bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of penetration of electromagnetic waves by field focusing applied to GPR detection
Authors: Zhang Qifei , Guo Linyan , Li Bo , Zheng Zirui
Published: July 2024

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is limited by challenges such as signal attenuation and inadequate target detection in lossy dielectrics, prompting research on data processing algorithms to enhance detection capability. In this study, we propose a method for enhancing GPR detection capability based on electromagnetic field focusing (FF). The method involves calculating the phase difference attributable to the range difference between each antenna element and the focal point and compensating its feed phase accordingly. This approach effectively concentrates the energy of electromagnetic waves at the target area. Tapered slot antennas operating within the 2.5–8 GHz frequency band were employed for transmitting and receiving, thus facilitating algorithm verification and target detection. The synthetic aperture radar algorithm executed pulse compression and range migration on the received data, thereby intensifying the signal at the target object’s position and achieving double focusing. Notably, this study uniquely employs FF to enhance the penetrability of electromagnetic waves and augment the detection capability of GPR. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method in improving the GPR imaging quality.
Re-analysis of temperature dependent neutron capture rates and stellar β-decay rates of 95-98Mo
Authors: Kabir Abdul , Nabi Jameel-Un , Tahir Muhammad , Muneem Abdul , Abideen Zain Ul
Published: July 2024

The neutron capture rates and temperature dependent stellar beta decay rates of Mo isotopes are investigated within the framework of the statistical code TALYS v1.96 and the proton neutron quasi particle random phase approximation (pn-QRPA) model. The Maxwellian average cross-section (MACS) and neutron capture rates for the

Mo(n,γ)

Mo radiative capture process are analyzed within the framework of the statistical code TALYS v1.96 based on the phenomenological nuclear level density model and gamma strength functions. The present model-based computations for the MACS are comparable to the existing measured data. The sensitivity of stellar weak interaction rates to various densities and temperatures is investigated within the framework of the pn-QRPA model. Particular attention is paid to the impact of thermally filled excited states in the decaying nuclei (

Mo) on electron emission and positron capture rates. Furthermore, we compare the neutron capture rates and stellar beta decay rates. It is found that neutron capture rates are higher than stellar beta decay rates at both lower and higher temperatures.
Isotropization of the magnetic universe in Horndeski theory with G
3(X,ϕ) and G
5(X)
Authors: Muharlyamov Ruslan K. , Pankratyeva Tatiana N. , Bashir Shehabaldeen O.A.
Published: July 2024

We study the isotropization process of Bianchi-I space-times in Horndeski theory with

and

. A global unidirectional electromagnetic field interacts with a scalar field according to the law

. In Horndeski theory, the anisotropy can develop in different ways. The proposed reconstruction method allows us to build models with acceptable anisotropy behavior. To analyze space-time anisotropy, we use the relations

(

), where

are metric functions, and

.
Insect tracheal systems as inspiration for carbon dioxide capture systems
Authors: Neal Mitchell H , Harrison Jon , Skabelund Brent B , Milcarek Ryan J
Published: July 2024

Membrane technology advancements within the past twenty years have provided a new perspective on environmentalism as engineers design membranes to separate greenhouse gases from the environment. Several scientific journals have published articles of experimental evidence quantifying carbon dioxide (CO2), a common greenhouse gas, separation using membrane technology and ranking them against one another. On the other hand, natural systems such as the respiratory system of mammals also accomplish transmembrane transport of CO2. However, to our knowledge, a comparison of these natural organic systems with engineered membranes has not yet been accomplished. The tracheal respiratory systems of insects transport CO2 at the highest rates in the animal kingdom. Therefore, this work compares engineered membranes to the tracheal systems of insects by quantitatively comparing greenhouse gas conductance rates. We demonstrate that on a per unit volume basis, locusts can transport CO2 approximately ∼100 times more effectively than the best current engineered systems. Given the same temperature conditions, insect tracheal systems transport CO2 three orders of magnitude faster on average. Miniaturization of CO2 capture systems based on insect tracheal system design has great potential for reducing cost and improving the capacities of industrial CO2 capture.
Prospective impacts of windstorm risk on carbon sinks and the forestry sector: an integrated assessment with Monte Carlo simulations
Authors: Bastit Félix , Riviere Miguel , Lobianco Antonello , Delacote Philippe
Published: July 2024

Storms pose a significant threat to economic activities in the forest sector and introduce non-permanence risks for carbon stocks. Following escalating climate ambitions, understanding and addressing these risks becomes imperative. Uncertainties intrinsic to the storm phenomenon render this task complex. This study uses an integrated forest sector model to assess the economic and carbon impacts of storm regimes, emphasizing the importance of uncertainties through Monte Carlo simulation. From an economic perspective, we unravel complex interplays between the salvage and inventory effects of storms that lead to heterogeneous transfers of economic welfare across agents and space. Non-affected forest owners benefit from inflated prices, while affected owners’ recovery hinges on the magnitude of storm damage. From a climate perspective, storms significantly impact the forest sector’s carbon sink, with a high risk of falling short on mitigation objectives. In 25% of simulations, we observe a substantial 24% decrease in carbon sequestration. Our findings advocate for (1) conservative reliance on natural carbon sinks in national climate mitigation strategies toward net-zero, and (2) tailored risk-sharing insurance mechanisms for forest owners, providing a buffer against economic uncertainties arising from climatic disruptions.
Evaluation of precipitation forecasting methods and an advanced lightweight model
Authors: Yang Nan , Wang Chong , Li Xiaofeng
Published: July 2024

