bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Identifying latent classes of empowerment among early adolescent girls and the factors that cultivate them: Evidence from a community‐based skills training program
Authors: Misunas Christina , Amin Sajeda 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundEfforts to empower adolescent girls remain constrained by confusion around how to conceptually define empowerment and how to design interventions. More research, particularly among young adolescents, is needed that considers contextual and age‐specific circumstances. This paper examines the latent classes of empowerment among early adolescent girls in Bangladesh and factors associated with membership in these classes. Using data from the Bangladeshi Association for Life Skills, Income, and Knowledge for Adolescents project, a four‐arm randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate different community‐based approaches for adolescents' skills development, we identify the latent classes before and after intervention and explore whether girls' membership in the study arms was associated with latent class membership at endline.MethodsTo identify underlying subgroups among the sample, we conducted latent class analysis at baseline and endline using indicators of seven different constructs of empowerment based on the literature. Using multinomial logistic regression analysis, we assessed whether respondents' background characteristics and membership in the study arms were predictive of latent class membership at both timepoints.ResultsA three‐class model at baseline and a four‐class model at endline showed optimal fit. In both models, three distinct latent classes were observed: (1) a least empowered class, (2) a mobile, socially active class, and (3) a socially progressive class. At endline, a fourth class emerged—the most empowered—that was mobile, socially active, and socially progressive. Girls' marital status, religion, and parents' level of education predicted latent class membership; household wealth was predictive at baseline, but not endline. Study arm was also associated with class membership at endline: girls in the Gender‐Rights Awareness Arm had the highest probability of belonging to the fourth, most empowered class.ConclusionThis paper identifies and characterizes latent classes of empowerment that exist among the sample before and after the intervention. The apparent differential effects of interventions in predicting latent class membership have implications for community‐based programming. Findings suggest that skills‐building curriculum focused on promoting gender equitable norms, voice, and agency has potential to influence early adolescent girls across multiple dimensions of empowerment.
Noninvasive examination of the cardiac properties of insect embryos enabled by optical coherence tomography
Authors: Su Ya , Fan Jiangling , Wang Xiuli , Wang Xiaoxiao , Li Jing , Duan Bingbing , Kang Le , Wei Liya , Yao X. Steve 
Published: March 2022

AbstractUnderstanding the cardiac properties of insect embryos at different development stages is important, however, few works have been conducted probably due to the lack of effective tools. Using locust embryos as an example, here we show, for the first time, that optical coherence tomography (OCT) is capable of obtaining detailed information of embryos' heart activities and irregularities, such as the heart rate, cardiac cycle, diastolic and systolic diameters, hemolymph pumping rate and ejection fraction at different stages of embryonic development and at different temperatures. We develop algorithms and mathematical methods for extracting and analyzing cardiac behavior information of locust embryos. We discover that locust embryos experienced suspended development (quiescence) caused by cold storage have a heart rate 20% more than that of embryos without experiencing quiescence and that the hemolymph pumping rate of the two types of embryos behaves differently as the embryos grow. In addition, using OCT as an accurate cardiac activity examination tool, we show that the heart rates of locust embryos are effectively reduced due to nitric oxide synthase gene silencing by RNA interference, indicating potential application of using locust embryos as a good model organism to study cardiovascular diseases, including the congenital heart disease and arrhythmia. Finally, the capabilities offered by OCT in the studies of locust embryonic development may also prove helpful to promote locust reproduction for nutritions or restrain locust reproduction for pest control.
