bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differenzierte Sportbefreiung als Chance: Ergebnisse eines
Online-Survey und Übersicht über die aktuelle
Literatur
Authors: König Tatjana Tamara , Heimann Alexander , Scharenberg Swantje , Kriemler Susi , Muensterer Oliver , Siaplaouras Jannos
Published: February 2022

Hintergrund Die körperliche Aktivität in der Schule
trägt relevant zur Bewegungszeit von Schüler*innen bei.
Eine differenzierte ärztliche Sportbefreiung (dSB) ermöglicht
die angepasste Teilnahme am Sportunterricht im Rahmen der individuellen
körperlichen Leistungsfähigkeit.

Methode Online-Befragung von Ärzt*innen (2019) und
Lehrkräften (zwei Wellen, 2017/19). Neben demographischen
Parametern wurden Fragen zur dSB in der Praxis anhand einer 6-Punkt-Likert-Skala
erhoben. Mittelwerte wurden mit 95%-Konfidenzintervall (95%-KI)
berechnet.

Ergebnisse 97 Ärzt*innen und 280 Sportlehrkräfte
nahmen teil. Durchschnittlich nahmen 10,3% (95%-KI:
9,5–11,1%) der Schüler*innen nicht am
Sportunterricht teil. Die Schüler*innen wurden meist direkt von
den Eltern entschuldigt. Als Gründe wurden vergessene Sportkleidung
(62%), akute Infekte (54%), Verletzungen (50%)
angegeben. Chronische Erkrankungen waren selten (8%). Die meisten
Lehrkräfte (63%) fühlen sich nicht gut auf den Umgang
mit Schüler*innen mit chronischen Erkrankungen im
Sportunterricht vorbereitet. 24% der Ärzt*innen hatten
noch nie über eine DSB nachgedacht. Alle Befragten hielten eine dSB
für statistisch relevant sinnvoller als eine Befreiung von der
Notengebung.

Diskussion Ärzte und Lehrkräfte halten das Konzept der dSB
für sinnvoll und umsetzbar. Eine Befreiung von der Notengebung kommt als
sekundäre Option in Frage.

Schlussfolgerung Die differenzierte Sportbefreiung ist ein sinnvolles,
aber nicht weit verbreitetes Konzept, das in vielen unterschiedlichen Szenarien
angewendet werden kann. Um eine optimale Integration aller Kinder und
Jugendlichen im Sportunterricht zu erreichen, sollte ein
allgemeingültiges, standardisiertes System entwickelt werden.
Prevention of Premature Ovulation by Administration of Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Antagonist the day After Ovulation Triggering in Diminished Ovarian Reserve Patients
Authors: Sik Bulat Aytek , Ozolcay Ozan , Aba Yilda Arzu , Sismanoglu Alper , Savas Sifa , Oral Serkan
Published: February 2022

Objective The aim of the present retrospective study was to investigate the effectiveness of single-dose gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist administration, the day after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) triggering for final oocyte maturation, on the prevention of premature luteinization in patients with diminished ovarian reserve in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. The secondary objective of the study was to search the effect of this protocol on pregnancy outcomes.

Methods This is a retrospective study including 267 infertile patients who have single antral follicle seen with ultrasonography on the 2nd or 3rd day of the menstrual cycle before starting IVF treatment. We randomized patients into two groups. The case group comprised patients who had single-dose GnRH antagonist injection the day after hCG triggering formed, and the patients who had the standard treatment regime formed the control group. In both groups, the oocytes were collected 36 hours after hCG injection.

Results The premature ovulation rate was significantly low in the case group compared with the control group (6.86 versus 20.6% per scheduled cycle) (p = 0.022). Also, the oocyte retrieval rate (93.14 versus 67.87% per scheduled cycle) (p = 0.013), the oocyte maturity rate (79.42 versus 47.87%) (p = 0.041), the fertilization rate (65.68 versus 34.54%) (p = 0.018), and the embryo transfer rate per scheduled cycle (44.11 versus 18.78%) (p = 0.003) were higher in the GnRH antagonist group than in the control group.

Conclusion The administration of GnRH antagonist the day after hCG trigger in IVF treatments of patients with diminished ovarian reserve enabled a significant decrease in the rate of premature ovulation but had no effect on live birth rate.
DMSO-Mediated Difunctionalization of Electron-Deficient Olefins to Access β-Hydroxysulfides with High Chemoselectivity
Authors: Gao Bao , Liu Xiaojun , Zhang Xiuli , Yan Qian , Yang Ruiting , Jiang Tao
Published: February 2022

A novel and convenient method for the highly chemoselective synthesis of β-hydroxysulfides mediated by DMSO is reported. This eco-friendly reaction was amenable to a broad range of substrates and provided the desired β-hydroxysulfides in moderate to good yields with high selectivity via radical process. Moreover, several pharmaceutical and bioactive molecules were also suitable substrates for this reaction conditions to afford the targeted products in good yields.
Impacto do ácido hialurônico na viabilidade das células mesenquimais derivadas do tecido adiposo cultivadas em membrana de colágeno tipo I/III
Authors: Kaleka Camila Cohen , Debieux Pedro , Antonioli Eliane , Zucconi Eder , Cohen Moisés , Ferretti Mário
Published: February 2022

Objetivo Avaliar in vitro a viabilidade das células-tronco mesenquimais derivadas do tecido adiposo (AD-CTMs) em diferentes soluções comerciais de ácido hialurônico (AH) antes e após serem semeadas em membrana de colágeno I/III.

