bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knowledge mapping and research hotspots of artificial intelligence on ICU and Anesthesia: from a global bibliometric perspective
Authors: Li Congjun , Zhou Ruihao , Chen Guo , Hao Xuechao , Zhu Tao
Published: October 2023

The swift advancement of technology has led to the widespread utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in the diagnosis of diseases and prediction of prognoses, particularly in the field of intensive care unit (ICU) and Anesthesia. Numerous evidential data have demonstrated the extensive potential of AI in monitoring and predicting patient outcomes in these fields. Using bibliometric analysis, this study provides an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the application of AI in ICU and Anesthesia and investigates prospective avenues for future research. Web of Science Core Collection was queried on May 6, 2023, to select articles and reviews regarding AI in ICU and Anesthesia. Subsequently, various analytical tools including Microsoft Excel 2022, VOSviewer (version 1.6.16), Citespace (version 6.2.R2), and an online bibliometric platform were employed to examine the publication year, citations, authors, countries, institutions, journals, and keywords associated with this subject area. This study selected 2196 articles from the literature. focusing on AI-related research within the fields of ICU and Anesthesia, which has increased exponentially over the past decade. Among them, the USA ranked first with 634 publications and had close international cooperation. Harvard Medical School was the most productive institution. In terms of publications,Scientific Reports(impact factor (IF) 4.996) had the most, whileCritical Care Medicine(IF 9.296) had the most citations. According to numerous references, researchers may focus on the following research hotspots: “Early Warning Scores”, “Covid-19″, “Sepsis” and “Neural Networks”. “Procalcitonin” and “Convolutional Neural Networks” were the hottest burst keywords. The potential applications of AI in the fields of ICU and Anesthesia have garnered significant attention from scholars, prompting an increase in research endeavors. In addition, it is imperative for various countries and institutions to enhance their collaborative efforts in this area. The research focus in the upcoming years will center on sepsis and coronavirus, as well as the development of predictive models utilizing neural network algorithms to improve well-being and quality of life in surviving patients.

Graphical Abstract
Enhanced chemical and physical defense traits in a rice cultivar showing resistance to leaffolder infestation
Authors: Zhao Wenyi , Zhuang Yunqi , Chen Yumeng , Lou Yonggen , Li Ran
Published: October 2023

The leaffolder (LF), Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, poses a significant threat to rice crops. The larvae feed on rice leaves, damaging both the epidermal and mesophyll tissues, and engage in leaf-folding behaviors to build shelters that can lead to significant yield losses. In this study, we discovered a rice cultivar, P213, that exhibits resistance to LF infestation. When compared to the susceptible cultivar XiuShui11 (XS11), the larvae on P213 exhibited reduced weight and took longer to build their silk-leaf shelters. Through a side-by-side analysis of phytohormones, metabolites and transcriptomes in the two cultivars, we found that jasmonate (JA)-induced defenses are not the main contributors to P213 resistance against LF. Rather, salicylic acid and flavonoids emerge as potential chemical defenses against this insect pest. Furthermore, the resistant cultivar P213 exhibited a greater density of micro hairs and long macro hairs, the latter of which were absent in the susceptible cultivar. The silicon contents in leaf tissues were also more prominent in the resistant cultivar, suggesting that the physical defenses against LF are enhanced in P213. These findings shed new light on the mechanisms of rice resistance to LF and provide a foundation for future research into the genetic basis of this resistance.
Age and beliefs about vaccines associated with COVID-19 vaccination among US Veterans
Authors: Wilson Geneva M. , Ray Cara E. , Kale Ibuola O. , Scherer Aaron M. , Gordon Howard S. , Weaver Frances , Evans Charlesnika T. , Stroupe Kevin
Published: October 2023

This project surveyed Veterans’ COVID-19 vaccination beliefs and status. 1,080 (30.8%) Veterans responded. Factors associated with being unvaccinated, identified using binomial logistic regression, included negative feelings about vaccines (OR = 3.88, 95%CI = 1.52, 9.90) and logistical difficulties such as finding transportation (OR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.01, 3.45). This highlights the need for education about and access to vaccination.
AntibiogramDSM: a combined local antibiogram and educational intervention
Authors: Miesner Andrew R. , Williamson Benjamin , Bushman Amanda M.
Published: October 2023

Objective:

To describe the development of a combined local antibiogram and assess its utility in an educational intervention.

Design:

Retrospective analysis of a combined, multi-healthcare system antibiogram with an educational intervention and pre-post analysis.

Setting:

Creation of the combined antibiogram included all health systems in Des Moines, Iowa. The educational intervention was delivered live via webinar and remained available on demand for one year.

Participants:

The combined antibiogram participants included four health systems representing eight hospitals. The educational intervention included 45 healthcare providers (15 live, 30 on demand) who elected to participate.

Methods:

Yearly antibiograms were collected from four health systems for 2017 and 2018 and from three health systems for 2019 and 2020. Each was aggregated into a single antibiogram, posted online, and analyzed retrospectively. In 2021, an educational intervention took place, which included pre-educational assessments, a one-hour presentation on local resistance rates and impact on common infections, and post-education assessments. The educational session was available online for one year. Correct responses before and after education were compared using NcNemar’s test.

