bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Covariate selection for generalizing experimental results: Application to a large-scale development program in Uganda
Authors: Egami Naoki , Hartman Erin
Published: August 2021

Generalizing estimates of causal effects from an experiment to a target population is of interest to scientists. However, researchers are usually constrained by available covariate information. Analysts can often collect many fewer variables from population samples than from experimental samples, which has limited applicability of existing approaches that assume rich covariate data from both experimental and population samples. In this article, we examine how to select covariates necessary for generalizing experimental results under such data constraints. In our concrete context of a large-scale development program in Uganda, although more than 40 pre-treatment covariates are available in the experiment, only 8 of them were also measured in a target population. We propose a method to estimate a separating set—a set of variables affecting both the sampling mechanism and treatment effect heterogeneity—and show that the population average treatment effect (PATE) can be identified by adjusting for estimated separating sets. Our algorithm only requires a rich set of covariates in the experimental data, not in the target population, by incorporating researcher-specific constraints on what variables are measured in the population data. Analysing the development experiment in Uganda, we show that the proposed algorithm can allow for the PATE estimation in situations where conventional methods fail due to data requirements.
Perceptions of providing safe care for frail older people at home: A qualitative study based on focus group interviews with home care staff
Authors: Silverglow Anastasia , Johansson Lena , Lidén Eva , Wijk Helle
Published: August 2021

Background

Providing safe care is a core competence in healthcare. The concept usually refers to hospitals but, consistent with the increasing importance of integrated care, the provision of safe care needs to be extended to the context of home care, and more research is needed concerning home healthcare providers’ perspectives in this context.

Aim

The aim of this study was to describe care providers’ perceptions of providing safe care for frail older persons living at home.

Method

A qualitative methodology was chosen. In total, 30 care providers agreed to participate. Data were collected through five focus group interviews and analysed using a phenomenographic approach.

Results

Three themes regarding care providers’ perceptions of providing safe care emerged from the data: ‘safe care is created in the encounter and interaction with the older person’, ‘safe care requires responsibility from the caregiver’ and ‘safe care is threatened by insufficient organisational resources’. The findings show that providing safe care is an endeavour that requires a holistic view among the care providers as well as effective collaboration within the team, but insufficient competence or a lack of time can make it difficult to safeguard the psychological and existential needs of older persons.

Conclusion

Providing safe care in home environments encompasses more than just risk reduction. The findings highlight the importance of establishing and integrating team‐based and person‐centred care into home care settings. Traditional communication structures for inpatient care also need to be adapted to the cross‐disciplinary work in municipalities. Care providers should be given the opportunity to develop and maintain their competences and to prioritise relationship‐oriented care.
“The Books Make You Feel Bad”: Expert Advice and Maternal Anxiety in the Early 21st Century*
Authors: Cucchiara Maia , Steinbugler Amy C.
Published: August 2021

With ethnographic observations and in‐depth interviews of parenting classes serving middle‐ and upper‐middle‐class mothers, this paper explores how mothers engage and experience expert advice. Contemporary models of motherhood expect more than nurture and sacrifice; modern mothers must also be highly skilled and well informed. A wealth of information is available to help mothers navigate a high‐pressure environment in which their actions are believed to have deep, long‐lasting impact on children’s future health, happiness, and success. How do mothers engage with expert advice, what demands does it place on them, and what rewards might that generate? Our data include approximately 50 hours of observation, 10 formal, in‐depth interviews, and multiple informal interviews with mostly white, highly educated, relatively affluent mothers. Interview narratives and fieldnotes were coded and analyzed with Dedoose. We show that mothers in our study experience a paradox of expertise, in which more knowledge often fails to produce more certainty. Parenting advice is complex, contingent, and sometimes contradictory, and the stakes in which mothers work to synthesize this information feel astoundingly high. The labor of gathering, synthesizing, and activating expertise is a unique and underexamined form of emotional and intellectual labor.
INTEGRATED SLOPE STABILITY ANALYSIS (SSA) WITH TRANSIENT GROUNDWATER FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR EMBANKMENT ANALYSIS
Authors: Sujatono Supandi
Published: August 2021

The content of level has a big enough role in the value of the physical characteristic and the mechanical of material. The behavior of water in these materials needs to be analyzed first in order to support the slope stability analysis. Modeling of water behavior in materials in the construction of Tailing Storage Facilities (TSF) will be integrated in the slope stability analysis. This study aims to provide an explanation about the analysis of the Fishing Storage Facilities (TSF) which integrates transient groundwater analysis using the finite element method in supporting the stability analysis of the embankment of Tailing Storage Facilities (TSF). The variables that are used in the analysis, they are the parameters of physical properties and mechanic material for embankment and permeability parameters in analyzing groundwater. The analysis method for geotechnical and geohydrology modeling uses the finite element method. The results of analysis showed that groundwater behavior in the embankment material can be known in detail so that it can be integrated with stability analysis.   It can be seen that there is a decrease in the value of the slope safety factor using the Integrated Slope Stability Analysis method compared to the conventional method. Adding an impermeable layer using a thickness of 5 m of clay material and a thickness of 20-30 m to support the retaining wall/foot is the criterion of optimal stability. The required lining material thickness (D) can be expressed by the following drawdown percentage equation function:  reduction percentage = (1-0.8661D (-0.031)) * 100%.
CHARACTERIZATION OF THERMOSTABLE BETA-1,4-GALACTANASE AND ITS APPLICATION IN HYDROLYSIS OF PECTIN FROM SWEET POTATO (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) PEELS
Authors: Ismail Noor Faizah , Abang Zaidel Dayang Norulfairuz , Mat Isa Mohd Noor
Published: August 2021

Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) synthesis has received much attention due to its prebiotic function. Beta-1,4-galactanase responsible for the hydrolysis of galactan plays an important role in producing GOS from biodegradation of this pectin component. In this study, beta-1,4-galactanase (BgcGC) from a thermophilic Geobacillus mahadii Geo-05 was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and characterized. The optimum temperature of BgcGC was at 60°C and stable from 20-60°C while optimum pH was at 6 and stable from pH 4-10. BgcGC showed high catalytic efficiency towards potato galactan (873.8 ml mg-1 s-1) and lupin galactan (1694.4 ml mg-1 s-1). The activity of BgcGC was not significantly affected with the presence of 100 mM K+, Tween-20 and 2-mercaptoethanol. Application of BgcGC towards pectin-containing galactan oligomer extracted from sweet potato peels resulted in galactose and GOS synthesis as revealed by high performance liquid chromatography analysis. Thus, this enzyme has a potential to be one of the enzyme candidates involves in pectin complex degradation to produce GOS.
Design of an Origami Bendy Straw for Robotic Multistable Structures
Authors: Bernardes Evandro , Viollet Stéphane
Published: August 2021

This article presents a soft cylindrical multistable origami structure based on “bendy straws,” consisting of multiple conical frusta mimicking the structure of a flexible drinking straw. These frusta are connected in such a way that the whole structure is axially multistable, having a stable compressed state in which its smallest frustum is collapsed. The bendy straw structure can also be modified so that the smallest frustum collapses only partially, keeping the structure in a bent state. We studied the geometry of a similar structure consisting of polygonal frusta instead of conical ones and used this geometry to design a nonrigidly foldable origami pattern folding into a similar origami bendy straw structure. Most of the origami structures presented so far have been modeled from rigidly foldable origami patterns: These origami structures do not rely on local deformations of the sheet and cannot use it to their advantage, whereas the nonrigid origami structure presented here features multistability. We have established that this origami structure is not only axially multistable, but that it can also be kept in a bent state, thanks to the use of pop-through defects (PTDs). The origami bendy straws studied here were made from paper (with a density of 90 g/m2) bilaminated with a 42.5 μm thick plastic film. A digital dynamometer was used to study the forces required to compress and expand a single origami bendy straw, create and reverse a PTD, and bend an origami bendy straw using PTDs.
Computational Modeling of Voice Production Using Excised Canine Larynx
Authors: Jiang Weili , Farbos de Luzan Charles , Wang Xiaojian , Oren Liran , Khosla Sid M. , Xue Qian , Zheng Xudong
Published: August 2021

A combined experimental–numerical work was conducted to comprehensively validate a subject-specific continuum model of voice production in larynx using excised canine laryngeal experiments. The computational model is a coupling of the Navier–Stokes equations for glottal flow dynamics and a finite element model of vocal fold dynamics. The numerical simulations employed a cover-body vocal fold structure with the geometry reconstructed from magnetic resonance imaging scans and the material properties determined through an optimization-based inverse process of experimental indentation measurement. The results showed that the simulations predicted key features of the dynamics observed in the experiments, including the skewing of the glottal flow waveform, mucosal wave propagation, continuous increase of the divergent angle and intraglottal swirl strength during glottal closing, and flow recirculation between glottal jet and vocal fold. The simulations also predicted the increase of the divergent angle, glottal jet speed, and intraglottal flow swirl strength with the subglottal pressure, same as in the experiments. Quantitatively, the simulations over-predicted the frequency and jet speed and under-predicted the flow rate and divergent angle for the larynx under study. The limitations of the model and their implications were discussed.
Transient Hybrid Electric Vehicle Powertrain Control Based on Iterative Dynamic Programing
Authors: Zhu Qilun , Prucka Robert
Published: August 2021

