bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Further delineation of familial polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) via whole‐exome sequencing: PCOS‐related rare FBN3 and FN1 gene variants are identified
Authors: Karakaya Cengiz , Çil Aylin Pelin , Bilguvar Kaya , Çakir Tunahan , Karalok Mete Hakan , Karabacak Recep Onur , Caglayan Ahmet Okay
Published: February 2022

Aim

To identify pathogenic rare coding Mendelian/high‐effect size variant(s) by whole‐exome sequencing in familial polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients to elucidate PCOS‐related pathways.

Methods

Twenty women and their affected available relatives diagnosed with PCOS according to Rotterdam criteria were recruited. Whole‐exome sequencing on germ‐line DNA from 31 PCOS probands and their affected relatives was performed. Whole‐exome sequencing data were further evaluated by pathway and chemogenomics analyses. In‐slico analysis of candidate variants were done by VarCards for functional predictions and VarSite for impact on three‐dimensional (3D) structures in the candidate proteins.

Results

Two heterozygous rare FBN3 missense variants in three patients, and one FN1 missense variant in one patient from three different PCOS families were identified.

Conclusion

We identified three novel FBN3 and FN1 variants for the first time in the literature and linked with PCOS. Further functional studies may identify causality of these newly discovered PCOS‐related variants, and their role yet remains to be investigated. Our findings may improve our understanding of the biological pathways affected and identify new drug targets.
The role of environmental exposures and gene–environment interactions in the etiology of systemic lupus erythematous
Authors: Woo Jennifer M. P. , Parks Christine G. , Jacobsen Søren , Costenbader Karen H. , Bernatsky Sasha
Published: February 2022

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex, chronic autoimmune disease, whose etiology includes both genetic and environmental factors. Individual genetic risk factors likely only account for about one‐third of observed heritability among individuals with a family history of SLE. A large portion of the remaining risk may be attributable to environmental exposures and gene–environment interactions. This review focuses on SLE risk associated with environmental factors, ranging from chemical and physical environmental exposures to lifestyle behaviors, with the weight of evidence supporting positive associations between SLE and occupational exposure to crystalline silica, current smoking, and exogenous estrogens (e.g., oral contraceptives and postmenopausal hormones). Other risk factors may include lifestyle behaviors (e.g., dietary intake and sleep) and other exposures (e.g., ultraviolet [UV] radiation, air pollution, solvents, pesticides, vaccines and medications, and infections). Alcohol use may be associated with decreased SLE risk. We also describe the more limited body of knowledge on gene–environment interactions and SLE risk, including IL‐10, ESR1, IL‐33, ITGAM, and NAT2 and observed interactions with smoking, UV exposure, and alcohol. Understanding genetic and environmental risk factors for SLE, and how they may interact, can help to elucidate SLE pathogenesis and its clinical heterogeneity. Ultimately, this knowledge may facilitate the development of preventive interventions that address modifiable risk factors in susceptible individuals and vulnerable populations.
Multi‐agent modeling of hazard–household–infrastructure nexus for equitable resilience assessment
Authors: Esmalian Amir , Wang Wanqiu , Mostafavi Ali
Published: February 2022

Infrastructure service disruptions impact households in an affected community disproportionally. To enable integrating social equity considerations in infrastructure resilience assessments, this study created a new computational multi‐agent simulation model, which enables integrated assessment of hazard, infrastructure system, and household elements and their interactions. With a focus on hurricane‐induced power outages, the model consists of three elements: (1) the hazard component simulates exposure of the community to a hurricane with varying intensity levels; (2) the physical infrastructure component simulates the power network and its probabilistic failures and restoration under different hazard scenarios; and (3) the households component captures the dynamic processes related to preparation, information‐seeking, and response actions of households facing hurricane‐induced power outages. We used empirical data from household surveys from three hurricanes (Harvey, Florence, and Michael) in conjunction with theoretical decision‐making models to abstract and simulate the underlying mechanisms affecting the experienced hardship of households when facing power outages. The multi‐agent simulation model was then tested in the context of Harris County, Texas, and verified and validated using empirical results from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Then, the model was used to examine the effects of different factors—such as forewarning durations, social network types, and restoration and resource allocation strategies—on reducing the societal impacts of service disruptions in an equitable manner. The results show that improving the restoration prioritization strategy to focus on vulnerable populations is an effective approach, especially during high‐intensity events, to enhance equitable resilience. The results show the capability of the proposed computational model for capturing the dynamic and complex interactions in the nexus of households, hazards, and infrastructure systems to better integrate human‐centric aspects in resilience planning and assessment of infrastructure systems in disasters. Hence, the proposed model and its results could provide a new tool for infrastructure managers and operators, as well as for disaster managers, in devising hazard mitigation and response strategies to reduce the societal impacts of power outages in an equitable manner.
Hypotensive Anesthesia Combined with Tranexamic Acid Reduces Perioperative Blood Loss in Simultaneous Bilateral Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Zhang Qing‐Yi , Huang Kai , Yin Shi‐Jiu , Wang Mi‐Ye , Liao Ren , Xie Hui‐Qi , Yang Jing , Zeng Yi
Published: February 2022

Objective

To assess the efficacy and safety of hypotensive anesthesia (HA) combined with tranexamic acid (TXA) for reducing perioperative blood loss in simultaneous bilateral total hip arthroplasty (SBTHA).

