bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Supporting a mentally healthy place of study: Examining the relationship between mental well‐being, stress, and protective factors among university students
Authors: Turner Michelle , Holdsworth Sarah 
Published: May 2024

IntroductionStudents can expect to experience stressors associated with their studies that can have detrimental effects on their mental well‐being if not properly managed. Drawing on a positive psychology paradigm, protective factors can help students to counter study‐related stressors and contribute to their mental well‐being and academic success. The relationship between protective factors, such as maintaining perspective and building networks, with stress severity and positive mental well‐being was examined in a sample of Australian university students undertaking postgraduate coursework.MethodsStudents completed a survey measuring stress from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), positive mental well‐being from the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well‐being Scale (SWEMWBS), and seven protective factors from the Resilience at University (RAU) scale. Bivariate correlations were calculated for the RAU protective factors with stress and mental well‐being. ANOVA examined the RAU protective factors in relation to mental well‐being and stress severity groupings.ResultsAll seven protective factors had a positive and significant relationship with positive mental well‐being, and six of the seven protective factors had a negative and significant relationship with stress. A statistically significant difference was found for six of the seven RAU protective factors according to mental well‐being group, and three of the seven RAU protective factors group according to stress severity group. A linear effect emerged between level of protective factor and mental well‐being group, with participants in the high well‐being group having the highest level of protective factors.ConclusionUniversities should focus on the development of protective factors to support students' well‐being and help them to flourish in their studies.
Continual improvement of CRISPR‐induced multiplex mutagenesis in Arabidopsis
Authors: Develtere Ward , Decaestecker Ward , Rombaut Debbie , Anders Chantal , Clicque Elke , Vuylsteke Marnik , Jacobs Thomas B. 
Published: May 2024

SUMMARYCRISPR/Cas9 is currently the most powerful tool to generate mutations in plant genomes and more efficient tools are needed as the scale of experiments increases. In the model plant Arabidopsis, the choice of the promoter driving Cas9 expression is critical to generate germline mutations. Several optimal promoters have been reported. However, it is unclear which promoter is ideal as they have not been thoroughly tested side by side. Furthermore, most plant vectors still use one of the two Cas9 nuclear localization sequence (NLS) configurations initially reported. We genotyped more than 6000 Arabidopsis T2 plants to test seven promoters and six types of NLSs across 14 targets to systematically improve the generation of single and multiplex inheritable mutations. We found that the RPS5A promoter and bipartite NLS were individually the most efficient components. When combined, 99% of T2 plants contained at least one knockout (KO) mutation and 84% contained 4‐ to 7‐plex KOs, the highest multiplexing KO rate in Arabidopsis to date. These optimizations will be useful to generate higher‐order KOs in the germline of Arabidopsis and will likely be applicable to other CRISPR systems as well.
The AfCFTA tariff offers: Current state and first revelations about members' stances towards openness and protectionism
Authors: Boysen Ole 
Published: May 2024