Precipitation forecasting is crucial for warning systems and disaster management. This study focuses on deep learning-based methods and categorizes them into three categories: Recurrent Neural Network (RNN-RNN-RNN), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN-CNN-CNN), and CNN-RNN-CNN methods. Then, we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of typical methods in these three categories using the SEVIR precipitation dataset. The results show that RNN-RNN-RNN suffers from instability in long-term forecasts due to error accumulation, CNN-CNN-CNN struggles to capture temporal signals but produces relatively stable forecasts, and CNN-RNN-CNN significantly increases model complexity and inherits the drawbacks of RNN, leading to worse forecasts. Here, we propose an advanced lightweight precipitation forecasting model (ALPF) based on CNN. Experimental results demonstrate that ALPF can effectively forecast spatial-temporal features, maintaining CNN’s feature extraction capabilities while avoiding error accumulation in RNN’s propagation. ALPF achieves long-term stable precipitation forecasts and can better capture large precipitation amounts.
Noninteracting particles in a harmonic trap with a stochastically driven center
Authors: Sabhapandit Sanjib , Majumdar Satya N
Published: July 2024

We study a system of N noninteracting particles on a line in the presence of a harmonic trap

U
(
x
)
=
μ

[

x
−
z
(
t
)

]

2

/

2

, where the trap center z(t) undergoes a stochastic modulation that remains bounded in time. We show that this stochastic modulation drives the system into a nonequilibrium stationary state, where the joint distribution of the positions of the particles is not factorizable. This indicates strong correlations between the positions of the particles that are not inbuilt, but rather get generated by the dynamics itself. Moreover, we show that the stationary joint distribution can be fully characterized and has a special conditionally independent and identically distributed structure. This special structure allows us to compute several observables analytically even in such a strongly correlated system, for an arbitrary drive z(t) that remains bounded in time. These observables include the average density profile, the correlations between particle positions, the order and gap statistics, as well as the full counting statistics. We then apply our general results to two specific examples where (i) z(t) represents a dichotomous telegraphic noise, and (ii) z(t) represents an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. Our analytical predictions are verified in numerical simulations, finding excellent agreement.
A nasal airway-on-chip model to evaluate airflow pre-conditioning during epithelial cell maturation at the air-liquid interface
Authors: Walls Amanda C , van Vegchel Manon , Lakey Abigail , Gauri Hemali , Dixon Joshua , Ferreira Laís A , Tandon Ishita , Balachandran Kartik
Published: July 2024

The function of a well-differentiated nasal epithelium is largely affected by airflow-induced wall shear stress, yet few in vitro models recapitulate this dynamic condition. Models which do expose cells to airflow exclusively initiate flow after the differentiation process has occurred. In vivo, basal cells are constantly replenishing the epithelium under airflow conditions, indicating that airflow may affect the development and function of the differentiated epithelium. To address this gap in the field, we developed a physiologically relevant microphysiological model of the human nasal epithelium and investigated the effects of exposing cells to airflow during epithelial maturation at the air-liquid interface. The nasal airway-on-chip platform was engineered to mimic bi-directional physiological airflow during normal breathing. Primary human nasal epithelial cells were seeded on chips and subjected to either: (1) no flow, (2) single flow (0.5 dyne cm−2 flow on Day 21 of ALI only), or (3) pre-conditioning flow (0.05 dyne cm−2 on Days 14–20 and 0.5 dyne cm−2 flow on Day 21) treatments. Cells exposed to pre-conditioning showed decreased morphological changes and mucus secretions, as well as decreased inflammation, compared to unconditioned cells. Our results indicate that flow exposure only post-differentiation may impose acute stress on cells, while pre-conditioning may potentiate a properly functioning epithelium in vitro.
J-TEXT achievements in turbulence and transport in support of future device/reactor
Authors: CHEN 陈 Zhipeng 志鹏 , HUANG 黄 Zhangsheng 章盛 , JIANG 蒋 Min 敏 , LONG 龙 Ting 婷 , WANG 王 Lu 璐 , GUO 郭 Weixin 伟欣 , YANG 杨 Zhoujun 州军 , LIU 刘 Hai 海 , LAN 兰 Tao 涛 , ZHAO 赵 Kaijun 开君 , XU 许 Yuhong 宇鸿 , KE 柯 Rui 锐 , SUN 孙 Youwen 有文 , LI 李 Hanhui 翰辉 , HE 何 Wen 文 , ZHUANG 庄 Ge 革 , SHI 石 Yuejiang 跃江 , ZHONG 钟 Wulyu 武律 , DING 丁 Yonghua 永华 , LIANG 梁 Yunfeng 云峰 , TIAN 田 Wenjing 文静 , XU 徐 Xin 鑫 , ZHANG 张 Guodong 国栋 , HUSSAIN M. S. , DIAMOND Patrick H.
Published: July 2024

