bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Scurvy in children – A neglected disease?
Authors: Iamopas Orawan , Ratanachu‐ek Suntaree , Kaewnimee Suranat
Published: August 2022

Background

The incidences of pediatric scurvy has decreased substantially, particularly in developed countries, but there are still reports of it from developing countries. Unusual manifestations have led to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, there are few publications regarding misdiagnosis of scurvy. The objective is to determine dietary factors, clinical manifestations, laboratory and radiologic findings, treatment, and outcomes of scurvy cases. The occurrence of misdiagnosis and its associated factors are also explored.

Method

The medical records of 0–18 year‐old children from 2003 to 2016, diagnosed with scurvy, were included and reviewed. Clinical data, and data regarding feeding history, nutritional status, laboratory and radiologic findings, and misdiagnosis were collected. Univariate and logistic regression analysis were used for identification of the independent associated factors.

Results

The study consisted of 106 children. The boys‐to‐girls ratio was 2.2:1, and their mean age was 44.65 months ± 30.50 months. The common manifestations were refusal to walk, tenderness, and swelling at the lower extremities. Four participants had unusual manifestations including proptosis and scalp hematoma. Low serum vitamin C level and abnormal radiologic findings were detected in most patients. All of them fully recovered after receiving vitamin C supplementation. Misdiagnosis was identified in 74 cases (69%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that temperature higher than or equal to 38 °C, participants aged 3 years or below, and swelling at lower extremities were independently associated with misdiagnosis (adjusted OR 5.91, 3.78, and 3.56 respectively).

Conclusions

Scurvy still exists, and misdiagnosis often occurs. Taking a careful medical history and conducting a physical examination are still the best way to diagnose scurvy.
Non‐antibiotic approaches to combat motile Aeromonas infections in aquaculture: Current state of knowledge and future perspectives
Authors: Dien Le Thanh , Ngo Thao Phuong Huynh , Nguyen Thao V. , Kayansamruaj Pattanapon , Salin Krishna R. , Mohan Chadag Vishnumurthy , Rodkhum Channarong , Dong Ha Thanh
Published: August 2022

Inland aquaculture contributed by three major fish groups, including carps, tilapias, and catfish plays a vital role in global food security and nutrition, particularly in low and middle‐income countries. However, the sustainable development of this sector is hampered by disease epidemics, especially those caused by bacteria such as Aeromonas species. At least eight pathogenic motile Aeromonas species (A. hydrophila, A. veronii, A. jandaei, A. caviae, A. sobria, A. bestiarum, A. dhakensis and A. schubertii) have been reported in aquaculture with some causing up to 100% mortality during disease outbreaks. Simultaneously, emerging multidrug‐resistant Aeromonas due to a long‐inappropriate use of antibiotics is alarming and highlights a global public health concern and negative socioeconomic impacts. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of motile Aeromonas infections, antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance of Aeromonas species. This contribution also highlights the non‐antibiotic approaches (the solutions for preventing or treating of bacterial diseases without resorting to antibiotic use) to control motile Aeromonas infections. In addition to the current state of knowledge and limitations of each prophylaxis/therapy, perspectives for future research are discussed critically, including oral/immersion multivalent vaccines, microencapsulated synbiotics, exogenous metabolites, and novel lytic bacteriophage cocktails. Some emerging applicable nanotechnology themes such as nanovaccines, nanobioactive compounds, and nanobubbles are also included in this review. In summary, combating motile Aeromonas infections in aquaculture, including multidrug‐resistant aeromonads, as well as other bacterial diseases, is a lengthy battle that requires a strategic combination of multiple non‐antibiotic approaches coherent with the One Health philosophy.
Native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote native grassland diversity and suppress weeds 4 years following inoculation
Authors: Koziol Liz , McKenna Thomas P. , Crews Timothy E. , Bever James D.
Published: August 2022

Restoration quality of native prairie can be improved by reintroducing key organisms from the native plant microbiome such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Here, we assess whether the positive effects of a native mycorrhizal inoculation observed during the first growing season remained at the end of the fourth growing season. In 2016, an experiment was initiated that assessed the response of a restored tallgrass prairie to an inoculation density gradient of native mycorrhizal fungi ranging from 0 to 8,192 kg/ha. First year results indicated that native plant establishment benefited from high but not low densities of native mycorrhizal inocula, resulting in improvements in native plant abundance, richness, and diversity. To assess whether these effects persist in later growing seasons, we resampled the prairie restoration in 2020 and analyzed the data similarly. Results from the fourth growing season indicated that the pattern of responses had persisted; the positive effects of inoculation observed during the first growing season remained after four growing seasons as demonstrated by improvements in total and native plant diversity and reduced non‐native abundance. Additionally, the low densities of mycorrhizal amendment that were not initially effective were found to reduce non‐native abundance in the fourth growing season, suggesting that low densities of mycorrhizal amendment can be amplified via positive plant‐AM fungal feedback to suppress weeds following the introduction of lesser amounts of AM fungi.
Science resource inequalities viewed as less wrong when girls are disadvantaged
Authors: Sims Riley N. , Burkholder Amanda R. , Killen Melanie
Published: August 2022

