bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Criteria for developing, assessing and selecting candidate EQ-5D bolt-ons
Authors: Mulhern Brendan J. , Sampson Chris , Haywood Phil , Addo Rebecca , Page Katie , Mott David , Shah Koonal , Janssen Mathieu F. , Herdman Mike
Published: April 2022

Purpose

‘Bolt-on’ dimensions are additional items added to multi-attribute utility instruments (MAUIs) such as EQ-5D that measure constructs not included in the core descriptive system. The use of bolt-ons has been proposed to improve the content validity and responsiveness of the descriptive system in certain settings and health conditions. EQ-5D bolt-ons serve a particular purpose and thus satisfy a certain set of criteria. The aim of this paper is to propose a set of criteria to guide the development, assessment and selection of candidate bolt-on descriptors.

Methods

Criteria were developed using an iterative approach. First, existing criteria were identified from the literature including those used to guide the development of MAUIs, the COSMIN checklist and reviews of existing bolt-ons. Second, processes used to develop bolt-ons based on qualitative and quantitative approaches were considered. The information from these two stages was formalised into draft development and selection criteria. These were reviewed by the project team and iteratively refined.

Results

Overall, 23 criteria for the development, assessment and selection of candidate bolt-ons were formulated. Development criteria focused on issues relating to i) structure, ii) language, and iii) consistency with the existing EQ-5D dimension structure. Assessment and selection criteria focused on face and content validity and classical psychometric indicators.

Conclusion

The criteria generated can be used to guide the development of bolt-ons across different health areas. They can also be used to assess existing bolt-ons, and inform their inclusion in studies and patient groups where the EQ-5D may lack content validity.
Chinese students’ access, use and perceptions of ICTs in learning mathematics: findings from an investigation of Shanghai secondary schools
Authors: Fan Lianghuo , Luo Jietong , Xie Sicheng , Zhu Fangchun , Li Shuhui
Published: April 2022

Due to rapid social and economic development in China over the last three decades, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become increasingly available in Chinese classrooms and families. However, there is a lack of research regarding Chinese students’ use of ICTs in mathematics learning. In this study, we examined how Chinese students access, use, and perceive ICTs in learning mathematics. To this end, a conceptual framework for ICTs and the role of ICTs in students’ learning of mathematics was established. Using a mixed-methods approach, we collected data from 223 students in four randomly selected secondary schools in Shanghai through a questionnaire survey, followed by classroom observations and interviews with students and teachers. The results revealed that various ICTs are widely accessible in Shanghai classrooms and students overall have a positive view about the role of ICTs in their mathematics learning, especially in problem solving and in learning geometry. When learning mathematics at home, students used handheld technological devices more frequently than non-portable devices. Furthermore, there were significant differences between different students in terms of school performance levels, grade levels, and genders in their use of ICTs in learning mathematics. In particular, students from high-performing schools had more access to various ICTs but used them less frequently than their peers from ordinary schools. Suggestions and implications of the findings are discussed at the end of the paper.
Characterization of Bacterial and Archaeal Communities by DGGE and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of Nitrification Bioreactors Using Two Different Intermediate Landfill Leachates as Ammonium Substrate
Authors: González-Cortés J. J. , Valle A. , Ramírez M. , Cantero D.
Published: April 2022

Nitrification–denitrification is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to treat landfill leachates. Special attention has been given to the nitrification step, usually the limiting one due to its special sensitivity to environmental factors. Here, the effect of the acclimatization of the nitrifying biomass to two different intermediate landfill leachates with different salt concentrations, COD and BOD5 has been studied. Despite the complete nitrification being successfully performed, the specific nitritation rates were reduced after the biomass adaptation to both landfill leachates caused by the presence of heavy metals and the high salt concentration. NGS analysis of the biomass samples revealed that Proteobacteria (48.5%), Actinobacteriota (14.4%) and Chloroflexi (9.5%) were the dominant phyla in the non-adapted biomass. The leachate feeding led to a decrease in OTU diversity and favored the growth of the phyla Bacteroidetes (27.2%), Euryarchaeota (26.6%) and Proteobacteria (20.0%) accounting for more than 70% of relative abundance. Several OTUs capable of performing the nitritation belong to the Xanthobacteraceae and the Xanthomonadaceae families, the Saccharimonadales order, and the genus Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira and Paracoccus. In the nitratation process, the Xanthobacteraceae family and Lautropia and Nitrolancea genera were found.

