bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fuzzy species borders of glacial survivalists in the Carpathian biodiversity hotspot revealed using a multimarker approach
Authors: Mamos Tomasz , Jażdżewski Krzysztof , Čiamporová-Zaťovičová Zuzana , Čiampor Fedor , Grabowski Michał
Published: November 2021

The Carpathians are one of the key biodiversity hotspots in Europe. The mountain chain uplifted during Alpine orogenesis and is characterised by a complex geological history. Its current biodiversity was highly influenced by Pleistocene glaciations. The goal of the current study was to examine the phylogenetic and demographic history ofGammarus balcanicusspecies complex in the Carpathians using multiple markers as well as to delimit, using an integrative approach, and describe new species hidden so far under the nameG. balcanicus. Results showed that divergence of the studied lineages reaches back to the Miocene, which supports the hypothesis of their survival in multiple micro refugia. Moreover, the increase of their diversification rate in the Pleistocene suggests that glaciation was the driving force of their speciation. The climatic changes during and after the Pleistocene also played a major role in the demography of the local Carpathian lineages. Comparison of diversity patterns and phylogenetic relationships of both, the mitochondrial and nuclear markers, provide evidence of putative hybridisation and retention of ancient polymorphism (i.e., incomplete lineage sorting). The morphological examination supported the existence of two morphological types; one we describe as aG. stasiukisp. nov. and another we redescribe as aG. tatrensis(S. Karaman, 1931).
Individual’s daily behaviour and intergenerational mixing in different social contexts of Kenya
Authors: Del Fava Emanuele , Adema Irene , Kiti Moses C. , Poletti Piero , Merler Stefano , Nokes D. James , Manfredi Piero , Melegaro Alessia
Published: November 2021

We investigated contact patterns in diverse social contexts in Kenya and the daily behaviours that may play a pivotal role in infection transmission to the most vulnerable leveraging novel data from a 2-day survey on social contacts and time use (TU) from a sample of 1407 individuals (for a total of 2705 person days) from rural, urban formal, and informal settings. We used TU data to build six profiles of daily behaviour based on the main reported activities, i.e., Homestayers (71.1% of person days), Workers (9.3%), Schoolers (7.8%), or locations at increasing distance from home, i.e., Walkers (6.6%), Commuters (4.6%), Travelers (0.6%). In the rural setting, we observed higher daily contact numbers (11.56, SD 0.23) and percentages of intergenerational mixing with older adults (7.5% of contacts reported by those younger than 60 years vs. less than 4% in the urban settings). Overall, intergenerational mixing with older adults was higher for Walkers (7.3% of their reported contacts), Commuters (8.7%), and Homestayers (5.1%) than for Workers (1.5%) or Schoolers (3.6%). These results could be instrumental in defining effective interventions that acknowledge the heterogeneity in social contexts and daily routines, either in Kenya or other demographically and culturally similar sub-Saharan African settings.
Visualization and quantification of the degenerative pattern of the distal tibia and fibula in unilateral varus ankle osteoarthritis
Authors: Seki Hiroyuki , Ogihara Naomichi , Kokubo Tetsuro , Nagura Takeo
Published: November 2021

The present study aimed to quantify and visualize the degenerative patterns of the distal tibia and fibula due to ankle osteoarthritis (OA). We analyzed differences in tibial and fibular surface deviation between sides of patients with unilateral varus ankle OA (medial talar tilt > 4°) by registering each surface model to the mirror image of corresponding bone. Computed tomography images of both feet of 33 patients (OA: 22, control: 11) were examined. Statistically significant surface depression of approximately 2.5 mm on the anterior articular surface of the medial malleolus, and surface elevation of approximately 1 mm on the anterodistal edge of the tibiofibular joint and the lateral malleolus were observed in OA patients. These bone degenerations were found to be correlated with those on the other side of the ankle joint, the medial margin of the talar trochlea and the lateral articular surface of the talus, respectively. In contrast, the amount of bone depression on the plafond was smaller than previously anticipated. Such quantitative information about stereotypical patterns of bone degeneration in ankle OA would contribute to better understanding of the development of ankle OA and possible therapeutic interventions.
Targeting IFN activity to both B cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells induces a robust tolerogenic response and protection against EAE
Authors: Cauwels Anje , Van Lint Sandra , Rogge Elke , Verhee Annick , Van Den Eeckhout Bram , Pang Shengru , Prinz Marco , Kley Niko , Uzé Gilles , Tavernier Jan
Published: November 2021

Type I Interferon (IFN) was the very first drug approved for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and is still frequently used as a first line therapy. However, systemic IFN also causes considerable side effects, affecting therapy adherence and dose escalation. In addition, the mechanism of action of IFN in MS is multifactorial and still not completely understood. Using AcTaferons (Activity-on-Target IFNs, AFNs), optimized IFN-based immunocytokines that allow cell-specific targeting, we have previously demonstrated that specific targeting of IFN activity to dendritic cells (DCs) can protect against experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE), inducing in vivo tolerogenic protective effects, evidenced by increased indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) release by plasmacytoid (p) DCs and improved immunosuppressive capacity of regulatory T and B cells. We here report that targeting type I IFN activity specifically towards B cells also provides strong protection against EAE, and that targeting pDCs using SiglecH-AFN can significantly add to this protective effect. The superior protection achieved by simultaneous targeting of both B lymphocytes and pDCs correlated with improved IL-10 responses in B cells and conventional cDCs, and with a previously unseen very robust IDO response in several cells, including all B and T lymphocytes, cDC1 and cDC2.
Dichotic listening performance and interhemispheric integration after administration of hydrocortisone
Authors: Berretz Gesa , Packheiser Julian , Höffken Oliver , Wolf Oliver T. , Ocklenburg Sebastian
Published: November 2021

