bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Farmers’ heterogeneous preferences for traits of improved varieties: Informing demand-oriented crop breeding in Tanzania
Authors: Regassa Mekdim D. , Miriti Philip K. , Melesse Mequanint B. 
Published: September 2023

Summary
Understanding farmers’ preferences and willingness to pay for different traits is critical for demand-driven varietal development and designing targeted strategies that stimulate adoption of varieties by farmers. This study uses choice experiment data from a random sample of 1299 Tanzanian farmers to analyze their preferences for traits of groundnut varieties, investigate trade-offs involved in valuation of attributes, and explore heterogeneity in preferences. Results reveal that farmers have strong preferences for groundnut varieties that are high yielding, tolerant to environmental stresses, early-maturing, red-colored, and fetching high sale prices in grain markets. Farmers are willing to pay the highest premium for high-yielding attributes, closely followed by the tolerance trait. Further, a latent class analysis identifies four distinct classes of farmers, confirming considerable heterogeneity in farmers’ preferences for various groundnut traits. A specific distinction is notable between preferences of consumption-oriented and market-oriented farmer classes. Our results have important implications for demand-driven variety development and targeted dissemination of improved varieties.
Validating the biosocial model of borderline personality disorder: Findings from a longitudinal study
Authors: Lee Stephanie S. M. , Keng Shian-Ling , Hong Ryan Y. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis longitudinal study aimed to validate the biosocial theory of borderline personality disorder (BPD) by examining the transactional relationship between individual vulnerabilities and parental invalidation, and their links to BPD symptoms. We recruited a sample of 332 adolescents (mean age = 14.18 years; 58.3% female) residing in Singapore and administered self-report measures across three time-points (six months apart). Results from our path analytic model indicated that parental invalidation, impulsivity, and emotional vulnerability exhibited unique predictive associations with emotion dysregulation six months later. There was also a reciprocal prospective relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and BPD symptoms. Using random-intercepts cross-lagged panel models, we found partial evidence for a within-individual reciprocal relationship between parental invalidation and emotional vulnerability, and a unidirectional relationship of within-individual changes in impulsivity positively predicting changes in parental invalidation six months later. Overall, the study provided partial empirical support for the biosocial model in a Singaporean context.
Individual life insurance during epidemics
Authors: Francis Laura , Steffensen Mogens 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe coronavirus pandemic has created a new awareness of epidemics, and insurance companies have been reminded to consider the risk related to infectious diseases. This paper extends the traditional multi-state models to include epidemic effects. The main idea is to specify the transition intensities in a Markov model such that the impact of contagion is explicitly present in the same way as in epidemiological models. Since we can study the Markov model with contagious effects at an individual level, we consider individual risk and reserves relating to insurance products, conforming with the standard multi-state approach in life insurance mathematics. We compare our notions with other but related notions in the literature and perform numerical illustrations.
The Nausicaa experience: Teaching Ancient Greek in French preschools and primary schools
Authors: Duchemin Laurence , Durand Adrienne , Franceschetti Brigitte 
Published: September 2023

AbstractIn the Marseille region in France, ancient Greek has been taught in pre-school and primary school for more than 20 years. The ‘Nausicaa’ Association was created in 1996 with an express purpose in mind. As Nausicaa was Odysseus' guide and helped him regain his dignity as a man and a king, so our association supports children in becoming more complete and richer humans, or so we hope. Nausicaa has grown enormously in the past 20 years, and currently operates in various schools in the South of France, in particular in Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. Around ten volunteers (teachers working in middle school, high school or retired) teach ancient Greek to pupils from pre-school to the end of primary school. All activities are done at school during class teaching time and in the school setting. This paper presents an outline of the activities of the Nausicaa Association and how it benefits pupils of all abilities in learning about the ancient Greeks and their language.