Graphical Abstract
A Case-Crossover Study of the Impact of the Modifying Industrial Operations Protocol on the Frequency of Industrial Forestry-Caused Wildland Fires in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Granville Kevin , Woolford Douglas G. , Dean C. B. , McFayden Colin B.
Published: April 2022

Wildland fire prevention and mitigation is of mutual interest to both government and the forest industry. In 1989, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry introduced the Woods Modification Guidelines that provided rules on how forestry operations should be modified based on local fire danger conditions. Those guidelines were replaced by the Modifying Industrial Operations Protocol (MIOP) in 2008. One objective of MIOP is to allow forestry operations to be done safely for as long as possible as the fire danger increases. We investigate the impacts of these sets of regulations on the frequency of industrial forestry-caused (IDF) wildland fires in the province of Ontario, Canada. Data from 1976 to 2019 are analyzed. A case-crossover study finds no evidence to suggest that MIOP’s greater flexibility in operating hours has increased the probability of IDF fire occurrences. This result indicates that MIOP’s regulations have had the desired effect of allowing longer working hours on days with heightened fire risk without adding to the seasonal wildland fire load.
Stabilization of a nonlinear Euler–Bernoulli beam
Authors: Benterki Djamila , Tatar Nasser-Eddine
Published: April 2022

In this work, we study the vibration control of a flexible mechanical system. The dynamic of the problem is modeled as a viscoelastic nonlinear Euler–Bernoulli beam. To suppress the undesirable transversal vibrations of the beam, we adopt a control at the right boundary of the beam. This control law is simple to implement. We prove uniform stability of the system using a viscoelastic material, the multiplier method and some ideas introduced in [20]. It is shown that a large range of rates of decay of the energy can be achieved through a determined class of kernels. Unlike most of the existing classes in the market, ours are not necessarily strictly decreasing.
Frictional shear stress of ZnO nanowires on natural and pyrolytic graphite substrates
Authors: Hou Lizhen , Hou Maofen , Yibibulla Tursunay , Mead James Lee , Fatikow Sergej , Wang Shiliang , Huang Han
Published: April 2022

The friction behaviour of ZnO nanowires on natural graphite (NG) and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrates was tested in ambient conditions by use of optical microscopy based nanomanipulation. Nanowires on the step-free and waviness-free NG substrate exhibit a diameter-independent nominal frictional shear stress of 0.48 MPa, and this provides a benchmark for studying how the surface topography of graphite influences nanowire friction. Nanowires on the HOPG substrate present a significant diameter-dependent frictional shear stress, increasing from 0.25 to 2.78 MPa with the decrease of nanowire diameter from 485 to 142 nm. The waviness of HOPG has a limited effect on the nanowire friction, as a nanowire can fully conform to the substrate. The surface steps on the HOPG can significantly enhance the nanowire friction and lead to a much higher frictional shear stress than that on NG due to mechanical blocking and the presence of a Schwoebel barrier at step edges. The surface steps, however, can also generate small wedge-shaped gaps between a nanowire and substrate, and thus reduce the nanowire friction. With the decrease in nanowire diameter, the capacity for the nanowire to better conform to the substrate reduces the length of the wedge-shaped gaps, leading to the observed increase in nanowire friction. The results have improved our understanding of the unique friction behaviour of nanowires. Such an improved understanding is expected to benefit the design and operation of nanowire-friction-based devices, including bio-inspired fibrillar adhesives, soft grippers, rotary nanomotors, and triboelectric nanogenerators.
A DMST-based tool to establish the best aspect ratio, solidity and rotational speed for tidal turbines in real sea conditions
Authors: Pucci Micol , Zanforlin Stefania , Bellafiore Debora , Umgiesser Georg
Published: April 2022

A Double Multiple Stream Tube (DMST) routine to predict the performance of cross-flow hydrokinetic turbines in real environments is presented, along with a site assessment application to identify the most efficient turbine aspect ratio, solidity and configuration (single, or paired) for a selected area of the Northern Adriatic Sea. The peculiarity of this DMST tool is its 3D character, since it allows to reproduce the vertical distribution of the torque generated by the turbine. To this end, correlations for fluid dynamic phenomena, based on high-fidelity fully CFD simulations, were implemented. The marine circulation code SHYFEM is adopted to obtain velocity profiles for a half lunar cycle period. The sites with the highest mean kinetic power were identified. The DMST routine is equipped with an iterative process able to establish which rotational speed maximizes the power output. Indeed, a spatially non-uniform velocity profile requires to determine the flow velocity more suitable to obtain the rotational speed via Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) definition. To this end, the section of the blades working at optimal TSR varies from top to bottom, until the maximum power is reached. It works as a virtual Maximum Power Point Tracking system able to adapt the turbine operating conditions for the different turbine geometries, and for changes in flow conditions. The results show that for the case study, the performance curve shape influences the optimal TSR blade section: the latter is often located in the upper part of the turbine for the low solidity, whereas, for high solidity turbines, in the bottom half part.
An Ethical Defense of a Mandated Choice Consent Procedure for Deceased Organ Donation
Authors: Symons Xavier , Poulden Billy
Published: April 2022

