bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A rare lysosomal storage disorder: Feline mucopolysaccharidosis VII
Authors: Smith Colin , Snead Elisabeth C. , Sukut Sally , Veldhuisen Douglas
Published: June 2022

A 9‐week‐old, male domestic shorthair presented with a 2‐week history of progressive hindlimb weakness and reduction in normal play behaviour. At 17 weeks of age, the patient exhibited progressive hindlimb paresis and ataxia and had developed facial dysmorphia and bilateral corneal clouding, prompting investigation into a mucopolysaccharidosis disorder. Peripheral blood cytology, increased urinary glycosaminoglycan excretion and radiographic findings (generalised epiphyseal dysplasia, coxofemoral luxation and vertebral fusion) suggested mucopolysaccharidosis. Definitive diagnosis was obtained through serum enzymatic testing, which yielded a complete deficiency in β‐glucuronidase and increased compensatory activity in α‐L‐iduronidase and B‐arylsulfatase. This pattern was consistent with a diagnosis of feline mucopolysaccharidosis VII, and palliative therapy was initially implemented. The patient ultimately died at 21 months of age.
Exposure of Coastal Ecosystem Services to Natural Hazards in the Bangladesh Coast
Authors: Roy Sanjoy , Depellegrin Daniel
Published: June 2022

Significance Statement

Knowledge about the impacts of natural hazards on ecosystem services is crucial to guide the effective management of ecosystem components in a particular landscape. The coastal landscape of Bangladesh is a source of numerous ecosystem services on one hand and also exposed to natural hazards, especially to tropical cyclones on the other hand. Almost every year the tropical cyclones and associated storm surges cause severe devastation to the ecosystem services in the eastern coastal region of the country. We for the very first time in Bangladesh applied the remote sensing method with the Millennium Assessment technique to map coastal ecosystem service capacity and assess their degree of exposure to the tropical cyclone in the eastern coastal region of the country. Our study identifies the aquatic environments, mangrove and hilly forests having the highest potentials of ecosystem service capacity, which needs to be protected from the natural hazards through implementing appropriate land use and nature-focused disaster management policies for sustainable, equitable, and effective use of the ecological resources.
On the Difference Between Shared Memory and Shared Address Space in HPC Communication
Authors: Hori Atsushi , Ouyang Kaiming , Gerofi Balazs , Ishikawa Yutaka
Published: June 2022

Shared memory mechanisms, e.g., POSIX shmem or XPMEM, are widely used to implement efficient intra-node communication among processes running on the same node. While POSIX shmem allows other processes to access only newly allocated memory, XPMEM allows accessing any existing data and thus enables more efficient communication because the send buffer content can directly be copied to the receive buffer. Recently, the shared address space model has been proposed, where processes on the same node are mapped into the same address space at the time of process creation, allowing processes to access any data in the shared address space. Process-in-Process (PiP) is an implementation of such mechanism. The functionalities of shared memory mechanisms and the shared address space model look very similar – both allow accessing the data of other processes –, however, the shared address space model includes the shared memory model. Their internal mechanisms are also notably different. This paper clarifies the differences between the shared memory and the shared address space models, both qualitatively and quantitatively. This paper is not to showcase applications of the shared address space model, but through minimal modifications to an existing MPI implementation it highlights the basic differences between the two models. The following four MPI configurations are evaluated and compared; 1) POSIX Shmem, 2) XPMEM, 3) PiP-Shmem, where intra-node communication is implemented to utilize POSIX shmem but MPI processes share the same address space, and 4) PiP-XPMEM, where XPMEM functions are implemented by the PiP library (without the need for linking to XPMEM library). Evaluation is done using the Intel MPI benchmark suite and six HPC benchmarks (HPCCG, miniGhost, LULESH2.0, miniMD, miniAMR and mpiGraph). Most notably, mpiGraph performance of PiP-XPMEM outperforms the XPMEM implementation by almost 1.5x. The performance numbers of HPCCG, miniGhost, miniMD, LULESH2.0 running with PiP-Shmem and PiP-XPMEM are comparable with those of POSIX Shmem and XPMEM. PiP is not only a practical implementation of the shared address space model, but it also provides opportunities for developing new optimization techniques, which the paper further elaborates on.
Evaluating GPU Programming Models for the LUMI Supercomputer
Authors: Markomanolis George S. , Alpay Aksel , Young Jeffrey , Klemm Michael , Malaya Nicholas , Esposito Aniello , Heikonen Jussi , Bastrakov Sergei , Debus Alexander , Kluge Thomas , Steiniger Klaus , Stephan Jan , Widera Rene , Bussmann Michael
Published: June 2022

It is common in the HPC community that the achieved performance with just CPUs is limited for many computational cases. The EuroHPC pre-exascale and the coming exascale systems are mainly focused on accelerators, and some of the largest upcoming supercomputers such as LUMI and Frontier will be powered by AMD Instinct™ accelerators. However, these new systems create many challenges for developers who are not familiar with the new ecosystem or with the required programming models that can be used to program for heterogeneous architectures. In this paper, we present some of the more well-known programming models to program for current and future GPU systems. We then measure the performance of each approach using a benchmark and a mini-app, test with various compilers, and tune the codes where necessary. Finally, we compare the performance, where possible, between the NVIDIA Volta (V100), Ampere (A100) GPUs, and the AMD MI100 GPU.
Evaluating Methods of Transferring Large Datasets
Authors: Kopeć Jakub
Published: June 2022

