bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electronic, redox, and optical property prediction of organic π-conjugated molecules through a hierarchy of machine learning approaches
Authors: Bhat Vinayak , Sornberger Parker , Pokuri Balaji Sesha Sarath , Duke Rebekah , Ganapathysubramanian Baskar , Risko Chad
Published: November 2022

A hierarchical series of machine learning models are developed to provide robust predictions of the electronic, redox, and optical properties of π-conjugated molecules.
TOTEM, recent experimental review
Authors: Cafagna Francesco S. ,   on behalf of the TOTEM Collaboration
Published: November 2022

The TOTEM (TOTal cross section, Elastic scattering and diffraction dissociation Measurement at the LHC) experiment, located at the interaction point 5 of the LHC, has measured the total, elastic and inelastic proton-proton crosssections, using a luminosity independent method, based on the optical theorem, in a center-of-mass energy range from 2.76 to 13 TeV. The elastic scattering was investigated in a wide range of the squared four-momentum transfer |t| allowing study of the Coulomb-nuclear interference region down to |t| ∼ 8 × 10−4 GeV2. This made possible the first measurement of the ρ parameter at √s = 13 TeV, ρ being the ratio between the real and the imaginary part of the nuclear elastic scattering amplitude at t = 0. This measurement, combined with the total crosssection results, led to the exclusion of all the models classified and published by the COMPETE Collaboration. The results obtained by TOTEM are indeed compatible with predictions of a colourless 3-gluon bound state exchange in the t-channel of proton-proton elastic scattering, as postulated by alternative theoretical models both in the Regge-like framework and in the modern QCD framework. This result has been confirmed, with a significance of 5.4σ, also by the comparison with the pp data measured by the D0 collaboration at Fermilab. In this contribution the TOTEM experiment results will be described, along with the actual experiment status, the future physics program for the LHC Run 3.
Charm hadronisation measurements with the ALICE experiment
Authors: Giacalone Marco ,   on behalf of the ALICE Collaboration
Published: November 2022

Charm quarks are produced in hard scatterings at the early stages of the hadronic collisions due to the heavy mass of the quark. The production cross section of charm can be described by pQCD calculations based on the factorisation approach. This description traditionally assumes universal fragmentation functions of charm into hadrons among different collision systems.

The ALICE experiment measured charmed-baryon production in pp collisions for different baryon species, observing a significant enhancement of the charm baryon-to-meson yield ratios, for pT < 10–12 GeV/c, with respect to measurements performed at e+e− and ep colliders. Measurements of charmed baryon production in pp collisions also provide a fundamental reference for heavy-ion collisions, in which an enhancement of the baryon-to-meson ratio could be due to an additional hadronisation mechanism via coalescence of charm quarks with lighter quarks in a deconfined medium.

This contribution discusses the latest measurements of charm production performed by the ALICE Collaboration in pp collisions at the LHC via D mesons, Λc+, Σc0,+,++, Ξc0,+, and Ωc0 baryons at midrapidity at √s = 5.02 and 13 TeV. The most recent measurements of the Λc+/D0 ratio in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 are also presented, together with the first measurement of the charm fragmentation fraction into hadrons in pp and p–Pb collisions at the same energy.
Holographic Study of the QQ̅ Chaotic Dynamics in General Thermal Background
Authors: Losacco Nicola
Published: November 2022

The holographic approach is applied to study the chaotic behaviour of a strongly coupled QQ¯ pair in general thermal background. We consider two different backgrounds, one with finite temperature and baryon density, and one with finite temperature and constant magnetic field along a fixed direction. The results allow us to understand the dependence of the chaotic dynamics on the background, to test the universal bound on chaos conjectured by Maldacena, Shenker and Standford (MSS).
Einsamkeit und soziale Isolation pflegender Angehöriger
Authors: Fringer André , Nemecek Gabriela , Benedetti Franzisca Domeiesen
Published: November 2022

Einsamkeit und soziale Isolation sind versteckte, schambehaftete und tabuisierte Phänomene von gesellschaftlicher Tragweite. Auch in Familien gibt es Personen, die von Einsamkeit betroffen sind. Insbesondere pflegende Angehörige stellen eine vulnerable Gruppe dar. Obwohl Kontakte und Netzwerke vorhanden sind, können sie auf sozialer, emotionaler und existenzieller Ebene von Einsamkeit und sozialer Isolation betroffen sein. Bisher gibt es kaum Forschung zu diesem Thema.
Versorgungsforschung im
letzten Lebensjahr
Authors: Kremeike Kerstin , Bausewein Claudia , Freytag Antje , Junghanss Christian , Marx Gabriella , Schnakenberg Rieke , Schneider Nils , Schulz Holger , Wedding Ulrich , Voltz Raymond
Published: November 2022

Warum ein Memorandum zur Versorgungsforschung im letzten Lebensjahr?

