bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Viktimisierung durch Inbrandsetzung
Authors: Dietz E. , Püschel K. , Ondruschka B. , Schädler J.
Published: February 2024

Hintergrund

Nachdem eine Person durch Anzünden ihrer Kopfhaare maßgeblich verletzt wurde, sollte experimentell die tatsächliche Gefahr ermittelt werden, die von einer solchen Tat ausgeht. Zumindest in Deutschland ist die vorsätzliche Schädigung anderer Personen durch Anzünden selten.

Material und Methoden

Es wurden insgesamt 20 unbehandelte, mit Haarstylingprodukten behandelte sowie feuchte und trockene Haarproben gezielt durch Zündhölzer angezündet. Die Reaktion wurde mittels Videoaufzeichnung und Wärmebildmessung digital aufgezeichnet und ausgewertet. Eine mögliche Flammenübertragung auf Bekleidungstextilien wurde durch Befestigung kleinerer Textilstücke in unmittelbarer Umgebung der Haarprobe simuliert und überprüft.

Ergebnisse

Mit Ausnahme der Feuchthaarproben kam es in allen Fällen im Moment der Zündholzflammenexposition zu einer raschen Entzündung der Versuchshaare mit vollständiger Verbrennung. Eine Entflammbarkeit von Textilgewebe gelang, wenn dieses unmittelbaren Kontakt zu den Haarproben hatte. Für die behandelten Haarproben zeigten sich die Flammenentwicklung akzeleriert und die Brenndauer verlängert.

Schlussfolgerung

Zusammengefasst birgt das Anzünden von Kopfhaaren massive Gefahren bis hin zur Todesfolge.
Flanker interference at both stimulus and response levels decreases with age
Authors: Di Chiaro Nunzia Valentina , Holmes Nicholas Paul
Published: February 2024

When trying to identify the colour of a target, people’s performance is impaired by nearby distractors of different colours. It is controversial whether these interference effects originate from competing stimuli, competing responses or from both simultaneously. These interference effects may also differ depending on a person’s age. Comparisons between studies show mixed results, while differences in experimental design and data analysis complicate the interpretation. In our study, we manipulated the relative proportions of congruent and incongruent trials with respect to both stimuli and responses. Considering this aspect, we asked whether people resolve stimulus and response interference differently at different ages. 92 children (6–14 years), 25 young adults (20–43 years) and 33 older adults (60–84 years) performed a coloured version of the Eriksen flanker task. Since reaction times and errors were correlated, inverse efficiency scores were used to address speed-accuracy trade-offs between groups. Absolute interference effects were used to measure relationships with age. The results showed first, unexpectedly, that response interference was comparable between stimulus- and response-balanced conditions. Second, performance at all ages was significantly influenced both by competing stimuli and responses. Most importantly, the size of interference effects decreased with age. These findings cast some doubt on the conclusions of previous studies, and raise further questions about how cognitive control is best measured across the lifespan.
MRI findings in athletic groin pain: correlation of imaging with history and examination in symptomatic and asymptomatic athletes
Authors: Ooi Michelle Wei Xin , Marzetti Matthew , Rowbotham Emma , Bertham Dominic , Robinson Philip
Published: February 2024

Objective

To determine differences in prevalence and diagnostic accuracy of MRI findings between asymptomatic athletes and athletes with longstanding groin pain.

Materials and methods

One hundred twenty-three adult male athletes were approached with 85 consecutive athletes recruited. Group 1 (symptomatic, n = 34) athletes referred for longstanding groin pain (insidious onset, > 3 weeks duration). Group 2 (control, n = 51) athletes referred for injuries remote from the pelvis and no groin pain in the last 12 weeks. All referrers completed a clinical examination proforma documenting absence or presence of pelvis and hip abnormality. All patients completed the Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score (HAGOS) questionnaire and underwent a 3T MRI groin and hip protocol. MRIs were scored independently by two musculoskeletal radiologists blinded to clinical details. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate associations between MRI findings, inter-reader reliability, clinical examination and HAGOS scores.

Results

Pubic body subchondral bone oedema, capsule/aponeurosis junction tear and soft tissue oedema were more prevalent in the symptomatic group (p = 0.0003, 0.0273 and 0.0005, respectively) and in athletes with clinical abnormality at symphysis pubis, adductor insertion, rectus abdominis, psoas and inguinal canal (p = 0.0002, 0.0459 and 0.00002, respectively). Pubic body and subchondral oedema and capsule/aponeurosis tear and oedema significantly correlated with lower (worse) HAGOS scores (p = 0.004, 0.00009, 0.0004 and 0.002, respectively). Inter-reader reliability was excellent, 0.87 (range 0.58–1). Symphyseal bone spurring, disc protrusion and labral tears were highly prevalent in both groups.

Conclusion

Clinical assessment and MRI findings of pubic subchondral bone oedema and capsule/aponeurosis abnormality appear to be the strongest correlators with longstanding groin pain.
A formula for instability-related bone loss: estimating glenoid width and redefining bare spot
Authors: Ren Zhongkai , Wang Fengkun , Huang Xiaohong , Wang Jian , Zhang Yingze , Yu Tengbo
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The aim of the study reveals a new intuitive method for preoperatively assessing defect ratio in glenoid deficiency based on the native glenoid width and the bare spot.