Following the reconstruction of the TEXT tokamak at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, renamed as J-TEXT, a plethora of experimental and theoretical investigations has been conducted to elucidate the intricacies of turbulent transport within the tokamak configuration. These endeavors encompass not only the J-TEXT device’s experimental advancements but also delve into critical issues pertinent to the optimization of future fusion devices and reactors. The research includes topics on the suppression of turbulence, flow drive and damping, density limit, non-local transport, intrinsic toroidal flow, turbulence and flow with magnetic islands, turbulent transport in the stochastic layer, and turbulence and zonal flow with energetic particles or helium ash. Several important achievements have been made in the last few years, which will be further elaborated upon in this comprehensive review.
Legal Personhood, Racial Minorities, and Indigenous Peoples
Authors: Arstein-Kerslake Anna
Published: July 2024

This chapter applies the right to legal personhood to the situation of racial minorities and indigenous peoples. This is one of the first of such analyses for these groups in academic literature. Critical race theory is used to discuss the history of imperialism and colonialism and their impact on legal personhood. It is argued that they constituted and resulted in infringement on legal personhood for racial minorities and indigenous peoples in various ways. Similarly, the history of eugenics and its impact on denials of personhood for these groups, for example, the denial of legal agency (an element of legal personhood) to make reproductive choices, is discussed. In regard to indigenous peoples, specifically, the relationship between legal personhood and legal sovereignty—highlighting the denial of each as potentially causing decreases in power and privilege—is discussed. Finally, the potential for the realisation of the right to legal personhood to facilitate the creation of greater social equality for these groups is highlighted.
The Science of Consciousness and Emotion
Authors: Birch Jonathan
Published: July 2024

This chapter turns to sources of uncertainty in the science of consciousness and emotion. To have a science of consciousness at all, we need reliable ways of disentangling conscious and unconscious processing. In the case of vision, long-running debates about blindsight epitomize two major problems: the criterion problem and the problem of confounders. These problems arise even more strongly in the case of valenced experience, since methods for eliciting unconscious analogues of valenced experiences are less mature. In the absence of secure ways of dissociating valenced experience from its unconscious analogues, two rival pictures of the neural basis of valenced experience are likely to persist. On one picture, valenced experience wells up directly from subcortical mechanisms without the need for further cortical processing. On the other, subcortical circuits produce coordinated behavioural responses, but conscious experience only comes with cortical involvement. Unfortunately, current evidence does not allow us to choose confidently between these pictures.
Involving the Public
Authors: Birch Jonathan
Published: July 2024

How should proportionality be assessed in practice? A ‘tyranny of expert values’ occurs when the values of expert advisers determine a policy decision without those values being properly scrutinized by a democratic process. Citizens’ assemblies or panels can be an attractive way to avoid this problem. Moreover, they have advantages over elected assemblies and referendums. These advantages are especially clear when an issue generates deep value conflicts, requires sustained attention and regular revisiting, requires consideration of the interests of beings who cannot vote, and when there are reasons to departisanize the issue. Questions of proportionality at the edge of sentience have all of these properties. Since citizens do not generally have scientific training, careful thought needs to be given to the structure of deliberation, so that they are not forced into a position of arbitrating scientific disagreement. Their focus should be on whether or not a proposed response can be publicly justified as proportionate, not on whether a being is a sentience candidate.
People with Disorders of Consciousness
Authors: Birch Jonathan
Published: July 2024

Sometimes a person, after brain injury, displays sleep-wake cycles but has severely impaired, or entirely absent, responses to external stimuli. Traditionally, attempts have been made to distinguish the persistent vegetative state (PVS) from the minimally conscious state (MCS). However, diagnostic procedures are subject to high error rates and high uncertainty. There is also a realistic possibility that midbrain mechanisms suffice for basic valenced experiences even if cortical injury fully prevents a patient from reporting these experiences. Decisions to withdraw treatment should be based on comprehensive best-interests assessment, not on the PVS/MCS distinction. The method of withdrawing clinically assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) would not be acceptable for any other sentient being, and alternatives must be explored and discussed by inclusive, democratic processes. In cases where CANH withdrawal has been authorized, clinicians should be guaranteed that hastening death using large doses of sedatives or analgesics will not lead to punishment.
Introduction
Authors: Foster Ann-Marie
Published: July 2024

This chapter sets out the frameworks for the rest of the book. It argues that comparing mass death events—in this case, mining disasters and the First World War—allows for a contextualization of British death practices in the twentieth century. It explains why the dead of mining disasters are a useful comparator of war, especially when trying to understand the deaths of working-class men and women. The chapter then moves on to a broad consideration of who we think of when we think of war and disaster dead, making the case that we need to take more seriously women’s wartime deaths, and the grief of men and children. Finally, a short methodological section explains why material culture and ephemera are particularly useful ways of tracing a history of mass loss, before underlining why focusing on family memory is essential to understand how the modern memory of war and disaster developed.
Printing Death
Authors: Foster Ann-Marie
Published: July 2024