In response to some resource inequalities, children give priority to moral concerns. Yet, in others, children show ingroup preferences in their evaluations and resource allocations. The present study built upon this knowledge by investigating children's and young adults’ (N = 144; 5–6‐year‐olds, Mage = 5.83, SDage = .97; 9–11‐year‐olds, Mage = 10.74, SDage = .68; and young adults, Mage = 19.92, SDage = 1.10) evaluations and allocation decisions in a science inequality context. Participants viewed vignettes in which male and female groups received unequal amounts of science supplies, then evaluated the acceptability of the resource inequalities, allocated new boxes of science supplies between the groups, and provided justifications for their choices. Results revealed both children and young adults evaluated inequalities of science resources less negatively when girls were disadvantaged than when boys were disadvantaged. Further, 5‐ to 6‐year‐old participants and male participants rectified science resource inequalities to a greater extent when the inequality disadvantaged boys compared to when it disadvantaged girls. Generally, participants who used moral reasoning to justify their responses negatively evaluated and rectified the resource inequalities, whereas participants who used group‐focused reasoning positively evaluated and perpetuated the inequalities, though some age and participant gender findings emerged. Together, these findings reveal subtle gender biases that may contribute to perpetuating gender‐based science inequalities both in childhood and adulthood.
A simple and versatile fluorochrome‐based procedure for imaging of lipids in arbuscule‐containing cells
Authors: Montero Héctor , Paszkowski Uta
Published: August 2022

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is characterized by the reciprocal exchange of nutrients. AM fungi are oleaginous microorganisms that obtain essential fatty acids from host plants. A lipid biosynthesis and delivery pathway has been proposed to operate in inner root cortex cells hosting arbuscules, a cell type challenging to access microscopically. Despite the central role lipids play in the association, lipid distribution patterns during arbuscule development are currently unknown. We developed a simple co‐staining method employing fluorophore‐conjugated Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) and a lipophilic blue fluorochrome, Ac‐201, for the simultaneous imaging of arbuscules and lipids distributed within arbuscule‐containing cells in high resolution. We observed lipid distribution patterns in wild‐type root infection zones in a variety of plant species. In addition, we applied this methodology to mutants of the Lotus japonicus GRAS transcription factor RAM1 and the Oryza sativa half‐size ABC transporter STR1, both proposed to be impaired in the symbiotic lipid biosynthesis‐delivery pathway. We found that lipids accumulated in cortical cells hosting stunted arbuscules in Ljram1 and Osstr1, and observed lipids in the arbuscule body of Osstr1, suggesting that in the corresponding plant species, RAM1 and STR1 may not be essential for symbiotic lipid biosynthesis and transfer from arbuscule‐containing cells, respectively. The versatility of this methodology has the potential to help elucidate key questions on the complex lipid dynamics fostering AM symbioses.
Cardiac and respiratory muscle responses to dietary N‐acetylcysteine in rats consuming a high‐saturated fat, high‐sucrose diet
Authors: Kelley Rachel C. , Lapierre Stephanie S. , Muscato Derek R. , Hahn Dongwoo , Christou Demetra D. , Ferreira Leonardo F.
Published: August 2022

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

This study addresses whether a high‐fat, high‐sucrose diet causes cardiac and diaphragm muscle abnormalities in male rats and whether supplementation with the antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine reverses diet‐induced dysfunction.

What is the main finding and its importance?

N‐Acetylcysteine attenuated the effects of high‐fat, high‐sucrose diet on markers of cardiac hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction, but neither high‐fat, high‐sucrose diet nor N‐acetylcysteine affected the diaphragm. These results support the use of N‐acetylcysteine to attenuate cardiovascular dysfunction induced by a ‘Western’ diet.

Individuals with overweight or obesity display respiratory and cardiovascular dysfunction, and oxidative stress is a causative factor in the general aetiology of obesity and of skeletal and cardiac muscle pathology. Thus, this preclinical study aimed to define diaphragmatic and cardiac morphological and functional alterations in response to an obesogenic diet in rats and the therapeutic potential of an antioxidant supplement, N‐acetylcysteine (NAC). Young male Wistar rats consumed ad libitum a ‘lean’ or high‐saturated fat, high‐sucrose (HFHS) diet for ∼22 weeks and were randomized to control or NAC (2 mg/ml in the drinking water) for the last 8 weeks of the dietary intervention. We then evaluated diaphragmatic and cardiac morphology and function. Neither HFHS diet nor NAC supplementation affected diaphragm‐specific force, peak power or morphology. Right ventricular weight normalized to estimated body surface area, left ventricular fractional shortening and posterior wall maximal shortening velocity were higher in HFHS compared with lean control animals and not restored by NAC. In HFHS rats, the elevated deceleration rate of early transmitral diastolic velocity was prevented by NAC. Our data showed that the HFHS diet did not compromise diaphragmatic muscle morphology or in vitro function, suggesting other possible contributors to breathing abnormalities in obesity (e.g., abnormalities of neuromuscular transmission). However, the HFHS diet resulted in cardiac functional and morphological changes suggestive of hypercontractility and diastolic dysfunction. Supplementation with NAC did not affect diaphragm morphology or function but attenuated some of the cardiac abnormalities in the rats receiving the HFHS diet.
Effects of Water Contamination on Micropitting and Rolling Contact Fatigue of Bearing Steels
Authors: Qin H. , Doll G. L.
Published: August 2022

