bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diamond formation in double-shocked epoxy to 150 GPa
Authors: Marshall M. C. , Gorman M. G. , Polsin D. N. , Eggert J. H. , Ginnane M. K. , Rygg J. R. , Collins G. W. , Leininger L. D.
Published: February 2022

We present measurements of diamond formation in doubly shocked Stycast 1266 epoxy (comprising C, H, Cl, N, and O) using in situ x-ray diffraction. Epoxy samples were reshocked against a LiF window to pressures between 80 and 148 GPa in experiments at the Omega Laser Facility. The pressure and temperature conditions were diagnosed in situ using velocimetry and optical pyrometry, respectively. X-ray diffraction patterns of the compressed epoxy are consistent with cubic diamond (Fd3¯m), indicating that diamond can precipitate not only from twice-shocked CH polystyrene [Kraus et al. Nat. Astron. 1, 606 (2017)] at these conditions but also from twice-shocked CH polymers with the addition of oxygen, nitrogen, and chlorine. These results, in combination with previous works on CH, CH2, CH4, and methane hydrate, support that diamond often, but not always, forms from CH-based compounds at extreme pressures and temperatures, indicating that the chemical composition, thermodynamic compression path, and kinetics play an important role.
Nematode ascarosides attenuate mammalian type 2 inflammatory responses
Authors: Shinoda Kenta , Choe Andrea , Hirahara Kiyoshi , Kiuchi Masahiro , Kokubo Kota , Ichikawa Tomomi , Hoki Jason S. , Suzuki Akane S. , Bose Neelanjan , Appleton Judith A. , Aroian Raffi V. , Schroeder Frank C. , Sternberg Paul W. , Nakayama Toshinori
Published: February 2022

Significance

Animal proof-of-concept studies have shown that roundworms have a protective effect against immune-dysregulated disorders, but it has been difficult to study in human trials without individual nematode-derived molecules to develop and test. We discovered that ascarosides, molecules that are secreted by diverse nematodes, suppress asthma in a rodent model via modulation of expression of
Il33
, a key epithelial cytokine for induction of type 2 immunity, in addition to decreasing memory-type pathogenic Th2 cells and ILC2s and increasing the
Il10-
expressing subpopulation of interstitial macrophages in the lung. Thus, ascarosides suppress type 2 immune response by affecting both innate and adaptive immunity and could define a potent class of small molecule drugs to treat allergic airway diseases.
The dual role of martensitic transformation in fatigue crack growth
Authors: Wang Xiaogang , Liu Chenghuan , Sun Binhan , Ponge Dirk , Jiang Chao , Raabe Dierk
Published: February 2022

Significance

About 90% of all mechanical service failures are caused by fatigue. Avoiding fatigue failure requires addressing the wide knowledge gap regarding the micromechanical processes governing damage under cyclic loading, which may be fundamentally different from that under static loading. This is particularly true for deformation-induced martensitic transformation (DIMT), one of the most common strengthening mechanisms for alloys. Here, we identify two antagonistic mechanisms mediated by martensitic transformation during the fatigue process through in situ observations and demonstrate the dual role of DIMT in fatigue crack growth and its strong crack-size dependence. Our findings open up avenues for designing fatigue-resistant alloys through optimal use of DIMT. They also enable the development of physically based lifetime prediction models with higher fidelity.
Mitochondrial COA7 is a heme-binding protein with disulfide reductase activity, which acts in the early stages of complex IV assembly
Authors: Formosa Luke E. , Maghool Shadi , Sharpe Alice J. , Reljic Boris , Muellner-Wong Linden , Stroud David A. , Ryan Michael T. , Maher Megan J.
Published: February 2022

Significance

Assembly factors play key roles in the biogenesis of mitochondrial protein complexes, regulating their stabilities, activities, and incorporation of essential cofactors. Cytochrome
c
oxidase assembly factor 7 (COA7) is a metazoan-specific assembly factor, the absence or mutation of which in humans accompanies complex IV assembly defects and neurological conditions. Here, we report the crystal structure of COA7 to 2.4 Å resolution, revealing a banana-shaped molecule composed of five helix-turn-helix (α/α) repeats. COA7 binds heme with micromolar affinity, even though the protein structure does not resemble previously characterized heme-binding proteins. The heme-bound COA7 can redox cycle between oxidation states Fe(II) and Fe(III) and shows disulfide reductase activity toward copper binding assembly factors. We propose that COA7 functions to facilitate the biogenesis of the binuclear copper site (Cu
A
) of complex IV.
5-methylcytosine modification by
Plasmodium
NSUN2 stabilizes mRNA and mediates the development of gametocytes
Authors: Liu Meng , Guo Gangqiang , Qian Pengge , Mu Jianbing , Lu Binbin , He Xiaoqin , Fan Yanting , Shang Xiaomin , Yang Guang , Shen Shijun , Liu Wenju , Wang Liping , Gu Liang , Mu Quankai , Yu Xinyu , Zhao Yuemeng , Culleton Richard , Cao Jun , Jiang Lubin , Wellems Thomas E. , Yuan Jing , Jiang Cizhong , Zhang Qingfeng
Published: February 2022