Métodos Na primeira etapa, analisou-se a interação entre AD-CTMs com sete diferentes produtos comerciais de AH, salina tamponada com fosfato (PBS, na sigla em inglês) e soro fetal bovino (SFB), realizada pela contagem das células vivas e mortas após 24, 48 e 72 horas. Foram selecionados cinco produtos com maior número de células vivas e avaliou-se a interação entre o AH com AD-CTMs e a membrana de colágeno tipo I/III pela contagem de células vivas e mortas no mesmo intervalo de tempo (24, 48 e 72 horas).

Resultados Em ambas as situações analisadas (AH + AD-CTM e AH + AD-CTM + membrana), o SFB apresentou a maior porcentagem de células vivas após 24, 48 e 72 horas, resultado superior ao do AH.

Conclusão A associação do AH com as AD-CTMs, com ou sem a membrana, não demonstrou superioridade na viabilidade celular quando comparado com SFB.
Prognosis in Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Azevedo Bruna Eduarda Civeira de , Rodrigues Igor Kunze , Mello Pedro Paulo Marchesi , Eismann Marcos Rodrigo Pereira , Sousa Daniel Santos
Published: February 2022

Objective To characterize the profile of TBI victims who required neurosurgical approach in two reference hospitals in the metropolitan area of Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and to identify the prognostic increase in the Pupil Reactivity Score when subtracted from the Glasgow Coma Score, found in the Glasgow-P. Additionally, to present demographic, etiological, clinical, and tomographic data, and associate them with the outcome of death.

Methods Medical record data and computed tomography (CT) scans of patients with TBI undergoing neurosurgical procedures from January 2014 to April 2019, at 2 reference hospitals in the metropolitan area of Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil – Hospital Regional de São José Dr. Homero de Miranda Gomes (HRSJ-HMG, in the Portuguese acronym) and Hospital Governador Celso Ramos (HGCR, in the Portuguese acronym).

Results The results of the 318 cases studied indicated that the male gender predominated (87.7%). The most affected age group was between 35 and 65 years old (47.5%). The main cause was motorcycle accidents (26.1%), followed by a fall from a height (16.4%). Most patients required admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) (85.8%), with an average duration of 13 days. The average total hospital stay was 28 days. Most cases needed external ventricular drain (EVD) (64.8%). The predominant tomographic classification was Marshall II (43.4%), followed by Marshall IV (26.1%). Most patients presented with extra-axial hematoma (64.2%), with subdural hematoma (SDH) being the most frequent (45%). Most patients presented with sequelae at hospital discharge (43.4%).

Conclusion There was no clinically relevant increase between the Glasgow and Glasgow-P scores for the tested outcomes (need for decompressive craniectomy, midline shift, presence of basal cisterns obliteration, need for ICU admission, and death).
Ovarian Tissue Culture to Preserve Fertility in Transgender Male Patients after Hormonal Treatment
Authors: Bottini Alessandra Leal , Reis Vânia Marisia Santos Fortes dos , Capp Edison , Silva Ilma Simoni Brum da , Kliemann Lúcia Maria , Corleta Helena von Eye
Published: February 2022

Objective To evaluate the reproductive and histological characteristics of fresh cultured ovarian tissue from transgender male patients.

Methods An in vitro pilot study in which samples were collected during sex reassignment surgery for transgender male patients. The ovarian cortex was cut into fragments of 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm, and placed in a 96-well plate suitable for cultivation at days 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8, when the histology was analyzed.

Results Stromal hyperplasia was observed in all samples, and it was not associated with the obtainment of primordial or primary follicles. Peripheral reduction in cell count was also a recurrent finding. Primordial and primary follicles were identified with a heterogeneous pattern in fragments from the same patient and from different patients, and follicles in more advanced stages of development (secondary and antral) were not found. There was an association between the diameter of the ovarian fragments and the identification of primary follicles (p = 0.036). The number of days in culture was associated with histological signs of tissue damaging in the fragments (p = 0.002). The total number of follicles identified in the samples with 2 mm in diameter was significantly lower than in those that measured 4 mm in diameter (p = 0.031).

Conclusion A diameter of 4 mm is suitable for ovarian tissue culture with the benefit of ease of handling. Even after prolonged exposure to testosterone, the ovarian fragments presented primordial and primary follicles, maintaining viability throughout the days they were exposed to the culture. Freezing the ovarian cortex of transgender patients who will undergo surgery for gender reassignment would be an interesting option, in the future, for the preservation of fertility.
Prevalence of Preeclampsia in Brazil: An Integrative Review
Authors: Guida José Paulo de Siqueira , Andrade Beatriz Gadioli de , Pissinatti Luis Gabriel Ferreira , Rodrigues Bruna Fagundes , Hartman Caio Augusto , Costa Maria Laura
Published: February 2022

Objective To review literature and estimate the occurrence of preeclampsia and its complications in Brazil.

