bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physico-chemical properties of Artificial tear ducts from Fractionated Thai silk fibroin
Authors: Limteamcharoen P , Kanokpanont S
Published: March 2022

Artificial tear ducts (ATD) or Jones tubes, have been used in patients with tear ducts obstruction for draining tears into the nose. Commercial ATDs are generally made of glass but they have slippery surfaces causing the ducts pushed out and easily broken. Polymer-based ATDs, are more flexible and adhesive to tissues. However, the users could encounter material-related problems due to allergic reactions, low tissue adhesion and complications. We designed artificial tear ducts from Thai silk fibroin (SF) solution. The SF was fractionated using freeze-thaw cycles (-4°C and 25°C for 5 cycles) into SF-P (precipitants, 63.53±4.58% yields) and SF-S (soluble, 34.05±5.76% yields (w/v)). The concentrated solutions (20%W/W) of SF, SF-P and SF-S were dip-coated into tubes. The leaking test was performed using simulated natural tear flow rate of 0.0022 mL/min for 6 h. SF-S duct lost its shape and leaked. Absorption of the balanced salt solution (BSS) of the SF and SF-P were at 5.67±0.76% and 8.05±1.28 wt.% respectively, giving their wet inner and outer diameters at 2 and 2.5 mm. and the thickness 500 microns. Crystallinities of SF and SF-P analyzed using ATR-FTIR, were at 42.27 and 44.51% respectively. The thermal decomposition temperature of SF and SF-P analyzed using TGA, were at 277 and 280°C. Degradability in BSS containing lysozyme 1.69 U/mg to mimic tears at 37°C in vitro showing that both ATDs are stabilized for at least 4 weeks. BSS height obtained capillary test that compared with glass ducts, SF and SF-P at 7.0±0.0, 6.9±0.4 and 7.1±0.4 mm, respectively, while glass ducts were 34.81±0.0. The SF and SF-P have flexural stress were 55.24±7.68 MPa and 81.42±2.71 MPa, %flexural strain at max stress was 5.43±0.46% and 2.54±0.17% and flexural Modulus was 1.82±0.29 GPa and 6.13±0.51GPa respectively. The results of all experiments indicate that SF-P had the highest potential for further development into natural polymer-based ATDs.
Study on rapid measurement technic of dry rubber content in latex cup lump by electrical properties
Authors: Chaisrichonlathan P , Chavapradit C
Published: March 2022

Dry rubber content meter is substantial tool for Impartial trade on rubber cup lump. Department of Agriculture researchers proposed rapid measurement technic of dry rubber content in latex cup lumps by their electrical properties. Two probe types needle and roller were designed, in the first phase, constructed, installed and tested. Needle type probe of 25 mm. in length and 5 mm. apart was selected in measuring electrical properties of cup lump samples as its penetration depth is half of the thickness. Two cylindrical rollers probe of 220 mm. in length and 101.6 mm. (4 inches) in diameter powered by 2 HP gear motor were designed, constructed, installed and tested. Rubber cup lump samples were each statistical divided into 9 regularly measuring parts in needle type probe. Rubber cup lump samples in rollers type probe were typically enforced to pass through 1-inch gap between two rollers. Irregular size sample of more than 76.2 mm. (3 inches) thickness of rubber cup were sliced before measuring into 2 equal thickness pieces. Electrical properties of samples were acquired by standard electrical measuring instruments and percentage of dry rubber content were determined by standard oven method for all sample segments. As the results of this study, rubber content percentage of cup lump was correlated with electrical capacitance than resistance. Electrical capacity value of the latex cup lump from needle-type and two roller-type probes were inversely correlated with the percentage of dry rubber content within the range of 0 – 75 nF and 0 – 380 nF and coefficient of determinations were 0.90 and 0.97, respectively. These initiate features will be utilized in designing of percentage of dry rubber content prototype meter by electrical property values in the future. Percentage of dry rubber content from DRC method of lump from fresh latex and conventional cup lump by oven method was significantly correlate. Electrical properties of latex cup lump produced in the laboratory and farmers are also significantly consistent.
Analysis of constituents present in smokeless tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) using spectroscopic techniques
Authors: Mishra Pratima , Kumar Rohit , Dwivedi Abhishek , Rai Awadhesh Kumar
Published: March 2022

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an analytical technique used to identify and quantify the elements present in any type of material present in any phase (solid, liquid, gas, and aerosol). In the present work, our objective is to find the presence of toxic and other elements in chewing tobacco (
Nicotiana tabacum
) using LIBS. Spectral signatures of elements like C, Fe, Si, Mg, Mn, Ca, Ti, Na, H, N, K, O, along with some toxic elements Al, Sr, Li, Cu, Sb, and Cr are observed in the LIBS spectra of these tobacco samples. The spectral intensity ratio is measured for quantitative analysis of elements present in the samples. Further, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy is used for determining absolute concentration in these samples. A relation between the AAS result and the relative intensity of spectral lines measured in the LIBS is obtained using regression analysis. The multivariate technique, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), discriminates all the samples based on their toxicity and other constituents. Molecular study (Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS), UV-Visible (UV–vis), and FT-IR) of tobacco samples were performed to analyze the molecules present in the tobacco samples.
Accurate determination of electrical conductance in carbon nanostructures
Authors: Flygare Mattias , Svensson Krister
Published: March 2022