In this research, the effects of water contamination in oil were investigated on two kinds of failures that occur in bearing steel: micropitting and rolling contact fatigue. Whereas the presence of water in the oil had little effect on the generation of surface wear in these experiments, increases in the occurrences of micropitting and rolling contact fatigue were observed due to the presence of either dissolved or free water in lubricants. Additionally, the presence of white etching matter at crack interfaces was observed and evaluated. The experimental results showed that water content can be considered as a significant factor that accelerates the formation of micropitting and fatigue cracks in rolling bearings.
Novel Long-Chain Fatty Acid (LCFA)-Degrading Bacteria and Pathways in Anaerobic Digestion Promoted by Hydrochar as Revealed by Genome-Centric Metatranscriptomics Analysis
Authors: Sun Meichen , Shi Zhijian , Zhang Chao , Zhang Yalei , Zhang Shicheng , Luo Gang
Published: August 2022

Long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) are difficult to be degraded in anaerobic digestion (AD), and the known LCFA degrading bacteria are only limited to the families
Syntrophomonadaceae
and
Syntrophaceae
. Here, we found that hydrochar effectively promoted AD of LCFA, and the new LCFA-degrading bacteria and a new metabolic pathway were also revealed based on genomic-centric metatranscriptomic analysis.
Draft Metagenome-Assembled Genome Sequences of Three Novel Ammonia-Oxidizing
Nitrososphaera
Strains Recovered from Agricultural Soils in Western Colorado
Authors: Yerlan Arsen , Daly Rebecca A. , Keshavarz Afshar Reza , Shaffer Michael , Wrighton Kelly C. , McGivern Bridget B.
Published: August 2022

Microbial nitrification is critical to nitrogen loss from agricultural soils. Here, we report three thaumarchaeotal metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) representing a new species of
Nitrososphaera
. These genomes expand the representation of archaeal nitrifiers recovered from arid, agricultural soils.
Alteration of Manure Antibiotic Resistance Genes via Soil Fauna Is Associated with the Intestinal Microbiome
Authors: Du Shuai , Zhang Yue , Shen Ju-Pei , Hu Hang-Wei , Zhang Jie , Shu Changlong , He Ji-Zheng
Published: August 2022

Saprophagous fauna like the oriental edible beetle (
P. brevitarsis
) plays a fundamental role in converting organic wastes into biofertilizer. Accumulating evidence has shown that soil fauna can reduce the abundance of ARGs, although the underlying mechanism of ARG reduction is still unclear.
Characterization of Streptococcus pneumoniae Macrolide Resistance and Its Mechanism in Northeast China over a 20-Year Period
Authors: Zhou Xiuzhen , Liu Jianhua , Zhang Zhijie , Cui Bing , Wang Yanling , Zhang Yue , Xu Hailin , Cheng Guixue , Liu Yong , Qin Xiaosong
Published: August 2022

This study presents a retrospective analysis using 1,240 clinical erythromycin-resistantStreptococcus pneumoniae(ERSP) isolates collected in northeastern China between January 2000 and December 2019. The serotype distribution, corresponding vaccine coverage, as well as resistance phenotypes, genes, and mechanisms to macrolide and tetracycline of these isolates were systematically described, analyzed, and discussed.
M. tuberculosis AlkX Encoded by
rv3249c
Regulates a Conserved Alkane Hydroxylase System That Is Important for Replication in Macrophages and Biofilm Formation
Authors: Stokas Haley , Rhodes Heather L. , Simmons Marit B. , Zhang Richard , Wright Catherine C. , Purdy Georgiana E.
Published: August 2022

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is the leading cause of death worldwide due to a single infectious agent. It is important to understand how
M. tuberculosis
adapts to and replicates in the intracellular environment of the host.
Clinical presentation in EMS patients with acute chest pain in relation to sex, age and medical history: prospective cohort study
Authors: Wibring Kristoffer , Lingman Markus , Herlitz Johan , Pettersson Helena , Lerjebo Anette , Bång Angela
Published: August 2022

Objective

To assess symptom presentation related to age, sex and previous medical history in patients with chest pain.

Design

Prospective observational cohort study.

Setting

Two-centre study in a Swedish county emergency medical service (EMS) organisation.

Participants

Unselected inclusion of 2917 patients with chest pain cared for by the EMS during 2018.

Data analysis

Multivariate analysis on the association between symptom characteristics, patients’ sex, age, previous acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or diabetes and the final outcome of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Results

Symptomology in patients assessed by the EMS due to acute chest pain varied with sex and age and also with previous ACS or diabetes. Women suffered more often from nausea (OR 1.6) and pain in throat (OR 2.1) or back (OR 2.1). Their pain was more often affected by palpation (1.7) or movement (OR 1.4). Older patients more often described pain onset while sleeping (OR 1.5) and that the onset of symptoms was slow, over hours rather than minutes (OR 1.4). They were less likely to report pain in other parts of their body than their chest (OR 1.4). They were to a lesser extent clammy (OR 0.6) or nauseous (OR 0.6). These differences were present regardless of whether the symptoms were caused by AMI or not.

