bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Valorization of Oued Sebou Natural Sediments (Fez-Morocco Area) as Adsorbent of Methylene Blue Dye: Kinetic and Thermodynamic Study
Authors: Dra Abdelaziz , Tanji Karim , Arrahli Abdellah , Iboustaten El Mustafa , El Gaidoumi Abdelali , Kherchafi Achaimae , Benabdallah Aziz Chaouni , Kherbeche Abdelhak
Published: May 2020

The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of methylene blue removal using Oued Sebou sediments as an adsorbent. The presence of carboxyl functional group demonstrated by infrared (IR) analysis of the sediment favorized the methylene blue (MB) adsorption. Sediment collected from Oued Sebou could remove the most MB molecules at pH 8. The Freundlich model described suitably the adsorption process. The experimental measured enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS°) are 118.1 kJ mol−1 and 395.2 J mol−1 K−1, respectively, indicating that the reaction was endothermic with an increase of randomness at the solid/liquid interface during the adsorption. The kinetics of MB adsorption by sediment were adequately fitted to the pseudo-second-order model. Experimental results showed that the adsorption capacity of the methylene blue dye depends on the solution pH, the initial dye concentration, the adsorbent mass, the sediment particle diameter, and the temperature of the reaction medium. The removal efficiency of the MB molecules reaches 100% after 60 minutes under the optimum conditions.
A Discrete-Space Train Movement Model for a High-Speed Train under Temporary Speed Restriction
Authors: Long Sihui , Meng Lingyun , Wang Yihui , Miao Jianrui , Li Xuan
Published: May 2020

This paper constructs a discrete-space train movement model to evaluate the impact of a temporary speed restriction (TSR) for a high-speed railway train. The established model can demonstrate train movement under different TSR conditions. The proposed model can reveal whether a train is affected by the block section influenced by the TSR within a time duration. Moreover, the model can output detailed train trajectories and the minimal train running time between two adjacent stations to analyse the impact of the TSR. Based on the experimental results, we carry out a comprehensive analysis of the impact of several factors on the running time and train trajectories, including the length of the affected area (i.e., number of affected block sections), the location of the TSR, the limited speed value, and the stopping patterns of the train at two adjacent stations. The experiments show that the proposed discrete-space train movement model can be used to analyse the impact of the TSR on a high-speed railway train under various considered TSR conditions.
Corticosterone Inhibits LPS-Induced NLRP3 Inflammasome Priming in Macrophages by Suppressing Xanthine Oxidase
Authors: Wu Ling , Zhou Chengfu , Wu Jianfeng , Chen Shikun , Tian Zedan , Du Quan
Published: May 2020

Following traumatic insult and associated pathogen infection, innate immunity is activated during the perioperative period, especially the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages. The neuroendocrine response is also rapidly activated to regulate excessive inflammation; however, the molecular mechanisms are still not completely clear. This study is aimed at investigating the modulation of NLRP3 inflammasome priming by endogenous glucocorticoids (corticosterone, CORT) and its relationship with xanthine oxidase (XO). RAW264.7 murine macrophages were stimulated with LPS (1 μg/ml). LPS-induced NLRP3 expression was pretreated by CORT at different concentrations (0-900 ng/ml). Then, the effect of higher concentrations of CORT (700 ng/ml) on LPS-induced NLRP3 expression and the effect of allopurinol (250 μg/ml) were observed. Finally, the effects of a CORT antagonist (RU486) on XO expression and activity and NLRP3 expression in macrophages were further analyzed. Supernatant levels IL-1β and IL-18 were measured. The results showed that LPS-induced NLRP3 expression was upregulated further by pretreatment with CORT (300 ng/ml) (P<0.05); however, higher concentrations of CORT (greater than 700 ng/ml) downregulated NLRP3 expression (P<0.01) and the expression and activity of XO (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). Allopurinol significantly inhibited NLRP3 expression. However, XO expression and activity, NLRP3 expression, and supernatant IL-1β and IL-18 levels were significantly increased in the RU486 group compared with the CORT group. In conclusion, our results suggested that CORT inhibits LPS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome priming in macrophages. The underlying mechanism is related to the modulation of XO expression and activity, which may be involved in priming and activating the NLRP3 inflammasome.
Autophagy Induced by ROS Aggravates Testis Oxidative Damage in Diabetes via Breaking the Feedforward Loop Linking p62 and Nrf2
Authors: Tian Yuanyuan , Song Wei , Xu Dongsheng , Chen Xiao , Li Xiaojiao , Zhao Yuguang
Published: May 2020

Testicular dysfunction due to hyperglycemia is the main cause of infertility in diabetic men. Over the years, in order to solve this growing problem, a lot of research has been done and a variety of treatments have been created, but so far, there is no safe, effective, and practical method to prevent male infertility caused by diabetes. In this review, we emphasize the male infertility mechanism caused by diabetes from the effects of oxidative stress and autophagy on the function of testes via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, and we highlight that oxidative stress-induced autophagy breaks the feedforward loop linking Nrf2 and p62 and promotes oxidative damage in diabetic testes.
Design and Experimental Research on Sealing Structure for a Retrievable Packer
Authors: Liu Yang , Lian Zhanghua , Chen Junwen , Kuang Shengping , Mou Yisheng , Wang Yuhai
Published: May 2020

