bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Low concentrations of acetamiprid, deltamethrin, and sulfoxaflor, three commonly used insecticides, adversely affect ant queen survival and egg laying
Authors: Svoboda Jakub , Pech Pavel , Heneberg Petr 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAnts are key ecosystem service providers and can serve as important biological control agents in pest management. However, the effects of insecticides on common farmland ant species are poorly understood. We tested the effects of three commonly used insecticides on ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). The tested insecticides were acetamiprid (neonicotinoid; formulated as Mospilan 20 SP), deltamethrin (pyrethroid; formulated as Sanium Ultra), and sulfoxaflor (sulfilimine; formulated as Gondola). We tested two ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) species with different colony founding strategies,Lasius niger(Linnaeus, 1758) andMyrmica rubra(Linnaeus, 1758). We sprayed their queens with insecticides at concentrations recommended for use in foliar applications in agriculture, i.e., at 1.25 g L−1(acetamiprid), 0.6 g L−1(sulfoxaflor), and 0.875 g L−1(deltamethrin). Further, we diluted the compounds in distilled water and tested them at 10%, 1%, and 0.1% of the field-recommended concentrations, and used distilled water as a control. We monitored the survival of the queens and the number of eggs laid. All three tested insecticides caused severe lethal and sublethal concentration-dependent effects. Even at concentrations three orders of magnitudes lower than recommended for field applications, significantly lower numbers of eggs were found in the queens’ nests. The extent of the sublethal effects of acetamiprid and sulfoxaflor was concentration-dependent and differed between the two ant species. Besides bees and bumblebees, ants represent an important group of hymenopterans that are severely affected even by low concentrations of the tested compounds and therefore should be included in risk assessment schemes.
Knowledge of lactation amenorrhea method among postpartum women in Ethiopia: a facility-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Eticha Tadesse Gure , Girma Sagni , Mamo Galana , Asefa Fekede , Birhanu Abdi , Taye Bedasa , Alemu Addisu , Niguse Kabtamu , Gedefaw Abel , Genet Tinsae , Amenu Demesew , Mekuria Thomas , Tura Abera Kenay 
Published: September 2023

AbstractWhile the importance of knowledge about contraceptives in improving their utilization and thereby reducing the risk of unintended pregnancies is well documented, there are limited studies documented about the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM). Thus, understanding the knowledge of postpartum mothers about LAM is essential for designing tailored interventions. This study assessed the level of knowledge about LAM and its associated factors among postpartum mothers in Ethiopia. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 3148 randomly selected postpartum participants. The study utilized multistage sampling approach in hospitals located across five regions and one city administration in Ethiopia. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews at discharge. A participant was categorized as having knowledge of LAM if she correctly answered the three LAM criteria: amenorrhea, the first 6 months, and exclusive breast feeding. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with knowledge of LAM. Variables with p < 0.25 in the binary logistic regression were included in the multiple logistic regression. Then, associations were described using the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) along with the 95% confidence interval (CI), and statistical significance was declared at p < 0.05. Only four in 10 participants (40.6%; 95% CI 38.9–42.3) had knowledge of LAM. Participants who attended college or above educational level (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.5–2.8), those with parity of two (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI 1.6–3.6) or more than two (AOR = 2.4; 95% CI 1.5–4.0), those who expressed a desire for further fertility (AOR = 1.3; 95% CI 1.1–1.5), individuals who received counselling on LAM (AOR = 3.0; 95% CI 2.6–3.7), and those who gave birth in hospital (AOR = 2.6; 95% CI 1.4–2.6) had higher odds of knowledge about LAM, compared to their counter parts. In contrary, participants resided far away from health facilities had 30% lower odd of knowledge about LAM compared to those resided near the health facilities (AOR = 0.70; 95% CI 0.6–0.8). The proportion of participants who had knowledge of LAM was low. Strengthening counseling about LAM during antenatal care and delivery with due attention to women with limited access to health facilities should be considered for increasing their level of knowledge on LAM.
Comprehensive prediction of urolithiasis based on clinical factors, blood chemistry and urinalysis: UROLITHIASIS score
Authors: Kim Hyo Joon , Oh Sang Hoon 
Published: September 2023