Methods We performed an integrative review of the literature, and included observational studies published until August 2021 on the SciELO and PubMed databases that evaluated preeclampsia among pregnant women in Brazil. Other variables of interests were maternal death, neonatal death, hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome, and eclampsia. Three independent reviewers evaluated all retrieved studies and selected those that met inclusion criteria. A metanalysis of the prevalence of preeclampsia and eclampsia was also performed, to estimate a pooled frequency of those conditions among the studies included.

Results We retrieved 304 studies after the initial search; of those, 10 were included in the final analysis, with a total of 52,986 women considered. The pooled prevalence of preeclampsia was of 6.7%, with a total of 2,988 cases reported. The frequency of eclampsia ranged from 1.7% to 6.2%, while the occurrence of HELLP syndrome was underreported. Prematurity associated to hypertensive disorders ranged from 0.5% to 1.72%.

Conclusion The frequency of preeclampsia was similar to that reported in other international studies, and it is increasing in Brazil, probably due to the adoption of new diagnostic criteria. The development of a national surveillance network would be essential to understand the problem of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Brazil.
Emotional and Clinical Aspects Observed in Women with Gestational Trophoblastic Disease: A Multidisciplinary Action
Authors: França Ana Carolina Gomes , Uberti Elza Maria Hartmann , Muller Karine Paiva , Cardoso Rodrigo Bernardes , Giguer Fabiana , El Beitune Patricia , Braga Antonio
Published: February 2022

Objective To evaluate the emotional and clinical aspects observed in women with gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) followed-up in a reference center (RC) by a multidisciplinary team.

Methods Retrospective cohort study of the clinical records of 186 women with GTD and of the emotional aspects (EA) observed in these women by a team of psychologists and reported by the 389 support groups conducted from 2014 to 2018.

Results The women were young (mean age: 31.2 years), 47% had no living child, 60% had planned the pregnancy, and 50% participated in two or more SG. Most women (n = 137; 73.6%) reached spontaneous remission of molar gestation in a median time of 10 weeks and had a total follow-up time of seven months. In the group of 49 women (26.3%) who progressed to gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN), time to remission after chemotherapy was 18 weeks, and total follow-up time was 36 months. EA included different levels of anxiety and depression, more evident in 9.1% of the women; these symptoms tended to occur more frequently in women older than 40 years (p = 0.067), less educated (p = 0.054), and whose disease progressed to GTN (p = 0.018), as well as in those who had to undergo multi-agent chemotherapy (p = 0.028) or hysterectomy (p = 0.001) adjuvant to clinical treatment.

Conclusion This study found several EA in association with all types of GTD. It also highlights the importance of specialized care only found in a RC, essential to support the recovery of the mental health of these women.
Exploring solar cell materials with text-based machine learning
Authors: Piccone Ashley
Published: February 2022

Natural language process techniques read and predict solar cell data from literature.
Synthesis of one-dimensional van der Waals material alloys
Authors: Oh Seungbae , Jeon Jiho , Choi Kyung Hwan , Chae Sudong , Park Jae-Hyuk , Lee Jae-Hyun , Yu Hak Ki , Choi Jae-Young
Published: February 2022

For the van der Waals bond-based one-dimensional two- (Nb2Se9 and V2Se9) and three-component group (Ta2Ni3Se8, Ta2Pt3Se8, and Nb2Pd3Se8) materials, alloy phases were synthesized according to the mixing ratio of transition metals, and basic analysis of phase stability and lattice structure was performed. The formation of alloy phases corresponding to Nb2-xVxSe9 and Ta2MxN3-xSe8 (M, N = Ni, Pd, and Pt) was confirmed, and lattice engineering was possible by changing the interplanar distance according to the transition metal mixing ratio. Through elemental analysis of the synthesized material, it was also confirmed that the composition is close to the mixing ratio used for actual synthesis. In the future, the basic physical properties of the alloys will be evaluated and applied to various application devices.
Enhancement of graphene-related and substrate-related Raman modes through dielectric layer deposition
Authors: Piętak Karolina , Jagiełło Jakub , Dobrowolski Artur , Budzich Rafał , Wysmołek Andrzej , Ciuk Tymoteusz
Published: February 2022

In this report, we demonstrate a method for the enhancement of Raman active modes of hydrogen-intercalated quasi-free-standing epitaxial chemical vapor deposition graphene and the underlying semi-insulating 6H–SiC(0001) substrate through constructive signal interference within atomic-layer-deposited amorphous Al2O3 passivation. We find that an optimum Al2O3 thickness of 85 nm for the graphene 2D mode and one of 82 nm for the SiC longitudinal optical A1 mode at 964 cm–1 enable a 60% increase in their spectra intensities. We demonstrate the method's efficiency in Raman-based determination of the dielectric thickness and high-resolution topographic imaging of a graphene surface.
Design and experimental demonstration of effective acoustic gain medium for PT-symmetric refractive index
Authors: Yang Wen-Jie , Yang Zhang-Zhao , Guan An-Yang , Zou Xin-Ye , Cheng Jian-Chun
Published: February 2022