Conclusions

A number of aspects of the symptom of chest pain appear to differ in unselected prehospital patients with chest pain in relation to age, sex and medical history, regardless of whether the chest pain was caused by a myocardial infarction or not. This complicates the possibility in prehospital care of using symptoms to predict the underlying aetiology of acute chest pain.
Experiences of patients with multimorbidity with primary care and the association with patient activation: a cross-sectional study in Germany
Authors: Breckner Amanda , Glassen Katharina , Schulze Josefine , Lühmann Dagmar , Schaefer Ingmar , Szecsenyi Joachim , Scherer Martin , Wensing Michel
Published: August 2022

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the association between patient activation and patients’ experience of care among an elderly multimorbid population in Germany.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Primary care practices in two German settings.

Participants

346 patients with 3 or more chronic conditions aged 65 years and over from 36 primary care practices.

Outcome measures

Patient activation was measured with the patient activation measure (PAM). To assess patient experiences with primary care, a set of questions concerning domains of primary care were included. Multilevel regression analyses were performed to examine which domains of care were associated with patient activation.

Results

Out of 1243 invited patients, a total of 346 took part in the study (participation rate 27.8 %). Mean PAM score was 76.1. Across all patients, 3.8% achieved PAM level 1, 7.5% level 2, 27.2% level 3% and 60.7% level 4. PAM scores suggest a highly activated patient group. In the regression analysis, three out ten domains of patients’ experiences showed an association with patient activation. The domains ‘being involved in decision as much as desired’ (B=−8.56, p=0.012) and ‘receiving a self-management plan’ (B=6.51, p=0.051) were associated with higher patient activation scores. Patients with an up-to-date medication plan had lower patient activation scores (B=−12.01, p=0.041).

Conclusion

Specific domains of primary care were found to be associated with patient activation. To enhance patient activation, primary care physicians may increase involvement of patients in decisions. Future research should examine the causality of these associations.

Trial registration number

DRKS00015718.
Reporting and transparent research practices in sports medicine and orthopaedic clinical trials: a meta-research study
Authors: Schulz Robert , Langen Georg , Prill Robert , Cassel Michael , Weissgerber Tracey L
Published: August 2022

Objectives

Transparent reporting of clinical trials is essential to assess the risk of bias and translate research findings into clinical practice. While existing studies have shown that deficiencies are common, detailed empirical and field-specific data are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to examine current clinical trial reporting and transparent research practices in sports medicine and orthopaedics.

Setting

Exploratory meta-research study on reporting quality and transparent research practices in orthopaedics and sports medicine clinical trials.

Participants

The sample included clinical trials published in the top 25% of sports medicine and orthopaedics journals over 9 months.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Two independent reviewers assessed pre-registration, open data and criteria related to scientific rigour, like randomisation, blinding, and sample size calculations, as well as the study sample, and data analysis.

Results

The sample included 163 clinical trials from 27 journals. While the majority of trials mentioned rigour criteria, essential details were often missing. Sixty per cent (95% confidence interval (CI) 53% to 68%) of trials reported sample size calculations, but only 32% (95% CI 25% to 39%) justified the expected effect size. Few trials indicated the blinding status of all main stakeholders (4%; 95% CI 1% to 7%). Only 18% (95% CI 12% to 24%) included information on randomisation type, method and concealed allocation. Most trials reported participants’ sex/gender (95%; 95% CI 92% to 98%) and information on inclusion and exclusion criteria (78%; 95% CI 72% to 84%). Only 20% (95% CI 14% to 26%) of trials were pre-registered. No trials deposited data in open repositories.

Conclusions

These results will aid the sports medicine and orthopaedics community in developing tailored interventions to improve reporting. While authors typically mention blinding, randomisation and other factors, essential details are often missing. Greater acceptance of open science practices, like pre-registration and open data, is needed. As these practices have been widely encouraged, we discuss systemic interventions that may improve clinical trial reporting.
Impact of COVID-19 on outpatient appointments in children and young people in England: an observational study
Authors: Bottle Alex , Neale Francesca K , Foley Kimberley A , Viner Russell M , Kenny Simon , Aylin Paul , Saxena Sonia , Hargreaves Dougal S
Published: August 2022

Objectives

To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient appointments for children and young people.

Setting

All National Health Service (public) hospitals in England.

Participants

All people in England aged <25 years.

Outcome measures

Outpatient department attendance numbers, rates and modes (face to face vs telephone) by age group, sex and socioeconomic deprivation.

Results

Compared with the average for January 2017 to December 2019, there was a 3.8 million appointment shortfall (23.5%) for the under-25 population in England between March 2020 and February 2021, despite a total rise in phone appointments of 2.6 million during that time. This was true for each age group, sex and deprivation fifth, but there were smaller decreases in face to face and total appointments for babies under 1 year. For all ages combined, around one in six first and one in four follow-up appointments were by phone in the most recent period. The proportion of appointments attended was high, at over 95% for telephone and over 90% for face-to-face appointments for all ages.