AbstractComprehensive prediction of urolithiasis using available factors obtained in the emergency department may aid in patient-centered diagnostic imaging decisions. This retrospective study analyzed the clinical factors, blood chemistry and urine parameters of patients who underwent nonenhanced urinary computed tomography for suspected urolithiasis. A scoring system was developed from a logistic regression model and was tested using the area under the curve (AUC). The prevalence of urolithiasis and important possible causes in the three risk subgroups were determined. Finally, the scoring model was validated. In the derivation cohort (n = 673), 566 patients were diagnosed with urolithiasis. Age > 35 years, history of urolithiasis, pain duration < 8 h, nausea/vomiting, costovertebral angle tenderness, serum creatinine ≥ 0.92 mg/dL, erythrocytes ≥ 10/high power field, no leukocytes ≤  + , and any crystalluria were retained in the final multivariable model and became part of the score. This scoring model demonstrated good discrimination (AUC 0.808 [95% CI, 0.776–0.837]). In the validation cohort (n = 336), the performance was similar (AUC 0.803 [95% CI, 0.756–0.844]), surpassing that of the STONE score (AUC 0.654 [95% CI, 0.601–0.705], P < 0.001). This scoring model successfully stratified patients according to the probability of urolithiasis. Further validation in various settings is needed.
Transparent wood composite prepared from two commercially important tropical timber species
Authors: Anish M. C. , Pandey Krishna K. , Kumar Rakesh 
Published: September 2023

AbstractTransparent wood (TW) has garnered significant global attention due to its unique properties. In this study, TW composites were fabricated using two timber species of different density classes: Ailanthus triphysa (common name: Ailanthus wood) and Hevea brasiliensis (common name: Rubberwood). Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and Hydrogen peroxide-based alkali method was used to modify the lignin in these veneer samples, producing a white cellulose template with a fully intact hierarchical cell structure. Subsequently, a cost-effective thermosetting unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) was infiltrated into the redesigned framework and polymerized to create rigid nanostructured transparent composites. High optical haze (of 94% and 89%) and favourable light transmittance of 59 and 55 percent were exhibited by the UPR-TW composites made from rubberwood and ailanthus wood, respectively. TW was characterised using Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The mechanical properties of TW were measured and compared with those of natural wood and pure-polymer. Furthermore, the anisotropic light diffusion behaviour displayed by TW in accordance with the fibre orientation indicates the utility of material as a potential light shaping device. Therefore, a cost-effective and commercially viable strategy to fabricate multipurpose TW composites using a combination of lesser-known timber species (LKTS) and UPR resin was successfully demonstrated.
Evidence of two differentially regulated elongasomes in Salmonella
Authors: Castanheira Sónia , García-del Portillo Francisco 
Published: September 2023

AbstractCell shape is genetically inherited by all forms of life. Some unicellular microbes increase niche adaptation altering shape whereas most show invariant morphology. A universal system of peptidoglycan synthases guided by cytoskeletal scaffolds defines bacterial shape. In rod-shaped bacteria, this system consists of two supramolecular complexes, the elongasome and divisome, which insert cell wall material along major and minor axes. Microbes with invariant shape are thought to use a single morphogenetic system irrespective of the occupied niche. Here, we provide evidence for two elongasomes that generate (rod) shape in the same bacterium. This phenomenon was unveiled in Salmonella, a pathogen that switches between extra- and intracellular lifestyles. The two elongasomes can be purified independently, respond to different environmental cues, and are directed by distinct peptidoglycan synthases: the canonical PBP2 and the pathogen-specific homologue PBP2SAL. The PBP2-elongasome responds to neutral pH whereas that directed by PBP2SAL assembles in acidic conditions. Moreover, the PBP2SAL-elongasome moves at a lower speed. Besides Salmonella, other human, animal, and plant pathogens encode alternative PBPs with predicted morphogenetic functions. Therefore, contrasting the view of morphological plasticity facilitating niche adaptation, some pathogens may have acquired alternative systems to preserve their shape in the host.
Cerebellar climbing fibers multiplex movement and reward signals during a voluntary movement task in mice
Authors: Ikezoe Koji , Hidaka Naoki , Manita Satoshi , Murakami Masayoshi , Tsutsumi Shinichiro , Isomura Yoshikazu , Kano Masanobu , Kitamura Kazuo 
Published: September 2023