Results:

Over 4 yr, 123,168 isolates were included in the antibiogram, representing 57 species and 46 tested antibiotics. Before education, prediction of local resistance rates for E. coli and S. pneumoniae was poor. After the education session, there was improvement in the proportion of correct responses to case-based questions: pneumonia (31.8% vs 58.8%, P = 0.022), UTI (47.7% vs 85.3%, P < 0.001), sinusitis (75% vs 91.2%, P = 0.109), and diverticulitis (43.2% vs 88.2%, P = 0.002).

Conclusions:

A combined local antibiogram was useful in supporting an outpatient education program.
Rise of the (possible) resistance: a review of susceptibility patterns for nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica in Nebraska
Authors: Sunagawa Shawnalyn W. , Christopherson Catherine , Bergman Scott J. , Miller Molly M. , Keintz Mackenzie R. , Wahlig Taylor A. , Fey Paul , Van Schooneveld Trevor C.
Published: October 2023

Our institution sought to evaluate our antimicrobial stewardship empiric treatment recommendations for Salmonella. Results from 36 isolates demonstrated reduced susceptibilities to fluoroquinolones with 1 isolate susceptible only to ceftriaxone. Analysis supports the current recommendation of empiric ceftriaxone therapy for severe infection and updated recommendation for sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim in non-severe infections.
Soviet Legacy of Vietnam's Intellectual Property Law: Big Brother is (No Longer) Watching You
Authors: Le Van Anh
Published: October 2023

How did intellectual property (IP), a private right born out of European Enlightenment ideals, take root in Vietnam's socialist legal framework, and what influence does Vietnam's Soviet legacy still have on its IP law? The clandestine triumph of IP rights in Vietnam is remarkable, given the system's former propensity for collective ownership and limited private property rights. Vietnam's approach to IP rights has changed with economic liberalisation: while external pressure prompted the initial adoption of IP laws, national interest and global reputation enhancement are now driving the effort. At the height of communism in the 1980s and under Soviet domination, IP laws reflected socialist ideology and the characteristics of a command economy. Amid Vietnam's quest for technological advancement, the importance of patents has grown. However, public perceptions of the unreliability of the legal system to resolve IP disputes persist, pushing civil disputes towards the government rather than the judiciary. As Vietnam opened economically, its IP regime moved away from overt communism, but communist values are still implicitly incorporated in general principles. Today, adherence to free trade agreements, which require robust IP protection, is driving the modernisation of Vietnam's IP infrastructure.
Political expertise, ecological rationality and party cues
Authors: Bergan Daniel E. , Carnahan Dustin , Virtue Isabel
Published: October 2023

Political scientists have proposed that party cues can be used to compensate for the public's well-documented lack of substantive political knowledge, but some critics have argued that applying party cues is more difficult than assumed. We argue that this debate has proven intractable in part because scholars have used ambiguous normative criteria to evaluate judgments. We use a unique task and clear normative criteria to evaluate the use of party cues in making political judgments among two samples: a sample of state legislators and an online sample of the public. We find that the public sample performs poorly when using cues to make judgments. State legislators make much more accurate judgments on average than even the most attentive segment of the public and are more likely to place less weight on irrelevant cues when making judgments, although there is evidence that both samples performed worse with the inclusion of non-diagnostic cues. We conclude with a discussion of the relevance of the results, which we interpret as showing that party cue use is more difficult than theorized, and discuss some practical implications of the findings.
Bayesian system identification for structures considering spatial and temporal correlation
Authors: Koune Ioannis , Rózsás Árpád , Slobbe Arthur , Cicirello Alice
Published: October 2023

The decreasing cost and improved sensor and monitoring system technology (e.g., fiber optics and strain gauges) have led to more measurements in close proximity to each other. When using such spatially dense measurement data in Bayesian system identification strategies, the correlation in the model prediction error can become significant. The widely adopted assumption of uncorrelated Gaussian error may lead to inaccurate parameter estimation and overconfident predictions, which may lead to suboptimal decisions. This article addresses the challenges of performing Bayesian system identification for structures when large datasets are used, considering both spatial and temporal dependencies in the model uncertainty. We present an approach to efficiently evaluate the log-likelihood function, and we utilize nested sampling to compute the evidence for Bayesian model selection. The approach is first demonstrated on a synthetic case and then applied to a (measured) real-world steel bridge. The results show that the assumption of dependence in the model prediction uncertainties is decisively supported by the data. The proposed developments enable the use of large datasets and accounting for the dependency when performing Bayesian system identification, even when a relatively large number of uncertain parameters is inferred.
Distortion element in the automorphism group of a full shift
Authors: CALLARD ANTONIN , SALO VILLE
Published: October 2023