Methods

In this retrospective cohort study, a total of 183 eligible patients (15 females and 168 males, 44.01 ± 9.29 years old) who underwent SBTHA from January 2015 to September 2020 at our medical center were enrolled for analysis. Fifty‐nine patients received standard general anesthesia (Std‐GA group), the other 85 and 39 patients received HA with an intraoperative mean arterial pressure between 70 and 80 mmHg (70–80 HA group) and below 70 mmHg (<70 HA group), respectively. TXA was administrated to all patients. Perioperative blood loss (total, dominant, and hidden), transfusion rate and volume, hemoglobin and hematocrit reduction, duration of operation and anesthesia, length of hospitalization, range of hip motion as well as postoperative complications were collected from hospital's electronic records and compared between groups.

Results

All patients were followed for more than 3 months. Total blood loss in the two HA groups (1390.25 ± 595.67 ml and 1377.74 ± 423.46 ml, respectively) was significantly reduced compared with that in Std‐GA group (1850.83 ± 800.73 ml, P < 0.001). Both dominant and hidden blood loss were dramatically decreased when HA was applied (both P < 0.001). Accordingly, the transfusion rate along with volume in 70–80 HA group (14.1%, 425.00 ± 128.81 ml) and <70 HA group (12.8%, 340.00 ± 134.16 ml) were reduced in comparison with those in Std‐GA group (37.3%, 690.91 ± 370.21ml; P = 0.001 and P = 0.014, respectively). The maximal hemoglobin and hematocrit reduction in both HA groups were significantly less than those in Std‐GA group (both P < 0.001). Of note, 70–80 and <70 HA groups exhibited comparable efficacy with no significant differences between them. Besides, significant difference in duration of surgery was found among groups (P = 0.044 and P < 0.001), while no differences in anesthesia time and postoperative range of hip motion were observed. Regarding complications, the incidence of both acute kidney injury and postoperative hypotension in <70 HA group was significantly higher than that in 70–80 HA and Std‐GA groups (P = 0.014 and P < 0.001). Incidence of acute myocardial injury was similar among groups (P = 0.099) and no other severe complications or mortality were recorded.

Conclusion

The combination of HA with a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 70–80 mmHg and TXA could significantly reduce blood loss and transfusion during SBTHA, in addition to shortening operation time and length of hospitalization, and with no increase in complications.
Imperative role of trehalose metabolism and trehalose‐6‐phosphate signaling on salt stress responses in plants
Authors: Sarkar Anup Kumar , Sadhukhan Sanjoy
Published: February 2022

Sugar transport and distribution have a direct impact on the growth and development of plants. Many sugars significantly influence salt stress response. The sensing of salt stress signals triggers a wide array of complicated network transduction pathways in plants. Trehalose and its intermediate compounds effectively modulate salt response and salt tolerance. Sugars such as trehalose and its derivatives not only serve as metabolic resources and structural components of cells in plants but also exhibit hormone‐like regulating properties. Trehalose has an important physiological role in improving plant tolerance against salinity stresses in different plants. Plants finely adjust their cytoplasmic compatible solute pool to cope with high salinity. Salt stress induces a variety of structural, anatomical, molecular, biochemical, and physiological changes in plants, all of which have a detrimental influence on plant growth and development. This review highlights the recent developments in understanding trehalose and trehalose‐6‐phosphate signaling processes in plants, especially their impacts on plants growing in salty environments.
Cross‐modal contextual memory guides selective attention in visual‐search tasks
Authors: Chen Siyi , Shi Zhuanghua , Zinchenko Artyom , Müller Hermann J. , Geyer Thomas
Published: February 2022

Visual search is speeded when a target item is positioned consistently within an invariant (repeatedly encountered) configuration of distractor items (“contextual cueing”). Contextual cueing is also observed in cross‐modal search, when the location of the—visual—target is predicted by distractors from another—tactile—sensory modality. Previous studies examining lateralized waveforms of the event‐related potential (ERP) with millisecond precision have shown that learned visual contexts improve a whole cascade of search‐processing stages. Drawing on ERPs, the present study tested alternative accounts of contextual cueing in tasks in which distractor‐target contextual associations are established across, as compared to, within sensory modalities. To this end, we devised a novel, cross‐modal search task: search for a visual feature singleton, with repeated (and nonrepeated) distractor configurations presented either within the same (visual) or a different (tactile) modality. We found reaction times (RTs) to be faster for repeated versus nonrepeated configurations, with comparable facilitation effects between visual (unimodal) and tactile (crossmodal) context cues. Further, for repeated configurations, there were enhanced amplitudes (and reduced latencies) of ERPs indexing attentional allocation (PCN) and postselective analysis of the target (CDA), respectively; both components correlated positively with the RT facilitation. These effects were again comparable between uni‐ and crossmodal cueing conditions. In contrast, motor‐related processes indexed by the response‐locked LRP contributed little to the RT effects. These results indicate that both uni‐ and crossmodal context cues benefit the same, visual processing stages related to the selection and subsequent analysis of the search target.
Weaponization of Wokeness: The Theater of Management and Implications for Public Administration
Authors: Zavattaro Staci M. , Bearfield Domonic
Published: February 2022