Our society critically depends on data, Big Data. The humanity generates and moves data volumes larger than ever before and their increase is continuously accelerating. The goal of this research is to evaluate tools used for the transfer of large volumes of data. Bulk data transfer is a complex endeavour that requires not only sufficient network infrastructure, but also appropriate software, computing power and storage resources. We report on the series of storage benchmarks conducted using recently developed elbencho tool. The tests were conducted with an objective to understand and avoid I/O bottlenecks during data transfer operation. Subsequently Ethernet and InfiniBand networks performance was compared using Ohio State University bandwidth benchmark (OSU BW) and iperf3 tool. For comparison we also tested traditional (very inefficient) Linux scp and rsync commands as well as tools designed specifically to transfer large datasets more efficiently: bbcp and MDTMFTP. Additionally the impact of using simultaneous multi-threading and Ethernet jumbo frames on transfer rate was evaluated.
Service Function Chaining Design & Implementation Using Network Service Mesh in Kubernetes
Authors: Bittar Abdullah , Wang Ziqiang , Aghasharif Amir , Huang Changcheng , Shami Gauravdeep , Lyonnais Marc , Wilson Rodney
Published: June 2022

Service Function Chaining (SFC) in a cloud-native environment is becoming essential as more users move towards clouds today. Cloud-native environments utilize container-based microservices to provide software solutions. Integrating SFC with container-based microservices introduces new challenges. This paper exploited Network Service Mesh (NSM) framework features to create a service function chain on a multi-node Kubernetes cluster. We focus on the design and implementation of SFC in Kubernetes using NSM. Also, we deployed our custom-built containers in the Kubernetes cluster to create a service function chain. Hence, we demonstrate how an SFC is designed in a cloud-native environment rather than a traditional NFV/SDN approach. Furthermore, to evaluate the performance, we compare different frameworks that support SFC in Kubernetes, highlighting the advantage and disadvantages of each framework.
Telling in a Test: Storytelling and Task Accomplishment in L2 Oral Proficiency Assessment
Authors: Sandlund Erica
Published: June 2022

Many tests of second language (L2) oral proficiency (OP) include speaking tasks designed to generate narrative talk. From an assessment perspective, frequent turn shifts and a displayed ability to understand and build upon prior talk are generally favored. As storytelling operates through a temporary suspension of ordinary mechanisms for turn-taking, tellings in tests may present challenges for test-takers as well as examiners. This study draws on a corpus of 71 recorded high-stakes tests of oral proficiency and interaction in English in Swedish compulsory school. Test-takers are Swedish 9th graders participating in the compulsory National Test of English, a paired or small group test using topic cards to prompt peer interaction. Drawing on a conversation analytic approach to test interaction and interactional competence, (Young and He, in Talking and testing: Discourse approaches to the assessment of oral proficiency, John Benjamins, (1998); Salaberry and Kunitz, in Teaching and testing L2 interactional competence: Bridging theory and practice, Routledge, (2019)), the study centres on when and how participants recruit small stories for task accomplishment by inviting, resisting, or volunteering tellings. The analysis identifieswhentellings are made relevant across task types, andhowthese local occasionings are oriented to by test-takers. Findings point to the complexity of storytellingsin test contexts, as test-takers often do not treat narratives as relevant or appropriate contributions in the institutional frame of testing.
Crouzeix-Raviart finite element method for non-autonomous variational problems with Lavrentiev gap
Authors: Balci Anna Kh. , Ortner Christoph , Storn Johannes
Published: June 2022

We investigate the convergence of the Crouzeix-Raviart finite element method for variational problems with non-autonomous integrands that exhibit non-standard growth conditions.
While conforming schemes fail due to the Lavrentiev gap phenomenon, we prove that the solution of the Crouzeix-Raviart scheme converges to a global minimiser. Numerical experiments illustrate the performance of the scheme and give additional analytical insights.
Application of machine learning to pretherapeutically estimate dosimetry in men with advanced prostate cancer treated with 177Lu-PSMA I&T therapy
Authors: Xue Song , Gafita Andrei , Dong Chao , Zhao Yu , Tetteh Giles , Menze Bjoern H. , Ziegler Sibylle , Weber Wolfgang , Afshar-Oromieh Ali , Rominger Axel , Eiber Matthias , Shi Kuangyu
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Although treatment planning and individualized dose application for emerging prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioligand therapy (RLT) are generally recommended, it is still difficult to implement in practice at the moment. In this study, we aimed to prove the concept of pretherapeutic prediction of dosimetry based on imaging and laboratory measurements before the RLT treatment.

