bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simple Measurement of IgA Predicts Immunity and Mortality in Ataxia-Telangiectasia
Authors: Zielen Stefan , Duecker Ruth Pia , Woelke Sandra , Donath Helena , Bakhtiar Sharhzad , Buecker Aileen , Kreyenberg Hermann , Huenecke Sabine , Bader Peter , Mahlaoui Nizar , Ehl Stephan , El-Helou Sabine M. , Pietrucha Barbara , Plebani Alessandro , van der Flier Michiel , van Aerde Koen , Kilic Sara S. , Reda Shereen M. , Kostyuchenko Larysa , McDermott Elizabeth , Galal Nermeen , Pignata Claudio , Pérez Juan Luis Santos , Laws Hans-Juergen , Niehues Tim , Kutukculer Necil , Seidel Markus G. , Marques Laura , Ciznar Peter , Edgar John David M. , Soler-Palacín Pere , von Bernuth Horst , Krueger Renate , Meyts Isabelle , Baumann Ulrich , Kanariou Maria , Grimbacher Bodo , Hauck Fabian , Graf Dagmar , Granado Luis Ignacio Gonzalez , Prader Seraina , Reisli Ismail , Slatter Mary , Rodríguez-Gallego Carlos , Arkwright Peter D. , Bethune Claire , Deripapa Elena , Sharapova Svetlana O. , Lehmberg Kai , Davies E. Graham , Schuetz Catharina , Kindle Gerhard , Schubert Ralf
Published: September 2021

Patients with ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) suffer from progressive cerebellar ataxia, immunodeficiency, respiratory failure, and cancer susceptibility. From a clinical point of view, A-T patients with IgA deficiency show more symptoms and may have a poorer prognosis. In this study, we analyzed mortality and immunity data of 659 A-T patients with regard to IgA deficiency collected from the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry and from 66 patients with classical A-T who attended at the Frankfurt Goethe-University between 2012 and 2018. We studied peripheral B- and T-cell subsets and T-cell repertoire of the Frankfurt cohort and survival rates of all A-T patients in the ESID registry. Patients with A-T have significant alterations in their lymphocyte phenotypes. All subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD4/CD45RA, and CD8/CD45RA) were significantly diminished compared to standard values. Patients with IgA deficiency (n = 35) had significantly lower lymphocyte counts compared to A-T patients without IgA deficiency (n = 31) due to a further decrease of naïve CD4 T-cells, central memory CD4 cells, and regulatory T-cells. Although both patient groups showed affected TCR-ß repertoires compared to controls, no differences could be detected between patients with and without IgA deficiency. Overall survival of patients with IgA deficiency was significantly diminished. For the first time, our data show that patients with IgA deficiency have significantly lower lymphocyte counts and subsets, which are accompanied with reduced survival, compared to A-T patients without IgA deficiency. IgA, a simple surrogate marker, is indicating the poorest prognosis for classical A-T patients. Both non-interventional clinical trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov 2012 (Susceptibility to infections in ataxia-telangiectasia; NCT02345135) and 2017 (Susceptibility to Infections, tumor risk and liver disease in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia; NCT03357978)
Otherness, Cloning, and Morality in John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos (1957)
Authors: Hansen Solveig Lena
Published: September 2021

The British writer John Wyndham (1903–1969) explored societal effects of surprising or mystical events. A paradigmatic example isThe Midwich Cuckoos(1957), which portrays identical-looking children born without sexual intercourse. I propose a reading strategy that focuses on the fictional spatial order and analyses how the construction of the children’s otherness interferes with the village’s demarcation. Furthermore, I interpret the mysterious pregnancies as a reference to basic embryo research in the 1950s – cloning. Finally, I scrutinize Wyndham’s negotiation of utilitarianism throughout the novel and his critique of truly utilitarian decisions that are based on constructions of Otherness.
Perceptions of Parenting in Daily Life: Adolescent-Parent Differences and Associations with Adolescent Affect
Authors: Janssen Loes H. C. , Verkuil Bart , van Houtum Lisanne A. E. M. , Wever Mirjam C. M. , Elzinga Bernet M.
Published: September 2021

Adolescents can perceive parenting quite differently than parents themselves and these discrepancies may relate to adolescent well-being. The current study aimed to explore how adolescents and parents perceive daily parental warmth and criticism and whether these perceptions and discrepancies relate to adolescents’ daily positive and negative affect. The sample consisted of 80 adolescents (Mage = 15.9; 63.8% girls) and 151 parents (Mage = 49.4; 52.3% women) who completed four ecological momentary assessments per day for 14 consecutive days. In addition to adolescents’ perception, not parents’ perception by itself, but the extent to which this perception differed or overlapped with adolescents’ perception was related to adolescent affect. These findings highlight the importance of including combined adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives when studying dynamic parenting processes.
Cyber-attack detection via non-linear prediction of IP addresses: an innovative big data analytics approach
Authors: Cuzzocrea Alfredo , Fadda Edoardo , Mumolo Enzo
Published: September 2021