Methods

A linear relationship, i.e. the rh formula, between the native glenoid width (2r) and height (h) was revealed by a cadaver cohort (n = 204). To validate the reliability of the rh formula, 280 3D-CT images of intact glenoids were recruited. To evaluate the accuracy of rh formula in estimating glenoid defect, the 65 anterior–inferior defect models were artificially established based on the 3D-CT images of intact glenoids. Moreover, a clinically common anterior–posterior (AP) method was compared with the rh formula, to verify the technical superiority of rh formula.

Results

The regression analysis indicated a linear relationship between the width and height of intact glenoid: 2r = 0.768 × h − 1.222 mm (R2 = 0.820, p < 0.001). An excellent reliability was found between the formula prediction and model width (ICC = 0.911, p = 0.266). An excellent agreement was found between the predicted values and model parameters (glenoid width, ICCrh = 0.967, prh = 0.778; defect ratio, prh = 0.572, ICCrh = 0.997). And, it is of higher accuracy compared to the AP method (glenoid width, ICCAP = 0.933, pAP = 0.001; defect ratio, ICCAP = 0.911, pAP = 0.033).

Conclusion

Applying the cadaver-based formula on 3D-CT scans accurately predicts native glenoid width and redefines bare spot for preoperatively determining glenoid bone loss.
Results of robotic liver surgery in association with IWATE criteria — the first 100 cases
Authors: Steinkraus Kira C. , Traub Benno , Heger Patrick , Zaimi Marin , Mihaljevic Andre L. , Michalski Christoph W. , Kornmann Marko , Hüttner Felix J.
Published: February 2024

Background

Aim of the current study was to present the results of the implementation phase of a robotic liver surgery program and to assess the validity of the IWATE difficulty score in predicting difficulty and postoperative complications in robotic liver surgery.

Methods

Based on the prospective database of the Interdisciplinary Robotic Center of Ulm University Hospital, the first 100 robotic liver surgeries were identified and analyzed. Perioperative parameters (duration of surgery and blood loss) and postoperative parameters including morbidity, mortality, and length of hospital stay were assessed and the results were compared between different IWATE difficulty categories.

Results

From November 2020 until January 2023, 100 robotic liver surgeries were performed (41 female, 59 male; median age 60.6 years, median BMI 25.9 kg/m2). Median duration of surgery was 180 min (IQR: 128.7), and median blood loss was 300 ml (IQR: 550). Ninety-day mortality was 2%, and overall morbidity was 21%, with major complications occurring in 13% of patients (≥ grade 3 according to Clavien/Dindo). A clinically relevant postoperative biliary leakage was observed in 3 patients. Posthepatectomy liver failure occurred in 7% (4 Grade A, 3 Grade B). Duration of surgery (p < 0.001), blood loss (p < 0.001), CCI (p = 0.004), overall morbidity (p = 0.004), and length of hospital stay (p < 0.001) were significantly increased in the IWATE ‘expert’ category compared to lower categories.

Discussion

Robotic surgery offers a minimally invasive approach for liver surgery with favorable clinical outcomes, even in the implementation phase. In the current study the IWATE difficulty score had the ability to predict both difficulty of surgery as well as postoperative outcomes when assessing the complexity of robotic liver surgery. Therefore, the role of the IWATE score in predicting these outcomes highlights its importance as a tool in surgical planning and decision-making.
The clinical characteristics, gene mutations and outcomes of myelodysplastic syndromes with diabetes mellitus
Authors: Xu Fanhuan , Jin Jiacheng , Guo Juan , Xu Feng , Chen Jianan , Liu Qi , Song Luxi , Zhang Zheng , Zhou Liyu , Su Jiying , Xiao Chao , Zhang Yumei , Yan Meng , He Qi , Wu Dong , Chang Chunkang , Li Xiao , Wu Lingyun
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the second most common comorbidity in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The purpose of the study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of MDS patients with DM.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 890 MDS patients with or without DM. Clinical data, including genetic changes, overall survival (OS), leukemia-free survival (LFS) and infection, were analyzed.

Results

Among 890 patients, 184 (20.7%) had DM. TET2 and SF3B1 mutations occurred more frequently in the DM group than those in the non-DM group (p = 0.0092 and p = 0.0004, respectively). Besides, DM was an independent risk factor for infection (HR 2.135 CI 1.451–3.110, p = 0.000) in MDS. Compared to non-DM patients, MDS patients with DM had poor OS and LFS (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0017, respectively), especially in the lower-risk group. While in multivariate analysis, DM did not retain its prognostic significance and the prognostic significance of infection was maintained (HR 2.488 CI 1.749–3.538, p = 0.000).

Conclusions

MDS patients with DM have an inferior prognosis which may due to higher infection incidence, with TET2 and SF3B1 mutations being more frequent in those cases.
The critical variational setting for stochastic evolution equations
Authors: Agresti Antonio , Veraar Mark
Published: February 2024

In this paper we introduce the critical variational setting for parabolic stochastic evolution equations of quasi- or semi-linear type. Our results improve many of the abstract results in the classical variational setting. In particular, we are able to replace the usual weak or local monotonicity condition by a more flexible local Lipschitz condition. Moreover, the usual growth conditions on the multiplicative noise are weakened considerably. Our new setting provides general conditions under which local and global existence and uniqueness hold. In addition, we prove continuous dependence on the initial data. We show that many classical SPDEs, which could not be covered by the classical variational setting, do fit in the critical variational setting. In particular, this is the case for the Cahn–Hilliard equation, tamed Navier–Stokes equations, and Allen–Cahn equation.
Radiofrequency thermocoagulation under neuromonitoring guidance and general anesthesia for treatment of refractory trigeminal neuralgia
Authors: Abboud Tammam , Malinova Vesna , Rohde Veit , Mielke Dorothee
Published: February 2024

Objective

Radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFT) for refractory trigeminal neuralgia is usually performed in awake patients to localize the involved trigeminal branches. It is often a painful experience. Here, we present RFT under neuromonitoring guidance and general anesthesia.