Due to a lack of control over the bodies of the dead, families found increased significance in memorial forms they could control, such as print cultures of death. Families adapted pre-existent social mourning cues to articulate their loss in quasi-public spaces. Working and middle-class families posted death and In Memoriam notices to the local newspaper, while upper-class families sent obituaries to local and national newspapers. These printed worlds of the dead allowed the families of people whose bodies had been controlled by others a way of reclaiming their death narrative. Although this was culturally constrained and socially mediated, memorial ephemera often marked the first real decision that the family could make about the treatment of their dead in public. It was through the words, images, and forms of memorial material that families began to construct the legacy of their loved one.
Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Biblical Interpretation
Authors: John Helen C
Published: July 2024

This chapter surveys three related approaches within Intercultural Biblical Interpretation, all centring around the ‘encounter’, which engages four methodological aspects: collaboration with grassroots interpreters, highlighting the influence of local context on interpretations, celebrating the potential of contextual interpretations to highlight the contextuality of the intercultural biblical interpretation scholar themselves, and, lastly, recognizing the potential for intellectual transformation and/or social change through conducting such work. Contextual Bible Study is explored as an ‘implicitly intercultural’ approach, in that it explores contextual interpretations in (naturally) heterogenous geographical contexts, as well as effecting border-crossing between academic and grassroots interpreters. The Intercultural Bible Reading project is explored as an explicitly intercultural approach, encouraging as it does interpretative conversations across cultural and geographical boundaries. Finally, this chapter introduces Cross-Cultural Biblical Interpretation Groups, which was specifically developed to analyse contextual, grassroots interpretations alongside relevant ethnographic studies and bring the doubly contextualized interpretations into conversation with professional biblical scholarship.
Conclusion
Authors: Lewis William
Published: July 2024

This chapter considers the wider significance of the two subjects of this book, the sons of Constantine and division, and how they fit into the fourth century as a whole. It begins with an appraisal of the three sons, which attempts to distil the characters of three emperors who too often appear as dry and sterile characters. It then considers the place of division in the fourth century, with an attempt to quantify the occurrence of division. Finally, it considers the nature of division, how it came about, and why decision makers could be motivated to pursue a policy which, in the end, proved to be highly damaging to the Roman state.
Modernism and Formalism
Authors: Costello Diarmuid
Published: July 2024

Chapter 1 provides a philosophical reconstruction of the internal structure of Greenbergian theory, affording it the kind of sustained, scholarly attention that it has not previously received from a philosopher. Treated in the round—and not, as is more typical, dismissed on the basis of some of the more obvious argumentative shortcomings of his better-known essays—Greenbergian theory repays such treatment. The theory marries a formalist conception of aesthetic judgement with a medium-specific theory of artistic development. The chapter focuses on the depth of the connection Greenberg succeeded in forging between these two wings of his theory, pivoting in particular on his understanding of artistic conventions. Modernism works by artists testing the conventions of a given medium as they inherit them as to their necessity or otherwise. Formalism works by judging the state in which a work leaves the conventions of its medium having so tested them. The upshot was a tight correlation between aesthetic value and medium-specificity at the core of Greenbergian theory.
The Afterlife of Formalist Criticism I
Authors: Costello Diarmuid
Published: July 2024

Chapter 5 turns from the legacy of Greenberg’s modernism to his formalism. Thierry de Duve, without doubt Greenberg’s most engaged and serious reader, suggests that Kant’s account of aesthetic judgement, to which Greenberg increasingly appealed in his late work, needs to be updated in light of Duchamp’s readymade. Rather than being asked to judge whether the object before us is beautiful, one is now being asked to judge whether it is art, and what it is to judge a given object as art is to confer the name (rather than concept) ‘art’ on any object judged accordingly. De Duve appeals to Saul Kripke’s work on proper names as ‘rigid designators’ to underwrite this contention; the author argues that de Duve’s own understanding of the affective and comparative nature of aesthetic judgement rules out appeal to Kripke’s account of naming. The chapter closes by considering the implications of this for de Duve’s reading of Kant’s Antinomy of Taste.
Kant’s Aesthetics and the Challenge of Conceptual Art
Authors: Costello Diarmuid
Published: July 2024

Chapter 7 returns to Kant. The author begins by surveying the hardest case for aesthetic theories of art, Conceptual Art, before distinguishing much more carefully than other philosophers between competing conceptions of such art. The author starts by canvasing the views of influential participants (both artists and curators) before turning to later philosophical reconstructions. The author distinguishes his own account of ‘Non-Perceptual Art’ from other views, and argues that strongly Non-Perceptual Art (that is, art with no sensible properties relevant to its appreciation as art) provides the stiffest challenge to aesthetic theory, despite being a more minority position within the field than is generally realized. The author then sets out the two aspects of Kant’s theory most relevant to demonstrating its capacity to cope with such art: Kant’s discussion of ‘dependent beauty’ (aesthetic judgements that implicate a concept of the object judged [CJ §16]) and works of art as ‘expressions of aesthetic ideas’ (indirect presentations of ideas that cannot be directly presented [CJ §49]), respectively. He then takes two works by Lawrence Weiner as instances of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ NPA respectively, and shows how both can be illuminated by Kant’s theory.
The Scope of Kant’s Theory of Art
Authors: Costello Diarmuid
Published: July 2024