This research proposes an iterative dynamic programing (IDP) algorithm that generates an optimal supervisory control policy for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) considering transient powertrain dynamics. The proposed algorithm tries to solve the “curse of dimensionality” and the “curse of modeling” of conventional dynamic programing (DP). The proposed IDP algorithm iteratively updates the DP formulation using a machine learning-based powertrain model. The machine learning model is recursively trained using the outputs from the driving cycle simulation with a high-fidelity model. Once the reduced model converges to the high-fidelity model accuracy, the resulting control policy yields a 9.1% fuel economy (FE) improvement compared to the baseline nonpredictive rule-based control for the urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS) driving cycle. A conventional DP control strategy based on a quasi-static powertrain model and a perfect preview of future power demand yields 14.2% FE improvement. However, the FE improvement reduces to 5.7% when the policy is validated with the high-fidelity model. It is concluded that capturing the transient powertrain dynamics is critical to generating a realistic fuel economy prediction and relevant powertrain control policy. The proposed IDP strategy employs targeted state-space exploration to leverage the improving state trajectory from previous iterations. Compared to conventional fixed state-space sampling methods, this method improves the accuracy of the DP policy against discretization error. It also significantly reduces the computational load of the relatively high number of states of the transient powertrain model.
Suppression of Nonsynchronous Vibration Through Intentional Aerodynamic and Structural Mistuning
Authors: Stapelfeldt Sina , Brandstetter Christoph
Published: August 2021

Nonsynchronous vibrations (NSVs) arising near the stall boundary of compressors are a recurring and potentially safety-critical problem in modern axial compressors and fans. Recent research has improved predictive capabilities and physical understanding of NSV, but prevention measures are still lacking. This article addresses this by systematically studying the influence of aerodynamic and structural mistuning on NSV. This is achieved by incorporating mistuning effects in a validated linear model, in which individual blade modes are modeled as single-degree-of-freedom mass oscillators coupled by a convected aerodynamic disturbance term. The results demonstrate that both structural and aerodynamic mistuning are effective. While structural mistuning improves stability by preventing aero-structure lock-in, aerodynamic mistuning, which locally reduces the tip blockage and attenuates the aerodynamic disturbance causing NSV. In the latter case, the circumferentially averaged conditions are shown to be most influential, while the pattern plays a minor role. A combination of moderate aerodynamic and structural mistuning (1%) was also found to be effective. These findings are relevant for design decisions, demonstrating that small blade-to-blade variations can suppress NSV.
Investigation of Flow Structure in a Narrow Clearance of a Low Specific Speed Centrifugal Impeller
Authors: Inaba Yumeno , Sakai Kento , Miyagawa Kazuyoshi , Iino Masamichi , Sano Takeshi
Published: August 2021

The disk friction loss is remarkably large in low specific speed centrifugal pumps, and an effective reduction method has not been established. Therefore, to develop the method, the loss mechanism was investigated. To grasp the internal flow structure in the narrow clearance, both experimental and computational approaches were used. An experimental apparatus that imitates clearance between a rotating impeller disk and a stationary casing disk was used and the static pressure distribution in the radial direction was measured. The internal flow where the disk friction loss occurs was investigated. In the case of outward flow, the static pressure decreased because the influence of the centrifugal force lessened toward the outer diameter of the disk, as the flow rate surged. For this reason, the pressure gradient became steep. According to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, there was a vortex in the cross section of the clearance. This vortex encouraged flow recirculation and promoted the increase in the circumferential velocity in the potential core. When the flow rate grew, the vortex diminished. The circumferential velocity gradient and the shear stress intensified. As a result, the disk friction escalated. In the case of inward flow, the pressure gradient became steep as the flow rate increased. There was a vortex in the clearance, the size of which lessened when the flow rate surged. The disk friction had a minimum value at the flow rate was 6 × 10−4 m3/s. This research clarified that the vortex in the clearance has a remarkable effect on reducing the disk friction.
High-resolution temporal weighting of interaural time differences in speech
Authors: Baltzell Lucas S , Best Virginia
Published: August 2021

Previous studies have shown that for high-rate click trains and low-frequency pure tones, interaural time differences (ITDs) at the onset of stimulus contribute most strongly to the overall lateralization percept (receive the largest perceptual weight). Previous studies have also shown that when these stimuli are modulated, ITDs during the rising portion of the modulation cycle receive increased perceptual weight. Baltzell, Cho, Swaminathan, and Best [(2020). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 147, 3883–3894] measured perceptual weights for a pair of spoken words (“two” and “eight”), and found that word-initial phonemes receive larger weight than word-final phonemes, suggesting a “word-onset dominance” for speech. Generalizability of this conclusion was limited by a coarse temporal resolution and limited stimulus set. In the present study, temporal weighting functions (TWFs) were measured for four spoken words (“two,” “eight,” “six,” and “nine”). Stimuli were partitioned into 30-ms bins, ITDs were applied independently to each bin, and lateralization judgements were obtained. TWFs were derived using a hierarchical regression model. Results suggest that “word-initial” onset dominance does not generalize across words and that TWFs depend in part on acoustic changes throughout the stimulus. Two model-based predictions were generated to account for observed TWFs, but neither could fully account for the perceptual data.
The Effects of Athlete Activism on League Credibility, Event Legacy, and Event Involvement: A Crisis Communication Perspective
Authors: Asada Akira , Inoue Yuhei , Chang Yonghwan
Published: August 2021

