bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Point‐of‐care hepatitis C testing and treatment strategy for people attending harm reduction and addiction centres for hepatitis C elimination
Authors: Forns Xavier , Colom Joan , García‐Retortillo Montse , Quer Joan Carles , Lens Sabela , Martró Elisa , Domínguez‐Hernández Raquel , Casado Miguel Ángel , Buti María
Published: November 2021

According to WHO goals, the elimination of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) by 2030 requires enhancing and simplifying HCV testing. Our aim was to create a model to assess and compare different strategies for HCV testing, linkage to care and treatment among people who access harm reduction centres (HRC) and Addiction Centres in Catalonia. A decision tree model was designed to evaluate two strategies: Hepatitis C Point‐of‐care (POC) “test and treat”, at the community versus standard‐of‐care (SOC), in which HCV testing was performed at community and therapy at the hospital. Both strategies were assessed separately in HRCs (6,878 users) and Addiction Centres (13,778 users). with a time horizon of 18 months. Healthcare outcomes were HCV testing, linkage to care, treatment outcomes and reinfection rate. HCV testing was performed in 3,178 (46%) of the HRC users. Compared with SOC, POC increased access to treatment by 57% (63% vs. 6%). SVR rates were 64% in POC vs. 23% in SOC. Reinfection rates were 21% with POC compared to 24% with SOC. With POC, losses to follow‐up were reduced by 41%. In the Addiction Centres, 12,566 users (91%) were screened using the two strategies. Compared to the SOC, POC increased access to treatment and linkage to care by 19% along with SVR at the same rate. Reinfection rates decreased by 6%. Thus, the implementation of a POC “test and treat” strategy at HRCs and Addiction Centres has shown to be an effective public health strategy to help eliminating HCV in accordance with WHO goal.
Pathological and epidemiological investigation of skin lesions in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada
Authors: Le Net Rozenn , Larrat Sylvain , Michaud Robert , Lair Stéphane
Published: November 2021

Following the evaluation of 26,020 photographs collected from 2003 to 2014 as part of a photo‐identification program in St. Lawrence Estuary belugas, an atlas of cutaneous anomalies, composed of 18 skin lesions categories (SLCs), is proposed. At least one SLC was present in 51%, 97%, and 94% of neonates, gray, and white belugas, respectively. The most common SLC observed were “single linear fissure” (22%), “single linear scar” (19%), and “ulcer‐like lesion” (17%) in neonates, and “rake mark” (77%; 70%), “single linear fissure” (31%; 24%) and “circular depression” (40%; 35%) in gray and white belugas, respectively. Logistic regression modeling revealed significant correlations between temporal and individual variables for most SLCs. Histological evaluation of cutaneous lesions from 111 belugas stranded between 1983 and 2017 were also performed. “Single linear fissure,” “single linear scar,” “crater‐like scar,” “rake mark,” and “Morse code lesions” appear to be of traumatic origin. Results from pathological and epidemiological analyses suggest that some of these SLCs, such as “yellow patch,” “circular depression,” and “map depression” are associated with molting. Postnatal molting could account for “ulcer‐like lesions” and “single linear fissures” in neonates. Urchin spines were found within “pinhole erosions” and a gamma‐herpesvirus was detected by PCR in a wound.
Ceropegia longirostris sp. nov. (Apocynaceae–Asclepiadoideae) from Ethiopia and Kenya
Authors: Thulin Mats , Gilbert Michael G. , Kaariye Hassan Y.
Published: November 2021

The new species Ceropegia longirostris Thulin, M.G.Gilbert & Kaariye is described, illustrated and mapped. It is known from two localities, one on gypsum in the Somali National Regional State (Ogaden) in southeastern Ethiopia and one, based on a photographic record, from just east of Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya. The new species is a member of C. sect. Phalaena H.Huber, and is distinctive by having flowers with the corolla glabrous outside and apically with a long narrowly clavate beak abruptly delimited from the rest of the corolla, and with each lobe of the corolla having a prominent wart‐like blackish projection near the tip on the inside.
Patch size distribution affects species invasion dynamics in dendritic networks
Authors: Holenstein Kathrin , Harvey Eric , Altermatt Florian
Published: November 2021

Biological invasions are globally affecting ecosystems, causing local species loss and altering ecosystem functioning. Understanding how such biological invasions occur and succeed is thus of high priority. Both local properties and the spatial network structure have been shown to be determinants of invasion success, and the identification of spatial invasion hubs directly promoting invasion dynamics is gaining attention. Spatial dynamics, however, could also indirectly alter invasion success by shaping pre‐invasion local community structure: in many ecosystems, such as riverine networks, regional properties such as patch size distribution are known drivers of local community structures, which themselves may affect the establishment success of invading species. Using microcosm experiments in dendritic networks, we disentangled how inherent patch size distribution and dispersal along specific network topologies shaped local resident communities, and, subsequently, affected the establishment success of invading species. After controlling for regional scale effects of connectivity on pre‐invasion diversity, we find that patch size distributions independently shaped pre‐invasion community diversity and invasion success, with no direct effect of pre‐invasion diversity on invasion success. Our results suggest that 1) landscape configuration plays an underestimated role in invasion success and that 2) invasion success should follow predictable landscape‐scale patterns in riverine networks given non‐random patch‐size distribution.
Implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators with end stage renal disease: Nationwide inpatient sample database results
Authors: Ayoub Karam , Fry Ethan , Marji Meera , Masri Ahmad , Hesselson Aaron , Ellison Kristin
Published: November 2021