The parity-time (PT)-symmetric system has been a hot research topic in recent years. Nevertheless, the corresponding gain part is hard to be realized experimentally in acoustic systems. In this paper, by combining the concept of injecting external energy and the soundwave–structure interaction, we propose a S-shaped waveguide model with a wave modulator, which exactly obtains the effective acoustic gain medium. We both numerically and experimentally show the implementation of the acoustic gain medium and calculate the effective parameter refractive index by the standard retrieval method. Crucially, the flexible reconstructions of the proposed structure can be easily conducted by merely changing one parameter of the proposed structure (e.g., height of the wave modulator). Moreover, to construct the on-demand PT-symmetric refractive index period, we further present a practical approach by applying the well-selected parameters of the model and analyzing the modulator's impedance. Our results are expected to be helpful for the design and potential applications of the acoustic PT-symmetric systems.
Collective bath coordinate mapping of “hierarchy” in hierarchical equations of motion
Authors: Ikeda Tatsushi , Nakayama Akira
Published: February 2022

The theory of hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) is one of the standard methods to give exact evaluations of the dynamics as coupled to harmonic oscillator environments. However, the theory is numerically demanding due to its hierarchy, which is the set of auxiliary elements introduced to capture the non-Markovian and non-perturbative effects of environments. When system–bath coupling becomes relatively strong, the required computational resources and precision move beyond the regime that can be currently handled. This article presents a new representation of HEOM theory in which the hierarchy is mapped into a continuous space of a collective bath coordinate and several auxiliary coordinates as the form of the quantum Fokker–Planck equation. This representation gives a rigorous time evolution of the bath coordinate distribution and is more stable and efficient than the original HEOM theory, particularly when there is a strong system–bath coupling. We demonstrate the suitability of this approach to treat vibronic system models coupled to environments.
Experimental study on drag reduction of the turbulent boundary layer via porous media under nonzero pressure gradient
Authors: Du Hai , Li Qixuan , Zhang Qinlin , Zhang Wenxiao , Yang Lejie
Published: February 2022

The complex surface of an aircraft generates a nonzero pressure gradient flow. In this study, the boundary conditions of favorable and adverse pressure gradients are constructed in a small low-turbulence wind tunnel test section. Hot-wire anemometers and time-resolved image velocimetry are used to analyze the flow structure in a fully developed turbulent boundary layer with porous media. The effects of the porous surface on the statistical characteristics of the turbulent flow field and turbulent flow structure are analyzed and discussed. The results show that porous media reduce the velocity gradient in the linear layer, and the friction drag reduction effect is higher downstream of the porous wall. The drag reduction effect decreases along the flow direction. A wall with a 10 pores per inch produces a slightly better drag reduction effect than smooth wall. The maximum local drag reduction effect of a 10-pores-per-inch porous wall is 43.7% under a favorable pressure gradient and 42.3% under an adverse pressure gradient. The velocity streaks in the inner layer show that the porous wall widens the low-velocity streaks, making them more stable, while the high-speed streaks decrease in size under the pressure gradient. In the case of the adverse pressure gradient, the structure of the streaks becomes blurred, and their strength weakens. Under both favorable and adverse pressure gradients, the porous media lift up the coherent structures near the wall, thus weakening the large-scale coherent wall structures.
Epistemic stance in L2 English discourse
Authors: Kizu Mika , Gyogi Eiko , Dougherty Patrick
Published: February 2022

This study investigates the development of pragmatic strategies in study abroad among a group of upper-intermediate to advanced second language (L2) learners studying in English as a lingua franca (ELF) context. For this purpose, their use of epistemic stance markers (EMs) was observed before, during, immediately after, and six months after their study abroad over a period of two years. An analysis of our qualitative results found significant inter-speaker variations in the use of EMs. This close analysis demonstrates that learners with lower-level speaking skills relied more on lexical verbs and adverbs when expressing their epistemic stance than those with higher-level speaking skills. This finding is in accordance with previous studies. Furthermore, our qualitative analysis of two learners demonstrates their pragmatic development through a more nuanced hedged assertion, as well as the non-linear and complex nature of their development. In addition, the pedagogical implications of this study are discussed from the ELF perspective.
Four different ways that toast can fall off a table
Authors: Cross Rod
Published: February 2022

It is recognised that buttered toast that falls onto its buttered side is a consequence of the laws of physics rather than a consequence of Murphy’s law. However, the physics involved is not entirely clear, given the variety of different circumstances that can cause the toast to fall. Four launch conditions are examined in this paper, using wood blocks instead of toast. The problem is a general one, in the sense that different objects (including cars and people) can fall off different surfaces for different reasons.
Periodic deformation of semiflexible colloidal chains in eccentric time-varying magnetic fields
Authors: Spatafora-Salazar Aldo , Cunha Lucas H P , Biswal Sibani Lisa
Published: February 2022

Elastic filaments driven out of equilibrium display complex phenomena that involve periodic changes in their shape. Here, the periodic deformation dynamics of semiflexible colloidal chains in an eccentric magnetic field are presented. This field changes both its magnitude and direction with time, leading to novel nonequilibrium chain structures. Deformation into S-, Z-, and 4-mode shapes arises via the propagation and growth of bending waves. Transitions between these morphologies are governed by an interplay among magnetic, viscous, and elastic forces. Furthermore, the periodic behavior leading to these structures is described by four distinct stages of motion that include rotation, arrest, bending, and stretching of the chain. These stages correspond to specific intervals of the eccentric field’s period. A scaling analysis that considers the relative ratio of viscous to magnetic torques via a critical frequency illustrates how to maximize the bending energy. These results provide new insights into controlling colloidal assemblies by applying complex magnetic fields.
Parametric study of laser wakefield driven generation of intense sub-cycle pulses
Authors: Siminos E , Thiele I
Published: February 2022