In order to reduce the failure accidents of conventional packers, a kind of sealing structure of retrievable packers is designed, which can provide reference for optimizing the sealing performance and pressure capacity of packers. And theoretical calculation and experimental research on their sealing performance and pressure capacity are carried out through the finite element analysis on the contact with large deformation based on Abaqus and experimental study. The results show that the upper packer is subjected to greater stress and mainly plays a sealing role in the sealing process. In order to improve the sealing performance of the packer, the height of the upper and lower packer should be preferentially selected about 60 mm, the height of the middle rubber cylinders should be about 50 mm, and the thickness of the packer should be about 21 mm. The newly designed rubber cylinders can meet 150°C. The newly designed rubber cylinders can meet the sealing function and pressure bearing function under the condition of 10,000 Psi and 150°C. The newly designed rubber cylinder can satisfy the function of sealing and pressure-bearing under 140°C and 10,000 Psi. The whole experiment shows that the capacity of bearing pressure and sealing is stable, which can better meet the requirements of field use.
Cloud-Based Breast Cancer Prediction Empowered with Soft Computing Approaches
Authors: Khan Farrukh , Khan Muhammad Adnan , Abbas Sagheer , Athar Atifa , Siddiqui Shahan Yamin , Khan Abdul Hannan , Saeed Muhammad Anwaar , Hussain Muhammad
Published: May 2020

The developing countries are still starving for the betterment of health sector. The disease commonly found among the women is breast cancer, and past researches have proven results that if the cancer is detected at a very early stage, the chances to overcome the disease are higher than the disease treated or detected at a later stage. This article proposed cloud-based intelligent BCP-T1F-SVM with 2 variations/models like BCP-T1F and BCP-SVM. The proposed BCP-T1F-SVM system has employed two main soft computing algorithms. The proposed BCP-T1F-SVM expert system specifically defines the stage and the type of cancer a person is suffering from. Expert system will elaborate the grievous stages of the cancer, to which extent a patient has suffered. The proposed BCP-SVM gives the higher precision of the proposed breast cancer detection model. In the limelight of breast cancer, the proposed BCP-T1F-SVM expert system gives out the higher precision rate. The proposed BCP-T1F expert system is being employed in the diagnosis of breast cancer at an initial stage. Taking different stages of cancer into account, breast cancer is being dealt by BCP-T1F expert system. The calculations and the evaluation done in this research have revealed that BCP-SVM is better than BCP-T1F. The BCP-T1F concludes out the 96.56 percentage accuracy, whereas the BCP-SVM gives accuracy of 97.06 percentage. The above unleashed research is wrapped up with the conclusion that BCP-SVM is better than the BCP-T1F. The opinions have been recommended by the medical expertise of Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore, Pakistan, and Cavan General Hospital, Lisdaran, Cavan, Ireland.
Iterative Method for Predicting Uneven Bridge Approach Settlement (BAS) Caused by Vehicle Loads
Authors: Sun Hong-lei , Chen An-hua , Shi Li , Cai Yuan-qiang
Published: May 2020

With the development of the transportation, the bridge approach settlement (BAS) received great attention which can result in structure deterioration of the bridge and road, costly maintenance, and hazardous driving conditions. Therefore, accurate prediction of BAS is important. In this paper, a methodology using the iterative procedure is presented to predict the long-term BAS. In this method, the dynamic deviator stress is obtained by a 3D finite element road model and the settlement is calculated by an empirical model with the dynamic deviator stress. Then, the settlement is used as the excitation of the vehicle model for updating the load in the 3D road model. After several iterative calculations, the long-term BAS can be obtained. The comparison between the iterative method and the empirical method is presented. Also the parametric study of the empirical equation is performed. A simplified equation considering the iterative procedure is proposed for engineering practice. Computed results showed that the permanent settlement predicted by the iterative method is larger than that calculated by the empirical method. Also, the parameters of the empirical equation have great effects on the settlement prediction. The applicability of the new empirical equation is also proved.
Metabolic Adaptations to MEK and CDK4/6 Cotargeting in Uveal Melanoma
Authors: Teh Jessica L.F. , Purwin Timothy J. , Han Anna , Chua Vivian , Patel Prem , Baqai Usman , Liao Connie , Bechtel Nelisa , Sato Takami , Davies Michael A. , Aguirre-Ghiso Julio , Aplin Andrew E.
Published: May 2020

Frequent GNAQ and GNA11 mutations in uveal melanoma hyperactivate the MEK–ERK signaling pathway, leading to aberrant regulation of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) and cell-cycle progression. MEK inhibitors (MEKi) alone show poor efficacy in uveal melanoma, raising the question of whether downstream targets can be vertically inhibited to provide long-term benefit. CDK4/6 selective inhibitors are FDA-approved in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancer in combination with ER antagonists/aromatase inhibitors. We determined the effects of MEKi plus CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) in uveal melanoma. In vitro, palbociclib, a CDK4/6i, enhanced the effects of MEKi via downregulation of cell-cycle proteins. In contrast, in vivo CDK4/6 inhibition alone led to cytostasis and was as effective as MEKi plus CDK4/6i treatment at delaying tumor growth. RNA sequencing revealed upregulation of the oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) pathway in both MEKi-resistant tumors and CDK4/6i-tolerant tumors. Furthermore, oxygen consumption rate was increased following MEKi + CDK4/6i treatment. IACS-010759, an OxPhos inhibitor, decreased uveal melanoma cell survival in combination with MEKi + CDK4/6i. These data highlight adaptive upregulation of OxPhos in response to MEKi + CDK4/6i treatment in uveal melanoma and suggest that suppression of this metabolic state may improve the efficacy of MEKi plus CDK4/6i combinations.
The Indenoisoquinoline LMP517: A Novel Antitumor Agent Targeting both TOP1 and TOP2
Authors: Marzi Laetitia , Sun Yilun , Huang Shar-yin N. , James Amy , Difilippantonio Simone , Pommier Yves
Published: May 2020