Method

Stimulation of trigeminal branches at the foramen ovale with the tip of the RFT cannula is performed under short general anesthesia. Antidromic sensory–evoked potentials (aSEP) are recorded from the 3 trigeminal branches. The cannula is repositioned until the desired branch can be stimulated and lesioned.

Conclusion

aSEP enable accurate localization of involved trigeminal branches during RFT and allow performing the procedure under general anesthesia.
An investigation of the effect of drawdown pressure on sand production in an Iranian oilfield using a hybrid numerical modeling approach
Authors: Nemati Nemat , Ahangari Kaveh , Goshtasbi Kamran , Shirinabadi Reza
Published: February 2024

Reservoir pressure reduction due to continuous production from oil and gas wells affects the sand production rate. An increase in drawdown pressure and/or a decrease in reservoir pressure increases the sand production rate. Since the problem of sand production is one of the main issues in the Asmari sandstone formation located in one of the oilfields in the southwest of Iran, therefore, in this research, the variations in the sand production rate due to the changes in the reservoir and drawdown pressures were investigated. So, for the first time, a hybrid numerical model of finite difference method (FDM)—discrete element method (DEM)—finite element method (FEM)—computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was developed. This numerical model investigated the increase in the sand production rate due to variations in reservoir pressure with a constant bottom-hole flowing pressure. Then, by performing an extensive sensitivity analysis on different values of reservoir pressure and drawdown pressure, the changes in the sanding rate, the critical drawdown pressure, and the safe drawdown line were determined. The results showed that, if the production flow rate of the well is constant, increasing the drawdown pressure can change the sand production rate only to a certain extent, and more than that, will be produced at a constant rate. Also, adjusting the drawdown pressure within a safe range does not necessarily keep the sand production rate constant at a permissible value for a long time, while by keeping the bottom hole flowing pressure constant within an acceptable range, the sand production rate can be controlled for a longer period.
Physicochemical cell disruption of Bacillus sp. for recovery of polyhydroxyalkanoates: future bioplastic for sustainability
Authors: Bhat G. Sohani , Deekshitha B. K. , Thivaharan V. , Divyashree M. S.
Published: February 2024

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is known for wide applications, biocompatibility, and degradability; however, it cannot be commercialized due to conventional recovery using solvents. The present study employed mechanical cell-disruption methods, such as Pestle and mortar, sonication, and glass bead vortexing, for solvent-free extraction of PHA from Bacillus sp. Different time intervals were set for grinding (5, 10, 15 min), sonicating (1, 3 and 5 min), and vortexing (2, 5 and 8 g glass beads with 5, 10 and 15 min each) hence studying their effect on cell lysis to release PHA. Tris buffer containing phenylmethyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) (20 mM Tris–HCl, pH 8.0, 1 mM PMSF) was employed as a lysis buffer to study its action over Bacillus cells. Its presence was checked with the above methods in cell lysis. Sonicating cells for 5 min in the presence of lysis buffer achieved a maximum PHA yield of 45%. Cell lysis using lysis buffer yielded 35% PHA when vortexing with 5 g glass beads for 15 min. Grinding cells for 15 min showed a maximum yield of 34% but lacked a lysis buffer. The overall results indicated that the action of lysis buffer and physical extraction methods improved PHA yield by %. Therefore, the study sought to evaluate the feasibility of applying laboratory methods for cell disruption. These methods can showcase possible opportunities in large-scale applications. The polymer yield results were compared with standard sodium hypochlorite extraction. Confirmation of obtained polymers as polyhydroxy butyrate (PHB) was made through FTIR and 1HNMR characterization.
A Comprehensive Review of the Relationship Between Oral Health and Down Syndrome
Authors: Botero Javier Enrique , Rodríguez-Medina Carolina , Amaya-Sanchez Sandra , Salazar Clara Lina , Contreras Adolfo
Published: February 2024

Purpose of Review

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) may be more susceptible to oral disorders as a result of a combination of genetic factors, immunological disturbances, anatomical anomalies, and probable difficulties in maintaining adequate oral hygiene. Within this context, we provide a comprehensive review of the most important relationships between oral health and Down syndrome.

Recent Findings

Recent investigations suggest that a diminished diversity in the oral microbiome could emerge as a critical factor affecting oral health in individuals with DS. Plausible anatomical and metabolic peculiarities inherent to DS, including alterations in salivary characteristics, the presence of obstructive sleep apnea, elevated end glycation product levels, and hypothyroidism, may exert a significant influence on the composition and dynamics of the oral microbiome. A comprehensive analysis of the evidence implies a reduced occurrence of caries in individuals with DS. Furthermore, a recent meta-analysis indicates that gingivitis (OR 1.93; 95% CI 1.09–3.41) and periodontitis (OR 3.93; 95% CI 1.81–8.53) are more frequent in people with DS and strongly associated. Oral function in DS is also affected resulting in speech, breathing and eating problems. These findings underscore the necessity to implement targeted educational and awareness programs, along with specific intervention protocols, for the younger generations of individuals with DS, their families, and caregivers.