Sixty Years Later
Authors: Fransen Marieke L. , Mollen Saar , Rains Stephan A. , Das Enny , Vermeulen Ivar 
Published: September 2023

Abstract: Inoculation theory was introduced 60 years ago, after McGuire and Papageorgis (1961) published their first study on how resistance to persuasion can be induced. They demonstrated that people who are pre-exposed to weakened arguments against an attitude or position they currently hold (i.e., inoculated) are less affected by a subsequent strong counter-attitudinal message than people who are pre-exposed to arguments consistent with their attitude (i.e., supportive defense treatment) or to no arguments. Although these results significantly impacted both science and practice on a general level, rigid tests of the key theoretical propositions are lacking. We conducted a highly powered replication study ( N = 679) and found that an inoculation treatment is more effective in increasing resistance toward persuasion compared to a supportive defense treatment and a no-treatment control condition. Our results were mostly consistent with McGuire and Papageorgis’s original work.
Prolongation of Compound Dry–Hot Seasons Over Europe Under Climate Change Scenarios
Authors: Lhotka Ondřej , Bešťáková Zuzana , Kyselý Jan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractCompound effects of drought and heat are regarded as one of the greatest hazards in relation to climate change. We study characteristics of dry–hot seasons in Europe in an ensemble of CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs). Evaluation against the E‐OBS gridded data set for 1976–2005 showed that the RCMs were able to reproduce the spatial pattern of the dry–hot season length but the simulated seasons tended to start later and interannual variability of their length was underestimated. Bias was larger (smaller) in the case of maximum (minimum) length over the 30‐year period compared to the median length. Changes in the dry–hot seasons were then analyzed for three time slices (2006–2035, 2036–2065, and 2066–2095) and low and high greenhouse gas concentration pathways. Distinct prolongation (compared to the 1976–2005 simulated climate) was projected for 2036–2065 in the Mediterranean and Western Europe (10–30 days), regardless of the concentration pathway. The dry–hot seasons length was similar in the 2036–2065 and 2066–2095 time slices under the low concentration pathway but major extensions were found under the high concentration scenario over large parts of Europe (20–50 days). The projected spatial patterns of changes in the dry–hot seasons length depend primarily on the driving global climate model. Although the extensions are predominantly driven by increasing temperature, simulated precipitation changes modulate the resulting pattern by amplifying (reducing) the dry–hot seasons length in Southern (Northern) Europe.
Identifying the Impacts of Sea Ice Variability on the Climate and Surface Mass Balance of West Antarctica
Authors: Kromer Jessica D. , Trusel Luke D. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) is the largest freshwater body on Earth and a major component of the sea level budget. Over the satellite era, the AIS has experienced ∼130 Gt/year of mass loss. Net losses are partially mitigated by snow accumulation that varies ∼100–130 Gt/yr, underscoring a need to understand the drivers of snowfall variability. Here, we evaluate impacts of decreased sea ice in the Amundsen Sea region of West Antarctica on the overlying atmosphere and surface mass balance of the adjacent AIS using composites, spatial correlations, and a causal effect network method. Importantly, our findings show sea ice declines in the Amundsen Sea lead to enhanced integrated water vapor that is subsequently transported to the AIS resulting in positive anomalies in West Antarctic ice sheet snowfall. Our results suggest future decreases in sea ice may likely enhance ice sheet snowfall, thus partially offsetting Antarctic sea level contributions.
Period‐ and Pressure‐Dependent Hydraulic Properties of a Fractured Granite Inferred From Periodic Pumping Tests
Authors: Barbosa Nicolás D. , Jiménez Martínez Victoria A. , Gholizadeh Doonechaly Nima , Müller Tobias M. , Holliger Klaus 
Published: September 2023

AbstractFractures can greatly impact fluid flow and pore pressure distribution in the upper crust. By conducting borehole hydraulic experiments, we can determine the ability of fractures to transport fluids and affect pressure diffusion under in situ conditions. We performed a series of periodic hydraulic tests in a borehole at the Bedretto Underground Laboratory for Geosciences and Geoenergies (Switzerland). We investigated the period‐ and pressure‐dependent response of a fractured granite by controlling the flow rate of harmonic and non‐harmonic oscillations, covering a wide range of periods as well as mean‐ and amplitude‐pressure values. By analyzing the phase and amplitude relation between the flow rate and fluid pressure in the injection interval, we found that the intersected fracture zone exhibits a period‐dependent hydraulic response close to radial flow perturbed by fracture‐related hydromechanical coupling effects. The main features of the interval's hydraulic response were reproduced by an uncoupled diffusion solution for radial flow, which was used to derive apparent hydraulic properties. The largest deviations from this model occur for the phase shifts and correlate with the pressure amplitude. This non‐linear expression of hydromechanical coupling associated with deformable fractures was interpreted in terms of a pressure‐dependent effective compliance of the fractures that affects their effective storativity. The period dependence is likely related to the spatial heterogeneity expected in fractured rocks and the varying sensitivity of the hydraulic response for different periods. Accounting for these effects is necessary for a correct hydraulic characterization in fractured environments and is valuable for inferring fracture mechanical behavior.