Intense sub-cycle electromagnetic pulses allow one to drive nonlinear processes in matter with unprecedented levels of control. However, it remains challenging to scale such sources in the relativistic regime. Recently, a scheme that utilizes laser-driven wakes in plasmas to amplify and compress seed laser pulses to produce tunable, carrier-envelope-phase stable, relativistic sub-cycle pulses has been proposed. Here, we present parametric studies of this process using particle-in-cell simulations, showing its robustness over a wide range of experimentally accessible laser-plasma interaction parameters, spanning more than two orders of magnitude of background plasma density. The method is shown to work with different gas-jet profiles, including structured density profiles and is robust over a relatively wide range of driver laser intensities. Our study shows that sub-cycle pulses of up to 10mJ of energy can be produced.
Photo-thermoelastic behavior of a functionally graded? Semiconductor medium excited by thermal laser pulses
Authors: Awwad E , Abouelregal Ahmed E , Atta Doaa , Sedighi Hamid M
Published: February 2022

This work presents an analytical approach to study the photothermal response of a functionally graded semiconducting thermoelastic half-space. The generalized thermoelastic heat conduction theory without energy dissipation is employed to extract the governing equations in which the properties of a half-space material are supposed to change in the longitudinal direction. In the context of photothermal transitional model, the interaction between heat-elastic plasma waves is described. The governing equations for the physical field variables are determined by Laplace transform procedure in the physical domain. The distribution of each field variable as well as the spread of thermo-elastic-plasma waves are plotted and discussed. Some illustrative examples are presented to determine the influence of characteristic parameters such as thermal relaxation and the power law (nonhomogeneity) index on the thermoelastic behavior of the considered medium. Finally, some interesting situations are derived from the current formulation.
Non-Gaussianity in D3-brane inflation
Authors: Marzouk Kareem , Maraio Alessandro , Seery David
Published: February 2022

We update predictions for observables
in the `delicate' D3/D3
inflationary model on the conifold.
We use a full CMB likelihood calculation to assess
goodness-of-fit, which is necessary because
in this model the
ζ
power spectrum often cannot be approximated as a power-law over
observable scales.
For the first time we are able to provide
accurate forecasts for
the amplitude of three-point
correlations.
In a significant portion of its parameter
space the model follows Maldacena's single-field
prediction f_NL≈ -(5/12)(ns-1)
if
|nt| ≪ 1.
Therefore
|fNL| is usually small when
the power spectrum satisfies observational
constraints.
In a small number of cases
the bispectrum is instead dominated by
effects from rapid switching between angular minima.
The resulting amplitudes are larger,
but mostly with unacceptable spectral behaviour.
In the most extreme case
we obtain |fNL
eq| ∼ 75
at kt/3 = 0.002 Mpc-1.
It has been suggested that the quasi-single
field inflation (`QSFI') mechanism could
produce significant 3-point correlations in this model.
We do observe rare shifts in amplitude between
equilateral and squeezed configurations that could
possibly be associated with QSFI effects, but
more investigation is needed to establish the full
bispectrum shape.
There is evidence of `shape' running between equilateral
and squeezed configurations that may
be inherited
from the scale dependence of the spectrum.
We explore the dependence of observables on discrete choices
such as the truncation point of the potential.
Our analysis illustrates the advantages of a standard
format for information exchange within the
inflationary model-building and testing community.
Turn up the volume: listening to phase transitions in hot dark sectors
Authors: Ertas Fatih , Kahlhoefer Felix , Tasillo Carlo
Published: February 2022

Stochastic gravitational wave (GW) backgrounds from first-order phase transitions are an exciting target for future GW observatories and may enable us to study dark sectors with very weak couplings to the Standard Model. In this work we show that such signals may be significantly enhanced for hot dark sectors with a temperature larger than the one of the SM thermal bath. The need to transfer the entropy from the dark sector to the SM after the phase transition can however lead to a substantial dilution of the GW signal. We study this dilution in detail, including the effect of number-changing processes in the dark sector (so-called cannibalism), and show that in large regions of parameter space a net enhancement remains. We apply our findings to a specific example of a dark sector containing a dark Higgs boson and a dark photon and find excellent detection prospects for LISA and the Einstein telescope.
Fifth forces and broken scale symmetries in the Jordan frame
Authors: Copeland Edmund J. , Millington Peter , Sevillano Muñoz Sergio
Published: February 2022