We show that there is a distortion element in a finitely generated subgroup G of the automorphism group of the full shift, namely an element of infinite order whose word norm grows polylogarithmically. As a corollary, we obtain a lower bound on the entropy dimension of any subshift containing a copy of G, and that a sofic shift’s automorphism group contains a distortion element if and only if the sofic shift is uncountable. We obtain also that groups of Turing machines and the higher-dimensional Brin–Thompson groups
$mV$
admit distortion elements; in particular,
$2V$
(unlike V) does not admit a proper action on a CAT
$(0)$
cube complex. In each case, the distortion element roughly corresponds to the SMART machine of Cassaigne, Ollinger, and Torres-Avilés [A small minimal aperiodic reversible Turing machine. J. Comput. System Sci.84 (2017), 288–301].
Gravity-driven flow in a cross-bedded porous rock
Authors: Whelan Brian K. , Woods Andrew W.
Published: October 2023

Many geological layers include cross bedding, which leads to different values for permeability along and across the bedding planes. We explore how such cross bedding impacts buoyancy-driven flow through an inclined aquifer. For each bedding angle and ratio of the permeability along and across the bedding, a free buoyancy-driven plume rises at a particular angle to the horizontal. If the angle of inclination of the aquifer to the horizontal is smaller than this angle, then the plume rises along the upper boundary, otherwise, somewhat surprisingly, the buoyant plume rises along the lower boundary of the aquifer. We present new laboratory experiments to support these predictions. We also test a model for the effective permeabilities which control the speed and the rate of spread of the plume along one or other boundary of the aquifer. We consider the impact of our results for modelling geological storage of

${\rm CO}_2$

or aquifer thermal energy storage.
What is the current and expected evolution of prevalence, geographical spread and impact of ticks and tick-borne diseases, and what strategies are needed to improve management, testing, diagnosis and treatment of these diseases amongst patients and animal populations?
Authors: Lawrence Nicola ,   Lyme Resource Centre
Published: October 2023

Tick-borne pathogens are a growing threat with increasing negative impact on species diversity, food security and human health. Ticks, as a group, are second only to mosquitoes as vectors of pathogens to humans and are the primary vector for pathogens of livestock, companion animals, and wildlife (Mansfield et al., 2017). There are many tick species in Europe that carry human pathogens, and there are many more in North and South America and Asia. Changes in climate and land usage are leading to changes in the tick populations and therefore pathogen spread (Gandy et al., 2023).1 To mitigate the impact of these tick-borne pathogens, we need to better understand the complex relationships between vector, pathogen and host. Disease management approaches (including preventative measures and treatment protocols) vary significantly from country to country, partly due to resource challenges, but also due to knowledge siloes. Testing and treatment protocols for many tick-borne diseases are an acknowledged area of research need, and there is a growing patient, political and clinical voice calling for improvement. Effective multidisciplinary and international collaboration has the potential to yield significant improvements in scientific understanding, disease management and treatment strategies.
Long Distance Connections Within Britain and Ireland: the Evidence of Insular Rock Art
Authors: BRADLEY RICHARD
Published: October 2023

Discussions of contacts between Britain and Ireland usually focus on monuments and on portable artefacts such as Grooved Ware, Beakers, and metalwork. New research on insular rock art suggests that it originated in the Middle to Late Neolithic period and continued to be used and re-used into the Early Bronze Age. This paper considers its relationship with decorated passage graves and other structures. It argues that the distribution of rock art sheds further light on connections between these islands. Estuaries, bays, and landing places were important, but the siting of pecked motifs indicates other links along three overland routes between the North Sea and the Irish Sea. Certain practices were shared between megalithic tombs and recently excavated rock carvings. It is possible that they expressed similar beliefs at a time when long distance travel was important.
Psychic immunity and uncomprehended pain: what Maimonides can tell us about the problem of suffering
Authors: Conroy Ben
Published: October 2023

Using Moses Maimonides’ theodicy to respond to contemporary formulations of the problem of evil initially seems unpromising. Maimonides is committed to claims that make the task harder rather than easier. Chief among them is his belief that all suffering is deserved by the sufferer. But Maimonides is often misinterpreted: he does not hold that innocent people are never subject to bodily harm, but that it is possible to achieve a kind of ‘psychic immunity’ from suffering via intellectual enlightenment, and that failure to do so is blameworthy. I argue that while the Maimonidean psychic immunity theodicy has some attractive features, it struggles to explain ‘inculpably incomprehensible’ suffering: that of infants and people with serious cognitive disabilities. I propose two responses: defending Maimonides’ intellectual elitism using work on moral status from Singer and McMahan; and defending a more limited version of the theodicy grounded on ‘sceptical’ readings of Maimonides that emphasize the limitations of human knowledge. I conclude that the second is more promising, and that the limits of Maimonides’ theodicy point to more general limits on theodicies that insist on what I call ‘first-personal adequacy’ – the requirement that a theodicy provide a satisfying explanation of suffering to sufferers themselves.
Older Adults’ Experiences with Remote Care for Specialized Health Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Qualitative Study
Authors: Gaudine Alice , Parsons Karen , Smith-Young Joanne
Published: October 2023

