bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bitter fruits of hard labour: diet metabarcoding and telemetry reveal that urban songbirds travel further for lower-quality food
Authors: Jarrett Crinan , Powell Luke L. , McDevitt Heather , Helm Barbara , Welch Andreanna J.
Published: June 2020

Rapidly increasing urbanisation requires mitigation against associated losses of biodiversity and species abundance. In urban-breeding birds, altered food availability for nestlings is thought to reduce reproductive success compared to forest populations. To compensate for shortages of preferred foods, urban parents could increase their search effort for optimal diets or provision other foods. Here, we used telemetry and faecal metabarcoding on blue tits from one urban and one forest populations to compare parental effort and comprehensively describe nestling diet. Urban parents travelled on average 30% further than those in the forest, likely to offset limited availability of high-quality nestling food (i.e. caterpillars) in cities. Metabarcoding, based on a mean number of 30 identified taxa per faeces, revealed that the diets of urban chicks were nonetheless substantially shifted to include alternative foods. While in the forest caterpillars comprised 82 ± 11% of taxa provisioned to nestlings, in the city they constituted just 44 ± 10%. Pre-fledging chick mass as well as offspring numbers were lower in urban than in forest-reared broods. Thus, at least in our comparison of two sites, the hard labour of urban parents did not fully pay off, suggesting that improved habitat management is required to support urban-breeding birds.
Multilayer analysis of population diversity in grammatical evolution for symbolic regression
Authors: Kronberger Gabriel , Colmenar J. Manuel , Winkler Stephan M. , Hidalgo J. Ignacio
Published: June 2020

In this paper, we analyze the population diversity of grammatical evolution (GE) on multiple levels of genetic information: chromosome diversity, expression diversity, and output diversity. Thereby, we use a tree-similarity metric from tree-based GP literature to determine similarity of expression trees generated in GE. The similarity of outputs is determined via their correlation. We track the pairwise similarities for all individuals within a generation on all three levels and track the distribution of similarity values over generations. We demonstrate the analysis method using four symbolic regression problem instances and find that the visualization highlights some issues that can occur when using GE such as: large groups of individuals with highly similar outputs, a high fraction of trees with constant outputs, or short and highly similar trees in the early stages of the GE run. Especially in the early phases of GE, we see that a large subset of the population represents equivalent expressions. In early stages, rather short expressions are produced leaving large parts of the chromosome unexpressed. More complex expressions can be derived only after GE has successfully evolved well-working beginnings of chromosomes.
Indicated prevention interventions for anxiety in children and adolescents: a review and meta-analysis of school-based programs
Authors: Hugh-Jones Siobhan , Beckett Sophie , Tumelty Ella , Mallikarjun Pavan
Published: June 2020

Anxiety disorders are among the most common youth mental health disorders. Early intervention can reduce elevated anxiety symptoms. School-based interventions exist but it is unclear how effective targeted approaches are for reducing symptoms of anxiety. This review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effectiveness of school-based indicated interventions for symptomatic children and adolescents. The study was registered with PROSPERO [CRD42018087628]. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library for randomised-controlled trials comparing indicated programs for child and adolescent (5–18 years) anxiety to active or inactive control groups. Data were extracted from papers up to December 2019. The primary outcome was efficacy (mean change in anxiety symptom scores). Sub-group and sensitivity analyses explored intervention intensity and control type. We identified 20 studies with 2076 participants. Eighteen studies were suitable for meta-analysis. A small positive effect was found for indicated programs compared to controls on self-reported anxiety symptoms at post-test (g = − 0.28, CI = − 0.50, − 0.05, k = 18). This benefit was maintained at 6 (g = − 0.35, CI = − 0.58, − 0.13, k = 9) and 12 months (g = − 0.24, CI = − 0.48, 0.00, k = 4). Based on two studies, > 12 month effects were very small (g = − 0.01, CI = − 0.38, 0.36). No differences were found based on intervention intensity or control type. Risk of bias and variability between studies was high (I2 = 78%). Findings show that school-based indicated programs for child and adolescent anxiety can produce small beneficial effects, enduring for up to 12 months. Future studies should include long-term diagnostic assessments.
The impact of the great economic crisis on mental health care in Italy
Authors: Wang Yuxi , Fattore Giovanni
Published: June 2020

The great economic crisis in 2008 has affected the welfare of the population in countries such as Italy. Although there is abundant literature on the impact of the crisis on physical health, very few studies have focused on the causal implications for mental health and health care. This paper, therefore, investigates the impact of the recent economic crisis on hospital admissions for severe mental disorder at small geographic levels in Italy and assesses whether there are heterogeneous effects across areas with distinct levels of income. We exploit 9-year (2007–2015) panel data on hospital discharges, which is merged with employment and income composition at the geographic units that share similar labour market structures. Linear and dynamic panel analysis are used to identify the causal effect of rising unemployment rate on severe mental illness admissions per 100,000 residents to account for time-invariant heterogeneity. We further create discrete income levels to identify the potential socioeconomic gradients behind this effect across areas with different economic characteristics. The results show a significant impact of higher unemployment rates on admissions for severe mental disorders after controlling for relevant economic factors, and the effects are concentrated on the most economically disadvantaged areas. The results contribute to the literature of spatio-temporal variation in the broader determinants of mental health and health care utilisation and shed light on the populations that are most susceptible to the effects of the economic crisis.
Fuel Effects in Turbulent Premixed Pre-vaporised Alcohol/Air Jet Flames
Authors: Trabold J. , Hartl S. , Walther S. , Johchi A. , Dreizler A. , Geyer D.
Published: June 2020

