bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Usability of alloys with different composition as electrode for electrochemical reduction of ferricyanide ion
Authors: Altay İlhan , Yapici Sinan , Demirkiran Nizamettin
Published: April 2022

An experimental work was performed to investigate the usability of 8 metallic alloys with different composition in electrochemical limiting diffusion current technique employing the cathodic reduction of ferricyanide. All the alloys exhibited a limiting current plateau region in their voltage–current behaviour, but not all gave a wide and smooth plateau, except one with almost pure Ni. With the alloys of including more than 50% Ni, as Ni ratio of the metal increased, smoother and wider plateau was attained, and the electrode containing 99% Ni gave the smoothest plateau. The other alloys tested can only be used as electrode in the limiting diffusion current technique in low flow velocities in which the transfer of the active ion to the electrode surface is as slow as that the mass transfer controls the rate of system.
Robust model reference adaptive controller for atmospheric plasma spray process
Authors: Guduri B. , Batra R. C.
Published: April 2022

We add the σ-modification and the low-frequency learning to the model reference adaptive controller (MRAC) (Guduri et al. in SN Appl Sci 3:1–21, 2021) to make it robust in the presence of two simultaneous bounded disturbances and maintain consistent mean particles’ temperature and velocity collectively called mean particles’ states (MPSs) when they impact the substrate to be coated. The MPSs affect the coating quality. Even though results are applicable to several coating processes, we consider an atmospheric plasma spray process (APSP). It is shown that the proposed controller can quickly adopt to disturbances in the average injection velocity of powder particles and in the arc voltage to change the input current, and the argon and the hydrogen flow rates to maintain constant values of the MPSs. The effects of the parameter values in the MRAC, the MRAC with $$\sigma$$
σ
-modification (R-MRAC), and the R-MRAC with low-frequency learning (MR-MRAC) schemes on tracking error convergence, steady-state tracking error, disturbance rejection and the presence of overshoot have been studied. The numerical experiments suggest that $$2 \le \gamma \le 20,$$

2
≤
γ
≤
20
,

$$10 \le \sigma \le 100,$$

10
≤
σ
≤
100
,

and $$20 \le \lambda \le 80$$

20
≤
λ
≤
80

for the MR-MRAC provide fast adaptation, no overshoot, and low tracking error in the controlled response. The parameter $$\lambda > 0$$

λ
>
0

suppresses high-frequency oscillations in the closed-loop control system, and $$\gamma$$
γ
serves to tune the controller gains. The control scheme has been tested using the software, LAVA-P, that simulates well an APSP.
Sexual Dysfunction in Women With Multiple Sclerosis: Expectations Regarding Treatment and Information, and Utility of the SEA-MS-F Questionnaire
Authors: Audrey Schreiber-Bontemps , Marion Roquet , Béatrice Médée , Stéphane Verdun , Katelyne Hubeaux
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Sexual dysfunction is a common complaint in female with multiple sclerosis (MS), however this problem is not often considered in the medical and psychological care.

Aim

To evaluate expectations regarding treatment and information for sexual dysfunction in women with multiple sclerosis using the SEA-MS-F (Sexual Dysfunction Management and Expectations Assessment in Multiple sclerosis - Female) questionnaire, and to gain an understanding of the relationship between their expectations, demographic factors and medical factors known to promote sexual dysfunction.

Methods

A prospective epidemiological, descriptive, analytical, multicentre study was carried out over 15 months on adult women suffering from MS. The SEA-MS-F was used to evaluate expectations regarding their sexuality and sexual activity.

Main Outcome

Measure 87 women were included. Mean age was 47 years and the mean time since MS diagnosis was 14 years.

Results

59.8% reported sexual dysfunction, but only 22.4% of the participants had raised the subject with a professional. With regards to expectations, 68% of the women wanted information about sexual dysfunction and 80% of women with sexual difficulties wanted treatment. High expectations correlated with the presence of sexual dysfunction, a regular sexual partner and with milder ambulatory handicap. There were no correlations between expectations and age, time since MS diagnosis, fatigue or being postmenopausal. The SEA-MS-F questionnaire was perceived as useful by 63.4% of the women and 90% felt that it could help doctors to treat sexual dysfunction.

Conclusion

To date, the SEA-MS-F is the only questionnaire validated in women with MS for the evaluation of sexual expectations and in the present study the women felt strongly that it represented a useful way for them to introduce and then discuss the subject of their sexual dysfunction with their doctor.
Is There a Relationship Between Overactive Bladder and Sexual Dysfunction in Women with Multiple Sclerosis?
Authors: Le Breton Frédérique , Chesnel Camille , Lagnau Philippe , Haddad Rebecca , Lacroix Pascal , Miget Gabriel , Amarenco Gerard , Hentzen Claire
Published: April 2022

Background

Lower urinary tract Symptoms (LUTS) and Sexual dysfunction (SD) are common in women with MS and affect quality of life.

Aim

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between sexual dysfunction (SD) and overactive bladder in women with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Methods

From January 2019 to January 2021, we evaluated 89 female MS patients admitted for LUTS in a Neuro-Urology Department. SD was investigated using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). All subjects completed the Urinary Symptom Profile scale (USP) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD A/HAD D). Neurological impairment was assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). All patients underwent neurological examination and urodynamic studies. Univariate analysis and Multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify predictors of SD in women with MS (FSFI <26.55).

