bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The F-bZIP-regulated Zn deficiency response in land plants
Authors: Assunção Ana G. L. 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Main conclusion
This review describes zinc sensing and transcriptional regulation of the zinc deficiency response in Arabidopsis, and discusses how their evolutionary conservation in land plants facilitates translational approaches for improving the Zn nutritional value of crop species.

Abstract
Zinc is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms due to its presence in a large number of proteins, as a structural or catalytic cofactor. In plants, zinc homeostasis mechanisms comprise uptake from soil, transport and distribution throughout the plant to provide adequate cellular zinc availability. Here, I discuss the transcriptional regulation of the response to zinc deficiency and the zinc sensing mechanisms in Arabidopsis, and their evolutionary conservation in land plants. The Arabidopsis F-group basic region leucine-zipper (F-bZIP) transcription factors bZIP19 and bZIP23 function simultaneously as sensors of intracellular zinc status, by direct binding of zinc ions, and as the central regulators of the zinc deficiency response, with their target genes including zinc transporters from the ZRT/IRT-like Protein (ZIP) family and nicotianamine synthase enzymes that produce the zinc ligand nicotianamine. I note that this relatively simple mechanism of zinc sensing and regulation, together with the evolutionary conservation of F-bZIP transcription factors across land plants, offer important research opportunities. One of them is to use the F-bZIP-regulated zinc deficiency response as a tractable module for evolutionary and comparative functional studies. Another research opportunity is translational research in crop plants, modulating F-bZIP activity as a molecular switch to enhance zinc accumulation. This should become a useful plant-based solution to alleviate effects of zinc deficiency in soils, which impact crop production and crop zinc content, with consequences for human nutrition globally.
DNA methylation status of the SPHK1 and LTB genes underlies the clinicopathological diversity of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-related hepatocellular carcinomas
Authors: Tsuda Noboru , Tian Ying , Fujimoto Mao , Kuramoto Junko , Makiuchi Satomi , Ojima Hidenori , Gotoh Masahiro , Hiraoka Nobuyoshi , Yoshida Teruhiko , Kanai Yae , Arai Eri 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Purpose
This study was performed to identify the DNA methylation profiles underlying the clinicopathological diversity of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).

Methods
Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of 88 liver tissue samples was performed using the Infinium assay.

Results
Principal component analysis revealed that distinct DNA methylation profiles differing from such profiles in normal control liver tissue had already been established in non-cancerous liver tissue showing NASH, which is considered to be a precancerous condition. Hierarchical clustering separated 26 NASH-related HCCs into Cluster I (n = 8) and Cluster II (n = 18). Such epigenetic clustering was significantly correlated with histopathological diversity, i.e. poorer tumor differentiation, tumor steatosis and development of a scirrhous HCC component. Significant differences in DNA methylation levels between the two clusters were accumulated in molecular pathways participating in cell adhesion and cytoskeletal remodeling, as well as cell proliferation and apoptosis. Among tumor-related genes characterizing Clusters I and II, differences in the levels of DNA methylation and mRNA expression for the SPHK1, INHBA, LTB and PDE3B genes were correlated with poorer tumor differentiation. 5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine treatment of HCC cells revealed epigenetic regulation of the SPHK1 and LTB genes. Knockdown experiments showed that SPHK1 promotes cell proliferation, represses apoptosis and enhances migration, whereas LTB enhances migration of HCC cells. DNA hypomethylation resulting in increased expression of SPHK1 and LTB in poorly differentiated HCCs may underlie the aggressive phenotype of such HCCs.

