plants
Authors: Song Hongxian , Liu Ziyang , Chen Jingwei , Xiao Sa , Cui Hanwen , Yang Xiaoli , Wang Yajun , Wang Jiajia , Liu Kun , Chen Shuyan , An Lizhe , Nielsen Uffe N 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Plants are expected to affect soil nematode communities. However, comparative studies on the direct and indirect ways dominant plants influence soil nematode communities are rare. In this study, we compared the effects of a dominant allelopathic plant, Ligularia virgaurea, and a dominant facilitative plant, Dasiphora fruticosa, on soil nematode richness and community composition in an alpine meadow of the Tibetan plateau. Our result indicated that 1) D. fruticosa significantly increased nematode richness whereas L. virgaurea had no significant effect; 2) D. fruticosa had no significant impact on bacterial and fungal richness, but L. virgaurea increased fungal richness; 3) D. fruticosa had strong positive direct, and weak positive indirect, effects on nematode richness, mainly mediated by a marginal decrease in fungal richness. By contrast, L. virgaurea had no significant direct effect on soil nematode richness but had strong indirect effects, mainly mediated by changes in soil pH and soil organic carbon content; 4) L. virgaurea influenced soil nematode community composition predominantly through direct effects but also indirectly through soil organic carbon. By contrast, D. fruticosa affected nematode communities through changes in understory plant communities, soil physiochemical, and microbial communities. Both facilitative and allelopathic plants thus influence soil nematode richness and community composition but seemingly in different ways. These highlight the importance of plants in determining soil community diversity and provide new insight to disentangle the complex above- and belowground linkages.
Can the Brain Use Waves to Solve Planning Problems?
Authors: Powell Henry , Winkel Mathias , Hopp Alexander V. , Linde Helmut 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
A variety of behaviors like spatial navigation or bodily motion can be formulated as graph traversal problems through cognitive maps.
We present a neural network model which can solve such tasks and is compatible with a broad range of empirical findings about the mammalian neocortex and hippocampus.
The neurons and synaptic connections in the model represent structures that can result from self-organization into a cognitive map via Hebbian learning, i.e. into a graph in which each neuron represents a point of some abstract task-relevant manifold and the recurrent connections encode a distance metric on the manifold.
Graph traversal problems are solved by wave-like activation patterns which travel through the recurrent network and guide a localized peak of activity onto a path from some starting position to a target state.
Variability of The Minimum Temperature Over Two Centuries In The Overlap Region Between The Fringe of The Asian Westerly Region and The Temperate Continental-Monsoon Climate Transition Zone
Authors: Sun Bolin , Ma Long , Liu Tingxi , Huang Xing 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The overlap region between the eastern fringe of the Asian westerly region and the temperate continental-monsoon climate transition zone is sensitive to climate changes and is characterized by fragile ecosystems. It is necessary to uncover the patterns of long-term historical climate variability there. A standardized tree-ring width chronology was constructed based on the tree-ring samples collected from four representative tree species in four typical areas in the overlap region, and the 203- to 343-year annual mean minimum temperature series in the overlap region were reconstructed. The reconstructed series overlapped well with extreme climate events and low-temperature periods recorded in historical data. Therefore, the reconstructed model is stable and reliable. As suggested by the reconstructed series, the variability of annual mean minimum temperature was increasingly drastic from east to west in the overlap region, with gradually shorter periodicities. In the 19th century, the high-latitude area was in the high-temperature period, and the entire overlap region experienced significant low-temperature periods lasting 20–45 years till the 1950s. The western part had an earlier start time of low-temperature periods, longer cooling duration, and slower cooling rate than the central part. The overlap region experienced a significant warming period in approximately the last half-century, with temperature increasing faster in the western and eastern parts than in the central part. The temperature variability in the overlap region was more intense in the last two centuries, with shorter periodicities and a larger proportion of cold periods. The central and western parts of the Asian westerly region, the mid- to high-latitude regions of the transition zone, and the overlap region saw significantly low-temperature periods or drastic cooling trends (the Little Ice Age) in the first half of the 19th century and significant warming trends under global warming afterwards. The influences of these changes might have been exacerbated by the westerly circulation. This study not only provides new insight into the use of dendroclimatology to extract temperature series in the Asian westerly region and the transition zone but also serves as a reference for research on global climate change.
Different Relationships of Fine Root Traits With Root Ammonium and Nitrate Uptake Rates in Conifer Forests
Authors: Ito Takumi , Tanaka-Oda Ayumi , Masumoto Taiga , Akatsuki Maiko , Makita Naoki 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Purpose: Nitrogen (N) uptake by fine roots of trees is important for understanding the root physiological function in forest ecosystems, but a direct investigation of in situ rate of ammonium and nitrate uptake is limited. Thus, we aimed to clarify the inorganic N uptake rates among tree species and to determine the factors controlling N uptake through relationships with fine root traits in cool temperate forests.Methods: Using a solution depletion method for measuring N uptake, we observed the relationship of N uptake rate in the form of NH4+ and NO3– by an intact root system with root morphological traits, such as root diameter, specific root length (SRL), and root tissue density (RTD), and chemical traits, including root nitrogen (N) content. Results: The coniferous roots in this study preferred NH4+ form more than NO3– form. Across species, there were significant relationships between NH4+ uptake and diameter, SRL, and RTD, while these were significant only for RTD in NO3– form. Relationships between N uptake rates and root morphological traits differed between NH4+ and NO3–. Conclusions: We found that the relationship of inorganic N uptake with the morphological traits depends on the characteristics of the N form adsorbed through soil and tree N assimilation efficiency. An approach on the relationships of in situ N uptake with root traits will provide a breakthrough in our understanding of the root physiological function and the prediction of fundamental N acquisition strategies.
Adherence to Diabetes Self-Management and the Associated Factors among Type 1 Diabetic Adolescents Attending Outpatient Diabetic Clinic at Public Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021
Authors: Geneti Yomilan , Wondwossen Kalkidan , Adimasu Mekonen , Deressa Dereje , Aga Fekadu , Lami Magarsa , Abdisa Lemesa , Sori Seboka Abebe , Dinku Hirut 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Objectives