Mit den Fortschritten der Medizin und dem demographischen Wandel wird nicht nur die
Lebensspanne in der Bevölkerung verlängert, sondern bei dem
zunehmenden Anteil von alten und hochaltrigen Menschen auch immer häufiger
die letzte Lebenszeit mit Multimorbidität, Demenz oder mit schweren
beeinträchtigenden Erkrankungen verbracht. Daraus resultiert ein wachsender
Bedarf an palliativer Versorgung, der auch mit einer zunehmenden Relevanz qualitativ
hochwertiger Versorgungsforschung auf diesem Gebiet einhergeht. Über die
letzten Jahrzehnte hat die Forschung zu palliativer Versorgung und ihren
Besonderheiten enorm zugenommen, so dass mittlerweile ein beachtlicher Korpus an
empirischen Erkenntnissen dazu entstanden ist. Eine strukturierte, systematische
Übersicht und Bewertung der verwendeten Methoden in diesem Bereich liegt
jedoch im deutschsprachigen Raum bisher noch nicht vor. Das Memorandum zur
„Versorgungsforschung im letzten Lebensjahr“ will diese
Lücke schließen.
Approach to Complex Lower Extremity Reconstruction
Authors: Cholok David , Saberski Ean , Lowenberg David W.
Published: November 2022

Composite injuries to the lower extremity from etiologies including trauma and infection present a complex dilemma for the reconstructive surgeon, and require multidisciplinary collaboration amongst plastic, vascular, and orthopaedic surgical specialties. Here we present our algorithm for lower-extremity reconstructive management, refined over the last decades to provide an optimized outcome for our patients. Reconstruction is predicated on the establishment of a clean and living wound, where quality of the wound-bed is prioritized over timing to soft-tissue coverage. Once established, soft-tissues and fractures are provisionally stabilized; our preference for definitive coverage is for microvascular free-tissue, due to the paucity of healthy soft-tissue available at the injury, and ability to avoid the zone of injury for microvascular anastomosis. Finally, definitive bony reconstruction is dictated by the length and location of long-bone defect, with a preference to utilize bone transport for defects longer than 5 cm.
Mechanical characterization of isolated mitochondria under conditions of oxidative stress
Authors: Komaragiri Yesaswini , Panhwar Muzaffar H. , Fregin Bob , Jagirdar Gayatri , Wolke Carmen , Spiegler Stefanie , Otto Oliver
Published: November 2022

Mechanical properties have been proven to be a pivotal parameter to enhance our understanding of living systems. While research during the last decades focused on cells and tissues, little is known about the role of organelle mechanics in cell function. Here, mitochondria are of specific interest due to their involvement in numerous physiological and pathological processes, e.g., in the production and homeostasis of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using real-time fluorescence and deformability cytometry, we present a microfluidic technology that is capable to determine the mechanical properties of individual mitochondria at a throughput exceeding 100 organelles per second. Our data on several thousands of viable mitochondria isolated from rat C6 glial cells yield a homogenous population with a median deformation that scales with the applied hydrodynamic stress. In two proof-of-principle studies, we investigated the impact of exogenously and endogenously produced ROS on mitochondria mechanics. Exposing C6 cells to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) triggers superoxide production and leads to a reduction in mitochondria size while deformation is increased. In a second study, we focused on the knockout of tafazzin, which has been associated with impaired remodeling of the mitochondrial membrane and elevated levels of ROS. Interestingly, our results reveal the same mechanical alterations as observed after the exposure to H2O2, which points to a unified biophysical mechanism of how mitochondria respond to the presence of oxidative stress. In summary, we introduce high-throughput mechanical phenotyping into the field of organelle biology with potential applications for understanding sub-cellular dynamics that have not been accessible before.
MN-ADC based on high-reliable 2T2R synapse structure
Authors: Wang Weihe , Wang Yinan , Li Zhiwei , Fu Xingzhi , Deng Mingxin , Liu Xiaojuan , Li Qingjiang , Xu Hui
Published: November 2022

With the ever-growing demands for sampling rate, conversion resolution, as well as lower energy consumption, the memristor-based neuromorphic analog-to-digital converters (MN-ADC) becomes one of the most potential approaches to break the bottleneck for traditional ADCs. However, the online trainable MN-ADCs are not designed to be easily integrated into the 1T1R crossbar array, meanwhile suffering from the device non-idealities, which makes it difficult to realize high-speed and accurate conversion. To overcome these issues, this paper proposes a high-reliable 2T2R synaptic structure. And through the dedicated structure, we construct a 4-bit MN-ADC that allows for alternate conversions and online adjustments in a single clock period, which can significantly mitigate the effects of device non-idealities on dynamic performance. More importantly, this structure can be perfectly compatible with 1T1R crossbar arrays. Simulation results demonstrate the validity of the proposed MN-ADC, which achieves the ENOB of 3.77 bits, the INL of 0.16 LSB, and the DNL of 0.07 LSB.
Experimental study on drag reduction control of porous media wall turbulence
Authors: Kong Wenjie , Dong Hao , Zhao Yidi , Wu Jie , Deng Haodong , Jin Zhou
Published: November 2022

