bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Extreme temperature increases the risk of stillbirth in the third trimester of pregnancy
Authors: Yang Hsiao-Yu , Lee Jason Kai Wei , Chio Chia-Pin 
Published: November 2022

AbstractEpidemiological studies have reported the association between extreme temperatures and adverse reproductive effects. However, the susceptible period of exposure during pregnancy remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the impact of extreme temperature on the stillbirth rate. We performed a time-series analysis to explore the associations between temperature and stillbirth with a distributed lag nonlinear model. A total of 22,769 stillbirths in Taiwan between 2009 and 2018 were enrolled. The mean stillbirth rate was 11.3 ± 1.4 per 1000 births. The relative risk of stillbirth due to exposure to extreme heat temperature (> 29 °C) was 1.18 (95% CI 1.11, 1.25). Pregnant women in the third trimester were most susceptible to the effects of extreme cold and heat temperatures. At lag of 0–3 months, the cumulative relative risk (CRR) of stillbirth for exposure to extreme heat temperature (29.8 °C, 97.5th percentile of temperature) relative to the optimal temperature (21 °C) was 2.49 (95% CI: 1.24, 5.03), and the CRR of stillbirth for exposure to extreme low temperature (16.5 °C, 1st percentile) was 1.29 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.80). The stillbirth rate in Taiwan is on the rise. Our findings inform public health interventions to manage the health impacts of climate change.
Scene-relative object motion biases depth percepts
Authors: French Ranran L. , DeAngelis Gregory C. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAn important function of the visual system is to represent 3D scene structure from a sequence of 2D images projected onto the retinae. During observer translation, the relative image motion of stationary objects at different distances (motion parallax) provides potent depth information. However, if an object moves relative to the scene, this complicates the computation of depth from motion parallax since there will be an additional component of image motion related to scene-relative object motion. To correctly compute depth from motion parallax, only the component of image motion caused by self-motion should be used by the brain. Previous experimental and theoretical work on perception of depth from motion parallax has assumed that objects are stationary in the world. Thus, it is unknown whether perceived depth based on motion parallax is biased by object motion relative to the scene. Naïve human subjects viewed a virtual 3D scene consisting of a ground plane and stationary background objects, while lateral self-motion was simulated by optic flow. A target object could be either stationary or moving laterally at different velocities, and subjects were asked to judge the depth of the object relative to the plane of fixation. Subjects showed a far bias when object and observer moved in the same direction, and a near bias when object and observer moved in opposite directions. This pattern of biases is expected if subjects confound image motion due to self-motion with that due to scene-relative object motion. These biases were large when the object was viewed monocularly, and were greatly reduced, but not eliminated, when binocular disparity cues were provided. Our findings establish that scene-relative object motion can confound perceptual judgements of depth during self-motion.
Nucleation of cadherin clusters on cell-cell interfaces
Authors: Ibata Neil , Terentjev Eugene M. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractCadherins mediate cell-cell adhesion and help the cell determine its shape and function. Here we study collective cadherin organization and interactions within cell-cell contact areas, and find the cadherin density at which a ‘gas-liquid’ phase transition occurs, when cadherin monomers begin to aggregate into dense clusters. We use a 2D lattice model of a cell-cell contact area, and coarse-grain to the continuous number density of cadherin to map the model onto the Cahn-Hilliard coarsening theory. This predicts the density required for nucleation, the characteristic length scale of the process, and the number density of clusters. The analytical predictions of the model are in good agreement with experimental observations of cadherin clustering in epithelial tissues.
Parallel functional annotation of cancer-associated missense mutations in histone methyltransferases
Authors: Canning Ashley J. , Viggiano Susan , Fernandez-Zapico Martin E. , Cosgrove Michael S. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractUsing exome sequencing for biomarker discovery and precision medicine requires connecting nucleotide-level variation with functional changes in encoded proteins. However, for functionally annotating the thousands of cancer-associated missense mutations, or variants of uncertain significance (VUS), purifying variant proteins for biochemical and functional analysis is cost-prohibitive and inefficient. We describe parallel functional annotation (PFA) of large numbers of VUS using small cultures and crude extracts in 96-well plates. Using members of a histone methyltransferase family, we demonstrate high-throughput structural and functional annotation of cancer-associated mutations. By combining functional annotation of paralogs, we discovered two phylogenetic and clustering parameters that improve the accuracy of sequence-based functional predictions to over 90%. Our results demonstrate the value of PFA for defining oncogenic/tumor suppressor functions of histone methyltransferases as well as enhancing the accuracy of sequence-based algorithms in predicting the effects of cancer-associated mutations.