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated a rapid uptake of remote health care services. This qualitative descriptive study was designed to gain an understanding of older adults’ experiences of remote care (telephone or online video conference appointments) for specialized health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-one older adults (ages 65 years and older; 8 men and 13 women) living in eastern Canada participated in a semi-structured telephone interview. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The vast majority of older adults were overall satisfied with their remote experiences of specialist care. Advantages to remote care for specialized services included convenience, safety during the pandemic, comfort, efficiency, and ease of visit. Disadvantages included communication not as effective, feeling depersonalized or disembodied, missing the human relationship, and wanting reassurance of physical assessment. It is important that health professionals understand the disadvantages for older adults of remote care visits in order to mitigate them.
Shigellosis outbreak among persons experiencing homelessness—San Diego County, California, October–December 2021
Authors: Ohlsen Elizabeth C. , Angel Kristen , Maroufi Azarnoush , Kao Annie , Victorio Maria J. , Cua Lynnie S. , Kimura Akiko , Vanden Esschert Kayla , Logan Naeemah , McMichael Temet M. , Beatty Mark E. , Shah Seema
Published: October 2023

During October 2021, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency identified five cases of shigellosis among persons experiencing homelessness (PEH). We conducted an outbreak investigation and developed interventions to respond to shigellosis outbreaks among PEH. Confirmed cases occurred among PEH with stool-cultured Shigella sonnei; probable cases were among PEH with Shigella-positive culture-independent diagnostic testing. Patients were interviewed to determine infectious sources and risk factors. Fifty-three patients were identified (47 confirmed, 6 probable); 34 (64%) were hospitalised. None died. No point source was identified. Patients reported inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities, including public restrooms closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After implementing interventions, including handwashing stations, more frequent public restroom cleaning, sanitation kit distribution, and isolation housing for ill persons, S. sonnei cases decreased to preoutbreak frequencies. Improving public sanitation access was associated with decreased cases and should be considered to prevent outbreaks among PEH.
Flee: Sounds of Fright and Flight
Authors: Jensen Signe Kjaer
Published: October 2023

Animation and live-action are two closely related media, which are foremost distinguished by the ideas and conventions surrounding them. The diverging discourses around animation and live action have tended to focus on animation as something constructed to represent characters and settings and on live action as something capturing actors and sets representing characters and settings. This difference between constructing and capturing, along with the perceived indexicality of the photo, is what seems to suggest live action as the preferred medium for documenting real events. Sound effects, in the form of recorded and edited sounds of objects, actions and environments, are of particular interest here, as they can be considered to balance somewhere between these poles of construction and capture, between the non-indexical and indexical, and ultimately between representation and reproduction. In this article, I will focus on aspects of ‘truth’ (understood as corresponding to some external reality) and ‘realism’ (understood as a representation of external reality) and how something comes to be perceived as truthful or realistic in animated documentaries in relation to the role played by sound effects. By discussing the Danish film Flugt [Flee], I will show how sound effects can aid in creating representations of truth.
Intermedial Performativity and the Human Mind in Samuel Beckett’s Teleplays
Authors: Chen Chang
Published: October 2023

Samuel Beckett’s corpus centres on the characterization, examination and imaginative exploration of the human mind, encompassing the realms of consciousness, cognition and perception. In his teleplays, this focus is distinctively achieved through the performances of different media, which this article refers to as ‘intermedial performativity’. This term not only designates the semiotic contents of performance in intermedial forms, but also highlights the cooperative performances of the material media themselves, along with their uncharted possibilities and effects. This article delves into the ways in which intermedial performativity in Beckett’s teleplays realizes several unique configurations of the human mind, such as its split state and its transfiguration to a posthuman condition. This exploration not only sheds light on Beckett’s artistic vision and cosmic ontology, but also brings attention to the reverberations and implications of intermediality for humanity and its potential transformations.
THE METRIC OPERATORS FOR PSEUDO-HERMITIAN HAMILTONIAN
Authors: WANG WEN-HUA , CHEN ZHENG-LI , LI WEI
Published: October 2023

The Hamiltonian of a conventional quantum system is Hermitian, which ensures real spectra of the Hamiltonian and unitary evolution of the system. However, real spectra are just the necessary conditions for a Hamiltonian to be Hermitian. In this paper, we discuss the metric operators for pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian which is similar to its adjoint. We first present some properties of the metric operators for pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians and obtain a sufficient and necessary condition for an invertible operator to be a metric operator for a given pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian. When the pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian has real spectra, we provide a new method such that any given metric operator can be transformed into the same positive-definite one and the new inner product with respect to the positive-definite metric operator is well defined. Finally, we illustrate the results obtained with an example.
Sulfentrazone crop safety and efficacy in cabbage and broccoli
Authors: Pineda-Bermudez Laura , Besançon Thierry E. , Sosnoskie Lynn M.
Published: October 2023

