bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nature-inspired saccadic-like electrical stimulation paradigm promotes sustained retinal ganglion cell responses by spatiotemporally alternating activation of contiguous multi-electrode patterns
Authors: Haq Wadood , Basavaraju Sunetra , Speck Achim , Zrenner Eberhart
Published: September 2022

Objective. Retinal electrical stimulation using multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) aims to restore visual object perception in blind patients. However, the rate and duration of the artificial visual sensations are limited due to the rapid response decay of the stimulated neurons. Hence, we investigated a novel nature-inspired saccadic-like stimulation paradigm (biomimetic) to evoke sustained retinal responses. For implementation, the macroelectrode was replaced by several contiguous microelectrodes and activated non-simultaneously but alternating topologically. Approach. MEAs with hexagonally arranged electrodes were utilized to simulate and record mouse retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Two shapes were presented electrically using MEAs: a 6e-hexagon (six hexagonally arranged 10 µm electrodes; 6e-hexagon diameter: 80 µm) and a double-bar (180 µm spaced, 320 µm in length). Electrodes of each shape were activated in three different modes (simultaneous, circular, and biomimetic (‘zig-zag’)), stimulating at different frequencies (1–20 Hz). Main results. The biomimetic stimulation generated enhanced RGC responses increasing the activity rate by 87.78%. In the spatiotemporal context, the electrical representation of the 6e-hexagon produced sustained and local RGC responses (∼130 µm corresponding to ∼2.5° of the human visual angle) for up to 90 s at 10 Hz stimulation and resolved the electrically presented double-bar. In contrast, during conventional simultaneous stimulation, the responses were poor and declined within seconds. Similarly, the applicability of the biomimetic mode for retinal implants (7 × 8 pixels) was successfully demonstrated. An object shape impersonating a smile was presented electrically, and the recorded data were used to emulate the implant’s performance. The spatiotemporal pixel mapping of the activity produced a complete retinal image of the smile. Significance. The application of electrical stimulation in the biomimetic mode produced locally enhanced RGC responses with significantly reduced fading effects and yielded advanced spatiotemporal performance reflecting the presented electrode shapes in the mapped activity imprint. Therefore, it is likely that the RGC responses persist long enough to evoke visual perception and generate a seamless image, taking advantage of the flicker fusion. Hence, replacing the implant’s macroelectrodes with microelectrodes and their activation in a topologically alternating biomimetic fashion may overcome the patient’s perceptual image fading, thereby enhancing the spatiotemporal characteristics of artificial vision.
On the onset of advective flow in a stratified medium induced by weak symmetry breaking of horizontal translations
Authors: Ingel Lev Kh.
Published: September 2022

In this paper, we analytically study the mechanism of the onset of the liquid/gas flow in a non-isothermal stratified medium. The flow is induced by small spatial inhomogeneities of the exchange coefficients. In a statically stable stratified medium heated strictly from above, as is known, there is heat diffusion directed from top to bottom. We consider the system, which is slightly non-invariant with respect to translations along with horizontal directions. It may occur, for example, due to the dependence of the thermal conductivity coefficient on horizontal coordinates. In this case, we show that it could result in the rise of horizontal inhomogeneity in the distributions of buoyancy and hydrostatic pressure and, consequently, in the onset of the horizontal advection. We consider harmonic variations of the thermal conductivity of small amplitude. By applying a linear approximation to a set of governing equations, we derive explicit analytical expressions for temperature perturbations and velocity components. Finally, we investigate the possibility of an intense response of the system on slight initial symmetry breaking in a definite range of parameter values.
Development of CrystarPack numerical package for solving computational fluid dynamics problems
Authors: Konovalov V V
Published: September 2022

A computational package CrystarPack developed by the author is presented, which is designed to solve problems of continuum mechanics according to an implicit scheme using finite difference and finite volume methods on a Cartesian grid with a refined step, as well as a modified iterative Newton method with global convergence. The package has the form of a dll-library and is flexible and easy to customize for various physical problems, allowing its functionality to be included in the user-written code in any of the imperative programming languages.
Experimental study of liquids interface oscillatory dynamics in rotating slot gap
Authors: Dementeva Y S , Kobeleva V S , Kozlov V G
Published: September 2022

The shape of the interface between two liquids in a non-uniformly rotating slotted gap with a circular boundary is experimentally investigated. The liquids have different densities and a high viscosity contrast. We have found that the axisymmetric interface becomes unstable with an increase in the amplitude of the modulation of the rotation rate, a quasi-stationary azimuthally periodic relief excites in a threshold manner. The shape of the interface is studied by photoregistration as a function of the rotation rate, amplitude and frequency of the rotation rate modulation. The relative volume of a viscous liquid and the properties of liquids (viscosity contrast, relative density, coefficient of interfacial tension) vary. We found that the relief develops at the interface regardless of where the more viscous liquid is located, outside or inside.
The deformed oblate drop’s free translational oscillations
Authors: Kashina M A , Alabuzhev A A
Published: September 2022