We study the origin of fifth forces in scalar-tensor theories of gravity in the so-called Jordan frame, where the modifications to the gravitational sector are manifest. We focus on theories of Brans-Dicke type in which an additional scalar field is coupled directly to the Ricci scalar of General Relativity. We describe how the necessary diffeomorphism invariance of the modified gravitational sector leads to a modification of the usual gauge fixing term (for the harmonic gauge), as compared to Einstein gravity. This allows us to perform a consistent linearization of the gravitational sector in the weak-field limit, which gives rise to a kinetic mixing between the non-minimally coupled scalar field and the graviton. It is through this mixing that a fifth force can arise between matter fields. We are then able to compute the matrix elements for fifth-force exchanges directly in the Jordan frame, without the need to perform a conformal transformation to the so-called Einstein frame, wherein the gravitational sector is of Einstein-Hilbert form. We obtain results that are in agreement with the equivalent Einstein-frame calculations and illustrate, still in the Jordan frame, the pivotal role that sources of explicit scale symmetry breaking in the matter sector play in admitting fifth-force couplings.
Enhancement of feasibility of macroscopic quantum superposition state with the quantum Rabi-Stark model
Authors: Wang Jing-Jing , Ding Ming-Song , Xiong Li , Zheng Li
Published: February 2022

We propose an efficient scheme to generate a macroscopical quantum superposition state with a cavity optomechanical system, which is composed of a quantum Rabi-Stark model coupling to a mechanical oscillator. In a low-energy subspace of the Rabi-Stark model, the dressed states and then the effective Hamiltonian of the system are given. Due to the coupling of the mechanical oscillator and the atom-cavity system, if the initial state of the atom-cavity system is one of the dressed states, the mechanical oscillator will evolve into a corresponding coherent state. Thus, if the initial state of the atom-cavity system is a superposition of two dressed states, a coherent state superposition of the mechanical oscillator can be generated. The quantum coherence and their distinguishable properties of the two coherent states are exhibited by Wigner distribution. We show that the Stark term can enhance significantly the feasibility and quantum coherence of the generated macroscopic quantum superposition state of the oscillator.
Confronting cosmic ray electron and positron excesses with hybrid triplet Higgs portal dark matter *
Authors: Chen Shao-Long , Banik Amit Dutta , Liu Ze-Kun
Published: February 2022

We perform a detailed study of scalar dark matter with triplet Higgs extensions of the Standard Model in order to explain the cosmic ray electron and positron excesses reported by AMS-02 and DAMPE. A detailed analysis of the AMS-02 positron excess reveals that for different orderings (normal, inverted, and quasi-degenerate) of neutrino mass, the hybrid triplet Higgs portal framework is more favored with respect to the single triplet Higgs portal for TeV scale dark matter. We also show that the resonant peak and continuous excess in DAMPE cosmic ray data can be well explained with the hybrid triplet Higgs portal dark matter when a dark matter sub-halo nearby is taken into account.
Global temperature goals should determine the time horizons for greenhouse gas emission metrics
Authors: Abernethy Sam , Jackson Robert B
Published: February 2022

Emission metrics, a crucial tool in setting effective exchange rates between greenhouse gases, currently require an arbitrary choice of time horizon. Here, we propose a novel framework to calculate the time horizon that aligns with scenarios achieving a specific temperature goal. We analyze the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C Scenario Database to find that time horizons aligning with the 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming goals of the Paris Agreement are 24 [90% prediction interval: 7, 41] and 58 [90% PI: 41, 74] years, respectively. We then use these time horizons to quantify time-dependent emission metrics for methane. We find that the Global Warming Potential (GWP) values that align with the 1.5 °C and 2 °C goals are GWP1.5 °C = 75 [90% PI: 54, 107] and GWP2 °C = 42 [90% PI: 35, 54]. For the Global Temperature change Potential (GTP) they are GTP1.5 °C = 41 [90% PI: 16, 102] and GTP2 °C = 9 [90% PI: 7, 16]. The most commonly used time horizon, 100 years, underestimates methane’s GWP and GTP by 34% and 38%, respectively, relative to the values we calculate that align with the 2 °C goal and by 63% and 87%, respectively, relative to the 1.5 °C goal. To best align emission metrics with the Paris Agreement 1.5 °C goal, we recommend a 24 year time horizon, using 2045 as the endpoint time, with its associated GWP1.5 °C = 75 and GTP1.5 °C = 41.
Size-dependent aggression towards kin in a cannibalistic species
Authors: Fouilloux Chloe A , Fromhage Lutz , Valkonen Janne K , Rojas Bibiana
Published: February 2022

In juveniles extreme intraspecies aggression can seem counter-intuitive, as it might endanger their developmental goal of surviving until reproductive stage. Ultimately, aggression can be vital for survival, although the factors (e.g., genetic or environmental) leading to the expression and intensity of this behavior vary across taxa. Attacking (and sometimes killing) related individuals may reduce inclusive fitness; as a solution to this problem, some species exhibit kin discrimination and preferentially attack unrelated individuals. Here, we used both experimental and modeling approaches to consider how physical traits (e.g., size in relation to opponent) and genetic relatedness mediate aggression in dyads of cannibalistic Dendrobates tinctorius tadpoles. We paired full-sibling, half-sibling, and non-sibling tadpoles of different sizes together in an arena and recorded their aggression and activity. We found that the interaction between relative size and relatedness predicts aggressive behavior: large individuals in non-sibling dyads are significantly more aggressive than large individuals in sibling dyads. Unexpectedly, although siblings tended to attack less overall, in size-mismatched pairs they attacked faster than in non-sibling treatments. Using a theoretical model to complement these empirical findings, we propose that larval aggression reflects a balance between relatedness and size where individuals trade-off their own fitness with that of their relatives.
Familiarity, dominance, sex and season shape common waxbill social networks
Authors: Gomes Ana Cristina R , Beltrão Patrícia , Boogert Neeltje J , Cardoso Gonçalo C
Published: February 2022