Chronic stress has been shown to have long-term effects on functional hemispheric asymmetries in both humans and non-human species. The short-term effects of acute stress exposure on functional hemispheric asymmetries are less well investigated. It has been suggested that acute stress can affect functional hemispheric asymmetries by modulating inhibitory function of the corpus callosum, the white matter pathway that connects the two hemispheres. On the molecular level, this modulation may be caused by a stress-related increase in cortisol, a major stress hormone. Therefore, it was the aim of the present study to investigate the acute effects of cortisol on functional hemispheric asymmetries. Overall, 60 participants were tested after administration of 20 mg hydrocortisone or a placebo tablet in a cross-over design. Both times, a verbal and an emotional dichotic listening task to assess language and emotional lateralization, as well as a Banich–Belger task to assess interhemispheric integration were applied. Lateralization quotients were determined for both reaction times and correctly identified syllables in both dichotic listening tasks. In the Banich–Belger task, across-field advantages were determined to quantify interhemispheric integration. While we could replicate previously reported findings for these tasks in the placebo session, we could not detect any differences in asymmetry between hydrocortisone and placebo treatment. This partially corroborates the results of a previous study we performed using social stress to induce cortisol increases. This suggests that an increase in cortisol does not influence dichotic listening performance on a behavioral level. As other studies reported an effect of stress hormones on functional hemispheric asymmetries on a neuro-functional level, future research using neuronal imaging methods would be helpful in the characterization of the relation of hemispheric asymmetries and stress hormones.
The chemotherapeutic drug carboplatin affects macrophage responses to LPS and LPS tolerance via epigenetic modifications
Authors: Boonmee Atsadang , Benjaskulluecha Salisa , Kueanjinda Patipark , Wongprom Benjawan , Pattarakankul Thitiporn , Palaga Tanapat
Published: November 2021

Following re-exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), macrophages exhibit an immunosuppressive state known as LPS tolerance, which is characterized by repressed proinflammatory cytokine production. LPS-induced tolerance in macrophages is mediated in part by epigenetic changes. Carboplatin, an anticancer chemotherapeutic drug, exerts its effect by inhibiting DNA replication and transcription, as well as through epigenetic modifications. Through an unbiased screen, we found that carboplatin rescued TNF-α and IL-6 production in LPS-tolerant macrophages. Transcriptomic analysis and gene set enrichment analyses revealed that p53 was one of the most significantly upregulated hallmarks in both LPS-primed and LPS-tolerant macrophages in the presence of carboplatin, while E2F and G2/M were the most negatively regulated hallmarks. Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1-α), which is associated with gene silencing, was significantly reduced in carboplatin-treated LPS-tolerant macrophages at the mRNA and protein levels. Dynamic changes in the mRNA level of genes encoding H3K9me3 methyltransferases, setdb2, kdm4d, and suv39h1 were induced in the presence of carboplatin in LPS-tolerant macrophages. Taken together, we provide evidence that carboplatin treatment interferes with proinflammatory cytokine production during the acute LPS response and LPS tolerance in macrophages, possibly via H3K9me3 modification.
A priori prediction of local failure in brain metastasis after hypo-fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy using quantitative MRI and machine learning
Authors: Jaberipour Majid , Soliman Hany , Sahgal Arjun , Sadeghi-Naini Ali
Published: November 2021

This study investigated the effectiveness of pre-treatment quantitative MRI and clinical features along with machine learning techniques to predict local failure in patients with brain metastasis treated with hypo-fractionated stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT). The predictive models were developed using the data from 100 patients (141 lesions) and evaluated on an independent test set with data from 20 patients (30 lesions). Quantitative MRI radiomic features were derived from the treatment-planning contrast-enhanced T1w and T2-FLAIR images. A multi-phase feature reduction and selection procedure was applied to construct an optimal quantitative MRI biomarker for predicting therapy outcome. The performance of standard clinical features in therapy outcome prediction was evaluated using a similar procedure. Survival analyses were conducted to compare the long-term outcome of the two patient cohorts (local control/failure) identified based on prediction at pre-treatment, and standard clinical criteria at last patient follow-up after SRT. The developed quantitative MRI biomarker consists of four features with two features quantifying heterogeneity in the edema region, one feature characterizing intra-tumour heterogeneity, and one feature describing tumour morphology. The predictive models with the radiomic and clinical feature sets yielded an AUC of 0.87 and 0.62, respectively on the independent test set. Incorporating radiomic features into the clinical predictive model improved the AUC of the model by up to 16%, relatively. A statistically significant difference was observed in survival of the two patient cohorts identified at pre-treatment using the radiomics-based predictive model, and at post-treatment using the the RANO-BM criteria. Results of this study revealed a good potential for quantitative MRI radiomic features at pre-treatment in predicting local failure in relatively large brain metastases undergoing SRT, and is a step forward towards a precision oncology paradigm for brain metastasis.
Urine caffeine metabolites and hearing threshold shifts in US adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Long Lili , Tang Yuedi
Published: November 2021