Free translational oscillations of deformable liquid droplet are considered. It is placed into a vessel filled with another liquid. This droplet has an equilibrium revolution shape. The revolution axis of this form is perpendicular two parallel solid plates – floor and cover of vessel. The arbitrary equilibrium contact angle between the interface and the solid substrate can take arbitrary values in the range 0 and π. A contact line velocity is linearly proportional to contact angle deviation from its initial position. Proportionality coefficients (Hocking’s parameters) are individual for any substrate. They characterize individual dissipation coefficient, but whole system’s dissipation is proportional to a sum of all coefficients. There are three characteristic natural frequency intervals for the case of small aspect ratio. High frequencies are the capillary wave frequencies at the interface. The middle frequency is the fundamental or main one. Low frequencies correspond to the drop oscillations with a stationary contact angle. The cylindrical droplet has the highest frequency.
Development of Linkage Program Code OpenMC and ORIGEN2.2 for Neutronic Analysis and Burnup Nuclear Reactor Program
Authors: Ilham Muhammad , Raflis Helen , Suud Zaki
Published: September 2022

This paper discusses the development of program code that coupling the ORIGEN2.2 for burn-up analysis with the Monte Carlo program OpenMC for neutron analysis program called OpenMC-ORIGEN (Op-OR). The results of the program have been compared with benchmark results from previously published results and MCNP6 program. The acquired results show a good agreement with benchmark results. This linkage program codes performed well for designing a new advanced reactor and analysing the neutronics parameter and burnup/depletion calculation.
Study Analysis of Multiplication Factor on ADS Transmutation System
Authors: Sudarmono  , Hastuti E P , Rohanda A , Ekariansyah A S , Kasesaz Y , Suwoto
Published: September 2022

New research technology for partition and transmutation (P-T) of minor actinide (MA) contained in high-level waste (HLW) has been carried out to design accelerator-based transmutation system or commonly known as Accelerator Driven Subcritical (ADS) device. The objective of this system is to eliminate or minimize high-level radioactive waste that has long half-life and to develop long-term safety assurance in HLW management. Analysis done by using Origen2.1 and mCnP6 codes. As matrix, Th-232 with optimum weight 75% is used.. Comparing with , analysis results using MCNP shows that the use of PWR nuclear spent fuel for ADS device can be done by reprocessing to eliminate U-238 nuclide, which is the source of the formation of plutonium nuclide and minor actinides. From the results and discussion, it can be concluded that observation on transmutation of transuranic nuclides using ORIGEN2.1 Code on ADS device has been conducted successfully with LMFBR library. 15%-Th232 fuel has been justified as the most optimum ADS fuel based on K-inf reached at EOC on various fuel types. Mass reduction occurs at EOC for U-236, U-235, U-234, Th-232, Np-237, Pu-238, Am-241, Pu-242, and Cm 244. Radionuclides that experience mass changes during cooling time are Pu-238, Pu-240, Am-241, Pa-233, and Cm-244.
Antecedents and Consequences of Public Interest Litigations in Sustainable Environment Protection in India
Authors: Yadav Nikhil , Yadav Uma S , Singh Anurag B , Yadav Geetu
Published: September 2022

Environment protection is one of the important concerns for policymakers. In this paper, the author has investigated available literature and court decisions and found that Public Interest Litigation has been played a crucial role in Sustainable Environment Protection in India
A Discussion on the Impacts of Ecological Intellectual Capital in Green Management
Authors: Suba M. , Inayath Ahamed S.B.
Published: September 2022

The ecological manpower administration is a process that also fully covered the Manpower administration procedures. eco-friendly manpower management is a major part of the profit creation and shortening the wastages in day-to-day business routines, as that concerns the scholar life to examine the relationships between the Green management and the financial movement of a firm. Most of the studies have some particular sets of factors that determine the functions of green human resource management. This study adds some specifications related to the financial outcomes by using or following ecological management practices. This is a conceptual study of the previous year’s literature.
Comparison of pulse-modulated and continuous operation modes of a radio-frequency inductive ion source
Authors: ZADIRIEV Ilya , KRALKINA Elena , VAVILIN Konstantin , NIKONOV Alexander , SHVIDKIY Georgy
Published: September 2022

The paper describes an experimental study of the characteristics of a pulse-modulated radio-frequency (RF) discharge sustained at low pressures, typical of the operating modes of RF gridded ion sources. The motivation for the study is the question of whether the RF pulse-modulated mode can increase the efficiency of the ion source. The ion current values extracted from an RF inductive ion source operating in continuous and pulse-modulated modes were compared. The experimental data were also compared with the parameter calculations based on a 0D numerical model of the discharge. The measurements showed that the pulse-modulated operation mode of the RF ion source had a noticeable advantage when the power of the RF generator was 140 W or lower. However, as the generator power increased, the advantage was lost because the pulse-modulated operation mode, having a higher RF power instant value, entered the region of existence sooner than the continuous mode, where the ion production cost begins to grow with RF power.
Steady-state tunable entanglement thermal machine using quantum dots
Authors: Das Anuranan , Khan Adil Anwar , Mishra Sattwik Deb , Solanki Parvinder , De Bitan , Muralidharan Bhaskaran , Vinjanampathy Sai
Published: September 2022