Conclusions

COVID-19 led to a dramatic fall in total outpatient appointments and a large rise in the proportion of those appointments conducted by telephone. The impact that this has had on patient outcomes is still unknown. The differential impact of COVID-19 on outpatient activity in different sociodemographic groups may also inform design of paediatric outpatient services in the post-COVID period.
Seroprevalence of syphilis and its predictors among pregnant women in Buno Bedele zone, southwest Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Befekadu Biruk , Shuremu Muluneh , Zewdie Asrat
Published: August 2022

Objectives

The study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of syphilis and associated factors among pregnant women with antenatal care follow-up.

Design

A health facility-based, cross-sectional study.

Setting

The study was conducted in 12 health facilities in Buno Bedele zone, southwest Ethiopia.

Participants

Randomly selected 920 pregnant women who came to health facilities in the Buno Bedele zone for antenatal care services from May to August 2021 were included in the study. Women with previously diagnosed syphilis and those on treatment were excluded from the study.

Outcome measures

Blood samples and data on sociodemographic and other risk factors for syphilis were collected. Sera were screened for syphilis using the one-step rapid syphilis diagnostic test kit, and positive tests were retested using the rapid plasma reagin test. Data were analysed using SPSS V.22. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors for maternal syphilis at a p value less than 0.05.

Results

The prevalence of syphilis among pregnant women was found to be 1.4% (95% CI: 0.8% to 2.3%, p=0.002). Women with no formal education (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.6; 95% CI: 1.02 to 13.2, p=0.047), husbands with a history of substance use (AOR=3.3, 95% CI: 1.04 to 10.7, p=0.042), more than one antenatal care visit (AOR=3.5, 95% CI: 1.07 to 10.5, p=0.038), age at marriage under 18 years (AOR=4.3, 95% CI: 2.2 to 7.9, p=0.045) and a woman’s poor knowledge of syphilis (AOR=3.3, 95% CI: 1.04 to 10.4, p=0.042) were significantly associated with syphilis.

Conclusion

The prevalence of maternal syphilis in this study area was found to be comparable with the national prevalence. Women’s educational status, husbands’ history of substance use, antenatal care, age at marriage and knowledge about syphilis were the independent predictors of syphilis. Emphasis shall be given to screening all pregnant women, education of women, lifestyle factors and avoiding early marriage.
Safety, tolerability and efficacy of agonist anti-CD27 antibody (varlilumab) administered in combination with anti-PD-1 (nivolumab) in advanced solid tumors
Authors: Sanborn Rachel E , Pishvaian Michael J , Callahan Margaret K , Weise Amy , Sikic Branimir I , Rahma Osama , Cho Daniel C , Rizvi Naiyer A , Sznol Mario , Lutzky Jose , Bauman Julie E , Bitting Rhonda L , Starodub Alexander , Jimeno Antonio , Reardon David A , Kaley Thomas , Iwamoto Fabio , Baehring Joachim M , Subramaniam Deepa S , Aragon-Ching Jeanny B , Hawthorne Thomas R , Rawls Tracey , Yellin Michael , Keler Tibor
Published: August 2022

Background

Phase 1/2 dose-escalation and expansion study evaluating varlilumab, a fully human agonist anti-CD27 mAb, with nivolumab in anti-PD-1/L1 naïve, refractory solid tumors.

Methods

Phase 1 evaluated the safety of varlilumab (0.1–10 mg/kg) with nivolumab (3 mg/kg) administered once every 2 weeks. Phase 2 evaluated varlilumab regimens (3 mg/kg once every 2 weeks, 3 mg/kg once every 12 weeks, and 0.3 mg/kg once every 4 weeks) with nivolumab 240 mg once every 2 weeks in tumor-specific cohorts. Primary objective was safety; key clinical endpoints included objective response rate (ORR) and overall survival rate at 12 months (OS12) (glioblastoma (GBM) only). Exploratory objectives included determination of effects on peripheral blood and intratumoral immune signatures.

Results

175 patients were enrolled (36 in phase 1 and 139 in phase 2). Phase 1 dose-escalation proceeded to the highest varlilumab dose level without determining a maximum tolerated dose. In phase 2, ORR were ovarian 12.5%, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck 12.5%, colorectal cancer 5%, and renal cell carcinoma 0%; GBM OS12 was 40.9%. Increased tumor PD-L1 and intratumoral T cell infiltration were observed in ovarian cancer patients, with increases of ≥5% associated with better progression-free survival. The most common treatment related adverse events were fatigue (18%), pruritus (16%), and rash (15%).

Conclusion

Varlilumab and nivolumab were well tolerated, without significant toxicity beyond that expected for each agent alone. Clinical activity was observed in patients that are typically refractory to anti-PD-1 therapy, however, overall was not greater than expected for nivolumab monotherapy. Treatment was associated with proinflammatory changes in the tumor microenvironment, particularly in ovarian cancer where the changes were associated with better clinical outcomes.