The #TakeAKnee movement initiated by Colin Kaepernick and the measures taken by the National Football League (NFL) to handle the situation received mixed reactions from the public. The authors developed and tested a structural model using survey data collected from 698 residents of a Super Bowl host city. The results indicated a positive relationship between attitudes toward the movement and attitudes toward the league’s responses, which in turn influenced league credibility. However, after taking the indirect effect into account, attitudes toward the movement had a direct negative relationship with league credibility. In addition, people who viewed the NFL as a credible organization tended to perceive the Super Bowl as relevant to them and as impactful for the host city. Therefore, sport organizations should develop consistent, comprehensive communication strategies that enable them to maximize a positive synergy between their approach to crisis communication and their approach to other types of communication.
Training Characteristics of a World Championship 5000-m Finalist and Multiple Continental Record Holder Over the Year Leading to a World Championship Final
Authors: Kenneally Mark , Casado Arturo , Gomez-Ezeiza Josu , Santos-Concejero Jordan
Published: August 2021

Purpose:Optimal training for endurance performance remains a debated topic. In this case study, the training of a world-class middle-/long-distance runner over a year’s duration is presented.Methods:The training is analyzed via 2 methods to define training intensity distribution (TID) (1) by physiological zones and (2) by zones based on race pace. TID was analyzed over the full season, but also over the final 6, 12, and 26 weeks to allow for consideration of periodization/phases of season. The results of both methods are compared. Other training data measured include volume and number of sessions.Results:The average weekly volume for the athlete was 145.8 (24.8) km·wk−1. TID by physiological analysis was polarized for the last 6 weeks of the season but was pyramidal when analyzed over the final 12, 26, and 52 weeks of the season. TID by race-pace analysis was pyramidal across all time points. The athlete finished 12th in the final of the World Championship 5000-m and made the semifinal of the 1500-m. He was ranked in the top 16 in the world for 1500, 5000, and 10,000 m.Conclusion:The results of this study demonstrate a potential flaw with recent work suggesting polarized training as the most effective means to improve endurance performance. Here, different analysis methods produced 2 different types of TID. A polarized distribution was only seen when analyzed by physiological approach, and only during the last 6 weeks of a 52-week season. Longer-term prospective studies relating performance and physiological changes are suggested.
Shooting Over the Curtain—A Transnational Analysis of Soviet Hockey in the 1950s and 1960s
Authors: Boivin-Chouinard Mathieu
Published: August 2021

This article analyzes Soviet hockey as a transnational phenomenon by underlining three international events that marked milestones in the domestication of hockey in the country and in the Sovietization of international hockey. Focusing on the period of the massification of the sport in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), from the end of the 1940s to the end of the 1960s, it interprets the appropriation and transformation of a Canadian sport in the Soviet reality through the analytical tools of cultural translation and hybridization. It is this period of great cultural and social transformation, first in the xenophobic context of the anti-cosmopolitan campaign that took place during late Stalinism, and later in the internationalist enthusiasm that characterized Khrushchev’s Thaw, that ice hockey has been sovietized. That process neccessitated the translation of a foreign cultural object in Soviet languages and semiotic tools. Meanwhile, international hockey itself underwent a profound hybridization process to which the Soviets greatly contributed.
The Marshall Plan: How Diversity and Inclusion Transformed the Dallas Mavericks’ Organizational Culture
Authors: Beattie Mark A. , Lower-Hoppe Leeann M.
Published: August 2021

How does a professional sport organization with a toxic organizational culture transform its workplace to one built around equity, diversity, and inclusion? This article addresses that question in a case study that explores the aftermath of the Dallas Mavericks’ sexual harassment scandal. The case allows students to analyze the crisis the Mavericks faced after a Sports Illustrated article exposed the organization’s corrosive workplace culture. Students will discuss the strategies Mavericks’ chief executive officer Cynthia Marshall deployed to transform the Mavericks’ workplace culture. Furthermore, students will consider how those strategies have broader utility in improving organizational diversity throughout the sport industry. A theoretical framework, a case narrative, and teaching notes are provided to support implementation of the case study in sport management curricula.
The Mycobacterial Efflux Pump EfpA Can Induce High Drug Tolerance to Many Antituberculosis Drugs, Including Moxifloxacin, in Mycobacterium smegmatis
Authors: Rai Deepika , Mehra Sarika
Published: August 2021

Active efflux of drugs across the membrane is a major survival strategy of bacteria against many drugs. In this work, we characterize an efflux pump, EfpA, from the major facilitator superfamily, that is highly conserved among both slow-growing and fast-growing
Mycobacterium
species and has been found to be upregulated in many clinical isolates of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
.
Baloxavir Treatment Delays Influenza B Virus Transmission in Ferrets and Results in Limited Generation of Drug-Resistant Variants
Authors: Pascua Philippe Noriel Q. , Jones Jeremy C. , Marathe Bindumadhav M. , Seiler Patrick , Caufield William V. , Freeman Burgess B. , Webby Richard J. , Govorkova Elena A.
Published: August 2021