Organ transplant shortages are ubiquitous in healthcare systems around the world. In response, several commentators have argued for the adoption of an opt-out policy for organ transplantation, whereby individuals would by default be registered as organ donors unless they informed authorities of their desire to opt-out. This may potentially lead to an increase in donation rates. An opt-out system, however, presumes consent even when it is evident that a significant minority are resistant to organ donation. In this article, we defend a mandated choice framework for consent to deceased organ donation. A mandated choice framework, coupled with good public education, would likely increase donation rates. More importantly, however, a mandated choice framework would respect the autonomous preferences of people who do not wish to donate. We focus in particular on the Australian healthcare context, and consider how a mandated choice system could function as an ethical means to increase the organ donation rate in Australia. We make the novel proposal that all individuals who vote at an Australian federal election be required to state their organ donation preferences when voting.
Failure of subcutaneous lipectomy to combat metabolic dysregulations in ovariectomy-induced obesity in young female rats
Authors: El-Kafoury Bataa , Mohamed Fatma , Bahgat Nehal , El Samad Abeer Abd , Shawky Mona , Abdel-Hady Enas A.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The deleterious effect of visceral adipose tissue accumulation is well known. However, the recent trend in liposuction is mal-directed toward easily accessible subcutaneous fat for the purpose of body shaping. The aim of the present study is to probe the metabolic effects of subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue lipectomy in ovariectomized obese rats as well as the role of adipokines in these changes.

Methods

The study was conducted on young female rats randomized into two main groups according to the duration of the experiment, namely, 5-week and 10-week. Both groups were subdivided as follows: sham-operated, ovariectomized, and ovariectomized lipectomized rat groups. The rats underwent measurement of body weight (BW) and determination of body mass index (BMI). Fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, liver function, plasma malondialdehyde, leptin, and adiponectin were estimated, and the content of both blood and hepatic tissue of reduced glutathione was assessed. In addition, histological study of the liver, aorta, and perirenal fat of all rat groups was performed.

Results

Ovariectomy-induced obesity is marked by a significant increase in BW and BMI. Following subcutaneous lipectomy, the rats exhibited significant weight gain accompanied by fasting hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, deterioration of synthetic function of the liver, and disturbed oxidant/antioxidant status. Histological examination revealed fatty infiltration of aortic and hepatic tissues.

Conclusion

Despite the immediate positive effect of subcutaneous lipectomy for weight loss and/or body shaping, multiple delayed hazards follow the procedure, which should be carefully considered.
“This Student Needs to Stay Back”: To What Degree Would Instructors Rely on the Recommendation of Learning Analytics?
Authors: Mai Linda , Köchling Alina , Wehner Marius Claus
Published: April 2022

Learning analytics (LA) systems are becoming a new source of advice for instructors. Using LA provides new insights into learning behaviours and occurring problems about learners. Educational platforms collect a wide range of data while learners use them, for example, time spent on the platform, passed exams, and completed tasks and provide recommendations in terms of predicted learning success based on LA. In turn, LA might increase efficiency and objectivity in the grading process. In this paper, we examine how instructors react to the platform’s automatic recommendations and to which extent they consider them when judging learners. Drawing on an adaptive choice-based experimental research design and a sample of 372 instructors, we analyze whether and to what degree instructors are influenced by the provided data and recommendations of an unknown LA system. In a follow-up study with 95 teachers, we describe the differences in the use of data between learners and the influence of early warning systems. All in all, we show the influence of automatic evaluation on teachers.
Democracy and Sustainable Development
Authors: Banik Dan
Published: April 2022

The democratic discourse on climate change and sustainable development is becoming increasingly polarized. While some voters are pushing back against the movement to wean the world economy away from fossil fuels, others are questioning the huge costs that the transition to a green economy will impose and whether such attempts will have the required impact. This essay discusses the relationship between democracy and sustainable development by comparing the records of China and India in relation to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It argues that the politics of sustainable development has not received the attention it deserves. With a growing number of actors involved at various levels of society, the sustainable development narrative has often focused on a win–win narrative while glossing over areas where political agreement is more difficult to reach. While autocracies can achieve good results, democracy provides the best platform and guarantees for difficult negotiations and deliberations that are required for the achievement of sustainable development.
Nonfreezing Cold Injury and Cold Intolerance in Paddlesport
Authors: Oakley Ben , Brown Hannah L. , Johnson Nicholas , Bainbridge Christopher
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Nonfreezing cold injury (NFCI) occurs when tissues are subjected to prolonged cooling that causes tissue damage, but not freezing. Long-term effects include cold intolerance, with allodynia, pain, or numbness of the affected limb. Those who participate in outdoor paddlesports are at particular risk.

Methods

This is an epidemiological study that aimed to determine the risk factors for paddlesport athletes developing NFCI and chronic cold intolerance in their hands. Secondary outcomes were to correlate cumulative cold exposure with the development of cold intolerance and to identify risk factors for developing NFCI or cold intolerance. Six hundred nine athletes responded to a survey distributed by their national governing body obtaining demographic and activity details, symptoms of NFCI, and a cold intolerance severity score (CISS).