In order to study the control law and effect of the related mechanism of porous media on the turbulent drag reduction of a plate wall, experimental research of a plate laid with porous media was carried out in a low-turbulence, re-flow wind tunnel. First, the hot wire was used to acquire the time-averaged statistics and fluctuation data inside the boundary layer on the plate surface by single point measurement. Then, the fluorescenct oil flow was applied to obtain the global skin friction distribution downstream of the porous media. Finally, through Time-resolved Particle Image Velocimetry technique, the normal velocity flow field on the surface and the structural information of the near-wall strip were captured in quantitative terms, and the Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) was adopted to analyze the strip’s structural features with the mode reduction. The results showed that the drag reduction effect of porous media had a trend of first increasing and then decreasing in the flow direction, with the maximum drag reduction rate on the surface of porous media. Meanwhile, the porous media changed the internal structure of the turbulent boundary layer, reduced the velocity gradient of the viscous bottom layer, and decreased the momentum exchange between the inner and outer layers, which suppressed the development of large-scale strip structure and promoted the lift of the spanwise vortices. The results of DMD analysis further explained that the porous media could effectively weaken the strip energy fluctuation and accelerate its spatio–temporal evolution process. Moreover, the second and higher order modes could reach a stable state in shorter time.
Differential impacts of a wildfire and post-fire sedimentation event on platypus and fish populations in a Victorian upland river
Authors: Serena M. , Lyon J. P. , Tonkin Z. D. , Lieschke J. , Williams G. A.
Published: November 2022

Context Wildfire can affect freshwater ecosystems in many ways, notably when post-fire rainfall washes ash and sediment into waterways. Aims We investigated species-specific effects of bushfire and subsequent channel sedimentation on the abundance of platypus and fish populations in the upper Buffalo River, Australia. Methods Pre- and post-fire population surveys were conducted using fyke nets. Key results There was no evidence that fish numbers declined because of direct fire effects. However, native two-spined blackfish and Macquarie perch numbers dropped dramatically following post-fire sedimentation, whereas non-native redfin perch increased, most likely as a result of migration from a nearby lake. Platypus captures were consistently recorded at all survey sites both before and after the fire and sediment inflows occurred, with many juveniles being recorded in the first post-fire breeding season. Conclusions The platypus’s greater resilience to post-fire sediment inflows than that of native fish presumably reflects its reliance on lungs rather than gills and its ability to take refuge in burrows. It also has a broad diet, flexible foraging behaviour, is highly vagile and typically stores enough fat to support fasting for up to 2–3 weeks. Implications Management of fire-affected aquatic ecosystems must consider species-specific responses of freshwater vertebrates to fire.
Microbial community diversity and enzyme activity varies in response to long-term fertilisation in a continuous potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cropping system
Authors: Yuan Haotian , Meng Meilian , Chen Youjun , Yang Shenghui , Zhang Tingting , Xue Chunlei , Guo Jiangan
Published: November 2022

Context The misuse of chemical fertilisers is still prevalent in potato cultivation. However, the large-scale application of manure is increasingly being accepted by growers to improve soil health. Aim To clarify what effect manure and chemical fertilisers have on the development of soil microbes in potato fields. Methods The status of soil microbial community abundance and structure were determined by analysing soil metagenomes, which were assessed by applying high through-put sequencing technology. The potato field received one of the following treatments for 9 years: manure (M); manure plus nitrogenous (N), phosphatic (P), and potassic (K) fertiliser (MNPK); NPK fertiliser; NP fertiliser; NK fertiliser; PK fertiliser; and no fertiliser. Key results The application of manure significantly increased soil organic matter, and this increase was one of the main factors in reducing bacterial Shannon and Heip indices and increasing the Simpson index. The MNPK treatment significantly reduced the relative abundance of α-Proteobacteria and β-Proteobacteria in the soil, which are essential microorganisms involved in nitrogen cycling. The M treatment significantly increased the abundance of Actinobacteria. Conclusions In summary, applying manure increases Actinobacteria’s abundance, and using MNPK fertilisers decreases the abundance of Proteobacteria, whereas chemical fertilisers are detrimental to soil fungal diversity. Implications Applying MNPK fertilisers has a complex effect on soil microorganisms. It is not simply a combination of the effects of manure and chemical fertilisers on microbes; the interaction mechanism of microbial succession needs to be further explored.
Key comparison BIPM.RI(I)-K4 of the absorbed dose to water standards of the KRISS, Republic of Korea and the BIPM in 60Co gamma radiation
Authors: Kessler C , Burns D , Kim In Jung , Seong Young Min , Yi Chul-Young
Published: November 2022

Main text

A first key comparison of the standards for absorbed dose to water of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), Republic of Korea, and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) was carried out in the 60Co radiation beam of the BIPM in March 2022. The comparison result, based on the calibration coefficients for two transfer standards and evaluated as a ratio of the KRISS and the BIPM standards for absorbed dose to water, is 0.9986 with a combined standard uncertainty of 3.8 parts in 103. The results are analysed and presented in terms of degrees of equivalence, suitable for entry in the BIPM key comparison database.

To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database https://www.bipm.org/kcdb/.