Previous studies have reported the relationship between effect of caffeine and many diseases. However, studies to evaluate the association between caffeine and hearing loss are contradictory. To examine the relationship of urinary caffeine metabolites with the hearing threshold in US adults, a total of 849 adults aged 20–69 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2011–2012) were enrolled in this study. Urinary caffeine and its 14 metabolites were applied as biomarkers to assess caffeine exposure. Hearing loss was defined as mean pure tone averages > 25 dB HL at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz in both ears (low frequency); and 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz in both ears (high frequency). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations of urinary caffeine metabolites with low- and high-frequency hearing thresholds, respectively. Low-frequency hearing loss were 5.08% and 6.10% in male and female participants, respectively; and high-frequency hearing loss were 31.81% and 15.14% in male and female participants, respectively. In the unadjusted model, the P value for trend shows that urinary caffeine metabolites 137X and AAMU were significantly associated with low-frequency PTA, and that 17X, 137X, AAMU were significantly associated with high-frequency PTA, but when the model was adjusted for sex, age, education level, firearm noise exposure, occupational noise exposure, recreational noise exposure, serum cotinine, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, these were no longer statistically significant. In conclusion, urinary caffeine metabolites were not associated with the hearing threshold shifts in US adults.
Clinical potential of pupillary light reflex parameters as objective indicators reflecting chronic rhinosinusitis-specific quality of life: a 12-month prospective longitudinal study
Authors: Hatsukawa Hiroatsu , Ishikawa Masaaki
Published: November 2021

Pupillary light reflex (PLR) and heart rate variability (HRV) parameters can be objective indicators of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) status from the viewpoint of autonomic nervous system activity. This study aimed to establish objective indicators for CRS using the 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and PLR/HRV parameters. Sixty-seven patients were prospectively and longitudinally followed up after surgical treatment. We investigated changes in SNOT-22 scores, representing CRS-specific quality of life (QOL). We prepared two models: linear regression model adjusting clinical factors as predictor variables (model 1) and linear mixed-effects model adjusting clinical factors and among-individual variability (model 2). We compared Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) values and regression coefficients. The model with lower AIC values was defined as the better-fit model. Model 2 showed lower AIC values in all parameters (better-fit model). Three parameters showed opposite results between the two models. The better-fit models showed significances in the five PLR parameters but not in any HRV parameters. Among these PLR parameters, constriction latency can be the most robust indicator because of the narrowest 95% confidence intervals. Adjusting the among-individual variability while investigating clinical potential of PLR/HRV parameters to reflect CRS-specific QOL can improve the model fit, thereby reaching robust conclusions from obtained data.
Time course for urethral neuromuscular reestablishment and its facilitated recovery by transcutaneous neuromodulation after simulated birth trauma in rats
Authors: Palacios José L. , Juárez Ricardo , Mirto-Aguilar Nancy , Munoz Alvaro , Damaser Margot S. , Cruz Yolanda
Published: November 2021

The aims of the study were to determine the time-course of urinary incontinence recovery after vaginal distension (VD), elucidate the mechanisms of injury from VD leading to external urethral sphincter (EUS) dysfunction, and assess if transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) of the dorsal nerve of the clitoris facilitates recovery of urinary continence after VD. Rats underwent 4-h VD, 4-h sham VD (SH-VD), VD plus 1-h DNC TENS, and VD plus 1-h sham TENS (SH-TENS). TENS or SH-TENS were applied immediately and at days 2 and 4 post-VD. Micturition behavior, urethral histochemistry and histology, EUS and nerve electrophysiology, and cystometrograms were evaluated. VD induced urine leakage and significantly disrupted EUS fibers and nerve-conduction (VD vs SH-VD group;p < 0.01). Urine leakage disappeared 13 days post-VD (p < 0.001). Structural and functional recovery of EUS neuromuscular circuitry started by day 6 post-VD, but did not fully recover by day 11 post-VD (p > 0.05). TENS significantly decreased the frequency of urine leakage post-VD (days 5–7;p < 0.01). We conclude that rat urinary continence after VD requires 2 weeks to recover, although urethra structure is not fully recovered. TENS facilitated urinary continence recovery after VD. Additional studies are necessary to assess if TENS could be used in postpartum women.
Characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes in Egypt in first and second waves of infection
Authors: Zekri Abdel-Rahman N. , Bahnasy Abeer A. , Hafez Mohamed M. , Hassan Zeinab K. , Ahmed Ola S. , Soliman Hany K. , El-Sisi Enas R. , Dine Mona H. Salah El , Solimane May S. , Latife Lamyaa S. Abdel , Seadawy Mohamed G. , Elsafty Ahmed S. , Abouelhoda Mohamed
Published: November 2021