Contemporarily, the word “woke” has moved into the popular lexicon, largely to mean aware of and ideally doing something about systemic racism. After the George Floyd murder, and many other state‐sanctioned murders of Black Americans, protests erupted globally, and public administrators responded either with actionable policy changes or sometimes symbolic, “woke” statements that did little to alter the system. In this conceptual paper, we explore the reasons for this via Baudrillard's phases of the image, showing how the word “woke” has moved from roots in the Black community to being weaponized today via its disconnection from this reality, thus trending toward its own hyperreality. In this final phase, the word “woke” has no connection to its former reality, leading to the passage of legislation that upholds White power structures.
Compassion, Bureaucrat Bashing, and Public Administration
Authors: Szydlowski Gabriela , de Boer Noortje , Tummers Lars
Published: February 2022

How citizens behave toward public sector workers is crucial for the well‐being and performance of workers. Scholars have mainly focused on understanding negative citizen behaviors, such as aggression. We study a positive behavior, namely compassionate behavior. We study real compassionate behavior in the form of writing positive encouragement messages that are distributed to social workers in the field. We test if showing difficulties faced by public sector workers results in citizens writing more encouragement messages. We also test if bureaucrat bashing results in less encouragement messages. Using a preregistered experiment among a representative sample of Canadian citizens (n = 1,264), we find that showing public sector workers' struggles and imperfections makes citizens almost twice as likely to write an encouragement message. Hence, showing your weakness can be a strength. Bureaucrat bashing, however, has no effect. Results show that citizens can be stimulated to act more positively toward public sector workers.
Diagenetic and epigenetic origins for Cu‐Ag mineralization in the Khoemacau Zone 5 deposit, Kalahari Copperbelt, northwestern Botswana
Authors: Keeditse Mpho , Watanabe Yasushi , Arribas Antonio , Echigo Takuya , Knight Catherine , Disang Oarabile , Buamono Hannah
Published: February 2022

In the Kalahari Copperbelt, the mechanism of regional scale Cu‐Ag mineralization has remained intensely debated between early diagenesis and a single pass during a regional deformation event. At the Zone 5 Cu‐Ag deposit in northwestern Botswana, the orebody is hosted preferentially by chemically reduced metasedimentary rocks that overly oxidized, hematite‐bearing arkosic sandstone. An early diagenetic mineralizing event has been identified which is characterized by fine‐grained stratiform pyrite, including recrystallized framboidal pyrite, intergrown with diagenetic mineral assemblages in the host‐rock. Diagenetic pyrite is in textural equilibrium with chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, and (Fe‐Co‐Ni) sulfarsenide. These minerals were subsequently overprinted by a more intense, multi‐stage, structurally‐controlled hydrothermal Cu‐Ag mineralization event related to the Damaran orogeny (~600–480 Ma). The hydrothermal Cu‐Ag mineralization was deposited from hot (~236–265°C), high salinity (19–24.6 wt% NaCl equiv.) hydrothermal ore fluids. Petrographic results reveal an apparent overlap in trace metal associations (Cu, Fe, As, Zn, Pb, Ni, Co) between the two mineralizing events, which can be explained by remobilization of precursor sulfides. The major Ag‐carriers in the ore are chalcocite, covellite, and bornite. The δ34S values of diagenetic pyrite range from −35.8 to +11.4‰, whereas those of hydrothermal epigenetic sulfides, including pyrite, range from −28.0 to +3.0‰. We propose that the hydrothermal sulfides had acquired some bacterially‐reduced sulfur from earlier‐formed minerals. The δ18O and δ13C values of quartz and calcite associated with the hydrothermal mineralization are typical of Neoproterozoic sediment‐hosted Cu‐Ag deposits. However, the δ18O isotopic values of the calcite gangue are anomalously depleted, which is likely due to recrystallization under metamorphic conditions. Our studies at Zone 5 indicate that the Zone 5 Cu‐Ag deposit is the result of a multi‐stage mineralization history that includes both diagenetic and epigenetic events (punctuated by >400 m.y.) facilitated by a strong litho‐structural control.
How does education affect intergenerational income mobility in Chinese society?
Authors: Wang Shu , Yu Xiao , Zhang Kuo , Pei Jipeng , Rokpelnis Karlis , Wang Xuelong
Published: February 2022

Education has been proved to be one of the most important variables influencing intergenerational income mobility. Existing literature decomposes the indirect effect of education on intergenerational income mobility into two components: the effect of the correlation between a parents’ income and their children’s education, and the effect of the return to education. Basing on the framework of existed studies, this paper explores a beneficial application to measure the two components, and checks which effect is more important in explaining the inter‐generational income mobility in Chinese society. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), the research analyzes how education affects inter‐generational income mobility, and estimates the respective contributions of the two effects of education. The empirical results show that the effect of education is of importance in explaining the increase in the intergenerational income correlation for 1960s, 1970s and 1980s of Chinese age groups. Meanwhile, after decomposing the effect of education, we find that the return on education has stronger explanatory power on intergenerational income mobility than the correlation between a father’s income and his child’s education. Therefore, the return to education should be the center of policy design for the Chinese government.
Short‐ and long‐term effects of a community‐based suicide prevention program: A Hong Kong experience
Authors: Yeung Cheuk Yui , Morgan Peter R. , Lai Carmen Chui Shan , Wong Paul Wai Ching , Yip Paul Siu Fai
Published: February 2022

Background

A multidisciplinary, multilayer, community‐based suicide prevention program (2008–2012) was implemented in the Eastern District, Hong Kong. This article documents the program and reports on short‐ and longer‐term program evaluation.

