bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Associations between frailty trajectories and cardiovascular, renal, and mortality outcomes in chronic kidney disease
Authors: Wilkinson Thomas J. , Miksza Joanne , Zaccardi Francesco , Lawson Claire , Nixon Andrew C. , Young Hannah M.L. , Khunti Kamlesh , Smith Alice C.
Published: July 2022

Background

Frailty is characterized by the loss of biological reserves and vulnerability to adverse outcomes. In individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), numerous pathophysiological factors may be responsible for frailty development including inflammation, physical inactivity, reduced energy intake, and metabolic acidosis. Given that both CKD and frailty incur a significant healthcare burden, it is important to understand the relationship of CKD and frailty in real‐world routine clinical practice, and how simple frailty assessment methods (e.g. frailty indexes) may be useful. We investigated the risk of frailty development in CKD and the impact of frailty status on mortality and end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD).

Methods

A retrospective cohort study using primary care records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to Hospital Episode Statistics and the UK Office for National Statistics was undertaken in 819 893 participants aged ≥40 years, of which 140 674 had CKD. Frailty was defined using an electronic frailty index, generated electronically from primary care records. Cox proportional hazard and flexible parametric survival models were used to investigate the risk of developing frailty and the effect of frailty on risk of all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality, and ESKD.

Results

The mean age of those with CKD was 77.5 (SD 9.7) years [61.0 (SD 12.1) years in no‐CKD group]; 62.0% of the CKD group were female (compared with 53.3% in no‐CKD group). The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate of those with CKD was 46.1 (SD 9.9) mL/min/1.73 m2. The majority of those with CKD (75.3%) were frail [vs. 45.4% in those without CKD (no‐CKD)]. Over 3 years (median), 69.5% of those with CKD developed frailty. Compared with no‐CKD, those with CKD had increased rates of developing mild (hazard ratio: 1.02; 95% confidence interval: 1.01–1.04), moderate (1.30; 1.26–1.34), and severe (1.50; 1.37–1.65) frailty. Mild (1.22; 1.19–1.24), moderate (1.60; 1.56–1.63), and severe (2.16; 2.11–2.22) frailty was associated with increased rates of all‐cause and cardiovascular‐related mortality (mild 1.35; 1.31–1.39; moderate 1.96; 1.90–2.02; and severe 2.91; 2.81–3.02). All stages of frailty significantly increased ESKD rates.

Conclusions

Frailty is highly prevalent and associated with adverse outcomes in people with CKD, including mortality and risk of ESKD. Preventative interventions should be initiated to mitigate the development of frailty. The use of a simple frailty index, generated electronically from health records, can predict outcomes and may aid prioritization for management of people with frailty.
Morbidity associated with osteoporosis significant in older men
Authors: Grewal Simran , Jawad Ali S
Published: July 2022

While osteoporosis is more common in women, older men are at greater risk of mortality in hospital from fracture; they also have more osteoporosis‐associated complications. Risk assessment, screening and treatment are therefore important for men as well as women.
Spontaneous scalarization in (A)dS gravity at zero temperature
Authors: Marrani Alessio , Miskovic Olivera , Leon Paula Quezada
Published: July 2022

Abstract

We study spontaneous scalarization of electrically charged extremal black holes in D ≥ 4 spacetime dimensions. Such a phenomenon is caused by the symmetry breaking due to quartic interactions of the scalar — Higgs potential and Stueckelberg interaction with electromagnetic and gravitational fields, characterized by the couplings a and b, respectively. We use the entropy representation of the states in the vicinity of the horizon, apply the inverse attractor mechanism for the scalar field, and analyze analytically the thermodynamic stability of the system using the laws of thermodynamics. As a result, we obtain that the scalar field condensates on the horizon only in spacetimes which are asymptotically non-flat, Λ ≠ 0 (dS or AdS), and whose extremal black holes have non-planar horizons k = ±1, provided that the mass m of the scalar field belongs to a mass interval (area code) different for each set of the boundary conditions specified by (Λ, k). A process of scalarization describes a second order phase transition of the black hole, from the extremal Reissner-Nordström (A)dS one, to the corresponding extremal hairy one. Furthermore, for the transition to happen, the interaction has to be strong enough, and all physical quantities on the horizon depend at most on the effective Higgs-Stueckelberg interaction am2− 2b. Most of our results are general, valid for any parameter and any spacetime dimension.
Gravitational thermodynamics without the conformal factor problem: partition functions and Euclidean saddles from Lorentzian path integrals
Authors: Marolf Donald
Published: July 2022

Abstract

Thermal partition functions for gravitational systems have traditionally been studied using Euclidean path integrals. But in Euclidean signature the gravitational action suffers from the conformal factor problem, which renders the action unbounded below. This makes it difficult to take the Euclidean formulation as fundamental. However, despite their familiar association with periodic imaginary time, thermal gravitational partition functions can also be described by real-time path integrals over contours defined by real Lorentzian metrics. The one caveat is that we should allow certain codimension-2 singularities analogous to the familiar Euclidean conical singularities. With this understanding, we show that the usual Euclidean-signature black holes (or their complex rotating analogues) define saddle points for the real-time path integrals that compute our partition functions. Furthermore, when the black holes have positive specific heat, we provide evidence that a codimension-2 subcontour of our real Lorentz-signature contour of integration can be deformed so as to show that these black holes saddles contribute with non-zero weight to the semiclassical limit, and that the same is then true of the remaining two integrals.
Hypertension urgencies in the SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED Pivotal trial
Authors: Weber Michael A. , Schmieder Roland E. , Kandzari David E. , Townsend Raymond R. , Mahfoud Felix , Tsioufis Konstantinos , Kario Kazuomi , Pocock Stuart , Tatakis Fotis , Ewen Sebastian , Choi James W. , East Cara , Lee David P. , Ma Adrian , Cohen Debbie L. , Wilensky Robert , Devireddy Chandan M. , Lea Janice P. , Schmid Axel , Fahy Martin , Böhm Michael
Published: July 2022

The SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED Pivotal trial (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02439749) demonstrated significant reductions in blood pressure (BP) after renal denervation (RDN) compared to sham control in the absence of anti-hypertensive medications. Prior to the 3-month primary endpoint, medications were immediately reinstated for patients who met escape criteria defined as office systolic BP (SBP) ≥ 180 mmHg or other safety concerns. Our objective was to compare the rate of hypertensive urgencies in RDN vs. sham control patients. Patients were enrolled with office SBP ≥ 150 and < 180 mmHg, office diastolic BP (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg and mean 24 h SBP ≥ 140 and < 170 mmHg. Patients had been required to discontinue any anti-hypertensive medications and were randomized 1:1 to RDN or sham control. In this post-hoc analysis, cumulative incidence curves with Kaplan–Meier estimates of rate of patients meeting escape criteria were generated for RDN and sham control patients. There were 16 RDN (9.6%) and 28 sham control patients (17.0%) who met escape criteria between baseline and 3 months. There was a significantly higher rate of sham control patients meeting escape criteria compared to RDN for all escape patients (p = 0.032), as well as for patients with a hypertensive urgency with office SBP ≥ 180 mmHg (p = 0.046). Rate of escape was similar between RDN and sham control for patients without a measured BP exceeding 180 mmHg (p = 0.32). In the SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED Pivotal trial, RDN patients were less likely to experience hypertensive urgencies that required immediate use of anti-hypertensive medications compared to sham control.

Graphical abstract
Nigral neuropathology of Parkinson’s motor subtypes coincide with circuitopathies: a scoping review
Authors: Boonstra Jackson Tyler , McGurran Hugo , Temel Yasin , Jahanshahi Ali
Published: July 2022

The neuropathological substrates of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with motor subtypes tremor-dominance (TD), non-tremor dominance (nTD), postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD), and akinetic-rigid (AR) are not completely differentiated. While extensive pathological research has been conducted on neuronal tissue of PD patients, data have not been discussed in the context of mechanistic circuitry theories differentiating motor subtypes. It is, therefore, expected that a more specific and tailored management of PD symptoms can be accomplished by understanding symptom-specific neuropathological mechanisms with the detail histology can provide. This scoping review gives an overview of the literature comparing TD and nTD PD motor subtypes by clarify observed pathology with underlying physiological circuitry theories. Studies using an array of pathological examination techniques have shown significant differences between TD and nTD PD subtypes. nTD PD patients show higher neuronal loss, gliosis, extraneuronal melanin deposits, and neuroaxonal dystrophy in multiple subregions of the substantia nigra (SN) related to the overactivity of the indirect motor loop. TD patients show more severe cell loss specifically in medial SN subdivisions, and have damage in the retrorubral field A-8 that projects to the dorsolateral striatum and ventromedial thalamus in the direct motor loop. Pathological studies are consistent with neuroimaging data and support contemporary mechanistic circuitry theories of PD motor symptom genesis. Further multimodal neuroimaging and histological studies are required to validate and expand upon these findings.
Speech acts in the Dutch COVID-19 Press Conferences
Authors: Schueler Daan , Marx Maarten
Published: July 2022

An open source corpus of all Dutch COVID-19 Press Conferences with sentences annotated on the basis of John Searle’s Speech Act taxonomy was created. It contains all 58 press conferences held between March 6 2020 and April 20 2021 and has 9.441 manually annotated sentences. Speech acts were annotated in a consistent manner, with a Krippendorff’s alpha of .71. The corpus is easy to use and rich in metadata, with lexical, syntactic, discourse (speaker, question or answer) features and information on the type of regulations being present. We analyse the press conferences in terms of speech act usage, giving insight into the use of speech acts over time, the relation of speech act usage to real world phenomena, the general structure of the press conferences and the division of roles between speakers. Relations were found between speech act usage and the type of press conference (i.e. easing, tightening or neutral) as well as the number of hospital admissions. Speech act classes showed preferred locations within the press conferences, indicating a general structure. Distinct roles between speakers were identified. We also investigate the use of our set of labelled sentences for training a speech act classifier and achieve a reasonable accuracy of .73 and a mean reciprocal rank of .74 with the state of the art transformer RoBERTa model.
Synthesis and evaluation of a novel natural-based phosphine antioxidant for the thermal stabilization of polyethylene
Authors: Takacs Kata , Tatraaljai Dora , Pregi Emese , Huszthy Peter , Pukanszky Bela
Published: July 2022