At Wuhan, in December 2019, the SRAS-CoV-2 outbreak was detected and it has been the pandemic worldwide. This study aims to investigate the mutations in sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and characterize the mutation patterns in Egyptian COVID-19 patients during different waves of infection. The samples were collected from 250 COVID-19 patients and the whole genome sequencing was conducted using Next Generation Sequencing. The viral sequence analysis showed 1115 different genome from all Egyptian samples in the second wave mutations including 613 missense mutations, 431 synonymous mutations, 25 upstream gene mutations, 24 downstream gene mutations, 10 frame-shift deletions, and 6 stop gained mutation. The Egyptian genomic strains sequenced in second wave of infection are different to that of the first wave. We observe a shift of lineage prevalence from the strain B.1 to B.1.1.1. Only one case was of the new English B.1.1.7. Few samples have one or two mutations of interest from the Brazil and South Africa isolates. New clade 20B appear by March 2020 and 20D appear by May 2020 till January 2021.
Efficiently luminescent heteroleptic neutral platinum(ii) complexes based on N^O and N^P benzimidazole ligands
Authors: Zhang Han , Liu Chunmei , Yin Guojie , Du Chenxia , Zhang Bin
Published: November 2021

Luminescent cycloplatinated(ii) complexes (5a–8a and 5b–8b) with formulas Pt(bt)(N^O) and Pt(bt)(N^P) have been synthesized. Complexes 8a and 8b show bright phosphorescence with quantum yields of 60.9% and 43.2% in the solid state at 298 K.
Longan seed polyphenols inhibit α-amylase activity and reduce postprandial glycemic response in mice
Authors: He Ting , Zhao Lei , Chen Yan , Zhang Xin , Hu Zhuoyan , Wang Kai
Published: November 2021

The effects of LSPs on postprandial glycemic response in mice were investigated, enzyme inhibition kinetics of LSPs against α-amylase were studied using an inhibition assay in vitro, and the impact of LSPs on the structure of α-amylase was assessed.
Influence of coal treatments on the Ni loading mechanism of Ni-loaded lignite char catalysts
Authors: Tipo Ronnachai , Chaichana Chatchawan , Noda Reiji , Chaiklangmuang Suparin
Published: November 2021

Coal treatments remarkably affected ash contents and the functional groups in coals. The changes of functional groups were the key factor in controlling Ni loading mechanism and capacity of Ni/lignite char catalysts.
Fundamental parameters of the Ap-stars GO And, 84 UMa, and κ Psc
Authors: Romanovskaya A. M. , Shulyak D. V. , Ryabchikova T. A. , Sitnova T. M.
Published: November 2021

Aims. The aim of this work is to determine fundamental parameters of three Ap stars, GO And (HD 4778), κ Psc (HD 220825), and 84 UMa (HD 120198), using spectroscopic techniques. By analysing these stars, we complete the sample of Ap stars for which fundamental parameters have additionally been derived by means of interferometry. This enables a cross-comparison of results derived by direct and indirect methods.

Methods. Our study is based on the analysis of high-resolution spectra with a high signal-to-noise ratio that were obtained with ESPaDOnS spectrograph. We used an iterative method of fundamental parameter determinations that includes self-consistent modelling of the stellar atmosphere, taking individual abundances of chemical elements into account and subsequently fitting a theoretical spectral energy distribution to the observed distribution. The quality of the spectroscopic determinations was evaluated through a comparison with the interferometric results.

Results. For all investigated stars, we determined fundamental parameters and derived chemical abundances that are typical for Ap stars. The abundances are mainly characterised by a gradual increase of heavy element atmospheric abundances from an order of magnitude for iron peak elements up to very significant excesses of 3–4 dex of the rare-earth elements relative to the solar values. The only exception is Ba, whose abundance is close to the solar abundance. There is also a significant He deficiency in the atmospheres of HD 120198 and HD 220825, whereas the He abundance in HD 4778 is close to the solar abundance. We do not find significant Fe and Cr stratification. Using these abundances, we constructed self-consistent atmospheric models for each star. The effect of the surface chemical inhomogeneity on the derived fundamental parameters did not exceed ±100 K in effective temperature, which lies within the range of errors in similar self-consistent analyses of Ap stars. Finally, we compared spectroscopically derived effective temperatures, radii, and luminosity for 13 out of 14 Ap stars in a benchmark sample with the interferometric results. While radii and luminosity agree within the quoted errors of both determinations, the spectroscopic effective temperatures are higher than the interferometric temperatures for stars with Teff > 9000 K. The observed hydrogen line profiles favour the spectroscopically derived temperatures.
Physically-motivated basis functions for temperature maps of exoplanets
Authors: Morris Brett M. , Heng Kevin , Jones Kathryn , Piaulet Caroline , Demory Brice-Olivier , Kitzmann Daniel , Jens Hoeijmakers H.
Published: November 2021