Electrical characterization of nanostructures, such as nanotubes and wires, is a demanding task that is vital for future applications of nanomaterials. The nanostructures should ideally be analyzed in a free-standing state and also allow for other material characterizations to be made of the same individual nanostructures. Several methods have been used for electrical characterizations of carbon nanotubes in the past. The results are widely spread, both between different characterizations methods and within the same materials. This raises questions regarding the reliability of different methods and their accuracy, and there is a need for a measurement standard and classification scheme for carbon nanotube materials. Here we examine a two-probe method performed inside a transmission electron microscope in detail, addressing specifically the accuracy by which the electrical conductivity of individual carbon nanotubes can be determined. We show that two-probe methods can be very reliable using a suitable thermal cleaning method of the contact points. The linear resistance of the outermost nanotube wall can thus be accurately determined even for the highest crystallinity materials, where the linear resistance is only a few kΩ/μm. The method can thereby by used as a valuable tool for future classification schemes of various nanotube material classes.
Intermolecular and surface forces in atomic-scale manufacturing
Authors: Hou Xin , Li Jingyang , Li Yuanzhe , Tian Yu
Published: March 2022

Atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing (ACSM) aims to provide techniques for manufacturing in various fields, such as circuit manufacturing, high energy physics equipment, and medical devices and materials. The realization of atomic scale material manipulation depending on the theoretical system of classical mechanics faces great challenges. Understanding and using intermolecular and surface forces are the basis for better designing of ACSM. Transformation of atoms based on scanning tunneling microscopy or atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an essential process to regulate intermolecular interactions. Self-assemble process is a thermodynamic process involving complex intermolecular forces. The competition of these interaction determines structure assembly and packing geometry. For typical nanomachining processes including AFM nanomachining and chemical mechanical polishing, the coupling of chemistry and stress (tribochemistry) assists in the removal of surface atoms. Furthermore, based on the principle of triboelectrochemistry, we expect a further reduction of the potential barrier, and a potential application in high-efficiency atoms removal and fabricating functional coating. Future fundamental research is proposed for achieving high-efficiency and high-accuracy manufacturing with the aiding of external field. This review highlights the significant contribution of intermolecular and surface forces to ACSM, and may accelerate its progress in the in-depth investigation of fundamentals.
Coincidence complex networks
Authors: da Fontoura Costa Luciano
Published: March 2022

Complex networks, which constitute the main subject of network science, have been wide and extensively adopted for representing, characterizing, and modeling an ample range of structures and phenomena from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The present work describes the application of the real-valued Jaccard and real-valued coincidence similarity indices for translating generic datasets into networks. More specifically, two data elements are linked whenever the similarity between their respective features, gauged by some similarity index, is greater than a given threshold. Weighted networks can also be obtained by taking these indices as weights. It is shown that the two proposed real-valued approaches can lead to enhanced performance when compared to cosine and Pearson correlation approaches, yielding a detailed description of the specific patterns of connectivity between the nodes, with enhanced modularity. In addition, a parameter α is introduced that can be used to control the contribution of positive and negative joint variations between the considered features, catering for enhanced flexibility while obtaining networks. The ability of the proposed methodology to capture detailed interconnections and emphasize the modular structure of networks is illustrated and quantified respectively to real-world networks, including handwritten letters and raisin datasets, as well as the Caenorhabditis elegans neuronal network. The reported methodology and results pave the way to a significant number of theoretical and applied developments.
Processing IMU action recognition based on brain-inspired computing with microfabricated MEMS resonators
Authors: Zheng Tianyi , Yang Wuhao , Sun Jie , Liu Zhenxi , Wang Kunfeng , Zou Xudong
Published: March 2022

Reservoir computing (RC) decomposes the recurrent neural network into a fixed network with recursive connections and a trainable linear network. With the advantages of low training cost and easy hardware implementation, it provides a method for the effective processing of time-domain correlation information. In this paper, we build a hardware RC system with a nonlinear MEMS resonator and build an action recognition data set with time-domain correlation. Moreover, two different universal data set are utilized to verify the classification and prediction performance of the RC hardware system. At the same time, the feasibility of the novel data set was validated by three general machine learning approaches. Specifically, the processing of this novel time-domain correlation data set obtained a relatively high success rate. These results, together with the dataset that we build, enable the broad implementation of brain-inspired computing with microfabricated devices, and shed light on the potential for the realization of integrated perception and calculation in our future work.
Properties and processing technologies of high-entropy alloys
Authors: Yan Xuehui , Zou Yu , Zhang Yong
Published: March 2022