Lactobacillus-derived extracellular vesicles counteract Aβ42-induced abnormal transcriptional changes through the upregulation of MeCP2 and Sirt1 and improve Aβ pathology in Tg-APP/PS1 mice
Authors: Kwon Hyejin , Lee Eun-Hwa , Park So-Young , Park Jin-Young , Hong Jin-Hwan , Kim Eun-Kyung , Shin Tae-Seop , Kim Yoon-Keun , Han Pyung-Lim 
Published: September 2023

AbstractMounting evidence suggests that probiotics are beneficial for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the mechanisms by which specific probiotics modify AD pathophysiology are not clearly understood. In this study, we investigated whether Lactobacillus paracasei-derived extracellular vesicles (Lpc-EV) can directly act on neuronal cells to modify amyloid-beta (Aβ)-induced transcriptional changes and Aβ pathology in the brains of Tg-APP/PS1 mice. Lpc-EV treatment in HT22 neuronal cells counteracts Aβ-induced downregulation of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf), Neurotrophin 3 (Nt3), Nt4/5, and TrkB receptor, and reverses Aβ-induced altered expression of diverse nuclear factors, including the downregulation of Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (Mecp2) and Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1). Systematic siRNA-mediated knockdown experiments indicate that the upregulation of Bdnf, Nt3, Nt4/5, and TrkB by Lpc-EV is mediated via multiple epigenetic factors whose activation converges on Mecp2 and Sirt1. In addition, Lpc-EV reverses Aβ-induced downregulation of the Aβ-degrading proteases Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (Mmp-2), Mmp-9, and Neprilysin (Nep), whose upregulation is also controlled by MeCP2 and Sirt1. Lpc-EV treatment restores the downregulated expression of Bdnf, Nt4/5, TrkB, Mmp-2, Mmp-9, and Nep; induces the upregulation of MeCP2 and Sirt1 in the hippocampus; alleviates Aβ accumulation and neuroinflammatory responses in the brain; and mitigates cognitive decline in Tg-APP/PS1 mice. These results suggest that Lpc-EV cargo contains a neuroactive component that upregulates the expression of neurotrophic factors and Aβ-degrading proteases (Mmp-2, Mmp-9, and Nep) through the upregulation of MeCP2 and Sirt1, and ameliorates Aβ pathology and cognitive deficits in Tg-APP/PS1 mice.
Major vault protein (MVP) suppresses aging- and estrogen deficiency-related bone loss through Fas-mediated apoptosis in osteoclasts
Authors: Wang Ruobing , Yang Yan , Zhang Zhongyin , Zhao Na , Wiemer Erik A. C. , Ben Jingjing , Ma Junqing , Yuan Lichan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractOsteoclasts (OCs), derived from monocyte/macrophage lineage, are key orchestrators in bone remodeling. Targeting osteoclast apoptosis is a promising approach to cut down excessive osteoclast numbers, and thus slow down the rate of bone mass loss that inevitably occurs during aging. However, the therapeutic target of apoptosis in osteoclasts has not been fully studied. Our previous work generated Mvpf/fLyz2-Cre mice, conditionally depleting major vault protein (MVP) in monocyte lineage, and identified MVP as a bone protector for its negative role in osteoclastogenesis in vivo and in vitro. Here, we observed a notable decline of MVP in osteoclasts with aging in mice, encouraging us to further investigate the regulatory role of osteoclast MVP. Then, Mvpf/fLyz2-Cre mice were exploited in two osteoporosis contexts, aging and abrupt loss of estrogen, and we revealed that conditional knockout of MVP inhibited osteoclast apoptosis in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, we reported the interaction between MVP and death receptor Fas, and MVP-Fas signaling cascade was identified to positively regulate the apoptosis of osteoclasts, thus preventing osteoporosis. Collectively, our comprehensive discovery of MVP’s regulatory role in osteoclasts provides new insight into osteoclast biology and therapeutic targets for osteoporosis.
