bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development and psychometric testing of physiopsychological disorders scale for medical rescuers fighting epidemics in China
Authors: Wang Hui , Sun Xiangjie , Deng Tiantian , Ren Minmin , Feng Danjun 
Published: February 2024

AbstractObjectiveDevelop and psychometrically test the physiopsychological disorders scale for medical rescuers fighting epidemics (PDS‐MRFE).MethodA three‐phase approach was used to develop and test the physiopsychological disorders scale: (1) creating the item pool, (2) preliminarily evaluating items, and (3) refining the scale and estimating the psychometric properties. The items of the instrument were generated based on a comprehensive literature review and a qualitative study conducted with 31 medical rescuers (18 nurses and 13 doctors) fighting epidemics. A preliminary evaluation of items was conducted using content validity which was evaluated by a panel of 15 experts. Validity and reliability examinations were conducted to refine the scale and evaluate its psychometric properties. This was done using two different samples. Specifically, Sample A (360 medical rescuers) was employed for item reduction and exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and Sample B (287 medical rescuers) was employed for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and determination of other psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity), which further confirmed the structure of the scale and evaluated its final psychometric properties.ResultsThe final scale has 39 items with three subscales, including before, during, and after rescue. The exploratory factor analysis result indicated that the before‐rescue scale of four items, during‐rescue of 21 items, and after‐rescue of 14 items explained 52.07%, 69.75%, and 52.30% of the cumulative variance, respectively. The confirmatory factor analysis result indicated that model fit indices of three subscales were acceptable and showed evidence of adequate content, convergent, discriminate, and concurrent validity. The Cronbach's α coefficients for each subscale and all dimensions ranged from 0.81 to 0.92, indicating good reliability for the PDS‐MRFE.ConclusionsThe physiopsychological disorders scale is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument and can be used in both clinical practice and research to evaluate different physiopsychological disorders at different medical rescue stages among medical rescuers fighting epidemics.
Grain‐size component dependent storage threshold of orbital cycles in alluvial stratigraphy caused by autogenic dynamics
Authors: Yang Daming , Huang Yongjian , Li Xiang , Gao Jianlei , Yin Shitao , Wang Chengshan 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACTNumerical forward modelling and laboratory experiments suggest that autogenic factors in the sediment routing system serve as long‐pass filters, preserving only orbital cycles with a period exceeding the compensation timescale,Tc, or thickness in the depth domain exceeding the compensation depth scale,Hc. For a specific orbital cycle with a certain period, this preservation in alluvial strata occurs unless it exhibits a sufficiently large amplitude. This study stratigraphically confirms, for the first time, the long‐pass filtering of autogenic dynamics using elemental data from the alluvial–lacustrine Sifangtai and Mingshui formations in the Songliao Basin. Spectral analysis of the Si and Zr series in coarse‐grained sediments reveals no cyclic signal with thicknesses below the estimated lower limits ofHc. This implies that the spatial storage threshold for orbital cycles in proxies of the coarse‐grained sediment component is equal to or less thanHc. However, cyclic signals of obliquity and precession with smaller thicknesses are identified in Ti, Fe and Al enriched in the fine‐grained sediment components of the stratigraphy. Notably, previously reported proxies preserving high‐frequency orbital cycles are derived from fine‐grained sediment components, differing from the sedimentation rate series used in the reported experimental studies. Therefore, the authors hypothesize a grain‐size component‐dependent storage threshold, suggesting that the storage threshold of orbital cycles in proxies associated with fine‐grained components is lower. This hypothesis arises from the weaker effect of autogenic dynamics on the content of fine‐grained sediment components transported to the sampling site by a suspended load compared to coarser components that are subjected to stronger autogenic dynamics within or near channels. The hypothesis and model presented propose a dynamic process elucidating the nuanced roles of autogenic dynamics in preserving orbital cycles. This perspective, considering sediment composition, inspires prioritizing proxies enriched in the fine‐grained fraction for identifying allogenic cycles in alluvial strata.
On the Parataxis of Arabic split questions
Authors: Alzayid Ali 
Published: February 2024

AbstractIn this article I present an analysis of split questions (SQs) in Modern Standard Arabic. I argue that this construction is best analyzed as a biclausal articulation, where two clauses are meditated by a special relation of coordination dubbed “Specifying Coordination.” Contrary to the previous literature on SQs, I maintain, on empirical and conceptual grounds, that SQs are best derived in a movement‐free fashion by treating them as a constellation of two well‐motivated operations in the grammar: ellipsis and coordination. If on track, the merit of this proposal is to derive peripheral phenomena, such as SQs, from core principles of the grammar.
Motivations to Participate in Gaming and Esports: An Exploratory Study on The Influence of Participant Gender
Authors: Mahoney Tara Q. , Darvin Lindsey , Vooris Ryan 
Published: February 2024