AbstractMost signatories of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement have submitted tariff concession offers, as published on the AfCFTA Secretariat's website. Over a year since the AfCFTA came into effect, it is time to take stock of these submissions and assess the data with respect to members' stances towards fostering intra‐African trade through openness on the one hand and maintaining protection against competing imports and revenues from import tariffs on the other. Combining the offers with corresponding trade and tariff data, we find that there are both significant data gaps and inconsistencies with the AfCFTA's trade liberalisation modalities and the trade classification standard. Constructing two tariff schedules, one which repairs the offers for compliance with the modalities and another that maximises the import tariff revenue retained as a benchmark, the analysis confirms that the modalities require regions to liberalise strongly, but most opt to liberalise even more and earlier than necessary. Stances towards freer trade, however, differ markedly between regions. Deriving a measure of liberalisation stance from the schedules above and associating it with trade, economic and geographic indicators reveals patterns that suggest potential motivations for the stances of some country groups.
Understanding inequalities of Philippine English in job interviews
Authors: Martinez Julius C. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe job interview is an illustrative encounter where inequalities in relation to Philippine English can be apprehended. Drawing on the reported experiences of ten job gatekeepers from various institutions, this study examines the complex ways job candidates are accepted and rejected on the basis of their spoken languages. The findings are as follows: First, there are normative varieties privileged by gatekeepers in the job interview. Access to these languages is shaped by social class and ethnolinguistic membership. Consequently, candidates were rejected because they could not speak languages that gatekeepers regarded as legitimate. It is also found that interview decisions were influenced by local and global markets, which are themselves outcomes of globalization and capitalism. Based on these findings, two suggestions are made to further understand the ways Philippine English (re)produces inequalities. The first is a rethinking of its emancipatory effects and the second concerns the politics of recognition in Philippine English studies.
Philippine English in the political speeches of President Rodrigo Duterte
Authors: Paz Rafael Michael O. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe rise of Rodrigo Duterte to power after the 2016 national elections in the Philippines quickly and drastically altered the country's political landscape. This is observed in the language choices of Duterte, in political speeches delivered during his administration. However, these ‘dutertisms’ have already been observed even before the national elections. This paper considers the years before Duterte became President and analyses his language practices in some of his campaign speeches. Using Davis's Lapu‐Lapu Factor as a lens, I attempt to trace how Duterte has successfully weaponised his brand of English, heavily textured by his heritage language Davao Bisaya, to win votes in the national elections.
Poteri Sostitutivi Statali, Piani Di Rientro e Vincoli di Bilancio in Materia Sanitaria. tra Disuguaglianze e Tentativi di Emarginazione della Decisione Politica
Authors: Ciolli Ines 
Published: May 2024

La tutela della salute, stretta tra vincoli di bilancio e piani di rientro, ha subito diverse restrizioni in tempi di crisi economica e finanziaria. I commissariamenti delle Regioni in deficit hanno consentito solo l’erogazione dei LEA, peraltro non sufficienti a garantire un ripristino dell’uguaglianza nelle Regioni più disagiate. Inoltre, il ruolo del commissario del governo, sul quale il legislatore e il giudice costituzionale hanno assunto posizioni ambigue e contraddittorie, lascia aperto il problema della decisione tecnica o politica in tema di scelte volte a risanare i deficit regionali.

Parole chiave: Salute; Disuguaglianza; Decisioni politiche
Sobolev inequality on manifolds with asymptotically nonnegative Bakry–Émery Ricci curvature
Authors: Dong Yuxin , Lin Hezi , Lu Lingen 
Published: May 2024