Computer network systems are often subject to several types of attacks. For example, an excessive traffic load sent to a web server for making it unusable is the main technique introduced by the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. A well-known method for detecting attacks consists in analyzing the sequence of source IP addresses for detecting possible anomalies. With the aim of predicting the next IP address, the Probability Density Function of the IP address sequence is estimated. Anomalous requests are detected via predicting source’s IP addresses in future accesses to the server. Thus, when an access to the server occurs, the server accepts only the requests from the predicted IP addresses and it blocks all the others. The approaches used to estimate the Probability Density Function of IP addresses range from the sequence of IP addresses seen previously and stored in a database to address clustering, for instance via the K-Means algorithm. Instead, the sequence of IP addresses is considered as a numerical sequence in this paper, and non-linear analysis of this numerical sequence is applied. In particular, we exploited non-linear analysis based on Volterra Kernels and Hammerstein models. The experiments carried out with datasets of source IP address sequences show that the prediction errors obtained with Hammerstein models are smaller than those obtained both with the Volterra Kernels and with the sequence clustering based on the K-Means algorithm.
Evaluating essential processes and forecast requirements for meteotsunami-induced coastal flooding
Authors: Huang Chenfu , Anderson Eric , Liu Yi , Ma Gangfeng , Mann Greg , Xue Pengfei
Published: September 2021

Meteotsunamis pose a unique threat to coastal communities and often lead to damage of coastal infrastructure, deluge of nearby property, and loss of life and injury. The Great Lakes are a known hot-spot of meteotsunami activity and serve as an important region for investigation of essential hydrodynamic processes and model forecast requirements in meteotsunami-induced coastal flooding. For this work, we developed an advanced hydrodynamic model and evaluate key model attributes and dynamic processes, including: (1) coastal model grid resolution and wetting and drying process in low-lying zones, (2) coastal infrastructure, including breakwaters and associated submerging and overtopping processes, (3) annual/seasonal (ambient) water level change, and (4) wind wave-current coupling. Numerical experiments are designed to evaluate the importance of these attributes to meteotsunami modeling, including a “representative storm” scenario in the context of regional climate change in which a meteotsunami wave is generated under high ambient lake-level conditions with a preferable wind direction and speed for wind-wave growth. Results demonstrate that accurate representation of coastal topography and fully resolving associated hydrodynamic processes are critical to forecasting the realistic hazards associated with meteotsunami events. As most of existing coastal forecast systems generally do not resolve many of these features due to insufficient model grid resolution or lack of essential model attributes, this work shows that calibrating or assessing existing forecast models against coastal water level gauges alone may result in underestimating the meteotsunami hazard, particularly when gauging stations are sparse and located behind harbor breakwaters or inside estuaries, which represent dampened or otherwise unrepresentative pictures of meteotsunami intensity. This work is the first hydrodynamic modeling of meteotsunami-induced coastal flooding for the Great Lakes, and serves as a template to guide where resources may be most beneficial in forecast system development and implementation.
Double adenomas of the pituitary reveal distinct lineage markers, copy number alterations, and epigenetic profiles
Authors: Hagel Christian , Schüller Ulrich , Flitsch Jörg , Knappe Ulrich J. , Kellner Udo , Bergmann Markus , Buslei Rolf , Buchfelder Michael , Rüdiger Thomas , Herms Jochen , Saeger Wolfgang
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Pituitary adenoma (PA) constitutes the third most common intracranial neoplasm. The mostly benign endocrine lesions express no hormone (null cell PA) or the pituitary hormone(s) of the cell lineage of origin. In 0.5–1.5% of surgical specimens and in up to 10% of autopsy cases, two or three seemingly separate PA may coincide. These multiple adenomas may express different hormones, but whether or not expression of lineage-restricted transcription factors and molecular features are distinct within multiple lesions remains unknown.

Methods

Searching the data bank of the German Pituitary Tumor Registry 12 double pituitary adenomas with diverse lineage were identified among 3654 adenomas and 6 hypophyseal carcinomas diagnosed between 2012 and 2020. The double adenomas were investigated immunohistochemically for expression of hormones and lineage markers. In addition, chromosomal gains and losses as well as global DNA methylation profiles were assessed, whenever sufficient material was available (n = 8 PA).

Results

In accordance with the literature, combinations of GH/prolactin/TSH–FSH/LH adenoma (4/12), GH/prolactin/TSH–ACTH adenoma (3/12), and ACTH–FSH/LH adenoma (3/12) were observed. Further, two out of 12 cases showed a combination of a GH/prolactin/TSH adenoma with a null-cell adenoma. Different expression pattern of hormones were confirmed by different expression of transcription factors in 11/12 patients. Finally, multiple lesions that were molecularly analysed in 4 patients displayed distinct copy number changes and global methylation pattern.