AbstractCerebellar climbing fibers convey sensorimotor information and their errors, which are used for motor control and learning. Furthermore, they represent reward-related information. Despite such functional diversity of climbing fiber signals, it is still unclear whether each climbing fiber conveys the information of single or multiple modalities and how the climbing fibers conveying different information are distributed over the cerebellar cortex. Here we perform two-photon calcium imaging from cerebellar Purkinje cells in mice engaged in a voluntary forelimb lever-pull task and demonstrate that climbing fiber responses in 68% of Purkinje cells can be explained by the combination of multiple behavioral variables such as lever movement, licking, and reward delivery. Neighboring Purkinje cells exhibit similar climbing fiber response properties, form functional clusters, and share noise fluctuations of responses. Taken together, individual climbing fibers convey behavioral information on multiplex variables and are spatially organized into the functional modules of the cerebellar cortex.
Complex strike-slip faulting during the 2021 Mw7.4 Maduo earthquake
Authors: Wei Guoguang , Chen Kejie , Lyu Mingzhe , Gong Wenzheng , Dal Zilio Luca , Ye Lingling , Tu Hongwei 
Published: September 2023

AbstractFault geometry is an essential component for understanding earthquake genesis and dynamic rupture propagation. Here we employed space-based geodetic observations and geological survey, adopting a fully Bayesian approach, to probabilistically estimate the fault geometry of the 2021 Mw7.4 Maduo earthquake. The fault is predominantly characterized by strike-slip motions with three main geometry irregularities, reflecting the segmented pattern of the earthquake rupture. On the west side of the epicenter, the fault exhibits north-dipping angles (75–81°), whereas on the east side, it shows sub-vertical angles (82–87°). For the southeast branch, geodetic inversion reveals an overall shallow-dipping (44 ± 5°) faulting, yet further segmentation of the branch in the model and analysis of aftershock mechnism indicate that the dip of the branch faults may vary between vertical and shallow angles. This finding warrants confirmation through future underground observation data.These results suggest that strike-slip faulting could occur on unsuitably orientated planes during any seismic event.
Experimental study on ice monitoring method for 10 kV transmission line with tangent tower in alpine landform
Authors: Yang Lin , Chen Zhiqiang , Hao Yanpeng , Lin Xinhao , Yu Lei , Li Yue , Yuan Zhiyong , Li Licheng 
Published: September 2023

