bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Turbulent heating in a stratified medium
Authors: Wang C , Oh S P , Ruszkowski M
Published: January 2023

There is considerable evidence for widespread subsonic turbulence in galaxy clusters, most notably from Hitomi. Turbulence is often invoked to offset radiative losses in cluster cores, both by direct dissipation and by enabling turbulent heat diffusion. However, in a stratified medium, buoyancy forces oppose radial motions, making turbulence anisotropic. This can be quantified via the Froude number Fr, which decreases inward in clusters as stratification increases. We exploit analogies with MHD turbulence to show that wave–turbulence interactions increase cascade times and reduce dissipation rates ϵ ∝ Fr. Equivalently, for a given energy injection/dissipation rate ϵ, turbulent velocities u must be higher compared to Kolmogorov scalings. High-resolution hydrodynamic simulations show excellent agreement with the ϵ ∝ Fr scaling, which sets in for Fr ≲ 0.1. We also compare previously predicted scalings for the turbulent diffusion coefficient D ∝ Fr2 and find excellent agreement, for Fr ≲ 1. However, we find a different normalization, corresponding to stronger diffusive suppression by more than an order of magnitude. Our results imply that turbulent diffusion is more heavily suppressed by stratification, over a much wider radial range, than turbulent dissipation. Thus, the latter potentially dominates. Furthermore, this shift implies significantly higher turbulent velocities required to offset cooling, compared to previous models. These results are potentially relevant to turbulent metal diffusion in the galaxy groups and clusters (which is likewise suppressed), and to planetary atmospheres.
A new method to determine X-ray luminosity functions of AGN and their evolution with redshift
Authors: Alqasim Ahlam , Page Mat J
Published: January 2023

Almost all massive galaxies today are understood to contain supermassive black holes (SMBH) at their centres. SMBHs grew by accreting material from their surroundings, emitting X-rays as they did so. X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) of active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been extensively studied in order to understand the AGN population’s cosmological properties and evolution. We present a new fixed rest-frame method to achieve a more accurate study of the AGN XLF evolution over cosmic time. Normally, XLFs are constructed in a fixed observer-frame energy band, which can be problematic because it probes different rest-frame energies at different redshifts. In the new method, we construct XLFs in the fixed rest-frame band instead, by varying the observed energy band with redshift. We target a rest-frame 2–8 keV band using XMM-Newton and HEAO 1 X-ray data, with seven observer-frame energy bands that vary with redshift for 0 < z < 3. We produce the XLFs using two techniques; one to construct a binned XLF, and one using a maximum likelihood (ML) fit, which makes use of the full unbinned source sample. We find that our ML best-fitting pure luminosity evolution results for both methods are consistent with each other, suggesting that performing XLF evolution studies with the high-redshift data limited to high-luminosity AGN is not very sensitive to the choice of fixed observer-frame or rest-frame energy band, which is consistent with our expectation that high-luminosity AGN typically show little absorption. We have demonstrated the viability of the new method in measuring the XLF evolution.
Globular cluster metallicity distributions in the E-MOSAICS simulations
Authors: Pfeffer Joel , Kruijssen J M Diederik , Bastian Nate , Crain Robert A , Trujillo-Gomez Sebastian
Published: January 2023

The metallicity distributions of globular cluster (GC) systems in galaxies are a critical test of any GC formation scenario. In this work, we investigate the predicted GC metallicity distributions of galaxies in the MOdelling Star cluster population Assembly In Cosmological Simulations within EAGLE (E-MOSAICS) simulation of a representative cosmological volume (L = 34.4 comoving Mpc). We find that the predicted GC metallicity distributions and median metallicities from the fiducial E-MOSAICS GC formation model agree well the observed distributions, except for galaxies with masses $M_\ast \sim 2 \times 10^{10} \, \rm {M}_{\odot }$, which contain an overabundance of metal-rich GCs. The predicted fraction of galaxies with bimodal GC metallicity distributions (37 ± 2 per cent in total; 45 ± 7 per cent for $M_\ast \gt 10^{10.5} \, \rm {M}_{\odot }$) is in good agreement with observed fractions ($44^{+10}_{-9}$ per cent), as are the mean metallicities of the metal-poor and metal-rich peaks. We show that, for massive galaxies ($M_\ast \gt 10^{10} \, \rm {M}_{\odot }$), bimodal GC distributions primarily occur as a result of cluster disruption from initially-unimodal distributions, rather than as a result of cluster formation processes. Based on the distribution of field stars with GC-like abundances in the Milky Way, we suggest that the bimodal GC metallicity distribution of Milky Way GCs also occurred as a result of cluster disruption, rather than formation processes. We conclude that separate formation processes are not required to explain metal-poor and metal-rich GCs, and that GCs can be considered as the surviving analogues of young massive star clusters that are readily observed to form in the local Universe today.
Classifying the satellite plane membership of Centaurus A’s dwarf galaxies using orbital alignment constraints
Authors: Kanehisa Kosuke Jamie , Pawlowski Marcel S , Müller Oliver , Sohn Sangmo Tony
Published: January 2023