A new phosphine-type potential secondary stabilizer was synthesized successfully with large natural raw material content. The stabilizer is a waxy white powder with a relatively low melting temperature. Both the thermal and the storage stability of the stabilizer are sufficient for practical use. The new stabilizer was introduced into a Phillips-type high-density polyethylene, and its stabilizing efficiency was determined by multiple extrusions. Commercial phosphite and phosphonite stabilizers were used as references. The additive packages contained a primary antioxidant and a phosphorus compound, both added at 1000 ppm. The chemical structure of the polymer, viscosity, color, and residual stability were determined after each extrusion. The comparison of the stabilizing efficiency of the three secondary antioxidants showed that the phosphine stabilizer is at least as efficient as the phosphorous secondary stabilizers available in the market. The new stabilizer proved to be the most efficient in melt stabilization and in preventing discoloration; the residual stability of the polymer was similar in the presence of all three secondary antioxidants. This feasibility study proved that the new compound could be used as a potential stabilizer in practice.
Comparing patient global impression of severity and patient global impression of change to evaluate test–retest reliability of depression, non-small cell lung cancer, and asthma measures
Authors: Eremenco Sonya , Chen Wen-Hung , Blum Steven I. , Bush Elizabeth Nicole , Bushnell Donald M. , DeBusk Kendra , Gater Adam , Nelsen Linda , Coons Stephen Joel ,   On behalf of the PRO Consortium’s Communication Subcommittee
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Score reproducibility is an important measurement property of fit-for-purpose patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. It is commonly assessed via test–retest reliability, and best evaluated with a stable participant sample, which can be challenging to identify in diseases with highly variable symptoms. To provide empirical evidence comparing the retrospective (patient global impression of change [PGIC]) and current state (patient global impression of severity [PGIS]) approaches to identifying a stable subgroup for test–retest analyses, 3 PRO Consortium working groups collected data using both items as anchor measures.

Methods

The PGIS was completed on Day 1 and Day 8 + 3 for the depression and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) studies, and daily for the asthma study and compared between Day 3 and 10. The PGIC was completed on the final day in each study. Scores were compared using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for participants who reported “no change” between timepoints for each anchor.

Results

ICCs using the PGIS “no change” group were higher for depression (0.84 vs. 0.74), nighttime asthma (0.95 vs. 0.53) and daytime asthma (0.86 vs. 0.68) compared to the PGIC “no change” group. ICCs were similar for NSCLC (PGIS: 0.87; PGIC: 0.85).

Conclusion

When considering anchor measures to identify a stable subgroup for test–retest reliability analyses, current state anchors perform better than retrospective anchors. Researchers should carefully consider the type of anchor selected, the time period covered, and should ensure anchor content is consistent with the target measure concept, as well as inclusion of both current and retrospective anchor measures.
Brain PET motion correction using 3D face-shape model: the first clinical study
Authors: Iwao Yuma , Akamatsu Go , Tashima Hideaki , Takahashi Miwako , Yamaya Taiga
Published: July 2022

Objective

Head motions during brain PET scan cause degradation of brain images, but head fixation or external-maker attachment become burdensome on patients. Therefore, we have developed a motion correction method that uses a 3D face-shape model generated by a range-sensing camera (Kinect) and by CT images. We have successfully corrected the PET images of a moving mannequin-head phantom containing radioactivity. Here, we conducted a volunteer study to verify the effectiveness of our method for clinical data.

Methods

Eight healthy men volunteers aged 22–45 years underwent a 10-min head-fixed PET scan as a standard of truth in this study, which was started 45 min after 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (285 ± 23 MBq) injection, and followed by a 15-min head-moving PET scan with the developed Kinect based motion-tracking system. First, selecting a motion-less period of the head-moving PET scan provided a reference PET image. Second, CT images separately obtained on the same day were registered to the reference PET image, and create a 3D face-shape model, then, to which Kinect-based 3D face-shape model matched. This matching parameter was used for spatial calibration between the Kinect and the PET system. This calibration parameter and the motion-tracking of the 3D face shape by Kinect comprised our motion correction method. The head-moving PET with motion correction was compared with the head-fixed PET images visually and by standard uptake value ratios (SUVRs) in the seven volume-of-interest regions. To confirm the spatial calibration accuracy, a test–retest experiment was performed by repeating the head-moving PET with motion correction twice where the volunteer’s pose and the sensor’s position were different.

Results

No difference was identified visually and statistically in SUVRs between the head-moving PET images with motion correction and the head-fixed PET images. One of the small nuclei, the inferior colliculus, was identified in the head-fixed PET images and in the head-moving PET images with motion correction, but not in those without motion correction. In the test–retest experiment, the SUVRs were well correlated (determinant coefficient, r2 = 0.995).