Trial registration number

NCT02335918.
Gender equity in academic rheumatology, current status and potential for improvement: a cross-sectional study to inform an EULAR task force
Authors: Ovseiko Pavel V , Gossec Laure , Andreoli Laura , Kiltz Uta , van Mens Leonieke , Hassan Neelam , van der Leeden Marike , Siddle Heidi J , Alunno Alessia , McInnes Iain B , Damjanov Nemanja S , Apparailly Florence , Ospelt Caroline , van der Horst-Bruinsma Irene E , Nikiphorou Elena , Druce Katie L , Szekanecz Zoltán , Sepriano Alexandre , Avcin Tadej , Bertsias George , Schett Georg , Keenan Anne-Maree , Pololi Linda H , Coates Laura C
Published: August 2022

Objectives

Evidence on the current status of gender equity in academic rheumatology in Europe and potential for its improvement is limited. The EULAR convened a task force to obtain empirical evidence on the potential unmet need for support of female rheumatologists, health professionals and non-clinical scientists in academic rheumatology.

Methods

This cross-sectional study comprised three web-based surveys conducted in 2020 among: (1) EULAR scientific member society leaders, (2) EULAR and Emerging EULAR Network (EMEUNET) members and (3) EULAR Council members. Statistics were descriptive with significance testing for male/female responses assessed by χ2 test and t-test.

Results

Data from EULAR scientific member societies in 13 countries indicated that there were disproportionately fewer women in academic rheumatology than in clinical rheumatology, and they tended to be under-represented in senior academic roles. From 324 responses of EULAR and EMEUNET members (24 countries), we detected no gender differences in leadership aspirations, self-efficacy in career advancement and work–life integration as well as the share of time spent on research, but there were gender differences in working hours and the levels of perceived gender discrimination and sexual harassment. There were gender differences in the ranking of 7 of 26 factors impacting career advancement and of 8 of 24 potential interventions to aid career advancement.

Conclusions

There are gender differences in career advancement in academic rheumatology. The study informs a EULAR task force developing a framework of potential interventions to accelerate gender-equitable career advancement in academic rheumatology.
The role of environmental stressors on reproduction, seed morphology, and germination: a case study of northern white cedar, Thuja occidentalis L.
Authors: Johnson Sara A. , Janssen Eric , Glass Nicholas , Dickerson Patricia , Whelan Christopher J. , Molano-Flores Brenda
Published: August 2022

Changes in resource allocation from parent to offspring can have effects on the dispersal, recruitment, and survival of progeny, with impacts sometimes extending across generations. In plants, environmental stressors not only impact the growth of mature individuals but can also alter the provisioning of resources to developing seeds, further extending to embryo development and reproduction. In this study, we compare seed biomass, morphology, seed set, and germination among two natural populations and three additional seed sources of Thuja occidentalis L. (northern white cedar), a fen-dependent species in the Chicago, Illinois region. Chicago Junior School and Trout Park were once contiguous populations, now bisected by the I-90 toll road, and are heavily impacted by human disturbance and external pollutants. Variation was observed in seed morphology, cone biomass, and seed set among study sites with Trout Park trees producing fewer seeds and smaller cones than any other site in our study. Despite morphological differences, germination was low overall except for commercial seed. Differences among the two neighboring sites implicate that Trout Park is disproportionately affected by environmental factors (e.g., road salts and altered hydrology) compared to Chicago Junior School, potentially impacting the growth and recruitment of T. occidentalis in these urban populations.
Wood properties of loblolly pine grown under intensive management in the Upper Coastal Plain of southwest Georgia
Authors: Eberhardt Thomas L. , Leduc Daniel J. , Samuelson Lisa J.
Published: August 2022

Loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) productivity over the past century has increased significantly from genetic improvements and more intensive management practices. The current study concludes a series of assessments of loblolly pine growth/physiological responses to continuous resource management treatments of weed control (W), weed control plus irrigation (WI), and weed control plus irrigation and fertigation (WIF). Increment cores were analyzed by X-ray densitometry to assess treatment impacts on wood properties. Plotting the wood property data against assigned years allowed results to be compared with available weather data. Mean values for all wood property determinations were similar between the W and WI treatments. Increased ring width for the WIF treatment was consistent with other studies demonstrating substantial increases in loblolly pine productivity by fertilization. Since decreases in ring specific gravity (SG) from fertilization can be offset by increases in ring SG from irrigation, gains in productivity were achieved without reducing wood quality.
Analysis and evaluation of different sequencing depths from 5 to 20 million reads in shotgun metagenomic sequencing, with optimal minimum depth being recommended
Authors: Liu Jin , Wang Xiaokai , Xie Hailiang , Zhong Qinghua , Xia Yan
Published: August 2022