The camptothecin derivatives topoisomerase I (TOP1) inhibitors, irinotecan and topotecan, are FDA approved for the treatment of colorectal, ovarian, lung and breast cancers. Because of the chemical instability of camptothecins, short plasma half-life, drug efflux by the multidrug-resistance ABC transporters, and the severe diarrhea produced by irinotecan, indenoisoquinoline TOP1 inhibitors (LMP400, LMP776, and LMP744), which overcome these limitations, have been developed and are in clinical development. Further modifications of the indenoisoquinolines led to the fluoroindenoisoquinolines, one of which, LMP517, is the focus of this study. LMP517 showed better antitumor activity than its parent compound LMP744 against H82 (small cell lung cancer) xenografts. Genetic analyses in DT40 cells showed a dual TOP1 and TOP2 signature with selectivity of LMP517 for DNA repair-deficient tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase 2 (TDP2)- and Ku70-knockout cells. RADAR assays revealed that LMP517, and to a lesser extent LMP744, induce TOP2 cleavage complexes (TOP2cc) in addition to TOP1ccs. Histone γH2AX detection showed that, unlike classical TOP1 inhibitors, LMP517 targets cells independently of their position in the cell cycle. Our study establishes LMP517 as a dual TOP1 and TOP2 inhibitor with therapeutic potential.
Concomitant Use of Gabapentinoids with Opioids Is Associated with Increased Mortality and Morbidity among Dialysis Patients
Authors: Waddy Salina P. , Becerra Adan Z. , Ward Julia B. , Chan Kevin E. , Fwu Chyng-Wen , Eggers Paul W. , Abbott Kevin C. , Kimmel Paul L.
Published: May 2020

Background: The opioid epidemic is a public health emergency and appropriate medication prescription for pain remains challenging. Physicians have increasingly prescribed gabapentinoids for pain despite limited evidence supporting their use. We determined the prevalence of concomitant gabapentinoid and opioid prescriptions and evaluated their associations with outcomes among dialysis patients. Methods: We used the United States Renal Data System to identify patients treated with dialysis with Part A, B, and D coverage for all of 2010. Patients were grouped into 4 categories of drugs exposure status in 2010: (1) no prescriptions of either an opioid or gabapentinoid, (2) ≥1 prescription of an opioid and no prescriptions of gabapentinoids, (3) no prescriptions of an opioid and ≥1 prescription of gabapenbtinoids, (4) ≥1 prescription of both an opioid and gabapentinoid. Outcomes included 2-year all-cause death, dialysis discontinuation, and hospitalizations assessed in 2011 and 2012. Results: The study population included 153,758 dialysis patients. Concomitant prescription of an opioid and gabapentin (15%) was more common than concomitant prescription of an opioid and pregabalin (4%). In adjusted analyses, concomitant prescription of an opioid and gabapentin compared to no prescription of either was associated with increased risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] 1.16, 95% CI 1.12–1.19), dialysis discontinuation (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03–1.27), and hospitalization (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.31–1.36). Concomitant prescription of an opioid and pregabalin compared to no prescription of either was associated with increased mortality (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.16–1.28) and hospitalization (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.33–1.41), but not dialysis discontinuation (HR 1.13, 95% CI 0.95–1.35). Prescription of opioids and gabepentinoids compared to only being prescribed opioids was associated with higher risk of hospitalizations, but not mortality, or dialysis discontinuation. Conclusions: Concomitant prescription of opioids and gabapentinoids among US dialysis patients is common, and both drugs have independent effects on outcomes. Future research should prospectively investigate the potential harms of such drugs and identify safer alternatives for treatment of pain in end-stage renal disease patients.
Joint Statement on the Role of Respiratory Rehabilitation in the COVID-19 Crisis: The Italian Position Paper
Authors: Vitacca Michele , Carone Mauro , Clini Enrico Maria , Paneroni Mara , Lazzeri Marta , Lanza Andrea , Privitera Emilia , Pasqua Franco , Gigliotti Francesco , Castellana Giorgio , Banfi Paolo , Guffanti Enrico , Santus Pierachille , Ambrosino Nicolino ,   on behalf of the ITS - AIPO, the ARIR and the SIP/IRS
Published: May 2020