Aerosol jet printing polymer dispersed liquid crystals on highly curved optical surfaces and edges
Authors: Davies Matthew , Hobbs Matthew J. , Nohl James , Davies Benedict , Rodenburg Cornelia , Willmott Jon R. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractWe demonstrate a new technique for producing Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) devices utilising aerosol jet printing (AJP). PDLCs require two substrates to act as scaffold for the Indium Tin Oxide electrodes, which restricts the device geometries. Our approach precludes the requirement for the second substrate by printing the electrode directly onto the surface of the PDLC, which is also printed. The process has the potential to be precursory to the implementation of non-contact printing techniques for a variety of liquid crystal-based devices on non-planar substrates. We report the demonstration of direct deposition of PDLC films onto non-planar optical surfaces, including a functional device printed over the 90° edge of a prism. Scanning Electron Microscopy is used to inspect surface features of the polymer electrodes and the liquid crystal domains in the host polymer. The minimum relaxation time of the PDLC was measured at 1.3 ms with an 800 Hz, 90 V, peak-to-peak (Vpp) applied AC field. Cross-polarised transmission is reduced by up to a factor of 3.9. A transparent/scattering contrast ratio of 1.4 is reported between 0 and 140 V at 100 Hz.
Characteristics and outcomes of severe COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with cardiovascular diseases in the Amazonian region of Brazil: a retrospective cohort
Authors: Sardinha Daniele Melo , de Sá Carmem Aliandra Freire , Rodrigues Yan Corrêa , dos Santos Freitas Joyce , Brodeur Ketan , do Socorro Pompeu de Loiola Rosane , Lima Karla Valéria Batista , de Paula Souza e Guimarães Ricardo José , Lima Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe northern region of Brazil is already vulnerable to other infectious diseases and it was no different in COVID-19. However, cardiovascular diseases still lead the causes of death. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the clinical predictors and outcome of severe COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with and without CVD in this region of the Amazon. A retrospective cohort, referring to the notifications from January 1 to December 31, 2020, including cases confirmed by molecular testing. The study consisted of 9223 confirmed cases for COVID-19. Of these, 6011 (65.17%) did not have cardiovascular disease and 3212 (34.83%) had some cardiovascular disease. The significance of deaths was in the age group of < 1 to 59 CVD carriers (< 0.001). Predictor of mortality were invasive ventilation for patients with CVD, (OR 23,688 CI 18,180–30,866), followed by chronic kidney disease (OR 2442 CI 1568–3740), dyspnea (OR 2312 CI 1817–3941), respiratory distress (OR 1523 CI 1210–2919), cough (OR 1268 CI 1005–1599), Lower oxygen saturation 95% (OR 1281 CI 1039–1579), diabetes mellitus (OR 1267 CI 1050–1528) and age (OR 1051 CI 1044–1058). Carriers of CVD had a lower survival rate (< 0.0001). The order of the predictors of death differed among the non-carriers, as well as the high odds ratio in the predictors of CVD, only cough was an independent predictor. The age group under 59 years was associated with deaths. We also show the shorter survival in CVD carriers, as well as the higher cardiovascular morbidity rate than other studies in the literature.