Methylation‐ and homologous recombination deficiency‐related mutant genes predict the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Nie Guang‐Jie , Liu Jian , Zou Ai‐Mei , Zhan Shao‐Feng , Liang Jia‐Kang , Sui Yi , Chen Yu‐Ning , Yao Wei‐Shen 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundLung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a lung cancer subtype with poor prognosis. We investigated the prognostic value of methylation‐ and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)‐associated gene signatures in LUAD.MethodsData on RNA sequencing, somatic mutations, and methylation were obtained from TCGA database. HRD scores were used to stratify patients with LUAD into high and low HRD groups and identify differentially mutated and expressed genes (DMEGs). Pearson correlation analysis between DMEGs and methylation yielded methylation‐associated DMEGs. Cox regression analysis was used to construct a prognostic model, and the distribution of clinical features in the high‐ and low‐risk groups was compared.ResultsPatients with different HRD scores showed different DNA mutation patterns. There were 272 differentially mutated genes and 6294 differentially expressed genes. Fifty‐seven DMEGs were obtained; the top 10 upregulated genes wereCOL11A1,EXO1,ASPM,COL12A1,COL2A1,COL3A1,COL5A2,DIAPH3,CAD, andSLC25A13, while the top 10 downregulated genes wereC7,ERN2,DLC1,SCN7A,SMARCA2,CARD11,LAMA2,ITIH5,FRY, andEPHB6. Forty‐two DMEGs were negatively correlated with 259 methylation sites. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis of the DMEGs revealed enrichment of loci involved in extracellular matrix‐related remodeling and signaling. Six out of the 42 methylation‐associated DMEGs were significantly associated with LUAD prognosis and included in the prognostic model. The model effectively stratified high‐ and low‐risk patients, with the high‐risk group having more patients with advanced stage disease.ConclusionWe developed a novel prognostic model for LUAD based on methylation and HRD. Methylation‐associated DMEGs may function as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for LUAD. Further studies are needed to elucidate their roles in LUAD carcinogenesis.
Psoriatic arthritis: Ultrasound peculiarities with particular emphasis on enthesitis
Authors: Draghi Ferdinando , Ferrozzi Guia , Ballerini Daniela , Bortolotto Chandra 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe prevalence of psoriatic arthritis among patients with psoriasis has a marked variability with ethnic and geographic variations. Inflammatory changes associated with psoriatic arthritis include bone erosion, tenosynovitis, and synovial hypertrophy, but enthesitis is considered the hallmark. Both X‐ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are usefull in the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, but ultrasonography is the best imaging modality to assess entheses. Ultrasound findings of enthesitis include a loss of the regular fibrillar architecture, hypoechoic thickening, hypervascularization of tendons, ligaments, and joint capsules at their bony attachment, bony changes (including irregularities and erosions). Ultrasound has also proved the ability to detect inflammatory subclinical findings and to be useful in the follow‐up of therapies.
Leaf epidermal morphology of Asparagaceae of Taiwan and its systematic significance
Authors: Chao Chien‐Ti , Tzeng Hsy‐Yu , Tseng Yen‐Hsueh 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe current study analyzed the epidermal morphology of Asparagaceae in detail and assessed its systematic importance. At the familial level, no consistent characteristics were found, but anticlinal wall and stomata morphology provided systematic information of different tribes, especially Ophiopogoneae and Polygonateae. In Ophiopogoneae, Liriope and Ophiopogon had similar epidermis, which implying a close relationship between them, and was also supported by related studies. The leaves of Polygonateae exhibited rounded and undulate anticlinal wall. Polygonatum arisanense var. formosanum had a rounded anticlinal wall, whereas other species exhibited undulate anticlinal walls. Different epidemis of Po. arisanense var. formosanum supported the variety treatment of Po. arisanense. The intergeneric relationship was also interpreted based on the anticlinal wall and stomata. Therefore, the epidermis could provide the systematic value of Asparagaceae. The present study also revealed the linkage of stomata and habitat types, though the adaptative significance of epidermal traits needs further study.Research Highlights
Anticlinal wall and stomatal morphology had systematic potential on tribal or generic levels of Asparagaceae.
Stomatal types of Asparagaceae might be linked to environmental factors.