Outcomes

Primary outcome was to determine the association between sexual dysfunction in women with MS and LUTS (overactive bladder, stress incontinence or voiding dysfunction).

Results

Sexual dysfunction (FSFI<26,55) affected 74% of women with MS, even with low physical disabilities (EDSS<5). Univariate analysis showed that overactive bladder was more frequent in SD group, but no statistical difference was found (P < .12). No relationship was found between sexual dysfunction and stress incontinence (P = ,47), voiding dysfunction (P= 0.79) or urinary retention (P= .96). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified overactive bladder to be an independent predictor of sexual dysfunction [aOR 0.03 (CI 0,0.98)]. Sexual dysfunction was not associated with detrusor overactivity on urodynamic studies or with impairment mobility but was strongly associated with the presence of depression (P < .01).

Clinical implications

Sexual disorders in women with MS should be assessed as much as urinary disorder.

Strengths and limitations

this study included the largest cohort of women with MS. But the sample was obtained in an outpatient setting with low neurological impairment.

Conclusion

In our study, SD was frequent affecting young women with no anticholinergic treatment and low physical impairment. Overactive bladder seemed to be independent predictor of sexual dysfunction. Conversely, SD was not associated with detrusor overactivity, neurological impairment, or duration of disease but was strongly associated with depression.
The Efficacy of Suspensory Ligament Release and Pubic Lipectomy Via Penopubic Z Plasty During Penile Prosthesis Implantation in Improving Sexual Satisfaction: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Aboul Fotouh El Gharably Mohamed , Ghoneima Waleed , Lotfi Mohamed Amr , AbdelWahab Mohamed , Elkady Amr , Abdel-Rassoul Mohammed A.
Published: April 2022

Background

The utility of penile suspensory ligament release (SLR) in the setting of penile prosthesis implantation (PPI) has received limited attention in the literature.

Aim

To assess the efficacy and safety of penile SLR release, pubic lipectomy (PL), and the utility of penopubic Z-plasty (ZP) during malleable PPI in improving sexual satisfaction compared to that achieved with the conventional method.

Methods

Between August 2018 and April 2020, 61 patients with refractory erectile dysfunction were prospectively randomized into 2 groups; group A included 31 patients who underwent PPI with SLR and PL via ZP, and group B included 30 patients who underwent conventional PPI via a penoscrotal incision.

Outcomes

Penile length was assessed at 3 months, and sexual satisfaction was assessed up to 1 year after PPI using both validated and non-validated tools.

Results

The median operative time was higher in group A than in group B (170 min; interquartile range [IQR] [160–190] vs 97.5 min; IQR [90–110] P < .001).The median pre- to postoperative differences in functional and visible penile lengths for group A were 1.5 cm; IQR [0–2] and 2.5 cm; IQR [1–3.5], respectively, while those in group B were both 0 cm; IQR [-1 to 0] P < .001). Group A patients reported higher scores in the International Index of Erectile Function satisfaction domains than the group B patients did (13; IQR [12–14] and 9; IQR [8–10] vs 11; IQR [9.5–12] and 8; IQR [6.5–8.5], respectively, P < .001). Moreover, the postoperative Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction score was higher in group A than that in group B (95.40; IQR [91–97.7] vs 85.20; IQR [72.7–91], respectively, P < .001). Common complications in group A were penile edema (77.4%), penile instability (9.7%) and glans numbness (9.7%).

Clinical Implications

The benefit in patient satisfaction following SLR and PL via ZP during PPI may outweigh the incremental increase in complications.

Strength & Limitations

To our knowledge, this is the first prospective randomized controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SLR, PL, and ZP during PPI. However, because an optimal tool for assessing sexual satisfaction after PPI is lacking at this time, we alternatively adopted the most used assessment tools. Further, our data applies only to malleable penile prosthesis.

Conclusion

SLR and PL via ZP during PPI resulted in a substantial improvement of the patients’ sexual satisfaction without serious complications.
Searching for Trust
Authors: Lemieux Victoria L.
Published: April 2022

Searching for Trust explores the intersection of trust, disinformation, and blockchain technology in an age of heightened institutional and epistemic mistrust. It adopts a unique archival theoretic lens to delve into how computational information processing has gradually supplanted traditional record keeping, putting at risk a centuries-old tradition of the 'moral defense of the record' and replacing it with a dominant ethos of information-processing efficiency. The author argues that focusing on information-processing efficiency over the defense of records against manipulation and corruption (the ancient task of the recordkeeper) has contributed to a diminution of the trustworthiness of information and a rise of disinformation, with attendant destabilization of the epistemic trust fabric of societies. Readers are asked to consider the potential and limitations of blockchains as the technological embodiment of the moral defense of the record and as means to restoring societal trust in an age of disinformation.
Facilitators and Barriers for Effective Staff Work in Swedish National Governmental Crisis Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Westman Anja , Hugelius Karin , Weinstein Eric , Kurland Lisa
Published: April 2022

Objectives:

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis response in Sweden was managed foremost by a collaboration of several national agencies. Normally, their strategical and operational collaboration is limited, but the pandemic required new and unfamiliar collaborations. This study aimed to clarify the facilitators and barriers of perceived effective staff work within and between 4 national agencies.