Conclusion

Our data confirm and extend the knowledge on multiple PA and suggest that such lesions may origin from distinct cell types.
Amplitude estimation via maximum likelihood on noisy quantum computer
Authors: Tanaka Tomoki , Suzuki Yohichi , Uno Shumpei , Raymond Rudy , Onodera Tamiya , Yamamoto Naoki
Published: September 2021

Recently we find several candidates of quantum algorithms that may be implementable in near-term devices for estimating the amplitude of a given quantum state, which is a core subroutine in various computing tasks such as the Monte Carlo methods. One of those algorithms is based on the maximum likelihood estimate with parallelized quantum circuits. In this paper, we extend this method so that it incorporates the realistic noise effect, and then give an experimental demonstration on a superconducting IBM Quantum device. The maximum likelihood estimator is constructed based on the model assuming the depolarization noise. We then formulate the problem as a two-parameters estimation problem with respect to the target amplitude parameter and the noise parameter. In particular we show that there exist anomalous target values, where the Fisher information matrix becomes degenerate and consequently the estimation error cannot be improved even by increasing the number of amplitude amplifications. The experimental demonstration shows that the proposed maximum likelihood estimator achieves quantum speedup in the number of queries, though the estimation error saturates due to the noise. This saturated value of estimation error is consistent to the theory, which implies the validity of the depolarization noise model and thereby enables us to predict the basic requirement on the hardware components (particularly the gate error) in quantum computers to realize the quantum speedup in the amplitude estimation task.
The proportion of the population never hearing a rumour
Authors: Duan Y. , Ganesh A.
Published: September 2021

Sudbury (J Appl Prob 22:443–446, 1985) showed for the Maki–Thompson model of rumour spreading that the proportion of the population never hearing the rumour converges in probability to a limiting constant (approximately equal to 0.203) as the population size tends to infinity. We extend the analysis to a generalisation of the Maki–Thompson model.
How Do We Assess How Agentic We Are? A Literature Review of Existing Instruments to Evaluate and Measure Individuals' Agency
Authors: Cavazzoni Federica , Fiorini Alec , Veronese Guido
Published: September 2021

The importance and centrality of the construct of agency is wellknown amongst social scientists. Yet, there is still little agreement on how this construct should be understood and defined, as demonstrated by the diversity of instruments that are used to investigate it. Indeed, there is no current consensus or standardized methodology to assess agency. This paper provides a synthetic overview of the studies that have evaluated and measured individuals' agency. More specifically, the purpose is to review research that quantitatively investigates the agency of adults, as well as children and youth, across different social contexts. In the process, it offers recommendations to inform future research, practice, and policy. We identified published peer-reviewed studies relating to the assessment of agency across countries and across age through a narrative literature review. The findings were grouped according to whether agency was measured in its most comprehensive conception or in a precise single domain or dimension, which was then discussed separately for children, adults, and women. Of the 3879 studies identified from online searches of the literature and the five additional sources gathered through bibliography mining, 106 qualified for full review, with 34 studies included in the final synthesis. Multiple different instruments were found to be currently adopted or developed to assess agency. The present review offers an exhaustive overview of the different conceptualizations of agency and of the available instruments to assess it, providing critical information for researchers and policymakers to improve intervention and empowerment programs.
Motivational and personality variables distinguish academic underachievers from high achievers, low achievers, and overachievers
Authors: Dings Alexander , Spinath Frank M.
Published: September 2021

Previous studies have associated several variables concerning motivation and other domains with underachievement, i. e. a student's academic achievement falling short of what their cognitive abilities, as the best predictor of academic performance, would indicate. The present study extends these findings using a more rigorous approach in defining underachievers and suitable control groups. Using discriminant analysis, underachievers identified in a German twin family study were compared not only to achievers with comparable IQ scores, but also with students of lower aptitude, but comparably low grades, as well as overachieving students. Results confirm previous findings that compared to successful students, underachievers report lower levels of motivation and parental support; beyond this comparison, underachievers also differed from other low achievers, mostly in terms of their personality. In total, 40% of the variance between the groups were explained. Additionally, the data shed doubt on the common assumption that underachievers are an unusually heterogenous group of students.
Aluminosilicates at different levels in rye litter and feed affect the growth and meat quality of broiler chickens
Authors: Banaszak Mirosław , Biesek Jakub , Adamski Marek
Published: September 2021

Litter sanitation treatments and feed supplements that stimulate bird growth. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of zeolite (z) and halloysite (h) in feed and rye straw litter on growth performance, meat quality in chickens. 500 males Ross 308 were allocated to 5 groups (10 replicates). Feed for groups 2–5 was supplemented with halloysite and zeolite (25:75). The content of aluminosilicates in the feed was different depending on the feeding phase: 0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2%. The following doses were used in litter: 2, 0.800 kg/m2 h; 3, 0.400 kg/m2 h and 0.400 kg/m2 z; 4, 0.800 kg/m2 z; 5, 0.200 kg/m2 h, and 0.600 kg/m2 z. Growth, and meat quality were analysed. Body weight and body weight gain were higher in groups 2–5 than in group 1, while feed intake was lower in groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.05). Body weight, the weight of carcass, and most of its elements were higher in the experimental groups (p < 0.05). Breast muscles from group 1 were characterised by better water-holding capacity and higher protein content, while those from 4 had higher content of collagen and water (p < 0.05). Breast muscles from group 3 were characterized by lower yellowness than in 2 (p < 0.05). Leg muscles from group 1 were characterized by lower redness than in 4 (p < 0.05). Water-holding capacity was better in group 3 and protein content was higher in 2 (p < 0.05). The content of fat in leg muscle was lower in all experimental groups compared to control (p < 0.05). This indicates the suitability of aluminosilicates in poultry management practice, with better growth and meat quality.
Zero-Trust Principles for Legacy Components
Authors: Køien Geir M.
Published: September 2021