The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCRI, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).
The comparison of multi-stepping algorithms for real-time thickness measurement of transparent thin films using polarization settings
Authors: Usman Abdullahi , Jiraraksopakun Yuttapong , Kaewon Rapeepan , Pawong Chutchai , Bhatranand Apichai
Published: November 2022

This paper presents the comparison of three-, four- and five-step techniques for measuring transparent thin-film thickness of

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5

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3

deposited on BK-7 substrates. The Sagnac interferometer was modified with phase shifting approach for the determination of thin-film thickness. The input light beam was split into reference and testing beams. Before the output light reaching the balanced photodetectors, the real-time signal detection was performed to obtain the output intensities of both beams using three-, four-, and five-polarization settings of an analyzer. The thicknesses could then be efficiently translated from the measured intensities. Thicknesses from three-, four- and five-stepping algorithms were compared with ones from the conventional FE-SEM measurement, and it was discovered that the former performed better with less errors. The findings show that the phase-shifting technique using three-polarization settings is more suitable for the thickness measurement of the transparent thin film.
Universal scaling of kinetic freeze-out parameters across different collision systems at LHC energies*
Authors: Liu Lian , Yin Zhong-Bao , Zheng Liang
Published: November 2022

In this study, we perform Tsallis Blast-Wave analysis on the transverse momentum spectra of identified hadrons produced in a wide range of collision systems at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) including pp, pPb, XeXe, and PbPb collisions. The kinetic freeze-out properties varying with event multiplicity are investigated across these systems. We find that the extracted kinetic freeze-out temperature, radial flow velocity, and non-extensive parameter exhibit a universal scaling behavior for these systems with very different geometric sizes, especially when the independent baryon Tsallis non-extensive parameter is considered. This universality may indicate the existence of a unified partonic evolution stage in different collision systems at the LHC energies.
Primordial non-gaussianities of inflationary step-like models
Authors: Novaes C P , Benetti M , Bernui A
Published: November 2022

We use Minkowski Functionals (MF) to explore the possible presence of non-Gaussian signatures in the recently released cosmic microwave background (CMB) Planck maps. In particular, we investigate MF outcomes for two sets of simulated CMB maps: one seeded by the ΛCDM concordance model, another seeded by the ‘best-fit’ CMB angular power spectrum. By ‘best-fit’ we mean a simulated CMB spectrum seeded by an inflationary model that well reproduce the observed low-ℓ features of the CMB temperature power spectrum. In this way, we obtain the spurious signal introduced by the power spectra with different shapes, signal to be taken into account in the corresponding MF analyses. Interestingly, we investigate the response of the four MF (i.e., Area, Perimeter, Genus, Nclusters
) for several sets of simulated maps. Our analyses confirm that, as already reported in the literature, the Perimeter exhibits the best performance. Moreover, our results show that the Perimeter obtained from the Planck maps (2015) is better fitted by the simulated CMB maps seeded by the angular power spectrum with low-ℓ features with respect to the curves obtained from the CMB maps seeded by the ΛCDM model.
3D bioprinting optimization of human mesenchymal stromal cell laden gelatin-alginate-collagen bioink
Authors: Sawyer Stephen W , Takeda Kazuyo , Alayoubi Alaadin , Mirdamadi Eman , Zidan Ahmed , Bauer Steven R , Degheidy Heba
Published: November 2022

3D bioprinting technology has gained increased attention in the regenerative medicine and tissue engineering communities over the past decade with their attempts to create functional living tissues and organs de novo. While tissues such as skin, bone, and cartilage have been successfully fabricated using 3D bioprinting, there are still many technical and process driven challenges that must be overcome before a complete tissue engineered solution is realized. Although there may never be a single adopted bioprinting process in the scientific community, adherence to optimized bioprinting protocols could reduce variability and improve precision with the goal of ensuring high quality printed constructs. Here, we report on the bioprinting of a gelatin-alginate-collagen bioink containing human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) which has been optimized to ensure printing consistency and reliability. The study consists of three phases: a pre-printing phase which focuses on bioink characterization; a printing phase which focuses on bioink extrudability/printability, construct stability, and printing accuracy; and a post-processing phase which focuses on the homogeneity and bioactivity of the encapsulated hMSC printed constructs. The results showed that eight identical constructs containing hMSCs could be reliably and accurately printed into stable cross-hatched structures with a single material preparation, and that batch-to-batch consistency was accurately maintained across all preparations. Analysis of the proliferation, morphology, and differentiation of encapsulated hMSCs within the printed constructs showed that cells were able to form large,interconnected colonies and were capable of robust adipogenic differentiation within 14 d of culturing.
A fully noncommutative analog of the Painlevé IV equation and a structure of its solutions*
Authors: Bobrova Irina , Retakh Vladimir , Rubtsov Vladimir , Sharygin Georgy
Published: November 2022

We study a fully noncommutative generalization of the commutative fourth Painlevé equation that possesses solutions in terms of an infinite Toda system over an associative unital division ring equipped by a derivation.
Inferring the linkage of sea surface height anomalies, surface wind stress and sea surface temperature with the falling ice radiative effects using satellite data and global climate models
Authors: Li Jui-Lin F , Tsai Yu-Cian , Xu Kuan-Man , Lee Wei-Liang , Jiang Jonathan H , Yu Jia-Yuh , Fetzer Eric J , Stephens Graeme
Published: November 2022

