bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Veteran suicide rates mirror, but do not account for, elevated suicide rates among the general population in US cultures of honor
Authors: Bock Jarrod E. , Tucker Raymond P. , Brown Ryan P. , Foster Stephen , Anestis Michael D. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIntroductionVeteran total and firearm suicide rates are higher compared to the general population. Among the general population, total and firearm suicide rates are higher in US states deemed cultures of honor compared to non‐honor states, likely because honor states have higher firearm ownership rates and fewer firearm laws. Considering that veterans tend to live in states with fewer firearm laws and that veteran population rates predict both statewide total and firearm suicide rates, it is possible that the elevated suicide rates seen in honor states in part due to those states having a greater presence of veterans compared to non‐honor states.MethodPublicly available databases were used to obtain total and firearm suicide rates (per 100 k) for veterans and non‐veterans, as well as our covariates (e.g., rurality).ResultsVeteran population proportions were higher in honor states than non‐honor states. Veteran and non‐veteran total and firearm suicide rates were higher in honor states compared to non‐honor states. Statewide differences in all four suicide rates were indirectly explained by honor states having higher firearm ownership than non‐honor states.ConclusionsThese findings add to a growing body of literature showing that enacting firearm regulations may be a viable public health approach for preventing suicide.
(Mis)Informing the public? The public's responsiveness to reliable and unreliable information in illiberal information environments
Authors: Buchanan Ross , Zhong Lingna 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackgroundPublic opinion has a dynamic relationship with policy and real‐world outcomes in liberal settings where reliable information is abundant. In these settings, the public continuously updates its opinions with reliable policy‐relevant information, and the changes in public opinion go on to affect policy and outcomes. It is unknown whether this dynamic exists in illiberal settings where the public's access to reliable information is heavily restricted.ObjectivesThis article advances a theory of public opinion's dynamic relationship with policy and outcomes that applies to illiberal settings.MethodsOur study examines a vital public good in one of the world's most restrictive information environments and estimates a dynamic model of relationships among three variables—public opinion, policy, and outcomes—with a focus on public opinion and outcomes as the key dependent variables. The analysis looks at air pollution remediation in 274 Chinese localities.ResultsWe find that public opinion reacts to objective air pollution outcomes and not to misleading information that downplays air pollution severity, which suggests the public can accurately evaluate the reliability of available information. We also find that local public opinion's impact on local air pollution is substantively meaningful on timescales as short as 1 to 2 years, indicating that the additional policy effort prompted by public opinion change is sufficient to yield tangible real‐world outcomes even in the short term.ConclusionPublic opinion has a dynamic relationship with policy and real‐world outcomes even in highly illiberal settings. We argue that these findings are likely to generalize across issue domains with outcomes that can be directly observed by the public.
A comprehensive analysis of soil health indicators in a long‐term conservation tillage experiment
Authors: Juhos Katalin , Nugroho Priyo Adi , Jakab Gergely , Prettl Nándor , Kotroczó Zsolt , Szigeti Nóra , Szalai Zoltán , Madarász Balázs 
Published: July 2023

AbstractConservation tillage (CT) is a ploughless tillage with a reduced number of operations, and its positive effect on soil functions and health is widely known. Multivariate analyses are required to choose indicators that adequately characterize the changes in soil health. However, there is little research on the comprehensive analysis of the full spectrum of soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Therefore, we examined 21 soil parameters in a long‐term CT experiment conducted in Hungary. Four pairs of similarly sized CT and conventional ploughing tillage (PT) plots were set up in 2003 on Luvisols. The soil samples were collected after 17 years. The total organic carbon (TOC) increased significantly in the 0–15 cm layer at CT sites compared to those in PT, indicating a total increase of 5.22 t ha−1 TOC stock. In addition, the increasing biological activity and improved soil structure were the most important processes at the CT sites. Furthermore, more complex humic substances with higher molecular weights are characteristic of water‐extractable organic matter (WEOM) as a result of CT. The potentially available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were also measured with a relatively high response ratio. Slowly changing parameters, such as cation exchange capacity and base saturation, are important soil physical and chemical parameters, but are not good indicators of the impact of tillage practices. Based on principal component analysis, we suggest the use of water‐extractable organic C, amino‐nitrogen, water‐stable aggregates, available P and K and photometric analysis of WEOM to identify the soil improving processes.
Application of electric fields to improve cementation homogeneity of biogrouted sands
Authors: Shao Guanghui , Huang Rongpin , Liu Peng 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe inhomogeneity of cementation is a common problem in soil improvement with microbially induced carbonate precipitation process (MICP), which is caused by uneven spatial distribution of bio‐induced calcium carbonate precipitation. Electric field adjustment method was developed and adopted for improving cementation homogeneity of bio‐grouted sands in this research. Horizontal one‐dimensional biogrouting experiments were conducted in sand columns under 0.1 V/cm of direct current (DC) electric field. The column treated with DC electric field showed a significant improvement in homogeneity of calcium carbonate precipitation as compared to the control (without DC electric field). Spatial distribution of calcium carbonate in columns were affected by the properties of bacteria, whether suspended or attached. In general, the attached bacteria with uneven spatial distribution played an important role in the calcium carbonate precipitation when flow rate was regulated at 0.54 cm/min, while the suspended bacteria could also be attached upon times with consumption of cations during biogrouting. With the influence of electric field, suspended bacterial transport in porous media occurred in one direction to the target locations because of the electrophoresis at an average speed of 0.14 cm/h, while sodium ion was found to be moved from anode to cathode by electromigration approach. Electrolysis of water, on the other hand, resulted a slight fluctuation in pH, even though this variation did not show any significant effect on the metabolic activity of bacteria and microbial‐induced carbonate precipitation process. The redistribution of suspended bacteria and sodium ion in porous media provided a possible for attached bacteria to distribute uniformly, which could be considered as the key factor to influence spatial distribution of the bio‐induced calcium carbonate in application of electric field adjustment method.
Methylome-dependent transformation of
emm
1 group A streptococci
Authors: Alves Joana , Rand Joshua D. , Johnston Alix B. E. , Bowen Connor , Lynskey Nicola N. 
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACT

Genetic intractability presents a fundamental barrier to the manipulation of bacteria, hindering advancements in microbiological research. Group A
Streptococcus
(GAS), a lethal human pathogen currently associated with an unprecedented surge of infections worldwide, exhibits poor genetic tractability attributed to the activity of a conserved type 1 restriction modification system (RMS). RMS detect and cleave specific target sequences in foreign DNA that are protected in host DNA by sequence-specific methylation. Overcoming this “restriction barrier” thus presents a major technical challenge. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that different RMS variants expressed by GAS give rise to genotype-specific and methylome-dependent variation in transformation efficiency. Furthermore, we show that the magnitude of impact of methylation on transformation efficiency elicited by RMS variant TRD
AG
, encoded by all sequenced strains of the dominant and upsurge-associated
emm
1 genotype, is 100-fold greater than for all other TRD tested and is responsible for the poor transformation efficiency associated with this lineage. In dissecting the underlying mechanism, we developed an improved GAS transformation protocol, whereby the restriction barrier is overcome by the addition of the phage anti-restriction protein Ocr. This protocol is highly effective for TRD
AG
strains including clinical isolates representing all
emm
1 lineages and will expedite critical research interrogating the genetics of
emm
1 GAS, negating the need to work in an RMS-negative background. These findings provide a striking example of the impact of RMS target sequence variation on bacterial transformation and the importance of defining lineage-specific mechanisms of genetic recalcitrance.

IMPORTANCE

Understanding the mechanisms by which bacterial pathogens are able to cause disease is essential to enable the targeted development of novel therapeutics. A key experimental approach to facilitate this research is the generation of bacterial mutants, through either specific gene deletions or sequence manipulation. This process relies on the ability to transform bacteria with exogenous DNA designed to generate the desired sequence changes. Bacteria have naturally developed protective mechanisms to detect and destroy invading DNA, and these systems severely impede the genetic manipulation of many important pathogens, including the lethal human pathogen group A
Streptococcus
(GAS). Many GAS lineages exist, of which
emm
1 is dominant among clinical isolates. Based on new experimental evidence, we identify the mechanism by which transformation is impaired in the
emm
1 lineage and establish an improved and highly efficient transformation protocol to expedite the generation of mutants.
Plasma S100A8 and S100A9 Are Strong Prognostic Factors for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure
Authors: Zhang Yao , Zhang Xueyun , Han Jiajia , Guo Yifei , He Jingjing , Yang Feifei , Mao Richeng , Huang Yuxian , Zhang Jiming 
Published: July 2023

Objectives. The rapidly evolving organ failure and high short-run mortality of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) are inseparable from the role of systemic inflammatory response. S100A8 and S100A9 are associated with the excessive cytokine storm and play a decisive part within the process of inflammation. We aimed to clarify the role of them in predicting prognosis of hepatitis B virus-related ACLF (HBV-ACLF). Methods. S100A8 and S100A9 levels were analyzed in plasma of 187 transplant-free HBV-ACLF patients, 28 healthy controls and 40 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. S100A8 and S100A9 mRNAs were checked in liver samples from 32 HBV-ACLF patients with liver transplantation, 19 patients undergoing surgery for hepatic hemangioma and 10 CHB patients with needle biopsy. Results. The plasma levels of the S100A8 and S100A9 were higher in HBV-ACLF patients than in CHB patients (S100A8 :

