bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationships between retinal layer thickness and brain volumes in the UK Biobank cohort
Authors: Chua Sharon Y. L. , Lascaratos Gerassimos , Atan Denize , Zhang Bing , Reisman Charles , Khaw Peng T. , Smith Stephen M. , Matthews Paul M. , Petzold Axel , Strouthidis Nicholas G. , Foster Paul J. , Khawaja Anthony P. , Patel Praveen J. ,   The UK Biobank Eye, Vision Consortium
Published: December 2020

Background and purpose

Current methods to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases are costly and invasive. Retinal neuroanatomy may be a biomarker for more neurodegenerative processes and can be quantified in vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is inexpensive and noninvasive. We examined the association of neuroretinal morphology with brain MRI image‐derived phenotypes (IDPs) in a large cohort of healthy older people.

Methods

UK Biobank participants aged 40 to 69 years old underwent comprehensive examinations including ophthalmic and brain imaging assessments. Macular retinal nerve fibre layer (mRNFL), macular ganglion cell‐inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL), macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) and total macular thicknesses were obtained from OCT. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) IDPs assessed included total brain, grey matter, white matter and hippocampal volume. Multivariable linear regression models were used to evaluate associations between retinal layers thickness and brain MRI IDPs, adjusting for demographic factors and vascular risk factors.

Results

A total of 2131 participants (mean age 55 years; 51% women) with both gradable OCT images and brain imaging assessments were included. In multivariable regression analysis, thinner mGCIPL, mGCC and total macular thickness were all significantly associated with smaller total brain (p < 0.001), grey matter and white matter volume (p < 0.01), and grey matter volume in the occipital pole (p < 0.05). Thinner mGCC and total macular thicknesses were associated with smaller hippocampal volume (p < 0.02). No association was found between mRNFL and the MRI IDPs.

Conclusions

Markers of retinal neurodegeneration are associated with smaller brain volumes. Our findings suggest that retinal structure may be a biomarker providing information about important brain structure in healthy older adults.
Everybody's a Winner: A Study on How Unidimensional Scaling Up as an Entrepreneurial Rite of Passage Is Beginning to Be Resisted in India's Startup Capital
Authors: SAKSENA GITIKA , MOHANTY ABHISHEK
Published: December 2020

Taking India's startup capital Bangalore as its field, the paper researches the absence of conventional scale as a potentially positive emic experience for the entrepreneur. The study leverages a mixed methods approach, employing semi‐structured interviews with select entrepreneurs, employees, investors, advisors, and staff from startup‐incubators, participant observation at both startups and startup‐incubators, textual analyses of business literature, semiotics of popular culture as well as auto‐ethnographic reflection by the authors themselves on account of having co‐founded a company in Bangalore in 2018, therefore establishing their positionality as ‘an‐other’ (Sarukkai 1997, 1408), by ‘thick participation’ (Samudra 2008, 667). The authors examine the current assemblages within the startup ecosystem, to demonstrate that even the dominant and conventional notions of scale have begun to demonstrate multidimensionalities. At the same time, the authors advocate a case for tethering at different points of the scalar continuum as an alternative model of entrepreneurship. The authors share ethnographic evidence from their research on startups that are increasingly beginning to explore potentialities and innovation at the existing point of the scalar continuum through an exercise in consolidation and tethering. Finally, the authors advance the proposition that a quest for value is not necessarily resistant to scale, and concomitant streams of nonscalability as lines of flight existing along the periphery of incumbent structures, always carry the possibility to escape and thus, create potentialities for creativity and disruption.
Built to Scale: Space is Different from Place
Authors: Chen Afra , Kleinman Lisa , Yury Carry
Published: December 2020

Architecture isn't just art; it physically shapes the ways in which we live and work. This session explores the intersections of vision and concrete building materials, thinking through the ways in which people and populations are affected by the built environment. In these ways, spaces are different from places. These works address the importance/centrality of different types of buildings (edifices) and the practices that they make possible.
Who Cares Where? A Pivotal Ethnographic Study for Italian Hospital Homecare
Authors: FARINA ISABEL , MESSINA ELENA , VISCIOLA MICHELE , GUIDORZI ELENA , AGAMENNONE CHIARA , CANTU' DARIA
Published: December 2020

The case study presented is an in‐depth view on the project “Casa nel Parco” (translated as “the House in the Park”), a three‐year, European‐funded project (ERDF Funds 2014‐2020) in the Italian region of Piedmont that involves 4 hospitals, 2 large companies, 14 small‐medium enterprises, 2 universities, and 2 private research centers. The goal is to research and innovate hospital‐homecare services for elderly and ALS patients, as well as their caregivers, through the implementation of e‐health solutions. The uniqueness of our case study lays on the fact that our ethnographic work was pivotal in shifting the narrative of closed hospital ecosystems (Goffman 1961); where those outside of the hospital environment are not viewed as credible or essential sources for improving the care system. In this study we share how we built trust and negotiated a complex network of stakeholders and technical systems to successfully influence the design of homecare services. Ethnography played a major role in identifying user requirements (patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals) and in building scenarios for product and service prototype development, technology adaptation, and testing. In this way, ethnography and design were used as holistic and critical approaches to addressing health challenges and change. Successful implementation could therefore be considered as a socio‐technical design challenge, rather than a pure technological design challenge, emphasizing a non‐conflationary approach in which the social and the material are held apart for the purpose of exploring their interplay (Mutch, 2013). The key success that ethnography brought was in identifying how technical systems that were designed in the abstract could be used for the very real and specific problems faced by the elderly and ALS patients needing homecare.
Scaling Dignity: An Antidote to Poverty?
Authors: RUSTER LORENN
Published: December 2020