This study attempts to infer the linkage of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), surface wind stress and sea surface temperature with the falling ice (snow) radiative effects (FIREs) over the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean using CESM1-CAM5 sensitivity experiments with FIREs-off (NOS) and on (SON) under CMIP5 historical run. The obs4MIPs monthly SSH data based upon satellite measurements are used as a reference. The seasonal and annual mean spatial patterns of SSHA difference between NOS and SON are tightly linked to those of SST and TAU over the study domain, in particular, over the south Pacific. Compared with NOS, SON simulates improved seasonal and annual mean SSHA associated with improved sea surface temperature (SST), surface wind stress (TAU) over the trade-wind areas. In SON, the simulated mean absolute bias of SSHA over the study domain is reduced (up to 30%) against NOS relative to observations. The SSHA biases are then compared with CMIP5 models. Despite the biases of SST and SSHA over the south and north flanks of the equator in SON, the seasonal variations of improved SSHA are closely related to those of TAU and SST resulting from the FIREs; that is, higher SSHA is associated with weaker TAU and warmer SST changes and vice versa. The CMIP5 ensemble mean absolute biases of SSHA show similarities to NOS mainly over the south Pacific.
Prognostic value of functional tricuspid regurgitation quantified by cardiac magnetic resonance in heart failure
Authors: Seo Jiwon , Hong Yoo Jin , Batbayar Uuganbayar , Kim Dae-Young , Cho Iksung , Kim Young-Jin , Hong Geu-Ru , Ha Jong-Won , Shim Chi Young
Published: November 2022

Aims

Quantitative assessment of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is challenging, and the prognostic implications of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-quantified measures of TR remain unclear in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). This study investigated the prognostic value of functional TR quantified by CMR in patients with HFrEF.

Methods and results

A total of 262 patients with HFrEF who underwent CMR were analysed. Patients who had primary TR, who had acute HF, or for whom cardiac surgery was planned were excluded. TR volume and fraction were indirectly calculated via subtracting methods. The primary outcome was defined as a composite of all-cause death and hospitalization for HF. Renal outcome was defined as a composite of a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥50% or progression to end-stage renal disease. During the follow-up period (median 921 days), 62 primary outcomes and 48 renal outcomes occurred. When divided into two or three groups based on TR fraction in Kaplan–Meier analysis, patients with higher TR fractions showed worse primary outcomes and renal outcomes than those with lower TR fractions. In Cox regression analysis, a 10% increase in TR fraction was significantly associated with primary outcome [hazard ratio (HR) 1.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–1.73, P < 0.001] and renal outcome (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.12–1.55, P = 0.001). TR fraction exhibited a strong positive linear relationship with primary outcomes and renal outcomes in restricted cubic spline curves.

Conclusion

CMR-quantified measures of TR were independently associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with HFrEF.
18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the diagnosis of prosthetic aortic graft infection: the difference between open and endovascular repair
Authors: Tsuda Kazumasa , Washiyama Naoki , Takahashi Daisuke , Natsume Kayoko , Ohashi Yuko , Hirano Masahiro , Takeuchi Yuki , Shiiya Norihiko
Published: November 2022

OBJECTIVES

18-Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) has been reported as useful for diagnosing aortic graft infection. However, 18F-FDG uptake may depend upon various factors including open versus endovascular repair and time from surgery. We aimed to elucidate the factors influencing its uptake and the diagnostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT after open and endovascular repair.

METHODS

Hospital database of PET/CT (N = 14 490) and our departmental database were cross-checked to identify those who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT after aortic repair. Patient’s data were retrieved from the chart. Images were reviewed by 2 nuclear medicine specialists in consensus, and the presence of increased 18F-FDG uptake was recorded. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) was measured.

RESULTS

Among the 1112 patients who underwent aortic repair between 2011 and 2022, 71 patients were identified. Eighteen patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT for suspected graft infection and the remaining 53 patients for other purposes (malignancy, etc.). Fourteen patients were treated as aortic graft infection. They had significantly higher SUV max than those without graft infection [mean 8.64 (standard deviation 2.78) vs 3.40 (standard deviation 0.84); P < 0.01]. In the non-infected grafts, SUV max was higher early after open surgical repair, while it remained low after endovascular repair.

CONCLUSIONS

After endovascular aortic repair, a constant cut-off value of ‘SUV max = 4.5’ seems appropriate for diagnosing graft infection, since it remains low and stable from the early postoperative period. After open surgical repair, it seems acceptable to have ‘stepwise cut-off value’ depending on the time from surgery.
My Covid-19 story: A tale of convergence, divergence, and more than law
Authors: Obani Pedi
Published: November 2022

Over the past couple of years, the Covid-19 pandemic and response measures by governments around the world have significantly impacted existing inequalities and related human rights in most sectors, including education. Beyond the Covid-19 regulations and the implementation processes, the human rights impacts have largely been determined by extraneous factors such as personal characteristics (sex, gender, age, health, employment), the quality of the environment, and social, political, and economic systems within which the regulations are implemented. In this article, I reflect on my personal experience of the human rights impacts of the pandemic response from my position as a female academic having recently joined the higher education sector in the United Kingdom from abroad. Overall, the pandemic has been both an “equalizing” and “divisive” threat, due to a combination of converging responses and divergent outcomes beyond the regulations. This article is also about my concern that there is a real risk of returning to business as usual without institutionalizing the skills and value addition to human rights protection during emergencies affecting academia and healthcare, drawing from the Covid-19 pandemic experience.
The Evolution of Feeding Mechanics in the Danioninae, or Why Giant Danios Don't Suck Like Zebrafish
Authors: Conith M R , Ringo D , Conith A J , Deleon A , Wagner M , McMenamin S , Cason C , Cooper W J
Published: November 2022