Conclusion

Our motion correction method provided good accuracy for the volunteer data which suggested it is useable in clinical settings.
Molecular profiling in lung cancer
Authors: Nagl Laurenz , Pall Georg , Wolf Dominik , Pircher Andreas , Horvath Lena
Published: July 2022

The biology of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is driven by a complex mutational landscape, and the detection of driver molecular alterations by next-generation sequencing is key for identification of druggable alterations. Thus, broad molecular profiling displays a standard-of-care approach particularly in patients with advanced adenocarcinoma at the time of the initial diagnosis, but also at the time of acquired resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors, guiding further treatment choices. Sequencing of plasma-circulating tumor DNA is of increasing importance in NSCLC diagnostics due to the easy accessibility, representing an optimal tool for longitudinal monitoring of the disease course.
Nun sag, wie hast du’s mit bewaffneten Drohnen? Die Haltung zu bewaffneten Drohnen in Deutschland und ihre Erklärungsfaktoren
Authors: Steinbrecher Markus , Westphal Fabrice
Published: July 2022

Der Beitrag untersucht die Haltung zu bewaffneten Drohnen in Deutschland und ihre Erklärungsfaktoren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es mit 41 % Unterstützung eine relative Mehrheit für die Ausrüstung der Bundeswehr mit bewaffneten Drohnen gibt. Wesentliche Erklärungsfaktoren sind verschiedene Bedrohungswahrnehmungen (Russland, Krieg in Europa, Terrorismus, Wettrüsten), die Haltung zur Anwendung militärischer Gewalt sowie besonders die Einstellung zur Bundeswehr.
High-temperature wear mechanisms of TiNbWN films: Role of nanocrystalline oxides formation
Authors: Chen Leilei , Zhang Zhenyu , Lou Ming , Xu Kai , Wang Lu , Meng Fanning , Music Denis , Chang Keke
Published: July 2022

Refractory high/medium entropy nitrides (HENs/MENs) exhibit comprehensive application prospects as protective films on mechanical parts, particularly those subjected to sliding contacts at elevated temperatures. In this study, a new MEN system TiNbWN, forming a single fcc solution, is designed and its wear performance at temperatures ranging from 25 to 750 °C is explored. The wear mechanisms can be rationalized by examining the subsurface microstructural evolutions using the transmission electron microscopy as well as calculating the phase diagrams and interfacial adhesion behavior employing calculation of phase diagram (CALPHAD) and density functional theory (DFT). To be specific, increased wear losses occur in a temperature range of 25–600 °C, being predominantly caused by the thermally-induced hardness degradation; whereas at the ultimate temperature (750 °C), the wear loss is refrained due to the formation of nanocrystalline oxides (WnO3n−2, TiO2, and γTiOx), as synergistically revealed by microscopy and CALPHAD, which not only enhance the mechanical properties of the pristine nitride film, but also act as solid lubricants, reducing the interfacial adhesion. Thus, our work delineates the role of the in situ formed nanocrystalline oxides in the wear mechanism transition of TiNbWN thin films, which could shed light on the high-temperature wear behavior of refractory HEN/MEN films.
Legal Positivism and the Moral Origins of Legal Systems
Authors: Atiq Emad H.
Published: July 2022

Legal positivists maintain that the legality of a rule is fundamentally determined by social facts. Yet for much of legal history, ordinary officials used legal terminology in ways that seem inconsistent with positivism. Judges regularly cited, analyzed, and predicated their decisions on the ‘laws of justice,’ which they claimed had universal legal import. This practice, though well-documented by historians, has received surprisingly little philosophical attention; I argue that it invites explanation from positivists. After taxonomizing the positivist’s explanatory options, I suggest that the most viable option appeals to conceptual change: classical Romans, early modern Europeans, and founding-era Americans were not using ‘law’ (or ‘lex’ or ‘jus’) to refer to the subject matter of contemporary legal philosophy. But the strategy is costly. It renders positivism’s truth surprisingly parochial. And it supplies new reasons for doubting positivist accounts of contemporary practices, including the treatment of moral principles in modern adjudication.
Morphological knowledge in English learner university students is sensitive to language statistics: A longitudinal study
Authors: Schmidtke Daniel , Rahmanian Sadaf , Moro Anna L.
Published: July 2022

Exposure to statistical patterns of language use affects language production and comprehension. In this longitudinal study of English language learner (ELL) university students, we examined the interplay between language experience and language statistics as a window into the formation and stability of morphological representations in memory. We hypothesized that within-participant change in sensitivity to distributional properties of complex words on written production would reflect changes in morphological knowledge. At two timepoints, separated by 8 months of language exposure, a sample of ELLs (n = 196) completed a written suffix completion task. The largest gains in production accuracy were observed for derived words ending in less productive suffixes. In addition, across both timepoints we found a consistent effect of derivational family entropy, such that derived words belonging to morphological families with equally dominant members were less accurately produced. Both effects indicate that ELLs exploit distributional cues to morphological structure and shed light on two aspects of morphological knowledge in ELLs. First, knowledge of suffixes becomes more entrenched in memory, independently of knowledge of the full forms of derived words. Second, ELLs draw upon interlexical connections between morphological family members during written word production.
Educational gradients in older adults' personal network size, diversity and social support: a widening gap between haves and have nots across birth cohorts?
Authors: Suanet Bianca
Published: July 2022

Societal change related to individualisation has likely made individual resources more important for the maintenance of social ties. This raises the question whether lower-educated adults are more disadvantaged in later-born cohorts in personal network structure and function. Observations are from 4,886 individuals aged 55 and over from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA), who are followed over a timespan of a maximum of 24 years between 1992 and 2016. Multi-level regression models are estimated to determine cohort differences. Network size is larger in later-born cohorts, and more so for the higher-educated than for the lower-educated adults. Network diversity increases across birth cohorts irrespective of educational level. Lower- and higher-educated women, and lower-educated men give more instrumental support in later-born cohorts, whereas higher-educated men do not show such a steep increase. More emotional and instrumental support is also received in later-born cohorts irrespective of educational level, but higher-educated adults receive more emotional support in all birth cohorts. Thus, lower-educated older adults are not necessarily worse off socially in later-born cohorts. Instead, they are even more likely to be active givers of support. Also, most of the gains in personal networks of older adults in later-born cohorts are independent of educational level, suggesting that the social landscape for older adults today is much richer.
Ageing and familial support: a three-generation portrait from urban China
Authors: Liu Jieyu
Published: July 2022