The rapid growth of gaming and esports since 2015 demands an investigation of the habits of those who consume and engage with (i.e., participate, view, attend events) this emerging space. As previous research has suggested, women and men may engage with video games for different reasons, and to better understand this occurrence, the current study addresses whether their gaming and esports participation motivations vary. As a result, this exploratory study employed a survey design with a previously validated scale used to measure motivation differences between men and women for traditional sport and exercise spaces. In addition, insights from Hamari and Sjöblom study were used to construct the survey instrument and adapt it to gaming environments. The researchers used an exploratory factor analysis to examine the data and determine preliminary factors relating to esports and gaming motivations. Additionally, gender differences were also assessed. Implications for the gaming industry are discussed as well as future research directions.
Esports Athletes on a Team or Club Are More Physically Active and Less Sedentary Than Equally Experienced, Casual Video Gamers
Authors: Dowdell Bryan , Lepp Andrew , Yim Brian H. , Barkley Jacob E. 
Published: February 2024

Literature and governing agencies refer to gamers who partake in esports as “esports athletes,” and research suggests that exercise may be a beneficial component of esports training. Yet esports athletes are stereotyped similarly to casual gamers, for example, sedentary and not physically active. The purpose of this research was to compare physical activity and sedentary behavior between esports athletes on a team or club and casual gamers. Data were collected via an online survey (N = 532 total; n = 172 women). The survey assessed physical activity behaviors (i.e., International Physical Activity Questionnaire), time spent playing games, and esports affiliation. Independent samples t tests and analysis of variance were used for comparisons. Esports athletes on a team or club reported significantly more (F = 67.99, p < .001) physical activity (5,706 ± 4,558 metabolic equivalent min/week) compared to casual gamers (2,738 ± 2,792 metabolic equivalent min/week). There was a significant interaction between the effects of gender and group (F = 5.680, p = .018) on vigorous physical activity. Esports athletes on a team or club also reported significantly less (F = 77.436, p < .001) sedentary behavior compared to casual gamers. There was no reported difference in time spent playing video games between groups (t = 1.416, p = .157). In conclusion, esports athletes on a team or club were more physically active and less sedentary than their casual counterparts.
SARS-CoV-2 evolution during prolonged infection in immunocompromised patients
Authors: Marques Andrew D. , Graham-Wooten Jevon , Fitzgerald Ayannah S. , Sobel Leonard Ashley , Cook Emma J. , Everett John K. , Rodino Kyle G. , Moncla Louise H. , Kelly Brendan J. , Collman Ronald G. , Bushman Frederic D. 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT

Prolonged infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in immunocompromised patients provides an opportunity for viral evolution, potentially leading to the generation of new pathogenic variants. To investigate the pathways of viral evolution, we carried out a study on five patients experiencing prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection (quantitative polymerase chain reaction-positive for 79–203 days) who were immunocompromised due to treatment for lymphoma or solid organ transplantation. For each timepoint analyzed, we generated at least two independent viral genome sequences to assess the heterogeneity and control for sequencing error. Four of the five patients likely had prolonged infection; the fifth apparently experienced a reinfection. The rates of accumulation of substitutions in the viral genome per day were higher in hospitalized patients with prolonged infection than those estimated for the community background. The
spike
coding region accumulated a significantly greater number of unique mutations than other viral coding regions, and the mutation density was higher. Two patients were treated with monoclonal antibodies (bebtelovimab and sotrovimab); by the next sampled timepoint, each virus population showed substitutions associated with monoclonal antibody resistance as the dominant forms (
spike
K444N and
spike
E340D). All patients received remdesivir, but remdesivir-resistant substitutions were not detected. These data thus help elucidate the trends of emergence, evolution, and selection of mutational variants within long-term infected immunocompromised individuals.

IMPORTANCE
SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for a global pandemic, driven in part by the emergence of new viral variants. Where do these new variants come from? One model is that long-term viral persistence in infected individuals allows for viral evolution in response to host pressures, resulting in viruses more likely to replicate efficiently in humans. In this study, we characterize replication in several hospitalized and long-term infected individuals, documenting efficient pathways of viral evolution.
Annotating microbial functions with ProkFunFind
Authors: Dufault-Thompson Keith , Jiang Xiaofang 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT

Analyzing microbial genomes has become an essential part of microbiology research, giving valuable insights into the functions and evolution of microbial species. Identifying genes of interest and assigning putative annotations to those genes is a central task in genome analysis, and a plethora of tools and approaches have been developed for this task. The ProkFunFind tool was developed to bridge the gap between these various annotation approaches, providing a flexible and customizable search approach to annotate microbial functions. ProkFunFind is designed around hierarchical definitions of biological functions, where individual genes can be identified using heterogeneous search terms consisting of sequences, profile hidden Markov models, protein domains, and orthology groups. This flexible and customizable search approach allows for searches to be tailored to specific biological functions, and the search results are output in multiple formats to facilitate downstream analyses. The utility of the ProkFunFind search tool was demonstrated through its application in searching for bacterial flagella, which are complex organelles composed of multiple genes. Overall, ProkFunFind provides an accessible and flexible way to integrate multiple types of annotation and sequence data while annotating biological functions in microbial genomes.