Enhanced scanning electron microscopy images using muscovite mica, an example with Rhizaria
Authors: Llopis Monferrer Natalia , Foulon Valentin , Elies Philippe 
Published: March 2022

AbstractMuscovite mica sheets were used as a support to capture scanning electron microscopy pictures of marine biological samples. The physical properties of the cleaved muscovite mica provide a clean background, which greatly reduces the postprocessing of images, thereby enhancing them and resulting in impressive images. We chose siliceous Rhizaria for this investigation due to their morphological diversity and elaborate skeletons.Research highlights
Muscovite mica sheet was used as a SEM support for biological sample
Physical properties of muscovite mica sheet can provide native dark, gray, and white background of SEM images
Muscovite mica sheet should be considered for image production in the context of art and science intersection
The impact of helical slide honing on surface microtexture compared to plateau honing process through relevant characterization methods
Authors: Yousfi Mohammed , Ţălu Ştefan 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe cylinder engine surface texture has a major influence on the functional performances of the ring‐pack tribo‐system. The cylinder engine surface microtexture manufactured by plateau honing (PH) and helical slide honing (HSH) processes have been analyzed using white light interferometry (WLI), and stereometric analysis. The approaches in three‐dimensional (3‐D) white light interferometer measurements and surface stereometric analysis are important for the correct interpretation of 3‐D local surface texture features and can be applied in mathematical models for calculating the friction. The samples were divided into two groups: plateau honing (PH) samples and helical slide honing (HSH) samples to discuss the obtained results, according to the honing techniques obtained after several stages: the rough and finish honing and final stage. The obtained results demonstrated that the surface of group PH has the higher values of root mean square height (Sq = 1.83 μm) and fractal dimension (Df = 2.74 ± 0.01), while the lowest values of root mean square height (Sq = 0.63 μm) and fractal dimension (Df = 2.60 ± 0.01) were found for HSH samples. These values highlight that the PH samples are more irregular (both as surface and topography) in comparison with HSH samples.Highlights
We characterized the micromorphology of surface microtexture in plateau and helical slide honing.
The nanostructure morphology was investigated using the white light interferometry, fractal and stereometric analyses.
The surface topography during the HSH process has different characteristics than the PH process and can be used to obtain better friction and lubrication performances.
Falsehoods and myths in famine research: The Bengal famine and Daoud
Authors: Bowbrick Peter 
Published: March 2022

AbstractDecision makers on famine and food policy may be influenced by myths, some of which reappear after being refuted. The subject of famine is highly emotive and politically charged which means that many authors cherry‐pick or invent evidence, suppress evidence or use bad economics. Daoud's (2018) paper ‘Synthesizing the Malthusian and Senian approaches on scarcity: A realist account’ contains many falsehoods supporting myths, both misrepresentations of what people have written on the 1943 Bengal famine (suggestio falsi) and suppression of what they did say (suppressio veri). The statistics are unacceptable. The claims about the Malthusian approach are untenable.
Governing the artisanal gold mining sector in the Mano River Union: A comparative study of Liberia and Sierra Leone
Authors: Kalokoh Amidu , Kochtcheeva Lada V. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThis paper contributes to the growing literature on the dynamics and governance challenges of artisanal mining in sub‐Saharan Africa. It examines the artisanal gold mining sector in Liberia and Sierra Leone, two neighboring post‐war countries with extensive informal economies in the gold mining sector. This comparative case study explores factors that help reveal governance struggles, including the informality of the sector, the multiplicity of actors, ineffective monitoring, and gold price differences. It underscores the informality of the sector as a more pronounced problem that offers opportunities for corruption, smuggling of gold, human rights abuses, and exploitation.