Methods

Characteristics and rates of self‐harm/suicidal behaviors and suicide deaths by age group and gender in the Eastern District before, during, and after the intervention were calculated and compared with the rest of Hong Kong, using Kruskal–Wallis and chi‐squared tests, and Jonckheere–Terpstra and Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel tests for trend analyses.

Results

The program impacts varied by age and gender subgroups. Suicide rates in the Eastern District were lower compared to the rest of Hong Kong during the intervention period. They slowly rebounded after the intervention ceased; nevertheless, they remained lower than the rest of Hong Kong until 2016. The rates of self‐harm continuously dropped and remained lower than the rest of Hong Kong. During the intervention period in the Eastern District, the age of people who died by suicide increased; more deaths occurred from jumping and fewer by charcoal burning.

Conclusions

The program coincided with the lowered self‐harm and suicide rates after the implementation. Some of the strategies need to be rebooted or routinely and continuously implemented to ensure the sustainability.
How dislike and bullying co‐develop: A longitudinal study of negative relationships among children
Authors: Kisfalusi Dorottya , Hooijsma Marianne , Huitsing Gijs , Veenstra René
Published: February 2022

This study investigates the network mechanisms underlying the co‐development of two types of negative relationships: dislike relationships, and victim‐bully relationships among children. Longitudinal data on school‐level networks of 15 Dutch primary schools (N = 2175; Mage(T1) = 10; 51% male) were analyzed with stochastic actor‐oriented models. Evidence was found for mutual reinforcement between dislike and bullying/victimization. Disliked children were more likely to bully those or be victimized by those who previously disliked them. Over and above these effects at the relationship level, children who were previously disliked by more schoolmates were more likely to bully or to be victimized by other schoolmates. Victims were more likely to be disliked over time by those who bullied them, but not by other schoolmates, whereas bullies were more likely to be disliked over time by not only those they bully but also other schoolmates. Contrary to expectations, no support was found for hypotheses that sex‐based in‐group favoritism affects children's dislike for bullies or their tendency to bully disliked others. The findings show how children's negative feelings and bullying behavior toward schoolmates mutually influence and reinforce each other over time.
The feeling thinking talking intervention with teachers advances young children's emotion knowledge
Authors: Voltmer Katharina , von Salisch Maria
Published: February 2022

Because emotion knowledge and language skills each contribute to children's success in school and life, the Feeling Thinking Talking (FTT) intervention combines the advancement of language skills and of emotion knowledge in teachers’ child‐directed conversations. Teachers from centers of early childhood education in Germany were taught language support strategies (LSS) and how to apply them during emotion talk while reading picture books, while reminiscing about emotional events, and in everyday conversations with the children in their care. The evaluation of the FTT intervention entailed a comparison between the FTT group (N = 43) and a business‐as‐usual (BAU) control group (N = 67) with N = 110 children (Mage = 49.41 months, range = 33–66 months at T1) who were individually tested using objective tests on receptive vocabulary and emotion knowledge before (T1) and after the FTT intervention (T2), and in a follow‐up 3–6 months later (T3). After a multiple imputation procedure, mixed multilevel models indicated that the children taught by the FTT group teachers made faster progress in their emotion knowledge than their agemates in the BAU condition, especially in their knowledge of mixed emotions, when numerous covariates were controlled. Results suggest that young children's emotion knowledge can be promoted alongside with language skills by a teacher‐led intervention supporting child‐directed emotion talk in early childhood education. Discussion focuses on emotion talk as the mechanism for the transmission of emotion knowledge.
Scope freezing and object shift in Ukrainian: Does Superiority matter?
Authors: Antonyuk Svitlana , Mykhaylyk Roksolana
Published: February 2022

This remark presents novel evidence on Ukrainian specificity‐inducing object shift in its interaction with quantifier scope, evidence suggesting a generalization that whatever scope interpretations are established in the postverbal field will carry over into the preverbal field. We point out that the data present a serious challenge to the Superiority account of scope freezing, since that account predicts that object shift of a QP will always freeze scope with respect to another object QP, contrary to fact. Furthermore, while Ukrainian object shift does not obey Holmberg’s Generalization, we argue that it is nevertheless fully comparable to Scandinavian object shift. We propose to account for the data with a modified version ofcyclic linearization. Cyclic linearization accounts for the crosslinguistic differences with respect to object shift and also derives the peculiar object shift–QP scope interaction patterns we observe, which remain obscure on the Superiority account of scope freezing.
Perceptions of transition into clinical placement
Authors: Scott Nicola Lawson , Mahran Samer , Patel Rakesh , Culshaw Martin
Published: February 2022

Introduction

A major transition for medical students is the change from the pre‐clinical to clinical years of their curriculum. Interventions to help students manage this transition effectively, such as preparatory skills courses and peer mentoring, are used in many medical schools, yet students remain apprehensive about this period. This study aims to investigate student feelings and perceptions around the transition from the pre‐clinical to clinical part of the curriculum to inform interventions for helping them better manage the experience.