Background

When compared to patients with normal renal function, patients with chronic kidney disease develop higher in‐hospital complications post implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) therapy. However, real world data on in‐hospital complications post ICD therapy in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) is limited. In this study, we aim to explore the procedure‐related complications of ICD therapy in patients with ESRD.

Methods

Using the nationwide inpatient sample (NIS) database, we conducted a retrospective analysis on ESRD patients who underwent inpatient ICD placement from 2010 to 2016. Using 1:2 propensity score matching, we compared ESRD patients to those with normal renal function. Outcomes of interest were postoperative hemorrhage and hematoma formation, blood transfusion, pericardial complications, mechanical complications requiring lead revision, vascular injury, in‐hospital mortality, and length of stay.

Results

Our sample included 40,075 cases with subsequent propensity score matching between ESRD and normal renal function. Comparatively, patients with ESRD had higher odds of postoperative hemorrhage (Odds ratio [OR] = 1.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4–1.99, p = < .0001), blood transfusion (OR, 3.88; CI 3.29–4.56; p = < .0001), mechanical complications requiring lead revision (OR, 1.24; CI 1.01–1.51; p = .035), vascular injury (OR, 2.02; CI 1.27–3.24; p = .0027), in‐hospital mortality (OR, 4.56; CI 3.08–6.76; p = < .0001), and longer hospitalization (11 vs. 7 days, p = < .0001), but without significant difference in pericardial complications (OR, 1.9; CI 0.92–1.54; p = < .18).

Conclusion

In this large contemporary cohort, patients with ESRD undergoing inpatient ICD therapy are at higher risk of developing postprocedural complications including hemorrhage and hematoma, blood transfusion, mechanical complications requiring lead revision, and in hospital mortality, without increased risk of pericardial complications.
Analytics for IoT‐Enabled Human–Robot Hybrid Sortation: An Online Optimization Approach
Authors: Shi Ye , Yu Hu , Yu Yugang , Yue Xiaohang
Published: November 2021

Motivated by a realworld practice of a China Post sortation center, this study considers the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to improve the efficiency of a human–robot hybrid sortation system. In this system, IoT technology enables responsive adjustment of the manual capacity to alleviate the congestion effect of increasing parcel flow on robotic sorting efficiency. We begin with a predictive analysis of a real‐life dataset to quantify the congestion effect on robotic sorting efficiency, and examine the nonstationary behavior of the parcel flow process. Subsequently, we design an online algorithm using IoT advance information (which refers to advance observation of some parcel flows before their actual arrivals) for efficiently adjusting the manual capacity. We develop theoretical guarantee for the effectiveness of the online algorithm by bounding its regret, and also demonstrate that the long‐term expected regret rate is zero under mild conditions. Via extensive simulation experiments, we find that our online algorithm outperforms the China Post sortation center's current policy and conventional Markov dynamic program in terms of computational efficiency and solution quality. The simulation results also demonstrate that the value of IoT technology to the sortation center can be significant, and shed insights on IoT investment by revealing the diminishing return of expanding the horizon of IoT advance information.
Coordinated and Priority‐Based Surgical Care: An Integrated Distributionally Robust Stochastic Optimization Approach
Authors: Keyvanshokooh Esmaeil , Kazemian Pooyan , Fattahi Mohammad , Van Oyen Mark P.
Published: November 2021

We study a coordinated clinic and surgery appointment scheduling problem for in‐advance scheduling of surgical patients. Our models seek to provide timely access to care by coordinating clinic and surgery appointments to ensure that patients can see a surgeon in the clinic and (if needed) schedule their surgery within a maximum wait time target based on patient classes. There are different types of uncertainty including the number of appointment requests, whether a patient requires surgery, and surgery durations. We develop an integrated multi‐stage stochastic and distributionally robust optimization (IMSDRO) approach to determine the optimal clinic and surgery dates for patients such that the access target constraints are satisfied, and the clinical and surgical overtimes are minimized. The IMSDRO approach synergizes multi‐stage stochastic optimization with distributionally robust optimization to simultaneously incorporate multiple types of uncertainties by including stochastic scenarios for appointment request arrivals and ambiguity sets for surgery durations. Several new transformations are introduced to turn the nonlinear model derived from the IMSDRO approach to a tractable one, and a constraint generation algorithm is developed to solve it efficiently. We propose a data‐driven rolling horizon procedure to facilitate implementation. We use case data to assess the performance of our policies. The results suggest that our policy can significantly improve surgical access delay times compared to the current practice. Our methodology is not limited to a particular setting and can be applied to other service industries where access delay matters.
Fast and Faultless? Quantity and Quality Feedback in Order Picking
Authors: Zhang XiaoLi , deVries Jelle , deKoster René , Liu ChenGuang
Published: November 2021