Methods:

A qualitative study of 10 participants with leading roles within the 4 national agencies’ crisis organization was conducted via snowball sampling. The participant interviews were conducted between August and November 2020 and analyzed using content analysis.

Results:

Four categories emerged from the analysis: individual characteristics, intra-agency organization, interorganizational collaboration, and governmental directives. Subcategories crystallized from the data were analyzed and divided into factors for facilitating or to function as barriers for effective staff work.

Conclusion:

Individual factors such as attitude and approach were important for perceived effective staff work as well as clear mandates and structure of the organization. Barriers for perceived effective staff work include lack of network, the complexity of the mission and organizational structures, as well as lack of preparations and unclear mandates. Although flexibility and adaptability are necessary, they cannot always be planned, but can be incorporated indirectly by selecting suitable individuals and optimizing organizational planning.
An adverse-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer with nearly constant up to
Authors: Pozuelo Ramón , Li Qiang , Schlatter Philipp , Vinuesa Ricardo
Published: April 2022

In this study, a new well-resolved large-eddy simulation of an incompressible near-equilibrium adverse-pressure-gradient (APG) turbulent boundary layer (TBL) over a flat plate is presented. In this simulation, we have established a near-equilibrium APG over a wide Reynolds-number range. In this so-called region of interest, the Rotta–Clauser pressure-gradient parameter

$\beta$

exhibits an approximately constant value of around 1.4, and the Reynolds number based on momentum thickness reaches

${\textit {Re}}_{\theta }=8700$

. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is to date the highest

${\textit {Re}}_{\theta }$

achieved for a near-equilibrium APG TBL under an approximately constant moderate APG. We evaluated the self-similarity of the outer region using two scalings, namely the Zagarola–Smits and an alternative scaling based on edge velocity and displacement thickness. Our results reveal that outer-layer similarity is achieved, and the viscous scaling collapses the near-wall region of the mean flow in agreement with classical theory. Spectral analysis reveals that the APG displaces some small-scale energy from the near-wall to the outer region, an effect observed for all the components of the Reynolds-stress tensor, which becomes more evident at higher Reynolds numbers. In general, the effects of the APG are more noticeable at lower Reynolds numbers. For instance, the outer peak of turbulent-kinetic-energy (TKE) production is less prominent at higher

$Re$

. Although the scale separation increases with

${\textit {Re}}$

in zero-pressure-gradient TBLs, this effect becomes accentuated by the APG. Despite the reduction of the outer TKE production at higher Reynolds numbers, the mechanisms of energisation of large scales are still present.
Solidarity as an Emotion: American Jews and Israel in 1948
Authors: Penslar Derek
Published: April 2022

American Jewish support for Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War was in part the result of an emotional mobilization. American Jewish fundraisers constructed an extensive public-relations apparatus and formulated strategies for honoring supporters and shaming shirkers. They, along with journalists for the Jewish press, interpreted events through the lens of information provided by the newly formed Israeli government. Fundraising, however, could succeed only by responding to donors’ emotional proclivities, and expressions of solidarity with Israel in Jewish media were laterally reinforcing as well as shaped from the top down. These findings underscore the role of positive emotions in generating “groupness.”
Negotiating Sovereignty in German History—Historiographical Challenges
Authors: Graf Rüdiger , Tworek Heidi
Published: April 2022

This article introduces a special issue on the politics of sovereignty in German history. Historical work provides an important corrective to understand the current discursive resurgence of sovereignty. Historians (and other scholars) should treat sovereignty not as a factual description of the world, but rather analyze it as a rhetorical claim to assert power in territorial, political, economic, legal, and cultural disputes. Much of the power of sovereignty lies in the power to define its boundaries, whether geographical or conceptual. German history offers a particularly fruitful route to historicize the concept, as Germany is arguably both a paradigmatic and a special case in the history of sovereignty. From late-nineteenth-century colonialism to contemporary disputes around gambling restrictions, German discourse on sovereignty has intertwined with and challenged international understandings of sovereignty together with neighboring concepts, such as independence, autonomy, supreme authority, and control. In the twentieth century, perhaps no country experienced stronger affirmations of both sovereignty and the necessity to integrate into inter- and supranational structures than the country at the center of the two world wars and subsequently divided during the Cold War.
The Things They Carried (and Kept): RevisitingOstalgiein the Global South
Authors: Schwenkel Christina
Published: April 2022

The rich body of literature on the cultural legacies of East Germany has privileged white German perspectives on material culture at the expense of non-white and non-European encounters with socialist things. In shifting the spatial lens to the global South, and to the foreign students and workers who lived for extended periods in East Germany, I trouble the implicit whiteness in the study of GDR cultural memory. Popular identification with GDR goods extended beyond the borders of Germany to newly decolonized countries that were the beneficiaries of the GDR’s solidarity policies. Using the example of Vietnam, I challenge formulations ofOstalgieas a site of white German memory production only, highlighting consumption of East German products by racialized foreign Others. In examining the objects that Vietnamese migrants amassed and transported back to Vietnam, and their subsequent use and circulation through today, I offer a different take on the temporal and spatial relationship between people and commodities, one that assigns value and agency to imported socialist things. In contrast to reunified Germany, where socialist-era goods were deemed disposable and obsolete, in Vietnam, East German products did not lose their utility and associations with modernity. The essay argues for a more inclusive exploration of memory and approach toOstalgiethat takes seriously the alternative logics of time, space, and materiality that informed the circuits of consumption, trade, and meaning of GDR things.
A Slippery Sovereignty: International Law and the Development of British Cochin
Authors: Shankar Devika
Published: April 2022