The flattened, possibly co-rotating plane of satellite galaxies around Centaurus A, if more than a fortuitous alignment, adds to the pre-existing tension between the well-studied Milky Way and M31 planes and the Lambda cold dark matter model of structure formation. It was recently reported that the Centaurus A satellite plane (CASP) may be rotationally supported, but a further understanding of the system’s kinematics is elusive in the absence of full 3D velocities. We constrain the transverse velocities of 27 satellites that would rotationally stabilize the Centaurus A plane, and classify the satellites by whether their possible orbits are consistent with the CASP. Five satellites are identified to be unlikely to participate in the plane, two of which are clearly non-members. Despite their previously reported line-of-sight velocity trend suggestive of a common co-rotating motion, 17 out of 22 potential CASP members are consistent with either orbital direction within both the full range of possible kinematics as well as when limiting orbits to those within the plane. On the other hand, disregarding the 5 off-plane satellites found to be inconsistent with CASP membership enhances the significance of the CASP’s line-of-sight velocity trend fivefold. Our results are robust with different mass estimates of the Centaurus A halo, and the adoption of either spherical or triaxial NFW potentials.
A search for dark matter among Fermi-LAT unidentified sources with systematic features in machine learning
Authors: Gammaldi V , Zaldívar B , Sánchez-Conde M A , Coronado-Blázquez J
Published: January 2023

Around one-third of the point-like sources in the Fermi-LAT catalogues remain as unidentified sources (unIDs) today. Indeed, these unIDs lack a clear, univocal association with a known astrophysical source. If dark matter (DM) is composed of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), there is the exciting possibility that some of these unIDs may actually be DM sources, emitting gamma-rays from WIMPs annihilation. We propose a new approach to solve the standard, machine learning (ML) binary classification problem of disentangling prospective DM sources (simulated data) from astrophysical sources (observed data) among the unIDs of the 4FGL Fermi-LAT catalogue. We artificially build two systematic features for the DM data which are originally inherent to observed data: the detection significance and the uncertainty on the spectral curvature. We do it by sampling from the observed population of unIDs, assuming that the DM distributions would, if any, follow the latter. We consider different ML models: Logistic Regression, Neural Network (NN), Naive Bayes, and Gaussian Process, out of which the best, in terms of classification accuracy, is the NN, achieving around $93.3{{\ \rm per\ cent}} \pm 0.7{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ performance. Other ML evaluation parameters, such as the True Negative and True Positive rates, are discussed in our work. Applying the NN to the unIDs sample, we find that the degeneracy between some astrophysical and DM sources can be partially solved within this methodology. None the less, we conclude that there are no DM source candidates among the pool of 4FGL Fermi-LAT unIDs.
Discovery and description of two young open clusters in the primordial group of NGC 6871
Authors: Casado Juan , Hendy Yasser
Published: January 2023

A primordial group of open clusters containing NGC 6871 is confirmed and described through Gaia DR3 data and the previous literature. It is a star-forming complex containing at least six young open clusters (OCs), including Teutsch 8, FSR 198, and Biurakan 2. Two nearby OCs (Casado 82 and Casado-Hendy 1) are newly identified and studied in detail and found to be also members of the cited group. The parameters of the components are sufficiently similar to postulate the case of at least six clusters born from a single giant molecular cloud. None of the cluster pairs of the group seems to be an authentic binary cluster, with the possible exception of the candidate pair Teutsch 8/FSR 198. Instead, NGC 6871 seems to be disintegrating, and the primordial group members appear to be dispersing out rapidly. Searching for new open clusters in the vicinity of young or grouped OCs using Gaia data is an efficient strategy to find new associated OCs forming primordial groups.
Exoplanet atmosphere evolution: emulation with neural networks
Authors: Rogers James G , Janó Muñoz Clàudia , Owen James E , Makinen T Lucas
Published: January 2023

Atmospheric mass-loss is known to play a leading role in sculpting the demographics of small, close-in exoplanets. Knowledge of how such planets evolve allows one to ‘rewind the clock’ to infer the conditions in which they formed. Here, we explore the relationship between a planet’s core mass and its atmospheric mass after protoplanetary disc dispersal by exploiting XUV photoevaporation as an evolutionary process. Historically, this inference problem would be computationally infeasible due to the large number of planet models required; however, we use a novel atmospheric evolution emulator which utilizes neural networks to provide three orders of magnitude in speedup. First, we provide a proof of concept for this emulator on a real problem by inferring the initial atmospheric conditions of the TOI-270 multi-planet system. Using the emulator, we find near-indistinguishable results when compared to the original model. We then apply the emulator to the more complex inference problem, which aims to find the initial conditions for a sample of Kepler, K2, and TESS planets with well-constrained masses and radii. We demonstrate that there is a relationship between core masses and the atmospheric mass they retain after disc dispersal. This trend is consistent with the ‘boil-off’ scenario, in which close-in planets undergo dramatic atmospheric escape during disc dispersal. Thus, it appears that the exoplanet population is consistent with the idea that close-in exoplanets initially acquired large massive atmospheres, the majority of which is lost during disc dispersal, before the final population is sculpted by atmospheric loss over 100 Myr to Gyr time-scales.
The multizone chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge: predicting abundances for different radial zones
Authors: Cavichia O , Mollá M , Bazán J J
Published: January 2023