Many operations are characterized by a trade‐off between speed and quality. This calls for an exploration of effective strategies to balance the two metrics. This study investigates the separate and joint effect of quantity and quality feedback on both performance metrics in order picking. We collected data from two real‐effort experiments with in total 212 participants, who conducted an order picking task in an experimental warehouse. The results of the main experiment show that giving only quantity feedback improves productivity performance, without compromising on quality. No significant effects of quality feedback were identified. Furthermore, combining quantity and quality feedback does not create a synergistic or a weakening effect on both performance dimensions. The second experiment was used as a robustness check in a different setting, and its results show that quantity feedback not only positively impacts productivity, but can also improve quality. We further decompose the aggregate productivity improvement into the separate impact on pickers who perceive different relative positions. We find that the top‐ranked and middle‐ranked workers in their group accelerate less relative to themselves than the bottom‐ranked workers do, and the acceleration gap between the top‐ranked and the bottom‐ranked pickers is smaller when quantity feedback is present. Our findings show that managers can achieve both fast and faultless performance by carefully designing the performance feedback to their employees.
Drought stress reduces crop carbon gain due to delayed photosynthetic induction under fluctuating light conditions
Authors: Sakoda Kazuma , Taniyoshi Kazuki , Yamori Wataru , Tanaka Yu
Published: November 2021

Drought stress is a major limiting factor for crop growth and yield. Water availability in the field can cyclically change between drought and rewatering conditions, depending on precipitation patterns. Concurrently, light intensity under field conditions can fluctuate, inducing dynamic photosynthesis and transpiration during the crop growth period. The present study aimed to characterize carbon gain and water use in fluctuating light under drought and rewatering conditions in two major crops, namely rice and soybean. We conducted gas exchange measurements under fluctuating light conditions with rice and soybean plants exposed to drought treatment (9–13 days) imposed by withholding water and subsequent rewatering treatment (8–9 days). Drought stress significantly reduced the maximum CO2 assimilation rate (A) in soybean but not in rice. Under drought conditions, A increased after a step increase in light and then gradually decreased in both crops, resulting in the significant reduction of steady‐state A in rice and soybean. Moreover, drought stress delayed photosynthetic induction in both crops even when it had relatively small impact on maximum A. These results suggest that the drought effects on photosynthesis should be evaluated based on induction, maximum, and steady states. The delayed photosynthetic induction under drought owing to the reduced gas diffusional conductance via stomata resulted in a substantial loss of leaf carbon gain under fluctuating light conditions. Meanwhile, rewatering, after drought, completely recovered photosynthesis under fluctuating light in both crops. Therefore, the stability of photosynthetic induction can be a promising target to improve drought tolerance during crop breeding in the future.
Decline in mortality due to respiratory diseases in Japan during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
Authors: Horita Nobuyuki , Kato Hideaki , Watanabe Keisuke , Hara Yu , Kobayashi Nobuaki , Kaneko Takeshi
Published: November 2021

See related article
Cultural Orientation and Risk Perception: Development of a Scale Operating in a French Context
Authors: Chauvin Bruno , Chassang Ianis
Published: November 2021

Cultural theory has often been invoked to explain risk preferences, yet empirical evidence for that influence has regularly been challenged. This research addresses this issue by reassessing the role of cultural orientation in understanding risk perception through the development of an alternative assessment tool of worldviews operating in a French context. Using data from two samples of French citizens (N = 192 and N = 631), study 1 conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses which provided support for a three‐factor scale of worldviews: hierarchy‐individualism, egalitarianism, and fatalism. Based on data from two other independent samples (N = 111 and N = 422), study 2 affirmed, for each worldview, its convergent validity (with its counterpart in another worldview measure), discriminant validity (from all other subscales), and predictive validity (for specific patterns of risk perception). Of particular interest is that culturally diverse individuals hold divergent positions on risk (skepticism, sensibility, neutrality) depending on, and in proportion to, the (in)compatibility of the hazardous activity to their preferred worldview. Implications for risk management and communication are discussed.
Exploring Distressed Cashew‐Nut Farmland Rentals Among Ethnic Groups in Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Toai , Lawler Susan , Paul Warren
Published: November 2021