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are emerging materials that are developed based on entropy, and draw significant attention for the potential to design their chemical disorder to bring out different structural and physical characteristics. Over the past two decades, significant salient efforts have been conducted to explore many unique and useful properties of HEAs, such as overcoming the strength–ductility trade-off, outstanding thermal stability, and excellent low temperature plasticity. Here, we review the key research topic of HEAs in the following three aspects: (a) performance advantages and composition design, (b) performance-driven HEAs and (c) fabrication process-driven HEAs. Towards their industrial applications, our article reviews a large range of methods to synthesise, fabricate and process HEAs. We also discuss the current challenges and future opportunities, mainly focusing on performance breakthroughs in HEAs.
Lyapunov exponents for transfer operator cocycles of metastable maps: A quarantine approach
Authors: González-Tokman C. , Quas A.
Published: March 2022

This works investigates the Lyapunov–Oseledets spectrum of transfer operator cocycles associated to one-dimensional random paired tent maps depending on a parameter

ε
\varepsilon

, quantifying the strength of the leakage between two nearly invariant regions. We show that the system exhibits metastability, and identify the second Lyapunov exponent

λ
2
ε

\lambda _2^\varepsilon

within an error of order

ε
2

|

log
⁡
ε

|

\varepsilon ^2|\log \varepsilon |

. This approximation agrees with the naive prediction provided by a time-dependent two-state Markov chain. Furthermore, it is shown that

λ
1
ε

=
0

\lambda _1^\varepsilon =0

and

λ
2
ε

\lambda _2^\varepsilon

are simple, and the only exceptional Lyapunov exponents of magnitude greater than

−
log
⁡
2
+
O

(

log
⁡
log
⁡

1
ε

/

log
⁡

1
ε

)

-\log 2+ O\Big (\log \log \frac 1\varepsilon \big /\log \frac 1\varepsilon \Big )

.
Does one subgenome become dominant in the formation and evolution of a polyploid?
Authors: Liu Chunji , Wang You-Gan
Published: March 2022

Background

Polyploids are common in flowering plants and they tend to have more expanded ranges of distributions than their diploid progenitors. Possible mechanisms underlying polyploid success have been intensively investigated. Previous studies showed that polyploidy generates novel changes and that subgenomes in allopolyploid species often differ in gene number, gene expression levels and levels of epigenetic alteration. It is widely believed that such differences are the results of conflicts among the subgenomes. These differences have been treated by some as subgenome dominance, and it is claimed that the magnitude of subgenome dominance increases in polyploid evolution.

Scope

In addition to changes which occurred during evolution, differences between subgenomes of a polyploid species may also be affected by differences between the diploid donors and changes which occurred during polyploidization. The variable genome components in many plant species are extensive, which would result in exaggerated differences between a subgenome and its progenitor when a single genotype or a small number of genotypes are used to represent a polyploid or its donors. When artificially resynthesized polyploids are used as surrogates for newly formed genotypes which have not been exposed to evolutionary selection, differences between diploid genotypes available today and those involved in the formation of the natural polyploid genotypes must also be considered.

Conclusions

Contrary to the now widely held views that subgenome biases in polyploids are the results of conflicts among the subgenomes and that one of the parental subgenomes generally retains more genes which are more highly expressed, available results show that subgenome biases mainly reflect legacy from the progenitors and that they can be detected before the completion of polyploidization events. Further, there is no convincing evidence that the magnitudes of subgenome biases have significantly changed during evolution for any of the allopolyploid species assessed.
Non-rolling flag leaves use an effective mechanism to reduce water loss and light-induced damage under drought stress
Authors: Hura Tomasz , Hura Katarzyna , Ostrowska Agnieszka , Urban Karolina
Published: March 2022

Background and Aims

The study reports on four different types of flag leaf rolling under soil drought in relation to the level of cell wall-bound phenolics. The flag leaf colonization by aphids, as a possible bioindicator of the accumulation of cell wall-bound phenolics, was also estimated.

Methods

The proteins of the photosynthetic apparatus that form its core and are crucial for maintaining its stability (D1/PsbA protein), limit destructive effects of light (PsbS, a protein binding carotenoids in the antennas) and participate in efficient electron transport between photosystems II (PSII) and PSI (Rieske iron–sulfur protein of the cytochrome b6f complex) were evaluated in two types of flag leaf rolling. Additionally, biochemical and physiological reactions to drought stress in rolling and non-rolling flag leaves were compared.

Key Results

The study identified four types of genome-related types of flag leaf rolling. The biochemical basis for these differences was a different number of phenolic molecules incorporated into polycarbohydrate structures of the cell wall. In an extreme case of non-rolling dehydrated flag leaves, they were found to accumulate high amounts of cell wall-bound phenolics that limited cell water loss and protected the photosynthetic apparatus against excessive light. PSII was also additionally protected against excess light by the accumulation of photosynthetic apparatus proteins that ensured stable and efficient transport of excitation energy beyond PSII and its dissipation as far-red fluorescence and heat. Our analysis revealed a new type of flag leaf rolling brought about by an interaction between wheat and rye genomes, and resulting in biochemical specialization of flexible, rolling and rigid, non-rolling parts of the flag leaf. The study confirmed limited aphid colonization of the flag leaves with enhanced content of cell wall-bound phenolics.