Significance

Modifications of RNA, including methylations of cytosine (m
5
C) and adenosine (m
6
A), have important roles in RNA metabolism, cellular responses to stress, and biological processes of differentiation and development. We report on the profiles of m
5
C messenger RNA (mRNA) modifications in malaria parasites that infect rodents (
Plasmodium yoelii
) and humans (
Plasmodium falciparum
). These parasites have genes that encode homologs of human and plant NSUN2 methyltransferases (m
5
C “writers”). We show that one of these homologs, termed PyNSUN2, stabilizes mRNA transcripts in
P. yoelii
and mediates m
5
C-associated development of the parasite sexual stages (gametocytes). Further research on m
5
C and other epitranscriptomic modifications may yield new insights into molecular pathways of gametocyte development and mosquito infectivity that can be exploited to interrupt malaria transmission.
Microglia modulate blood flow, neurovascular coupling, and hypoperfusion via purinergic actions
Authors: Császár Eszter , Lénárt Nikolett , Cserép Csaba , Környei Zsuzsanna , Fekete Rebeka , Pósfai Balázs , Balázsfi Diána , Hangya Balázs , Schwarcz Anett D. , Szabadits Eszter , Szöllősi Dávid , Szigeti Krisztián , Máthé Domokos , West Brian L. , Sviatkó Katalin , Brás Ana Rita , Mariani Jean-Charles , Kliewer Andrea , Lenkei Zsolt , Hricisák László , Benyó Zoltán , Baranyi Mária , Sperlágh Beáta , Menyhárt Ákos , Farkas Eszter , Dénes Ádám
Published: February 2022

Microglia, the main immunocompetent cells of the brain, regulate neuronal function, but their contribution to cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation has remained elusive. Here, we identify microglia as important modulators of CBF both under physiological conditions and during hypoperfusion. Microglia establish direct, dynamic purinergic contacts with cells in the neurovascular unit that shape CBF in both mice and humans. Surprisingly, the absence of microglia or blockade of microglial P2Y12 receptor (P2Y12R) substantially impairs neurovascular coupling in mice, which is reiterated by chemogenetically induced microglial dysfunction associated with impaired ATP sensitivity. Hypercapnia induces rapid microglial calcium changes, P2Y12R-mediated formation of perivascular phylopodia, and microglial adenosine production, while depletion of microglia reduces brain pH and impairs hypercapnia-induced vasodilation. Microglial actions modulate vascular cyclic GMP levels but are partially independent of nitric oxide. Finally, microglial dysfunction markedly impairs P2Y12R-mediated cerebrovascular adaptation to common carotid artery occlusion resulting in hypoperfusion. Thus, our data reveal a previously unrecognized role for microglia in CBF regulation, with broad implications for common neurological diseases.
Adaptive benchmarking design for additive manufacturing processes
Authors: Spitaels Laurent , Rivière-Lorphèvre Edouard , Demarbaix Anthonin , Ducobu François
Published: February 2022

Standards enabling the objective tolerancing and evaluation of dimensional and geometrical performances of additive manufacturing (AM) printers are still missing. The design, printing and measurements of geometrical benchmark test artefacts (GBTA) is the current solution proposed in literature. However, the current GBTA with fixed dimensions cannot cover most of the available printing area of printers with large building platform dimensions. This article proposes to solve this problem by developing an adaptive GBTA design whose main dimensions can be adapted to any common 3D printer. Moreover, an innovative design is implemented to decrease the risk of warping. The adaptive GBTA will then be used to characterise the performances of two different architecture material extrusion printers (Ultimaker 2+ and Pollen AM Series MC). Dimensional and geometrical accuracy, as well as top surface topography, were evaluated. The Ultimaker printer could reproduce features with maximum deviations below the tolerance interval (IT) 13 of the ISO 286-1, while the Pollen machine achieved a higher IT of 15 or 16. The highest geometrical deviations were observed for the coaxiality of cylinders oriented along the build direction (Ultimaker: 0.250 mm and Pollen: 0.497 mm). Top surface topography exhibited higher Ra values for Pollen (13.7 µm) than for Ultimaker 2+ (4.9 µm). The performances of the Pollen printer were lower than the Ultimaker machine in terms of surface topography, dimensional and geometrical accuracy. The proposed adaptive GBTA design covers most of the printing areas exhibited by Pollen and Ultimaker printers and offers flexibility to test other printers even with larger or smaller dimensions.
Implementing variable doping and work function engineering in β-Ga2O3 MOSFET to realize high breakdown voltage and PfoM
Authors: Goyal Priyanshi , Kaur Harsupreet
Published: February 2022