British Cochin was a port in southwestern India surrounded by princely states. This article uses a dispute surrounding its limits to interrogate the role international law played in generating novel forms of political claim-making among European and non-European powers at the turn of the twentieth century. Cochin was located in an area where both physical and political boundaries were hard to define. Situated at the tip of a narrow coastline surrounded by water, it was also lodged amid territories belonging to two princely states—Cochin State and Travancore. Its ever-shifting coastline and proximity to princely states forced colonial authorities to adopt a flexible approach to the port’s boundaries, allowing the tiny princely state of Cochin to become progressively more involved with the British port’s development over the nineteenth century. The article starts by examining the forces that shaped these entanglements, and then explores a territorial dispute involving British Cochin to illuminate the ways in which, during the twentieth century’s first quarter, both the colonial administration and the Cochin State deployed the language of international law to try to extend their powers over the port. By highlighting the Cochin State’s partially successful attempts at claiming sovereignty over the waters surrounding the harbor in order to become involved with the development of a port in British India, this article shows how international law emerged as a site through which semi-sovereign territories began testing and even extending the limits of their sovereignty.
Vessels of Wrath and God’s Pathos: Potter/Clay Imagery in Rom 9:20–23
Authors: Staples Jason A.
Published: April 2022

Starting from the concept of divine patience in Rom 9:22, this article argues that Paul employs the potter/clay metaphor not (as often interpreted) to defend God’s right to arbitrary choice but rather as an appeal to what Abraham Heschel called divine pathos—the idea that God’s choices are impacted by human actions. The potter/clay imagery in Rom 9:20–23 thus serves to highlight the dynamic and improvisational way the God of Israel interacts with Israel and, by extension, all of creation.
FOFC and what left–right asymmetries may tell us about syntactic structure building
Authors: ZEIJLSTRA HEDDE
Published: April 2022

In this paper, I demonstrate that a well-known left-right asymmetry, Biberauer, Holmberg and Roberts’s (2014) Final-over-Final Condition (FOFC), which these authors claim follows from Kayne’s Linear Correspondence Axiom (LCA), is actually better explained under a symmetric approach to syntactic structure building in tandem with the mechanism that underlies the constraints on rightward movement. Apart from circumventing the theoretical and empirical problems that this LCA-based analysis faces, the fact that particles form a natural class of counterexamples to FOFC naturally follows under such a symmetric approach. The final part of this paper shows that this explanation to FOFC also straightforwardly applies to the semi-universal leftwardness of (subject) specifiers in both head-final and head-initial languages.
Herausfordernde Emotionen in den Pflegeberufen
Authors: Hannweg Janine , Wulfhorst Britta , Schenk Olaf
Published: April 2022

Zusammenfassung. Der Umgang mit herausfordernden Emotionen in der Patientenversorgung stellt für viele Pflegekräfte einen starken Belastungsfaktor dar. Basierend auf der Auswertung von sechs im Jahr 2020 durchgeführten problemzentrierten Interviews wurde eine Handreichung zur curricularen Einbettung des Angst- und Ekelerlebens von Pflegekräften in die generalistische Pflegeausbildung entwickelt
The Importance of Unfair Intentions and Outcome Inequality for Punishment by Third Parties and Victims
Authors: Hechler Stefanie , Kessler Thomas
Published: April 2022

Abstract. Retributive theories predominantly focus on third party’s motives for punishment, which are rather affected by the offender’s malicious intentions than the actual outcome of the offense. However, victims experience an offense from a different perspective. The value/status approach argues that an offense has two facets that produce different threats: the intentional violation of values and status imbalance between offender and victims. We suggested that third parties and victims punish unfair intentions, whereas victims also punish because of the outcome inequality. In the present study, we orthogonally crossed the factors offender’s intention with the actual outcome and perspective of punisher (third-party versus victim). Results show that victims punish harsher than third parties. However, there are no qualitative differences of third-party punishment and punishment by victims. Rather, both punish malicious intentions and outcome inequality. We discuss how the findings relate to retributivism and other psychological theories of punishment.
A Case Study on the Interaction Between MSTIDs' Fronts, Their Dissipation, and a Curious Case of MSTID's Rotation Over Geomagnetic Low‐Mid Latitude Transition Region
Authors: Rathi R. , Yadav V. , Mondal S. , Sarkhel S. , Sunil Krishna M. V. , Upadhayaya A. K. , Kannaujiya S. , Chauhan P.
Published: April 2022