Remote communities alleviate economic hardship by renting their crops to others, and these transactions are often informal and exploitative. Because farmland is an important income source for rural areas, understanding the participation in distress rentals of cashew nut farms is critical for sustainable development. Previous studies have highlighted relationships between socioeconomic factors and participation in land rentals but have failed to examine distress rentals under ethnic contexts. In this study, we interviewed 121 villagers to examine socioeconomic determinants of the participation in distress rentals of farmers with regard to their indigenous culture in two communes in Binh Phuoc province. We found that ethnic identity, land‐ownership, informal training in agriculture, family size, and proximity to markets are statistically significant in explaining the likelihood to participate in distress rentals. Based on these findings, we make several recommendations for how local governments can create better policies to ensure social justice.
Ruptured arteriovenous fistula pseudoaneurysm treatment by balloon‐assisted direct percutaneous thrombin injection
Authors: Loureiro Luís , Mendes Daniel , Sousa Clemente Neves , Almeida Paulo , Norton de Matos António , Teles Paulo , Rego Duarte , Teixeira Gabriela , Teixeira Sérgio , Antunes Inês , Costa Luísa Lemos
Published: November 2021

We present the case of a male patient on hemodialysis with a ruptured pseudoaneurysm in a brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and with edema and pain in the right arm attended to in the emergency department. An ultrasonographic scan identified a ruptured pseudoaneurysm with hemorrhagic infiltration of the arm muscular tissues. We performed a percutaneous ultrasound‐guided thrombin injection with an angioplasty balloon inflated in the lumen of the AVF achieving the pseudoaneurysm thrombosis. After 6 months of follow‐up, the patient's arteriovenous access remains functional. Percutaneous ultrasound‐guided thrombin injection assisted by an angioplasty balloon may be a good alternative to surgical intervention in the treatment of symptomatic growing pseudoaneurysms of the arteriovenous fistula with the benefit of preserving the vascular access.
Re‐establishing needed limits: European competition policy's role in European healthcare systems and the lessons of the Dôvera case
Authors: Morton Andrew J. B.
Published: November 2021

European competition policy's first interactions with national healthcare systems emerged after 2000 without much controversy as only those healthcare regimes with clear market‐orientated elements were subject to EU competition rules. After 2010 however, this began to be challenged as a result of pressures from the private sector, various marketization reforms in Europe as well as pressures from within the EU itself. The question therefore re‐emerged: would EU competition law, and its ‘state aid law’ part especially, now be pushed into social solidarity‐orientated healthcare, including those that were subject to some degree of marketisation? This article examines this question through two important recent competition law cases from Belgium and Slovakia, but with a focus on the latter. Despite the apparent limits placed on European competition law's place in healthcare in the 2000s, European Commission and the Court of Justice were called upon to reassert some limits on its role in healthcare and social solidarity‐based regimes in particular. Together, the Iris‐H and Dôvera cases resolve those political and institutional problems that such a competition policy‐based intrusion into healthcare would have created.
Did Brett Kavanaugh's overt partisanship cause severe harm to the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court?
Authors: Zigerell L. J.
Published: November 2021

Objective

Carrington and French (2021) claimed that “our findings suggest that, when a nominee [to the U.S. Supreme Court] behaves in an overtly partisan manner, it can cause severe harm to the legitimacy of the Court by increasing support for efforts to rein in the Court's authority and independence” (p. 1485). The evidence reported in Carrington and French (2021) for this claim is assessed.

Method

The research designs in Carrington and French (2021) are discussed, and further statistical analyses are reported.

Results

The research designs in Carrington and French (2021) cannot support the aforementioned key claim of Carrington and French (2021).

Conclusions

Carrington and French (2021) do not support the claim that the behavior of Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings severely harmed the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court on net among the U.S. public.
Exhaustivity and homogeneity effects with distributive‐share markers: Experimental evidence from Serbian po
Authors: Bosnić Ana , Demirdache Hamida , Spenader Jennifer
Published: November 2021

There are two competing approaches to the semantics of distributive‐share markers: they are either universal distributive quantifiers over events or are merely event‐plurality markers. To address this debate, we present new conclusions based on novel experiments with Serbian transitive sentences in which the distributive‐share marker po was attached to the direct object. The first two experiments investigated exhaustivity effects in transitive sentences with po, while the third experiment probed homogeneity effects across three types of negative transitive sentences: with po marking the object, with the distributive‐key quantifier svaki (‘every’) in subject position, and with neither. If po is a universal quantifier, then it should enforce exhaustive distribution over a distributive key and remove homogeneity effects in negative sentences with a definite subject. If instead po is an event‐plurality marker with no universal quantificational force, then it should neither enforce exhaustive distribution nor remove homogeneity effects in negative sentences with a definite subject. We conclude that there are two populations of Serbian speakers with systematic patterns of interpretation: one population interprets po as a universal quantifier and one population interprets po as an event‐plurality marker. We conjecture that this population split might reflect an ongoing diachronic change in the semantic import of the distributive‐share marker po.
Shifting states of love and intimacy
Authors: Hoogenraad Henrike , Dundon Alison
Published: November 2021

