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Fraiman J, Baver S, Henneberg M. Microevolutionary hypothesis of the obesity epidemic. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0305255. [PMID: 39110707 PMCID: PMC11305523 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The obesity epidemic represents potentially the largest phenotypic change in Homo sapiens since the origin of the species. Despite obesity's high heritability, it is generally presumed a change in the gene pool could not have caused the obesity epidemic. Here we advance the hypothesis that a rapid change in the obesogenic gene pool has occurred second to the introduction of modern obstetrics dramatically altering evolutionary pressures on obesity-the microevolutionary hypothesis of the obesity epidemic. Obesity is known to increase childbirth-related mortality several fold. Prior to modern obstetrics, childbirth-related mortality occurred in over 10% of women in their lifetime. After modern obstetrics, this mortality reduced to a fraction of a percent, thereby lifting a strong negative selection pressure. Regression analysis of data for ~ 190 countries was carried out to examine associations between 1990 lifetime maternal death rates (LMDR) and current obesity rates. Multivariate regression showed LMDR correlated more strongly with national obesity rates than GDP, calorie intake and physical inactivity. Analyses controlling for confounders via partial correlation show that LMDR explains approximately 11% of the variability of obesity rate between nations. For nations with LMDR above the median (>0.45%), LMDR explains 33% of obesity variance, while calorie intake, GDP and physical inactivity show no association with obesity in these nations. The microevolutionary hypothesis offers a parsimonious explanation of the global nature of the obesity epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Fraiman
- Department of Graduate Education, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton, PA, United States of America
| | - Scott Baver
- Hanmol LLC, Sudbury, MA, United States of America
| | - Maciej Henneberg
- Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Unit, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- The Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- The Unit for Biocultural Variation in Obesity, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Furuya S, Zheng F, Lu Q, Fletcher JM. Separating Scarring Effect and Selection of Early-Life Exposures With Genetic Data. Demography 2024; 61:363-392. [PMID: 38482998 DOI: 10.1215/00703370-11239766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Causal life course research examining consequences of early-life exposures has largely relied on associations between early-life environments and later-life outcomes using exogenous environmental shocks. Nonetheless, even with (quasi-)randomized early-life exposures, these associations may reflect not only causation ("scarring") but also selection (i.e., which members are included in data assessing later life). Investigating this selection and its impacts on estimated effects of early-life conditions has, however, often been ignored because of a lack of pre-exposure data. This study proposes an approach for assessing and correcting selection, separately from scarring, using genetic measurements. Because genetic measurements are determined at the time of conception, any associations with early-life exposures should be interpreted as selection. Using data from the UK Biobank, we find that in utero exposure to a higher area-level infant mortality rate is associated with genetic predispositions correlated with better educational attainment and health. These findings point to the direction and magnitude of selection from this exposure. Corrections for this selection in examinations of effects of exposure on later educational attainment suggest underestimates of 26-74%; effects on other life course outcomes also vary across selection correction methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiro Furuya
- Department of Sociology, Center for Demography of Health and Aging, and Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Fengyi Zheng
- Genetic Perturbation Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Qiongshi Lu
- Center for Demography of Health and Aging, Department of Statistics, and Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason M Fletcher
- Center for Demography of Health and Aging, Center for Demography and Ecology, La Follette School of Public Affairs, Department of Population Health Science, and Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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3
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von Hinke S, Vitt N. An analysis of the accuracy of retrospective birth location recall using sibling data. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2665. [PMID: 38531849 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46781-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Many surveys ask participants to retrospectively record their location of birth. This paper examines the accuracy of such data in the UK Biobank using a sample of full siblings. Comparison of reported birth locations for siblings with different age gaps allows us to estimate the probabilities of household moves and of misreported birth locations. Our first contribution is to show that there are inaccuracies in retrospective birth location data, showing a sizeable probability of misreporting, with 28% of birth coordinates, 16% of local districts and 6% of counties of birth being incorrectly reported. Our second contribution is to show that such error can lead to substantial attenuation bias when investigating the impacts of location-based exposures, especially when there is little spatial correlation and limited time variation in the exposure variable. Sibling fixed effect models are shown to be particularly vulnerable to the attenuation bias. Our third contribution is to highlight possible solutions to the attenuation bias and sensitivity analyses to the reporting error.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie von Hinke
- School of Economics, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
- Institute for Fiscal Studies, London, United Kingdom.
- Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn, Germany.
| | - Nicolai Vitt
- School of Economics, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
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Gao Z. Unveiling recent and ongoing adaptive selection in human populations. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002469. [PMID: 38236800 PMCID: PMC10796035 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide scans for signals of selection have become a routine part of the analysis of population genomic variation datasets and have resulted in compelling evidence of selection during recent human evolution. This Essay spotlights methodological innovations that have enabled the detection of selection over very recent timescales, even in contemporary human populations. By harnessing large-scale genomic and phenotypic datasets, these new methods use different strategies to uncover connections between genotype, phenotype, and fitness. This Essay outlines the rationale and key findings of each strategy, discusses challenges in interpretation, and describes opportunities to improve detection and understanding of ongoing selection in human populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyue Gao
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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Lv JH, Hou AJ, Zhang SH, Dong JJ, Kuang HX, Yang L, Jiang H. WGCNA combined with machine learning to find potential biomarkers of liver cancer. Medicine (Baltimore) 2023; 102:e36536. [PMID: 38115320 PMCID: PMC10727608 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000036536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been increasing in recent years. With the development of various detection technologies, machine learning is an effective method to screen disease characteristic genes. In this study, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and machine learning are combined to find potential biomarkers of liver cancer, which provides a new idea for future prediction, prevention, and personalized treatment. In this study, the "limma" software package was used. P < .05 and log2 |fold-change| > 1 is the standard screening differential genes, and then the module genes obtained by WGCNA analysis are crossed to obtain the key module genes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Gene and Genome Encyclopedia analysis was performed on key module genes, and 3 machine learning methods including lasso, support vector machine-recursive feature elimination, and RandomForest were used to screen feature genes. Finally, the validation set was used to verify the feature genes, the GeneMANIA (http://www.genemania.org) database was used to perform protein-protein interaction networks analysis on the feature genes, and the SPIED3 database was used to find potential small molecule drugs. In this study, 187 genes associated with HCC were screened by using the "limma" software package and WGCNA. After that, 6 feature genes (AADAT, APOF, GPC3, LPA, MASP1, and NAT2) were selected by RandomForest, Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator, and support vector machine-recursive feature elimination machine learning algorithms. These genes are also significantly different on the external dataset and follow the same trend as the training set. Finally, our findings may provide new insights into targets for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of HCC. AADAT, APOF, GPC3, LPA, MASP1, and NAT2 may be potential genes for the prediction, prevention, and treatment of liver cancer in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Hao Lv
- Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, China
| | - A-Jiao Hou
- Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, China
| | - Shi-Hao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, China
| | - Jiao-Jiao Dong
- Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, China
| | - Hai-Xue Kuang
- Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, China
| | - Liu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, China
| | - Hai Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Harbin, China
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Mikhailova SV, Ivanoshchuk DE, Orlov PS, Bairqdar A, Anisimenko MS, Denisova DV. Assessment of the Genetic Characteristics of a Generation Born during a Long-Term Socioeconomic Crisis. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:2064. [PMID: 38003007 PMCID: PMC10671057 DOI: 10.3390/genes14112064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A socioeconomic crisis in Russia lasted from 1991 to 1998 and was accompanied by a sharp drop in the birth rate. The main factor that influenced the refusal to have children during this period is thought to be prolonged social stress. METHODS comparing frequencies of common gene variants associated with stress-induced diseases among generations born before, after, and during this crisis may show which genes may be preferred under the pressure of natural selection during periods of increased social stress in urban populations. RESULTS In the "crisis" group, a statistically significant difference from the other two groups was found in rs6557168 frequency (p = 0.001); rs4522666 was not in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in this group, although its frequency did not show a significant difference from the other groups (p = 0.118). Frequencies of VNTRs in SLC6A3 and MAOA as well as common variants rs17689918 in CRHR1, rs1360780 in FKBP5, rs53576 in OXTR, rs12720071 and rs806377 in CNR1, rs4311 in ACE, rs1800497 in ANKK1, and rs7412 and rs429358 in APOE did not differ among the groups. CONCLUSIONS a generation born during a period of prolonged destructive events may differ from the rest of the gene pool of the population in some variants associated with personality traits or stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svetlana V. Mikhailova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (ICG SB RAS), 10 Prospekt Ak. Lavrentyeva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.E.I.); (P.S.O.); (A.B.); (M.S.A.)
| | - Dinara E. Ivanoshchuk
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (ICG SB RAS), 10 Prospekt Ak. Lavrentyeva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.E.I.); (P.S.O.); (A.B.); (M.S.A.)
| | - Pavel S. Orlov
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (ICG SB RAS), 10 Prospekt Ak. Lavrentyeva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.E.I.); (P.S.O.); (A.B.); (M.S.A.)
| | - Ahmad Bairqdar
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (ICG SB RAS), 10 Prospekt Ak. Lavrentyeva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.E.I.); (P.S.O.); (A.B.); (M.S.A.)
| | - Maksim S. Anisimenko
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (ICG SB RAS), 10 Prospekt Ak. Lavrentyeva, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (D.E.I.); (P.S.O.); (A.B.); (M.S.A.)