Efficient cascaded V‐net optimization for lower extremity CT segmentation validated using bone morphology assessment
Authors: Kuiper Ruurd J. A. , Sakkers Ralph J. B. , van Stralen Marijn , Arbabi Vahid , Viergever Max A. , Weinans Harrie , Seevinck Peter R. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractSemantic segmentation of bone from lower extremity computerized tomography (CT) scans can improve and accelerate the visualization, diagnosis, and surgical planning in orthopaedics. However, the large field of view of these scans makes automatic segmentation using deep learning based methods challenging, slow and graphical processing unit (GPU) memory intensive. We investigated methods to more efficiently represent anatomical context for accurate and fast segmentation and compared these with state‐of‐the‐art methodology. Six lower extremity bones from patients of two different datasets were manually segmented from CT scans, and used to train and optimize a cascaded deep learning approach. We varied the number of resolution levels, receptive fields, patch sizes, and number of V‐net blocks. The best performing network used a multi‐stage, cascaded V‐net approach with 1283−643−323 voxel patches as input. The average Dice coefficient over all bones was 0.98 ± 0.01, the mean surface distance was 0.26 ± 0.12 mm and the 95th percentile Hausdorff distance 0.65 ± 0.28 mm. This was a significant improvement over the results of the state‐of‐the‐art nnU‐net, with only approximately 1/12th of training time, 1/3th of inference time and 1/4th of GPU memory required. Comparison of the morphometric measurements performed on automatic and manual segmentations showed good correlation (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient [ICC] >0.8) for the alpha angle and excellent correlation (ICC >0.95) for the hip‐knee‐ankle angle, femoral inclination, femoral version, acetabular version, Lateral Centre‐Edge angle, acetabular coverage. The segmentations were generally of sufficient quality for the tested clinical applications and were performed accurately and quickly compared to state‐of‐the‐art methodology from the literature.
Research perspectives—Pipelines to human tendon transcriptomics
Authors: Ramos‐Mucci Lorenzo , Sarmiento Paula , Little Dianne , Snelling Sarah 
Published: March 2022

AbstractTendon transcriptomics is a rapidly growing field in musculoskeletal biology. The ultimate aim of many current tendon transcriptomic studies is characterization of in vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo, healthy, and diseased tendon microenvironments to identify the underlying pathways driving human tendon pathology. The transcriptome interfaces between genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic signatures of the tendon cellular niche and the response of this niche to stimuli. Some of the greatest bottlenecks in tendon transcriptomics relate to the availability and quality of human tendon tissue, hence animal tissues are frequently used even though human tissue is most translationally relevant. Here, we review the variability associated with human donor and procurement factors, such as whether the tendon is cadaveric or a clinical remnant, and how these variables affect the quality and relevance of the transcriptomes obtained. Moreover, age, sex, and health demographic variables impact the human tendon transcriptome. Tendons present tissue‐specific challenges for cell, nuclei, and RNA extraction that include a dense extracellular matrix, low cellularity, and therefore low RNA yield of variable quality. Consideration of these factors is particularly important for single‐cell and single‐nuclei resolution transcriptomics due to the necessity for unbiased and representative cell or nuclei populations. Different cell, nuclei, and RNA extraction methods, library preparation, and quality control methods are used by the tendon research community and attention should be paid to these when designing and reporting studies. We discuss the different components and challenges of human tendon transcriptomics, and propose pipelines, quality control, and reporting guidelines for future work in the field.
Factors affecting searcher efficiency and scavenger removal of bat carcasses in Neotropical wind facilities
Authors: Barros Marília A. S. , Iannuzzi Luciana , de Holanda Silva Isabelle Leite , Otálora‐Ardila Aída , Bernard Enrico 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBat fatalities at wind facilities have been reported worldwide, and environmental impact assessments depend on searches for carcasses around wind turbines to quantify impacts. Some of the carcasses may go undetected by search teams or be removed by scavengers during search intervals, so these biases must be evaluated and taken into account in fatality estimation. We investigated the influence of different factors on searcher efficiency and scavenger removal in a dry forest area in northeastern Brazil, one of the regions with the highest density of wind turbines in the Neotropics. We conducted searcher efficiency and scavenger removal trials around 34 wind turbines from January 2017 to January 2018. Searcher efficiency was influenced by cover type, season, and carcass size, ranging between 12% for small bats in shrub vegetation during the rainy season and 96% for large bats in absent or sparse vegetation during the dry season. Carcass type and season affected scavenger removal; carcass persistence time was shorter for chicks (1.2 days) than for bats and mice (2.1 days), and the probability of a carcass persisting for a whole day was higher in the rainy season, while the probability of carcass persistence for 7, 14, and 28 days was higher in the dry season. The scavenger community was composed of canids, birds of prey, and insects, with systematic removal of carcasses by the crab‐eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) throughout the year and by dung beetles in the rainy season. Based on our findings, impact assessments of wind facilities on bats should conduct searcher efficiency trials in all seasons and cover types around wind turbines, using bat carcasses or models of different sizes. Scavenger removal trials should cover all seasons as well, and use mouse carcasses (but not chick carcasses) as surrogates for bats.