Although trisomy 21 itself does not determine a specific cause of oral diseases in DS, common oral health conditions such as gingivitis, periodontitis, and caries remain a matter of concern. The nexus between insufficient plaque control, distinctive oral characteristics, and reluctance to engage in treatment persists as noteworthy determinants. The necessity for oral health professionals to exercise patience and commitment when addressing oral care for individuals with Down syndrome is crucial.
A real-time and accurate convolutional neural network for fabric defect detection
Authors: Li Xueshen , Zhu Yong
Published: February 2024

As a practical and challenging task, deep learning-based methods have achieved effective results for fabric defect detection, however, most of them mainly target detection accuracy at the expense of detection speed. Therefore, we propose a fabric defect detection method called PEI-YOLOv5. First, Particle Depthwise Convolution (PDConv) is proposed to extract spatial features more efficiently while reducing redundant computations and memory access, reducing model computation and improving detection speed. Second, Enhance-BiFPN(EB) is proposed based on the structure of BiFPN to enhance the attention of spatial and channel feature maps and the fusion of information at different scales. Third, we improve the loss function and propose IN loss, which improves the problem that the original IOU loss is weak in detecting small targets while speeding up the convergence of the model. Finally, five more common types of defects were selected for training in the GuangDong TianChi fabric defect dataset, and using our proposed PEI-YOLOv5 with only 0.2 Giga Floating Point Operations (GFLOPs) increase, the mAP improved by 3.61%, reaching 87.89%. To demonstrate the versatility of PEI-YOLOv5, we additionally evaluated this in the NEU surface defect database, with the mAP of 79.37%. The performance of PEI-YOLOv 5 in these two datasets surpasses the most advanced fabric defect detection methods at present. We deployed the model to the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 embedded development board, and the detection speed reached 31 frames per second (Fps), which can fully meet the speed requirements of real-time detection.
Point cloud completion network for 3D shapes with morphologically diverse structures
Authors: Si Chun-Jing , Yin Zhi-Ben , Fan Zhen-Qi , Liu Fu-Yong , Niu Rong , Yao Na , Shen Shi-Quan , Shi Ming-Deng , Xi Ya-Jun
Published: February 2024

Point cloud completion is a challenging task that involves predicting missing parts in incomplete 3D shapes. While existing strategies have shown effectiveness on point cloud datasets with regular shapes and continuous surfaces, they struggled to manage the morphologically diverse structures commonly encountered in real-world scenarios. This research proposed a new point cloud completion method, called SegCompletion, to derive complete 3D geometries from a partial shape with different structures and discontinuous surfaces. To achieve this, morphological segmentation was introduced before point cloud completion by deep hierarchical feature learning on point sets, and thus, the complex morphological structure was segmented into regular shapes and continuous surfaces. Additionally, each instance of a point cloud that belonged to the same type of feature could also be effectively identified using HDBSCAN (Hierarchical Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise). Furthermore, the multiscale generative network achieved sophisticated patching of missing point clouds under the same geometric feature based on feature points. To compensate for the variance in the mean distances between the centers of the patches and their closest neighbors, a simple yet effective uniform loss was utilized. A number of experiments on ShapeNet and Pheno4D datasets have shown the performance of SegCompletion on public datasets. Moreover, the contribution of SegCompletion to our dataset (Cotton3D) was discussed. The experimental results demonstrated that SegCompletion performed better than existing methods reported in the literature.
MXene Hollow Spheres Supported by a C–Co Exoskeleton Grow MWCNTs for Efficient Microwave Absorption
Authors: Wu Ze , Tan Xiuli , Wang Jianqiao , Xing Youqiang , Huang Peng , Li Bingjue , Liu Lei
Published: February 2024

High-performance microwave absorption (MA) materials must be studied immediately since electromagnetic pollution has become a problem that cannot be disregarded. A straightforward composite material, comprising hollow MXene spheres loaded with C–Co frameworks, was prepared to develop multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). A high impedance and suitable morphology were guaranteed by the C–Co exoskeleton, the attenuation ability was provided by the MWCNTs endoskeleton, and the material performance was greatly enhanced by the layered core–shell structure. When the thickness was only 2.04 mm, the effective absorption bandwidth was 5.67 GHz, and the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) was − 70.70 dB. At a thickness of 1.861 mm, the sample calcined at 700 °C had a RLmin of − 63.25 dB. All samples performed well with a reduced filler ratio of 15 wt%. This paper provides a method for making lightweight core–shell composite MA materials with magnetoelectric synergy.
Gratitude in the Time of the Coronavirus: A
Thematic Analysis of the Three Good Things in Young Adults
Authors: Di Blasi Zelda , O’Doherty Megan , van Zyl Llewellyn E.
Published: February 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the daily lives of
college students, resulting in elevated levels of stress, anxiety, and isolation.
Research suggests positive psychology interventions aimed at practicing gratitude,
offer potential benefits in reducing these common mental health problems. However,
there is a limited understanding of how or why these interventions work nor what
function gratitude plays in the lives of young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As such, the purpose of the paper was to explore the sources and targets of
gratitude of college students during the COVID-10 lockdown in Ireland. This study
aimed analyse the content of the ‘Three Good Things’ intervention as
reported by young adults during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Ireland. A total of 109
college students participated in a 7-day online ‘Three Good Things’
intervention, where they were prompted to reflect on and document three positive
experiences each day. Participants were asked to elaborate on how these experiences
made them feel and to highlight their role in facilitating these positive
experiences. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the 2,200 submitted responses.
The findings revealed three overarching themes relating to participants’
expressions of gratitude during the COVID-19 lockdown: (1) cultivating positive
social interactions, (2) prioritizing meaningful self-care, and (3) fostering hope
for a more normal life post-pandemic. By delving into the lived experiences of
college students, this study sheds light on the elements central to their
expressions of gratitude during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings underscore the
importance of social connections, self-care practices, and hopeful prospects as
sources of gratitude among students.
How to Define ‘Moral Realism’
Authors: Swinburne Richard
Published: February 2024