Due to the exponential growth of the number of subjects affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the entire Italian health care system had to respond promptly and in a very short time with the need of semi-intensive and intensive care units. Moreover, trained dedicated COVID-19 teams consisting of physicians were coming from different specialties (intensivists or pneumologists and infectiologists), while respiratory therapists and nurses have been recruited to work on and on without rest. However, due to still limited and evolving knowledge of COVID-19, there are few recommendations concerning the need in respiratory rehabilitation and physiotherapy interventions. The presentation of this paper is the result of a consensus promoted by the Italian societies of respiratory health care professionals who contacted pulmonologists directly involved in the treatment and rehabilitation of COVID-19. The aim was to formulate the more proper and common suggestions to be applied in different hospital settings in offering rehabilitative programs and physiotherapy workforce planning for COVID-19 patients. Two main areas of intervention were identified: organization and treatment, which are described in this paper to face the emergency.
Sentiment analysis of informal Malay tweets with deep learning
Authors: Ying Ong Jun , Zabidi Muhammad Mun'im Ahmad , Ramli Norhafizah , Sheikh Usman Ullah
Published: May 2020

Twitter is an online microblogging and social-networking platform which allows users to write short messages called tweets. It has over 330 million registered users generating nearly 250 million tweets per day. As Malay is the national language in Malaysia, there is a significant number of users tweeting in Malay. Tweets have a maximum length of 140 characters which forces users to stay focused on the message they wish to disseminate. This characteristic makes tweets an interesting subject for sentiment analysis. Sentiment analysis is a natural language processing (NLP) task of classifying whether a tweet has a positive or negative sentiment. Tweets in Malay are chosen in this study as limited research has been done on this language. In this work, sentiment analysis applied to Malay tweets using the deep learning model. We achieved 77.59% accuracy which exceeds similar work done on Bahasa Indonesia.
Training configuration analysis of a convolutional neural network object tracker for night surveillance application
Authors: Kadim Zulaikha , Asyraf Zulkifley Mohd , Kamari Nor Azwan Mohamed
Published: May 2020

Automated surveillance during the night is important as it is the period when crimes usually happened. By providing continuous monitoring, coupled with a real-time alert system, appropriate action can be taken immediately if a crime is detected. However, low lighting conditions during the night can degrade the quality of surveillance videos, where the captured images will have low contrast and less discriminative features. Consequently, these factors contribute to the problem of bad appearance representation of the object of interest in the tracking algorithm. Thus, a convolutional neural network-based object tracker for night surveillance is proposed by exploiting the deep feature strength in representing object features spatially and semantically. The proposed convolutional network consists of six layers that consist of three convolutional neural networks (CNN) and three fully connected (FC) layers. The network will be trained by using a binary classifier approach of objects and its background classes, which is updated on a fixed interval so that it fully encapsulates the changes in object appearance as it moves in the scene.  The algorithm has been tested with different sets of training data configurations to find the best optimum ones with regards to VOT2015 evaluation protocols, tested on 14-night surveillance videos. The results show that the configuration of a total of 250 training samples with a sample ratio of 4:1 between positive and negative data delivers the best performance for the sequence length of [1,550]. It can be inferred that more information on the object is required compared to the background, where the background might be homogeneous due to low lighting conditions. In conclusion, this algorithm is suitable to be implemented for night surveillance application.
A review on neural networks approach on classifying cancers
Authors: Mahmood Maha , Al-Khateeb Belal , Makki Alwash Wisam
Published: May 2020

Cancer is a dreadful disease. Millions of people died every year because of this disease. Neural networks are currently a burning research area in medical scienc It is very essential for medical practitioners to opt a proper treatment for cancer patients. Therefore, cancer cells should be identified correctly. Current developments in biological as well as in the computer science encouraged more studies to examine the role related to computational techniques in broad sphere regarding certain researches related to cancer. Using different AI approaches with regard to the disease’s medical diagnosis has been more general in recent times. Furthermore, there is more concentration on shown advantages of machine learning and AI methods. Cancer can be considered as one of the terrible diseases. Yearly, a lot of humans are dying from cancer. It is very essential for the practitioners of medical field to use suitable treatment regarding patients experiencing cancer. The data on cancer is specified as collection regarding thousands of genes. Thus, the cells of cancer must be properly detected. Currently, neural networks are considered as very significant area of research in the medical science, particularly in urology, radiology, cardiology, oncology, and a lot more. The presented work will survey different techniques of neural networks to classify lymph, neck and head, as well as breast cancer. The major goal of this work in the medical diagnostics has been guiding a lot of studies for developing user-friendly as well as inexpensive techniques, processes, as well as systems for the clinicians.
Year in Review in Cardiac Electrophysiology
Authors: Kapa Suraj , Chung Mina , Gopinathannair Rakesh , Noseworthy Peter , Eckhardt Lee , Leal Miguel , Wan Elaine , Wang Paul J.
Published: May 2020