Research on ageing in China has been preoccupied with the unsolved question of whether traditional filial piety is eroded or sustained by societal modernisation. This article engages with the ongoing debate on modernisation and family change, but seeks to go beyond the prevailing dichotomous conclusion. Rather than focusing on one intergenerational relationship between ageing parents and their adult children – a common formula in the existing literature – this article draws upon 120 life-history interviews, involving both genders and three generations in three cities, and examines how old-age support practices have shifted across three generations, as well as between sons and daughters across time. The findings indicate that while there has been a decline in everyday financial and instrumental support by adult children for their parents across all three generations, crisis-induced intergenerational solidarity has remained intact. As the market economy has matured, differences in ageing experience have widened between working-class and affluent families. The article also reveals that care for bilateral parents has characterised the behaviour of the three urban generations. The complex shifts and continuities are the outcome of a combination of state policies, evolving filial norms, gender and demographic forces, as well as reflecting the broader structural consequences of China's shift to a market economy. By systematically comparing old-age practices by generation and gender in both Mao and post-Mao eras, the article makes a major empirical contribution to the study of ageing in urban China. From a theoretical perspective, it contributes to the global debate on modernisation and ageing by emphasising the uneven processes in which social change interacts with family life within a single country, when viewed through generational and gender prisms. In so doing, it highlights the ways in which old-age support trajectories are firmly grounded in local history and cultural, economic and demographic forces.
In Interview: On the Development of Video in the Theatre
Authors: Speckenbach Jan , Irmer Thomas
Published: July 2022

German film artist Jan Speckenbach ingeniously contributed to the development of live video on the stage, and this discussion focuses on his education, as well his as experimental collaborations with director Frank Castorf at the Volksbühne Berlin, starting in 2000. Speckenbach’s background in film and media studies facilitated his explorations of uncharted territory in the theatre, going from a set of fixed cameras on the stage to the use of a camera crew with live-editing for augmented images as part of the whole directing concept and process. His first-hand insights into how actors have interacted with this new technology and how filmmaking can be an integral part of the theatre indicate clearly that filmmaking has played an invaluable role in recent theatre history. Speckenbach here also speaks of his collaborations with other directors, notably Sebastian Hartmann and René Pollesch, and about the future perspectives of this technology, which has changed the theatre altogether.

Jan Speckenbach studied art history, philosophy, and media in Karlsruhe, Munich, and Paris during the 1990s. At the beginning of the new millennium he participated in the development of video theatre with Frank Castorf and, now a successful filmmaker, he also continues to work in the theatre. His short film Gestern in Eden [Yesterday in Eden] premiered at Cannes in 2008, while the full-length feature film Die Vermissten [The Missing] was shown at the 2012 Berlinale and Freiheit [Freedom] at the 2017 film competition at Locarno. In 2020 he directed the live-stream of Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain, after Thomas Mann’s novel] at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin (premiered online in November 2019), which was subsequently invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen. Thomas Irmer is the editor-in-chief of the Berlin-based monthly Theater der Zeit. He has co-edited two books on the work of Frank Castorf – Zehn Jahre Volksbühne Intendanz Frank Castorf (2003) and Castorf (2016). During the last forty years he has authored, among other significant writings, numerous analytical articles and interviews on Castorf’s creative output.
Leucogranite Records Multiple Collisional Orogenies
Authors: Liu Li , Zhu Di‐Cheng , Wang Qing , Cawood Peter A. , Stockli Daniel F. , Stockli Lisa D. , Lin Chao , Zhang Jin‐Jiang , Zhang Liang‐Liang , Zhao Zhi‐Dan
Published: July 2022

The geological evolution of orogens is the sum of events related to both their cycle of generation as well as features inherited from their basement units. The Himalayan Orogen provides a well‐constrained Cenozoic history of active plate convergence and orogenic processes overprinting an early Paleozoic orogen. A total of 1,627 Himalayan leucogranite zircons were depth‐profiled showing high resolution (0.6 μm) internal age structures. Zircon rim ages record a detailed and complex history of melting and deformation, postdating the North Indo‐Australie Orogen (ca. 490–460 Ma) documented by the zircon core age data. An interesting finding is the inconsistency of age groups between detrital zircons in the Himalaya and inherited cores of leucogranite zircons, re‐evaluating the argument that leucogranites are purely derived from melting of metasedimentary rocks. Variations in the thickness of zircon rims corresponds with changing Cenozoic orogenic stages with rims thicker than 4 μm indicating the extensional regime.
Nankai Forearc Structural and Seismogenic Segmentation Caused by a Magmatic Intrusion off the Kii Peninsula
Authors: Kimura G. , Nakamura Y. , Shiraishi K. , Fujie G. , Kodaira S. , Tsuji T. , Fukuchi R. , Yamaguchi A.
Published: July 2022