Conclusion
These data indicate that DNA methylation profiles may determine the clinicopathological heterogeneity of NASH-related HCCs via alterations of tumor-related gene expression.
Region-based feature enhancement using channel-wise attention for classification of breast histopathological images
Authors: Rashmi R. , Prasad Keerthana , Udupa Chethana Babu K. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractBreast histopathological image analysis at 400x magnification is essential for the determination of malignant breast tumours. But manual analysis of these images is tedious, subjective, error-prone and requires domain knowledge. To this end, computer-aided tools are gaining much attention in the recent past as it aids pathologists and save time. Furthermore, advances in computational power have leveraged the usage of computer tools. Yet, usage of computer-aided tools to analyse these images is challenging due to various reasons such as heterogeneity of malignant tumours, colour variations and presence of artefacts. Moreover, these images are captured at high resolutions which pose a major challenge to designing deep learning models as it demands high computational requirements. In this context, the present work proposes a new approach to efficiently and effectively extract features from these high-resolution images. In addition, at 400x magnification, the characteristics and structure of nuclei play a prominent role in the decision of malignancy. In this regard, the study introduces a novel CNN architecture called as CWA-Net that uses a colour channel attention module to enhance the features of the potential regions of interest such as nuclei. The developed model is qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated on private and public datasets and achieved an accuracy of 0.95% and 0.96%, respectively. The experimental evaluation demonstrates that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods on both datasets.
Cannabis use, abuse and dependence during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review
Authors: Bonnet Udo , Specka Michael , Roser Patrik , Scherbaum Norbert 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe interaction between cannabis use or addiction and SARS-COV-2 infection rates and COVID-19 outcomes is obscure. As of 08/01/2022 among 57 evaluated epidemiological/clinical studies found in Pubmed-database, most evidence for how cannabis use patterns were influenced by the pandemic was given by two systematic reviews and 17 prospective studies, mostly involving adolescents. In this age group, cannabis use patterns have not changed markedly. For adults, several cross-sectional studies reported mixed results with cannabis use having increased, decreased or remained unchanged. Two cross-sectional studies demonstrated that the severity of adults´ cannabis dependence was either increased as a consequence of increasing cannabis use during the pandemic or not changed. Regarding the effect of cannabis use on COVID-19 outcomes, we found only five retrospective/cross-sectional studies. Accordingly, (i) cannabis use did not impact mild COVID-19 symptoms; (ii) cannabis using individuals experienced more COVID-19-related hospitalizations; (iii) cannabis using veterans were associated with reduced SARS-COV-2 infection rates; (iv) frequent cannabis use was significantly associated with COVID-19 mortality, and (v) cannabis dependents were at higher risk of COVID-19 breakthrough after vaccination. It should be outlined that the validity of these retrospective/cross-sectional studies (all self-reports or register/e-health-records) is rather low. Future prospective studies on the effects of cannabis use on SARS-COV-2 infection rates and COVID-19 outcomes are clearly required for conclusive risk–benefit assessments of the role of cannabis on users’ health during the pandemic. Moreover, substance dependence (including cannabis) is associated with (often untreated) somatic comorbidity, which severity is a proven key risk factor for worse COVID-19 outcomes.
A fair-multicluster approach to clustering of categorical data
Authors: Santos-Mangudo Carlos , Heras Antonio J. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractIn the last few years, the need of preventing classification biases due to race, gender, social status, etc. has increased the interest in designing fair clustering algorithms. The main idea is to ensure that the output of a cluster algorithm is not biased towards or against specific subgroups of the population. There is a growing specialized literature on this topic, dealing with the problem of clustering numerical data bases. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there are no previous papers devoted to the problem of fair clustering of pure categorical attributes. In this paper, we show that the Multicluster methodology proposed by Santos and Heras (Interdiscip J Inf Knowl Manag 15:227–246, 2020. https://doi.org/10.28945/4643) for clustering categorical data, can be modified in order to increase the fairness of the clusters. Of course, there is a trade-off between fairness and efficiency, so that an increase in the fairness objective usually leads to a loss of classification efficiency. Yet it is possible to reach a reasonable compromise between these goals, since the methodology proposed by Santos and Heras (2020) can be easily adapted in order to get homogeneous and fair clusters.
What if 0 is not equal to 0? Inter-personal health utilities anchoring using the largest health gains
Authors: Jakubczyk Michał 
Published: November 2022