In 2021 and 2022, research was initiated at two locations to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sulfentrazone in transplanted cabbage and broccoli. Treatments included oxyfluorfen at 560 g ha−1 applied pretransplant (PRE-T), sulfentrazone applied at 116 or 233 g ha−1 PRE-T, and S-metolachlor applied at 715 g ha−1 immediately after transplanting (POST-T) followed by (fb) oxyfluorfen applied at 210 g ha−1 postemergence (POST) 14 d after planting (DAP). The weedy cover of nontreated plots averaged between 6% (14 DAP) and 72% (42 DAP); all herbicide-treated plots averaged less than 30% cover at 42 DAP. At 14 and 28 DAP, oxyfluorfen, S–metolachlor fb oxyfluorfen, and the high rate of sulfentrazone reduced total monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous weed densities by 62% and 100%, respectively, relative to the nontreated control. The density of hairy galinsoga (in New Jersey) and combined ladysthumb and prostrate knotweed (in New York) were reduced by 71% to 99%. Except for the low rate of sulfentrazone, all herbicide treatments reduced weed biomass at harvest by ≥88%. Crop injury varied in response to herbicide treatments or weed competition but was also affected by crop and location. Between 14 and 28 DAP, the greatest amount of stunting (22%) was noted in the S-metolachlor fb oxyfluorfen treatments at both locations. Averaged over treatments, greater stunting was observed in broccoli than in cabbage in New York, whereas stunting estimates were higher for cabbage in New Jersey. All treatments in New Jersey resulted in significantly increased cabbage yield and broccoli and cabbage head sizes relative to the nontreated controls. No yield difference was noted between herbicide treatments and the nontreated check in New York. Data derived from these studies will be used to enhance crop safety recommendations in northeastern U.S. production environments for sulfentrazone used PRE in transplanted cabbage and support a potential label for broccoli.
The genetic diversity and population structure of weedy rice in northeast Thailand accessed by SSR markers
Authors: Ponsen Monchita , Loasatit Kularb , Monkham Tidarat , Sanitchon Jirawat , Moung-ngam Peerapon , Chankaew Sompong
Published: October 2023

Thailand’s northeast (NE) region is an area of high-quality cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) production. However, an outbreak of weedy rice has recently spread throughout the region. Weedy rice is phenotypically and morphologically similar to cultivated rice, making identification difficult. The prospective management of weedy rice in the future will involve the study of its genetic diversity and population structure in this region. This study assesses the genetic diversity and population structure of 380 weedy rice samples in the northeast of Thailand through simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Thirty-one SSR markers generated 213 alleles with an average of 6.87 per locus and an overall genetic diversity of 0.723. Based on its geographic origin, weedy rice in the Southern NE are showed greater genetic diversity than that in the Central NE and Northern NE areas. The outcrossing rate in all regions was relatively high, with the highest being in the Southern NE at 9.769%. According to genetic distance analysis, the clustering of weedy rice samples in northeast Thailand was not associated with the geographic region. Neighbor-joining and principal coordinate analysis revealed that the 380 weedy rice samples fell into two major clusters. Cluster I contained three weedy rice samples and four wild. In Cluster II, 377 weedy rice samples were closely related to the four cultivated rice cultivars as well as brownbeard rice (Oryza rufipogon Griffiths) wild species. The results suggest that weedy rice in northeast Thailand may have originated as a cross between cultivated and wild rice, as seen in the closely related species, O. rufipogon. Overall, the findings of this study demonstrate the high genetic diversity of weedy rice in this region. Notably, some samples adapted, performing more like cultivated rice, which may be problematic for the future production of high-quality rice in this region. The prevention of weedy rice should, therefore, be given greater consideration in future studies.
Detection of Long‐ and Short‐Term Slow Slip Events Using a Network Inversion Filter and Dense Global Navigation Satellite System Network in Shikoku, Japan
Authors: Ozawa Shinzaburo , Munekane Hiroshi , Suito Hisashi
Published: October 2023

The study of slow slip events is essential to elucidating the slip mechanisms and frictional properties of plate interfaces. We imaged the aseismic slip at the plate interface between the subducting Philippine Sea Plate and overriding Amur Plate beneath Shikoku Island, Japan, by applying a network inversion filter to the position time series obtained from Global Navigation Satellite System data spanning January 2012 to April 2022. The results show long‐term slow slip events in the Bungo Channel, central Shikoku, and the Kii Channel, which started from 2018. We also identified 39 short‐term slow slip events associated with low‐frequency tremors. The estimated moment magnitudes of the Bungo Channel, central Shikoku, and Kii Channel slow slip events were Mw7.0, Mw6.4, and Mw6.3, respectively, with a rigidity of 30 GPa. The estimated moment magnitudes of the short‐term slow slip events ranged from Mw5.7 to Mw6.4. Most of the detected short‐term slow slip events are associated with low‐frequency tremor, and many showed propagation through the spatial domain. Events with magnitudes of ≥Mw6.30 typically consist of subevents. The slip rate of short‐term slow slip events ranges from 1 to 7 mm/day, which is considerably larger than the plate convergence rate. The short‐term slow slip events are 6 to 40 days, and follow the accepted scaling law between slip event duration and total magnitude. The short‐term slow slip event zone is consistent with a three‐segment hypothesis. The short‐term slow slip event in northwest Shikoku and long‐term slow slip event in central Shikoku may be correlated.
Submersed Macrophyte Density Regulates Aquatic Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Authors: Theus Meredith E. , Ray Nicholas E. , Bansal Sheel , Holgerson Meredith A.
Published: October 2023