The causes for forearc basin and megathrust rupture zone segmentation are controversial. The Nankai forearc, Japan, is separated into five domains based on topography: Enshu, Kumano, Muroto, Tosa, and Hyuga. The boundaries of these domains correspond to the rupture limits of large earthquakes. We examined the geologic structure of the boundary region between the Kumano and Muroto domains off the Kii Peninsula using multichannel seismic reflection data to evaluate the role of upper plate composition in controlling segmentation. The results suggest that thick cover sediments and underlying accretionary prism are obliquely thrust landward over the igneous basement complex rock in the region of offshore of Cape Shionomisaki and separate the forearc basin. The igneous basement complex rocks directly overlying the plate interface in the hypocentral regions of 1944 Tonankai and 1946 Nankai earthquakes. The 1944 earthquake originated at the base of the complex, and the rupture extent slipped past its basement boundary, whereas the 1946 event nucleated at the updip boundary of the basement complex. The dense igneous rocks might have worked as a heavily loaded barrier on the seismogenic megathrust and separated the rupture area of both the earthquakes. Upper plate geology may be an important factor in controlling seismogenesis in the Nankai Trough and may serve as an example for understanding the controls on megathrust slip in other subduction zones.
Canopy Height and Climate Dryness Parsimoniously Explain Spatial Variation of Unstressed Stomatal Conductance
Authors: Liu Yanlan , Flournoy Olivia , Zhang Quan , Novick Kimberly A. , Koster Randal D. , Konings Alexandra G.
Published: July 2022

The spatio‐temporal variation of stomatal conductance directly regulates photosynthesis, water partitioning, and biosphere‐atmosphere interactions. While many studies have focused on stomatal response to stresses, the spatial variation of unstressed stomatal conductance remains poorly determined, and is usually characterized in land surface models (LSMs) simply based on plant functional type (PFT). Here, we derived unstressed stomatal conductance at the ecosystem‐scale using observations from 115 global FLUXNET sites. When aggregated by PFTs, the across‐PFT pattern was highly consistent with the parameterizations of LSMs. However, PFTs alone captured only 17% of the variation in unstressed stomatal conductance across sites. Within the same PFT, unstressed stomatal conductance was negatively related to climate dryness and canopy height, which explained 45% of the total spatial variation. Our results highlight the importance of plant‐environment interactions in shaping stomatal traits. The trait‐environment relationship established here provides an empirical approach for improved parameterizations of stomatal conductance in LSMs.
Direct cleavage of caspase-8 by herpes simplex virus 1 tegument protein US11
Authors: Musarra-Pizzo Maria , Pennisi Rosamaria , Lombardo Daniele , Velletri Tania , Sciortino Maria Teresa
Published: July 2022

The HSV-1 tegument protein Us11 counteracts the antiviral defense mechanisms by precluding the host protein shutoff. Previous works demonstrated that Us11 prevents heat-and staurosporine-induced apoptosis and inhibits autophagy. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the hypothesis that HSV-1, through Us11, could recruit caspase-8, a key enzyme regulating programmed cell death. We first show that HSV-1 promotes the accumulation of caspase-8-p18 active fragments in both semi permissive THP-1 cells and fully permissive HEp-2 cells to HSV-1 replication. Using a recombinant virus R3630 (ΔUs11/ΔUs12) and a plasmid encoding Us11-recombinant protein we have proven that Us11 promotes p18 accumulation, which does not trigger the apoptotic signaling. Additional, in an in vitro model, we demonstrated that Us11-recombinant protein induces caspase-8-p18 cleavage by physically interacting with the caspase-8 recombinant protein. Finally, we found that, during HSV-1 replication, activated-caspase-8 cleaves Atg3 protein to potentially block autophagy and support its replication.
Machine learning assisted metamaterial-based reconfigurable antenna for low-cost portable electronic devices
Authors: Patel Shobhit K. , Surve Jaymit , Katkar Vijay , Parmar Juveriya
Published: July 2022

Antenna design has evolved from bulkier to small portable designs but there is a need for smarter antenna design using machine learning algorithms that can meet today’s high growing demand for smart and fast devices. Here in this research, main focus is on developing smart antenna design using machine learning applicable in 5G mobile applications and portable Wi-Fi, Wi-MAX, and WLAN applications. Our design is based on the metamaterial concept where the patch is truncated and etched with a split ring resonator (SRR). The high gain requirement is met by adding metamaterial superstrates having thin wires (TW) and SRRs. The reconfigurability is achieved by adding three PIN diode switches. Multiple designs have been observed by adding superstrate layers ranging from one layer to four layers with interchanging TWs and SRRs. The TW metamaterial superstrate design with two layers is giving the best performance in gain, bandwidth, and the number of bands. The design is optimized by changing the path’s physical parameters. To shrink simulation time, Extra Tree Regression based machine learning model is used to learn the behavior of the antenna and predict the reflectance value for a wide range of frequencies. Experimental results prove that the use of the Extra Tree Regression based model for simulation of antenna design can cut the simulation time, resource requirements by 80%.
Electrochemical multi-component reaction of potassium metabisulfite with alkenes and alcohols enabling synthesis of sulfonate esters
Authors: Liu Jiang , Xu Jingcheng , Mei Haibo , Han Jianlin
Published: July 2022

An electrochemical sulfur dioxide insertion reaction of alkenes and alcohols with potassium metabisulfite as the sulfur dioxide surrogate has been developed, which provides a green and efficient method for the preparation of sulfonate esters.
A Conversation With Three Cluttering Community Leaders: A Preliminary Sampling of Perspectives
Authors: Meza Sabrina , Scaler Scott Kathleen
Published: July 2022

Purpose:

The purpose of this article is to move beyond understanding the basics of cluttering and to move into understanding how to support those with cluttering. The authors' intention is to provide professionals with the perspective of three community leaders who clutter.