Chapter 8 considers various worries and objections to the presentation of Kant’s theory that the author has provided. The key question is whether Kant’s theory is conceptually constrained by contingent historical features of Kant’s day. This chapter considers a number of objections, each of which bears on the question of scope, or extensional adequacy, of Kant’s theory in one way or another. These include the charges that Kant’s theory is: (i) restrictively formalist, thereby ruling out aesthetic reflection on the semantic aspects of art; (ii) entirely uninformative about what it is about the object judged that enables us to take aesthetic pleasure in it; and that (iii) even if these worries can be allayed, insofar as Kant’s theory is predicated on perceptual complexity, it will be unable to accommodate work like Conceptual Art. The author responds to each challenge in turn, the latter by turning to Kant’s suggestive remarks about poetry. Like Danto’s, Kant’s theory is at bottom one of metaphor, but unlike Danto’s it cannot be reduced to a proportional analogy between relations, making Kant’s theory the richer and more versatile of the two.
Sex
Authors: Benatar David
Published: July 2024

This chapter discusses sexual ethics. After some common errors are identified, a distinction is drawn between sexual orientation and sexual practices, noting that the focus will be on the practices. Two views of sexual ethics are presented—the significance view and the casual view. The implications of those two views for various practices are then discussed. The relevant practices are promiscuity and premarital and marital sex, adultery, paedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, rape, and finally masturbation. Three further views of sexual ethics are then presented and discussed—the reproductive, the non-reproductive, and the neutral view. These are not alternatives to the significance and casual views. Instead, they are to be layered onto either one of the earlier views. They are applied to further sexual practices, such as homosexuality and incest. It is argued that no view, or logically compatible set of views, about sexual ethics is devoid of difficulties.
First phase: The latency equilibrium
Authors: Valentim Vicente
Published: July 2024

How can social norms prevent the success of stigmatized political platforms, such as radical-right parties? This chapter argues that norms can bring about a latency equilibrium, where voters do not publicly express their support for radical-right platforms. This makes politicians underestimate latent support for radical-right parties, leaving those parties with worse leaders, who are unable to mobilize even voters who privately hold radical-right views. At the voter level, radical-right preferences are more costly to express. Consequently, radical-right voters often hide their views. At the politician level, radical-right parties typically have low-skilled leaders, but this is especially so when there are strong norms against radical-right views. Finally, the chapter shows how this equilibrium can be overcome. If individuals learn that there is more private support for their ideology than is typically observable, they become more willing to run for election.
The normalization of the radical right in Germany
Authors: Valentim Vicente
Published: July 2024

Once seen as successful preventing far-right success, Germany has recently witnessed the breakthrough of a clear radical-right party: the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). The chapter argues that the breakthrough of the AfD is to be understood via the process of normalization. Before it, Germany was in a latency equilibrium where many voters held radical-right views in private, but did not publicly express them for fear of social sanctions. Consequently, many politicians self-selected out of radical-right parties, which ended up with worse leaders that even radical-right voters did not support. The 2015 refugee crisis triggered politicians to realize that there was more latent support for radical-right policy than anticipated. Skilled political entrepreneurs then took over the AfD and made it a clear radical-right party. As they became electorally successful, individuals who already held radical-right views in private became more comfortable expressing them in public.
Residential natural hazard risk and mental health effects
Authors: Lawrence Kaitlyn G , Sweeney Marina R , Werder Emily J , Zuzak Casey , Gall Melanie , Emrich Christopher T , Cochran Ferdouz V , Deng Xinlei , Christenbury Kate E , Buller Ian D , Braxton Jackson II W , Engel Lawrence S , Sandler Dale P
Published: July 2024

Mental health effects are frequently reported following natural disasters. However, little is known about effects of living in a hazard-prone region on mental health. We analyzed data from 9312 Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study participants who completed standardized mental health questionnaires including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (depression = score ≥10), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7 (anxiety = score ≥10), and Primary Care PTSD Screen (PTSD = score ≥3). Geocoded residential addresses were linked to census-tract level natural hazard risk scores estimated using the National Risk Index (NRI). We considered an overall risk score representing 18 natural hazards, and individual scores for hurricanes, heatwaves, coastal flooding, and riverine flooding. Log binomial regression estimated prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between risk scores (quartiles) and mental health outcomes. Increasing hurricane and coastal flooding scores were associated with all mental health outcomes in a suggestive exposure-response manner. Associations were strongest for PTSD, with PRs for the highest vs lowest quartile of hurricane and coastal flooding risks of 2.29 (95% CI, 1.74-3.01) and 1.59 (95% CI, 1.23-2.05), respectively. High heatwave risk was associated with anxiety (PR = 1.25; 95% CI, 1.12-1.38) and depression (PR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.04-1.36) and suggestively with PTSD (PR = 1.20; 95% CI, 0.94-1.52). Results suggest that living in areas prone to natural disasters is one factor associated with poor mental health status.