Due to its proximity, the stellar populations of the Galactic bulge (GB) can be resolved and can be studied in detail. This allows tracing the bulge metallicity distribution function (MDF) for different spatial regions within the bulge, which may give us clues about the bulge formation and evolution scenarios. In this work, we developed a chemical evolution model (CEM), taking into account the mass distribution in the bulge and disc, to derive the radial dependence of this time-scale in the Galaxy. Since the infall rate depends on that time-scale in the CEM, the results of the model were used to test a scenario where the bulge is formed inside-out. The obtained results for the [α/Fe] versus [Fe/H] relationship, the MDF and the [Fe/H] radial gradient in the bulge have been compared to available data in the literature. The model is able to reproduce most of the observational data: the spread in the relation [α/Fe] versus [Fe/H], the MDF shape in different regions of the bulge, the [Fe/H] radial gradient inside it, and the age–metallicity relation, as well as the [α/Fe] evolution with age. The results of the model point to a scenario where the bulk of the bulge stars pre-existed the boxy/peanut X-shape bar formation. As a result, the classical origin of the GB is not ruled out, and this scenario may be invoked to explain the chemical properties of the GB.
The radio detection and accretion properties of the peculiar nuclear transient AT 2019avd
Authors: Wang Yanan , Baldi Ranieri D , del Palacio Santiago , Guolo Muryel , Yang Xiaolong , Zhang Yangkang , Done Chris , Castro Segura Noel , Pasham Dheeraj R , Middleton Matthew , Altamirano Diego , Gandhi Poshak , Qiao Erlin , Jiang Ning , Yan Hongliang , Giroletti Marcello , Migliori Giulia , McHardy Ian , Panessa Francesca , Jin Chichuan , Shen Rongfeng , Dai Lixin
Published: January 2023

AT 2019avd is a nuclear transient detected from infrared to soft X-rays, though its nature is yet unclear. The source has shown two consecutive flaring episodes in the optical and the infrared bands, and its second flare was covered by X-ray monitoring programs. During this flare, the UVOT/Swift photometries revealed two plateaus: one observed after the peak and the other one appeared ∼240 d later. Meanwhile, our NICER and XRT/Swift campaigns show two declines in the X-ray emission, one during the first optical plateau and one 70–90 d after the optical/UV decline. The evidence suggests that the optical/UV could not have been primarily originated from X-ray reprocessing. Furthermore, we detected a timelag of ∼16–34 d between the optical and UV emission, which indicates the optical likely comes from UV reprocessing by a gas at a distance of 0.01–0.03 pc. We also report the first VLA and VLBA detection of this source at different frequencies and different stages of the second flare. The information obtained in the radio band – namely a steep and a late-time inverted radio spectrum, a high brightness temperature and a radio-loud state at late times – together with the multiwavelength properties of AT 2019avd suggests the launching and evolution of outflows such as disc winds or jets. In conclusion, we propose that after the ignition of black hole activity in the first flare, a super-Eddington flaring accretion disc formed and settled to a sub-Eddington state by the end of the second flare, associated with a compact radio outflow.
Binary neutron star merger simulations with neutrino transport and turbulent viscosity: impact of different schemes and grid resolution
Authors: Zappa Francesco , Bernuzzi Sebastiano , Radice David , Perego Albino
Published: January 2023

We present a systematic numerical relativity study of the impact of different physics input and grid resolution in binary neutron star mergers. We compare simulations employing a neutrino leakage scheme, leakage plus M0 scheme, the M1 transport scheme, and pure hydrodynamics. Additionally, we examine the effect of a sub-grid scheme for turbulent viscosity. We find that the overall dynamics and thermodynamics of the remnant core are robust, implying that the maximum remnant density could be inferred from gravitational wave observations. Black hole collapse instead depends significantly on viscosity and grid resolution. Differently from recent work, we identify possible signatures of neutrino effects in the gravitational waves only at the highest resolutions considered; new high-resolution simulations will be thus required to build accurate gravitational wave templates to observe these effects. Different neutrino transport schemes impact significantly mass, geometry, and composition of the remnant’s disc and ejecta; M1 simulations show systematically larger proton fractions, reaching maximum values larger than 0.4. r-process nucleosynthesis yields reflect the different ejecta compositions; they are in agreement and reproduce residual solar abundances only if M0 or M1 neutrino transport schemes are adopted. We compute kilonova light curves using spherically-symmetric radiation-hydrodynamics evolutions up to 15 d post-merger, finding that they are mostly sensitive to the ejecta mass and electron fraction; accounting for multiple ejecta components appears necessary for reliable light curve predictions. We conclude that advanced neutrino schemes and resolutions higher than current standards are essential for robust long-term evolutions and detailed astrophysical predictions.
Dr.Nod: computational framework for discovery of regulatory non-coding drivers in tissue-matched distal regulatory elements
Authors: Tomkova Marketa , Tomek Jakub , Chow Julie , McPherson John D , Segal David J , Hormozdiari Fereydoun
Published: January 2023