The paper considers three possible definitions of what it is for an action to be ‘morally’ good: (1) that it is overall important to do; (2) that it is overall important to do in virtue of a universalisable principle; and (3) that it is overall important to do in virtue of a universalisable principle, belonging to a system of such principles, which includes almost all of certain moral fixed points. I defend (3) and show how we can reach such a system, starting from the basic beliefs with which we find ourselves, through the process of reflective equilibrium. Moral realism is then the doctrine that there is such a system of true moral beliefs. My optimistic view is that all human communities could eventually reach the same such system. But, if they cannot, then there will be two (or more) different such systems, and so two (or more) different senses of ‘moral realism’.
TIMES OF CHANGE
Authors: Boumans Marcel , Forget Evelyn L
Published: February 2024

A personal account of their experiences by Marcel Boumans and Evelyn Forget as JHET editors of issues 31 (1) to 35 (4).
Low-cost solutions for mobile passive radar based on multichannel DPCA and NULA configurations
Authors: Quirini Andrea , Blasone Giovanni Paolo , Colone Fabiola , Lombardo Pierfrancesco
Published: February 2024

In this paper, we investigate low-cost solutions for enabling ground moving target indication applications with multichannel mobile passive radar systems. As known, in order to be competitive with their active counterparts, passive radars are typically characterized by severe constraints in terms of cost, complexity, and compactness, especially when installed on moving platforms. On the one hand, carrying out the computations onboard requires processing techniques as simple as possible. On the other hand, the need for lightweight and compact systems that can be installed on a moving platform requires using a limited number of receiving channels. To meet these requirements, we propose a series of nonadaptive detectors based on multichannel displaced phase center antennas, which allow suppressing the Doppler-spread clutter component without requiring computationally intensive space–time adaptive processing techniques. Moreover, we explore the use of nonuniformly spaced array configurations on receive, which represent a good alternative to conventional uniform linear arrays when a limited number of receiving channels can be implemented. The effectiveness of the proposed processing techniques and antenna design solutions is demonstrated via numerical analysis for the case of a DVB-T-based mobile passive radar system.
Viscosity of Cohesive Sediment‐Laden Flows: Experimental and Empirical Methods
Authors: Shen Xiaoteng , Lin Mingze , Pan Fang , P.‐Y. Maa Jerome , Ha Ho Kyung , Bi Qilong , Shao Yuyang , Zhang Jinfeng , Wu Zi
Published: February 2024

The rheological behaviors of suspended sediments are crucial for investigating near‐bed particle dynamics; for these investigations, the viscosity of a highly concentrated suspension is primarily focused on quantifying its resistance to deformation. By using a rotational viscometer, the relationships between relative viscosities (ηr) for different sediment types and their volumetric concentrations (ϕ) are studied for low‐to high‐concentration slurries. The results show that the conventional Einstein formula for diluted sand severely underestimates ηr. In the case of pure silts and non‐cohesive quartz, ηr demonstrates a gradual linear increase, reaching values around order of 101 as ϕ increases within the range of 0.2–0.4. Meanwhile, the ηr values of clays exhibit an exponential rise before leveling off at a plateau. Specifically, the ηr values of kaolinite, montmorillonite, and bentonite rise with ϕ lower than 0.3 and reach to plateau of values of thousands, which rise more rapidly than chlorite and illite. The modified viscosity model based on Costa (2005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL024303) agrees reasonably well with observations and produces similar ηr ∼ ϕ relationships. In addition, the model is coupled with a hydrodynamic model to simulate the deposition of a thickened tailings slurry and a one‐dimensional dam break. The proposed model performs well in predicting the quasi‐equilibrium profiles of the non‐Newtonian fluid, which are validated by available analytical solutions. The results suggest that future models should be focused on the effects of flow properties, especially for non‐Newtonian fluids, and on large‐scale modeling applications, which can increase the accuracy of predictions of the transport characteristics of sediments and pollutants in rivers, lakes, and coastal areas.
State-transition modeling of blood transcriptome predicts disease evolution and treatment response in chronic myeloid leukemia
Authors: Frankhouser David E. , Rockne Russell C. , Uechi Lisa , Zhao Dandan , Branciamore Sergio , O’Meally Denis , Irizarry Jihyun , Ghoda Lucy , Ali Haris , Trent Jeffery M. , Forman Stephen , Fu Yu-Hsuan , Kuo Ya-Huei , Zhang Bin , Marcucci Guido
Published: February 2024