Clinical efficacy of the influenza antiviral baloxavir marboxil (baloxavir) is compromised by treatment-emergent variants harboring a polymerase acidic protein I38T (isoleucine-38-threonine) substitution. However, the fitness of I38T-containing influenza B viruses (IBVs) remains inadequately defined.
Antibiotic Susceptibility Profiles and Frequency of Resistance Genes in Clinical Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Michigan over a 14-Year Period
Authors: Mukherjee Sanjana , Blankenship Heather M. , Rodrigues Jose A. , Mosci Rebekah E. , Rudrik James T. , Manning Shannon D.
Published: August 2021

Shiga toxin-producing
Escherichia coli
(STEC) is an important foodborne pathogen that contributes to over 250,000 infections in the United States each year. Because antibiotics are not recommended for STEC infections, resistance in STEC has not been widely researched despite an increased likelihood for the transfer of resistance genes from STEC to opportunistic pathogens residing within the same microbial community.
The Role of 17β-Estrogen in Escherichia coli Adhesion on Human Vaginal Epithelial Cells via FAK Phosphorylation
Authors: Liu Xia , Luan Ting , Zhou Wanqing , Yan Lina , Qian Hua , Mao Pengyuan , Jiang Lisha , Liu Jingyan , Rui Can , Wang Xinyan , Li Ping , Zeng Xin
Published: August 2021

Estrogen, the predominant sex hormone, has been found to be related to the occurrence of vaginal infectious diseases. However, its role in the occurrence and development of bacterial vaginitis caused by
Escherichia coli
is still unclear.
Disruption of the Francisella noatunensis subsp.
orientalis pdpA
Gene Results in Virulence Attenuation and Protection in Zebrafish
Authors: Hansen John D. , Ray Karina , Chen Po-Jui , Yun Susan , Elliott Diane G. , Conway Carla M. , Calcutt Michael J. , Purcell Maureen K. , Welch Timothy J. , Bellah John P. , Davis Ellie M. , Greer Justin B. , Soto Esteban
Published: August 2021

Several
Francisella
spp., including
Francisella noatunensis
, are regarded as important emerging pathogens of wild and farmed fish. However, very few studies have investigated the virulence factors that allow these bacterial species to be pathogenic in fish.
AB569, a Novel, Topical Bactericidal Gel Formulation, Kills Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Promotes Wound Healing in a Murine Model of Burn Wound Infection
Authors: Barry Amanda , Panmanee Warunya , Hassett Daniel J. , Satish Latha
Published: August 2021

Cutaneous thermal injuries from burns/explosives are a major cause of morbidity and mortality and represent a monumental burden on our current health care system. Injury severity is predominantly due to potentially lethal sepsis caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria such as
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
(MDR-PA).
Streptococcus pyogenes TrxSR Two-Component System Regulates Biofilm Production in Acidic Environments
Authors: Isaka Masanori , Okamoto Akira , Miura Yutaka , Tatsuno Ichiro , Maeyama Jun-ichi , Hasegawa Tadao
Published: August 2021

Bacteria form biofilms for their protection against environmental stress and produce virulence factors within the biofilm. Biofilm formation in acidified environments is regulated by a two-component system, as shown by studies on isogenic mutants of the sensor protein of the two-component regulatory system in
Streptococcus pyogenes
.
Transoral and submental thyroidectomy using intraoperative nerve stimulation and indocyanin green fluorescence imaging
Authors: Alnehlaoui Fadi , Guraya Salman Yousuf
Published: August 2021

There is a recent proliferation of clinical studies about the minimally invasive scarless thyroid surgery. The transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA) carries a great potential for being scarless surgery via a short dissection flap. However, TOETVA has limitations in extracting larger thyroid tumours via the transoral vestibular incision and due to its potential damage to the branches of the mental nerve. The rapidly evolving surgical innovations have now introduced transoral and submental thyroidectomy (TOaST) approach that allows extraction of large thyroid tumours with less flap dissection and minimal postoperative pain. We present a 39-year-old man with a large multinodular goitre. The patient was euthyroid with moderate to severe compression symptoms of difficulty in breathing and swallowing. We performed a TOaST procedure using intraoperative neuromonitoring and indocyanin green fluorescence imaging with an uneventful recovery. This is a first case report from the middle east region that will pave the way to large clinical trials to determine the efficacy and safety of TOaST.
Septic discitis and septic pulmonary emboli: rare complications ofProteus mirabilisurinary tract infection
Authors: Ahmad Soban , Cutrone Madeleine , Ikram Sundus , Yousaf Amman
Published: August 2021