The discovery of cancer driver mutations is a fundamental goal in cancer research. While many cancer driver mutations have been discovered in the protein-coding genome, research into potential cancer drivers in the non-coding regions showed limited success so far. Here, we present a novel comprehensive framework Dr.Nod for detection of non-coding cis-regulatory candidate driver mutations that are associated with dysregulated gene expression using tissue-matched enhancer-gene annotations. Applying the framework to data from over 1500 tumours across eight tissues revealed a 4.4-fold enrichment of candidate driver mutations in regulatory regions of known cancer driver genes. An overarching conclusion that emerges is that the non-coding driver mutations contribute to cancer by significantly altering transcription factor binding sites, leading to upregulation of tissue-matched oncogenes and down-regulation of tumour-suppressor genes. Interestingly, more than half of the detected cancer-promoting non-coding regulatory driver mutations are over 20 kb distant from the cancer-associated genes they regulate. Our results show the importance of tissue-matched enhancer-gene maps, functional impact of mutations, and complex background mutagenesis model for the prediction of non-coding regulatory drivers. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that non-coding mutations in enhancers play a previously underappreciated role in cancer and dysregulation of clinically relevant target genes.
Hypothesis-driven probabilistic modelling enables a principled perspective of genomic compartments
Authors: Kariti Hagai , Feld Tal , Kaplan Noam
Published: January 2023

The Hi-C method has revolutionized the study of genome organization, yet interpretation of Hi-C interaction frequency maps remains a major challenge. Genomic compartments are a checkered Hi-C interaction pattern suggested to represent the partitioning of the genome into two self-interacting states associated with active and inactive chromatin. Based on a few elementary mechanistic assumptions, we derive a generative probabilistic model of genomic compartments, called deGeco. Testing our model, we find it can explain observed Hi-C interaction maps in a highly robust manner, allowing accurate inference of interaction probability maps from extremely sparse data without any training of parameters. Taking advantage of the interpretability of the model parameters, we then test hypotheses regarding the nature of genomic compartments. We find clear evidence of multiple states, and that these states self-interact with different affinities. We also find that the interaction rules of chromatin states differ considerably within and between chromosomes. Inspecting the molecular underpinnings of a four-state model, we show that a simple classifier can use histone marks to predict the underlying states with 87% accuracy. Finally, we observe instances of mixed-state loci and analyze these loci in single-cell Hi-C maps, finding that mixing of states occurs mainly at the cell level.
A parametric approach for molecular encodings using multilevel atomic neighborhoods applied to peptide classification
Authors: Hattab Georges , Anžel Aleksandar , Spänig Sebastian , Neumann Nils , Heider Dominik
Published: January 2023

Exploring new ways to represent and discover organic molecules is critical to the development of new therapies. Fingerprinting algorithms are used to encode or machine-read organic molecules. Molecular encodings facilitate the computation of distance and similarity measurements to support tasks such as similarity search or virtual screening. Motivated by the ubiquity of carbon and the emerging structured patterns, we propose a parametric approach for molecular encodings using carbon-based multilevel atomic neighborhoods. It implements a walk along the carbon chain of a molecule to compute different representations of the neighborhoods in the form of a binary or numerical array that can later be exported into an image. Applied to the task of binary peptide classification, the evaluation was performed by using forty-nine encodings of twenty-nine data sets from various biomedical fields, resulting in well over 1421 machine learning models. By design, the parametric approach is domain- and task-agnostic and scopes all organic molecules including unnatural and exotic amino acids as well as cyclic peptides. Applied to peptide classification, our results point to a number of promising applications and extensions. The parametric approach was developed as a Python package (cmangoes), the source code and documentation of which can be found at https://github.com/ghattab/cmangoes and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7483771.
Convergent evolution of immune receptors underpins distinct elicitin recognition in closely related Solanaceous plants
Authors: Chen Zhaodan , Liu Fan , Zeng Mengzhu , Wang Lei , Liu Hanmei , Sun Yujing , Wang Lan , Zhang Zhichao , Chen Zhiyuan , Xu Yuanpeng , Zhang Mingmei , Xia Yeqiang , Ye Wenwu , Dong Suomeng , Govers Francine , Wang Yan , Wang Yuanchao
Published: January 2023

Elicitins are a large family of secreted proteins in Phytophthora. Clade 1 elicitins were identified decades ago as potent elicitors of immune responses in Nicotiana species, but the mechanisms underlying elicitin recognition are largely unknown. Here we identified an elicitin receptor in Nicotiana benthamiana that we named REL for Responsive to ELicitins. REL is a receptor-like protein (RLP) with an extracellular leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain that mediates Phytophthora resistance by binding elicitins. Silencing or knocking out REL in N. benthamiana abolished elicitin-triggered cell death and immune responses. Domain deletion and site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the island domain (ID) located within the LRR domain of REL is crucial for elicitin recognition. In addition, sequence polymorphism in the ID underpins the genetic diversity of REL homologs in various Nicotiana species in elicitin recognition and binding. Remarkably, REL is phylogenetically distant from the elicitin response (ELR) protein, an LRR–RLP that was previously identified in the wild potato species Solanum microdontum and REL and ELR differ in the way they bind and recognize elicitins. Our findings provide insights into the molecular basis of plant innate immunity and highlight a convergent evolution of immune receptors towards perceiving the same elicitor.
Political legitimacy and vaccine hesitancy: Disability support workers in Australia
Authors: Dickinson Helen , Kavanagh Anne , Dimov Stefanie , Shields Marissa , McAllister Ashley
Published: January 2023