To study combustion fundamentals of complex fuels under well-defined boundary conditions, a novel Temperature Controlled Jet Burner (TCJB) system is designed that can stabilise both gaseous or pre-vaporised liquid fuels. In a first experimental exploratory study, piloted turbulent jet flames of pre-vaporised methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol and 2-butanol mixtures are compared to methane/air as a reference fuel. Complementary one-dimensional laminar flame calculations are used to provide flame parameters for comparison. Blow-off and flame length as global flame characteristics are measured over a wide range of equivalence ratios. For fuel rich conditions, blow-off limits correlate well with extinction strain rate calculations. Differing flame lengths from lean to rich conditions are explained partly by different flame wrinkling that is assessed using planar laser-induced fluorescence imaging of the hydroxyl radical (OH-PLIF). A study of Lewis-number effects indicates that they have substantial influence on flame wrinkling. Lean alcohol/air flames, opposed to methane/air, have a Lewis-number greater than unity. This impedes curvature development, which promotes relatively large flame lengths. In contrast, across stoichiometric conditions, all alcohol/air mixture Lewis-numbers decrease significantly. At such conditions, alcohol/air flames show alike or even larger wrinkling compared to methane/air flames. However, quantitatively, the differences in flame length and wrinkling observed among the flames can neither be explained alone by Lewis-number differences, nor other global mixture parameters available from 1D laminar flame calculations. This study shall therefore emphasise the need for more detailed experimental analyses of the full thermochemical state of laminar and turbulent flames fuelled with complex fuels.
Identifying biodiversity knowledge gaps for conserving South Africa’s endemic flora
Authors: Hoveka Lerato N. , van der Bank Michelle , Bezeng Bezeng S. , Davies T. Jonathan
Published: June 2020

As a megadiverse country with a rapidly growing population, South Africa is experiencing a biodiversity crisis: natural habitats are being degraded and species are becoming threatened with extinction. In an era of big biodiversity data and limited conservation resources, conservation biologists are challenged to use such data for cost-effective conservation planning. However, while extensive, key genomic and distributional databases remain incomplete and contain biases. Here, we compiled data on the distribution of South Africa’s > 10,000 endemic plant species, and used species distribution modelling to identify regions with climate suitable for supporting high diversity, but which have been poorly sampled. By comparing the match between projected species richness from climate to observed sampling effort, we identify priority areas and taxa for future biodiversity sampling. We reveal evidence for strong geographical and taxonomic sampling biases, indicating that we have still not fully captured the extraordinary diversity of South Africa’s endemic flora. We suggest that these knowledge gaps contribute to the insufficient protection of plant biodiversity within the country—which reflect part of a broader Leopoldean shortfall in conservation data.
Applying kriging proxies for Markov chain Monte Carlo in reservoir simulation
Authors: Fursov Ilya , Christie Mike , Lord Gabriel
Published: June 2020

One way to quantify the uncertainty in Bayesian inverse problems arising in the engineering domain is to generate samples from the posterior distribution using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms. The basic MCMC methods tend to explore the parameter space slowly, which makes them inefficient for practical problems. On the other hand, enhanced MCMC approaches, like Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC), require the gradients from the physical problem simulator, which are often not available. In this case, a feasible option is to use the gradient approximations provided by the surrogate (proxy) models built on the simulator output. In this paper, we consider proxy-aided HMC employing the Gaussian process (kriging) emulator. We overview in detail the different aspects of kriging proxies, the underlying principles of the HMC sampler and its interaction with the proxy model. The proxy-aided HMC algorithm is thoroughly tested in different settings, and applied to three case studies—one toy problem, and two synthetic reservoir simulation models. We address the question of how the sampler performance is affected by the increase of the problem dimension, the use of the gradients in proxy training, the use of proxy-for-the-data and the different approaches to the design points selection. It turns out that applying the proxy model with HMC sampler may be beneficial for relatively small physical models, with around 20 unknown parameters. Such a sampler is shown to outperform both the basic Random Walk Metropolis algorithm, and the HMC algorithm fed by the exact simulator gradients.
First-in-human, phase I single-ascending-dose study of the safety, pharmacokinetics, and relative bioavailability of selatinib, a dual EGFR-ErbB2 inhibitor in healthy subjects
Authors: Wang Meng-na , Kuang Yun , Gong Li-ying , Hua Ye , Pei Qi , Guo Cheng-xian , Cao Yu , Huang Jie , Yang Guo-ping
Published: June 2020