A wise woman once shared with me that the opposite of poverty isn't wealth. It's dignity. In a world where scale is about optimising for something bigger, faster, easier, broader and more profitable, we risk decision‐making that is at odds with preserving, enabling and enhancing human dignity. What if we changed our focus to instead work out how we scale human dignity?

This PechaKucha draws on my career across consulting, social enterprise and academia in geographies from Sydney CBD to rural Uganda and highlights three moments where I experienced dignity that I believe can scale. Through the telling of stories it shows glimmers of how we can choose a definition of scale that preferences dignity. It can look like making space for a chicken gift, enshrining dignity in our organisational values and structures and building question‐asking muscles.

If we believe that the opposite of poverty is dignity, then scaling dignity is an antidote to poverty. And it is within our hands to make choices that consciously value dignity when designing research processes, organisations, products and services of our collective future.
Growing Communities: How Social Platforms Can Help Community Groups Achieve the Right Scale at the Right Time
Authors: COLE CALEN , WEI CAROLYN
Published: December 2020

Supporting communities on its platforms has been a part of Facebook's core mission since 2017. Early understandings of the needs of groups and organizers largely centered around groups that began on Facebook itself. This paper is the result of ethnographic research conducted in 2019 to better understand the needs of different types of groups and the corresponding ways that technology platforms do and could support them. The initial orientation towards online groups led to the recognition of the difficulty of managing fast‐growing groups but failed to consider whether groups might want to avoid growth in members altogether. We found in our research that many groups in fact did want to avoid or limit their growth in numbers. For these groups, growing as a community meant different things: offering more to existing members, raising awareness, or promoting the group to an outside audience, or simply maintaining over time. Our research was able to connect the dots of why organizers would have different aims between different groups or at different points in time. We ultimately presented our findings in a simple framework of three ‘toolkits’ that technology platforms can provide to meet the different needs of groups and organizers.
Scaling Ethnography
Authors: Purser Bec , Rantavuo Heli , Romagosa Frank
Published: December 2020

In this session, we consider how ethnography takes root and grows in organizations. We'll investigate the many models, meanings, and uses of ethnography developed and deployed, addressing their successes, failures, and ethical implications. This session focuses on the struggles we experience as we attempt to scale our practice in our organizations and industries.
Empathy, More or Less: Scaling Intermediary Experiences of Emotion and Affect in Innovation
Authors: KOYCHEVA LORA V.
Published: December 2020

Questions of scale permeate current approaches to empathy in applied human‐centered work—and especially design thinking—but they have remained largely unquestioned. What is more, empathy has become an empty signifier, and empathizing is often a near‐formulaic and pro‐forma endeavor. To catalyze a reworking of the concept, in this paper I synthesize what has been said so far of empathy and its role in design and innovation, and I take stock of what these contributions point to. I ask: “How can we think of empathy as a scalar phenomenon and thus re‐scale it in innovation?” I offer some illustrative, if unresolved, tensions with empathy I have had in my own ethnographic work with a robotics start‐up, and I conclude the article with a series of provocations with the hope they will be taken up further.
I'm Not Scaling, the World Is Really Scaling Against Me: Or, What Will 4 People Think / Chaar Log Kya Kahenge
Authors: KAUL SMRITI
Published: December 2020

This paper raises the implications of simplifying algorithms for scale and uplifting content that is damaging for human evolution. Technology is powerful because of its scale and also disempowering for the same reason. Scale is in the variables and online media, in the zest of empowering women, is deciding our fate. I get it when the housewife looks to YouTube to cook a meal. However, I also see the heartbreak when what should be freeing is actually being used to throttle progress. When a girl from a small sub‐segment of global population like Rajasthan, while wanting to feel empowered realises that she's unable to measure up? Are we responsible for this? Are our “hashtags” and “likes” fuelling our continued repression?