Methods

Twenty-three patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with 177Lu-PSMA I&T RLT were included retrospectively. They had available pre-therapy 68 Ga-PSMA-HEBD-CC PET/CT and at least 3 planar and 1 SPECT/CT imaging for dosimetry. Overall, 43 cycles of 177Lu-PSMA I&T RLT were applied. Organ-based standard uptake values (SUVs) were obtained from pre-therapy PET/CT scans. Patient dosimetry was calculated for the kidney, liver, spleen, and salivary glands using Hermes Hybrid Dosimetry 4.0 from the planar and SPECT/CT images. Machine learning methods were explored for dose prediction from organ SUVs and laboratory measurements. The uncertainty of these dose predictions was compared with the population-based dosimetry estimates. Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was used to assess the prediction uncertainty of estimated dosimetry.

Results

An optimal machine learning method achieved a dosimetry prediction MAPE of 15.8 ± 13.2% for the kidney, 29.6% ± 13.7% for the liver, 23.8% ± 13.1% for the salivary glands, and 32.1 ± 31.4% for the spleen. In contrast, the prediction based on literature population mean has significantly larger MAPE (p < 0.01), 25.5 ± 17.3% for the kidney, 139.1% ± 111.5% for the liver, 67.0 ± 58.3% for the salivary glands, and 54.1 ± 215.3% for the spleen.

Conclusion

The preliminary results confirmed the feasibility of pretherapeutic estimation of treatment dosimetry and its added value to empirical population-based estimation. The exploration of dose prediction may support the implementation of treatment planning for RLT.
Masquelet–Ilizarov technique for the management of bone loss post debridement of infected tibial nonunion
Authors: Khaled Abdullah , El-Gebaly Osama , El-Rosasy Mahmoud
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Masquelet and Ilizarov techniques have their advantages and shortcomings in the reconstruction of bone defects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of both techniques for the management of infected tibial nonunion to combine the advantages of both techniques with avoidance of shortcomings of both of them.

Patients and methods

A prospective single-centre study was performed during the period from 2012 to 2019. Patients with the infected nonunion of the tibia with bone defect were included. Patients with pathological fractures or non-infected bone loss were excluded. Management protocol for all patients consisted of two stages. The first stage was Masquelet induced membrane technique and the second stage was Ilizarov bone transport. The results were assessed based on both objective (clinical and radiographic evaluation) and subjective criteria (limb function and patient satisfaction).

Results

Thirty-two patients were included in this study. The mean size of the defect was 6 cm. Ilizarov bone transport was done through the induced membrane chamber in all cases with an average follow-up of 28 months. Successful reconstruction without recurrence of infection was achieved in 30 cases (94%). No other bone or soft tissue procedure was needed with satisfactory functional outcome in 27 out of 30 cases (90%). Three cases had unsatisfactory results due to leg length discrepancy, joint stiffness, and persistent pain.

Conclusions

Masquelet–Ilizarov technique can be used for the management of infected nonunion tibia with high satisfactory results without the need for complex soft tissue procedures.
Prospective comparison of tadalafil 5 mg alone, silodosin 8 mg alone, and the combination of both in treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia
Authors: AbdelRazek Mostafa , Abolyosr Ahmad , Mhammed Omar , Fathi Atef , Talaat Mohammed , Hassan Ahmed
Published: June 2022

Background

Men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), will have deterioration in the quality of life. Likewise, BPH can be complicated by damage to bladder function, bladder stones formation, hematuria, and impaired kidney function. The goal of treatment is to avoid all those effects caused by BPH.

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of tadalafil alone, silodosin alone, and the combination of both in the treatment of LUTS associated with BPH.

Patients and methods

Patients in our department with BPH who had LUTS were assigned randomly to three groups: A (101 patients) received tadalafil, 5 mg; B (102 patients) received silodosin, 8 mg; and group C (105 patients) received the combination of tadalafil, 5 mg, and silodosin, 8 mg. For all participants, we asses changes in the maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score, Post-voiding urine (PVR) and all results were recorded and analyzed with the (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel 2010.

Results

Qmax, IPSS, PVR and IIEF score improved significantly more with the combination of tadalafil and silodosin than with either drug alone (p < 0.001). Three months after treatment, the mean Qmax values were 14.4 ml/sec in group A, 15.2 ml/sec in group B, and 15.8 ml/sec in group C; and the mean IPSSs were 17.6 in group A, 16.7 in group B, and 15.6 in group C (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Tadalafil and silodosin are effective treatment options in men with BPH who have LUTS, but the combination of both is more effective and feasible in treating LUTS of BPH.
Pilot study to identify missed opportunities for prevention of childhood tuberculosis
Authors: Feiterna-Sperling Cornelia , Thoulass Janine , Krüger Renate , Haas Walter , Hauer Barbara
Published: June 2022

Tuberculosis (TB) in exposed children can be prevented with timely contact tracing and preventive treatment. This study aimed to identify potential barriers and delays in the prevention of childhood TB in a low-incidence country by assessing the management of children subsequently diagnosed with TB. A pilot retrospective cohort study included children (< 15 years) treated for TB between 2009 and 2016 at a tertiary care hospital in Berlin, Germany. Clinical data on cases and source cases, information on time points of the diagnostic work up, and preventive measures were collected and analyzed. Forty-eight children (median age 3 years [range 0.25–14]) were included; 36 had been identified through contact tracing, the majority (26; 72.2%) being < 5 years. TB source cases were mostly family members, often with advanced disease. Thirty children (83.3%) did not receive prophylactic or preventive treatment, as TB was already prevalent when first presented. Three cases developed TB despite preventive or prophylactic treatment; in three cases (all < 5 years), recommendations had not been followed. Once TB was diagnosed in source cases, referral, assessment, TB diagnosis, and treatment were initiated in most children in a timely manner with a median duration of 18 days (interquartile range 6–60, range 0–252) between diagnosis of source case and child contact (information available for 35/36; 97.2%). In some cases, notable delays in follow-up occurred.