We assessed the pharmacokinetics and safety of a single oral administration of selatinib to healthy Chinese subjects and evaluated the potential bioavailability advantage of selatinib relative to lapatinib. Healthy subjects aged 18–40 years were enrolled in this two-part study: Part 1, a single ascending dose (50–500 mg), randomized, double-blind, placebo-control study with 64 subjects; and Part 2, an open-label, positive control, randomized, three-treatment, three-period, three-sequence crossover design study, with 6 subjects administered a single 500-mg dose of selatinib tablets (A), selatinib suspension (B), or lapatinib tablets C) per cycle. In part 1, selatinib was well-tolerated up to the planned maximum dose of 500 mg; thus the maximum tolerated dose was not attained. Twenty-two adverse events were observed in 19 (36.5%) of the 52 subjects administered the test drug. The most common drug-related adverse event was diarrhea. The mean selatinib peak plasma concentration was 69.4–494 ng/mL, which was achieved in a median peak time of 3.5–4.5 h, with a mean elimination half-life between 13.8 and 15.8 h. In Part 2, A and B showed similar bioavailability. Plasma exposure to the active drug (selatinib plus the metabolite, lapatinib) after A intake was more than two-fold higher than that of the same dose of C. In the dose range of 50–500 mg, selatinib was safe and well-tolerated by healthy Chinese subjects, and it conformed with linear pharmacokinetics. Active exposure to selatinib was much greater than that to lapatinib, supporting its development as an adjuvant for anticancer treatment.
Click chemistry compared to thiol chemistry for the synthesis of site-selective glycoconjugate vaccines using CRM197 as carrier protein
Authors: Stefanetti G. , Allan M. , Usera A. , Micoli F.
Published: June 2020

Conjugation chemistry is one of the main parameters affecting immunogenicity of glycoconjugate vaccines and a rational approach toward a deeper understanding of their mechanism of action will greatly benefit from highly-defined and well-characterized structures. Herein, different conjugation methods were investigated with the aim of controlling glycosylation site and glycosylation density on the carrier protein. S. Typhimurium lipopolysaccharide O-Antigen and CRM197 carrier protein were used as models. In particular, thiol and click chemistry were examined, both involving the linkage of the terminal reducing sugar unit of the O-Antigen chain to different amino acids on the carrier protein. Thiol chemistry allowed O-Antigen conjugation only when the carrier protein was activated on the lysines and with a relative high number of linkers, while click chemistry allowed conjugate generation even when just one position on the protein was activated and to both lysine and tyrosine sites. The study highlights click chemistry as a leading approach for the synthesis of well-defined glycoconjugates, useful to investigate the relationship between conjugate design and immune response.
The prestige economy of higher education journals: a quantitative approach
Authors: Kwiek Marek
Published: June 2020

This study addresses stratification in the global higher education research community and the changing geography of country affiliations in six elite journals. The distribution of country affiliations is analyzed from a longitudinal perspective (1996–2018), and full-time and part-time authors in the field are contrasted. The prestige maximization model and principal-agent theory provide the theoretical framework for the study, which examines 6334 articles published in six elite journals in the context of 21,442 articles in 41 core journals. The findings indicate that about 3.3% of academics have authored at least five articles (full-timers). These authors constitute the publishing core of the research community, while the 80% who have authored one article (part-timers) constitute its periphery.Higher Education(HE) andStudies in Higher Education(SHE) emerge as elite global journals, with an increasing share of non-Anglo-Saxon authors. Previously globally invisible countries became visible almost exclusively through HE and SHE. Global trends include the diminishing role of American researchers and the increasing role of researchers from Continental Europe, East Asia, and the cluster of 66 “other” countries. The single biggest affiliation loser is the United States, which had 42.5% of country affiliations in 1996–2003 but only 26.9% in 2012–2018. This reflects both the increasing share of non-American affiliations and the increasing yearly volume of HE and SHE publications, in which US academics tend not to publish massively.
Realized ecological niche-based occupancy–abundance patterns of benthic diatom traits
Authors: Lengyel Edina , Szabó Beáta , Stenger-Kovács Csilla
Published: June 2020

Nowadays, when aquatic habitats are threatened by human and climatic disturbances leading to reductions in biodiversity and ecosystem functions, the study of the abundance–occupancy relationships of species traits and their underlying mechanisms is of great importance to future conservation management. To study the distribution patterns of benthic diatom traits, lakes were sampled during the summer and early autumn. Niche breadth, niche position (NP), regional occupancy and local abundances (LAs) of benthic diatom traits and their combinations were determined along different environmental gradients. Benthic diatom traits were identified in all possible niche types (14% non-marginal–narrow, 37% non-marginal–broad, 8% marginal–narrow and 41% marginal–broad niche). On the basis of increased niche differentiation, it is possible to achieve an improved and more effective utilization of the eco-morphological concept of diatom traits. The relationships between the occupancy, abundance and niche characteristics suggest that the broader the niche, the wider the distribution and the greater the LA; the more marginal the NP, the more restricted spatially the distribution and the lower the LA. With regard to the key factors driving the occupancy of benthic diatom traits in lentic ecosystems, the NP hypothesis proves to be the best predictor of its variation.
Application of Li-, Mg-, Ba-, Sr-, Ca-, and Sn-doped ceria for solar-driven thermochemical conversion of carbon dioxide
Authors: Takalkar Gorakshnath , Bhosale Rahul R. , Rashid Suliman , AlMomani Fares , Shakoor Rana Abdul , Al Ashraf Abdullah
Published: June 2020