As an ethnographer, I study media consumption to overcome barriers to participation in the online world, and as a gender trainer, I also create and use media content to overcome barriers in the real world. I find myself continually curious about what we learn and how we replicate. Hence I'm concerned that the models we have for scale aren't healthy especially for girls and women. Can we consider a shift from quantity to quality of scale ‐ from how many to how? Can we find a path that broadens the evaluation for scale? What might be the indicators for scale that progress society?
Sustainability: Addressing Global Issues at a Human Scale
Authors: RYAN LEE , WOOD LOUISA
Published: December 2020

Our tiny provocation is that the word “sustainability” is not sustainable. Just using it is sabotaging our efforts to build a better future for the planet. Despite decades of global sustainability discourse, the world is still going to hell. What's gone wrong? Our paper is about willful ignorance and complicity at a global scale; the benefits of small talk; and a better, more effective word than sustainability.
There's No Playbook for Praxis: Translating Scholarship into Action to Build a More Ethical Bank
Authors: GREGER JEFFREY
Published: December 2020

The US banking industry has a long history of excluding, exploiting, or simply ignoring low‐income communities, recent immigrants, and racial minorities. In this paper, I share my experiences creating a community of practice where employees of a rapidly‐growing banking startup can identify and confront the ethical challenges facing the financial technology (fintech) industry. This community is informed by insights from four years of activism and anthropological research that I conducted with small teams of service designers and ethnographers developing financial services for and with low‐ to moderate‐income communities around the world. Through this research, I identified three institutional logics—insularity, decontextualization, and technological hubris—which limit efforts to build a more inclusive, equitable banking system. These logics hold the potential to lead well‐intentioned organizations, and the practitioners they employ, to harm the marginalized communities they set out to help. This paper concludes with a reflection on the crucial role of ethnographers in identifying and counteracting ethical challenges in our organizations and industries.
Coupling of X‐ray computed tomography and surface in situ analysis combined with digital image correlation method to study low cycle fatigue damage micromechanisms in lost foam casting A319 alloy
Authors: Wang Long , Limodin Nathalie , El Bartali Ahmed , Charkaluk Eric
Published: December 2020

An experimental protocol has been set up in order to study the low cycle fatigue (LCF) damage micromechanisms in a lost foam casting (LFC) A319 alloy at room temperature. The microstructure of the alloy was characterized by using X‐ray computed tomography (X‐ray CT) prior to the LCF tests performed with surface in situ observations using a long distance microscope, which allow crack initiation and propagation being tracked in real‐time. The mechanical fields measured by digital image correlation (DIC) method allowed establishing the relations between strain localizations, damage evolutions and microstructure while a developed etching method, which gives a natural texture to the surface, makes DIC feasible to an acceptable resolution without masking the microstructure. The results showed that crack initiation is ascribed to strain localizations induced by large pore and/or the propagation of a previously nucleated crack. Cracks propagate along hard inclusions but the orientation of hard inclusions has also an influence on crack path.
Temporal changes in rainfall affect taxonomic and functional composition of stream fish assemblages in central Amazonia
Authors: Borba Gabriel C. , Costa Flávia R. C. , Espírito‐Santo Helder M. V. , Leitão Rafael P. , Dias Murilo S. , Zuanon Jansen
Published: December 2020

Climate change is a major threat to biodiversity. Rainfall patterns over recent decades have changed and extreme events are intensifying. These are expected to affect the hydrological dynamics and structure of forest streams in the Amazon basin, which strongly depend on the local rainfall regime, with potential consequences for local fish assemblages.

Here we used four repeated surveys of stream fish assemblages across 10 × 10 km area of a pristine forest reserve in central Amazonia over an 18‐year (2001–2018) period to investigate the temporal dynamics of fish taxonomic and functional composition in relation to changes in stream habitats and local climatic regime. We investigated changes in magnitude, direction, and congruence of fish assemblage trajectories over time.

Total annual rainfall increased over time, with stormy days (i.e. daily rainfall above 20 mm) becoming more frequent during recent decades and a concomitant change of stream substrates from litter‐dominated to free sand. The overall taxonomic and functional composition of fish assemblages changed consistently over time, with stronger differences between the first and last surveys due to alterations in relative abundances of some of the most abundant species. Functional composition moved from open water species (compressed‐bodied species with less developed fins and terminal‐oriented mouths) to species adapted to lateral pools and shallow marginal areas (species with fusiform body shape, more developed fins, and superior‐oriented mouth)

We provide evidence of a concerted directional change of fish assemblages associated with increased precipitation and a higher frequency of stormy days over the last 2 decades. Considering the short time interval and the subtleness of the climatic changes assessed in this study, as well as the historically assumed structural stability of Amazonian streams, these findings are surprising and indicate those stream fish assemblages may respond quickly to climate changes.
Bears in space: Geographies of a global community of big and hairy gay/bi/queer men
Authors: McGlynn Nick
Published: December 2020

Bears are a large global community of big and hairy gay, bisexual and queer (GBQ) men. Little sustained empirical scholarship has investigated Bears' lives and communities, and none from within geography. Three geographic lenses are used to demonstrate the significance of a geographic approach to Bears. First, rural and urban imaginaries are entwined with Bear masculinities and ideals of ‘real men’. However a geographically specific North American working class rural imaginary is particularly important. Second, the global trajectory of Bear begins in 1980s San Francisco and has since spread worldwide. The idea that Bear is fundamentally an American phenomenon is challenged by evidence of global variation in Bear identities, communities, and spaces. Third, the material and aesthetic production of Bear spaces relates to Bear masculinities and bodies, particularly fat bodies. Regarding more ephemeral Bear events, the ‘Bearing’ of space (including queer space) may provide a means of understanding these. The paper argues first that geography is crucial for understanding Bears and second that geographers of masculinities, sexualities, and fatness/bodies could productively engage with Bear identities, communities, and spaces.
Ubiquitous post‐peak zircon in an eclogite from the Kumdy‐Kol, Kokchetav UHP‐HP Massif (Kazakhstan): Significance of exhumation‐related zircon growth and modification in continental‐subduction settings
Authors: Skuzovatov Sergei Yu. , Shatsky Vladislav S. , Ragozin Alexey L. , Wang Kuo‐Lung
Published: December 2020