People with disability are an at-risk group in the COVID-19 pandemic for a range of clinical and socioeconomic reasons. In recognition of this, Australians with disability and those who work with them were prioritized in access to vaccination, but the vaccination targets were not met. In this paper, we analyze qualitative data generated from a survey with 368 disability support workers to identify drivers of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and why the implementation of this policy may have experienced challenges. We identify a range of themes within these data but ultimately argue that a major driver of vaccine hesitancy in this group is a mistrust of government and an erosion of employment terms and conditions. Drawing on the policy capacity literature, we argue that the “Achilles’ heel” for the Australian government in this case is the critical policy capacity of political legitimacy. This finding has important implications for where the government needs to increase/build policy capacity, strengthening its efforts and better relating to organizations that can be helpful in terms of developing public health messaging for disability support workers.
Relationship between red blood cell–related indices and coronary artery calcification
Authors: Jin Fulu , Chang Xiansong , Wang Xiaozhong , Xiong Hui , Wang Li , Zhang Bo , Wang Peiyu , Zhao Liangping
Published: January 2023

Background

Red blood cell (RBC) indices such as RBC count and RBC distribution width (RDW) are associated with heart failure and coronary artery disease, but the relationship between RBC indices and coronary artery calcification (CAC) is unclear. This study aimed to investigate RBC indices’ correlation with, and predictive value for, the presence and severity of CAC.

Methods

In this study, 1257 hospitalized patients who received a coronary computed tomography angiography examination were finally selected. Patients were classified into a control group (without CAC, n = 655) and a calcification group (with CAC, n = 602) according to their CAC score. The calcification group was further divided into a low calcification group, medium calcification group, and high calcification group.

Results

In the calcification group, the RBC count was lower, and the RDW-standard deviation (SD) and RDW-coefficient of variation (CV) were higher, than those in the control group (P < .05). In the high calcification group, the RBC count was significantly lower, and the RDW-SD and RDW-CV were significantly higher, than those in the low calcification group (P < .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that RBC count, RDW-SD, and RDW-CV were independent predictors of CAC presence. Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis also showed that RBC count and RDW-SD were independent predictors of severe CAC.

Conclusions

RBC indices were significantly associated with the presence and severity of CAC, indicating that these RBC indices have the potential to be predictors of CAC.
Market Power and Spatial Competition in Rural India
Authors: Chatterjee Shoumitro
Published: January 2023

Market power of intermediaries contributes to the low incomes of farmers in India. I study the role of spatial competition between intermediaries in determining the prices that farmers receive in India by focusing on a law that restricts farmers to selling their goods to intermediaries in their own state. I show that the discontinuities in market power generated by the law translate into discontinuities in prices. Increasing spatial competition by one standard deviation causes prices received by farmers to increase by 6.4%. I propose and estimate a quantitative spatial model of bargaining and trade to shed light on spatial and aggregate implications. Estimates from the structural model suggest that removing the interstate trade restriction in India would increase competition between intermediaries. Thereby average farmer prices and their output would increase by at least 11% and 7%, respectively. The value of the national crop output would increase by at least 18%. However, there are distributional consequences as well, as some farmers stand to lose due to increased local production.
Exploratory study of the effects of sex and hormonal contraceptives on alertness, fatigue, and sleepiness of police officers on rotating shifts
Authors: Boivin Diane B , Caetano Gabriela M , Kervezee Laura , Gonzales-Aste Fernando , Boudreau Philippe
Published: January 2023

Study Objectives

This exploratory study assessed the impact of sex and hormonal contraceptives (HC) use on the homeostatic and diurnal variation of alertness, fatigue, sleepiness, psychomotor performance, and sleep behavior in police officers working rotating shifts.

Methods

A total of 56 men and 20 women (6 using, 11 not using, and 3 with unknown use of HC) participated in an observational study throughout a month-long work cycle. Participants wore an actigraph, filled out a sleep and work log, answered questionnaires (Samn-Perelli, KSS, Visual Analogue Scales), and completed 5-min Psychomotor Vigilance Tasks (PVT) according to an ecological momentary assessment approach. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the effects of group (men, women, and HC use), time awake, and time of day on the dependent variables.

Results

Self-reported parameters and performance significantly varied with time awake and time of day. Women were more fatigued and sleepier than men, when considering both time awake and time of day. Compared to men, women using HC were more fatigued, less alert, and sleepier. Women had less attention lapses than men after 7 and 17 h awake, although no main effect of HC was detected.