This paper reports a rare interaction between two fronts of nighttime medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) and associated phenomena observed over geomagnetic low‐mid latitude transition region on a geomagnetically quiet night (Ap = 5) of 21 May 2020. The event was observed for nearly 8 hours in O(1D) 630.0 nm airglow images captured by an all‐sky imager installed at Hanle (32.7°N, 78.9°E; Mlat. ∼24.1°N), Leh Ladakh, India and supplemented by a digisonde and a global positioning system receiver located within the imager's field of view (FOV). The images revealed a slow‐moving MSTID front being followed by a fast‐moving MSTID front, both traveling southwestward. The third front of the MSTID caught up with the second one, initiating the interaction. As a consequence, a plasma channel was created during the interaction and the MSTIDs' fronts began decaying. Subsequently, they became thin strips and later dissipated within the FOV of the imager. The polarization electric field of the merged region of the two interacting MSTIDs' fronts played a key role in creating the plasma channel. In the later hours of the night, another MSTID with a rotating front was observed, which is a rarely reported phenomenon. The horizontal gradient in the westward wind is a plausible reason for the observed rotation. This study elucidates the complex nature of geomagnetic low‐mid latitude transition region.
The Subducting Slab as a Chromatographic Column: Regimes of Sub‐Solidus Mass Transport as a Function of Lithospheric Hydration State, With Special Reference to the Fate of Carbonate
Authors: Zhong Xin , Galvez Matthieu E.
Published: April 2022

We investigate the chemical budget of subduction zones at sub‐solidus conditions using a thermodynamic‐numerical simulation in which all major rock components are treated as soluble and potentially mobile in aqueous fluids. This new strategy significantly improves the accuracy of predicted fluid‐rock equilibrium compositions in open petrological systems. We show that all slabs release volatiles and nonvolatiles to the mantle wedge, contributing to its refertilization. But some mobile constituents, such as alkali and alumina, may be trapped along layer boundaries or traverse without interaction depending on chemical contrasts between adjacent lithologies. The accumulation of igneous alumina and silica in the limestones of the central‐eastern Pacific slabs drives their decarbonation and is marked by metasomatic garnet growth. Those slabs are also predicted to lose much of their alkalis before sub‐arc depth. Even when they are produced in the altered mafic and ultramafic layers, fluids reach the slab/mantle wedge interface with distinct compositional signatures that are typical of the sedimentary cover. We distinguished supply and transport limited regimes of element subduction by testing the sensitivity of our mass balance to changes in slab hydration state (HS). Transport limited slabs sensitive to HS include notably a hotspot of carbon release to the mantle wedge (e.g., Costa Rica). Finally, we show that the quantitative budgets do depend on the geometry of fluid flows, and on assuming that slabs are mechanically continuous structures, which is questionable. Taken together, these insights will help better constrain the long‐term chemical evolution of the shallow planetary interior, and the thermomechanical behavior of the subduction interface.
New Hazard Exposure Model for Africa
Authors: Makoni Munyaradzi
Published: April 2022

The rapid pace of urbanization could encroach on hazard-prone regions without adequate land management and building design regulations, a new modeling project shows.
Transcriptome-wide association study for postpartum depression implicates altered B-cell activation and insulin resistance
Authors: Guintivano Jerry , Aberg Karolina A. , Clark Shaunna L. , Rubinow David R. , Sullivan Patrick F. , Meltzer-Brody Samantha , van den Oord Edwin J. C. G.
Published: April 2022

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 1 in 7 women and has negative mental health consequences for both mother and child. However, the precise biological mechanisms behind the disorder are unknown. Therefore, we performed the largest transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) for PPD (482 cases, 859 controls) to date using RNA-sequencing in whole blood and deconvoluted cell types. No transcriptional changes were observed in whole blood. B-cells showed a majority of transcriptome-wide significant results (891 transcripts representing 789 genes) with pathway analyses implicating altered B-cell activation and insulin resistance. Integration of other data types revealed cell type-specific DNA methylation loci and disease-associated eQTLs (deQTLs), but not hormones/neuropeptides (estradiol, progesterone, oxytocin, BDNF), serve as regulators for part of the transcriptional differences between cases and controls. Further, deQTLs were enriched for several brain region-specific eQTLs, but no overlap with MDD risk loci was observed. Altogether, our results constitute a convergence of evidence for pathways most affected in PPD with data across different biological mechanisms.
CDC42EP3 promotes glioma progression via regulation of CCND1
Authors: Yang Zhigang , Xu Tao , Xie Tao , Yang Liangliang , Wang Guiping , Gao Yang , Xi Gangming , Zhang Xiaobiao
Published: April 2022

Gliomas are the most common brain malignancies characterized by high degree of aggressiveness and high mortality. However, the underlying mechanism of glioma progression remains unclear. Here, we probed the role of CDC42EP3 (CDC42 effector protein 3) played in glioma development and its potential downstream mechanism. The expression of CDC42EP3 in tumor and normal brain tissues were examined through immunohistochemistry and we found the likelihood of CDC42EP3 overexpression was positively correlated with pathological grading. Patients with higher expression of CDC42EP3 were more likely to suffer from recurrence as well. Through constructing CDC42EP3-knockdown cell models, we discovered that silencing CDC42EP3 significantly restricted cell proliferation and migration but facilitated cell apoptosis in vitro. Inhibition on tumor growth mediated by CDC42EP3 depletion was further verified in vivo. Regarding downstream target of CDC42EP3, we found that it may positively regulate the expression of CCND1 through c-Myc-mediated transcription. Furthermore, our findings affirmed that effects of CDC42EP3 overexpression on cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis could be confined by depleting CCND1. In a word, this study reported the tumor-promoting role of CDC42EP3 in glioma progression which probably functioned through targeting CCND1.
Obesogenic eating behaviour and dietary intake in German children and adolescents: results from the GINIplus and LISA birth cohort studies
Authors: Marb Anne , Libuda Lars , Standl Marie , Koletzko Sibylle , Bauer Carl-Peter , Schikowski Tamara , Berdel Dietrich , von Berg Andrea , Herberth Gunda , Bühlmeier Judith , Harris Carla P.
Published: April 2022

Background/objectives

The transition to adolescence is characterised by considerable behavioural changes, including diet. This study describes the level of obesogenic eating behaviours in 10- and 15-year-olds, and their association with dietary intake.