The redox reactivity of the Li-, Mg-, Ca-, Sr-, Ba-, and Sn-doped ceria (Ce0.9A0.1O2−δ) toward thermochemical CO2 splitting is investigated. Proposed Ce0.9A0.1O2−δ materials are prepared via co-precipitation of the hydroxide technique. The composition, morphology, and the average particle size of the Ce0.9A0.1O2−δ materials are determined by using suitable characterization methods. By utilizing a thermogravimetric analyzer setup, the long-term redox performance of each Ce0.9A0.1O2−δ material is estimated. The results obtained indicate that all the Ce0.9A0.1O2−δ materials are able to produce steady amounts of O2 and CO from cycle 4 to cycle 10. Based on the average $$ n_{{{\text{O}}_{2} }} $$nO2 released and $$ n_{\text{CO}} $$nCO produced, the Ce0.899Sn0.102O2.002 and Ce0.895Ca0.099O1.889 are observed to be the top and bottom-most choices. When compared with the CeO2 material, all Ce0.9A0.1O2−δ materials showed elevated levels of O2 release and CO production.
Assessment of spontaneous breathing during pressure controlled ventilation with superimposed spontaneous breathing using respiratory flow signal analysis
Authors: Kreyer Stefan , Baker William L. , Scaravilli Vittorio , Linden Katharina , Belenkiy Slava M. , Necsoiu Corina , Muders Thomas , Putensen Christian , Chung Kevin K. , Cancio Leopoldo C. , Batchinsky Andriy I.
Published: June 2020

Integrating spontaneous breathing into mechanical ventilation (MV) can speed up liberation from it and reduce its invasiveness. On the other hand, inadequate and asynchronous spontaneous breathing has the potential to aggravate lung injury. During use of airway-pressure-release-ventilation (APRV), the assisted breaths are difficult to measure. We developed an algorithm to differentiate the breaths in a setting of lung injury in spontaneously breathing ewes. We hypothesized that differentiation of breaths into spontaneous, mechanical and assisted is feasible using a specially developed for this purpose algorithm. Ventilation parameters were recorded by software that integrated ventilator output variables. The flow signal, measured by the EVITA® XL (Lübeck, Germany), was measured every 2 ms by a custom Java-based computerized algorithm (Breath-Sep). By integrating the flow signal, tidal volume (VT) of each breath was calculated. By using the flow curve the algorithm separated the different breaths and numbered them for each time point. Breaths were separated into mechanical, assisted and spontaneous. Bland Altman analysis was used to compare parameters. Comparing the values calculated by Breath-Sep with the data from the EVITA® using Bland–Altman analyses showed a mean bias of − 2.85% and 95% limits of agreement from − 25.76 to 20.06% for MVtotal. For respiratory rate (RR) RRset a bias of 0.84% with a SD of 1.21% and 95% limits of agreement from − 1.53 to 3.21% were found. In the cluster analysis of the 25th highest breaths of each group RRtotal was higher using the EVITA®. In the mechanical subgroup the values for RRspont and MVspont the EVITA® showed higher values compared to Breath-Sep. We developed a computerized method for respiratory flow-curve based differentiation of breathing cycle components during mechanical ventilation with superimposed spontaneous breathing. Further studies in humans and optimizing of this technique is necessary to allow for real-time use at the bedside.
Prior information for population pharmacokinetic and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis: overview and guidance with a focus on the NONMEM PRIOR subroutine
Authors: Chan Kwong Anna H.-X. P. , Calvier Elisa A. M. , Fabre David , Gattacceca Florence , Khier Sonia
Published: June 2020

Population pharmacokinetic analysis is used to estimate pharmacokinetic parameters and their variability from concentration data. Due to data sparseness issues, available datasets often do not allow the estimation of all parameters of the suitable model. The PRIOR subroutine in NONMEM supports the estimation of some or all parameters with values from previous models, as an alternative to fixing them or adding data to the dataset. From a literature review, the best practices were compiled to provide a practical guidance for the use of the PRIOR subroutine in NONMEM. Thirty-three articles reported the use of the PRIOR subroutine in NONMEM, mostly in special populations. This approach allowed fast, stable and satisfying modelling. The guidance provides general advice on how to select the most appropriate reference model when there are several previous models available, and to implement and weight the selected parameter values in the PRIOR function. On the model built with PRIOR, the similarity of estimates with the ones of the reference model and the sensitivity of the model to the PRIOR values should be checked. Covariates could be implemented a priori (from the reference model) or a posteriori, only on parameters estimated without prior (search for new covariates).