We propose a solid state thermal machine based on quantum dots to generate steady-state entanglement between distant spins. Unlike previous approaches our system can be controlled by experimentally feasible steady state currents manipulated by dc voltages. By analyzing the Liouvillian eigenspectrum as a function of the control parameters, we show that our device operates over a large voltage region. As an extension, the proposed device also works as an entanglement thermal machine under a temperature gradient that can even give rise to entanglement at zero voltage bias. Finally, we highlight a post-selection scheme based on currently feasible non-demolition measurement techniques that can generate perfect Bell-pairs from the steady state output of our thermal machine.
Translational levitation of a permanent magnet above the splicing plane of superconducting blocks under zero field cooling and its motion drag
Authors: Yang Wenjiang , Zhao Peng , Yan Juzhuang , Liu Zhaoxin , Hu Juntong , Deng Fuwen , Tang Haibin
Published: September 2022

Benefited from the combination of Messiner effect and flux pinning, a permanent magnet (PM) can give the self-stable levitation above a bulk superconductor. The phenomenon provides the basic principle of superconductors in wide applications such as HTS maglev trains and superconducting flywheel systems. When the superconductor works under some conditions without the flux pinning (for example zero-field cooling), the PM will show free motion along multi freedoms due to the full diamagnetism of superconductor. This paper investigated the drag characteristics of the PM moved above the diamagnetic plane spliced by superconducting bulks. The spliced diamagnetic plane can get rid of the limitation of the size of the single superconducting bulk, and realize low-drag translational motion levitation in a large area. The article builds a multidimensional levitation force measurement device to measure the vertical force and lateral force of the PM translation when the superconducting plane works at different temperature. It is found that the lateral force distribution in the PM translation shows with alternating peaks and valleys. The increase of the suspending air gap can reduce the lateral force fluctuation and realize low-drag translation. The translational lateral force has the smaller value at the center of a single superconducting block, and can be measured at the level less than 1 mN. The low drag characteristics bring the potential application of superconducting translational levitation in the low gravity ground simulation for attitude and orbit control experiments of satellites.
FINETUNA: fine-tuning accelerated molecular simulations
Authors: Musielewicz Joseph , Wang Xiaoxiao , Tian Tian , Ulissi Zachary
Published: September 2022

Progress towards the energy breakthroughs needed to combat climate change can be significantly accelerated through the efficient simulation of atomistic systems. However, simulation techniques based on first principles, such as density functional theory (DFT), are limited in their practical use due to their high computational expense. Machine learning approaches have the potential to approximate DFT in a computationally efficient manner, which could dramatically increase the impact of computational simulations on real-world problems. However, they are limited by their accuracy and the cost of generating labeled data. Here, we present an online active learning framework for accelerating the simulation of atomic systems efficiently and accurately by incorporating prior physical information learned by large-scale pre-trained graph neural network models from the Open Catalyst Project. Accelerating these simulations enables useful data to be generated more cheaply, allowing better models to be trained and more atomistic systems to be screened. We also present a method of comparing local optimization techniques on the basis of both their speed and accuracy. Experiments on 30 benchmark adsorbate-catalyst systems show that our method of transfer learning to incorporate prior information from pre-trained models accelerates simulations by reducing the number of DFT calculations by 91%, while meeting an accuracy threshold of 0.02 eV 93% of the time. Finally, we demonstrate a technique for leveraging the interactive functionality built in to Vienna ab initio Simulation Package (VASP) to efficiently compute single point calculations within our online active learning framework without the significant startup costs. This allows VASP to work in tandem with our framework while requiring 75% fewer self-consistent cycles than conventional single point calculations. The online active learning implementation, and examples using the VASP interactive code, are available in the open source FINETUNA package on Github.
Blood Pressure Cuff Sizes for Adults in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2015–2020
Authors: Jackson Sandra L , Gillespie Cathleen , Shimbo Daichi , Rakotz Michael , Wall Hilary K
Published: September 2022

BACKGROUND

Hypertension, defined as blood pressure (BP) ≥130/80 mm Hg or antihypertensive medication use, affects approximately half of US adults, and appropriately sized BP cuffs are important for accurate BP measurement and hypertension management.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study analyzed 13,038 US adults (≥18 years) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015–March 2020 cycles. Recommended BP cuff sizes were categorized based on mid-arm circumference: small adult (≤26 cm), adult (>26 to ≤34 cm), large adult (>34 to ≤44 cm), and extra-large adult (>44 cm). Analyses were weighted and proportions were extrapolated to the US population.

RESULTS

Among US adults (246 million), recommended cuff sizes were: 6% (16 million) small adult, 51% adult (125 million), 40% large adult (98 million), and 3% extra-large adult (8 million). Among adults with hypertension (116 million), large or extra-large cuffs were needed by over half (51%) overall, including 65% of those aged 18–34 years and 84% of those with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). By race/ethnicity, the proportion needing a large or extra-large cuff was 57% of non-Hispanic Black adults, 54% of Hispanic adults, 51% of non-Hispanic White adults, and 23% of non-Hispanic Asian adults. Approximately 40% of adults with hypertension in Medicare needed a large or extra-large cuff, compared to 54% for private insurance and 53% for Medicaid.