IMPORTANCE

Genome sequencing and analysis are increasingly important parts of microbiology, providing a way to predict metabolic functions, identify virulence factors, and understand the evolution of microbes. The expanded use of genome sequencing has also brought an abundance of search and annotation methods, but integrating the information from these different methods can be challenging and is often done through
ad hoc
approaches. To bridge the gap between different types of annotations, we developed ProkFunFind, a flexible and customizable search tool incorporating multiple search approaches and annotation types to annotate microbial functions. We demonstrated the utility of ProkFunFind by searching for gene clusters encoding flagellar genes using a combination of different annotation types and searches. Overall, ProkFunFind provides a reproducible and flexible way to identify gene clusters of interest, facilitating the meaningful analysis of new and existing microbial genomes.
Genomics of the expanding pine pathogen
Lecanosticta acicola
reveals patterns of ongoing genetic admixture
Authors: Marcet-Houben Marina , Cruz Fernando , Gómez-Garrido Jéssica , Alioto Tyler S. , Nunez-Rodriguez Juan Carlos , Mesanza Nebai , Gut Marta , Iturritxa Eugenia , Gabaldon Toni 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT

Lecanosticta acicola
is the causal agent for brown spot needle blight that affects pine trees across the northern hemisphere. Based on marker genes and microsatellite data, two distinct lineages have been identified that were introduced into Europe on two separate occasions. Despite their overall distinct geographic distribution, they have been found to coexist in regions of northern Spain and France. Here, we present the first genome-wide study of
Lecanosticta acicola
, including assembly of the reference genome and a population genomics analysis of 70 natural isolates from northern Spain. We show that most of the isolates belong to the southern lineage but show signs of introgression with northern lineage isolates, indicating mating between the two lineages. We also identify phenotypic differences between the two lineages based on the activity profiles of 20 enzymes, with introgressed strains being more phenotypically similar to members of the southern lineage. In conclusion, we show undergoing genetic admixture between the two main lineages of
L. acicola
in a region of recent expansion.

IMPORTANCE

Lecanosticta acicola
is a fungal pathogen causing severe defoliation, growth reduction, and even death in more than 70 conifer species. Despite the increasing incidence of this species, little is known about its population dynamics. Two divergent lineages have been described that have now been found together in regions of France and Spain, but it is unknown how these mixed populations evolve. Here we present the first reference genome for this important plant pathogenic fungi and use it to study the population genomics of 70 isolates from an affected forest in the north of Spain. We find signs of introgression between the two main lineages, indicating that active mating is occurring in this region which could propitiate the appearance of novel traits in this species. We also study the phenotypic differences across this population based on enzymatic activities on 20 compounds.
Correlation between bacterial microbiome and
Legionella
species in water from public bath facilities by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing
Authors: Kanatani Jun-ichi , Fujiyoshi So , Isobe Junko , Kimata Keiko , Watahiki Masanori , Maenishi Emi , Izumiyama Shinji , Amemura-Maekawa Junko , Maruyama Fumito , Oishi Kazunori 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT

Public bath facilities are a major source of
Legionella
infections in Japan. In this study, we performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize the bacterial community in bath and shower water from public bath facilities, along with chemical parameters, and investigated the effect of the bacterial microbiome on the presence of
Legionella
species. Although no significant difference in bacterial community richness was observed between bath and shower water samples, there was a remarkable difference in the bacterial community structure between them. Distance-based redundancy analysis revealed that several factors (free residual chlorine, pH, and conductivity) were correlated with the bacterial community in bath water. The most abundant bacterial genera in the samples were
Pseudomonas
(13.7%) in bath water and
Phreatobacter
(13.6%) in shower water, as indicated by the taxonomic composition, and the dominant bacteria differed between these environmental samples.
Legionella pneumophila
was the most frequently detected
Legionella
species, with additional 15 other
Legionella
species detected in water samples. In
Legionella-
positive water samples, several unassigned and uncultured bacteria were enriched together. In addition, the co-occurrence network showed that
Legionella
was strongly interconnected with two uncultured bacteria.
Corynebacterium
and
Sphingomonas
negatively correlated with
Legionella
species. The present study reveals the ecology of
Legionella
species, especially their interactions with other bacteria that are poorly understood to date.