Proteus mirabilisis a gram-negative bacterium frequently considered a pathogen of the urinary tract. Septic discitis and septic pulmonary emboli resulting fromP. mirabilisurosepsis is a rare phenomenon. We report a 39-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital with a complicated urinary tract infection resulting in bacteraemia, septic discitis, paraspinal abscesses and septic emboli. She was treated with a prolonged course of intravenous antibiotics resulting in the clinical resolution of her symptoms. Based on our PubMed search of the English literature, this is only the second reported case of septic discitis caused byP. mirabilis. This paper illustrates that physicians should include septic discitis caused byP. mirabilisas a possible aetiology of low back pain in patients with active or recently treated urinary tract infection. Additionally, this article discusses the pathogenesis and other complications resulting fromP. mirabilisbacteraemia.
Rare case of coronary spastic angina during treatment of invasive group A streptococcal sepsis
Authors: Sakagami Tatsuya , Tsuji Takeshi
Published: August 2021

The underlying mechanisms of coronary spastic angina (CSA) is not well understood. It is unclear if an infection can trigger coronary vasospasm; the co-occurrence of sepsis and CSA has rarely been reported. We describe the case of a 47-year-old man who suddenly developed a complete atrioventricular block and an episode of cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment for sepsis secondary to invasive group A streptococci. Emergency coronary angiography and provocation revealed spasm of the right coronary artery, which had led to the atrioventricular block. The spasm was relieved following administration of calcium-channel blockade, and no subsequent recurrence was documented. Due to several underlying mechanisms, sepsis may be a potential risk factor of coronary spasm and episodes of this condition have been missed or misdiagnosed. Physicians should be aware of CSA as a potential complication during treatment of sepsis.
Dropless penetrating keratoplasty using a subconjunctival dexamethasone implant: safety pilot study
Authors: Trone Marie Caroline , Poinard Sylvain , Crouzet Emmanuel , Garcin Thibaud , Mentek Marielle , Forest Fabien , Matray Marie , Thuret Gilles , Gain Philippe
Published: August 2021

Background/aim

Rejection is the main cause of graft failure after penetrating keratoplasty (PK). Its prevention by repeated instillation of steroid eye-drops has not evolved in decades. Poor adherence and discontinuous nature of eye-drop treatment may explain some PK failures. In a rabbit model, we previously demonstrated that a subconjunctival dexamethasone implant was well tolerated and prevented rejection efficiently in the first 5–6 weeks. This clinical trial investigates its tolerance and safety after PK.

Methods

Single-centre, phase II non-randomised tolerance and safety pilot study (NCT02834260). Designed to analyse the risk of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), discomfort and resorption time. Fourteen patients with a low rejection risk indication of PK were enrolled between January 2017 and August 2018. The implant was injected in the 12 o’clock position, 5 mm from the limbus, at the end of PK. A steroid eye-drop treatment was planned when implant resorption was complete. Patients were monitored regularly for 12 months: IOP (main outcome measure at 1 month), discomfort and redness scores, implant status, rejection episode and central corneal thickness by optical coherence tomography. An independent data safety monitoring committee verified safety aspects.

Results

No increase in IOP or other adverse event related to the implant was observed. Average resorption time was 6 weeks. The switch to steroid eye-drops was uneventful. One patient, included despite preoperative corneal neovascularisation (unintended protocol deviation) experienced a rejection.

Conclusions

This is the first proof of concept that dropless immunosuppression is possible after low rejection risk PK.

Trial registration number

NCT02834260.
Central macular OCTA parameters in glaucoma
Authors: Nishida Takashi , Oh Won Hyuk , Moghimi Sasan , Yarmohammadi Adeleh , Hou Huiyuan , David Ryan Caezar C , Kamalipour Alireza , Shoji Takuhei , El-Nimri Nevin , Rezapour Jasmin , M Zangwill Linda , Weinreb Robert N
Published: August 2021

Background/aims

To investigate the relationship between the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) parameters assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and central visual field parameters in glaucoma and healthy subjects.

Methods

One hundred and eighty-eight subjects (248 eyes), including 24 healthy (38 eyes), 37 glaucoma suspect (42 eyes, and 127 primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients (168 eyes), underwent imaging using OCTA and standard automated perimetry using the 24-2 and 10-2 Swedish Interactive Thresholding Algorithm. OCTA-based and OCT-based FAZ parameters (superficial FAZ area, FAZ circumference), foveal vessel density (FD300) and foveal thickness were measured. The correlation between FAZ parameters and visual field parameters was assessed using linear mixed model.

Results

Axial length adjusted-FAZ area was not different among the three groups (mean (95% CI)): in healthy 0.31 (0.27 to 0.36) mm2, glaucoma suspect 0.29 (0.26 to 0.31) mm2and POAG eyes 0.28 (0.27 to 0.30) mm2(p=0.578). FD300 was lower in glaucoma suspect 49.1% (47.9% to 50.4%) and POAG eyes 48.7% (48.1% to 49.4%) than healthy eyes 50.5% (49.3% to 51.7%) though the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.071). Lower FD300 was associated with worse 24-2 and 10-2 visual field mean deviation and foveal threshold in multivariable linear mixed models (all p<0.05). In addition, a smaller FAZ area was associated with lower intraocular pressure (IOP) (p=0.026).