Shallow freshwater ecosystems emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), yet emissions are highly variable. The role that aquatic macrophytes play in regulating aquatic GHG emissions is uncertain despite their ability to dominate shallow waterbodies. Here, we studied the effects of submersed macrophyte (Ceratophyllum demersum) density on CO2 and CH4 concentrations and fluxes. We conducted a 61‐days experiment using mesocosms containing one of the following C. demersum density treatments: 0, 10, 20, or 30 individual shoots (n = 3). We found that high density C. demersum had the highest CO2 and CH4 surface water concentrations and emissions while there was no significant difference in CH4 in the low and medium densities and no plant control. The high density treatment lost biomass over the course of the experiment, indicating die‐off and additions of organic matter to the sediment. High organic matter loading and low dissolved oxygen likely stimulated GHG production in the high density treatment. Our results emphasize that submersed macrophyte density and periods of growth and dieback are important in regulating GHG emissions, which may help explain why shallow waterbodies are high yet variable sources of GHGs to the atmosphere.
A Simple Eddy Potential Vorticity Flux Closure
Authors: Eden Carsten
Published: October 2023

It is shown that within the limits of quasi‐geostrophic scaling, biharmonic mixing of potential vorticity is equivalent to biharmonic lateral friction together with biharmonic isopycnal thickness mixing in primitive equations, all with the same viscosity. The problem of unbalanced zonal forces related to the planetary vorticity gradient disappears using a biharmonic instead of a harmonic closure. The former is appropriate for eddy‐permitting ocean models which are replacing now more and more the non‐eddy‐resolving model versions in coupled state‐of‐the‐art climate models. Numerical experiments demonstrate that including biharmonic thickness mixing has some benefits regarding stronger eddy production in marginally eddying ocean models, in particular when the grid size is larger than the baroclinic Rossby radius. Going to finer grids where relative vorticity dominates, however, using only biharmonic friction becomes similar to biharmonic mixing of potential vorticity, justifying the long‐standing use of biharmonic friction in reasonably well resolved eddy‐permitting ocean models.
The Role of Snowmelt Temporal Pattern in Flood Estimation for a Small Snow‐Dominated Basin in the Sierra Nevada
Authors: Yan Hongxiang , Sun Ning , Wigmosta Mark S. , Duan Zhuoran , Gutmann Ethan D. , Kruyt Bert , Arnold Jeffrey R.
Published: October 2023

Prior research confirmed the substantial bias from using precipitation‐based intensity‐duration‐frequency curves (PREC‐IDF) in design flood estimates and proposed next‐generation IDF curves (NG‐IDF) that represent both rainfall and snow processes in runoff generation. This study improves the NG‐IDF technology for a snow‐dominated test basin in the Sierra Nevada. A well‐validated physics‐based hydrologic model, the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM), is used to continuously simulate snowmelt and streamflow that are used as benchmark data sets to systematically assess the NG‐IDF technology. We find that, for the studied small snow‐dominated basin, the use of standard rainfall hyetographs in the NG‐IDF technology leads to substantial underestimation of design floods. Thus, we propose probabilistic hyetographs that can represent unique patterns of events with different underlying mechanisms. For the test basin where flooding events are generated entirely by snowmelt, we develop a hyetograph that characterizes snowmelt temporal patterns, which greatly improves the performance of NG‐IDF technology in design flood estimates. In contrast to the standard rainfall hyetographs characterized by a symmetrically peaked, bell‐shaped curve, the snowmelt hyetograph displays a more rapid rise (i.e., greater intensity) and a distinct diurnal pattern influenced by solar energy input. The results also show that the uncertainty of hyetography plays an important role in design flood estimation and can have important implications for future flood projections.
Evapotranspiration From Developed Land and Urban Watersheds in a Humid Subtropical Climate
Authors: Diem Jeremy E. , Carlton Dinah K. , Pangle Luke A.
Published: October 2023