This article is part of a Special Collection on Environmental Epidemiology.
Exploring gene content with pangene graphs
Authors: Li Heng , Marin Maximillian , Farhat Maha R
Published: July 2024

Motivation

The gene content regulates the biology of an organism. It varies between species and between individuals of the same species. Although tools have been developed to identify gene content changes in bacterial genomes, none is applicable to collections of large eukaryotic genomes such as the human pangenome.

Results

We developed pangene, a computational tool to identify gene orientation, gene order, and gene copy-number changes in a collection of genomes. Pangene aligns a set of input protein sequences to the genomes, resolves redundancies between protein sequences and constructs a gene graph with each genome represented as a walk in the graph. It additionally finds subgraphs, which we call bibubbles, that capture gene content changes. Applied to the human pangenome, pangene identifies known gene-level variations and reveals complex haplotypes that are not well studied before. Pangene also works with high-quality bacterial pangenome and reports similar numbers of core and accessory genes in comparison to existing tools.

Availability and implementation

Source code at https://github.com/lh3/pangene; prebuilt pangene graphs can be downloaded from https://zenodo.org/records/8118576 and visualized at https://pangene.bioinweb.org
Comparison of QuantiFERON Gold In-Tube Versus Tuberculin Skin Tests on the Initiation of Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy Among Patients Newly Diagnosed With HIV in the North West Province of South Africa (the Teko Study): A Cluster Randomized Trial
Authors: Jarrett Brooke A , Shearer Kate , Motlhaoleng Katlego , Chon Sandy , Letuba Gaolaolwe Gabriel , Qomfo Cokiswa , Moulton Lawrence H , Cohn Silvia , Lebina Limakatso , Chaisson Richard E , Variava Ebrahim , Martinson Neil A , Golub Jonathan E
Published: July 2024

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) preventive therapy (TPT) reduces the risk of TB disease in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), yet uptake has been suboptimal in many countries. We assessed whether QuantiFERON Gold In-Tube (QGIT) during routine HIV care increased TB infection (TBI) testing and TPT prescriptions.

Methods

This parallel-arm, 1:1 cluster-randomized controlled trial compared the standard-of-care tuberculin skin test to QGIT in South Africa. We enrolled consenting, TPT-eligible adults diagnosed with HIV ≤30 days prior and used intention-to-treat analyses for the outcomes: proportion of patients with documented TBI results, proportion with documented TPT, and time from enrollment to outcomes.

Findings

We enrolled 2232 patients across 14 clinics from November 2014 to May 2017 (58% in intervention clinics). At 24 months of follow-up, more participants in intervention clinics had TBI results (69% vs 2%, P < .001) and TPT prescriptions (45% vs 30%, P = .13) than control clinics. Controlling for baseline covariates, intervention clinics had 60% (95% confidence interval, 51–68; P < .001) more participants with TBI results and 12% (95% confidence interval, −6 to 31; P = .18) more with TPT prescriptions. Among participants with results, those in intervention clinics received results and TPT faster (intervention: median of 6 and 29 days after enrollment vs control: 21 and 54 days, respectively).

Interpretation

In this setting, QGIT in routine HIV care resulted in more patients with TBI results. Clinicians also initiated more people with HIV on TPT in QGIT intervention clinics, and did so more quickly, than the control arm.

Clinical Trials Registration

NCT02119130.
A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of VIR-2482 in Healthy Adults for Prevention of Influenza A Illness (PENINSULA)
Authors: Tan Susanna K , Cebrik Deborah , Plotnik David , Agostini Maria L , Boundy Keith , Hebner Christy M , Yeh Wendy W , Pang Phillip S , Moya Jaynier , Fogarty Charles , Darani Manuchehr , Hayden Frederick G
Published: July 2024

Background

Influenza A results in significant morbidity and mortality. VIR-2482, an engineered human monoclonal antibody with extended half-life, targets a highly conserved epitope on the stem region of influenza A hemagglutinin and may protect against seasonal and pandemic influenza.

Methods

This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 study examined the safety and efficacy of VIR-2482 for seasonal influenza A illness prevention in unvaccinated healthy adults. Participants (N = 2977) were randomized 1:1:1 to receive VIR-2482 450 mg, VIR-2482 1200 mg, or placebo via intramuscular injection. Primary and secondary efficacy endpoints were the proportions of participants with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction–confirmed influenza A infection and either protocol-defined influenza-like illness (ILI) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–defined ILI or World Health Organization–defined ILI, respectively.

Results

VIR-2482 450 mg and 1200 mg prophylaxis did not reduce the risk of protocol-defined ILI with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction–confirmed influenza A versus placebo (relative risk reduction, 3.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), −67.3 to 44.6] and 15.9% [95% CI, −49.3 to 52.3], respectively). At the 1200-mg dose, the relative risk reductions in influenza A illness were 57.2% (95% CI: −2.5 to 82.2) using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ILI and 44.1% (95% CI: −50.5 to 79.3) using World Health Organization ILI definitions, respectively. Serum VIR-2482 levels were similar regardless of influenza status; variants with reduced VIR-2482 susceptibility were not detected. Local injection site reactions were mild and similar across groups.