In the past year, there have been numerous advances in our understanding of arrhythmia mechanisms, diagnosis, and new therapies. We have seen advances in basic cardiac electrophysiology with data suggesting that secretoneurin may be a biomarker for patients at risk of ventricular arrhythmias, and we have learned of the potential role of an NPR-C (natriuretic peptide receptor-C) in atrial fibrosis and the role of an atrial specific 2-pore potassium channel TASK-1 as a therapeutic target for atrial fibrillation. We have seen studies demonstrating the role of sensory neurons in sleep apnea–related atrial fibrillation and the association between bariatric surgery and atrial fibrillation ablation outcomes. Artificial intelligence applied to electrocardiography has yielded estimates of age, sex, and overall health. We have seen new tools for collection of patient-centered outcomes following catheter ablation. There have been significant advances in the ability to identify ventricular tachycardia termination sites through high-density mapping of deceleration zones. We have learned that right ventricular dysfunction may be a predictor of survival benefit after implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy. We have seen further insights into the role of His bundle pacing on improving outcomes. As our understanding of cardiac laminopathies advances, we may have new tools to predict arrhythmic event rates in gene carriers. Finally, we have seen numerous advances in the treatment of arrhythmias in patients with congenital heart disease.
Plasma Neprilysin Displays No Relevant Association With Neurohumoral Activation in Chronic HFrEF
Authors: Prausmüller Suriya , Arfsten Henrike , Spinka Georg , Freitag Claudia , Bartko Philipp E. , Goliasch Georg , Strunk Guido , Pavo Noemi , Hülsmann Martin
Published: May 2020

Background

Neprilysin is a transmembrane endopeptidase involved in the breakdown of a variety of vasoactive peptides and serves as a therapeutic target in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (
HF
r
EF
). This study aimed to investigate the relationship of circulating neprilysin with neurohumoral activation and the impact of plasma neprilysin activity on prognosis in
HF
r
EF
.

Methods and Results

A total of 369 chronic
HF
r
EF
patients were enrolled prospectively. Plasma neprilysin concentration and activity were determined by a specific
ELISA
and a fluorometric method. The association between plasma neprilysin and heart failure (
HF
) severity, neurohumoral activation, ie norepinephrine and absolute renin concentration, as well as all‐cause mortality was assessed. Median plasma neprilysin concentrations and activity levels were 413 pg/mL (interquartile range 0–4111) and 2.36 nmol/mL per minute (interquartile range 1.16–4.59). No correlation could be shown between plasma neprilysin concentrations and activity (
r
s
=0.09,
P
=0.088). Plasma neprilysin activity correlated with
HF
severity reflected by New York Heart Association stage (
P
=0.003) and tertiles of N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (
P
<0.001), whereas neprilysin concentrations did not (
P
=0.220;
P
=0.849). There was no relevant relationship between plasma neprilysin concentrations and activity, with neurohumoral activation reflected by absolute renin concentration (
r
s
=−0.02,
P
=0.648;
r
s
=0.03,
P
=0.574) or norepinephrine levels (
r
s
=−0.06,
P
=0.248;
r
s
=0.20,
P
<0.001). Neither circulating neprilysin concentrations nor activity were associated with outcome.

Conclusions

Plasma neprilysin concentrations and activity are not directly related to neurohumoral activation, indicating that neprilysin regulation is either more complex or not correctly mirrored by circulating neprilysin as a biomarker. Circulating neprilysin concentrations and activity were not associated with overall survival, implicating limited prognostic value of plasma neprilysin measurements in
HF
r
EF
patients.
Which Way Forward in Measuring the Quality of Life? A Critical Analysis of Sustainability and Well-Being Indicator Sets
Authors: Fuchs Doris , Schlipphak Bernd , Treib Oliver , Long Le Anh Nguyen , Lederer Markus
Published: May 2020

The movement to develop indicators that provide a more nuanced view of quality of life (QoL) continues to gain momentum and support in both scientific and policy-making circles. However, measuring QoL still faces a number of challenges. While a range of indicator sets has been developed, it is unclear whether any of them is able to adequately capture the broad range of conditions it encompasses. In addition, it has yet to be determined whether different dimensions of QoL can be meaningfully integrated in one indicator or if separate indicators need to be employed alongside each other for clear and reliable scientific results and policy advice. In this article, we aim to contribute to answering these open questions. To that end, we offer a framework, grounded in the literatures on well-being and sustainable development, for unpacking the QoL concept, and categorize and evaluate different existing indicator sets in terms of their ability to measure this concept of QoL. Moreover, we identify the challenges involved in integrating two very distinct aspects of QoL in one indicator.
Brokering Climate Action: The UNFCCC Secretariat Between Parties and Nonparty Stakeholders
Authors: Saerbeck Barbara , Well Mareike , Jörgens Helge , Goritz Alexandra , Kolleck Nina
Published: May 2020

Our article aims to better understand the role of the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the increasingly complex global climate governance structure. We employ an innovative approach to addressing this issue by systematically examining the climate secretariat’s relations with the main groups of actors involved in this policy domain, in particular with nonparty actors. In a first step, we use social network analysis (SNA) to examine the secretariat’s relations with nonparty and state stakeholders and to identify its position in the UNFCCC policy network. An understanding of where the climate secretariat stands in the global climate governance network and which actors it interacts with most allows us to draw preliminary conclusions about the ways in which it connects with other stakeholders to influence global climate policy outputs. In a second step, we conduct thirty-three semistructured interviews to corroborate the results of the SNA. Our findings lend support to the argument that the climate secretariat may gradually be moving from a rather neutral and instrumental stance to playing a proactive and influential role in international climate governance. It aims to increase its political influence by establishing strategic links to actors other than the formal negotiation parties.
Combining Multiple Functional Connectivity Methods to Improve Causal Inferences
Authors: Sanchez-Romero Ruben , Cole Michael W.
Published: May 2020