Subjects/methods

Participants of the 10- and 15-year follow-ups of the German GINIplus and LISA birth cohort studies were included (N10 = 2257; N15 = 1880). Eating behaviours and dietary intake were assessed via self-report questionnaires. Sex-stratified, cross-sectional associations of “external eating”, “emotional eating” and “dietary restraint” (the latter at age 15 years only) with dietary intake (17 food groups—categorised into tertiles, macronutrients, and total energy) were assessed using multinomial logistic or multiple linear regression as required, adjusting for covariates and correcting for multiple testing.

Results

Reported levels of eating behaviours were low in both age-groups. External eating was higher in 10-year-old males than females, while all eating behaviours were most pronounced in 15-year-old females. At 10 years, emotional eating was associated with medium vegetable intake in females (Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) = 1.84,p = 0.0017). At 15 years, external eating was associated with total energy (kJ) in females (β = 718,p = 0.0002) and high butter intake in males (RRR = 1.96,p = 0.0019). Dietary restraint in females was inversely associated with total energy (β = −967,p < 0.0001) and omega-3 fatty acids (Means Ratio (MR) = 0.94,p = 0.0017), and positively associated with high fruit (RRR = 2.20,p = 0.0003) and whole grains (RRR = 1.94,p = 0.0013).

Conclusion

Obesogenic eating behaviour scores are low among children and adolescents of a predominantly high socioeconomic status population and present only few associations with specific aspects of diet, mainly among adolescent females.
Recommendations for reporting results of diagnostic genomic testing
Authors: Deans Zandra C. , Ahn Joo Wook , Carreira Isabel M. , Dequeker Elisabeth , Henderson Mick , Lovrecic Luca , Õunap Katrin , Tabiner Melody , Treacy Rebecca , van Asperen Christi J.
Published: April 2022

Results of clinical genomic testing must be reported in a clear, concise format to ensure they are understandable and interpretable. It is important laboratories are aware of the information which is essential to make sure the results are not open to misinterpretation. As genomic testing has continued to evolve over the past decade, the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) recommendations for reporting results of diagnostic genetic testing (biochemical, cytogenetic and molecular genetic) published in 2014 have been reviewed and updated to provide the genomic community with guidance on reporting unambiguous results.
Gut microbiota production of trimethyl-5-aminovaleric acid reduces fatty acid oxidation and accelerates cardiac hypertrophy
Authors: Zhao Mingming , Wei Haoran , Li Chenze , Zhan Rui , Liu Changjie , Gao Jianing , Yi Yaodong , Cui Xiao , Shan Wenxin , Ji Liang , Pan Bing , Cheng Si , Song Moshi , Sun Haipeng , Jiang Huidi , Cai Jun , Garcia-Barrio Minerva T. , Chen Y. Eugene , Meng Xiangbao , Dong Erdan , Wang Dao Wen , Zheng Lemin
Published: April 2022

Numerous studies found intestinal microbiota alterations which are thought to affect the development of various diseases through the production of gut-derived metabolites. However, the specific metabolites and their pathophysiological contribution to cardiac hypertrophy or heart failure progression still remain unclear. N,N,N-trimethyl-5-aminovaleric acid (TMAVA), derived from trimethyllysine through the gut microbiota, was elevated with gradually increased risk of cardiac mortality and transplantation in a prospective heart failure cohort (n = 1647). TMAVA treatment aggravated cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction in high-fat diet-fed mice. Decreased fatty acid oxidation (FAO) is a hallmark of metabolic reprogramming in the diseased heart and contributes to impaired myocardial energetics and contractile dysfunction. Proteomics uncovered that TMAVA disturbed cardiac energy metabolism, leading to inhibition of FAO and myocardial lipid accumulation. TMAVA treatment altered mitochondrial ultrastructure, respiration and FAO and inhibited carnitine metabolism. Mice with γ-butyrobetaine hydroxylase (BBOX) deficiency displayed a similar cardiac hypertrophy phenotype, indicating that TMAVA functions through BBOX. Finally, exogenous carnitine supplementation reversed TMAVA induced cardiac hypertrophy. These data suggest that the gut microbiota-derived TMAVA is a key determinant for the development of cardiac hypertrophy through inhibition of carnitine synthesis and subsequent FAO.
The importance of biofilm formation for cultivation of a Micrarchaeon and its interactions with its Thermoplasmatales host
Authors: Krause Susanne , Gfrerer Sabrina , von Kügelgen Andriko , Reuse Carsten , Dombrowski Nina , Villanueva Laura , Bunk Boyke , Spröer Cathrin , Neu Thomas R. , Kuhlicke Ute , Schmidt-Hohagen Kerstin , Hiller Karsten , Bharat Tanmay A. M. , Rachel Reinhard , Spang Anja , Gescher Johannes
Published: April 2022