Our study was to analyze and evaluate the impact of different shotgun metagenomic sequencing depths from 5 to 20 million in metagenome-wide association studies (MWASs), and to determine the optimal minimum sequencing depth. We included a set of 200 previously published gut microbial shotgun metagenomic sequencing data on obesity (100 obese vs. 100 non-obese). The reads with original sequencing depths >20 million were downsized into seven experimental groups with depths from 5 to 20 million (interval 2.5 million). Using both integrated gene cluster (IGC) and metagenomic phylogenetic analysis 2 (MetaPhlAn2), we obtained and analyzed the read matching rates, gene count, species richness and abundance, diversity, and clinical biomarkers of the experimental groups with the original depth as the control group. An additional set of 100 published data from a colorectal cancer (CRC) study was included for validation (50 CRC vs. 50 CRC-free). Our results showed that more genes and species were identified following the increase in sequencing depths. When it reached 15 million or higher, the species richness became more stable with changing rate of 5% or lower, and the species composition more stable with ICC intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) higher than 0.75. In terms of species abundance, 81% and 97% of species showed significant differences in IGC and MetaPhlAn2 among all groups with p < 0.05. Diversity showed significant differences across all groups, with decreasing differences of diversity between the experimental and the control groups following the increase in sequencing depth. The area under a receiver operating characteristic curve, AUC, of the obesity classifier for running the obesity testing samples showed an increasing trend following the increase in sequencing depth ( τ = 0.29). The validation results were consistent with the above results. Our study found that the higher the sequencing depth is, the more the microbial information in structure and composition it provides. We also found that when sequencing depth was 15 million or higher, we obtained more stable species compositions and disease classifiers with good performance. Therefore, we recommend 15 million as the optimal minimum sequencing depth for an MWAS.
Criteria for the absolutely continuous spectral components of matrix-valued Jacobi operators
Authors: Oliveira Fabrício Vieira , de Carvalho Silas Luiz
Published: August 2022

We extend in this work the Jitomirskaya–Last inequality [Power-law subordinacy and singular spectra i. Half-line operators, Acta Math. 183 (1999) 171–189] and Last and Simon [Eigenfunctions, transfer matrices, and absolutely continuous spectrum of one-dimensional Schrödinger operators, Invent. Math. 135 (1999) 329–367] criterion for the absolutely continuous spectral component of a half-line Schrödinger operator to the special class of matrix-valued Jacobi operators [Formula: see text] given by the law [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] are bilateral sequences of [Formula: see text] self-adjoint matrices such that [Formula: see text] (here, [Formula: see text] stands for the [Formula: see text]th singular value of [Formula: see text]). Moreover, we also show that the absolutely continuous components of even multiplicity of minimal dynamically defined matrix-valued Jacobi operators are constant, extending another result from Last and Simon [Eigenfunctions, transfer matrices, and absolutely continuous spectrum of one-dimensional Schrödinger operators, Invent. Math. 135 (1999) 329–367] originally proven for scalar Schrödinger operators.
Mechanical and thermodynamic properties of layered ThB2C
Authors: Tang Hui , Wu Hong-Yun , Shi Guo-Yong , Cao Kun , Hua Juan , Su Yue-Hua , Zhang Chao , Jiang Hong
Published: August 2022

The electronic, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of layered ThB2C are investigated using the first-principles calculations with generalized gradient and local density approximations. The equilibrium geometry and elastic stiffness constants of ThB2C are studied, and various elastic moduli, Poisson’s ratios and velocities are estimated from the elastic stiffness constants. ThB2C exhibits brittle characteristics. The phonon dispersion relationship verifies the thermodynamic stability of ThB2C. Considering the effect of phonon vibration on the thermodynamic properties of ThB2C, the variation of Gibbs free energy, bulk modulus and heat capacity at constant pressure with temperature are calculated using quasi-harmonic approximation in the temperature range of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K.
Forensics Analysis of Resampling via ConvNeXt Block
Authors: Zhu Xiaogang , Liu Shuaiqi , Fan Bing , Li Xiangjun , Zhu Yiping , Yu Haozheng
Published: August 2022

Images play an important role in transmitting visual information in our life. It could lead to severe consequences if images are manipulated or tampered maliciously. Digital forensics is an important research area to secure multimedia information. Many forensics technologies are applied to protect our community from the abuse of digital information. In many cases, after tampering, attackers could apply operations such as resampling, JPEG compression, blurring, etc. to cover the traces of tampering. Therefore, it is necessary to detect these manipulations in image forensics before exposing forgeries. In this paper, we propose to employ the prediction error filters, ConvNeXt blocks and convolution modules to classify images with different compression quality factors and resampling rates. By tracing the inconsistencies of resampling rates and compression quality factors, it could provide supplementary information for forensics researchers to expose possible forgeries. The proposed method could achieve great classification performance regardless of the interpolation algorithms. Also, it is highly robust against JPEG compression. In addition, the proposed method can be applied for estimating quality factors of JPEG compression.
FPGA Implementation of Expert System for Medical Diagnosis of Disc Hernia Diagnosis Based on Bayes Theorem
Authors: Šušteršič Tijana , Peulić Aleksandar
Published: August 2022