In this paper, the impact of workfunction engineering and lightly doped region near drain has been studied on lateral β-Ga2O3 metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) by employing exhaustive technology computer aided design simulations. The theoretically predicted value of breakdown voltage and power figure of merit (PFoM) for Ga2O3 based devices has not been achieved yet, and hence in order to improve these parameters, variable channel doping and work function engineering have been implemented on lateral β-Ga2O3 MOSFET for the first time in the present work. A thorough comparative assessment has been drawn by comparing the characteristics of the proposed device which incorporates work function engineering along with a variable doping in channel such that higher doping is near the source side and a lower doping region is near the drain end with conventional, doping engineered and work function engineered β-Ga2O3 devices and it is demonstrated that the proposed device offers significant improvement in breakdown voltage and PFoM. Furthermore, the performance of all devices under consideration has been evaluated at high temperatures as well and it is demonstrated that the proposed device offers superior performance in comparison to other devices, and hence is a suitable contender for high voltage and high temperature applications.
Interplay of vibration- and environment-assisted energy transfer
Authors: Li Zeng-Zhao , Ko Liwen , Yang Zhibo , Sarovar Mohan , Whaley K Birgitta
Published: February 2022

We study the interplay between two environmental influences on excited state energy transfer in photosynthetic light harvesting complexes, namely, vibrationally assisted energy transfer (VAET) and environment-assisted quantum transport (ENAQT), considering a dimeric chromophore donor–acceptor model as a prototype for larger systems. We demonstrate how the basic features of the excitonic energy transfer are influenced by these two environments, both separately and together, with the environment being fully quantum in the case of VAET and treated in the Haken–Strobl–Reineker classical limit in the case of ENAQT. Our results reveal that in the weak noise regime, the presence of a classical noise source is detrimental to the energy transfer that is resonantly assisted by the exciton-vibration interactions intrinsic to VAET. In the strong noise regime we reproduce all the features of ENAQT, including the turnover into a Zeno regime where energy transfer is suppressed, and VAET is insignificant.
Automatic Space Debris Extraction Channel Based on Large Field of view Photoelectric Detection System
Authors: Jiang Ping , Liu Chengzhi , Yang Wenbo , Kang Zhe , Li Zhenwei
Published: February 2022

Space target detection is the core technology of space surveillance system. The large field of view telescope has strong space detection capabilities, and its realization also faces many challenges. We propose an automatic extraction algorithm for space debris, aiming to automatically extract information about space targets. Our method is mainly divided into three parts. In the first stage, image denoising processing is carried out for various noise interference in the image. The proposed wavelet transform and total variational hybrid filtering algorithm are applied to eliminate noise, which reduces the impact of noise on target detection and greatly retains target information. In the second stage, we propose an improved morphological operator to eliminate uneven background. The third stage uses Hough transform to obtain candidate debris targets. These images were taken during an observation campaign, the observatory is located in Jilin. Experimental results show that the target detection algorithm proposed in this paper can effectively extract space target information and solve the problem of space target detection for large-field telescopes.
Enhanced fluorescence from semiconductor quantum dot-labelled cells excited at 280 nm
Authors: McFarlane Mollie , Hall Nicholas , McConnell Gail
Published: February 2022

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have significant advantages over more traditional fluorophores used in fluorescence microscopy including reduced photobleaching, long-term photostability and high quantum yields, but due to limitations in light sources and optics, are often excited far from their optimum excitation wavelengths in the deep-UV. Here, we present a quantitative comparison of the excitation of semiconductor QDs at a wavelength of 280 nm, compared to the longer wavelength of 365 nm, within a cellular environment. We report increased fluorescence intensity and enhanced image quality when using 280 nm excitation compared to 365 nm excitation for cell imaging across multiple datasets, with a highest average fluorescence intensity increase of 3.59-fold. We also find no significant photobleaching of QDs associated with 280 nm excitation and find that on average, ∼80% of cells can tolerate exposure to high-intensity 280 nm irradiation over a 6-hour period.
Effects of PTFE coating modification on tribological properties of PTFE/aramid self-lubricating fabric composite
Authors: Wang Juan , Huang Xiongrong , Wang Wei , Han Haosheng , Duan Hongyu , Yu Senlong , Zhu Meifang
Published: February 2022

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)/aramid fabric composites are currently widely used as self-lubricating bearing liners. In this study, a PTFE composite coating was performed to improve the friction stability of the PTFE/aramid fabric composite in long-term friction. Effects of the surface modification on the composite tribological properties were studied using ball-on-disk friction tests. Results showed that under different sliding condition, the friction coefficient of the modified and unmodified fabric composite were similar after sliding of 240 min. However, the friction coefficient curves of the unmodified fabric composite increased first, then decreased, and then increased, while that of the modified fabric composite increased first and then stabilized. At a sliding speed of 4.5 m min−1 and load of 50 N, the unmodified fabric composite worn out at ∼200 min, but the modified fabric composite was still stable after 240 min. SEM results confirmed that the PTFE composite coating had a good film forming property, which improved the wear resistance and friction stability of the composite in long-term friction especially under high sliding speed. These results give a reference for the development of self-lubricating plain bearing liners with long lifespans.
To rarefy or not to rarefy: robustness and efficiency trade-offs of rarefying microbiome data
Authors: Hong Johnny , Karaoz Ulas , de Valpine Perry , Fithian William
Published: February 2022