Method

A cross‐sectional study of all students starting their first clinical placement was undertaken. Questionnaires were administered online. Ordinal data were collected via Likert‐scale responses. Free text responses were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Likert‐scale responses showed that most students (69%) agreed or strongly agreed that they looked forward to the range of wards they would spend time on. Respectively, 41% and 43% of students agreed they would be supported in taking histories or carrying out clinical. The majority of students disagreed (28%) or were not sure (27%) that they would have a clear role on the ward. Free text responses identified that students looked forward to patient contact and new ways of learning but were apprehensive about making mistakes, poor staff attitude, personal wellbeing and a lack of purpose in the clinical environment.

Conclusions

The transition into the clinical phase is complex, and students have a wide variety of concerns beyond skills or knowledge deficits. To address these worries, interventions for both improving psychological wellbeing and academic achievement should be developed.
Gradient expectations: Revisiting Charles Manning Child's theory of metabolic regionalisation in developmental patterning and regeneration
Authors: Patel Jeet H. , Wills Andrea E.
Published: February 2022

Charles Manning Child introduced one of several early models to explain how an organism can both establish and re‐establish positional identity during embryogenesis and regeneration. In his gradient theory model, tissues along an axis exhibit graded levels of metabolic activity demonstrated through their differential susceptibility to metabolic inhibitors. While Child's work was difficult to place in a mechanistic framework in his own time, technological advances and recent discoveries in both embryos and regenerating organisms make his early work on redox signalling as a positional cue newly pertinent.
ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIAL CELLULOSE PRODUCERS WITH POTENTIAL FOR MEDICINE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Authors: Nagmetova G.Zh. , Kurmanbayev A.A.
Published: February 2022

Recent achievements in investigations of microbial polysaccharides have highlighted their importance in the development of new classes of biomaterials. Some polysaccharides of microbial origin are already widely used in various medical applications, including hyaluronic acid, dextran, alginate, and scleroglucan. Substantial attention has more recently focused on bacterial cellulose as a promising and effective biopolymer.

In this study, based on knowledge of the ecological niches of acetic acid bacteria, we isolated cellulose-producing bacteria using the fruits of grapes of different varieties and Kombucha. The most effective biocellulose producers were screened, and their biochemical properties were determined. A total of 17 acetic acid bacteria isolates were obtained, and three strains capable of producing a cellulose biofilm were selected, which were identified according to the direct nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene fragment and biochemical properties.
MOLECULAR-GENETIC IDENTIFICATION OF CAUSAL AGENTS OF FUNGAL DISEASES ON POTATO AND TOMATO COLLECTED UNDER PRODUCTION STORAGE
Authors: Zhanybekova Zh.T. , Imanbekova M. , Aitkulova A.M. , Zholdybayeva E.V. , Rakhimbayeva D.D. , Kakimzhanova A.A.
Published: February 2022

The expansion of exports and imports of potato and tomato crops between countries contributes to the rapid spread of the most harmful species and strains of phytopathogenic fungi around the world. Due to it, the identification of phytopathogenic fungi is important for agriculture. Currently, molecular-genetic methods are considered as one of the modern and promising methods for the diagnosis and identification of plant diseases, which allow identifying microorganisms without any knowledge of its biological features. One of the recommended methods for identification and classification of taxa is the determination of the nucleotide sequence of nuclear ribosomal gene regions.

276 infected potato tubers and tomato fruits were used to identify phytopathogenic fungi isolates, which were collected from production storages. Molecular-genetic identification of microorganisms based on the analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the ITS region made it possible to taxonomically identify 102 isolates of phytopathogenic fungi that belong to 7 genera. It was revealed that the proportion of fungi, which belohg to the genera Fusarium (60%), Penicillium (15%) and Clonostachys (12%), Alternaria (9%) were dominated in the generic structure.

The isolation frequency (Fr) and relative density (RD) of 7 generaphytopathogenic fungi were calculated according to the results of molecular-genetic identification.Isolation frequency (Fr)of fungi genera ranged from 0.3% to 22.1%. Relative density of fungi species ranged varied 0.9% to 59.8%.