U–Pb geochronological, trace‐element and Lu–Hf isotopic studies have been made on zircons from ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) mafic eclogite from the Kumdy‐Kol area, one of the diamond‐facies domains of the Kokchetav Massif (northern Kazakhstan). The peak eclogitic assemblage equilibrated at > 900 °C, whereas the bulk sample composition displays light rare‐earth element (LREE) and Th depletion evident of partial melting. Zircons from the eclogite are represented by exclusively newly formed metamorphic grains and have U–Pb age spread over 533–459 Ma, thus ranging from the time of peak subduction burial to that of the late post‐orogenic collapse. The major zircon group with concordant age estimates have a concordia age of 508.1 ±4.4 Ma, which corresponds to exhumation of the eclogite‐bearing UHP crustal slice to granulite‐ or amphibolite‐facies depths. This may indicate potentially incoherent exhumation of different crustal blocks within a single Kumdy‐Kol UHP domain. Model Hf isotopic characteristics of zircons (εHf(t) +1.5 to +7.8, Neoproterozoic model Hf ages of 1.02–0.79 Ga) closely resemble the whole‐rock values of the Kumdy‐Kol eclogites and likely reflect in situ derivation of HFSE source for newly formed grains. The ages coupled with geochemical systematics of zircons confirm that predominantly late zircon growth occurred in Th–LREE‐depleted eclogitic assemblage, that experienced incipient melting and monazite dissolution in melt at granulite‐facies depths, followed by amphibolite‐facies rehydration during late‐stage exhumation‐related retrogression.
Mechanical properties of SiC‐C‐B4C composites with different carbon additives produced by pressureless sintering
Authors: Salmany Kozekanan Behnam , Moradkhani Alireza , Baharvandi Hamidreza , Ehsani Naser
Published: December 2020

In this research, carbon sources (Resin Phenolic, Carbon Black and Graphite) and Boron Carbide (B4C) were used to improve the mechanical properties of Silicon Carbide (SiC) composite. For this purpose, carbon sources of 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, and 5 wt% as well as 0.5 wt% B4C were added to SiC powder, respectively. The sample containing SiC—2.5 wt% Resin Phenolic—0.5 wt% B4C had the best properties with relative density, hardness, and fracture toughness values of 98.5%, 2820 GPa, and 3.9 MPa.√m, respectively. Examination of SEM images showed that by increasing carbon from 0.5 to 2.5 wt%, the fracture changes from intergranular to transgranular.
Effects of surfactant and particle size on the microstructure and strength of Si3N4 foams with high porosity
Authors: Du Zhongpei , Yao Dongxu , Xia Yongfeng , Zuo Kaihui , Yin Jinwei , Liang Hanqin , Zeng Yu‐Ping
Published: December 2020

The highly porous Si3N4 ceramic foams were prepared by direct foaming with mixed surfactants. The surface tension and viscosity of slurries were tailored by different carbon chain length of surfactants and different mean Si3N4 particle size to achieve the pore size controlling. The nearly linear relationship between the pore size and the ratio of surface tension to viscosity was observed, which indicates that the pore size could be precisely tailored by the slurry properties. Si3N4 ceramic foams with porosity of nearly 94%, mean pore size of 110–230 µm, and compressive strength of 1.24–3.51 MPa were obtained.
Clinicopathological analysis of primary cutaneous CD4‐positive small/medium pleomorphic T‐cell lymphoproliferative disorder: a retrospective study of 22 patients
Authors: Shi Hao‐ze , Zhang Jing , Xiong Jing‐shu , Gan Lu , Jiang Yi‐qun , Xu Xiu‐lian , Zhang Wei , Zeng Xue‐si , Sun Jian‐fang , Chen Hao
Published: December 2020

Background

Primary cutaneous CD4‐positive small/medium pleomorphic T‐cell lymphoproliferative disorder has been defined as a type of lymphoproliferative disorder with indolent clinical course and excellent prognosis, yet a precise diagnosis is still hard to reach.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of 22 patients including 16 females and six males was performed.

Results

The age of patients ranged from 5 to 79 years. The average age of all patients was 43.5, and the median age of all patients was 44.5. Two patients had multiple lesions, and others were presented with a solitary asymptomatic lesion. Besides general features, folliculotropism was observed in four cases. In addition to express CD3 and CD4, CD30 were positive to some extent. Some reactive cells could express CD8 and CD20. For follicular helper T‐cell markers, although CXCL‐13 was negative in the stained cases (18/18), the expression of PD‐1 (12/17), BCL‐6 (12/16) and CD10 (11/15) was observed in most cases. In addition, we performed T‐cell receptor (TCR) rearrangement on five patients, and all of them showed monoclonality. Nearly all patients had excellent prognosis.