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of adherence to diabetes self-management and associated factors among type 1 diabetic adolescents attending outpatient diabetic clinics at Public Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 422 adolescents with type 1 diabetes attending outpatient diabetic clinics at four randomly selected public hospitals in Addis Ababa. The adolescents were interviewed using pretested questionnaires to give information on socio-demographic characteristics, medical factors, knowledge about type 1 diabetes, adherence to diabetes self-management, self-efficacy, and social support related to type 1 diabetes. A variable that has a P-value of <0.2 in bi-variable logistic regression analysis was subjected to multivariable logistic regression analysis to control the confounding factors. The level of significance was pronounced at P-value <0.05.
Results

In this study, a total of 414 diabetic adolescents were interviewed making a 98.1% response rate. About 218 participants (52.7%) had poor adherence to overall diabetes self-management. Self-efficacy (AOR=8.7, 95% CI:1.9-14.1, P=0.005), social support (AOR=4.6, 95%CI:1.5-13.5, P=0.006), age (AOR=0.2, 95%CI:0.1-0.4, P=0.001), good knowledge of the disease (AOR=9.046, 95%CI:3.83-13.5, P=0.000), moderate knowledge (AOR=6.763, 95%CI:2.18-12.921, P=0.001), and time since diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (AOR=0.1, 95%CI:0.02-0.2, P=0.005) were significantly associated with adherence to diabetes self-management.
Conclusions and Recommendations:

More than half of this population had poor adherence. The finding suggested that implementing a comprehensive guideline of adherence and expanding the recurrence of follow-up visits could be important for this population.
Co-expression Analysis to Identify Key Modules and Hub Genes Associated With COVID19 in Platelets
Authors: Alarabi Ahmed B. , Mohsen Attayeb , Mizuguchi Kenji , Alshbool Fatima Z. , Khasawneh Fadi T. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious virus that causes a severe respiratory disease known as Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID19). Indeed, COVID19 increases the risk of cardiovascular occlusive/thrombotic events and is linked to poor outcomes. The pathophysiological processes underlying COVID19-induced thrombosis are complex, and remain poorly understood. To this end, platelets play important roles in regulating our cardiovascular system, including via contributions to coagulation and inflammation. There is an ample of evidence that circulating platelets are activated in COVID19 patients, which is a primary driver of the thrombotic outcome observed in these patients. However, the comprehensive molecular basis of platelet activation in COVID19 disease remains elusive, which warrants more investigation. Hence, we employed gene co-expression network analysis combined with pathways enrichment analysis to further investigate the aforementioned issues. Our study revealed three important gene clusters/modules that were closely related to COVID19. Furthermore, enrichment analysis showed that these three modules were mostly related to platelet metabolism, protein translation, mitochondrial activity, and oxidative phosphorylation, as well as regulation of megakaryocyte differentiation, and apoptosis, suggesting a hyperactivation status of platelets in COVID19. We identified the three hub genes from each of three key modules according to their intramodular connectivity value ranking, namely: COPE, CDC37, CAPNS1, AURKAIP1, LAMTOR2, GABARAP MT-ND1, MT-ND5, and MTRNR2L12. Collectively, our results offer a new and interesting insight into platelet involvement in COVID19 disease at the molecular level, which might aid in defining new targets for treatment of COVID19–induced thrombosis.
Plasma Phthalate Levels In Children With Speech Delay
Authors: Artunç Nihal Yaman , Yirun Anıl , G.Özkemahlı Kübra , Erkekoğlu Pınar , Akkuş Pınar Zengin , Bahadur Evin İlter , Özdemir Gökçenur , Özmert Elif N. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Speech delay is one of the most common developmental problems. One of the risk factors may be the exposure to environmental chemicals. There is increased environmental exposure to phthalates, an endocrine-disrupting chemical. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship of phthalates with speech delay. We included 50 children with isolated speech delay and 40 healthy children of similar age. Children were surveyed for risk factors for speech delay and phthalate exposure. Plasma di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) levels were measured by high pressure liquid chromatography. The DEHP, MEHP and DBP levels in study and control groups were 0.377 [0.003 - 1.224] µg/ml, 0.212 [0.007 - 1.112] µg/ml (p = 0.033), 0.523 [0.031 - 2.477] µg/ml, 0.152 [0.239 - 2.129] µg/ml (p <0.001), and 0.395 [0.062 - 1.996] µg/ml, 0.270 [0.006 - 0.528] µg/ml (p = 0.004), respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to adjust the association between the phthalate levels and factors differing between the two groups in terms of delayed speech risk factors. While there was no significant difference between the study and control groups in terms of DEHP level (p=0.233), the MEHP and DBP levels were found significantly higher in the study group (p<0,001). Conclusion: The statistically significant higher phthalate levels in those with speech delay indicate that these children are more exposed to phthalates and more epidemiological studies are needed to evaluate the association between phthalates and speech delay.