Conclusions

The FD300, but not the FAZ area was correlated with 10° central visual field mean deviation and foveal threshold in healthy, glaucoma suspect and POAG eyes. In contrast, a smaller FAZ area was associated with lower IOP.
Quantitative Increase in Short-Chain Fatty Acids, Especially Butyrate Protects Kidney from Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Sun Yangyang , Zhou Cuixing , Chen Yimeng , He Xiaozhou , Gao Fang , Xue Dong
Published: August 2021

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the end products of fermentation carried out by the intestinal microbiota, were demonstrated to produce anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Butyrate, part of the SCFAs, also shows the same effect. Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury commonly occurs in renal transplantation and is often accompanied by oxidative stresses and inflammatory responses. In this study, we explore butyrate effect on renal I/R injury and SCFAs changes in renal transplant. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with butyrate as research, and underwent the surgery of renal ischemia for 45 min followed by reperfusion. 90 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=30 each group): (1) sham-operated group; (2) butyrate-treated group; (3) control group. The samples of blood and renal were collected immediately for further studies. Thirty-two patients were enrolled to investigate the levels of SCFAs after the renal transplantation. Rats model showed that butyrate treatments significantly enhanced the function and structure of kidney, as evidenced by the lower serum creatinine levels and less pathological damages of renal tissue. With the recovery of renal function after renal transplantation, SCFAs increased, which were negatively correlated with creatinine. Butyrate expressed like SCFAs. In this study, we demonstrated that butyrate increased with the recovery of renal function after renal transplantation. Most importantly, butyrate treatments alleviated the renal damages caused by I/R via the upregulation of intracellular oxidant stress and inflammations.
Why is the rainforest lichen Methuselah’s beard (Usnea longissima) so rare in British Columbia’s inland temperate rainforest?
Authors: Strother Ivy Evergreen , Coxson Darwyn , Goward Trevor
Published: August 2021

Coastal (CTR) and inland temperate rainforests (ITR) in western North America share a rich oceanic lichen flora. The distinctive Methuselah’s beard lichen (Usnea longissima Ach.) is an exception to this pattern of shared distributions, with very few ITR locations. Does this absence reflect dispersal limitations or climatic intolerance? To answer this question, we transplanted U. longissima thalli from the CTR to three ITR locations, assessing growth rates against reciprocal CTR transplants. Canopy microclimate measurements provided concurrent data on growth conditions. Growth rate responses (length, mass, and area) were evaluated after summer and full-year transplants. Notwithstanding extended drought conditions during the summer period, annual transplants at two of the three ITR locations supported growth rates comparable to those at the CTR source U. longissima population, with summer dewfall and autumn rains being major ITR hydration sources. Thalli transplanted to a third ITR site (summer measurements only) in a location transitional to the drier interior plateau lost both mass and length. Based on these findings, we suggest that the absence of U. longissima from much of the ITR reflects the combined influence of dispersal limitations and requirements for stands with long site continuity and topographically induced summer wetting of thalli by dewfall.
Statistics of the number of equilibria in random social dilemma evolutionary games with mutation
Authors: Duong Manh Hong , Han The Anh
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we study analytically the statistics of the number of equilibria in pairwise social dilemma evolutionary games with mutation where a game’s payoff entries are random variables. Using the replicator–mutator equations, we provide explicit formulas for the probability distributions of the number of equilibria as well as other statistical quantities. This analysis is highly relevant assuming that one might know the nature of a social dilemma game at hand (e.g., cooperation vs coordination vs anti-coordination), but measuring the exact values of its payoff entries is difficult. Our delicate analysis shows clearly the influence of the mutation probability on these probability distributions, providing insights into how varying this important factor impacts the overall behavioural or biological diversity of the underlying evolutionary systems.

Graphic abstract
Three-dimensional teleparallel Chern-Simons supergravity theory
Authors: Caroca Ricardo , Concha Patrick , Peñafiel Diego , Rodríguez Evelyn
Published: August 2021

In this work we present a gauge-invariant three-dimensional teleparallel supergravity theory using the Chern-Simons formalism. The present construction is based on a supersymmetric extension of a particular deformation of the Poincaré algebra. At the bosonic level the theory describes a non-Riemannian geometry with a non-vanishing torsion. In presence of supersymmetry, the teleparallel supergravity theory is characterized by a non-vanishing super-torsion in which the cosmological constant can be seen as a source for the torsion. We show that the teleparallel supergravity theory presented here reproduces the Poincaré supergravity in the vanishing cosmological limit. The extension of our results to $${\mathcal {N}}=p+q$$

N
=
p
+
q

supersymmetries is also explored.
Lattice QCD study of the elastic and transition form factors of charmed baryons
Authors: Can K. U.
Published: August 2021

Composite nature of a particle can be probed by electromagnetic interactions and information about their structure is embedded in form factors. Most of the experimental and theoretical efforts on baryon electromagnetic form factors have been focused on nucleon while the data on charmed sector are limited to spectroscopy, and weak and strong decays. Forthcoming experiments with a heavy-hadron physics program at major experimental facilities are expected to provide a wealth of information on charmed baryons, which calls for a better understanding of the heavy-sector dynamics from theoretical grounds.