CONCLUSIONS

Over half of US adults with hypertension need a large or extra-large BP cuff.
A Decolonial Crip Linguistics
Authors: Canagarajah Suresh
Published: September 2022

This article opens a conversation between disability studies and linguistics from the author’s positionality from the Global South. It argues that capacity building for both the abled and disabled in the North is implicated in the disablement of people in the Global South. A decolonial orientation to disability studies values vulnerability, relationality, and ethics which are less privileged in the academy. The article demonstrates how such a crip linguistics might facilitate a different understanding of language competence and analysis. Bringing out the ableism in dominant models of language competence, the article illustrates how linguistics might conceive communication as anomalous embodiment. Such an orientation will move from grammatical norms to nonnormativity, and diversity to multiplicity, as speakers engage with social networks and material ecologies for generating meanings in distributed practice motivated by relational ethics.
Manifold classification of neuron types from microscopic images
Authors: Liu Lijuan , Qian Penghao
Published: September 2022

Analysis of cell types is recognized as a major task in current single-cell genotyping and phenotyping. In neuroscience, 3-D neuron morphologies are often reconstructed from multi-dimensional microscopic images. Recent studies indicate that neurons could form very complicated distributions in the feature space, and thus they can be explored using manifold analysis. We have developed manifold classification toolkit software to replace the conventional clustering analysis to discover cell subtypes from three state-of-the-art collections of single neurons’ 3-D morphologies that reconstructed from images. We have gathered 9208 3-D spatially registered whole mouse brain neurons from three datasets with the highest quality to date generated by the single neuron morphology community. To explore manifold distribution, our method uses minimum spanning tree-based principal skeletons to approximate locally linear embeddings, to explore the morphological feature spaces, which correspond to dendritic arbors, axonal arbors or both categories of arborization patterns of neurons. We show manifold classification is a suitable approach for a majority of often referred cell types, each of which was also discovered to contain multiple subtypes. Our results show an initial effort to employ manifold classification but not traditional clustering analysis as an alternative framework for analyzing 3-D neuron morphologies reconstructed from 3-D microscopic images.

Availability and implementation

Freely available at https://github.com/Mr-strlen/Cell_Pattern_Analysis_Tool.'
Whitening Black Men: Narrative Labour and the Scriptural Economics of Risk and Rehabilitation
Authors: Warr Jason
Published: September 2022

‘You know what? You can’t be a “Black Man” in prison.’ Negative impositions of Blackness, grounded in the myths of Black Criminality, shape assessments of risk and rehabilitation within the scriptural economy of the contemporary prison. This creates a rehabilitative colour line that results in specific forms of narrative labour, whereby prisoners attempt to control the recording and interpretation of their Black identities. From Social Relations, to Appearance, to Language Use, more of the life of a Black prisoner is interpreted negatively than other prisoners. This paper explores how Black lifers, are forced to adopt narrative labours that ‘whiten’ their ‘Blackness’ in order to mitigate their perceived risk and navigate the prison’s pathways to release. This article is based on quasi-ethnographic fieldwork conducted in two prison sites between 2011 and 2014 in which more than 120 indeterminately sentenced prisoners were consulted.
Physical distance to sensory-motor landmarks predicts language function
Authors: Wang Xiuyi , Krieger-Redwood Katya , Zhang Meichao , Cui Zaixu , Wang Xiaokang , Karapanagiotidis Theodoros , Du Yi , Leech Robert , Bernhardt Boris C , Margulies Daniel S , Smallwood Jonathan , Jefferies Elizabeth
Published: September 2022

Auditory language comprehension recruits cortical regions that are both close to sensory-motor landmarks (supporting auditory and motor features) and far from these landmarks (supporting word meaning). We investigated whether the responsiveness of these regions in task-based functional MRI is related to individual differences in their physical distance to primary sensorimotor landmarks. Parcels in the auditory network, that were equally responsive across story and math tasks, showed stronger activation in individuals who had less distance between these parcels and transverse temporal sulcus, in line with the predictions of the “tethering hypothesis,” which suggests that greater proximity to input regions might increase the fidelity of sensory processing. Conversely, language and default mode parcels, which were more active for the story task, showed positive correlations between individual differences in activation and sensory-motor distance from primary sensory-motor landmarks, consistent with the view that physical separation from sensory-motor inputs supports aspects of cognition that draw on semantic memory. These results demonstrate that distance from sensorimotor regions provides an organizing principle of functional differentiation within the cortex. The relationship between activation and geodesic distance to sensory-motor landmarks is in opposite directions for cortical regions that are proximal to the heteromodal (DMN and language network) and unimodal ends of the principal gradient of intrinsic connectivity.
Association Between Time to Appropriate Antimicrobial Treatment and 30-day Mortality in Patients With Bloodstream Infections: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Van Heuverswyn Jasper , Valik John Karlsson , Desirée van der Werff Suzanne , Hedberg Pontus , Giske Christian , Nauclér Pontus
Published: September 2022

Background

Effective antimicrobial treatment is key for survival in bloodstream infection (BSI), but the impact of timing of treatment remains unclear. Our aim was to assess the association between time to appropriate antimicrobial treatment and 30-day mortality in BSI patients.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study using electronic health record data from a large academic center in Sweden. Adult patients admitted between the years 2012 and 2019, with onset of BSI at the emergency department or general wards, were included. Pathogen-antimicrobial drug combinations were classified as appropriate or inappropriate based on reported in vitro susceptibilities. To avoid immortal time bias, the association between appropriate therapy and mortality was assessed with multivariable logistic regression analysis at pre-specified landmark times.