Conclusions

Primary cutaneous CD4‐positive small/medium pleomorphic T‐cell lymphoproliferative disorder is complex. Some features like folliculotropism should also be noted. Besides, the expression of follicular helper T‐cell markers is not invariable. Moreover, CD8 positivity, Ki‐67 index, and lesion number were perhaps not absolute prognostic indicators. To reach a diagnosis of this rare entity, putting all the pieces together is important.
Characterization of immiscibility in calcium borosilicates used for the immobilization of Mo6+ under Au‐irradiation
Authors: Patel Karishma B. , Schuller Sophie , Facq Sébastien P. , Farnan Ian
Published: December 2020

The aim of this paper was to assess factors affecting primary and secondary phase separation in simplified calcium borosilicate glasses studied for nuclear waste applications. Several glasses with varying [MoO3] and [B2O3] were synthesized and exposed to Au‐irradiation to examine compositional effects on glass structure and domain size of separated phases induced by accumulated radiation damage resulting from α‐decay over a ~1000 year timeframe. The produced glasses fell within the immiscibility dome of CaO−SiO2−B2O3 and showed a unique microstructure of embedded immiscibility with three identifiable amorphous phases according to electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and diffraction. These glasses were then bombarded with 7 MeV Au3+ ions to a dose of 3 × 1014 ions/cm2 creating an estimated ~1 dpa of damage. Several changes to the morphology, spatial distribution, and size of secondary phases were observed, indicative of significant structural reorganization and changes to the chemical composition of each phase. A general mechanism of coalescence to form larger particles was observed for [MoO3] < 2.5 mol%, whereas segregation to form smaller more evenly distributed particles was seen for [B2O3] ≤ 15 mol% and [MoO3] ≥ 2.5 mol%. These microscopic changes were concurrent to surface‐bulk diffusion of Ca and/or Mo ions, where the direction of diffusion was dependent on [B2O3] with a barrier identified at ~20 mol%, as well as cross‐phase diffusion of said ions. These modifications occurred in part through the formation of distorted ring structures within the borosilicate network, which enabled the increased dissolution of isolated (MoO4)2− units. Au‐irradiation was therefore able to increase the solubility of molybdenum and alter the structure and composition of secondary phases with the extent of modification varying with [MoO3] and [B2O3]/[SiO2], though glasses notably remained heterogeneous. The collective results suggest that radiation and composition can both be used as design tools to modulate the domain size and distribution of separated phases in heterogeneous glasses.
Effects of phenolic resin contents on microstructures and properties of c/sic‐diamond composites
Authors: Li Jingxin , Liu Yongsheng , Chen Chao , Pan Yu , Wang Jing , Wang Ning
Published: December 2020

In this paper, C/SiC‐diamond composites were obtained by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) and reactive melt infiltration (RMI), and the effects of phenolic resin contents on the microstructures and properties of as‐obtained C/SiC‐diamond composites were studied. The results suggested a significant influence of phenolic resin contents on the pore structure of the composites before reactive melt infiltration (RMI), as well as phase composition and density of the matrix after RMI. The mechanical properties of composites were shown to correlate with the threshold effect of phenolic resin. Sample R5 prepared with high phenolic resin contents displayed significantly declined mechanical properties. On the other hand, adjustment of the phenolic resin content yielded samples with maximum room temperature thermal conductivity reaching 14.75 W/(m·K). The theoretical thermal conductivity of the composites calculated by the Hasselman‐Johnson (H‐J) theoretical model was estimated to 24.52 W/(m·K). Overall, the increase in phenolic resin content led to unreacted diamond‐C regions and the formation of substantial porosity. These features reduced the thermal conductivity of the resulting C/SiC‐diamond composites.
Amorphous self‐healed, chopped basalt fiber‐reinforced, geopolymer composites
Authors: Keane Patrick F. , Foltz John S. , Chadha Vimanyu , Marsh Charles P. , Kriven Waltraud M.
Published: December 2020