In this paper we briefly outline as set of rules for integration of legacy devices into a modern industrial control system. These rules are fairly simple, and are mostly derived from “Zero Trust” principles. These rules aim to be pragmatic, and cost-effectiveness trumps completeness.
Guidelines for surfactant selection to treat petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils
Authors: Ritoré Emilio , Coquelet Bruno , Arnaiz Carmen , Morillo José , Usero José
Published: September 2021

The present study determined the most effective surfactants to remediate gasoline and diesel-contaminated soil integrating information from soil texture and soil organic matter. Different ranges for aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons (> C6–C8, > C8–C10, > C10–C12, > C12–C16, > C16–C21, and > C21–C35) in gasoline and diesel fuel were analyzed. This type of analysis has been investigated infrequently. Three types of soils (silty clay, silt loam, and loamy sand) and four surfactants (non-ionic: Brij 35 and Tween 80; anionic: SDBS and SDS) were used. The results indicated that the largest hydrocarbon desorption was 56% for silty clay soil (SDS), 59% for silt loam soil (SDBS), and 69% for loamy sand soil (SDS). Soils with large amounts of small particles showed the worst desorption efficiencies. Anionic surfactants removed more hydrocarbons than non-ionic surfactants. It was notable that preferential desorption on different hydrocarbon ranges was observed since aliphatic hydrocarbons and large ranges were the most recalcitrant compounds of gasoline and diesel fuel components. Unlike soil texture, natural organic matter concentration caused minor changes in the hydrocarbon removal rates. Based on these results, this study might be useful as a tool to select the most cost-effective surfactant knowing the soil texture and the size and chemical structure of the hydrocarbons present in a contaminated site.
Micropropagation of Hibiscus moscheutos L. ‘Luna White’: effect of growth regulators and explants on nuclear DNA content and ploidy stability of regenerants
Authors: Sakhanokho Hamidou F. , Islam-Faridi Nurul , Babiker Ebrahiem M. , Smith Barbara J.
Published: September 2021

Hibiscus moscheutos L., also known as hardy hibiscus, is valued for its medicinal and ornamental attributes. It is usually propagated via seeds or cuttings. The purpose of this investigation was to develop a dependable micropropagation for H. moscheutos ‘Luna White’. To that end, the effect of four explant types (leaf, root, node, shoot tip) and two growth regulators 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and meta-Topolin (mT) (6-(3-hydroxybenzylamino) purine) on in vitro growth of H. moscheutos was investigated. Genetic stability of the in vitro grown plants was assessed using flow cytometry, and chromosome count was investigated. No shoots were obtained from leaf or root explants. An efficient protocol for micropropagation of H. moscheutos using two explant types, 2-node and shoot tip explants, and two cytokinins (BA and mT) capable of producing true-to-type regenerants was established. Both BA and mT can be used at 2 μM or 4 μM using either 2-node or shoot tip explants. No significant difference was found between the nuclear DNA contents of seed-derived and in vitro grown plants (P < 0.05). The mean 2C DNA and monoploid 1Cx-values of seed-derived plants were 3.25 ± 0.08 pg and 1.62 ± 0.04 pg, respectively, compared with 3.26 ± 0.06 pg and 1.63 ± 0.02 pg, respectively, for in vitro grown plants. The chromosome number of both seed-derived plants and regenerants was determined to be 2n = 2x = 38. The mature regenerants obtained were fertile and phenotypically similar to seed-derived plants.
Performance of HR-pQCT, DXA, and FRAX in the discrimination of asymptomatic vertebral fracture in postmenopausal Chinese women
Authors: Huang Meiling , Hung Vivian Wing-yin , Li Tsz Kiu , Law Sheung Wai , Wang Yulong , Chen Shangjie , Qin Ling
Published: September 2021

Summary

Volumetric bone density (vBMD) and trabecular microarchitecture measured by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) can discriminate the patients with high risk of asymptomatic vertebral fracture (VF) in postmenopausal Chinese women. These findings suggested that HR-pQCT could provide additional information on bone quality of the patients with asymptomatic VF.

Introduction

Although there were several studies using HR-pQCT to investigate asymptomatic VF, it remains uncertain if HR-pQCT parameters can discriminate asymptomatic VF patients, especially in Chinese population. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether bone quality measured by HR-pQCT could discriminate asymptomatic VF independent of hip areal bone mineral density (aBMD) measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and fracture risks evaluated using built-in Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAXBMD).