| | - Diana V. Denisova
- Institute of Internal and Preventive Medicine—Branch of ICG SB RAS, 175/1 Borisa Bogatkova Str., 630089 Novosibirsk, Russia
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Mikhailova SV. Problems with studying directional natural selection in humans. Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genet Selektsii 2023; 27:684-693. [PMID: 38023807 PMCID: PMC10643113 DOI: 10.18699/vjgb-23-79] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The review describes the main methods for assessing directional selection in human populations. These include bioinformatic analysis of DNA sequences via detection of linkage disequilibrium and of deviations from the random distribution of frequencies of genetic variants, demographic and anthropometric studies based on a search for a correlation between fertility and phenotypic traits, genome-wide association studies on fertility along with genetic loci and polygenic risk scores, and a comparison of allele frequencies between generations (in modern samples and in those obtained from burials). Each approach has its limitations and is applicable to different periods in the evolution of Homo sapiens. The main source of error in such studies is thought to be sample stratification, the small number of studies on nonwhite populations, the impossibility of a complete comparison of the associations found and functionally significant causative variants, and the difficulty with taking into account all nongenetic determinants of fertility in contemporary populations. The results obtained by various methods indicate that the direction of human adaptation to new food products has not changed during evolution since the Neolithic; many variants of immunity genes associated with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in modern populations have undergone positive selection over the past 2-3 thousand years owing to the spread of bacterial and viral infections. For some genetic variants and polygenic traits, an alteration of the direction of natural selection in Europe has been documented, e. g., for those associated with an immune response and cognitive abilities. Examination of the correlation between fertility and educational attainment yields conflicting results. In modern populations, to a greater extent than previously, there is selection for variants of genes responsible for social adaptation and behavioral phenotypes. In particular, several articles have shown a positive correlation of fertility with polygenic risk scores of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- S V Mikhailova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
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8
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Johnson KE, Heisel T, Allert M, Fürst A, Yerabandi N, Knights D, Jacobs KM, Lock EF, Bode L, Fields DA, Rudolph MC, Gale CA, Albert FW, Demerath EW, Blekhman R. Human milk variation is shaped by maternal genetics and impacts the infant gut microbiome. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.24.525211. [PMID: 36747843 PMCID: PMC9900818 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.24.525211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Human milk is a complex mix of nutritional and bioactive components that provide complete nutrition for the infant. However, we lack a systematic knowledge of the factors shaping milk composition and how milk variation influences infant health. Here, we used multi-omic profiling to characterize interactions between maternal genetics, milk gene expression, milk composition, and the infant fecal microbiome in 242 exclusively breastfeeding mother-infant pairs. We identified 487 genetic loci associated with milk gene expression unique to the lactating mammary gland, including loci that impacted breast cancer risk and human milk oligosaccharide concentration. Integrative analyses uncovered connections between milk gene expression and infant gut microbiome, including an association between the expression of inflammation-related genes with IL-6 concentration in milk and the abundance of Bifidobacteria in the infant gut. Our results show how an improved understanding of the genetics and genomics of human milk connects lactation biology with maternal and infant health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey E Johnson
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
| | - Timothy Heisel
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Mattea Allert
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
| | - Annalee Fürst
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nikhila Yerabandi
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Dan Knights
- BioTechnology Institute, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Katherine M Jacobs
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Eric F Lock
- Division of Biostatistics, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Lars Bode
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Human Milk Institute (HMI) and Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence (MOMI CORE), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - David A Fields
- Department of Pediatrics, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Michael C Rudolph
- Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, Department of Physiology, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Cheryl A Gale
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Frank W Albert
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
| | - Ellen W Demerath
- Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ran Blekhman
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Mawass W, Mayer FM, Milot E. Genotype-by-environment interactions modulate the rate of microevolution in reproductive timing in humans. Evolution 2022; 76:1391-1405. [PMID: 35548908 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Evidence from natural populations shows that changes in environmental conditions can cause rapid modifications in the evolutionary potential of phenotypes, partly through genotype-by-environment interactions (G×E). Therefore, the overall rate of microevolution should depend on fluctuations in environmental conditions, even when directional selection is sustained over several generations. We tested this hypothesis in a preindustrial human population that experienced a microevolutionary change in age at first reproduction (AFR) of mothers, using the annual infant mortality rate (IMR) as an indicator of environmental conditions during their early life. Using quantitative genetics analyses, we found that G×Es explained a nonnegligible fraction of the additive genetic variance in AFR and in relative fitness, as well as of the genetic covariance between AFR and fitness (i.e., the Robertson-Price covariance). The covariance was stronger for individuals exposed to unfavorable early-life environmental conditions. Our results unravel the presence of G×Es in an important life history trait and its impact on the rate of microevolution, which appears to have been sensitive to short-term fluctuations in local environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walid Mawass
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, University of Québec at Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivieres, QC, G9A 5H7, Canada
| | - Francine M Mayer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Québec at Montréal, Montréal, QC, H4A 2Y4, Canada
| | - Emmanuel Milot
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, University of Québec at Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivieres, QC, G9A 5H7, Canada
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The challenge of detecting recent natural selection in human populations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2203237119. [PMID: 35353603 PMCID: PMC9169803 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2203237119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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