Thermal phase curves of exoplanet atmospheres have revealed temperature maps as a function of planetary longitude, often by sinusoidal decomposition of the phase curve. We construct a framework for describing two-dimensional temperature maps of exoplanets with mathematical basis functions derived for a fluid layer on a rotating, heated sphere with drag/friction, which are generalisations of spherical harmonics. These basis functions naturally produce physically-motivated temperature maps for exoplanets with few free parameters. We investigate best practices for applying this framework to temperature maps of hot Jupiters by splitting the problem into two parts: (1) we constrain the temperature map as a function of latitude by tuning the basis functions to reproduce general circulation model outputs, since disk-integrated phase curve observations do not constrain this dimension; and (2) we infer the temperature maps of real hot Jupiters using original reductions of several Spitzer phase curves, which directly constrain the temperature variations with longitude. The resulting phase curves can be described with only three free parameters per bandpass – an efficiency improvement over the usual five or so used to describe sinusoidal decompositions of phase curves. Upon obtaining the hemispherically averaged day side and night side temperatures, the standard approach would be to use zero-dimensional box models to infer the Bond albedo and redistribution efficiency. We elucidate the limitation of these box models by demonstrating that negative Bond albedos may be obtained due to a choice of boundary condition on the night side temperature. We propose generalized definitions for the Bond albedo and heat redistribution efficiency for use with two-dimensional (2D) temperature maps. Open-source software called kelp is provided to efficiently compute the 2D temperature maps, phase curves, albedos and redistribution efficiencies.
Cannabis, Cannabinoide und
Cannabiskonsumstörungen
Authors: Hoch Eva , Preuss Ulrich W.
Published: November 2021

Keine Droge führt derzeit zu so intensiven, teilweise leidenschaftlich
geführten Diskussionen wie Cannabis. Welche gesundheitlichen und
sozialen Risiken birgt die Substanz, wenn sie zu Rauschzwecken gebraucht wird?
Dieser Beitrag beschreibt die wichtigsten Cannabinoide, das endogene
Cannabissystem sowie mögliche kurzund langfristige Risiken. Er zeigt
zudem psychotherapeutische Behandlungsoptionen von Cannabismissbrauch und
-abhängigkeit auf.
Tumor-like Lesions, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der spinalen aneurysmatischen Knochenzyste
Authors: Ryang Yu-Mi
Published: November 2021

Die aneurysmatische Knochenzyste (AKZ) ist ein lokal aggressiv wachsender gutartiger
primärer osteoklastischer Riesenzell-reicher Tumor, der in 10-30% die Wirbelsäule
betrifft. Lange Zeit wurde angenommen, dass es sich um eine Tumor-ähnliche Läsion
handelt. Durch den Nachweis einer chromosomalen Translokation des USP
(Ubiquitin-spezifische Protease) 6 Gens auf Chromosom 17p13 entspricht die primäre AKZ
jedoch einer echten Neoplasie 4
5
6
7
8. Die Prognose ist sehr gut mit Heilungsraten von > 90% nach
intraläsionaler Resektion und Gesamtüberlebensraten von ≥98% 11
12. Die Einteilung erfolgt nach
ihrem Wachstumsverhalten in die Enneking Stadien S1 bis S3. Die chirurgische Therapie
galt bisher als Goldstandard für die Therapie der AKZ: die intraläsionale Kürettage ±
adjuvante Therapie bei Enneking S1 und S2 Tumoren und die extraläsionale en bloc
Resektion bei S3 Tumoren. In neueren Studien ist ein Trend erkennbar S2 Tumore zunehmend
primär mittels serieller selektiver arterieller Embolisationen zu behandeln mit
erfolgsversprechenden Ergebnissen 11. Bei S3 Tumoren gibt es
Expertenmeinungen, die die en bloc Resektionen aufgrund der primären Gutartigkeit des
Tumors, der guten Ergebnisse nach intraläsionaler Resektion und der hohen perioperativen
Morbidität als Übertherapie betrachten 11. Eine Besonderheit bei der
Therapie sind die vielfältigen nicht chirurgischen primären und adjuvanten
Therapieansätze, die i.d.R. auf kleinen Fallserien beruhen. Bei lokal fortgeschrittenen,
inoperablen oder Rezidivtumoren gibt es neuerdings Therapieansätze mit dem off-Label
Einsatz von Denosumab primär, adjuvant oder neoadjuvant mit vielversprechenden ersten
Ergebnissen.
Riesenzelltumor des Stammskeletts. Aktuelle Diagnostik und Therapie
Authors: Ruf Michael , Pitzen Tobias , Ostrowski Gregor , Pöckler-Schöniger Christiane , Werner Mathias
Published: November 2021

Riesenzelltumore des Knochens gehören zu den Tumoren mit intermediärer Dignität, deren biologisches Verhalten aus dem histologischen Bild nicht sicher prognostiziert werden kann. Häufig zeigen sie ein lokal aggressives, destruierendes Ausbreitungsverhalten und neigen bei unvollständiger Entfernung zu Lokalrezidiven. Auch pulmonale Fernmetastasen kommen vereinzelt vor. Die Diagnostik erfordert bei spinaler Manifestation neben Anamnese, klinischen Befunden und Laborbefunden eine Schnittbildgebung mit CT und MRT, die Sicherung der Diagnose sollte mittels Biopsie erfolgen. Die histologische Beurteilung sollte von Pathologen mit Erfahrung in der Knochentumordiagnostik durchgeführt werden. Aufgrund der Rezidivneigung ist chirurgisch die extraläsionale, weite Exzision des Tumors notwendig, in der Regel mit einer suffizienten Fixation und Fusion. Enge postoperative Verlaufskontrollen sind erforderlich. Neue Aspekte in der begleitenden Therapie ermöglicht der humane monoklonale Antikörper Denosumab.