AbstractPrioritizing health technologies requires comparisons of improvements in longevity or quality of life (QoL), or both. For this purpose, value sets are constructed that contain weights assigned to health states based on societal preferences. I show that how this is typically done may distort the results by giving unjustifiably larger impact to individuals who prioritize improvements in QoL over longevity. The problem results from equating the utility differences between being dead and full health across people, ignoring the fact that interpersonal utility comparisons are forbidden (or at least problematic) in economics. I propose another approach: the numerical value of maximal health gain (either in longevity or QoL) is assumed to be equal across individuals, to remove the impact of the range of utilities differing between people. I test this approach using EQ-5D-5L and EQ-5D-3L utilities elicited in Poland for two modeling techniques: a simple econometric model and a Bayesian one that accounts for censoring. The proposed approach increases the utilities of the worst health state: from$$-0.41$$-0.41to$$-0.25$$-0.25in EQ-5D-5L and from about$$-0.54$$-0.54to$$-0.36$$-0.36in EQ-5D-3L. In the Bayesian approach, the impact is greater: from$$-0.45$$-0.45to$$-0.11$$-0.11for EQ-5D-5L and from$$-0.54$$-0.54to$$-0.22$$-0.22for EQ-5D-3L. I discuss some normative arguments why the proposed approach may be more justifiable for aggregating individual preferences for health outcomes.
Streptococcus anginosus: a stealthy villain in deep odontogenic abscesses
Authors: Furuholm Jussi , Uittamo Johanna , Rautaporras Niina , Välimaa Hanna , Snäll Johanna 
Published: November 2022

AbstractOdontogenic infections (OIs) occasionally spread to deep facial and neck tissues. Our study aimed to explore the role of Streptococcus anginous group (SAG) in these severe OIs. A retrospective study of patients aged ≥ 18 years who required hospital care for acute OI was conducted. We analysed data of OI microbial samples and recorded findings of SAG and other pathogens. These findings were compared with data regarding patients’ prehospital status and variables of infection severity. In total, 290 patients were included in the analyses. The most common (49%) bacterial finding was SAG. Other common findings were Streptococcus viridans and Prevotella species, Parvimonas micra, and Fusobacterium nucleatum. Infection severity variables were strongly associated with SAG occurrence. Treatment in an intensive care unit was significantly more common in patients with SAG than in patients without SAG (p < 0.001). In addition, SAG patients expressed higher levels of C-reactive protein (p = 0.001) and white blood cell counts (p < 0.001), and their hospital stays were longer than those of non-SAG patients (p = 0.001). SAG is a typical finding in severe OIs. Clinical features of SAG-related OIs are more challenging than in other OIs. Early detection of SAG, followed by comprehensive infection care with prompt and careful surgical treatment, is necessary due to the aggressive behaviour of this dangerous pathogen.
Neo-colonialism in the Polish rural world: CAP approach and the phenomenon of suitcase farmers
Authors: Biczkowski Mirosław , Rudnicki Roman , Chodkowska-Miszczuk Justyna , Wiśniewski Łukasz , Kistowski Mariusz , Wiśniewski Paweł 
Published: November 2022