Cognition and behavior emerge from brain network interactions, suggesting that causal interactions should be central to the study of brain function. Yet, approaches that characterize relationships among neural time series—functional connectivity (FC) methods—are dominated by methods that assess bivariate statistical associations rather than causal interactions. Such bivariate approaches result in substantial false positives because they do not account for confounders (common causes) among neural populations. A major reason for the dominance of methods such as bivariate Pearson correlation (with functional MRI) and coherence (with electrophysiological methods) may be their simplicity. Thus, we sought to identify an FC method that was both simple and improved causal inferences relative to the most popular methods. We started with partial correlation, showing with neural network simulations that this substantially improves causal inferences relative to bivariate correlation. However, the presence of colliders (common effects) in a network resulted in false positives with partial correlation, although this was not a problem for bivariate correlations. This led us to propose a new combined FC method (combinedFC) that incorporates simple bivariate and partial correlation FC measures to make more valid causal inferences than either alone. We release a toolbox for implementing this new combinedFC method to facilitate improvement of FC-based causal inferences. CombinedFC is a general method for FC and can be applied equally to resting-state and task-based paradigms.
Linked Sources of Neural Noise Contribute to Age-related Cognitive Decline
Authors: Tran Tam T. , Rolle Camarin E. , Gazzaley Adam , Voytek Bradley
Published: May 2020

Healthy aging is associated with a multitude of structural changes in the brain. These physical age-related changes are accompanied by increased variability in neural activity of all kinds, and this increased variability, collectively referred to as “neural noise,” is argued to contribute to age-related cognitive decline. In this study, we examine the relationship between two particular types of neural noise in aging. We recorded scalp EEG from younger (20–30 years old) and older (60–70 years old) adults performing a spatial visual discrimination task. First, we used the 1/f-like exponent of the EEG power spectrum, a putative marker of neural noise, to assess baseline shifts toward a noisier state in aging. Next, we examined age-related decreases in the trial-by-trial consistency of visual stimulus processing. Finally, we examined to what extent these two age-related noise markers are related, hypothesizing that greater baseline noise would increase the variability of stimulus-evoked responses. We found that visual cortical baseline noise was higher in older adults, and the consistency of older adults' oscillatory alpha (8–12 Hz) phase responses to visual targets was also lower than that of younger adults. Crucially, older adults with the highest levels of baseline noise also had the least consistent alpha phase responses, whereas younger adults with more consistent phase responses achieved better behavioral performance. These results establish a link between tonic neural noise and stimulus-associated neural variability in aging. Moreover, they suggest that tonic age-related increases in baseline noise might diminish sensory processing and, as a result, subsequent cognitive performance.
Psicofotografía: Grete Stern and the Administration of the Unconscious
Authors: Laxton Susan
Published: May 2020

Between 1948 and 1951, photographer Grete Stern constructed a heavily manipulated taxonomy of dreams, realized in the form of 149 photomontages for the popular Argentinian fotonovela magazine Idilio. The series, now commonly referred to as Los Sueños, counterintuitively represents Stern's rejection of Surrealism and demonstrates how classifying systems in the postwar context were deployed to popularize psychoanalysis, normalize authoritative didactic imagery, and collapse formerly distinct economies of desire. The ideology of consumption underpinning the project both affirms and exceeds the historically specific boundaries of Peronist nation-building to portend the sub-rosa forms of surveillance and self-administration that would come to characterize post-industrial culture.
A Leadership Development Program for Young Men
Authors: Smith Don
Published: May 2020

This grounded theory research paper presents an analysis of the motivation of young men in commencing a three-stage leadership development program and the critical influences impacting their decision to return for subsequent stages of the program. The key findings are that both people and program influences are significant. The key program influences initially are the community and group in Stage 1 along with certain program-specific elements. This creates a momentum towards Stage 2 where a three-day wilderness Solo experience emerges as the core category / central phenomenon – drawing participants from Stage 1 and being motivational towards Stage 3. Specific program elements and “lenses” are identified for future research.
A newly recorded genus and twelve newly recorded species of ferns for Vietnam from Lang Biang Plateau

Authors: CHEN CHENG-WEI , HSU TIAN-CHUAN , CHAO YI-SHAN , LU PING-FONG , LI CHIA-WEI , TRAM NGUYEN KHANH TRINH , NGUYEN ICH LE PHUOC THANH , DANG MINH TRI , LUU HONG TRUONG , PARRIS BARBARA
Published: May 2020

One genus (Chrysogrammitis) and twelve species (Asplenium pifongiae, Chrysogrammitis musgraviana, Crepidomanes makinoi, Ctenitis sinii, Ctenopterella khaoluangensis, Didymoglossum wallii, Dryopteris hendersonii, Hymenophyllum palmatifidum, H. paniculiflorum, Polystichum prionolepis, Pteris latipinna, and Stegnogramma wilfordii) of ferns are reported as new records for Vietnam based on newly collected specimens from Lang Biang Plateau. We provide photographs of key characters, type information, voucher specimens, distribution, ecology, and notes for each newly recorded species.
Taxonomic revision of Joannesia (Euphorbiaceae), an endemic genus of Brazil with two geographically disjunct species