Conclusion: Prompt diagnosis of adult source cases appears to be the most important challenge for childhood TB prevention. However, improvement is also needed in the management of exposed children.

What is Known:• Following infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, young children have a high risk of progression to active and severe forms of tuberculosis (TB).• The risk of infection and disease progression can be minimized by prompt identification of TB-exposed individuals and initiation of prophylactic or preventive treatment.

What is New:• We could show that there are avoidable time lags in diagnosis in a relevant proportion of children with known TB exposure.• Delayed diagnosis of adult source cases, losses in follow-up examinations, and delay in referral to a specialized TB clinic of TB-exposed children, especially among foreign-born children, appear to be the main issue in this German pediatric study cohort.
The effect of enhanced recovery after minimally invasive esophagectomy: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Shen Yaxing , Chen Xiaosang , Hou Junyi , Chen Youwen , Fang Yong , Xue Zhanggang , D’Journo Xavier Benoit , Cerfolio Robert J. , Fernando Hiran C. , Fiorelli Alfonso , Brunelli Alessandro , Cang Jing , Tan Lijie , Wang Hao ,   Written on behalf of the AME Thoracic Surgery Collaborative Group
Published: June 2022

Background

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine if enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) would improve outcomes for three-stage minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE).

Methods

Patients with esophageal cancer undergoing MIE between March 2016 and August 2018 were consecutively enrolled, and were randomly divided into 2 groups: ERAS+group that received a guideline-based ERAS protocol, and ERAS- group that received standard care. The primary endpoint was morbidity after MIE. The secondary endpoints were the length of stay (LOS) and time to ambulation after the surgery. The perioperative results including the Surgical Apgar Score (SAS) and Visualized Analgesia Score (VAS) were also collected and compared.

Results

A total of 60 patients in the ERAS+ group and 58 patients in the ERAS- group were included. Postoperatively, lower morbidity and pulmonary complication rate were recorded in the ERAS+ group (33.3% vs. 51.7%; p = 0.04, 16.7% vs. 32.8%; p = 0.04), while the incidence of anastomotic leakage remained comparable (11.7% vs. 15.5%; p = 0.54). There was an earlier ambulation (3 [2–3] days vs. 3 [3–4] days, p = 0.001), but comparable LOS (10 [9–11.25] days vs. 10 [9–13] days; p = 0.165) recorded in ERAS+ group. The ERAS protocol led to close scores in both SAS (7.80 ± 1.03 vs. 8.07 ± 0.89, p = 0.21) and VAS (1.74 ± 0.85 vs. 1.78 ± 1.06, p = 0.84).

Conclusions

Implementation of an ERAS protocol for patients undergoing MIE resulted in earlier ambulation and lower pulmonary complications, without a change in anastomotic leakage or length of hospital stay. Further studies on minimizing leakage should be addressed in ERAS for MIE.
Tsunami potential source in the eastern Sea of Marmara (NW Turkey), along the North Anatolian Fault system
Authors: Gasperini Luca , Zaniboni Filippo , Armigliato Alberto , Tinti Stefano , Pagnoni Gianluca , Özeren Mehmet Sinan , Ligi Marco , Natali Francesca , Polonia Alina
Published: June 2022

Based on morphobathymetric and seismic reflection data, we studied a large landslide body from the eastern Sea of Marmara (NW Turkey), along the main strand of the North Anatolian Fault, one of the most seismically active geological structures on Earth. Due to its location and dimensions, the sliding body may cause tsunamis in case of failure possibly induced by an earthquake. This could affect heavily the coasts of the Sea of Marmara and the densely populated Istanbul Metropolitan area, with its exposed cultural heritage assets. After a geological and geometrical description of the landslide, thanks to high-resolution marine geophysical data, we simulated numerically possible effects of its massive mobilization along a basal displacement surface. Results, within significant uncertainties linked to dimensions and kinematics of the sliding mass, suggest generation of tsunamis exceeding 15–20 m along a broad coastal sector of the eastern Sea of Marmara. Although creeping processes or partial collapse of the landslide body could lower the associated tsunami risk, its detection stresses the need for collecting more marine geological/geophysical data in the region to better constrain hazards and feasibility of specific emergency plans.
Intervention effects of a school-based health promotion programme on children’s nutrition behaviour
Authors: Kobel Susanne , Wartha Olivia , Dreyhaupt Jens , Feather Katie E. , Steinacker Jürgen M.
Published: June 2022

Aim

The programme “Join the Healthy Boat” promotes amongst other things a healthy diet in primary school children. In order to evaluate the programme’s effectiveness, this study longitudinally investigated children’s nutrition behaviour.

Subject and methods

A total of 1564 children (7.1 ± 0.6 years) participated in a cluster-randomised study. Teachers delivered lessons including behavioural contracting and budgeting. Nutritional behaviours of parents and child were assessed via parental report. Anthropometrics were measured on site.