AbstractIce monitoring methods were applied for 110 kV and above transmission lines with tangent towers. However, the change in the vertical span is not considered, and a significant difference lies in the tower‐conductor structure of 10 kV transmission lines. For this reason, a proposal is made about the ice monitoring method for the 10 kV transmission line with tangent tower in alpine landform, which includes the ice monitoring system based on pressure measurement and corresponding equivalent ice thickness calculating methods. Different methods calculate the vertical span under different height difference coefficients. A finite element simulation model and a simulated ice load experiment system are established based on real conductors and insulators. Experiments and simulations under four simulated terrains are conducted within 2.5–20 mm ice thickness range. The comparison is made between this method and the method without considering the change in vertical span. The results show that the two methods are consistent and the relative errors are lower than ±4% in simulation and ±10% in experiment when the height difference coefficient is 0. When it is not 0, the relative errors of this method fall between +0.38% and +6.78% in simulation and −6.40% to +6.60% in experiment, while the relative errors of the method without considering the change in vertical span ranges between −11.13% and −20.23% in simulation and −11.65% to −23.20% in experiment.
Compact hybrid eighth‐mode substrate integrated waveguide and microstrip line filters with mixed electric and magnetic coupling
Authors: Wang Xiang , Liu Qian‐Wen , Yang Xian‐Long , Li Huangyan , Zhu Xiao‐Wei , Wu Wen 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis paper proposes a new type of hybrid eighth‐mode substrate integrated waveguide (EMSIW) and microstrip line (MSL) bandpass filter (BPF) with mixed electric and magnetic coupling. Firstly, two second‐order EMSIW BPFs with mixed coupling and wide stopband performance are investigated. Then, in order to realise high‐order BPF with decent performance, half‐wavelength (λ/2) open‐circuited MSL resonators are employed in the hybrid BPFs design. In the end, two third‐order BPFs and a fourth‐order BPF are developed by combining the EMSIW and MSL resonators together. Extra transmission zeros can be introduced due to the cross couplings in the trisection and quadruplet topologies. For demonstration, the proposed prototypes are designed, fabricated and measured. Reasonable agreements can be achieved between the measurement and simulation. The proposed third‐order BPFs compete against the state of the art, exhibiting the competitive characteristics of the operating bandwidth, physical footprint and upper‐stopband rejection with less order. The proposed fourth‐order BPF features a compact size of 0.34 × 0.34λ0, a low insertion loss of 1 dB, a broad 3‐dB fractional bandwidth of 22.9% and an excellent lower‐stopband suppression.
Chinese Technology and the Transformation of the Rural Economy in Ghana: Evidence From Galamsey in the Ashanti and Savannah Regions
Authors: Akyeampong Emmanuel , Xu Liang 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The recent Chinese involvement in small-scale gold mining in Ghana has received wide publicity and scholarly attention. While the literature has focused on environmental sustainability, political accountability, and institutional reforms, it is yet to examine local adoption of Chinese technology and its impact on Ghana’s rural economy. We argue that it is in the interstices between the formal economy and entrepreneurship within the informal economy that opportunities for Chinese interventions emerge. Using evidence from Manso Akropong in the Ashanti region and Bole in the Savannah region, this article shows that, while Chinese technology’s impact is transformative, the outcomes are divergent in different regions. In Manso Akropong, the intensification of mining backed by Ghanaian–Chinese collaborations has led to the environmental destruction, creating competition between gold mining and cocoa farming that had underpinned Ghana’s rural prosperity. In Bole, where less aggressive Chinese technology such as Changfa and rubber mats are incorporated without direct Chinese participation, a more sustainable pattern of growth has emerged. This comparative study suggests that besides the large-scale projects and state-led training programmes, grassroots actors like informal artisanal miners are at the forefront of technology transfer in the China–Africa encounter.
Controlling root zone temperature improves plant growth and pigments in hydroponic lettuce
Authors: Levine Christopher P , Hayashi Sota , Ohmori Yoshihiro , Kusano Miyako , Kobayashi Makoto , Nishizawa Tomoko , Kurimoto Ikusaburo , Kawabata Saneyuki , Yamori Wataru 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Background and Aims
Air and root zone temperatures are important environmental factors affecting plant growth and yield. Numerous studies have demonstrated that air temperature strongly affects plant growth and development. Despite the extensive literature on air temperature, comprehensive studies on the effects of root zone temperature (RZT) on plant growth, elemental composition, and pigments are limited. In this study, we carefully observed the effects of RZT in red leaf lettuce to understand its effect on lettuce growth and pigment content.

Methods
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa, red leaf cultivar ‘Red Fire’) was grown hydroponically in a plant factory with artificial light under three RZT treatments (15, 25, or 35 °C) for 13 days. We investigated the comprehensive effects of RZT on the production of red leaf lettuce by metabolome and ionome analyses.

Key Results
The 25 °C RZT treatment achieved maximum shoot and root dry weight. The 35 °C RZT decreased plant growth but significantly increased pigment contents (e.g. anthocyanins, carotenoids). In addition, a RZT heating treatment during plant cultivation that changed from 25 to 35 °C RZT for 8 days before harvest significantly increased shoot dry weight compared with the 35 °C RZT and significantly increased pigments compared with the 25 °C RZT. The 15 °C RZT resulted in significantly less pigment content relative to the 35 °C RZT. The 15 °C RZT also resulted in shoot and root dry weights greater than the 35 °C RZT but less than the 25 °C RZT.