Results

We included 10 628 BSI-episodes, occurring in 9192 unique patients. The overall 30-day mortality was 11.8%. No association in favor of a protective effect between appropriate therapy and mortality was found at the 1, 3 and 6 hours landmark after blood culture collection. At 12 hours, the risk of death increased with inappropriate treatment (adjusted odds ratio 1.17 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.01–1.37]) and continued to increase gradually at 24, 48, and 72 hours. Stratifying by high or low SOFA score generated similar odds ratios, with wider confidence intervals.

Conclusions

Delays in appropriate antimicrobial treatment were associated with increased 30-day mortality after 12 hours from blood culture collection, but not at 1, 3, and 6 hours, in BSI. These results indicate a benchmark for providing rapid microbiological diagnostics of blood cultures.
The Relentless Rise of Judicial Specialisation and its Implications for Judicial Systems
Authors: Opeskin Brian
Published: September 2022

Specialisation of labour has long been regarded as a central mechanism for enhancing the productivity of workers and the economic prosperity of nations. But do these advantages accrue in the judicial resolution of disputes, or should judges be generalists administering the law as an integrated body of rules and principles? Viewing the evolution of courts across the common law world, the rise of judicial specialisation has been relentless—suggesting that it delivers significant benefits. It extends far beyond specialisation by legal subject matter and it is achieved through many modalities beyond the establishment of new courts. However, to understand the proper role of specialisation, it is necessary to ask what impact it has on core values of the judicial system, namely, cost-effectiveness, just outcomes, impartiality, public trust, access to justice, and procedural fairness. This essay argues that judicial specialisation often has competing impacts on these values but that careful institutional design, especially through hybrid specialisation, can deliver significant benefits while minimising costs. Modern judicial systems need to be attentive to the diverse effects of specialisation so they can adapt to the complexities of contemporary dispute resolution.
Urbanization drives adaptive evolution in a Neotropical bird
Authors: Mascarenhas Rilquer , Meirelles Pedro Milet , Batalha-Filho Henrique
Published: September 2022

Urbanization has dramatic impacts on natural habitats and such changes may potentially drive local adaptation of urban populations. Behavioral change has been specifically shown to facilitate the fast adaptation of birds to changing environments, but few studies have investigated the genetic mechanisms of this process. Such investigations could provide insights into questions about both evolutionary theory and management of urban populations. In this study, we investigated whether local adaptation has occurred in urban populations of a Neotropical bird species, Coereba flaveola, specifically addressing whether observed behavioral adaptations are correlated to genetic signatures of natural selection. To answer this question, we sampled 24 individuals in urban and rural environments, and searched for selected loci through a genome-scan approach based on RADseq genomic data, generated and assembled using a reference genome for the species. We recovered 46 loci as putative selection outliers, and 30 of them were identified as associated with biological processes possibly related to urban adaptation, such as the regulation of energetic metabolism, regulation of genetic expression, and changes in the immunological system. Moreover, genes involved in the development of the nervous system showed signatures of selection, suggesting a link between behavioral and genetic adaptations. Our findings, in conjunction with similar results in previous studies, support the idea that cities provide a similar selective pressure on urban populations and that behavioral plasticity may be enhanced through genetic changes in urban populations.
Genomic analysis of Tibetan ground tits identifies molecular adaptations associated with cooperative breeding
Authors: Wang Yi , Wang Chen , Hong Wei , Tian Shilin , Lu Qin , Wang Bing-Jun , Jin Huaiming , Zhuoma Nima , Lu Xin , Zhao Huabin
Published: September 2022