AbstractNotwithstanding the opportunities it provides, the implementation of some measures of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (EU CAP), including agri-environment-climate measures (AECMs), also generates threats. The study identifies an extremely disturbing process that can be referred to as “internal neo-colonialism”, which has been driven by the technocratic agrarian policy of the EU and transformations in Poland at the turn of the twenty-first century. The associated disadvantageous practices mainly affect areas under threat of marginalisation and peripheralisation, including Poland with its post-Socialist heritage, which has shaped the attitudes and behaviour of society and has consolidated linkages between politics and business. In order to retrace such activities, the study analyses EU funds granted in support of farmers implementing AECMs, with a focus on analysing the place of residence of the “farmer” and the location of the farm. As the research shows, the attractiveness of CAP support causes Polish agriculture and Poland’s countryside, including its natural and financial resources, to be drained by so-called “suitcase farmers”, i.e. people/entities not tied to the place where the agricultural activity is pursued, many of whom live in cities. One common practice is to take over land located in legally protected areas noted for their high quality of natural environment. Not only does the practice of land grabbing strengthen the social exclusion of rural communities and the peripheralisation and pauperisation of these areas, but it also hinders discussion about environmental justice and the ecological integrity of rural areas.
Value co-destruction causing customers to stop service usage: a topic modelling analysis of dental service complaint data
Authors: Goto Hikaru , Belal H. M. , Shirahada Kunio 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThis study aims to identify the types of value co-destruction (VCD) emerging in healthcare services that cause patients to reduce or extinguish their intentions to continue using the services; it also aims to identify the VCD antecedents. Complaints from 1075 dental clinic patients, which are collected as textual data, are analysed in this study. The authors adopt an exploratory approach comprising a quantitative analysis based mainly on the topic model, a type of machine learning, and a qualitative analysis based on the KJ method. Twelve types of VCD were empirically identified, three of which had a significant negative effect on the intention to continue using the service. Ten antecedents that cause these types of VCD were identified, when examined based on a multi-level perspective, institutional factors and social norms were found to be related to the VCD process. This study contributes to understanding the mechanisms by which failures in healthcare services occur and to developing effective decision making to overcome them.
C2ShadowGAN: cycle-in-cycle generative adversarial network for shadow removal using unpaired data
Authors: Kang Sunwon , Kim Juwan , Jang In Sung , Lee Byoung-Dai 
Published: November 2022

AbstractRecent advances in deep learning technology, and the availability of public shadow image datasets, have enabled significant performance improvements of shadow removal tasks in computer vision. However, most deep learning-based shadow removal methods are usually trained in a supervised manner, in which paired shadow and shadow-free data are required. We developed a weakly supervised generative adversarial network with a cycle-in-cycle structure for shadow removal using unpaired data. In addition, we introduced new loss functions to reduce unnecessary transformations for non-shadow areas and to enable smooth transformations for shadow boundary areas. We conducted extensive experiments using the ISTD and Video Shadow Removal datasets to assess the effectiveness of our methods. The experimental results show that our method is superior to other state-of-the-art methods trained on unpaired data.
Seismic response of a motorway bridge founded in an active landslide: a case study
Authors: Mantakas Antonios , Tsatsis Angelos , Loli Marianna , Kourkoulis Rallis , Gazetas George 
Published: November 2022