Motivation

Microbiome datasets provide rich information about microbial communities. However, vast library size variations across samples present great challenges for proper statistical comparisons. To deal with these challenges, rarefaction is often used in practice as a normalization technique, although there has been debate whether rarefaction should ever be used. Conventional wisdom and previous work suggested that rarefaction should never be used in practice, arguing that rarefying microbiome data is statistically inadmissible. These discussions, however, have been confined to particular parametric models and simulation studies.

Results

We develop a semiparametric graphical model framework for grouped microbiome data and analyze in the context of differential abundance testing the statistical trade-offs of the rarefaction procedure, accounting for latent variations and measurement errors. Under the framework, it can be shown rarefaction guarantees that subsequent permutation tests properly control the Type I error. In addition, the loss in sensitivity from rarefaction is solely due to increased measurement error; if the underlying variation in microbial composition is large among samples, rarefaction might not hurt subsequent statistical inference much. We develop the rarefaction efficiency index (REI) as an indicator for efficiency loss and illustrate it with a dataset on the effect of storage conditions for microbiome data. Simulation studies based on real data demonstrate that the impact of rarefaction on sensitivity is negligible when overdispersion is prominent, while low REI corresponds to scenarios in which rarefying might substantially lower the statistical power. Whether to rarefy or not ultimately depends on assumptions of the data generating process and characteristics of the data.

Availability and implementation

Source codes are publicly available at https://github.com/jcyhong/rarefaction.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Immunometabolic adaptation and immune plasticity in pregnancy and the bi-directional effects of obesity
Authors: Rees April , Richards Oliver , Chambers Megan , Jenkins Benjamin J , Cronin James G , Thornton Catherine A
Published: February 2022

Mandatory maternal metabolic and immunological changes are essential to pregnancy success. Parallel changes in metabolism and immune function make immunometabolism an attractive mechanism to enable dynamic immune adaptation during pregnancy. Immunometabolism is a burgeoning field with the underlying principle being that cellular metabolism underpins immune cell function. With whole body changes to the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein and lipids well recognised to occur in pregnancy and our growing understanding of immunometabolism as a determinant of immunoinflammatory effector responses, it would seem reasonable to expect immune plasticity during pregnancy to be linked to changes in the availability and handling of multiple nutrient energy sources by immune cells. While studies of immunometabolism in pregnancy are only just beginning, the recognised bi-directional interaction between metabolism and immune function in the metabolic disorder obesity might provide some of the earliest insights into the role of immunometabolism in immune plasticity in pregnancy. Characterised by chronic low-grade inflammation including in pregnant women, obesity is associated with numerous adverse outcomes during pregnancy and beyond for both mother and child. Concurrent changes in metabolism and immunoinflammation are consistently described but any causative link is not well established. Here we provide an overview of the metabolic and immunological changes that occur in pregnancy and how these might contribute to healthy versus adverse pregnancy outcomes with special consideration of possible interactions with obesity.
Rapid Isolation and Hypoglycemic Activity of Secondary Metabolites of Eurotium cristatum by High-Speed Countercurrent Chromatography
Authors: Li Pengchegn , Zhu Xiaohan , Xiao Mi , Su Yanqi , Yu Shanshan , Tang Jintian , Xue Hongkun , Cai Xu
Published: February 2022

In this study, secondary metabolites of Eurotium cristatum were isolated and purified by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC), and their hypoglycemic activities were studied. The general-useful estimate of solvent systems (GUESS) for counter-current chromatography was employed to select the appropriate solvent systems of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (HEMW, 4:6:5:5, v/v/v/v) for HSCCC practice, and three compounds were separated from the crude ethyl acetate extract of E. cristatum in one single step; 6.1 mg of Compounds 1, 5.6 mg of Compound 2 and 3.8 mg of Compound 3 were obtained from 100 mg of crude extract with a stationary phase retention of 75%. The compounds were then identified as emodin methyl ether, chrysophanol and emodin, respectively. The activity of the target compounds in the secondary metabolites of E. cristatum was verified by testing their inhibition on α-glucosidase activity and molecular docking simulation. The results showed that emodin, chrysophanol and emodin methyl ether had significant inhibitory effects on the α-glucosidase activity. This work confirmed the effectiveness of HSCCC in the separation of compounds in complex extracts and provided reference for further research and application of E. cristatum.
Use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in children with chronic kidney disease: a systematic review
Authors: Bruce Gordon , Schulga Peter , Reynolds Ben C
Published: February 2022

Background

Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) revolutionized the management of anaemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) when introduced in the late 1980s. A range of ESA types, preparations and administration modalities now exist, with newer agents requiring less frequent administration. Although systematic reviews and meta-analyses have been published in adults, no systematic review has been conducted investigating ESAs in children.

Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement for the conduct of systematic reviews was used. All available literature on outcomes relating to ESAs in children with CKD was sought. A search of the MEDLINE, CINAHL and Embase databases was conducted by two independent reviewers. Inclusion criteria were published trials in English, children with chronic and end-stage kidney disease and use of any ESA studied against any outcome measure. An assessment of risk of bias was carried out in all included randomized trials using the criteria from the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Two tables were used for data extraction for randomized and observational studies. Study type, participants, inclusion criteria, case characteristics, follow-up duration, ESA type and dosage, interventions and outcomes were extracted by one author.

Results

Of 965 identified articles, 58 were included covering 54 cohorts. Six were randomized trials and 48 were observational studies. A total of 38 studies assessed the efficacy of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO), 11 of darbepoetin alpha (DA) and 3 of continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (CERA), with 6 studies appraising secondary outcome measures exclusively. Recruitment to studies was a consistent challenge. The most common adverse effect was hypertension, although confounding effects often limited direct correlation. Two large cohort studies demonstrated a greater hazard of death independently associated with high ESA dose. Secondary outcome measures included quality of life measures, growth and nutrition, exercise capacity, injection site pain, cardiovascular function, intelligent quotient, evoked potentials and platelet function.

Conclusions

All ESA preparations and modes of administration were efficacious, with evidence of harm at higher doses. Evidence supports individualizing treatments, with strong consideration given to alternate treatments in patients who appear resistant to ESA therapy. Further research should focus on randomized trials comparing the efficacy of different preparations, treatment options in apparently ESA-resistant cohorts and clarification of meaningful secondary outcomes to consolidate patient-relevant indices.
Evaluation of the cardiac amyloidosis clinical pathway implementation: a real-world experience
Authors: Brons Maaike , Muller Steven A , Rutten Frans H , van der Meer Manon G , Vrancken Alexander F J E , Minnema Monique C , Baas Annette F , Asselbergs Folkert W , Oerlemans Marish I F J
Published: February 2022

Aims

The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of the cardiac amyloidosis (CA) clinical pathway on awareness among referring cardiologists, diagnostic delay, and severity of CA at diagnosis.

Methods and results

Patients with CA were retrospectively included in this study and divided into two periods: pre-implementation of the CA clinical pathway (2007–18; T1) and post-implementation (2019–20; T2). Patients’ and disease characteristics were extracted from electronic health records and compared. In total, 113 patients (mean age 67.8 ± 8.5 years, 26% female) were diagnosed with CA [T1 (2007–18): 56; T2 (2019–20): 57]. The number of CA diagnoses per year has increased over time. Reasons for referral changed over time, with increased awareness of right ventricular hypertrophy (9% in T1 vs. 36% in T2) and unexplained heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (22% in T1 vs. 38% in T2). Comparing T1 with T2, the diagnostic delay also improved (14 vs. 8 months, P < 0.01), New York Heart Association Class III (45% vs. 23%, P = 0.03), and advanced CA stage (MAYO/Gillmore Stage III/IV; 61% vs. 33%, P ≤ 0.01) at time of diagnosis decreased.

Conclusion

After implementation of the CA clinical pathway, the awareness among referring cardiologists improved, diagnostic delay was decreased, and patients had less severe CA at diagnosis. Further studies are warranted to assess the prognostic impact of CA clinical pathway implementation.
gJLS2: an R package for generalized joint location and scale analysis in X-inclusive genome-wide association studies
Authors: Deng Wei Q , Sun Lei
Published: February 2022

A joint analysis of location and scale can be a powerful tool in genome-wide association studies to uncover previously overlooked markers that influence a quantitative trait through both mean and variance, as well as to prioritize candidates for gene–environment interactions. This approach has recently been generalized to handle related samples, dosage data, and the analytically challenging X-chromosome. We disseminate the latest advances in methodology through a user-friendly R software package with added functionalities to support genome-wide analysis on individual-level or summary-level data. The implemented R package can be called from PLINK or directly in a scripting environment, to enable a streamlined genome-wide analysis for biobank-scale data. Application results on individual-level and summary-level data highlight the advantage of the joint test to discover more genome-wide signals as compared to a location or scale test alone. We hope the availability of gJLS2 software package will encourage more scale and/or joint analyses in large-scale datasets, and promote the standardized reporting of their P-values to be shared with the scientific community.
Does Information about Bias Attenuate Selective Exposure? The Effects of Implicit Bias Feedback on the Selection of Outgroup-Rich News
Authors: Kroon Anne C , van der Meer Toni G L A , Pronk Thomas
Published: February 2022