Conclusions

Non-rolling leaves developed effective adaptation mechanisms to reduce both water loss and photoinhibitory damage to the photosynthetic apparatus under drought stress.
Ultra high-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) method development and validation for the identification of oxidized product of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG)
Authors: Ungarala Ramakrishna , Sinha Sukesh Narayan , Sunder R Shyam
Published: March 2022

Objective

In the present study we reported oxidation of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and validation of oxidized product by a validated ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method.

Methods

Two hundred milligrams of EGCG was oxidized in 5 mL of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and was identified by a validated UHPLC method with precision and robustness. Confirmation of parameters like C–H stretching and mass was carried out using infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy, respectively. Identification of oxidized EGCG (O-EGCG) was done by UHPLC.

Results

The infrared spectroscopy chromatograms observed less intensity C-H stretching as compared to O-EGCG. The mass of EGCG and O-EGCG were 459.09 and 915.16, respectively. Structure elucidation revealed a loss of one proton in O-EGCG as compared to EGCG. Validation of the developed method was specific, with linear correlation coefficient 0.9981 and 0.9917, respectively for EGCG and O-EGCG, the accuracy rate of 95.2%–99.6% for EGCG, and 99.18%–101.5% for O-EGCG.

Conclusion

Together, the results of this study demonstrate the formation of a dimer also the UHPLC method developed for identification of both EGCG and O-EGCG is validated as per the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidelines.
Inhaled Zanamivir vs Oral Oseltamivir to Prevent Influenza-related Hospitalization or Death: A Nationwide Population-based Quasi-experimental Study
Authors: Su Chia ping , Chan K Arnold , Huang Ching Tai , Fang Chi Tai
Published: March 2022

Background

Meta-analyses of individual patient data from randomized, controlled trials show that early oseltamivir treatment for influenza cut the risk of pneumonia and hospitalization by 44% and 63%, respectively. However, data on the effectiveness of inhaled zanamivir in preventing hospitalization and death are lacking.

Methods

This nationwide, population-based, cohort study included all outpatients treated with inhaled zanamivir or oral oseltamivir within 48 hours after a clinical diagnosis of influenza before and after the rollout of inhaled zanamivir as the first-line antiviral in Taiwan. The main outcome was influenza-related hospitalization or death within 14 days. Those who developed the outcome within 2 days were excluded from analyses. Propensity score stratification was used to control confounding from covariates.

Results

A total of 865 032 eligible influenza outpatients were included in the analysis. The risk of developing the main outcome (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], .96 to 1.06) did not differ between the inhaled zanamivir group (n = 595 897, 68.9%, the reference) and the oral oseltamivir group (n = 269 135, 31.1%). Prespecified analysis on high-risk subgroups further showed that inhaled zanamivir is not inferior to oral oseltamivir in either patients aged ≥65 years (aHR, 1.14; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.25) or patients with chronic lung diseases (aHR, 1.23; 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.41).

Conclusions

Inhaled zanamivir is not inferior to oral oseltamivir as outpatient treatment in preventing influenza-related hospitalization or death for patients whose conditions do not require hospitalization within 2 days.
Geographical variation in nest defense among cinereous tit populations in China
Authors: Shen Chao , Yin Dake , Yu Jiangping , Zhang Li , Han Zheng , Jin Longru , Liang Wei , Wang Haitao
Published: March 2022

Behavioral divergence among populations is common across taxonomic groups, still we know very little about anti-predator behaviors. Animal exposure to predation risk is variable in different ecological contexts. In addition, reproduction value of animals in different geographical regions usually varies. In this study, we tested whether cinereous tits Parus cinereus in different populations exhibited nest defense behaviors similar to those of nest or adult predators and whether their nest defense behaviors showed geographical variation. By using field dummy experiments, we observed tits’ nest defense behavior in nest predator common chipmunk Tamias sibiricus and red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris, adult predator Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus and nonthreatening species Oriental turtle dove Streptopelia orientalis in the ZJ (44° N), DZ (31° N), and DLS (18° N) populations, respectively. The response scores varied significantly across the 4 dummies in ZJ-tits and DLS-tits but did not in DZ-tits. When facing the chipmunk, ZJ-tits showed the highest response score and DZ-tits showed the lowest response score. When facing the squirrel, ZJ-tits showed a higher response score than tits in the other 2 populations. However, tits among the 3 populations responded similarly to a sparrowhawk or dove with slight response behaviors. In addition, response scores to nest predators were positively correlated with brood size across the 3 populations, but no trend was found for sparrowhawks or doves. Our results indicated that the nest defense behaviors of cinereous tits have evolved in response to large-scale geographical variation in ecological contexts and reproduction value.
Contribution of Linguistic Skills to Word Reading in DHH Students
Authors: Sun Peng , Zhao Ying , Chen Hongjun , Wu Xinchun
Published: March 2022