Conclusions

Women tended to rate themselves as more fatigued than men, especially when using HC. Surprisingly, psychomotor performances of women were sometimes better than those of men. This exploratory study indicates that sex and HC are important factors to consider in occupational medicine.
Fungicide Resistance: Progress in Understanding Mechanism, Monitoring, and Management
Authors: Yin Yanni , Miao Jianqiang , Shao Wenyong , Liu Xili , Zhao Youfu , Ma Zhonghua
Published: January 2023

Fungicide treatments are often essential for maintaining healthy crops and to achieve reliable and high-quality yields. However, continued use of fungicides with the same modes of action can lead to development of fungicide resistance, which has emerged in various plant pathogens and is a serious threat to effective crop protection. Exploration of resistance mechanisms is critical for resistance monitoring and management. This brief review summarizes advances during the past five decades in understanding the molecular resistance mechanisms of plant pathogenic fungi and oomycetes to major classes of fungicides, including benzimidazoles, myosin inhibitors, sterol demethylation inhibitors, quinone outside inhibitors, succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors, anilinopyrimidines, carboxylic acid amides, and oxysterol-binding protein homolog inhibitors. Based on known resistance mechanisms, PCR- and loop-mediated isothermal amplification-based approaches have been developed to allow high-throughput monitoring and early/rapid detection of emerging resistance. Classical principles in fungicide resistance management are also summarized, including using different modes of action of fungicides, limiting the number of applications of the chemicals with site-specific modes of action, and avoidance of their eradicant use. Future studies on novel strategies of disease management, including development of epigenetics- and RNA-based fungicides, will provide valuable knowledge for management of fungicide resistance.
Investigating the Potential Antagonistic Effect of Babaco Mosaic Virus Against Papaya Ringspot Virus in Carica papaya
Authors: Cornejo-Franco Juan F. , Ruiz-Barzola Omar , Quito-Avila Diego F.
Published: January 2023

The potential antagonistic effect of babaco mosaic virus (BabMV) against papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) was investigated under greenhouse and field conditions. Carica papaya plants previously inoculated with BabMV were challenged with PRSV and monitored over time. Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR showed an average 61% reduction of PRSV genomic RNA in BabMV-PRSV-infected plants compared with singly infected plants. However, there was no antagonistic effect in the phenotypic response to PRSV, as leaf symptoms associated with PRSV were not different in mixed infections of BabMV-PRSV compared with PRSV singly infected plants. Similar results were observed in the field, where PRSV was detected in 47.1% of plants previously inoculated with BabMV and showed severe leaf symptoms. Our findings show that BabMV does not act as an antagonist against PRSV in C. papaya.

[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .
Utility of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Identifying Clinically Significant Interactions Between St. John's Wort and Prescription Drugs
Authors: Steenkamp Vanessa , Parkar Hafiza , Dasgupta Amitava
Published: January 2023

Background:

The general population widely uses herbal medicines, as they are regarded as effective and safe. St. John's wort, which is an effective herbal antidepressant, exhibits both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions with several drugs. The aim of this review was to highlight the clinically significant interactions of St. John's wort with drugs that require to be monitored to assess their therapeutic effect.

Methods:

Published literature was searched using electronic databases, such as MEDLINE, PubMed, and Elsevier ScienceDirect using terms such as “herbal medicine,” “herbal toxicity,” “legislation herbal medicine,” “drug–herb interactions,” “St. John's wort,” and “St. John's wort–drug interactions.” Searches were limited to the English language, and there was no restriction on the date of publication.

Results:

St. John's wort exhibits a number of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions with drugs. The most dangerous interactions occurred when used concurrently with the immunosuppressants, cyclosporine, and tacrolimus (treatment failure or organ rejection) or warfarin (treatment failure resulting in thromboembolic events) or antiretroviral agents (treatment failure and the emergence of new viral variants that are resistant to conventional drugs).

Conclusions:

Patients should consult their health care providers before consuming herbal supplements, especially St. John's wort, to avoid potentially dangerous drug–herb interactions.
Chelation Model Validation: Modeling of a Plutonium-238 Inhalation Incident Treated with DTPA at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Authors: Dumit Sara , Miller Guthrie , Poudel Deepesh , Bertelli Luiz , Klumpp John
Published: January 2023

Accidental inhalation of plutonium at the workplace is a non-negligible risk, even when rigorous safety standards are in place. The intake and retention of plutonium in the human body may be a source of concern. Thus, if there is a suspicion of a significant intake of plutonium, medical countermeasures such as chelation treatment may be administered to the worker. The present work aimed to interpret the bioassay data of a worker involved in an inhalation incident due to a glovebox breach at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s plutonium facility. The worker was treated with intravenous injections of calcium salts of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) in an attempt to reduce the amount of plutonium from the body and therefore reduce the internal radiation dose. It is well known in the internal dosimetry field that the administration of chelation treatment poses additional challenges to the dose assessment. Hence, a recently developed chelation model was used for the modeling of the bioassay data. The objectives of this work are to describe the incident, model the chelation-affected and non-affected bioassay data, estimate the plutonium intake, and assess the internal radiation dose.
Comparison of Semirigid and Rigid Lumbosacral Orthoses in Association with Routine Treatment of Pain, Fear of Movement, and Disability in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation
Authors: Hamrah Hanieh , Daryabor Aliyeh , Arazpour Mokhtar , Golchin Navid , Mohammadi Hassan
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Disc protrusion, as a type of lumbar disc herniation, is one of the most common causes of acute lower back pain. Lumbosacral orthoses (LSOs) can be used as a conservative treatment along with routine treatment (physiotherapy and medication). The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of routine therapy in association with two types of rigid and semirigid LSOs compared with routine treatment alone on pain, fear of movement, and disability in patients with herniated lumbar disc.