Love and intimacy are personal as well as political; they are concepts that are multidimensional, complex, and, sometimes, contradictory; and are meaningful to institutions and states as well as individuals. Dynamic local and global forces generate shifts in perceptions and experiences of intimacy and love, which are mediated by a wide variety of actors, ideals, beliefs and practices. This introduction to the special issue of shifting states of love, intimacy and intimate citizenship explores how these experiences are shaped by political, sociocultural, legal and intimate borders and boundaries, both literal and metaphorical. The article points to intimate relationships that, in various ways, challenge or transgress normative boundaries, but which are simultaneously experienced as empowering and deeply meaningful to those involved. This introduction to the special issue, as a collection of ethnographically rich analyses of loving, proffers new insights into the emergence of various forms of intimacies: from love across state borders, polygamous intimacies, transnational, intercultural and online love and dating, to interspecies intimacies based on mutual love and care.
MSI1 and HDA6 function interdependently to control flowering time via chromatin modifications
Authors: Xu Yingchao , Li Qing , Yuan Lianyu , Huang Yisui , Hung Fu‐Yu , Wu Keqiang , Yang Songguang
Published: November 2021

MULTICOPY SUPPRESSOR OF IRA1 (MSI1) is a conserved subunit of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2), which mediates gene silencing by histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27Me3). Here, we demonstrated that MSI1 interacts with the RPD3‐like histone deacetylase HDA6 both in vitro and in vivo. MSI1 and HDA6 are involved in flowering and repress the expression of FLC, MAF4, and MAF5 by removing H3K9 acetylation but adding H3K27Me3. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis showed that HDA6 and MSI1 interdependently bind to the chromatin of FLC, MAF4, and MAF5. Furthermore, H3K9 deacetylation mediated by HDA6 is dependent on MSI1, while H3K27Me3 mediated by PRC2 containing MSI1 is also dependent on HDA6. Taken together, these data indicate that MSI1 and HDA6 act interdependently to repress the expression of FLC, MAF4, and MAF5 through histone modifications. Our findings reveal that the HDA6–MSI1 module mediates the interaction between histone H3 deacetylation and H3K27Me3 to repress gene expression involved in flowering time control.
Comparison of the prevalence of Domestic Cat Hepadnavirus in a population of cats with uveitis and in a healthy blood donor cat population in the United Kingdom
Authors: Jeanes Emily C. , Wegg Michaela L. , Mitchell Judy A. , Priestnall Simon L. , Fleming Lorraine , Dawson Charlotte
Published: November 2021

Objective

Domestic Cat Hepadnavirus (DCH) is a novel virus recently identified in the domestic cat. Currently, little is known regarding its clinical significance. The hepadnaviridae family includes the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). Co‐infection of HBV and Hepatitis C in humans increases the risk of uveitis. We aimed to determine whether DCH is present in the United Kingdom (UK) and whether DCH warrants investigation as a potential cause of uveitis in cats.

Procedures

Clinical records from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and the Animal Health Trust (AHT) were reviewed for feline cases diagnosed with endogenous uveitis. A healthy control group was identified from cats presented to the RVC as blood donors. DNA was extracted from stored blood samples using commercially available kits. Polymerase chain reaction assays were performed to confirm the presence of feline DNA and to detect the presence of DCH DNA using previously described protocols.

Results

Blood samples were available from 65 cats with endogenous uveitis and 43 healthy control cats. Two blood samples from cats with endogenous uveitis tested positive for the presence of DCH DNA. DCH DNA was not detected in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the prevalence of DCH between the groups.

Conclusions

Domestic Cat Hepadnavirus is present in the UK. This study failed to demonstrate a conclusive link between DCH and uveitis in cats, although further studies to investigate an association with other feline diseases are warranted.
An unusual case of eosinophilic uveitis in a cat
Authors: Newbold Georgina M. , Premanandan Chris
Published: November 2021

An 8‐year‐old female spayed domestic short‐haired cat was examined for recurrent unilateral anterior uveitis of 5 month's duration. No underlying cause was found on infectious disease screening. The cat also had a 4‐year history of allergic or immune‐mediated skin disease that was controlled with corticosteroid injections followed by long‐term oral cyclosporine therapy. Medical management with frequent topical anti‐inflammatory drugs (prednisolone acetate 1% suspension, diclofenac 0.1% solution) controlled the intraocular inflammation; however, the uveitis would relapse when therapy was discontinued. Eventually, secondary glaucoma developed OD and the eye was enucleated. At the time of surgery, a complete blood count showed a mild eosinophilia. Histopathology revealed a marked panuveitis characterized by an abundant accumulation of mixed inflammatory cells, with a predominantly eosinophilic infiltrate in the anterior chamber, iris, ciliary body, and choroid. No etiologic agents were found on serial sections, and there were no cellular criteria for malignancy noted. Nine months after enucleation, the chronic dermatitis appeared to be in remission despite no further medical management. This is the first known report of a primarily eosinophilic uveitis in a cat with chronic allergic skin disease and may be considered an ocular variant of feline eosinophilic granuloma complex.
Digital Heritage and Public Engagement: reflections on the challenges of co-production
Authors:   Royal Holloway, University of London, Cooper Catriona , Hadley Dawn ,   University of York, Empsall Joseph , Wallace Josie ,   University of York, Bax Nick ,   HumanVR, Fleetwood Dan ,   HumanVR
Published: November 2021