Estimation of hospital visits for respiratory diseases attributable to PM10 from vegetation fire smoke and health impacts of regulatory intervention in Upper Northern Thailand
Authors: Uttajug Athicha , Ueda Kayo , Honda Akiko , Takano Hirohisa 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe air quality in Upper Northern Thailand (UNT) deteriorates during seasonal vegetation fire events, causing adverse effects especially on respiratory health outcomes. This study aimed to quantitatively estimate respiratory morbidity from vegetation fire smoke exposure, and to assess the impact of a burning ban enforced in 2016 on morbidity burden in UNT. We computed daily population exposure to fire-originated PM10 and estimated its health burden during a 5-year period from 2014 to 2018 using daily fire-originated PM10 concentration and the concentration–response function for short-term exposure to PM10 from vegetation fire smoke and respiratory morbidity. In subgroups classified as children and older adults, the health burden of respiratory morbidity was estimated using specific effect coefficients from previous studies conducted in UNT. Finally, we compared the health burden of respiratory morbidity before and after burning ban enforcement. Approximately 130,000 hospital visits for respiratory diseases were estimated to be attributable to fire-originated PM10 in UNT from 2014 to 2018. This estimation accounted for 1.3% of total hospital visits for respiratory diseases during the 5-year period, and 20% of those during burning events. Age-specific estimates revealed a larger impact of PM10 in the older adult group. The number of hospital visits for respiratory diseases attributable to fire-originated PM10 decreased from 1.8% to 0.5% after the burning ban policy was implemented in the area. Our findings suggest that PM10 released from vegetation fires is a health burden in UNT. The prohibition of the burning using regulatory measure had a positive impact on respiratory morbidity in this area.
Degradation and fragmentation behavior of polypropylene and polystyrene in water
Authors: Nakatani Hisayuki , Ohshima Yuina , Uchiyama Taishi , Motokucho Suguru 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe polystyrene (PS) retrieved from the beach exhibited no change in surface texture. In contrast to it, the retrieved polypropylene (PP) had a rumpled surface texture. Highly reactive sulfate radical generated by K2S2O8 was employed as degradation initiator of PP and PS, and their degradation behavior was studied in water. The PS carbonyl index value gradually went up down, and its molecular weight (MW) curve discontinuously shifted to a lower MW with the increase of the degradation time unlike the PP. It was found that the PP microplastic production rate was approximately three time higher than the PS from weight ratio dependence on degradation time. The higher microplastic production rate of PP arose from its crystallizability. The voids were produced by change in specific volume occurring by chemi-crystallization and then provoked the cracks leading to quick fragmentation. The SEM photographs suggested that the PP microplastic size facilely reached nm order by the cracking around lamella.
Geostationary satellite reveals increasing marine isoprene emissions in the center of the equatorial Pacific Ocean
Authors: Zhang Wentai , Gu Dasa 
Published: November 2022

AbstractIsoprene is the most abundant non-methane biogenic volatile organic compound in the Earth’s atmosphere and has the potential to influence photochemistry in the remote ocean–atmosphere. Marine isoprene emission estimates vary over multiple orders of magnitude using different methods, and the paucity of continuous in-situ measurements makes it challenging to distinguish their spatiotemporal variations. Here we present marine isoprene emission estimates inferred from Himawari-8 observations and model simulation covering the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean. Although most isoprene emission hotspots were near coasts, we found an unexpected emission pool in the center of the equatorial Pacific Ocean with 18% higher emissions than those in the North and South Pacific Oceans. Remarkably, the isoprene emissions increased by 5.5 ± 0.1% per year in the center of the equatorial Pacific Ocean between August 2015 and December 2020, while no significant trend for emissions in other ocean regions. We investigated marine isoprene oxidation impacts based on satellite observations, and the results suggest NO2 may play a critical role during aerosol formation from isoprene in the remote ocean air.