Authors: KÜLKAMP JOSIMAR , FRAGA CLAUDIO N. , IGANCI JOÃO R.V.
Published: May 2020

Joannesia is a genus of Euphorbiaceae composed of two endemics species to Brazil, one occurring in the Amazonia and another mainly on the Atlantic Forest. The genus was formally described by Frei José Mariano da Conceição Vellozo in 1798 but this taxon had been already mentioned by Willem Pies and Georg Marcgrave in 1648 under a different name. The genus has been greatly altered throughout the history due to other names described and adopted by subsequent researchers. Herbarium collections and scientific bibliography were consulted. Specimens collected during field expeditions were deposited in the RB herbarium. A taxonomic review for the species of Joannesia is presented, along with an identification key with reproductive and vegetative characters, updated geographic distribution for each species, as well as typifications according to the ICN and notes on the species.
Zhuliangomyces pakistanicus, a new species of Zhuliangomyces (Amanitaceae: Basidiomycota) from Pakistan

Authors: USMAN MUHAMMAD , KHALID ABDUL NASIR
Published: May 2020

Zhuliangomyces pakistanicus is described and illustrated as a new species from Pakistan based on morphology and phylogeny. It is characterized by a depressed sticky creamy white pileus, an ixo-trichodermal pileipellis with lageniform terminal elements, a glutinous stipe, and obovoid smooth basidiospores. Phylogenetically, this is a distinct species compared to all other species of Zhuliangomyces.
Transition of the Hurricane Boundary Layer during the Landfall of Hurricane Irene (2011)
Authors: Alford A. Addison , Zhang Jun A. , Biggerstaff Michael I. , Dodge Peter , Marks Frank D. , Bodine David J.
Published: May 2020

The hurricane boundary layer (HBL) has been observed in great detail through aircraft investigations of tropical cyclones over the open ocean, but the coastal transition of the HBL has been less frequently observed. During the landfall of Hurricane Irene (2011), research and operational aircraft over water sampled the open-ocean HBL simultaneously with ground-based research and operational Doppler radars onshore. The location of the radars afforded 13 h of dual-Doppler analysis over the coastal region. Thus, the HBL from the coastal waterways, through the coastal transition, and onshore was observed in great detail for the first time. Three regimes of HBL structure were found. The outer bands were characterized by temporal perturbations of the HBL structure with attendant low-level wind maxima in the vicinity of rainbands. The inner core, in contrast, did not produce such perturbations, but did see a reduction of the height of the maximum wind and a more jet-like HBL wind profile. In the eyewall, a tangential wind maximum was observed within the HBL over water as in past studies and above the HBL onshore. However, the transition of the tangential wind maximum through the coastal transition showed that the maximum continued to reside in the HBL through 5 km inland, which has not been observed previously. It is shown that the adjustment of the HBL to the coastal surface roughness discontinuity does not immediately mix out the residual high-momentum jet aloft. Thus, communities closest to the coast are likely to experience the strongest winds onshore prior to the complete adjustment of the HBL.
Forecast Errors and Uncertainties in Atmospheric Rivers
Authors: Lavers David A. , Ingleby N. Bruce , Subramanian Aneesh C. , Richardson David S. , Ralph F. Martin , Doyle James D. , Reynolds Carolyn A. , Torn Ryan D. , Rodwell Mark J. , Tallapragada Vijay , Pappenberger Florian
Published: May 2020

A key aim of observational campaigns is to sample atmosphere–ocean phenomena to improve understanding of these phenomena, and in turn, numerical weather prediction. In early 2018 and 2019, the Atmospheric River Reconnaissance (AR Recon) campaign released dropsondes and radiosondes into atmospheric rivers (ARs) over the northeast Pacific Ocean to collect unique observations of temperature, winds, and moisture in ARs. These narrow regions of water vapor transport in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—can be associated with extreme precipitation and flooding events in the midlatitudes. This study uses the dropsonde observations collected during the AR Recon campaign and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) to evaluate forecasts of ARs. Results show that ECMWF IFS forecasts 1) were colder than observations by up to 0.6 K throughout the troposphere; 2) have a dry bias in the lower troposphere, which along with weaker winds below 950 hPa, resulted in weaker horizontal water vapor fluxes in the 950–1000-hPa layer; and 3) exhibit an underdispersiveness in the water vapor flux that largely arises from model representativeness errors associated with dropsondes. Four U.S. West Coast radiosonde sites confirm the IFS cold bias throughout winter. These issues are likely to affect the model’s hydrological cycle and hence precipitation forecasts.
Does Globalization Influence Inbound Tourism? Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Threshold Analysis
Authors: Chiu Yi-Bin , Zhang Wenwen , Ding Kaixin
Published: May 2020

This study explores the nonlinear impact of globalization on inbound tourism over the period 1995–2014 for 53 countries. The results reveal a nonlinear relationship between globalization and inbound tourism, suggesting that different levels of globalization for countries have varied impacts on inbound tourism development. More globalized countries are able to draw more inbound tourists, but this does not enhance their international tourism receipts (percentage of GDP) and net tourism service exports under a higher level of globalization, indicating that globalization does not necessarily benefit inbound tourism development.