Results

Twenty-three percent reported symptoms consistent with acute NFCI. The median CISS was 31 y (interquartile range 25–43), and 15% had a pathological CISS defined as >50. Females and individuals with Raynaud’s phenomenon or migraines had a significantly higher CISS ( P<0.05). Regression analysis found that females, smokers, and those with Raynaud’s phenomenon or a previous nerve injury had a significantly higher risk of developing pathological cold intolerance (CISS >50). There was no correlation between cumulative cold exposure and CISS.

Conclusions

A large proportion of paddlesport athletes undertaking activity in cold conditions have a pathological CISS or episodes consistent with NFCI. Cumulative cold exposure was not associated with a pathologically high CISS. The risk factors were female sex, smokers, and those suffering from either Raynaud’s phenomenon or nerve injury.
Expanding the scope and visibility of ambulatory stewardship programs with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) therapeutics
Authors: Bao Hongkai , Guo Yi , Chang Mei H. , McSweeney Terrence , Golia Austin M. , Cowman Kelsie , Bartash Rachel , Anosike Brenda I. , Nori Priya
Published: April 2022

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) can be expanded to the outpatient setting to serve as a first line of defense against coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) hospitalizations and to reduce the burden on emergency departments and acute-care hospitals. Given the numerous emergency use authorizations of monoclonal antibodies and oral antivirals, ASPs possess the expertise and leadership to direct ambulatory COVID-19 initiatives and transform it into a predominantly outpatient illness. In this review, we summarize the critical role and benefits of an ASP-championed ambulatory COVID-19 therapeutics program.
Self-Compassion as a Moderator of the Association Between COVID-19 Stressors and Psychological Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Keng Shian-Ling , Hwang Emily Zhen Ning
Published: April 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in adverse psychological outcomes for many around the globe. Less is known however regarding dispositional traits that may protect against negative psychological outcomes. This study examined the prospective association between COVID-19 stressors and psychological symptoms, and whether self-compassion (referring to a dispositional tendency of relating to oneself kindly) would moderate this association. A convenience sample of 212 university students and working adults (60.4% female;Mage= 20.92 years) based in Singapore completed measures assessing COVID-19 stressors (perceived COVID-19 health risk, economic impact, and impact on daily life), psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms), and self-compassion 2 months apart. Results indicated that perceived COVID-19 health risk at baseline predicted anxiety symptoms 2 months later, above and beyond baseline anxiety symptoms. Self-compassion moderated the association between perceived COVID-19 health risk and depressive symptoms, and the relationship between perceived impact on daily life and anxiety symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of self-compassion in alleviating psychological symptoms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enabling community input to improve equity in and access to translational research: The Community Coalition for Equity in Research
Authors: Emmons Karen M. , Curry Michael , Lee Rebekka M. , Pless Albert , Ramanadhan Shoba , Trujillo Carolina
Published: April 2022

Background:

The COVID vaccine trials illustrated the critical need for the development of mechanisms to serve as a bridge between least advantaged communities and researchers. Such mechanisms would increase the number of studies that are designed with community needs and interests in mind, in ways that will close gaps rather than widen them. This paper reports on the creation of the Community Coalition for Equity in Research, a community-driven resource designed to build community capacity to provide researchers with credible and actionable input on study design and implementation and increase researchers’ understanding of factors that influence community support of research.

Methods and Results:

We provide a description of the Coalition’s structure and process and an evaluation of its first year of operation. Researchers rated their experience very positively and reported that the Coalition’s review will improve their research. Coalition members reported high levels of satisfaction with their participation and the processes set up for them to engage with researchers. Members also largely agreed that their participation has value for their community, and that it has increased their interest in research and the likelihood that they would recommend research participation to others.

Conclusions:

The Coalition represents a model for increasing two-way engagement between researchers and the larger community. We are optimistic that the Coalition will continue to develop and grow into a vibrant entity that will bring value to both investigators and our local communities and will increase the consideration of equity as a foundational principle in all translational research.
Flow field and performance of a vertical-axis wind turbine on model buildings
Authors: Jooss Yannick , Bolis Roberto , Bracchi Tania , Hearst R. Jason
Published: April 2022

The placement of a scaled-down Savonius (drag) vertical-axis wind turbine on model buildings is analysed experimentally by the use of turbine performance and flow field measurements in a wind tunnel. The set-up consists of two surface mounted cubes aligned in the flow direction. The turbine is tested at six different streamwise positions – three on each cube. Velocity field measurements are performed with particle image velocimetry along the centreline of the cubes with and without the turbine. The performance at each position is evaluated based on measurements of the produced torque and the rotational speed of the turbine. It is demonstrated that the common practice of estimating wind resources based on the urban flow field without the turbine present is insufficient. The turbine has a substantial influence on the flow field and thus also on the available power. The performance is found to be optimal in the front and centre of the first building with a significant drop-off to the back. This trend is reversed for the downstream building. Holistically, for more generic geometries and varying wind directions, the results suggest the central position on a building is a good compromise.
“The World's Greatest Hypocrites”: White Men and Diplomatic Reporting in the Early Cold War
Authors: McGarr Kathryn J.
Published: April 2022