People’s news diets are shaped by a diverse set of selection biases that may be unconscious in nature. This study investigates whether providing individuals with information about such unconscious biases attenuates selective exposure. More specifically, in two selective-exposure experiments among Dutch ingroup members focusing on ethnic (N = 286) and religious (N = 277) minorities, we expose individuals to their unconscious prejudices as measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT) before documenting their news-selection patterns. Findings indicate that the effectiveness of this awareness-inducing strategy depends upon existing levels of implicit and explicit prejudice and overly expressed acceptance of the IAT scores. This implies that raising awareness of implicit prejudice works as an effective strategy for fighting biased news selection for some, but may backfire for others, and should therefore only be implemented with caution and attention for explicit considerations.
Improving communication between American Indian youth and caregivers to prevent teenage pregnancy
Authors: Chambers Rachel A , Rosenstock Summer , Patel Hima , Zhang Yifan , Lee Angelita , Melgar Laura , Slimp Anna , Lee Shauntal , Susan Davette , Larzelere Francene , Tingey Lauren
Published: February 2022

American Indian (AI) youth are at increased risk for poor reproductive health outcomes. Parental communication and monitoring are established predictors of sexual risk-taking among adolescents. No program evaluations of sexual risk avoidance programs have focused exclusively on AI youth and parents. This study assesses the impact of the Respecting the Circle of Life (RCL) Teenage Pregnancy Prevention program on parent–youth communication and parental monitoring through a randomized controlled trial with AI youth ages 11–19 and their trusted adults (parents/caregivers) (N = 518). RCL consists of 8-peer group and one parent–youth session. Trusted adult participants completed the Parental Monitoring Scale and the Parent Adolescent Communication Scale at baseline and 3 and 9 months post-intervention via self-report. Intervention impact was evaluated using linear regression models, which included an indicator for study group. At 3 months post, trusted adults in the intervention reported significantly higher levels of sexual health communication (P = 0.042) and spoke to their child more often about how to get condoms (P = 0.001), get birth control (P = 0.014) and protect themselves from human immunodeficiency virus (P = 0.005) compared with trusted adults in the control condition. Program impact varied by age and sex. This study adds to literature and extends findings on RCL impact.
Potential for renewable energy–assisted harvesting of potatoes in Scotland
Authors: Muneer Tariq , Dowell Rory
Published: February 2022

Depleting energy resources, enhancing energy security and energy access and approaching climate change related challenges are some of the present day challenges. Against this backdrop, renewable energy (RE)-based farming has been a topic of serious discussion within Great Britain and Scotland. There are multiple advantages in the development and applications of RE micro-grids for farming communities as often they are located in areas that are quite remote and hence their energy sustainability provides security of supply. In the present article, a large-scale RE system that included solar photovoltaic and wind turbine has been critically analyzed with respect to its fractional contribution toward the total energy budget of a potato farm that produces 8000 tons of crops annually, with 4500 tons of the produce in cold storage for up to 8 months. The findings and recommendations from these case studies will help renewable energy practitioners in erecting and analyzing similar installations.
An Uncertain Future for EU-Level Collective Bargaining: The New Rules of the Game After EPSU
Authors: García Muñoz Alhambra Manuel Antonio
Published: February 2022

The General Court of the European Union (GCEU) in EPSU and Goudriaan vs. Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the subsequent appeal judgment reached an identical conclusion on a key aspect of the system of EU level collective bargaining. The Courts held that Article 155(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) does not impose any obligation on the European Commission to send a social partner agreement to the Council. This is in line with the Commission’s recent interpretation of Article 155(2) TFEU that subordinates the implementation of the European agreements to a positive assessment of their appropriateness. This article critically assesses the GCEU and CJEU rulings in EPSU and argues that they confirm a major break with the praxis of European collective bargaining that will have negative consequences for the social partners’ autonomy and role in the EU. In order to better understand this break, the article examines how and when the Commission changed its approach to European social dialogue, resulting in the new interpretation of Article 155(2) TFEU, and proposes a hypothesis to understand why. The article concludes by describing the consequences of the new reading of Article 155(2) TFEU for the idea of collective autonomy in EU law as well as for the practice of EU level social dialogue and collective bargaining.
Accuracy Gains from Privacy Amplification Through Sampling for Differential Privacy
Authors: Hu Jingchen , Drechsler JÖrg , Kim Hang J
Published: February 2022