Thereby, molecular-genetic identification based on the analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the ITS region made it possible to perform identification of pathogens on potato and tomato under production storage.Also, fungi Clonostachys and Acrostalagmus genera were isolated, which are not pathogens of potato and tomato diseases.
Digital-Skilled Jobs of Tomorrow
Authors: González Carlos M.
Published: February 2022

The current engineering labor force may not be equipped to manage the new digital tools employers want to utilize.
CAD-Based Simulation Model for the Calculation of Chip Geometry and Cutting Force Components in Gear Shaping
Authors: Marinakis Angelos , Dandouti Emmanouela , Antoniadis Aristomenis
Published: February 2022

Involute gears are a vital component used in industry due to their ability to provide flexible and accurate rotary motion. Gear shaping is one of the most prominent gear cutting processes as it can be used to effectively manufacture spur and helical external as well as internal gears. Thus, the accurate prediction of the cutting forces developed during the cutting process is of great importance because it can greatly affect the wear and the cutting tool’s life. In this work, a simulation model was developed based on a commercial CAD software, able to simulate the kinematics involved in the process and provide accurate results regarding the undeformed chip geometry as well as the cutting forces. In order to verify the accuracy of the model, the produced gear flanks are compared with the theoretical ones and the calculated cutting forces are compared with the respective measured forces obtained from the literature.
ActivationNet: Representation Learning to Predict Contact Quality of Interacting 3D Surfaces in Engineering Designs
Authors: Ranade Rishikesh , Pathak Jay
Published: February 2022

Engineering simulations for analysis of structural and fluid systems require information of contacts between various 3D surfaces of the geometry to accurately model the physics between them. In machine learning applications, 3D surfaces are most suitably represented with point clouds or meshes and learning representations of interacting geometries form point-based representations is challenging. The objective of this study is to introduce a machine learning algorithm, ActivationNet, that can learn from point clouds or meshes of interacting 3D surfaces and predict the quality of contact between these surfaces. The ActivationNet generates activation states from point-based representation of surfaces using a multidimensional binning approach. The activation states are further used to contact quality between surfaces using deep neural networks. The performance of our model is demonstrated using several experiments, and we show that the contact quality predictions of ActivationNet agree well with the expectations.
A Multi-Objective Mechanism Optimization for Controlling an Aircraft Using a Bio-Inspired Rotating Empennage
Authors: Myszka David H. , Joo James J. , Murray Andrew P.
Published: February 2022

This paper presents a mechanism design optimization for actuating the horizontal stabilizers of an aircraft using a rotating empennage without a vertical stabilizer. Birds do not have vertical stabilizers and rotate their tail feathers to control agile maneuvers. A rotating empennage concept will mimic this motion and enable the bio-inspired flight of a fixed wing aircraft. To maintain control, the bio-inspired rotating empennage will incorporate three degrees of freedom: independent rotation of each horizontal stabilizer and rotation of the empennage relative to the main axis of the fuselage. The primary benefits of an aircraft without a vertical stabilizer are reduced drag and weight which, in turn, results in a more efficient operation. In order to reduce inertia of the rotating empennage, the linear actuators that position the horizontal stabilizers will be placed within the fuselage. Mechanisms that couple the linear translation of the actuators with the rotation of the horizontal stabilizers ideally require a low peak force and short stroke from the actuator. With two conflicting objectives, a Pareto front optimization was conducted to determine appropriate link lengths of candidate solutions and to understand the effectiveness of alternate mechanisms. The study considers rack & pinon, scotch-yoke, slider-crank, inverted slider-crank, Watt II, and Stephenson III mechanisms.
Actuation-Coordinated Mobile Parallel Robots With Hybrid Mobile and Manipulation Functions
Authors: Gan Dongming , Fu Jiaming , Lin Han , Yang Haoguang , Rastgaar Mo , Min Byung-Cheol , Voyles Richard
Published: February 2022

Mobile robots with manipulation capability are a key technology that enables flexible robotic interactions, large area covering and remote exploration. This paper presents a novel class of actuation-coordinated mobile parallel robots (ACMPRs) that utilize parallel mechanism configurations and perform hybrid moving and manipulation functions through coordinated wheel actuators. The ACMPRs differ with existing mobile manipulators by their unique combination of the mobile wheel actuators and the parallel mechanism topology through prismatic joint connections. Common motion of the wheels will provide mobile function while their relative motion will actuate the parallel manipulation function. This new concept reduces actuation requirement and increases manipulation accuracy and mobile motion stability through coordinated and connected wheel actuators comparing with existing mobile parallel manipulators. The relative wheel location on the base frame also enables a reconfigurable base size with variable moving stability on the ground. The basic concept and general type synthesis are introduced and followed by kinematics and inverse dynamics analysis of a selected three limb ACMPR. A numerical simulation also illustrates the dynamics model and the motion property of the new mobile parallel robot (MPR) followed by a prototype-based experimental validation. The work provides a basis for introducing this new class of robots for potential applications in surveillance, industrial automation, construction, transportation, human assistance, medical applications, and other operations in extreme environment such as nuclear plants, Mars, etc.
Molecular dynamics study of silicon atomic layer etching by chlorine gas and argon ions
Authors: Vella Joseph R. , Humbird David , Graves David B.
Published: February 2022