Graphic abstract
Fin vs. tech: are trust and knowledge creation key ingredients in fintech start-up emergence and financing?
Authors: Cojoianu Theodor Florian , Clark Gordon L. , Hoepner Andreas G. F. , Pažitka Vladimir , Wójcik Dariusz
Published: June 2020

We investigate how the emergence of fintech start-ups and their financing is shaped by regional knowledge creation and lack of trust in financial services incumbents across 21 OECD countries, 226 regions and over the 2007–2014 period. We find that knowledge generated in the IT sector is much more salient for fostering new fintech start-ups than knowledge generated in the financial services sector. Additionally, the importance of new knowledge created in the financial services sector (IT sector) increases (decreases) as fintech start-ups grow and seek financing. When the level of trust in financial services incumbents falls within a region, this is followed by an increase in the financing provided to fintech start-ups. Nevertheless, regions with historically low average levels of trust in financial services incumbents attract less fintech investment overall.
Drawing impossible boundaries: field delineation of Social Network Science
Authors: Lietz Haiko
Published: June 2020

“Big” digital behavioral data increasingly allows large-scale and high-resolution analyses of the behavior and performance of persons or aggregated identities in whole fields. Often the desired system of study is only a subset of a larger database. The task of drawing a field boundary is complicated because socio-cultural systems are highly overlapping. Here, I propose a sociologically enhanced information retrieval method to delineate fields that is based on the reproductive mechanism of fields, able to account for field heterogeneity, and generally applicable also outside scientometric, e.g., in social media, contexts. The method is demonstrated in a delineation of the multidisciplinary and very heterogeneous Social Network Science field using the Web of Science database. The field consists of 25,760 publications and has a historical dimension (1916–2012). This set has high face validity and exhibits expected statistical properties like systemic growth and power law size distributions. Data is clean and disambiguated. The dataset with 45,580 author names and 23,026 linguistic concepts is publically available and supposed to enable high-quality analyses of an evolving complex socio-cultural system.
A novel framework for noninvasive analysis of short-term atrial activity dynamics during persistent atrial fibrillation
Authors: Bonizzi Pietro , Meste Olivier , Zeemering Stef , Karel Joël , Lankveld Theo , Crijns Harry , Schotten Ulrich , Peeters Ralf
Published: June 2020

ECG-based representation of atrial fibrillation (AF) progression is currently limited. We propose a novel framework for a more sensitive noninvasive characterization of the AF substrate during persistent AF. An atrial activity (AA) recurrence signal is computed from body surface potential map (BSPM) recordings, and a set of characteristic indices is derived from it which captures the short- and long-term recurrent behaviour in the AA patterns. A novel measure of short- and long-term spatial variability of AA propagation is introduced, to provide an interpretation of the above indices, and to test the hypothesis that the variability in the oscillatory content of AA is due mainly to a spatially uncoordinated propagation of the AF waveforms. A simple model of atrial signal dynamics is proposed to confirm this hypothesis, and to investigate a possible influence of the AF substrate on the short-term recurrent behaviour of AA propagation. Results confirm the hypothesis, with the model also revealing the above influence. Once the characteristic indices are normalized to remove this influence, they show to be significantly associated with AF recurrence 4 to 6 weeks after electrical cardioversion. Therefore, the proposed framework improves noninvasive AF substrate characterization in patients with a very similar substrate.
Quality of Life 10 Years After Bariatric Surgery
Authors: Major Piotr , Stefura Tomasz , Dziurowicz Błażej , Radwan Joanna , Wysocki Michał , Małczak Piotr , Pędziwiatr Michał
Published: June 2020

Purpose

Improvement of the quality of life after bariatric surgery is an important outcome of the treatment. Assessing the long-term QoL results provides better insights into the effectiveness of bariatric surgery.

Materials and Methods

This is a cohort study including patients who underwent bariatric surgery between June 2009 and May 2010 in one academic center. Patients underwent either laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) or laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB). Overall, 34 patients underwent LSG (52.3%) and 31 patients underwent LRYGB (47.7%). Preoperatively, and after 1 and 10 years, QoL was assessed using two standardized questionnaires: SF-36 and MA-QoLII. After 10 years, 72% of patients filled out these questionnaires.

Results

The global QoL score before surgery was 48.3 ± 20.6. At the 1-year follow-up, the global total QoL score was 79.7 ± 9.8. At the 10-year follow-up, the global total QoL score was 65.1 ± 21.4. There was a significant increase in total QoL between measurements before the operation and 10 years after surgery in the whole study group (p = 0.001) and for patients who underwent LSG (p = 0.001). There was no significant difference between total QoL prior to surgery and 10 years after for patients who underwent LRYGB (p = 0.450).

Conclusion

LSG led to significant improvement in QoL.
Evaluation of Prediction Models for Type 2 Diabetes Relapse After Post-bariatric Surgery Remission: a Post hoc Analysis of 15-Year Follow-up Data from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) Study
Authors: Sjöholm Kajsa , Svensson Per-Arne , Taube Magdalena , Jacobson Peter , Andersson-Assarsson Johanna C. , Carlsson Lena M. S. , Peltonen Markku
Published: June 2020

Purpose

Many patients achieve type 2 diabetes (T2D) remission after bariatric surgery, but relapse after post-surgery remission is common. Scoring models accurately predict remission up to 5 years after surgery but have not been tested for prediction of long-term T2D relapse. The aim of this work was to test the ability of prediction models and single predictors to identify patients at risk of long-term relapse (10–15 years) after post-surgery T2D remission.