When incorporating the press into historical narratives, scholars have often relied on published newspaper and magazine articles without interrogating how those pieces were produced. This article relies on the under-used archival papers of journalists in the early Cold War period to argue that they actively created a Washington consensus on foreign policy that kept economic determinism out of the U.S. public's understanding of policies like the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. In private, however, the more anticommunist public narrative was contradicted by a discourse that emphasized the importance of access to colonial raw materials. This private discourse was enabled by the Washington press corps’ social spaces, which were segregated by race and gender and helped create a worldview that acknowledged the hypocrisy of the U.S. government but not their own.
Why African Americans Do Not Rebel? How Hierarchic Integration Prevents Rebellion
Authors: Aktürk Şener
Published: April 2022

Why African Americans do not rebel? Why is there no armed insurrection of African Americans across the USA, especially in cities and states where they make up almost half of the population? In many parts of the world, ethnic, racial, and religious groups that are much smaller in size, much less disadvantaged socioeconomically and politically, and with relatively fewer historical grievances than African Americans, launched armed insurrections that lasted for decades. The quiescence of African Americans is a momentous puzzle if one subscribes to grievance-based theories of violent ethnic insurgencies (e.g., Gurr 1970). There are more than 40 million African Americans in the USA, which makes them a more populous ethnic group or a potential nation than any Eastern European nation in the European Union. Yet, approximately 40 million African Americans, despite their high level of collective consciousness and multifaceted grievances, did not produce as much armed insurgency as less than three million Basques in Spain have, to expand a comparison Manuel Vogt (4) briefly alludes to. What accounts for this dramatic difference?
Could the State do Without Marriage Law?
Authors: Hill Daniel J
Published: April 2022

This article argues that marriage is a divine institution that pre-dates the state, and marriages are supernaturally effected by God consequent on the exchange of marital consent by the parties, whether or not the state recognises them as marriages. In fact, taking note of, and legislating about, marriage thus properly conceived is not within the state's remit. Despite this, the law in England and Wales is involved with the institution of marriage in three main ways: (1) it purports to define marriage, and its entry and exit conditions; (2) it passes laws affording or denying certain legal benefits or penalties on the basis of marital status; and (3) it registers marriages, and in practice imposes or denies the benefits or penalties just mentioned on the basis of registration of marriage, or lack of it. The supernatural action on God's part of creating marriages is not a fit subject for such involvement on the state's part. The underlying exchange of marital consent by the parties is, by contrast, within the state's sphere of competence, but it is argued that the state should be tracking a broader category of relationships than just those involving the exchange of marital consent. It is suggested that all marriage law should be repealed, and replaced by an Australian-style law of de facto relationships. If the law deals with de facto relationships there is no need for it to be involved with the institution of marriage as well, and that institution can be left to flourish outside the state's grasp. The article goes on to respond to some possible objections.
Feeding role of mouse embryonic fibroblast cells is influenced by genetic background, cell passage and day of isolation
Authors: Choupani Fatemeh , Assadollahi Vahideh , Vahabzadeh Zakaria , Daneshi Erfan , Abouzaripour Morteza , Soleimani Farzad , Bahrami Saman , Fathi Fardin
Published: April 2022

Mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells are commonly used as feeder cells to maintain the pluripotent state of stem cells. MEFs produce growth factors and provide adhesion molecules and extracellular matrix (ECM) compounds for cellular binding. In the present study, we compared the expression levels of Fgf2, Bmp4, ActivinA, Lif and Tgfb1 genes at the mRNA level and the level of Fgf2 protein secretion and Lif cytokine secretion at passages one, three and five of MEFs isolated from 13.5-day-old and 15.5-day-old embryos of NMRI and C57BL/6 mice using real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We observed differences in the expression levels of the studied genes and secretion of the two growth factors in the three passages of MEFs isolated from 13.5-day-old and 15.5-day-old embryos, respectively. These differences were also observed between the NMRI and C57BL/6 strains. The results of this study suggested that researchers should use mice embryos that have different genetic backgrounds and ages, in addition to different MEF passages, when producing MEFs based on the application and type of their study.
Quid novum ad mensam hodie?The faunal remains from a Roman road station at Khirbet es-Samra, Jordan
Authors: Monchot Hervé
Published: April 2022

This article describes the numerous bone remains discovered in a Roman road station, amansio, on the Via Nova Traiana. The finds are exceptional and provide valuable insights into the daily life, environment, and economy of a road station. The assemblage is dominated by domestic species, mainly sheep/goat, followed, to a lesser extent, by chicken, cattle, and pigs. Beasts of burden (donkey, camel), hunted game (gazelle, hare), fish, and seashells complete the bone assemblage. Together, the zooarchaeological information allows us to discuss the procurement and role of meat in the diet of the residents and visitors to this station.
Using event-related potentials to characterize inhibitory control and self-monitoring across impulsive and compulsive phenotypes: a dimensional approach to OCD
Authors: Dhir Sakshi , Tyler Kaelasha , Albertella Lucy , Chamberlain Samuel R. , Teo Wei-Peng , Yücel Murat , Segrave Rebecca A.
Published: April 2022