Recent research in differential privacy demonstrated that (sub)sampling can amplify the level of protection. For example, for ϵ-differential privacy and simple random sampling with sampling rate r, the actual privacy guarantee is approximately rϵ, if a value of ϵ is used to protect the output from the sample. In this paper, we study whether these amplification effects can be exploited systematically to improve the accuracy of the privatized estimate. Specifically, assuming the agency has information for the full population, we ask under which circumstances accuracy gains could be expected, if the privatized estimate would be computed on a random sample instead of the full population. We find that accuracy gains can be achieved for certain regimes. However, gains can typically only be expected, if the sensitivity of the output with respect to small changes in the database does not depend too strongly on the size of the database. We only focus on algorithms that achieve differential privacy by adding noise to the final output and illustrate the accuracy implications for two commonly used statistics: the mean and the median. We see our research as a first step toward understanding the conditions required for accuracy gains in practice and we hope that these findings will stimulate further research broadening the scope of differential privacy algorithms and outputs considered.
Advances in field-based high-throughput photosynthetic phenotyping
Authors: Fu Peng , Montes Christopher M , Siebers Matthew H , Gomez-Casanovas Nuria , McGrath Justin M , Ainsworth Elizabeth A , Bernacchi Carl J
Published: February 2022

Gas exchange techniques revolutionized plant research and advanced understanding, including associated fluxes and efficiencies, of photosynthesis, photorespiration, and respiration of plants from cellular to ecosystem scales. These techniques remain the gold standard for inferring photosynthetic rates and underlying physiology/biochemistry, although their utility for high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) of photosynthesis is limited both by the number of gas exchange systems available and the number of personnel available to operate the equipment. Remote sensing techniques have long been used to assess ecosystem productivity at coarse spatial and temporal resolutions, and advances in sensor technology coupled with advanced statistical techniques are expanding remote sensing tools to finer spatial scales and increasing the number and complexity of phenotypes that can be extracted. In this review, we outline the photosynthetic phenotypes of interest to the plant science community and describe the advances in high-throughput techniques to characterize photosynthesis at spatial scales useful to infer treatment or genotypic variation in field-based experiments or breeding trials. We will accomplish this objective by presenting six lessons learned thus far through the development and application of proximal/remote sensing-based measurements and the accompanying statistical analyses. We will conclude by outlining what we perceive as the current limitations, bottlenecks, and opportunities facing HTP of photosynthesis.
Two for the Price of One
Authors: Sacco Dana
Published: February 2022

When a patient presents to the emergency department with a mental health complaint in the setting of a substance use disorder, it can be difficult to determine whether the substance abuse led to the mental health complaint or vice versa. In either case, both of these issues need to be addressed in the acute setting, and patients should be provided with outpatient resources for help with management and ongoing treatment for both. It is important to acknowledge that this population poses unique challenges and barriers to treatment and retention in care.
Down on the Farm
Authors: Valyo Lauren E. , Aloi Mara S.
Published: February 2022

The United States is increasingly becoming a multicultural society. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that by 2044, over 50% of Americans will be racial or ethnic minorities, and almost 20% will be foreign-born. The emergency department is frequently the first point of access to healthcare services for many minorities. Cultural identity can often play a significant role in how a patient perceives thoughts, symptoms, and healthcare in general. A lack of understanding of the patient’s cultural context may lead to miscommunication, mistrust, inaccurate diagnosis, and poor patient outcomes. Ethnic minority patients are frequently misdiagnosed and may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of poverty, refugee status, and acculturation stress. Language barriers can be another challenge to overcome in the evaluation of our minority population. Awareness of these factors is vital to providing rapid assessment, diagnosis, and treatment that are more responsive to the needs of a culturally diverse patient population.
Sick from Waiting
Authors: Krause Chadd K.
Published: February 2022

Lack of access to outpatient psychiatric care and a limited inpatient psychiatric bed capacity in most communities across the United States have led to an increase in emergency department (ED) visits for acute psychiatric care. Patients with acute psychiatric needs frequently spend extended periods of time in EDs awaiting an appropriate inpatient psychiatric bed to receive definitive care. These extended waits, termed “boarding,” can have deleterious effects on individual patients seeking care, the EDs where patients are boarded, and the health system more generally. Patients should be reassessed frequently during their ED stay, and care provided to the patient should be provided at the level of capability of the ED, including provision of home medications. All possible efforts should be made to expedite disposition from the ED using the least restrictive available alternative in the patient’s best interest.
‘Making sense’ of Turkey’s refugee policy: The case of the Directorate General of Migration Management
Authors: Efe İbrahim , Jacoby Tim
Published: February 2022

Based on interview data gathered in 2019 and 2020, this article considers the various approaches through which employees of Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration Management have interpreted and implemented state policy towards the country’s Syrian refugees. It uses the work of Dvora Yanow as a vantage point from which to understand initially how civil servants based in three cities have tried to ‘make sense’ of these policies and the highly dynamic context in which they are working. It then goes on to look at how her work might help us to reveal the ways in which processes of naming, selecting, and categorising may also play a role in making sense of—and adapting—national policy. Finally, we examine two examples of how our respondents elaborated upon these sense-making efforts through the use of storytelling.
Go for Green® Nutrition Program: Translating Evidence Into Practice
Authors: Kleinberger Carolyn A , Bukhari Asma S , Kirkpatrick Katie M , Moylan Elizabeth M , Billington Jennifer L , Armstrong Nicholes J , Cole Renee E , Deuster Patricia A
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Go for Green® (G4G) is an evidence-based, multi-component nutrition program for military dining facilities (DFAC) to improve nutritional fitness among Service Members. The program evolved from supporting “fueling” during initial Army training into a robust intervention across all U.S. Military branches. The current G4G program consists of eight program requirements to optimize the nutrition environment, including traffic light labeling, nutritious menus, choice architecture, food promotion, marketing, and staff training. The evolution of the G4G program, development of standardized program requirements, and lessons learned are described.