Conclusions

VIR-2482 1200 mg intramuscular was well tolerated but did not significantly prevent protocol-defined ILI. Secondary endpoint analyses suggest this dose may have reduced influenza A illness.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT05567783.
Image retrieval based on auto-encoder and clustering with centroid update
Authors: Nalini Sujantha Bel K , Sam I Shatheesh
Published: July 2024

This paper suggests a revolutionary deep learning method using a dynamic deep auto-encoder for improving the performance of indexing the feature vectors of images by centroid updation. Feature vectors such as color, semantic, and spatial local binary pattern are extracted from the images for content-based image retrieval. The owner encrypts the images for protection using elliptic curve cryptography before uploading them to the cloud. A black hole entropic fuzzy clustering with Tversky indexing is used to retrieve similar information. When the new training image is matched with any of the centroid then the centroid gets updated by using dynamic deep auto-encoder. During the auto-encoder phase, the conflicted data points are dedicated to reconstruction and the reliable data points are helpful to centroid updation. The suggested BHE fuzzy clustering with dynamic deep auto-encoder approach fared better than the current methods, achieving the best accuracy of 97.605%, the highest $\boldsymbol{F_{1}}$ score of 90.210%, better precision of 90.001%, and the highest recall of 95.149%.
Case report of persistent atrial fibrillation with durably isolated pulmonary veins: what’s next?
Authors: Bengel Philipp , Sossalla Samuel , Dinov Borislav
Published: July 2024

Background

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) has emerged as a safe and effective treatment for patients with paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation. Nevertheless, in some patients, a relapse of atrial fibrillation occurs although pulmonary veins are durably isolated. For those patients, the underlying mechanisms of atrial fibrillation perpetuation are manifold and optimal treatment options are not yet defined.

Case summary

We describe a case of a 55-year-old man with a history of atrial fibrillation and previous PVI presenting with persistent AF and arrhythmia induced cardiomyopathy. During the redo procedure, electro-anatomical mapping revealed durably isolated PV. Bipolar mapping showed large low-voltage areas at the posterior wall and the septum. As the patient was refractory to electrical cardioversion, it was decided to modify the large low-voltage areas as potential arrhythmic substrate. After performing additional ablation with isolation of the posterior wall and two anterior/septal lines, the patient spontaneously converted to sinus rhythm.

Discussion

Ablation in patients with persistent AF despite durable PVI remains a challenge for the treating team. Individualized ablation approaches addressing additional arrhythmic substrates or extra-PV triggers can be considered to treat patients with persistent AF and durable PVI.
Early and short-term use of proprotein convertase anti-subtilisin–kexin type 9 inhibitors on coronary plaque stability in acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Uehara Hiroki , Kajiya Takashi , Abe Masami , Nakata Marohito , Hosogi Shingo , Ueda Shinichiro
Published: July 2024

Aims

Proprotein convertase anti-subtilisin–kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9Is) improve plaque volume and composition and reduce major adverse coronary events in chronic coronary artery disease. We evaluated the effects of the short-term use of PCSK9Is on coronary plaque stability in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Methods and results

This is a multicentre, open-label randomized controlled trial. The enrolled 80 subjects met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 52 patients (age 60 ± 11 years, 38 men, 14 women) with ST-elevated ACS had undergone successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention with LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels > 70 mg/dL while receiving high-intensity statins. Participants were randomly assigned to the PCSK9I group (evolocumab 420 mg for 3 months, n = 29) or the standard of care (SoC) group (n = 23). Optical coherence tomography was performed at baseline (BL) and 3 and 9 months after randomization to assess lipid-rich plaques in non-culprit lesions. The change in the minimum fibrous cap thickness (MFCT) from BL to 9 months was the primary endpoint. The percentage change in LDL-C levels from BL to 3 months was significantly greater in the PCSK9I group (−67.8 ± 21.5% in the PCSK9I group vs. −16.3 ± 21.8% in the SoC group; P < 0.0001), and the difference between the two groups disappeared from BL to 9 months (−20.0 ± 37.8% in the PCSK9I group vs. −6.7 ± 34.2% in the SoC group; P = 0.20). The changes in MFCT from BL to 9 months were significantly greater in the PCSK9I group, even after PCSK9I discontinuation {100 μm [interquartile range (IQR): 45–180 μm] vs. 50 μm [IQR: 0–110 μm]; P = 0.032}.

Conclusion

Combination treatment with PCSK9Is and statins resulted in more marked plaque stabilization after ACS than SoC alone, and this effect persisted for 6 months after PCSK9I discontinuation.