Method:

Three people known as leaders in the cluttering community were asked open-ended questions designed to explore perspectives on cluttering during a focus group. Conversations in the group were transcribed, and the transcripts were culled for themes. Member checking was used to ensure accurate interpretation of leader perspectives.

Results:

Thematic analysis revealed themes related to listener and support group guidelines, perspectives regarding labels, and unique differences between cluttering and stuttering that may drive decisions in self-management and support.

Conclusion:

It is imperative that professionals continue to have these conversations with people with cluttering to continue to learn about and understand this unique fluency disorder.
Nucléaire spatial : un atout pour les futurs explorateurs
Authors: Bréon Perceval
Published: July 2022

Plongés dans l’environnement hostile de l’espace, les spationautes ont besoin d’énergie pour se chauffer, pour produire de l’oxygène et de l’eau potable et pour diminuer leur temps de trajet. Les agences spatiales du monde entier ont décidé de miser sur l’énergie nucléaire en raison de sa fiabilité et de sa densité énergétique.
Tracking the Fatigue Status after a Resistance Exercise through
Different Parameters
Authors: Brisola Gabriel Motta Pinheiro , Dobbs Ward C. , Zagatto Alessandro Moura , Esco Michael R.
Published: July 2022

The purpose of the study was to investigate the sensitivity of back squat bar
velocity, isometric mid-thigh pull, heart rate variability parameters, perceived
recovery scale and step counts for tracking the muscular fatigue time-course
(reduction in countermovement jump [CMJ] performance) after strenuous acute
lower limb resistance exercise. Sixteen healthy men performed heart rate
variability assessment, perceived recovery scale, CMJ, back squat bar velocity,
isometric mid-thigh pull, and daily step counts before and 24 h,
48 h and 72 h post a strenuous acute lower limb resistance
exercise (8×10 repetitions). The CMJ height decreased at 24 and
48 h after exercise session (p≤0.017), evidencing the
muscular fatigue. The perceived recovery scale presented lower values compared
to baseline until 72 h after exercise session (p<0.001
for all). The heart rate variability parameters and step counts were not
significantly different across time. At 24 h post, only mean force of
mid-thigh pull was decreased (p=0.044), while at 48 h
post, only peak force of mid-thigh pull was decreased (p=0.020).
On the last day (72 h), only bar velocity (mean) presented reduction
(p=0.022). Therefore, the perceived recovery scale was the
only variable sensible to tracking muscular fatigue, i. e. presenting a
similar time-course to CMJ height.
Hör mal, was da knackt! – Spinale Manipulationen
Authors: Alam Karim
Published: July 2022

Manipulationstechniken sind Bestandteil vieler Behandlungsschemata auch und vor allem bei Wirbelsäulenbeschwerden. Ein dabei häufig auftretendes Phänomen ist das hörbare Knacken, für das Patient*innen regelmäßig nach einer Erklärung fragen. Konträre Hypothesen sowie eine nicht lückenlose Evidenz lassen bis dato jedoch keine eindeutige Aussage darüber zu.
Metal- and Solvent-Free Synthesis of m-Terphenyls by an Iodine-Catalyzed Tandem Formal [3+3]-Cycloaddition/Oxidation
Authors: Maheswari C. Uma , Pavithra Thangavel , Karthiyayini Gnanaoli , Nagarajan Subbiah , Sridharan Vellaisamy
Published: July 2022

A tandem formal [3+3]-cycloaddition/oxidation between chalcones and β-enamine esters, employing iodine as a catalyst, was developed for the construction of various substituted m-terphenyls. A wide range of chalcones and β-enamine esters were tested under metal- and solvent-free conditions for the synthesis of substituted m-terphenyls in good to excellent yields in the presence of sulfur as an oxidant. This reaction proceeds with the formation of four new bonds and one new ring, with a high atom economy.
Benign-Metal-Catalyzed Carbon–Carbon and Carbon–Hetero­atom Bond Formation
Authors: Ranu Brindaban C. , Adak Laksmikanta , Mukherjee Nirmalya , Ghosh Tubai
Published: July 2022

Carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bond-formation reactions catalyzed by benign and inexpensive metals are of much interest in organic synthesis, as these reactions provide green and cost-effective routes. This account summarizes our recent contributions to the construction of carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds by using benign-metal catalysts. A number of carbon–heteroatom bond formations, including C–N, C–O, C–S, C–Se, C–Te, and C–P bond formations, are discussed. Mechanistic insights into several reactions are also reported

1 Introduction

2 C–C Bond Formation

3 C–N and C–O Bond Formation

4 Carbon–Chalcogen (C–S, C–Se, C–Te) and C–P Bond Formation

5 Conclusions
Outcomes and Characteristics of Patients with Intraprocedural Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation during TAVR
Authors: Gerfer Stephen , Kuhn Elmar W. , Gablac Hannah , Ivanov Borko , Djordjevic Ilija , Mauri Victor , Adam Matti , Mader Navid , Baldus Stephan , Eghbalzadeh Kaveh , Wahlers Thorsten C. W.
Published: July 2022

Background Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become an established alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) for higher risk patients. Periprocedural TAVR complications decreased with a growing expertise of implanters. Yet, TAVR can be accompanied by life-threatening adverse events such as intraprocedural cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This study retrospectively analyzed predictors and outcomes in a cohort of patients from a high-volume center undergoing periprocedural CPR during TAVR.