Cooperative breeding is a sophisticated altruistic social behavior that helps social animals to adapt to harsh environments. The Tibetan ground tit, Pseudopodoces humilis, is a high-altitude bird endemic to the Tibetan plateau. Recently, it has become an exciting system for studying the evolution of facultative cooperative breeding. To test for molecular adaptations associated with cooperative breeding, we resequenced the whole genome of ground tits from 6 wild populations that display remarkable variation in the frequency of cooperative breeding. Population structure analyses showed that the 6 populations were divided into 4 lineages, which is congruent with the major geographical distribution of the sampling sites. Using genome-wide selective sweep analysis, we identified putative positively selected genes (PSGs) in groups of tits that displayed high and low cooperative breeding rates. The total number of PSGs varied from 146 to 722 in high cooperative breeding rate populations, and from 272 to 752 in low cooperative breeding rate populations. Functional enrichment analysis of these PSGs identified several significantly enriched ontologies related to oxytocin signaling, estrogen signaling, and insulin secretion. PSGs involved in these functional ontologies suggest that molecular adaptations in hormonal regulation may have played important roles in shaping the evolution of cooperative breeding in the ground tit. Taken together, our study provides candidate genes and functional ontologies involved in molecular adaptations associated with cooperative breeding in Tibetan ground tits, and calls for a better understanding of the genetic roles in the evolution of cooperative breeding.
Catheter ablation induced phrenic nerve palsy by pulsed field ablation—completely impossible? A case series
Authors: Pansera Francesco , Bordignon Stefano , Bologna Fabrizio , Tohoku Shota , Chen Shaojie , Urbanek Lukas , Schmidt Boris , Chun Kyoung-Ryul Julian
Published: September 2022

Background

Pulsed field ablation (PFA) is a new feasible and safe method for the ablative treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AF). Through the use of electric fields, it causes pore-like openings in the cell’s wall, leading to cell death. The most appealing characteristic of this new technique is its selectivity for cardiomyocytes and consequently its low risk of collateral damage to extracardiac tissues. We present three cases of a PFA-induced transient phrenic nerve (PN) injury documented during pulmonary vein isolation (PVI).

Case summaries

Three patients aged 55–81 years underwent PFA for symptomatic AF. Cases 1 and 3 were affected by paroxysmal AF without evidence of structural heart disease. Case 2 had persistent AF and ischaemic cardiomyopathy with preserved ejection fraction. We observed a transient right hemidiaphragm palsy during the delivery of impulses in the right superior pulmonary vein (Cases 1 and 2) and in the right inferior pulmonary vein (Case 3). The palsy lasted <1 min and was followed by spontaneous full recovery in all cases.

Discussion

Transient PN dysfunction can be observed following PFA in AF ablation. According to our initial experience, a full recovery of the PN function can be expected within seconds. We hypothesize a hyperpolarization of neuronal cells or a depletion of acetylcholine in the motoric endplate to explain this event. Further studies are required to understand the exact pathophysiological mechanism.
Cumulative complexity: a qualitative analysis of patients’ experiences of living with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Authors: Forsyth Faye , Blakeman Thomas , Burt Jenni , Chew-Graham Carolyn A , Hossain Muhammad , Mant Jonathan , Sharpley John , Sowden Emma , Deaton Christi
Published: September 2022

Aims

To investigate how heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), within the context of limited clinical services, impacts patients’ lives.

Methods and results

Secondary thematic analysis informed by the cumulative complexity model (CCM), of interview transcripts from 77 people diagnosed with HFpEF and their carers. Four themes corresponding to the core concepts of workload, capacity, access, and outcome described in the CCM were generated. Theme 1: Shouldering a heavy workload described the many tasks expected of people living with HFpEF. Theme 2: The multiple threats to capacity described how patients and carers strived to engage with this work, but were often faced with multiple threats such as symptoms and mobility limitations. Deficient illness identity (Theme 3) reflects how HFpEF either was not recognized or was perceived as a more benign form of HF and therefore afforded less importance or priority. These themes contributed to a range of negative physical, social, and psychological outcomes and the perception of loss of control described in Theme 4: Spiraling complexity.

Conclusions

The constellation of HFpEF, multi-morbidity, and ageing creates many demands that people with HFpEF are expected to manage. Concurrently, the same syndromes threaten their ability to physically enact this work. Patients’ recollections of their interactions with health professionals suggest that there is a widespread misunderstanding of HFpEF, which can prohibit access to care that could potentially reduce or prevent deterioration.
DM management in HIV patients: the adoption of population health management to transform the chronic management of HIV
Authors: Pacileo Guglielmo , Morando Verdiana , Banks Helen , Ferrara Lucia , Cattelan Annamaria , Luzzati Roberto , Manfrin Vinicio , Tozzi Valeria Domenica
Published: September 2022

Background

The success of antiretroviral therapies has made human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) a chronic disease, changing the care scenario dramatically. This study aimed to measure adherence to diabetes mellitus standards of care provided for people living with HIV (PLWH). Diabetes represents a paradigmatic case for tackling chronic care management in this target group.

Methods

This retrospective observational study was performed on administrative health data retrieved from 2014 to 2016, with a validated algorithm to identify patients with HIV using: (i) hospital discharge records (ICD9-CM codes); (ii) drug dispensing records (with ATC codes); and (iii) disease-specific exemptions from co-payments for healthcare services. HIV-related treatments, comorbidities and health service utilization were measured, as was adherence to clinical guidelines-recommended standards of care for diabetes.

Results

A population of 738 cases were identified in two Local Health Authorities in Italy, representing a prevalence of 0.14% of the general population, in line with the expected prevalence. Thirty-one cases of HIV patients diagnosed with diabetes were identified, a prevalence ratio of 4.2% compared to the 8% in the overall population. Adherence to diabetes standards of care tested within the same population was low, with the exception of those tests commonly administered for standard HIV follow-up care.