In diesem Artikel zu Riesenzelltumoren der Wirbelsäule berichten wir über Erfahrungen in den letzten 20 Jahren in unserer Klinik, beschreiben 2 Fälle beispielhaft und gehen auf die Diagnostik und neue Aspekte der Therapie mit Denosumab ein.
Generation of Iminoxyl Radicals by Photoredox Catalysis Enables Oxidant-Free Hydroxygenation of β,γ-Unsaturated Oximes
Authors: Li Zhenming , Qian Lijie , Chen Huiming , Xu Xiangsheng
Published: November 2021

A visible-light photocatalytic generation of iminoxyl radicals has been accomplished under oxidant-free conditions. This approach offers a mild, atom-economical, and redox-neutral synthesis of 5-methylisoxazolines through radical hydroxygenation of β,γ-unsaturated oximes in the absence of an additional hydrogen source.
Ni2+ doping induced structural phase transition and photoluminescence enhancement of CsPbBr3
Authors: Chen Tao , Liu Ruliang , Tang Shumin , Li Xiaonan , Ye Shuming , Duan Xiaoxiao , Wang Rongfei , Shi Yanli , Yang Jie , Qiu Feng , Yang Yu , Wen Xiaoming , Wang Chong
Published: November 2021

All-inorganic CsPbBr3 perovskites exhibit great potential in optoelectronic application due to their outstanding physical properties for optoelectronics. However, the relatively low luminescence efficiency of the bulk CsPbBr3 crystal hampers its further application. Here, we report a facile method to enhance the optical efficiency of halide perovskite powder via doping the transition metal Ni ions. It is demonstrated that Ni doping results in the formation of the Cs(NiPb)Br3 alloy and also triggers the phase transition of CsPbBr3 from orthorhombic to cubic. Both the Cs(NiPb)Br3 alloy and cubic CsPbBr3 are found to contribute to the asymmetric photoluminescence (PL) spectra in the green-yellow light band. The splitting-peak fitting experiments for the overlapped PL spectrum based on the bi-Gaussian line model reveal that the Cs(NiPb)Br3 alloy dominates the contribution of the observed PL enhancement. The Ni2+ doping is also beneficial for optimizing the crystallinity of the CsPbBr3 perovskite, suppressing the nonradiative recombination and significantly enhancing the photoluminescence consequently. Our investigation provides a novel insight into the effect of environmentally friendly metal doping in perovskites.
Optical properties, band structures, and phase transition of UO2+x epitaxial films deposited by polymer-assisted deposition
Authors: Zhang Dongxu , Dong Haopeng , Lou Yuanfu , Zhong Yongqiang , Li Fangfang , Fu Xiaoguo , Zheng Yuxiang , Li Wenwu
Published: November 2021

Optical properties of the UO2+x film deposited by a polymer-assisted deposition method have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). This epitaxial film contains at least two kinds of uranium oxides of U3O8 and UO3, and the O/U ratio is 2.74, which is confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning Auger microscopy methods. By investigating the optical constants, the bandgaps of U3O8 and UO3 are determined as 2.3 and 1.0 eV, respectively, and 80% of the epitaxial film is U3O8 and 20% is UO3. The speciation signatures from the XRD and band structures show that the UO2+x epitaxial film reduced to U3O8 with the heating treatment at 480 K in a vacuum while oxidized to UO3 at 650 K. This work demonstrates a useful tool for studying the optical properties, band structures, and phase transition of uranium oxide film by SE.
Research on traveling wave fault technology based on ground potential
Authors: Wang Sha , Xu Guimin
Published: November 2021

This paper proposes the dual-terminal positioning method of using ground potential traveling waves to locate the fault location of transmission lines. The traveling wave monitoring terminal is installed at the ground potential end. Installation and maintenance do not need to cooperate with the power outage plan, which can effectively solve the problem of inconvenient maintenance toward the distributed fault diagnosis system. Overhead transmission lines with 110 kV and higher voltage generally have ground lines. When a lightning strike or ground fault happens, not only will a fault traveling wave be generated on the line but also a fault traveling wave will be generated at the ground potential end and propagate along the tower. As the traveling wave current propagating along the ground potential can be effectively detected, the double-ended positioning of the ground potential can be realized. The application in the actual grid shows that a distributed monitoring system on the line tower and the ground line can quickly and accurately determine the fault location.
Complex surrounding affections for kinetics properties of bio-molecules in two-dimensional free-energy model
Authors: Zheng Yue , Xu Junjun , Tang Ke
Published: November 2021

Conformational fluctuation is usually the key characteristic of the bio-molecular system, and many kinds of elements from bio-molecules themselves and surroundings can affect this fluctuation. Flexibility is a typical feature of the bio-molecules, and it can also be easily affected by the surroundings. As flexibility is regarded to connect with the conformational fluctuation, it becomes an important entrance to analyze the behavior of the bio-molecules. It is known that the typical kinetic characteristics of bio-molecules are mainly controlled by the rate constant, and these properties are usually dominated by surrounding conditions and configuration features of bio-molecules. We have studied the migration rate of bio-molecules by using the two-dimensional (2D) free-energy landscape and the 2D model that includes the extension coordinate and conformational variable in this work. The 2D generalized Langevin equation with a fractional Gaussian noise or white noise matrix is adopted to reveal the key qualities of the bio-molecular system. The reaction temperature and its flexibility (∆k‡) have been particularly analyzed, and these factors can affect the mean waiting time significantly. Particular attention is paid to distinguish typical discrepancies between normal diffusion and dynamic disorder situations. Our results show that the important conditions from complex surroundings cannot be neglected, and they can be the important factors that affect the kinetic behavior of bio-molecules seriously.
Genetic parameters for production traits in F1 reciprocal crossbred Chee Fah and Fah Luang chickens
Authors: Buranawit Krittaphak , Laenoi Watchara
Published: November 2021