Methods

We identified 222 individuals with T2D from the surgically treated group in the prospective Swedish Obese Subjects study, who were in remission at the 2-year follow-up and had data available for prediction of long-term T2D relapse. T2D remission/relapse was assessed after 10 and 15 years. Model performance (discrimination) was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves.

Results

Preoperative prediction of relapse using scores DiaRem, Ad-DiaRem, and DiaBetter and T2D duration alone was poor, as indicated by AUROC curves between 0.61–0.64 at 10 years and 0.62–0.66 at 15 years. Likewise, the 5y-Ad-DiaRem score, which includes early postoperative measures, resulted in AUROC curves of 0.65 and 0.70 for relapse at 10 and 15 years, respectively. Two-year weight change alone had higher discriminatory capacity than the 5y-Ad-DiaRem model at 10 years (AUROC = 0.70; p = 0.036) and similar capacity at 15 years (AUROC = 0.78; p = 0.188).

Conclusions

Predictive performance of all tested models is low for T2D relapse. By contrast, a single measure of 2-year weight change after surgery was associated with relapse, supporting a key role for initial weight reduction in long-term T2D control.
The issues with tissues: the wide range of cell fate separation enables the evolution of multicellularity and cancer
Authors: Hammarlund Emma U. , Amend Sarah R. , Pienta Kenneth J.
Published: June 2020

Our understanding of the rises of animal and cancer multicellularity face the same conceptual hurdles: what makes the clade originate and what makes it diversify. Between the events of origination and diversification lies complex tissue organization that gave rise to novel functionality for organisms and, unfortunately, for malignant transformation in cells. Tissue specialization with distinctly separated cell fates allowed novel functionality at organism level, such as for vertebrate animals, but also involved trade-offs at the cellular level that are potentially disruptive. These trade-offs are under-appreciated and here we discuss how the wide separation of cell phenotypes may contribute to cancer evolution by (a) how factors can reverse differentiated cells into a window of phenotypic plasticity, (b) the reversal to phenotypic plasticity coupled with asexual reproduction occurs in a way that the host cannot adapt, and (c) the power of the transformation factor correlates to the power needed to reverse tissue specialization. The role of reversed cell fate separation for cancer evolution is strengthened by how some tissues and organisms maintain high cell proliferation and plasticity without developing tumours at a corresponding rate. This demonstrates a potential proliferation paradox that requires further explanation. These insights from the cancer field, which observes tissue evolution in real time and closer than any other field, allow inferences to be made on evolutionary events in animal history. If a sweet spot of phenotypic and reproductive versatility is key to transformation, factors stimulating cell fate separation may have promoted also animal diversification on Earth.
Streamwater responses to reduced nitrogen deposition at four small upland catchments in Norway
Authors: Kaste Øyvind , Austnes Kari , de Wit Heleen A.
Published: June 2020

Reduced emissions of nitrogen (N) in Europe have resulted in decreasing atmospheric deposition since 1990. Long-term data (1988–2017) from four small Norwegian catchments located along gradients in N deposition, rainfall, and organic carbon (C) show different responses to 25–30% reductions in N deposition during the same period. At three sites the decreased N deposition caused reduced leaching of nitrate to surface water, whereas the westernmost site showed no decrease, probably due to thin soils with low C:N ratio, poor vegetation cover and high precipitation. The loss of total N to streamwater constituted 30–50% of the N deposition. Losses via denitrification are unknown but assumed to be low, as a major fraction of the catchments are well-drained. Hence, the study sites seem to continue to accumulate N, presumably mostly in soil organic matter. Although atmospheric N deposition has declined, ambient loads might still exceed long-term sustainable levels in these vulnerable ecosystems.
Molecular and functional characterization of ferulate-5-hydroxylase in Populus tomentosa
Authors: Jiang Wenting , Zeng Qiqi , Jiang Yan , Gai Ying , Jiang Xiangning
Published: June 2020

Ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H) is a key rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of guaiacyl monolignol (G-monolignol) to syringyl monolignol (S-monolignol) in the specific synthetic lignin pathway, through the catalysis of the 5-hydroxylation of S-monolignol precursors ferulic acid, conifer aldehyde, and coniferyl alcohol. In this study, we cloned the F5H gene of Populus tomenta (PtoF5H), whose product has a highly conserved domain of P450-dependent monooxygenase family. Subcellular localization result demonstrated that PtoF5H protein is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein. Furthermore, the PtoF5H was transformed into tobacco in the form of sense- and antisense-, showed that the proportion of S-monolignol increased when PtoF5H gene was overexpressed, suggesting PtoF5H could be used as a target gene for modifying lignin composition. These findings provide further insight into the function of PtoF5H.
Studying the pathophysiology of coronavirus disease 2019: a protocol for the Berlin prospective COVID-19 patient cohort (Pa-COVID-19)
Authors: Kurth Florian , Roennefarth Maria , Thibeault Charlotte , Corman Victor M. , Müller-Redetzky Holger , Mittermaier Mirja , Ruwwe-Glösenkamp Christoph , Heim Katrin M. , Krannich Alexander , Zvorc Saskia , Schmidt Sein , Kretzler Lucie , Dang-Heine Chantip , Rose Matthias , Hummel Michael , Hocke Andreas , Hübner Ralf H. , Opitz Bastian , Mall Marcus A. , Röhmel Jobst , Landmesser Ulf , Pieske Burkert , Knauss Samuel , Endres Matthias , Spranger Joachim , Mockenhaupt Frank P. , Tacke Frank , Treskatsch Sascha , Angermair Stefan , Siegmund Britta , Spies Claudia , Weber-Carstens Steffen , Eckardt Kai-Uwe , Schürmann Dirk , Uhrig Alexander , Stegemann Miriam S. , Zoller Thomas , Drosten Christian , Suttorp Norbert , Witzenrath Martin , Hippenstiel Stefan , von Kalle Christof , Sander Leif Erik
Published: June 2020