In gregarious animals, social network positions of individuals may influence their life-history and fitness. Although association patterns and the position of individuals in social networks can be shaped by phenotypic differences and by past interactions, few studies have quantified their relative importance. We evaluated how phenotypic differences and familiarity influence social preferences and the position of individuals within the social network. We monitored wild-caught common waxbills (Estrilda astrild) with radio-frequency identifiers in a large mesocosm during the non-breeding and breeding seasons of two consecutive years. We found that social networks were similar, and that the centrality of individuals was repeatable, across seasons and years, indicating a stable social phenotype. Nonetheless, there were seasonal changes in social structure: waxbills associated more strongly with opposite-sex individuals in breeding seasons, whereas in non-breeding seasons they instead assorted according to similarities in social dominance. We also observed stronger assortment between birds that were introduced to the mesocosm at the same time, indicating long-lasting bonds among familiar individuals. Waxbills that had been introduced to the mesocosm more recently occupied more central network positions, especially during breeding seasons, perhaps indicating that these birds had less socially-differentiated associations with flock members. Finally, individual differences in color ornamentation and behavioral assays of personality, inhibitory control, and stress were not related to network centrality or association patterns. Together, these results suggest that, in gregarious species like the common waxbill, social networks may be more strongly shaped by long-lasting associations with familiar individuals than by phenotypic differences among group members.
LRcell: detecting the source of differential expression at the sub–cell-type level from bulk RNA-seq data
Authors: Ma Wenjing , Sharma Sumeet , Jin Peng , Gourley Shannon L , Qin Zhaohui S
Published: February 2022

Given most tissues are consist of abundant and diverse (sub-)cell types, an important yet unaddressed problem in bulk RNA-seq analysis is to identify at which (sub-)cell type(s) the differential expression occurs. Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies can answer the question, but they are often labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive. Here, we present LRcell, a computational method aiming to identify specific (sub-)cell type(s) that drives the changes observed in a bulk RNA-seq experiment. In addition, LRcell provides pre-embedded marker genes computed from putative scRNA-seq experiments as options to execute the analyses. We conduct a simulation study to demonstrate the effectiveness and reliability of LRcell. Using three different real datasets, we show that LRcell successfully identifies known cell types involved in psychiatric disorders. Applying LRcell to bulk RNA-seq results can produce a hypothesis on which (sub-)cell type(s) contributes to the differential expression. LRcell is complementary to cell type deconvolution methods.
pyFoldX: enabling biomolecular analysis and engineering along structural ensembles
Authors: Radusky Leandro G , Serrano Luis
Published: February 2022

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of structures available, not only for new proteins but also for the same protein crystallized with different molecules and proteins. While protein design software has proven to be successful in designing and modifying proteins, they can also be overly sensitive to small conformational differences between structures of the same protein. To cope with this, we introduce here pyFoldX, a python library that allows the integrative analysis of structures of the same protein using FoldX, an established forcefield and modelling software. The library offers new functionalities for handling different structures of the same protein, an improved molecular parametrization module and an easy integration with the data analysis ecosystem of the python programming language.

Availability and implementation

pyFoldX rely on the FoldX software for energy calculations and modelling, which can be downloaded upon registration in http://foldxsuite.crg.eu/ and its licence is free of charge for academics. The pyFoldX library is open-source. Full details on installation, tutorials covering the library functionality and the scripts used to generate the data and figures presented in this paper are available at https://github.com/leandroradusky/pyFoldX.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
EMBER: multi-label prediction of kinase-substrate phosphorylation events through deep learning
Authors: Kirchoff Kathryn E , Gomez Shawn M
Published: February 2022

Motivation

Kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation of proteins forms the backbone of signal transduction within the cell, enabling the coordination of numerous processes such as the cell cycle, apoptosis, and differentiation. Although on the order of 105 phosphorylation events have been described, we know the specific kinase performing these functions for <5% of cases. The ability to predict which kinases initiate specific individual phosphorylation events has the potential to greatly enhance the design of downstream experimental studies, while simultaneously creating a preliminary map of the broader phosphorylation network that controls cellular signaling.

Results

We describe Embedding-based multi-label prediction of phosphorylation events (EMBER), a deep learning method that integrates kinase phylogenetic information and motif-dissimilarity information into a multi-label classification model for the prediction of kinase–motif phosphorylation events. Unlike previous deep learning methods that perform single-label classification, we restate the task of kinase–motif phosphorylation prediction as a multi-label problem, allowing us to train a single unified model rather than a separate model for each of the 134 kinase families. We utilize a Siamese neural network to generate novel vector representations, or an embedding, of peptide motif sequences, and we compare our novel embedding to a previously proposed peptide embedding. Our motif vector representations are used, along with one-hot encoded motif sequences, as input to a classification neural network while also leveraging kinase phylogenetic relationships into our model via a kinase phylogeny-weighted loss function. Results suggest that this approach holds significant promise for improving the known map of phosphorylation relationships that underlie kinome signaling.