Results

After one year, children in the intervention group (IG) showed a significant reduction in the consumption of pure juices (p ≤ 0.001). Soft drink consumption reduced in both groups, although with a trend towards a slightly greater reduction in the IG. Children with fathers of normal weight as well as first graders showed a significant reduction of soft drink consumption in the IG (p = 0.025 and p = 0.022 respectively). Fruit and vegetable intake increased significantly for first graders (p = 0.050), children from families with a high parental education level (p = 0.023), and for children with an overweight father (p = 0.034). Significant group differences were found for fruit and vegetable intake of children with migration background (p = 0.01) and children of parents with a high school degree could be observed (p = 0.019).

Conclusion

This shows that the programme appeals to a wider range of children, and is therefore more likely to compensate for differences due to origin or other social inequalities, which also shows that active parental involvement is vital for successful interventions.
Perceptions and attitudes towards Covid-19 vaccines: narratives from members of the UK public
Authors: Ajana Btihaj , Engstler Elena , Ismail Anas , Kousta Marina
Published: June 2022

Aim

The aim of the paper is to enhance understanding of how members of the public make sense of the Covid-19 vaccines and to understand the factors influencing their attitudes towards such artefacts of pandemic governance.

Methods

The paper draws on 23 online in-depth interviews with members of the UK public and builds on relevant literature to examine participants’ perceptions of the benefits and risks of Covid-19 vaccines, the sources that have shaped their attitudes, and the level of trust they have towards the government’s handling of the pandemic through vaccines.

Results

The findings indicate that participants generally felt that the benefits of having the vaccine outweigh the risks and that Covid-19 vaccines are a crucial mechanism for enabling society to return to normal. Vaccine acceptance was, for some, strongly linked to a sense of social responsibility and the duty to protect others. However, some participants expressed concerns with regard to the side-effects of Covid-19 vaccines and their perceived potential impact on fertility and DNA makeup. Participants used various sources of information to learn about Covid-19 vaccines and understand their function, benefits, and risks. The majority of participants criticised the government’s response during the early stages of the pandemic yet felt positive about the vaccine rollout.

Conclusion

Just as with any other vaccination programme, the success of the Covid-19 immunisation campaigns does not only depend on the efficacy of the vaccines themselves or the ability to secure access to them, but also on a myriad of other factors which include public compliance and trust in governments and health authorities. To support an effective immunisation campaign that is capable of bringing the pandemic to an end, governments need to understand public concerns, garner trust, and devise adequate strategies for engaging the public and building more resilient societies.
Insight into incipient reproductive isolation in diverging populations of Brachionus plicatilis rotifer
Authors: Jezkova Ivana , Ortells Raquel , Montero-Pau Javier , Serra Manuel
Published: June 2022

The emergence of reproductive isolation is key in maintaining within- and between-species diversity and one of the initial steps of speciation. In the Iberian Peninsula, the diverging populations of the Brachionus plicatilis rotifer create an ideal system to shed light on the mechanisms that give rise to the emergence of reproductive isolation. Herein, we quantify the degree of behavioural reproductive isolation in two groups of B. plicatilis populations, namely, neighbouring populations diverging by adaptation to the local environment and populations diverging in the absence of gene flow due to geographic distance. We conduct behavioural no-choice assays to test mating reproductive isolation between these populations. The analysis shows signatures of ongoing behavioural reproductive isolation in most of the population crosses, which is more pronounced in populations with a higher level of adaptive divergence, presumably under high migration rates. Overall, this study suggests that local adaptation is associated with mating behaviour resulting in reproductive isolation.
“Stop and just breathe for a minute”: perspectives of children on the Autism Spectrum and their caregivers on a Mindfulness Group
Authors: Hatfield Megan K. , Ashcroft Emma , Maguire Siobhan , Kershaw Lauren , Ciccarelli Marina
Published: June 2022

Children on the autism spectrum often experience anxiety. Mindfulness is growing in popularity as a method to support children with anxiety; however, there is limited evidence on mindfulness for children on the autism spectrum. This study investigated the feasibility of a 10-week group-based mindfulness intervention for 14 children on the autism spectrum. A one-group pre-post design determined outcomes of anxiety (caregiver and child report), mindful attention, and wellbeing (child report). Interviews explored children’s and caregivers’ perceptions. There were no significant differences in outcomes post-intervention. Five themes were identified from interviews: (1) Children felt calmer; (2) Parents observed differences in anxiety; (3) Breathing and yoga helped; (4) Parents wanted more; and (5) Challenges and benefits of group intervention.
Components of the Female Sex Pheromone of the Newly-Described Canola Flower Midge, Contarinia brassicola
Authors: Bray Daniel P. , Hall David R. , Harte Steven J. , Farman Dudley I. , Vankosky Meghan A. , Mori Boyd A.
Published: June 2022