Classical molecular dynamics (MD) is used to simulate atomic layer etching processes of silicon by alternating exposure to chlorine gas and argon ions. In order to validate our model, a rigorous comparison is done with ion beam experiments found in the literature [Park et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 44, 389 (2005)]. It is shown that the etch per cycle (EPC) as a function of argon ion energy from simulations is in quantitative agreement with experimental results if the correct argon ion fluence is used in the simulations. The EPC as a function of ion irradiation time and amount of chlorine exposure also show good agreement with the experiment. The MD simulations also show the formation of an amorphous silicon region with chlorine atoms mixed uniformly throughout following ion bombardment. Finally, the etch products during the ion irradiation step are analyzed and discussed.
Marginal zone B cells acquire dendritic cell functions by trogocytosis
Authors: Schriek Patrick , Ching Alan C. , Moily Nagaraj S. , Moffat Jessica , Beattie Lynette , Steiner Thiago M. , Hosking Laine M. , Thurman Joshua M. , Holers V. Michael , Ishido Satoshi , Lahoud Mireille H. , Caminschi Irina , Heath William R. , Mintern Justine D. , Villadangos Jose A.
Published: February 2022

Marginal zone (MZ) B cells produce broad-spectrum antibodies that protect against infection early in life. In some instances, antibody production requires MZ B cells to display pathogen antigens bound to major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) molecules to T cells. We describe the trogocytic acquisition of these molecules from conventional dendritic cells (cDCs). Complement component 3 (C3) binds to murine and human MHC II on cDCs. MZ B cells recognize C3 with complement receptor 2 (CR2) and trogocytose the MHC II–C3 complexes, which become exposed on their cell surface. The ubiquitin ligase MARCH1 limits the number of MHC II–C3 complexes displayed on cDCs to prevent their elimination through excessive trogocytosis. Capture of C3 by MHC II thus enables the transfer of cDC-like properties to MZ B cells.
An autonomously swimming biohybrid fish designed with human cardiac biophysics
Authors: Lee Keel Yong , Park Sung-Jin , Matthews David G. , Kim Sean L. , Marquez Carlos Antonio , Zimmerman John F. , Ardoña Herdeline Ann M. , Kleber Andre G. , Lauder George V. , Parker Kevin Kit
Published: February 2022

Biohybrid systems have been developed to better understand the design principles and coordination mechanisms of biological systems. We consider whether two functional regulatory features of the heart—mechanoelectrical signaling and automaticity—could be transferred to a synthetic analog of another fluid transport system: a swimming fish. By leveraging cardiac mechanoelectrical signaling, we recreated reciprocal contraction and relaxation in a muscular bilayer construct where each contraction occurs automatically as a response to the stretching of an antagonistic muscle pair. Further, to entrain this closed-loop actuation cycle, we engineered an electrically autonomous pacing node, which enhanced spontaneous contraction. The biohybrid fish equipped with intrinsic control strategies demonstrated self-sustained body–caudal fin swimming, highlighting the role of feedback mechanisms in muscular pumps such as the heart and muscles.
p53 directs leader cell behavior, migration, and clearance during epithelial repair
Authors: Kozyrska Kasia , Pilia Giulia , Vishwakarma Medhavi , Wagstaff Laura , Goschorska Maja , Cirillo Silvia , Mohamad Saad , Gallacher Kelli , Carazo Salas Rafael E. , Piddini Eugenia
Published: February 2022

Epithelial cells migrate across wounds to repair injured tissue. Leader cells at the front of migrating sheets often drive this process. However, it is unclear how leaders emerge from an apparently homogeneous epithelial cell population. We characterized leaders emerging from epithelial monolayers in cell culture and found that they activated the stress sensor p53, which was sufficient to initiate leader cell behavior. p53 activated the cell cycle inhibitor p21
WAF1/CIP1
, which in turn induced leader behavior through inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase activity. p53 also induced crowding hypersensitivity in leader cells such that, upon epithelial closure, they were eliminated by cell competition. Thus, mechanically induced p53 directs emergence of a transient population of leader cells that drive migration and ensures their clearance upon epithelial repair.
Breaking symmetry for piezoelectricity
Authors: Li Fei
Published: February 2022

Record-breaking piezoelectricity is achieved in oxides with symmetry-breaking defects
Social media and shared reality
Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything
Kelly Weill
Algonquin Books, 2022. 256 pp.
Authors: Golbeck Jennifer
Published: February 2022

Exacerbated by engagement algorithms, flat Earth theories and other fringe beliefs thrive
The chronic growing pains of communicating science online
Authors: Brossard Dominique , Scheufele Dietram A.
Published: February 2022

Scientists have not yet adapted to new information environments
Dream machine
Authors: Katsnelson Alla
Published: February 2022

In a few classrooms, robots attend for children ailing at home. A researcher wants to know how to make the devices better
In Science Journals
Authors: Ferrarelli Leslie K. , Ray L. Bryan , Kelly Priscilla N. , Jiang Di , Ash Caroline , Lavine Marc S. , Aldenderfer Mark , Hurtley Stella M. , Scanlon Seth Thomas , Stern Peter , Grocholski Brent , Zahn Laura M. , Smith Orla M. , Olingy Claire
Published: February 2022

Highlights from the
Science
family of journals
In Other Journals
Authors: Lopez Bianca , Osborne Ian S. , Hines Pamela J. , Zahn Laura M. , Alderton Gemma , Smith H. Jesse , Stajic Jelena
Published: February 2022