Geopolymer composites containing refractory, chopped basalt fibers and low‐melting glass were made and systematically heat‐treated at higher temperatures. Potassium‐based geopolymer of stoichiometric composition K2O·Al2O3·4SiO2·11H2O was produced by high shear mixing from fumed silica, deionized water, potassium hydroxide, (i.e., water glass) and metakaolin. With the addition of low‐melting glass (Tm~815°C) the flexure strengths of the composites increased to ~6 MPa after heat treatment above 900°C to 1100°C. A Weibull statistical analysis was performed showing how the amorphous self‐healing effect of the glass frit significantly improved the flexure strength of the geopolymer and ceramic composites after high‐temperature exposure. At temperatures up to 900°C, the geopolymer‐basalt composite remained amorphous and the low‐melting glass frit flowed into the dehydration cracks in the geopolymer matrix. This type of composite could be described as amorphous self‐healed geopolymer (ASH‐G). At ~1000°C, the geopolymer converted to primarily a crystalline leucite ceramic, but the basalt fiber remained intact, and the melted glass frit flowed and sealed the cracks developed at that temperature. This type of composite could then be described as amorphous self‐healed ceramic (ASH‐C). A temperature of 1150°C was determined to be optimum as at 1200°C the basalt fibers melted and the strength of the reinforcement was lost in the composites. The amorphous self‐healing effect of the glass frit significantly improved the room temperature flexure strength of the heat‐treated geopolymer‐based composites.
To simplify or not? Facilitating English L2 users' comprehension and processing of open educational resources in English using text simplification
Authors: Rets Irina , Rogaten Jekaterina
Published: December 2020

Open Educational Resources (OER) aim to provide equal access to education. Yet, as the language level used in OER presents a barrier to many learners, there is a need to make these resources more comprehensible. This study combined eye‐tracking methodology and comprehension assessment to explore the effect of text simplification on English second language (L2) users, while also accounting for text organizational structure and individual predispositions. A total of 37 adult English L2 users took part in the study. They had to read either an authentic narrative, authentic expository OER or their linguistically simplified versions. The analysis showed that simplification led to better text comprehension, and text narrativity facilitated text recall, particularly at lower English proficiency levels. Eye‐tracking measures revealed that text simplification led to an increase in processing time during the initial reading of the text and a decrease in processing time during text re‐inspection. These findings have strong practical applications for online teaching with OER.
Role of gut microbiota‐derived metabolites on vascular calcification in CKD
Authors: Yin Li , Li XiaoXue , Ghosh Sounak , Xie Changming , Chen Jie , Huang Hui
Published: December 2020

The interaction between gut microbiota and the host has gained widespread concern. Gut microbiota not only provides nutrients from the ingested food but also generates bioactive metabolites and signalling molecules to impact host physiology, especially in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The development of CKD, accompanied by changed diet and medication, alters the gut flora and causes the effect in distant organs, leading to clinical complications. Vascular calcification (VC) is an actively regulated process and a high prevalence of VC in CKD has also been linked to an imbalance in gut microbiota and altered metabolites. In this review, we focused on gut microbiota‐derived metabolites involved in VC in CKD and explained how these metabolites influence the calcification process. Correcting the imbalance of gut microbiota and regulating microbiota‐derived metabolites by dietary modification and probiotics are new targets for the improvement of the gut‐kidney axis, which indicate innovative treatment options of VC in CKD.
Age of walking and intellectual ability in autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders: a population‐based study
Authors: Havdahl Alexandra , Farmer Cristan , Schjølberg Synnve , Øyen Anne‐Siri , Surén Pål , Reichborn‐Kjennerud Ted , Magnus Per , Bresnahan Michaeline , Hornig Mady , Susser Ezra , Lipkin W. Ian , Lord Catherine , Stoltenberg Camilla , Thurm Audrey , Bishop Somer
Published: December 2020

Background

Delayed walking is common in intellectual disability (ID) but may be less common when ID occurs with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies examining this were limited by reliance on clinical samples and exclusion of children with severe motor deficits.

Objective

To examine in a population‐based sample if age of walking is differentially related to intellectual ability in children with ASD versus other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).

Methods

Participants were from the nested Autism Birth Cohort Study of the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Cox proportional hazards regression assessed if diagnosis (ASD n = 212 vs. NDD n = 354), continuous nonverbal IQ, and their interaction, were associated with continuous age of walking.

Results

The relationship between nonverbal IQ and age of walking was stronger for NDD than for ASD (Group × nonverbal IQ interaction, χ2 = 13.93, p = .0002). This interaction was characterized by a 21% decrease in the likelihood of walking onset at any given time during the observation period per 10‐point decrease in nonverbal IQ (hazard ratio = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.78–0.85) in the NDD group compared to 8% (hazard ratio = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86–0.98) in the ASD group.

Conclusions

The finding that age of walking is less strongly related to low intellectual ability in children with ASD than in children without other NDDs supports the hypothesis that ID in ASD may result from heterogeneous developmental pathways. Late walking may be a useful stratification variable in etiological research focused on ASD and other NDDs.
Staphylococcal bacterial contamination of portable electronic devices in a large veterinary hospital
Authors: Vinall G. , Cogan T. , Jeffery A. , Tivers M.
Published: December 2020

Background

Portable electronic devices are used regularly within the veterinary and medical environments. Use of these in clinical areas may predispose them to bacterial contamination and they could act as fomites, transmitting infection between clinicians and patients.

Aim

To determine the prevalence, origin and nature of Staphylococcal bacterial contamination on the surface of portable electronic devices used in a large small animal hospital.

Materials and Methods

Staff were surveyed on the frequency of portable electronic device use and device‐cleaning routines. Portable electronic devices were swabbed for staphylococcus species. Cultured cocci were tested for antimicrobial resistance and identified at the species level to help determine the likely source (human or animal).