Conclusions
This study demonstrated that plant growth and pigments can be enhanced by adjusting RZT during different stages of plant growth to attain enhanced pigment contents while minimizing yield loss. This suggests that controlling RZT could be a viable method to improve lettuce quality via enhancement of pigment content quality while maintaining acceptable yields.
μ- PBWT: a lightweight r-indexing of the PBWT for storing and querying UK Biobank data
Authors: Cozzi Davide , Rossi Massimiliano , Rubinacci Simone , Gagie Travis , Köppl Dominik , Boucher Christina , Bonizzoni Paola 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Motivation
The Positional Burrows–Wheeler Transform (PBWT) is a data structure that indexes haplotype sequences in a manner that enables finding maximal haplotype matches in h sequences containing w variation sites in O(hw) time. This represents a significant improvement over classical quadratic-time approaches. However, the original PBWT data structure does not allow for queries over Biobank panels that consist of several millions of haplotypes, if an index of the haplotypes must be kept entirely in memory.

Results
In this article, we leverage the notion of r-index proposed for the BWT to present a memory-efficient method for constructing and storing the run-length encoded PBWT, and computing set maximal matches (SMEMs) queries in haplotype sequences. We implement our method, which we refer to as μ-PBWT, and evaluate it on datasets of 1000 Genome Project and UK Biobank data. Our experiments demonstrate that the μ-PBWT reduces the memory usage up to a factor of 20% compared to the best current PBWT-based indexing. In particular, μ-PBWT produces an index that stores high-coverage whole genome sequencing data of chromosome 20 in about a third of the space of its BCF file. μ-PBWT is an adaptation of techniques for the run-length compressed BWT for the PBWT (RLPBWT) and it is based on keeping in memory only a succinct representation of the RLPBWT that still allows the efficient computation of set maximal matches (SMEMs) over the original panel.

Availability and implementation
Our implementation is open source and available at https://github.com/dlcgold/muPBWT. The binary is available at https://bioconda.github.io/recipes/mupbwt/README.html.
DataDTA: a multi-feature and dual-interaction aggregation framework for drug–target binding affinity prediction
Authors: Zhu Yan , Zhao Lingling , Wen Naifeng , Wang Junjie , Wang Chunyu 
Published: September 2023

Abstract

Motivation
Accurate prediction of drug–target binding affinity (DTA) is crucial for drug discovery. The increase in the publication of large-scale DTA datasets enables the development of various computational methods for DTA prediction. Numerous deep learning-based methods have been proposed to predict affinities, some of which only utilize original sequence information or complex structures, but the effective combination of various information and protein-binding pockets have not been fully mined. Therefore, a new method that integrates available key information is urgently needed to predict DTA and accelerate the drug discovery process.

Results
In this study, we propose a novel deep learning-based predictor termed DataDTA to estimate the affinities of drug–target pairs. DataDTA utilizes descriptors of predicted pockets and sequences of proteins, as well as low-dimensional molecular features and SMILES strings of compounds as inputs. Specifically, the pockets were predicted from the three-dimensional structure of proteins and their descriptors were extracted as the partial input features for DTA prediction. The molecular representation of compounds based on algebraic graph features was collected to supplement the input information of targets. Furthermore, to ensure effective learning of multiscale interaction features, a dual-interaction aggregation neural network strategy was developed. DataDTA was compared with state-of-the-art methods on different datasets, and the results showed that DataDTA is a reliable prediction tool for affinities estimation. Specifically, the concordance index (CI) of DataDTA is 0.806 and the Pearson correlation coefficient (R) value is 0.814 on the test dataset, which is higher than other methods.

Availability and implementation
The codes and datasets of DataDTA are available at https://github.com/YanZhu06/DataDTA.