Purpose

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide causing a global health emergency. Pa-COVID-19 aims to provide comprehensive data on clinical course, pathophysiology, immunology and outcome of COVID-19, to identify prognostic biomarkers, clinical scores, and therapeutic targets for improved clinical management and preventive interventions.

Methods

Pa-COVID-19 is a prospective observational cohort study of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection treated at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. We collect data on epidemiology, demography, medical history, symptoms, clinical course, and pathogen testing and treatment. Systematic, serial blood sampling will allow deep molecular and immunological phenotyping, transcriptomic profiling, and comprehensive biobanking. Longitudinal data and sample collection during hospitalization will be supplemented by long-term follow-up.

Results

Outcome measures include the WHO clinical ordinal scale on day 15 and clinical, functional, and health-related quality-of-life assessments at discharge and during follow-up. We developed a scalable dataset to (i) suit national standards of care, (ii) facilitate comprehensive data collection in medical care facilities with varying resources, and (iii) allow for rapid implementation of interventional trials based on the standardized study design and data collection. We propose this scalable protocol as blueprint for harmonized data collection and deep phenotyping in COVID-19 in Germany.

Conclusion

We established a basic platform for harmonized, scalable data collection, pathophysiological analysis, and deep phenotyping of COVID-19, which enables rapid generation of evidence for improved medical care and identification of candidate therapeutic and preventive strategies. The electronic database accredited for interventional trials allows fast trial implementation for candidate therapeutic agents.

Trial registration

Registered at the German registry for clinical studies (DRKS00021688)
Sonographic Assessment of Fetal Neck Circumference (NC) As a Predictor of Gestational Age
Authors: Abdulkadir Muhammad K. , Nwobi Ivor C. , Abubakar Auwal , Izge Ilyasu , Abdulkarim Abdulaziz
Published: June 2020

Background The need for development of population based nomograms for ultrasound fetal dating cannot be overemphasised. The objective of this study was to develop a nomogram of Fetal Neck Circumference (NC) for predicting gestational age for this population.

Methods This was a cross sectional prospective study of 203 singleton normal pregnant women of 15–40 weeks’ gestation. Fetal NC was measured the 5th, 50th and 95th centile values were estimated at each week of gestational age, 50th centile values were then compared to Caucasian and African population study to assess variability.

Results A nomogram was derived and NC values showed no statistical significant difference compared to the Caucasians (p = 0.065, 0.257) and African (p = 0.947) population. There was a strong positive significant correlation (r2 = 0.799; p = 0.001) between NC and average gestational age. Method of least square yielded to the equation y = 2.22x + 5.390. NC relationship with BPD (r2 = 0.859; p = 0.001), FL (r2 = 0.842; p = 0.001) and HC (r2 = 0.662; p = 0.001) were also significant and positive. Estimated weekly increase in NC was 0.72 cm.

Conclusion This study derived nomogram for ultrasound measurement of fetal NC in a Northern Nigerian population. However, NC values from this study differ less with an African population than with Caucasian study population.
Umbilical Artery Doppler Indices at the Perivesical Segment in Growth-Restricted Fetuses
Authors: Kaya Başak , Atiş Aydin Alev
Published: June 2020

To compare perinatal outcomes of growth-restricted fetuses with bilateral positive end-diastolic (PED) flow at the perivesical segment (PVC) and growth-restricted fetuses with unilateral or bilateral absent/reverse end-diastolic (ARED) flow at the PVC segment. A total of 119 growth-restricted fetuses with PED flow at the free loop of the umbilical artery were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Methods The patients were separated into three groups according to presence or absence of the end-diastolic flow at the perivesical segment. Patients with bilateral PED flow at the PVC segment were enrolled in Group1, patients with unilateral and bilateral (ARED) flow at the PVC segment were enrolled in Group 2 and 3, respectively. The perinatal outcomes of the groups were investigated. There were no significant differences between groups in terms of maternal age, gravida, parity, the gestational age at ultrasound examination and the pulsatility index of free umbilical artery. The gestational age at delivery, the birth weight and the interval between the diagnosis and delivery were found significantly higher in Group 1 than the other groups, there were no significant differences between Group 2 and 3 in terms of these parameters. More adverse pregnancy outcomes were observed in the unilateral and bilateral ARED flow groups than the bilateral PED flow group. In addition to the free loop Doppler indices, measuring the umbilical arteries Doppler indices at the PVC segment could contribute to the determination of more growth-restricted fetuses at risk of hypoxia.
Donor-transmitted cancer in kidney transplant recipients: a systematic review
Authors: Eccher Albino , Girolami Ilaria , Motter Jennifer Danielle , Marletta Stefano , Gambaro Giovanni , Momo Rostand Emmanuel Nguefuet , Nacchia Francesco , Donato Paola , Boschiero Luigino , Boggi Ugo , Lombardini Letizia , Cardillo Massimo , D’Errico Antonietta , Neil Desley , Segev Dorry Lidor , Zaza Gianluigi
Published: June 2020