Findings

Forty one of 48 (85%) of staff used a portable electronic device every day within the hospital. Useable swabs were obtained from 47 portable electronic devices. Staphylococci were found on 68% of portable electronic devices. Vancomycin and Oxacillin resistance were seen in 17 of 46 (37%) and 1 of 46 (2%) isolated colonies respectively, including four vancomycin resistant, coagulase‐positive staphylococci. 44% of staff never cleaned their device.

Clinical Significance

Portable electronic devices are commonly used in veterinary hospitals, but few staff routinely disinfect them. The use of disinfectant to reduce colony counts should be implemented when forming protocols for these devices in the hospital. The majority of staphylococci found were of likely human origin. It is suggested that contamination is therefore more likely to be originating from staff rather than patients.
Remote, non‐invasive photogrammetry for measuring physical traits in wildlife
Authors: Smith A. F. , Bongi P. , Ciuti S.
Published: December 2020

Morphometric measurements in wildlife are essential data needed to link behaviour and ecology to life‐history traits. However, acquisition of such data, especially in large vertebrates, is a challenging and limiting aspect in many studies due to associated capture and handling. Ultimately, this prevents testing important hypotheses in wildlife ecology. We demonstrate how to overcome some of these challenges by improving the far‐reaching potential of photogrammetry for wildlife. We validate a methodology using photogrammetry to acquire measurements of complex, curvilinear, morphometric traits (deer antlers) at long range (up to 200 m), providing a methodological foundation for further application to numerous physical attributes and species. We calibrated and validated two different photogrammetric camera systems and applied long‐range photogrammetry to measure a suite of antler features from deer trophies positioned analogous to free‐living, wild deer. We also developed, validated and described an efficient correction protocol to overcome the complexity of three‐dimensional antler features. This complexity previously biased the acquisition of absolute measurements. Our measurement estimates were characterized by mean errors lower than 5% when compared to true sizes, with our correction protocol for antlers particularly effective and validated with independent antler sizes. Importantly, the estimated size rankings based on the true sizes were identical to the rankings estimated by photogrammetry in all cases. We measured antlers in free‐living, wild fallow deer as a field validation and demonstration, showing how we were able to collect physical trait measurements of 230 antlers without capture. This non‐invasive, remote and fast technique can provide valuable and accurate data allowing researchers to address new hypotheses by linking life‐history traits to wildlife ecology, behaviour and management.
Erythropoietin promotes functional recovery in a mouse model of postoperative ileus
Authors: Elfar Walaa , Gurjar Anagha A. , Talukder M. A. Hassan , Noble Mark , Di Lorenzo Carlo , Elfar John
Published: December 2020

Background

Dysmotility and postoperative ileus (POI) are major clinical problems after surgical trauma and it is associated with increased intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress. Despite the high occurrence of POI following intra‐abdominal surgeries, no effective treatment is currently available. Erythropoietin (EPO) is a multifunctional tissue‐protective cytokine with potent anti‐inflammatory and anti‐oxidative properties, and it is an FDA approved medicine for clinical use. While both EPO and EPO receptors (EPOR) are widely expressed in the gut, the role of EPO in POI is largely unknown. This study was designed to explore the possible beneficial effect of EPO in a mouse model of POI.

Methods

Mice were subjected to intestinal manipulation to induce standard POI and intestinal transit time was determined at 24‐h post‐injury with or without EPO treatment (5000 units/kg, once, IP, immediately after intestinal trauma). Intestinal samples were harvested for histological and immunohistochemical analysis.

Results

Systemic EPO significantly improved intestinal transit time compared with control group and it was associated with significantly increased levels of tissue macrophages and reduced levels of oxidative stress.

Conclusions and Inferences

This is the first pre‐clinical study to document novel beneficial effects of EPO in gut dysmotility and our findings suggest that the beneficial effects of EPO in POI is predominantly mediated by its anti‐oxidative and immunomodulatory properties.
Exploring joint patterns of brain structure and function in inflammatory bowel diseases using multimodal data fusion
Authors: Thomann Anne Kerstin , Schmitgen Mike Michael , Kmuche Dagny , Ebert Matthias Philip , Thomann Philipp Arthur , Szabo Kristina , Gass Achim , Griebe Martin , Reindl Wolfgang , Wolf Robert Christian
Published: December 2020

Background

A growing number of neuroimaging studies suggest distinct neural changes in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Whether such changes may show similar spatial patterns across distinct neural features within and between specific IBD is unclear. To address this question, we used multivariate multimodal data fusion analysis to investigate structure/function modulation in remitted patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods

Patients with IBD (n = 46; n = 31 with CD, n = 15 with UC) in stable remission and 17 healthy controls (HC) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI) as well as cognitive testing. Anxiety, depression, and fatigue were assessed using self‐rating questionnaires. sMRI data were analyzed via voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) and rs‐fMRI data via amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and regional homogeneity (ReHo). Detection of cross‐information between VBM, ALFF, and ReHo was conducted by means of a joint independent component analysis (jICA), followed by group‐inference statistics.