This study aims to examine the relative contributions of phonological awareness (PA), orthographical awareness (OA), morphological awareness (MA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) to word reading accuracy and fluency in Chinese deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students. Measures of PA, OA, MA, RAN, word reading accuracy, and word reading fluency were administered to 133 DHH and 127 hearing students in Grades 4–6. After controlling for chronological age, hierarchical regression analysis showed that PA made an independent contribution to word reading accuracy and fluency among the DHH students. The unique effect of OA was significant on word reading accuracy in DHH students; whereas, its predictive role was played on word reading fluency in hearing students. RAN accounted for additional variance only in word reading accuracy in DHH students. MA significantly explained the variance in both reading abilities and in both groups. This suggests that for DHH students, they use nonphonological clues (MA and OA) to learn to read. To a lesser degree, however, they do rely on PA to reading words. For hearing students, they mainly rely on MA to their word reading. There are some similarities and differences in the mechanisms underlying word reading in DHH and hearing children.
Cost-efficient snare-assisted peroral endoscopic myotomy in comparison of conventional endoscopic knife for treatment of achalasia: results of a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Huang Zhen-Zi , Mao Ren , Li Yuan-Qi , Tian Hong-Zhan , Iacucci Marietta , Shen Bo , Cui Yi , Xiao Ying-Lian , Wang Jin-Hui , Chen Min-Hu , Xing Xiang-Bin
Published: March 2022

Background: To date, the ideal endoscopic knife for peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) with good performance and cost-effectiveness is still under investigation. The present study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of snare-assisted POEM, compared with the conventional endoscopic knife approach. Methods: From May 2017 to December 2018, patients with achalasia presenting for POEM without previous endoscopic or surgical therapy were prospectively recruited in this randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomly allocated to receive POEM using either the snare (snare group) or HookKnife (conventional group). The primary outcome was clinical success (Eckardt score ≤ 3) at 12-month follow-up, powered for noninferiority with a margin of −15%. The secondary outcomes included adverse events (AEs), procedure-related parameters, clinical outcomes, and cost-effectiveness. Results: A total of 75 patients with similar baseline characteristics between the snare (N = 37) and conventional (N = 38) groups were included. Clinical success at 12-month follow-up was achieved in 94.6% of patients in the snare group and 92.1% of patients in the conventional group (difference, 2.5% [95% CI, −8.7% to 13.7%]; P < 0.001 for noninferiority). No severe AEs occurred in both groups. The use of snare is associated with comparable procedure time (40.6 minutes vs. 42.5 minutes, P = 0.337), a lower frequency of hemostatic forceps use (27.0% vs. 68.4%, P < 0.001), and lower hospital costs ($4271.1 vs. $5327.3, P < 0.001). The cost-effectiveness plane revealed that 96.9% of snare-assisted POEM procedures offered more cost-savings and health utility benefits. Conclusions: The snare-assisted POEM was noninferior to the conventional endoscopic knife approach in terms of clinical efficacy, with comparable safety outcomes and cost-effective benefits.
Preclinical evaluation of Versius, an innovative device for use in robot-assisted thoracic surgery
Authors: Aresu Giuseppe , Dunning Joel , Routledge Tom , Bagan Patrick , Slack Mark
Published: March 2022

OBJECTIVES

The adoption of robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) has helped to overcome some of the challenges associated with surgeons performing conventional video-assisted thoracic surgery. The Versius Surgical System (CMR Surgical, Cambridge, UK) has been developed iteratively in line with surgical team feedback to improve the surgeon’s experience and patient outcomes. The goal of this study was to assess the use of the device in RATS in a preclinical setting and to fulfil Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-Term Follow Up–Devices stage 1 (Idea).

METHODS

Four cadaveric sessions were conducted between November 2018 and December 2020, during which device performance in a range of thoracic operations was assessed. Procedures were categorized as either completed or not completed, and surgeons evaluated the device’s ability to successfully complete necessary surgical steps. Port and bedside unit positions were recorded.

RESULTS

In total, 22/24 (91.7%) thoracic procedures were successfully completed, including 17/18 lobectomies, 2/3 thymectomies and 3/3 diaphragm plications, in 9 cadaver specimens. One thymectomy could not be completed due to cadaver anatomy and 1 lobectomy was not completed due a console system fault. Port and bedside unit configurations were successfully validated for all procedures, and lead surgeons deemed the device to be well-suited for thoracic surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

This preclinical study demonstrated the successful use of the device in RATS in cadaveric models and supports progression to small-scale clinical studies, as part of Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-Term Follow Up–Devices stage 2a (Development).
Religion as a Micro and Macro Property: Investigating the Multilevel Relationship between Religion and Abortion Attitudes across the Globe
Authors: Adamczyk Amy
Published: March 2022