Conclusions

The use of administrative data, combined with a Population Health Management approach represents a powerful tool for evaluating system capacity to manage HIV comorbidities. Study findings prove that it is time to design new care models for PLWH, affected by one or more chronic conditions, both to prevent their onset and to manage their comorbidities.
Assessing Conservation Easement Landowners Adoption of Thinning
Authors: Gutierrez-Castillo Ana , Tanger Shaun M , Penn Jerrod , Blazier Michael A
Published: September 2022

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has overseen several conservation easement programs in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV), which have the primary objective to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands functions and to protect conservation values, such as wildlife habitat. Promotion of thinning in forests reaching or past canopy closure improves habitat conditions in forests under conservation easement. This study explicitly explores determinants that influence easement landowner voluntary adoption of thinning and characterizes landowners who are unwilling to thin in terms of management concerns, objective interference, and other reasons. The willingness-to-thin models demonstrated that membership in conservation organizations, different income expectations from thinning, and investment objectives positively influence landowners’ willingness to thin, whereas being an original easement grantor decreases the likelihood to thin such that subsequent landowners who will inherit or purchase the easement will be more willing to conduct thinning. Study results also indicated that landowners who had recreation as an ownership objective are less likely to adopt thinning, having important long-term implications for managing the forest in the easements. Findings from this study could be used to improve efforts to design and conduct educational interventions that promote forest health and wildlife habitat needs in the LMAV easements.
A balancing act: interactions within NuA4/TIP60 regulate picNuA4 function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and humans
Authors: Lu Phoebe Y T , Kirlin Alyssa C , Aristizabal Maria J , Brewis Hilary T , Lévesque Nancy , Setiaputra Dheva T , Avvakumov Nikita , Benschop Joris J , Groot Koerkamp Marian , Holstege Frank C P , Krogan Nevan J , Yip Calvin K , Côté Jacques , Kobor Michael S
Published: September 2022

The NuA4 lysine acetyltransferase complex acetylates histone and nonhistone proteins and functions in transcription regulation, cell cycle progression, and DNA repair. NuA4 harbors an interesting duality in that its catalytic module can function independently and distinctly as picNuA4. At the molecular level, picNuA4 anchors to its bigger brother via physical interactions between the C-terminus of Epl1 and the HSA domain of Eaf1, the NuA4 central scaffolding subunit. This is reflected at the regulatory level, as picNuA4 can be liberated genetically from NuA4 by disrupting the Epl1−Eaf1 interaction. As such, removal of either Eaf1 or the Epl1 C-terminus offers a unique opportunity to elucidate the contributions of Eaf1 and Epl1 to NuA4 biology and in turn their roles in balancing picNuA4 and NuA4 activities. Using high-throughput genetic and gene expression profiling, and targeted functional assays to compare eaf1Δ and epl1-CΔ mutants, we found that EAF1 and EPL1 had both overlapping and distinct roles. Strikingly, loss of EAF1 or its HSA domain led to a significant decrease in the amount of picNuA4, while loss of the Epl1 C-terminus increased picNuA4 levels, suggesting starkly opposing effects on picNuA4 regulation. The eaf1Δ epl1-CΔ double mutants resembled the epl1-CΔ single mutants, indicating that Eaf1’s role in picNuA4 regulation depended on the Epl1 C-terminus. Key aspects of this regulation were evolutionarily conserved, as truncating an Epl1 homolog in human cells increased the levels of other picNuA4 subunits. Our findings suggested a model in which distinct aspects of the Epl1−Eaf1 interaction regulated picNuA4 amount and activity.
Understanding the role of glycation in the pathology of various non-communicable diseases along with novel therapeutic strategies
Authors: Bangar Nilima S , Gvalani Armaan , Ahmad Saheem , Khan Mohd S , Tupe Rashmi S
Published: September 2022

Glycation refers to carbonyl group condensation of the reducing sugar with the free amino group of protein, which forms Amadori products and advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These AGEs alter protein structure and function by configuring a negative charge on the positively charged arginine and lysine residues. Glycation plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, brain disorders, aging, and gut microbiome dysregulation with the aid of 3 mechanisms: (i) formation of highly reactive metabolic pathway-derived intermediates, which directly affect protein function in cells, (ii) the interaction of AGEs with its associated receptors to create oxidative stress causing the activation of transcription factor NF-κB, and (iii) production of extracellular AGEs hinders interactions between cellular and matrix molecules affecting vascular and neural genesis. Therapeutic strategies are thus required to inhibit glycation at different steps, such as blocking amino and carbonyl groups, Amadori products, AGEs-RAGE interactions, chelating transition metals, scavenging free radicals, and breaking crosslinks formed by AGEs. The present review focused on explicitly elaborating the impact of glycation-influenced molecular mechanisms in developing and treating noncommunicable diseases.
In It for the Money? Academic Publishing, Open Access and the Authors’ Claim to Self-Determination in Private International Law
Authors: Westkamp Guido
Published: September 2022