Context Recently, Chee Fah and Fah Luang chickens have been registered as a black-bone native chicken in Thailand. Only a few studies revealed genetic information about them. No publication has reported any data related to their cross-mating, particularly, genetic parameters. Aims This study aimed to estimate genetic parameters for production traits of F1 generation of reciprocal crossbred Chee Fah and Fah Luang chickens. Methods A dataset of production traits of two crossbred groups was used in the present study. Effects of breed, month-day of incubation and sex were tested at P < 0.05. Genetic parameters were estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood method with multi-trait animal model. Key results The crossbred Chee Fah × Fah Luang was significantly heavier and consumed more feed than Fah Luang × Chee Fah (P < 0.05). Male chickens had significantly better 20-week-old bodyweight, feed conversion ratio and average daily gain compared with females for both crossbred groups (P < 0.05). The effect of month-day of incubation had a significant influence on production traits (P < 0.05), except for day-old bodyweight. Heritabilities for production traits of crossbred chickens were low to high. The highest estimate was observed for day-old bodyweight (0.97), followed by feed intake (0.40), 20-week-old bodyweight (0.06), average daily gain (0.05) and feed conversion ratio (0.03), respectively. Both positive and negative genetic correlations were found among their production traits. Favourable relationships were found between average daily gain versus bodyweight and versus feed conversion ratio (rgg = 0.99 and −0.90, respectively). Similarly, production traits showed phenotypic correlations in both directions, which ranged from −0.95 to 0.99. Conclusions Heritability estimations for production traits were found in low to high magnitude. The desirable genetic relationships were found between feed conversion ratio and day-old bodyweight, 20-week-old bodyweight and average daily gain, and between 20-week-old bodyweight and average daily gain. Implications These findings could be considered as a source of genetic data for enhancing production traits of crossbred black-bone native chickens.
Surveillance for One Health and high consequence veterinary pathogens (Brucellosis, Coxiellosis and Foot and Mouth Disease) in Southeast Asia: Lao PDR and Cambodia in focus and the importance of international partnerships
Authors: Siengsanan-Lamont Jarunee , Blacksell Stuart D
Published: November 2021

Animal disease surveillance in limited-resource countries is challenging but critical in providing epidemiological information to inform disease prevention and control programmes. Despite multiple international agencies and partnerships supporting Lao PDR and Cambodia’s animal disease surveillance activities over many years, cost-effectiveness and sustainability remain significant constraints. Here we describe the development and implementation of national abattoir-based surveillance networks in Laos and central Cambodia consisting of an information exchange platform and sample collection and submission systems. The networks enhanced the national surveillance capacity and provided snapshot information of seroprevalence for selected One Health and high consequence veterinary pathogens, including Q fever, brucellosis, and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). Despite abattoir survey data revealing that the seroprevalence of Q fever and brucellosis was generally low, the true impact on public health for these diseases remains unclear due to low levels of awareness and diagnostic capacity. FMD antibodies derived from natural infection rather than vaccination were noted in greater than 40% of the animal sampled in both countries, which suggests significant underreporting of outbreak events. Such networks will continue to be refined to improve their cost-effectiveness and sustainability, including the introduction of a simple online application for reporting animal disease outbreaks as well as expanding to other relevant One Health pathogens and species.
Arduino based temperature controlled sample holder using a power transistor and its application to measure the band gap of a silicon p–n diode
Authors: Mitra Swarnava , Mishra Aditya , Barua Sourabh
Published: November 2021

This experiment is developed with the aim of designing a temperature-controlled sample holder by using a commonly available power transistor as the heating element. Most temperature-controlled sample holders use commonplace heaters, which are made of high resistance materials like nichrome 80/20 (80% nickel, 20% chromium) wire and similar materials. The fabrication of this temperature-controlled sample holder also leads to the usage of high power electronic components, like power transistors and power resistors which are, otherwise, neglected in most laboratory experiments. Moreover, to develop this system, Arduino Uno Rev3 and resistance temperature detector (RTD) were used for the purposes of data acquisition and temperature measurement, respectively. Arduino is a single board micro-controller and RTD functions as a temperature sensor. This experiment serves as a good example of application and unification of basic concepts of electronics, heat and thermodynamics and offers an insight into data acquisition. The experiment is non-proprietary, and the apparatus is entirely made from off-the-shelf items. Thus, reconstruction and use will be simple and inexpensive. The power transistor, along with the power resistors, generates enough heat to raise the temperature of the sample holder by about 100 K. Also, to exhibit the working of the sample-holder, the energy band gap of the material of a p–n junction diode (silicon) has been determined experimentally using the setup.
An adjoint approach to identification in electromyography: modeling and first order optimality conditions
Authors: Sproll Tobias , Schiela Anton
Published: November 2021