We review the progress in calculating the elastic and transition form factors of charmed baryons in lattice QCD. A collection of static observables, e.g. charge radii, multipole moments, are presented along with the elastic form factors up to [Formula: see text]. As one would expect the charmed baryons are compact in comparison to nucleon and this is due to the presence of valence charm quark(s). The elastic and transition magnetic moments are both suppressed. The lattice results provide predictions for the transition magnetic moments, transition and helicity amplitudes and consequentially the decay widths of some singly and doubly charmed baryons.

In general, lattice results are consonant with the qualitative expectations of quark model and heavy-quark symmetry, although there are apparent quantitative differences up to two orders of magnitude in some cases. There are, however, indications that the lattice results can be utilized to improve the model predictions. Nevertheless, discrepancies between the lattice and nonlattice calculations need to be understood better to have a solid insight into the dynamics of the heavy sector.

Furthermore, reliably determined charmed baryon observables would be invaluable input to investigate the nature of exotic states, which further emphasizes the importance of rigorous, first-principles calculations to advance our understanding of the dynamics of the heavy quarks and strong interactions.
10,15-Bis(ethoxycarbonyl)-5-(4-methoxycarbonylphenyl) B(III)subchlorin: A photosensitizer with high singlet oxygen producing efficiency
Authors: Bhat Ishfaq A. , Soman Rahul , Chandra Brijesh , Sahoo Sameeta , Thaltiri Vikranth , Panda Pradeepta K.
Published: August 2021

A novel A2B-type B(III)subchlorin has been synthesized for the first time in two ways possessing two different ester moieties upon macrocyclic periphery from meso-diethoxycarbonyl tripyrrane. Its photophysical and electrochemical properties have been explored. Introduction of the third meso-substituent resulted in the synthesis of the B(III)subchlorin as the major product with the formation of minor oxidized B(III)subporphyrin analogue. This subchlorin derivative was found to generate singlet oxygen much efficiently with quantum yield ([Formula: see text] 0.88.
One-Step Synthesis of Ribonucleases A–Ag Nanocomposites as Fluorescent Nanodrugs for in vivo Delivery
Authors: Luo Yuan , Chen Yunfeng , Yang Xing , Wang Yueming , Li Yunxia , Gu Xueping , Zhang Jian , Chen Jun , Hao Yuefeng , Shen Gang
Published: August 2021

Proteins and enzymes with potential therapeutic function have been widely used in drug delivery. Meanwhile, nanocrystals (NCs) have showed their advantage as in vivo fluorescent indicators. Combining of these two kinds of materials can result in multifunctional composites. Here, a one-step synthesis of protein–NCs nanocomposites with near infrared (NIR) fluorescence and efficient therapeutic function was developed. Ag NCs were formed using ribonucleases A (RNase A) enzyme as a stabilizer. Meanwhile, the RNase A with long chain rapped around Ag NCs and formed RNase A–Ag nanocomposites. The nanocomposites remained both the NIR fluorescence of Ag NCs and antitumor activity of RNase A. The inhibition of the growth of tumor cells by the nanocomposites was confirmed. This study developed an efficient drug delivery system through combination of the protein and nanoparticles, which had potential clinical application in the future.
Tailoring Nickel-Rich LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 Layered Oxide Cathode Materials with Metal Sulfides (M2S:M = Li, Na) for Improved Electrochemical Properties
Authors: Akella Sri Harsha , Taragin Sarah , Mukherjee Ayan , Lidor-Shalev Ortal , Aviv Hagit , Zysler Melina , Sharon Daniel , Noked Malachi
Published: August 2021

LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) is a promising cathode material for long range electric vehicles. However, the material suffers severe chemo-mechanical degradation that can cause gradual capacity loss upon prolonged cycling. Surface passivation of NMC811 was demonstrated to help in retaining the structural integrity of the material upon extended cycling. Herein, we report the surface passivation of the NCM811 using Li2S and Na2S precursors via direct and simple wet chemical treatment, for the mitigation of parasitic reactions at the electrode electrolyte interphase. This phenomenon is accompanied by increase in the oxidation state of sulfur (from sulfide to sulfate) and partial reduction in the oxidation state of nickel. Electrochemical performance measurements show that the M2SO4 (M: Li, Na) protection layer on NMC811 behaves as an artificial cathode electrolyte interphase (ACEI) that enhance the capacity retention by 25% during prolong cycling with respect to the untreated NMC811. Postmortem morphology studies reveal that the thin metal sulfates coatings remain on the cathode even after 100 cycles, while the untreated NCM811 shows severe morphological instabilities. Our study demonstrates that by simple chemical treatment of NMC811 can enhance its overall stability and cycling performance for the development of advanced high energy density Lithium-ion battery systems.