Materials and Methods

In this quasi-experimental study, 27 patients with lumbar disc herniation (protrusion type) were assigned into three groups including 1, semirigid LSO with routine treatment (n = 8); 2, rigid LSOs with routine treatment (n = 8); and 3, only routine treatment (n = 11). Before using any therapeutic interventions in each group, the pain, disability, and fear of movement were recorded using the visual analog scale, Oswestry questionnaire, and Tampa questionnaire, respectively. Patients in each group then used their allocated intervention for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, variables were recorded under the same protocol.

Results

In between-group comparison after 4 weeks, no significant difference was observed between them in all variables (P > 0.05). In intragroup comparison, in the group of routine treatment wearing semirigid LSO, a significant decrease in disability, pain, and fear of movement was observed after 4 weeks’ use of intervention compared with before (P < 0.05). Routine treatment using rigid LSO caused a significant reduction in pain and disability and use of routine treatment significantly reduced only disability score (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Based on the findings, no significant difference was found between interventions in measured outcomes. However, the use of physiotherapy and medication along with semirigid LSO improved all outcomes compared with before using.

Clinical Relevance

Both routine treatment alone and routine treatment along with an LSO can be used in people with herniated lumbar disc. Use of physiotherapy and medication along with semirigid LSO could improves pain, fear of movement, and disability in these patients.
Distance and Socieoeconomic Status as Barriers to Cochlear Implantation
Authors: Cheung Linnea L. , Fowler Alex , Hassarati Rachelle T. , Birman Catherine S.
Published: January 2023

Objective

To assess the distance burden for access to cochlear implant (CI)–related services and to assess whether socioeconomic disadvantage or level of education and occupation influenced uptake of CIs.

Study Design

Retrospective case review.

Setting

A CI services provider operating across multiple centers.

Patients

All patients undergoing CI surgery in a 2-year period between March 2018 and February 2020.

Intervention(s)

Diagnosis of hearing loss, CI surgery, and subsequent habilitation and mapping.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Distance traveled by patients to their audiological diagnostic, CI surgery hospital, and habilitation sites; subjects' index of relative socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) and index of education and occupation (IEO).

Results

n = 201 children and n = 623 adults. There was a significant difference across IRSAD domains for children (p < 0.0001) and adults (p < 0.0001), and IEO in children (p = 0.015) and adults (p < 0.0001) when tested for equal proportions. The median driving distance from home to the diagnostic audiological site for children was 20 km (mean, 69 km; range, 1–1184 km; upper quartile, 79 km; lower quartile, 8 km). There was no significant difference between the driving distances from home to the CI surgery hospital site, or the mapping/habilitation sites between children and adults. There was no correlation for age at first surgery and either IRSAD/IEO.

Conclusions

The burden of distance for access to CI in Australia is significant for the upper quartile who may not live within the large city centers. Greater consideration needs to be given regarding barriers to CI for those in lower socioeconomic and educational groups to ensure equity of access across different socioeconomic and educational level backgrounds.
Reporting of Sociodemographic Data in Cochlear Implant Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review
Authors: Meinhardt Gerek , Sharrer Christine , Perez Nicole , Downes Alexandra , Davidowitz Tess , Schuh Marissa , Robinson Lauren , Lustig Lawrence R. , Bush Matthew
Published: January 2023

Objective

The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the literature on the frequency of reporting of sociodemographic data (gender, race, ethnicity, education status, health insurance status, geographic location of residence, and socioeconomic status) among interventional clinical trials involving cochlear implant patients.

Databases Reviewed

A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science, and SCOPUS to identify peer reviewed research.

Methods

A systematic review was performed, which included original prospective clinical trial research studies involving cochlear implantation and/or interventional trials involving cochlear implant patients. Collected data included funding type, level of evidence, race reporting, ethnicity reporting, socioeconomic status reporting, education level reporting, type of insurance, geographic location, and gender of patients.

Results

A total of 644 articles were included for review. Gender was the most reported sociodemographic factor (70% of included studies). Reporting of other data among included studies was low: educational level (6%), socioeconomic status (2%), race (1%), ethnicity (1%), insurance status (0.3%), and geography (1%). The odds of reporting gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.51), education (OR = 1.81), and geography (OR = 2.72) increased with each subsequent publication date decade; however, this trend was not seen for reporting of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or insurance. The reporting of gender was less likely to be reported in studies with the pediatric participants (OR = 0.62), level II evidence (OR = 0.14), and device programming interventional studies (OR = 0.26).