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is initiated and maintained by BCR::ABL which is clinically targeted using tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). TKIs can induce long-term remission but are also not curative. Thus, CML is an ideal system to test our hypothesis that transcriptome-based state-transition models accurately predict cancer evolution and treatment response. We collected time-sequential blood samples from tetracycline-off (Tet-Off) BCR::ABL-inducible transgenic mice and wild-type controls. From the transcriptome, we constructed a CML state-space and a three-well leukemogenic potential landscape. The potential’s stable critical points defined observable disease states. Early states were characterized by anti-CML genes opposing leukemia; late states were characterized by pro-CML genes. Genes with expression patterns shaped similarly to the potential landscape were identified as drivers of disease transition. Re-introduction of tetracycline to silence the BCR::ABL gene returned diseased mice transcriptomes to a near healthy state, without reaching it, suggesting parts of the transition are irreversible. TKI only reverted the transcriptome to an intermediate disease state, without approaching a state of health; disease relapse occurred soon after treatment. Using only the earliest time-point as initial conditions, our state-transition models accurately predicted both disease progression and treatment response, supporting this as a potentially valuable approach to time clinical intervention, before phenotypic changes become detectable.
Effects of sex and gender on the etiologies and presentation of select internalizing psychopathologies
Authors: Singh Kritika , Wendt Frank R.
Published: February 2024

The internalizing spectrum encompasses a subset of psychopathologies characterized by emotional liability, anhedonia, anxiousness, distress, and fear, and includes, among others, diagnoses of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this review, we describe the vast body of work highlighting a role for sex and gender in the environment, symptom onset, genetic liability, and disorder progression and comorbidities of MDD, GAD, and PTSD. We also point the reader to different language used in diverse fields to describe sexual and gender minorities that may complicate the interpretation of emerging literature from the social sciences, psychiatric and psychological sciences, and genetics. Finally, we identify several gaps in knowledge that we hope serve as launch-points for expanding the scope of psychiatric studies beyond binarized sex-stratification. Despite being under-represented in genomics studies, placing emphasis on inclusion of sexual and gender diverse participants in these works will hopefully improve our understanding of disorder etiology using genetics as one tool to inform how biology (e.g., hormone concentration) and environmental variables (e.g., exposure to traumatic events) contribute to differences in symptom onset, pattern, and long-term trajectory.
Trauma-related intrusive memories and anterior hippocampus structural covariance: an ecological momentary assessment study in posttraumatic stress disorder
Authors: Devignes Quentin , Ren Boyu , Clancy Kevin J. , Howell Kristin , Pollmann Yara , Martinez-Sanchez Lucia , Beard Courtney , Kumar Poornima , Rosso Isabelle M.
Published: February 2024

Trauma-related intrusive memories (TR-IMs) are hallmark symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but their neural correlates remain partly unknown. Given its role in autobiographical memory, the hippocampus may play a critical role in TR-IM neurophysiology. The anterior and posterior hippocampi are known to have partially distinct functions, including during retrieval of autobiographical memories. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between TR-IM frequency and the anterior and posterior hippocampi morphology in PTSD. Ninety-three trauma-exposed adults completed daily ecological momentary assessments for fourteen days to capture their TR-IM frequency. Participants then underwent anatomical magnetic resonance imaging to obtain measures of anterior and posterior hippocampal volumes. Partial least squares analysis was applied to identify a structural covariance network that differentiated the anterior and posterior hippocampi. Poisson regression models examined the relationship of TR-IM frequency with anterior and posterior hippocampal volumes and the resulting structural covariance network. Results revealed no significant relationship of TR-IM frequency with hippocampal volumes. However, TR-IM frequency was significantly negatively correlated with the expression of a structural covariance pattern specifically associated with the anterior hippocampus volume. This association remained significant after accounting for the severity of PTSD symptoms other than intrusion symptoms. The network included the bilateral inferior temporal gyri, superior frontal gyri, precuneus, and fusiform gyri. These novel findings indicate that higher TR-IM frequency in individuals with PTSD is associated with lower structural covariance between the anterior hippocampus and other brain regions involved in autobiographical memory, shedding light on the neural correlates underlying this core symptom of PTSD.
Decoding the mechanisms of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell-mediated killing of tumors: insights from granzyme and Fas inhibition
Authors: Montalvo Melisa J. , Bandey Irfan N. , Rezvan Ali , Wu Kwan-Ling , Saeedi Arash , Kulkarni Rohan , Li Yongshuai , An Xingyue , Sefat K M Samiur Rahman , Varadarajan Navin
Published: February 2024