Registration

Adage-Joto study, UMIN ID No. 26516.
Unraveling mate choice evolution through indirect genetic effects
Authors: Han Chang S , Robledo-Ruiz Diana A , Garcia-Gonzalez Francisco , Dingemanse Niels J , Tuni Cristina
Published: July 2024

Attractiveness is not solely determined by a single sexual trait but rather by a combination of traits. Because the response of the chooser is based on the combination of sexual traits in the courter, variation in the chooser’s responses that are attributable to the opposite-sex courter genotypes (i.e., the indirect genetic effects [IGEs] on chooser response) can reflect genetic variation in overall attractiveness. This genetic variation can be associated with the genetic basis of other traits in both the chooser and the courter. Investigating this complex genetic architecture, including IGEs, can enhance our understanding of the evolution of mate choice. In the present study on the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, we estimated (1) genetic variation in overall attractiveness and (2) genetic correlations between overall attractiveness and other pre- and postcopulatory traits (e.g., male latency to sing, female latency to mount, male guarding intensity, male and female body mass, male mandible size, and testis size) within and between sexes. We revealed a genetic basis for attractiveness in both males and females. Furthermore, a genetic variance associated with female attractiveness was correlated with a genetic variance underlying larger male testes. Our findings imply that males that mate with attractive females can produce offspring that are successful in terms of precopulatory sexual selection (daughters who are attractive) and postcopulatory sexual selection (sons with an advantage in sperm competition), potentially leading to runaway sexual selection. Our study exemplifies how the incorporation of the IGE framework provides novel insights into the evolution of mate choice.
Risankizumab Is Effective for The Management of Crohn’s Disease of the Pouch
Authors: Kayal Maia , Spencer Elizabeth A , Smyth Matthew , Raffals Laura , Qazi Taha , Deepak Parakkal , Beniwal-Patel Poonam , Chang Shannon , Higgins Peter , Cross Raymond K , Anderson Chelsea , Long Millie , Herfarth Hans H , Dubinsky Marla C , Barnes Edward L
Published: July 2024

Lay Summary

In this prospective, multicenter observational study of highly refractory patients with Crohn’s disease of the pouch, risankizumab achieved the primary outcome of clinical remission in 50% and the more stringent secondary outcome of antibiotic- and steroid-free remission in 30.8% at 12 weeks.
Preoperative Impella therapy in patients with ventricular septal rupture and cardiogenic shock: haemodynamic and organ function outcomes
Authors: Shibasaki Ikuko , Saito Shunsuke , Kanazawa Yuta , Takei Yusuke , Tsuchiya Go , Fukuda Hirotsugu
Published: July 2024

OBJECTIVES

We examined the effects of preoperative Impella treatment on haemodynamic stability, organ recovery and postoperative outcomes in patients with postinfarction ventricular septal rupture (PIVSR) and cardiogenic shock (CS).

METHODS

Between April 2018 and February 2024, the data of 10 of 15 patients with PIVSR and CS who underwent Impella therapy were analysed. Emergency surgery was contingent on haemodynamic stability with the Impella/ECpella, except in the presence of organ failure. We utilized a generalized linear mixed model to evaluate organ ischaemia through changes in blood parameters upon admission and at subsequent intervals post-Impella insertion.

RESULTS

Preoperative Impella or combined Impella and ECpella (5 patients each) support was provided, with diagnoses and operations occurring at an average of 4 days (interquartile range: 2–5) and 8 days (interquartile range: 2–14) after myocardial infarction, respectively. Treatment significantly reduced lactate, alanine aminotransferase, creatine kinase-MB and troponin I levels (P ≤ 0.05 for all). Conversely, no significant change was noted in the aspartate aminotransferase level or the estimated glomerular filtration rate. Haemoglobin and platelet counts decreased despite transfusions (P < 0.001). No surgical deaths occurred; however, 70% of the patients required prolonged mechanical ventilation, and 80% were transferred to other facilities for rehabilitation.

CONCLUSIONS

Impella or ECpella treatment can improve haemodynamic and organ failure outcomes in patients with PIVSR and CS. However, the risks of prolonged support, including haemorrhagic events and the need for extended rehabilitation, point to a need for comparative studies to optimize support duration.
Codesigning AI with End-Users: An AI Literacy Toolkit for Nontechnical Audiences
Authors: Smith Freya , Sadek Malak , Wan Echo , Ito Akira , Mougenot Céline
Published: July 2024

This study addresses the challenge of limited AI literacy among the general public hindering effective participation in AI codesign. We present a card-based AI literacy toolkit designed to inform nontechnical audiences about AI and stimulate idea generation. The toolkit incorporates 16 competencies from the AI Literacy conceptual framework and employs ‘What if?’ prompts to encourage questioning, mirroring designers’ approaches. Using a mixed methods approach, we assessed the impact of the toolkit. In a design task with nontechnical participants (N = 50), we observed a statistically significant improvement in critical feedback and breadth of AI-related questions after toolkit use. Further, a codesign workshop involving six participants, half without an AI background, revealed positive effects on collaboration between practitioners and end-users, fostering a shared vision and common ground. This research emphasizes the potential of AI literacy tools to enhance the involvement of nontechnical audiences in codesigning AI systems, contributing to more inclusive and informed participatory processes.