Synopsis

By linking anatomical structure to mechanical performance we can improve our understanding of how selection shapes morphology. Here we examined the functional morphology of feeding in fishes of the subfamily Danioninae (order Cypriniformes) to determine aspects of cranial evolution connected with their trophic diversification. The Danioninae comprise three major lineages and each employs a different feeding strategy. We gathered data on skull form and function from species in each clade, then assessed their evolutionary dynamics using phylogenetic-comparative methods. Differences between clades are strongly associated with differences in jaw protrusion. The paedomorphic Danionella clade does not use jaw protrusion at all, members of the Danio clade use jaw protrusion for suction production and prey capture, and members of the sister clade to Danio (e.g., Devario and Microdevario) use jaw protrusion to retain prey after capture. The shape of the premaxillary bone is a major determinant of protrusion ability, and premaxilla morphology in each of these lineages is consistent with their protrusion strategies. Premaxilla shapes have evolved rapidly, which indicates that they have been subjected to strong selection. We compared premaxilla development in giant danio (Devario aequipinnatus) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) and discuss a developmental mechanism that could shift danionine fishes between the feeding strategies employed by these species and their respective clades. We also identified a highly integrated evolutionary module that has been an important factor in the evolution of trophic mechanics within the Danioninae.
Characterization of fatty acid compositions in longissimus thoracis muscle and identification of candidate gene and SNPs related to polyunsaturated fatty acid in Hu sheep
Authors: Kong Yuanyuan , Liu Chongyang , Zhang Xueying , Liu Xing , Li Wenqiao , Li Fadi , Wang Xinji , Yue Xiangpeng
Published: November 2022

Fatty acid (FA) composition contributes greatly to the quality and nutritional value of lamb meat. In the present study, FA was measured in longissimus thoracis (LT) muscles of 1,085 Hu sheep using gas chromatography. Comparative transcriptomic analysis was conducted in LT muscles to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between six individuals with high polyunsaturated fatty acids (H-PUFA, 15.27% ± 0.42%) and six with low PUFA (L-PUFA, 5.22% ± 0.25%). Subsequently, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a candidate gene PLIN2 were correlated with FA traits. The results showed a total of 29 FA compositions and 8 FA groups were identified, with the highest content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA, 46.54%, mainly C18:1n9c), followed by saturated fatty acids (SFA, 44.32%, mainly C16:0), and PUFA (8.72%, mainly C18:2n6c), and significant correlations were observed among the most of FA traits. Transcriptomic analyses identified 110 upregulated and 302 downregulated DEGs between H-PUFA and L-PUFA groups. The functional enrichment analysis revealed three significant Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways and 17 gene ontology (GO) terms, in which regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes, the AMPK signaling pathway, and the PPAR signaling pathway may play important roles in FA metabolism and biosynthesis. In addition, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified 37 module genes associated with PUFA-related traits. In general, PLIN1, LIPE, FABP4, LEP, ACACA, ADIPOQ, SCD, PCK2, FASN, PLIN2, LPL, FABP3, THRSP, and ACADVL may have a great impact on PUFA metabolism and lipid deposition. Four SNPs within PLIN2 were significantly associated with FA. Of those, SNP1 (g.287 G>A) was significantly associated with C18:1n9c and MUFA, and SNP4 (g.7807 T>C) was significantly correlated with PUFA (C18:3n3). In addition, the combined genotype of SNP1 (g.287 G>A), SNP3 (g.7664 T>C), and SNP4 (g.7807 T>C) were significantly correlated with C16:1, C17:0, C18:1C6, PUFA (C18:3n3, C22:6n3), and n-6/n-3 PUFA. These results contribute to the knowledge of the biological mechanisms and genetic markers involved in the composition of FA in Hu sheep.
A Single Institution’s Recent Experience With Pediatric Hand Burns
Authors: Nolan Margo M , Reppucci Marina L , Urban Ashley , Kierulf Genevieve , Fields Tymar , Boulter Trudy , Drelles Angela , Moulton Steven L
Published: November 2022