Alginates for Protection Against Pepsin‐Acid Induced Aerodigestive Epithelial Barrier Disruption
Authors: Samuels Tina L. , Yan Ke , Patel Nishma , Plehhova Kate , Coyle Cathal , Hurley Bryan P. , Johnston Nikki 
Published: March 2022

ObjectiveGastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) are chronic conditions caused by backflow of gastric and duodenal contents into the esophagus and proximal aerodigestive tract, respectively. Mucosal barrier dysfunction resultant from the synergistic actions of chemical injury and the mucosal inflammatory response during reflux contributes to symptom perception. Alginates effectively treat symptoms of mild to moderate GERD and have recently shown benefit for LPR. In addition to forming a “raft” over gastric contents to reduce acidic reflux episodes, alginates have been found to bind the esophageal mucosa thereby preserving functional barrier integrity measured by transepithelial electrical resistance. The aim of this study was to further examine the topical protective capacity of alginate‐based Gaviscon Advance (GA) and Double Action (GDA) against pepsin‐acid mediated aerodigestive epithelial barrier dysfunction in vitro.Study DesignTranslational.MethodsImmortalized human esophageal and vocal cord epithelial cells cultured in transwells were pretreated with liquid formula GA, GDA, matched viscous placebo solution, or saline (control), then treated for 1 h with saline, acid (pH 3–6) or pepsin (0.1–1 mg/ml) at pH 3–6. Endpoint measure was taken of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) allowed to diffuse across monolayers for 2 h.ResultsPepsin (0.1‐1 mg/ml) at pH 3‐6 increased HRP flux through cultures pretreated with saline or placebo (p < 0.05); acid alone did not. GA and GDA prevented barrier dysfunction.ConclusionsGA and GDA preserved epithelial barrier function during pepsin‐acid insult better than placebo suggesting that protection was due to alginate. These data support topical protection as a therapeutic approach to GERD and LPR. Laryngoscope, 132:2327–2334, 2022
Riesz potential and its commutators on generalized weighted Orlicz–Morrey spaces
Authors: Guliyev Vagif S. , Deringoz Fatih 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn the present paper, we shall give a characterization for the Adams‐type boundedness of the Riesz potential and its commutators on the generalized weighted Orlicz–Morrey spaces. We also give a characterization for the BMO space via the boundedness of the commutator of the Riesz potential.
Designing End‐of‐Life Recyclable Polymers via Diels–Alder Chemistry: A Review on the Kinetics of Reversible Reactions
Authors: van den Tempel Paul , Picchioni Francesco , Bose Ranjita K. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe purpose of this review is to critically assess the kinetic behavior of the furan/maleimide Diels–Alder click reaction. The popularity of this reaction is evident and still continues to grow, which is likely attributed to its reversibility at temperatures above 100 °C, and due to its biobased “roots” in terms of raw materials. This chemistry is used to form thermoreversible crosslinks in polymer networks, and thus allows the polymer field to design strong, but also end‐of‐life recyclable thermosets and rubbers. In this context, the rate at which the forward reaction (Diels–Alder for crosslinking) and its reverse (retro Diels–Alder for decrosslinking) proceed as a function of temperature is of crucial importance in assessing the feasibility of the design in real‐life products. Differences in kinetics based from various studies are not well understood, but are potentially caused by chemical side groups, mass transfer limitations, and the analysis methods being employed. In this work, all the relevant studies are attempted to be placed in perspective with respect to each other, and thereby offer a general guide is offered on how to assess their recycling kinetics.