Cytidine analogs are synthetic lethal with base excision repair default due to MBD4 deficiency
Authors: Chabot Thomas , Nemati Fariba , Herbette Aurélie , Demeyer Alexandre , Dayot Stéphane , Ganier Olivier , Alsafadi Samar , Gardrat Sophie , Mariani Pascale , Luporsi Marie , Corbé Maxime , Servois Vincent , Cassoux Nathalie , Decaudin Didier , Roman Sergio Roman , Del Nery Elaine , Piperno-Neumann Sophie , Stern Marc-Henri , Rodrigues Manuel 
Published: November 2022

AbstractInactivating mutations of MBD4 have been reported in subsets of various tumors. A deficiency of this DNA glycosylase, recognizing specifically T:G mismatch resulting from the deamination of methyl-cytosine, results in a hypermutated phenotype due to the accumulation of CpG>TpG transitions. Here, we hypothesize that the difference in DNA metabolism consecutive to MBD4 deficiency may result in specific cytotoxicities in MBD4-deficient tumor cells in a synthetic lethality fashion. After a large-scale drug repurposing screen, we show in two isogenic MBD4 knock-out cell models that the inactivation of MBD4 sensitizes cancer cells to cytidine analogs. We further confirm the exquisite activity of gemcitabine in an MBD4-deficient co-clinical model as (i) it completely prevented the development of an MBD4-deficient uveal melanoma patient-derived xenograft and (ii) treatment in the corresponding patient resulted in an exceptional tumor response. These data suggest that patients harboring MBD4-deficient tumors may be treated efficiently by cytidine analogs.
Discovering a trans-omics biomarker signature that predisposes high risk diabetic patients to diabetic kidney disease
Authors: Wu I-Wen , Tsai Tsung-Hsien , Lo Chi-Jen , Chou Yi-Ju , Yeh Chi-Hsiao , Chan Yun-Hsuan , Chen Jun-Hong , Hsu Paul Wei-Che , Pan Heng-Chih , Hsu Heng-Jung , Chen Chun-Yu , Lee Chin-Chan , Shyu Yu-Chiau , Lin Chih-Lang , Cheng Mei-Ling , Lai Chi-Chun , Sytwu Huey-Kang , Tsai Ting-Fen 
Published: November 2022

AbstractDiabetic kidney disease is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease worldwide; however, the integration of high-dimensional trans-omics data to predict this diabetic complication is rare. We develop artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted models using machine learning algorithms to identify a biomarker signature that predisposes high risk patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) to diabetic kidney disease based on clinical information, untargeted metabolomics, targeted lipidomics and genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) datasets. This involves 618 individuals who are split into training and testing cohorts of 557 and 61 subjects, respectively. Three models are developed. In model 1, the top 20 features selected by AI give an accuracy rate of 0.83 and an area under curve (AUC) of 0.89 when differentiating DM and non-DM individuals. In model 2, among DM patients, a biomarker signature of 10 AI-selected features gives an accuracy rate of 0.70 and an AUC of 0.76 when identifying subjects at high risk of renal impairment. In model 3, among non-DM patients, a biomarker signature of 25 AI-selected features gives an accuracy rate of 0.82 and an AUC of 0.76 when pinpointing subjects at high risk of chronic kidney disease. In addition, the performance of the three models is rigorously verified using an independent validation cohort. Intriguingly, analysis of the protein–protein interaction network of the genes containing the identified SNPs (RPTOR, CLPTM1L, ALDH1L1, LY6D, PCDH9, B3GNTL1, CDS1, ADCYAP and FAM53A) reveals that, at the molecular level, there seems to be interconnected factors that have an effect on the progression of renal impairment among DM patients. In conclusion, our findings reveal the potential of employing machine learning algorithms to augment traditional methods and our findings suggest what molecular mechanisms may underlie the complex interaction between DM and chronic kidney disease. Moreover, the development of our AI-assisted models will improve precision when diagnosing renal impairment in predisposed patients, both DM and non-DM. Finally, a large prospective cohort study is needed to validate the clinical utility and mechanistic implications of these biomarker signatures.