Objective

“Subsyndromal” obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms (OCDSs) are common and cause impaired psychosocial functioning. OCDSs are better captured by dimensional models of psychopathology, as opposed to categorical diagnoses. However, such dimensional approaches require a deep understanding of the underlying neurocognitive drivers and impulsive and compulsive traits (ie, neurocognitive phenotypes) across symptoms. This study investigated inhibitory control and self-monitoring across impulsivity, compulsivity, and their interaction in individuals (n = 40) experiencing mild–moderate OCDSs.

Methods

EEG recording concurrent with the stop-signal task was used to elicit event-related potentials (ERPs) indexing inhibitory control (ie, N2 and P3) and self-monitoring (ie, error-related negativity and correct-related negativity (CRN): negativity following erroneous or correct responses, respectively).

Results

During unsuccessful stopping, individuals high in both impulsivity and compulsivity displayed enhanced N2 amplitude, indicative of conflict between the urge to respond and need to stop (F(3, 33) = 1.48, P < .05, 95% Cl [−0.01, 0.001]). Individuals high in compulsivity and low in impulsivity showed reduced P3 amplitude, consistent with impairments in monitoring failed inhibitory control (F(3, 24) = 2.033, P < .05, 95% CI [−0.002, 0.045]). Following successful stopping, high compulsivity (independent of impulsivity) was associated with lower CRN amplitude, reflecting hypo-monitoring of correct responses (F(4, 32) = 4.76, P < .05, 95% CI [0.01, 0.02]), and with greater OCDS severity (F(3, 36) = 3.32, P < .05, 95% CI [0.03, 0.19]).

Conclusion

The current findings provide evidence for differential, ERP-indexed inhibitory control and self-monitoring profiles across impulsive and compulsive phenotypes in OCDSs.
How open science can benefit bilingualism research: A lesson in six tales
Authors: Dal Ben Rodrigo , Brouillard Melanie , Gonzalez-Barrero Ana Maria , Killam Hilary , Kremin Lena V. , Quirk Erin , Sander-Montant Andrea , Schott Esther , Tsui Rachel Ka-Ying , Byers-Heinlein Krista
Published: April 2022

Bilingualism is hard to define, measure, and study. Sparked by the “replication crisis” in the social sciences, a recent discussion on the advantages of open science is gaining momentum. Here, we join this debate to argue that bilingualism research would greatly benefit from embracing open science. We do so in a unique way, by presenting six fictional stories that illustrate how open science practices – sharing preprints, materials, code, and data; pre-registering studies; and joining large-scale collaborations – can strengthen bilingualism research and further improve its quality.
Consumers, curations, ‘community’, contestation and the time of COVID-19. Linkages and perspectives
Authors: Wallace Saro
Published: April 2022

Reification of ‘community’ and community engagement by professional curators of material culture has recently been critiqued in ways which highlight the diversity of cultural identities and priorities among the general public. Whennotacting as coherent local communities under professional supervision, people are otherwise curating culture in public space within frameworks of spiritual and creative expression, place significance and identity. Employing primarily secondary sources, I address recent outdoor public curation practices in the West, and consider such deposits in relation to cultural-heritage management, a perspective in which they have hitherto been little addressed. Although these practices typically use accumulations of themed objects to achieve visibility and audience, I conclude that they are ultimately more focused on the individual than on the community, with linkages within and between them highly digitally enabled. Apparently intensified by the effects of recent COVID-19 travel lockdowns, the practices are also linked by their typical colonization of transit spaces (thereby accessing audiences who are also expected participants), by their conscious ephemerality (with deliberate innocence about end destinations of the objects used), and by their use of mundane consumer artefacts. All these features pose challenges to their management, and curated deposits are often contested or removed by official curators or managers of public space, even as the same entities appropriate similar tropes to engage customers. With resurgent interest in tangible culture and physical place following pandemic-era overloading in the virtual domain, with travel habits potentially using different routes, at altered times, and with use of social media continuing to grow, such activities may see increased participation. This analysis suggests that imaginative proactive official treatment of these curations (e.g. by municipal authorities, heritage site curators, rangers or other property owners/managers) could avoid conflict with creators and also help reduce enduring public ‘innocence’ about the disposability of consumer objects. Treatment could involve encouraging ongoing adaptation (digitally recorded and disseminated) of the curated objectsin situby their transitory public audiences.
Participatory processes and their outcomes: comparing assembly and popular vote decisions
Authors: el-Wakil Alice , Strebel Michael A.
Published: April 2022