Methods A total of 729 patients undergoing TAVR, including 59 with intraprocedural CPR, were analyzed with respect to peri- and postprocedural outcomes.

Results Patients undergoing CPR showed a significantly lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and lower baseline transvalvular mean and peak pressure gradients. The systolic blood pressure measured directly preoperatively was significantly lower in the CPR cohort. CPR patients were in a higher need for intraprocedural defibrillation, heart–lung circulatory support, and conversion to open heart surgery. Further, they showed a higher incidence of atrioventricular block grade III , valve malpositioning, and pericardial tamponade. The in-hospital mortality was significantly higher after intraprocedural CPR, accompanied by a higher incidence of disabling stroke, new pacemaker implantation, more red blood cell transfusion, and longer stay in intensive care unit.

Conclusion Impaired preoperative LVEF and instable hemodynamics before valve deployment are independent risk factors for CPR and are associated with compromised outcomes. Heart rhythm disturbances, malpositioning of the prosthesis, and pericardial tamponade are main causes of the high mortality of 17% reported in the CPR group. Nevertheless, mechanical circulatory support and conversion to open heart surgery reduce mortality rates of CPR patients.
“Low Dose MR” Dixon Technique for Imaging FDG PET-MR Lymphoma
Authors: Mufti Musa Ali , Matthews Robert , Madu Ezemonye , Yaddanapudi Kavitha , Franceschi Dinko
Published: July 2022

Introduction Hybrid PET-MR is a relatively new imaging modality with its major strength being the MR component offering superior soft tissue contrast. While PET/MRI offers the inherent advantage of reduced radiation dose, it has been shown to result in a markedly prolonged examination time becoming a challenge in children and sick patients. "Low dose MRI" is a term used in the nuclear medicine community to describe fast acquired PET-MR scan protocols that rely heavily on PET images for diagnosis. In this study, we sought to determine if the Dixon sequences obtained for attenuation correction could be used as a diagnostic sequence for interpreting PET-MRI lymphoma cases, potentially reducing scan time.

Materials and Methods We retrospectively identified 40 patients who underwent 88FDG PET-MR body imaging studies for staging or restaging lymphoma. A radiologist and nuclear medicine physician initially reviewed top of the head to mid thigh PET images, attenuation correction coronal Dixon MRI sequences, and PET-MR fusion with Dixon sequence. The same physicians reviewed the PET images, multi-sequence MR including the attenuation correction Dixon, and multi-sequence PET-MR fusion images The lesions were further characterized based on their imaging characteristics, size, SUVmax, and malignant potency. A consensus read followed.

Results  All patients were adults with an average study age of 43.8 years. Our study consisted of 40 females and 48 males out of which 7 were for staging and 81 were for re-staging. All patients had systemic lymphoma. Thirty-seven of the studies had active lymph nodes on Dixon PET-MR that agreed with multi-sequence PET-MR which identified 33 positive cases (89.1%) having an average SUV 10.2 ± 7.74 SD. Four Dixon PET-MR cases did not detect lesions, with an average SUV 2.3 ± 0.55 SD, which was read as minimal residual activity. Multi-sequence MR identified 11 patients with enlarged lymph nodes without FDG uptake, which were not seen on Dixon MR. All 5 studies with bones lesions were detected by Dixon PET-MR as well as 2 soft tissue organ lesions. Multi-sequence MR identified 1 patient with non-active, healed bone lesion. Fifty-five of these studies were true negatives. Compared to multi-sequence PET-MR, Dixon PET-MR demonstrated 89.2% sensitivity, 100% specificity with no false positive studies.

Conclusion  The present study investigated the diagnostic potential of a fast protocol for integrated PET/MRI used for dedicated tumor staging of patients with lymphoma. In this retrospective study, Dixon PET-MR was shown to be sensitive and specific compared to multi-sequence PET-MR in the detection of lymphoma. The low number of these cases not detected had minimally active lymph nodes that resolved on subsequent imaging and probably were not clinically important.
On the regularity criteria for liquid crystal flows involving the gradient of one velocity component
Authors: Guo Helin , Zhao Lingling
Published: July 2022

In this paper, we show the regularity criteria for three-dimensional nematic liquid crystal flows. More precisely, we prove that the strong solution (u, d) can be extended beyond T, provided ∇u3 ∈ Ls(0, T; Lq(R3)), ∇hd ∈ Lα(0, T; Lp(R3)), where s, q, α, p satisfy 2s+3q≤158+18q,2α+3p≤34+12p if q∈[2,3],p∈(103,∞] or 2s+3q≤74+12q,2α+3p≤34+12p if q∈3,∞,p∈103,∞.