Urbanization introduces new and alters the existing hydrological processes. Projecting the direction and magnitude of change of evapotranspiration (ET), often a large existing process, in humid subtropical climates is difficult due to the lack of land‐cover specific estimates of ET. This research aims to improve our fundamental understanding of ET in urban areas by focusing on ET specific to land‐cover classes of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). Using multiple physically based models along with ET from reference watersheds, this study estimates ET—within the Atlanta, GA, USA region—for NLCD classes. ET also is estimated for urban watersheds—both in the Atlanta region and in areas with humid subtropical climate types—for which published ET estimates exist. There are major differences in land cover among the four developed classes: high‐intensity developed land is 92% impervious surfaces, while open‐space developed land—the least intensively developed land—is only 8% impervious surfaces. Consequently, open‐space developed land has an ET total that is over four times that of high‐intensity developed land. Due to a high percentage of impervious cover and substantial evaporation of water from impervious surfaces throughout the year, there is little intra‐annual variation in ET for the high‐intensity developed class. The land‐cover ET totals aggregate to reliable estimates for urban watersheds. The largest source of uncertainty for ET estimates in urban areas is likely the evaporation magnitude associated with impervious surfaces; therefore, more work is needed in determining those magnitudes for humid subtropical climates.
Real-world effectiveness of an intranasal spray A8G6 antibody cocktail in the post-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19
Authors: Li Xiaosong , Peng Pai , Deng Haijun , Yang Qian , Chen Shi , Li Benhua , He Miao , Jin Aishun , Yang Zhu , Tang Ni , Huang Ailong
Published: October 2023

Previously, we identified an antibody combination A8G6 that showed promising efficacy in COVID-19 animal models and favorable safety profile in preclinical models as well as in a first-in-human trial. To evaluate the real-word efficacy of A8G6 neutralizing antibody nasal spray in post-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19, an open-label, non-randomized, two-arm, blank-controlled, investigator-initiated trial was conducted in Chongqing, China (the register number: ChiCTR2200066416). High-risk healthy participants (18–65 years) within 72 h after close contact to COVID-19 patients were recruited and received a three-dose (1.4 mg/dose) A8G6 treatment daily or no treatment (blank control) for 7 consecutive days. SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred in 151/340 (44.4%) subjects in the blank control group and 12/173 (6.9%) subjects in the A8G6 treatment group. The prevention efficacy of the A8G6 treatment within 72 h exposure was calculated to be 84.4% (95% CI: 74.4–90.4%). Moreover, compared to the blank-control group, the time from the SARS-CoV-2 negative to the positive COVID-19 conversion was significantly longer in the AG86 treatment group (mean time: 3.4 days vs 2.6 days, p = 0.019). In the secondary end-point analysis, the A8G6 nasal treatment had no effects on the viral load at baseline SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positivity and the time of the negative COVID-19 conversion. Finally, except for 5 participants (3.1%) with general adverse effects, we did not observe any severe adverse effects related to the A8G6 treatment. In this study, the intranasal spray AG86 antibody cocktail showed potent efficacy for prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in close contacts of COVID-19 patients.
Interrelations of resilience factors and their incremental impact for mental health: insights from network modeling using a prospective study across seven timepoints
Authors: Schäfer Sarah K. , Fritz Jessica , Sopp M. Roxanne , Kunzler Angela M. , von Boros Lisa , Tüscher Oliver , Göritz Anja S. , Lieb Klaus , Michael Tanja
Published: October 2023

Resilience can be viewed as trajectory of stable good mental health or the quick recovery of mental health during or after stressor exposure. Resilience factors (RFs) are psychological resources that buffer the potentially negative effects of stress on mental health. A problem of resilience research is the large number of conceptually overlapping RFs complicating their understanding. The current study sheds light on the interrelations of RFs in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic as a use case for major disruptions. The non-preregistered prospective study assessed a sample of 1275 German-speaking people from February 2020 to March 2021 at seven timepoints. We measured coping, hardiness, control beliefs, optimism, self-efficacy, sense of coherence (SOC), sense of mastery, social support and dispositional resilience as RFs in February 2020, and mental health (i.e., psychopathological symptoms, COVID-19-related rumination, stress-related growth) at all timepoints. Analyses used partial correlation network models and latent growth mixture modeling (LGMM). Pre-pandemic RFs were strongly interrelated, with SOC being the most central node. The strongest associations emerged between coping using emotional support and social support, SOC and sense of mastery, and dispositional resilience and self-efficacy. SOC and active coping were negatively linked. When we examined RFs as predictors of mental health trajectories, SOC was the strongest predictor of psychopathological symptoms and rumination, while trajectories of stress-related growth were predicted by optimism. Subsequent network analyses, including individual intercepts and slopes from LGMM, showed that RFs had small to moderate associations with intercepts but were unrelated to slopes. Our findings provide evidence for SOC playing an important role in mental distress and suggest further examining SOC’s incremental validity. However, our results also propose that RFs might be more important for stable levels of mental health than for adaptation processes over time. The differential associations for negative and positive outcomes support the use of multidimensional outcomes in resilience research.
NSG1 promotes glycolytic metabolism to enhance Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma EMT process by upregulating TGF-β
Authors: Tu Mingshu , Yin Xiaoqing , Zhuang Wanzhen , Lin Xiaoqing , Xia Yu , Huang Zhixin , Zheng Yue , Huang Yi
Published: October 2023