miR-92a-3p regulates cisplatin-induced cancer cell death
Authors: Larrue Romain , Fellah Sandy , Boukrout Nihad , De Sousa Corentin , Lemaire Julie , Leboeuf Carolane , Goujon Marine , Perrais Michael , Mari Bernard , Cauffiez Christelle , Pottier Nicolas , Van der Hauwaert Cynthia 
Published: September 2023

AbstractNon-small cell lung cancer is characterized by a dismal prognosis largely owing to inefficient diagnosis and tenacious drug resistance. Therefore, the identification of new molecular determinants underlying sensitivity of cancer cells to existing therapy is of particular importance to develop new effective combinatorial treatment strategy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, have been established as master regulators of a variety of cellular processes that play a key role in tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. This, along with their widespread deregulation in many distinct cancers, has triggered enthusiasm for miRNAs as novel therapeutic targets for cancer management, in particular in patients with refractory cancers such as those harboring KRAS mutations. In this study, we performed a loss-of-function screening approach to identify miRNAs whose silencing promotes sensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells to cisplatin. Our results showed in particular that antisense oligonucleotides directed against miR-92a-3p, a member of the oncogenic miR-17 ~ 92 cluster, caused the greatest increase in the sensitivity of KRAS-mutated LUAD cells to cisplatin. In addition, we demonstrated that this miRNA finely regulates the apoptotic threshold and the proliferative capacity of various tumor cell lines with distinct genetic alterations. Collectively, these data suggest that targeting miR-92a-3p may serve as an effective strategy to overcome treatment resistance of solid tumors.
A single-cell atlas of West African lungfish respiratory system reveals evolutionary adaptations to terrestrialization
Authors: Zhang Ruihua , Liu Qun , Pan Shanshan , Zhang Yingying , Qin Yating , Du Xiao , Yuan Zengbao , Lu Yongrui , Song Yue , Zhang Mengqi , Zhang Nannan , Ma Jie , Zhang Zhe , Jia Xiaodong , Wang Kun , He Shunping , Liu Shanshan , Ni Ming , Liu Xin , Xu Xun , Yang Huanming , Wang Jian , Seim Inge , Fan Guangyi 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe six species of lungfish possess both lungs and gills and are the closest extant relatives of tetrapods. Here, we report a single-cell transcriptome atlas of the West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens). This species manifests the most extreme form of terrestrialization, a life history strategy to survive dry periods that can last for years, characterized by dormancy and reversible adaptive changes of the gills and lungs. Our atlas highlights the cell type diversity of the West African lungfish, including gene expression consistent with phenotype changes of terrestrialization. Comparison with terrestrial tetrapods and ray-finned fishes reveals broad homology between the swim bladder and lung cell types as well as shared and idiosyncratic changes of the external gills of the West African lungfish and the internal gills of Atlantic salmon. The single-cell atlas presented here provides a valuable resource for further exploration of the respiratory system evolution in vertebrates and the diversity of lungfish terrestrialization.
Global impact of somatic structural variation on the cancer proteome
Authors: Chen Fengju , Zhang Yiqun , Chandrashekar Darshan S. , Varambally Sooryanarayana , Creighton Chad J. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBoth proteome and transcriptome data can help assess the relevance of non-coding somatic mutations in cancer. Here, we combine mass spectrometry-based proteomics data with whole genome sequencing data across 1307 human tumors spanning various tissues to determine the extent somatic structural variant (SV) breakpoint patterns impact protein expression of nearby genes. We find that about 25% of the hundreds of genes with SV-associated cis-regulatory alterations at the mRNA level are similarly associated at the protein level. SVs associated with enhancer hijacking, retrotransposon translocation, altered DNA methylation, or fusion transcripts are implicated in protein over-expression. SVs combined with altered protein levels considerably extend the numbers of patients with tumors somatically altered for critical pathways. We catalog both SV breakpoint patterns involving patient survival and genes with nearby SV breakpoints associated with increased cell dependency in cancer cell lines. Pan-cancer proteogenomics identifies targetable non-coding alterations, by virtue of the associated deregulated genes.