P
<
0.001

and S100A9 :

P
<
0.001

) and healthy controls (S100A8 :

P
<
0.001

and S100A9 :

P
<
0.001

), and similar results were obtained for mRNA expression. Moreover, both proteins were related to ACLF grade, different types of organ failure, and infection, and they correlated with other prognostic scoring systems. S100A8 and S100A9 can dependently predict 28/90-day mortality (28-day: S100A8: hazard ratio (HR): 1.027; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.007–1.048;

P
=
0.026

, S100A9 : HR: 1.009; 95% CI: 1.001–1.017;

P
=
0.007

, 90-day: S100A8 : HR: 1.023; 95% CI: 1.011–1.035;

P
=
0.004

, S100A9 : HR: 1.008; 95% CI: 1.004–1.012; and

P
<
0.001

). Among all of the scoring systems, the combined scoring model (S100A8 and S100A9 jointly with the Chronic Liver Failure-Consortium Organ Failure score (CLIF-C OFs)) displayed the highest area under the receiver operating curve (0.923 (95% CI, 0.887–0.961)) in the prediction of 90-day mortality. Conclusions. S100A8 and S100A9 are promising biomarkers for the analysis of risk stratification and prognosis in ACLF patients. In addition, combining them with the CLIF-C OFs may better predict the prognosis of ACLF.
Cytogenetic screening of a Canadian swine breeding nucleus using a newly developed karyotyping method named oligo-banding
Authors: Poisson William , Bastien Alexandre , Gilbert Isabelle , Carrier Alexandra , Prunier Julien , Robert Claude 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
The frequency of chromosomal rearrangements in Canadian breeding boars has been estimated at 0.91 to 1.64%. These abnormalities are widely recognized as a potential cause of subfertility in livestock production. Since artificial insemination is practiced in almost all intensive pig production systems, the use of elite boars carrying cytogenetic defects that have an impact on fertility can lead to major economic losses. To avoid keeping subfertile boars in artificial insemination centres and spreading chromosomal defects within populations, cytogenetic screening of boars is crucial. Different techniques are used for this purpose, but several issues are frequently encountered, i.e. environmental factors can influence the quality of results, the lack of genomic information outputted by these techniques, and the need for prior cytogenetic skills. The aim of this study was to develop a new pig karyotyping method based on fluorescent banding patterns.

Results
The use of 207,847 specific oligonucleotides generated 96 fluorescent bands that are distributed across the 18 autosomes and the sex chromosomes. Tested alongside conventional G-banding, this oligo-banding method allowed us to identify four chromosomal translocations and a rare unbalanced chromosomal rearrangement that was not detected by conventional banding. In addition, this method allowed us to investigate chromosomal imbalance in spermatozoa.

Conclusions
The use of oligo-banding was found to be appropriate for detecting chromosomal aberrations in a Canadian pig nucleus and its convenient design and use make it an interesting tool for livestock karyotyping and cytogenetic studies.
Effect of alcohol consumption on breast cancer: probabilistic bias analysis for adjustment of exposure misclassification bias and confounders
Authors: Pakzad Reza , Nedjat Saharnaz , Salehiniya Hamid , Mansournia Nasrin , Etminan Mahyar , Nazemipour Maryam , Pakzad Iraj , Mansournia Mohammad Ali 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Purpose
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of alcohol consumption on breast cancer, adjusting for alcohol consumption misclassification bias and confounders.

Methods
This was a case-control study of 932 women with breast cancer and 1000 healthy control. Using probabilistic bias analysis method, the association between alcohol consumption and breast cancer was adjusted for the misclassification bias of alcohol consumption as well as a minimally sufficient set of adjustment of confounders derived from a causal directed acyclic graph. Population attributable fraction was estimated using the Miettinen’s Formula.

Results
Based on the conventional logistic regression model, the odds ratio estimate between alcohol consumption and breast cancer was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.57, 1.91). However, the adjusted estimates of odds ratio based on the probabilistic bias analysis ranged from 1.82 to 2.29 for non-differential and from 1.93 to 5.67 for differential misclassification. Population attributable fraction ranged from 1.51 to 2.57% using non-differential bias analysis and 1.54–3.56% based on differential bias analysis.

Conclusion
A marked measurement error was in self-reported alcohol consumption so after correcting misclassification bias, no evidence against independence between alcohol consumption and breast cancer changed to a substantial positive association.
Correlation between color doppler flow pattern and molecular biology in elderly patients with colon cancer
Authors: Shao Fei , Lai Xiuxiu , Tong Lulu , Li Linxiao , Ye Da , Jin Linlin , Xu Chunyan 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Objective
To investigate the correlation between the grade and type of color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and tumor-related cytokines in elderly patients with colon cancer.