How do face-to-face, assembly processes, and non-face-to-face, popular vote processes impact the decisions made by citizens? Normative discussions of the comparative merits of these two broad types of participatory decision-making processes partly rely on empirical assumptions concerning this question. In this paper, we test the central assumption that assemblies lead to decisions that are more widely supported by participants than popular votes. We do so by analyzing 1,400 decisions made through these processes on the highly salient issue of municipal mergers in Swiss municipalities since 1999. We find that assembly decisions are consistently made by larger majorities than popular vote decisions and that this relationship is significantly mediated by turnout. This suggests that higher levels of agreement in assemblies mainly result from selection biases – with fewer dissenting citizens participating in assemblies than in popular votes – rather than from internal dynamics in assemblies.
Late Holocene Paleomagnetic Secular Variation in the Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean
Authors: West Gabriel , Nilsson Andreas , Geels Alexis , Jakobsson Martin , Moros Matthias , Muschitiello Francesco , Pearce Christof , Snowball Ian , O’Regan Matt
Published: April 2022

The geomagnetic field behavior in polar regions remains poorly understood and documented. Although a number of Late Holocene paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) records exist from marginal settings of the Amerasian Basin in the Arctic Ocean, their age control often relies on a handful of radiocarbon dates to constrain ages over the past 4,200 years. Here we present well‐dated Late Holocene PSV records from two sediment cores recovered from the Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean. The records are dated using 26 14C measurements, with local marine reservoir corrections calibrated using tephra layers from the 3.6 cal ka BP Aniakchak eruption in Northern Alaska. These 14C‐based chronologies are extended into the post‐bomb era using caesium‐137 dating, and mercury isochrons. Paleomagnetic measurements and rock magnetic analyses reveal stable characteristic remanent magnetization directions, and a magnetic mineralogy dominated by low‐coercivity minerals. The PSV records conform well to global spherical harmonic field model outputs. Centennial to millennial scale directional features are synchronous between the cores and other Western Arctic records from the area. Due to the robust chronology, these new high‐resolution PSV records provide a valuable contribution to the characterization of geomagnetic field behavior in the Arctic over the past few thousand years, and can aid in developing age models for suitable sediments found in this region.
Associations between changes in caregiver’s and child’s weight status in a community-based obesity intervention programme
Authors: Hadley Thomas S. , Cave Tami L. , Derraik José G. B. , Hofman Paul L. , Anderson Yvonne C.
Published: April 2022

Objectives

We examined whether caregivers of children/adolescents enroled in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a family-centred intervention indirectly achieved reductions in body mass index (BMI), and if these were associated with changes in their children’s BMI.

Methods

RCT participants were New Zealand children/adolescents aged 4.8–16.8 years with BMI ≥ 98th percentile or >91st with weight-related comorbidities. Participants and accompanying caregivers were assessed at baseline, 12, and 24 months.

Results

Overall, caregivers’ BMI was unchanged at 12 or 24 months. Among Māori participants, reductions in caregivers’ BMI at 12 months were associated with reductions in their children’s BMI SDS at 12 (r = 0.30;p = 0.038) and 24 months (r = 0.39;p = 0.009). Further, children identifying as Māori whose caregivers’ BMI decreased at 12 months had greater BMI SDS reductions at 12 months [﻿−0.30 (95% CI −0.49, −0.10);p = 0.004] and 24 months [﻿−0.39 (95% CI −0.61, −0.16);p = 0.001] than children of caregivers with increased/unchanged BMI.

Conclusions

This intervention programme for children/adolescents with obesity did not indirectly reduce caregiver weight status. However, reductions in caregivers’ BMI were key to BMI SDS reductions among Māori participants. Given the intergenerational nature of obesity, our findings highlight the importance of culturally relevant, family-focused programmes to achieve clinically meaningful improvements in weight status across the family.
Liquid crystal-powered Mie resonators for electrically tunable photorealistic color gradients and dark blacks
Authors: Badloe Trevon , Kim Joohoon , Kim Inki , Kim Won-Sik , Kim Wook Sung , Kim Young-Ki , Rho Junsuk
Published: April 2022

Taking inspiration from beautiful colors in nature, structural colors produced from nanostructured metasurfaces have shown great promise as a platform for bright, highly saturated, and high-resolution colors. Both plasmonic and dielectric materials have been employed to produce static colors that fulfil the required criteria for high-performance color printing, however, for practical applications in dynamic situations, a form of tunability is desirable. Combinations of the additive color palette of red, green, and blue enable the expression of further colors beyond the three primary colors, while the simultaneous intensity modulation allows access to the full color gamut. Here, we demonstrate an electrically tunable metasurface that can represent saturated red, green, and blue pixels that can be dynamically and continuously controlled between on and off states using liquid crystals. We use this to experimentally realize ultrahigh-resolution color printing, active multicolor cryptographic applications, and tunable pixels toward high-performance full-color reflective displays.
Alterations in microbiota of patients with COVID-19: potential mechanisms and therapeutic interventions
Authors: Wang Bin , Zhang Lei , Wang Yongqiang , Dai Tong , Qin Ziran , Zhou Fangfang , Zhang Long
Published: April 2022