Open access research platforms are increasingly becoming the target of academic publishers claiming copyright infringement. Applicable law considerations are pivotal in such circumstances. The law governing the initial publishing agreement decides, ultimately, the extent to which rights have been transferred and the degree to which courts can exercise judicial control. Academic publishing differs significantly from standard copyright contracts. Academic authors customarily remain unremunerated and are expected to transfer all rights on an exclusive basis. Exclusivity thus eradicates the proliferation of open access platforms altogether. The article discusses the most relevant concerns that arise in private international contract law under the Rome I Regulation as a matter of material justice. German substantive copyright contract law and the general principles affording protection to authors underpinning it, most importantly as regards the fundamental principle of equitable remuneration and its limits. The article dismisses the conventional approach as regards both contractual choices of law and the closest connection analysis and proposes, based on more subtle considerations of material justice as a relevant factor in modern EU private international law, the application of special conflict rules so as to alleviate the problematic effects of uninhibited contractual freedom of contract, as a mechanism to avoid the designation of, particularly, a common law copyright jurisdiction imposed by way of predetermined terms governing the agreement. The article demonstrates, ultimately, that an author’s claims to self-determination must outweigh the commercial interests of publishers, inadvertently providing open access platforms with legal certainty and freedom to republish.
Functional assessment of homozygous ALDH18A1 variants reveals alterations in amino acid and antioxidant metabolism
Authors: Colonna Maxwell B , Moss Tonya , Mokashi Sneha , Srikanth Sujata , Jones Julie R , Foley Jackson R , Skinner Cindy , Lichty Angie , Kocur Anthony , Wood Tim , Stewart Tracy Murray , Casero Jr. Robert A , Flanagan-Steet Heather , Edison Arthur S , Lyons Michael J , Steet Richard
Published: September 2022

Mono- and bi-allelic variants in ALDH18A1 cause a spectrum of human disorders associated with cutaneous and neurological findings that overlap with both cutis laxa and spastic paraplegia. ALDH18A1 encodes the bifunctional enzyme pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) that plays a role in the de novo biosynthesis of proline and ornithine. Here we characterize a previously unreported homozygous ALDH18A1 variant (p.Thr331Pro) in four affected probands from two unrelated families, and demonstrate broad-based alterations in amino acid and antioxidant metabolism. These four patients exhibit variable developmental delay, neurological deficits and loose skin. Functional characterization of the p.Thr331Pro variant demonstrated a lack of any impact on the steady-state level of the P5CS monomer or mitochondrial localization of the enzyme, but reduced incorporation of the monomer into P5CS oligomers. Using an unlabeled NMR-based metabolomics approach in patient fibroblasts and ALDH18A1-null human embryonic kidney cells expressing the variant P5CS, we identified reduced abundance of glutamate and several metabolites derived from glutamate, including proline and glutathione. Biosynthesis of the polyamine putrescine, derived from ornithine, was also decreased in patient fibroblasts, highlighting the functional consequence on another metabolic pathway involved in antioxidant responses in the cell. RNA sequencing of patient fibroblasts revealed transcript abundance changes in several metabolic and extracellular matrix-related genes, adding further insight into pathogenic processes associated with impaired P5CS function. Together these findings shed new light on amino acid and antioxidant pathways associated with ALDH18A1-related disorders, and underscore the value of metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling to discover new pathways that impact disease pathogenesis.
Trileaflet semilunar valve reconstruction: pulsatile in vitro evaluation
Authors: Carlson Hanse Lisa , Tjørnild Marcell J , Sørensen Simon G , Johansen Peter , Lugones Ignacio , Hjortdal Vibeke E
Published: September 2022

OBJECTIVES

Residual regurgitation is common after congenital surgery for right ventricular outflow tract malformation. It is accepted as there is no competent valve solution in a growing child. We investigated a new surgical technique of trileaflet semilunar valve reconstruction possessing the potential of remaining sufficient and allowing for some growth with the child. In this proof-of-concept study, our aim was to evaluate if it is achievable as a functional pulmonary valve reconstruction in vitro.

METHODS

Explanted pulmonary trunks from porcine hearts were evaluated in a pulsatile flow-loop model. First, the native pulmonary trunk was investigated, after which the native leaflets were explanted. Then, trileaflet semilunar valve reconstruction was performed and investigated. All valves were initially investigated at a flow output of 4 l/min and subsequently at 7 l/min. The characterization was based on hydrodynamic pressure and echocardiographic measurements.

RESULTS

Eight pulmonary trunks were evaluated. All valves are competent on colour Doppler. There is no difference in mean pulmonary systolic artery pressure gradient at 4 l/min (P = 0.32) and at 7 l/min (P = 0.20). Coaptation length is increased in the neo-valve at 4 l/min (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.008) and at 7 l/min (P < 0.001, P = 0.006, P = 0.006). A windmill shape is observed in all neo-valves.

CONCLUSIONS

Trileaflet semilunar valve reconstruction is sufficient and non-stenotic. It resulted in an increased coaptation length and a windmill shape, which is speculated to decrease with the growth of the patient, yet remains sufficient as a transitional procedure until a long-term solution is feasible. Further in vivo investigations are warranted.