Editors’ selections from the current scientific literature
U.S. science adviser resigns after bullying charge
Authors: Malakoff David
Published: February 2022

Eric Lander’s abrupt departure comes as Biden administration pushes research initiatives
An electric jolt strips valuable metals from waste
Authors: Kean Sam
Published: February 2022

New method can pull rare earth elements from electronic waste and coal ash
Recurrent thrombosis as a clinical presentation of Whipple disease
Authors: Terrones-Peinador María , Eremiev-Eremiev Simeón , Pigrau-Serrallach Carlos , Solans-Laque Roser
Published: February 2022

Whipple’s disease (WD) is a rare infectious disease with a wide clinical spectrum. Associated thrombotic manifestations are not well described in WD, only related to ‘stroke-like syndrome’. We present a case of a 39-year-old man with a 1-year history of self-limited episodes of fever, associated with generalised adenopathies and recurrent superficial and deep venous thrombosis events, which have resorted four times despite the anticoagulant treatment. Finally, the patient is diagnosed with WD. Following treatment the patient improved in his general condition, and no more episodes of fever neither thrombosis appeared during a follow-up of more than 3 years.
The prevalence of loneliness across 113 countries: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Surkalim Daniel L , Luo Mengyun , Eres Robert , Gebel Klaus , van Buskirk Joseph , Bauman Adrian , Ding Ding
Published: February 2022

Objectives

To identify data availability, gaps, and patterns for population level prevalence of loneliness globally, to summarise prevalence estimates within World Health Organization regions when feasible through meta-analysis, and to examine temporal trends of loneliness in countries where data exist.

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources

Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, and Scopus for peer reviewed literature, and Google Scholar and Open Grey for grey literature, supplemented by backward reference searching (to 1 September 2021)

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies

Observational studies based on nationally representative samples (n≥292), validated instruments, and prevalence data for 2000-19. Two researchers independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Random effects meta-analysis was conducted in the subset of studies with relatively homogeneous research methods by measurement instrument, age group, and WHO region.

Results

Prevalence data were available for 113 countries or territories, according to official WHO nomenclature for regions, from 57 studies. Data were available for adolescents (12-17 years) in 77 countries or territories, young adults (18-29 years) in 30 countries, middle aged adults (30-59 years) in 32 countries, and older adults (≥60 years) in 40 countries. Data for all age groups except adolescents were lacking outside of Europe. Overall, 212 estimates for 106 countries from 24 studies were included in meta-analyses. The pooled prevalence of loneliness for adolescents ranged from 9.2% (95% confidence interval 6.8% to 12.4%) in South-East Asia to 14.4% (12.2% to 17.1%) in the Eastern Mediterranean region. For adults, meta-analysis was conducted for the European region only, and a consistent geographical pattern was shown for all adult age groups. The lowest prevalence of loneliness was consistently observed in northern European countries (2.9%, 1.8% to 4.5% for young adults; 2.7%, 2.4% to 3.0% for middle aged adults; and 5.2%, 4.2% to 6.5% for older adults) and the highest in eastern European countries (7.5%, 5.9% to 9.4% for young adults; 9.6%, 7.7% to 12.0% for middle aged adults; and 21.3%, 18.7% to 24.2% for older adults).

Conclusion

Problematic levels of loneliness are experienced by a substantial proportion of the population in many countries. The substantial difference in data coverage between high income countries (particularly Europe) and low and middle income countries raised an important equity issue. Evidence on the temporal trends of loneliness is insufficient. The findings of this meta-analysis are limited by data scarcity and methodological heterogeneity. Loneliness should be incorporated into general health surveillance with broader geographical and age coverage, using standardised and validated measurement tools.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO CRD42019131448.
Distinct pathoclinical clusters among patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes: results from a prospective study in rural India
Authors: Aravindakshan Manoja Rajalakshmi , Maity Sujay Krishna , Paul Avishek , Chakrabarti Partha , Mandal Chittaranjan , Sarkar Jit
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Inadequate glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) poses an enormous challenge. Whether this uncontrolled T2DM population is a heterogenous mix of disease subtypes remains unknown. Identification of these subtypes would result in a customized T2DM management protocol thereby paving the way toward personalized therapy.

Research design and methods

Electronic health records of 339 patients with uncontrolled T2DM patients followed up for a median period of 14 months were analyzed using Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection followed by density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise. Baseline clinical features and final diagnoses with drug combinations were selected in the analysis. A 30 min oral glucose tolerance test was next performed for assessing the underlying insulin resistance and β cell dysfunction.

Results

Three major clusters were identified. The first cluster characterized by recent onset T2DM had moderately preserved β cell function. The second cluster with a longer duration of T2DM and associated hypertension showed the best glycemic control with dual antidiabetic therapy. The third cluster with the longest history of T2DM and no history of hypertension had the worst glycemic control in spite of the highest percentage of patients on triple therapy (34.58%) and quadruple therapy (8.41%).

Conclusions

Uncontrolled T2DM comprises a heterogeneous population with respect to disease duration, presence of co-morbidities and β cell function without significant difference in insulin resistance. Stratifying them on the basis of pathoclinical features is the first step toward a personalized management in T2DM.