As a highly enriched endosomal protein within neuronal cells, NSG1 has been discovered to facilitate the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the precise mechanisms behind this phenomenon have yet to be elucidated. The pivotal role of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in triggering the EMT and its significant contribution towards tumor metabolic reprogramming—responsible for EMT activation—has been robustly established. Nevertheless, the extent of TGF-β involvement in the NSG1-mediated EMT within ESCC and the processes through which metabolic reprogramming participates remain ambiguous. We accessed an array of extensive public genome databases to analyze NSG1 expression in ESCC. Regulation of TGF-β by NSG1 was analyzed by transcriptome sequencing, quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR), co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP), and immunofluorescence (IF). Additionally, cellular functional assays and western blot analyses were conducted to elucidate the effect of NSG1 on TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway, as well as its role in ESCC cell metastasis and proliferation. We validated the influence of the NSG1/TGF-β axis on metabolic reprogramming in ESCC by measuring extracellular acidification, glucose uptake, and lactate production. Our findings identify an oncogenic role for NSG1 in ESCC and show a correlation between high NSG1 expression and poor prognosis in ESCC patients. Additional research indicated TGF-β’s involvement in the NSG1-induced EMT process. From a mechanistic perspective, NSG1 upregulates TGF-β, activating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway and subsequently fostering the EMT process by inducing cell metabolic reprogramming—evident from elevated glycolysis levels. In conclusion, our study highlights the NSG1/TGF-β axis as a promising therapeutic target for ESCC.
Does e-cigarette use affect response to non-surgical periodontal therapy?
Authors: Kumar Satish , Shlossman Marc
Published: October 2023

Design

Cross-sectional study

Case selection

Consecutive patient charts (n = 220) at Guy’s Dental Hospital between April 2018 and April 2020 were included. The inclusion criteria were adults ≥18 years with a diagnosis of periodontitis (localized or generalized, all stages and grades) and who have received professional mechanical plaque removal (PMPR) by periodontology graduate students. Data of periodontal indices before and after PMPR (6–20 weeks) were also needed to be available. Exclusion criteria included uncontrolled diabetes, pregnancy, medications attributed to drug induced overgrowth, among others.

Data analysis

This retrospective study evaluated the response to periodontal treatment in e-cigarette users and they compared the outcomes to non-smokers, former and current smokers. The primary outcome to evaluate the response to periodontal therapy was ‘need for surgery’. This was defined by the authors as the number of sextants with ≥2 non-adjacent sites with probing depth (PD) ≥ 5 mm after PMPR. Secondary outcomes included periodontal parameters such as number of sextants with ≥1 site with PD ≥ 5 mm, PD, clinical attachment level (CAL), bleeding on probing, recession, and plaque scores.

Results

E-cigarette users and current smokers had similar poorer clinical response to periodontal therapy. Analysis revealed e-cigarette users had more sextants with ‘need for surgery’ as the primary outcome. Pocket closure outcome (PD ≤ 4 mm with no bleeding on probing) were highest in nonsmokers (77.1%), followed by former smokers (74.9%), current smokers (69.4%), and e-cigarette users (66.6%).

Conclusions

E-cigarette users showed less than beneficial response to periodontal therapy compared to non-smokers, who had the best outcome overall.
A genomic appraisal of invasive Salmonella Typhimurium and associated antibiotic resistance in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Van Puyvelde Sandra , de Block Tessa , Sridhar Sushmita , Bawn Matt , Kingsley Robert A. , Ingelbeen Brecht , Beale Mathew A. , Barbé Barbara , Jeon Hyon Jin , Mbuyi-Kalonji Lisette , Phoba Marie-France , Falay Dadi , Martiny Delphine , Vandenberg Olivier , Affolabi Dissou , Rutanga Jean Pierre , Ceyssens Pieter-Jan , Mattheus Wesley , Cuypers Wim L. , van der Sande Marianne A. B. , Park Se Eun , Kariuki Simon , Otieno Kephas , Lusingu John P. A. , Mbwana Joyce R. , Adjei Samuel , Sarfo Anima , Agyei Seth O. , Asante Kwaku P. , Otieno Walter , Otieno Lucas , Tahita Marc C. , Lompo Palpouguini , Hoffman Irving F. , Mvalo Tisungane , Msefula Chisomo , Hassan-Hanga Fatimah , Obaro Stephen , Mackenzie Grant , Deborggraeve Stijn , Feasey Nicholas , Marks Florian , MacLennan Calman A. , Thomson Nicholas R. , Jacobs Jan , Dougan Gordon , Kariuki Samuel , Lunguya Octavie
Published: October 2023

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease manifesting as bloodstream infection with high mortality is responsible for a huge public health burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is the main cause of iNTS disease in Africa. By analysing whole genome sequence data from 1303 S. Typhimurium isolates originating from 19 African countries and isolated between 1979 and 2017, here we show a thorough scaled appraisal of the population structure of iNTS disease caused by S. Typhimurium across many of Africa’s most impacted countries. At least six invasive S. Typhimurium clades have already emerged, with ST313 lineage 2 or ST313-L2 driving the current pandemic. ST313-L2 likely emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo around 1980 and further spread in the mid 1990s. We observed plasmid-borne as well as chromosomally encoded fluoroquinolone resistance underlying emergences of extensive-drug and pan-drug resistance. Our work provides an overview of the evolution of invasive S. Typhimurium disease, and can be exploited to target control measures.