Materials and Methods

The latest scientific evidence, best practices in health promotion and nutrition education, results and data from G4G implementation in the military community support the current version of G4G. Feedback and observations from program developers, military branch foodservice headquarters, installation leadership, and local G4G DFAC teams provided insight into implementation challenges, successes, facilitators, and barriers.

Results

The G4G program has evolved and expanded from its initial inception over 10 years ago to its current version. Research studies, nutrition science, and feedback from military community stakeholders have informed programmatic changes and improvements.

Conclusions

G4G 2.0 is a robust, innovative, multi-component, performance nutrition program with clear program element requirements. Value was added to elevate the G4G program by setting program requirements, expanding program components, and establishing a centralized resource hub. Performance nutrition initiatives in local military DFAC for dining facilities, such as G4G 2.0, has great potential to impact the health and well-being of Service Members.
Unveiling the main sequence to starburst transition region with a sample of intermediate redshift luminous infrared galaxies
Authors: Hogan L , Rigopoulou D , García-Burillo S , Alonso-Herrero A , Barrufet L , Combes F , García-Bernete I , Magdis G E , Pereira-Santaella M , Thatte N , Weiß A
Published: February 2022

We present a CO(3−2) study of four systems composed of six (ultra) luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs), located at 0.28 <z < 0.44, that straddle the transition region between regular star-forming galaxies and starbursts. These galaxies benefit from previous multiwavelength analysis allowing in depth exploration of an understudied population of U/LIRGs at a time when the universe is experiencing a rapid decline in star formation rate density. We detect CO(3−2) emission in four targets and these galaxies fall between the loci of regular star-forming galaxies and starbursts on the Kennicutt–Schmidtt relation. Compared to low luminosity LIRGs and high luminosity ULIRGs at similar redshifts, we find they all have similar molecular gas budgets with the difference in their star formation rates (SFR) driven by the star formation efficiency (SFE). This suggests that at these redshifts large molecular gas reservoirs must coincide with an increased SFE to transition a galaxy into the starburst regime. We studied the structure and kinematics and found our four detections are either interacting or have disturbed morphology which may be driving the SFE. One of the CO(3−2) non-detections has a strong continuum detection, and has been previously observed in H α, suggesting an unusual interstellar medium for a ULIRG. We conclude that our sample of transitioning U/LIRGs fill the gap between regular star-forming galaxies and starbursts, suggest a continuous change in SFE between these two populations and the increased SFE may be driven by morphology and differing stages of interaction.
Decoding rapidly presented visual stimuli from prefrontal ensembles without report nor post-perceptual processing
Authors: Bellet Joachim , Gay Marion , Dwarakanath Abhilash , Jarraya Bechir , van Kerkoerle Timo , Dehaene Stanislas , Panagiotaropoulos Theofanis I
Published: February 2022

The role of the primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) in conscious perception is debated. The global neuronal workspace theory of consciousness predicts that PFC neurons should contain a detailed code of the current conscious contents. Previous research showed that PFC is indeed activated in paradigms of conscious visual perception, including no-report paradigms where no voluntary behavioral report of the percept is given, thus avoiding a conflation of signals related to visual consciousness with signals related to the report. Still, it has been argued that prefrontal modulation could reflect post-perceptual processes that may be present even in the absence of report, such as thinking about the perceived stimulus, therefore reflecting a consequence rather than a direct correlate of conscious experience. Here, we investigate these issues by recording neuronal ensemble activity from the macaque ventrolateral PFC during briefly presented visual stimuli, either in isolated trials in which stimuli were clearly perceived or in sequences of rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) in which perception and post-perceptual processing were challenged. We report that the identity of each stimulus could be decoded from PFC population activity even in the RSVP condition. The first visual signals could be detected at 60 ms after stimulus onset and information was maximal at 150 ms. However, in the RSVP condition, 200 ms after the onset of a stimulus, the decoding accuracy quickly dropped to chance level and the next stimulus started to be decodable. Interestingly, decoding in the ventrolateral PFC was stronger compared to posterior parietal cortex for both isolated and RSVP stimuli. These results indicate that neuronal populations in the macaque PFC reliably encode visual stimuli even under conditions that have been shown to challenge conscious perception and/or substantially reduce the probability of post-perceptual processing in humans. We discuss whether the observed activation reflects conscious access, phenomenal consciousness, or merely a preconscious bottom-up wave.