Availability and implementation

The data and code underlying this article are available in a GitHub repository at https://github.com/gomezlab/EMBER.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Multi-level attention graph neural network based on co-expression gene modules for disease diagnosis and prognosis
Authors: Xing Xiaohan , Yang Fan , Li Hang , Zhang Jun , Zhao Yu , Gao Mingxuan , Huang Junzhou , Yao Jianhua
Published: February 2022

Motivation

Advanced deep learning techniques have been widely applied in disease diagnosis and prognosis with clinical omics, especially gene expression data. In the regulation of biological processes and disease progression, genes often work interactively rather than individually. Therefore, investigating gene association information and co-functional gene modules can facilitate disease state prediction.

Results

To explore the gene modules and inter-gene relational information contained in the omics data, we propose a novel multi-level attention graph neural network (MLA-GNN) for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Specifically, we format omics data into co-expression graphs via weighted correlation network analysis, and then construct multi-level graph features, finally fuse them through a well-designed multi-level graph feature fully fusion module to conduct predictions. For model interpretation, a novel full-gradient graph saliency mechanism is developed to identify the disease-relevant genes. MLA-GNN achieves state-of-the-art performance on transcriptomic data from TCGA-LGG/TCGA-GBM and proteomic data from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)/non-COVID-19 patient sera. More importantly, the relevant genes selected by our model are interpretable and are consistent with the clinical understanding.

Availabilityand implementation

The codes are available at https://github.com/TencentAILabHealthcare/MLA-GNN.
Social Support Effectiveness of the Mental Health of Immigrants Living in Belgium
Authors: Snoubar Yaser , Zengin Oğuzhan
Published: February 2022

The increase in immigration has required social workers to focus more on this field and understand the social support systems of immigrants and the effects of their relationships with these systems to improve their effectiveness. Subsequently, this study examined the perceived social support, psychological resilience and coping strategies of immigrants living in Belgium, which has a significant immigrant population compared with its population. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 289 participants living in Belgium. According to our findings, immigrants with a high perceived level of social support also have high psychological resilience. However, immigrants’ high levels of perceived social support lead to more intense use of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles. These findings emphasise the functionality of the social support system for immigrants and shed light on the issues that social workers should focus on when working with immigrants.
Simultaneous PET/fMRI revealed increased motor area input to subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Zang Zhenxiang , Song Tianbin , Li Jiping , Nie Binbin , Mei Shanshan , Zhang Chun , Wu Tao , Zhang Yuqing , Lu Jie
Published: February 2022

Invasive electrophysiological recordings in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are extremely difficult for cross-sectional comparisons with healthy controls. Noninvasive approaches for identifying information flow between the motor area and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) are critical for evaluation of treatment strategy. We aimed to investigate the direction of the cortical-STN hyperdirect pathway using simultaneous 18F-FDG-PET/functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Data were acquired during resting state on 34 PD patients and 25 controls. The ratio of standard uptake value for PET images and the STN functional connectivity (FC) maps for fMRI data were generated. The metabolic connectivity mapping (MCM) approach that combines PET and fMRI data was used to evaluate the direction of the connectivity. Results showed that PD patients exhibited both increased FDG uptake and STN-FC in the sensorimotor area (PFDR < 0.05). MCM analysis showed higher cortical-STN MCM value in the PD group (F = 6.63, P = 0.013) in the left precentral gyrus. There was a high spatial overlap between the increased glucose metabolism and increased STN-FC in the sensorimotor area in PD. The MCM approach further revealed an exaggerated cortical input to the STN in PD, supporting the precentral gyrus as a target for treatment such as the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Modulation in alpha band activity reflects syntax composition: an MEG study of minimal syntactic binding
Authors: Hardy Sophie M , Jensen Ole , Wheeldon Linda , Mazaheri Ali , Segaert Katrien
Published: February 2022

Successful sentence comprehension requires the binding, or composition, of multiple words into larger structures to establish meaning. Using magnetoencephalography, we investigated the neural mechanisms involved in binding at the syntax level, in a task where contributions from semantics were minimized. Participants were auditorily presented with minimal sentences that required binding (pronoun and pseudo-verb with the corresponding morphological inflection; “she grushes”) and pseudo-verb wordlists that did not require binding (“cugged grushes”). Relative to no binding, we found that syntactic binding was associated with a modulation in alpha band (8–12 Hz) activity in left-lateralized language regions. First, we observed a significantly smaller increase in alpha power around the presentation of the target word (“grushes”) that required binding (−0.05 to 0.1 s), which we suggest reflects an expectation of binding to occur. Second, during binding of the target word (0.15–0.25 s), we observed significantly decreased alpha phase-locking between the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left middle/inferior temporal cortex, which we suggest reflects alpha-driven cortical disinhibition serving to strengthen communication within the syntax composition neural network. Altogether, our findings highlight the critical role of rapid spatial–temporal alpha band activity in controlling the allocation, transfer, and coordination of the brain’s resources during syntax composition.