In recent years, UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and funding bodies have been increasingly championing the merits of co-production between academic researchers and non-HEIs, including community groups. However, these undertakings are often more complex than we are led to believe and the issues encountered are frequently downplayed in published outputs. In this article we review a selection of recent projects in which digital technologies have been used in heritage-led public engagement, including two of our own related projects at Park Hill flats in Sheffield. Digital technologies are the latest means by which HEIs are seeking to engage with the public, but it is becoming clear that there are significant impediments to undertaking this successfully. These include the short-term nature of the funding, the difficulties of maintaining digital outputs over time, and managing community expectation of what can be achieved in the time, and with the funding, available, alongside variable levels of familiarity with, and interest in, digital platforms by the public. Funding schemes often prioritise new consultation activities, and co-production with communities, over making use of archival community engagement materials. We suggest that academic engagement with the public needs to be sensitive to these issues, and to recognise that valuable digital heritage projects can emerge from diverse approaches to co-production.
Williamson theorem in classical, quantum, and statistical physics
Authors: Nicacio F.
Published: November 2021

In this work, we present (and encourage the use of) the Williamson theorem and its consequences in several contexts in physics. We demonstrate this theorem using only basic concepts of linear algebra and symplectic matrices. As an immediate application in the context of small oscillations, we show that applying this theorem reveals the normal-mode coordinates and frequencies of the system in the Hamiltonian scenario. A modest introduction of the symplectic formalism in quantum mechanics is presented, using the theorem to study quantum normal modes and canonical distributions of thermodynamically stable systems described by quadratic Hamiltonians. As a last example, a more advanced topic concerning uncertainty relations is developed to show once more its utility in a distinct and modern perspective.
Using smartphone photographs of the Moon to acquaint students with non-Euclidean geometry
Authors: Caerols Hugo , Carrasco Rodrigo A. , Asenjo Felipe A.
Published: November 2021

Non-Euclidean geometry can be taught to students using astronomical images. By using photographs of the Moon taken with a smartphone through a simple telescope, we were able to introduce these concepts to high-school students and lower-level college students. We teach students how to calculate lengths of mountain ranges or areas of craters on the Moon's surface and introduce ideas of geodesics and spherical triangles. Students can see that accurate measurements cannot be obtained using flat geometry. Instead, by using three-dimensional curved geometry, estimates of lengths and areas can be computed with less than 4% error.
Single-, double-, and triple-slit diffraction of molecular matter waves
Authors: Brand Christian , Troyer Stephan , Knobloch Christian , Cheshnovsky Ori , Arndt Markus
Published: November 2021

Even 100 years after its introduction by Louis de Broglie, the wave-nature of matter is often regarded as a mind-boggling phenomenon. To give an intuitive introduction to this field, we here discuss the diffraction of massive molecules through a single, a double, and a triple slit, as well as a nanomechanical grating. While the experiments are in good agreement with undergraduate textbook predictions, we also observe pronounced differences resulting from the molecules' mass and internal complexity. The molecules' polarizability causes an attractive van der Waals interaction with the slit walls, which can be modified by rotating the nanomechanical mask with respect to the molecular beam. The text is meant to introduce students and teachers to the concepts of molecule diffraction, supported by problems and solutions that can be discussed in class.
Resource Letter BP-1: Biological physics
Authors: Parthasarathy Raghuveer
Published: November 2021

This Resource Letter provides an overview of the literature in biological physics, a vast, active, and expanding field that links the phenomena of the living world to the tools and perspectives of physics. While no survey of this area could be complete, this list and commentary are intended to help provide an entry point for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, researchers new to biophysics, or workers in subfields of biophysics who wish to expand their horizons. Topics covered include subcellular structure and function, cell-scale mechanics and organization, collective behaviors and embryogenesis, genetic networks, and ecological dynamics.
The response of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) to insonified bubble curtains
Authors: Flores Martin Nicholas , Leighton Timothy G. , White Paul R. , Kemp Paul S.
Published: November 2021

Acoustic bubble curtains have been marketed as relatively low cost and easily maintained behavioural deterrents for fisheries management. Their energy efficiency can be improved by reducing air flow and exploiting bubble resonance. In a series of three flume experiments, we: (1) investigated the reactions of carp to a low air flow bubble curtain, (2) compared the effectiveness of resonant versus non-resonant insonified bubble curtains (for the same volume flux of gas injected through the nozzles) to deter passage, and determined the stimuli responsible for eliciting deterrence, and (3) included the effect of visual cues generated by the bubble curtain. This study showed that bubble curtains with a higher proportion of resonant bubbles deterred carp relatively better. Passage rejection was likely influenced by multiple cues at distances within a body length of the fish— specifically the rate of change in both particle motion and flow velocity caused by rising bubbles. All acoustic bubble curtains were less effective in the presence of daylight, suggesting that vision plays an important role at mediating carp reactions. We discuss the importance of ascertaining the bubble size distribution, in addition to the gas flow rate and aperture size, when characterising acoustically active bubble curtains.
Combination of Aerobic Training and Cocoa Flavanols as Effective Therapies to Reduce Metabolic and Inflammatory Disruptions in Insulin-Resistant Rats: The Exercise, Cocoa, and Diabetes Study
Authors: Melo Bruno P. , Zacarias Aline C. , Oliveira Joyce C.C. , De Souza Cordeiro Letícia M. , Wanner Samuel P. , Dos Santos Mara L. , Avelar Gleide F. , Meeusen Romain , Heyman Elsa , Soares Danusa D.
Published: November 2021