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell show promise in cancer treatments, but their mechanism of action is not well understood. Decoding the mechanisms used by individual T cells can help improve the efficacy of T cells while also identifying mechanisms of T cell failure leading to tumor escape. Here, we used a suite of assays including dynamic single-cell imaging of cell-cell interactions, dynamic imaging of fluorescent reporters to directly track cytotoxin activity in tumor cells, and scRNA-seq on patient infusion products to investigate the cytotoxic mechanisms used by individual CAR T cells in killing tumor cells. We show that surprisingly, overexpression of the Granzyme B (GZMB) inhibitor, protease inhibitor-9 (PI9), does not alter the cytotoxicity mediated by CD19-specific CAR T cells against either the leukemic cell line, NALM6; or the ovarian cancer cell line, SkOV3-CD19. We designed and validated reporters to directly assay T cell delivered GZMB activity in tumor cells and confirmed that while PI9 overexpression inhibits GZMB activity at the molecular level, this is not sufficient to impact the kinetics or magnitude of killing mediated by the CAR T cells. Altering cytotoxicity mediated by CAR T cells required combined inhibition of multiple pathways that are tumor cell specific: (a) B-cell lines like NALM6, Raji and Daudi were sensitive to combined GZMB and granzyme A (GZMA) inhibition; whereas (b) solid tumor targets like SkOV3-CD19 and A375-CD19 (melanoma) were sensitive to combined GZMB and Fas ligand inhibition. We realized the translational relevance of these findings by examining the scRNA-seq profiles of Tisa-cel and Axi-cel infusion products and show a significant correlation between GZMB and GZMA expression at the single-cell level in a T cell subset-dependent manner. Our findings highlight the importance of the redundancy in killing mechanisms of CAR T cells and how this redundancy is important for efficacious T cells.
Cortical depth profiles in primary visual cortex for illusory and imaginary experiences
Authors: Bergmann Johanna , Petro Lucy S. , Abbatecola Clement , Li Min S. , Morgan A. Tyler , Muckli Lars
Published: February 2024

Visual illusions and mental imagery are non-physical sensory experiences that involve cortical feedback processing in the primary visual cortex. Using laminar functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in two studies, we investigate if information about these internal experiences is visible in the activation patterns of different layers of primary visual cortex (V1). We find that imagery content is decodable mainly from deep layers of V1, whereas seemingly ‘real’ illusory content is decodable mainly from superficial layers. Furthermore, illusory content shares information with perceptual content, whilst imagery content does not generalise to illusory or perceptual information. Together, our results suggest that illusions and imagery, which differ immensely in their subjective experiences, also involve partially distinct early visual microcircuits. However, overlapping microcircuit recruitment might emerge based on the nuanced nature of subjective conscious experience.
Nanoparticle enrichment mass-spectrometry proteomics identifies protein-altering variants for precise pQTL mapping
Authors: Suhre Karsten , Venkataraman Guhan Ram , Guturu Harendra , Halama Anna , Stephan Nisha , Thareja Gaurav , Sarwath Hina , Motamedchaboki Khatereh , Donovan Margaret K. R. , Siddiqui Asim , Batzoglou Serafim , Schmidt Frank
Published: February 2024

Proteogenomics studies generate hypotheses on protein function and provide genetic evidence for drug target prioritization. Most previous work has been conducted using affinity-based proteomics approaches. These technologies face challenges, such as uncertainty regarding target identity, non-specific binding, and handling of variants that affect epitope affinity binding. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics can overcome some of these challenges. Here we report a pQTL study using the Proteograph™ Product Suite workflow (Seer, Inc.) where we quantify over 18,000 unique peptides from nearly 3000 proteins in more than 320 blood samples from a multi-ethnic cohort in a bottom-up, peptide-centric, mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach. We identify 184 protein-altering variants in 137 genes that are significantly associated with their corresponding variant peptides, confirming target specificity of co-associated affinity binders, identifying putatively causal cis-encoded proteins and providing experimental evidence for their presence in blood, including proteins that may be inaccessible to affinity-based proteomics.
Asymmetric nucleosome PARylation at DNA breaks mediates directional nucleosome sliding by ALC1
Authors: Bacic Luka , Gaullier Guillaume , Mohapatra Jugal , Mao Guanzhong , Brackmann Klaus , Panfilov Mikhail , Liszczak Glen , Sabantsev Anton , Deindl Sebastian
Published: February 2024

The chromatin remodeler ALC1 is activated by DNA damage-induced poly(ADP-ribose) deposited by PARP1/PARP2 and their co-factor HPF1. ALC1 has emerged as a cancer drug target, but how it is recruited to ADP-ribosylated nucleosomes to affect their positioning near DNA breaks is unknown. Here we find that PARP1/HPF1 preferentially initiates ADP-ribosylation on the histone H2B tail closest to the DNA break. To dissect the consequences of such asymmetry, we generate nucleosomes with a defined ADP-ribosylated H2B tail on one side only. The cryo-electron microscopy structure of ALC1 bound to such an asymmetric nucleosome indicates preferential engagement on one side. Using single-molecule FRET, we demonstrate that this asymmetric recruitment gives rise to directed sliding away from the DNA linker closest to the ADP-ribosylation site. Our data suggest a mechanism by which ALC1 slides nucleosomes away from a DNA break to render it more accessible to repair factors.
Rescue of mitochondrial import failure by intercellular organellar transfer
Authors: Needs Hope I. , Glover Emily , Pereira Gonçalo C. , Witt Alina , Hübner Wolfgang , Dodding Mark P. , Henley Jeremy M. , Collinson Ian
Published: February 2024