Conclusion

Reporting of sociodemographic data, other than gender, is low among prospective clinical trials involving cochlear implant patients. The lack of reporting of this key data may limit research rigor and generalizability. Clinical researchers are advised to prospectively collect these data to promote equity in cochlear implant research and clinical care.
Improved Prediction of Hearing Loss after Temporal Bone Fracture by Applying a Detailed Classification for Otic Capsule–Violating Fracture: A Wide Scope Analysis with Large Case Series
Authors: Park Euyhyun , Chang Young-Soo , Kim Bum-Joon , Chang Munyoung , Im Gi Jung , Choi June , Jung Hak Hyun , Rah Yoon Chan
Published: January 2023

Introduction

This study aimed to analyze the predictability of temporal bone (TB) fracture-associated hearing loss by applying a detailed classification separating individual injury of the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals (SCC).

Methods

In this retrospective study, patients with otic capsule–violating (OCV) fractures were further classified as OCV-C(VS) when the cochlea was involved regardless of vestibule or SCC involvement, OCV-V(S) when the vestibule was involved regardless of SCC involvement, and OCV-S when the fracture only involved SCC. Hearing changes were compared by applying the above-mentioned classification, and TB fracture-induced facial palsy was also analyzed.

Results

A total of 119 patients were included. Patients with OCV fractures had significantly worse bone conduction (BC) and air conduction (AC) thresholds (59.1 ± 25.3 and 87.0 ± 29.5 dB) than those with otic capsule–sparing (OCS) fractures (20.1 ± 17.9 and 36.5 ± 21.9 dB; p < 0.001 for each comparison). The BC and the AC thresholds of OCV-C(VS) (77.5 ± 11.0 and 114.2 ± 14.3 dB) and OCV-V(S) (69.3 ± 27.7 and 98.0 ± 22.2 dB) were significantly higher than OCV-S (40.1 ± 22.9 and 62.1 ± 25.6 dB; p < 0.001 for each comparison). The BC hearing thresholds were not significantly improved in the last pure tone audiometry when compared for total, OCV, or OCS cases. The AC threshold significantly improved in OCS cases. In a considerable number of cases with facial palsy, causative fracture lines involved the geniculate ganglion or tympanic segment without the involvement of the otic capsule. Most cases showed significant improvement; however, recovery was limited in cases with obvious fallopian canal disruption.

Conclusions

The cases with sole involvement of SCC had significantly better hearing thresholds than those with cochlear or vestibule involvement, even in OCV fracture cases.
Melanoma and Glioblastoma—Not a Serendipitous Association
Authors: Oh Kei Shing , Mahalingam Meera
Published: January 2023

Recently, we came across a patient with malignant melanoma and primary glioblastoma. Given this, we parsed the literature to ascertain the relationship, if any, between these 2 malignancies. We begin with a brief overview of melanoma and glioma in isolation followed by a chronologic overview of case reports and epidemiologic studies documenting both neoplasms. This is followed by studies detailing genetic abnormalities common to both malignancies with a view to identifying unifying genetic targets for therapeutic strategies as well as to explore the possibility of a putative association and an inherited cancer susceptibility trait. From a scientific perspective, we believe we have provided evidence favoring an association between melanoma and glioma. Future studies that include documentation of additional cases, as well as a detailed molecular analyses, will lend credence to our hypothesis that the co-occurrence of these 2 conditions is likely not serendipitous.
CXCL13 levels in cerebrospinal fluids of patients with multiple sclerosis: The role of Borrelia proteins in neuro infections
Authors: Karabörk Şeyda , Türkoğlu Şule Aydin , Yildiz Serpil , Sirmatel Fatma
Published: January 2023

In the present study, the purpose was to study anti-Borrelia antibodies with both ELISA and WB for the control of Lyme Disease in CSF samples obtained from patients diagnosed with MS, and to determine the relationship between them by investigating the CXCL13 levels. A total of 43 CSF samples taken from patients diagnosed with MS and PTS. The obtained data were statistically analyzed with the Spearman Rank Correlation Test and p<0.05 value was considered statistically significant. Especially 5 antigens (p19, p20, p21, p58, and OspC) were found to be positive as a result of the confirmation of the samples that were positive for Borrelia antibodies with the WB method. When the results of the study were evaluated, the Borrelia antibodies that were found positive by ELISA and high CXCL13 in CSF samples of MS patients proved once again that CXCL13 is still the best biomarker for LNB. The presence of Borrelia antibodies, which were found to be positive with the ELISA test in CSF samples of MS patients, was confirmed with WB. The coexistence of high CXCL13 levels in the same samples suggests that LNB may also play a role in the etiopathogenesis of MS and CXCL13 may be a potential biomarker in this respect. Also, with the positive detection of OspC and p58 WB bands in the majority of cases, we think that these two protein bands will shed light on borrelia studies in CSF in neurodegenerative diseases and can be used as a potential biomarker in diagnosis.