AbstractIn this paper, inspired by Brendle (Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 76 (2023), 2192) and Johne (arXiv:2103.08496, 2021), we prove a Sobolev inequality on manifolds with density and asymptotically nonnegative Bakry–Émery Ricci curvature.
Experiments on Gasketed Plate Heat Exchangers With Segmented Corrugation Pattern
Authors: Strobel Matheus , Beckedorff Leonel E. , Martins Giovani S. M. , Oliveira Jorge L. G. , Paiva Kleber V. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Gasket plate heat exchanger (GPHE) is among the most used heat exchanger types, known for its high effectiveness and compact design. Its remarkable feature is the corrugated plate geometry, typically a Chevron pattern. This work aims to analyze another corrugation pattern, which has segments with different angles to the vertical. The strengths and weaknesses of the segmented plate are still unclear, as the studies on this pattern are scarce. To fill this gap, we experimentally assess the pressure drop and heat transfer in a GPHE composed of 31 segmented plates. The plates have four quadrants, and the combination of low-angle and high-angle plates can form up to six channel types. Pressure and temperature data are acquired in 144 sets of experiments. In the pressure drop results, we observe a considerable discrepancy between the two streams, which leads to a discussion of a relevant phenomenon: the elastic deformation of the plates. If the inner pressure of the streams is not equal, the pressure gradient causes the plates to deform and change the channel geometry. The stream with the higher pressure has its channels expanded, while the lower pressure channels will be strangled. This phenomenon is rarely reported in the literature and strongly affects the pressure drop. Moreover, we present friction factor correlations for six channel types using flow data. Based on the generalized Lévêque analogy in the heat transfer experiments, we argue that the plates' deformation also affects the heat transfer.
A Miniaturized Endoscopic Device Integrating Raman Spectroscopy and Laser Speckle Technology Via an Image Fusion Algorithm for Intraoperative Identification and Functional Protection of Parathyroid Glands
Authors: Wen Qiye , Cai Chang , Fang Jiayi , Luo Zifeng , Luo Yuanwei , Wang Chong , Liang Weixiong , Wang Song 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
The importance of parathyroid glands (PGs) protection is increasingly recognized by thyroid surgeons in the field of minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT). However, current techniques for intra-operative identification and vascularity assessment of the PGs are contentious and complex. This study presents the design and validation of a miniaturized device for fusion near-infrared autofluorescence (NIRAF) based on Raman spectroscopy and laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) via an image fusion algorithm for functional protection of PGs in the MIVAT. Our light source components include an integrated light emitting diode (LED) light source fiber, an NIRAF optical fiber, an acquisition optical fiber, and a laser speckle optical fiber in the endoscopic system to achieve identification and vascularity assessment of PGs using a single endoscopic probe. It has been validated in ex vivo tissue experiments that the fluorescence intensity detected by the device was equivalent to that of the marker indocyanine green (ICG) in visual images and superior to that of the thyroid and all other tissues in the neck. Based on clinical studies, MIVAT using functional fluorescence endoscopy, compared with the White light pattern group, the NIRAF combined with LSCI modality group increased the number of intra-operative confirmations of the PGs (P &lt; 0.001), declined the decrease in parathyroid hormone (PTH) (P &lt; 0.05) and calcium levels (P &lt; 0.05) on the first postoperative day, and reduced the incidence of symptomatic hypocalcemia (P &lt; 0.05). Our device may reduce the incidence of postoperative permanent hypoparathyroidism. Application of an miniaturized functional fluorescence endoscope for real-time and label-free PGs identification and vascularity assessment in MIVAT could be realized.
“Know Your Kids, Understand Yourself, and Find a Way”: One Elementary School Physical Education Teacher’s Efforts at Employing Character Education
Authors: Brunsdon Jamie Jacob 
Published: May 2024

Background: Research concerning the philosophy of character education has been largely inadequate and anticlimactic. Purpose: Informed by a combination of emergent, novel, and nontraditional techniques, the purpose of this study is to describe one elementary school physical education teacher’s efforts at employing character education. Method: The participant was Paris, a White, abled-bodied female with 41 years’ experience. Utilizing an exploratory case study design, data were collected with eight interpretive techniques and analyzed using thematic methods. Findings: Paris employed a “content-based approach” to teaching character education and taught the moral content of human flourishing, virtue, and practical wisdom via jump rope, rock climbing, and parachute-based physical education content. Her character pedagogies of affect were explicit and implicit in nature and shaped around the skills themes, multiskill, and multiactivity pedagogical models. The factors influencing Paris’ efforts were identified. Conclusion: This study contributes to the affective literature from a theoretical, methodological, and practical perspective.
Corrected and republished from: “
Vibrio fischeri
Possesses Xds and Dns Nucleases That Differentially Influence Phosphate Scavenging, Aggregation, Competence, and Symbiotic Colonization of Squid”
Authors: Fidopiastis Pat M. , Childs Chaz , Esin Jeremy J. , Stellern Jordan , Darin Anna , Lorenzo Andrea , Mariscal Vanessa T. , Lorenz Jason , Gopan Vinay , McAnulty Sarah , Visick Karen L. 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT

Cells of
Vibrio fischeri
colonize the light organ of
Euprymna scolopes
, providing the squid bioluminescence in exchange for nutrients and protection. The bacteria encounter DNA-rich mucus throughout their transition to a symbiotic lifestyle, leading us to hypothesize a role for nuclease activity in the colonization process. In support of this, we detected abundant extracellular nuclease activity in growing cells of
V. fischeri
. To discover the gene(s) responsible for this activity, we screened a
V. fischeri
transposon mutant library for nuclease-deficient strains. Interestingly, only one strain, whose transposon insertion mapped to nuclease gene
VF_1451
, showed a complete loss of nuclease activity in our screens. A database search revealed that
VF_1451
is homologous to the nuclease-encoding gene
xds
in
Vibrio cholerae
. However,
V. fischeri
strains lacking
xds
eventually revealed slight nuclease activity on plates upon prolonged incubation. This led us to hypothesize that a second secreted nuclease, identified through a database search as
VF_0437
, a homolog of
V. cholerae dns
, might be responsible for the residual nuclease activity. Here, we show that Xds and/or Dns are involved in essential aspects of
V. fischeri
biology, including natural transformation, aggregation, and phosphate scavenging. Furthermore, strains lacking either nuclease were outcompeted by the wild type for squid colonization. Understanding the specific role of nuclease activity in the squid colonization process represents an intriguing area of future research.

IMPORTANCE

From soil and water to host-associated secretions such as mucus, environments that bacteria inhabit are awash in DNA. Extracellular DNA (eDNA) is a nutritious resource that microbes dedicate significant energy to exploit. Calcium binds eDNA to promote cell-cell aggregation and horizontal gene transfer. eDNA hydrolysis impacts the construction of and dispersal from biofilms. Strategies in which pathogens use nucleases to avoid phagocytosis or disseminate by degrading host secretions are well-documented; significantly less is known about nucleases in mutualistic associations. This study describes the role of nucleases in the mutualism between
Vibrio fischeri
and its squid host
Euprymna scolopes
. We find that nuclease activity is an important determinant of colonization in
V. fischeri
, broadening our understanding of how microbes establish and maintain beneficial associations.
Intracellular defensive symbiont is culturable and capable of transovarial, vertical transmission
Authors: Maeda Gerald P. , Kelly Mary Katherine , Sundar Aadhunik , Moran Nancy A. 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT

Insects frequently form heritable associations with beneficial bacteria that are vertically transmitted from parent to offspring. Long-term vertical transmission has repeatedly resulted in genome reduction and gene loss, rendering many such bacteria incapable of establishment in axenic culture. Among aphids, heritable endosymbionts often provide context-specific benefits to their hosts. Although these associations have large impacts on host phenotypes, experimental approaches are often limited by an inability to cultivate these microbes. Here, we report the axenic culture of
Candidatus
Fukatsuia symbiotica strain WIR, a heritable bacterial endosymbiont of the pea aphid,
Acyrthosiphon pisum
. Whole-genome sequencing revealed similar genomic features and high sequence similarity to previously described strains, suggesting that the cultivation techniques used here may be applicable to
Ca
. F. symbiotica strains from distantly related aphids. Microinjection of cultured
Ca
. F. symbiotica into uninfected aphids revealed that it can reinfect developing embryos and that infections are maintained in subsequent generations via transovarial maternal transmission. Artificially infected aphids exhibit phenotypic and life history traits similar to those observed for native infections. Our results show that
Ca
. F. symbiotica may be a useful tool for experimentally probing the molecular mechanisms underlying host-symbiont interactions in a heritable symbiosis.

IMPORTANCE

Diverse eukaryotic organisms form stable, symbiotic relationships with bacteria that provide benefits to their hosts. While these associations are often biologically important, they can be difficult to probe experimentally because intimately host-associated bacteria are difficult to access within host tissues, and most cannot be cultured. This is especially true for the intracellular, maternally inherited bacteria associated with many insects, including aphids. Here, we demonstrate that a pea aphid-associated strain of the heritable endosymbiont,
Candidatus
Fukatsuia symbiotica, can be grown outside of its host using standard microbiology techniques and can readily re-establish infection that is maintained across host generations. These artificial infections recapitulate the effects of native infections, making this host-symbiont pair a useful experimental system.
Seasonality of respiratory, enteric, and urinary viruses revealed by wastewater genomic surveillance
Authors: Smith Matthew F. , Maqsood Rabia , Sullins Regan A. , Driver Erin M. , Halden Rolf U. , Lim Efrem S. 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT

Wastewater surveillance can reveal population-level infectious disease burden and emergent public health threats can be reliably assessed through wastewater surveillance. While molecular methods for wastewater monitoring of microorganisms have traditionally relied on PCR-based approaches, next-generation sequencing (NGS) can provide deeper insights via genomic analyses of multiple diverse pathogens. We conducted a year-long sequencing surveillance of 1,408 composite wastewater samples collected from 12 neighborhood-level access points in the greater Tempe area, Arizona, USA, and show that variation in wastewater viruses is driven by seasonal time and location. The temporal dynamics of viruses in wastewater were influenced cyclically, with the most dissimilarity between samples 23 weeks apart (i.e., winter vs summer, spring vs fall). We identified diverse urinary and enteric viruses including polyomaviruses, astroviruses, and noroviruses, and showed that their genotypes/subtypes shifted across seasons. We show that while wastewater data of certain respiratory viruses like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strongly correlate with clinical case rates, laboratory-reported case incidences were discordant with surges of high viral load in wastewater for other viruses like human coronavirus 229E. These results demonstrate the utility of wastewater sequencing for informing decision-making in public health.

IMPORTANCE
Wastewater surveillance can provide insights into the spread of pathogens in communities. Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) methodologies allow for more precise detection of viruses in wastewater. Long-term wastewater surveillance of viruses is an important tool for public health preparedness. This system can act as a public health observatory that gives real-time early warning for infectious disease outbreaks and improved response times.
SFTSV nucleoprotein mediates DNA sensor cGAS degradation to suppress cGAS-dependent antiviral responses
Authors: Jiang Ze-zheng , Chu Min , Yan Li-na , Zhang Wen-kang , Li Bang , Xu Jiao , Zhao Zhong-xin , Han Hui-Ju , Zhou Chuan-min , Yu Xue-jie 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACT

Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is an important DNA pattern recognition receptor that senses double-stranded DNA derived from invading pathogens or self DNA in cytoplasm, leading to an antiviral interferon response. A tick-borne Bunyavirus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), is an RNA virus that causes a severe emerging viral hemorrhagic fever in Asia with a high case fatality rate of up to 30%. However, it is unclear whether cGAS interacts with SFTSV infection. In this study, we found that SFTSV infection upregulated cGAS RNA transcription and protein expression, indicating that cGAS is an important innate immune response against SFTSV infection. The mechanism of cGAS recognizing SFTSV is by cGAS interacting with misplaced mitochondrial DNA in the cytoplasm. Depletion of mitochondrial DNA significantly inhibited cGAS activation under SFTSV infection. Strikingly, we found that SFTSV nucleoprotein (N) induced cGAS degradation in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanically, N interacted with the 161-382 domain of cGAS and linked the cGAS to LC3. The cGAS-N-LC3 trimer was targeted to N-induced autophagy, and the cGAS was degraded in autolysosome. Taken together, our study discovered a novel antagonistic mechanism of RNA viruses, SFTSV is able to suppress the cGAS-dependent antiviral innate immune responses through N-hijacking cGAS into N-induced autophagy. Our results indicated that SFTSV N is an important virulence factor of SFTSV in mediating host antiviral immune responses.

IMPORTANCE
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tick-borne RNA virus that is widespread in East and Southeast Asian countries with a high fatality rate of up to 30%. Up to now, many cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptors, such as RIG-I, MDA5, and SAFA, have been reported to recognize SFTSV genomic RNA and trigger interferon-dependent antiviral responses. However, current knowledge is not clear whether SFTSV can be recognized by DNA sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS). Our study demonstrated that cGAS could recognize SFTSV infection via ectopic mitochondrial DNA, and the activated cGAS-stimulator of interferon genes signaling pathway could significantly inhibit SFTSV replication. Importantly, we further uncovered a novel mechanism of SFTSV to inhibit innate immune responses by the degradation of cGAS. cGAS was degraded in N-induced autophagy. Collectively, this study illustrated a novel virulence factor of SFTSV to suppress innate immune responses through autophagy-dependent cGAS degradation.