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of eukaryotic cells, composed mostly of nuclear-encoded proteins imported from the cytosol. Thus, problems with the import machinery will disrupt their regenerative capacity and the cell’s energy supplies – particularly troublesome for energy-demanding cells of nervous tissue and muscle. Unsurprisingly then, import breakdown is implicated in disease. Here, we explore the consequences of import failure in mammalian cells; wherein, blocking the import machinery impacts mitochondrial ultra-structure and dynamics, but, surprisingly, does not affect import. Our data are consistent with a response involving intercellular mitochondrial transport via tunnelling nanotubes to import healthy mitochondria and jettison those with blocked import sites. These observations support the existence of a widespread mechanism for the rescue of mitochondrial dysfunction.
An intranasal live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine limits virus transmission
Authors: Adler Julia M. , Martin Vidal Ricardo , Langner Christine , Vladimirova Daria , Abdelgawad Azza , Kunecova Daniela , Lin Xiaoyuan , Nouailles Geraldine , Voss Anne , Kunder Sandra , Gruber Achim D. , Wu Haibo , Osterrieder Nikolaus , Kunec Dusan , Trimpert Jakob
Published: February 2024

The development of effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has been essential to control COVID-19, but significant challenges remain. One problem is intramuscular administration, which does not induce robust mucosal immune responses in the upper airways—the primary site of infection and virus shedding. Here we compare the efficacy of a mucosal, replication-competent yet fully attenuated virus vaccine, sCPD9-ΔFCS, and the monovalent mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 in preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1 and Omicron BA.5 in two scenarios. Firstly, we assessed the protective efficacy of the vaccines by exposing vaccinated male Syrian hamsters to infected counterparts. Secondly, we evaluated transmission of the challenge virus from vaccinated and subsequently challenged male hamsters to naïve contacts. Our findings demonstrate that the live-attenuated vaccine (LAV) sCPD9-ΔFCS significantly outperformed the mRNA vaccine in preventing virus transmission in both scenarios. Our results provide evidence for the advantages of locally administered LAVs over intramuscularly administered mRNA vaccines in preventing infection and reducing virus transmission.
Dysfunction of duplicated pair rice histone acetyltransferases causes segregation distortion and an interspecific reproductive barrier
Authors: Liao Ben , Xiang You-Huang , Li Yan , Yang Kai-Yang , Shan Jun-Xiang , Ye Wang-Wei , Dong Nai-Qian , Kan Yi , Yang Yi-Bing , Zhao Huai-Yu , Yu Hong-Xiao , Lu Zi-Qi , Zhao Yan , Zhao Qiang , Guo Dongling , Guo Shuang-Qin , Lei Jie-Jie , Mu Xiao-Rui , Cao Ying-Jie , Han Bin , Lin Hong-Xuan
Published: February 2024

Postzygotic reproductive isolation, which results in the irreversible divergence of species, is commonly accompanied by hybrid sterility, necrosis/weakness, or lethality in the F1 or other offspring generations. Here we show that the loss of function of HWS1 and HWS2, a couple of duplicated paralogs, together confer complete interspecific incompatibility between Asian and African rice. Both of these non-Mendelian determinants encode the putative Esa1-associated factor 6 (EAF6) protein, which functions as a characteristic subunit of the histone H4 acetyltransferase complex regulating transcriptional activation via genome-wide histone modification. The proliferating tapetum and inappropriate polar nuclei arrangement cause defective pollen and seeds in F2 hybrid offspring due to the recombinant HWS1/2-mediated misregulation of vitamin (biotin and thiamine) metabolism and lipid synthesis. Evolutionary analysis of HWS1/2 suggests that this gene pair has undergone incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and multiple gene duplication events during speciation. Our findings have not only uncovered a pair of speciation genes that control hybrid breakdown but also illustrate a passive mechanism that could be scaled up and used in the guidance and optimization of hybrid breeding applications for distant hybridization.
Mutation-specific CAR T cells as precision therapy for IGLV3-21R110 expressing high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Märkl Florian , Schultheiß Christoph , Ali Murtaza , Chen Shih-Shih , Zintchenko Marina , Egli Lukas , Mietz Juliane , Chijioke Obinna , Paschold Lisa , Spajic Sebastijan , Holtermann Anne , Dörr Janina , Stock Sophia , Zingg Andreas , Läubli Heinz , Piseddu Ignazio , Anz David , Minden Marcus Dühren-von , Zhang Tianjiao , Nerreter Thomas , Hudecek Michael , Minguet Susana , Chiorazzi Nicholas , Kobold Sebastian , Binder Mascha
Published: February 2024

The concept of precision cell therapy targeting tumor-specific mutations is appealing but requires surface-exposed neoepitopes, which is a rarity in cancer. B cell receptors (BCR) of mature lymphoid malignancies are exceptional in that they harbor tumor-specific-stereotyped sequences in the form of point mutations that drive self-engagement of the BCR and autologous signaling. Here, we use a BCR light chain neoepitope defined by a characteristic point mutation (IGLV3-21R110) for selective targeting of a poor-risk subset of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. We develop murine and humanized CAR constructs expressed in T cells from healthy donors and CLL patients that eradicate IGLV3-21R110 expressing cell lines and primary CLL cells, but neither cells expressing the non-pathogenic IGLV3-21G110 light chain nor polyclonal healthy B cells. In vivo experiments confirm epitope-selective cytolysis in xenograft models in female mice using engrafted IGLV3-21R110 expressing cell lines or primary CLL cells. We further demonstrate in two humanized mouse models lack of cytotoxicity towards human B cells. These data provide the basis for advanced approaches of resistance-preventive and biomarker-guided cellular targeting of functionally relevant lymphoma driver mutations sparing normal B cells.