In many countries, abortion is the most contested issue being publicly discussed, in part, because it has important implications for gender equality, health, family formation, politics, and views about morality. Personal religious beliefs are often seen as having an important role in shaping disapproving attitudes. However, little attention has been given to the country religious context for understanding public opinion about abortion. Drawing on ideas from cultural sociology, the anti-ascetic hypothesis, and the moral communities hypothesis, this study investigates the individual and country religious associations with abortion attitudes. Using hierarchical modelling techniques and survey data from over 70 nations, representing the majority of the world’s population, the multilevel roles of religion are investigated. Both personal and country levels of religious importance are associated with the disapproval of abortion, but there are few differences across religions. Laws allowing for abortion are marginally associated with attitudes and there is no moral communities effect, whereby overall levels of religious importance have a moderating influence on the relationship between personal religiosity and attitudes. However, individual religious importance appears to have a greater association with disapproval in richer, rather than poorer, countries, providing novel insight into why abortion has remained controversial in many countries, especially those with higher levels of economic development.
Endomysial fibrosis, rather than overall connective tissue content, is the main determinant of conduction disturbances in human atrial fibrillation
Authors: Maesen Bart , Verheule Sander , Zeemering Stef , La Meir Mark , Nijs Jan , Lumeij Stijn , Lau Dennis H , Granier Mathieu , Crijns Harry Jgm , Maessen Jos G , Dhein Stefan , Schotten Ulrich
Published: March 2022

Aims

Although in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) a complex AF substrate characterized by a high incidence of conduction block has been reported, relatively little is known about AF complexity in paroxysmal AF (pAF). Also, the relative contribution of various aspects of structural alterations to conduction disturbances is not clear. In particular, the contribution of endomysial fibrosis to conduction disturbances during progression of AF has not been studied yet.

Methods and results

During cardiac surgery, epicardial high-density mapping was performed in patients with acutely induced (aAF, n = 11), pAF (n = 12), and longstanding persistent AF (persAF, n = 9) on the right atrial (RA) wall, the posterior left atrial wall (pLA) and the LA appendage (LAA). In RA appendages, overall and endomysial (myocyte-to-myocyte distances) fibrosis and connexin 43 (Cx43) distribution were quantified. Unipolar AF electrogram analysis showed a more complex pattern with a larger number of narrower waves, more breakthroughs and a higher fractionation index (FI) in persAF compared with aAF and pAF, with no differences between aAF and pAF. The FI was consistently higher at the pLA compared with the RA. Structurally, Cx43 lateralization increased with AF progression (aAF = 7.5 ± 8.9%, pAF = 24.7 ± 11.1%, persAF = 35.1 ± 11.4%, P < 0.001). Endomysial but not overall fibrosis correlated with AF complexity (r = 0.57, P = 0.001; r = 0.23, P = 0.20; respectively).

Conclusions

Atrial fibrillation complexity is highly variable in patients with pAF, but not significantly higher than in patients with acutely induced AF, while in patients with persistent AF complexity is higher. Among the structural alterations studied, endomysial fibrosis, but not overall fibrosis, is the strongest determinant of AF complexity.
The occurrence and consequences of violence against healthcare workers in Turkey: before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Özdamar Ünal Gülin , İşcan Gökçe , Ünal Onur
Published: March 2022

Background

Before and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) were victims of workplace violence (WPV). There are no reliable statistics on the occurrence and consequences of WPV against HCWs in Turkey throughout the pandemic period.

Objective

We investigated the rates of WPV against HCWs in Turkey in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, variables associated with WPV, and the relationship between these variables and job satisfaction and burnout.

Methods

A structured online questionnaire was disseminated through social media channels to HCWs in various healthcare settings. All the respondents also completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Job Satisfaction Scale. Based on the data obtained, we determined the frequency, causes, and consequences of WPV against HCWs before and during the pandemic.

Results

There were 701 completed questionnaires. 68.2% of participants were female, and 65.6% of them were doctors. The rate of WPV was 54.1% and 24.3% before and during the pandemic, respectively. Verbal abuse was the most common kind of WPV. Female HCWs were more likely to be physically assaulted than their male counterparts, especially those working in COVID-19 units. The majority of HCWs who were exposed to the violence at least once did not report WPV. HCWs exposed to WPV during the pandemic reported more emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and a lower perceived level of personal achievement.

Conclusion

HCWs were exposed to significant levels of violence both before and during the pandemic. Preventing WPV against HCWs and removing barriers to reporting abuse is crucial.
Douglas-fir Tree Mortality Caused by the Douglas-fir Beetle in Thinned and Unthinned Stands in Montana, USA
Authors: Sturdevant Nancy , Haavik Laurel , Negrón José F
Published: March 2022

Bark beetles are casual agents of tree mortality, often affecting landscapes with diverse topography. The Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins) (DFB) uses Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco), as its primary host. Populations often increase following disturbances such as defoliation, fires, or blowdowns and then transition into live healthy trees. Mitigating tree mortality where high mortality levels are incompatible with land manager objectives is of relevance. In this study, we compared mortality levels in eighteen thinned and twelve unthinned pure Douglas-fir stands in the Helena National Forest in Montana. Managed stands were thinned during the summers of 2014 and 2015 and tree mortality evaluated in 2017 and 2018. Douglas-fir beetle populations were at endemic levels in the study area, as represented by low observed tree mortality. Even under endemic populations, 3.6% of Douglas-firs > 12 in diameter at breast height (dbh) were killed in unthinned stands compared to 1.6% in thinned stands. Basal area of trees killed in unthinned stands was 5.4 (± 2.4) ft2/ac compared with 0.5 (± 0.3) ft2/ac in thinned stands. Although insect pressure was low, this study indicates that vegetation management could be a tool to mitigate DFB-caused tree mortality. Additional studies conducted under higher insect populations are needed.