Methods
Seventy-six elderly patients with colorectal cancer admitted to Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital from July 2020 to June 2022 were selected. CDFI was used to analyze the blood flow grade and distribution type of tumor tissues, and ELISA was used to detect the levels of tumor-related cytokines in serum. Preoperative clinical data were collected and analyzed, and the correlation between measured cytokine levels and CDFI analysis results was further explored.

Results
CDFI blood flow grade showed significant difference in the different lengths, invasion depths and lymph node metastasis of tumors (all P < 0.001). In addition, serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and VEGF also showed statistical difference in all above different tumor-related factors (all P < 0.001). Further Pearson correlation analysis showed that CDFI blood flow grade and distribution types were both significantly positively correlated with above serum cytokine levels (r > 0, all P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that both CDFI blood flow grade and distribution types were poor prognostic factors in elderly patients with colon cancer. Regression analysis showed that serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and VEGF were independent risk factors for poor prognosis of colon cancer in elderly patients.

Conclusion
CDFI blood flow grade and tumor tissue distribution have potential significant correlations with tumor-associated cytokines in the serum of colon cancer patients. CDFI blood flow grading technique provides an important imaging method for dynamic observation of angiogenesis and blood flow changes in elderly patients with colon cancer. Abnormal changes in serum levels of tumor-related factors can be used as sensitive indicators to evaluate the therapeutic effect and prognosis of colon cancer.
The societal cost of modifiable risk factors in Singapore
Authors: Tan Vanessa , Lim Julian , Akksilp Katika , Chow Wai Leng , Ma Stefan , Chen Cynthia 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
Singapore is one of the most rapidly ageing populations in the world. Nearly half of all disease burdens in Singapore are attributable to modifiable risk factors. This indicates that many illnesses are preventable by modifying behaviours such as increasing physical activity levels or maintaining a healthy diet. Prior cost-of-illness studies have estimated the cost of selected modifiable risk factors. However, no local study has compared costs between groups of modifiable risks. This study aims to estimate the societal cost attributable to a comprehensive list of modifiable risks in Singapore.

Methods
Our study builds on the comparative risk assessment framework from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study. A top-down prevalence-based cost-of-illness approach was undertaken to estimate the societal cost of modifiable risks in 2019. These include healthcare costs from inpatient hospitalisation and productivity losses from absenteeism and premature mortality.

Results
Metabolic risks had the highest total cost of US$1.62 billion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] US$1.51–1.84 billion), followed by lifestyle risks of US$1.40 billion (95% UI US$1.36—1.66 billion) and substance risks of US$1.15 billion (95% UI US$1.10—1.24 billion). Across the risk factors, the costs were driven by productivity losses, heavily skewed towards the older working-age group and among males. Most of the costs were driven by cardiovascular diseases.

Conclusion
This study provides evidence of the high societal cost of modifiable risks and highlights the importance of developing holistic public health promotion programmes. As modifiable risks often do not occur in isolation, implementing effective population-based programmes targeting multiple modifiable risks has a strong potential to manage the cost of the rising disease burden in Singapore.
The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the quality of life of Chinese football referees: the chain mediating role of occupational stress and job burnout
Authors: Wang Xianliang , Zong Kehao , Gao Yubo , Li Bochen , Wang Shuzhen , Zhang Liguo 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackgroundCOVID-19 lockdown measures have had a great negative impact on the development of sports competition in China, as well as on the quality of life of football referees. This study aims to explore the impact of lockdown measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of football referees in China and its mechanism of action.MethodsThe Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Effort–Reward Imbalance Scale (ERI), the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). The scale was used from August to September 2022. Using an online questionnaire, 350 questionnaires were sent out and 338 were returned, for a return rate of 96.57%. Invalid questionnaires were excluded, and 307 football referees with referee grades in 29 provinces registered with the CFA were surveyed. SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.0 were used for data analysis and structural equation model testing in this study.ResultsThe results showed that the COVID-19 lockdown had no significant impact on the quality of life of Chinese football referees. However, the COVID-19 lockdown can affect the quality of life of Chinese football referees through occupational stress or job burnout. Occupational stress and job burnout also play a chain intermediary role between the COVID-19 lockdown and the quality of life of Chinese football referees. In addition, this study further explores the quality of life by dividing it into four dimensions (physical, social, psychological, and environmental). The results show that all four dimensions satisfy the chain mediation model.ConclusionsTherefore, the quality of life of Chinese football referees can be improved by reducing their occupational stress and job burnout during the COVID-19 lockdown.