We aimed to investigate the combined effects of aerobic exercise (EXE) and cocoa flavanol (COCOA) supplementation on performance, metabolic parameters, and inflammatory and lipid profiles in obese insulin-resistant rats. Therefore, 32 male Wistar rats (230–250 g) were fed a high-fat diet and a fructose-rich beverage for 30 days to induce insulin resistance. Next, the rats were randomized into four groups, orally administered placebo solution or COCOA supplementation (45 mg·kg−1), and either remained sedentary or were subjected to EXE on a treadmill at 60% peak velocity for 30 min, for 8 weeks. Blood samples and peripheral tissues were collected and processed to analyze metabolic and inflammatory parameters, lipid profiles, and morphological parameters. Supplementation with COCOA and EXE improved physical performance and attenuated body mass gain, adipose index, and adipocyte area. When analyzed as individual interventions, supplementation with COCOA and EXE improved glucose intolerance and the lipid profile reduced the concentrations of leptin, glucose, and insulin, and reduced homeostasis assessment index (all effects were p < .001 for both interventions), while ameliorated some inflammatory mediators in examined tissues. In skeletal muscles, both COCOA supplementation and EXE increased the expression of glucose transporter (p < .001 and p < .001), and combined intervention showed additive effects (p < .001 vs. COCOA alone or EXE alone). Thus, combining COCOA with EXE represents an effective nonpharmacological strategy to treat insulin resistance; it could prevent Type 2 diabetes mellitus by improving physical performance, glucose metabolism, neuroendocrine control, and lipid and inflammatory mediators in the liver, pancreas, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle in obese male insulin-resistant rats.
A Phase 1 Study of the Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of Single Ascending Doses of a First-in-Human Engineered Cationic Peptide, PLG0206, Intravenously Administered in Healthy Subjects
Authors: Huang David , Dobbins Despina , Ghahramani Parviz , Friedland Ian , Steckbeck Jonathan
Published: November 2021

In this first-in-human study, PLG0206, a novel engineered cationic antimicrobial peptide, was evaluated for safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) when intravenously (i.v.) administered as a single dose to healthy subjects. Six cohorts of 8 subjects each received escalating single i.v. infusions of PLG0206 at 0.05, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, or 1 mg/kg dose or placebo over 1 to 4 h.
Identification of ClpP Dual Isoform Disruption as an Antisporulation Strategy for Clostridioides difficile
Authors: Bishop Catherine E. , Shadid Tyler M. , Lavey Nathan P. , Kempher Megan L. , Ballard Jimmy D. , Duerfeldt Adam S.
Published: November 2021

Due to diverse roles of ClpP and the reliance of pathogens upon this system for infection, it has emerged as a target for antimicrobial development. Biology regulated by ClpP is organism dependent and has not been defined in
Clostridioides difficile
.
Morphologic signatures of autogenic waterfalls: A case study in the San Gabriel Mountains, California
Authors: Groh Erika L. , Scheingross Joel S.
Published: November 2021

Waterfalls can form due to external perturbation of river base level, lithologic heterogeneity, and internal feedbacks (i.e., autogenic dynamics). While waterfalls formed by lithologic heterogeneity and external perturbation are well documented, there is a lack of criteria with which to identify autogenic waterfalls, thereby limiting the ability to assess the influence of autogenic waterfalls on landscape evolution. We propose that autogenic waterfalls evolve from bedrock bedforms known as cyclic steps and therefore form as a series of steps with spacing and height set primarily by channel slope. We identified 360 waterfalls split between a transient and steady-state portion of the San Gabriel Mountains in California, USA. Our results show that while waterfalls have different spatial distributions in the transient and steady-state landscapes, waterfalls in both landscapes tend to form at slopes >3%, coinciding with the onset of Froude supercritical flow, and the waterfall height to spacing ratio in both landscapes increases with slope, consistent with cyclic step theory and flume experiments. We suggest that in unglaciated mountain ranges with relatively uniform rock strength, individual waterfalls are predominately autogenic in origin, while the spatial distribution of waterfalls may be set by external perturbations.
Holocene wet episodes recorded by magnetic minerals in stalagmites from Soreq Cave, Israel
Authors: Burstyn Yuval , Shaar Ron , Keinan Jonathan , Ebert Yael , Ayalon Avner , Bar-Matthews Miryam , Feinberg Joshua M.
Published: November 2021