Key results

Joint independent component analysis detected structural alterations in middle frontal and temporal regions (VBM), and functional changes in the superior frontal gyrus (ReHo) and the medial as well as inferior frontal, inferior temporal, rectal, and subcallosal gyrus (ALFF). One joint component of extracted features of the three modalities differed significantly between IBD patients and controls (p = 0.03), and most distinctly between HC and patients with UC.

Conclusions and inferences

Using a multivariate data fusion technique, this study provides further evidence to brain alterations in IBD. The data suggest distinct neural differences between CD and UC, particularly in frontotemporal regions.
Incisive canal remodelling following maximum anterior retraction reduces apical root resorption
Authors: Chung Chooryung J. , Nguyen Tung , Lee Jee‐Hyun , Kim Kyung‐Ho
Published: December 2020

Introduction

The objectives were to visualize the incisive canal (IC) remodelling following maximum incisor retraction and to evaluate its impact on canal‐invasion‐associated apical root resorption.

Methods

Pre‐ and post‐treatment CBCT images of 34 adult orthodontic patients (age 18‐47 years) with a large amount of maxillary incisor retraction (>4 mm) using temporary anchorage devices (TADs) were retrospectively evaluated. Maxillary regional superimpositions and 3D models of the IC along with central incisors were used to measure the changes in IC dimension, IC invasion by the roots and IC remodelling. In addition, the association of the amount of apical root resorption with the root‐IC relationship and IC remodelling were evaluated.

Results

IC invasion by the incisor roots following maximum retraction was seen in 53% (18 out of 34) of the cases. IC with larger volume and area showed more invasions compared with those with smaller volume and area (P < .01). The amount of root resorption was significantly higher with IC invasion than without invasion (2.39 mm vs 0.82 mm, P < .0001). IC remodelling following maximum retraction was seen in 24% of the subjects. IC remodelling group demonstrated less apical root resorption than the non‐remodelling group (0.98 mm vs 3.27 mm, P < .0001).

Conclusion

IC with larger volume and surface area before treatment were more likely to show canal invasion by the incisor roots after maximum retraction. IC invasion resulted in apical root resorption. However, approximately one‐fourth of cases showed remodelling of the IC, which reduced the amount of root resorption.
A novel motif in the 5’‐UTR of an orphan gene ‘Big Root Biomass’ modulates root biomass in sesame
Authors: Dossa Komivi , Zhou Rong , Li Donghua , Liu Aili , Qin Lu , Mmadi Marie A. , Su Ruqi , Zhang Yujuan , Wang Jianqiang , Gao Yuan , Zhang Xiurong , You Jun
Published: December 2020

Developing crops with improved root system is crucial in current global warming scenario. Underexploited crops are valuable reservoirs of unique genes that can be harnessed for the improvement of major crops. In this study, we performed genome‐wide association studies on seven root traits in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and uncovered 409 significant signals, 19 quantitative trait loci containing 32 candidate genes. A peak SNP significantly associated with root number and root dry weight traits was located in the promoter of the gene named ‘Big Root Biomass’ (BRB), which was subsequently validated in a bi‐parental population. BRB has no functional annotation and is restricted to the Lamiales order. We detected the presence of a novel motif ‘AACACACAC’ located in the 5’‐UTR of BRB in single and duplicated copy in accessions with high and small root biomass, respectively. A strong expression level of BRB was negatively correlated with high root biomass, and this was attributed to the gene SiMYB181 which represses the activity of BRB by binding specifically to the single motif but not to the duplicated one. Curiously, the allele that enhanced BRB expression has been intensively selected by modern breeding. Overexpression of BRB in Arabidopsis modulates auxin pathway leading to reduced root biomass, improved yield parameters under normal growth conditions and increased drought stress sensitivity. Overall, BRB represents a solid gene model for improving the performance of sesame and other crops.
Association of lead, mercury, and cadmium with metabolic syndrome of young adults in South Korea: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2016
Authors: Park YoonJin , Oh Chung Uk
Published: December 2020

Objective

This study examines the relations between blood lead, mercury, and cadmium levels, affect metabolic syndrome of young adults.

Study Design and Participants

This study is a descriptive study on verifying the relation between blood lead, mercury, cadmium level, and subcategories of metabolic syndrome. A total of 823 respondents’ data of 19~29 years were sampled of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016 conducted under the National Health Promotion Law.

Measurement

To identify the predictive risk factors of metabolic syndromes, the subcategories of metabolic syndromes and the lead, mercury, and cadmium levels were analyzed using logistic regression. Pearson's correlation was used to identify correlations among the factors.

Results

An analysis of the correlations among the metabolic syndromes and blood levels of lead, mercury, and cadmium showed significant relationships between blood lead level and systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, waist circumference, and triglyceride level; also between blood mercury level and waist measurement and triglyceride level; and between blood cadmium level and waist circumference and triglyceride level (p < .05).

Conclusion

This study is significant in that it provides basic data on the correlation between metabolic syndromes and heavy metals among young adults.