AbstractA twin girder 7-pier bridge, belonging to the "Egnatia" highway that has been facing numerous challenging geohazards, is built within an active landslide. Its seismic performance is investigated here through a comprehensive analysis of the interaction between bridge, foundation, and the precarious slope, which might affect 4 of the piers. The numerical 3D modeling considers in a realistic way the coupled effects of topography, soil nonlinearity, slope instability, and reinforced-concrete plasticity during seismic loading (kinematic and inertial). Alternative foundation schemes and slope stabilizing techniques are generically compared and evaluated. The aim is to develop a multi-hazard risk assessment platform that could facilitate the long-term management of motorways while shedding some light on the multi-hazard soil-structure interaction (MH-SSI).
Probabilistic assessment of SMRFs with infill masonry walls incorporating nonlinear soil-structure interaction
Authors: Kazemi F. , Asgarkhani N. , Jankowski R. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractInfill Masonry Walls (IMWs) are used in the perimeter of a building to separate the inner and outer space. IMWs may affect the lateral behavior of buildings, while they are different from those partition walls that separate two inner spaces. This study focused on the seismic vulnerability assessment of Steel Moment-Resisting Frames (SMRFs) assuming different placement of IMWs incorporating nonlinear Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI). The aim is to explore the damage states of IMWs and use their ability for improving the vulnerability of SMRFs. For this purpose, the three, five, seven, and nine story levels (3-Story, 5-Story, 7-Story, and 9-Story) SMRFs were modeled considering four soil types. Incremental Dynamic Analyses (IDAs) were performed to determine the seismic performance limit-state capacities of SMRFs considering the Far-Fault (FF) record subset suggested by FEMA P695. To accurately model the influence of IMWs on the seismic response of SMRFs, a Tcl programming algorithm was developed to intelligently monitor the damage states of IMWs in each floor level. Results of the analysis show that assuming different placement of IMWs can significantly increase the seismic limit-state capacities of SMRFs with and without considering SSI effects. In addition, IMWs can play a crucial role to improve the seismic performances as well as the seismic collapse probability, which may be suggested for retrofitting purposes.
Has social constructionism about race outlived its usefulness? Perspectives from a race skeptic
Authors: Hochman Adam 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe phrase ‘social constructionism about race’ is so ambiguous that it is unable to convey anything very meaningful. I argue that the various versions of social constructionism about race are either false, overly broad, or better described as anti-realism about biological race. One of the central rhetorical purposes of social constructionism about race has been to serve as an alternative to biological racial realism. However, most versions of social constructionism about race are compatible with biological racial realism, and there are some race scholars who endorse both positions. Going a step further, David Reich has recently defended both social constructionism about race and racial hereditarianism. While Reich’s defense of racial hereditarianism is unconvincing, I show that most versions of social constructionism about race are indeed compatible with racial hereditarianism. I argue that we ought to replace the social constructionist “consensus” about race with the view that there are no races, only racialized groups.
Diagnostic value of core needle biopsy for determining HER2 status in breast cancer, especially in the HER2-low population
Authors: Chen Ruixian , Qi Yana , Huang Ya , Liu Weijing , Yang Ruoning , Zhao Xin , Wu Yunhao , Li Qintong , Wang Zhu , Sun Xin , Wei Bing , Chen Jie 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Purpose
The status of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is important for treatment decision-making of breast cancer and was commonly determined by core needle biopsy (CNB). The concordance of CNB with surgical excision biopsy (SEB) has been verified, but remain unclear according to the newly developed classification of HER2 status. Our study aimed to re-evaluate the diagnostic value of CNB for determining HER2 status in breast cancer, especially in the HER2-low population.

Methods
Eligible breast cancer patients in West China Hospital between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2021 were enrolled consecutively and data were extracted from the Hospital Information System. The agreement of HER2 status between CNB and SEB was calculated by concordance rate and κ statistics, as well as the sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values (PPV & NPV). Logistic models were used to explore potential factors associated with the discordance between both tests.

Results
Of 1829 eligible patients, 1097 (60.0%) and 1358 (74.2%) were consistent between CNB and SEB by pathological and clinical classifications, respectively, with κ value being 0.46 (0.43–0.49) and 0.57 (0.53–0.60). The sensitivity (50.9%–52.7%) and PPV (50.5%-55.2%) of CNB were especially low among IHC 1+ and 2+/ISH - subgroups by pathological classifications; however, it showed the highest sensitivity (77.5%) and the lowest specificity (73.9%) in HER2-low population by clinical classifications. Advanced N stages might be a stable indicator for the discordance between both tests.

Conclusion
The diagnostic value of CNB was limited for determining HER2 status in breast cancer, especially in HER2-low population.
Water Resources in Africa: The Role of Earth Observation Data and Hydrodynamic Modeling to Derive River Discharge
Authors: Tarpanelli Angelica , Paris Adrien , Sichangi Arthur W. , O`Loughlin Fiachra , Papa Fabrice 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
For more than a century, river discharge has been measured indirectly through observations of water level and flow velocity, but recently the number of gauging stations worldwide has decreased and the situation is particularly serious in African countries that suffer more than others from discontinuous and incomplete monitoring. As one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to extreme weather events and global warming, African countries need adequate and reliable monitoring. Decades of available Earth Observations data represent a tool complementary to the hydro-monitoring network and, in recent decades, they have demonstrated their potential, especially for data-poor regions. In this paper, a review of methods for hydrological and hydraulic modeling and for estimating river discharge by the use of satellite data, specifically radar altimetry and optical sensors, is provided, with particular focus on their role in the climate changes monitoring. More emphasis is placed on their relevance on African basins highlighting limits and advantages.