Study Implications: Douglas-fir beetle (DFB) can cause extensive mortality of Douglas-fir, particularly in dense stands of large-diameter trees with a high percentage of hosts. Vegetation management through silvicultural thinnings has been proposed as a long-term strategy to mitigate tree mortality from bark beetles. In this study, we compared tree mortality caused by DFB in thinned and unthinned Douglas-fir stands. Douglas-fir beetle populations were at low levels post-thinning and mortality levels were limited. Regardless, we observed increased mortality in denser, unthinned stands compared with thinned stands with lower tree density, suggesting that stand density reductions may mitigate DFB-caused tree mortality.
Not Just How Much, But How Many: Overall and Domain-Specific Activity Variety and Cognitive Functioning in Adulthood
Authors: Jeon Sangha , Lee Soomi , Charles Susan T
Published: March 2022

Objectives

Active lifestyles are related to higher levels of cognitive functioning. Fewer studies have examined the importance of engaging in different activities (activity variety) for cognitive functioning. Moreover, it is unclear whether activity variety in specific domains (i.e., cognitive, physical, or social) is important for cognitive health. The current study examined whether overall activity variety as well as variety in specific domains relate to cognitive functioning.

Methods

In Waves 2 and 3 of the Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, 3,337 adults reported their activity engagement and completed a cognitive battery. For longitudinal analyses, 2,049 participants were classified into 4 groups based on their rank ordering of activity variety across 9 years (remained high, increased, decreased, or remained low).

Results

Cross-sectional analyses revealed that overall activity variety was related to higher cognitive functioning over and above activity frequency; physical and social activity variety each contributed significantly and uniquely to this association. Longitudinal analyses revealed that those with consistently low overall activity variety at both waves had lower cognitive functioning at Wave 3 than those with high activity variety at either wave, after adjusting for cognitive functioning at Wave 2. Those with consistently high or increasing social activity variety had higher cognitive functioning at Wave 3 than participants with low activity variety at both waves.

Discussion

Findings suggest that activity variety, particularly in the social domain, is related to concurrent and future cognitive function across adulthood.
Triku: a feature selection method based on nearest neighbors for single-cell data
Authors: M Ascensión Alex , Ibáñez-Solé Olga , Inza Iñaki , Izeta Ander , Araúzo-Bravo Marcos J
Published: March 2022

Background

Feature selection is a relevant step in the analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing datasets. Most of the current feature selection methods are based on general univariate descriptors of the data such as the dispersion or the percentage of zeros. Despite the use of correction methods, the generality of these feature selection methods biases the genes selected towards highly expressed genes, instead of the genes defining the cell populations of the dataset.

Results

Triku is a feature selection method that favors genes defining the main cell populations. It does so by selecting genes expressed by groups of cells that are close in the k-nearest neighbor graph. The expression of these genes is higher than the expected expression if the k-cells were chosen at random. Triku efficiently recovers cell populations present in artificial and biological benchmarking datasets, based on adjusted Rand index, normalized mutual information, supervised classification, and silhouette coefficient measurements. Additionally, gene sets selected by triku are more likely to be related to relevant Gene Ontology terms and contain fewer ribosomal and mitochondrial genes.

Conclusion

Triku is developed in Python 3 and is available at https://github.com/alexmascension/triku.
Coseismic and early post-seismic deformations due to the 2019 earthquake sequence in Ridgecrest, California
Authors: He Kefeng , Xu Caijun , Wen Yangmao
Published: March 2022