Children are at risk for sustaining hand burns due to their innate curiosity, slow withdrawal reflexes, and thin palmar epidermis. We sought to summarize our recent experience managing pediatric hand burns, focusing on injuries that required surgical management. This was a retrospective review of children with burn-injured hands managed at a quaternary referral children’s hospital between 2016 and 2020. Demographics and mechanisms of injury were collected for all patients. Initial management of all wounds included pain control, deflation of blisters, and mechanical debridement. Wounds were then dressed, and a plaster-backed soft cast was applied for positioning if the swelling was controlled. Wounds were reassessed in 4–7 days, at which time a nonadherent dressing with antifungal ointment or a bismuth dressing was applied to partial-thickness wounds, vs an active silver dressing for deep partial-thickness burns. For patients who underwent split-thickness or full-thickness skin grafting, additional wound care, operative, and short-term outcomes data were collected. A total of 3715 children were seen for burn injuries during the study period, of which 2100 (56.5%) were seen for hand burns. In total, 123 (5.8%) required a skin graft an average of 11.7 days from the date of their burn injury. Surgical complications were minimal with 5 (4.1%) incomplete graft takes, though none required reoperation, and 1 (0.8%) experiencing a postoperative wound infection. Pediatric hand burns are common. A multidisciplinary treatment approach, including standardized wound care and adept therapeutic interventions, will lead to spontaneous healing in approximately 95% of patients.
There’s Rules in Prison
Authors: Gibson-Light Michael
Published: November 2022

This chapter takes a deeper look at the role of race and ethnicity at work behind bars, and particularly in the allocation of prison jobs. Such characteristics were deeply intertwined with the accumulation of valued forms of capital that helped privileged individuals (relative to the general prison population) better navigate to the top of the hierarchical carceral employment system. Perceptions, assumptions, and norms tied to race also shaped within-job mobility and task assignments, despite claims of race-neutrality within individual carceral worksites from staffers and penal laborers alike. The chapter unpacks how the perserverence and reproduction of unequal prospects and processes diminishes the agency and wellbeing of incarcerated workers of color in this heavily racialized space.
The Dignity of Working Prisoners
Authors: Gibson-Light Michael
Published: November 2022

This chapter examines the impacts of different work environments may have on prisoners’ workplace practices, self-perceptions, and outlooks. It describes how differing worksites behind bars may facilitate coping, friction, or professionalization strategies. Through these combinations of discourse and practice, the imprisoned may endeavor to avoid indignities or potentially reinject dignity into their lives at and through work. By unpacking the ways that incarcerated laborers agentically respond to the conditions of their work, which may vary greatly across different tiers of the carceral employment system, the chapter describes how the unequal outcomes of prison labor sorting may shape not only material but symbolic and personal dimensions of wellbeing.
Mercy
Authors: Nolan Cathal J.
Published: November 2022

This book relates stories of morally decent actions in a broader context of the essential barbarism of war. It charts the wider path of obscenity and atrocity in war to highlight moments of moral grace, of goodwill toward the enemy and civilians inside a frame of jarring ugliness and malice. It presents portraits of everyday folk who reacted in a moment of crisis with mercy and sensitivity, with empathy for the shared humanity of an enemy or the innocent. The book recognizes the elect few who refused immoral acts and orders, even at grave personal risk. It challenges all nationalist myths, the usual heroic fabrications encountered in military history, and all claims to exclusive or unilateral virtue.
Law's Rule
Authors: Postema Gerald J.
Published: November 2022

The rule of law, once widely embraced and emulated, now faces serious threats to its viability. This book articulates and defends a comprehensive, coherent, and compelling conception of the rule of law and defends it against serious challenges to its intelligibility, relevance, and normative force. The rule of law’s ambition, it argues, is to provide protection and recourse against the arbitrary exercise of governmental and nongovernmental power using the distinctive tools of the law. Two principles immediately follow from this core: sovereignty of law, demanding that those who exercise ruling power govern with law and that law governs them, and equality in the eyes of the law, demanding that law’s protection extend to all bound by it. Animating law’s rule, the ethos of fidelity commits all members of the political community to take responsibility for holding each other accountable under the law. The rule of law is realized in constitutional principles of separation of power, procedural fairness, freedom of media and association, and a network of mechanisms of accountability within government and civil society. The rule of law underwrites democracy and human rights. Part I articulates this conception and locates its moral foundation in a commitment to common membership of each person, recognizing their freedom, dignity, and status as peers. Part II addresses serious challenges currently facing law’s rule, finding a place in the legal system for equity, mercy, and effective responses to emergencies, taming the new Leviathans of the digital world, and extending law’s rule beyond national borders.
Communicating the “Practical Faith”
Authors: Demetrious Kristin
Published: November 2022

Public relations, with its distinctive language practice, is not a random development; its origins and features can be traced to its entanglement with the 1947 formation of the Mont Pèlerin Society (MPS), and key figures such as free-market economist Friedrich Hayek. Embarking on a closely guarded mission to spread the seemingly outdated MPS ideas in the United States, Hayek encountered postwar public relations and business conservatives who established links with early libertarian think tanks like the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). These private research institutions, and the various neoliberal voices active at this time, as well as the tensions and struggles between them, established a powerful proto-narrative that expounded the virtue of an individual’s pursuit of faith, prosperity, and freedom, through the power of a market unfettered by government and regulation. This discursive dynamic with canonical power may go some way to explain the failures of public debates today.
Happiness, Plastic Truth, and the Story of Climate
Authors: Demetrious Kristin
Published: November 2022