Methods

This is a nested case–control study. One hundred seventy-five ambulatory Chinese postmenopausal women aged 60–79 years were retrieved from Normative Reference Standards (NRS) cohort in Hong Kong. DXA was used to identify VF from lateral spine images (VFA) using Genant’s semi-quantitative method. Major osteoporotic fracture risk was calculated using FRAX tool. HR-pQCT was used to assess vBMD, microarchitecture, and estimated strength at both distal radius and tibia. Comparison of HR-pQCT parameters between asymptomatic VF and control was performed using covariance analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed for calculating the adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of fracture status as per SD decrease in HR-pQCT parameters.

Results

Women with asymptomatic VF were older than those of the control in our NRS cohort. Nevertheless, after adjusted for covariance, asymptomatic VF showed significantly lower trabecular vBMD (Tb.vBMD) at radius but higher SMI at tibia as compared with those of the control. Tb.vBMD at radius yielded the highest value of area under the curve (AUC) as compared with total hip aBMD and FRAXBMD. However, no significant difference was found among each other.

Conclusion

Tb.vBMD at the radius and SMI at the tibia provided by HR-pQCT can discriminate asymptomatic VF independent of hip aBMD and FRAXBMDby DXA in postmenopausal women.
Fe Nitride Formation in Fe–Si Alloys: Crystallographic and Thermodynamic Aspects
Authors: Kante Stefan , Leineweber Andreas
Published: September 2021

A Fe–3wt pctSi alloy was gas nitrided to study the effect of Si on the Fe nitride formation. Both ε-Fe3N1+x
and γ′-Fe4N were observed at nitriding conditions only allowing to form single-phase γ′ layers in pure α-Fe. During short nitriding times, ε and γ′ simultaneously grow in contact with Si-supersaturated α-Fe(Si). Both nitrides almost invariably exhibit crystallographic orientation relationships with α-Fe, which are indicative of a partially displacive transformation of α-Fe being involved in the initial formation of ε and γ′. Due to Si constraining the Fe nitride growth, such transformation mechanism becomes highly important to the nitride layer formation, causing α-Fe-grain-dependent variations in the nitride layer morphology and thickness, as well as microstructure refinement within the nitride layer. After prolonged nitriding, α-Fe is depleted in Si due the pronounced precipitation of Si-rich nitride in α-Fe. The growth mode of the compound layer changes, now advancing by conventional planar-type growth. During nitriding times of 1 to 48 hours, ε exists in contact with the NH3/H2-containing nitriding atmosphere at a nitriding potential of 1 atm−1/2 and 540 °C, only allowing for the formation of γ′ in pure Fe, indicating that Si affects the thermodynamic stability ranges of ε and γ′.
Influence of the Evolution of 9CrMoCoB Steel Precipitates on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties during High-Temperature Aging
Authors: Ma Yulin , Kuang Chengyang , Cheng Jun , Yang Changdi
Published: September 2021

In this study, the short-term aging was carried out to reveal the evolution of precipitates and mechanical properties of heat resistant 9CrMoCoB steel during the early creep, replacing the conventional creeping. The tempered martensite lath structure (TMLS) and precipitates were observed in the as-aged 9CrMoCoB steel. TMLS in the matrix underwent a transition to the polygonal ferrite after aging only for 300 h. In comparison, the mean diameter of the precipitates increased from 183 to 267 nm after aging at 650 °C for 300 h. Also, the mean diameter of the precipitates increased from 183 to 302 nm at 700 °C. The room-temperature and high-temperature strength of 9CrMoCoB steel decreased after high-temperature aging, which may be mainly due to precipitates coarsening. Many M23C6 phases precipitate in the prior austenite grain boundary (PAGB) and lath boundary. After aging 100 h, TMLS transformed into polygonal ferrite, and the size of the precipitate at the subgrain boundary was about 100 nm, while after 300 h of high-temperature aging, large precipitates appear (400 nm) in the matrix. After 200 h of high-temperature aging, the obvious growth of precipitates on the PAGB and lath boundary weakens the pinning effect on the PAGB and martensite lath boundary and accelerates the transformation of microstructure and mechanical properties.
Quasi Static and Fatigue Properties of Long Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyamide
Authors: Tiemann Jan-Marc , Mola Javad , Land Philipp , Krumpholz Thorsten , Krupp Ulrich
Published: September 2021

In this experimental work, the quasi static and fatigue properties of a 40 wt.% long carbon fiber reinforced partially aromatic polyamide (Grivory GCL-4H) were investigated. For this purpose, microstructural parameter variations in the form of different thicknesses and different removal directions from injection-molded plates were evaluated. Mechanical properties decreased by increasing misalignment away from the melt flow direction. By changing the specimen thickness, no change in the general fiber distribution pattern transversal and normal to the axis of melt flow was observed. It has shown that with increasing specimen thickness the quasi static properties along the melt flow direction decreased and vice versa resulting in superior properties normal to the melt flow axis. At around 5 mm, an intersection suggests quasi-isotropic behavior. In addition, the fatigue strength of the material was significantly higher in the flow direction than normal to the flow direction. No change in fatigue life was observed while changing specimen thickness. The Basquin equation seems to describe the effect of stress amplitude on the fatigue strength of this composite. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate fracture surfaces of tested specimens. Results show that mechanical properties and morphological structures depend highly on fiber orientation.
Performance measurement for offline inspections under variable interactions and inspection errors in low-volume production
Authors: Verna Elisa , Genta Gianfranco , Galetto Maurizio , Franceschini Fiorenzo
Published: September 2021