JEL classifications

C23, C26, F60, L83, Z32
Revision Septorhinoplasty: An Illustrative Case Report
Authors: Saadoun Rakan , Veit Johannes Adrian
Published: May 2020

Background:

Rhinoplasty is one of the most popular procedures in facial plastic surgery. It is a technically demanding surgery with a long learning curve. The outcome may be very beneficial to the function of the nasal breathing as well as the patient’s social life but harbors many pitfalls and sequelae from minor to devastating. This grants a high demand on the knowledge of the nose’s anatomy and the implication of each conducted maneuver or grafting during the surgery both short and long term.

Methods and Results:

In the presented case report, we demonstrate the sequelae of a secondary rhinoplasty case, analyze the outcomes, present the revision surgery in detail, and show the follow-ups. Most negative outcomes of primary rhinoplasty may be led back to the particular techniques applied. Leading causes of revision surgery include loss of tip projection, inverted-V-deformity, axis deviation, dorsal irregularities, internal and external nasal valve collapse, damage to the soft tissue envelope, and many more.

Conclusions:

We believe that through such an illustrative case discussion, we may enhance the skills and critical appraisal of young surgeons in decision-making.
Service Animals in PreK-12 Schools: Legal and Policy Implications for School Leaders
Authors: Ewoldt Kathy B. , Dieterich Cynthia A. , Brady Kevin P.
Published: May 2020

Despite increasing animal prevalence in public spaces, few districts have proactively developed policies to integrate assistance, therapy, service, and emotional support animals that are both legally sound and support the needs of individual students. Federal legislation defines a variety of animals that could accompany students, but only those trained to perform a specific disability-related task are considered service animals. Policy development to address the increasing prevalence of service animals on school campuses has not been widely examined. This article uses standard legal analysis to gather data from court rulings in the United States; uses secondary sources such as peer-reviewed journals, special education journals, and professional organizations; and provides recommendations on how to develop a sound service animal policy and procedures.
MicroRNA Expression Profiling of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinomas Arising in Different Sites
Authors: Rock Alexander N. , Fisher Mason D. , Amborski Gwenyth , Allain Dawn C. , Klee Victoria , Peters Sara B. , Kang Stephen , Toland Amanda E.
Published: May 2020

Objective

To examine the microRNA (miRNA) expression profile of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) tumors from aggressive head and neck locations compared with nonaggressive anatomic sites and normal controls.

Study Design

Retrospective analysis of miRNA expression.

Setting

Tertiary care center.

Subjects and Methods

Tissue samples were collected from 3 anatomic regions: aggressive head and neck sites (ie, ears/lip), nonaggressive locations (ie, extremities/trunk), and adjacent normal skin. RNA was isolated from tissue cores of 45 samples (18 aggressive sites, 15 nonaggressive sites, and 12 normal‐adjacent skin). miRNA expression analysis was completed for approximately 800 miRNAs using the NanoString nCounter panel. Five candidate miRNAs were selected for validation. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) was performed on the original samples plus 30 additional tissue samples (7 aggressive sites, 14 nonaggressive sites, and 9 normal‐adjacent skin).

Results

Five candidate miRNAs with significant differences in miRNA expression (P < 0 ≤. 001) from discovery samples were selected: miR‐21, miR‐31, let‐7g, miR‐93, and miR‐22. Relative expression for these miRNAs using qRT‐PCR in the new sample set did not reveal any significant differences using 1‐way analysis of variance. When sets were combined, miR‐21 showed increased expression in aggressive tumors relative to nonaggressive tumors (P =. 009), but no others reached statistical significance.

Conclusion

cSCC behaves more aggressively when originating from specific anatomical subsites of the head and neck. Of 5 miRNAs evaluated, only miR‐21 showed significantly higher expression in tumors from aggressive sites relative to nonaggressive sites. Larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate other miRNAs.
Etiology of Prelingual Hearing Loss in the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Era: A Scoping Review
Authors: Satterfield‐Nash Ashley , Umrigar Ayesha , Lanzieri Tatiana M.
Published: May 2020

Objective

To conduct a scoping review on etiologic investigation of prelingual hearing loss among children <2 years of age in the era of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS).

Data Sources

PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases.

Review Methods

We searched for articles published from January 1, 1998, to February 19, 2020. We reviewed studies that (1) included children identified with either congenital or delayed‐onset hearing loss before 2 years of age among cohorts who had undergone UNHS and (2) investigated ≥1 etiologies of hearing loss. We defined hearing loss as congenital when confirmed after UNHS failure and as delayed onset when diagnosed after ≥1 assessments with normal hearing.

Results

Among 2069 unique citations, 115 studies met criteria for full‐text assessment, and 20 met our inclusion criteria. Six studies tested children diagnosed with hearing loss for genetic etiology, 9 for congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, and 5 for both. Among 1787 children with congenital hearing loss and etiologic investigation, 933 (52.2%) were tested for genetic mutations and 1021 (57.1%) for congenital CMV infection. The proportion of congenital hearing loss cases attributable to genetic etiology ranged between 7.7% and 83.3% and to congenital CMV infection between 0.0% and 32.0%.

Conclusion

Data are lacking on the identification and etiology of delayed‐onset hearing loss in children <2 years of age in the UNHS era. The proportion of congenital hearing loss cases attributable to genetic etiologies and congenital CMV infection appears to vary widely.