Wireless neuromodulation in vitro and in vivo by intrinsic TRPC-mediated magnetomechanical stimulation
Authors: Su Chih-Lun , Cheng Chao-Chun , Yen Ping-Hsiang , Huang Jun-Xuan , Ting Yen-Jing , Chiang Po-Han 
Published: November 2022

AbstractVarious magnetic deep brain stimulation (DBS) methods have been developing rapidly in the last decade for minimizing the invasiveness of DBS. However, current magnetic DBS methods, such as magnetothermal and magnetomechanical stimulation, require overexpressing exogeneous ion channels in the central nervous system (CNS). It is unclear whether magnetomechanical stimulation can modulate non-transgenic CNS neurons or not. Here, we reveal that the torque of magnetic nanodiscs with weak and slow alternative magnetic field (50 mT at 10 Hz) could activate neurons through the intrinsic transient receptor potential canonical channels (TRPC), which are mechanosensitive ion channels widely expressed in the brain. The immunostaining with c-fos shows the increasement of neuronal activity by wireless DBS with magnetomechanical approach in vivo. Overall, this research demonstrates a magnetic nanodiscs-based magnetomechanical approach that can be used for wireless neuronal stimulation in vitro and untethered DBS in vivo without implants or genetic manipulation.
Design and integration of single-qubit rotations and two-qubit gates in silicon above one Kelvin
Authors: Petit Luca , Russ Maximilian , Eenink Gertjan H. G. J. , Lawrie William I. L. , Clarke James S. , Vandersypen Lieven M. K. , Veldhorst Menno 
Published: November 2022

AbstractSpin qubits in quantum dots define an attractive platform for quantum information because of their compatibility with semiconductor manufacturing, their long coherence times, and the ability to operate above one Kelvin. However, despite demonstrations of SWAP oscillations, the integration of this two-qubit gate together with single-qubit control to create a universal gate set as originally proposed for single spins in quantum dots has remained elusive. Here, we show that we can overcome these limitations and execute a multitude of native two-qubit gates, together with single-qubit control, in a single device, reducing the operation overhead to perform quantum algorithms. We demonstrate single-qubit rotations, together with the two-qubit gates CROT, CPHASE, and SWAP, on a silicon double quantum dot. Furthermore, we introduce adiabatic and diabatic composite sequences that allow the execution of CPHASE and SWAP gates on the same device, despite the finite Zeeman energy difference. Both two-qubit gates can be executed in less than 100 ns and, by theoretically analyzing the experimental noise sources, we predict control fidelities exceeding 99%, even for operation above one Kelvin.
Multiview subspace clustering via low‐rank correlation analysis
Authors: Kun Qu , Abhadiomhen Stanley Ebhohimhen , Liu Zhifeng 
Published: November 2022

AbstractIn order to explore multi‐view data, existing low‐rank‐based multi‐view subspace clustering methods seek a common low‐rank structure from different views. However, in real‐world scenarios, each view will often hold complex structures resulting from noise or outliers, causing unreliable and imprecise graphs, which the previous methods cannot effectively ameliorate. This study proposes a new method based on low‐rank correlation analysis to overcome these limitations. Firstly, the canonical correlation analysis strategy is introduced to jointly find the low‐rank structures in different views. In order to facilitate a robust solution, a dual regularisation term is further introduced to find such low‐rank structures that maximise the correlation in respective views much better. Thus, a unifying clustering structure is then integrated into the model to characterise the connections between different views adaptively. In this way, noise suppression is achieved more effectively. Furthermore, we avoid the uncertainty of spectral post‐processing of the unifying clustering structure by imposing a rank constraint on its Laplacian matrix to obtain the clustering results explicitly, further enhancing computation efficiency. Experimental results obtained from several clustering and classification experiments performed using 3Sources, Caltech101‐20, 100leaves, WebKB, and Hdigit datasets reveal the proposed method's superiority over compared state‐of‐the‐art methods in Accuracy, Normalised Mutual Information, and F‐score evaluation metrics.
Transgender Medicine and Risk of Venous Thromboembolism
Authors: Bunderen C.C. Van , Leentjens J. , Middeldorp S. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractGender dysphoria refers to psychological distress that results from an incongruence between gender identity and sex assigned at birth. Administration of sex hormones is most often used as a first step to develop and maintain physical characteristics consistent with gender identity. Gender-affirming hormone treatment is considered beneficial for the quality of life and reduction of depression. However, estrogen and androgen-lowering hormone therapies used in transwomen are in particular associated with increased risk of venous thromboembolism. In this review, introduced by a clinical case, we provide an overview of the currently available medical therapies in transgender medicine, and put the associated increased risk of venous thromboembolism into perspective.