In medical treatment it can be necessary to know the position of a motor unit in a muscle. Recent advances in high-density surface electromyography (EMG) measurement have opened the possibility of extracting information about single motor units. We present a mathematical approach to identify these motor units. On the base of an electrostatic forward model, we introduce an adjoint approach to efficiently simulate a surface EMG measurement and an optimal control approach to identify these motor units. We show basic results on existence of solutions and first-order optimality conditions.
New route to enhanced figure of merit at nano scale: effect of Aubry–Andre–Harper modulation
Authors: Dey Moumita , Chakraborty Suvendu , Maiti Santanu K
Published: November 2021

We report, for the first time, the phenomenon of thermoelectricity at quantum level, considering a correlated disordered tight-binding one-dimensional lattice where site energies and/or nearest-neighbor hopping integrals are modulated in the cosine form following the well known Aubry–Andre–Harper (AAH) model. The atypical gapped and fragmented energy spectrum yields a transmission function whose steepness is not symmetrical around the Fermi energy, and because of this fact, we obtain a reasonably large figure of merit, a quantity that measures the thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency. The efficiency can be further monitored by means of AAH phase(s) which undoubtedly gives a possible route of designing controlled thermoelectric devices. Evaluating transmission probabilities using the Green’s function formalism, we compute all the thermoelectric quantities based on the Landauer integrals. The diagonal, off-diagonal and generalized versions of the AAH model are taken into account, and in all the cases we find favorable thermoelectric response. At the end of our analysis, we discuss briefly the specific role of phonon thermal conductance on thermoelectric efficiency to make the present investigation a self-contained one. Our theoretical study may shed some light in analyzing thermoelectric phenomena in similar kind of quasicrystals and other related systems.
Theoretical investigation of capacitances in functionalised MXene supercapacitors M
n+1C
n
O2, M = Ti, V, Nb, Mo
Authors: Das Mandira , Ghosh Subhradip
Published: November 2021

MXene, the class of two-dimensional materials, has been found to be useful as potential electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors. Although experimental investigation on the electrochemical performances of a few MXenes have been carried out with exciting results, a complete understanding of their atomic scale behaviour is yet to be done. Using first-principles electronic structure methods, we perform a systematic investigation of the capacitances in pristine and functionalised MXenes

M

n
+
1

C

n

O

2

where M  =  Ti, V, Nb and Mo. We provide results on each of the three sources of the capacitance and analyse them in detail for a complete understanding of their behaviour. The interpretation of the experimental results, wherever available, in the light of our computations, provides useful insights.
Phase fluctuations in conventional superconductors
Authors: Raychaudhuri Pratap , Dutta Surajit
Published: November 2021

Within the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) theory, superconductivity is entirely governed by the pairing energy scale, which gives rise to the superconducting energy gap, Δ. However, another important energy scale, the superfluid phase stiffness, J, which determines the resilience of the superconductor to phase-fluctuations is normally ignored. The spectacular success of BCS theory owes to the fact that in conventional superconductors J is normally several orders of magnitude larger than Δ and thus an irrelevant energy scale. However, in certain situations such as in the presence of low carrier density, strong disorder, at low-dimensions or in granular superconductors, J can drastically come down and even become smaller than Δ. In such situations, the temperature and magnetic field evolution of superconducting properties is governed by phase fluctuations, which gives rise to novel electronic states where signatures of electronic pairing continue to exist even when the zero resistance state is destroyed. In this article, we will review the recent experimental developments on the study of phase fluctuations in conventional superconductors.
High-performance ternary organic photovoltaics with NC70BA as the third component material enabling thickness-insensitive photoactive performance
Authors: Liu Zhiyong , Wang Hong-En
Published: November 2021

In this work, a thinner (100 nm) and thicker (150 and 200 nm) ternary organic photovoltaic (OPV) are fabricate by D18 as donor, Y6 as acceptor and NC70BA as third component materials. The addition of the hollow 3D spherical structure of NC70BA into D18:Y6 binary films is helpful for improving phase separation and smooth surface of ternary photoactive layer, and form more continuous electron transport channels in ternary photoactive layers. It is enhance photovoltaic performance under not only thinner photoactive layer thickness but also thicker photoactive layer thickness. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of employing D18:Y6 as a binary photovoltaic layer and fullerene derivative NC70BA as a third component material and has construct high-efficiency thickness-insensitive ternary OPVs; this approach would promote the development of thicker photoactive layer ternary OPVs to fulfill the requirements of solution coating processes.
Applications of nanodosimetry in particle therapy planning and beyond
Authors: Rucinski Antoni , Biernacka Anna , Schulte Reinhard
Published: November 2021

This topical review summarizes underlying concepts of nanodosimetry. It describes the development and current status of nanodosimetric detector technology. It also gives an overview of Monte Carlo track structure simulations that can provide nanodosimetric parameters for treatment planning of proton and ion therapy. Classical and modern radiobiological assays that can be used to demonstrate the relationship between the frequency and complexity of DNA lesion clusters and nanodosimetric parameters are reviewed. At the end of the review, existing approaches of treatment planning based on relative biological effectiveness (RBE) models or dose-averaged linear energy transfer are contrasted with an RBE-independent approach based on nandosimetric parameters. Beyond treatment planning, nanodosimetry is also expected to have applications and give new insights into radiation protection dosimetry.