The 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence in the Mojave Desert that ruptured a complex orthogonal conjugate fault system offers a rare opportunity to probe the mechanics of the intraplate lithosphere of the central eastern California shear zone (ECSZ). We used space geodetic data to investigate the coseismic and post-seismic deformations attributable to this earthquake sequence. A triangular dislocation inversion scheme was used to derive the coseismic and post-seismic slip distributions on five non-planar faults in a homogeneous elastic crust. A wide range of viscoelastic relaxation models with varying upper mantle viscosities were also tested to constrain the rheological structure. The inferred coseismic slip exhibited a pronounced (approximately 60 per cent) shallow slip deficit (SSD), only a small proportion of which was recovered by early aseismic afterslip. Inversions of GPS and InSAR data suggest that the near-field post-seismic transient was dominated by afterslip at depths of 3–8 km. Viscosity modelling yielded a robust lower bound of approximately 8.0 × 1017 Pa s on the viscosity of the upper mantle. Both the GPS observations and the modelled viscosity at each individual station showed a lateral heterogeneous relaxation process on both northeast and southwest ECSZ. The effective viscosity of the mantle asthenosphere to the northeast was inferred to be approximately two times lower than that to the southwest, which is consistent with the pattern expected for regional heat flow. A comparison among the static coseismically induced Coulomb stress changes, the cumulative distribution of aftershocks and the afterslip distribution suggests that aftershocks and shallow afterslip could be responses to coseismically induced stresses, but the aftershock and afterslip distribution are poorly correlated. We argue that the pronounced SSD and lack of shallow afterslip during the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence are indicative of an immature fault. Furthermore, we suggest similar rheological structures for the southern and central ECSZ and infer a relatively low effective viscosity for the mantle to the northeast because of its high heat flow. We also propose that the afterslip may illuminate the rate-strengthening regions that mostly slip aseismically, but the aftershocks may illuminate fluid-saturated areas near ruptures.
Highly heterogeneous upper-mantle structure in Fennoscandia from finite-frequency P-body-wave tomography
Authors: Bulut N , Thybo H , Maupin V
Published: March 2022

We present a P-wave velocity model of the upper mantle, obtained from finite-frequency body-wave tomography, to analyse the relationship between deep and surface structures in Fennoscandia, one of the most studied cratons on the Earth. The large array aperture of 2000 km × 800 km allows us to image the velocity structure to 800 km depth at very high resolution. The velocity structure provides background for understanding the mechanisms responsible for the enigmatic and strongly debated high topography in the Scandinavian mountain range far from any plate boundary. Our model shows exceptionally strong velocity anomalies with changes by up to 6 per cent on a 200 km scale. We propose that a strong negative velocity anomaly down to 200 km depth along all of Norway provides isostatic support to the enigmatic topography, as we observe a linear correlation between hypsometry and uppermost mantle velocity anomalies to 150 km depth in central Fennoscandia. The model reveals a low-velocity anomaly below the mountains underlain by positive velocity anomalies, which we explain by preserved original Svecofennian and Archaean mantle below the Caledonian/Sveconorwegian deformed parts of Fennoscandia. Strong positive velocity anomalies to around 200 km depth around the southern Bothnian Bay and the Baltic Sea may be associated with pristine lithosphere of the present central and southern Fennoscandian craton that has been protected from modification since its formation. However, the Archaean domain in the north and the marginal parts of the Svecofennian domains appear to have experienced strong modification of the upper mantle. A pronounced north-dipping positive velocity anomaly in the southern Baltic Sea extends below Moho. It coincides in location and dip with a similar north-dipping structure in the crust and uppermost mantle to 80 km depth observed from high-resolution, controlled source seismic data. We interpret this feature as the image of a Palaeoproterozoic boundary that has been preserved for 1.8 Gy in the lithosphere.
Complexity and Dissonance: Islamic Law States and the International Order
Authors: Powell Emilia Justyna
Published: March 2022

It is safe to say that much of international law—the bedrock of the international order—has been shaped by the Western legal doctrine. How does the Islamic legal tradition relate to international law? What are Islamic law states’ (ILS) stance toward the global order and international relations? This article offers a fresh perspective of similarities and differences between international law and Islamic law. ILS’ patterns of commitments to a number of international treaties and institutions reveal a nuanced picture of these states’ position in the contemporary global order. I bring together the English-language-dominated field of international relations and the Arabic-language literature on global order and Islamic law. I trace Islam's contributions to international law and argue that international law and Islamic law share more similarities than they are given credit for. However, the inherent diversity of Islamic law and the lack of an authoritative body of Islamic international law muddle effects of historical cross-fertilization between Islamic law and international law. In reality, ILS’ position in the global order is not about a fundamental clash of values. A much more intricate picture emerges. In an important way, this paper sketches an emerging research agenda for understanding ILS’ position in the modern global order.
The Primacy of Form over Color: On the Discussion of Primary and Secondary Qualities in Herder’s Pygmalion
Authors: Hodne Lasse
Published: March 2022

A key question in the art debate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was whether color should be used for sculpture. Recent archaeological research had shown that the sculpture in ancient Greece was polychrome, but skepticism about applying paint to one’s own work was widespread among modern sculptors. Some scholars explain this reluctance as a consequence of racial prejudice: the Greek athlete was an image of white Europeans. This article will try to show that a re-reading of Johann Gottfried Herder’s book on sculpture can give us a different and more probable explanation. Herder shared Roger de Piles’s view that the essence of sculpture was form, while color was most characteristic of painting. What set Herder apart from his predecessor, however, was his attempt to give the theory a scientific rationale. He found this in contemporary accounts of visually impaired persons’ relationship to the sensory world and not least in empiricist philosophy’s distinction between primary and secondary sensory properties.