The aim of this research is to create a medical expert system based on Bayes theorem to diagnose level of disc hernia based on real foot force measurement signals obtained using sensors and implement the whole system on field programable gate array (FPGA). We have created a database of attributes based on recorded foot force values of 33 patients pre-diagnosed with herniated disc on levels L4/L5 or L5/S1 on the left or right side. The results obtained by software (Matlab) and hardware (FPGA simulation) are matching well, achieving high accuracy, which shows that VHDL implementation of Naïve Bayes theorem for disc hernia diagnostics is adequate. The output on FPGA is easy to understand for any user, as it is implemented as four-bit output where the position of bit value 1 indicates the level of disc herniation. The system is able to distinguish between the healthy subjects and subjects with disc herniation and is able to detect if improvement in stability is present after surgery or physical therapy. Our proposed measurement platform can be coupled with FPGA to create a portable and not expensive tool for real time signal acquisition, processing and decision support system in disc hernia diagnosis and post-surgical recovery.
An Approach to Software Defect Prediction Combining Semantic Features and Code Changes
Authors: Tao Chuanqi , Wang Tao , Guo Hongjing , Zhang Jingxuan
Published: August 2022

Software defect prediction (SDP), which predicts defective code regions, can help developers reasonably allocate limited resources for locating bugs and prioritizing their testing efforts. Previous work on defect prediction has used machine learning and artificial software metrics. However, traditional defect prediction features extracted from artificial software metrics often fail to capture the syntactic and semantic information of defective modules. This work on defect prediction mostly focuses on abstract syntax tree (AST). Moreover, because current research on AST technology is relatively mature, it is difficult to further improve the accuracy of defect prediction when only using AST to characterize codes. In this paper, in order to capture more semantic features, we extract semantic information both from the sequences of AST tokens and code change tokens. In addition, to leverage the traditional features extracted from statistical metrics, we also combine the semantic features with traditional defect prediction features to perform SDP, and use the gated fusion mechanism to determine the combination ratio of the two kinds of features. In our empirical studies, 10 open-source Java projects from the PROMISE repository are chosen as our empirical subjects. Experimental results show that our proposed approach can perform better than several state-of-the-art baseline SDP methods.
Concordance of decompositions given by defining sequences
Authors: Kalmár Boldizsár
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we study the concordance and cobordism of decompositions associated with defining sequences and we relate them to some invariants of toroidal decompositions and to the cobordism of homology manifolds. These decompositions are often wild Cantor sets and they arise as nested intersections of knotted solid tori. We show that there are at least uncountably many concordance classes of such decompositions in the 3-sphere.
Exploration of isospin asymmetry in the pseudospin symmetry with axially deformed scalar and vector potentials
Authors: Xu Qiang
Published: August 2022

Based on the similarity renormalization group (SRG) method, proton and neutron asymmetry in the nuclear pseudospin is investigated for the deformed system. We have checked influences of every term on the proton pseudospin splitting and their correlation with nuclear deformation. Further, we have found that dynamical term always made a similar effect on the proton pseudospin symmetry (PSS), which is different from the neutron case. By exerting its influence on the dynamical term, the vector–isovector [Formula: see text] potential gives the main contribution to the isospin asymmetry in the PSS except for several deeply bound states. The phenomenon that isospin asymmetry in the PSS becomes worse for the levels closer to the continuum and its reasons is disclosed.
Effects of energy levels of the compound nucleus on particle emission for the 6Li(n,t), 3He(n,p), and 7Be(n,p) reactions
Authors: Hu Jiaqi , Wang Sheng , Sun Xiaojun , Han Yinlu , Zhang Jingshang
Published: August 2022

The resonance peaks in cross-sections, related to the energy levels of compound nucleus, were believed to be one of the most significant features of the 6Li([Formula: see text]), 3He([Formula: see text]) and 7Be([Formula: see text]) reactions. To explain the cross-sections with resonance peaks, the improved knockout model, which had been successfully applied to study the 6Li([Formula: see text]) reaction in our previous work, was further employed to analyze the 3He([Formula: see text]) and 7Be([Formula: see text]) reactions. The effective excited energy formula, which can explain correlation between resonance peak and energy levels of the compound nucleus for the 6Li([Formula: see text]) reaction, was extrapolated to the 3He([Formula: see text]) and 7Be([Formula: see text]) reactions. A more general form of the effective excited energy formula was proposed. The calculated angle-integrated cross-sections of the 3He([Formula: see text]) and 7Be([Formula: see text]) reactions agreed well with the experimental data. By combining our previous study on the 6Li([Formula: see text]) reaction, the effects of energy levels of the compound nucleus on particle emission for these three reactions were reasonably illustrated.
EFFECT OF THE COMPANY RELATIONSHIP NETWORK ON DEFAULT PREDICTION: EVIDENCE FROM CHINESE LISTED COMPANIES
Authors: CHI GUOTAI , ZHOU YING , SHEN LONG , XIONG JIAN , YAN HONGJIA
Published: August 2022

The default risk of listed companies not only threatens the interests of enterprises and internal staff but also leads the investors to face significant financial losses. Thus, this study attempts to establish an effective default prediction system for better corporate governance. In present times, it is not uncommon for a senior manager to serve in two or more companies. Our contribution has threefold. First, we construct an indicator system of default prediction for Chinese listed companies by considering the company relationship score. Then, we reversely infer the optimal ratios of the default and nondefault companies’ degrees of influence on their related companies with the maximum area under the curve (AUC). Third, the empirical results show that the default prediction accuracy is improved by using our indicator system that includes the company relationship score.