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is currently ongoing. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A high proportion of COVID-19 patients exhibit gastrointestinal manifestations such as diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Moreover, the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts are the primary habitats of human microbiota and targets for SARS-CoV-2 infection as they express angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) at high levels. There is accumulating evidence that the microbiota are significantly altered in patients with COVID-19 and post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS). Microbiota are powerful immunomodulatory factors in various human diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, cancers, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and certain viral infections. In the present review, we explore the associations between host microbiota and COVID-19 in terms of their clinical relevance. Microbiota-derived metabolites or components are the main mediators of microbiota-host interactions that influence host immunity. Hence, we discuss the potential mechanisms by which microbiota-derived metabolites or components modulate the host immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Finally, we review and discuss a variety of possible microbiota-based prophylaxes and therapies for COVID-19 and PACS, including fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), probiotics, prebiotics, microbiota-derived metabolites, and engineered symbiotic bacteria. This treatment strategy could modulate host microbiota and mitigate virus-induced inflammation.
Targeting IL8 as a sequential therapy strategy to overcome chemotherapy resistance in advanced gastric cancer
Authors: Jiang Huning , Cui Jiahua , Chu Hao , Xu Tingting , Xie Mengyan , Jing Xinming , Xu Jiali , Zhou Jianwei , Shu Yongqian
Published: April 2022

Systemic chemotherapy with multiple drug regimens is the main therapy option for advanced gastric cancer (GC) patients. However, many patients develop relapse soon. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of targeting interleukin-8 (IL8) to overcome resistance to chemotherapy in advanced GC. RNA sequencing revealed crucial molecular changes after chemotherapy resistance, in which the expression of IL8 was significantly activated with the increase in drug resistance. Subsequently, the clinical significance of IL8 expression was determined in GC population specimens. IL8-targeted by RNA interference or reparixin reversed chemotherapy resistance with limited toxicity in vivo and vitro experiments. Sequential treatment with first-line, second-line chemotherapy and reparixin inhibited GC growth, reduced toxicity and prolonged survival. Collectively, our study provides a therapeutic strategy that targeting IL8 as a sequential therapy after chemotherapy resistance in advanced GC.
Double-layer geodesic and gradient-index lenses
Authors: Chen Qiao , Horsley Simon A. R. , Fonseca Nelson J. G. , Tyc Tomáš , Quevedo–Teruel Oscar
Published: April 2022

A double-layer lens consists of a first gradient-index/geodesic profile in an upper waveguide, partially surrounded by a mirror that reflects the wave into a lower guide where there is a second profile. Here, we derive a new family of rotational-symmetric inhomogeneous index profiles and equivalent geodesic lens shapes by solving an inverse problem of pre-specified focal points. We find an equivalence where single-layer lenses have a different functionality as double-layer lenses with the same profiles. As an example, we propose, manufacture, and experimentally validate a practical implementation of a geodesic double-layer lens that is engineered for a low-profile antenna with a compact footprint in the millimeter wave band. Its unique double-layer configuration allows for two-dimensional beam scanning using the same footprint as an extension of the presented design. These lenses may find applications in future wireless communication systems and sensing instruments in microwave, sub-terahertz, and optical domains.
Regulation of chromatin accessibility by the histone chaperone CAF-1 sustains lineage fidelity
Authors: Franklin Reuben , Guo Yiming , He Shiyang , Chen Meijuan , Ji Fei , Zhou Xinyue , Frankhouser David , Do Brian T. , Chiem Carmen , Jang Mihyun , Blanco M. Andres , Vander Heiden Matthew G. , Rockne Russell C. , Ninova Maria , Sykes David B. , Hochedlinger Konrad , Lu Rui , Sadreyev Ruslan I. , Murn Jernej , Volk Andrew , Cheloufi Sihem
Published: April 2022

Cell fate commitment is driven by dynamic changes in chromatin architecture and activity of lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs). The chromatin assembly factor-1 (CAF-1) is a histone chaperone that regulates chromatin architecture by facilitating nucleosome assembly during DNA replication. Accumulating evidence supports a substantial role of CAF-1 in cell fate maintenance, but the mechanisms by which CAF-1 restricts lineage choice remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate how CAF-1 influences chromatin dynamics and TF activity during lineage differentiation. We show that CAF-1 suppression triggers rapid differentiation of myeloid stem and progenitor cells into a mixed lineage state. We find that CAF-1 sustains lineage fidelity by controlling chromatin accessibility at specific loci, and limiting the binding of ELF1 TF at newly-accessible diverging regulatory elements. Together, our findings decipher key traits of chromatin accessibility that sustain lineage integrity and point to a powerful strategy for dissecting transcriptional circuits central to cell fate commitment.