The canola flower midge, Contarinia brassicola Sinclair (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a newly-described species that induces galls on canola, Brassica napus Linnaeus and Brassica rapa Linnaeus (Brassicaceae). Identification of the sex pheromone of C. brassicola is essential to developing monitoring tools to elucidate the geographic range and hosts of this new pest, and the extent to which it threatens the $30 billion Canadian canola industry. The aim of this study was to identify and synthesize the female-produced sex pheromone of C. brassicola and demonstrate its effectiveness in attracting males to traps in the field. Two peaks were identified through GC-EAG analysis of female-produced volatiles which elicited electrophysiological responses in male antennae. These peaks were initially characterized through GC–MS and synthesis as 2,7-diacetoxynonane (major component) and 2-acetoxynonane (minor component), and the racemic compounds elicited EAG responses in male antennae. All four stereoisomers of 2,7-diacetoxynonane were synthesized and the naturally-produced compound was shown to be primarily the (2R,7S)-isomer by analysis on an enantioselective GC column, with a small amount of (2R,7R)-2,7-diacetoxynonane also present. The configuration of the minor component could not be determined because of the small amount present, but this was assumed to be (2R)-2-acetoxynonane by comparison with the configuration of the other two components. In field trials, none of the four stereoisomers of 2,7-diacetoxynonane, presented individually or as a racemic mixture, was attractive to male C. brassicola. However, dispensers loaded with a 10 µg:1 µg blend of (2R,7S)- and (2R,7R)-2,7-diacetoxynonane caught large numbers of male C. brassicola and significantly more than other blends tested. The addition of 0.5 µg of (2R)-2-acetoxynonane to this blend further increased the number of males caught. In future work, we will seek to identify the optimum trapping protocol for the application of the pheromone in monitoring and surveillance.
Insights on the Quantitative Concurrent Fluorescence-Based Analysis of Anti-COVID-19 Drugs Remdesivir and Favipiravir
Authors: El-Awady Mohamed , Elmansi Heba , Belal Fathalla , Shabana Rasha abo
Published: June 2022

We hereby introduce a sensitive fast straightforward spectrofluorometric method for the estimation of remdesivir and favipiravir. The two drugs are prescribed in some regimens to treat COVID‐19 pandemic disease, which is caused by SARS‐CoV‐2. The method is based on the first derivative synchronous spectrofluorimetry approach for the measurement of remdesivir and favipiravir. This was accomplished at 251 nm and 335 nm respectively using the first derivative order at delta lambda of 140 nm. A linear response with a correlation coefficient 0.9994 was achieved between the concentration and the derivative amplitudes in the ranges of 20.0–100.0 ng ml−1 and 40.0–100.0 ng ml−1 for remdesivir and favipiravir, respectively. The methods were validated for different parameters as stated by the pharmacopeial rules and were applied successfully for estimation of the studied drugs in their synthetic mixtures and in spiked human plasma samples. No significant difference was observed between the proposed and comparison methods as revealed from the analysis of data.
Evaluating the supply and demand of cultural ecosystem services in the Tibetan Plateau of China
Authors: Zhang Jinxi , He Chunyang , Huang Qingxu , Li Jian , Qi Tao
Published: June 2022

Context

In the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the supply of cultural ecosystem services (CESs) is unique, and the demand for CESs is gradually increasing with rapid urbanization. Evaluating the relationship between the supply and demand for CESs is critical for guiding regional sustainable development. However, due to the difficulty in obtaining empirical data in the high altitude and complex topography of the TP, relevant research is still lacking.

Objectives

The objective of this study was to develop an approach to address the difficulty of obtaining the empirical data on the TP and to evaluate the relationship between the supply and demand for CESs.

Methods

Taking the Qinghaihu–Huangshui basin as an example, we combined the SolVES (Social Values for Ecosystem Services) model and social media big data to evaluate the supply and demand for CESs in the TP.

Results

Our results showed that the combined method can effectively evaluate the supply and demand for CESs in the basin, and can be used for other remote regions. The supply and demand for CESs in the basin exhibited obvious spatial mismatch. Among the two types of mismatch, in the areas of high supply and low demand of CESs, residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) were substantially lower. Being far away from central city was an important reason for the high supply and low demand of CESs.

Conclusions

Establishing and improving the transportation system connecting central cities with other counties is encouraged to utilize the rich cultural and tourism resources of the TP, as well as enhance the SWB and promote regional sustainable development.
Phloretin inhibits glucose transport and reduces inflammation in human retinal pigment epithelial cells
Authors: Hytti Maria , Ruuth Johanna , Kanerva Iiris , Bhattarai Niina , Pedersen Maria L. , Nielsen Carsten U. , Kauppinen Anu
Published: June 2022

During age-related macular degeneration (AMD), chronic inflammatory processes, possibly fueled by high glucose levels, cause a breakdown of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), leading to vision loss. Phloretin, a natural dihydroxychalcone found in apples, targets several anti-inflammatory signaling pathways and effectively inhibits transporter-mediated glucose uptake. It could potentially prevent inflammation and cell death of RPE cells through either direct regulation of inflammatory signaling pathways or through amelioration of high glucose levels. To test this hypothesis, ARPE-19 cells were incubated with or without phloretin for 1 h before exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cell viability and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were measured. Glucose uptake was studied using isotope uptake studies. The nuclear levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) were determined alongside the phosphorylation levels of mitogen-activated protein kinases. Phloretin pretreatment reduced the LPS-induced release of IL-6 and IL-8 as well as VEGF. Phloretin increased intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species and nuclear translocation of Nrf2. It also inhibited glucose uptake into ARPE-19 cells and the phosphorylation of Jun-activated kinase (JNK). Subsequent studies revealed that Nrf2, but not the inhibition of glucose uptake or JNK phosphorylation, was the main pathway of phloretin’s anti-inflammatory activities. Phloretin was robustly anti-inflammatory in RPE cells and reduced IL-8 secretion via activation of Nrf2 but the evaluation of its potential in the treatment or prevention of AMD requires further studies.
Understanding as explaining: how motives can become causes
Authors: Fuchs Thomas
Published: June 2022