The assessment of the performance of inspection strategies is a crucial element in the design phase of product quality inspections of manufacturing companies. The aspects that inspection designers need to consider include: (1) the typology of quality inspection, (2) the inspection variables involved, (3) the potential interaction between variables and (4) the presence of inspection errors. In particular, low-volume inspection design is critical due to the lack of historical data and the inadequacy of traditional statistical approaches. By considering these issues, this paper proposes a novel approach to support inspection designers in the prediction of offline quality inspection performance. The development of a probabilistic model based on the analysis of the possible variable interactions and inspection errors and the definition of some performance measures may successfully help designers in the early design stages of inspection process planning. The approach is supported by a practical application in the Additive Manufacturing field.
Designing meta-resources for mathematics teachers in the context of curriculum reforms: the case of digital technology use and student autonomy in France
Authors: Gueudet Ghislaine , Pepin Birgit , Lebaud Marie-Pierre
Published: September 2021

The study presented in this paper concerns the design and evaluation of curriculum material that supports mathematics teachers’ understanding and enactment of reform curricula and innovative teaching practices. Our focus is on curriculum material supporting mathematics teachers’ practices combining the use of digital technology and the development of student autonomy. We refer to the theoretical framework of the Documentational Approach to Didactics, which considers teachers’ documentation work as a central lever for the evolution of teachers’ practices. Our study took place in the context of curriculum reforms in France, which called on teachers to combine the use of digital technology with the development of student autonomy in their practices. We investigate in this paper the design of a meta-resource with the aim of supporting teachers’ documentation work in this context. The documentation work ranged from choosing a lesson plan offered on a website to designing a completely new lesson. Using a design research approach, we conducted two design and evaluation cycles, involving different groups of researchers and teachers, and we analysed these design processes and their outcomes. The researchers used particular categories to distinguish between different forms of autonomy, and criteria concerning the articulation between student autonomy and digital technologies. The teachers provided elements concerning the features of a lesson plan facilitating its appropriation, and more generally related to their actual design work. Our results illustrate how a multidisciplinary team of researchers can collaborate with teachers to design ‘meta-resources’ supporting teachers’ documentation work in a context of education reform.
Role of the PD‐1/PD‐L1 Signaling in Multiple Sclerosis and Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: Recent Insights and Future Directions
Authors: Mi Yan , Han Jinming , Zhu Jie , Jin Tao
Published: September 2021

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmunity-related chronic demyelination disease of the central nervous system (CNS), causing young disability. Currently, highly specific immunotherapies for MS are still lacking. Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) is an immunosuppressive co-stimulatory molecule, which is expressed on activated T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and other immune cells. PD-L1, the ligand of PD-1, is expressed on T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and macrophages. PD-1/PD-L1 delivers negative regulatory signals to immune cells, maintaining immune tolerance and inhibiting autoimmunity. This review comprehensively summarizes current insights into the role of PD-1/PD-L1 signaling in MS and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The potentiality of PD-1/PD-L1 as biomarkers or therapeutic targets for MS will also be discussed.
Von evolutionär uralten Schwammgenen zu biotechnologischen Materialien
Authors: Wiens Matthias , Müller Werner E. G.
Published: September 2021

Conventional synthetic methodologies mostly bar access to the fabrication of innovative silica- or metal oxide-based materials with an expanded property spectrum. However, nature represents an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the synthesis of multifunctional materials with tailored attributes. Particularly the low-energy catalytic pathways of poriferan biosilicification, with the enzyme silicatein at their heart, have been inspiring recent biotechnological approaches.
Lantibiotika — hoffnungsvolle Alternative gegen Antibiotikaresistenz?
Authors: Gottstein Julia , Klose Hans , Knospe C. Vivien , Reiners Jens , Smits Sander H. , Schmitt Lutz
Published: September 2021

Nisin is one of the most studied lantibiotics which are antimicrobial peptides. Nowadays the knowledge about the Nisin-modification system is profound and can be explored to express and modify lantibiotics with new or specific antimicrobial features. Here we highlight recent advances that include a strategy on bypassing natural occurring resistances against antimicrobial peptides.
Wie Tiere sich selbst konstruieren
Authors: Čapek Daniel , Ünalan Murat , Müller Patrick
Published: September 2021

The central question in developmental biology is how an embryo self-organizes from a ball of cells into a structured animal. We use experimental and theoretical approaches to study how the activity of a small number of signaling molecules is spatiotemporally controlled to allow for embryonic self-construction. Here, we propose how machine learning could be harnessed to gain a new understanding of the mechanisms by which interactions between signaling pathways control robust embryogenesis and morphology changes in evolution.
Vom Huhn abgeleitete Antikörper für Diagnostik und Immuntherapie
Authors: Elter Adrian , Bogen Jan P. , Habermann Jan , Kolmar Harald
Published: September 2021