Micrarchaeota is a distinctive lineage assigned to the DPANN archaea, which includes poorly characterised microorganisms with reduced genomes that likely depend on interactions with hosts for growth and survival. Here, we report the enrichment of a stable co-culture of a member of the Micrarchaeota (Ca. Micrarchaeum harzensis) together with its Thermoplasmatales host (Ca. Scheffleriplasma hospitalis), as well as the isolation of the latter. We show that symbiont-host interactions depend on biofilm formation as evidenced by growth experiments, comparative transcriptomic analyses and electron microscopy. In addition, genomic, metabolomic, extracellular polymeric substances and lipid content analyses indicate that the Micrarchaeon symbiont relies on the acquisition of metabolites from its host. Our study of the cell biology and physiology of a Micrarchaeon and its host adds to our limited knowledge of archaeal symbioses.
Selective optogenetic control of Gq signaling using human Neuropsin
Authors: Wagdi Ahmed , Malan Daniela , Sathyanarayanan Udhayabhaskar , Beauchamp Janosch S. , Vogt Markus , Zipf David , Beiert Thomas , Mansuroglu Berivan , Dusend Vanessa , Meininghaus Mark , Schneider Linn , Kalthof Bernd , Wiegert J. Simon , König Gabriele M. , Kostenis Evi , Patejdl Robert , Sasse Philipp , Bruegmann Tobias
Published: April 2022

Gqproteins are universally important for signal transduction in mammalian cells. The underlying kinetics and transformation from extracellular stimuli into intracellular signaling, however could not be investigated in detail so far. Here we present the human Neuropsin (hOPN5) for specific and repetitive manipulation of Gqsignaling in vitro and in vivo with high spatio-temporal resolution. Properties and G protein specificity of hOPN5 are characterized by UV light induced IP3generation, Ca2+transients and inhibition of GIRKchannel activity in HEK cells. In adult hearts from a transgenic animal model, light increases the spontaneous beating rate. In addition, we demonstrate light induced contractions in the small intestine, which are not detectable after pharmacological Gqprotein block. All-optical high-throughput screening for TRPC6 inhibitors is more specific and sensitive than conventional pharmacological screening. Thus, we demonstrate specific Gqsignaling of hOPN5 and unveil its potential for optogenetic applications.
Structural basis for different types of hetero-tetrameric light-harvesting complexes in a diatom PSII-FCPII supercomplex
Authors: Nagao Ryo , Kato Koji , Kumazawa Minoru , Ifuku Kentaro , Yokono Makio , Suzuki Takehiro , Dohmae Naoshi , Akita Fusamichi , Akimoto Seiji , Miyazaki Naoyuki , Shen Jian-Ren
Published: April 2022

Fucoxanthin chlorophyll (Chl) a/c-binding proteins (FCPs) function as light harvesters in diatoms. The structure of a diatom photosystem II-FCPII (PSII-FCPII) supercomplex have been solved by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) previously; however, the FCPII subunits that constitute the FCPII tetramers and monomers are not identified individually due to their low resolutions. Here, we report a 2.5 Å resolution structure of the PSII-FCPII supercomplex using cryo-EM. Two types of tetrameric FCPs, S-tetramer, and M-tetramer, are identified as different types of hetero-tetrameric complexes. In addition, three FCP monomers, m1, m2, and m3, are assigned to different gene products of FCP. The present structure also identifies the positions of most Chls c and diadinoxanthins, which form a complicated pigment network. Excitation-energy transfer from FCPII to PSII is revealed by time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. These structural and spectroscopic findings provide insights into an assembly model of FCPII and its excitation-energy transfer and quenching processes.
ROS homeostasis mediated by MPK4 and SUMM2 determines synergid cell death
Authors: Völz Ronny , Harris William , Hirt Heribert , Lee Yong-Hwan
Published: April 2022

Sexual plant reproduction depends on the attraction of sperm-cell delivering pollen tubes (PT) by two synergids, followed by their programmed cell death (PCD) in Arabidopsis. Disruption of the mitogen-activated protein kinase 4 (MPK4) by pathogenic effectors activates the resistance protein (R) SUMM2-mediated immunity and cell death. Here we show that synergid preservation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis are intimately linked and maintained by MPK4. In mpk4, ROS levels are increased and synergids prematurely undergo PCD before PT-reception. However, ROS scavengers and the disruption of SUMM2, in mpk4, restore ROS homeostasis, synergid maintenance and PT perception, demonstrating that the guardian of MPK4, SUMM2, triggers synergid-PCD. In mpk4/summ2, PTs show a feronia-like overgrowth phenotype. Our results show that immunity-associated PCD and synergid cell death during plant reproduction are regulated by MPK4 underscoring an underlying molecular mechanism for the suppression of plant reproduction during systemic R-mediated immunity.
Chirality transfer from a 3D macro shape to the molecular level by controlling asymmetric secondary flows
Authors: Sevim Semih , Sorrenti Alessandro , Vale João Pedro , El-Hachemi Zoubir , Pané Salvador , Flouris Andreas D. , Mayor Tiago Sotto , Puigmartí-Luis Josep
Published: April 2022