The distinction of „understanding“ and „explaining“, formulated by Karl Jaspers in his „General Psychopathology“, has had a lasting effect on psychiatry. As a result, phenomenological, hermeneutic, or psychodynamic approaches have often been accorded only descriptive or epiphenomenal status, while the actual causes of mental illness have been sought in neurobiologically or genetically based explanations. In contrast, this paper defends the explanatory role of understanding and phenomenological approaches. To this end, two levels of explanation are distinguished and shown to be equally justified in principle, namely, motivational explanation at the macro-level and physical explanation at the micro-level. The actual causal role of motivational, i.e., understandable connections is then demonstrated by means of a conception of circular causality, which includes downward causality. Finally, the explanatory role of phenomenological analyses is also shown in psychotic disorders that refuse motivational understanding, using the example of schizophrenic delusion.
Improving misrepresentations amid unwavering misrepresenters
Authors: Jönsson Martin L. , Bergman Jakob
Published: June 2022

In recruitment, promotion, admission, and other forms of wealth and power apportion, an evaluator typically ranks a set of candidates in terms of their competence. If the evaluator is prejudiced, the resulting ranking will misrepresent the candidates’ actual rankings. This constitutes not only a moral and a practical problem, but also an epistemological one, which begs the question of what we should do—epistemologically—to mitigate it. In a recent paper, Jönsson and Sjödahl in [Episteme 14(4):499–517, 2017], argue that the epistemic problem can be fruitfully addressed by way of a novel statistical method that changes the products of biased behaviour, i.e. the rankings themselves, rather than the biased persons. Jönsson and Sjödahl’s pioneering proposal is a both a welcome addition to the literature on implicit bias, due the problems with existing implicit bias interventions [see e.g. Lai et al. in J Exp Psychol Gen 143:1765–1785; J Exp Psychol Gen 145(8):1001–1016, 2014; 2016; Forscher et al. in J Person Soc Psychol 117(3):522–559, 2019] but also to the literature on prejudice more generally, where many proposed prejudice-reduction strategies enjoy less than adequate empirical support [Paluck and Green in Ann Rev Psychol 60(1):339–367, 2009]. Their proposal, however, needs supplementation in two ways: the circumstances that must hold in order for it to work needs to be refined, and their claim that it works as intended in these circumstances needs to be validated. We argue that four of Jönsson and Sjödahl’s method’s presumed presuppositions can be weakened, but needs to be supplemented by two additional assumptions, overlooked by Jönsson and Sjödahl. Moreover, we demonstrate that the method does work as intended by way of a statistical simulation.
What kinds of groups are group agents?
Authors: Lewis-Martin Jimmy
Published: June 2022

For a group to be an agent, it must be individuated from its environment and other systems. It must, in other words, be an individual. Despite the central importance of individuality for understanding group agency, the concept has been significantly overlooked. I propose to fill this gap in our understanding of group individuality by arguing that agents are autonomous as it is commonly understood in the enactive literature. According to this autonomous individuation account, an autonomous system is one wherein the constituent processes of the system actively produce and sustain that self-same system, which will run down or fail if any of these constituent processes cease. This definition of autonomy provides us with a precise and operational account of the individuality of group agents. I will then compare this account to those of Carol Rovane and Raimo Tuomela to argue that it offers the best explanation of what kinds of groups are group agents.
Glyphosate-induced liver and kidney dysfunction, oxidative stress, immunosuppression in Nile tilapia, but ginger showed a protection role
Authors: Abdelmagid Afaf D. , Said Alshaimaa M. , Abd El-Gawad Eman A. , Shalaby Sara A. , Dawood Mahmoud A. O.
Published: June 2022