The transmission of cancer from a donor organ is a rare event but has important consequences. Aim of this systematic review was to summarize all the published evidence on cancer transmission in kidney recipients. We reviewed published case reports and series describing the outcome of recipients with donor-transmitted cancer until August 2019. A total of 128 papers were included, representing 234 recipients. The most common transmitted cancers were lymphoma (n = 48, 20.5%), renal cancer (42, 17.9%), melanoma (40, 17.1%), non-small cell lung cancer (n = 13, 5.6%), neuroendocrine cancers comprising small cell lung cancer (n = 11, 4.7%) and choriocarcinoma (n = 10, 4.3%). There was a relative lack of glioblastoma and gastrointestinal cancers with only 6 and 5 cases, respectively. Melanoma and lung cancer had the worst prognosis, with 5-years overall survival of 43% and 19%, respectively; while renal cell cancer and lymphomas had a favorable prognosis with 5-years overall survival of 93 and 63%, respectively. Metastasis of cancer outside the graft was the most important adverse prognostic factor. Overall reporting was good, but information on donors’ cause of death and investigations at procurement was often lacking. Epidemiology of transmitted cancer has evolved, thanks to screening with imaging and blood tests, as choriocarcinoma transmission have almost abolished, while melanoma and lymphoma are still difficult to detect and prevent.
Parameter inversion and location determination of evolutionary weak layer for open-pit mine slope
Authors: Hongze Zhao , Dongyu Wang , Ming Ma , Kaihui Zheng
Published: June 2020

In light of the complex and dynamic mechanical properties of evolving weak strata in open-pit mines, and the consequent difficulty of determining their mechanical parameters, this study uses the ultimate balance theory, along with the back analysis method combined with monitoring data on field displacement, to carry out parameter inversion using the FLAC3D numerical simulation software. The edge slope of a working pit of the Weijiamao open-pit mine was used as research object to this end. As the results obtained by the constitutive model were consistent with the field monitoring data, the evolving weak strata in the slope and the position of the landslide in the mine could be obtained. The landslide was directed northeast. The mechanism of the edge slope of the working pit was identified as unloading shear failure, and the feasibility of the method of parameter inversion was verified. The internal friction angle ϕ and cohesion C of evolving weak strata in the slope of the open-pit mine were also obtained, where this compensated for the deficiency of laboratory tests and enabled the transformation from qualitative to quantitative analysis. This can provide a reliable basis for the safe operation of open-pit mines.
Opportunities and Challenges in Twisted Bilayer Graphene: A Review
Authors: Nimbalkar Amol , Kim Hyunmin
Published: June 2020

Two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit enhanced physical, chemical, electronic, and optical properties when compared to those of bulk materials. Graphene demands significant attention due to its superior physical and electronic characteristics among different types of 2D materials. The bilayer graphene is fabricated by the stacking of the two monolayers of graphene. The twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) superlattice is formed when these layers are twisted at a small angle. The presence of disorders and interlayer interactions in tBLG enhances several characteristics, including the optical and electrical properties. The studies on twisted bilayer graphene have been exciting and challenging thus far, especially after superconductivity was reported in tBLG at the magic angle. This article reviews the current progress in the fabrication techniques of twisted bilayer graphene and its twisting angle-dependent properties.
The Influence of a Short-Term Mindfulness Meditation Intervention on Emotion and Visual Attention
Authors: Thompson Catherine , Quigley Eileen , Taylor Ashley
Published: June 2020

It has been suggested that mindfulness meditation (MM) improves psychological well-being via the focusing and broadening of attention. Whilst studies show that short-term MM interventions can improve focused attention, there is little evidence to support the broadening of attention. The current study investigated the influence of a short-term MM intervention on emotion and the scope of visual attention. Seventy participants completed a global-local processing task separated into three blocks of trials, with a 10-min break between each one. During the breaks, a MM group engaged in a breath-counting task and a control group engaged in a task of their choosing. Response times to global and local targets and a measure of self-reported emotional affect were recorded for each block. Mindfulness had no impact on attention; however, both positive and negative affect decreased for the MM group across the course of the experiment. The results suggest that MM can reduce the focus on negative (and positive) thoughts, indicating possible changes to focused attention, yet a short-term intervention is not sufficient to broaden attention.