This study demonstrates the feasibility of speleothem magnetism as a paleo-hydrology proxy in speleothems growing in semi-arid conditions. Soil-derived magnetic particles in speleothems retain valuable information on the physicochemical conditions of the overlying soil, and changes in bedrock hydrology. Yet, the link between magnetic and isotopic proxies of speleothems has been only partly established. We reveal strong coupling between the inflow of magnetic particles (quantified using the magnetic flux index, IRMflux) and δ13C in two Holocene speleothems from Soreq Cave (Israel). The stalagmite record spans from ca. 9.7 to ca. 5.4 ka, capturing the warm-humid conditions associated with the early Holocene and the transition to mid-Holocene wet-dry cycles. Extremely low IRMflux during the early Holocene, indicating minimal contribution from the overlying soil, is accompanied by anomalously high δ13C (approaching bedrock values) hypothesized to be caused by high rainfall and soil erosion. By contrast, IRMflux during the mid-Holocene covaries with the saw-tooth cyclicity of δ13C and δ18O, interpreted as rapid fluctuations in rainfall amount. The peaks in IRMflux precede the negative (wet) δ13C peaks by ~60–120 yr. The apparent lag is explained as a rapid physical translocation of overlying soil particles via groundwater (high IRMflux) as a response to increasing rainfall, compared with slower soil organic matter turnover rates (10–102 yr).
Eocene fault-controlled fluid flow and mineralization in the Paradox Basin, United States
Authors: Bailey Lydia R. , Kirk Jason , Hemming Sidney R. , Krantz Robert W. , Reiners Peter W.
Published: November 2021

Sedimentary rocks of the Paradox Basin of the Colorado Plateau (southwestern USA) record widespread manifestations of paleo–fluid flow and fluid-rock reactions including Cu, U-V, and Fe-Mn mineral deposits, Si and Ca metasomatism, hydrocarbon accumulations, and bleached sandstones. Many of these are spatially associated with faults. Here we show evidence for a widespread phase of fault-related fluid migration and mineralization at 41–48 Ma in the Paradox Basin. We measured K-Ar dates of multiple size fractions of clay-rich fault gouge, yielding statistically overlapping dates of authigenic (1Md) illite for the Salt Valley (47.0 ± 3.0 Ma), Kane Springs (47.7 ± 3.8 Ma), Cliffdweller (43.4 ± 4.6 Ma), Courthouse (41.9 ± 2.3 Ma), Lisbon Valley (45.3 ± 0.9 Ma), and GTO (48.1 ± 2.6 Ma) faults. The latter two have an illite Rb-Sr isochron age of 50.9 ± 3.5 Ma, and fault-adjacent bornite has a Re-Os isochron age of 47.5 ± 1.5 Ma. Authigenic illite from a paleo–oil reservoir near the Courthouse fault formed from the interaction of reduced fluids with oxidized red-bed sandstones at 41.1 ± 2.5 Ma. The Moab and Keystone faults have older authigenic illite ages of 59.1 ± 5.7 Ma and 65.2 ± 1.0 Ma, respectively. Our results show a close temporal relationship between fault gouge formation, red-bed bleaching, and Cu mineralization during an enigmatic time interval, raising questions about drivers of Eocene fluid flow.
Eolian stratigraphic record of environmental change through geological time
Authors: Cosgrove G.I.E. , Colombera L. , Mountney N.P.
Published: November 2021

The terrestrial sedimentary record provides a valuable archive of how ancient depositional systems responded to and recorded changes in Earth's atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. However, the record of these environmental changes in eolian sedimentary successions is poorly constrained and largely unquantified. Our study presents the first global-scale, quantitative investigation of the architecture of eolian systems through geological time via analysis of 55 case studies of eolian successions. Eolian deposits accumulating (1) under greenhouse conditions, (2) in the presence of vascular plants and grasses, and (3) in rapidly subsiding basins associated with the rifting of supercontinents are represented by significantly thicker eolian dune-set, sand-sheet, and interdune architectural elements. Pre-vegetation eolian systems are also associated with more frequent interactions with non-eolian environments. The interplay of these forcings has resulted in dune-set thicknesses that tend to be smallest and largest in Proterozoic and Mesozoic successions, respectively. In the Proterozoic, the absence of sediment-binding plant roots rendered eolian deposits susceptible to post-depositional wind deflation and reworking by fluvial systems, whereby highly mobile channels reworked contiguous eolian deposits. During the Mesozoic, humid greenhouse conditions (associated with relatively elevated water tables) and high rates of basin subsidence (associated with the breakup of Pangea) favored the rapid transfer of eolian sediment beneath the erosional baseline. The common presence of vegetation promoted accumulation of stabilizing eolian systems. These factors acted to limit post-depositional reworking. Eolian sedimentary deposits record a fingerprint of major environmental changes in Earth history: climate, continental configuration, tectonics, and land-plant evolution.