The water-borne herbicides are involved in the toxicity of aquatic animals resulting in impaired health status and low productivity. Dietary medicinal herbs present a practical solution to relieve the impacts of herbicides toxicity on the performances of aquatic animals. Herein, we investigated the toxicity of commercial glyphosate-induced oxidative stress, immunosuppression, liver and kidney dysfunction, and the protective role of ginger or ginger nanoparticles in Nile tilapia. Fish were allocated into four groups: the first group presented the control without glyphosate toxicity and ginger feeding, the second group intoxicated with glyphosate at 0.6 mg/L and fed ginger free diet, the third group intoxicated with glyphosate and fed ginger at 2.5 g/kg, and the fourth group intoxicated with glyphosate and fed ginger nanoparticles at 2.5 g/kg. Fish were kept under the experimental conditions for four weeks, and the samples of blood and tissues were collected after 2 and 4 weeks. Markedly, fish exposed to glyphosate showed the highest ALT and AST activities, glucose and cortisol levels, and malondialdehyde levels (MDA) in gills and tissues. While fish in the control and fish intoxicated with glyphosate and fed ginger nanoparticles had the lowest ALT and AST activities, glucose and cortisol levels, and MDA levels after 2 and 4 weeks (P < 0.05). Fish fed dietary ginger had lower ALT and AST activities, glucose and cortisol levels, and MDA levels than the glyphosate intoxicated group after 2 and 4 weeks (P < 0.05). Interestingly, fish-fed ginger nanoparticles showed lower urea and creatinine levels and higher total protein, albumin, and globulin than the glyphosate intoxicated group (P < 0.05) and similar to the control (P> 0.05). Further, fish intoxicated with glyphosate and fed ginger nanoparticles had the highest GSH, lysozyme activity, and immunoglobulin levels after 2 and 4 weeks (P < 0.05). In conclusion, ginger nanoparticles are superior to the standard ginger form in enhancing the antioxidative and immune responses of Nile tilapia exposed to glyphosate.
Integrating Energy-Optimizing Scheduling of Moldable Streaming Tasks with Design Space Exploration for Multiple Core Types on Configurable Platforms
Authors: Keller Jörg , Litzinger Sebastian , Kessler Christoph
Published: June 2022

Design space exploration of a configurable, heterogeneous system for a given application with required throughput searches for a combination of cores or softcores with different architectures that can be accommodated within the given ASIC or FPGA area and that achieves the required throughput and optimizes power consumption. For a soft real-time streaming application, modeled as a task graph with internally parallelizable streaming tasks, this requires assigning a core type and quantity and DVFS frequency level to each task, which implies task runtime and energy consumption, and mapping and scheduling the tasks, such that the throughput requirement is met. We tightly integrate such static scheduling for stream processing applications with design space exploration of the best heterogeneous core combination, and solve the resulting combined optimization problem by an integer linear program (ILP). We evaluate our solution for different numbers of core types on synthetic and application-based task graphs, and demonstrate improvements of up to 34.8% for ARM big and LITTLE cores, and 70.5% for 3 different core types.
Head-to-Head Comparison of [68 Ga]Ga-FAPI-46-PET/CT and [18F]F-FDG-PET/CT for Radiotherapy Planning in Head and Neck Cancer
Authors: Wegen Simone , van Heek Lutz , Linde Philipp , Claus Karina , Akuamoa-Boateng Dennis , Baues Christian , Sharma Shachi Jenny , Schomäcker Klaus , Fischer Thomas , Roth Katrin Sabine , Klußmann Jens Peter , Marnitz Simone , Drzezga Alexander , Kobe Carsten
Published: June 2022

Introduction

In head and neck cancers (HNCs), fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is expressed by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment. Preliminary evidence suggests that detection and staging is feasible with positron emission tomography (PET/CT) imaging using [68 Ga]-radiolabeled inhibitors of FAP ([68 Ga]Ga-FAPI-46) in HNCs. This study aims to compare [68 Ga]Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT and [18F]-fluorodeoxy-d-glucose ([18F]F-FDG) PET/CT with a focus on improved target volume definition and radiotherapy planning in patients with HNC referred for chemoradiation.

Methods

A total of 15 patients with HNCs received both [68 Ga]Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT and [18F]F-FDG PET/CT with a thermoplastic mask, in addition to initial tumor staging by conventional imaging with contrast-enhanced CT and/or MRI. Mean intervals between FAPI/FDG and FAPI/conventional imaging were 4 ± 20 and 17 ± 18 days, respectively. Location and number of suspicious lesions revealed by the different procedures were recorded. Subsequently, expert-generated gross tumor volumes (GTVs) based on conventional imaging were compared to those based on [18F]F-FDG and [68 Ga]Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT to measure the impact on subsequent radiation planning.

Results

All patients had focal FAPI uptake above background in tumor lesions. Compared to FDG, tumor uptake (median SUVmax 10.2 vs. 7.3, p = 0.008) and tumor-to-background ratios were significantly higher with FAPI than with FDG (SUVmean liver: 9.3 vs. 3.2, p < 0.001; SUVmean bloodpool: 6.9 vs. 4.0, p < 0.001). A total of 49 lesions were recorded. Of these, 40 (82%) were FDG+ and 41 (84%) were FAP+. There were 5 (10%) FAP+/FDG− lesions and 4 (8%) FAP−/FDG+ lesions. Volumetrically, a significant difference was found between the GTVs (median 57.9 ml in the FAPI-GTV, 42.5 ml in the FDG-GTV, compared to 39.2 ml in the conventional-GTV). Disease stage identified by FAPI PET/CT was mostly concordant with FDG PET/CT. Compared to conventional imaging, five patients (33%) were upstaged following imaging with FAPI and FDG PET/CT.

Conclusion

We demonstrate that [68 Ga]Ga-FAPI-46 -PET/CT is useful for detecting tumor lesions in patients with HNCs. There is now a need for prospective randomized studies to confirm the role of [68 Ga]Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT in relation to [18F]F-FDG PET/CT in HNCs and to evaluate its impact on clinical outcome.