Homochirality is a fundamental feature of living systems, and its origin is still an unsolved mystery. Previous investigations showed that external physical forces can bias a spontaneous symmetry breaking process towards deterministic enantioselection. But can the macroscopic shape of a reactor play a role in chiral symmetry breaking processes? Here we show an example of chirality transfer from the chiral shape of a 3D helical channel to the chirality of supramolecular aggregates, with the handedness of the helical channel dictating the direction of enantioselection in the assembly of an achiral molecule. By combining numerical simulations of fluid flow and mass transport with experimental data, we demonstrated that the chiral information is transferred top-down thanks to the interplay between the hydrodynamics of asymmetric secondary flows and the precise spatiotemporal control of reagent concentration fronts. This result shows the possibility of controlling enantioselectively molecular processes at the nanometer scale by modulating the geometry and the operating conditions of fluidic reactors.
Adverse biobehavioral effects in infants resulting from pregnant rhesus macaques’ exposure to wildfire smoke
Authors: Capitanio John P. , Del Rosso Laura A. , Gee Nancy , Lasley Bill L.
Published: April 2022

As wildfires across the world increase in number, size, and intensity, exposure to wildfire smoke (WFS) is a growing health problem. To date, however, little is known for any species on what might be the behavioral or physiological consequences of prenatal exposure to WFS. Here we show that infant rhesus monkeys exposed to WFS in the first third of gestation (n = 52) from the Camp Fire (California, November, 2018) show greater inflammation, blunted cortisol, more passive behavior, and memory impairment compared to animals conceived after smoke had dissipated (n = 37). Parallel analyses, performed on a historical control cohort (n = 2490), did not support the alternative hypothesis that conception timing alone could explain the results. We conclude that WFS may have a teratogenic effect on the developing fetus and speculate on mechanisms by which WFS might affect neural development.
Neuropathology and virus in brain of SARS-CoV-2 infected non-human primates
Authors: Rutkai Ibolya , Mayer Meredith G. , Hellmers Linh M. , Ning Bo , Huang Zhen , Monjure Christopher J. , Coyne Carol , Silvestri Rachel , Golden Nadia , Hensley Krystle , Chandler Kristin , Lehmicke Gabrielle , Bix Gregory J. , Maness Nicholas J. , Russell-Lodrigue Kasi , Hu Tony Y. , Roy Chad J. , Blair Robert V. , Bohm Rudolf , Doyle-Meyers Lara A. , Rappaport Jay , Fischer Tracy
Published: April 2022

Neurological manifestations are a significant complication of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but underlying mechanisms aren’t well understood. The development of animal models that recapitulate the neuropathological findings of autopsied brain tissue from patients who died from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are critical for elucidating the neuropathogenesis of infection and disease. Here, we show neuroinflammation, microhemorrhages, brain hypoxia, and neuropathology that is consistent with hypoxic-ischemic injury in SARS-CoV-2 infected non-human primates (NHPs), including evidence of neuron degeneration and apoptosis. Importantly, this is seen among infected animals that do not develop severe respiratory disease, which may provide insight into neurological symptoms associated with “long COVID”. Sparse virus is detected in brain endothelial cells but does not associate with the severity of central nervous system (CNS) injury. We anticipate our findings will advance our current understanding of the neuropathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and demonstrate SARS-CoV-2 infected NHPs are a highly relevant animal model for investigating COVID-19 neuropathogenesis among human subjects.
Unprecedented decline of Arctic sea ice outflow in 2018
Authors: Sumata Hiroshi , de Steur Laura , Gerland Sebastian , Divine Dmitry V. , Pavlova Olga
Published: April 2022

Fram Strait is the major gateway connecting the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean, where nearly 90% of the sea ice export from the Arctic Ocean takes place. The exported sea ice is a large source of freshwater to the Nordic Seas and Subpolar North Atlantic, thereby preconditioning European climate and deep water formation in the North Atlantic Ocean. Here we show that in 2018, the ice export through Fram Strait showed an unprecedented decline since the early 1990s. The 2018 ice export was reduced to less than 40% relative to that between 2000 and 2017. The minimum export is attributed to regional sea ice-ocean processes driven by an anomalous atmospheric circulation over the Atlantic sector of the Arctic. The result indicates that a drastic change of the Arctic sea ice outflow and its environmental consequences happen not only through Arctic-wide ice thinning, but also by regional scale atmospheric anomalies.
PI3Kγ stimulates a high molecular weight form of myosin light chain kinase to promote myeloid cell adhesion and tumor inflammation
Authors: Schmid Michael C. , Kang Sang Won , Chen Hui , Paradise Marc , Ghebremedhin Anghesom , Kaneda Megan M. , Chin Shao-Ming , Do Anh , Watterson D. Martin , Varner Judith A.
Published: April 2022

Myeloid cells play key roles in cancer immune suppression and tumor progression. In response to tumor derived factors, circulating monocytes and granulocytes extravasate into the tumor parenchyma where they stimulate angiogenesis, immune suppression and tumor progression. Chemokines, cytokines and interleukins stimulate PI3Kγ-mediated Rap1 activation, leading to conformational changes in integrin α4β1 that promote myeloid cell extravasation and tumor inflammation Here we show that PI3Kγ activates a high molecular weight form of myosin light chain kinase, MLCK210, that promotes myosin-dependent Rap1 GTP loading, leading to integrin α4β1 activation. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of MLCK210 suppresses integrin α4β1 activation, as well as tumor inflammation and progression. These results demonstrate a critical role for myeloid cell MLCK210 in tumor inflammation and serve as basis for the development of alternative approaches to develop immune oncology therapeutics.