Due to the large evolutionary distance between birds (Aves) und humans, immunization of chickens with human proteins results in a strong response of the bird’s adaptive immune system to proteins of mammalian origin. Additionally, chicken-derived antibodies display less undesired cross-reactivity in analytical setups than conventional rodent-derived antibodies. Due to these features as well as the facile amplification of antibody-coding genes, chicken-derived antibodies emerged as promising molecules for the immunotherapy and various biotechnological applications.
Induzierbare Promotoren für Cyanobakterien
Authors: Behle Anna , Axmann Ilka M.
Published: September 2021

Cyanobacteria are versatile organisms with extreme phylogenetic diversity. With increasing need for alternative sustainable solutions, they are becoming increasingly attractive as production hosts in the biotechnology sector. Opposed to established heterotrophic model organisms, newer production hosts still require extensive characterization of standard biological parts in order to build complex networks and circuits. Here, we present examples of quantitative characterization of inducible promoters in the model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.
Ein Wechselbad für Mikroben: Wachsen unter dynamischen Umweltbedingungen
Authors: Blöbaum Luisa , Täuber Sarah , Grünberger Alexander
Published: September 2021

Microfluidic technologies are increasingly used within microbiology for screening and improved understanding of cellular behaviour. The presented system for dynamic microfluidic single-cell cultivation — dMSCC — offers a new cultivation method for microbial microcolonies at dynamic environments with oscillation between seconds to hours. This tool has a high potential to improve the understanding of cellular behaviour at dynamic environments as omnipresent in nature and lab-scale cultivation systems.
Desmosomes: emerging pathways and non-canonical functions in cardiac arrhythmias and disease
Authors: Zhang Jing , Liang Yan , Bradford William H. , Sheikh Farah
Published: September 2021

Desmosomes are critical adhesion structures in cardiomyocytes, with mutation/loss linked to the heritable cardiac disease, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Early studies revealed the ability of desmosomal protein loss to trigger ARVC disease features including structural remodeling, arrhythmias, and inflammation; however, the precise mechanisms contributing to diverse disease presentations are not fully understood. Recent mechanistic studies demonstrated the protein degradation component CSN6 is a resident cardiac desmosomal protein which selectively restricts cardiomyocyte desmosomal degradation and disease. This suggests defects in protein degradation can trigger the structural remodeling underlying ARVC. Additionally, a subset of ARVC-related mutations show enhanced vulnerability to calpain-mediated degradation, further supporting the relevance of these mechanisms in disease. Desmosomal gene mutations/loss has been shown to impact arrhythmogenic pathways in the absence of structural disease within ARVC patients and model systems. Studies have shown the involvement of connexins, calcium handling machinery, and sodium channels as early drivers of arrhythmias, suggesting these may be distinct pathways regulating electrical function from the desmosome. Emerging evidence has suggested inflammation may be an early mechanism in disease pathogenesis, as clinical reports have shown an overlap between myocarditis and ARVC. Recent studies focus on the association between desmosomal mutations/loss and inflammatory processes including autoantibodies and signaling pathways as a way to understand the involvement of inflammation in ARVC pathogenesis. A specific focus will be to dissect ongoing fields of investigation to highlight diverse pathogenic pathways associated with desmosomal mutations/loss.
Self-compassion in Chinese Young Adults: Specific Features of the Construct from a Cultural Perspective
Authors: Zhao Mengya , Smithson Janet , Ford Tamsin , Wang Peng , Wong Ngo Yeung Basil , Karl Anke
Published: September 2021

Objectives

Recent
research has suggested that Chinese individuals from a collectivist culture may have a different understanding of self-compassion, which could differentially contribute to mental health. This study aimed to obtain an in-depth insight into Chinese adults’ understanding of self-compassion.

Methods

Four online focus groups in Chinese undergraduates discussed the construct of self-compassion based on self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and over-identification. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results

Chinese participants valued benign self-criticism and self-reflection when contemplating their understanding of self-compassion. Similarly, participants’ view of self-compassion dimensions can be described as dialectical in that they reflected both negative and positive perceptions in each factor rather than suggesting separate and purely negative or purely positive dimensions. There was also an overlap in the interpretation of the negative dimensions (self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification).

Conclusions

The findings highlight particularities in the understanding of self-compassion in these Chinese students, which may be influenced by philosophical traditions promoting dialecticism and the dual focus on the transformation of the self and social participation. This suggests the importance of a cultural perspective when studying self-compassion and interpreting relevant research findings.
Rigorous review of electrical submersible pump failure mechanisms and their mitigation measures
Authors: Fakher Sherif , Khlaifat Abdelaziz , Hossain M. Enamul , Nameer Hashim
Published: September 2021