Human OPRM1 and murine Oprm1 promoter driven viral constructs for genetic access to μ-opioidergic cell types
Authors: Salimando Gregory J. , Tremblay Sébastien , Kimmey Blake A. , Li Jia , Rogers Sophie A. , Wojick Jessica A. , McCall Nora M. , Wooldridge Lisa M. , Rodrigues Amrith , Borner Tito , Gardiner Kristin L. , Jayakar Selwyn S. , Singeç Ilyas , Woolf Clifford J. , Hayes Matthew R. , De Jonghe Bart C. , Bennett F. Christian , Bennett Mariko L. , Blendy Julie A. , Platt Michael L. , Creasy Kate Townsend , Renthal William R. , Ramakrishnan Charu , Deisseroth Karl , Corder Gregory 
Published: September 2023

AbstractWith concurrent global epidemics of chronic pain and opioid use disorders, there is a critical need to identify, target and manipulate specific cell populations expressing the mu-opioid receptor (MOR). However, available tools and transgenic models for gaining long-term genetic access to MOR+ neural cell types and circuits involved in modulating pain, analgesia and addiction across species are limited. To address this, we developed a catalog of MOR promoter (MORp) based constructs packaged into adeno-associated viral vectors that drive transgene expression in MOR+ cells. MORp constructs designed from promoter regions upstream of the mouse Oprm1 gene (mMORp) were validated for transduction efficiency and selectivity in endogenous MOR+ neurons in the brain, spinal cord, and periphery of mice, with additional studies revealing robust expression in rats, shrews, and human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived nociceptors. The use of mMORp for in vivo fiber photometry, behavioral chemogenetics, and intersectional genetic strategies is also demonstrated. Lastly, a human designed MORp (hMORp) efficiently transduced macaque cortical OPRM1+ cells. Together, our MORp toolkit provides researchers cell type specific genetic access to target and functionally manipulate mu-opioidergic neurons across a range of vertebrate species and translational models for pain, addiction, and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Learning heterogeneous reaction kinetics from X-ray videos pixel by pixel
Authors: Zhao Hongbo , Deng Haitao Dean , Cohen Alexander E. , Lim Jongwoo , Li Yiyang , Fraggedakis Dimitrios , Jiang Benben , Storey Brian D. , Chueh William C. , Braatz Richard D. , Bazant Martin Z. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractReaction rates at spatially heterogeneous, unstable interfaces are notoriously difficult to quantify, yet are essential in engineering many chemical systems, such as batteries1 and electrocatalysts2. Experimental characterizations of such materials by operando microscopy produce rich image datasets3–6, but data-driven methods to learn physics from these images are still lacking because of the complex coupling of reaction kinetics, surface chemistry and phase separation7. Here we show that heterogeneous reaction kinetics can be learned from in situ scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) images of carbon-coated lithium iron phosphate (LFP) nanoparticles. Combining a large dataset of STXM images with a thermodynamically consistent electrochemical phase-field model, partial differential equation (PDE)-constrained optimization and uncertainty quantification, we extract the free-energy landscape and reaction kinetics and verify their consistency with theoretical models. We also simultaneously learn the spatial heterogeneity of the reaction rate, which closely matches the carbon-coating thickness profiles obtained through Auger electron microscopy (AEM). Across 180,000 image pixels, the mean discrepancy with the learned model is remarkably small (<7%) and comparable with experimental noise. Our results open the possibility of learning nonequilibrium material properties beyond the reach of traditional experimental methods and offer a new non-destructive technique for characterizing and optimizing heterogeneous reactive surfaces.