The neonarrative of climate change denial has underpinned one of the most brutal and anti-human communication campaigns in history. Illustrated by the 2009 events known as “Climategate,” the case involves the public denunciation of scientists working in climate research at the University of East Anglia, and the delegitimization of their work. Deployed by the public relations industry, a deliberate and distinctive neonarrative was disseminated through interlocutors like “think tank” and media commentators, talk-back radio hosts, journalists, and politicians to gain a level of intellectual substance. The effect was to drain meaning out of climate-related issues, to fashion coherence out of incoherence, and to co-construct passivity and acceptance with public relations “publics” in maintaining the status quo, which favored powerful industries with vested interests.
A Pelican in Her Piety
Authors: Cave Mark
Published: November 2022

In the spring of 2010, a British Petroleum oil rig known as the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and causing a sea-floor oil gusher. The spill did extensive damage to marine and wildlife all along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In Louisiana, wildlife agents worked to protect animal habitats and capture oiled animals. BP hired private companies to establish a bird rehabilitation center. Although most aspects of the response to the spill were closed to reporters, the oil company encouraged the media to visit the rehabilitation center. Images of oiled pelicans filled the nearly nonstop coverage of the event. The pelican became emblematic of the crisis in Louisiana. In fall 2010, The Historic New Orleans Collection initiated an oral history project to document not only the scope and organization of this wildlife rescue effort, but also the motivations of those involved.
Fragmentary Time
Authors: Cooper Timothy , Green Anna
Published: November 2022

In 1967, the oil tanker SS Torrey Canyon went aground fifteen miles off the Cornish coast, spilling most of its 119,000 tons of crude oil into the sea. The oil seriously contaminated both the coastline of Cornwall and the coast of Brittany. It became the world’s first major oil tanker disaster. In 2012, a public call seeking those willing to record an oral history interview about their memories of the disaster generated more than one hundred responses, and researchers recorded the memories of fifty individuals. This included residents living in villages along the Cornish coast and members of the army, navy, and fire service drafted to clean up the oil. The interviews cover autobiographical information and life narrative, specific memories of the events and impact of the Torrey Canyon disaster, and finally, a reflection on the long-term meaning of the oil spill.
More than H2O
Authors: Nazario Javier Arce
Published: November 2022

Water for the majority of Puerto Ricans (97 percent) is supplied by large-scale, government-managed systems. Some isolated rural communities in Puerto Rico, however, are not supplied safe drinking water. Rather than being a simply case of environmental injustice, recorded interviews from these communities about their locally managed water systems tell a more complex story. The author writes about participant observation of rural community water systems throughout Puerto Rico and provides excerpts of recorded interviews of community leaders and members in communities that manage their own water systems. He also collected social data through household questionnaires, and water quality data through water sampling. In February of 2015, he visited Doña Mayo in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, a community that has long maintained its own, self-managed water system. During that visit, he recorded this interview with community leader Héctor Martinez, who has lived in Doña Mayo since his birth in the 1960s.
Environmental Guardians
Authors: Fox Caren
Published: November 2022

The Central North Island region of New Zealand has the highest number of geothermal fields in the world, with seventeen in the Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) of the Central North Island. The relationship that Māori people have had with this resource was not provided for during the development of certain fields of the TVZ during the years 1950–1991. The impact of these policies on the sustainability of the resource is explored in this essay and excerpts from interview with Aroha Campbell from Ohaaki near Reporoa, a village south of Rotorua in New Zealand. The Ohaaki power station was commissioned in 1989 by the Power Development Division of the New Zealand Electricity Department.
Introduction
Authors: Hillner Julia
Published: November 2022

Like the lady on the cover of this book, sometimes believed to depict her, the empress Helena is mouthless, having left no documents written by herself. Others, mostly men, spoke and spoke for her. The introduction outlines the methodological challenges of approaching Helena biographically, but also stresses the benefits of doing so. Drawing on recent insights from feminist life writing that embrace the non-linearity of female lives, the introduction invites us to take the gaps and ruptures in Helena’s life as unique evidence for Constantine’s reign, and the role and power of imperial women within it.
Roman Holiday
Authors: Hillner Julia
Published: November 2022

This chapter investigates the evidence for Helena’s residence in the city of Rome. It explores the circumstances of her arrival in Rome c. 317 and her physical surroundings at her place of residence in the southeastern corner of the city, the Sessorian Palace. Using archaeological, epigraphical, and literary evidence, it reconstructs the composition of her court, her ceremonial appearances, and the extent of her patronage activities in the civic and ecclesiastical spheres. It also shows that Helena acquired a distinctive guise on imperial artwork commissioned for audiences in the city of Rome, underlining the importance of the old capital to Constantine.
Four Deaths and an Anniversary
Authors: Hillner Julia
Published: November 2022

The celebration of Constantine’s Vicennalia (twenty-year anniversary of his reign) concluded in Rome in August 326. It was preceded by important religious milestones, such as the Council of Nicaea, but also by disturbing happenings within the Constantinian family, including Constantine’s murder of his brother-in-law Licinius and his nephew Licinianus, the execution of his son Crispus, and the disappearance and probable death of his wife Fausta. This chapter discusses the reasons for and connections between these events as well as their effect on the representation of surviving imperial women, especially in the city of Rome, and on Helena’s position at court during the last years of her life.