IMPORTANCE

Public bath facilities are major sources of sporadic cases and outbreaks of
Legionella
infections. Recently, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing has been used to analyze bacterial characteristics in various water samples from both artificial and natural environments, with a particular focus on
Legionella
bacterial species. However, the relationship between the bacterial community and
Legionella
species in the water from public bath facilities remains unclear. In terms of hygiene management, it is important to reduce the growth of
Legionella
species by disinfecting the water in public bath facilities. Our findings contribute to the establishment of appropriate hygiene management practices and provide a basis for understanding the potential health effects of using bath and shower water available in public bath facilities.
Supplemental Material: Detrital isotopic record of a retreating accretionary orogen: An example from the Patagonian Andes
Authors: Rey Fernando M. , al. et 
Published: February 2024

<p>(1) Locations of the unpublished detrital zircon U-Pb zircon samples, (2) detrital zircon U-Pb geochronological data from the unpublished samples, and (3) detrital zircon Lu-Hf isotopic data from the unpublished samples. </p>
Development and validation of new multimorbidity-weighted index for ICD-10-coded electronic health record and claims data: an observational study
Authors: Wei Melissa Y , Leis Aleda M , Vasilyev Arseniy , Kang Ashley J 
Published: February 2024

ObjectiveMap multimorbidity-weighted index (MWI) conditions to International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), expand the conditions and codes to develop a new ICD-10-coded MWI (MWI-ICD10) and updated MWI-ICD9, and assess their consistency.DesignPopulation-based retrospective cohort.SettingLarge medical centre between 2013 and 2017.ParticipantsAdults ≥18 years old with encounters in each of 4 years (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).Main outcome measuresMWI conditions mapped to ICD-10 codes, and additional conditions and codes added to produce a new MWI-ICD10 and updated MWI-ICD9. We compared the prevalence of ICD-coded MWI conditions within the ICD-9 era (2013–2014), within the ICD-10 era (2016–2017) and across the ICD-9–ICD-10 transition in 2015 (washout period) among adults present in both sets of comparison years. We computed the prevalence and change in prevalence of conditions when using MWI-ICD10 versus MWI-ICD9.Results88 175 adults met inclusion criteria. Participants were 60.8% female, 50.5% white, with mean age 54.7±17.3 years and baseline MWI-ICD9 4.47±6.02 (range 0–64.33). Of 94 conditions, 65 had <1% difference across the ICD-9–ICD-10 transition and similar minimal changes within ICD coding eras.ConclusionsMWI-ICD10 captured the prevalence of chronic conditions nearly identically to that of the validated MWI-ICD9, along with notable but explicable changes across the ICD-10 transition. This new comprehensive person-centred index enables quantification of cumulative disease burden and physical functioning in adults as a clinically meaningful measure of multimorbidity in electronic health record and claims data.
Cohort profile for the Tongji Cardiovascular Health Study: a prospective multiomics cohort study
Authors: Xu Ting , Lu Yueqi , Chen Bangwei , Deng Chenxin , Zhang Yucong , Wang Mei , Ling Huifen , Huang Yi , Yuan Jing , Jin Xin , Ruan Lei , Li Tao , Zhang Cun-Tai 
Published: February 2024

PurposeThe Tongji Cardiovascular Health Study aimed to further explore the onset and progression mechanisms of cardiovascular disease (CVD) through a combination of traditional cohort studies and multiomics analysis, including genomics, metabolomics and metagenomics.Study design and participantsThis study included participants aged 20–70 years old from the Geriatric Health Management Centre of Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. After enrollment, each participant underwent a comprehensive series of traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factor assessments at baseline, including questionnaires, physical examinations, laboratory tests, cardiovascular health assessments and biological sample collection for subsequent multiomics analysis (whole genome sequencing, metabolomics study from blood samples and metagenomics study from stool samples). A biennial follow-up will be performed for 10 years to collect the information above and the outcome data.Findings to dateA total of 2601 participants were recruited in this study (73.4% men), with a mean age of 51.5±11.5 years. The most common risk factor is overweight or obesity (54.8%), followed by hypertension (39.7%), hyperlipidaemia (32.4%), current smoking (23.9%) and diabetes (12.3%). Overall, 13.1% and 48.7% of men and women, respectively, did not have any of the CVD risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, cigarette smoking and overweight or obesity). Additionally, multiomics analyses of a subsample of the participants (n=938) are currently ongoing.Future plansWith the progress of the cohort follow-up work, it is expected to provide unique multidimensional and longitudinal data on cardiovascular health in China.