Artificial lift is a vital part of the life of many oil wells worldwide. Using several artificial lift methods can prolong the life of the wells and increase oil recovery significantly. One of the most applied artificial lift methods nowadays is the electrical submersible pump (ESP). This artificial lift method has the ability to handle large volumes of hydrocarbons and is applicable under many conditions in both offshore and onshore reservoirs. Even though ESP has been applied extensively for many years, it still suffers from many failures due to electrical, mechanical, and operational problems associated with the ESP downhole assembly. Understanding the main reasons behind ESP failures and how to rapidly and effectively avoid and mitigate these failures is imperative to reduce cost and damage and improve operational and rig-personal safety. This research performs a comprehensive review on ESP failure mechanisms and analyzes these failures in order to determine the optimum conditions to operate the ESP. This can help minimize and avoid these failures. Also, should these failures occur, the research proposes several mitigation methods for each failure based on analysis of different field cases worldwide.
Comparing and contrasting clinical consensus and guidelines for anal intraepithelial neoplasia in different geographical regions
Authors: Brogden Danielle R. L. , Lupi Micol E. E. , Warren Oliver J. , Kontovounisios Christos , Mills Sarah C.
Published: September 2021

Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ASCC) is an uncommon cancer with a recognised precursor Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia (AIN). Although there are consistent evidence-based guidelines for the management of ASCC, historically this has not been the case for AIN and as a result there have been geographical variations in the recommendations for the treatment of AIN. More recently there have been updates in the literature to the recommendations for the management of AIN. To assess whether we are now closer to achieving an international consensus, we have completed a systematic scoping review of available guidelines for the screening, treatment and follow-up of AIN as a precursor to ASCC. MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched for available clinical guidelines endorsed by a recognised clinical society that included recommendations on either the screening, treatment or follow-up of AIN. Nine clinical guidelines from three geographical areas were included. The most recent guidelines agreed that screening for AIN in high-risk patients and follow-up after treatment was necessary but there was less consensus on the modality of screening. Six Guidelines recommended the treatment of high-grade AIN and four guidelines describe a follow-up protocol of patients diagnosed with AIN. There appears to be increasing consensus on the treatment and follow-up of patients despite a poor evidence base. There is still significant discrepancy in guidance on the method to identify patients at risk of ASCC and AIN despite consensus between geographical regions on which patient subgroups are at the highest risk.
On the integration of multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar interferometry products and historical surveys data for buildings structural monitoring
Authors: Di Carlo Fabio , Miano Andrea , Giannetti Ilaria , Mele Annalisa , Bonano Manuela , Lanari Riccardo , Meda Alberto , Prota Andrea
Published: September 2021

The management and the safeguard of existing buildings and infrastructures are actual tasks for structural engineering. Non-invasive structural monitoring techniques can provide useful information for supporting the management process and the safety evaluation, reducing at once the impact of disturbances on the structure’s functionality. This paper focuses on the exploitation of advanced multi-temporal differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) products for the structural monitoring of buildings and infrastructures, subjected to different external actions. In this framework, a methodological approach is proposed, based on the integration of DInSAR measurements with historical sources, accurate 3D modelling and consistent positioning of the reflecting targets in the GIS environment. Documentary sources can prove particularly helpful in collecting technical information, to reconstruct an accurate 3D geometry of the building under monitoring, limiting in-situ surveys. The analysis of DInSAR-based displacements time series and mean deformation velocity values allows the identification of possible critical situations for buildings to be monitored. The paper presents different approaches, with increasing accuracy levels, to study the active deformative processes of the examined buildings and the related damage assessment. An insight into these interpretative approaches is given through the application of the proposed procedure to two case studies in the city of Rome (Italy), the residential building named Torri Stellari in Valco San Paolo (1951–1953) and the housing complex referred to as Corviale (1967–1983), by exploiting the whole COSMO-SkyMed data archive (both ascending and descending acquisitions), collected during the 2011–2019 time interval. Pros and cons of the various approaches are deeply discussed, together with an estimation of the required computational effort.
Constructing cubic curves with involutions
Authors: Halbeisen Lorenz , Hungerbühler Norbert
Published: September 2021

In 1888, Heinrich Schroeter provided a ruler construction for points on cubic curves based on line involutions. Using Chasles’ Theorem and the terminology of elliptic curves, we give a simple proof of Schroeter’s construction. In addition, we show how to construct tangents and additional points on the curve using another ruler construction which is also based on line involutions. As an application of Schroeter’s construction we provide a new parametrisation of elliptic curves with torsion group $$\mathbb {Z}/2\mathbb {Z}\times \mathbb {Z}/8\mathbb {Z}$$Z/2Z×Z/8Zand give some configurations with all their points on a cubic curve.
An improved characterisation of regular generalised functions of white noise and an application to singular SPDEs
Authors: Grothaus Martin , Müller Jan , Nonnenmacher Andreas
Published: September 2021

A characterisation of the spaces $${\mathcal {G}}_K$$

G
K

and $${\mathcal {G}}_K'$$

G
K
′

introduced in Grothaus et al. (Methods Funct Anal Topol 3(2):46–64, 1997) and Potthoff and Timpel (Potential Anal 4(6):637–654, 1995) is given. A first characterisation of these spaces provided in Grothaus et al. (Methods Funct Anal Topol 3(2):46–64, 1997) uses the concepts of holomorphy on infinite dimensional spaces. We, instead, give a characterisation in terms of U-functionals, i.e., classic holomorphic function on the one dimensional field of complex numbers. We apply our new characterisation to derive new results concerning a stochastic transport equation and the stochastic heat equation with multiplicative noise.